EI FOR SOUTHEAST SACHUSmS CAPE COD & THE ISLANDS .
VOL. 34, NO. 36
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Friday, September 14, 1990
FALL RIVER, MASS.
Soutlheastern Massachusetts'Largest Weekly
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Educators' theme to be compassion Notre Dame de Namur Sister Marie Augusta Neal, a sociology professor at Emmanuel College, Boston, will give the keynote address, "Catechesis: Forming Communities of Compassion" at the sixth annual diocesan Religious Education Day Sept. 29 at Bishop Stang High School, North Dartmouth. Sister Neal has taught sociology at nine colleges and universities in addition to Emmanuel College, where she has been sociology department chairperson from 1963 to 1973, in 1980, and from 1988 to the present. Since 1955, she has published nearly 80 articles and books on subjects including women religious, the role of women in the church, social justice, Christian living and social change. Religious Education Day will begin with registration and coffee at 8 a.m. A liturgy will be celebrated by Bishop Daniel A. Cronin at 9 a.m. Sister Neal will speak at 10 a.m. Three hour-long sessions will follow, beginning at II a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. Each will offer a variety of workshops. Lunch and an opportunity to view exhibits are scheduled from noon to 1:30 p.m. Advance registration may be made at the Catholic Education Office, 423 Highland Ave., Fall River 02720, 678-2828. Those wishing to make lunch reservations must register by Sept. 25; others may register Sept. 29. A listing of workshop presenters and topics follows. Workshop I Rev. Fred Babiczuk, Espirito Sant.o parish, Fall River: "Confirmation From Past to Present"; Janet Barbelle, Birthright regional consultant: "Birthright: Reaching
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Out In Love"; Carol F. Bedard, hospital administration: "Death and Dying," emphasizing euthanasia, feeding and hydration, coping with grief and loss; Rev. Marcel H. Bouchard, Sacred Heart, North Attleboro: "Compassion: God's Graciousness in the Old Testament; Michaela Burke, Sadlier representative: "Practical and Creative Methods of Teaching for New Catechists." Sister Mary Golden, diocesan youth ministry associate director: "Confirmation Retreats"; Rev. John A. Gomes, Our Lady of Angels, Fall River: "Cooperation between Pastor and Religious Education Coordinator"; Rev. Msgr. Thomas J. Harrington, St. Joseph's, Taunton; Religious Education From the Pastor's Perspective"; Joan Cuttle, elementary music specialist, Dartmouth: "Let the Children Sing," on use of music in religious education and liturgy; Rev. Gerard A. Hebert, diocesan marriage tribunal: "Annulments: What Can I Tell Parents About the Process?" Kathleen Killion, Bishop Feehan High School religion teacher:, "Spirituality for the Frenzied," on nurturing spirituality in a hurryup society; Denise Laverdiere, RN, New Bedford Communicable Diseases Coordinator: "Catholicism - What is the Message to God's Children about AIDS?"; Sister Jeannette Serra, Edmundite Apostolate Center, Mystic, Conn.: "The Call to Compassion" in church ministry; Rev. Joseph Viveiros, Barbara Domingue and Debra Polselli, diocesan Apostolate for Persons With Disabilities: "Meeting the Unique Needs of Children With Special Needs," offering Turn to Page 10
SISTER MARIE AUGUSTA NEAL
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AT AN OPEN-AIR Mass in Tanzania, Pope John Paul II gave first communion to some 50 African children. (eNS/ UPI-Reuters photo)
Pope has upbeat view of Africa KIGALI, RWlj.nda (CNS) Midway through his latest trip to Africa, Pope John Paul II made a simple observation. He said that "economic indicators alone cannot translate the virtues of a peo- ' pIe or the sum of its creations." There are human riches, he said, that "cannot be' converted iJ)to money." Those words, spoken to a handful of diplomats in Burundi, help explain why the pope's view of Africa is so much more hopeful than the rest of the world's. At a'time when Africa's obituary is being written in the West -as a "lost continent" of permanent poverty, failed investments and political malaise - the pope considers Africa to be in many other ways a success story. And in areas where Africans are really hurting, such as health care and education, the pope declared that the church intends to keep up its contributions. Its interest, he seemed to be saying, goes far beyond the financial "bottom line." The pope's September 1-10 trip took him to three of Africa's worst-off nations: Tanzania, Burundi and Rwanda, where average per capita income is under $300 a year and where dismal living conditions are apparent even from a papal motorcade. The'pope did not skirt the issue of poverty, but he turned a new . light on it. In a sermon in central Tanzania, for example, he told the people: "When the world sees your spirit of prayer and adoration of God, your solidarity with others, especially the poorest and neediest, your courage in times of suffering and difficulties, your self-control in the face of violence and injury,
and your temperance in all things, then the world will ask: Why are they so? Who inspires Tanzania's Christians to such great love?" The pope also came to affirm what he called "a special hour of grace for the church on this continent." He said that after "the long planting of missionary labor, we are witnessing the beginnings of a harvest rich in promise." Africa's church, he said, has the "freshness, confidence and enthusiasm of youth." The pope's ordination of 103 priests in the three East African
Mother Teresa stays at helm VATICAN CITY (CNS) Mother Teresa of Calcutta, 80,' who earlier this year resigned because of age and poor health, has been reelected superior ofthe Missionaries of Charity and her election has been approved by the Vatican. Reelection of the Nobel Peace Prize winner took place Sept. 8 in Calcutta, India, at a general chapter meeting of the religious order. Vatican Radio quoted Mother Teresa as accepting her reelection as the will of God and pledging to carry out her responsibilities to the best of her ability. Last December, doctors in India implanted a pacemaker in Mother Teresa, who had been suffering from heart problems. Her community has- more than 400 centers in 92 countries, including Cuba and the Soviet Union. It works with the terminally ill, abandoned children, the homeless, lepers and AIDS 'patients.
countries underscored that point. So did his praise of burgeoning religious orders who run many of the schools and health clinics in the region. One reason for the pope's great interest in the African church is that it has grown up largely under his pontificate. In numbers, it has increased by more than two-thirds. Its pastoral force has swelled. In the pope's view, the African church is on the threshold of maturity, and that is one reason he has called an African synod for the mid-1990s. The African church is a building church, and the pope blessed no fewer than 10 cornerstones for new churches, social centers and seminaries along his itinerary. Next to many altars were piles of additional stones for future projects, which also received a papal benediction. The pope spent a good part of his time greeting the sick, the aged and the handicapped. For those who figure Africa's ledger in investment terms, these people are merely part of the debit column. The pope's confidence that it is otherwise was clear when he told 26 sick people, "Your sufferings. will bear rich spiritual fruit for the good of the church and of the entire world." He visited two AIDS wards in Burundi and left $10,000 toward their care. It was a symbolic gesture that said: These people represent more than a drain on health care resources. When the pope spoke about development aid, he tried to nudge richer countries into this wider view. Africans need to be included more directly in projects and need Turn to Page 10