t eanc 0 VOL. 21, NO. 38
AN ANCHOR OF THE SOUL, SURE AND FIRM -HEB. 6:19
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FALL RIVER, MASS., THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 1977
p·ope ·Paul VI Is H'onored AI Age 80
Pro-Life, Anti-ERA· Women Decry IWY WASHINGTON (NC) - More than 60 women from 39 states and the District of Columbia testified last week about what one witness called the "anti God, antifamily, anticountry" . International Women's Year (IWY) state conferences held earlier this year. . The women, all strongIY!1ntiEqual Rights Amendment (ERA) and/or strongly pro-life, appeared before an unofficial ad hoc commission on the IWY observance, headed by Sen. Jesse Helms (R- N.C.). Many called on Congress to cancel a planned Nov. 18-21 national IWY conference in Houston, saying that because of manipulation of state
usee
conventions, the delegates selected to attend the national gathering are unrepresentative of American women. In an opening statement on the second day of the hearings, Helms said the first day's testimony had shown "what appears to be a widespread pattern of discrimination by IWY and its state affiliates against those women who do not agree with what can only be 'described as narrow and negative ideology and partisan biases of the lWY organizers." Among witnesses was Mary Schmitz, chairman of California's IWY review committee ,who Turn to Page Seven
Study Hits Reliance
On Schools for Morality WASHINGTON (NC) - The tendency to shift responsibility for moral education from family church and community to the school is a "somewhat alarming trend in American society," according to a new study on "Moral Education and Christian Conscience" published by the Education Department U.S. Catholic Conference (USCe). Although schools do have a role in moral education, the study says, "that role should be defined in terms of the limitations of educational systems and the scale of priorities which place the family, church and community before the school in forming the values and consciences of young people." The study also says that when public school programs of moral education are "destructive of Christian moral education," as when birth control and abortion are presented as solutions to overpopulation, Catholic parents should seek to have them revised and, failing that, should have their children excused. Discussing increasing reliance on schools to provide moral education, it says: "The lack of acceptance of traditional moral values and the evidence of an increase in overt anti-social behavior among young people have been diagnosed popularly by parents and educators alike as problems which can and should be remedied by educational programs. "Because these symptoms are often most important in the schools, so the disease and the cure are also assumed to rest with the school," says the study,
which adds that "such an oversimplified approach is both misleading and, in the long run, ineffectual." 'But the document does acknowledge a place for moral education in schools and in out-ofschool education and offers "general guidelines, both theor~ etical and practical" to help Catholic educators plan programs in this area. The study adds: "For Christians, churchsponsored moral education programs have clear advantages" over programs in public schools because they can be "directed to Gospel values."
Set College Fair At Stonehill Stonehill ,College, North Easton, and the New England Assn. of College Admissions Counselors will co-sponsor a college fair Thursday, Oct. 13. Expected to draw up to 5000 students from area high schols, the program will be offered from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in the Stonehill gymnasium. It will bring together representatives of 150 New England public and private colleges who will answer questions about their institutions' curriculums, activities and financial aid programs. Cooperating high schools will release or bus students to the morning session of the fair or will encourage them to attend the evening session with their parents. Stonehill College is 20 miles south of ~oston, just off the Route 123 exit on Route 24.
lSe, $5 Per Year
Reaction Is Bitter To ,Dukakis Veto Pro-life forces received. setbacks this week in their continuing struggle to uphold the sanctity of all life, as the Massachusetts Senate upheld Governor Dukakis' veto of the DoyleFlynn bill to bar use of Medicaid funds for abortions. The vote was 22 to J 7 to override the veto, a simple majority, but short of the two-thirds needed by law. All area senators voted as they had previously, and as reported in last week's Anchor, with only Democrat Robert E. McCarthy favoring abortion funding. His district includes Lakeville, Mansfield. and Norton in the Fall River diocese. . Diocesan reaction to the Dukakis veto was bitter, with many vowing that his action would not be forgotten in heavily Catholic Southeastern Massachusetts when he makes his expected bid for re-election. On the same day the governor's veto was sustained, members of the Seekonk Representative Town Meeting (RTM) overwhelmingly approved a nonbinding resolution opposing proposed establishment of an abortion clinic in the town. . The matter had aroused intense feeling in the small community since it 'was made public some months ago, but an attempt to pass a zoning amen-
ment that would have prohibited such clinics came to a halt when the State Supreme Judicial Court ruled adversely in a similar situation in Southboro. In Southboro, clinic backers have announced that they will open ali abortion clinic "as soon as we are able," ,while in Seekonk, Dr. Charles Mandell, the only clinic planner there whose name has been made public, said he intends to go ahead with the facility but has not made a final decision as to whether it will be located in Seekonk or another area town.
American Sister Is Denied Bail PITTSBURGH (NC) - "We are praying harder than ever now," commented Mr. and Mrs. Paul' McLaughlin of Pittsburgh, parents of a Maryknoll nun ordered held for trial in Rhodesia on charges of violating the African country's security laws. The parents had been confident their daughter, Sister Janice McLaughlin, would be granted bail at a magistrate's hearing but it was denied on grounds that she is "clearly a grave security risk." They stated that "the priests Tum to 'Page Seven
Honoring the 80th birthday of Pope Paul VI on Monday, Sept. 26, Bishop Daniel A. Cronin will be principal celebrant of a Mass of Thanksgiving at 5 p.m. Sunday at St. Mary's Cathedral, Fall River. All priests of the diocese have been invited to concelebrate the liturgy and it is expected that laity representing every parish will be in attendance. At the conclusion of the Mass 'Bishop Cronin will take the opportunity. to exchange greetings with all present. The celebration will also offer the opportunity to make formal recognition of the papal honor bestowed upon Msgr. John J. Oliveira who last June was named a Chaplain of Honor to Pope Paul. A brief ceremony will follow the Eucharistic liturgy at which the formal document from the Holy See naming JI.1sgr. Oliveira to his present rank will be presented to him. Following the rites a reception will be held in the cathedral school for all members of the congregation and the family and friends of Msgr. Oliveira will be guests of honor of the St. Mary's Cathedral Council of Catholic Women.
Deacon Classes Get Underway On Tuesday of this week the formal training program for the first class of prospective candidates for the Permanent Dia-· conate got under way at Bishop Stang High School in Dartmouth. On Tuesday and Thursday even· ings for the next 12 weeks the 18 candidates and their wives will once more begin the adjustment of returning to the classroom. The central theme of the first semester is "Building Diaconal Community." On Tuesday evening the mechanics of community will be undertaken and discussed by various instructors, while on Thursday evening the spirituality of community will be the subject of a series given by Father Robert Kaszynski, president pro tern of the newly formed Priests' Council. At the end of the semester, there will be a formal retreat for candidates by Father Giles Genest at the La Salette Center of Christian ·Living. This fetreat will be preparation for the formal call to candidacy that must be Tum to Page Seven