t eanc 0 VOL. 33, NO. 37
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Friday, September 22, 1989
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Auschwitz impasse
solution seen WARSAW, Poland (CNS)-A West German Jewish millionaire and Poland's primate have a plan for ending the dispute over a controversial Carmelite convent at the former Nazi death camp of Auschwitz, the official Polish news agency reported. The news agency, PAP, quoted a spokesman for Cardinal Jozef Glemp of Gniezno and Warsaw as saying that "a concept of a satisfactory solution to the conflict concerning the Catholic convent at Auschwitz" resulted from a meeting between the cardinal and Zygmunt Nissenbaum, a Polishborn millionaire who lives in West Germany. PAP indicated that Nissenbaum had agreed to'help build a prayer center near Auschwitz to which the Carmelite convent could be moved. Cardinal Glemp had said construction of the prayer center - agreed to in a 1987 accord' signed by European Jewish and Catholic leaders - was impossible under Poland's current economic situation. "Work on the matter will be continued by a special team that will deal with the concrete implementation of the building of the
center for information, education, meetings and prayer at Auschwitz," PAP reported. Nissenbaum is a survivor of the Warsaw Ghetto and of a Nazi death camp. He is president of the Nissenbaum Foundation, which' restores Jewish cemeteries and synagogues in Poland. The dispute over the convent, established in 1984 to pray for the 4 million dead of Auschwitz, has disrupted Jewish-Catholic relations worldwide. Many Jews are offended at the presence of the convent, in an old theater just outside the gates of the former death camp that was used by the Nazis to store poison gas used to kill camp inmates. Many Jews consider Auschwitz the greatest monument to the Nazi Holocaust, which killed 6 million of their people. International Jewish leaders and some Catholic leaders have said the Catholic Church must honor its commitment to move the convent.
Vatican Speaks Meanwhile, the Vatican broke its long silence in the matter with a Turn to Page 13
----------------------------1 Arts self-correcting says Fr. Healy NEW YORK (CNS) - Jesuit Father Timothy Healy said an amendment sponsored by Sen. Jesse Helms, R-N.C., to restrict federal funding of the arts tried to fill a vacuum but was unneeded becaus~ pornography will do itself in. Writing in a op-ed piece in the Sept. 15 New York Times, the former president of Georgetown University and current president o( the New York Public Libr~ry said, "Literature and the arts, like scholarship, are essentially selfcorrecting... Father Healy said he understood that "opposition to obscenity is a bandwagon no politician in his or her right mind can afford to miss." But the priest implied that a congressional conference committee should dismiss the amendment introduced by Helms to prohibit federal funding for art deemed to "promote, disseminate or produce obscene or indecent materials" or "material which denigrates the objects or beliefs of the adherents of a particular religion or non-religion." Father Healy noted that the amendment, which was passed ear-
Iier by the Senate but rejected by the House Sept. 14, ,"may be revived" by the congressional committee. The National Endowment for the Arts and the Natiorial Endowment for the Humanities were targeted for a cut in their federal funding in light of two controversial art shows that received endowment monies. The shows were labeled -by some as obscene and even offensive to religious groups. In Maya controversy arose over a photo by artist Andres Serrano. In July a planned photo exhibit that included sadomasochistic and homoerotic images was yanked by officials of the Corcoran art gallery in Washington because of charges some of its photos.were obscene. That show, however, opened in another Washington gallery. Father Healy wrote that "since the endowment has consistently supported the 'little -magazines' that are the principal outlets for much of the nation's poetry, short stories and essays, Senator Helms's amendment could do as much hurt to writers as to painters and sculptors." . Turn to Page 13
BOBBI PARADISE (back row, center) with CLI support group members Bekki Jones, Holy Ghost, Attleboro; Amy Hanley, St. Stephen, Attleboro; Peggy McLaughlin, St. Ann, Raynham; Andrea Higgins, Our Lady of the Cape, Brewster; Liz Turinese, St. Mary, Seekonk; John Bertone, St. Mary, Norton; Anne Janerico, St. Patrick, Falmouth; Chad Sullivan, St. Thomas More, Somerset; and Brian Michaud, Our Lady of Grace, Westport.
Learning leadership, faith Story and photos by Marcie Hickey Openness. Patience. Listening. Understanding. Creativity. Compromise. Unity. Prayer. All were qualities cited by participants in a Christian Leadership Institute as important elements of their recent week-long learning experience at Cathedral Camp, East Freetown. The program was presented by the Center for Youth Ministry Development of Naugatuck, Conn., which is in its II th year of service to youth ministry and religious education and works with more than 70 dioceses annually to provide youth and adult leaders with skills required for effective ministry in their parish communities. CLI is offered annually at over 40 sites in the country and is in its second year at Cathedral Camp, site of the Diocesan Office of Youth Ministry, directed by Father George Harrison. Edna Donoghue and Sister Mary Golden, MSBT, recently came to the Youth Ministry Office as associate directors, Mrs. Donoghue from SS. Margaret and Mary parish, Lakeville, where she was director of religious education, and Sister Golden from Holy Trinity, Ala., where she directed youth retreats. This year's CLI participants numbered 47 potential leaders between the ages of 14 and 18, representing 18 parishes. The CLI staff consisted of a team of eight diocesan, school and parish leaders trained by the Naugatuck center and directed by Mark Bouchard, who has 12 years of experience as a parish leader, diocesan consultant, high school teacher and national workshop presenter. . eLi's main components are skills
workshops, personal support groups and prayer and worship services. Participants spent most oftheir time in the support groups discussing leadership topics and planning events. Students from the same parish were placed in different groups. This was their first experience of community building, said Sister Golden, as they immediately began planning and working with unfamiliar people. . The groups were led by Sister Golden; Bobbi Paradise of Our Lady of Victory parish, Centerville; Donna Martyniak, St. Ann, Raynham; Judi Moniz, St. George, Westport; Helen Travers, Our Lady ofthe Cape, Brewster; Father William Baker, parochial vicar at St. Mary, Seekonk; and Father David Costa, parochial vicar at St. Thomas More, Somerset, and spiritual director for the week. The program is described as "an opportunity for leadership development through an intense week of learning and community living," and there was no rest for the weary during the five activitypacked days at Cathedral Camp. Mark Bouchard explained that CLI is intended to be a groupinteractive learning experience: there is very little lecturing and a lot of "learning by doing." The program involved role-playing, case studies, journaling and, most importantly, active learning - the direct experience of what was being taught. Team leaders supervised, sometimes moderated, but never dictated activities of their support groups. "The kids do all the work," said ' Bouchard. The goal of CLI is to foster leadership potential in individuals
and to increase awareness of the responsibilities, rewards and difficulties of leadership in a parish community, as well as in the larger Christian community. Said Edna Donoghue, '''CLI gives young people leadership skills to take back to their parishes. It helps them discover their gifts and learn new skills. This is what is meant by 'youth enablement.' " She describes CLI as a holistic program that enables participants to grow in their relationship with God and the church community. In her role as support groups coordinator, she said she was "impressed by the response of the young people to the program, how they were able 'to develop into a community. " The uniqueness of the program, offered Mark Bouchard, is that "it provides professional level training along with the experience of a caring Christian community and shared spirituality." Bouchard began each day with a short session outlining the day's activities and assigning each group a task. Mornings were spent in skills workshops, discussing a different topic each day, beginning with leadership. styles and skills. Consideration of communication, planning and consensus-seeking skills and 'of group dynamics followed during the week. Afternoon brought recreational activities such as volleyball or softball. Games went on, rain or shine, said the students, noting that a rainsoaked volleyball game wasn't called, despite mud slides. In addition, each group daily planned and implemented some aspect of the program: morning Turn to Page Eight
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