09.23.94

Page 1

t eanc 0

FALL RIVER DIOCESAN NEWSPAPER FOR SOUTHEAST MASSACHUSETTS .CAPE COD & THE ISLANDS

I '

VOL. 38, NO. 37

•

Friday, September 23,1994

FALL RIVER, MASS.

Southeastern Massachusetts' Largest Weekly

• $ll Per Year

AS AGREEMENT 1S REACHED IN HAITI, A WOMAN PRAYS IN THE PORT-AU-PRINCE CATHEDRAL

Church leaders welcome Haiti accord on Aristide return WASHINGTON (CNS) - The chairman of the U.S. bishops' Committee on International Policy has welcomed the Sept. 18 agreement reached in Haiti to clear the way for the return to office of ousted president Father Jean-Bertrand Aristide. "President Clinton is to be commended for walking the extra mile by commissioning these 11th-hour negotiations to avert the shedding of blood," said Bishop Daniel P.

Reilly of Norwich, Conn., in a Sept. 19 statement. He said the terms of the agreement "show respe~t on the part of the international community and the United StateS for the sovereignty of the Haitian people." Outlines of new plans and expeclations for Haiti quickly followed sighs of relief over announcement of the troop-supported settlement negotiated by fQrmer President Jimmy Carter to return Father Aristide to office.

The agreement, which averted a planned U.S. invasion, calls for Haiti.'s military rulers to step down by Oct. 15 to clear the way for Father Aristide's return. Bishop Reilly said reconciliation within Haiti is still required. He urged all sides to agree on returning to democracy, observing constitutionallimits, respecting human rights and ensiJring justice for the poor. "The dignity of the Haitian people will be best served by a

In the archdiocese of St. PaulMinneapolis, Archbishop John R. Roach said his fears for Haiti's poor were allayed by the lastminute agreement.

invasion to oust Haiti's de facto rulers would have failed to meet the church's criteria that ajust war involve actions proportional to the good to be achieved. "The poor were defenseless," he said. "I was fearful of a massive civilian loss of life and I didn't feel there was a proportional benefit."

"That was the grace of God," Archbishop Roach said. Like Bishop Reilly and other U.S. bishops, the archbishop said he feared an

Church groups who have watched the country's turmoil from the United States had several items on Turn to Page II

national consensus that will strengthen democratic government and the cause ofjustice for all of Haiti's people," he said.

At Religious Education Day

Keynoter's topic is wisdom

GREER GORDON

Greer G. Gordon will be keynote speaker and will conduct a workshop at the annual Religious Education Day for diocesan catechists, to be held from 8: 15 a.m. to 3:05 p.m. tomorrow and expected to attract hundreds of participants to St. Julic's Church, North Dartmouth. and neighboring Bishop Stang High School. Program planners is Director of Religious Education Sister Elaine Heffcrnan, RSM, working out of the Diocesan Department of Education, which is directed by Rev. Richard W. Beaulieu. Ms. Gordon's keynote address, "Wisdom Has Built Herself a House: Seek God's Wisdom," will discuss wisdom as a gift of God and catechists as both witnesses and bearers of that wisdom, exemplifying prayerfulness and virtue

and unlocking the treasures of faith for their students. Her workshop session will have as its topic "A Well-Woven Tapestry: Ministry within the Multicultural Black Community," and will ask the question "How do we, as church, recognize the beauty and remind the members of the community of the beauty of that original God-designed tapestry?" On Regis"Faculty Ms. Gordon, a native of Baton Rouge, La., is a faculty member at Regis College, Weston, and a candidate for a doctoral degree in religion and theology at Boston University. She was formerly director of the Boston archdiocesan Office for Black Catholics and of adult religious education in the Washington, DC, archdiocese. She has also

taught at Georgetown University and at the Ecumenical Institute of St. Mary's Seminary and University in Baltimore. She holds bachelor's and master's degrees in systematic theology from the University of Dallas and the University of Notre Dame respectively. Ms. Greer has published a church history textbook, "Heritage and Vision," and a study guide for "What We Have Seen and Heard," the first pastoral letter of the black bishops ofthe United States. Issued in 1984, the pastoral addressed the problem of racism within the church and proclaimed the rich heritage of American black Catholics. Ms. Gordon has also contributed articles to many publications, including L'Osservatore Romano, Turn to Page II


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.