Diocese of Fall River
The Anchor
F riday , October 2, 2009
Honduran visitors long for return of peace to homeland By Dave Jolivet, Editor
FALL RIVER — There is fighting in the streets again. The sounds of gunshots ring in the air, and forced curfews have returned. Yet two teen-age boys and a parish priest were yearning to return to all of that. Home is home, no matter where it is. It is where their families and friends are. It is where their fellow parishioners are. It is where they live. It is home. Their home happens to be Guaimaca, Honduras, and they should have been there last Tuesday. But the return of their deposed president put a halt to that. Father Craig A. Pregana, pastor of the Fall River diocesan mission parish of St. Rose of Lima in Guaimaca, along with two guests, 18-year-old José Francisco Moncada Escoto, and 17-year-old Luis Orlando Garcia Hernández, have been visiting the Fall River Diocese for four weeks. They were scheduled to return home September 22, but
exiled former Honduran president, Manuel Zelaya, surprised everyone by appearing at the Brazilian Embassy in the Honduran capital of Tegucigalpa. Supporters of the ousted president took to the streets, and violence, injuries and arrests quickly ensued. Interim President Roberto Micheletti rapidly took action, part of which included closing Honduras’ four airports. The trio’s American Airlines flight home was cancelled. While waiting for an opening to return to Honduras, Father Pregana, Escoto, and Hernández visited The Anchor office to report on what life in the central American country has been like since the June 28 coup, and Zelaya’s subsequent deportation. According to Father Pregana, the exiled President Zelaya was trying to turn the democratic Honduras into a dictatorship. “Zelaya works closely with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, Turn to page 18
WELCOME GUESTS — Bishop George W. Coleman recently welcomed two young men from the diocesan mission in Guaimaca to his home for a visit. José Francisco Moncada Escoto, left, and Luis Orlando Garcia Hernández arrived in the area with Father Craig A. Pregana four weeks ago. Their return flight was delayed because of renewed political unrest in their homeland. (Photo by Father Pregana)
MIGHTIER THAN THE SWORD — Father John J. Oliveira, pastor of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish in New Bedford, signs a peace covenant during a Faith Communities Against Violence program held at Centre Trinity United Methodist Church in New Bedford September 27. Sponsored by the Greater New Bedford Interchurch Council, the anti-violence program drew about 200 people to a planned peace walk that was cancelled due to inclement weather and moved indoors. Bishop George W. Coleman and other priests from the New Bedford Deanery joined fellow religious and civic leaders in signing the covenant and pledging to end the increasing amount of violence and deaths caused by illegal guns in the city. (Photo by Kenneth J. Souza)
Stonehill College dedicates new $34M Science Center
By Deacon James N. Dunbar
EASTON — Stonehill College’s new, state-of-the-art Science Center that houses the departments of biology, chemistry, physics and psychology, including laboratories, classroom spaces and faculty offices, was dedicated with prayer and a reception on September 24. Congregation of Holy Cross Father Thomas P. Looney, provincial of the Eastern Province of the Congregation and a 1982 alumnus, presided at the ceremonies of blessing and dedication. President Father Mark T. Cregan, CSC, ’78 surprised the more than 225 guests when he announced that the new building would be named in honor of longtime friends and benefactors, Tom and Mary Shields. The Shields’ gift of $7 million is the largest gift in Stonehill’s 61-year history and it moves the college closer to its $55 million “Attaining the Summit” campaign goal, having now secured more than $48
million of that total. “Tom and Mary are true and loyal friends. We wanted to thank them in a special way for their generosity. By dedicating our signature building, the Thomas F. and Mary J. Shields Science Center, in their honor, we have ensured that the Shields’ legacy at Stonehill is rec-
ognized at a high profile location on campus, one that is a hub of activity for students and faculty. Given their dynamic support and all that they do for us, this is only fitting,” Father Cregan added. “We are so touched that the college has recognized us like this Turn to page 17
STATE-OF-THE-ART — Science students at Stonehill College in Easton utilized the new state-of-the-art Science Center that houses the departments of biology, chemistry, physics and psychology, including laboratories, classroom spaces and faculty offices.
Father Clem Dufour dies at age 80
By Deacon James N. Dunbar
FALL RIVER — Father Clement E. Dufour, 80, who had courageously battled pancreatic cancer for nearly 20 years, died September 26. The Fall River native and former pastor, who had retired from active ministry in the Fall River Diocese in November 1999, celebrated his 50th anniversary as a priest in February 2008.
Father Marc H. Bergeron, pastor of St. Anne’s Parish in Fall River, where Father Dufour’s funeral Mass was concelebrated Wednesday, and who was the homilist,
said, “He was magnanimous in fighting his illness and considered himself a survivor because he had fought it for so long, which is most unusual for pancreatic cancer.” He recalled that as young priests, he and Father Dufour served as fellow curates at St. Anthony’s Parish in New Bedford and had later traveled together to a canonization in Rome and had gone on to visit Turn to page 19