t eanc 0 VOL. 43, NO. 39 • Friday, October 8, 1999
FALL RIVER, MASS.
FALL RIVER DIOCESAN NEWSPAPER FOR SOUTHEAST MASSACHUSETTS CAPE COD & THE ISLANDS Southeastern Massachusetts' Largest Weekly,· $14 Per Year
Bishop calls parishes to join in two areas· of Fall River ~
Three parishes in the city's South End would become one, as would three parishes in the Maplewood section.
FALL RIVER - In two areas of the city of Fall River, Bishop Sean O'Malley, OFM Cap., is asking parishioners of three existing, neighboring parishes to join together to create a new parish entity. In the South End of Fall River three parish communities, Blessed Sacrament, Our Lady of the Angels and St. Patrick, would be combined into one new parish. All three currently exist in less than a mile radius of one another. (Our Lady of the Angels and St. Patrick within 300 feet of each other.) In the Maplewood section that centers on Stafford Road, St. Elizabeth, St. Jean Baptiste, and St. William would come
together as one new community of faith. This change, however, will not affect St. Jean Baptiste School, which will remain open. Priests of the six faith communities involved explained the plan of the bishop to their parishioners at Masses last weekend. But which four church buildings would be closed in the joinings aimed at creating two stronger parishes in two houses of worship, is yet to be decided. The process to determine that would involve a Planning Task Force comprised of clergy and laity. The process is expected to take several months. The principal reason advanced for the plan is said to be the lack of priests . According to information released by the Diocese's Of-
fice of Communications, the move to create two parishes from six comes in response to changes in demographics in many areas in the Fall River Diocese, which stretches from northern Bristol County to Provincetown and the islands of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket. These changes, dramatically seen in the older cities of Bristol County and in the burgeoning towns along Route 495 and on Cape Cod, are made more acute by the declining availability of priests to serve at the III parishes in the diocese. The diocese does not have the resources it once had for staffing parishes, the news release pointed out. Since 1965 it has experienced a 57% decrease in the number of priests. From 1990 to 1997 alone it has experienced a net loss of 40 Turn to page 13 - Parishes
E.J. Dionne, Jr., to speak at Education Fund dinner
SUPPORTERS OF LIFE: High school students from the Diocese of Fall River exchange glances with an infant at the Walk For Life held in Boston last Sunday. Story on page 15. (Anchon'Jolivet photo)
Nineteen to declare for candidacy to permanent diaconate in diocese EAST SANDWICH- Nineteen men will be admitted to candidacy for the permanent diaconate in the Diocese of Fall River at ceremonies Sunday at 11 :45 a.m., in Corpus Christi Church here. Bishop Sean P. O'Malley, OFM, Cap., will concelebrate the Mass during which the admission ceremony will take place. Assisting Bishop O'Malley will be Msgr. John F. Moore, director o( the
program. Father astor of Corpus in the program, :Ie rants. nge, assise ermanent ill be the deacon phen J. Avila will ies. idacy takes place ave reached mad demonstrated
other necessary qualifications. During the ceremony, the candidates publicly express their desire to be ordained as deacons and the bishop accepts their declaration. The current candidates comprise the sixth class for permanent deacons in the diocese and are currently in their second year of the formation program. The candidates and their parishes are: Gregory John Beckel, Christ the Turn to page 13 - Deacons
WESTPORT - Washington Post columnist EJ. Dionne, Jr., who grew up in Fall River and attended the former St. Mathieu's School there, will be honored guest and featured speaker at the fifth annual St. Mary's Education Fund Dinner, to be held Thursday, Oct. 28, at White's of Westport. Proceeds from the Fall Dinner support the fund, which provides need-based scholarships to students attending Catholic schools in the Fall River Diocese. In his column, now syndicated nationwide, Dionne excels in defining for readers the strengths and weaknesses of competing political philosophies. His analysis of American politics and trends of public sentiment is recognized as among the best in the business. He spent 14 years with -the New York Times, report- L..\ __ ing on state and local govE. J. DIONNE, JR. ernment, national politics, and from around the world, including stints in Paris, Rome and Beirut. The Los Angeles Times praised his coverage of the Vatican as the best in two decades. In 1990, Dionne joined The Washington Post as a reporter, covering national politics. He began his op-ed column in 1993. He is the author of two books, including the best-selling "Why Americans Hate Politics," which was published in 1991. Called "a classic in American political history" by Newsday, it won The Los Angeles Times book prize and was a National Book Award nominee. Following his elementary education at St. Mathieu's; Dionne attended Portsmouth Abbey in Portsmouth, R.I., graduating in 1969. He then earned a bachelor's degree summa cum laude from Harvard University and a doctorate from Oxford, where he was a Rhodes Scholar. In 1994-95, he was a guest scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center and in 1996 he joined the Brookings Institution as a Turn to page 13 - Dinner
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