10.11.91

Page 1

t e8AC 0 VOL. 35, NO. 40

Friday, October 11, 1991

FALL RlVER, MASS.

'FALL RIVER OIOCE$AN NEWSPAPER FOR ·SOUTHEAST MASSACHUSmS CAPE COD & THE ISLANDS Southeastern Massachusetts' Largest Weekly

511 Per Year

Massachusetts citizens walk for life Respect Life Sunday observed nationwide By Marcie Hickey with C~S reports Promoting respect for human life in all its stages proved more incentive than showery weather and a hostile climate on Beacon Hill proved deterrent for 25,000 prolife marchers in Boston on Sunday. The fifth annual Respect Life Walk, coming as it did on the heels of Gov. William Weld's introduction of pro-abortion legislation, drew a slightly larger crowd than last year's sunny-weather contingent. Weld's legislative package included a proposal to eliminate official observance of October as Respect Life Month. The walk was one of numerous pro-life demonstrations in cities across the nation marking Respect Life Sunday. rail River diocesans participated in this year's walk in record numbers ·with some 37 buses leaving the five deaneries, some sponsored by Massachusetts Citizens for Life and several sent by individual parishes.

Pro-life groups from all over the state gathered before the walk for an entertainment and speaking program on Boston Common. Among those who addressed the group was Boston Cardinal Bernard F. Law, whose introduc-

tion was met by cheers and applause from the crowd. The cardinal had drawn fire during the week from local secular media and pro-choice' groups for a Respect Life Month statement in which he and his five auxiliary bi~hops called for Cath-

olics in public life "to use their offices to create a society which· guarantees respect for unborn life." The statement also pledged archdiocesan help for any pregnant woman needing assistance. Cardinal Law told walk partici-

RESPECT LIFE walkers from Fall River/Somerset (carrying "Choose Life" banner) and seminarians from St. John's in Brighton pass a news camera (right foreground) across from the statehouse during Sunday's march. (Hickey photo)

pants that they should "greet [the' opposition) with the same love and peace we greet every human being" because "Our movement is about life, and therefore it is about love." He continued, "Ours is a rejection of violence that begins with abortion ... We are concerned with human life from the first moment of conception until the last moment of natural death." The cardinal responded to criticism that he has "scaled the walls of separation of church and state" in urging politicians to oppose abortion by noting that the interdenominational religious community historically "has brought to bear religious thought on moral questions facing this nation." Citing past examples of religious opposition to slavery and support of the civil rights movement, he noted that "We are engaged [again) today in a civil rights struggle for the basic right to life." Cardinal La wand Theresa Hanley, president of Massachusetts Citizens for Life, which sponsors the annual walk, led marchers on the five kilometer course, encouraging all to pause when passing the statehouse to observe a moment of.silence in memory of the 40,000 Turn to Page 10

Catechists urged to appreciate their faith More than 800 participants gathered Sept. 28 for the annual Religious Education Day convention at Bishop Stang High School, North Dartmouth.

Bishop Daniel A. Cronin was celebrant and homilist for the opening liturgy of the convention, themed "Walk in the Presence of the Lord." .

He thanked the catechists and schoolteachers in attendance for their dedicated service in the mission of teaching youth in diocesan parishes and schools and told them that by developing and strengthening their own faith, they are able to teach by example as well as word. In a special ceremony during the liturgy, Bishop Cronin presented 43 catechists with plaques recognizing their 25 or more years of service in religious education. Keynote speaker Dr. Ernest J. Collamati told those in attendance that their faith shapes the vision of the world that they convey to their students. Because we know that Jesus represented his father on earth and that we now represent Jesus to the world, he said, everything human is potentially sacramental. The speaker, chairperson of the religious studies department at Regis College, West.on, urged the catechists to appreciate and deepen their understanding of the expeAT THE ANNUAL diocesan Religious Education Day, riences, stories and images of the Catholic faith. Catholics are difBishop Daniel A. Cronin presents an hon<;>rary plaque to ferent, and they should rejoice and Margaret Travis, religious education coordinat~r at S1. Jo- build on that difference, said seph's parish, Taunton, one of 43 catechists recognized for 25 . Collamati. One convention participant notor more years of service in religious education. At bishop:s right is Father Robert A. Oliveira, director of continuing ed that Collamati won over his audience with "humor and practiformation of clergy and laity, who presented a conventio~ cality combined," while another workshop titled "Will the Real Jesus Please Stand?" (Breen said he "made yoJ.l feel good about photo) . . . being a Catholic."

"What a wonderful message he came with and thus left me with," added another catechist. The convention's afternoon program featured three workshop sessions with a choice of nearly 50 topics presented by speakers from area schools, parishes, diocesan offices and other organizations. Topics ranged from classroom basics, such as teaching the sacraments or incorporating art, crafts or music into instruction, to discussions of faith history, Jesus in the 90s, and discipleship, ana social concerns such as single parenting, violence, and coping with grief or stress. Convention participants gave the sessions good reviews, noting that they were well-planned, informative and enjoyable, said associate directors of religious education Sisters Elaine Heffernan, RSM, and Eugenia Brady, SJc. "Speakers were moving and opened your mind to new ideas," said one participant in an evaluation of the program. "I received a lot of inspiration and enjoyed everything very much," another catechist wrote. And yet another enthusiastic participant commented simply, "It was alive!" Receiving plaques for 25 years of service in religious education were: Sister Heffernan, Clement Dowling, and parish catechists:

Fall River Immaculate Conception parish~ Dorothy Sliwa, Nancy Jalbert; Our Lady of the Angels: Sister Simone Decelles; Our Lady of· Health: Emily Pacheco; St. Jean Baptiste: Lorraine Theroux. Also, St. Joseph: Rita Perkins; St. Patrick: Sister Romana Murphy; St. William: Laura Nobrega; Santo Christo: Irene Campos, Olivia Martin. New Bedford· Immaculate Conception: Dr. David Costa, Mary Lou Bettencourt, Rita Souza, Bob Rebello. Our Lady of Mt. Carmel: Leonor Louiz, Mary Pereira, Alice Macedo, Mary Macedo, Stella Macedo, Mary I. Macedo, George Moniz. St. Mary's: Sister Rita Pelletier.

Tau-nton Immaculate Conception: Josephine Morrison. St. Joseph's: Margaret Travis,. Sandi Raible. Also, Holy Ghost parish, Attleboro: Robert Haag, Carol Standley, Marjorie Castro. St. Mark's, Attleboro Falls: Joseph Hanley. Our Lady of Victory, Centerville: Rosemary Donelan. St. Joseph's, Fairhaven: Carol Borges. Turn to Page 10


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.
10.11.91 by The Anchor - Issuu