FALL RIVER DIOCESAN NEWSPAPER FOR SOUTHEAST MASSACHUSETTS CAPE COD & THE ISLANDS
t eanc 0 VOL. '28,' NO. 40
fALL RIVER, MASS., FRIDAY, OCTOBER 12; 198'4
$8 Per Year
Torchia Photo
Part of the Columbus Day_ crowd of some 2,000 persons, at the l'Oth annual,dioces~ncandlelight procession and Mass for peace in Fall River.
Msgr. Ellis takes .long view of election
WASHINGTON (NC) - Reli gion in politics this year, "has drawn some rather shriU cries" but is nothing new, according to Msgr. John Tracy Ellis, dean of American Catholic church historians. . He referred specifically to the presidential campaigns of 1928 and 1960 when Alfred E. Smith and 'John F. Kennedy, both Catholics, headed the Demo cratic Party ticket. "There is a sort of built-in
tension" between the church's aims and the state's, and in one form or other it will Ibe with us to the end of time," said Msgr. Ellis, who teaches church history at The Catholic University of America.' He said history offers a "mod est" but nevertheless "real" con tribution to the 1984 debate ove,r the place of religion in politics. Msgr. EiHis made his comments in an opinion article publiShed
Oct. 4 in the Catholic Standard, newspaper of the Archdiocese of Washington. ' Msgr. EHis said the church has a duty "to speak. out on political questions that have a direct bearing on matters rela ting to the moral order" because "there is l}~ such thing as a total divorce" between the two realms. He also defended the U.S. bishops' stance of addressing such issues but refusing to align themselves with politica,1 parties
or candidates. Statements by the leadership of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops this year, he said, mirror the admonition iso, sued in 1858 and repeated in 1884 by the U.S. bishops assem bled in Baltimore: "Do not, in any way, id~ntify the interests of our holy faith with the for tunes of any party." He noted, however, that bish ops have not always followed that injunction. "For example,
Bishop John Hughes of New York in 1841 put up a Catholic ticket .. . in an attempt to gain some measure of fairness for Catholic children in the public schools than largely dominated in New York !by Protestant in fluence." Msgr. Ellis also recalled that in 1894 Archbishop John Ireland of St. Paul, Minn., had "actively campaigned for the Republicans" in New York, provoking public Turn to Page Six
Diocesan Council plans; Information Sunday
Members of the Diocesan Council' of Catholic Women will spread the word about their or ganizat~on the weekend of Oct. 27 and 28. At Saturday and Sunday Masses, representatives of parish affiliates wHI speak ei,ther be fore the liturgy or after com
munion about the work of the DCOW, which numbers 22,000 members in five diocesan dis tricts. The DCCW wiJI, also be the homily topic' at the diocesan television Mass on WLNE Chan nel 6 at 10:30 a.m. Oct. 28. Rev. Horace J. Travassos, spiritual
director for the DCCW Commu nity Affairs Commission, win be ,the celebrant and executive board members of the organiza tion wtiIl be in the congregation. Information Sunday wHo! honor Our Lady of Good Counsel, DCCW patroness. A prayer ser- ' vice dedicated to her, to which
all DCCW members and mod erators are invited, will be held at 2:30 p.m. Oct. 28 at St. Louis de France Churoh, Swansea. Celebrant for the service will be Rev. James F. Lyons, New 'Bedford district moderator, and Bishop Daniel A. Cronin will be guest of honor.
A tea wiH follow the prayer service. Involved in plans 'for the weekend are Mrs. David Sell mayer, diocesan president; and Miss Theresa Lewis, New Bed ford district president and tea chairman, assisted by Mrs. RayTurn to Page Six