FALL RIVER DIOCESAN NEWSPAPER FOR SOUTHEAST MA5SACHUSEnS CAPE COD & THE ISLANDS
t eanc 0 VOL. 26, NO. 40
FALL RIVER, MASS., FRIDAY, OCTOBER 15, 1982
20c, $6 Per Year
Vote
Poland's
YES
on No.1
rulers
In the 17 days remaining be fore the November elections, Catholics of the Fall River dio cese will be urged to vote affirm atively on ballot Question No. 1. The question asks whether state aid should be granted to non-public school students and certain institutions. The aid would be in the form of materials or services and it would go to students In non public schools that did not dis criminate as to race or color and that guaranteed free exer cise of religion. The aid would have to be requested by pupils on an individual basis. The question, if approved, would also allow public moneys to aid infirmaries, hospitals or charitable or religious under takings under certain conditions. Of chief concern to Catholic voters, however, is the school aid aspect of the question. In Massachusetts the great majority of non-public schools are Cath olic. In a letter to pastors urging them to bring Question No. 1 to the attention of parishioners, Father George W. Coleman, Di ocesan Director of Education, writes "I would appreciate any effort you may make to Inform your people about the implica tions of a 'yes' vote on Question No.1." An explanation of the pro posed amendment to the state constitution is attached to Father Coleman's letter. It follows: The United States Constl tiition permits certain aid to students who attend private and parochial schools, which the Massachusetts Constitu tion prohibits. If Referen dum Question No. I on the November ballot Is ap proved, It would permit our legislators to consider the provision of aid and services to pupils In our Catholic schools and will bring our State Constitution Into line with the United States Con stitution. It should be remembered that Catholic schools In the Diocese of Fall River, which currently enroll over 10,000 studen~s, save taxpayers of the Diocese more than $20 mll1l0D each year. Any aid eventually provided by the State would cost llttle comTum to Page Nine
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UNDER A DARKEN'NG . . . SKY an honor guard bears statue of Our Lady of Fatima through Fall River streets to annual Columbus Day Mariaq Mass in Kennedy Park. >peaking in English and Portuguese, Bishop Daniel A. Cronin asked those attending the Mass to seek Mary's patronage and "beg that she who gave birth to the Prince of Peace and guided the beginnings of the Church; by her prayers will deliver us her children from every danger." (Torchia Photo)
50th·year for Cape sisters
Tomorrow the Missionary Ser vants of the Most Blessed Trini ty, also known as the Trinitarian Sisters, will mark the 50th an niversary of their canonical rec ognition as a religious commu nity. . New England sisters will cele brate at a Mass and .reception at noon tomorrow at St. Augus tine's Church, South Boston, the native parish of Father Thomas
A. Judge, eM, cofounder of the community. Among celebrants will be five sisters from the Cape Cod area of the Fall River diocese. Mem bers of the community have served in various parts of the diocese for over 40 years, since almost their earliest days. Present tomorrow will be Sis ters Grace Angelica and Mary Thomasine from St. Patrick's
Missionary Cenacle, Wareham, and Sisters John Michael, Anita Marie and Eileen Barling from St. Francis Xavier Missionary Cenacle, Hyannis. All are engaged in religious education, the Wareham sisters at St. Patrick's parish and the Hyannis sisters at St. Francis Xavier, with the exception of Sister John' Michael, who serves Tum to Page Six
VATICAN crrt (NC) - With representatives 0lI the Polish government : sittin~ _ only a few feet away, Pope John Paul II on Oct. 10 lashed out angrily at the Oct. 8 dissolution of the independent trade union Solidar ity. The pope's condemnation of the Polish parliament's action came at the end of the canoniza tion of a new Polish saint, Fran ciscan Father Maximilian Kolbe, in ceremonies in St. Peter's Square before 150,000 people, many of them pilgrims from around the world. The pontiff said that the parlia ment's passage of a law which formally eradicated all existing unions and established new rules for the creation of new unions was "a violation of fundamental rights." Dissolution of Solidarity drew quick and angry reaction in Po land itself and in the U.S. where President Reagan". announced plans to lift preferential low tar iffs Polish imports have enjoyed since 1960. These sanctions "are directed against the Polish people," the president said.. "We continue to provide hu . manitarian assistance to the peo ple of Poland through organiza tions such as Catholic Relief Services and CARE, as we have since the beginning of martial law," he added. . In off-the-cuff remarks prior to announcing the sanctions, Reagan called Poland's rulers "a bunch of lousy bums." The sanctions were criticized by government controlled news media in the Soviet Union. Radio Moscow said Reagan was "interfering in the internal affairs of sovereign countries" with the aim "of worsening the Polish economy at the expense of the Polish people. At Sunday Masses in Poland on Oct. 10" many priests criti cized the law and many churches wer!'! decorated with floral •crosses and pictures of Lech Walesa, head of Solidarity who has been under government de tention since the beginning of martial law. The floral crosses have become symbols of resis tance to martial law in Poland where about 90 percent of the 36 million population are Catholic. Meanwhile SIt the Vatican can. onization for Father Kolbe, "Jerzy Tum to Page Six