t eanc 0 VOL. 29, NO. 41
FALL F=4IVER,MASSACHUSETTS, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 18,1985
Mission • • gIvIng discussed
$8 Per Year
Fire of peace
By Joseph Motta
"Let the peace of heart which comes from' Christ be always present in your hearts and lives. !' -Col. 3:15 Thousands prayed and sang as they gathered at St. Mary's Cathedral; Fall River, on Mon day, to participate in the 11th annual diocesan candlelight pro-' cession and Mass for Peace. Every generation was repre sented at the celebration. "We gather once again to pay' devotion to the Blessed Mother by reciting the rosary in the month of October, rosary month," said Msgr.John J. Oliveira, diocesan chancellor for Ecclesiastical Matters. "This year," he continued, "we add a special prayer for Bishop Cronin as he prepares to undergo surgery for an eye malady." Bishop Daniel A. Cronin has undergone surgery for a detached retina. Procession participants walked from the cathedral to the Mass site St. Anne's Church at Middle and , South Main Streets, a distance of i about a mile. Early arrival Mrs. Irene Martin a member of St. Mary's parish, Fairhaven, came with friends from various parishes to represent the
By NC News Senice In 1984 U.S. Catholics gave more than $43.6 million' to the Society for the Propagation of the Faith. While that figure is more than triple the 1964 amount of $14.2 million, it is down about 8 percent when inflation over the past 20 years is taken into account. . "It looks far better in raw fig ures than it actually is," said James Borut, head of the society's national finance office, in a telephone inter view. "We're actually behind because the figures did not increase as much as the CPI (consumer price index) did." At the end of 1984 it took $3.35 to buy what $1 would buy 20 years earlier, but in 1984 the society received from U.S. Catholics $3.08 for every dollar it got in 1964. "Not to minimize the generosity of the Catholic people, it'$. ,been tough keeping up" with inflation, said Borut. U.S. Catholics contribute about half of the total amount that the papal fund-raising agency receives each year from around the world. Most ofthe rest comes from West ern Europe and Canada. The money "provides the most basic 'bread and butter' support for the church in the missions," said Msgr. William J. McCormack, national director of the society. "The church in the develo,ping world continues to experience sig nificant growth," and the growth brings new financial needs, he said. "It is a blessing that U.S. Catholics take very seriously the call to be missionary and express their mis sion spirit in this manner." In addition to the $43,640,078 U.S. Catholics gave to the Society for the Propagation of the Faith in 1984, they gave $2,263,681 to the Society of St. Peter Apostle --,- a separate but related agency which supports seminarians and religious novices in mission lands. In the United States, as in many other countries, both societies are admin istered by ~he same offices, both nationally and on the diocesan level. Matthew Paratore, the Propa gation's communications officer, said that of the $43.6 million given to the society last year, $8.3 mil lion or about one-fifth came from the annual Mission Sunday collec tion. The society receives 51 per cent of that collection, while 40 percent goes to the home missions and 9 percent goes to the Catholic Near East Welfare Association, he said. Another third of the society's annual income comes from instru ments of "deferred giving" such as wills, legacies, trusts or annuities.
FALL RIVER DIOCESAN NEWSPAPER FOR SOUTHEAST MASSACHUSETTS CAPE COD & THE ISLANDS
Legion of Mary. A woman with a ready smile, she was happy to note that "devotion to our Blessed Mother is making a comeback." As buses arrived at the Cathed ral with faithful from all over the diocese, prayers and Marian hymns began. Hundreds representing Santo Christo parish, Fall River, arrived on foot, singing hymns in Portu guese; that ethnic community made up a large percent of attendees. At about 6 p.m. on the mild Columbus Day evening, the thou sands of pilgrims began their walk for peace. Men from Espirito Santo parish, Fall River, carried a statue of Our Lady of Fatima, honoring the appearance of Mary to three children at Fatima, Portugal, in 1917. Through them, Mary told the world to pray the rosary to achieve peace. The many groups in attendance carried colorful banners identify ing themselves as members of par ish communities and organizations. They moved slowly towards St. Anne's, carrying candles, which, as darkness grew, glowed ever brighter. Many lined the sidewalks to view the procession, some joining as it passed them. Turn To Page Two
MISSIONARIES the world around seek to bring the Good News of the Gospel to the poor and hopeless, epitomized by these despairing inhabitants of the Third World ..
ADCUP banquet
Mission Sunday aids university
'miracle of love'
Msgr., John J. Oliveira, Dioc esan Director of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, not ing that Sunday is World Mission Sunday, said that the love for the missions of God's people in the Fall River diocese is well known. This year, he said, it is his earn est hope that prayer and sacrifice for the missions will continue and indeed increase. . Discussing Mission Sunday, he related the story of newly-Christian Simeon, who moved his wife and children from their ancestral vil lage in Tanzania to another village some miles distant, explaining, "The new village hasn't heard the message of Christ. " Simeon epitomizes the goal of Mission Sunday, continued Msgr. Oliveira. "It is a day," he explained, "to allow ourselves to be moved by the Holy Spirit to be Christ's wit nesses to the world by giving the Church the means to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus to the mission
poor in word, work, and sacra ment. The theme of Mission Sunday 1985 is from the words of St. Paul in Acts 28: "This Salvation of God has been ~ent to all peoples, and they are listening to it!" , Recognizing the need for the Gospel message among the world's poorest people, Pope John Paul refers to the importance of World Turn To Page 6
NOTICE
Due to the recent eye surgery of Bishop Daniel A. Cronin, the visit of Cardinal Bernard Law to the Fall River diocese, planned for 5 p.m. Sunday at St. Mary's Cathedral, will be postponed to a later date. Bishop Cronin, now recup erating, expresses gratitude to all who joined in prayer for his speedy recovery.
Hundreds offriends ofthe Catho lic University of Portugal were in attendance last Saturday at a con cert and ,banquet at Bristol Com munity College, Fall River.
The glittering event was spon sO,red by the Association for the Development of the Catholic Uni versity of Portugai (ADCUP) in honor of the birthday of its founder" the late Humberto Cardinal Medeiros. Guests of honor and speakers included Bernard Cardinal Law, ADC UP president and Cardinal Medeiros'successor as archbishop of Boston, and Bishop Daniel A. Cronin. Cardinal Law recalled that in the aftermath of Mexico City's recent disastrous earthquake, he was asked to celebrate a Mass in the midst of the ruins. He said the request witnessed to the strong faith of the Mexican people and likened it to the faith Cardinal Medeiros hoped to see manifested in graduates of the Catholic Uni '. versity of Portugal.
The Qanquet and one to be held Nov. 17 in New Bedford will benefit, the Lisbon institution's Pope John Paul II library, now under con struction. The library's main floor and auditorium will be named for Cardinal Medeiros, the only recip ient thus far of an honorary degree from the university. University History Among those present at the banquet was Msgr. Luiz G. Men donca, Fall River vicar general; ADCUP vice-president and trea l\urer.
He had earlier traced the history of the Catholic University of Por tugal, saying that it was founded in 1967 and progressed until the 1974 revolution in Portugal, at which time the Communist party took over all means of communication and transportation, and also with drew government subsidies from the new university, which was thus left in a precarious financial condition. It was at this juncture that Card inal Medeiros stepped io to found ADCU P, which has to date raised some $300,000 for the university.