t teanc 0 VOL. 37, NO. 41
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Friday, October 22,1993
FALL RIVER, MASS.
FALL RIVER DIOCESAN NEWSPAPER FOR SOUTHEAST MASSACHUSETTS CAPE COD & THE ISLANDS Southeastern Massachusetts' Largest Weekly
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Pope marks 15 years in "tilxing ministry" VATICAN CITY (CNS) Pope John Paul II marked the 15th anniversary of his election saying that the job is tough and asking prayers for strength and pastoral energy over the coming years. As congratulatory messages including a letter from President Bill Clinton - poured in from around the world, the 73-year-old pontiff attended a concert in his honor at the Vatican Oct. 16. He thanked several thousand people who had come :0 help him celebrate the day. "I want to ask with insistence that you all say c, special prayer to God for me, so that I be given the strength necessary to do my best - to give myself completely, like St. Paul, in the service of the church," he said The pope said the papal ministry was taxing, involving constant commitment as he tried to be a "builder of corr munion between the various particular churches." Additionally, the promotion of peace and justice in a world full of tensions adds "more worries and more burdens" to the papacy, he said. The Polish-born pope was elected on Oct. 16, I ~178, the first nonItalian pontiff in 455 years. On the anniversary, the world's media and church leaders recalled the historic event in detail, and the Vatican
marked it as a holiday. But the pope did not spend much time reminiscing - he was busy with other things, as usual. In addition to morning Mass and meetings with several Italian church officials, the pope held an hourlong private audience with Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, the Russian writer and dissident under communism. Both men had turned a spotlight on human rights abuses under the Soviet regime, and both have been critics of the moral shortcomings of Western society. Asked to describe the encounter afterward, the 74-year-old Solzhenitsyn said that such a profound and intense conversation could not be condensed. But he added: "If we want to recover from communism, we .should not apply the selfish vision of capitalism." The evening concert was performed by a German symphony orchestra and chorus, the Mitteldeutscher Runfunk of Leipzig. Among the works was the Vatican anthem, accompanied publicly for
& AT ANNUAL MASS for benefactors of the Association for the Development of the Catholic University of Portugal, Cardinal Bernard Law, principal celebrant and homilist at the St. Mary's Cathedral ceremony, astounded Bishop Sean O'Malley when he presented him with the crozier used by Cardinal Hurnberto Medeiros, a priest of the Fall River diocese before becoming bishop of Brownsville, Tex., then cardjnal archbishop of Boston. When the cardinal asked the congregation, "Isn't the bishop doing a good job in the diocese of Fall River?" prolonged applause e~upted. At left, Bishop O'Malley immediately after receiving the crozier; above the bishop; Arthur Silvia Jr., on the celebration's arrangements committee; and Cardinal Law, who wears Cardinal Medeiros' woolen pallium around his neck, a symbol of full episcopal authority worn only bX the pope and archbishops. (Studio D h )
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ten by an Italian Jesuit, Father Raffaelo Lavagna. The new anthem lyrics, after recalling the death of S1. Peter in Rome, describe every pope as a "fisher of men," a "beacon among Turn to Page II
World Mission Sunday. Oct. 24 SPENDING SPECIFICS -
HERE AND THERE
A small microwave oven can cost $100. The cost is a generous month's help for a village mission where the people give what they can to help support the Church, but much more is . needed I~ven for "the basics."
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A color television can be bought for $300. A Sister-novice in Sudan relies on this amount for her impport during' her novitiate year of spiritual. formation.
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A~ewcarcou1dcost$15,OOO. Suchanamo~t
would help to provide a house for Religious Sisters in a country of Africa.
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An Aml!rican family on a vacation day at an amusement park might spend $75. This same amountwouldhelptoeducateatnissionseminarian for a month. See pictures, stories pages 8 & 9
Bishop asks .pr:ayers for priests
, Priests of the Fall River diocese are about to begin the Emmaus Spirituality Program, a yearlong process of spiritual renewal. As they begin the year, Bishop O'Malley is asking all members of the diocese to support them in prayer. His letter to the faithful follows. My Dear Friends in Christ. A very serious request prompts me to write to you at this time. The priests of thc~ Diocese and some of the religious community priests who are currently engaged in the Diocese are about to begin a spiritual renewal process called the Emmaus Spirituality Program. You recall the story of Emmaus in Luke's Gospei (Luke 24). The disciples who had experienced the tragic events of Good Friday encountered a stranger along their journey. This stranger was the Risen Christ, whom they came to recognize in the breaking open of God's word and in the breaking of the Bread of the Eucharist. The stranger was no longer "the stranger," -but the Risen Lord whose companionship they shared as a living community of faith. The priests of this Diocese will soon embark upon an Emmaus journey. We seek your prayers as we seize this opportunity to be
AT THE DIRECTION of Bishol) Sean O'Malley, the entire text of the new papal encyclical, "Veritatis Splendor," will appear in the Oct. 29 issue of the Anchor.
renewed, both personally and as a presbyterate. Our Emmaus journey begins with a convocation of priests to be held October 25 to 27. An Emmaus team will present to the priests the overall themes and goals of the' Emmaus process during this event. Between November of 1993 and January of 1994. four retreat weeks will be held. Each priest of the Diocese is invited to participate in one of the weeks. The themes of the Emmaus encounter will be reaffirmed and deepened during .these reflective days. During the course of the yearlong Emmaus journey, priest$ are invited to participate in six opportunities for shafled prayer and discussion. Through the breaking open of God's Word and through the sharing of the Eucharist and the gifts of our priesthood. we pray that we too can say with the disciples in their Emmaus encounter, "Did not our hearts burn within us as He talked to us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?" In October of 1994 we will convene to evaluate and rededicate ourselves to our mission as disciples of the Risen .Lord. It is certainly appropriate that every member ",f the Church of Fall River know that the priests are entering a spiritual renewal
program in order to assist us in our response as disciples who serve the People of God of the Diocese. Today I ask for your prayers for our priests and for me, your bishop, as we enter into the Emmaus events. As we :ive our Emmaus pilgrimage, may we continue to pray for one another and rejoice in the discipleship .to which the Lord calls us.
Three priests get new assignments Bishop Sean O'Malley, OFM Cap., has announced new assignments for three diocesan priests. Father Peter N. Graziano, pastor of SS. Peter and Paul parish, Fall River, and executive director of Catholic Social Services, has been named pastor of St. Mary's Church, Mansfield. Father Stephen A. Fernandes. parochial vicar at Christ the King parish. Mashpee. will be the new pastor of SS. Peter and Paul while remaining director of the Diocesan Pro-Life Apostolate. Clara Weeks-Boutilier Ll CS W, will be the interim director of Catholic Soci.al Services. The pastors' appointments are effective No\'. 17. Turn to Page Three