FALL RlVER DIOCESAN NEWSPAPER FOR SOUTHEAST MASSACHUSETTS CAPE COD & THE ISLANDS VOL. 42, NO. 41 •
Friday, October 23, 1998
FALL RIVER, MASS.
Southeastern Massachusetts' Largest Weekly
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World hails 20th . anniversary· of Pope John Paul II· •
The most traveled pontiff fashioned the papacy into a new mode of pastoral presence. By JOHN THAVIS CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE
VATICAN CITY -- After a week of tributes, talk shows and concerts, Pope John Paul II celebrated the 20th anniversary of his election wi th a Mass of thanksgiving and an emotional mf:eting with his Polish compatriots Oct. 18, which was Mission Sunday. Joined by 70,000 people at a liturgy in S1. Peter's Square, the pope delivered a soul-searching sermon, asking whether he had truly done all he could to teach and guide the faithful over the last 20 years. He asked the world's Catholics to pray so that "this pope can carry out his mission to the very end." After the Mass, he brushed aside a
tear as he kissed some 40 Roman schoolchildren who lined up to whisper their congratulations into his ear. On Oct. 16, the date of his election in 1978, the pontiff officially took the day off but appeared at an audience with several thousand Poles on pilgrimage to the Vatican to celebrate the anniversary. Visibly moved, he told them that he had felt their prayers through "every hour and every day along the path of my papal ministry." He said events in their homeland had always held Tum to page three - Pope
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VATICAN MEETING-Bishop Sean P. O'Malley met with Pope John Paull! duringthe "ad Iimina"visit that bishops make to the Vatican every five years. The recent meeting coincided w.ith the observance of the pope's 20th anniversary as , pontiff. (Photo by Felici)
White Mass honors health care .workers, affirms work By MIKE
GORDON ANCHOR STAFF
NEW BEDFORD - The third annual White Mass, celebrated last week at Holy Name Church, attracted people from all parts of the Jiocese working in a wide variety of health care-related positions, but all sharing a love of helping others, a love of the Lord and a strong dedi. cation to making a difference in their work places. The White Mass, based on an old tradition of honoring physicians, celebrates the work of health care providers who serve as volunteers, chaplains, paramedics, nurses, therapists and caregivers. Bishop Sean P. O'Malley was principal celebrant, joined by several diocesan priests, incl uding chaplains of hospitals and nursing homes. The Mass is organized by the Department of Pastoral Care for Tum to page two - Mass
WHITE MASS - Dominican Sister M~uy Edwin presents Bishop O'Malley with hosts for communion during the annual White Mass held at Holy Name Church, New Bedford. The Mass honors health care workers and those part of the healing ministry of Jesus throughout the diocese. Sister Edwin is administrator of the Rose Hawthorne Home, Fall River.
Diocesan priests to have retreat, study week in Italy in November •
The pilgrimage will take them to Rome and Assisi.
FALL RIVER -- Forty-three priests of the Diocese of Fall River will participate in a spiritual retreat
and study week with Bishop Sean P. O'Malley, OFM Cap., in Italy next month. According to Father Mark R. Hession, diocesan director ofEducation and Formation o'f the Clergy, and coordinator for the pil-
grimage, the trip will take the group to Assisi and Rome Nov. 3 through 13. "The retreat aspect of it will be in Assisi and we have asked Bishop Joseph F. Maguire, former bishop Tum to page 13 - Trip
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Fa_l 'Dinner r~ises $117,000
•. FiVe areffpaid tribute at the annua~ fall dinner that ra~$es fuhds to aid needy StlJdents with tuition .. ; costs. "
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The right of p~~ts to choose whatever'edueation they want for their children is fundamental to the democratic process and to our Catholic way of life, Dr. Peter H. Cressy, chancellor of UMassDartmouth told more than 400 attending the fourth annual St. Mary's' Education Fund Fall Dinner. A retired'Navy rear admiraJ. and .' Jormer headmaster at Massachusetts Maritime Academy,. Cressy, chancellor at UMass since 1993 f l(lld the group . ga~h~!ed at White:sofW~tporton Oct. IS, ttiatas aneducatorand Catholic. he sees Catholic education important as principal matter of choice because everyone has the right to cho()se where they will be educateq. Whatyou are doing today is inspiring them to stay in Catholic schools." Cressy said that it was the 1920 American bishops conference that· said the state has the right to insist that its citizens be educated. "But they have never denied us the right to choose the kind of education that is important Turn to page 13 - Fund
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Two students attest ". to wh·at scholarship fund provides FALL RIVER - WiLhout the tuition supplement they received from the S1. Mary's Education Fund, being able to attend a Catholic school would be be out of the question for Kendra Salvador and Shannon Keeping. In firsthand testimony given to the 400 who attended the recent S1. Mary's Education Fund Fall Dinner, the two students made it clear that they and their families ow,s:d what they now enjoy to financial aid furnished by the fund's benefactors. Salvador,13, an eighth grader at S1. JamesS1. John's Junior High, New Bedford, has received financial aid for two years. "If I didn't receive financial aid I would not have been able to remain in the school," she said candidly. She is a resident of New Bedford's south end where she lives with her parents and a brother who is three. A student in a Catholic school all her life, she said she realized what sacrifices her parents were making to keep her in such an educational setting and advancing in the faith and that without financial assistance from the fund she could never continue. "Catholic schools have enabled me to accomplish my goal, something that I am really proud of. It has strengLhened my belief in God and has instilled in me an appreciation of my faith. It makes me feel proud that people have contributed to my success and my being here tonight. I am very appreciative and promise to continue to perform at the highest levels." Keeping, 13, is an eighth grader at Taunton Catholic Middle School and her brother is a sixth grader there. "The tuition assistance I receive has played an important part in my life." She said her parents divorced when she was five, and her mom works a fulltime job, "long and hard hours" to support them, "and still finds time to help us grow financially. socially and emotionally." With the financial support from Tum /0 page 14 - Girls