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DIOCESAN NEWSPAPER FOR SOUTHEAST MASSl 1 CAPE & ISLANDS
Vol. 27, No. 42
Fall River, Mass., Friday, October 28, 1983
War not the answer
usee All Saints, anyone?
By Hilda Young Last Halloween, as a veteran of the CCD front lines, I thought it would be great if my kids dressed as saints. "Why don't you design costumes of your favor ite saint?" I suggested the afternoon of Oct. 31 as four children searched through a ragbag, a laundry hamper, the toolshed and the linen closet for costume materials. "I did that football player thing last year," re plied Johnny, cutting holes in a paper bag. "Not the New Orleans Saints - church saint," I said. "When did they come up with a team?" he asked. "You could tum that bag into a monk's hat and be St. Francis of Assisi," I suggested cleverly. "Isn't he the one who's always carrying a sheep around on his shoulder?" he asked as he rummaged through a kitchen drawer. "Have you seen the grease pencil?" "Your sister could be St. Clare, the saint who cut off all her hair so she wouldn't have to be married and so she could follow St. Francis." "Who gets to cut her hair?" I ignored him. "Maybe you could be your name sake, St. John the Baptist," I went on. "The guy with the wild hair who lived on bugs? That does have costuming potential. Actually, I think sis would be a natural," he laughed. "Hey, goblin-breath," came a voice from the basement. "I heard that. How'd you like. to go as St. Joan of Arc and we'll all bum you at the stake?" "Come on up here and I'll make you into St. Elsewhere," he called down' the steps. Somehow my idea didn't have the religious edu cation impact that I thought it would. Maybe this year ...
Reagan renews pledge President Ronald Reagan re newed his commitment to the enactment of tuition tax credit Jegislation in a telegram sent to the Chief Administrators of Catholic Education (CACE), who met last week in Denver. Some 265 Catholic diocesan superin tendents from across the nation,
including Father George W.
Coleman, Fall River diocesan di rector of education, were in at tendance at the annual parley. The president said the meet ing provided him with "a wel come opportunity to share with you the progress we are making toward passage of the education Turn to Page Ten
tells I(issinger paneJ
War is not the answer to the problems of Central America,-a U.S. archbishop and two Salva doran counterparts told the Kissinger Commission, a U.S. government panel exploring op tions toward the troubled region. The separate comments came from Archbishop James A. Hickey of Washington, testifying in Washington, 'and bishops of EI Salvador, who addressed the commission during its mid October visit to EI Salvador. Archbishop Hickey Oct. 21 told the Kissinger Commission that the United States' first priority should be halting the
drift toward regional war. He said a political solution must precere large-scale and lasting economic programs. The bipartisan commission head ed by Henry Kissinger, former secretary of state, was formed to recommend Central American policy to the Reagan administra tion. The Salvadoran prelates, Auxi liary Bishop Gregorio Rosa Chavez of San Salvador and Bishop Harco Rene Revelo of Santa Anna, told the Kissinger Commission that the church in EI Salvador backs a political solution to the war there.
u.s.· bishops ROME (NC) - From a U.S. point of view, the importance of the 1983 World Synod of Bishops involves finding "ways and means to make the sacrament of reconciliation more' effective and more desirable to people as they come to understand it more," said Archbishop Edmund Szoka of Detroit. The Archbishop offered his prediction at a press conference in Rome. Also at the conference, organized by the U.S. delegation, was Archbishop Patrick Flores of San Antonio, Texas. Archbishop Flores said that the U.S. delegates "discovered we are not the only ones swim ming upstream" as far as the use of the sacrament of reco,n ciliation among the faithful goes. He added that it appears that "all are saYing that the privil
By Pat McGowan with NC News reports At the biennial convention of the National Council of Catholic Women held last week in Denver, Gertrude O')3rien of Fall River was seated as NCCW Boston province director and Claire McMahon, also of Fall River, was elected to the board of directors of NCCW Associates. The Associates is a support group to the n~tional organization. Members are past national and/or diocesan NCCW leaders. 18 persons represented the Fall River Diocesan Council of
discuss synod
eged way of receiving the sacra ment is according to the first rite," auricular confession. He indicated, however, that there is concern that the second rite, individual confession and absolution within a communal setting, is not 'having the effect which it should have... He added that the synod should help to clarify when the third rite of reconciliation, which allows for general absolution without previous confession of sins in certain circumstances, may be used. Also a key synod theme has been reconciliation among na tions and peoples through social justice. Archbishop Szoka said that synod consideration of these topics will have less impact in
Neew
Archbishop Hickey, who spoke to the commission on behalf of the U.S. Catholic Conference, said the United States must wel come dramatic social change in Central America. "If we fail to define our inter ests to accommodate change, we are fated to oppose it," he said. . "We must support genuine land reform and other efforts to elimininate the enormous inequities in the region." Also with regard to EI Salva dor, a resolution calling on its government to appoint a special prosecutor in the 1980 murders Turn to Page Eleven
the United States than the sac ramental issue. "We already have a growing consciousness of these issues," said Archbishop Szoka. He noted' that the U.S. hier archy plans to discuss a pro posed pastoral on capitalism at its November 1984 meeting. The pastoral will examine the capitalist economic system in the light of church social teachings. "Several years ago," said Archbishop Szoka 'we made a statement on communism. At that time, several people thought we should also prepare a letter on capitalism." • Archbishop Szoka said the pro po~ed pastoral would not dis cuss specific U.S. government policies. It will not be that "nar rowly drawn," he said.
posts for two
Catholic Women at the meeting. The delegation was led by Msgr. Anthony M. Gomes, diocesan moderator; Jane S'ellmayer, Mansfield, diocesan president; and Claudette Armstrong, Som erset, first vice-president. Others were Mrs. McMahon, Madeleine Lavoie, Mrs. O'Brien, Mary Geary, Bella Nogueira, Fall River area: Margaret Noonan, Joanne Quirk, Vivian Coppus, Irene Russell, Dorothy McLaughlin, Ann Viera, Cape and Islands; Eileen Hinchey, Cecile Jette, Marion Felling, Marguerite Car, ter, Taunton-Attleborp area.
Women in the church are rec ognizing their own dignity as they assume new leadership roles, NCCW president Mary Meismer told the more than 2,100 women at the meeting. She said that women "have learned that in NCCW the word 'volunteer' is a verb and not a noun. Because women give up their time and substance, they can be said to volunteer, but Vatican II assures women they are lay apostles." Reflecting the convention's theme, "A Vision of Hope," keyTurn to Page Five