Canonists focus o'n revised: C'ode
By Jerry Fllteau
HARTFORD, Conn. (NC) Catholic Church lawyers of the United States focused on immin ent church law changes last week as they gathered here for \ the 44th annual convention of the Canon Law Society of Am erica. Papal enactment of the revised Code of Canon Law, replacing the code that has governed the Western church since 1917, is
expected within the next three months. In major addresses and semin ars more than 450 participants studied code changes and their implications for church life in the United States. The unusually high attendance was attributed to the imminence of the new code. Representing the Fall River dio cese were Msgr. Henry T. Mun roe, officialis of the diocesan tri
bunal, and father Jay T. Mad dock, its secretary and a notary. Reflecting increased accessi bility of tribunal and chancery posts to them, about 50, partici pants were womein, mostly nuns.
In a keynote address Msgr. John A. Alesandro of Rockville Centre, N.Y., outlined the major thrusts of the new code and called it "a workable tool of re newal" and a "valuable instrum ent of ecclesial reform."
"We are saved not by the law consultation and accountability, but by faith in Christ. The law in placing greater emphasis on , .. is no more than a tool for us the laity and its participation in to use. , , The only thing that church life, and in incorporating matters is that it is a workable . theological insights from Vatican tool," he said. II into the juridicial structure of church life. The, new code, he said, differs In the convention's major ad from the old in spelling out and protecting rights in the church, dress Father - James Provost, in simplifying the general law CLSA' executive coordinator and and giving greater flexibility to a leading U.S. expert on the new code, said that it, will present local practice, in reducing penal ties, in providing structures for Tum to Page Ten
FALL RIVER DIOCESAN. NEWSPAPER FOR SOUTHEAST MASSACHUSEnS CAPE COD & THE ISLANDS
t eanc 0 VOL. 26, NO. 42
FALL RIVER, MASS., FRIDAY, OCTOBER 29, 1982
20c, $6 Per Year
Nukes condemned
current nuclear policy more bluntly, spelling out their goal: WASHINGTON (NC) - "We to influence the U.S. government are sure of one moral imperative: . by fonning "a public attitude· a rejection of nuclear war," de which sets stringent limits" on clares the second draft of It U.S. nuclear defense policy. planned national pastoral oletter Even within the just war moral on war and peace by the Cath that acknowledges tradition olic bishops of the United States. "some legitimate use of force," "Our arguments in this pas says the new document, "con to!el ~t!st be -detailed and nu temporary nuclear strategies anced; but our 'no' to nuclear push the moral limits beyond the . war must, in the end, be defini permissible." tive aOO decisive," it says. Addressing specific issues con Th.e new draft repeats the cerning the use of nuclear weap moral condemnation in the let ons, the committee said: .ter's first draft; but goes beyond -"Under no circumstances that draft in giving a more de may nuclear weapons or. other tailed analysis of what kin-ds of instruments of mass slaughter be policies or policy goals it can used for the purpose of destroy support or must oppose. ing population centers or other It also goes further dn expli predominantly civilian targets." citly chaBenging the current ,in Although moralists are divided ternational political order and of fering an alternative geopolitical framework for achieving and maintaining peace and justice. At one point ,it caBs the 300 year-Old poHtical principle of ab solute national sovereignty obso: lete. FLORENCE, Italy (NC) Rejecting any simplistic solu Cardinal Giovanni Benelli, who tions to world peace or disarma was made archbishop of Florence ment, the new draft caUs for "a in 1977 after 10 years as a key major effort of intelligence and adviser to Pope Paul VI, died at courage" to overcome the "su his home Oct. 26, four days after preme crisis" of nuclear war suffering a heart attack. He was threatening the existence of the 61. earth.· The cardinal was considered The draft, released Oct. 22, is one of the principal candidates to be discussed at length by the for the papacy after Pope Paul's cou.ntry's bishops at their annual death in 1978 and was in an out-· meeting in mid-November. An spoken opponent of legalized extraordinary nationa:1 meeting abortion in Italy. seems 'likely to be called next His. funeral was held today in spring for the bishops to debate the Cathedral of Santa Maria del and vote on a final version. The Fiore in Florence. Burial was in draft committee is headed by the cathedral crypt. Archbishop JosephL. Bernardin He wa; struck by what doctors of Chicago. called an acute heart attack Oct. 22 at his residence and was The latest draft, 120 typewrit taken to ·a hospital. ten pages long, considerably ex On Oct. 25 he pleaded to pands and olarifies the contro versial 70-page first draft, that leave the hospital to die at home. Taken home, he died an hour became public in June. In the second draft, the five later. bishops on the committee oppose Tum to Page Sixteen By Jerry Filteau
DEBORAH PENTA, a senior' at Bishop Feehan High School, Attleboro, is national grand prize winner of $1000 in an essay contest on "What My Vote Will Mean to Me" sponsored by the Fleetwood Reserve Association of Battleship Cove, Fall River. Her essay follows.
What My Vote
Will Mean to Me
The right to vote, granted to United States citizens of 18 years and older by the 26th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution is a great honor and privilege for citizens of this country. This is exhibited in a .demo cratic society and it encourages us to take an active role in choosing the leaders of our govern~ent. My vote means that I wiU be able to take a stand and participate in the government and leadership of our country. The right to vote will enable me to make decisions based on my beliefs an dintegrity on the sub ject of the United States government. It will grant ple the grace of a bond between me and my fellow Ameri cans. Turn to Page Fifteen
Card. Benelli dead at 61
on questions of indirect attacks on civilians, "we nonetheless feel obliged, as a matter of practical moral guidance, to register our opposition to a policy of attack ing targets . . . (whose destruc tion) would devastate nearby population centers. The relevant moral principle in this case is the disproportionat€' damage which would be done to human life." -"We do not perceive any sit uation in which the deliberate initiation of nuclear war, on how ever restricted a scale, can be morally justified. Non-nuclear attacks by anot~er state must be resisted by other than nuclear means . . . We find the moral responsibility of beginning nu clear war not j:lstified by ration al policies." -As regards so-cal-led "lim ited nuclear war," "the issue at stake -is the real as opposed to the theoretical possibility" of keeping such El war limited and within the stringent bounds of the requiremer.:ts for a ju~t war. The range of gravely important questions surrounding those is sues "makes us skeptical about the real meaning of limited." The new draft calls the actual initiation of nuclear ·war "one of the worst polit-ic~l and moral evils whidh could be perpetrated," and comments: "The purpose of deterrence is to prevent this actuality, but the moral problem of nuclear deter rence relates to the method by whioh prevention is accom plished." The committee quoted from the official "U.S. MiHtary Pos ture Statement for FY 1983," an annual fiscal year policy state ment and situiation analysis by the office of the U. S. Joint Chiefs of Staif: "Deterrence de pends upon the assureq capabil ity and manifest wiU to inflict , damage on the Soviet Union dis proportionate to any goals that Turn to 'Page Three