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Bishops' Agenda Includes Commul,ion, Synod, Pri.son WASHINGTON (NC) - The Vatican's decree on first Communion and first Confession, and the liturgical innovation of Communion in the hand are on the agenda for discussion at the next general meeting of U. S. Catholic 'bishops. Some 250 members of the National Confer~nce of Catholic Bishops and the U. S, Catholic Conference are expected to attend the NCCB-USCC annual meeting here Nov. 12-16. , The bishops will also consider proposed policy statements on the 1974 Population Year and on prison reform. Another matter expected to occupy t.he bishops' attention will be the international Synod of Bishops to be held at the Vatican in October, 1974. Discussion of first Communion and first confession has been requested by the'USCe Education Committee. A recent Vatican de-
cree has directed a return to the traditional practice whereby children receive the sacrament of Penance before taking first Communion. In recent years many U. S. dioceses had reversed the order of children's first reception of the two sacraments. A much discussed liturgical innovation - the reception of Communion in the hand-will reappear on the bishops' agenda. In their November 1970 meeting, the majority of the bishops favored asking the Vatican for authorization to introduce the practice. But they lacked the required two-thirds vote to pass the proposal. For centuries, the usual method of administering Holy Communion has been for the priest to place the consecrated host on the communicant's tongue. Since the Second Vatican Council, howTurn to Page Three
Church Must Provide For T:otal Thrust Rev. Olin J. Murdick, Secretary for Education, U.S. Catholic Conference, explored highlights of the American ,Bishops' Pastoral "To Teach as Jesus Did" for t1:-3 priests of the Fall River diocese during a Fall Clergy Conference on Tuesday and Wednesday. The role of the Church in teaching and methods of new religious education were touched upon by the educator. The Church's education role is not one of simply erecting parish schools and repeating a fixed unchanging dose of doctrine. It is ,more a life situation touching upon doctrine, life and revelancy. The Church's educational mission is an integrated attempt at presenting teaching (didache), community'{koininia) and serv.ice (diaconia). These are the goals not of education but of the Christian life. Father Bernard Lonergan, S.J. explained the Christ Message as "cognitive inasmuch-as it tells
Fr. O'Neill President Rev. Patrick J. O'Neill, Ed,D., Director of Education for the Diocese of Fall River, has been elected President of the National 'Catholic Education Association's Department of Chief Administrators of Catholic Education. The election 'took place at the CACE's annual meeting in Bos-
Name Honorary Chairmen Of Bishop's Charity Ball The honorary chairman of the 19th annual Bishop's Charity Ball were named today by Rev. Msgr. Anthony M. Gomes, diocesan director of the ball. This social and, charitable event of the diocese of Fall River benefit~'exceptional and underprivileged children of every race, color and creed in the southeastern area of Massachusetts, Four schools for the exceptional are under the supervision of the Most Rev. Daniel A.
ROBERT M. McGUIRK
Cronin, S.T.D., Bishop of Fall River, in whose honor the ball is dedicated. This year's ball will also commemorate the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the Fall River diocese in 1904. Mr. Robert M. McGuirk of St. Joseph's parish, North Dighton, will serve as honorary co-chairman, representing the Society of St. Vincent de .paul of the diocese, one of the co-sponsors of Turn to Page Two
MRS. RICHARD PAULSON
what ,is to be believed, constitutive inasmuch as: it crystallizes the hidden inner gift of love into overt Chr,istian 1'ellowship, and effective inasmuch as it directs Christian service to human society to being about the kingdom of God." The teaching sispect does enjoy a certain priority over the community and service aspect of Cr.,ristian life but it must not neglect the other two needed and complementary 'Cxperiences. The formation brought about by the teaching must enable the .individual to function as a member of the Christian community and responsibly contribute to society. The unified education role is similar to the three objectives of Christian education: impart knowledge (cognitive learning), form attitudes (will) 'and encourage behavioral patterns (virtue). Cognitive learning naturally has a psychological and pedagogical priority over attitudinal change in turn over behavioral change. But all are necessary. Knowledge without the intention of the furtJterchanges ,is unworthy of the Christian community. So actual teaching must also be complemented by a lively Christian community and true service to one another. Among the problems in Christian education today, Father Murdick pointed to the insistent care for total education (not only children in paroc::lial school), unitaryandl\lultill,le funding, the poor's place in the parish school, need for planning. Multiple Funding Fr. Murdick described multiple funding as distinguishing (in the case of schools) between two natural interest ,groups: the parents (or students) who are the direct beneficiaries of the schools and the total parish which as an indirect beneficiary of the Cath'olic school recognizes its moral,
religious and witness value ill the community. Since parents, at considerable personal sacrifice, are coming more and more to accept the tuition method of funding Catholic schools and since these schools confer a significant indirect benefit on the total Catholic community, that community, it sems, has a certain obligation in justice to recognize parental effort and the corresponding social benefit with a reasonable degree of financial support. The obligation of the total Christian community (diocese or parish) to help Catholic schools to fulfill their function is especially grave with respect to the poor who for the lack of money or for other reasons may not be able to participate in the Catholic school. It is the obligation, therefore, of the Christian community, as a whole, diocesan and/or parochial, to make such a participation financially and socially possible. Give Poor Access Some ways in which the parish or diocese can give the poor aecess to a Catholic school are: graduated or adjusted tuition based on ability to pay; tuition grants based on financial need; institutional subsidies which enable the school to serve the poor on a tuition free or tuition reduced bases. Multiple funding helps the parish to understand more clearly and to carry out more effectively the support role which it plays in regards to the total Catholic educational effort (schools, CCD, adult education, handicapped, etc.). If the parents' share of the cost of the school is no\ readily Turn to Page Two
Bishops IDiscuss Religiou!;' Role
REV. PATRICK J. O'NEILL ton during which Catholic educators from all over the nation met to discuss various aspects of the administrator's role in the total educational apostolate of the Church and its schools, Father O'Neill, a native of Fall River, was, ordained to the priesthood in 1957. He served at St. Thomas More Church in Somerset for seven years. He received' a Master's degree in guidance from Boston College in 1957 and a Doctorate in school administration from Boston College in 1966. He has been superintendent of diocesan schools and, in the recent reorganization of the diocesan educatinoal structure, became Director of Education. Father O'Neill has served on m~ny committees for the NaTurn to Page Two
The Bishops of New England. and the Major Superiors of Men and Women 01' New England are meting at Mont Marie, Holyoke, to discuss their roles in the mission of the Church in the six-state area. Led by Msgr. John Egan, editor of "Link," a newsletter for those involved in pastoral and community ministry, participants will discuss ·the possible need for shared responsibility between bishops and superiors. Members of the committee planning the one-day program are Most Rev. Daniel Cronin, Most Rev. John Marshall, Most Rev. Louis Gelineau, representing the Bishops; Sister Grace Donovan, S.U.S.C., Sister Patricia Agnes Manning, S.N.D., Sister Mary Caritas Geary, S.P., representing women religious; and Rev. Armand Proulx, M.S., Rev. Fintan Sheerin, SS.CC., Rev. William Hogan, C.S.C." representing men religious. Sister Mary Dooley ilnd the Sisters of St. Joseph are hosting the meetin~.
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NEW SUPERIOR: Rev. Thomas J. Tobin, C.S.C. is new superior and director of Holy Cross Fathers retreat and mission band, North Dartmouth. A graduate of StonehiII College and Gregorian University, he has been vocations director for his community and for 15 years a member of its preaching band. He succeeds Rev. Robert E. McDonnell, C.S.C., now assistant provincial for the Holy Cross. Fathers.
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