VOL. 38, NO. 43
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Friday, November 4,1994
FALL RIVER, MASS.
Southeastern Massachusetts' Largest Weekly
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Bishops and religious dialogue at synod V ATICAN CITY (CNS) While some people hoped and others feared the world Synod of Bishops would draw the line on changes in consecrated life, the month long assembly ended up an occasion for dialogue between bishops and religious. The world Synod of Bishops gave the Catholic Church its first opportunity for a comprehensive look at changes in tine life of consecrated men and women since the Second Vatican Council. "We both grew in our appreciation for each other's tasks," said Benedictine Abbot Primate Jerome D. Theisen. The Oct. 2-29 synod, he said, focused on the necd for "better cooperation and collaboration" among consecrated people, bishops, local clergy and laity. The bishops demonstrated their appreciation for the unique identity and work of religious - "the bishop can't just usc religious any way he wants" - bUI also reminded religious that the bishop has pastoral plans and responsibilities that everyone in the diocese must help with. Abbot Theiser. said. Instead of calling for a uniform discipline for the church's 1.1 million consecrated men and women. the final message from the synod a nd the list of propositions the synod gave Pope John Paul 11 defined the existing diversity as a gift from God for the church and the world. The 55 propositions, which are kept secret, showed openness to variety on various levels, according to news reports and interviews with Catholic News Service. For example: -- While two or three synod members called for religious to wear habits. the propositions call only for them to wear some visible sign of their consecration and to dress simply. - And while there were a few calls to return to traditional forms of community life -- and especially to avoid living by themselves
- "it came through very clearly that some consecrated people don't live in community by design." said one participant. - Even among the strict cloisters of contemplative men and women. the synod propositions call for flexibility. They ask that members of the communities be given greater autonomy in regulating their internal life and that the superiors of womell's cloisters be given the same authority over their communities that male superiors have. - The synod al$o called for a change in canon law to allow brothers to exercise leadership positions in some mixed communities of priests and brothers. - To religious communities that face extinction because of a lack of new vocations, the synod expressed thanks for their cqntributions to the church's mission. It urged the church to give those communities special assistance in merging with other groups or passing their work on. "The propositions are very positive, very laudatory about what consecrated people have done and are," said one synod member, who asked not to be named. "The whole synod had a positive tone," he said. "It could have been very negative and $colding like a few of the interventions" made by synod members as they addressed the assembly, he said. One of the bishops who focused on problems with religious life in his speech was Bishop James C. Timlin of Scranton, Pa. While expressing his gratitude to the majority of religious, he said, "at the very least. for one to be considered a religious, he or she must be what we euphemistically call a 'practicing Catholic.'" The bishop told the synod some V.S. women religious were so influenced by extreme feminism that they refused to receive the sacraments from a man and that some publicly opposed church teaching. Turn to Page II
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CARDINAL-DESIGNATE Adam J. Maida CARDINAL-DESIGNATE William H. Keeler
Pope appoints 30 cardinals VATICAN CITY (CNS) Pope John Paul 11 named 30 new cardinals from 24 countries, including Archbishops William H. Keeler of Baltimore and Adam J. Maida of Detroit. The appointments, announced Oct. 30, brought prestige to local churches that are still suffering the effects of political repression and war: Vietnam, Cuba, Lebanon and Bosnia-Herzegovina. They also highlighted church leadership in nearly every corner of the globe, Montreal to Madagascar, from Tokyo to Ecuador. "The universality of the church, with the variety of its ministers, is well-reflected in these cardinals," the pope remarked to several thousand people in St. Peter's Square. The pope continued to raise the church's profile in Eastern Europe, naming cardinals in Albania, Belarus, the Czech Republic and the war-torn Bosnian capital of Sarajevo. He rewarded two elderly prelates who paid dearly under
communism: Albanian Msgr. Mikel Koliqi. a 92-year-old priest who was jailed or detained by authorities for a total of 38 years; and Archbishop Kazimierz Swiatek of Minsk-Mohilev, 80, who spent 10 years in Soviet prisons and labor camps. Continuing a trend, the pontiff also named two theologians to the College of Cardinals: French Dominican Father Yves Congar, who influenced the pope during the Second Vatican Council, and German Jesuit Father Alois Grillmeier, who specializes in Christology. The pope said the new cardinals would be formally installed at a special consistory at the Vatican Nov. 26. Of those named, 24 were under the age of 80 and thus eligible to vote in a papal conclave. After the installation ceremony, the college is expected to number 167, with the number of voting members once again at its maximum of 120. Pope John Paul will have named 100 of the potential voters, or 83 percent.
While the College of Cardinals is best-known for selecting a new pope, it has been given an increasingly important role as an advisory body on important church issues. The nomination of Archbishop Keeler, the 63-year-old president of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, once again places a cardinal at the head of the oldest diocese in the V nited States. The last cardinal-archbishop of Baltimore was Cardinal Lawrence J. Shehan, who retired in 1974 and died in 1984. Archbishop Maida, 64, has headed the Detroit Archdiocese since 1990, when Cardinal Edmund C. Szoka was called to Rome to run a Vatican financial office. Their appointments will give the V nited States 12 cardinals, 10 of whom are under age 80. That is more than any other country except Italy, which will have 37 cardinals after Nov. 26. Also named cardinals were sevTurn to Page II
Coyle-Cassidy plans addition Coyle and Cassidy High School yesterday announced plans to construct a $1.5 million addition to its present building on Hamilton Street in Taunton. Bishop Sean P. O'Malley joined Coyle-Cassidy headmaster Michael J. Donly in making the announcement at an afternoon press conference. For the past decade, CoyleCassidy's student enrollment has been at or beyond the present building's capacity. The last major building addition was the athletic wing in 1983.
The new addition will be a communications/ fine arts center comprised of a computer and technology center, library, art lab, a music and drama center and a performing arts auditorium. Retractable walls will allow the created space to have a wide variety of uses. "To continue Coyle and Cassidy's quality of education," said Donly, "it is crucial to maintain the present policy of assisting all students in need of iinancial aid; to guarantee a well-thought-out and developed curriculum for all stuTurn to Page 10
RENDERING of an addition to be built to Coyle and Cassidy High School, Taunton, to include a computer center (left) and library (right) as well as a performing arts center, music and drama center, guidance complex and new classrooms.