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DIOCESAN NEWSPAPER FOR SOUTHEAST MASSI, CAPE & ISLANDS Vol. 26, No. 43
fall River, Mass., Friday, November 5, 1982
20c, $6 Per Year
, In Catholic Spain
Pope finds change
MADRID, Spain (NC) - Pope John Paul n, the first· reigning pontiff to visit Spain, came to a country undergoing profound re ilgious and political changes.
DR. DORIS DONNELLY (left) of Princeton Theological Seminary, speaker for the catechists' session of the annual diocesan Catholic Education Convention chats with Sister Doreen Donegan, SUSC, diocesan director of religious edu cation, and Bishop Daniel A. Cronin. In two presentations, Dr. Donnelly spoke on the sacraments and on the forth coming world synod of bishops.
Marriage preparation
Guidelines offered
Guidelines for marriage prepa be reduced unless grave reasons ration were formally Introduced eX!ist." to priests of the diocese at a The leaflet discusses marriage clergy conference held yesterday preparation programs sponsored at IBlshop Connolly High School, by ,the FaU River diocese. Couples Fall River. contemplating marriage are re With Bishop Daniel A. Cronin quired to attend one of these presiding, representatives of the programs, which will supplement
Office of Family Ministry and meetings to be arranged between
ihe Chancery Office presented . them and .the priest who wiH sol
the guidelines, explaining their emnize their union.
UnwiHingness of individuals or
development and making recom mendations as to their imple- couples to participate in prepara
tion programs or to provide indi
mentation. . cations of good faioth in ap They are contained in a leaflet proaching the sacrament, can for engaged couples which be constitute grounds foJ' the rec gins with a ,letter from Bishop ommendation that wedding plans . Cronin stressing the importance be postponed, 'cautions the leaf of adequate marriage prepara let. tion. "These guidelines are areU notes. tha,t If Catholics have . flection of our utmost regard for a "grave lack of undl~rstanding ·the sanctity of marriage and of of marriage and its sa,ered ohar our abiding love for you," writes aeter" or are unwilHng to "pro the bishop. vide clear indications of their in The guidelines, It is noted, ap ,tent to continue to practice their ply equally to marriages in which faith or to resume practice one partner is a non-Catholic. where there have been lapses," Fiances are ,told that "ser-Ious priests are ob'liged to help such preparation for the sacrament of persons "nourish their faith and matrimony requires time" and bring it toma'turity." In general, marriage.s between that a priest of ,the parish where the cere~ony is planned should teenagers are ,to be discouraged, be contacted at ~east six months the guidelines state. I)ermission before th~ planned wedding date for a church wedding will rarely be granted if either or both par and certainly before halls or res taurants are reserved. The six ties are under 18 and under age month waiting period "will not Tum to Page Fif'teen
The major political change took place Oct. 28, ibhree days before .,the beginning of the pope's 16th foreign trip in four years, when candidates of the Spanish Socialist Workers Party earned enough parliamentary seats in the national elections to bring a socialist prime minister t-.1 power for the fiirst time since before the 1936-39 SpaniSh Civil War. Religious changes in Spain, with its overwhelming Catholic population, have also been pro found. Spain has experienced a de cline -in church aUendance, moves toward liberal abortion and divorce ;Iaws, and increasing alienation of young people, ,lead ing to drug use and delinquency. Those changes, Spanish church leaders say, may have a greater
effect on Spain in the long run than the rise to power of the Socialists. Upon arriving at the Barajas Madrid airpol't Oct. 3i for his lO-day visit, the pope announced that his journey had "an exclu _sively religious-pastoral charac ter, which sets it above political or partisan purposes." The papal schedule called for visits ito 17 Spanish cities and towns. 'The pontiff will celebrate 11 Masses and many paraliturgi cal services, ordain priests, bless new missionaries, preside at a beatification, visit five Marian sanctuaries and close celebra tions for the fourtlt centenary of the death of St. Teresa of Avila. The pope's aim was also to ad dress "themes of important so cial relevance" outside the strict ly religious sphere, said retired Bishop Fernando Sebastian Agui
Iar, former head 'of the Leon Dio cese, who noted that the pope planned talks on migration, rural problems, the situation of work-
ers and the problems of fisher men. The papal itinerary also pro vided 'the pope with opportuni ties to present personally private paUtical messages to Spanish leaders, including Felipe Gonza 'Iez, prime minister-elect, sched uled to take office in December. Shortly before the pope's ar rival rthe Spanish bishops had is sued a report noting a serious decline in practice of Catholi cism and adherence to Catholic teachings. The report said only one in three Spanish Catholics attends Mass regularly and vocations to the priesthood had fallen rapidly. It said priests who disobey their superiors, spread theologically unsound views and 'lead undici plined private lives are largely responsible for the current orisis in Spanish Catholicism. More than 98 percent of
Spain's 36.7 million people pro
fess Catholicism, whioh was the state religion until 1979.
Deacon ordinatio,n tomorrow
In the second s~ch ceremony in the history of the Fall River diocese, Bishop Daniel A. Cronin will ordain 12 men to the per manent diaconate at a Mass at 11 a.m. tomorrow at St. Mary's Cathedral. Eleven candidates are married and one is single. He will make a commitment to celibacy in ad dition to the promise of obedi ence and respect to Bishop Cro nin and his successors that will be made by all the men.. Current regulations' for the permanent diaconate state that qualified unmarried men age 25 and older are eligible for ad mission. They may not marry after ordination. Qualified married men age 35 and older may be ordained with the consent of their wives.
bring the ordinands' vestments of office to the altar, handing them to assisting priests, who will -vest the candidates. In the case of Robert Faria, the un married candidate, his sister, Mrs. Theresa Rogers, will be his vestment bearer.
didate and a prayer of consecra tion, the new deacons will be vested and the bishop will pre sent each with the book of Gospels. Music for the Mass and ordi nation will be by the Cathedral Choir and a brass ensemble, di The ordination will be in the rected by Glenn Giuttari, with context of the Mass, following Father Horace J. Travassos as the Gospel. It will include the cantor. Deacon Manuel .Camara wHi rites of Calling and Presentation of Candidates. The presentation be deacon of the word and Dea will be made by Father John F. con Timothy Desmond will be Moore, diocesan director of the deacon of the liturgy. Servers will be students at Bishop Con diaconate program. nolly High School. After ordination, accomplished Sons and daughters of ordi by the 'laying of the bishop's nands forming the offertory pro hands on the head of each can cession will be Japice Murphy, Christine Stanley, William Mar tin Jr., Kim St. Onge, Miguel da Cruz and Paul Pelland. A reception for the cleacons at Permanent deacons work in Bishop Stang High School, parishes and in other ministries A Special North Dartmouth, will follow the under direction of the bishop and Mass. the priests ~ith whom they are associated. Throughout the weekend they Section will be further honored at fam Tomorrow's service, to which ily and parish celebrations. admission will be by ticket only, Begins on Page 5 (Pictures and biographies of will include participation by the ordinands nre on page 2.) the deacons' wives, who will
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