t eanc 0 VOL. 33, NO. 45
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Friday, November 17, 1989
FALL RIVER, MASS.
Summit set for pope, Gorbachev VAT1CAN CITY (CNS) - The table is being set for the first sum-' mit meeting between the head of the Catholic Church and the most powerful man in the Soviet Union" a country founded nearly 67 years ago on the premise that an atheis- . tic political system was the wave of the future. The menu for the historic meeting at the Vatican bet\Yeen Polishborn Pope John Paul II and Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev looks meaty and plentiful. Church and' Soviet officials have said the topics are likely to include: -A papal visit 'to the Soviet Union. -Legalization of the Ukrainian Catholic Church as part of a general relaxing of religious restrictions. -Soviet efforts to achieve a stable peace in Lebanon and the entire Middle East. -Vatican support for Soviet international peace and disarmament policies. -Establishment of diplomatic relations. The meeting is sched uled to take place between Nov. 29 and Dec. I, during Gorbachev's state visit to Italy, and just before his two-day Mediterranean Sea cruise with U.S. President George Bush. The very fact of the meeting shows how rapidly the atmosphere of church-state relations has improved since Gorbachev came to power in 1985 with his domestic reform policies and flexibility Qn international issues. But it also is a success for Vatican patience and persistence in applying its 26-year policy of willingness to negotiate problems with Communist regimes, despite persecutions and long periods of being rebuffed. "We are always ready to dialogue. What was lacking was a partner. Now a partner exists," said Cardinal Agostino Casaroli, chief architect of the Vatican's East European strategy, in referring to Gorbachev earlier this year. In 1963 PopeJohnXXlll tapped then-Msgr. Casaroli for the delicate mission of resuming contacts with East European nations after the interruption caused by World War II and the subsequent rise of Communist governments. The purpose was to see if quiet diplomacy could give the church some breathing space in hostile environments. For the past 10 years Cardinal Casaroli has orchestrated the policy as secretary of state to the first pontiff from a Communist-ruled <;ountry. When the Vatican found partners, the dialogue produced results. Prime examples have been Hungary and Poland. Since 1964, the Vatican and Turn to Page Six
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Abortion, AIDS concern bishops "One of the better meetings" With eNS reports
'A'Thanksgiving JPrayd For p~ace ,and liberty, for food 'and raiment, fori' corn and wine,' milk and every kind of good fl,ourish . . ment, good God, I thank <thee. For ~enefits of (lir and l~ght, for useful fire a11d goodwater, I thank thee, good God. For benefits of friends, life, speech, for joy and health and every new day, J thank thee, good God. -BenjamIn Fra:nilHin
Pope wishes East ]lIerlin "justice, freedom, Ileace" VAT1CAN CITY (CNS) - As parts of the Berlin Wall were torn down, Pope John Paul II met with the city's bishop and later said he hoped reforms there would be made in "justice, freedom and peace." The events mark "a moment of great emotion and profound changes in Europe, which in aspecial way concern your people," the pope told West German bishops at the Vatican Nov. 13. "As a pastor who cares for the whole flock, I want to join in your prayers so that people's hopes are fulfilled in justice, freedom and peace," he said. On Nov. II, the pope met with
Summing up the general meetingofthe U.S. bishops held Nov. 6 to 9 in Baltimore, Father John F. Moore, Anchor editor, who attended on behalf of the diocesan newspaper, said it was "one of the better meetings." The editor described the bishops as "in tune with reality" and manifesting great concern for pastoral issues. He singled out in particular the bishops' attitudes towards abortion and AIDS. On abortion, in a resolution cailing for constitutional protection . of unborn life, the bishops said they recognized "that we, must hear the issues, the struggles and the anguish of women who face issues in a way that.we never will. As we continue to teach clearly and forcefully the moral evil of abortion, we must also - as our pastoral plan suggests - speak to them a word 'of understanding and encouragement. a word of solidarity and support. Both in word and deed we must inspire the entire community to help carry the burdens of all our sisters in need." Speaking with the authority of one who has been imprisoned several times in Operation Rescue initiatives, New York Auxiliary Bishop Austin B. Vaughan told his fellow bishops, said Father Moore, that he had never heard a woman say, "I'm gO,ing to have a 'fetal mass' - it is always 'I'm going to have a baby.' " The terminology points up the instinctive recognition of the baby's humanity, said the bishop; . The bishops recognized, said Father Moore, that they are "the only groupspeaking on abortion with moral and ethical authority." On the AIDS issue, he said, the
bishops upheld chastity over "safe sex" and pointed out that the "greatest single agency in the nation caring for AIDS patients is the Catholic church." In general, he added, the bishops' position on AIDS is "wonderfully compassionate. " In other activity at the meeting, held in Baltimore to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the first U.S. diocese and bishop, the bishops called for foreign forces to leave Lebanon and unanimously endorsed a pastoral plan written by and for black Catholics. Archbishop Daniel E. Pilarczyk of Cincinnati began a three-year term as president of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops and U.S. Catholic Conference at the end of the meeting, replacing Archbishop John L. May of St. Louis. Elected vice president was Archbishop William H. Keeler of Baltimore, who had been secretary. Bishop Raymond W. Lessard of Savannah, Ga., was elected secretary for the two remaining years of Archbishop Keeler's term. The bishops also: - Unanimously approved a food and a~ricultural policy statement which criticizes domestic hunger as "morally intolerable," calls for every human being to have enough food, seeks broader ownership of farmland, asks federal programs to attain adequate farm incomes; promotes fair wages and working conditions for farmworkers, and encourages cooperatives and environmental stewardship. - Voted 225-18 to set guidelines for priestless Sunday worship. Vatican approval is needed before suggested services could be used. - Decided, 175-12, to ask that Turn to Page Six
Bishop Georg Sterzinsky of Berlin, whose pas.toral territory includes West Berlin and the communist eastern half of the city. No details of the private audience were made public. The same day, Bishop Sterzinsky sent a messagl~ to East German President Egon Krenz, expressing the hope that "all the reforms may be realized in the spirit of dialogue and understanding, without any recourse to viorence," Vatican Radio reported. On Nov. 9 East Germany opened its borders to free travel, and next Turn to Page Six
AT THE U.S. bishops' meeting in Baltimore, Bishop Daniel A. Cronin, right, meets with Cincinnati Archbishop Daniel E. Pilarczyk, newly-elected president of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops and the U.S. Catholic Conference. (Kearns photo)
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