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4 THE ANCHOR -
Diocese of Fall River -
Fri., Nov. 17, 1989
themoorin~ A Reflection on 200 Years Last week the Catholic bishops of the nation formally celebrated the bicentennial of the establishment ofthe hierarchy of the United States. Unfortunately, for most of the population it was an unnoticed event. Dare it be stated that even in Catholic circles it was almost a nonevent. This is heartbreaking. The church in this country has a glorious, wonderful and spirited history. One wonders if we have become so jaded and mainstream that we feel we should forget our religious past in order to be accepted in the secular present? Are we so -Americanized that we've abandoned our roots? Have we so compromised our Catholic heritage that we no 'longer appreciate our history? Have we become so established as a church that we no longer feel challenged by our faith? Thes~ are strong questions and they demand thoughtful answers. In our acceptance of the good life which America has given us it is easy to take our historic past for granted and feel that all is well. If this be the case and, in many areas of our church, it does seem to be, is there any wonder why such an important celebration as our bicentennial is receiving mere passing notice. ' Catholicism is a significant faith in this nation, yet sometimes it seems dormant, especially 'in its ability to act as a significant catalyst in our social order. Perhaps as a church we are in a state of suspended animation which encourages hibernation rather than a steady presence in American life. Certainly we emphasize certain issues, but at the same time we should give full expression to the Gospel message at all times and in all situations. Our 200-year heritage includes controversy, action and great feats of faith. We can't nor should we ignore the great inhouse debates on trusteeism, Americanism and unionism that were such important factors in the first 100 years of church life. We must not forget the seven great councils of Baltimore, so often rid'iculesb~ today's liberals. Names such as Carroll, Ireland, Spalding, Seton, Gibbons, Cabrini and Hawthorne recall some of the granite cornerstones of American faith life. In 1789 the boundaries of the diocese of Baltimore were coextensive with those of the United States. Now in 1989 the aggregate structure of the church consists of 33 provinces, 150 suffragan sees and four Eastern rites jurisdictions immediately subject to the Holy See. This did not just happen. Each diocese, each parish has its own wonderful history, often ignored. If our present anniversary celebration is to be meaningful to our church as she ventures into a new century, we must throw off our mantle of apathy and inertia. It seems that at no time in our history have so many been so indifferent, and there is little doubt that mainstreaming is the cause of much' of our passivity. In our striving for acceptance as Catholics is America, we' have lost some of the spark of faith that was the driving force of the early church. Somehow we must relight that flame, stoke up the fire and rekindle the Spirit. Building on our wonderful inheritance, we can indeed anticipate a second spring. The U.S. Catholic Church is at a great crossroads. If we fail to read the signs and follow the right way, we wiUwander along a path leading nowhere. Once again we must realize that only He is the way and that, despite all difficulties, His is the only road to travel. The Editor
the
OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE DIOCESE OF FALL RIVER Published weekly by The Catholic Press of the Diocese of Fall River 887 Highland Avenue P.O. BOX 7 Fall River, MA 02720 Fall River, MA 02722 Telephone 508-675-7151 PUBLISHER Most Rev. Daniel A. Cronin, D.O., S.T.O. EDITOR GENERAL MANAGER Rev. John F. Moore Rosemary Dussault ~ Leary Press-Fall River
THANKSGIVING I am the listening under'the treetops, I am the brightness among the flowers, I am the search among silken grass blades. I am a prayer in the fields, I am a sound of bells in the air, I am a bending of knees on all the waving meadows. See, I bless your crops and your pastures, I open my hands ' , like bursting buds. t open my heart as the earth opens her furrows. --':'Oertrud ~on Le Fort, Hymns
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Survey says media pro-choice WASHINGTON (CNS) - U.S. on the abortion issue even in terms media coverage favors people who of the ways they are willing to dewant abortion kept legal, accord- ' scribe the opposing sides in the ing to the Center for Media and debate," h,e said. Public Affairs, a Washington-based "Spokespersons favoring abor-. non-partisan group which studies tion on demand are given much how media treat social and politi-, more coverage than those who cal issues. oppose it and. interestingly, alIn news reports from Jan. I to though our opponents continue to Aug. 31, 1989. "the pro-choice side claim that the pro-life m()vement ·dominated" in stories about the is promoting an establishment of legalization of. abortion, and re- the Catholic religion, representaporters quoted "pro-choice acti- tives of the Catholic Church are vist sources" more than their pro- almost never asked for their opinlife counterparts "by a 5 to 3 ions in this issue," he said. margin," according' to a report He added that the report's findfrom the research center. ' ing "that women journalists are The center also found that: more biased in favor of support - Women reporters were more for abortion than their male counlikely than men reporters to em- terparts is of interest because most phasize the "pro-choice" position surveys of the general public show in their reports. women generally to be somewhat - TV reports respected the more opposed to abortion than wishes of abortion rights advo- that." cates to be designated "pro-choice," Results of the study, which but ignored the preference of the examined coverage of abortion by opposition to be called "pro-life," the ABC, CBS and NBC evening and instead designated them "antinews programs and in stories and abortion." . opinion pieces in The New York - The "pro-choice" side domi- Times and The Washington Post nated the legalization debate. cov- daily newspapers, were released in ered heavily in the news early in the October edition of Media 1989 as the Supreme Court pre- Monitor, a journal published by pared to rule on Webster vs. Re- the center 10 times a year. That productive Health Services. Inits July 3 decision, the high court gave states more power to limit access to abortion. - The pro-life position dominated stories on the status of Roe vs. Wade, with pro-lifers opposing the 1973 Supreme Court decision In Thanksgiving legalizing abortion. - The pro-life position also Almighty and merciful dominated stories on government God, we thank thee for the funding for abortion, with proyear just passed, for gifts of lifers rejecting use of public funds harvest, ~ortheloveoffam. for abortion; on debates on the J' morality of abortion, which proi1y andfriends and most of lifers denounced; and on when all for the gift of thy Son, human life begins, with most proour saviour and brother. lifers answering "at conception." We beg thy blessing on the Richard Doerflinger"associate d Y ear to come an peace in director for policy development of the U.S. bishops' Office for Proour land ,and in all the world, through Mary our life Activities, said the study "confirms some impressions we have Mother and Christ our had for a long time." Lord. Amen.
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edition was distributed to the public Nov. 3. In reviewing abortion 'coverage, the center found there was "a relative absence of in-depth treatment," and said that "this was particularly true of television," which, it said, "ran;ly went beyo.np~ catalogi~g ongoing events." In noting all the persors cited in stories on abortion, the center found that "pro-choice and prolife advocates accounted for 42 percent of all sources quoted, by far the largest slice of the pie." It added that among these advocates, pro-choice persons were favored. It said "the pro-choice movement's advantage was aided by the high visibility of several organizations." Among them were the National Organization for Women, which led all groups by being Cited 75 times. Following closely was the National Abortion Rights Action League, cited 72 times; Planned Parenthood, 40 times; and the American Civil Liberties Union, "especially its Reproductive Freedom Project," 20 times. "By contrast, only two pro-life groups enjoyed high media profile _ National Right to Life (Committee) with 65 citations and Operation Rescue with 28," it said. ' Two "pro-choice" activists, Kate Michelman, director of the National Abortion Rights Action League, and Molly Yard, pres ident of the National Organization for Women, led the list of the 12 most frequently cited sources in articles on abortion. Other abortion rights activists on the,list included Norma McCorvey, who was "Jane Roe" in the original abortion suit; Eleanor Smeal, former president of the National Organization for Women; and Faye Wattleton, president of Pianned Parenthood Federation of America. Only two pro-life activists made the list, Dr. John C. Willke, president of the National Right to Life Co'mmittee, sixth on the list, and Randall Terry, organizer ofOper.. __ ~tj9.1) .Rescue, who was 11th.