t eanc 0 VOL. 38, NO. 45
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Friday, November 18, 1994
Pope looks toward thir,d millennium VATICAN CITY (CNS) - In an apostolic letter anticipating the 2,000th anniversary of Christianity, Pope John Paul \I said the church and its members must make a profound "examination of conscience" to measure their past and present conduct against the ideals of the faith. Announcing a "great jubilee" for the year 2000, the pope unveiled plans for regional synods, ecumenical and interreligious meetings and possible papal trips to the Holy Land. The pope made it clear he expects to preside over the ambitious program, saying the preparations have become a key event of his pontificate. Christ's 2,000th birthday will be an extraordinary moment not only for Christians but indirectly for all humanity, the pope said in his letter, "Tertio Millennio Adveniente" ("The Coming Third Millennium"). The 72-page text followed consultation on the topic with the world's cardinals last spring. The pope said the jubilee, or holy year, will be celebrated simultaneously in Rome, lhe Holy Land and local churches during the year 2000. An international Eucharistic Congress will be held in Rome the same year, he said. But the bulk of the papal letter
focused on a six-year preparation program: a first phase, 1994-96, which concentrates on self-examination and historical shortcomings, in particular the fractured unity of Christian churches; and a second phase; 1997-99, which centers on Christ and his meaning for people today. Taken as a whole, the jubilee preparations should confirm Christians in their faith, sustain their hope in eternal life and rekindle their charity toward the world's poor, he said. All this requires that the church take a closer look at its own conduct. It needs to "become more fully conscious of the sinfulness of her children, recalling all those times in history when they departed from the spirit of Christ and his Gospel," he said. The church "cannot cross the threshold of the new millennium without encouraging her children to purify themselves, through repentance, of past errors and instances of infidelity, inconsistency and slowness to act," he said, adding that the church must recognize that its members over the centuries have given in to "intolerance and even the use of violence Turn to Page 13
Embryo research rapped The bishops of Massachusetts have registered strong opposition to a proposal that would allow federal funding for human embryo research. Recommendations from a panel of experts appointed by the National Institutes of Health would approve such funding for laboratory conception of embryos in order to subject them to experiments that would destroy them in the hope of ultimately reaping clinical benefits. A letter from the bishops addressed to Dr. Harold Varmus, NIH director, asks him "to reject the NI H panel's recommend'ations in their entirety." It notes that"the panelists acknowledge that they will be destroying 'a developing form of human life' and even creating human lives in the laboratory for the sole purpose of being experimented on and destroyed. They justify such destruction by citing the 'promise' of clinical benefits in the future. "Such benefits have not accrued from 15 years of privately funded
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research in this area. Yet oddly we are asked to believe that they are supposed to arise once all U.S. taxpayers are forced to subsidize the project." The bishops pointed out that Massachusetts is among 10 states in which experiments on human embryos violate criminal law and added that "such experiments would violate the federal government's existing regulations on research involving human embryos ...far younger than those now slated for destruction in federally funded laboratories. "Approving federal funding for [the experiments] will bring disgrace upon the NIH and increase public distrust of the entire enterprise of federally sponsored medical research," declared the bishops. Signing the letter were Boston Cardinal Bernard Law, Fall River Bishop Sean O'Malley, Worcester Bishop Timothy Harrington and Springfield Diocesan Administrator Bishop Thomas Dupre.
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THE NEW ST. STANISLAUS: View of the St. Stanislaus parish complex in Fall River, to be dedicated on Sunday by Bishop Sean O'Malley and pastor Father Robert S. Kaszynski. The previous school entrance is now the church entrance, and sign at far left of building will be changed to read "St. Stanislaus Church." St. Stanislaus dedication section appears on pages 7-10. (Hickey photo)
At bishops' meeting
Many issues addressed WASHINGTON (CNS) - The U.S. bishops elected a new general secreta'ry for the next five years and began discussing topics ranging from women in the church to liturgical matters to clergy sex abuse during the first two days of their fall general meeting. The 280 Catholic bishops attending the Nov. ,14-17.meeting at the Omni-Shoreham Hotel in Washington elected Msgr. Dennis M. Schnurr, a priest of the Diocese of Sioux City, Iowa, to a five-year term as general secretary of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops and U.S. Catholic Conference. He succeeds Msgr. Robert N. Lynch, a Miami archdiocesan priest who will complete his sixth' year in that office on Feb. I. The bishops also elected Bishop Joseph A. Fiorenza of GalvestonHouston to a three-year term as NCCB-USCC secretary and filled various committee posts. They de~ layed scheduled votes on funding for the Catholic Telecommunications Network of America and on a pastoral message outlining a Catholic framework for action against violence. On the meeting's first day, they approved a $41.3 million 1995
budget, the first segment of the Revised Roman Missal and a threeyear continuation of the collection to aid the church in Central and Eastern Europe. The bishops also began discussion on revised ethical and religious directives for Catholic health care and on a reflection designed to increase dialogue on women's role in the church. Each bishop also received a detailed resource manual to help him deal with issues of sexual abuse of minors by church personnel. At a meeting where liturgical decisions were expected to playa dominant role, the first vote was on segment one of a whole new translation from Latin of the Sacramentary, the official book of prayers used at Mass. The bishops had been expected to vote on the first three segments during the meeting, but the third segment was withdrawn from consideration at the last minute. Part of a massive project under way for several years now, the revised Sacramentary will not be completed until the bishops deal with four additional segments in coming years. Other votes at the bishops'
meeting Nov. 14 included the 1598 approval of the NCCJJ-USCC budget for 1995, representing a $400,000 decrease from, the 1994 budget; the 153-13 vote to extend the Eastern Europe collection for three years; and the voice vote to expand membership of the TriConference Commission on Religious Life and Ministry to include the recently established Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious. The commission, which will get a new name, was formed by and is composed of representatives of the NCCB, Leadership Conference of Women Religious and Conference of Major Superiors of Men. The newer council of women's superiors was formed in 1992. The proposed document on violence "speaks to the moral and human consequences of violence" but is "not a detailed analysis or a particular program," said Auxiliary Bishop John H. Ricard of Baltimore, chairman of the bishops' Domestic Policy Committee. Violence, the proposed message says, "is destroying the lives, dignity and hopes of millions of our sisters and brothers. Fear of vioTurn to Page 13
This Issue----------------------------------,
800 Candles on This Cake
Remembering the Ugly Duckling
Migration Week Activities
Noah, Giant Worm
Giving Thanks
Pagt! 2
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