u.s. Catholic Church
The CHOR
An Andwr of the Soul. Sure and Firm -
Fall
Starts Poverty War
At the heart of the' Thanksgiving Campaign for Human Development is a two-pronged effort to change attitudes and opinions about the poor and to eistablish a new source 'of finanI cial capital to eliminate the very spurces of poverty in the United States. This campaign has been given the top priority in' the G:atholic Church in the United States. Its Thanksgiving Appeal ,*i11 be made this coming Sunday, I November 22, in all churches of the Fall River Diocese and the nation. The monies contributed *i11 begin 'what will hopefully become a seed fund of fifty million dollars fr'om which programs Will be sponsored that will aim at the roots of poverty. These programs of education and retraining will enable the poor to help themselves rise from the ,
ST. PAUL
Ri'~er,
Mass., Thursday, Nov. 19, 1970 PRICE 10¢ Vol.· 14, ·No. 41 © 1970 Tne Anchor $4.00 per year
circle of poverty that has enslaved generation after generation. At the same time, correct information on who the poor are and the causes of their poverty are being. stressed, so that the old myths of the poor as ablebodied but lazy individuals or black sharecroppers in rural areas only will be laid to rest once and for all. The present massive campaign is the Catholic Church's answer to what is a scandal and a shame in the nation, the presence of so much pov~rty in the wealthiest nation in the world. And in a I nation that professes to be Christian, it is necessary for the Catholic Church to make a tremendous effort to correct this scandal. The Campaign and its goals were outlined last Sunday in a
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Diocesan Schools Plan To Survive i
I Regionalization
of Catholic and sharing resources with public schools were further ¢xplored this week as diocesan and parish officials attempted to find a solution for the education~I crisis facing many' parochial schools. , In Fall River, Rev. Patrick J. OINel1l met with representatives bf the city parishes to discuss plans for regionalization. The ~eeting held at Bishop Connolly f{igh . School was attended by only 250 parishioners. . According to the plan, eight parish schools would be run on non-parish but regional basis. These eight schools would replace the present 15 parish FALL RIVER BISHOPS: Most Rev. James L. Connolly, I schools, each of which is acleft, retired Bishop of Fall River, speaks at Bishops' Meet- ~ually or potentially facing difficulty in continued service. ing in Washington with his successor, Most Rev. Daniel I The purpose of consolidating A. Cronin, who will be installed on Dec. 16. the schools would be to save the entire concept of Catholic :education. If some· such step ,were not adopted, it is believed that each school would not be lable to survive the crisis; each :would fall; the entire concept and philosophy .of Catholic ed:ucation would tumble. Plans are progressing for the Most Rev. James L. Connolly, The proposed plan would blend installation on Wednesday, Dec. D.D., whose resignation, prof16, of Most Rev. Daniel A. Cro- ferred on Nov. 15, 1969, was 'all available economic and pernin, D.D., as Fifth Ordinary of accepted by the Holy See last Isonnel resources in the, city and the Diocese of Fall River. The week, will be installed by Most Istill attempt to provi~e a solid concelebrated Mass will take Rev. Luigi Raimondi, Apostolic Catholic education to as many youngsters as possible. place in St. Mary's Cathedral in Delegate to the United States. Fall River at 3 in the afternoon Music for the installation and I Some problem areas arose and will be followed by a ban- Mass will be prepared and con- where parish groups have reso1vducted by Rev. William G. .ed to go-it-alone, an attitude quet at White's in Westport. Bishop Cronin, who succeeds Campbell, B.Mus., assistant and Iapparently springing from parish music director at the Cathedral. ,pride and a lack of present presBishop Cronin has. indicated sing financial and/or personnel that he will take up residence in problems. While these problems the Cathedral rectory. Bishop . may not exist at present in some Connolly will continue to live I individual parish schools, diocesUsable clothing will be collected at the Bishop's House on High- an school officials feel thaJ these by all parishes in the Diocese land Avenue in Fall River. I are inevitable in the future. during the week of November 29, Both Bishops, together with i The basis for the regionalfor further distribution to rav- Most Rev. James J. Gerrard, 'ization plan is the cooperation of aged or disadvantaged areas. The D.D., Auxiliary Bishop of the individual parishes for the good packaged clothing will be .gath- Diocese, are in Washngton this of the whole, Rev. Patrick J. 0'ered from parish centers during week attending the semi-annual : Neill stated. "If every parish dethe week of December 6th. meeting of the National Confer- cides to go at it alone, I don't ence of Catholic Bishops. . : know how long Catholic schools ~chools
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Apostolic Delegate To Install Bishop
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can survive in Fall River," he declared. Officials of St. Stanislaus have resolved to continue to operate independently of any city-wide arrangement. Members of Espirito Santo have reque~ted permission to continue the only Portuguese-oriented 'school but would also seek the bishop's approval of such a stand. Parishioners of St. Mary's Cathedral and Blessed Sacrament School in Fall River have resolved to see how the new diocesan Bishop, Most Rev. Daniel A. Cronin, deals with regionalization before declaring for or against regionalization. In Attleboro, Catholic school officials met with the Attleboro School Committee to seek ways to alleviate the financial troubles of St. Joseph Parish School in that city. A shared resources plan was discussed whereby children would spend part of their time in public school and the other part in Catholic school daily. St. Joseph School is prepared to lease part of its building to the school department to conduct classes for parochial students, Rev. Patrick J. O'Neill announced. Unless some aid is forthcoming, officials of. the parish school announced that the sixth, seventh and eighth grades would be closed. The uncertainty of the continued existence of parish schools is also turning away prospective students and thus compounding the problem by producing still less financialtuition help. The School Committee listened to the Superintendent of Diocesan Schools and Mr. Gerard A. Juaire, chairman of the parish school board, and asked them for formal written proposals to be examined by the Attleboro School Committee and the City Solicitor. Turn to Page Two
letter read in all churches of the Diocese of Fall River. The text of the letter of Most Rev. James L. Connolly reads: November 10, 1970 "The poor you have always with you, and, whenever you will, you can be good to them." -St. Mark, 15:7 Beloved in Christ: One cannot read newspapers or look at television programs nowadays ·and be consci,entiousIy unaware of the wide-spread poverty and hunger in the world. Wars have left behind them cities and towns in ruins. People thought to be comfortably off have lost everything in a moment. Such too, has been the toll of earthquakes and tidal waves within the past few months. But if these disasters bring suffering to the well-to-do, what shall we say of the poor, especially the permanent poor? We are believed to be the wealthiest nation ever on the face of the earth. Yet, our metropolitan areas are featured by slums. Most victims never rise out of them. They live from hand to mouth. More than half the population of the world goes to bed, if th!re are beds for them, hunTurn to Page Six
NCCM Vote Lay Council WASHINGTON (NC) - Members of various Catholic men's organizations affiliated with the National Council of Catholic Men voted here to approve formation of a National Council of Catholic Laity. The 2,049 to 204 vote followed by exactly a month a similar approval voted 513-280 by delegates of the National Council of Catholic Women's convention in Minneapolis. As a result of the vote by delegates of the two conventions both coilncils will consolidate at the national level. They will share an executive director, an associate director and a single staff.
S'enator Asserts Pope .Wi'li Try To Aid POW's VATICAN CITY (NC) - U. S. Sen. Robert P. Griffin, R-Mich., said that Pope Paul VI promised him he will do everything possibl~ to obtain the release of American prisone~s of war in Vietnam. Sen. Griffin said that during a brief private audience the Pope expressed deep sympathy for prisoners of war and their loved ones. The senator and his wife met privately with the Pope after attending an audience that included a group of Michigan residents. Griffin said he thanked the Pope for meeting recently with Turn to Page Two