VOL. 46, NO. 44
• Friday, November 22, 2002
FALL RIVER, MASS.
Red Mass pays tribute to four in justice system FALL RIVER - Four members of the justice systcm whosc colleagues contend are outstanding role models, received the prestigious S1. Thomas More Awards at the Fall River diocese's annual Red Mass on Sunday. Msgr. George W. Coleman, administrator of the diocese, and vicar general and moderator of the curia, was the principal celebrant and homilis1. The Stonehill College Choral under the direction of Denise Gagnon, sang the Mass. Msgr. Coleman presented the individual awards that traditionally are given to a lawyer, judge, court official and ecumenical recipient to, Attorney Irene B. Sch.all of.New Bedford, Jtidge Joseph J. Reardon of Centerville, Clerk Magistrate and Attorney Peter B. Andrade of' Taunton, and Retired Superior Court Justice Chris Byron of Rochester. The medals are named after St. Thomas More, a 16th-century English layman, who was a lawyer and martyr. He opposed the divorce of England's King Henry VIII and refused to renounce papal authority in the matter and subsequently incurred the king's wrath. In his homily, Msgr. Coleman alluded to reflections by Cardinal Francis George of Chicago on Oliver Wendell Holmes' ''The Path to Glory."
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Bishops tighten up sexual abuse norms at fall meeting in D.C. By DEACON JAMES N. DUNBAR AND
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REPORTS
WASHINGTON - Back from the nation's capital and the four-day meeting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, The Anchor's executive editor reported "it was a very good enforcement, as well as a refinement of what was begun in Dallas in June." Msgr. John F. Moore, who is also the director of the Fall River diocese's Office of Communications, covered the November 1114 meeting daily from the press section on the floor of the convention. Participating in the conference was Msgr. George W. Coleman, chancellor and moderator of the curia, in his role as administrator of the Diocese of Fall River. Also attending was John E. Kearns Jr., assistant director of the Office of Communications. "As we all now know the central issue was certainly clergy sexual abuse of minors but a great deal of other interesting matters were also at play," Msgr. Moore said. The bishops revised their charter to protect children and young people, and approved
Turn to page J3 - Red Mass
Turn to page J2 - Bishops
New logo heralds diocese's centennial ~
'The Spirit Gives Life" celebrations theme has historical as well
as biblical roots. By DEACON JAMES N. DUNBAR FALL RIVER - As the Diocese of Fall River readies to celebrate the anniversary of its first century of faith commi~ment in 2004, an interesting and most fitting logo designed by a religious sister has been unveiled. The work of Mercy Sister Gertrude Gaudette, the official logo, which shows the vast expanse of the diocese including its Islands communities; its heraldic shield and the dates 1904:-2004, are pertinent. " .. . Sister Gaudette; who th~ records note is retired, is an outstanding artist and woodcarver who con- ' tinues to teach at her residence at The Lani:lmark in downtown Fall River. Contacted recently just after giving an' art ' class, the religious sister humbly played down .. the design. "It's very, very simple," she said. "Thet:e's the . diocese's identifying crest, there's where the people are, and those, are the years we are celebrat- " ing." At age 80, Sister Gaudette acknowledged that. her lifetime,covers most of the years the celebrations are all about, . and that,she spent most of her life in the diocese. "So I feel very much a part of what's happening and .consider it an honor to have been asked to design a logo - and that it was accepted.~' . ' " Theresa Dougilli" president of Bishop Stang High School in North Dartmouth, and a member of the Centennial Celebrations Committee, said
that while several artists' names were mentioned, she suggested Sister Gaudette be asked to create the design. "Sister Gertrude and I knew one another because she had been an art teacher at Bishop Stang for 10 years," Dougall said "Because Sister Gaudette has been so active in the field of art in the diocese for many years and is known by so many people familiar with her work, she was a natural choice," Dougall explained. She said Sister Gaudette submitted several designs and the committee suggested inclusion of the diocesan crest and an inscription 'The Spirit Gives Life,"taken from the Scriptural passage John 6:63. That text "was the fruit of the committee's discussions on several proposed themes," reported Father Barry W. Wall, diocesan archivist. That quotation will be the theme of the centennial celebrations, Father Wall and Dougall reported. , The diocesan crest has a cross which symbolizes the Faith. It has a six-pointed star, a reminder that the diocese is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary particularly as Our Lady, of the Assumption. There is also a wavy river running across the shield which symbolizes the Quequechan River, which at one time flowed from the eastern quarter of Southeastern Massachusetts through the City of Fall River and empq 2~OO tied into the Taunton River. , "Quequechan" which in the language of the Native-Americans residing in this region, means • "falling river," suggested a more fitting name for , the city once called Troy, because of the panoramic Tum to /JlIKe J3 - Logo
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