The ANCHOR An Anchor of t~e Soul, Sure and Firm-St. Paul
Fall liver, M••s., Thurs"ay, Ney. 22, 197~ $4.00 per ,ea, V.I. 17, No. 47 © '1973 The Anchor PRICE 1Of.
Liturgy, Abortion Boycotts, Peace Occupy Bishops WASHINGTON (NC) - The bishops of the United States rejected Communion in the hand, endorsed the grape and lettuce boycotts, called for congressional action against abortion, and appealed for peace in the Mideast and reform in the nation's prisons. The bishops took the actions as they considered a wide variety of social and Church issues at the annual meeting here Nov. 12-16 of their two national organizations, the National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB) and the U. S. Catholic Conference (USCC). During the meeting the bishops also issued a pastoral, letter on Mary, . entitled "Behold Your Mother," which they had approved last spring at regional meetings. The generally quiet meeting was marked by arrests of demon-
strators, a sit-in at the, office of had complained last spring that the bishops' general secretary the Vatican decree was issued and by minor demonstrations at arbitrarily. The bishops refused the bishops' Mass in the Shrine to talk about their secret discusof the Immaculate Conception sions. and in their own meeting room. On the last day of their meetOne issue with a potential for ing the bishops' unexpectedly apcontroversy-the Vatican decree proved resolutions supporting the ending educational programs that grape and lettuce boycotts of the placed preparation for first Com- United Farm Workers of America munion before first Confession- and calling for free and secret was handled quietly in the bish- union elections for farm workers. ops' public meeting. While there Although many individual bishwas no vote, the bishops seemed ops had supported the UFWAboyto agree with an Education Com- cotts for some time, this was the mittee report which said that first time the entire U. S. hierwhile the programs must end, the •archy had taken such a stand,-the Vatican did not say that any action necessitated by the breakchild could be forced to go to down of a tentative agreement confession before making his between the UFWA and the rival Teamsters Union. first Holy Communion. While that discussion was reThe most intense public debate strained, the bishops decided to in the five-day meeting came go into an executive session to when the "bishops considered a discuss the manner in which the proposal of their Liturgy Comdecree was issued. Some bishops mittee in favor of seeking Vatican permission to allow Catholics in this country to receive M: : : : < Communion in the hand. Opponents of the proposal, led by Cardinal John Carberry of St. Louis, said that the proposal opened the possibility of irreverOn Thanksgiving Day, in keeping with the venerable ence and disrespect, and they custom initiated by those who first settled in our vicinity so said that the nation's Catholics many years ago, we join in returning thanks to Almighty should be surveyed for their God for the many blessings which, in His Providence, He opinions before the bishops made a final decision. has bestowed upon us. Bishop Walter Curtis of It is significant that our word for the Sacramental Gift Bridgeport, Conn., Liturgy Comof Our Divine Savior's presence, and for the Holy Sacrifice mittee chairman, and other supwithin which that Gift is bestowed, Eucharist, means literal- porters of the proposal pointed out that it was optional, that no ly "thanksgiving." It comes from the Gospel narrative of one would be forced to receive the Last Supper, where we read that Our Lord, giving Communion in the hand, and thanks, took the bread, broke it and gave it to His disciples, that it is permitted by 'the Vatsaying, "Take this, all of you, and eat it. This is my body." ican in 26 nations. The proposal was defeated by There is a beautiful text available now for Mass on Thanksa vote of 121 to 113, a result that ,giving Day, and I commend to all the faithful of the Diocese showed Communion in the hand of Fall River the noble practice of participating in the, had lost support since the bishEucharist in parish churches as the holiday begins, appropri- ops had originally voted on it in 1969. Then, 54 per cent favored ately returning thanks to our Heavenly Father. it, but the practice was not A very beautiful prayer is recited at the beginning of started because a two-thirds .majority was required. the new Mass for Thanksgiving Day: In an action marked by unanimous agreement, the bishops Lord God, you have fulfilled our founding father's backed the passage of a constifaith in your divine providence by making and tutional amendment that would keeping us a land rich in the abundance of your "repair effectively the damage creation. perpetrated" by ,the U. S. Supreme Court's abortion ruling of Freedom, justice and universal brotherhood are last Jan. 22. for us our precious heritage, but for men, in our The resolution did not give the midst and all over the world, they are still only bishops' support to any specific anti-abortion amendment now a dream. before Congress, and Cardinal John Krol of Philadelphia, May we be faithful to share this heritage with the Turn to' Page Two living and transmit it to a people still unborn.
Bishop's Thanksgiving Greeting
NAMED: Most Rev. Daniel A. Cronin, S.T.D., Ordinary of the Diocese of Fall River was named chairman of the standing committee of the North American College in Rome, succeeding Terence Cardinal Cooke, Archbishop of New York. The appointment was made during the annual meeting of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops held last week in Washington.
Supreme Court Decisions Worse Than Watergate SPOKANE (NC) - While the Watergate" scandal "fills us with disgust," the U. S. Supreme Court has done "far more damage" to the nation, Bishop Bernard J. Topel of Spokane said. "Yes, indeed, Watergate shows moral decay in our nation. I see, though, more moral decay in the rulings of the Supreme Court," Bishop Topel wrote in his weekly column Nov. 15 in the' Inland Register, the diocesan newspaper here. He cited the court's pornography decisions of the 1960s, its abortion ruling of last January, its opinions on separation of church and state, and the court's "deference to what it considers the rights of the individuaL" "What lies ahead?" the bishop asked. "Certainly we can expect that the Supreme Court will vote the same way on euthanasia, the killing of "undesirable" citizens. "The Watergate scandal gives us a very sick feeling ... (but) we should keep a proper balance in our viewpoint ... It is my conviction that far more damage has been done" by the Supreme Court, Bishop Topel wrote!
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"Let no one think that the Supreme Court is merely deciding what is clearly in the law. No constitutional lawyer, no matter how eminent, will dare predict how the judges of the Supreme Court will vote on a given issue. The Supreme Court ·is certainly not making explicit what is already in the law; it is more accurate to say that it' is writing its own laws." The only apparent recourse against the high court is pl,lblic opinion, the bishop said. Tracing' court decisions back a decade, Bishop Topel wrote, "The Supreme Court made it impossible for any state or community to protect itself from pornography. The damage done by the Supreme Court's 'decision' cannot be exaggerated. The looseness of morals, the permissiveness, the perversion that have flooded the country is certainly very much the responsibility of the action of the Supreme Court. "Finally, after years of this kind of damage to us, the Supreme' Court suddenly reversed itself! The callous stupidity of the whole thing defies description."
Echoing the profound sentiment of this prayer, it is my happy privilege, as Bishop of the Diocese of Fall River, to unite with all men of good will in sincerely returning thanks to Almighty God for His many blessings.
Bishop of Fa!! River
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Clothing Appeal November 25 to December J
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