VOL. 45, NO. 45 • Friday, November 23, 2001
FALL RIVER, MASS.
Southeastern Massachusetts' Largest Weekly • $14 Per Year
St. Thomas More Medal honorees announced
Diocese to observe World AIDS Day
• Red Mass on December 9 will pay tribute to a lawyer, a Superior Court judge and a clerk magistrate for their distinguished service. FALL RIVER - The names of three members of the justice system who will receive the prestigious St. Thomas More Award from the Fall River diocese at the fifth annual Red Mass were announced this week by the committee planning the event. Following tradition, a lawyer, judge and a member of the court system will be honored at the Red Mass celebrated by Bishop Sean P. O'Malley, OFM Cap., on December 9 at 3 p.m., in St. Mary's Cathedral. According to Father Mark R. Hession, liaison to the Red Mass Planning Committee, the honorees are Atty. Edward A. Roster of . Taunton; Superior Court Judge John A. Tierney of New Bedford; and Clerk Magistrate of the Barnstable District Court Orner R. Chartrand. Father Mark Cregan of Stonehill College, who is himself a lawyer, will be the hornilist at the Red Mass, so named because of the color of the vestments worn during the Mass of the Holy Spirit, whose blessing will be invoked upon the honorees. A reception and dinner at White's of Westport will follow the Mass. Professor Mary Ann Glendon, the Learned Hand Professor of Law at Harvard University, and an author, teacher and lecturer in the field of human rights and comparative law, will be the keynote speaker at the dinner. Atty. Joseph P. Harrington of New Bedford, chairman of the planning committee, explained that the Red Mass is to honor those who work in the legal profession. The celebrations customarily are held each fall after the formal opening of the court year. The coveted awards are named for St. Thomas More, a 16th-century English layman who was a lawyer and martyred for opposing the divorce of England's King Henry VIII and for refusing to Turn to page 13 - Honorees
• A giant memorial quilt made from panels fabricated by diocesan school students will be displayed.
SEMINARIAN WILLIAM Sylvia, second from left, receives a scholarship from the St. Mary's Council, Knights of Columbus in Norton. From left: Dan Farley, Sylvia, Norm Corriveau, Grand Knight Tom Castello and Joe Daly. Through the Adopt-a-Seminarian program, the local councils of the Knights of Columbus provide seminarians with an annual scholarship to assist with the purchase of books each year.
Spark ota vocation can be ignited through prayer By FATHER CRAIG A. PREGANA DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF VOCATIONS FALL RIVER - There are moments when a simple word of encouragement may spark a thought of a vocation to service in the ordained or consecrate life said Father Craig A. Pregana, director of the Diocesan Office of Vocations. "And another important way of encouraging vocations is through prayer," he said. In his remarks this week accen-
tuating the ever-present need to foster vocations, Father Pregana noted that when Bishop Sean P. O'Malley, OFM Cap., wrote a letter on vocations, he encouraged parishes to focus time and energy on encouraging vocations from among their own members. "There are so many opportunities to speak a word of invitation to the young men and women of our parishes - in religious education, serving at Mass, the parish youth
gatherings, around the family table," Father Pregana said. ''These are moments when a simple word of encouragement may spark calls to service." Father Pregana said that the single most important instruction that Jesus gives to his followers is "Pray to the Lord of the Harvest to send more workers." If the Church is to be faithful to the mission, "It must follow the Turn to page 11 - Vocations
GROUND BREAKING for the St. Pius X Catholic School in South Yarmouth took place last weekend. Participating in the ceremony were, front row, from left, Philip Boroni, Augustinian Father William T. Garland, Deacon David Akin, Bishop Sean O'Malley, OFM Cap., Msgr. John J. Smith, pastor of St. Pius X, David Hantanen and Jean Kennedy. (Anchor/McDaniel photo)
FALL RIVER - For more than a year, students in a dozen Catholic schools in the diocese have been at work constructing a large quilt to commemorate World AIDS Day 2001. The quilt, meant to promote AIDS awareness, will be on display at St. Mary's Cathedral on November 30 when the diocese, like many across the globe, will celebrate the observance wilh a noon Mass. Father Edward J. Healey, rector of the Cathedral, will be the celebrant. As part ofthe observance, a photo exhibit and a publication developed by the local Office ofAids Ministry will be included in a program November 29, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., on the Grand Staircase of the State House in Boston. Among the speakers will be Bishop O'Malley and Dr. Howard Koh, commissioner of the Massachusetts Departments of Public Health. While the diocese in recent years has marked World AIDS Day with a Vespers service on the vigil, an earlier tradition of a Mass memorializing those who died from AIDS as well as for those infected by HIV and for their families and caregivers, is being revived. Dr. Krysten Wmter-Green, director of the Office of AIDS Ministry located in Saint Anne's Hospital, said the theme of the celebrations this year is "I Care ... Do You7Youth and AIDS in the 21 st Century." She reported that the several quilts completed last year by students in a special project have been sewn into a large, single quilt, which will be seen for the first time by the public at the Mass. Schools participating included Coyle and Cassidy High School in Taunton; Bishop Stang High School in North Dartmouth; Holy FamilyHoly Name, St Mary's and St. Joseph schools in New Bedford; Bishop Connolly High School, Holy Name, St. Anne's, Holy Trinity, and SS. Peter and Paul schools in Fall River; and St. John the Evangelist Turn to page 13 - AIDS