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THE ANCHOR-Diocese of Fall River-Thur., Nov. 24, 1977
It1s Fun to Play the Wholll·Be-Next-Pope Game By REV. ANDREW M, GREELEY
There may be a revolution in the Catholic Church this coming winter or spring just as there may be one in eastern Europe. It is clear that the Pope was seriously ill this
By
MARY CARSON
No one enjoys a party as much as our little retarded daughter, Bobbie. She was in her glory the day of her brother's wedding. In spite of advance planning, there was still a crush getting everyone dressed in time. I had gotten Bobbie started and left her with socks and shoes to do herself. As we were walking into church I noticed her shoes were on the wrong feet.
By REV. JOHN B. SHEERIN, CSP
Why are so many off-beat cults flourishing today? Has President Jimmy Carter's evangelical religion anything to do with them? Some cults are evidence of a spiritual malaise in America but the President's Baptist religious faith is a solid, traditional religious belief. Of late, however,
By JOSEPH RODERICK
We spent last weekend in Vermont, finding a lovely place to stay and thoroughly enjoying the peace and quiet of our sister state, away from the telephone and the daily grind. It wasn't too long after we settled in to our weekend abode, however, that the kids discovered that there was no television. Melissa had brought sufficient reading matter to keep her busy, but Jason and his cousin were
summer, much sicker than newspaper reports would indIcate. While he has apparently recovered, it is now generally believed that there will be a conclave either this year or next to select a new pope. Pope Paul's repeated references to his own death are interpreted as revealing his awareness that his strength and health are slipping. His refusal to re-sign is thus interpreted as a decision based on his assumption that he will soon be dead, and
it is more appropriate to die in the saddle.
There was nothing I could do about it at the moment. She was wearing a long dress. Who would notice? I made a mental note to straighten them out between the Church and the reception. But during that time there was a four-week-old niece to be settled _with a babysitter, friends we hadn't seen in years, and a hem that had caught on a highheel on a foot that has much more experience with sneakers. 'I forgot all about 'Bobbie's shoes. The wed<;ling was marvelous. My three sons all work as com· mercial fishermen. They are always dressed in heavy rubber boots, dungarees and flannel shirts. Seeing them in white tux-
edos restored a mother's spirit. I'll admit that I'm quite a stiff, not particularly demonstrative. Bobbie is the exact opposite. She shows her love for everybody. There was a moment when the gro'om was standing alone on the dance floor. Little Bobbie ran to him, long skirt flying behind her. Her 6'4" brother put his arms out to her, stooped down to catch her, then swing her up in his arms and kissed her. She doesn't care that much about eating anything other than cold cereal, ice cream and peanut butter, so she wasn't interested in the dinner. The music and dancing were something else.
This synod was pale' compared to the one three years ago when many bishops spoke their minds only to be severely chastised by the Pope. They chose this time to be much more discreet. Indeed, thre was virtually no open discussion of the election of the next pope even though almost two-thirds of those who will vote in the election were in Rome during the synod. But
Therapeutic Touch l TM
behind the scenes there was great dissatisfaction, summed up by one delegate who said, "They made me waste a month of my life." Another told me, "We really didn't have a synod, it only looked like one." One hears it said repeatedly in Rome that at the beginning of the next conclave many cardinals will insist on a discussion of papal retirement and will only vote for a candidate who will make some sort of formal commitment to retire.
No one is sure whether any cardinals would mount such a revolutionary attack on papal power when push comes to shove, but if they do, the way would be open for a younger pope, a man in his fifties, perhaps like Florence's Cardinal BenelIi (particularly if there is time to forget how tough-minded he was as the present pope's assistant), or England's Cardinal Hume, who made a powerful impression at the synod.
She has a natural sense of rhythm, absolutely no inhibitions, and the enthusiasm to dance every number. She did. Occasionally she had no one to dance with so she danced alone. But then she discovered that if she walked up to someone who was just sitting there doing nothing and asked him to dance, he did. After several hours, she came to me and said, "My feet hurt!" Then I remembered. Shoes corrected, she started with new
groom, love for this new daughter . . . and thoughts for my other daughter, facing surgery on her skull. Fatigue from the wedding made my anxiety more intense as the priest started the Communion prayers: "Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world . . . " Bobbie snuggled up against me, reached up, and kissed my cheek. Agnus Dei ...
e~ergy.
The next day at Mass my thoughts were deep. There was so much to pray about . . , gratitude that the wedding had been so beautiful, thoughts for the future for the bride and
Message to an unIdentified Anchor reader from Falmouth: Your letter offered the solution to a grave difficulty. My deepest thanks, and prayers for you. • . . for your understanding . . •
Religious Twilight Zone
we have been hearing about cults that have little or no relation to divine worship. Their concern is peace of mind and liberation from emotional tension. One such cult is a "laying on of hands" therapy. In the early Church, "laying on of hands" was a common ritual. It was believed that a sick person could be helped by a holy person who would pray over and touch him or her. Today hospitals and nursing schools are introducing the "touch." Dr. Dolores Krieger of New York University has taught over 3,000 nurses, therapists and
veterinarians the "therapeutic touch," Her main aim is to reach "the tension zones" that cause emotional or other distress but does not regard touching as productive of miraculous effects. Another ritual in the twilight zone between religion and mindhealing is Transcendental Meditation (TM). TM was brought to America by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, a Hindu monk. It includes meditation in periods of relaxation, the uttering of a personal mantra (a two-syllable word), and a period of heightened consciousness. It now claims 500, 000 adherents and its adherents
are found in business offices and even in the armed forces. Many practitioners consider it simply a non-religious aid to self-development and peace of mind but Federal Judge H. Curtis Meanor, recently ruled that TM is religious in nature and he ordered it stopped in New Jersey public schools. One TM leader said, however, that "we transcend the state of consciousness, which has nothing to do with Christianity or Judaism or Hinduism," Or, as another TM practitioner said, "When I want to relax, I use the technique from TM. If I had any inkling TM was interfering with my re-
Iigion, I'd stop doing it," One fact is clear: There is at present in the United States an increase in cults devoted to "peace of mind," Forty years ago, we witnessed a nationwide movement designed to promote peace of mind. It was psychology with religious overtones, a cheap therapy that left behind a trail of heartaches and disappointed hopes. The proliferation of these current "peace of mind" medicines may be an indication of the spiritual restiveness and tension of the American people, a mood that might provoke a revival of the old "peace of mind" movement.
soon at a loss as to what to do without the boob tube. Luckily we had brought some cards and it wasn't long before the kids found some games in a cupboard.
children. Enough has been said about its ill-effects to fill untold volumes, but it still presents a quandary for parents. By not having television for the weekend our children used their own initiative and developed entertainment based on their own interests. They surprised themselves with their ingenuity and their ability to find creative and interesting things to do.
there was the need to draw on our own resources rather than
depend upon superimposed entertainment.
And after the first panic subsided, Jason and John Rccepted the prospect of amusing themselves just as thousands of children have done before them. The first evening dragged a little for them until Marilyn and I joined in their games, but by the second day they were perfectly content and I am sure that had we stayed a week television would have been all but forgotten. I suppose the point I am trying to make is that television is too easy a medium for mesmerizing
As for the adults, we managed to get through the weekend without any football- and sport shows, without old movies, and news programs. The total loss as a result of not having television was minimal. Neither Marilyn nor I is really a television watcher so our loss was not too great, but even for us
She's the Top Sister Kathleen Gibney, SUSC, co-director of the University Apostolate for the diocese of Orlando, Fla. and a campus minister at Rollins College in Winter Park, Fla. for many years, has been named one of the top 10 women in her field in the nation. The honor came to the Fall River native at the annual meeting of diocesan campus ministry directors, held in New Orleans. A graduate of the former Sa-
cred Hearts Academy in Fall River, the religious is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Fred A. Shea of Sacred Heart parish in that city. Prior to entering the campus ministry field she was on the Sacred Hearts Academy faculty and worked with the Franciscan Communications Center in Los Angeles in producing religious featurettes for television and radio. She holds a master's degree in performing arts from the Catholic University of America.