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VOL. 48, NO. 48 • Friday, December 17, 2004

FALL RIVER, MASS.

Southeastern Massachusetts' Largest Weekly • $14 Per Year

Pope says God wants all to be holy, 'immaculate in love' By CINDY WOODEN CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE VATICAN CITY - Presiding at a special Mass marking the 150th anniversary of the proclamation of the dogma of Mary's Immaculate Conception, Pope John Paul II said God "desires that, in Christ, we all would be holy and immaculate in love." During the December 8 Mass in St. Peter's Basilica, the pope said he was "renewing today in a special way" the act of entrusting the protection of the entire Church to the Blessed Virgin Mary. On Dec. 8, 1854, in St. Peter's Basilica, Pope Pius IX formally proclaimed as a dogma of the Catholic Church that the Blessed Virgin Mary was conceived without original sin. Before the anniversary Mass began, a special pilgrimage choir from the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis sang several Marian hymns while, outside, the bells of the basilica pealed for 15 .minutes. During the Mass, special prayers were offered for theologians, whose work should promote an understanding of "the splendor of the truth, goodness and beauty that is hidden in every

truth of our faith." While the pope presided over the liturgy, the principal celebrant was Cardinal Camillo Ruini, papal vicar for Rome. In a relatively clear voice and without the difficulty he sometimes experiences, Pope John Paul read the first two paragraphs of his homily before handing the text to an aide to read. In the text, the pope said that in God's plan of salvation, knowing that Mary would accept to become the mother of Jesus, he kept her free from all sin, making her the first of all creatures to be saved by Christ. Mary, the first to be saved, "always goes before the people of God on their pilgrimage of faith toward the kingdom of heaven," the pope wrote. In addition to entrusting the Church to Mary, the pope asked her "to be the guide of your children in their pilgrimage of faith, making them ever more obedient and faithful to the word of God." "Accompany every Christian in the journey toward conversion and holiness, in the struggle against sin and in the search for true beauty, which always is a sign Turn to page 13 -lmmaculate

BISHOP GEORGE W. Coleman, left, and Father Jeffrey Cabral, chaplain at Coyle and Cassidy High School, concelebrate a Christmas Toy Mass recently at the Taunton school. Below, students admire some of the more than 800 toys collected for area needy children. Story on page 14.

Ecumenism on Cape Cod: A minister's tale of amazing grace By DEACON JAMES N.

DUNBAR

SOUTH YARMOUTH - When a hand-written letter to the editor begins with, "What I'm about to share with you ..." it usually means something mysterious is about to enfold and one starts wondering what kind of involvement it will trigger. But when the next line read, "It's a beautiful story of how God's amazing grace continues to be amazing!" came a comfortable indication that something . worthy as well as interesting was being brought to light. Indeed it was. "In 1981, I was employed by the New England Conference of the United Methodist Church to do a study of the feasibility for a new church on the north side, bay side, of Cape Cod," the three-page letter went on to say. "The end result was that a new church was chartered for the honor and glory of our amazing God in July of 1983. A few years later a beautiful building was erected on Airline Road in Brewster." Very nice, I thought. But as news editor I was looking for the Catholic "angle" in this piece of history. And as if reading my inquiring mind, the letter

picked up with, "Now, the rest of the story! During the course of my survey/study, I reached a point where the next step was to find a meeting place in the middle of the survey area to hold an informational, organizational meeting for anyone who might be interested in being part of the birth of a new church for Christ. Guess what?" OK, I said to myself, what? "You guessed it," the letter continued. "Our Lady of the Cape Church in Brewster sat right in the middle of our target area. On the spur of the moment I drove to the church and rang the doorbell of the rectory. The rest is a beautiful story of the ecumenical spirit at work. "The young lady who answered the door welcomed me in to meet the pastor - a young man at that time - who welcomed me with the love of Christ. I told him my mission and asked if there was a possibility of a meeting space on a Sunday afternoon. He checked the calendar and asked if the parish social hall would be adequate. It was perfect. The pastor wished me well in the venture as we parted company. Turn to page 13 - Ecumenism

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