lIt eanc 0 FALL RIVER DIOCESAN NEWSPAPER

FOR SOUTHEAST MASSACHUSETTSCAPE COD & THE ISLANDS

VOL. 42, NO. 46 • Friday, November 27, 1998 FALL RIVER, MASS. Southeastern Massachusetts' Largest Weekly • $14 Per Year

Bishop's Advent message urges focus on God the Father

Cape Cod woman founds familyscholarship to aid seminarians

Tum to page five - Message

"Bishop O'Malley presentedCabral with the scholarship thatwill provide his expenses duringseminary training at St. John Semi­nary in Brighton for the next fouryears," reported Father Pregana.

"The Gleasons are part of thevocation team at Corpus ChristiParish entitled 'Seeking our Shep­herds.' Their primary concern ispromoting and fostering voca­tions," Father Pregana added. ''TheGleasons have been very kind intheir prayers and support of semi-

Turn to page JJ - Scholarship

be likened to a spiritual journey ofconversion. It is a process and astruggle, but when we return to theFather'shouse, weare unitedwith ourbrothersand sisters.To be con­verted is torememberthat we

.:w.-have a Fa- l).....

ther and that the Father has otherchildren. When the Prodigal Sonreturned home, he returned notonly to his father but also to hisbrother. In fact, the first thing thefather does is to reconcile him withhis estranged brother. Hence, theprayer we say is not, "my Fatherwho art in heaven," but "our Fa­ther."

Too often, our modern world has

of theological studies.Mary Gleason of Sagamore and

her sister Beatrice Gleason met re­cently with Bishop Sean P.O'Malley at his office in Fall Riverto talk about the scholarship thatwill be given on behalfof their fam­ily.

Father Craig A. Pregana, direc­tor of vocations for the Fall Riverdiocese, explained that the GleasonFamily Scholarship, initiated byMary Gleason to educate a semi­narian in his theology years hasbeen awarded to Jeffrey Cabral.

urgy of Reconciliation commemo­rating the Year of the Father whichwill be held at the Cathedral of OurLady of the Assumption on Friday,Feb. 19, 1999.

Iwould suggest that our anthemfor this year be the familiar tune ofLucien Deiss: "Yes, Ishall arise andreturn to my Father." These are thewords of the Prodigal Son in Luke'sGospel after he had spent all hismoney, lost all his friends, and feltsuch hunger that he was ready toeat what was being fed to the pigs.He had forgotten that he had a fa­ther and wanted to make his ownlife without him. Somehow, hethought that freedom would bringhappiness. It was a long exercisein self-deceit: but, when his lifecame crashing in, he rememberedthat he was not an orphan. In fact,for God there are no orphans in thisworld, only sons and daughterswho have left home.

The Prodigal's return home can

~ Gleason Family Schol­arship is founded onthe belief that priestsare vital to the life ofthe Church.

By JAMES N. DUNBAR

EAST SANDWICH - The gen­erous financial gift of a womanfrom Corpus Christi Parish in EastSandwich will found a scholarshipenabling a seminarian from the FallRiver Diocese to pursue four years

cept of father is a foreign one; thus,it is more important than ever forus to ponder the mystery of Godthe Father.

On Ascension Thursday in1997, we observed a diocesan cel­ebration commemorating God theSon. This past year, the Year oftheHoly Spirit was celebrated in abeautiful Uturgy on the Vigil ofPentecost. Since the Church's li­turgical calendar is void of a spe­cific feast to celebrate God the Fa­ther, our Diocesan Pastoral Coun­cil and Jubilee Committee were

faced with achallenge.With empha­sis on theLenten call tobe "Recon­ciled with ourHeavenly Fa­ther," I inviteall to a specialdiocesan Ut-

Dearly beloved in Christ,

With the begin ning of Advent,the Church opens a new year. PopeJohn Paul II has selected the themeof God the Father for this final yearof preparation for the millen nium.It is good for us to meditate onwhat it means that God is Father,especially we who live in an agewhere the very concept of father­hood is shrinking. In spite of thefact that we celebrate a Father'sDay in our secular world, more andmore children grow up in homeswith no father. To some, the con-

Diocesan priests enjoy pilgrimage to Assisi, RomeBy MIKE GORDON

ANCHOR STAFF

FALL RIVER - When Fa­ther Mark R. Hession, diocesandirector of Education and For­mation of the Clergy, was pre­paling for his pilgrimage toRome and Assisi .with other di­ocesan priests, things were veryhectic.

As coordinator for the trip,Father Hession found himself tak­ing care of last minute details andhardly had time to pack, but abrief phone call from a parishio-

ner at St. Joseph's,Church, Taun­ton, put things into perspective.

The call was a request for Fa­ther Hession to say a specialprayer at Michelangelo's "Pieta"sculpture in Rome for a boy suf­fering from muscular dystrophy.So with that request and a bookof prayer petitions, the spiritualjourney began.

More than 30, diocesan priestsjoined Father Hession and retreatmaster retired Bishop Joseph F.Maguire, former bishop ofSpringfield, for 10 days in Assisiand Rome where they shared

prayers, Mass with Bishop SeanP. O'Malley OFM Cap., friend­ship and a spiritual retreat.

"It was wonderful to be there,"declared Father Hessiqn follow­ing his return. "There was a verystrong sense of unity and we allcame back inspired. It was moresuccessful than I could have everimagined," he added.

The pilgrims were joined inRome by Bishop O'Malley whotraveled with them to Assisi fol­lowing his 'ad lima' visit withPope John Paul II. Each day inAssisi they visited a different

place or church associated withSt. Francis of Assisi including aretreat house in Carcere wherehe once prayed.

"Our visit to Carcere was veryspecial," said Father Hession. "Itis a place surrounded by natureand the air is very clear. It's veryinspiring." At Carcere there is aplace in the caves where 51.Francis frequently walked andprayed. Visitors to the site haveto crawl through stones to see it,but that didn't stop anyone. Out­side of the main area, a statue ofSt. Francis lies on the ground

with its gaze on the sky.At the retreat house, priests at­

tended talks focusing on thepriest as a man of prayer.Themed "The Priest: Called toRebuild the Church fromWithin," the sessions were led byBishop Maguire who told partici­pants that "the first sign thatsomeone lives the life of theHoly Spirit is the sign ofjoy seenwithin them." Father Hessionsaid thc priests enjoyed the manydelightful storics and prayers lcdby Bishop Maguirc. "Hc's a vcry

Tum to page 8 - Pilgrimage

2 THE ANCHOR - Diocese of Fall ~iver ------: Fri., Nov.. 27, 1998

.William Rodrigues

Regional coordinators include:Attleboro Deanery - Fathe r BruceNeylon at S1. Mary's Parish inSeekonk; Taunton Deanery - FatherManuel Ferreira of St. Anthony'sParish, Taunton; New BedfordDeanery - Father John Peny of S1.

In Y our 'Prayer~.Please pray for the following

priests during the coming weekNECROLOGY

,"'--..'\

\\ December 31926, Rev. John w: McCarthy, P.R., Pastor, Sacred Heart, :Fall

River. \ \ .\ .\ December 4

1945, Rev. Charles Ouellette, Assistant, St. Jacques, Taunton1994, Rev. Edward C. ptiffy, Pastor, St. Francis Xavier, Hyannis

\ \ /~ ~ \December 5, / .....

1986, Rev. Eugene J. Boh,tin,~MaiJchesfer Diocese1990, Rev. Coleman Conley, SS.CC., Chap'lain, Sacred Heart

Home, New Be5!!0rd"~'=-'//\, \~./~ /~ December 6

1~~~ev;-foseph L. Cabral; Pastor, Our Lady of Angels, FallRiver \ ~

1966, Rt. Rev. Msgr. John H. Hackett, Chancellor of Fall RiverDiocse, June-De~ember, 1966 \ \

1971, Rev. Joseph K. Welsh, Retired Pastor, Our Lady of Victory,Centerville \ \

1985, Rev. John T. Higgins, Pastor,Emeritus, St. Mary, Mansfield

PRIESTS CURRENt(;y SERVING\ \

November 30 Rev. Msgr. Norman J.·FerrisDecember I Rev. James FerryDecember 2 Very Rev. Edintird J. Fitzgerald, VFDecem\:>er 3 Rev. James M. FitzpatrickDecember 4 Very Rev. Bento R. Fraga, VFDecember 5 Rev. Thomas A. FrechetteDecember 6 Rev. Daniel L. Freitas

December 11958, Rev. Phillipe, Ross, Chaplain, Sacred Heart Home, New

Bedford1964, Rev. Edward J. Gorman, 'Pastor Emeritus, St. Patrick,

SomersetDecember 2

1917, Rev. Arthur Savoie, Pastor, St. Hyacinth, New Bedforcl1958, Rev. Dennie W. Harrington, Assistant, St. Mary, Taunlon

Venus de Milo ballroom inSwansea.

Last year, ballgoers gathered un­der the theme of the Holy Spiritma,rking the year's identification bythe Holy Father of 1998 as the"Year of the Spirit."

Althoughthe final de-,tai Is of thedecorati veeffectsplanned byDominicanSisterGertrudeGaudetteand Mrs.AubreyArmstrongof Somersetare still con­fidential, it isknown thatthe haunt­ingly beauti­ful master- 'COLOR MINDED Dominican Sisterpiece of Gertrude Gaudette, John B. Caron of North~~~~r'a~~~ Dartmouth and Doris Poisson of Fall River, mem­piets the em- bers of'the decorations committee f~)r thebrace given, Bishop's Charity Ball, have the same idea in mind:t.o .the Prodi- to make this year's event the most colorful.gal Son by ,his father, will be woven into the John Neumann Parish, East Free­overall decor, reported Msgr. Tho- town; Cape Cod and the Islandsmas Harrington, diocesan director Deanery - Father Thomas L. Rita ofof the ball. Our Lady of the Assumption Par­.' Bishop Sean P. O'Malley, OFM ish, Osterville.

Cap., will preside at the festivities. In greater Fall River, prospectiveIndividuals and businesses in- donors are invited to call thl: Dioc­

terested in supporting the ball are esan Office of Catholic Charitiesinvited to subscribe to the souve- and Development at (508) 676­J:lir program book currently being 8943. Wo.tten inquiries are invitedprepared. Several levels' of giving at Post Oftl,ce Box 1470,Fal! Riverare available. '. ', ... ". MA 02722. . .. .

-

Daily ReadingsNov. 30 Rom 10:9-18; Ps 19:

2-5; Mt 4:18-22Dec. 1 1511:1-10; Ps 72:2,

7-8,12-13,17;Lk 10:21-24

Dec. 2 Is 25:6-1 Oa; Ps 23:1-6; Mt 15:29-37

Dec.3 Is 26:1-6, Ps 118:1,8-9,19-21,25-27a;Mt 7:21',24-27

Dec.4 Is 29:17-24, Ps 27:1,4,13-14; Mt 9:27-31

Dec.5 Is 30:19-21,23-26;Ps 147:1-6;Mt 9:35-10:1,6-8

Dec.6 Is 11 :1-10; Ps 72:2,7-8,12-13,17; Rom15:4-9; Mt 3:1-12

. .FALL RIVER - Harold Francis

"Mickey" O'Hearn, 73, of ShawmutStreet, died unexpectedly Mondayat Charlton Memorial Hospital. Hewas the husband of Margaret T.(Mackey) O'Heam and father of Fa­ther Michael J.T. O'Hearn, chaplainat Charlton Memorial Hospital., Mr. and Mrs. O'Hearn had cel~

ebrated their 46th wedding anni­versary on June 28.

Born in Fall River, a son of thelate Joseph and the late Mary(Hurley) O'Hearn, he was a lifelongresident of this city. Prior to retir­ing in 1983, he was a fire fighter forthe City of Fall River for 20 years.He was a 1943 graduate of B.M.C.Durfee High School and a WorldWar II U.S. Navy veteran. He'was amember of Sacred Heart Parish, theFall River Fire Department RetireeAssociation and the Over the HillGang.,

Besides his wife and priest son,he leaves another son, Brian J.O'Hearn of Fall River; a daughter,Patricia O'Hearn-Cabral of thiscity; three brothers, RaymondO'Hearn of Swansea, James P.O'Hearn of Fall River, and JohnO'Hearn of Titusville, Fla.; fourgrandchildren; and nieces andnephews. He was the also the twinbrother of the late Mary O'Hearn­Dale.

His funeral was held Wednesdayfrom the "Cherry Place" Home ofWaring-SuHivan-Ashton­Coughlin-Driscoll, 178 Winter St.His funeral Mass was celebrated inSacred Heart Church and burial wasin St. Patrick's Cemetery here.

NEW BEDFORD - Taking anote from Pope John Paul II's themefor Jubilee Year 2000, the decora­tions committee for the 1999Bishop's Charity Ball will focus onthe theme, "God the Father" in pre­paring for the event.

The ball, which generates sig­nificant revenues for the charitableendeavors of the Diocese of FallRiver, will be ~eld Jan. 8, at the

Harold F.O'Hearn

®bituary

Decorations committee for annu:alBishop's Charity Ball hard at work

11II1111111111111111111111111THE ANCHOR (USPS-545-020) PeriodicalPostage Paid at Fall River. Mass. Publishedweekly except for the first two weeks in Julyam the week after Christmas at 887 HighlamAvenue. Fall River. Mass. 02720 by the CatholicPress ofthe Diocese ofFall River. Subscriptionprice by mail. postpaid $14,00 per year.•Postmasters send address changes to TheAochor, P.O. Box 7, Fall River, MA (12722.

WILLIAM RODRIGUES

Pope John Paul II writes: "Ev­ery vocation is born, is nourished

and develops in the Church and islinked to the Church in its origin,growth, purpose and mission. Forthis reason, diocesan and parishcommunities . are called tostrengthen their commitment tovocations to the priesthood andconsecrated life, especially withthe proclamation of the Word, thecelebration of the sacraments andthe witness ofcharity."

For more information abouthow your parish can support vo­cations, contact Father CraigPregana, Vocation Director, at(508) 990-0371 at the VocationOffice, 500 Slocum Road, NorthDartmouth, MA 02747-2930. Helpto make your parish a place whereyoung people may hear God's callto service!

The course ofstudy includes res­piratory systems/airway manage­ment, assessment and managementof shock, epi-pen, fracture manage­ment, ambulance operations, EMScommunication, patient-assistedmedication administration, medi­cal and legal issues, patient assess­ment, role and responsibilities ofan EMT, medical emergencies,medical control procedures andsemi-automatic defibrillation.

Class sizes are limited and reg~

istration is available on a first come,first serve basis. For an applicationor more information about the EMTBasic Education Program, call 1­800-499-6428.

Special service Nov. 30 willmark World AIDS Day observance

FALL RIVER - World AIDS Day is Dec. 1, and the diocese willmark its observance at a specially written vespers service to be heldNov. 30 in St. Mary's Cathedral at 6 p.m.

The service was written by Dr. Krysten Winter-Green, director ofthe AIDS Ministry Office for the Fall River Diocese and put to musicby well-known composer Glenn Giuttari of Rehoboth.

The Sine Nomine Choral Group, directed by Giuttari, will singthe vespers' piece.

Although the diocese usually marks the observance with a Mass,Dr. Winter-Green said she composed the vespers as something more'inclusive for people of different faith perspectives. She said shethought that people from an interfaith group would feel more of aninvolvement with the evening prayer service.

SOMERSET - As an altarserver, lector and member of theyouth group, Bill Rodrigues wasactively involved in parish life atSt. Thomas More Church prior toentering the seminary.

In 1990, he graduated from.Somerset High School and enteredSt. John Seminary in Brighton. Hecredits his involvement in parish.life as one of the influences towardhis decision to enter the collegeseminary. There he was able to con­sider the priesthood with less dis­traction. Rodrigues had the oppor­tunity to study Spanish during thesummer of 1998 in Puebla, Mexico.He has been involved in pastoralministry during his time at St. John'sCollege, \Vorki.ng at Children'sHospital in Boston and religiouseducation in area parishes.

Following graduation from theseminary college, Rodrigues wasasked to attend the North Ameri­can College in Rome for his theo­logical studies. There he attendedthe Gregorian University and wasinvolved in pastoral field educationat the Gesu Hospital in Rome. In1996, he returned to the U.S. for ayear of pastoral ministry at St. JohnParish in New Bedford. There heintegrated his theological studieswith pastoral situations. He has con­tinued his theological studies at St.John's and this fall began his thirdtheology year.

Rodrigues says that his involve­ment in the parish youth group wasinstrumental in hearing God's callto ministry and service.

GETIING TO KNOW OURSEMINARIANS

Saint Anne's to offerEMTprogram

FALL RIVER - Saint Anne'sHospital, in collaboration withSafety Program Consultants, Inc.,will sponsor a Basic EmergencyMedical Technician program, be­ginning Jan. 5, 1999.

The course will' be held at SaintAnne's Hospital onTuesday andThurs­day evenings from 7-10 p.m. and se­lected Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The program, which focuses ontrauma and medical emergencies,is designed to provide the neces­~ary training to participants withan intetest in becoming a healthcare professional and enable themto enter the Emergency MedicalServices field.

THE ANCHOR - Diocese of Fall River - Fri., Nov. 27, 1998 3

Journey through Advent can often be confusing

" ,

Advent became less evident in rc­cent times. The tradition of fastingcontinued until the Code of CanonLaw of 1917-1918 was instituted.However, there came restrictions onmusical instruments, decorations,the Glory to God, the Alleluia verseand weddings during Advent. Withsome modifications these traditionscontinue today during Advent, butwithout a predominant focus on apenitential spirit.

However, the spirit of expec­tation is reflected in churchesand homes by the Adventwreath. Its four candles representthe tension between darknessand light. The candles recall thelong time when people lived inspiritual darkness, waiting forthe coming of the Messiah, thelight of the world.

PRESENTS ITS 20TH ANNUALCHRISTMAS CONCERT ENTITLED

t!eteo~ate the <:feasOn­ex g>o~hait·if(!}nUj/nuM

directed by Dee Powell

3 8 p.m. Alliance Church4 8 p.m. St. Anthony's5 8 p.m. Holy Trinity6 4 p.m. Our Lady of Lourdes

10 8 p.m. St. Mary'sII 8 p.m. St. Mary's12 8 p.m. Our Lady of Fatima13 4 p.m. St. Margaret's

A free-will offering will be taken.

DecemberDecemberDecemberDecemberDecemberDecemberDecemberDecember

popular feast throughout the worldafter the 4th century, Adventevolved as a distinct liturgical sea­son and a time for fasting. beforethe feast. By the mid-6th century,says Dues, the Church in Rome hadbegun to focus on the DecemberEmber Days that occurred on theMonday, Wednesday and Saturdayafter the feast of St. Lucy on Dec.13. It seems that the Church set apenitential theme to offset the in­fluence of the popular pagan har­vest festival of Saturnalia from Dec.17 to 23.

By the end of the 6th century,during the reign of Pope Gregorythe Great, a brief preparatory sea­son of four weeks had evolved tothe joyful remembrance of Jesus'sbirth on Dec. 25.

The penitential theme during

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altars bare of flowers and decora-, tions clash with the red, green andglitter seen outside. But with itsmany emotional overtones, Adventushers in a season of happy expec­tations.

At first, from the early 4th cen­tury, the feast of the Nativity on'Dec. 25 began the Church year atRome. When Advent evolved, ittook this position and since the900s has been considered the be­ginning of the Church year. Thisdoes not mean that Advent is themost important time of the year. TheEaster cycle has always had thishonor. The distinction happenedfrom the practice of placing the li­turgical texts for Advent at the be­ginning of hand-copied books usedfor Mass, Dues points out.

Once Christmas had become a

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can be the roadmap for us.From the first Sunday of Advent

until Dec. 16, the focus of this sea­son is upon Christ's glorious returnin the end of time of a stored cre­ation, the "Saint Andrew Bible Mis­'sal" points out. From Dec., 17 to 24inclusive, the texts of the liturgyprepare us more directly for the cel­ebration of Christmas.

"An essential component ofChristian spirituality is a livingsense of vigilance, a state of beingalert for the coming of Christ whois among us, yet who comes aneweach day and who will come in adefinitive end time," the St. AndrewMissal says. "The Scriptures re­count humanity's longing, satisfiedin the birth of Jesus" who went be­yond all human hope in takingupon himself everything that istruly human."

A spirit of expectation beginsto pick up momentum, says GregDues in his "Catholic Customs andTraditions." There is a differentkind of music and song, and an ava­lanche of decorations. It is obviousthat something wonderful is aboutto happen.

In the midst of this swelling ex­citement throughout the contem­porary society and culture, wor­shippers in churches are remindedto be watchful, to repent, to do pen­ance.

"The world around us will rushthe Christmas season and clothe it­self in tinsel while Christians findthemselves wrapped in a deep spiritof hope restored," says the St. An­drew Missal.

"The world Will tum on twin­kling lights whi Ie C:hristians flingthe light of Christ into the teeth ofdeath. Christ has come among us.Christ is among us. Christ willcome again in a glory to be recog­nized only by those who keepwatch in the growing darkness andcold."

The purple-blue of vestmentsworn by priests and deacons, and

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Bv JAMES N. DUNBAR

FALL RIVER - A couple ofweeks ago I was heading for a con­ference in Worcester on end-of-lifeissues, and somehow missed theturnoff and became lost. I stoppedat a gas station along Route 9 andasked the young man pumping gasfor directions.

"I can get you there," he said,confidently. "Now pay attention."I chuckled to myself as he said that,but then, as he began giving direc­tions, realized that he was helpingto get me out of the mess I had got­ten myself into and had better payattention.

It reminded me of how confus­ing the journey through Advent cansometime!\ be.

Advent blends together a peni­tential spirit similar to Lent, a litur­gical theme of preparation for thesecond and final coming of theLord called the Parousia, and a joy­ful theme of getting ready for theBethlehem event.

The word Advent, from theLatin adventus, or "coming," origi­nally described the whole mysteryof the Incarnation. The conceptionof Jesus was an Advent, but so was'his birth and what will be his finalcoming at the end-times. In a morepopular sense, Advent was first as­sociated with the time of the yearnow called Christmastime and fi­nally with the weeks of preparationfor Christmas.

The "Order of Prayer," the offi­cial book that schedules the Lit­urgy of the Hours and the celebra­tion. of the Euchadst,' says that Ad­vent has a two-fold character: as.aseason to prepare for Christmas,when Christ's first coming to us isremembered; and as a season whenthat remembrance directs our mindsand hearts to await Christ's secondcoming at the end of time. So Ad­vent is a period of devout and joy­ful expectation.

The Scriptures at Advent Masses

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1 JohnC.1 LINDO & SON111111

I

like any other for creating :rever­ence for God. I believe that the: moreour young people enter this :;pace,the deeper will be their sense of re­ligion.

. Another means of introducingyoung people into sacred space isto encourage them to become mem­bers of the choir if they have thetalent. Sacred music consists in sa­cred words and themes which asinger must appreciate to sing well.Choirs also tend to share a real senseof parish spirit.

Consider also the value ofretreats •as a way ~o create sacred spacl:. Re­treats demand a lot of work, whichis one reason they are underuti lired.But studies have shown repeatedlythat students who make a retreat aremore likely to discuss religion withtheir parents and tend to feel c:loserto God.

.As we move toward the new mil­lennium, religious-education pro­grams need to foster in a seriom: waythe idea that Websites can creal:e sa­cred space. They can serve as anexcellent quiet space for meditation.

Also, used judiciously -withdiscernment - Websites can begood sources of information on re­ligion. Catechists need to re,alizehow many homes now, or in therelatively near future, will have ac­cess to Websites that can lend sup­port to the religious-educationprogram's goals.

Teaching religion never has beeneasy. There always are outside in­fluences that work against it. One of­the best ways to counter these influ­ences is by putting students i::t anenvironment that helps them real­ize they have dirl?ct access to God.

the .living word

BISHOP PAUL ZIPFEL OF BISMARCK, N.D., PRAYS WITH FELLOWBISHOPS BEFORE A SESSION OF THEIR ANNUAL FALL MEETING.THE U.S. BISHOPS MET NOVEMBER 16-19 IN WASHINGTON, D.C.

"Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lor~, whose hope is the Lord."Jeremiah 17:7

Notes for to·d.ay·':s:.ca·techistsBy FAlliER EUGENE HEMRICK

CAlliOUC NEWS SERVICE

Recently, for the first time inquite some time, I led a seminar forcatechists who teach Catholic pub­lic-school children. But the prob­lems the catechists surfaced were thesame ones I'd heard years ago.

Some teachers spoke of parents"dumping" children on them. Theseparents don't check their child'shomework, don~t show up for par­ent-teacher meetings, don't volun­teer to help..

One teacher described a fourth­grader blatantly telling her hedoesn't believe in God and that reli­gion is a bore. Another teacher's par­ish encompassed 27 different cul­tural gtoups. Many of her studentscoming to the United States fromcertain cultural groups are very reli­gious at first, but unfortunately losethis quality in their new culture. All

the teachers I addressed felt thatnegative cultural influences were'their worst enemy.

My heart goes out to these teach­ers, who more than anything elsewant their students to make God apriority. It all has me wondering,though, what religious-educatorscan do to respond to current needs.

For on~ thing, I think that today'sreligious-education classes need tobe supplemented in a significantway by creative, outside projectsthat place students in sacred spaces.One of the best ways to respond tostudentboredom and rebellion is tosituate students in sacred settings. Aweekly class solely confined to aclassroom has a place, but is out ofdate if used as the sole location forteaching religion. .

One way to achieve this is by reeturning to the old practice ofencour­aging as many students as possible

to serve inch urch.Unfortu­nately,

'f Catholicpublic-

.*" schoolchildrenoften arethe last tobe askedto be altarservt:rs,lectors ormembersof the par­ish choir.

Thealtar is asacred

C:~~_..!!~_~~~ ~~~-~---~. space un-

.NEWS EDITORJames N. Dunbar

~ L!A'AY PRESS - FALL RIVER

W '.§4j +MQi ••0

GENERAL MANAGERRosemary Dussault

4 THE ANCHOR - Diocese of FalI River - Fri., Nov. 27, 1998

theancho~OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE DIOCESE OF FALL RIVERPublished weekly by' The Catholic Press of. the Diocese of Fall River

887 Highland Avenue' P.O. BOX 7Fall River, MA 02720 Fall River, MA 02722-0007

TelephQne 508-675-7151FAX (508) 675-7048

Send address changes' to P.O. BOll 7 or call telephone number above

themoorin~The pilgrim journey

Of all the celebrations in the calendar year, Thanksgiving Dayis most uniquely American. Everyone partakes in the spirit ofthe day and as a time to give thanks to God, it is perhaps themost meaningful ecumenical day in the nation. Protestants,Catholics, Jews, Islamics, Buddhists and every other member ofthe religious rainbow can sit down together, break bread andpraise God for his goodness.

In a secular society that so often denies the existence of God,the Thanksgiving tradition is more than refreshing. It is a posi­tive sign that all in this land can join in a celebration that isuniquely American and not be offensive to any religion. It is acommon denominator that allows people to share and pray to­gether. What was once the private celebration of the few hasbecome the joy of the many. No longer just a festival day forAmerican Protestants, it has evolved into a national celebrationthat includes all.

It is interesting to note how new immigrants to the United Statesadapt to the Thanksgiving celebration. These new faces are dif­ferent from the old, but they just as eagerly participate in the na­tional holiday. They might serve their own foods with turkey, but·the intent of their hearts is seen in their ad~ptability as they con­tinue to revitalize both our land and the Thanksgiving feast.

The symbol of thi~ day is, of course, the Pilgrims who shouldno longer be viewed in their narrow historic context. . Rather,they should be se~n as symbolizing the perpetual journey of allmankind. Since humans' first appearance in the world, we havealways walked in search of new goals, investigating horizonsand tending always toward the infinite while moving throughtime, marking it with sacred dates. .

In our social order, which is characterized by the intense mo­bility of people, pilgrims in this sense are experiencing a newimpetus. Immigrants, refugees and the victims of war are still onjourneys toward new homes, new lands and new beginnings.People are seeking new goals and moving in new directions.Worldwide integration of global systems is balanced by a sens,i­tivity to pluralism and re~pect for differing historical and na-.tional identities.

We are experiencing a more 9pen interreligious dialogue, com­bined with diffused techniques in communications and sciences.Nevertheless, the human person on this journey too often faceseconomic exploitation and abuse. Because of the times, no manis an island or an inactive spectator. The flow of mankind ischanging the face of Earth, especially in these United States. Noone should look on passively at the injustices and difficultiesthat today's pilgrims face on the journey to new and better lives.

It should be noted that the Church herself walks as a pilgrimwith all men and women sincerely seeking truth, justice and peace.It must also be noted that as the Church appreciates the poverty ofthe Buddhist pilgrim monk, the sacred itinerary of Hinduism, andthe pillar of pilgrimage of the Muslim, she joins in the journey ofbrotherhood with all those who dedicate themselves to the serviceof the weak, the refugee, the eXIled and the oppressed.

In this sense, we are continuing the pilgrim journey ofAbraham. Leaving his 'country, his family and his father's house,he journeyed with trust and hope. As reflected in the Letter tothe Hebrews, "It was by faith that Abraham obeyed the call to setout for a country that was the inheritance given to him and hisdescendants. By faith he aITived as a foreigner in the proplisedland and lived there as if in a strange land."

This is and will always be the journey of the pilgrim. In. ourcelebration of Thanksgiving and in the days that follow, we shouldlook upon pilgrimage as it affects all new Americans and thosewhose ancestors journeyed to this land.. In this sense "pilgrim"takes on a ~eaning that leads us all to give thanks to Almighty God.

The Editor

EDITORRev. Jo.hn F. Moore

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THE ANCHOR - Diocese of Fall River - Fri., Nov, 27, 1998 5

braced by the mercy of aFather who puts a ring onour finger and sandals onour feet and then leads usinto the banquet of His love.Too often, we have lost notonly a sense of sin, but alsothe joy of having been for­given.

Advent is the begin ningof the Year of God the Fa­ther. It is the season to re­call that the Father so lovedthe world that He sent Hisonly begotten Son into theworld at Christmas. WithChristmas, Christ becomesour brother. It is a time ofgrace, a time to sing "Gloryto God," and to bring aboutpeace and reconciliation inour lives, our families, ourcommunities. It is a timeto return home, if we havedrifted away .from theFather's house. For thosewho have stayed close tohome, it is time for us toreceive those brothers andsisters who wish to return tothe practice of the faith andmake them feel welcomedinto our parish families.

May this holy season helpall of us grow in our love forGod and for each other.

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Continuedfrom page oneMessagerejected the Father with His prayer that our Savior haspower, His knowledge, His taught us, the Our Father.compassion, and His loving "The Catechism of theprovidence. The Father has Catholic Church" containsbeen replaced by a mere a beautiful commentary onshadow of God who is an 01'- this, the model of all prayer.nament in people's lives, ' Jwould also ask our Catho­trotted out at a given mo- lic people to renew theirment to create the right at· devotion to the sacramentmosphere or a little poetry. of penance. It is in this sac­We seek freedom from the rament that we experienceconstraints of the Father's the forgiveness' of our sinsCommandments, all the as prodigal sons andwhile enjoying the material daughters and return homethings that the Father has to the joyful and lovinggiven us. It is too easy to embrace of our,Father. It isforget the Father, as long as worrisome that so fewwe can enjoy His gifts. Catholics frequent the sac-

In many ways, our lives rament of confession; and,are shaped by the concept yet, so many draw near toof God that we hold. If we receive holy Communion.consider God as distant and We need to experience theindifferent, we will make' Father's pardon first so thatour lives without Him. we might enter with joy intoJesus, however, enters into t~ banquet of holy Com­our world to reveal to us an munion with God's grace inintimate God, a Good Shep- oUf hearts.herd, a.loving Father. It is my ardent hope that·

It is Christ who will lead this Year of the Father willus back to the Father and be a year of renewal in ourallow us to experience the attitude toward the sacra·love and mercy of our Cre- ment of confession. I askator. It is Christ who that our priests and dea­teaches us to call God, our cons preach on this sacra­Father, to address our God ment and that our cat­with trust and affection. echists and teachers'The evangelist, rather than present the Church's teach­offering a translation, ing on the relationshi p be- Devotedly yours in Christ,quotes the exact Aramaic tween confession and Com-expression that Jesus uses munion. Ukewise, ourin speaking of His Father: Catholic parents must7~ I ~~"Abba." It expresses fami!- teach their children by ~iarity, trust, and love. It is word and example the ) .more like "Dad" than "Fa- importance of the sac-ther." Formalit.y thus gives rament of confession. Holy Bishop of Fall Riverway to intimacy. Communion is for us sin-

During this Year of the ners, but sinners who areFather, I would ask you to repentant and forgiven. Thestudy and reflect on the feast is for us who are em-

<. , ...'1,· .....•..."".1~ .

need to elevate the relationships amDng ~he

peoples of this earth to a-~igher level.We had just come through a war that not

only devastated life, but also devalued it in amonstrous way. The world was still ill shockover the Nazi Holocaust and the concentra­tion camps, the worst example in world his­tory of the potential for human inhu.manitytoward other human beings. Collectively, theworld had proclaimed it intolerable for onegroup of people in a so-called civili:~ed na-

· tion to deny humanity, deny human ri,ghts, toanother group.

It was in this context that the nations wrotethe Universal Declaration of Human Rights,stating in 30 articles that all human beingsare free and equal in dignity and rights.

Because the challenge. to move ur,iversalhuman rights from a statement to a realityworldwide keeps getting blurred, we must stayon guard or we'll lose the vision.

That's why Dec. 10 is so important. It is a· reminder each year that, on one great day,· world nations rose together to proclaim that

everyone has the right to life and to thl~ nour­ishment, in a very broad s~nse, neces ,ary tosustain it; the right to freedom in conjunctionwith responsibility; the right to be treated fairlyand justly by others and by the law; the rightnot to be exploited and diminished for thegain of others.

take the bread.The wine could be from a Mass at home,

in a hospital or other institution, or it couldbe brought from the church in a small vial orbottie. Many priests and extraordinary eu­charistic ministers have given Communionto the si<;k that way, sometimes for se:veralyears, giving great spiritual consolation andstrength to the sick person and the family.

From your words, you apparently walizevery well that under the forms of either 'breadand wine our Lord's eucharistic presen.ce istotal and complete. It is worth reminding

· ourselves of that doctrine here. Some Catho­lics speak and act as if Christ is present in theform of wine in only a vague secondary, lesswhole way, than in the bread......That i:. nottrue.

According to our Catholic faith, at least,and the faith of others who believe as we doabout the Eucharist, the Ii ving .Christ is nomore real; no· more present in the bread thanin the wine. Thus, ~s you say, we should ex­ert every effort to make the Eucharist avail­able to the sick in whichever form they areable to receive.

Finally, it seems you are suggesting asone possibility that Communion could, likeother food, be administered through someform of artificial feeding. That is not a properoption.

Receiving the Eucharist is not a phy:;icalevent as is nourishment with other food. It isa spiritual reality, eating and .drinking the

· eucharistic body and blood of Christ a:; anact of faith and communion with him. As Iexplained above, that kind of receivingshould be possible as long as the patient isable to act consciously.

By the way, lest some readers complain thatone should not speak of bread and wine afterthese elements have become the body andblood of Christ, I refer you to the Euchar.isticPrayers, where this happens several times. Themeaning is quite clear in the context.

By FatherJohn J. Dietzen

Questionsand

Answers

Communion for tube-fed 'patientsthe line somewhere. Communion for peoplein their circumstances in the form of wine isroutine and should have been available.

Throug~ all my. years as a priest, [ havenever known a person who could not receivea few drops of the consecrated wine I)n thetongue, even though he or she was unable to

Q. Eleven years ago, my mother, whohad attended daily Mass for at least 40years, was paralyzed by a stroke. She couldnot walk or speak, was fed by a tube, butwas alert.

After more· than a year, our pastor cameand told us he could not give her Commun­ion under the species of bread. Hecould, however, give her Commun- _------------....~::::::iion under the species of wine,- butthat would require saying Mass inour home. He did so, and motherdied a month later.

Subsequently, my brother con­tracted Lou Gehrig's Disease. Hewas in a Catholic facility whereMass was offered daily. He too wasdenied Communion because he wastube fed. Yet medications W:ere given L.. _

by tube which were much coarser than thehost.

According to the rules of the Church,food and water must be available to the illuntil the end. But the spiritual food of the .Eucharist is denied them.

Cannot some eucharistic ministers fillthis gap without the priest needing to offerMass at the home or other facility? (NewYork)

I shuddered when I rea<;l AmnestyInternational's report. It reminded me that wehave the world's highest death-row popula­tion, and it isn't lacking for juveniles. TheISO-page document brought out forcefullythat the United States may be the defender ofhuman rights and the world's best example ofdemocracy, but our house is not completelyin order.

The report gave us much to concentrate onas we approach International Human RightsDay Dec. 10.

I've been pushing for people to celebratethis holiday since the '70s when I was a Hu­man Rights Commissioner in Suffolk Countyon Long Island. I learned then how easy it is,even in our democratic society, to have basicrights taken away - even in our democraticsociety - for being the wrong color, thewrong sex or in the wrong economic bracket.

I can't imagine how dehumanizing it mustbe to live in a country whose domestic politi­cal system laughs at the very concept of hu­man rig~ts.

'Americans should do more to get peopleto celebrate Dec. 10, 1948. It was historic, thefirst time that representatives of so many coun­tries - most of the members of the newlyformed United Nations - had recognized .the

A. Even though you report a similar re­sponse for both your mother and brother, Istrongly suspect a misunderstanding along

might occur when dinner is ready."Mulled cider": the answer men give when

asked what they are drinking during foot­ball games. For example, "Yeah, Bud, snapme open another mulled cider if you comenear the ice chest."

"Gingerbread house": where you live fromabout Thanksgiving until the Epiphany if

your wife is a 'decorating zealot."Leftovers": the deep sense of happiness

that lingers after presents hav~een opened,meals have been shared and carols have beensung. Frequently occurs during a rite com-

. monly known as "the Mass," not to be con­fused with "Midnight Mass" above.

By Dan Morris

The offbeatworld of·

Uncle Dan

nal justice system, in jails and prisons, and inthe Immigration and Naturalization Service.

its annual report this fall to.J~cord human rightsabuses in the United States. The report notedhuman rights violat.ions found in our crimi-

$900,000 for their own use.Your family circumstances affect how

much you give and to whom. Supp.ortingmany children in school, paying high medi­cal expenses not covered by insurance, evenassisting an' adult child or a friend duringhard times might stretch you to the limit.The amounts you give to those in need are

part of your generosity.Perhaps we need to think beyond money

in our concept of generosity. What aboutgenerosity with our time? Many people to­day are less willing to share their time than·their money. If the average person allowseight hours for sleep, eight hours for workand four hours for personal care, there re­main four hours each weekday and more onweekends of personal time. Each of us has atleast 30 hours of personal time each week.Suppose, in following Jesus' directive of gen­erosity, we were to "tithe" our personal time.Each of us would have at least three hoursper week to share with others. What wouldwe do? The corporal .works of mercy are agood place to start: Feed the hungry, clothethe naked, shelter the· homeless, visit the sickand those in prison ---: basic expressions ofconcern for our neighbor.

Determine how much to give your parishand your parish school according to yourmeans and your call to generosity. Jesus doesnot ask for 10 percent ~ut for all we have.

frantic quest for the last battery-powered Au- .thentic Junior FBI Transformer Bionic Inter­planetary Space Ranger Water Canon intown.

"Wise men": males who have learned thatromantic gifts for their wives make their ownChristmases much happier than appliancesor a case of contact lens solution.

"Lump of coal": how one feels on I"' ......---:::~--~about Dec. 27 if one has been keep­ing up with the American dream ofovereating, overspending andoverwatching television.

"Ghost of Christmas past": the ex­perience of tearing the house apartto find where you stored the cardsand wrapping paper you bought for50 percent off last January.

"Mistietoe": a foot injury caused L.. ~I!fI:.....by forgetting to lift one's foot at theend of the escalator ride.

"Twelve Days of Christmas": a metaphori­cal term used to describe the four days andthree nights your in-laws spend with youduring the holidays. .

"Mrs. Claus": a legal term that allowswives veto rights over any football game that

FamilyTalk

With Dr. James &Mary Kenny'

By Antoinette Bosco

The BottomLine

Uncle Dan's Family:Christmas Lexicon

Is tuition part ofa tithe?Dear Mary: I'm confused about tithing.

Our children go to Catholic elementaryschool. The cost, as you know, is quite high.My father's opinion is their tuition countsas tithe.

Are there any guidelines? I know that25 percent of the Sunday collection is allo­cated for the school at-my parish. - Ken­tucky

A great moment in hist9ry will be cel­ebrated Dec. 10: the 50th anniversary of theadoption of the U.N. Universal Declaration ofHuman Rights.

This is one of the most remark-able documents ever written. It in­sists that unless everybody, in everycountry, recQgnizes the inherent dig- .nity and equal and inalienable rightsof all members of the human family,we'll never have freedom, justice andpeace in this world. That's an awe-some bottom line. .

Yet, this year there is a dark sideto confront as we remember thisevent. Amnesty International, which monitorshuman rights in more than 170 countries, used

6 THE ANCHOR - Diocese.of Fall River - Fri., Nov. 27, 1998

A great anniversary; a sad report

Tithing is one part of a much big-ger picture, the call of Jesus to loveour neighbor as ourselves. We areusually generous in taking care ofourselves. Jesus tells us to be equallygenerous toward our neighbor.Charity and the giving .of alms is ananc\ent religious practice with anenduring meaning.

-Giving from our materialgoods is an exercise in generosity.

-Giving challenges our tendency towardmaterialism: the desire to amass more andmore goods. :-Giving reminds us ofJesus' directive to "lay up treasures inheaven." Both the Old and New Testamentsexhort us over and over to give generously.

Within this big picture, which is to guideus as Christians each day of our lives, tithingis one practical suggestion or guideline forgenerosity. There is no single rule for deter­mining when we are fulfilling Jesus' direc-tive to be generous. .

Supporting your parish church and schoolcan be a very generous aat. Unfortunately, inour country today, some people are support­ing private Christian schools in' order to keeptheir children away from others of differentrace or ethnic background, hardly a gen~r­

ous motivation.The very wealthy may be able to tithe

almost without difficulty. The family with a$1 million income might generously give$100,000 to charity while still having a hefty

I know, I know. This holiday season willbe different. You will keep up with the dailyScripture' readings during Advent.

As a matter of fact, you will remember it isAdvent even before the middle of December.

You will mail your cards early. You willnot gain 12 pounds. You will employ sim­plicity and thoughtfulness as the principlesof gift-giving.

Thus, you will not necessarily need UncleDan's Family Christmas Lexicon:

"Credit card": a funny person who says,"Don't worry. No payments and no interestuntil 1999."

"Christmas card": an even funnier personwho says, "Let's do a Christmas newsletterthis year and tell the truth about the past 12months, even the IRS part."

"Midnight Mass": a large group of shop­pers, 90 percent of whom are male, who roam

.department stores at midnight on Dec. 23and 24.

"Yule tide": a human tsunami wave thatwashes over parking lots and shopping mallsduring .December.

"Dasher and Blitzen": shoppers kno~n

for their abilities to zip in and out of stores in

u.s. Bishops' meeting held in D.C. THE ANCHOR - Diocese of Fall River - Fri., Nov. 27, 1998 7

'* 1998 Fall Meeting

Decisions at aGlance

By NANCY FRAZIER O'BRIENCATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

WASHINGTON - When theU.S. bishops met: in WashingtonNov. 16-19 for the fall nationalmeeting of the National Conferenceof Catholic Bishops and U.S.Catholic Conference, they:

- heavily amended and thenapproved by a 217-30 vote a docu­ment challenging American Catho­lics to bettcr incorporate theChurch's pro-life tea<;hing into pub­lic life;

- sent an emergency $400,000to hurricane-stricken areas of Cen­tral America, the Dominican Repub­lic and Haiti and agreed to dedi­cate part of the annual collectionfor the church in Latin America tohurricane relief;

- began a series of votes on re­structuring· the NCCB-USCC thatcould havc a significant impact onthe way they operatc as a confer­ence as they enter the 21st century;

- concurred in a statement fromoutgoing president Bishop 'An­thony M. Pilla of Clcvcland on themoral principles involved in thecrisis in Iraq;

- begall what CoadjutorBishop George V. Murry of St. Tho­mas, Virgin Islands, called an "open­ing discussion" on racism;

- ratified by voice vote revisedguidelines for diocesan vocationsoffices that call for the appointmentof a full-timc director;

- approved a 12-point state­ment of principles on how thechurch should welcome and treatpersons with disabilities;

- overwhelmingly approvedfive proposed decrees setting na­tional norms in such areas of canonlaw as clerical garb, priests' coun­cils, baptism of an adopted child,engagements, and couples prepar­ing for marriage;

- OK'd on a unanimous voicevote a pastoral reflection on the ob­ligations of Christian lay people inthe 'world at the tum of the millen­nium;

- took a first look, but no vote,on a set of nationwide standards foradmitting seminary candidateswho have left scmi~ariesin the past;

- elcctcd Bishop Joseph A.Fiorenza of Galveston-Houstonand Bishop Wilton D. Gregory ofBelleville, Ill., to threc-year terms

as NCCB-USCC president and vicepresident, respectively;

- began discussion on a newstatement and U.S. norms for Catho­lic universities, which will bc votedon at a later meeting;

- gave narrow approval to a ruleunder which each province of bish­ops can decide to transfer obser­vance of Ascension from Thursdayto the sevcnth Sunday of Easter;

- authorizcd a budget of $46.8million for 1999 and a diocesan as­sessment for 2000 of slightly over$11 mi Ilion;

- heard a report from Arch­bishop Justin F. Rigali on the pa­pal visit to St. Louis in January;

- approved two Spanish-lan­guage liturgical tcxts for funeralrites;

- discussed but did not votcon 'Our Hearts Were BurningWithin Us," a proposed pastoralplan on adult faith formation be­ing developed by the Committeeon Education;

- agreed to ask Rome for athree-year extcnsion of the currentnorm on the age of confirmation inthe United States;

- heard a renewed call fromBishop Pilla for unity among vari­ous Church factions;

- said goodbye to ArchbishopAgostino Cacciavillan, papal rep­resentativc in the United States foreight years, who is leaving for aVatican post.

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PRO-LIFEApproved 217·30 (I doc:ument mollenging Catholits to better intorporute pro·life teaching into public life.

EMERGENCY AIDSent on emerg8ncf $400/000 to hurrimne-stridten arreos.

VOCATIONSRatified rBVisedglJiQII1;neS lor diocesun yomtions offkes rolling for full-timediredofS.

DISABILITIESApproved astatelllent on how the (hurm should welcome and treat personswith disabilities.

CANON LAW NORMSApproved five dkre8S setting nlltional norms in oreGs ofalOon law deoliBawitll derieal garh, priests' councils/ bllp~sm of an lid~pttld mild/ engagementsj

and couples prepl3rirrg lor marriage.

MILLENNIUMOK'd a postoral refledion on 100 obligations of Christian lay people in theworld at the turn of the millennium.

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NEW LEADERSElected Bisftop Joseph A. FiorenlO and Bishop Wilton D. GregOI)' of Belleville,ilL, to three-year terms as M((B·USee president and vice president,respedively. Placement ExamASCENSIONApproved a rule under whim each province of bistlop~ ron dll<ide to transferobservonm 01 Ascension from Thursday to the seventh SundllY of Easter.

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ICoyle and Cassidy High SChool1CONFIRMATION AGEAgreed to ask Rome for a three--ye~H extension of the currerit normon the age of coofirmation.

BUDGETAuthofi19d a1999 budget of $46.8 million and ad~on assessment for2000 of about $11 million.

SPANISH l'EXTSApproved two Sponish-longuage liturgical texIs for flllleral tilet

THE ANCHOR - Diocese of Fall River - Fri., Nov. 27, 1998

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ON 'PILGRIMAGE - Fathers John M. Murray, John J. Perry, Daniel W. Lacroix and MarcH. Bergeron take a walking tour through the streets of Assisi, Italy. While on pilgrimage,diocesan priests visited the Vatican, attended a papal audience, celebrated Masses andmade a spiritual retreat.

WHEN IN ROME - Father Paul E. Canuel of Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe Parish, NewBedford, enjoys a sunny afternoon at the Coliseum in Rome. He was one of many diocesanpriests who participated in a 10 day pilgrimage to Assisi and the Vatican.

Continued from page one

portant for priests to make sucha spiritual journey, FatherHession said it was a wonderfulchance to be inspired and reju­venated. "Deacon Roger Landrygave a tour of'some statues thatstood 40 to 50 feet high, anotherreferencelo the idea of being liv­ing stones like St. Peter."

Near the end of their pilgrim­age the priests celebrated Massat the crypt of St. Peter in thebasilica and attended a papal au­dience under the outside canopy."It was a special honor for all ofus," said Father Hession. "PopeJohn Paul II is our direct con­nection to Christ and it was verytouching to be there." The pil­grims from Fall River wereamong many delegations ofpriests visiting, but were able tosit in the sixth row for the audi­ence.

"The pope came in his car,but went to the outer rim ofpeople to greet all who were onhand," commented FatherHession.

The seeds for the trip weresown about two years ago whenplanning first got underway andthe Knights of Columbus helpedto fund the spiritual journey bygiving Bishop O'Malley a$20,000 grant. The bishop of­fered a special prayer of thanksfor thei~ generosity during thefirst night in Assisi.

While he was at St. Peter'sBasilica, Father Hession took amoment to seek outMichelangelo's "Pieta" to fulfillhis promise. "I remember walk­ing through the basilica towardthe front door and I saw it sud­denly off away from the en­trance," said Father Hession. Atthat famous statue Father Hessionsaid a special prayer for a fam­ily and their son and completedhis own spiritual journey throughRome.

Pilgrimage8

inspiring and gentle man," saidFather Hession.

There· were many, highlightsduring the trip and many specialmoments for each pilgrim,whether it was singing hymns ofSt. Francis at the retreat house,a handshake with the pope or aquiet moment of prayer. ForFather Hession, it was celebrat­ing a Mass quietly one m~mirig

at the altar of St. Lawrence theMartyr in the basilica. "It was avery nice trip," reiterated FatherHession.

On the final day in Assisi di­ocesan priests and BishopO'Malley celebrated a movingMass at the tomb of St. Francisthemed "Francis: Identity withthe Cross of Christ." "It was. avery simple, but very beautifulaltar," he said.

A bus trip then brought the'pilgrims to Rome where they at­tended a papal audience, cel­ebrated Mass at the basilica andwere guided around the city bydiocesan seminarians studying inRome.

"Most of the priests got to seethe Vatican library and the SistineChapel as well as tour the exca- .vation of St. Peter's tomb in thebasilica, a project which has beengoing on for close to 50 years,"said Father Hession. The priestsenjoyed tours of the Roman Coli­seum and the many outdoor ital­ian cafes.

Father Hession added that heand several other priests wereable to take a walking tour of theCuppula of the Dome whichshelters the basilica. An amazingsite, he reported.

"Beneath this tremendousdome which symbolizes theChurch stretching out to the ends·of the earth, is St. Peter, the rockof the Church. The living stone,"said Father Hession.

When asked why it was im-

AT lAST - One of the highlights of the pilgrimage was anaudience with Pope John Paull! at the Vatican. Here, FatherPawel A. Swiercz, parochial vicar at St. Ann's Parish inRaynham, greets the pontiff. (Photo by L:OsservatoreRomano)

SPIRITUAL JOURNEY - Bishop Sean P. O'Malley OFM Cap., stands with retired bishopJoseph F. Maguire, diocesan priests and seminarians at the grotto chapel at Papa SantoGiovanni retreat house in Assisi. Bishop Maguire,.former bishop of Springfield, served clS

retreat master for the group while on pilgrimage..

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Marion pastor sayspriests need moretinte to 'cluster'

By FATHER WILUAM G. CAMPBELL

MARION - Two days after returning from a retreat with 31 otherpriests in Rome and Assisi, Father William G. Campbell, pastor at St. RitaParish, says he felt "compelled" to share his reflections with the readersof the Anchor who might ask: "What did all you priests do?"

"My desire to share these feelings flows from a deep desire to see agreater unity in the priesthood, which, for me, in the past, was minimal.Perhaps this was partly my fault because I chose not to be more involvedin priestly gatherings, unless mandated by the diocese. And it was partlybecause I experienced in the past so many negative criticisms of brotherpriests, the priesthood and even the Church that we priests serve and thatI love, It has always been difficult for me to be a part of any group whichopenly criticizes the Church, the priesthood, no less the presbyterate,Negative·criticism we can do without. It only tears down the unity of theChurch that I love and strive daily to be more faithful to.

"However, the priestly retreat this past week confirmed for me howimportant it is for priests to spend time together. It was the first time I didnot hear any negatives, As a matter of fact, it was just the opposite. Therewas not only seriousness about who we are as priests, but with livelycamaraderie, a lot of fun just being together. I know I speak not only formyself, but for the 'older priests' who did not know the younger priests.Not only did we get to know them, but to realize they love the Churchtoo, and are just as dedicated and loyal to the Holy Mother, the Church,and to their vocations as priests. This, coupled with the daily sung morn­ing and evening prayers, the concelebrated Masses, the meals, and theinformal gatherings of 'the brothers' brought a deep joy to my soul.

"Thanks are indeed in order to our ordinary, Bishop Sean P. O'Malley,OFM Cap., for organizing this special retreat, and of course, to the Knightsof Columbus for partially funding it. And to Bishop Joseph Maguire, theretired bishop of Springfield, who was our retreat master. His insight intothe priesthood and sharing of his own priesthood with us opened a wholenew area of understanding of my personal struggles over the past 35years in looking at my weaknesses as a human being. His sense of humorand depth of understanding of the struggles we priests face each day gaveme a new appreciation of my priesthood. St. Paul said it so well: 'In myweakness it is then that I am made strong.'

"Lastly, and by no means least, we need to thank Father Mark R.Hession for his astuteness in keeping everything moving and seeing to itthat the 31 priests were always present. His sensitive handling of everysituation and event, I lUll sure, is truly appreciated by all my brotherpriests.

"As we were flying from Milan to Boston, I could not help think thatwe need to 'cluster' together often, say monthly, to continue the sharing, .to pray a little for each other, and for the priesthood in general. We-needto pray for vocations, Perhaps we might some day have Marian Cenaclesof prayer imploring Our Lady, Queen of the Clergy, to intercede for ourdiocese. We will certa\nly be blessed by her powerful intercession.

"I have been to mcny retreats in the last 35 years ... from St. Benoit-du­Lac in Canada, the TrapDists in Spencer, to Medjugorje ... and a dozenplaces in between. Nothing has equaled this experience of the 10 days inRome and Assisi with my brother priests. I have been energized by theHoly Spirit and would love to see this repeated.

"May we see more 'happenings' like this take place, and may Mary,Queen of the Clergy, bless us in our ministry every day of our lives."

RETIRED BISHOP Joseph F. Maguire, center, poses with priests from the Fall RiverDiocese as they enjoy a pilgrimage in Italy. Bishop Maguire, former bishop of Springfield,was the retreat master for their spiritual journey. More than 30 priests made the trip to Assisiand Rome. r---------------------------....,.....----,

10 niE ANCHOR - Diocese of Fall River - Fri., Nov. 27, 1998 /

'Waking Ned Devine' is quintessential Irish blarney

'WAKING NED DEVINE' - James Ryland, Paddy Ward, David Kelly and Ian Bannen(left to right) star in the comedy 'Waking Ned Devine.' The U.S. Catholic Conference classifi­cation is A-III - adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG - parentalguidance suggested. (CNS photo from Fox Searchlight)

'Bishops give two thuDlbs up"way up, for 'Prince of Egypt~l

powerful, than any score could be."Bishop Andrew J. McDonald of

Little Rock, Ark., though.t "Princeof Egypt" was "sensational," somuch so that "I can't w,lit to gethome so I can promote it."

He said he liked the music, therelationship between MDses andRamses, and "particularly the open­ing of the Red Sea."

He said he asked Katzenberg ifit was going to play in Little Rock.Bishop McDonald saidKatzenberg, a friend and ally ofArkansas-born President Clinton,replied, "Am I being set up?"

No, Bishop McDonald told him."I want to be your John the Bap­tist," he said, "but if this thing isn'tgoing to be in Little Rock in De­cember, they're doing to declare mea false prophet."

Auxiliary Bishop Joseph' F.Naumann of St. Louis gave hisstamp of approval to the r:lovie. "Ithink it will be an exceptio:lal film"and something that both Jews andChristians will greatly admire, headded. "It is essentially fa.ithful tothe telling of the (biblical) story."

CNS asked the bishops howmany stars they would give: "Princeof Egypt."

Bishop Grahmann: "Four stars."Bishop Wirz: "Four stal·s."Bishop Naumann: "Five stars,

but I'm an easy critic."Bishop McDonald: "Hc'w many

stars can you give it? Can you putdown a hundred stars?"

fanity, the U.S. CathoLic Confer­ence classification is A-III -adults.The Motion Picture Association ofAmerica rating is PG -- parentalguidance suggested. '

ing tool for anyone - children toadults," he told Catholic News Ser­vice. "In a sense, the music was ap­pealing, lively, and understand-able." ,

During the discussion, BishopGrahmann said one bishop askedthe producers,"How did youchoose the voice of God?" Mostaural representations of Go'd,Bishop Grahmann noted, have thebig, booming, echoing voice thatrolls down like thunder.

The producers answered with aquestion: "How would God speakto you (personally)?" They rea­soned that a deep, low and quietvoice would best convey that.

Another question was why themovie did not depict Moses build­ing an altar and giving thanks toGod for drowning Pharaoh's chari­oteers in the Red Sea. The movieshows Moses looking across the seato find his stepbrother, Ramses, sit­ting on a rock crying. It was then,Bishop Grahmann said, that Moses"mourned for all the people who

,had been killed."Auxiliary Bishop George O.

Wirz of Pittsburgh said "Prince ofEgypt" "struck a universal themeof mankind."

He added the movie was "an out­standing breakthrough both in themeand in technology of filming, ani­mating the intistry of the score."

Bishop Wirz said those scenesin the film where there were nowords "were as powerful, or more

ing to help each other out - by. blissfully disregarding the letter ofthe law.

Because of mild alcohol abuse,fleeting rear nudity and minor pro-

golden sunsets and inky nights.There are only a few genuine

belly laughs, but the movie remainsconsistently amusing and radiatesthe sense of a tiny community try-

By MARK PATTISON

CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

WASHINGTON - The U.S.bishops weren't trained to be moviecritics, but they know what theylike. And do they ever like "Princeof Egypt," the animated movieabout the life of Moses coming totheaters in December.

About 60 bishops attended a, screening in Washington after theclose of the day's business at t~eir

fall general meeting. CardinalRoger M. Mahony of Los Angelesarranged the sneak preview. Auxil­iary Bishop Emil A. Wcela ofRockville Centre, N.Y., served asan adviser to the film.

Waiting for the bishops at thetheater was Jeffrey Katzenberg ofDreamworks SKG, the studio releas­ing the movie nationwide Dec., 18.Katzenberg and three of the ani­mated film's producers were onhand to lead the bishops in a half­hour discussion session followingthe film.

Katzenberg was the mastermindbehind many of Disney's animatedblockbusters in the early 1990;'before he split from Disney to forma multimedia firm with directorSteven Spielberg and record com­pany mogul David Geffen.

,Bishop Charles V. Grahmann ofDallas said he found "Prince ofEgypt" to be "very refreshing."

"It was done in an understand­able style. I saw it as a great teach-

them all iii to collect a more profit­able 10 percent of the take as awhistleblower.

Writer-director Kirk Jones hailsfrom England, and the movie wasshot not in Ireland but on the Isle'of Man, but most viewers will en­joy this modest charmer as quint-essential Irish blarney. '

The characters, rapscallionsthough they are, are a lovable col­lection of dreamer-schemers whobelieve that what they are doing iswhat their dear dead Ned wouldhave wanted anyway.

Conveniently, a surprise solutionassuages the moral complexities ofthe matter after the fact, so to speak.

As the primary perpetrators,Bannen and Kelly are game per­formers, portraying lively seniorcitizens still frisky enough toskinny dip in the frigid Irish Sea.This turns into a hilarious scenewhen the Lotto man shows up andscrawny Michael must dash toNed's cottage on a motorbike, at­tired only in his birthday suit. It's arare film that has the over-70 set insuch compromising situations, but,it is not exploited. "We are two oldboys who grew old but never grewup," said actor Kelly of Michael andJackie's wily characters.

Another scene in which Jackiedelivers a trumped-up eulogy forMichael at Ned's funeral turns outto be a touching tribute to the kindof treasured friendship that is rarelyarticulated between male friends.

Pleasingly plumping up the plotis the pursuit of single mom Maggie(Susan Lynch) by prosperous Pat(Fintan McKeown) and poor PigFinn (James Nesbitt) whose earthyodor drives Maggie to others' arms.

Various village eccentrics addcolor to the proceedings in a moviethat never loses sight of its charac­ters' shortcomings - or of theirglorious surroundings - thatchedhuts and rugged farms boasting

"I'll Be Home for Christmas"(Disney)

Witless road movie in which amanipulative college student(Jonathan Taylor Thomas) must getcross-country by Christmas Eve toclaim a luxury car while worryinga romantic rival will steal his girl­friend. As blandly directed byArlene Sanford, the comic situa­tions are highly contrived and thestudent's transformation from smugto sweet is unconvincing. An indul­gent attitude toward lying, cheat­ing and stealing as well as fleetingsexual innuendo. The U.S. Catho­lic Conference classification is A­III - adults. The Motion Picture,Association ofAmerica rating is PG- parental' guidance suggested.

rupt government surveillance agent- (Jon Voight) unless a mysterious

former agent (Gene Hackman) canoutsmart the operative at its owngame. Tony Scott directs a relent­lessly high-tech chase film that, bystressing elaborate surveillancegizmos and tracking satellites, failsto become emotionally involving.Sporadic violence, sexual refer­ences, some profanity and intermit~

tent rough language. The U.S.Catholic Conference classificationis A-III - adults. The Motion Pic­ture Association of America ratingis R - restricted.

NEW YORK (CNS) - The fol­lowing are capsule reviews of mov­ies recently reviewed by the U.S.Catholic Conference Office for Filmand Broad­casting.

"CentralStation"

(SonyClassics)

S tar kBrazilian drama in which a cynicalspinster (Fernanda Montenegro) re­luctantly'agrees to escort a 9-year­old boy (Vincius De Oliveira)whose mother was killed at the Riobus station to the disrep1.!table fa­ther he's never met in the remotereaches of the country. DirectorWalter Salles' poignant road moviebecomes a humanist voyage of dis­covery as the woman's tender emo­tions are rekindled by sacrificingfor the child. Subtitles. Fleetingviolence, petty thievery, minor pro­fanity and crude expressions, aswell as a few instances of rough lan­guage. The U.S. Catholic Confer­ence classification is A-III - adults.The Motion Picture Association ofAmerica rating is R - restricted.

''Enemy ofthe State" (Touchstone)Glossy political thriller in which

a Georgetown lawyer (Will Smith)is being framed for murder by a cor-

ByGERRf PARE

CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

NEW YORK - A sleepy seasidevillage becomes the site of cunningcommunal chicanery in the wryblack comedy, "Waking NedDevine" (Fox Searchlight).

His own hopes dashed by notwinning the Irish National Lottery,aging Jackie 0'Shea (Ian Bannen)feels he's been given a secondchance when he reads that the win­ning ticket was sold to a resident ofhis tiny village of Tully More,population 52.

Enlisting wife Annie (FionnulaFlanagan) and lifelong pal MichaelO'Sullivan (David Kelly), they tryto ferret out who won thejackpot inhopes of convincing the winner thata little sharing is surely in order.

The trio goes as far as hosting agrand chicken dinner for the 187regular Lotto players, slyly cross­examining each diner to no avail- until Annie notices one dinnerleft over.

Off to elderly Ned Devine's cot­tage rushes Jackie in the pouringrain, only to discover that Ned isdead, winning ticket in hand,shocked smile on his face.

An impersonation is called for,Jackie decides.

However, the Dublin Lotto offi­cial (Brendan F. Dempsey) arrivesunexpectedly to collect the ticketand a very nervous Michael ispressed into service as the divinelylucky winner.

So far so good, until the officialpromises to return in a few days tohave other villagers verify that"Ned" is who he says he is.

Uh-oh, goodbye nearly 7 mil­lion pounds and hello prison forMichaei and Jackie.

That is, unless the whole villageagrees to the perpetuate the scamand share evenly in the windfall.Only witchy Lizzie Quinn (EileenDromey) looks more likely to turn

VOCATION SCHOLARSHIP - Diocesan seminarian Jeffrey Cabral, left, receives ascholarship paying for his three years of theology studies from Bishop Sean P. O'Malley. Thegrant is the gift of Mary Gleason of Sagamore, second from right, a member of CorpusChristi Parish, Sandwich, and will be known as the Gleason Family Scholarship. Father CraigA. Pregana, right, director of vocations, looks on. .

'60 Minntes'profiles two womenreligions ~ho battle corporations

of the task of promoting vocationswith our prayers, our fwancial help,with our emotional support, andwith encouragement to our semi­narians and other young people toconsider answering the call to serveGod's people. We are truly gratefulto the Gleasons for this gift and to~I of the people of the diocese whohave responded to help us educatefuture priests."

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--------------------

cum laude from the University ofMassachusetts at Dartmouth, witha bachelor's degree in accounting.He received a bachelor's degree inphilosophy from St. John Semi­nary.

Bishop O'Malley, who pre­sented the sisters with rosary bea~s

blessed by the Holy Father, -said,"This is one example of how ourCatholic people need to feel a part

Another of their critics is Do­minican Father Robert Sirico, whoheads the Acton Institute in GrandRapids, Mich. "I think many ofthem suspect that profit itself is in­trinsical1y evil," he said of the nuns.

"I have a belief in the essentialrightness of the American free mar­ket economy. I think it's raised morepoor people from poverty than al1of the redistribution schemes con­cocted by well-intentioned nunsand liberals comDin~d," FatherSirico added. "It seems clear to methat they're carrying out a liberalpolitical agenda."

. Sister Marshal1 disclaims the"liberal" tag. "I'm certainly not aliberal when it comes to abortion,"she said, and on "concerns aboutthe environment, I don't think that'sa matter of liberal or conservative."

Sister Daly, who admits that "attimes, I can be fiery," said their workplays into their vocation.

"We certainly take vows of pov­erty," she said. "It's not a vow ofsilence when we meet injustice inthe system. That's clear."

because she has a sister who is anUrsuline nun, Sister MarthaGleason in New Rochelle, N.Y."And I grew up with brothers whowere altar servers and we were closeto the Jesuits in the Campion Club.We have always known how impor­tant, how vital is the work of apriest. And it is not an easy life. Ourgood home background made usappreciate vocations, to appreciateour priests."

Cabral, who is in his third yearat the seminary, is just beginningthe four years of theology studiesleading to the priesthood. "I amvery honored and appreciative toMiss Gleason and her family for thescholarship and wil1 keep her andher family in our prayers," Cabralsaid.

Cabral fits in with a growingtrend of men entering the seminaryat a later age to study for the priest­hood. A native of New Bedford, heis the son of Antonio and MariaCabral of Dartmouth and is a mem~ber of St. Julie Billiart Parish inNorth Dartmouth. Educated inNew Bedford and Dartmouth pub­lic. schools, he graduated summa

Continued from page one

The nuns' efforts sometimes winwhat Sister Marshall called "smal1steps." Those include getting a pri­vate meeting with CBS Corp. ex­ecutives over stereotypical portray­als of minorities and women in com­mercials, or a concession fromAnheuser-Busch Co., to modify itsmarketing in conjunction with theCleveland Indians baseball team,which has an Indian caricature asan emblem that some find offen­sive.

Most, times, though, the nuns'proposals lose big because they areopposed by the firm's board of di­rectors. Sister Marshall said she hasbeen pushed, insulted and "calleda communist and all kinds ofthings."

Among their foes is BellMicroproducts CEO pon Bell, whochafes at paying attention to thenuns' concerns. "It's managementtime and management money," hetold CBS. "So you either spendmoney fighting them or accommo­dating them. An~ either one iswrong."

Euclid Ohio, the Graybar owners,had many patents and inventions"but Marconi beat them to thepatent office so they never becamewell known," Mary Gleason saidlaughing. "But I heard pan Rathertalk about them the other night."

The Gleason sisters are nativesofMilton. ''We had lived and workedthere most of our lives," MaryGleason noted. "Our parents wereIrish, born in Boston and were dearfriends of the late Cardinal WilliamO'Connel1 and later of Cardinal Ri­chard Cushing ... and my mother wasan organist at the cathedral."

The family purchased a sum­mer cottage at East SandwichBeach in the early 1930s and"thereafter we spent al1 our sum­mers on the Cape in the same par­ish, Corpus Christi, until we retiredfrom our businesses."

Beatrice Gleason had been in es­tate planning for most of her lifeprior to her retirement. she said.

Mary Gleason said she wasprompted to found the scholarship

By CATHOUC NEWS SERVICE

WASHINGTON-A pair ofnunswho use stockholder meetings toinsist corporations act responsiblywere profiled on the recent instal1­ment of the CBS newsmagazine "60Minutes."

The top-rated program also in­terviewed critics of the way the nunsinject their business into corporatebusiness, including a CEO and apriest.

Sister Pat Marshall, a Sister ofthe Blessed Sacrament, and Do­minican Sister Pat Daly take advan­tage of federal regulations that al­low anyone with $2,000 worth ofstock in a company to introduceresolutions at stockholder meetings­affecting company policy and tomake their case.

"Business people often get wor­ried when we come around ... andwhat it means for them is that theymay have to change what they'redoing. And it may shake up theirworld a little bit," Sister Marshalltold CBS reporter Lesley Stahl.

narians for a'long time."It was during his own seminary

years that Father Pregana came toknow the Gleason sisters. "I had beeninvited down as a seminarian to speakat the parish and met them then."

Mary Gleason, the pJincipal inthe scholarship, said that: her long­held stock in an electrical firm willfinance the effort: "My stock iswhat I am donating."

She was a longtime employer ofthe Graybar Company that was anoutgrowth of the Western ElectricCompany. The latter firm used tomanufacture and distribute electric­ity, but later opted only to manu­facture and sel1 its distribution ser­vice "and employees bought thestock," Mary Gleason said. "Whenwe employees bought the stock itwas national and now it is interna­tional. The stock is not on the bigboard, but it is marketed and owned100 percent by the employees. Andthose of us who now are retired stillshare in the profits."

Mr. Gray and Mr. Barton of

Scholarship

At helnt of doctrinal congregation,Cardinal Ratzinger ntakes wa'les

Swede heads ChurchiIi Sweden

CARDINAL RATZIINGER

trol. And it would be very hard tosay that Cardinal Ratzinger has anagenda that goes bt<yond thepope's," said one longtime Vaticanofficial.

document was expected beforeChristmas.

However, when the.Vatican's of­ficial response was published with aseries of "clari fication:;," someLutheran leaders said it appearedthat the Vatican stilI had serious res­ervations about the Lutheran 'under­standing of justification.

Lutheran Bishop ChristianKrause of Brunswick, Germany,president of the federation; told arecent press conference in Genevathat the supplementary statementwould have to spell out whether ornot the Vatican believes its 16th­century condemnations of the,Lutheran position on justificationapply to Lutheran beliefs today.

"We cannot live with such ambi­guity, so it has to be clarified," hesaid.

Justification, an explanation ofhow people are saved, was the cen­tral doctrinal issue behind theLutheran Reformation.

The Catholic-Lutheran jointdeclaratio'n says: "By grace alone,in faith in Christ's saving work andnot because of any merit on our part,we are accepted by God an:! receivethe Holy Spirit, who renews ourhearts while equipping and callingus to good works."

Recently, the cardinal has beengiving book-length speeches atRome universities on the pope'smuch-praised encyclical, "Fides etRatio" ("Faith and Reason"), whichCardinal Ratzinger helped preparefor publication.

At age 71, the white-haired car­dinal has become even more vis­ible in the universal chun:h. Thosewho see him iri action often remarkon his gentle manner, but beneathit is a steel-like sense of purpose.Occasionally it surfaces.'

At a recent press conlerence tounveil "Fides et Ratio"" for ex-

. ample, Cardinal Ratzinger allowedothers on th~ podium to n~spond toseveral questions about biologicalethics. Then he quietly observedthat this d.iscussion was really be­side the point. The effect was com­pelling, and other panelists quicklydropped the topic: CardinalRatzinger had spoken, and theyknew he must be right.

Lutherans seek more dialo~lue

onjustific'ation with Vatican'

of the Faith has issued a stream ofdocuments, guidelines and com­mentaries on some of the most sen­sitive issues in church life.

A few years ago, CardinalRatzinger spoke of retiring after 15years at the helm of the doctrinalcongregation. But today, the manwho is sometimes called the"Panzer Kardinal" - after the Ger­man tank - is running in high gear.

When Australian church leaderswere summoned to a "dialogue"with leading Vatican officials inmid-November, they didn't knowwhat was on the agenda. They didhear that it was CardinalRatzinger's idea.

U.S. bishops experienced thereach of the Cardinal Ratzinger'sdoctrinal congregation during areview of English liturgical prayertranslations, normally a questionhandled .by Vatican worship offi­cials. But citing "doctrinal" issuesin translations, Cardinal Ratzingertook charge 'of the discussion, setad hoc guidelines and made majorchanges to a proposed lectionary.

The cardinal's influence wasevident in a wide range of docu­ments issued over the past year.

In ecumenism, CardinalRatzinger's doctrinal evaluationscan arrive like arctic cold fronts. InOctober, with no forewarning toVatican ecumenists, he issued nine'

I pages on papal primacy, one of themost sensitive questions on the ecu­menical horizon, declaring that, inthe end, only the pope has the au­thority to make changes' in his uni­versal ministry. It's a matter of faith,he said. .

Vatican officials speak of a sym-metry and a complementary rela­

'tionship between Cardinal,Ratzinger and Pope John Paul. Thetwo meet nearly every week for pri­vate talks that touch upon congre­gation affairs and other topics.

"The pope wouldn't let any­thing like that,slip out of his con-

By CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

GENEVA - The ExecutiveCommittee of the Lutheran WorldFederationJtas calIed for further dis­cussions with the Vatican to clearthe way for a formal, signing of theCatholic-Lutheran declaration on

,justification.The committee, meeting' in

Geneva, said the signing "can takeplace only if there is a common un­derstanding of what is being signed."

The committee asked theLutheran federation's general secre­tary, Ishmael Noko, "to implementfurther discus.sion" with the Vatican,and to look at the possibility of draft­ing a "supplementary statement"clarifying that both Lutherans andCatholics have no reservationsabout the declaration.

At an October meeting with Prot­estants in Rome, Cardinal JosephRatzinger, prefect of the Congrega­tion for the Doctrine of the Faith,said the Vatican was open to the pos­sibility of drafting a supplementarystatement.

The "Joint Declaration on the'Doctrine of Justification" was ap­proved by both the Lutheran fed­eration and the Vatican in June. Aformal ceremonial signing of the

By JOHNTHAVIS

CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

VATICAN CITY - He has cen­sured wayward theologians andbanned their books. He has sharplydefined the limits of dissent and theboundaries ofecumenical dialogue.

He has J;ewritten lituf.gical texts,pulled the reins .on bishops' .con­ferences and warned of "abuses~' inlay ministries. He has turned theVatican's spotlight on evangeliza­tion problems in Asia, Oceania andelsewhere.

German Cardinal JosephRatzinger is not pope, but manypeople at the Vatican think his in­fluence these days is second onlyto that of Pope John Paul II - anda close second. In recent months,his Congregation for the Doctrine

By LYNNE WElL

CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

VATICAN CITY -=-- For the first·time in more than 400 years, CatholicSwedes will have a Swedish bishop.

The elevation of Father AndersArborelius as bishop ofStockholm "isbound to gladden the heart of everyCatholic in Sweden," Jesuit FatherLars Rooth, head of Vatican Radio'sScandinavian service, said Nov. 18,the day after the event was announced.

Pope John Paul II named the 49­year-old Carmelite.priest to head thecountry's only diocese on the daythe current bishop, Bishop HubertusBrandenburg, reached the retirementage of 75.

A long-standing shortage of na­tive-born priests has meant that Swe­den had to import its bishops: BishopBrandenburg is German, and thebishop who preceded him - BishopJohn E. Taylor ..:...- was from theUnited States. In fact, the last Swed­ish bishop of Sweden was named bya pope in 1522.

Father Rooth explained thatKing Gustav Vasa in the early 16thcentury "liked the idea of a rulerbeing the, head of everything" andtried to appoint his own bishops,who never were accepted as legiti­mate by the Vatican. '

In the late 16th century, the Prot­estant Reformati9n changed thestructure of religion in Sweden, andits citizens were banned from beingCatholic. The ban lasted until 1860

_ - meanwhile, anyone who con­verted to Catholicism was automati­cally exiled.

Social reforms in the late 19thcentury led to the creation of lawsprotecting religious freedom, butFather Rooth said that even as lateas 1945 there were only about 7,000Catholics in Sweden.

Father Rooth said CatholicSwedes "have now sort of come outo~ the woods" and have '-;-a reputa­tion that is beyond our numbers. Soit is very important that a Swede isthe head of our church."

, Bishop-designate Arborelius isnot native-born, though: His Swed­ish mother and father were living inSwitzerland at the time of his birth.However, he was raised in Sweden,converted to Catholicism there andattended Swedish s<.:;1100Is. v < ,

~ A/though it is the firsttime in four centuriesthat a Swede has been

, chosen, Bishop-(3/ectFatherAndersArbore/iusisnot native-born.

dures are to be brought in line withthat of the Swiss army, where senior­ity isnot weighed as heavily as over­all performance in deciding whowill become officers..

All the members of the SwissGuard are volunteers who have ful-,filled their Swiss military service.Guard members are deliberately se­lected from all four of the major lan­guage groups represented in Swit­zerland - German, French, Italianand Romansch. Segmuller said Ger­man-speakers have traditionallyheld the top-ranking positions andtwo-thirds of the overall posts in thecorps.

. Meanwhile, additional public re­lations efforts in the Switzerland wereplanned, including the opening ofan information andrecruiting station'in Neuhausen, Switzerland, Jan. I.

Consecration to,the Divine Will

Swtss Guardfaces changesajterprobe

Oh adorable and Divine Will, behold me here before the im­mensity ofYour Light, that Your eternal goodness may open tome the doors and make me enter into It to form my life all inYou, Divine Will. Therefore, oh adorable Will, prostrate beforeYour Light, I, the least of all creatures, put myself into the littlegroup of the sons and daughters ofYour Supreme FIAT. Pros­trate in my nothingness, I invoke Your Light and beg that itclothe me and eclipse all that does not pertain to You, DivineWill. It will be my Life, the center of my intelligence, theenrapturer of my heart and of my whole being. I do not wantthe human will to have life in this heart any longer. I will cast itaway from me and thus form the new Eden of Peace, of happi­ness and of love. With It I shall be always happy. I shall have asingular strength and a holiness that sanctifies all things andconducts them to God.

Here prostrate, I invoke the help of the Most Holy Trinitythat They permit me to live in the cloister of the Divine Will andthus return in me the first order of creation, just as the creaturewas created. , .

Heavenly Mother, Sovereign and Queen of the Divine Fiat,take my hand and introduce me into the Light of the DivineWill. You will be my guide, my most tender Mother, and willteach me to live in and to maintain myself in the order and thebounds of the Divine Will. Heavenly Mother, I consecrate mywhole being to Your Immaculate Heart. you will teach me thedoctrine of the Divine Will and I will listen most attentively toYour lessons. You will cover me with Your mantle so that theinfernal serpent dare not penetrate into this sacred Eden to en:'tice me and make me fall into the maze of the human will.

Heart of my greatest Good, Jesus, You will give me Yourflames that they may burn me, consume me, and feed me toform in me the Life of the Divine Will.

Saint Joseph" you will be my protector, the guardian of myheart,' and will keep the keys of my will in your hands: You willkeep my heart jealously and shall never give it to me again, thatI may be sure of never leaving the Will of God.

My guardian Angel, guard me; defend me; help me in every­thing so that my Eden may flourish and be the instrument thatdraws all men into the Kingdom of the Divine Will. Amen.

( In Honor ofLuisa Piccarreta 1865-1947 Child of the Divine Will)

12 THE ANCHOR - Diocese of Fall River - Fri., Nov. 27, 1998

By CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

BERN, Switzerland - The SwissGuard commander announcedchanges to the corps to be made inlight of an investigation into theMay slaying of his predecessor.

At a recent news conference inBern, Col. Pius Segmuller, 46,' saidthe killing and its investigation re­vealed a number of problems in theformation and training of the smallarmy that guards the pope and theVatican.'

Segmuller replaced Col. AloisEstermann, who was killed alongwith his wife in their Vatican homeon the night of May 4. Vatican offi­cials found that a disgruntled guardmember, Cedric Tornay, in a "fit ofmadness" shot the pair with his ser­vice revolver, then turned the gunon himself.

Segmuller was sworn in on Aug.1, the Swiss national holiday. Ex­actly 100 days later, he and Swissdefense ministry officials an­nounced the reforms, which will beinstituted in mid-1999.

Segmuller said that beginningnow, military officials would con­duct the guard's special training inSwitzerland, rather than at the Vati­can. He also said admission and pro­motion criteria would be modified.

Swiss Guard promotion proce-

..THE ANCHOR - Diocese of Fall River - Fri., Nov. 27, 1998 13

U.S. Vincentian chapters fund housing for elderly in Haiti

Vatican official raps U.S. filmindustry for pushing New Age

Christians must not'blend in,' Tennessee

Bishop Steib says

ffiRETH8UGHT

e

FUNERAL PLANNING

sprang. Father Gus Gordon, a U.S.­born priest of the Diocese of St.Lucia in the West Indies.

A Vincentian man, who wishesto remain anonymous, heard FatherGordon speaking in New Mexico ofthe plight of Haiti's poorest and howFood for the Poor was building sturdyhouses for them. The man and fam­ily members agreed to contribute$100,000, which became a chal­lenge grant for the U.S council ofthe St. Vincent de Paul Society.

The society and Food for the Poorhave each put close to $500,000 intothe project, though more is neededfor its completion.

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Pop.e, Clinton tf! meet.-during St. Louis visit

By JOHN THAVIS, CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

VATICAN C:I:fY - Pope John Paul II will meet V.S. President BillClinton when he arrives in St. Louis Jan. 26, their first encounter :,im:cthe pope's last visit to the United States in 1995.

The program also calls for the pope to attl~nd a youth rally andcelebrate Mass and evening prayers in St. Louis. following five daysof events in Mexico.

The Jan. 22-28 trip is the pope's 85th outside of Italy, and his over­night stop in St. Louis marks his seventh visit to the United States. Hewill spend about 30 hours in St. Louis before departing for Rome theevening of Jan. 27.

The private meeting with Clinton will take place in a room at Lam­bert-St. Louis International Airport. The pope has met the presidentthree times before, once at the Vatican and twice during U.S. visits.

The pope is traveling to Mexico to present his apostolic exhorta­tion on the Synod of Bishops for America, an assembly held at theVatican in 1997. While there, he will say Mass for an estimated onemillion people, meet with the president, visit the sick and preside overseveral other events.

will add yet 120 more houses plusadditional facilities.

·The II-acre site will also includea large community garden and ar­eas, where residents can tend theirown garden plots. Its agriculturalprogram also envisions the· raisingof chickens, rabbits and goats.

Besides food and shelter, resi­dents will receive a clothing allow­ance and an on-site clinic will al­lows several volunteer doctors to .tend to their health, she continued.

Among those who attended thededication ceremony was the priestwho planted the seed from whichthe St. Vincent de Paul Village

"Crystals take the place of thetrue rock, Jesus Christ," he said."Mother Nature takes the place ofthe Creator Father. ,

"The god of California, easilyapproachable and innocuous inevery way, is a latent temptationwhich the cinema has amplified,"he said.

Siniscalchi's book, CardinalPoupard said, is a reminder to allChristians that films can be power­ful tools for influencing fashion,behavior and cultures and that if itcan so easily spread the New Agemessage, it also can be used mpro­pose positive Christian values.

uted to build the project.After the speeches, one elderly

man rose to tell the U.S. visitors,through an interpreter, "Today is abig day for us, and even God ishappy. God spoke to your hearts, andyou responded. Thank you for that."

The man added, "You are notdoing this on your own; this isChrist's work." •

Situated about a 45-rninute driveeast of Port-au-Plince, Haiti's capi­tal, Croix-des-Bouquets and its sur­rounding villages have a populationof more than 150,000 people.

Phase I of the St. Vincent de PaulVillage - 108 homes plus commu­nal shower, gathering pavilion, andtoilet and laundry facilities - wascomplete, and work well under wayon Phase II, in time for the dedica­tion ceremony.

When complete, the secondphase will add another 108 housesplus service facilities, and Phase ill·

By Lou BALDWIN, CATHOUC NEWS SERVICE

PHILADELPHIA'- "Christians should not blend in with everythingelse," Bishop 1. Terry Steib of Memphis, Tenn., told a recent gathering ofblack Catholics in Philadelphia.

Rather, Christians should affect society "positively, just as seasoningbrings out the best flavor in food," he said at the 5t. Martin de Porres Massat the Cathedral Basilica of SS. Peter and Paul in Philadelphia.

In his talk, Bishop Steib expounded on Christ's meaning when he toldhis followers they were "the salt of the earth" and "the light of the world."

"Isn't salt supposed to be bad for us?" he asked. "Aren't we supposedto cutback and avoid salt in our food altogether? Doesn't it cause us tohave high blood pressure?

"If seasoning has no flavor, it has no value," he said.."If Christiansmake no effort to have an effect on the world around them, they are oflittle value to God. If we are too much like the world, we are worthless."

At the same time, he said, "light in and of itself is useless. Light is to beshone on something else so that it may be seen."

"Light enables us to see and to identify the real issues and concerns ofour world that were formerly hidden in the darkness," he added. "Lightchases away the deeds of darkness. Those things that were once done inthe dark are now exposed to the light." ,

Bishop Steib, one of 13 African-American bishops active in the UnitedStates, was addressing an audience that represented black congregationsin the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

It is time "to spea~ in the name of the God who offers compassion tothose whom the world defines as the helpless, the oppressed and thedispossessed. Speak in the name of God who calls you to truth-tellingand truth-facing," BiShop Steib told his audience.

"As the venerable old folks of our ancestors used to say, 'It's time totell the truth and shame the devil,''' he added. "Don't worry about whetherthe world is ready for truth, because truth makes room for itself."

tel' with Christ, the Son of God, whodoes not come down from a flyingsaucer but from the heart of the Fa­ther," Cardinal Poupard said.

"Faith in the resurrection of thedead and in the reunion with ourdeceased loved ones in Paradise,where the Lord awaits us, is substi­tuted with a surprising faith in tech­nology and science fiction whichwould allow us to enter into 'con-

. tact' ... with our dearly departed ina sort of parallel universe mirror­ing earthly creation," he said.

In the NewAge, the cardinal said,the self, all of nature and the wholecosmos become the divine.

houses provided through a joint ef­fort of the Society of St. Vincent dePaul in the United States and theFlorida-based international aidagency Food for the Poor.

In early November, Jeudi showedher new home to Joseph H. Mueller, .president of the St. Vincent de PaulSociety's U.S. council, and FerdinandMahfood, founder and president ofFood for the Poor, following a Massand dedication ceremony for St.Vincent de Paul Village.

The village, which is going upin Beudet, two miles outside the cityof Croix-des-Bouquets, will even­tually number 336 houses likeJeudi's. The houses will all be builton concrete slabs and furnished withelectricity.

Addressing the new residents,. Mueller said he felt privileged to

represent the society's 65,000 U.S,members, many of whose councilsor parish conferences had contrib-

~ In one of the worst slumareas in the world, neatnew homes offer a life

. ofhope for many.

By ROBERT DELANEY

CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

CROIX-DES-BOUQUETS, Haiti- Ninety-year-old Tertulia Jeudishowed off her new house in St.Vincent de Paul Village to some visi­tors from the United States.

Her expression and manner con­veyed her joy and excitement evenbefore she could tell the visitors,through an interpreter, of her grati­tude for the house their organiza­tions helped to fund.

In a country where even the work­ing poor may have only a tiny dirt­floored shack to call home, some ofHaiti's homeless elderly will nowlive out their days in neat little

By CINDY WOODEN

CATHOUC NEWS SERVICE

ROME - The New Age hasfound its niche in the U.S. film in­dustry, preaching salvation throughself-discovery, through commun­ing with nature or through an en­counter with a space alien, a Frenchcardinal said.

Cardinal Paul Poupard, presi­dent of the Pontifical Council forCulturel·said movies with a NewAge theme offer viewers "an anes­thesia for the soul, for spiritual en­ergy and for thought."

The cardinal spoke Nov. 13 atRome's Holy Cross University dur­ing the presentation of a Italianbook on New Age in the cinema,"The god'ofCalifornia," by ClaudioSiniscalchi.

Cardinal Poupard said New Agepresents what it claims is a messageof salvation: It pretends to be ableto heal the deep causes of crises inthe modern world and to put peoplein contact with an ultimate spiri­tual reality which is hidden withinthemselves, in all beings and in themysterious depths of creation."

With its big budgets, its exper­tise with special effe,cts and its"imaginative genius," the U.S. filmindustry "has become the model forexporting" New Age ideas, whichmix some Judeo-Christian ideas

.with Taoist, Buddhist and otherEastern religions, the cardinal said.

"The New Age has found in thecinema its niche, its preferred artform, its vehicle for certain propa­gation and for unexpected andpowerful earnings," he said.

Movies with a New Age theme,he said, lead spectators to a feelingof "vague harmony" and serenity.Faced with the mushy sentimental­ity, viewers' desire to make a realdifference in the world "weakens,flowing into tears and laughter."

The message of New Age mov­ies is that the meaning of life, the'gi ft of salvation and the eternal joyheld out by Christianity requirestoo much commitment and effort,he said.

"The 'close encounter' with analien offers greater happiness andprogress ... compared to an encoun-

OUf Catholic Schools • ~ OUf Catholic Yoilth•THE ANCHOR - Diocese (If Fall River - Fri., Nov. 27, 1998

COMMENDED - Dennis Poyant, principal of Coyle and Cassidy High School, Tciunton,HAVING FUN! Chelsey Roussel, a pre-K student at Notre poses with stL!dents recently named Commended Students in the 1999 National Merit Schol­

Dame School, Fall River, isall smiles as'she participates in arship Program. They placed among the top five percent of more than one million students.the school's award ceremony following its successful, maga- They are: (from left) Erin Frykholm, Charles Berube! Jessica Smith and Andrea Perry.zine drive. Rous~el was the top fundraiser at the school andwon a special prize. Physical education teacher DustinAlmeida looks on. ' ' '

SEVENTH GRADERS Danielle Dupras, Erica Lourenco, Danny Beriedito, Jared Boulayand teacher Robert Hall of St. Francis Xavier School, Acushnet, prepare to leave for the "AWorld of. Difference" conference in Boston, Workshops focused on dealing with prejudiceand racism and how to combat it in schools and neighborhoods. Free transportation wasprovided by Royal Coach Lim0L!sine.

EAGLE 'SCOUT!Fath,er .Richard W.'Beaulieu of NotreDame d~-J_ourdes

'p~rish, FaH River,, stands.with MatthewStephen Soare'sp~ior.to the start of hisEagle COUft of Hono"rceremony..; :. The

,:.soph9more:~oriorroll,student- from BishopStang Hign School isa m'embe'''' 'of. thepa~ish's troop 15 andthe son of Mr. andMrs. Stephen Soaresof Fall River. For hisEagle Scout project,Soares sponsored abrunch for parish se­niors and shut-ins.

ST. JEAN BAPTISTE SCHOOL observed Veteran's Day JUNIOR CLASS officers were recently elected at Bishop Stang High School, Northwi~h a presentation from Edna McKenna, ~ retired Navy ~en!or Dartmouth, and they were officially commissioned at a ceremony following the jun'ior classchief storekeeper. She shared her expenences and paid tnb.;. 'celebration and Mass. Those elected were (from left) Kate Manning, secretary; Katie Crofford,ute to veterans. ,Students especially enjoyed hearing ~bout vice-president; Katie Burke, president; and Jeffrey Oliveira,treasurer.awards McKenna earned in her Navy career and work during ,Operation Desert Storm. ~J,~)- _ j

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know anything is true or real?"Face it, there are many things

we've never seen personally thatwe believe or even know are real.There are even things we can't see

that we affirm as real - love, forexample.

The fact is, we affirm the realityof things, even those we haven'tpersonally encountered, like Ant­arctica or the existence of a guynamed Plato because we have evi­dence that is logical or agrees withour senses, or because we trust theauthorities who convey the evi­dence to us.

And the evidence for God's ex­istence is not far-fetched or irra­tional. Trying starting with one ofthe most basic arguments of all:from design.

Many scientists tell us that thewindow of opportunity for carbon­based life to have come into exist­ence seems to have been so incred­ibly narrow that it couldn't havebeen an accident.

But you don't even have to gothat far to see it. Is nature, the powerof the human mind or 'creativityan accident? How often do you see"accidents" happen that produceperfectly functioning organisms?

It's important, too, to remem­ber, even if you don't bring it up,that sometimes people's disbeliefin God has nothing to do with God:They may be reacting against au­thority. They or someone in theirfamily may have suffered at thehands of a religious institution.They may fear a loss of their ownautonomy. and freedom if they ad­mit God's existence.

You never know. Which is why,then, it's so important to infuseyour words to your atheist friendwith the most important "Goel fact"of all: Gol's love.

Explaining your faith

Make The .Wayollhe Cross

It HOrnetFr~~~IScanS

Fr. Robert Lynch o.F.M.P.O. Box 23

Boston, MA02112-Q023

THE ANCHOR - Diocese of Fall River - Fri., Nov. 27, 1998 15

MARRIAGEPREPARATIONATrrsBESTI

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By AMY WELBORN

CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

American teens live In a diverse,multicultural world where they'refree to think, believe and say al­most anything they please.

Such a world, rich with possi­bilities, is an exciting place. Butin a culture that's essentially amegamall of ideas, chances areyou'll be called upon more fre­quently than your grandparentswere at your age to explain exactlywhat you happen to believe andwhy.

What do you say?I want to give you some ideas

- in this column and my next one-'- about explaining your Catho-lic faith to two audiences you'reboiJnd to encounter at school,work and especially when you goto college: atheists and fundamen-talists. :

Let's talk about atheists first.Their concerns are not going to

be with Catholic teachings aboutthe pope, Mary or the Eucharist,questions fundamentalists willask. No, they want to engage youon a more basic issue: God.

Yikes. Who, me? Defend God'sexistence?

But don't stress out or thinkthat the future of the CatholicChurch restS on your shoulderswhen you're conversing with yourquestioning friend about the ex­istence of God.

God can take care of himself.All God wants you to do is witnessto the extent you're able - a taskthat also is easier if you've thoughtabout all this before you're askedthe question.

Chances are, it will be put thisway: "How can you prove that Godexists?"

There are a lot of ways to an­swer this that are, believe it or not,based on the same rules of evi­dence you're learning in scienceclass. But it might be a good thingto respond first by asking, "Howcan you prove he doesn't?"

Once the person has thoughtabout it, he may answer, "I've neverseen him."

Now your discussion is goingto take what we call an epistemo­logical turn. Ask: "How do we

LET'S SAY that you're in agood relationship, except that itjust doesn't feel as good as it usedto be. How do you get back tothat feeling that everything isfine? .

Matchbox 20's "Back 2 Good"is the latest release off their "Your­self or Someone Like You" disc.This CD established them as aname in today's pop/rock.

Apparently, the guy in the songthinks the way to get back on trackis to consider a new romance: Forhim, "Everyone here is wonder-

.. ..ing what it's like to be with some-body else." .

He says to the girl he has beengoing with, "If you see me· out,you don't know me, try to turnyour head, try to .give me someroom. to figure out just what I'mgoing to do."Yet, he doesn't seem.to feel very positive about thisapproach. He believes that "ev­eryone hides shades of shame."

He knows that "inside we're thesame, and we're all grown now,but we don't know how to get itback to good."

Maybe he e:xpects too muchfrom this relationship. There areups and downs. No relationshipfeels good all the time.

Rather than thinking aboutsomeone else, perhaps he shouldtalk with his girlfriend about whatis bothering him. Addressing prob­lems or difficult feelings can beinvaluable, especially if we canspeak about how we feel withoutblaming the other.

Of course, if he would ratherjust daydream about meetingsomeone else, perhaps he's notready for a steady relationship. Inhigh school, this could well befor the best.

In adult relationships, peopleneed to learn how to resolve prob­lems mutually. This calls for matu­rity, honesty and genuine concernfor the other person's well-being.

It also may mean acceptingthat, at times, there is no way to"get it back to good." When we'reyoung and dating, sometimes we

. just need to let go of someone thatwe love and trust. But the lessonsfrom this relationship will teachus more about how to build ahealthy relationship. in the future.

When you're not feeling asclose to the person you're datingas in the past, can you "get it backto good?" Possibly, but not ifyou're only seeking emotionalhighs. Enduring love demand"more than feeling good.

Your comments are alwayswelcome. Please address:Charlie Martin, 7125 W 200S,Rockport, Ind. 47635..

Back 2 GoodBy CHARLIE MARTIN

Everyone here/Is wondering what it's like.To be with somebody else.Everyone here's to blame.Everyone here/Gets caught up inThe pleasure of the pain.Everyone hides/Shades of shame,But looking inside we're the same,We're the same.And we're all grown now/But we don't know howTo get it back to good.

And everyone hereHates everyone hereFor'doing just like they do.It's best if we ali \ .eel)This quiet insteud. 'And I couldn't tell,Why everyone hereWas doing me like they doBut I'm sorry now,And I don't know howTo get it back t,o good.

Everyone here,Knows everyone hereIs thinking about somebody else.It's best 'if we all keep thisUnder our hats.I couldn't tell,If anyone here was feelingThe way I do.But it's over now,And I don't Imow how,It's over now,There's no getting back to good.

Written by RobThomas and Matt SerleticSung by Matchbox 20Copyright (c) 1996 by AtlanticRecording Corp. and WEAInternational Inc. for the worldoutside of the United States

It's nothing, it's so normal youJust stand therl~. I could say so muchBut I don't go there/ 'Cause I don't want to.'I was thinking/lf you were lonelyMaybe we could leave here/And no one would knowAt least not to the pointlThat we would think so.

Everyone hereKnows everyone hereIs thinking aboutSomebody else.It's best if we all keep it/Under our hats.I couldn't telVI. anyone here was feelingThe way I do/But I'm lonely now,And I don't know howlTo get it back to good.

This don't mean that you own me.This ain't no good,In fact it's phony.But things worked outJust like you wanted toIf you see me outYou don't know me.Try to turn youI' head,Try to give me some roomTo figure out justWhat I'm going to do.

WEST HARWICH -ChristianMeditation and Mysticism Groupfacilitated' by TornO'Connell of theSecular Franciscan Order meets to­night at 7 p.m. in Damien Hall atHoly Trinity Parish. The purposeis to. encourage the practice of con­templative prayer and silent, sittingmeditation. All welcome. For moreinformation call '790-8485.

TAUNTON - An informationnight for people interested in learn­ing more about the CursiLIo move­ment will be held Dec. 6 from 6:30­8 p.m. at the St. Joseph Parish CCDCenter. For more information callSue Peters at 824-3565.

WEST HARWICH -- Comecelebrate Advent with Holy Trin­ity Parish Prayer Group Dec. 10 at7:30 p.m. in Damien Hall. Comepraise .and worsh\p the Lord insong, scriPture and teaching. Re­freshments willbe served. All wel­come.

Way, Telling His Truth and LivingHis Life."

'Thepope said that.throughoutthe Church's history, the apostlesand missionaries have done theirbest to extend the boundaries ofthe "eternal kingdom," whichChrist announced. The Oceaniasynod is a continuation of thiswork, he said.

In the synod, the pope said,Oceania's pastors will try to givenew vigor to the pr.oclamation ofChrist "in the diversity of culturesand human, social and religioustraditions, and in the admirablemultitude of. their people."

The synod was one of five re­gional assemblies convened by thepope to help prepare for the year2000. Unlike previous regionalsynods, all active bishqp5., auxil­·iaries and administrators ofthe re­gion were invited. The 88 bishopsand administrators were joined by16 Vatican officials, six religioussuperiors, six papally appointedbishops from outside the region,14 experts, 19 auditors - includ­ing five lay people - and 1bur rep­resentatives of Christian churches.All except the experts, auditorsand non-Catholic delegates havevoting rights.

The 78-year-old pope was topreside personally over thesynod's general congregati.ons, set­ting aside .much of his other busi­ness ·during the three-wef:k-Iongassembly.

The Church ·in Oceania num­bers nearly 8 million peo:?le outof a total population of28 million,with more than 5 million Catho­lies in Australia. Oceania is the .Church region with the fewestmembers, but its huge geographi­cal reach and multitude of cul­tures makes it one of the most col­orful and important areas of evan­gelization,say church leaders.

Australian Archbishop Barry J.Hickey of Perth, the synod's re­cording secretary, outlin,ed thesynod's main topics Nov. 23 in alengthy report summarizi ng theagenda for debate. His spee,::h wasto be followed by more than a weekof individual speeches by partici­pants.

Dec. 4, a new support group, PeopleAddressing CancerTogether (PACT),will meet from 3:30-5 p.m. in room128 of Saint Anne's Hospital'sClemence Hall. The meetings areopen to all cancer patients and willregularly meet on the fIrst and thirdFriday of each month. For more in­·formation call Mark Theodore at674-5600 ext. 2270.

NEW BEDFORD - The SerraClub ofNew Bedford will hold itsChristmas Social on ·Dec. 14. atWhite's .of Westport. It begins at6:30p.m. and dinner will be served'at 7.p.m. 'Wives are invited. Therewill a guest speaker.

By JOHNTHAVIS

CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

NORTHDIGHTON-ThePar­.ish.Nurse Program of St. Joseph'sChiJrch wilJ..present the seasonalprogram, "Angels," Dec. to from7:30 to 8:30·p.m. 'Guest speaker'will'be:Paulette 1. Normandin. Allwelcome. 'For more information

:FA:LL·RIVER - Beginning on . call Kathy Scott at 822-9788.

.• Bishop Sean P.O'Ma'/ley.of Fall Riveris participating. in the'nearly four-weekassembly.

·FAIRHAVEN - A workshopentitled "Prayer: Listening to God'sVoice" will be presented by SisterMadeleine TacyDec.lfrom 7-8:30p.m. in the basement of S1. Mary'sChurch. All welcome.

Events published must be of in­terestand open looor general read·ership.We do not normally carrynotices of fundraising activities,which may be advertised at ourregular rates, obtainable from ourbusiness office at (508)675·7151.

·FALLRIVER - The Legionof Maryof,the 17all River Diocesewill hold its.annual reunion on Dee.6 at 2 p.m. at St. Joseph's 'Parish,Fairhaven. The program will in­clude recitation of the rosary, Bene­.diction of the Blessed Sacramentand'a social gathering. Refresh­ments'will be served. Family andfriends are·welcome.

Pop.e ur:-g~s.Oceaniabisho~ps:FiJld

new ways to announce the GOSlteland a message to the world.

The inaugural Mass in ·St.Peter's:Basilica.Nov. 22.spiced up.the standard.Roman rite with.a va­riety of Pacific liturgical tradi­tions, including bare-chestedtribal chiefs - called "tulafale"- who carried the Gospel Bookto the altar on a Samoan throne,

The offertory procession fea­VATICAN CITY (CNS) - In a tured a Samoan dance by a bare­

liturgy that began with the herald- foot woman wearing a headdressing blare of a consh shell, Pope of feathers and mirrors, who in­John Paul II opened the Synod of voked the grace of heaven whileBishops for Oceania and asked - her tattooed male companion, cladparticipants to find new ways to in a short sarong, moved rhythmi­announce the Gospel in their callyin front of the pope.multicultural region. If top Vatican officials sitting

An initial session outlined the in the front row looked a bit be­main issues facing the synod: pro- wildered, the pope -who has vis­claiming the Gospel in increas- ited Oceania three times - took itingly secularized cultures, invigo- all in stride. He accepted .a flow­rating the church's missionary role, ered garland, a model canoe repre­healing divisions in society and senting the Church and.a cup sym­

.within the Catholic community, bolizing unity and blessing.and restoring the' sacraments as In a sermon, the pope welcomedcentral to the lives of the faithful. the 154 synod participants and

The synod, which runs until spoke briefly about the syno'dDec. 12, will end with the drawing theme: "Jesus Christ and thetogether of proposals for the pope Peoples of Oceania: Walking His

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