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Anti. Bishops: First Communion before first confession "must not Bring in more be permitted;" Vatican I Asian refugees 01#40 , I
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WASHINGTON (NC). — First Communion before first confession can be of hestriatcs uiclly damaging and must not be permitted, according to a letter last week from the two Vatican congregations addressed to the world's bishops.
SYDNEY. — The Australian Bishops Conference has called on the Australian Government to take immediate action to bring refugees from Thailand, parts of South East Asia and from Portugal. The Bishops, meeting in resettlement in that country fully here, this would very Sydney this week for their nor of return to their form- often mean that those most half-yearly conference, re- er country. in need of help would be ferred particularly to the "The Australian Govern- denied entry to this coun10,000 refugees in Thailand ment has issued a 'green try. who have taken refuge from paper' which deals among "We have no hesitation the Indo-China conflict and other things, with refugees. in stating that Australia is also to 1,300 Timorese rein a position where it can "We welcome this state- give the training fugees living in Portugal ment and trust that the dis- ployment, social for emwith little prospect for their welfare cussion on this will speed- and accommodation future. assistlead ily to a and firm genThe bishops say that Ausance needed for these peoerous refugee policy from tralia is fully equipped to ple to be satisfactorily setproperly settle the refugees the Australian Government. tled into Australian society. here. "Particularly we welcome They also pledge Catholic that section in the 'green 'OBLIGATION' Church resources to help in TO ASSIST r efugee reception and re- paper' which reads: "As well as this, we state settlement programmes. " 'Unfortunately, it can quite categorically that Ausbe expected that crises cau- tralia has an undoubted moTHE STATEMENT sing substantial numbers of Following is the full text people to be displaced and ral obligation to assist such people. of the bishops 'statement: imperilled will continue to "For these r' easons we "On September 1, 1976. occur. If, for humanitarian call on the Australian Govwe made a statement calling reasons, Australia is to conon the Australian Govern- tinue to provide resettle- ernment to take immediate ment to make a more sub- ment opportunities to refu- action to bring 10,000 refugees from the camps in stantial effort in admitting gees under a broader definThailand and other parts of refugees into Australia and ition than that in the United Pointed out the call which Nations Convention, then South East Asia where refurefugees in camps in Thai- entry criteria applied to gees from the Indo-China land have on our country. such people should reflect conflict are still waiting resettlement, and from the re"Recent information indi- a humanitarian response.' fugee camps in Portugal cates that there are some where some 1,300 Timorese 1,300 refugees from the for- THOSE IN NEED refugees are -now living mer Portuguese colony of "While some argue that with very little prospect for Timor now in camps in refugees chosen for entry to Portugal under conditions Australia should be those their future. Which give no promise of most likely to settle success-
PLEDGE
"We pledge Church resources to assist in refugee reception and resettlement programmes and call on our people to show their willingness to welcome in every possible way these people. "We are grateful to the St. Vincent de Paul Society and Australian Catholic Relief who have offered to make available the maximum resources possible in assisting the Catholic community to respond to this challenge." ( a SEE ALSO PAGE 2)
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A statement from Cardial Knox, prefect of the Congregation for the Sacraments and Divine Worship and Cardinal Wright, prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy, reaffirms a 1973 Vatican declaration that first confession must precede first reception of Communion, According to the two cardinals whose congregations both have jurisdiction in the matter, the specific questions have been addressed to the Holy See since 1973, asking if the first reception of Communion could precede the sacrament of Penance in those parishes in which the practice developed in the past few years.
1910 STAND
The Roman reply is in the negative and states that all options in the matter were intended to cease one year after the 1973 declaration. The present Roman tter re-affirms the stand taken by Pope Saint Pius X in his 1910 decree Quam, Singulari. In that statement the Pope said that the age for the first reception of confession and communion was the same.
AGE OF DISCRETION
The operative sentence states "The age of discretion both for confession and communion is the age in which the child begins to reason i.e. around the seventh year, either before or after. The Pope had intended to reverse an opinion before 1910 that children could be admitted to confession at a certain age but not .to communion.
"ABUSES"
The 1910 decree states: "The abuses we censure spring from this, that the age of discretion was not properly or correctly defined and that some assign one age for confession and another for cucharist. The 1977 letter from the two cardinals states: "That confession should precede communion is clear from the order in which these two
sacraments are named in the decree. When confession precedes communion, "the right of the faithful, both adults and children, to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation is recognised," the letter continues. The admonition of Saint Paul (1 Cor. 9, 28) that before receiving the eucharist, people should examine themselves, applies to children "but often the child is not able to examine his conscience clearly and surely by himself" and should avail himself of the help of a confessor. Canon 854 is cited to establish the responsibility of the priest to judge the sufficient disposition of the person to receive First Communion. That precept "could not be observed if the child did not go to confession before Communion." Children who are ade-
quately instructed in the nature of the sacraments of Penance and of Communion will be highly motivated to attend confession first, the letter says. Furthermore, "The basic persuasion about the need of the greatest purity for receiving the Eucharist worthily, if prudently instilled in child-
ren right from the time of their first Corr nunwill accon -any ion, them for the rest of their lives and will lead to a greater esteem for. and a more frequent usc of, the sacrament of R conciliation." • The full text of the latest letter will a near in The Record next week.
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Pope: Expeci the Church to suffer. V ATICAN CITY (NC). -- Pope Paul VI warned last week that the Church must give up the hope of being "triumphantly welcomed" by the world. It must accept the suffering and persecution which was its destiny, he said. "No-one should be surprised that even the Church, the incarnation of Christ in history, continues to experience the pain of suffering. bitterness and persecution," said Pope Paul. "A Peaceful and sovereign Church, always welcomed triumphantly along the highways of the world, is a false picture because it is foreign to the providential Plan of God." "Old obligations and new necessities are weighing upon our responsibilities as pastors; grave and pressing needs of today demand of us a more active and vigilant psychology, a more adventurous and open spirit and a more zealous and committed heart."
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