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Grisly death of two
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SAN SALVADOR: "We are oppressed but not defeated," said the acting bishop of San Salvador at the funeral Mass for two murdered missionary sisters last Saturday.
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} PERTH, WA: DECEMBER 11 17,1980 TELEPHONE: (09) 328 1388 PRICE: 30 cents
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St. Francis Xavier Cathedral Geraldton witnessed last Saturday night the solemn religious profession of a CBC staff member, Brother Peter O'Driscoll, pictured signing the document of profession before his provincial superior Brother Linus Bowler during Mass celebrated by the administrator, Father R. Pocock, in the presence of Bishop F.X. Thomas. Brother O'Driscoll taught at Trinity College before being posted to Geraldton in 1979. A second final profession takes place this year with that of Brother James Van der Zalm in the chapel of Aquinas College on Saturday, December 20.
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BISHOPS STUDY JOBLESS, RACISM LONDON: Unemployment, racial discrimination in South Africa and the attitude to nuclear arms were issues studied by the bishops of England and Wales in their meeting at the end of November. Regarding unemployment, the bishops asked changes in current government policies. People, not money or economics, were what mattered, they said. "People cannot be frozen like economic assets," the bishops added. They indicated interest in job sharing to help overcome unemployment, currently totalling two million people. "If, as seems most likely, there is to be no return to full employment in the forseeable future, it is urgently necessary that thought be given to how the opportunity to work may be shared in a technological society," they said. "The economic tensions of the day must be seen as a challenging opportunity for planning imaginative patterns for work in the future." They described unemployment as a "grave threat" to family life and to the morals of society. The bishops said that it would be "disastrous" if advances in technology increased unemployment among the unskilled and semi-skilled labor force and resulted in benefits limited to the few. Discussing South Africa, the Bishops said, that the deteriorating situation
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Mindful of what broke out at the funeral of murdered Archbishop R omero, fear surrounded the crowds at the funeral. Army patrols were much in evidence and peasants were discouraged from attending the service. The two Maryknoll sisters, in the tradition of their order, were buried locally. The bodies of the other two, a religious sister and a lay worker, were returned to the United States. The Maryknoll Sisters said: "Evidence provided by reliable sources indicates that the military was instrumental in the disappearance and death of these four women." Following the murders the United States has suspended military aid to the country of El Salvador. The day before the funeral the bishop, priests and nuns blamed the military for most of the violence that has taken the lives of some 9,000 people out of a population of 5.1 million, during 1981. The statement by Bishop Rivera, his clergy and religious blamed "the security forces and the right-wing paramilitary bands as well as the junta, which commands these forces, for the persecution of the church and the murders. "We believe as Christians that the sacrifice of the American missionaries for the poor will bring hope ofjustice for them and the peace Salvadoreans thirst for." He condemned "the escalation of violence . . . that claims dozens of lives every day, that directs a Satanic hate by ideological groups against priests, nuns and lay leaders." The ultra-right and hardliners in the armed forces label church social action as subversive and Marxist, while Communists and other guerrilla groups seek to identify their cause with church activists. This was made clear by slogans written on the door of the modest parish house the nuns shared in Chalatenango. One read: "This house lodges Communists. Anyone entering will die." The day of the murders, the parish priest received a letter advising the group "to go to Cuba to continue your Communist work." (See also page 6)
was important to the people of England and Wales because of their long association with South Africa, including current trade links. They said that apartheid --legal sepa- *********************************** ration of the races enforced -- should be opposed. "We cannot see the impoverishment of homelands and rural areas, the breakdown of Christian family life, and a burgeoning military budget as signs of progress sought by men of good will in white-minority ruled South Africa", they said. They suggested British-South African economic ties should not contribute to exploitation of the disadvantaged. British Catholics were also cautioned about going to work in South Africa. "All new white immigrants must consider whether they are taking jobs that rightfully belong to the black community, and whether their action would be compatible with Christian teaching," said the bishops. As Britain debates nuclear policy, the bishops asked the Catholic community to participate in the discussions prayer- 4, * fully, conscientiously, in the light of the 4, .. ,. . . ". ,' * •,.. * ., • ,:•, ..*, ". ,%.• , :::::-..'::Z.: :*•1::•••:: Gospel and seeking continually the 4, * *4, •. it:::.:1. q * , . . .,. \ mind of Christ, the Prince of Peace. . 'i...,t• * • ,-'-:\ 4, •,----
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