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DIOCESAN NEWSPAPER FOR SOUTHEAST MASS" CAPE & ISLANDS Vol. 27, No. 11
Fall River, Mass., Friday, March 18, 1983
20c, $6 Per Year
Holy Year Mass
FRIENDS: Cardinal Jozef Glemp 'of Poland and Pope John Paul II show their delight at seeing each other in Rome after the pope's trip to Central America. Cardinal Glemp has announced that a long-planned papal trip to Po land has been approved by the country's military govern ment for June 16 to 22. (NC/UPI Photo)
Papal trip
results unclear
By Nancy Frazier NC News Service Perhaps more than with any of his 16 previous foreign trips, the results of Pope John Paul' II's "Lenten pilgrimage" to Central America and the Caribbean may not be clear for months or even years. Some effects of the papal visit March 2-9 to Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama, EI Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Belize and Haiti were immediately obvious: - In EI Salvador, President Alvaro Magana announced that the government would hold elections before the end of 1983. Earlier, the elections had been planned for March 1984. - In Haiti, President-for-life Jean-Claude Duvalier renounced his veto power, contained in an 1860 concordat between Haiti and the Holy See, over papal appointments of bishops in that _ country. - In Nicaragua, to the pope's dismay, church-state tensions rose to a fever pitch at III Mass in Managua, where supporters of the Marxist-influenced Sandinista government engaged in a shouting match with the pope. The en~uing controversy over the Mas$ is likely to cause even greater 4ivisions between church and stat~ in the near future. - In Guatemala, where fighting between government forces and guerrillas have taken a large toll in recent years, the battles
stopped briefly in honor of the papal visit. But the response to the wider issues dealt with in Pope John Paul's 40 speeches-his calls for an end to violence, for social justice, for respect for human dignity and life, for fidelity to church doctrine and rejection of ideological. misuse of the Gospel _ may be a long time emerging. Pope John summed up his hopes for ·the religious life of Central and South America in his March 9 address to repre sentatives of the entire Latin American hierarchy, meeting in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. He outlined a plan for "not the re-evangelization but a new evangelization of Latin America, new in its ardor, in its methods, in its expression." The· "fundamental supposi tions" of such a program, the pope said, would include a growth in vocations and appro priate formation of priests in spiritual, doctrinal and pastoral matters, greater collaboration of the laity in the work of evangel ization, and safeguarding of the integrity of the orientation for the Latin Amercan church ap proved by the region's bishops four years ago in Puebla, Mexico. But the pope's words through out the trip made clear that the church in Latin America could not ignore social realities. The Latin American people "in recent years have certainly Tum to Page Three
Preparations are complete for a Mass at St. Mary's Cathedral, Fall River, to mark the opening of the Holy Year ~f Jubilee pro claimed by Pope John ,PaUl II. To be celebrated by Bishop Daniel A. Cronin at 7:30 .p.m. Friday, March 25, the diocesan Mass will unite participants with solemn Vatican City rites to occur on the same day. They will include opening of the Holy Door in 51. Peter's Basilica, the official sign of the beginning of a holy year. The observances are explained by Bishop Cronil') in a 'letter to be read in all parishes this week end. It follows: Dearly Beloved in Christ, On Friday evening, March 25th, the Feast of the An nunciation the people of God of the Diocese of Fall River will gather at St. Mary's Ca thedral for the celebration of a special Mass which will inaugurate our local, dioce san observcance of the Holy Year. This special year of jubilee and prayer has been proclaimed by our beloved Holy Fatl!er. to mark the one thousand nine hundred fif tieth anniversary of the Re demption of mankind by Je sus the Lord.
Pope John Paul II will pre side at the solemn opening ceremony at the Basilica of Saint Petre in the Vatican on that day, and throughout the world, Catholic faithful will unite with him. Here in our own diocese, as Bishop, I will have the happy privi lege of celebrating the Mass which will mark the begin ning of this season of grace in this portion of the Lord's vineyard. Each parish com munity will be represented at this Mass, along with priests, deacons and religi ous from all the cities and towns of our Diocese. The Holy Father has sug gested that this Holy Year be characterized by ."family devotion." In keeping with this theme, God's family throughout the world, OUll" own community of faith here in the diocese of Fall River and all of our parish families will make a united effort to observe the Jubilee of Redemption. I am hoping that the par ish comunities of the diocese will plan to come together at some time during the Holy Year for devotion and pray er. To facilitate the efforts
of pastors and faithful to mark this special year of grace with worthy parochial observances, I shall be desig nating churches in the vari ous geographic areas of our diocese as focal points for the pilgrim visits at which the faithful may receive the jubilee indulgence to the Holy Year. Pope John Paul II has urged that 'other character istic elements of the obser vance of the Jubilee Year in clude greater emphasis upon the Sacrament of Reconcilia tion and deeper devotion to Mary, our Blessed Mother. We are invited to be par ticularly mindful of our suffering brothers and sis ters throughout the Univer sal Church. I extend a warm invitation to everyone to be present on Friday evening, March 25th, at 7:30 p.m. at the Ca thedral for the Holy Year Mass. If you cannot be pres ent, do, please, join us in prayer. May this season of. grace find rich expression here in our Diocesan family and may God love and bless you all.
• the face
Looking cancer In
By Pat McGowan "All evil can be wrapped up in the word cancer," said Dr. Melvin J. Kran1. Ije was des cribing the sinister, centuries-old emotions aroused by the disease that currently strikes one in every four families in the nation. Dr. Krant, medical director of the Equinox Hospice in Brook line and director of the New Eng land Deaconess Hospital Pain Clinic in Boston, was keynote speaker at a recent Fall River conference on the psychodynam ics of the cancer patient and his or her family. Sponsored by St. Anne's Hospital and the Social Work Oncology Group, it drew an attendance of 254 social workers, health personnel, hospi tal pastoral care workers and hospice volunteers. Dr. Krant's' presentation was preceded by a no-nonsense dis cussion.of current .trends in can cer care by Dr. Peter Deckers, director of surgical education
and associate professor of sur A new approach, however, is gery at Boston University School that of treating the whole pa of Medicine. tient, not simply his or her can Noting that cancer is actually cer, and that is causing "a mini revolution in care," he said. a large group of different dis Dr. Krant eases characterized by uncon That holistic approach was the trolled growth and spread of ab normal cells, Dr. Deckers said its keynote speaker's topic and Dr. cure rate has risen in recent Krant brought a philosophical years from 25 to 45 percent, with attitude to his discussion of the emotional effects of cancer. skin cancer being the most com mon and most curable condition. A person's reaction to the Nevertheless, he cautioned, news of cancer varies with his many mysteries remain in the or her attitude towards fate, said management of cancer and the the physician. "We're vulnerable best means of control is preven to whomever rolls those dice tion. Early detection is, of we're small and mortal," he said. "How we handle our situation course, the ideal, but, he lament ed, many cancers manifest no will depend on ourselves." symptoms until far advanced; He said the "journey into can· . Dr. Deckers listed surgery, cer" begins with "how hard it radiation and chemotherapy as is to bring yourself to getting the three means of handling can 'diagnosed." For that reason, he cer, noting that many techniques stressed, diagnosis shQuld be as used today were also employed rapid and sucdnct a$ possible, because "every moment of delay in ancient times. " We keep in venting the wheel," he summed is written in pain." up. Turn to Page Eight