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VOL. 41, NO. 20
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Friday, May 16, 1997
FALL RIVER, MASS.
Diocese has 56-year history of generosity In its 56 years, the Catholic Charities Appeal of the Diocese of Fall River has undergone dramatic growth since its first year when total contributions were $150,000. "Of course, that was in 1942," Msgr. Thomas J. Harrington, Appeal director, said "and there would, of necessity, be: a considerable adjustment in the value of every dollar to be considered." Nevertheless, the generosity of the members of the Diocesan family over the years, abetted by the con~ tributions of friends of Catholic Charities in business, industry, and professional and civic organizations. has exhibited l~ncouraging growth. "The first time the diocese exceeded $1 million in the Appeal was 1976, the bicentennial year," Msgr. Harrington recalled, of the annual spring-time stewardship collection. "This year," the Director noted, "we surpassed the $1 million mark during our very first week of processing returns." While this is encouraging, the demands for funding from the many agencies, institutions and ministries benefited by the Appeal have grown accordingly. At the outset, the Catholic Charities Appeal funds were generally translated into "bricks and mortar," with the construction of nursing homes and facilities for special educational initiatives at various sites within the diocese. Presently, however, the proceeds of the Appeal provide programs and staff for direct care, personally available to families and individuals who present themselves for service provided by diocesan resources. "The construction of buildings was essential at one point," Msgr. Harrington observed, "but the
Area Leading Parishes $44,965.00 16,113.00 15.652.00 13.891.00 10,739.00
CAPE COD AND THE ISLANDS AREA St. Pius So. Yarmouth $85,338.50 Holy Trinity. W. Harwich 31.653.00 St. Anthony. E. Falmouth 27,127.00 O. L. of the Assumption, Osterville 23,792.00 Holy Redeemer, Chatham' 21,415.00
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FALL RIVER AREA Holy Name. Fall River St. Thomas More. Somerset St. Stanislaus. Fall River Santo Christo, Fall River Espirito Santo, Fall River
FALL RIVER DIOCESAN NEWSPAPER FOR SOUTHEAST MASSACHUSETTS CAPE COD & THE ISLA~DS •
Southeastern Massachusetts' Largest Weekly
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Bishop opposes high stakes gambling
personal touch, as skilled and concerned people reach out to impact the lives of all who approach us in circumstances of need is so much closer to Christian spirituality and the values of the Gospel." Returns will be received at Diocesan Headquarters throughout the month of Mayas the 1997 Appeal continues. Those who wish to participate in the Catholic Charities Appeal are invited and encouraged to send contributions to the Diocesan Office, at 344 Highland Ave., Post Office Box 1470, Fall River, MA 02722. For information, call 676~8943. The current listing of leading parishes in the various deaneries of the diocese is given below:
ATTlEBORO AREA O.L. of Mt. Carmel, Seekonk Sl. Mary, Seekonk St. Mary, Mansfield St. John the Evangelist, Attleboro St. Mark. North Attleboro
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$28,161.00 23.972.00 16.848.00 14.627.00 13.690.50
NEW BEDFORD AREA O. L. of Ml. Carmel, New Bedford $33,095.00 Sl. Mary. So. Dartmouth 24,671.00 Immaculate Conception. NB 20,515.00 St. John the Baptist, NB 16,559.00 St. Julie Billiart, No. Dartmouth 13,630.00 TAUNTON AREA St. Anthony, Taunton $18,801.00 St. Ann, Raynham 15,889.00 Our Lady of Lourdes, Taunton 12.710.00 Immaculate Conception, N. Easton 11.240.50 St. Mary, Taunton 8.695.00
Last week in a letter to Mayor Edward Lambert and to members of the Fall River City Council, Bishop Sean O'Malley, OFM, Cap., presented his opposition to establishing a high stakes bingo hall in Fall River. Among reasons he cited were the adverse effect it would have on the bingo games that Catholic schools and other nonprofit organizations run as fundraisers and the moral concerns of an escalation in gambling. In light of this letter, which has been reported in secular media, and the subsequent discussion it has generated, the bishop has expressed some thoughts on how high stakes bingo may affect not only Catholic schools in the area, but also public education and the overall well-being of the community. It is well-known, he acknowledged, that Catholic schools rely on income from limited bingo games that are run by parent' volunteers and parishioners in parish basements and school halls. What is less well-known, he added, and usually not consid. ered, is fact of the savings Catholic schools provide to local public school budgets. Rev. William Garland, OSA, director of Diocesan Education, has determined, the bishop pointed out, that in Fall River almost 15% ofthe student population is enrolled in Catholic schools. Applying the Fall River per pupil cost oCa public school education to each city student attending a Catholic school adds up to some $6 million annually. This is what Catholic schools save the city of Fall River each year. In New Bedford, significant savings are also realized. There 12% of the student population attends a Catholic school, yielding a savings to the public school system of $4.5 million, based on the additional per pupil cost that would be incurred by the city if it had to cover the expense of educating those students. In the past 10 years, Catholic schools have saved taxpayers in those two cities well over $100 million in public education costs. Diocesan education officials add that this is a conservative estimate, reflecting only operational costs and not capital expenditures. As the bishop noted in his letter to city officials, "the greatest benefactor to the public schools in Fall River is the Catholic school system." Bishop O'Malley believes that the proposal to establish a major high stakes bingo hall in Fall River represents a major threat to school bingo income and therefore to the continued financial viability of diocesan schools. With most parents already struggling to meet current tuition payments, he said, any increase to compensate for bingo losses would likely result in declining enrollments and costlier public school budgets for Fall River and adjacent communities. In addition to his concern about Catholic education, the bishop mentioned the moral aspects of high stakes gambling. It will be without question, he said, "an unhealthy escalation of gambling in our locality." He noted that recent studies have indicated that Fall River and New Bedford have lower per capita incomes than other cities in the commonwealth, but that residents of both places are high on the list of lottery game consumers. "The: lottery has been described as a tax on the naive," he said, but it is really a tax on Turn to Page 13
Bishop appoints nine pastors, new Cathedral rector Bishop Sean O'Malley, OFM, Cap., has announced nine appointments of pastors, all effective June
18.
Father David Costa Born in Taunton, and the son of Horace J. and Barbara J. (Ewald) Costa, Father Costa was ordained June 22, 1985.
He has served as Pl!rochial vicar at St. Thomas More parish, Somerset, St. Mark parish, Attleboro .Falls, and St. Joseph parish, North Dighton.
Past diocesan appointments include the chaplaincy of Bishop Feehan High School, Attleboro, and assistant directorship of the Diocesan. Office of Youth Minis-
try. Currently Father Costa is director of Youth Ministry Services and chaplain of Bishop Connolly High School, Fall River. Turn to Page Three
First Parishes Serving their first pastorates will be Father David A. Costa, now parochial vicar of St. Joseph parish, North Dighton, who will be pastor of Sacred Heart parish, Fall River, while remaining chaplain at Bishop Connolly High School, also in Fall River; Father Mark R. Hession, now parochial vicar of St. Joseph parish, Taunton, who will become pastor of that parish; Father Horace J. Travassos, currently re:ctor of St. Mary's Cathedral, Fall River, who will become pastor or St. William parish, also Fall River; and Rev. Bernard Vanasse, now parochial vicar of St. Dominic parish, Swansea, who will become pastor of St. Pet~r paris1:l•. Pigh~9!11. ~ ., •.. .: _._.~~. _.j _FR. DAVID .COSTA
.FR~ JOSEPH COSTA
·FR. MAlU('HESSIDN . . ... FR..BERNARD VANASSE