SERVING . . . SOUTHEASTERN MASSACHUSETTS CAPE COD & THE ISLANDS
t eanc 0 VOL. 25, No. 21
FALL RIVER, MASS., THURSDAY; MAY 21, 1981
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A wounded Peter
Once again the world has been attacked by its own madness; once again the innocent have become the target of the vicious; once again man has refused to believe that those who live by the sword shall also perish by it. The vindictiveness of violence played out in all its horror on the hill of the Vatican should be an indelible reminder that all baptized into the Lord are also baptized into his suffering and death. All who say they are church have had reinforced for them the fact that they are members of a thorn-crowned head. In the confusion of iniquity, people seem to hope that the vision of a wounded Peter will somehow vanish from sight. In the unique American manner of depicting reality more fictionally than factually, we are likely to try to forget the scene of papal blood being shed. We want to see a white cassock without stain of hurt or harm. This Easter season we have been reminded that to rise with Christ we must suffer and die with him. This statement has taken on new reality as we live the terror of our times. As we, with all God-fearing people, pray for the swift and complete recovery of His Holiness, Pope John Paul II; as we pray for the lacerated church as she struggles to announce goodwill to men of peace; as we humbly and honestly search for remedies to heal men of their personal and political hurts, we are forced to admit that Christianity of its very nature forces us to carry a cross. May God send his healing Spirit to bind up the wounds of his shepherd. May he lead us through that same Spirit to realize once more the totality of our Christian commitment. The Editor
Bishops lauded By Pat McGowan "I am proud of the bishops," said Robert E. White, fonner ambassador to El Salvador. He was speaking of the role of the U.S. bishops in keeping alive American concern over four U.S. women missionaries murdered last December in El Salvador llnd in protesting the U.S. anns policy towards the Central Amerkan nation. White, commencement speaker at St. Michael's College, Winooski, Vt., of which he is a 1!~52 graduate, said in an intervIew that the church in Latin America has identified with the poor llnd that "simplistic people identify working with the poor with being revolutionary." He decried, however, the actions of Maryknoll Father Roy Bourgeois who disappeared April 26 in El Salvador while working with a CBS television team. The priest surfaced 10 days later, following much international concern on his behalf, saying he had been talking to SalvadOJ:'an peasant$ about conditions in the crisis-ri4den nation. "He did a disservice to the church," said White, adding that
"actions not thought through don't help." For White the. St. Michael's speech was in the nature of a homecoming. Two of his five children are students at the small liberal arts college; and before he was ousted from El Salvador for opposition to Reagan administration policies, faculty and students joined in regular prayer for his safety. In his May 17 speech the diplomat joked that his daughters had implored him not to discuss "my favorite topic - the value of a liberal arts education." Of his own ouster and subsequent frequent speakirig out against administration actions in El Salvador, he said "I believe with St. Thomas More that a man's first duty is to escape, but some men have honor thrust upon them." Pointing out that the American revolution used to be the model for nations seeking freedom, White said that emerging nations now look to the Soviet Union and China and that since the end of World War II U.S. foreign policy towards Latin America has been to support erTurn to Page Eight
Credits CCA at $1,149,561 Hearings on tuition tax credit legislation will be held June 3-4 in the subcommittee on taxation and debt management of the Senate Finance Committee, according to Sen. Robert Packwood (R-Ore.), subcommittee chairman. The tuition tax credit bill, $550, which is co-sponsored by Packwood and Sen. Daniel Moynihan (D-N.Y.), would provide a tax credit, subtracted directly from the amount of taxes owed, for tuition expenses paid by an individual for himself, spouse or dependents. The amount of the credit would be 50 percent of tuition payments up to a maximum credit of $500. Although Sen. Moynihan has expressed fear that the Reagan administration may be backing off from its previously stated un路 qualified support of tax credits, the legislation is still seen as the best method of achieving equity in education. It is strongly backed by Father George W. Coleman, diocesan director of education, and most diocesan schools have recently contacted parents urging them to write or telegraph senators Turn to Page Nine
With a current total of $1,149, 561.34 in donations, the 1981 Catholic Charities Appeal is $38,722 ahead of the figures for the same time period last year. The official campaign closing is tomorrow, with many parish reports, priests' donations and special gift contributions yet to be received. Msgr. Anthony M. Gomes, diocesan director of the Appeal, said today: "All special gifts, priests' donations and parish contributions must be made at central headquarters of the Appeal in Fall River tomorrow for accreditation in this year's Appeal. These reports should be made in person to insure credit for this year's Appeal. The final total of the 1981 Appeal will be published in next week's edition of The Anchor. I hope that all of our 113 parishes will be over the top tomorrow." Sixty parishes have thus far surpassed their 1980 final totals. The following parishes were added to the Honor Roll since last week's Anchor report: St. Mark, Attleboro Falls; St. Theresa, South Attleboro; St. Mary, Mansfield; Mt. Cannel, St. Mary, Seekonk.
Our Lady of the Cape, Brewster;. St. Elizabeth, Edgartown; Our Lady of the Isle, Nantucket; St. John, Pocasset; St. Peter, Provincetown. Corpus Christi, Sandwich; St. Augustine, Vineyard Haven; Holy Trinity, West Harwich; 51. Mary's Cathedral, Espirito Santo, Fall River. Holy Cross, Our Lady of Health, St. Elizabeth, St. John the Baptist, St. Joseph, Fall River. St. Louis, St. Michael, 55. Peter & Paul, St. Roch, St. William, Fall River. St. Bernard, Assonet; 51. John of God, Somerset; Our Lady of Fatima, St. Dominic, St. Louis de France, St. Michael, Swansea. Holy Name, Mt. Carmel, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Sacred Heart, St. Anthony of Padua, New Bedford. St. Francis of Assisi, St. Joseph, St. Mary, New Bedford; St. Francis Xavier, Acushnet; 51. Mary, Sacred Hearts, Fairhaven. St. Anthony, Matt~poisett; St. Mary, South Dartmouth; Holy Family, East Taunton; Holy Rosary, Taunton; St. Ann, Raynham; Holy Cross, South Easton.