t leanc 0 VOL. 37, NO. 23
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Friday, June 11, 1993
F ALL RIVER, MASS.
ORDAINED to the priesthood June 5 by Bishop Sean O'Malley were Fathers Charll~s A. Jodoin (left) and Andre H. Faria. Center, the pries'thood candidates lie prostrate before the altar before ordination. Among those
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FALL RIVEn DIOCESAN NEWSPAPER FOR SOUTHEAST MASSACHUSETTS CAPE COD & THE ISLANDS Southeastern Massachusetts' lLargest Weekly
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witnessing the ceremony were a delegation of parishioners from Queen of the Americas parish in Washington, DC, where Father Faria served his diaconate, and French Canadian friends of Father Jodoin. (Studio D photos) oM h· •
POI)e urges bishops to avoid undue restrictions on infant baptilsm
VATICAN CITY (CNS) - Pope John Paul II said U.S. bishops should encourage more frequent participation in the sacraments as the key to a healthy spiritual life that goes beyond self-centered forms of happiness. In particular, the pope said U.S. dioceses should: - Avoid placing undue restrictions on infant baptism. - Promote individual confession and a "sen:>e of sin" among their faithful. - Make a new push for vocations to restore regular eucharistic celebration to priestless parishes. The pope made the remarks in early June to bishops from Alabama, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee making their "ad limina" visits to the Vatican. On baptism, the pope noted that church law says the sacrament should be administered only when there is a "well-founded hope" that the child will be raised a Catholic. But he expressed concern that dioceses may be too strict in applying this rule. "On occasion baptism has been unwisely denied to parents requesting it for their child," he said. "Pastoral charity would bid us to welcome thosl: who have strayed from the practice of their faith, and to refrain from making demands not required by church doctrine or law," he said.
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He recalled that grace is "gratuitous and unmerited," and said this is most evident in infant baptism. While pastors should prepare parents for the sacrament, it is above all a divine gift to the child. Remarks on penance reflected the pope's concern at the world-
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wide drop-off in individual confession over the last few decades. He said restoring a sense of sin is the first step in confronting the "grave spiritual crisis" looming over men ar.d women today. "Given the prevailing idea that happiness consists in satisfying oneself and being satisfied with
oneself, the church must procla:~m ever more vigorously that it is only God's grace, not therapeutic or self-convincing schemes, which can heal the divisions in the hum3n heart caused by sinfulness," he said. The pope said bishops shOuld stir up a desire for forgiveness in
Supreme Court says after-school religious programs, graduate-led prayer OK WASHINGTON (CNS) - In two cases June 7, the Supreme Court wedged open the door permitting some religious activities on public school property, saying a church may use school meeting space and letting stand a lower court ruling allowing student-led graduation prayers. The court reversed a 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that the Center Moriches Union Free School District on Long Island, N. Y., did not have to permit the Lamb's Chapel congregation to use school property to show films. Though several justices cited different reasons for "agreeing with the church's case, all nine members of the court said the school district was wrong to exclude Lamb's Chapel from using public property to show a film series that addressed
family problems from a religious perspective. Writing for the court, Justice Byron White said considering that the school district permitted a wide variety of organizations to use school property after hours, "there would have been no realistic danger that the community would think that the district was endorsing religion or any particular creed, and any benefit to religion or to the church would have been :10 more than incidental." District employees had testified that the Lamb's Chapel request to use the school had been turned down because the film series "does appear to be church related." By reject~ng the church's application solely because the conte:nt was related to religion, the district violated the free speech clause of the Constitution, the court said.
White's opinion, in which he was joined by Chief Justice William Rehnquist and Justices Harry Blackmun, John Paul Steve:ls, Sandra Day O'Connor and David Souter, pointedly avoided the Lamb's Chapel's claim that the district policy violated the Establishment Clause of the Consti-:ution and was hostile to religion "Because we reverse on another ground, we need not decide what merit this submission might have," a footnote said. In separate opinions, Justiees Anthony Kennedy and Antollin Scalia, joined by Justice Clarence Thomas, found fault with the majority's use of the court's IS71 Lemon vs. Kurtzman ruling to decide the Lamb's Chapel case. Lemon established a three-put Turn to Page II
peoples' hearts through teaching. They should also take steps to make penance readily available in their churches and promote its frequent use, he said. He stressed that for Catholics in a state of mortal sin, individual confession remains the normal way for reconciliation. General absolution should be use:d only in cases of . grave pastoral necessity, he said. Bishops should also make sure that priestly formation programs train candidates in confession. Confessors should be patient, never hurrying penitents or restricting the number of sins they can confess, he said. The pope said the Eucharist is the'center of the church's life, and he encouraged bishops to "root out abuses" such as illicit additions or omissions to the approved texts. He acknowledged that the clergy shortage has forced some U.S. parishes to conduct Sunday services without a priest, but emphasized that this is 21 temporary solution. He said a "truly living community" cannot resign itself to being without a priest. He urged bishops to become personally involved in inviting young men to consider the call to the priesthood. On another topic, the pope said he hoped the church in the United Turn to Page II