Newspaper Page Text
i
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
SPEAKS TO BOAT PEOPLE - Some of the 2,700 boat people abroad
the refugee ship Tung An anchored off Manila Bay listen to words of
encouragement from Bishop Edwin B. Broderick, executive director of
Catholic Relief Services. The bishop visited abroad the Tung An in order
to view the conditions under which the refugees are living and to
determine how CRS can ease their privation and suffering.
PAGE 6—April 5,1979
Sexuality Subject Of Regional Meetings
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (NC) -
Sexuality is one of the most important
and misunderstood aspects of the lives
of young adults today, yet the church
has failed to provide much guidance in
this area and is losing many young
adults because of it.
That opinion was shared by many
young Catholic adults who attended a
seminar on the subject of sexuality at El
Pomar Renewal Center, Colorado
Springs. The seminar was the third in a
series of six regional meetings being held
around the country sponsored by the
Department of Education of the U.S.
Catholic Conference. Approximately 80
persons from 11 states and the District
of Columbia participated in the
Colorado Springs meeting.
One of the speakers, Dan DiDomizio,
professor of theology at Marian College,
ROME (NC) -- “It was the most
beautiful coronation of the most
beautiful event of my life,” said
25-year-old Anna Maria de Fusco after
Pope John Paul II baptized her baby
girl.
The baptism took place Sunday,
March 18, when the pope toured a clinic
during a visit to a Roman parish. The
mother was in the San Feliciano clinic
for an appendectomy.
The pope performed the ceremony
during his visit to the parish of San
Giuseppe aH’Aurelio.
Knowing that the pope would visit
the clinic, Mrs. De Fusco and the nuns
Milwaukee, described sexuality as
intimate contact between two persons.
“Sexuality is not sex, it is not
intercourse,” he said. “It is intimacy, a
breakthrough to a new level of human
experience... an entry into the
Incarnation -- which is God’s presence in
human life,” he said.
“Intimacy is always 1 an ongoing
process,” DiDomizio said. “It is never
completed. It is a struggle - a healing,
saving struggle.”
He said that intimacy is a journey for
every adult, just as growth in faith is a
journey.
Some of the major characteristics of
intimacy are conflict and reconciliation,
welcoming and hospitality and spiritual
poverty, DiDomizio said.
He described spiritual poverty as the
who run the clinic had everything ready
for a baptism.
“When he entered, the pope
approached to give me a caress. I
timidly asked him if he could baptize
my baby and right away without
thinking a second he gave me an
appointment for St. Peter’s. He didn’t
even expect such a request,” said the
mother.
“Since the program did not provide
for a baptism in the clinic, a rigid
clergyman opposed our insistence. But
the Holy Father, when a nun told him
that everything was ready, approved
with a marvellous smile. My joy was
boundless,” she said.
realization of a person’s own selfishness.
“My worth as a human being comes
when I am loved by someone despite
my selfishness,” he said.
Augustinian Father Patrick O’Neill,
director of Campus and Young Adult
Ministry for the USCC Department of
Education, said that the regional
seminars were being held because “the
whole area of sexuality is the most
crucial question that many young adult
Catholics have today.”
He described a young adult as
someone between the ages of 18 and 40.
More than one-half of the
approximately 70 million Americans in
this category are unmarried, he said.
Father O’Neill’s department is
sponsoring the six regional meetings as
part of the implementation this year
and next of the Pastoral Plan for Young
Adult Ministry, which is one of the
The baby girl, Fabiana, was born Dec.
14.
In 1976, Mrs. De Fusco gave birth to
a baby who died two hours later
because of the mother’s kidney ailment.
Mrs. De Fusco has to have dialysis twice
a week and the doctors advised against
another pregnancy.
She became pregnant again and
during the pregnancy could have had a
kidney transplant. She refused because
the transplant would have involved an
abortion in the fifth month of
pregnancy.
The baby baptized by the pope was
born healthy.
major efforts of the U.S. bishops, he
said.
Joining Father O’Neill and
DiDomizio was Michael Warren,
professor of theology at St. John’s
University in New York.
In a discussion about the growth of
young adults as sexual persons, Warren
said that development in sexuality
involves a series of personal
transformations. He compared it to the
human infant learning to walk one step
at a time.
He said the belief held by many
Catholics that any kind of physical
contact between two adults who are not
married to one another is sinful is not
correct.
“There are some areas of teaching in
the area of sexuality that need
clarification today,” he said.
“The teaching of the church on
sexuality has been traditionally formed
by celibate males,” Warren said. “We
theologians know very little about the
sexuality of normal Christian adults, but
we need to in order to develop a
theology that addresses the needs of
people today,” he said.
One seminar participant said that the
church has alienated many young adults
because of this theological deficiency.
George Tway, a single adult involved
in ministry to young adults in the Boise,
Idaho, Diocese, said that Catholics
cannot continue to keep the idea that
anything involving intimacy between
unmarried people is wrong.
“It is possible for unmarried people
to have intimate relationships with one
another without committing mortal
sins,” he said. ’ “The attitude held by
many Catholics that this intimacy is
always sinful is alienating many young
adults,” he said.
“Christianity is too important to
throw away because an individual has
made a mistake involving sex,” Tway
added. “We have to learn how to be a
forgiving and welcoming church for
these people,” he said.
Friends Slow To Understand
Pope Baptizes Baby During Clinic Visit
/ —\
Communion
From The Cup
BY FATHER JOSEPH M. CHAMPLIN
During the past seven years,
parishioners at Holy Family Church in
Fulton, N. Y., have had many
opportunities to drink our Lord’s
precious blood from the chalice during
Mass — on Thanksgiving, Holy Thursday
and every weekday as well as at special
occasions like weddings, funerals and
home liturgies.
We reacted, consequently, with real
interest to the American bishops’ recent
discussion and vote on the optional
extension of this practice to Sunday
celebrations.
According to our custom, the 600
plus people who gathered for last fall’s
Thanksgiving Mass enjoyed the
alternative of communicating from the
cup. That procedure even with such a
crowd never has presented us with any
logistical problems or undue delays.
However, our staff decided to offer
this same option at all the Masses on
one weekend as a kind of experiment to
determine the advisability of extending
the practice to Sunday liturgies. Since
the feast of Christ the King is one of
those special parish or family
celebrations for us, I judged it fell under
the category of occasions already
approved by our bishops in previous
legislation.
We learned several things through this
single weekend experience:
— The need for catechesis: Despite
the many occasions and frequent feasts
when Communion has been distributed
here under both kinds and even though
we printed an explanatory note in the
previous week’s bulletin, a good number
seemed confused or questioned why we
introduced this procedure.
— Over the last half dozen years we
have occasionally preached on or
explained the theological and historical
background of Communion from the
chalice. Our Christ the King experiment
simply underscored the truth that
instructions of this type must be
repeated over and over before new or
renewed ways become fully understood
and accepted by the mass of
parishioners.
— The time required: A great concern
for parish leaders in this matter
naturally centers around the time
factor. If the practice, especially in large
parishes, greatly prolongs the length of
Mass, then it causes problems with tight
Sunday schedules and will alienate those
who, unfortunately, look frequently at
their watches during weekend
Eucharists.
— We found the actual distribution
required few, if any added moments.
There were no lines waiting for the
chalice after the hosts had been
communicated. Since we employed
several ministers of the cup and many
parishioners did not choose to receive
under both kinds, the situation worked
out quite well.
— The mechanics of preparing and
cleansing the chalices may delay the
liturgy, but both of these can be
handled expeditiously with proper
organization.
— Preparation and purification of
vessels. Following the directives of our
American bishops we consecrated most
of the wine in a large silver pouring
pitcher, filling three other chalices from
it. Quite by accidental necessity, the
ministers discovered this attractive
vessel would fit comfortably into the
tabernacle.
That made the problem of the
remaining precious blood after
Communion no problem.
Purification of the chalices was done
generally in the sacristy at the
sacrarium. The order of Mass
specifically provides for this alternative.
Number 140 reads: “It is also
permitted to wash the vessels after Mass
when the people have left, especially if
there are several vessels. In this case,
after Communion, they may be covered
and placed on a corporal either on the
altar or on the side table.”
— Extra ministers of Communion: As
a thumb rule, twice as many ministers
of the cup are required as distributors of
the host. Otherwise there will be
substantial delays.
These added personnel assisted with
the preparation and purification of the
Eucharist and vessels as described above.
That resulted in an efficient operation,
but also a crowded sanctuary.
Considerable thought and prior training
needs to be given this function, if those
multiple ministers are not to become a
distraction during worship.
— Concern about hygiene:
Documentation from the U.S. bishops’
Committee on the Liturgy included an
interesting note which should reassure
those troubled by the spread of germs
from common drinking from the cup.
The American Medical Association,
through its Department of Medicine and
Religion, has stated: “It is the position
of the AMA that, as far as we know,
there have been no cases of transmission
of germs to communicants using a
common cup. The alcoholic content of
the wine, plus the hygenic practice of
wiping the cup and turning it to a new
position for each communicant seems to
remove any danger.”
(Copyright (c) 1979 by NC News Service)
8,000 At Ordination
i
MIAMI (NC) -- The episcopal
ordination of two new bishops in Miami
included ceremonies in four languages
and drew 8,000 people to the Miami
Beach Convention Center.
Auxiliary Bishops John J. Nevins and
Agustin A. Roman were ordained March
24 in the presence of Archbishop Jean
Jadot, apostolic delegate in the United
States, bishops from the South, and
from Latin America.
An unusual feature of the service was
the use of English, French, Spanish and
Haitian (Creole) in the prayers and
homilies. This was to reflect the
cosmopolitan make up of the
Archdiocese of Miami and the
ever-growing influx of French Canadians
and Haitian refugees.
BY JANAAN MANTERNACH
One day Jesus and his disciples were
crossing the Sea of Galilee in a fishing
boat. It was soon after Jesus had fed the
huge crowd with a few loaves and fishes.
Jesus and his friends had just had an
argument with the Pharisees. The
Pharisees were good men, devout Jews,
but they felt Jesus was breaking God’s
law. So they kept asking Jesus for some
sign that would prove that he was close
to God and an orthodox Jew.
Jesus grew weary of their constant
demands for some special sign. He knew
no unusual sign would help them. They
should be able to tell from what he said
and did that God was with him so he
got into a boat with his friends and left
the puzzled Pharisees standing on the
shore.
Jesus was relieved to be alone with
his friends. They all enjoyed these quiet
moments together. They all loved the
sea, with its refreshing breezes and
rhythmic waves. With his friends Jesus
felt at home and could forget the
arguments of the Pharisees.
At quiet times like this, Jesus talked
with his friends about things that
touched him deeply. He shared with
them his deepest thoughts and feelings.
He also taught them about God and
God’s ways.
This time he was warning them
against the kind of thinking the
Pharisees used. They always wanted
proofs, signs. They seemed locked into
their own ways of thinking, their own
narrow ideas. They could not see that
Jesus’ love for people showed how close
he was to God.
Jesus hoped his closest friends would
understand, even if the learned Pharisees
did not. But as he chatted with his
friends this day in the boat on Galilee’s
beautiful sea, it became clear that even
these men did not understand who he
was. In some ways they thought like the
Pharisees did. Even they, who were so
close to him, did not recognize how
close God was to him.
Jesus was disappointed and hurt. He
asked them, “Do you still not see or
understand? Are your minds completely
blinded? Have you eyes but no sight?
Ears but no hearing?”
They were silent. Jesus went on, “Do
you remember when I broke the five
loaves for the five thousand, how many
baskets of fragments you gathered up?”
They answered sheepishly, “Twelve.”
Then Jesus said to them with a weary
sigh, “Do you still not understand?”
Jesus must have looked back sadly
over the past months. These were the 12
men he had chosen to be his close
friends. He had spent days and weeks
teaching them. They had walked with
him along the roads and through the
villages of Galilee.
They had watched him go out of his
way to help people who were sick,
frightened or poor. They had heard him
speak of God’s love and forgiveness.
They had seen him go out to sinners to
forgive them. They had watched him sit
down and eat with public sinners who
were condemned by people like the
Pharisees. They had seen him go up to
lepers, whom everyone else avoided.
They had seen how kind he was with
people and how compassionate he was
with anyone who was suffering. They
had seen him heal, forgive, comfort,
strengthen, encourage, teach. What he
taught people about God’s love could be
seen in his own care for everyone in
need. If anyone was close to God, Jesus
certainly was. If God was with anyone,
he surely was with Jesus.
But even the disciples with whom
Jesus had shared so much did not
understand. Like the Pharisees, they,
too, wanted more signs.
As they sailed across to the other
shore, Jesus and his friends were silent.
The disciples knew Jesus was
disappointed with them. They sensed
his frustration. They wondered in
silence about Jesus. Just who was he?
What was there about him that they
could never quite understand?
“Who is this,” they thought to
themselves, “our friend and teacher?”
We are so close to him, yet we do not
fully understand him. Who is he, really?
(Copyright (c) 1979 by NC News Service)
Children’s Story Hour
IN THE BOAT, “Jesus was relieved
to be alone with his friends,” Janaan
Manternach writes. “He shared with
them his deepest thoughts and feelings.
He also taught them about Gbd and
God’s ways. It became clear that even
these meh did not understand who he
really was. Even they, who were so
close to him, did not recognize how
close God was to him. (NC Sketch by
Barbara Sahli)