{ title: 'Courier-Journal. (Rochester, N.Y.) 1968-current, February 18, 1988, Page 13, Image 13', download_links: [ { link: 'http://www.loc.gov/rss/ndnp/ndnp.xml', label: 'application/rss+xml', meta: 'News about NYS Historic Newspapers - RSS Feed', }, { link: '/lccn/np00020004/1988-02-18/ed-1/seq-13/png/', label: 'image/png', meta: '', }, { link: '/lccn/np00020004/1988-02-18/ed-1/seq-13.pdf', label: 'application/pdf', meta: '', }, { link: '/lccn/np00020004/1988-02-18/ed-1/seq-13/ocr.xml', label: 'application/xml', meta: '', }, { link: '/lccn/np00020004/1988-02-18/ed-1/seq-13/ocr.txt', label: 'text/plain', meta: '', }, ] }
Image provided by: Rochester Regional Library Council
Courier-Jburnol Thursday, February 18, 1988 13 The Catholic television apostolate By Father Paul J. Cuddy To Deacon William Schmitz St. Leo's Church, Hilton If memory serves me correctly, you are in- terested in Catholic TV programs. I am tak- ing care of St. Michael's parish in Lyons for a month and was delighted to find that Mother Angelica's Eternal Word Catholic program is on each day from noon to 6 p.m. While it is not prime time, it is six valuable hours. I have done some home visitations in Lyons and find that many people are tuning.in on these specifically Catholic programs. They have the rosary at 3 p.m. each day and, knowing how popular Monsignor Cirincione's Rosary for Peace has been over the years, think that this is a happy addition. The channel here is the Finger Lakes Chan- nel 28, which reaches into four counties: Cayu- ga, Wayne, Ontario and Seneca. Last night I tuned in on Channel 28 and found an impres- sive panel on \Black Catholics in the Cathol- ic Church.\ The panel consisted of a black priest, a black deacon, an alert black matron and an intelligent, white Italian-American Dominican priest. The discussion revealed there are some 1.2 million black Catholics in the United States. K few parishes are entirely or mostly black, and in these the Catholic presence is strong. But in mixed parishes, where blacks are few, the black presence is weak. There are nine black bishops — all auxiliaries excepting one, the bishop of Mississippi. The black priest seemed to think this smacks of injustice. I doubt that is so. Bishops should not be ap- pointed because of color, but because they are holy, competent and faithful to the Holy See. Considering the small number of black priests/ one can hardly expect a disproportionate num- ber of black bishops. Since 1983,1 have been in close contact with Bishop Raphael Ndigni, bishop of Nakuru, Kenya, and president of the bishops' confer- ence of Kenya. He is a graduate of St. John Fisher College, Rochester. He is black, as are most of the bishops of Africa. The white mis- On the Right sionaries and Rome have been solicitous to phase out the white priests and bishops in favor of the native black clergy. And more and more communities of entirely native black, sisters are developing, trained as teachers, nurses and so- cial workers. I have encouraged people to send money to Bishop Raphael for the training of priests and sisters, for their seminaries are crowded and vocations from native girls abound. I explain that the cost of training seminarians and sis- ters is small in comparison with the training of seminarians and sisters in the States, hence a great bargain. Getting back to the TV, The National Cath- olic Reporter of January 29 reports: \VISION INTERFAITH Satellite Network, a new inter- , faith cable teelvision network organized by a coalition of several mainstream Protestant, Catholic and Orthodox groups, is scheduled to begin operating June 1. Start-up costs are • estimated at about $2 million dollars.\ Do you know whether-this is supported by our bishops' annual Catholic Communications Collection? Mother Angelica and her Eternal Word Satellite have received encouragement from very few bishops, but they have from the laity. It seems to me that communications cash might better go to the pure wine of Catholi- cism than to a watered-down ecumenism. Will you discuss this Catholic TV aposto- late with the Knights of Columbus and any other groups of zealous Catholics? It does seem odd that Rochester, our see city, has no Catholic cable; nor does Auburn, a city with seven Catholic parishes. The Trinity is not the only mystery. The bishops and public dissent By Father Richard P. McBrien At least a few Catholic theologians are ex- pressing gratitude these days to New York's Cardinal John O'Connor, Boston's Cardinal Bernard Law, Denver's Archbishop Francis Stafford and other conservative prelates for their publicly critical reaction to. the recent statement on AIDS, formulated by the 50-member Administrative Board of the Unit- ed States Catholic Conference. For years, theologians have been cautioned by such bishops that although dissent from official Catholic teachings and policies might be legitimate in principle — although some wouldn't even concede that much — such dis- sent has to be confined always to \the private sector!' namely scholarly publications ornhe sanctuary of the scholar's own thoughts. Why? Because public dissent \confuses the faithful\ and undermines the hierarchy's teach- ing authority. But now these same bishops have shown us that Catholic disagreements can — and some- times must — be brought into the public fo- rum, despite the afore mentioned dangers. The chronology of the debate, in fact, shows that these bishops went even further than the- ologians have. December 11: The 50-member Administra- tive Board of the USCC issues a 30-page state- ment, \The Many Faces of AIDS: A Gospel Response!' It was passed without dissent from any member of the board; even though the statement included carefully qualified approval for the providing of information about con- doms in order to prevent a greater evil. December 12:. Cardinal Bernard Law of Boston and the bishops of his metropolitan province — which includes Massachusetts, Ver- mont, New Hampshire and Maine — issue a statement criticizing the document for gener- ating \considerable confusion concerning the Church's position on the use of prophylactic devices as a protection against AIDS.\ These New England bishops declare that they \cannot approve or seem to approve the 0 distribution of information regarding con- traceptive devices and methods which might lead some to think that they could in good con- science ignore or contradict\ the teaching of the Church. December 13: Cardinal O'Connor enters the fray, releasing a statement to the press follow- ing the 10:15 Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral. The New York archbishop characterizes the USCC statement as a \very grave mistake:' He in Theology also repeats the charge of the Boston Province bishops and invokes the names of several other bishops as sharing his point of view. December 16: Some of the bishops invoked by Cardinal O'Connor issued more qualified criticisms. Bishop McFarland of Orange, Calif., in fact, tells Religious News Service that he has \no problem\ with mentioning condoms. December 17: Archbishop Francis Stafford of Denver circulates a letter to his archdiocese, sends another to conference president Arch- bishop John May and releases an extensive cri- tique of the conference statement. The statement, Archbishop Stafford says, has \seri- ous and evident flaws!' December 28: The office of Cardinal O'Connor makes public portions of a private letter from Archbishop May in which the arch- bishop expresses concern about the controversy and raises the possibility of a discussion of the AIDS statement at the bishops' next meeting in Collegeville, Minn. December 29: Archbishop May challenges the report issued from Cardinal O'Connor's office that the bishops' AIDS policy was now in abeyance until the Collegeville meeting in June. Chicago's Cardinal Bernardin asserts that the public disclosure of only part of the contents of Archbishop May's private letter \unfortunately led to further confusion!' Some of us theologians might not agree with the position taken by the dissenting bishops, but we would defend their right to take it and indeed to express their dissent publicly. , sw^'WoWa, however, also have to Concede' that their arguments against theologians' pub- lic dissent would be equally valid in this case. This whole controversy has confused the faith- ful and has caused a lot of people, both in- side and outside of the Church, to adopt an even more skeptical attitude toward the Church's teaching authority. One is confident that Cardinal O'Connor, like Father Charles Curran, ; never intended such consequences. r>5 '\ \\' Restaurant * Party HOUM In Our Town. And It i It's Rands... Been Since 1906 * SURF-N-TURF Featuring: Twin Lobster Tails Filet Mignon • Salad with Potato and Vegetable IO • Expires 2/23/88 * LENTEN SEAFOOD FEATURES * EVERY WEDNESDAY & FRIDAY - Serving All Day LUNCHEON BUFFET Served 12 - 2:30 pm Including: full salad bar, fried shrimp, broiled fish, & baked chicken <i? 95 *5' * WEEKLY FEATURE LOBSTER OMELETTE &f*g 5 $g95 J SUN-SET SPECIALS Served dailyU - 6:00 pm • Featuring • Shrimp Scampi, Filet Mignon, Broiled Scallops Prime Ribs & Crab, Stuffed Sole £f»a 5 Exp. 2/23/88 ON THE RIDGE OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK FULL MENU AVAILABLE DAILY in Ridgemont Plaza - 2833 Ridge Rd. West, Greece, NY 227-2510 Let me help you set up your future...and the nature of your faraway 'family , When wasthe last time you did something for yourself that also helped somebody else? Here's your chance. A gift annuity with the Propagation of the Faith will giveyou agenerous income during your lifetime-That same gift annuity also helps the Church carry on Jesi|s' mission to the world, helps missionaries who shareS|s Good News with their people, with your brothers anil\ sisters in Christ. And, too, your investment is worry-free. Falling interest rates do not affect a gift annuity. An added plus is the substantial tax savings your annuity provides. So, do something foryourself and His—and your— family in the Missions. If you are 50 years or older.wite to me for more information about a gtft annuity. Yotir inquiry will be kept in strict confidence. Thank you and may God bless you! J, iu*,v&»...i« m «/». National Director Dear Bishop McCormack, Yes, I would like to set up my future and the future of my faraway Mission family. Please send me information about a Gift Annuity with the Propagation of the Faith. Name Address City Phone( ) Date of Birth (required information) State Amount Considered: $ - Zip -. • • _P. S. I would also like information about remembering the Propagation of the Faith in my will. Thanks!. Please/fnail coupon to me: Bishop William J. McCormack National Director, Propagation of the Faith G.P.O. Box 1950. New York. NY 10116 (Dept. C) THE PROPAGATION OF THE FAITH ...Allofus committed tothe world mission of Jesus
