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igR-gs^rw'\^ Dominating defenses , The opening weeteod of high school footbofl featured some outstanding defensiw ploy as Aqulnos, Oishop Kear- ney ond DeSales aft recorded shutouts in their season openers. Page a. Stories of exile Trumpet player Hugh Mosefcelo and singef MWom Makeba mate sweet mo* sic yet their stories of exile ote power- ful indictments of the South Africa** system of opontieid. ?oge 16, > %, I Catholic Diocese of Rochester 50 Cents Thursday. September 15. 1988 16 Pages Crusade prompts record participation by Catholics By Rob Cullivan The Billy Graham Crusade this week is drawing the largest representation of Roman Catholics in the entire history of the crusade in North America, according to A. Larry Ross, director of media and public relations. One hundred forty-five of the 161 parishes in the Diocese of Rochester are participating in the crusade, which-opened Sunday, Sept. 11, to an overflow crowd of nearly 20,000 people. The crusade continues throughout the week, concluding on Sunday, Sept. 18. Mainline Protestant denominations, such as Methodists, Baptists and Episcopalians make up the bulk of the crusade's upstate New York audience, Ross said. Preliminary estimates by crusade organizers predicted that 15-25 percent of those attending would be Catholic How- ever, no specifc figures were available to con- firm the estimate. Ross attributed what he regarded as record participation of diocesan Catholics to Bishop Matthew H. Clark's vocal support for the cru- sade. \The formaLsupport has been very keen!' Ross said. Forty-five.diocesan parishes recruited volun- teers and helped organize busloads of delegates to the crusade. Others took part indirectly by^ ,..Jafftrining parishioners of., the _event 1 ,..\\a|§r ^toMsin^ :S rS E w)e8roine , any new parishioners recrulfe^lby : the^ecuriietticai; crusade; Father pob Wertti, pastor of Si. Bridget's Church in Rochester, and member of a liaison committee working between the diocese and the crusade, said that 235 of the crusade's 2,700 trained counselors are Catholic, and 47 Cathol- ics are among the crusade's 1,000 nurture group leaders. Counselors don't go into action until after the crusade's opening remarks, music, and a topical sermon by Graham. At the end of his sermon, Graham invites members of the au- dience to come forward to the outfield stage from which he speaks, and to recite a pledge to follow Jesus Christ. At that point, the trained counselors min- gle with participants, pairing with those; of similar age and gender. After the crowd has recited the pledge, each counselor works With a person or persons to determine their denomi- nation, and the nearest church of that denomi- nation. If a person is not affiliated with any church or denomination, the counselor will help him or her qhbose a nearby church. For up to a year after the crusade, nurture group leaders help support new church mem- bers' commitment through Bible study groups. Sister M. Lucetta Sercu of St. Cecilia'$ Par- ish in Rochester, and Marianne Lidgle, a parishioner at St. Charles Borromeo in Greece, served among the trained counselors who greeted more than 1,500 men and women who came forward Sunday. • \It was just a thrilling experience!' Sister Ser- cu said. \It's worth gpiiigibackttrf'ji.. Around the Diocese... Page 2f-- Calendar Page 6 Classifieds Page 11 Columnists Pages 12-13 Editorial & Opinion... Page 14 Features Pages 7, 16 Local News Page 3 Obituaries Page 10 Sports Pages 8-9 World & Nation Pages 4-5 ' r - Bonni* TrwfeJM/Courier-Journal The Rev. Billy Graham kicked off his week-long crusade in Rochester to a capacity crowd of nearly 20,000 at Silver Stadium Sunday, Sept. 11. Graham praised western New York, calling it the original \Bible Belt.\ Liddle likewise enjoyed working with a Catholic woman brought forward Sunday night by Graham's message about the ecumen- ical love of Jesus. 'The message was to forget that we have different churches and denomi- nations!' Liddle said. \God loves all of us!' Before the crusade began, Father Werth en- countered some Catholics who feared that the Southern Baptist minister would preach a the- ology at odds with Catholic teaching. But Gra- ham's approach has allayed many such fears. \I thought he did a real fine job of not being offensive to anyone!' Bather Werih||aid. On Sunday, Grahamgpointed to such world problems as pollutionjjthe nuclear arms race, famine, and the AIDS epidemic as evidence of man's corrupt nature — a condition he said that mankind inherited from Adam and Eve's disobedience to God in the Garden of Eden as related in the Book of Genesis. Among young people, Graham said, the number one problem is loneliness. He also criticized television talk shows that, in his opinion, emphasize the negative aspects of every issue. Referring to his own marriage of 45 years, Graham asked, \Why don't they put people who have been married that long on a talk show?\ The only lasting solution to these problems, Graham claimed, is individual repentance. \We're never going to answer the problem till we get to the root of the problem — sin|' he said. \ Graham reiterated that theme throughout his sermon. \Our basic problems are not social or educational!' he said. \A change of heart is needed.\ His simply worded message of salvation through repentance and acceptance of Jesus Christ as a personal savior appealed to many in the stadium Sunday. David Prince, an or- ganizer for Youth for Christ Campus Life in Greece, a program which works with high school students, called Graham \fantabulous!' Continued on Page 10 Parishes assemble to avert staffing crisis By Lee Strong In 1980, the Diocese of Rochester had 325 active diocesan priests. Today, the diocese has approximately 240 ac- tive priests, and by the year 2000, that num- ber is expected to fall to 135. Rather than watching passively as the num- ber of priests continues to drop — and a staff- ing-erisis develops in parishes — the diocese has asked parish staff members, leaders and parishioners to take action. Between September 24 and November 18, parishioners from the 11 regions of the diocese will assemble to address the issue of alternate staffing. Following the assemblies, each par- ish will create a reflection team of three to five members. Members of these teams will attend one of several six-hour training sessions dur- ing November and December, and a two-hour in-service in January. Between February and April, 1989, each team will assess its parish's resources, needs, and readiness to assume some alternate staff- ing pattern. In May and June, teams will meet in regional reflection sessions, during which they will report their findings and receive ad- ditional training. In the fall of 1989, the par- ish teams will again meet in their regions to discuss plans of action for alternate staffing. , \What we're doing is not new, but an expan- sion of staffing ideas that have developed over the last several years,\ explained Father Paul J. Tomasso,: secretary to Bishop Matthew H. Clark. \We believe that alternate staffing patterns have already begun in the diocese in many places!' Father Tomasso said. He pointed to such configurations as the Northern Cayuga Cluster and the Cayuga Cluster, the number of mission churches, and parishes that share staff members as examples of alternate pat- terns that already exist. \The number of par- ishes enjoying an alternate staffing pattern will multiply in the next three to five years!' he predicted. \It's that close.\ The regional assembly concept and the train- ing sessions are, in part, an outgrowth of a Ministry Day for parish staff members last May 10. At the gathering, alternate staffing models were discussed, and participants were told that there vwmld'be follow-up meetings in the fall. The assemblies are also the result of a plan • Continued on Page 10