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orld & nation Police end occupation of church By Liz Schevtchuk NC News Service WASHINGTON — About 80 dissidents, including two on a hunger strike in a con- fessional, ended their occupation of a Po- lish Catholic church in Bridgeport, Conn., Feb. 18 when Catholic officials closed the church indefinitely and asked police to en- sure that protestors promptly departed. returned the next Michael the Ar- Abouti 100 protesters day to the church, St. changed for an outdoor protest of song and prayer, said Monsignor Nicholas V. Grieco, communications secretary of the Bridgeport Diocese. Monsignor Grieco said that two men were aijrested for trespassing Feb. 18 when, unlike other prbtesters, they de- clined tcj leave the cmujch voluntarily and engaged! in passive resistance. The two, identified as Franciszek Wojenski, a pari- shioner, and Henry Chrniel, a resident of Milfordv Conn., outside the Bridgeport Diocesej were given sdmmons by police, he said. Unhappy parishioners and sympathizers occupied the church in shifts to protest what, they viewed as unacceptable plans to open the parish to non-Polish Catholics. St. Michael's is located in a predominantly black and Hispanic neighborhood. The approximately J40 police present Feb. 18 [\didn't go into the church to arrest people,\' Monsignor Grieco said. Rather, he said,! they were called \to make sure that everything was djone in order and without any problems.''] Two (unidentified men on a hunger strike, which lasted about two days before the occupation ended, had \sealed\ them- selves in a chamber made from an old con- fessional used for the sacrament of recon- ciliation, he said. They were among dissi- dents who left voluntarily, he said. Monsignor Grieco said mat the diocese and parish corporation, including Bishop Edward; M. Egan of Bridgeport, resolved late Feb,. 17 to end the! occupation of the church, run by Conventual Franciscans. \What the diocese arid church corpora- tion were concerned about was that they simply leave,\ he said. According to a Feb. 18 diocesan state- Spring programs including two week Center Special, May 12-28, with Guest, Directors: Michael Crosby, OFM Cap, and Blanche Marie Gallagher, BVM. vVeekend and Sunday programs. Send for our Spring/Summer Brochure. < Center Of Renewal Stella Niagara, N.Y. 14144 716-754-7376 00 Miles north of Niagara Falls, N.Y.) Seniors Yott may be spending too much on prescriptions If your income is under $15,000 if single/$20,000 if married. Call EPIC at the Monroe County Office for the Aging. 274-7841 AP/Wide World Photos Policemen escprt protesters out of St. Michael the Archangel Church in Bridgeport, Conn., bringing their weeklong occupation of the church to an end. ment, church functions were suspended un- til further notice and those occupying die church and its premises were told to leave \because of imminent danger of injury to persons and property,\ as well as \recent disruptions to the orderly and reverential conduct of church services and the disrup- tion of day-to-day business of die parish.\ Monsignor Grieco said tiiat on Feb. 17, a delegation representing die parish corpora- tion and diocesan officials, accompanied by Franciscan leaders, met with pari- shioners, including dissidents. The dissidents, estimated by Monsignor Grieco as being about 20 percent of pari- shioners plus some ouier Poles, began oc- cupying the church Feb. 11, demanding that die current pastor, Franciscan Father John Bambol, be removed and a popular former associate pastor, Franciscan Father Roman Palaszewski, be returned. They said they objected to Father Bambol's plan to open the church to other ethnic groups and claimed he was responsible for the transfer of Father Palaszewski. \Actually die people who were dissent- ing were reassured several times it would remain a national parish,\ Monsignor Grieco added. However, on the part of the protesters, \emotions had gotten to such a high pitch it was very difficult for diem to hear what was being said,'' he added. Agenda weighs cultural conflicts By Agostino Bono NC News Service VATICAN CITY - Vatican officials expect their March 8-11 meeting with U.S. bishops to focus on the tensions between modern, pluralistic U.S. society and die often countercultural message of Catholi- cism. This, more than specific problems be- tween the Vatican and members of me U.S. hierarchy, is expected to dominate die formal speeches and more man 12 hours of open debate scheduled during the sessions, they say. The meeting will bring togedier Vatican officials, including Pope John Paul II, and 35 U.S. bishops. It was planned as a fol- low-up to die pope's 1987 visit to die United States and me U.S. bishops' 1988 visits to die Vatican to discuss die status of their dioceses. The overall tiieme is \Evangelization in die Context of Culture and Society of the United States wim Particular Emphasis on me Role of die Bishop as Teacher of Faith.\ Subthemes, however, leave the door open to raising controversial issues that at times have caused problems between (the Vatican and U.S. church leaders. Among these issues are die relationship of bishops to dissenting theologians/the high number of annulments granted by diocesan mar- riage tribunals, and criticism by the U.S hierarchy of Vatican draft documents on Cadiolic universities and die nature of bishops' conferences. \It's an open forum. Anytiiing can be discussed,\ said Joaquin Navarro-Vails, Vatican press spokesman. At me same time, \any image mat puts Continued on page 5 Guide to Area Professionals Accountants OFFICE 872-1840 JOHN P. SLISH CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANT 1062 EVERWILD VIEW WEBSTER. NEW YORK 14580 ACCOUNTING, FINANCIAL CONSULTING SERVICES FOR BUSINESSES & INDIVIDUALS EDWARD A. WURTZ General Civil Practice of Law • Real Estate • Wills fit Estates • Negligence Home Appointments Available 154 S. Fitzhugh S46-5260 Attorneys Financial Services KENNETH GALLANT ATTORNEY AND COUNSELOR AT LAW GENERAL LAW PRACTICE No CHARGE FOR INITIAL CONSULTATION 25 E Main St.. Suite 304 • 232-7560 Henrietta: 1425 Jefferson Rd in Saginaw Plaza • 427-0007 BRICKMAN JENNY ASSOCIATES. CPAs Accounting, Auditing, Financing & Tax Planning, Management Advisory Services. 1593 E. Main St., Rochester, NY 14609 Office Hours: Daily 9 a.m. till 4:30 p.m. Call: 482-2080 Would you like to reach 110,000 prospective clients a week? Then try the Catholic Courier's new \Guide to Area Professionals\! Call: Kathy Welsh at 328-4340 CUF founder dies 5 NEW R0CHELLE, N.Y. (NC) - H. Lyman Stebbins, the founder and former president of Catholics United for the Faith, died Feb. 19 at age 77. Mr. Stebbins was also the founder of the Benedictine Mon- astery of Mt. Saviour near Elmira, N.Y. His death at bis home in New Rochelle fol- lowed a long illness. The funeral Mass was to be celebrated Feb. 23 at Holy Family Church in New Rochelle. He is survived by bis wife, Madeleine, who is chairman of the board of Catholics United for the Faith, known as CUF, a lay association of tra- ditionalist Catholics founded in 1968. Station refuses messages WASHINGTON (NC) - A CBS-owned radio station in Chicago has canceled a ser- ies of paid messages featuring Cardinal Joseph L. Bernardin, saying the one- minute messages violated CBS Radio stan- dards and practices. The station, WBBM-AM, which was to run the series of inspirational messages during Lent, no- tified the archdiocese of its decision Feb. 9, the day after Ash Wednesday, when the first message aired, said Mercy Sister Joy Clough, spokeswoman for the archdiocese. WBBM refused to run the remaining six messages, which were to air one time each during the Fridays of Lent. Survey shows identity loss WASHINGTON (NC) - One of three Americans raised Methodist and one of 10 Americans raised Catholic no longer iden- tify with the denomination of their child- hood, according to Jim Castelli, author of the syndicated Gallup Religion Poll column. The decline among Catholics is seen particularly among the young and col- lege-educated, Castelli said. The figures are taken from the Gallup Organization survey, \The Unchurched American, 1988.\ The survey, completed last spring, was funded by 22 Catholic and Protestant organizations Form of death threats varies WASHINGTON (NC) - Brazilian bishops and priests targeted for assassina- tion by death squads have received threats in a variety of ways, said an official of the Brazilian bishops' conference. The more common threats have come in the form of anonymous letters, and telephone calls, but \sometimes threats are more concrete,\ said the official, Father George Boean. Earlier this year, Bishop Jose Ivo Lors- cheiter, vice president of ijhe conference, released a list of bishops, priests and reli- gious on a 350-person \hit list,\ -which also included labor organizers and small farmers. Court urged to rethink case WASHINGTON (NC) — The U.S. bishops and Knights of Columbus Feb. 23 asked die U.S. Supreme Court to rethink its 1973 abortion ruling before it resolves a dispute over a Missouri abortion control law. The Knights and the U.S. Catholic Conference, public action agency of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, commented in separate friend-of-the-court briefs submitted on the Missouri case, Webster vs. Reproductive Health Services, which is slated for court arguments later this year. Constitutionality argued WASHINGTON (NC) - An attorney told the U.S. Supreme Court in oral argu- ments Feb. 22 mat a local government's Christian nativity scene and Jewish meno- rah no more violate the Constitution man does declaring Dec*. 25 a federal holiday, but an opposing attorney argued that such displays represent an \appalling\ disre- gard for non-believers. The high court heard arguments in County of Allegheny vs. American Civil Liberties Union and two related actions pitting Allegheny County, Pa., and the City of Pittsburgh, joined by a Jewish group, Chabad, against the civil liberties union, which claimed that government involvement wim the menorah and nativity scene is unconstitutional. Catholic Courier
