South Texas Catholic (Corpus Christi, Tex.), Vol. 20, No. 6, Ed. 1 Friday, February 8, 1985 Page: 3 of 20
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Local
Abortions protested
Braving the cold and windy weather, these members of the pro-life move-
ment carry placards and pray the Rosary as they picket in front of a Cor-
pus Christi abortion clinic recently on the 12th anniversary of the
Supreme Court decision to legalize abortion on demand. Later that even-
ing, over 1,000 turned out to view the film, The Silent Scream.
February8,1835 • 3
Tercer Encuentro explained
Father James Tamayo, diocesan director of the Office of Hispanic Af-
fairs, emphasizes a point about the Tercer Encuentro process, by which
Catholic Hispanics are urged to voice their opinions on evangelization,
integral education, social fustice, youth and formation of leaders. The
priest recently stopped at the Laredo Pastoral Center and has scheduled
other orientation meetings throughout the diocese.
Bishop wants parishes to have St. Vincent councils
By Rachelle Parry
STC staff writer
ALICE—Saying the laity “can,
should and nr : he an effective link’’
among organizations that assist the
needy, Bishop Rene H. Gracida stressed
the importance of the establishment of a
St. Vincent de Paul Society conference
in each parish in the diocese.
The bishop urged the 19 priests pre-
sent at the fifth Presbyteral Counci'
meeting Jan. 31 in St. Elizabeth’s parisi
hal! here to work toward establishing
such conferences in their areas. The
Presbyteral Council members, represen-
tatives of all the priests in the dioc'se,
meet approximately every three months.
The St. Vincent de Paul Society,
originally called the Conference of
Charity, has as its base Catholic laity
who are devoted to personal service of
the poor through the spiritual and cor-
poral works of mercy. Originally formed
in Paris in 1833, the organization has
about 4,300 units in this country with
over 34,000 members.
The subject of the Vincentian con-
ferences came uo during the Jan. 31
meeting when Augustinian Father
Federico Garcia, pastor of St. Vincent
de Paul Church, Laredo, gave a report
on the activities of the Corporal Works
of Mercy committee.
Msgr. Robert Clark, pastor of St.
Elizabeth Church, said a meeting of all
the St. Vincent de Paul conferences in
the diocese will be held at 2 p.rn. Satur-
day, Feb. 23, in St. Elizabeth’s parish
hall. Paul Corcoran, chairman of the
society’s south-central region Extension
Committee in Ft. Worth, will discuss
how other conferences can be establish-
ed.
Henry Pantoja, chairman of the Cor-
pus Christi area conference, said recent-
ly a meeting of area members will be
held Sunday, Feb. 17, at Our Lady of
Pilar Church. It will include Mass at
7:30 a.m. followed by a breakfast. He
said there are about 12 conferences in
the city, and two retail stores at 2302
Laredo and 3902 Galvan.
“We need organizations like the St.
Vincent de Paul conferences because the
work can only be done if there’s a com-
plete network (of service groups),”
Bishop Gracida said during the
Presbyteral Council meeting.
The society is “plugged into” inter-
faith groups, the bishop added, such as
the Beeville Vineyard and Metro
Ministries in Corpus Christi. It is the
“work of the laity” and not the pastors
to make assessments as to a person’s
need for assistance.
“The laity can, should and must be
an effective link to other service
organizations,” commented Bishop
Gracida.
The bishop also encouraged the
Presbyteral Council members to support
Catholic Sharing Appeal (CSA), the an-
nual diocesan fundraising drive which
ends this weekend.
He said he was more concerned that
“each household in the diocese” fill out
a pledge card rather than how much
money they donate. This way every
household can receive a year-long
subscription to the South Texas
Catholic, which is important in the
evangelization of the Church in this
area.
In other business, the council
members voted to accept with some ad-
ditions guidelines for proposed finance
committees for each parish. The bishop
said he was in favor of the guidelines
submitted by Msgr- Clark, chairman of
♦he council’s Church Personnel commit-
tee.
The new Code of Canon Law re-
quires that each parish have a finance
committee “to help die pastor in the ad-
ministration of the goods of the parish,”
Msgr. Clark wrote in the introduction to
the guidelines.
Bishop Gracida said a finance com-
mittee should be established in each
parish by July 1, 1985, the beginning of
the new diocesan fiscal year, and would
rescind any such existing committees.
The guidelines include that each
finance committee have no less than
three members—both male and female
parishioners who have some expertise in
business and management. They
“should play an active roll in the
preparation and presentation to the
parish of the budget and financial
report” as required by canon law.
The priests also discussed the issue of
a pastor’s tenure in a parish; further
recommendations will be made by
Father James Tamayo, chairman of the
Diocesan Personnel Board, and
members of the council’s Priestly Life
and Ministry committee.
The next meeting of the Presbyteral
Council will be Thursday, March 28, at
St. Gertrude Church, Kingsville.
IWA guest lecturer
Or. Loyd S. Swenson Jr., center, a nationally recognized author and lec-
turer, chats with Dr. Michael Dubiaga Jr., curriculum director of Incar-
nate Word Academy, and Dr Daw*.- horsey, president of the IWA Alumni
Association, after a recent layr^re he gave on the school campus. The
speech, entitled "Einstein: Man of Science, Peace and Religion/' cap-
ped a week of study about Einstein by IWA students.
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Bilton, William G. South Texas Catholic (Corpus Christi, Tex.), Vol. 20, No. 6, Ed. 1 Friday, February 8, 1985, newspaper, February 8, 1985; Corpus Christi, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth840824/m1/3/?rotate=270: accessed March 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .