South Texas Catholic (Corpus Christi, Tex.), Vol. 19, No. 65, Ed. 1 Friday, November 2, 1984 Page: 1 of 20
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Vol. XIX, No. 65 Serving the 314,812 Catholics in the Diocese of Corpus Christl November 2,1984
San Anton! > Wayor Henry Cisneros, left, shares a light moment with his
audience a? he gives the keynote address at the recent DCCW conven-
tion. Seated are Father lawrence Hupeh acting administrator of St
Joseph% Lorraine Lundschen, outgoing DCCW president, and Bishop
Rene H. Gracida. Right, Bishop Gracida poses with Mrs. Lundschen and
Elsie Gessling, the 1984-86 diocesan president. (STC photos by Rachelle
Parry)
DCCW biennial convention in Beeville
By Rachelle Parry
STC staff writer
BEEV1LLF—Calling them the
“lifeblood” and “heartbeat” of their
local parishes, San Antonio M ,or
Henry Cisneros congratulated the over
260 delegates to the Diocesan Council
of Catholic Women (DCCWf) of the
Diocese of Corpus Christi for their
ongoing efforts and urged them to take
an active role in helping to solve the pro-
blems of today.
Cisneros gave the keynote speech dur-
ing the biennial DCCW convention
held here Thursday and Friday, Oct.
25-26, at Our Lady of Victory and St.
Joseph. Addressing the delegates, clergy
and guests, he encouraged every person
to seek peace and justice in his or her
life.
“Peace has many dimensions,” the
37-year-oid mayor began. There are
four different concepts of peace—per-
sonal, community, national and world.
He went on to describe those concepts
adding, “There is a role for you as
women in the Diocese of Corpus Christi
in South Texas in 1984—there’s a role
for you in each of these dimensions.”
Recognizing that all four dimensions
of peace seem to be getting harder to
achieve for many reasons, Cisneros en-
couraged his audience to keep trying to
attain that peace. One way he suggested
is through personal relationships.
“1 think things can be done on a
human scale—that one-on-one relation-
ship where change really occurs,” he
sa d. “We should try to lower the scale
of life from the national and the city-
wide to the neighborhood and the
parish, and try to address the fun-
damental values of life.”
In the area of community peace, the
Hispanic mayor said as the nation’s
economy rapidly changes, he worries
that those changes will make society
more unequal. Thus, it poses challenges
to people “committed to finding
justice” to work toward excellence in
education, better jobs and helping the
poor.
In order to accomplish these goals,
Cisneros urged the DCCW members to
“increase their role in the Church,
recruit more young women, and con-
stantly work to expand the concept of
women in the Church.”
At the luncheon, Bishop Rene H.
Gracida also thanked the members for
their active role in the Church, calling
them a “powerful force.”
The bishop closed the convention by
celebrating Mass for the delegates at St.
Joseph’s Church, The new officers, who
were elected during a board meeting
Thursday night, were installed during
the Mass.
Serving a two-year term as president
is Elsie Gessling, from the Alice area.
Cathy Coughlin, Corpus Christi area,
is vice-president; Lucille Coronado,
Laredo area, is secretary; and Sally
Guerrero, Refugio area, is treasurer.
Msgr. Robert Clark, pastor of St.
Elizabeth, Alice, serves as the diocesan
spiritual moderator.
Lorraine Lundschen, the outgoing
DCCW president, explained that some
of the organization’s goals are “to bring
women together to work; to achieve
things the Lord intends us to do; to
make better Christians out of us; to help
our pastors and each other; and to follow
the bishop’s directives.”
Members implement those goals by
helping the poor and ill, protesting abor-
tion at women’s clinics and registering
voters, said Mrs. Lundschen in an inter-
view during the convention.
Asked what she has gained during her
two years as president, Mrs. Lundschen
said she has experienced much
“spiritual growth.” She cited a
pilgrimage many DCCW members
made to Kingsville to Our Lady of Good
Counsel, the patron saint of the
organization.
The National Council of Catholic
Women was organized in 1920, with a
chapter formed in this diocese about 10
years later. Diocesan conventions and
workshops are held in alternating years,
with spring and fall meetings held in the
four areas (Corpus Chrirti, Laredo,
Alice and Refugio).
At the convention’s general assembly
Oct. 26, Missionary Sister of Jesus,
Mary and Joseph Julia Donez spoke
about “Women Gathered in Peace.”
She urged her audience to actively stay
informed of current issues.
“Don’t just go vote for the sake of
voting,” she stressed. “And don’t avoid
voting because you don’t know
anything—find out. You have a say so,
too. We have to be educated.”
“Religious Education—Curriculum
of the ’80s” was the theme of Divine
Providence Sister Leolu Doerfler’s
speech to the delegates. The religious
education coordinator of the northern
area outlined the active role of the
diocesan Office of Religious Education
from the parish level to the Pastoral In-
stitute for adults.
Father Donald Cri*\ blow, director of
the Bishop Drury Retreat House, told
the delegates of the many programs of-
fered at the rt treat house in Corpus
Christi.
$ Official
No one is authorized n use the name of the
Bishop, the Diocese or the Catholic Church in giv-
ing instructions on how to vote.
By order of the Most Reverend,
Bishop of Corpus Christi
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Bilton, William G. South Texas Catholic (Corpus Christi, Tex.), Vol. 19, No. 65, Ed. 1 Friday, November 2, 1984, newspaper, November 2, 1984; Corpus Christi, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth840865/m1/1/: accessed April 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .