From Our Vaults 41 Years Ago: May 23, 1982
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Another attempt on pope’s life
While giving thanks at Fátima, Portugal, for surviving the 1981 assassination attempt, Pope John Paul II was stabbed by a Spanish traditionalist priest who shouted: “Down with the pope, down with the Second Vatican Council.” The 61-year-old pope’s immediate response was to give his assailant a blessing.
Southern Cross veteran dies
Mary Singleton, who wrote the “Home Circle” column in The Southern Cross from 1932-47, died on May 3 at 81. The daughter of Southern Cross co-founder William Egan was awarded the papal cross Pro ecclesia et pontifice in 1948.
Workers march in the Vatican
Vatican City’s first-ever labour protest action took place on May 3 when 110 lay workers and employees staged a march in the tiny papal state at the beginning of a new round of labour negotiations. In a resolution, the workers’ assembly sharply criticised the Vatican administration for delaying tactics in talks with their union.
Editorial: Muted conscience
Looking at the upcoming Synod of Bishops on the Sacrament of Reconciliation, editor Mgr Donald de Beer notes that “the voice of violated conscience has become muted among us. We find it hard to believe that anything we really want to do could possibly be a serious sin.”
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