Manchester Bicentenary

B ishop Holland
recalls cholera priests memory
From a Special Correspondent
Bishop Holland praised the "selfless and heroic sacrifice" of the priests of the Salford diocese, especially during the great cholera outbreaks of the 19th century, and linked it with -the loving response of the people" when he preached at the opening Mass of the Manchester Bicentenary Celebrations in the King's Hall. Belle Vue, on Saturday.
During the Mass six priests were ordained. Three, Frs. John Mackie, David Ryder and Michael Watson. will work in Salford diocese.
The three Mill Hill Missionary priests, Frs. John Clement, Francis Downs and Vincent Oates, all come from the Greater Manchester area.
Concelebrating the Mass with Bishop Holland were Bishop Grasar of Shrewsbury, Bishop Burke, Auxiliary of Salford, Bishop Gray of Liverpool, and 40 priests.
Bishop Holland said that among the concelebrants were representatives from every seminary in Britain, Ireland, Rome and the Iberian Peninsula that., had trained priests for the Salford diocese.
"We shall never forget the incalculable generosity of Catholic Ireland in keeping this diocese supplied with priests."
He reminded the congregation that it was a previous Bishop of Salford, later Cardinal Vaughan, who started the Mill Hill Missionary Fathers, and that the diocese had continued ever since to be a regular reerniting ground for the Order.
Before the Mass, Bishop Holland read a telegram from the Pope congratulating the parishes of St. Chad's, Man
Stricter abortion law
Prague, — Czechoslovakia has announced a tightening of its Abortion Law for married women in a move aimed at stimulating population growth. Unmarried are unaffected by the new rules.
From July I, married women who are childless or have a single child will only in exceptional cases be allowed to have an abortion for non-medical reasons.
The minimum time between two abortions will also be raised from six to 12 months, except for mothers of more than four children.
Abortions can normally be carried out in Czechoslovakia virtually on demand. The latest statistics available show that in 1970, 29,679 requests for abortions were submitted and 27,873 were carried out,
chester, and St. Alban's. Blackburn, on their bicentenaries. and blessing the celebrations.
See Page 3.
Abortion protest in Wales
The first major meeting of protest against the Abortion Act to be held in South Wales will be chaired by Archbishop Murphy of Cardiff at the Sophia Gardens Pavilion, Cardiff, on Wednesday.
Speakers will be Mr. Leo Abse, M.P., Dr. Margaret White, and a young gynaecologist.
One of the major aims of the meeting is to launch a branch of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children to cover South Wales.
The society's honorary Press officer, Mrs. Phyllis Bowman, said: "Our job is to show people what abortion means, the taking of a human life; and what it can do to the mother.
"It is deplorable that propaganda promoting the abortion law is being used to ob scure very serious issues — the human right to life, to a decent home (some women are being aborted for reasons of inadequate housing), to properly paid employment or to support if unable to help oneself."
Mr. George Thomas, M.P., former Secretary for Wales, and Alderman G. A. Turnbull, Lord Mayor of Cardiff, will be among the guests at the meeting, which has the support of the Liberal and Orthodox Jewish communities, and of churches of different denominations in the area.
Patrons of the meeting include the Anglican Bishop of Llandaff, the Rev. E. S. Thomas, Rabbi G. Graf (Liberal Synagogue) and the Rev. M. Fine (Orthodox Synagogue).
In Paris. Cardinal Francois Marty, commented on plans to revise the anti-abortion law and said respect for life is a fundamental moral value.
France's 50-year-old law banning abortion in all but a minority of cases is being examined with a view to liberalising instances in which abortion is permitted.
Cardinal Marty, in a statement signed as President of the French Episcopal Conference said: "The bishops of France. as well as the episcopates of West Germany, Austria, Belgium, Canada, the United States, Italy, Scandinavia and Switzerland, have pointed out forcefully that respect for life is a fundamental moral value which affects the thinking of all men.
"This principle applies particularly in the case of an infant whose life must be defended before as well as after birth."