Catholic Conference

Leaders of Catholic student groups from the Boston area gathered Saturday at the Harvard-Radcliffe Catholic Student Center for a one-day conference to discuss making the structure of the Catholic mass suitable for student worship.

In his keynote address, Fr. James O'Donohoe, professor of ethics at Boston College and chairman of the Boston Archdiocese Liturgical Commission, told an audience of 150 people that any mass must reflect the individual congregation.

Michael Downing '80, vice president of the Harvard-Radcliffe group, said Saturday and participants would "pool their resources to establish a basis of knowledge, both liturgical and theological."

During a quetion and answer period that focused on the role of women in the mass, O'Donohoe jokingly said "Altar girls are as bad as altar boys; they all get in the way." Pressed to comment seriously, he said, 'A lot more is permitted by the norms, by the books" than most people realize, adding that "the church must grow."