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DIOCESE OF SAVANNAH EDITION
OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE DIOCESE OF SAVANNAH
Published By The
Catholic Laymen's
Ass'n of Georgia
Vol. 41, No. 19
MONROE, GEORGIA, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 1961
10c Per Copy — $3 a Year
THE CHANCERY
225 Abercorn Street
Savannah, Georgia
February 8, 1961
Dearly beloved in Christ:
In accordance with the provisions of Canon Law, as modified through the
use of special faculties granted by the Holy See, we herewith publish the regula
tions for the Lenten Season of 1961. Lent begins on Ash Wednsday, February 15th,
and ends at midnight on Holy Saturday, April 1st, 1961.
I. THE LAW OF ABSTINENCE
1) The law of abstinence forbids the use of meat and of soup or gravy made
from meat. A day may be one of COMPLETE ABSTINENCE, in which case no
meat or soup or gravy made from meat may be taken; or a day may be one of
PARTIAL ABSTINENCE, in which case meat and soup or gravy made from meat
may be taken once that day at the principal meal.
2) COMPLETE ABSTINENCE is to be observed on Ash Wednesday and on
all Fridays.
3) PARTIAL ABSTINENCE is to be observed on Ember Saturday, February
25th.
4) Everyone over 7 years of age is bound to observe the law of abstinence.
II. THE LAW OF FAST
1) The law of fast means that only one full meal may be taken on that day.
2) Everyone over 21 and under 59 years of age is obliged to observe the law
of fast.
3) All weekdays of the Lenten season, including Holy Saturday, are days of
fast.
4) Meat may be eaten by all at the full meal on all days during the Lenten
season, except on Ash Wednesday and on Fridays.
5) The one full meal permitted on days of fast may be taken either at noon
or in the evening, according to one’s choice or convenience.
6) In addition to the one full meal, two other light meals, sufficient to main
tain strength, may be taken according to each one’s needs; but together these two
meals should not equal another full meal. No meat, or soup or gravy made from
meat may be taken at these two meals by anyone who is bound by the law of fast.
7) Eating between meals is forbidden, but liquids, including milk and fruit
juices, are allowed.
8) When one’s health or ability to work would be seriously affected, the law
of fast does not oblige. In cases of doubt, your parish priest or confessor should be
consulted.
9) The following dispensations are granted:
1. George Washington’s birthday, Wednesday, February 22nd.
2. From fast and abstinence on St. Patrick’s Day, Friday, March 17th.
3. St. Joseph’s Day, celebrated Monday, March 20th.
We earnestly exhort all our people to attend daily Mass during the holy season
of Lent; to receive often the Sacraments of Penance and the Ploly Eucharist; to
attend the evening devotions in their parish churches; to contribute generously to
works of religion and charity; to perform voluntary mortification especially in re
gard to alcoholic drinks and worldly amusements; to pray for peace and the inten
tions of our Holy Father, and to recite the family rosary daily "with the members
of your household.
Imparting to you my blessing, I am,
Devotedly yours in Christ,
Bishop of Savannah.
More Than 400 Receive Sacrament
Bishop Confirms At 4 Churches
In The Greater Columbus Area
COLUMBUS — His Excel
lency, The Most Reverend
Thomas J. McDonough, con
firmed over 400 children and
adults last week at four dif
ferent ceremonies in Colum
bus.
The first Confirmation was
conducted at Our Lady of
Lourdes Parish, where 150
children and adults received
the Holy Ghost in the Sacra
ment of Confirmation. This
Sacrament of Confirmation
gives strength in the practice
of our holy faith and makes
us soldiers in the army of Our
Divine Saviour.
Our Lady of Lourdes Church
in Columbus is under the pas
torate of The Reverend Wil
liam Dowling, assisted by The
Reverend Sean O’Rourke. The
new school in Columbus,
which was just opened in Sep
tember, is conducted by the
Ursuline Sisters of Cork, Is
land. The entire ceremony was
most inspirational. The chil
dren were well prepared in
catechism and a large congre
gation attended the ceremony.
After the ceremony the Bish
op met each parishioner in
dividually.
The next evening Bishop
McDonough confirmed at the
main chapel at Fort Benning.
The Senior Chaplain, Father
Curran, presented to the Bish
op for Confirmation 125 chil
dren and adults. Even though
it rained, the chapel was
crowded with parents. The
ceremony was magnificent,
containing all of the pageantry
and beauty of our Church. The
singing for the ceremony was
performed by the seminarians
from St. Joseph’s Seminary in
Alabama. The Knights of Co
lumbus acted as guard to Bish
op McDonough. In addition to
Father Curran, the following
Chaplains were in attendance:
Fathers Barragy, Dolan, Krug,
McCarthy and Tollintino. Af
ter the ceremony Bishop Mc
Donough again greeted each
parishioner and congratulated
anew the children and adults
who received Confirmation.
The next evening Bishop
McDonough conferred Con
firmation at St. Benedict’s
Parish in Columbus. Father
Ignatius Behr, S.D.S., is pas
tor. Sixteen children and
adults were confirmed. The
ceremony, too, was most in
spiring. It is anticipated that
REV. JOHN FITZPATRICK
before too long a new church
will be built for the congre
gation at St. Benedict’s. Pres
ently they attend Mass and
other church services in a
combination church-hall.
On Friday evening the Bish
op concluded his Confirmation
tour in Columbus at Holy
Famly Parish, which is the
Mother Parish in Columbus.
125 children and adults were
confirmed. During the interro
gation of the children by the
Bishop he was very much im
pressed with the answers giv
en by the children and utilized
that occasion to thank the Sis
ters of Mercy, who staff both
(Continued on Page 8)
REV. LAWRENCE LUCREE
ASSOCIATE EDITORS—The Most Rev. Thomas J. Mc
Donough has named the Rev. Lawrence Lucree and the Rev.
John Fitzpatrick as Associate Editors of THE SAVANNAH
BULLETIN. Father Fitzpatrick is assistant pastor of St.
Joseph’s, Macon. Father Lucree is assistant pastor of Holy
Family, Columbus.
FIRST IN SERIES
Conference For Priests Of
Diocese Held At Savannah
CLERGY CONFERENCE—The Most Rev. Thomas J. McDonough, Bishop of Savan
nah, l’s ‘pictured d'Jt he celebrated Mass which Opened the/Clergy Conference held February
9th. Chaplains to His Excellency are the Rev. Herman Wellmeier and the Rev. Robert Teoli.
Also pictured is the Rt. Rev. Msgr. Andrew J. McDonald, Chancellor of the Diocese.
New Rectory For
Blessed Sacrament
Priests Told:
‘No Substitute
For Truth’
“It is through His Church
that Jesus does for us in our
century, what He did person
ally for His Apostles in the
first century,” declared the
Rev. John J. Cuddy, Superin
tendent of Diocesan Schools,
speaking before the Clergy
Conference, convened at Sav
annah, by the Most Reverend
Thomas J. McDonough.
“The Church ... of which
He is the Head and we the
members, is a living society,
sanctifying, regulating, teach
ing the entire human race,” he
said.
Speaking of the nature and
purpose of the coming Ecu
menical Council, Father Cud
dy declared, “Just as we as
individuals should grow in un
derstanding as we grow older,
so too, the Church, the longer
it remains upon the earth, de
velops a deeper awareness of
the full meaning of Our Sav
ior’s teachings. New situations,
new challenges in each ceu-
tiiry bring forth t from tiSe
Church, reactions indicative of
its divine life. Under the di
rect influence of the Holy Spi
rit, the Church must preserve
unchanged the sacred deposit
of Faith, while at the same
time presenting the Faith even
more clearly, even more effec
tively to each new generation.”
Father Cuddy listed some of
the problems confronting the
forthcoming Second Vatican
Council as the nationalist
movement in Asia and Africa
and its effect on Catholic life
and institutions there; the
problem of divisions among
Christians, and the advance of
“atheistic world communism.”
The assembled priests also
heard the Rev. Arthur Welt-
zer, pastor of St. Patrick’s
Church, Augusta, warn against
an increasing tide of religious
indifferentism in the guise of
“liberalism in matters of re
ligion.”
The Church has a duty, he
said, to “condemn the error of
false religions.
“The intellect of man has
truth for its object,” he said,
adding, it searches for truth
and is not satisfied until it is
attained ... it is drawn to
that which is true in religious
matters, and it must reject
that which is false.”
Father Weltzer concluded
his talk by saying, “though we
must condemn the error of
false religions, at the same
time we must respect their ad
herents personally and include
them in our charity, for they
are fellow beings and children
of God. We pray for them and
love them, but no amount of
charity can justify us in sac
rificing truth.”
Winners
Announced
AUGUSTA — Winners in
the annual D.C.C.W. Essay
Contest were announced this
week by Mrs. Eugene Long,
Chairman of the* Diocesan
Contest.
Winner Group I — Nina
Tantillo, 11th Grade student
at Aquinas High School, Au
gusta.
Winner Group II — Janet
Frances Jones, Grade 7, St.
Benedict’s School, Savannah.
Winner Group III — Theresa
Moore, Grade 5, Sacred Heart
School, Augusta.
SAVANNAH — The con
tract for the erection of the
new Rectory at 1003 East Vic
tory Drive for the Blessed
Sacrament Church was award
ed to the Braun Construction
Co., by the Most Rev. Thos. J.
McDonough, D.D., Bishop of
Savannah Diocese, on January
16th.
The new Rectory was de
signed by the Architectual
firm of Cletus W., and William
P. Bergen.
The Pastor Monsignor Tho
mas A. Brennan and his As
sistants, Fathers Edward R.
Frank and George C. James
will live in their present home
until the new Rectory is com
pleted.
The new Rectory will have
a frontage of seventy-five feet
on Victory Drive. A car-port
and a utility room to the rear,
wlil be part of the new struc
ture.
The home built about forty-
two years ago was occupied
by the Cambridge family for
a number of years. It subse
quently was occupied by Dr.
Carson Demmond and family
until it became Victory Hall,
used as a temporary school
during the erection of the new
Blessed Sacrament School.
The new Rectory will be a
two story building. On the
first floor will be the Pastor’s
quarters, three instruction
parlors, a utility room, the
general office, a parlor room,
a powder room, dining room
and kitchen. On the second
floor there will be separate
quarters for the Assistants,
similar to the Pastor’s quar
ters two guest rooms with a
connecting bath and a com
munity room.
PRAY FOR OUR
PRIESTLY DEAD
&&
VERY REV. MICHAEL
CULLINAN
Feb. 23. 1877
O God, Who didst give to
thy servants by their sacredotal
office, a share in the priesthood
of the Apostles, grant, we im
plore, that they may also be one
of their company forever in
heaven. Through Christ Our
Lord. Amen.
Book Reviews 6
Editorial Comment 4
Marriage Notices 2
Obituaries 2
Question Box 4
Doris Answers Youth 3
Bring God
To New Areas,
Bishop Urges
SAVANNAH — Priests from
every Parish in the Diocese of
Savannah, attending a Clergy
Conference at this See city
were urged by Bishop Thomas
J. McDonough to “search out
new missions” . . .1 intensify
efforts to obtain teaching and
Catechetical Sisters . . . im
prove and enlarge upon con
vert instruction programs.”
The Clergy Conference, first
in a new series of such meet
ings, was held at St. Vincent’s
Academy in Savannah, Thurs
day, February 9th. Similar
conferences will be held at fu
ture dates in the deaneries of
Augusta and Columbus.
Speaking at the close of the
morning session, Bishop Mc
Donough declared, “the only
way our Church will grow is
by multiplication of missions—
which is in reality—bringing
God into new areas of the Dio
cese.”
He urged the assembled pas
tors to seek out those “little
areas 15 or 20 miles from the
parish center where there are
20 to 25 Catholics” and to be
gin to think about saying Mass
there on Sundays, eventually
establishing mission churches
in such places.
Bishop McDonough also ob
served “those parishes with
Sisters have the best instruct
ed children” and said that ef
forts to obtain sisters for those
areas which presently do not
have them should be intensi
fied. He noted, however, that
“since it is often difficult to
obtain them (sisters), pastors
could begin to institute cours
es for lay catechists.”
Asking for increased activi
ty in convert instruction, Bish
op McDonough said, “Accord
ing to our census tabulations
we . . . have a fairly good per
centage of converts. But ... I
feel that we are simply
scratching the surface.”
The Savannah Ordinary also
told the assembled priests that
present trends in the motion
picture industry represent
“one of the greatest threats to
morals.”
“Many movie producers and
exhibitors have no regard
whatsoever for spiritual val
ues, but think only in terms of
monetary values,” he said, urg
ing his hearers to “speak up
against filth and indecent mo
tion pictures.”
The clergy assembly also
heard talks by Rev. Arthur J.
Weltzer, pastor of St. Patrick’s,
Augusta; Rev. John Cuddy,
pastor of St. Michael’s, Savan
nah Beach, and superintendent
of Diocesan Schools; Rev. Tho
mas Paine, pastor of St. John
the Evangelist Church, Val
dosta; and Rev. Marvin Le-
Frois, pastor of St. Teresa’s,
Albany.
The clergy attended a Mass
at 12:15, celebrated by His Ex
cellency, Bishop McDonough.
Msgr. Andrew J. McDonald,
Chancellor, served as master
of ceremonies. Chaplains to
the Bishop were the Rev. Rob
ert Teoli and the Rev. Herbert
Wellmeier, both assistant rec
tors of the Savannah Cathe
dral.
Father Thomas Paine, of
Valdosta spoke during the af
ternoon Holy Hour, held in the
cathedral’s Chapel of Our
Lady, on the topic, “The Priest
and the Mass.”
Referring to the importance
of the Mass, Father Paine said
“Jesus Christ lived in this
world thirty - three years and
said Mass only once. His whole
earthly existence was bent on
(Continued on Page 8)
INVESTED AS PAPAL KNIGHT—Dan J. Sheehan, prominent Savannah Catholic,
was invested in the uniform of the Order of St. Gregory the Great at ceremonies at
the Cathedral on February 5th. Pictured left to right, back row: Rt. Rev.. Msgr. Thomas
I. Sheehan; Sir Knight Sheehan; Bishop McDonough; Rt. Rev. Msgr. T. James McNa
mara. Front row: Richard McCusker; Mrs. McCusker; Mrs. Dan J. Sheehan, Jr., and
Dan J. Sheehan, Jr.
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