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V
SERVING 88 SOUTH GEORGIA COUNTIES
NEWSPAPER DIOCESE Of SAVANNAH
Vol. 46, No. 7
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ARCHBISHOP HALLIN AN
Dialogue Need
Emphasized At
Atlanta Meeting
' ATLANTA, Ga. (NC)—The
Church must bear the “burden
of conscience” if it is to trans
form society in these days of
moral indifference to "racial and
social justice.
Archbishop Paul J. Hallinan
of Atlanta emphasized this in key-
noting the Southern Catholic Lea-
c^^Confer ence on Social Change
aSr Christian Response. Five
bishops and several hundred
priests, nuns and laymen in key
positions in Southern dioceses at
tended the meeting, which in-
* eluded clinics and workshops
specializing in various problems
created by the Civil Rights Act
and its impact in Southern com
munities.
The archbishop said the Church
must be a catalyst. “Guided in
moral deliberations by those
commissioned to teach, sharing
in the tedious as well as the
imaginative areas of everyday
life, God’s people must initiate
and quicken the Chrisitan re
sponse as a catalyst accelerates
the change in a chemical pro
cess,” he said.
i
“What is needed,” he con
tinued, “is dialogue—” conver
sational and formal, with other
Christians and Jews, with Ne
groes and whites, with profes
sionals and volunteers, with
government at every level. Out of
this will flow a twofold good: the
ordained ministry can give moral
direction at crucial points, the
laity can give themselves to every
practical and proper venture.
These will include voter regis
tration, Operation Headstart,,
steps toward education, jobs and
housing progress. “We cannotdo
everything at once,” he cau
tioned. “Nor can we think of this
grave and urgent task as the only
> task before us. Bu t as the Sou
thern bishops said recently: ‘The
Catholic Church in the past has
d^^in race relationships what
s^Bmld. Now she can do more.’
“The chemical catalyst im
merses itself to get the right
reaction. Yet it emerges unhurt
and ready for more work. The
Church will not do less.”
The Church must also “bear
the burden of conscience,” the
Atlanta prelate said. “It is not
to get power or to project a fine
image that religion appears on
the picket lines. It is because
religion has relevance to the tra
gic circumstances that called
forth the demonstrations. The
Church must stand on moral
ground when it leads the con
science of its followers.”
He also warned against using
prudence “as an excuse for our
failure to face facts, as a form
of ‘gradualism that is merely
a cloak for inaction.’...The
American bishops proposed this
question as a test of Prudence:
Are we sincerely and earnestly
acting to solve these problems?
Both the ragged segregationist
and the rugged agitator should
find common sense in that. It
is a litmus test for all. Is it
the status quo or power or jus
tice that we really want?”
It is not only to the clergy
and Religious that this obliga
tion falls, but also to the laitjj
the archbishop said.
“The laity’s function (from
Pope Pius XII, ‘You do not be
long to the Church, you are the
Church’—down to the definition
in the new Constitution on the
Church, ‘the people of God’) is
inspiring an entirely new grasp
of what the Church means.
“Catholic institutions must of
course share responsibility for
moral leadership in racial jus
tice. But laymen in their own
secular professions and trades
and work, their homes and neigh
borhoods, share an equal burden.
Theirs is the work, as popes and
council have clearly stated, of
the ‘consec ratio mundi’—the
consecration of the world.”
\ HEADLINE Aft
tig HOPSCOTCH '
<
7 Sister-Sisters
ST. ALBANS, Vt. (NC)--The seven Thibault sisters, all Holy
Cross nuns, came back here to their birthplace for a family re
union . The daughters of the late Amede and Rose Thibault of St.
Albans represent a total of 289 years in religious life. It figures
out this way: Sisters Mary Hubert. 50 years; Mary Opportune,
46; Rita of Cassia, 45; Mary Camille of Jesus and Mary Teresa
of Alba, 44, each; and Rosa Alma and Mary Dolorita, 30, each.
'Delmarva Dialog'
WILMINGTON, Del. (NC)—The Delmarva Dialog has been selected
as the name for the Wilmington diocese’s weekly newspaper which
will make its debut on Sept. 3 with John A. O’Connor as editor.
| EUROPE
408 Transfusions
• LA DE LENA, Spain (NC)--Father Victor Diaz Cenera is
i the Rhodesian missions again, after recovering from a still
undiagnosed, ten-year illness during which he received 408 blood
transfusions.
S. AMERICA
Laymen Give Sermons
PUNO, Peru (NC)—Laymen replaced priests as preachers at Sun
day Masses for the first time in this city. The laymen’s sermons
were in preparation for Chrisitan Family Day, being held in con
nection with the National Eucharistic Congress, scheduled in Hu-
ancayo Aug. 27 to 30. Bishop Julio Gonzales Ruiz of Puno said
the sermons showed “the spiritual maturity attained by the local
Catholic laity” in their “clear explanation, concise. . .doctrine,
and the quotations from the Scriptures.”
THE HOLY FATHER LENDS A HAND — Pope Paul VI came to the assistance
of this little girl who seemed on the verge of falling through an aperture in a
barricade erected in the courtyard at Castel Gandolfe. The incident took place
at one of the regular audiences the Pope grants to the large number of pilgrims
who come to see him 'at his summer residence. (NC Photos)
PERSECUTION CONTINUE!
Sudanese Priest, Laymen
Slain By Moslem Troops
KAMPALA, Uganda(NC)—Su
danese troops killed a Sudanese
priest and an unreported number
of laymen in front of the church
in Wau in the southern Sudan.
The priest victim is Father
Arkanjelo Ali, 45, last priest
left to serve the 50,000 Catholics
of the Rumbek apostolic vicari
ate.
The killings were part of the
civil war now raging between the
government of Sudan—dominated
by the Arabic-speaking Moslems
from the northern part of the
country, who comprise about two-
thirds of the nation’s population—
and the Negro people of the south,
who are predominantly pagan but
include about 400,000 Catholics.
The northerners, who are try
ing to impose Islam on the south
in what they call the interest of
national unity, have blamed “im
perialists” and missionaries for
southern resistance. Last year
they expelled all Christian mis-
UNIVERS1TY HEAD—Father
Theodore E. McCarrick, 35, has
been named president of the Ca
tholic University of Puerto Rico.
Until now, the New York arch
diocesan priest has been assis
tant to the rector and director
of development at the Catholic
University of America.
sioners from southern Sudan.
The kiUing of Father Ali cli
maxed a series of incidents in
which, since May, northern tro
ops looted and damaged at least
five Catholic churches, shot at
Bishop Ireneus Dud of Wau and
burned seminaries.
Sudanese Catholic refugees in
Uganda say the attacks on the
Church on the pretext of fight
ing rebels is part of the govern
ment’s plan to destroy the Negro
elite of the south as a step to
ward Arabizing and Islamizing
the area.
Father Ali was killed on July
23, according to the July 25
issue of the daily Al-Ayam of
Khartoum, the Sudanese capital.
According to the newspaper, Fa-
WASHINGTON (NC)—The John
F. Kennedy Playground, situated
in the heart of one of the national
capital’s poorest sections, is now
open on Sundays thanks to “Sis
ter White” and several other nuns
who volunteered their services.
Sister Ancilla Marie, called
“Sister White” by the children
because of her white habit, pass
ed the playground one Sunday last
spring. It was locked and chil
dren stood outside peering
through the chain link fence.
Determined to open it, she ob
tained permission from her
mother superior of the Sisters
of Charity in Cincinnati. Then
she volunteered her services to
the D. C. Recreation Department,
which operates the playground.
ther Ali was chatting with parish
ioners near the Wau church
“when a group of rebels passed
by and the Sudanese army pur
suing the rebels opened fire...
All those near the church were
killed, including the priest,” The
paper also alleged that “some
shots from inside the church were
directed at the army.”
Father Ali was the first priest
of the Ndogo tribe. After the ex
pulsion of all missionaries from
southern Sudan in 1964 he was
arrested and jailed for about 40
days, although no charges were
made against him.
He became the last priest in
the Rumbek See when its other
six Sudanese priests fled after
government troops had attacked
their churches.
The department accepted enthus
iastically.
Now she, Sister “Blue” (Sis
ter Michael Maureen, a Sister
of Mercy who wears a bright
blue work-apron), and several
other Sisters spend their Sun
days reading stories, giving first
aid, playing checkers, leading
games or visiting with the elder
ly who come to sit in the park
and watch the children.
They “participate so whole
heartedly” that they are very
popular with the children, says
Barrington Jefferson, supervisor
of the playground, adding that the
children put on their Sunday man
ners while the Sisters are there.
He rated their work as “very
successful.”
ON SUNDAYS
Sisters Operate
D.C. Playground
ON SOCIAL PROBLEMS
Presbyterian Talks
Study Prospects For
Future Cooperation
WASHINGTON (NC) -- Clergy
and laity representing the Roman
Catholic Church and the United
Presbyterian Church in the
U. S. A. sought at their ini
tial meeting here to come to
grips with the question of how
the two communions might bet
ter serve God through coopera
tion in such fields as the con
quest of hunger and the promo
tion of racial justice.
At the same time there was
agreement that mutual Chris
tian witness through collabora
tion in service is not enough.
Christian unity must be the ul
timate goal, however distant, the
participants agreed, and there
fore the projected formal con
tacts between the two groups
must include the exploration of
each other’s doctrinal positions
in general and the outstanding
theological problems in particu
lar.
The social action thrust of the
day-long session held (July 27)
at the Georgetown Presbyterian
Church here was apparent from
the presence among the 10 United
Presbyterian and 10 Catholic re
presentatives of eight lay people,
including three women.
The Catholic delegation was
headed by Bishop Ernest L. Un-
terkoefler of Charleston, S. C.,
secretary of the U. S. Catholic
episcopal conference and chair
man of the subcommittee for
talks with Presbyterians of the
Bishop’s Commission on Ecu
menical affairs.
The representatives of the
United Presbyterian Church—
which with 3.3 million members
is the largest presbyterian
church in the U. S.--were led
by Richard L. Davies, layman
who is chairman of his church’s
Committee for Ecumenical Re
lations and also head of a Wash
ington firm of management con
sultants,
v.
The meeting was preceded by
a devotional service in the cha
pel of the Georgetown church
at which William P. Thompson
of Wichita, Kan., moderator of
the United Presbyterian General
Assembly, read a passage from
St. Paul’s letter to the Philip-
pians, and Bishop Unterkoefler
recited a prayer to the Holy
Spirit. All then joined in recit
ing the Lord’s Prayer--with the
closing doxology commonly used
in Protestant worship--and in
singing a hymn.
During a luncheon recess,
participants revealed that part
of the meeting was taken up by
an explanation of the general
relationships the two churches
have with other Christian com
munions. On the Presbyterian
side, this was given by the Rev.
John CoventrySmithofNew York,
general secretary of his church’s
Commission on Ecumenical Mis
sion and Relations. The Catholic
position was described by Msgr.
William W. Baum of Washington,
executive director of the Bi
shops’ Commission for Ecumen-,
ical Affairs. Msgr. Baum noted
that this was the third major
meeting for representatives of
the bishops’ commission in five
weeks. Catholic delegations had
met in Washington with represen
tatives of the Episcopal Church
pn June 22, and with a Lutheran
delegation in Baltimore July 6-7.
The women participants in the
meeting at the Georgetown Pres
byterian Church were Margaret
Mealey of Washington, executive
director of the NationELl Council
of Catholic Women; Mrs. Walter
R. Clyde of Pittsburgh, ecumen
ical relations chairman for the
United Presbyterian Women; and
Dr. Margaret Shannon, New York,
associate general secretary of
the United Presbyterian Church’s
Commission for Ecumenical
Mission and Relations.
The way for the talks was
paved on the Catholic side by
the Decree on Ecumenism en
acted by the Second Vatican Coun
cil last November, and on the
Presbyterian side by a policy
statement adopted by the General
Assembly of the United Presby
terian Church in Columbus, Ohio,
last May. The latter called on
Presbyterians to enter into clo
ser association with Roman Cath
olics so “that God’s will for
His Church may be sought toge
ther.”
IN CUBA
BOGOTA, Columbia (NC)—An
exiled Cuban priest said here
that Castro has tricked the Cu
ban people into a communist dic
tatorship that is a “reign of
terror.”
The priest, who refused to give
his name to the press for fear of
reprisals on his family still in
Cuba, claimed that the “promises
of Castro are a complete fraud.”
“Like all of Latin America,
Cuba was a land of a very few
rich, and very many poor,” said
the priest. “The people wanted
to believe Castro’s promises.
The situation was ripe for re
volution. The hope of all Cubans
was that Castro would help them.
But instead he tricked them into
one of the most cruel dictator
ships of modern times. There
is no longer hope, only fear
and terror.”
The exiled cleric told the story
of a man who, hoping to flee
from Cuba, conceEiled several
thousand dollars in a plaster
cast on his arm. When he ar
rived at the airport militiamen
demanded that he have the cast
removed. Then the soldiers told
the man that his son had reported
him to the secret nolice. “This
is the fear and uncertainty in
which Cubans now live,” the
priest said.
It said also that “the most
enduring and meaningful sharing
insight and experience must take
place where people meet people,
where Roman Catholics and Pro
testants bound in mutual citizen
ship and community concerns
have too often been strangers to
each other’s faith.”
The United Presbyterian
Church appointed 11 represen
tatives for the meeting, among
them such prominent ecumenists
as the Rev. Roswell P. Barnes
of New York, former executive
secretary of the U. S. Confer
ence for the World Council of
Churches, and the Rev. Robert
McAfee Brown, professor of re
ligion at Stanford University,
Palo Alto, Calif., who has served
as an observer-delegate of the
World Presbyterian Alliance at
the Vatican Council.
While Dr. Barnes could not
attend the first meeting, he is
expected to take part in future
sessions, which are expected to
be held at least once a year.
The Rev. Eugene Carson Blake
of Philadelphia, stated clerk of
the United Presbyterian Church,
is also expected to participate
in future meetings of the stand
ing groups.
In addition to the United Pres
byterian representatives, two of
ficials of the two next largest
Calvinist bodies in the U. S.’
attended the meeting as indivi
duals. They are the Rev. James
A. Millard, Jr., of Atlanta, Ga.,
and the Rev. Marion de Velder
of New York, the stated clerks
(chief executive officers) of the
Presbyterian Church in the U. S.
and the Reformed Church in
America respectively.
The number of political pri
soners and other “enemies of
the revolution” steadily in
creases, he related. “S<£me cells
have as many as 40 to 50 pri
soners who take turns sleeping
on the damp, cramped floor.
Sometimes young girls who come
to visit their people in jail are
forced to dance nude before the
militia men or are forced to
have relations with them before
they are allowed to see their
parents or relatives,” he said.
“People have reported seeing
trucks loaded with dead bodies
which were later dumped into an
open hole like rocks. Prisoners
are tied to trees and beaten or
cut with knives. Some are made
to stand in ankle-deep water tor
weeks on end. Food and clothing
in the prisons is completely in
sufficient,” reported the priest.
“But worst of all,” he said,
“is the fraud which Castro has
made Cubans bear. The farmers
willingly gave their land to the
state in exchange for promises
of tools and machinery. But they
were cheated. The promises
never materialized. Even the
$55-million worth of medicines
that the United States government
gave in exchange for prisoners
went to Russia instead of to the
Cuban people.”
Priest Recounts
Reign Of Terror