Newspaper Page Text
CAPTIVE OF REDS
Pope Salutes
Bishop Walsh
ROME (NC)—Pope Paul VI
has praised the example and
inspiration of a Maryknoll
bishop who is serving a 20-
year term in Communist
China.
A papal letter, addressed to
Bishop James E. Walsh,
M.M,. and dated on the 50th
anniversary of his ordination
(Dec. 7), was delivered to the
Maryknoll house in Rome. The
American bishop hasbeenim-
prisoned in Shanghai since
1958.
“You have given a splen
did example of true priestly
fidelity, and you have been
truly a loyal ‘steward of the
Gospel,’ as St. Paul is wont
to call all priests,” the Pope
wrote.
“A half century of dedicated
and selfless service of Christ
the Priest, the greatest part
of which was spent in bring
ing the message of Christ to
those who knew him not, is a
stirring example not only for
members of your own Mary
knoll Missionary Society, but
also for those young men who
aspire to this lofty vocation.
“You have not stinted in
giving yourself for the people
you have loved so much. Even
today, as you give a further
vivid manifestation of your de
dication in suffering for
Christ, you continue to en
courage and inspire others to a
similar service.
“For your love of the
Church and for your self-sa
crifice we are most grateful.
Would that we were able to
offer you in person words of
comfort and consolation.”
Another letter from Amleto
Cardinal Cicognani, papal se
cretary of state, was sent the
same day to Bishop John W.
Comber, Maryknoll’s supe
rior general.
“Would that circumstances
were such as to permit Bishop
Walsh to join with his many
friends in thanking Almighty
God for these long years of
faithful service,” the Cardi
nal said. “I take this occa
sion to congratulate him for
his dedicated years on behalf*
of the Church’s missions.”
%nnette&
Over 40 Years of Dependable Courteous Service
SAVANNAH. GEORGIA
t/U c rrij « 3 4.
Thompson Fish And
Oyster Company
312-314 West St. Julian Street
AD 3-3438
SAVANNAH, GA.
<£winqAk)nA
DRUG STORE
FULL LINE OF CHRISTMAS GIFT ITEMS
PRESCRIPTIONS
CALLED FOR &
DELIVERED PROMPTLY
DIAL 355-8601
REGISTERED PHARMACIST
ON DUTY AT ALL TIMES
FOR ALL YOUR SICK
ROOM & BABY NEEDS
MONTGOMERY CROSSROADS SHOPPING CENTER
ON THE
MOVE IN
DOWNTOWN
SAVANNAH
'savannah
ABERCORN AT BROUGHTON
DE LUXE SNACK BAR
ON WHITE BLUFF ROAD
ONE BLOCK SOUTH OF DeRENNE AVE.
SAVANNAH
FIRST HOLY COMMUNION class blessed Sacrament Church, Savannah. (Jim Daly Photo)
MODERN REVOLUTION
‘Minute For God’ Spells Change
For Poverty-Stricken Colombians
The Southern Cross, December 16, 1965—PAGE 7
8:00 P.M.
Seminary Choir
Program Dec. 18
On Saturday, December 18,
at 8:00 P.M. the choir ofSaint
John Vianney Seminary will
present a program of Christ
mas music at the seminary on
Grimball Point Road.
The choir, which was or
ganized in the fall of 1964,
has sung on several occasions
at the seminary and at the or
dination of Father William
Simmons in Columbus last
May. This will be the first
full concert to be given by the
choir.
The program will consist of
the traditional Christmas
music, both religious and se
cular, including the German
children’s carol, * ‘Ihr Kinder-
lein Kommet;” the English
carol, “What Child Is This;”
Franz Schubert’s “Ave Ma
ria” LeRoy Anderson’s
“Sleigh Ride;” and the ex
tremely popular carol, “The
Little Drummer Boy.”
Featured in the program
will be “The Story of Christ
mas.” This re-telling of the
beautiful story of the birth of
Our Lord will be presented in
narration and in song. The
narrator for “The Story of
Christmas” will be Richard
Boyle, a senior, from Tom’s
River, New Jersey. Soloist
will be William Cramer, also
a senior, from Macon, Geor
gia.
The faculty of the seminary
wish to extend an invitation to
all the readers of the “South
ern Cross” and their friends
to attend this concert.
MUSIC SHOP
Records — Band Instruments Guitars — Drums
BOGOTA, Colombia (NC)—
All he asks is a minute for
God, but his minutes have
spanned centuries of neglect,
and they have changed the lives
of thousands of Colombia’s
poor.
His name is Father Rafael
Garcia Herreros, and at first
sight he doesn’t look like a
revolutionary. With his high
forehead and a sensitive mouth
one might take him for a pro
fessor or a man of letters,
both of which he is. His crew-
cut hair, now almost white,
and expressive voice might
label him as a television per
sonality. He is that, too.
He has demolished slums.
He has built homes for the
poor. He has given them jobs
and hope. He is revered by
the poverty stricken. He is
admired by the rich. The
young “rebel priests” seek
to emulate him. The bishops
praise him. When he speaks,
everyone listens.
Gathering such diverse for
ces into one social movement
may be father Garcia’s great
est accomplishment. On the
outskirts of Bogota, however,
one can see more concrete
results of his efforts. Here
hundreds of families which a
few years ago had neither
homes, nor churches, nor jobs
for the men, nor schools for
children, have all of these
things. There are neat rows
of houses with electricity and
sidewalks and gardens and
room for children to play.
There is hope.
For Father Garcia, all of
this didn’t come easily.
In the city of Cali, for in
stance, the provincial gover
nor became convinced that the
articulate seminary professor
was a communist. Father
Garcia was moved elsewhere.
In Cartagena, a port city of
about 200,000 persons on the
Caribbean, Father Garcia’s
own religious community
moved him out of town. He
recalls the incident with a
smile now, and says, “You
know the religious life is made
so that we may love one a-
nother. . .”
But Father Garcia’s writ
ing and speaking abilities gave
him a means of reaching over
the heads of those who opposed
him. While at Cartagena, he
persuaded a local radio sta
tion to give him a regular'
morning radio program. He
called it “A Minute of God,”
and he used the minute to re
mind people, the rich and the
poor, of their obligations to
improve social conditions. A
minute is not a long time, and
Father Garcia did not mince
words.
Father Garcia took his ra
dio program to Cali, and then
to Medellin, a large industrial
center. In 1953 he began
broadcasting nationally from
Bogota over the state-owned
radio network. Finally he pro
duced it on television.
Gradually the reported ap
peals brought response. A
slum section of Cali, once
called the “Needle’s Eye,”
was gradually rehabilitated
with the help of local business-
t
men. In Bogota he spent Sun
days helping to tear down slum
shacks. However, the Bogota
landlord was not so coopera
tive. He obtained an injunc
tion halting the demolition
project. That night Father
Garcia appealed for help on
television, and by the next
day a donor offered land worth
about $130,000 on the outskirts
of the city for construction of
model community for the poor.
In 1958, the community of
45 homes was formally dedi
cated by an impressive array
of civic and Church leaders.
Each home, large enough for
a family of 10, cost $1,500,
payable at $15 a month. The
money was not hard to come
by because factories were
willing to hire men who had
something to work for.
By the following year the
number of homes had increas
ed to 80. Now they number 350,
and the community has a
modern church, a school and
recreation facilities, parents
pay $10 a month school tui
tion, regardless of the number
of children.
There are a few simple
rules in the town called Min
ute of God. Each day fami
lies are obliged to sweep the
street in front of their homes.
No begging is permitted; this
could mean expulsion from the
community. There are no po
lice. The houses are rarely
locked, and stealing is almost
unknown.
Lessons in
all Band & String Instruments
SAVANNAH, GA.
13 E. DeRENNE AVE.
PHONE 354-1616
One of America's
SERVING FINE FOOD
AND PASTRIES
Better Restaurants 12 w. Broughton strext
SAVANNAH
EUREKA
YA IX
With super-efficient Fan Jet Motor plus
the convenience of New “Cordaway”
and New Snap-On Tool-Pak
IV2 peak H.P. motor whips up a cyclone of cleaning power! Brings
big volume of high velocity air through deep rug fibers where the
stubbornest dirt hides. Lifts grit, grime up and out, whisks it away
into the Sanitized® Treated disposable dust bag! With really deep
cleaning power, you also get terrific ease of
operation. New “Cordaway” gives you just the
cord you need. Retracts and stores automat
ically. And the right tool is always just a reach
away. The new 730 carries its tools on its back!
Stands on end for cleaning stairs and for storing.
SEE
TONY OR
SAL ALIFFI
Cix>6& 72oad&
APPLIANCE CENTER
SAVANNAH OWNED & OPERATED TO GIVE YOU THAT PERSONAL TOUCH
CROSSROADS SHOPPING CENTER