Newspaper Page Text
RECTOR LISTS REASONS
The Southern Cross, February 24, 1966-
PAGE 7
Why Do We Have A Minor Seminary?
Ed. Note — Last Sunday, the
Diocese of Savannah began its
annual campaign for vocations
to the Priesthood. We feel this
fact adds a special note to
timeliness to the address of
Fr. William V. Coleman to the
teachers of the Diocese at their
annual convention last week
and, warrants the publication
erf the entire text.
The world wide picture of
vocations to the priesthood is
steadily worsening. In five
years, from 1960-1965, the
world population of priests in
"proportion to people, dropped
by over 30,000. Statistics in
the United States, Ireland,
France, Italy and countless
other countries reflect this
failure to keep pace with the
growing catholic population.
If present trends continue,
many dioceses will find it ne
cessary to close parishes,
schools and other institutions
which are dependent on our
priests for their staff and ad
ministration.
A case in point would be
our own diocese. If we look
at the growth since the division
from Atlanta in 1956, we might
be surprised to see the pro
gress and to realize that the
growth has happened only be-
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cause Bishop McDonough has
had priests available, if only,
in many cases, on a temporary
basis. This growth will stop
and in fact recede unless our
supply of priestly vocations
continues to grow.
In the Columbus area these
years have seen the beginnings
of three new parishes, a new
grammar school and a new
high school. Where there was
one parish, there are now four,
where there was one grade
school there are two and where
there was no high school there
is now one. Work has been
extended to include a mis
sion in Pine Mountain. In 1957,
there were two priests resi
dent in the Columbus area,
today there are eight - a 400%
increase and still the work
necessary to provide full Ca
tholic life is severely handi
capped. One priest with only
weekend help is caring for a
transient Catholic population
larger than Blessed Sacra
ment parish here in Savannah.
In Macon - Warner Robins
growth has been less specta
cular yet I am sure Bishop
McDonough has a desire at
least to extend the number of
parishes in this area. Wehave
added one grade and one high
school in these years.
In the Augusta area there is
one new parish, and talk of
the need of another. The con
solidation of Aquinas has re
quired the services of a priest.
St. Patrick’s parish is pre
sently without a full time pas
tor.
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In Savannah the seminary
has claimed four priests’ full
lives and part-time work from
three others. St. James parish
has grown to become one of the
largest parishes in the diocese
and as yet has but two priests.
Much of our progress has
been made through the ser
vices of temporarily loaned
priests. There are now six
such priests in the diocese
whose tenure here is strictly
limited. Some of the progress
too has been and is being
made by a willingness by a
number of priests to carry
two or more jobs at one time.
I need only mention Msgr.
McDonald pastor and chancel
lor or Father Cuddy, teacher,
vice-rector and Superin
tendent of Schools. Those of
us involved in such situations
know that something always
suffers but that for the time
things must be so. When the
Catholic population grows
from 25,000 to 32,000 in nine
years there are bound to be
sacrifices. A 28% population
growth and a fantastic in
crease in institution life has
extended our priest supply
beyond endurance.
Now it seems that all the
dioceses in the United States
and in the world are beginning
to face up to the work of
fostering priestly vocations.
Use of the mass media to so
licit prayer and interest was
an early and continuous step.
In some large urban cities
this has proved all that was
necessary. In many dioceses,
however, there has developed
a new type of school to foster
vocations. It bears the name of
LUNCHEON SPEAKER — The Very Reverend William V. Coleman, Rector
of St. John Vianney Seminary, is pictured a,s he addressed teachers’ meeting.
Others (1. to r.) Right Reverend Monsignor Andrew J. McDonald, Chancellor;
Reverend John Cuddy, Superintendent of Schools; Most Reverend Thomas J.
McDonough, Bishop of Savannah and Reverend Kevin Boland, Vice-Chan
cellor. (Staff photo by Bob Ward)
FOR HIGH SCHOOL TEAMS
Aquinas Shamrocks Win
World’s Largest Tourney
Ribock, who had to carry the
brunt of the ball-handling. Ed,
of course, did a “ great job,”
finishing off the night with
20 points. John Ribock tal
lied 28 points, and Ed Bar-
tis had 29. Downing Swains-
boro meant that Aquinas had
passed the first round of the
tournament successfully. It
also set the scene for the third
clash of the season between
Aquinas and Butler.
On February 1, the Sham
rocks ran out on the court
ready, willing, and able. Ed
Bartis just couldn’t miss, and
the scoreboard registered 16-
10 in favor of Aquinas at the
close of the first quarter. The
game was hard-fought and fast
throughout. A surge by the
Bulldogs resulted in their tak
ing a 30-29 lead at halftime,
but that was the greatest ad
vantage that they were des
tined to enjoy. As the second
half began, the Shamrocks
moved immediately out in
front; and they were there to
stay. The defensive efforts
of Dan MacNamee and Chris
Caver were tremendous; Ed
Bartis’ shooting was specta
cular; the rebounding and the
shooting of the Ribocks were
incredible. And so, for the
first time this year, Aquinas
beat Butler, scoring 71 points
to their 64, and out-rebound
ing them 46-28.
John Ribock’s 32 points set
a new tournament scoring
record on Thursday, February
3, as Aquinas breezed to an
easy win over Harlem. Ed
Ribock broke an Aquinas re
cord with 11 assists; and Har
lem was squashed, 67-42.
Friday, February 4, was
another doubly satisfying oc
casion for the Irish. The vic
tory over Waynesboro was
again the first in three tries.
While the defeats suffered at
the hands of the Hurricanes
were by the narrowest of mar
gins—1 and 2 points—the
tables were turned solidly in
the 56-49 decision. Ed, John,
Ed, Dan and Chris all played
well (Ed Ribock under the
boards—WOW!) and Waynes
boro never managed to gain
even a slight edge. With this
win, Aquinas captured the top
spot in the Georgia division
and a ticket straight to the
finals.
COACH BOB STEWART and his Aquinas Sham
rocks proudly display first place trophy for all co
see.
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Saturday, February 5, was
the Night of the Shamrock.
Augusta’s Bell Auditorium,
jammed with a “breathing-
room only” crowd, was the
scene of the closing of the 39th
Annual Chronicle-Herald In
vitational Basketball Tourna
ment. For those affiliated with
Aquinas, it was an unforgett
able scene. Defeating Granite-
ville 59-53, the Irish emerged
the winner of the biggest high
school tournament in the
world. Reason for joy did not
stop there, however. More a-
wards were still to come. The
Outstanding Coach award
went, for the second straight
year, to our own Mr. Bob
Stewart. The last trophy was
the most valuable boys’
player, and was duly award
ed to a very deserving Ed
Ribock. It was a wild, fan
tastic night; and it was all
ours.
The road to the top was
a long and dramatic one. It
all began on January 28, when
Aquinas faced Swainsboro.
The Irish played without
Chris Caver, who was in bed
with the flu. His spot was
filled by John Hefferman and
Tommy Rathbun. The absence
of Chris left a tremendous
load on the shoulders of Ed
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minor or junior seminary but
is far removed from the tra
ditional idea of a minor or
preparatory seminary - as
far removed as it is from a
general high school.
Much of the criticism in
magazine articles directed at
the old minor seminary was
and is quite justified. There
are, however, few of them
left. The criticism has served
an excellent purpose in helping
these out-dated schools to
revivify or, better, completely
rethink their programs.
The new apostolic school of
which St. John’s here in Sa
vannah is a prime example
operates on a completely dif
ferent theory than the older
closed seminary. These
schools have proved quite
popular and quite successful.
Since St. John’s was founded
in 1959, the following states
along the West Coast have
taken up this type of program -
Connecticut, New Jersey,
Maryland, D, C., Virginia,
North Carolina, Georgia and
Florida. Such a growth is
indicative of something new
and vital in the life of the
Church.
The obvious question
arises - Why? The answer
is quite simple - They work
both in producing vocations
to the priesthood and in pro
ducing an elite among the
laity capable of an intelligent
handling of the Church’s fu
ture. The increased emphasis
on lay participation in the life
of the Church makes increas
ingly necessary a means of
training outstanding lay lea
ders whose talents and spirit
are above the ordinary.
From the vocational view
point a school like St. John’s
offers many advantages. May
I bore you with a short dis
cussion of them:
L SCHOLASTIC: In a board
ing school there is a real
advantage of supervised study,
availability of tools for re
search, extended laboratory
periods, teacher help during
study time and a low teacher-
pupil ratio. All of these help
the youngster with average
ability to mature early in his
study habits and thus achieve
the best possible background
for college work. Too often
in the past our youngster shave
found themselves penalized in
first year college by a
scholastic background which
was not serious enough or did
not include the correct
courses. Contrary to popular
opinion Latin is not dead in
seminary education. As re
cently as last month the Holy
See reiterated and streng
thened it by a decree insisting
on a Latin liturgy in semi
naries and a familiarity with
Latin by all seminarians.
Without adequate prepa
ration students become quite
discouraged on a college level
and often give up their voca
tion for purely scholastic rea
sons.
At St. John’s we have been
able to prepare our students
and help them over this hurdle.
This Fall our graduates at St.
Charles College, Baltimore,
as a group, led all other high
schools and seminaries in
cluding St. Charles’ own high
school in the College Latin
placement examination.
Scholastically too, St.
John’s has received two un
usual commendations, one
from the area representative
of the Southern Association
of Colleges and Schools and
another from one of the best
known and highly respected
universities in the nation. This
summer Catholic University
of American extended per
manent affiliation status to the
seminary because of “the un
usually high measure of
achievement during its first
six years.” A further evidence
of the scholastic status of the
seminary is the choice of a
St. John’s faculty member as
a regular evaluator for Ca
tholic University’s program of
seminary affiliation and the
invitation to speak at its Na-
tioal Minor Seminary Con
ference.
From the point of view of
pure scholastic preparation,
the seminary offers the aver
age student his best possible
opportunity of preparing for
serious seminary-college
work. The brighter student,
too, finds the real challenge
which will help his talents
mature and thus avoid the
shock of first year college.
2. COMPANIONS HIP: A
second great area of advantage
for the vocation-minded teen
ager is that of friends. In an
ordinary high school situation,
finding boys who share his
interest in the priesthood is a
difficulty. The desire to con
form to group standards and
pressures is almost universal
among boys of high school age.
Many a vocation is lost, al
most all are placed in jeo-
most all are placed in jeo
pardy, by the loneliness and
sense of being different that a
desire for the priesthood
brings in a regular high school
situation.
In their desire for the
priesthood seminarians
strengthen one another
and, more important, provide
an atmosphere in which a vo
cation can grow without out
side interference of group
pressure. This is perhaps the
greatest single benefit of the
minor seminary.
Also in the area of com
panionship, the youngster has
the opportunity of living with
priests who actively share
their lives. The old image of
boys divorced from profitable
adult companionship is dead.
Our priests are to be found
as often in the boys’ recrea
tion areas as in the class
room. We eat with them, study
with them and recreate with
them. An atmosphere of
familial contact is esta
blished. Counselling is an
everyday affhir. Boys know
what priests are like and what
the priesthood is.
3. SOCIAL LIFE: Another
strong point in seminary life
is its social aspect. Too often,
our high school social pro
grams center completely
about dancing and dating.
While there are quite legiti
mate programs on this age
level, they are by no means
necessary for rounded de
velopment and too often force
a youngster to judge his man
hood and maturity in sole
terms of his acceptability to
the opposite sex. When this
happens as it most often does,
the celibate life of the priest
hood emerges in the young
ster’s mind as something less
than manly. While this is but a
temporary problem, it often
does not clear up until well
after vocational plans are laid
and it is too late to seriously
consider the priesthood.
4. FAMILY LIFE: About
forty percent of his high school
years are spent at home with
his parents. Being away from
home part of the time seems
to help a youngster grow
closer to his family than do.
his peer in regular high
school. In hours spent with
his parents there is probably
not a marked difference be
tween the youngster at board
ing school and the socially
minded youngster living at
home but spending most of
his time involved in school
and other social activities.
In addition, much of the ten
sion between parents and their
seminarian sons is usually
eliminated by the assumption
of the seminary faculty of the
role of disciplinarian. Time
spent at home is then usually
more productive and more
worthwhile, parents are bet
ter appreciated, better under
stood and more genuinely
loved.
These in brief are the ad
vantages of the apostolic
school or junior seminary for
the high school boy who sees
the priesthood as a distinct
possibility in his future.
One point that I feel should
be mentioned before I close
is the influence of the grade
school teacher. I am convinced
that the attitude of the sister
or lay teacher in the grades
is the greatest single factor
for the success of Saint John’s.
The question of entering St.
John’s for the vocation minded
boy and his family is a diffi
cult one. It does mean sacri
fice, especially for the
parents.They want what is best
for their child but the thought
of not having him in their home
day and night is^often a severe
trial to mothers, especially
those who have been quite
protective.
It is a decision which each
family must reach on its own
but one in which the grade
school teacher inevitably be
comes involved. She it is who
helps parents disentangle
emotions and facts and finally
arrive at a decision which best
fits the needs of the individual
case.
Late year our Freshman
class was the largest in our
history - a real tribute to
your zeal for Christ’s priest
hood.
This coming Monday our
program will begin again,
again seeking youngsters who
can profit from St. John’s.
No greater blessing can be
won, I suppose, by a teaching
sister than the knowledge that
she has had a part in the
formation of one of Christ’s
priests.
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