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CATHOLIC CHARITIES APPEAL
DIOCESE OF SAVANNAH NEWSPAPER
Vol. 48, No. 39
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SAVANNAH, GEORGIA, THURSDAY, APRIL 11, 1968
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SLAIN CIVIL RIGHTS LEADER
U.S. Religious Leaders Mourn Dr. King
Bp. Frey Offers
Memorial Mass
The strains of “God Bless America” filled Savannah’s
Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, last Monday, as Catholic
Savannah gathered to attend a Memorial Mass for Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr. Bishop Gerard L. Frey was celebrant of the
Mass.
A REQUIEM MASS for the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was memorial public services held in the city. Other observances
celebrated by Bishop Gerard L. Frey on Monday morning at the were held at St. John’s Baptist Church and Christ Episcopal
Cathedral of St. John the Baptist. It was one of three such Church on Sunday. (Staff Photo by Bob Ward)
ON PROBLEMS OF RACE, PEACE, CHURCH
Baltimore’s Cardinal Shehan Says
Examination Of Conscience Needed
It was a sorrowful
occasion for the
predominently Negro
congregation seated in the
pews. The sermon they heard
was one of sorrow and
remorse, but one which left a
message of hope for better
things to come.
The Rev. Raymond Bane,
S.M.A., pastor of Savannah’s
St. Benedict’s Catholic
Church, recalled the Gospel
of last Friday’s Mass which
told of the Sanhedrin and
their fears that the new
preaching being done by
Jesus Christ would cause their
own way of life to be
destroyed. The speaker drew
a parrallel between the life of
Dr. King, the discinle of
Christ, ana the Master
himself. He told those
attending the Mass that
King’s whole life was
dedicated to spreading
Christ’s teaching - “You shall
love your Lord God with
your whole heart, your whole
mind and your whole soul
and you shall love your
neighbor as yourself.”
Father Bane said he knew
that many persons were filled
with despair for the future,
“but there is a future .. .
Jesus Christ died, and the
future just began on the day
he died, and just as life began
with the death of Christ, let
us hope that life will begin
again for all the people here
in our great country thru the
death of this martyr. That
what he lived for will not die
and will live on in the heart
of every man both Black and
White. That we reach out to
each other in love and peace
and justice.”
Among the many
Memorial Services held in the
diocese were those sponsored
by the Savannah NAACP at
St. John’s Baptist Church and
by the Chatham* County
Clergy conference at Christ
Episcopal Church. Both
services were held last
Sunday.
The Rev. Cameron
Matterson Alexander told
those gathered at St. John’s
Church that “Savannah - its
White citizens and its Black
citizens-should join together,
to build a better Savannah, a
better America.”
Those gathered at Christ
Church heard Monsignor
John D. Toomey, pastor of
Savannah’s St Juries Church
outline the following steps
toward integration as a
“practical” eulogy to Dr.
King.
That more job
opportunities be opened up
for Negroes.
In the area of housing,
that “real estate agents no
longer give Negroes the
run-around.”
That Negroes be chosen
to serve on the City Council
and County Commission.
That substandard living
conditions be improved.
-That there be “no
gerrymandering in fulfilling
the order of the Supreme
Court” on the question of the
integration of schools.
That local civic clubs
“invite Negroes to join.”
Continued on Page 3
BALTIMORE (NC)-The
report of the National
Advisory Commission on
Civil Disorders should serve
“as a point of departure for a
nationwide examination of
conscience,” according to
Lawrence Cardinal Shehan of
Baltimore.
Cardinal Shehan upheld
the report’s charge of “white
racism” and called for speedy
implementation of its
recommendations in a
pastoral letter (April 5) on
“the sufferings and
humiliation that are being
experienced both by our
country and by our Church.”
In discussing the nation’s
racial problems he cited
archdiocesan efforts “to do
its part,” but noted that with
the “modern development of
centralized power at the
highest level, all efforts are
bound to fall short without
the leadership and financial
suppprt of the federal
government.
“National action,” he
continued, “is particularly
necessary in the fields of
employment, education, the
reform of the welfare system
and housing.”
He maintained that
preoccupation with the
Vietnam war had prevented
such a national effort, but
said that the nation “has been
heartened by President
Johnson’s decision to reduce
substantially the scope of
bombing against North
Vietnam.”
He also said that President
Johnson’s withdrawal from
the presidential race gave
“increased force to the
sincerity” of his latest peace
bid.
“The means must be
found to accede to the plea
of our Holy Father for a
cessation of hostilities and for
The decline in vocations to
the Religious Sisterhoods has
been a topic for public
discussion for the past several
years. However, the effects of
this decline are only now
being felt with full force in
the Diocese of Savannah.
Some time ago, the Baltimore
Provincial Headquarters of
the Religious Sisters of Mercy
found it necessary to adopt
plans for regrouping and
re-distributing Sisters
throughout the Province of
Baltimore.
This move will affect every
diocese in the Southeastern
United States, including the
Diocese of Savannah.
Accordingly, four Sisters will
be withdrawn from our
Diocese. In addition, one
Sister will be reassigned from
the establishment of peace,”
he said. “Ultimately, a
withdrawal of American
troops must be brought
about. The temptation to
seek victory in still further
escalation must give way to
parochial school work to
devote full-time to the
Diocesan Office of Religious
Education.
After long and thoughtful
consideration and
consultation among ourselves
and with the Provincial
Superiors of the Religious
Sisters of Mercy and the
Missionary Franciscan Sisters
of the Imm aculate
Conception, it has been
decided that the Sisters of
Mercy will withdrew from
Cathedral Day School and
turn over its operation to the
Franciscan Sisters who have
graciously and generously
offered their assistance.
However, this change-over
will also involve the
redistribution of Franciscan
unparalleled efforts to reach a
prompt and reasonable
understanding.”
Turning to the “present
sufferings” of the Church,
Continued on Page 3
Sisters presently assigned to
schools in our Diocese.
Consequently, two Sisters,
presently teaching at
Savannah’s St. Anthony
School, will be reassigned to
Cathedral Day School and the
four grades for whom the two
Sisters are presently
responsible will also be
transferred to Cathedral Day
School. This will mean the
addition of approximately
fifteen students or less to
each of the upper four
grades of Cathedral.
We feel that this
reassignment of teachers and
students will allow the
Diocese to make the best
possible use of physical plant
and teaching skills available in
providing a quality Catholic
education for the children
involved.
Statement By
Bishop Frey
The assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,
has robbed our nation of the talents of a man of great
Faith... .a man with Faith in his God and Faith in
his country. Perhaps no other American, of our
generation, believed more strongly in the dream our
forefathers dreamed when they drafted our
Constitution. Dr. King’s life was devoted to making
this dream a reality for all Americans, regardless of
race, creed or color.
This is a time of great sorrow for our nation. A
man of peace has been struck down by violence. For
more than a decade, Dr. King spent himself for
peace.. . .peace between the Black man and the
White man. He sought justice for his people by
demonstration, not by violence. He was the Apostle
of nonviolence in an era of violence.
Let us pray that this crime, committed by a sick
mind, will not serve to widen the gulf between our
people. Rather, may it serve to prod the consciences
of White Americans to open their minds and hearts to
the problems of their Black brothers.
There is no Black America. There is no White
America. There is only America! In these dark days
of distrust, let us all pray to God for the strength to
do what is right. Let us ask him for the grace of love
for our neighbor. Let us ask for his help in making
ours, truly, a nation of freedom, hope and justice for
all.
F acuity Changeover At
Cathedral Day School
Joint statement of the Most Reverend Gerard L. Frey, Bishop of the Diocese of Savannah,
Sister Mary Jude, R.S.M., Local Superior of the Sisters of Mercy, and Sister Mary Stigmata, O.S.F.,
Local Superior of the Franciscan Sisters concerning transfer of faculty members at Cathedral Day
School and St. Anthony’s School, Savannah.
Clergy Expresses
Nation’s Sorrow
WASHINGTON (NC) - In churches large and small, suburban
and inner city, from coast to coast, people black and white
gathered to pray for the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King and for
the ultimate victory of the cause of freedom for which he lived
and died.
Leaders of all faiths joined in a nationwide outpouring of
tributes to the slain Baptist minister.
In the nation’s capital,
where some Negroes took to
the streets to avenge Dr.
King’s death by rioting and
looting, others flocked with
whites to religious services
throughout the city and in its
two largest churches.
President Lyndon Baines
Johnson was among some
4,000 mourners at noontime
services (April 5) at the
National (Episcopal)
Cathedral.
Leading prayers in the
Episcopal cathedral was the
Rev. Walter E. Fauntroy,
Negro vice chairman of
WashLigtOiiV City Council
and Washington chairman of
Dr. King’s southern Christian
Leadership Conference.
The Negro minister, who
since Dr. King’s death has
been pleading with “my black
brothers” in Washington to
forsake violence, prayed:
“Forgive us for our
individual and corporate sins
that have led us inevitably to
this tragedy. Forgive us.
Please forgive us. O God,
forgive us.”
The Catholic archdiocese
of Washington conducted a
memorial Mass for Dr. King
at the National Shrine of the
Immaculate Conception
(April 7) in accordance with
President Johnson’s request
for a national day of
mourning.
Patrick Cardinal O’Boyle
of Washington who called Dr.
King the “outstanding civil
rights leader in our country
who as an apostle of
nonviolence advanced the
cause of justice for all
Americans” was principal
concelebrant of the Mass.
From Tennessee where Dr.
King was slain in Memphis,
Coadjutor Bishop Joseph A.
Durick of Nashville said that
Dr. King “was truly a
prophetic leader of the Negro
people, an outstanding
American and world citizen, a
man who literally spent his
life and his life’s blood not
only for the spiritual and
material uplift of our beloved
Negro brothers, but also for
the uplift t’ the consciences
of all people who believe in
the dignity of every man
under God.”
From Dr. King’s birthplace
in Atlanta, Bishop Joseph L.
Bernardin, administrator of
the archdiocese, said that
news of Dr. King’s death
“stunned our city and our
nation.”
“It is my hope,” Bishop
Bernardin said, “that his
tragic death will not further
divide us. Now is the time for
all men of good will-white
and black-to be honest with
each other; to work together
to eliminate the mistrust and
the prejudices which keep us
apart; to join together in
correcting the inequities
which are causing so much
anguish and conflict. This is
the best way to honor the
memory of Dr. King. It is the
only way that peace and
dignity can be restored to our
Continued on Page 3
Savannah’s
Committee Of 100
Issues Statement
The death of Dr. King is a great tragedy for all
America. This man gave his life for freedom and
Justicie. He awakened our nation to the plight of the
Negro. Let each of us examine our conscience and
our own attitude towards the Negro and his suffering.
But sentiments of dismay and sorrow are not
enough to erase this tragic act from the conscience of
our nation. All men of good will should work
earnestly to eradicate the stigma of hate and injustice
from our land. Savannah should be foremost among
those cities which will demonstrate its desire to do
this. Let there be no repercussions of violence, but let
there be a positive move on the part of our
community leaders to make every effort possible to
further improve the condition of the Negro in our
community. Let him take his rightful place in our
political life, our business community, our schools,
our churches, our neighborhoods, and in finding
suitable employment without any discrimination.
We deplore the hatred which led to the murder of
Dr. King. We deplore the violence which has resulted
from his death. Let us work together for progress and
justice in our community. We pledge ourselves to do
this.
Steering Committee,
Committee of 100