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My
Christ:
Dear Friends in
The Lenten Season is
traditionally a time of
penance and repentance, a
time of prayer and serious
thought, a time to look
within ourselves to see if,
in our daily lives, we are
truly living up to our
beliefs and to our
responsibilities as
followers of Christ.
Bishop Frey’s Lenten Pastoral
To some the word
“repent” may sound harsh
and forbidding, but as
used by John the Baptist
and later by Jesus, it
X; means a change of heart, a
:j: change of attitude. It
means a change in attitude
towards God. Our attitude
x towards God is expressed
most often in our attitudes
towards our fellow man
and our service to him.
The Second Vatican
Council expressed this fact
in these words, “now
Christ has communicated
this royal power to His
disciples that they might
be constituted in royal
freedom and that by true
penance and a holy life,
they might conquer the
reign of sin in themselves”.
Further, “He has shared
this power so that serving
Christ in their fellow man
they might by humility
and patience lead their
brethren to that King
whom to serve is to reign”.
The nurturing of the
virtue of repentence, as of
every virtue, begins in the
home, because our
attitude towards God and
our fellow man is
principally the work of the
home. The Vatican
Council tells us, “the
family is, so to speak, the
domestic Church. In it,
parents by their word and
example, are the first
preachers of the faith to
their children”. (Church in
the Modern World).
Parents cannot preach
what they do pot possess
and practice. Their love
and respect for each other,
their love and daily
concern for their children
must be reflections of
God’s love. For as St. John
says, “He who does not
love, does not know God”.
Parents must not be mere
providers, of worse, almost
friendly strangers in the
house, if the home is to
discharge its sacred
function. Responsible
parenthood demands that
parents spend considerable
time in the company of
their children to meet
their needs and to form
them in the image of God.
This spirit of love has
many outlets as it
overflows from the home
into the parish community
and governs our
relationship with our
fellow parishioners. A
school and a parish cannot
do the work of a
family-nor are they
supposed to do it. The
meaning and application
of the instruction received
in the school and the
church are supplied by the
life in the home.
The Christian attitudes
developed in the home and
the parish community find
their full application in the
community at large — the
neighborhood, the town or
city in which we live.
Our concern in the
wider community must be
directed especially to
those who need our help,
those who suffer
deprivation or those who
suffer discrimination.
This concern will
express itself in actual
help. Those who assist by
providing better
employment, serve Christ
well by doing so. Those
who support legislative
and voluntary programs
. directed at alleviating the
misery of the poor or
eliminating injustice are
giving practical expression
to that Christian concern.
This concern expresses
itself in a willingness to
exchange ideas with
others, especially those of
other races or religious
beliefs. Communication is
important today.
Communication will show
us that their principles are
our principles and that
most people react alike. It
will also reveal that
fostering suspicion warps
the outlook of those
against whom it is
directed. Above all, it will
demonstrate that
paternalism based on a
sense of superiority is
deadly for the creation of
true Christian
brotherhood. By friendly
dialogue, we shall find that
the love of Christ which
binds us is far stronger and
lasting than the suspicions
that separate us. In
learning that, we shall
rejoice in becoming
partners in building the
Kingdom of Christ.
We are entering a new
decade, a new era of world
history, an era of hope, of
new beginnings.
This Lent presents to us
a God-given opportunity
to make a new beginning;
to examine our own
attitudes as expressed by
the manner in which we
conduct our daily lives in
our family, in our parish
and in our community at
large. Now is the
opportune time, in a spirit
of humility, penance and
repentance, to change
those attitudes that need
changing, to the extent
that they may have drifted
away from the spirit of
Christ.
The greatest fact of
history is that Jesus once
stood in our midst. His
Church today is a sign to
all the world that Jesus
Christ still stands in our
midst. You are the
Church. It is your lives and
your actions that gives
creditability and substance
to the Voice of Christ, so £•:
that it can be heard and $•
heeded by those who A.
desperately need his :j:
message.
May God bless you and x
give you the grace to make >j
this Lent one of the •:$
important periods in your •>’
life.
*
s
SERVING 88 SOUTH - GEORGIA COUNTIES
The Southern Cross
DIOCESE OF SAVANNAH NEWSPAPER
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Vol. 51 No. 6
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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 1970
$5 Per Year
DIOCESE-DEANERY ROSTS
Appointments
For 6 Priests
Bishop Gerard L. Frey
announced the appointement
of six diocesan priests to
posts in the Catholic Youth
Organization, the Diocesan
Council of Catholic Men, the
Diocesan Council of Catholic
Women and the Legion of
Mary.
Father William Simmons,
pastor of Nativity parish,
Thunderbolt has been named
Diocesan Director of the
CYO. Appointed Associate
CYO Director for the
Chatham Deanery is Father
Michael Delea, assistant
pastor of St. James parish,
Savannah.
The Rev. William Coleman
becomes Diocesan Director of
the DCCM, assisted by Father
William Simmons as Associate
Director.
Succeeding the late
Monsignor John D. Toomey
as Diocesan Director of the
DCCW is the Very Rev.
Lawrence A. Lucree, Rector
of the Cathedral of St. John
the Baptist. The Rev. George
James, pastor of Our Lady of
Lourdes parish, Columbus,
has been named Associate
Director.
Father Donal Dunne,
Associate pastor of Blessed
Sacrament parish, Savannah is
the new Diocesan Spiritual
Director for the Legion of
Mary.
HEADLINE
HOPSCOTCH
X-Rated Films
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (NC)--Daily newspapers here have
adopted a policy of refusing to accept advertisements of sexy
X-rated movies, as well as of movies that have not been rated.
The Florida Times Union and the Jacksonville Journal
editorially stated they realize they will be accused of setting
“ourselves up as ‘censors’ ” and of being “hypocritical.” “The
basic question is whether,by carrying these advertisements,
these newspapers are contributing to the decline of public
morals while deploring this decline on our editorial pages,” the
editorial stated.
Cushing’s Successor
BOSTON (NC)— A 13-member committee of bishops, priests
and lay people has been established here to make
recommendations for the selection of a successor to Richard
Cardinal Cushing of Boston since 1944, whose retirement is
expected in August. The committee includes three auxiliary
bishops, three officers of the priests senate, four non-senator
priests, two laymen and one lay woman.
March Of Dimes
WASHINGTON (NC)— The National Council of Catholic
Women (NCCW) is supporting the National Foundation March
of Dimes in its endeavor to eradicate rubella (German measles),
it was announced (Feb. 1) by Mrs. Norman Folda of Omaha,
NCCW president. She said it is urgent that every woman “be
informed of the importance of getting every child vaccinated
against rubella.”
K Of C Lauded
CINCINNATI (NC)- Archbishio Paul F v Leibold of
Cincinnati praised the Knights of Columbus for their positive
leadership in the past and expressed the hope that they would
continue the same kind of leadership “in the social problems of
today.” Addressing a local K. of C. council here, the archbishop
said the organization had served as “a great positive force and
rallying point, not only in protecting the rights of the immigrant
but also in establishing the Church in American society.” K. of
C. councils “were fostering cordial relations with Masonic and
Protestant neighbors in an earlier period when present Catholic
attitudes did not prevail,” he said.
AUGUSTA DEDICATION - Bishop Gerard L. Frey (Flanked by Father Roy L. Cox and Msgr.
Daniel J. Bourke) blesses new St. Teresa of Avila Parish Center.
AUGUSTA PARISH
Dedication Ceremony For
Saint Teresa Of Avila
Sunday, Jan. 18, saw the
dedication of St. Teresa of
Avila Catholic Church,
Richmond-Columbia
counties’ newest. The Church,
on Pleasant Home Road,
serves the residential
developments of Martinez,
Montclair, Forest Estates,
Kingston and Tanglewood.
The Most Rev. Gerard L.
Frey, D.D., Bishop of Diocese
of Savannah dedicated St.
Teresa of Avila Parish Center.
A c o ncelebrated Mass
followed with Bishop Frey as
celebrant. Concelebrants were
the Rev. Roy L. Cox, Pastor,
Rt. Rev. Daniel J. Bourke,
Rev. Nicholas Quinlan, Rev.
Herbert Wellemeir, Rev. Sean
O’Rourke and the Rev.
Creston Tawes, Master of
Ceremonies was the Very Rev.
J. Kevin Boland and the
Lector, Mr. Charles W. Scott.
Music was provided by the
Adult Choir and Folk Group
under the direction of Mr.
Victor Bilanchone with Mrs.
Linda Bilanchone as organist
and Mrs. Marvellen Delp
playing the flute.
Following the Mass a
reception was held in the
Parish Center with the Ladies
Auxiliary as hostesses.
The Parish Carter which is
T shape in design is a
multi-purpose building that
will house all worship and
social functions. Seating
capacity is 300. The
educational wing and kitchen
is located in the rear of the
building. A special feature is a
cry room, which will enable
parents with infants to
participate in worshipping
located in the front of the
building.
The Board of Directors are
Mr. Charles Scott, Dr.
Thomas McDonald, Mr. and
Mrs. John Welsh, Mrs. Paul
Steinkirchner, Mr. John
Danilovich and Mr. Crosby
Fortune.
REJECTS DUTCH PLEA
Pope Bolts Door
Against Relaxed
Law Of Celibacy
BY PATRICK RILEY
VATICAN CITY (NC)— Pope Paul VI, not content with having shut the door on
the marriages of priests in his 1967 encyclical on celibacy, now has bolted it and
shored it against the winds of change.
The strongest gale, of course, has been blowing from the Netherlands. There the
bishops themeselves have asked for the reinstatement of celibate priests who have
married.
DIOCESAN IN SCOPE
Stage Set For
Lent Program
The Pope has replied no.
He has done so publicly, with
an open appeal to Dutch
Catholics to “reconsider”
their stand against celibacy,
and a veiled appeal to the
Catholic world to stand
behind him.
He first declared, without
any express reference to the
Netherlands but with
overtones of that county
reverberating from every
word, that celibacy “cannot
be abandoned or even
subjected to argument.” (The
Dutch Bishops had not only
urged the abandonment of
mandatory celibacy but asked
that the problem be put
before the whole Church for
deliberation.)
Two days later he revealed
that he had done all in his
power-and with unfailing
courtesy-to forestall the
Dutch declarations against
celibacy. He told Dutch
Catholics it is “indispensable”
to reexamine their
statements, which were issued
not only by the bishops but
earlier by the Dutch National
Pastoral Council of priests
and laymen.
The Pope said that reasons
advanced to justify a
relaxation of celibacy are
“not convincing” and even
implied “a lowering of the
authentic conception of the
priesthood.”
Priests who abandon their*
committment to celibacy
may not preach or administer
the sacraments, he stated.
(Some Dutch bishops have
allowed such priests to
preach.) This rule of the
Church will remain inflexible
“tomorrow as yesterday.”
He left the door open to
the eventuality of ordaining
(Continued on Page 7)
The First Sunday of Lent
(Feb. 15) will mark the
opening of the biggest effort
made to date for the religious
education of all in the
Savannah Diocese. Called
“Bringing Liturgy to Life”
the five week, multi- phased
program aims to present the
theological reasons
underlying the changes in the
liturgy to be introduced on
Palm Sunday of this year.
The program is keynoted
each week by the Sunday
sermon. Sermon outlines for
the five Sundays of Lent were
prepared by a group of priests
and laymen. The group
worked through the ideas
together to insure that they
would be relevant to ordinary
life and presented in a way
that everyone could readily
understand.
Each week’s sermon is
complemented by a colorful,
attractive leaflet to be
distrubuted either by mail or
in church. Miss Norine
Roberts of the Department of
Christian Formation staff
who designed the leaflets
said, “The leaflets were
designed to add a visual
dimension to the spoken
word of the sermon. Taken
home, they should be a
stimulus to further thought
and discussion and encourage
all to participate in the total
Lenten program in their
parish.”
Listening and looking,
however, is only the first
phase of the program. Phase
II is designed to give all a
chance to speak out - to
express their thoughts and
ask questions about what
they have heard and seen on
Sunday.
(Continued on Page 8)
INSIDE STORY
Middle East Peace Pg. 3
Revised Calendar Pg. 3
Know Your Faith Pg. 5
CICOP Meeting Pg. 6