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Vol. 52 No. 36
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Thursday, October 21, 1971
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Diocese Eyes Campaign
For Human Development
By Gillian Brown
What is it like to be poor? Is it a matter of lack of funds, insufficient food, ragged clothing? Or does it mean
much more than that - a sense of worthlessness and hopelessness brought about by generations of unemployment,
malnutrition, poor education?
These questions open the Educational Program which starts in November as part of the National Campaign for
Human Development. They will be the theme of sermons in the Diocese of Savannah on November 7th, and the
topic of discussion in classroom and adult groups. And they will launch a study of the problem of poverty which
will run through the first three weeks of November, culminating in a collection for the Campaign on November
EDUCATION EFFORT .SET
FATHER KOLBE steps forward to offer his life in the place of Maximilian Kolbe was beatified in St. Peter’s Basilica on
another prisoner of the Nazis during World War II. Father October 17. (NC PHOTO)
NAZI VICTIM
Memory Of Priest Haunts
, u . i
Man Whose Life He Saved
BEGINS ‘LIVE IN’ - Bishop Gerard L. Frey, of Savannah, addressed the parishioners of Sacred
Heart Church Sunday October 17 at the beginning of his “Live-In” in the Macon Deanery. He
returned to the parish on Thursday to visit with the school children and a dinner on Thursday
evening with the Parish Council. Pictured (lto r): Bishop Frey, Kevin Kelly, Rev. Finbarr Stanton,
and Steve Rawls.
NON-BINDING VOTES
Synod Committees Shut
Door On Celibacy Change
By Margot Munzer
VATICAN CITY (NC) -
“As a Catholic I should
forgive. But it is hard to
forget.”
This was the observation,
spoken haltingly, of
Franciszek Gajowniczech --
the man for whom
Catholicism’s newest Blessed
gave his life.
In ceremonies rich with
age-old pomp and drama,
Franciscan Father Maximilian
Kolbe was raised among the
beatified on Oct. 17. For the
first time in years, Pope Paul
VI presided at the morning
rites in St. Peter’s Basilica
before an estimated 5,000
Poles from many parts of the
world and more than 200
bishops attending the synod
in Rome.
The humble Polish priest
gave his life in 1941 by taking
the place of Gajowniczech, a
fellow prisoner marked for
death in the Nazi
concentration camp at
Auschwitz. For 10 days
Father Kolbe was starved
and, when hunger did not kill
him, was administered an
injection of poison by camp
doctors.
Gajowniczech talked about
Father Kolbe with NC News
the day before he attended
the beatification.
“Yes, I met Father Kolbe
on May 28, 1941, in
Auschwitz,” he said. “I was a
professional soldier. I was a
sergeant in the Polish Army,
38 years old, when World War
II broke out. I had been
married since 1926 and we
had two sons, Rogda and
Julius.
“The Germans took me
prisoner of war in the fortress
of Modlin, near Warsaw. I
tried to escape and succeeded
in reaching the underground
in the south of Poland.”
“We were hiding day and
night,” he continued, “but
one day I was betrayed and
was caught at 3 o’clock in the
morning while I slept....
“In October 1940, we were
sent to the concentration
camp of Auschwitz. There
were 1,700 of us. That is
1,700 Poles and one Jew. The
Jew we never saw again - he
was liquidated the very next
day.”
And then came that day in
May 1941.
“One man had escaped
from the camp and the rule
was that 10 would have to die
a slow death of starvation and
thirst for the one. An SS man
walked along the line we
stood in and pointed out
candidates to die. My number
was 5659 and he pointed to
me.
“I cried out that now I
would never see my wife and
children again and suddenly
Number 16,670 stepped
forward and said that he
would go instead of me.
“The SS-man asked in
astonishment: ‘But why?’
The answer was ‘I am a
Catholic priest and this man
has a wife and children.’
“And this is why Number
16,670 of the the Auschwitz
concentration camp became
the B 1 e ssed Father
Maximilian Maria Kolbe.”
In his homily during the
Mass in St. Peter’s, the Pope
stressed Father Kolbe’s deep
devotion to the Immaculate
Heart of Mary and his
offering of his life precisely
because he was a priest.
“What an example for
priests of the living out of
their consecration and
mission,” Pope Paul
exclaimed. “What a reminder
to them in this hour of
uncertainty when human
nature would at times have its
own rights prevail over the
supernatural vocation to total
self-giving on the part of one
called to follow Christ!”
The Pope also paid tribute
to Father Kolbe for
exemplifying the faith of the
Polish people. He said Father
Kolbe was “a type and figure
of Poland, of that people
which for centuries has found
in its sufferings an awareness
of its unity.”
Among the cardinals
concelebrating with the Pope
at the beatification Mass was
Cardinal John Krol of
Philadelphia. The Pope the
following day, in an audience
for those who had come to
Rome for the ceremonies,
singled out Cardinal Krol for
special mention.
He said that among the
other bishops of Poland here
present “We salute Cardinal
John Krol, Archbishop of the
Latins of Philadelphia, in the
United States of America,
who by origin is Polish.”
While it was a memorable
day marking the heroism of a
valiant priest, with probably
60,000 persons in St. Peter’s
for the ceremonies - it also
had its inevitable note of
sadness.
As Gajowniczech said:
“When I finally returned
home at last, to my wife in
November 1945, I learned
our boys were dead. They
had been killed Fighting for
Poland, the younger one as a
partisan and the other in the
Warsaw uprising.”
The Campaign for Human
Development, launched for
the first time last year on a
nation-wide scale, has a
two-fold aim. First of all it
attempts to educate people
about the problems of
poverty and their own
responsibilities towards the
poor. Secondly, it collects
funds which go to help
anti-poverty projects of many
kinds across the nation. Thus,
Catholics all over the U.S.
h elp to provide “seed
money” and other financing
for many programs which are
not directly eligible for
federal funding or foundation
grants.
This year, the Department
of Christian Formation - at
the request of the Social
Apostolate Commission - has
prepared materials for an
educational program which
will reach all parishes in the
Diocese of Savannah. The
program has three main
themes, which follow the
three weeks of the campaign.
“What is it like to be poor?”
is the theme for the first
week. It is followed by “What
does the Gospel tell us about
poverty?” on the second
week, and “What can we do
about poverty?” on the third
week. The three topics will be
the subject of sermons
preached in all churches on
Ndvember 7th, 14th and
21st, and will also be
discussed in Catholic schools,
in CCD and adult groups.
A parish program guide,
containing sermon outlines,
commentaries, and
suggestions for the classroom,
has been sent to each parish.
Also supplied by the
Department of Christian
Formation are a booklet
called “The Servant Church”
prepared by a group of priests
in Connecticut, and a
pamphlet entitled “I was a
Stranger”, which will be
distributed at all churchgs on
November 7th.
The educational program
as a whole presents the
Church’s teachings on
poverty in layman’s language.
It paints a picture of modern
day poverty in such a way as
to make the problems of the
poor more easily understood,
and then explains the social
message of Christ and of
Christian leaders throughout
the ages in simple,
non-technical terms. Finally,
in asking “What can we do?”
it suggests many ways in
which people can become
more practically involved in
the struggle against poverty,
hunger and oppression.
School Principals and CCD
teachers will receive sections
from the Parish Guidebook
dealing with classroom
suggestions and practical
projects for elementary and
high school.
Twenty five per cent of the
funds collected in the Diocese
of Savannah last year were
retained by the Diocese, and
were used to help the rural
poor. Additionally, a
substantial grant was made to
the South-West Georgia
project, to help train leaders
in that area.
By Patrick Riley
VATICAN CITY (NC) -
The world Synod of Bishops
overwhelmingly rejected any
changes in the celibacy law
for priests, in a series of
non-binding votes that came
out of its working
committees on Oct. 19.
The delegate votes also
showed no real desire to
extend the priesthood to
married men, apparently out
of fear that such a step could
eventually spell the death of
celibacy.
Results of the committee
voting amounted to the first
specific action, other than
long hours of speeches and
talks, since the synod began
three weeks earlier.
The synod did indicate
clear endorsement, however,
of priests’ councils as a
functioning part of diocesan
machinery everywhere. The
synod was also prepared to
warn priests to steer clear of
partisan politics while helping
laymen to take on
responsibilities in civic affairs.
Although not all 12
committees made initial
reports to the synodal
assembly, and although votes
were not taken in all
committees, the results from
10 committees showed
overwhelming consensus on
those matters.
Optional celibacy was
rejected so totally that even
th e committee headed by
Belgian Cardinal Leo
Suenens, long a champion of
optional celibacy, voted
unanimously against it.
The synod apparently
wants celibacy to stand now
and always, not just for the
moment. That was indicated
by several of the committees
working independently.
Given three propositions
on the ordination of married
men to choose from, the
committees edited the least
favorable proposition to be
still less favorable. Where the
original proposition said that
the ordination of married
men was neither opportune
nor necessary “at the present
moment,” they removed the
qualification “at the present
moment.”
One of the committee
secretaries explained that his
committee wanted to avoid
giving younger priests or
seminarians the idea that
present discipline on celibacy
might change.
The synod had shown
limited openness to the
possibility of ordaining
married men until several
speakers warned that such a
practice would eventually
erode the disiepline of
celibacy. That marked the
change of the tide.
Even among those who still
watned to leave that
possibility open - if only for
further study - there was
great reluctance to put the
power of decision into the
hands of the episcopal
conferences.
Friendly dialogue between
bishops and their priests was
encouraged, indicating that
the day of the remote bishop
could soon be over. Immense
and unwieldy dioceses have
been under fire in the synod
for hindering a brotherly
relation between bishops and
priests.
HEADLINE
HOPSCOTCH
Disarmament Talk
ROME (NC) — The five bishops representing the American
hierarchy at the synod plan to speak on disarmament and the
arms race. This was confirmed by Cardinal John Dearden at a
weekly news briefing Oct. 15. The Detroit cardinal did not
expand on the subject, but he indicated that the cost of arms
among the richer nations at the expense of poor nations would
be the subject of an American talk as the synod moves along on
its world justice topic. Cardinal John Carberry of St. Louis said
that the five-man U.S. delegation did not intend “to apologize”
for the United States, but at the same time was sincerely
interested in the problems of the world. Some observers have
interpreted the opening report on the subject of justice as a
direct slap at the United States.
( Aid Not Solution’
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (NC) — State and federal aid is not
the solution to the money worries gnawing away at the nation’s
nonpublic schools, a diocesan school superintendent told a
national gathering of his peers here. “Even if some form of
government assistance continues,” said Father Michael O’Neill,
school superintendent of the Spokane, Wash., diocese, “it will
not make all that big a dent in the financial problems we face.”
Father O’Neill told 250 superintendents, religious education
directors and other school asministrators that “Catholic schools
in the foreseeable future are going to have to be supported by
the Catholic community.”
INSIDE STORY
Mindszenty Bitter Pg. 2
Baby Starved To Death Pg. 2
’Superstar’ Blasted Pg. 7
Sports And Character Pg. 8