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SERVING 88 SOUTH - GEORGIA COUNTIES
The Southern Cross
DIOCESE OF SAVANNAH NEWSPAPER
53 No. 12
Thursday, March 23, 1972
Single Copy Price — 12 Cents
SAVANNAH
School
Peace
Sought
A crowd of over 200 persons gathered
at Sacred Heart Church in Savannah on
Sunday March 19th to pray for peace in
the troubled public schools. The
ecumenical prayer service, sponsored by
the newly-formed Citizens for Better
Education, was followed by a meeting to
plan further efforts to help bring
harmony to the schools.
The meeting followed a week of unrest
in Savannah schools, which saw several
disturbances among students and the
closing of two schools.
The service, which included hymns,
prayers and readings, was led by Rev.
Skip Irby, assistant pastor of the First
Baptist Church, Mr. Milton Rahn of the
Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, Fr.
William Dowling of St. Anthony’s
Church, Sister Mary Julian of St.
Anthony’s, Fr. Fred Nijem of St. Pius X
Center, and Msgr. Felix Donnelly, of
Sacred Heart.
Father Nijem led prayers for an end to
segregation, for elected officials to put
the interests of freedom above their own
political aims, and for the schools to
become places of peace, learning and
brotherhood. He prayed that citizens
would “roll up their sleeves and face their
common problems together.”
Acting Chairman of the group, Mr.
David Whiteis of the Emergency Schools
Assistance Program, reported that
petitions were being circulated asking for
endorsement of a statement on harmony
in the schools and support for the
Chatham/Savannah Board of Education
in their efforts to create a quality, unitary
school system. The statement being
circulated for signatures has already been
endorsed by the Unitarian Universalist
Fellowship, the Chatham Clergy
Conference, the Savannah Deanery
Pastoral Council together with Bishop
Frey, and the Savannah Social
Apostolate.
Mr. Julian Halligan, President of the
School Board, spoke at the meeting and
said that the prayer service had helped to
demonstrate what the brotherhood of
man was all about. The answer to the
present crisis lay, he said, in peace,
understanding and brotherhood. He asked
the group to persevere in its efforts. A
standing ovation greeted his statement
that “We have proved that integration can
work if the people will let it work.”
DCCW MEET
Registration
Information
The three-dollar registration fee may
cause confusion for some persons
attending the thirty-third annual
convention of the Diocesan Council of
Catholic Women (DCCW) April 14-16 at
the Macon Hilton Hotel, Macon,
according to Mrs. Grace Crawford,
publicity chairman.
In a telephone call to THE
SOUTHERN CROSS, Mrs. Crawford
quoted Mrs. Robert M. Young, of Macon,
convention chairman, as “Emphasizing
that everyone attending convention or
pre-convention events must pay the fee.
The only exceptions are priests, Nuns,
and husbands accompanying their wives.”
However, Mrs. Crawford said, members
of the clergy are asked to check in at the
registration tables in the Hilton Hotel.
Each deanery in the diocese will have its
own registration table, she said.
Pre-registrations will be accepted
through March 29, but room reservations
must be made directly to the Hilton. A
pre-registration form will be found on
Page 8 of this newspaper.
PRAY FOR PEACE IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS. Following a series of racial disturbances
at three Savannah High Schools last week, “Citizens For Better Education,” held an
ecumenical prayer service to pray for a return of peace to the schools and a united
effort to achieve quality, integrated education for public school students. Here, Rev.
Skip Irby, assistant pastor of First Baptist Church; Sister Julian of the Savannah Social
Apostolate; and Father Fred Nijem of St. Pius X Community Center lead the
congregation of some 250 persons in a hymn. (Savannah News-Press photo by Mike
Martin)
GA. OBSERVANCE MARCH 29
K. Of
90th
C. To Observe
Anniversary
The Knights of Columbus in Georgia
will celebrate the 90th anniversary of
their founding on March 29,1972, with a
special schedule of activities ending on
May 31.
services. This action was taken by the
Knights to express gratitude for the
public recognition of the sacrifices for the
common good made by the men in blue,
black and khaki.
In announcing the sequence of
festivities, State Deputy Bernard J.
Mulherin of Augusta, Georgia noted that
stress will be placed on the Order’s
fraternal service to the community. He
observed, “it is only fitting that the
public-at-large be made aware of the
ideals and achievements of the Order over
the last 90 years, and what goals it has set
itself for the future.” Local councils will
be holding “open house” during the
period, he added.
The local Knights of Columbus council
is itself a community composed of
individual Catholic men who believe in
and uphold the high ideals of the
fraternal association, Mulherin related.
“But the local council cannot exist in a
vacuum,” the State Deputy added. “It is
part of a whole series of larger
communities: religious, fraternal, civic
and social. As a council works to better
itself, it also strives to make its city,
town, state and country a better place in
which to live.”
The State Deputy cited various
examples of ways in which Knights of
Columbus have given to themselves, their
time and their commitment to fulfill a
community need.
In several localities across the country
families of member policemen and
firemen who were killed or permanently
and totally disabled as a result of criminal
violence encountered while performing
their duties received the welcome news
that all the children in the family would
be guaranteed a college education by the
Knights of Columbus. This K. of C.
scholarship includes tuition, board and
room, books, lab fees and other
incidential charges. A similar program has
been in force since World War II for
members of the Order in the armed
Other projects popular with councils
include anti-abortion campaigns, drug
abuse education, ecumenism, and athletic
events, Columbian Squires, scouting and
related youth activities, and many more.
State Deputy Mulherin said that
comparable programs could be attributed
to each of the 5,700 councils affiliated
with the fraternal society.
The Knights of Columbus were formed
in New Haven, Conn., in 1882 and have
become the world’s largest Catholic
fraternal benefit society, with 1.2 million
members. The Order now is international
in scope, having members in Canada,
Mexico, Puerto Rico, Guatemala, Canal
Zone, Cuba, Guam, the Virgin Islands,
and the Philippines as well as in the
United States.
INSIDE STORY
'Giant Step’
Pg. 2
NFPC Meet
Pg. 3
Comment
Pg. 4
Education Text
Pg. 6
SEEK GREATER PARENT INVOLVEMENT
Bishops Issue Pastoral
On Catholic Education
The five bishops of the Atlanta Province and the Abbot Ordinary of Belmont, N.C., which is also a part of the
province, have issued a three-pronged Pastoral Letter on Catholic Education.
The Atlanta Province is composed of the Atlanta archdiocese, the dioceses of Raleigh and Charlotte, N.C.;
Charleston, S.C.; Savannah, and the Abbey Nullius of Belmont, N.C.
The document, issued today, calls for the reinforcement and upgrading of religious education programs for
adults and youths who do not attend Catholic schools, and for greater commitment on the part of Catholics to
continuation of Catholic schools.
The document, drawn up over many
months with the help of professionals in
the field of Catholic education, is the
outgrowth of concern expressed by both
bishops of the Province and
priest-consultors at a meeting in Atlanta
in the spring of 1971.
The pastoral calls for emphasis on
“quality” in Catholic education at all
levels, both in parochial schools, Catholic
colleges and Confraternity of Christian
Doctrine (CCD) programs, and urges
greater use of professionally trained
personnel, especially in adult and CCD
programs.
The bishops of the province see
“boards of education” involving lay
parishioners, especially parents, as “vital
in the Church’s catechetical mission.”
.n»
Full Text On Page 6
Concerning such boards, the pastoral
letter declares:
“At the diocesan level and at local
parish levels, groups of parishioners
should be properly consulted so that
parents, in particular, are involved in the
policy making which determines the
course of the education of their children.
It views the Sunday liturgy as “a means
of instruction if it is carefully prepared
and done with dignity and simplicity.”
The document stresses the importance
of the Homily at Sunday Mass, saying
“nothing can replace the Homily as a
source of instruction.”
“A well-prepared sermon,” it
continues, “presents the Word of God
briefly and simply. Filtering through the
prism of the priest, on faith experienced
and intensified by his charity and zeal,
the Word of God becomes more
meaningful to people who are to witness
Christ in that community.”
Defining the pastor as “the center of
the parish family,” it admits that while he
cannot “take lightly” his obligation to
provide adequate quality religious
education for all his people, he cannot
fulfill his obligation alone.
“He must have the guidance and
support of associate pastors,” the letter
declares and calls for close involvement of
parents and others, “especially those
serving on the parish board of
education.”
Referring to Catholic schools, the
bishops warn against letting financial
worries lead parishes into following
their schools “to become havens for those
who would use them for any other reason
than the desire for a religiously oriented
education for their children.” This was an
obvious reference to attempts by some
parents to avoid more highly integrated
public schools.
The bishops paid tribute to the
contributons of Catholic schools in the
past and declared that they still have
positive contributions to make.
They also praised teachers, saying that
“either for the Religious or the lay
person, teaching is a noble calling and a
service to the Church of the highest
order.”
The document closed with a plea for
continued support of Catholic schools,
saying “they were built in hard times,
times of struggle and adversity. How
ironic it would be if we closed them for
lack of support in this time when the
Church finds itself more affluent than
ever before. It is an event that we cannot
allow to happen.”
PRAYERS FOR IRISH PEACE - Dr. Michael Ramsey (left), the Archbishop of
Canterbury and head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and Cardinal John
Heenan, Archbishop of Westminster and Roman Catholic Primate of England, pray
together during an ecumenical service of intercession for peace in Northern Ireland in
London’s Westminster Cathedral. The service, at which Dr. Ramsey delivered the
sermon, was delayed 15 minutes so that a bomb search could be conducted.
(RELIGIOUS NEWS SERVICE PHOTO)
WM
HEADLINE
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HOPSCOTCH
Pray For POWs
WASHINGTON (NC) — The families of prisoners of war and men missing in
Southeast Asia have asked that Sunday, March 26, be observed as a national day of
prayer for these servicemen. The following week has been designated a “National Week
of Concern” by the National League of Families of American Prisoners and Missing in
Southeast Asia. Mrs. Carole Hanson, chairman of the organization, said March 26 was
chosen for the observance because the first American serviceman was captured in
Vietnam on that date in 1964. Army Capt. Floyd Thompson is still a prisoner of war.
July 4th Mass Text
WASHINGTON (NC) — English texts for Mass on the Fourth of July and other U.S.
holidays have been approved by the Vatican and can now be used in this country. The
texts will be sent to bishops and will soon be available from official liturgical
publishers, according to Bishop Joseph L. Bernardin, general secretary of the National
Conference of Catholic Bishops. The bishops approved the texts at their meeting here
last November and forwarded them to the Vatican for final approval.
Pope On Ireland
VATICAN CITY (NC) — Pope Paul VI, in a special St. Patrick’s Day message,
warned all Irishmen that violence “is not an acceptable solution to the problems of
Ireland.” But the Pope also said that “the Christian sense of values convinces man that
lasting peace can be built only on the firm foundation of justice. If there is to be
peace, there must first be justice. Everyone must play his part.” The Pope sent his
message in a letter in English to Cardinal William Conway of Armagh, primate of all
Ireland, for this year’s St. Patrick’s day, a day the Pope has not marked particularly in
the past.