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SERVING 88 SOUTH - GEORGIA COUNTIES
DIOCESE OF SAVANNAH NEWSPAPER
Vol. 53 No. 37
Thursday, October 26,1972
Single Copy Price — 12 Cents
PRAYER MEETING AT Regional Charismatic Renewal Congress. (Photo by Rogers)
Savannah Diocese Joins
Interchurch Association
HELD IN AUGUST A
Charismatic Renewal
Meeting Draws 900
BY JOHN E. MARKWALTER
AUGUSTA, Ga. -- For more than 900 Catholic and other
“Pentecostals” gathered here, the weekend of October 20-22 was an
experience in sharing.
Representatives of Prayer Communities, from a twelve state area and
Puerto Rico, were in attendance at the Southeastern Catholic Charismatic
Renewal Conference. The meeting was the first in a series to be held
throughout the nation during the coming year.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of
Savannah has become the newest
member of the Georgia Interchurch
Association (GIA), according to a joint
announcement issued by the Most
Reverend Gerard L. Frey, Bishop of
Savannah, and Dr. John J. Deifell,
President of the GIA.
After several months of discussion, the
decision to join the Association was made
by Bishop Frey and the Pastoral Council
of the Savannah diocese at a meeting held
in Macon Oct. 14.
“Communication is the life-blood of
understanding,” said Bishop Frey. “I
believe that in joining with the other
members of the Georgia Interchurch
Association, both we and they will be
enriched by greater knowledge about and
understanding of each other, and that the
community at large will benefit by the
strength of our joint efforts to bring the
great Gospel imperatives of love for God
and our fellow men to bear on the
problems which beset our society and our
world,” he declared.
Georgia Interchurch Association is a
thirteen-denomination ecumenical
organization which operates to open lines
of communication and cooperation
among church bodies throughout the
state.
Its president, Dr. John J. Deifell, a
Presbyterian layman and Executive
Secretary of the Synod of Georgia, said,
“We are proud of our newest member,
INSIDE STORY
Celibacy Dialogue
Pg. 3
"Know Your Faith”
Pg. 5
Mass on 5 Fingers
Pg. 7
Readers Reply
Pg. 8
the Roman Catholic diocese of Savannah,
and are looking forward to the greater
scope this offers for the ecumenical
thrust of the Church.”
The Reverend Jackson P. Braddy,
Coordinator of the Interdenominational
agency, noted that the Archdiocese of
Atlanta is already a member of GIA and
said, “The new membership of the
Diocese of Savannah means that the
AUGUSTA NATIVE
Brother Alphonse Horne, S.V.D., a
native of Augusta, will celebrate his Silver
Jubilee as a Divine Word Missionary on
November 4th at Holy Trinity Church,
Augusta.
The celebration will be highlighted by
a Mass of Thanksgiving at 11 a.m. at
which Bishop Gerard L. Frey will be the
main concelebrant. A reception for
Brother Alphonse’s relatives, friends and
parishioners will follow the Mass.
The Divine Word Missioner
pronounced his first vows in the Order on
November 1,1947.
One of five children, Brother Alphonse
is the son of the late Elijah Horne
and Fannie Colbert of Augusta. Still
living are a brother, Mr. Joseph Colbert,
and a sister, Mrs. Lille May Brooks. Both
are Augusta residents and members of
Holy Trinity parish.
“Brother Al” as he is familiarly known
among his fellow Divine Word
Missionaries, was baptized at the age of
16 in Immaculate Conception Church,
Augusta, and confirmed a year later by
the late Archbishop Gerald P. O’Hara,
who was then bishop of Savannah.
Drafted into the U.S. Army in May,
1941, he was sent to the South Pacific
combat area in the Solomon Islands in
1942 and served there until 1944, when
he was returned to the U.S. because of ill
health. He received an honorable
discharge on December 21, 1944 and
entered St. Augustine’s Seminary, Bay St.
Catholic population throughout the
entire state is now related to the
cooperative efforts of the Georgia
Interchurch Association.”
The Savannah diocese will be
represented on the Executive Board of
the GIA by Bishop Frey and Father John
Cuddy, chairman of the Diocesan
Ecumenical Commission and pastor of St.
James Parish, Savannah.
Louis, Mississippi on February 13, 1945.
After taking his Vows in 1947, Brother
Alphonse remained at St. Augustine’s for
ten years, serving as maintenance man,
gardener and assistant cook. Since then,
he has been assigned to other seminaries
of the Society of the Divine Word in
California, Iowa, Illinois and Wisconsin.
In 1960 he was assigned to his present
post at the Society’s House of Studies in
Washington, D.C.
ALPHONSE HORNE, S.V.D.
The “Charismatics” came together to
share their experiences, to “praise the
Lord,” and to learn. From the opening
address of welcome by Bishop Gerard L.
Frey, of Savannah, Ga., until the closing
Mass at which Bishop Michael J. Begley,
of Charlotte, N.C., was principal
celebrant, conference participants seemed
tireless. They followed a schedule of
meetings, workshops and seminars which
kept them busy from early morning until
nearly midnight. Meals were served at
Aquinas High School, conference site, so
that the maximum amount of time could
be devoted to the program.
Ages of those in attendance ranged
from the pre-teens to the elderly; there
were priests, sisters, brothers and laity. As
the conference opened, the group seemed
no different than any other religious
gathering. But, as the meeting progressed,
two striking differences became apparent:
(1) These were happy people — they
enthusiastically expressed their happiness
in song.
(2) The importance of prayer was
evident — speakers did not hesitate to
stop to ask their listeners to join with
them in prayer.
Keynote speaker James Bryne issued
a “Call For Faith.” The Director of the
Communication Center for The
Charismatic Renewal stressed the
importance of believing in Jesus Christ
today — of being conscious of his
presence in every event or happening in
man’s life. He told of the need “to look
beyond to see Christ, to adore him in
every circumstance, in every
relationship . . .If Christ is to draw us
beyond ourselves, we must be open to
him. We must see the way Christ wants to
lead us and share with us. In every
situation, we must realize that God will
show us the path of eternal life.”
Byrne cautioned that it was easy to
mix-up accidentals with essentials — that
the Christian must always search beneath
the external “to hear the Word of God
not only by ear, but in our hearts, for the
Word of God is active in the world
today.”
The Saturday morning general session
heard the Charismatic Renewal described
as “a tidal wave of the Spirit sweeping
over the Church today.”
Fr. Harold Cohen, S.J., a chaplain at
New Orleans’ Loyola University and
member of the National Advisory Group
of Charismatic Renewal, said the
movement is “not a revolution, for a
revolution means a break with the past. It
was not an evolution, for evolution means
a gradual process.” He said the Spirit is
giving us a new life, “but at the same
time, making us appreciate the old more
in a deeper, fuller manner.”
Father Cohen praised a deep spiritual
docility towards the leaders of the
Church evidenced by participants in
Charismatic Renewal. “The Spirit with
us,” he said, “insists on sound doctrine
and calls for obedience - this is a sign of
Charismatic Renewal.”
During the homily at the conference’s
closing Mass, the “Charismatics” were
told they were confronted by a great
challenge. Fr. Liam Collins, of Savannah,
Ga. said, “that challenge is seeing and
serving the Risen Lord Jesus in our
brothers.”
“Jesus Christ is the Lord of His
people,” he continued: “In Baptism,
Jesus Christ shared his leadership. He is
living in the world through us and if we
aren’t witnesses to the power of Christ,
the world will never know it.”
J
Fr. Collins said, “during this weekend
we have tasted the fullness of Jesus living
in our hearts. Now let us go back to our
homes and be greater witnesses of Jesus
Christ.”
The conferences participants were
welcomed to Augusta by Bishop Gerard
L. Frey. “If the world ever needed the
guidance of the Holy Spirit, it is now,”
the Savannah Bishop said.” It is more
important today, than ever before that
we live together in the spirit of love.”
In remarks at the end of the Sunday-
Mass, Bishop Richard J. Begley, of
Charlotte, N.C., advised of the interest
and support of the Bishops of the Atlanta
Province for the Charismatic Renewal and
extended greetings on behalf of his fellow
bishops.
The bishop said that the position that
each person has in the church in sharing
the Holy Priesthood is to carry the Holy
truth. “We have that responsibility. God,
perhaps, is offering us this new
Charismatic movement in order that we
might be able to go forth to fulfill the
mission that is ours - each in his own way,
each in his own capacity - the priesthood
of the church.”
He told the “Pentecostals” to “go forth
to sow in the name of Christ; to work
under the banner of the Holy Spirit that
we might win others to Christ, that there
maybe one Lord and one God.”
CONFERENCE SEMINAR ~ Chris Kuhl (1.) and Tim O’Meara lead Seminar on
“Everyday Prayer for Young Adults.” (Rogers Photo)
HEADLINE
HOPSCOTCH
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Bishop-Selection
SEATTLE, Wash. (NC) - A committee of the Canon Law Society of America has
proposed a new procedure for selecting bishops that would broaden the role of
diocesan-level groups - particularly priests’ senates - in choosing new bishops. In a
report, the society’s Selection of Bishops Committee has suggested that a diocesan
pastoral council of priests’ senate appoint a committee to study conditions in a diocese
as the beginning of the selection process. A priests’ senate then would prepare a list of
prospective new bishops. The local bishop could forward the names of possible
replacements only from this list to the regional bishops meeting. Finally, the list would
be sent to Rome for final selection of the bishop by the Pope.
Informers Recruited
CAPETOWN, South Africa (NC) - The recruitment of informers among the clergy
and Christian congregations by the government’s security police has become a part of
the South African way of life, according to Catholic and Protestant church leaders.
Anglican Canon Robert Jeffrey, said that a “relatively large number” of clergymen and
theological students have been asked to act as informers. Catholic Archbishop Denis
Hurley of Durban said: “We have learned to live with the system in South Africa of
informers, tapped phones, and open mail, but we regret that South Africa has
descended to this level of espionage on its citizens.”
Nat’l Office for Priests
CHICAGO (NC) - The National Federation of Priests’ Councils (NFPC) may limit
its own activities if the U.S. bishops set up their own office for priests, according to
Father Frank Bonnike, NFPC president. Father Bonnike’s remark came in a statement
praising a report issued by the bishops’ Ad Hoc Committee for Priestly Life and
Ministry. The report recommended that the bishops set up a permanent office for
priestly ministry, and Father Bonnike said he was “very hopeful” that this would be
done.
Bro. Alphonse, S.V.D.
To Mark 25th Jubilee