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SERVING 88 SOUTH GEORGIA COUNTIES
The Southern Cross
DIOCESE OF SAVANNAH NEWSPAPER
Vol. 54 No. 13 Thursday, March 29,1973 Single Copy Price —12 Cents
Mr. & Mrs. Jerry O’Mahony with their sons, Father Tadg (1.) and Father Dermot.
From Ireland with Love
Peace, Amnesty,Abortion
Occupy Priests’ Meeting
By Father Michael Smith, National Delegate, Sav. Senate of Priests
A significant movement away from the ‘dramatic gesture’ against social evils, and toward a diligent, long-term
effort to combat them could be noted in the many resolutions passed at the annual meeting of the National
Federation of Priests’ Councils (NFPC) held last week in Detroit (Mar. 19-22).
' 1
Catholic priests have been in the forefront of the protest movement aimed at ending the war in Vietnam. With
this conflict all but ended for Americans, the stage was set for a much broader effort to bring the moral pressure
of the church to bear on other ills afflicting American society.
Mr. and Mrs. Jerry O’Mahony of Cork
City, Ireland are enjoying their first visit
to the United States and are in Georgia
for a very special reason. Their two
priest sons, the Reverends Tadg and
Dermot O’Mahony, are serving in the
Diocese of Savannah. Father Tadg
O’Mahony is an Associate Pastor at St.
Mary’s on the Hill, Augusta.
Mr. and Mrs. O’Mahony arrived in
Georgia the middle of March just in
time for the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in
Savannah. Following a week’s visit in
Florida, they are now dividing their
time between Augusta and Columbus
visiting their sons.
Wednesday evening from 7:30 until 9
WASHINGTON (NC) - Mentally
retarded women at a Tennessee
institution were being tested for a drug
that prevents pregnancy for three
months but has not been approved as a
contraceptive by the Federal Drug
Administration.
The use of the drug Depo-Provera at a
Tennessee home for mentally retarded
was reported at Senate Health
Subcommittee hearings on human
experimentation, chaired by Sen.
Edward M. Kennedy (D.-Mass.).
The Massachusetts senator said that
giving the drug to the mentally retarded
Women and other women at birth
control clinics was an “outrageous”
experiment.
“When a physician prescribes a drug
for a purpose other than that for which
INSIDE STORY
Editorial
Pg. 4
Movies, T.V.
Pg. 6
Readers Reply
Pg. 7
Cook’s Nook
Pg. 8
o’clock the parish family of St. Mary’s
honored them with a reception at the
church rectory. This Sunday evening at
St. Anne’s in Columbus, a reception will
also be held.
The O’Mahonys have three other
children in Ireland; a son and daughter,
Patrick and Mary, who live in Cork City;
and a daughter, Kathleen, who resides
with her husband and son in Kanturk.
Father Tadg and Father Dermot
graduated at the same time in June,
1969, from St. John’s College,
Waterford, Ireland at ages 23 and 22
respectively.
it has been approved, he is performing
an experiment,” Kennedy said.
Depo-Provera, which is injected, is
made by the Upjohn Co. and is
approved by the FDA for the treatment
of uterine cancer but not for use as a
contraceptive.
FDA’s commissioner, Dr. Charles C.
Edwards, testified that Depo-Provera
used in laboratory experiments
produced cancerous mammary tumors
in dogs.
He said that the FDA recommended
that any ongoing studies on humans
with this drug should be done under the
strictest of outlined conditions with the
consent of the patient.
Msgr. James McHugh, director of the
family life division of the U.S. Catholic
Conference, said some serious questions
should be raised about the part of the
FDA has taken in collaborating with
private drug companies in such
experiments.
“The involvement of federal agencies
with drug companies enabling the
companies to conduct research on
human subjects, is a complete reversal
of an agency’s responsibility,” Msgr.
McHugh said, which is to safeguard
public interests. Such experiments, he
said, “call into question the integrity of
the agency.”
Dr. James S. Brown, superintendent
of the Arlington, Tenn., hospital and
school near Memphis, said that the
women who were tested had signed
written agreements to be a part of the
experiments.
But Marcia D. Greenberger, an
Pastoral Training Program in New
Orleans before becoming in September
1970 an Associate Pastor of Sacred
Heart Church, Savannah. In September
1972, he began his present assignment
as an Associate Pastor at St. Anne’s
Church, Columbus.
Father Dermot O’Mahony was
appointed vice rector of the Cathedral
of St. John the Baptist in Savannah for
one year. Since September 1970, he has
been an Associate Pastor of St. Mary’s
on the Hill, Augusta. He is currently
pursuing a masters degree in Religious
Education by taking courses each
summer at Loyola University in
Chicago. During the winter months he is
taking a major in Sociology at Augusta
College.
attorney for the Center for Law and
Social Policy, testified to the contrary.
She said she talked with six women who
had gone to a Tennessee county clinic
for advice on birth control. She said five
of them were given Depo-Porvera.
The branch in full bloom,
pictured on leaflets which will be
distributed in all parishes this
Sunday, represents the Christian
who has reached maturity at last.
Yet his faith does not remain
static but continues to grow and
to blossom. The leaflet is part of
the Lenten program - “The
Church - a place to grow”.
Sermons of Sunday continue to
develop the idea of growth in
faith.
The delegates voted to develop a
long-range program of peace education
which can be implemented in various
structures of the church. Their first step
in this field was the allocation of NFPC
funds for cooperative efforts with the
New York based World Without War
Council.
On a related issue, that of amnesty
for those who refused to fight in
Vietnam, the Federation voted to
support unconditional amnesty for
those who evaded the draft for reasons
of Christian conscience if “no serious
crime has been involved.” The priests
characterized their stand as “a true
Christian response” to the amnesty issue
and urged member councils to develop
educational programs to help priests
think through the issue in a thorough
and thoughtful manner.
Realizing that the primary
responsibility of the Federation’s
membership is for their own work as
priests, the NFPC voted to study the
life-style of priests during the coming
year. A working paper, drawn up by the
clergy of the Minneapolis-St. Paul
diocese, was accepted as the basis for a
nationwide “examination of
conscience.”
The paper ranges over every area of
priestly life, from the type of cars priests
drive to their sermon preparation.
A number of resolutions were passed
under the heading of “pro-life.” Priests
were urged to work for a constitutional
amendment guaranteeing the rights of
the unborn. (Thus far, 15 members of
the U.S. House of Representatives have
proposed a constitutional amendment
that would give states the right to make
and enforce their own abortion laws.)
Another resolution deplored the
current radical cut-backs in federal
funds for social action programs aimed at
the poor, and encouraged co-operation
with IMPACT, an interreligious political
lobby advising local groups on
upcoming legislation and possible action
to influence it.
A resolution in opposition to the
restoration of capital punishment was
passed, as well as a mandate for
consideration of how priests might work
for prison reform.
With regard to the church’s attitude
toward women, the priest-delegates
approved a measure supporting the
“further role of women in the ministry”
but defeated a companion resolution
encouraging women to become
candidates for ordination as deacons
and priests.
By a 2-1 margin, they voted to
authorize a Gallup Poll of laypeople to
get a clearer and more scientific view of
their opinions on optional celibacy for
priests.
One group very active at the assembly
were priests serving Spanish-speaking
Catholics who number 25% of the
Catholic population. Among resolutions
passed in support of their work was one
asking that more Spanish-speaking
bishops be named to care for the needs
of Mexican-Americans and others of
Latin-American origin or descent.
While the spotlight was certainly on
the many social problems of our day, a
number of other church issues were also
considered.
The Federation delegates voted to
study the problem of the uneven)
distribution of clergy throughout the
nation and urged involvement of
laicized priests in church-related
ministries. The NFPC Personnel
Committee was mandated to act as a
clearing house to help former priests
find ways to continue to use their
education and talents in the service of
the Church.
The NFPC is the only such national
organization of priests in the world.
While it cannot and does not claim to
speak for every priest in America, it is a
structure within which priests can work
to make their points of view heard.
The 225 delegates at the Detroit
meeting evidenced a variety of
viewpoints on many issues, but overall
were extremely dedicated and
committed to the mission of the
Church. This, I think, augurs well for
the future of the priesthood in the
American Church and for the future of
the Church, itself.
CONGRATULATIONS -- Father Robert Boggs, S.J., brother of the late
Rep. Hale Boggs, congratulates Mrs. Lindy Boggs after she was elected to
the U.S. House of Representatives from Louisiana to fill the seat left
vacant by the death of her husband, who vanished on a flight in Alaska in
October. At the time of his death, Rep. Boggs was majority leader of the
House. (RNS Photo)
HEADLINE
HOPSCOTCH
Rocks Illustrate Sermon
m
TEXARKANA, Ark. (NC) - The parishioners of St. Edward’s parish here were
surprised at a recent Mass when ushers gave them small rocks as they entered church.
During Father Leo Riedmueller’s homily he told the people the rock represented the
hardness of heart of a person who doesn’t listen to the word of God. He asked his
parishioners to carry the rock with them to remind them of the fact. Father
Riedmueller is in the midst of six Lenten homilies on the six passages in the Bible
which mention a rock.
Florida Priest Shot
PALMETTO, Fla. (NC) - “I felt that he was the best man I had.” That was the way
Patrick Jerome Robinson, a 10-year-old black resident of this town, described
56-year-old white priest Joseph Normand Hardy, who was found shot to death in Fort
Myers. Father Hardy, pastor of St. Raphael’s Church in Lehigh Acres, had willed half
of his estate to the Robinson boy, whom he had befriended several years ago when the
youngster was gravely ill from malnutrition. A suspect in the priest’s slaying has been
arrested.
Bishops to Moot
WASHINGTON (NC) - Twelve regional meetings of the U.S. Catholic bishops will
be held in April and May to discuss “Christian Marriage and Family Life” and “Youth
and the Church.” In addition, the meetings will consider the subject of abortion in
connection with the marriage and family life themes and other topics, some of them
relevant to the regions where the meetings will be conducted. The meetings will be
organized on a geographical basis corresponding to the 12 regions of the National
Conference of Catholic Bishops. Reports from the regional conclaves will be submitted
to the NCCB administrative committee, which then will refer them for action to the
bishops general meeting here in November.
Father Tadg O’Mahony entered the
Sen. Kennedy Blasts Experiment