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PAGE 3—November 15,1973
Savannah Congress on Worship
THE TWO ABBOTS and six Bishops who led a Savannah’s Civic Center in procession last Friday (Nov.
concelebrated Mass for a congregation of 1,200 9).
Worship Congress delegates entering the auditorium of
Hospital Wins Legal Decision
(continued from page 1)
Father Francis McNutt, a national
leader in the Catholic Charismatic
Renewal Movement and author on the
art of Homiletics, led a workshop on
“The Liturgy and Pastoral Care of the
Sick.”
“In the early church,” said Fr.
McNutt, “ordinarily, some members
were given the ministry of praying for
healing” but that over the centuries the
practice changed from many persons
exercising the healing ministry to only
ordained persons praying for the sick.
He said that the revised ritual for the
Sacrament of the Annointing of the
Sick is “bringing a new understanding of
the Sacrament. The changing of the
name from Extreme Unction gives the
broader view of the sacrament and we’re
gradually getting back to the
expectation of healing.” Fr. McNutt
noted that “there is a great difference in
preparing a person for death and
preparing him for healing.” Greater
emphasis, he said, needs to be placed on
the fact that the Mass for the sick
reflects a “very positive” approach
towards the sick person being restored
to health and to the Christian
Community.”
Methodist Minister, Dr. James May,
Professor of Liturgies and American
Church History at Emory University,
Atlanta, led a workshop on
“Approaches to Prayer within the
Protestant Tradition.”
One of the more interesting
developments of the Reformation, Dr.
May said, was the introduction of the
singing of hymns in the liturgy. “About
40 hymns were introduced by the early
Lutherans,” he said.
He attributed the practice of
individual, extemoraneous prayer to the
Puritans. ‘The Puritan movement was
against any kind of written or prepared
prayer,” he said, “because Puritans were
strictly literal in interpreting the Bible
passage, ‘when I pray, I pray only under
the guidance of the Holy Spirit’.”
The American frontier heritage, he
declared, was responsible for many
variations in Protestant Worship. “The
man on the frontier,” said the Emory
University Professor, “didn’t write back
to Boston and ask ‘Can I do this?’ As a
result, there was a watering down of
classical tradition. Every man was a
power unto himself and in the midst of
it all you had all kinds of new
ideas . . .the main concern of the period
was to save your soul.”
Speaking of changes in the approach
to Catholic prayer life since the second
Vatican Council, Dr. May told the
workship audience, “We are now
conscious of our tremendous common
heritage .. .1 rejoice greatly in what is
going on today.”
At a workshop on “Charismatic
Prayer” Sister Charlene Walsh, R.S.M.,
spoke of her personal involvement in
the charismatic prayer movement,
stating she “feels God alive within me. ”
She termed today as an exciting time in
the Church, a time of joy, a time in
which the Lord is pouring out his spirit.
There are today 500,000 Catholics
involved in the pentecostal movement.
“Many of us have found the basic
answer,” she said, referring to her
experiences in the movement. She
referred to Fr. McBride’s talk saying one
must not get so carried away with the
experience (i.e. char, renewal) that one
forgets the Lord.
Sr. said the greatest witness to the
movement was the number of lives that
have been changed. She spoke of
emotions in the experience saying they
were very much a part of the experience
itself.
The movement, she said, began in the
U. S. and spread to other nations.
Cardinal Suenens said this was “the gift
the American Church was giving to the
universal Church” She said all the gifts
through the movement are given for the
sake of the community, not for one
person.
Other workshops were on “The
Dance as Prayer” chaired by Sister
Beverley Stanton, R.S.M.; “Family
Prayer” led by Monsignor Marvin J.
LeFrois; “Renewing Traditional Forms
of Prayer” under the leadership of
Father Alfred McBride; “Environments
that Help Us Pray,” with Mr. Robert
Rambusch as leader; “Using
Audio-Visual Aids to Support Prayer,”
led by Sister Mary Zoghley, R.S.M.;
“Celebrating Baptism and Penance
Prayerfully,” chaired by Father Henry
C. Gracz, and “Using Music to Foster
Prayer,” led by Father Eugene Walsh.
One of the more dramatic moments
of the Congress was a presentation of a
liturgical dance at a prayer service
capping the opening session. Mrs. Lillian
O’Donovan, a Savannah ballet
instructor, performed an interpretative
dance centering around words taken
from Paul’s Epistle to the Phillipians in
chapter 2, verses 5 to 11. The dance was
performed without music. Instead, a
dramatic reading of the text was given
by the Director of Savannah’s local
community theater, Mr. William Starrs.
On Friday, the six attending bishops,
together with Abbot McCaffrey and
Trappist Abbot Augustine Moore from
Our Lady of the Holy Ghost Monastery,
Conyers, Ga. joined scores of priests in a
concelebrated Mass at the city’s Civic
Center. More than 1,200 persons were
in attendance.
The Congress closed on Saturday
morning with a solemn Mass in the
Cathedral of St. John the Baptist at
10:30 a.m.
BILLINGS, Mont. (NC) - A year-long
battle over whether a Catholic hospital
here should perform sterilization
operations has resulted in a major legal
decision in favor of the Catholic
hospital.
U.S. District Court Judge James F.
Battin of Billings dissolved (Oct. 26) a
temporary injunction that had forced
St. Vincent’s Hospital to allow limited
sterilization operations.
Last year Battin issued the temporary
injunction in response to a suit filed by
a Billings couple and the American Civil
Liberities Union (ACLU) against St.
Vincent’s Hospital.
The suit had been filed as a “class
action for all women of childbearing
age” and had implications for all U.S.
Catholic medical institutions.
The injunction was later restricted to
apply at St. Vincent’s only to women
delivering by caeserian section who
wanted to be sterilized simutaneoulsy
with delivery.
“We at St. Vincent’s Hospital are very
gratified with the court’s ruling,” Mrs.
Ethel Taylor, assistant administrator of
the hospital, said.
Bishop Eldon B. Schuster of Great
Falls, which includes Billings, said:
“I am very happy to hear of the
decision. The judge’s order (last year’s
injunction) has spurred a great deal of
discussion in the Church, and we were
looking into the possibility of
discontinuing maternity care if
continued to be forced to perform
contrary to our religious ethics.”
The latest ruling, however, has not
ended the battle. The ACLU is prepared
to carry the issue all the way to the U.S.
Supreme Court.
“We will appeal immediately to the
9th Circuit Court of Appeals,” ACLU
staff lawyer Robert L. Stephens Jr. of
Billings said. If necessary we will
continue the fight all the way to the
U.S. Supreme Court.”
Greg Osborn, executive secretary of
the ACLU of Montana, said: “The
ACLU had made plans ahead of time to
provide funding for a protracted fight.
The national office has told us, ‘We are
going all the way’.”
St. Vincent’s Hospital became
embroiled in the battle shortly after it
and the city’s other hospital, a
non-sectarian institution, consolidated
all maternity care in the Catholic
hospital.
Women wanting to be sterilized after
child birth had no other hospital to go
to in Billings because of this
consolidation. With no choice of
institutions available, the ACLU argued
that St. Vincent’s could not refuse to
perform services that are legitimately
performed in other hospitals. But this
clashed with Catholic moral teachings.
The ACLU also said that St.
Vincent’s Hospital is not a totally
private institution because it had
accepted fedenl tax m^ey under the
Hill-Burton Act.
SISTER BEVERLY STANTON, R.S.M., who conducted a Worship
Congress workshop on “The Dance as Prayer,” gave a practical
demonstration of her subject matter by performing a liturgical dance after
the Saturday evening Mass at St. Benedict’s Church, Savannah.
NOV. 30-DEC. 2
Regional Charismatic Meeting in Augusta
BY BILL BEATTY
The Catholic Charismatics of the
Southeast will hold a conference at
Aquinas High School, 1920 Highland
Avenue, Augusta, November 30th thru
December 2nd. The program will
include many important aspects of
Christian living: common and personal
prayer, celebration of the Eucharist,
instructive and inspirational talks, and
time for sharing the Lord’s goodness
with one another. Many national figures
in the renewal will lead the General
Sessions and workshops.
In addition to attending the General
Sessions, each conference participant
will attend 6ne of the three workshops.
Each workshop will be presented in four
two-hour sessions.
A special clergy conference
will be held on Friday, November 30th
preceeding the opening of the general
conference on Friday evening. It will be
Rev. George Kosicki Archbishop Hayes
held at St. Mary’s Church, 1420 Monte
Sano Avenue, beginning at 9:30 A.M.
Special instructions will be sent to all
those clergy who register. Clergy who
are unable to attend the entire
conference are encouraged to register
for just the clergy conference for which
there is no fee.
The highlights of the meeting
include:
Special Clergy Conference (9:30 A.M.
- 4:40 P.M. November 30th). This
special conference is for clergy only. It
will be lead by Father George Kosicki, a
Basilian priest serving the Detroit
Diocese who is presently a member of
the National Service Committee of the
Catholic Charismatic Renewal and a
member of the Word of God
Community in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
The morning session will be devoted to
the topic “The Role of the Holy Spirit
in our lives,” and the afternoon session
to “The Experience of Receiving the
Baptism of the Holy Spirit.” The special
program will provide time for personal
and group prayer and for sharing by
several priests and Bishops of their
experiences in the renewal. Over 150
clergy are expected to attend. Leaders
Dan Wyatt
Tony Cushing
Benny Suhor
Patti Gallagher
Al Mansfield
Rev. Joseph Lange
Kevin Ranaghan
Joel Kibler
Fr. George Kosicki C.S.B. - Word of
God Community, Ann Harbor, Mich,
and Archbishop James Hayes of Halifax,
Nova Scotia.
“Introduction to the Charismatic
Renewal” - This workshop is designed
for those who are new to the life in the
Spirit or for those who have recently
come into the Baptism in the Holy
Spirit and want to grow in the life of
the spirit. Included is teaching on God’s
plan for His people, repentance and
commitment to Christ, a brief history of
the charismatic renewal and the Baptism
of the Holy Spirit, prayer meetings and
the gifts of the Spirit. There will be an
opportunity to pray for the Baptism of
the Holy Spirit and to receive personal
ministry. Leaders: Al Mansfield and
Patti Gallagher, Benny Suhor New
Orleans Charismatic Community.
“Growth in the Life of the Spirit” -
This workshop is designed to be helpful
(o the majority of those attending the
conference. It is for those who have
been living the life of the Spirit for a
while and who want to go deeper in
their consecration to God. The
workshop includes teaching on
becoming free from the power of the
world and the power of the flesh in
order to love God, our neighbor and the
Church in the way that the Lord wants.
It will help you to discover the ways in
which you can become that new man in
Christ, really free to love. Leaders: Fr.
Joseph Lange O.S.F.S., Tony Cushing
and Daniel Wyatt - Children of Joy
Community, Allentown, Penna.
“Leadership In The Charismatic
Renewal” - This workshop is designed
to help those in leadership positions in
prayer groups and those who are
growing into recognized positions of
leadership. It will also assist the clergy
to understand how they can best
exercise pastoral concern and service to
prayer groups. The workshop will
discuss prayer meeting leadership,
helping others yield to the Baptism of
the Holy Spirit, teaching in the prayer
group, discerning the Lord’s will for the
direction of the group, and
incorporating the renewal into the life
of the Church. Leaders: Keven
Ranaghan - People of Praise
Community, South Bend, Ind. and Joel
Kibler - True House Community, Notre
Dame, Ind.
Brochures and registration forms may
be obtained by writing to “Charismatic
Renewal Conference, 2321 Norton
Court, Augusta, Georgia, 30906 (404)
798-1882.
Bishop Raymond A. Lessard, of
Savannah, will be the principal
GROTTAFERRATA, Italy - Some
126 leaders of the Catholic charismatic
renewal took part in an
international convention at
Grottaferrata, outside Rome, to assess
together what is happening in the
extraordinary growth of the charismatic
movement throughout the Catholic
world.
These delegates represented
charismatic groups from 32 countries,
including India, France, Chile, Mexico,
the United States, Germany and
Australia. Convened by the
International Communication Center of
Ann Arbor, Michigan, the convention’s
chairman, Ralph Martin, stated that the
purpose of the gathering was not
primarily theological or organizational,
but pastoral.
The talks and discussions aimed at
improving communications and unity
within the movement (only begun in
1967) through representatives of the
various nations gathering in order to
know one another and to share in what
the various groups have learned, as well
as to pray for guidance in the future.
Among those taking part were Leo
Cardinal Suenens of Belgium,
Archbishop James Hayes of Halifax,
Nova Scotia, and Bishop Joseph
McKinney, the liason between the
bishops of the United States and the
Catholic charismatic prayer groups of
the country. A significant development
of the convention was the granting of a
private audience by Pope Paul VI to
eleven delegates (representing Brazil,
Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, the
United States, France, India and
Mexico) to whom he gave a brief
address indicating that he was most
interested in this development of prayer
and a renewed life of the Spirit in the
Church, that he understood its value in
leading people to a deeper commitment
to Christ and to community, and that
he recognized its fruit in a renewed love
of scripture.
concelebrant of the Mass opening the
General Conference on Friday evening.
Archbishop James Hayes of Halifax,
Nova Scotia will be the homilist.
Father George Kosicki will deliver the
keynote address on Saturday morning.
He suggested that prudent guidance
be exercised by its leaders in union with
bishops and pastors. Stressing that faith,
hope and charity are the greatest of all
gifts of the Spirit, he asked for the
leaders to exercise great discernment in
order to hold to what is true while
taking care not to quench the Spirit.
The rapid growth of the Catholic
charismatic renewal (this year’s
conference at Notre Dame drew 22,000
participants) is one of the extraordinary
phenomena of the Roman Catholic
Church today. This growth is reflected
in the number of countries represented -
32 - compared to some three or four
countires which had Catholic
charismatic prayer groups as recently as
1969.
The unusual characteristic of the
Catholic groups is that they have not,
by and large, caused disunity and
divisiveness, but have developed in
harmony with ecclesiastical leadership,
as evidenced by the desire of the prayer
group leaders to hold their first
international convention near Rome.
Major addresses given at the
convention included: “The First Seven
Years of the Charismatic Renewal”
(Kevin Ranaghan, U.S.), “The
Beginnings of Charismatic Renewal in a
country” (Brian Smith, Australia),
“Charismatic Renewal and the Question
of Culture” (Steve Clark, U.S.) and
“Pastoral and Theological Questions
relating to the Baptism of the Spirit”
(Fr. Salvador Carillo, Mexico).
Seminars were offered on healing, the
relationship of the charismatic renewal
to traditional spirituality, ecumenical
questions, relationships with the
hierarchy, the ministry of the Word,
clergy-lay relationships in leadership
positions, Christian community, dim tne
His topic will be “Disciple, Apostle,
Brother. ”
Archbishop James Hayes will be the
principal concelebrant at the closing
Mass on Sunday. Homilist will be Kevin
Ranaghan of South Bend, Ind.
exercise of spiritual gifts.
During the conference Fr. Kilian
McDonnell, OSB, in consultation with
other theologians, drew up a theological
statement to be presented to Pope Paul
by Cardinal Suenens, in order to help
clarify the thrust of the Catholic
charismatic renewal for the leadership
of the Church.
Since the charismatic element is often
presented as being in conflict with the
institutional element of the Church the
leaders at the conference desired to
emphasize that the charisms are needed
to vitalize the institutional aspect of the
Church, while the charismatic groups
seek the structure and leadership of the
Church. As Fr. McDonnell’s theological
statement points out:
“What distinguishes a community of
Christians today from a community in
the early Church is that the
contemporary community is not aware
of some of the gifts of the Spirit as real
possibilites for the life of the
community. The contemporary
community has limited expectations as
to how the Spirit comes to visibility .. .
“The charismatic renewal wishes to
widen the expectations of the Church
universal to that the full spectrum of
gifts become real possibilities for the
total life of the Church. In no way does
the charismatic renewal wish to focus
the Church’s theological and pastoral
attention on the more prophetic gifts.
The renewal recognized the excessive
attention to the gifts results in a basic
distortion of the Gospel. The Spirit
comes to visibility through the gifts for
the upbuilding of the Church and the
service of the world. They are not ends
in themselves. But they contribute to
that fulness of life in Christ t >.nd the
Hr»iy Spirit to which the Church is
called.”
International Gathering at Rome