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Helping the Terminally Ill
Aim of Free Cancer Home
PAGE 3—November 22, 1973
A SMILE, BUT. SHE IS DYING -- Five year old terminal cancer is one requirement for entrance into
Debbie smiles as she plays with Lojo, mascot of Our the home, staffed by Sisters of St. Dominic. (NC Photo
Lady of Perpetual Help Free Cancer Home in Atlanta. by James W. Brown)
But the smile is ironic. The child is dying. Having
BY MARIE MULVENNA
THE GEORGIA BULLETIN
“This place is a joy!” A middle-aged
woman beamed unabashed as she spoke
from her bed at Our Lady of Perpetual
Help Free Cancer Home. She was
radiant. She was dying. She is one of
over 10,000 who have been
guest-patients at the Washington Street
home since the doors of the sprawling
old building first opened in Atlanta
back in 1939. It is their last home on
earth.
Now, 34 years later, patients, sisters
and volunteers have a brand new
building. Last Sunday, Archbishop
Thomas A. Donnellan presided at
official dedication ceremonies marking
the erection of a much needed new
facility for the Sisters of St. Dominic
who are officially called Servants of
Relief for the Incurably Cancerous
Poor.
Governor Jimmy Carter
proclaimed the long-awaited dedication
day Our Lady of Perpetual Help Free
Cancer Home Day throughout the state.
Some have termed the home a “one
block ecumenical movement.” It is that
and more. The home has received the
unstinting support of every imaginable
denomination, the help of countless
clubs and organizations, the praise and
admiration of every person who has
walked through its Victorian arched
doors to pay a visit. It is a haven in the
middle of a busy city and it has, over
and over again, captured the heart of a
city. It is a remarkable part of Atlanta
that belongs to all.
Many have shared the feelings of
reluctance* apprehension, even fear as
they paused at the huge building to
make their initial visit. One might
expect a depressing and grim place,
filled with sorrow, inevitable pain and
despondency. But instead of sorrow one
finds great peace, cheerfulness,
contentment. Yes, even joy. It is a small
miracle of love, transforming the fear
and pain of death to hope and peace.
A letter sent to the home almost 10
years ago by the mother of a
cancer-stricken child perhaps describes
it best. She came from a foreign
country, came with a dying child and
came with despair and grief. Her child
found a loving home and care and all
the things the home dispenses every day
like hope and laughter and cheerfulness.
To quote this mother: “ . . . a place
where true Christianity is observed; a
place where true love rules - love for
the sick and the poor - love that
expects no rewards whatsoever - love
for love alone. Where can you find a
place like this, in a world tom by
hatred? There is so much love and faith
in this home, that it seems to be a place
out of this world. ”
The young mother continued her
touching tribute to the home . . . “and,
as long as there is such love and faith in
the world, no matter how scarce it is, I
firmly believe that God almighty will
have mercy on it and save it from
destruction.”
Tributes to the home, to the handful
of smiling dedicated sisters and to the
peace they offer are legion. Words
seldom adequately express what the
home had given, how much it has meant
to a family, to a patient, to a city.
The sisters - there are 13 of them -
constantly radiate happiness and joy.
Theirs’ is the task of caring for the
terminally ill, for terminal cancer is one
prerequisite for entrance. The inability
to pay for care is the other. No fees are
charged; no donations solicited; no
offering is even accepted from the
families of patients. A smiling sister says
simply: “We live on the hourly mercy of
God.”
That’s a bargain they made with the
Lord, they will say softly. And it seems
to be a bargain that has never been
broken.
The goodness of the public has never
stopped; the flow of contributions from
the rich and the not-so-rich still arrives.
One elderly woman sends $10 of her
social security allowance each month.
Donations from corporations and
foundations “just come up when we are
most desperate for funds,” one sister
said calmly; “the Lord is a good
provider.” There is no official aid given
the home on any regular basis - just the
daily help that continues to come in and
continues to enable the sisters to follow
their lifetime work.
The home itself is rich in Atlanta’s
history. It had been a Jewish orphanage
serving the southeast for some 50 years.
The home itself is rich in Atlanta’s
history. It had been a Jewish orphanage
serving the southeast for some 50 years.
In 1927 the home was phased out as a
local institution and was used for a
variety of social work projects. During
the depression, it served as a
headquarters for many aid programs.
Then, for almost 10 years, it lay
dormant.
At the invitation of the late
Archbishop Gerald O’Hara, bishop of
Savannah, the sisters came to Atlanta.
The archbishop had found the spacious
property on Washington Street, a
stone’s throw from the present stadium
and capitol building, and five sisters
arrived with mops and pails,
transforming an abandoned building
filled with cobwebs and dust into a
home. In March 1939 dedication
ceremonies were held and the home
officially opened its doors.
One of the sisters recalled that the
trustees of the Hebrew orphanage would
not let the emDty building be sold
except for charitable purposes, adding
that one of the trustees still sends
regular donations to the sisters. “The
Jewish community has been very good
to us,” she said.
The old building itself is gigantic,
spread over three floors with numerous
wings, nooks and crannies, street-width
corridors, vaulting ceilings and sunny
wards. Father Patrick Connel,
chaplain of the home since 1961,
smilingly describes the building as
“modified Byzantine.” It is perhaps one
of the oldest buildings in current use in
the city of Atlanta. But it has outlived
itself, and because renovation was
impossible, due to the age of the
structure, a new home was nlanned and
built. ,
Sister Eucharia, OP, superior of the
home, said the sisters were “thrilled”
with the new building, but would
undoubtedly feel great pain when the
old building had to be demolished. She
explained that the old building could
not be updated enough to serve the
needs of the patients and sisters, adding
that the new structure would house 54
patients and provide a convent for the
sisters, a luxury they have long done
without in the old structure.
There was no drive for the new
building, which is built directly behind
the older one, just an announcement
that they needed a new home. Response
came in from all corners of Atlanta
making possible the dream of the sisters.
The community quickly answered a
need.
Sisters in the order are pharmacists,
dietitians, registered nurses, practical
nurses, medical technologists, etc. “We
are all servants of relief though,” Sister
Eucharia said; “we all pitch in and do all
the chores. No one is singular in her
specialty.”
The order of sisters was founded in
1896 by Rose Hawthorne Lathrop,
daughter of novelist Nathaniel
Hawthorne. With a strong resolve to
alleviate the suffering of cancer patients,
especially the poor and forgotten, Rose
Hawthorne began her service in New
York aiding the sick and the dying. She
was joined in her endeavors by Anne
Huber who gave up her career in art to
help Rose Hawthorne in her work.
The two then founded the order of
sisters who dedicate their lives to caring
for the cancer-stricken poor. They
follow the rules of St. Augustine and
wear the habits of the order of St.
Dominic. In 1920 Mother Rose
obtained a spacious country site in
Hawthorne, N.Y., to this day the
motherhouse of the sisters. There are
seven homes throughout the country
now, each of them ministering to those
suffering from cancer.
At the Atlanta home, thousands of
patients have found a place of comfort
and solace in the work of the sisters.
Joining the sisters in their merciful work
are many volunteers - a rotating team
of seven doctors, an extremely active
auxiliary, people who come to iron
clothing for the patients, others who
come to visit and bring a bit of cheerful
conversation. There are no volunteers
who actually do the nursing however, a
task the sisters say belongs to them and
to them alone. Their entire lives are
totally dedicated to alleviating the
suffering of their patients.
Father Connell, who resides at the
home with Monsignor Edward Dodwell,
a former chaplain, said patients soon
pick up the sense of family at the home.
“We share food, laundry, everything,”
he said. The home is strictly
non-sectarian, drawing from all areas of
the southeast with perhaps two out of
19 patients being Catholic.
There is a feeling of sunshine in every
room and ward at this amazing home.
Small TV s^ts for patients, fresh flowers
everywhere, books, hobbies, toys for
the cheery children’s ward, electric beds
for patients’ comfort, snacks, a
strikingly simple and beautiful chapel.
Everywhere there are smiles, not merely
from the sisters but from the patients.
Nobody cries the bitter tears of sorrow
at his fate, as one might expect. It is the
visitor who cries.
Sister Eucharia said many of the
patients live with them for years, “some
for only a day.” No one in need,
physcially or financially, is ever turned
away. There is no consideration of race,
color, creed or age. Sister commented
that many of the patients come from
middle class families, explaining that the
very rich are most able to take care of
their needs and the very poor are helped
by the state. “It’s the middle calss that
is the hardest hit,” she said; “drug bills
alone can devastate a family.”
Sister said that by the time a patient
comes to the home, the initial shock for
them and for their family has worn off.
“They are at the point where they need
help financially.” She reflected auietly
that it is then that the sisters see the
family begin to relax, at long last feel
able to sleep at night, knowing the
patient is in good hands.
“We never disucss why a person is
here,” she relates. “We just want them
to feel at home with us.”
Holy Communion is distributed daily
in the wards and a blessing for all is
given. There is no effort to proselytize
although Father Connell notes the
tremendous number of converts to
Catholicism. “More than I’ve ever seen
in a parish,” he adds.
Ministers of every denomination visit
the home regularly. Archbishop
Donnellan is a frequent visitor and
spends many hours chatting with
patients, carrying a little 5-year old
patient around with him.
Of the archbishop, Father Connell
says “He and Archbishop Hallinan are
of the same cloth. Everybody needs
such as they. We don’t deserve one such
as him but we’re mighty glad we’ve got
him. He’s benevolent and kind.”
The home’s history in Atlanta has
been that nf a catalyst of charity. It has
drawn people of diverse faiths and
talents to aid its cause and as it prepares
to move into a new modem building, its
needs continue to grow. Volunteers
have always come forth when needed
and their need now is as great as it ever
was.
Sister Marie Cordis, OP, administrator
of the home, has served the home for
over six years. Three of the other sisters
are presently studying in Atlanta
colleges, but hope to continue tlreir
service at the home. Sister Loretta, one
of the original five sisters arriving in
Atlanta, still actively cares for natients
at the homp.
The home, has been blessed through
the years with unexpected donations
and grants like that of a $10,000
windfall from the Ford Foundation, and
a $10,000 sum from the Gordon Street
Baptist Church. The Knights nf
Columbus annually sponsor a statewide
drive for the home which this year
brought the sisters $10,000.
Other donations come in all sizes; the
largest amount ever received was
$600,000 from an unidentified
benefactor. The home’s auxiliary hosts
an annual fashion show, their only fund
raiser.
No sum imaginable however, could
ever repay this small band of sisters who
make the remaining days of life happy
and peaceful days for countless patients.
This final home for so many thousands
is a rare place filled with strength and
love. As one lady patient said in all
sincerity: “This nlace is a joy!”
WASHINGTON BISHOP SAYS
44 Court Has Done More Damage
Than Watergate”
decade, Bishop Topel wrote, “The
Supreme Court made it impossible for
any state or community to protect itself
from pornography. The damage done by
the Supreme Court’s ‘decision’ cannot
be exaggerated. The looseness of morals,
Intercommunion Petition Refused
SPOKANE, Wash. (NC) - While the
Watergate scandal “fills us with
disgust,” the U.S. Supreme Court has
done “far more damage” to the nation,
BISHOP DIES AT MEETING ~
Auxiliary Bishop Thomas Gill, 65,
of Seattle, died Sunday night,
apparently of a heart attack, while
attending the annual meeting of
the U.S. hierarchy in the Statler
Hilton Hotel in Washington, D.C.
Bishop Bernard J. Topel of Spokane
said.
“Yes, indeed, Watergate shows moral
decay in our nation. I see, though, more
moral decay in the rulings of the
Supreme Court,” Bishop Topel wrote in
his weekly column Nov. 15, in the
Inland Register, the diocesan newspaper
here.
He cited the court’s pornography
decisions of the 1960s, its abortion
ruling of last January, its opinions on
separation of church and state, and the
court’s “deference to what it considers
the rights of the individual.”
“The Watergate scandal gives us a
very sick feeling . . .[but] we should
keep a proper balance in our
viewpoint. . .It is my conviction that
far more damage has been done” by the
Supreme Court, Bishop Topel wrote.
“Let no one think that the Supreme
Court is merely deciding what is clearly
in the law. No constitutional lawyer, no
matter how eminent, will dare predict
how the judges of the Supreme Court
will vote on a given issue. The Supreme
Court is certainly not making explicit
what is already in the law; it is more
accurate to say that it is writing its own
laws.”
The only apparent recourse against
the high court is public opinion, the
bishop said.
Tracing court decisions back a
SOUTHBRIDGE, Mass. (NC) - The
Vatican Secretariat for Promoting
Christian Unity has rejected “for the
time being” a petition by a Catholic
parish and an Episcopal parish here
asking permission for intercommunion
between members of the two parishes.
The petition was made last June and
the Vatican response sent in a letter last
July by Cardinal Jan Willebrands,
president of the Vatican secretariat, was
just made public in the parish letters of
the two churches.
“We are not disappointed; we did not
expect permission to be granted at this
time,” said Father Raymond F. Page,
pastor of Notre Dame Catholic Church.
“I only ask that the people of the two
parishes be patient and understand the
theology behind the decision.”
“Our goal was to let the Church
know how we felt,” said Father Edward
M. Cobden, pastor of Trinity Episcopal
parish. “Our goal was accomplished.”
Both pastors and 20 parishioners for
each church signed the petition for
intercommunion, the first such request
made in the United States. It was a
reaction, Father Cobden said, to the
“Windsor Statement on the Eucharist,”
a document prepared in 1971 by the
Anglican-Roman Catholic International
Commission, which is studying unity
between the two communions.
The Windsor statement acknowledged
an “agreement theologically on the
Eucharist” between the Anglican and
Catholic Churches, Father Cobden said,
and asked for “grassroots response to
the idea of intercommmunion from
Catholic and Episcopal parishes.”
Last Lent, the 42 signers of the
petition took part in an eight-week
study of the Windsor statement and
decided to make the petition as “a
symbolic act. . .to call public attention
to what people are thinking,” the
pastors said.
Three years ago, the two churches
established a “convenant” between
them, like several others initiated in
central Massachusetts. The parishes were
asked to pray for their “sister parish” in
all of their liturgical functions and to
hold joint social functions.
The publication of the petition’s
denial follows a new Vatican
communique emphasizing the
“exceptional character” of the allowed,
but highly restricted, practice of
admitting non-Catholic Christians to
receive Communion in Catholic
churches.
Copies of the Southbridge petition
were sent to Cardinal Willebrands;
Anglican Archbishop Michael Ramsey
of Canterbury, England; Bishop Bernard
Flanagan of Worcester, the Catholic
diocese in which Southbridge is located;
Episcopal Bishop Alexander D. Stewart
of Western Massachusetts; and the
members of the Anglican-Roman
Catholic International Commission.
In a letter to Father Cobden,
Archbishop Ramsey called the petition
a “good, constructive move.”
In his response to the two parishes,
Bishop Flanagan said he interpreted the
action “as a sincere effort to contribute
to the ongoing dialogue . . .Perhaps if
similar groups elsewhere were to take
the same initiative and make the same
inputs to responsible authority, it might
hasten the day when the statements of
the (Windsor) theologians will become
the agreed-upon position of the
Anglican and Catholic Churches.”
the permissiveness, the perversions that
have flooded the country are certainly
very much the responsibility of the
action of the Supreme Court.
“Finally, after years of this kind of
damage to us, the Supreme Court
suddenly reversed itself! The callous
stupidity of the whole thing defies
description.
“One could also dwell on the
Supreme Court’s almost total disregard
for the rights of others in deference to
what it considers the rights of an
individual. The harm that has been
done thereby to law enforcement also
defies description.
“The absurd lengths to which the
Supreme Court has gone in its
interpretation of the separation of
Church and State also has been
devastating. In effect, it infringes on our
religious rights. Thereby it does serious
harm.”
The bishop said the court’s abortion
decision “practically speaking has made
abortion on demand mandatory
throughout the United States. It has
resulted in the casual killing of
innocent, helpless, unborn
children-literally millions of them.”
Concluding, the bishop wrote,
“Millions of Americans apparently have
lost confidence in our present
administration. I for one have even less
confidence in our Supreme Court.”