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DIOCESE OF SAVANNAH NEWSPAPER
Vol. 55 No. 3
Thursday, January 17,1974
Single Copy Price -12 Cents*
AFFECTS OPERATION OF DIOCESAN OFFICES
Bishop Lessard Establishes ‘Board of Vicars’
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January 16, 1974
Mv dear Friends in Christ, . ee d that the abortion
SVchildren. _ s# we are committed to li^
As followers of Jesus Chnst, and as u ^. s gospel, men know
«ssws«* - - *"X r.i. - . -
action to bring ormtunity must acc a*
■ we as a Uhe'-ing commum j . ld reaffirm our
efforts 0 to’protect life.
efforts to protect life. w uness to the presence.of
S.-S51 in rssrw*.S5’ Ts.'
W0Sed t0 Til lifl. through His Son. who is the «. the truth,
and the*life. a blnss us in our task.
Devotedly yours in Christ,
of Savannah
in Christ,
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THE PASTORAL LETTER ABOVE represents the
beginning, in the Diocese of Savannah, of activities
marking the first anniversary of the U.S. Supreme
Court decision striking down the abortion laws of
Georgia and Texas and, in effect, rendering all abortion
laws in the United States as of January, 1973
unconstitutional.
POPE PAUL
Doubts Value of ‘New Order
VATICAN CITY (NC) - Pope Paul
VI, noting that the Church and its top
officials are reproached for failing to
hasten the decline of the old order and
the arrival of a new “messianic” society,
said that such a new order might well be
“less just and less stable” than the old.
INSIDE STORY
"Ghetto Bishop"
Pg. 3
Entertainment
Pg. 6
Fa rah Boycott
Pg. 7
D,CCW» Notes
Pg. 8
He said also that energy spent on
revolutions might be much more
usefully employed in unspectacular
undertakings that “nonetheless
represent real progress for humanity.”
The Pope’s comments came in his
annual address to diplomats accredited
to the Vatican. The diplomatic corps
met him Jan. 12 to present its formal
New Year’s greetings.
Pope Paul observed that the
traditional definition of diplomacy as
the art of making peace is sometimes
criticized as oversimplified, on the
grounds that diplomacy embraces many
other activities.
He referred back to a speech he gave
the diplomatic corps on the same
occasion four years earlier, defending
the Vatican’s presence on the world
diplomatic scene.
The Pope continued: “But if we are
not mistaken, what the Church and the
Holy See are reproached for is that they
do not take a clear and active stand in
announcing and hastening the decline of
a world order judged obsolete and
rotten, to hasten the rapid installation
in its place of a new order, which is seen
bearing the messianic traits of justice, of
liberty, of perfect equality without
discrimination in law or in fact.”
That criticism is leveled at the Church
and the Vatican, the Pope said, when
they try to “ease tensions or heal social
wounds.” The church and its officials
are accused of “taking the part of
conservatism and hindering or delaying
the day of the liberating revolution. ”
He answered: “Faced with
criticisms of this kind, the first
reflection that comes to our mind is
that certain radicalisms are often not
only mistaken and unjust by their
partial or one-sided way of judging
reality and the responsibilities it
imposes, but they are, moreover,
dangerous. They are dangerous because
of what they would like to see achieved,
and just as dangerous because of what
they do not want to see achieved or
because of achievements they succeed in
preventing.”
The Pope then said that there are
better ways of using one’s energies than
in the service of such radical ideas.
In a major move affecting the
operation of diocesan agencies, Bishop
Raymond W. Lessard has appointed a
“Board of Vicars” composed of the
Deans of the diocese’s seven deaneries
and six “Special Vicars.”
According to guidelines drawn up at a
meeting between Bishop Lessard and
the members of the newly-formed
board last Thursday (Jan.10), “the
board of Vicars is an official organ of
the Diocese of Savannah constituted for
the general purpose of assisting the
bishop in his executive role by
coordinating the activities of Diocesan
agencies in the implementation of
diocesan policies and goals.”
Named by Bishop Lessard to the
Board of Vicars are the following Deans
of the Diocese:
Very Rev. Kevin Boland, Savannah
Deanery; Rev. Herbert J. Wellmeier,
Albany Deanery; Rev. Msgr. Marvin J.
LeFrois, Augusta Deanery; Rev. Edward
Frank, Columbus Deanery; Rev. William
V. Coleman, Macon Deanery; Rev.
Robert J. Teoli, Statesboro Deanery;
Rev. Brendan Timmins,
Valdosta-Brunswick Deanery.
Father Coleman and Msgr. LeFrois
will also serve as “Special Vicars.”
Father Coleman will be Vicar for
Education and Msgr. LeFrois will be
Vicar for Worship.
».
Appointed “Special Vicars” were:
Rev, Msgr. Danial J. Bourke, Vicar for
Temporal Affairs; Rev. Ralph E. Seikel,
Vicar for Clergy; Rev. John Cuddy,
Vicar for Religious and Vicar for
Ecumenism; Rev. William Dowling,
Vicar for Social Affairs; Rev. Francis J.
Donohue, Vicar for Communications.
The members of the Board of Vicars
will continue in their present parish and
diocesan assignments.
The guidelines for the new body
outline both the role of the Vicars and
the function of the Board of Vicars.
Functions of Board
The functions of the Board are:
1) To make known to the bishop the
needs and concerns of the diocesan
agencies.
2) To provide a forum of
communication among the agencies
themselves.
3) To assist the Vicars in the
fulfillment of their role.
4) To review the programs and the
activities of the agencies.
Vicar’s Role
The role of the Vicar is, according to
the guidelines:
1) To represent to the Board of
Vicars the interests of his/her area of
staff responsibility (toward co-workers
and sub-agencies).
2) To coordinate the work of the
heads of sub-agencies in their area of
staff responsibility.
3) To report to the Board of Vicars
on the programs and activities of his/her
agency and sub-agencieg.
4) To report to the agencies and
sub-agencies of his/her area of staff
responsibility the activities of the Board
of Vicars.
The designation of “his/her” with
regard to Vicars is to indicate, said
Bishop Lessard, “that the work of
Special Vicars is not the exclusive
preserve of either sex.”
Asked for further clarification by
THE SOUTHERN CROSS, the bishop
pointed out that all of the Special
Vicars have been, for some time,
working in diocesan activities for which
they have now been named Vicars.
“For instance,” he said, “Father
Donohue has been Diocesan Director of
Communications since 1970, but the
BISHOP LESSARD
fact that he is a priest does not mean
that some future Vicar for
Communications could not be a lay
person or Religious.
When the guidelines refer to the
Special Vicar’s “sub-agencies of his/her
area of staff responsibility,” the bishop
said, “they are referring to agencies
already in existence, such as the
diocesan offices for Youth, Liturgical
Music, Christian Formation and others.”
The term ‘staff responsibility’, Bishop
Lessard said, underlines the
coordinating function of the Special
Vicars relative to their co-workers and
the heads of their sub-agencies.
“These offices,” he continued, “will
be assigned to particular Special Vicars
as within their ‘area of staff
responsibility.’ However, there are still
some procedural matters to be
completed before we can make any
public announcement concerning which
offices will be assigned to which Special
Vicar.”
Father Boland, Dean of the Savannah
Deanery, is also Vicar General of the
Savannah diocese. In the latter capacity,
he will serve as Chairman of the Board
of Vicars, Bishop Lessard said.
667 Million Catholics
VATICAN CITY (NC) -- There were approximately 667 million baptized Catholics
at the end of 1971, out of a world population of 3.6 billion persons, according to the
Vatican statistical office. The annual statistical picture of the Church for 1971 was
recently released and revealed that there were 2,328 dioceses throughout the world
and 290,766 parishes or mission stations, all served by a total of 420,429 priests,
1,894 of whom left the ministry in 1971, as compared to 1,848 the year before.
Holy Innocents
LONDON (NC) - A tablet was unveiled in the courtyard of St. Matthew’s Anglican
Church here on the Feast of the Holy Innocents “in memory of 170,000 unborn
children killed in Britain this year.” An ecumenical sendee was held in the church
under the auspices of the interdenominational Society for the Protection of Unborn
Children, which campaigns against legalized abortion.
Church Relations Improved
VATICAN CITY (NC) - Zaire’s new ambassador to the Vatican, told Pope Paul that
there is “no fundamental problem capable of tarnishing” relations between his country
and the Holy See. Ambassador Lombume Mujwan Kallymazi said the work of Catholic
missionaries, “is still vigorous” in Zaire, the former Belgian Congo. Church-state
relations were at a low point in 1972 during a dispute over a government plan to
include political education in seminary curriculum. A compromise was reached and
relations have improved.