Newspaper Page Text
V
*
4
v
The Southern Cross
DIOCESE OF SAVANNAH NEWSPAPER
Vol. 55 No. 42 Thursday, November 28, 1974 Single Copy Price — 15 Cents
U.S. Bishops Oppose
DISCUSSING CAPITAL PUNISHMENT -- Bishops John Carberry. Bottom row: Archbishop Thomas
at their annual meeting in Washington, D.C., are shown Donnellan, Bishop Raymond Lessard, Bishop Joseph
in various attitudes as they discuss capital punishment. Howze. (NC Photos by Thomas Lorsung)
Top row: Bishop Ernest L. Unterkoefler and Cardinal
Values Statement Accepted
Capital Punishment
BY JIM CASTELLI
BY JERRY FILTEAU
WASHINGTON (NC) - With virtually
no debate the U.S. bishops voted Nov.
19 to receive a lengthy statement on
Moral Values and to implement a
multi-pronged program to promote a
new sense of moral values in today’s
society.
They also established a committee to
draft a pastoral letter on the subject.
Chief elements of the program the
bishops backed included:
- Building a strong value orientation
in religious education, particularly
through the National Catechetical
Directory now being prepared by the
U.S. bishops.
- Emphasis on value education in
adult and continuing education.
- The same emphasis in continuing
education for priests.
- Communications programs in all
types of media.
- Family life programs.
- Spiritual formation programs for
Religious, seminarians and clergy. 1
- Focusing on prayer and suffering
for better values, particularly by people
in homes for the aged or incurable.
- Focusing on the role of the liturgy,
particularly homilies at Mass, in
developing and strengthening value
formation.
The bishops also backed a number of
extraordinary programs “to call
attention to the problem and point the
way to its solution.”
Among those were a special collective
expression of commitment by the
bishops as a group and an appeal for
similar expressions of commitment in
dioceses, parishes, Religious
communities, schools and other groups.
The 1975 Holy Year, the 1976
International Eucharistic Congress in
Philadelphia, and the bishops’ national
bicentennial program were mentioned as
possible sources for special programs on
values.
The program urged that the questions
of values also be placed on the agenda
of ecumenical and interreligious
concerns and o'n the agenda of dialogue
with those who do not profess any
religious belief.
Auxiliary Bishop John McDowell of
Pittsburgh was appointed to chair the
new committee to draw up a major
national pastoral letter on moral values.
The report cited numerous examples
of moral decline: lying and cheating,
sexual immorality, strains on family life,
wide acceptance of abortion,
exploitation of the poor and powerless,
brutality in the “entertainment” media.
WASHINGTON (NC) - The U.S.
Catholic bishops passed by a vote of
108 to 63 a short motion opposing
capital punishment.
Submitted by Bishop John May of
Mobile, Ala., the resolution said simply:
“The U.S. Catholic Conference goes on
record in opposition to capital
punishment.” The USCC is the civil
corporation through which the U.S.
bishops act together with other
Catholics in various issues.
The vote came after three hours of
discussion spread over three days.
Earlier in the week, the bishops had
rejected as inadequate a seven-page
statement expressing reasons for their
opposition.
The vote was taken at the annual
general meeting
of the
National
Conference
(NCCB).
of
Catholic
Bishops
Cardinal
John
Krol,
out-going
president of the National Conference of
Catholic Bishops, ruled that the
seven-page statement was too long to be
considered a “resolution” under
conference by-laws, and must be treated
as a “statement,” requiring a two-thirds
vote. The statement was defeated by a
vote of 119-103 with three abstentions.
After the vote on Bishop May’s
version of the statement, Cardinal Krol
ruled that a resolution also needed a
two-thirds vote, but Bishop May said he
had offered a simple motion which
needed only a majority vote. The
motion was accepted.
If the USCC Committee for Social
Development and World Peace, headed
by Bishop E.L. Unterkoefler, which
wrote the original statement, wishes to
write a new back-up paper, it needs the
approval of the USCC executive
committee. The executive committee
carries on the business of the NCCB in
between general sessions and meetings
of the USCC administrative committee.
It is composed of the president, vice
president, secretary and treasurer of the
NCCB and an elected member of the
administrative committee.
The approval of the executive board
would also be needed for the USCC to
offer a “friend of the court” brief in
Fowler v. North Carolina, an upcoming
Supreme Court case on the
constitutionality of the death penalty.
Such a brief is being considered in the
USCC.
The thrust of the rejected committee
statement was that the Christian
tradition of reverence for life and
forgiveness, plus the “discriminatory”
manner in which capital punishment is
enforced in American society should
lead Catholics and others to oppose the
Restoration of capital punishment.
The statement recognized traditional
theological support for capital
punishment and emphasized that the
committee was not challenging the
principle that a state could impose
capital punishment. But, the statement
said, “We oppose at this time in our
nation’s history the use of capital
punishment on the grounds of the
sanctity of life and the human dignity
of the person.”
The statement said: “We urge
Catholics and others who share our
views to join us in urging” the
“prohibition” of capital punishment.
INSIDE STORY
Church Gains
Pg. 2
Synod Report
.....Pg. 3
'Know Your Faith’
Pg. 5
Entertainment
Pg. 6
But some bishops questioned whether
the statement was grounded well
enough in theology. Some of the
discussion focused on analogies betweeh
capital punishment and abortion.
“We have on many occasions decried
the tragedy of legally sanctioned
abortion,” the statement said. “We
deplore current attempt to win legal
sanction for euthanasia. To be sure,
there is no parallel between the cases of
unborn children, the elderly and infirm
and the convicted criminal.
“But we do perceive some tendency
to extend legal sanction to a growing
number and variety of violations of the
fundamental right to life, as we perceive
in other areas of society other signs of
indifference toward it.”
But some bishops -- including
Bishop Carroll Dozier of Memphis and
Bishop George Speltz of St. Cloud,
BY GRACE CRAWFORD
Macon News Staff Writer
Sister Elizabeth’s pupils out did her.
The basic crochet stitch was just the
beginning for a group of women inmates
in the Bibb County Jail, eager for
something to occupy their time.
The red-haired Catholic Sister from
Limerick, Ireland, admits she knew
“very little, just a bit” about crocheting.
“But I showed them the basics,” said
Sister Elizabeth Lynam, social services
coordinator for Macon’s three Catholic
parishes -- St. Joseph, St. Peter Claver
and Holy Spirit.
With additional instruction from
several women who are weekly
volunteers for the Catholic jail ministry,
the crocheting students soon began to
turn out some professional looking
work.
Mrs. Irene Morris, matron for the jail,
said several with “just a little crocheting
ability” began to teach their friends.
“Some of them did some beautiful
pieces,” she said. “And they were very
proud of their work.”
The results of several months
crocheting were sold after Mass Sunday
to Macon parishioners.
Minn. - said there were parallels
between capital punishment and
abortion. Bishop Speltz said the bishops
should be opposed to “cutting off
human destiny at any stage.”
Bishop Dozier and Bishop Joseph
Durick of Nashville, who last year wrote
a pastoral letter calling the death
penalty “un-Christian,” said they were
involved in an appeal to prevent a man
from being executed in Tennessee in
January, the first scheduled execution
in seven years in the United States.
Cardinal Krol charged that many
vocal opponents of capital punishment
were also vocal supporters of abortion
and euthanasia.
Among the leading opponents of the
statement were Cardinal John Carberry
of St. Louis, Archbishop Thomas
Connolly of Seattle, Bishop Christopher
Weldon of Springfield, Mass., and
Bishop Floyd Begin of Oakland.
The crocheted pieces were in the
brightest shades of pink, blue, green,
red, purple, lavender, yellow, orange
and in white.
There were crocheted hats. There
were berets with fancy tassles, “even
skull caps for the boys,” Sister said.
Neatly lined pocketbooks in the same
bright colors were a part of the sate, as
were crocheted vests for skirts or slacks.
And some of the women inmates
made hand embroidered items.
Sister Elizabeth said money from
the sates will be used to buy additional
thread and small items needed by the
women in the jail - stamps, writing
paper, pens.
Some members of the crocheting
class even bought patterns, made
afghans and sold them after leaving the
jail, according to the Sister.
“And they were very excited about
it.”
One of the happiest crocheters was
the woman from Florida -- “a young
mother with no money to buy a gift for
her little girl,” Sister said.
“So she crocheted her a pair of
mittens.”
HEADLINE
ff
¥
HOPSCOTCH
Pope Blasts Kidnappers
VATICAN CITY (NC) - Raising his voice against kidnapings that have swept Italy
in the past year, Pope Paul VI denounced kidnaping as a “vile and atrocious” crime
and pleaded with kidnapers to return their hostages. According to Italian authorities,
there have been at least 37 known kidnapings in Italy during the past year.
Infant Mortality Down
WASHINGTON (NC) - Infant mortality decreased, maternal mortality leveled off
and suicide and homicide increased in 1972, according to a report by the National
Center for Health Statistics. The report showed that non-whites were far more likely
than whites to die at birth, in childbirth or through homicide, but that whites were
twice as likely to commit suicide. The over-all death rate was 9.4 per 1,000
population, up slightly from 9.3 per 1,000 in 1971.
Influence on Public School Policy
WASHINGTON (NC) - A new emphasis on influencing public school policy will be
initiated here by the Education Department of the U.S. Catholic Conference, the
nation’s bishops were told at their annual meeting here. Archbishop William Borders of
Baltimore, chairman of the USCC education committee, told the bishops that the
Education Department will make special efforts to be sensitive to other cultures and
languages in all its educational work. He also said the department will continue to
focus on family life education under the new organization of the USCC, although the
“respect life” and abortion-population legislative efforts of the old Family Life
Division have been moved to a secretariat of the National Conference of Catholic
Bishops.
Delegate Declines Intervention
WASHINGTON (NC) - The apostolic delegate in the United States, Archbishop
Jean Jadot, has declined to intervene in a dispute between some members of Good
Shepherd parish in Alexandria, Va., on one side, and the pastor and bishop on the
other. The democratically elected parish council has objected to several decisions by
the new pastor, Father John Hannan. Bishop Thomas Welsh of Arlington, Va., backed
Father Hannan’s actions, thus prompting the appeal to the apostolic delegate.
Archbishop Jadot said he had no authority to intervene In the dispute.
Sister Elizabeth Display’s Women Inmates’ Crocheting
CATHOLIC JAIL MINISTRY
Inmates Learn Crafts