Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 4—The Southern Cross, May 22, 1975
Not a Symbol
Following editorial, appears in the May 18 issue of
the Our Sunday Visitor, news edition.
true. He could not pretend because there
was no pretence in him.
It is understandable, the way so many
speak of Cardinal Jozsef Mindszenty as a
symbol. He was a man. And a man like
this we do not see often. We must be
careful we do not hide the man behind
symbolic interpretations.
He was a man who loved God. He was
a man who loved the Church, fie was a
man who loved his priesthood. He was a
man who loved freedom.
When the Nazis came they imprisoned
him. He was a threat to them because he
valued human life. When later the
communists came, they had to imprison
him, too.
The rulers of the world cannot stand
strong men. They can get along with the
pliant ones. They can destroy the defiant
ones. But Jozsef Mindszenty was too
strong for them. Even when they
imprisoned him he was a witness for the
very freedom they denied him.
The victim of nazi and communist
tyrannies, he was finally the victim of
detente. At a time when the effort was
to somehow get along with disparate
forces in the world, he was simply too
strong a man. There was no compromise.
He knew what he believed. He could not
When the leaders of the Church,
trying desperately to find some way to
reach accommodation that would permit
service to those in communist countries,
saw him as a barrier to their efforts, he
stepped down. He was a loyal son of the
Church. He was wounded in heart but he
did not rebel. Nor did he compromise.
Few men have known better who they
were and where they stood.
Until his last days, he continued to
speak boldly for what he believed. The
book he wrote did not equivocate, nor
did the man.
In the world, we know how to handle
geniuses, eccentrics and all other of the
varieties of dissimilarity from other men
- but saints throw us.
Cardinal Jozsef Mindszenty may have
been seen as a symbol but it would be
wrong to think of him that way. He was
a man, a man who loved God, who loved
his Church, who honored his priesthood
and who never wavered from his belief in
the essential dignity and worth of all
men and their right to freedom.
He made not only the tyrants but
even the good people uncomfortable.
Thank God we had a man among
us who made us uncomfortable.
compromise with what he knew to be
66
Contrary View”
Joe Breig
A less optimistic opinion about the results,
to date, of reform, renewal and updating in the
Church and the liturgy was given to me in an
interview with two priests in an Appalachia
region.
“The reform, renewal and updating have not
jelled as yet.” Such was the essence of their
observations.
One of these priests, pastor of a town
congregation, said, “There is a formlessness
about doctrine and morals nowadays which is
disturbing to many people - especially the
vagueness about morals.”
Most of us, I would guess, understand his
point -- especially in the matter of morality.
This confusion, laxity, and self-indulgence seem
to be rooted in the failure or refusal of many to
accept the Church’s constant teaching
concerning the immorality of artificial
contraception.
And that refusal, I believe, stems from lack
of understanding of the sacredness of sex, given
to us by our Creator. And again, this lack is
largely a result of the influence of the secular
communications media, which by and large
look upon sex as a plaything, rather than as
God’s sharing with us of his creative power - a
sharing for the right use of which we must
eventually account to God.
The other Appalachia priest, a younger man,
is a Newman pastor at a large state university.
He reported that on that campus, most of the
Catholic students come from liturgically
conservative homes and do not particularly
welcome change. However, he is working with a
group, originally 20 but now grown to 60,
which participates with spirit and vigor in the
new liturgy.
Like other Newman priestly leaders with
whom I have talked, this university pastor said
that the Newman work is desperately in need of
more financial help than it is getting. His
budget is pitifully small in face of the needs he
is trying to meet. '
Both these pastors spoke of “the disturbing
number” of Catholics today who do not
consider that they have any obligation to be at
Mass on Sundays. Clearly, the roots of this
serious error lie in a lack of realization about
what the Mass is, and about the overriding
importance of giving to God the community
adoration and thanksgiving which are owed to
him.
After all, it is a grave insult even to another
human being - let alone to the Creator who
brought us out of nothingness - to accept gift
after gift after gift, as if they were our due,
without ever acknowledging their source and
saying thanks.
We have a pressing responsibility, too, for
showing forth the faith to others; for giving
witness and example, and thus to offer a
constant quiet invitation to others to join us in
the faith given to us.
Indeed, I find it impossible to conceive a
greater spiritual blindness than blindness to the
Mass, which is God with us in Christ whose love
for us did not shrink from death for us.
What One Person Can Do
Rev. Richard Armstrong-
What more logical person to develop a
back-pack baby-carrier than a mother of four?
Margaret S. Hansson is that mother, the
co-inventor of the Gerry Carrier which has
become a badge of flexibility and freedom for
young parents all over the world. Back-packed
little ones appear anywhere from hiking trains
and museums to supermarkets.
About 15 years ago, Mrs. Hansson had the
idea when she and her husband wanted to take
their little son on a camping trip in the Rockies.
She is now president of Gerico Corporation, the
multi-million-dollar manufacturer of the Gerry
Carrier and other children’s products. She has
become a leading figure in the American
juvenile furniture business.
Margaret Hansson has been successful
because:
* She is involved with products which a
mother understands.
* She has put the caution and concern of a
mother into her long years of lobbying for
tougher safety standards in baby products. The
prevailing standards for baby carriers are those
she established.
In addition, Mrs. Hansson has inaugurated
flexible hours at Gerico to allow women
workers to meet family schedules and
problems.
She has been active in politics for many years
and is a member of the Colorado Commission
on the Status of Women.
If any of us wants to improve our
effectiveness, we might ask ourselves how we
can make the most of our experiences and build
on our strengths.
The Southern Cross
Office 225 Abcrcorn St., Savannah, Ga. 31401
Rev. Raymond W. Lessard, D.D., President
John 12 Mark waiter, Managing Editor
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GRACE, LOVE AND
FELLOWSHIP -- Those themes are
illustrated from these readings for
Trinity Sunday, May 25: First -
The Lord is slow to anger and rich
in kindness (Exodus 34:4-6, 8-9);
Second - The grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ, and the love of God,
and the fellowship of the Holy
Spirit be with you all (2 Cor.
13:11-13); Gospel - The Son did
not come to condemn the world
but to save it (John 3:16-18) (NC
Sketch courtesy the J. S. Paluch
Co. Custom Bulletin Service)
X
Major Criticism
Of Charismatics
John Reedy, C.S.C.
About the time this column appears, many
diocesan papers will be carrying a news report
concerning one of the most startling interviews
I have ever conducted, an interview in which
one of the founders of the Catholic Charismatic
Renewal Movement makes very serious charges
about practices and trends he judges to be
inconsistent with Catholic practice and
tradition.
To my knowledge, this4s the first informed,
weighty criticism of the reality of the
movement, which has seen an extraordinary
growth in fervor and commitment since its
beginning about 10 years ago.
Dr. William Storey is a Church historian, a
liturgist, the Director of the Graduate Program
in Liturgical Studies at the University of Notre
Dame. His academic competence is excellent.
Though he has not been an active participant in
the movement during the past five years, he was
part of the small original group at Duquesne
University.
Because of his travel and association with
members of the movement, he has an extensive
knowledge of its reality.
In the interview, which I expected to be a
fairly routine update of a conversation we had
several years ago, he stresses the fact that his
criticism is directed primarily against trends
being encouraged and promoted by the national
leadership; he is confident that there are many
groups around the country which are free from
the abuses he discusses. However, he maintains
that the thrust of the national leadership is
strongly encouraging approaches in which
serious abuses could flourish, have flourished.
The interview, long and carefully worded,
appears in our biweekly, A.D. Correspondence
(May 24, Notre Dame, Ind.). Prior to our
Interview, they were presented to Church
authorities and to the leadership of the
movement.
His criticism centers on three points:
1. He claims that reliance on direct
inspiration of the Holy Spirit, even in ordinary
decisions, has created an authoritarianism, a
control over lives and consciences, which is
offensive to Catholic practice and teaching. It
has been magnified by the rapid development
of tight communities in which people have
pooled their lives and their resources.
This reliance on immediate discernment of
inspiration and the complete focus on the
spiritual has produced, not in isolated instances,
he claims, completely unjustified, offensive
intrusions into the area of conscience which we
normally regard as confessional matter. He also
states that details of these conscience matters
are discussed in the movement with
extraordinary openness.
2. Dr. Storey charges that the sympathetic
alliance with Protestant pentecostals - the
sharing of life with them in some communities,
the approved distribution of their literature
through the Catholic movement - has brought
in an unacceptable biblical fundamentalism as
well as theological emphases and style of
worship which are inconsistent with Catholic
teaching and the Catholic style of life and
worship. (He sees this matter of religious style
as something far more significant than arbitrary
fashion or taste.)
3. He claims that the concentration on
community, the emphasis on the pentecostal
prayer group, and the links with Protestant
pentecostals has created a tension pushing these
groups to move the center of their worship
from the sacraments (particularly the
Eucharist) and from the Catholic community to
the prayer groups.
When asked why such criticism had not
surfaced before, he suggested that the
movement is very young and some of these are
fairly recent developments, at least as serious
trends.
Also, he stated that the leadership policy of
suppressing dissent and building community by
constant emphasis on the positive has created
some patterns in which one dimension of the
activity is shown to outside observers while
other dimensions are reserved to those
participants who are deeply committed to the
movement.
Dr. Storey sees these problems as being
extremely serious. He does not expect his
judgments to be accepted without serious
investigation. If they are found to be valid, he
thinks the situation is one with which Church
authorities must deal.
Any precipitous action, he says, could have
tragic consequences. He hopes the legitimate
values of the movement, the goodness and
sincerity of most participants and the
seriousness of their commitment will prompt a
response which is sensitive, persuasive and
united.
‘Called
By Name’
Sr. Genevieve Sachse, O.S.B.
Convent Live-In Programs
In past decades, the image and memory that
most people had of sisters was based on the
merger of their impressions received as children
from the religious who taught in the school or
served in the local Catholic hospital.
Frequently these impressions were largely
colored by the memory of one particular
person who made the greatest impression,
whether favorable or unfavorable; - and since
fear tends to be remembered more than
kindness, the bad experiences were more likely
to be remembered, and, with time, formed a
single impression labeled “nun.”
Be this as it may, women religious are usually
known as nurses, teachers, social workers - as
professional women of one sort or another,
rather than as women of prayer and
community. Moreover, a subtle impression used
to be given that, if a woman wanted to be truly
dedicated in a service career, her place was in
the convent; today a woman’s dedication to her
job stands on her own merits and achievements
rather than a blanket status derived from her
state in life. Nevertheless, if a person’s image of
a sister is job-oriented, that person may draw
the conclusion that there is now no reason for
the existence of religious communities since
anyone can perform their services.
To combat these misconceptions, many
religious communities have opened their doors
to allow women to visit and live with them for
varying periods of time in order to get a more
realistic picture of what religious life really is all
about. What is more important than mere
public relations is that women religious are
sharing what is more important to them -- their
prayer and community life.
The basic thrust of religious women to
prayer and community is not something that
can necessarily be observed by one’s students or
associates. One may have a sparkling
personality and be a very dynamic teacher
while her faith and prayer life could be
absolutely nil; conversely, one could possess a
deep and intense prayer life and yet be a total
failure in a given profession. The same
difficulty occurs in attempting to help a woman
discern her vocation; the primary prerequisite
of faith is not easily discemable.
Another factor is that many of those making
inquiry about religious life today are searching
not for a profession but for a life form that will
help them to develop the prayer life that they
have already begun.
Live-in programs vary from weekends which
provide just initial exposure to those which
may last several weeks or even several years.
The woman may live with the religious
community sharing in their life as much as
possible while continuing her occupation as
before. For some, this re ay be an initial phase
preparatory to accepta. o as a member of the
community; for others it is intended to be only
a temporary association for a woman who
wishes to share in the prayer life, or who even
may wish to donate several years of service to
the work of the Church but has no intention of
making any permanent commitment to the
community.
Several live-in programs are planned for this
summer. Anyone interested should write in care
of this column or contact the diocesan vocation
director.
Touchiness
Rev. James Wilmes
The popular figurine of “The Three
Monkeys” who see no evil, hear no evil, speak
no evil, make an almost impossible demand on
human nature. Such perfection is not granted
to many. But it is possible not to see too much
evil, not to believe all one hears, and not to pass
on an evil report even though true. In short, we
can be deaf, dumb and blind, at times, lest we
fall victim to the sin of touchiness.
Among the incidents to be ignored are the
verbal pin-pricks of everyday relationships.
Most of the mean Avords spoken to us are
without special malice, and often without
deliberate intent to hurt. As for the intentional
ones, most of these can be filed in the mental
drawer marked “So what?”
Again, over-sensitive people tend to live in
the past by keeping fresh the recollection of all
the wounds they have ever suffered. These they
pick at with loving care, as though never
wanting them to heal. How touchy can one get?
Life-wisdom tells us it is wrong to expect or
ask perfect consideration from others. Or to
complain that life is not one long, sweet song.
Yet how often touchy individuals are the first
to demand every consideration from others
while showing no mercy toward these others
themselves.
And the corrective? It is the lesson of The
Three Monkeys, modified: not to see too much
lest we demand the impossible; to take stock in
no more than a fraction of what we hear; and
to think twice before we speak.