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DIOCESE OF SAVANNAH NEWSPAPER
Vol. 57 No. 3
Thursday, January 15,1976
Single Copy Price — 15 Cents
Pastoral Letter On Abortion
January 15,1976
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My dear friends in Christ,
Ten years ago the Second Vatican Council repeated clearly and succinctly the
basic principle of respect for human life:
For God, the Lord of life, has conferred on men the surpassing ministry of
safeguarding life in a manner that is worthy of man. Therefore from the moment
of its conception life must be guarded with the greatest care, while abortion and
infanticide are unspeakable crimes.
The Church’s insistence on the dignity of the human person is grounded in a
tradition that sees whatever is opposed to human life, such as abortion or
euthanasia, whatever violates the integrity of the human person, such as some forms
of human experimentation, and whatever diminishes human dignity, such as
poverty and injustice, as moral evils and an affront to God, the Creator of all.
The Church has a duty to speak in behalf of human life and to encourage a just
social order and a system of justice that protects basic human rights, especially the
right to life. Governments must also protect human rights. Laws that permit the
arbitrary destruction of human life -- before as well as after birth -- are unjust and
immoral.
Recognition of the dignity of the human person, made in the image of God, lies
at the very heart of our individual and social duty to respect human life. It is this
which causes us to state forcefully once again that abortion and euthanasia are
violations of the right to life and are morally evil.
There is widespread disrespect for the sanctity of human life in our nation today.
It is evidenced in many ways, and especially in the destruction through abortion of
more than one million unborn children each year. Disrespect for the sanctity of life
is also evident in current efforts to persuade people that euthanasia is acceptable.
Responding to such abuses of the sanctity of life, the Bishops of the United States
adopted a PASTORAL PLAN FOR PRO-LIFE ACTIVITIES at their annual
meeting last November. This PASTORAL PLAN seeks to activate all the resources
of the Church in order to check the trend toward permissive abortion. It calls on all
the Church’s agencies, institutions and people to take part in a comprehensive
effort of education, moral and pastoral guidance, and social action which will
restore respect for human life and establish a system of justice in which the basic
right to life is protected at every stage and in every circumstance.
been one of our nation’s most important commitments. Reaffirmation of that
commitment is a responsibility of all Americans.
As we approach once again the date on which the Supreme Court of the United
States issued its decisions in 1973 denying protection to unborn children, we urge a
renewal of commitment and a resurgence of systematic efforts to persuade our
nation’s leaders to restore the protection of the Constitution to the unborn.
We urge Catholics to move out into the society and invite their neighbors,
colleagues and friends to take part in this most important effort.
Devotedly yours in Christ,
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The PASTORAL PLAN addresses itself to the practical task of amending the
Constitution in order to make possible laws that protect the unborn. It invites the Bishop of Savannah
cooperation of all Americans, regardless of sex, race, religion or ethnic origin.
Protection of the right to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” has always
Area Bishops, Priests
Plan Raleigh Meeting
Bishops and priests from the five
dioceses of the Province of Atlanta, as
well as representatives from Belmont
Abbey, will meet in Raleigh, North
Carolina, from January 26-28, for their
ninth annual meeting sponsored by the
priests’ senates and associations of the
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The dioceses of Atlanta, Charlotte,
Charleston, Raleigh, and Savannah
comprise the Atlanta Province.
Annually the bishops and priests
consider and study together some
selected area of concern in Church life.
The area selected for this year’s
discussion is “Divorced and Remarried
Catholics -- A Pastoral Concern.”
The meeting will open on Monday
evening, January 26th, with a discussion
on the “Developing Theology of
Marriage,” led by Father Robert T.
Kennedy, assistant professor of Canon
Law at Catholic University in
Washington, D.C. Father Kennedy holds
doctorate degrees in both Canon and
civil law and was president of the Canon
Law Society of America from
1970-1971.
Tuesday morning, Father Edward J.
Dillon, Officialis of the Archdiocese of
Atlanta, will lead a discussion on how to
utilize the present tribunal processes
more effectively. Father Dillon is
presently completing his doctorate
studies in Canon Law at Catholic
University, and is serving as
vice-president of the Canon Law Society
of America.
The final presentation will be made
by Father Thomas Lynch on Tuesday
evening. His topic is, “Beyond the
Tribunal -- Pastoral Possibilities.”
Father Lynch is Chancellor of the
Archdiocese of Hartford and was
president of the Canon Law Society
from 1967-1968.
On Tuesday afternoon, Father
Thomas Peyton, M.M., will turn the
attention of the participants away from
the main theme to a topical discussion
of the Appalachian Pastoral and its
implementation. Father Peyton is the
Director of Justice and Peace for the
National Federation of Priests’ Councils.
The discussion will be most timely
inasmuch as Archbishop Donnellan and
Bishops Begley and Unterkoefler signed
the document.
Highlighting the convocation will be a
concelebrated Mass with Bishop Joseph
Gossman of Raleigh as chief
concelebrant and homilist.
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HEADLINE
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HOPSCOTCH sjj
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New Phase Opening
VATICAN CITY (NC) -- A new phase of the Church’s activity, especially in the field
of evangelization, is opening up now that Holy Year has ended, Pope Paul VI told his
first general audience of the new year. The Pope said that youth are in the vanguard of
the Church’s recent moves to “begin again from the top” the worldwide task of
evangelization.
“Foul Murders” Condemned
BELFAST, Northern Ireland (NC) - “Those who take a life for a life are spitting in
the face of Christ,” Cardinal William Conway of Armagh said after the murder of 10
Protestants in southern County Armagh, Northern Ireland. They were shot the day
after five Catholics were shot to death in two separate incidents in the same part of
Northern Ireland. Cardinal Conway’s statement said: “These foul murders stand
condemned in the sight of God and man.”
PAPAL AUDIENCE - Bishop Raymond W. Lessard, of Savannah, is
pictured with His Holiness Pope Paul VI. The picture was taken while the
bishop was in Rome for the closing ceremonies of the 1975 Holy Year.
ATLANTA: FEBRUARY 6-7
Minority Ministry Workshop
Developing leadership in ministry is a
crucial problem for the Church in any
area, but especially in the southeast
where Catholics themselves are a
minority and where Blacks and
Hispanics are minorities within that
Catholic minority. To address this
problem a workshop entitled “Minority
Leadership in Ministry” has been
scheduled in Atlanta, Georgia, on
February 6-7,1976.
Hosted by the southeastern region of
the National Sisters Vocation
Conference, which is comprised of
North Carolina, South Carolina,
Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi,
and Louisiana, the workshop will be
geared to those problems of this area
and will be designed for the “Grassroots
Southern Catholic;” that is, the priest or
sister who is involved in any way with
minority groups and who wants to
deepen the understanding of that
culture and the lay man or woman of
any culture who wants to contribute to
the development of ministerial
leadership in the Church.
Keynoting the theme on Friday
evening will be Bishop Rene Gracida,
Bishop of the newly established diocese
of Pensacola, Tallahassee. While
auxiliary bishop of Miami, Bishop
Gracida worked for better
understanding of the cultural problems
of minorities, particularly those of the
Spanish-speaking of that area.
Sister M. Shawn Copeland, O.P.,
Executive Director of the National
Black Sisters Conference, will speak on
the topic of “The Black Experience of
Church - Heritage and Potential” while
Sister Mario Barron, C.S.J., of the
Leadership Institute of the
Mexican-American Cultural Center in
(Continued on page 8)
Burdick Amendment Backed
CHARLESTON, W. Va. (NC) -- The head of the Christian Action Council (CAC), a
Protestant anti-abortion group based in Washington, D.C., urged Protestant leaders to
support a “states rights” constitutional amendment restricting abortion. Dr. Harold
O.J. Brown, CAC chairman and associate professor of theology at the Trinity
Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Ill., told 25 ministers and laypeople at a
luncheon here that a proposed constitutional amendment introduced by Sen. Quentin
N. Burdick (D-N.D.) would restore state authority to regulate abortions.
Refuses Schools Use
RICHMOND, Va. (NC) - Bishop Walter F. Sullivan has told Virginia Selective
Service officials that they may not use Catholic Schools in the Richmond diocese as
sites to register young men for the draft. “Catholic schools are an integral part of the
teaching mission of the Catholic Church and registration for Selective Service is not
part of that mission,” Bishop Sullivan said in a statement sent to Linwood G. Wilhelm,
state director for Selective Service.
School Enrollment Steady
School enrollment has remained steady in Catholic elementary and high
schools of the Diocese of Savannah.
A total of 7,631 students are enrolled in the school system during the
1975-76 school year. This compares to a total of 7,624 for the previous year.
There are 5,011 students enrolled at 18 elementary schools and an additional
441 attend kindergarten. Enrollment in the 5 high schools in the Diocese is
2,179.
A total of 320 teachers from the faculty of the schools. 118 teach on the
elementary level; 188 teach on the high school level; 14 are engaged in
kindergarten work.
Of the 320 teachers 15 are priests, 106 Religious and 199 are lay teachers.
Ga. Legislative Seminar
Aimed At Churchmen
BY MICHAEL MOTES
In an effort to acquaint churchmen
of the state with the intricacies of the
various departments of Georgia
Government, the Georgia Interchurch
Association sponsored a day-long
Churchmen’s Legislative Seminar in
Atlanta last week.
Approximately seventy persons
representing different religious groups
attended the seminar at Central
Presbyterian Church. Archbishop
Donnellan of Atlanta and Bishop
Raymond Lessard and Vicar General
Father Kevin Boland of Savannah were
among those representing the Catholic
Church.
Cheatham E. Hodges, Jr., of Augusta,
Executive Secretary of the Georgia
Catholic Conference, served as
Legislative Task Force Chairman for the
Georgia Interchurch Association and
organized the seminar.
“What we attempted to do,” Hodges
said, “was to show that government
really is of the people and to develop
better understanding by the heads of
various church groups and their advisors
of how the government works.”
Planning for the seminar began last
October when Bishop Lessard, president
of the Georgia Interchurch Association,
appointed Hodges to serve as a resource
person for activities of the organization.
Hodges recommended dealing in the
realm of education and that a program
be planned to assemble judicatory heads
and council members with government
spokesmen.
Following a welcome by Norman L.
Underwood, Executive Secretary to
Governor George Busbee, a two-part
discussion of “How A Bill Becomes
Law” was conducted by Dr. Edward
Jackson of the Institute of Government
of the University of Georgia; House of
Representatives Speaker Tom Murphy
and Lieutenant Governor Zell Miller.
The lieutenant governor praised those
persons attending and commented, “I
wish we had more citizens taking part in
such seminars.”
Frank H. Edwards, Legislative
Council of the Georgia Assembly,
described the functions of his office. A
discussion of the State budget was lead
by Peter Hackney and James McIntyre
of the Governor’s budget staff.
Representative Sidney J. Marcus of
the House Health and Ecology
Committee drew many questions from
the audience when he stated he favored
reducing the use of marijuana from a
felony to a misdemeanor.
Speaking on various state legislative
committees and their functions were
Representative Wayne Snow of the
Judiciary Committee; Representative
Albert W. Thompson of the Special
Judiciary Committee; Senator Howard
T. Overby of the Senate Judiciary
Committee and Senator W.W. Fincher,
Jr., of the Human Resources
Committee.
Representing governmental
departments of the state were Dr. Don
Edwards of the Department of
Education; Commissioner Jim Parham
of the Department of Human
Resources; Dr. Allen Ault, Director of
Offender Rehabilitation, and
Commissioner Sam Caldwell of the
Department of Labor.
Members of the Task Force
established by Bishop Lessard
concluded the program. In addition to
Hodges, Representative Eleanor L.
Richardson, Task Force Secretary, and
the Reverend Lowry W. Anderson,
Executive Director, Georgia Council on
Moral and Civic Concerns, make up the
committee.
Speaking after the seminar, Hodges
said he feels it was “an excellent starting
point of the education of various
judicatory leadership. They, in turn, can
render a valuable service for the
common good of all Georgians.”
Executing such a seminar is but one
of Hodges’ functions as Executive
Secretary of the Georgia Catholic
Conference. The purpose of the
Conference is to give witness to spiritual
values in public affairs, and to provide
an agency for corporate Catholic service
to the statewide community.
Future programs planned by the
Georgia Interchurch Association include
creating a Task Force on criminal justice
and penal reform.
On Thursday, February 19, the
Association will sponsor a day-long
seminar on “The Local Church’s
Ministry to the Campus” at the Admiral
Benbow Inn at 1-285 and Buford
Highway from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. In
April the executive board of the
Association will meet during Holy Week
at the Monastery of the Holy Spirit in
Conyers.
The Reverend Jackson Braddy is
co-ordinator of the Georgia Interchurch
Association, which is located at 159
Forrest Avenue, N.E., Room 410,
Atlanta 30308.
TAKING PART IN THE
CHURCHMEN’S LEGISLATIVE
SEMINAR sponsored by the
Georgia Interchurch Association
were Speaker of the House of
Representatives Tom Murphy
(left); Cheatham E. Hodges, Jr.,
Executive Secretary of the
Georgia Catholic Conference, and
Lieutenant Governor Zell Miller.