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The Southern Cross
DIOCESE OF SAVANNAH NEWSPAPER
Vol. 57 No. 5
Thursday, January 29,1976
Single Copy Price —15 Cents
THIRD ANNIVERSARY
Thousands March
WASHINGTON (NC) - Thousands of
grassroots activists from all parts of the
country converged on the nation’s
capitol Jan. 22 to mark the third
anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court
abortion decision and to lobby for a
constitutional amendment that would
overturn it.
The demonstrators, estimated by
Capitol police at between 25,000 and
50,000, were greeted by sub-freezing
temperatures and 30 mile-an-hour winds
as they stepped off buses, trains, planes
and cars from at least as far west as
Colorado and as far south as Louisiana.
The March for Life committee, which
organized the demonstration, said
pro-life advocates came from all 50
states to protest against the high court
ruling striking down most state laws
restricting abortion.
The demonstration began in
mid-morning when a few thousand
persons, many of high school age,
assembled in Lafayette Park across from
the White House. They marched on the
brick sidewalks there behind a banner
declaring: “Abortion - A Woman’s
Right to Kill” until demonstration
officials told them to move to the
Ellipse near the Washington Monument
for a pro-life rally that was to end later
in the day on the west plaza of the
Capitol building.
At the Ellipse, the crowd, which
swelled by the hour, heard more than a
dozen speakers compare the Supreme
Court abortion decision to Nazi
atrocities against the Jews in World War
II and the 1857 Dred Scott decision
which denied citizenship to a black
slave.
“What if you were a citizen of
Munich in World War II and you smelled
the smoke of the burning Jews from
Dachau? Would you have said that you
weren’t entitled to impose your
morality against that,” asked Dr. John
C. Willke of the Ohio Right to Life
Society and the National Right to Life
committee.
The abortion decision, he continued,
“is the rankest, most outrageous civil
rights violation” this country has ever
known. “We’re going to work and work
hard until we have a human life
amendment that protects every person
in the United States.”
After about two hours in the cold,
the crowd seemed anxious to march to
the Capitol, and assembled behind a
“March for Life” banner half as wide as
Pennsylvania Ave. A drum corps of four
young boys and an adult kept cadence,
and behind them two donkeys pulled a
small black casket draped in an
American flag.
The crowd moved briskly down
Pennsylvania Ave. toward the west steps
of the Capitol building. Police had
blocked off half of the street, but traffic
continued to flow unimpeded.
The first arrivals branched off to the
left and right, of the Capitol forming a
“circle of life” around the building.
When the others arrived, the entire
group gathered in front of a speakers’
podium on the west steps where they
chanted “Vote Pro-Life” and “no
compromise,” the latter slogan in
reference to the so-called “states-rights”
amendment to limit abortion.
During the National Anthem, which
BISHOP RA USCH SA YS:
World Food Problem
BLOWING IN THE WIND -- Marching up Pennsylvania Ave. (top) or
standing still on the Ellipse adjacent to the White House, the crowds of
pro-life demonstrators braved winds and freezing temperatures during the
entire day of protest. The waving flag in the top photo attests to the
wind’s strength. (NC Photo)
raft#
HEADLINE
HOPSCOTCH
Milan Cathedral Invaded
VATICAN CITY (NC) - Pope Paul has condemned in harsh terms the invasion of
his former cathedral in Milan by militant feminists protesting against the Vatican’s
recent reaffirmation of traditional Catholic sexual ethics. He called the demonstration
“an unseemly and sacrilegious invasion of the famous Milan cathedral, our own
cathedral, by a group of cackling people.” Seventeen feminists marched into Milan
cathedral Jan. 17 shouting pro-abortion slogans.
Divorced Catholics Meet
SILVER SPRING, Md. (NC) - The 14-member steering committee of the North
American Conference for Separated and Divorced Catholics (NACSDC) met here Jan.
17-18, pledging to “create awareness” of the needs of divorced members of the
Church. The committee also elected officers and adopted a statement of purpose
calling upon Church authorities to support the “unique ministry of separated and
divorced Catholics.”
Peace 4 Not A Dream’
NEW YORK (NC) - The secretary general of the United Nations has echoed Pope
Paul Vi’s assertion that peace is not a dream, but a practical necessity. Kurt Waldheim
made the observation at a World Day of Peace celebration sponsored by Msgr.
Giovanni Cheli, the Vatican’s permanent observer at the UN.
AT ST. JOAN OF ARC-LOUISVILLE
Joint Sharing Of Church Begins
NELLIE J. GRAY Washington
Right to Life March chairman
addresses crowd at U.S. Capitol on
Jan. 22. (NC Photo)
An Episcopal mission with six known
families of the Louisville area was
organized recently as an outreach of
two mission congregations in the
diocese.
The Church of the Good Shepherd,
Swainsboro, where the Rev. Judson
Mayfield is pastor; and St. Michael’s
Church, Waynesboro, with the Rev.
Forrest Ethridge as pastor, are making
this joint effort.
Services began on Sunday, January
25 which was the last day of the Week
of Prayer for Christian Unity. This date
BY JOHN MAHER
WASHINGTON (NC) - “The world
food problem concerns a fundamental
‘right to life’ issue: people’s right to
eat,” Bishop James S. Rausch, general
secretary of the U.S. Catholic
Conference (USSCC), said here at the
National Prayer Breakfast for Life ’76.
“To say people have a right to eat is
to pose the problem in terms of
obligation rather than choice,” Bishop
Rausch said in offering thoughts for
meditation to about 600 persons
representing Protestant, Catholic and
Jewish groups.
Failing to insure that others can
exercise their right to eat, Bishop
Rausch said, “means we have fallen
short of fulfilling a minimal moral
duty.”
He reminded those present that “the
right to eat is still denied to many
people in our country and to countless
thousands - indeed millions
throughout the globe.”
To deal with the world food problem,
Bishop Rausch said, “individuals can
and must decide to change their life
styles by voluntarily limiting
consumption and reducing the rate of
depletion of the earth’s finite
resources.”
He also urged citizens to work
through the legislation process for
was significant because as a ministry of
St. Joan of Arc Church, the Episcopal
services will continue to be held there
through the ecumenical courtesy of its
people and pastor with, the permission
of Bishop Raymond W. Lessard.
Both congregations met for a covered
dish supper and fellowship on that
eventful day.
The program included the
presentation of an informative filmstrip
entitled, “THE CHURCHES IN THE
70’s.” It presented through on-location
shots and a highly objective narration
changes in U.S. agricultural policies and
to seek reform of the international
structures and systems “in which and
through which, food production,
distribution and financing takes place.”
Finally, Bishop Rausch urged prayer.
“We believe,” he said, “that despite our
best intentions and most enlightened
visions, there remains an extra measure
that is beyond human capability: God’s
presence in the world. Prayer can and
does solicit God’s presence.”
He concluded: “All of us pray. Few,
if any, of us have personally
experienced the reality of hunger.
Perhaps it might be well, from time to
time, to ask God to ‘give them their
daily bread and forgive us the wrongs
we do to them’ by indifference, neglect
or selfishness.”
Bishop Rausch’s stress on a right to
life issue other than that of abortion
was echoed by another speaker, Dr.
David Allen, a West Indian psychiatrist
practicing in Boston.
Dr. Allen told those at the prayer
breakfast on the third anniversary of the
U.S. Supreme Court abortion decision:
“We can’t say we’re anti-abortion and
not be concerned about the elderly, the
mentally ill, the hungry,” unwed
mothers and others who are
discriminated against.
The psychiatrist, who is also a
the faith, worship and life of some
representative denominations
(Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Lutheran,
Presbyterian, Episcopal, Methodist,
Baptist), emphasizing the common
heritage of all Christians, while noting
their distinct differences.
The filmstrip concluded by
summarizing the present state of affairs
in the ecumenical movement and by
offering positive suggestions of what can
be done at the grass-roots level to
further unity of love and belief that is
Christ’s will.
Against Abortion
began the rally, the audience waved red
roses, symbol of life.
After opening remarks by Miss Nellie
Gray, chairwoman of the 15-member
March for Life Committee, Sen. James
L. Buckley (R-N.Y.) told the crowd that
their presence was a “demonstration of
faith, hope and love.”
“Let us work,” he said, “so the
principle of the founders, the principle
of life is once again at the heart of this
great nation.”
Following Buckley, a string of
Congressmen warmed the crowd with
speeches condemning the high court’s
abortion decision. Among them were
Senators Richard Stone (D-Fla.), Dewey
Bartlett (R-Okla.) and Jesse A. Helms
(R-N.C.) and Representatives James J.
Florio (D-N.J.), Henry J. Hyde (R-Ill.),
John B. Conlon (R-Ariz.), Charles J.
Carney (R-Ohio), Ralph Regula
(R-Ohio), Tennyson Guyer (R-Ohio),
Norman Lent (R-N.Y.), Robert Bauman
(R-Md.), Clement Zablocki (D-Wis.),
and Romano Mazzoli (D-Ky.).
One of the afternoon’s biggest
ovations followed a speech by Sen.
Helms, which he closed with a telegram
from Ronald Reagan, Republican
candidate for president.
In the telegram, Reagan said, “I wish
I could be with you to tell you in
person how much I admire the work
you are all doing to ensure that the right
of life will belong to all human beings,
born or unborn. Passage of the hum^n
life amendment is the most certain way
to ensure this. I support it!”
A message of support from the Rev.
Jesse Jackson, a long-time civil rights
activist and head of People United to
Save Humanity (PUSH), was also
greeted with cheers from the crowd.
After a closing prayer by Bishop
James T. Welsh of Arlington, Va., the
crowd filtered into the nearby Senate
and House office buildings to lobby
congressmen for a proposed human life
amendment outlawing abortion.
A straw poll by NC News indicated
that the largest number of
demonstrators visited the offices of Sen.
Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) and
Democratic presidential hopeful Sen.
Birch Bayh (D-Ind.). Both are among a
group of senators supporting
alternatives to abortion, such as “life
support centers,” rather than a
constitutional amendment against it.
Earlier in the day some pro-life
demonstrators picketed the White
House, urging President Ford to adopt a
strong pro-life stand. At the same time,
a group headed by Miss Gray met with
representatives of the Justice
Department, the Department of Health,
Education and Welfare, and the
President’s Domestic Council.
The March for Life Committee sent
16,000 roses, symbols of the
anti-abortion cause, to the President,
Vice-President and members of
Congress The roses were purchased
with ck nations frorr various pro-life
viduals th^ughout
the country, who, held anti-abortion
rallies in their own communities to
coincide with Washington
demonstration.
Right To Life Issue
Protestant lay leader, denounced
“utilitarian moral reasoning that
justified oppression of the weak and
defenseless on the grounds of the
greatest good for the greatest number.”
The concept of “the greatest good for
the greatest number,” he said, “is fine if
you’re part of the greatest number.”
But the fetus, the old, blacks, the
retarded are not considered part of the
greatest number “and so they don’t
count,” he added.
“The greatest good for the greatest
number means that only the powerful
are safe and they’re safe only as long as
they are powerful,” Dr. Allen said.
“This,” he said, “is the heart of the
abortion issue.”
In a telegram to those at the
breakfast, Rep. John Rhodes (R-Ariz.),
House minority leader, called the 1973
Supreme Court decision striking down
most state laws restricting abortion
“unfortunate.” He told the right-to-life
activists: “You are trying to do what
should be done and working to undo
what should not be done. It is a high
calling and I join with you in spirit in
these endeavors.”
Mrs. Ruth Bell Graham, wife of
evangelist Billy Graham, was a sponsor
of the prayer breakfast and she also sent
a message asking God’s blessing on the
work of those in the right-to-life
movement.
Among those present at the breakfast
were Sen. Thomas F. Eagleton (D-Mo.)
and Rep. Albert H. Quie (R-Minn.).
Speakers included Rep. Lindy Boggs
(D-La.) and Rep. James Oberstar
(D-Minn.).
Mrs. Boggs said that members of
Congress have “become more aware as
your representatives of the need to
make certain that hope is given to all.”
She urged the right-of-life activists “to
have love and understanding for those
who do not share our views.”
Oberstar said: “Few movements in
American history have had the kind of
dedication, idealism, and commitment
(Continued on page 7)
FATHER ED GORNY, pastor of St. Joan of Arc Church in Louisville,
presents key to Father Forrest Ethridge of St. Michael’s Episcopal Church
in Waynesboro. Shown with the two pastors are members of both
Churches; left to right are, Lucy Johns, George Brewton, Mary Newberry,
Liz Brewton, and Ed Bradshaw.