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r¥TJ c< .1 /~i 1 he southern Cross DIOCESE OF SAVANNAH NEWSPAPER Vol. 57 No. 14 Thursday, April 1,1976 Single Copy Price - 15 Cents PROPAGATION OF FAITH MEETING - Reverend Joseph C. Otterbein, Associate Director of The Society for the Propagation of the Fatih for the Diocese of Savannah, Georgia, is greeted by The Most Reverend William W. Baum, Bishop of the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C., and The Most Reverend Edward T. O’Meara, National Director of The Society for the Propagation of the Faith at a recently held regional meeting of Diocesan Directors in Washington, D.C. (Story on page 3) HEADLINE HOPSCOTCH NFPC Hears Apostolic Delegate HOUSTON (NC) - The apostolic delegate in the United States called the faith relationship of priests and bishops the “most vital yet least tangible area of development” in resolving problems of priests’ senates. Speaking during the annual meeting of the House of Delegates of the National Federation of Priests’ Councils, Archbishop Jeain Jadot said that “the faith relationship of priests and bishops is based on their common ministry to Christ in His sisters and brothers through the sacrament that they share. “We need to strive especially to intensify this aspect of our life together,” he said. “We must also seek to improve the quality of the human relationships between a bishop and his priests, as seen in the respect shown for one another and the fraternal spirit that ought to highlight all endeavor.” “Finally,” he said, “all priests and bishops have to be convinced of the importance of senates and priests’ participation in them so that they can become truly representative.” Noting that Church members are the “family of God,” the Belgian-born prelate said that the responsibility of preserving this family and making it “grow and flourish belongs in a primary way to priests united with their bishop. “The relationship of priest and bishop is at the core of the life of the Church we serve,” he said. “It is imperative that this bond be nurtured and strengthened by every means available.” Recalling that the Second Vatican Related Story Page 2 Council sought to improve this relationship by establishing priests’ senates, Archbishop Jadot said that if senates are faithful to the conciliar spirit which gave them birth, “the bishop and priest representatives will strive to be a community manifesting faith and love for God through prayer, a community resolving its concerns in an environment of healthy dialogue and trust.” The representative of Pope Paul VI in the United States, Archbishop Jadot pointed out that “the record of Priests’ senates in their first 10 years has been a mixed one, not only in the United States but everywhere in the Church.” The apathy of some priests and the less than whole-hearted cooperation of some bishops have sapped enthusiasm, and even given rise to discouragement, he said. He noted that in some instances some individuals endeavored to manipulate senates for selfish purposes, and that in their early days the focus of senates was largely on their own material and juridical problems. “Looking back one sees that at all levels - that of bishops, senates, priests associations, and the NFPC itself -- excessive confrontation, pressure, misunderstanding, and public disagreement were often too prevalent,” Archbishop Jadot continued. “Despite such difficulties, a sense of growing maturity is occuring within priests’ senates. It is increasingly evident that a greater spirit of mutual understanding and consultation between bishops and priests has become the practice rather than the exception. This gives us cause for hope.” “From the material and legal, the posture of priests’ senates has gradually evolved to the consideration of pastoral problems,” he said. “Questions of diocesan, national and international dimensions were exposed and are now being studied and acted upon. The NFPC has contributed significantly to this effort.” Expressing optimism, the archbishop said that 10 short years from Vatican Council II priests and bishops are manifesting a real desire to dismantle all barriers. “You are men who are anxious to work together to bring forth that communion which is the Church. Such a bond, finding its primary expression in senates, will have to be build on a foundation of prayer, of trust, of honesty, of humility, of patience, of productive dialogue, of scholarly and professional study. “As you face pressing pastoral problems, as you seek to reveal the reality of community to a large and diversified 20th-century Church, as you evangelize those of a materialist orientation, you must do so with your bishop,” the delegate told the 200 NFPC delegates and alternates. “Although communion with your bishop most immediately affects your lives, you and I have a responsibility to the Holy Father. Priests are the Holy Father’s special concern. Much of what I have said about priests’ senates are his thoughts which he communicated to me the last time that we met.” In closing, Archbishop Jadot noted that “our experience can be associated with what Pope John once said to a friend of mine: ‘In the practice of collegiality, we are all novices.’ “The same can be said of priests’ senates and shared responsibility,” he said. “We have to find our way by means of trial and error. Priests and bishops need to learn how to accommodate themselves to one another, to learn from successes and failures in communications.” Archbishop Dwyer Dies OAKLAND, Calif. (NC) -- Archbishop Robert J. Dwyer, retired archbishop of Portland, Ore., died March 24 at Providence Hospital here after a long illness. He was 67. Archbishop Dwyer, who was publisher-editor of the National Catholic Register, was admitted to the hospital Feb. 17 for diagnostic tests and exploratory surgery. New Guidelines Ordered ST. LOUIS, Mo. (NC) -- A federal appeals court here has ordered that new guidelines be worked out to ensure more equitable participation of nonpublic school students in a federal education program. The appeals court ruling sustains a group of nonpublic school students and their parents who contended that the Missouri Department of Education had unfairly administered the Title I provision of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. LENTEN MENU - This is the menu suggested for the 6th week of Lent for families participating in Operation Rice Bowl: Creamed Peas on Toast, Rice Pudding. The program is being sponsored by the 41st International Eucharistic Congress in an effort to help feed the starving people of the world. (NC Photo by Robert H. Davis) Study Addresses U. S. Catholic Decline NEW YORK (NC) - A new study, “Catholic Schools in a Declining Church,” co-authored by the priest-sociologist Father Andrew M. Greeley, blames the 1963 encyclical, Humanae Vitae, for most of the decline in American Catholic practices in the last decade. The encyclical reaffirmed Church prohibitions of artificial contraception. In a two-hour press conference at the Princeton Club, Father Greeley commented about the 483-page study, published by the Sheed and Ward subsidiary of Universal Press Syndicate: “If I were a bishop, and saw this information, I would consider it serious enough to call a panic meeting.” The study said that while Catholics under 30 years of age are less devout than those over 30, 80 percent of decline in Catholic practices took place among those over 30. The study predicted that the trends of the last 10 years would continue unabated to produce a Church that is “hardly recognizable” as the Church in the post-Vatican II era. Only one-third of American Catholics will attend Mass each week, it said; 29 percent will find themselves happy at the prospect of a son becoming a priest; and only one percent will be active in Church affairs. With Father Greeley at the briefing was one of the co-authors of the $125,000 survey. He is William C. McCready, associate director of the Chicago-based National Opinion Research Center (NORC) where Father Greeley is program director. The third member of the team is Kathleen M. McCourt, senior studies director of NORC. Blaming the encyclical rather than changes initiated by the Second Vatican Council for what it said was erosion of the Church, the study said: “We must note that the encyclical letter has been both a failure and an organizational and religious disaster... far from reasserting the teaching authority of the Church and the credibility of the Pope, it has led to a deterioration among American Catholics of a respect for both. Finally, it seems to have been the occasion for massive apostasy and for a notable decline in religious devotion and belief.” The study compared two NORC national samples of American Catholics, one taken in 1963 as the Second Vatican Council progressed and the other in 1974. The first was funded by the Carnegie Corp., and the second by the National Institute of Education. The 1974 study is the first to have used a “longitudinal design” and social change computer analyses to measure religious behavior and the effects of religious education. The findings showed that despite dramatic declines in religious practices, support for Catholic schools continued high. It said that 90 percent of American Catholics favor continuation of their school system, and 80 percent would increase their annual contributions to the Church to sustain the schools. It contended that two-thirds of the drop in Catholic school enrollment resulted from failure of the Church to build new schools in suburbs where thousands of Catholics have moved in the last decade. While there has been “no change” over the years surveyed in Catholic (Continued on page 7) Report Draws Response From Bishops The controversial study, “Catholic Schools in a Declining Church,” should be taken seriously but cannot be used to judge the authenticity of Catholic teaching, according to leaders of the U.S. Catholic Heirarchy. “Ethical values cannot be arrived at by counting noses,” said Archbishop Joseph L. Bernardin, president of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, in response to the study. Bishop William E. McManus, Chairman of the USCC Education Committee, said that Fr. Andrew Greeley’s book “cannot be normative on what is right or wrong in the Church’s teaching on doctrine and morality.” But, he added, such research “can be helpful to Church leaders who want to be informed about both success and failure in gaining the Church’s membership’s acceptance of doctrine and moral position.” The new study claims that widespread opposition to the Church’s prohibition of the “the pill” for birth control purposes rather than the liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council, has caused the decline in Mass attendance. Here are the comments of Archbishop Bernardin and Bishop McManus: Archbishop Bernardin: “In response to inquiries which the National Conference of Catholic Bishops has received concerning the study, Catholic Schools in a Declining Church even before its publication, I wish to make the following brief comments. “First, the study says a great deal concerning the teaching of the Catholic Church as expressed in the encyclical letter, ‘Humanae Vita’. Catholic truth is (Continued on page 7) U.S. Congress Pressed For ‘Right To Food’ Resolution WASHINGTON (NC) - Twenty-eight of the nation’s top religious leaders have signed an “Appeal to Congress” asking for support of a pending resolution declaring the “right to food.” The resolution would have no binding power, but would represent a statement of principles to guide future policy decisions. The resolution would declare that every person throughout the world has the right to a “nutritionally adequate diet.” The “Appeals to Congress” said the right to food derived from the right to life expressed in the Declaration of Independence. “Without food to sustain life, that right is made meaningless,” the appeal said. Those signing the appeal include Archbishop Joseph Bernardin of Cincinnati, president of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB); evangelist Billy Graham; Claire Randall, general secretary of the National Council of Churches; Archbishop Iako.os, Greek Orthodox archbishop of North and South America; and Rabbi Marc Tanenbaum, director of interreligious affairs for the American Jewish Committee. The right to food resolution was developed by Bread for the World, a Christian citizens’ lobby concerned with hunger issues. The resolution was introduced by Sen. Mark Hatfield (R-Ore.) a Bread for the World Board member, in the Senate and by Rep. Donald Fraser (D-Minn.) in the House. Bread for the World estimates that some 200,000 letters supporting the resolution have reached Congress since its introduction in mid-September. Hearings on the resolution are expected in the Senate subcommittee on foreign agricultural policy, the House subcommittee on international resources, food and energy and the House Agriculture Committee. “The resolution before Congress does not commit our nation to massive food handouts,” the “Appeal to Congress” said. “Rather it recognizes the responsibility we have, in cooperation with other nations, of enabling hungry people to produce more food and to work their way out of hunger. “Such efforts require some commitment of our resources, to be sure. But the costs are far cheaper than war and much less than the cost of continued human misery. “Substantial gains against hunger will not be quick or easy or cheap,” the appeal said. “But they are not beyond reach. They will require exceptional efforts on the part of rich and poor nations alike. And they will exact some sacrifice from all of us. The alternative, however, is a broken world that we do not want our children to inherit.” The “right to food” resolution would require that the right to food become “a cornerstone of U.S. policy” and a “fundamental point of reference” in determining policies in the areas of trade, assistance, monetary reform, military spending and “all other matters that bear on hunger.” Concerning domestic hunger, the resolution says, “we seek to enroll in food assistance programs all who are in need, to improve those programs to insure that recipients receive an adequate diet and to attain full employment and a floor of economic decency for everyone.” Concerning world hunger, the resolution calls for increased food assistance and increased aid for self-help development programs, until such assistance, including aid given through private voluntary agencies, reaches one percent of the Gross National Product. I *