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The Southern Cross DIOCESE OF SAVANNAH NEWSPAPER Vol. 57 No. 27 Thursday, July 22,1976 Single Copy Price —15 Cents Diocesan Eucharistic Pilgrimage July 31 In Macon TO ATLANTA N TO SAVANNAH TO ALBANY Diocesan Pilgrimage Of Renewal HOLY SPIRIT PARISH MACON 11:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., Saturday, July 31 BY GERALD T. CANTWELL Monsignor Marvin J. LeFrois, diocesan coordinator of the event, announced today that all is in readiness for the Savannah Diocesan Pilgrimage of Renewal to be conducted in Macon next Saturday, July 31. This is the diocese’s official celebration in conjunction with the 41st International Eucharistic Congress which will open in Philadelphia two days later. Father William Leahy, pastor of Holy Spirit, the host parish, and his parish council, assisted by many volunteers from their sister Macon parishes, St. Peter Claver and St. Joseph, have put the finishing touches on all arrangements and are waiting to be engulfed by hundreds of pilgrims. Although parking may be tight, Fr. Leahy’s people have adequate plans to accommodate all vehicles efficiently. “However,” Fr. Leahy warned, “the more people who come in buses, the easier it will be for us to accommodate them.” The off-duty policemen who will be helping out will direct bus drivers to discharge their passengers on the church grounds and park their buses at a remote location (see adjacent map for Holy Spirit location). Although the event is not scheduled to start until 11:00 A-M., Fr. Leahy encourages all to arrive as early as possible to avoid a last-minute jam. The focal point of the day’s celebration will be a large tent raised in the middle of Holy Spirit’s sylvan setting. However, an efficient public address system will be operating, and the people are encouraged to take advantage of the nearby shady groves and rest on the ground, even as the disciples of Jesus did. At various times during the day, the great tent will be the site of holy hour, the three “hungers” programs, Mass, and Benediction. There will be quiet interludes, too, when the people can meditate in solitude, either in the tent or at the separated grotto in which the Blessed Sacrament will repose during the day. All in all, the event promises something for everyone; each will be able to celebrate the pilgrimage in his own way. Finally, it will be a day unique in the annals of the diocese. There is simply no precedent for the diocese coming together as one to celebrate a spiritual event. DIOCESAN GROUP TO ATTEND 41st Eucharistic Congress To Take Place Aug. 1-8 PEACE DAY THEME 6 If You Want Peace, Defend Life’ VATICAN CITY (NC) - Pope Paul VI has chosen a strong pro-life theme for the 10th World Day of Peace celebration, in part to remind people that abortion can lead to “chain reaction extermination,” the Vatican said July 15. In announcing the peace day theme - “If you want peace, defend life” - Vatican officials said that the slogan for the Jan. 1, 1977, celebration shows Pope Paul’s concern over war, world hunger, and political torture and imprisonment as well as abortion. Pope Paul established the Jan. 1 World Day of Peace in 1966. According to the vice president of the Pontifical Commission for Justice and Peace, African Archbishop Bernardin Gantin, the quest for peace and the fight against abortion are intricately related. “To be in favor of abortion and against war is a contradiction,” the archbishop declared. “But to be against abortion and to condone or promote war is likewise contradictory. “Without refusing to recognize the dramatic problems raised by the repeated call for respect for life, the upcoming theme is a reminder of the incalculable risk of chain reaction extermination inherent in forgetting that life has a sacred character,” the prelate said. Archbishop Gantin added that the consequences of forgetting life’s sacredness are “death camps, genetic manipulation, contraception, euthanasia, and all forms of discrimination.” Strong opposition to war is also sensed in the theme, the archbishop said, since “if war is another name for death, then life is another name for peace.” Regarding peace day and world hunger, the archbishop said that some aspects of the problem such as the political and cultural, are being dealt with by the world. “But isn’t it time to spotlight the great slaughter of human life brought about by famine, malnutrition and thirst?” he asked. To defend life means to struggle as well against men who “wound, diminish or dishonor life,” the prelate continued. Both the Second Vatican Council and Pope Paul VI have “denounced with special vigor torture under all its forms, while the same reprimand has been given to the numerous countries relying on prisons to govern, and especially those relying on psychiatric hospitals and on practices designed to cause psychic breakdowns in individuals,” according to the archbishop. The 54-year-old prelate from Dahomey ended by saying that the 1977 theme does not only urge defense of life. “It invites us to heal life, to prolong it and to make it better.” The World Day of Peace, celebrated on New Year’s Day, takes various forms in different lands. Some Vatican officials have expressed concern that the day is given little notice in the United States. Each year a special liturgy is drawn up which can be used in place of the regular Jan. 1 liturgy. BY MARY BRODERICK The Savannah Pilgrimage group to the 41st International Eucharist Congress will leave by chartered bus on August 4 for Philadelphia to be in attendance during the last four days of the Congress. Led by Father J. Kevin Boland, Dean of the Savannah Deanery, the group will consist of twenty-eight persons from Savannah and Savannah Beach, nine from Brunswick, five from Augusta, 2 from Macon, and 1 from Warner Robins. This Congress is a gathering of the universal church and will offer to the world a great witnessing of Christianity in one place. People from all over the world, from every walk of life who want to share in this great spiritual experience Will participate - bishops, priests, religious, laity and non-Catholic groups. According to His Holiness Pope Paul Program On ‘Rebel Bishop’ On Sunday, August 1, approximately 500 radio stations across the country will broadcast a radio documentary on the Rebel Bishop: Augustin Verot - as part of the special Bicentennial series, the Patriotic Part: Catholic and Citizen in America, produced by the Sacred Heart Program. The text and presentation of “Rebel Bishop: Augustin Verot” is by Dr. Michael V. Gannon, former director of the Mission of Nombre de Dios, St. Augustine, Florida, the oldest city and cradle of Christianity in North America. In this radio documentary, Dr. Gannon presents a portrait of Augustin Verot, a remarkable churchman of the Catholic faith who lived in the 19th century - a man -- selfless and dedicated, keenly perceptive and spiritual, colorful and exciting; a man whose unconventional views of slavery, science and ecumenism invited opposition and even ridicule in his own time and earned for him the title of Rebel Bishop. VI, “The 41st International Eucharistic Congress to be held August 1-8 is another great gift of God to the Church in our time. It marks a special moment in the passage of the Lord among the people of this generation. And the prayerful hope that we express today is that this Eucharistic Congress may indeed play a major role in helping to build what we ardently desire and what we have frequently called “the civilization of love.” For the Holy Eucharist, which is the center of the Congress and indeed the “source and summit of all Christian life” is a mystery of love. Out of love, Jesus became for all who believe in him the Bread of Life.” A spiritual link has been made between this Congress and the 28th International Eucharistic Congress held in Chicago in 1926. The Christian community of Chicago has presented to the people of Philadelphia the Monstrance used at the 1926 Congress. The Monstrance, a decorated metal vessel with glass windows used to display the consecrated host, is carried at liturgies and processions. Using the theme, “The Eucharist and the Hungers of the Human Family,” this will not be a Congress marked by pomp and pageantry. Rather, it is a sober and intense exploration of the mystery of Christ’s sacrifice to the world, and of the continuing life of that sacrifice. Each day’s happenings are clustered about a specific theme - the Hunger for God, for Bread, for Freedom and Justice, for the Spirit, for Truth, for Understanding, for Peace, and for Jesus, the Bread of Life. The Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul will be the focal point for the solemn opening of the Congress on August 1 and on the f homing day, nilv Day, amom other events Prince Rainier and Princess Grace of Monaco will participate in the Family Life Conference. Special Eucharistic Celebrations have been planned for Suffering People Day and Clergy and Religious Day and on Thursday, Pilgrim People Day, the Ecumenical Conference will feature such well-known speakers as Jan Cardinal Willebrands, William Cardinal Baum, Archbishop Iakovos, Dr. Robert J. Marshall and Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen. That evening an Ecumenical Service and Charismatic Renewal will be held. On Friday, August 6 Bishop Raymond W. Lessard, of Savannah, will chair the Conference on “Woman and the Eucharist” at which Mother Teresa of Calcutta will be one of the speakers. Since Friday is Youth Day a special Eucharistic celebration for young people will be held at 7 P.M. and later at the Marian Liturgy, “Mary, the Tabernacle of the Lord,” Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen will be the homilist, this to be followed by an all-night Marian Vigil. Saturday, Peoples of the World Day, will feature Eucharistic Celebrations and festivals throughout the day for international heritage groups with a Eucharistic Procession at 7 P.M. and all-night adoration. The closing day will be devoted to thanksgiving for the Eucharist with a Procession of the Nations and States at 4 P.M. followed by the Eucharistic Celebration, Statio Orbis, in John F. Kennedy Stadium. PEMBROKE Holy Cross Mission Dedicated Holy Cross Mission at Pembroke was formally dedicated on Friday, June 11 by Bishop Raymond W. Lessard. Father James Wilmes, pastor of the mission parishes of Evans, Tatnall and Bryan counties served as Master of Ceremonies for the bishop as he celebrated the liturgy of the Eucharist and Blessing of the building. Also present and concelebrating the Mass were Rev. Msgr. Daniel J. Bourke, Comptroller of the Diocese and Rev. John Kenneally, Chancellor. The first stages of mission-parish activity begun in 1974 have now grown into a thriving Community of about 40 Catholic members. In 1975 a sturdy, frame structure was purchased, approximately 60 ft. by 35 ft., incorporating large rooms across front and rear (each 35 ft. by 15 ft.) with four additional, ample rooms between these larger ones. Under the leadership of Father Wilmes, a number of parishioners donated considerable time, talent and energy and completely renovated both the interior and exterior of the parish center. A very attractive and efficient Catholic center for the Diocese’s newest Mission has now emerged. Following the ceremony of dedication the ladies of Holy Cross Mission served an excellent buffet luncheon. Decorated with a Bicentennial theme, one of the rooms had been designated as “parish hall” for the occasion and was the setting for the social that followed for the capacity crowd that was present for this first, public parish event. This was also the occasion for Father Wilmes to bid farewell to his parishioners, as he was about to be transferred to the Glenmary Mission at Hugo, Oklahoma. Another Glenmary Missioner, Father Bill Smith, has now replaced Father Wilmes as pastor. One of his responsibilities will be to direct a building program for a new church for Pembroke. This is already in its planning stages with the Diocesan Building Commission. The older, renovated structure will then serve for educational and social functions, as well as for overnight living quarters for a priest. Holy Cross, Pembroke