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PAGE 4 — 1 at ^ouUiern Cross, September 9, 1976
“Challenging These Keys”
There is more to the possible formal
excommunication of Archbishop
Marcel Lefebvre than the celebration of
a Tridentine Mass.
Over a year ago, the Vatican withdrew
its sanction of the archbishop’s
traditionalist seminary in Switzerland.
This June, after repeated warnings, Pope
Paul ordered the archbishop to refrain
from ordaining new priests. Archbishop
Lefebvre defied the order and ordained
13 men on June 29. It was for this act of
disobedience that the Vatican suspended
him on July 24.
In addition to Archbishop Lefebvre’s
insistence on the celebration of the
Tridentine Mass, he also rejects Decrees
of the Second Vatican Council. It is this
that is at the heart of his trouble with
the Vatican. Documents of the Council
are forbidden at the Econe Seminary.
The archbishop publicly opposes the
Council’s “Declaration on Religious
Liberty.” In a recent interview he is
quoted as saying that ecumenism is a
“pact of nonaggression concluded by the
Church and the Masons.”
Some raise the question as to why the
sanction of this mild mannered man
while transgressions of others who are
classified as “liberal” go unpunished?
The answer is that Rome has taken such
action. Just recently, Giovanni Franzoni,
former Benedictine Abbot of St. Paul
Outisde the Walls in Rome, was lacized
by the Pope for his public behavior
which was deemed unacceptable for a
clergyman. Franzoni had supported the
Communist Party in the recent Italian
elections.
Some question why no action has
been taken against Hans Kueng. In
answer it should be remembered that
Lefebvre is a bishop and has the power
to ordain. Kueng does not.
Pope Paul has sent at least three
personal letters asking Archbishop
Lefebvre to publicly retract his rejection
of Vatican II Decrees and to meet with
him in Rome. Prayers were offered
throughout the Diocese of Rome last
Sunday asking for a change of heart on
the part of the archbishop.
The case has come down to a question
of authority. As Pope Paul said following
the celebration of the Mass, the
archbishop has taken an attitude
“challenging these keys placed in our
hands by Christ ...”
Let us pray for Archbishop Lefebvre.
Let us pray he accepts the overtures
from Pope Paul. Let us also pray for
Pope Paul in what must be the most
anguishing time of his life.
Respect Life
Be Patriotic
Last Monday, Labor Day, President
Ford and Mr. Carter officially “kicked
off” their campaigns for the office of
President of the United States. Between
now and election day, they and a
number of other candidates for the
presidency, as well as candidates for
other offices, will be working very hard
to win our votes.
Despite the millions of dollars that
will be spent, their efforts will fail
because only a relatively small number
of people will take the time to vote.
Unfortunately, many of those who do
not vote consider themselves good,
patriotic Americans. They are not, for
by failing to exercise their right to vote
they are failing to share in a responsible
way in the decision making process of
government.
This does not mean that all who take
the time to cast ballots in November are
patriotic. Before we go to the polls we
have to seek to understand the men and
the issues. We must know for whom and
for what we are voting.
Whether or not we participate
intelligently and responsibly is not only
a .matter of civic responsibility but also a
matter of conscience. Patriotism is a
virtue, that is a power that we should
exercise.
In view of this, we as Catholics have
(Reprinted from The Catholic Banner, Charleston, S. C.)
the responsibility of seeking to find out
to the best of our ability just what is in
the best interest of society and to
support the candidates who will work
toward those ends.
No, voting in our democratic society
is not simply a matter of giving to Caesar
the things that are Caesar’s but also a
means by which we give to God the
things that are God’s. This should be
evident to all who in any way are aware
of the ways in which government today
touches the lives of people.
One issue that we must be concerned
with is the very right of our fellow
citizens to life. If we do nothing to
protect the life of the unborn, their
blood will be on our hands. Again, if we
fail to support programs to feed the
hungry, to clothe the naked, to shelter
the homeless, to make life bearable for
the imprisoned and the sick, their cries
of anguish will one day be accusations to
deny our right to enter the kingdom of
heaven.
As citizens of this country, we have
received many rights and privileges but
at the same time, we have been given
serious responsibilities. We may one day
ask, “How Lord could we have helped
you?” and His response will be, “You
could have at least voted responsibly.”
Opening Doors To Euthanasia
VATICAN CITY (NC) -- Commenting on a “right to die” bill passed by the
California legislature, the Vatican daily newspaper told readers Sept. 2 that failure to
defend the “right to life” is to “open the doors to euthanasia.”
L’Osservatore Romano said in a brief editorial comment that the “right to die” bill
“cannot fail to cause concern in those . . . who are jealous custodians of their own lives
and the lives of others.”
The paper asserted that failure to defend the principles of the preservation of life
“means to open the doors to euthanasia and to opt for nonlife.”
“If such is the case,” the comment continued, “after the liberalization of abortion,
the eclipse of values would be fatal.
“What is left of truth, and of universally valid principles when people renounce
basic values, such as human life?” it asked.
The California legislature passed the right to die bill Aug. 31. The bill would allow
individuals to authorize their physicians to withdraw lifesaving procedures should they
become terminally ill.
If Gov. Edmund Brown Jr. signs the bill -- and he is expected to -- it would become
the first such legislation in the United States.
The Southern Cross
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SUMMER’S LAST SWING -- As the enjoys a swing in the warm air.
summer days become shorter, a child
Why Is God?
Rev. Joseph Dean
Why is man? Why is electricity? Why is
anything?
Sometimes we answer questions like those by
observing effects. “By their fruits you shall
know them.” The effects of electricity are light,
heat and power. So we know something about
electricity by these effects. Electricity is a force
in the universe that brightens up darkness, that
moderates temperature and that produces
practical energy. We cannot understand
electricity completely, but can get a clear idea
that it does exist and that it has some basic
qualities. So too with questions about our soul,
about our spirit, other persons, even Almighty
God. We cannot understand and grasp
completely the inner nature of God, but by
observing the effects of God’s creation around
us, we can come to the knowledge that God
does exist and that God has the basic qualities
that are reflected in the design, goodness, love,
beauty and life in the world about us.
We can consider the order and the
mathematics in the universe, the purpose
displayed, the tremendous intelligence needed
to implant instincts in fish, birds and animals,
the plan of life built into them by a personal
Planner. We can consider even the miracle of
sound, relayed from a musical studio through
the atmosphere into a radio and then into
vibrations that strike our delicate ear-drums, at
exactly the right frequency. We did not create
all this. We only discovered and made use of
these gifts of a personal and intelligent God.
We know the purpose of each tool or utensil
we own. But do we know the purpose of
ourselves, of us men and women? Why is man?
We can get some understanding here by
observing the hungers of the human family. The
Great Spirit or the Infinite Creator has placed
certain hungers within each of us, more intense
than the strongest instincts within fish, birds, or
animals. We hunger every day - and for more
than food and drink. Our deepest desires are for
love and companionship, for happiness, and for
life itself. Are we ever satisfied? Leo Tolstoy
said once, “God is the name of my desire.”
Ultimately he is the one who can satisfy us
beyond our wildest desires. At times we don’t
dare to believe it, and perhaps we don’t even
belong to a community of beiievers who would
help us with our faith . . .
. . . Lord Jesus, You have provided us with
Your Life, your teaching, your work, your
resurrection. You have presented us with
evidence, credentials, and sufficient motives for
us to come to an enlightened, living faith in
you. You are the answer to “Why is God?” We
accept your plan. We accept you. We believe in
you. Please help us believe totally as complete
Christians in all our living. Amen.
What One
Person
Can Do
Rev. Richard Armstrong
DONNA WOLFE, CONCERNED
CITIZEN
Today Kansas City, Kansas, has an ordinance
governing ambulance services and the city
supplies emergency ambulances staffed by
well-trained paramedics. Behind those
achievements for the past 18 years has been
Donna Wolfe.
In 1958, Mrs. Wolfe, a wife and mother of
four children, was shocked when a friend died
in an ambulance while two drivers were
squabbling over who would get the job of
taking her to a hospital. She decided to do
something.
She spent eight years working alone on her
self-chosen project, collecting news items of
similar occurrences, documenting the need for
regulations and training requirements, calling
persons involved in providing ambulance service
and compiling a file for future reference. She
walked miles circulating petitions, and enlisted
the support of hospitals, churches and PTA
groups. Finally, in 1967, then-Mayor Joseph
McDowell asked Mrs. Wolfe to chair a
committee to study the city’s needs.
The result? “Changes we recommended have
become a reality and improvements have
occurred that we did not believe possible 10
years ago,” she says. “Once city officials
became aware of how bad the situation was'
they took an active part in improving the
service.”
Kansas City now has KARE, a rescue squad
run by the Fire Department and staffed by
paramedics. There is also a city ordinance
laying down training requirements and other
regulations for private companies which are
allowed to serve non-critical medical needs.
“Without the help of many other people in
the community none of this could have been
possible,” says Donna Wolfe with characteristic
modesty.
Can one person make a difference? Just
think of Donna Wolfe.
Flip Quips
The procrastinator’s put-off is usually a
selfdeluding come-on, an evasive stall
until time has cancelled the need to do
what was initially side stepped.
/
If yesterday’s put-off is a continuation
of the day before yesterday’s undone job,
today’s further evasion of the same task
indicates a bad habit getting a good start.
The bellyaching also-ran could be
suffering from a lazy mind with mental
gears habitually in idle, needing a spark of
pride and the push of character to move
out of a rut.
FRANK J. MCARDLE
One Step Enough
Rev. James Wilmes
There is a line in Cardinal Newman’s beloved
hymn, “Lead Kindly Light,” which should be
at the command of everyone burdened with
cares and troubles. The line reads, “I do not ask
to see the distant scene, one step enough for
me.” Here is a simple formula, yet potent in
bringing peace of mind. One step at a time is
enough to insure the reaching of any
destination.
Our forebears with feeble lanterns made their
way through tangled underbush and along faint
trails. They had only the light that fell at their
feet, and needed no more. It was enough to see
the next step, for each step ahead cast light on
the next to be taken. Apply this strategy to
another kind of seeing. When we project our
thoughts, especially our anxious thoughts, too
far ahead in anticipation of trouble, then our
powers of concentration are diffused and we
falter and fail in the present. Like one who
holds a lantern too high, the immediate path is
in shadow. And so are those opportunities and
resources right under our foot.
Nobody can forecast the future. The best
guesses are subject to change without notice.
But it is reasonably sure that the best work will
be done by those who deal with this very day,
rather than look too far ahead.
There is a kind of spiritual law which works
like this: When we do the best we can, with
what we have, right where we are, then ways
and means of doing better will be revealed to us
when it is time for the next step of the journey,
all in the Providence of our loving Father.
RESOLUTION: Besides living in the present,
imitate the hour glass: Just as only one grain of
sand can pass through it at a time, so we can do
only one thing at a time. Thinking in the back
of our mind of all the things we should
accomplish today, while trying to do the
present task, only causes jitters, worry and
anxiety, as if we should be able to do all at the
same time. Like the sand, all strains and tasks
come in single file, hours come a minute at a
time.
SCRIPTURE: “Therefore, I say to you, do
not be anxious about food and clothing. Which
of you by being anxious can add a single cubit