Newspaper Page Text
f
*
*
«
k
<
The Southern Cross
DIOCESE OF SAVANNAH NEWSPAPER
Vol. 57 No. 43
Thursday, December 2,1976
Single Copy Price — 15 Cents
PASTORAL ISSUED
Poland’s Bishops Protest
Government Persecution
CARDINAL URGES OPPOSITION ~ Polish
Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski greets well-wishers
following a recent Mass in Warsaw. In a pastoral letter
the cardinal urged Catholics to oppose government
FATHER CUSACK
efforts to restrict religious education, access to the
mass media, construction ,■ of churches, and
discrimination against believers. (NC Photo)
Extension Society President Dies
CHICAGO (NC) -- Funeral Mass was
concelebrated here Nov. 26, for Father
Joseph Cusack, president of the
Catholic Church Extension Society,
who died Nov. 22.
Father Cusack, 53, headed the
organization, which serves needy
missions in the United States and its
protectorates, since 1970. Prior to that,
he had served in several other capacities
with the organization, including a stint
as circulation manager for Extension
magazine, the society’s official
publication, and another as general
secretary.
Cardinal John Cody of Chicago,
chancellor of the Extension Society,
praised the late priest, saying he died
“with courage, a smile and deep faith.”
According to the cardinal, the
courage with which Father Cusack
“faced a swift and painful death was the
same courage he showed always in the
daily challenges of life. His smile,'even
in the face of pain and suffering was but
a familiar sight to his many friends who
had enjoyed his humor and wit
throughout the days and years.”
But Cardinal Cody saved his highest
praise for Father Cusack’s faith. “It was
a faith that gave him great energy and
zeal in his leadership of the Extension
Society and the living of his daily life.
He wished to share his faith with
many,” the cardinal continued, “for he
knew that if people shared this faith
they too would meet life with courage
and a smile - and they would know as
he knew that death is a beginning and
not an end.”
Father Cusack was a Chicago native.
He was ordained in 1949 after studying
at St. Mary of the Lake Seminary,
Mundelein, Ill. He is survived by seven
brothers, three of whom are priests.
Three other brothers are deceased.
The funeral Mass was at Holy Name
Cathedral here, with Cardinal Cody as
principal concelebrant and Father
Cusack’s priest-brothers as
concelebrants. The homily was delivered
by Bishop John L. May of Mobile, Ala.,
a former president of the Extension
Society.
When informed of Father Cusack’s
death, Savannah Bishop Raymond W.
Lessard said, “His keenly pastoral
concern for and interest in the needs of
the home missions will most certainly
assure him a significant place in the
annals of the history of the Church in
this country.
“As you know, the Diocese of
Savannah has been for many years and
continues to be the beneficiary of
substantial help from Extension
Society. Not only our mission parishes
but many of our diocesan programs
have been largely subsidized by
Extension grants. Father Cusack always
demonstrated a personal interest and
supportive understanding of our needs
in this area and sought to obtain for us
as much assistance as was possible.”
Msgr. Daniel J. Bourke, of Savannah,
attended Father Cusack’s funeral as a
representative of the Diocese of
Savannah. Msgr. Bourke, just recently
retired from the post of Comptroller of
the Diocese, said that the Extension
Society, through Father Cusack’s
office, had given the diocese an average
of $50,000 per year during the period
he served as comptroller.
ROME (NC) - In a strongly worded
pastoral letter read in all churches in
Poland Nov. 28, the Polish bishops have
appealed to Catholics to oppose their
government’s “hateful, brutal
campaign” against the Church.
The letter, released here by the Rome
press office of the Polish bishops, was
the strongest yet in a series of recent
public statements by the bishops or
their leader, Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski,
expressing disagreement with
government policies.
It was seen as the bishops’ response
to Communist party chief Edward
Gierek’s recent pleas for Church support
in his efforts to calm social unrest in
Poland.
In the frank 10-page letter, the
bishops listed the principal elements in
what they called a stepped-up program
to “politically atheize” Poland.
Among these elements, the bishops
cited:
- Government failure to permit
building of churches and other
Church-related buildings;
Discrimination in hiring and
professional advancement against
practicing Catholics;
-- Anti-Church propaganda in films,
plays, on television and in the print
media; and
- A program in schools to discredit
religion, and to dissuade students from
attending church and religious
instruction classes.
The bishops also alerted Polish
Catholics, who make up about 90
percent of the national population, that
they will sponsor soon a national day of
prayer “in defense of the faith.”
The pastoral letter came at a
particularly delicate moment for
Poland’s Communist government.
Following last summer’s worker strikes
to protest steep government price hikes
on consumer items, party leader Gierek
has been trying to enlist the Church’s
help in his efforts to keep a lid on
national unrest.
In its pastoral, the bishops’
conference clearly warned Gierek that
“new methods” in the campaign against
religion “are also blocking social and
economic reforms since they stir unrest
and opposition toward the
government.”
“Embittered men do not make good
workers,” the bishops warned.
At the top of the list of complaints,
the bishops underlined government
reluctance to grant building permits to
the Church.
A chronic shortage of churches has
resulted, especially in huge new
residential areas which have sprung up
around the nation since World War II. In
such areas it is not uncommon to find
parishes where as many as 100,000
Catholics are forced to attend Sunday
Mass in crude shelters, constructed with
trash.
This year alone, Poland’s 27 dioceses
have asked permission to build about
500 churches and chapels, but most of
the requests have been refused.
The pastoral letter also severely
condemned religious discrimination on
the job.
“The exercising of certain professions
and the attainment of various positions
- especially those on the management
level - are reserved almost entirely to
persons who declare themselves to be
nonbelievers or nonpracticing
Catholics,” the bishops charged.
“Promotion in some sectors hinges on
belonging to socio-political
organizations which require their
members to be atheists, to end Church
attendance and to stop the religious
education of their children.”
The bishops pointed out further that
many believers who have lost their posts
because of their religion had won
awards for excellence on the job.
The pastoral letter accused the mass
media of presenting the “History of the
Church in a false light, deforming the
content of the Bible and deriding
religious practice.”
It asserted that the greatest efforts in
the government’s campaign against
religion are aimed at youth.
Children in many places, charged the
bishops, “are blocked from attending
catechism class or Holy Mass and other
religious functions.”
Last summer some Catholic youths
attending state-run summer camps were
forced to remove religious medals and
crosses they were wearing, the letter
added.
PAPAL MEDALIST
The Mass of the Resurrection was
offered for Miss Ilka Rosema Leche on
November 18, at Savannah's Church of
the Most Blessed Sacrament. Rev. J.
Kevin Boland, Vicar General of the
Diocese, was celebrant of the Mass.
Miss Leche was the holder of the
Papal Medal “Pro Ecclesia Et Pontifice,”
receiving the honor from Pope Paul VI
in 1964. She was honored for her long
The letter condemned government
attempts to draft seminarians into the
armed forces, a move which is against
existing Church-state agreements,
according to the bishops.
It also charged that university
students are being dissuaded from
seeking out services of Catholic campus
ministry. The fact that young workers
are offered tourist outings or made to
work on Sundays was seen by the
bishops as a further attempt to curb
religious practice among youth.
“We beg you,” the bishops concluded
in the pastoral letter to Polish Catholics,
“to confess your faith in Christ
courageously and faithfully. Watch over
the catechesis (Religious Education) of
children and youth. Cultivate the holy
faith in families, and above all, defend
the faith with fervent prayers. We urge
you to pray in community.”
and faithful service as president of the
Altar Society at Blessed Sacrament,
having seized in that post for 20 years.
A retired employee of the American
Oil Co., Miss Leche is survived by a
brother, Charleville Leche of Savannah
and three nieces: Mrs. Harry M.
Johnston of Aiken, S.C.; Mrs. Paul C.
Murphy of Arlington, Va., and Mrs.
William Heddin of Magnolia, Ark.
A
HEADLINE
mf
\
HOPSCOTCH
Maternity Wards May Close
NEWARK, N.J. (NC) -- As many as 39 hospitals in New Jersey - including some
conducted by religious communities - could be forced to close maternity wards under
proposed rules being formulated by the New Jersey Health Care Administration Board.
Basically, the proposed state rule would force all but a few hospitals delivering fewer
than a thousand babies a year to close their maternity wards. Exceptions would be
made where there are no other nearby hospitals.
Hospital Pastoral Care
NEW YORK (NC) -- Some 200 Catholic hospital pastoral care experts attended
sessions at the New York Sheraton Hotel for five days, exploring new theological
frontiers in the ministry to sick persons. The workshops of the third annual institute
on the Theological Concerns of the Health Apostolate, sponsored by the Catholic
Hospital Association (CHA), will be repeated Feb. 6 to 10 at the Sheraton Hotel in
Denver as part of a continuing education program. Subjects ranged from Christian
medical moral problems and accountability in pastoral care to questions arising from
the women’s ordination debate.
Severe Measures Urged
VATICAN CITY (NC) —- Pope Paul VI told members of a U.S. congressional drug
abuse committee that “severe legal measure” should be taken against drug pushers. In
a private audience here Nov. 20 for members of the U.S. House of Representatives’
Select Committee on Narcotics Abuse and Control, the Pope also called for
rehabilitation of addicts and the spread of “accurate information on the many
ramifications of drug abuse.”
ON TOP OF THINGS -- Donna Klinedinst of Honey Grove, Pa. has
something on her mind. It’s her pet gerbil which often climbs on Donna to
get a loftier view of life. (NC Photo by David S. Strickler)
Waynesboro, Louisville Visit
Bishop Raymond W. Lessard marked the opening of the Liturgical Year by
lighting the first candle of Advent Wreaths at Sacred Heart, Waynesboro and
at St. Joan of Arc, Louisville. This ceremony was typical of others held
throughout the diocese.
Thd bishop made a pastoral visit to the churches on Saturday, Nov. 27 and
Sunday, Nov. 28. Father Dominic Duggins, a Glenmary Priest, is pastor of
Sacred Heart, Waynesboro and of the Mission Church of St. Joan of Arc,
Louisville.
Miss Ilka Leche Dies