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B The Southern Cross
DIOCESE OF SAVANNAH NEWSPAPER
Vol. 60 No. 17 Foot 3579 To: 601 E. 6th St. Waynesboro, Ga. 30830
Thursday, April 26,1979
Single Copy Price — 15 Cents
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Catholic Educators Hold 75th Anniversary Convention
PHILADELPHIA (NC) - Despite “a drop in student enrollment and the closing of
some schools, the future of Catholic education looks very good,” said Father John F.
Myers, president of the National Catholic Educational Association, reflecting on the
NCEA convention April 16-19 which attracted an estimated 18,000 people.
“It has been one big celebration this week,” the NCEA president said of the 75th
anniversary convention. “The vibrant attitude of those attending the Philadelphia
meeting as well as the increasing support of a great percentage of parents, shows that
the national trend toward parochial education among Catholics is strong.”
The educators heard a variety of speakers, including Pope John Paul II on videotape,
emphasize the theme that Catholic education is too valuable to be allowed to diminish.
“The pope’s message was so powerfully strong that it is going to have a great effect
on Catholic education in this country,” the NCEA president remarked. “The Holy
Father makes it very clear that we must continue our great school system.”
In his message to the NCEA delegates the pope said, “The church needs men and
women who are intent on teaching by word and example. This is a great vocation, and
the Lord himself will reward all who serve in it as educators in the cause of the word
of God.”
Pope John Paul said that Catholic education “is above all a question of
communicating Christ, of helping to form Christ in the lives of others.”
Cardinal John Krol of Philadelphia opened the convention by telling the educatore,
“The time has come to re-evaluate what appears to have been an unconscious drift
nationwide to stop building Catholic schools.” The cardinal defended the cost by
stating that “Catholic school graduates will repay the investment in their education
and formation by generosity to works of the church.”
In the convention’s keynote address, Jesuit Father John Powell thanked the
teachers and expressed the hope that “Catholic educators would realize that what they
are doing is most meaningful and valuable to the kingdom of God.”
“Sharing the Light of Faith” was the theme for the 1979 convention, as the
recently published National Catechetical Directory, from which the theme was taken,
was the subject matter for many talks.
At the April 17 general session Norbertine Father Alfred McBride told the educators
that the new directory is such an important document “that it will have far-reaching
consequences for the rest of this century and beyond.”
Not since the Council of Baltimore in 1884 have the bishops of the United States
Pope’s Message On Schools On Page 7
issued a document on religious education of the stature and prospective of “Sharing
the Light of Faith,” the executive director of the National Forum of Religious
Educators said.
Prior to a recommitment ceremony April 18 in which the teachers rededicated
themselves to their vocation, Bishop Thomas J. Murphy of Great Falls, Mont., called
for the church to recognize and ritualize the teaching ministry.
“The central core, the heart, and the focus of Catholic education today is the
teacher,” Bishop Murphy said, “and I believe there is a need and obligation for the
church at a parish and diocesan level to recognize and appreciate the ministry of
teaching in the church today.”
Zacherie J. Clements, associate professor of education at the University of Vermont,
told his audience April 19 that “teachers must treat students as individuals who have
something good to offer because the children are God’s creations, and God don’t make
no junk.”
Superintendent of schools in the Archdiocese of Baltimore, Donald J. Reitz, told
teachers that his office has established an Archdiocesan Court of Equity. He said this
provides a place where a teacher can take a grievance without going to the time and
cost of civil court appeals.
“A teacher now has a place to go when he has a contract dispute without the
expense of hiring a lawyer, while still having all the protection of the law developed by
the tribunal,” he said.
Sen. Daniel P. Moynihan’s afternoon address April 19 closed the convention and the
New York Democrat told the educators that Catholics must “become a shade less
patient with government officials who fail to keep promises of getting aid for parochial
schools.”
The educators were also warned by Moynihan that highly organized groups such as
the public schools movement and the government bureaucracy in the Department of
Health, Education and Welfare “wish that the Catholic schools would disappear” and
are effectively preventing aid from reaching the non-public school sector.
The president of the NCEA agreed with Moynihan’s assessment, and said that his
organization along with all those who believe in alternatives to public schools must
become active in getting legislation passed.
“We must do everything we possibly can,” Father Meyers said, “to prevent all
education from being in government hands. The parents’ right to choose types of
education for their child should be as respected as the rights of free speech and
worship.”
The NCEA staff has already begun work for the 1980 convention to be held next
spring in New Orleans. The theme for that meeting will center on the Catholic family.
Bishops To Explore Purpose Of Conference
U.S.
WASHINGTON (NC) -- For the first
time in eight years, the U.S. Catholic
bishops will devote an entire three-day
meeting to discussion of a single topic.
Their May 1-3 spring gathering in
Chicago will deal almost solely with an
in-depth examination of the purpose
and goals of the National Conference of
Catholic Bishops — U.S. Catholic
Conference.
The last time the generally
action-oriented bishops’ meetings
centered on one topic was April 1971 in
Detroit, when members of the U.S.
hierarchy discussed priestly life and
ministry. This year the focus will be on
a preliminary report prepared by the Ad
Hoc Committee to Study the Structure,
Frequency and Agenda of the General
Meetings of the NCCB-USCC, chaired
by Archbishop Joseph L. Bemardin of
Cincinnati.
“The bishops will come to grips with
the question of what kind of leadership
and service their episcopal conference
should provide for the church in the
United States in the post-conciliar age,”
said Bishop Thomas C. Kelly,
NCCB-USCC general secretary. “It may
well be that in the years ahead the
session will be seen as a landmark in the
development of the U.S. episcopal
conference.”
The Bemardin committee report
provides the key question to be
answered in Chicago: Do the bishops
want to expand beyond the action
orientation to which they have
primarily been devoted since the
establishment of the present bishops’
conferences in 1966?
The report reviews the documents of
Vatican II and postconciliar documents,
and concludes that they reveal at least
two major purposes for establishing
episcopal conferences - to enable the
bishops to act on items of common
interest and concern, and to provide a
forum for their interaction.
“We think we have been relatively
successful in fulfilling the action
function as it has been identified up to
now,” the report says. “Nevertheless, it
could be that this element needs to be
recast in light of our postconciliar age.
At the same time, we believe that we
have not really begun to appreciate the
interaction function of our
conferences.”
The ad hoc committee, established
last November by the NCCB-USCC
president, Archbishop John R. Quinn of
San Francisco, also includes Bishop
Kelly, Bishop James W. Malone of
Youngstown, Ohio, and auxiliary
Bishop J. Francis Stafford of Baltimore.
“We’re done with the Vatican II
period in that we have done what we
were asked to do,” Bishop Kelly noted.
“Now I think we have to examine what
we think the conference ought to
do ... It really comes down, I suppose,
to whether they’re satisfied with what
they have achieved and how we could
give them better service in exercising
what it is they’re supposed to do.”
Pointing out that a similar discussion
took place in May 1976, the bishop
added: “As we go through the different
questions that are proposed to us as
bishops, we tend to get more reflective
about where we’re coming from, where
we think we ought to be going. And
we’ve reached the level where we want
to talk about it again.”
The results and conclusions of the
meetings will be up to the bishops, but
could include a call for the replacement
of twice-yearly national meetings with
smaller regional gatherings or other
changes designed to increase interaction
among the U.S. hierarchy.
“It wouldn’t be a question of taking
away from the action orientation but of
WASHINGTON (NC) - A new
Internal Revenue Service ruling
disallowing tax deductions for some
charitable contributions to tax-exempt
organizations sponsoring schools does
not affect Catholic schools, according to
officials at both IRS and the U.S.
Catholic Conference.
These officials said the “facts and
circumstances” in the case which
prompted the ruling differ significantly
from those in the typical Catholic
parochial school.
But the USCC Office of General
Counsel has used the ruling’s
publication as an occasion to repeat a
longstanding warning to Catholic
parishes to make sure that contributions
to the church from parents of students
in the church school are not earmarked
for the school.
Charitable contributions to churches
can be deducted from taxes; tuition
paid to church schools cannot.
The new ruling, known as Revenue
Ruling 79-99, was issued in response to
a request from an unanmed religious
society.
The society runs a school that charges
no tuition and raises funds by soliciting
contributions from churches, parents of
students and other people.
putting more emphasis on interaction,”
Bishop Kelly said. “We’re still going to
do the same amount of business we now
do. It’s a question of trying to create an
atmosphere and possibly structures that
would foster this kind of interaction
and fraternal exchange during their
national meetings.”
In Chicago, the bishops will also elect
IRS ruled that, in this case,
contributions to the society did not
exceed the “fair market value” of the
education received at the school. Only
contributions above the fair market
value may be deducted, IRS said.
IRS spokesmen said the same
principle would apply in a school which
charged tuition but subsidized part of
the actual cost of educating the child.
For example, if parents paid $300 in
tuition for a student and contributed
another $500 to the school’s
tax-exempt sponsor and the sponsor
delegates to the 1980 international
Svnod of Bishops, which will be held in
Rome and deal with family life, and will
discuss proposals concerning the
planning and budgetary procedures of
the conferences.
More than 250 bishops are expected
to attend the meeting.
subsidized the cost of educating the
student by $200, the parents could
deduct only $300.
The principle involved, IRS
spokesmen said, is that a taxpayer
cannot claim a deduction for a
contribution made in the expectation
that a service will be performed in
return.
The major difference between the
case involved in the ruling and Catholic
schools is that contributions to Catholic
churches are not earmarked for church
schools, while the contributions to the
(Continued on page 3)
New Florida Bishop
WASHINGTON (NC) - Monsignor W. Thomas Larkin has been named Bishop of St.
Petersburg, Florida. The appointment, made by Pope John Paul II, was announced
here (April 24) by Archbishop Jean Jadot, Apostolic Delegate in the United States.
Monsignor Larkin has served as administrator of St. Petersburg since the death of
Bishop Charles B. McLaughlin.
National Week of PRAYER PREACHING
and PUBLIC WITNESS for ECO-nomic
May 13-20, 1979 JUSTICE
RESPONSIBILITY STRESSED - This is the poster designed by the
National Catholic Rural Life Conference for a period of prayer May
13-20. The theme “ECO-nomic JUSTICE” is intended to remind people
of the critical need for responsible production, distribution and
consumption of goods and services, responsible care of the earth’s
resources and respect for the ecological balance of the earth’s biological
system, according to the conference. (NC Photo)
DCCW Convention
The Diocesan Council of Catholic Women are meeting this weekend (April
28-29) in Albany. Bishop Raymond W. Lessard will be principal celebrant of
the Convention Mass at St. Teresa’s Church on Sunday morning. The Mass is
scheduled for 8:30 a.m.
Mass For Jubilarians
Seven Religious serving in the Savannah Diocese will mark Julilees at a
Special Mass at Savannah’s Cathedral at 12:00 Noon on Saturday, May 5.
Bishop Raymond W. Lessard will be the celebrant of the Liturgy and
Father Conan Feigh, O.S.B. will be homilist. A reception honoring the
Jubilarians will follow the Liturgy and will be held in St. Vincent’s Hall.
Golden Jubilarians are Sister Mary Agnes Brickley, R.S.M., Sister M. Cecilia
Coleman, R.S.M. and Sister Mary Maurice Flynn, C.S.J.
Silver Jubilarians are Glenmary Brother Thomas Kelly; Sister Carmela
Marolda, O.C.D.; Glenmary Sister Mary Teresita and Sister Kathryn Volker,
M.M.S.
PRAYER VIGIL - Jean Denver (top, left) of Our
Lady of Charity parish in Brooklyn, N. Y., reads a
joem she wrote with a message to President Carter,
rhe poet was among 150 black Catholics who gathered
n Washington’s Lafayette Square across from the
White House to protest budget cuts made by the
president in social service areas. Participants listened to
speeches, joined in prayer and sang Gospel songs
(NC Photos by Bob Strawn)
Ruling Does Not Affect Catholic Schools
BY JIM CASTELLI