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Vol. 61 No. 29
DIOCESE OF SAVANNAH NEWSPAPER
Thursday, August 21,1980
Single Copy Price — 15 Cents
Archbishop Jadot Sees
Wider, More Important
Role For Laity In U.S.
Archbishop Jean Jadot, the
departing apostolic delegate in
the United States, foresees a
wider ahd more important role
for the laity in church affairs in
the future.
In a speech to the 98th
annual meeting of the Supreme
Council of the Knights of
Archbishop Jadot praised
the trend, calling it “a
participation in the ongoing
responsibility for proclaiming
the Word of God.”
He also predicted that the
Catholic Church is on the
threshold of a positive and
fruitful era, basing his
ADDITIONAL STORY PAGE FOUR
Columbus in Atlanta Tuesday,
Archbishop Jadot quoted
Vatican II pronouncements and
recent papal statements on the
laity to underscore his
predictions on the laity’s role.
“The specific identity,” he
said, “as well as the
indispensable role of the lay
person is coming into ever
sharper focus.” He added that,
because of expanding needs,
“ p r o fe ssional ministers have
evolved who engage full time in
this pursuit. More often,
however, ministry is a service
rendered in addition to one’s
secular activities.”
“optimistic assessment on
several converging factors which
manifest Providence’s guiding
hand.”
“The Second Vatican
Council has provided an
immense reservoir of teaching
and direction. Pope Paul VI
courageously implemented the
council with the necessary
reformation, changes and
development. Pope John Paul II
has brought the implementation
to a second stage - that of
clarity and consolidation.”
The B elgian-bom prelate,
who has served as the Pope’s
representative to the United
St. Anne’s Groundbreaking
Official groundbreaking for the new Saint Anne’s Church,
Columbus, will take place on Sunday, August 24, at 6 p.m.
Bishop Raymond W. Lessard, of Savannah, will officiate at
the ceremonies. Also in attendance will be the Mayor of
Columbus and other civic officials.
Construction on the new building will begin immediately.
The church will cost in the region of $1 million and will seat
650 people. St. Anne’s serves the North Columbus area.
EXCHANGING VIEWS - Cardinal Terence Cooke of New York
walks with Mother Teresa of Calcutta outside St. Rita’s Church in
New York prior to the dedication of a soup kitchen and shelter for
the homeless at the church. Mother Teresa paid the surprise visit on
her return to India from Guatemala and Haiti. (NC Photo by Chris
Sheridan)
States for the past seven years,
was making one of his last
public addresses in the country
before assuming a new position
as pro-president of the Vatican
Secretariat for Non-Christians.
He also issued a call to the
laity to enter the area of
political activity. “The laity,”
he said, “must take on renewal
of the temporal order as their
own special obligation.”
“One area especially ripe for
Christian influence is that of
politics. I speak of politics in its
most noble meaning: the
building up of civic community
whether it be on the local,
regional, national or
international level.”
Archbishop Jadot pressed
this point with particular regard
to American Catholic life. “In
my judgment, the impact of the
Catholic layman on American
public life is not at all
proportionate to numerical
strength or qualification. At the
end of the 20th century,
Catholics are far better
educated than at any previous
time in this period. Surely there
is ample room for greater
presence in the political
ambient.”
He exhorted the Knights of
Columbus convention to work
for justice and peace in the
political order and to take heed
of the sufferings of the poor.
Concerning the improvement
of the political order, he said,
“The Christian approach to
public needs will always be
guided by respect for the
human person . . . Politicians
and citizens alike must reject
self-serving appeals to base
human instincts. These
essentially are a discredit to us,
isolate us from one another,
while generating fears and
Archbishop Thomas A.
Donnellan, of Atlanta, was principal
concelebrant and homilist at the
Convention Mass on April 19.
Savannah’s Bishop Raymond W.
Lessard also took part in convention
activities.
mistrust on a global scale.”
On solidarity with the poor,
the archbishop urged his
listeners to be “more conscious
of the basic interdependence
that exists among all people
throughout the world. This is
especially true in regard to our
brothers and sisters in South
America. They expect their
neighbors of the United States
to hear their desperate pleas . . .
Do everything so that at least
gradually the abyss that divides
the few ‘excessively rich’ from
the great multitude of poor,
those who live in want, may
disappear.”
The prelate also took the
occasion to praise the Knights
for their involvement in Church
and community service
activities.
“Church and society are
genuinely grateful for the many
activities of the Knights of
Columbus,” he said. “Through
them, remarkable service has
been rendered. From the local
council to the universal Church,
the Knights have participated in
projects which tangibly affect
our lives for the better.”
DEMONSTRATION FOR LIFE ~ On the floor
of the Democratic convention at Madison Square
Garden in New York, pro-lifers carry signs and
DEMOCRATIC PLATFORM
demonstrate against the abortion plank in the
Democratic Party platform. (NC Photo by Msgr.
Noel Burtenshaw)
USCC Protests Abortion Plank
WASHINGTON (NC) -- The Democratic
Party’s endorsement of federal funding for
abortion has been protested by Bishop Thomas C.
Kelly, general secretary of the U.S. Catholic
Conference.
“I deeply regret the action by the Democratic
convention in adopting a platform plank which
palls for federal funding of abortion,” said Bishop
Kelly, “as well as the earlier action by the
Democratic platform committee in approving a
plank which endorses the Supreme Court’s
pro-abortion decisions of 1973.”
He added, “The use of public funds to
subsidize abortion is a serious invasion of the
rights of citizens who conscientiously reject
abortion.”
Bishop Kelly’s remarks came in a statement
issued by the USCC on Aug. 13, one day after the
Democratic National Convention adopted the
abortion funding plank in New York. The USCC
is the civil action arm of the U.S. bishops.
The statement noted that Bishop Kelly
testified before both the Republican and
Democratic platform committees earlier this year
and called for the recognition of the right to life
as a basic human right deserving the protection of
law.
“Abortion is the deliberate destruction of on
unborn human being and therefore violates this
right,” he said.
The statement reiterated the USCC position
favoring an amendment to the Constitution “to
restore basic legal protection for the right to life
of the unborn” and opposing the use of public
funds to subsidize abortion.
“We remain hopeful that public officials and
candidates for public office will share these views,
as well as the views of the (USCC) on the many
other domestic and international issues which
face the nation today,” he said.
NCCB Developing Provisions
For Married Episcopal Clergy
WASHINGTON (NC) - The
National Conference of
Catholic Bishops is developing
provisions for admitting
married clergy of the Episcopal
Church to priesthood in the
Catholic Church.
The Episcopal clergymen,
along with other members of
the Episcopal Church in the
United States, would be
admitted to the Catholic
Church with a “common
identity” under which they
would retain some elements of
their Anglican tradition.
An announcement made
Aug. 20 by Archbishop John R.
Quinn of San Francisco, NCCB
president, said the decision to
develop the provisions was
approved by Pope John Paul II.
The announcement noted
that the terms under which the
Episcopalians would be
admitted to the Catholic
Church are still to be
established and must still be
approved by the Vatican’s
Congregation for the Doctrine
of the Faith.
The admission of married
Episcopal priests into full
communion with the Catholic
Church could lead to the first
time that married priests would
function legitimately in the
United States.
Eastern-rite churches which
have married priests in other
countries are not permitted to
have married priests in the
United States.
Archbishop Quinn said the
decision to admit Episcopalian^
and their clergymen would
apply only to those who fully
(Continued on page 3)
Fire Guts Church Choir Loft
BY GILLIAN BROWN
A fire which gutted the choir
loft and organ area at Nativity
of our Lord church in
Thunderbolt Monday evening
caused extensive smoke and
water damage to the rest of the
structure.
Donald Frew, Diocesan
Business Manager, estimated
damages to be well in excess of
$100,000. “There’s lots of
internal damage to the choir
loft, ceilings, and pews,” he
said. “The rear end of the
church is heavily burned.”
The cause of the fire was
unknown Tuesday morning, as
Frew surveyed the damaged
areas. Insurance adjusters were
expected to arrive that day, to
give an official appraisal of
needed repairs to the church, a
33-year old brick building on
Victory Drive.
The fire was first noticed by
Tom Dixon, a parishioner who
is normally responsible for
closing the church doors.
Father Francis Nelson, who has
been acting as Pastor in the
absence of Father Patrick
O’Brien, was quickly notified of
the situation. The Thunderbolt
Fire Department arrived to find
flames leaping from the choir
loft window, and heavy smoke
pouring from the doors.
Initial reports indicated that
the fire had started in the roof
of the church. Firefighters were
successful in getting the flames
under control quickly, though a
four-foot hole remained in the
(Continued on page 3)
Extension Grant For McRae
CHICAGO - A grant of $15,000 has been awarded to the
Diocese of Savannah by the Catholic Church Extension
Society, according to the Very Rev. Edward J. Slattery,
President of the 75-year-old Papal Society.
The grant will be applied to construction costs of a new
multi-purpose building that will serve the parishioners of Holy
Redeemer Church in McRae.
The Extension Society was founded in 1905 and is
dedicated to serving the neediest American home missions.
Last year it distributed more than $5 million in home mission
aid.