Newspaper Page Text
Vol. 64 No. 37
Thursday, October 25,1984
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VATICAN MEETING -- Pope John Paul II meets with members of the
special commission on U.S. religious life. Seated right of the pope is
Archbishop John Quinn of San Francisco, chairman of the commission.
Other members are Archbishop Thomas Kelly, second from right, of
Archbishop Quinn:
Louisville, Ky.; Bishop Raymond Lessard, left, of Savannah, Ga.; and
Jesuit Father Michael Buckley, right, of the Jesuit School of Theology in
Berkeley, Calif., who is serving as the commission’s theological adviser.
(NC photo from UPI)
"Study Of Religious Life Has Increased Understanding"
BY SISTER MARY ANN WALSH
VATICAN CITY (NC) - A study of religious life in the
United States has increased understanding between
bishops and religious orders, Archbishop John Quinn of
San Francisco said Oct. 15 in Rome.
The archbishop said the talks, which have formed part
To meet the urgent need posed by the
emergency repairs to the Cathedral of St.
John the Baptist in Savannah, this year’s
Confraternity of the Laity Appeal is
combined with the Cathedral Fund drive, for
a total target of $2 million.
To remind Catholics of the work that is
carried out by the Diocese year roupd, with
assistance from the Confraternity collection,
THE SOUTHERN CROSS is running a series
of articles on four top priorities: Spiritual
Renewal, Religious Education, Social
Ministry and Youth Ministry.
See pages 6 & 7 of this issue for our
Special Report on Social Ministry.
of the study, also have brought religious communities
closer together.
Archbishop Quinn heads the papally appointed
commission conducting the study.
Other study findings thus far are:
— Women Religious feel they haven’t participated in
the life of the church as much as they wish to:
— Tension exists between religious communities and
the Vatican Congregation for Religious and Secular
Institutes.
— Bishops traditionally avoid asserting authority over
religious orders, which they regard as papal domain.
Archbishop Quinn spoke with National Catholic News
Service after a series of mid-October meetings with
officials of the congregation for Religious.
The archbishop was in Rome to report on the study
which Pope John Paul II appointed him to head in April
1983. He was accompanied by commission members
Archbishop Thomas Kelly of Louisville, Ky., and Bishop
Raymond Lessard of Savannah, Ga., and the commission’s
theological adviser, Jesuit Father Michael Buckley of the
Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley, Calif.
The 10 hours of meetings with congregation officials
were “frank, open, positive and constructive,” said
Archbishop Quinn. Congregation head Archbishop Jean
Hamer and other officials participated.
Archbishop Quinn declined to discuss specifics of the
meeting until he makes his report to the U.S. bishops at
their November meeting in Washington.
He said, however, that he reported to the congregation
on two separate issues, the study of the decline in
vocations and the progress of the “special pastoral
service” of the bishops to U.S. Religious. He said he
expects the study and service will continue for about two
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"A Symbol Of Everything That Is Catholic
Father J. Kevin Boland, Vicar General of the Diocese of
Savannah, wrote these thoughts on Savannah’s Cathedral of St.
John the Baptist as he prepared to leave his post as Rector in
1972. They appeared in the Sunday Bulletin of the Cathedral
dated September 10, 1972. We share them with you as
preparations are made for the Cathedral/Confraternity Fund Drive
scheduled for Sunday, November 18.
THE WAYFARER
“The beauty of this world hath made me sad,
This beauty that will pass,
Sometimes my heart hath shaken with great joy,
To see a leaping squirrel on a tree,
Or a red lady bird upon a stalk,
Or little rabbits in a field at evening,
Lit by a slanting sun.”
(Padraig Pearse)
When Padraig Pearse penned these words he had in
mind a wider and more universal beauty than the beauty
of the Cathedral church, and the people who make up its
congregation. However, the beauty of the twin-spired
church, and the dignity of the people who share in its
intimate life is about to become a beauty “that will pass”
for a certain stranger who has become a friend.
It is the same stranger who a little over 4 years ago,
with a heavy heart, bade farewell to an island community
nestling by the edge of the broad Atlantic. The stranger
had become a friend and he went forth with a mind
flooded with pleasant memories. He wandered all over
God’s good earth for several years and then in September
1970 he found himself a new home.
It must be said that he returned home reluctantly
because psychologically he felt that home did not have
much to offer.
The home was big and beautiful. It was very spacious
and a reminder of past ages of the Old South. To the
outsider, it was a little like that old decaying mansion
nestling in the grove of pines.
It must be said that the greatest accomplishment of the
Cathedral community has been to change that negative
attitude of the prodigal son. Through a mother’s love you
have proved to the stranger that you are a community,
you are vital, you are a loving people, and that you have a
special interest in your Cathedral Church.
Undoubtedly the obituary for the stranger will read:
“Rector of the Cathedral 1970-1972.” How harsh, how
unfair, 2 years of heady experience are dispensed with in
six words.
It is difficult to leave the Cathedral parish without
feeling sad and happy at the same time. Sad, with the
prospect of leaving a loveable people and the magnificent
Gothic church which has become a landmark in historic
Savannah, and a symbol of everything that is Catholic in
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