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Evangelization Is A "Constant
PAGE 2A — The Southern Cross, September 12,1985
BY JOHN THAVIS
CASTELGANDOLFO, Italy (NC) — Evangelization is a
“constant challenge” to the church, requiring a frank
dialogue with non-Christians, Pope John Paul II told a
group of Malaysian bishops Sept. 6.
In two other meetings at the papal villa in Castelgandolfo,
15 miles south of Rome, the pope spoke with a group of
Polish Americans and Italian migration experts.
The pope told the Malaysians that the church evangelizes
by “implanting herself among native people and adopting
the abilities, resources and customs of each people, which
she in turn purifies, strengthens and ennobles.”
“The work of evangelization is a constant challenge, one
that is not foreign to any social or cultural environment,”
he said.
Through a “sincere dialogue,” the church can “penetrate
those hearts which are not yet marked with the sign of faith
and gently lead them to the light of the Gospel,” he said.
Catholics are only about 3 percent of the population of
Malaysia, a southeastern Asian federation of states that in
cludes many Moslems, Hindus and Buddhists. Pope John
Paul referred to the rich cultural diversity of the country,
adding that “our solidarity as brothers and sisters in the
one Lord transcends cultural, racial and ethnic divisions.”
The pope also emphasized that while the church is not
identified with any particular political system, it was com
mitted to help building a firmer national identity in
Challenge"
Malaysia. The church will continue to make contributions
in the areas of health care, social work and education, he
said.
In his talk to members of the Polish American Congress
Inc., the pope thanked the group for their support of the
Catholic University of Lublin, Poland.
Through Catholic colleges and universities, he said, “the
church contributes in a profound way to the flowering of
human culture and the advancement of the human person,
and thus fulfills her teaching mission in the world.”
Where does one find a better forum for promoting
dialogue between the church and society at large?” the
pope asked.
Father, Son Both Answer To "Father"
COLUMBUS, Ohio (NC) - Paulist Father Thomas J.
Holahan Jr., the Columbus Diocese’s director of com
munication, likes to watch people react when he tells them
what his father does.
“He’s a priest.”
His father is Capuchin Father Thomas J. Holahan Sr., 61,
superior of the Capuchin Franciscans at St. Lawrence
Friary, Abington, Mass.
“Most people continue with the conversation ignoring
what they just heard, and there are those who automatical
ly assume scandal, or that I was found at the door,” said the
junior Father Holahan, 37. “I usually go right for the truth
then.”
The Holahans don’t claim to be the only father-son pair in
the priesthood. That’s common in Eastern Orthodox and
some Eastern Rite churches. There also are a number of
widowers who, like the elder Father Holahan, have become
Latin Rite priests.
But they believe they are the first case in modern times in
which the father was ordained a Latin Rite priest before his
son. The older Holahan was ordained in December 1975, the
younger in May 1977.
After the older Holahan’s wife died in 1962, he continued
to work for a New York bank until 1968, his 25th anniversary
there, when he decided at the age of 43 to “retire to religious
life.”
The Capuchins were a natural choice since the Holahan
family had been affiliated with a Capuchin parish, Sacred
Heart in Yonkers, N.Y., for 30 years. The senior Holahan
entered the Capuchins as a brother, but later decided to
seek ordination to the priesthood.
“It came as no surprise when he decided to become a
priest,” his son said. “He was involved with all the parish
organizations, and he seemed to be searching for
something.”
The younger Father Holahan, his only son, also started
out with the Capuchins. But later left the order, finished col
lege, then entered the Paulist novitiate.
Before coming to Columbus in 1984, he had worked as
creative consultant for Paulist Father Ellwood Kieser’s
Paulist Productions, producer of the “Insight” TV series,
and as communications director for the Diocese of Austin,
Texas.
Having been married and being a parent gives his father
credibility, Father Holahan Jr. said. “He uses his marriage
and me in sermons and family counseling, and people tend
to believe in him more because of this,” he said.
The younger Father Holahan said he once celebrated
Mass at the parish in Massachusetts where his father
assists and said that because his father talks about him all
the time, “I felt everyone there knew everything about
me.
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School’s Open
Yes, in the Missions too . . .Schools are part of the Missions. For
as little as $5.00 per month, a child, whose parents never held a
pencil or read a book, can be given the gift of an education
through your generosity. MISSION SCHOOLS Need Your Help!
Send your donation to the Propagation of the Faith today . .and
then . .take a minute to pray for the children and their teachers.
Send your gift to:
THE PROPAGATION OF THE FAITH
Sr. Georgette Cunniff, O.S.F.
Diocesan Dir., Prop, of the Faith
St. John’s Center
Grimball Point Road Savannah, Ga. 31406
Yes, I want to help to educate a child in the Missions! Enclosed is
my gift of:
□ $100 □ $50 □ $25 □ $10 □ $5 □ Others
or my special gift of: □ $1,000 □ $500 □ $250
□ I will send a monthly gift when possible!
Name —
Address
City State Zip
374 9 «r,
Please ask the missionaries to remember the following intentions at Mass:
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Volunteers Ease Loneliness
BY COLETTE COWMAN
BOISE, Idaho (NC) -
Every Tuesday evening
volunteers enter the gates
of the Idaho State Correc
tional Institution to attend
Mass with a group of in
mates, pray with them,
listen to them and laugh
with them.
A few hours later the
volunteers walk to the gate
in the yard with those men
who have become their
friends. The two groups bid
each other farewell. The
volunteers return to their
busy lives in the city and
the inmates to their cells.
“We are very blessed to
be able to share with them
(the inmates) and be part
of their lives,” said Sister
Barbara Gonzales, one of
the volunteers, after a
Mass at the prison.
“I wish there were a lot
more Catholic volunteers
coming out here,” said in
mate Gary DuPont, a
former volunteer facil
itator. “A lot of us don’t
have family around to
share with. When the
volunteers come, it helps to
take away tensions and
loneliness and helps us get
closer to Jesus.”
Marcos Pardo, an inmate
who is currently the
Catholic volunteer facil
itator, says he enjoys the
volunteers.
“It makes me real happy
when they come,” he said.
“It shows that someone out
there really does
care—cares enough to give
up some of their free time
to share the word of God
with us.”
According to figures
given to the volunteers,
there are about 250
Catholic inmates at the
Idaho prison. But the in
mates say there are more.
Only about 20 inmates at
tend the Tuesday Masses
which are celebrated
regularly by Father Mario
Cruz, Catholic prison
chaplain. The number of in
mates attending has in
creased in relation to the
number of Catholic
volunteers who attend, the
inmates say.
The inmates said there
are many more Protestant
and Mormon volunteers go
ing out to the prison than
Catholic.
“We don’t have many
organized classes out here
for Catholics,” DuPont
said. He said more inmates
would participate if there
were beginner, in
termediate and advanced
religion classes, Bible
classes, classes on saints
and the rosary.
Some of the inmates in
terviewed said that there
have been some very good
Catholic programs at the
prison from time to time,
but some have ended and
others are not regular. Cur
rently, there is a religion
class and a Bible study ses
sion..
Inmate Pete Bienvidez
said he feels the greatest
need is “more people out
here to liven our spirits.”
JOINED IN SONG — Eleanor Smith of Boise,
Idaho, shares a song with inmate Terry Whit-
ford during a Mass at the Idaho State Correc
tional Institution near Boise. She is one of a
small group of Catholic volunteers who meet
weekly with the prisoners to pray and talk with
them. (NC photo by Colette Cowman)