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Southern Cross Official Newspaper of the Catholic Diocese of Savannah http://www.diosav.org Vol. 81, No. 36 Thursday, October 18, 2001 $.75 per issue Restored Pulaski monument rededicated By Father Douglas K. Clark ells rang out from the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist, Saint John’s Episcopal Church and City Hall. To the slow cadence sounded by a snare drum, a procession marched from the remains of the Spring Hill redoubt, site of the Battle of Savannah, to Monterey Square, where “Taps” broke the hushed silence of the gathered crowd. Among the marchers were soldiers, Revolutionary War re-enactors, cadets from Benedictine Military School, Polish and American dignitaries and Bishop J. Kevin Boland and Monsignor William O. O’Neill, rector of the Cathedral, escorted by a Fourth Degree honor guard from the Knights of Columbus. The occasion for the extraordinary gath ering in Savannah October 9 was the rededication of the monument to Brigadier General Count Casimir Pulaski, who fell fighting on the American side against the British in the Battle of Savannah on October 9, 1779. Father Jeremiah O’Neill, Sr., rector of the old Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist spoke at the monument’s original dedication on January 8, 1855. The monument to the Polish hero of the Revolutionary War has been restored at a cost of nearly $1 million. Events are planned for each of the next three years, culminating in a solemn state funeral for Count Pulaski in 2004, the 225th anniversary of his death. At the time of his death, there was no Catholic priest available to perform the funeral rites. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrat ed in 2004, according to Francis X. Hayes, co-chair of Pulaski Jubilee 2004. In the meantime, the remains, found in a coffin inscribed “Count Casimir Pulaski,” are being tested by comparing their DNA with samples from his relatives, in hopes of resolving a long-standing historical debate over whether Pulaski was actually buried in Savannah or at sea. Ed Dotter, color guard commander of the Maryland Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, takes part in the rededication ceremony in Savannah, October 9. More photos are on page 12. U.S. bishops’ president tells Bush military By John Thavis Rome (CNS) n a letter to U.S. President George W. Bush, the president of the U.S. Conference of Catho lic Bishops said U.S. military action in Afgha nistan was regrettable but necessary and called for continued efforts to spare civilian lives. The USCCB president, Bishop Joseph A. Fiorenza of Galveston-Houston, said that after the deadly terrorist attacks of September 11, it was clear that “our nation and the world must respond.” “I commend the steps you have taken to for mulate a response using diplomatic, economic and humanitarian, as well as military means,” Bishop Fiorenza said in the October 9 letter. A copy was made available October 10 in Rome, where Bishop Fiorenza was attending a synod of bishops. The letter came two days after the United States began heavy bombardment of selected tar gets in Afghanistan, whose ruling Taliban regime is suspected of harboring terrorist groups. Bishop Fiorenza praised the president for try ing to carry out a “wise, just and effective response,” which was what the U.S. bishops’ conference had called for in the wake of the ter rorist attacks. “I continue to support your efforts to insure that military action, while always regrettable, will be designed and undertaken to avoid civil ian casualties. As we seek to defend innocent people, measures to avoid jeopardizing the lives action was necessary of other innocent people are both necessary and important,” Bishop Fiorenza said. Referring to U.S. airdrops of emergency food supplies in parts of Afghanistan, Bishop Fiorenza said the humanitarian efforts to help the Afghan people were “especially welcome.” He said he also appreciated the president’s efforts to make clear that “this necessary response is directed at those who use terror, as well as those who assist them, and not at the Afghan people or any particular religious group.” Bishop Fiorenza said that, in the wider con text, he wanted to stress the urgency of finding a just peace to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which he said was of particular interest to the (Continued on page 4) Newman Clubs ? , j Albany’s Neighbors In Ben Dallas ordained in the diocese Need at 25 transitional deacon -page 3 -page 6 —page 7 : 1