Newspaper Page Text
The Official Newspaper of the Diocese of Savannah
http://southerncross.diosav.org Vol. 89, No. 1 Thursday, January 8, 2009 $.75 per issue
New church dedicated at
Saint Francis of Assisi, Folkston
O n December 20, Bishop J. Kevin Boland dedicated the new
Saint Francis of Assisi Church, Folkston. Saint Francis, a mis
sion of Our Lady, Star of the Sea Parish, Saint Marys, benefited
from gifts of $271,935 pledged by other parishes in the Diocese of
Savannah. The Catholic Church Extension Society also con
tributed $100,000. The church, which seats 200, was filled to
capacity. Special guests included William Staeger. Mayor of
Folkston, Jessie Smith, Chairman of the Charlton County
Commission, and other dignitaries.
The Rite of Dedication began with Bishop Boland receiving the
keys to the church from design consultant Dawn Malin and then
entrusting them to Father Gabriel Cummings, pastor. The bishop
then sprinkled the people, the walls of the church and the altar
with holy water. After the first proclamation of the Scripture read
ings in the new church and the homily, the bishop anointed the
altar in the central rite of dedication. A brazier was placed on the
altar from which incense burned as a sign of prayer rising to heav
en. He and Father Cummings then anointed the walls of the church
before the first celebration of the Eucharist on the altar.
See page 6 for more photos.
Presidential election caps dramatic year;
economy a major issue
By Patricia Zapor
Washington (CNS)
Z fie election of Sen. Barack Obama as president November 4 climaxed a
dramatic political year in which the faltering economy ultimately
steered voters 'decisions.
While Obama’s election was his
toric in many ways, the campaign
between Obama, an Illinois Demo
crat, and Republican nominee Sen.
John McCain of Arizona had its own
particular religious angles of interest.
Before it came down to voters who
were worried primarily about the
economy, the campaign had veered
off into stories about the clergy who
advised or endorsed the candidates
and disagreements among some in
the Catholic Church about their
moral obligations in voting.
The election also brought ballot
measures on which the Catholic
Church weighed in, including those
about same-sex marriage, regula
tions on abortion, assisted suicide,
embryonic stem-cell research, gam
bling and taxes to aid the needy.
At the top of the ballot, Obama
won a slightly higher percentage of
votes among Catholics, 54 percent to
45 percent for McCain, than among
all voters, 53 percent of whom chose
Obama while 46 percent voted for
McCain.
Latinos were a significant factor in
the Catholic portion of the vote, with
67 percent supporting Obama. Like
white voters overall, white Catholics
more strongly supported McCain
over Obama, by 52 percent to 47
percent. Latinos make up about 40
percent of U.S. Catholics.
In the new year analysts will still
be debating how much Catholic vot
ers were influenced by the U.S.
Conference of Catholic Bishops’
election guide, “Forming Consci
ences for Faithful Citizenship,” and
by the statements of some bishops
who warned that voting should be
based on the candidates’ record on
abortion.
One who took such a stand, Bi
shop Joseph F. Martino of Scranton,
Pennsylvania, told the people of his
diocese that abortion outweighed all
other issues in voting. At a parish
political forum, he said the USCCB
document was not relevant in his
diocese.
“Faithful Citizenship” emphasized
the importance of the abortion issue
in voting. But it also left open the
possibility that Catholics might in
good conscience support candidates
who do not favor overturning Roe v.
Wade, the court ruling legalizing
abortion, if the voter rejects that
position but has other morally grave
reasons to support that candidate.
Continued on page 11
'
Drummer boy, mayor,
priest revisited
—page 3
Winchel ordained
a deacon
- *r,~
» h, jj;
■
Betty Purdy retires
after nearly 48 years
—page 12