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PAGE 4 GEORGIA BULLETIN THURSDAY, JANUARY 23, 1964 the Archdiocese of Atlanta GEORGIA BULLETIN StUVING GEORGIA’S 71 NORTHERN COUNTIES Official Organ of the Archdiocese of Atlanta Published Every Week at the Decatur DeKalb News PUBLISHER - Archbishop Paul J. Haliinan MANAGING EDITOR Gerard E. Sherry CONSULTING EDITOR Rev. R. Donald Kiernan 2699 Peachtree N.E. P.G. Box 11667 Northside Station Atlanta 5, Ga. Member of the Catholic Press Association and Subscriber to N.C.W.C. News Service Telephone 231-1281 Second Class Permit at Atlanta, Ga. U.S.A. $5.00 Canada $5.00 Foreign $6.50 Georgia Missions We frequently speak of the Ar chdiocese of Atlanta as a “mis sionary archdiocese." While this is not true in the strict sense of Canon Law, it does fit the pic ture of our situation here in seve ral significant ways. The per centage of Catholics within the to tal population of the more than twenty - two thousand square miles of the Archdiocese of At lanta is very low: approximately two percent, for the archdiocese as a whole. Even this does not give the exact picture, because the greatest concentration of Catholics is of course, within metropolitan Atlanta. In many rural parishes away from Atlan ta, the percentage drops to un der one-half of one percent. The shortage of priests is anot her mark of our “missionary" status. The Catholic Directory for 1963 lists thirty-five dioc esan priests on active duty. The statistics go on to re-tell the same story: for example, twenty- nine parishes and twenty-seven missions or stations to cover this vast area. We could count the number of counties without any Catholic facility. Or, we could estimate the number of Catholics who live beyond a re asonable distance from the near est location for Mass, Sacra ments and catechetical instruct ion. However, the point should al ready be clear. These shortages create prob lems, sometimes heartbreaking problems, for the faithful, for their pastors and for their bish op. Beyond doubt, they place de mands upon us that amply justify the “missionary" title of our archdiocese. Still, they repre sent only one side of the picture- and that a negative side. Ther* are some positive aspects as well that deserve our attention because they complete a very moving vision of our ionary archdiocese." miss- First of all, there is the hero ism of the past which has built from bare beginnings what we enjoy today. Bishops, pastors, laity and religious have labored for over a hundred years in Georgia for the establishment and preservation of the Faith against staggering, literally overwhelming, odds. The saga of their generosity and sacrifices is a trust which we have inherited from them. If we presume to think of ourselves as a missi onary diocese, we must follow a glorious path traced by those who preceded us. But a missionary is not mere ly one who is beleaguered by practical problems and difficul ties, no matter how great. He is one who has been sent on a mis sion - to accomplish a task of great importance. It is the most positive notion conceivable. It speaks of drive and ambition and opportunity before it concentrat es on obstacles. If our archdiocese is a miss ionary enterprise, it is not some vague, amorphos and distant rea lity that must bear this title. It is we few - hopefully, “we happy few, we band of brothers" - who live here and who face the pro blems and the opportunities that are around us. We must deal with the challenge which comes to us in countless ways, one of which is the quarterly appeal made for our financial support for miss ionary enterprises on the Georgia Mission Sundays. The past and present and future all appeal to our generosity to be part of this truly missionary Church. LEONARD F.X. MAYHEW More Noble Reform This week Pope Paul gave add ed emphasis to the quiet but thor ough reform of the Church that is his announced intention. Ina gen tle but firm address to the 300 members of the Roman nobility, he served notice that their days of privileged status at the Vatican are drawing to a close. Although the influence of the nobility has been greatly mini mized for most of this century, the practice of awarding posts of ceremonial honor to them at papal functions has continued. The association of members of noble families with the papal household dates from an earlier historical period in which the protection of the powerful was found necessary to maintain the independence of the Church. In our own time s there has been a growing criticism within the Church against maintaining insti tutions which can no longer serve the mission of the Churchand can even cloud and hamper it. As in his address of last Sep tember to the members of the Roman Curia, the Holy Father voiced his determination to con tinue the quiet revolution begun by Pope John to bring the insti tutions of the Church into con formity with the spiritual function of the Church and the needs of the times. Reminding his hearers “his tory moves on," the Holy Father stated that; “The Pope even if he finds in the sovereignty of the state of Vatican City the shield and the sign of his independence from any worldly authority can not and ought not any longer ex ercise power except of the spiri tual keys." In stating that he stood before this group with empty hands, Pope Paul encouraged all of us to hope and pray for success in presenting a renewed image of the Church to the world. . .a Church shorn of the useless trap pings of ages long past. We beli eve that the Church recast in the form envisoned by Pope John and Pope Paul would appear in the greatest splendor of its his tory. ST. LOUIS REVIEW CONCERN Whose Cobra ? NEW CLIMATE Chair Of Unity Octave BY REV. LEONARD F.X. MAYHEW The Chair of Unity Octave is being observed throughout the Church from January 18 to 25 with special prayers and Masses for Christian Unity. Following hard upon the dramatic pilgrimage of Pope Paul to the Holy Land, these days of prayer possess an aura of hopefulness that they have never seemed to have before. There is a new climate in the relations of Christian, and even non-Christian, groups. This has certainly been sparked by the at titude of the Vatican Council and Popes John and Paul and has been sustained by the prayerful faith and determination of countless leaders and members of all churches. This is a far cry from the atmosphere in which the Octave was established fif ty-four years ago. THE CHAIR of Unity Octave | owes its origin to a fascinat ing and saintly man, Father Paul Watson, founder of the Friars of the Atonement. Father Paul was an Episcopalian clergyman when he founded the So ciety of the Atonement in 1899. Nine years later, one year before his entry into the Catholic Church, he established the Unity Octave as an annual ob servance of prayers for the ultimate reunion of all Christians. Both his religious community and the Octave came into Catholicism with him in 1909. The Chair of Unity Octave observed by Catholics coincides with the Week of Prayer for Chris tian Unity sponsored by the Faith and Order Com mission of the World Council of Churches. The unified prayers of so many otherwise divided Christians is a dramatic earnest of the oneness for which we hope. The World Council stresses in its Week of Prayer, as in all its ecumenical discussions, that unity is to be prayed for and ac complished “according to the will of Christ, in His way and in Him time.’’ That Catholics are coming more and more to be able to adopt such termino logy without self-consciousness is a welcome sign of the end of the old belligerence. In this newly- awakened spirit, the terminology of the various Unity Octave intentions has been modified. As the Vatican Council has clearly recognized, there is no point in offending the sensibilities of those with whom we are praying and working for unity. THERE IS considerable significance in the les sening of emphasis on the primacy of the Holy See and the omission of such words as “return” and “reconciliation". One reason for recent ecumeni cal progress is the willingness, often expressed by Popes John and Paul, of the Catholic Church to bear its share of blame for the divisions which separate Christendom. Guilt is certainly to be shared by all sides. Progress is only possible, if the past is laid behind us without recrimina tion and our attention is focused on the present. Our willingness to pray and work with our separat ed brethren for unity “according to the will of Christ, in His way, in His time” places emphasis on what we possess and hope for in common. On such a basis, we have a better chance of facing dis passionately the disagreements and traditions that divide us. The most striking recent development, on the Catholic side, in the field of ecumenical endeavor, was the establishment by John XXIII of the Secre tariat for the Promotion of the Unity of Christians. While the Secretariat was established as one of the bureaus for the Vatican Council, it will continue as a permanent office of the Church. Augustin Cardi nal Bea, S. J„ who heads the Secretariat, has been largely responsible for the satisfactory par ticipation of the non-Catholic observers at the Council. In addition to work directly concerned with the Council, the Secretariat has worked to arouse inte rest in all problems concerning unity. Official Catholic observers have been sent to assemblies of the World Council of Churches. The visits of outstanding non-Catholic leaders to the Holy Father have also been arranged by the Secretariat. So long as the efforts of Cardinal Bea and the ecumenical leaders of the non-Catholic churches are seconded by the prayers and good will of all Christians, there can be no doubt that continuous progress will be achieved. LITURGICAL WEEK Septuagesima Sunday BY REV. ROBERT W. HOVDA JAN. 26 SEPTUAGESTIMA SUNDAY. We have seen the glory of the Lord. We have celebrated the manifestation, the “showing-forth” of His glory in the epiphany events. But He came that we might share His glory'—we humans, we sinners, not some mythical race of supermen. Now we turn toward that paschal mystery which is the center of the Church’s life, toward the mystery of Jesus’ death and rising again. And we situate His redemp- tion precisely where it be longs...among us and in us, des pite our sin and overcoming our sin. Today’s Mass is very con scious of that sin, conscious of the reality of evil. Christ does not destroy our freedom. It is to our freedom He ap peals, as the master of the vineyard appeals for workers (Gospel), as the holy community to which we belong appeals for our moral response to God's gift of forgiveness and eternal life (First Reading). MONDAY, JAN . 27 ST. JOHN CRYSOSTOM, BISHOP, CONFESSOR, DOCTOR. Truth engages the free man. But we grow “tired of sound doctrine” (First Reading), we want to enslave ourselves. This Mass <s honor of a great teacher of Christ teaches us why we return to the altar again and again. Because Christ is the salt and Christ is the light (Gospel) and it is in this gathering around the altar that He communicates in both word and sign. The Council’s constitution for the reform and renewal of our public worship calls powerfully for the engagement of our human freedom in this sacred action. TUESDAY, JAN. 28 ST. PETER NOLASCO, CONFESSOR. “Your Father has determined to give you his kingdom” (Gospel). This is the meaning of the Easter mystery' toward which we look and for which we prepare. Almighty God is not in a state of indecision about us. His decision is made in treasure for which He asks our hearts. WEDNESDAY, JAN. 29 ST. FRANCIS OF SALES, BISHOP, CONFESSOR, DOCTOR. According to the Council, the words and signs of the Mass have not been speaking clearly, have not been really reach ing us. This is why our mother tongue is going to be employed at Mass and in the other sacraments. This is why our services of public worship are CONTINUED ON PAGE 5 ‘Haves’ Who ‘Have Not’ BY GERARD E. SHERRY Most of the world’s ills are created by the abi lity of the "haves” to ignore the needs of the “have nots.” This argument could be stretched from the large arena of international politics down to the living room of any family in any country of the world. One is reminded of this in the recent utter ances of two gentlemen of the Conservative Right — Senator Barry Goldwater and Columnist Bill Buckley. Both have spoken and written on the question of poverty' and, as could be expected, both have decided REAPINGS AT RANDOM that it is unavoid able and mostly the fault of the poverty- stricken. As I read Senator Gold- water and Mr. Buck- ley, many of this country's "have nots are really bums in disguise: that if only they would go out and look for work they would be, poor no longer; that they should not be looking for handouts all the time, and should rely upon good old American “rugged individualism”. It all seems simple enough. The trouble is neither Senator Goldwater nor Mr. Buckley have ever known what it is to be really poor. They have never suffered the gall ing experience of being without the elementary need of sustenance; they have never been in the frightful position of being deprived of a job merely because an employer did not like the pigment of their skin. Oh, there are so many things which these two gentlemen have never experienced in relation to human suffering that one can hard ly blame them. The fact remains, however, that in this land of plenty there are some really poor people— whose poverty results from the avarice of others; from the prejudice of others; from the bigotly of others. These two gentlemen of the political Right, despite their wealth and education, seem to know little about these United States, and evep less about many of its people. I recall that ih the 1960 election, the late President Kennedy spoke on this subject of poverty and slums, in4 eluding the fact that thousands of American homes had outside sanitation. Senator Goldwater at the the time, derided such remarks as playing into the hands of the Communists, and denied that conditions were so bad. Alas, ihe Senator just doesn’t know. If he did, he would admit that his own state has as much outside sanitation for homes as anv other. A trip along the main roads of Arizona, entering or com ing from the west, can really shake the con cerned observer. The gaudy cities of Phoenix and Tucson with their luxuriously wealthy sub urbs do indeed exemplify the progress of “rug ged individualism. “But there is always “the other side of the tracks”, not only in the big cities, but also the small towns. Here, the spirit of “rugged individualism,” is emaciated because there is a dearth of opportunity. The poor are said to be a blight on progress, and should be made to work for their welfare checks, even if their poverty has made them weak and under nourished. No doubt Messrs. Goldwater and Buck- ley will deny they show little concern for he nation's poor. Few will believe them, for their performance of recent date on this subject has been reminiscent of 18th Century aristocratic unconcern for anything but oneself. It is true that the poor will always be with us. It is also true that we are obligated to help them in any way we possibly can. This means the “haves” have a duty to help the “have nots”. Among the “have nots” will be the lazy and the indolent, just as you find them among the “haves”, surely though, Christian charity demands that we stop labeling all the poor as lazy and ignorant, even if some among them are in this category. While Messrs. Goldwater and Buckley are de fending “rugged individualism” and opposing medical care for the aged, some more families become impoverished through the high cost of medicine. Only the other day, I was talking to a gentleman who several years ago sounded like a junior edition of the Arizona politician. At that time, he was doing very well, had a good job, a nice home, and was as rugged an individual istic as any American could be. Today, he is like a junior edition of Harry Truman. Ill health dipped into his savings to the extent that he could not hold onto his fine home, and he had to move into a much more modest one. He is not completely broke, although he does not have the finances to meet another major hospital bill. He has always believed that a man and a family should stand on its own two feet, and by hard work, keep going. He asks the question, “what happens when some disaster like serious illness cuts the props from underneath you?” Here was no parasi te talking, here was someone still willing to start again, even if haunted by the spectre of failure through no fault of his own. There are millions of similar cases in which the condition of poverty is forced on a person or family, rather than embraced by them. It is good that President Johnson has declared war on poverty, rhe Goldwaters and the Buckleys may well claim it to be a mere political gimmick. No doubt some in Mr. Johnson’s Democratic Party will use it in just that way; but I believe the majority of Americans, Conservative and Liberal, Republican and Democratic, will be be hind President Johnson’s efforts to alleviate the misery of the poor among us. There will be some who will justify their apathy or lethargy through the knowledge that the poor will always be with us. However, I think the majority will under stand that some of the poor cannot help them selves; that not all of them are lazy: that many have become poor through circumstances beyond their control; that our compassion and concern for them is neither Communistic or Socialistic, but true Americanism.