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PAGE 8 GEORGIA BULLETIN THURSDAY, APRIL 30, 1964
CATHOLIC PRESS-10
The Pastor Has A
Stake In The
Diocesan
Newspaper
VERY REV. JOHN F McDONOUGH
This article will get around shortly to a discus
sion of the role of the pastor and the diocesan
paper. It will show, I trust, that today's pastor
has much to offer in the matter of his life, the
experience with people, acquired over years of his
mini ft t*/ sUouli be a.i invaluable aid to the editor
of a diocesan paper.
Before touching on that, however, I would like
to indicate briefly why I believe today's pastors
are qualified to reflect the spirit of the Church and
the spirit of today's world. Surely Bacon and New
man's theory that experience is a vital part of
education and preparation for progress still had
some validity. Indeed, it would seem that exper
ience is a vital requisite for capability in any
field.
it is my contention that pastors by and large
have broad experience in their appointed field and
are capable of miking a distinct contribution to it.
However, there are those who appear to disagree
with me. There has been a spate of criticism of
priests recently, a general criticism it seems to
m* of today's priests. Any group is open to criti
cism aid rightly so. And priests do many things
that deserve criticism, but I do not believe that
today's priests are open to total criticism.
IT IS surprising that this criticism of priests
because more outspoken and vociferous with the
election of Pop.* John XXIII, surely one of the most
devoted and de<lica:ed of priests.
In this flury of criticism made by those who
are the avant garde of freedom for the laity,
there seems to be no place for the priest who
will not be hurried or bullied into believing things
or doing things that his mind cannot accept. Free
dom, it would appear, is a one way street with
them. Those who do not agree with them are made
to appear as reactionists and obscurantists.
These thoughts, a prologue to my views on the
pastor and the diocesan paper, were occasioned by
an article by John Cogley’s in the March 27th
issue of Commonweal, entitled "Changing Roles in
the Church 1 '. I doubt if I have ever read in a
Catholic magazine a more thorough downgrading of
the priests of this age as this article presents. 1
do no: wish to discuss here why Mr. Cogley feels
as he evidently does about today's priests, nor do I
wish to search into his reasons for putting his
faith in the future of the Church in today’s semi
narians, to the exclusion of today's priests.
BUT 1 EX) think it is pertinent to say that I re
ject his views in this matter completely. I have
known too many priests, both young and old, who
have worked long and hard and well for Christ and
His Church to accept the position that summarily
dismisses them as incompetent, or ever submit to
the belief that the priests of this generation and
the preceding generations have not been other
Christs. They have not been perfect. They have
made mistakes. They have been human. But by and
large they deserve the accolade "well done, well
done," because they have brought the message of
Christ to His people.
That message has flowered not only in the golden
age of the Papacy we have known for the past 100
years, not only in the bishops of the Church who
have thrilled the world by their actions in the Sec
ond Vatican Council, but also in the flowering of
the great laity of the age in which we live. Indeed, I
would say, contrary to the views of Mr. Cogley, it
is to the everlasting glory of today’s priests that
we have an emerging laity, ready to take its right
ful place in God's Holy Church.
Granted there have been delays, unfortunate de
lays it would seem to some in the matter of nec
essary progress and necessary change in the
Church. Nevertheless, it seems to me these de-
Fa.hsr McDonough is Pastor of St. Mary's
Church in Rome, and is Dean of the Northwest
Deanery of the Archdiocese. This is the tenth in a
series of twelve articles on the Catholic Press
written exclusively for the readers of the Georgia
Bulletin.
lays are necessary, for there is a time and a
rhythm for all our activities and in all our un
dertakings. And the Holy Spirit is in the Chu *ch
and has been since the first Pentecost Sunday.
So what might seem to us an unnecessary delay
may only be the Divine Wisdom of the Holy Spirit
slowly maturing the human soul for the full accep
tance of the message of Christ.
THE MOST important thing now is, as it always
has been, the message of Christ and the part that '
His priests living in the world today will take in
announcing that message, all of which leads us to
the title of this article, "The Pastor and the Dio
cesan Paper."
A pastor is an individual priest to whom a parish
has been given, with rightful possession, with the
care of souls to be exercised under the authority of
the local ordinary. The primary concern of the
pastor then is the care of souls. It is his solemn
responsibility to do all things that pertain to the
proper realization of the spiritual needs of the
individual members of this parish. The extent to
which he performs his office in accordance with his
responsibilities and powers will determine in
large measure the judgment that will be m3*ed
out to him by Christ, the Just Judge. The burden
is not a slight one and cannot be accepted
lightly. The pastor must make full use of all in
struments that can profitably carry Christ's mes
sage to all under his care.
Nothing is more important than the message. It
is the message that instructs, the message that
persuades, and the message that moves a person
to action. The pastor who does his job best is
the one who can communicate his message.
IT SEEMS to me that 99 9/10% of all our prob
lems, social, economic, personal, result from a
lack of communication. It has been said rightly,
I believe, that if people can communicate, they
will find a solution to their problems. When peo
ple cannot communicate or do not comm nicate,
an inpenetrable barrier is erected between them
and the concord and harmony of society in general
and family life in particular is destroyed.
The pastor, for his part, must use all avenues
of communication to keep in touch with his paris
hioners, no; the least of which is the diocesan
paper. For the diocesan paper is as it were a
candle lit in God's honor, which as it shines
upon the faithful, illumines them with God's holy
truth and disperses the darkness of ignorance. It
is a paschal candle standing in the middle of the
sanctuary, reflecting the light of other candle
bearers. And the diffused light of this candle of
Catholic journalism can surprise use.
I HAVE always felt the editor of a diocesan
paper should be a lay person. No reflection is in
tended on the capabilities of priest editors. (1
also feel the same about superintendents of
schools.) There are and have been good priests
editors, but it seems co me that it must of
necessity be an avocation with them, not a voca
tion. Any endeavor, other than their pastoral
ministry, must be an extra undertaking. And
while it may without doubt be well executed for
a time, it is nevertheless, subordinate and tem
porary.
With the lay editor, however, the diocesan paper
is a way of life, a vocation to which he brings the
skill of his craft fully and completely. This is
his life's work and he is dedicated in this special
field to his readers.
In this respect then, the editor of a diocesan
paper can be labeled neither liberal nor conser
vative for he should not take sides arbitrarily.
There are times when he must be liberal; there
are times when he must be conservative. He can
only present the true message of Ch*ist as it is
unfolded to him by his intelligence and experience.
This is an awesome responsibility. Being human
he will err often. The editor of a diocesan paper
not only needs our prayers, he deserves theml
DIRECTORY
Report Shows
Over Million
New Catholics
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
123 Sees. The largest Increases
have been noted in New York,
78,280; Brooklyn, 72,445;
Paterson, 59,279; Los Angeles,
55,033; Philadelphia, 45,683;
Washington, D. C., 42,281, and
San Antonio, 42,271. Eight ad
ditional Sees recorded in
creases of over 25,000.
The directory lists 244 mem
bers of the Hierarchy, an in
crease of seven — five
cardinals, 32 archbishops, and
207 bishops.
An increase of 788 in the
clergy, brings the total of or
dained priests to 57,328, the
largest ever recorded. There
are now 35,077 diocesan priests
an increase of 612, and 22,251
priests of religious com
munities, an increase of 176.
Listed for the first time are
1,629 newly ordained priests.
Pope John XXIII, two arch
bishops, three bishops and 841
priests are listed in the Necro
logy. Professed Religious per
sonnel include 12,132 Brothers,
an increase of 164, and 180,-
015 Sisters, an Increase of
2,861.
THE DIRECTORY reports
16,930 parishes with resident
pastors, an increase of 140,
and 515 parishes without re
sident clergy—a record total
of 17,445 Catholic parishes in
the 50 States. Also listed are
4,594 missions, 1,502 stations
and 12,076 chapels — an
increase of 48 places where
Mass is offered regularly.
A high of 14,370 separate
educational institutions, 185
established during 1963, in
clude; 112 diocesan semi
naries; 459 religious com
munities' seminaries or novl-
Mates and scholasticates; 295
colleges and universities; 1,-
557 diocesan and parish high
schools; 901 private high
schools; 10,452 parish ele
mentary schools, and 450 pri
vate elementary schools. There
are also 144 protective insti
tutions, with 17,443 youths in
attendance.
Full-time teaching staffs of
all educational institutions un
der Catholic auspices increased
by 7,789, to a record total of
191,125, comprising 11,697
priests; 1,126 scholastics; 5,-
726 Brothers; 104,441 Sisters,
and 68,135 lay teachers. There
are 52 fewer priests; 21 more
scholastics; 264 more Bro
thers; 2,098 more Sisters and
5,458 more lay teachers than a'
year ago.
NEW educational institutions
Include five diocesan and five
religious communities' semi
naries established during 1963.
The 112 diocesan seminaries
report enrollments of 26,701
seminarians, an Increase of
1,454, while the 459 religious
communities’ novitiates and
'scholasticates have 22,049 stu
dents, or a decrease of 278,
giving a total of 48,750 candi
dates for the priesthood.
The year 1945 generally is
considered the beginning of the
nation's schools enrollment
boom. A comparison compiled
by the directory shows how
Catholics have met the demands
of supporting and expanding
their schools while contribut
ing tax support for public
schools. The comparison of the
number of schools and total
students reported in the 1945
directory with the same cate
gories in the new directory
shows 3,314 more institutions,
an increase of 33.7%; 3,449,
302 more students, an Increase
of 133.2%.
UnduAance in all iti l/vimd!
9jf it^i wAitten, utAile U . .
Sutter & Mcietlan
1422 RHODES HAVERTY BLDG.
JAckson 5-2086
WHCftt INSURANCE is A PftOrKSSlON NOT A SIDELINE
ON SITE OF THE ASCENSION—Built over the traditional
site of Christ’s Ascension, on the summit of the Mt. of
Olives, east of the City of Jerusalem is this Crusader Chapel.
Ascension Thursday, a holy day of obligation will be ob
served on May 7.
WAS HOAXED’
Cardinal Eases
Birch Flaying
ARCHBISHOP ROBERTS
Comments Raise
Birth Control
Controversy
(CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1)
do not know of any more dedi
cated anti-communist in the
United States than Robert
Welch" and added "I unhesi
tatingly recommend him to you
and endorse his John Birch Soc
iety.'.’
In his letter to Davis, the
Cardinal said:
", . . my memory was at
fault concerning my letter of
April 28, 1960, to Mr. Craw
ford. Since I did not specifi
cally state in that letter, that
it was not to be published, per
mission certainly could have
been Implied.
"MY STATEMENTS were
made made with an if, and
were conditional on the accur
acy of the Information I had
received. Under the circums
tances I now feel that my state
ments were unjustified.
"Because of my own dedica
tion to the fight against the at
heistic communistic con
spiracy, 1 certainly do not vent
to do any harm to fellow bat
tlers in the same cause.
"While I think the Crawford
letter is now too out of date
for continued use, therefore, 1
should be glad to have Mr.
Welch to print this letter in
the bulletin of the John Birch,
Society if he wished to do so.
"And with my regret at the
temporary worry caused many
good people by the hoax perpe
trated on me, 1 send you and
your associates all good wishes
and kind regards."
(CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3)
sically immoral and no opinion
to the contrary may be
followed."
In response to Archbishop
Roberts' difficulty with the
arguments against contracept
ion from reason, Father
O'Leary said:
"THE FACT that the
Church's teaching is clear does
not imply that the arguments in
favor of it from reason alone
are clear and immediately con
clusive. It is essential to re
mind ourselves that God has
given us the Church as a teacher
in faith and morals precisely
to provide the certainty and
security one would not have if
left to unaided reason. . .
"Opinions may sometimes be
expressed or reported," Father
O'Leary said, "which appear
contrary to the essential truth
taught by the Church. This re
grettably causes confusion; but
through th e stimulus of such
opinions, the essential truth
should be enabled to be more
clearly seen."
IN THE controversial in
terview Archbishop Roberts
compared the Catholic attitude
on sex with the Augustian at
titude on speech, which main
tained that one must not tell a
lie even to save another from
being murdered, because there
must be no discrepancy between
though and word.
"Most Protestants today have
applied the same kind of argu
ment to the organs of sex which
we Catholics now apply to the
organ of speech, namely that
you must take into account the
whole purpose of nature," he
said.
"THE WHOLE end of mar
riage is not to have as many
children as possible," the
Archbishop added, "but as many
as can be brought up to lead
happy and useful lives."
father Benet Innes, O.S.B.
of Downside Abbey, writing in
th e Universe, said; "Some of
the philosophical arguments
against birth control have been
questioned and many theolo
gians are saying that it would
be safe to rest our attitude on
the teaching authority of the
Church rather than on the
philosophical arguments. . .
"SCIENTIFIC advances have
reached a point where it is not
yet absolutely clear on which
side of the moral line the use
of the 'pill* lies and people are
urging th e Church to make a
pronouncement. The Church has
not spoken simply because
scientific matters are never as
simple as they seem to those
who take their science from
newspapers," Father Innes
said.
Summer Study
In New Orleans
Loyola University
Registration June 15-16
Classes start June 17
•Arts and Sciences
.Business Administration
Music
Men’s, Women’s Residence Halls
New $1,475,000 student center
New Orleans Offers:
. historic sites
. Art galleries
. museums
. Swimming, sailing
. Fabulous Food
. Ante-bellum homes
Students tour Place d'Armes
WRITE DIRECTOR, Summer session
Office Equipment Business Machines
Sales-Service-Supplies
PHONE 525-6417
PHONE 525-6417
172 WHITEHALL STREET, S.W.
ATLANTA 3, GEORGIA
Tbt Holy Pttbtr’t Minion Aid
for tbt Oritnttl Church
Near East mission world.
The Missions—Wiiat’s Your Part?
IF YOU WERE A PRIEST, YOU’D SUFFER AND NEVER
COUNT THE COST. In INDIA. ERITREA. ETHIOPIA. EGYPT.
IRAN, you’d live with hatred, ex
haustion, lonlincss. disease. You’d
cnerffire yourself, in order to admin
ister ihe sacraments ... If you were
» S«*W. you’d wash out the sores
g •'* # r>h^n , 'd 'eo«rs tesch the cate-
y h'*m In fetid, bamboo huts, care
f*»r *he blind the aired, orphans, the
paor . . . You’d be; in other words,
a missionary . . . You’d live in a hut
not fit for dogs, sleep on the ground,
cat w’^at the natives cat. Ycu’d wear
yourself out. and die, probably, be-
for you reached fifty . . . This is the
It's peopled by pagans— for whom
Christ died. It’s peopled, too, by Catholics like ourselves. Catho
lics too poor to support a priest or Sister . . . For 27c a day
(less than the price of a pack of cigarettes) you can train a
native priest . . . For 33c a day you can FEED A FAMILY of
Palestine Refugees . . . Not much money, you say? Is isn’t much
for us who have so much. In the Near East mission world, how
ever, 81 is a fortune! . . . For each of our priests and Sisters
actually in mission work, we need ten "missionaries” like you
at home. We need people at home who pray every day for the
success of what our priests and Sisters do. We need housewives,
mailmen, stenographers, engineers, who will “do without” and
"make do” in order to send a monthly sacrifice ... Is SI, $5,
810, S50, every month too much to ask? Only you can say . . .
What’a it worth to save a soul?
WHAT YOUR SACRIFICE WILL DO
□ SI A MONTH — Food, clothing, medical attention for
lepers. Send us SI now. and say you want to join oui
DAMIEN LEPER CLUB.
;Q $2 A MONTH — A blanket, shoes, eye-glasses, for an orphan
boy at Father Poggi’s home In CAIRO, EGYPT.-—Mark your
sacrifice, “Father Poggi.”
□ $5 A MONTH — The rent-money to house a family of Pal
estine Refugees in BETHLEHEM. —Write to us.
□ $8.32 A MONTH — The cost of training a native priest. The
entire course of training lasts six years, costs $100 a year, $600
altogether. — Write to us.
□ S10 A MONTH — What it costs to feed a family of Palestine
Refugees — Arabs who lost everything as a result of the 1948
Arab-Israeli War. — Write to us.
□ $12.50 A MONTH — The cost of feeding, clothing, housing,
and training a native Sister. — We’ll send you "your” Sister’s
name and address. You may write to her. She will write to you.
□ $50 A MONTH — Mark your gift "Stringless" and we'll use
is where it’s needed most. It will buy medicine for a clinic,
books for a mission school, buy a new roof for a mission chapel.
□ $75 A MONTH — Buys a complete medical kit for a mis-
sioner's use.
□ $200 A MONTH — Will build, in only one year, a brand-
new mission school. — You may designate the school as a perma
nent memorial to your family or your loved ones. — Write to us
MAKE A WILL? REMEMBER THE MISSIONS
—OUR LEGAL TITLE: THE CATHOLIC
NEAR EAST WELFARE ASSOCIATION.
jMillear fist (Missions
FRANCIS CARDINAL SPILLMAN, President
M»ff. Je»e?Ji T. Rye*, Nefl See**
Reed elt ceNtmuakatleai tet
CATHOLIC NEAR EAST WELFARE ASSOCIATION
480 Lexington Avt. at 46th St. Now York 17, N. Y.