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PAGE 4 GEORGIA BULLETIN THURSDAY, DECEMBER 10, 1964 the Archdiocese of Atlanta GEORGIA BULLETIN SERVING GEORGIA'S 71 NORTHF*m COUNTIES Official Organ of the Archidocese of Atlanta Published Every Week at the Decatur DeKalb News PUBLISHER- Archbishop Paul J. Hallinan MANAGING EDITOR Gerard E. Sherry CONSULTING EDITOR Rev. R. Donald Kiernan ASSOCIATE EDITOR Rev. Leonard F. X. Mayhew 2699 Peachtree N. E. P. O. Box 11667 Norths ide 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 Altanta, Ga. U. S. A. $5.00 Canada $5.00 m Foriegn $6.50 0M To Lead - In Loneliness In the Litany of the Saints, we beg God, “that You see fit to govern and preserve Your Holy Church/' Then we ask “that You see fit to preserve the Apostolic Pope and all ranks in the Church in holy religion". To both petitions, we add, “This we ask You-- hear our prayer," Crises, both internal and ex ternal, have often made the way of the pontiffs a way of the Cross, Upon no shoulders has the wood pre s sed more painfully than those who stood at new thresh- holds of the Church's history: Peter himself, Leo the Great, Gregory VII, the Reforma tion Popes and Leo XIII. In our personal and public prayers today, no one should concern us more than the man who stands in Peter's place as the post- Joannine period of Catholicism begins. -- Pope Paul VI* History will judge him, -- and all of us. But God will one day judge him too. Neither God nor the future historian will base their findings on the crude gene ralization#-heard today, the un reflecting epigrams, the noisy insistence on deadline verdicts, the clumsy application of a poli tical rule-of-thumb upon a man whose duties transcend such sha llow verdicts and ambiguities. A priest of deep personal faith, of quiet humility and contained dignity, keen perception and quick, profound compassion as cends the papal throne in the midst of a General Council, in the focal point of a world order hardened by bitterness, inertia and uncertainty. Those who have spoken to him know that his con versation is that of one who thinks and cares. He listens, he speakes thoughtfully, he is in terested in what others are say ing to him. Those who have heard his opening address to the second session in 1963, or read his first encyclical on the Paths of the Church in 1964 can easily grasp the principles that direct him, the present realities that drive him, the vision that bec kons to him. Those who are not misled by small things realize that the four great documents of the Council came into being un der this present Pope: the Lit urgy, the Church, Ecumenism and the Oriental churches. They know that he effectively forced the commissions to go to work, to tighten up the loose ends, to mend the controversies so that the Third Session opened with votable schemata, -- a welcome relief from the impasses of 1963. No pope has demonstrated the universality of his fatherhood more clearly than Paul VI. A progressive by nature, he gove rns by self-restraint. In so doing, he is exactly the man the twent ieth century needs. As the very honest observer, John Cogley, has written: “It is clear that the task he faces is to hold the Catholic community together, to make certain that the Pope remains the father of all, and slowly to insure that there is a viable transition from the old to the new as the Church faces up to the difficult implications of Pope John's aggiornamento." Notwithstanding the conserva tives, Pope Paul has opened the dialogue within the Church; pope with bishops, the hierarchies with the clergy, the laity with the priests. Notwithstanding the lib erals, he has refused to lead crusades for “total victories" or “unconditional surrenders". In fact, it is odd that the libe ral persuasion today, which is horrified at international efforts to bring about such victories and surrenders, appear horrified because Pope Paul uses the more refined methods of negotiation, give-and-take and restraint. If Eisenhower, Kennedy and John son lacked the gusto of Grover Cleveland sending warships to Venezuela, or Theodore Roose velt appropriating Panama, it is certainly true that the later pre sidents respond better to the grave crises of our times. Pope Paul would not declare war on the 20th century as Pope Pius IX tried to do on the 19th. In our complex world, he is “inevi tably subject to misunderstand ing, misinterpretation, and the special misery of the father who has to head a family of divid ed children," to quote Cogley's analysis of Nov. 26. As he left Rome for India, he must have shared some of the anxieties of his first predeces sor, the fisherman from Gali lee. Yet again, he travelled to the great sub-continent of so many religions, as he had gone to the Holy Land last January, a pilgrim in spirit in spite of the inevitable accoutrements. He went as the father of Indian Catho lics, but to all (Hindus, Moslems, Buddhists, as well as other re ligions) he was “the holy man from Rome". Surely, man that he is, he was refreshed in the fevor of the welcome. He spoke of and prayed for mutual under standing, esteem and love, “a sacred communion" to build the common future of the human race. And he recited a Hindu prayer from the Upanishad, In dia’s scriptures, in English; “From the unreal, lead me to the real. From darkness lead me to light. From death lead me to eter- ■4. * * mty. It reminds us of Newman * ‘out of the shadows and im ages" to the truth. And it re minds us of the essential lone liness of every leader of the human spirit. Often men, even sons and daughters, can be most cruel to those who love them mos f , Christians have prayed for their popes ever since Christ told the first shepherd to “con firm his brethren", “to feed his sheep." No more appropriate prayer today can rise from the Catholic heart than the ancient petition for the exalted, lonely figure who leads them; “preserve, Lord, the Apos tolic Pope. . . . This we ask You: hear our prayer." TP. J. H. Landmark Ruling GEORGIA EINES St. Anthony’s Grows BY REV. R. DONALD KIERNAN A Booklet commemorating sixty-one years of growth has just been published by the parishion ers of Saint Anthony’s parish in the West End section of Atlanta. Done with taste, the booklet treats the past with dignity, the present with res pect and the future with determination. Some twelve pages recall the steps taken with the initial planning of the parish and deals with the major events which make up the life of Saint Anthony’s Parish. In a foreward written by the beloved pastor of the West End parish, Monsignor King, the $3,500 loan, and the various pastors who have ser ved in the parish are recalled. m Note too is made of the servi- ■HT** ’ ] ces rendered the parishioners by the various priests who have served in the parish. GOING BACK to 1903 the booklet recalls that the first meeting came about as a result of the women living in West End finding it difficult to walk every Sunday to the Immaculate Conception and then come home to a day of cooking in the kitchen. So, a meeting of the ladies was called on June 17, 1902 at the home of Mrs. Joel Harris.This home, still standing, is known today as Wren’s Nest. It was interesting to see some of the pictures in the booklet. Some of the persons are still liv ing and some, of course, are long departed. Monsignor Clark, for example; I never met him but, while stationed as an assistant at Saint Joseph's Church in Athens, I learned that his name is still remembered there by the people living in the Classic City. MONSIGNOR Croke passed away shortly after I arrived in Georgia. I can still recall the priests talking about how he championed the cause of a Saint Patrick’s Day celebration in the Atlanta area. The pastor of Decatur’s Saint Thomas More Church, Monsignor O’Connor, served as an As sistant at Saint Anthony’s shortly after he was ordained. From there he went to the Catholic Uni versity of America. While in the Nation’s Capitol City he was responsible for collecting the funds which were used to construct the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, located on the grounds of the University. fc loriio .. ysw -j^zoz r. FATHER‘James H. Conlin passed away just one month after I was Ordained. Father Conlin was in bad health and had retired to Savannah. Visiting him in the hospital he and his good friend, Mon signor Croke, would reminisce about the happy days they both spent serving as pastors of Saint Anthony’s Church. Father Joseph Smith had spent many years at the Immaculate Conception. When Monsignor Grady went to the Immaculate, Father Smith be came the pastor of Saint Anthony’s. On many, many occasions Father Smith would call me on the phone and ask me over to his parish for dinner. Though I have never been stationed at Saint An thony’s I feel close to the people there through the many associations I have had with the priests who have served at that parish. THE BOOKLET is a fine addition to the histori cal life of the church in the Atlanta Area. Events are recalled and pictures published which will form a permanent record of the parish life and serve to refresh our memories of those people who made the parish successful. As Monsignor King says today, "It is a great joy to look back to Sept. 20, 1903; sixty-one long years of achievement. The Faith and Ambitions of a handful of women, faced with many obstacles planting the seeds of Catholicity in the West End section of Atlanta by having the Mass celebrated in the coldness of a renovated frame building...but what memories and what pride you survivors must enjoy this day.’’ CHURCH AND STATE Your World And Mine BY GARY MacEOIN The first of these articles summing up my impressions during a year’s world travel stress ed the overriding importance of religion in world affairs, this in an age when government decis ions are dictated by pragmatism and power poli tics. I end them with a related paradox. All UN member governments are pledged to grant free dom of conscience and religion, yet many claim jurisdiction in religious mat ters and exercise it in grossly : discriminatory ways. THE COMMUNIST states provide the most glaring exam ples. All have followed Soviet Russia’s lead, giving constitu tional guarantees of freedom of religious belief and of anti-re ligious propaganda. The words were carefully chosen. The believer has only the right to believe. Every external expression of this right is rigorously controlled. Christian educa tion of the young is prohibited, as is all pub lic defence or explanation of religion. The un believer has at his disposal the machinery of the state, including its monopoly of the press OLD STUFF? More Thoughts On Tithing BY GERARD E. SHERRY It is a fact well-known to all pastors that few Catholics offer to God what they should in propor tion to the blessings received. Too many go on the assumption that a dollar a Sunday is par for the course. Pastors who are growing old before their time because of the endless struggle with financial problems, know that 20% of their parishioners are carrying at least 80% of the burden. and other communications media, to propagate atheism. Communist constitutions proicaim separation of Church and state but do not implement the prin ciple. Instead, each government has an office for religious matters which regulates the internal af fairs of Churchbodies and constantly tightens state control over organized religion. Dissident groups, like the so-called "peace priests.” in Eastern Europe, are subsized. Appointments are made to religious officers without regard for the select ive processes of the body affected. IN THE Moslem world, stretching from the Atlantic coast of Africa through Asia Minor and Pakistan to Indonesia, state interference in reli gious matters is not lessmarked. Islam is usually the state religion. It is unlawful for another re ligion to accept a Moslem who seeks to join it. Even in the states which call themselves secular and are trying to break the control of the religious leaders over civil affairs, discrimination con tinues widespread in practice. It is unlawful for another religion to accept a Moslem who seeks t o join it. Even in the states which call themselves secular and are trying to break the control of the religious leaders over civil affa irs, discrimination continues widespread inpra- CONTINUED ON PAGE 5 REAPINGS AT RANDOM The basic concept that must be accep ted is when everyone bene fits all should carry a fair share of responsibility. What is a fair share? Is it one hour’s wages a week? Is it 4 or 5% of one’s income? Actually there is no hard and fast inter pretation of the Fifth Precept of the Church which binds all in conscience to contribute to the support of the Church. THIS IS all brought to mind by the fact that a news item was recently published concerning a U.S. bishop who told his fellow Council Fathers in Rome that tithing was one way to help the missions and to eliminate poverty in the world. I recall, too, the fuss that was made when we published not too long ago an item quoting a theologian who said that tithing was not based on the law of God. The theologian also said that some of the litera ture promoting tithing was ’’dangerous". Inas much as some bishops have come out strongly for tithing it is no understatement to say that quite a number of episcopal eyes were raised. What seems to have been missed in the reading of the item is that the thologian was not condemn ing tithing itself. Furthermore, Catholic papers have published from time to time other stories about Bishops or priests favoring tithing.The sys tem has proved advantageous in parishes through out the country. THE FACT that this theologian’s views were published should not be interpreted as an effort to hinder the tithing system. If we were to suppress views, simply because they might annoy some people, it would be unjust and would repudiate the function of a Catholic newspaper — which is to print all acceptable opinions that do not question Faith or Morals. We need diverse opinions within the Church on such matters, even if only to clari fy issues. It would be a sorry day for the Catho lic Press if an honest opinion on a debatable sub ject was eliminated simply because ttmlght engen der disagreement. ~ • >‘iO , r>> 50 Li J’L.k -*1) SliJ pi 1 JO110 -‘J L This writer is in favor of some form of tithing in a parish. But there can be no hard or fast rule laid down as to what is a fair share to give to God — in relation to the support of the parish. And it is on this question thatthe critics have jus tification in challenging the literature put out by some national tithing advocates. For example: one leaflet makes the flat statement *'A tithe is the first tenth of one’s gross income before deduc tions". In some cases this could be true, but in many cases it is obviously not. Tithing on a gross income also can be unrealistic inasmuch as after local, state and federal taxes have been paid, some seemingly well-off families find themselves with much less than is generally understood. SUPPORT of a parish, financially as well as spiritually, is a moral obligation for every Cath olic. But common sense dictates that one stan dard cannot be applied to all parishioners.This is where we suggest that some tithing literature is unrealistic because it implies sin is committed if its "laws’’ are not carried out. Each family in a parish must consider tithing or any other form of parish support very serious ly. We have a moral obligation to return to God what we can afford — taking into honest and sin cere consideration our other obligations to the stability of the family. A certain sacrifice is to be expected. But what cannot be imposed is a tithe which is detrimental to the health and welfare of the family. Alas, few of the tithing leaflets explain this. And it leads to unnecessary hostility on the part of some of the laity who feel that the pastors’ demands are excessive. PASTORS have long ago realized the importance and necessity of some kind of a benefit plan which widens the base of support and asks every parish ioner to make an offertory commitment on some kind of a systematic basis. Tithing interpreted in the strictest sense may not be the best word. However, let’s face the facts. Catholics in these United States have an added burden in that they must build, staff, supervise and support a com plete education system. In addition, there is the further obligation of helping the poor and the needy through the charitable agencies of the Church. And, not to be forgotten, is the Church's obligations in the Mission Apostolate throughout the world. All this costs money, even though some people respond only with negative criticism in stead of positive contribution. OBVIOUSLY, if tithing is to be the answer, it should be sold to the people of God on a mature, spiritual basis rather than on the fire-and-brim- stone terms to which it has been too often sub jected. In every area where tithing is a success, it has been because there has been a positive appeal to the people rather than a negative threatening of punitive spiritual consequences. It is also true that tithing is successful in parishes where the system is not encumbered by raffles, book fairs, candy sales, spaghetti suppers, bingo and the like. Indeed, I know one pastor who is so successful at tithing that he throws an annual 'Thank You’’din- ner for his parishioners. He tells me this ges ture is so much appreciated that he always has an increase the following year. His people feel they are part of his family, and that while they share his burdens, they also share his graces.