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About The Georgia bulletin (Atlanta) 1963-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 2, 1965)
VOL. 3, NO. 35. ATLANTA, GEORGIA THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 1965 $5.00 PER YEAR diocese of Atlanta SERVING GEORGIA’S 71 NORTHERN COUNTIES SOCIAL ACTION THROUGH SCHOOLS OFFICE In Mercy Archbishop Reveals YOUR PRIZE-WINNING NEWSPAPER Works Of Needed To Combat Poverty In Plenty CCD Reorganization WASHINGTON—Every citizen should '“take advantage of every opportunity to minister to the poor and disadvantaged by the personal practice of the spir itual and corporal works of mercy,” says the 1965 Labor Day statement of the social Ac tion Department, National Cat holic Welfare Conference. Prepared under the direction of Msgr. George G. Higgins, department director, the state ment emphasizes: "this is our common responsibility and not merely an elective, so to speak, for the few. None of us, in other words, is free to look the other way or to stand on the sidelines as a passive spe ctator. We are all called upon to become personally involved in helping the poor to help themselves." On the day of judgment, the statement said, “Our love of God will be measured strictly by the degree to which we have ministered— or failed to minister—to the material as well as.the spiritual needs of our neighbor. ‘Believe me,’ the Lord will" say. to each of us on the finai day of judgment, ‘when you did it to one of the least of my brethren, you did it to me,’ or’...when you re fused it to one of the least of my brethren here, you re fused it to me. And these shall pass on to eternal punishment, and the just to eternal life.’” "THIS is true,” it added, “not only because there is no lack of poor people in this bountiful and phenomenally pr osperous land, but also, and more importantly, because there is less excuse today for the continuation of widespread poverty and infinitely less ex cuse on our own part for. steal ing our hearts and shutting our purses against its unfortunate victims.” The statement said labor and management have done much “to raise the living standards of millions of Americans.” However, “the traditional tech niques of labor-management cooperation are not sufficient, of themselves, to solve the nagging problem of abject pov erty in the midst of plenty.” THE SUGGESTION that work ing men with a “favorable stan dard of living..may be inclined to forget their comrades who are not so well off"’was termed “unfair to the majority of Ame rican Workers.” But the statement added that such a charge can serve as "a chastening reminder... that they have an obligation to con cern themselvespersonally with the problems of the poor and to help them to improve their lot in life.” That this will require special attention,"the statement conti nued. ”to the dismal plight of our Negro fellow-citizens and the members of other disad vantaged minority groups is self-evident....No greatermis- take could be made than to think that the problem of racial in justice, thesheermagnitudeand tragedy of which we have yet fully to grasp as a nation, was taken care of once and for all by the enactment of the civil Rights Act of 1964.” ALTHOUGH this law was history-making,” in the long run (it) could prove to have been a curse rather than a blessing if the hopes and ex pectations which it has aroused among our Negro fellow citi zens are frustrated.” The statement praised those who support reforms and con tribute to appeals for the re - lief of the needy, “on the other hand, a purely impersonal interest in the plight of the poor and the disadvantaged is far . from being adequate. Much more is demanded of all of us. We are called upon to perform the corporal and spir itual works of mercy on person-to-person basis and to do so with profound respect for the dignity and the sen sibilities of those whom we are privileged to serve in the name of the Lord. Some of the Gray Nuns of The Sacred Heart who attended the convent dedication at Immacu late Heart of Parish. The order staffs the school and will occupy the new convent. PONTIFF. COUNCIL FATHERS March Through Rome Set For Fourth Session Opening ROME (NC)—The Pope and the Fathers of the Second Vati can Council will mark the open ing of its fourth session with a penitential procession through the streets of Rome bearing relics of Christ’s passion. Pope Paul VI announced this (Aug. 28) while exhorting "the whole Church" to penance and prayer for the success of the council, which he described as “this God-given opportunity that the Church and the world have for the salvation of man kind.” The Pope called for a cere mony of penance in every Cath olic church in the world. He said that children, young men and women, and fathers and mothers of families should be invited to the ceremony. He Urged the sick, "our most cherished children,’ to unite their spiritual and physical suf ferings to the worldwide peni- tial ceremonies. POPE PAUL scheduled his own and the council Fathers' penitential procession for the afternoon of the council 's open ing day, Sept. 14, the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem, the Pope and the world's bishops will start from the basilica and proceed a half mile to the Pope’s own cathe dral, the basilica of St. John Lateran. (St. Helen, mother of Emper or Constantine, and discoverer of the relics of Christ's pas sion, built the basilica of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem to house the relics. Among them NCWC ANNOUNCEMENT Relief Services Lift Aid In Vietnam War Scene from the convent dedication at Immaculate Heart of Parish. Left to right are Father Daniel O’Connor, Secratary of Edu cation; Archbishop Paul J. Hallinan, officiating; Msgr. Pat rick O'Connor, pastor of St. Thomas More; Father William Hoffman, principal of Drexel; and Msgr. Michael Regan, pas tor of Immaculate Heart of Mary. WASHINGTON (NC) — U. S. Catholic relief efforts in South Vietnam are being sharply step ped up at the request of Pope Paul VI and of the Federal government. Archbishop Patrick A. O’Boyle of Washington, chairman of the administrative board of the Na tional Catholic Welfare Confer ence, made the announcement. It was in response to a di rect appeal for the Pope to the U.S. hierarchy for increased aid. In recent weeks, the Cath olic agency, and other private voluntary organizations, also have been asked by the U.S. gov ernment to raise their contrib utions. IT ISEXPECTEDthata' sub stantial portion” of the world wide relief work of the U.S, Catholic agency will be concen trated in South Vietnam from now on. The aid will be used to alle viate what officials call the ur gent needs of 650,000 refugees and other war victims as well as to help develop long-range plans for economic stability of that country. U. S. Catholic aid goes into South Vietnam through the fa cilities of Catholic Relief Ser vices—National Catholic Wel fare Conference, which pres ently conducts relief programs in 79 nations in Africa, Asia and Latin America. CRS HAS been in South Viet nam since 1954 when the U.S. government requested its ser vices. It was the first private U.S. relief agency to arrive. It aids over 450,000 persons. Departure Archbishop Paul J. Hall inan will leave Atlanta on Fri day, September 10, on Eastern Airlines flight number 108 at 3:00 p.m. from Atlanta Airport on his way to the final session of the Vatican Council. He will depart for Rome the foll owing day from' New York. The clergy, religious and laity are invited to attend the Atlanta Airport prior to the Archbishop’s departure to wish him Godspeed and a safe jour ney to this momentous Assem bly of the Council Fathers. Approximately 70% of Catho lic children of elementary age, and 36% of the high school level are attending the Catho lic schools of the Archdiocese according to the census of 1963. News of widespread in terest to the Catholic pupils in, public schools (and their parents) was released this week. The Department of Catho lic Education, of which Father Daniel O’Connor is head, will treble the scope of its work in 1966 as the result of sur veys and fact-gathering now going up. Plans will be an nounced in early 1966, and it is expected to inaugurate the program next September. Fathers Alan Dillman and An thony Morris have been named assistants to Father O’Connor in this new re-defined Catholic education program. ' are fragments* of the Gross, a piece of the trilingual sign which hung over Christ as He hung upon the Cross, a nail from the Cross and two thorns from Christ's crown.) POPE PAUL also announced that the Blessed Sacrament will be exposed in the Pauline chap el of the apostolic palace throughout the council’s fourth session. The council Fathers and all who work for the coun cil or the Vatican will be able to go there and pray for the council's success. This act of exposing the Bles sed Sacrament in his own chap el seemed to be the Pope’s own answer to Catholic theolo gians and others who have cast doubt on the fittingness of pray er before the Blessed Sacra ment. The Pope chose the feast of the Holy Cross as opening day of the council so that “all may grasp more deeply that He who was lifted up from the earth' on that wood is the only One who draws all things to Him self.” POPE PAUL said that without Christ and without obedience to His commandment of love, the achievements of man “are ex posed to the distressing uncer tainty of questions that have no answer, to the weakening caused by mutual distress, and to the still unmastered realities of suffering, sickness, hunger and war.” He emphasized that the coun cil will not provide “the sole and immediate solution” to such problems. But he as serted that the council “will have a greater effect than we can estimate,” especially in the life of the Church. Pope Paul said that the coun cil will achieve this effect: « • by encouraging clergy and laity to live their vocations more earnestly, • by changes “in some can onical requirements that no longer serve the good of souls,” • by modernizing the Church’s administration, • by invigorating the Church's missionary activity, “which should strengthen and diffuse the message of peace and freedom for the world;” FATHER DILLMAN AT PRESENT, the Confrater nity of Christian Doctrine is responsible for elementary and high school classes for those not in Catholic schools. Since the Archdiocese plan has simply grown, parish by parish, there FATHER O'CONNOR are great discrepancies and gaps in it. The Department of Education, in addition to the planning and supervision of parochial schools, will plan classes, train lay catechists, provide text-books, and arrange for a completely graded and uni form system of attendance and study for those not in Catholic schools. “The whole picture of Cath olic Education is changing be fore obf, eyes,"’ We plan to up^ date iti improve it and widen it. The Catholic school has a top priority because it intro duces the child and youth to the whole of education and centers this in the theological urgency of God’s presence and His Will. But the rising demands for admission and the rising cost of building and operation point to a day when the traditional pattern of “Every Catholic child in a Catholic school will no longer hold, “Archbishop Paul J. Hallinan said in an nouncing the new plan. “Rather it must become, ‘The Catholic education of every Ca tholic wherever he is.” TRAINED personnel, fa cilities and programs for Ca tholic Education outside the Catholic school must be pro vided. "Nor can it be thought of as a ‘half-way measure,’ a ‘stop-gap plan’ or a drum- med-up Ersatz program with little depth or scope. The child and youth in the public school deserves the very best care we can provide just as those in the Catholic school now provide, the Archbishop said. The Department of Educa tion will also include the New man Apostolate and Adult Ed ucation although Fr. Theophilus McNulty, OFM, will continue as director of the former. Spe cial education such as Our Lady’s Day School and the La tin School will remain under the Department. Studies now to be made by the Department will rely on lay, FATHER MORRIS and especially parental, exper ience, programs in other di ocese, objectives of Sister com munities devoted to this work, and,the Confraternity and New man staff of the National Catholic Welfare Conference. TRANSFORMATION TIME Pope Warns Workers Of Possible Spiritual Crisis POMEZIA, Italy (NC)—Pope Paul VI addressed the people of this town crowded around an outdoor altar in the town square, where he was celebrating Mass on the 12th Sunday after Pente cost Aug. 29). “Why have 1 come here?” He answered his own question: “Because you are especially entitled to this visit. You rep resent all that is most charac teristic of modern society. The people of Pomezia are in the process of transformation, and the town is living through the moment of transition from an agricultural economy to an in dustrial economy.” The people who listened to him in fact represented still another characteristic of mod ern society: emigration. When the town was founded 26 years ago oh the extreme northwes tern edge of the land reclaimed from the Pontine marshes, the fascist government brought in people from the then impover ished Veneto district of Italy's north. Now, with the growth of industry in Pomezia, peasants from the south are moving into the factories around Pomezia. THE POPE went onto explain how this economic transforma tion could bring a new spiritual “But a critical moment ar rives in this process of trans formation. And that is when people are dazzled by material goods, when they begin to think and to say: These are the true goods I have always been looking for, they are the goods ! need. I no longer have any need of Christ.’ ” The Pope’s voice echoed his own sadness, "No, my brothers, FATHER JOSEPH M. O’MALLEY, the newly elect ed president of the Amer ican Catholic Correctional Chaplains' Association, is chaplain at the Federal Cor rectional Institution, Engle- my sons. I have come here to this focus of necessary and in evitable transformation to tell you to understand your destiny. In the passage from one civili zation to another, from yester day to today know how to keep faith in Christ. Faith is neith er against fortune nor well-be ing, but they are nothing without a life of faith.” THE POPE then turned to the Gospel of the dav. the story of the,Good Samaritan. He called it “the parable of charity, of brotherly love of one’s neigh bor without distinction ox class or of race.” He continued: “Let us bend solicitously over the brother who suffers, let us be united in Christ who has always guaran teed the divinity and dignity of the human person. ‘This is the civilization to be saved. This can be a recep tacle for every other civiliza tion, however justly proud it may be of its technical and scientific conquests.’’ THE POPE then continued the celebration of the Mass. Atthe Communion, crowds of sick and elderly approached to receiW the Host from his hands.
