Newspaper Page Text
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CATHOLIC
PRESS
MONTH
VOL. 4., NO. 5
fa
ATLANTA, GEORGIA
THURSDAY FEBRUARY 3, 1966
$5.00 PER YEAR
GEORGIA’S
NORTHERN
COUNTIES
of Atlanta
SERVING
Decision
Protested
TRENTON, N.J. (NC)—A New
Jersey Supreme Court ruling
upholding the right of Black
Muslims to refuse to salute the
American flag because of "con
scientious scruples” touched
off a protest from the national
commander of the Catholic War
Veterans.
The state high court by a
6-to-0 vote upheld a ruling by
Frederick M. Raubinger, state
commissioner of education, that
Black Muslim children are
within their rights in refusing
to participate in a salute or
pledge to the American flag.
The commissioner’s ruling was
taken to the court by the Eliza
beth board of education.
Meanwhile in Washington,
D. C„ Martin G. Riley, CWV
national commander, called the
ruling "one more link broken
from the chain which binds
America's heritage and free
dom together with the blood shed
on battlefields by American
servicemen and women.”
BISHOPS OF THE ATLANTA Province shown at the Southeastern Liturgical Conference held in
Charlotte, N. C, last weekend. They are from left, Bishop Thomas J. McDonough of Savannah;
Bishop Ernest L. Unterkoefler, of Charleston, S.C.; Archbishop Paul J. Hallinan and Bishop
Vincent S, Waters,, of Raleigh, N. C.
2,000 ATTEND DESPITE SNOW
Charlotte Liturgy Conference Hears
Archbishop, Atlantans On Reform
A snow-blanketed "Queen
City of the South” was the scene
last week of the Southeastern
Regional Liturgical Congress,
attended by an estimated 2,000
clergy, religious and laity.
Presiding over the events of
the program were Archbishop
Paul J. Hallinan of Atlanta and
the bishops of Raleigh, Char
leston, and Savannah.
DELEGATES from four sea
board states, North and South
Carolina, Georgia and Florida
met for two days of discussion
centering around the Congress’
theme - ‘The Parish: "People
of God at Worship’ ’.
Headquartered in the Queen
Charlotte Hotel, public ses
sions of the Congress were held
at the city’s famous Ovens Audi
torium, part of Charlotte’s im
pressive convention complex.
Speakers ranged from a young
married couple through Catho
lic laymen long active in the
field of Liturgy to widely known
priests and bishops, with topics
covering a variety of subjects
connected with the public wor
ship of the Catholic Church.
\ Moderator of the proceed
ings, largest of the kind ever
held in the southeast, was the
Most Rev. Thomas J. McDon
ough, Bishop of Savannah, Ga.
Chairman of the three day
Congress was Rev. J, Paul By
ron of Charlotte N.C. and Rev.
Leonard F. X, Mayhew of At
lanta, Ga. was the Secretary of
the Congress.
Opening the proceedings at
8:00 p.m. Thursday evening
(Jan. 27), Bishop McDonough
asserted, "We are, all of us,
Bishops, clergy, religious and
laity, here to leant. And I am
AMONG CATHOLICS
WOODSTOCK, Md. — Anti-
Semitism still exists in large
measure among Catholics, a
two-day institute on Jewish-
Christian relations was told at
Woodstock College, a Jesuit
seminary here.
The charge was made by
Rabbi Marc Tanenbaum, nation
al director of the American
Jewish Committee’s depart
ment of interreligious affairs,
who also suggested several
methods of enriching under-
certain we can learn much if
each of us strives to listen with
an open and attentive mind.
"In striving for a better un
derstanding of the Liturgy, in
trying to learn how to live it in
our everyday lives, all of us,
here, are really doing the work
of God together by proclaiming
that work in the Assembly of
His people,’’ he said.
INVITATIONS to attend the
Congress had been extended to
clergy and members of non
standing between the two faiths.
The institute was sponsored
by the college and by the Ameri
can Jewish Committee, in co
operation with its Baltimore
chapter and the Baltimore Jew
ish Community Council.
RABBI TANENBAUM said
Christians and Jews "have
been trained in virtually diffe
rent universes of discourse,”
and this is indicated by the way
“we treat each other..in our
history books.”
One example, he said, is
treatment of the . crusades,
which is a holy movement for
the Christian and a period of
terror for the Jews, he said.
"Because of the general
omission of the Jewish back
ground of Christianity,” he
said, "many Catholics are un
aware of Christianity’s Jewish
roots. Some passages in text
books, for example, give the
impression that the Bible did not
exist prior to the Catholic
Church.”
GETS BIDS
FOR VILLAGE
Construction bids for the new
Children’s Village of St. Joseph
were received by the Archdio
cese on Tuesday, ftbruary 1.
' After a thorough analysis, in
conjunction with the architects,
an announcement will be made
on the selection, and the final
details of the village.
Catholic churches and many
were present throughout.
Thursday evening’s general,
session closed with a Bible ser
vice, celebrated by the Rev.
Leonard F. X. Mayhew, of the
Archdiocese of Atlanta, long
active in liturgical and ecumen
ical affairs there. Music was
supplied by a guest choir from
St. Peter’s Episcopal Church,
under the direction of Richard
Van Sciver.
A special session, also on
Thursday evening, heard Miss
Ade de Bethune, Liturgical Con
sultant from Newport, R.I., dis
cuss ’The Renovation of Exist
ing Churches” so as to better
conform to the needs of the re
vised liturgy.
’The Priesthood of the Lai
ty” was the topic of the first
general session On Friday.
Speaker was the Rev. Conald
Foust of the Archdiocese of At
lanta who told Congress dele
gates that through the sacra
ment of Baptism, "You are
invited to enter into a commun
ity of love with those Christian
priests who center their lives
in Christ’s priesthood and, with
Him, adore the father in spirit
and in truth.” He said that the
sacrament of Confirmation is
one of "priestly mission” by
which Christ sends His spirit in
to the lives of His people so
"they may fill the world with
His Good News.”
Father FOUST concluded:
'True worshipofGod will never
be found in running away from
people -- especially the ordi
nary, unknown, poor and weak.
If we can celebrate our liturgy
and deliberately ignore those
who live in physical and cultu
ral and moral poverty, we can
be sure that our liturgy is, to
a large extent, a fake and we
are frauds, and ourprayerisas
empty as an unused chalice.”
Highlight of Friday’s activi
ties was a Mass at noon, cele
brated by the Rev. J. Paul By
ron of the Diocese of Raleigh
with participation in response
and song by the whole congre
gation.
The afternoon general ses
sion heard Robert Blanchard,
Director of Music for the Dio
cese of Charleston, S.C. declare
that congregational singing and
full participation in the Mass
CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
ON THE MOVE AGAIN—A. Vietnamese Sister with her
little orphan friend grimly awaits a helicopter that will
evacuate them from Mang Bang, a village threatened by the
Viet Cong. The orphanage and 30 families of the village
were rescued by the helicopters of the U.S. 101st Airborne
Brigade. For many Vietnamese, life for years has been one
move after another—always southward.
Says Anti-Semitism
Remains Widespread
ALMOST A THRILLER
Case Of Rejected Letter
-A Television Encounter
BY GERARD E. SHERRY
T WAS LIKE a TV thriller. And it took place both outside
and inside a TV studio. Father Gommar A. DePauw, leader of
the Catholic Traditionalist Movement, refused to accept a hand-
delivered order from Lawrence Cardinal Shehan, Archbishop
of Baltimore. Indeed, he threw it to the ground.
The scene was the elevator on the fourth floor of a Newark,
New Jersey building which houses the studios of WNJU-TV. Fa
ther DePauw, along with Russell Kirk, a columnist for the Na
tional Review, John Leo of Commonweal and myself, had arrived
to tape one of David Susskind’s OPEN END programs devoted to
the Vatican Council. The program itself was an additional “thril
ler” and is expected to be shown in most big cities February 20.
TV viewers in Grand Rapids, Michigan had apreview last Sunday.
It will not be seen in Atlanta.
As Father DePauw got off the elevator, he was met by Francis
X. Gallagher, Baltimore Archdiocesan attorney, who handed him
the envelope, which bore the name of an aircraft company.
"WHO JS FT from?” Father DePauw asked, although he knew
the attondey represented Cardinal Shehan.
"You will have to open it,” Mr. Gallagher replied.
‘Then I don’t Want it,” Father DePauw said, slapping it to
the floor in front of the elevator.
The lawyer picked up the letter and followed the priest into
the studio, where cameramen, Mr. Susskind, Miss Jean Kennedy,
the producer, and the three other participants in the program^were
gathering.
"I FORMALLY declare this letter is from Cardinal Shehan,”
Mr, Gallagher said.
"You can do anything you want, I do not accept it,” Father De
Pauw replied.
The letter, dated January 27, was a directive ordering the con
troversial priest, who has defied the cardinal several times since
last Spring, to appear before Cardinal Shehan as his ‘legitimate
ecclesiastical superior”.
IN THE ENVELOPE, the cardinal enclosed a January 17 letter
from Archbishop Egidio Vagnozzi, Apostolic Delegate to the Uni
ted States, stating that the priest’s claim of incardination in (tran
sfer to ) the Diocese of Tivoli, Italy, was invalid. Also included
was a copy of a January 15 letter from Bishop Luigi Faveri of
Tivoli to Cardinal Shehan, stating that he had decided to refrain
from incardination of Father DePauw since the priest might bring
"not a few difficulties” with him to Tivoli.
A focal point of the letter was its reference to Canon 2222, Sec
tion 2 of Church law. Jesuit Father Edward Duff, writing for Reli
gious News Service noted that Canon 2222, Section II, describes
an administrative procedure of the Catholic ecclesiastical sys
tem. Its function is not to punish a culprit but to maintain or re
establish order. Its use is not optional but obligatory, imposing
on the bishop the duty of preventing or reducing public scandal;
It may be invoked when public scandal has only probably been
committed or even if the normal passage of time (called "pre
scription” in law) would cancel the sanction of a public offense
that had certainly been committed. Its consequences are not
held in abeyance while an appeal is made to a higher authority,
even to the Pope. It is binding everywhere in the world.
CARDINAL SHEHAN’S purpose in calling Father DePauw’s
attention to Canon 2222, Section II, was not to announce any ec
clesiastical penalty but to summon him to cease and desist from
his public defiance of lawful authority and to return to the pro
per obedience promised to his bishop.
Technically, the founder of the Catholic Traditionalist Move
ment has not been "suspended”. He has been notified that he
may not exercise his priestly powers until he comes to terms
with his legitimate superior, the Cardinal Archbishop of Balti
more.
In canonical language a public offense is called a "delictum,”
which is an external action, morally imputable to an individual,
that violates a sanctioned law.
Father DePauw’s challenge to the written instructions of his
archbishop have been broadcast in interviews and press con
ferences. It is assumed by the Church that he knows what he is
doing and that he is legally sane. As a Doctor in Canon Law, Fa
ther DePauw must be aware of a number of canons of the public
law of the Church which he is continuing to violate explicidy —
at least "probably” as Canon 2222, Section II states.
Such canons would include 2331, Section I, which penalizes
stubborn refusal of obedience to legitimate authority; 2334,
aimed at anyone who directly or indirectly slanders his bishop
in the public press or istirs up enmity against him; 2355, di
rected against anyone who in writing or any other way injures
the good reputation of another; 2399, dealing with any cleric
who would presume to desert his ecclesiastical post.
This last canon would cover Father DePauw’s failure to re
port to the parish assignment given him in a letter from Cardi
nal Shehan with permission to absent himself until the end of the
Vatican Council.
The canon whose general terms are intended to remedy the type
of case covered by the administrative action of Canon 2222,
Section II, is Canon 2321. It is directed against ally violation of
REJECTION slip. Brands X. Gallagher, attorney for the Arch
diocese of Baltimore, looks at envelope dropped to the floor
by Father Gommar DePauw.
ecclesiastical law, even if no sanction is attached, when scandal
is given.
Father DePauw’s refusal of Cardinal Shehan’s letter was re
ferred to by Mr. Susskind during the program.
"Isn’t not accepting the letter," Mr. Susskind commented du
ring a question, "if not insubordinate, just bad manners? He
(Cardinal Shehan) is a great man in the Church”.
MR. GALLAGHER told program officials that the cardinal
had known that Father DePauw, who recently has made speaking
appearances in Milwaukee, St. Louis and Bensenville, Illinois,
would be at the studio. He put it in the aircraft envelope, he said,
so that the priest might open it, since the priest had refused
previously to accept the cardinal’s communications.
Mr. Gallagher might have gone into a bit more detail, for it
has been confirmed that Father DePauw has refused to accept
even "registered” mail addressed to him by the Cardinal Arch
bishop of Baltimore. He has also refused to accept telegrams
from both the cardinal and the Apostolic Delegate on the subject.
During the course of the program, I broached this matter with
Father DePauw. He kept insisting that he had not received any
communications from the cardinal or Delegate. He even refused
to confirm or deny that any correspondence or telegrams on the
subject of his transfer have been sent to him.
During the television show, I suggested to Father DePauw that
he was in fact disobedient; that he had falsified facts in reference
to his encounters with Cardinal Shehan, Cardinal Ottaviani and
Pope Paul. I also suggested that he could not substantiate the
recent charges he had made of communist sympathizers among
the clergy who advised the various bishops.
ON THE OBEDIENCE question, Father DePauw said that from
the outset of his relations with Cardinal Shehan, “I made it clear
that while I obeyed my commanding officer, I reserved the right
to go to higher authority.” ‘The minute,” he said, “I was placed
under the Bishop of Tivoli, the Archbishop of Baltimore had no
more authority over me,”
“Even if what Father DePauw says is true -* and I disbelieve
it.,.” I started.
“You are calling me a liar?” the priest interjected at this
point. \
“YOU HAVE HAD a letter from the Apostolic Delegate telling
you you are not a priest of the Tivoli diocese”, I continued,
“you should obey the Apostolic Delegate saying you are under
Cardinal Shehan’s jurisdiction.”
“I have never received any communication from the Apostolic
Delegate,” Father DePauw retorted.
I also challenged Father DePauw on his account of a December
1 audience with Pope Paul. I was in Rome at the time and knew that
he had been received by the Pope along with about 40 other priests.
There was nothing private about it. Pope Paul gave his blessing
to Father DePauw in the same way he gave it to every other
CONTINUED ON PAGE 2