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the
Wmdiocese of Atlanta
YOUR
PRIZE-WINNING
NEWSPAPER
m
SERVING GEORGIA’S 71 NORTHERN COUNTIES
VOL. 4, NO. 25.
ATLANTA, GEORGIA
THURSDAY, JUNE 23, 1966
$5.00 PER YEAR
The
World
Monsignor Calls
For New Rites
ST. LOUIS (NC)—Adoption of
common sacramental rites ac
ceptable to all major Christian
groups was proposed by a priest
ecumenist at a National Work
shop for Christian Unity here.
Msgr. Henry G. J. Beck of
Lyndhurst, N.J., said that with
rites which would neither offend
nor be regarded as hertical
by any Christians, the sacra
mental order could be a basis
for Christian unity. He heads
the section on work and wor^
ship in the periodic meetings
at the national level between
Presbyterians and represen
tatives of the U.S. Bishops’
Commission for Ecumenical
Affairs.
Nuncio Denies
EFFECTIVE AUG. 15
Pope Rules On Bishops’
Power Of Dispensation
Sister Maay Christine, director of the St. Joseph’s School of Nursing, confers a cap on one of the
students at the capping ceremony held in Sacred Heart Church. Father Joseph Ware, pastor of
Sacred Heart, officiates. Mrs. Maureen Flynn, social and health director, assists. (See story page 7.)
Press Report* Vocation Directors Named
For Archdiocesan Program
BRUSSELS (NC)—The apos
tolic nuncio of Belgium has
denied reports that he charac
terized the late Bishop Willem
Bekkers of *s Hertogenbosch,
the Netherlands, as regretting
in his last days some of his
progressive stands.
KNP, Dutch Catholic news
agency with headquarters at
The Hague, said that the nun
cio here, Archbishop Silvio
Oddi, "caused a scandal in
the Netherlands" by his re
marks about Bishop Bekkers.
Bishop Bekkers, known as "the
Pope John of the Netherlands”
for his efforts to update the
Church in his diocese, died on
May 9.
Negro Named
To White Church
DEKALB, Ill. (RNS) — A
Negro minister has been named
pastor of an all-white Methodist
congregation in Rockford, Ill.
Bishop Thomas M. Pryor took
what he called "the next logical
step toward integration" by ap
pointing the Rev. John
Ferguson, 45, pastor of the
540 - member S t ockton
Methodist church of Rockford.
Announcement of the appoint
ment was made at the annual
meeting of the Rock River Con
ference here.
Commenting on the appoint
ment to reporters after the an
nouncement, Bishop Pryor said:
"1 think the congregation is
ready to accept him.”
Canon Declines
New Position
LONDON (RNS)—Dr. Joost
^ de Blank, a residentiary canon
of Westminster Abbey who was
elected Anglican Bishop of Hong
Kong last January, has decided
- not to accept the post on the
advice of his physician.
The 57-year-old churchman
was Archbishop of Capetown,
South Africa, from 1957 until
his resignation in 1963. His
tenure there was marked by
his outspoken criticism of
apartheid (racial segregation).
On his return to England he
was made a canon of Westmin
ster in 1964.
Dr. de Blank was to have
taken up the Hong Kong bis
hopric at the end of this Sum
mer, in succession to Bishop
R.O. Hall, who is retiring.
Father Jarleth Burke, pastor
of the Church of Our Lady in
Carrollton,'has been named ar
chdiocesan director of priest-
vocations for Ireland, it was
announced by Archbishop
Hallinan today. Father Burke,
ordained in 1959, is the senior
Irish - born priest of recent
years. Only Father Michael
Manning (ordained in 1936)
came to Atlanta before him.
Stationed with Msgr. Patrick
J. O’Connor after his ordina
tion, he has seen the increase
of Irish-born clergy from two
to the present nine. Nineteen
young men are studying for the
archdiocese of Atlanta in Irish
seminaries at the present time.
It is planned that Father
Burke will accompany Bishop
Joseph L. Bernardin to Ireland
during the coming year. They
will speak with Irish bishops and
pastors and visit many se
minaries. Msgr. O’Connor’s
tested method of requesting
young men to consider the At
lanta apostolate, of interviewing
and corresponding with them,
and seeing them through to
eventual ordination will con
tinue to be the general pattern.
Other Atlanta priests will
be named to assist Father Burke
in this new assignment.
In announcing the change
and the new "Priests for Nor
thern Georgia’’ program, Ar
chbishop Hallinan remarked,
’The concern for priests for
Georgia has been a vocation for
Msgr. O’Connor for many
years, and we have been blessed
in his zeal and energy."
The work began while Msgr.
O’Connor was a member of the
faculty at the Catholic Univer
sity of America, teaching
homiletics, from 1936 to 1956.
He persuaded dozens of
American candidates to come
and see the mission-fields of
the state even before it be
came two diocese, Savannah and
Atlanta.
'with his return to Atlanta
his perception of the need of
priests continued and he began
his annual visits to Ireland.
Interviews were followed by let
ters and the Irish seminaries
welcomed this apostle of voca
tions. He portrayed the nature
of the new Archdiocese well,
pointing out the needs both of
the metropolis, and the regions
beyond Atlanta.
"He will continue to inspire
our new program which will use
many of his methods. We are
fortunate in having his ser
vices as episcopal vicar for
vacations. He will continue to
serve as senior member of the
committee on priest - candi
dates.
★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★
Father Jerry Hardy, assistant
at the Cathedral of Christ the
King, has been appointed arch
diocesan director of priestly
vocations in the United States.
With theassistanceofhispastor,
Bishop Joseph L. Bernardin,
he will begin a survey of the
needs and resources leading the
way to a complete round-the-
year vocations program.
He will also be able to call
on Msgr. Patrick J. O’Connor,
Episcopal vicar for vocations,
whose experience and guidance
have been significant factors in
the increase of archdiocesan
clergy by more than 60 per cent
since the diocese was establish
ed ten years ago. Msgr.
O'Connor, pastor of St.Thomas
More parish, will aid the new
program in his new office as
Epicopal vicar for vocations.
It is planned to strengthen
Father Hardy’s plans by the ap
pointment of a staff of priests
and laymen in the near future.
Index Of Books
No Longer Has
Juridical Power
VATICAN CITY (RNS) —
The Roman Catholic Church’s
Index of Forbidden Books no
longer has any juridical sig
nificance for Catholics, but it
is still a sin for them to read
any literature that is "con
trary to faith and morals,"
the Vatican announced.
Its announcement came in
the form of a "notification*'
signed by Pope Paul VI and
Alfredo Cardinal Ottavlanl in
their respective offices as Pre
fect and Pro-Prefect of the
Sacred Congregation for the
Doctrine of the Faith, former
ly the Holy Office.
The Index, the notiflclatlon
said, "no longer has any juri
dical value under ecclesiastical
law along with the sanctions
against forbidden books and
those who read them or spread
them.”
But, it added, the Index’s
"significance and moral va
lue remain in full vigor in the
sense that it calls the attention
of every Christian conscience
to its duty to avoid reading
books which are dangerous to
faith and morals. This is even
called for by the Natural Law."
The notification said that with
the Index and its attendant cen
sures no longer having any legal
force, "the Church hands over
to the mature conscience of
' the faithful readers, writers,
publishers” and teachers re-
(CONT1NUED ON PAGE 6)
Tribunal Seeks Answers
To Marriage Questions
A Catholic man and woman
are married before a priest.
Three years later the man says
he married her for money and
he wants the marriage dis
solved. Can it be done?
Complicated questions such
as these arise in the Archdio
cese of Altanta and it is the
duty of the Tribunal to see if
there are answers.
The Tribunal's daily work
is to determine in practical
cases a person's freedom to
marry within the limits de
fined by the laws of God and
the church. Every diocese has
a tribunal to safeguard the sanc
tity of the marriage bond, while
at the same time allowing for
a maximum degree of human
liberty.
Father Eusebius Beltran, of
ficial is or presiding judge of
the Tribunal, said a variety of
cases comes to the attention of
the office. *’A common case is
one which involves the Pauline
privilege,’’ he said. ’This re
fers to 1 Corinthians 7:10 where
St. Paul allows the dissolution
of a marriage between upbap-
tized persons if one seeks to
become a Christian and the
other will no longer live in peace
with him.
"A related case is one in
which one party is baptized and
FR. BELTRAN
the other is not. Such a case
may be dissolved in ’favor of
the faith,' but there are many
circumstances which must be
considered before this can be
done,’’ Father Beltran said.
There is also the more com
plex case of a marriage between
two baptized persons which has
never been consummated. Such
a marriage may be dissolved
if the nonconsummation can be
proved.
'These are cases where the
church dissolves an already
existing marriage bond, "Fa
ther Beltran said. "Sometimes
the Tribunal will declare that
VATICAN CTY (NC)— Pope
Paul VI has set Aug. 15 as
the effective date of the ecu
menical council’s law giving
bishops wider power to dis
pense from the Church’s dis
ciplinary laws.
He listed the dispensations
reserved to the Holy See alone.
Most of these concern marriage
and Holy Orders.
With this sweeping legislation
the Pope brought into effect one
TO HONOR PRIEST
Archdiocese Gets
Scholarship Fund
no marriage bond ever existed,
perhaps because of defective
form. A Catholic must be mar
ried before a priest and two
other witnesses, although the
penalty of excommunication no
longer applies. Otherwise there
is a defect of form and no
marriage exists.’’
Every potential marriage
case is first investigated by
the parish priest. He will then
refer the matter to the priests
of the Tribunal who make a
more thorough investigation and
seek to prove the truth of the
case. Father Beltran, who acts
in the name of Archbishop Halli
nan, is assisted on a part-time
basis by Fathers William
Hoffman, Simon Slattery and
James Maciejewski.
Occasionally a marriage case
will be so complex or touch
on such a fine point of church
law that final judgment must
come from the Pope. About 20
cases a year are referred to
Rome by Father Beltran.
"Sometimes a final resolu
tion of these cases will take
many months," the priest said.
"I remember one case which
took seven years before being
resolved. While this may work
a hardship on the concerned
parties, it demonstrates the
painstaking effort of the church
to honor the sacredness of mar
riage."
The Archdiocese of Atlanta
has received a $1,050 high
school scholarship fund from
the parents and family of Theron
Heck who was killed in a traf
fic accident in February, 1965.
The fund, donated by Mr. and
Mrs. Alton Heck, members of
St. Thomas More parish, has
been named in honor of the late
Father William A. Maguire, S.
M„ who taught young Heck while
he was a student at Marist.
The priest, a native of Phila
delphia, taught for 27 years
at Marist. He died June 28,
1961, at age 68.
Archbishop Paul J. Hallinan
said the fond has been donated
to give a Catholic high school
education in one of the three
archdiocesean high school to a
boy who could not attend for
financial reasons.
The archbishop said he is
establishing a board to review
applications which will be for
warded to the Education office
by pastors of the archdiocese.
by pastors of the archdiocese.
Members of the board will be
appointed later.
The fond will provide a four-
year, foil tuition scholarship for
the boy selected by the board.
He will remain anonymous.
"In order to give the fund
an opportunity to grow,” Arch
bishop Hallinan said, "one boy
will be chosen every four years
initially. However, should the
fond grow through further sub
scriptions to it, the number of
boys chosen will be increased
each year. It is hoped that some
of our people will subscribe to
this worthy fond, so generously
begun by the Heck family."
The archbishop said, ’This
generous idea from such a
splendid young man opens the
way for a real tradition. May
God bless Theron Heck, his
family and those who continue
this fond."
At the time of his death, young
Heck was a student at Georgia
Reception For
Bishop Bernardin
The Serra Club of Metropo
litan Atlanta will hold a re
ception for Bishop Joseph L.
Bernardin tonight at 6:15 pm,
at the Squire Room of Fan and
Bill’s restaurant Dinner will
follow at 7 pm.
This special meeting of the
Serrans will replace the re
gular luncheon meeting of that
FR. MAGUIRE
State College. He was a well
known member of St. Thomas
More and had worked in the edu
cation of youth in the CCD pro
gram. He planned to serve in
the Peace Corps after college.
While a student at Marist he
often expressed his admiration
for Father Maguire and said
he wanted to set up a high school
scholarship in the priest’s
honor.
of the foremost aims of the Sec
ond Vatican Council: the de
centralization of the Church’s
government. By the same token
he reduced the workload of the
Roman curia immensely.
The papal document, drawn
up as a "motu proprio”, a
statement issued on the Pope’s
own initiative, puts into effect
section 8B of the conciliar de
cree on the bishops’ pastoral
duty in the Church.
The section states: ‘The
general law of the Church grants
the faculty to each diocesan
bishop to dispense, in a partic
ular case, the faithful over
whom they legally exercise au
thority as often as they judge
that it contributes to their spir
itual welfare, except in those
cases which have been especial
ly reserved by the supreme au
thority of the Church."
The motu proprio clarifies
two points in this passage which
have been disputed by canonists.
It says that the term "dioce
san bishop" refers not only to
residential prelates but also to
all those who are on the same
level with them in rights. It also
explains that a "particular
case” refers not only to indi
viduals but also communities.
An official of the Concistorial
Congregation, which exercises
surveillance over all dioceses
except those coming under the
Congregations for the Oriental
Church and for the Propaga
tion of the Faith, said there will
be other documents implement
ing other laws of the council’s
decree on bishops.
The official, Msgr. Goffredo
Mariani, said a papal dcument
on diocesan curias and clergy
will be published in June.
(CONTINUED ON PAGE 3)
THEOLOGIAN PREDICTS
Membership Decline
To Save Churches
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (RNS)
—A leading Protestant theolog
ian predicted here that the Unit
ed States faces a "tremendous
decline" in church membership
within a few years.
"And the decline will be the
salvation of the church," de
clared Dr. Robert McAfee
Brown, professor of religion at
Stanford University.
He said the decline may
parallel that in Europe where
fewer than 10 per cent of the
population now attend church. It
will reflect the fact that "peo
ple on the edges no longer will
find comfort in the church,
while those who remain will
know why they’re there."
Reason for the development,
he said, is that the church is
"at last entering the arena of
public life — and anybody who
likes things as they are will be
come upset."
As an example of this new so
cial involvement, the United
Presbyterian theologian cited
widespread church opposition
two years ago to California’s
proposed constitutional amend
ment, Proposition 14.
That proposition prohibited
the state, counties or cities
from passing laws forbidding a
man to refuse to sell, lease or
rent his property to members of
minority groups for any reason.
’The fact that Proposition 14
passed 2 to 1 just showed how
ineffective the church was,"
Dr. Brown said. (A recent Cal
ifornia Supreme Court decision
struck down the amendment as
unconstitutional but an appeal to
the U.S. Supreme Court looms).
He also noted that San Fran
cisco Bay area Presbyterians
recently voted to spend $200,000
to bring Saul Alinsky into the
area “to forestall another
Watts" even though "old line
churchmen" opposed the abras
ive methods Alinsky uses in his
controversial programs to im
prove slum areas in major
cities.
Dr. Brown said the new spir
it of involvement had been spur
red by a "recognition that
Christians are no longer a ma
jority in society.’
"We’ve got to realize that
we’re a minority group, not
only in numbers, but in impact,’*
he said. "If we’re going to be
more than a political party on
its knees blessing the Estab
lishment, we must ask oursel
ves, "Gee, what are we doing
about it all?’ "