Newspaper Page Text
A Look At 1966
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BY RELIGIOUS NEWS SERVICE)
Many of the top religious stories of the year bore witness
to the sharp concern among churchmen over the escalation of
the war in Vietnam. Other headlines told of new religious mo
bilizations in the battles against world poverty and racism.
A mounting pace of church union efforts, and an ever-widen
ing interreligious dialogue made 1966 a year of vigorous ecu
menical progress.
ARCHDIC
CESE OF ATLANTA SERVING GEORGIA S 71 NORTHERN COUNTIES
VOL. 5, NO. 1
ATLANTA,GEORGIA
THURSDAY, JANUARY 5, 1967
...And, In The Archdiocese
Following are the news high
lights of - 1966 in the Archdio
cese of Atlanta as reported in
the pages of the Georgia Bulle
tin:
January
The major work of the arch
diocese for 1966 was announced
by Archbishop Paul J. Hallinan
when he convoked congresses
for nuns and laymen and an
nounced that a Synod, the first
since 1939, would be held during
the year. Father Michael Man
ning was named Synod chair
man; Sister M. Virginia, relig
ious chairman; and Herbert
Farnsworth, lay chairman.
Fathers R. Donald Kiernan and
Conald Foust were named priest
-advisers to the Lay Copgress.
Ecumenism was also major
news during the month when
Christians of major faiths in At
lanta took part in a Week of
Prayer for Christian Unity.
Baptist, Catholic, Episcopal,
Greek Orthodox, Interdenomi
national, Lutheran, Methodist
and Presbyterians took part in
the services. In a unity week
speech in Washington, Arch
bishop Hallinan said Catholic
ecumenists must offer more en
couragement and guidance to
their fellow Catholics in work
ing for religious unity.
February
February was a month for
building as a $1,122,000 con
tract to build the Village of
St. Joseph in Southwest At
lanta was announced. The lowest
bidder was T.C. Brittain Co.
Construction of the village was
the top item for the expansion
campaign of 1965. Dates for the
Lay Congress were moved to
May 20-22 and ‘‘‘Mass on the
Mall” was scheduled at Lenox
Square on Wednesdays during
Lent.
Archbishop Hallinan said in a
talk to the Hungry Club that
Julian Bond, publicity director
of SNCC, should have been seat
ed by the Georgia Legislature
because he was duly elected.
The archbishop said he did not
agree with Bond’s statements on
U.S. involvement in Vietnam.
James Callison was elected
president of the Lay Congress;
Felmer Cummings, vice presi
dent; Mrs. H. P. Faust, sec
retary; Paul Sauerburger, trea
surer.
March
Another milestone in the ar
chdiocesan expansion program
was announced and ground
breaking ceremonies were held
for a new Newman center and
Spalding chapel at the Univer
sity of Georgia. The chapel will
seat 350 persons and the center
will have a large auditorium,
three classrooms, a library,
lounge, two chaplains’ offices
and a study. Father Christian
Malone O.F. M, is resident
chaplain.
The biggest news of the month
was that Msgr. Joseph L.
Bernardin, chancellor of the
Diocese of Charleston, was
named auxiliary bishop of the
archdiocese. He served as
chancellor 'to Bishop Hallinan.
Three veteran priests -—
Msgrs. Patrick J. O’Connor,
Joseph Moylan and Michael
Cassidy - - were named epis
copal vicars for vocations,
clergy and sisters respectively.
Gerard E, Sherry resigned as
managing editor of the Bulletin
to become editor of the Do
minion News in Morgantown, W.
Va.
The Rev. Daniel Brand, a
United Presbyterian minister,
presented a library of Reform
theology, part of an ecumenical
library for the proposed Cen
ter for Lay Activity, Parish de
legates to the Lay Congress
conducted meetings over the ar
chdiocese. A group of priests
met with the archbishop to give
reports on the Synod.
April
Msgr. Joseph L. Bernardin
was consecrated auxiliary bis
hop and greeted at a large re-
Fr. Hogan 9 s
President Earn on de Valera
of Ireland was present for the
first public Mass celebrated
by an Irish priest, Father Mi
chael J. Hogan, who has been
assigned to the Archdiocese
of Atlanta.
After the Mass at St. James
Church in Dublin, President
and Mrs. de Valera received
Father Hogan’s blessing and
met him and members of his
family in the sacristy.
The priest’s father, Thomas
Hogan, was one of the Presi
dent’s escorts from 1939 until
he retired in 1964.
Serving Father Hogan’s Mass
was his brother, Brother Ciaran
Hogan O.P., and he was assis
ted by Very Rev. H. Cunning-
ception welcoming him to arch-
archdiocese.
May
In his first speech in Geor
gia, Bishop Bernardin said,
“Bishops should dedicate them
selves to their apostolic office
as witnesses of Christ before all
men.” Matthew Robbins was
ordained a priest at the cathe
dral.
Dean William R, Cannon of
the Candler School of Theology.,
at Emory University was an
nounced as keynote speaker of-
the Lay Congress. He was an.
(CONTINUED ON PAGE 2)
ham P.P., St. James and by
Father P. Murphy O.P., mas
ter of studies at Tallaght.
Present at the Mass was
Msgr. Patrick J. O’Connor,
pastor of St. Thomas More pa
rish in Atlanta and episcopal
vicar for vocations for the arch-
d i o c e s e. Msgr. O'Connor
preached the sermon.
The large congregation at
tending the Mass including Fa
ther Hogan’s mother and father,
another brother, John, and his
sisters, Mrs. Martin Colliney,
Missess Lena, Teresa, Brigid
and Mary Hogan.
Father Hogan is expected to
return to Atlanta about Jan.
15 for assignment.
Irish President Attends
Ordination
Formation
Of Synod
Is Hailed
NEW YORK (RNS)—Estab
lishment of a synod of bishops
by the Vatican Council was cit
ed by Protestant. and Catholic
historians here as representing
a triumph of the more democra
tic trend within the Roman Cath
olic Church.
Collegiality of bishops and
the papacy were the subject of
addresses made by the Rev.
Arthur B. Crabtree of Eastern
Baptist Theological Seminary in
Philadelphia, and Father Jos
eph. N. Moody of the Catholic
University of America, Wash
ington, D. C,
They spoke before a joint
session of the American Cath
olic Historical Association and
the American Society of Church
History . Both groups met in
conjunction with sessions of the.
American Historical Associa
tion,' with whom they are affil
iated.
Crabtree observed that the
Vatican Council “brought back
the image of the Pope as a pas
tor, sharing decision-making
with his episcopal colleagues in
‘the Circle of bishops.’ ”
Father Moody pointed out that
the Catholic Church in the U.S.
has been imbued from its be
ginning with a true "concP’/’r
spirit,” and an "attitude of
independence.”
According to Crabtree, itwas
the Protestant Reformation
which shattered the earlier
Medieval acceptance of a “con
ciliar Pope.”
"While both Pope and Coun
cil came under heavy fire from
the Protestant reformers,” he
stated, "the papacy became the
chief target. Unfortunately, the
reaction during the Counter-
Reformation led to a build-up
of papal prestige. The Pope
achieved the status of absolute
monarch, empowered to act in
dependent of his council.”
European theologians, French,
German and Italian, were di
vided on their views of papal
supremacy, he said.
Firm Honored
For New Bible
CHICAGO (RNS)--Doubleday
and Company was named to re
ceive the 1966 Thomas More
Medal for publishing The Jer
usalem Bible. The annual award
is presented by the Thomas
More Association here for the
"most distinguished contribu
tion to Catholic literature.’’
Issued in October, The Jeru
salem Bible is the first Eng
lish-language version of the
world famous French Bible pro
duced by the L’Ecole Blblique
in Jerusalem in 1956.
General editor of the new
English translation was Father
Alexander Jones of Christ's
College in Liverpool. The Eng
lish version represents a trans
lation of original Greek and He
brew texts and not merely of
the French of The Jerusalem
Bible, but the notes were tran
slated from the French.
The More Medal , will be pre
sented to Doubleday in connec
tion with the Critic Lecture at
Mundelein College here on Feb.
5»John Delaney, Catholic editor
of Doubleday, will accept the
award in behalf of the publish
ers.
Delivering the lecture will be
Father Eugene C. Kennedy,
M.M., a practicing psycholo
gist at the Maryknoll Seminary,
Glenn Ellyn, Ill., who will speak
on "Sexuality and Emotional
Maturity."
i It was a year when Pope Paul VI persisted in his forceful
efforts for peace in Vietnam and elsewhere. And when:
Formation of what promised to become the biggest Protes
tant denomination in the United States seemed assured by agree
ment of the General Conferences of The Methodist Church and
the Evangelical United Brethren Church to merge into the United
Methodist Church with an aggregate membership of over 11 mil
lion...
The World Council of Churches’ Conference on Church and
Society in Geneva saw the traditional East-West conflict replac
ed by a new pattern of tensions between the established rich na
tions of Europe and North America and the poor emerging coun
tries of Africa, Asia and Latin America...
Ferments of change spread through the Catholic Church as the
process of implementing the decrees of the Second Vatican Coun
cil was begun...
The American Catholic hierarchy followed the example set in
other countries by decreeing the end of the traditional Friday
abstinence from meat...
In the United States, the newly-formed Inter-Religious Com
mittee Against Poverty -- composedof leaders of the National
Catholic Welfare Conference, the National Council of Churches
and the Synagogue Council of America-pledged full support
of President Johnson’s national war against poverty. A year-
end estimate was that about ten per cent of all anti-poverty
projects were in the hands of church-related organizations.
The Pope made many appeals (two of them addressed to Soviet
and North Vietnamese leaders) for a negotiated peace, and stress
ed his readiness to serve as a mediator. He had meetings with
top U.S. diplomats and also with Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei
Gromyko. World and National Councils of Churches leaders
added their voices to the Vietnam peace effort, reiterating pleas
against intensification of bombing and for negotiations under the
supervision of the United Nations. Pope Paul's callfor an exten
sion of the Christmas ceasefire was seconded by the NCG.
An American -- Dr. Eugene Carson Blake, stated clerk of
the United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. — was elected in
February to succeed Dr. W.A. Visser ‘t Hooftas general secre
tary of the WCC, making him Protestantism's top ecumenical
figure...
Broad avenues of dialogue were opened between the Roman
Catholic Church and the Anglican, Protestant and Eastern Or
thodox Churches, and new foundations of understanding establish
ed between Christianity and Judaism...
THE scene here is the Sistine Chapel of the Vatican Palace as
Archbishop Arthur Michael Ramsey of Canterbury exchanged
gifts with Pope Paul VI in a climax to their historic meeting in
March. This was followed by the announcement in November
that a joint Anglican-Catholic body had been set up to study
questions of church unity. (RNS Photo)
Pope Paul and the World Council of, Churches sponsored world
wide collections of funds on behalf of India’s hungry.
Pope Paul dashed expectations in many quarters by deferring
a long-awaited pronouncement on proposals aimed at modifying
Catholicism’s ban against artificial contraception.
Pope Paul’s concern over Vietnam and other areas of conflict
was evidenced when he made his fourth encyclical (Christi Mater
Rosarii, dated Sept. 15) the occasion for proclaiming October
a month of prayer for peace. He sent an envoy (Archbishop Ser
gio Pignedoli, Apostolic Delegate in Canada) to Saigon, where, in
addition to presiding at a meeting of the South Vietnamese bis
hops, the archbishop held discussions with top-level government
leaders, clearly designed to help the cause of peace.
The racial issue in the U.S. took oh bitter overtones when
the chant of "freedom now” by frustrated Negroes turned into
the chant of "black power.” This was largely a reaction to
the demise of the Civil Rights Bill in the 89th Congress, pri
ncipally because of opposition to a “fair housing” provision
which churchmen across the nation strongly supported. (Church
-sponsored attacks on housing discrimination assumed a wide
(CONTINUED ON PAGE 2)
In the U.S. and abroad (especially in Australia and New Zea
land), leading church bodies and individuals called for an end
to the war. Other churchmen were equally outspoken in defending
President Johnson’s policies and in taking to task anti-war de
monstrators. A Gallup Poll showed that 54 per cent of Catholic
Americans supported the administration's conduct of the war in
Vietnam, while Protestant support was only 39 per cent and
Jewish 41 per cent.
The muster of religious forces in the war against poverty was
evidenced in New Delhi when the National Christian Council of
India and the Catholic Social Institute set up a Joint Food Develop
ment Organization to help overcome food shortages. In addition,
ECUMENISM made giant strides in 1966 as the Catholic Church
began the process of implementing the decrees of the Second
Vatican Council. Typical of the new interreligious spirit was
this ecumenical dinner in Montreal, Canada, in connection with
the biennial Clergy-Laity Congress of the Greek Orthodox Arch
diocese of North and South America. Seen from left to right
are: Archbishop Iakovos of New York, Orthodox Primate and
dinner host; Paul-Emile Cardinal Leger, Archbishop of Mon
treal; and Dr. Eugene Carson Blake, now secretary general of
the World Council of Churches.
PABLO CAS lLS, world renowned Spanish cellist, marked his 90th birthday by attending a special
Mass in thelCnurch of Our Lady of Mercy celebrated by Archbishop Luis Aponte Martinex of San
Juan, Puert® Rico. Mr. Casals and his 30-year-old wife, Martita, are shown with the archbishop
after the sejvice, attended by some 30 close relatives and friends. (RNS Photo)
Will Court Ruling End
Tokenism In Schools?
NEW ORLEANS (NC) — A
Federal Appeals Court has ac
cepted the controversial school
desegregation guidelines of the
Department of Health, Educa
tion and Welfare and decreed
that virtiilly all school segre
gation inlhe South must end by
the startlof the 1967 fall term.
The c
Louisian,
systems
rooms,
staffs b;
year.
urt ordered seven
and Alabama school
:o desegregate class-
$cilities, faculties and
the 1967-68 school
The tl
57-page
Judge M
Orleans,]
, ials to j
raise thejl
Negro si
formerly a'
-ee-judge panel, in a
opinion written by
nor Wisdom of New
directed school offic-
nove immediately to
evel of formerly all-
hools to the level of
11-white schools.
One t§ie all-Negro schools
which ca not be sufficiently up
graded rj ast be closed, and the
sites of hew school buildings
must be selected withoug re
gard to d segregation,
‘The i ock has ticked to the
last *tick\ for tokenism and de
lay in thi name of deliberate
‘ speed, ” p e court said.
The facrthat a school has re
fused or
ot mean it can remain segre-
lated, the
een denied aid does
:ourt noted.
‘The national policy is plain:
formerly de jure segregated
public school systems based on
dual attendance zones must shift
to unitary, nonracial systems,
with or without Federal aid,”
the court said.
The court said that all class
es, including kindergarten,
must be opened to all races
by next fall.
* All students, both white and
Negro, shall be required to ex
ercise a free choice of schools
annually,” the court said. The
decree designated March as the
time for the choice.
With detailed instructions for
notifying the public and fami
lies, the court put school offic
ials on notice that they must
enforce desegregation and pro
tect students who exercise a
choice of schools. They may
not try to induce students to
make a particular choice, it
said.
It added: “If officials of the
school system are not able to
provide sufficient protection
they shall seek whatever assis
tance is necessary from appro
priate officials.”
The court said school boards
should not publish the names of
persons exercising their rights.
It said that employes should
be hired and assigned without
regard to race.
The 5th circuit comprises the
states of Alabama, Georgia,
Florida, Mississippi, Louisi
ana, Texas, along with the Pan
ama Canal Zone.
Reaction to the decision was
almost immediate on the part of
southern leaders and school of
ficials. The governor of Loui
siana said he thinks the U.S.
Supreme Court will reverse the
decision.
*‘I disagree completely with
the majority,” Gov. John J.
McKeithe said. *‘I presume the
case will be appealed to the
United States Supreme Court
and I think there are ample
grounds for the Supreme Court
to reverse this 2-1 decision.”
Floyd T. Christian, Florida
school superintendent, remark
ed: "It would be as impossible
as flying to the moon to com
plete desegregation by next
fall. It will take time because
of problems such as location of
schools, inadequate facilities
and shortage of teachers.”
That part of the decision
which said ‘‘HEW’s standards
are substantially the same as
this court’s standards” got a
mixed reaction from southern
officials.
Father Foust Given Grant
Tl) Work On Pilot Program
Father
tant past
Church,
f 'ers inthi
' et up a p
L nuing
: linister,
thi >
lonald Foust, assis-
r at Sacred Heart
one of six mlnis-
4-Inited States who will
ot program for con-
logical education for
^already in the field.
it
d pal
t4 e
Father
*,$1,000 grl
Ft ant Epis
Ifjinia to
which wil
May 12 a
is the onlj
en. The
will be Lu|i
copal,
terian. Tl
ister is
Mullen of
oust has received a
from the Protes-
Seminary in Vir-
part in the program
run from April 3 to
Alexandria, Va. He
atholic priest chos-
ther five ministers
eran, Baptist, Epis-
lodist and Presby-
Presbyterian min-
; Rev. Robert Me
lania.
Dr. Bennett J. Sims, asso
ciate dean of the seminary, told
Father Foust the ministers will
devise a pilot program for a
radical theology for ecumen
ism. Dr. Sims said the minis
ters will not work from a fixed
blueprint, but will devise and
shape the course. He called the
ministers "theological guinea
Pigs.”
Father Foust said, "Our fo
cus of study will be the dyna
mics of change in personal, ec
clesiastical and social terms.
We will draw upon the theolog
ical resources of the seminary
and upon the sociological and
political resources of the na
tion’s capital,”
FATHER FOUST
The
Year In Religion