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Archbishop
HOSPITAL PROBE
Joseph’s Is ‘Honestly Integrated’
St. Joseph's Infirmary has a
policy of honest integration,
Archbishop Paul J. hallinan
said following reports that the
U.S. Public Health Service will
conduct a final investigation to
determine if federal funds
should be cut off.
His comments came after a
federal agency told its Atlanta
office to, take “one last look”
at desegregation practices at
St. Joseph’s to determine if the
hospital is complying with the
1964 Civil Rights Act. The probe
is scheduled in the spring.
“We've negotiated until we're
blue in the face,” said Robert
M. Nash, compliance chief.
“It* s about tim e we decided once }
and for all.” In another develop
ment, Dr. Haywood N. Hill,
chairman of the hospital’s board
of governors said, “I think it's
a crying shame St. Joseph's has
to be singled out for criticism
when it is the only institution
that did it (integrated) volunta
rily and the only one beside
Grady Hospital that is really
making an effort to make the
thing work.”
The archbishop said repre
sentatives of the hospital’s
Board of Administration and the
Says St.
Sisters of Mercy's medical staff!
discussed the matter thorough
ly. No statement on the meet
ing was issued.
"Too much is at stake here
to let this issue become politi
cal or bureaucratic,'' Archbis
hop Hallinan said. "The policy
of the hospital as to patients,
physicians, and other personnel
has been one of honest integra
tion. We presume that all other
Atlanta hospitals receiving
federal funds have thesamepo-
licy.
“If St. Joseph's is consistent
ly following this policy, it must
receive the same federal treat
ment as any other institution. If
it is charged by Washington of
ficials that it is not following
this policy, the facts of the
charge should be thoroughly in
vestigated by the proper federal
authorities and formally stated.
"The same process should
include all the hospitals in the
city. In each case, any injustices
can be corrected. In the instance
of St. Joseph, the administra
tion, conscious of its moral
duty, will hot hestitate to cor
rect any abuses, factually pro
ved.”
Nash said the investigation
would pay particular attention
to three factors: 1) whether Ne
gro physicians actually are be
ing offered full staff privileges
of the hospital; 2) whether the
institution is permitting its phy
sicians to “dump" Negro pa
tients in other hospitals; 3)
whether St. Joseph's is “pro
ducing any results" in desegre
gating its nurses training pro
gram.
Nash said other hospitals in
Atlanta have accepted all Negro
physicians who applied for staff
privileges after the citywide
desegregation last year. But,
he said, doctors at St. Joseph's
“still seem to have trouble”
in filling out applications to the
satisfaction of hospital authori
ties.
Dr. Hill said there are only
eight Negro doctors among the
400 physicians on the staff be
cause the hospital is mostly
for specialists and there are
few Negro specialists. "We’ve
got nothing to hide," he com
mented.
Dr. Hill said he believes the
complaints came from a "group
of Negro physicians who have
tried to pressure us into ad
mittance on the staff and have
been unhappy because they have
not been able to get on the
staff.”
St. Joseph’s was certified to
receive federal funds last sum
mer during the Citywide dese
gregation of hospitals; after
first being rejected along with
other hospitals.
The compliance check was
also discussed Sunday at a mee
ting of the St. Martin's Coun
cil on Human Relations.,
Dr. Joseph Wilber, a mem
ber of the council and hospital
staff, said he could not under
stand the situation. “St. Jo
seph’s has the most integrated
staff of any hospital, and I guess
it is a difference between some
Negro physicians and the admi
nistration.”
The archbishop said St. Jo
seph's and Holy Family were
the first two hospitals to dese
gregate.. "Instead of being
acknowledged, our two hospitals
have taken abuse. It is almost
impossible to avoid coming to
a conclusion that it is a politi
cal football."
M.C. GETTINGER, executive director of the Jewish Community Council and Archbishop Haul J.
Hallinan listen during testimony at a meeting of the Judiciary Committee of Georgia House where
both opposed a medical treatment "consent bill”. Father Noel Burtenshaw, at archbishop’s right,,
follows the testimony.
ABORTION
Hallinan, Leader Testify
And ‘Consent’ Bill Dies
Opposition from Archbishop
Paul J. Hallinan and a leader
of the Jewish community has
apparently killed a medical
treatment “consent” bill which
they said could open the door to
sterilization and abortion, but
the Georgia House has passed
another bill liberalizing abor
tion laws by a 129-r3 vote.
The archbishop had already
opposed both bills in an editor
ial inlastweek’sGeorgia Bulle
tin.
He and M. C. Gettinger, exe
cutive director of the Atlanta
Jewish Community opposed the
medical "consent*’ bill at a
hearing of the House Judiciary
Committee last Thursday - one
day after the House passed the
other bill.
After the hearing, Rep. Robin
Harris ofDeKalb County, chair
man of the Judiciary Commit
tee, said it was his opinion that
the committee will not report
out the "consent*’ bill.
"Our legislators have pre
viously rejected other bills be
cause they are rooted in a scale
of values, a way of life, com
pletely foreign to American law
as well as the Judaeo-Chris-
uan moral code,” Archbishop
Hallinan said in his statement.
"Such a way of life is ma
terialistic, that man lives by
bread alone, that there is no
worth or human dignity in a de
fective person, no value in the
sacrifices we make to care for
the incompetent,” the arch
bishop said,
"You are judging the merits
and demerits of a bill which in
various forms has come before
you in previous sessions. It
has failed before because a ma
jority of our legislators, like
a majority of our citizens, do
not want a law which is an in
vasion of God*s dominion since
no state or individual, even an
ordinary or a physician, has
the right to mutilate a person
who is innocent of any crime,
uncharged by a, prosecutor, and
unconvicted by a court,” Arch
bishop Hallinan commented.
Gettinger said his council,
which is composed of 49 affiliat
ed organizations, virtually all
the Jewish religious, cultural,
social welfare and philanthropic
groups in Atlanta, vigorously
opposes the bill — House Bill
244.
Gettinger said he and the
Archbishop appeared before a
Senate committee in 1965 to op
pose a voluntary sterilization
act. "We oppose thi s bill not
merely for religious reasons
but because of its scope and its
availability for evil and mis
chief."
He said in 1966, House Bill
60 was introduced and passed to
authorize sterilization of cer
tain individuals and setting forth
the conditions under which
sterilization will be authorized.
“We (the council) did not oppose
the bill because we felt it clear
ly specified its objectives and
established appropriate safe
guards.
“With respect to the current
House Bill 244 now before the
Legislature, we feel that it in
cludes a number of provisions
and lacks clarity in its applica
tion so that it contains the same
potential for abuse which we
(CONTINUED ON PAGE TWO)
Catholics, Jews,
Protestants Back
Vandalism Bill
A bill making it a felony tb’
desecrate any place of worship
in Georgia has received support
from the Atlanta Jewish Com
munity Council, the Georgia
Council of Churches and the
Archdiocese of Atlanta.
The three organizations have
urged the Georgia Senate to pass
the bill which has already recei
ved House approval. The three
groups endorsed the measure
as a means of discouraging
acts of vandalism against syna
gogues and churches.
A SWASTIKA and the word “Juden” (Jews) misspelled, was found
on the blackboard of Beth Isaac Synagogue in Trenton, Michigan,
a Detroit suburbfollowing a fire which damaged religious articles
in the school of the church. Police said it was arson.. The building
was empty when the fire started late at night. Police said it was
the work of a “sick person.” Offers of help and expressions of
shock camefrom Christians and Jews in thecommunity. A Metho
dist minister was among the first at the scene to help fight the fire
and later returned toassistincleaningup. (RNS Photo)
ARCHDIOCESE OF
SERVING GEORGIA S 71 NORTHERN COUNTIES
DISPUTE
Dayton U. Prof
Says Archbishop
Gets Lip-Service
VOL. 5, NO. 10
ATLANTA, GEORGIA
THURSDAY, MARCH 9, 1967
ERA ENDS
IC School Will Be Sold
And Razed For Plaza
Immaculate Conception School,
dwindling in enrollment, will be
sold and demolished to make
way for the "Georgia Plaza
Plan*' development in down
town Atlanta.
The announcement of the
closing of the school and its
replacement by a School of Re
ligion was announced Sunday to
parishioners in.. ..letters. from
Archbishop Hallinan and Father
Arthur Murray O.F.M., pastor.
The school will close at the
end of this year's term.
The city, .county and state will
pay for the land taken under the
plan which will not affect the
Shrine of the Immaculate Con
ception or its rectory. ,
"Our lawyers and our prop
erty commission have studied
every aspect of the plan,*’ the
archbishop said. "Full details
will be announced as soon as the
plans are completed. You can
rest assured that the sum paid
to the parish will pay off the
entire parish debt, provide all
necessary renovations, will
create a surplus at the parish
and most important of all will
provide a continuing Catholic
education for all the children of
the parish.
‘The new school, planned to
teach religion in the most mod
ern way, will be the vital new
center for parish children.
Plans are now being made to
provide sisters and determine
the exact set-up and location of
the classrooms. These facts
will be announced to parishion
ers as soon as completed,*' the
archbishop said.
The archbishop said the chief
purpose of his letter was to
assure parishioners that the
present service of the priests
will be continued; that all parish
children will be able to attend,
the new school of Religion; and
that the parish will benefit from
the compensation of the sale of
the land.
Archbishop Hallinan said the
decision to take the land and
develop it was a governmental
action. "Due to the process of
eminent domain, this develop
ment was made by the city,
county and state which entered
into negotiations with responsi
ble persons in the church," he
said.
Father Arthur said the
school, even after Sacred Heart
School closed, had only 157 pu
pils. He said only 52 of the
pupils were from the parish
and the teaching staff had to be
reduced. The pastor said, “In
a short time, there would have
existed a school building with
out pupils.*’
The pastor said, “From all
of this it follows that the com
plex reality of present-day con
ditions has affected the paro
chial plant now stranded in the
downtown area and so many ele
ments and forces are impelling
us to close our beloved school.
“Our own Sisters of Mercy
ever deeply concerned for the
spiritual care of young children
and who have been associated
with the Shrine for nearly 100
years feel as we dd that this, is
not a final break itt their rela
tionship with our parish, but
merely a period of transition.”
“Being conscious of our obli
gation of providing Catholic
training for our children and
realizing the length of time it
might take to relocate the
school, there will be establish
ed a School of Religion at the
Shrine as a temporary measure
and at the same time a veryvi-
. .Lai. one so thaU.npije o f our
children will Ke deprived of the
essentials of our Catholic
faith,” the priest said.
DAYTON, Ohio (NC) — A
member of the turbulent Uni
versity of Dayton philsophy de
partment, Prof. Thomas Ca-
saletto, charged here the uni
versity administration “pays
only lip service" to the report
of a committee of theologians
named by Archbishop Karl J.
Alter of Cincinnati to study a,
doctrinal dispute among faculty
members.
Archbishop Alter's commit
tee informed him that the teach
ings of some professors had on
certain specified occasions
been contrary to Church doc
trine. An earlier investigation,
conducted by the university ad
ministration with the help of an
expert in canon law, had exo
nerated those professors who,
were charged with opposing the
teaching authority of the
Church.
The imbroglio first came to
light last fall when Prof. Dennis
Bonnette of the philosophy de
partment lodged a public pro
test against some of his collea
gues. '
Prof. Casaletto’s criticism
followed a recent faculty add
ress by U.D. president Father
Raymond A. Roesch, S.M.
The professor said Father
Roesch "pays lip service to
the archbishop's committee, but
stands willing to reject its ba
sic findings.
“Father Roesch prefers the
U.D. interpretation of the mat
ter to that of the archbishop’s
committee,” Casaletto stat
ed.
Father Roesch received a
standing ovation from most of
the faculty for a talk in which
he affirmed a policy of acade
mic freedom at the university,
but cautioned faculty members
to make utterances only in the
area of their own competence
and to give due respect to the
teaching authority of the
Church.
In his talk, the priest said
that the university "acknow
ledges and respects the arch
bishop’s report," butaddedthat
the “element that strikes me
most forcefully is its lack of
specificity in its mention of
the charges made and substan
tiated.” He also said the uni
versity's own investigative pro
cedures had been valid and that
the accused professors "were
seeking answers in accord with
the Gospel."
The university’s position
cannot be construed either as
an endorsement or condemna
tion of expressed academic
views of the accused profes
sors, the president said. FathfT-
Roesch added that the adminis
tration was convinced that
“what, they taught was not taught
subversively." They did not in
tentionally ridicule the
Church's teaching authority, but
were trying to show the inade
quacy of some current posi
tions, he continued, noting that
"they may have been at fault
pedagogically.”
Father Roesch said that there
is room on the campus for both
conservative and liberal views
and that debate creates a healthy
academic atmosphere. View
points of theologians on speci
fic points often differ and con
trary views on the questions
raised at U.D. have to be con
sidered.
The exact meaning of the
magisterium, or teaching au
thority is a vexing question, the
president said. Scholars may
respectfully suggest different
formulations of doctrines.
(CONTINUED ON PAGE TWO)
Study Seeks To Plan Parish Locations
The Archdiocesan Board of
Development plans to survey
churches to determine the num
ber of parishioners, the amount
of money at each church’s dis
posal and obtain comments
from the pastors.
“We should be able to pre
dict where future parishes
should go,” Andrew McColgan,
chairman, said at the first mee
ting of the board Friday night.
He said that in the past the
archdiocese has gotten a lot of
advice in an off-hand manner,”
but there's been alack of some
one willing to help make a de
cision.”
The functions of the board
include determining the na
ture and extent of the physical
growth of the archdiocese; pro-
Priests’ Senate
To Meet Friday
The Senate of Priests will
discuss its constitution and by
laws Friday at a meeting at Sac
red Heart Church.
Father, Dale Freeman, sec
retary-treasurer, said all
priests in the archdiocese are
urged to attend the meeting
which will begin at 1 p.m.
viding proper planning, utiliza
tion and acquisition to meet
needs; maintaining current in
ventory of each parish regard
ing presently held lands; re
lating the needs of each parish
or mission to land, present land
needs and utilization and future
needs and utilization; obtaining
and maintaining vital statistics,
on each parish and mission to
enable the board to make well-
founded judgments regarding
larid and building utilization.
McColgan told the board that
in 1962 or 1963 he appraised
the property of the archdiocese.
"I found that the acquisition and
development presented a hap
hazard setup, and I feel we
have a job to perform in its
future development.”
The chairman said the board
would collect maps, information
and statistics so that other
boards may be able to use the
information when needed. "All
matters which come before the
board are recommended to be
settled on a popular vote basis,”
McCoglan said. "Provisions for
written dissenting opinions
from the majority opinion
Should be- made in instances
which may assume critical im
portance.”
The Board of Communica
tions, meetingTuesday night for
the first time agreed to suggest
to the Board of Education that
news stories in the Bulletin be
used once a month in CCD
classes.
The board also discussed if
the newspaper was reaching
members, especially youth;
those of other Christian church
es; Jews and other non-Chris
tians; and the leaders of gov
ernment, industry, commerce,
labor and education in the com
munity.
Paul Shields, chairman, led
a discussion on the future estab
lishment of an office of public
information to serve the news
papers, radio and television
stations.
MEMBERS of the Board of Development, at their first meeting,
discuss the future development of the archdiocese. They are
from left, Alex W. Smith, Andrew McColgan, Father John Mul-
roy, priest-secretary, Richard O’Reilly and James Cameron.