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Bishop Primeau! /Avoid Drift Within Education’
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (RNS)
—Bishop ErnestJ. Primeau has
warned Catholic educators to
take action now on problems
facing education and avoid “an
extended period of drift and in
decision.”
The bishop, president gen
eral of the National Catholic
Educational Association, asked
that the NCEA launch a study
which he indicated would have
“the full support of my fellow
bishops."
He said the study should de
tail and re-examine “all as
pects and all problems of
Christian formation, embracing
not simply the Catholic school
system but our entire educa
tional effort: Confraternity of
Christian Doctrine, the Newman
apostolate, adult education and
youth programs."
Addressing some 20,000per
sons gathered in the huge Con
vention Hall here for the 64th
annual NCEA convention, Bish
op Primeau of Manchester N.H.
said he is optimistic about the
future of Catholic education.
"I hope you share this op
timism," he told the delegates.
"You have good reason to. In
the Church, the Vatican Coun
cil has unleashed powerful for
ces of renewal which, properly
channeled, can lead to a great
rebirth. In the nation, the for
ces of division and discord are.
anachronistic holdovers from the
past, while harmony and coope
ration are the wave of the fu
ture.
“In such times, there maybe
an excuse for uncertainty but
there is no reason for discour
agement. Catholic education
has the brains and the skill to
solve its problems; the only real
question now is whether it has.
the heart and the will."
Bishop Primeau pointed to
four issues that warrant the im
mediate attention of Catholic'
educators. Warning that he was
not ready to supply any answ
ers, he told the NCEA that the
questions he was raising were
those which he considered
“basic for developing a ration
ale of Catholic education ade
quate to our present time and
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condition. 1
were:
His four questions
—Why should the Church be
operating schools at all?
Conceding the “longanddis-
tinguished tradition" of Catho
lic education, Bishop Primeau
stressed that it is the duty of
the association “to formulate
the reasons for the existence of
a Catholic school system in the
United States at this particular
moment in history."
—Does the goal of "every
Catholic child in a Catholic
school" remain a possible and
desirable one today."
"In answering it," Bishop
Primeau said, “We need to
start with the truth that after
more than a century of tremen
dous effort in human and finan
cial terms, Catholic elementary
and secondary schools enroll
only about half the Catholic
school-age ’children in the coun
try, and Catholic colleges and
universities a far smaller pro
portion."
—Should we (Catholics) con
centrate on one level of educa
tion, or should we instead seek
to provide education across the
board on all levels?
Bishop Primeau reminded
the delegates of the report of
Father Andrew Greeley and
Peter Rossi which showed that
the maximum impact of Catho
lic educationdid not come from
any one level but rather from
the cumulative process of val
ue-formation and value-rein
forcement in cooperation with
the home.
“If Greeley and Rossi are
right, it is the young person
who has attended a Catholic
grammar school, Catholic high
school, and Catholic college
who will benefit most from what
Catholic education has to of
fer," he said.
—What are we aS Catholic
educators doing — and what are
we going to do — about the mil
lions of Catholics who are not
in Catholic schools?
The prelate said that he was
not thinking exclusively of young
people. He explained:
"To be precise, what are we
doing for our Catholic adults to
help them adjust to life in the
post-conciliar Church? Con
fusion and alarm are more
widespread today in the Church
than we like to admit. Many
people feel adrift, cut off from
the safe moorings on which they
had depended up to now. Have
Catholic educators even begun
to think about the problems
and needs of these people?"
Bishop Primeau said that the
logical instrument for seeking
answers to these questions was
the NCEA working with theU.S.
Catholic bishops.
"Surely the answers to the
problems of education should
come from within the house of
education itself,” the bishop
said. “I do not know what
method the NCEA might finally
settle on for meeting the chal
lenge — whether the establish
ment of a special commission
or commissions, the convening
of a seminar or series of sem
inars to wrestle with fundamen
tal issues, or some other means
— but I do know that the asso
ciation has the high duty of tak
ing action now. Later could be
too late."
In discussing the role of the
laity in Catholic education, both
that of the lay teacher and of
the parent. Bishop Primeau
said:
"Perhaps the greatest ob
stacle to continued progress in
this area is — not ill will, not
the lust for power or reluc
tance to relinquish it — but or
dinary, understandable timidi
ty.
(CONTINUED ON PAGE 2)
Wants 6 Overhaul 9 Job On Schools
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (NC)-
Calling for a "radical over
hauling" of the Catholic school
■ system a chief spokesman for
Catholic education warned here
that the system is in danger
of being preserved “as an in
stitution, rather than for its
Christian message.*’.
"And similarly we , are in
danger of drying up the inspi
ration of those who labor in
our classrooms,'' and of those
who would be attracted to them
in the future,*’ Msgr, James C,
Donohue, director of the
Department of Education,
United States Catholic Confer
ence, declared (March 27).
Keynoting the 64th annual
convention of the National Cath
olic Educational Association,
Msgr. Donohue asked the edu
cators to pioneer two major
breakthroughs in American
education:
The destruction of the racial
and economic segregation in the
schools, and the fostering of a
host of educational innovations
ranging from sex education to
parent-controlled neighborhood
schools in the ghettos.
He also announced plans for
a nationwide conference on
racial isolation in the schools,
to be held in the spring or
summer of 1968.
‘‘It would be pompous to
suggest that the Catholic
schools can solve America’s
racial problems, ” Msgr.Dona
hue said. "But it would be
horribly shortsighted of us not
to recognize that we can help
achieve a real breakthrough.”
Noting that a majority of the
452 Catholic schools which
closed last year were schools
in the inner city, Msgr.
Donohue stated that "one of the
greatest dangers facing us today
is the danger of elitism and
separatism. . . We are increas- .
(CONTINUED ON PAGE 2)
BULLETIN
ARCHDIOCESE OF ATLANTA
SERVING GEORGIA S 71
NORTHERN COUNTIES
VOL. 5, NO. 13
ATLANTA, GEORGIA
THURSDAY, MARCH 30,1967
14 Laymen, Priests, Nuns
Named For Unity Group
19 Nuns
Elected
To Senate
Fourteen laymen, priests
and nuns have been appointed
to the Archdiocesan Commis
sion On Religious Unity, Arch
bishop Paul J. Hallinan has
announced.
Chairman of the commis
sion will be Ferdinand C.
Buckley, an attorney anu a
member of St. Jude’s parish.
He is the former president of
the St. Jude’s Men’s Club and
the Archdiocesan Council of
Catholic men. Buckley also
assisted in the organization of
dialogues between Christians
and Jews in Atlanta.
Father Matthew Kemp, a
teacher at St. Joseph High
School and priest-in - re
sidence at Our. Lady of
Lourdes, will serve as priest
secretary of the commission.
Other members include Fa
ther James Maciejewski as
sistant St. Mary’s, Rome; Fa
ther John L. Hein S.J., direc
tor of Ignatius House; Father
John Mulroy, pastor of St.
Joseph’s, Athens; Father
Patrick J. Padden, . assistant
at St. Thomas More; Sister
Mary Jacob, administrator of
Holy Family Hospital; Sister
Catherine James S.N.D., St.
Thomas More Convent.
Lay members of the com
mission are Mrs. George J.
Gunning, Miss Patricia Ric-
Decision To Close
Drexel Deferred
For Further Study
Ar^hhifilinn Paul T Hallinan hao annminnflH fkat 1-Ha oarlior
Archbishop Paul J. Hallinan has announced that the earlier
decision to close Drexel Catholic High School has bgen deferred
for further study.
He said the final decision on
the future of the school will be
made Thursday, April 6. The
archbishop’s announcementfol-
lowed meetings with parents of
children at the Negro school
and with four graduates, now
attending college.
(See Column on Page 5.)
June was announced last week by
Archbishop Hallinan, who said
its pupils would be transferred
to other Catholic schools.
The archbishop said the de
cision was made to provide edu
cational facilities now imposs
ible in the school which has 156
pupils and to end de facto segre
gation of Drexel which has re
sulted from its location in a
predominantly Negro neighbor
hood.
Archbishop Hallinan said that
many white Catholics were re
luctant to send their children to
the school. "This simply indi
cates the scope of the racial
problem facing the Church in the
South," he commented.
FERDINAND BUCKLEY
hardi, Gerald Fries, Donald
Kelley, Dr, John M, Palms,
Tony Zivalich and Leo J. Zu-
ber.
Province Bishops
To Meet In Miami
Bishops of the Province of
Atlanta will meet April 3-5
in Miami for their annual ga
thering. The major subject will
be a discussion of Candidates for
the episcopacy.
The province 1 includes At
lanta, Savannah, North Caro
lina, South Carolina and Flori
da. Bishop Coleman Carroll of
Miami will be the host.
Nineteen nuns of the arch
diocese of Atlanta have been
elected to the Senate of Sis
ters. The nuns and their or
ders include:
Sisters William Joseph,
John Frances and M. Placide,
Carondelet Sisters .of St.
Joseph; Sisters Frances
Maureen and M. Charlotte,
Grey Nuns of the Sacred Heart;
Sisters M. Melanie and M.
Bernardine, Mercy Sisters Of
the Union; Sisters Magdalenis
and M. Antonette, Mission Sis
ters of the Sacred Hearth At
hens; Sr. Margaret Rose,
Adrian Dominicans;
Sr. Mary, Baden Sisters of
St. Joseph; Sr. M. Francois,
Blessed Sacrament Sisters;
Sr. M. David, Hawthorne Do
minicans; Sr. M. Edmunda,
Immaculate Heart of Mary
Sisters; Sr. M. Pauline, Me
dical Missionaries; Sr. M.
Elaine, Merion Mercies,
Hapeville; Sr. Ann Julie, No
tre Dame de Namur; Sr. M.
Robert, School Sisters of No
tre Dame and Sr. Maria Cha-
ritas, Visitation Sisters.
A MISSIONARY in Tanzania is not only a pastor but often
has to be a dentist too, for the nearest professionally trained
man may be hundreds of miles away. (NC Photos (
Latin American Week
Begins Sunday, Apr. 2
Latin American Week ob
servance in Atlanta’s Arch
diocese will begin with Spa
nish. speaking Sunday, April
2. A votive Mass of Our Lady
of Guadalupe will be cele
brated in all churches of the
archdiocese, Archbishop
Hallinan announced.
There are over two thou
sand Latin Americans from 21
Central and South American
countries living in the arch
diocese. "They came here
seeking a land of peace, edu
cational opportunities for
their children, and they are
willing to make all the same
sacrifices the early im
migrants did,” said Fr.
Raphael McDonald, Resettle
ment Director, Department
of Immigration,
At the Shrine of die Im
maculate Conception a Span-
nish Mass will be offered by
Fr. McDonald at 7 a.m., Sun
day, April 2. During the Mass
there will be a renewal of
marriage vows.
The Accion Catolica His-
pana Americana will sponsor
a buffet luncheon and dances
in the parish hall following the
Mass. "Come down and find
out what’s going on,” said Fr.
McDonald. "The Latin Ameri-
■ cans will be here for the dura
tion, for as long as your grand-
pa—just like the Irish and all
the rest. Get acquainted.” Un
derstanding and getting to
know our Latin American nei-
j ghbors would be a benefit to
everyone, Fr. McDonald said.
A meeting of the Archdioce
san Board of Education, parents.
ofSKfldren at the sohool’and the
archbishop will be held Saturday
to examine the entire problem.
Last Saturday Samuel McQuaid,
chairman of the school board;
Father William Hoffman,
Drexel principal; Father Daniel
J. O’Connor, secretary for edu
cation; Sister Vincent and mem
bers of the school's faculty met
with parents.
In his meeting with the stu
dents Monday, Archbishop Hal
linan said, "There is only one
basic criteria for judgment in
this case—the' best education
possible for all students,.white
and Negro.
"Mistakes in judgment can be
made on all sides of any dis
agreement. But only if this
criteria of excellence prevails
will the Catholic Church
and the community of Atlanta be
properly served.
"If we have made mistakes
in closing Drexel, it will be
necessary to correct them. But
if further studies indicate that
the school cannot retain its ex
cellence because the small en
rollment does not allow for a
proper diversity of courses,
etc., the decision may turn out
to be the right one for the stu
dents, Further investigation
Will show all of us the right
answer.”
The closing of the school in
G.A. Lawton To Chair
6 Brotherhood 9 Dinner
G. Albert Lawton, president
of the Atlanta-based Georgia
International Life Insurance
Co., has been named chairman
of the annual Brotherhood
Awards Dinner of the National
Conference of Christians and
Jews which will be held May
23 at the Regency Hyatt House.
The Brotherhood Awards Din
ner honors three Georgians
each year for "significant
contributions to the improve
ment of human relations,” A
Catholic, Protestant and Jew
are cited on each occasion.
Lawton was a recipient of the
Brotherhood Award in 1966.
Archbishop Paul J. Hallinan
was honored the previous year.
The chairman is a member
of the executive board of the
local chapter of the NCCJ and
also serves on the board of
trustees of the national organi
zation.
A cum laude graduate of the
University of Notre Dame, he is
a member of Holy Spirit parish
and is on the Archdiocesan Ad
ministrative Council. He is
chairman of the Ignatius House
Advisory Committee on Finance
and is a past president of the
St. Martin’s Council on Human
Relations .
Lawton, who expressed ap
preciation on his appointment
as chairman, said the announce
ment of the 1967 honorees would
be made within the next two
weeks.
G. A. LAWTON
Improving Poor Countries Is Aim Of New Encyclical
VATICAN CITY (NC)— Pope
Paul has appealed for “con
crete action ” to foster man’s
development and the develop
ment of all mankind to combat
the growing imbalance between
richer and poorer nations.
In a n 18,000-word encycli
cal made public March 28, the
Pope has taken the Catholic
Church’s social thought another
step forward. The encyclical
letter, Populorum Progressio
(Development of Peoples, 1 in
its very title captures the
Pope’s central concern since
it deals precisely with the de
velopment of peoples and coun
tries.
The letter is addressed both
to Catholics and to all men of
good will. In effect, it is an
appeal to the world’s commun
ity of nations to meet the ur
gent social, cultural and eco
nomic problems of the day in
the developing countries. The
alternative, he warned, is the
"grave temptation” to vio
lence and revolution.
Despite some press interpre
tations of the text of the letter,
the Pope did not seem to com
mit himself on the subject of
birth control or family limita
tion any further than the Sec
ond Vatican Council’s stand tak
en in its Constitution on the
Church in the Modern World.
The Pope devoted a lengthy
paragraph to the subject of
demography but based it on the
council’s constitution.
Following is the full text of
the paragraph.
"If it is true that too fre
quently an accelerated demo
graphic increase adds its own
difficulties to the problems of
development: the size of the
population increases more rap
idly than available resources
and things are found to have
reached an apparent impasse:
From that moment the temp
tation is great to check the
demographic increase by means
of radical measures.
"It is certain that public
authorities can intervene, with
in the limit of their compe
tence, by favoring the avail
ability of appropriate informa
tion and by adopting suitable
measures, provided that these
be in conformity with the moral
law and that they respect the
rightful freedom of married
couples.
Where the inalienable right to
marriage and procreation is
lacking, human dignity has
ceased to exist. Finally, it is
for parents to decide, with full
knowledge of the matter on the
number of their children, taking
into account their responsibili
ties toward God, themselves,
the children they have already
already brought into the world
and the community to which
they belong. In all.this they
must follow the demands of
their own consciences enlight
ened by God’s law authentically
interpreted and sustained by
confidence in Him.”
’.The world is sick,” the
Pope declared. He added that
the cause of this sickness "con
sists less in the unproductive
monopolization of resources by
a small number of men than in
the lack of brotherhood among
individuals and peoples."
The answer to the problems
confronting the have and have-
not nations, to the se'rious prob
lems they face, is a concerted,
conscientious and forceful ser
ies of programs by the richer
nations to aid the developing
ones.
The encyclical, the fifth to be
issued by the Pope since his
election in 1962, does not pro
claim any startling new ideas.
Rather, it collects and organis
es into a single document a
number of ideas of Christian and
Catholic social teaching and ap
plies them specifically to the
present world situation.
As the Pope himself indicates
at the beginning of the docu
ment, it builds on the social
teachings of the Popes from Leo
‘XIII to John XXIII. Its own
specific application begins with
the fact "that we must all
recognize today that the prin
cipal fact is that the social
question has become world
wide.*’ As the Pope concludes
his introduction he states: "So
it is to all that we address this
solemn appeal for concrete ac
tion toward man’s complete de-i
velopment and the development
of all mankind.”
The document makes it clear
that it is not speaking of the
economic situation alone. In
fact the papal document warns,
"less well-off peoples can
never be sufficiently on their
guard against this temptation
which comes to them from
wealthy nations. For these na
tions all too often set an exam
ple of success in a highly tech
nical and culturally developed
civilization. They also provide
the model for a way of acting
that is principally aimed at the
conquest of material prosperi-
ty.”
The Pope pointed out: "Ex
cessive economic, social and
cultural inequalities among
peoples arouse tensions and
conflicts and are a danger to
peace...To wage war on misery
and to struggle against injustice
is to promote, along with im
proved conditions, the human
and spiritual progress of all
men, and therefore the com
mon good of humanity. Peace
cannot be limited to a mere ab
sence of war, the result of an
ever precarious balance of for
ces. No peace is something
that is built up day after day in
the pursuit of an order intended
by God which implies a more
perfect form of justice among
men.”
In analyzing the present
world situation, the Pope in the
first part of the encyclical
stresses that the development
of nations does not imply in
creased materialism on the part
of the poorer nations,, "In
creased possession is not the
ultimate goal, of natjptfs nor of
individuals....Both 'for nations
and for individual men avarice
is the most evid^e^f form of
moral underdevelopment.”
What is to be pursued, said
the Pope, is more human con
ditions: ’The passage from
misery toward the possession
of necessities, victory over so
cial scourges, the growth of
knowledge and the acquisition
tof culture.”
The Pope repeated the
Church’s teaching that the
rights of private property and
free trade are to be subordinat
ed to "the fundamental right
Which each man has to find what
is necessary for himself.”
Moreover, he acknowledged
the possibility of the expropria
tion of property in certain cas
es. “If certain landed estates
impede general prosperity be
cause they are extensive, bring
hardship to peoples or are det
rimental to the interests of the
country, the common good
sometimes demands their ex
propriation.”