Newspaper Page Text
4 GEORGIA BULLETIN, THURSDAY, MAY 9, 1968
★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★
Chris Eckl
The Rev. R. Donald Kiernan
Member of the Catholic Press Association
Managing Editor
Consulting EditorfeV I jg
9RQQ Pparhtrpp N E* " _ U.S.A. $5.00
Zovv reacntree iM.t. gnc j Subscriber to N.C.W.C. News Service
P.O.Box 11667 Telephone 261-1281 Canada $5.00
Northside Station Second Class Permit at Atlanta. Ga.
Atlanta, Georgia 30305
Published Every Week at the Decatur - DeKalb News
Foreign $6.50
The opinions contained in these editorial columns are
the free expressions of free editors in a free Catholic press.
Month Of Mary
An occasional parish bulletin reminds Catholics that May is the
Month of Mary.
However, most churches no longer have ceremonies crowning her
as queen and there have been many reports that devotions to Mary
are decreasing. The Church’s outlook on Mary often has been called
an ecumenical stumbling-block.
What is Mary’s role in the post-conciliar Church?
The May issue of Sign Magazine asks Father Barnabas Ahern C.P.,
about “Mary and the New Church.” We think his comments will be
of interest to Catholics and Protestants.
The well-known scripture scholar said Vatican II wisely did not
approve a separate schema on Mary as Mother of the Church but
incorporated the material of that schema into the general discussion
of the Constitution on the Church.
He said, “The latter course was chosen, and I think very wisely, in
view of the risk and danger which many of the bishops pointed out:
some Catholics-especially in Latin America-were failing to see Mary
in the proper context.
“She was almost seen as a fourth member of the Trinity, almost as
a goddess. It was imperative, therefore, that all the Children of the
Church should understand how totally she belongs to the Church as
its most eminent member and its mother.
VAZKEN I, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, center, was honored in New York at a
reception given by Archbishop Iakovos, right, primate of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North and South
America. Attending was Dr. Eugene Carson Blake, left, general secretary of the World Council of Churches, of
which both the Armenian Church and the Greek Orthodox Church are members. Catholicos Vazken, whose
headquarters are in Soviet Armenia, is spiritual leader of some 4.5 million Armenian Christians around the world.
During his stay in New York, the Catholicos consecrated St. Vartan’s Cathedral, the first Armenian cathedral in
the U.S. (RNS Photo).
“In the post-Vatican Church, therefore, I think there will be a
much greater awareness of the strong doctrinal bond that actually
unites Mary to the life of the Church and brings her before us as the
one who shared eminently in the redemptive work of Christ, the one
who herself embodies it and who, therefore, will always stand as the
model of every Christian and, above all, as the intercessor of every
Christian.”
In other comments, Father Ahern said he was concerned about
the decline in Marian devotion, but suggested more Bible vigils on the
theme of the daughter of Sion and the Queen Mother theme.
He said that in dealing with the best non-Catholic minds on
discussions about Mary, “a point of sympathetic understanding is
reached. I think in the past we have often given occasion to the false
impression that devotion to our Lady is a superstition or that we are
introducing our Lady into the Trinity as a fourth person.”
Discussing her role as Mother of the Church, Father Ahem said
she embodies in herself every grace that was given to the Church “and
embodies every perfect response that the Church could make to
God.
Father Ahern’s attitude toward Mary and her role in the Church is
scriptural and balanced. He does not say that she grants every wish of
those who petition her or lets them in the back door of heaven.
6 Particular 9 Objection
Rejected By Methodists
DALLAS (RNS) - The United Methodist Church has rejected
objection to particular wars on conscientious grounds as a
fundamental religious liberty.
GEORGIA PINES
A Different Mass
By R. Donald Kiernan
SOMETHING was different last Sunday at
Saint Anthony’s in West End. Instead of the
street being filled with the usual Sunday
church members, there was the presence of a
few police cars and motorcycle men and a
gathering of men dressed in police uniforms. It
was the first annual
observance of Law Day in
the parish, and to my
knowledge the first
observance of its kind in
the city.
The presence of
laymen in the sanctuary
acting as lectors and
commentators today is a
usual sight, but the presence of a layman
delivering the sermon is rather unusual.
Such happenings went on last Sunday in
West End, and the parishioners response was
more than favorable. As Bernard Hunter, the
church organist and choir director, played
meditative music the church began to fill up.
The crowd closely resembled the usual number
which fills a church on Christmas Eve at
Midnight Mass. Policemen and their families sat
in a reserved section in the front of the church.
rights under the law was the subject of the
sermon delivered by James'McGovern, himself
a retired F.B.I. man and presently serving as
the executive director of the Atlanta Crime
Commission. Following the Mass, one
parishioner told me that he wouldn’t have
exchanged the experience of sitting with his
two teen-age boys listening to that sermon for
a hundred dollars.
People in the congregation saw the
policeman in a different light. They saw the
law enforcement officer as a member of the
community and their friendliness and
hospitality was more than evident. There were
lighter moments too. As one lady told me at
the reception following Mass, “Father, I know
that the uniformed men were not wearing guns
when they picked up the collection, but I
strongly suspect that that detective taking up
the collection on the side aisle had a gun under
his suit coat.” “Could be,” I replied, “but did
it make you give any more?”
IT WAS an impressive sight as the
congregation was singing the Offertory Hymn
and Detective Paul Fitzgerald and his wife
walked down the center aisle with the Offertory
Gifts.
It upheld the traditional Methodist stand on the right of
conscientious objection to all war. In adopting a statement on
Church-Government Relations and Religious Liberty, the Uniting
Conference voted to delete a proposed reference to particular wars
The statement now reads:
Since objection to all war on conscientious grounds has
fundamental implications for religious liberty, we believe that the
policy of national governments to grant deferment from military
service on grounds of conscience must be affirmed.
wugit/gauuii aaiig
as the procession made its way into the
sanctuary and then as the congregation began
to read the entrance antiphon, they looked up,
almost as in amazement, as they realized that
they were being lead by a man dressed in
uniform and wearing a captain’s insignia on his
shoulders.
LAW. Divine law, the natural law, and
man-made laws. Our responsibilities and our
policeman is in the performance of his duty.
Usually our encounter is under not-so-pleasant
circumstances. To know a policeman as a
member of the community, as a member of the
church is not always possible. This first Mass,
observing Law Day, I hope will be the
beginning of an opportunity for many people
to talk with a policeman, to understand his
problems, and to foster a respect for a man
who dedicates his life to saving ours.