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At St. Anthony’s
Pope, President
‘Old Timer Night’
World Leaders Hail
Feat Of The Apollo
WASHINGTON(NC)-
President Johnson was joined by
many world leaders, including
Pope Paul VI, in sending
congratulations as the Apollo 8
crewmen splashed down in the
Pacific back safely from man’s
first trip around the moon.
“You have made us very
proud to be alive at this
particular moment in history,”
Mr. Johnson, told the astronauts.
He said their feat had made
“us feel akin” to those Europeans
of five centuries ago who had
learned of the New World for the
first time. “There is just no other
comparison that we can make
that is equal to what you have
done or to what we feel.” the
President said.
we get from them, few of us
could really measure up to what
people expect of us.”
Mr. Johnson said the
astronauts, Col. Frank Borman
and Maj. William Anders of the
Air Force and f*apt. James A.
Lovell Jr. of the Navy, “have
given us so much pride that l
wanted the womenfolk to know
how the nation felt about it.”
In Texas, meanwhile, the
wives of the crewmen made their
own prayers of thanks for the
safe return of the spacecraft, then
toasted the moon mission with
big, green bottles of champagne.
Mass was celebrated in the
home of Maj. Anders just seven
minutes after the splashdown in
the Pacific.
Warm messages of
congratulation also came from
the Pope, Secretary General U
Thant of the United Nations,
President Nikolai V. Podgorny of
the Soviet Union, Queen
Elizabeth II, Spanish Chief of
State Francisco Franco, and
many others.
Thick, green Christmas trees
stood tall in the living rooms of
the Anders house and at the
homes of fellow astronauts
Borman and Lovell as their
families waited to celebrate a
late Christmas with the men who
circled the moon 10 times on
their holiday trip tnto untraveled
space.
In Prague, President Ludvig
Svoboda cabled good wishes to
President Johnson and the
astronauts, and Czechoslovaks
proudly recalled that spaceman
James Lovells’s mother had
emigrated from the Czech town
of Pilzen to the United States
nearly half a century before.
Pope Paul sent this message to
President Johnson “Giving thanks
to God for the successful
completion of the magnificent
enterprise of the Apollo 8
mission, we congratulate you and
the people of the United States
of America, and particularly the
intrepid space travellers, and
invoke the divine blessing upon
all who contributed to this noble
achievement The Soviet Union,
through its news agency Tass,
hailed the “courage and skill” of
the astronauts who made “this
outstanding scientific and
technologic experiment.”, It
added; “The success of the flight
opens a new stage in the history
of space research.”
When Moscow television
showed the Apollo crew emerging
from the helicopter onto the
carrier Yorktown’s flight deck, a
Russian commentator said; “We
all wished this successful landing.
We admire their courage.” '
At a news conference at the
White House, President Johnson
said he had < telephoned the
crewmen’s wives in Houston and
had thanked them for providing
strength and inspiration for the
moon flight.
“All of us know that a man’s
wife is an integral part of every
act,” the President said. “Except
for the strength and comfort that
SISTER ANN PATRICK WARE,
S.L. who has been named
assistant director in the
Faith and Order Department
of the National Council of
Churches. The Sister of Lo-
retto, who studied in France,
Israel and Spain, formerly
taught at the U. of North
Dakota. (NC Photos)
Father Kueng
Wins Award
CHICAGO (NC) - Father
Hans Kueng, Swiss theologian,
has been named winner of the
1968 Thomas More medal for his
book, “The Church,Dan Herr,
president of the Thomas More
Association, announced. The
association awards the medal
annually for “the most
distinguished contribution to
Catholic Literature.”
The citation accompanying
the medal praises the book “as a
positive and substantial step
along the difficult path of
renewal. In “The Church” Father
Kueng deals with the problem of
highest priority facing
contemporary Catholics—to arrive
at a clear understanding of the
true nature of the Church....Hans
Kueng confronts this challenge in
a way which is both highly
positive and strikingly relevant.”
The Thomas More medal was
given last to “A New Catechism,”
popularly known as the Dutch
catechism.
TO M C THE program Robert Todd was on hand, and for entertainment at the piano was our own
Father Herbert. The life of the party was Comedian Singer John Leary.
MANY CHRISTMAS gifts were given, and the gift for the seniorest gentleman and the seniorest
lady of Saint Anthony’s was awarded to Mr. John Anding and Mrs. Dealy. The party wouldn’t be
complete without Santa “Hank Richardi.” (Photo by James W. Brown)