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SERVING GEORGIA’S 71 NORTHERN COUNTIES
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Vol. 7 No. 39
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 6,1969
$5 Per Year
Dear
Reader
BY HARRY MURPHY
“The AFDC (Aid to
Families with Dependent
Children) Family in Georgia”
is one of 50 studies done by
the U.S. Department of,
Health Education and Welfare
on such programs in the
states.
Some interesting findings
are found in the recently
published survey of 1.260
AFDC families, five per cent
of those on the state’s welfare
rolls when the survey was
made in late 1967.
It notes that from the
public’s point of view, the
group is composed of the
fatherless children and the
poorly educated,
umemployed adults; the
black urban poor and the
black rural poor and the
hungry children.
It points out, however,
that although 78 per cent of
Georgia’s AFDC families are
fatherless, only 17 per cent of
the AFDC children are
illegitimate.
Only one out of every 12
illegitimate children bom in
the state recieves state aid.
Most adults receiving
AFDC are unemployed, but
many have held employment
at one time or another. Most
would like to become
self-supporting, but lack the
proper training and education
or cannot make suitable
arrangements for the care of
their families while they
work.
Thirty per cent of
Georgia’s' AFDC redipients
are white and most of the
families with long histories of
AFDC dependency are white.
The black recipients are
almost equally divided
rural-urban, but two-thirds of
the whites live in rural areas.
Only three of the surveyed
families had total monthly
incomes (including the AFDC
grant) of $300 or more. Only
one-fourth were receiving the
maximum grant of $154 and
the average was $100.55.
Four-fifths of the families
had “recognized unmet
needs” averaging $21.84 a
month.
The children are living
with both parents in only
one-fifth of AFDC homes.
Less than half the families
are completely dependent on
their assistance grants. More
than two-thirds of the
mothers and nearly half the
fathers are occupied in
agricultural and unskilled
fields.
The high rate of desertion
by the Georgia AFDC fathers
may be caused by the state’s
regulations that don’t permit
his family to receive aid while
he goes to vocational training
or such.
Although the majority of
AFDC families are Negro, the
Negro families appear to
receive assistance for a
shorter period of time and
less often than the white
family.
A higher proportion of
Negro mothers (30 per cent)
than white mothers (16 per
cent) is employed, much of
the difference seemingly lying
in skills and what is
considered suitable
employment.
So much for the image of
welfare recipients as black
lazybones who just want to
lie around and breed children.
It just isn’t so.
Rather, one is projected of
a deserted black mother who
has worked and is still willing
to work again if she could
find a job and get someone to
care for her kids.
Almost anyone willing to
work today can earn more
than $154 a month, the
maximum family grant. For
those who can’t work, the
grant is the very least we can
give them, and we should do
it willingly.
Timmy’s Gift
Surprises Mom
MINNEAPOLIS (NC) — Like all boys who love
their mothers, 11-year-old Timmy Healy likes, to
please her.
But the desire to please sometimes leads to
promises not easily kept-like promising to buy your
mother a mink coat.
Timmy figured that if he kept a sharp lookout
he’d find just the right purchase. It might take a lot
of shopping, but it was just a matter of time-and he
was right.
He found the coat he was looking for at a
rummage sale conducted by the Little Sisters of the
Poor at St. Joseph’s Home for the Aged Poor here. At
$1, the price was right.
At first, tire coat didn’t look exactly like those his
mother, Mrs. Jeanne F. Healy, had seen in swank fur
salons. But when she took it to a furrier for appraisal,
she received another pleasant surprise.
As it turned out, Timmy had bought her an ermine
jacket, after $76 of repairs and cleaning, is valued at
$1,500.
The only one who wasn’t surprised was Timmy.
He had, after all, made a promise.
Lots of luck when you’re married, kid.
CONVENE NEXT WEEK
U.S. Bishops To
Better Ways T o Aid Poor
WASHINGTON (NC) - The American bishops will
consider some dramatic new proposals aimed at
putting the Church more completely at the service of
the poor and disadvantaged, when the semi-annual
meeting of the National Conference of Catholic
Bishops (NCCB) convenes, Nov. 10-14.
Catholic Club’s
50th Birthday
The Atlanta Catholic Club of Business and
Professional Women is celebrating its 50th birthday
with a luncheon,Nov. 15, at the Henry Grady Hotel.
In October 1919, ,it was
announced from the pulpits
of the three Catholic
Churches - Immaculate
Conception, Sacred Heart,
and St. Anthony’s that there
would be a meeting of the
Catholic Women of Atlanta
engaged in the professions or
business for the purpose of
forming a Catholic Club.
The original by-laws
stated: “The object and
purpose of the Club shall be
the establishment of a
Catholic Center of thought
and activity among Catholic
Women of Atlanta for their
mutual benefit.”
“We are proud of the fact
Creativity
Workshop
Scheduled
An all day workshop in
creativity will be held Nov.
15 at St. Joseph Nursing
School for all elementary
teachers of the Archdiocese.
The teachers will be
grouped in sections of
primary, intermediate and
upper grade levels. Three
instructors will address and
work with each group. The
three instructors will be:
Marie Reynold of Marian,
Va.; music; Sr. M. Amalia,
R.S.M., Columbus, art, and
Sr. M. Madeline, R.S.M.,
Atlanta, written expression.
In order to develop
creativity in the students it is
necessary to provide a climate
for creative expression.
The workshop will be
devoted to those methods
and techniques which help to
provide such an atmosphere.
* *
The archdiocesan
elementary schools of Atlanta
will all be .observing
Education Week. Nov. 17-21.
Each school will culminate
the week with open house
and special programs for the
parents.
* * *
The regular monthly
meeting of the kindergarten
Association for the
Archdiocese was held at the
Catholic Center on Nov. 4.
that we are charter members
of the National Council of
Catholic Women having been
the only Club in Georgia
affiliated until Archbishop
O’Hara organized the
Diocesan Council,” said
president Annie McElroy.
Over the years, the club
has participated in civic
affairs as well as working for
a special project each year.
For the past five years $500
has been given each year to
the Bishop for the Seminarian
Fund.
TO ADDRESS BISHOPS’ MEETING - At the semi-annual meeting of the National Conference of
Catholic Bishops to be held in Washington, D.C., Nov. 10-14, the 280 prelates will hear addresses
on problems of the disadvanlaged. Among the speakers will be Father Geno Baroni (left),
executive director, Washington archdiocesan Office for Urban Affairs, and Father Donald M. Clark
of Detroit, president of the Black Catholic Clergy Conference. (NC Photos)
One major item on the
agenda prepared for the
gathering of 200 bishops
meeting here will be a
progress report on the United
States Conference Task Force
on Urban Problems. The
bishops established the Task
Force at their spring meeting
in St. Louis last year to
provide information and
coordination for various
diocesan agencies concerned
with social action and the
problems of the poor and
minority groups, throughout
the United States.
A variety of other
concerns will range from
seminary renewal to changes
in the liturgy.
The bishops meeting in
plenary session will hear
presentations on matters
related to the work of the
Task Force by three
co-chairmen of the Executive
Committee of the Task
Force, men chosen as such
NAL Hits Aid
WASHINGTON (NC)-The National Association of
Laymen (NAL) has issued a statement expressing
unequivocal opposition
schools.
NEWS BRIEFS
Meeting On Hunger
to state aid to parochial
The statement cited three
main reasons why the
Catholic lay group opposes
such aid:
GOVERN
GLASL
Redemptorist
Pastors Named
Two parishes in the Archdiocese have had new
leaders recently assigned by Archbishop Thomas A.
Donnellan.
Both the parishes, Sacred
Heart in Griffin and St.
Gerard’s in Ft. Oglethorpe,
are under the care of the
Redemptorist Fathers.
. Father Raymond Govern,
C.SS.R., is the new pastor of
St. Gerard’s. He replaces
Father Robert McCrief, who
was recently transferred to
another assignment. This is
sort of “home-coming” for
Father Govern since he served
as pastor of Sacred Heart in
Griffin for six years in the
early 60’s
Father Paul Sullivan takes
up the responsibilities of
pastor at Sacred Heart in
Griffin. He will replace
Father James O’Malley who
has been assigned elsewhere.
Joining Father Sullivan as
assistant pastor is another
Redemptorist priest who has
served for many years in the
Archdiocese. He is Father
Simon Glasl, who served as
assistant pastor in Griffin and
as pastor in Dalton.
These men were all elected
at the recent provincial
chapter meeting of the
Redemptorist Fathers. .Their
names were then forwarded
to the Archdiocese by Father
Joseph T. Coughlin,
vice-provincial. The
assignments were then made
effective by Archbishop
Donnellan as of the last week
of October.
-“Marked cleavage on this
issue within the Catholic
community.”
--“Incompleteness of
financial data supplied by
Church officers.”
-“Growing sentiment in
favor of phasing out parochial
schools.”
NAL, which claims to
represent “a significant and
growing number of
mainstream Catholics”
opposing aid to parochial
schools, has a membership of
12,000 in 24 chapters in the
country. Its central office is
located here.
Spokesman for NAL said
the statement was prompted
by the recent appeal of the
Maryland Catholic
Conference that the state
legislature recognize the
desperate financial needs of
nonpublic schools.
The NAL statement was
sent to the Maryland
Commission, appointed by
Gov. Marvin Mandel, which
has been holding hearings on
the subject of state aid to
nonpublic schools.
“Contrary to the general
impression, Catholics are not
united on the issue of state
aid to parochial schools,” the
NAL statement said. “The
extent of (the) cleavage is not
apparent because traditional
structures in parishes and
dioceses do not generally
allow open dialogue. Where
such structures exist, Catholic
opposition to state aid
becomes known.
The statement claimed
that the Detroit Association
of Laymen, a NAL affiliate,
was instrumental in killing
the nonpublic school aid
measures in the Michigan
legislature this past year.
WASHINGTON (NC) — The National Council of Catholic
Women has joined more than 70 volunteer groups aiding the
National Council of Negro Women to sponsor a convocation on
hunger, tentatively set for the spring of 1970. Mrs. Norman
Folda, president, said the NCCW has prepared a brochure, “A
Look at Hunger,” which outlines what leaders and individual
members can do to alleviate hunger in their communities. The
brochure may be obtained at $5 per 100, plus postage, from
NCCW, 1312 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W., Washington D.C.
20005. NCCW also has requested its leaders to participate in
some 20 workshops being conducted in various cities.
State Opposed
NEW YORK (NC) — The American Jewish Congress is
prepared for a legal battle to prevent erection of a statue of
Christ as a peace memorial on public property in Las Vegas,
Nev. The congress has offered its legal services to a Las Vegas
rabbi campaigning against plans to erect the statue in the
hotel-casino area. The AJC said it opposes the plan on the
ground a religious monument would be erected on public
property. The congress said it is not opposed to a peace shrine.
To Ordain Woman
VAXJO, Sweden (NC) — The 10-year-old struggle over
women clergy in the Lutheran state church has flared up again
in a dispute between a bishop and the rector of his cathedral.
Bishop David Lindquist of Vaxjo in southern Sweden has
announced that he will ordain 25-year-old Miss Inger Svensson,
daughter of a clergyman of the diocese, to the ministry in Vaxjo
cathedral on Dec. 20. This is to be the first ordination of a
woman in the Vaxjo diocese, which is regarded as traditionalist
and “high church” diocese. (The “high church” movement
advocated a liturgy and church practices that closely resemble
those of the Roman Catholic Church.)
Vatican Watches Detroit
Bishop Election Testing
ROME (NC) - Let
people elect their bishop!
the
Is this the avant-grade idea
of a liberal churchman?
Perhaps, but the Detroit
archdiocese has been
experimenting with this idea
for the last two years, and
with the full knowledge of
the Holy See.
John Cardinal Dearden of
Detroit explained the
experiment in an interview
here with NC News Service:
“Yes, for the past two
years I have asked many
priests, Religious and laity to
express their opinions in
confidence of the priests who
for their expertise in minority
groups problems and race
relations. The three-Father
Geno Baroni, executive
director of the Washington
arCh^iocesan Office for
Urban Affairs, Mr. Andrew
Gallegos, a member of the
President’s Council on Youth
Opportunity and a
representative of the
Spanish-speaking community,
and Father Donald Clark of
Detroit, president of the
Black Catholic Clergy
Caucus-were expected to give
the bishops a first hand
report on the needs and
aspirations of minority group
members, and to suggest ways
the Church might improve
the traditional operation of
its service organizations in
order to give fuller and more
effective witness to its
concern for the
disadvantaged.
One such proposal to be
considered by the bishops is
the creation of a Central
Office for Black Catholicism.
The idea for such a central
office originated with the
Black Catholic Clergy Caucus,
whose leaders have
complained about lack of
meaningful contact between
the black Catholic
community and members of
the hierarchy.
The NCCB will consider
guidelines proposed by its
Committee on Priestly
Fromation for improvements
for seminary training. If the
detailed guidelines are
approved by the NCCB and
by the Vatican Congregation
for Catholic Education, they
will become the official
policy in U. S. seminaries.
Proposed liturgical changes
to be considered by the
bishops include new
translations of the Ordinary
of the Mass, and new rites for
baptism, marriage and funeral
liturgies. The translations
were prepared in consultation
with the International
Committee on English in the
Liturgy.
The bishops will consider a
statement on priestly celibacy
which two NCCB
committees-those on priestly
formation and doctrine-were
asked to prepare when the
most recent bishops’ meeting
was held in Houston, Tex.,
last April.
The bishops will also hear
a report from the National
Catholic Disaster Committee
which helped mobilize food,
clothing and facilities for tlie
victims of Hurricane Camille.
they feel would make good
bishops .. .However, when it
comes down to another
matter, that of naming a man
for a specific place, we must
avoid making the naming of a
bishop into a political
campaign. Further, we must
recognize that many people
do not know priests in other
areas who might be worthy of
the episcopacy.
“Still, I can say
unofficially that the Holy See
is very interested in such
motions, not only our
manner of doing it in Detroit,
but what is happening in
other areas on this same
subject.”
Other
considered
inclu de
arbitration
matters to be
by the NCCB
proposals on
and mediation of
disputes between priests and
their bishops; a report on due
process prepared by the
Canon Law Society of
America; and a report by an
ad hoc study committee on a
survey of Catholics
concerning possible changes
in the observance of holy
days of obligation.
The bishops will meet in
private sessons but there will
be twice-daily briefings by
news secretaries and panels of
bishops and other experts.