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Catholic involvement or
non-involvement in the city
employees strike brought
home again the great struggle
of conscience Christians go
throuf^i in deciding how they
will participate in social
issues, if at all.
The Church is pretty well
committed to the right of
anyone to collective
bargaining. Even her priests
and religious are moving in
this direction.
But how far should a
Christian go in supporting
this right?
An interesting first person
story in the Presbyterian
Survey magazine told of one
Arizona Lutheran lady’s
two-hour tour on the Grape
Boycott picket line.
A phone call requesting
help threw her into a
quandary:
“My thoughts flew ahead. I
have other things to do. My
ironing is climbing the walls.
Saturday is cleaning day. But why
won’t those growers talk? Farm
labor is hard work. Wages are
extremely low. Why shouldn’t
farm workers receive a living
wage? Could picketing force the
issue? Speed a settlement?
“I’ll try. For a little while, I
heard myself answer somewhat
bleakly. ”
Out on the line, she thinks
about many things: How the
couples at the dance that
night,' for ijrhich she should
be getting ready, won’t know
about this struggle; questions
as to whether she is doing the
right thing; the heat, the
heavy sign, the heckling; her
previous work in rummage
sales, Christmas baskets and
contributions to poor
children’s school lunches.
“Instead help them get decent
wages; give them the dignity of
paying for their own children’s
lunches But to do this requires
making a scene. It means parading
open disagreement with store and
farm policy before the public. ”
She’s called a Communist,
a member of her church
ignores her.
“What about the others
back at Good Shepherd
Lutheran? What do they
think about trying to live on
$1,600 a year? How do they
feel about picketing as a way
of expressing concern? This
lady must think it isn’t nice.
She is right about that. It is
somewhat removed from
praying inside an air-
conditioned church for all
those who cry unto thee. Or
is it?
“Maybe I should retreat
behind my hymnal and quit
tampering with the fabric of
society. Couldn’t I just pray
‘Thy kingdom come’ and let
it go at that? Maybe trying to
do something specific is too
risky. Anyway there is a
blister growing on my heel. I
could sneak back to the car
and gain a little reprieve.
Maybe it’s so bad I could just
run out.”
She’s concerned about
what the wife of an executive
who works with her husband
will think about her activities;
about what methods can be
used to demonstrate against a
whole industry.
“Pickets are one way. They
tell the urgency. They tell of
low wages, of malnutrition.
They tell of exposure to
pesticides, of a lack of
sanitary facilities, of not
enoughh drinking water. Can
I accept as right and just the
glimpses I catch of a farm
(Continued on Page 8)
DUKE ELLINGTON
Duke Views Religion
WASHINGTON (NC) — “Music and religion have never been separated,” said the jazz
great who first transformed some of his original compositions into “sacred concerts”
five years ago.
Duke Ellington was in town with his
benefiting the Eisenhower Memorial Arts
Foundation to cultivate the talents of
scholarships and grants.
orchestra to present a sacred concert
Fund, established by the World Arts
young artists through commissions,
World Arts tries to unite
art and religion by
commissioning and exhibiting
spiritual art of all forms. The
foundation was originally
funded by the United
Presbyterian Church, and the
Duke performed his sacred
concerts at the National
Presbyterian
Center here.
Church and
Ellington, whose jazz
works like' “Mood Indigo”
and Sophisticated Lady” have
been famous for 40 years,
performed his first sacred
concert at Grace Cathedral in
San Francisco in 1965.
“Some people have asked
what prompted me to write
the music for sacred
concerts,” he said. “I have
done so not as a matter of
career but in response to a
growing understanding of my
own vocation, and with the
encouragement of many
people.”
“Now I can say openly and
loudly what I have been
saying to myself on my
knees,” he added.
Describing the music he
played at the Presbyterian
center - a sequel to the
sacred concert at Grace
Cathedral -- the 70-year-old
Ellington said the program is
not a Mass. “What we do is
say things to people like
‘Don’t get down on your
knees to pray.’”
“We talk about freedom -
many freedoms, all of which
boil down to the freedom to
be whatever you are.”
He and his musicians do
not talk about religion in
lofty terms. “We talk about it
as it is in life. We use the
language of the street comer,
the pool room.”
A sample of the colloquial
lyrics used in some of the jazz
works at the sacred concert is
the song: “Don’t Get Down
on Your Knees to Pray Until
You’ve Forgiven Everyone.”
The lyrics read: “Does
your anger run so rife that
you’d like to use your knife?
Don’t do it ‘cause you’ll wind
up in the clink. And after
you’ve calmed down cool,
you’ll find that gossips talk
the fool, and nothing’s on the
brink of what you think.”
“It has been said that what
we do is to deliver lyrical
sermons,” said Ellington of
himself and his band, “--fire
and brimstone sermonettes,
and reminders of the fact that
we live in the promised land
of milk and honey-where we
have prime beef and 80%
butterfat ice cream.”
“I am sure we appreciate
the blessings we enjoy in this
country, but it wouldn’t hurt
if everyone expressed his
appreciation more often. We
shall keep this land if we all
agree on the meaning of that
unconditional word ‘love.’”
Ellington told NC News
that “one of the silliest
things” he had ever heard was
that “somebody said God was
dead.”
“The. mere mention of the
first word automatically
eliminates the second and the
third,” he said. Saying the
word “God” automatically
indicates His existence, the
Duke explained. “The word
‘table’ means table; the word
‘chair’ means chair.”
Ellington said he considers
himself a “messenger boy”
who tries to reach people
“who were more or less raised
with the guidance of the
Defensive Driving
Course Set At PiHi
A free defensive driving
course will be held at St. Pius
X High School April 11 from
9 a.m. until 3:30 p.m.
Anyone wishing to enroll
should call the school office,
634-2437, by April 8, as
enrollment is limited. Those
participating should bring
their lunches.
The course trains drivers to
cope with the unpredictable
actions of others. It is
sponsored by the educational
opportunities committee of
the Telephone Pioneers of
America (Long Lines
Council).
church,” not those “who
have never heard of God.”
“Now and then - we
encounter people who say
they do not believe,” he
commented. “I hate to say
that they are out and out
liars. But I believe they think
it fashionable to speak like
that, having been
brainwashed by someone
beneath them, by someone
with a complex who enjoys
bringing them to their knees
in the worship of the
non-existence of God.”
Said the Duke of
non-believers: “They snicker
in the dark as they tremble
with fright.”
Not Quitting Schools
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (NC)--Catholics are not gradually
phasing out of the education business, Cardinal Terence Cooke
told delegates attending the 67th annual Catholic Educational
Association Convention (March 30-April 2) here. “Believe us,”
he said, “we are not giving up.” The New York cardinal
delivered the keynote address (March 30) to some 4,000
delegates at the NCEA convention’s opening general session in
Convention Hall. About 18,000 delegates including 40
international educators from the Catholic Educational Office in
Brussels, Belgium, were expected to attend the three-day
gathering, whose theme is “Catholic Education, the Global
Dimension.” Despite increased closings of Catholic schools and
a continued decline in religious vocations, Cardinal Cooke said,
“The Church has a commitment to total education.” He said it
would continue to carry out this goal from pre-school through
adult programs.
A Lonely Business
CHICAGO (NC)--Scripture tells that carrying a cross is a
lonely job and reports that helpers for the task are few and far
between. Most people are content to take Scripture’s word for
it. Kent Schneider, however, wondered if things had changed in
20 centuries, and so he shouldered an 80-pound telephone pole
shaped like a cross and carried it along Chicago’s Michigan
Avenue during Easter week, waiting for someone to help him.
But things haven’t seemed to change much at all. The
24-year-old musician, who will be ordained as a United Church
of Christ minister later this spring, reported that most persons
ignored him. when he asked their help in shfiting the cross’s
weight. Some didn’t completely ignore him. They said
something sarcastic. Some became angry because he imposed on
them. And some even helped but not many, he said.
Pope To Visit Sardinia
VATICAN CITY (NC)--Pope Paul VI will make a one-day
flying trip April 24 to the Italian island of Sardinia, one of the
poorest and most backward areas of the country. The Vatican
announced (March 31) that the Pope will visit Sardinia for the
sixth centenary of the feast of the Statue of Our Lady of
Bonaria. The statue has been venerated by Sardinians since it
was washed up on the island near the fishing village of Bonaria
in 1370. Sardinia, famous for its bandits, is 115 miles off the
coast of Italy. Pope Paul will be the first pope to visit the island
voluntarily. Two early popes, St. Hilary (461-468), and St.
Symmachus (498-514), were bom on the island but never
returned after their elections. Pope St. Pontianus died in exile
on the island in 235.
ROME (NC)--Pope Paul VI commemorated the
passion of Christ and His resurrection with calm
devotion and the attention of literally milllions of
people.
On Holy Thursday he
spoke of the “mystical and
enrapturing final discourses”
of Christ and called them
soliloquies of Christ pouring
out His last confidences from
the heart.. .Yes, love and
death are presented to you;
one word expresses
them-sacrifice. Death was
signified, a dreadful death, an
immolation, a victim-a
willing victim, a knowing
victim, a victim for love, a
sacrifice for forever.
The Pope continued the
theme of suffering and death
on Good Friday. After
observing the Passion at St.
Mary Major basilica the Pope
late in the evening took part
in the Way of the Cross at the
Colosseum. He carried a light
wooden cross in his hands for
the last four station which
(Continued on Page 2)
LIGHTER SIDE
Worship Congress
Registering Now
Want to register for the
Atlanta Congress on Catholic
Worship April 16-18 at the
Civic Center?
Then fill out the following
form and mail it to the
Atlanta Congress, P.O. Box
52532, Atlanta, Ga. 30305.
The registration fee for the
entire congress is $5. The
daily fee for adults is $2 and
for students, $1.
Special room rates are $13
for a single and $28 for a
double, or rooms are available
without charge in private
homes for Thursday and
Friday nights, April 16-17.
REGISTRATION FORM
Name
Address
City:
State:
Zip
Telephone Number: Area Registration Fee.
--Make Reservations at Hotel/Motel
For nights (Check each date room is required):
-Thurs, 4/16
-Fri. 4/17
-Single Occupancy
-Double Occupancy
- Other Explain
-Wish Accommodations in Christian Home
How Many in party: Male .. .Female ...
For nights (check each date room is required)
-Thurs, 4/16
-Fri. 4/17 '
- I will handle my own reservations
DEACON ORDAINED -
David A. Deioof was ordained
March 21 to the diaconate for
the Archdiocese of Atlanta
by Bishop Edward Herman of
the Washington, D. C.
Archdiocese. Rev. Mr. Deioof
is completing theological
studies at the theological
college of Catholic University
in Washington. A Detroit
native, he entered the
Archdiocese as a student in
1967 and spent last summer
working here and will return
this summer. The diaconate
ordination marks the last step
toward his ordination to the
priesthood in 1971.
On Good Friday the Pope
as in his custom, participated
in the Way of the Cross, by
walking the 14 stations from
the ancient collosseum up the
hill at the end of the Roman
Forum which was once the
Temple of Venus and Rome.
As the Pope walked
unprotected in a drizzling
rain, thousands of Romans
and visitors stood and prayed
under a shed of umbrellas and
hundreds of thousands more
watched the hour-long Good
Friday observance on
Eurovision, the European
multi-national television
circuit.
On Easter the Pope
celebrated Mass at St. Peter’s
and this was carried for the
first time on a hookup to
South America, as well as
throughout Europe.
The Pope began his public
ceremonies of Holy Week at
St. John Lateran, his
cathedral as bishop of Rome,
on Holy Thursday. During
the ceremonies he washed the
feet of 12 seminarians of the
major seminary of Rome. In
this he followed, as he has in
the past, a custom
reinstituted by Pope John
XXIII,
During the Holy Thursday
Mass there was no renewal of
priestly vows, which had been
suggested by the Vatican
earlier. However, one of the
prayers of the people read at
the Mass was:
“That all priests of the
entire world, in strict
communion with our Pope
Paul, may renew today the
grace given them at the time
hands were laid on, that they
may vitally preserve the spirit
of their consecration and that
they may be fervant apostles
of the Gospel, true pastors of
the people of God and
faithful dispensers of the
divine mysteries.”
Earlier in the day more
than 100 Roman pastors and
priests gathered at St. John’s
to renew their priestly vows
in public. The renewal of
vows, which has been likened
by some to a “loyalty oath,”
took place during the blessing
of oils presided over by
Archbishop Ugo Poletti,
vicegerent of Rome.
Also on Holy Thursday
some posters appeared on
various Vatican buildings,
including the press office,
asking the Pope to repeal the
so-called “New Mass” of the
Church.
The posters were put up by
a conservative Italian
organization known as Pro
Ecclesia Romana (For the
Roman Church), and
denounced the vernacular
Mass and its new variations as
a “Lutheran Last Supper.”
Officials immediately
removed the posters but not
before newsmen could read
them.
This year the Pope’s
sermons during the major
ceremonies preceding Easter
were devotional and
theological in theme. Unlike
last year, when Pope Paul
spoke of the “schisms” which
faced the Church, his sermons
were centered on the passion
and death of Christ.
‘Mother’
Is Nun’s
Daughter
SYDNEY, Australia
(NC)--Residents of the Marist
Sisters’ Merrylands convent
here live with a situation just
made for humorous essayists:
an elderly nun who calls her
daughter “mother.”
The elderely nun is a
mother herself, incidentally,
both in religious life and of
four children born before she
entered the convent. That’s
when the confusion started.
Mother de Chantel Morris,
90, is the mother of Marist
Mother General Romanus
Morris, Another daughter,
Sister David Morris, is novice
mistress at the Merrylands
convent. A third daughter,
Sister Honorius Morris,
avoided adding to the
confusion by joining the
Good Samaritan Sisters.
As if that were not enough
of an identity problem for
one small convent. Mrs. Hilda
Morris, a twice-widowed
Jewish convert to
Catholicsim, is a postulant in
Merrylands. Her daughter,
Sister M. Vivienne, is on the
Merrylands staff.
***
MACON, Ga. (NC)-Father
Perot Fiero, pastor of Holy
Spirit Church here since
1967, may fight the fires of
Hell as a priest but his hobby
has more immediate impact
on many residents of Macon.
Father Fiero as Macon’s
only trained volunteer is
fireman.
“Everyone is entitled to a
hobby,” he says, “and mine is
fighting fires. It’s cheaper
than golf and it keeps me in
good shape.” A long-time fire
buff, Father Fiero served as a
fireman in the navy and while
he was in college at the
University of North Carolina.
TVonddft frafiete, /Ifrul 16, 17, 1X & Civic (fatten