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Vol. 10 No. 41 Form 3579-to 202 East Sixth Street, Waynesboro, Georgia 30830
Thursday, November 23,1972
$5 per year
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WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Some 250 bishops assemble
in Washington for the opening of the five-day meeting
of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops and
the U.S. Catholic Conference, the bishops’
administrative arm. Among the topics covered during
the meeting were a pastoral letter on Christian
education, rural poverty, the establishment of a
permanent committee on priestly life, the problem of.
youth and the Church, the permanent diaconate and
an updated “resolution on Vietnam peace and
negotiations and reconstruction after the war.”
Pope Paul Gives Devil His Due
VATICAN CITY (NC) - Pope Paul
VI gave the devil his due and then some
at a general audience Nov. 15.
In his address Pope Paul reaffirmed
that ancient Christian teaching of a
personal devil or spirit of evil.
“With the existence of the devil,” the
Pope declared, “evil is not only a lack
(of good) but also a real force.
“It (the devil) is a living, spiritual
being, which is perverted and which
perverts. (It is) a terrible reality and
mysterious and fearful.”
The Pope earlier this year referred in
another speech to the “smoke of Satan”
which seemed to be seeping through the
Church today, obviously referring to the
tensions in renewal following the
Second Vatican Council.
At his Nov. 15 audience Pope Paul
made it clear he was not using
metaphorical language when he spoke of
the influence and active role of the devil
in the modern world.
People who refuse to recognize the
existence of this “terrible reality,” the
Pope said, “step beyond the picture
pained by biblical and ecclesiastical
teaching.”
Citing the innumerable references to
the existence of the devil in the Bible,
Pope Paul said:
“He is the number one enemy; he is
the tempter without equal. We thus
know that this hidden and disturbing
being truly exists and that he, with
unbelievable cunningness, still is at
work. He is the hidden enemy who sows
errors and disasters in human history.”
Noting that at present there seems to
be little interest in the study of the devil
and his role in human history, Pope Paul
said:
“The study of the devil and his
influences over individuals, the
community and the whole of society
and events, would be a very important
chapter of Catholic doctrine to
reexamine, although today it is not
given much attention.”
Even Catholic scholars and scientists
seem to pay little attention to the devil
these days, the Pope said.
The essential defense against the
spirit of the evil, the Pope said, is grace.
“Innocence assumes strength” in the
face of evil, the Pope said. “The
Christian must be militant; he must be
vigilant and strong. He must sometimes
rely on some special ascetic Christian
practice to fend off these diabolic
invasions.”
(RELIGIOUS NEWS SERVICE PHOTO)
“CHILDREN, HARKEN UNTO ME”
VATICAN CITY -- Pope Paul VI holds a child on his lap as he is carried
on his portable throne to his weekly general audience at the Vatican, where
he spoke about the influence of the devil in the modern world.
Archbishop Donnellan Elected
Atlanta Archbishop Thomas Donnellan was elected last week to a three-year
term as treasurer of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops and the United
States Catholic Conference.
This office carries with it: membership on the executive board of each
conference, membership on the administrative committee of the NCCB and
membership on the administrative board of the USCC.
He was also elected a member of the Committee on the Boundaries of
Dioceses and Provinces and the Committee on the Nomination of Bishops.
U.S. Bishops Seek
Halt to Bombing
WASHINGTON (NC) - The U.S. bishops have asked for “an end to American tradition and should
bombing and terrorism” in Southeast Asia, pardon for “sincere characterize our response to this urgent
conscientious objectors,” generous aid in rebuilding Southeast Asia, and a challenge.”
search for alternatives to war.
The bishops approved the “Resolution on the Imperatives of Peace” by
a vote of 186 to 4 on the fourth day of their fall general meeting here.
The resolution had been revised after
discussion on the second day of their
five-day meeting and was further revised
by amendments during the
hour-and-a-half discussion preceding the
final vote.
After a prayer for the success of the
current negotiations, the bishops’
resolution said:
spirit to the conspicuous need to find a
solution to the problems of these men.
Generosity, represents the best of the
Carolina
On the motion of Auxiliary Bishop
Patrick V. Ahern of New York and
Bishop Paul F. Tanner of St. Augustine,
Fla., the bishops had approved by a
voice vote removing the words “not
vindictiveness” after “generosity” in the
final sentence of that paragraph.
Pastor
“We couple this prayer with a plea to
both sides for an end to bombing and
terrorism which are causing such loss of
civilian life and destruction of the land.
Indeed, a particularly anguishing and, in
some cases, immoral aspect of this war
has been the suffering and death
inflicted on non-combatants.”
The reference to the bombing had
been added after Auxiliary Bishop
Thomas J. Gumbleton of Detroit
described at the earlier session the
extent of the bombing and the use of
antipersonnel bombs. “It seems to me
an utterly immoral situation that we
must speak about,” he had said.
In a voice vote the bishops approved
Bishop Gumbleton’s motion to insert a
reference to the destruction of the land
after he agreed to drop the word
“unprecedented” as a description of the
destruction.
Although Bishop Gumbleton pointed
out that in Vietnam “we have already
tripled the tonage of bombing dropped
in World War II,” Bishop Joseph Daly of
Harrisburg, Pa., and Archbishop Philip
M. Hannan of New Orleans maintained
that the word “unprecedented” was
unjustifiable in view of the extent of the
destruction caused in World War II.
“Mere tonnage doesn’t mean anything,”
Archbishop Hannan said. “It depends
on where you’re dropping it.”
On the motion of Benedictine Abbot
Edmund McCaffrey of Mary Help of
Christians Abbey in Belmont, N.C., the
bishops deleted a statement, “War is no
longer admissible as a means of settling
disputes,” and revised the wording of an
earlier draft to say:
“In particular, convinced that war is
not an apt means of settling disputes
and recognizing the right of self-defense,
we regard as an urgent priority the quest
for viable means of preventing war and
for effective alternative methods of
resolving conflicts.”
“I belive that we must be careful not
to give the impression that self-defense
is no longer viable,” Abbot McCaffrey
said.
Concurring with Abbot McCaffrey,
Cardinal Patrick O’Boyle of Washington
said, “I think it would be unfair to the
men who have died in Vietnam or World
War II or any of our wars to say that we
would not stand up and defend
ourselves.”
The inclusion of the reference to
self-defense in restoring the earlier
wording was approved 138 to 60.
In the section dealing with
conscientious objectors, the final
resolution said:
“In a spirit of reconciliation, all
possible consideration must be given to
those young men who, because of
sincere conscientious belief, refused to
participate in the war. A year ago, we
urged ‘that the civil authorities grant
generous pardon of convictions incurred
under the Selective Service Act, with
the understanding that sincere
conscientious objectors should remain
open in principle to some form of
service to the community’ (‘Resolution
on Southeast Asia,’ National Conference
of Catholic Bishops, November, 1971).
“We again urge government officials
and all Americans to respond in this
Appointed Bishop
WASHINGTON (NC) - With the appointment of Father Joseph Howze
as an auxiliary to Bishop Joseph Brunini of Natchez-Jackson, Miss., the
United States has its second black bishop.
Bishop-elect Howze, 49, and Auxiliary Bishop Harold R. Perry of New
Orleans are the only black bishops in this country.
Born in Daphne, Ala., Father Howze
converted to Catholicism in 1948. In
1959 he was ordained to the priesthood
after completing his studies at St.
Bonaventure University, N.Y. He
previously had attended Alabama State
University in Montgomery.
Bishop Perry, who was ordained a
bishop in 1965, was the second black
bishop in the history of the U.S.
Church. The first was Bishop James A.
Healy, who headed the Portland, Me.,
diocese from 1875-1900.
Father Howze, now a pastor in
Asheville, N.C., attributed his
conversion to his attendance at a
Catholic grade school, the strong
religious attitudes of his mother and
grandfather, and a number of Catholic
friends. He told NC News that he feels
the Oiurch has “a rich heritage to offer
to black Catholics.”
He said that when he was first
notified that he was a possible candidate
for bishop he was “shocked and very
surprised.” But, he said, after “much
prayerful consideration” and discussion
with Bishop Michael Begley of
Charlotte, he felt that it would be an
opportunity for service.
“My motto will be ‘serving the people
of God.’ ” he said. He added that, while
he saw a special mission to serving black
Catholics, he did not expect to be
divisive.
“I want to serve the total unity and
catholicity of the Church,” he said.
On learing that Father Howze had
been appointed his new auxiliary,
Bishop Brunini said:
“This appointment of Bishop-elect
Howze will bring new courage to our
apostolate in Mississippi. He is, of
course, to minister to all of our people,
but we hope naturally to establish closer
identity with the needs and aspirations
of the black community of Mississippi.”
BISHOP-ELECT HOWZE
Bishop Begley praised Bishop-elect
Howze for his “very fine work,
especially in the areas of Catholic
education and Confraternity of
Christian Doctrine.”
Bishop Begley pointed out that two
years ago Father Howze was named the
first black pastor of St. Lawrence
Church, a previously all-white parish. He
oversaw the merger of St. Lawrence
with St. Anthony’s, an all-black parish.
“It was a real challenge to assume the
responsibility,” Bishop Begley said,
“but Father Howze handled it very well,
and there were no problems.”
He added that Bishop-elect Howze
was chairman of the Charlotte diocese’s
liturgy commission and home mission
program and director of the diocesan
Society for the Propagation of the
Faith.
Bishop Bernardin Named
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WASHINGTON, D.C. - Bishop Joseph L. Bernardin, General Secretary of
the United States Catholic Conference and the National Conference of
Catholic Bishops, has been appointed Archbishop of Cincinnati.
Announcement of the appointment was made Tuesday through the office
of the Apostolic Delegate. He replaces Archbishop Paul F. Leibold, who died
June 1st.
A native of Columbia, S.C., Bishop Bernardin is a former chancellor of the
Diocese of Charleston, and served as auxiliary bishop of Atlanta from 1966 to
1968.
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