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Vol. 11 No, 39
Form 3579 to 601 East Sixth Street, Waynesboro, Georgia 30830 Thursday, November 8, 1973
$5 PER YEAR
One Roman Pastor Meets Another
FATHER ANTHONY CURRAN, pastor of Saint Pope Paul VI, during Father Curran’s recent trip to
Mary’s Church in Rome, Ga., had the rare good Rome, Italy,
fortune to exchange a few words with the Holy Father,
Spirited Debate Anticipated
Over Communion in the Hand
WASHINGTON (NC) - When the
U.S. bishops meet here November
12-16, a spirited debate over
Communion in the hand is in the
making.
Three weeks before the meeting
Cardinal John J. Carberry of St. Louis
circulated a report to the U.S. bishops
opposing the practice.
The report, released to NC News with
the cardinal’s permission, includes
reprints or excerpts from Vatican
documents opposing the practice and
cites other evidence indicating that
introduction of Communion in the hand
in the United States would be pastorally
sound.
But in the past, when the topic has
been brought up before the American
bishops a majority of them have
preferred introduction of the option.
Proponents, however, have not gained
the two-thirds majority required for the
Vatican to approve the introduction of
the practice in this country.
If the bishops do approve
Communion in the hand for this
country, their approval must still be
ratified by the Vatican before it can go
into effect, and it will be approved only
under strict conditions:
-That the practice be introduced in
local churches only after extensive
education under the direction of the
bishop and diocesan liturgical
commission, so that Catholics will not
have their faith disturbed by the change.
-That in those places where the
practice is introduced, it will be strictly
optional for individuals. (The traditional
way of receiving on the tongue will
always be maintained as an option.)
-That the practice can be introduced
in each diocese only by the permission
of that diocese’s bishop.
-That Communion in either way will
always be distributed directly to each
individual by the proper minister of
Communion, with the use of the usual
formula.
In 1969 the Vatican said episcopal
conferences could request permission
for the Communion-in-hand option in
their own countries.
When the matter first came up for a
vote among the bishops in November
1970, 54 percent approved the
option-more than half, but less than the
two-thirds needed for approval. A straw
vote by mail before the bishops’ April
1972 meeting showed 60 percent of the
respondents in favor of the practice. As
a result of the poll the question was not
put to a vote at that meeting, but in a
floor discussion Cardinal Carberry
recommended a survey of the laity to
determine their feelings on the matter.
The St. Louis prelate had earlier
conducted such a survey in his own
archdiocese and found that 71 percent
opposed the practice while only 29
percent supported it.
The question of a poll was referred to
the bishops’ Pastoral Research and
Practices Committee, which
subsequently rejected it on the grounds
that such a survey would be meaningless
without an intensive educational effort
to make the entire Catholic people more
aware of what was involved in the
question.
Proponents of Communion in the
hand argue that this was the standard
method of receiving Communion for the
first nine or ten centuries of the
Church’s history, not a recent
innovation intended to lessen reverence
or respect for the sacrament.
They point out that the change to
reception on the tongue for lay persons
coincided with a rising distinction
between clergy and laity, in which it
was felt that only the clergy are worthy
to touch the sacred species with their
hands. Some argue that this distinction
creates an anomaly today as more and
more lay ministers are distributing
Communion.
Other arguments are that the practice
of Communion on the tongue is
aesthetically unpleasing, that it causes
sanitary concern for some, and that it is
comparable only to the way babies are
fed, hence undignified for adults.
While presenting these arguments in
his correspondence to the U.S. bishops,
Cardinal Carberry also pointed out that
only 21 episcopal conferences out of
93, plus five nations without episcopal
conferences, have requested permission
for Communion in the hand so far. He
also illustrated with a graph that after
an initial surge of requests-11 in 1969,
six in 1970 and five in 1971-the
number of new nations receiving
permission for the option has dropped
to two in 1972 and two so far this year.
He pointed out that of the 11
English-speaking nations belonging to
the International Committee on English
in the Liturgy, only Canada has initiated
Communion in the hand.
“The above statistics indicate that
there is no great or rapid movement
toward the use of this practice and they
represent a strong statistical argument
against the frequently heard assumption
(Continued on Page 2)
Arcktisliop s Office
756 West Peachtree Street, N. W.
Atlanta, Georgia 30308
My dear People:
The poverty-striken situation of many people in this country is a reality that
cries out to all men for help. The Campaign for Human Development, under the
direction of the American Bishops, is an attempt to answer that cry with
concrete concern. The Campaign is aimed at the causes of poverty in so many
areas and is largely interested in funding for self-help projects.
As the success of the Campaign depends on your generosity on November 18,
I appeal to you at this time for your support.
Sincerely yours in Christ,
’/"‘^Xuv***** (J0O
Most Reverend Thomas A. Donnellan
Archbishop of Atlanta
St. Joseph’s Infirmary
Names Relocation Site
BY MARIE MULVENNA
St. Joseph’s Infirmary, an Atlanta
institution since 1880, will be moving to
a suburban location and plans to open
its new facility adjacent to Northside
Hospital in early 1977. The infirmary,
the first one established in the city, will
be part of a medical complex which will
include the Scottish Rite Children’s
Hospital as well as Northside, and will
be located on Peachtree-Dunwoody
Road, just south of 1-285.
One year ago, hospital officials stated
they were in the process of investigating
the possibility of land in the northeast
Atlanta area, but had made no final
decision on the 20-acre site, one of 14
to 20 being considered as possible
relocation areas for the infirmary.
The concept of relocation of the
infirmary developed almost six years
ago in view of the age of the hospital,
the need for expansion and the
problems of trying to renovate the
present facilities on Ivy Street in
downtown Atlanta.
Plans and a zoning application
submitted to the Fulton County
Commission last November called for a
nursing tower of eight floors with a
smaller base st’ucture. Along with the
application, the hospital was required to
submit a letter of intent with the zoning
change request stating specifically what
services would be offered and insuring
that there would be no duplication of
services presently offered by Northside
Hospital. St. Joseph’s will specialize in
neurological, vascular and coronary
care.
Plans to build a doctors’ office
building adjacent to the new infirmary
site were announced recently by Sister
Mary Brian, RSM, administrator of the
hospital. Sister said interest expressed
by physicians for such a facility had
prompted hospital officials to plan for
the building.
Originally, there were no plans
contemplated for a doctors’ building
but Sister Brian said it soon became
apparent that a professional building
was essential to maintain a staff for the
hospital. Although the building is being
planned primarily to serve doctors
connected with St. Joseph’s, it will also
serve physicians working in the entire
hospital complex at St. Joseph’s,
Scottish Rite and Northside.
The size of the professional building
has not been determined and a survey is
now being conducted among medical
professionals which will indicate the
number of medical personnel interested
in locating offices in the facility. The
present chapel at St. Joseph’s Infirmary,
long recognized as one of the most
beautiful in the archdiocese, is expected
to be dismantled and restored at the
new hospital site, according to hospital
spokesmen.
Artist’s concept of new St. Joseph’s Infirmary complex.
Society Robbed Twice in Week
BY MARIE MULVENNA
Within one week’s time, bold bandits
twice hit the headquarters office of the
St. Vincent de Paul Society, netting a
total of approximately $720 of
hard-earned society receipts.
On Monday morning, October 22,
Joe Flanagan, executive secretary of the
society, entered the building at 8:20
a.m. carrying with him the receipts of
weekend sales at the group’s store
operations. He planned to make up the
bank deposit slip and forward the
money to the bank.
As Flanagan entered the building he
was grabbed by two unidentified men, a
coat thrown over his head and a gun put
to his head with the command “don’t
yell.”
Flanagan was then shoved into his
office, blindfolded and gagged, told to
lie on the floor where he was then
bound with men’s neckties. He reported
he could hear two men’s voices and then
heard them leave the building.
Flanagan said his initial reaction was
shock and fear and he now adds with a
laugh “that’s the first time in my life I
was so obedient.” After the bandits had
made their exit, Flanagan said he was
able to wriggle out of his bonds and
called the police.
Entry was apparently made through a
window of the warehouse adjoining the
society offices.
Five days later, on Saturday, two
men walked into the warehouse store
area, known as the Little Blue Shop,
and held up Miss Beth Chopin, director
of the warehouse operation for the
society. The bandits, who walked right
into the main section of the warehouse,
fled through a side door with
approximately $200 in cash. Miss
Chopin reported they did not wear
masks.
The Police department is working on
the case.
A Vincentian Reflects
In October’s Newsletter, a monthly publication of the Atlanta St. Vincent de
Paul Society, Joe Flanagan published his personal reflections on his recent brush
with two bandits who robbed him of over $500, bound and gagged him after
thrusting a gun to his head.
Recalling the events of the robbery, Flanagan said: “ .. . as I lay in that
undignified position, flat on the floor with my hands and feet tied, my heart
went out to those two young men who had so little realization of how precious
life is. They would do violence to a life in order to possess material things that
would give them so little satisfaction, and for such a short time. From my own
knowledge of life in the ghetto, I would not be far off the mark in judging that
these young men were products of an environment that gave them little hope for
the future, a school system that did not inspire them to learn, and very likely
were products of a system of justice which punishes instead of rehabilitates.
“Believing as I do in unity of mankind as creatures of God, I believe that
each of us is equal in God’s love. And so the innocent and the guilty are not
apart, but are bound each to each by the same cord of Love that exists in the
mystery of creation, and in the mystery of the redemptive love of Christ. With
that hard, cold iron of the pistol, I was joined to the one who held that gun; and
the question arises as to who was the victim and who the oppressor. If the
System, the Establishment, bears any fault for the criminal life of the gunman,
and I am part of that System, what is my share of the guilt?”
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