Newspaper Page Text
Vol. 12 No. 29
(fat&aCic ajf rfttanta
Thursday, August 22,1974
■$5 PER YEAR.
Schools to Reopen for 6500,
Enrollment Remains ‘Steady’
BY MARIE MULVENNA
Some 6500 Catholic school pupils
will return to their studies on Thursday,
August 29, when all parochial
elementary and high schools reopen for
the 1974-75 academic year. Sister
Madeline Roddenbery, RSM,
superintendent of schools for the
archdiocese, said she was pleased that
enrollment figures seemed to remain
“steady” with little change noted from
last year’s figure.
Sister said she was happy to report
that students taking part in national
testing last year had scored well above
the national average in all areas of
study. She emphasized however, that
each school is individual and meets the
% needs of the group it is serving,
providing for the individual needs of the
student with flexible programs, updated
equipment and teaching materials.
“We are concerned with the academic
% success of the child,” Sister said, adding
that “he learns better if he’s happy.”
She noted that the particular needs and
preferences of the child are taken into
consideration and the rate of
progression differs from child to child.
“We do not put them all into one
general mold,” she said.
The archdiocese has 14 elementary
schools, two diocesan high schools, one
private high school and one school for
expectional children at St. Joseph’s
Village. Sister noted that the schools
could be considered “pretty much
filled” according to Southern
Association regulations concerning
pupil/teacher ratio. “No classes will
contain more than 30 students,” she
said.
The major thrust of the Catholic
schools this year will be directed toward
staff development. Sister Madeline said
“a school is only as strong and effective
as its teachers,” adding that the focus
would be led by Sister Valentina
Sheridan RSM, director of education.
Sister Valentina is chairman of the
Atlanta Area Teacher Education Service
(AATES) and will present programs
designed to meet the needs of teachers
in the archdiocese. Through the services
of AATES Dr. Joseph Richardson,
associate dean for extended programs at
Georgia State University, will work
closely with the archdiocesan schools in
a consultant’s capacity.
Atlanta schools will also work closely
with the Georgia Association of
Independent Schools (GAIS) of which
Father Richard Kieran is president and
the Atlanta Area Independent Schools
(AAIS) of which Sister Margaret GHSH,
of Christ the King, is vice president.
“Through these associations,” Sister
said, “the Catholic schools are
combining in a cooperative measure
their strengths and resources with other
nonpublic schools.” One tangible result
will be a teachers institute which will be
jointly sponsored by the GAIS in
February.
In all archdiocesan schools Sister said,
emphasis will be placed on educating for
social justice which is in accord with
broader education goals of the
archdiocese for personal growth,
responsibility and accountability for
Christian community. “We hope to
reach the Holy Year goal of
Reconciliation and prepare our students
for better citizenship,” Sister added.
She said one aim was to bring to full
stature each student as the productive
American citizen in preparation for the
nation’s bicentennial in 1976.
Particular attention will be placed on
music and art in the schools with a
stronger program of physical education
Official
Archbishop Thomas A. Donnellan has announced the appointments of
Reverend Noel C. Burtenshaw, Pastor of Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, and
Reverend Michael A. Morris, Pastor of Sacred Heart Church, as members of the
Archdiocesan Board of Consultors for a term of three years.
These appointments became effective August 14,1974.
stressed. “This will include special
efforts by our school administrators as
well as the central office,” she said.
Commenting on inflation and the
projected increase of tuition facing
parents of children, Sister Madeline said
that although tuition would have to be
maintained to meet rising costs of
schools, Catholic educators were
encouraged by a recent communique
from Bishop James S. Rausch, of the
United States Catholic Conference
(USCC). Sister referred to data sent by
the division of elementary and
secondary education of the USCC which
noted the recent Supreme Court
decision on the Barrera case which
would hold out hope for more state aid
to nonpublic institutions. According to
Bishop Rausch “the decision is
important in many ways - refutes the
view - widely put forward following the
Court’s anti “aid” decisions a year ago -
that the Constitution bars any and all
forms of public assistance to children
who exercise their rights to attend
nonpublic schools.”
To date, seven elementary schools
have received accredidation from the
South Association, with St. Jude’s
receiving the coveted status during the
1973-74 school year. Sister Madeline
said St. Thomas More expected to
receive its accredidation this school
year, adding that the other schools were
all working on their acceptance. All
three high schools are fully accredited.
In the area of faculty and personnel,
Sister Madeline reported that the
number of religious teaching ip
archdiocesan schools was “holding
steady.” She said the archdiocese had
been able to have much more choice of
teachers than ever before. This was
made possible, she said, through teacher
recruitment programs and evaluation of
new teachers, in addition to more
teachers in the job market than in past
years. “We are trying to get the teacher
who can really perform at optimum in
our schools, who believes in our
philosophy, who’s committed to
building Christian community and by
her personal dedication and example is a
positive factor in this building of
Christian community.”
Sister Madeline announced the
appointment of new principals of
several elementary schools. Assuming
the position of principal at Our Lady of
YOUTH CONSULTANT
EMPTY HALLS of an Atlanta parochial school will prepare to return to their studies on August 29,
soon be filled with students as 6500 Catholic youth opening day for all archdiocesan schools.
the Assumption is Sister Frances Marie
RSM. At Our Lady of Lourdes, Sister
Margaret McAvoy, IHM, will be
principal. Sister Dolores GNSH will
serve as principal of St. Jude’s school
while Sister Miriam Kathleen IHM will
be principal at Sts. Peter and Paul in
Decatur. Principal at St. John the
Evangelist in Hapeville will be Sister
Martha Mary RSM.
Bulletins
Caritas President Dies
BONN, West Germany (NC) - Monsignor Charles H. Vath, president of Caritas
Intemationalis and founder of Caritas Hong Kong, died Aug. 18 at his residence at
Kranuechel near here after a long illness. Caritas Intemationalis is the Church’s
international relief agency. He was 64.
BY MICHAEL MOTES
“I feel that the degrees that have
been awarded to me have been equally
earned by my wife,” says Walter E.
Kahnle, Youth Consultant for the
Archdiocese of Atlanta who was
awarded a Doctor of Ministry (D.
Min.) Degree from Emory University’s
Candler School of Theology last
weekend.
Kahnle’s degree, the highest one
offered by the predominantly Methodist
school, is the equivalent of a full
seminary education and gives him most
of the credentials of a minister, minus
the ordination rite. He is thought to be
the first Catholic in the United States to
be awarded the degree.
A native of Albany, New York,
Kahnle is married to the former Patricia
McNally of St. Louis, Missouri, whom
he credits with enabling him to obtain
his goal of the high degree.
“When I decided to study for the
Doctor of Ministry, it meant giving up a
lot of material things, including a
well-paying job,” Kahnle recalls. “The
only way we could have done it was for
Walt and Pat Kahnle with son Martin.
Pat to. go to work. She teaches social
studies at Wheeler High School in
Marietta. She actually owns 90 per cent
of the degrees I obtained from Emory.”
Kahnle was greatly influenced by the
dogma of Vatican II and the emerging
role of the layman in the Church that
followed.
Following his graduation from St.
Bemardine of Siena College in
Loudonville, New York, in 1962, Kahnle
took a 10-year hiatus from academic
life, went to work, married Pat, became
the father of son Martin (who just
turned five) and served in Vietnam as a
Captain in the Air Force, earning a
Bronze Star for meritorius military
service.
A Cursillo experience in 1971 became
a major factor in Kahnle’s decision to
devote his life to the Church by working
through Youth Ministry. He entered the
Candler School of Theology aiming for
a Master of Divinity Degree which he
obtained in January 1973.
In May of that year he joined the
Archdiocesan Office of Religious
Education as Youth Consultant. He
accredits Father Robert L. Kinast,
Director of Religious Education, for
allowing a layman to serve as Youth
Consultant and obtaining much of the
experience and training Kahnle values in
his chosen field.
The Doctor of Ministry program at
Emory included 176 quarter hours in
four major areas: psychology and
sociology; scripture; systematic
theology, and Church history, as well as
Christian education. Clinical experience
included study of urban poverty, drug
rehabilitation and mental health
programs.
For his doctoral dissertation, Kahnle
chose the topic “Youth Ministry: A
New Stance for Adolescent Religious
Education.”
Kahnle co-ordinated the “Recycling”
weekend for archdiocesan youth earlier
this year. Designed as “an enriching
Christian experience for youth who are
desirous and ready to manifest their
Christian commitment more actively
• and concretely,” Kahnle has planned
additional “Recycling” (an acronym for
Real Exciting Youth Creating Life in
North Georgia) programs for the
weekends of November 22 and
February 12, 1975, at the Atlanta
Baptist Assembly Campgrounds in
Dunwoody.
Walt and Pat Kahnle are parishioners
of Holy Family in East Cobb County
where they are active in (what else?) -
youth ministry.
As Kahnle sums up his ministrial role,
“To me, all other priorities take a
backseat to the religious formation of
the adolescent.”
His work and educational background
have earned him membership in the
International Society of Theta Phi, an
honor society of theological students
and scholars in the field of religion.
Iowa Bus Aid
DES MOINES, Iowa (NC) - The Iowa state School Budget Review Committee has
approved allocation of nearly $2 million to public school districts throughout Iowa for
purchase of new buses to transport nonpublic school students. The committee acted
despite a challenge in U. S. District Court here by Americans United for Separation of
Church and State.
Help for Elderly Stressed
ST. MARY-OF-THE-WOODS, Ind. (NC) -- No group is as loyal to the Church or has
contributed so much to the Church’s welfare as the elderly. Nor is any group so poorly
served by the average parish. That was the consensus of a panel discussion at a
conference on aging held here recently under the joint sponsorship of the Archdiocese
of Indianapolis and St. Mary-of-the-Woods College. More than 200 persons attended
the conference held to explore practical ways of assisting the elderly and of reviving or
extending their active involvement in parish life. Isolation and inflation are major
problems for the aging, Father Rene Valero of the Catholic Charities agency of
Brooklyn N. Y., told the conference.
CBS Supplies Lost
NEW YORK (NC) - A Catholic Relief Services emergency supply cargo fpr
Cambodia was destroyed Aug. 8 when the ship carrying the goods was sunk in a rocket
attack. The relief supplies, valued at $300,000, varied from blankets and used clothing
to operating room and Xray equipment and block presses for the manufacturer of
bricks.
Israeli Students Arrested
JERUSALEM (NC) - Fourteen Jewish students and a rabbi were arrested when they
tried to gain control of a classroom located in a school owned by Anglicans. The
Jewish students, mostly American, were incensed that the classroom, which had been
used by a Jewish girls’ school until July, was now being used by Christians. The school
building has been owned by the Anglican Church for more than 150 years and, until
July, was leased to the Jewish girls’ school.
Israelis Arrest Bishop
JERUSALEM (NC) - Israeli police arrested Melkite-rite Catholic Archbishop Ilarion
Capucci Aug. 15 on suspicion of smuggling weapons into Israel from Lebanon for use
by Arab guerrillas. The 52-year-old patriarchal vicar fpr the Melkite-rite in Jerusalem is
suspected of acting as liaison man and gun-runner between offices of the A1 Fatah
guerrilla organization in Lebanon and members of the organization active in the West
Bank territory in what was formerly Jordan but which is now occupied by Israel.