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Gejorgia
Vol. 13 No. 44
Thursday, December 11,1975
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Congressional Committee Hears Archbishop Donnellan
BY MARIE MULVENNA
In strongly worded testimony before
the Congressional Joint Economic
Committee meeting in Atlanta,
Archbishop Thomas A. Donnellan
termed the consequences of
unemployment as “devastating.”
Appearing before the congressional
committee headed by Senator Hubert
Humphrey, who was in Atlanta
conducting regional hearings on
“Unemployment and Economic
Policy,” the archbishop presented a
detailed report on the impact of
unemployment and current economic
policy, telling congressional delegates
that “neither the Congress nor the
Administration has responded with
programs or policies adequate to this
crisis.”
Archbishop Donnellan said “we fear
our leaders may be substituting
forecasts of a discouraging future for
effective action to meet our economic
and social responsibilities. Commenting
on a recent statement of U.S. Bishops
on the economy, Archbishop Donnellan
reported that American Bishops “view
these (current) levels of unemployment
as unacceptable and their social and
human costs as intolerable.”
He told congressional representatives
at the Atlanta hearing that “financial
costs of lost industrial production and
uncollected revenues for all levels of
government run into billions of dollars,
but these do not concern me as much as
the impact on families and individuals.”
He said that efforts to reduce inflation
through reliance on high levels of
unemployment were “not grounded in
justice.”
The archbishop said bishops of the
country support comprehensive
legislation aimed at guaranteeing full
employment, saying “we believe now is
not the time to reduce our
committment to aid those in genuine
need.” He told the committee that the
formulation of economic policy involves
basic moral and social dimensions with
enormous human consequences for the
nation and its people, adding that “our
economic life must reflect these broader
values of social justice and human
rights.”
Explaining the recent statement of
the bishops, the archbishop said the
statement was unanimously adopted
and covered unemployment, inflation
and income distribution based on
traditional Catholic social teaching on
human rights. The statement declared
the bishops’ support of: an effective
national committment to full
employment as the foundation of a just
economic policy; sound and creative
programs of public service employment
and a decent income policy for those
who cannot work through reform of the
present welfare system. The full text of
the bishops’ statement, entitled “The
Economy: Human Dimensions,” was
placed in the record of the congressional
hearing by the archbishop who said it
was a major committment on the part
of the bishops to participate in the
national dialogue on economic policy
and to work for greater economic
justice.
Referring to recent unemployment
figures, the archbishop said recent data
indicates “we are still suffering serious
economic difficulties, both nationally
and here in Atlanta.” He stated that
under current policies, massive levels of
unemployment will continue for the
rest of this decade. According to the
archbishop, the unemployment rate in
Atlanta is 12.5% with 9% of the Georgia
workforce jobless. He said official
figures seriously underestimate the
actual level of unemployment because
they do not include millions who are
presently looking for jobs, nor those
who work part time because they
cannot find full time work. In reality,
the archbishop said, “unemployment
approaches 12% and touches one out of
three Americans through joblessness
within their own family.”
Views Love As Difficult
LORETTO, Pa. (NC) -- Philosophies current today make it hard for men and women
to keep in view Christ’s demand “that we love our neighbor as ourselves,” Archbishop
Jean Jadot, apostolic delegate in the United States, said here.
“The twin philosophies of secular humanism and hedonism are constantly presented
as containing the norms for human behavior in a modern culture, making it difficult
for men to keep their vision in focus on the demand of Christ that we love our
neighbor as ourselves,” Archbishop Jadot said at an alumni day program at St. Francis
Seminary.
The apostolic delegate appealed to U.S. Catholics to have a greater awareness of the
needs of the Church throughout the world.
Pope Paul VI, he said, “as father of the universal Church, has a paternal solicitude
for all men, and has repeatedly called upon Catholics of this great country to deepen
their commitment and involvement in the problems of the Church throughout the
world.”
Archbishop Jadot was principal celebrant of a Mass in the seminary chapel in which
three other bishops: Bishop James J. Hogan of Altoona-Johnstown, in whose diocese
the seminary is located, Bishop Urban McGarry of Bhagalpur, India, and Bishop
Adrian Veigle, prelate of Borba, Brazil, were joined by more than 80 priest alumni as
concelebrants.
Bishops McGarry and Veigle, both natives of Pennsylvania, are members of the
Third Order Regular of St. Francis, who staff St. Francis Seminary.
Bishop Goes To Prison
FORT WORTH, Tex. (NC) -- Bishop Joseph A. Durick, retired head of the
Nashville, Tenn., diocese, reported to the Federal Correctional Institution near here
Nov. 28 to begin his chaplaincy.
Bishop Durick resigned his post last May to enter the prison ministry. He said he
will remain here for a few months until he receives a permanent assignment.
Recalling that several years ago as bishop of Nashville he began the practice of
making Christmas visits to local prisons, Bishop Durick said that his visits “were not
only for the good of the inmates, they were good for me also.”
“I found that my being in the presence of these people who have lost so much,
made me appreciate my own freedom so much more,” the bishop said. “So I truly
look forward to this new ministry.”
A long-time champion of social justice causes, Bishop Durick focused on the need
for prison reform in a pastoral letter issued in March, 1973. In it, he advocated
conjugal visits for married prisoners, elimination of capital punishment, and the
establishment of small regional prisons so inmates could be close to their families.
Spanish Mass
The feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Queen of Mexico, will be celebrated
with a special Spanish Mass at Sacred Heart Church in Atlanta.
Archbishop Donnellan will concelebrate the Mass at 6 p.m. on Sunday,
December 14.
A reception will follow in the parish center.
He stressed that rates do not
adequately reflect the depth of
economic problems in the south, telling
congressional representatives that “the
level of poverty in the south is much
higher than in the rest of the nation
although the level of unemployment has
been relatively low. In 1970, he
observed, the south was the home of
45% of the nation’s poverty families
although the unemployment rate was
merely 3.7%, the lowest in the nation.
Add to that, he said, the hidden
unemployment and persons working for
extremely low wages and the
subemployment rate in 1970 was
25.1%, the highest of any region in the
country.
National averages do not reflect the
inequitable distribution of joblessness,
he said, explaining that unemployment
is not only a minority problem or a
problem of youth. The weakest in
economic terms and those subject to
discrimination are the hardest hit.
Among those he included mention of
minorities, young people, women, the
poor and the unskilled.
The archbishop commented on the
high unemployment rate of blacks
which, he said, is double that of whites.
On youth employment, one out of
every five teenagers in the labor force is
jobless, he said. He noted that women
are more likely to be jobless than men,
adding that female unemployment
“cannot be treated lightly.” He said
millions of women “work because they
have to,” stating that many working
families would be Unable to make ends
meet without the assistance of working
wives.” He added, “unemployment
BICENTENNIAL MEDAL - This bicentennial medal is being
distributed by the Philadelphia Archdiocesan Religious Education-CCD
Office. According to the U.S. Travel Data Center, a private research
organization, the City of Brotherly Love will experience a jump from the
normal 8.7 million visitors to 17.4 million during 1976, the 200th
birthday of the U.S.
Honorary Degree For Kinney
LOUVAIN, Belgium (NC) - The University of Louvain has granted an honorary
doctor’s degree to Edward Michael Kinney, assistant to the executive director and also
director of purchasing and shipping of Catholic Relief Services.
Asks Relief For Flood Victims
BOGOTA, Colombia (NC) - President Alfonso Lopez appealed for further relief to
victims of floods in northeast Colombia at a “Banquet of the Million,” a charity drive
organized by a radio priest to provide housing for the poor. The “banquet” is a frugal
dinner of bread and water attended yearly by rich contributors to the Villages of
God’s Minute, a campaign organized by Father Rafael Garcia Herreros through his
popular one-minute radio talks.
Not Just Catholic Issue
DES MOINES, Iowa (NC) - Morman, Baptist and Methodist leaders in national
right-to-life organizations agreed here recently that abortion is not just a “Catholic
issue.” They called for patience while establishing grassroots support for a pro-life
amendment to the constitution. Attending an annual state convention of Iowans for
Life were: Ray White, executive director of the National Right to Life Committee; the
Rev. Bob Holbrook, founder of Baptist for Life; and Marjory Mecklenburg,
president of American Citizens Concerned for Life, Inc. (ACCL).
Vatican Fears Church Freedom
VATICAN CITY (NC) - Fears that legislation now pending in Yugoslavia would
severely curtail the freedom of the Catholic Church in that communist country have
been raised by Vatican Radio. Under the country’s new constitution, relations
between churches and the state fall within the jurisdictions of the individual republics
that constitute the federation. The Republic of Slovenia has been the first to authorize
parliamentary discussions of new Church-state legislation. “The law,” Vatican Radio
observed Dec. 4, “should endorse the status quo of relations between Church and state
in Slovenia, but many fear a restriction of the freedom of the Church.
would force these women and their
children onto welfare rolls.”
Other groups seriously hampered by
unemployment include
Hispanic-Americans, blue collar workers
and nonfarm laborers.
Archbishop Donnellan presented a
strong statement on the social and
human impact of these forces, saying
that recessional and inflationary trends
“have resulted in a lower quality of life
for many of our citizens.” He said
unemployment and economic insecurity
undermine confidence, destroy hope,
erode self-respect and ambition and
increase alienation. Such forces
seriously strain family relationships and
lead to family disorganization, broken
homes and a sometimes devastating
impact on children.
He noted crime has increased in the
recession period and that joblessness
also contributes to rising social and
racial tensions. “Present economic
distress threatens to wipe out the
moderate economic gains achieved for
minorities over the last decade.” He
added this would have “truly disastrous
consequences for our society.”
Archbishop Donnellan also noted the
interrelation of economic troubles and
mental illness, quoting professional
studies which place economic instability'
as the single most important indicator
of fluctuations in mental hospitals
admissions, a relationship which has
become more pronounced in the last
two decades. He also pointed to the
increasing figures for suicide, noting
that between 1973 and 1975, the
proportion of such deaths had grown by
18%. “The impact of long term
joblessness on a person’s perception of
himself and his future cannot fail to
influence his actions and relations with
family and society,” the archbishop
stated.
Another issue of great concern, the
archbishop said, was housing and the
need for a “renewed committment and
new policies to meet the massive
housing needs of our people.” He said
over 33,000 units (16%) of housing in
the city of Atlanta was classified as
substandard and housing costs have
skyrocketed by 20% in the last two
years. “Five thousand persons are on
waiting lists for public housing in this
city,” he said, stating that “there is little
indication that current housing policy
will be able to reverse these trends.”
Archbishop Donnellan said American
bishops are, in general, supportive of
principles and the intent of the Equal
Opportunity and Full Employment Act
of 1975. “We also call for adequate
assistance to the victims of economic
distress through improved
unemployment compensation, a decent
income policy for those who cannot
work and other forms of help such as
food stamps, health insurance and other
sound programs.”
The archbishop said the economic
interaction of industry, labor and
government has implications far beyond
the workings of the marketplace.
“Behind the jumble of statistics and the
rise and fall of economic indicators lie
human lives and individual tragedies.
These numbers symbolize the struggles
of families to survive unemployment,
inflation and other forms of economic
distress.”
“The economy is presently the most
critical setting for the achievement of
basic human rights and greater social
justice. Our economic life must reflect
these broader values of social justice and
human rights, Archbishop Donnellan
said. He concluded his testimony to the
congressional committee saying that the
economy of the nation must
fundamentally serve the needs of its
people and the task before all was to
harness the strength of America as the
strongest and richest nation in the world
“to more effectively serve all our
people.”
Fechtel Heads Hospitals
Edward J. Fechtel, Jr., administrator
of St. Mary’s Hospital in Athens has
been installed as the president of the
Georgia Hospital Association. He is a
parishoner at St. Joseph’s parish in
Athens and is a graduate of Marist
College in Atlanta.
Along with the responsibility this
position incurs, it bestows honor on the
man, St. Mary’s Hospital and the city of
Athens.
Fechtel who was named assistant
administrator of St. Mary’s in 1963 and
administrator in 1966 holds a B.S.
degree in Business Administration from
Notre Dame and a M.S. degree in
Business and Hospital Administration
from Emory University. Upon
graduation from college, he served as an
officer in active duty in the United
States Navy. He served his residency in
hospital administration at Duval Medical
Center in Jacksonville, Florida and was
assistant administrator at St. Francis
Xavier Hospital in Charleston, South,
Carolina.
During his years as a hospital
administrator Fechtel has been active in
numerous hospital and civic
organizations. He is well known for his
work with the American Hospital
Association, the American College of
Hospital Administrators and the
Catholic Hospital Association. He is a
leader in the Georgia Hospital
Association having served as its
Treasurer and as a member of the board
of trustees representing the Northeast
Georgia district and last year he was
elected President of the Georgia
Hospital Association. He was chairman
of the State Wide Emergency Services
and Disaster Planning Committee. In
this he provided leadership in
developing the Georgia Hospital
Association State Wide Radio
Communications Network; 100
hospitals in Georgia are involved in this
program. He is a past president of the
Northeast Georgia Hospital District. He
was also chairman of the Ad Hoc
Committee for the Development of the
Shared Services Program. In connection
with this he served as Chairman of the
Board of Georgia Hospital Shared
Services, Inc., an organization for shared
services in Georgia with over 34 member
hospitals.
In 1974 he was advanced from the
College to Fellowship in the American
College of Hospital Administrators.
Fechtel was an advisory member of the
Georgia Committee on Trauma of the
American College of Surgeons, a
member of the Facilities and Service
Task Force of the Georgia Regional
Medical Program and lecturer-advisor
for the University of Georgia School of
Pharmacy.
Locally, he participated in the
planning and development of the new
St. Mary’s Hospital, has maintained for
St. Mary’s continued accreditation from
the Joint Commission on Accreditation
and has received commendations during
the latest accreditation survey held in
the summer of 1975.
He is responsible for the
establishment of a Home Health Care
Program, Administrative Residency
Program for graduate students in
Edward J. Fechtel, Jr.
Hospital Administration, Ambulance
Service for the Community, a Hospital
Chaplaincy Program, a program for Red
Cross Volunteers in the Emergency
Room, a Unit Dose System, a Cardiac
rehabilitation program, a patient
education program, participated in the
education of licensed practical nurses
with the M.D.T.A. - manpower
development training act as well as the
S.O.N.A.T. - School of Nursing of
Athens for the education of professional
nurses in the satellite program of the
Medical College of Georgia School of
Nursing on the University of Georgia
campus and the participating health
agencies of Athens, St. Mary’s Hospital
being one of them.
The Atlanta native was also
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