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Georgia
Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta
Vol. 14 No. 1
Thursday, January 1, 1976
$5 Per Year.
Pope Paul’s Christmas Message Praises Youth
VATICAN CITY (NC) - Despite a
deafening uproar from the media, from
politics and from older generations,
young people today are returning to
Christ’s message of “revelation and
renewal,” Pope Paul VI declared in his
1975 Christmas Message.
Pope Paul read his message from the
Loggia above the main entrance to St.
Peter’s Basilica. Afterwards he imparted
his blessing “Urbi et Orbi” -- to the city
and the world. About 100,000 heard
him in the bright sunshine of St. Peter’s
Square.
The 78-year-old Pope called youth
the “unforeseen yet predestined
hearers” who “know how to accept the
proclamation of the Good News as a
message of relevation and renewal.”
“Almost with subversive impetus,”
the Pope said, young people have
unmasked the “specious, or at least
insufficient wisdom of older
generations.”
He addressed the youth of the world:
“The emptiness, young people, has
devastated you, and an intimate and
powerful longing has brought you back,
almost unconsciously, to the sphere of
an invitation that cannot be rejected:
‘Come to Me, all you who are
weary . . .’”
Older generations, the Pope said,
“inoculated” young people with “the
insanity of war for power, of
materialism as the only justice, of
pleasure as a confused attitude toward
the higher duties and destinies of life.”
Large numbers of youth attended the
Christmas blessing and morning Mass, as
well as the midnight Mass in St. Peter’s
Square marking the end of the Holy
Year.
At that midnight celebration, Pope
Paul said that Holy Year has brought
about a new covenant between God and
20th-century life. He claimed that the
IN JANUARY
Spanish Mission Set
A Spanish mission, entitled Mision Catolica, will be conducted January 26 through
30th at the Cathedral of Christ the King. The first such mission held in Atlanta, the
program will be conducted during the five days by Father Ruskin Piedra, a missionary
priest from Miami. Sessions will be held each evening at 8 p.m. and are open to the
public.
Pepe Montero, committee member for the mission, said the effort was a good
opportunity for Spanish speaking persons in the metro area to come closer together
and also to set up some guidelines for future programs. “This will bring us together
and also closer to God,” said Montero. He noted that the Spanish speaking population
in Atlanta area is now between 30,000 and 35,000 with a large proportion of those
Catholic.
Additional information on the mission may be obtained by calling 233-5528.
BviLUtilYS
March For Life
WASHINGTON (NC) - Hoping for a constitutional amendment to restrict abortion,
thousands of pro-life advocates are expected to take part in the third March for Life
here Jan. 22 to mark the anniversary of 1973 U.S. Supreme Court abortion decision.
Each year since the Supreme Court struck down most state laws restricting abortions,
thousands of pro-life supporters have gathered in Washington Jan. 22 to protest the
ruling.
Baptists, Catholics On Abortion
In two separate meetings recently Catholic and Baptist leaders in the
United States agreed to cooperate more fully on issues of common concern and issued
a brief statement on abortion expressing disagreement on approaches to the issue but a
common “Strong affirmation of the sacredness of life.”
Pay Under Protest
ST. LOUIS, Mo. (NC) - Some 350 taxpayers in this area have paid their 1975
property taxes under formal protest, because the money is used in part for the support
of public schools only. Additional payments under protest are expected by the
deadline for taxes on Dec. 31, according to officials of Citizens for Educational
Freedom (CEF), a group active in the cause of nonpublic schools children.
Angola Church Growing
ROME (NC) - The Church in war-torn Angola has remained stable and is growing,
according to statistics released here recently. It also faces some serious challenges, a
Church official here told NC News Service. Of Angola’s 5.8 million inhabitants, 60
percent are Christians, including 45 percent Catholics and 15 percent Protestants.
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State Of Church Address
VATICAN CITY (NC) - Pope Paul VI, in his annual “state of the Church address,”
asked Israelis to “recognize the rights and legitimate aspirations” of the Palestinians.
Speaking of the “still serious and unresolved” Middle East problems, the Pope said:
“Even if we are well aware of the tragedies not long past which have compelled the
Jewish people to seek a secure and protected fortress in a sovereign and independent
state of their own - and in fact, precisely because we are aware of this - we would like
to ask the children of this people to recognize the rights and legitimate aspirations of
another people who themselves have suffered for a long time, the Palestinian people.”
Four Day Revolt
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (NC) - Charging widespread corruption in the
government, a group of Argentine air force officers calling themselves “Catholic
nationalists” staged a four-day revolt against President Isabel Peron. The bloodless
rebellion ended in a negotiated peace in which both loyal army officers and the rebels
claimed victory. Tensions, however, remained high as other officers and labor and
political leaders pressed for Peron’s resignation.
world “in staggering fear” had come
“near to the abyss of fatal ruin.”
In his noontime Christmas message,
the Pope declared:
“At this precise point the drama is
either ‘yes’ or ‘no,’ for the modern
generation which has shown that it Ijas
understood the possibility and
happiness of an encounter with Christ.”
This understanding,
about for youth
he said, came
despite “the
overwhelming uproar of a thousand
voices that fill the atmosphere of
modern life with the powerfully
amplified words of the renowned means
of social communication or the
attracting fascination of the images and
sounds which transfer the language of
the realm of thought to that of the
senses.”
He spoke also of the obstacle of “the
incalculable but formidable narcotic
influence of the pressure of public
opinion and of political propaganda.”
lar'
Such pressure “almost insensibly
deprives personal freedom of its active
exercise.” In the place of personal
freedom goes “the passivity of another’s
domination.”
These actors, the Pope said, have not
prevented young people from grasping
the “delicate, tender and true
wave-length of the spirit.”
Concluding, Pope Paul prayed: “May
God grant for today’s youth and for all
of us, sons and daughters of the Church
and citizens of the world, that the fruit
of the Holy Year will be the acceptance
of this word that is the expression of an
endless ‘Blessed Christmas’.”
Following the message, the Pope gave
a solemn blessing and, in 12 languages,
wished “a blessed Christmas in the joy
and peace of Christ.” For the first time
IIS ATLANTA
he included the African language
Swahili.
As had occurred throughout the
year-long jubilee, young people
participated in the Holy Year closing in
imaginative ways.
Shortly before the Holy Year’s
closing ceremonies started at 11:30
p.m., a young Florentine reached St.
Peter’s Square with a lighted torch that
had been carried in relay from Florence
by other young men.
At the end of the Mass, Pope Paul
presented a lantern to two young
Italians to be placed at the Catacombs
of St. Callixtus outside Rome. There,
throughout Holy Year, small groups of
youth held twice weekly meetings of
Christian witness and discussion, and
heard daily Mass.
TO THE CITY AND THE WORLD ~ Pope Paul VI extends the
traditional “Urbi et Orbi” (to the city and the world) blessing as nearly
100,000 listeners stand in the bright sunlight of St. Peter’s Square on
Christmas Day.
Historians Convene
The American Catholic Historical Association has named Benedictine Father
Colman Barry president of the national group which held its 56th annual convention
here this week. Father Barry, dean of the school of religious studies at Catholic
University in Washington, D.C., had served the association this past year as first
vice-president.
Father Barry succeeds Jesuit Father Robert I. Bums of the University of San
Francisco. Named first vice-president for the group was Professor John A. Lukacs,
chairman of the history department of Chestnut Hill College in Pennsylvania. Other
officers named were: Dominican Father Leonard E. Boyle of Toronto, second
vice-president; executive council members Professor John G. Gallagher of Southern
Illinois University and Sister Karen Kennelly of the College of St. Catherine in St.
Cloud, Minn. Professor Nicholas Varga of Loyola College in Baltimore will serve a
three year term on the committee on nominations.
. Father Barry has authored and edited a number of published works and has also
served as an administrator and professor.
During the three day convention in Atlanta, the association awarded two authors
for their works on immigrant Catholic communities. Recipient of the second yearly
Howard R. Marraro prize was Father Silvana M. Tomasi, C.S., of the Center for
Migration Studies in Staten Island, N.Y. Father Tomasi’s book “Piety and Power: the
Role of the Italian Parishes in the New York Metropolitan Area 1880-1930” received
the $500 award presented annually for a distinguished scholarly work on Italian or
Italo-American history.
Dr. Jay Patrick Dolan of the University of Notre Dame was named recipient of the
John Gilmary Shea award of $300 for his work “The Immigrant Church: New York’s
Irish and German Catholics, 1815-1865.” The award is presented to the author judged
to have made the most original and significant contribution to the historiography of
the Catholic Church.
Marist Plans Expansion Of Campus
New buildings will be added tc the
campus of Marist School in 1976 as a
result of “Marist 75” - the private
school’s 75th anniversary construction
fund. A library-administration building,
a physical education station and
renovation of existing buildings for
coeducation are included in the plans.
Work will begin in early January,
according to Father Lawrence R.
Schumhl, S.M., business manager. The
educational improvements were planned
when Marist’s present campus on
Ashford-Dunwoody Road was opened
in 1962. The coming of coeducation to
Marist (1976-77 school year) has made
the construction necessary.
Parents, alumni, and friends of the
school have donated more than $30,000
to the Marist 75 fund, according to
public relations director Tom Mattingly.
The bulk of necessary funds has been
raised from foundations by the Marist
Lay Advisory Board. The projected cost
of construction is $850,000, Father
Schmuhl said.
“With this building project we are
simply fulfilling what was originally
planned for Marist. The school will be
able to hold more than 700 students,”
Father Schmuhl said. “We planned the
expansion long before coeducation was
decided, but coeducation brought the
plans to a head,” he added. Women’s
athletic facilities and lavatories are
included in the building program.
The two-story library-administration
structure will adjoin the main classroom
building via a covered walkway. The
library-media center will have extensive
shelf and study space, an audio-visual
lab, and conference rooms, on the
second floor. Spacious administrative
offices, reception and faculty areas will
move to the first floor. The new
building will hold 15,000 square feet of
space.
The physical education station will
accommodate young women as well as
young men. Located near to the Marist
gym and stadium, the building will be
used for volleyball and other sports. The
existing library and offices will be
converted into classrooms.
“Marist 75 will give us a warm,
spacious office and reception area. We
hope the library will be the center of
the school and will be top-notch. The
program will free space for more than
700 students,” Father Schmuhl said.
Marist’s enrollment is now 644.
The Marist 75 parents and alumni
drive was launched in October,
according to Mattingly. Parents
Chairmen Bob Hennessy and Bud
Fressell wrote to each family, requesting
donations. Since then, more than 200
families (37 percent) have sent gifts or
pledges. Response from alumni has also
been reasonably encouraging, Mattingly
said.
The ultimate goal of Marist 75 is a
total of $75,000 in contributions. “We
are stressing participation by as many
parents and graduates as possible,”
Mattingly said. “The size of the gift is
not as important as the total number of
gifts.”
Father Schmuhl expressed gratitude
to “friends, foundations, and
benefactors who have made Marist what
it is today.” He said that expansion
became possible when the Marist
Society in Washington and Rome, Italy,
authorized it. The Lay Advisory Board
then began fund-raising, which is not
yet complete, Father Schmuhl added.
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