Newspaper Page Text
Vol. 14 No. 11
Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta
Thursday, March 11,1976
$5 Per Year.
BENDING TO THE TASK - Cardinal Terence Cooke of New York
touring a foundling hospital in Manhattan, stops to tie the shoe of a
youngster in one of the nursery areas. Cardinal Cooke seems to be
following the example of Jesus at the Last Supper when the Lord washed
the feet of His disciples and told them “no slave is greater than his master;
no messenger outranks the one who sent him.” (John 13:16) (NC Photo
by Chris Sheridan)
What It’s All About
BY FR. LOUIS NAUGHTON
St, Patrick’s Day soon will have passed for another year. For many - perhaps
too many - March 17 is associated almost solely with a green median strip on
New York’s Fifth Avenue, forming the center line of a mammoth parade past
the reviewing stand on the steps of St. Patrick’s Cathedral; or with the water
fountains of Chicago pouring forth in emerald dye. Alas, the Hollywood concept
prevails in abundance: prancing leprechauns, “wee folk, good folk, dancing all
together, green jackets, red caps and white owl’s feather”; stupid characters
waxing ineloquently with a plethora of “Begobs” and “Begorrahs,” flailing
shillelaghs whirl, fueled by green beer and Irish whiskey.
This is NOT what St. Patrick’s Day is all about.
St. Patrick’s Day is an opportunity for celebrating amidst true joy and healthy
laughter a great and wonderful heritage which has made an enormous impact in
many lands across the world.
St. Patrick has much to teach us about sensitivity, openness and respect for
cultures other than our own. St. Patrick was not bound by the narrow
constricting lack of vision engendered by insularity, bigotry and prejudice. His
strength as a missionary was in the true and most positive Pauline tradition of
integrating within the Christian Circumscription all that was good, positive,
wholesome, creative, true and beautiful in the culture and tradition of the
Ireland that he came to evangelize.
The roots so deeply sown more than 1500 years ago are still flourishing. To be
sure, there is pruning that needs to be done now as in times past and, as one can
expect, in the future. The tradition of Patrick, still valid for the Church of the
1970’s contains within it a perennial relevance.
The current tragic strife of the Northern part of the Emerald Isle is contrary
to the true spirit and tradition of Patrick. Ireland is now going through the dark
night of her soul. Patrick, herding swine on a lonely mountain side went through
his own dark night. Within that process he found himself in Christ. Years later he
answered Christ’s call to return to evangelize the Ireland that had oppressed him.
His success was ultimately in Christ in whom he had centered himself.
The present strife in Ireland can be solved ultimately only in the Christian
spirit.
The present strifes and tensions in our own environments can be solved only
in that sensitivity, openness and tolerance, in that Christ-centered spirit which
Patrick himself finally adhered to after much struggle, strain and persona!
turmoil.
The more we strive to be truly sensitive, respectful and responsive to all of the
positive dimensions of our surroundings, the better will our world be. This
aspect of the message of Patrick is surely relevant to our times.
A happy, blessed, enjoyable, laugh-filled St. Patrick’s day to y’all.
Beannacht De Agus Padraig Naomhtha Oraibh.
Bishops To Examine Mission Of NCCB
WASHINGTON - An in-depth
examination of the “mission and goals”
of the Catholic bishops’ conference of
the United States will be the major
focus of the bishops’ spring general
meeting May 4-6 in Chicago.
Both a general session and a
workshop discussion during the May
meeting will deal with the fundamental
purposes and functions of the U.S.
National Conference of Catholic
Bishops (NCCB).
The bishops will take as their
starting-point the “Directory on the
Pastoral Ministry of Bishops,” published
by the Vatican’s Sacred Congregation
for Bishops in May, 1973.
Planning for the study of the mission
and goals of the U.S. episcopal
conference is being carried on by a
special NCCB committee chaired by the
conference’s President, Archbishop
Joseph L. Bernardin of Cincinnati.
The other members of the committee
are Archbishop Donnellan, Archbishop
Peter L. Gerety of Newark, Bishop
Francis T. Hurley of Juneau, Alaska,
Bishop Bernard F. Law of
Springfield-Cape Girardeau, Mo., and
Bishop Cletus F. O’Donnell of Madison,
Wis. Bishop Raymond W. Lessard of
Savannah, Ga., and Auxiliary Bishop
William E. McManus of Chicago are
consultants to the committee.
All have held or now hold posts on a
variety of conference committees.
Bishops Hurley, Law and McManus were
conference staff members before
becoming bishops, and Bishop Lessard
served from 1964 to 1973 on the staff
of the Congregation for Bishops in
Rome. Archbishop Bernardin is a
former General Secretary of NCCB.
The committee is being assisted by
several specialists who are not members
of the conference staff. They are
Fathers Avery Dulles, S.J., and Carl
Peter of the Catholic University of
America theological faculty, Father
Barnabas M. Ahern, C. P., professor of
Scripture at the Gregorian University in
Rome, and Father Canice Connors,
Secretary for Research and Planning for
the Archdiocese of Baltimore.
The committee began work last year
with the specific assignment of
reviewing and revising the format and
procedures of the bishops’ general
meetings.
The first results of its work were
apparent in the November, 1975,
general meeting of the bishops, held in
Washington, D. C., which operated
under a streamlined format with new
parliamentary procedures and gave
increased emphasis to workshop
discussions of topics of major
importance.
Over the past several months, other
developments have caused the scope of
the committee’s work to shift from the
relatively narrow question of the format
of the general meeting to the larger
question of the mission and goals of the
bishops’ conference itself.
Among these was the concern
expressed by several bishops at last
November’s meeting that the conference
take a more active role in dealing with
situations caused by dissent from
Church teachings.
Other elements are the expanding
collaboration between several
conference committees and members of
the scholarly and academic
communities, and approval given by the
conference’s Programs and Plans
Committee for the addition to the
conference staff of a theologian to assist
the NCCB Committee on Doctrine and
the NCCB Committee on Pastoral
Research and Practices.
“All of these efforts touch directly
on the mission of the conference which
determines how general meetings are
Drive Is ‘Over The Top’
For the 8th consecutive year, the Archdiocesan Charities Drive has met and topped
its goal. This year’s target was $300,000 and as of Monday, a total of $306,409 had
been collected over-ail or 2.3% over the goal, “.since that amount includes the totals of
some parishes which exceeded their goals, the truer figure for the Archdiocesan
agencies and offices funded by the Drive is slightly under that,” noted Father Jerry E.
Hardy, Chancellor.
“The total, revised to account for the three oi four parishes not actually meeting
their goal by Sunday night, is $281,563 or 94% which is still great. The pastors and
their parish Drive chairpersons certainly did a wonderful job. They made it work
again.”
Follow-up calls in parishes are expected to increase the two totals easily over the
next week. Again this year a thorough evaluation of the DRIVE effort will be
conducted before the end of the month to plan for next year’s goal.
CANADA BISHOPS:
‘End Capital Punishment’
OTTAWA (NC) - Canada’s bishops
have come out against capital
punishment, basing their action on
respect for life, and asked the
government to reform the country’s
penal and judicial systems.
The administrative board of the
Canadian Catholic Conference (CCC) at
a Feb. 26 meeting declared itself “in
favor of the abolition of capital
punishment.”
It called on the government “to move
to bring abut the reforms which are
required in our penitentiary system and
in all areas of justice.”
Bishop G. Emmett Carter of London,
Ont., president of the CCC, said: “It is
the bishops’ deep respect for life which
led us to speak out on this topic.
“A society which really respects life
cannot use the death penalty to protect
itself and at the same time create an
atmosphere wherein other human rights
will be respected. Moreover, violence
engenders violence and the death
penalty is a violent act. The spirit of the
Gospel is one which leads us to favor
mercy and clemency.”
He added: “The bishops wished to
make clear the position of their national
association, but, in taking their position,
they recognize the right of the state to
impose capital punishment if the
circumstances demand it, and they
acknowledge that Christians may hold
individual opinions on the subject.”
Official
Archbishop Donnellan announces that Father James Sexstone, Principal of
Saint Pius X Catholic High School, has requested an assignment to pastoral work
at the close of the present school year - June 30, 1976.
Father Terry Young, Principal of Saint Joseph’s High School, is appointed
Principal of Saint Pius X High School. This appointment will take effect on July
1,1976 - after the closing of Saint Joseph’s High School.
conducted,” Archbishop Bernardin said
in a report submitted last month to the
NCCB Administrative Committee,
meeting in Washington. “It seemed
reasonable, therefore, that we attempt
to draw these matters together.”
Pope Urges
rri f) •
lo Practice
VATICAN CITY (NC) - Slack morals
and law-breaking have resulted in part
from the failure of Christians to practice
and preach asceticism, Pope Paul
asserted on Ash Wednesday (March 3).
At his weekly general audience, Pope
Paul encouraged Catholics to perform a
two-fold asceticism, which includes, he
said, practicing penances and developing
virtues.
“Today authority and law which put
forth an exterior norm corresponding to
our being’s interior needs are no longer
accepted or listened to,” the Pope
charged.
“Spontaneity seems to be the
fundamental right of human action.”
This situation, the Pope continued,
has led to “an explosion of blind
freedom, instinctive passion, uncurbed
crime and the renunciation of intelligent
and responsible decision-making.”
The Pope said that people question
how this situation came to be. The
answer, he said, is found in the
unwillingness of Catholics to practice
ascetism themselves and to teach that
practice to their children.
The “Directory on the Pastoral
Ministry of Bishops,” which will be the
basis of the bishops’ discussions in
Chicago, is a detailed treatment of the
role of bishops, developed in light of the
(Continued on page 7)
Catholics
Penance
“We know well that this chapter in
the program of renewing Christian life
does not enjoy the favor of public
opinion, and sometimes not even the
respect of certain teachers who call
themselves moralists and Christians,”
the Pope charged.
He said that this attitude was shown
especially clearly in the unfavorable
reactions to the recent Vatican
delcaration on sex ethics.
The declaration, issued in January,
restated traditional Church prohibitions
against homosexual acts, masturbation
and premarital sex.
“Our ascetic efforts which perfect
our moral conduct have two moments:
one negative, which the masters of the
spirit call mortification, fast, penance,
etc. The other moment is positive,
geared toward fortification of virtue,”
the Pope said.
He counseled: “Keep this in mind.
You are not real Christians if you are
not strong. You are not strong, even
spiritually, if you are not in some way
athletes, those people who exercise hard
and for long periods.”
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Genuine ‘Good News’
NOTRE DAME, Ind. (NC) -- The development of shared responsibility and
consultative decision-making in recent years “has been one of the genuine ‘good news’
stories in the life of the Church,” said Archbishop Joseph L. Bernardin in a speech
here Feb. 29. The archbishop, who is president of the National Conference of Catholic
Bishops and U.S. Catholic Conference, spoke at the first statewide delegate assembly
of the Indiana Catholic Conference.
‘Union Workers For Life’
SAN JOSE, Calif. (NC) - A new group called Union Workers for Life has urged that
“every union in the United States adopt a pro-life resolution and endorse pro-life
political candidates.” According to its president, Charles Gallagher of Local 731,
International Association of Machinists, Union Workers for Life is a rank and file
group of unionists who oppose abortion. It has six chapters throughout California.
Emancipation For Unborn
LOS ANGELES (NC) - The next great emancipation in America must be the
emancipation of the unborn child, Cardinal Timothy Manning of Los Angeles said
here. “We’ve emancipated the Negro. We are in the process of emancipating women.
The next great emancipation will have to be the emancipation of the fetus. It has life.
It has the right to live. And until we do, the curse of God hangs over us as it did as
long as we had slavery.” Cardinal Manning made his plea in an address to the Mercury
Roundtable of the Los Angeles Athletic Club.
Amnesty Con ference
WASHINGTON (NC) - A day-long congressional conference on amnesty was told
by the Rev. Barry Lynn of the United Church of Christ that more than a million
persons still face legal difficulties as a result of resistance to the Vietnam war.
Television news commentator Martin Agronsky told the conference that dealing with
all those people on a case-by-case basis would take until past the turn of the century,
an estimate disputed by Charles Goodell, former director of the Presidential Clemency
Board.
Orders Advertising Halt
MONTCLAIR, N.J. (NC) - The New Jersey State Board of Medical Examiners has
ordered an abortion clinic here to stop advertising in area newspapers. The clinic,
which is directed by a podiatrist and performs abortions during the first three months
of pregnancy only, has not responded to the order.
Relic Of The True Cross
VENICE (NC) - A relic of the True Cross contained in a cruciform golden reliquary
was discovered here in the archives of the Benedictine Abbey of San Giogio Maggiore
Feb. 24. Documents in the archives say that the relic was given to Doge Grimani of
Venice by Pope Paul V in the early 17th century.
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