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Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta
Vol. 14 No. 41
Thursday, November 18,1976
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U.S. Bishops Issue Moral Values Pastoral
WASHINGTON (NC) - The U.S.
Catholic Bishops’ Conference at its
four-day meeting here approved a
pastoral letter on moral values which
reaffirms traditional Church teachings
on sexual ethics and social justice. They
also called for a new treaty to
eventually return sovereignty over the
Panama Canal to Panama.
The bishops also approved a
statement on early childhood care and
education which supported Church
guidance on childhood development and
religious formation for parents before
baptism of their children and a
governmental role in providing child
care programs.
In a statement on immigration, they
urged assistance to the 400,000 people a
year who immigrate into the United
States and opposed provisions of a
recent immigration law Which make it
MARINE RAID
difficult for families from Mexico to be
reunited in this country.
More than 250 bishops from around
the country attended the Nov. 8-11
meeting at the Statler Hilton Hotel of
the National Conference of Catholic
Bishops (NCCB) and its civil arm, the
U.S. Catholic Conference (USCC).
Approval of the moral values pastoral
by a 172-25 vote came after an effort to
delay action on the document on the
grounds that it did not express enough
compassion for those who find it
difficult to follow the Church’s
teaching.
Bishop Francis Mugauero of
Brooklyn moved to recommit the
document to the NCCB ad hoc
committee on moral values.
He said he supported the document
Priests Arrested In Colombia
CARTAGENA, Colombia (NC) -- Marines raided three parishes in Cartagena Bay,
desecrated the Eucharist and arrested two priests, a nun and a former priest.
The government held the prisoners several days without formal charges, although
one newspaper accused them of pro-guerrilla activity.
Father Rafael Geney and Sister Herlinda Moises were arrested during raids by
marines on the churches and rectories of San Jeronimo and Santa Ana at Badu Island
Nov. 1. The marines ripped apart walls, ceilings, floors and furniture in what they said
was a search for hidden weapons.
Two days later the marines (infantry troops in Colombia’s Navy) raided the parish
of San Lorenzo Martir and arrested Father Cesar Augusto Rojas and Everardo
Ramirez, a laicized priest.
A pro-government Bogota daily, El Tiempo, said the four acted as a liaison with
Marxist guerrillas and were found “in possession of an arsenal big enough to cause a
massacre.”
Archbishop Ruben Isaza Restrepo of Cartagena, who had to wait for two days for
permission to see the prisoners, has demanded an official explanation of the arrests to
no avail. He protested that the raids were unjustified.
The Navy released the prisoners to the custody of the archbishop two days after his
protest. Archbishop Isaza offered evidence the marines had acted without sufficient
cause.
A military court, however, issued an order for Fathers Geney and Rojas to appear
for interrogation.
In a separate statement the 76 priests of the archdiocese protested the arrests as a
violation of the concordat between Colombia and the Vatican, which calls for prior
consultation when governmental authorities are readying legal action against any
Church personnel.
“Why are military authorities keeping complete silence on the case before public
opinion in Colombia?” the priests asked. “We protest against the abuses, which violate
basic citizens’ rights, and alert Colombians to the consequences of such violations for
everyone.”
Archbishop Isaza and the priests denied assertions by El Tiempo that weapons were
found during the raids.
Before their release to Archbishop Isaza, the four prisoners were held
incommunicado at the marine barracks here, except for the archbishop’s brief visit.
Sister Moises is a native of Austria, and the three men are Colombian. They are
members of a special pastoral team serving the parishes in the poorer sections around
the bay.
The archdiocesan priests’ statement said that the marines “desecrated the church of
Santa Ana, threw sacred chalices, ornaments and the monstrance to the floor, and ate
the consecrated Hosts.”
El Tiempo also said Archbishop Isaza helped to alert “other members of the urban
guerrilla network” on troops operations against them, by making statements
immediately following the first raids.
World Thanksgiving
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (NC) - Pope Paul VI has joined Church dignitaries
around the world in encouraging a “crusade to expand” celebration of
Thanksgiving Day in all the continents.
The Crusade of the Universal Thanksgiving Day, headquartered here,
published a report citing commitments from Church leaders in all continents to
join the late-November celebration.
Thanksgiving Day, which originated with the Pilgrims in the United States,
was adopted by Brazil and other nations in Latin America early this century. By
mid-century 22 Latin American countries were celebrating Thanksgiving as a
legal holiday. A quarter-century later, religious observances of Thanksgiving Day
have spread into countries or individual dioceses in Africa, Asia, Europe and
Oceania.
As it prepared the 1976 campaign, the crusade received from Pope Paul a
message of encouragement, wishing its director, Alice Tavora, “abundant graces
and the light of Christ” for the endeavor.
The crusade also published messages from government officials, diplomats and
bishops in 20 countries, including a letter in Chinese from authorities in Taiwan
joining the celebration.
and the principles in it but believed its
tone would prevent it from reaching the
widest number of people. “If it lacks
understanding and compassion, it fails
in its teaching role,” he said.
During an hour of debate, other
bishops opposed sending the document
back to committee. Bishop Norman
McFarland of Reno, Nev., said that
action would tell the public that the
bishops of the United States after two
years cannot state positions on moral
values.
The move to delay publication was
defeated by a vote of 162-65.
The pastoral letter rejects the notion
that valid sacramental marriages can be
dissolved and condemns premarital and
extramarital sexual relations. It says
homosexual actions are wrong but calls
for compassionate pastoral care of
homosexuals and condemns
discrimination against them.
It states that justice requires
programs and individual efforts to
overcome the effects of past
discrimination against racial and ethnic
minorities.
Questioning whether war as it is
waged today can be morally justified,
the pastoral says it is wrong to launch a
nuclear attack on civilian populations or
to threaten such an attack as part of a
strategy of military deterrence.
By a 170-61 vote, the bishops
approved the statement supporting
negotiations for a new treaty to return
sovereignty over the Panama Canal to
Panama. The statement called the
existing treaty ‘an anachronism”
reminiscent of “colonial politics.”
The existing treaty, signed in 1903,
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YOUR LOVE CAN SPAN THE GLOBE - The opportunity to help a
less fortunate human in a very personal way is given to each of us during
the Thanksgiving season. Help the overseas poor by donating all the usable
clothing and blankets you can spare. Contributions will be accepted at
your local parish.
Thanksgiving Clothing Drive
The annual Thanksgiving Clothing Collection sponsored by Catholic Relief Services
has as its theme this year, “Blanket the World With Love.”
The collection will be held in all the churches of the Archdiocese from November
25 through December 5. Diocesan Director, Father James A. Miceli has announced the
opening of this year’s drive. He stressed that while the world’s poor and needy can use
all the blankets they can get, there is also a continuing need for lightweight clothing.
“Most of those persons who benefit from the annual Thanksgiving Clothing
Collection live in the warmer, tropical areas of the world,” said Fr. Miceli.
“Lightweight clothing is more than worth its weight to those who live around the
world,” he said. “The ideal donations to the collection are garments made of cotton,
nylon, rayon and polyester. There is also a constant need for infants’ layettes and
children’s clothing as well as work clothes for men,” he added.
Last year Catholics throughout the United States donated more than 11 million
pounds of clothing, blankets and bolt goods to the Thanksgiving collection. These
donations, having a value of $16.6 million, were distributed to poor and needy families
in 49 countries overseas.
Father Miceli pointed out that CRS, in its East Coast processing center, maintains a
500-ton reserve of clothing and blankets to be able to meet any demands resulting
from emergencies or disaster situations. “Because of its reserve of clothing and
blankets, this past year CRS was able to send immediate and urgently needed help to
people made homeless by the earthquake in Guatemala and to the victims of the civil
war in Lebanon”, he said.
He emphasized that the clothing collected in the parish churches is not only used to
clothe the naked. Many of the garments are reprocessed in centers in developing
countries. Thousands of boys and girls are trained in tailoring and dressmaking using
the materials which have been donated to the Thanksgiving appeal. In many countries,
CRS sponsors “Clothing for Work” programs. These programs enable people to take
part in a community improvement project and to receive clothing and blankets as their
reward for their labors.
Father Miceli urged all to “contribute all spare usable clothing and blankets to their
local parish during the appeal week. Last year, thanks to the generosity and immediate
concern of American Catholics, CRS was able to ship 105,222 bales of articles of
clothing and blankets overseas. “The success of the annual collection depends on the
cooperation and generosity of our people at home and benefits millions of people
abroad,” he said.
recognizes Panamanian sovereignty over
the Canal Zone, but gives the United
States “in perpetuity” the rights it
would have if it were sovereign.
The bishops’ statement says that
treaty’s terms “make it impossible for
Panama to be the primary agent of its
own development, because it deprives
the nation of a substantial part of its
territory, income and capacity for
planning the integral development of its
people.”
By a 201-23 vote, the bishops
approved a statement on early
childhood care and education. It called
for efforts in the Church to give
guidance on early childhood
development and religious formation to
parents before the Baptism of their
children. The bishops recommended a
beginning of such instruction several
months before baptism.
Education for parenthood should be
given also to engaged couples and
adolescents, the statement said.
The bishops acknowledged a role for
federal, state and local governments in
early childhood care and education
subordinate to the rights of parents.
They endorsed Church action to help
single parents, working mothers and
families where both parents work
outside the home to obtain child care
and education which “reflect their best
wishes and ideals.”
The bishops rejected a proposal for
special funding of education research
and experimentation. The proposal
included a suggestion for raising the
funds by asking voluntary contributions
of a dime a year from the 8 million
students in Catholic schools and
religious education programs.
(Continued on page 8)
Final Nationwide Consultation
Set For Catechetical Directory
WASHINGTON (NC) - The final
nationwide consultation on the National
Catechetical Directory (NCD) will be
carried out through dioceses acting as
units and will involve bishops more, said
Archbishop John F. Whealon of
Hartford, Conn., chairman of the
committee on the NCD.
In a report to the fall general meeting
of the National Conference of Catholic
Bishops (NCCB), Archbishop Whealon
recalled that the NCD preparation
process has already included two
extensive nationwide consultations of
Catholics. During the last one, 76,000
responses from groups and individuals
came to the NCD committee and its
staff, he said.
The next and final nationwide
consultation is “to be more reflective of
the local diocesan Church,” Archbishop
Whealon said. The diocesan NCD
coordinators will arrange meetings to
discuss the document, collect and
collate responses. Each bishop will go
over the report from his diocese,
comment on it and add to it, the
archbishop said.
The reasons for the new approach, he
said, are:
- “To develop a smaller and more
controlled number of responses.”
- To obtain responses that are “more
reflective of the local Church.”
- To prepare for the final revision of
the text during which amendments can
be made only by bishops.
During the NCCB meeting here,
Bishop Mark Hurley of Santa Rosa,
Calif., criticized the way previous NCD
consultations have been carried out.
They brought in a mass of unselected
data, he said, suggesting that obtaining
responses from a scientifically selected
sample group would provide a more
accurate indication of the thinking of
U.S. Catholics.
The draft NCD that will be sent out
next month for the consultation, is
“considerably improved,” Archbishop
Whealon said. It is “not perfect, but is
perfectible,” he added.
The final consultation is to be
completed by next March when
diocesan recommendations will be sent
to the NCD committee. Information
from this consultation will be available
to the bishops at their general meeting
next spring.
During the summer, the NCD
committee will complete work on the
document. Then the bishops’ committee
of policy and review will prepare the
final revision of the text to be sent to all
U.S. bishops next September.
The NCCB is to give final approval to
the directory at its general meeting next
fall. The NCD is then to be submitted to
the Vatican for approval.
BuLUti t\S
“Contradiction In Terms”
VATICAN CITY (NC) - Pope Paul has vigorously condemned the Christians for
Socialism movement, calling it a “contradiction in terms.” His attack came two days
before the movement was to open its first European conference in Utrecht, the
Netherlands. Speaking at his general audience Nov. 10, the Pope also strongly implied
that members of Christians for Socialism are “intentionally manipulating” the aims of
Christianity to serve socialism. Christians for Socialism holds that a Christian can be a
socialist without explicitly giving up the faith or subconsciously slipping into atheism.
Peace Rally Scheduled
LONDON (NC) - Cardinal George Basil Hume of Westminster, Anglican Archbishop
Donald Coggan, of Canterbury and Dr. John Huxtable, moderator of the Free Church
Federal Council, will lead an Irish peace rally in London’s Trafalgar Square Nov. 27.
The rally, sponsored by the Belfast-based Peace people, is the finale in a series of rallies
the group has mounted in British cities this autumn.
1,600 At Italian Conference
ROME (NC) - A historic conference of the Italian Church here has called for a new
social and political presence of Italian Catholics in an Italy characterized as suffering
from “painless Americanization.” The conference, the first in Italy attended by
priests, bishops, Religious and laity meeting on a national level as equals, also voiced a
stern warning to leftist Catholics in Italy against establishing a “parallel Church.”
Conference leaders said the 1,600 participants in the meetings sponsored by the Italian
bishops had reached broad agreement on some points. Among them were that all
Church undertakings must give “preference to the poor”; the Italian Church must
move from a “slow, disorganized renewal” since Vatican Council II toward a clear
understanding of “what the Church really is”; the period of strict identification
between the Christian Democratic party and the Catholic Church is over.