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PAGE 4—'The Georgia Bulletin, December 9,1976
Editorial
Parental Failure
A recent study commissioned by the
U.S.C.C. Education Department
indicates youth are challenging religious
beliefs at a younger age.
This earlier challenge is accompanied,
according to the study, by a decline in
attendance at religious services; a decline
in the percentage of youth who believe
in life after death, who regard the bible
as God’s word; who pray daily.
The study also notes significant
increases in the percentages of
adolescents who consider sexual
relations before marriage to be all right
in some circumstances and increases in
the use of marijuana or other drugs, in
suicide tendency, running away from
home, fraud and theft.
The study rightly places the
responsibility for the questioning of
moral values squarely on the shoulders
of parents.
“A major factor which influences the
religiousness of youth is their parent’s
orientation to religion,” the report says.
It noted the finding that parent-child
relationships and parental images are
important in the formation of concepts
of God. “Parents influence their
children’s religion overtly by
socialization and indirectly by the way
they relate to their children.
In recent years the church has devoted
more and more of its efforts towards
Ministry to Youth. We have Folk Tune
Masses directed primarily to youth; full
time Diocesan Youth Ministers; Special
Retreat Programs such as SEARCH; an
ever increasing Campus Ministry.
These efforts by the Church
undoubtedly have provided answers for
the probing minds of many of our youth
growing up in a society becoming more
secularistic each day. But these efforts
can’t reach youth already turned away
by the actions of their parents.
The last dozen years have seen many
Catholics place increasing emphasis on
personal conscience, many forgetting the
need of that conscience being rightly
formed. The result has been an increased
questioning of Church authority. Isn’t it
only natural that their children are
questioning moral values?
Has the church failed youth. The
answer is no. But in many cases youth
have been failed by their parents.
This study is additional evidence of
the importance of Adult Religious
Education. Our youth are only reflecting
the attitudes of their parents.
An Evening
With Edith Blicksilver
Teresa Gernazian
You never know what will happen next, do
you? I never thought I’d be eating anything
from Russia but the other evening, there I was
enjoying a tasty chocolate from Russia offered
by gracious hostess, Edith Blicksilver. The
candy, sent by a friend in Russia, topped off a
delightful evening during which she shared with
me her experiences from four trips to Russia.
Edith, English Professor at Georgia Tech,
specializes in the changing role of women in
Soviet literature and also in ethnic studies. She
will read a paper on the problems of the
American Indian woman at the Modern
Language Convention in New York on
December 26 and she also does book reviews
for the Sunday paper. Edith is as charming as
she is busy, and after I had spoken to two of
her English classes recently, I decided to do a
feature about her.
Two of her trips were on conventions
accompanying her husband, Jack, economist at
Georgia State. At one of these, she met a
Russian teacher, whom she visited on the other
trips. They exchange letters, and gifts and it
was she who had sent the candy. Edith had
been in Leningrad twice on the fourth of July.
In 1975, she was there with a University of
California at Berkeley summer seminar group
and was written up in the Leningrad paper.
Though visitors are treated with warmth and
friendliness. and Edith treasures her
experiences, she was quite content to be in
America on the Bicentennial fourth of July.
One out of every 10 or so letters are opened
and nothing controversial about the policy of
the state, which is atheistic, is allowed. All
registered parcels are opened and if there is
anything religious or what seems unhealthy (for
example, gum) it is returned.
Many churches are now museums, visited for
their architecture. A few churches are
functioning but they and priests are few and far
between. She visited an Orthodox church and
saw mostly older women, children, and a few
handicapped, but their fervor and devotion
were to be admired.
Edith then showed me her collection of
Russian holiday cards; some she picked up
while there, others which have been mailed. No
Christian symbol of any kind is permitted and
the words Holiday Greetings rather than
Christmas are used. The cards depict either
Grandfather Prost, a space craft, ornamented
trees or something of that nature; often with a
red star in the background. December 31 is the
big holiday and the time for family parties and
gift exchanging. Though no religious outward
display is allowed, Edith feels religious
convictions are still deep in the hearts of many
Russians.
Many of their family customs top ours -
their elderly stay at home; their teenagers go
along with parents to parks, etc; and they spend
more time reading and learning the art forms.
So in these areas, we can learn from them. But
as we make our plans for celebrating the birth
of Jesus, thinking about Christmas in Russia,
makes one especially grateful for our right to
worship openly as we please.
Thanks, Edith, for a lovely evening.
Catholic A irhiixx'csr <>J Atlanta
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Rev. Peter A. Dora - Editor
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photomeditation
Photo and Text by Carl J. Pfeifer
(Copyright, 1976, NC Newsservice)
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TEARING DOWN
Called
By
Name
Georgia Carolina Ministry
Rev. Robert Mattingly
Vocation Director
Diocese of Savannah
ADVENT - A TIME
TO GROW IN
VOCATIONAL AWARENESS
The great figures of Advent - Isaiah, Mary,
John the Baptist, can be symbols of our own
self-understanding. Isaiah examined life around
him and thus discovered his vocation. Mary was
told that a sword would pierce her own soul
(LK. 2:35). By patiently suffering with her son,
her vocation elicited a total response from her.
John the Baptist knew that he was not the
Messiah. He knew he was simply one who
would prepare the way for the Lord (LK. 3:5).
Thus his vocation was strong and unwavering.
Urban renewers . . . tear down a building . . . crashing into walls that once provided
shelter . . . into rooms that experienced unseen acts ... of tenderness and harshness . . .
caring and disregard . . . celebration and desecration . . . life and death.
Workers paid to destroy ... to demolish . . . what once was a sanctuary of
community . . . and nurturer of creativity ... in order to make way for new
buildings . . . more hospitable to people . . . more stimulating of creativity . . . with
their steel instruments of destruction . . . they tear down ... to build up.
The dust rising from the rubbled walls . . . chokes one with sadness . . . for
something has died . . . but the cleared space . . . expands one’s heart ... to sense
possibilities for new life . . . latent in the scarred space.
Advent for us today can be meaningful if we,
like the great figures of Advent, examine life
around us, willingly join our sufferings to those
of Christ, and prayerfully discern who we are
called to be. Advent is a call to faith not only in
the meaning of man’s history but also a call to
faith in the importance of each individual’s life.
Isaiah was the Thomas More of the Old
Testament. He was a contemporary of Amos
and Osee. He was a prophet of holiness. He saw
that the people had been unfaithful to God, so
he spent his life in helping others to know
God’s love.
Tearing down ... is part of every upbuilding ... in renewing cities . . . and
people . . . Dying contains seeds of new life . . . which blossoms only through death.
As God sent His prophet Jeremiah ... so he sends each of us . . . into our own
hearts . . . and into our world ...
“to root up and to tear down,
to destroy and demolish,
to build and to plant.” (Jeremiah 1 :10)
Advent —
>
A Time To Expect
t
Rev. Noel Rurtenshaw
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The fate of a convicted killer has grasped our
attention these last few weeks. Will Gary
Gilmore be executed for his crimes, as is his
wish? The country is thinking about it - there
are lots of pros and cons and the case is debated
openly and in the news.
It’s a terrible way for a nation of Christians
to celebrate Advent. Whether he should die or
should not die and whether he should have a
say, is all irrelevant when you remember we are
celebrating this Season of Waiting. We are
distracted and the guns that shatter the silence,
taking his life, will distract us more and could
easily ruin this season for us.
The greatest event in the history of the world
is going to be reenacted and we are thinking
about the execution of a killer. It is bad enough
that Christmas tinsels will distract us and take
our minds off the Savior - but this gruesome
side-show is almost outrageous. However, it is a
good indication of the kind of society we have
built and now live with.
The Old Testament tells us during these
weeks of the tireless efforts of the Prophets to
forecast the beauty of the Messiah’s era. It
would be fantastic. According to Baraeh it
would be a time when “God would show the
earth his splendor.” And he would do it in
simple but impressive ways. He would, the
Prophets said, take away their everyday
sufferings. There would be bread on the table,
rain on the fields and crops swaying in the
wind. They would have good homes and big
flocks and time to praise and worship God.
All this would come to pass for them when
the Savior would come. No wonder they
watched for him. And what about us? How
would he show his splendor to us?
We have plenty. We have bread on the table
and security in our lives. So what do we want
when the Savior comes? What kind of newness
do we want? There are many. Wouldn’t it be
nice to have a time of peace? No more war. No
more threats of terror. No more nuclear
factories, arms races or threats of destruction.
Wouldn't it be nice to have no more crime,
brotherhood on our streets in our
neighborhood and all over our cities? Helping
hands instead of barred doors. Food for the
hungry instead of Welfare handouts. And above
all - wouldn’t it be nice to have no more Gary
Gilmores or his like. No more execution
decisions to be made in our time.
These are the Blessings and the Signs we
want when the Savior comes. And we bring
them about when we see in those words of
John the Baptist “when we see the Salvation of
God” before us. It is not enough to look for the
Savior in the crib. We look for him where he
points. When you fed them, clothed them,
visited them, gave to them, you gave to me. We
see the Savior and his salvation in each other.
This is the Season of waiting, wanting, and
hungering. And all our wishes are going to come
through as we each receive the Lord and give
him away. Then we make all hungers satisfied
and all mankind sees the Salvation of God.
S >
Flip Quips
That nasty thought in the mind, that
slips off the tip of the tongue can bounce
back as a rap in the teeth!
A long, slow drag on grass could
foreshadow a sudden skid on the
expressway to eternity.
The Hays-Ray lights up a body of low
morals in high places and places high
priority for moral scruples in the body
politic.
Capital Punishment. . .
ATLANTA - The '-.-tide in the November
25, 1976 issue of THE GEORGIA BULLETIN
captioned “ ‘Prison Bishop’ Condemns ‘Hanging
Judge’ Mentality” reports the strong
anti-capital punishment views of Bishop Joseph
A. Durick and his describing Oscare Bonesana
Beccaria as a “wise and compassionate Christian
lawyer in Italy” who, in 1764, pleaded for the
end of capital punishment.
What Beccaria recommended in place of
capital punishment is not quite what I would
view a “wise and compassionate Christian
lawyer” as suggesting. Beccaria wrote “In order
that a punishment be just it should have only
the degree of intensity sufficient to keep men
from committing crimes. No one today, in
contemplating it, would choose total and
perpetual lose of his own freedom, no matter
how profitable a crime might be. Therefore the
intensity of the punishment of perpetual
servitude as substitute for the death penalty
possesses that which suffices to deter any
determined soul. I say that is has more. Many
look on death with a firm and calm regard -
some from fanaticism, some from vanity which
always accompanies man beyond the tomb,
some in a last desperate attempt either to live
no longer or to escape misery - but neither
fanaticism nor vanity dwells among fetters and
chains, under the rod, under the yoke or in an
iron cage, when the evil-doer begins his
We like Isaiah are called through the
Sacrament of Baptism to be witnesses of light -
prophets of holiness. Today during Advent the
world especially needs each one of us who
claim to be followers of Jesus to reflect upon
the situation in which we live, pray, and work
so as to respond better in love.
Our Blessed Lady held nothing back in giving
herself completely to the Heavenly Father. Her
“yes” to God was total. Therefore, Mary
willingly entered into her Son’s Passion and
because of her deep love for Him, she suffered
with Him.
Advent is a time to reflect on the way we
handle suffering in our own vocation. For the
celibate, striving for complete purity of heart
will involve and intense suffering. For the
married person, giving oneself in good times
and in bad will likewise involve an intense
suffering. Yet, it is only through suffering that
we are purified.
Finally, John the Baptist was tempted to be
many things that he was not called to be. His
intense personal relationship with the Father
enabled him to discern his true identity - a
proclaimer - one who prepares the way.
Advent could be used as a time to discern
our vocation within our vocation. Exactly what
is God calling each one of us to within the large
vocational areas of celibacy and marriage?
Much unhappiness stems from a failure to pray
for discernment. Happiness comes when we
know God’s will and we know we are
responding as fully as possible.
Life does not allow perfect lucidity. One
must live by faith. However, unless we take
advantage of periods like Advent, we can easily
move from year to year without taking the
proper time for prayer and reflection and thus
miss the “now” moments in which to grow.
sufferings instead of terminating them.”
I know Bishop Durick would not recommend
this treatment for the convicted murderer.
What, then, is the responsible and humane
way of dealing with the convicted murderer?
Life imprisonment? But being sentenced to a
life term does not mean life imprisonment. I am
conducting a study to determine what being
sentenced to life imprisonment actually means
in terms of years served. In Georgia the length
of time served on the average by the “lifer”
amounts to slightly less than 11 years. Other
states furnished somewhat similar figures. Few
inmates die while serving life sentences.
In my view, the death sentence is legally and
morally justified in those few cases where
persons have been convicted of heinous,
outrageous and brutal crimes. The law is such
now that the death sentence will not be meted
out in an arbitrary and capricious fashion.
No reasonable or rational person wants
capital punishment should a viable alternative
exist. But no such alternative exists at this time
in our society; hence, tragically and
consequently, we must have capital punishment
in those certain few cases.
JOHN P. GRANFIELD
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR
GEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY
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Frank J. McArdle
Letters... Letters
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