Newspaper Page Text
Dear Tulsa ....
BY MSGR. JOHN F. MCDONOUGH - RECTOR, CATHEDRAL PARISH
I have been asked to write a few 'words to the priests of the Diocese of Tulsa,
Oklahoma, telling them something about Bishop-elect Eusebius Beltran. I am happy to
comply and begin with a conversation that took place in a rectory in Atlanta, Georgia,
early on Tuesday morning when the news of Monsignor Beltran’s appointment to
Tulsa was received.
Upon hearing the news of the appointment, the housekeeper asked the pastor,
‘‘Does that mean that Monsignor Beltran is now more important than Monsignor Don
Kieman?” (PR Man personified) The learned man paused for a few moments and then
replied, “That is a good question.”
After all, how many Melkite Archimandrites are there in the Roman Rite? And then
all those positions and honors and degrees that he has, and all those policemen and
officers he knows all over the country. Yes, there is no doubt about it, Monsignor
Kieman is an important man, but then he never was a member of the Thursday Group
and Monsignor Beltran was, and that might make the difference.
My dear Confreres in Tulsa, it would take too much of your time to tell you
completely about the Thursday Group, but briefly it is a group of learned and
distinguished priests of the Archdiocese of Atlanta whose main addiction is the game
of golf. They meet religiously on Thursday, summer, winter, good weather or bad, on
a different golf course, in a different rectory each week.
Monsignor Beltran’s golf game can charitably be described as determined. But
frankly Georgia is not sending to Tulsa another Bishop Andy McDonald, and Atlanta is
not sending another Bobby Jones. So, on the green sward, lay your bets with
impunity. But, if you are casting a line on the deep or in an inland pond, be careful.
Izaak Walton could take lessons from him.
However, when it comes to traveling, Bishop-elect Beltran is another Martin of
Tours. He is the Tour Director not only of the Archdiocese but also of the South - the
East - the West. He and “his girls” have not invaded the North. It probably is a good
thing that Monsignor Beltran is leaving town. Our sources tell us that the “High
Spirits” and “Carrying-ons” among girls on these trips might suggest a mature
chaperone in the future.
Although Monsignor Beltran may not be another Martin of Tours, on a recent trip
to New Orleans he received a book, “Frenchmen, Desire, Good Children,” which had
an unusual inscription written by the author. It reads: “To Monsignor Beltran, a sort
(Continued on page 2)
Dear Atlanta
Bishop - Elect Eusebius J. Beltran
BY FATHER DENNIS DORNEY - CHANCELLOR, DIOCESE OF TULSA
Greetings from the people of the Diocese of Tulsa to Bishop-elect Beltran and his
fellow Georgians!
Our reporters tell us that our new Bishop is among the “underprivileged of the
land” - he has never really been to Eastern Oklahoma and knows little about it.
As he prepares to move “up” or shall we simply say “West” in this world, we would
like you and his friends to know a little about us - his new family.
It’s hard to describe us and our feeling of pride for Eastern Oklahoma so we thought
the only was to do ourselves justice is to work from A to Z.
A — From Arts to Aviation
B — From Ballet to Bluegrass
C — From Churches to Cowboys
D — From Drama to Dogwood
E — From Evangelists to Ethnic Groups
F — From Fashion to Ferris Wheels
G — From Gilcrease’s Remington’s to Gasoline Plants
H — From Hospitals, distinguished to Heifers, white-faced
I — From Indian Chiefs to Industry Moguls
J — From Jonquils to Jaycee Headquarters
K — From Katydids to Kiamichi Mountains
L — From Libraries to Lariats
M — From Mansions to Mistletoe
N — From National Notables to Native Okies
O — From Oil Companies to Oral Roberts
P — From Philbrook Art to Fishing Holes
Q — From Quail a-flying to Quartets a-singing
R — From Rose Gardens to Rodeos
S — From Shakespeare to Slapstick
T — From Tug Boats up from the Mississippi to Tornadoes across the plains
U — From Universities and Colleges aplenty to Unpaved Roads a-many
V — From Victorious Teams (No. 1) to Vacation Land (Green Country)
W — From Wild West Shows to White Tie Affairs
X — From Ex-Po Square to Ex-Texans
Y — From Yankee transplants to Yawl’s Bishop
Z — From Zoos to Zinnias.
Could we go on, you bet we could. But let us simply conclude that we know that
Atlanta’s loss will be Tulsa’s gain.
ScvtfamiJtfm
Bishop Zeb
The alarm breaks your sleep.
Eighteen years of rectory-priesthood
and you still find an enemy in your
clock. Johnny Carson’s monologue
wasn’t worth last night’s late vigil. He
remains on your list of abstinences to
achieve.
It was all a dream. Surely. All a
dream. But your eye catches the
envelope as you illicitly depress the
extra ten-minute-button. You see the
blue emblem on the upper left hand
comer. It bears the heart stopper stamp
of immediacy that every cleric knows.
“Apostolic Delegation.” You remember
trying not to tear it as you curiously
opened it less than twenty-four hours
ago. It was concise - you are the new
Bishop of Tulsa.
No dream. And no more sleep as you
lean back, grateful for these ten
minutes. Leaving
the familiar comes
to your mind.
Faces, places,
times, all must stay
behind as the
reality of an
adventure opens
up. Your family is
here, already you
miss them. They,
along with this
city, have been
your home. You all
grew up together and till this moment,
you had somewhat ignored the familiar,
comfortable, interdependence of that
association.
There are other faces too. Vagabonds
you helped and who helped you.
People-props of your daily apostolate
and of course “the guys” who made a
mid-week-oasis out of each Thursday of
each week. They all remain behind with
the familiar, missing - but somehow
replacing - the contribution you made
to their world. You are going to Tulsa.
That’s what the letter said. You had
strange feelings re-reading that letter.
Men who were legends scanned those
same lines before you. Giants, who
bestowed leadership on the Church with
vigor and prophecy, were initiated with
those same words.
Roncalli to be Pope John XXIII
opened a letter like yours. So did John
England, bishop - apostle of the South.
Fulton Sheen, the most famous voice of
the American Church, the Bernardins,
the Hallinans, the Donnellans - all
began with your simple letter.
For the most part they were men
born with exclusive talents for this
exclusive club coming to us from the
Apostles. They were men who didn’t
need a Council but inspired one to
happen. And when it did happen in our
own lifetime, their contributions
chiseled out phrases for Bishops who
would follow.
As lofty as he is, a bishop “should
stand in the midst of his people as one
who serves.” They figured that phrase as
a sheer must. And they took joy in
giving birth to another. A bishop
“should arrange his life in such a way as
to accommodate it to the needs of the
time.” They could write it, stand by it
and applaud it because they were the
bright lights who lived it.
Now, you join them, a teaching voice
in that mysterious College formed two
thousand years ago by a mendicant
Rabbi.
The alarm ends this musing. No more
stealing from the new day.
The Second Bishop of Tulsa is on his
way to the kitchen for the first coffee
brew of his episcopate.
fin
UU
Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta
Vol. 16 No. 10
Thursday, March 9, 1978
$5 Per Year
MRS. HELEN BELTRAN, mother of Bishop-Elect Eusebius J. Beltran.
THE LATE JOSEPH C. BELTRAN receives the blessing of his
newly-ordained son in 1960. The Bishop-elect’s brother, Father Joseph
Beltran, is at left.
BISHOP’S MOTHER:
‘I’m Sad And I’m Glad.
BY MICHAEL MOTES
Happiness at the child’s good fortune
of career advancement, but remorse at
the thought of the move that will cause
family separation is a typical and innate
maternal attitude.
Such is the attitude of Mrs. Helen
Kozlowski Beltran, mother of
Bishop-Elect Eusebius J. Beltran. But
Mrs. Beltran, whose son becomes Tulsa,
Oklahoma’s second bishop on April 20
in ceremonies at Tulsa’s Cathedral of
the Holy Family, is far from a typical
mother.
With eight living children, two of
whom are priests-and one a Sister of the
Bemardine Order of Saint Francis, Mrs.
Beltran has become accustomed to the
comings and goings of her large brood.
“I’m sad and I’m glad,” she said while
discussing her son’s appointment.
“We’re happy for him, but we’re sorry
that he’s going to leave us. All of my life
my children have come and gone and
that’s their life.
“As Vicar General, Father Zeb,” as
the Bishop-Elect has been known for
years, “has travelled a lot, so I’m
accustomed to him being away. But I
will miss our Tuesdays together.”
The “Tuesdays together” are very
special for the widow and her friend,
Mrs. Helen Berlew, who shares Mrs.
Beltran’s Decatur home.
Mrs. Berlew, with whom Mrs. Beltran
grew up in their native Wilkes-Barre,
Pennsylvania, is also a widow and lost
her sight several years ago. She has lived
with Mrs. Beltran for a number of years
and so close are the family ties that all
of the Beltran children affectionately
refer to her as “Aunt Helen.”
Each Tuesday morning at 6:30, Mrs.
Beltran and Mrs. Berlew are picked up
by the Bishop-Elect and driven to Saint
Anthony’s rectory, the Vicar General’s
pastorate since June 1972.
They spend their day “housekeeping
for Father Zeb,” says Mrs. Beltran. “We
love going there. Mrs. Berlew takes care
of the living quarters and I do all that I
can to help. We have a wonderful day
together and return home in the
afternoon.”
‘In Christ We Are One
The Beltran family has always been a
close-knit and deeply religious family
unit. The late Joseph C. Beltran, head of
the clan, was a native of Spain, where he
once studied for the priesthood.
Arriving in the United States to visit
his brother in Pennsylvania, the late Mr.
Beltran met Miss Helen Kozlowski.
“I met Joe through a cousin,” recalls
Mrs. Beltran. “The Beltrans lived around
the corner from us in Wilkes-Barre and
my cousin told me about the visitor
from Spain. When we first met, he had
very little to say and was rather shy. He
spoke little English, but was
well-educated, having studied for the
priesthood in Spain and later deciding
to become an engineer.”
The initial meeting with “the visitor
from Spain” developed into courtship
and marriage and left Mrs. Beltran with
fond memories of her in-laws.
“I’ve always said that I owe it to my
mother-in-law that I have two sons who
became priests,” Mrs. Beltran said.
The senior Mrs. Beltran had wanted
her Joe to become a priest. When the
younger Beltrans’ son, Joseph, decided
to enter the priesthood, he told his
parents, “Grandma always prayed for a
priest in the family, so she’s getting her
wish!”
Actually, there had been several
priests on both sides of the
Beltran-Kozlowski family, including
three brothers on Mr. Beltran’s side who
were all Missionaries of Saint Augustine
in Spain.
“God has always helped us and
always kept us closely together,” Mrs.
Beltran says. “We have had long periods
of sickness in the family and my
husband, who was a miner, was without
work at times. But God has always
provided and we’ve stayed happy and
close.”
Mrs. Beltran further elaborated, by
saying that when Father Joe was in
seminary, he was known as “the Lord
provides Beltran,” having been instilled
(Continued on page 2)
ArckbisJiop’s Office
756 West Peachtree Street, N. W.
Atlanta, Georgia 30308
March 7, 1978
My dear People:
I take this opportunity to express to you my deep gratitude for your truly
generous response to our Annual Archdiocesan Charities Drive. Thanks to
you it was a success again. Indeed the total you contributed was the largest
amount in the Drive’s history.
To each of you and to all of you, to Drive chairpersons and workers, to
every contributor, to those who wanted to give but were unable, I extend my
sincere appreciation. I am grateful for your generosity and especially for your
continued willingness to share in the life and work of the Church here. Please
be assured of my prayers for you and your families.
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Most Reverend Thomas A. Donnellan
Archbishop of Atlanta
Bishop-Elect Beltran’s Motto
i
i