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PAGE 4
The Georgia Bulletin
August 3,1978
The Test Tube
And The Baby
The scientific accomplishment has
been mind boggling. The success of the
endeavor has made one couple happy to
an extreme. The world of medicine,
science and mankind just in general
stands in awe. A fetus has been produced
outside the womb and inserted in the
uterus to develop. Certainly a milestone.
However we carefully note:
Artificial insemination has been
condemned by the Church. Pope Pius
XII specifically forbade the process in
1949. He even forbade insemination by
the husband. The Pope said, "We are
turning the warm hearth that is marriage
into a biological laboratory.”
We further note: This process falls
within the excited whirlwind context of
EXPERIMENTATION. Not with white
mice or laboratory rats or assorted
guinea pigs. It is experimentation on
people. It is a hair-raising thought.
Tyrants of every age have been
condemned for their inhuman callous
acts on defenseless life. Will this latest
incident lead to anything less?
The further question: The failures?
If experimentation takes place on many
eggs, and if only one is used, what
happens to the rest? Do we simply
discard them and consign them to the
garbage dump?
The questions of moral and ethical
conduct cannot be taken lightly by any
serious thinking human being. The
English scientists refuse to be labeled
"Frankinsteins.” We would be slow to
brand these professionals as such. But in
the name of good medicine and progress
for mankind, are we not entering
forbidden areas where even the great
tread lightly?
The divine plan for creation has
never been completely unveiled. We are
made in an image and likeness of the
Unseen. The original drawing has a
copyright that is jealously guarded.
--NCB
Working Women
By Sheila Mallon
Last Saturday I paid a visit to the Notre
Dame Book Shop at its new location at
5269-16 Buford Highway just behind Pinetree
Plaza.
I was anxious to visit the shop because I
had learned some of the history behind it
recently. The store was founded by Father
John Schroder, S.J., and his mother Mrs.
William Schroder, as a service to the Church in
Atlanta. The rest is history, for with the help of
many volunteers over the years as well as the
support of all the parishes, institutions and
people in the Catholic Community it is
flourishing today in this most acessible plaza.
The bookshop’s prime mentor, Elena
DeGive, has been active in its affairs for more
years than she cares to mention. It is sufficient
to say that she has helped move the shop eight
times. Some of the more recent moves have
been from the old Marist building, Sacred Heart
Church a and most recently from Ignatius
House in northwest Atlanta.
This Saturday, the store was packed with
shoppers. In fact Elena says it has been so busy
in the new location that they are having
difficulty getting unpacked.
Perhaps, but the shop looked lovely when I
saw it; bright & airy with lots of room. A large
selection of paperback and hard cover books
are of course the focal point, but there are also
plaques, greeting cards, religious articles,
jewelry, pictures, garden statuary and so on - all
beautifully displayed.
I was particularly impressed by the number
of childrens books that were displayed. If you
have looked as I have for attractive, easy to
read books for your children or grandchildren
then you will probably find what you need
here.
Elena and her helpers are charming,
intelligent and helpful and the size of the shop
allows for a plentiful, well-rounded supply of
books and merchandise. There is plenty of
literature available on the study of the
Scriptures as well as a fine selection of
paperback and hard cover Bibles. A section
(about to be enlarged) is devoted to Liturgical
Music - records, song books and sheet music.
This is the place to come to shop for that
book you have always meant to read or the
present you need for a Christening,
Confirmation or Wedding. Among the lovely
gifts are framed Needle Art Items, hand loomed
in Austria on one hundred and fifty year old
looms.
The MARTA bus comes up (or down)
Buford Highway and stops right at Pinetree
Plaza so even non-drivers will be able to reach
this shop.
The Notre Dame Book Shop is a non-profit
organization. As such, the shop of course
depends on volunteer help. If you could give
some time to this worthy endeavor please call
Elena and friends at 458-1779.
By the way, you may know of someone
with some expertise in Liturgical Music who
would be willing to give some time or train
other helpers in this fast growing area - it would
be especially appreciated. See you there!
MOVIE REVIEW
“Heaven Can Wait” is the title of a new
Warren Beatty movie playing around town.
Although it was rated P.G. I’m afraid I
approached it with some trepidation since Mr.
Beatty has not exactly been famous for his
appearances in movies not rated at least R.
I was pleasantly surprised, the movie is fun.
A happy movie of the same genre of some of
the old comedies like “It Happened One Night”
or “Adam’s Rib” for those of you old enough
to remember them.
A couple of unnecessary inclusions
evidently caused the movie to be rated P. G.
instead of G and the only reason I could
determine for those inclusions was that the box
office pays off better for the P. G. ratings. A
rather sad commentary if true.
Warren plays a young quarterback for an
NFL football team - he is killed just before the
big game and finds himself on the way to
Heaven. James Mason plays the urbane
gentleman who discovers that a mistake has
been made and that Warren has been “taken”
too soon.
Most of the hilarity results from their
attempts to locate another “body” for Warren
to use so that he may renter life in time to play
in the Super Bowl.
Julie Christie plays the love interest and all
in all the movie was an enjoyable one.
\The
Gejoryia
!\
Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta
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The Evils Of Communism
Teresa Gernazian
Mothers with tearful faces place their small
children on a bus destined for a government
camp. The children, who will be further
indoctrinated in communist idiology, will be
separated from their parents for several months.
This “service” is rendered by the government so
that the mothers can be productive workers at
their government-assigned jobs.
Tragically true, this scene was described in
a newsletter I received recently. The writer had
viewed slides taken by an acquaintance who
had toured Russia and was permitted by the
guide to take pictures.
The evils of communism are endless. In the
past few weeks, the world’s attention has been
caught by news stories of two Russian
dissidents who have been given severe prison
sentences. A third dissident, Roman Catholic
Victoras Petkus from Lithuania, recently
received the maximum sentence of 15 years in
prison, though his case received little publicity.
Protest has been voiced by Christian and
Jewish leaders throughout the world, yet the
diabolical verdict in each case is retained. The
scourge upon humanity grows and currently
more than one billion people are enslaved by
communism.
Cardinal Yu Pin, Chinese Prelate, wrote a
stark critique on the 20th Anniversary of the
Cardinal Mindszenty Foundation.
“Communism finds in religion today,” he
writes, “invaluable allies in its quest for global
domination. The fantastic plan to turn the
Church into an instrument of Communist
conquest would be unbelievable if we did not
see it all happening before our eyes. The
strategy of Catholics favorable to Marxism
lends support to the Marxist cause on religious
SMILING THROUGH IT ALL -
Most of these Indochinese refugee
children manage to smile as they peei^
through barbed wire fence at a camp in
northeast Thailand. Some of the
children’s parents are considered
‘What’s Happening Conference’ . . .
ATLANTA - We read with interest and
concern the letter of Mary Ellen Hughes,
Respect Life Coordinator of the Archdiocese of
Atlanta, in the GEORGIA BULLETIN. We also
attended the What’s Happening Conference in
June and would like to point out to readers
that there was never at any time 4,000
teenagers in attendance as Ms. Hughes states.
By actual head count the first day of the
meeting; checking with guards who regularly
work at the World Congress Center and are
accustomed to “counting”; and by checking the
registration desk, we ascertained that
attendance was under 2,000, with youngsters
comprising approximately half of this figure
and adults, the other half.
We interviewed many of the teenagers
attending and our observations (published in
the July 2 Issue of the NATIONAL CATHOLIC
REGISTER) were quite different from those
reported by Ms. Hughes.
Every possible form of artificial birth
control was tauted at the Conference, even one
that has not been on the market too long and
has since been reported by the FDA as needing
stricter warnings because of serious side effects.
Exhibit booths had graphic descriptions of
birth control devices which were on display for
everyone attending, regardless of age.
Abortion clinic exhibits abounded and
they also had plenty of handouts. To quote the
much-lauded LIFELETTER ‘78, No. 10, put
out by the Ad Hoc Committee in Defense of
Life, Inc: “ ... . the slick Summit Center
handouts included one on “Birth Control
Choices” - next to an intriguing little
same-sized item with a cover blank but for the
small-type statement ‘Suppose you were
pregnant and did not want to be.’ Inside; big,
bold instructions on ‘what you should know’
about getting an abortion, ending with the flat
headline ‘A safe legal abortion is available for
all women’ just above the Center’s address and
phone on a card with the legend ‘Cut this out
and keep it in your wallet. You or a friend may
someday need help.’” (LIFELETTER dubbed
the Conference “El Rauncho Grande.”)
Conference planners feel that HEW will
fund another one next year. Speculative plans
were discussed by participants interested in
having a similar conference in their city. Our
investigation revealed that Iowa prevented such
a program being staged in their state by strong
community protest. Perhaps letters to Mr.
Califano, Secretary of HEW, will prevent a
repeat of this sort of gross material from ever
being displayed to young people again.
politically suspect by the Thai
government. There are reportedly more
than 100,000 refugees from the
Communist regimes of Vietnam,
Cambodia and Laos in Thai camps such
as this one. (NC Photo)
grounds; some even present an image of Jesus as
the subversive man from Nazareth and are
involved in organizations to help bring Marxism
to power. The International Communist
Movement is engaged in a most ambitious
deception manuever to control the world.”
When I was in Inverness, Florida, in May of
this year for the Mariapolis, we were privileged
to meet Father Peter Kurgus, O.P., who wrote
an excellent booklet, “Why is Communism
Intrinsically Evil? - Rome is the Big Prize.”
(Fifty cents each; 10 for $4 - address Russian
Center of Our Lady of Fatima, 101 20th
Avenue, San Francisco, California 94121). It
clearly traces the evil nature of atheistic
communism in a style easy to understand with
documented facts.
According to Father Kurgus, the
communist effort to destroy the Church is
clearly expressed in a document, “The Catholic
Church in Cuba: A Program of Action.” This
manifesto was printed in China and distributed
by the foreign-language press of Peking, and
used with success against the Church in China.
The following quotations are verified: “When
the political struggle and the productive forces
have reached a certain level, we shall then be in
a position to destroy the Church.” .. . “The
first line of action to be followed consists in
educating, persuading, convincing the Catholics
to participate in study-circles and political
activities.” ... “We shall progressively replace
the religious element by the Marxist element.”
.. . “The Church must not be allowed to
preserve its supra-national character.” . .. “The
next step is to destroy the link existing between
the Church and the Vatican. Once the
separation of the Church from the Vatican is
complete, we can proceed to the consecration
of Church dignitaries chosen by ourselves.”
Yes, communism is satanic. Christianity
and marxist atheism are incompatible. There is
no such thing as truth, integrity, morality to
the communist. We are flirting with danger
when we think we can pacify or appease them.
Unless we become informed (and we will
not get the whole picture from the secular
press) we will not be sufficiently aroused to
promote public opinion against communism.
Though it seems a minute thread in the total
scheme of things, a letter here, a talk there, an
article elsewhere - public opinion against
communism is vitally important. Silence is
treacherous. Our Christian brothers and sisters
who are being tortured and have had their right
to worship God taken away from them, need
our voices. If we do not speak out, we fail
them .. . and our children and grandchildren.
Cardinal Mindszenty warned his beloved
Hungarians: “Remember if power remains in
the hands of the Communists, even your scythe
and spade will be stamped: GOVERNMENT
PROPERTY.”
It could happen here!
(CONTINUED)
Resound
When a Conference receives national
publicity via NBC Television and is featured in
the New York Times, it is a curiosity that here
where it happened our people received so little
information.
We have a suitcase full of literature which
was either handed out or easily accessible at the
exhibit booths which we will share with anyone
interested, as well as a list of endorsers and
supporters of the Conference. These include,
among many others, Governor Busbee, with a
$10,000 allocation; several manufacturers of
birth control products; Atlanta Board of
Education; Atlanta City Council; State of
Florida, Department of Health and
Rehabilitation Services; Fulton County
Commissioner’s Office; Pardon and Parole
Board; and Commissioner J. O. Wyatt.
To us, it was sickening to wade through
this godless literature fed to youngsters at this
sex-travaganza.
TERRY WEAVER
TERESA GERNAZIAN
CHAMBLEE - In addition to Mary Ellen
Hughes report on the What’s Happening
Conference for teens, I think it needs to be
mentioned that three abortion clinics and four
drug companies with contraceptive information
had booths at this conference. Obviously, the
drug companies were looking to extend their
contraceptive market to a much younger
clientele - quite young, in fact, since some of
the participants were only 11 years old. To
have allowed abortion clinics and contraceptive
promoters to have booths was reprehensible.
It is also appalling that state funds should
have been used for such a shallow and morally
bankrupt conference.
Since most of the teen participants were
black, the black community might well be
outraged at this event - a subtle method of
genocide.
Although the conference was hoping for
4,000 attendance, the number was closer to
2,000. As sometimes happens, teens have more
sense than their elders.
NANCY MOLESKY
Catholic Rights . . .
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - One of our
members sent us a copy of the column, “Must
Catholics Accept Discrimination?” by Teresa
Gernazian, which appeared in your July 20
issue.
I wish to thank you and the author for
bringing our work to the attention of your
readers.
We took action against Doug Sneyd’s
insulting cartoon, which Ms. Gernazian
mentions at the beginning of her article, and
one newspaper cancelled the feature entirely.
MICHAEL SCHWARTZ
CATHOLIC LEAGUE FOR
RELIGIOUS AND CIVIL RIGHTS
“Soviet Jewry Problem’ . . .
ATLANTA - That the so-called Soviet
Jewry problem is not confined to Jews is
dramatically pointed up by the sentencing of
Lithuanian Catholic activist Viktorus Petkus
to 10 years hard labor followed by 5 years of
Siberian exile. His trail was cleverly hidden
behind the Shcharansky and Ginzburg trials.
His crime was founding the Lithuanian branch
of the Helsinki human rights group. The Soviets
of course signed the Helsinki treaty which
guaranteed the right to set up such monitoring
groups.
Like so many Christian religions, the
Roman Catholic church has been restricted to
the point of strangulation. In some areas of the
Soviet Union Catholicism is virtually extinct.
Religious education is forbidden before age 18,
seminaries are closed, churches become
museums. People like Reverend Georgi Vins, a
Baptist, and Viktorus Petkus draw from
Jewish dissidents like Shcharansky to the spark
of hope to save all mankind, Christian and
Jewish. Not only do they face 10 years on a
1000 per day diet but then exile from family
and friends to Siberia. Petkus needs your help
and support.
All over this country people are forming
interreligious Task Forces on Soviet Jewry and
Human Rights. The lives, no less the dreams, of
many brave, committed people may hinge on
such organizations. If you wish information on
starting such a group or joining the one nearest
you, please write to me.
WILLIAM A. GRALNICK
SOUTHEAST REGIONAL DIRECTOR
AMERICAN JEWISH COMMITTEE