Newspaper Page Text
Vol. 17 No. 26
Thursday, July 19,1979
i Per Year
SPLASH PARTY - Cardinal Humberto
Medeiros of Boston and youngsters from the
Sunset Point Vacation Camp are all smiles as they
hit the water while riding the “Bermuda Triangle”
Bishops Studying Synod Guide
WASHINGTON (NC) - U.S. bishops are being asked to
comment by mid-October on the Vatican discussion guide
on “The Role of the Christian Family in the Modem
World,” theme of the 1980 world Synod of Bishops.
The bishops were mailed the document by Bishop
Thomas Kelly, general secretary of the National
Conference of Catholic Bishops, with an invitation to
obtain extra copies so priests, Religious and lay people
can be consulted on its content.
Replies and comments submitted by bishops to the
NCCB will be compiled in a single document which will be
sent to the Vatican’s Council for the Synod for use in
preparing the official working document of the synod
itself.
Synods have been held every two or three years since
the Second Vatican Council. They are consultative
gatherings which advise the pope on themes he selects.
The family life theme chosen by Pope John Paul II was
announced last December. It was suggested as a synod
theme as early as 1972, but reliable sources in Rome
contended Pope Paul VI was reluctant to convene a synod
on family life, fearing it would stir renewed controversy
over his earlier reaffirmation that artificial contraceptives
are contrary to church teachings.
But the theme is seen by some as a logical continuation
of the themes of the last two synods — on evangelization
in 1974 and on catechesis (religious education) in 1977.
Cardinal Ladislaw Rubin, general secretary of the
synod, admitted to reporters in Rome recently that the
birth control issue could come up at the 1980 synod if
conferences of bishops want to raise it.
Religious Leaders Supportive
Of President’s Energy Battle
at Paragon Park in Hull, Mass. It was all part of
the fun as the cardinal accompanied hundreds of
youngsters on his annual visit to the amusement
park.
Pope John Paul is expected to call the synod for the
fall of 1980.
The Vatican discussion paper is a 5 2-page document
covering Catholic doctrine on marriage and family life and
the religious and sociological situation of the family in
today’s world.
Among contemporary trends and practices that have an
impact on the family, the paper notes divorce,
cohabitation, birth control and abortion, new economic
factors, the changing role of women, and changes in
inter-generational and intra-family relationships.
On responsible parenthood and birth control, the
document affirms the teaching of Vatican II and of Pope
Paul’s encyclical “Humanae Vitae,” including the
encyclical’s condemnation of “blameworthy” methods of
regulating births.
The “unitive” and procreative purposes of marriage, it
adds, are “inseparable.”
The document emphasizes the “sanctifying role” of the
Christian family, and notes that “husband and wife should
be fortified by the strength of Christian faith” in
accepting their responsibilities as parents.
“If ‘fear of having a child’ is today found among some
peoples, is that not due in part to a lack of confidence in
the goodness and help of God?” the document asks.
The document also stresses the duty of society to assist
family life. The Catholic church, it says, “expects the civil
power to recognize, protect and advance the true nature
of marriage and family, to protect public morality and to
favor domestic prosperity.”
And it adds that families should work to transform the
(Continued on page 7) i
NEW YORK (NC) - Terming
President Carter’s July 15 speech on
energy a “call to action,” a coalition
of religious leaders has pledged the
support of America’s religious
organizations in the fight to reduce
energy consumption.
Three of the 10 religious leaders
who met with Carter at Camp David
during his 10-day “domestic
summit” held a news conference in
New York City a little more than 12
hours after the president’s
nationally-televised energy address
and said a statement of support for
the president’s energy battle is being
circulated among the rest of the
nation’s religious leaders.
By the time of the news
conference at mid-day on July 16,
the statement already had received
the support of 35 religious leaders,
with more signers said to be on the
way.
The statement called for the
articulation of a “communitarian
ethic” which might have a unifying
effect on all Americans.
The statement also noted that the
battle to control America’s energy
problems should not be fought at the
expense of the nation’s poor.
“We must never lose sight of the
needs of the poor, the jobless and the
more vulnerable members of our
society. The United States is still
wealthy and resourceful enough,
energy crisis or not, to face change
without further aggravating social
and economic disparity,” the
statement contends.
Among the first 35 signers of the
statement were Cardinal Terence
Cooke of New York, who met with
Carter at Camp David, Archbishop
John R. Quinn of San Francisco,
president of the National Conference
of Catholic Bishops, Bishop Thomas
Kelly, NCCB general secretary,
Bishop Patrick F. Flores of El Paso,
who also met Carter at Camp David,
and Archbishops John R. Roach of
St. Paul-Minneapolis and Joseph L.
Bemardin of Cincinnati.
“We will urge all religious leaders
to set a good example by adopting
where possible simpler means of
living,” the religious leaders said.
“We will ask our religious bodies
to formulate programs of emergency
assistance for the poor, the elderly,
the disabled and those for whom the
spiraling costs of fuel and home
heating oil present especially critical
problems,” the statement adds.
During the news conference,
Cardinal Cooke, who attended the
Camp David meeting as
representative of the NCCB,
commented that while the president
already had given four or five energy
speeches that no one listened to, “an
awful lot of people were listening last
night.”
He said the New York
archdiocesan chancery already has
made “great savings” by setting
thermostats at 78 degrees in summer.
Rabbi Marc Tanenbaum of New
York, director of interreligious
affairs for the American Jewish
Committee and another participant
in the Camp David meeting, said the
meeting with Carter was “among the
most meaningful Jewish-Christian
dialogues I have experienced in 25
years.”
He said he felt the president called
in the religious leaders not for its
public relations value but because the
religious leaders represent some 140
million Americans.
“Churches and synagogues are
among the largest real estate owners
in the country. If synagogues and
church-schools started cutting back
40 to 50 percent in energy use, it
would mean a great deal,” said Rabbi
Tanenbaum.
Rabbi Tanenbaum said the
religious leaders who met Carter are
planning a national consultation in
September on moral aspects of the
energy crisis.
Another of the 10 religious
leaders, Jimmy Allen of San
Antonio, former president of the
Southern Baptist Convention, also
spoke at the news conference, saying
Americans have lost sight of the
nation’s energy problems.
Arckkiskop's Office
756 We«t Peachtree Street, N. W.
Atlanta, Georgia 30308
Archbishop Donnellan welcomes to the Archdiocese of Atlanta
Reverend John Morrissey, O.M.I., and announces the appointment of
Father Morrissey as Assistant Pastor of Saint Joseph’s Church in
Washington, Georgia. This appointment becomes effective Saturday,
September 1,1979.
Papal Visit Shortened?
WASHINGTON (NC) - Planners
of Pope John Paul II’s proposed U.S.
tour are “proceeding on the
assumption” that it will be much
shorter than originally anticipated,
perhaps only a few days, sharply
reducing the number of cities he will
visit.
Although there was still no formal
announcement, it was learned July
16 that both the United Nations and
the White House had been informed
that the pope would arrive in this
country the first week in October.
“We’re proceeding on the
assumption that the visit will take
place in early October and that it will
last for only a few days,” said a
spokesman for the U.S. Catholic
Conference.
The spokesman emphasized that
the conference “has no formal
announcement to make at this time,”
and that “there are a number of
significant details which remain
matters of speculation.”
When planners in the United
States started working on the
proposed papal visit several weeks
ago, their assumption was that he
would arrive in late September,
sometime after the opening of the
U.N. General Assembly’s session on
Sept. 18, and be in this country for
about 10 days.
That would have provided time
for visits to several cities, and
planners mentioned New York,
Philadelphia, Chicago, Detroit,
Washington, Los Angeles and San
Francisco as leading possibilities.
The advisories about the trip to
the United Nations and the White
House were understood to mean that
among the pope’s activities would be
an address at the U.N. and a meeting
with President Jimmy Carter. Those
were cited as key events when word
of the proposed visit first became
public.
4 Homecoming 9 An Evangelization Hit
LOTS OF ROOM FOR FORMER
CATHOLICS - Parishioners of St. Thomas
Aquinas Catholic Church paused during
preparations for Homecoming II to pose with
their pastor, Father Daniel J. O’Connor. The
Homecoming program, an unusual parish-wide
effort to attract inactive Catholics back to their
faith, resulted in over 400 alienated Catholics
being contacted. The program will be presented in
Washington in August.
BY MICHAEL MOTES
Father Daniel O’Connor has
completed his annual hunt for
“RCRs” - Retired Roman Catholics
- and is so ecstatic with the results
that he is practically shouting from
the rooftop of St. Thomas Aquinas
Church in Alpharetta.
For the second year, the parish
spons'ored “Operation
Homecoming,” a multi-faceted
program of special homilies, parish
seminars, advertising and doorbell
ringing with one goal in mind - to
return alienated Catholics to their
Church.
Using approximately 40 per cent
of the manpower available in his 750
family parish, Father O’Connor and
the Homecoming Committee reached
more than 400 alienated Catholics
during the three months the project
flourished.
Following guidelines established
for the first successful Homecoming
project, Father O’Connor and his
workers felt a little more at ease the
second time around and chose as
their main theme “do it better this
time.” The original concept had been
a first in the country and drew more
than 600 requests from throughout
the nation and six foreign countries
for copies of guidelines used at St.
Thomas Aquinas.
Father O’Connor recalls the
Homecoming Breakfast as a real
highlight of the final stages of the
program.
“We cancelled our religious
education classes that morning to use
the parish hall for the breakfast,” he
says. “It made the Sunday what we
were trying to make it, a REAL
Homecoming. More than 53 ‘visitors’
(we didn’t count children) were
welcomed by about, 200 of our own
parishioners.
“Many of those visitors, I’m sure,
had done nothing about returning to
the practice of their faith; but at
least on that morning, they knew
they were wanted and welcomed,
perhaps for the first time since they
dropped away. They also know that
there is a parish for them to return
to, when they are ready. And that is
a reason I feel I can call the program
successful and worth the effort.”
One of the negative features of
the program, Father O’Connor said,
is that very few young people
responded.
“I know of only three who have
returned to the Church from the
under 30 age bracket,” he laments.
“This despite the fact that many of
our parents contacted sons and
daughters who are no longer
attending Mass. It is obvious to me,
after two years of experimenting,
that the format we used has little
attraction for young people.
Something else must be tried.”
Following the Homecoming
Breakfast, the parish sponsored a
week of evening seminars dealing
with topics that it was felt might
have been in some way responsible
for the alienated Catholics originally
abandoning their faith. Subjects
included birth control, divorce and
ways in which the Church has
changed.
The divorce and remarriage
seminar was conducted by three
priests from the Archdiocesan
Marriage Tribunal and “was much
more explosive” than a similar
seminar during the first Homecoming
project, says Father O’Connor.
“We were hard pressed to explain
the reaction - bitter in some cases -
to this seminar,” he says. “The
subject matter was the same as the
first year and in some cases the
lecturers were the same. But the
feelings of the participants - both
RCRs and parishioners - were
noticeably higher, and the inability
or the unwillingness to accept the
Church’s teaching regarding the
Eucharist in the case of remarriage
without annulment was very
pronounced.
“The only explanation I can
suggest for the different reaction this
year is a widespread
misunderstanding of the
pronouncement regarding the lifting
of the penalty of excommunication
for remarriage. This must have raised
hopes that all obstacles to the
sacraments had been removed. Or
perhaps the wording of our
advertisements regarding the seminar
was at fault. Whatever, the reaction
was sufficient notice to us, and
should be to all others, that this is
probably the most sensitive area in
the Church today. Great tact and
understanding are required in any
outreach to the divorced and
remarried. It is an issue that cannot
be approached casually.”
Although the number of RCRs
who actually returned to the Church
is fewer this year, 15 to 20 as
compared to 25 to 30 following
Homecoming I, Father O’Connor
feels that this year’s program was
more successful.
“It may sound strange to say that
fewer numbers represent greater
success,” he explained. “But I
measure what Homecoming II did for
our parish. It united us in a common
effort to appreciate our own faith
and to share it with others. I am
personally convinced that we are a
better parish now than we were and
Homecoming II is the reason.”
The success of the Homecoming
concept is so great that it will be
featured during the First Annual
National Catholic Lay Celebration of
Evangelization, which is being held in
Washington, August 16 to 18. St.
Thomas Aquinas parishioner George
Clements, a major worker during
both local programs, will conduct the
seminar in Washington.
Special travel arrangements have
been made for local Catholics to
attend the Washington meeting.
Details are availabe from Father
Richard Kieran, Archdiocesan
Committee on Evangelization, 756
West Peachtree St., N. W., Atlanta,
Ga. 30308; telephone 404-881-6131.
Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta
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