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POPE IN IRELAND
Violence
Condemned — Faith Praised
DUBLIN, Ireland (NC) - In his
third “pilgrimage of faith,” Pope
John Paul II became a “pilgrim of
peace.” In Ireland he constantly
stressed the need for ending the civil
strife in Northern Ireland.
The peace message was delivered
to Protestants and Catholics, priests
and politicians, bishops and laymen.
All were asked to heed church
teachings against resorting to
violence as a means of redressing
injustice.
The pope also praised the strong
faith of the Irish and had that faith
demonstrated to him by the millions
who thronged to his open-air Masses
and liturgical services. About 2.5
million people of Ireland’s 3.5
million Catholics saw the pope in
person during his visit.
The whirlwind weekend tour
(Sept. 29-Oct. 1) crisscrossed the
country and covered more than 300
miles of Irish territory.
The issue of violence was on the
pope’s mind as he travelled the 1,200
miles from Rome to Ireland. On the
papal plane, he said he was aware of
the possibilities of violence during his
trip.
“I am travelling in the hands of
God,” he told journalists travelling
with him regarding the possibility of
violence during the trip. When asked
if he was afraid of violence, he
replied, “Maybe - but not much.”
As Pope John Paul stepped from
the airplane at Dublin’s airport
around 10 a.m. on Sept. 29, he
became the first pope to visit Ireland
and its overwhelmingly Catholic
population. Symbolically placing his
pastoral visit under the patronage of
Mary, a wind-blown pope kissed the
tarmac beneath his feet and waved
long and often to the tiers of Irish
welcomers.
Buffeted by a breeze which once
took away his skull cap and which
played havoc with his red cape, the
pope acknowledged the formal
greeting of Irish President Patrick
Hillery, reviewed the Irish Army
troops and greeted members of the
Irish government after the flagship of
the Aer Lingus airline, the St.
Patrick, deposited him on Irish soil.
Pope John Paul told the
thousands in the terminal, on its roof
and on the runway that he was
“happy to walk among you - in the
footsteps of St. Patrick and in the
path of the Gospel that he left you as
a great heritage.
Among those greeting the pope
was Cardinal Tomas O’Fiaich of
Armagh, Northern Ireland, Irish
primate. As the pope’s white hair
flapped in the wind, Cardinal
O’Fiaich said, “He comes, a
messenger of peace to a troubled
land.”
The first papal Mass in Ireland was
celebrated shortly afterwards at
Dublin’s Phoenix Park before about
1.2 million people, the largest
gathering ever recorded in Ireland.
They provided living, breathing proof
of the strong Irish faith praised by
Pope John Paul in his homily.
The Irish clapped and cheered and
Editorial Challenges Comments
Of Father Greeley - Page 4
sang the parts of the Mass in Gaelic,
English and Latin.
“As I stand here in the company
of so many hundreds of thousands of
Irish men and women,” the pope said
in his 45-minute homily, “I am
thinking of how many times, across
how many centuries, the Eucharist
has been celebrated in this land.”
The pope also had words of
warning for the Irish. Ireland “is not
immune from the influence of
ideologies and trends which
present-day civilization and progress
carry with them,” he said.
The country faces “a new kind of
confrontation with values and trends
that up until now have been alien to
Irish society,” the pope said. He
named “pervading materialism” and
“false pretences concerning freedom,
the sacredness of life, the
indissolubility of marriage, the true
sense of human sexuality, the right
attitude toward the material goods
that progress has to offer.” z
The solution is to “steep ourselves
in the truth that comes from Christ,”
especially in the Eucharist, he said,
praising the Irish crowds that
regularly attend Mass on Sunday.
(Continued on page 7)
BREEZY ARRIVAL -- A gust of wind lifts the robe of Pope
John Paul II as he greets the million-plus who were on hand for his
arrival Saturday at Dublin’s Phoenix Park. He later celebrated Mass
from the high altar constructed specially for the event.
front office personnel. Did I have an
appointment? Yes, I did. The Public
Service Director would be right with
me. Could she get me a cup of .
coffee? That would be fine. Then she 17N „ .
asks the bomb-shell question. What Vol ‘ 1 ' °‘
parish am I with?
Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta
Thursday, October 4,1979
$6.00 Per Year
Well, I’m not with any parish. I
work with communications for the
Church, newspapers and electronic
media. That’s why I’m here to see
the Public
Service Direct
or.
No parish? I
see her darting
looks at my
collar. How can
you be a priest
and not work in
a parish? That’s
where a priest
belongs. Parish
and priest go
together. She
begins to think imposterous
thoughts. Maybe I’m a fake. Maybe
she should call the police. Luckily
I’m rescued by the familiar greeting
of my appointment. But I know I
leave her wondering. Priest without a
parish, huh?
As we watch this week, Pope John
Paul II is taking a 9,000-mile stroll
across two continents, through a
portion of his parish. In the past, we
have said, with gushing, imposing
piety, that every Pope is a parish
priest. But deep down, no one ever
believed it.
The Pope is that kindly, saintly,
white-clad head of countless millions
and he lives in Rome. He is the chief
of Vatican State. He meets world
leaders and he influences the balance
of delicate international decisions.
He is the pastor of every Catholic
parish and at the same time he’s the
pastor of none.
John Paul II is different. You
look, wet-eyed, emotionally drained,
at his sweep down 5th Avenue. This
is no transient vision. This is no
passing VIP. You even forget he is
the Pope. This is your pastor.
The million plus parishioners
respond from sidewalks. Hysterically
they stretch to touch, to speak, to
command even for a second the bond
of his stare. They want it, not for
future personal instant replays, but
because he is their pastor and he
owes it to them.
You forget a language barrier in
his presence. Bless me. Bless my
child. You are welcome. Come back.
His blue eyes dance, his hands
conductor-like, glide, his head nods.
There is perfect communication. He
dreads his return to papal palaces. He
belongs here mixing in the mixed up
lives of his parish and his delirious
parishioners. He wants to get closer.
Security is somewhere having cardiac
arrest. Forget it, you cannot separate
a priest from his parish.
Already the Vatican has
announced that this Polish Pastor
may go to the Olympics in Moscow.
What an occasion to vision. What a
moment in history. What a
reconciliation possibility.
As you watch him climb up onto
that gigantic altar to offer Mass for
his people, you feel certain that
Moscow will see this man and Peking,
Havana, wherever human hearts beat.
After all, as world-wide parish
priest, he belongs to them all.
Evangelization Celebration Set
As Year Of Outreach Highlight
KEYNOTE SPEAKER for the Archdiocesan Celebration of
Evangelization will be Paul Carlson, a convert to Catholicism after
being unchurched for 20 years.
Catholics from all over North
Georgia will be converging in
hundreds on St. Pius X High School,
in Atlanta, on Sunday, October 14,
for the Archdiocesan Celebration of
Evangelization. Representatives from
every parish are expected to fill the
St. Pius X Gym to capacity to
celebrate with archdiocesan leaders
the mission of the Church in North
Georgia to evangelize.
The Celebration marks a new
phase in the YEAR OF OUTREACH
currently being observed throughout
the Archdiocese of Atlanta. It
celebrates the beginning of the
implementation of parish efforts to
reach out and share faith with
inactive Catholics and churchless
persons.
The program has been planned by
the Archdiocesan Committee on
Evangelization. Robert Beck,
program coordinator, stated that he
expects the celebration to be “an
exciting expression of our unity in
(Continued on page 6)
OUTREACH ‘79 - ‘80
Special Supplement Inside This Issue
Monsignor P. J. O’Connor
Will Meet Pope John Paul
BY MICHAEL MOTES
In his capacity as a former
Director of the National Shrine of
the Immaculate Conception in
Washington, D. C., Monsignor Patrick
J. O’Connor has accepted a very
special invitation to be among those
to greet Pope John Paul II when the
Holy Father addresses representatives
of Women Religious at the Shrine on
Sunday, October 7.
SPORTING GEORGIA CATHOLICS
A1 Ciraldo — Mr. Yellow Jacket
The invitation to Monsignor
O’Connor came from Cardinal
William Baum of Washington, who
serves as Chairman of the Board of
Trustees of the National Shrine, and
from Monsignor John J. Murphy,
present Director of the Shrine.
“What rejoices me particularly,”
said Monsignor O’Connor in
discussing his upcoming meeting with
the Pope, “is that the Holy Father
will be visiting the Shrine, which is so
very dear to me.”
Pope John Paul II will not be the
first pontiff whom Monsignor
Related Story Page 2
O’Connor has met. During the period
he served as Director of the Shrine,
from 1950 to 1956, he often led
pilgrimages to European Shrines
honoring the Blessed Mother and had
the opportunity of presenting the
pilgrims to Popes Pius XII, John
XXIII and Paul VI.
Of the pontiffs, Monsignor
O’Connor most often met Pope Pius
XII, the first time being in private
audience. He says that he recalls “at
least a dozen” meetings with Popes,
the majority of which were with Pius
XII. Monsignor O’Connor also vividly
remembers his three meetings with
Pope John XXIII and laments that he
only met Pope Paul VI on one
occasion.
A native of Savannah, Monsignor
O’Connor says that his association
with the National Shrine of the
Immaculate Conception dates back
to 1920, when he was a student at
the Catholic University of America
and attended the laying of the
cornerstone at the Shrine.
“Coming from an area where we
had so few priests, not to mention
bishops, I was amazed at the number
of bishops and cardinals attending
the laying of the cornerstone. James
Cardinal Gibbons officiated at the
ceremony and I was most impressed
- never dreaming that 30 years later I
would be the Director of the
Shrine!”
Monsignor O’Connor has
promised the BULLETIN a full
account of his most recent encounter
with a Pope following his return
from Washington.
BY MONSIGNOR
NOEL C. BURTENSHAW
(Third in A Series)
It was November 11, 1977. A1
Ciraldo, far from his beloved
Atlanta and his most beloved
Georgia Tech campus, was into his
commentary. Unlike the colorful
Al, who embroils himself heart
and soul in every Tech game, his
mind was wandering. “All I could
think,” says the famous voice of
Tech, “was would he come.”
He did. As the game between
the famous Yellow Jackets from
Georgia and the midshipmen from
the Naval Academy progressed,
there in Annapolis, into the
broadcast booth walked the
President of the United States.
“He said he would come,”
remembers Al proudly, “but he
was having trouble persuading the
Secret Service. I motioned him to
sit and pointed to the mike. He
knew what to do.”
And President Jimmy Carter,
alumnus of both Tech and Navy
did it. For seven pride-filled
minutes Al Ciraldo did the
commentary and President Carter
did the color. It is a tape dearly
prized by Al and the most
thrilling few minutes of his life.
Alfred Joseph (his
confirmation name) Ciraldo was
bom in the tire town of Akron.
His father, Alfredo, came steerage
from Italy and married Rose
Detola. On September 2, 1921,
Al, the middle boy three sons, was
born. “We lived seven miles from
Annunciation Church,”
remembers Al, “so we couldn’t go
to Catholic School. But Sunday
School was a must. My father
would say, ‘No Sunday school -
no sports.’ So we went, most
times on foot.”
Al’s love for sports led him
mostly not to the field of winging
balls, but to the pages of books.
“Ask me and I could tell you who
played left field for the Yankees
in 1928. I would know. My
memory has faded now but I was
a whiz; a walking whiz in those
days.”
This powerful love of sports
facts led his Italian feet to the
door of WJW Radio in Akron at
the ripe old age of 15. Amazed at
his knowledge and his comfort
behind that big mike, they took
him on. “I would broadcast the
first three innings of the Akron
Yankees, do the color and
everything else. I knew this
broadcasting thing was for me.”
And after high school, so it
was. But not before he would play
on General McArthur’s team in
the Pacific. From 1942 till 1945,
he was out there in the jungles. In
late 1945, Al came home from the
wars to Akron.
“It was then I met this little
belle from the South,” remembers
the smiling Al. “She was from
(Continued on page 6)
Al Ciraldo and friend.