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The Georgia Bulletin
November 1,1979
New Holocaust
We were more than ready to leave
Southeast Asia behind. It had been
our Gethsemane. We buried our young
men there. The so-called war disgusted
millions and bitterly divided families.
We hoped never to know another
moment of that green jungle hell.
But we are looking back. The
horrors of a new holocaust loom large
in that area, long an American
nightmare. Starvation of a total nation
is being attempted. With
unconscionable callousness men,
women and children are being
systematically wiped from the face of
the earth.
Food alone can save this planned
elimination. Cambodian authorities
know this, they should appeal to the
fraternal decency of the world which
has readily demonstrated that
immediate relief is at hand. However,
insane regimes have decided that the
holocaust will persist. The innocent
population will starve.
But no man is an island. Cambodia
and Vietnam have allies on whom
they depend for normal trade.
Whether it is China, the Soviet Union
or whomever, they must be persuaded
to allow the flow of food, ready and
waiting, to the needy starving
population. War and destruction is
almost an understandable pain in our
generation. But systematic torturous
starvation of women and children is a
milestone in hideous monstrous
cruelty.
When thousands of young
Americans were sent to Asia to fight a
foreign war, the demonstrators would
chant, ‘‘The whole world is
watching.” It may have been true
then. It certainly is true now.
Impatiently we are watching,
hoping and experiencing a rising just
anger. — NCB
Working Women
Sheila Mallon
The late afternoon sun slanted through
the windows of Holy Spirit Church last
Saturday afternoon as the parochial school
children entered with their bright banners.
They sang the hymn “His Banner Over Us Is
Love” exultantly as they processed through
the lovely Church.
The procession would have been
heart-catching enough with just the school
children in their uniforms carrying their
colorful banners and their young voices
joyfully proclaiming His love - but in the
procession was Toni Miralles’ Special CCD
Class from St. Jude’s. That was a heart
stopper. A group of beautiful “special”
children they came happily - with
wheelchairs catching the glint of a rainbow
sun as they found their places in the church.
There were other moments during the
Mass which brought Respect Life Day to its
beautiful conclusion but certainly none
more moving.
Every reading seemed to carry a message
for us which included these innocents as did
the one from the first reading, Jeremiah 31:
Resound...
Zarrella Column
ATLANTA - I really want to say how
much I am enjoying John Zarrella’s new
column in the BULLETIN.
It is great to read about someone’s daily
struggles and successes in his work,
especially one who gives witness to his faith.
DAVE McGILL
“I will bring them from the north
and gather them from the ends of the
earth
The blind and the lame will come with
them. . . .
I will guide them to streams of water
On a smooth road where they will not
stumble.”
Sandy Chaput had made the
arrangements for the Liturgy and when the
gifts were broght to the altar there were
many tender moments as the children
offered their favorite things with the gifts.
There was a “Miss Piggy” doll and a sport
trophy among the sheaves of wheat and
flowers. But perhaps most touching of all
was the little Downs Syndrone girl who
carried one perfect rose. When the
Archbishop bent to receive it and she looked
up at him happily - their faces close together
at that moment were caught as though
forever in a ray of light.
The Archbishop’s homily stressed as he
had all day the “miracle of the gift of life”
and at the Mass he spoke of three gifts of the
Lord which we all treasure - none more than
these “special children” — “Life, Light and
Love.”
At Communion, it was a joy to witness
these lovely handicapped young boys and
girls receiving the Host and watch their
joyful anticipation as they made their way
to the altar. The wonderfully talented young
people under the direction of Linda Hardin
director of the Holy Cross Church Folk
Group sang the resessional hymn, — “I will
Raise Him Up” and with the joy of that
promise in our hearts we made our way
home.
Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta
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The Premature Death
Of Our Garbage Disposal
Dave McGill
When we moved into our new 10-year-old
house two years ago, the only really “new”
thing abut it was a shiny garbage disposal.
The previous owner had had it installed for
us so that everything in the kitchen would
be in tip-top shape when we moved in. If
you opened the cabinet door beneath the
sink and peered upward, it looked like it was
right out of the box. Aaaaaah, yes, I
thought, that baby is in there for at least 10
years; that seemed logical to me since the
one in our old house had served us faithfully
and without a hitch for 10 years, and it was
ALREADY eight years old when we started
using it.
But little did I know at the time that a
mortal enemy of the new disposal was
moving in with us. It was (and still is) an
opener, the kind that opens bottles on one
end and cans on the other; in my younger
days, we affectionately called this very
important tool (though I never knew why) a
“church key.”
Our church key never hated the ancient
disposal in our former house. But it had an
immediate and intense dislike for the new
one. There were three ferocious struggles
between them at intervals of about eight
months; it took each of them that long to
rest up from the preceeding combat.
You always knew when the battle was
joined. The sound of a church key attacking
a garbage disposal is like no other — it is a
horrible combination of grinding and
shrieking at the same time. Everybody
freezes for an instant during which the
switch should be getting shut off but isn’t.
As a result, by the time dad flies to the sink
and gets it turned off, there remains only the
dull hum which tells you that the next hour
will not be spent watching the ball game as
previously planned, but rather in trying to
dislodge the cursed opener from the crushing
jaws of the disposal.
The first time, after World War I took
place in my kitchen, it took a crowbar to
finally work the church key loose. It was
slow work, because the space was so small
that I could only wiggle the bar a few
millimeters (this column is going metric) at a
time, then I had to reposition it and
continue. It took over an hour.
World War II was about eight months ago,
and this time the crowbar was totally
useless. The key was firmly stuck in such a
way that none of my tools could grab it. So
I tried a wire through the hole (refer to the
figure), and pulled it with a big pair of pliers.
I had to figure out a way to go around two
corners and put my weight on the wire, and
after breaking it four times and pulling and
hanging for close to two hours this time, I
finally got it loose. I thought I heard the
disposal saying faintly and exhaustedly,
“Don’t send that opener down here any
more. I won’t be able to survive it the next
time.”
But there was a third time. It was about
six weeks ago. Like a mongoose after a
wounded cobra, the opener found its way
down the drain for World War III. It was an
unbelievable struggle. The disposal fought
valiantly to keep the mongoose, er, church
key from getting stuck in its entrails.
However, the opener had waited a long time
to dispose of the disposer and it fought
furiously, getting itself stuck tight just
before a desperate hand flipped off the
switch. I will always believe that I could’ve
saved it had I not been on crutches.
After my usual hour’s struggle, the
opener came free, but as I reached down to
retrive it, out came several pieces of the
disposal’s grinding plate, which is, or rather
WAS, made of VERY strong steel. The man
at the repair place said he had never in all his
years seen THAT as the cause of failure
before.
I tried my best to fix it. I got it out from
beneath the sink, and with the steel tool that
came with it, I began turning to get the rusty
nut off, which would free the remains of the
plate and allow me to replace it. It began to
turn, but every time I looked at the nut, it
was in the same place as if nothing had
happened. I knew the whole disposal wasn’t
turning, because my wife Carolyn was sitting
on it. Then I looked at the tool, and,
unbelievably, it was twisted round and
round like a rope. I became positive at that
moment that my disposal was tired of
fighting, ready to go to the grave. It was,
through the unyielding nut, begging me to
shut off all life-prolonging devices.
My last move was to take it to the shop.
There, the service manager, like a physician
bringing bad news, pronounced it beyond
hope. The estimate of repairs was about $60
minimum, and I had seen a brand new one
just like it in the sale catalog the night
before for $49.95. I bought it and installed
it, then securely lashed my $49.95 bottle
opener to a garlic press which won’t fit
down the drain.
Women’s Mission In The Church
Teresa Gernazian
Within a few minutes of Pope John Paul’s
statement that the Churrch would not allow
women’s ordinations, I received a call from
one of the wire services. Did I know any
heads of women’s groups who might make a
statement? I gave her a couple of names and
then gave my own statement. I cannot say
for a certainty that our views did not make
the news, but I doubt it. Though the
overwhelming majority of Catholics are
opposed to women’s ordinations, the press
focuses on Catholics who push for them.
One order of nuns, however, took the
bull by the horns. Upset and embarrassed by
Sister Theresa Kane’s remarks to the Holy
Father, they took out a IOV2 x 6 inch ad in
the October 13 issue of the WASHINGTON
POST, apologizing to the Holy Father for
the rudeness shown him. The ad is being
paid for by the Sisters of St. Francis of the
Martyr St. George in Illinois, assisted by
another order. Mother M. Sixtina, OSF,
Provincial Superior, signed the ad which read
in part: “One does not treat any foreign
guest by attempting to correct him publicly
before the world. Yet, for those who accept
the Catholic premise, a person with no
teaching office in the Church does not
presume to correct the one to whom the
whole flock was commissioned by Christ.”
“Sister Theresa was not only impertinent
to the Holy Father, but she has also
offended the millions of us who love him
and gladly accept his teaching.”
In an interview with the WASHINGTON
POST, Mother Sixtina stated she wanted the
lay people to know their feelings. Since the
whole thing had been spread across the
country, she felt an alternate viewpoint
should also go across the country.
Other nuns wrote letters to various
Catholic weeklies across the country. One
went on to say it is time to question the
position of the Leadership Conference of
Women Religious. She writes: “When the
president of this organization stands before
the Holy Father and in the presence of
representatives from religious communities
all over the country, and on national TV,
speaks for one segment of religious women,
someone has been discredited.” She felt
there was a violation of rights of individuals
to be represented properly.
And so, the silent majority, is of
necessity, beginning to speak up. Vatican II
clearly advises us in LUMEN GENTIUM,
Chapter 3, 25, that this is a teaching to be
accepted: “Bishops teaching in communion
with the Roman Pontiff, are to be respected
by all as witness to divine and Catholic
truth. In matters of faith and morals, the
bishops speaking in the name of Christ and
the faithful are to accept their teachingg and
adhere to it with a religious assent of soul.
This religious submission of will and of mind
must be shown in a special way to the
authentic teaching authority of the Roman
Pontiff, even when he is not speaking ex
cathedra.”
We wonder how many of those who opt
for women priests would also pursue a
married clergy? Can we possibly imagine the
chaos of seminary and rectory 5
accommodations? Pity the poor Bishops »
making the assignments. What would we call *
the female clergy persons: “Mother”?
How far . .. how very, very far . .. all of
this seems from the feminine, maternal,,
humble, obedient image of Our Blessed
Mother who was not among the twelve at
the Last Supper. She did, however, break ■
social and cultural barriers during the nine
days after her Son’s Ascension, when she
and other women were in the same room as
the Apostles (until that time women were in
another room). It is interesting to recall also,
that not even at the apparitions of Fatima
did Our Blessed Mother give the three
children Holy Communion. Rather, it was
designed by God that an angel should give
them the Eucharist on his third visit.
The Chancery in Washington, D. C. is
requesting people who wish to make
comments on Sister Theresa Kane’s remarks
to the Holy Father to write her at this
address: Sister Theresa Kane, RSM, 10000
Kentsdale Drive, Potomac, Maryland 20854.
It is asked that a carbon copy be sent to the
Apostolic Delegate, His Excellency Most
Reverend Jean Jadot, D.D., 3339
Massachusetts Avenue, Washington, D. C.
20008.
Women’s mission in the Church within
scriptural and traditional roles, coming into
hierarchial approved innovative variations,
always in the pattern of Mary, will fulfill
God’s complementary design for
humankind.
Rural Reflections
Father Gerald J. Peterson
(Archdiocesan Rural Life Director)
(EDITOR’S NOTE: Father Gerald J. Peterson
begins a monthly column on rural ministry this
week. He is a Glenmary priest who is currently
serving as Rural Life Director for the Archdiocese
and pastor of St. Mark’s in Clarkesville. His column
will appear in the BULLETIN the first of each
month.)
Show Respect For “Mother Earth”
The initials “N.C.R.L.C.” may say
nothing to you. The five letters stand for the
“National Catholic Rural Life Conference.”
I attended the annual conference at
Marydale Retreat Center in Erlanger, Ky.
The dates were October 8 through 12. This
was my first time at the national meeting. I
was motivated to go because of my recent
appointment as the Archdiocesan Director
of Catholic Rural Life.
May I share with you just one special
insight I picked up at the Conference? It is
my hope to encourage you to show respect
for “mother earth.”
Sister Jose Hobday of Indian extraction
in a talk drew a comparison between the
Indians’ view of the land and that of the
white man. The native American Indian sees
the land as a gift to be shared and respected,
whereas the white man wants to dominate
and subdue the earth. To the Indian, the
land is your ‘mother’ and the sky is your
‘father.’ Therefore treat both with respect.
You can’t really own or sell your ‘mother.’
We, the white immigrants to this country,
in our greed tend to misuse the land. We
have cluttered our ‘mother, earth’ with junk.
Greed seems to be the collective vice of the
people of our country. Perhaps we can learn
much from the native Americans on how to
respect the land. As I see it, this calls for a
simple life style.
As I observe the families that move from
Florida and other areas to the mountains of
North Georgia, I see them bringing the city
and all its comforts with them. Very few
want the simple way of life of those who are
dependent on the soil for their livelihood.
This simpler life-style might call for growing
a garden and heating with a wood-stove.
People, who cultivate the soil, and watch it
produce life, come to have a true respect for
all life. They sense the sacredness of life, the
beauty of creation and experience their
dependence on the Creator of all.
If we read the Scriptures carefully and
relate God’s Word to our lives, we see the
■
i
5.
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I
I
land as a living part of us and us as a part of |
the land. If the earth is ‘your mother’ and
the sky is your ‘father’, then you treat the ■
land with love and respect.
Relationship with God is closely tied in \
with our relation with one another and this f
in turn is connected with our relation to the J
earth, whose fruits are intended to be shared 4
for the good of all. Think about how these |
relationships affect your own prayer life.
At the same time it is good to reflect on j
our eating habits. How much junk food has l
become the daily diet of most Americans? I j
question how closely related is a f
junk-materialistic mentality to habits of f
junk-food eating. And I find myself asking, ‘
“In what way does this affect the spirit of ;
man?”
A couple of weeks ago the Gospel was
about the rich man, who refused to tum j
loose of his possessions to follow the Lord. ’
His greed was his down-fall. If we are going
to live the Gospel, our life-style may seem a |
little radical, even ‘crazy’ to some. But |
maybe believing and living the radical
elements of the Gospel will lead to a new
religious sanity.