Newspaper Page Text
4
Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta
Vol. 18 No. 13
Thursday, March 27,1980
$6 Per Year
*
Pope Calls Archbishop’s
Murder Detestable Crime
Holy Week
They are a Wonder of the
World. For five thousand years
they have stood on the banks of
the Nile, bathing in the
amazements of onlookers. Next
door to that teeming city of
Cairo, the Pyramid tombs have
risen skyward, defying the
multi-million queries of gawking
tourists.
The Egyptian Pyramids are
regal graves for the mumified
bodies of
Kings. Ex
perts usually
want to know
what is in
them, not
what is on
them. Prising
the ancient
secrets from
the bowels of
those myster
ious stones, is
the obsession of long haired
bookworms, from one century
to the next.
But it was on top of a
Pyramid, the remarkable
inscription was found. It was
scratched, furtively on the face
of the smooth stone. Put there
as an act of protest by an
objecting slave, it was only
recently discovered. It summed
up the feelings of that poor
wretch, destined to live and die
caring for a mound of stones
that would provide a grave, fit
for a Pharaoh or a King.
The inscription, properly
translated, protestingly said,
“AND NO ONE WAS ANGRY
ENOUGH TO SPEAK OUT.”
Holy Week alive with emotion
deserves the same inscription.
The angry players in the
drama of Holy Week are many.
Pilate was one. Possessing the
full and dreadful power of life
and death over the Man, he
hated the demands of the
screeching mob. “I will release
him,” he angrily said, knowing
how unpolitic that move would
be. He had a right to explosive
anger.
Peter was angry with himself
for getting involved in this
Messiah mess. And with phrases
from the gutter, he said so to
the accusing servant, denying
the Man.
Judas was angry, too. For
the high road of treachery
his weaknesses has forced him
to travel, he received so meager
a silver return. His anger led
him to a dispairing gallows.
Simon, the curious visitor
from Cyrene was angry. Out of
that mob scene, he was the
unfortunate chosen. Under the
criminal crossbeams of that
wooden death bed, he was
tragically thrust by a criminally
indiscriminate soldery.
Jesus alone was at peace.
The trumped-up charges, the
mock trial, the inevitable
hill-top death for empty reasons
should have brought storms of
anger from his frustrated mind.
It didn’t. Like a sheep that
knows only gentleness, he went
to the historic slaughter.
As we follow the moments
and the movements of the Holy
Week drama the human tragedy
should make us angry enough
to speak out. In the depths of
our just rage, we hunt for the
culprits of this awful deed.
And dramatically we find it
is ourselves.
PALM SUNDAY -- On Palm Sunday, a woman clutching a
blessed palm kneels in prayer as the ceremonies of Holy Week begin.
BY MSGR. JERRY HARDY
Palm Sunday, the first day of the
Week called Holy ... A sacred time
within the special days of Lent... A
four day period when all we pray and
preach about for the rest of the year
passes before us, inviting us to be
more than passive spectators:
The Serving Love of Jesus on
Holy Thursday in the self-giving meal
. of the Eucharist, carefully prepared,
The Suffering Love of Jesus on Good
Friday in the self sacrifice of the
Cross freely chosen, The Silent Love
of Jesus on Holy Saturday in the
empty stillness of the church/tomb,
quietly bare . . .
The narrative of the Passion
reading today involves us more than
in merely reading it. It is OUR story.
It is US. We shout “Hosannah” one
day, and five days later “crucify
him” is our cry. Consistency has
never been our strong suit. . . But
then again it HAS always been our
God’s. And that is the point: our sin
is swallowed up in this constant
prodigal forgiveness, our weakness, in
his strength, our failure, in his
success.
This is the week our shortcomings
in responding to so loving a God
ought to get a good hard look, NOT
as the end, BUT as the beginning . . .
the beginning of his bringing us home
fully as his own . . . seeing all our
weakness NOT as that which drives
us out of his sight BUT as that which
makes us irresistible in his eyes.
No ordinary week . . . Not just
EARTHQUAKE
more ceremonies than usual. .. Not
just 2 look back over our collective
shoulder to a thing that happened
centuries ago . .. This week is holy
because it frames for us the living,
dying and living again of Jesus and
being in touch with that is what it
means for us to be holy. True, we
ought to be in touch with that all
year round. But Springtime, with its
new life, new color, new creation,
creeping across the country like a
young child’s smile, is a time for us
to look at it all more closely.
Holy . .. interestingly, we don’t
think of ourselves as holy. We don’t
even seem too upset about it.
Interesting... Maybe we could
spend some extra time this week
thinking of Holy Week in this way:
Holy Thursday: Day of Loving: Jesus
gives himself away as food for all our
journeys. How do we share
ourselves? Good Friday: Day of
Dying: Jesus gives his life as sign of
his faithful love for us. Do we love
even when it hurts? Holy Saturday:
Day of Believing: Jesus gives us time
to ponder his absence. Do we believe
there’s more to it all than this?
Easter Sunday: Day of Rejoicing:
Jesus gives us hope for here and
hereafter. There is special life deep
within each of us. What are we going
to do with it now? As I said, no
ordinary week. The question is, are
we going to deal with it any
differently . . .
This is our week. May it be Holy
for us.
Victims Find Strength
CASTEL SANTA MARIA,
ITALY (NC) -- “He has given us the
strength to go ahead,” yelled one
weeping woman as Pope John Paul II
visited the earthquake-decimated
town of Castel Santa Maria.
The pope flew March 23 to the
snow-covered town in the rugged
hills of central Italy to meet with
survivors of an earthquake that
rocked the region last September.
“I have come... to give you
testimony of my participation in
your hardship and your suffering,”
Holy Week At The Cathedral
HOLY THURSDAY: MASS at 6:45 a.m.
11:00 A.M. Blessing of Sacred Oils and Mass by Archbishop
Donnellan.
7:00 P.M. The Holy Thursday Liturgy, including a con-celebrated
Mass by Archbishop Donnellan and the Cathedral Staff.
GOOD FRIDAY - Three hour Service (12 noon - 3:00 p.m.).
Meditation on the seven last words by Archbishop Donnellan and the
Cathedral Staff. This Service will conclude with Stations of the Cross.
7:00 P.M. The Liturgy of Good Friday. Archbishop Donnellan will
preside.
HOLY SATURDAY - 8:00 p.m. The Easter Vigil Service will be
celebrated by Archbishop Donnellan.
VATICAN CITY (NC) - The
killing of Salvadorean Archbishop
Oscar Romero was a “sacrilegious
assassination” and a “detestable
crime,” said Pope John Paul II March
25.
Archbishop Romero of San
Salvador, El Salvador, was killed
March 24 by an unknown gunman
while he was celebrating Mass.
The pope also asked the people of
El Salvador to “put away forever all
displays of mean violence and
vengence.”
The pope’s message in Spanish
was contained in a cable of
condolence to Bishop Jose Eduardo
Alvarez Amirez of San Miguel,
president of the El Salvador Bishops’
Conference.
The cable was signed by the pope.
Normally, a cable on the death of a
high-ranking churchman is signed by
Cardinal Agostino Casaroli, papal
o secretary of state.
Here is an English translation of
the pope’s cable:
“My soul was pierced with pain
and affliction upon learning the fatal
news of the sacrilegious assassination
of Archbishop Oscar A. Romero y
Galdamez, whose priestly service to
the church remains sealed by the
immolation of his life while offering
the Eucharist. The least I can do is
express my profound reprobation as
universal pastor at this detestable
crime which, besides cruelly
flagelating the dignity of the person,
profoundly wounds the conscience
of the ecclesiastical community and
of those who cherish the sentiments
of human brotherhood. While
piously commending the soul of the
zealous archbishop, I lift up fervent
prayers for the beloved children of El
Salvador that they put away forever
all displays of mean violence and
vengeance, that they make more
accessible the paths of faith and of
Christian love, the force of which
guarantees authentic salvation and
said the pontiff to more than 300
people who braved the snow and
freezing rain to hear him.
“I have come to tell you of my
appreciation of the dignity with
which you knew how to confront
this test. . . and to assure you that
the pope is particularly close to
you,” he added.
Salvatore Torrisi, 12, and his sister
Maria, 8, who lost their parents in
the quake, cried when the pope
embraced them.
(Continued on page 8)
Archbishop Romero
justice among the children of El
Salvador. To the brothers of the
hierarchy, to the priests, faithful
Religious and lay people and
especially the residents of the
Archdiocese of San Salvador and
relatives and friends of the deceased
Prelate, I send from my heart the
Apostolic Benediction.”
Death of the fiery defender of the
poor has sent shock waves beyond
the violence-torn Central American
nation.
“Let’s be united in faith and hope
as we pray for Sarita and for
ourselves ” were his l2st words ss hs
fell, hit in the heart by a bullet fired
from a side window in the small
chapel of Divine Providence Hospital,
according to reports from the
Archdiocese of San Salvador.
The archbishop resided in an
apartment behind the chapel.
Sarita was the mother of editor
Jorge Pinto of the newspaper El
Independiente and a personal friend
of the archbishop. She had died a
year ago. Only members of the Pinto
family and a few patients were at the
chapel for the early evening Mass
March 24.
According to archdiocesan
sources, the archbishop had almost
finished his homily when a single
shot was heard and the archbishop
fell to the ground near the altar.
Then two more shots were fired in
the air at the entrance to force the
people to lie down on the floor. Four
middle-aged men were seen escaping
in a red compact car.
Archbishop Romero was taken to
the Salvadorean Polyclinic but was
dead on arrival. Doctors said a
Magnum bullet had exploded in his
heart and archdiocesan sources
commented, “We assume the shot
came from an expert.”
(Some press accounts said the
archbishop was assassinated by four
gunmen at point-blank range at the
moment of the elevation, but church
sources did not give this version.)
The city traffic slowed down as
news of the popular archbishop’s
death spread. At busy downtown
intersections and other sites groups
of pedestrians commented in hushed
voice on the assassination.
Church authorities decreed a week
of mourning and scheduled several
services, the first one a Mass at
Sacred Heart Cathedral March 25 to
be offered by Bishop Arturo Rivera
Damas of Santa Maria, a close friend
of the archbishop.
Because he acted as a moderating
force in the midst of polarization,
Archbishop Romero was opposed by
both the extreme left and the
ultra-right which are competing for
power in an undeclared civil war.
Some 1,500 persons have died in
political violence since the first of
this year.
Several times Archbishop Romero
reported receiving death threats.
(Continued on page 8)
Papal Appeal Aids In Release
CAGLIARI, Italy (NC) - The
papal appeal for the release of a
15-year-old kidnap victim “stirred
some consciences” and helped the
girl gain freedom March 22,
according to Giuseppe Villa Santa,
Cagliari’s chief prosecutor.
Annabelle Schild, who has a
severe hearing impairment, was freed
six days after Pope John Paul II’s
appeal without the payment of a
further ransom, Villa Santa said.
She was reunited with her mother,
Daphne Schild, March 22 in Cagliari.
Her father, Rolf Schild, flew from
London to join the family.
All three were kidnapped Aug. 21
while vacationing on the Italian
island of Sardinia. Rolf Schild was
released Sept. 5 and Mrs. Schild on
the night of Jan. 14.
News of Mrs. Schild’s release was
not made public until March 16,
when Pope John Paul said at his
Sunday Angelus talk that the parents
had asked him to intervene on behalf
of their child.
“May the kidnappers finally have
pity on this poor creature and take
into consideration the unspeakable
suffering of her parents,” the papal
appeal said. “Demonstrating a sense
of humanity, may they not prolong
this torture, this torment, this
anguish.”
(In London, The Sunday Times
reported that Cardinal George Basil
Hume of Westminster, England,
played an instrumental role in getting
the pope to make the appeal. The
newspaper quoted Rolf Schild as
saying Cardinal Hume wrote a
GETTING BETTER -- Children carry water buckets to the just
arrived water truck at the Khmer Rouge refugee holding center at
Sa Keo, Thailand, which houses 25,000 Cambodian refugees. Every
evening, the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ and other volunteers
working in the camps gather for Mass at the Catholic Relief Services
house in the town of Arranyaprathet. The enormous outreach of
the free world to the Cambodians has turned things around for the
sick and hungry who have been pouring into the camps.
personal letter asking the pope to
make the appeal.)
Speaking to journalists through
sign language, Annabelle said she
wished to “thank the pope from the
bottom of my heart.”
She said she had been told of the
papal intervention by one of the
kidnappers who seemed “very
excited and happy” about the news.
Television Mass
WSB Television Channel 2 in
Atlanta will air Mass on Easter
Sunday morning at 10:30. Celebrant
for the Mass will be Monsignor Noel
C. Burtenshaw. The choir is from St.
Jude’s Church in Sandy Springs, and
the Lector is Jim Nork, a member of
Immaculate Heart of Mary Church.
WSB brings the Mass on television
twice each month at 10:30 a.m. on
the first and third Sundays.
Mother
T eresa
Honored
NEW DELHI, India (NC) -
“I accept this honor, like the
Nobel Prize, in the name of
the poor,” said Mother Teresa
of Calcutta March 21 as she
received India’s highest
civilian award.
President Sanjiva Reddy of
India presented the Bharat
Ratna (Jewel of India) to the
founder of the Missionaries of
Charity during a ceremony in
New Delhi.
She became the second
woman to receive the award.
The first was Indian Prime
Minister Indira Gandhi.
The prize was given for
Mother Teresa’s “exceptional
service of charity” to the
poor of India’s cities. The
nun received the 1979 Nobel
Peace Prize for the same
efforts.