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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.