Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

Draft Dilemma: Counseling Available BY THEA JARVIS This summer, 19-and 20-year-old male Americans were required to register for the draft. Considering the lingering echoes of the anti-Vietnam War era, it was a registration that passed with only minor upheaval. Below the surface calm, however, is a real concern that registration is only the first step in the long, tired march toward a full-fledged peacetime draft. The Catholic position on the July registration was capsulized in a statement by the Bishops of Minnesota urging cooperation in registration, but pledging “adequate education, guidance and help” for young men who may have to decide whether to comply with an eventual order to enter the military. Locally, Church concern is evidenced by increased draft counseling activity on the part of campus ministers. Father Joe Holohan, O.F.M. is part of the campus ministry team at the University of Georgia in Athens. He sees the draft question as “a serious decision for young people to make” and reflects that such a decision should not be made alone. “This is a religious process for a young person. The Church needs to be there offering support and counsel.” Draft counseling is not new to Father Joe, who was active in the Draft Information Service during the late 60’s and early 70’s. “The last time around I was too old to carry a draft card. Since I couldn’t make that decision personally, it would have been hypocritical of me to stand on one side or the other of the draft issue.” “What I could do was work with young men and help them understand how the law affected them.” At present, Father Joe perceives a need for a re-focusing on counseling because of the precariousness of the political situation. “We have to proceed on the assumption that a full draft after the election is a real possibility. In Athens, young naval officers question the adequacy of our military establishment. Our whole society is putting renewed emphasis on military preparedness.” The University of Georgia is gradually coming back to life after a slow, steamy summer. In the coming year, those interested in draft counseling can find help from campus ministers and older students alike who will have been trained in this field. Upcoming workshops designed for the training of draft counselors will be held in Atlanta this month. Sponsored by Clergy and Laity Concerned, the workshops will give form and substance to the options available to possible draftees. Susan Sendelbach, who with Father Joe Cavallo forms the Catholic campus team that ministers to Agnes Scott, Georgia State and Emory University, will be among the workshop panelists meeting in September. Susan urges young adults to form their consciences on the draft issue. “The recent registration gave no pre-classification to the handicapped, the student, the conscientious objector, or any other registrants. If and when the draft is implemented, conscientious objectors will have only 10 days to get their documentation in order for approval of their status. They need to begin this process now.” Documentation for conscientious objector status is basically a file of written proof stating that for some time the individual has opposed war on religious and moral grounds. Susan Sendelbach stresses the need for young women as well as young men to address this issue. “The American Civil Liberties Union has challenged the validity of the summer registration on the basis that it discriminated against women.” “If the Supreme Court agrees and nullifies the registration, the government can easily call for another registration for men and women. Although the ACLU feels this may mean a further victory for the anti-war camp because of the objection to women draftees, women still need to be ready.” Along with Father Holohan, Susan senses that the mood of the country is hawkish. “It frightens me to think about it, but it seems as though we’re churning up for conflict. I am hoping that through education, counseling and prayer, the Church can offer other alternatives.” “I have to believe we are bright enough to settle issues without blowing each other’s heads off. The Church can witness to this.” More On The Draft - Pg. 3 (The Atlanta Coalition Against Registration and the Draft, part of a national draft counseling network, operates a local hotline to serve those with questions on registration and the draft. Phone: 523-3264). Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta Vol 18 No. 30 Thursday, September 4,1980 $8.00 per year Higgins Speaks For The Poor WASHINGTON (NC) - In his final Labor Day statement before retirement, Msgr. George G. Higgins has called for a vigorous defense of the needs of the poor. He said society must not ignore the poor even though there are tremendous economic pressures to do so. “Under the pretext or pretense of managing our economy, social programs are being severely cut back, labor’s right to organize is being effectively thwarted in many industries, unemployment has been allowed to rise to intolerable levels, and the poor and aged are being left to their own devices for survival,” said Msgr. Higgins. Msgr. Higgins, a member of the U.S. Catholic Conference staff for 36 years, announced his retirement earlier this year effective Sept. 1. He will be 65 next January. The long-time labor advocate, who preached at the funeral Mass last January of AFL-CIO president George Meany, for many years has issued an annual statement for Labor Day. This year’s statement traces the recent history of the church’s traditional advocacy of the poor and its teachings regarding the right to collective bargaining. Msgr. Higgins complained that the effort to “turn back the clock” on society’s concern for the poor raises ^ serious questions for the future. “Are we in danger of becoming an increasingly atomized society in which private gain is placed above social and religious values?” he asked. “Will our national and global communities be torn apart by the struggle for limited resources? Will our economic problems be ‘solved’ at the expense of the poor and the weak both at home and abroad? “The answer depends upon our willingness to place the values of human dignity and equality at the heart of the debate over our nation’s future,” he said. Msgr. Higgins said current economic problems are no greater than the problems faced by the country when it emerged from the First World War. At that time, he noted, the U.S. bishops’ conference, then known as the National Catholic Welfare Conference, predecessor of the USCC, issued the “Bishops’ Program for Social Reconstruction.” “It was one of the most forward-looking social documents of its time, and it helped to establish the church in the United States as a leading proponent of a more just social order,” said Msgr. Higgins. The document, Msgr. Higgins noted, called for giving workers a “proper share” in industrial management as well as for minimum wage legislation, a major social insurance program, a full employment program, progressive taxation and a wider ownership of property. “This tradition of vigorous advocacy on behalf of human dignity needs to be kept alive and creatively kept up to date in light of our current economic crisis,” Msgr. Higgins said. Msgr. Burtenshaw’s column, Soundings, will resume after his vacation. LABOR’S PAUSE - A man wipes the grease and grime from his hands and prepares for his annual Labor Day rest. ANGLICAN-CATHOLIC ISSUE U.S. Bishops To Plan For “Common Identity” (Staff and Wire Reports) Certain Anglicans in the United States seeking entrance into the Roman Catholic Church, including some married clergymen, may be admitted with a “common identity” under terms to be established by the U.S. Bishops and to be approved by the Vatican. Questions Raised WASHINGTON (NC) - While the U.S. bishops have taken the first steps toward admitting some married Anglican clergymen into the Catholic priesthood, the move has raised several questions that have yet to be answered. One is the number of such priests who might ultimately be admitted to the Catholic priesthood. Another is the future of relationships between Catholics and Anglicans worldwide. The Episcopal Church in the United States is a member of the Anglican Communion. The first step came in an announcement Aug. 20 that the Vatican has approved a proposal by the U.S. bishops to develop terms (Continued on page 5) The decision to develop provisions for admitting Anglicans under such “common identity” was announced by Archbishop John R. Quinn of San Francisco on Aug. 20. Archbishop Quinn is president of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops. Archbishop Quinn said the decision was made by the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in reply to inquiries from the NCCB, and that the decision had been approved by Pope John Paul II. Emphasizing that many details remain to be worked out, Archbishop Quinn said terms of the arrangement include provisions for married Anglican clergymen to continue in ministry. A statement released by the NCCB raised the question of possible reordination for Anglican clergymen, saying “their ordination as Roman Catholic priests can be allowed in keeping with the customary norms and practices of the Roman Catholic Church.” According to the statement, the U.S. bishops’ conference raised the question of possible “common identity” in response to specific requests “from both individuals and groups of Anglican background who have been members of the Episcopal Church.” Archbishop Quinn said in the statement that the decision applies only to persons who, while wishing to retain some elements of the Anglican tradition, fully accept Roman Catholic doctrine and the authority of the pope and bishops. The announcement noted that the terms under which the Anglicans would be admitted to the Catholic Church are still to be established and must still be approved by the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. The admission of married Anglican priests into full communion with the Catholic Church could lead to the only time that married priests could be ordained legitimately in the United States. Eastern-rite churches, which have married priests in other countries, are not permitted to ordain married priests in the United States. According to Ukrainian-Rite Archbishop Myroslav J. Lubachivsky of Philadelphia, there are some Eastern-Rite married priests (Continued on page 5) POLISH LABOR CRISIS Church Major Third Force NC NEWS SERVICE The Catholic Church emerged as a major third force in the Polish labor crisis through a series of statements by Polish church leaders and Pope John Paul II. Amid on-again, off-again talks between worker and communist government representatives in Gdansk, the bishops of Poland issued a joint statement Aug. 28 that supported the strikers’ key demands. Among “the nation’s inalienable rights” the bishops listed freedom of speech and the press, the right to private land ownership, and the freedom of workers to form and join unions of their choice. The last item, independent trade unions, was the key workers’ demand. The government’s concession on that point reportedly formed the basis for an agreement ending the strikes this week. Other major church involvement in the strike included: - Papal prayers for Poland and messages of solidarity to the bishops, including a letter to Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski of Warsaw and Gniezno which Polish authorities censored as subversive. - Major public statements by Cardinal Wyszynski, carefully balancing defenses of workers’ rights with strong appeals to strikers for moderation and compromise. - Coverage of one of the cardinal’s talks on state television and in the official communist paper, Trybuna Ludu (People’s Tribune), and a protest by the Polish bishops of the coverage. Lengthy coverage in the state-controlled press of speeches by religious leaders is rare. - Papal portraits and Vatican flags decorating strike centers. - Masses, confessions and other church services for strikers occupying the Lenin shipyards in Gdansk. - Hunger strikes initiated in two Polish Catholic churches backing another of the strikers’ demands, freedom for political detainees. Polish-born Pope John Paul, a firm defender and theoretician of human rights, was such a key symbolic figure behind the strikers that an exiled Soviet dissident, Vladimir Maximov, commented, “With his words z he has given more support than anyone else to the struggle of the Polish workers.” U.S. Representative William H. Boner (D-Tenn.) sent a letter to the pope asking him to mediate the conflict. “You are the only major world figure who has the objectivity, the influence and the respect to carry on such a delicate task,” the letter said. (Continued on page 5) STRIKERS IN PRAYER - Striking workers of Lenin shipyards kneel in prayer inside the shipyards in Gdansk, Poland. Meanwhile relatives and supporters of the strikers also were kneeling in prayer outside the gates to the yard. The workers, who left their jobs on August 14, returned early this week in an agreement which won major concessions from the Polish government. I t