Newspaper Page Text
I
orgia
Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta
Vol. 18 No. 33
Thursday, September 25,1980
$8.00 per year
Woes
^ “fttiyt. *K»tl “SuxinuAttm
The Shogun Syndrome
Shogun, that so called
marvelous marathon, is over.
For six insistent evenings it
interrupted our schedules and
drew us into the rapturous
romantic adventures of one
thousand and one Oriental
nights.
It did other things too.
With callous abandon, it
presumed to make scurrilous
villains out of the early
missionary
Jesuit Fath
ers. Without
hesitation,
Shogun
author, James
Clavell set out
to brand the
Jesuits as
instruments
of absolute
evil who cast
complete
misery on the
gentle and hospitable Japanese
people.
On the other hand, Mr.
Clavell’s hero and savior, who
professes another kind of
Christianity, is portrayed as one
who simply wishes to indulge in
the wonderous customs of his
eastern hosts. While doing so,
his indulgence carries him
liberally to the marriage
chambers of his trusting host’s
wives. No fault or failing is seen
in these escapades, acceptably
adulterous in nature.
The fictional lying
exaggerations of Shogun were
placed on the NBC Network
last week, were highly rated by
the critics and were sheepishly
tolerated by United States
Catholics without objection. We
deserve the thrashing we get.
We even seem to enjoy it.
During my recent vacation, a
friend asked me to read “the
runaway best seller”
Shabumi. Millions of copies
have been sold. Millions more
are in print. Obviously the
Silver Screen is next or at least
a Network special.
One of the hoodlums of the
, story is a vile parish priest living
in the Basque country in
Northern Spain. Not only is he
held in contempt by our Robin
Hood assassin style hero, but
the vile father causes the death
of a young woman by divulging
information he has received not
just in confidence but actually
in the confessional. How
annoyingly low can they go.
This heap of trash has sold
millions on the book market, is
not an underground tract and
may now win an Oscar at the
box office. Again, we, Catholics
under attack, will be silent.
Like a glorious chorus, the
religious community rose up in
defense of our Jewish cousins
this week when Southern
Baptist Bailey Smith judged
their prayers as invalid.
Happily, responsible Baptists
were the first and the loudest to
condemn the juvenile stance of
the so-called Baptist leader.
Hopefully the anti-Catholic
bigots of this nation,
unfortunately dressed up most
respectably as authors and
artists, fearless in their use of
television, will begin to receive
the same treatment from a
fair-minded community who
are so often the beneficiaries of
our protests.
But, for heaven’s sake, let us
not wait for the din to begin.
We are many enough to be
heard.
ANDERSON-REAGAN
INSPECTING TORAH - Rabbi Harold White,
Jewish chaplain at Georgetown University in
Washington, shows the university’s Torah to some
of the 1,200 incoming freshmen following a
VATICAN CITY
standing-room-only interfaith service.
Georgetown is the nation’s only Catholic
university with a full-time Jewish chaplain. (NC
Photo)
World Synod Opens
VATICAN CITY (NC) - The
world Synod of Bishops will focus on
pastoral issues in family life and will
not be a debate on church doctrines
such as the indissolubility of
marriage or the illicitness of artificial
birth control, said Archbishop Jozef
Tomko, general secretary of the
synod.
At a press conference before the
synod’s formal opening Sept. 26,
Archbishop Tomko presented general
background on the synod, outlined
the approach to its theme, “The Role
of the Christian Family in the World
of Today,” and announced the
names of synod officials,
participants, auditors and experts.
A number of questions from
reporters focused on church
teachings regarding contraception
and remarriage after divorce.
Archbishop Tomko answered that
the synod issues would involve
pastoral practices, not church
doctrines.
He said the synod would deal with
pastoral concerns of Christian family
life from the perspective of the
family as a “community of love” and
a source of santification and
education in values.
“The family today finds itself, in
many areas, in the eye of the
cyclone,” the Archbishop said, and
the synod will discuss the many
social, economic and other factors
that directly or indirectly affect
(Continued on page 6)
r-BAPTIST LEADER
Remarks Spark Comment
BY THEA JARVIS
Last week, some discomforting
remarks by the president of the
Southern Baptist Convention
surfaced in the middle of the
Jewish high holydays.
Shortly after Rosh Hashanah,
the Jewish New Year, and just
before Yom Kippur, the
traditional Day of Atonement, the
media caught wind of Dr. Bailey
Smith’s reflections on the
effectiveness and validity of
Jewish prayer.
In brief, Dr. Smith contended
that God looked with disfavor
upon the prayers of Jewish people
because they failed to
acknowledge His Son, Jesus
Christ, as Lord and Savior.
The statement was made at a
meeting of the National Affairs
Briefing, a gathering of
Fundamentalist Christians held in
Dallas this past August.
“The timing was certainly
poor,” said Marshall Solomon,
commenting on the emergence of
the statements during the Jewish
holyday celebrations.
“In fact, it couldn’t have been
worse. But I would hesitate to say
it was a planned release. I’m just
surprised it took as long as it did
to get out.”
Mr. Solomon, a native Atlantan
who is an active member of the
Conservative Ahavath Achim
Synagogue and is a seasoned
veteran of the Anti-Defamation
League of B’nai B’rith, expressed
disbelief rather than anger over
Bailey Smith’s assertions.
“At first, I was just incredulous
that someone could make such a
statement. I felt pity that a man
in Dr. Smith’s position was so
uninformed.”
Marshall Solomon doubted
that Dr. Smith “is a true
anti-Semite. I believe he is just
insensitive to the issues.”
Mr. . Solomon serves on the
executive committee of the
southeastern region’s
Anti-Defamation League. His wife
is vice-chairman of the Atlanta
chapter of the March of Dimes.
It is apparent that the
Solomons have had positive
interchanges with the Christian
community over the years.
“Working on the ADL
community dinners, for example,
we have had some good
experiences. We always have a
non-Jewish co-chairman and we
encourage members of other
faiths to come and take part, visit
our synagogues^and get to know
us,” says Marshall Solomon.
Editorial, Page 4
“Some reticence to do this is
normal,” he continues. “We’re all
not as informed as we should be.
We are hesitant to'expose our own
areas of ignorance to each other.”
For the future, Mr. Solomon
predicts no wave of fury over
Bailey Smith’s contentions.
“I don’t really see any fallout
from it,” he states. “I don’t think
it reflects the sentiment of the
larger religious community and I
wouldn’t condemn an entire
movement because of the remarks
of one man.”
On the Baptist front, however,
some are picking up the pieces.
Dr. Brownlow Hastings, who
has for years worked closely with
Father Joe O’Donnell in the area
of Baptist-Catholic dialogue, has
his office at the Baptist Home
Mission Board in Atlanta.
He feels “very deeply regretful
over Dr. Smith’s statement” and
notes that it “reflects an attitude
with which we all wouldn’t
necessarily agree.”
Dr. Hastings cites the Old and
New Testament as proof that God
listens to the prayer of those who
have not heard the gospel
message.
“In the Acts of the Apostles,
Peter’s meeting with Cornelius, a
devout Jew, showed that God’s
grace had already been at work.
The prayer of Cornelius was
answered even before he had
accepted Jesus Christ.”
Dr. Hastings would agree with
Dr. Bailey Smith that it is through
Christ that we find the Father.
“Christians believe that the
way to the Father IS through
Jesus Christ,” he explains. “But
this ‘way’ can’t be limited only to
those who know Christ fully, as
Christians do.”
Brownlow Hastings “regrets
the feelings of antagonism that
will arise” after a statement like
Dr. Smith’s has been made.
He notes, however, that the
President of the Southern Baptist
Convention speaks only for
himself.
“There is no such thing as THE
Baptist view on this matter
because we believe so strongly in
the priesthood of all believers and
the personal interpretation of
Scripture.”
Dr. Hastings continues, “There
are those who voted for him who
may find they don’t agree with
him on this issue.”
In the 1960’s, Brooks Hayes
held the post of president of the
Southern Baptist Convention. He
was a fierce defender of racial
integration at a time when much
of the South was marching to a
different tune.
He was also the target of
attacks by the very members of
his religious constituency who had
voted him into a leadership
position.
It would appear that, though
the pendulum has taken a swing
to the right, history continues to
repeat itself.
Debate Raises
Catholic Issues
NC NEWS SERVICE
Church involvement in the politics
of abortion unexpectedly became a
major issue during the first
presidential candidates’ debate Sept.
21 in Baltimore.
The two candidates who appeared
at the debate, Republican nominee
Ronald Reagan and independent
John Anderson, were asked whether
they approved of a statement by
Cardinal Humberto Medeiros of
Boston, who four days before the
Sept. 16 Massachusetts primary
urged Catholics not to vote for
candidates who support abortion.
Anderson said that while the
church has the right to take positions
on moral issues, he added he believes
it is a violation of separation of
church and state for the church to
tell its members for whom they
should vote.
Reagan said he would not take a
position on whether the church
should tell its members how to vote.
But he also remarked that many
churches have been “too reluctant to
speak up in behalf of what they
believe is proper in government.”
The question about abortion, one
of six questions from a panel of
journalists, was asked by Soma
Golden, a business and finance
reporter for The New York Times
who also is a member of the Times’
editorial board and has reported on
women’s issues.
She cited involvement by
fundamentalist groups in the Reagan
campaign and also noted that
Anderson, a Republican member of
Congress from Illinois, had on three
occasions sponsored an amendment
to the Constitution to recognize “the
law and authority of Jesus Christ.”
Reagan, responding first, said,
“Well, whether I agree or disagree
with some individual, . . .1 don’t
think there’s any way that we can
suggest that because people believe in
God and go to church that they
should not want reflected in those
people ... their own belief in
morality ...”
He said he has found during this
campaign a hunger for a spiritual
revival in America and a belief that
government actions must be based on
a higher law.
“Now, I have thought for a long
time that too many of our churches
have been too reluctant to speak up
in behalf of what they believe is
proper in government and they have
been too lax in interfering with
government’s invasion of the family
itself,” he said.
“Whether it is right for a single
issue, for anyone to advocate that
someone should be elected or not, I
won’t take a position on that,” he
added. “But I do believe that no one
in this country should be denied the
right to express themselves or to even
try to persuade others to follow their
leader. That’s what elections are all
about.”
Said Anderson, “Certainly the
church has the right to take a
position on moral issues. But to
try ., .to tell the parishioners of any
church, of any denomination, how
they should vote I think violates the
principle of the separation of church
and state.”
Anderson said abortion is a moral
issue best left to the freedom of
conscience of the individual and said
a constitutional amendment on
abortion would violate freedom of
conscience “as much as anything that
I can think of.”
Anderson also criticized Reagan
for running on a Republican
platform which urges the
appointment of federal judges “who
fv«rIH-!nnn1 P —— II. - i
vxuuiuujiai laiimy values alia
the sanctity of human life.”
“I don’t believe in trying to
legislate new tests for the selection of
the federal judiciary,” said Anderson.
Reagan later responded that “I
don’t think that’s a bad idea” that
judges should have a respect for
“innocent life.”
Anderson admitted that he had
changed his views on giving
constitutional recognition to the
authority of Jesus because it would
be wrong to impose that view on a
pluralistic society.
And he also noted that he has
voted against a constitutional
amendment to bring back prayer in
public schools.
“I think mother ought to whisper
to Johnny and to Suzy as they
button their coats in the morning to
(Continued on page 6)
Suenens To Visit
Cardinal Leo Josef Suenens of
Belgium will be the homilist at an
Ecumenical Prayer Service at Christ
the King Cathedral in Atlanta at 3
p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 5.
The Scripture readings will be by
Archbishop Thomas Donnellan,
Episcopal Bishop Bennett Sims, and
Bishop John, Orthodox Bishop of
Charlotte and Bishop-designee of
Atlanta.
Fathers John J. Mulroy and Paul
W. Berny of Holy Family parish are
coordinating the service for the
Archdiocese.
Cardinal Suenens will be
participating in an Episcopal
convention in Chattanooga, Tenn.,
prior to visiting Atlanta.
The former archbishop of
Malines-Brussels, Cardinal Suenens
recently emphasized the importance
of small charismatic prayer groups in
the life of the church at the parish
level, in a letter to The London
Times Sept. 18.
The cardinal’s letter was
prompted by recent articles in The
Times criticizing aspects of the
charismatic movement.
The cardinal distinguished
between “charismatic prayer groups”
and “house churches.”
“For me, an authentic prayer
group can only be a living cell in a
body, an integral part' of the total
reality of the visible local church,”
the cardinal said.
“Such integrated groups are
precious, because to be a Christian is
to be a member of a ‘community,’ to
share with others one’s own Christian
life,” he said. “This was important in
the past. But it is more urgent than
ever today, as we face a world that is
more and more paganized.”
“Such units are needed as
supplements to the ‘parish
community,’ which is hampered by
its size and by the anonymity of its
members,” Cardinal Suenens wrote.
“I believe that the future of a
living parish lies in a communion of
small local units where Christians
may share their Christian life in
depth, with all its personal, social
and apostolic consequences,” he said.
This presupposes a harmony
between parish and charismatic
groups and this in turn would depend
on the parish minister’s
understanding of what the
charismatic movement really means,
he added.
Cardinal Suenens
“And this is nothing less than an
experience of conversion, a ‘baptism
in the spirit and in the fire’ for
today’s Christians, that is analogous
to what their predecessors
experienced in the Upper Room at
Pentecost,” the cardinal said.