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CELIBACY DISPENSATION Vatican Issues New Norms NC NEWS SERVICE The Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has told bishops and superiors of religious orders of priests that a dispensation from celibacy is not to be considered a right belonging to all priests. The statement came in a letter dated Oct. 14 and signed by Cardinal Franjo Seper, prefect of the congregation, and Archbishop Jerome Hamer, its secretary. The letter accompanied a new set of eight procedural norms, or rules, for handling cases in which a priest asks to be dispensed from celibacy and to live as a layman. Such cases are processed first by a diocesan bishop or religious superior and then sent to the doctrinal congregation before presentation to the pope, who makes the final decision. The congregation said it will accept two categories of cases: -- “Priests who have left the priestly life for a long period of time and hope to remedy a state of affairs which they are not able to quit,” and “Those who should not have received priestly ordination because the necessary aspect of freedom or responsibility was lacking or because the competent superiors were not able, within an appropriate time, to judge in a prudent and sufficiently fitting way whether the candidate really was suited for continuously leading a life of celibacy dedicated to God.” The congregation told bishops and superiors to take care “so that a process of such serious importance as is a dispensation from celibacy, not be considered as a right which the church must recognize indiscriminately as belonging to all its priests. “On the other hand, ” the congregation said, “what is to be considered as being a true right is that one which a priest, through his oblation, has conferred upon Christ and upon all the People of God. Despite the serious difficulties which stand in his way and which can happen to him in this life, Christ and the People of God expect the priest to observe the fidelity which he had promised them. ’’Equally to be avoided is the notion that a dispensation from celibacy in recent times can be considered to be the result of some quasi-automatic summary administrative process,” the congregation said. The congregations warned against “any levity in procedure” which might scandalize “a good number of the Christian faithful.” To avoid that, it said, “a case in favor of dispensation is to be demonstrated by the force of the number (Continued on page 6) Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta Vol. 18 No. 38 Thursday, October 30,1980 $8.00 per year 'Halt "ScixUhaCutm The Immoral Majority Jerry Falwell proudly preaches his Moral Majority doctrine. And he does it with striking success. His Old Time Gospel television programs command an audience of faithfulness beyond belief. Fifteen million listen each week and by the great preacher’s own admission, two million regularly respond. They like ole Jerry’s message. And without embarassment, he likes to preach it. He is not afraid of his facts. America is on a roller- - coaster-ride to hell. Pornogra phy, gay rights, murderous abortion, and a i mess of muggers ! on the once safe streets of our cities is ample evidence of our imminent, wicked doom. The enemy is our Federal bureaucracy from the White House through the Congress and into our lily-livered state houses. They are soft on morality and friends of the red menace. Jerry and his folks have the answer. Christianity, Bible-thumping style, in the Congress is the answer. Ronald Reagan in the White House is the answer. And God-fearing judges on a Supreme Court that will legislate for prayerful public protection of family life, is the answer. Without hesitation or shame they loudly pronounce their cause. But they have their critics coming back just as vociferously. There are voices saying that similar sounds of simplistic healings were heard in Germany as the Nazi Party rose to power. The Jewish community is searching for its place in the proposed Christian Congress of the Falwellites. Blacks are adamant that the gospel proclamations of the Majority are labeled lily white. And many Catholics, while cozily enjoying the new anti-abortion company, feel most uneasy at the fundamentalist protestant doctrine preached. The see-saw battle has been one big colorful sideshow as we have marched down to deadline at the polling booth. Now, on the eve of picking the President and those other chosen souls bound for Washington, one question remains. How many of those who have listened, will participate? How many will vote? Americans, proclaiming membership in the greatest democracy that the world has known, do not vote. Most of the presidents elected within living memory went to that awesome position of power on relatively small turnouts. Politicians even plan the subtle possibilities of their campaigns on the small number who will vote. We are a scandal to the world. Other free nations stand in stupefied horror watching our political laziness. We should take a page from the book of the West Germans who went to the polls in massive numbers just two weeks ago. Ninety per cent of all registered voters were represented. Sadly, forty-five percent will be a respectable number for us on November 4. The Moral Majority and those who say it violates the sacred but questionable doctrine of Church and State will be remembered as the 1980 campaign ends. But there is another Majority, less controversial, vocally quiet and dependably perennial. It is the American non-voter. Call him the Immoral Majority. Synod Asks Pastoral Approach To Difficult Issues Of Family : ■ \ ' m PLANNING LITURGY for separated and divorced Catholics to be celebrated Nov. 20 at Holy Spirit Church in Atlanta. At left, Sandy Melof, chairman of archdiocesan Separated and Divorced Catholics groups, with Louise Rutland, Jeanne Mosley and Jerry Horton. VATICAN CITY (NC) ~ The secret final propositions of the 1980 world Synod of Bishops made strong recommendations to Pope John Paul II for a sensitive pastoral approach to such burning issues as artificial contraception and the status of divorced and remarried Catholics. The bishops carefully balanced the call for sensitivity with doctrinal firmness. The 43 propositions concluded with a 16-point charter of human rights, which the bishops asked the Holy See to propose to the United Nations, and a call for each of the world’s bishops’ conferences to draw up a pastoral directory for families. The set of propositions, the major document of the synod, was not made public, but it was seen by NC News. The propositions were submitted to the pope Oct. 25, following a month of deliberation by more than 200 bishops on the theme of “The Role of the Christian Family in the World of Today.” The first proposition requested that the pope use the document as the basis of a papal letter. Here is a summary of what the synod concluded on some of the key issues discussed: On artificial contraception: - The synod “firmly holds to what was set forth in the Second Vatican Council and subsequently in the encyclical ‘Humanae Vitae’ (Of Human Life), and specifically that conjugal love must be fuliy human, exclusive and open to new life.” -- Any pressure exercised by government or public authorities “for sterilization or contraception and the procurement of abortion must be completely condemned and rejected.” - In order to make the church’s teaching on artificial contraception more understood and accepted, the synod “invites theologians to work, joining their forces with the hierarchical magisterium (church teaching authority), so that the biblical foundations and personalist grounds of this doctrine might be brought to light ever more fully.” -- The prohibition on artificial contraception is normative, not just an ideal. -- The synod “is not unaware of the very difficult and truly tormenting situation of so many Christian couples who, despite a sincere will, are unequal to fulfilling the moral norms taught by the (Continued on page 6) Official Assignment Archbishop Thomas A. Donnellan has announced the following priestly assignment, effective Thursday, Oct. 30. Reverend Michael P. Hogan ... from Assistant Pastor at the Church of the Holy Spirit, Atlanta, to Priest-in-Charge of the Mission of Prince of Peace, Buford. Cathedral Service Marks Reformation Sunday BY GRETCHEN REISER On the steps outside the Cathedral of Christ the King, the colors of the choir robes distinguished Lutherans and Catholics, their single voices not yet joined to the swell of the organ and processional within the church. Leading the clergy, they entered, singing “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.” Voices became a choir and the filled cathedral a joint congregation of Lutherans and Catholics celebrating Reformation Sunday together for the first time. The “Reformation-Reconciliat ion” service, marking the 450th anniversary this year of The Augsburg Confession, was sponsored by the Metro Atlanta All Lutheran Pastoral Conference and the Religious Unity Commission of the Archdiocese of Atlanta. Or a day when Lutherans might have been marking their differences with the Catholic Church, homilist Dr. John F. Johnson, a member of the Lutheran-Roman Catholic Dialog team, asked that it be a time to “seek a new outpouring of the Holy Spirit... a time to be kind to one another, forgiving each other as God in Christ has forgiven us.” He quoted Pope John Paul II’s remarks on the anniversary of The Augsburg Confession last June 25, noting with sadness that the attempt in 1530 to reconcile differences between the Protestant Reformation and the Catholic Church failed. Dr. Johnson, pastor of Our Savior Lutheran Church in St. Petersburg, Fla., said that the 450th anniversary was a time for clarification of “what it means to be Church ... to be God’s people called by Word and by baptism,” a time for thanksgiving, echoing Mary’s Magnificat, and a time for self-examination. Finally, he said, it is a time to proclaim the Gospel. “The purpose of The Augsburg Confession was to confess the Gospel of Jesus Christ,” he said. “It is the power of that Gospel that sanctions our commemoration today ... The Gospel remains our only hope for a common witness.” Bishop Gerald S. Troutman of the Southeastern Synod, Lutheran Church in America, prayed in thanksgiving for the leaders, clergy and faithful of the Catholic Church. Archbishop Thomas A. Donnellan, who presided at the service, prayed that Lutherans be granted the “grace to forgive any words or deeds of ours by which they have been hurt over the generations.” The four Lutheran Synods in Atlanta represented at the service were the Lutheran Church in America, the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, the American Lutheran Church and the Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches. While formal dialogue proceeds between theologians, those outside the service Sunday afternoon celebrated the beauty of the Cathedral, the acoustics, the power of the joint choir, and the chance to meet each other. “It was a celebration, being together,” said Mrs. F. Otis Clauss of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in College Park. She said that while she had thought the day would come when Lutherans and Catholics might worship together, she was surprised that it had happened on Reformation Sunday, the Lutheran day of celebration. “I think it’s high time we got together,” said Russell Grick of Lutheran Church of the Redeemer. “We have so much in common. It’s high time we learned to love each other.” Laurence On The Move BY THEA JARVIS Thursdays at Christ the King Elementary School in Atlanta are “running days.” Every week, children chase the elusive goal of the white t-shirt - gained only after the completion of 40 miles or 400 laps around the school track. Laurence MacNeill, a fifth grader at the school, seeks the glory of the white t-shirt along with many of his classmates. But for Laurence, the goal is a little steeper. Laurence “runs” with artificial legs. “It’s real hard to run, so I just walk around,” says Laurence with pride. “I’ve been working since school began and I hope to have that t-shirt by the end of the year.” Laurence is a bi-lateral amputee. Ten years ago, he began life without legs. It didn’t stop him then and it doesn’t stop him now. “When I was a year old and getting my first pair of artificial legs, the doctors said it would be a waste of time. They thought I’d never walk - that I’d just be in a wheelchair all the time,” says the blonde, blue-eyed youngster, radiating enthusiasm. The doctors were in for a surprise. Nine years later, one of Laurence’s favorite tricks is taking the stairs at Christ the King three at a time “when I’m really in a hurry,” he confides. “It only gets embarassing when my legs start right. “I’ve tried from the beginning to be open and honest with Laurence,” says Mary Anne MacNeill. “It’s not going to change and Laurence needs to accept this fact.” She recalls the day she drove up to school to find Laurence The Unhandicapped-4 (Last In A Series) squeaking and I sound like a 1910 Model-T Ford.” Faced with the challenge of a handicapped child, many a parent suffers - at least initially - overwhelming guilt and anxiety. Not so for Mary Anne MacNeill, Laurence’s mother. “I was married for eight years before I had Laurence. His birth was a gift that I just kind of accepted,” she says with candor. “It was a shock to me, but I never fell apart, and though it was a little harder for Laurence’s father, he was able to totally accept it, too.” Observing the ease with which Laurence handles his handicap, one is convinced that the MacNeills have done something being carried to his gym class by two young friends. “I stopeed the car and told them that if Laurence didn’t walk by himself, he’d never learn to do it.” Laurence is a quick, intelligent child who plays the piano and loves to read “all kinds of mysteries, especially the Hardy Boys.” But he is all boy, as well. After school, the artificial legs come off and Laurence dons helmet, gloves and elbow pads and takes to the streets with his skateboard. “I sit on it and push it with my hands,” he explains. “I can even do a handstand on it and I only crashed once, when I ran into a pile of pine straw on my cul-de-sac.” Laurence MacNeill In the summertime, Laurence can be found swimming and diving with the best of them. “He loves to swim, and it’s a good outlet for him,” beams a proud Mrs. Mary Curran, Laurence’s grandmother. If Laurence’s physical successes are outstanding, his refusal to take himself too seriously is genuinely refreshing. “Laurence used to play ice hockey with Dan Bouchard of the Flames,” recalls his mother, “and he wanted to be a goalie like Dan. We all fantasized legs made three feet wide and four feet high - the exact size of the goal - so he’d play as well as his hero.” Laurence also dreams of having legs seven feet high to make him a basketball superstar or hydraulic legs to kick a football out of the stadium. Bionics are his bag. “Sometimes he’ll get frustrated and say ‘I wish I had legs so I could do that,”’ says Ms. MacNeill. “But we talk about it and discuss how he can do the best with what he has. Laurence is a gift in himself, given to me for a special reason. I feel it’s my obligation to do the most with that gift that I can.” Lots of people are there to help. Laurence’s eight-year-old sister Kathleen “sometimes has to reach for me,” says her brother, and Julian, a school friend from Cuba, “walks with me to gym and helps me up high curbs.” Patrick, Laurence’s best friend in his neighborhood, “doesn’t treat me any differently from anybody else - except when we’re (Continued on page 9) l unmn J