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Dolores McNamara - Person Of The Year
BY MONSIGNOR NOEL BURTENSHAW
Ladies lavishly clean churches.
Monsignor Kiernan’s ladies over at Immaculate Heart of Mary are no
different than any other. They really know how to clean. “It’s get out of their
way on Fridays,” says the jolly Monsignor, “or you’ll get the shoes cleaned out
from under you. They are great.”
But the Friday morning leader is
the greatest of all. Monsignor
Kiernan has found it so, his
predecessor can honestly say the
same and going back to Monsignor
Regan the testimony is just as
glowing. Dolores McNamara is the
best loved first lady of the IHM
parish.
“She organizes the women,” says
Monsignor Kiernan, “but that’s not
all. Last one out is Dolores and the
real messy job is always reserved for
herself. No one loves to work for the
Church like Dolores.”
The entire Church of the Archdiocese of Atlanta has experienced the
dedicated hands of Dolores McNamara, since she, along with her husband
George, moved to the Atlanta area in 1963. Her parish is her first love, but the
toil for others never stops there. Her heart is just too big.
The special hobby of Dolores McNamara is quiet, gentle outreach to others.
Where there is a need that her charitable presence can fulfill, her quick feet get
her there.
“We recently lost our janitor to cancer,” recalls Monsignor Kiernan. “It was
Dolores who constantly visited him in the V.A. Hospital. To her, he was one of
the family and because of her kindness and example of prayer, Carl became a
Catholic before he died. Delightedly, Dolores dressed the altar for Carl’s last
Mass. He would have loved it.”
But shut-ins get the special attention of this active dynamo. For many years
the senior citizens at Wesley Woods have received her special attention. Every
Monday along with a priest from the parish, Dolores is there with a healing
smile and an assuring presence among shut-ins so glad to have her.
Father Hugh Marren remembers, “She would quickly organize all the rough
work. Set up the altar, calm the excitement of those coming to Mass and join
them like this was her weekly liturgy too. They loved the kindness of her
presence.”
Dolores, always the heart of her own family, keenly understands the
loneliness of those without family. “She loves to do little things for her friends
at Wesley Woods,” says husband George. “She gives surprise parties and takes
Holy Communion and enjoys seeing shut-ins enjoy themselves.”
Dolores McNamara wants her Church and the liturgy she loves and serves to
reach out in beauty to the community of Atlanta. And being Dolores, she
found a way. When a Mass on television became a possibility over three years
ago, Dolores saw her chance to be involved and bring the Mass to many.
“From the first instant that WSB agreed to televise the Mass,” remembers
Monsignor Noel Burtenshaw, “Dolores gave her talents to beautify each
occasion. She puts the altar together, makes the linens, arranges the sets, and
advises producers and directors on how it all comes together.”
When Dolores advises, directors listen. Dolores wants only the best, the
most prayerful, and pictures of high beauty when it comes to this public
celebration of the Mass.
“She never misses,” says Monsignor Burtenshaw. “Dolores is first in the
studio and last to go. And her advice is always so practical. Recently we
offered Mass with some Special Ministers of the Holy Eucharist present and
gave an explanation of their role in parish life. It turned out great, it was a
good experience for our viewers and Dolores was the person to suggest we do
it. She’s a whiz.”
Dolores’ roles in the Church are very many. Her greatest treasure is her
ministry as a Eucharistic Minister. “No one has greater devotion or faithfulness
in this role than Dolores,” says Monsignor Kiernan. “Without any exaggeration,
her example to the parish and to the sick is really an inspiration.”
The other love of this woman of the Church is the Legion of Mary, a parish
organization devoted to daily prayer and works of charity. “Dolores believes
the work of the Legion brings results,” says George McNamara. “She will tell
you the rosary does it. She prays the rosary and has great devotion to Mary in
(Continued on page 3)
Vol. 19 No. 1
Tfttyi. Tfoti “Suntartfa*
Who Shot J.R.?
The world-wide community of
tube and non-tube watchers gathered
together in 1980 to satisfy that
question of the year: Who shot J.R.?
Every television set in every time
zone, on every continent, in every
color, was tuned into the moment of
truth. Bookies gave and took odds in
London. In Africa, factories closed
till all was revealed. And in South
America, a soccer game paused as the
usually delirious fans sobered to hear
the unmasked-
-one named.
Well, as we
all know, it
turned out to be
young what’s
- h e r - n a m e ,
J.R.’s sister-in-
-law. We knew it
all the time.
Never, not even
for an instant,
could she be
considered
anything but trash. But what we
don’t know is this. Where did that
gun come from? From Sue Ellen?
Where did she get it?
Was it a silver-handled job that her
dance-hall grandmother carried for
self-preservation? Did her daddy
present it on the occasion of her first
gold filling? Or did she win it at the
Barbie Doll stand at Six Flags Over
Texas? We really don’t know.
Probably, like a couple of million
other Americans, she went down to
her corner gun store or community
pawn shop and bought the thing. It’s
that easy. You just go to the shop
and buy it like a loaf of bread. You
don’t have to say why you need it.
You don’t have to testify that you
can use it. The man doesn’t have to
tell you that this poisonous piece of
metal has only one function - it kills
people. You just pay your money
and take your gun.
In Georgia you must sign a form
swearing that you are not a felon,
you have not been convicted of a
crime and you have not been to
prison. This form is not checked.
There is no waiting period for
verification. In fact, an ex-convict on
his way from the Federal Pen to the
Greyhound can stop off, be fitted
with his “piece,” catch his bus and
be on his business without question.
It’s that simple - that terrifying.
John Lennon was shot by a
bought pistol. So was Bobby
Kennedy. Their loss is irreplacably
tragic. They are but two. What about
the others? What about the ten
thousand who died mostly in
domestic brawls last year. They
should have been pushed and shoved.
They should have been popped on
the nose. They should have been
arrested for disturbing the peace, for
disorderly conduct.
But no. The gun was there in the
drawer. The heated words were
yelled. The insult screamed like a
blade in the back. The second is lost
in blind anger. The shot is never even
heard. For the rest of his life he
passionately cringes to bring that
awful moment back. It’s too late.
Jimmy Breslin tells of the
10-year-old girl leaning out the
tenement window in Brooklyn. (By
(Continued on page 2)
Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta
Thursday, January 1,1981
DANZIG EXHIBIT ~ Archbishop Thomas
Donnellan (left) speaks with Barbara and William
Schatten at the dedication of Emory University’s
Schatten Gallery in the Woodruff Library on
campus. The Dec. 16 event opened the art and
history exhibit “Danzig 1939: Treasures of a
Destroyed Community,” which will be on display
at Emory through Feb. 5. The exhibit contains
religious and historical treasures from the Jewish
community of the Free City of Danzig, which was
liquidated on the eve of World War II.
Theologians Assess Papal Letter
ROME (NC) -- Pope John Paul II’s
new encyclical on the mercy of God
is an essentially spiritual document
with implications for such
controversial church issues as
liberation theology and divorced
Catholics, according to theologians in
Rome.
Irish Redemptorist Father Sean
O’Riordan, who teaches a course on
the theology of marriage in the
modern world at the Alphonsian
Academy in Rome, said Pope John
Paul’s encyclical “Dives in
Misericordia” (Rich in Mercy)
provides a foundation for possible
changes in the church’s attitude
towards the divorced and remarried.
“It’s essentially a call to an
attitude of mind and spirit,” he said,
“and it could be the basis for the
development of a church attitude
based less on law than on
compassion.”
Although he said the encyclical
“does not indicate a concrete move”
on the church’s ministry to divorced
and remarried Catholics, Father
O’Riordan said it encourages one to
look at problem marriages “not just
in terms of an ideal but in their real
circumstances.”
“Anyone who thinks this (the
encyclical) is just a nice pious
development on justice doesn’t know
anything about theology,” said Jesuit
Father Robert Faricy, a professor at
the Gregorian University.
“I think what the pope was doing
was hitting at the one critical
weakness of liberation theology -- the
lack of mercy - and at communism
because it lacks a doctrine of love,”
added Father Faricy, a native of St.
Paul, Minn.
Describing the document as “the
best encyclical I’ve ever read,” he
said it is “not only up-to-date but
breaking new ground on moral
theology, spiritual theology and
church involvement in the world.”
The encyclical’s main message,
said Father Faricy, is that “the
healing power of God’s mercy can
heal both social structures and
human hearts.” He called it a
“guidebook” for social justice issues
and for pastoral attitudes in the
administration of the sacraments of
healing - penance, the Eucharist
and anointing of the sick.
Another theologian in Rome, who
asked not to be identified, had a less
optimistic view of the impact of
“Dives in Misericordia.” “The
message is good, but the way of
expressing it is awfully abstract,” he
said.
The theologian said the pope’s
second encyclical was likely to have a
much less significant impact on the
church than his first, “Redemptor
Hominis” (Redeemer of Man), and
said he thought it was aimed
primarily at interpersonal
relationships than at larger political
or social issues.
(Continued on page 2)
Emotional Christmas Mass In Iran
TEHERAN, Iran (NC) - Thirty of
the 52 American postages joined in a
Christmas Mass celebrated by Pope
John Paul II’s representative in Iran
and three Iranian-born priests.
The rest of the hostages, held
since Nov. 4, 1979, by militant
Islamic students, attended Christmas
services led by Iranian Protestant
ministers to mark their second
Christmas in captivity.
Archbishop Annibale Bugnini,
papal pronuncio to Iran, led the
Catholic services along with
Chaldean-Ri te Archbishop
Youhannan Semaan Issayi of
Teheran and two priests.
But none of the clergymen was
able to say where the Mass took
place, because all were blindfolded
during the drive to the building
where the hostages were held.
“When they took off the
blindfold, I saw four walls and then a
Christmas tree,” said Archbishop
Bugnini. “The hostages were led into
the room in groups of six or seven
and we celebrated brief religious
services.”
The 68-year-old Italian-born
archbishop said he thought the
hostages seemed tired but were in
“fairly good” physical health and
“good” mental health.
“They joked among themselves,
while they opened their gifts,” he
said. “Two women, when they saw
me, cried and smiled at the same
time. Everyone was very emotional.”
Each of the 52 hostages received a
package of winter clothing and
exercise equipment in addition to
other gifts donated in Teheran or
sent from the United States, the
archbishop said.
After the Mass, several of the
hostages asked the papal
representative to send Christmas
greetings to their families.
Three of the U.S. hostages are
held at the Iranian Foreign Ministry
in Teheran, while the 49 others are
apparently together at the
undisclosed location.
All 52 Americans also received
visits Christmas day from
Abdelkarim Gheraieb, Algerian
ambassador to Iran, who said the
hostages were “comfortable” and “in
better conditions than before” the
move from the U.S. embassy in
Teheran.
$8.00 per year
JAN. 1 MESSAGE
Pope Speaks
Of F reedom
VATICAN CITY (NC) - Both peace and freedom are threatened by
terrorism, totalitarian systems, religious repression and economic inequalities,
Pope John Paul II said in his message for the 1981 World Day of Peace, Jan. 1.
In a 14-page statement on the day’s theme, “To Serve Peace, Respect
Freedom,” the pope addressed a variety of issues, including materialism,
abortion, world hunger and nuclear warfare.
The message was dated Dec. 8 and released at the Vatican Dec. 23.
Although he said that “the spectacle that meets our eyes at the beginning of
the 80s seems hardly reassuring,” Pope John Paul said he spoke “from a
powerful conviction that peace is possible, but that it is also something that has
to be continually won.”
Excerpts, Page 4
He addressed the message to “all of you who are building peace, to all of
you who are the leaders of the nations, to you, brothers and sisters, citizens of
the world, to you young people, who dare to dream of a better world.”
In a section of the document on “conditions that call for a fresh
examination today,” the pope listed a number of political and social situations
which threaten freedom.
“The freedom of nations is wounded when small nations are forced to align
themselves with large ones in order to ensure their right to independent
existence or to survival,” he said in an apparent reference to Soviet bloc
countries like his native Poland.
“There is no true freedom - which is the foundation of peace -- when all
powers are concentrated in the hands of a single social class, a single race or a
(Continued on page 3) i
DOLORES CURRAN
New Column In Bulletin
This week, The Georgia Bulletin
introduces columnist Dolores Curran
to its readers. Mrs. Curran, wife and
mother of three children, is a prolific
writer whose major focus is in the
area of family life and catechetics.
Mrs. Curran’s weekly column,
“Talks With Parents,” appears in 52
diocesan papers nationwide and was
named “Best Syndicated Column”
by the Catholic Press Association in
1979.
Her most recent books include
“Family Prayer,” “I’m Telling,” and
“And Then God Made Families.”
Mrs. Curran also authored “Models
of Ministry: Family Life Resources
for the Parish” published by the U.S.
Catholic Conference in 1980.
Delegate Due Jan. 15
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina
(NC) - Archbishop Pio Laghi,
newly named apostolic delegate in
the United States, announced
plans to arrive in Washington by
Jan. 15 following a two-week visit
to Rome. He will leave Buenos
Aires Jan. 3.
The archbishop, who has been
papal nuncio to Argentina since
1974, sent Christmas greetings to
American Catholics and at the
same time asked U.S. bishops,
priests, Religious and laymen for
their prayers.
Archbishop Laghi said he
accepts his new appointment
“with mixed feelings. I have a
feeling of confidence and a feeling
of anxiety in having to represent
the pope in such an important
nation of the Western world,” he
told NC News.
“When you have to represent
this particular pope, so
exceptional is John Paul, a
difficult mission becomes more
so,’’ he said of his U.S.
assignment.
In Argentina associates recalled
that when he was appointed to
Buenos Aires, Pope Paul VI told
an Argentine bishop, “I am
sending this gifted man to you as
a token of my love for
Argentina.”
He served in Argentina during a
period of violence marked by
military repression and guerrilla
attacks. The conflict, which had a
strong impact on the church, left
an estimated 10,000 dead.
