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PAGE 7—The Georgia Bulletin, March 19, 1981
New Cardinals
May Be Named
VATICAN CITY (NC) - Will Pope John Paul II
call a special consistory after Easter to create new
cardinals?
Some Vatican sources say yes and that Americans
figure prominently in the list of candidates for the
traditional red hat and robes.
Among the Americans most often mentioned are
Archbishop James Hickey of Washington and
Archbishop John May of St. Louis.
Archbishop Hickey, Michigan-born former bishop
of Cleveland, last year became the third archbishop
in the nation’s capital. Both his predecessors were
cardinals: Cardinal Patrick O’Boyle, now retired and
the oldest American cardinal at 84, and Cardinal
William Baum, who last year was moved to Rome to
head the Vatican’s Congregation for Catholic
Education, becoming the highest ranking American
in the Vatican.
Archbishop May, born in Illinois and former
bishop of Mobile, Ala., succeeded retired Cardinal
John Carberry in St. Louis in January 1980. The
last three archbishops of St. Louis have worn the
red hat: Cardinals John Glennon, Joseph Ritter and
John Carberry.
Practically a sure bet for cardinal at the next
consistory is another archbishop with strong
American ties, Belgian Archbishop Jean Jadot, 71,
who recently became pro-president of the Vatican’s
Secretariat for Non-Christians.
Archbishop Jadot, a veteran papal diplomat, was
apostolic delegate in the United States for seven
years before he was named to the Vatican
secretariat last year after the death of Cardinal
Sergio Pignedoli.
Pro-president is a title given to heads of
secretariats who are not cardinals. Normally it is
expected that at the next consistory they will be
named cardinals and given the title of president of
the secretariat.
Pope’s Next Trip:
Switzerland
VATICAN CITY (NC) - Pope John Paul II will
visit Switzerland in the late spring, but the dates and
program have not been firmly set, a Vatican
spokesman said March 12.
In Switzerland a spokeswoman for the Swiss
Bishops’ Conference said the pope was scheduled to
arrive June 1 and would leave either June 5 or June
6.
Father Romeo Panciroli, director of the Vatican
Press Office, said he could not confirm the dates
because “we don’t say anything until we are
absolutely sure.”
But he added that the pope’s visit would take
place “in that period.”
In a telephone conversation with the NC News
Rome Bureau a spokeswoman for the Swiss Bishops’
Conference in Fribourg, Switzerland, said Pope
John Paul would visit Lugano, near Switzerland’s
Italian border; Zurich, the country’s largest city;
Einsiedeln, site of a 10th-century Benedictine abbey
which houses a famous image of Mary; and Geneva,
where the headquarters of the International Labor
Organization (ILO), the World Council of Churches
(WCC) and the International Red Cross are located.
Other likely, but unconfirmed, stops on the papal
itinerary are Fribourg, in the section of Switzerland
which was once under French rule, and Solothurn in
northwest Switzerland, the spokeswoman said.
She said the bishops’ conference is negotiating
with the ILO, a United Nations-related agency, to
arrange a papal visit or address to the body, but
details are not yet clear.
It will be the 10th trip abroad for Pope John Paul
since his election to the papacy in October 1978.
Bibles Needed
In China
GENEVA, Switzerland (NC) - The recent
printing of 135,000 Bibles does not begin to fill the
needs of Chinese Christians, an official of the
Lutheran World Federation said after a three-week
visit to China.
The Rev. Andrew Hsiao, vice president of the
Geneva-based organization, said the shortage of
Bibles may last for two or three years because the
printing of Bibles has not been given priority and
paper supplies are limited.
Mr. Hsiao said many recently reopened churches
have no biblical texts or hymnals and rely only on
prayer in their liturgical services.
About 135,000 copies of the New Testament or
the entire Bible were printed and distributed late
last year by the Three-Self Committee in China, an
organization of non-Catholic Christians.
Colloquium On
Science-Unbelief
SATNA ROSA, Calif. (NC) - Archbishop Paul
Poupard, newly appointed propresident of the
Vatican Secretariat for Non-Believers, has called a
plenary meeting of the commission’s episcopal
members March 31-April 3 in Rome to discuss
“Science and Unbelief in the Present Day.”
Pope John Paul II is expected to address the
members at a special audience at the Vatican April
3.
Archbishop Poupard said he is calling the 23
bishops to Rome because “it has become evident
that atheism and non-belief manifest themselves in
different ways...”
“Marxism lays claim to scientific status but
without warrant, since it is an ideology. On the
other hand, in countries under the capitalist system,
and even in some developing countries, one is aware
of a technological mentality which entails a craving
for immediate material advantages to the detriment
of spiritual and religious values.”
He added that the secretariat intends to “draw up
a map of atheism and non-belief in every part of the
world.”
Bishop Mark Hurley of Santa Rosa will be among
bishops addressing the meeting.
Unlike previous sessions, held since 1967 when
Pope Paul VI established the secretariat, this
meeting will focus on the relationship of science to
modern beliefs, Bishop Hurley said. Previously, he
said, the sessions dealt with such subjects as the
relationship between non-belief and Marxian
Socialism, agnosticism and nihilist philosophy.
Memorial Services For Archbishop Romero
SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (NC) -- One year after
the voice of Archbishop Oscar Romero of San Salvador
was silenced by an assassin’s bullet, the Catholic Church is
planning low-key memorial services in parishes rather than
a massive rally at the cathedral.
Archdiocesan officials fear that violence could break
out, as it did at the archbishop’s funeral, if a massive rally
is held.
“Given the present circumstances, we do not want to
risk more deaths,” said an archdiocesan spokesman,
referring to the political violence of the past four years
that has left close to 16,000 dead, including church
personnel.
Archbishop Romero, an outspoken defender of the
poor, was killed March 24 while celebrating Mass in the
chapel of a hospital he had founded for cancer patients.
About 40 persons were killed and 250 injured during
the funeral services in front of the cathedral. They died
either from gunfire by soldiers or guerrillas or from
crushing by a crowd of more than 150,000 people who
panicked. Among those attending the Mass were three
bishops from the United States.
Last November rightwing terrorists claimed
responsibility for the bombing of the cathedral while
preparations were under way for funeral services for eight
leaders of the opposition Revolutionary Democratic Front
who had been abducted and killed by security forces.
The 1.7 million Catholics in the Archdiocese of San
Salvador were invited to attend a memorial Mass to be
celebrated March 24 in 104 parishes and a dozen chapels.
There are no special services scheduled at the cathedral.
Soliarity groups are also preparing liturgical
celebrations elsewhere in Central America, Mexico, the
United States, Canada and Europe.
Bishop Arturo Rivera Damas, apostolic administrator of
San Salvador, plans to be out of the country at the time
of the memorial service. He is scheduled to attend the
general assembly of the Latin American Bishops’ Council
in Santiago, Chile. From Chile he will travel to Essen,
West Germany, and then to the United States, making
stops in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Cincinnati and
Washington.
In the United States, men and women Religious are
being asked to observe five minutes of silence and prayer
at 6 p.m. March 24 to mark the anniversary of the
archbishop’s assassination.
The period of silence is being urged by the
International Justice Network, a year-old organization of
Religious, most with overseas missionary experience,
attempting to publicize Third World concerns in the
United States.
Noting that it learned of Archbishop Romero’s
assassination during its initial meeting, the organization
said it has been particularly active in promoting the cause
of the poor in El Salvador.
It said individual congregations are making plans for
public demonstrations, such as candle-light processions and
prayer services, to mark the anniversary.
FASTING,
PRAYING, AND
SHARING - Limbo is
the name of the game
that tests which teen is
most limber in passing
under the pole. But
not all is fun and
games for the youth of
St. Peter and Paul
parish in Decatur who
fasted from solid foods
for 24 hours as Lent
began. Together with
fasting and praying,
they spent four hours
soliciting food for the
poor to help restock
the parish St. Vincent
de Paul pantry. This
weekend activity, a
mini-retreat, was a
follow-up to the teen’s
three-day retreat in
January. It is a
24-hour effort to share
Christ’s compassion
for hungry people. In
the photograph at the
right, Terri Reich, teen
leader, helps make
plans for this special
event and for the
reminds the parish
family of their many
brothers and sisters in
the world who have no
more than beans and
rice as a main meal.
(Photos by Mary
Zoghby, R.S.M.)
teens’ responsibility of
serving a parish meal
of beans and rice on
Ash Wednesday after
the evening Mass. This
m eal, cooked by
members of the
Women's Council,
Cleveland Team To Stay
BY JOSEPH F. MCKENNA
CLEVELAND (NC) -
The Cleveland Diocese’s
nine-member mission team
in El Salvador will
continue its work there
“as long as the situation
lets us,” said Father Alfred
H. Winters, diocesan
mission director.
Father Winters, who
visited El Salvador with
Auxiliary Bishop James P.
Lyke of Cleveland, said
the team would not
remain in El Salvador “no
matter what,” but added
that “there are no plans to
call everybody back
today.”
In December Father
Winters had said the future
of the 17-year-old mission
would have to be decided
by “all concerned parties.”
He made that statement
after the murders of
Ursuline Sister Dorothy
Kazel and Jean Donovan,
team members, and
Maryknoll Sisters Ita Ford
and Maura Clarke of New
York.
The murders prompted
the Carter administration
to halt all aid, including
military assistance, to the
country’s ruling junta. Aid
was restored, however,
after a preliminary U.S.
State Department report
found no direct evidence
of Salvadoran officials’
involvement in the
murders.
The Reagan
administration has
continued and increased
aid.
Father Winters said that
during his trip to El
Salvador, he saw signs of
the continuing violence -
by leftists, rightists and
government forces. Yet,
though the situation is
serious, it is not as bad as
the U.S. press has
reported, he said.
“The Salvadorans are
strong people. The
markets are full. Life still
goes on, and our people
are able to function,” he
said.
The Cleveland mission
team - comprised of six
priests and three nuns -
works in the Zaragoza-La
Libertad and Chirilagua
areas.
The only major
handicap to mission work,
said Father Winters, is the
irregular daily curfew.
“You go nowhere unless
you have time to get
back,” he said.
The Reagan
administration has
dropped a full
investigation of the
December missionary
murders as a requirement
for military aid. Frederick
Chapin, U.S. charge
d’affaires in El Salvador,
told Father Winters and
Bishop Lyke that an
investigation was being
pursued through private
diplomatic channels. But
Father Winters said, “I
don’t know what that
means.”
LEGAL AID OFFICE:
1981 Violence Toll: 4,000
MEXICO CITY (NC) -
Political violence took the
lives of about 4,000
Salvadorans in the first 10
weeks of 1981, according
to the Mexican office of
Socorro Juridico, a church
human rights office.
The figures were only of
civilian casualties.
Salvadoran security
forces have been
responsible for 46
anti-church attacks in the
last five months, said
Socorro Juridico, an
agency of the Archdiocese
of San Salvador, El
Salvador.
Among the dead in the
past eight months are 202
children. At least 74
people are missing after
detention, the office
report added.
Socorro Juridico is an
agency where Salvadorans
can file human rights
complaints and receive
legal aid. Its San Salvador
headquarters has been
raided by security forces,
its files confiscated and
several of its lawyers
detained or driven into
exile.
Several of the exiles
established the branch in
Mexico City.
An agency spokesman
in Mexico City denied
reports in the pro-govern
ment media in El Salvador
that Socorro Juridico no
longer had ties to the
church.
“Our legal aid office has
filed papers with the
judiciary, asking in the
name of the church that a
government junta decree
curtailing civil rights be
declared unconstitut
ional,” said Hector
Escobar, head of the
Mexico City office.
The decree, issued in
December, authorizes
arrest without warrant and
facilitates extremely cruel
methods of interrogation
such as torture and
drugging, the Socorro
petition read. Among the
rights suspended are the
need for a judge’s warrant
before arrest, the right to
know the charges, the
transfer of the case to
court within a short time
for fair trial and the right
to a defense lawyer.
Many of the victims
were arrested on suspicion
of being subversives but
never brought to court and
their bodies showed signs
of torture, said the church
agency.
The Socorro report
issued in March said if the
rate of 4,000 killings in 10
weeks keeps up, more than
20,000 will die in 1981
compared to the reported
10,000 people killed last
year.
U.S.C.C. Launches Campaign Against Budget Cuts
BY JIM LACKEY
WASHINGTON (NC) -- Calling President Reagan’s
budget proposals “unfair” and “harmful to the poor,” the
U.S. Catholic Conference has launched a major campaign
to oppose the proposed federal spending cuts.
In a letter to each member of the House and Senate,
the USCC’s general secretary, Bishop Thomas Kelly, said
the cuts would endanger the basic right of the poor to
“full human dignity.”
At the same time USCC officials sent diocesan social
justice directors across the country a nine-page letter
opposing the cuts, along with a series of “fact sheets” on
Reagan’s budget proposals and other materials on the
federal budget. Congressional testimony on several budget
issues also was being planned.
“If these budget cuts are enacted, elderly men and
women will go unfed, women and children will go without
necessary health care and social services, some of the
working poor will be forced onto welfare and families
across this nation will go without adequate housing,”
Bishop Kelly said in the letter to Congress. The USCC is
the public policy arm of the U.S. bishops.
Bishop Kelly’s letter identified six areas of particular
concern to the USCC, including food stamps, jobs,
housing and a number of public assistance programs.
“We agree that inflation must be reduced, that America
should be put back to work, and that America’s
productivity and industrial strength must be improved,”
said Bishop Kelly.
“However, we also are committed to seeing that the
solutions proposed for our economic ills do not endanger
the basic rights of the poor,” Bishop Kelly remarked.
Citing what it called the “moral dimensions of the
current debate over the president’s economic proposals,”
the letter said an essential element of Catholic tradition is
the belief that the dignity of all persons is protected by
basic rights to such things as food, housing, employment,
health care, education and necessary social services.
“These basic necessities are matters of right, not of
privilege or choice,” said Bishop Kelly, underlining the
word right. “Therefore, the government has the ultimate
responsibility, a moral responsibility, to see that these
needs are met.”
Bishop Kelly noted that under Reagan’s economic
recovery program, the impact of the budget cuts on
middle-income families would be partially offset by the
proposed tax cuts and that the net effect of the budget
proposals would be “a large financial gain” for the
wealthy.
“The poor, however, would receive the least of the tax
cuts and would be harmed the most by the budget cuts.
Clearly, this is unfair,” he said.
The letter urged House and Senate members to oppose
large-scale budget cuts in six areas:
- Food stamps. The letter maintained the program
already is targeted to the needy and said a $1.8 billion cut
would force thousands of families to go hungry.
-- Jobs. The letter called “unwise” the dismantling of
the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act
(CETA) program. It said early problems with CETA were
largely corrected by a set of amendments passed in 1978.
- Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC).
Benefit levels should be improved, not cut back, because
they are already far too low in most states, the letter said.
It also warned that many families cut from AFDC also
would be cut from Medicaid benefits.
- Housing. Saying the supply of low-income housing is
“critically low,” the letter called for increases in the
number of federally assisted housing units and opposed
increases in rent levels from 25 to 30 percent of income.
- Medicaid. Proposed reductions “would have a serious
detrimental impact on the availability of quality health
care for the poor,” the letter argued.
- Human services programs. The letter opposed
consolidation of 40 programs into block grants for the
states, noting that the poor would lose in the “local
competition for funds that would characterize a block
grant program.” It also urged especially that cuts be
opposed in the Legal Services Corporation, the
Community Services Administration, low-income energy
assistance and migrant and community health centers,
Bishop Kelly also said in the letter that while cuts in
federal spending may be politically popular, “they do not
constitute an adequate solution to inflation.”
He added, “We believe there are better, more humane
solutions which would strike at the root causes of
inflation without infringing on the basic rights of the poor
and needy citizens.”
In the letter to the diocesan social justice directors, the
director of the USCC Office of Domestic Social
Development, Ronald T. Krietemeyer, said the “social
safety net” as defined by Reagan does not include the
most important programs for the poor. Rather, he said, it
consists mostly of programs for the middle class with
powerful lobbies, such as Social Security, Medicare, basic
unemployment compensation and veterans benefits.
“As a result, contrary to Mr. Reagan’s promises to
protect the ‘truly deserving needy,’ the budget cuts will
affect the poor in dramatic and severe ways,” said
Krietemeyer.
Krietemeyer predicted that the federal budget cuts also
would have an impact on the Campaign for Human
Development (CHD), the bishops’ anti-poverty project,
and on Catholic Charities.
Many of the groups funded by CHD might go out of
existence because of the loss of federal funds,
Krietemeyer said, and the demand on organizations such
as Catholic Charities likely will increase because of the
loss to individuals and families of food stamps, jobs and
housing under the budget cuts.
Also opposing the proposed budget cuts was Network,
a Washington based Catholic social justice lobby comprised
primarily 6f nuns.
Sister Nancy Sylvester, Network lobbyist, said the
proposed budget would undermine domestic security even
though the increase in the military budget is aimed at
improving national secutiry.
Sister Sylvester, a member of the Immaculate Heart of
Mary Sisters, also argued that the apparent rush to enact
the budget cuts “may reflect a fear that there is no
mandate for this type of change,”