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Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta
Vol. 19 No. 13
Thursday, March 26, 1981
$8.00 per year
SENIOR MAN. Mr. Willie McLaughlin, who
was born and lived a greater part of his life in
Dublin, Ireland, joins Archbishop Donnellan and
Father Peter Ludden at the St. Patrick’s gathering
in downtown Atlanta following the Mass at
Immaculate Conception Church. Mr. McLaughlin
lives with his son, Matt, and his family in Atlanta.
(Photos - Burtenshaw)
Parents’ Right To Know
BY JIM LACKEY
WASHINGTON (NC) - A Utah
law requiring physicians to notify the
parents of an unmarried minor
daughter seeking an abortion was
upheld by the Supreme Court March
23 in a 6-3 decision.
The court, in a ruling which
amounted to a victory for pro-life
organizations, said that the state has
an adequate health interest to require
such notification even if it might
inhibit some minors from exercising
their right to obtain an abortion.
“Although we have held that a
state may not constitutionally
legislate a blanket, unreviewable
power of parents to veto their
daughter’s abortion, a statute setting
out a ‘mere requirement of parental
notice’ does not violate the
constitutional rights of an immature,
dependent minor,” wrote Chief
Justice Warren E. Burger in the
majority opinion.
The court has ruled in the past
that states cannot require parental
consent for abortions for dependent
children. But until it accepted the
Utah case (H.L. vs. Matheson) it had
left unanswered the question of
whether simple notification ~
regardless of whether parental
consent was given - would also be an
unconstitutional infringement on the
right to an abortion.
The three dissenting justices, led
by Justice Thurgood Marshall, argued
that the state law was poorly
constructed and that the threat of
parental notification may cause
minors to delay their abortions until
the abortions were more risky.
Attorneys for a 15-year-old girl
identified only as “H.L.” had argued
that an abortion decision should be
made only in the doctor-patient
relationship without any outside
interference.
In ruling in favor of the law,
Burger noted that the Utah Supreme
Court had upheld the law on the
grounds that parents ordinarily
possess information essential to a
physician’s medical decisions. The
Utah court also had ruled that
encouraging an unmarried pregnant
minor to seek the advice of her
parents in deciding whether to carry
a pregnancy to term promoted “a
significant state interest in
supporting the important role of
parents in child-rearing.”
Burger agreed, saying that “an
adequate medical and psychological
case history is important to the
physician,” and noting that courts
consistently have recognized that
parental authority is basic to the
structure of society.
Burger also rejected the argument
that Utah should not be allowed to
require parental notification on
(Continued on page 6)
ALL GREENED OUT. Father Joe Meehan, pastor of St. Patrick’s
Church in Norcross, has a host of admirers as he displays his wearin’
of the green on St. Patrick’s Day. Father Joe, who hails from
Dublin, was on his way to the annual parade.
El Salvador'.Differences Em erge, Violence Continues
NC NEWS SERVICE
El Salvador is a tiny country under
an international microscope. The
Massachusetts-sized Central
American nation has been
spotlighted by the Reagan
administration as the place where the
U.S. government plans to stop
communist-bloc infiltration in the
Western Hemisphere.
The U.S. position that increased
military aid to the Salvadoran
government is needed to combat
communist-supplied guerrillas has
caused international controversy,
including much critical comment by
Catholic leaders.
-- In El Salvador Bishop Arturo
Rivera Damas, apostolic
administrator of San Salvador,
supports a government call for direct
dialogue with opposition groups in
an effort to end the four years of
bloody fighting.
- In the United States the bishops
continue opposing military aid to El
Salvador, saying the key to resolving
the conflict is in meeting social
justice demands through
socio-economic and political reforms.
- The Canadian bishops support
the stand of their U.S. colleagues and
deny statements by a Canadian
government official that the Vatican
repudiates this stand.
A representative of the
Salvadoran Bishops’ Conference
currently is travelling abroad
supporting the basic U.S. government
contention that guerrilla weapons are
being supplied by communist
countries and that El Salvador no
longer is experiencing a civil war, but
a war between the two superpowers.
-- In Ireland a bishop claims the
United States is trying to cut off
humanitarian aid to the people of El
Salvador.
The controversy is being
conducted while killings escalate in
the war-torn country. A report by
Socorro Juridico, human rights office
of the Archdiocese of San Salvador,
says 4,000 civilian non-combattants
were killed in the first 10 weeks of
1981. At the current rate, this would
double the approximately 10,000
non-combattants the archdiocesan
office said were killed last year.
International Catholic interest in
El Salvador, where about 90 percent
of the 4.2 million people profess
Catholicism, rose sharply after the
assassination on March 24, 1980, of
Archbishop Oscar Romero of San
Salvador, a leading advocate of
non-violence and social reform.
Although the archbishop’s murderer
was never captured, the killing is
generally attributed to rightwing
groups.
In the United States interest in El
Salvador was further heightened last
December when four U.S. women
(Continued on page 6)
Mother Angelica’s Faith:
“One Foot In The Air”
BY GRETCHEN REISER
A bespectacled nun, dressed in a plain brown Franciscan habit, stood at the
podium. The audience of several hundred waited expectantly for some
guidance from this unassuming-looking person, who, they knew, wasn’t quite
what met the eye.
After all, this nun has a $335,000 satellite dish in the backyard of a
monastery in Alabama, printing facilities that turn out a half million booklets a
month, and is on the brink of launching the first Catholic satellite television
operation in the United States licensed by the Federal Communications
Commission. And this with no budget, but her unlimited faith that as needs
arise, the Lord will provide.
It’s enough to make people lose sight of the obvious. “I take a lot of
Maalox,” Mother Angelica said. “My stomach does not know that I have
faith.”
She defined faith as “one foot on the ground and one foot in the air and a
(Continued on page 6)
MISSION FOR THE DEAF
Even The Pope Was Invited
BY THEA JARVIS
Children attending classes for the deaf at Corpus Christi’s school of religion
are so enthusiastic about their Family Mission for the Deaf this weekend that
they have asked Pope John Paul II to come.
“The kids have been talking for weeks about having the Archbishop with
them for the day,” said Christine McDonald, pastoral worker for the deaf at
Corpus Christi, who with Sister Rose Huber has coordinated the mission.
“One little boy asked, ‘If the Archbishop can come, why not the Pope?’
They all signed the invitation and sent it off to the Vatican!”
“The kids have been talking for weeks about having the
Archbishop with them for the day . . . One little boy asked, ‘If the
Archbishop can come, why not the Pope?’ They all signed the
invitation and sent it off to the Vatican. ”
Although plans for a papal visit are as yet unconfirmed, Corpus Christi
Church in Stone Mountain will welcome families from all over the Atlanta area
to its mission for the deaf this Saturday, March 28.
Father Charles Dittmeier, Director of the Catholic Office for the Deaf in
Louisville, Kentucky, will conduct the mission for the second year in a row and
conferences throughout the day will focus on the special needs of families with
deaf or hearing-impaired members. Father Dittmeier will hold sessions for
young deaf children and their parents from 10 a.m.-noon, for deaf teens and
their parents from 1-3 p.m. and for deaf adults from 3-4 p.m.
Father Dittmeier, who has worked with the deaf since his ordination 12
years ago, “signs” his words as he speaks, enabling all those present to
understand his message.
Archbishop Thomas Donnellan will celebrate the Eucharist Saturday
evening, and Father Dittmeier will interpret the Mass for the deaf, using sign
language. A reception will follow the Mass.
“Because deaf people are frequently isolated, they love to socialize when
they have the chance,” said Christine McDonald. “We are expecting people
from all over the area, including some who are not members of a Catholic
Church.”
Mrs. McDonald and her family are looking forward to the day. Her
14-year-old son, Brian, a student at Clarkston High School, is deaf and attends
classes with an interpreter. Because Brian will receive Confirmation this year,
much of his conference with Father Dittmeier will center on what the
sacrament will mean in his own faith life.
“Everyone was so pleased with the mission last year,” said Mrs. McDonald.
“Children who hadn’t been able to receive First Communion or First Penance
celebrated these sacraments with the help of Father Dittmeier. It is so much
easier for a deaf person to go to confession to a priest who ‘speaks’ his
language.”
Christine McDonald interprets the 12:30 p.m. Mass for the deaf each Sunday
at Corpus Christi and works full time as a classroom interpreter for the DeKalb
County School system. She stressed the strong community effort that has
made ministry to the deaf so successful at Corpus Christi.
“We have a very unique parish. There are so many people here who are
actively working with the deaf and never seem to lose their enthusiasm for this
ministry,” she said. “Our pastor, Father Kenney, and Sister Rose, who heads
our education department, have supported the programs completely.”
A cherished dream of Christine McDonald is to have a full-time priest for
counseling, sacramental instruction, Eucharist and general ministry to the deaf.
Corpus Christi may well be the only Catholic church in Georgia to offer such
an extensive ministry to the deaf. The proximity of the Atlanta Area School
for the Deaf in nearby Clarkston has brought many families with deaf children
within the parish boundaries and has provided an impetus for expanding
pastoral ministry to those with hearing handicaps.
Since 1975, deaf children have been enrolled in Corpus Christi’s catechetical
program. In 1979, the church began a “signing” class for those interested in
helping to teach the deaf. From this nucleus emerged the “Signs of Praise,” a
choir which signs hymns for the deaf. In the same year a special place for the
“One older deaf woman who attended the first Mass in April of
1979 was visibly moved. She cried and hugged my neck. She said
she had never 'heard' the word of God as she had that day. ”
deaf was created at Corpus Christi’s Sunday liturgies. A seating area was
reserved for the deaf and their families and Mass was interpreted by Christine
McDonald.
One older deaf woman who attended the first Mass in April of 1979 was
visibly moved. ‘She cried and hugged my neck,” remembered Mrs. McDonald.
“She said she had never ‘heard’ the Word of God as she had that day.”
Sister Rose Huber, whose love for this ministry has led her to proficiency in
signing and singing for the deaf at Corpus Christi, summed up the parish
commitment simply: “If we don’t minister to the needs of the hearing
handicapped, they will have to find some place that will.”
As long as Corpus Christi continues its outreach, they need not look far.
(The Family Mission for the Deaf is open to deaf children, teens and adults and their
families and begins at 10 a.m. Saturday, March 28 at Cropus Christi Church, 600 Mountain
View Drive, Stone Mountain. For further information, call 469-0395). ' ,
On The
BY LARRY MELEAR
Parish Renewal will be the theme
this Saturday as Archbishop Thomas
A. Donnellan hosts an expected 150
pastors and parish lay leaders for the
Archbishop’s Conference on
Evangelization.
Held at St. Pius High School, the
day-long conference will focus on
specific renewal programs which have
been used in north Georgia parishes.
“The demand for quality renewal
programs is greater than the supply,”
explains George Clements, chairman
of the Archdiocesan Committee on
Evangelization, which planned the
event. “Parishes need a resource,
such as this conference, where they
can learn from the successes of other
parishes and take home practical
renewal ideas.”
The six renewal programs to be
reviewed at the conference were
tested and recommended by parishes
of the Atlanta archdiocese.
Representatives from the , using
parishes will be on hand to train
others in the techniques of each
specific program. Included are a
home visitation plan, a model for
neighborhood community building,
week-long and weekend renewal
events, home Bible studies, and a
program for welcoming parish
newcomers.
Also on the agenda are sessions for
parishes with a Black or Hispanic
population plus informational
workshops on renewal planning and
communications techniques.
The conference opens at 10 a.m.
with registration, prayer and a
general review of evangelization in
the Archdiocese of Atlanta.
Participants will then break into
Agenda
workshops for small-group
discussions of the various renewal
topics. The closing ceremony is set
for 3 p.m.
This is the seventh training
opportunity which the Archdiocesan
Committee on Evangelization has
offered to parish leaders since the
committee’s formation in 1978.
“Parish renewal events require a high
level of planning and preparation, if
they are to be effective, and that’s
why these training sessions are
essential,” says Clements.
If you wish to attend the
conference, but have not registered,
late registration is available by
phone. Call the conference
coordinator, Larry Melear, at
952-7969. There is no fee for
registration.
(Larry Melear is a member of the
Archdiocesan Committee on
Evangelization.)