Newspaper Page Text
BY MSGR. NOEL C. BURTENSHAW
Father Jack Druding was not ready for the happenings in Cebu over in the
Philippine Islands, but he was so glad to be there. And he was so glad to have it all
happen.
The assistant pastor from St. Philip Benizi Church in Jonesboro was in the
Philippines at the invitation of his friend, American missionary Monsignor George
Tomichek. It was February 1981 and Pope John Paul II was making one of his
flying transcontinental visits. Monsignor Tomichek was assisting with the
arrangements for the many different papal stops.
In Cebu, the very cradle of Christianity in the Philippines, Father Druding
found himself in the residence of Cardinal Julio Rosales. The Holy Father had
made one of his stops and was staying overnight with the Cardinal. At a distance
Father Jack had observed the Pontiff at dinner the evening he arrived. “He just
said a hurried hello to everyone,” says Father Druding. “He was tired, the crowds
had been large.” But a much closer connection was to be made the following
morning.
“Monsignor Tomichek and I decided next morning to have Mass together
early. So at about 4 a.m. we went to the Cardinal’s private chapel and
concelebrated. We were taking a few minutes of thanksgiving when the door
opened and in walked the Holy Father alone.”
After a short prayer, the papal intruder made the stations of the cross going
around the little chapel from one station to the next. Then he knelt and took a
rosary from his white cassock and prayed his beads. “It was a really big thrill,”
says Father Druding, “to be there with just Monsignor Tomichek and the Holy
Father in that little chapel.” More was to come.
As the Pope left he beckoned to the priests and outside they chatted
delightedly for a moment. “It was marvelous to get that opportunity,”
remembers Father Jack, “but then he suggested we have a cup of coffee. We went
to a small dining room and the three of us sat together over the morning coffee.
By the way, the Holy Father took his coffee black.”
The conversation was about the Church in the Philippines and the Church in
the United States. “He was very impressed by the way the American Church so
willingly shared with the rest of the world,” says Father Druding. “Especially he
was impressed with our support of the missions. And he was particularly
interested in the project of our own parish here at St. Philip Benizi.”
The people of the Jonesboro parish have adopted a new parish in Mindanao in
the Philippines. This community has one priest, who is building a church as he
attempts to serve 30,000 Catholic families. “The Holy Father asked me how
many families were in our parish in Jonesboro and I told him under a thousand.
He commented that there is so much more for the priest to do in the Philippines.
And they are so poor over there.”
The priest serving the parish in Mindanao, which by the way is called St. Philip
Benizi, was in the hospital at the time with complications directly connected with
(Continued on page 2)
A SISTER CHURCH IS BUILT. St. Philip Benizi Church in
Mindanao in the Philippines comes to life. This picture taken by
Father Jack Druding shows the parish church which St. Philip Benizi
in Jonesboro has adopted. The Pope spoke with Father Druding about
this project as they met during the Holy Father’s visit to the
Philippines.
Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta
Vol. 19 No. 21
Thursday, May 21,1981
$8.00 per year
“I will be a witness to you in the world, O Lord.
I will spread the knowledge of your name among my brothers.”
OUR LADY OF LOURDES
JOHN PAUL S MESSAGE
World Welcomes First Words
In Atlanta, Coretta Scott King
echoed the emotions of an outraged
international community: “It is an
ironic and reprehensible act
perpetrated against a man of peace, a
man whose life and works have been
devoted to keeping the peace and
working for justice, and equality for
mankind everywhere.”
This peaceful, gentle man has
traversed the globe with the message
of his papacy, often spread to those
whose own lives have been ravaged by
the violence that has now very
personally insinuated itself into his
experience.
In September of 1979, Pope John
Paul II spoke compellingly to the
people of Drogheda, near the border
of Northern Ireland:
“Violence is a lie, for it goes against
the truth of our faith, the truth of our
humanity, the life, the freedom of
human beings. Violence is a crime
against humanity, for it destroys the
grief of his Catholic friends. Stopping
by Saint Luke’s parish house to offer
his sympathy, he led parish secretary
Frances Boerner and parishioner
David Oberhausen in prayer.
Outside the rectory, on the streets
of Dahlonega, Catholics were
frequently stopped by their
non-Catholic neighbors expressing
deep concern over the attempt on the
life of the pope.
On the 13 th of May, the day of the
historic shooting in Saint Peter’s
Square, the entrance antiphon for the
Mass of the day was the song of the
psalmist: “I will be a witness to you in
the world, O Lord. I will spread the
knowledge of your name among my
brothers.”
Papal witness in and to the world -
the spreading of the word of Christ
and the love of the Father in the gentle
unity of their Spirit - cannot be
brought down by a would-be assasin’s
bullet.
It is our faith in the power that
Something New To Come
BY GRETCHEN REISER
Back To
When children return in the fall to Our Lady of Lourdes school, they’ll be
coming back to a different place.
Following a groundbreaking ceremony last week, work began immediately
on construction of a two-story addition to the school, and the complete
renovation of the existing school building, which has served over the years as
the original parish church, and, on its upper floors, as a neighborhood social
center and dance hall.
The groundbreaking ceremony, held Tuesday, drew all ages, from the
children, who were invited to join Archbishop Thomas Donnellan in making
the first cuts in the ground, to longtime parishioners like Annabella Jones who
was married in the first floor of the school building, then the chapel in 1934.
The parish, the first black parish in Atlanta, is within the Martin Luther King
National Park.
The work is estimated to cost up to $500,000. The new two-story building
will provide a parish hall on the ground floor and additional classroom and
office space on the second. A bridgeway at the second floor level will connect
the new classrooms with the top floor of the existing school building.
Construction work is scheduled to be completed by the time school
resumes in the fall. Among the changes that will be brought about by the
construction are the addition of a sixth-grade class, a library and cafeteria
space.
The children each found a particular aspect of the changes they welcomed,
with the cafeteria receiving a large number of votes. But their feelings were
summed up by Stephanie Standifer, who said that her brother, a student at St.
Pius X High School, is always teasing her about how “his school looks better
than mine.” She’s hoping that next year, it’ll be her turn to brag.
The work has been sorely needed, said Father Frank Giusta, pastor of Our
Lady of Lourdes. Simple need for renovation has given way over the years to
major problems in the building with heat and wiring, he said. In addition, the
parish has had no facilities for social extension into the community, he said.
The new parish hall on the ground floor is envisioned as a place that will better
serve the school, the parish and the neighborhood, he said.
Father Giusta said he would like to see the hall serve the community in a
number of ways, including a form of after school shelter for children, and,
eventually, as a place where people in the neighborhood can come for food.
“People are always coming to the door for food and help,” he said. “The need
- a brief expression of thanks, pardon
and prayer that was broadcast over the
loudspeakers at the noontime Regina
Coeli in St. Peter’s Square.
The next day, as the pope marked
his 61st birthday, he was transferred
from the intensive care recovery room
of Rome’s Gemelli Polyclinic (general
hospital) to a 11th floor suite with a
view overlooking the dome of St.
Peter's Basilica.
For 30,000 people gathered in St.
Peter’s Square May 17 for the
noontime Regina Coeli, the firm,
strong recorded voice of the pope
brought tears, relief and a quiet
exhiliration.
“Praised be Jesus Christ!” he
began, and a spontaneous wave of
applause filled the square, almost
drowning out the next words.
Virtually every eye in the square
was trained on the empty central
balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, as if
that were where the voice was coming
from.
“Beloved brothers and sisters,” the
pope continued, “I know that during
these days and especially in this hour
of the Regina Coeli you are united
with me.
“With deep emotion I thank you
for your prayers and I bless you all.
“I am particularly close to the two
persons wounded together with me. I
pray for that brother of ours who shot
me and whom I have sincerely
pardoned.
“United with Christ, priest and
victim, I offer my sufferings for the
church and for the world.
“To you, Mary, I repeat: ‘lotus
(Continued on page 6)
BY JERRY FILTEAU
VATICAN CITY (NC) - Pope John
Paul II showed steady signs of
recovery from his gunshot wounds
and personally pardoned the man who
CATHEDRAL MASS
tried to kill him as he began the week
following the assassination attempt.
On Sunday, May 17, he
concelebrated Mass for the first time
from his hospital bed and
tape-recorded his first public message
All The Neighbors Came
BY GRETCHEN REISER
K
Ul
in
ui
*
MASS FOR THE HOLY FATHER. The Bishops
of the Atlanta Province enter the Cathedral of
Christ the King to concelebrate Mass for Pope John
Paul II. Six hundred people participated in the
liturgy which was offered at noon on Thursday,
May 14. From right are Abbott Augustine from the
POPE JOHN PAUL II
Monastery in Conyers, Bishop Ernest Unterkoefler,
Bishop Raymond Lessard, Bishop F. Joseph
Gossman, Bishop Michael Begley and Archbishop
Donnellan. Also pictured are Mohsignor John
McDonough and Father Louis Naughton of the
Cathedral.
A
BY THE A JARVIS
Violence against the papacy is not
new. Martyrdom, alleged poisoning,
and physical assault on the person of
the pope abound in church history.
Indeed, the attempted
assassination of Pope John Paul II on
May 13 was almost predictable, given
the style of the Polish-born pontiff -
crowd-loving, people-pleasing,
baby-hugging, ebullient - and
vulnerable.
But it is perhaps the measure of the
man that a world jaded by global
violence can still be deeply
discomfited by an attempt on a life
that has so warmly embraced the lives
of others.
very fabric of society ... On my knees
I beg you to turn away from the paths
of violence and to return to the ways
of peace.”
The pastoral touch of John Paul II
has reached out to those who live in
rural simplicity as well as those bogged
down in the mire of violence.
In the mountains of north Georgia,
the town of Dahlonega was quietly
enjoying a weekday respite from
spring tourism when news of the papal
shooting broke. With Saint Luke’s
pastor Father Bob Poandl out of town
and Deacon Francois Pellissier
ministering in the mission parishes
farther north, the Presbyterian
minister of Dahlonega, Reverend
Steve Rhodes, poignantly shared the
World
overcomes such mindless violence that
gives hope to us who share a global
brotherhood.
The pope who celebrates the value of life, in gestures of embrace toward
children and in words spoken around the world, received prayers for his own life
and well-being at a special Mass in Atlanta last week.
Some 24 hours after the shooting of Pope John Paul II, the five bishops of the
Province of Atlanta concelebrated Mass at the Cathedral of Christ the King and
were joined by many other religious leaders and more than 600 people of all
denominations praying for the pope’s recovery.
“Your presence here today is a source of joy and support and a sign of your
great love,” said Archbishop Thomas A. Donnellan, the principal celebrant and
homilist for the noon Mass. Schoolchildren from the Cathedral of Christ the King,
men and women in business clothes who seemed to have stopped in on lunch
hour, and young people in jeans filled the pews.
Joining Archbishop Donnellan were the bishops whose dioceses fall within the
Province of Atlanta: Bishop Raymond W. Lessard of Savannah, Bishop Ernest L.
Unterkoefler of Charleston, S. C., Bishop Michael J. Begley of Charlotte, N. C.
and Bishop F. Joseph Gossman of Raleigh, N. C.
The bishops had been scheduled to be in Atlanta for a provincial meeting and
were enroute when the shooting occurred.
Many other denominations were represented in the pews or among those
seated with the celebrants. The Bishop Suffragan of the Episcopal Diocese of
Atlanta, Charles J. Child, and Dean David Collins of the Cathedral of St. Philip,
Bishop John of the Greek Orthodox Diocese of Atlanta, Dr. J. Deotis Roberts,
president of the Interdenominational Theological Center of Atlanta, Rabbi
Beverly Lerner of The Temple and representatives of the Christian Council of
Metropolitan Atlanta were among those attending.
The support and prayers of such people and their congregations were specially
mentioned by the Archbishop as he warmly recalled Pope John Paul II’s presence
(Continued on page 6)
CHILDREN FROM OUR LADY OF LOURDES SCHOOL in
Atlanta enjoy the groundbreaking ceremonies for the school’s new
addition with Archbishop Thomas Donnellan, Father Frank
Giusta, pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes Church, and Sister Regina
Lake, school principal.
is enormous evidently.”
Of the renovations and construction, he said that during his requests for
help, “I wasn’t trying to be too optimistic” about receiving the archdiocesan
funds. Receiving both the renovations and the money for the addition was “a
miracle,” he said.
“The children are just beside themselves, they’re so happy,” said Sister
Regina Lake, principal of Our Lady of Lourdes School.
Witness In The