Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 4.
The Georgia Bulletin
June 28,1981
Gladys Gunning -
Good Neighbor
Good neighbors are usually the
people who live next door or down the
street. They wave to you in the
mornings and keep an eye on your
tomato plants when you go on
vacation. You watch each other’s kids
grow up and share a glass of iced tea on
the back porch on lazy summer
evenings.
Gladys Gunning was that kind of
neighbor in her own part of town. But
she lived to spread those everyday ties
of goodness to every part of town. And
that mission became her life.
Where the less fortunate were made
to feel less fortunate, Gladys was there.
All her life she spoke and acted for civil
rights and Christ-like human relations.
If the cause was justice, you would see
her there. And when the talk was all
talked out, Gladys Gunning would be
first to roll up the sleeves - last to turn
off the lights.
Gladys was the very heart of the
Council of Catholic Women of the
Archdiocese. But when this great
southern lady was around, muscular
mountainous things took place. The
visible expression of the charity of
Jesus came first and no obstacle was
allowed to stand in its way. Not only
would her direct words dictate it, her
whole life was based on it.
Gladys Gunning, called to her
reward last week, will be missed within
the confines of her favorite place - her
parish church, the Cathedral of Christ
the King. Within the hearts of all of us
who remember her gentle energy and
her living faith, she will always have a
special, grateful place.
-NCB
Camp Promise -
Going Great
Of course there was confusion when
our summer day camps for Atlanta’s
children opened on Monday, June 8.
But it was good, exciting confusion. It
was confusion that told us the camps
were full to the brim and fulfilling the
mission and purpose of this program.
Camp Promise was a summer call
from the Catholic community to the
children of our sometimes tense city.
We have every right to be fearful and
protective of our children as some
unknown terror stalks their every
move. Obviously the children heard the
call and in great numbers have flocked
to the fun and summer frolics of Camp
Promise. Our Catholic community can
be proud of this enlightened response.
May all our volunteers find
consoling peace in each day’s service.
May our leaders, especially Sister
Margaret McAnoy, find gratitude in
seeing this job well done. May we all
rededicate our every effort to the
safety of our bright and hopeful
children.
Happy Summer, one and all.
-NCB
Resound ... Resound
To the Editor:
Being a former parishioner of the “Parish
of Anticipation, U.S. Penitentiary, Atlanta”, I
would like to extend my thanks to all the
“modern apostles” whose faith and intense
love helped change my whole life! I praise God
the Father of Our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ for each of you.
Several weeks ago, I was able to attend a
“Cursillo” retreat - the theme “light” --
conducted by Bishop Lawrence Graziano of
New York City. Comparable to Archbishop
Donnellan, both share the gift to inspire those
who hear them. Their messages touch souls
and capture hearts. God bless.
Robert L. Williams
82637-158
Lewisburg, Pa.
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Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta
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Rev. Monsignor Noel C. Burtenshaw — Editor
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Father Greeley’s Disgusting Book
Monsignor Noel C. Burtenshaw
The curvaceous front cover design of
Father Andrew Greeley’s latest book leaves
little doubt about the content. If you look,
ponder and then decide that, even though a
Catholic priest has written this bedroom
peice, that it really is a bedroom piece, then
you are one hundred percent right.
Father Greeley has been traveling the
nation, clerically attired, promoting his latest
offspring, a so-called shocker for the
American Catholic. This Bamum and Bailey
style blitz of the national media could almost
achieve adolescent giggles were it not for the
sickly commentary the author is making.
Assuring us, most pointedly, that the book
is not autobiographical he goes on to insist for
any and all sensational outlets that his penned
incidents really happened. Apart from vivid
dreams of a gigantic MGM production, and
the lavish resulting retirement benefits, it is
difficult to know the actual worth of this
work - a clerical Caligula.
Father Greeley should realize, if he can be
reached in the mysterious heights of his
luxurious abode, that most of his brother
priests, carrying many human weaknesses, do
anonymously minister, without thought of
personal comfort, to God’s people. He should
know that the daily call of priestly ministry is
comfort of, and outreach to, those who may
suffer from moral carnage. It is not public
display of those faults. He should know that
his starlet-style, talk show swagger selling this
sex-for-sale novel creates a center stage
spotlight that his brothers in the ministry
would simply and sadly disavow.
Father Greeley’s novel appears at the
beginning of summer when the bookstores are
jammed with “easy” poolside reading. We
recommend that you get hold of some good,
wholesome stimulating reading this year and
don’t get into cheap trash. However, if you
insist on buying this kind of junk you have
three choices. One, go to your local bookstore
and spend two bucks on one of the many
“warm, intimate, forbidden” glossies. Two,
go to your secondhand book bargain store and
get the very same for under fifty cents. Three,
buy Father Greeley’s novel for twelve
ninety-five plus tax.
A Flowering Of Fathers
Dolores Curran
“My father Was the kind of man who told
me I could do anything I wanted to do in my
life,” said the dynamic woman speaker, “as
long as Mother had dinner on the table at six.”
There was a roar of laughter and prolonged
applause as this familiar dichotomy touched a
responsive chord in her listeners. She
pinpointed the dilemma of fathers today who
really want their daughters to be full persons
but who have grown accustomed to the
comfort of a full-time wife.
Fathers of all ages are having it rough
today. Those who married in the Fifties or
earlier are often bewildered by the changes in
“that nice girl I married.” They did their part
as prescribed by society and church. They
married a good woman, fathered a sizeable
family, took on the total support of that
family and wife, and now find themselves
criticized for doing what they were supposed
to do.
Their wives are telling them they want to
grow just at the time the men are ready to.
relax and enjoy life with a full-time spouse.
Their sons are telling them there’s more to life
than work, silently rebuking them for failing
to spend more time with them as children.
Their daughters are shaking their heads
indulgently, accepting emotional and
financial support while wondering aloud how
Mom ever put up with it all these years.
Then there are the fathers who were of the
Sixties, as much a frame of mind as a decade.
These are the men who never intended to
marry, much less to be fathers. These who
openly denounced trust in anyone over thirty
are now over thirty, married, and fathers.
What more can we say, other than that they
love their children, want to be good fathers,
and are trying to find a way of establishing
lifelong trust between generations without
the pain and trauma which they experienced
and fostered with their own parents?
Now we’re seeing the fathers of the
Seventies, those young men who are trying
hard to create a new role model of father in
our culture. And, bless them, they’re pulling it
off. I work with couples like this and I know
how hard it is to live out new ideals and
structures in a society which reveres nostalgia,
but these families are developing intimacies
and relationships that are foreign to their
parents and grandparents.
They don’t place economic roles at the
base of their union - he as bread winner and
she as homemaker - but place the quality of
their relationship as first and foundational. He
knows that if they are lonely in their marriage,
a better paycheck isn’t going to help them.
She knows that cleaning and cooking more
and better aren’t going to compensate for a
lack of sharing and intimacy.
I deeply admire these young couples,
especially the fathers, because they get hit
from all sides. They hear their own fathers
say, “My wife never had to work,” and their
mothers say, “Your dad never had to diaper a
baby.” Instead of becoming defensive, they
smile because they know they are in an
evolutionary process of fathering. They sense
the truth of Cardinal Newman’s words, “If a
child sees further than the parent, it’s because
he’s sitting on their shoulders.”
To our fathers and their shoulders of all
ages and eras, thanks.
Corpus Christi (A)
June 21,1981
THE
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W EEKEND
Paul Karnowski
Dt. 8: 2-3,14-16
1 Cor. 10:16-17
John 6: 51-58
When we think city, we think building.
Particular cities have particular buildings. We
identify New York City with the Empire State
Building, the World Trade Center and the
United Nations Building. When someone
mentions the nation’s capital, we visualize the
buildings of Washington, D.C.: the Pentagon,
the White House, the Capitol Building. But
what about a city such as Corpus Christi,
Texas? Most of us wouldn’t be able to name
even one building located there.
When it comes to lesser known cities, we
resort to other means of identification. We
suddenly remember that a city is a
concentration of people in one particular
area, not a collection of famous buildings.
Such reasoning allows us to draw some
obvious conclusions, even if they don’t seem
terribly profound. New York is made of New
Yorkers, Washington, of Washingtonians, and
Corpus Christi, of Corpus Christians.
But what of the original Corpus Christi?
The Body of Christ? Don’t we often think
building first, and people second? The Body
of Christ, we assert, can be found in any
number of famous and not so famous
buildings throughout the world - from St.
Peter’s in Rome to Immaculate Heart down
the street. And so it can.
But in today’s second reading, Paul
reminds us that the feast of Corpus Christi has
more to do with people than with buildings.
In his letter to the Corinthians, he speaks of a
gathering of believers as they celebrate the
Eucharist.
Is not the bread we break a sharing in the
body of Christ? Because the loaf of bread is
one, we, many though we are, are one body,
for we all partake of the one loaf.
On the feast of Corpus Christi we celebrate
the true and whole presence of Christ in the
hosts that are stored in our ecclesiastical
buildings. But that’s an easy belief compared
to what St. Paul asks. He asks us to believe
that the Church - the body of believers - is
none other than the Corpus Christi; that
despite our differences - our nationalities, our
fears, our quirks - we are one.
Choose Life
Sheila Mailon
“If I perish, I perish,” said Esther, who, in
defense of her people, was resigned to
whatever her fate might be. Dr. Jean Staker
Garton, president of Lutherans for Life
quoted those words in concluding a talk she
gave at the Christian Action Council
Convocation on the Sanctity of Life held here
in Atlanta this past weekend.
Her talk was entitled, “What It Means to Be
Pro-Life,” and she spoke of the need for
Esther’s deep commitment on the part of
pro-lifers.
As usual, her talk was well prepared and
delivered in a dynamic fashion and she
received a standing ovation from the 500 or so
participants.
The Convocation was intended to
galvanize and organize Protestant pro-life
activity throughout the country and bring
supporters together under the banner of
Respect for Life. It seems to have succeeded
admirably.
The four-day convocation drew a host of
nationally known speakers. Among them
were Senator John P. East, chairman of the
hearings on a Human Life Statute; Dr. Mildred
Jefferson, president of Right to Life Crusade;
Dr. Harold O.J. Brown, author, editor and
professor at Trinity Evangelical Divinity
School in Deerfield, Ill.; and Jeff Steinberg, a
singer and pro-life activist, who, although
crippled, considers Iris handicap an asset.
Over the four days there were many
workshops and seminars and much
information of value to the pro-life
community was communicated.
One amusing item occurred. We were
picketed by the usual picket line of
pro-abortion types. However, they got off to a
bad start by picketing the wrong building.
When they realized their mistake and rushed
to the right place, the heavens opened up in
one of Atlanta’s famous afternoon gully
washers. With enthusiasm severely dampened,
they were Further disheartened by a media
no-show. To add insult to injury, when many
of them went to pick up their cars, (which
they had parked in First Baptist parking lots
in spite of posted warnings), their cars had
been towed away. Unchristian though it
might be, I could not resist one small chuckle.
At a workshop on media at the
Convocation we discussed briefly the media
pro-life coverage and some of the “polls”
supposedly showing that a majority of
Americans support abortion. In fact, a recent
poll showed that 65 percent of the American
public believes abortion to be immoral. The
poll, which is probably the most unbiased ever
conducted, was done by an insurance
company. Connecticut Mutual set out to
“profile” the American public’s values for
comparison with their policy holders. Much
to the company’s surprise, the survey
“unearthed an overwhelming new surge of
religious feeling and commitment.”
Numbers can be used to mislead and
confuse and, all too often, those who see them
in print accept them as Gospel. Take, for
instance, the recent figures quoted by Bill
Shipp of the Atlanta Constitution. Mr. Shipp
claimed' that the Atlanta Rape Crisis Center
dealt with 1,200 pregnancies as a result of
rape last year. The facts are that the Rape
Center dealt with between 1,100 and 1,200
rapes last year - rapes, not pregnancies. The
young lady in charge was unable to say if there
were actually ANY pregnancies resulting from
rape. According to the state, in 1980 there
was only ONE Medicaid-funded abortion for
rape-incest.
This cavalier attitude with the truth has
been further exacerbated by the fact that in
spite of numerous letters correcting Mr.
Shipp’s faulty figures, NOT ONE HAS BEEN
PRINTED. However, many pro-abortion
letters have been printed - some of them
containing the same misinformation as Mr.
Shipp’s column.
Norm Benderoth, leader of the media
workshop, emphasized the need for the
private citizen to respond to an anti-life bias in
the news. We often mean to write, but don’t,
and perhaps to get our point across it will be
necessary to innundate the editors with our
pro-life views.
We need to be like Esther, who marched
resolutely into the presence of the King with
the words, “If I perish, I perish,” on her lips.