Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 4
The Georgia Bulletin
July 2,1981
New Attack On Life
Demands New Vigilance
You sit there nailed to your chair,
stunned by the horrifying good news
look on the face of NBC’s John
Chancellor, His total countenance
lights up with an expression that says
“wait for it folks, I have break-through
news." Then from his national anchor
position, he lays it on you and the
weight of his words are disgustingly too
much.
Doctors at New York’s Mount Sinai
School of Medicine had provided Mr.
Chancellor’s reason of glee. Taking a
surgical needle, they accomplished a
very first. Pushing the needle through
the womb of a mother, they unfailingly
found the heart of an unborn twin. It
was done. Death to one child and life to
the other. A medical breakthrough.
Rush the story to the national news
desk.
The files of SS doctors
experimenting in the back rooms of
Nazi death camps recall the same type
of disgusting operations. We
condemned it then and waving a banner
of justice we hunted down those
monsters. Now, seemingly, we record it
as the bright spot on the evening news.
We must keep our vigilance and our
outspoken opposition most visible as
these atrocities continue. Doctors,
sworn to save and protect human life,
are casting their sacred oath to one side
as their practices, along with their
hands, grow bloodier with every
experimental operation they boldly
perform.
Surely learned, civilized American
medical people can have little
professional or personal pride when
they consider that an afternoon’s work
consisted in stabbing one infant to
death, while successfully allowing his
brother the privilege of life.
These frightening escapades that
grow more daring almost each day of
the week must impress upon us the
immediate need present in our society
for a human life amendment.
-NCB
Resound ... Resound
In Defense Of Celibacy
Dolores Curran
Parents, you ’re going to like this one. My friend,
the nun, got caught in her tiny apartment with a
family of six when it began to snow. . . and
snow. . . and . . . well, here it is in her own words.
I am one of those non-parents who for
years has tried to help parents be better
parents. But it was during one of Minnesota’s
great blizzards that I found out what this
parenting business is really like.
It all began on a Friday evening when a
single mother and her five children, aged six to
sixteen, came to share dinner and the luxury
of the indoor swimming pool in my apartment
building. The evening progressed pleasantly.
The children were in the pool and I was
clearing the table, carefully scraping the
mushrooms they didn’t like into the garbage,
when we noticed that the rain that began in
the afternoon had turned to snow and
accumulated to about eight inches. It was
getting colder. The media was warning people
to stay put. And mine did.
The only thing 1 remember about the rest
of the night is that I found places to hang wet
towels, and somehow arranged for the sharing
of four pillows, one blanket, an afghan, a
sheet, and three nighties for the night. It was
then that the fight for the one bed ensued.
After what looked like a slap stick scene from
an old Marx Brothers’ film, it was decided that
the girls would take the bedroom and the boys
the living room, including the four folding
chairs one of them lined up for a bed.
Saturday morning I was awakened early by
a whimpering prepubescent, more snow,
wind, ice, and the stark realization that all I
had for breakfast was four oranges and twelve
slices of bread. No butter. I decided the best
approach was to put out the food possibilities,
let all fend for themselves, and go back to bed.
Unfortunately, someone had taken my place.
The rest of the day was spent wondering if
the children were drowning, disturbing the
other tenants, eating my plants, or spilling
candle wax on furniture and carpet.
Somehow, I managed to collect enough food
from my usually sparse shelves to feed us
lunch but was slightly concerned about
dinner, which it seemed was going to consist
of tomato soup and honey sandwiches.
Cars not only refused to start on Saturday,
they were frozen shut, and couldn’t have gone
far anyway. The snow, wind, and dishwasher
continued with equal velocity, and for some
reason, the phone rang almost continually all
day. That, coupled with the fact that I was
rapidly approaching the point at which I was
severely tempted to make five more grease
spots of the five children, turn off TV (which
had been running more hours than it had run
in four years), scream, “Help!” and commit
hari-kari over the balcony. Besides, I knew
there was no way that I could feed all of us
one more meal after Saturday’s dinner.
As the day progressed, my usually neat
apartment looked more and more like a
disaster area, the wet towel scene kept
repeating itself like a bad take in a poor movie,
the washer and dryer down the hall were
running in competition to the dishwasher and
telephone, the boys who had decided to brave
the elements for victuals hadn’t returned and
their mother began to worry. I wanted to cry
but there was no Kleenex left and only a half
roll of toilet tissue in the whole apartment.
And so Saturday afternoon became
Saturday night with the shared bedclothes,
the fight for the bed, the wall-to-wall children,
all sleeping on spilled popcorn, and I went to
sleep praying that morning would bring
spring.
It was then that I best understood the role
of motherhood. Eventually, the snows ended.
But my celibacy vows? Never.
To the Editor:
Doctors at New York’s Mt. Sinai School of
Medicine are boasting of a medical feat they
accomplished when they stuck a spinal needle
into the heart of an unborn twin and sucked
out his blood, causing him to die. At the same
time they left his twin brother alive.
They justified the killing partly by saying it
was harmful for a healthy twin to develop in
company with a defective one, even though
the defect was Downs syndrome which isn’t
contagious. They further argued that the
mother might have both twins aborted if they
didn’t sacrifice the defective one. Yet no
doctor is ever required to perform an
abortion.
The doctors, who would have been in
trouble if they had waited until after the twins
were born to eliminate the Downs baby, were
home free in their intrauterine kill, since the
U.S. has legalized abortion up to the day of
birth.
But for three days they worried that they
might have stabbed the wrong baby. If they
had drawn out the healthy twin’s blood and
presented the mother with a live Down’s
syndrome baby, she could have sued them.
One doctor referred to the selective killing
as “a very gratifying experience.” Gratifying
for whom? Certainly not for the baby who
was sacrificed to eugenics, nor for the
surviving twin who spent 20 weeks in the
womb with his brother’s corpse . . . Nor for
medicine, which was once called “the healing
art.”
And as for society, we wonder which is
more harmful: physically handicapped
children or morally handicapped doctors.
Joseph M. Scheidler
Executive Director
Pro-Life Action League
Chicago
To the Editor:
This letter fulfills a promise made to St.
Jude that publication would be made to our
Catholic community when my request was
answered. My son is no longer on drugs - a
wonderful favor, thanks be to God through
St. Jude’s intercession!
There are still many miles left to go, before
he is completely healed, but the biggest hurdle
is behind him.
I ask your prayers and that of the entire
Catholic community to pray without ceasing
for all the children, who, for whatever reason,
choose drugs as a solution to the growing
pains of adolescence.
It takes constant love and abiding faith to
“hang in there” when all seems hopeless and
lost. Cling tenaciously to the Lord, surrender
and entrust it all to His Sacred Heart and hear
His words of comfort - “whatsoever you ask
in My Name, believing you shall receive,”and
then believe it! It is so! I know - I’ve been
there! Praise God!
Name Withheld
By Request
14th Sunday
in Ordinary Time (A)
July 5,1981
Along with its cousins . . . homonym and
synonym - the word “antonym” is not part of
our everyday vocabulary. Yet, at some point
in time every one of us was probably
responsible for the definition of this contrary
Greek noun. “An antonym,” we may have
proudly declared for the edification of the
entire class, “is a word whose meaning is the
opposite of another word.”
Although some of the following pairs of
words are not antonyms, we generally
considers them to be opposites:
Labor-Management; Republican-Democrat;
Male-Female; Urban-Rural; and, in St. Paul’s
letter to the Romans, Flesh-Spirit.
There is a strong tradition in western
THE W/ ORD
THIS n EEKEND
Paul Karnowski
thought that views the spiritual and the
corporal as natural enemies. Anything
associated with the body or the “flesh” is
considered a roadblock to our salvation. We
are even told by some writers that our souls
are “imprisoned” in our bodies.
Theologically, this neat division of the body
and the soul provides some easy answers for
some very difficult questions; but it also
creates an unhealthy and schizophrenic
spirituality. St. Paul believes that man is
composed not of a body AN D a soul, but that
man is body-soul-one unit.
When he speaks of “living in the flesh,” he
is concerned with those who have no vision.
The men and women of the flesh are
Zee. 9: 9-10
Rom. 8: 9,11-13
Mt. 11:25-30
primarily concerned about themselves: their
pleasure, their power, their money and their
possessions. Those “living in the spirit” look
beyond themselves. In the Incarnation they
see a marriage of God and man, a unity of
body and soul that is echoed in their own
beings. They see the Resurrection as a
triumphant victory over death and division.
Jesus nullifies the apparent conflict
between body and soul. He shows us that life
is gained through death; and He gives us the
strength to show the world that men and
women, labor and management, city folks and
country folks, can live together in peace. It’s
only a matter of vision.
Job Satisfaction
Father Richard Lopez
Archdiocesan Vocations Director
"WHEN IT BLEW OUT OF THE CONVERTIBLE,
I HOPE H3U REMEMBERED TO GET THE
LICENSE NUMBER/"
I remember a story told about Pope John
XXIII. He was rather gloriously vested in full
papal robes awaiting a high Mass in St. Peter’s.
Someone asked him about the beautiful and
elaborate vestments he was wearing. He
replied: “They reflect the glory of the people
we serve.”
As a student I really could not understand
what he meant. I thought he looked pretty
sharp all vested up as pope and that was
enough in itself.
After 10 years in the parish, I think I
understand how the pope was more impressed
with his people than himself. A priest or
religious finds happiness or “job satisfaction”
if he sees his glory not in his personal needs
and ambitions, but rather in the service of his
people.
Obviously priests or religious must think of
themselves in terms of recreation, rest, etc., or
else they’ll burn out. However, if priests or
sisters begin to take score, to tabulate how
much they are doing and how much ought to
be done for them - they’re in trouble! There is
something about our life that is “upside
down” by the world’s standards.
A normal professional person justifiably
seeks promotions, raises, awards, etc. for his
work and achievements. A priest or religious
cannot legitimately work for those things.
We must be in the “business” of giving
away, not stocking up.
In the long run, you do get a hint if you’re
doing it right - the smile of gratitude in the
eyes of the sick and dying you’ve attended,
the firm grasp of the hand in thanks when
you’ve listened to the pain of your people, the
look of peace and reflection in the faces of
men and women to whom you have given
Christ in word or sacrament.
When you realize your “job satisfaction” is
giving yourself and Christ away to people and
somehow in the process forgetting about
yourself and your own needs - then you’ve
received something no raise can buy, no
promotion can give, no award equal.
It is an amazing way to live and an even
more amazing way to work - anyone
interested?
Reflections On The Holy Land
F'ather Gerald Peterson
Archdiocesan Rural Life Director
(OSPS) 574 tSO)
Catholic A rchdiocese of Atlanta
Most Rev. Thomas A. Donneilan — Publisher
Rev. Monsignor Noel C. Burtenshaw — Editor
Gretchen R. Reiser — Associate Editor
Thea K. Jarvis — Contributing Editor
Member of the Catholic Press Association
Business Office U.S.A. $8.00
880 West Peachtree, N. W. Telephone 881-9732 Canada $8.50
Atlanta, Georgia 30308 Foreign $10.00
DEADLINE: All material for publication must be received by MONDAY
NOON for Thursday’s paper.
Postmaster: Send POD Form 3579 to THE GEORGIA BULLETIN
€01 East Sixth Street, Waynesboro, Georgia 30830
Send all editorial correspondence to: THE GEORGIA BULLETIN
680 West Peachtree Street N.W.
Atlanta, Georgia 30308
Second Class Postage Paid at Waynesboro, Ga. 30830
Published Weekly except the second and last weeks
In June, July and August and the last week in December
at €01 East Sixth St., Waynesboro, Ga. 30830
To celebrate my twenty-fifth anniversary
of ordination, I am spending three weeks in
the Holy Land. The prayerful tour was
organized by the Center for Pastoral Ministry
of the Chicago Archdiocese.
How do you write “Rural Reflections” for
north Georgia from the Holy Land? I have
been here only eight days, so it is difficult to
share any more than first impressions.
However, I am amazed at how much I have
learned about the nation of Israel and the
places sanctified by the Lord Jesus. This has
been possible because with the group of 45 on
the tour there has been an Israeli tour guide
with the colorful Biblical name of Jonah, and
a Scripture professor, Father James Doyle of
Chicago.
The first thing that struck me is the size of
Israel. It is no larger than six counties in
Georgia - about 120 miles from north to
south and 40 miles from east to west. The 3.5
million people in Israel are not many more
than those living in Atlanta and its suburbs.
In the eight days here, I have toured from
Tel Aviv (the city known in the Bible as
Joppa) and Caesarea Maritima on the
Mediterranean to Banias (the location of
Caesarea Phillipi) on the northeast border at
the headwaters of the Jordan River and the
Sea of Galilee.
After five days in the north, mainly on the
Sea of Galilee, our tour group came by bus
along the Jordan River through the old city of
Jericho in Jerusalem, the home of the Jewish
faith as well as that of Christians.
Two things have impressed me. First, the
Franciscans and other religious communities
deserve a lot of credit, from us Catholics, for
preserving for veneration of the faithful the
places made holy by the Lord Jesus. For
example, there is the shrine of Our Lady of
Mount Carmel and the modem Church of the
Annunciation in Nazareth. These places give
me a deeper appreciation of the collection,
taken up in the United States on Good Friday,
for the maintenance of the Holy Land shrines.
The second thing that struck me is about
the land. Israel is more mountainous than I
had imagined. But between the mountains are
beautiful plains of lush green cotton, orange
groves, olive trees, corn and freshly cut wheat.
I wondered how such crops are possible in
an area where the average annual rainfall is
about seven inches. Such would not be
possible without irrigation and good farm
conservation practices.
The Israelis are very much aware of their
very precious yet limited water supply. In
farming they try to put it to the best of use.
Land also is well managed. New homes
were being constructed around Tel Aviv and
Caesarea Maritima, but our tour guide was
quick to point out that these homes were
being built in the sandy soil near the sea and
not on the land used for cultivation.
It is my hope that this trip in the Holy
Land will give me a deeper faith in the Lord
Jesus and His Word in the New Testament.
Secondly, I sense a greater awareness of the
precious gift of land and water we have in the
United States.
My prayer in the Holy Land is that all of us
in the United States will grow in faith and love
of the Lord and be aware of the responsibility
that is ours to be good stewards of the
beautiful land that we call the U.S. “God bless
America.”