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Vol. 19 No. 36
Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta
Thursday, October 15,1981
$8.00 per year
AFTER SAD A T
Three Faiths
Seek Meeting
WASHINGTON (NC) - In the
wake of the Oct. 6 assassination of
Egyptian President Anwar Sadat,
Jewish, Christian and Moslem scholars
issued a joint call for a meeting of the
leadership of their religious groups.
The Jewish-Christian-Moslem
“Trialogue” scholars, in a statement
issued Oct. 7, asked for the meeting
“to stop the misuse of religion by
harnessing together the reconciling
power of our traditions toward the
establishing of peace and justice.”
They said the urgency of their
appeal stems from “the deterioration
of the state of the world” in general
and of interreligious relations
specifically in the last few years since
the founding of the group.
The scholars of the three faiths
have been working together since
1978 under the auspices of the
Kennedy Institute of Ethics at
Georgetown University in
Washington.
Catholic members of the group
include Sargent Shriver, of the
Kennedy Institute of Ethics; Eugene
J. Fisher, executive secretary of the
bishops’ secretariat for
Catholic-Jewish reliations and
Leonard Swidler, editor of the Journal
of Ecumenical Studies at Temple
University, Philadelphia.
Other religious scholars include
Rabbi Daniel Polish of Temple Israel,
Los Angeles; Rabbi Jacob Agus, rabbi
emeritus of Beth El Congregation in
Baltimore; Muhammad Abdul Rauf of
the American Islamic Research
Institute in Washington; Hadia
Danjani Shakeel of the department of
Middle East and Islamic Studies at the
University of Toronto and Isaac
Franck, senior research scholar at the
Kennedy Institute of Ethics.
The nearly simultaneous rise of
militant religious fundamentalism in
the Moslem world, in Israel and even
in the United States, the group
COPTIC CHRISTIANS
concluded, “may lead to dangerous
escalations of existing political
conflicts unless religious leaders are
able to draw upon the positive
elements of the three monotheistic
traditions and call a halt to further
distortion of the symbols and content
of our faiths.”
Citing the increasing conflicts in
the Middle East and elsewhere in
which religious beliefs continue to
play a role, the joint statement, titled
“In the Name of God” said, “We
continue to believe that God who
created all human beings extends his
care and compassion to all who believe
in Him and strive earnestly to act in
accordance with His revealed will and
that it cannot be pleasing to God that
those who profess to love Him do not
love each other. God’s command is
clear and the issue before us
obedience.”
Without Sadat,
says Reverend Michael Youssef.
there exists a “stalemate of pride."
Hope For Better Days
BY MONICA CLARK
OAKLAND, Calif. (NC) -
Members of the American Coptic
Association living in the northern
California area expressed hope that
President Anwar Sadat’s death would
improve conditions for the Coptic
community in Egypt.
Milad Iskander, president of the
northern California chapter of the
association, said he hoped the recent
increased discrimination against the
Copts \yould end.
“We want the release from prison
of our eight bishops, 45 priests and
150 laymen,” he said, “and we want
the new president to restore the
authority of Pope Shenouda III.”
Pope Shenouda is the head of
Egypt’s Coptic Orthodox Church, the
largest Christian church in the Middle
East. The Coptic Church broke with
Rome in the fourth century and in the
19th century missionaries converted
some Copts to the Presbyterian, and
Catholic churches. Christians make up
about 15 percent of the Egyptian
population.
“Sadat’s death is not a solution,
but it might be a way for Christians to
have their situation improve,”
Iskander said.
He believes Sadat’s silencing of
Pope Shenouda and withdrawal of his
official recognition as head of the
Coptic Church was part of a plan to rid
Egypt of Christianity.
The association had been critical of
Sadat’s apparent unwillingness or
inability to end increased attacks on
Christians by Moslem
fundamentalists. Churches have been
burned, students harassed and priests
attacked and imprisoned. After Pope
Shenouda’s condemnation of the
violence, Sadat sent him to a desert
monastery and set up a five-bishop
council to rule the church. One of the
five, Bishop Samuel, was wounded
fatally in the attack on Sadat.
According to Iskander, the five
Coptic churches in California have
denounced the new council, refused
to accept its authority and said Pope
Shenouda continues to be the spiritual
leader of all Coptic Orthodox
Christians.
Parking For
St. Vincent
BYGRETCHEN KEISER
Driving down Spring Street in
Atlanta just before a Georgia Tech
home game requires quick reflexes, as
the traffic slows to a snarl around the
stadium and hand kerchief-waving
attendants try to lure each car to
competing parking lots.
Some Yellow Jackets’ fans,
though, head unerringly for the lot
behind the Catholic Center, returning
like homing pigeons to a favorite
roost. And no wonder.
They are greeted at the fence by
6 7-year-old Floyd Garfield, Jr.,
waving a handkerchief and holding
aloft two fingers, the sign of the
two-dollar price of admission. In
return, the football fans receive Floyd’s
dedicated supervision of their cars
while the game’s in progress - and,
whether they are aware of it or not,
help the St. Vincent de Paul Society.
For the last five years, Floyd has
spent every home game Saturday at
the lot, parking cars for the games and
donating the proceeds to the inner
city office of the Society, which in
turn uses the funds to help people in
need.
The tradition started, at first, as a
matter of security at the old Catholic
Center offices further away from the
stadium, according to Floyd, who,
with his family, has provided custodial
service for the Catholic Center at both
the old and new sites.
At first, the money made from
parking cars went to pay a person who
stayed at the lot on Saturdays.
Five years ago, Floyd retired from
his job as a truck driver, after 30 years
and six months at it, and was able to
take over the Saturday post, giving his
time and the proceeds to the Society.
At the old site, a day’s dedication,
beginning at about 10:45 a.m. and
ending when the last fan drove away,
sometimes netted very little, perhaps
two or three cars. Floyd waits until
the last car leaves, even, as happened
once, when the driver doesn’t return
until 8 p.m.
The new offices, within passing
distance of the Tech stadium, seem to
have rewarded the faithfulness
invested in the early years. With the
help of St. Vincent de Paul Society
members, Floyd usually has the lot
full and locked up a half-hour before
kick-off.
Some of the customers “have been
coming for the last five years,” Floyd
said, and his banter with passing
drivers on Spring Street will break,
every so often, into a cry of
recognition to someone and the plea:
“Don’t go to strangers! Come home!”
On a recent Saturday, drivers seemed
to find it hard to resist.
Some also know that the donation
goes to the Society, Floyd said, and go
out of their way to park at the
Catholic Center, where they’re likely
to find the Society’s executive
secretary, Betti Knott and her
husband, Chris, helping with the
parking lot logjam.
Floyd shrugs off the time
commitment involved. “The way I
look at it, you have to share on this
earth,” he said. “If I can help, I help.”
ui
-
ui
*
THE “TWO-DOLLAR” SIGN is out, but it’s the service provided
by Floyd Garfield, Jr. that has created a loyal clientele for the parking
lot and given a boost to the St. Vincent de Paul Society.
Pope: Back To Business
CASTELGANDOLFO, Italy (NC)
- Pope John Paul II made his first
parish visit in more than five months
Oct. 11, traveling a few yards outside
the gates of his summer residence to
St. Thomas Villanova Parish in
Castelgandolfo.
The pope celebrated an 8 a.m. Mass
in the church, then returned to his
residence to meet with four Vatican
diplomats in political “hot spots” and
to recite the noon Angelus with about
8,000 people.
The pope’s previous parish visit was
to St. Thomas Aquinas Church in
Rome May 10, three days before he
was wounded during an assassination
attempt in St. Peter’s Square.
Basing his homily on a Mass reading
from St. Paul’s letter to the
Philippians, Pope John Paul told the
Castelgandolfo parishioners to guard
against “a materialistic and
secularistic attitude.”
“Unfortunately today, many men
do not seem to have a sense of the
spiritual riches deriving from
communion with the Lord,” he said.
“Many are seduced by a
materialistic and secularistic attitude,
which does not pay attention to that
superior dimension of man,” the pope
added. “It is necessary to guard
against these secularistic views.”
After the Mass Pope John Paul held
separate private meetings with four
archbishops who represent the
Vatican in 10 nations. As usual with
private audiences, the Vatican gave no
details on the talks.
Pope John Paul’s Angelus talk
centered on the 19th anniversary of
the opening of the first session of the
Second Vatican Council on Oct. 11,
1962.
K
Sadat Remembered
As Humble Leader
BY MSGR. NOEL BURTENSHAW
In November 1977, one week before Anwar Sadat boarded a plane of peace
and flew into Israel, Father Michael Youssef stood in the great man’s presence.
The meeting took place in the presidential palace in Cairo.
“I remember it well,” says Father Youssef, an Episcopalian priest now living in
Atlanta. “Sadat said ‘No one believes I am going. The Arabs don’t believe it, the
Americans don’t believe it, my own people don’t believe it. But I’m going. In one
week I’ll be there.”
“I knew then,” says Youssef, who is Egyptian by birth, “that Sadat would be
on every hit list in the Arab world.”
On Tuesday Oct. 6, one of the Egyptian President’s swom enemies caught up
with him and the world mourned his assassination. However, for the most part,
the Arab world rejoiced.
“Sadat, of course, was a Moslem,” says Father Youssef, “but he was very
moderate. The Moslem world can be violent. Christians living in the Middle East
undergo great hardship. But Sadat was moderate, a nationalist, a great lover of his
homeland and his people.”
Anwar Sadat came to power after the death of Gamal Abdel Nasser in 1970.
“He was very timid under the strongman Nasser,” says the Egyptian priest who
now heads the Haggai Institute, an ecumenical organization that trains Christian
leaders for Third World nations. “Nasser called him the ‘Dark Donkey’ because he
was so quiet and gentle. When Nasser died, it was suspected that he would not last
long as the new President.”
But Sadat did survive. He took his case to the Soviets but soon realized they
intended to use Egypt for their own end. “I believe it was Henry Kissinger who
weaned him away from the Russians,” says Youssef. “He also tried to preach
moderation to the other Arab leaders but they would not listen. The pride in Arab
leaders is awesome. Sadat - he really was different. He was a humble man.”
Youssef remembers that Sadat would often say, “I am sick and tired of all
those Arabs who want to fight Israel to the last Egyptian.”
See Editorial - Page 4
Father Michael Youssef was one of eight children bom of Coptic Christian
parents in Assuit, the third largest city in Egypt. “The Coptic Church was the only
Church in Egypt until the 7th century,” says the priest. “Then Islam swept in.
Today we are 15 per cent of the population, about 7 million.”
Most recently, under Sadat, the world watched as Pope Shenouda, leader of
the Coptic community, was placed under house arrest and deposed. “There is
great suffering imposed on Christianity,” says Michael Youssef. “It is actually
illegal to be a Christian. In church they speak the hymns rather than ring them so
they can’t be heard in the streets. They turn on air conditioners to kill the sound of
their prayers. There is discrimination in business. Christians may be second man
on the job, but not number one. They accept this state, it is part of life - a way to
preach the Gospel, a way to witness to Christ.”
But the Coptic Pope, just a few weeks ago, spoke out. “Yes, he did,” says
Youssef. “He actually told his people to arm themselves, since the government
would no longer give them protection. For this he was deposed and it was ironic,
his successor, Bishop Samuel, was on the stand with Sadat and he too was killed.”
And now with Sadat gone is there hope for peace in the Middle East? “The
only hope is peace through Jesus Christ,” says the priest. “Right now there is
great danger. The Palestinians have enormous wealth. I believe the leadership
could be more helpful to the refugees in the camps but they keep them homeless
to gain world sympathy. However, Gaza and the West Bank should be given to
them as a homeland. But that is not going to happen.”
“There is great need for the humility of President Sadat,” continues Youssef.
“The Palestinians are not going to say we recognize Israel. And the State of Israel
is not going to say we recognize the Palestinians. It is a stalemate of pride.”
What of the new Egyptian leader? “He says he will follow in Sadat’s footsteps
and I think he will, until April anyway. When he gets the Sinai back in April 1982,
I believe he will go back to the Arab fold. I don’t mean he will turn his back on the
peace treaty. But he will want to make up with the other Arab leaders.”
“Of course,” smiles the handsome, young father of three children, “I believe
Sadat would have mended fences also in April, especially since he planned on
retiring in the new year.”
Michael Youssef left his homeland when Nasser came to power. He sat sail for
Australia where he met his wife, Elizabeth, and became a parish priest in Sydney.
However, he never forgot his homeland and the struggling Christian community.
His work with the Haggai Institute brings Father Youssef into contact with the
missionary Church in the Middle East.
“It continues to be difficult,” says Michael Youssef. “We need prayer for
peace, for understanding and for brotherhood in that troubled area of our
world.”
Concept Of Fetus
As ‘Patient’ Grows
HAMILTON, Ontario (NC) -- Once the idea of “fetus as patient” takes root in
the medical profession, it will be “extremely difficult” to practice abortion after
a negative prenatal diagnosis, said Blessed Sacrament Father David Roy, a
geneticist and director of the Centre for Bioethics in Montreal.
The trend toward treating defects in unborn babies is colliding with the notion
of a fetus as a nonentity, he told the 600 delegates attending the national
convention of the Catholic Women’s League of Canada, held in Hamilton.
Specific cases of treating fetuses, he said, include:
- Removal of excessive fluid on the brain of the fetus.
- Removal of toxic substances in the kidney of a fetus.
Doctors are sometimes inconsistent in how they think of fetuses, said Father
Roy. In one case a team of doctors punctured the heart of one unborn twin fetus
diagnosed to be “defective” and left the “normal” fetus to develop to term, he
said.
“Where is the consistency? In one case, one fetus was treated as a nonentity
and in another case the fetus was a patient,” said Father Roy.
In a separate interview Father Roy elaborated on the issue.
The concept of the “fetus as patient” is relatively new and this idea is coming
from within those groups who support therapeutic abortions, he said.
Fetal surgery research projects have been initiated at the National Institutes of
Health in Washington where “they are working on the possibility of repairing a
defective heart while the fetus is in it’s mother’s body,” he added.
The trend will have an impact on how abortions are discussed but it may not
change some people’s opinions on abortion, said Father Roy. “Eventually,
however, it will have a legal impact.”
During his talk, the priest said one reason mothers are having abortions is that
methods of prenatal diagnosis have been improved.
Mothers who reject abortion when informed of a defective fetus are
considered by some geneticists as “immoral” or “insensitive” to the sufferings
that will be inflicted on the baby, he said.
Some of these attitudes may change with the development of fetal treatment
as doctors are beginning to say, “My God, the fetus is a patient,” Father Roy
added.
“Some of us have been preaching this for years. It will take another four or five
years before this conviction will become operative in the medical community,’
he said.