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Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta
Vol. 19 No. 37
Thursday, October 22,1981
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Nuclear Arms Concern
Swells In U.S. Church
NEEDS of the Church in Atlanta were presented to a group of
religious superiors who gathered at the Catholic Center, Oct. 9-11.
Sister Roberta Schmidt, superintendent of schools, pictured below,
was among those outlining the needs of schools and adult education
programs in the diocese.
Superiors Consider
Educational Needs
BY THEA JARVIS
The present and future needs of
Catholic schools and parish religious
education programs in the
Archdiocese of Atlanta was the topic
of an educational symposium for
major superiors of women religious
held at the Catholic Center Oct. 9-11.
Sponsored by the Archdiocesan
Office of Education, the three-day
meeting brought together heads of
religious communities whose
members serve in the archdiocese, and
clergy and laity involved in ongoing
archdiocesan Catholic education.
According to Sister Patricia Geary,
GNSH, Assistant Superintendent of
Catholic Schools, the symposium was
basically an information session that
targeted the educational needs of the
archdiocese, both in its Catholic
schools and its parishes.
It emphasized the growth of the
archdiocese and the fact that no
Catholic college or university exists in
the area for the training of catechists.
Most of the superiors in attendance
represented northeastern or
midwestern communities.
Among those who addressed the
conference were Archbishop Thomas
Donnellan, Monsignor Jerry Hardy,
Sister Roberta Schmidt, CSJ,
Superintendent of Catholic Schools,
Father James Kelly, Director of
Religious Education and Father
Richard Kieran, Secretary for
BY JERRY FILTEAU
NC News Service
Recent months have seen a notable
increase in concern over the nuclear
arms race by U.S. Catholic bishops.
While a special committee of U.S.
bishops has been studying a national
policy statement, a dozen individual
bishops or groups of bishops in recent
months have bluntly called U.S.
nuclear arms policy immoral or at
least sharply questioned it.
One declared himself a pacifist,
another suggested tax resistance to “a
nuclear Caesar,” another questioned
the morality of working in a nuclear
arms plant.
One of the most dramatic
approaches came from Bishop
Raymond Hunthausen of Seattle, who
called for unilateral nuclear
disarmament by the United States and
suggested tax resistance as a possible
way of protesting American nuclear
policy
(Continued on page 6)
Baby Buying
Education.
“The meetings were productive,”
said Sister Geary, explaining that
archdiocesan leaders hoped to
acquaint religious superiors with the
educational needs of the archdiocese
so “they would remember” them
when deciding in which areas of the
country they would serve.
“I think the symposium succeeded
in that,” Sister Geary observed.
Senator Dodd Urges Pressure
For Speedy Salvadoran Trial
WASHINGTON (NC) - “Nothing
has been done to try those responsible
for the murder of four U.S. missionary
women in El Salvador last December
and nothing will be done unless
Americans and their government keep
pressure on the junta,” said Sen.
Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.)
following his mid-October visit to El
Salvador.
Sen. Dodd also reported on
conversations he held with the two
civilians in the junta and with
a n t i - go vern m e n t guerrilla
commanders in Mexico City, saying
both sides assured him they were
willing to start talks regarding a
non-military solution to their conflict.
The military would not have it, “they
are the impediment,” he added.
“There are no preconditions or
agenda, but the willingness on both
ST. ANTHONY’S
sides means the first breakthrough,
and the Reagan administration should
know that and exercise some leverage
with the military for the dialogue to
start. The window has been open and
could be shut in the first 30 minutes of
dialogue, but it must be tried out,” the
senator said. He said his contacts
included the Democratic
Revolutionary Front, a coalition of
leftist groups.
Because of the structure of security
forces in El Salvador their
commanders knew within 24 hours of
the crime the names of those
responsible for the murders of the
women missionaries near the San
Salvador airport, the senator said Oct.
16, citing sources at the U.S. embassy
in San Salvador.
“It is common knowledge that
(National) Guardsmen in the (airport)
area executed the missionaries,
although there is no indication where
the command decision originated,”
Sen. Dodd added. “But local
authorities claim that according to
Salvadoran law they must have
overwhelming evidence before they
can bring to trial anyone; otherwise
the indicted will be out in 72 hours.”
“My view is that the military will
bring about that trial if they find it is
to their own interest,” he said.
I recently paid a visit to a
well-known children’s store in
Sandy Springs. The purpose was to
purchase a baby doll for a
grandchild just turned seven.
It turned out that the store is an
“adoption center” for those
strange “Little People” from
Babyland General Hospital.
Although it was a weekday in
mid-September, there were a
number of folks browsing through
the “Little People Nursery” (a
large bookcase) and exclaiming
over names. “Wayne Alexander is a
sweet name” or “Dora Elizabeth
sounds pretty,” were some of the
comments.
I almost fell over when I heard a
young woman (who looked about
seventeen) tell the clerk that she
wanted to find a baby with a nose
like hers. Since all their noses (and
chins) are almost non-existent this
would have been no mean feat.
Imagine my surprise when the clerk
whipped Dora Elizabeth off the
shelf, described her nose (the size
of a pimple) as being exactly like
the seventeen year old’s. She in
turn fatuously clutched the doll to
her bosom and declared that she
was ready to adopt.
A few moments later amidst
ringing bells (rather like a Farrells’
birthday celebration) a white
uniformed clerk asked for silence
so that she could make an
important announcement. It seems
that Mrs. Clark of Sandy Springs (a
matron in her thirties) who stood
by smiling proudly, had just
adopted Kimberly Victoria.
Kimberly would join two
previously adopted “Little People”
waiting at home for their new
“sister.” At this point I began
feeling like “Alice” and half
expected the Mad Hatter to come.
by and invite me to a christening.
For those of you who may still
be blissfully ignorant of the “Little
People” phenomenon, let me fill
you in. A young man from
Cleveland, Georgia, “gave birth” to
an idea which has made him a
millionaire in short order.
Xavier Roberts, or Dr. Roberts
as he is known at Babyland General
Hospital, began creating
caricatures of babies in soft
sculpture - each one just a little
different from the other, and all of
them (at least in the eyes of this
beholder) as ugly as sin.
For anyone purchasing a doll
there is a birth certificate, a
certificate of adoption and a list of
promises that the purchaser has to
agree to, to maintain the health and
well-being of the doll.
At the self-styled hospitals and
adoption centers, the clerks are
clothed in white uniforms and at
the hospitals the climate is hushed
and reverent. Announcements
come every few minutes that there
has been another successful
‘arrival, delivery, birth?’
When I read an article in the
Sunday section of the local
newspaper about the Little People,
I was perturbed by what seemed to
me to be an extraordinary
eagerness on the part of the public,
both children and adults, to
embrace this “painless” method of
childbirth. Painless, that is, except
for the expense. Dr. Roberts'
Sheila Mallon
Little People retail for from $125
to $2,000.
Recently a friend brought an
article in the Wall Street Journal to
my attention. According to writer
Jeffrey Birnbaum, some adults
have purchased dolls and given
them rooms of their own. One
gentleman has a car seat for his
Little Person and “bounces ideas
off him” as he takes him for rides in
his Cadillac Eldorado.
A woman in Louisiana, says
Birnbaum, owns 92 Little People.
At $125 a doll that lady has
invested a minimum of $11,500 in
her “munchkins.”
A mother in Georgia with two
sons still wanted a daughter, so she
bought a female ‘little person’ and
claims that it was “much easier
labor” than bearing another child.
Dr. Everett Koop, the famous
pro-life doctor whose appointment
as Surgeon General of the United
States seems imminent, once said
that we are “a disposable society.”
This mentality extends, says Dr.
Koop, to everything from paper
diapers and plates to babies.
If that is true, then we are also
an “instant society.” We like
instant gratification, instant foods,
entertainment, clothing and now
babies. The adult owners of “Little
People” have obviously decided
that nine months is much too long
to wait for a real child. Besides, a
human child grows bigger, costs
more, talks back, gets sick and
needs LOVE. In spite of yourself,
there is usually no way to ration
love to our children. We are
(Continued on page 2)
Extending A Hand
To Parish Elderly
BY PAM CRAYTON
“Endless Love” was the theme of a workshop held at St. Anthony’s this past
Saturday as the parish gathered to formulate a unique response to its concern for
the elderly.
The four-hour session, the culmination of months of planning and preparation
involving Catholic Social Services (CSS) and St. Anthony’s, was coordinated by
Steve Brazen of CSS. He was assisted by staff members Sister Teresa Termini and
Jane Woods. Steve, incidentally, is also a parishioner.
The workshop was divided into two portions, the first of which was directed
towards identification of the major problems facing the elderly in the
community. Among the issues raised were those of housing, economics, services
and service delivery, family and community involvement, health care and
insecurity about the future.
The second section of the workshop concentrated on the development of
practical proposals to address the problem areas that were previously identified.
“I am very pleased and excited about the level of participation in this process,”
commented Father John Adamski, pastor of St. Anthony’s. “I feel certain that
the parishioners will continue their commitment to the elderly in our community
by working to implement the programs proposed here today.”
' The theme of “Endless Love” was reinforced throughout the day in various
ways, the most moving of which was a dance performed and choreographed by
two young ladies, Rochelle and Kelly Stewart, to the popular song of the same
name. A performance by some of the participants who wrote a song and story
based on the ideas generated during the first session was a surprise to all. Mass and
dinner put the finishing touches on a very special day for the St. Anthony’s
family.
Participants came away with a sense not only of having faced a common issue,
but with a feeling of accomplishment in having developed ways of addressing the
problems and concerns confronting the elderly through the efforts of individuals
working together in “endless love.”
Brother Pius Laflin - 1899-1981
BY THEA JARVIS
The great portals of heaven have
a new assistant gatekeeper.
The laughing eyes and Irish
smile of Brother Pius Laflin, who
spent his last 30 years at the
Trappist Monastery of the Holy
Spirit in Conyers, will now be on
hand to welcome new arrivals to
the Kingdom.
Brother Pius passed away on
October 15 at the age of 82. Until
two days before his death, he had
been at his post at the monastery
gate and bookstore, welcoming
visitors and seeing to their needs.
This job he had held since 1952,
when his good friend, Brother
Hugh Reardon, needed an assistant
“up front.” In 1969, Brother Pius
was put in charge of the gate due to
Brother Hugh’s failing health.
“Brother Pius not only put in
his time at the bookstore, but kept
the coke machine and cheese,
candy and honey stocked,” said
Father Joachim Tierney, one of the
original founders of the Conyers
community.
“He was quite a worker. He was
in charge of the relatives’
guesthouse by the lake and did all
the purchasing for the monastery
in town. I offered to help him with
the cleaning of the gatehouse, but
he declined, afraid he wasn’t doing
enough.”
Father Joachim also
remembered Brother Pius as “one
of the earliest in church,” rising
around three in the morning for
prayer or private Mass followed by
Scripture reading. His full day
ended at 8:15 at night, with
perhaps a short nap in between.
Brother Pius Laflin first visited
the Monastery of the Holy Spirit in
1946 when he was still a
stockbroker on Wall Street in New
York City. His successful career
there had been preceded by a
fondly remembered Gramercy
Park childhood and graduation
from Holy Cross College in
Massachusetts.
Though encouraged by the
monastery to come back, it was to
be four years before his return to
Conyers. He made this important
decision during the Christmas
holidays of 1950.
“All the electricity in New York
City had gone out” due to a severe
winter storm, Father Joachim
explained, beginning the story
Brother Pius had told him years ago
when the two men were discussing
the Blessed Mother.
“That morning, going to Mass,
Pius remembered that a statue of
Our Lady of Fatima was to be
brought to a church some 20 miles
away,” he continued. “There were
no streetcars or subways -
everything was off.”
But the determined New Yorker
would not give up his pilgrimage.
He walked the twenty miles.
“When he got there, he couldn’t
get in,” said Father Joachim.
People were overflowing the pews
and aisles and doorways.
Undaunted, Brother Pius went
around the back and made his way
through a side door.
When he finally got in, “he was
facing the altar and at that
moment, the priest carrying the
statue came out from the other side
directly across from him,”
remembered Father Joachim. “He
looked at Our Lady and was so
thrilled. ‘Oh! She’s looking at me,’
he thought.”
The 20-mile trek back through
Manhattan gave the seasoned
broker the opportunity to ponder
his experience and commit himself
to a religious vocation.
It was Brother Pius’ feeling that
the encounter exerted a great
influence on his final decision to
enter monastic life and that “his
vocation came through Our Lady,”
according to Father Joachim. “He
was very devoted to Our Lady.”
This past summer, Brother Pius
celebrated 25 years as a monk. A
late vocation, he was past 50 when
he entered Conyers and 57 at the
time of his profession in 1956.
His funeral Mass last Saturday
was to be “a celebration,” said
Father Joachim. “Many of the
monks recall him saying, ‘I hope I
don’t have a long illness before
dying.’ He died the way he
wanted.”
Brother Pius’ body was received
by his community last Friday and,
in accordance with the tradition of
the order, placed on an open bier in
the church, where two watchers
remained until the time of burial.
Following the Mass of the
Resurrection on Saturday
afternoon, the community of
monks brought their brother’s
body, clad in his monastic habit, to
the cemetery behind the church.
Abbot Augustine Moore gave
Brother Pius Laflin
the final blessing and placed the
first shovel full of earth at the feet
of the monk. The community
responded, singing, “Lord, Jesus,
have mercy on me a sinner,” and
returned to church chanting
penitential psalms.
Brother Pius Laflin was a gift to
those who knew him. His easy,
friendly manner welcomed all who
passed through the monastery
gates.
His love of children -- even the
noisy ones - was unaffected. His
patience with those searching the
racks for the right book, or those
for whom the monastic life was a
hopeless enigma, was unfaltering.
The knowing smile that moved
gently from his mouth to his eyes
and spread across his whole face
bespoke the joy that filled his life.
These memories are the
treasures he has left us.
Remembering them, we can smile,
too.