Newspaper Page Text
Vol. 19 No. 39
Thursday, November 5,1981
$8.00 per year
Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta
VIGOROUS BLESSING - Archbishop Donnellan happily
sprinkles holy water on the classrooms and walls of the new Lourdes
school. The ceremony of rededication took place on Sunday, Oct. 25.
The Archbishop is surrounded by celebrating parishioners and
parents.
Bishop Mourns
Within Sight Of
BY STEPHENIE OVERMAN
NC NEWS SERVICE
“May we all be haunted by the silent voices of these victims of inhmanity”
until there is adequate response to their plight, said Archbishop Edward A.
McCarthy of Miami of the Haitians who drowned off the coast of Florida.
More than 30 Haitians drowned Oct. 26 just north of Miami after their 30-foot
boat capsized. The Coast Guard said at least 30 other passengers survived by
swimming about a mile to shore.
In a statement October 27, Archbishop McCarthy said, “On behalf of the
brothers and sisters of the Catholic Church, I express in this tragic hour deep and
prayful sympathy to all of our Haitian brothers and sisters and especially to the
relatives of those who died so pitifully within sight of the shores of America that
were their hope,” he said.
“My prayers are that they are now finally at peace enjoying eternal happiness
in their true home of heaven, where they have been warmly received by God.”
Archbishop McCarthy officiated at a Mass Nov. 2, All Souls Day, for
all of the Haitians who have died in their efforts to get to the United States. The
Mass was in the chapel of the new Haitian Catholic Center in Miami.
The drownings “just underscore that there are serious problems down there”
in Haiti that must be solved at the source, according to Don Hohl, associate
director of the U.S. Catholic Conference’s Migration and Refugee Services
(MRS).
“The United States absolutely must increase discussions with Haiti,” Hohl said
and “take steps which will keep people from feeling they must flee.”
Hohl called it “a tragic commentary that it could take place on the shores of
Lourdes-A New Life At 70
BY MONSIGNOR NOEL C. BURTENSH AW
The proud concrete looks almost the same as it rises above the sidewalks of
Boulevard. It has a shinier look and the windows gleam brightly. On the outside
this is Our Lady of Lourdes School. You recognize it. The revolution has taken
place on the inside.
“For the first time in the history of the school,” says the principal, Sister
Regina Lake, “the bathrooms have hot water and heat.” That is one
improvement, but it’s only the beginning. In the past six iponths the three-story
school building, which was built in 1912, has been renovated with touches of
beauty never known to this inner city home of Catholic learning.
“Note the color scheme,” says Sister Regina as she delightedly gives the tour, n
“The ground floor is done in green - t pat is for the earth. The second floor is |
orange, for the warmth of the sun and the third floor is blue for the sky above. It is t
all such a new experience for our students. ” °
Word of the new experience is spreading. The number of students has jumped §
over the last few weeks. Now the six grades plus kindergarten have an enrollment °
of 236. Sister Regina belives it will go as high as 265.
The excitement of the new surroundings is obvious to the sisters and teachers
of -Our Lady of Lourdes. It is, perhaps, more obvious to pastor Father Frank
o Giusta. Along with Sister Regina, Father Frank takes you to the kindergarten
’ where, even in the late afternoon, songsters are ready. As hands clap and rhythm
| descends, they sing the chant from the Mass of the dedication: The Lord is my
2 Light and my Salvation. “And the Archbishop loved it,” they scream. You just
| know he did.
The tour takes us to the end of the building and into the breezeway. There
standing in the shadow of the old school is the brand new library building. “I
would like to call it Drexell Hall after Mother Drexell and the Blessed Sacrament
Sisters who served the parish so long,” says Sister Regina, “but right now we just
call it the new building. We are thrilled to have it.”
The second floor of the beautiful spacious building is a library with colorful
tables where books can be studied. There is also a large utility room. “From
here,” says Father Frank, “we will do social projects with St. Vincent de Paul for
Haitians Lost
Miami Coast
the United States, the country which had pleaded with countries of first asylum”
in Southeast Asia to take in refugees.
He noted that many boat people had drowned in Southeast Asia and said he
fears it may happen there again because of the example the United States is
now setting in its handling of refugees off its own shores.
Immigration authorities called the Oct. 26 drownings the worst such accident
recorded since the wave of immigrants from the impoverished Caribbean country
began.
In the last 10 years abour 44,000 Haitians have arrived in the United States
without entry documents and South Florida has been inundated with immigrants
from Central and South America and the Caribbean.
The federal government has taken the position that the Haitians are economic
immigrants, not political refugees. Two months ago the Reagan administration
ordered the Coast Guard to interdict Haitian boats with illegal aliens on the high
seas and return them to Port-au-Prince, the Haitian capital.
The first interdiction came Oct. 25, 123 miles northwest of Port-au-Prince,
when the cutter Chase intercepted a leaky 30-foot boat filled with 57 passengers.
That boat also capsized in rough seas shortly after the Haitians were transferred
to the Chase.
■A
A Coast Guard spokesman said of the drownings, “It’s just such a tragedy. It’s
what we were hoping to avoid” by intercepting vessels.
Hohl argued that interdiction will not prevent such tragedies. “It’s physically
impossible to put enough ships to sea. A few vessels will not have any real effect
on the movement of these people - if they feel so desperate they are going to
continue to comeand brave death.”
ONE OF THE NEW CLASSROOMS of Our Lady of Lourdes
school waits patiently and in perfect order for the students who will
joyfully take their places after the dedication.
the parish and the community. So it will not be just school. It will be outreach to
people in need too.”
The ground floor is the new cafeteria along with the kitchen moved from the
old building. “It was in perfect condition so we brought it all over. The stoves are
old but still serviceable.” As Sister Regina spoke, a large truck was delivering
dining room furniture for the bright new cafeteria. “We’ll be having our first meal
soon,” remarked Sister Regina.
In 1977 Our Lady of Lourdes parish celebrated 65 years of service on
Boulevard. The changes to the area are very obvious. Across from the parish, the
Martin Luther King Center is coming into life, building by building. “We use their
physical education center each day for the school,” says Father Frank. “It is a
beautiful facility.”
But many of the old Lourdes families have moved. “They still come back to
Mass,” says the pastor. “And others are moving back into town, but they are not
living around the area. Still we are happy with the growth in the parish. We are
very happy.”
While Lourdes is not as affluent a parish as some in the archdiocese, the
Lourdes families still have time and energy to reach out to others. On one Sunday
each month food is taken to needy families. Sister Linda, who is a parish
associate, organizes that project along with many other activities in this active
inner-city parish. “She stays very busy,” says Father Frank. “In Grady Homes we
have a ‘Help the Children Project’ which is a boys and girls club. All the churches
in our area are interested in this project. Sister Linda represents us at the meetings
and in the organization. We need these activities.”
Father Frank Giusta, who has been pastor at Lourdes for almost two years, is a
(Continued on page 2)
Happy Birthday
On November 8,1956, the northern 71 counties of Georgia became a
new creation. The new Diocese of Atlanta was officially erected and the
Most Reverend Francis E. Hyland was installed as first Bishop. The
occasion was marked in a packed Cathedral of Christ the King and in
every church across the new Diocese.
Now, 25 years later, your Georgia Bulletin will mark this silver,
southern anniversary with a special commemorative edition of the
paper. Watch for this special supplement in next week’s mail. It will be
enclosed in your Georgia Bulletin.
This week, as we await the special edition, let us just say to the
Diocese of 1956, which became the Archdiocese in 1962 - Happy
Birthday.
--NCB
FOCUS ON HUNGER
The Art Of Food
BY THEA JARVIS
On a blustery fall morning on
Peachtree Street, the queue begins
forming in the alleyway outside St.
Luke’s community kitchen before 9
a.m. Lunch isn’t till 10, but those in
line want to be sure of a place at the
table.
Clad in light jackets and caps, they
are a mixed lot, ranging in age from
Luke’s, where a pioneer effort in food
distribution to the poor has proven
workable and worthwhile.
Close to 100 people crowded into
the church’s basement choir room
Thursday, October 29, to share ideas
and confront the problems involved in
feeding hungry people.
Representatives from a wide variety of
churches and service agencies,
including the St. Vincent de Paul
How To Stock The Shelves, Page 6
babies in their mothers’ arms to an
83-year-old man who lives on the
street and comes by every day.
They all have one thing in common
- hunger.
For most, this will be THE meal of
the day - all they can eat in 30
minutes from the church’s simple
menu of soup, sandwiches, coffee, tea
and milk, supplemented by the yogurt
or fruit St. Luke’s can sometimes
obtain from the Community Food
Bank next door.
St. Luke’s Episcopal Church has
been feeding three to five hundred
hungry people daily, Monday through
Friday, for six years. What is more,
during this time, the church has
extended a hand of friendship, a
faithful presence, to many who would
otherwise know only the cold
embrace of despair.
It was fitting, therefore, to hold the
day-long workshop “Starting and
Maintaining a Food Pantry” at St.
Society and Catholic Social Services,
were on hand as organizational leaders
and eager listeners, ready to learn
more about improving the supply and
distribution of emergency food.
In the initial panel presentation,
Anne Sapp from the Poverty Rights
Office of Emmaeus House stressed the
need for sensitivity in determining a
person’s eligibility for food and
reminded the group that “low-income
people have a particularly difficult
time negotiating through the system.”
She pointed out that those who come
seeking food have often bottomed out
in the area of self-esteem.
“Food is an extremely emotional
issue ... Being hungry in America is
the ultimate failure - somehow you
don’t fit into the picture. Asking for
food is a humiliating thing.”
“Because (the poor) feel so bad,”
she continued, “they are angry and
defeated. We try to give the
impression that ‘we’re on your side.’”
*
Pantries
Guidelines for eligibility were
discussed by Frank Franklin, a
volunteer at the 12-year-old Druid
Hills Community Center on Ponce de
Leon Avenue in Atlanta.
Franklin observed that we have
“yet to devise a foolproof system of
screening” by which only the truly
needy are served. The center,
therefore, has a ready supply of
peanut butter, bread, applesauce and
canned beans, as well as application
forms that help to insure client
honesty while preserving client
dignity.
He stated that while organizations
must be careful to determine a
person’s real need for food, “You
must have a ‘there but for the grace of
God go I’attitude.”
Since most groups represented at
the workshop operate with a plurality
of volunteers - St. Luke’s alone
employs a daily core of 50-60 persons
who voluntarily operate the
community kitchen -- Betti Knott,
executive secretary of the St. Vincent
de Paul Society, discussed the
importance of dealing with volunteers
in a direct and sensitive manner.
According to Mrs. Knott,
volunteers need to know the goals and
structure of an organization and what
specifically is expected of them within
that structure. “They like to feel
loved, appreciated, worth
something,” she said.
It is important to fit the volunteer
into a job he can do well and happily,
(Continued on page 6)
THE NUTS AND BOLTS of running a food Betti Knott, seated, of the St. Vincent de Paul
pantry were the topic of a workshop at St. Luke’s Society and Bill Bolling, standing, of St. Luke’s.
Episcopal Church recently where speakers included