Newspaper Page Text
Vol. 20 No. 4
Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta
Thursday, January 28, 1982
$8.00 Per Year
POLISH BISHOPS
Words Of Peace,
And Challenge
Spoken
. ■
“AS WE HAVE already recalled, the call to
freedom is not only a right but also a duty for
each man and woman and for the nation. We see
now that freedom, and the peace linked with it,
are the fruit of a knowledgeable cooperation of
everyone.”
Stumping For Nicaragua’s Future
> ROME (NCf - This is a translation of a
pastoral letter dated Jan. 19 and ordered
to be read in all Polish churches. The
' letter, signed by all of the Polish
Ordinaries (heads of dioceses) and written
in Polish, was translated into English from
an Italian translation distributed by the
Polish bishops’ office in Rome Jan. 24.
In this difficult period of the state
of war we greet you with the words:
“Peace be with you.” These words
were spoken by the risen Christ to
his intimidated and frightened
disciples. These same words we
address to you today, with the deep
conviction that we may all find in
this greeting of Christ a particular
support.
“Peace be with you.” We address a
special greeting to all the suffering,
that is to the prisoners, arrested,
condemned, those who are deprived
of their dear ones, all those who
suffer for their convictions and all
fired from their places of work.
With particular cordiality and love
we greet the children who feel
nostalgia for their fathers and their
mothers.
With Christian sorrow we greet the
families who weep for the tragic
death of their dear ones. We are
united with them in their sorrow.
We greet also those who are tried
Sec Editorial
Page 4
by the tragedy of floods: We are with
you in your sufferings and we
promise to do everything in our
power to alleviate the consequences
of the calamity.
To all our fellow citizens, inside
the country or outside, we give this
greeting: “May peace be with you.”
With supreme esteem and gratitude
we address this greeting of Christ to
you, holy father, John Paul II, who
with so much love concern yourself
with the good of our common
homeland. In the name of all we
want to thank you for your words
addressed to God and to men,
manifesting in this way concern for
our fates and for justice in our
homeland. Obedient to your call, we
offer all of our trials and sufferings as
a jubilee gift to the Queen of Poland.
We wish to greet with immense
gratitude those who pray for Poland
and help it. From the heart we
express thanks for the prayers, the
medicines, the provisions and other
assistance. May the God of peace
repay all the benefactors.
Most beloved in Christ the Lord,
with the greeting, “Peace be with
you,” Christ showed himself again to
his disciples, bringing to them and to
all men the gift of a true peace. This
gift, as the fruit of the passion and
the resurrection of Christ, is at the
same time a liberation from sin and
the restitution of freedom to the
sons and daughters of God. Thus
peace is permanently linked with
(Continued on page 6)
BY GRETCHEN REISER
The bearded priest and the young
man from Nicaragua are an
unlikely-looking team, traveling
throughout Georgia for several weeks
speaking about events that have
taken place in the Central American
country during the last three years.
Father Bernard Survil, a
41-year-old diocesan priest from
Greensburg, Pa., has been pastor of a
parish in the Archdiocese of
Managua, Nicaragua, both before and
after the Sandinista revolution in
1979. His companion, 19-year-old
Ruben Ulloa, is a Nicaraguan about
to begin university studies, who has
now twice traveled to the United
States to talk about Nicaragua after
the revolution. Their trip was
sponsored by the Disciples of Christ.
Typically, Father Survil acts as
interpreter for Ruben, in talks to
high school students “youth to
youth.” Among the places they were
scheduled to talk were St. Pius X
High School and two schools in
Savannah. The questions which often
come up concern the relationship
between Nicaragua and Cuba.
Translating for Ruben Ulloa,
Father Survil said Nicaragua has “a
tremendous need” for teachers, for
medical personnel and for other
skilled workers to carry out massive
literacy and health campaigns
launched after the revolution
overthrowing the government of
Anastasio Somoza in 1979. Cuba
sent several thousand teachers to
work in the literacy campaign,
according, to press reports. Still,
Ulloa said, Mexico “is the number
one country that has been helping
Nicaragua.” Later, in conversations
with some of those attending a
lunchtime talk at the Catholic
Center, Ulloa said that several factors
differentiated the Nicaraguan
revolution from that which brought
Fidel Castro to power in Cuba.
In Nicaragua, he said, a
cross-section of the population is
represented in the government and
there is no single strongman or
central figure. Father Survil cited the
presence of the church in Nicaragua’s
government - and in the country - as
(Continued on page 6)
Postal Rates
Are Protested
BALTIMORE (NC) - Six editors of religious newspapers in Maryland,
including Robert Johnston, editor of the Catholic Review, Baltimore
archdiocesan paper, have jointly protested new postal rate increases.
Mail rates for the non-profit press were increased Jan. 10 to levels not
scheduled to be implemented for another two or five years.
The price hike was necessary because funds for partially supporting the mail
rates were left out of budget legislation approved by President Reagan.
“The religious press, like other mailers, was resigned to periodic increases,
even though quite burdensome; it was not and is not now trying to duck
them,” stated the editors about a week after the price hike was effective. “And
indeed it does not realistically expect that these rate structures will be restored
to 1981 levels.”
“At the same time, in the name of justice, it demands that the Congress and
the administration re-evaluate the recent subsidy cuts and put the postal rate
increase program back on track toward a fair shake for the religious press and
other non-profit mailers,” the editors said.
They warned that the rate hikes “will put some publications out of business
and seriously impair the effectiveness of a great many others.”
“The demise of religious publications will certainly not benefit the postal
service, the nation or the millions of people in this country who believe with us
that a strong and vibrant religious press is essential to the well-being of the
(Continued on page 6)
MANY HANDS make the work of spreading
3,000 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches a bit
lighter, but it’s still a good afternoon’s work for
some 35 St. Pius X students, members of the
Pastoral Ministry Team. A schoolwide project,
organized by student Tom McHale and Madeline
Estafen, administrator, brought in donations of
S500 from the students and faculty to buy
sandwich goods for Central Presbyterian Church’s
night shelter. Students also donated baked goods
and fresh fruit, providing a week’s supply for the
shelter, and some bread was donated by Glass
Oven of Lenox Square and Bread and Pastry
Shoppe of Lilbum. Above, Catherine Turcotte,
Aida Irastorza and Kelly McGonegal team up at
one table to spread and wrap.
Hope
OLA PARISH
“Food Sundays Are Now A Matter Of Tradition”
BY THEA JARVIS
The third Sunday of every
month is “Food Sunday” at Our
Lady of the Assumption Church in
northeast Atlanta. And on Food
Sundays, OLA parishioners might
be caught with anything from dried
beans to canned applesauce under
their arms as they enter church for
Mass.
“The Food Sunday program is
about five or six years old,” said
Wiley Maloof, president of the
Assumption conference of the St.
Vincent de Paul Society, which
takes charge of the monthly
roundup of grocery goods.
“It started with the Thanksgiving
collection one year,” he explained.
“Monsignor Moylan (OLA’s first
pastor) gave all of the Thanksgiving
collection to St. Vincent de Paul
and the custom wasn’t interrupted
by any new pastors.”
There came a year, however,
when the financial contributions
garnered at Thanksgiving were not
enough. The society made an
urgent appeal to the parish for
canned goods and non-perishable
items. The response? Gratifying.
“We got three pickup trucks full
of food,” Maloof recalled. The rest
is history. Food Sundays are now a
matter of tradition.
Though a Food Sunday
collection does not normally result
in the need for a pickup truck,
OLA’s generosity does make for a
worship space brimming with
donations for those in need.
“Families bring the food to the
steps of the altar at the Offertory,”
said Maloof. “It doesn’t take too
much time, because not every
family will remember to bring the
food every month. Some are
involved one month - others the
next.”
The food is left on the altar steps
during the Sunday morning Masses,
a visible reminder of the parish
commitment to the hungry. It is
collected by the Vincentians the
following morning, sometimes “one
or two car trunks full,” Wiley
Maloof noted.
“People feel like they are taking
action, like they are taking part in
charitable works,” said the
enthusiastic Maloof, obviously
convinced of the effectiveness of
the outreach.
“In addition to getting people
involved, it saves us money. We can
give donated groceries to our clients
and the money can go for other
necessities -- rent, heating,
electricity bills, car payments.”
Some might consider the
Assumption neighborhood a little
beyond the reach of the bill
collector. The church is located on
Hearst Circle and is part of the
comfortable suburban sprawl
surrounding metropolitan Atlanta.
But the need for an active parish
St. Vincent de Paul conference
exists nonetheless.
Maloof observed that the
Assumption conference answers
calls within its parish boundaries
and also helps out in parishes where
the St. Vincent de Paul Society is
not active. In addition, Assumption
reaches a hand of friendship to
nearby churches whose local
conference cannot handle cases
without some outside assistance.
“We recently put $300 into a
case from another parish - the light
bill, rent and groceries all had to be
taken care of and we knew they
couldn’t handle it themselves,” he
said.
“We have a case right now where
a young male divorcee paying child
support is losing his car, his house.
In this instance, Maloof asserted,
“You’re looking at a $1000 case.”
It is, perhaps, the parish support
of the monthly Food Sunday effort
that enables Assumption’s
Vincentians to work freely and
generously with those in temporary
or long-term need.
“We like to get our people
involved,” said Maloof, whose own
place of business, not far from the
church, houses much of the
donated food that comes in each
month. The parish St. Vincent de
Paul Society, he feels “is not an
autonomous arm where the
parishioners aren’t involved. This
gives them the chance to participate
in an active way even if they can’t
go out on the calls with us.”
For other parishes anxious to
respond effectively to local need,
the Food Sunday program is a
healthy, viable model.
The success of Assumption’s
grass-roots effort indicates that
people DO want to become
involved in helping others. And,
pulling together, involvement
can work.
“THE FOOD IS LEFT on the altar steps during the Sunday
morning Masses, a visible reminder of the parish commitment to the
hungry. It is collected by the Vincentians the following morning,
sometimes ‘one or two car trunks full’ . . .”