Newspaper Page Text
The
Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta
Vol. 23 No. 17
Thursday, April 25,1985
$10.00 Per Year
AT THE GATE - Father Joseph Ware
surveys the sprawling property where the
new St. Peter’s Church is to be located, a
former Milliken and Company textile mill.
LaGrange, Georgia
"Old Mill" Becomes
Home For Church
BY GRETCHEN REISER
In all his years in the priesthood, Father Joseph
Ware has never had to build a church. But events in
the last few months in LaGrange, Georgia, where he
is pastor, have changed that record drastically.
Not only will St. Peter’s parish in LaGrange be
building a new church, but they will be building it
on the site of a mammoth, red brick textile mill
which has been donated to the church by Milliken
and Company. Since negotiations began last fall, the
parish has become the owner of the 165,000
square-foot mill, a dominating water tower with the
Milliken logo on it, and several warehouse buildings.
The mill, which has been closed for several years, is
located on over six acres of property on Route 109,
the main road into LaGrange from Interstate-85.
The donation by Milliken and Company, whose
main headquarters is in Spartanburg, S.C., was
announced in March.
The “surprising” and generous gift to the church
began, said Father Ware, when he mentioned to the
St. Peter’s congregation last fall that it was time to
think about a new site to build an enlarged church.
With the addition of new industry in LaGrange, and
the importing of management staff from
headquarters in the Midwest and North, the
Catholic community in LaGrange has been growing
rapidly.
(Continued on page 10)
k )
Nicaragua Vote Prompts
Clash Over Vatican Position
BY LIZ S. ARMSTRONG
WASHINGTON (NC) - As Congress prepared to vote
on the Reagan administration’s plan to provide $14
million in aid to anti-Sandinista rebels in Nicaragua,
church and state clashed over the issue.
Representing the U.S. bishops, the U.S. Catholic
Conference urged Congress not to support $14 million in
military aid to the rebels.
Even the Vatican was drawn into the debate over
President Reagan’s Nicaraguan policies after Reagan
claimed April 16 to have “just had a verbal message” from
Pope John Paul II backing his plans.
Both the Vatican and its embassy in Washington, in
separate statements, denied that the pontiff had sent any
such message to the president.
Archbishop James A. Hickey of Washington,
representing the USCC, told a congressional subcommittee
April 17 that the U.S. bishops seek a non-violent solution
to the Nicaraguan conflict and oppose the president’s plan
for military aid to the rebels, known as “contras.”
Under Reagan’s original plan, which was still under
negotiation, the aid would be used for humanitarian needs
for 60 days and then be available for military purposes if
no progress were reached in church-mediated negotiations
between the rebels and the Marxist-leaning Sandinista
regime ruling Nicaragua.
Two other prelates, Bishop Rene H. Gracida of Corpus
Christi, Texas, and Bishop Salvator Schlaefer, the
U.S.-bom apostolic vicar of Bluefields, Nicaragua, in
separate comments also urged a peaceful resolution to the
Nicaraguan conflict.
Reagan’s claim to have papal support for his policies
brought quick retorts from high-level church offices.
The Vatican’s April 18 statement said Pope John Paul
II had sent no special message to the president.
The Vatican Embassy in Washington issued a separate
statement April 17 flatly excluding even “the possibility”
of papal “support or endorsement” for any Central
(Continued on page 6)
28 New Cardinals Named - Page 2
;: ■"
I III
He Cheers,Cheers For Old Notre Dame
BY MSGR. NOEL C. BURTENSHAW
Here’s the blasphemous riddle: “What’s the
difference between Father Theodore Hesburgh and
God? Answer. God is everywhere. Hesburgh is
everywhere except Notre Dame.”
The Notre Dame University alumni will fight
you on that outrageous offering. They will readily
admit that “Father Ted” is everywhere, but his
presence is forever felt on the famous Indiana
campus. As a matter of fact, many of them say
that their famous president IS Notre Dame.
Thirty-three years ago, at the age of 35, this
brilliant maestro became conductor of the Notre
Dame community. Even at that time its fame was
splashed across every football heart in the nation.
But it was a small college of less than 5,000 men.
Today, while still a hopeful haven for football
mania, it is a center of academic toughness rivaling
any offensive line, totaling almost 10,000 men
and women.
“It should never go over 10,000,” said Father
Hesburgh last week as he visited the Atlanta
alumni. “Over 10,000 would mean that Notre
Dame could no longer be a family.”
There you have the reason for Hesburgh’s love
of his school. It is his family. And he works long
hours, travels untold miles and is ready for any
performance to keep her the best.
“This guy in Florida gave me a million dollars
for a professorship,” said Hesburgh while he
lunched with the officers of the alumni at the
fancy Ritz-Carlton. “Of course, everything has its
price. He said you’ll have to come down and
celebrate my birthday with me. I said if you’ll give
Notre Dame a million bucks, I’ll celebrate with
you in outer space.”
His name is connected with presidents and
popes, with projects and proposals, he is friendly
with reds and Reaganites, but always his topic is
Notre Dame - its excellence, always its excellence.
“Do you know,” he asks an alumni who is
implying that too many young people are turned
away each year from Notre Dame upon
application, “that my nephew was turned away.
It’s tough to get in and it’s tough to stay in. My
niece was accepted. She had a 3.9 average in high
school for four years. After one semester in Notre
Dame she gets a 2.7. She’s crushed. I told her to
get a little less social.”
But his demands for excellence have paid off.
“The state of colleges in the nation today is
terrible,” he says. “One half of every college class
does not graduate. Last year every single senior
who began the year graduated at Notre Dame.” He
explains his vision for the University. “We need to
create moral leaders for the community and at the
same time have academic excellence.”
Father Theodore Hesburgh, who is an alumnus
of Notre Dame, was ordained a priest there on the
campus in 1943. His talent for public service has
been recognized by the last five Presidents. Each
has appointed him to service positions for the
nation. However, it is not a President but rather a
President’s wife whom he praises when he speaks
(Continued on page 6)
■
- -4:
— ........