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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: — ........