Newspaper Page Text
Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta
Vol. 23. No. 24
Thursday, June 20, 1985
$10.00 Per Year
Permanent Deacons
The New Ministry
Class Of 60 Finishes
Full-Time Deacon:
First Year Of Study
BY THEA JARVIS
This past spring when Scott and Eric Dietz were chasing
elusive black and white balls across the soccer fields of
Marietta, their father Paul wasn’t always up in the stands
watching their games. And when their brother Danny final
ly went for the coveted orange belt in karate this year, he
had to do it without his number one fan — his dad.
Dad, you see, is studying to be a deacon, and every other
Saturday since September he has been heading out for
classes at St. Pius X High School or Holy Cross Church, hit
ting the theology books and learning about the Church he is
to serve.
Has it been worth it?
“Very much so,” Paul Dietz responds readily when the
question arises. The 41-year-old electrical engineer, who
works for a non-profit organization which sets standards of
excellence for nuclear power operations, realized that his
family’s schedule has been somewhat disrupted, but “I
think it’s helped us grow.”
While many of Dietz’ 59 classmates in the current crop of
diaconal candidates have a few years on him — the group
includes retirees, grandfathers, and fathers of college-age
or married children — he is convinced that the commitment
he and his wife Janice have given to the three-year pro
gram has made an impact on their three boys.
“They just accepted it. It got to be the normal routine,”
he explained. What is more, signals received from their off
spring, aged 15,13 and 11, indicate that the family is not just
paying lip service to the notion of the diaconate. When
Janice was hesitating about attending a recent parish
prayer meeting recently, Dietz related, their oldest son
chided her that if she didn’t go she wasn’t holding up her
end of the bargain.
“I think it’s helped them all,” Paul Dietz observed.
“They see us being committed and they try to do the
same.”
On his part, the Minnesota native, who moved his family
to Georgia five years ago, tries “to be with them at other
times” when his Saturday classes come up, aiming for the
quality time that his children seem to understand and ac
cept.
Dick Johnson agrees with his classmate about the overall
effect the diaconate program is having on his family. The
58-year-old father of seven, now proud grandfather of six,
claimed, “It’s enhanced our family life, from our spiritual
life to our everyday activity.” He and his wife Shirley find
they are “much more caring with each other” since becom
ing involved in the program. Because the Johnsons and the
Dietzes are at different stages in their families’ develop
ment, both have had to deal with time constraints in dif
ferent ways. Shirley Johnson was able to join her husband
at all but two of the Saturday sessions, which included study
of the Old and New Testament, ecclesiology, moral
theology, liturgy, catechetics, preaching, church history
Hostage Stories,
Deacon Held, Page 16
SPECIAL ROLE — Permanent deacon Larry
French of Sts. Peter and Paul Parish in
Decatur is among 18 deacons already serving
the archdiocese in sacramental work,
preaching, education and a variety of social
ministries. A class of 60 men, with their wives
playing an important part, are now in the midst
of a three-year study program.
and spirituality. Janice Dietz, who began fall classes with
her husband Paul, had to drop out when spring rolled
around and the children’s involvements were priorities.
“The hardest part was on my wife,” Paul Dietz admitted,
remembering one frenetic Saturday when Janice drove all
the way to Gainesville for a soccer game and then raced
back home for another one in Marietta. “If we went for
three years without the summer break, we’d all be nuts,”
he laughed.
Both men found the studies they undertook to be challeng
ing and interesting. Dick Johnson, a Ph.D. who worked in
public education for most of his professional life and now
serves as Assistant Superintendent of Catholic Schools for
the Archdiocese of Atlanta, said it was “hard trying to keep
up with the reading and the work of it all. But I operate
under pressure and I didn’t let it bother me.”
Formerly an associate professor of engineering at the
University of Notre Dame, Paul Dietz put in several hours
of study twice a week to keep current with his diaconal
studies. He enjoyed “learning more about my faith and be
ing involved with men doing the same thing.”
All 60 of the men currently enrolled in the archdiocesan
diaconate program finished up their studies with a weekend
retreat held at the Village of St. Joseph last month. Father
Tom Firielis from the Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Con
yers directed the retreat, which was attended by many
wives of the candidates as well. The day-long event includ
ed conferences, spiritual direction, the sacrament of recon
ciliation and a closing liturgy formalizing the end of the
first year of diaconal preparation.
Following the retreat Dick Johnson was looking forward
(Continued on Page 8)
He Helps Laity
Find Their Action
BY RITA McINERNEY
There was no thunderbolt
on the road to Damascus
for the Rev. Richard
Narey.
“I’ll try it. It wasn’t like
Paul. I didn’t get knocked
down and blinded. The
studies weren’t going to
hurt me. If it’s to be, it’s to
be,” was his response to
suggestions by priests at
Holy Cross parish in 1974
that he think about the
diaconate. Earlier, his in
volvement with the Cursillo
movement had brought
him to the Trappist
Monastery of Our Lady of
the Holy Spirit in Conyers
where Father Anthony
Delisi had talked to him of
the same program.
In June 1978, Narey was
ordained a permanent
deacon at Holy Cross
Church after three years of
preparation including 18
months of study with the
monks in Conyers. “An ex
perience I’ll never forget,”
chbishop Thomas Don-
nellan as full time perma
nent deacon at Holy Cross.
This will be his third year
on full time assignment for
the parish.
Dick Narey was involved
on different levels of parish
life before becoming per
manent deacon. He was
known and liked by fellow
parishioners so the transi
tion into a defined role was
well accepted. He and his
wife had worked together
for several years, teaching
Bible courses. Marjorie’s
participation, he says, was
extensive. Then as he came
closer to ordination she
began to feel threatened.
“I’m not leaving you,” he
reassured her, “I want you
to be in this with me.” She
admits feeling both
threatened and happy
about his calling. Now she
is “very happy, very much
at peace about it. We did a
lot of teaching together for
several years and benefit-
Judge, Activist, Actor
- See pages 6 and 7
he says with deep feeling.
Home and parish gave
him the support needed in
deciding to become a
minister of the church and
during the years of study
and formulation. His wife
Marjorie, their six
children, the parish priests
and parishioners were
generous with encourage
ment. His children, he
recalls, “thought it was
good although they didn’t
quite understand. To them
it was like creating a new
office in the church.” From
the Dominican priests at
Holy Cross there was
“absolutely great support.
They understood our roles,
understood we were not a
threat.”
Fellow parishioner
Walter Bedard made the
journey with him and was
ordained at the same time.
Earlier this month Narey
was appointed by Ar-
ted a lot from that.”
Bishop Howard Hub
bard of Albany, N.Y., in
an address on the role of
the permanent deacon
before the convention of
the National Association
of Permanent Diaco
nate Directors in Boston
on April 28, 1981, defined
deacons as “Men en
dowed by the Spirit with
certain gifts and talents
who, by the virtue of the
public and permanent
character of their or
dination commitment,
are called to minister to
God’s people in a way
that avowedly and
unabashedly expresses
a Christian value
system and by this
ministry to make the
mission of Jesus alive,
vibrant and relevant in
our contemporary
Church society.”
(Continued on Page 11)