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About The Georgia bulletin (Atlanta) 1963-current | View Entire Issue (March 12, 1987)
PAGE 14 — The Georgia Bulletin, March 12, 1987 Nun Tends BY JOY GRECO ERIE, Pa. (NC) — Rising for 2 a.m. feedings, changing diapers and searching for lost pacifiers — unlikely chores for a nun — are daily activities for one in Erie who doubles as a foster parent. Caring for her 60th foster baby, Sister Joseph John McDonald began her unusual ministry in 1975 when the Erie branch of Catholic Social Services advertised for foster parents to care for children who came to the United States on the Vietnam airlift. The Sister of St. Joseph took care of three babies over a span of several months, but soon the demand disappeared and she retired, she said. Four years later, Sister McDonald saw a television report about the need for foster parents and decided to offer her assistance again. “The first baby was a little girl. When I first got her I cried all day at the thought that this baby had no one," she said “I wanted to let her know that she was loved and secure, until such time as a new family was found for her. That's what babies really need — attention and love at that for mative stage." Most often she has cared for newborns, with one staying as long as five months. A few times she has cared for four babies at one time. “It’s easy to get attached to them," Sister McDonald said, “so I consciously try not to form any specific habits with them, such as getting them used to a specific toy. a security blanket. “That is best left up to the new parents, or to the mother in cases where the bauy is returning to her. That way they don't have to make too many adjustments to their new situation when they leave here.’’ Her sensitivity to the parents who will eventually adopt the children is apparent. “I give the babies undivided atten tion, but I don’t hold them all the time, because a mother couldn't do that. “They are loved and cared for, but not spoiled,” she said. The nun keeps a book of photographs of each baby, with a new picture taken each week. The books are presented to adoptive parents as a keepsake of each infant’s growth and development. She cares for her charges in an apartment that includes a complete nursery. Another nun from her congregation shares the living quarters and fills in on overnight duty when needed. “Most of the time I manage very well, but when I have three at one time, it can get a little hectic.” Coping with ar thritis limits her mobility, she added. Sister McDonald must meet the same requirements as other foster parents. Her residence is state-inspected, and she is certified in cardiac pulmonary resuscitation and first aid. With other foster parents, she must complete six hours of training and be re-evaluated annually. Interested in caring for children even before she entered the convent in 1954, Sister McDonald had hoped to be assigned to work at a Catholic nursery. Due to her musical talents and education, her order instead placed her at the motherhouse in Erie. Diplomat Says Detained Priest Showing Strain SISTER MOM — Sister Joseph John McDonald of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Erie, Pa., feeds one of the babies under her care. (NC photo) BY CARMEl, RICKARD DURBAN, South Africa (NC) — U.S. Mariannhill Father James Lee Casimir WALK WITH A MISSIONARY THIS LENT For 49 years, Bishop Gasparini has walked the way of the Cross as a missionary in Ethiopia. He has seen the suffering Christ in the weeping eyes of hungry children, on the faces of fathers searching to give their families a home and human dignity, and in the strength of exhausted mothers. Bishop Gasparini brings Christ’s hope to the Ethiopian people because of your gift through the Propagation of the Faith. Walk with him during the forty days of Lent! Make a special Lenten Sacrifice! A dollar a day for 40 days. The Propagation of the Faith Reverend Edward J. Thein Archdiocese of Atlanta 680 West Peachtree Street NW-Dept. C. Atlanta, Ga. 30308 Yes! I want to make a special Lenten Sacrifice: □ $40 ($1 a day for 40 days) □ $5 m$10 □ $25 D$50 D$100 n other sr I Special Gifts are needed too! D$250 D$500 Cl $1000 □ I would like to be a monthly donor! Name Address City . State Zip Please ask missionaries to remember my intentions at Mass 006 3-12-87 Paulsen, detained since Dec. 17 in Transkei, a black South African territory, is “showing signs of strain," said an American official. Michael Matera, U.S. deputy consul general in Durban, who visited Father Paulsen March 2. said the priest seemed “tired and was not in the same good spirits as during our last visit." "Asked about his health, he said he could be better and could be worse, " Matera said. “He seems understand why the in vestigation is taking so long" Matera's two visits were the only ones allowed Father Paulsen since his arrest. “He told me that what got him through the last month has been the Bible,'' Matera said. “But it is clear he no longer regards his detention as a period of 'spiritual retreat' as he said on our first visit ." Matera met Father Paul sen in a jail cell in Butter- worth, a small town in a rural, isolated area of Tran- skei. However, he said prison authorities would not confirm where he was being held. No charges have been brought against the priest. At the time of the first meeting in early February, Transkei officials told Matera they were in vestigating allegations that the priest harbored “per sons suspected of illegal ac tivities " Father Paulsen, born in Milwaukee and raised in Detroit, has worked in Transkei since 1978. COMPANIONS Aide-$5.50/hr or $48/day live-in Car • References Bonded Lucas Medical Care 349-4030 HOME LOANS FOR BUYING OR REFINANCING CALL THE PROFESSIONALS WE OFFER' • CONVENTIONAL • FHA/VA •FIXED •JUMBOS CALL REPUBLIC MORTGAGE CORP. 441-2399 MORTGAGES MORTGAGES MORTGAGES FOR COMPLETE LEGAL SERVICES CALL FOR APPOINTMENT 377-4373 ANTHONY C. LEE HING ATTORNEY AT LAW 210 FIRST NATIONAL BANK BUILDING 315 W. Ponce De Leon Avenue Decatur GENERAL PRACTICE Including: Real Estate, Estate Planning-Wills etc. Corporation, Banking & Business Law Domestic Relations - Child custody etc. Immigration frustrated and does not Low Cost Term Life Insurance SOMMERS/ MORELANDS ASSOC. 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