Funding for the digitization of this title was provided by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta.
About The Georgia bulletin (Atlanta) 1963-current | View Entire Issue (March 12, 1987)
PAGE 16 — The Georgia Bulletin, March 12,1987 Women Included In Foot Washing WASHINGTON (NC) — Women can be included in the Catholic Church’s Holy Thursday foot-washing ceremony, says a memo sent to the U.S. bishops in March by the bishops’ Committee on Liturgy. The inclusion of both men and women in the rite emphasizes Christ’s “humble service” to his followers and “the service that should be given by all the faithful to the church and to the world,” the memo said. Last year Bishop Anthony Bevilacqua of Pitts burgh provoked a nationally publicized controversy when he told his priests that only men’s feet could be washed. The governing liturgical rule, he said, spoke of those chosen for the rite as “viri,” a Latin term which refers only to males. Before Bishop Bevilacqua’s order, parishes in many parts of the country routinely involved both men and women in the foot-washing ceremony. The ceremony imitates Christ’s washing of his apostles’ feet at the Last Supper, as a sign of his love for them and service to them. The memo to the bishops said the Vatican is still studying the question of including women in the rite, along with a number of other questions regarding the Holy Week liturgy, and it has not yet given a definitive answer to inquiries about the issue. In the meantime, the “variation” in the United States of using both men and women “is an understandable way of accentuating the evangelical command ... that all members of the church must serve one another in love,” the memo said. Bishop Bevilacqua, who received an advance copy of the memo, sent it out to all parishes in his diocese with a covering letter urging pastors to exercise “prudent pastoral judgment” as to “the most ap propriate manner” of celebrating the rite in their own parishes. He said pastors could follow either the more tradi tional rubric excluding women or the “variation" that has grown up as a custom in the United States. In either case, he said, he hoped they would celebrate the rite in a way that “will promote the ecclesial uni ty and Christian charity” which are central themes of that and other Holy Week services. BUCKHEAD WRIGHT’S FLORIST Distinctive StyleA Service'Since 1949 2393 Peachtree Rd. At Peachtree Battle 233-4446 I FLOWERS & PLANTS for All Occasions i 8H rjm DELIVERY to ALL ATLANTA & SUBURBS S a m • EUROPEAN FLOWERS* WEDDING WFI • PARTY • INTERIOR FLORASCAPING coast to c^ast Affirmation In Home, Society Pope Asks Recognition of Women's Rights BY GREG ERLANDSON VATICAN CITY (NC) — Pope John Paul marked Italy’s celebration of Woman’s Day with a call for recognizing women’s social and civil rights, as well as “affirmation” of their role in the family. The pope’s comments followed his March 8 Angelus ad dress in which he reflected on the “common priesthood" of Catholics, but emphasized that the priesthood of believers and the ministerial priesthood are “essentially different." In other weekend activities, the pope sent a telegram ex pressing his sorrow for families of the victims of a March 6 ferry disaster off the Belgium coast. Speaking to a crowded St. Peter’s piazza after the regular Sunday Angelus talk, the pope called attention to a nearby meeting of Catholic women’s associations marking Woman’s Day. “The church is interested in the questions regarding the presence of woman in society,” the pope said. He praised the associations, saying they work to bring a “Christian spirit to the temporal order.” Particular concerns for the church, he said, are “the un disputed affirmation of (women’s) proper roles in the en vironment of the family” and “the just recognition of their social and civil rights in the light of the dignity and identity of every woman.” As the pope spoke, many in the piazza waved bunches of yellow mimosa flowers, a symbol of the annual celebration of women. During his regular Angelus address, the pope continued his reflections on the role of the laity in preparation for the synod on the laity to be held in October. Pope John Paul said the Second Vatican Council had restored the biblical teaching of a common priesthood of the faithful which, “for various reasons, had fallen in darkness.” Based on the sacrament of baptism, this com mon priesthood has a community dimension which “transcends individual testimony” for the faith, the pope said. It also carries a responsibility to face difficulties “together with other men and other women,” he added. The ministerial priesthood consists of members of the people of God “chosen and called by God himself” to “assure the continuity of the functions that he has given to the apostles,” the pope said. The two priesthoods “essentially differ," he added, but together “guarantee that superior harmony which is an in- dispensible factor of genuine pastoral progress.” Earlier in the morning Pope John Paul visited the Roman parish of Santa Maria ai Monti, located only a few blocks from the ruins of the imperial forum. Speaking on the first Sunday of Lent, the pope said the parish must become “an environment of Lenten conversion.” “During Lent the parish must become a special environ ment for the salvific study of the truth about sin and grace,” he said. The pope also told the parishioners he felt joy at visiting their Marian shrine, which he called “among the most venerated in Rome.” The 400-year-old church is the site of a fresco of Mary which has been venerated for centuries. On Saturday, March 7, the pope sent messages of con dolence for the British ferry disaster in Belgium to London’s Cardinal George Basil Hume and Brussels’s Car dinal Godfried Danneels. Sent by Vatican Secretary of State Agostino Casaroli, the telegram expressed the pope’s sorrow and solidarity with the victims and their families. At least 135 people died in the North Sea ferry accident. In the early afternoon the pope met with a group of bishops from the Emilia-Romagna region of north-central Italy. The bishops presented the pope with a book com memorating his visit to the region, which has a strong Com munist Party, last May. Jones Appliance Service Vacuum Cleaner Sales & Service 31 Years Experience 208 Pharr Rd., N.E. Atlanta, Ga. 237-5783 11,124 Days In Jail Bishop Ignatius Kung, 86, Bishop of Shanghai, has spent every day since September 8, 1955 in a Communist Chinese jail. Why? Because Bishop Kung re fuses to renounce his faith and re mains loyal to Pope John Paul II. His only “crime” is to be a Christian in a land where atheism still rules with an iron fist. After a lifetime of service to the Church, doesn’t he deserve our help? : . My gift of $ □ Send me more information. 16 Name . . . FREE THE FATHERS, 1120 Applewood Circle. Signal Mtn., TN 37377 (615) 886-2134 John M Davies. President Advisory Board: Sister Grace Vincent Cannon, Monsignor Henry P Cosgrove Congressman Jack Kemp. U.S Senator Paul Laxalt. Bishop James Niedergeses U S Senator Claiborne Pell. Father James Thornton. S.J . Monsignor Frederick Stenger. Bishop Robert L Whelan. S.J Father Sal vatore Franco IRISH IMPORTERS THEl TINKERS TWO CLADDAGH RINGS. The Claddagh Ring is An Irish Friendship Or Wedding Ring that Originated 300 Years Ago In The Claddagh Fishing Village In Galway, Ireland. The Ring’s Design Consists Of Clasped Hands (Friendship), Heart (Love) & Crown (Loyalty) Available In Gold & Silver. CLARENBRIDGE CRYSTAL 25% OFF FINAL CLOSE OUT SALE! 40% OFF ALL WINTER WOOLS Sweaters • Socks • Caps • Scarves ST. PATRICK’S DAY MARCH 17 Remember Your Irish Friends On St. Patrick’s Day With A Thoughtful Gift From The Tinker’s Two. "With Every Purchase Register For A Free Trip For Two To Ireland To Be Given Away On St. Patrick's Day!" HAND KNIT AND HAND LOOMED WOOL SWEATERS • IRISH FOLK MUSIC • IRISH PRINTS AND POEMS • IRISH POSTCARDS AND WATERCOLORS • GREEN HAIR SPRAY • BALLOONS AND PARTY FAVORS • METALLIC GREEN WIGS • CLADDAGH RINGS. 784 N. Highland Ave. (Behind Great City Realtors) 892-5735
