The Georgia bulletin (Atlanta) 1963-current, March 19, 1987, Image 1

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The Georgia bulletin, March 19, 1987, Image 1

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Newspaper Page TextThe Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta Vol. 25 No. 12 Thursday, March 19, 1987 $12.00 Per Year «**r RITE OF SPRING — Serina Baumgart and Sherri Jarmuskiewicz celebrate the joy of a warm spring day at Holy Family School in Green Bay, Wis. (NC photo by Mary Harrison) St. Luke's - Dahlonego Three Candidates Drawn To Small Church Family Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil. Each Tuesday night they listen and share their thoughts on Scripture and prayer, as part of the conversion process known in the Church as the Rite of Christian (Continued on page 12) BY RITA McINERNEY Three young women from St. Luke the Evangelist Church in Dahlonega are among several hundred can didates and Catechu mens who entered the period of purification and enlightenment af ter being welcomed at the Rite of Election on March 8 at the Cathe dral of Christ the King. During Lent they will prepare for the great change which will come into their lives when they join the Procreation Document Threats To Family, Individual Seen In Some Techniques BY GREG ERLANDSON VATICAN CITY (NC) - The Vatican’s new document on procreation is not just a compilation of mostly negative evalua tions of medical achievements. It strongly asserts the need to view scientific developments in the light of overriding ethical values, such as the dignity of the human person. “Science without conscience can only lead to man’s ruin,” says the document, titled “Instruction on Respect for Human Life in its Origin and on Dignity of Pro creation.” Underpinning the document’s commen tary on contemporary science and pro creation is traditional church teaching on the sanctity of marriage, the conjugal act and the primacy of individuals. It repeatedly cites Popes Pius XII, Paul VI and John Paul II on these points. Lent 3 “What is technically possible is not for that very reason morally admissible,” says the document. The point was pressed again in a March 10 press conference, when Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, said “science is not an absolute to which all must be subor dinated and eventually sacrificed, in cluding the dignity of man.” At the same time, the Vatican shows itself ready to accept using medical tech niques to help sterile couples conceive, as long as those techniques do not usurp the conjugal act. But it sees some prominent developments in artificial conception as threatening to turn humans into objects for scientific manipulation. Of particular concern is in vitro fertiliza tion — conception in a laboratory — which (Continued on page 7) Water Is Sign Of New Life Water as a sign of the risen Life of Christ is the subject of the Scripture readings and commentary for the third week of Lent. “L’Chayim” (to life), a program designed by the Glenmary Religious Edu cation Center, has as its theme for week three “Water is a symbol of everyday life and the new life of Christ.” The first Scripture reading recalls Moses striking the rock at Horeb at Yahweh’s com mand and causing water to flow forth so that the Jews would not perish of thirst in the desert. SCRIPTURE Exodus 17:3-7* 1 Cor. 10:1-13 Psalm 95* Romans 5:1-2; 5-8* John 4:5-42* John 7:37-39 Psalm 1 * Sunday readings COMMENTARY: “The first reading tells of the Jews' fear that they would die of thirst during the Ex odus. This fear was a com mon experience for the Jews in the Old Testament. In a primitive desert land one had to make provisions for a constant supply of water or death would result. Water became a symbol of life. “The Jews looked for ward to the promised land, the good life,’ a ‘land flow ing with milk and honey. ’ In their minds, one of the signs of the Messianic times would be an abundance of water — every household would even have its own well. “Jesus alludes to the symbolism in his conversa tion with the Samaritan woman. First she thinks of the living water as ‘water in motion’ or a spring. But Jesus clarifies that he is speaking of a new kind of Life which will last forever — a Life that washes away the fear of death. (Continued on page 12)