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About The Georgia bulletin (Atlanta) 1963-current | View Entire Issue (April 9, 1987)
The Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta • Vol. 25 No. 15 Thursday, April 9, 1987 $12.00 Per Year JUBILEE MASS — Father Stan Idziak, pastor of St. Michael’s, Gainesville, greets family members at the silver anniversary Mass he celebrated Sunday, April 5, marking his 25th year as a priest. A story appears on page 7. (Photo by Linda Schaefer) U.S.C.C. Board: Catholics Who Join Klan Violate Church Teaching WASHINGTON (NC) - Catholics who join the Ku Klux Klan and organiza tions that actively promote racism “act in violation of Catholic teaching, ’ ’said the Administrative Board of the U.S. Catholic Con ference. “These organizations are a scandalous contradiction to all that we hold sacred and teach in the name of Jesus Christ,” a board statement said. The 50-bishop board, which guides the USCC be tween annual meetings of the entire body of U.S. bishops, issued the state ment in late March. The USCC is the public policy arm of the U.S. bishops. The board adopted its statement on racist organi zations because of recent “significant activity by and publicity about the Ku Klux Klan and several other racist organizations.” Incidents of racial con frontation and violence in various parts of the country ‘‘suggest the extent to which racial divisions and prejudice continue to exist in our social, economic and cultural life,” the bishops said. Two highly publicized racial confrontations oc curred in recent months in New York City and Forsyth County, Ga. In December, three black men passing though the white New York neighbor hood of Howard Beach where attacked by whites. In January, 400 Ku Klux Klansmen and supporters threw bottles, rocks and mud at about 75 participants in an interracial brother hood march in Forsyth County. “Every institution that bears the name Catholic should proclaim to all that the sin of racism defiles the image of God and degrades the sacred dignity of humankind,” the bishops said in their statement. Quoting from the U.S. bishops’ 1979 pastoral letter on racism, the bishops call ed racism a sin that “divides the human family, (Continued on page 8) Lent 6 Death On Calvary Leads To New Life Contrasts between acceptance and rejection, between life and death dominate the Scripture readings for Palm Sun day. In the program L’Chayim (to life) designed by the Glen- mary Religious Education Center, the theme for the sixth week of Lent is “God calls us to a full life in Christ.” Christ’s choosing death to come to fuller life is the basic paradox Christians encounter during this holiest of weeks. SCRIPTURE Isaiah 42:1-9 Isaiah 49:1-6 Psalm 22* Isaiah 50:4-11* Phil. 2:6-11* Matt. 21:1-11 ♦Sunday readings COMMENTARY: “The Old Testament sees all life as a gift of God. God is the source of all life. Man has life because God has ‘breathed into him a life-giving spirit.’ It is God who has control over life and death. “The readings today present many contrasts. The trium phal entry into Jerusalem shows Jesus receiving the adula tion of the crowd. The Suffering Servant song from Isaiah reminds us of Jesus’ suffering and rejection. The respon- sorial psalm recalls Jesus' prayer on the cross. The reading of the passion makes us aware of the death of Jesus but con cludes with even his enemies recalling ‘after three days I will rise.’ “These contrasts are summarized in the passage from Paul’s letter to the Philippians. The passage ends with that (Continued on page 10) . ■ . ■ ' .. ; . :: ; Priests Gather At Chrism Mass BY PAULA DAY “A celebration of the birthday of the priesthood” is what some call it. This Holy Thursday’s Chrism Mass will bring together close to 200 priests of the arch- diocese to renew their commitment to priest- ly service in the Church. The liturgy will be at 11 a.m. at the Cathedral of Christ the King in Atlanta. At the Mass, concelebrated with his priests, Archbishop Thomas Donnellan will bless the oils and chrism to be used throughout the year in administering four of the seven sacraments. On Holy Thursday Catholics throughout the world commemorate Jesus’ institution of the Eucharist at His ‘last supper’ with His apostles. During that Paschal meal, He gave them power and authority to “do this in remembrance of Me.” Today’s bishops, linked by ordination to the apostles, extend their ministry through their priests to Catholics in the parishes. It is this union and service that each priest renews in a special ceremony during the Chrism Mass. The archbishop, on his part, will ask those present to pray for him that he “may ■ faithfully fulfill the office of apostle” en- (Continued on page 10) Torn Chile Erupts While Pope Visits BY AGOSTINO BONO ANTOFAGASTA, Chile (NC) - Pope John Paul II visited Chile to celebrate his success as an international mediator, but he soon found himself embroiled in deep domestic divi sions regarding the 13-year rule of Gen. Augusto Pinochet. Although the pope repeatedly preached against violence as a means of change, violence became a part of the trip, with more than 400 people injured in clashes between police and anti-government demonstrators at several papal events. The pope heard Pinochet justify his military government actions as a defense of the “authentic values of the Chris tian West” against international Marxist subversion. He prayed briefly with Pinochet and his wife in the chapel of the presidential palace. During the April 1-6 trip, the pope also met opposition political leaders, saw numerous anti-government signs at papal events and witnessed a bloody clash between demonstrators and police at a papal Mass. Signs accused the government of murder, torture, kid napping and being a dictatorship. Pinochet’s reign also has been the focus of stiff criticism from the Chilean bishops and international human rights organizations. The pope did not offer to mediate. Instead, he outlined dialogue and reconciliation as the means by which Chris tian societies should solve their differences. On March 31, as he flew toward South America on his 13-day trip to the continent, Pope John Paul characterized Chile as a dictatorship in transition to democracy. He also said the church was obliged to champion human rights in that country. (Continued on page 6)
