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GIRLS AND BOYS crowded the Cathedral of Christ the King on Mon
day for the Children’s Mass celebrated for the archbishop.
LINDA SCHAEFER
BISHOP JOHN, Greek Orthodox Bishop of Atlanta and Lutheran
Bishop Gerald Troutman were among dignitaries from other churches
honoring Archbishop Donnellan on Saturday morning, Oct. 17.
Ecumenical Service
“Our Brother Helped Us Join Hands In Faith"
BY RITA McINERNEY
, Gratitude for the life and ministry of Archbishop Thomas
A. Donnellan was expressed by Bishop Gerald S. Troutman
of the Southeastern Synod, Lutheran Church in America,
the homilist for the ecumenical service held Saturday
morning, Oct. 17, at the Cathedral of Christ the King, Atlan
ta.
Bishop Charles J. Child, Jr., of the Episcopal Diocese of
Atlanta, presided. Msgr. John F. McDonough, ad
ministrator of the archdiocese, was seated beside Bishop
Child during the service.
“Our brother Thomas is now in the Father’s house,”
Bishop Troutman said in his homily. “We thank God for his
life and ministry in our midst.” The Lutheran bishop said
that as a community leader concerned about moral stand
ards, the archbishop’s love of Christ was a shining light. In
his concern for the poor, he wanted to make sure ‘‘they had
a chance in this world as well as in the next,” he remarked
in mentioning the archbishop’s service on the bishops’ com
mittee on the pastoral letter on the economy.
“If Martin Luther had the opportunity, as I have had, to
work with Tom Donnellan, we might still be united today,”
the L utheran bishop said.
“Our brother helped us join hands in faith,” he continued,
mentioning the convenants signed by the archbishop in re
cent years with Bishop Child and with Bishop Troutman
and Bishop David E. Wolber, of the American Lutheran
Church.
“We know him as a good friend” who was a faithful at
tendee at the support group of bishops which Bishop Trout
man told of organizing. “Our brother Thomas was always
there, willing to share mutual concerns and respon
sibilities,” he said.
In a touching reference to the archbishop’s enjoyment of
life, Bishop Troutman played “Free At Last,” based on the
spiritual which was a favorite of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
It was from “Big River,” the musical version of “The
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” which played last year
at the Theater of the Stars in Atlanta.
Readings were given by Bishop John, the Greek Orthodox
Bishop of Atlanta; Anne Zittell, a lay reader from the
Episcopal Cathedral of St. Philip, and Dr. Lawrence Bot
toms, former moderator of the Presbyterian Church,
U.S.A., and now associate pastor of Morningside
Presbyterian Church.
Also taking part in the service were: Bishop Ernest Fitz
gerald, of the United Methodist Church; Bishop Joseph
Coles, of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church; Dr.
Barbara King, pastor of the Hillside International Truth
Center; Dr. Harold Moore, of the Interdenominational
Theological Center and president of the Christian Council of
Metropolitan Atlanta; Perry Ginn, executive director of the
Christian Council; Marie Copher, president of Church
Women United of Atlanta; Don Leiter, executive director of
the Georgia Christian Council; the Rev. Jim Westbury, of
the Lord’s Day Alliance; and Rev. Homer Goumenis of the
Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Annunciation.
The Evensong Choir of the Cathedral of St. Philip sang
under the direction of Robert L. Simpson, organist choir
master. Hamilton Smith, director of music for the
Cathedral of Christ the King, led congregational singing.
Concern For Marriages Marked Archbishop's Priesthood
BY FATHER PETER A. DORA
* Among Archbishop Thomas Donnellan’s many
ministerial involvements was his devotion to husbands and
wives striving to live the Sacrament of Matrimony.
Immediately after his ordination to the priesthood the
archbishop entered on the serious study of church law. He
received a doctorate in canon law from the Catholic Univer
sity of America in 1942 at which time he was assigned to
> serve in the chancery of the archdiocese of New York. In
conjunction with this assignment he also worked with the
tribunal on ecclesiastical marriage cases for the purpose of
helping people return to the sacraments.
Throughout his years as bishop of Ogdensburg and later
as archbishop of Atlanta he lent his constant support to the
tribunal and to the people served by that ministry. During
his years in office the Church was pursuing a deeper
understanding of the marital relationship as actually lived
in the pressured twentieth century life. Beginning with the
Second Vatican Council and extending through the revised
Code of Canon Law in 1983, the Church incorporated into
her understanding of Matrimony the many insights offered
by the social sciences, especially psychology. Central to
this understanding was the realization that there is far
, more to a true marriage than just the external form of vows
and witnesses. While the Church has remained ever faithful
to the biblical injunction against remarriage after divorce,
at the same time she recognizes that some failed marriages
> never were binding in the Biblical sense from the start.
It was in this theological and pastoral arena that the
young Father Donnellan learned through personal ex
perience both the anguish of divorce and the healing effects
of a tribunal action intended to resolve a marital situation
through objective investigation.
The archbishop lent his full support to the Atlanta
tribunal under the direction of Father Eusebius J. Beltran,
now bishop of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Around that same time
Father Edward J. Dillon was sent to the Catholic Universi
ty of America to earn a doctorate in canon law to assist the
tribunal in Serving an ever-growing number of petitioners.
In 1969 th& Holy See granted special permission to
American tribunals to employ some experimental pro
cedures designed to simplify the investigation of marriage
cases while at the same time protecting the indissolubility
of marriage. In other words, while the Church is unable to
dissolve a sacramental marriage, those who honestly
believe their marriage was null must be provided with an
opportunity to prove the contention.
The combination of these experimental procedures and
Father Dillon’s legal preparation enabled the Atlanta
tribunal to begin addressing the large numbers of broken
marriages in the north Georgia area. Throughout this time
the archbishop provided the fullest support both personally
and professionally to the expanding responsibility of his
tribunal.
Since that time Archbishop Donnellan sent first Father
Stephen T. Churchwell and then Father Louis Naughton to
study canon law in order to further this ministry. In late
1983 the revised Code of Canon Law went into effect bring
ing with it a renewed commitment to the quest for justice
along with an effective standardization of tribunal practice
throughout the world.
In early 1983 the archbishop and other bishops of the
Atlanta province petitioned the Apostolic Signatura in
Rome to establish a court of appeals in Atlanta to serve the
tribunals in the province: Atlanta, Savannah, Raleigh,
Charlotte and Charleston. The court, one of the first of its
kind in the country, is designed to meet the particular
judicial and pastoral needs of this region.
Shortly before his stroke in May of this year the arch
bishop approved a pilot project of the Atlanta tribunal for
training lay case sponsors to assist petitioners in their own
parishes. At the time he reiterated the primary respon
sibilities of pastors to assist those parishioners who have
suffered the pain of broken marriages, but he also recogniz
ed that the numbers are so great as to require help beyond
what can be provided by priests, deacons and other
pastoral ministers. Preparatory work has been completed
and the project will be implemented in several parishes this
winter.
During the 19 years that Archbishop Donnellan served the
Church in Atlanta many thousands of individuals were able
to avail themselves of the services of the tribunal and thus
lead lives in full communion with the Catholic Church.
(Father Dora has served as officialis for the archdiocese
of Atlanta since 1983 and is charged with overseeing the
work of the metropolitan tribunal.)
