The
Vol. 27 No. 5
Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta
Thursday. February 2, 1989
$15.00 Per Year
Papal Document
Evangelize,
Laity Urged
BY GREG ERLANDSON
VATICAN CITY (NC) — Pope John Paul II's new docu
ment on the laity calls lor improved religious formation of
Catholics, a greater role for women in the church, and a
stronger Christian witness at all levels of society.
In his long-awaited apostolic exhortation on "the vocation
and mission of the lay faithful." the pope urged a marshal
ing of the laity to evangelize a world which he said is in
creasingly indifferent or hostile to Christianity.
The pope warned of a "new state of affairs" in both
church and society which "calls with a particular urgency
for the action of the lay faithful
"It is not permissible for anyone to remain idle," he said.
As recommended by the 1987 world Synod of Bishops, two
hotly debated issues — lay movements and ministries —
continue to be the subjects of separate Vatican studies, the
pope said
The 200-page post-synodal apostolic exhortation is titled
"Christifideles Laici: The Vocation and the Mission of the
Lay Faithful in the Church and in the World."
Signed by the pope Dec. 30. the feast of the Holy Family,
the document was made public by the Vatican Jan. 30.
The exhortation draws heavily on the documents of
Vatican II and the 54 final propositions voted on by
delegates to the October 1987 synod at the end of their
month-long discussion of the laity's vocation and mission.
The document also raises concerns the pope has often
voiced:
— With increasing threats to human dignity and Christian
belief, and on the eve of the third millennium of Christiani
ty, Catholics should renew themselves and their societies.
— In the face of religious indifference and secularism, the
"responsibility" of Catholic laity "is to testify how the
Christian faith constitutes the only valid response ... to the
problems and hopes that life poses to every person and
<Continued on page 11 >
INSIDE THE BULLETIN
Pope's Lenten Message
Page 5
Many
Parishes,
Archbishop’s
One
Annual
Archdiocese
Appeal
Page 6
ALL IN THE PARISH — Actor Carroll O’Con
nor, at right, is surrounded by parishioners at
St. Pius X Church in Conyers, after the installa
tion of Father John Walsh as pastor. O’Connor
is in the Atlanta area filming episodes of the
television series, “In The Heat of The Night.”
More photos and article on Father Walsh’s in
stallation are on page 8.
Clergy Conference
Early Form Of Penance Examined
BY RITA McINERNEY
Penance is a sacrament and a season, a constant, never-
ending attitude of conversion, according to Father Bob
Blondell, a Michigan priest who presented a clergy con
ference for 110 priests of the archdiocese Jan. 25 at Ignatius
House. "We’re all in that state," he said.
The conference was called by Archbishop Eugene A.
Marino, S.S.J.. "to place a special emphasis on the impor
tance of the Sacrament of Penance. Lent seems to be the
most appropriate time for such an emphasis.”
At the start of the daylong conference, the archbishop
spoke of his pleasure at being able to meet and talk with so
many of the priests at one time. He mentioned his regret at
not being able to accept some of their first-choice dates for
parish visits and said the appointment of Father Peter Dora
as administrative assistant has facilitated scheduling and
“would make it easier for you to have access to me. He is
not there in a position to put a layer between us.”
Archbishop Marino said the upcoming Confirmation
schedule means a "hard five or six months for all of us” and
asked the priests for patience and understanding. “I want
to be available to you, my principal collaborators,” he said.
He concluded a brief opening prayer by asking God’s
grace in making all the clergy “more deeply committed to
bringing your son Jesus to the people we serve.”
In his opening talk. Father Blondell. pastor of St.
Ephrem’s Church in Sterling Heights, a suburb of Detroit,
said when the catechumenate program was begun in his
parish, it revealed the need for helping alienated Catholics
in addition to converts.
He went on to discuss the various levels of the alienated:
The unaware, those “with the Church as children,” who
drift away and are not heard from until, as young engaged
couples, they ask “to rent the church for our wedding.”
They are often called back by matrimony.
The truly alienated carry hurt and anger from past en
counters with the Church’s representatives, that a simple
act of absolution would not get rid of, the priest continued.
They need a cleric to explain away the hurt and a forum at
which they “can spill it out.”
Still another level are those alienated by the bishops’ let
ters on the economy, nuclear disarmament and women’s
concerns; those who left because women are permitted to
give Communion or because of the Church’s stand on
homosexuality. Such estrangement, he added, is only going
to be solved by “long years of dialogue.”
In his own large, middle-class parish, there is now a
(Continued on page 12)
Announcement
Archbishop Eugene A. Marino, S.S.J., announces that
Father Michael W. Panter, parochial vicar at Corpus
Christi parish in Stone Mountain, has requested and been
granted a leave of absence. This leave will begin on
February 12,1989 and will extend until June 1 when Father
Panter will return to the archdiocese for reassignment.
