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About The Georgia bulletin (Atlanta) 1963-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 18, 1990)
The' <><L Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta Vol. 28 No. 3 Thursday. January 18, 1990 $15.00 Per Year Oneij bB09 5 m w "*T.. Rawson Haverty John Brent Mary Wells Sheila Mallon Hughes Spalding, Jr. Five In Archdiocese To Receive Papal Honors BY PAULA DAY AND RITA McINERNEY Five lay Catholics, three men and two women, have been granted papal honors by Pope John Paul II, recognizing decades of service to the archdiocese of Atlanta. The honors will be given to John Brent, Rawson Haverty, Sheila Mallon, Hughes Spalding, Jr. and Mary Wells. Their involvement spans service to the Catholic Church in a variety of ministries, including the archdiocese of Atlanta and its parishes, Catholic hospitals and the Village of St. Joseph, Catholic Social Services, the Atlanta Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women and the pro-life movement. Haverty has been named a Knight Commander of the Order of St. Gregory the Great. John Brent and Hughes Spalding, Jr., have been named Knights of the Order of St. Gregory the Great. Membership in this order depends directly on the pope and is conferred on persons distinguish ed for personal character and reputation and for notable ac complishments. Mrs. Mallon will receive the papal medal “Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice” (For the Church and the Pontiff), recognizing Archbishop Marino: Children Of Poor Deserve Justice BY RITA McINERNEY Justice is still needed, particularly for the children of the poor, Archbishop Eugene A. Marino, SSJ, told an overflow congregation at the Shrine of the Im maculate Conception on Jan. 14. The archbishop was celebrant and homilist at the seventh annual Mass in honor of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. Concelebrants were priests of the archdiocese, including several pastors from member parishes of the archdiocesan Commission for Black Catholic Concerns, sponsors of the Mass. A great deal remains to be accomplished to fulfill the dream of the “modern prophet,” Dr. King, who in the march on Washington in 1963 issued a call to the nation for freedom, brotherhood and sisterhood, the archbishop said. That dream “awakens within us the peace and the freedom that finds its fullest expression in Jesus Christ,” he said. outstanding service to the Church and the papacy. Ms. Wells will receive the papal medal “Benemerenti” (to a well-deserving person), recognizing exceptional ac complishment and service. The papal honors and medals are the first to be given in the archdiocese since 1982 and the first knighthoods to be conferred in four decades, according to longtime observers of the archdiocese. The presentations will be made at a Vespers service at the Cathedral of Christ the King in Atlanta on Feb. 4, at which Archbishop Eugene A. Marino, SSJ, will preside. The 3:30p.m. service will be followed by a reception. The honors recognize “decades of outstanding service to the Church,” according to Father Edward Dillon, vicar general of the archdiocese. “Rawson Haverty has provided major leadership in the diocese, most recently chairing the successful Capital Funds Drive in 1983. “Sheila Mallon has put in countless hours working on the programs of the Atlanta Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women and since before the Supreme Court decision in 1973 has been a leader in the pro-life movement in the arch- Much good has come about since Dr. King led the march es and sit-ins. “Recent polls suggest that urban neighborhoods and urban families display a greater racial array and tolerance than we could have foreseen 30 years ago. Measured against the even more distant past, American minorities, and in particular African-Americans, have made great progress in achieving the deserved respect which this nation’s Constitution guaranteed, but which this nation’s citizenry still only grudgingly affords,” the archbishop said. But a great deal remains to be accomplished, he added. “In the psalm of today’s Mass we heard the words of King David as he testified his willingness to do the work of God. ‘I (Continued on page 14) diocese and the state of Georgia. “John Brent has been working for years in the Irish vocations program, assisting in obtaining the necessary visas for newly ordained priests. He has also volunteered his services to assist with the immigration pro gram in Catholic Social Services. “Mary Wells is being recognized for decades of outstand ing lay leadership in the Catholic community, including the Atlanta Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women and her parish, St. Paul of the Cross. “Hughes Spalding, Jr. has been involved at all levels of the archdiocese. He was a major force in the early days of the Serna program in the archdiocese and a founding member of St. Jude’s parish.” “These are quiet Catholic leaders who slog year after year after year and get the job done,” Father Dillon concluded. “Collectively they have given probably 100 plus years to the Church in North Georgia. While they are being honored as individuals, we’re really recognizing the critical impor tance of that kind of lay leadership in the Church.” Individual profiles of the five people show a diversity of involvement and service. (Continued on page 6) Nine In Military Named In Killings SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (CNS) — Auxiliary Bishop Gregorio Rosa Chavez of San Salvador praised the public implication of nine military men in the massacre of six Jesuit priests, but said a military “conspiracy of silence” clouds the case. Bishop Rosa Chavez described as positive President Alfredo Cristiani’s naming of an army colonel and eight others linked to the November massacre arrested in the case, but said the announcement alone would not root out the causes of the slayings. “Now that Mr. Cristiani has made public the list of the principal implicated persons, the possibilities have grown that El Salvador will recover confidence in its institutions,” the bishop said Jan. 14 in his weekly homily. But, he added, “it has been insisted that we’re dealing simply with a group of members of the armed forces who have tarnished the honor of the army.” “It is difficult for us to accept such an assertion, because we know better than anyone what the military circles think of the mission of the church, above all in the area of promo- (Continued on page 12)
