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PAGE 6 - The Georgia Bulletin, July 19, 1990
Memories, Prayer Can Heal In Time Of Loss, Priest Says
ANNOUNCEMENT -- Priests and Catholic Center staff listen to the press
conference at which the archbishop’s resignation and Bishop Lyke’s appointment
are announced. (Photo by Linda Schaefer)
BY GRETCHEN REISER
Fcr an intensely warm and personal man,
Archbishop Marino’s departure from the
archdiocese has been uncharacteristically
impersonal.
In this case, the archbishop has asked that
his privacy be respected.
Such a request is entirely appropriate, said
Father Niel Jarreau, a Jesuit priest who is a
counselor.
Asked to comment upon the archbishop’s
need for privacy, Father Jarreau said he could
do so in a general way. “If the people who
are caring for his health say that he needs to
be left alone, we owe him this. This is the
way we love this man, by allowing him to
have his needs met,” said the priest who
serves at Ignatius House, the Jesuit retreat
center in Atlanta.
There is an appropriate need for the public
to know certain aspects of the lives of public
figures, he said. For example, it is appropriate
for the public to have knowledge of the psy
chological condition of candidates for presi
dential and vice presidential offices. Similarly
it is appropriate for the church to examine the
candidates for seminary in this light.
However, it is inappropriate to expect that
details of one’s physical and psychological life
will be made public, he said. For the archbish
op to say that he needs spiritual, physical and
psychological renewal is “enough,” Father
Jarreau said. “We don’t have a right to know
his internal thinking.”
It is also a reminder that leaders, including
priests, are human and have the same needs as
everyone else for rest, solitude, friends and
acceptance. ‘ ‘We must allow a man weakness
es of mind and body,’’Father Jarreau said. “A
man that works for two years at so many
hours a day, I’m not surprised that he caves
in.”
“We all have clay feet. We all have physi
cal weaknesses. No one is psychologically
perfect. We’re not the equal of Jesus Christ,”
he said.
For the archbishop to be unavailable and in
seclusion, he said, is to be respected, “just as
truly as we respect the no visiting sign on the
hospital door.”
One way to respond to the necessity to
carry on without the archbishop is to “remem
ber that person at the altar and at prayer and
to let your good memories of that person
nourish you and when the time comes that you
see them again to thank them.”
“The best thing we can do for the archbish
op is to give our full support to his succes
sor,” Father Jarreau added.
Of Archbishop Marino, the priest said, “I
feel a great deal of respect and love and
affection for this man. I admire him as a
person and an archbishop. He was very priest
ly and very concerned about his people in the
archdiocese, all of them, and his priests. I
think the archdiocese is much richer because
of his presence with us and that we will be a
long time nourished by his pastoral care. We
will be a long time forgetting him.”
At the same time, he said, “We have a new
bishop, Bishop Lyke. That is something to be
grateful for, that we have a man who is capa
ble and who has been sent here to replace”
the archbishop.
Dom Armand Veilleux, of the Monastery of
the Holy Spirit in Conyers, said he was con
cerned that in both political and church envi
ronments, “we expect a little too much of our
leaders.
“We make them a role bearer,” he said.
“Twenty-four hours a day he has to answer
that image people are expecting of him. When
can he be himself, have fun, make a joke.”
At times, he said, a leader who is under
great stress can only come out from under that
level of pressure by acting in a very uncharac
teristic way.
He also expressed concern that the archdio
cese come through this transition time success
fully. “This ending for the church in Atlanta
will be traumatic for a long time,” he said.
“We need someone who will be a healer.”
Sadness, Gratitude Mingle As People Absorb News
BY GEORGIA BULLETIN STAFF
Sadness and shock characterized the reaction of people in the
archdiocese, whether Catholic or not, to the news of the resigna
tion of Archbishop Eugene Marino, SSJ.
The archbishop “had what is called the human touch,” said
Neal Ponder of the Christian Council of Metropolitan Atlanta
and "everyone is very concerned.”
“I hope he will find healing and wholeness” and a place of
future service in the Church, Ponder said.
Bishop Harold Skillrud of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of
America, Southeastern Synod, spoke of the “very close
relationship’ ’ he shared with Archbishop Marino, explaining that
“our spirits seemed to meld well together.”
“He is such a genuinely humble, Christ-like spirit. I can’t
imagine him being mean-spirited,” Bishop Skillrud observed.
I was deeply saddened by the announcement this
past week of Archbishop Marino's resignation. Over
a relatively short span of time, I had come to know
him as a friend and to admire him as a most dedi
cated and concerned pastor. For his friendship and
his inspiring example, I owe him a profound debt of
gratitude.
The priests and people of the Diocese of Savan
nah join with me in assuring him of a warm remem
brance in our prayers for his spiritual and physical
Yet, “in this office there have to be times when you come down
hard” on situations and people. "His gentle nature” did not
allow for that. “He was a real shepherd,” he said, modeling
warmth, love, kindness and gentleness.
Father Edward Dillon, moderator of the curia, said the
resignation is “a tremendous loss for the archdiocese.”
“He was a very charismatic person who drew people to
himself and generated a tremendous excitement about the Church
and the diocese and the future.” Although his tenure has been
all too short, “his impact is going to be lasting,” Father Dillon
said.
“I think when he came to the diocese he was needed,” said
Father Don Kenny, who lived with Archbishop Marino. “He
brought kindness, he brought warmth, and a gentle spirit And
we go on from there and we look to Bishop Lyke for other
qualities.
"I never felt that I was living with a bishop. I was living with
a friend who was constantly concerned about my welfare and
how my day went. He wasn’t tied up in himself. He was a joy
to live with.”
His schedule was hectic. In 1989 he spent over 100 days
traveling outside the archdiocese, taking part in Church work
elsewhere in the U.S. and internationally. Gerard O’Connor, his
master of ceremonies and assistant, said he rose regularly at
about 5 a.m., said Mass, exercised at the local track or YMCA,
ate breakfast and generally was at the office well before 9 a.m.
O’Connor marveled over the range of people that they would
be with in a day, from city officials to Catholic businessmen at
a downtown office building and then on to a parish.
In addition to his official work, O’Connor said, he was so
concerned about people, individually listening to their problems
and trying to help them. The archbishop was also ‘ ‘a very strong
family man and his family means a lot to him.”
The archbishop is "an extraordinarily feeling man, just a
caring, feeling, sensitive person.” Part of the difficulty there, he
said, is that all situations, including painful ones, “were personal
for him. He felt the pain of everybody involved in that situa-
tion.” . ,
“He has an incredible sense of humor. Sometimes I didn t
know whether he was kidding or not,” O’Connor said. “The
sense of humor sometimes kept us going.”
Priests of the archdiocese were especially touched by his
pastoral concern. Father Tom Carroll, MS, pastor at St. Ann’s
Church in Marietta, remembers Archbishop Marino as a "warm,
very loving person. He had a genuine concern for the people of
Atlanta and for his priests. He was dedicated to his priests, really
would go out of his way for them.”
Deacon Bob Mulligan, who serves at St. Helena’s parish in
Clayton, was struck by the broad scope of the archbishop’s
Atlanta schedule. “I think he was the greatest,” said Deacon
Mulligan, “a tremendous inspiration to me. He had so much to
do, like bailing out the ocean. You can’t tell an archbishop to
slow down. Well, you can, but it won’t do any good, and he had
a big job.”
The example set by the archbishop was commonly mentioned
by those feeling the loss of his presence. Claud Shirley, the
archbishop’s researcher and writer, felt Archbishop Marino * ‘had
a great influence on my life. He had so many people’s problems
on his mind. As someone who had access to him, I could see
that... He gave great meaning to my life.”
Rhonwyn Rogers, director of the Office for Black Catholic
Ministry, was energized and encouraged by his example. “He
enabled me to reach out to do more. He set an example I don’t
think he even realized he was setting,” she said. Commenting on
her sense of personal loss, “as if a family member were no
longer here,” Mrs. Rogers added, “I do understand clearly that
Christ doesn’t put any more on us than we can bear.”
Some people were at a loss to talk about their reactions.
Parishioners throughout the archdiocese were affected when
news of the archbishop’s resignation was announced at morning
Masses July 10. Dorothy Ross of Holy Cross Church in
Chamblee was “sad for the diocese. In the short time he was
here I did feel a different spirit. He was such a wonderful
It is with the deepest regret and sense of both
personal and community loss that I learned of the
news of Archbishop Marino's resignation. I never
met anyone who more genuinely, earnestly and
sincerely tried with every fiber of his being to meet
the needs of not only North Georgia's Catholic
community but the general community as well. My
prayers and best wishes are joined with all of those
in the Jewish community for complete recovery for
Archbishop Marino. May continued blessings ever
be with him.
It is important now that all of us in the religious
community, Catholic and non-Catholic, reflect upon
the burden placed upon our clergy. We are mortal
and stricken with the limits of our humanity.
Working together, may we find ways to strengthen
both clergy and lay in our common striving to bring
about the sovereignty of God here on earth. I and
with Bishop Lyke and continuing to build upon our
past relationship. Rabb - AMn $ ugarman
speaker and homilist. He was genuinely committed to and
concerned about his flock, the people and his clergy.”
But, Ms. Ross felt that the archbishop’s health was a priority.
“If it’s a matter of keeping his health, then that’s what has to
be. The Spirit is definitely at work here.”
Pam Saucier of St. Bernadette’s Church in Cedartown
reflected that “Archbishop Marino is a very spiritual man. He
can do a lot for us and the world just by praying and being close
to the Lord. We can be a part of him and he's a part of us even
though he’s gone, through prayer. The Lord can be using him in
a different way."
(Thea Jarvis contributed to this report.)