Newspaper Page Text
Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta
Vol. 28 No. 34
Thursday, October 4, 1990
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Priesthood Synod Opens;
E. European Bishops Attend
BY AGOSTINO BONO
VATICAN CITY (CNS) - Pope John
Paul II opened the 1990 Synod of Bishops
by lamenting the absence of delegates
from communist-ruled China, Laos and
Vietnam.
But the meeting marked the first time
since modem synods began in 1967 that
bishops were present from all the countries
of Eastern Europe, reflecting sweeping
political changes in the region.
Also attending for the first time were
bishops living in the Soviet Ukraine and
Byelorussia.
"At the beginning of this synodal
assembly it is a source of great joy to all
of us to know that all the ecclesiastical
communities in the world join us in
prayer: even those which cannot be
represented here today by their shepherds,"
the pope said Sept. 30 at the inaugural
Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica.
"We remember fondly our brothers in
China," he said.
"We remember the delegates from the
episcopal conferences of Vietnam and
Laos, who cannot be present among us,
and in the hopes that they will be able to
join us in the course of our synodal task,"
he added.
The pope encouraged the 238 synod
delegates to seek ways of increasing
vocations and strengthening the training
and identity of priests.
The synod theme is "The Formation of
Priests in Circumstances of the Present
Day."
"Let me express the hope that your
labors here will produce the abundant fruit
which the ecclesiastical community is
expecting," the pope said.
"The attention and hopes of the church
are focused on a subject as vital as that of
the formation of priests," he said.
(Continued on page 12)
700 Catechists, Teachers
Study At Atlanta Institute
BY RITA McINERNEY
Called to be compas
sionate means “We accept
our weaknesses and those
of people around us,”
Greer Gordon told about
700 catechists as the annu
al archdiocesan Catechet
ical Institute opened Sept.
28 at St. Ann’s Church,
Marietta.
Her keynote talk, “Cre
ating Communities of
Compassion,” was fol
lowed by a liturgy cele
brated by Bishop James P.
Lyke, OFM. Several
priests of the archdiocese
concelebrated.
Ms. Gordon was intro
duced by Bob Melevin,
catechetical consultant
from the archdiocesan
Office of Religious Educa
tion, as one who has the
gift of “articulating an
understanding of church
and the meaning and im
portance of church in our
day.”
She began her talk by
urging participants to
“overlook, acknowledge,
suffer and move forward
together. That is church.
You cannot be compas
sionate if you have not
suffered.”
“We’re in a lot better
space than we were in the
1960s. We are church, not
just our leadership, our
educators, sisters, cate
chists. It’s all of us togeth
er.”
“All of us fit together
as church” and this cohe
sive sense that “we move
together gives us hope as a
collective sign to the
world. We say Took at the
message, listen to the
message, step inside to see
the Lord that we have
met.’”
The contemporary
world, where the use of
crack cocaine and heroin is
widespread at both the
“top and bottom of the
economic line means we’re
losing children - white,
black, Latino - all my
children,” she said.
“We have to be the
ones living by the value of
hope. To say we are cate
chists means we have to
speak in a fashion where
our children can see us.
We have to be signs of
hope to families of chil
dren who have taken their
lives or been victims of
violence.”
Referring to the account
(Continued on page 5)
LINDA SCHAEFER
PRECIOUS LORD, PRECIOUS LIFE - Bishop Lyke’s admiration
for baby Lindsay Yost can’t outdo that of older sister, Katie, showing
off the new member of the family at Prince of Peace Church, Buford.
In this issue of The Georgia Bulletin, Bishop Lyke issues his first
pastoral letter for the archdiocese, Precious Lord, Precious Life, in
conjunction with the Oct. 4 feast day of St. Francis of Assisi and
Respect Life month. The bilingual text is inserted in this edition.
Additional copies are being sent to parishes, missions, and schools.
Law Reverses Soviet Religious Repression
WASHINGTON (CNS) - The Soviet parliament Oct.
1 gave final approval to new freedom of religion
legislation in the officially atheist state and barred
government from restricting "the study, financing or
propagandizing" of religion.
Following are the key provisions of the new law on
Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations:
- Religious organizations: all such organizations are
equal under the law and the state is barred from
interfering in religious affairs.
- Religious education: Soviet citizens are free to
study religion at home or in private schools. Religious
organizations are allowed to send students abroad for
spiritual study. The parliament dropped proposals to
allow the use of public school facilities for religious
instruction.
- Religious witness: religious groups are allowed to
establish societies, brotherhoods, associations and other
organizations for the public profession of faith.
- Government: atheism remains Communist Party
doctrine, but the government is barred from financing
either the promotion of that doctrine or religious beliefs.
- Charity: charitable donations will continue to be tax
exempt and the tax rate on profitable enterprises run by
religious organizations will drop to 35 percent from 69
percent. The most common enterprise is publishing the
Bible and the Koran.