Newspaper Page Text
The
Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta
Vol. 28 No. 36
Thursday, October 18, 1990
$15.00 Per Year
BISHOP’S HOUSE - John Carr (left), U.S. Catholic Conference
secretary for social development and world peace, and Francis Butler,
president of FADICA, stand in front of the house where the bishop lives
in Grodno in the Soviet republic of Byelorussia. The bishop shares the
house with a family. (CNS photo by Bishop Basil H. Losten)
Catholic Task Force Visits
E. European Church Sites
BY MARK PATTISON
WASHINGTON (CNS) - The last line
in the first verse of the hymn "Amazing
Grace" reads "Was blind, but now I see."
A similar sensation was reported by
bishops and laity from the newly liberated
churches in Eastern Europe to three U.S.
Catholic Conference delegations of bishops
and lay professionals that visited Soviet
Bloc nations in Central and Eastern
Europe in recent months.
One bishop explained it to Los Angeles
Archbishop Roger M. Mahony this way:
"It is like being locked in a dark room
for 40 years -- no light, no warmth, no
freedom. Then all of a sudden the door is
opened and you are pushed out into the
brilliance of the sunlight, the warmth of
the air, and the freedom to go anywhere.
At first, you are dazed and uncertain. You
do not know which way to turn, or what
to do."
"The light is better than the dark,"
added John Carr, USCC secretary for
social development and world peace, who
was a member of one delegation. "But
they don’t know what to do with it."
One delegation visited the Soviet Union,
the Ukraine, Byelorussia, Lithuania and
Latvia. A second delegation visited
Poland, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia.
The third delegation visited Romania,
Hungary and Bulgaria.
The trips were sponsored by the newly
formed USCC Ad Hoc Committee on Aid
to the Church in Central and Eastern
Europe. Committee members gave a report
on their findings at the National Confer
ence of Catholic Bishops Administrative
Committee’s September meeting in
Washington.
Delegation members also have talked
with Catholic News Service and diocesan
newspapers - as well as spoken from the
pulpit -- on their findings.
Observers on the trips agreed that the
situation in Eastern Europe is critical -
not because they fear darkness snuffing
out the light, but because they fear many
lights may not be lighted.
A "lost generation" is at stake, accord
ing to Carr, a member of the Soviet Union
delegation. "They never bought atheism
but grew up in a society indifferent and
hostile to religion. Religion died with
freedom" in the era of communist
suppression.
"There was a great concern that if the
church doesn’t reach them quickly this
generation is going to be lost," Carr said.
(Continued on page 6)
Priest Identity, Formation
Debated In Synod Sessions
BY JOHN THAVIS
VATICAN CITY (CNS)
- The world Synod of
Bishops on priestly forma
tion closed a second week
of individual speeches and
began debate on a midterm
document that defends
celibacy for priests and
stresses spiritual training.
The document, called a
"relatio," was presented
Oct 13 following more
than 200 talks by bishops
and lay experts from
around the world. It sought
to pull together the main
synod arguments for dis
cussion in small groups
over the next two weeks.
The Synod of Bishops,
which meets every few
years to discuss a major
church topic, was sched
uled to close Oct. 28.
Written by Brazilian
Cardinal Lucas Moreira
Neves, the relatio said:
- Celibacy cannot be
separated from priestly life
- even though the world
wide priest shortage can
lead to the "temptation" of
suggesting the ordination of
married men.
- Doctrinal content
should be emphasized in
seminaries, since many
candidates arrive with gaps
in their understanding of
basic church teachings.
- A pre-seminary year
of spiritual formation,
which has worked well on
local levels, might now be
considered for the universal
church.
The relatio said seminar
ians and priests should
learn how to relate well to
women, avoiding both "too
much familiarity" and
"shyness." It did not dis
cuss the role of women in
the formation of priests, an
issue that had been raised
by several bishops.
On other controversial
questions - such as the
relation between a priest’s
spiritual identity and his
social role - the relatio
noted the wide divergence
of opinions and asked for
further debate.
The identity issue was at
the heart of many individu
al speeches during the
week of Oct. 8-13. Bishops
(Continued on page 16)
INSIDE
St. Andrew's
Family life building
dedicated
page 6
Mental Illness
Growing support
movement helps
. . pages 8, 9
Halloween
Old tradition
is revived
.... page 15
Ethicist Suggests Priorities
For U.S. Health Care System
BY GRETCHEN REISER
Economic pressure and a growing
“wariness” among people about techno
logical advances in the medical field will
bring about basic changes in the Ameri
can health care system in the future,
according to medical ethicist Dr. Daniel
Callahan.
Among the changes he proposes are a
shift in values, making “care” the high
est priority for the medical field and
medical spending, rather than “cure.” In
recent decades, the emphasis upon seek
ing cures for illnesses has been very
successful, Dr. Callahan said in a medical
ethics symposium in Atlanta Oct. 11.
With the notable exception of AIDS,
infectious diseases have been controlled
in this country, he said, but chronic ill
ness and disabilities have continued and
even increased as people live longer.
“We will all need care at some time” in
our lives, either in nursing homes or some
other facility, he pointed out.
Dr. Callahan said his own proposal for
reshaping the values that currently influ
ence the U.S. health care system would
make public health and public prevention
his second highest priority, following
“care.” Primary health care and emer
gency care for all is his third priority.
“Everyone should have access to a physi
cian,” he said. Fourth would be to ad
vance medical technology, if funds were
available following the first three priori
ties.
The rising cost of medical care is
caused by an expansionist approach to the
medical field, Dr. Callahan said. In Amer
ica “high-quality medicine is medicine
(Continued on page 6)