Newspaper Page Text
The
Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta
Vol. 28 No. 38
Thursday, November 1, 1990
$15.00 Per Year
Mandatory Celibacy Backed
By Synod's Majority, Pope
BY AGOSTINO BONO
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Synod
of Bishops on priestly formation ended
with support for mandatory celibacy for
Latin-rite priests.
Pope John Paul II quickly accepted the
synod action and branded calls for
ordaining married men as "systematic
propaganda hostile to priestly celibacy."
During the monthlong synod, a minority
of the 235 delegates asked that qualified
married men be ordained.
The pope, however, said he had no
plans to change mandatory celibacy for the
Latin church, the rite that includes almost
90 percent of the 906 million Catholics
worldwide.
The ordination of married men "is not
to be taken into consideration" to solve the
vocations shortage, the pope said Oct. 27,
at the last synod working session.
Shortly before his talk, more than
two-thirds of the delegates voted to
reaffirm celibacy. The support was
contained in a list of 41 proposals
approved by delegates.
The proposals are for the pope’s use in
preparing a document on priestly forma
tion. The synod has no policy-making g
powers. |
(Continued on page 13) 2
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Petitions For City To Rise
At Urban House Of Prayer
BY PAULA DAY
Bishop James P. Lyke,
OFM, will bless Maisha, a
house of prayer in the
heart of the city of Atlan
ta, Sunday, Nov. 4.
The first of its kind for
the archdiocese, the one-
story residence at 392
Glen Iris Drive will offer
in the city’s center an
oasis for quiet and prayer
where persons of all races,
creeds, cultures and eco
nomic circumstances are
welcome, according to
Sister Mary Loretta Mc
Carthy, SBS. She and
Sister Mary LaSalette
Ouellett, SBS, are two
Sisters of the Blessed
Sacrament living at the
house.
“It is our hope, if God
says the same, that this
house will become an
urban house of prayer.
Personally and communal
ly we will pray for the
city,” Sister McCarthy
said. “The house will also
be available for individuals
and groups to come and
pray during the day and
early evening hours.”
Maisha, pronounced
Mah-ee-shah, is a Swahili
word meaning life. The
sisters selected the name
because it is African in
origin, and carries biblical
and Eucharistic connota
tions. Jesus’ words, “I
Announcement
Most Reverend James P. Lyke, OFM, Ph.D.,
Apostolic Administrator of Atlanta, announces the
following assignment:
Franklin Eugene Forts, Jr., presently completing
his seminary training at Saint Mary’s Seminary and
University in Baltimore, Maryland, and scheduled
for ordination to the priesthood on June 1, 1991, at
the Cathedral of Christ the King, to studies for the
Licentiate in Sacred Theology at Saint Mary’s
Seminary following ordination.
BY GRETCHEN REISER
In May a random sample of 2,000 people who subscribe
to The Georgia Bulletin received a survey trying to
determine what readers like and don’t like about the paper,
why they read it, and who the readers are.
What did readers say? The following article outlines the
major questions and what the readers answered.
Asked how many of the last four issues of the newspa
per they had read, a sizable majority, over 64 percent, had
read all four issues and another 13 percent had read three
of the last four issues. Five percent said they had not read
the paper at all.
Asked how long they spend reading each issue of the
Catholic newspaper, over 42 percent spend between 20
and 40 minutes reading the paper each week. Another 10
percent spend between 40 and 60 minutes reading it
Readers like to share the newspaper with non-subscrib
ers. Asked if they typically give an article from The
Georgia Bulletin or the whole issue to someone outside
their household, over 19 percent of the readers said yes.
Readers were also asked how often they discussed
material they read in The Georgia Bulletin with other
people and the findings showed that a sizable majority do
find articles in the paper worthy of discussion.
Over 44 percent said they sometimes discussed the
material, another 14 percent said they often discuss the
material, and another seven percent said they discuss it
“quite often.”
A total of 65.5 percent, therefore, said they discussed
material in the paper sometimes, often or quite often.
The surveyer commented that he found these statistics
“rather high,” although they jibed with the figure of 19
percent of readers who said they give the issue or an
article from the issue to someone outside their home. “If
the material is interesting, it will be shared,” the surveyer
said. “In the case of The Georgia Bulletin, it is shared
through physical passage of the newspaper and orally
through discussion.”
MAJOR REASONS FOR READING PAPER
Asked for the “major” reasons for reading the Catholic
newspaper, the top response given was for “news of the
archdiocese.” Second was to be “informed about the
Catholic Church,” third was for “news of changes in the
(Continued on page 9)
Readers Rate The Georgia Bulletin
have come that you may
have life, I am the bread
of life,” and “Unless you
lose your life for the sake
of the Kingdom,” are a
few examples of the rela
tionship, Sister McCarthy
pointed out.
“This place is meant to
be for the city, for the
(Continued on page 8)
MOTHER’S CONCERN - A Cobb County mother named Luciana
shows the strain of a situation that has kept her two sons, Alonso, above,
and Jaime, out of school. Until challenged by Catholic agencies, the
Mexican youth were denied entrance to public school because they did not
have immigration papers. See story on page 7.