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Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta
Vol. 28 No. 45 Thursday, December 20, 1990 $15.00 Per Year
A CHILD IS BORN - The infant Jesus is astery at Conyers. Like the star of Bethlehem, it
adored by Mary and Joseph, the three kings from is a magnet for many during the Christmas
afar and shepherds as farm animals stand nearby season. (Photo by Michael Alexander)
in this Manger scene on the grounds of the mon-
Two Parishes Aided Ms. Long
Audit Clears Diocese Of Fund Misuse
BY GRETCHEN REISER
An independent audit of the archdiocese of Atlanta
shows that archdiocesan funds were not misused on behalf
of Victoria Long while Archbishop Eugene A. Marino,
SSJ, headed the archdiocese.
From May 1,1988, when the archbishop was installed,
through Aug. 31,1990, the audit found only one previous
ly unidentified expenditure of $47 on her behalf in August
1989.
The audit also verified, as had been announced by the
archdiocese earlier, that medical bills amounting to slightly
less than $15,000 were paid to doctors or institutions for
her in the summer of 1990, when her involvement with
the archbishop became known to the archdiocese.
“The audit clearly shows that the archbishop did not
use the funds of the archdiocese of Atlanta to assist Vicki
Long,” said Bishop James P. Lyke, OFM, apostolic
administrator of the archdiocese, in an interview.
Of three parishes audited, a total of $6,540 in payments
on her behalf was revealed. The bishop received a report
Dec. 13 from an independent commission of four, headed
by Donald R. Keough, president and chief operating
officer of the Coca-Cola Co. The commission was named
in August to oversee an unrestricted audit of the archdio
cese and several parishes to determine whether funds were
misused for Ms. Long’s benefit.
The audit was conducted by Coopers & Lybrand,
independent certified public accountants and took 1,500
hours, reviewing over 30,000 checks, according to the
commission.
The audit covered only archdiocesan accounts and did
not in any way review the personal funds or accounts of
Archbishop Marino.
The $47 item turned up on a monthly bill from a florist,
detailing a long list of complementary items sent from the
archbishop’s office to a variety of people. Ms. Long’s
item was a fruit basket, with the office notation ‘illness
alongside it
Bishop's Message
Christmas Offers
New Life To All
BY BISHOP JAMES P. LYKE, OFM
“In the 5199th year of the creation of the world, from
the time when God in the beginning made out of nothing
the heavens and the earth; in the 194th olympiad; the
752nd year from the foundation of the city of Rome; the
42nd year of the rule of Octavian Augustus, all the earth
being at peace, in the sixth age of the world: Jesus Christ,
the eternal God and Son of the eternal Father, willing to
consecrate the world by His most merciful coming, being
conceived by the Holy Ghost and nine months having
passed since His conception, was bom in Bethlehem of
Juda of the Virgin Mary, being made man. The birthday
of Our Lord Jesus Christ according to the flesh.”
My dear friends, with these words, the earliest fathers
of the Church announced every year, the celebration of the
anniversary of God’s birth in the world. Today, I greet
f you with the same proclamation, in union with our Holy
i ; f Father Pope John Paul II and all die Bishops, and in joyful
celebration of the coming of the Messiah.
Even though Christmas is an event particular to one
specific world faith, I believe that many aspects of our
seasonal joy can be shared by all men and women,
regardless of denomination or personal belief. The many
wonderful events of Christmas can only draw into further
harmony all people of good will.
My late colleague, Bishop Sheen, said of the events of
Christmas, “The simple shepherds heard the voice of an
angel and found their Lamb; the wise men saw the light
of a star, and found their Wisdom.”
Likewise, I pray this season that all people may find
new birth in the Lord, and in doing so, find new life. I
pray for the rich, who are most able to share the spirit of
Christmas, that they may find abundant opportunities to
take their bounty into the midst of the suffering and poor
of Atlanta. I pray for the poor, whose privations are even
more sharply felt during this season of gift-sharing. I pray
for the bereft, who learn that sorrow and joy can come at
the same time, even as Mary, the Mother of Jesus,
experienced the joy of Jesus’ birth in the poverty and
coldness of a stable. I pray for all men and women and
(Continued on page 5)
INSIDE
Holy Family SVDP
$32,000 in food
for needy page 3
Three Families
separated by Gulf crisis page 7
Memories
of Christmases past ... pages 8 and 9
Suffering
takes no holiday page 13
(Continued on page 16)