Bishops Face More Heat on Next Pastoral Report
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.1983 -in review little' f \ Historic Pieas for peace Pgs. 10-11 wars Largest weekly newspaper in Southeastern U.S. Catholic Archdiocese of Miami Friday, December 30,1983 Price 25* Vol. XXXI No. 44 ABOUT CAPITALISM Helping hand Bishops face more heat on next pastoral By Jim Lackey magazines, such as Fortune and WASHINGTON (NC)— Even Business Week, have published short before a single word has been set on but stinging articles accusing the paper, a proposed pastoral letter by bishops of trying to write the the U.S. bishops on the American Democratic Party's presidential plat- economy is generating a debate form or of promoting socialism. A similar to that which accompanied mid-December symposium on the the bishops' war and peace pastoral proposed pastoral, held at the issued last May. University of Notre Dame, also add- In recent weeks leading business ed fuel to the rhetorical fire over the letter. 1916-1983 That the proposed pastoral already is generating such an intense discus- sion comes as somewhat of a surprise, given the history of the war and peace GOVERNOR AS BROTHER - Governor Bob Graham (left) helps prepare trays of food for the long line of hungry people at Camilius House, a tem- letter and the more esoteric subject porary shelter for the homeless in downtown Miami. Brother Paul of the Lit- being addressed in the new pastoral. tle Brothers of Good Shepherd is nearby to offer assistance, but it appears The debate over the previous let- the governor is doing well on his own. He spent last Monday at Camilius ter—on a topic emotionally signifi- House to find out what it is like to live the life of a brother serving the poor. cant to major portions of the American public—didn't fully erupt until after that pastoral's first draft economic issues which, the committee ing debates as the definition of "full was issued in mid-1982. says, the new pastoral will address. employment," the government's role BUT WHILE the field of Those topics—employment, poverty, as an employer of last resort, and the economics doesn't evoke as strong an trade and economic planning—are value of such programs as the Com- emotional response as does the ques- issues which have intense advocates prehensive Employment and Training tion of nuclear conflict, economic on all sides. Act, or CETA, which many church policy issues do tend to generate On employment, for instance, groups supported but which the heated debate among such figures as Archbishop Rembert Weakland of Reagan administration dismantled as economists, corporate executives, Milwaukee, chairman of the drafting wasteful. Father Antonio Navarrete union leaders and politicians. committee, has said Catholic social Economic planning is another topic "troubador of God," made it In part the bishops' committee teaching can make a case for employ- which is bound to raise controversy "home" for Christmas, and which will draft the pastoral finds ment creation as a top national priori- no matter what the bishops say, given is eulogized... Page 9. itself in the middle of this debate ty. That undoubtedly will get the the growing national debate over because of the four controversial bishops into the thick of such ongo- (Continued on page 4) *Only half as many priests in U.S. church in 16 years Report: vocations are dwindling CHICAGO (NC) — By the year "There is no doubt that the topic decline in ordinations, the average nent deacons are filling roles on, 2000, active diocesan clergy in the chosen for this conference relates diocesan priest will be older, the reserved to priests," he said. "Nor United States might decline by as directly to the mission of the church," study concluded. does it ignore new forms of church much as 50 percent, and most priests said Cardinal Joseph Bernardin of Father Eugene Hemrick, director which are changing the image of will be in the 46-75 age bracket. Chicago. "In such a situation, we of research for the U.S. Catholic priesthood." Those figures were included in a simply cannot sit back and do Conference, said that in the last 15 He said the study starts with the study by scholars at the Center for nothing." years, seminary enrollment at the premise that the existence of the or- Youth Studies at the Catholic Univer- The CUA study, funded by a grant high school and college level declined dained priesthood is at stake. sity of America in Washington, D.C. provided by the Lilly Foundation, 74 percent; religious novitiates, 68 "To grow or not to grow in priestly The study was released at the Foun- came to its conclusions by combining percent; and theologates, 50 percent. vocatiohs is the bottom line," he said. dations and Donors Interested in projections for ordinations with pro- "The research on priestly vocations While the number of persons in Catholic Activities Conference in jections for resignations. Due to the does not deny that laity and perma- Catholic seminaries has decreased, Chicago. The conference was spon- Protestant seminaries are seeing an sored by FADICA in association with increase in enrollment. The reason the National Conference of Catholic for the Catholic shortage "must be Bishops Committee on Vocations, Why factors peculiar to Catholicism and to Serra International and the Lilly the Catholic priesthood as presently Endowment. Theme of the con- Research shows five uniquely Catholic factors: structured," said Father Richard P. ference was "Laborers for the Vine- Celibacy, life-long commitment, a male-only McBrien of the University of Notre yard: A Conference on Church Voca- limitation, little economic opportunity, different Dame. tions." dress/lifestyle, according to Fr. Richard McBrien. (Continued on page 4) Pope pledges peace for Central America By John Thavis well-being of Guatemalans." VATICAN CITY "(NC)—In talks to In one Guatemalan church jurisdic- two new ambassadors to the Holy See, tion, the Diocese of Santa Cruz del Pope John Paul II underlined the Quiche j the bishop and most of the church's commitment to peace and priests, religious and lay leaders have justice in Central America. been forced to leave because of He said Honduran Christians should violence and threats against their lives. work to promote a more just society, Church leaders have complained that work against hunger and suffering, the government has been unwilling to v and help prisoners and people on the provide adequate protection to church margins of society. personnel. He said the church had a special duty Relations between the church and to defend ethnic and social minorities Guatemalan officials have been strain- "who run the risk of being annihilated ed also over restrictions on church ac- by interests that do not always respect tivities and the killings of several the rights of the individual and his religious and lay leaders. culture." Deutschmann Miron replaces former In a speech to Guatemalan Am- ambassador Luis Valladares . y bassador Jose Alejandro Deutschmann Aycinena, who was fired by the Miron, the pope urged the restoration government last April. of dignity "to all those who suffer The government at that time said he from injustice, neglect and poverty." was being removed because he had fail- The pope also said he hoped "that ed to inform the government im- we can quickly arrive at a normaliza- mediately of a papal clemency request tion of ecclesiastical districts which are in February for six men scheduled to be^ now deprived of their pastors, whose executed for terrorist acts. Valladaresvy purpose is only to work for the Aycinena denied the accusation, saying kingdom of God and thus favor the he had told his superiors immediately. LONDON BOMBING - The remains of a car which exploded outside Harrod's department store in London lies on the center of the street as police search the debris. Five people were killed in the blast, set off by Provisional Irish Republican Army members. <NC Photo from DPI) Religious groups rally to repeal death penalty Unemployment'chills the soul' JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (NC)—Saying that capital punishment gives "sanction to a climate of violence," 11 Missouri religious organizations have TORONTO (NQ^Canadian Catholics are initiating and staffing recrea- formed a coalition seeking repeal of the state's capital punishment law. The tional activities, soup kitchens, food banks and counseling services to help the Coalition Against the Death Penalty includes the Missouri Catholic unemployed cope with the frustrations which follow months of fruitless job Conference, the Archdiocese of St. Louis and the state's three dioceses. In a searching. Unemployment, which the Canadian Mental Health Association statement released by Bishop Michael F. McAuliffe of Jefferson City, the says is more than 19 percent and directly affects 2 million Canadians, "chills coalition said that~the major purpose of capital punishment is retribution, the soul and drowns the body." which, they said,/"has the reverse effect, that of fostering violenf acts." Acclaimed ecumenical leader dies Monument to honor slain baby CRESTWOOD, N.Y. (NC)—Father Alexander Schmemann, 62, widely ac- claimed ecumenical leader and dean of St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological COON RAPIDS, Minn. (NC)—Parishioners at Coon Rapids' Church of the Seminary, died of cancer at his home in Crestwood. He was involved in talks Epiphany are collecting money to erect a monument in the parish cemetery in between the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches in the late 1950s, memory of an abandoned baby buried there last winter. Rachel Marie Doe, the was an Orthodox observer at the Second Vatican Council from 1962 to 1965 name given to the baby girl tossed from a vehicle onto a busy highway, will have a white Carrara marble monument of Christ and two small children.