Texas Gulf Coast Catholic (Corpus Christi, Tex.), Vol. 11, No. 1, Ed. 1 Friday, May 28, 1976 Page: 1 of 6
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JOY AND REGRET
DUBUQUE, Iowa—Graduation is a time of Joy £.nd regret — Joy in accomplishment and
regret in leaving one’s friends. Chris Oldenberg of Bismarck, N.D., lets these emotions
show as she is hugged by a classmate following commencement exercises aiClarke Coiiege,
a Catholic liberal arts women’s college in Dubuque, Owa. (RNS)
FRora the Bishops’ desk
Last week, I spent my
annual five days with
our Missionary Fathers
in Arteaga a few miles
down the main highway
from the City of Saltillo
in Mexico. It was a
delightful pleasure to
join these zealous men
as they travelled from
one village to another in
the vast area that is
assigned to them. Father Peter
McNamara has sufficiently recovered from
his serious accident several months ago and
is now back in Arteaga. Father Michael
Chilen has spent several Sundays, throughout
the Diocese, appealing for financial help for
their work. In a short while, he will be taking
leave of Mexico in order to fulfill his wish to
become a Chaplain in the United States Ar-
my. We will miss Father Mike. He has done a
good amount of work in the missions during
the past three years. Father Tom Davis has
volunteered and is now working with Father
McNamara. These three priests are greatly
loved by the thousands of the faithful whom
they serve with great zeal. How delighted
they are to have Father McNamara back with
them after an absence of five months!
Only one Confirmation group was
scheduled for me this year. It took place at a
village named Mesa de las Tablas which is
nestled in a valley and walled in by mountains
some nine thousand feet in height This
village is about 75 miles from Arteaga and is
reached by a toiirpin curved road that climbs
around the upgrade and down again into the
valley. Along the way, there a^e many or-
chards whose apple trees are umbrelled by
large nets in order to ward off the onslaughts
of the frequent hail storms.
A year ago, these same mountains were
ablaze with a conflagration that has no equal
in the past. Men and boys were rounded up in
an effort to put out the terrible fire and this
was finally accomplished but not before
thousands of stately evergreens fell victims to
the spreading flames. Today, the blackened
timbers stand tall and alone as a stark
reminder of the destruction which engulfed
them.
En route to Mesa de las Tablas, Father
Davis reminded me that the valley has had
rain and hail every day for the past week.
True to form, the heavens opened at the noon
hour just as we had assembled one hundred
children and their padrinos for the ceremony.
School let out for the occasion and the
children were delighted that the continuing
downpour kept them crowded together in the
borrowed hall that boasts of a door, two
window openings devoid of glass and one
small electric light.
Following the Mass, we were treated to
lunch in one of the little homes nearby that
has a kitchen-dining room in one unit with dirt
floor and a woodburning stove in the corner.
But what a warm welcome we received from
these wonderful people!
We visited also the villages of El Cedrito,
La Purisima and Jame. Mass is usually
celebrated in all of these places, during the
evening hours, when the men return to their
homes from work in the orchards or from
herding cattle and goats along the unpaved
roads.
Four Missionary Sisters, from Mexico City,
assist the priests in their work. The Sisters
reside in an apartment adjacent to the Ar-
teaga Church. Several hours prior to the
scheduled Masses in each of the small
communities, the Sisters arrive to round up
the children for instruction and to prepare
them and the adults for the reception of the
Sacraments.
I am told that the Mexican hierarchy are
working on a program to raise the age level of
those who will be candidates for the reception
of the Sacrament of Confirmation. In that
country, the tradition of infant Con-
firmation is deeply imbedded in the Catholic
people. It is going to take time and patience to
change such a tradition. Yet, we know that
unlike the Sacrament of Baptism, the
reception of Confirmation is not necessary for
entry into the kingdom of God. Rather, it is a
Sacrament which enables the recipient to
become a “witness” for the faith and this can
be accomplished only by those who are
properly instructed in the beliefs and prac-
tices of the Church.
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CATHOLIC
Official Newspaper of the Diocese of Corpus Christi
Vol XI No. 1
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More Mexican-American influence
urged in priesthood
SAN ANTONIO, Tex. (NO—Archbishop
Robert Sanchez of Santa Fe, N.M., said at a
vocations “encuentro” here that Mexican-
Americans often see Hispanic priests as
“Anglicized” because of their seminary
training.
The archbishop said: “It is unhealthy to
recruit the young (Mexican-American) from
his family life and environment and educate
him into an entirely new and foreign, culture
Mormons lead way
NEW YORK (NC)—Church membership
last year grew by almost one percent after
registering slight decline in the previous two
years.
According to the “Yearbook of American
anc Canadian Churches 1976”, published for
the National Council of Churches, 132,287,450
people belong to religious groups in 1974—just
over 1 million more than the 1973 figure.
But the gains are concentrated among the
Catholic Church, several small evangelical
bodies and, most spectacularly, the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormons),
which increased its membership by 21.5
percent.
and then after ordination send him back.”
When such priests return, the archbishop
said, they often find “a conflict between what
they were and what they have become;
between what they have been and what their
people are.”
Archbishop Sanchez spoke at a conference
held May 16-19 to discuss what can be done to
foster vocations for the priesthood among
Mexican-Americans.
some Protestant bodies count only those 14
years and older.
A greater flexibility in seminary life and
curriculum was proposed. The participants
saw a need for special courses such as
Spanish-American theology and philosophy-
Father Vergilio Elizondo, president of the
M ex! can-Arnerican Culture Center, site of the
“encuentro,” said: “Even when we speak the
language...we often cannot preach in Spanish
because we learn theology and scripture in a
terminology which we cannot translate into
the language of the people.”
He added that because of misunderstanding
of the Chicano priest’s culture, the “Mexican*
American is often...ridiculed and often his
forms of devotion are branded as super-
stitious by Anglo priests and fellow
seminarians.”
The conference was sponsored by the
Mexican-American Culture Center and by the
Association for Mexican-American Priests
(PADRES), both located in San Antonio.
Ninety-two priests, nuns, seminarians and
lay people attended, along with Bishops
Patricio F. Flores, auxiliary of San Antonio
and John J. Fitzpatrick of Brownsville, Tex.
Diocesan Ultreya to be
held in Corpus Christi
A spiritual event of great magnitude will be held in Memorial Coliseum in Corpus
Christi on Sunday, June 13, when the Diocesan Ultreya will be held.
Large numbers are expected for the day of prayer, study, Bible Vigil, Mass, testimonies
and entertainment. Call 853-7371 for more information. We publish below the schedule for
the day.
DIOCESAN ULTREYA
'earbook shows gain in
church membership
The so-called “mainline” Protestant
churches continued to show slight declines.
Mormon growth brought the total mem-
bership in that body to 2,683,573—up 475,528
from 1973.
The next-fastest growing religious group
during that period was the Jehovah’s wit-
nesses, with a 14.1 percent jumped in
membership to 539,262, up from 472,662 the
previous year.
Others showing substantial gains included
the Assemblies of God, the Church of God
(Cleveland, Tenn.), the Seventh Day Ad-
ventists, the Church of the Nazarene and the
Southern Baptist Convention.
Catholic rolls showed an increase from
48,465,438 to 48,701,835. But the gain of 236,397,
second only to the Mormons in absolute
numbers, represented only a one-half of one
percent increase.
Data from the 1976 book suggests that the
decline in membership among the larger
Protestant denominations may be leveling
off. The Episcopal Church showed a decline of
9,872 members in 1974 after having lost more
than 225,000 in the previous three years.
The percentage of Americans formally
affiliated with church bodies now stands at
62.3 percent, a gain of four-tenths oi one
percent. That figure had fallen in the previous
two years.
Church membership in the country grew at
its peak rate in the 1950’s. It has climbed
slowly during the 1970s, not keeping pace with
population growth for the period.
The yearbook’s editor, Constant Jacquet
Jr., pointed out that not all church bodies use
the same statistical yardsticks. The Catholic
Church counts children as members, while
9:C0a.m.
10:00a.m.
10:30a.m.
11:00 a.m.
11:30a.m.
12:30 p.m.
1:00p.m.
1:45 p.m.
2:30 p.m.
3:00p.m.
3:30p.m.
4:30p.m.
5:15 p.m.
THEME: ‘‘Hungerfor Jesus, Bread of Life”
Memorial Coliseum
Corpus Christi, Texas
June 13,1976
Registration
Invocation and Opening Prayer Rev. Vladimiro Manente, O.M.I.
Spiritual Director of Cursillo Move-
ment Diocese of Corpus Christi
Presentation of Platform Guests: Mr. Jorge Garza
President, Diocesan Secretariat
Welcoming Address Honorable Jason Luby
Mayor of Corpus Christi
Bible Vigil: Opening Song-Reading-Reflection-Reading-General
Intercessions
“Spiritual Growth Through Group
Reunion” Rev. Eusebio Pantoja
St. Anthony’s Church, Robstown,
Texas
Group Reunion (groups of four) Witnessing by four people
■ 3 minutes to each person
One from each leaders’ school
Lunch
Entertainment
“Taking the Hunger for Jesus to
Environments”
Testimonies
Coffee Break
The Eucharist and Cursillo
Clausura
Mariachis & Volunteer Groups
the
Adolfo Munguia
Region 8 President
Corpus Christi, Texas
4 people (limit: 5 minutes each person)
Rev. Juan Nicoiau; Pastor:
St. Helen’s Church, Rio Hondo, Texas
Rev. Vladimiro Manente
Rev. Patrick Higgins
Rev. Juan Suarez
Mr. Jorge Garza
Liturgy of the Word and Eucharist
Con-Celebrated with
Homily: Holy Eucharist-Bread
of life
Singing led by
Most Rev. Thomas J. Drury
Bishop of Diocese of Corpus Christi
Rev. Patrick Higgins
Pastor: Ss. Cyril & Methodius Church
Corpus Christi, Texas
Ss. Cyril & Methodius Youth Choir
Protestants agree " When life begins" is a Christian question— not a Roman Catholic issue
Editor’s Note:
The following article from The Texas
Methodist, reprinted with permission, in-
dicates increased awareness among
Protestant leaders of the fact that abortion is
a moral question which requires a Christian
response.
By SHARON MIELKE
f ior Staff Writer
HOUSTON—The charge of “attempting to
polarize religious bodies against one another
in order to protect its support of abortion on
demand” was levelled last week against the
Religious Coalition for Abortion Rights
(RCAR) by two predominantly Protestant
religious groups opposing abortion. (See TM-
UMR, Feb. 20.)
“Americans will not tolerate the creation of
another Northern Ireland in which religious
Anti-abortionists level charges
differences are polarized and then
manipulated for political gain,” said the
American Citizens Concerned for Life and
Baptists for Life, in an open letter to the
coalition. They also challenged the RCAR to a
public debate on abortion.
Prominent United Methodists are involved
in both the coalition and the American
Citizens groups, but the RCAR has the UMC’s
institutional support. The United Methodist
Board of Church and Society, Women’s
Division and National division of the Board of
Globa! Ministries are members, along with 20
other organizations, of the in-
terdenominational and interfaith coalition.
The coalition is housed by the Board of
Church and Society (BCS), is under the ad-
ministrative direction of its division of
general welfare and department (if population
problems, and the board handles treasury
functions for the coalition.
In late January, United Methodist
Bishop James Armstrong, president of the
BCS, and coalition sponsor, attacked the U.S.
Roman Catholic bishops for their “strenuous
efforts” to overturn the 1973 Supreme Court
decisions. (See TM-UMR Jam 30.) He said
Roman Catholic efforts "threaten First
Amendment guarantees of the freedom of
religion” by trying to legislate their par-
ticular view on everyone. Also, their efforts
“threatened ecumenical accords which have
been achieved after many years.”
In their open letter the two anti-abortion
groups said the RCAR wrongly implies that
abortion opposition comes only from Roman
Catholics. “Opposition to abortion is not now
nor ever has been the concern of Catholics
alone, but is part of a shared Judeo-Christian
ethics.”
Dr. Outler gives view
“The termination of human life is a moral
question for a 11 Christians,” Dr. Albert Outler
told TM-UMR. He is a member of the
American Citizens advisory board and
professor emeritus at Southern Methodist
University’s Perkins School Theology. He
said the moral, Biblically based principle of
the responsibility of the strong to protect the
weak and defenseless is also involved.
But if any group is responsible for
polarizing the religious community, it is the
pro-abortionists, as Dr. Outler views recent
history.
“A number of Protestant bodies, led by the
United Methodist Church at its special
General Conference session in 1970, went on
record as approving abortion on demand with
no attempt at engaging in serious ecumenical
discussion beforehand and no apparent
awareness, even now, of the offense this
action caused among Christians who cannot
support abortion on demand,” he said.
Dr, Outler said the United Methodist
position on abortion as adopted in the 1972
“Social Principles” is weak because it only
calls for the woman in question to take some
kind of counsel into consideration and does
not give sufficient thought to the central
moral issues. “The q ’^stion of when life
begins cannot be ignored, but the 1973
Supreme Court decisions have “derailed the
discussion” by defining abortion up to three
months as not involving any moral decision.”
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Clarke, Hugh. Texas Gulf Coast Catholic (Corpus Christi, Tex.), Vol. 11, No. 1, Ed. 1 Friday, May 28, 1976, newspaper, May 28, 1976; Corpus Christi, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth835723/m1/1/: accessed July 12, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; .