South Texas Catholic (Corpus Christi, Tex.), Vol. 19, No. 68, Ed. 1 Friday, November 23, 1984 Page: 1 of 16
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Vol. XIX, No. 68 Serving the 314,812 Catholics in the Diocese of Corpus Christi November 23,1984
Bishop meets press; discusses economic pastoral
Bishop Rene H. Gracida responds to a question from a reporter during
the recent press conference at the diocesan Telecommunications
Center, (STC photo by Rachelle Parry)
By Rachelle Parry
STC staff writer
CORPUS CHRISTI —Saying he
would like to see the U S. bishops*
pastoral on Catholic social teaching and
the U S, economy be ‘‘more positive,
less negative" than the pastoral draft
released last week, Bishop Rene H.
Gracida focused on the issues raised by
the document in a Nov. 16 press con-
ference at the diocesan Telecommunica-
tions Center.
"I would like to see it address specific
abuses which exist within our system,”
the bishop said of the proposed pastoral,
the first draft of which was discussed by
the bishops during their Nov. 12-15
meeting in Washington, D.C.
Bishop Gracida pointed out there is
confusion that the ‘‘draft text is a
pastoral letter—it is not. It is a docu-
ment produced by five bishops; 300
bishops have had no opportunity in any
way to vote on that text.”
If the process is similar to that of the
bishops’ 1983 war and peace pastoral,
he added, the draft text on the economy
“will undergo dramatic and drastic
change and, in its final form, will be
significantly different” from the text
released Nov. 11.
Archbishop Rembert Weakland,
OSB, of Milwaukee, chairman of the
five-bishop drafting committee, said he
hopes the bishops will affect policy with
the proposed pastoral.
“We hope that policy will be changec
so that the poor will be treated different-
ly,” he said in a Washington press con-
ference when the text was released. The
committee members have been working
almost four years developing the
pastoral, including for over a year listen-
ing to testimony from hundreds of
economic experts.
The main points of the draft include
calling for a national policy of “full
employment”; a substantial redistribu-
tion of wealth to bridge the gap between
rich and poor; major reforms in the
welfare system; and significant changes
in U.S. aid and trade policies toward
Third World countries.
Archbishop Weakland said the central
parts of the document are the sections on
ethical principles and the rights of all
people to participate in shaping the
economy.
The committee chairman stressed that
the document is a non-partisan critique
of economic policies, even though
policies of the current administration are
criticized.
In response to a question of the draft
text “leaning in the direction of
socialism” and “counteracting the
popular mandate”with which President
Ronald Reagan was re-elected, Bishop
Gracida said some people take “par-
ticular phrases and sentences out of the
text which suit their agenda.”
Reading from an outline of the
pastoral draft, the bishop said,
‘“...While Catholic social teaching pro-
vides a positive affirmation of the role of
government, it does not advocate a
statist approach to economic activity.*
Now, anyone can see that is as clear a
condemnation of socialism that you can
get.”
In addition to changing the tone of the
text from positive to negative, Bishop
Gracida said he would like to see it avoid
“sweeping condemnations” of
economic policies and have it address
specific abuses; specifically, abuse?;
against migrant farm workers, a per-
sonal cause of his.
The farm lobby in some states and on
the national level, he said, has succeeded
in depriving the farm workers of their
rights to such “basic things” as a
minimum wage, workman’s compensa-
tion and social security.
“This isn't socialism, this isn’t the
welfare state,” the bishop pointed out.
Alleviating the “morally unaccep-
table” level of unemployment in the
United States was a focus of the pastoral
draft, said drafting-committee member
Archbishop Thomas Donnellan of
Atlanta.
“In recent years, the nation’s com-
mitment to generating full employment
has been seriously eroded, if not aban-
doned,” he said.
Archbishop Weakland denied the
pastoral draft attacks capitalism, but
recognizes its achievements.
“But you cannot deny,” he added,
“that 35 million people in poverty ” and
“eight million unemployed” still leaves
much to be achieved.
Asked by a reporter how a reduction
of unemployment may be achieved in
this diocese, particularly in Laredo,
Bishop Gracida responded that he is
“unhappy” with the draft’s frequent
use of the expression “full employ-
ment.”
“It's a concept which is
unrealistic—it’s not possible,” except
maybe in Soviet Russia, he said.
He did agree with the text, however,
that it is possible to drop unemployment
from seven percent to three or four per-
cent.
“This should be achieved not by
government planning or temporary
make-work programs...but through
cooperation by government and private
industry which seeks to make available
long-term employment opportunities,”
he explained.
Bishop Gracida, who was unable to
attend the four-day conference in
Washington, read from the draft sum-
mary the six guidelines for welfare
reform, adding his opinion of each.
He said he agreed with the guidelines
calling for the establishment of national
eligibility standards and a national
public assistance program.
He also strongly agreed that welfare
programs should strengthen marriage
and the family; encourage gainful
employment; involve the participation
of recipients in planning; and have
respect for, and not stigmatize, clients.
The bishop added he “generally
agreed” with the guideline saying
welfare programs should be adequately
funded and provide adequate support,
but interpretation of the phrase was im-
portant.
“I fault the Reagan administation for
the speed with which they dismantled
existing work programs,” he said, but
he supports them “in their long-term
goal of finding alternatives to welfare.”
Some of the reporters questioned
Bishop Gracida about what they
perceived as his implied endorsement of
President Reagan through his participa-
tion in the national and state
Republican conventions and because he
was quoted in anti-abortion adver-
tisements.
First, he said, “the Democratic party
did not invite me to give the invocation”
at either of their conventions, and the
Republican party did.
As for the advertisement supposedly
dissuading Catholics from voting for
pro-choice candidates, the bishop said,
“In reality, I never spoke against any
particular candidate—I spoke to the
issue.”
“There is absolutely nothing wrong
with a religious leader taking part in the
political process,” Bishop Gracida
reiterated. “But a religious leader
should not take part in partisan
politics.”
Asked what he thought of the much
sought-after U.S. Navy “home port” in
Corpus Christi, the bishop said he of-
fered his support and assistance to
Chamber of Commerce President Cal
Kuntz, much to the president’s surprise.
“Simultaneously, while I am suppor-
ting the home port and the coming of the
U.S. Navy with perhaps nuclear
weapons on board those ships,” he said,
“I will continue to work very hard to
bring about arms reduction and
especially the abandonment of the
possibility of nuclear warfare.”
f
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Bilton, William G. South Texas Catholic (Corpus Christi, Tex.), Vol. 19, No. 68, Ed. 1 Friday, November 23, 1984, newspaper, November 23, 1984; Corpus Christi, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth840813/m1/1/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; .