Some five hundred members from Atlanta area parishes attended a meeting at Christ the King Cathedral auditorium on Sunday. They heard from Archbishop Hallinan and other clerical, and lay leaders, on plans for the forthcoming archdiocesan census to be taken on Sunday March 3, from 2:00 to 6:00 p.m.

The meeting was chaired by Lewis Gordon, lay leader who is responsible for census publicity.

Other meetings were also held this week in Rome, covering that parish, and those of Fort Oglethorpe, Dalton, and Cedartown; Athens, covering that parish, and those of Gainesville and LaGrange.

Archbishop Hallinan was accompanied by the cochairmen of the census, Father Harold J. Rainey, chancellor, and Father John D. Stapleton, pastor of St. Jude Church, Atlanta, at these meetings. In addition, lay leaders appointed by the archbishop to the Census Committee, acted as chairman.

Lay members of the committee who are assisting the cochairmen are: publicity—Lewis Gordon; research—Albert Lawton; processing—Paul Smith; special problems—Herb Farnsworth. Additional staff members are: Leo Zuber, Dr. Norman Berry, and Jack Spalding.

Archbishop Hallinan summed up the purpose of the census as:

To give a more accurate basis for future development of the archdiocese.

To find all unknown Catholics within the archdiocesan area.

To provide a more accurate estimate of the spiritual status of the archdiocese

Father Rainey explained the mechanics of the census, pointing out the importance of full answers on the special questionnaire being prepared for the census-takers. He disclosed that the results would be tabulated through an IBM procedural system.

Father Stapleton, archdiocesan moderator of The Council of Catholic Men, stressed the importance of an adequate number of lay volunteers to do the census taking. The original figure of 3,000 had been upped to 5,000. These lay volunteers would include both men and women. He also stressed the necessity of follow-ups where information could not be obtained at first call.

At each meeting, Archbishop Hallinan said he found one notable characteristic about the laity of the Archdiocese of Atlanta—their spirit of generosity and service in the works of the Church. He congratulated all on the initial enthusiasms and said it bespoke of a successful census.

The Archbishop cautioned, however, against accepting the census project as a purely material undertaking. He emphasized its spiritual aspects and noted that it could succeed only if its planning and execution was accompanied by constant prayer and deep spiritual fervor.