Enthusiastic reports from parishes in the 71-county North Georgia archdiocese area indicate that Operation Understanding, conducted by Catholic laymen on Sunday, November 10, was an unqualified success.

Most frequently heard comment was “We could not have handled any more.” Parish chairmen reported a high degree of interest on the part of visitors, most of whom needed no encouragement to ask cogent and intelligent questions on what they saw and heard.

This latest project, sponsored by the Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Men, enlisted the support of all Catholic families, both in assisting in staging the event and in providing the principal avenue through which the project was brought to Protestants and Jews in the archdiocese. Its purpose, implicit in its title, was to further understanding among people of goodwill. Its effect was two-fold, giving all Catholics in the archdiocese an opportunity to participate in an aggressive apostolate, and, secondly, exposing to separated Christians a detailed look and careful explanation of the externals of the Church. In both areas the project proved eminently successful.

Commenting on the undertaking, Chairman Dr. Norman Berry stated “One of the most gratifying aspects of the entire project was the interest and cooperation expressed by Protestant ministers and Jewish rabbis, many of whom participated by visiting Churches near them and seeing for themselves the demonstration staged by our laymen.” Dr. Berry and his cochairmen, Herb Fransworth and Lew Gordon, Jr., expressed high praise for the interest and the enthusiastic cooperation of individual parish chairmen and their lay associates and for the excellent preparation evidenced in the presentation.

ACCM President Ferdinand Buckley indicated the gratification of the Council in the success of the project and stated that future similar endeavors of ACCM would give further opportunity to all Catholic to participate in the lay apostolate.