Two years ago, March 29, 1962, the See of Atlanta was raised to the status of an archdiocese, and a new Province was created in the southeastern states of North and South Carolina, Georgia and Florida. It was a happy and proud day of our fast-growing region, and God has blessed the new Province in many ways. May He continue to do so, in these exciting days of both religious and civil change. Especially may He bless our sister-sees of Raleigh, Charleston, Savannah, St. Augustine and Miami. Their cooperation with the Metropolitan See of Atlanta has been an inspiration to all of us.

My Easter

It was different. Recovery has been steady but gradual and it’s been thirteen weeks since Christmas when I first checked in. I was to report my gratitude to all of you -- my room bloomed with flowers of all kinds, from floral shops and gardens; religious objects and books; Easter eggs and remembrances from our school children and parish organizations, -- and best of all, the constant assurance of your prayers. Thanks to these prayers, the future looks good. With wonderful medical and nursing care, I think God wants me to be back, on at least a partially active basis, in the coming months. In addition to the good wishes and intercessions of our own, I have been assured of the prayers of many of our Protestant and Jewish friends, and one of my most treasured moments was a prayer and blessing from one of our prominent Baptist clergymen.

Our Priests

It occurred to me that, on our second anniversary as an archdiocese, a well-quoted word would be in order on each of the three great distinct but inseparable parts of the Mystical Body that is the Church -- our priests, our sisters, our laity. Shortly after the ravages of World War II, Emmanuel Cardinal Suhard of Paris wrote a penetrating series of pastoral letters on “The New World in the Making.” Of priests, he wrote:

“What is the priest to Christians? He is loved and followed by a great number, but the respect in which many others hold him is often based unconsciously on ulterior motives .... supporting the established order ... as an instrument for the control of public opinion. It follows that as a logical consequence of our prevalent atheism that our age has secularized, naturalized and humanized the priest. We must rediscover the meaning of the priesthood; there will be no return to God without a return to the priest.” Then, in conclusion, he pinpoints love as the mystery of the priesthood: “With that lever, he raises the world. And may Christ who alone holds justly the title and the reality of the priesthood deign to confer on His priests on Earth and to inspire in those who will come after them, honor, grace, and the joy of saving the world by becoming its ministers of love!”

Our Sisters

A year ago, an American woman, Elizabeth Seton was raised to the title of Blessed by Pope John XXIII. In speaking of her conversion to the Catholic Church, at the time of the tragedy of her husband’s death, the late Pope stressed that “faith became a habit with her, like her life breath.” But it was the new impulse which she gave to charity that gave the unique stamp of her sanctity. Pope John said:

“It became the program of her interior life and her exterior activity. This burning charity spread itself beyond the limits of her natural family to embrace the vaster family of her brothers from her earlier life -- the poor, the persecuted, the weak, the sick, the suffering.”

“We nourish paternal affection, admiration and gratitude for all sisters. We feel certain that especially during this year of the Council, they will be, like the wise virgins in the Gospel, ready to follow every directive of the hierarchy, that their service in all fields be ever more in keeping with the needs and requirements of our times.”

Our Laity

And a century ago, a man who truly foreshadowed our times, John Henry Cardinal Newman, said this to the small, struggling band of lay English Catholics:

“You must not hide your talent in a napkin, or your light under a bushel. I want a laity, not arrogant, not rash in speech, not disputatious, but men who know their religion, who enter into it, who know just where they stand, who know what they hold, and what they do not; who know their creed so well that they can give an account of it, who know so much of history that they can defend it.” “I want an intelligent, well instructed laity; I am not denying you are such already, but I mean to be severe in my demands. Your strength lies in your God and your conscience; therefore it lies not in your number.” To our priests, our sisters, our laity, these are the instruments -- the lever of love and service; the timely impulses to charity in these our new days; and finally, the realization of us all that our strength lies “in God and conscience.” These have been the source of Georgia Catholic vigor in the hundred years of her missionary growth. Today they are indispensable tools of our emergence as a vital part of the Catholic Church in the United States. May God bless you all!

Paul J. Hallinan

Archbishop of Atlanta