Last week, more than one hundred doctors of the Atlanta area met at Saint Joseph’s Infirmary for a 7:30 a.m. conference on the liver, jaundice, and hepatitis. I was invited to attend - not as a participant, but as a case study. Although it was a welcome opportunity to thank Dr. Wilbur and his two colleagues, Dr. Golambos and Dr. Hein for their skillful care, my role was to answer some questions from the floor. These dealt with symptoms and possible causes. Here were dedicated men, adding to their heavy duties, the early morning effort to learn more about the disease - that more people might be helped.

It was a new experience and, in a different role, another way to appreciate the great, intricate, compassionate complex that we call modern medicine.

And Another Role (and more profound)

Last fall, while working on the new Liturgical Constitution in Rome, I never speculated that one significant change would have a special meaning for me. For centuries the sacrament of the sick has labored under the ominous title of “Extreme Unction.” Many a good Catholic has flinched at the gloom of this phrase (along with “Last Rites”), and many a good Catholic family has hesitated to call the priest until death was almost at the door. The Council Fathers, by an overwhelming vote restored its more proper name, “The Anointing of the Sick,” in keeping with Saint James’ words: “Is any one sick among you? Let him bring in the presbyters (priests) of the Church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.” During my illness, I asked for this sacrament, and was anointed. I had administered it hundreds of times, but the new role of recipient was a different matter. As each sense is anointed, the Church speaks:

“By this holy anointing and His most loving mercy may the Lord forgive you whatever wrong you have done by the use of your sight. Amen.” (hearing, taste, and so on.)

I meditated on the words of the new decree: “It is not a sacrament for those only at the point of death. Hence, as soon as any one of the faithful begins to be in danger of death from sickness or old age, the fitting time for him to receive this sacrament has certainly arrived.” No wonder, the Council stated that it is “more fittingly” called “the anointing of the sick”. It marked a real turn, together with the excellent natural means (care, medication, rest) in my recuperation.

May all our Catholic families use this sacrament in keeping with the intention of the Church.

Referring To The Referendum

By now the vote on “mixed drinks” is history, and the deluge of feelings and words has diminished to a trickle. It seemed to me that much of what was said, on both sides, was irrelevant. In the light of Biblical evidence, medical surveys and the moderate use of alcohol by many in our present society, the argument that it is intrinsically evil does not hold up. On the other hand, the opposite side’s insistence on Atlanta’s prestige, and the attraction for conventions and other business had a rather hollow ring like a cash register. Neither is an adequate norm for morality, nor for public decisions as to law.

The Catholic position held in common with many other religious persons, is a moral and social standard capable of realization by both individuals and society. It sanctions the use of such beverages in their proper amounts; and condemns the abuse of them rising from excess, scandal, and such consequences as depriving self or family of care and example, and leading to other sins such as anger, lust, theft and so on. In the case of alcoholism, of course, total abstinence would be the Christian (as well as the only sensible response). For those who want to exercise forbearance for a higher motive, abstinence would also be the answer.

Upon society, the Catholic Church places the burden of control. This should be carried out by the will of the people and the right methods of authority. Total prohibition was a long and painful experiment - it failed. To this extent, the proponents of the new measure were correct in saying: - “It is being sold and served - let us regulate it under the law, not under the table.” Hypocrisy is also a sin.

For young persons, the advice I heard at college still offers the handiest rule-of-thumb: “If you’re drinking at all, cut it down. If you’re drinking too much, cut it out.”

Paul J. Hallinan

Archbishop of Atlanta