Some priests remind you of spring-young, vital, filled with hope and promise. Others are wintry in their gruffness while some are like summer in the full vigor of their outdoor apostolate. Then there are autumn priests, reflective, in their middle years, confident of the harvest of which they have been a part.

Occasionally there comes into the life of a diocese a priest at once young in heart and seasoned in years. His eyes are signs of mature wisdom, yet his hands and voice are raised vigorously in the summertime of a dynamic life. Such a man is Monsignor Joseph E. Moylan, missionary, administrator, pastor and teacher. If ever the title, “Emeritus” meant “earned” or “merited”, it is the title this priest has accepted -- pastor Emeritus of Sacred Heart parish.

Last week, when eight “young fellows”, in the 25th year of their priesthood observed this anniversary, they chose as their speaker of the day Monsignor Moylan. And his address, which rattled the rafters of the Cathedral Center, was a classic piece of priestly wisdom. He was speaking, of course, to the eight jubilarians. But beyond them he was reaching for the minds and hearts of all priests.

Not New Breeds, But New Christ

His style was elegant and eloquent. Critics more accustomed to the Huntley-Brinkley fashion would call it old-fashioned. But you listened; you waited for the punch-line of the periodic paragraphs; you tried to remember the phrases that poured out like marks of punctuation. But it was what he said, more than the way he said it, that sent priests, sisters and laity home praying for more men of God like this one. Take one sentence for example: “Honest disagreement is one thing: willful disobedience is quite another.”

Everyone was listening intently: young nuns, young people, recently ordained priests, a bishop, an archbishop. Monsignor Moylan had something to say for all. The coin of service in the Church has two sides. Authority must act reasonably; obedience must be given freely. The brief discourse had overtones of St. Paul. And you remember that much of Monsignor’s life has been like the Apostle’s. It was the speech of a deeply convinced man, still loving the Church so much that, whatever his title, he will some day go out with his priestly boots on.

Those fortunate enough to attend the jubilee felt that they had heard a remarkable analysis of the priesthood. Indeed, they sensed in the occasion a landmark of the Church’s long history in Georgia.

Earning A Living

Last week, I mentioned a point made at the John LaFarge Institute on racial justice: “A policeman arresting a young man for selling marijuana, numbers or women, is not preventing crime, but is in fact stopping that young man from earning a living.” Of the letters I have received, that of a student at Georgia State made the most sense. She wrote, “Perhaps I am misinterpreting this statement, but to me it implies that the end (earning a living) justifies the means (selling marijuana, numbers or women). She asks that I explain.

She is right. As the sentence stands it needs clarification. In the full paper of Mr. Bayard Rustin, it made a very telling point. The policeman must arrest the young man because he is acting against the law. But society must accept the responsibility of helping exclude him for the American process of formation: equal justice, education, housing, employment, etc.

Every sin rests squarely on the guilty person. Every crime rests squarely on the offending citizen. Neither Rustin, nor I, nor any other moral person can condone the selling of drugs or illegal gambling devices or of prostitution. In Rustin’s complete paper, this is quite clear. In the excerpt I used, the sentence is liable to misrepresentation or misinterpretation.

But it still leaves society (and that is both the government and the governed) with a share of responsibility for the world in which young men, both white and black, search for a living. We can deplore the riots of Harlem, the looting of Rochester, the violence of Watts. But Harlem, Rochester and Watts are not just towns; they are warnings.

I appreciate the college student’s letter and have tried to reply in the spirit of Our Lord’s words of Mary Magdalene--”her sins, which are many, are forgiven because she loved much.” Christians have always upheld the moral stance of their nation: they have and still do condemn these crimes. Now they are more conscious of a larger duty -- to share in society’s blame for the injustice. They are asked to live by all the words of Christ, including His scornful condemnation of hypocrisy:

“Let him who is without sin cast the first stone.”

Paul J. Hallinan

Archbishop of Atlanta