By Fr. Jerry Hardy

Thirty four delegates from parishes across the archdiocese met Saturday for the third and most productive convocation of the re-constituted Archdiocesan Pastoral Council. Held in the cafeteria of Saint Joseph’s High School, the council meeting moved quickly through the remainder of its organizational detail work which had been begun but not completed at the June 20th meeting.

The meeting opened with Archbishop Thomas A. Donnellan giving the invocation and then leading the delegates in prayer for Dr. Sam Williams, outstanding Black leader of Atlanta who died suddenly Saturday. The Archbishop prefaced his call to prayer with words of his personal sadness at Dr. Williams death; the two had worked together on Atlanta’s Community Relations Council. President Gene Stelten then congratulated Archbishop Donnellan on his reception of the Clergyman of the Year Award, the delegates rising for a resounding standing ovation.

The first order of business was a roll call of the membership which cast the only damper on the day long meeting. Although 2/3 of the possible delegate number were present, some parishes still have not taken their seats at the council table. Commenting on this fact, Father Hardy, priest secretary of the council offered some background information, pointing to a letter from Archbishop Donnellan to all pastors urging the establishment of parish councils in every parish. Father Hardy then noted that he had sent a follow-up letter suggesting to the pastors that they select their alternate delegates to the council through their parish councils. He indicated that reports on both points had been disappointing but that summer schedules had contributed to some of the delay. He also indicated that during the week he would run a follow-up so that the next meeting would hopefully find all the people of the archdiocese represented through their parishes.

President Gene Stelten (Holy Spirit Parish) introduced Mike Karp (Saint John Vianney, Austell) who reported on the National Pastoral Council Meeting in Chicago which he attended as a representative of the archdiocese. Karp emphasized the need for grass roots support of local Councils before any such national body could function. Stelten then reported on the membership committee’s work, now completed under the leadership of Ruth Lammers (Saints Peter and Paul, Decatur). Stelten said that the executive committee accepted the recommendation of the membership committee which was as follows:

a. Permanent representation for groups not now represented will be recommended by the membership committee when they feel there is a cohesive organization which represents these groups.

b. One elected representative and one alternate shall represent each parish in the archdiocese. Any alternate shall enjoy all the faculties of the elected representative in the latter’s absence. Parishes with a mission should select the alternate from the mission parish and this alternate should have voice at all times.

Stelten also referred to recommendations from the membership committee that each parish council should have one youth member. In line with that he mentioned the possibility that the archbishop might appoint one or more youth representatives for the interim.

One of the day’s most important accomplishments was the adoption of the re-drafted constitution. President Gene Stelten presented the re-draft and congratulated Bill Jascomb (Saint Thomas Parish, Smyrna) on the work he and Executive Secretary Mike Doyle (Cathedral) had done on shaping the document. After substantial discussion, the question was called and the Constitution was accepted with the minor amending it received from the floor.

The highlight of the meeting was the discussion of priorities to which the council should address itself. This discussion was opened by Clint Rodgers (chairman, Board of Catholic Social Services) who suggested a broad range of priorities the council might consider. Putting his suggestions in a practical local context, Rodgers began by saying that any consideration of priorities demanded a willingness to understand the role of the Church in the midst of the local scene. He underlined the need to move to correct not only symptomatic surface ills but the willingness to strike at the causes of such ills. Essential to such an effort, Rodgers said, is the need to “ask ourselves a lot of questions about how we spend our money, questions about our own backyard and how we can clean it up before we try to correct others.” Specifying further, Rodgers listed several areas such as the expenditure of funds for construction which must involve union labor, pointing out that in supporting unions the Church might indirectly be continuing segregation because many unions in the South are not integrated at all. Rodgers was most emphatic on the need for the lay and clerical leaders of the Church here to be aware of and in touch with the needs of the poor. He said that such an awareness is essential to mobilizing concerned people to move out and take active roles in the Church’s commitment to work for social justice and equality. His presentation met with enthusiastic applause.

Archbishop Donnellan rose to convey his own concern over the priorities suggested by Mr. Rodgers. He expressed his own feeling of excitement over the “possibilities open to us as people of the Church.” Reflecting on the somber tone of sometimes discouraging days, the archbishop said he was genuinely uplifted and hopeful by the prospects of what the council could do. “I feel that maybe we are on the verge of some big things here and your enthusiasm and competence for the tasks are certainly heartening to me,” the achbishop said.