By Father Jerry E. Hardy, Priest -- Secretary Pastoral Council

Some 60 delegates to the Archdiocesan Pastoral Council struggled last Saturday with the task of developing priorities for guiding the direction of the archdiocese. Meeting in the cafeteria of Christ the King School, the group quickly set to work, breaking into four smaller discussions groups that were to serve a most productive function during the four-hour meeting.

Delegates heard council president Gene Stelten issue the challenge of the afternoon longer working session in his opening remarks. "This Council showed, at our last meeting, its concern over how well we as the Church in the archdiocese are meeting our obligations in many areas. At our last meeting, we indicated that we wanted to draw upon the experience and thinking of all the people of north Georgia to determine where the most pressing needs are and what we should be doing to meet those needs. In discussions among the executive board and with the archbishop, we feel we could handily develop a theme for the archdiocese to recommend as a guide for the Church's programs here."

At that point, the general assembly broke into the smaller groups to address themselves to a long list of proposed priorities arising for the October meeting and its discussions. These ranged from problems of poverty, housing and job opportunities, through motivational education and the Church's active role in the community, to the apostolates to youth and the aged.

With the reconvening of the general assembly later in the afternoon, it became clear that there was no unanimous choice as to the chief priority to which the archdiocese should direct itself. There was an apparent thread of concern over what the Church was doing for the poor and the citizens at either end of the age spectrum, the youth and the aged. President Stelten asked for a motion that the final decision be left to the executive board. The motion passed unanimously. The executive board continued in session after the close of the regular meeting and will announce its results within three weeks, after details are covered relative to the priority chosen.

Some questions arose as to whether or not a single priority should be chosen. In speaking to this point, Father Jerry E. Hardy, priest secretary to the archdiocesan Pastoral Council, said, "No single priority or theme developed around a particular priority will ever exhaust our understanding of ourselves as Church. It will, however, give expression to some kind of self-consciousness that we have at a given time as to who we are and what we should be doing. A single theme will not eliminate all the other things about which we must be actively concerned. But it will give us a focus in which to concentrate our efforts as the Church in this area."

Archbishop Thomas A. Donnellan in remarks at the end of the meeting expressed his deep gratitude for the work of the delegates. He said the discussions and the many items presented as possible top priorities for the archdiocese indicated that the delegates were keenly aware of the vast array of needs to which the Church must offer some active attention.

Several visitors were on hand for the meeting, including local clergy. Monsignor Scotty McDonald, pastor of Saint Patrick's Church in Manchester, New Hampshire, and member of the National Advisory Council of the USCC, was also on hand. He was welcomed warmly by the delegates.