By Paula Day

Two years is not long in the life of the Church, even in the life of an archdiocese. But for a wiry-framed, outgoing archbishop with an engaging smile and ready sense of humor, it was long enough to win hearts and to make a memorable impact.

Archbishop Eugene A. Marino, SSJ, served the archdiocese of Atlanta as its third archbishop from May 5, 1988, until his resignation for reasons of health July 10, 1990. During that time he touched, through his words and actions, not only ordinary lay Catholics but priests, women Religious, ethnic peoples, Death Row inmates, persons with AIDS. As the first black archbishop in the U.S. church, he drew national and international attention as well as added responsibility.

From the beginning, Archbishop Marino demonstrated his deep pastoral concern expressed in his motto, Jesus' injunction to his apostles, "Feed my lambs."

Commenting at his installation on his motto he said he felt he must have a particular concern for "those weakest and most vulnerable members of the flock ... for those on the fringes, those most likely to stray, those most threatened by danger."

Although aware of his historic role he emphasized that he would be bishop of all people.

"There can be no escaping the fact that I am the first black bishop to serve in Atlanta, and the first black archbishop in the nation," he said. "Having noted the fact, I hasten to add my deep personal conviction that it need not affect the quality of my ministry among you, nor the nature of our relationship with each other."

PASTORAL VISITS

A fitness runner, Archbishop Marino figuratively hit the ground running his first months in Atlanta. He celebrated Mass for the women Religious serving in the archdiocese and visited with them, made a pastoral visit to Athens, dedicated St. Peter's Church in LaGrange, traveled to Toccoa to celebrate the silver jubilee of Father William Calhoun with the priest, and spoke to delegates to the 1988 Democratic National Convention during a Mass at Atlanta's Sacred Heart Church. He gave the closing benediction at the convention, the first of many activities in the civic arena which engaged him as leader of the Catholic Church in Atlanta.

His pastoral concern took him to the teenage students of St. Pius X and Marist schools; to the cloistered Religious of the Visitation convent in Snellville and the Cistercian monks of the Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Conyers; to parishioners celebrating 25 years as a parish community at St. Mark's in Clarkesville; to persons with AIDS at the Shrine's Tuesday night dinners.

There were other, less visible visits. He was known for stopping while on pastoral work to see people who were sick and homebound. His visits to prisons in two years included seeing Operation Rescue participants at the work farm, Operation Rescue leader Randall Terry, Death Row inmates at Jackson and the general prison population at Jackson, and imprisoned priest Father Anton Mowat.

PASTORAL LETTERS

In a multi-cultural, urban and rural archdiocese, Archbishop Marino spoke on a diversity of issues. His first pastoral letter recognized the gifts and challenges in having a growing Hispanic community as part of the Atlanta church. A second, "Called to Unconditional Love," urged compassion for those suffering with AIDS. The two pastorals responded to the special needs of two very different groups of people and to the priests working with them who felt an urgency for the archbishop to lead Catholics on these matters.

On ecumenical and civic levels, he urged Catholics in Gwinnett County parishes to support construction of the first Jewish synagogue in that county and residents of DeKalb County to get behind a controversial county plan to transfer teachers rather than students to achieve educational equality between schools in predominantly black and white neighborhoods.

Archbishop Marino was secretary of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops when he was named to lead the Atlanta archdiocese and later was nominated to be president. His unique position as the first black archbishop in the United States and his personal popularity led to frequent trips to meetings outside the diocese. In demand nationally as a speaker, he gave the keynote address at the 1989 National Catholic Educational association meeting in Chicago, and was homilist at the Mass before the national pro-life march in Washington. He was the focus of local, national and international media interest.

One of those chosen to address Pope John Paul II and Curia members in a special March 1989 meeting with U.S. archbishops, Archbishop Marino spoke on Catholic education in the United States. The topic was one of 10 addressed first by a Vatican official and then by one from the U.S. delegation. Cardinal William W. Baum, the top-ranking American in the Roman Curia, presented the Curia viewpoint on Catholic education.

Archbishop Marino took seriously a perceived responsibility to take part in ecumenical and civic activities, personally attending meetings of an Atlanta clergy task force on crime, speaking at Rotary and Kiwanis clubs and conducting worship services at the Carter Presidential Center. If he had a fault, those who worked daily with him say, it was his difficulty with saying "no" to requests for his time and presence.

PASTORAL DIFFICULTIES

The new archbishop inherited challenges, several of which he would struggle with during his two years in Atlanta.

The gap between the number of available priests and the needs in the archdiocese for priestly ministry led him to appoint a full-time director of vocations and to urge Catholics in the archdiocese to pray frequently for an increase in vocations. He explored various avenues and was successful in obtaining a black priest, Father Edward Branch, to be campus minister at Atlanta University beginning this fall. For the first time the archdiocese investigated the availability of seminarians from Africa and became more aggressive in searching for candidates from South America.

No sooner was his appointment announced in May, 1988, than the press sought interviews, questioning him about the allegations of sexual abuse by English priest, Father Anton Mowat, and archdiocesan handling of the situation. Other priest personnel matters and critical press coverage of archdiocesan priests were fairly constant undercurrents during the two-year period, requiring attention, sensitivity and negotiation.

In response to this development, Archbishop Marino adopted and implemented an archdiocesan policy governing allegations of sexual misconduct by church personnel, including priests, serving in the archdiocese. This policy included the disclosure to law enforcement officials of any possibly valid allegations of wrongdoing.

From its earliest revival after the Second Vatican Council, Archbishop Marino was involved with the permanent diaconate. He brought this concern to Atlanta, encouraging and supporting the deacons here. To strengthen the diaconal formation program, he inherited an assessment of the program, requesting an evaluation team appointed by the National Conference of Catholic Bishops. They received input from the deacons, their wives, and priests and staff in parishes where deacons serve.

APPOINTMENTS

Archbishop Marino made several appointments, unique in this archdiocese, which delegated a significant amount of responsibility to other priests. One motivation was to free himself as much as possible to be with the people in the archdiocese; another was to care for particular groups needing special pastoral attention.

He appointed Father Edward Dillon moderator of the curia, an administrative post for overseeing day-to-day archdiocesan work. He created the post of Vicar for Hispanics, naming Father Ed Salazar to attend to immediate concerns of that community within the archdiocese. Realizing that ministers also needed to be ministered to, he appointed Father Michael Woods Vicar for Priests. To free up another priest to serve in parishes, he appointed a layman, Gerard O'Connor, as his master of ceremonies and a vice-chancellor.

As a black priest and former auxiliary bishop in the Washington, D.C. archdiocese, as well as a friend of the two men, Archbishop Marino was called upon to attempt to mediate between Washington Cardinal James Hickey and black dissident priest Father George Stallings. On the one hand he recognized the pain in the black community regarding racism in the Church, but he was disappointed and saddened by the priest's break from the Catholic Church and the fact that some black Catholics might follow him.

After the adoption by the U.S. bishops of the National Black Catholic Pastoral Plan last November, Archbishop Marino asked all parishes in the archdiocese to study the plan and familiarize themselves with its message and challenge. In February, Black History Month, he initiated efforts to reconstitute the commission for Black Catholic Concerns, a seven-parish coalition, and make it broadly representative of black Catholics throughout the archdiocese with the structure to give input for future archdiocesan planning.

The use of the tactic of civil disobedience by the anti-abortion group Operation Rescue during the 1988 Democratic National Convention and the following months in Atlanta led Archbishop Marino to advise Catholics on the issue. He made the first of its kind statement in an interview given to The Georgia Bulletin. This statement was later utilized by other bishops when Operation Rescue became active in other parts of the country.

HUMAN CONCERN

Always sensitive to the human dimension, Archbishop Marino asked Catholics to pray for Texas Congressman Mickey Leland and his family when the lawmaker was killed in a plane crash in Africa. He encouraged Sister Thea Bowman, accepted the task of leading a foundation in her name and movingly paid tribute to her when she died.

Observing Archbishop Marino, he seemed deeply spiritual in a direct, simple way. Frequently, after a church dedication or public gathering, he would stop privately to pray, often before the Mary altar. He had a tabernacle installed in the Catholic Center's chapel, allowing the Blessed Sacrament to be in repose there. Leaving or returning to his own residence he would make a visit to the Blessed Sacrament. Staff meetings always began with praying the appropriate Liturgy of the Hours.

After the news of Archbishop Marino's resignation, many pointed out that it was the personal impact he had made which they would remember and treasure.

(Gretchen Keiser also contributed to this report.)