BY GRETCHEN KEISER

Staff Writer

DECATUR--The annual convention of Catholic women in the Archdiocese of Atlanta this September considered the accomplishments of the past 75 years by its national parent organization.

This is the 75th anniversary of the National Council of Catholic Women (NCCW), which was founded by the U.S. Catholic bishops at the same time that women in this country were winning the right to vote.

The distinguished history of the NCCW was reviewed by Georgia resident Carroll Quinn, who is a past president of the national council.

The mission of the women's council was "to see that charitable works were done, done equitably and done when and where they needed to be done," Mrs. Quinn said. From the beginning a major emphasis was placed upon world peace, not as a political lobbying group, but as women striving to promote peace through charitable projects and donations.

In the 1940s the NCCW responded to the bishops' request to help refugees fleeing Nazi persecution during World War II. Following the war, the Catholic relief effort was solidified in an agency that became Catholic Relief Services (CRS.)

CRS is now well-known around the world as a relief agency working in many countries and with little administrative apparatus to absorb funds.

"CRS is recognized worldwide," Mrs. Quinn told the archdiocesan delegates who met Sept. 22-24 at the Holiday Inn Conference Center in Decatur.

"And if CRS is there, the National Council of Catholic Women is there. You are there," she said.

The National Council of Catholic Women will be honored this year by Catholic Relief Services for contributing more than $1 million to CRS in recent years.

Among the projects supported financially by the Atlanta Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women and administered by CRS are Water-For-Life, begun in 1977, which raises money to install clean water systems in poor regions of the world, particularly Africa; Help-A-Child, begun in 1955, which provides aid to children in the Third World, particularly Brazil, Thailand, India and African countries; and the Madonna Plan, begun in 1958 in Italy, which now assists mothers and children worldwide in a broad range of programs, including mother and child health clinics, training programs, AIDS education and other projects.

In addition to the report on the 75th anniversary of the NCCW, the Atlanta convention emphasized outreach to the missions.

Father Brian Sheridan, MS, who represents the missions in Latin America served by the LaSalette order, spoke Sept. 24.

"Until we really experience God reaching out to us, we can't reach out to others," Father Sheridan said. "We are children of God. When we are firmly rooted in being children of God, we are able to reach out. It is God who has reached out to us first."

He encouraged the women to be "well-anchored in God, well-anchored in yourself" and to have the support of their families before reaching out in ministry to others. "Stay close to Mary and always do it in the love of the Lord," he said.

Archbishop John Donoghue who celebrated Mass for the convention gathering Sept. 24 where new officers were installed said, "The health of our church is very well served by your care and by your commitment."

He praised the charitable works done by the AACCW and said the convention theme, "Reaching Out to Others," was "not just an empty phrase. Rather it is a reflection of what you are already doing."

AACCW President Bertha Rucker, who completed a two-year term of office, was presented with a gift in appreciation for her service. Deirdre Holler, a member of Corpus Christi Parish, Stone Mountain, is the new president of the council. Other oficers include Shirley Radican, executive vice president, Doris Francis, first vice president, Nancy Butler, second vice president, Alice Bryan, third vice president, Bernese Meyer, recording secretary, and Pat Dickson, treasurer.

Father Paul Berny, pastor of St. Gabriel's Parish, Fayetteville, is spiritual moderator for the council.

All Catholic women registered in parishes and missions of the archdiocese are automatically members of the Atlanta Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women. The convention for next year will be hosted by the northwest deanery of the AACCW and will be held in October.