1997
The Message --for Catholics of Southwestern Indiana
5
op's Forum-
By their fruits you will know them!
was most proud of her brother, Msgr. Lautner confronted Bob with the words:
a freshman at
High School in Indi-
It was the year the
and my first year as
teacher. Soon I learned
uncle who was a
her Mother's
William Lautner.
proud of her as a
graduating class
High School. Mary
daughter of Mary
and Marion Lahee
1968 from Bishop
I was principal. All of
of their uncle and brother!
I learned, Monsignor Lautner was
the Washington Catholic Community
supporter of Washington
I had already recognized his
Catholic education, particularly
r and secondary schools.
1960s I became involved with the
Indiana Catholic Conference. The
was made of commissions, and
of the Education Commission.
of all commissions would
day in the same place. In that
/ Alice Zarella, a member of the
Board for the Archdiocese of
and a member of the Social Justice
Alice was from Tell City. Soon I learned
a sister to Monsignor William Laut-
as married to Richard Zarella and they
of St. Paul Church in Tell City, the
.he Lautner family. Mary Alice, too,
By BISHOP
GERALD A.
GETTELFINGER
Monsignor Bill.
Mary Margaret, "Marge," a
third sister, was able to come to the
funeral from Florida. It was she
who noted that all three sisters of
Monsignor Lautner had double
names each with the first name of
"Mary.'
In the early 1970s as superin-
tendent for Catholic Schools in the
Archdiocese of Indianapolis, I met
Bob Larkin during his interview for
the principalship of Our Lady of
Providence High School in
Clarksville. Bob Larkin was a
native son of Washington, Ind. He told me his
touching story.
Bob had been studying for a degree at Oakland
City College in order to be licensed to teach. One
night on the way home from college he was in a ter-
rible auto accident leaving him mostly paralyzed
from the waist down, a condition that was perma-
nent.
Bob told me that he would never have gotten
out of bed following the accident had it not been for
Msgr. William Lautner, one who loved young people.
He described the priest as one who was most caring
but one who could deal out "tough love" when it was
the right thing to do.
Bob shared that he had been feeling quite sorry
for himself. With hopes for a bright future of teach-
ing and coaching dashed he was languishing in his
sick bed. He said that he had literally quit trying
until one day he had a visitor. He was the same visi-
tor who had come regularly to pray for him and with
him over the dark days and weeks following the
accident. This was to be a different day.
"Bob Larkin, quit feeling sorry for yourself. Get out
of bed and make something of your life!"
Bob did. He had a most distinguished career as
the first lay principal of Our Lady of Providence
High School in Clarksville.
My personal meeting and engagement with the
person of Msgr. Lautner came at about the same
time I met Bob Larkin. Msgr. Lautner was Director
of Sarto Retreat house in Evansville. Several of us
in the state, with impetus from the Indiana Catholic
Conference, were trying to put together an institute
for priests to assist them in "retooling," following
Vatican Council II. The institute was to serve the
priests of the State of Indiana.
Msgr. Lautner and I were the most enthusiastic
about it. He ended up spearheading the prototype
institute which was indeed held at Sarto Retreat
House. Unfortunately, it was the only one to be held
despite its popularity and apparent success.
It was during the planning for the Indiana
institute that Msgr. Lautner related to me the
incredibly wonderful experience he had had on sab-
batical in Rome. He had participated in the Insti-
tute for Continuing Theological Education held at
the North American College in old part of down-
town Rome. His enthusiasm and his insatiable
desire to learn, along with his facility to adapt to
change, were infectious. He was an inspiration to
me. Because of his radiant joy about it, I was deter-
mined to do my sabbatical in Rome which had to
wait until 1981.
What a privilege to have as a mentor Msgr.
William Lautner. I can't blame him for my being
bishop today. But I can thank him for one thing. I
am a log better bishop for having known him.
May he rest in peace. May we also rise to the
challenge of his good example!
Remembering the unborn in Memorial Day
Day
trim and
for the
on that
remember.
Cemetery
rence
as Memorial
was made
In 1866, as a
lives were
Since that
become a day
for all this
nation's men and women whose
lives were lost in wartime. Includ-
ing the American Revolution,
there have been 11 American
wars. The Department of Veter-
ans; Affairs registers 1,319,354
deaths in service during these
wars. Generations of men and
women havecome and gone, but
the greatness and glories of their
deeds shall never be forgotten.
Nationwide, respect is paid
through special observances hon-
oring our war dead.
While Memorial Day chiefly
commemorates the fallen soldier,
it has become a day to remem-
ber all out loved ones who have
Msgr. Lautner:
n Will never be the same
finally
of us whose
what
must
turn-
, and choirs of
Oh,
Jld
of Stew-
How
this
'a man-for-
his picture
next
Word
one of
and
volumi-
nous reader, homilist without
peer, passionate seeker of justice,
insatiable thirst for knowledge,
charismatic spiritual director,
champion of youth, SHE-HE-
HE-SHE, the Godfather of Mater
Dei High School.
If God would place raw mate-
rials in the hands of a Vocations
Director and say: "Here, design
the perfect priest," all he would
have to do is pour the materials
into the Lautner mold, and
voilal (By the way, Bill, is this
embarrassing you? Good! I owed
you one for the time you kicked
me out of school!)
Put in a good word for all of
us, Bill. Heaven knows we need
iU And, if there are any politics
in the final selection process, we
couldn't have a better friend on
the insidel Well miss you -- my,
how wetl miss you. With all the
feelings we can muster, and with
absolutely no designs on your
Bud Light,we say:e love you,
manI"
died. On this day of remember-
ing, perhaps we Catholics should
also reflect on those who lived,
but were never allowed to be
born. How is it that a nation who
honors and pays tribute to those
who gave their lives to preserve
our rights, our liberty, our coun-
try, care so little about a human
body before birth? Does this
small person, a little one who
cannot defend himself or herself,
have no rights? How did society
become so callous as to think of
this little one as only an incon-
venience, something to be
crushed, vacuumed out, disposed
of?. Before the mentality of the
"new society" took over, this
country had a tradition of rever-
ent care for the dead -- all the
dead, founded upon the sacred-
ness of human life -- including
the life as it exists within the
womb. As Catholics, should we
not do all we can to restore that
tradition of respect for all life?
In light of our current societal
climate, it is incumbent on
Catholic cemeterians to guard
against the clear danger of our
cemeteries becoming irrelevant
to Catholic life. We must empha-
size in our ground care, our
offices, our shrines and mau-
soleums, and all our personnel,
the reverence that faith in the
"Resurrection of the body and
life everlasting" demands.
Lewis J. McAdams is presi-
dent of the National Catholic
Cemetery Conference, with head.
quarters located in Des Plaines,
Ill.
Supporters laud AMA backing of partial-birth ban
WASHINGTON (CNS) :- Pro-
life supporters, including a
spokeswoman for the U.S. bish-
ops, praised the May 19 decision
of the American Medical Associ-
ation to back an amended ver-
sion of the bill banning partial-
birth abortions.
"No longer are there any 'med-
icar pretenses left with which to
defend this horrible procedure,"
said Helen Alvare in a statemenL
"We urge senators who have
relied on these to abandon them
and to cast a vote for ending par-
tial-birth abortions in the nation,"
said Alvare, who is director of
information and planning for the
bishops' Secretariat for Pro-Life
Activities.
Gary Bauer, president of the
Family Research Council, said
the AMA decision "means the
other shoo has dropped."
"First, we learned that the
abortion industry lied about the
number and nature of abortions
when they lied about the healthy
mothers and healthy, viable chil.
dren subjected to this barbaric
procedure," he said in a state-
ment. ,
"And now we learn that this
inhumane way of ending life in
never necessary," he added.
The National Right to Life
Committee also praised the AMA
endorsement, which came after
the chief sponsors ofthe bill, Rep.
Charles Canady, R-Fla., and Sen.
Rick Santorum, R-Pa., agreed to
several changes.
The bill, vetoed last year by
President Clinton but passed again
in the House by a veto-proofmajor-
ity in March, would ban the con-
troversial procedure except to save
the life of the mother.
In a partial-birth abortion, the
unborn child is partially deliv-
ered, feet first, before surgical
scissors are stabbed into the bass
of the infant's head. The brain is
then removed by suction, allow-
ing for easier delivery efthe col-
lapsed head.
At a Capitol Hill press confer-
ence, Santomm said the changes
were designed "to protect the doc-
tor who's delivering the baby who
runs into a problem" and must
unexpectedly abort the fetus to
save the mother's life.
According to the AMA Board
of Trustees' statement, the mod-
ified hffi ,makes it der beyond
any question that the accepted
abortion procedure known as
dilation and evacuation is not
covered by the bill." Also, the bill
does not restrict use of the pro-
cedure for physicians intending
a delivery at the outset or require
physicians trying to save the life
of the mother to show that no
other procedure would suffice.
Additionally, the new version
gives physicians accused of per-
forming an illegal procedure the
right to a review by a state med.
ical board before trial.
Two alternative bills that
would have permitted partial.
birth abortions for women facing
"serious adverse health conee-
quences" or "grievous injurf to
their physical health were
defeated in the Senate May 15.
Washington
Cmtt/nued from pa 4
zenahip education programs.
Carroll said leaders of the
state Senate had previously sig-
naled their intention to cover
immigrants, so she feels confi-
dent that for a year at least,
elderly and disabled immigranta
in Massachusetts will be pr0:.
tesd from losing all thfir
