SAGE
of Saint Meinrad
elect Archabbot
' Reverend Lambert
., was elected June
Saint Meinrad
by his Benedictine
becomes the eighth
archabbot in the
community,s 140-year
to Barbara
of communi-
at-old native of
., professed vows
monk in 1956
to the Roman
1959.
than 30 years,
has distin-
a retreat di-
to Crawford.
.n COuntless re-
to priests and
conducted
throughotat the
He has been a
retreat master for
Missionaries
In the United States
is also an
Latin and
Urses at Saint
Mount Sa-
in Hamden,
State Univer-
principal of
School in
1976 to 1978.
he served as a
the Diocese of
of Education.
nearly 40 years
FATHER
SWEENEY
the files
of monastic life, Archabbot
Reilly has held a variety of re-
sponsibilities within the
monastery. In addition to his
retreat work and teaching,
Archabbot Reilly has assisted
in parishes, worked in public
relations, and served as Guest
Master, Assistant Oblate Di-
rector and Assistant to the
Novice Master.
In the fall of 1993, Archab-
bot Reilly served the monastic
community as Pro-Prior during
the Prior's sabbatical.
Archabbot Reilly earned a
Bachelor's •degree in Philoso-
phy from St. Vincent College,
Latrobe, Pa., in 1955. He also
holds Master of Divinity and
Master of Religious Education
degrees from Saint Meinrad
School
of Theology, as well as a
Master of Science in Education
from Duquesne University
(1977). In addition, he has un-
dertaken graduate studies at
Catholic University of Amer-
ica, Georgetown University,
University of Evansville and
Arkansas State University.
The election of Archabbot
Reilly followed a centuries-old
process. The monastic commu-
nity used the Rule of St. Bene-
dict as their guide for selecting
their abbot. That 1500-year-old
document states that the abbot
is responsible for the spiritual
and temporal affairs of his
community. Archabbot Reilly
succeeds Benedictine Father
Timothy Sweeney, who submit-
ted his resignation as abbot in
June 1993, effective June 1,
1995. Father Sweeney, who
was elected on June 2, 1978,
will return to his place in se-
niority in the community and,
as all monks, will be subject to
assignments as determined by
Archabbot Reilly.
See page 2, "Diocesan bound-
aries," for more about the arch-
abbey.
ese of Evansville
item:
is reading the Bible?
hat impor-
tant impor-
ot very impor-
* 14% -- Extremely impor
tant
• 22% -- Very important
• 42% -- Somewhat impor
tant
• 16% -- Not very impor-
tant
• 6% -- Not important at
all
Cardinal urges action against Serb aggression
By JOHN THAVIS
Catholic News Service
VATICAN CITY (CNS)
Cardinal Vinko Puljic of Sara-
jevo urged international action
to stop what he called a war of
aggression being waged by Ser-
bia.
In an appeal, he said the
current suffering in Bosnia-
Herzegovina is "a drama born
of the war of aggression
planned in Belgrade," the Ser-
bian capital, Vatican Radio re-
ported June 5.
Cardinal Puljic said people
in the Balkans were gradually
losing trust in the interna-
tional community and won-
dered how those outside could
remain indifferent to the
drama unfolding in Bosnia.
He addressed his appeal for
concerted action to =the power-
ful of the world" and said: =Do
it for us, but do it also for your-
selves!
The cardinal said the
Bosnian capital of Sarajevo
could be defined today as "a big
concentration camp." He said
the city was again largely iso-
lated, with shortages of food,
water, gas and electricity de-
veloping.
The situCin in the north-
ern Diocese of Banja Luka, a
territory in the hands of
Bosnian Serbs, was much
worse, he said. He cited the re-
cent destruction of Muslim
mosques and Catholic
churches and convents, the
killing of priests and religious,
the rape of young women and
the forced dislocation and de-
portation of entire families.
In early June, Bishop Franjo
Komarica of Banja Luka wrote
a second letter to the leader of
Bosnian Serbs, Radovan
Karadzic, complaining of the
human rights violations. He
said 161 Croatian families
from three villages near Banjo
Luka had been forced to leave
at gunpoint. He said another
1,700 families risked the same
fate if nothing is done to stop
the practice,
The tensions between ethnic
Croatians and Bosnian Serbs
reached a high point in the
Banja Luka area this spring,
following renewed fighting in a
nearby border region. After the
fighting, some 8,000 Serbian
refugees poured into the area.
Since then, according to the
local bishop, seven religious
buildings have been blown up.
Bishop Komarica wrote an
earlier letter of appeal to
Karadzic but received no an-
swer, he said.
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