4
Editorial
The Message m for Catholics of Southwestern Indiana
June 28, 1991
By PAUL
LEINGANG
Message Editor
It's time to take a look
at what is at bottom of well
The way we used to keep things cool in the
summer, at the house where I was born, was to
lower them carefully into the well. Now, in the
house where my own family lives, we have a re-
frigerator-freezer in the kitchen. There is a lot
more room in the new appliance than we ever had
in one bucket at the bottom of the well.
The thoughts about how things used to be
came to my mind when we recently replaced the
aid refrigerator in the kitchen. The crew that
brought the new appliance took away an old chest
freezer from the basement..
The freezer in the basement was one that
came with the house. I had feared that it was too
big to get up the stairs and out of the door, but re-
moving the door and the compressor unit made it
smaller and lighter, and possible to move.
Inside the old Coldspot brand freezer was a
pamphlet on how to operate it. It was called,
"The Store that Never Closes."
For a family that had to rely on the cool air
at the bottom of a well, I could easily imagine
what an improvement it would be, to have a re-
frigerator-freezer. Instead of frequent trips to
the store to buy perishable items, many things
could be stored away in the home. And in the
days before stores offered 24-hour service, it is
easy to imagine the convenience of having a
quantity of foot items stored away in a home
freezer.
What a person or a family stores away is a
theme that quickly takes us back to Gospel
times. Salting and drying foods may be differ-
ent from keeping them fresh and cool, but the
need is the same.
Storing food and necessary items is one
thing. Storage beyond one's needs is another --
especially if we store up riches for ourselves
"here on earth, where moths and rust destroy,
and robbers break in and steal."
"Your heart will always be where your rich-
es are," we are told in Matthew's Gospel. Per-
haps, along with the essentials, it is time to take
a good look at what is hidden at the bottom of
the well. Time to see what is stored in the conve-
nient places of our home.
It's time to accept that God is our source and
sustainer, and that with God only will we ever
really find the store that never closes.
,, Vatican Letter
You can't go home again- especially if you're a
By JOHN THAVIS
Catholic News Service
VATICAN CITY (CNS)
After almost 13 years on the
job, the man figured he was
due a few days of peace and
quiet in his hometown: a hike
in the mountains, dinner
with some old acquaintances
and maybe a chance to read a
book under a tree somewhere.
He would put his hectic
work schedule on hold, and
leave behind his aides and es-
corts, too. Just take a back-
pack and go.
The trouble was, the maJ
was the pope.
Pope John Paul II's hopes
for an August getaway in his
native Tatra Mountains
ended on June 18 when the
Vatican officially scuttled the
idea after weeks of conjec-
ture. Instead, the Vatican an-
nounced, the pope will make
a day trip to Wadowice, his
birthplace, and spend a night
in Krakow, his tormer archdi-
ocese.
His schedule, as always,
will be replete with public
events, speeches and cere-
' monies.
The episode no doubt re-
minded the 71-year-old pon-
tiff that he can't go home
again -- not unless he brings
a convoy of Vatican types,
journalists and assorted hang-
ers-on with him. It was proof
once again that "'papal priva-
cy" is impossible outside Vat-
ican walls.
When the first rumors of a
papal escape surfaced this
spring at the Vatican, re-
porters were alarmed. The
idea, it was learned, was to
send .the pope up to his
southern Polish homeland
some four days before the
scheduled public events. The
"'official" program would
begin Aug. 14 in Czesto-
chowa, where the pope
would celebrate World Youth
Day before going on to a five-
day visit to Hungary.
Covering high
school graduations
To the editor:
When I received the J,ne
14, 1991 issue of the Message
I was amazed to see that not
one word was mentioned
concerning the graduation ot'
our seniors fronl the Evans-
ville Catholic High Schools.
Rememberiug the bishop's ar-
ticle of several issues ago
concerning the reporting of
our youths' activities, 1
I Th,MESSAGE
4200 N. Kentucky Ave.
Evansvill e, IN 47724-O160
Weekly newspaper of the
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PubllMled weekly except ILqt week in
December by the Catholla Press of
Evansville.
Publisher .... Bishop Gerald ,s. Gettelfinger
Almoclate Publisher .... Rev. Joseph Ziak
Editor .................. Foul Lolnglmg
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ddress 1 communications to P.O. Box
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number 843800.
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Cof)ydght 1901 Catholc Pmu of Evansville
iii
placed a call to you for an ex-
piano':ion. Among several, the
one that sounded most feasi-
ble was not enough time be-
tween graduation and print-
ing deadline. I can accept that
but what about the baccalau-
reate se.rvices that were held
several days before?
Perhaps we should refer to
the' Message as the weekly
history paper of tile Diocese
of Evansville.
Tom Baumgart
Evansville
Responding to
Father Deering
To the editor:
Father William Deering's
letter (6/7/91) explaining the
need to understand liturgical
law in proper context made
some very good points. Un-
fortunately, his lengthy expo-
sition, has the effect of confus-
ing rather than enlightening
readers. If I recall correctly,
the question posed was, Are
confessions prohibited during
the Paschal Triduum (the
holy days before Easter)? Of
course, as the Circular Letter
concerning the Easter Feasts
(issued by the Congregation
for Divine Worship) specifi-
cally noted, the answer is no.
That confessions may be
heard during Holy Thursday,
Good Friday aim Holy Satur-
day was contrary to the disin-
formation published in
church bulletins in a number
of dioceses.
It is a serious matter when
a labyrinthine exegesis of
liturgical documents leads to
a conchlsion entirely foreign
to their meaning. The laity
should not he deprived of the
gracious opportunity to go to
Con fe.ssion during the
Paschal Triduum (when for
one reason or another they
were not able to attend
Lenten penance services).
God knows many have be-
come alienated from the
Church in our time, and
priests who have concern for
the salvation of souls should
be eager to hear confessions.
The Vatican's Circular Let-
ter, moreover, does not war-
rant being interpreted as au-
thorizing confessions during
the Paschal Triduum only in
emergencies. When the Holy
Father annually goes to St.
Peter's Basilica to hear con-
fessions on Good Friday, he
is not there to meet an emer-
gency situation. Rather, he is
there as a spiritual father ex-
tending himself to give God's
forgiveness to prodigal sons
and daughters.
James Likoudas
President, CUF
', .New Rochelle; New York
The pope's four days in
and around Wadowice were
to be "'private," reporters
were told. No accreditation.
no press spokesman, no ac-
cess to papal events.
Strangest of all, no trans-
portation -- journalists ac-
companying the pope on the
official part of his trip would
leave Rome Aug. 14 on a
"'papal flight" minus the
pope, then pick him up in
Poland.
The secret was whispered
among the Vatican press
corps, who scrambled to
make hotel reservations in
Krakow. But no rooms were
available. "'Our pope is com-
ing back," one hotelier ex-
plained. Obviously, the secret
was out in the homeland.
In fact, Poles lost no time
filling in the papal schedule.
Posters were printed advertis-
ing a youth meeting in Wad-
owice. A Mass was planned
for Krakow. A big reception
was organized in the moun-
tain resort of Zakopane, a
gateway to the hiking trails.
The pal)al getaway had got-
ten out of hand. Another day
was lacked on to the front
end of the trip. Even so, it
was clear that this would be
no vacation.
Despite the addition of
public events, the Vatican
was still calling it a private
visit -- perhaps in the vain
hope that the pope would ul-
timately be left alone for part
of his stay. But by now, Pol-
ash journalists were also pres-
suring the local bishops' can"
ference to make press at-
rangements.
"'You cannot have the Pol"
ish pope hiding from the Pol-
ish Catholics," said one
Catholic journalist on the
preparation committee in
Warsaw.
Finally, Vatican officials
decided to scrap the idea of
"'Polish holiday" and surren"
der to a fact of life: the pope
is a famous personality, and
anything he does -- especial"
ly in his native land is
going to attract its share of at-
tention.
One Vatican source sug"
gested that the pope himself
was glad to see his "'vaca"
tion" evaporate. Dozens of
Polish Catholic groups were
requesting a meeting, and it
was difficult for the pontiff to
say no.
"'He wouldn't have 1)ee
given a moment's peace," the
source said.
Pope John Paul is used to
that. During any foreign trip,
his carefully scheduh,d rest
times are interrupted by a pa-
rade of local organizers, dig"
nitaries, prelates, choirs,
nuns, boy scouis all(] others.
The l)ope generally meets
the, m all, and take, s a shorter
nap.
In Poland, the solitary
papal sojourn in windbreaker
and slacks, the retracing o:
his childhood steps, wll
have to wait until some, other
year.
Bishops schedule
The following activities and events are listed on the
schedule of Bishop Gerald A. Gettelfinger
