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Pression of his countenanca.orathe color of his hands. This truly Cath- of you look forward to the holy olic understanding of the priestly[feast of Christmas wi i dignity was demonstrated at Althat “‘the peace ee men ot great religious function in Washing-| good will” about which God's holy ton only two weeks ago. Our illus-jangels sang over the plains of trious Avostolic Delegate, who is}Bethlenem, when Christ the Savior ‘Italian by birth, celebrated. thelwas born, will be your true Christ- ‘Solemn Mass marking the golden|mas gift. Unless you right the jubilee of his Ordination to’ the|wrong that has been done to your Holy Priesthood, In the beautiful [cotored brethren, ¢o Father Lewis, chapel of Trinity College therelto religion and to Christ Jesus, were present almost two hun Bishops and Archbishops with many Monsignori and priests; the sanctuary six Cardinals occu- ‘pied equal thrones; four of these ;were OUr OW, American Cardinals, :the fifth was a native of India and the sixth was of Chinese birth. This same Catholic mindedness shows itself here in our own Archdiocese o{ New Orleans, even in the chure. es of smaller towns, where s0- called colored priests are received ‘with respect when they celebrate © came into the world*to-Siive men without exceptionxou cannot expect to have peace and true happiness on Christmas day. Remember the words of Jesus: ‘If thou art offering thy gift at ithe altar, and there rememberest that thy brother ‘has anything against thee. leave thy gift before the altar and go first to be recon- ciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.’” “Let us unite in prayer during preach the Word of God and per-|thd feast of and during thd oc- form other priestly services for|tave of the Immaculate Conception | white or mixed congregations. of the ever Blessed Virgin Mary. | Asks for Expression the Queen of Peace, that by God's “From all this you will under-{grace you may s€€ the Catholic he stand why we appeal again to you,|way to true peace in the father- ae cur dearly beloved sons and daugh-|hood of God and the brotherhood ters in Christ, to accept the Cath-{ oj all men. Holy Mass, hear confessions, fF Advent Season, oe of on f “lolid mind anc attitude towards the {priests who may be sent to minis- ‘lter®@to you. It is our earnest sire to restore services in the ~ sioh chapel of St. Cecelia in Jest tie Grove, but we must first re- Mig iceive from your leaders an expres- att ‘grievous offense which they com-' & ‘mitted by refusing to permit the ‘Rev. Father Gerard Lewis to cele- brate Holy Mass in Jesuit Bend on. ‘Sunday, Oct. 2, and by inciting you! ito resist the lawful authority of zef'the church, We must further re-| eva ceive evidence that you, the devot- ed parishioners, regret what has happened and that you are willing to accept the services of any priest whom we consider it necessary to send. We have no desire or inten- MEM. tion to appoint a Negro priest per- mat manently in your area, but we must receive him with the rever- ence and contidence which are due Bio his holy office gs a priest of Asks Open Minds ‘ ‘We trust that you will receive this eppeal of your shepherd in Christ, cpeaking to you in the charity of Christ and out of a heart that has a deep concern for your ‘souls. In the same spirit of charity e plead with your leaders to open eir minds to truth and to let jus-; ice charity take the place_of: tred and prejudice in their, : Bend and to increase the number| ~ Ee F4lof masses in Belle Chasse and M)T-/ cofbred and white.” m'sion of sincere sorrow over the c “In the hope that we May soon hear favorabiy from you We pray that peace of Christ Jesus may descend upon you and abide always wih you and all your loved ches upon every home in your agea, Text of Fr. Meyer's letter fol- WS: “This letter is not intended to antagonize. We are facing the very serious danger of losing the privi- lege of receiving the Sacraments, of Christian. burial and other priv- ileges of the church. We are in: danger of excommunication, ns from Our Beloved archbish- , we've been told in Tlear terms church’s stand on the Dignity of the Priesthood and the dignity of the human person, irrespective of race, color or nationality. We as Catholics cannot continue to bypass; the church’s teaching as outlined to us. We cannot continue to over- look and avoid the request against the Priesthood and the human per- son committed in our community. ere is grave danger that it W ; not respond to the archbishop's “Through frequent commypiga-. setter 0% last Sunday, the seyerest enalty of the church will be met- ed out-to all of us, - “To make it easy, I'm enclosing a card in this letter containing the matter to which all of us must sub- mit. Please sign the card and re turn jt to me in a sealed envelope. “This is a matter of Our Holy Faith, It is a doctrine to which all must submit, else we become lia- to the penalty of personal ex. communication." veer ane i mae eee neta