Urban Missioners Upheld
Diocesan Press Service. January 27, 1969 [73-4]
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. -- The controversial urban mission of two priests in the Diocese of Pennsylvania was upheld by the 21-member Diocesan Council at a meeting held shortly before the January Diocesan Convention.
The Rev. David M. Gracie, 35, offers draft counseling to youth and has participated in anti-war and anti-draft demonstrations. The second priest, the Rev. James E. Woodruff, 32, is active in Black militant causes.
The Diocesan Council commended the two men and their efforts in areas of tensions as "dynamic and experimental ministries" that will lead the Church into "new paths. "
Approved was a 46-page report on the priests' work compiled by five council members.
The controversy surrounding the two priests has divided the Diocese for months, and some churches have withdrawn support from the urban mission program, which is supported by the Bishop, the Rt. Rev. Robert L. DeWitt.
The report stated that the two priests had been, in part, victims of news reporting which took their actions out of context.
"The true health of the Diocese is not measured by the numbers of tranquil Church members, " the report said, "but by the vitality of each part of the body of the Diocese. The Diocese is now splendidly alive. "