Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

6 THE BULLETIN OF THE CATHOLIC LAYMEN'S ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA THE BULLETIN The Official Organ of the Catholic Laymen’s Association of Georgia. Published Monthly by the Publicity Department, 409 Herald Building, Augusta, Georgia. Subscription Price—$2.00 Per Year VOL. II. FEBRUARY, 1 92 1 No. 3 PRESIDENTS ANNOUNCEMENT. At a meeting of the members of the publicity and finance committee and the executive officers of the Catholic Laymen’s Association in Atlanta, January 9th, Mr. Richard Reid, of Augusta, was elected editor of The Bulletin and director of the publicity bureau, succeeding Mr. James J. Farrell. Mr. Reid is a graduate of Holy Cross College, Worcester, Mass., a former instructor at Xavier High School, New York City, and for the past two years an Augusta newspaper man. Miss Cecile Ferry, for 1 8 months assistant to Mr. Farrell, was elected assistant manager of the publicity bureau. Mr. Ed. Sheridan, of Macon, a member of the pub licity committee,, has been appointed chairman of the committee. Mr. Sheridan’s place on the committee was filled by the appointment of Mr. Richard A. Magill, a member of the Laymen’s Association, who is prominent in the business life of Atlanta. Mr. James A. Vocelle, -of St. Mary’s, has been ap pointed vice-president for the South Georgia Missions. The President of the Laymen’s Association is pleased with the election of the new officers whose qualifications insure the same measure of success for the work that has been achieved in the past. OFFICIAL MOUTHPIECE OF LIVE ORGANIZATION. The Bulletin of the Catholic Laymen’s Association of Georgia, published originally as a quarterly, has now become a monthly magazine. And a most wel come and useful addition to the list of Catholic monthlies is this live publication. Not only will The Bulletin be a means of communication between all parts of the Diocese of Savannah, Ga., but it will be a medium of information to the whole United States relative to the glorious work which the Catholics of Georgia are doing in the name of the Laymen’s Asso ciation. The October issue is called the “Convention Num ber,’’ and contains a full report of the Fifth Annual Convention of the Catholic Laymen’s Association. This report and the other important articles in the October issue should be read by Catholic Laymen everywhere. The Association’s publicity committee reports the distribution of nearly 500,000 pieces of Catholic information literature. During the past year 2,100 persons have been served by the Association with information upon various subjects, the informa tion containing answers to questions relative to the Pope and the Papacy, Relation of Catholics to Spirit ual and Temporal Rulers, the Bible, the Marriage Laws, the Catholic Attitude Toward Public Schools and Education Generally, and other interesting sub jects. Every hostile or incorrect utterance in the papers of the State, and some outside, were answered and corrected with the result that during the past year there has been practically no outspoken bigotry in the State of Georgia. With a Catholic population of less than 20,000 in the whole State, over $83,000 has been raised by the Catholics of the State to finance the Association’s work for the next two years. Prac tically every adult Catholic in Georgia is a member of the Laymen’s Association, the activities of which are so interestingly set forth in The Bulletin. The Association has published and will circulate free a series of booklets giving information about Catholics and their attitude upon questions of the day.—The National Catholic Welfare Council Bulletin, Novem ber, 1920. ENGLISH COMMENT ON OUR WORK. The work of the Catholic Laymen’s Association of Georgia has attracted attention in all parts of the world. One of the most recent instances of this kind which has come to our attention is a speech delivered by Edward Eyre, K.C., S.G., before the Liverpool Na tional Catholic Congress, as reported by The Uni verse, one of the leading, if not the leading, Catholic publications in England. Mr. Eyre’s subject was “A Plea for Catholic Defensive and Progressive Organiza tion-” The part referring to the Catholic Laymen’s Association is headed: An Example from America,’* and reads as follows: As things are, here in England, we have in some few Dioceses a Federation, in others the C. Y. M. S., whilst in some Dioceses there are no societies what ever formed for defensive work. It is reasonable to claim defensive work would be more effective were it confined to one organization only, to be set up in each Diocese, but if that can not be obtained in England, the different societies should be co-ordinated so that the work may be effectively done. We have an excellent example of what can be accomplished by organization in what has recently been done in the State of Georgia, which has been in tensely anti-Catholic and has the unenviable distinc tion of having passed a Convents’ Inspection Bill, and where Catholics have long since been subject to every form of abuse and threatened with further leg islation. This resulted in the formation of the Cath olic Laymen’s Association of Georgia, which, through its efforts, has brought about an almost complete change of attitude towards Catholics in that State. “The mention of this movement provokes some in evitable reflections. Are not our needs, and dangers much the same as those of the Catholics of Georgia, who are but an insignificant percentage of the pop ulation of that State, yet have we, with our resources in numbers and experience, anything to show com parable to their Publicity Bureau?’’ During January 3,363 pieces of literature were sent out from the publicity department office at Au gusta, 305 pieces more than the December record. Twenty-eight copies of “The Faith of Our Fathers,’’ by Cardinal Gibbons, were mailed in answer to re quests for the work by non-Catholics. A new department, “In Catholic Circles,’’ makes its appearance in this month’s issue of The Bulletin. The Editor will appreciate clippings and news of in terest to Georgia Catholics for use in the department.