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JOSEPH 3 RE I
Babbie Drivel, Drivel Babble
On the editorial page of a
big-city newspaper not long
ago there appeared the follow
ing paragraph:
“Russia uses
promote the
Why should-
we use it
p r o m et e
: capitalist
e?”
In what sort
never-never
nd do the
inds of some
: our editori-
lists dwell?
There is loose on earth an all-
■mbracing conspiracy against
Jod and man.
It is total blasphemy—a total
attack on everything human and
everything divine.
It denies every religious, ev
ery aspiration of man toward
his Maker.
It considers man merely a
highly developed animal — and
treats him accordingly.
It regards the universe as a
meaningless, mindless mecha
nism gradually grinding hu
man-kind into nothingness.
THE CONSPIRACY is engag
ed in a ruthless, conscienceless
drive to conquer the world.
It announced its purposes
publicly, in plain words, a cen
tury back. It has repeatedly pro
claimed its aims—in the Com
munist Manifesto, in countless
fficial statements, in the writ
ings of Marx, Lenin, Stalin.
Forty years ago, the conspira
cy captured Russia and declared
war on every other nation. Not
for a moment has it ceased to
wage that war by infiltration,
spying, subversion, sabotage,
and economic or military ag
gressions.
CONCURRENTLY, the con
spiracy has lied, lied, lied about
itself. With smiling face, with
consummate hypocrisy, it has
assured good but gullible people
that it doesn’t mean what it
says — doesn’t even mean what
it does.
But the conspirators do mean
what they say and do. Nobody
has ever meant anything more
fanatically. And they act ac
cordingly.
They have murdered countless
millions, by violence, by starva
tion, by slave labor unto death.
They have filled the world
with blasphemies, cruelties, hor
rors. It is as if the door of Hell
had opened and loosed all the
demons upon us.
Against this conspiracy stands
everybody who cares about God
or man. Under great banners
march the defenders.
They carry the flags of re
ligion, truth, freedom, justice,
mercy, human rights.
They are inspired by the nobl
est realities ever uttered in
words:
“I am the Lord thy God . . .”
“Do unto others as you would
have others do unto you.”
“Thou shalt love the Lord thy
God . . . and thy neighbor as
thyself.”
“We hold these truths to be
self-evident, that all men are
created equal, and are endowed
by their Creator with certain
inalienable rights.”
“You shall know the truth,
and the truth shall make you
free.”
Such are the titanic values for
which men and women labor,
suffer, sacrifice and die in a
world beset by communism.
Such is the struggle that
shakes the earth.
And amid the tempest and
the tumult, amid the colossal
wrestling with the spirits of
wickedness, amid the thunder of
the war between good and
abominable evil, a newspaper
squeaks about “the capitalist
line.”
In Korea and Vietnam, in
China, Germany, Hungary, mil
lions leave all they possess to
flee from communism, asking
only for the right to be human
and to adore God: and what do
we hear? “The capitalist line.”
What babble!
Theology
For The
Layman
By F. J. Sheed
God is a living God. But what
does His life consist of? It is
hard to phrase the question, so
little accustomed are we to
thinking about this particular
matter. Just as we ask what a
man does with
his time, so
we may ask
what does God
do with His
eternity. What
does He do
with Himself?
He is not in
definitely idle:
what is His life-work?
We might be tempted to say
that He runs our universe, and
leave it at that. But, of course,
we cannot leave it at that. Run
ning a finite universe could nev
er be the whole life-work of an
infinite Being. The universe
seems vast to us; it is not vast
to Him. He made it of nothing;
He need not have made it at all.
We may think of it as a side-line
for God, not the main thing. If
one were to describe Shake
speare as an actor, it would be
true but it would leave out his
supreme work, which was the
writing of plays. That God runs
our universe is true; but that
could not be His life-work.
What is?
Let us concentrate on the two
great operations of spirit. God
knows infinitely and loves infi
nitely. What does He love with
His infinite loving-power? Al
most instinctively we answer
“Man.” And this, thank God, is
true. But, for the reason we
have already seen, it cannot be
the main truth. Finite creatures
are no adequate object for in
finite love — we cannot compre
hend it, we cannot return it:
and, once again, we need not
have existed. Is infinite love
(Continued on Page Five)
foreign aid to
communist line.
Jottings ...
(By BARBARA C. JENCKS)
Question
Box
By David Q. Liptak
Q: Is there any special reason
why one should make a will? Or
is it just a matter of advisabil
ity? Isn't it true that a Catholic
has an obligation to mention
some charitable organization in
his will?
A: Charity to self, charity to
others, justice and prudence all
argue strongly for the principle
that a person should clearly de
termine how his personal pos
sessions are to be distributed af
ter he dies. Normally, such de
termination is best accomplish
ed by means of a will or its
equivalent.
Normally, we say, because
one can apportion much of his
estate by various other means;
by naming a beneficiary for
one’s savings, for example. It is
even possible to provide for
Masses for the repose of one’s-
soul without a- will as such; i.e.,
by setting up a trust fund for
future Masses, or by becoming
a member of a society especial
ly established for this purpose.
Ordinarily, however, the
practical method of disposing of
one’s property in accordance
with the dictates of charity, jus
tice and prudence, is through a
will and last testament. St.
Francis de Sales considered the
making of a will so important
that he included it among the
chief duties objectively incum
bent upon the layman in the
world.
HOW SHOULD ONE proceed
in making a will?
First and foremost, one should
be in the state of grace. There is
no better preparation than one
consisting of confession, Com
munion and humble prayer for
guidance and purity of inten
tion (an explicit invocation to
the Holy Spirit for the gift of
wisdom should be elicited.) A
will, after all, represents a seg
ment of one’s final message in
this life; death having inter
vened, it is forever irrevocable.
Hence it should be free of all
evidence of malice, bitterness or
levity.
WHEN FORMULATING t h e
will, one’s primary consideration
should be motivated by charity
to self and family.
Charity to self demands that
adequate provisions be made for
Masses of requiem after death.
(Continued on Page Five)
• WHAT IS SECURITY? Are
you secure? Is security a bank
account or an insurance policy?
Is it a home of your own or
tenure of office? We people of
the era of Sputnik and reces
sions and atomic scares and
cancerous diseases are haunted
with a security hunger. We can
not relax. We live as if there
were no God. We crave se
curity, so unstable is our en
vironment, so weak is our faith.
Sister Madeleva, C.S.C., in her
annual address to the graduat
ing class at Saint Mary’s Col
lege, Notre Dame, says that we
are, only secure when we can
: stand anything that can happen
to us. She proposes that we
practice the relaxed grasp lest
we find ourselves clinging ten
aciously to little nothings. Think
upon this and think how hard
our minds are set on the getting
ahead, the winnig out, the pos
sessing of more and more, the
adding up and the building onto
philosophy wdiich we each fol
low in our own lives. Even in
spiritual matters, we are not
prone to leave anything up to
God. We hammer home prayers
for things we want which will
only fortify us, our security-
complex. How many prayers are
directed for material things —
for a home, a job, a raise? How
many pray for the intangibles—
charity, simplicity, faith—won
der?
• SISTER MADELEVA
would replace man’s insatiable
desire for security with wonder
-— “the mystery of wonder and
the wonder of mystery.” Poets,
contemplatives, she feels are
more needed in our society than
scientists or business m e n.
Poets, she says, are the seers,
the men of vision. When our
poets rival our scientists in ex
cellence and number we shall
have fortified our world with
the mystery of beauty and truth
and wonder beyond all our les
ser desires for security, she be
lieves. In bestowing an honor
ary degree on the poet Phyliss
McGinley, she cited the poet
“as a vital integer in the life of
a nation, who by unique gift
of intuition anticipates the fu
ture with vision closed to ex
perts in national defense. The
fact that the poet speaks in the
idiom of beauty does not dis
credit the truth of his message.”
• WE OF TODAY'S world
are whipped to a success, a se
curity, a conformity pitch. Some
of us will lose our idenity in
the struggle. Most of us will join
the race for fame and wealth.
How many will stop on the
treadmill and look up at the
stars? How many will browse
through bookshops for volumes
of poetry? How many will leave
the super-highways and cut
through country lanes? How
many will accept the spoonfed
opinions and ideas of the mould
ers of society — the news an
alysts, the magazine and the
editorial writers? How many
will think of themselves—and
dream and hope and wonder for
themselves? Here will be a rare
man; one who shuns the securi
ty of his brother; one who dares
to be different; one who em
braces a cause and an ideal.
Most of all as Catholics, we
must foster the senses of other -
worldliness. We who know that
this is not our lasting home must
not live as if it were the scene
of eternal occupancy. We who
have the words to the song, the
rhyme to the poem, the very
key to heaven must fling it out
for the sheep-like procession of
society to see and desire and
follow. Security is not money,
nothing can buy or insure se
curity. We are secure only if
we can withstand all things
which can happen to us and we
can only do that with God's love
and grace.
Mrs. Loretta Smith
Services In Atlanta
ATLANTA — Funeral serv
ices for Mrs. Loretta Smith were
held June 7th at the Immacu
late Conception Church, Rev.
Harold J. Rainey officiating.
Survivors are two daughters,
Mrs. W. I. Elrod. Richmond, and
Mrs. W. E. Norris, Atlanta; two
sons, Earl F. Smith, Clifton
Heights, Pa., and John A. Smith,
San Diego, and 10 grandchil
dren.
A good share of our lives are
spent getting used to the things
we didn’t expect.
Sh
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tile-K nown Facts for Catholi
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By M. J. MURRAY
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Book toNTRofERsiEs':
IK WHICH EVERY
ARGUMENT THE
PROTESTANT
REFORMERS USED
AGAINST CATHOLICISM
WAS REFUTED , aN
BUT REACHED
OVER. 400 EDITIONS
And was translated
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Copyright, 1958, N.C.W.C. N*w» S*rvU*
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SHARING OUR TREASURE
Cardinal Stritch Great Convert Maker
By REV. JOHN A. O'BRIEN, Ph. D.
—- , _ (University of
The untimely death of Card
inal Stritch means a great loss
to the universal Church, to her
far-flung foreign missions, to
the Church in America and es
pecially to the archdiocese of
Chicago, in
which he had
won the es
teem of non-
Catholics and
the admira
tion and love
of his own
people. Soft-
spoken, un
failingly kind and considerate,
easily accessible to priest and
layman, the gray-haired prelate
was a model shepherd of souls.
In his big heart there burned a
twin love: love of God and love
of souls.
It was that dual love that
prompted him to initiate pro
grams for convert making which
enabled his priests to win, year
after year, the largest number
of converts of any archdiocese
in America. Keeping in close
touch with every parish in his
great archdiocese, His Eminence
was quick to notice that the par
ishes reporting the largest total
of converts were those in which
Inquiry Classes were conducted
several times a year.
He noted too that the pastors
who were winning 150 to 300
converts annually were those
who did not merely announce
the Class from the pulpit. They
publicized it in every way pos
sible: paid advertisements in
The New World and in the daily
newspapers, placards placed in
store windows, and announce
ments framed in the city busses
and street cars.
Even more important, these
pastors enlisted their parishon-
ers as recruiters. They made
them realize that spreading the
Faith is the job not only of
priests but also of parishoners.
They made the parish a throb
bing center of missionary life
and activity. The result was that
every Inquiry Class had a size
able quorum.
As a result of such observa
tions the Archbishop issued a
Pastoral, asking for the estab
lishment of Inquiry Classes in
every parish. Prayers for this
Noire Dame)
intention were said at all the
Sunday Masses.
“We consider the Inquiry
Class,” said Flis Eminence, “a
necessary part of pastoral activi
ties, and we recommend the In
quiry Class as the best means of
bringing a knowledge of the
truth of the Gospel of Christ to
many who are not of the house
hold of the Faith. There are
good men and women who are
willing to help the pastors in
contacting such people and in
viting them to the Inquiry Class.
Without this work the Class will
not be the success which it
ought to be.”
This was the tried and prov
en method which yielded such
a large harvest of converts, year
after year. His Eminence out
lines it in a splendid chapter in
Bringing Souls to Christ (Han
over House, N. Y.), which will
help both clergy and laity in
winning converts.
On the day following the con
firmation of a large number of
converts by Archbishop Meyer
in the Milwaukee Cathedral, we
called on the Cardinal to tell
him of this happy climax to the
Wisconsin Catholic Census and
Information Program. Imagine
our surprise when His Emi
nence remarked: “Yes. the num
ber of converts was so great
that an overflow had to be sent
to St. John’s Church where
B is h o p Atkielski confirmed
them. The crusade was a great
success, the Bishops report, and
I shall be glad to study the al
bum telling of it in detail.”
Shortly before sailing for
Rome His Eminence wrote: “I
have studied the album and will
bring it to the attention of the
other Bishops of Illinois with a
view of having such a Census
and Information Program con
ducted throughout the state.”
With the passing of Cardinal
Stritch, the convert movement
in America has lost one of its
greatest leaders. The memory
of his ceaseless quest for souls
will inspire the Catholics of
America to renewed zeal to
share their precious treasure
with their churchless fellow
countrymen.
PASTOR ‘CLOSER TO HEAVEN’
When jet crews from Paine Air Force Base, who attend
Holy Rosary Church, Edmonds, Wash., urged their pastor
to get “closer to heaven,”—via jet, Father Leonard Rafa-
lowski (above), took them up on their turnabout coaxing.
He is shown in flying suit and parachute which he wore on
a flight in a T-33 jet trainer, piloted by one of his parish-
goers, Capt. william White of the 321st Interceptor Squad
ron. U. S.Air Force Photo- CNC Photos)
Russia's Progress In Brain Research-
THE BACKDROP
Are Soviet scientists studying
the human mind with a view to
remaking man into a new kind
of communist robot?
Even to suggest such a thing
would seem an
exe r c i s e in
sheer fantasy
if we did not
have a warn
ing from com
petent Ameri
can scientists
that this may
be what the
Russians are up to.
In any event, brain research
stands high on the Soviet sched
ule of scientific investigation.
And, considering what we know
of the advanced stage of Soviet
achievement in rocketry, it is
not surprising to learn that the
Russians are ahead of Ameri
can scientists in research into
the higher nervous functions
and the physiology of behavior.
Just as they attacked the
problem of putting satellites
into orbit with all their re
sources, the Russians have un
dertaken a “crash” program to
expand their knowledge of the
human mind and nervous sys
tem. The Soviet medical scien
tists are working under a direc
tive of the Sixth five-year plan
to achieve the greatest possible
development of medical re
search and to concentrate on the
discovery of new methods of
diognosis and prevention of dis-
By JOHN C. O’BRIEN
eases of the nervous system.
SINISTER OBJECTIVE
If the primary purpose of the
Russians was relief for sufferers
from brain and nervous disor
ders, of which there are mil
lions, all mankind might benefit
from the Soviet researches. But,
while more effective treatment
for such disorders may well be
a by-product of the Soviet stu
dies, some American scientists
suspect that the real objective
of the Soviet regime may be
more sinister.
Dr. Leonard Carmichael, sec
retary of the Smithsonian Insti
tution, who has studied the Rus
sian program on the spot, has
suggested that, considering the
long history of communist
brainwashing, it may well be
that the Soviets are interested
in the human mind as part of
their overall strategy of re
making man, himself, as a new
kind of communist robot.
It is conceivable, moreover,
according to Dr. Carmichael,
that modern research in brain
study could lead to novel tech
niques for altering individual
behavior.
But whether or not this is the
purpose of the Soviet research
es, Dr. Carmichael assures us
that one thing is certain: “Rus
sia, not the United States, leads
the world in many aspects of
brain research.”
NEW AWARENESS
The clinical study of neurolo
gy, the American scientist re
ports, occupies the central posi
tion in the Soviet medical hier
archy and represents the dyna
mo of the entire organism. In
the view of the Soviet medical
scientists, progress in neurology
is the key to progress in all di
visions of clinical medicine and
biology. Their aim, as ih other
fields, appears to be to assume
world leadership.
In view of the progress the
Russians have made, Dr. Car
michael urged the free world to
give far more attention and ef
fort than it has in the past to
scientific study in the complex
find often tantalizing field of
brain research.
As those of us know who are
being asked to contribute to
funds to finance research to ex
pand the medical profession’s
understanding of the causes and
treatment of nervous disorders,
there is in the country a new
awarness of the need of organ
ized study.
But until lately nervous dis
orders have been among the
forgotten human curses. Yet
they are causing suffering and
death among thousands of our
population.
Chief among these nerve kill
ers, are Parkinson’s syndrome,
about 1,500,000 cases; cerebral
palsy, between 500,000 and 750,-
000; one third of them under 21
years of age; multiple sclerosis,
250,000 and muscular dystro
phy, 200,000, half of them chil
dren between the ages of 3 and
13.
A Plea To Parents
Tills We Believe
No matter how many travel
books a person may read, he
cannot describe a foreign coun
try as well as can a person who
actually has been there. Refer
ring back to our column some
weeks ago, in which we discus
sed the plight of the unwed
mother, a letter has come to us
from a girl “who has been
there.” It may be of profit, to
many if we quote her letter at
length.
“I was very interested in your
column,” writes this young wo
man, “and it was an excellent
approach to a widespread but
hushed-up occurence. It really
hit home as I became pregnant
when I was 18. There was the
usual hurry-up marriage, a
beautiful baby and several
since.. No one but myself can
know of the deep scars left by
my mistake. My husband and I
both agree that we’d never go
steady so young if we could
live our lives over again.
“Whenever possible we try to
urge young people of our ac
quaintance not to go steady and
we try to persuade the parents
of the dangers involved. But we
do not seem to get very far with
our efforts. Going steady is even
more widespread now than it
was eight years ago, and the
youngsters begin dating even
younger than did we. From ex
perience I would like to beg all
parents to stop this dangerous
practice of their teen-agers. It
just can’t be done without moral
harm, not with the always avail
able cars, the unsupervised free
dom. allowed the young people,
and the stimuli of sexy songs
and movies. You would have to
be a saint indeed to escape hurt.
“So many parents pretend
that it is innocent and cute. But
if only they could see into the
hearts of their children and see
there the fear and the shame!
Once a boy and girl are involv
ed, it is almost impossible to
break away from each other.
We know. We have tried many
times. We wish now that our
parents had very firmly stepped
in. even though we might have
cried our hearts out for a while.
Our parents knew what could
happen; we didn’t. We were so
sure of ourselves. We thought
we knew everything, but we
knew nothing at all of the re
sponsibilities of married life.
“You say the parents should
exercise sympathy and under
standing at such a time, but I
would say: parents, do offer
your knowledge and under
standing before the event oc
curs. Sins are forgiven by God,
but people are not all so chari
table. Your daughter never will
feel the same as the girl whose
white wedding gown is no
mockery and whose wedding
guests can be sincere in their
good wishes.
“I know several couples who
made the same mistake as our-
(By FATHER LEO TRESE)
selves, and all say the same
thing: they never will encourage
steady dating and early mar
riage for their own children.
Educations are interrupted and
bright plans for the future are
ended. Abortions are committed
and leave more soul-wounds
than does childbirth. I think too
that divorces and mental ill
nesses result from such prema
ture marriages. So many sins
can come from one mistake. And
it all boils down to this: an
ounce of prevention on the part
of parents would be worth a
pound of cure after the harm
is done. This is not a very pol
ished letter. I am doing it be
tween washer loads, but just
had to write from my own heart
on this problem.”
This girl’s letter needs no
comment and I shall make none.
However, before leaving the
topic I should like to take not
ice of another letter which
voices this appeal: “Please write
something encouraging for us
parents of the boy in the case.
Our son’s baby was born 5 x /2
months after his church wed
ding.
“The baby is now a year old
but my husband still hasn’t seen
her and hasn’t spoken to my son
since the marriage. He hasn’t
forgiven him for bringing such
“disgrace” of his good name.
Our son always was a good boy,
faithful to church and a straight
A student. I myself forgave him
long ago and adore the baby,
but what can I do to bring our
family together again?”
What was said in our earlier
column concerning the girl and
her parents surely would be
just as pertinent when applied
to the boy and his family. We
confined our previous words to
the feminine side of the prob
lem principally because it is the
girl, rather than the boy, who
is exposed to the greater emo
tional harm. It is at the girl,
much more than at the boy, that
society points the finger of re
buke. And it is the girl who
must bear the baby.
The unforgiving father is a
more pitiable figure than either
his wife or the young couple
whom he rejects. He is to be
pitied that his pride of name is
built upon such a shallow foun
dation that a little baby can
tumble it to the ground. He is
to be pitied because he has for
gotten his own sins and has
wrapped himself in self-right
eousness, His anger cannot stem
from virtue; a saint is the first
to show compassion and for
giveness towards a sinner.
Aside from prayer, the only
■thing that might help this fa
ther would be to read to him,
if he will listen, the gospel sto
ry of Christ and the adultress
(John 8:3-11). As the woman’s
accusers stood ready to stone
her to death, Jesus said simply,
“Let him who is without sin
among you be the first to cast
a stone at her.” Then as Jesus
stopped and began to write
some of their own sins in the
sand, one by one the accusers
slunk away. This father, too,
needs to open his hand and drop
his stone.
The trouble with most experi
ence is that it lacks sterring
power.
It’s much harder to make a
good matter better than to make
a bad matter worse.
0% HullHttt
416 8TH ST., AUGUSTA, GA.
Published fortnightly by the Catholic Laymen’s Association of
Georgia. Inc., with the Approbation of the Most Reverend Arch
bishop-Bishop of Savannah, the Most Reverend Bishop of Atlanta,
and the Right, Reverend Abbot Ordinary of Belmont.
Entered as second clans matter at the Post Office, Monroe, Georgia,
and accepted for mailing at special rate of postage provided by
paragraph (e) of section 34.40, Postal Laws and Regulations.
REV. FRANCIS J. DONOHUE REV. R. DONALD KIERNAN
Editor Savannah Edition Editor Atlanta Edition
JOHN MARKWALTER
Managing Editor
VoL 39 Saturday, June 28, 1958 No. 2
ASSOCIATION OFFICERS FOR 1957-1958
GEORGE GINGELL, Columbus President
E. M. HEAGARTY, Waycross Honorary Vice-President
MRS. DAN HARRIS, Macon Vice-President
TOM GRIFFIN, Atlanta Vice-President
NICK CAMERIO, Macon Secretary
JOHN T. BUCKLEY, Augusta Treasurer
ALVIN M. McAULIFFE, Augusta Auditor
JOHN MARKWALTER, Augusta Executive Secretary
MISS CECILE FERRY. Augusta Financial Secretary