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Avrit ft — i'ri-t D U J_j^L ± Li\ *yy. 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 ft A N 6 t BUT t R U tile-K nown Facts for Catholi cs E By M. J. MURRAY 9r HOBEftT SELLOMIfJES Book toNTRofERsiEs': IK WHICH EVERY ARGUMENT THE PROTESTANT REFORMERS USED AGAINST CATHOLICISM WAS REFUTED , aN BUT REACHED OVER. 400 EDITIONS And was translated INTO SlXTy / LANQUAqES. j Copyright, 1958, N.C.W.C. N*w» S*rvU* mu r^v- risa^ ckMrcL x'pu: \ is %tlte of Buz Our lady's Basilica in Tatuna. the tiny ■Portuguese village is tu/ice the ?i$e cf the largest" church in Lisbon, TAe nation's Capital. It is 270 feet long and ICiE feet htcyh . POPE SAiNT ffcuLI (757- 7671 was the brother of his predecessor, FoPE ffTEPHemir fC 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