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DIOCESE OF SAVANNAH EDITION Serving Georgia's 88 Southern Counties Published By The Catholic Laymen's Ass'n Of Georgia OFFICIAL, NEWSPAPER OF THE DIOCESE OF SAVANNAH Vol. 39, No. 13 MONROE, GEORGIA, SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 1958 10c Per Copy — $3 a Year NEW , CHANCERY BUILDING—Pictured here is the newly completed Chancery Budding for the Diocese of Savannah. The office building is located at the corners of Abercorn and Mc Donough Streets.—(Photo Robert McDonald). Archbishop Home For A Short Visit SAVANNAH — His Excel lency, the Most Rev. Gerald P. O'Hara, D.D., J.U.D., Archbishop of Savannah, ar rived home last week for a visit to his Diocese. This is the Archbishop's first trip home since last fall. While here last year His Ex cellency dedicated Aquinas High School in Augusta. Archbishop O'Hara has been serving as Apostolic Delegate to Great Britain since 1354. Prior to his pres ent London post the Arch bishop served as Apostolic Nuncio to Ireland and as Pa pal Nuncil at Burcharest Ro mania from 1947 to 1950. The Archbishop was the last Vat ican diplomatic representa tive to an Iron Curtain coun try. He was forced by the Communists to leave in July of 1950. & BLESSES BUILDING—His Excellency the Most Rev. Gerald P. O’Hara, Archbishop-bishop of the Diocese of Savannah, is pic tured as he blessed the new Chancery Building on Thursday, November 20th. Pictured with his Excellency is the Most Rev. Dedicate Chancery Building SAVANNAH — His Excel lency, Archbishop Gerald P. O’Hara, Archbishop-Bishop of Savannah, dedicated the new Chancery Building at McDon ough and Abercorn Streets in Savannah in brief rites Thurs day evening, November 20th at 5:00 p. m. The new Chancery, designed by Thomas & Hutton, Architects is constructed of gray brick in Colonial motiff. Built by Hugh Jackson, contractor, the new building houses the offices of Bishop McDonough, the Super intendent of the Diocesan Schools, the Chaiicellor, Dioces an Newspaper and Marriage Court. The new chancery office was occupied two weeks ago, but fur.nishings are not yet com pleted. Open house will be held at a later date and the public invited to inspect the new build- Thomas J. McDonough, Auxiliary-bishop.—(Photo Robert Me- ings which is the administrative Donald). heart of the Diocese. Notre Dame Directors Meet SAVANNAH — The quarterly meeting of the Board of Direc tors of the Notre Dame Book Shop was held on Thursday evening, November 13, at the Shop. The president, Mrs. John E. Porter, appointed Julian Halli- gan as chairman of the nomina ting committee to present a slate of officers at the annual meeting in February. Serving with Mr. Haiiigan are Mrs. Owen B. Porter and Mrs. Wil liam C. Broderick. Plans were discussed for a Christmas Party honoring the volunteer workers of the Shop. Mrs. Walter J. Smith was ap pointed chairman of the party which will be given early in December. Announcement was made of a night book review to be given in February by Rev. Brandon Dooley, O. S. B. Mrs. James J. Collins, Direc tor of the Shop, stated that the Library now contains six vol umes of the 20th Century Catho lic Encyclopedia and that two volumes would be added month ly until the set is completed. The Teaching Mission of The Catholic Church (N.C.W.C. News Service) WASHING TON—The fol lowing is the full text of the statement entitled "The Teach ing Mission of the Catholic Church,” issued by the Admini strative Board of the National Catholic If c/fare Conference on behalf of the Cardinals. Arch- bishops and Bishops of the Unit ed States, following their annual general meeting here: For nearly 2,000 years the Catholic Church has taught the children of men. The divine im petus of the first Pentecost has carried with undiminished force throi’igh the centuries to our own day, so that the name of Christ ;s known throughout the whole world as the name above ali names. In the midst of society the Church proclaims her right to teach. She asserts this not as a privilege which may or may not' be conceded to her by any tem poral authority, but, as a power vested in her directly by her Divine Founder Himself. From His lips came the command, “Going into the whole world, preach the Gospel to every crea ture.’’ (St. Mark, GVI, 15). With instant obedience and literal fi delity the Apostles at once set forth upon their teaching mis sion. It was not by virtue of any imperial permission that they began the evangelization of the Roman world, nor has the Church in all the succeeding centuries ever sought the sanc tion of any dynasty or govern ment as conferring upon her the right to engage in her universal mission. Her claim is that she holds her authority from the Author of Truth Himself; any lesser source would be meaning less for her. The purpose of this statement is to reaffirm this right in the confusion of modern pluralism. It is to clarify for her own chil dren and for men of good will the objects which are embraced by this right and the nature of the obedience which she de mands of those who know that hearing her, they hear Christ Himself. There is a genuine urgency for dwelling upon the subject at this time. We live in a sun dered and divided world, a world harassed by conflicting voices and warring philosophies. Materialism and secularism, in particular have made heavy in roads on the official and popular thinking of men and nations. The basic tenet of those ideolo gies is that man’s - sole concern is with the here and now, with the actual politics and econom ics of this world, to the ex clusion, theoretical or practical, of the things of the spirit and their relegation to the realm of pure fantasy. They, moreover, have seized upon the democratic principle of popular suffrage and have distorted its meaning into a denial of all rights save those which derive from majori ty opinion, or the social and po litical realities of our temporal condition. But man’s spiritual nature, his supernatural origin and immortal destiny, are not annihilated by being ignored; nor is the fact of man’s redemp tion by the Blood of Christ ob literated by being denied. The Church holds that she is the teacher of men and nations because she is divinely com missioned by Jesus Christ. She cannot admit,, therefore, that any earthly power can deprive her of her right to teach. That right inheres in her very nature as an autonomous society, one whose constitution is altogether independent of the state. If the Church were not allowed to teach she would be bereft of one of her basic functions; she would be condemned, as under communist totalitarianism to day, to a twilight existence, and by every human augury, to gradual extinction. The right of the church to exist implies and demands her full competence to teach. Now it is certainly true that faith alone, a supernatural gift, enables the individual soul to acknowledge and accept the Church as the authentic herald of God’s revelation to mankind. This is eminently a judgment and a decision based upon the credentials of the divinity of her Founder and the indefecti- bility of His word. Faith is that mysterious union of human free dom and the grace of God which results in the highest act of the mind: Credo, I believe. But it is also true that in the natural order the Church’s right Impressive Ceremonies Mark Albany Dedication CORNER STONE BLESSING—Archbishop O’Hara is pictured as he blessed the corner stone tablet for the new St. Teresa’s Church, Albany. Others identified in the picture are Bishop Thom as J. McDonough, Auxiliary-Bishop, and Very Rev. Msgr. Andrew J. McDonald, Chancellor. . mk* to exist and to teach has its roots in man’s freedom, an es sential attribute of his nature, the sanctity and inviolability of which has long been recognized as a fundamental of western civilization. If man is truly free, he is free to accept the revela tion of our Lord and to embrace the society He established. It is this freedom, essentially, which is attacked and denied by mod ern secularism. Can it be said that our coun try is historically committed to the secularist view of man’s na ture and human society? To the contrary, our American found ers, throwing off the bonds of tyranny, postulated as a right for themselves and their pos terity, life, liberty and the pur suit of happiness. By the very terms of our Constitution, par ticularly as expressed in the first and ninth Amendments those rights are guaranteed not only to citizens as individuals, but also the the associations and the religious societies to which they belong. But life for the Church is de pendent upon her freedom to teach; liberty for her must be broad enough to encompass her unfettered competence to pro claim the truth of her mission; and happiness, which for her is the fulfillment of God’s will to redeem mankind, is no more than a mockery unless she is free to work for that end. It is an enduring tribute to the wis dom of the men who framed (Continued on Page 6) SAINT TERESA'S CHURCH—Pictured here is the new St. Teresa’s Church, Albany. The new edifice was dedicated in ceremonies held last Sunday. ARCHBISHOP PAYS TRIBUTE TO KINDNESS OF POPE JOHN LONDON, (NC) — Personal tribute to the kindness of His Holiness Pope John XXIII was paid here by Archbishop Gerald P. O’Hara, Bishop of Savannah, and Apostolic Delegate to Great Britain. Writing in the Universe, Lon don Catholic weekly, the Archbishop recalled his first meeting with the then Father Angelo Roncalli in 1919 when the latter was a chaplain in the Italian Army and he was a sem inarian studying in Rome. The young Italian priest had taken leave to visit the sum mer villa of his old seminary outside Rome. He picked out Urge Use Of Fifth Sunday For Family AUGUSTA — The committee on Family and Parent Educa tion in the Augusta Deanery announces that all parishes are cooperating in sponsoring a fifth Sunday family communion on November 30th. Also, during the month of November, St. Patrick’s and St. Joseph’s Churches held a fam ily Holy Hour. St. Mary’s Parish held one earlier in the season on October 3rd. two Americans — Gerald O’ Hara and Francis J. Brennan, now a monsignor attached to the Roman Curia — among all the students who greeted him and seemed to realize that they were somewhat homesick. “He called us to one side and spoke to us words of great kind ness and understanding,” Arch bishop O’Hara wrote. “We were instantly and deeply moved by his condescension and good ness.” That evening in the refectory the students in turn sang “stor- nelli” — improvised four-line rhymes — in honor of their guest, as was the seminary cus tom. There was a good deal of leg-pulling mostly based on the fact that, Don Angelo had come from Bergamo. “Don Angelo took it all good- naturedly,” Archbishop O’Hara said. “He knew that the ‘stor- nelli’ were prompted by affec tion, As each singer concluded his rhyme he said: ‘bravo, bra vo, grazie.’ In the course of years I have met the one whom we teased that night and the impression of great kindness gained from that first meeting grew and grew.” Archbishop O’Hara also re called a different meeting' in 1951 when Archbishop Roncalli then Apostolic Nuncio in Paris, gave a luncheon for French Prime Minister Rene Pleven. Archbishop Roncalli presided easily, his conversation spark ling with his deep knowledge of France, but “with typical gra ciousness the Nuncio found a way of bringing all his guests, even the most humble, into the conversation. “He had the art of making his guests feel perfectly at ease and happy in his company,” Arch bishop O’Hara said. A member of the staff told him: “Our Nuncio is like a good kind fa ther and we all love him.” Archbishop, Auxiliary Participate ALBANY — Impressive sol emn ceremonies marked the dedication of the new St. Te resa’s Church, Albany on Sun day, November 23rd. Presiding at the dedication rites was His Excellency, the Most Rev. Ger ald P. O’Hara, Archbishop-Bish op of Savannah and Apostolic Delegate to Great Birtain. The Rev. Marvin J. LeFrois is pas tor of the historic Albany par ish. The ceremonies began after 10 o’clock Mass with the plac ing of the cornerstone. At 2:00 p. m. His Excellency, the Most Reverend Thomas J. McDon ough, auxiliary Bishop of the Diocese officiated at the Conse cration of the altars in the strik ing brick and redwood Church. The solemn ceremonies were brought to an end at 5:00 p. m. with the blessing and dedica tion of the new Church and a Solemn Pontifical Mass cele brated by Bishop McDonough, with Archbishop O’Hara presid ing in the Sanctuary. The hundreds attending the rites, including many priests from all parts of the state, heard the Very Rev. Daniel J. Bourke, pastor of St. Mary’s-on-the-Hill, Augusta and Vicar Forane of the Augusta Deanery deliver the dedicatory sermon. The new church, located at Maryland Drive and Edgewood Lane was begun early in the year and finished two weeks ago. The first Mass celebrated in the new building was celebrat ed on Sunday, November 17th. The church, with its exposed redwood arches and weathered brick is marked by simplicity of design and soft color tones. Ac comodating eighty persons in a balcony containing choir stalls and a “cry room,” the new St. Teresa’s has a capacity of 580. A pitched terrazzo floor pro vides all worshippers with an unobstructed view of entire sanctuary. Following the dedicatory rites a reception was held in the school auditorium. Mr. Ray Mock was master of ceremonies and introduced Mayor Jim Por ter Watkins, who represented the City of Albany. Spokesman for the members of the Parish was Mr. Fred Mills. Represent ing the J. E. Breiner Company, Architects, was Mr. Harry Mac- Ewen, while Mr. A. C. Stamford, general contractor was also present. The assembled guests heard Mr. R. E. McCormack Sr. ex press predictions concerning the future of St. Teresa’s. Father Marvin LeFrois, pastor of the Albany parish introduced Archbishop O’Hara and Bishop McDonough who delivered short addresses. VATICAN CITY ARCHBISHOP GERALD P. O’HARA ARCHBISHOP-BISHOP OF SAVANNAH DELAPOST LDN HIS HOLINESS WARMLY APPRECIATES MESSAGE DEVOTION LOYALTY ASSURANCE PRAYERS SENT OCCASION HIS CORONATION EXPRESSES CORDIAL GRATITUDE LOVINGLY IMPARTS YOUR EXCELLENC AUXILIARY BISHOP CLERGY FAITHFUL DIOCESE SAVANNAH FATHERLY APOSTOLIC BENEDICTION. TARDINI SECRETARY OF STATE