Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 4—THE BULLETIN, December f3, 1958
JOSEPH BREIG
Tale Of Two Lire
Jottings
Marianna, the mother of An
gelo Joseph Roncalli, thought to
herself that her boy ought not
to go off to the seminary with
out something — at least a
modest something — to give to
the rector to-
ward his
schooling.
She put on
her shawl and
went out of
house in the
little village
of S o 11 o II
Monte— “Un- . j
der the Mountain” — Italy. She
trudged along the cobblestone
streets that ran up and down
the hillside above the Po Val
ley.
Marianna was a humble per
son. She was so humble that if
she felt any embarrassment, she
suppressed it as she entered the
home of neighbor after neighbor,
and told her story.
IT WAS A SIMPLE STORY
that hurts the heart even in the
telling many years later. She
and her husband had very little
money; their ll-year-o!d boy
was going away to become a
priest; would her friends, con
tribute to a little collection to
ward his education?
We can understand Marian
na’s feeling. A mother does not
mind so much being shamed
herself; but she does not like to
think of poverty shaming her
son, making him feel like a kind
of nuisance and burden.
That is why Marianna went
around to the houses of her
neighbors, asking for donations.
When she returned to her own
house an hour or two later, she
placed on the table two lire — a
couple of cents — and burst into
tears. She had failed her son; or
so she thought.
ONLY GOD KNEW THEN
that the boy was destined to be
come Pope John XXIII.
God does such things. He does
them through mothers like Mari
anna Roncalli, and through fa
thers like John Baptist Roncalli,
who had counted on his eldest
son helping him on the farm, but
consented cheerfully when the
lad told him he wanted to be a
priest.
Young Angelo was a book
worm; and because of that I
\ feel very close to him. I was a
• bookworm, too; and like Angelo
> I was subjected to the annoy-
i ances afflicted upon bookish
' boys by well-meaning, out-going,
: deep-breathing, outdoorsy folks.
! IT IS RECORDED that a
1 hearty parish priest told An-
: gelo’s mother that she ought to
* chase him away from his books
because what he needed was
open air and exercise — “he’ll
have plenty of time for books
i later.” I have my doubts that
the priest lived to be 77 and was
hale enough still to shoulder
} the burdens of being a pope.
Angelo’s brothers, we are told,
> were irritated with him because
f when they went out to gather
; firewood, he carried a book
j with him. I am reminded of my
, sisters who were annoyed with
i me because I was usually to be
j found sprawled on the floor on
; my stomach, my nearsighted
I eyes close to the printed page.
An old schoolmate in Sotto H
; Monte recalls that because Ah-
| gelo was very good in his
j studies, he was sometimes held
I up as an example by the teacher/
, This pedagogical folly, naturally
t enough, infuriated the other
boys, and occasionally they
; threw stones at Angelo as he
j walked home.
"BUT HE ONLY LAUGHED
at us,” his schoolmate relates.
There is deep significance in
that fact for anybody who
wishes to understand the tem
perament of the new Pope. It
is an extraordinary boy who can
see the humor in the smallness
of those who bully him.
Eventually, one of the larger
boys rebelled against the bully
ing, and appointed himself An
gelo’s protector. In my own case,
it was not a larger boy but a
smaller boy who came to my
rescue; but how he could fight!
As to the moral of all this, I
suppose it goes back to one of
my favorite topics — that people
really ought to let God have
something to do with rearing
their children. Some modicum
of social custom is all very well,
but God-giving individuality is
a thing precious beyond words.
The word “bookworm” is a
loaded term. It is brainless; it is
a mere opithet. It is on more
sensible than calling a boy who
loves sports a muscle-fiend. But
of course we all admire athletes
and despise scholars — until
they' becorne great scientists or
philosophers... or popes.
Barbara C. Jencks
Children Pray
(Continued from Page 3)
County morgue to administer
the. last rites to victims of the
holocaust. All victims were also
anointed at the scene by two
firemen’s chaplains, Msgr. Wil
liam Gorman and Father Pat
rick Barnes.
At Archbishop Meyer’s re
quest the facilities of archdio
cesan Catholic Charities were
offered to the families of all
victims, either for burial or
medical care.
Police and fire department of
ficials immediately began an in
vestigation to determine the
cause of the blaze, which was
said to have originated in the
northeast corner of the build
ing’s basement, near a stairwell.
Fire Commissioner Robert J.
Quinn said the speed with
which the blaze spread suggest
ed that it could have been the
work of an arsonist. Black
smudges were found on the
stairwell wall, as if some oily
substance had burned there.
However, preliminary investi
gators found nothing else to in
dicate arson, an official of the
police arson squad said.
Investigators were also study
ing the possibility that the fire
began in a refuse container near
the stairwell, ignited by a dis
carded cigarette. They question
ed pupils who had carried
waste-paper to the container
shortly before the fire broke out.
There were early reports that
the fire had begun with an ex
plosion in the school’s boilers.
However, investigatons later
showed that it originated else
where. Damage to the building
was estimated at $50,000.
The disaster was the United
States’ third worst school fire in
the last 100 years. The worst
occurred on March 18, 1937,
when 294 persons died in an ex
plosion and fire in New London,
Tex. On March 4, 1908, 176 pu
pils and teachers died in a
school fire in Cleveland.
Luther T. Holloway
Services In Atlanta
ATLANTA — Funeral serv
ices for Luther Thomas Hollo
way were held November 29th
at St. Anthony’s Church.
Survivors are his wife, and a
son, Joseph A. Holloway, Atlan
ta.
Hullrtitt
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- V ■ --
REV. FRANCIS J. DONOHUE REV. R. DONALD KIERNAN
Editor Savannah Edition Editor Atlanta Edition
JOHN MARKWALTER
Managing Editor
Vol. 39 Saturday, December 13, 1958 No. 14
ASSOCIATION OFFICERS FOR 1958-1959
GEORGE GINGELL, Columbus 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
• AN ODD ASSORTMENT of
writers came alive this . morn
ing in my class where an at
tempt is made to inspire with
beauty and direct with tech
nique the embryo writers which
come to me. St. Jerome and St.
Francis de Sales could have
heard themselves being quoted
along with Thomas Wolfe, Er
nest Hemingway and Charles
Peguy. There is a common de
nominator to those five distinct
individuals for they are all great
writers. It is my task three
mornings a week to awaken stu
dent writers to the challenge
that is theirs. A reprint in the
October “Catholic Journalist”
from the Katherine Bregy bi
ography of St. Francis de Sales
recently reviewed on these pag
es, held the very heart of the
matter in regard to my purpose
in this writing class. St. Francis
de Sales is fervently invoked
before each session for he is the
patron of Catholic writers. Here
in the biography we find in a
nutshell our credo: . . . “Cath
olic writers today are so vitally
needed if our groping modern
world is to be brought back to
the truth and beauty of Catholic
ideals . . . The technique, the
knowledge and the force of the
Catholic writers must equal that
of the 'children of this world’
who all too often are wittier as
well as wiser in their appeal
that the ‘children of light!”
• THE REPRINT article cites
the lamentable weakness of to
day’s important field of the play
and novel. It sees the situation
most regrettable in that the
problem of Catholic psychology,
for example, in the modern
world could fill the lifetime of
a hundred novelists and play
wrights.” The cry is for spiritual
values combined with honesty
and good judgement . . . writers
as well as priests are “Fishers
of men” we are reminded. And
so we read from the towering
writers, and we remind that the
Holy Ghost cannot be surpassed
as perfect writing examples.
Never a day goes by that I do
not delight in the Gospels, Epis
tles and prayers of the Mass, not
only for their spiritual content
but their style and clarity of
expression as well. “Editor and
Publisher” once wrote of the
Bible as “the Newsman’s Text
book.” It also said that it should
be read by all budding writers
for its simple direct style and
cited the “Story of Creation” es
pecially for its brevity of ex
pression. Take a big jump from
the Bible and the doctors of the
Church to magazines of current
issue. I assigned my class to
read Mrs. M. M. Ross’s answer,
“Death of a Man” in the current
“Jubilee.” Its purpose, its con
tent and finally its style makes
it one of the finest things yet
to appear in this superior pub
lication. In the current “Satur
day Evening Post,” I called their
attention to Greek and Roman
scholar, Edith Hamilton’s “The
Lessons of the Pas t,” which
throws old lights clearly on new
problems. It is excellent read
ing. Strange that the changeable
tone of “Saturday Evening Post”
should find itself quoted in a
lecture along with the never-
changing Scripture.
• CONVERT DALE FRAN
CIS writes a column weekly in
“Our Sunday Visitor” not un
like my own, maybe a little less
formal and chatty. I rarely miss
him. He writes in a recent col
umn that there were only four
novels of the current years that
he wishes he might have writ
ten: “The Old Man and the Sea,”
“The Plague,” “The Cypresses
Believe in God” and “Death in 9
Family.” 1 appreciate Mr. Fran
cis’ tastes especially in “The Old
Man and the Sea,” which is on
the class reading list but I still
want to write my own novel,
with my own particular message
which wells up in me with in
sistence for expression as it did
with Thomas Wolfe to give us
“You Can’t Go Home Again.”
Later on in his column, Mr.
Francis writes, “When I read
Peguy, there are always two ef
fects. He makes me love God
more and want to write.” I
would say “Amen” to that and
if you are not acquainted with
Peguy’s “God Speaks” may I
have the pleasure of introducing
you especially to the poem:
“Nothing is so beautiful as a
child going to sleep while he is
saying his prayers,” says God.
By Brian Cronin
they
2.
‘31
L To whom was Christ referring when he said
shall be called the children of God”: (a) The meek? (b) The
humble? (c) The peacemakers (d) The Jews?
The number of Cardinals is limited to: (a) 30? (b) 75?
(c) 60? (d) 12?
Who is commonly called “The Black Pope”?: (a) Martin
Luther? (b) The head of the Jesuits? (c) The Italian Com
munist Leader? (d) The Primate of the Eastern Church?
4. What is the usual minimum age required before a man
may be ordained a priest: (a) 21? (bj 24? (c) 25?
5. On what day does the Church pray publicly for those
outside the fold?: (a) Good Friday? (b) New Year’s Day?
(c) Christmas Day? (d) Ash Wednesday?
St. Peter was martyred in AD 67 by: (a) Pontius Pilate?
(b) Julius Caesar? (c) King Herod? (d) Nero?
The Sacred Roman Rota is the Vatican tribunal that deals
mainly with: (a) Censorship? (b) Validity of Marriages?
(c) Canonization? (d) Miracles?
The patron saint of lovers is: (a) St. Valentine? (b)
Rita? (c) St. Zita? (d) St. Raphael?
6.
7.
8.
St.
Give yourself 10 marks for each correct answer below.
Rating: 80-Excellent; 70-Very Good; 60-Good; 50-Fair.
ANSWERS: I (c); 2 (b); 3 (b); 4 (b); 5 (a);
6 (dj; 7 (b); 8 (d)
Urban Citizens Lose Out In Legislatures
T H E SB A C K D R O P
SHARING OUR TREASURE
Critic Of Church Becomes Defender
By REV. JOHN A. O'BRIEN, Ph. D.
(University el Notre Dams) —--—--
“Many non-Catholics regard
Catholic worship as only a hol
low shell of ceremonies and
Catholic prayer as merely a
mechanical rapid-fire repetition
of the Our Father and the Hail
Mary. What
they need is
a close-up of
Catholic daily
living to see
the deep devo
tion of a Cath
olic and the
beauty*, sym-
holism and
meaning of the Church’s liturgy.
It was such a close-up that dis
pelled my erroneous notions and
brought me into the Church.”
“Thus spoke Harry L. Randall,
1043 18th Ave., S. E., Minne
apolis. “I had been brought up,”
said Mr. Randall, “with the
usual Protestant misconceptions
and prejudices and the idea of
becoming a Catholic had never
entered my head. The few times
I had attended Catholic services
had left me bewildered by all
the ceremonial, and somewhat
startled at the repetition of
the same few prayers recited in
the Rosary.
It seemed so mechanical and
lacking in genuine devotion.
Then I started going with a
devout Catholic girl, from
whom I got a better idea of the
Catholic religion. I could see
how much help she got from
the practice of the Faith. When
we became engaged, I went to
the Cathedral in Duluth, which
she attended, to arrange for the
marriage. This was in 1912.
“The priest said he didn’t ap
prove of mixed marriages and
made it a rule never to officiate
at them. I was surprised that
he could formulate a policy of
his own, different from the
Church’s and was allowed to
follow it. I told him I’d rather
be married by a priest, but that
we definitely were going to be
married.
“He called in another priest,
a Father Ryan. He was much
more pleasant and gracious, and
after some instructions he mar
ried us. My wife never pressured
me to convert, but she did what
was much more effective: she
set an example which preached
to me every day. I got a close-
up of the Catholic religion as
it is lived by a devout member.
“Prayer was to my wife like
air to her lungs; it sustained and
strengthened her in all the
vicissitudes of life. It was the
source of her serenity and cheer
fulness. She prayed not merely
with her lips but with her whole
heart. Her great faith inspired
her love for God and neighbor,
and made her an inspiration to
everyone.
“She was praying for me too,
and it was her prayers that won
for me the grace of faith. I read
The Faith of Our Fathers and
received instructions from Fa
ther Hovarick at the Church of
the Incarnation in Minneapolis.
I was received into the Church
at Easter in 1915, and that was
the finest step I have ever taken.
“From a critic of the Church
I became a defender. When a
fellow worker made a crack
about the priest at the altar
going through some meaningless
motions, I told him I had once
entertained the same notion.
But when I studied the Mass, I
found it replete with meaning:
the most perfect act of sacrifice
offered on this planet.
“Then I explained that the
Mass is a re-enactment in an un
bloody manner of the Sacrifice
of Calvary, and was instituted
by Christ Himself. That opened
his eyes.
Consistency in all things is a
man’s most precious asset.
The populations of American
cities are grossly under repre
sented in state legislatures and
— in many states — in the U. S.
Congress.
It is theoretically possible in
30 states, for
example, for
fewer than
one-t h i r d of
the voters to
elect a major
ity in at least
one house of
the state legis
lature. In no
state is a majority of the voters
needed to elect a majority of
both houses.
Congressional districts also are
so maiapportioned that in all
but a few states, the cities have
fewer representatives in the
House of Representatives than
their populations entitle them
to. As a result, the sparsely-
settled rural counties through
out the nation have a dominant
voice in the writing of the na
tion’s laws.
In fact, if Congress were to
adopt a legislative redistricting
law that would permit not more
than a 20 percent variation in
the populations of Congressional
districts, the present apportion
ment of Congressional districts
would have to be ruled out in
32 states.
CATHOLIC CONCERN
This malapportionment i n
state legislatures and in Con
gress is an evil that should con
cern Catholics, for it has a bear
ing upon the right of the nation’s
30 or more million Catholics to
have a voice in the legislative
process. Discrimination against
cities in the matter of repre
sentation is, in a sence, discrimi
nation against Catholics, for a
majority of the Catholic popula
tion is in urban areas.
In deciding all questions bear-
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ing on the relation between
cnurch and state, Cathoies are
not fairly represented because
01 malapportionment. Where
bills come before legislatures
affecting tax exemption for
Catnonc schools, transportation
lor pupils of parochial scnools
and otner benefits provided by
general taxation, the urban
Catholic populations are at a
disadvantage 1 n comparison
with the mainly non-Catholic
rural areas because the rural
areas have a disproportionate
representation in tne state legis
latures.
The extent of the discrimina
tion against the cities in the
matter of apportionment is not
generally realized.
In Maryland, for example, be
cause of malapportionment, only
28 percent of the population is
represented by a majority of
the seats in the lower house of
tne state legislature, only 16
percent in the upper house. Two
counties with more than half
the population have less than
20 percent of the representation
in tne upper house and about
33 percent of tne representation
in tne lower house.
Even in Massachuetts, where
the apportionment between ur
ban and rural areas is more
equitable than in most states,
42 percent of the population is
represented by a majority in
the lower house, 49 percent in
the upper house.
MAYOR'S MEETING
The apportionment in effect
in many states dates back to a
time when cities were small and
the disparity between urban and
rural populations was less mark
ed than it is today. Although
most states have constitutional
provisions or laws calling for
periodic reapportionment, the
rurally - controlled legislatures
have been reluctant to give up
their power by carrying out
constitutional or legislative maii-
uates.
Tne unfairness of present ap
portionments nas peen descried
oy puoiic ofiicials, particularly
by mayors 01 cities. At a recent
meeting, tne nation's mayors
auopteu a resolution staling mat
“me uroan citizen is oy stale
Statutory or constitutional pro
visions m most instances tore-
ciosea irom equal representation
in state legislatures.”
ben. Jonn F. Kennedy, of
Massachusetts, in an address at
tnat cornerence torn me mayors,
“oar uroan citizens are grossly
short-changed in tneir repre
sentation in tne mouse of Repre
sentatives." me said it was “tirrie
for an uroan Magna Carta — a
statement of our principles in
this battle for equality 01 repre
sentation ana treatment”.
it nas omen been remarked
that catholics are not repre
sented in Congress in anything
lute the ratio of Catholics to tne
total population m many of tne
states, c/ne of tne reasons for
this, of course, is that most of
tne large cities, where Catholics
form a large proportion of tne
population, ao not nave as many
congressional districts as their
population entities them to.
Many a man who knows but
little tells way too much.
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