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CHSTMl SEA F888 {'SET ALL KINDS OF SEA FOODS PHONE HE. 2-7457 230 TARVER AVE. ALBANY. GA. THE BULLETIN, December IS, 1958—PAGE 5 DISCRIMINATOIN AND CHRISTIAN CONSCIENCE ILQAVFJT PBESStffIBS SHOP Phone HE. 5-8351 Albany, Ga. 210 Pine Avenue "Say It With Ours" HADDEN S FLOWERS and GIFTS Telephone HE. 5-8374 P. O. Box 1980 1150 S. Slappey Dr. Albany, Georgia BISHOP LAUNDRY & CLEANERS 232 ROOSEVELT AVENUE ALBANY, GEORGIA Best Wislies Standard Plumbing and Heating Company 406 ROOSEVELT AVE. PHONE HE. 2-1901 ALBANY, GEORGIA P. O. BOX 1107 Best Wislies From DUPREE PRIM Where Pharmacy Is A Profession 1111 No. Slappey Dr. Phene HE. 6-5736 ALBANY, GEORGIA Best Wislies SLAPPEY DRIVE SUPER MARKET 318 S. Slappey Drive ALBANY, GEORGIA Statement Of If. S. Bishops Given At Washington ieeting Fifteen years ago, when this nation was devoting its energies to a world war designed to maintain human freedom, the Catholic Bishops of the United States issued a prayerful warn ing to their fellow citizens. We called for the extension of full freedom within the confines of our beloved country. Specifical ly, we noted the problems faced by Negroes in obtaining the rights that are theirs as Ameri cans. The statement of 1943 said in part: In the Providence of God there are among us millions of fellow citizens of the Negro race. We owe to these fellow citizens, who have contributed so largely to the development of our country, and for whose welfare history imposes on us a special obligation of justice, to see that they have in fact the rights which are given them in our Constitution. This means not only political equality, but also fair economic and educational opportunities, a just share in public welfare projects, good housing without exploitation, and a full chance for the social advancement of their race. In the intervening years, con siderable progress was made in achieving these goals. The Ne gro race, brought to this coun try in slavery, continued i t s quiet but determined march toward the goal of equal rights and equal opportunity. During and after the Second World War, great and even spectacular ad vances were made in the obtain ing of voting rights, good edu cation, better-paying jobs, and adequate housing. Through the efforts of men of good will, of every race and creed and from all parts of the nation, the bar riers of prejudice and discrimi nation were slowly but inevit ably eroded. Because this meth od of quiet conciliation produc ed such excellent results, we have preferred the path of ac tion to that of exhortation. Un fortunately, however, it appears that in recent years the issues have become confused and the march toward justice and equal ity has been .slowed if not halt ed in some areas. The transcend ent moral issues involved have become obscured, and possibly forgotten. Our nation now stands divid ed by the problem of compul sory segregation of the races and the opposing demand for racial justice. No region of our land is immune from strife and di vision resulting from this prob lem. In one area, the key issue may concern the schools. In an other it may be conflicts over housing. Job discrimination may be the focal point in still other sectors. But all these issues have one main point in common. They reflect the determination of our Negro people, and we hope the overwhelming majori ty of our white citizens, to see that our colored citizens obtain their full rights as given to them by God, the creator of all, and guaranteed by the democratic traditions of our nation. There are many facets to the problems raised by the quest for racial justice. These are is sues of law, of history, of eco nomics, and of sociology. There are questions of procedure and technique. There are conflicts in cultures. Volumes have been written on each of these phases. Their importance we do not deny. But the time has come, in our considered and prayerful judgment, to cut- through the maze of secondary or less essen tial issues and to come to the heart of the problem. The heart of the race question is moral and religious. It concerns the. rights of man and our attitude toward our fellow man. If our attitude is governed by the great Christian law of love of neigh bor and respect for his rights, then we can work out harmon iously the techniques for mak ing legal, educational, economic, and social adjustments. But if our hearts are poisoned by hat red, or even by indifference toward the. welfare and rights of our fellow men, then our na tion faces a grave internal cris- AAA CONCRETE PRODUCTS DORP. 1190 Sylvester Road Dial HEmlock 5-4454 P. O. Box 761 ALBANY, GEORGIA JOHNSTON MEN S SHOP CORNER PINE & COURT AVENUE ALBANY, GEORGIA ESTATE OF SAMUEL FARMS Established 1872 COLE FARM IMPLEMENTS & GENERAL LINE OF FARMERS HARDWARE 112-114 Broad Avenue Albany, Georgia Charles W. Samford, General Manager Phone HE, 6-1323 P. O. Box 1185 1106 Gordon Ave. — Albany, Georgia SAMCfi STEEL & SUPPLY COMPANY 1106 Gordon Ave. Albany, Ga. No one who bears the name of Christian can deny the universal love of God for all mankind. When Our Lord and Savior, Jes us Christ, “took on the form of man” (Phil 2, 7) and walked among men, He taught as the first two laws of life the love of God and the love of fellow man. “By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, that you have love, one for the oth er.” (John 13, 35). He offered His life in sacrifice for all man kind. His parting mandate to His followers was to “teach all nations.” (Mat. 28, 19). Our Christian faith is of its nature universal. It knows not the distinctions of race, color, or nationhood. The missionaries of the Church have spread throughout the world, visiting with equal impartiality nations such as China and India, whose ancient cultures antedate the coming qf the Savior, and the primitive tribes of the Ameri cans. The Love of Christ, and the love of the Christian, knows no bounds. In the words of Pope Pius XII, addressed to American Negro publishers 12 years ago, “All men are brothered in Jesus Christ; for He, through God, be came also man, became a mem ber of the human family, a bro ther of all.” (May 27, 1946) Even those who do not accept our Christian tradition should at least acknowledge that God has implanted in the souls of all men some knowledge of the nat ural moral law and a respect for its teachings. Reason alone taught philosophers through the ages respect for the sacred dig nity of each human being and the fundamental rights of man. Every man has an equal right to life, to justice before the law, to marry and rear a family un der human conditions, and to an aquitable opportunity to use the goods of this earth for his needs and those of his family. From these solemn truths, there follow certain conclusions vital for a proper approach to the problems that trouble us to day. First, we must repeat the principles — embodied in our Declaration of Independence — that all men are equal in the sight of God. By equal we mean that they are created by God and redeemed by His Divine Son, that they are bound by His law, and that God desires them as His friends in the eternity of heaven. This fact confers upon all men human dignity and hu man rights. Men are unequal in talent and achievement. They differ in cul ture and personal characteris tics. Some are saintly, some seem to be evil, most are men of good will, though beset with human frailty. On the basis of personal differences we may distinguish among our fellow men, remembering always the admonition: “Let him who is without sin . . . cast the first stone . . (Jn., 8, 7). But dis crimination based on the acci dental fact of race or color, and as such injurious to human rights regardless of personal qualities or achievements, can not be reconciled with the truth that God has created all men with equal rights and equal dig nity. Secondly, we are bound to love our fellow man. The Chris tian love we bespeak is not a matter of emotional likes or dis likes. It is a firm purpose to do good to all men, to the extent that ability and opportunity per mit. Among all races and national groups, class distinctions are in evitably made on the basis of like-mindedness or a commun ity of interests. Such distinctions are normal and .constitute a uni versal social phenomenon. They are accidental, however, and are subject to change as conditions 'change. It is unreasonable and injurious to the rights of others that a factor such as race, by and of itself, should be made a cause of discrimination and a basis for unequal treatment in our mutual relations. The question then arises: can enforced segregation be recon ciled with the Christian view of our fellow man? In our judg ment it cannot, and this for two fundamental reasons. 1) Legal segregation, or any form of compulsory segregation, in itself and by its very nature imposes a stigma of inferiority upon the segregated people. Even if the now obsolete court doctrine of “separate but equal” had been carried out to the full est extent, so that all public and semi-public facilities were in fact equal, there is nonetheless the judgment that an entire race, by the sole fact of race and regardless of individual quali ties, is not fit to associate on equal terms with members of another race. We cannot recon cile such a judgment with the Christian view of man’s nature and rights. Here again it is ap propriate to cite the language of Pope Pius XII: “God did not create a human family made up of segregated, dissociated, mu tually independent members. No; He would have them all united by the bond of total love of Him and consequent self dedication to assist each oth er to maintain that bond intact.” (September 7, 1956). 2) It is a matter of historical fact that segregation in our country has led to oppressive conditions and the denial of ba sic human rights for the Negro. This is evident in the fundamen tal fields of education, job op portunity, and housing. Flowing from these areas of neglect and discrimination are problems of health and the sordid train of evils so often associated with the consequent slum conditions. Surely Pope Pius XII must have had these conditions in mind when he said just two months ago: “It is only too well known, alas, to what excesses pride of race and racial hate can lead. The Church has always been ener getically opposed to attempts of genocide of practices arising from what is called the ‘color bar’.” (September 5, 1958.) One of the tragedies of racial oppression is that tire evils we have cited are being used as excuses to continue the very conditions that so strongly fos tered such evils. Today we are told that Negroes, Indians, and also some Spanish speaking Americans differ too much in culture and achievements to be assimilated in our schools, fac tories, and neighborhoods. Some decades back the same charge was made against the immigrant Irish, Jewish, Italian, Polish, Hungarian, German, Russian. In both instances differences were used by some as a basis for dis crimination and even for bigot ed ill-treatment. The immigrant, fortunately, has achieved his rightful status in the American community. Economic opportun ity was wide open and educa tional equality was not denied to him. Negro citizens seek these same opportunities. They wish an education that does not carry with it any stigma of inferiority. They wish economic advance ment based on merit and skill. They wish their civil rights as American citizens. They wish acceptance based upon proved ability and achievement. No one who truly loves God’s children will deny them this opportuni ty. To work for this principle amid passions and misunder standings will not be easy It will take courage. But quiet and persevering courage has always been the mark of a true follower of Christ. We urge that concrete plans in this field be based on pru dence. Prudence may be called a virtue that inclines us to view problems in their proper per spective. It aids us to use the proper means to secure our aim. The problems we inherit to day are rooted in decades, even centuries, of custom and cul tural patterns. Changes in deep- rooted attitudes are not made overnight. When we are con fronted with complex and far- reaching evils, it is not a sign of weakness or timidity to dis tinguish among remedies and reforms. Some changes are more necessary than others. Some are relatively easy to achieve. Oth ers seem impossible at this time. What may succeed in one area may fail in another. It is a sign of wisdom, rather than weakness, to study care fully the problems we face, to prepare for advances, and to by pass the non-essential if it in terferes with essential progress. We may well deplore a gradual ism that is merely a cloak for in action. But we equally deplore rash impetuosity that would sacrifice the achievements of decades in ill-timed and ill-con sidered ventures. In concrete matters we distinguish between prudence and inaction by asking the question: are we sincerely and earnestly acting to solve these problems? We distinguish between prudence and rashness by seeking the prayerful and considered judgment of experi enced counselors who have achieved success in meeting sim ilar problems. For this reason we hope and earnestly pray that responsible and sober-minded Americans oi all religious faiths, in all areas ' of our land, will seize the mantle of leadership from the agitator and the racist. It is vital that we act now and act decisively. All must act quietly, courageously, and prayerfully before it is too late. For the welfare of our nation we call upon all to root out from their hearts bitterness and hat red. The tasks we face are in deed difficult. But hearts in spired by Christian love will sur mount these difficulties. Clearly, then, these problems are vital and urgent. May God give this nation the grace to meet the challenge it faces. For the sake of generations of future Americans, and indeed of all hu manity, we cannot fail. 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