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PAGE 4—.THE BULlETIN, March 19, I960 JOSEPH BREIG DID OHIO POAU SLIP? I suggest an alteration in the title of “Protestants and Other Americans United for Separa tion of Church and State”—or at least of the Columbus, O., chapter. I make my proposal in the interests of a c c u r acy and honesty. And I solicit serious con sideration of this matter by P O A U’s national officers in Washington —and by the American people. This change that I think ought to be made, in Columbus anyhow, is this: the word “separation” should be dropped, and the word “union” sub stituted. I come to this conclusion be cause of a mailing piece sent to Protestant ministers in central Columbus, the state capital. THE CIRCULAR was headed: “Protestants and Other Ameri cans United for Separation of Church and State, P. O. Box 4882. Columbus 2, Ohio (A Na tional Organization.)” Those three last parenthetical words, I think, call for some ac tion, or at least explanation, on the part of national POAU head quarters. POAU cannot have it both ways. It cannot boast of being in favor of “separation of church and state” while allowing one of its leading branches to iniect religion, blatantlv, into politics. THE COLUMBUS chanter did precisely that, in my view. Its circular sent to ministers aliened that “the Roman Catholic hier archy is attempting to elect and place a Catholic in the White House.” The mailing niece also adver tised two POAU-sponsored pub lic meetings, one to be address ed by a member of POAU’s na tional board, the other by its na tional executive director, Dr. Glenn L. Archer of Washington. The title of Dr. Archer’s talk was given as “Religion and the Presidencv.” ALL THIS SEEMS TO ME to put a sharp point on a truth that is generally not realized. I refer to the fact that it is pre cisely those who would bar Ca tholics and Jews from the presi dency who are guilty of making politics a religious matter. Those who would make the White House a Protestant pre serve are not promoting separa tion of church and state. They are doing the contrary. This is true not merely of POAU, but of all who urge that voting be along religious lines. I have no ax to grind for Sen. John F. Kennedy. Far from it. I do not expect to vote for him. Not now, nor in the future, will I vote for any Catholic be cause he is a Catholic. I base my balloting on examination of the policies and abilities of candidates. THE COLUMBUS POAU, However, obviously was sug gesting that a Catholic candi date should be opposed because he is a Catholic. This is confusing religion and politics—which is precisely the opposite of “separation of church and state.” That is why I pro pose substitution of “union” for “separation.” Either that, or POAU nation al headquarters should repudiate the idea of asking Protestant ministers to go into political ac tion for denominational reasons. This whole question of a Ca tholic (or a Jew) in the presi dency is not a Catholic problem. It is not a Jewish problem. In a special way, though, I do think it is a problem for Protes tants. NEITHER JUDAISM nor the Catholic Church exist to elect a president. Neither will rise or fall with the election or non election of a Jew or Catholic, now or a thousand years hence. Protestants who imagine that it is all-important to their churches to see that the presi dent is always a Protestant, seem to me to demean their faith. Bigotry hurts America and degrades Americans. Jews and Catholics, when victims of it, are not degraded; they are giv en an opportunity to exercise patience, which exalts them. I don’t think POAU repre sents most Protestants in Amer ica. I do hope I am right about that. Theology For The Layman (By F. J. Sheed) Column 51 OUR LADY (1) Our understanding of Our Blessed Lady depends totally upon our understanding of her Son. Everything about her flows from her being Christ’s mother; as our understanding of Him grows, our understanding of her grows. Unless we have some knowledge of the doctrines of Trinity and I n c a r nation, we can still love her but cannot know her; and we have already seen that loving without full knowledge is only a shadow of loving. She is the Mother of God. The child she conceived and bore is God the Son. In His divine na ture He had existed eternally. But His human nature He owed to her as, much as any man owes his human nature to his mother. There is nothing that makes my mother mine which is lacking in her relation to Him as man. As God He was born of the Fa ther before all ages; as man He was born at a particular mo ment of time of the Virgin Mary. Do not think it sufficient to call her the mother of His human nature: natures do not have mothers. She was mother, as your or mine is, of the person born of her. And the person was God the Son. It is a special mark of the Catholic as distinct from what we may call the tvoical Protes tant that he finds this truth al most shattering in its greatness, its immensity: whereas to the other it is simply a biographical fact about Christ Which one notes but does not linger upon. Naturally, he seems to say, if God was to become man, one would expect Him to have a mother; but having borne Him into the world, she had done her duty, and from now on our (Continued on Page 5) Question Box By David Q. Liptak Q. One of my youngsters came home from school with the sto ry that Catholics are supposed to give up going to moving pic tures during Lent. Since when has such a ruling been in effect? Wasn't the teacher overstepping her authority in making such a statement? A. Denying oneself certain otherwise legitimate entertain ments should be encouraged as a salutary form of Lenten self penance. But the precise enter tainment to be given up is left to the free choice of each indi vidual. Hence it is incorrect to say that Catholics-in general are not supposed to go to moving picture theatres during the Len ten season. ON THE other hand, it would be incorrect to say -that there is absolutely nothing at all im proper about going to movies in Lent. For most motion pictures are inconsonant with the peni tential character and the seri ousness of the Lenten season. It would be difficult to under stand, for example, how a per son could frequent the ordinary run-of-the-mill films being shown today without prejudic ing his soul against the recep tion of the many special graces and supernatural lights offered only during the sacred pre- Easter season. NONETHELESS, occasional movie-viewing during Lent is still not sinful. In many instanc es, one’s motive for going to the movies might cancel out even the least degree of impropriety often associated with such an entertainment during Lent; i.e., one might have a valid aesthetic reason for seeing a particular film; or one might need the re laxation because of work pres sures; etc. Q. Is there any historical bas is for the thesis that English Catholics tried to establish a colony in Maine before the land ing of the Pilgrims at Plymouth Rock? A. Three significant attempts were made by English Catho lics to establish colonies on the New England coast before the Puritans landed at Plymouth Rock in 1620. IN 1578, seven ships set sail for the New World under the (Continued on Page 5) 1 SHARING OUR TREASURE Boy Choir Kindles Soldier's Interest By REV. JOHN A. O'BRIEN, Ph. D. Notre Dame) r „ . , r r r ,r r r r ,r r r r Uni VeTSitV Of Have you ever brought a non- Catholic friend to Mass? If not, you are neglecting an important method of sharing your precious treasure. Though many visitors come chiefly out of curiosity, not a few find their interest kindled suffi ciently to look into the Cath olic religion. Some are at tracted bv the beauty of, the liturgy, the melody of the music, the singing of the choir, the reverence of the worshipers or the startling awareness of the Real Presence. This is illustrated bv the ex perience of Josenh Hal Lesh of Huntington. Indiana, now a graduate student of the Uni versity of Paris. Calling at our Bureau of Convert Research at Notre Dame, Hal related his story. “I was reared as a Protes tant.” he said, “and attended services at the Presbyterian church and later at others. Growing up in a Protestant at mosphere. I acquired the cus tomary Protestant misconcep tions of the Catholic Church “After graduating from In diana University, where I majored in philosophy, I enter ed the army and was sent to Germany. Assigned to Regens burg, a dominantly Catholic city, I got my first opportunity to come into real contact with Catholic life and culture. On Sundays I went to the cathedral to hear its famous boys’ choir sing high Mass. “The sound of those magnifi cent youthful voices echoing through the austere voults and arches of that mighty Gothic cathedral stirred me to the quick. Gradually I began to pay attention to what was going on at the altar and to learn the meaning of the Mass, about which I knew nothing. Mass going became such a habit with me that, when transferred to Stuttgart, I continued to attend, though there was no longer beautiful music or glorious singing to attract me. “I read Karl .Adam’s The Sralrit of Catholicism and also The Road to Damascus in which noted scholars and writers de scribe the various marks and teachings of the Catholic reli gion which drew them into its fold. I began to ^rav, read the Rible and intensified mv study of the Church. T found if alone had Christ as its founder and, the Apostle Peter as its first pone: unmistakable evidence that it is the one true Church. “After completing mv armv service. I entered. Vale and went to Mass at St. Thomas More Chapel. Mv studying nraving and pondering suddenly came to a head when I woke one morn ing with the clear realization of what I must do: become a Catholic without further delay. As my parents were then re siding in Washington. D. C . I called on Monsignor John Cart wright, rector of the cathedral, and applied for admittance . “Unon the completion of some additional instruction I was re ceived into the Church on Anri! 111. 1959. and had the great iov of receiving our Eucharistic Lord in Holv Communion. Ev ery dav I thank God for the wonderful gift of the true Faith. While the historical, Scriptural and logical arguments for the truth of the Catholic religion are irrefutable, it was the beau ty of the music and sinking of the high Mass in the Regens burg Cathedral which first kindled my interest and served as the channel through which God’s initial grace came to me. “My journey to the Church illustrates the truth of Chester ton’s observation: ‘The Church is a house with a hundred gates and no two men enter at exactly the same angle.’ Though the journey be long and arduous, the joy of finding Christ, His divine truths and His Mystical Body, the Church, is worth all the effort and more.” Father O'Brien will be grate ful to readers who know of any one who has won two or more converts if they will send the names and addresses of such persons to him at Notre Dame University, Notre Dame, Indiana, Jottings.. (By BARBARA C. JENCKS) "Do you want to know what I am doing? I devote myself to my friends with whom I enjoy the most delightful intercourse . . . with them I shut myself in a corner, where I escape the boisterous crowd and either speak to them in sweet whis pers or listen to their gentle voices . . . With these sweet friends I am buried in seclus ion. What wealth or what scep ters would I barter for this tran quility? Now that may not miss the meaning of my metaphor, pray understand all that I have said about these friends to be meant of books, companionship with which has made of me a truly hanpy man." emoted in "Librarium," Boston College • EVERYONE IS a potential reader. The blind, the illiterate, the sick, those unable to scan pages of print, can listen to great books being read. During Catholic Press Month, we dis cussed the Catholic press, the field of Catholic literature and the problems of the Catholic writer. The reader was neglect ed and without the reader, there would be no living literature. Show me your friends and I will tell you what you are can also be transferred to books. Show me what you read and I will tell you what you are. Scan a nerson’s library and you will know him better than by hours of conversation. In a recent is sue of “The Providence Visitor,” I read that Bishop Wright was reported as saying he valued his library card next to his bap tismal certificate, further on. I read about some salutary advice on reading habits given by Ba roness Von Trapp. Both were excellent articles, which I would like to follow up in today’s col umn. During Lent, we sacrifice portions of food and drink. We can make up that loss in spirit ual nourishment by reading that which satiates a hunger that neither bread nor water can substitute. If we would but be gin to fill the need of our minds and souls in the pursuit of good reading! The companionship that is ours for the reading with the saints, the martyrs, the he roes, the artists! • WHEN I SELECT a book, I select it on its inspiration value. Will it make me love God more? Will it inflame my mind and heart to largeness of thought and deed? I do not want a book which will weight me down. Re cently, there has been a nation wide fad of reading aloud. Night clubs have featured the reading of classics by such stars as Charles Laughton. Ed Sullivan had Charlton Heston reading from the Old Testament on a holiday program. Recently, a television program entitled “Reading Aloud” was initiated in which poet-playwright Arch ibald MacLeish read poetry to his young grandchildren. Won der of wonders when television becomes the nourisher of a passtime it has murdered. Dur ing Lent, I would suggest that families have their own reading aloud program during mealtime or shortly afterwards. In refec tories of monasteries and con vents all over the world, this spiritual reading during meals is carried on in and out of Lent. What an ideal time to begin in the family circle! I have select ed half a dozen books which by their verv nature are not only spiritual but ideally suitable by their rhythm, imagery, content, style, beauty for reading aloud in the family circle. They will appeal to all ages. They are among those bn my required reading list for students of writ ing. Of course, needless to say, the daily prayers from the Mis sal are the most ideal of all for reading aloud as is the Imitation of Christ. But for a family read ing list, I suggest the following: CarvII Mouselander's: "Way of the Cross." M v 1 e s Connolly's: "Mr. Blue." Charles Pegu y's: "God Speaks." Helen Walker Homan's: "By Post to the Apostles." Thomas Merton's: "Secular Journals." ' Bede Jarrett's: "No Abiding Citv." Romano Guardini's "Sacred Sins." • RECENTLY this college suffered the loss of its little li brarian-nun. What company she kept here will mean no formal introductions in the courts of heaven. Her special interest was the writings of the Church Fa thers and the panal directives. These days, we have been vis ualizing her in the libraries of heaven at the feet of St. Augus tine, her natron, and with her beloved Pius X and Pius XII. She was known by the company she kept. How about you? Who are your favorite writers and heroes of literature? There is no excuse today to miss the friendship of the great people of the past with the abundance of paperbacks and the well-stock ed libraries. How I wish there were time for the many books I yearn to read and the authors I wish to know better:, Dante, Plato, Newman, Augustine, de Sales. Reading next to prayer is our best life time investment as our library apostle is surely dis covering at this moment in some nook and cranny of the celestial mansion. ONLY POPE'S NUMBER IS UNLISTED VATICAN CITY. (NC) — Everybody except His Holiness Pope John XXIII is listed in the new Vatican City telephone di rectory. The papal apartments have seven telephones but they are not included in the directory’s 1,038 listings. Although the papal phones are unlisted, St. Peter’s basilica has seven num bers listed, including phones be hind the Altar of the Chair and in the dome. The new directory replaces the 1954 edition, which had 88 pages and 788 numbers listed. Issuing of the new directory was necessitated by the expan sion of the telephone system of the small city state and by re location of six of the major ad ministrative offices of the Holy See last summer. The man who has a strong point in his character sometimes makes it a weakness just by putting it on exhibition. Capital Punishment Debate Continues 1 THE BACKDROP The furore over the 60-day reprieve from execution of the death penalty granted Caryl Chessman by Governor Edmund G. Brown, of California has re vived interest in the debate over capital pi u n i shment that has agi tated penolo gists and pub lic officials for several dec ades. The Chess man case has become an international cause celebre because of the 11 and one-half years delay in carrying out a death sentence imposed after the prisoner’s conviction of a kidnapping charge involving the abduction of two women. Opponents of capital punish ment in other countries, abet ted possibly in some foreign capitals by the communists, have flooded the United States with protests against enforcing the death penalty against a man who has lived so long in the shadow of the execution cham ber. ABOLITIONISTS CAMPAIGN Warnings by the governments of Uruguay and Brazil that exe cution of Chessman might touch off hostile demonstrations when President Eisenhower visited those countries were taken so seriously by the State Depart ment that it passed them along to Governor Brown. And it was mainly to avoid such unpleas antness that Brown ordered the By JOHN C. O’BRIEN execution of the death penalty delayed. Brown associates himself with those Americans who believe that capital punishment should be abolished and he has called a special session of his legislature to consider repeal of the state’s capital punishment statute. He rejects the contention of the up holders of capital punishment that it is a deterrent against the commission of murder and oth er serious crimes. Although opponents have waged an unrelenting campaign in state legislatures to abolish the death penalty, they have made little headway. Only nine states have eliminated it. In six of these, however, no convicted person has been put to death in the past three decades. The ninth, Delaware, abolished the death penalty in 1957. In Kan sas the death penalty was re stored in 1935, after a brief ex perience without it. Of the states (and the District of Columbia) which exact the death penalty, 24 impose it by electrocution, 11 by use of lethal gas, six by hanging and one, Utah, by shooting. DROP DEATH SENTENCES Murder and rape are the prin ciple crimes that carry the death penalty in the death penalty states, although armed robbery, kidnapping, burglary, espionage and aggravated assault are pun ishable by death in a few states. Between 1930 and 1959, a to tal of 3,666 persons were exe cuted by civil authorities in the United States, of whom 1,643 were white, 1,972 Negro and 41 of other races. In 1959 there were executions in only 16 states. Georgia led with eight, all Negroes. California was sec ond with six, five Negroes and one white person. Throughout the world in the past two centuries penal laws have been drastically moderat ed. At one time the theft of a loaf of bread was punishable by death. In many countries the death penalty has been abolish ed altogether. In fact, the United States is one of the few great nations in which it has been widely retained. But even in this country, al though the death penalty re mains on the statute books of most of the states, there has been a steady decline in the number of executions. In the decade from 1930 to 1940 the average number of executions was 167 a year; in the decade from 1940 to 1950, 128 a year and in the last decade 72 a year. These figures seem to indicate a growing reluctance upon the part of juries, which, in some states have authority to recom mend against the death penalty, and on the part of judges to impose the extreme penalty. But penologists and sociologists are still far from agreement on the question of whether the death penalty is a deterrent to crimes of violence and the pro spect that the death penalty statute will be repealed by ‘the states which now have, it is ra ther dim. View’ from the ; | Rectory By The Rev. Robert H. Wharton ■ RINGING REVELATIONS A worried man went to his doctor to complain of popped eyes and a ringing in his ears. The doctor suggested that the man have his tonsils out, but this didn’t clear the situation. He went to a second doctor, who ordered all the man’s teeth extract ed. Still the condition per sisted. The man went to a third doctor, who gave him six months to live. The man decided to live out his allotted time well. He bought a new car, hired a chauffeur, took a suite at the best hotel, and ordered a tailor to make him a dozen suits. At the same time, he decided to go all the way and have his shirts tailor-made. The tailor meas ured him. “Let’s see,” said the tailor. “Sleeve, 34; collar, 16.” “Fifteen,” said the man. “Sixteen,” said the tailor. “Look here,” said the man, “I’ve always worn a 15 collar.” “O.K.,” said the tailor, “but don’t say I didn’t warn you. If you keep it up your eyes are going to pop and there’ll be a ringing in your ears.” I know it’s crazy, man. But a Shaggy Man story like this shows how credulous we tend to be. Credulous — inclined to be lieve anything on the slightest evidence. One reason for our readiness to jump on any old bandwagon is our habit of reflex action. We’re inclined to believe any thing that’s said often enough. Advertising tells us that this athlete smokes Zebra cigarettes. Our teeth are supposed to be whiter bv the Hexachlorobex in the toothpaste. Drinking Seven Petunias, it is intimated, makes us men of distinction. We buy these products from an unthink ing reflex action. The same with our cherished mvths. Someone said we should “feed a cold and starve a fever.” We’re sure mice prefer cheese to other foods because they sav so. Everyone says lightning doesn’t strike twice in the same place. All educated persons know that Marie Antoniette said, “Let ’em eat cake.” All these popular myths have been debunked by experts. But we’re credulous. This eagerness to believe without evidence passes over, unfortunately, to the realm of religion. Witness the widespread rumors about the Fatima letter, which the Pope is supposed to open in 1960. Many good per sons have heard that the mes sage goes something like this: “Wind up your affairs, folks. The world will be destroyed next Friday at noon.” We’re ready to snap up re ports of stigmatists, weeping madonnas, glowing lights and various dire predictions that the world is about to end. We are inclined to be credulous even in matters of religion. There are two dangers in this attitude. The first is that it can bring discredit to our faith. Out siders may discount our genu ine miracles because they see the flimsy evidence supporting some popular superstitions. We believe in miracles. The possibility of miracles, in fact, is an essential part of our faith. But a genuine miracle rests on solid ground, not on flimsy ru mors. Every Catholic should realize that God’s public revelation to mankind ended long ago. God’s official declaration intended for all men began with Adam and Eve, continued through the pro phets, and ended with the death of St. John, the last Apostle. Everything contained in this official revelation we accept without question. We have God’s word that such facts are true. Beliefs such as the doc trine of the Holy Trinity, Mass, forgiveness of sins, the Resur rection of our Savior — all these are part of the “deposit of faith” which we must accept. But since the time of Christ, there have been many private revelations. In these cases, God may speak to particular persons. A saint — such as Margaret Mary or Gertrude or Brigid — may write that the Lord ap peared to her. Three children, like those at Fatima, may say that the Blessed Mother appear ed to them. After investigating these things, the Church may approve of them. This approval, howev er, means simply that there' is nothing contrary to faith or morals. Of course, they must be spiritually useful and based on sound evidence. The point is that these pri vate revelations can’t become a part of that body of truths we must believe. The Church does n’t declare them infallible. Why not? Because the official reve lations of God ended with Christ and the Apostles. I said there are two dangers in being credulous. The other danger is that we can neglect essential things by always look ing for the spectacular. Yes, we should have a vibrant faith, a realization of the workings of God’s grace, an insight into un seen realities. But this faith is shown chief ly by our appreciation of the truths contained in God’s offi cial revelation. We have in our hands every day the miracles of the Mass and forgiveness of sins. A love of these everyday wonders is far different from a credulous seeking after signs and wonders. It’s unwise, then, to insist that your popping eyes and ringing ears are divine messages. They might be messages that your collar is too tight. Relief To Morocco NEW YORK—The U. S. Bish op’s relief agency has shipped blankets, bedding, shoes and household items to quake vic tims in Morocco. Catholic Relief Services—Na tional Catholic Welfare Con ference reported that 490.000 pounds of clothing collected in the 1959 Thanksgiving Clothing Collection previously had been shipped to Rabat as part of its regular program and whatever remains of this amount also will be distributed to the Agadir earthquake victims. Any sur plus foods that may be available through the agency’s feeding program there will be supplied to the victims. 416 8TH ST., AUGUSTA, GA. Published fortnightly by the Catholic Laymen’s Association of Georgia, Inc., with the Approbation of the Most Reverend Bishop of Savannah, The Most Reverend Bishop of Atlanta, and the Right Reverend Abbot Ordinary of Belmont. Subscription price $3.00 per year. Second class mail privileges authorized at Monroe, Georgia. Send notice of change of address to P. O. Box 320, Monroe, Georgia. REV. FRANCIS J. DONOHUE REV. R. DONALD KIERNAN Editor Savannah Edition Editor Atlanta Edition JOHN MARK WALTER Managing Editor Vol- 40 Saturday, March 19, 1960 No. 21 ASSOCIATION OFFICERS 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