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PAGE 4—THE BULLETIN, April 16, 1960 New Bill Would Increase Immigration JOSEPH BREIG FOLLY IN SCHOOL AID Federal aid to education may or may not be necessary. But even if it is necessary, Congress is going about it the wrong way. Only one argument in favor of such aid seems to me to carry much weight. It is this:, , Here is a child, growing up in a well- to-do school district which is able to education. Here is another child, living in a poor school district, who must go to an inferior school. Both children are assets to America. Both are future citizens. •' Both ought to have every rea sonable opportunity to develop to fullest capacity. Therefore something ought to be done to give the child in the poorer district an educational opportunity more like that of the child in the richer district. THIS IS AN eminently worth while objective. If it cannot be attained without bringing the federal government into the picture, ; then there is something to be said for federal aid. , Unfortunately, the congres sional approach to the problem has been indirect, wasteful and inefficient. It is hardly too much to sa'y that it is self-defeating. The direct and efficient meth od would be to give federal aid only to needy school districts, and only as long as the need persisted. The aid could then be discon tinued when the need ended. Instead of doing that, Con gress proposes to grant funds to all states—including those which are entirely capable of solving their own educational pfiAjlcyns, • This-is a self-perpetuating ar rangement; the grants would tend to go on and on, and to grow larger and larger. WHAT IS WORSE, grants would be based upon the school age population of each state. Thus rich and populous states would benefit, proportionately, more than states which need help. This runs directly contrary to the only really defensible pur pose of federal aid to education. The evil, further is com pounded by discrimination against children whose parents send them to religious schools and other independent schools. These parents already suffer discrimination because they pay taxes for public schools, while educating their children at no cost to taxpayers. THEY ALSO PAY federal in come taxes, like other citizens. Under the formula being fol lowed by Congress, the discrimi nation against them would be increased, because their children woilld be excluded from any share in federal benefits. The situation, indeed, is even more unfair and nonsensical than that. Congress proposes that chil dren in religious and other in dependent schools be counted in each state’s school-age popula tion, upon which the amount of aid would be based. But the neediest school dis tricts, by and large, are in states which have comparatively few Catholics. BY CONTRAST, there are rich states where half or more of the school population is in Catholic schools or other inde pendent schools. The formula for apportioning federal aid therefore becomes preposterous. Children in Catholic schools in wealthy states would be counted in determining the amount of aid—but all the aid would go to children in public schools. Therefore the children in wealthy states, who least need the aid, would get more of it, proportionately, than children who most need it. The inequality of educational opportunity would be intensi fied, rather than ameliorated— which is the precise contrary of what ought to be done. Theology For The Layman Column 53 OUR LADY (3) At the Annunciation, theolo gians hold that with “Be it done unto me according to thy word” Our Lady uttered the consent of the human race to the first step in its redemption. The As sum ption means that in heaven she represents the human race redeemed: she alone is, body and soul, where all the saved will one day be. We must look a little more closely at her relation to the human race which at these two points she represents. We call her our Mother, and for most of us the matter re quires no discussion, et it repays discussion. If we take for grant ed that she is our Mother simply because she is Christ’s, we omit something that matters for our understanding of what she means to us. As her Son, He drew His natural life from her; but, because He was her Re deemer, she drew her super natural life from Him: and it is in the supernatural order, the order of grace, that she is our Mother. How, in this order, does she become so? By her Son’s ap pointment. In the Collect to her feast as Mediatrix of All Graces, the Church says it—Oh Lord Jesus Christ, our Mediator with the Father, who hast designed to appoint your most blessed Vir gin Mother to be our Mother.” The appointment was made upon Calvary. When Our Lord gave her the apostle John to be her son, He was not simply mak ing provision for her. For that He had no need to wait for Calvary. Calvary was the sacri fice of the race’s redemption, everything that He did and said (Continued on Page 5) Question Box (By David Q. Liplak) Jottings... (By BARBARA C. JENCKS) Q. In the current "Reader's Digest" Protestant Bishop James A. Pike of California makes some rather weird state ments about the Catholic Church's position concerning separation of church and state. The article, which is a condensa tion from "Life," is entitled "Should a Catholic be Presi dent?" It seems sinister to me because despite the fact that Bishop Pike demands religious tests for Catholic Presidential candidates, he apparently has no major complaint against the only Catholic campaigning for the Presidency this year. Still, I would, like to know how to answer some of Bishop Pike's allegations. First, is it ture, as he implies, that Pope Pius IX in his 1864 "Syllabus of Errors’' flatly condemned the principle of separation of church and state? A. Bishop Pike’s implication that Pope' Pius IX flatly and universally condemned the principle of separation of church and state in his “Sylla bus Error” is not true. During the very year the “Syllabus” was promulgated, the pope’s Secretary of State, Cardinal Antonelli, explained to the faithful of Catholic Belgium that their constitutional princi ple of separation of church and state was not proscribed. And here in the United States, many years after the “Syllabus” was issued. Catholic bishops are still defending, as they have always defended, the concept of separa tion as set down in the First Amendment (the adoption of which was championed by the first archbishop of the United States). * * * Q. Bishop Pike bolsters his argument by quoting directly from the "Syllabus of Errors." How can one respond to such argumentation? A. It is as inane to quote merely from the “Syllabus of Errors” to indicate the Church’s stand in a particular matter as it is to quote merely from a newspaper headline or the table of contents of a book to prove some point. The “Syllabus” is no more than an index of mallacies pre viously mentioned in papal (Continued on Page 5) "When the dog bites and the bee stings When I'm feeling sad, I simply remember my favorite things And then I don't feel so bad." —from "Sound of Music." * * * • "SOUND OF MUSIC," the current Broadway musical hit based on the story of the Trapp Family Singers, shines like a star on a summer night amid the sordid fare offered at nearby theatres. Even the drama critics, especially the esteemed Brooks Atkinson, have raged at this year’s theatre offerings. It is en couraging that the best musicale in town is non-censorable. The Leatare theme rings from be ginning to end and it makes one rather happy to be a member of the human race. This is not al ways the affect taken from New York theatres. There are several nun-sequences in the musicale which will cause the more vigi lant to disapprove. This is no nun’s story. The gloom of Sister Luke is replaced by frivolity which will bring censure from some. There are those who will say that there never was such a postulant as Maria. (Mary Mar tin) and no Abbess has such a voice as Patricia Neway or such a handsome cloak either and tliat weddings of former postu lants do not take place in ab beys. Yet the musicale is joyous and wholesome and sheer de light. “Climb Every Mountain” and “My Favorite Things,” two catchy numbers in the score, give some good advice to thea tre-goers, too. • “MY FAVORITE THINGS" holds some homespun philoso phy which I have used during many of my “blue periods.” In this number sung by the abbess and the postulant, Mary Martin, it is suggested that when feeling blue “you simply remember your favorite things and then you don’t feel so (ungramatical- ly) bad.” Of course, the abbess should have prescribed the ros ary, litany of the saints or some spiritual reading but then the musicale would have lost one of its happiest tunes. Thinking about my favorite things is a home-siade prescription I have used often when bed-ridden with Lenten flue or at times when the springtime of Easter seemed too far off. Of course, the litany of favorite things fol lowed up with the litany of thanksgiving. But think upon the good things of life when the snows are deep and the temp erature high and the nose stuf fed and the head aching. and maybe you won’t feel so bad (ly). « IN COMPILING my list in non-rhythmic pattern in con trast to the musicale version, I did not know whether to list the things helter-skelter or put some semblance of order into them. Should I list things the way I think of them or in the seasons they are evident or by the sens es in which they come to me. Why not just let them tumble out as in the title song, “My Favorite Things”; the smell of salt air and the poundering of surf, Rockport on a summer Sat urday, the smell of bacon and eggs, vacation, St. Patrick’s Day, Italian restaurants, Boston at Dusk, New York City at theatre time, clean sheets, the smell of burning leaves and Fall, Ireland, the month of May, classical rec ords and literary conversatings, the smell of incense, the sound of Church bells and fog horns and rain on the roof, fireplaces, chocolate ice cream, charcoal broiled steaks, home, white kid gloves, black dresses, proces sions of nuns, poetry, First Fri days, roses, Sunday morning breakfasts, fishing, good com pany — heated debates and sil ence, Celtic crosses, opening nights, white blazers, old book stories and art galleries, and if I got into favorite people — saints, writers and friends, this would go on ad-infinitum. I feel better already thinking on these favorite things, so why not try it yourself on the next day when you are bedridden with a cold or snowbound or the rent comes due. “Lord, you have made so many things so good.” Things will come your way only after you remove the ob stacles. SHARING OUR TREASURE Good Example Sparks Student's By REV. JOHN A, _ (University of Have you ever seen a fisher man, after an hour or so of pa tient waiting, reel in a good-sized fish? He is beaming with joy. A sense of achievement floods his heart. But greater still is tht joy of the person who has won a soul for Christ. You can be such a fisher by your example, prayers and willingness to ex plain your Faith to non-Cat- holics. This is illustrated by the ex perience of Thomas L. Shaffer of Fruita, Colorado. “I was rear ed as a Baptist,” related Tom, “and attended church and Sun day School quite regularly. While still in high school I worked after class as a printer’s devil at the Fruita Times. The publisher, Mr. Karl Cagle, was a devout Catholic and I was great ly impressed by fine example. “One of my classmates, James Martinez, was also a Catholic. I visited at his home and wasj struck by the deeply religious atmosphere, and manifested by- holy pictures, statues and a cru cifix in the living room. I ad mired their high ideals and hol iness of life, and could see how much their religion meant to them. Hence I was shocked when our minister violently at tacked the Catholic Church, its bishops and priests, and urged us to read anti-Catholic pamph lets. “As I couldn’t square those charges with the clean upright lives of the Catholics I knew, I determined to investigate. So I went with Jim to a Christmas midnight Mass and was deeply impressed with the reverence of the worshipers and the solemn beauty of the services. While in a barber shop I saw in “Look” magazine a K. of C. ad, offering a pamphlet on the Catholic Faith. “I sent for it and then enrolled in their mail instruction course. The Vincentian Fathers in charge corrected my answers and wrote me long letters sup- Interest O'BRIEN, Ph. D. Notre Dame) „ ... , plementing the texts, Father Smith Instructs Jackson and Treasures of the Mass. Upon completing the course, I told them I wanted to become a Catholic. They sent me a letter of introduction to a priest. “I called at the Immaculate Conception Cathedral Rectory in Denver, where I was working, and Father John Haley had me receive some additional instruc tion in his Inquiry Class. He was the first priest I had ever met. Joseph Cavaliere, a Cath olic at the boarding house, was the sponsor at my Baptism and received Holy Communion with me. “A Legionary of Mary, Joe was a zealous Catholic. lie gave me a rosary, medal, prayerbook and other Catholic literature. More important even than that, he set the example every new convert needs. He attended Mass ; and received Holy Communion daily, and I w e n t. with. hiip. Thinking that I had a religious vocation, I went to Holy Cross Abbey at Canon City. But after a year, I realized I was not called to the religious life. “I married a devout Catholic, Nancy Lehr, served in the air force, and after finishing col lege got a scholarship to Notre Dame University where I’m studying law. I’m trying to show my gratitude for the gift of faith by sharing it with others. I gave a copy of The Road to Damascus to an interested non- Catholic and am sharing my copy of Why I Became a Cath olic (University of Notre Dame Press) With others. “We have four children, and we hope with God’s help to win at least one convert or re-acti- vate an inactive Catholic each year. The example of Karl Ca- gel, Jim Martinez and Joe Cava liere in helping me into the true fold shows that one doesn’t have to be a priest or Religious to be a fisher of souls for Christ, Our Lord.” During the three days cf the Ukrainian Easter Sunday, Mon day and Tuesday—Americans of Ukrainian descent will give one another the traditional symbolic gifts of pysanky—brilliant ly colored and intricately designed eggs. Many Ukrainian- Americans do not make the eggs themselves, but buy the ex quisite work produced by egg “jewelers.” American use of mass-produced clothes does not encourage second-generation Ukrainian girls to make their own colorful finery, such as worn by the vour.g lady above, but the custom has not quite died out. THE BACKDROP The gates of entry to the United States will be swung open wider to immigrants from foreign lands, if Congress adopts amendments to the immigra tion act which have the sup port of the Department of Justice and the Admini stration. The propos ed new for the determination of immigrant quotas would permit the admission of more than 100,000 additional immi grants annually. It would en able Asiatics to come to this country in greater numbers. And it would provide a haven in the United States for a greater num ber of refugees from communist countries and from political per secution elsewhere. The present immigration law sets an annual immigrant quota of 154,657, computed by taking one-sixth of one per cent of the white population of the country in 1920, less Western hemisphere immigrants and their descend ants. The new bill would substitute the population of 1950 as the basis of computation: Under this formula the annual quota would be increased to 256,000, a gain of 101,343. Upon completion of the 1960 census, the quota would be re-computed on the basis of the new population enumera tion. The new quota authorization would favor those countries which historically have contrib- By JOHN C, O’BRIEN uted the greatest number of im migrants. At the same time it would increase the quotas of col onies of foreign powers from the present ceiling of 100 to 200 and would provide quotas for newly emerged states. The additional quota of more than 100,000 immigrants would be distributed among existing quota areas, so that each would be assigned that proportion which its actual immigration to the United States from July 1, 1924 to July, 1959 bears to the total immigration from all quo ta areas. Thus, if an area’s im migration for the specified peri od were ten per cent of the total immigration, it would be alloted 10 per cent of the addi tional quota, or roughly 10,000 additional visas. Under the existing law, quo tas assigned, to foreign coun tries which are unused or only partially used are wiped out at the end of each year; they are not carried forward to the next year. The new law, however, would throw the unused quotas into a pool for redistribution the following year among quota areas that had exhausted their quotas the previous year. Each oversubscribed area would receive a percentage of the visas in the quota pool equal to the percentage that its pre scribed quota bears to the total of the quotas assigned to all of the over-subscribed areas. That is to say, if the exhausted quota of a country were 1,000 and the aggregate of the quotas of all oversubscribed countries were 50,000, that country’s share of the quota pool would be two per cent. At present immigration quo tas for countries in the Asia- Pacific triangle are limited to 2,000 a year. The new bill would eliminate the ceiling so that ad ditional quotas could be assign ed, to the Asia area. The United States has always followed the humane policy of granting asylum to victims of persecution on account of race, religion or political opinion. Un der a special refugee immigra tion act? since expired, many thousands of refugees from per secution in communist countries were limited to the United States. The pressure for admission of such refugees has laregly sub sided, but there are many who still are without a permanent home. To provide a home for such refugees, the new bill would authorize the Attorney General to admit up to 10,000 refugees annually. These would include not only victims of com munist persecution but others who have had to flee their na tive lands because of war, politi cal upheaval or natural calam ity. If the proposed amendments are to become law, Americans who favor an easier immigration policy will have to make their views heard in Congress, for the committees to which the new legislation has been referred, notably in the House, are for the most hostile to increased immi gration. View 1 from the / Ilee'tory By The Rev. Robert H. Wharton SPOpKS A woman went to a spirit ualist and got into contact with her dead husband. “James,” she asked, “are you happy now?” “I am very happy.” Are you hap pier than you were with me on earth?” “Yes, far h a p p i er, ” came the se pulchral voice. “Tell me, James, what is it like in heaven?” “Heaven!” the voice said. “Who’s in heaven?” This is only one reason for avoiding spiritualism, which is trying to get in touch with the departed souls. It can be em barrassing. It can also encour age those spooks to organize and make personal appearances outside English castles. No discussion of superstitions is complete without a word about letting sleeping spooks lie. Last week we took away some business, we hope, from the astrologers. Spiritualism, or spiritism, is another thriving business that’s loaded with dy namite for the Christian soul. This form of superstition has its roots in paganism. High class spiritualism embraces be liefs that are opposed to Chris tianity. It assumes the existance of some impersonal, or even un knowable, divinity. There is no room for the idea of sin as we understand it. Sacred Scripture tells us that death is the end of our proba tion. But according to spiritism, death is the beginning of de velopment in some spiritual sphere. The future life is not the vision of God, but merely a mental state or a material life like the one we now possess. Would it be all right, then, for a Catholic to attend a seance or become a medium? Heavens, no! The Holy Office has issued at least five decrees forbidding Catholics to take part in such things. Even the Second Plenary Council of Baltimore warned against such business in 1866. The bishops of this country at that council were merely fol lowing the injunction of the Book of Deuteronomy: “Neither let there be found among you anyone that seeks the truth from the dead.” Only the most superstition- ridden person fails to see the danger in spiritualism. Experi ence has proved the harm it can do to body and soul; many devotees of the art have ended up with their physical health destroyed, or their minds un balanced, or their faith lost. This is not to say that souls can’t appear from the other world. They have appeared be fore, but only with God’s per mission and for-God’s purposes. A soul could get special per mission, theoretically, to leave heaven or hell and come back for a little visit. But such an appearance would have to be above the powers of nature. Our knowledge comes through the senses, whereas the departed soul has no senses. Besides, a deceased person is quite settled in its final state; it has no reason to communicate with the living. It’s certainly a presumptuous thing for us to try to bring them back for in sufficient reasons. Since only God could permit an apparition, the reason would have to, be in accord with God’s wisdom and holiness. What about all the reports of chairs moving, tables being rapped and such phenomena? My informers from the other world tell me that rapping is out of style among the spirits these days. Every self-respecting spirit writes, or uses a “planch- ette” (ouija board to you old folks.) At the best seances, especially talented ghosts pull such tricks as raising the medium in the air. The handsome spirits allow their pictures to be taken. And some worldly wraiths even kick out a tune on a musical instru ment, something jumpy like “I Ain’t Got No Body But You.” How do we explain all this? In the first place, some practi- cioners of the art are awful fakers. I’m reminded of the seance at which the medium was bringing people back from the other world. A nine-year-old who was present kept scream ing, “I want to talk to Grand pa!” “Quiet!” hushed the medium, quite annoyed. “I want to talk to Grandpa,” repeated the kid. “Very well, little boy,” said the medium, making a few hocuspocus passes. “Here he is.” “Grandpa,” said the little boy, what are you doing there? You ain’t dead yet.” Another explanation for the spiritualist’s spooks, to put it bluntly, is that they might be real spooks. It could be that evil spirits get into the act. There are devils about, you know, and they’re always ready to take part in anything that will harm a soul. Spiritualism, therefore, is op posed to the virtue of religion. The future life, and knowledge of it, belongs only to God. It’s foolish for us to invade a do main that belongs to God. And it’s bad enough walking through a dark alley or a ceme tery without expecting some bodyless fellow to jump out and give a blood-curdling scream. No, thanks, I’ll take my people living and breathing. Relief Director To Turkish Post KARACHI, Pakistan, (NC)— The director in Pakistan of the U. S. Catholic Bishops’ relief agency has left Karachi to di rect the agency’s operations in Turkey. Gabriel P. Migala, who head ed the office of Catholic Relief Services-National Catholic Wel fare Conference in this coun try for 18 months, will be sta tioned in Ankara. He is a native of Detroit. He will be succeeded by Joe Warganz, who has worked for CRS-NCWC in the Philippines and East Pakistan. lullrtin 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; and the Most Reverend Bishop of Atlanta. 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 MARKW ALTER Managing Editor Vol. 40 Saturday, April 16, 1960 No. 23 ASSOCIATION OFFICERS GEORGE GINGELL, Columbus President MRS. DAN HARRIS, Macon Vice-President TOM GRIFFIN, Atlanta Vice-President NICK CAMERIO, Macon __1 Secretary JOHN T. BUCKLEY, Augusta Treasurer ALVIN M. McAULIFFE, Augusta Auditor JOHN MARKW ALTER, Augusta Executive Secretary MISS CECILE FERRY, Augusta Financial Secretary