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Could A Catholic President Uphold Church - State Separation?
(By John A. O'Brien, Ph.D.)
The editors of LOOK maga
zine submitted a number of
questions about relations between
Church and State that are seldom
discussed publicly and frankly in
the United States. These a n d
additional questions along with
the answers are here presented
with a view of removing the mis
conceptions which foster preju
dice and create divisions. It is
hoped that an understanding of
the true position of Catholics on
this subject will increase neigh
borly understanding and good
will and strengthen our national
unity. ;
11 Pronouncements of
American Catholics and of
Pope on Church-Slate
Separation
Have Catholics been striving
for years, as many imagine, to
bring about a union of Church
and Staie in this country?
We can best answer this
question by presenting the
thought of outstanding leaders
of the Church from her estab
lishment to the present time.
What did the' first Catholic
bishop say on this subject?
Father John Carroll who in
1790 became the first Catholic
bishop in this country express
ed the mind of the Catholic col
onists when he said: “We have
all smarted heretofore under
the lash of an established
Church, and shall therefore be
on our guard against every ap
proach towards it.”
Three months after the Con
stitutional Convention had
drafted the federal Constitution
he declared: “Thanks to genu
ine spirit and Christianity, the
United States have banished in
tolerance from their system of
government, and many of them
have done the justice to every
denomination of Christians,
which ought to be done to them
all, of placing them on the same
footing of citizenship, and con
ferring an equal right of par
ticipation in national privileg
es. Freedom and independence,
acquired by the united efforts,
and cemented with the mingled
blood of Protestant and Catho
lic fellow citizens, should be
equally enjoyed by all.”
What did Bishop John Eng
land think about union of
Church and State?
This leader, of the Church in
the first part of the nineteenth
century said: “I am convinced
that a total separation from the
temporal government is the
most natural and safest state for
the Church in any place where
it is not, as in the papal terri
tory, a complete government of
churchmen.”
Whaf did Archbishop John
Hughes of New York regard as
the wisest provision of the fed
eral Constitution?
In an address before a vast
audience in the Broadway Tab
ernacle in New York in 1843,
Archbishop Hughes declared:
“I regard the Constitution of
the United States as a monu
ment of liberty and right, un
equaled, unrivaled, in the an
nals of the human race. Every
separate provision of that im
mortal document is stamped
with the features of wisdom:
and yet among its wise provis
ions, what I regard as the wisest
of all is the brief, simple, but
comprehensive declaration that
“Congress shall make no law
respecting the establishment of
religion, or prohibiting the free
exercise thereof.”
Did Cardinal Gibbons protest
against separation of Church
and State?
On the contrary, this top-
ranking member of the Ameri
can hierarchy declared in 1909:
“American Catholics rejoice in
our separation of Church and
State; and I can conceive of no
combination of circumstances
likely to arise which would
make a union desirable either
to Church or State. We know
the blessings of our present ar
rangement: it gives us liberty
and binds together priests and
people in a union better than
that of Church and State. Other
countries, other manners: we do
not believe our system adapted
to all conditions; we leave it to
Church and State in other lands
to solve their problems for their
own best interests.”
"Is not the Catholic hierar
chy today working for a union
of Church and Slate?
Far from it. On January 25,
1948, Archbishop John T. Mc-
Nicholas, Chairman of the Ad
ministrative Board of the Na
tional Catholic Welfare Confer
ence, the most authorative
body in the Catholic Church in
America, issued the following
definitive statement: “No group
in America is seeking union of
Church and State: and least of
all are Catholics. We deny ab
solutely and without any quali
fication that the Catholic bish
ops of the United States are
seeking a union of Church and
State by any endeavors whatso
ever, either proximate or re
mote.
What did the Catholic bisfy-
ops of the United States say on
this subject?
In 1948 they declared them
selves unanimously in favor of
“our original American tradi
tion of free co-operation be
tween government and religious
bodies; co-operation involves no
special privilege to any group
and no restriction on the relig
ious liberty of any citizen.”
If Catholics ever achieved a
majority, however, wouldn't
they seek a union of Church
and Staie?
No. Speaking in behalf of all
Catholics, Archbishop McNich-
olas said in the same definitive
pronouncement: “If tomorrow
Catholics constituted a majority
in our country, they would not
seek a union of Church and
State. They would then, as now,
uphold the Constitution and all
its Amendments, recognizing
that the moral obligations im
posed on all Catholics to ob
serve and defend the Constitu
tion and its Amendments.”
"Whaf do theologians say on
this subject?
The Very Rev. Francis J.
Connell, C.SS.R,, long the head
of the school of theology at the
Catholic University of America,
thus sums up the teaching of
all: “To the famous objections
that if Catholics ever gained the
balance of voting power in the
U. S. they would be obliged by
their principles to give special
favor to the Catholic Church
and to impose restrictions on
the religious activities of their
non-Catholic fellow citizens, my
answer is that this charge is ut
terly erroneous. Catholics have
no obligation to seek special
privileges for their Church in a
land where the bad results of
such a procedure would surpass
the good effects: and certainly
if there is any land where that
should be the case, it is the
United States, even if a very
great proportion of our people
eventually became Catholics
Such a radical change of a poli
cy that has worked successfully
since the birth of our nation
would inevitably cause grave
harm to the unity of our peo
ple.”
Is the record of Catholic op
position to Church-State union
unbroken by a single exception?
Yes. From the days of the
early colonists to the present
time no American Catholic, lay
or clerical, in responsible posi
tion, has ever voiced dissatis
faction with the separation of
Church and State.
What did Pope Pius XII say
(Continued on Page 8)
Serving
Georgia's 88
Southern Counties
DIOCESE OF SAVANNAH EDITION
OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE DIOCESE OF SAVANNAH
Published By The
Catholic Laymen's
Ass'n of Georgia
Vol. 41, No. 2
MONROE, GEORGIA, SATURDAY, JUNE 25, 1960
10c Per Copy — $3 a Year
KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS BURSE — The Grand Knights of each council in the Diocese of Savannah presented the Most
Rev. Thomas J. McDonough, D.D., J.C.D., Bishop of the Dioces e, with a check representing each council’s share in a $2,500 Burse
for the education of priests for the Diocese. This was the second annual presentation and was made when Georgia Knights gath
ered at Jekyll Island in annual convention. Pictured (1. to r.) Ray Ahles, Grand Knight, Brunswick; Herman Geerling, Grand
Knight, Columbus; John Butler, Grand Knight, Savannah; Wilson Barton, Grand Knight, Albany; Bishop McDonough; Richard
Nadicksberned, Grand Knight’s Delegate, Warner Robins; Barney Dunstan, Grand Knight, Augusta; Zeno Sutton, Grand
Knight, Valdosta and Joseph McNeil, Grand Knight, Macon.
7S6MIUTB
AT ILESSEt
SACtAEIT
SAVANNAH — The largest
class graduated from Blessed
Sacrament Parochial School
June 3rd.
Diplomas were given out af
ter Mass by the Rt. Rev. Msgr.
Thomas A. Brennan, pastor to
the 76 graduates. The sermon
was given by Father. George C.
James, assistant pastor.
Scholarships were awarded to
Charles Joseph Jackson and
Kathleen Anne Powers. Both
these scholarships are sponsored
by the Blessed Sacrament par
ish Catholic Youth Council. 1
The following students of the
graduating class are honor stu
dents: Joseph B. Barragan,
Jane Patricia Bauersfeld, Gail
Elizabeth Brophy, Janet Marie
Fogarty, Elizabeth Anne Fulton,
John M. Haar, Elizabeth L. Ho
gan, Charles J. Jackson, Sandra
L. Koscuik, Ellen M. May, Nan
cy B. Miller, Sheila Marie Mil
ler, Barbara Anne Muller, Dav
id M. O’Brien, Jr., John B. Oet-
gen, Constance Ann O’Neil,
Kathleen Ann Powers, Thomas
A. Stevens, Michael S. Wysocki.
The two eighth grades v/ere
taught by Sr. M. Jude, R.S.M.,
principal, and by Sr. M. de Mon
fort, R.S.M. A light breakfast
was served afterwards to the
graduates by the Home and
School Association.
CUBAN CHRISTIAN DEMOCRATS
SUSPEND ACTIVITIES UNTIL
FREE EXPRESSION RETURNS
HAVANA, (NC) — Cuba’s
Christian Democratic Move
ment has bowed itself out of
the political picture until free
dom of expression is restored in
Cuba.
In an explanation of its ac
tion, the movement complained
that “only the communist party
may carry out fully and unim
peded its propaganda and ac
tivity.”
The statement recalled that
the Christian Democrat Move
ment was able to enter the pol
itical arena when Fidel Castro’s
revoluntionaries toppled the
dictatorship of Fulgencio Ba
tista.
It said:
"Like the large majority of
the Cuban people, the Christian
Democratic Movement joined
enthusiastically in the great
national work of renewal, and
praised and fervently praises
the positive accomplishments of
the Revolution: a restoration of
administrative honesty, concern
for the impoverished classes,
the redemption of national sov
ereignty, and so forth."
The Christian Democratic
statement continued:
“Regrettably, the fruitful cre
ative impulse of the Revolu
tion has become more and more
darkened by some negative as
pects which have clouded the
picture: a tendency toward a
government directed by one
person’s will and without pos
sibility of appeal, an iron re
striction of voices at variance, a
totalitarian tendency to subor
dinate to the State all economic
activities, a progressive control
of all means of public expres
sion.”
It said that since the “mini
mum of conditions” necessary
for the spread of Christian
Democratic ideas is not present
in Cuba, “the members of the
Christian Democratic Movement
have decided to suspend their
public activities and withdraw
as an organized movement.”
The statement specified that
this withdrawal would be ef
fective only “until the national
circumstances again allow the
organization of groups and en
tities of different ideologies.”
The movement announced it
was suspending its radio broad
casts in Havana, Camaguey and
Santiago, and warned that “any
declaration or proclamation
which might appear as support
ed or signed by the Christian
Democratic Movement of Cuba
is to be considered false.”
The statement was signed by
Luis Aguilar Leon, president of
the movement, and by five pro
vincial delegates: Jose. Fernan
dez Badue, Eddy Carreras Val-
linas, Oscar Minso Bachiller,
Jesus Angulo y Clemente, and
Ramon Galenna y Arango.
At the foot of the statement,
as published by the independ
ent newspaper Informacion, was
a “clarification” by “The Local
Committee for Freedom of the
Press of Informacion’s Newspa-
(Continued on Page 8)
Rev. J. N. O'Rourke
Rev. O’Rourke
Ordained F§r
Savals
DUBLIN — The Rev. John
Noel O’Rourke was ordained for
the Diocese of Savannah, June
19th at ceremonies held in the
Chapel of All Hallows College
here.
Father O’Rourke was ordain
ed by the Most Reverend John
J. Scanlon, Auxiliary Bishop of
Honolulu. Son of Francis O’
Rourke and Annie Gahy, Father
O'Rourke was born February
25, 1936 in the City of Athenry.
The newly ordained priest will
come to the Diocese the latter
part of the summer.
Holy Father Names 74 Prelates To
Ecumenical Council Central Agency
Omission
liioiudes Four
Fr@i America
(Radio, N.C.W.C. News Service)
VATICAN CITY — His Holi
ness Pope John XXIII has nam
ed 74 prelates — including -four
from the U. S. and three from
Iron Curtain countries — to the
coordinating body for the com
ing ecumenical council.
The commission will coordi
nate the work of the 10 prepa
ratory commissions which will
make plans for the second Vat
ican Council.
In accordance with the Pope’s
promise in his June 5 pro
nouncement setting up the
commissions, the members of
the central commission repre
sent Catholics in every part of
the world.
The Pope had announced ear
lier that he or a personal dele
gate would serve as president
of the commission.
U. S. prelates on the com
mission are Their Eminences
Francis Cardinal Spellman,
Archbishop of New York;
James Francis Cardinal McIn
tyre, Archbishop of Los Ange
les, and Aloisius Cardinal Mu-
ench, former Bishop of Fargo,
N. D., who is now a member of
the Vatican headquarters staff,
and Archbishop Karl J. Alter of
Cincinnati, chairman of the ad
ministrative board of the Na
tional Catholic Welfare Confer
ence.
The central commission is
made up of 35 cardinals, four
patriarchs of Oriental rites, 25
archbishops, seven bishops and
three heads of religious orders.
Canadian prelates on the
commission are Their Eminen
ces James Cardinal McGuigan,
Archbishop of Toronto, and
Paul Emile Cardinal Leger,
Archbishop of Montreal, and
Archbishop Paul Bernier, Bish
op of Gaspe and chairman of
the Canadian Bishops’ Confer
ence.
The three commission mem
bers from behind the Iron Cur
tain are His Eminence Stefan
Cardinal Wyszynski, Archbish
op of Gniezno and Warsaw;
Archbishop Josip Ujcic of Bel
grade, and Archbishop Jozsef
Groesz of Kalocsa, Hungary.
Latin American itqpresenta-
tives are Their Eminences
Jaime Cardinal de Barros Cam
ara, Archbishop of Rio de Ja
neiro, Brazil; Manuel Cardinal
Arteaga y Betancourt, Arch
bishop of Havana, Cuba; An
tonio Cardinal Caggiano, Arch
bishop of Buenos Aires, Argen
tina; Carlos Maria Cardinal de
la Torre, Archbishop of Quito,
Ecuador; Jose Cardinal Garibi
y Rivera, Archbishop of Guad
alajara, Mexico, and Antonio
(Continued on Page 2)
Archbishop O'Hara
Archbishop
O’Hara Visits
Savannah
SAVANNAH—The Most Rev.
Gerald P. O’Hara, D.D., J.C.D.,
Apostolic Delegate to Great
Britain and former Bishop of
the Diocese of Savannah, visit
ed Savannah and the Diocese
recently.
The primary intention of the
Archbishop’s visit was to call on
Bishop McDonough and to at
tend to business necessitated by
his resignation as Bishop of the
Diocese of Savannah.
His Excellency arrived in
Savannah on the afternoon of
Friday, June 10th, and was en
tertained at dinner that eve
ning by the Most Rev. Thomas
J. McDonough, Bishop of Sav
annah. On Saturday, June 11th,
the Archbishop was guest at a
luncheon at the Hotel Desoto,
meeting with the priests of the
area.
At the conclusion of the
luncheon Archbishop O’Hara
spoke with deep affection for
the priests, the religious and the
laity of the Diocese of Savan
nah.
Bishop McDonough assured
the Archbishop that he would
always be most welcome in
Savannah, where he spent so
many years of his episcopacy
in extending the frontiers of our
holy Faith.
Archbishop O’Hara regretted
extremely that he was unable
to remain for a longer period
of time, but he was obliged to
return to England by June 20th.
eoimicH
In our issue of June 11th
THE BULLETIN incorrectly
listed the starting time for the
two retreats for Women to be
held at Macon's Mi. de Sales as
9 a. m. on July 26ih and 29th.
The correct starting time
should have been listed as
9 p. m.
☆ ☆☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
Catholic-Orthodox Reunicn
lope Voiced By Pope John
(Radio, N.C.W.C. News Service)
VATICAN CITY—His Holi
ness Pope John XXIII on Pente
cost again voiced his hope for
reunion of the Catholic and Or
thodox Churches, saying it
would be "one of the most
precious fruits" of the coming
ecumenical council.
The Pontiff said he hopes St.
Gregory Nazianzen and St. John
Chrysostom—r ecognized by
Christians of both East and West
as two of the greatest Doctors
of the Church—will “intercede
for the return of the Churches
of the East to the embrace of
the one, holy catholic and apos
tolic Church.” Pope John ex
pressed his longing for reunion
in the course of a long discourse
during pontifical Vespers in St.
Peter’s basilica on Whitsunday|
Of the possibility of reunion,
he declared: "Oh what a marvel
ous event this would be and
what a flowering of human and
heavenly charity there would
be in setting in motion the join
ing of the separated brothers of
the East and West in the single
flock of Christ, the eternal
shepherd!
"This would represent one of
the most precious fruits of the
coming second Vatican ecumen
ical council, to the glory of the
Lord on earth and in heaven
and for the universal exultation
and the fulness of the mystery
of the communion of saints . . ."
Having revealed the previous
day that he was setting up 13
special agencies to prepare for
the Second Vatican Council,
Pope John spoke at length
about the council. He also dwelt
on the distinction between a
mans’ temporal and his eternal
life. While distinct, the two are
not mutually exclusive, he said,
adding that there should be
compatibility between them
without difficulty.
Concerning the ecumenical
council, the Pope said that
there are four phases to it. He
listed them as:
1. The initial antepreparatory
and general—which have been
completed;
2. The preparatory phase
which the pope revealed the
previous day;
3. The holding of the general
assembly—“the council in its
most resplendent solemnity”;
4. The promulgation of the
acts of the council.
The Pope added:
“The third phase, that is to
say, the official assembly of the
council here in the Vatican, will
no doubt be the most moving
and solemn spectacle offered ‘to
the world of both angels and
men.’ But the date it is to be
held will depend on the extent
and progress of its preparation
—the second phase, which is
now beginning.”
At this point, the Pontiff de
clared that the preparations of
the council will not interfere
with the normal government of
the Church, which is entrusted
to the Vatican congregations.
Then, noting that bishops and
prelates from all parts of the
world will participate in the
council, he repeated his earlier
declarations that this will be a
living proof of the catholicity of
the Church.
Pope John proceeded in his
discourse to speak on “the two
concepts of human life, of the
individual man and of man in
society, the life of the spirit and
the life of the body, eternal life
and temporal life.”
The two are distinct but not
mutually exclusive, he said, and
there should be compatibility
between them without difficul
ty. But the Pope said that the
two are sometimes placed in op
position to each other, and it
then becomes the business of
the Church to unite them again.
He continued:
“But the Church concerns it
self above all with the spirit. It
is concerned with the ordinary
vicissitudes of daily life which
it wishes to and can sanctify.
But in so doing, it is inviting the
Christian to be on his guard
against those elements which
can distract him from higher
things—from God as his begin-
(Continued on Page 8)
GEORGIANS
RECEIVE C. U.
DEGREES
WASHINGTON — The Cath
olic University of America held
its 71st annual graduation with
streamlined ceremonies, sans
traditional, commencement
speaker. Presiding was The
Most Rev. Patrick A. O’Boyle,
Chancellor of The University
and Archbishop of Washington.
The Rector, Rt. Rev. Msgr.
William J. McDonald gave a
short report on the state of the
University and brought a mes
sage of congratulation to the
1,132 persons who received de
grees. Honorary degrees were
bestowed on John A. McCone,
chairman of the Atomic Energy
Commission, and Dr. James A.
Shannon, Director of the Na
tional Institute of Health.
Among those receiving de
grees were Vito Raymond Pas-
cullis. 2220 Old Holdon Rd., Ma
con, and Miss Shirley Ann Sea
man, 810 Brunei St., Waycross.