Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 4—THE BULLETIN, June 25, 1960
JOSEPH BREIG
The 'Poison Pin' Question
Not Even A Loan
THE BACKDROP
One of the questions agitating
a great many Americans is
whether or not former Air Force
First Lieutenant Francis G
Powers, pilot of the U-2 recon-
naisance plane brought down
near Sverd
lovsk, deep in
Soviet ter-
r i t o r y, was
under manda
tory orders to
kill himself to
avoid falling
into the hands
of Soviet au
thorities.
The Soviet authorities an
nounced that he was and that
he was equipped with a “poison
pin” as a means of carrying out
his instructions. Not only that,
but the Soviet spokesmen sug
gested that the CIA, which or
dered his flight, intended to
blast him into eternity by trick
ery if his plane ran into trouble.
The Soviet statement said the
plane was equipped with a
charge of explosive that would
have destroyed the plane in the
air the minute the pilot released
his ejector seat. And, according
to the Soviet version, the trig
gering mechanism was so ad
justed that had the pilot re
leased the ejector seat he would
have been blown up with it.
PARENTS WRITE
How much of the Soviet story
may be believed we may never
know, for the CIA has refrained
from commenting on it. The
CIA operates in strict secrecy.
And it’s officals probably never
will be required by Congres
sional investigating committees
to disclose their methods of ope
ration, or, if they do, the inlor-
By JOHN C. O’BRIEN
mation will not be made public.
But questions are being raised
by anguished parents, many of
■whom have written to their Con
gressmen asking if it can be true
that a Christian nation like the
United States sanctions such a
“barbaric practice.” Some of the
letters point out that taking one’s
life runs couter to the religious
convictions of most Americans
who adhere to the Judeo-Chris-
tian code of morality.
Anyone who undertakes an
espionage mission , knows that
he runs the risk of losing his
life. In a time of war, captors
of spies from the beginning of
organized warfare have put
them to death. And the death
penalty often has been exacted
in time of peace, as was the case
when the Rosenbergs were ap
prehended for treason in the
United States.
But asking a spy to take his
own life to avoid being captured
is another matter, involving the
Christian prohibition against
self-destruction.
Whether Powers was under a
mandatory order to commit sui
cide is a question which only
the CIA can answer, and as has
been noted, CIA probably will
not be required to give the an
swer. But most observers doubt
that this was the case.
PART OF SPY LORE
One of the Congressmen who
received a letter from a worried
mother was Rep. James M..
Quigley, of Pennsylvania. He
assured his correspondent that it
was beyond his comprehension
that “one American can order
another to commit suicide.”
He said he was aware of the
“romantic legend” that a spy
must commit suicide rather
View!'
from Hi©
Itectfory
By The Rev. Robert K. Wharton
A man testifying in court told
such evident untruths that the
judge intervened. “See here,” he
admonished, “you must tell the
truth in this courtroom. Do you
know what will happen if you
continue to lie
like this?”
“I suppose
I’ll go to hell,”
replied the
witness.
“Y e s, of
course,” said
the judge.
“But what
else will happen to you?”
The man thought a moment.
“Isn’t that enough?”
Enough? It’s too much. It
shouldn’t happen to an absolute
scoundrel.
Thanks be to God, such a
calamity as ending up in hell
doesn’t ha p p e n accidentally.
You won’t wake up some day
and find the flames licking at
your heels unless you make the
reservations first. We choose our
future home with our own free
wills.
The only catch to this is that
unless we willingly choose to
go to heaven, there’s no other
place to go except hell. That
means we have to make sure
our are choosey, well-oiled and
wide awake. We have to watch
out, in other words, for a tired
will.
If you find it hard to get out
of bed after five hours of sleep,
if you find the rush-hour drive
to and from the great metropolis
exhausting, if making an honest
dollar for yourself and Uncle
Sam is demanding, if you hate
to face your five kids arguing
about who gets the one piece of
candy you bring home—then
your physician may tell you
that you have tired blood.
Besides, research indicates
that many pulpwood trees, from
which newsprint is made, have
“tired sap.” You and I might
have tired sap too if we knew
we were going to be ground into
pulp. But, anyway, this shows
that trees have their problems
too.
Arboreal problems, however,
are nothing compared to human
problems. Tired blood can make
our time on earth somewhat
miserable. But, more important,
tired wills can make our eter
nity utterly wretched.
Our wills can be pepped up
in many ways. We can think
about the sufferings of hell. We
might be moved to action by
consideration of our Savior's
sufferings for us on Calvary. Or
perhaps the simple realization of
the shortness of our life is
enough to remove the cobwebs
from our wills.
But I think the best way to
put into the work of salvation is
to look ahead to heaves. The
kids around this time of year
certainly find the strength to
endure school from their anti
cipation of Summer’s carefree
joys. For most of us, Friday isn’t
too bad a day because Saturday
is not far off. Why shouldn’t our
wills find the strength to say
“I’ll do it” from the thought of
the joys of heaven just around
the corner?
I’ll answer that question.
Heaven often doesn’t mean
much to us because we persist in
thinking of it in rather childish
images. We’re likely to think of
it as a perpetual church service,
at which we kneel for all eter
nity saying, “Holy, holy, holy.”
Or we may picture an ancient
and bearded Sc. Peter admitting
us through the Pearly Gates.
And then? Then we are assign
ed our harp, wings and halo—
and our cloud to sit on forever.
We'll never want heaven if
our images of it are like these.
It’s true that a scientist has es
timated that the average cloud
weighs about 300,000 pounds,
which is enough to hold you un
less you’ve been overeating
again. But, let’s face it, the hap
piness of heaven is beyond our
wildest imagination. It’s won
derful.
We know that heaven is
worth working for, in the first
place, because St. Paul got a
glimpse of it and was almost
breathless when he tried to de
scribe it. But our second reason
is more important. We know
heaven is all it’s said to be be
cause it is the possession of God.
The possession of God—the
Beatific Vision—this is the es
sence of heaven and the truth
that staggers the imagination.
Everything beautiful that we
admire now — sunset of the
waters, cherry blossoms in the
Spring, the golden hair of a Col
lie (with a little German Shep
herd, preferably), a Beethoven
symphony—all these are but a
reflection of Infinite Beauty
Himself, God.
Everything appealing and lov
able here on earth is also noth
ing but a small shave of Love
Himself. It may be a beloved
person or a cold soft drink on
a Summer day in Washington,
or a hole-in-one, or a Collie
(with a dash of German Shep
herd, please). Whatever we
want or like in this life, we de
sire the good in it because it
than be caught.
“In addition,” he said, “I be
lieve I am sufficiently sophisti
cated to appreciate that Ameri
can spies generally carry on
their person the means to com
mit suicide.”
But, he noted, the question is
whether the “suicide pin” Was
provided by the government to
carry out orders to commit sui
cide rather than get caught or
merely to give the spy the op
portunity of making that de
cision for himself in the event
he was caught and found that
he could not withstand the tor
tures being inflicted upon him.
“I have every reason to be
lieve that Mr. Powers was ope
rating under the latter condi
tions and not under any suicide
orders,” the Congressman wrote.
“If this were not true,” Rep.
Quigley remarked, “then my
notion of Christianity and
American democracy has indeed
gone down the drain.”
We all know that in Oriental
countries the code of honors
calls for suicide under certain
circumstances. During the Sec
ond World War the Japanese or
ganized a kami-kaze corps of
pilots pledged to commit suicide
in carrying out their missions
against American warships.
But it is inconceivable that
American authorities, aware of
the repugnance in which suicide
is held by most Americans,
could honestly expect an order
of suicide to be carried out. The
means to commit suicide may
have been provided to enable
an American spy to escape from
unbearable torture, but it would
be left to the conscience of the
individual to decide whether or
not to use them.
was put there by a good and
loving God.
Why shouldn’t we, therefore,
look forward to knowing and
loving God for eternity? Such
anticipation should be the best
thing for keeping us from sin
and for waking up our wills to
practice virtue.
So, for goodness sake, don’t
let tired, blood get you down.
But for heaven’s sake, don’t let
a tired will get you down into
an eternity of hell.
By David G. Lipiak
Q. I was amazed to read re
cently that a former Lutheran
minister in Denmark has .re
ceived special permission to be
ordained a priest yet remain in
the married state. The article
said that he became a convert
about fifteen years ago, and
that his wife followed him into
the Church. Could these facts
be true? if so, how can they be
explained, especially since
Caihoiic priests are not allowed
to marry?
A. The special permission re
cently given by the Holy See to
a convert-minister in Denmark
to enter the priesthood, yet re
main in liie married slate, is ex
tremely unusual. But it should
not cause amazement.
Matrimony and Holy Orders
are not intrinsically opposed by
nature; both, after all, are sac
raments. Nor is celibacy incum
bent upon priests by virtue of
a divine mandate.
Ecclesiastical discipline is the
key to an accurate understandr
ing of clerical celibacy. For
many and diverse reasons, the
law of celibacy, which did not
obtain in tne beginning, was
gradually introduced in parts-of
tne Church, and eventually pro
mulgated tnrough the whole of
.the Western Church. (In the
Eastern Church, married men
may stili be ordained to the
priesthood, as a general rule.) ’
lire reasons underlying The
law of celibacy, which now
binds all clerics .in major orders
. throughout the Western Church,
were summarized by the late
Pope Pius XII in the following
terms:
“It is precisely because (the
priest) should be free from pre-
' occupation with worldly things
to dedicate himself entirely to
the divine .service, that the
Church has established the law
of celibacy, thus making it ever
more manifest to, all peoples
that the priest is a minister of
God and the father of souls.”
Since the law of celibacy was
■ instituted by Church authority,
(Continued on Page 5)
—
Jottings...
7;,;l;
(By BARBARA C. JENCKS)
“lias it keen a flood day-or a
had onef It must have been one
or the other; we either go fore-
ward or back-ward in the spirit
ual life from the age of reason
till the day of death we are either
building up or palling down. It
is a solemn thought. But fortu
nate if this has been a sad day
there is -idw/iYS tomorrow .which
is capable, of being made into. a
thoroughly good one . .. .”^-Dom
Hubert Van Tfcllcr. '
• THE YEAR has many end
ings. This week,, I said goodby
to my classes until September.
This is an ending of an academic
year. At the end of the summer,
we seem to erid another period.
There seem to be many years
like many day’s in just 1 one
year’s passing; One of my honor
students said to mei-“Yesterday
was a wonderful day for me and
I sennot understand why. I was
disappointed in many people. I
was discouraged. I found out
that I didn’t know some of the
things I thought I‘knew. I was
severely corrected. Many things
went awry. Yet I was strangely
happy.” I told the young student
how she had truly passed a
milestone when she could re
joice at. difficulties and find
peace“ in adversity. It is a rare'
gift. I realized that some of her
feelings were mine as I looked
back over the past academic
year. There were both dissatis
factions and accomplishments.
There was a pride in my stu
dents who seemed to suddenly
take form and maturity in their
work in the past week of classes.
There was discouragement at
my own lack of knowledge of
many many thirtfes; vT wphder
sometimes if I will ever catch
up with my own students.
* * *
a I WOULD LIKE to be a
teacher as I would like to be a
great writer. Success in these
ambitions seem far beyond my
reach. I am discouraged. Then
I look to my students who carry
the spark. I can only light the
fire within them for greatness
and maybe one of them will
take my place and be that great
teacher and great writer. I am
proud of my students whom I
have .badgered, and prodded and
criticized and worked too hard,
perhaps. It is not only students
who have won poetry and essay
contests' whom I admire. I am
pleased with the student who
wrot.e. that, the gift of this year
was that she had begun to think,
not just memorize but think.
Another wrote: “I have learned
many things this year, I have
learned the subject matter of 32
semester hours but I do not con
sider this • the -most important -of
the knowledge I have gained. 1
think I have learned a great
deal myself this year. I have be
gun to learn who I am. I have
learned to become excited about
' the right things. I have learned
to take criticism and advice. I
have learned to listen to my
friends instead of thinking what
I am going to say whep_ they are
finished talking. These things
were much more^ difficult to
learn than Church History and
English Drama. These take me
mory, study, energy but the oth
ers claim a part of myself.” An
other wrote: “I have learned
hbw much I do not know. I have
learned a little of how much
I will never know.” These are
rewarding statements for a
teacher who asks more than
words be put on paper in read
able form. I ask moreover that
the students think about ideas
and ideals and their own rela
tion to the people of the world,
their place in the world and be
fore God.
® IT IS HUMILIATING to be
a teacher, before eager students
of today. Maybe it isn’t for
many but it is for me. My stu
dents want many answers, other
than those found in the History
of American Journalism of Edi
torial Writing textbooks. They
|ook to the teachers of today for
direction. Those who are not in
College look to writers in news
papers and novels and plays for
direction. In many cases, there
is little hope and direction giv
en. Students today want to
know who they are and where
they are going. Only against the
backdrop of Christian tradition
can this be realized. This is the
great crusade of the eminent
scholar Christopher Dawson
who believes that the weakness
of our Western Civilization is
found in its lack of Christian
education. Secular colleges are
experts in non-essentials, Daw
son says. Youth today want to
know of their past and future.
To answer is the glorious task
of the Christian teacher. Each
year as students pass from the
classroom for the summer re
cess, the teacher examines her
conscience. Has she given to her
students to the best of ability
her knowledge in both the na
tural and supernatural order?
It would be like placing a fine
fragile gift down with no casing
or packaging. The Christian stu
dent is given direction to go
with this great gift of intellect
ual gain. The teacher progresses
along side her students. I have
probably learned more than my
students have this year. I have
learned to prefer wisdom to
gold and to forever hunger for
the things of the intellect and
the spirit and the mind, and to
be at home with the great minds
- and. souls of. the past. With my
. students I can also say that I
have learned to know how
: much I do not know. I have
: learned only a little of what I
jatauld.like to. know.
DAMEM AWARD
CHICAGO, (NC) — Realtor
and civic leader Leo J. Sheridan
was honored by Loyola Uni
versity here, when he received
the school’s Damen Award.
The award, named in honor of
Father Arnold Damen, S.J.,
founder of Loyola University,
was presented to Mr. Sheridan
for his “dedication to God, to
society, and to' the nation.” Fa
ther James F. McGuire, S.J.,
i university president, made the
j presentation.
Mr. Sheridan is president and
j director of the Catholic Chari-
, ties of Chicago, a director of the
Cardinal Stritch Youth Founda
tion, and a director of the. Com-
Plea For Plain Words
Theology
For The
Layman
(By F. J. Sheed)
Column 59
ACTUAL GRACE
So far all our talk has been of
Sanctifying Grace. But there, is
Actual Grace too. The similarity
of name, both being called Grace,
could mislead us into thinking
they are practically identical.
But the word
Grace simply
means a free
gift of God,
something of
which there is
not even a be
ginning in our
nature, wholly
given to us
therefore. And although both
Actual Grace and Sanctifying
meet this definition, the gifts in
each are quite different. It
might help our thinking if we
spoke of one as Supernatural
Life, the other as Supernatural
Impulsion. Sanctifying Grace
makes the soul alive; Actual
Grace is God moving the soul
to do things which will lead it
to receive Sanctifying Grace.
This latter is a life in the soul,
making it almost a new thing,
giving it and its faculties new
powers. Actual Grace is the di
vine energy which is to set the
soul in motion towards some
particular goal otherwise be
yond its reach. The first in
dwells the soul and (unless we
cast it away) abides in it. The
other does neither. It does not
abide—it is transcient, like a
wind that blows for a while and
then is gone, the whole point
being to take advantage of it
while it blows. Nor does it in
dwell: it acts upon the soul in
a sensefrom outside; it sets in
tellect and will in motion with
out becoming a permanent qual
ity of either, very much as a
wind moves a boat but does not
in any sense at all become a
permanent element in the boat’s
structure.
(Continued on Page 5)
There is no place or occupa
tion in which a person can’t do
missionary work if he will but
try. Every contact one makes
can be used to spread the faith.
At work or at play a Catholic
can bear witness to Christ with
fruitful results. This is illustra
ted by the experience of Miss
Pauline Osaduke of Toronto,
Canada.
“The good example of my
brother-in-law, John Shaugh-
nessy,” she related,, “sparked
my interest in the Catholic
Faith. I took a course of instruc
tion and found it was just what
I had been looking for. I was
received into the Church and
determined to be a good Cath
olic and really live the Faith.
When Lent came, I fasted, ab
stained, attended daily Mass and
denied myself certain pleasures.
“I work in a cocktail lounge,
and met Bob Russell, a musi
cian, who boasted that he didn’t
give up anything during Lent.
He hadn’t been to the sacra
ments for years and was drift
ing entirely away from the
Faith. ‘Bob,’ I said, ‘you don’t
know what you’re losing. I’ve
had to work my way in from
the outside, and the Catholic
religion means more to me than
I can find words to tell.’
“Bob was startled to learn
that I, a convent, was taking
Lent so seriously and valued the
Faith so highly. He sort of pull
ed in his horns. About a year
later Bob came in especially to
see me. ‘Pauline,’ he said, ‘that
little talk you gave me did more
good than you realized. It start
ed me thinking seriously of m,y
religion and what a chump I’d
been. I’m firmly back in the
Faith now and I’ll never drift
away again.’
“Kay Brambrough, the hostess
in our place, had heard of the
wild Maria Monk type of sland
ers about priests and nuns and
believed them. I explained to
her how unfounded such charges
were. She was still inclined,
however, to believe them. So I
offered to take her to a priest
for instruction and then she
could judge for herself.
“My offer was both an invita
tion and a challenge. Kay ac
cepted. I took her to St. Mich-
An article about the consci
entious duties of Catholics in
politics, in the Vatican City
daily, Osservatore Romano, re
cently caused what Osservatore
later called “unwarranted con-
fusion and
sensation.”
I am not
sure that the
sensation and
confusion
were entirely
u n warranted.
I think the
blame for
both must be
shared by Osservatore, by the
author of the article, and by
the press of various nations.
I have , read the article three
times. In my judgment it does
hot say with sufficient clarity
what the author meant.
This is a fault with which I
have charged Catholic intellec
tuals. I will charge them with
it as long as they care more
about big words than about
communicating with readers.
RECENTLY I CLASHED
with two Catholic intellectuals
on this point. Soon after, I
found, in a piece written by
one of them, this clause: “insu
lar, xenophobic tradition vis-a-
vis international life.”
What but confusion can be
expected from such writing?
This is a mass communication
age. Technology has destroyed
the luxury of talking to oneself
or to a group of cronies.
Those who write nowadays
should remember that the whole
world may be listening. If they
want to be understood, let them
forego the pleasure of showing
off their wordage.
My other opponent came out
with a piece intended to refute
me. He told a story about an in
tellectual who wrote some arti
cles in plain English — and
was reproached by other intel
lectuals for treason to the tribe
in stooping to the people.
Whose case was my opponent
proving—his or mine?
The Osservatore article, if
carefully read, was all right.
Here is the heart of it:
"The political-social problem
cannot be separated from re
ad’s Cathedral where Father
Vallely instructed her. She
hadn’t been attending long
When she realized how ridicu
lous those slanders were. She
was ‘sold’ not only on the holi
ness of priests and Sisters in
general but also on the holiness
of the Church itself.
“Every teaching and practice
of the Catholic religion, she dis
covered, tends to make us better
and holier Christians. She was
especially taken with the doc
trine of the Holy Eucharist and
the forgiveness Of sins. Kay was
baptized and made her first
Holy Communion. It was a red-
letter day in her life.
“Next year she will enter her
three children in the Catholic
school so they too can become
Catholics. She is now bringing a
friend to instructions at St.
Peter’s Information Centre.
“Jim Self, an elderly man,
had lost his wife and was feel
ing quite blue. I told him. of the
comfort and help our holy reli
gion affords and invited him to
Christmas midnight Mass. He
was greatly impressed and
wanted to come often. Later on
I took him to St. Peter’s Infor-
ligion because if is a highly hu
man problem and as such has as
its basis an urgent ethical-reli
gious need that cannot be abol
ished. And, by the same token,
conscience and the sense of
duty, which have a large role
in such a problem, likewise
cannot be abolished."
Who can find fault with that?
AH the same, the article was not
clear enough in saying that the
Church speaks on political prob
lems only insofar as moral
questions are involved.
If morality is involved, then
conscience is involved; and
guidance must come from moral
authority—from the Church.
Osservatore could have said
that, plainly. It could have
avoided leaving itself — and
the Church — open to misin
terpretation.
But the fault was not Osser-
vatore’s alone.
MANY REPORTERS assign
ed to the Vatican are guilty, all
too often, of carelessness and
incompetence.
They neglect their homework.
They do not acquire the back
ground knowledge they need
for intelligent reporting about
the Church.
Further, they do not fully di
gest Church statements before
writing about them. They skim
through, select sensational-look
ing quotes, and put them on the
cable.
For instance: “Every Catholic
has the duty to conform to those
directives and judgments (of
the hierarchy) in the political
field.”
THAT SENTENCE appeared
in the Osservatore article. From
the tone of many news reports,
that was all the reporters got
out of it. But the sentence,
standing un-explained, is a dis
tortion of the article’s meaning.
Surely it is not too much to
ask that a reporer make clear
that the sentence, in context,
meant: “Every Catholic has the
duty to conform to the MORAL
directives and judgments of the
hierarchy in the political field.”
Neither is it too much to ask
that papers as important as Os
servatore take great pains to
guard against being misinter
preted.
mation Centre for instruction.
A Baptist, he was startled to
learn that Christ had founded
His Church 15 centuries before
John Smyth established the
Baptist Church. Kay and I knelt
at his side when Jim made his
first Holy Communion at mid
night Mass the following Christ-
mass. He was the happiest man
in Toronto.”
■-<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 per
sons to him at Hot re Dame Uni
versity, Notre Dame, Indiana.
Two Retreats
For Women
At Macon
MACON — There will be
jif two retreats for women alg
Mt. de Sales Academy dur
ing the month of July.
The first retreat will be
held from July 26 to July 29
with the second running'
from July 29 to July 31. Each
retreat opens at 9 p. m. on
the date specified.
II 1 ‘ ’ ‘ |l
For reservations or infor
mation contact:
Sisters of Mercy, Mf. de
Sales Academy, Macon, Ga. S|
Wht iuiktm
416 8TH ST., AUGUSTA, GA.
Published fortnightly by the Catholic Laymen’s Association of
Georgia, Inc., with the Approbation of the Most Reverend
Bishop ot 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 MARKWALTER
Managing Editor
Vol. 41 ' - tin day, June 25, 1960 No. 2
ASSOCIATION OFFICERS
GFOKGF. 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
SHARING OUR TREASURE
"Talk About Your Religion/'
Advises Convert
By REV. JOHN A. O'BRIEN. Ph. D.
,, , ^ , (University of Notre Dame) .. , , , , ,