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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) .. , , , , ,