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Chickens Have Come Home To Roost
On August 29th, court hearings on the ques
tion of religious practices in Miami’s public
schools will be resumed. Companion suits have
been entered in the Dade County Circuit Court
by an agnostic, Harlowe Chamberlain, support
ed by the American Civil Liberties Union and
by Mrs. Elsie Thorner, a Unitarian, and Edward
Resnic-k and Mr. and Mrs. Philip Stern, who
are Jewish. The latter suit is backed by the
American Jewish Congress of New York.
The suits together strike at virtually all
types of religious practices, from Bible reading
and prayer recitation to presentation of pageants
at Christmas, Easter and Hannukah. They do not
seek merely to prevent sectarian religious in
struction and practice in the Public Schools, but
to drive any semblance of religion from the
Public Schools of Dade County.
We shall not attempt to assess the motives
of the plaintiffs. We only offer the observation
that their demands for an officially atheistic,
or at the least agnostic, government and public
school system find confirmation in neither the
Constitution to which they appeal, nor in the
American Tradition.
It is truly unfortunate that so many indi
viduals and groups who are now rightly dis
turbed by the sinister threat which suits such
as these pose to American religious liberty were
so eonspiculously silent when the “wall of sep
aration” between Church and State was erect
ed by the U. S. Supreme Court in 1947. Had they
spoken out against the danger of such an abso
lute “wall” then, instead of seeing in it only
an instrument to diminish and possibly destroy
Catholic institutions, perhaps now we would
not be faced with what are apparently inten
sive and concerted attempts throughout the
country to diminish and even destroy Religion
in American Public life and institutions. It would
seem that the “chickens have come home to
roost.”
However, be that as it may, all thoughtful
Americans must join in the fervent prayer
and hope that no court in any State will offer
aid or comfort to the carping groups of mal
contents who seek, by specious manipulation
of the Constitution, to deprive the great mass
of Americans of the Religious freedom which it
guarantees.
STAY CLOSE TO COD
Although it passed quite unnoticed, the
Holy Father’s recent expression of concern for
the near future should provide sobering thought
for men of good will; and, it should evoke a
continuous outpouring of prayer for mankind’s
spiritual and temporal welfare.
Addressing a large group of high school
graduates, Pope John XXIII regretted that the
world situation was such that he could not tell
them—as one ordinarily likes to tell graduates
—that, they were going out into a world of
brightness where peace and prosperity would
be their inheritance. Rather, the Pontiff told
them, they would have to expect and experience
some difficult times in their still youthful years.
He counselled them to get and stay close to
God; for, only thus could they hope to find rest
and comfort for their being.
The world today is greatly troubled. Unrest
is everywhere the order of the day. The over-all
international scene is aptly described as a pow
der-keg ready to blow up at any moment. The
hitherto localized troubles are assuming ever
greater and graver proportions. And, always on
Few Multi-Lingual Americans
the scene to worsen every situation are the
agents and dupes of international Communism.
While our own nation has thus far been
remarkably free of serious disturbances, the
tell-tale signs of coming trouble are ever more
apparent. The desire for more and greater lux
uries has become a fetish for millions of Ameri
cans. A thorough disregard of God’s Ten Com
mandments — in fact, a complete ignoring of
God — has a tight grip on many. Untold millions
of Americans are living on the surface of life
completely unconcerned with anything except
their own day-to-day happiness. Little do they
care and less do they realize that the economic
bubble in which they find their revel and their
mirth and in which they - have placed their all
is so beset by weaknesses that a burst is inevit
able at a not too distant date. And, when the
bubble bursts, troubles will be rampant.
Getting close to God and staying close to
God is a counsel which, while given by our
Holy Father to recent high school graduates,
is equally applicable and important to each of
us. — The Catholic Missourian
THE BACKDROP
Methods of teaching foreign
languages in American schools
are undergoing a critical re
appraisal by educators through
out the country.
In recent years, since the
United States
became a
world power
with vital in
terests in all
parts of the
globe, there
has been a
marked in
crease in the
number of foreign languages
taught in secondary schools in
the universities. But there has
been no appreciable increase in
the number of multi-lingual
Americans.
WASTE OF TIME?
The complaint is not that we
1 are not teaching foreign lan-
I guages but that we are not
teaching them effectively. A
high proportion of American
high school and college students
study one or more foreign lan
guages, French and Spanish be
ing the favorites.
But when they have finished
.their courses, few of the stu
dents* are able to converse in a
foreign tongue or read a foreign
language with ease. Most of
them learn merely to translate
laboriously with the aid of a
dictionary. And in a few years
they lose through disuse the
rudimentary knowledge they
, have acquired.
In view of the unsatisfactory
,* results, many educators are ask-
. ing whether the time devoted
by students to study of foreign
, languages is not a waste of
- time. What is needed, sorely
needed, is a steadily increasing
out put of student with an ade
quate command of a foreign
language. They are needed in the
foreign service, in the armed
forces, in the foreign aid and
technical assistance programs
and in foreign trade. But we are
not getting linguists in suffi
cient numbers to meet our
needs.
Why is our teaching method
so unproductive? Educators who
have studied the problem seem
to agree that the principal rea
son is that the teaching does not
start early enough and is not
sufficiently sustained.
Under our present teaching
procedures, foreign languages
are not offered to students until
they enter high school. In some
high schools only one academic
year’s study of a language is
required; a few require two or
irfore from students who plan
tq So on to college. In most
c4H e 8es and universities, sus
tained study of a foreign lan-
is required only from
By JOHN C. O’BRIEN
those students who major in
the foreign language field.
EARLY START
A recent study of the Modern
Language Association suggests
that this kind of program is
wrong. The Association’s report
proposes that foreign language
study should be started in the
third grade of elementary schools
and should be continued in an
“uninterrupted sequence for ten
years.”
The report also recommended
that the traditional “grammar-
translation” method of teaching
be replaced at all grade levels
by the more effective method of
personal communication in
which language skills are taught
in the following order of im
portance — hearing, speaking,
reading and writing.
The reason why language
study should be started early,
the report says, is that all
youngsters posses the skill to
imitate sounds even unfamiliar
sounds, but that this skill be
gins to decline at about the age
of ten.
• NOT SINCE the appear
ance of “The Last Hurrah” has
a book caused so much como
tion as “The Devil’s Advocate.”
The cause of the literacy ex
plosions are for different rea
sons. Yet Morris West’s contro
versial novel is still the subject
of heated debate wherever Cath
olic readers meet. With the
political conventions over, per
haps many will seek another
subject of debate. Many may
have promised themselves a
look at the controversial novel
of the year during their summer
vacation. If so, we have a few
postscripts to add to the fire
and fury which surrounded the
novel. First, the Catholic Book
Club of America selected this
novel as one of their books-of-
the-month choices. “Times” and
“The New York Times” cited
this novel as one of the few
good books of an exceptionally
bad literary year. Catholic re
viewers have been divided about
its literary merit and more
about some of its graphic con
tent. Those who have liked it
have liked it, and those who
have not have been vehement
about it.
• INSTEAD OF quoting
from reviews or from my own
already-stated impressions about
Children, the language teach
ers point out, learn their native
tongue not by studying the
structure of the language but
by imitating sounds made by
their parents and associating the
sounds with objects. This is the
natural way to learn a language
and it is just as applicable to the
acquisition of a foreign as it is
to a native language.
If that is the case, the teach
ers suggests, the first stage in
teaching a foreign language in
the schools should be devoted to
familiarizing pupils with the
sounds. Once the pupils have
acquired an ear for a language
from hearing it spoken by the
teacher, he is ready for the next
stage, conversation with the
teacher in simple sentences.
By the time the pupil has
reached the tenth grade, the re
port maintains, he would be
ready to undertake reading in a
foreign language and the study
of its grammar. Learning to
write a foreign language would
be deferred until a fair reading
knowledge had been acquired.
it, I would quote from three
correspondents who state their
views on the book refreshingly
in their informality.
The first correspondent quoted
is a successful novelist herself.
This is her comment: “I have
been trying to read “The Devil’s
Advocate” but though I agree
the idea is interesting, I fear I
hate this super-adjectival style
and I find it all rather manu
factured. I fear I hear the ma
chinery creak all the time and I
jump at the way he lays every
thing on with a trowel. Forgive
me for I wanted to like the book
because it impressed you so
much.”
• SECOND COMMENT comes
from one of the best critics of
current literature I know. “I’m
anxious for you to read “The
Devil’s Advocate.” It’s wonder
ful to read a book with a Cath
olic theme which is more than
a step advanced beyond “The
Messenger of the Sacred Heart.”
Unfortunately, we can’t claim
Morris West for he’s an Austral
ian. Giacomo wasn’t very real
to me, the only rather unreal
character I thought. Black,
Paola, the mother, the Countess
and Blaise were all very be
lievable but perhaps because
(Continued on Page 5)
Jottings...
(By BARBARA C. JENCKS)
YOU'LL NEED TH/S /
JOSEPH BRE!G
HOW MEN CAN RULE
I don’t think I’m an irascible
chap, but I must confess to a
mounting annoyance over
speeches at Catholic conven
tions, and articles in Catholic
publications, to the general
effect that
men are not
as manly as
they ought to
be, because
they don’t
dominate their
wives, punish
their children,
and rule the
roost at home.
There has been a rash of that
kind of thing in recent years. It
seems to be a current fad among
some who are introduced as ex
perts on marriage. Possibly 30
years of marriage qualifies me
to voice an opinion; a contrary
opinion, without being contrary
about it.
I take a mightly dim view of
husbands dominating wives. In
deed, I take a dim view of any
body dominating anybody. And
it seems to me that Christianity
takes a dim view of it, too.
Christianity talks about serving,
not about mastering. And com
mon sense and experience
demonstrate Christianity’s wis
dom on the point.
St. Paul, It is true, counsels
the wife to be subject to her
husband. But right there is
where everybody seems to stop
reading St. Paul’s injunctions on
marriage—or at least to stop
listening to him. Everybody gets
that far, and then closes either
the New Testament, or his
mind.
IT STRIKES ME that we need
to be reminded often that in the
same passage, St. Paul comes up
with some pointed advice for
the husband also. He commends
the husband, in the name of
Christ, to love his wife as Christ
loved the Church, sacrificing
Himself for it.
I haven’t made a survey of
wives, but I doubt that there is
one anywhere on earth who
wouldn’t be delighted to be
“subject” to that kind of hus
band. I can hardly imagine a
woman objecting to being
“ruled” through her husband’s
self-sacrificial love for her.
Looking at myself, and look
ing around at other husbands,
it strikes me that most of us
have a lot of self-perfecting to
do before we can claim to be
living up to St. Paul’s admoni
tion. Until we reach that height
of nobility, I suggest that we
leave off talking about “domina
tion.”
THE TROUBLE WITH this
domination business is that we
husbands do not need any en
couragement in being a bit ar
rogant and .prideful, even if un
consciously so. By and large, I
think most of us do all right (or
wrong) in that department with
out goading.
In my own case, I had been
married about 20 years before I
got smart enough to realize that
I was a fool if I didn’t consult
SHARING OUR TREASURE
'Bring People To Instructions/
Urges Convert
By REV. JOHN A. O'BRIEN, Ph. D.
. ,, , r r r .(University of Noire Dame) r r _
There are numerous ways of
interesting people in the Catho
lic Faith, but they rarely bear
fruit until the interested party
is brought to a priest for sys
tematic instruction. Then he
gets a vivid
close - up of
the cogent
credo n t i ad s
which each
year draw
more than
140,000 truth-
seekers into
the church.
“I’m a com
lated Mrs. Kenchel, “and be
cause the Catholic religion
means so much to me I’ve tried
to share it with others. Then
too it’s the best way to show my
gratitude to God for the pre
cious gift of faith.
“When Mrs. Harry F. Den-
nehy lost her husband, I called
to express my sympathy. With
her only son at Jesuit High
School, she felt the loss of her
husband keenly. Only God,
however, could give her the sol
ace she needed. Though her hus
band was a practicing Catholic,
he had never urged or invited
her to join.
“I made a novena, praying
that I would be able to get at
least two people to instructions.
Then I invited Mrs. Dennehy to
the instructions to be given by
Father Herbert Vandenbergh,
C.M., chaplain at St. Paul’s Hos
pital. She was interested but
was unable to come at that
time because of guests.
“The following Sunday I call
ed, renewed the invitation and
told her that my husband and
I would be glad to accompany
her. She agreed. Then I asked
if she knew anyone else who
might be interested. She said
she would inquire. When we
drove up the following Tuesday
evening, we were happy to see
Mrs. Dennehy and a young man
on the porch awaiting us.
“ ‘Meet William Mize,’ she
said, ‘a young neighbor of mine,
who is keeping company with a
my wife about things, and take
her advice mighty seriously. The
more I do that, the more idiotic
mistakes I manage to avoid
making.
Another thing that years of
marriage have taught me is that
a wise husband constantly en
courages his wife to have a
voice in things, to make de
cisions, and to grow to full
stature as a responsible person.
A HUSBAND SHOULD avoid
for her own good, dominating
even a wife who likes to have
everything decided for her.
What if he dies? Does he want
to leave the children in the
hands of a woman whom he has
prevented from learning how to
manage and from acquiring
confidence in herself?
Furthermore, rewarding com
panionship in marriage depends
largely upon the wife being a
real person in her own right,
with thoughts and wisdom of
her own. Otherwise, she will be
a mere colorless appendage of
her big-shot dominating spouse.
As for punishing children,
punishment is seldom needed if
parents set the right kind of
example and give youngsters
the love, attention and guidance
they are entitled to. What little
punishment is needed will gen
erally be more wisely handled
by the wife, if she is a mature
woman.
Domination my foot. What we
need is more holiness, not more
domination, among husbands
and fathers.
Catholic girl. He too wants to
come.’ We went with them to
the instruction class for three
months. When Father explained
the four marks — unity, holi
ness, Catholicity and apostolici-
ty — which Christ stamped on
His Church to distinguish her
from all others, our friends were
greatly impressed.
“That which really clinched
it, however, was the fact that
Christ founded the Catholic
Church 15 centuries before any
Protestant Church came into
being. Furthermore he promised
to be with His Church, protect
ing and guiding it, until the
end of time. This is the blinding
evidence that the Catholic
Church is the one true Church,
to which Christ wants all to be
long.
“Father baptized Mrs. Den
nehy and William at Holy Tri
nity Church and both are now
devout and enthusiastic Catho
lics. William married his Cath
olic sweetheart and they now
have three children.
“When my mother, Mrs. Fis-
cus, came to visit us, I invited
her to attend an instruction
class conducted by our pastor,
Father William Smyth, at Holy
Trinity. My heart sang when
she agreed. I went with her,
and supplemented the splendid
(Continued on Page 5)
ENMITY
from the
Rectory
Little Peter had decided to
run away from home. He tied
a few sandwiches in a handker
chief, packed a pathetic little
suitcase, and made his way
boldly down
the road lead
ing away from
town.
By lunch
time, he was
ready to call
it quits. When
he reached
home, only a
couple of hours had elapsed,
left the suitcase in the living
room, but mother pretended not
to notice.
Just as he was about to give
up, the family pooch wandered
in. “Hey, ma!” shouted Peter,
brightening, “Is that the same
dog you had when I went
away?”
The Rev. Robert H. Wharton
piled on the flames of hell, whep
enmity takes over. Enmity — or
just plain hatred, to use a more
unlovely term.
Certainly enmity is the com
plete breakdown of fraternal
charity, and the sin that Christ
condemned so strongly. Such a
feeling may net show.itself in
open hostility, of course. There
are laws against throwing
bricks, for one thing. But act
ive or passive, hatred of our
neighbor is a most serious sin.
A lasting and deep hatred can
last for years. Even close rela
tives can be caught in its trap.
A wife, rightfully or wrongful
ly, can accuse her husband of
cruelty and end up hating the
sight of him. Close friends can,
through some little misunder
standing, suddenly discover in
each other glaring faults that
seem to call for hatred.
It’s a good thing that almost
all juvenile runaways change
their mind. If they carried their
grudge too long, the highways
would be crowded with suit
case-toting kids looking for
jobs in ice cream factories or
movie theatres.
If filial devotion doesn’t sway
the young heart, the thought of
Rover at home will usually do
the trick. There was one 11-
year-old who had been away at
camp two long, agonizing
weeks, and when he got home
his doting parents asked anx
iously if he had been very
homesick.
“Not me,” the youngster re
plied airily. “Some of the kids
were, though — the ones who
had dogs.”
We big people, however, are
not as swift as the kids in bu
rying the hatchet. The little tot
who goes outside in a huff to
eat worms usually forgets what
he’s doing outside when he gets
there. A little time takes care
of his anger. But for adults, time
usually helps the grudge to
grow.
Every Catholic is aware of
the importance of fraternal
charity. The great command
ment includes not only the love
of God, but also the love of
neighbor. The two are joined
so closely, in fact, that our love
of God is necessarily weak if
we make life tough for our
neighbor.
Our Savior even went so far
as to say, “Everyone who is
angry with his brother shall be
liable to judgment.” those are
pretty strong words. And the
one who usually trembles on
hearing them is the little old
lady who gets peeved because
daughter burns the toast, or be
cause grandson slams the door.
These shows of temper and
outbursts of impatience can be
venial sins or at least imperfec
tions, of course. But I really
don’t think Our Lord was
threatening grandma when he
he used those strong words.
Even a little more vehement
anger is sometimes excusable.
When Junior takes the family
car without permission and
dents the fender, your blood is
supposed to boil a bit when
you speak to him about it. Oth
erwise, he would fall asleep
while you were lecturing him.
Do you blame dad if he
speaks rather brashly on this
occasion? “Look me square in
the eye, young man, and tell
me the truth,” he says to Junior.
Junior’s reply, with a smile,
“I can’t, Dad. You haven’t got
square eyes.”
Unjust anger is something to
be avoided, yes. A habit of
blowing up can make life mis
erable for many neighbors.
But fraternal charity breaks
down completely, and coals are
It is easy to hate, as easy as
it is to love. A grudge has to
be nursed only a little bit, and
it can be an important part of
your life. You can refuse to
speak to the Hated One, even
if you find yourself face to face.
You can make sure everyone
hears about his horrible faults.
And when misfortune befalls
the Hated One, that is tbe sig
nal for rejoicing.
When misunderstandings
come, it is sometimes best to
let sleeping dogs snooze on apd
let time calm the ruffled feel
ings. Whenever there has been
unkindness or injustice, feeling
resentment is sometimes un
avoidable. Such feelings do not
constitute enmity.
But when our hearts are full
of hatred, when we truly wish
harm to someone, when we act
in an insulting way to another
human being — then we are the
ones warned by Christ about
the judgment to come.
Charity, love of neighbor, is
not merely a recommendation.
It’s a commandment, and a most
serious one. That’s why we have
to forgive offenses, pray for our
enemies, and try to see our
neighbor’s good qualities that
we have overlooked.
We need to learn a bit from
the younger set. Elwood may
hit Simon over the head with
an electric train at two o’clock.
But they’re buddies again by
three o’clock.
What’s an electric train be
tween friends, they figure, when
the love of a brother is at stake?
Question
Box
By David Q. Liplak
Q. Why are archbishops re
ferred to as "metropolitans" in
Church phraseology?
A. The title of metropolitan,
according to one authority, de
rives from the early Church
practice of calling the bishop of
the principal city metropolitan-
us, “for the Apostles and their
immediate successors began
their work of preaching the
Gospel in the more important
cities; v.g., Antioch, Ephesus,
Corinth, Rome, etc. ... Very
frequently the territory of these
bishops coincided with the civil
province and the principal city
with the metropolis.”
The term metropolitan has
been in use since the Council Of
Nicea (325). Beginning with tfie
fifth century, the term arch
bishop was received into gen
eral usage; first in the Eastern
Church, later in the West.
Q. In the Hebrew Temple,
(Continued on Page 5)
5If* IMlrtm
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 MARKWALTER
Managing Editor
Vol. 41 Saturday, August 6, 1960 No. 5
ASSOCIATION OFFICERS
GEORGE GINGELL, Columbus President
MRS. DAN HARRIS, Macon Vice-President
TOM GRIFFIN, Atlanta _ Vice-President
NICK CAMERIO, Macon _ __ _ Secretary
JOHN T. BUCKLEY, Augusta Treasurer
ALVIN M. McAULIFFE, Augusta Auditor
JOHN MARKWALTER, Augusta Executive Secretary
MISS CECILE FERRY, Augusta Financial Secretary