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AC.c, 4— i ric BulLETIN, August 20, i960
OUR PRIESTLY DEAD
“For every High Priest taken from among
men is ordained for men in the things that
apertain to God, that he may offer up gifts and
sacrifices for sins.” These are the words used
by St. Paul in his epistle to the Hebrews, to
describe the office of the Priesthood of Jesus
Christ.
Thus does the priest, “He himself also
. . . compassed with infirmity,” carry on the
life and work of the Redeemer in the world.
Through his ministrations Jesus Christ
breathes new life into the soul at Baptism;
comes to nourish and strengthen it in Holy
Communion; extends His healing hand and
Divine forgiveness in the Tribunal of Pen
ance; calms and fortifies the fearful, troubled
spirit about to leave this vale of tears.
Through the teaching of the Priest, Jesus
Christ brings the light of Faith to the darken
ed intellect of man.
Through the prayers of the Priest, and
above all, through his offering of the Holy
Sacrifice of the Mass, Jesus Christ continues
to offer His pleas and His life- for our Salva
tion.
Catholics everywhere know and acknow
ledge the sublimity of the calling of the
Priest. But we are afraid that all too often
they forget that “he himself also is compas
sed with infirmity,” that even “the just man
falls seven times a day,” that the Priest, just
as every other mortal must one day “render
an account” of his stewardship and receive
“just compense.”
If any group of men needs prayers more
than any other group, surely Priests need the
most, both in their lifetime and after their
death. For much has been given to them and
from them “much will be demanded.”
Beginning with this edition of The Bulle
tin, and in all succeeding editions we will pub
lish, as close as possible to the anniversary
date, the names of all the deceased Priests of
the Diocese of Savannah.
It may well be that without their offer
ing up “gifts and sacrifices for sins” you
would never have received the gift of Faith.
It is our prayerful hope that these front
page reminders will remind all our readers
to pray for our Priestly dead, that God may
“Vouchsafe to them grace and mercy before
His tribunal . . . and everlasting rest and
happiness through the infinite merits of Jesus
Christ.”
TO MAKE SURE
Why is it that so many people have an
aversion to making a will or even speaking
about it?
No doubt there are those who imagine
themselves so far removed from the final call
that they feel no urgency in the matter. There
are others who harbor the peculiar notion that
drawing up their final testament somehow
hastens their entrance into eternity.
Experience has shown that neglect of this
important matter, or the improper handling’ of
it, can often cause loss to those persons or in
stitutions that the deceased specially wished to
remember.
Any individual who has worldly posses
sions. whether these be in the form of money,
securities, real estate, or personal effects, should
make a will while he is still in sound mind.
More than this, he should see to it that his
testament is properly drawn up by a legal ex
pert, so that after he is gone, there can be no
loopholes for those who may wish to contest its
validity.
It is only natural that in making a will we
think of our own loved ones first. But a thought
ful Catholic who has been blessed with more
abundant means will endeavor to return to God
a portion of the worldly goods entrusted to him
during his earthly life.
Since we take with us into eternity only
what we have given away on earth, a testament
which includes the needs of the Church can
assure us that we will not meet our Judge with
empty hands.
—The Peoria Register
THE BIG BOTTLENECK
BACKDROP
THE
A curious paradox of our time
is the aoneomitant flight of pop
ulation from urban centers to
the suburbs and the sharp cur
tailment of mass transportation
facilities between cities and out
lying areas.
The 1960
census reveal
ed a popula
tion decline in
most of the
cities and a
sharp increase
in the popula
tion of subur
ban areas. While families, seek
ing an enviroment more favor
able to the rearing of children
than the crowded cities, have
been moving to the suburbs, the
bread winners continue to earn
their livings in the cities.
VICIOUS CIRCLE
This shift of population has
created a transportation crisis
that is tending to isolate the
cities’ from their contiguous
suburbs.
What we are now confronted
with is the end results of a
vicious circle in transportation
habits! Before the ownership of
the automobile became almost
as widespread as the ownership
of a wrist watch, suburbanites
traveled to and from cities in
commuter trains or other mass
transportation facilities.
But, as suburbanites began in
ever-increasing numbers to
travel to and from work in auto-
By JOHN C. O’BRIEN
mobiles, railroad commuter
travel declined and the rail
roads began to curtail service
for lack of patronage. Today,
motor traffic between cities and
suburbs has reached a point of
saturation that is self-defeating.
Highways leading from sub
urbs into cities are now so con
gested that traffic moves bump
er to bumper and trips that
could be made on a commuter
train in half an hour take three
times as long on the highways.
Another inhibiting factor in
transportation by private con
veyance is the acute lack of
parking space in the cities.
Having chosen to rely on pri
vate conveyance in preference
to mass transportation, subur
banites now face a dilema.
They now find mass transporta
tion facilities inadequate be
cause of sharp curtailment of
service, and the difficulties of
transporting themselves in their
own motor cars almost insur
mountable.
As a consequence of the
change in transportation prefer
ences in the last ten years,
ridership on all forms of mass
transportation has declined 38
per cent. This decline, in addi
tion to increasing traffic con
gestion by forcing more and
more people to private convey
ance, has set in motion the
forces of future deterioration.
BREAKDOWN THREATENED
In an effort to reduce the gap
between rising costs and declin
ing revenue, many transit and
rail lines have been forced to
abandon or curtail service, in
crease fares, defer maintence
and forego modernization and
improvement of equipment and
facilities.
The transportation crisis has
become so acute in nearly all
metropolitan areas that Con
gress has been forced to take
note of it. Unless a solution is
found quickly, the metropolitan
areas appear to be destined for
a total breakdown of the trans
portation networks, if, by 1976,
the number of private vehicles
rises, as predicted by the United
States Bureau of Roads, from
the current level of 70,000,000
to 113,000,000 passengers, and if,
at the same time the downward
trend of mass transportation
services is perpetuated.
What is now proposed in Con
gress in the mass transportation
act of 1960 is a rehabilitation of
mass transportation facilities
and the opening up of new ones
in metropolitan areas.
The act authorizes the Hous
ing and Home Financing Agen
cy to make loans up to a total
of $100,000,000 to state and local
governments and their instru
mentalities to improve mass
transportation according to their
needs. The loans may be used to
subsidize and expand existing
transportation facilities by pur
chase of additional equipment,
and by construction of new
arterial highways.
Thafs My Boy!
JOSEPH BRE1G
No School Tax
Not in this generation, and
maybe not in the next, will
there be tax relief — state or
federal — for parents of pupils
in religious and other non-tax-
supported schools. So thinks
Father Robert
F. Dr in an,
dean of the
Boston College
law school and
m ember of the
Massachusetts
bar.
Father Dri-
nan, in a talk
to the Detroit First Friday Club,
cited the opposition of the Na
tional Council of Churches, the
National Educational Associa
tion, and the Civil Liberties
Union.
Father Drinan qualified his
judgment by admitting that he
does not know “how deep and
widespread is the feeling of in
justice” among parents who pay
school and income taxes, but
must educate their children at
their own expense for reasons of
conscience.
HE NOTED ALSO that after
the Maine legislature refused to
vote for bus rides for parish
school pupils, a parents move
ment persuaded both the Demo
cratic and the Republican par
ties to include planks promising
such rides in their state plat
forms.
Concerning this matter, there
are some considerations to which
I would like to call attention.
To begin with, school tax re
lief is much more pressingly a
question of justice and of har
mony among citizens than it is
a problem of money.
Neither from the point of
view of government budgets nor
of the average taxpaying citi
zens are the sums involved of
tremendous importance.
INDEED, BY AND LARGE
they are not much more than
moderately important even for
parents of children in non-tax-
aided schools.
This is particularly true in the
elementary grades. The cost
rises in high school. In college,
it is beginning to become heavy.
Of much greater significance,
however, is this fact: it is bad
for any nation to allow a situa
tion that causes many people to
feel, with good reason, that
they are unfairly discriminated
against in distribution of the
taxes they help to pay.
This is compounded when the
imposition is a violation of free
dom of conscience — when par
ents are penalized in educating
their children because of their
religious convictions.
RELIGIOUS PARENTS, al
ready feeling discriminated
against, naturally do not want
the precedent of discrimination
to be widened by incorporation
into a federal-aid-to-education
program.
As an aside, let it be noted
that many citizens have serious
doubts about federal aid any
how. They question its neces
sity, and fear the opening of a
Relief?
new legislative pork-barrel.
But as a practical matter,
what can be done?
One easy immediate step
would be to grant income-tax
deductions to parents for tuition
and other costs they pay in edu
cating their children without
expense to the taxpayers.
True, this would help least
those in low income brackets.
Still, it would help some; it
would be a considerable relief
for large families, and it would
demonstrate a desire to end dis
crimination.
IT WOULD ALSO REDUCE
the financial pressure which is
tending toward crushing all
education except in government
operated schools.
No wise citizen wants to see
independent education smashed.
That would be a tragedy — al
though there are some who do
not think so.
Some want everybody pushed,
willynilly, into public schools.
They think that this would
make everybody buddies.
They forget, first, that you
don’t make friends of people by
trampling their right to select
their children’s schools; and sec
ond, that there can be as much
rivalry and even antagonism
between pupils in two public
schools as between those in a
public school and an indepdent
school.
But comparatively, all these
matters are trivialities: Next
issue, I want to point to what
is really hugely important.
"Church Alone Has Unity"
SHARING OUR TREASURE
WASHINGTON LETTER
Reverend J. A. O'Brien, University of Noire Dame
WASHINGTON — United
States foreign policy will be an
important, possibly a deciding
issue in the political campaign
soon to be put into high gear.
Both parties will seek to at
tract votes by explaining how
they would handle this policy
for the country.
If the people could talk back
to the politicians, one gets the
impression that a majority of
them would want a policy that
is simple but firm, spelled out
in words — peace with honor.
Americans certainly want
peace, and do not see why it
cannot be gained with honor.
They hear about the United
States losing a propaganda ad
vantage, but they feel the old
American policy, which made
the country great, is to do what
is believed right, whether it is
popular or not.
It may be argued that this is
J. J. Gilbert
naive; that it does not take into
account the changed world of
today. This rebuttal is blunted
somewhat by a theory that was
put forward some years ago, and
is being given renewed atten
tion today.
The theory, propounded by
scientists, is that Soviet Russian
foreign policy, which seeks dom
ination of the world for atheistic
communism, is based on experi
ments conducted by the Soviet
psychologist, Ivan Pavlov.
Pavlov, it will be remember
ed, is said to have worked out a
way to build up, break down
and reverse behavior patterns
in dogs. He did this by “con
ditioning” dogs which he found
susceptible to experimentation.
He would train dogs over a
period of time to react to cer
tain stimuli-food, lights, bells,
etc. Then he would subject the
dogs to deliberately confusing
tests. The dogs, hungry and anx
ious to please, would find that
a light, or bell, or odor which
once meant they would get food,
no longer was followed by food.
A signal which they had come
to learn meant one thing, now
meant something else. The sig
nals were not intended to make
any sense at all, and the dogs,
trying to make sense out of
them, frequently suffered
breakdowns.
Now some psychologists sug
gest that the Soviet Russian
policy is grounded in these ex
periments, which the Soviet re
gime gave. so much support to
develop.
The recent behavior of Nikita
Khrushchev is pointed to as the
latest demonstration of Soviet
adherence to this psychological
pattern. Moscow has long blown
hot, then cold said one thing
(Continued on Page 5)
“That person is such a staunch
and devout non-Catholic that it
would be useless to try to inter
est him in the Catholic Faith.”
Have you ever said that? If so,
you’re mistaken. The Church’s
credent ials
and God’s
grace are all-
power ful.
They draw the
honest truth-
seeker as the
magnet draws
the steel, as
the conversion
of so many ministers amply
demonstrates. Furthermore
deeply religious people usually
make the best Catholics.
This twofold truth is illustrat
ed by the experience of Harold
R. Bronk, Jr., former pastor of
St. David’s Episcopal Church,
Cambria Heights, New York,
and now a professor at Rose-
mont College in Pennsylvania.
“I was brought up,” related Mr.
Bronk, “in a typical non-church
going family. It was not until
high school that I learned the
wonderful story of the coming
of Our Lord to redeem us by
His sacrifice of Himself.
“The bearer of these good
tidings was a fellow high school
student, a Baptist lay preacher.
I became a Baptist and read
Holy Scripture with eagerness
and devotion. It was this love
for the Bible, coupled with the
threat of further schism among
the Baptists, that finally prompt
ed me to leave the Baptist
Church and become an Episco
palian. For seven years, five of
them as a clergyman, I lived
as a Catholic would live, but
within the Episcopal Church.
“As a member of a small but
vigorous group of Anglo-Cath-
olics, I pressed for a Catholic
interpretation of Anglican for
mularies. Then a blow was
struck at, the heart of the Anglo-
Catholic movement which laid
bare to me the essential weak
ness of attempting to live the
Catholic Faith apart from the
Rock of Peter. The Episcopalian
Church united with the pan-
Protestant , Church of South In
dia, which could not be consid
ered Catholic in any way.
“What was I to do? After
months of thought and prayer
my answer came. The prayer
Anima Chrisii had always meant
much to me, most especially the
phrase, ‘O good Jesus, suffer
me not to be separated from
Thee.’ Within the framework of
that prayer I found my answer:
union with the one, holy, Cath
olic and apostolic Church.
“Helping me with their advice
and guidance during this crucial
period were Father J.A.M. Quig
ley of St. Charles Seminary and
Monsignor Gerhard Fittkau of
New York. Upon completing a
course of instruction conducted
by Bishop Fulton J. Sheen, I
was received into the Church
at St. Patrick’s Cathedral on
June 28, 1959. My wife Ruth and
our five children were also re
ceived. Now we are truly one
with Christ, members of His
(Continued on Page 5)
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from the
hi Hectory
By The Rev. Robert H. Wharton •>
The farmer sent his son to
college, and the lad came home
at the end of his first year jubi
lantly announcing that he stood
second in his class.
“Second?” said the father.
“Second? Why
weren’t you
first? What do
you think I’m
sending you
to school for,
anyway?”
Filled with
determination,
the boy plow
ed into his books, and returned
home from his sophomore year
with top honors in his studies.
His father looked at him silent
ly for a few minutes then
shrugged his shoulders and
grumped, “At the head of the
class, eh? Can’t be much of a
college.”
Don’t laugh. It’s too sad, and
it has too familiar a ring to it.
All youngsters who have heard
their fathers say (and about 90
per cent of American youth
have heard it), “Your teacher
says you could do much better,”
will recognize themselves in the
story. They shouldn’t, though.
They could do better, probably.
There are many kids, though,
who are subjected to true-blue
parental nagging every day of
the year except first-class holi
days and holydays. Not long
ago, we wrote about the fault of
nagging. An eighth-grade boy
(a fine young man, undoubted
ly) wrote me about that column,
as follows:
“I especially want to thank
you for the column on nagging.
My teacher allows me to bring
them home so my mother may
read them. After reading this
particular one, my mother de
cided she had fallen into the
habit of bombarding me with
100-decible nagging concerning
my spelling. I’m not the world’s
best speller, but now I live in
naggingless peace and the two
of us agree my spelling grades
are better.” Thank you, young
man. And forgive me, Mother.
That’s why I’m bringing up
the subject again. It’s so impor
tant, and there is perhaps no
fault so easily passed over yet
so destructive as this one. Until
we accept the motto, “Nix on
Nagging,” there’ll never be any
real peace in the world. No
shooting wars, maybe, but plen
ty of talking b a t tl e s on the
home front.
Nagging, if you examine it in
bright daylight, is an unpleasant
thing. It’s a habit of annoying
by faultfinding, of irritating by
persistent scolding or urging.
The genuine nagger, as we shall
see, doesn’t have to make a sour
face and whine. All he needs is
the gift of speech and an un
usual persistence.
Many husbands are so hen
pecked that they think life is
supposed to be that miserable.
A traveling salesman walked
into a restaurant one morning
and told the waitress: “Bring
me two eggs fried so hard they
are edged in black, two silces
of burned toast and a cup of
cold coffee. Then sit down and
nag me — I’m homesick.”
The poor fellow’s wife must
be one of those ladies who talk
at the rate of 130 words a min
ute, with gusts up to 175. She
probably tells him that he’s a
failure in life, that he should
make more money,, and that he
should be more like Mr.
Strumpfnagle next door. If he
comes home with a hair on his
lapel, she accuses him of run
ning around with other women;
if he comes home without any
hair on his lapel, she accuses
him of running around with
bald women!
Not that the ladies have a
monopoly on this fault. The
fastest talker I ever met was a
man. His father was a tobacco
auctioneer and his mother was
a woman. Just kidding, Many
husbands, seriously, rnake life
unhappy for their wives by con
stant fault finding. They should
dress up more, they should cook
better, they should stop sitting
around all day, and so on to the
divorce court.
There are the parents, as we
have already indicated, who fos
ter feelings of insecurity and in
feriority in their kids by nag
ging. Too-frequent reminders of
their faults, invidious com
parisons with other children,
and constant complaints about
the difficulties of life can make
the offspring wish they hadn’t
sprung.
It hardly needs mentioning
that youthful naggers are the
most expert. Junior knows he
can exhaust his parents by beg
ging, cajoling, whining — and
by being difficult. Too much of
this, of course, results in his
ending up with mother’s hand
print on his cheek. That’s why
we needn’t say too much about
juvenile nagging; the kids can
be controlled.
Public nagging can be a fault,
too. Catholics expect to be asked
to donate to the Church and
other worthy causes. They even
look for frequent reminders.
But they resent, and rightly so,
every-Sunday reminders, scold
ings and impatient outbursts
from the pulpit.
This is where I can feel secure
at my typewriter. If this column
sounds too much like nagging,
you can always stop reading
when it becomes unbearable.
Don’t you dare.
This brings to mind a possible
solution to the problem of nag
ging. If all complaints between
husbands and wives, parents
and children, could be sub
mitted in writing (preferably in
triplicate), there would be
precious few naggers left. Very
few would bother.
And, besides, a nag in print
shows up what it really is — a
violation of charity and a thorn
in life’s road, which is thorny
enough already.
Question
Box
By David Q. Liptak
Q. Could St. Joseph have been
born free of original sin, as St.
John the Baptist was? If he
wasn't, then he would not be
so great a saint as St. John —
correct? Didn't Christ once say
that St. John was the greatest
man ever born? And, incidental
ly, how can this statement be
reconciled with the principle
that St. Joseph ranks next to
Our Blessed Lady, over all the
other saints?
A. It is certain that St. Jos
eph, the spouse of Our Blessed
Lady and the foster father of
the Christ Child, was not im
maculately conceived. Of all hu
man persons, the Mother of God
alone was so privileged.
WHETHER ST. JOSEPH was
cleansed from original sin be
fore his birth, though, is not
known for certain. And there is
no evidence, in either Sacred
Scripture or Apostolic Tradi
tion, upon which a conclusive
case could be built pro or con.
Indeed, the negative side is
(Continued on Page 5)
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.
Editor Savannah Edition Editor Atlanta Edition
JOHN MARKWALTER
Managing Editor
Vol. 41
Saturday, August 20, 1960
No. 6
ASSOCIATION OFFICERS
GEORGE GINGELL, Columbus President
MRS. DAN HARRIS, Macon Vice-President
TOM GRIFFIN, Atlanta HZI Vice-President
NICK CAMERIO, Macon Secretary
JOHN T. BUCKLEY, Augusta Treasurer
ALVIN M. McAULIFFE, Augusta Auditor
JOHN MARKWALTER, Augusta
MISS CECILE FERRY, Augusta .
Executive Secretary
_ Financial Secretary