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PAGE 4—the Bulletin, October lit, Pjou \J ■ THE CHRISTIAN SPIRIT Tray With Me* The Most Reverent" Thomas J. McDon ough, Bishop oi Savannah, has issued his annual appeal lor funds to continue and to expand the vari ed works of the Diocese. This year’s goal is $110,000. Contrioutions alone will not bring suc cess to the 1960 drive. What is needed is genuine enthusiasm for the necessary un dertakings of the Church in all parts of the Diocese. What is needed is not just giving, but cheerful giving. What is needed is giv ing. with the conviction that the generous self-denial involved will bring the Blessings of God upon the Apostolic and missionary endeavors of the entire Diocese, and upon all of us as individuals who follow Christ willingly, in the spirit of Faith, bearing HIS cross on OUR shoulders. It was such a spirit of genuine, fervent sacrifice by millions upon millions of Christians over nineteen centuries that brought the Faith to us and such phenom enal growth to the tiny Church born on Pentecost Sunday. “And the multitude of believers had but one heart and one soul: neither did any one say that any of the things which he possessed was his own.” (Acts. 4:32) “For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of the body, whereas they are many, yet are one body, so also is Christ. For in one Spirit were we all baptized into one body . . . For the body also is not one member,' but many . . . Now you are the body of Christ, and members of member.” (1 Cor. 12:12-14 and 27) THE PRICE The United Nations Organization is now fifteen years old. Of all human means, it has been called, “Mankind’s .last best hope for peace with justice in the world.” Now, a decade-and-a-haif after its founding the world seems to be more sharply and dangerously divided than ever before. Khrushchev rattles his rockets, warning of Russia’s military might, and threatens to try to scuttle the U. N. if his demands, aimed at extending the influence of Communism throughout the world are not met. A Communist dictatorship exists only 90 miles from the mainland of the U. S. Some of the newly emerged nations of Africa seem to feel that it is more pro fitable to support the aims and position of Russia with regard to the activities of the U. N. on that continent, heightening fears that this great organization may collapse and with it, the hope of the world for peace. And yet, with all this, there is no cause for consternation or dismay. For these actions only prove that nations can be more successful in trying to overcome evil by natural means alone than any in dividual. And if the world can only become convinced of this, then all the troubles and tensions presently gripping the world will only have been the price of wisdom. Grace perfects nature. Men and wo men of good will labor tirelessly and un selfishly to put the principles of the Unit ed Nation Charter into effect throughout OF WISDOM the world, sincerely longing for the day when men will “beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.” But only the Grace of God can water the seed which they plant, and bring it to fruition. It remains for the world, then, to seek the Grace of God which will perfect man’s natural efforts, and overcome any evil. This is the month of the Holy Rosary. It is also a month when we recall to mind that the Blessed Virgin Mary promised the world, at Fatima, that if people pray and do penance, then Russia will be con verted; and warned that if her words were not heeded, Russia would spread her errors throughout the world. So, if time seems to be confirming the warning of Mary, it must also be confirm ing the fact that at least not enough of the world is praying and doing penance. What good will your prayers and pen ances do — or mine — when so many do not believe in their necessity? Moses -extended his arms in prayer, and as long as he prayed the battle went in favor of the chosen people, but when he tired and began to flag the tide of battle shifted to the enemy. What good are your prayers?: “The prayer of one just man availeth much.” How often do YOU say your Rosary — how often do YOU deny yourself — how often do YOU receive Holy Commun ion — how often do YOU sincerely and fervently pray for peace? Visiting Barbarians T H E Arrogance and boorishness seem to be the hallmark of diplomacy as conducted under communist rules. A more disgraceful display of churlishness and contempt for civilized d e p ortment than that staged by Nikita Khru shchev and his newest puppet, Fidel Castro, at the meeting of the United Nations General Assembly would be hard to find in the annals of international confer ences. The two dictators swaggered into New York, attended by letinues of plug-uglies, in the manner of gang leaders look ing for a rumble. Although they have been guests of the United States — when they were not actually in the Unit ed Nations Building, an inter national enclave—the two dic tators have acted as though they were on their own soil. ARMED GOONS When civilized heads of state visit a foreign country, their security officers refrain from interfering with the police, of the Lost country, recognizing that" their ‘ writ authority does not run beyond their own borders. ' But when Khrusfichev visit ed Castro at the Hotel Theresa in Harlem, the chief of the Soviet leader’s body guards, BACKDROP By JOHN C. O’BRIEN taking matters into his own hands, undertook to shove the New York police aside. New York Police Commissioner Ste phen P. Kennedy complained that Khrushchev’s security chief actually punched a New York policeman in the sto mach until restrained by one of the policeman’s colleagues. Western statesmen are ac customed to Khrushchev’s bul lying behavior, his threats and his name-calling, but they were not prepared for the ar rogance he and his entourage have displayed since they ar rived on American shores. They find his disdain for the sovereignty of a mighty nation an ill omen for the future of relations between the com munists and the rest of the world. But if Khrushchev’s conduct has been overbearing, that of his Cuban ally has been down right swinish. Although he had been warned not to bring arm ed goons into the United States, one of Castro’s guards showed up at a reception for Castro in the Hotel Theresa, toting a sidearm. When police undertook to unarm him, he cried, “diplo matic immunity!” And it took a ruling by Secretary of State Christian .Herter to convince the “barbudo” that diplomatic immunity did not cover bear ing’arms in a foreign country. INDOOR COOKOUT The conduct of the Cuban dictator and his party at the Hotel Shelburne violated every rule of decency. When they stomped out of the hotel to make a propaganda play for support among Negroes and Spanish-speaking residents in Harlem they left their Shel burne quarters in shambles. The carpeted floors were littered with cigarettes and ci gar butts. Chicken feathers— the Cubans were plucking live fowl and cooking them in their rooms—littered a sofa. A floor lamp and telephone were yanked from the wall and bath towels had been used to shine shoes. A more calculated ges ture of .contempt for a host na tion could hardly be imagined. The abuse of diplomatic im munity by communist and communist oriented diplomat ic missions has become a ma jor headache for the State De partment. While the police were try ing to cope with the brash an tics of the Russians and the Cubans, an attache of the Mo roccan UN mission ran down a New York policeman who had waved him away from a turn into a traffic-congested street. And when the police man asked to see the diplo mat’s license he got a knock down punch for his pains. Russian diplomats also have shown disdain for the traffic laws, which they seem to be lieve' dp. not apply to them. Long Island police repeatedly have had trouble with mem bers of the Russian UN mis sion speeding to their summer hide-away in Glen Cove. One of the offenders was the Sov iet Ambassador. ACT OF KINDNESS WINS WHOLE FAMILY SHARING OUR TREASURE wm i* * Reverend J. A. O'Brien, University of Notre Dame Do you really want to share your holy Faith with a non- Catholic friend? If so, go out of your way to show some kindness to him. Kind deeds are the beautiful fragrant flowers which grow from the seeds of love. They will win one’s heart and prompt him to look into the religion which in spires such kindness. This is illus trated in the John Albert Bend. “Four years ago,” related Mrs. Albert, “St. Jude’s Church held its first summer festival. For my husband and me it meant the annoyance of extra traffic and assorted noises, but for our three children it meant a respite from mid-summer doldums. Our own Church would never approve such ac tivities. Unconcerned with adult opinion, the children could scarcely finish breakfast in their eagerness to get to the festival. “Kevin, six, liked especially the pony rides and usually stayed the entire morning. One day he was back in a half- hour. ‘Mommy, I found a dol lar!’ Actually it was a ten- dollar bill. I explained to him and his older brother, Dan,, that they must try to find the owner. Dan volunteered to take Kevin to the rectory. Father John Szot opened the door. “ ‘Here,’ said Kevin, ‘this is yours.’ ‘How come?’ asked the pastor. ‘Kevin found it near the pony track,’ explained Dan, ‘and mother says it belongs to you.’ They started down the steps for home. ‘Just a minute, boys,’ said Father, reaching for his wallet. ‘This, Kevin, is for being an honest boy.’ It was a dollar bill. “They had taken a dozen steps, when Father called to Dan. ‘This is for keeping your brother honest on the way over or (smiling) for not talking him out of it.’ The boys were touched by the big-hearted generosity, entirely unexpect ed, of the priest as well as by his sense of humor. They felt like young millionaires. “When the new St. Jude’s School opened in September, Dan announced he wanted to go to ‘that nice priest’s school.’ He begged and pleaded. Our son in a Catholic parochial school! What would our fam ily, friends and neighbors say? We went to the priest, hoping that Dan would not be admit ted. But there was room and Dan was enrolled in the third grade. “A few months later Dan announced that he was going to the Catholic Church on Sunday. No one at school had suggested it. He just wanted to go to Father Szot’s Church. Off he went alone to Mass. Every Sunday I would awaken Dan, help him get ready, and then watch as he walked to the corner alone. My eyes and cheeks were moist as I turned away. “My husband suggested that (Continued on Page 5) conversion of the family of South *%%>//» JOSEPH BRE1G What One Letter Did Eighteen months ago, news paperman Martin Duggan and his wife Mae, after putting their children to bed, sat down and wrote to the St. Louis Re view, saying sters without exception, no matter what school they attend, are entitled to share in the benefits of t h e educa tional taxes paid by their parents. Today, there are 12 chapters in six states of Citizens for Ed ucational Freedom, an organ ization that grew out of the Duggan letter. What happened was that a St. Louis insurance executive, Vincent Corley, father of eight, read the letter and suggested to the Duggans that they get together with some other peo ple and do something about “A Fair Share for Every Child.” THE FOUNDING MEETING was held in the Duggan living room. Leadership came from Anthony W. Daly, an attorney in Alton, 111., across the river from St. Louis, who for 10 years had campaigned, by writ ing and speaking, for “freedom of choice in education without financial penalty.” The half-dozen couples pre sent agreed that the first need was to call public attention to the justice Of the cause. Why should parents be denied a share in the school taxes they pay, just because they exer cise their inalienable right to send their children to a relig ious school which meets stand ards set up by government educational authorities? Such was the question which Citizens for Educational Free dom began putting before the people. CEF BASED ITS position on justice,. civil rights, and the guarantees of the U. S. Con stitution and the UN Declara tion of Human Rights, but above all on the primary right of parents to choose schools for their children. About a year ago, stories about CEF appeared in some newspapers, and in one month CEF received letters from cit izens in all parts of the nation. CEF in the meantime had begun publishing Fair Share News, and today there are more than 7,000 on the mail ing list. CEF HOLDS that its cause is just, that millions are in terested in “A Fair Share for Every Child,” and that what is needed is to mobilize public opinion. CEF suggests that the equi table way to handle the prob lem would be to make educa tional grants not directly to schools, but through parents to schools they select for their youngsters. Daly, a retired probate judge, is of the opinion that present school tax laws violate American constitutional gua rantees of freedom by penal izing some parents economic ally' for exercising., their right of cnoiee in education. JUDGE DALY ARGUES that it is inequitable to seques ter the taxes of all the people for the benefit of parents of children in public schools. CEF, an undenominational organization, emphasizes that it supports the public school system wholeheartedly, but that “when the state assumes the task of providing educa tional facilities, taxing all citi zens for these schools, it must in fairness provide for ail school children, whether they attend public schools or other schools of their parents’ choice.” CEF also stresses that it is not “seeking to introduce re ligion into the public schools, nor do we seek public funds for any church.” What CEF wants is “a certificate plan for distribution of educational funds, similar to the GI Bill of Rights for Veterans.” Says CEF: "We are acting as Ameri can citizens to protect our rights and our children's rights to freedom of choice in education." In this series on education and religion, I mention CEF as evidence of the concern felt by increasing numbers of citi zens over the problem of giv ing education the direction, coherence and inspiration that come from religion. Citizens for Educational Freedom has its national head quarters at 3109 S. Grand Blvd., Room 25, St. Louis 18, Missouri. A Patriarch's Views On Christian Reunion SUM AND SUBSTANCE Rev. John B. Sheerin, C.S.P. (Editor, The Catholic World) Early in September I paid a visit to the Patriarch of the Greek Catholics of the world. His Beatitude, Maximos IV, lives on the outskirts of a tiny village called Ain Traz. It is 35 miles southeast of Beirut in Lebanon and not far from the place where the keys were given by Christ to St. Peter. His Excel lency, Bishop Eustace Smith, O.F.M., Apostolic Vicar of Beirut, arranged the trip to the mountain vastness and acted as interpreter in the con versation. NEED FOR CHARITY Beirut is a city full of sur prises but the surrounding country is a world utterly dif ferent from anything I have ever seen. We drove through sleepy towns full of Druses, that strange, ethnic group which is today commanding the attention of scholars. In the recent revolution in Leba non it was the Druses who swept down from the hills in an attempt to capture the air port of Beirut. When the road leaves the towns, it winds its way along the edge of vast, perilous cliffs so that we felt as if we were in an airplane, looking down on the countryside below. The Patriarch’s residence is about 10,000 feet above sea level. His Beatitude received us graciously. He is a man well over 80 years of age but vig orous in his speeech and ac tions. This summer he attend ed the Eucharistic Congress at Munich and was official guest of a number of European coun tries on his return trip to Ain Traz. The Patriarch did not ex press any soaring hopes for Christian Reunion as a result of the coming Ecumenical Council but he was optimistic about the general movement for Reunion. He spoke with vigor, persuasiveness (and hopefulness) about the im portance of developing a new approach to the whole ques tion of reunion with the Orth odox churches. He maintained that what is needed is charity and that our approach to the Orthodox in the past has been lacking in that virtue. Our theologians have been directing theologi cal objections at Orthodox claims and the Orthodox have been replying in kind—but there has been no meeting of minds because there has been no meeting of hearts in chari ty. ORTHODOX POSITION As the Patriarch expressed it, we have been telling the Orthodox: “You are wrong. Give up your errors and join us.” But he pointed out that this approach is futile and only serves to widen the. gap be tween us and our Orthodox brethren. For they feel that they are right and that it is their antagonists who have al tered Christian teaching. They stand in their own good faith as representing the primitive Christian Church. Patriarch Maximos contends that we must have a sympa thetic appreciation of this at titude of the Orthodox and this can be achieved not by argu ment but by an honest at tempt to understand what the Orthodox position actually is. The Partriarch of all Greek Catholics spends the winter season in his residence at Cairo, spring at Damascus and summer and early fall at Ain Traz. He is specially concern ed about the plight of Cath- (Continued on Page 5) LOOSE PINS ©isa til© Heeifc»s*y Sy Rev. Robert M. Wharton The sales manager of a fast- i growing outfit sticks pins in a big relief map behind his desk to show where every one of I n: salesmen is at a given inn next, • Ragsdale, of. the New Eng land sector, was not, in the opinion of t 3 manager, living up to his early promise. He was therefore summoned to the home office for a pep talk. “I’m not saying you’re in imminent danger yet of being fired,” was the stern finale of ti ■ sale manager’s warning, “but if you’ll look carefully at my ma;?, Ragsdale, you’ll note I’ve loosened your pin!” That’s what happens when we commit venial sin—our pins get loosened in the heavenly chart. We’re still connected, still listed in the Book of Life when we commit venial sins. It’s just that our celestial con nections are not as tight as they should be. Everyone is against mortal sins, the ones that take away the life of grace from our souls. Even those who habit ually fall into serious sins gen erally recognize their evil and entertain at least a vague de sire to get rid of them. But it’s not always so with venial sins. A venial sin is one that’s easily pardoned. It doesn’t take away the life of grace; it just weakens it. Venial sin is, in other words, a disease of the soul, not its death. Because these venial sins are indeed small compared to mor tal ones, it is easy to overlook them, to learn to live with them — even to get pretty chummy with them. Some of our best friends commit them. Aren’t we all sinners, any way? So why get excited about them? Excited? Who’s excited? No one should let venial sins panic him. The only time we lose our heads about venial sins is when we try to be perfection ists (a different thing from seeking after perfection) and get disgusted with ourselves because we’re so weak. No one can overcome sin by grit ting his teeth and saying 500 times a day, “I must not sin.” Our aim should be to neith er exaggerate venial sins nor ignore them. They are sins, and therefore important. They offend God, they weaken the life of grace in our souls, they make it easier to commit mor tal sins. Yet we don’t get ex cited and impatient with our selves. We try to overcome them because they offend our Best Friend, who loves us. Venial sins, unlike their big brothers, can be forgiven out side confession. They don’t have to be confessed. We can erase them by devout recep tion of Holy Communion, by prayer and by penance. Another difference between mortal and venial sins is that we can be sorry for only some of the venial ones and still stay in grace. It’s impossible to be sorry for one mortal sin and not for another—in order to obtain forgiveness, we must have contrition for all of them. But one venial sin can be for given even while we have no intention of doing away with another one. What are some of the most venial sins?l Lies—even those so-called “white” ones—must be somewhere near the top of the . list! Various kinds of cheating (not embezzling large sums of money) should be'in cluded. Profanity is a contend er for first ‘plaoein popularity, certainly. So. is uneharitable- hgss'. Hetty theft,, destruction of Ipi'bperfy and stealing' company time are; well-known veriia’fe too. 1 ■ ■’ '■ It’s generally agreed, then, that venial sins are easily com mitted and that they should go. The main problem is how to get rid of them. As we have indicated, the essential thing is to want to be perfect be cause that’s what pleased our Savior. After we resolve to punish venial sin, the next step is to recognize them. We can be come so used to them, so fond of them, that we think we . -• ready for our gold-plated halos already. Therefore, regular ex aminations of conscience should reveal the big faults. There’s no such thing as peaceful coexistence with ve nial sin. If every Catholic would avoid tne “it’S-only-a- venial-sin” attitude and strive for the perfection God de mands, the world would mar vel anew at the Church’s vi~ rality. If we accept venial sin as an inevitable companion in life, we in y end up like the man whose preacher said at his fu neral: “iinw, he wasn’t what you call a good man, because he never gave his heart to the Lord; but he was what you’d call a respected sinner.” Question Box By David Q. Liptak Q. At the close of a funeral Mass, why is it that the cas ket is sprinkled with holy water and incensed by the priest? A. The aspersion of the body of the deceased with holy wa ter during the absolution cere mony following the funeral Mass symbolizes death and burial in Christ as well as pre servation of body and soul from the powers of evil. THE FIRST historical men tion of blessed water in the exequial rites of the Church is contained in an eighth-century sacramentary, which may have been in observance as early as the sixth century. Indeed, the first clear reference to holy water itself dates only from the beginning of the third cen tury. At that time water was specially blessed for use during prayers for the health of the sick and the warding off of satanic influences. "MOST PROBABLY, the rite of sprinkling the corpse and grave with holy water really came from non-Roman sources in France and Spain,” writes Father Gerard Mon tague in a specialized commen tary on the subject. “The rite of aspersion with holy water was not part of the early Christian obsequies. The Church suppressed as supersti tious the various funeral obla tions of the pagans. Yet for the early Fathers water was frequently regarded as a synL bol of death; this notion was naturally ■ suggested by the symbolism, of baptism—the old sinful man was buried in the waters of the font.” THE BODY of the deceased is incensed during the funeral absolution ceremonies because it was, during life, the temple of the Holy Spirit. THE USE OF INCENSE in the exequial rite for this reason was already a traditional prac tice at the close of the second century. There were other: reasons, however. One was to remind the bystanders that suffrages for the dead are ac ceptable before God. Another was to signify that the deceas ed had passed'from this world , with, the: spiritual fragrance of his good' works. A PRACTICAL REASON jalap underlay the introduction of mgen^Linto; the funeral ab solution- Iff tile, words of Fa ther Montague, again, incense served “the utilitarian purpose of counteracting the malodour of corruption since the Chris tians did not bury their dead with undue haste as did the pagans . . .” (Continued on Page 5) Uttlbltn 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, Ga. Send notice of change of address to P. O. Box 320, Monroe, Ga. REV. FRANCIS J. DONOHUE REV. R. DONALD KIERNAN Editor Savannah Edition Editor Atlanta Edition JOHN MARKWALTER Managing Editor Vol. 41 Saturday, October 15, 1960 No. 10 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