PAGE 4—THE BULLETIN, February 3, 1962
Catholic Press
“Alert Catholics Read Their Cath
olic Press” is the theme for the an
nual Catholic Press Month campaign
this year, and the Catholic family of
today is the specific focus of this year’s
bright and modern poster.
This attention to today’s Catholic
family is altogether fitting, of course,
since the future of Catholicism in
America—all the Americas—depends
on this fundamental unit of society. It
is the family which starts our Catholic
citizens on the road of life, which
trains them for their later work, sees
to their education in church or public
schools, and provides shelter against
harmful outside influences or attacks.
This year’s theme urges Catholics
Month, 1962
to read their Catholic press, and this
is most significant also, since our
Catholic newspapers, magazines, and
books are more and more reflecting
the needs and interests of today’s alert
and interested Catholics. More and
more, these Catholic publications and
books are becoming the favorite
means for wholesome family enter
tainment and education in the faith.
Your continuing support of your
Catholic press will certainly help in
sure its growth and improvement,
which will in turn help guarantee the
further spread of the truths of our
faith, through the powerful medium
of the press.
GREATEST FOREIGN RELATIONS PROBLEM
The Ba
The normal function of the
State Department’s Chief of
Protocol is to attend to the
ceremonial dignitary of a for
eign state.
The Chief of Protocol, cur
rently Angier Biddle Duke, ar
ranges for
the recep
tion of a vis
itor upon his
arrival, his
stay at Blair
House, the
govern ment
guest house
across Penn
sylvania Av
enue from the White House,
the official entertaining and
the meeting with officials of
the United States government.
If an official guest visits oth
er cities after seeing the Pres
ident, the Chief of Protocol, or
one of his assistants, plans all
the details of the itinerary and
goes along on the trip as an
official escort.
SENSITIVE JOB
Although it is subordinate to
the official business of a state
visit the social side is extreme
ly important. Any slight, no
matter how unintentional, may
impair, if it does not undo, an
accord reached in an official
exchange. Seating an import
ant member of the entourage
of a head of state below his
proper place at the dinner ta
ble can put a chill upon what
was intended to be a most
pleasant social gathering.
When the diplomatic rela
tions of the United States were
confined mainly to the coun
tries of Europe and Latin
America, the problems of the
JOHN C. O'BRIEN
State Department’s protocol
officer were relatively minor.
The chance of an error of pro
tocol causing disgruntlement
among the official party of a
visiting dignitary was slight.
But with the establishment
of diplomatic relations with
the nations of color which
have recently attained inde
pendence, protocol problems
began to multiply. Most of the
embarrassment grew out of
segregation policies that pre
vail in many parts of the coun
try, partciularly in the South
and to a degree in the nation’s
capital itself.
The first problem that con
fronts a foreign country es
tablishing a diplomatic mission
in the United States is to find
a residence for the Ambassa
dor and members of his staff
in a desirable residential
neighborhood. The Asian coun
tries — Nationalist China, Ja
pan, India and others — en
countered little or no color dis
crimination, although occas
ionally in the South an Indian
with diplomatic status has
been offended when denied
service in a hotel because he
was mistaken for a Negro.
HOUSING PROBLEM
But when the new African
countries began establishing
diplomatic missions in Wash
ington, they ran smack up
against color discrimination in
most of the desirable residen
tial areas. Apartment house
managers refused to consider
applications from members of
the embassy staffs of African
countries. The situation be
came so acutely embarrassing
that the State Department’s
protocol officer had to call a
conference of apartment build
ing owners and appeal to them
to take in African diplomats
as a patriotic duty. A few
agreed reluctantly; others
steadfastly refused to alter
their all-white policies.
Whenever an African diplo
mat travels outside of Wash
ington, the State Department
expects trouble. One short
stretch of highway linking
Washington and New York,
known as Route 40, has be
come a mare’s nest of embar
rassment for the protocol of
ficers.
Time after time restaurants
along the highway have refus
ed to serve African diplomats
even after they have shown
their credentials. Under prod
ding by the State Department
a few have lifted the restric
tions, but unless the Maryland
legislature passes a pending
bill banning color discrimina
tion by public facilities on
highways, the State Depart
ment’s headaches are likely to
continue.
Occasionally by careful shep
herding, the State Department
contrives to conduct a tour for
an African Chief of State
without running up against in
sulting acts of discrimination,
as was the case when Presi
dent Abboud of the Sudan was
a guest.
But, in the words of Sec
retary of State Dean Rusk,
“The biggest single burden we
carry on our backs in our for
eign relations in the 1960’s is
the problem of racial discrimi
nation here at home.”
PINPOINT BOMBING OR APPALLING SLAUGHTER?
REV. JOHN B. SHEERIN. C.S.P.
Archbishop Roberts, S.J.,
suggested that all Christian
groups get together to issue a
joint statement on the morali
ty of nuclear weapons. He
made the suggestion in the
promotes the
practical ap
plication of
Ch ris tia n
principles to
the question of war.
The Fathers of the First Vat
ican Council conveyed to the
Pope their desire that the
Council issue a statement that
would induce men to abandon
war altogether or at least per
suade them to act like human
beings. I feel sure that the
question of the morality of nu
clear weapons will have a high
place on the agenda of the
Second Vatican Council.
Meanwhile the average
Catholic can well afford to
study this great question
prayerfully and in depth. I
confess I am deeply perplex
ed. I don’t know exactly what
the right answer is but I feel
quite certain it does not lie
with the warmonger who
brands all disarmament a
communist trick; or with the
pacifist who .regards all use of
force as essentially un-Chris
tian. Truth lies sowewhere in
the middle of the road.
NEW PROBLEM
The average Protestant is
quite confused. While the
Catholic tendency is to imag
ine that the Catholic “just
war” doctrine holds all the an
swers, the Protestant tempta
tion is to look nostalgically to
first century Christianity for
pat answers. But it happens
that this is not a first century
problem but an entirely new
problem caused by the fantas
tic destructiveness of 20th cen
tury weapons.
The recent pronouncement
of the World Council Assem
bly at New Delhi was more
cautious than previous World
Council statements on nuclear
weapons but it didn’t help the
average Protestant very much.
He is still perplexed after
reading the statement. It says:
“The use of indiscriminate
arms is condemned, and must
never be considered inevita
ble.” The word indiscriminate”
is too ambiguous to relieve the
moral dilemma of much of its
mystery.
The Catholic “just war” doc
trine also has shortcomings.
The trouble is that it is very
hard to apply the conditions of
a just war to the present
world situation. In the Middle
Ages it was easy to decide that
a professional army was made
up of combatants and that the
general population were non-
combatants who should not be
killed in a just war. But where
do we draw the line today be
tween combatants and non-
' combatants? There is a divid
ing line but it’s not easy to
discern.
Yet it does seem that the
aged, invalids and children are
(Continued on Page 5)
Catholic Witness Kindles Student's Interest
Sharing Our Treasure
Have you made any serious
effort to share the precious
treasure of your holy Faith
with others? If not, it is time
to examine your conscience.
Christ placed
this obliga
tion upon
every Catho
lic when He
said, “You
shall be wit
nesses for
me in Jeru
salem and in
all Judea
and Samaria and even to the
very ends of the earth” (Acts
1: 8). You can find opportuni
ties to witness for Christ and
REV. JOHN A. O'BRIEN
His Church in a tactful, friend
ly and prudent manner.
The fruitfulness of doing
this is shown in the conversion
of al Schwartz, a radio an
nouncer in Rupert, Idaho. “I
was reared a Methodist,” re
lated Al, “and attended church
regularly. While in high school
I became dissatisfied with
Methodism and joined the Lu
theran Church. I went Concor
dia High School in Portland to
study for the Lutheran minis
try.
“Last summer I met Martha,
a devout Catholic, who thought
enough of her religion to bear
witness for it. She told me how
much it meant to her and of
the great help it offers in liv
ing an upright Christian life.
I admired her for her sincerity
and courage in telling me, a
student for the Lutheran min
istry, about her religion. She
pointed out that it is a divine
religion, different from all oth
ers, and will richly repay ex
amination.
“Priding myself upon hav
ing an open mind and wanting
to know the truth, I called at
St. Mary’s Rectory in Cald
well. Father Kenneth Arnzen
kindly offered to give me a
complete course of instruction
and to answer all my ques
tions. My interest centered in
(Continued on Page 5)
IT'S THE LITTLE THINGS
It Seems to Me
“It’s the little crosses that
really try your soul,” said a
Carmelite priest to me, humor
ously and yet seriously en
ough. “The big ones, we can
carry Irl'c heroes,^ [n r 3.0^
hardly at all for a week.
Night after night, I sat alone
in the living room, patiently
enduring the pain. I don’t
think I uttered a single word
of complaint. I was a blooming
saint.
But I blow my gaskets be
cause my wife won’t throw
away ball point pens, even
though they cost only a quar
ter apiece.
SHE ALWAYS MEANS to
get refills for them after they
have run dry. But she never
gets around to it. She remem
bers everything else; she can’t
remember this.
I reach for a pen, and it
won’t write, I reach for anoth
er, and it won’t write either.
I reach for a third, a fourth, a
fifth, a sixth.
The first pen annoys me. I
lay it aside. The second starts
my gorge to rising. I slap it
angrily on the desk.
The third, I drop into a
wastebasket. The fourth, I
fling it. The fifth, I hurl it.
The sixth is likely to go fly
ing across the room.
AT THAT POINT, I start
grinding my teeth and trying
to remind myself that my dear
pen-hoarding wife is, after all,
my wife, whom I married for
worse as well as for better.
If she is within earshot, I
bellow something about why
the double-distilled doggonit
she doesn’t get rid of the ac
cursed things once and for all.
I mean to say, a pen that
won’t write isn’t a pen at all.
It’s an imposter. It’s a fraud.
It’s a great big fat lie, that’s
what it is.
My wife’s explanation that
she was intending to buy re
fills does nothing at all to
soothe the beast in me. She
has been saying the same thing
for about 10 years.
ANOTHER THING. Our
children, when they open a jar
of mustard, don’t screw the lid
back on. They just lay it on,
and put the jar on a shelf.
When I reach for it, the lid
comes off in my hand, and
either the bottle goes crashing
to the floor, or I dislocate my
spine trying 'to catch it as it
topples.
That’s one of the times when
an investigator from Rome
would sadly cross my name off
the list of possible candidates
for sainthood.
I love my fellowmen. Yes I
do—but not when one of them
crumples and empty cigarette
pack and drops it in the ash
tray, there to smoulder and
JOSEPH BREIG
stink up the room.
ANOTHER THING that
pops my cork is the practically
universal practice among wo
men of leaving straight pins,
and open safety pins, lying all
around the premises.
I pick up the pins patiently
—but as I do, I entertain fiend
ish visions of millions of wo
men being made to walk in
stocking feet across floors lit
tered with the things.
And by the way, anybody
who thinks there’s no purga
tory should think again. There
has got to be a place to send
manufacturers or those tissue
handkerchiefs which women
and children strew all over the
place — especially all over the
family automobile.
I HAVE OFTEN inquired of
the high heavens, too, why it
is that nobody but me ever
throws a milk bottle cap in
the wastebasket instead of
leaving it lying there. Some
times it seems that my life
consists in picking them up
and disposing of them.
I will admit, though, that I
am becoming philosophical
about women drivers who set
their left-turn blinkers going,
and then turn right. Or vice
versa. They do it so consistent
ly that you can almost figure
out what they’re up to. Al
most.
I have a healthy hatred for
the ketchup people. What de
mons did they consult before
they invented a bottle that
ketchup cannot be got out of?
I advise them to keep their
distance from me.
Finally, if you want to make
me riotously happy, just fix it
sometime so I can clobber one
of those bakers who can’t bake
a loaf of bread without sprin
kling seeds all over it. If I
could learn to love those cha
racters, I’d be on my way
straight to Heaven.
Dear Doris:
Is it possible for the parents
of a teen age girl to be over
protective? If so, how can I
convince them to' give me a
little more liberty?
I’m 16 and have been study
ing dancing for the past ten
years. Every time I find a boy
I like and decide to date my
parents tell me I have a ca
reer to think of and not to get
serious. I’m only allowed out
on weekends to attend a mov
ie or a game. I attend dancing,
school three times a week and
teach twice a week and feel I
should be allowed a little more
freedom. My grades in school
average between 85 and 90
so they can’t say I have to
stay in to keep up with my
work. What can I do to ease
the strain in my parents?
Buttons
According to your schedule
you haven’t much time for lib
erty or anything else. Between
classes and teaching your
week is full. And the week
end dates you are allowed are
liberal for a 16-year-old.
I get the feeling that the
problem is whether you really
want a career as a dancer and
are willing to make the sacri
fices such a career demands?
A frank discussion with your
parents about what they ex
pect of you and what your ex
pectations are would help.
Perhaps they think you are
satisfied and this is their way
of giving you support.
Your parents may be happy
to ease the strain — particu
larly the financial one — as
ten years of dancing lessons
have not been cheap. And a
frank talk would also help you
decide if you really want to be
cl dcincGi*
CHOICE OF ACTIVITIES
Dear Doris:
I’m a freshman in high
school. At the beginning there
were so many clubs and activ
ities to belong to I did not
know which to join.'I joined
the Athletic Association and
tried out for cheerleading
without success. My next
choice was to belong to bas
ketball followed by swimming.
Now there are other clubs such
as the Sodality and the new
Science Club I would like to
join. But I have a baby sitting
job one day a week. Should I
quit this job to belong to the
Sodality?
J. M.
What is more important to
you — to belong to the Sodali
ty and enjoying its spiritual
advantages or the job and its
extra money? I’m sure you re
alize the wonderful opportun
ity the Sodality offers in help
ing you reach spiritual perfec
tion and in practicing Catholic
Action. If you really need the
money you probably could
find another job that doesn’t
conflict in time.
Before joining any more
clubs you should make two de
cisions. First, how much time
can you spend on outside ac
tivities without neglecting
your studies? Second, what do
you like best? Clubs and ex
tra curricular activities should
be interesting—and fun. Take
time now and decide. Don’t
make the mistake of joining
too many.
NEEDS NO LESSON
Dear Doris:
I have a friend who doesn’t
like parties or dances and acts
very queer at them. He never
dances or participates, but just
talks to the other boys. His
girl friend, a beautiful cheer
leader and loyal person won’t
go home with anyone else so
he doesn’t learn his lesson. I
would like to know what
should be done about someone
like this.
R. T.
Nothing. He talks to the oth
er boys because he feels at
ease with them. He doesn’t
need “to learn a lesson.” He
may only need a lesson in
dancing. Why doesn’t your
friend invite him (with one
other couple for company) to
her house to play records and
learn a few steps.
Maybe he is shy when in a
crowd. Lots of boys are. And
the over-anxious girls don’t
help the situation any.
If your friend wants him as
an escort she may have to put
up with him as he is. He may
never change. If she wants an
escort who is also the life of
the party she may have to find
someone else. We can’t make
over others to suit ourselves.
Doris Revere Peters answers
letters through her column, not
by mail. Please do not ask for
a personal reply. Young readers
are invited to write to her in
care of The Bulletin.
C T -
w Li
ttle-Known Facts for Catholics
By J MURRAY Copyright, 1962, N.C.W.C. News Service
JN FIVE Y£-FIRS SINCE MS- FIRST PUBLIC
APPEARANCE, P£RE DUVAL,TUE FRENCH
(Jesuit singer.,-has given over.
400 CONCERTS AND SOLD
NEARLY a million records
nr ms? Son ns.
By David Q. Lipiak
Q.In response io a ques
tion about the marital status
of a celebrity, Sunday's "Pa
rade" magazine made this
allegation: "Multiple mar
riage does not automatically
excommunicate a member
of the Catholic Church."
What could these words pos
sibly mean? And how can
misstatements like this one
ever appear in print?
“For the married woman is
bound by the Law while her
husband is alive; but if her
husband die, she is set free
from the law of the husband.
Therefore while her husband
is alive, she will be called an
adultress if she is with another
man; but if her husband dies,
she is set free from the law of
the husband, so that she is not
an adultress if she has been
with another man” (Romans
A. If one wanted to stretch VII: 2, 3) . . . “And let not a
the point, one could say that husband put away his wife”
the statement, “multiple mar- (I Cor. VII: 10).
riage does not automatically A VALIDLY married Cath-
excommunicate a member of olic who divorces his wife and
the Catholic Church,” could be attempts remarriage, then,
true if, for example, a second commits serious sin and may
marriage were entered into af- not approach the sacraments
ter the death of one’s first until he is willing to right the
spouse. The example is obvi- wrong he has perpetrated. In
ously farfetched because “mul- effect, he has severed himself
tiple marriage” in the ordinary from participation in the life
context has reference to di- of grace.
vorce and remarriage in con- WHERE DOES excommuni-
tradiction of the natural moral cation enter the picture here?
law and Christ’s own mandate, An excommunication is a legal
clearly promulgated in the , censure or penalty whereby
pages of the New Testament, persons guilty of certain ex-
A VALID Christian consum- ternal and serious sins ex-
mated marriage binds both tremely prejudicial to the corn-
parties until death — in the mon welfare, the holiness of
words of the wedding cere- religious things or Church au-
mony: “from this day forward thority, are deprived of ben-
. . . until death do us part.” efits and rights enjoyed by
Once truly married, therefore, Catholics in good standing,
neither husband nor wife can The raison d’etre of an excom-
dissolve the marital contract munication is the correction
confirmed by vows, not even and betterment of the delin-
through their mutual consent, quent as well as the common
The very nature of things de- sense requirement that espe-
mands, as we indicated, that cially scandalous or contu-
marriage endure till death of macious external delicts be ex-
one partner, and our divine ternally penalized.
Lord emphasized this demand THUS. Catholics who go
in the most explicit terms pos- through a wedding ceremony
s ibl e: before a non-Catholic minister
"WHOEVER PUTS AWAY ipso facto commit serious sin
his wife and marries another, and deprive themselves of the
commits adultery against her; life of grace. In addition, an
and if the wife puts away her excommunication is incurred
husband, and marries another, because they have manifested
she commits adultery” (St.j|open contempt both for the
Mark X: 11, 12). Bsacramental nature of mar-
AND IN the inspired wordsjriage and their Catholic Faith,
of St. Paul: (Continued on Page 5)
"ike SA^UM R1T£,
a form of the
LATiNC R1Tt Was
Introduced, by
SV OSMUND
in. ENGLAND
in tire 11*1? century
and Its use
became
Widespread,
die re in the •
MIDDLE-
AC. .
lOO MASSTES ARE CELEBRATED
DAILY IN ST PETER'S, ROME.
c P a
HuUrltn
411 8TH ST., AUGUSTA, GA.
Published fortnightly by the Catholic Laymen’s Association of
Georgia, Inc., with the Approbation of the Most Reverend
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Second class mail privileges authorized at Monroe, Ga. Send
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REV. FRANCIS J. DONOHUE REV. R. DONALD KIERNAN
Editor Savannah Edition Editor Atlanta Edition
JOHN MARKWALTER
Managing Editor
REV. LAWRENCE LUCREE, REV. JOHN FITZPATRICK,
Associate Editors, Savannah Edition.
Vol. 42
Saturday, February 3, 1962
No. 18
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 CECILS FERRY, Augusta Financial Secretary
It Makes Sense
DORIS REVERE PETERS
n&wer&
YOUTH
PARENTS OVERPROTECTIVE — OR
IS GIRL ASKING TOO MUCH?
