Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 4—THE BULLETIN, April 14, 1962
LIBERALISM VS. CONSERVATISM
The Backdrop
JOHN C. O'BRIEN
A great deal is being said
and written about the “new
surge of conservatism’’ on col
lege campuses, particularly on
campuses of Catholic colleges.
A similar ideological split
exists among faculties, although
on most cam
puses the so-
called liber
als now far
outnumber
the conserva
tives. Among
college facul
ties, how
ever, there
seems to be
a dispute about strength of the
campus conservative move
ments and the causes of the
trend. Liberals tend to mini
mize the significance of cam
pus conservative groups, to re
gard them as emotionally dis
turbed, misguided youths who
need to have their thinking
straightened out.
Conservatives, on the other
hand, view the trend to con
servatism as a natural reaction
to the inadequacy of many of
the solutions advocated by the
liberals.
NOTRE DAME DEBATE
One debate which has attract
ed considerable attention is that
between a graduate student at
the University of Notre Dame
and the head of the political
science department of that in
stitution.
In an interview last summer,
the Rev. Laurence Murphy,
M.M = , a candidate for the doc
torate in philosophy, expressed
the view that the conservative
students were pursuing a
“mirage” and needed guidance
. from, liberals on the faculty.
This view has been challeng
ed by the Rev. Stanley Parry,
C.S.C., head of the political
science department, who sees
the trpnd toward conservatism
as a revolt against the
“cliches” of liberalism.
Father Parry notes that in
the 1930’s college life was con
trolled and dominated by con
servatives, who held all the po
sitions of power. But during the
next 20 years, he points out,
there was a gradual growth of
a student movement with liberal
orientation, for which he has!
been unable to find an adequate
explanation.
In the 1950’s and 1960’s the
trend of campus thinking took
a turn to the right, notwith
standing that by this time fac
ulties had become largely domi
nated by liberals. While a few
conservative teachers attempt
ed to foster and guide the con
servative movement, Father
Parry observes that in the main
it was spread and organized by
the students themselves.
The political science pro
fessor does not agree with
Father Murphy that the stu
dents in the conservative move
ment are “emotionallydisturb
ed.” He thinks the trend toward
conservatism “is rooted in
their experiences of the inade
quacy of the prevailing ortho
doxy.”
“Earlier the simple busi
nessman’s philosophy was in
adequate for the problems of
that day,” Father Parry main
tains, “and today the liberal
cliches no longer solve pro
blems.”
One of Father Murphy’s ob
jections was that conservatives
only see dangers, while the li
berals see the opportunities. In
Father Parry’s view precisely
the opposite is true.
He contends that the liberal
is preoccupied with security.
He is afraid of war, population,
unemployment, and, for each of
these he proposes a paternalis
tic control of life in order to
avoid the dangers.
RISK TAKERS
The conservatives, on the
other hand, Father Parry in
sists, are risk takers. They
have confidence in the economy,
are sure the United States would
survive a war. Basically they
want to open the doors of the
political tomb that the liberal
is constructing.
Nor does Father Parry ac
cept Father Murphy’s thesis
that the conservatives tend to
over emphasize the evils of
communism to the exclusion of
a positive effort to attack those
evils which spawn communism-
racial discrimination, human
misery, social injustice and
the like.
Father Parry suggests that
the philosophy of the campus
conservatives is more realis
tic than that of the campus
liberals. The conservatives, he
says, know that communism is
not spawned by racial discrimi
nation, social injustice and the
like. These merely give com
munist a chance to disrupt so
ciety. Father Parry maintains
that communists become com
munists because of a “spiritual
disease”—a complete trust in a
philosophy of materialism.
The Notre Dame professor
also states that the conserva
tives know that the aims of the
liberals are largely Utopian,
that they underestimate the im
perfection of human nature. The
conservatives know there pro
bably never will be a time when
social injustice does not exist,
that you cannot improve the con
dition of the Negroes by forced
integration, that you cannot in
crease the income of unskilled
workers by legislated salaries.
The liberal mentality, Father
Parry notes, views any demand
for an area free of political
control as a demand for a
license to commit acts of pri
vate interest. The conserva
tives believe that freeman are
the best servants of the common
good and that regulated men
find ways to live on and exploit
society as a whole.
CRUX OF THE MAHER
It Seems to .Me
JOSEPH BREIG
FALSE HOPES FOR THE COMING COUNCIL?
Sum and Substance
REV. JOHN B. SHEERIN. C.S.P.
r
l
Are we indulging in false
hopes for the coming Ecu
menical Council? The bril
liant young Swiss theologian,
Hans Kung, fears that we.
may be in for a painful dis
illusionment if we peg our
hopes too
high.
If it were
anyone but
Kung who
was offering
this advice
we mig h t
dismiss it as
a false alarm
from a pan
icky pessimimist, a fuddy-
duddy. But Kung is one of
the most radically progres-
s i v e theologians in the
Church at the present time.
He looks forward to the
coming Council as to the
coming of a new Pentecost.
He sees it transforming the
Church into such a vision of
unity, truth and charity that
separated Christians will
seek for unity with its Gos
pel splendor. When he warns
against false hopes, it is a
warning that is born of wis
dom, enthusiasm and opti
mism.
As far as I have been able
to discover, there is — sad to
say -- no need for such a
warning in this country. On
the contrary, the danger here
is apathy. Within the last
year I have been traveling
about in various Eastern cit
ies giving lectures on the
coming Council and Reunion.
I have found a prevailing
apathy to the Council that is
due almost entirely to a woe
ful lack of information about
it. One senses a certain
amount of devout curiosity
about the Council but most
Catholics seem to be timid
about asking questions about
it .for,fear, of revealing their
ignorance.
This is truly disappoint-
.ing. Hem it is the month of
April, the greatest event in
Catholic history this century
is only five months away, and
yet few Catholics have any
information about it. Whose
is the fault? As Pope John
says about the religious di
visions of Christianity, let us
not try to affix blame.
I will say however that
the Catholic Press has been
admirable in its coverage of
plans for the coming event.
The diocesan Press has car
ried the ample NCWC releas
es and the Catholic maga
zines have presented numer
ous articles on the Council.
Bishop deSmedt, in his
“Priesthood of the Faithful,”
(Paulist Paperbacks 1962)
says that the Church does not
rely exclusively on the Holy
Spirit’s action on the bishops
when it tries to arrive at the
full knowledge of revealed
doctrine. “It listens also to
the action of the same Spirit
at work in the People of
God. Thus, the teaching body
not only speaks to the People
of God, it also listens to this
People in whom Christ con
tinues His teaching.”
SUGGESTIONS WELCOME
In my travels I have not
met a single person who has
written to the proper authori
ties any suggestions for the
coming Council’s considera
tion. Cardinal Koenig told
some Austrian newsmen last
year that they should not
wait for the bishop or a re
port from Rome if they had
something to say about the
Council. “Sound a warning
whenever you feel you ought
to.”
And Martin Work, head of
the NationaLCouneil of .Cath
olic Men, has reminded the
laity that such suggestions
would be welcomed.
Several diocesan papers
and Catholic magazines have
published lay recommenda
tions for the Council. One
of the best articles of this
type was the one that appear
ed in The Sign (October,
1961). Entitled “What Lay
People Want in the Church,”
it began with Donald Thor-
man’s detailed list of five
topic areas for the Council to
consider: the liturgy, the role
of the layman, the role of the
priest, Church-State relations
and Free Speech in the
Church.
This was followed by short
suggestions by nine other
lay leaders. Douglas Wood
ruff of the London Tablet,
for instance, recommended
that the seminary courses be
remodeled in closer relation
to the intellectual life of the
non-Christian societies in
which nearly all priests have
to do their work.
Donald McDonald suggest
ed that the nature and func
tion of the parish be reexam
ined to see if it is a workable
unit today. Margaret Mealey
would like the Council to
discuss woman’s role in the
apostolate.
Until such matters as these
are a common topic of con
versation among lay people I
don’t think we need worry
about overoptimism in regard
to the Council. As to the cler
gy, many of them felt a keen
sense of disappointment
when Pope John ordered
seminaries to teach theology
in Latin. But the clergy take
it in stride.
LIST OF POPES 1$ CHURCH’S TITLE DEED
Sharing Our Treasure
What is the precaution which
a prudent person takes before
he buys a piece of property?
He checks the title deed to see
if it is valid. If it does not go
back to the original owner, the
3. Before one
joins a
Church,
he too should
check its title
deed to see
if it goes back
to Christ, for
only such a
C h u r c h
has Christ
for its
Founder and is therefore the one
true Church. It was because
Martin Kenneth Gordon of Bev
erly Hills, California now a jun-
REV. JOHN A. O'BRIEN
ior at the University of Notre
Dame, made that check that
he embraced the Catholic Faith.
“ I was born of Jewish
parents,” related Martin, “but
was not reared in the Jewish,
faith. Mother rarely went to
the synagogue, and father join
ed the Science of Mind Church.
Cults of this character abound
in the Los Angeles area.
“My sister Dolores was at
tending St. Francis de Sales
School and became a Catho
lic. She was so enthusiastic
over her religion that she pre
vailed upon me to go to Sunday
Mass with her quite often. On
other Sundays 1 went to the
Methodist Church and Sunday
school. After graduating from
the public grade school, I en
rolled at Notre Dame High
School in nearby Sherman Oaks,
which is staffed by the Holy
Cross Brothers.
“I took the regular courses
in religion, and was impressed
by the fact that the appeal was
made primarily to the intellect
and not to the emotions. We
were taught to think clearly
and to see the reasonableness
of every doctrine. My parents
became divorced and I was
sent to a military boarding
academy for my sophomore
year. During this year I alter
nated in attending a Methodist
Church and the Blessed Sacra
ment Church in Hollywood.
"The Methodists were much
more friendly. They greeted
(Continued on page 5)
qualified for anti-communist
leadership.
Russell Kirk, the conserva
tive theoretician, criticized
Welch for “silliness and in
justice of utterance.”
William F. Buckley’s Na
tional Review said that Welch’s
“false counsels” should be re
jected “out of a love of truth
and country.”
Welcoming such events as
“potentially most significant,”
O’Gara emphasizes that it is
necessary to be clear on “what
is meant by extremism.” He
makes these illuminating ob
servations:
“THE EXTREMISM of the
right wing certainly does not
consist in the fact that it is
anti-communist. The man who
does not fear communism is a
RETREAT SCHEDULE
IGNATIUS HOUSE
THURSDAY. APRIL 26 - SUNDAY. APRIL 29. 1962—(M)
Captain—Mr. Dan Sutter, 719 Stovall Blvd., N.E. (Home) CE. 3-6900;
Sutter & McLellan, (Bus.) JA. 5-2086.
Co-Captain—Mr. Paul Smith, 3492 Woods Dr., Decatur, (Home) BU. 9-2566.
THURSDAY. MAY 3 - SUNDAY. MAY 6. 1962—(W)
Captain—Mrs. Henry deGive, 355 Peachtree Battle Ave., N.W., CE. 7-4834.
Co-Captain—Mrs. John T. Kratzer, 3070 Santa Monica Dr., S.E., BU. 9-9329.
Co-Worker—Miss Ruth Green, 216 Ponce de Leon Court, Decatur, DR. 7-2955.
Co-Worker—Miss Irene Aden, 756 Greenwood Ave., N.E., TR. 4-7065.
Co-Worker—Mrs. James J. Weldon, 2065 E. Lake Rd., DR. 8-1102.
Co-Worker—Mrs. R. J. Martin, 111! N. Virginia Ave., TR. 5-3750.
Co-Worker—Mrs. Wm. Bennett, 191 Rockyford Rd., N.E., DR. 8-4772.
Co-Worker—Mrs. E. Wayne West, 24 Thirteenth St., N.W., TR. 6-0012.
Co-Worker—Mrs. Paul Smith, 3492 Woods Dr., Decatur, BU. 9-2566.
THURSDAY, MAY 10 - SUNDAY, MAY 13, 1962—(M)
Captain—Mr. Charles J. Kerscher, Sr., 1067 Wimberly Rd., N.E.,
(Home) CE. 7-3755; Atlanta Post Office (Bus.) MU. 8-1214..
Co-Captain—Mr. George Hudson, 1121 Wimberly Rd., N.E., (Home) CE. 7-0266;
Lockheed Aircraft Corp., Marietta (Bus.) 424-2473.
Co-Worker—Mr. Joseph L. Sheehan, 2887 Blackwood Dr., Decatur (Home)
938-1235; P. O. Box 4081 (Bus.) TR. 5-8321.
Co-Worker—Mr. Joseph L. Neiner, 1538 Windsor Pkwy., N. E., (Home)
CE. 3-8473; 4111 Pleasantdale Rd., Chamblee, (Bus.) GL. 7-2571.
Co-Worker—Mr. Verl V. Geisler, 3967 Club Dr., N.E., (Home) CE. 3-4491;
(Bus.) same as home.
Co-Worker—Mr. W. H. Wrigley, 2653 Redding Rd., N.E., (Home) CE. 7-1415;
306 Hull St., N.W. (Bus.) JA. 3-0456.
Co-Worker—Mr. E. T. Early, 4175 Club Dr., N.E. (Home) CE. 7-8764;
2755 Piedmont Rd„ N.E. (Bus.) CE. 7-4611.
Co-Worker—Mr. Francis X. Nerney, 3157 Woodrow' Way, N.E., (Home)
CE. 3-1809; (Bus.) same as home.
THURSDAY, MAY 17 - SUNDAY, MAY 20, 1962—(W)
Captain—Mrs. Mary Smith, 231 E. Yale Ave., College Park, PO. 6-2667.
Co-Captain—Mrs. Mary Zaworski, 3679 Atlanta Ave., Hapeville, PO. 1-3370.
THURSDAY. MAY 24 - SUNDAY, MAY 27, 1962—(Ml
Captain—Mr. George J. Gunning, 17 Dernorest Ave., N.E., (Home) CE. 7-9780;
125 Spring St., S.W., (Bus.) MU. 8-0800 Ext. 238.
Co-Captain—Mr. Louis Schnurr, 3018 W. Pine Valley Rd., N.W. (Home)
CE. 7-4748; 3166 Maple Dr., N.E., (Bus.) 237-3566.
Co-Worker—Mr. David Carley, Sr., 3171 Peachtree Dr., N.E., (Home) CE. 3-1561;
Carley Trailer & Equip. Co., (Bus.) 761-2181.
Co-Worker—Mr. John A. Ryan, 491 E. Wesley Rd., N.E., (Home) CE. 3-0787;
R-C Motor Lines, (Bus.) TR. 6-1048.
Co-Worker—Mr. Joseph Novak, 2266 Stephen Long Dr., N.E., (Home)
CE. 7-1149; Housing & Home Finance Agency, (Bus.) TR. 6-3311.
Co-Worker—Mr. John J. Lynch, 425 Lindbergh Dr., N.E., (Home) CE. 7-2048;
Federal Aviation Agency, (Bus.) TR. 6-3311.
Co-Worker—Mr. Michael Wiedl, Jr., 2217 Virginia PL, N.E., (Home) CE. 3-5702;
Atlanta Metropolitan Area Civil Defense, (Bus) JA. 5-4843.
Co-Worker—Mr. John Correll, 23 Dernorest Ave., N.E., (Home) CE. 7-0259;
109 International Office Park, Hapeville, (Bus.) 767-0531.
THURSDAY, MAY 31 - SUNDAY, JUNE 3, 1962—(W)
Nurses—Other ladies invited.
More precisely than any other in democratic organizations,
commentator I have read, R i g h t-w i n g extremism,
James O’Ga- O’Gara wrote, is “the match
ing conservative temptation.”
He observed:
“For the conservative and
business community, the radi
cal on the right today poses a
danger analogous to that posed
to liberal groups by communists
in the thirties and early for
ties.”
Some signs now indicate,
O’Gara said, that “a long over-
Mar c h 16, due process of conservative
O’Gara noted that “left-wing self-examination is underway.”
extremism” wa s the tempta- ' He quoted Sen. Barry Gold-
tion of liberals. water as publicly calling for the
That temptation finally was resignation of Rovert Welch as
met head-on, he said, when head of the John Birch Society,
liberal and labor groups barred Similarly, Rep. Walter Judd
communists because they are said that he considers Welch
totalitarians who have no place lacking in judgment, and un-
ra of Com-
m o n w e a 1
magazine has
placed his
finger on the
crux of the
dispute over
“ extremism
of the right.”
In Common-
w e a 1 for
DORIS REVERE PETERS
nAwerS
YOUTH
Pleasant Personality More
Important Than Good Looks
Dear Doris:
I am 17 and have a problem
you may think is funny coming
from a boy. My mother and
some friends have told me I
am quite good looking, but they
seem to be the only ones who
think so. When I look into the
mirror my nose and ears are
misplaced and everything
seems out of proportion. This
bothers me when going out so
cially. I’m afraid to ask a
girl for a date because of the
possibility of being turned down.
Is plastic surgery my only solu-
Your question isn’t funny but
I think your solution is. Use
some surgery on your person
ality—if it needs it. A pleasant
personality is far more im
portant than regular features
in getting along socially—even
with girls.
Don’t be afraid of being re
fused by some girls. All boys
are turned down at various
times and for various reasons.
But a girl will turn you down
faster for poor manners than
for a crooked nose and big
ears.
Another thing, Grey, at 17
your features may seem a little
out of proportion because you
haven’t finished growing. In an
other couple of years you may
have a real Rock Hudson pro
file. But, regardless, a cour
teous manner, a sincere in
knave or a fool.
“No, the question is what kind
of response we are to make to
this fearsome ideology, and the
trouble with the response of the
far right wing is that it is non-
rational and even anti-rational.
“In this framework the ex
tremist is not the man who is
opposed to the UN while I am
for it; it is the man who says
that to be for the UN makes
one a part of the communist
conspiracy.
“The extremist is not the man
who says that the U.S. armed
forces should be used against
Castro; it is the man who says
that those .who oppose such
intervention form part of the
communist conspiracy.
“The extremist is not the man
who says the communists have
made great gains since World
War II, as Heaven knows they
have, but he who ascribes every
gain to betrayal at home . . .
“The test, in short (of right
wing extremism) is not whether
a man holds strong views for
or against segregation, or the
UN, or fluoridation of water.
“The test is whether he ex
plains the major events or re
cent history in terms of con
spiracy, and slanders all who
disagree by saying that they
aid and abet that conspiracy,
‘ consciously or unconscious
ly.’ ”
O’GARA SAYS, rightly, that
the phase “consciously or un
consciously,” hurled as an ac
cusation, is just about the last
straw in “political non-ration
ality.”
It is profoundly important that
Americans not fall into the dis
astrous error of mistaking one
another for enemies, and having
at one another while the real
enemy, atheistic communism,
stands gloating over our folly.
Any one who turns Americans
against one another by circula
ting innuendoes, suspicions and
accusations is a badly mistaken
person, and is only harming the
cause of freedom which he seeks
to serve.
Which is simply another way
of saying that justice and charity
and mutual trust are not only
virtues, but they also work; and
injustice, uncharity and un
founded distrust are not only
evils, they are also gravely
injurious to America, to the
free world, to decent civili
zation, and to religion.
terest in others and good
grooming are all a boy needs
to be a social success.
* * *
RIGHTS AS TEENAGER
Dear Doris:
I am lacking three months
of being 15 and my mother
and I have differences of opin
ion especially about the rights
I should have as a teenager.
Just a few days ago my girl
friend asked me to spend the
weekend at her house and my
mother said positively “no”.
Her reason was that she didn’t
know my girl friend’s parents.
Well, I know I’m not going
to be affected by my girl friend’s
parents and if they aren’t the
right kind of people I’m sure I
wouldn’t visit them again. But
my mother seems to think that
a girl can’t spend the weekend
with her friend unless her par
ents are friends. Please advise
me. Don’t I have any rights?
Wondering.
Of course you have rights. So
does your mother.
It is your right, and privi
lege, as a teenager to cooper
ate with your mother. You will
not always agree with her be
cause she won’t always give
you what you want or what you
think you should have.
But her decisions are based
on her wisdom and her love and
concern for you. It is your obli
gation to try to understand this.
If you accept her guidance in the
rules of conduct and behavior
now you will be able to make
wise decisions, too, when you
are on your own.
It is your mothers right (and
obligation) to guide your choice
of friends, to know at all times
where you are and with whom.
Spending the weekend away from
home, although fun and relaxa
tion for you, means you will
be in clsoe contact with people
who may have an effect on you.
And in this case with people
who are strangers to your
mother.
I believe most would agree
that she does not have to be
personal friends with the other
parents, but she should know
them, the kind of home they
have, their attitudes about pri
vileges, supervision, etc.
You don’t spend the weekend
in a friend’s home to determine
if “they are the right kind of
people” for the next time. You
should be certain of this before
hand. And your mother is the
one to make this judgement.
* * *
PAX CHRISTI
Dear Doris:
I’m a sophomore in high
school and would like a foreign
Catholic pen pal. I have heard
of Pax Christi but would like
to know more about it and
where it is.
Dolores.
Pax Christi acts as inter
mediary in the pen friendships
initiated by the International
Catholic Correspondence Or
ganization. Pax Christi is an
international Catholic move
ment for peace, recognized and
approved by the Holy See.
It started as one of its ac
tivities, a very interesting and
instructive form of apostolate.
This consists in making men and
women, young and old, through
out the world, acquainted with
one another through the ex
change of letters. Correspond
ents become acquainted and
many friendships are made.
For students like yourself this
can be fun and also useful in
studies. The address is: Pax
Christi-CCI, (18) Saarlouis 1,
Stifstr. 12 (West Germany).
* * *
(Doris Revere Peters ans
wers letters through her col
umn, not by mail. Please do not
ask for a personal reply. Young
readers are invited to write to
her in care of THE BULLETIN.)
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 Archbishop of
Atlanta. Subscription price $3.00 per year. Subscription in
cluded in membership in Catholic Laymen’s Association.
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
Rev. Lawrence Lucree, Rev. John Fitzpatrick
Associate Editors, Savannah Edition
Vol. 42 Saturday, April 14, 1962 No. 23
ASSOCIATION OFFICERS
GEORGE GINGELL, Columbus President
MRS. DAN HARRIS, Macon Vice-President
NICK CAMERIO, Macon J Secretary
JOHN T. BUCKLEY, Augusta Treasurer
ALVIN M. McAULIFFE, Augusta Auditor
JOHN MARKWALTER, Augusta Executive Secretary
MISS CECILE FERRY, Augusta Financial Secretary