Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 4—THE BULLETIN, May 26, 1962
CATHOLIC
Last week the Most
Reverend Thomas J„ McDon
ough announced the institution
of a Diocesan program of in
formation and education con
cerning Catholic schools and
their vital place in Ameri
can education.
More than a year ago a bill
to extend Federal Aid to Edu
cation was introduced in the
United States Congress. Its
provisions excluded children
in Catholic schools from any
aid, and it became the center
of nation-wide controversy.
In an attempt to reslove the
controversy other bills were
proposed - to provide grants
to parents of all school child
ren, to provide tax relief for
parents whose children attend
non-public schools, to provide
low interest loans to non
public schools.
None of the bills were pass
ed. But the subject of Federal
Aid to education is not dead
and will certainly be brought
up at the next session of Con
gress.
The subject is, of course,
vital to every American, but it
is especially important for
Catholics.
Opposition to the inclusion
of non-public school pupils
(mostly Catholic school pu
pils) in any program of fed
eral aid arises from the con
stitutional question - would
such an inclusion be a violation
of the first amendment and
from a distorted image of
SCHOOLS
Catholic schools which are
seen by many as ‘‘divisive”,
‘‘undemocratic”, or even
‘‘un-American”, as well as
from a general lack of know
ledge concerning the reason
for Catholic schools, their
nature, and their goals.
Only the U.S. Supreme Court
can decide the constitution
ality of Federal aid to ALL
children, regardless of the
school they attend. But that
decision will be based as much
upon the general public’s con
cept of the requirements and
restrictions of the Consti
tution as upon actual prior
decisions.
Only American Catholics
can correct distorted images
of our schools and acquaint
their non-Catholic neighbors
with the work of the Catholic
schools, their contribution to
the common welfare, and their
own deep religious convictions
which underlie the very ex
istence of Catholic schools.
And only informed Ameri
can Catholics can change the
widespread and erroneous be
lief that the Constitution, as it
is presently construed, for
bids government aid to
church-related institutions.
THE BULLETIN will con
tinue to publish news and fea
tures with information to en
able Catholics to makeaposi-
tive contribution to the reso
lution of the question with
Charity and Justice for all.
SHALL WE PAY FIDEL?
It Seems to Me
THE RISING CRIME RATE
Backdrop
JOHN C. O'BRIEN
The
All available evidence points
to a steadily rising crime rate
in the United States. This is
■!&£ ,<*~ c 20 C L> s i° n .... of J ■ Edgar
Hoover, head of the Federal
Bureau of Investigation, Attor
ney General
C 1 i m
ing faster than the crime rate
for the population as a whole
is the crime rate among teen
agers. Crimes committed by
teenagers run the gamut of
offenses from vandalism to
murder and are now a major
concern of law enforcement of
ficers.
One of the most prominent of
the nation’s law enforcement
officials, William H. Parker,
Chief of Police of Los Angeles,
recently stated that crime is
increasing from four to six
times faster than the population.
He suggests that American civi
lization may “destroy itself as
others have before it’’ because
of a general breakdown of public
and private morality.
Scores of commissions, cri
minologists and sociologists
have probed for the cause s of
the upsurge in crime. But the
distinguishing mark of their
findings has been the lack of
agreement.
One school tends to put the
blame upon unfavorable en
vironment, slum housing, in
ferior educational facilities and
poverty. This view overlooks
the fact that a large percentage
of the youthful criminals come
from middle - income and
affluent families.
Law enforcement officials
are prone to complain about
court decisions, which, they
say, hamper their efforts to
bring criminals to justice, light
sentences by the courts and
“softness’’ on the part of juries
and the public toward offenders,
even toward hardened crimi
nals. Too often, say these of
ficials, the public and the press
seem more interested in pro
tecting society.
Much emphasis today, the
law enforcement officials point
out, is placed upon the reha
bilitation of criminals. Long
sentences have become vir
tually meaningless as a
deterrent to crime since the
prisoner becomes eligible for
parole after serving a small
fraction of his time.
Chief Parker would not go so
far as to advocate abolition of
the parole system, but he does
believe that it is time that the
whole system of rehabilitation
and parole should be re
examined. He points out that
more than 50 per cent of the
persons released on parole
from the prisons of California
are back in the penitentiary
within five years.
Parker suggests that there
probably should be longer mini
mum sentences for criminals,
“From a practical standpoint,’’
he notes, “the longer a crimi
nal is confined in the peniten
tiary after a proper trial, the
less opportunity he is going to
have to prey upon society.’’
Parker also deplores the un
cooperative attitude of the pub
lic toward the police and politi
cal interference with the opera
tions of police departments.
This, he says, has made it dif
ficult to attract to the police
service young men with the
mental and physical qualifica
tions to do the job.
But more basic causes of the
rising crime rate, in Parker’s
view, are the prevailing ma
terialism, the disintegration of
home life, the lifting of moral
restraints and a general fall
ing away from religious prac
tice.
The home, Parker points out,
has become a place where many
people keep their clothes and eat
and sleep. It was a tragedy,
he suggests, when mothers went
out of the home and became
wage earners, not because their
earnings were needed to keep
the home but merely to supple
ment the family income.
‘1 have the impression,’’ he
says, * that there is a general
falling away from religious
practice in this country. There
is no question that the strength
of a self-governing democracy
such as ours depends upon in
ternal control, self-control and
self-discipline, and I do not
see how we are to achieve that
self-mastery without religious
direction and religious moti
vation.’’
A CATHOLIC BOOK CONVINCED ME/ SAYS CONVERT
Sharing Our Treasure
If St. Paul were alive today,
it is probable that he would
be the director of a large pub
lishing company. Why? Because
the printing press is the most
effective means forthedissem-
i n a t i o n of
truth. Where
his voice
reached only
a score or
two of people,
the printed
word reaches
millions. The
moral? Make
good use of Catholic litera
ture--newspapers, magazines,
pamphlets and books--to spread
the Faith.
The efficacy of the printed
word in this regard is illus
trated in the conversion of Mrs.
Alice Christianson, a register
ed nurse, of Pasadena, Califor-
REV. JOHN A. O'BRIEN
nia. “Fourteen years ago,’’re
lated Mrs. Christianson, ' a
miracle happened. But it all
started a long time before that.
When I was eight, Mother died,
and I was sent to a Domini
can convent in Los Angeles.
I was snatched out after a
year, when it was discovered
that I liked the nuns.
“But the damage had been
done. From then on the thought
of some day becoming a Catho
lic was in the back of my mind.
I was reared in the Congre
gational faith, taught Sunday
school and sang in the choir.
As a child of New England
Puritanism, I was proud of
my historical background, but
1 failed to find in it the spirit
ual security that religion should
provide. Jesus was regarded as
the “Good Man,’’the “Master,”
but not as God incarnate.
“This wasn't a sufficiently
firm foundation. If He wasn’t
divine, as He claimed to be,
He was not even a good man
but a deceiver. I mentioned
this to our minister, and all
he did was to talk about fellow
ship and good will. Yet I had
many ties to the church and
continued to attend and partici
pate in its activities. In 1946
my father became hospitalized
and visiting him took me into
the neighborhood of my convent
school. I called and discovered
my old dormitory mistress.
“The visit rekindled my in
terest in the Faith and
I started to attend Mass. But
the turning point came one day
in a dusky old bookshop. I
chanced upon a book, THE
FAITH OF MILLIONS. I took
it home and read it from cover
(continued on page 5)
1 don’t like to see ransom paid
to Fidel Castro's communist
regime any more than anybody
else does. But when an appeal
for funds for that purpose is
organized under proper aus
pices, I in
tend to give
as generous
ly as I can.
The reason
is simple,
and to meun-
arguable.
R a n s o ru
ing captives
is a very noble deed. It is
included in the traditional list
ing of What we call the seven
corporal works of mercy.
Among the spiritual works of
mercy, furthermore, none is
more touching than that of com
forting the afflicted. And we
will be comforting afflicted
mothers and fathers, brothers
and sisters and wives and
friends, if we will help
to restore to them the pris
oners Castro holds.
THE VERY FACT that we see
no material advantage to us in
ransoming Cubans - but rather
unrelieved material sacrifice -
should make this cause all the
more appealing to our deepest
sense of religion.
What I mean is, after World
War II, you could make a world
ly argument for pouring out
money to help the late enemies,
the Germans and Japanese and
Italians, instead of taking the
sword to them, or simply leav
ing them in their misery.
You could appeal to self-
interest by saying that if we
refused to go to their rescue,
they would fall into communism
and be added to the forces with
which the Soviets scheme to
bury us.
I AM NOT SAYING that our
motivation was selfish; in most
cases I don’t think it was. But
certainly the threat of commu
nism made it easier for most of
us to see the wisdom in spend
ing for foreign aid.
But ransoming captive Cu-
- JOSEPH BREIG
bans will be an act of purest
altruism. We will donate money
which we know will go to a man
who is blackmailing us, and our
only satisfaction will be in doing
right and in helping to give
happiness to fellow human be
ings.
What’s wrong with that?
Didn’t Christ teach us to do good
simply because good is good?
Didn’t He instruct us, out of
His mysterious divine wisdom,
to walk the extra mile; to give
not only our coat but our cloak;
to invite to our tables those who
do not have the wherewithal to
invite us in return?
ONE OF THE trickiest temp
tations we face nowadays is that
of tending to become much too
humanly calculating; to be too
much concerned with ‘ ‘figuring
the angles.” We need to remind
ourselves often that somehow,
what is called the folly of the
Cross is the exact opposite of
folly. We can be completely con
fident that it works, even when
we don’t see how itpossiblycan
work.
For example, the Chinese are
starving. And many an honestly
troubled person is asking
whether we should feed them if
their marxist masters should
decide to let us do so.
Of ^course we should feed
them if we can. Is there any
room for doubt that Christ would
so advise us if we could put
the question directly to Him?
NEVERTHELESS, we can’t
help asking, * Wouldn’t we sim
ply be strengthening the hun
dreds of millions whom the
communists are planning to use
for our destruction as soon as
the opportunity arises?”
Personally, my guess is that
a Chinese people with enough to
eat would be much more likely
to overthrow the communists
than a people sunk in the despair
of constant creeping starvation.
But even if that is not so,
nevertheless we can trust God.
He knows the future; we don’t.
He sees into the deepest moti
vations of human beings; we
don’t. If He points to the good
Samaritan and says go and do
likewise, then we can confi
dently go and do, knowing that
He will make it all come right
in the end.
SOME READERS have con
sidered me a pollyanna for say
ing that if we want to do some
thing about communism, we
should go through each day do
ing each bit of good that comes
to hand. All the same, I think
I’m on the right track.
You and 1 can’t make the
decisions that government must
make; we’re not in office. We
can’t do the job of the Federal
Bureau of Investigation, or the
Surete, or Scotland Yard or the
Royal Canadian Mounted Police;
we weren’t given their work to
do. But we can do the good that
is ours to do - including helping
to ransom Cuban captives.
4 MILLION
INQUIRIES
ABOUT FAITH
NEW HAVEN, Conn., (NC) -
The Knights of Columbus pro
gram invitin g inquiries in the
past 14 years and resulted in
enrollment of nearly half a
million inquirers in a course
of religious instruction by mail.
This was disclosed here by
the Catholic Advertising Com
mittee of the K. of C. The com
mittee’s report states that as
a result of advertisements in
periodicals, the K. of C. Re
ligious Information Bureau has
recieved 4,375,040 inquiries,
and 461,440 persons have ask
ed to take a mail course in
Catholicism. The advertising
program was started in 1948.
The religious instruction by
mail is free of charge.
The committee’ s report
states that 408,930 person s in
the U. S. asked to be enrolled
in the religious instruction
course; 25,968 in Canada; and
26,542 in 61 other countries or
territories of the world.
RETREAT SCHEDULE
IGNATIUS HOUSE
THURSDAY, MAY 31 - SUNDAY, JUNE 3, 1963 -- (W)
Nurses -- Other ladies invited.
SUNDAY, JUNE 10-FRIDAY, JUNE 15, 1962 — SPECIAL
THURSDAY, JUNE 21 - SUNDAY, JUNE 24, 1962 — (M)
Captain - Mr. Ferdinand Buckley, 639 Carriage Dr., N. E., BL. 5-3437.
THURSDAY, JUNE 28 - SUNDAY, JULY 1, 1962 — SPECIAL
SUNDAY, JULY 8, 196“ - OPEN HOUSE - All are invited.
THURSDAY, JULY 12 - SUNDAY, JULY 15, 1962 — (W)
Captain - Mrs. Rosemary Menk, 2711 Hillcrest Ave., Augusta, RE 313879.
Co-Captain - Miss Louise Mulherin, 1521 Monte Sano Ave., Augusta, RE 3-4106.
DORIS REVERE PETERS
<2
nAwerA
YOUTH
CAN IT BE THE REAL THING
AT 17, OR ONLY "PUPPY LOVE'
Dear Doris:
I am 17 and my girl friend
will soon be too. We have been
going together for a year and
have had many good times to
gether. Although we both admit
we like each other very much
we disagree when it comes
to calling it love. She contends
that we are too young and im
mature. She calls it ‘ puppy
love”. I disagree with this be
cause I consider us both very
mature, not too young, and I
don’t think “puppy love” would
last this long. If it isn’t love,
what is it? What is your
opinion?
F. and A.
There is no easy answer—
or short cuts to understanding--
the question you have asked.
Some think that when you have
to ask at all, it 1 is not love.
Love is sure. When you love
you will know. How?
Your girl friend has one of
the clues—your age. It’s pos
sible to have a true love at
17. But not often. Infatuation,
or “puppy love” as you called
it, is often experienced by young
teenagers who have been going
together for some time.
The “going together” and the
familiarity confuse you. You do
not give your emotions a chance
to settle down, nor yourself
a chance to appraise them. You
are physically attracted to the
girl, she is nice to be with,
and you have fun together. While
these considerations may lead
to love—may even be part of
love, they are not the same
as love.
Go along with your girl
friend's ideas. The saying, ‘ ‘you
are young yet,” is trite, but
true. You will have many fine
relationships with girls. Each
will teach you more about love.
When it comes along you will
recognize it.
UNHAPPY IN JOB
Dear Drois:
Recently I went back to work
in a store after being out a
week during exams in school.
When I came back I was trans
ferred to the back of the store.
I hate it back there. Everybody
tries to boss everybody else
and nobody cares about anyone
but themselves. What I want
to ask you is this. Do you think
I should quit just because I’m
not happy there?
Bill
I wouldn’t quit without giving
it a try. It takes time to get
adjusted to a new job and a
new situation.
Listen to your boss and obey
his orders. Try to concentrate
on the job, not on the employees,
and it will make the adjustment
easier. In a couple of weeks
neither will seem so irritating.
In the world of work you will
find all kinds of people. You
do not have to agree with them,
their ideas or attitudes, but you
must learn to get along with
them. This is only a part-time
after school job; not one at
which you intend to spend the
rest of your life.
Sitting out an unpleasant sit
uation and not running away
from it will give you a sense
of satisfaction. It will also help
you develop a healthy attitude
towards work. Only when you
develop this will you have any
reasonable amount of success
on a job.
DOING TOO MUCH?
Dear Doris^
I belong to a church organi
zation and I like it very much.
Sometimes they really give me
too much to do and I am afraid
to say no because I think I am
betraying the Church. If I ac
cept it I wouldn’t have enough
time to help around the house
and my mother would holler
at me. I would like to know what
to do.
Mary M.
You are not betraying the
church, Mary. It is generous
of you to be so good with your
time. The church needs more
workers like you. But you have
no obligation to do more than
you can either physically or
mentally.
No one has any way of know
ing they have overburdened you
unless you tell them. I’m sure
it is unintentional. So, tell the
person in charge. She will
understand.
(Doris Revere Peters an
swers letters through her
column, not by mail. Young
readers are invited to write
to her in care of The Bulletin.)
j QUESTION BOX ~]
(By David Q. Liptak)
Q. Regarding fasting before
receiving Communion: If one
has breakfast, say, around 6:30
a.m., is it all right to go to
Communion at the9 a.m. Mass-
the presumption being that
Communion will be distributed
approximately around 9:30
a.m., give or take a few min
utes? What I mean is this:Must
the three hours (one hour for
liquids, I know) be figured with
absolute exactness according to
the clock, or are we allowed a
leeway of a minute or two?
A. The time of the Eucharistic
Fast (three hours for solid foods
and one hour for non-alcoholic
beverages, except in cases of
sickness, when other rules pre
vail) must be computed just as
literally and precisely as the
12 midnight time limit was com
puted in the law which obtained
before Pope Pius XII promul
gated the new regulations.
HENCE ONE MAY NOT pre
sume to receive Holy Com
munion in accordance with an
approximate time schedule.
Three hours means fully three
hours, at least; one hour means
fully one hour. (Water of course
does not break the fast, and thus
may be taken at any time prior
to receiving.)
* * *
Q. Could you please confirm 4
for me the impression (I read
this somewhere) that insofar as
marriage is concerned, the hus
band and the wife are the minis
ters - not the priest. Am I right?
A. Although, as a manner of
expression, wedded couples us
ually speak of “having been
married by” Father X, the
fact of the matter is that a
bride and groom actually confer
the sacrament of matrimony
upon each other. The parties
marrying are the only ministers
in the strict sense. The priest’s
function is that of an official
witness required by Church law
for the validity of the marriage.
CHRIST IS, of course, the Au-
thor and the principal Minister
(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 Archbishop of
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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
Yol. 42 Saturday, May 26, 1962 No. 26
ASSOCIATION OFFICERS
GEORGE GINGELL, Columbus President
MRS. DAN HARRIS, Macon 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