Newspaper Page Text
Vol. 43, No. 3 SAVANNAH, GEORGIA, SATURDAY, JULY 7, 1962
Published By The
Catholic Laymen's
Ass'n of Georgia
10c Per Copy — $3 A Year
SUMMER VACATION SCHOOL AT ALBANY
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For the second year in a row the Missionary Franciscan
Sisters of the Immaculate Conception from St. Francis
Convent in Savannah came to Albany to conduct a summer
vacation school for the grade school and junior high school
children of the parish. In this picture are some of the
fifty three children who took advantage of the school.
Sr. Mary Ephraem, Mother M. Virgilius, the superior of
the convent, Sister Mary Merici and Sister John Francis
are the sisters who conducted the school. The great need
of St. Clare’s is for sisters of their own so that there
might be a parish school.
Sponsor K. Of C. Ads In Weekly Papers
The Catholic Advertising
program,of the Bishop’s Con
ference Committee of the
Knights of Columbus, is now
in its second year of spon
soring Knights of Columbus Re
ligious information ads in
hometown weekly papers.
In the committee’s annual
report presented to this years
: State K. of C. Convention,
Charles C. Chesser, member
* of the committee, reported the
total yearly circulation of the
papers which carry the adver
tising is 196,428. Papers in
, which the ads appear are: The
Metter Advertiser; Bulloch
Herald and Bulloch Times, both
of Statesboro; Forest Blade of
Swainesboro, True Citizen of
VVayensboro, News & Farmer
of Louisville, The Millen News
1 and the Sylvania Telephone.
This program was initated
as a result of a chance con
versation between a member of
Patrick Walsh Council and one
: of the Fathers who was working
in the missions in the western
portion of the Diocese, who
expressed the idea that pub
lication of the Knights of Col
umbus Religious Information
Ads in the hometown weekly
((papers, would be of help in
the work of the Church
in bringing souls to Christ.
With the approval of Bishop
McDonough and the approval
of Julian Halligan, Chairman of
the Bishop’s Committee of the
| PRAY FOR OUR
PRIESTLY DEAD
REV. JOSEPH R. SMITH
July 8, 1952
REV. JAMES A. GRADY, U.S. A.
t ( July 12, 1953
, VERY REV. JAMES F. O’NEILL
July 12, 1870
0
i
REV. GODFREY S.
SCHADEWELL
July 16, 1922
it
Oh God, Who didst give to
! thy servants by their sacredotal
i i office, a share in the priest-
i hood of the Apostles, grant,
U U'e implore, that they may
j also be one of their company
i ’ forever in heaven. Through
Christ Our Lord, Amen.
SPONSOR ADS IN HOMETOWN PAPERS - Charles
C. Chesser, Augusta, memberi of the Bishop’s Con
ference Committee, is pictured presenting a copy of
his report to Bishop Thomas J. McDonough. The pic
ture was taken at Albany during the recent State Con
vention of the Knights of Columbus.
Twenty-Six Scholarships
For St. Pius X Graduates
Savannah Diocese, and the State
Deputy William T. Jordan, Jr.,
the project was launched with
funds to come from individ
ual Knights of Columbus on a
voluntary basis.
The Rev. William P. Dowling
of Columbus was appointed by
the Bishop to direct the pro
gram and four papers were
chosen to carry twelve ads
on a monthly basis.
It was then that four mem
bers of Patrick Walsh Coun
cil in Augusta responded with
the offer to sponsor the ads
in two additional papers.
The past year the program
was continued and expanded
during the term of Hugh Grady
as Committee Chairman, and
State Deputy of the Knights of
Columbus.
Through the efforts of The
Honorable Andrew W. McKenna
and Chris F. Sheridan of Macon,
the Macon council has joined
in the sponsoring of the ads.
Their financial support has en
abled the adding of two ad
ditional papers, bringing the
number of papers, in which
advertising appears, to eight.
With the participation of ad
ditional Councils, expansion of
the program is expected in
the near future.
Savannah Girl
Receives
Maryknoll Habit
SAVANNAH - A young wo
man from Savannah diocese was
among 51 to received the habit
of the Maryknoll Sisters of St.
Dominic at the missionary com
munity’s reception ceremony
held at the Motherhouse, Os
sining, N.Y., on June 24th,
Julie Miller, St. James Par
ish, is the daughter of Mr. and
Mrs. Joseph L. Miller, 506
Lee Boulevard. She graduated
from St. Vincent’s Academy
and attended Armstrong Col
lege for a year before entering
Maryknoll, She has a brother,
James Elliot Miller, and two
sisters, Gloria Ann and Mary
Frances. Her name in religion
will be Sister Maureen Faith.
She is the first Sister to
enter Maryknoll from the Sav
annah diocese.
SAVANNAH - This years
graduating class of Saint Pius
X High School has received a
total of 26 college scholar ships,
according to the Rev. Timothy
Dwyer, S. M. A., Principal.
There are thirty-two members
of the Class of ’62.
Scholarships were awarded
from local schools such as
Albany State, Spelman, Fick,
and Bethune-Cookman, as well
as to out of State Colleges such
as Nazareth, Ky.’ St. Mary’s
Salina, Kansas; and Tuskeegee,
Alabama.
Miss Jeanette Jenkins re
ceived a total of six scholar
ships, while Miss Betty
Graham, Miss Gloria Ryals ,
Miss Gloria Williams and Miss
Patricia Spikes received three
scholarship offers each.
Members of this year’s grad
uating class are:
Alice Murray, Harvey Me
Cray, Lucille McKenzie, Gloria
Ryals, Dolores Pender, Mildred
Cummings, Gretta Edmonson,
Nathan Edwards, Frances
Frazier, Bettie Graham, Hazel
Scott, Elmore Singleton,
Patricia Spikes, Gloria Wil
liams, Pricilla Wilson, Louise
Bradley, Charles Brown, Paul
Chaney, Sheran Cleveland,
Annie Mae Grovner, George
Heyward, Mary Hutchins,
Lawrence Bell, Natrine Ben
jamin, Ruby Goodine,Catherine-
Jones, Kelsie Mae Kelly, Mary
Lewis, Freddie Lotson, Marian
Manigo, and Jeannette Jenkins.
INDEX
MARRIAGES 3
LEGION OF DECENCY 2
EDITORIALS 4
DORIS ANSWERS YOUTH.. . . 4
OBITUARIES 5
BOOK REVIEWS 2
N.C.W.C. Legal Department Analyzes Decision
High Court’s Prayer Ruling
Seen As Not Outlawing AII
Prayer In Public Schools
This analysis of the U.S. Supreme Court’s controversial
decision in the New York prayer case was prepared especially
for the Catholic press by George E. Reed, associate director
of the Legal Department of the National Catholic Welfare
Conference and a specialist in legal matters affecting Church-
State relationships.
TIME OUT FOR REPAIR - Wooden scaffoldine sharplv
contrasts with the classic lines of the facade of
St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. Erected for cleaning and
repair work, the scaffold blots out the granite papal
coat-of-arms of Pope Alexander VII. The three-tiered
crown, however, looms above the scaffold.
- (NC Photos)
* * * *
The Supreme Court’s latest
opinion in the field of Church-
State relationship is limited to
prayers composed by govern
ment. It does not outlaw all
prayers in public schools.
Furthermore, the court’s re
cent decision does not articu
late any proposition that is rele
vant to Federal aid to educa
tion.
These are two significant
points that can be drawn from a
thorough study of the court’s
decision in Engel v. Vitale.
The court ruled that a prayer
composed by the Board of Re
gents of New York and recited
in some of the public schools
was unconstitutional in that it
violated the “establishment of
religion’’ clause of the First
Amendment.
New York courts, after
making it clear that no student
could be required to recite the
prayer or even be retained in
the school room while it was
being said, had upheld the
prayer's constitutionality.
The highest court of New York
declared:
“Saying this simple
prayer may be, according
to the broadest possible
dictionary definition, an
acknowledgement of re
ligion. When the Founding
Fathers prohibited an ‘es
tablishment of religion’,
they were refering to an
official adoption of, or
favor to, one or more sects.
They could not have meant
to prohibit mere profes
sions of belief in God, for
if they did so, they them
selves, in many ways were
violating their rule when
and after they adopted it.’’
In oral argument before the
U.S. Supreme Court, the at
torneys for the school board
defending recital of the prayer
and for intervening parents con
tended that the prayer is an
embodiment of traditional pub
lic prayers.
They argued that voluntarily
reciting it represents a reason
able and proper accommodation
of the spiritual needs of our
people and, as such, does not
violate either the Federal or
state constitutions.
This proposition was re
flected in the dissenting opinion
of Justice Potter Stewart, who
stated:
“With all respect, I think
the court has misapplied
a great constitutional prin
ciple. I cannot see how an
official religion is estab
lished by letting those who
want to say a prayer, say
it. On the contrary, I think
that to deny the wish of
these school children to
join in reciting this prayer
is to deny them opportunity
of sharing in the spiritual
heritage of our nation.
Moreover, I think that the
court’s task in this, as in
all areas of constitutional
adjudication, is not reason
ably aided by the uncriti
cal invocation of meta
phors, like the ’rule of
separation,’ a phrase no
where to be found in the
Constitution.’’
The only other Justice who
did not join in the majority
opinion was Justice William
O. Douglas. He felt that the
issue was disposed of on too
narrow a base, and assented
that the main point for the
decision was “whether the gov
ernment can constitutionally fi
nance a religious exercise.’’
He observed that our system
at the Federal and state levels
is “presently honeycombed with
such financing.’’ He referred to
Bible reading, the G.I. Bill
of Rights, the National School
Lunch Act, the tax exemption
of religious organizations, pos
tal privileges, and the deduc
tibility of bequests to religi
ous institutions under the Fed
eral Estate and Gift Tax Laws.
He felt that if the court had
taken a broad position and had
held that the prayer was un
constitutional on the ground that
the state was financing a re
ligious exercise, there would
be a basis for applying this
reasoning to other forms of
asserted aid.
He admitted that his posi
tion is somewhat complicated by
the decision in Everson v. State
Board of Education, which up
held the constitutionality of the
New Jersey school bus trans
portation law, but he disposed
of this difficulty by saying that
“the Everson case seems in
retrospect to be out of line
with the First Amendment.’’
Significantly, not one other
member of the court adhered
to this broad approach.
As a matter of fact, no re
ference is made in the decision
to the “no aid’’ theory. No
attempt is made, for example,
to solve the Federal aid to
education controversy.
Some attorneys have been
quoted as expressing the opinion
that the decision in Engel out
laws aid to parochial schools.
There is nothing in the opin
ion that pertains to any prin
ciple relevant to this question.
No reference is made to any
institutional assistance and no
reliance is placed upon any
of the Church-State decisions
of the court which have at
various times been urged as
precedents against the inclusion
of all schools in Federal pro
grams of aid to education.
One of the interesting as
pects of this decision is its
failure to cite any previous
Church-State cases. It depends
primarily on the rationale set
forth in the opinion, without
importing additional reasoning
by the citation of such cases
as McCollum v. Board of Edu
cation or Torcaso v. Watkins,
where the court gave a very
broad and secularistic inter
pretation to the First Amend
ment.
Some attorneys have specu
lated that the court has avoided
reverence to these decisions
because of a desire to free
itself from their broad impli
cation. This speculation, while
interesting, is not persuasive.
Actually, there is reason to
believe that the court felt that
the prayer was so intimately
related to the basic concept of
the establishment clause that
legal citation was unnecessary.
Thus the court observed:
“The petitioners contend
among other things that
the state laws requiring or
permitting use of the re
gents’ prayer must be
struck down as a violation
of the Establishment
Clause because that prayer
was composed by govern
mental officials as a part
of a governmental program
to further religious beliefs.
For this reason, peti
tioners argue, the state’s
use of the regents’ prayer
in its public school system
breaches the constitutional
wall of separation between
Church and State.
“We agree with that con
tention since we think that
the constitutional prohi
bition against laws respec
ting an establishment of re
ligion must at least mean
that in this country it is
no part of the business of
government to compose of
ficial prayers for any group
of the American people to
recite as a part of a re
ligious program carried on
by government.’’
The composition or formula
tion of official prayers to re
cite as a part of programs
carried on by government ap
pears to be the essence of the
holding of the court.
This was stressed in oral
argument and frequent refer
ence is made to this propo
sition in the majority opinion.
The court, for example,
compares the New York prac
tice to the governmentally com
posed “Book of Common Pray
er’’ which was the heart of the
English Establishment.
The analogy limps badly, ex
cept on the fact of composi
tion by government authority.
The “Book of Common Prayer”
contained distinctive sectarian
tenets which did not reflect the
basic religious tradition of this
country. Moreover, it was ar-
SAVANNAH - Graveside
services were conducted by The
Most Reverend Thomas J. Me
Donough, D.D., bishop of the
diocese, on Saturday, June30th,
at 10 a.m. in Bonaventure Ce
metery, for four members of
the Bull family, who perished
June 3 in the crash of a jet
liner in Paris, France.
Bodies of the victims arrived
in Savannah on Thursday, June
28th. The family leaves no im
mediate survivors.
The crash, described as the
world’s worst single airplane
disaster, took the lives of 115
Georgians, most of whom were
civic and cultural leaders in the
Atlanta area. They were re
turning from a European tour
arranged by the Atlanta Art
Association when the Air
France jetliner crashed on
takeoff.
Catholic members of the Bull
bitrarily imposed on all of the
people.
The court admits that the
prayer does not amount to total
establishment of a particular
sect or of religion generally,
but asserts that it is condemned
by the following reasons of
James Madison:
“It is proper to take
alarm at the first experi
ment on our liberties. . .
Who does not see that the
same authority which can
establish Christianity, in
exclusion of all other re
ligions, may establish with
the same ease any parti
cular sect of Christians, in
exclusion of all other
sects? That the same au
thority which can force a
citizen to contribute three
pence only of his property
for the support of any one
establishment, may force
him to conform to any other
establishment in all cases
whatsoever?”
This is a major weakness
of the decision, for the Mem
orial Remonstrance of Madi
son is not a part of the Con
stitution.
It was a political tract used
to defeat a bill in Virginia
five years before the First
family were Mr. and Mrs. Fred
erick W. Bull, Jr. and their
two daughters, Miss Elizabeth
Wilmot Bull, 16; and Eleanor
Adair Bull, 10.
Mrs. Bull, Jr. was a grand
daughter of Cornelius Sheehan
who served in the Confederate
Navy aboard the Savannah. A
Sacred Heart College alumna,
she was active in work of
Hospital Auxiliaries and had
served as president of the St.
Joseph’s Infirmary Auxiliary
in Atlanta, the Georgia Asso
ciation of Hospital Auxiliaries
and was -southeast representa
tive of the national organization
of Hospital Auxiliaries. An aunt,
the late Mrs. Isabelle Shee
han More, was the first secre
tary of the Atlanta Art Asso
ciation
Her husband, a member of
a Savannah family, served as a
(Continued on Page 6)
(Continued on Page 6)
Bishop Conducts Services
For Bull Family