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Vol. 43, No. 4 SAVANNAH, GEORGIA, SATURDAY, JULY 21, 1962 Published By The Catholic Laymen's Ass'n of Georgia 10c Per Copy — $3 A Year THIRTY-FIVE YEARS A BISHOP - The Most Rev. Emmet M. Walsh, who at 70, has been a bishop half his life. (Catholic Exponent Photo) Archbishop Hallinan At Bishop Reh’s Installation Warns Of Forces Trying "To Defeat Church By Dividing Her People” CHARLESTON, S.C., (NC) —A prelate here coupled a caution against “certain for ces” trying to “defeat the Church by dividing her people’ ’ with a lament over the U.S. Supreme Court ban of an of ficial prayer in New York State public schools. “In the critical issues that confront today our Church and our nation, indeed our common humanity, it is time for humble prayer and Christian con fidence,” Archbishop Paul J. Hallinan of Atlanta asserted. The Archbishop preached the sermon at the enthronement of the Most Rev. Francis Fred erick Reh as the ninth Bishop of Charleston in the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist here. Francis Cardinal Spellman, Archbishop of New York, en throned the 51-year-old Bishop who was consecrated in New York City on June 29. Some 15 archbishops and bishops, hundreds of clergy, Religious and laity witnessed the solemn, colorful ceremonies. Highlight of the enthronement ritual came when Bishop Reh was escorted to his cathedral throne and Cardinal Spellmna presented him with thecrozier, symbol of authority to govern the 142-year-old Charleston diocese. Following the en thronement Bishop Reh offered a Solemn Pontifical Mass. Archbishop Hallinan chose as his text a quotation from the last sermon of the Most Rev. John England, first Bishop of Charleston, delivered in 1842— “Be with your people, be of them, win them to God—Guide, govern and instruct them.” The Charleston diocese today has “developed beyond the dreams of her first leader,” Archbishop Hallinan said. “Four dioceses now mark the apoltolic map” that Bishop Eng land “covered on foot and on horseback,” he added. Archbishop Hallinan, who served as Bishop of Charleston before he was named the first Archbishop of Atlanta, paid a warm tribute to the priests, Religious and laity of Charles- tion. “Here is a laity, seasoned and mature, already well- versed in that responsible coop eration with the clergy, called for by our modern popes,” the Archbishop said. “They work with their bishops and priests because they trust them. our nation has been, and by right ought to be, conscious of its duties to God,” the Arch bishop said. “These Americans are as aware of the delicacy of the problem of religious plurali sm as those who applaud the new decision,” the Archbishop continued. “They wish to pro tect the rights of non-religi ous minorities, but they are equally concerned to protect the rights of religious major ities. “They do not intend to per mit the First Amendment of the Constitution to be violated by the official establishment of a state-protected religion, that of secular humanism,” Archbishop Hallinan said. “These Americans today ask what else can be expected, if this exclusion of so-called‘gov ernment-written prayer’ is fol lowed by other decisions—the contents of which have already been proposed by Justice (William 0. ) Douglas—cast ing out every vestige of re ligion, ceremonial and patri otic references to God, tax- exemption of religious organi zations, even the GI Bill of Rights, from American public (Continued on page 8) PRAY FOR OUR PRIESTLY DEAD REV. H. J. HONECK July 25, 1952 REV. MICHAEL T. REILLY July 25, 1902 REV. THOMAS L. FINN July 28, 1948 RT. REV. THOMAS A. BECKER. D.D. Sixth Bishop of Savannah July 29, 1899 REV. JAMES MURPHY July 29, 1877 REV. JAMES O’HARA August 1, 1873 Oh God, Who didst give to thy servants by their sacredotal office, a share in the- priest hood of the Apostles, grant, we implore, that they may also be one of their company forever in heaven. Through Christ Our Lord, Amen. “There are, it is true,” Archbishop Hallinan cautioned, “certain forces in the South as in the North which do not understand this. In the face of social changes and moral is sues, these forces are trying Most Rev. Francis J. Reh Bishop of Charleston to defeat the Church by divid ing her people. “Regardless of what you may read,” he continued, “the Ca tholic people of this diocese are not torn by a divided loyal ty, between their Church and the past. They know what full justice means--even more sig nificantly, they know what full courage can do. “In 142 years they have been tested too many times to think of faltering now,” Archbishop Hallinan continued. “They do not walk with the partisans of a discredited pattern of the past. The movement of human life is forward; the Catholic people of the Diocese of Char leston walk with the Church, in that sureness and confidence that are born of promises made to the Church by Christ Him self.” Archbishop Hallinan told Bi shop Reh, former rector of St. Joseph’s Seminary, Yonkers, N.Y., the Charleston diocese “is the beneficiary of a great past and an even more pro mising future.” The majority of people of South Carolina are non-Catho-- lics, but most Southerners love the Bible, identify religion with life and revere their churches, Archbishop Hallinan said. “The recent Supreme Court decision has deeply disturbed those Americans who hold that Most Rev. Emmet M. Walsh, D. D. Thirty-five Years A Bishop “He is an unusually young man for the honor conferred upon him, but as a man of splendid traits and fine execu tive ability, the choice is sure to be a splendid one.” An Atlanta Journal re porter made that forecast June 21, 1927, in the middle of a story which caught the fancy of the predominantly Protestant South - the ap pointment of Father Emmet Michael Walsh as a Catholic bishop. A native Southerner - a Gero- gia priest born in South Carolina - had been appointed spititual shepherd of the diocese in which he was born. It was the signal for daily newspapers in both states to pull out all stops and fill their news columns with facts as well as predictions. The facts gained new sig nificance recently as Bishop Walsh formally celebrated 35 years in the episcopacy. And each year, many times over, he has made the reporter’s prediction come true. THE STORY of the man who at 35 became the youngest bish op in the U. S. begins in Beau fort, S. C., where he was born March 6, 1892. He was the eighth of 11 children of Wil- helmina Jennerman Walsh, a native New Yorker, and Thomas F. Walsh, a Charleston-born bookkeeper whose ancestors came from County Clare, Ire land. The Walsh family was de scribed in news stories as “one of the most practical Catholic families” of St. Peter Parish there. As an infant, Bish op Walsh was baptized there by Bishop Henry Pinkney Nor throp, fourth bishop of Char leston, S. C. There was no Catholic school at St. Peters. Bishop Walsh at tended catechism classes on Sundays. The family moved to Sav annah, Ga. , when he was 14 years old, and he enrolled there in Chatham Academy. After his high school graduation in 1910, he entered St. Bernard Semin ary, Rochester, N. Y. His scholarship in the semi nary, recalled the Bulletin in 1927, was so outstanding that Bishop Benjamin Keiley of Sav annah “had hoped to send him to Rome for the final years of his theological studies. But the World War in Europe made it impossible.” The same newspaper also published a letter from one of his former classmates, who wrote of Bishop Walsh: “His seminary life plainly presaged the event which the Diocese of Charleston is happily celebrating at the pres ent time. It does not seem so long ago that we saw him on the seminary campus, always af fable, pleasant and a friend to every man who wore the cassock in that institution. “He always was a serious student without affectation and a companion who was ever ready to do favors to others regard less of his own convenience or comfort.” The letter was from Francis P. Keough, then assistant chan cellor of the Hartford, Conn., Diocese, and later bishop of Providence (1934-1937) and archbishop of Baltimore from 1947 until his death last Dec. 8. Archbishop Keough always remained a close friend of Bish op Walsh, and came here in April 1959 to offer a Mass at the dedication of St. Columba Cathedral. The St. Bernard ordination class of 1916 was a rare one in deed - five members later be came bishops. The only other prelate living is Bishop Walter Foery of Syracuse. Father Walsh was ordained Jan. 15, 1916, by Bishop Keiley in the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, Savannah, where he had served the bishop as an altar boy. His first assignment was as assistant at the Church of the Immaculate Conception, mother church of Georgia’s capital city of Atlanta. TEN MONTHS LATER - in 1917 - he became pastor of St. Theresa Parish, Albany, Ga., * * * * * The Most Rev. Emmet M. Walsh, native of South Carolina and former Geor gia Priest, is marking his 35th anniversary as a Bish op. Bishop Walsh, at 70, has been a Bishop half his life. Celebrations marking the event were held recently in Youngstown, Ohio, the sec ond See which the Bishop has served as Ordinary. The Prelate was Bishop of Charleston from 1927 to 1949. The Bulletin reprints here the story of Bishop Walsh’s life from The Catholic Exponent, news paper of the Diocese of Youngstown. * * * * * and was placed in charge of the southwest Georgia missions. With one assistant, he minis tered to about 1,000 Catholics scattered over 16,000 square miles, an area about twice the size of Massachusetts. Every week, he traveled hundreds of miles to offer Mass and ad minister the Sacraments. His next assignment was in 1921 as pastor of St. Patrick Parish, Savannah, where he served for a year. He returned to Immaculate Conception, Atlanta, Dec. 31, 1922 - first as administrator and later as pastor. He remained there until his appointment by Pope Pius XI as the sixth bish op of the 107-year-old diocese of Charleston, which embraces all of South Carolina. Unlike most priests elevated to the episcopacy, he was never a monsignor. Newspapers in Charleston, Savannah, and Atlanta extended their congratulations. The Bull etin observed that “Father Walsh has earned a richly de served reputation for his depth of learning, capacity for work, administrative ability, strong yet kindly character, ripe judgement and priestly zeal.” The Albany Ga., Herald on Sept. 14, 1927, noted: “Few ministers who have ever labored in Albany have been more generally beloved by the people, irrespective of denominational lines, than this still young man, who during his ministry here about 10 years ago, left on the community the impress of his capacity, his character and his conse cration.” When the day of the conse cration arrived - Sept. 8, 1927 - more than 500 friends of Bish op Walsh took a special train from Charleston to Savannah. Among the many visitors on hand for the ceremony in St. John Cathedral was a delegation of Negro Catholics from Biship Walsh’s home parish in Beau fort, S. C. In the packed cathedral, there were four bishops, three abbots and 100 priests from a dozen states. He was consecrated by Bishop Michael J. Keyes, bishop of Sa vannah from 1922 to 1935. Co- consecrators were Bishop Pat rick J. Barry of St. Augustine, and Bishop William J. Hafey of Raleigh. Although Bishop Walsh’s fa ther had died in 1920, his mother saw the consecration. Receiving congratulations afterward, she comented: “It was honor enough for me to have him a priest.” Bishop Walsh told a banquet gathering afterward that he could not “but feel fearful of the responsibilities,” but that he was “heartened that God will give me the grace to bear the burdens of the office,” He ad ded: “I go back with joy in my heart to my native state to a people I know and who know me. I go regretfully, but not unwillingly.” A half-dozen speakers prais ed the new bishop, and when he was introduced, the Savannah Morning News said he recieved “an ovation which is given to one to witness but a few times in a lifetime.” Bishop Walsh responded with typical humility. He declared: “I wish I were worthy of all the kind and generous things said about me today. While my conscience tells me that they are not true, I am happy that they were said because they indicated the friendship of those who said them, and the applause showed that al though they were not true, you wish they were.” He offered his first ponti fical Mass three days later in St. Patrick Church, Savannah, where he was once pastor. After making the rounds of all the parishes where he was once assigned, Bishop Walsh headed for Charleston for his installation Sept. 22, 1927, in the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist. When he arrived by train, approximately 1,000 priests and laymen met him at the ter minal. About 100 cars were in the procession that escorted him to his new home. Traffic on Broad St. in Charleston was blocked, and thousands of people lined the streets to wave to the new bishop. The people of the Charleston diocese never lost their enthu siasm for Bishop Walsh. In the next 22 years, they gave him their support as he built 25 churches and four hospitals. IN 1929, he established vaca tion schools in areas which had no Catholic School. In the sum mer, youngsters would gather daily at specified centers for five hours of religious instruc tion for three weeks. The next year, he expanded the program by establishing two vacation camps for young sters who lived in rural areas. Youngsters 7 to 18 spent three weeks at the camps, and follow ed a program which empha sized religion classes and re creation. In the first seven years of this program, 1,500 youngsters from 63 villages attended-some coming from as far away as 250 miles. The number of pupils in Cath olic schools, meanwhile, rose 25 per cent from 1927 to 1937. In 1935, he founded the Study Club movement, designed to interest adults - Catholics and non-Catholics alike - in learn ing more about the Faith. It was immediately successful, and within two years, 200 clubs had a total enrollment of 2,000. HE ALSO strengthened the Diocesan Council of Catholic Women, and succeeded in bring ing the council’s national con vention to Charleston, smallest city ever to entertain such a meeting. It was a difficult diocese to administer, because Catholics composed only four per cent of the population, and they lived in a 30,000-square mile area. A (Continued on page 8) WITH HOLY FATHER - Bishop Walsh is pictured with Pope John during His “ad Limina” visit in 1959. Protestant Clergy, Laity Laud Retreat FAULKNER, Md., (NC) - Eighteen Protestant clergy and laymen had high praise for a Catholic retreat they attended at Loyola Retreat House here. The “Retreat for Fellow Christians” was conducted by Father Gustave Weigel, S. J., professor of theology at Wood- stock (Md.) College. It was originally planned fo r Protes tant laymen only, but 11 min isters were accommodated be cause of the large number of Protestant clergy who ex pressed the wish to attend a retreat here August 13 to 15 for Christian clergymen. One of the men taking part in the recent retreat said: “A retreat of this type will pro vide the open-minded Protes tant with a logical explanation of those things concerning Catholicism which he has felt for centuries have been with held intentionally from him.” One minister remarked that “such gatherings may eventu ally enable us to discover our true identity as brothers in Christ.” Another minister said that Father Weigel “rooted the med itations in that which is common to all Christians - the Lord- ship of Christ.” Denominations represented at the retreat included Meth odists, Anglo-Catholics, Bap tists, Lutherans and Episcopa lians. More than 60 Protestant clergymen are expected to at tend the retreat in August. Father Weigel will be the re treat master. Both the laymen’s retreat and the retreat for Christian clergy are sponsored by the National Catholic Laymen’s Retreat Conference. INDEX MARRIAGES 2 LEGION OF DECENCY 3 EDITORIALS 4 DORIS ANSWERS YOUTH.. . . 4 OBITUARIES 2 BOOK REVIEWS 7 “Veep” Chides Supreme Court WASHINGTON, (NC) — Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson burned a high, hard one across against the “Nine Old Men” here at a luncheon in connection with the baseball All-Star game. Johnson was a principal spea ker (July 9) at the luncheon. A baseball fan, he noted the plight of the Washington Sena tors, mired in last place in the American League. Johnson said: “I am among those who have prayed for the Washington Senators--if the Supreme Court doesn’t mind.” Third Son In Chinese Family To Be Priest RABAUL, New Guinea, (NC) - When the Rev. Albert Chan, M.S.C., becomes a priest on July 21 he will be the third priest in a family of 14 that also includes three nuns. The two other priest-sons of 82-year-old Chan Ai Chai, Father Gabriel Chan, S.J., and Father Luke Chan, are some where in Red China. So is one of the Nuns, Mother Eliza beth Chan. There are 700 Chinese Cath olics in this former capital of New Guinea. The first Chinese convert was received into the Church in 1902.