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PAGE 4—THE BULLETIN, July 21, 1962
POVERTY OF SMALL NATIONS
The Backdrop
Voice of the Founders
the United
The extremes to which frac-
tionization of the world’s pop
ulation and the earth’s surface
have been carried in recent years
have been pointed up by the
recent action of
Nations Gen
eral Assembly
dividing
the Belgian-
ruled African
trust territory
of Ruanda-
U r u n d i
into new
states.
The area of the trust ter
ritory, before the division, was
less than half of that of the
state of Pennsylvania and the
population only a little more
than half of that of New York
City. Out of this impoverished
patch of Africa, the UN has
set up the Republic of Rwanda
and the kingdom of Burundi.
The population thus catapulted
into the so-called family of
civilized nations consists of two
main tribes, the Bahutu who till
the soil and raise cattle, the.
warlike Batustsi, considered
the world’s tallest people, and
a few pygmies. The country
has had no experience in self-
government and has been torn
in recent years by a series of
bloody battles.
The King of Burundi is a Bat-
utsi. The head of the new re
public of Rwanda is described
as a sort of playboy, who fre
quents night clubs, dances the
cha-cha-cha and the twist,
shoots dice and likes to play the
drums with the band.
While the splitting of Ruanda-
Urundi along tribal lines is per
haps an extreme example of
nationalism carried to the point
of absurdity, it is typical of
what has been going in Africa
JOHN C. O'EHIEN
and other parts of the world
since the end of the Second
World War.
Presumably the two newest
African nations will seek ad
mission to the United Nations
and recognition by the other
powers. This will entail the
creation of a foreign service
and lay upon the tribesmen
the burden of maintaining an
administrative establishment.
The inhabitants eke out a
living producing coffee, cotton
and some minerals, but by no
stretch of the imagination can
the economy be considered
viable. The next move undoubt
edly will be to seek financial
assistance from some foreign
sorce. And if that source turns
out to be the Soviet Union, the
newly-won independence will
turn out to have been a myth.
Of the nations now re
presented in the UN, nine have
total populations smaller tnan
that of the city of Detroit,
whose 1960 population was 1,479,
144. Seven have total populations
less than Los Anglels’ 2,479,
015, and 30 have populations less
than that of the five boroughs
o f New York . . . 7,781,984.
Territorially, five states re
presented in the UN are smaller
than the state of Vermont, and
23 are smaller than the state of
Pennsylvania.
Many of these small new
nations lack the resources to
maintain their people, to say
nothing of assumirg the burdens
of independent governments and
diplomatic representation.
A case in pmnt is the island
of Cyprus, a former British
crown colony in the Mediterran
ean. Cyprus has an area of
3,752 square miles, less than
that of the state of Vermont,
and a population of 563,000.
While Great Britain main
tained a naval base on the is
land, she poured in about $45,
000,000 a year, most of which
went to sustain the Cyprus ec
onomy. But when the Cyprus
nationalists forced Great
Britain to grant independence,
the British closed the base and
stopped the flow of pounds.
The economy ground to a halt,
and only recently Archbishop
Makarios, head of the Cyprus
government, visited Washington
seeking financial assistance.
A few nations, small in ter
ritory and population, maintain
viable economies, but most of
these are in Europe and have
long traditions of self-govern
ment and international trade.
Typical of these are Swit
zerland, a nation of canny ban
kers and traders; Norway, Fin
land and Luxembourg. And the
tiny state of Israel, with some
help from co-religionists in
other parts of the world, has
achieved notable success in
buxiding an economy.
But most of the pint-
sized nations are in Africa
and Central America. Of the
newly-created African nations,
15 have populations less than
that of New York City. Few of
them can sustain their popu
lations without outside assis
tance, a fact that is beginning
to dawn on the fiery national
ists who led the liberation
movements.
As they see the established
nations of Europe moving tow
ard federation, the reverse of
nationalism, some of the
African leaders are beginning to
wonder if they too will have to
submerge their nationalist ri
valries and pool their fraction-
ized territories into one or
more federations.
A CHILD’S PRAYER AND ’ESTABLISHMENT*
Sum and Substance
REV. JOHN B. SHEERIN, C.S.P.
I confess that I am reluctant
to condemn the recent decision
of the Supreme Court in banning
an official prayer customarily
said in certain New York
schools.
Some crit
icism of the
S u p r e m e
Court is so
fanatical and
irrational
that I hate to
aid and abet
such non
sense by at
tacking the Court. The High
Court deserves our respect and
we only make ourselves look
clownish when we talk about
impreaching the Warren Court
for being pro-Red.
However, Justice Brewer in
1898 reminded Americans that
the Supreme Court should not
be thought of as beyond criti
cism and I believe that fair
and reasonable criticism is the
lifeblood of a democracy. All
of which is a prelude to my
objections to- the New York
prayer case decision.
I feel strongly that the six
members who joined in the
majority opinion made a grave
error in judicial judgment. I
appreciate what they were
trying to do. A tiny minority
of five parents protested against
the prayer in New York and the
high Court was striving to pro
tect the rights of this minority.
But they accomplished the task
by expanding the First Amend
ment beyond all reasonable pro
portion and in the process they
rode roughshod over the rights
of the great majority of New
York’s citizens.
The question at issue was:
did the practice of saying this
prayer constitute an “es
tablishment of a particular sect
as the preferred religion of
the state or country.
They expanded the term to
a larger meaning. They said
that it “must at least mean
that in this country it is no
part of the business of govern
ment to compose official pray
ers for any group of the
American people to recite as
part of a religious program
carried on by government.”
I think most of us Catho
lics would approve of this as
a working principle or guide
line for policy. We don’t want
the State to prescribe our pray
ers for us.
But the trouble is that the
Court did not consider it a
working principle op guideline
that might permit an exception.
They regarded it as an abso
lute, immutable principle that
would permit no exception. The
Court admitted that the State’s
endorsement of the prayer was
a trifling thing compared to
the official domination of re
ligion which was commonplace
under an “established church”
two centuries ago but they saw
danger even in this little prayer.
Quoting James Madison, the
Court said: “It is proper to
take alarm at the first experi
ment on our liberties. ...”
The fact of the matter however
is that our government has been
aiding religion in the United
States for 175 years and these
experiments have been working
out beautifully, to the satis
faction of all concerned.
We are a practical people
who prefer a program that
works to a theory that in this
particular case has infuriated
the great majority of the. Ameri
can people.
The experiments to which
I refer are the payment of
salaries of chaplains in the
armed forces, the grants under
the GI Bill of Rights, tax ex
emptions to religious bodies and
many other instances of gov
ernmental aid to religion.
Strangely, Justice Douglas in
his concurring opinion, came
out four-square for putting a
stop to all these practices. He
claimed Tfie Federal and State
governments are “honeycom
bed” with such financing of
religion. As a doctrinaire ab
solutist, he would even put an
end to the practice of having
the marshal open the sessions
of the Supreme Court with the
prayer, “God save the United
States and this honorable
court.”
It was quite a back-flip for
the venerable judge who had
himself written the majority
opinion in the Zorach case in
which he said: “We are a re
ligious people whose insti
tutions presuppose a Supreme
Being When the State
encourages religious instruc
tion or cooperates with relig
ious authorities by adjusting
the schedule of public events
to sectarian needs, it follows
the best of our traditions.”
We American Catholics re
joice in the American system of
separation of church and state.
But you can have too much of
a good thing. To separate them
so absolutely as to ban a public
school prayer is slightly pre
posterous.
...'A FIRM
RELIANCE
ON
O/U/A/C
provipence:
FROM HITLER YOUTH CAMP TO PRIESTHOOD
Sharing Our Treasure
Few things are more mys
terious than the working of
divine grace in human souls.
Faith is such a grace, and God
sends it through many different
channels: a pamphlet, magazine
or book, a
visit to a
church, the
good example
of a Catholic,
an act of
kindness and
the testimony
of a Catholic
to the beauty,
truth and helpfulness of his
Faith. We can’t confer grace,
but we can serve as channels.
REV. JOHN A. O'BRIEN
This is shown in the conver
sion of Hans Robert Ruelke
of Witten-Ruhr, Westphalia,
Germany, now a Holy Cross
priest teaching theology at No
tre Dame. “I was reared a
Lutheran,” related Father
Ruelke, “but at 12 was taken
from my home to a Hitler
youth camp in Bavaria. Here
we were subjected to rigorous
physical discipline and constant
indoctrination in the nazi creed
of Blood and Race. Religion
was ridiculed as an outworn
myth, and we were insturcted
to discard it.
“In the nearby town of Kon-
stanz-am-Bodensee near the
DORIS REVERE PETERS
^)ori5
rn&werA
YOUTH
WANTS TO STUDY
DRAMA AND MUSIC
WHAT THE COURT DID
It Seems to Me
Swiss border there is a Catho
lic cathedral. When we would
occasionally get into the town,
we would have a lot of fun,
pulling the rope to ring its huge
bell. One of the Catholic boys
took me with him to Mass
there. It made a great impres
sion on me, and later I asked
permission to attend Christmas
Midnight Mass. The squad
leader was disgusted, but fi
nally let a few of us go.
“The colorful ceremonies,
the altar ablaze with lights,
the singing of the choir, the
hymn Silent Night sung by the
congregation and the short but
(Continued on Page 5)
My mother used to say that
I was the most contrary child
she ever saw. I hope I didn’t
grow up to be a contrary man.
But with respect to the U.S.
Supreme Court’s ruling in the
R e g e n t s
Prayer case
in New York
state, I do
take a po
sition con
trary to those
of many re
ligious ob
servers.
I raised the roof over the
Champaign, Ill., released-time
decision some years ago - not
because of the court's conclu
sion, but because of the ex
travagant and frightening rhet
oric about “a high and im
pregnable wall of separation”
between church and state.
I was comparatively alone in
sounding the alarm then over
language which seemed to me
to come mighty close to say
ing that government must be
the enemy of religion. Now
I am comparatively alone,
apparently, in feeling that the
Regents Prayer decision is a
refreshing change which ought
to encourage, rather than dis
courage religious people.
I BLAME the violence and the
erroneousness of most of the
early reactions in part on poor
reporting, and in part on the
incurable habit people have of
rushing into print without both
ering to study the text of a
decision.
The court did not, as almost
everybody said, “rule against
prayer.”
Justice Black’s majority
opinion stressed that “nothing
could be more wrong” than to
read into the decision any
“hostility toward religion or
toward prayer.” He wrote:
“The history of man is in
separable from the history of
religion.”
The court, furthermore, did
not rule against prayer in public
schools.
What the court said is that
government “should stay out of
the business of writing or sanc
tioning official prayers and
leave that purely religious func
tion to the people themselves
and to those the people choose
to look to for religious guid
ance.”
The court added:
“The constitutional pro
hibition respecting an estab
lishment of religion must at
least mean that (in the U. S.)
it is no part of the business
of government to compose of
ficial prayers for any group of
the American people to recite
as part of a religious program
carried on by government.”
The decision was notable for
the absence of the kind of arm-
waving rhetoric about high and
impregnable walls which made
the Champaign decision danger
ous The Champaign opinion was
modified in the Everson bus
JOSEPH BREIG
case in New Jersey, I think it
is further modified and brought
down to earth by the Regents
Prayer opinion, which I con
sider a carefully limited and
modest statement.
The court specified that it
was not forbidding school chil
dren and others to recite doc
uments such as the Declaration
of Independence, with its refer
ences to God; to sing anthems
which express belief in God,
and so on.
Still more significantly, the
court left Justice Douglas all
alone in his concurring opinion,
which said he personally would
outlaw prayer at sessions of the
Supreme Court and Congress,
government-paid chaplains, bus
rides and textbooks for paro
chial school pupils, and the like.
THE COURT ALSO left Jus
tice Stewart alone in his des-
senting opinion that there is
no difference between courts
and legislatures praying on of
ficial occasions, and on the
other hand giving government-
composed prayers to school
children to recite under gov
ernment sponsorship. I think
there certainly is a difference.
I can’t go along with those
who say that this decision
“makes secularism the national
religion.” It merely forbids
government officials to com
pose, propose and promote
prayers for public school chil
dren to say.
The observer I agree wit** is
Theodore Powell, public infor
mation consultant for the Con-
neticut Department of Educa
tion.
Mr. Powell said that respon
sible parents and responsible
clergy should now turn their
attention to “determining how
public schools can give pupils
a full understanding of the role
of religion in the development of
our civilization.” He said:
“Clergy and parents should
urge that religion be given its
proper place in the public
schools as part of the educa
tional program, rather than as
religious indoctrination.”
Mr. Powell, go to the head of
the class.
FIRST PEACE CORPS
Jottings
By BARBARA C. JENCKS
THE PEACE CORPS, which has completed a most success
ful first year of operation, has challenged the younger
generation as few causes have. Everywhere one goes on
college campuses today, there is eager talk about participating.
This comes from a generation labeled as selfish, silent
and sullen. Once challenged, they have been eager to give
of their talent and time to those underdeveloped nations,
who as Dr. Dooley put it, “ain’t got it so good.” If the
excitement was not quite so high on Catholic campuses, and
I do not believe it was, that is because the Peace Corps is
not an entirely new idea for Catholic youth.
In every generation of Catholic youth since the mandate,
“Go teach all nations,” there have been those who have
answered the Divine call and enrolled in the corps of the
Prince of Peace as dedicated priests, nuns and brothers.
More recently, not only have there been dedicated religious
who have given their lives and fortunes to spreading the
word of God across the face of the earth but lay missionaries
who have been eager to give but a portion of their lives
to the cause of Christianity.
* * *
The decidated missionary leaves home and family to
teach the word of God in African jungles and sunbaked deserts.
Along with baptising in the name of the Father and the Son
and the Holy Ghost, they have established schools and
built hospitals. They have become farmers, social workers,
and writers on foreign soil. They have struggles with
strange language, customs, food; they have fought loneliness,
disease, heat and cold. Cynical critics of the Peace Corps
said at the beginning that it would not succeed. Yet it did
succeed well.
Where the Catholic missionaries spend themselves In
foreign lands for supernatural motives, patriotism was
the motivating factor of the Peace Corps: Pro Deo et
Pro Patria. At present there are some 350 young American
Catholic laymen working side by side with priests and nuns
in underdeveloped nations in understaffed missions, ad
ministering to the souls as well as the minds and bodies
of “the least of the breathren.” There has been discussion
about the laymen and Peace Corpmen joining forces.
The Catholic missionaries forever seek to develop native
leaders and a native clergy who will carry on the Christian
apostolate and work in the many trades. This will be the
objective of the Peace Corps, too. Incidentally, a former
(Continued on Page 5)
Dear Doris:
My plans for the future have
always concerned the fields of
acting and music. I find though
that the high school I attend
doesn’t give a very good course
in these subjects. I don’t want
to leave the school since I am
very happy here. I will be a
sophomore in September and al
though I may be thinking way
ahead of time I am almost
sure of continuing in these
fields. Do you have any sug
gestions on what I should do?
Anna
Since you are happy in the
high school you are attend
ing, remain there. While it is
wise to plan ahead there is
not much in these particular
fields you can pursue now. For
mal courses in drama and mu
sic are found at the college
level. (Exceptions are the
specialized acting and music
schools.)
Extra curricular activities in
high school such as the band,
debate, glee club and drama
tics offer fine experience and
are good social outlets too.
In the dramatic club you can
learn a lot about producing, di
recting, lighting, wardrobe,
publicity, etc., besides acting.
While some girls go direct
ly into the theatre after high
school many more go on to
college first. If the college of
your choice does not have a
drama department it will have
courses in English, speech,
communications arts, etc. All
are helpful and necessary. The
more education the better pre
pared you are for any field.
The Career Guidance Com
mittee of The National Catho
lic Theatre Conference says
that “you bring to the theatre
an education as broad as your
opportunities. A liberal arts
degree from a Catholic college
is your best, concrete step. The
Catholic philosophy of life and
education which permeates such
an education is something which
will become part of you and
which you in turn, sometimes
unconsciously, sometimes sub
consciously, will carry to some
degree to every audience for
whom you perform.”
ALL MIXED UP
Dear Doris:
I’m all mixed up. I am in
vited to a birthday party and
this boy that my mother knows
and likes has asked me to go
with him. This will be my
third date with him and every
time I have had to keep it
a secret from my father be
cause he doesn’t like this boy.
Please advise me.
Joan
You will continue to be “all
mixed up” as long as pu de
ceive your father. Why n-t bring
it out in the open and talk it
over? Discover your other’s
reasons for disliking tiis boy.
They can’t be too seriois since
your mother approves of him.
If you find it difficu. 1 to *:alk
to your father ask you. mot aer
to discuss it with him.
Invite the boy to y<ur home
for a short visit, ftrhaps if
your dad had a chance to know
him better he might :hange his
mind. It’s worth a trU
NEW IN U S. .
Dear Doris:
I have a problem that you
may find very ample. I am
new in this couitry. I came
here three montls ago with
out knowing how t> speak Eng
lish very well. I an having many
problems with my English and
I feel very bad.
When I first came to the
school the girls didn’t like me
and would tell Tie things that
no one likes tc hear. It was
very bad in my country and I
want to change my life. If I
play with the girls I would
become as them but if I don’t
they won’t like me. I would
appreciate your help.
Milagros
This summer offers a fine
opportunity for making friends
with girls in your neighbor
hood in a friendly and relaxed
atmosphere. This might be
easier than in a busy school
where everyone seems in a
hurry.
Inquire in the public library
(there is a branch near you)
about an English language
course for teenagers. The li
brarian will also suggest book:
for you to read. And your
pastor can recommend a day
camp near by. Here you fird
many people interested inher
ing you.
It takes time to make frienis
and also to adjust to n<w
places. But you don’t have to
become different or adopt mw
ways overnight. You have a ot
to offer just as you are, wih-
out changing. And the girls vho
really matter will like you for
this. You may have been tr'ing
too hard to please and vhen
you do this you create filse
impressions. Take it easy be
natural, be yourself. By the
time September arrives and you
return to school I’m sure ytu
will feel much more at eas2.
(Doris Revere Peters ai-
swers letters through her
column, not by mail. Pleise
do not ask for a personal re
ply. Young readers are invited
to write to her in care of The
Bulletin.)
QUESTION BOX
1
(By David Q. Liptak)
Q. What in the world is meant
by “situation ethics?” The
Church is opposed to it, isn’t
it?
A. “Situation ethics” can be
described as a moral attitude
according to which the concept
of traditional moral laws by
which human ac^s must be
governed is either repudiated
or else subordinated to so-
called personality values.
Sutuation ethics (also k^own
as “ethical individualism,”
or “ethical existentialism” or
by several other names) is
an outgrowth of existentialism,
a loosely-knit modern philosc-
phical theory which in effe:t
rejects all absolutes--be
ginning with God—and lea\as
man all alone to himself ad
to his individual existence. Ob
viously its tenets cannot be
squared with Christian philoso
phy and theology. Hence i is
a moral hoax.
Situation ethics postuktes
that if an objective moral :ode
is de facto accepted b' an
individual, it can serve mrely
as a guidepost for acticn; it
cannot be considered an tbso-
lute norm by which the ight-
(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 Re erend
Bishop of Savannah; and the Most Reverend Archbisiop of
Atlanta. Subscription price $3.00 per year. Subscripton in
cluded in membership in Catholic Laymen’s Assoiation.
Second class mail privileges authorized at Monroe, Gi. Send
notice of change of address to P. O. Box 320, Monne, Ga.
Rev. Francis J. Donohue Rev. R. Donald Kiernan
Editor Savannah Edition Editor Atlanta Edtion
John Markwalter, Managing Editor
Rev. Lawrence Lucree, Rev. John Fitzpatrick
Associate Editors, Savannah Edition
Vo1 - * 3 SATURDAY, JULY 21, 1962 N>. 4
ASSOCIATION OFFICERS
GEORGE GINGELL, Columbus Presdent
MRS. DAN HARRIS, Macon Vice-Presdent
NICK CAMERIO, Macon Secritary
JOHN T. BUCKLEY, Augusta Treasurer
ALVIN M. McAULIFFE, Augusta Atditor
JOHN MARKWALTER, Augusta Executive Secxstary
MISS CECILE FERRY, Augusta Financial Secjetary