Newspaper Page Text
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Vol. 43, No. 6
SAVANNAH, GEORGIA, SATURDAY, AUGUST 18, 1962
10c Per Copy — $3 A Year
Prelate Sees Secularism As
U.S. Official Religioa If Trend
DIOCESE OF SAVANNAH EDITION
OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE DIOCESE OF SAVANNAH
HELPED STAFF CAMP VILLA MARIE - Pictured with His Excellency Most Reverend
Thomas J. McDonough, D. D. f are some of the seminarians who helped staff Camp Villa
Marie during the Summer. They are, left to right, as follows: Michael Smith, Roy Cox,
Sherwood Mac Donald, Robert Wilkerson, Jepta Tatum, Frank Nelson, Gerald Daley,
Cabell Marbury, and Williav Simmons. At the far right is Very Rev. Williav V. Cole
man, director of St. John Vienney Seminary, Savannah. - (Carroll-Burke Photo)
IN CHRISTIAN LIVING
Sisters Of Mercy Hold
Second Leadership Camp
SAVANNAH - The Sisters of
Mercy, Province of Baltimore,
are sponsoring for the second
consecutive year a Leadership
Camp in Christian Living, Au
gust 13-21, at Camp Villa
Marie, near Savannah, Georgia.
The central theme this year
centers around the mature Ca
tholic leader. The gathering will
attract approximately 40 stu
dent leaders from the nursing
schools and high schools staffed
by the Sisters of Mercy.
The institutions represented:
Mercy Hospital, Baltimore; St.
Joseph Hospital, Savannah; St.
Joseph Infirmary, Atlanta;
Mercy High School, Baltimore;
Mercy High School, Mobile;
Mount de Sales High School,
Macon; Mount St. Agnes High
School, Baltimore; PacelliHigh
School, Columbus; Pensacola
Catholic High School, Pen
sacola; Holy Trinity High
School, Washington; St. Vincent
Academy, Savannah.
The staff includes: Reverend
John Oetgen, O.S.B, Belmont
Abbey College, Chaplain; Sister
Mary Felicitas, R.S.M., Mount
de Sales, Macon; Sister Mary
Amabilis, R. S. M., St. Pius X;
High School, Atlanta; Sister
Mary Judith, R.S.M., Mount St.
Agnes College, Baltimore; Sis
ter Mary Kristen, R.S.M., St.
Joseph Infirmary, Atlanta; Sis
ter Mary Claudene, R.S.M., St.
Vincent Academy, Savannah;
Sister Mary Maris Stella, RSMv
and Sister Mary Frederick,
R. S. M., Mercy High School,
Baltimore; Sister Maryjogues,
R.S.M., Our Lady of Sorrows
School, Homewood, Alabama;
Sister Joseph Mary, R. S. M.
and Sister Mary Rosina,R.S.M.,
Holy Trinity High School, Wash
ington.
The object of the week’s ses
sion is to afford student leaders
opportunity to learn techniques
of leadership as well as to gain
a wealth of background infor
mation on current problems,
In order to achieve this pur
pose a number of prominent
men and women will address
the group and lead discussion
sessions. The speakers and
their topics are as follows:
“Confraternity of Christian
Doctrine” - Reverend James E.
McSweeney, Chancellor, Dio
cese of Raleigh, N.C.
“The Mature Catholic Lead
er” - Reverend John Oetgen,
O.S.B., Belmont AbbeyCollege,
Belmont N. C.
“The Ecumenical Council” -
Reverend John Cuddy, Superin
tendent of Diocesan Schools,
Savannah, Ga.
“Youth and Scripture” - Rev
erend James Harrison, Prin
cipal, St. Pius X. High School,
Atlanta, Ga.
“Communism” - Mr. Joseph
Hutton, Savannah, Ga.
(Continued on Page 8)
BISHOP GREETED BY FATHER
Hugh J. McDevitt, 83-year-old father of Bishop Gerald V.
McDevitt, kisses the Bishop’s ring after consecration cere
monies in the Cathedral of SS. Peter and Paul, Philadelphia.
At left is Sister Gerald Vincent, sister of the Bishop, a
teacher at St. Hubert’s High School, Philadelphia. Bishop
McDevitt becomes Auxiliary to Archbishop John J. Krol of
Philadelphia. (NC Photos)
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NEW SAVANNAH COUNCIL OFFICERS - New officers of Savannah Council 631, Knights
of Columbus, were installed by July 25th by District Deputy Daniel J. Keane. Seated left
to right: T. F. Walsh, Chancellor; J. K. Ebberiwein, Deputy Grand Knight; Karl Holmen,
Grand Knight; D. J. Keane, Advocate; T. J. O’Hayer, Warden; Standing left to right: J. J.
Scott, Jr., Outside Guard; T. F. Haviland, Outside Guard; J. F. Shearouse, Treasurer;
P.J. Roach, Recording Secretary; J. E. Moylan, Inside Guard; D. L. McClellan, Lec
turer; J. G. Butler, Jr., Trustee; C. E. Hernandez, Trustee; E. P. Powers, Trustee. Ab
sent when picture was made was J. F. McDonough, Financial Secretary. - (Photo Wil
liams Studio)
In Prayer Case Ruling Continues
PITTSBURGH, (NC) - An archbishop speculated here that
secularism will become America’s official religion if the
trend illustrated by the U.S.Supreme Court’s prayer decision
continues.
Baltimore’s Archbishop Lawrence J. Shehan told the Ancient
Order of Hibernians national convention here that Federal aid
to education must be viewed in light of this trend. He warned
that exclusion from Federal aid of private and church-related
schools would be “a tremendous blow” to religion and “a
tremendous victory” for secularism.
The role of the American
Hierarchy in the political field
is to preserve Catholics’
religious freedom from this
secularism, he said.
Archbishop Shehan, national
AOH chaplain, spoke at the Mass
offered (Aug. 7) by Bishop John
J. Wright of Pittsburgh, which
opened the convention.
Taking issue with those who
see the Supreme Court’s ruling
in the New York public school
prayer case as of limited ef
fect, he said: “The decision has
to be regarded not merely from
the actual wording, but also
from the whole context of the
case from the trend it illus
trates, and from the logical and
probable effects of that trend.
“It has been the practice of
the court to refuse to accept
cases where petitioners have
failed to show substantive rea
sons for complaint,” the Arch
bishop continued. “Here we had
a simple prayer, to which the
only possible reason for objec
tion was that it was a prayer.
“It was a prayer which, to
all appearance, had the over
whelming approval of parents
within the State of New York,”
he said. “No one was obliged
to recite it or to signify ap
proval of it. The few allegedly
aggrieved parents and their
children had, therefore, no sub
stantive basis for their com
plaint.
“Yet the court reached out,
as it were, to take this case in
order to deliver a sentence
which would ban the use of the
prayer from all public schools
of the state. If we look at this
case in the light of trends, it
seems clear that we are threat
ened with the establishment of
secularism as a state religion.”
Speaking of secularism as a
religion is not using a meta
phor, Archbishop Shehan added.
The Supreme Court itself has
applied the term “religion” to
both ethical culture and cul
tural humanism, he noted. Secu
larism seeks to ban God and
set up humanity or a code of
human ethics as the object of
worship, he explained.
In education, the Archbishop
said, limiting Federal aid to
public schools “would place on
Catholic elementary and sec
ondary schools a burden which,
in all probability, would make
impossible the achievement of
any future reasonable ob
jective.”
Regarding the Church’s role
in America, the Archbishop
pointed to a “rather sympathe
tic and favorable” supplement
on the U. S. Catholic Church
in the August issue of Atlantic
Monthly magazine as an
example of the change for the
better in the attitude of non-
Catholics.
But he challenged one article,
“The Catholic Politician,” by
Prof. D. W. Brogan which, the
Archbishop said, “practically
identifies the Catholic politician
with the Irish politician” and
exaggerates clerical infulunce
in politics.
The article inaccurately
states that the tone of the
American Catholic Church’s
approach to politics was set
by an immigrant Irish Hier
archy and clergy with the old-
country habit of excessive po
litical activity and flocks pre
pared to accept it, the Arch
bishop said.
“The central concern of the
Bishops and priests in the po
litical field has been the pre
servation of religious freedom
for themselves and particularly
for their people,” he said.
“When there has been a ques
tion of legislation involving the
norms of the natural law—as
in divorce, birth control, and
the publication of obscene
literature—the Catholic clergy
of this country have felt an
obligation to speak out and,
as responsible citizens, to use
whatever influence they had, to
uphold what they considered
right.
“As for the exercise of their
leadership in the political field,
their overriding concern has
been the deveolpment and pre
servation of religious free-
don,” he said, noting that re
ligious freedom is involved in
questions of education.
It was in defense of this re
ligious freedom that Archbishop
John Hughes of New York en
gaged in political action in the
19th century and fought the
exclusive use of the Protestant
version of the Bible in public
schools, Archbishop Shehan
said.
“The effect of his effort was
the complete elimination of the
Bible from the public schools,
but this was not his intention.
His purpose was simply to pre
serve the religious liberty of
those children whose religious
education was his special re
sponsibility,” the Archbishop
declared.
Preservation of religious
freedom and Catholic education
in the U. S. depends not on the
political influence of the clergy
but the action of an enlighten
ed and determined laity, he con
cluded.
NEW PRIEST FOR DIOCESE - Bishop Thomas J. Mc
Donough, is pictured as he presented “faculties” to Father
Ralph Attanasio. Father is on loan from the Diocese of
Patterson, N. J. for a two year period. He has been assigned
as assistant “pro tern” to the Cathedral in Savannah.
- (Photo by Carroll Burke)
TO SERVE TWO YEARS
Rev. Ralph Attanasio
Welcomed To Diocese
SAVANNAH - The Rev. Ralph
Attanasio arrived August 7th, on
loan from the Diocese of Pat
terson, for two years service
in the Diocese. He has been
assigned as assistant- “pro
tern” to the Cathedral of St.
John the Baptist.
Father Attanasio was or
dained in the Chapel of the
American College of Louvain,
ANNUAL RETREAT
FOR MEN
Camp Villa Marie
August 24 - 26, 1962
1. Retreat—Silence, prayer, presence of God - where am
I? Where am I going? There is no better place to spend
August 24, 25, 26th than on Retreat at Camp Villa
Marie.
2. Register through: Msgr. McDonald’s office - AD 40601
or write P. O. Box 2227, Savannah.
Mr. Edward Brennan - Ad 6-4804 or write 309
E. 53rd Street, Savannah.
Mr. John Kelleher, AD 60708 or write 526 E. 46th
Street, Savannah.
Mr. James Daly, AD 43511 or write 737 E. 37th
Street, Savannah.
3. Registration fee: $5.00
4. Retreat opens - 8:00 p.m. Friday and closes Sunday
at 3:00 p.m. No meal served Friday evening. If you
cannot come for the entire retreat, come for part
of it.
5. Age: Adults and high school students may attend.
6. Work: We need your assistance for the following:
a - Readers at meals,
b - Mass servers.
c - Readers at Mass and other spiritual exercises,
d - Librarian,
e - Waiters in dining room,
f - Kitchen helpers,
g - Ground keepers.
h - Reception Committee - to register and place
retreatants.
Your participation in these activities will give you
a greater share in the success of the retreat.
7. Fee: The truly poor are never excluded from our
retreats. A minimum of $10.00 in addition to re
gistration is expected of each man. No one but God
knows your contribution.
8. Silence: Must be maintained to make the retreat
spiritually successful.
9. Charity: If you are interested in making this re
treat, you must have several friends whom you
want to come along. Contact them- and sign them
up also.
10. Non-Catholics are cordially invited to attend.
Name
Address
Telephone
Registration fee
Work - see No. 6
Belgium on June 29, 1958. Or
daining Prelate was the Most
Rev. Joseph P. Hurley, Arch
bishop-Bishop of St. Augustine,
Fla. Assignments following or
dination included two years as
assistant at St. Andrew’s
Church, Clifton, N. J. and
an assignment at Blessed Sa
crament Church, Patterson,
N. J.
Born in Brooklyn N. Y. on
March 29, 1929, Father Atta
nasio is the son of Mr. and
Mrs. Edward Attanasio. He at
tended Public School in Brook
lyn; Stuyvesant High School,
Brooklyn; St. John’s College,
Brooklyn where he received
an A. B. Degree in 1950; St.
John’s School of Law, Brooklyn
where he graduated in 1952
with an Ll.B. Degree.
He entered the seminary in
September of 1952 for the Dio
cese of Patterson. He studied
at St. Paul’s Abbey, Newton
N. Y. for one year. There he
had special training in Latin.
After this he attended Seton Hall
College, New Jersey for one
additional year of training in
Latin.
Father persued his Theologi
cal studies at the American
College of Louvain, Belgium
from 1954 to 1958.
Expect 5,000
At K. of C.
Convention
BOSTON, (NC) - Come 5,000
persons are expected to attend
the 80th anniversary meeting
of the Knights of Columbus
Supreme Council, to be held
here August 21 to 23.
The convention will be open
ed with a Pontifical High Mass
offered by Bishop Charles P.
Greco of Alexandria- La., Su
preme Chaplain of the K. of-
C. Richard Cardinal Cushing,
Archbishop of Boston will
preach.
Supreme Knight Luke E. Hart
will preside over approximately
400 official delegates at con
vention business sessions.
Cardinal Cushing and Hart
will be speakers at the conven
tion dinner, August 21, follow
ing presentation of the annual
reports of the supreme officers.
On August 22 elections will
be held to fill seven places
on the 21-man board of direc
tors of the fraternity.
On the closing day of the
convention, the delegates will
act on resolutions. These are
expected to include statements
on the recent Supreme Court
school prayer ruling and on
Federal aid to private schools.
The Knights of Columbus has
more than 1,140,000 members
in almost 5,000 councils in
the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Cuba,
Puerto Rico and the Philippi
nes. The fraternal society has
been inactive in Cuba since
shortly after the Castro re
gime came to power there.
TO PRESENT
TV PROGRAM
ON COUNCIL
NEW YORK, (NC) - The CBS
Television network will present
a discussion on the forthcoming
Second Vatican Council on its
“Lamp Unto My Feet” program
from 10:00-10:30 a.m. (EDT),
Aug. 26.
Discussing the subject
“Christians and the Council,”
will be Father Thomas Stran-
sky, C.S.P., a member of the
permanent staff of the Vatican
Secretariat for Promoting
Church Unity; John Mannion,
executive secretary to the Nat
ional Catholic Liturgical Con
ference, and Dr. George Croth-
ers, the program’s host.
Viewers are advised to check
their local listings for time and
channel of the discussion, which
is a presentation of the public
affairs department of CBS news.
Catholic Social Action
Needed In Latin America
MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay,
(NC)--A gunuine atmosphere of
Catholic social teaching is
needed in Latin America, the
general secretary of Pax Ro-
mana said here.
Thom Kersteins of the Ne
therlands was in Montevideo
for the 25th convention of the
international Catholic organi
zation of students and profes
sionals.
Ker steins added that too much
stress is put on communism in
Latin America, an emphasis
that could increase its danger.
What is truly important, he
said, “is to create a genuine
climate of Christian social doc
trine. It is necessary not to
exaggerate the importance of
communism, since it is already
experiencing an internal crisis
throughout the world.”
He stated that communism
is unable to solve the problems
which its propaganda takes ad
vantage of.
Kersteins said he noted in
Latin America “a dangerous
tendency to everything or no
thing. This is dangerous be
cause the people lose interest
when no immediate results are
in sight.”
He cited as an example for
the area the tasks undertaken
by Catholic students in India,
who combine their studies with
(Continued on Page 8)
INDEX
MARRIAGES 3
LEGION OF DECENCY 3
EDITORIALS
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