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Supreme Court May Clarify Stand On Religion In Public Schools In Next Nine Months By Russell Shaw (N.C.W.C. NEWS SERVICE) WASHINGTON - The U.S. Su preme Court between now and next June may give the answer to a question that has troubled the nation for the past three months. The question is: What did the court mean to do last June when it ruled against a 22-word pray er recited in some public school classrooms in New York State? The answer, if it comes, will be given by the court in its usual way—through decisions in new cases that raise issues similiar to those in the New York prayer case. There is a good chance that an answer will be forthcoming. Two and perhaps three cases involving religious practices in public schools will be before the court during its 1962-63 term. These considerations are prompted by the fact that on Monday, October 1, the Supreme Court will open shop for another nine months. As it does so, the shadow of last June’s New York prayer decision will lie heavily on the nine members of the nation’s highest tribunal. On June 25 the court ruled against recitation by students in New York public schools of the following prayer, which had been prescribed on a non-com- pulsory basis by the State Board of Regents: “Almighty God, we acknow ledge our dependence upon Thee and we beg Thy blessings upon us, our parents, our teachers and our country.’’ It quickly became apparent that the court’s action had stir red up a hornet’s nest of con troversy. The court was praised and condemned in newspaper editorials, press releases, let ters to the editor, private con versations, public addresses and in Congress, where scores of resolutions and proposed constitutional amendments were introduced on the sub ject of the school prayer. This mass of discussion, however, failed to settle the fundamental question of just what the court had done. Basically it appears that there are two schools of thought on this point. One takes a nar row view of the court’s ruling, emphasizes that the prayer in volved in the June decision was composed by state officials, and holds that all the court really did was to rule out official, state-written prayers in pub lic schools. On the other side of the fence are those who take a broader view of the court’s ruling, which was written by Justice Hugo L. Black. Con ceding that the decision dealt only with a particular prayer recited in a particular set of circumstances, they neverthe less argue that the inherent logic of the court’s position would oblige it to rule out a host of other religious practices which have long been common in many public schools. It is this crucial difference of opinion that the court may resolve in decisions during the next months. Exactly what the court will decide is at the moment less predictable than usual. One reason for this is that sitting on the bench October 1 will be two men who were not there at this time last year and who took no part in the June pray er decision. They are Justices Byron White and Arthur Gold berg, who succeeded Justices Charles E..Whittaker and Felix Frankfurter when they retired because of ill health. One justice who participated in the controversial prayer rul ing subsequently took the un usual step of commenting on the court’s action. Justice Tom C. Clark, speaking August 3 at a meeting in San Francisco, said the decision had been widely misunderstood. He said the court had not meant to rule out all public “recognition of a Supreme Be ing,” but had simply been deal ing with a * * state-written pray er circulated to state employ ees with instructions to order it recited at the beginning of each day by children in a state- owned building.” The two cases pending before the court which could give it an opportunity to amplify on its prayer ruling in the months ahead, if it so chooses, are: — A controversy over Bible reading in Pennsylvania public schools. A Federal court has held that the practice is an un constitutional ' 'promotion of religiousness.” State officials have asked the Supreme Court to reverse this ruling. — A case from Maryland in which a Baltimore woman is challenging public school Bible reading and recitation of the Lord’s Prayer. These practices have been upheld by the State Supreme Court. Also, a third case involving similar issues may come before the court from Florida. There the State Supreme Court last June upheld the constitutional ity of daily Bible reading and recitation of the Lord’s Prayer in public schools. While religion in public schools will be a major issue ATLANTA allty in ST. JOSEPH’S INFIRMARY SODA FOUNTAIN COFFEE SHOP AND RESTAURANT LOCATED NEXT TO GIFT SHOP ON MAIN FLOOR IN NEW BUILDING ATLANTA. GA. FOR THAT SPECIAL OCCASION ... RENT FORMAL WEAR from O'Kelley’s, Inc. Rent your entire Formal Wear wardrobe. O'Kelley'* features a complete line of handsome Men's and Boy's Formal attire. Also Bridal Gowns, Veits, Bridesmaids dresses ond Hoops. Cocktail dresses and Formal* for all other ocasions. O *3, ^Qnc. 219 Mitchell St.. SW. JA. 2-9960 LISTED STOCKS PRIMARY MARKETS IN APPROXIMATE!.Y 100 UNLISTED STOCKS CORPORATE BONDS — UNDERWRITINGS TAX-FREE MUNICIPAL BONDS PORTFOLIO ANALYSIS J. C. Bradford & Co. Members of the New York Stock Exchange St American Exchange Thomas H. Stafford, Resident Manager Joseph G. Smith. Account Executive SUITE 736, BANK OF GEORGIA BUILDING PHONE JAckson 2-6834 ATLANTA, GA. John Marshall flnftiersitg LAW SCHOOL JUNIOR COLLEGE 105 Forrest Ave., N. E. Atlanta, Georgia “Around the Corner from Sacred Heart Church” Day and Evening Classes CAPITAL CITY RESTAURANT SUPPLY CORPORATION 3988 PEACHTREE RD., N.E. ATLANTA 19, GEORGIA TELEPHONE 237-0728, 231-1549 Institutional Equipment--Kitchen Supplies, for Churches, Hospitals, Hotels, Restaurants, Schools, Institutions. Planning, Designing and Installation. Member, Chamber of Commerce. Thousandaire Headquarters WEST END GORDON AT ASHBY TENTH STREET 1124 PEACHTREE BUCKHEAD PEACHTREE AT PIEDMONT LAKEWOOD LAKEWOOD AT STEWART COLLEGE PARK 3581 MAIN STREET BROOKHAVEN 4008 PEACHTREE MAIN OFFICE MARIETTA AT BROAD Atlanta Federal Savings AND LOAN ASSOCIATION Serve . . . ile Being Served You benefit Our Lady of the Holy Ghost Monastery in Conyers, Georgia, every time you use daily-fresh PE* DAIRY FOODS. PET DAIRY in Atlanta buys the entire pi eduction of fresh milk produced by the purebred Jersey herd on the Dairy Farm of Our Lady of the Holy Ghost Monastery. "YOU CAN'T BUY A FRESHER, FINER. BETTER-TASTING MILK THAN PET HOMOGENIZED VITAMIN "D" MILK.' For Convenient Home Delivery in Atlanta PLEASE CALL 636-8677 J DAILY FRESH EGGS PRODUCED AT OUR LADY OF THE HOLY GHOST MONASTERY IN CONYERS Delivered io Your Door by PET DAIRY PRODUCTS COMPANY Please PHONE 636-8677 for Home Delivery before the Supreme Court dur ing its 1962-63 term, it is not the only question of interest to religious groups that will oc cupy the court’s attention. Another potentially signifi cant case is an appeal from a ruling by the Oregon Supreme Court, which held that it is in violation of the Oregon consti tution to lend tax-paid textbooks' to students in “standard schools”, which have a religi ous orientation. A program of lending textbooks to these students had been carried on in Oregon for some 20 years be fore the state court’s ruling. From Kentucky comes a chal lenge to an arrangement where by a hospital built largely with public funds was leased to nuns who operate it. The leasing of the Irvine-Estill County Hos pital to Benedictine Sisters was upheld last May by the Ken tucky Court of Appeals. This decision has been appealed to the Supreme Court by a tax payers' group, which maintains that the arrangement violates Church-State s epa r at ion. Nearly a half-dozen cases in volving the issue of obscenity and free speech are pending before the court. One involves a challenge by four national paperback book publishers to the practice of the Rhode Island Commission to Encourage Mor- Youth of distributing to newsdealers lists of publica tions it deems objectionable for youths. Theater Forced To Pay For Offensive Films CONCORD, N.H., (NC) - A theater company here charged in an anti-trust suit filed in U.S. District Court it was for ced to pay for motion pictures it was unable to use because some were “offensive to the taste and moral standards” of the theater's patrons. The Concord Theater Co., Inc., filed a $5,500,000 treble damage anti-trust suit against a number of major movie pro ducing and distributing firms. It charged the firms unlawfully conspired at controlling pro duction, distribution and exhi bition of films, even to the ex tent of fixing admission prices and playing times for the films In its 26-page, four-count suit, the theater said it was prevented from showing “first run” movies until long after their release when their value had been impaired because of the unreasonable prices char ged for films on a first-run basis. Defendants in the suit in clude Loews Incorporated; RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.; 20th-Cen- tury-Fox Film Corp.; Para mount Film Distribution Corp.; Warner Brothers Picture Dis tribution Corp.; Republic Pic tures Corp.; Universal Film Exchange, Inc.; Concord Drive- In, Inc.; Maine and New Hamp shire Theatre Co.; Concord Amusement Co.; and Lockwood and Gordon Enterprises, Inc., a Massachusetts corporation. ALTKRATIONR TUXtDOR RCNTKD "CLOTHE* TAILORED FOR YOU** TAILORS - CLEANERS MEN'S WEAR for the best in... ^pest*^ control^ Service AFRICAN COLLEGE FOUNDER VISITS U.S. Father Leo Verwilghen, S.J. (left), Belgian-born founder and builder of the first inte grated college in Negro Africa, shows Father J. Franklin Ewing, S.J., direc tor of Fordham University’s Institute of Mission Studies, where his college is located. Father Verwilghen completed the International College of the Holy Spirit at Usumbura, Rwanda, in 1955. It now ac commodates 400 i boarding students and 200 day stu dents. Bottom photo shows students during classroom session at the college. Father Verwilghen, who plans to expand his college into a uni versity, will spend his U. S. visit doing research on new curriculum. (NC Photos) Catholic Educator Urges U.S. Aid To Schools Issue Be Settled Through Reason ROCKVILLE CENTRE, (NC), A Catholic educator advocated that the con troversy over Federal aid to education be settled by “a con sensus of reason, not by a po litical power play by either side.” Msgr. Edgar P. McCarren, superintendent of schools of the Rockville Centre diocese said: “This means that the American people must have a chance to hear all the facts. We need communication. We need to talk to one another. We need to listen. Let us at least begin. Let others convince us, if we cannot convince them.” The Monsignor preached the sermon at the annual Red Mass sponsored by the Catholic Lay ers’ Guild of the Rockville Centre diocese in St. Agnes cathedral (Sept. 12). Auxiliary Bishop Vincent J. Baldwin of fered the Mass. The congrega tion included judges, state and local officials, and lawyers. “The American public has a tradition for fairness and decency,” the Monsignor said. All it needs is to understand the facts and see the truth. Here is a task especially for the Catholic lawyer, a task of communication, a task to make known the truth in protection of liberty.” Catholic lawyers have an op portunity for service to the nation, by presenting a side of the question which most Ameri cans have never heard explain ed adequately, he said. “Part of this will be easy,” he said. “It is easy to make a strong case for the constitu tionality of government assis tance to children who attend church-related schools. This is a question of the rights of parents, of free exercise of religion and of the equal pro tection of the laws. “You can cite the opinions of eminent professors of con stitutional law, none of whom are Catholic, none of whom are associated with church-related schools: Sutherland and Howe of Harvard, Kurland and Katz of Chicago, Corwin of Prince ton, and Kauper of Michigan.” It is also easy to make a strong case as a matter of public policy, Msgr. McCarren declared. Referring to Presi dent Kennedy’s statement that the national interest requires maximum development of “every” young American’s ca pacity, he asked: “What of the seven million who are not in public schools? The nation needs Jewish, Catho lic and Lutheran brains as well as it needs Baptist and Pres byterian brains. Furthermore, no American really wants to see freedom of religion im paired by economic coercion.’’ “What is enormously differ ent” he said, “is to bring out into the open the real sources of opposition, to reach down and uncover the roots of resistance: the fears, the misunder standings, the misconceptions, the legacy of centuries of re ligious quarreling.” It is necessary to point out that even the bigotry of the past still has effects today in creating a bias against Catho lics, he declared. “If we can change the atti tude of many Americans towards the Catholic Bishops and the Catholic Church, we can change their attitude toward the Catholic school,’’ the Mon signor said. AUGUSTA E. J. McMAHON & COMPANY Plumbing and Heating Contractors 540 BOHLER AVE. PHONE PA. 4-3506 AUGUSTA, GA. L. V. ANNIS, Manager division of ANNIS, Incorporated Mailing Address: P. O. Box 3444 Phone RE. 3-4411 1514 Monte Sano Ave. AUGUSTA, GEORGIA