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PAGE 4—THE BULLETIN, December 8, 1962 WOULD A NATIONAL SERVICE CORPS WORK? The Backdrop For the Christ Child President Kennedy is con sidering an appeal to Congress to authorize a, service program for the United States patterned after the Peace Corps. He has directed a committee of seven top a d m i n i- s tration leaders to study the feasibility of such a pro ject and re port to him by January 1, of next year. Presumably, if the report is favorable, he will ask Congress for legislation authorizing a domestic service corps. The President was induced to initiate the study by an en couraging preliminary study compiled by Attorney Gen eral Robert F. Kennedy. The Attorney General reported that many Americans would like to accept the Presi dent’s Inaugural Address chal lenge to ask what they could do for their country but lacked “visible avenues for service.’’ The Attorney General sugges ted that there is a wide field for service by dedicated vol unteers among the 32,000,000 Americans living at a very low economic level. Many of these persons he noted, are handicapped by poor health, diets and housing as well as inadequate education. The majority, he said, are unable to remedy these condi tions by themselves. Among the specific areas in which the Attorney General sug gested a national service corps could be useful were slum schools, recreation centers, mental hospitals, Indian reser vations, migrant labor camps and correctional institutions. In all these fields, he noted, there is a shortage of trained workers. Volunteers, working under professionals, he sug gested could lighten the load. JOHN C. O'BRIEN As envisioned by the Attorney General, the domestic service corps would be modeled after the Peach Corps. Enlistment would be open to all ages from high school to retired persons. The term of enlistment might be shorter, one-year instead of two. Pay would be low, suffi cient to cover living expenses with a modest separation allow ance. The Peace Corps, directed by the President’s brother-in-law Sergeant Shriver, has con founded all the skeptics by turning out to be an unqual ified success. Even those Con gressmen who scoffed at the program as a “massive’’ boon- doogle have had to admit that their fears have been proved groundless. Presumably the President and his brother have concluded that i< the Peace Corps works so well abroad, a similar corps would be a success in the United States. But this may be an unwise assumption. Sergeant Shrives’a Peace Corps, it is true, received more applicants than it had the funds to employ. But can it be assumed that those who were denied en listment in the Peace Corps would rush to join a service corps for work in the United States? Working among natives in far-away lands has a glamorous appeal, a suggestion of high ad venture, that working in a Harlem slum or a migrant workers’ camp in Southern Cal ifornia lacks. How many of the peace corps volunteers joined up to see the world? The nearest precedent for a corps such as the President is considering was the Civilian Conservation Corps formed in the depression years by the Roosevelt administration. The state of the economy then was quite different from that of today. Thousands of youths were unable to find any kind of job, whereas today,although the pool of unemployed is large, the work force is the largest in the his tory of the country. Jobs are available for those with training and skills. The CCC force was put to work planting trees in the nat ional forests, a job requiring no previous training and little skill. It was “made work.’’ But the proposed national service corps would be seeking men and women trained as teachers , welfare workers, therapists, dieticians and the like, for whom, it is admitted, there is a short supply. With out the lure of foreign travel, how many Americans are so dedicated to serving their own country that they would choose to work for living expenses in stead of taking salaried po sitions? The question also arises, would such volunteers be welcomed by the established agencies now working in slums, recreation centers, Indian res ervations, hospitals and cor rectional institutions? Govern ments of underdeveloped count ries received the Peace Corps volunteers with open arms be cause they had no natives capable of doing what the vol unteers could do. But the local authorities are prone to resent the suggestion that they need help from the Federal Gov ernment. Congress, too, may be ex pected to show more hostility to a domestic service corps than it did to the Peace Corps. Congress was induced to authorize the Peace Corps by the argument that it might help win us friends in the cold war among the underdeveloped countries. But the argument can hardly be made that a ser vice corps is needed to keep unde rprivileged Americans from going communist. THE RETICENT NON-CATHOLIC OBSERVERS Sum and Substance Here in Rome the journalists are anxious to publicize the reactions of the non-Catholic observers but they find that the observers themselves are reluctant to voice their reac tion. This atti tude on the part of the observers is unde rstand- able. They are not bound in secrecy to withhold what they hear in Council but they have been asked by Vatical authori ties to be discreet and they are the soul of discretion. They do not want to violate the hospitality shown them nor do they care to make statements that might have unhappy rever berations in their own denomi nations. If they were to speak too enthusiastically of the Coun cil, some of their co-religion ists might fear they were contemplating conversion to Rome. I have talked to many of the observers and in the course of the conversation they unavoid ably let slip remarks that indi cate their reactions but they generally follow up with the request, “Please don’t quote me?’’ Without violating any confi dences, I can report some gen eral reactions of observers without mentioning names. First, there is among them a sense of surprise and admira tion for the complete freedom of expression bishops. Some observers came to Rome expecting a “rubber- stamp" Council. Instead they found a rich diversity of opin ions. As Cardinal Bea said in a recent talk about his work with observers, “Some of them were surprised. . .seeing how a cardinal can voice an opinion which is contrary to the opin ion of another cardinal." In fact, I would say that at this stage of the proceedings, the observers are hoping for some restrictions on freedom of speech so as to get on with the Council. They have been impressed also by the confidence reposed in them. Not only are they in the Council itself but as Car dinal Bea remarked they are “truly pleased” by “the trust with which all the documents have been placed at their dis posal which the Council Fathers have received." The Secretariat for Promot ing Christian Unity has issued to the observers an invitation to once-a-week conferences at which they listen to theologians or liturgists addressing them on a Council topic. At these con ferences they freely express their criticisms, observations and suggestions about the Coun cil. (These meetings of course are not open co journalists or the general public.) Dr. W. A. Viser ’t Hooft, secretary general of the World Council of Churches, speaking at Geneva recently said that the Protestant observers were not “simple observers" since WITNESSING FOR CHRIST WINS A CONVERT Sharing Our Treasure | # a •*; •?/ *5* led iSWli HITLER WOULD CHEER. TOO It Seems to Me I could seat you in my car, start the engine, and an hour later escort you into a big suburban house where a hus band and wife and their daughter care tenderly for spastic children and REV. JOHN B. SHEERIN. C.S.P. granted the they engage in “a veritable dia logue" with the Council Fathers. He said that these discussions were “extremely interesting and beneficial", many of them having been ini tiated by individual bishops who wanted to find out the frank opinions of the observers on Council topics. As you walk along Via Con- ciliazone almost any day, you can see observers engaged in conversation with Council fig ures as they sip that horrible Roman coffee at sidewalk cafes. The enthroning of the Book of Gospels at the beginning of each session has also impressed the observers as have the high level of theological content in the bishops' speeches, the bishops' solicitude for intimate and re verent participation of the faith ful in the liturgy and the ex traordinary universality in unity reflected in the Council. The intense spiritual interest of these non-Catholics in the Council’s deliberations is mir rored in the little community of four monks of Taize, Cal vinists who have set up on Via del Plebiscito a humble chapel where they will recite the divine office for the cause of Chris tian Unity for the duration of the Council. The observers undoubtedly have reservations about the Oriental and Renaissance pomp and ceremony and the vesture of the bishops but as of this moment, the Council represents to them a bright and glorious hope for an eventual union of all Christians in one fold and one Faith. Through the sacrament of Confirmation a Catholic receiv es the graces that enable him to be an apostle and win souls for Christ. This is the truth which Bishop John C. Cody of London, Can ada, stressed when he launched a di ocesan - wide campaign for souls. “Once we have at tained spirit ual adulthood in Confirma- REV. JOHN A. O'BRIEN tion," said Bishop Cody, “ours is the perpetual obligation of giving birth to Christ in the hearts of our fellow men." How can you do this? By bearing witness to the truth and life-giving, soul-saving power of your holy faith at every suitable opportunity. Be cause so many Catholics ob serve a clam-like silence in regard to their religion, they pass up many opportunities of giving birth to Christ in the hearts of others. The fruitful ness of witnessing for Christ is illustrated in the conversion of C. Patrick Patton of Kan sas City, Missouri. “I was reared a Campbel- lite," he related, “and attend ed church and Sunday school regularly. Indeed I used to go out and talk to people about their spiritual life. Though I married a Catholic and our six children were raised Catholic, I remained a Campbellite. As Catholics rarely speak about their religion, the misconcep tions about their Church, which I had from childhood, remained (Continued on Page 5) babies with huge hydro- cephalic heads. If you rode to work with me we would be likely, som- where along the way, to find ourselves waiting at a traffic light beside a little yellow bus filled with small boys and girls on their way to a school for the mentally retarted. Almost any morning, we could cruise through the neighbornood where I live and see crippled youngsters being carried from their homes to a limousine that takes them to a place where they recieve therapy and special training from experts. ON A WEEKEND, we could visit an institution filled with people who are bedridden or in wheel chairs, their limbs twist ed and motionless, or uncon- trollably jerking because of nervous afflictions. After a three-hour drive on a turnpike we could watch with dedicated people, with the help of ingenious scientific devices penetrate the world of sound lessness and teach deaf pupils to talk, to read lips and books, and to prepare for useful and happy lives as adults. FROM MY HOME in the sum mertime, you can look down the street and see a father and mother coming to see grandma, accompanied by a daughter who, in childhood, was unable to walk, to talk, or to use her hands or arms. I could show you (or you could show me) men and women who write or paint or do other dif ficult things with pens or brush es held in their teeth or toes, or who, though blind, "see" with their other senses. A number of times, I have had in my automobile a sight less young man who, by listen ing to sounds, could tell you when you passed under a bridge, when you crossed an intersec tion, and when you reached the house where he lived. SPRINKLED PROFUSELY all around the earth are people and institutions who provide for the special needs of the handicapped of all kinds - the paralyzed, the amputees, the parapleegics and all the rest. It is not the afflicted who need us nearly as much as it is we who need them, because if there were no one whom we could help, we would grow selfish and purposeless and inhuman. We would be in danger of be coming like Hitler, who in hide ous cruelty and pride showed the world, with a vengeance, what monsters men and women can become when life and love JOSEPH BREIG are not valued. HITLER HAD , a solution-or so he thought - for the problem of physical and mental afflic tion. Kill the afflicted and make the race perfect - that was his idiot’s answer. Only he did not make the race perfect; he made people resemble devils, and Europe resemble hell. We can appreciate the force ot the Diow that fell upon a^ family in Liege, Belgium when a baby was born without arms after the mother had taken the drug thalidomide during pregnancy. We sympathize. But we do not sympathize with the family’s pitting the baby to death. And emphatically, we do not sym pathize with the empty-headed crowds that made the jury’s not-guilty verdict, which was a traversty of law, an occasion for merrymaking in the streets. Only a few years have passed since Belgium suffered under Hitler’s hellishness. Belgians of all people, ought to remem ber. And even if that were not so, nobody has any right to be as brainless as the celebrators of the acquittal. Nobody has a right to forget for one moment that everything human and de cent on earth depends upon un flinching defense of the right of the innocent and helpless to life and love. THE JOYFUL MOMENTS Jottings By BARBARA C. JENCKS “Glory be to God for dappled things— F^r skies of couple-colour as a brinded cow; r i swim; For rose-moles all in stipple upon trout that Fibsh-fire, coal chestnut-falls; finches; wings Lancscape plotted and pierced-fold, fallow and plough; all trades, their gear and tackle and trim. . . ” Gerard Manley Hopkins Ari but awa and mer Ga speaks to us in many ways of His love for us. In the gorious season of Fall, we stop especially and wonder at th( beauties of His hand as seen in the skies and trees. As vi grow older, we stop looking for the miracle, the extralrdinary and our hearts begin to fill up and warm at the litle trinkets He places within our days to cause joy. Often! remember a sermon in which the preacher bes- towedlthe wish that daily between our rising and our re tiring ye could find one instance of God’s special care for us. Tljt is not difficult. There are sometimes a dozen in stance! which our finite minds could mark. Yet within each eta, no matter how busy, hard, dark there also comes the boris gift of song, word, deed which can make our heart leap wh delight. The world holds so much that is good and ofta we wish that we could immortalize a moment of quiq content or satisfaction or inspiration. If we are 2 of these moments, our days will double with job fng. * * * >s daily is in itself the very best gift of all times. pass out of the darkness and hallowed chapel, neet God and goodness and joy in many other find it in good conversation with our fellow- ids and strangers alike. Joy can be found in in hearing the music of Mozart on record or tovie like “Music Man” which makes you feel alive andgood as does reading a book like “To Kill a Mockingbn." You are alive and glad you are a member of the hurln race. In my section of Providence— the pride of the newesident — the city’s skyline is seen at an ideal advantage.lt is as if a special mural had been painted against thteky just for me. The sunsets are lovlier there —purples,manges, reds, and the spire of St. Xavier’s can be seejand the double-guard which is the tower of the Cathedral; lere are the factory lights and hospital lights, symbols of jan's world amid the near too-perfect beauty of the skies aitrees. A concert, a new book, a chance meet ing a lejr, all can lift the heart and make everyday a kind of holic All aroum harbingers delicately tuj theme. A p< balm, a lecti itary walk, althese may open doors of the soul and^give again and aa to man an immortal moment of sweet ness and pea^. But ah, the Mass, there is no other way (Continued on Page 5) s if we would but stop and listen, there are oy. Each day is an adventure if we are but as a transistor to the mood and sound and a record concert on the radio may hold a sermon, a letter, a conversation, a sol- DORIS REVERE PETERS 2)orid ^ n&werS YOUTH Girl Undecided About Teaching Career Dear Doris: I just started college this fall. I thought I would like to teach but now I’m not sure and I'm worried. And I’m not sure what I would teach. Have you any suggestions? Anne S. (New York) First stop worrying. The de cision doesn’t have to be made immediately. You have until sophomore year to choose your major. When investigating any car eer look into both the personal and technical qualifications. It’s also wise to examine both the job functions and job require ments. Then take a good look at yourself to see if you measure up. The list of qualifications for teachers is long but I'll mention a few. A good teacher needs to be a good student and like to study for she will be studying all her life. She must be tolerant of, and interested in, people. She should like people. A good teacher needs patience andgood feet. Ask yourself these questions; Do you think you would prefer to work in the grades with the younger children or in high school with teenagers? Are you particularly good in one subject? If so then you might be happier and more satisfied teaching your favorite subject in high school. Some high school teachers after a few years de cide to study further in order to qualify as a college instruc tor. Or maybe you would get along better with the younger child ren. You might like the variety of a grade school teaching pro gram. To some the elementary school offers a challenge because of the influence they have in shaping the mind of a young child. In the next two years you will find the answers to these question. You will receive help from class advisors, in structors, the guidance counse lor and the dean. Don’t be afraid to talk to them about your indecision. It will not be new to them. You will also get ideas from the courses you take and from fellow students. Ask Our Lord, the greatest of teachers for His guidance. He who has given you the spark for this most worthy vocation will certainly help you come to a decision. LETTER UNANSWERED Dear Doris: This may seem strange com ing from a boy, but I have a small problem. A couple of months ago I met this girl at a party a friend of mine was giving for her cousin. We got to talking about where she lived and the like. I thought she was a very nice girl. I didn’t think about her for the next few weeks until I saw her at a dance on Satur day night before school started. From that time on I took a sort of liking towards her. And she gave me the impression that she liked me also. So the follow ing week I wrote her a letter. I knew she got it for her friend told me so. But she has never answered it. In the letter I asked her to ask her parents for permission to write to me. I was wondering if I should write her again or just forget her. She lives out of town. Did I do wrong by writing her? Troubled (Texas) There was certainly nothing wrong in writing to her. And you displayed good judgment in sug gesting she ask for her parents’ permission to write to you. But if she doesn’t answer either she or her parents aren’t in favor of the idea. So I guess you’ll have to forget about her. CHECK HIM OFF Dear Doris: I have a problem. I was dating this boy for about one month but I haven’t seen him since last July. I work for his aunt and so sometimes he comes here. One of my friends asked him why he didn’t date me any more and he said because I’m going with someone else. I like this boy and he couldn’t have been nicer to me. Should I phone or write-to him? I’m 17. Marie S. (Canada) Never phone a boy unless you have a specific reason or you will scare him away completely. Boys don’t like to be pursued. And they like agressive girls even less. Sounds as if you might have to check him off your list. It’s a long time since July. | QUESTION BOX [ By David Q. Liptak Q. Every now and then one hears about pantheism? What’s it all about? A. Pantheism is a false philo sophical theological theory which confuses God with the world almost to the point where the two are identified. The term comes from the Greek words pan (i.e., “all") and theos (“God"). IT GOES WITHOUT saying that pantheism contradicts the revealed truth that there is a personal God who created the universe out of absolute nothingness. And from an ex clusively metaphysical view point, pantheism cannot be squared with the principle that, unlike the universe which was caused and began to be in time, the Maker of all things must of essence be an uncaused, infinite being. TO UNDERSTAND how any half-intelligent person could be impressed by the pantheistic premise, it is first necessary to draw a sharp distinction between crass pantheism and so-called “scientific" or so phisticated pantheism. The for mer entails just about what its description implies; i.e., crude worship of the material world and the elements of the cos mos. Hence this is the kind of pantheism that is usually asso ciated with ignorant and de generate savages; no half-in telligent person would fall for it. “SCIENTIFIC" pantheism does interest some otherwise thinking individuals, however, especially some “far-out" cha racters who are always inquest of esoteric interpretations in any field, from art to athle tics. Such was the pantheism of Spinoza (d. 1677) which im plied, among other things and in one of the most mysterious ly roundabout dialectics con ceivable, that whatever is, is in God, who is - the imminent cause of all finite existence and consequently that every man is a God in miniature. The Ger man Fichte’s panegoism a cen tury later is another example of (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 Reverend Bishop of Savannah; and the Most Reverend Archbishop of Atlanta. Subscription price $3.00 per year. Subscription in cluded in membership in Catholic Laymen’s Association. Second class mail privileges authorized at Monroe, Ga. Send notice of change of address to P. O. Box 320, Monroe, Ga. Rev. Francis J. Donohue Rev. R. Donald Kiernan Editor Savannah Edition Editor Atlanta Edition John Markwalter, Managing Editor Rev. Lawrence Lucree, Rev. John Fitzpatrick Associate Editors, Savannah Edition Vol. 43 Saturday, December 8, 1962 No. 14 ASSOCIATION OFFICERS GEORGE GINGELL, Columbus President MRS. DAN HARRIS, Macon Vice-President NICK CAMERIO, Macon Secretary JOHN T. BUCKLEY, Augusta Treasurer ALVIN M. McAULIFFE, Augusta Auditor JOHN MARKWALTER, Augusta Executive Secretary MISS CECILE FERRY, Augusta Financial Secretary