Newspaper Page Text
6
THE BULLETIN OF THE CATHOLIC LAYMEN'S ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA
THE BULLETIN
The Official Organ of the Catholic Laymen’s
Association of Georgia.
Published Monthly by the Publicity Department,
409 Herald Building, Augusta, Georgia.
Subscription Price—$2.00 Per Year
VOL. II. FEBRUARY, 1 92 1 No. 3
PRESIDENTS ANNOUNCEMENT.
At a meeting of the members of the publicity and
finance committee and the executive officers of the
Catholic Laymen’s Association in Atlanta, January
9th, Mr. Richard Reid, of Augusta, was elected editor
of The Bulletin and director of the publicity bureau,
succeeding Mr. James J. Farrell.
Mr. Reid is a graduate of Holy Cross College,
Worcester, Mass., a former instructor at Xavier High
School, New York City, and for the past two years
an Augusta newspaper man.
Miss Cecile Ferry, for 1 8 months assistant to Mr.
Farrell, was elected assistant manager of the publicity
bureau.
Mr. Ed. Sheridan, of Macon, a member of the pub
licity committee,, has been appointed chairman of the
committee. Mr. Sheridan’s place on the committee
was filled by the appointment of Mr. Richard A.
Magill, a member of the Laymen’s Association, who
is prominent in the business life of Atlanta.
Mr. James A. Vocelle, -of St. Mary’s, has been ap
pointed vice-president for the South Georgia Missions.
The President of the Laymen’s Association is
pleased with the election of the new officers whose
qualifications insure the same measure of success for
the work that has been achieved in the past.
OFFICIAL MOUTHPIECE OF LIVE
ORGANIZATION.
The Bulletin of the Catholic Laymen’s Association
of Georgia, published originally as a quarterly, has
now become a monthly magazine. And a most wel
come and useful addition to the list of Catholic
monthlies is this live publication. Not only will The
Bulletin be a means of communication between all
parts of the Diocese of Savannah, Ga., but it will be a
medium of information to the whole United States
relative to the glorious work which the Catholics of
Georgia are doing in the name of the Laymen’s Asso
ciation.
The October issue is called the “Convention Num
ber,’’ and contains a full report of the Fifth Annual
Convention of the Catholic Laymen’s Association.
This report and the other important articles in the
October issue should be read by Catholic Laymen
everywhere. The Association’s publicity committee
reports the distribution of nearly 500,000 pieces of
Catholic information literature. During the past year
2,100 persons have been served by the Association
with information upon various subjects, the informa
tion containing answers to questions relative to the
Pope and the Papacy, Relation of Catholics to Spirit
ual and Temporal Rulers, the Bible, the Marriage
Laws, the Catholic Attitude Toward Public Schools
and Education Generally, and other interesting sub
jects. Every hostile or incorrect utterance in the
papers of the State, and some outside, were answered
and corrected with the result that during the past
year there has been practically no outspoken bigotry
in the State of Georgia. With a Catholic population
of less than 20,000 in the whole State, over $83,000
has been raised by the Catholics of the State to finance
the Association’s work for the next two years. Prac
tically every adult Catholic in Georgia is a member
of the Laymen’s Association, the activities of which
are so interestingly set forth in The Bulletin. The
Association has published and will circulate free a
series of booklets giving information about Catholics
and their attitude upon questions of the day.—The
National Catholic Welfare Council Bulletin, Novem
ber, 1920.
ENGLISH COMMENT ON OUR WORK.
The work of the Catholic Laymen’s Association of
Georgia has attracted attention in all parts of the
world. One of the most recent instances of this kind
which has come to our attention is a speech delivered
by Edward Eyre, K.C., S.G., before the Liverpool Na
tional Catholic Congress, as reported by The Uni
verse, one of the leading, if not the leading, Catholic
publications in England. Mr. Eyre’s subject was “A
Plea for Catholic Defensive and Progressive Organiza
tion-” The part referring to the Catholic Laymen’s
Association is headed: An Example from America,’*
and reads as follows:
As things are, here in England, we have in some
few Dioceses a Federation, in others the C. Y. M. S.,
whilst in some Dioceses there are no societies what
ever formed for defensive work. It is reasonable to
claim defensive work would be more effective were it
confined to one organization only, to be set up in each
Diocese, but if that can not be obtained in England,
the different societies should be co-ordinated so that
the work may be effectively done.
We have an excellent example of what can be
accomplished by organization in what has recently
been done in the State of Georgia, which has been in
tensely anti-Catholic and has the unenviable distinc
tion of having passed a Convents’ Inspection Bill, and
where Catholics have long since been subject to
every form of abuse and threatened with further leg
islation. This resulted in the formation of the Cath
olic Laymen’s Association of Georgia, which, through
its efforts, has brought about an almost complete
change of attitude towards Catholics in that State.
“The mention of this movement provokes some in
evitable reflections. Are not our needs, and dangers
much the same as those of the Catholics of Georgia,
who are but an insignificant percentage of the pop
ulation of that State, yet have we, with our resources
in numbers and experience, anything to show com
parable to their Publicity Bureau?’’
During January 3,363 pieces of literature were
sent out from the publicity department office at Au
gusta, 305 pieces more than the December record.
Twenty-eight copies of “The Faith of Our Fathers,’’
by Cardinal Gibbons, were mailed in answer to re
quests for the work by non-Catholics.
A new department, “In Catholic Circles,’’ makes
its appearance in this month’s issue of The Bulletin.
The Editor will appreciate clippings and news of in
terest to Georgia Catholics for use in the department.