Newspaper Page Text
JANUARY 18. 1930
THE BULLETIN OF THE CATHOLIC L AYMEN’S ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA
Research Demonstrates Truth
of Events Recorded in Bible
Independent of Revelation Decayed In-
of Progressing, Fr. Husslein Asserts Over St.
University Radio. Fact of the Deluge Shown
Religion
stead
Louis
Department of Education Not
Keqmred—Secretary Wilbur
(By N. C. W. C. News Service)
ST. LOUIS.—Facts disproving the
theory advanced by some scientists,
that the Bible is nothing but a' nar
rative of myth, were advanced by
the Rev. Joseph Husslein, S. J., Di
rector of the Sociological Department.
St. Louis University, in the latest of
his radio talks on “Social History,”
delivered over WEW, the University’s
broadcasting station.
Father Husslein traced the progress
of the facts described in Scripture
from their occurrence to the present
time, and showed that the presence
of Divine guidance, coupled with tire
authenticity of certain phases of tra
dition, prove that the present ac
counts of the Creation, Fall and Flood
are true recountings of actual oc
currences.
His lecture follows, in part:
‘‘My use of the Bible, in previous
lectures, as the earliest reliable source
of social history should receive a
word of explanation. In the begin
ning of this century its authenticity
was formally challenged by a school
which we may call the Pan-Baby
lonian. Their one tenet, on which
they all agreed, was that in the
opening pages of the Bible we pos
sess nothing more than a series of
‘purified Babylonian myths.’
“The main start was given to this
movement by three lectures on ‘Babel
and Bibel,’ delivered at considerable
intervals, from 1902 to 1904, by the
German Assyriologist Frederick
Delitzsch. These were followed by
a veritable deluge of literature upon
the subject. 3iie opponents of the
Bible invariably stressed certain re
semblances between Biblical narra
tives on the one hand and Sumerian,
Babylonian, and Assyrian accounts on
the other, while entirely overlooking
the vast and unbridgeable difference
between them. . , .
amount of still sufficiently accurate
details wheih would necessarily con
form with the tradition handed down
from Abraham to Moses. Abraham’s
tradition, therefore, was not drawn
from the myth, but both it and the
myth originally came from the same
authentic source. That source could
only be Noe and his family, since
they alone, in the entire region cov
ered by its waters, had survived the
Deluge.
"If anything is plain from history
it is the fact that civilizations have
become more and more pantheistic
and politheistic as they progressed.
Historic evidence confirms the logical
principle of thought that men pro
ceed from the more simple to the
more complicated forms of religion.
Every ancient religion was purest and
simplest and most monotheistic at its
earliest beginning. In Babylonia, in
Assyria, in Greece, in Rome and
everywhere else the multiplicity of
deities continued to increase until the
respective civilizations had been cor
rupted through and through, like an
apple looking fairest outwardly when
it is rotted to the core. So, one by
one, they met their inevitable doom.
“Yet practically all these religions
still retained a basic conception of
the original faith in the One True
God, preserved! by them from the
earliest days, and consisting in some
idea of a supreme being before whom
even the gods were conceived to be
powerless as the races of mortal men.
“That certain remnants, however
distorted, of the original truths con
tained in the Bible, should have
been preserved in the Babylonian
legends and myths, -was merely what
everyone would expect. No Pan-
Babylonian was needed to tell us
that. There were natural truths also
attainable by pure reason, but the
impossible is asserted when men go
further and seek to derive the clear,
simple, dignified, strictly monotheis
tic Scripture accounts of Creation, the
Fall or the Flood, from the grossly
polytheistic, endlessly fabulous,
grotesque and monstrous myths of
gods and goddesses which the cunei
form Babylonian writings reveal.
Even were the Bible a purely human
document it could not have evolved
in such a way.
“The Babylonians in fact have no
cosmogony, but a theogony, that is a
mythical account of the beginning of
the gods rather than of the world,
and a description of the combats of
these divinities among themselves.
Their religion is deeply political, as
were also other pagan creeds. Thus
Mardoc, because the local god of
Babylon, reflects the military and po
litical strength of his city, and so be
comes also in turn the mightiest
power among the gods. . . .
“The more or less certain resem
blances, it should be noted, which can
in some cases be pointed out be
tween the Bible narrative and the
Babylonian-Assyrian literature, can
also be shown to exist in the Crea
tion, Fall and Flood accounts of other
nations that could not have had the
remotest connection with either the
Babylonian or Mosaic writings. There
is consequently a common earlier
source to which we must return,
which lies beyond the Assyrian, the
Babylonian and the Sumerian ac
counts. . . .
60 FLOOD TRADITIONS
“R. Andree, in his famous ethno
graphical study on the Flood stories,
“Die Flutsagen ethnographisch be-
trachtet,” brings to notice no less than
sixty different Deluge traditions.
Forty of these he considers to be
completely independent of both the
Babylonian and the Mosaic accounts,
thus showing the many divergent
streams of tradition through which
the record of this great event came
down to mankind.
“Living on the very ground over
which, according to the belief of mod
ern scientific investigation, the
waters of the Deluge had swept less
than 2,000 years before. Abraham
could not but have had the best ac
cess to these early traditions, while
even the Babylonian mytjis them
selves could not fail to contain a vast
“What holds true of the Flood ac
counts is true also of these other tra
ditions concerning the Creation and
the Fall, except that here we have
only the most tenuous grounds for
alleging any similarity whatsoever
between the monstrous and wildly
phantasmagoric Babylonian myths on
the one side, and the sublime Bible
acocunt with its pure monotheistic
faith on the other. . . .
“While the beauty, dignity and
monotheistic purity of the Bible ac
count is on the whole as far exalted
above the gross pagan myths as truth
above error, yet error, too, is gener
ally not without at least some basis
of truth. There are many channels,
as we know, through which all the
various traditions concerning the
Creation, the Fall, and the Deluge
came down to man. In every case
something at least of the original
truth must have continued to be con
veyed, however deluded with false
hood.
“But in regard to each one of the
great traditions I have named there
was one particular stream over which
God watched with a special provi
dence. It was that which would ul
timately find its way, as with all pro
bability we may suppose, into the
Mosaic account. Yet even this stream
itself would still have first been
cleansed of any impurities it might
actually have gathered in its course
through the centuries. But the re
sult of such a divinely guided pro
cess was a certain, reliable, and in
dependent historic acocunt. and not a
purified Babylonian myth!”
Board of Trade Head
Calls for Reflection
Pittsburgh Church Con
tributes Million in 6 Years
PITTSBURGH.—The Sacred Heart
Church of this city, Rev. Dr. Thomas
F. Coakley, rector, announced that
1929 was a record year for the parish.
The total receipts were $161,066.00. It
is believed that this income is the
largest of any church in the United
States, as it represents normal reve
nues, without any campaign for funds
and without ever mentioning money
from the pulpit.
The parish has 93 people on its
pay roll, 44 of them on full time, and
49 on part time. The total operating
expenses of the parish for the year
were $81,528.83. The parish is pay
ing off its debt at the rate of $4,000
per month. Exclusive of loans, the
total revenues of the parish during
the past six and cne-half years were
$1,129,583, out of which this small
parish of about TOO families has erect
ed and practically paid for one of the
finest churches in the United States.
AFRICAN CATHOLIC BOY
BAPTIZES DYING MASTER
Local Government in Educa tion Keystone of Proper
Training, Secretary of th e Interior Declares in His
Annual Report. Calls Such Centralization a Menace
(By N. C. W. C. Uews Service)
WASHINGTON — A department of
education similar to the other depart
ments of the Federal Government is
not required, Secretary of the In
terior Ray Lyman Wilbur declares in
his annual report, made public in
December.
All that is needed, the secretary
added, is “an adequate position for
education within a department and
with sufficient financial report for
its research, survey, and other work.”
J. Gilmore Smith Recom
mends Advice Pope Pius XI
Gave in Encyclical
Jan. 8, 1929.
To the Editor of The Bulletin:
The Worlds needs Reflection as Well
as Revenue
To plead with the age of the
“quick lunch,” “gasoline engine,” “go
getter,” and the “while you wait,” vo
go home and think, prayerfully think
is to plead with the tempest of prog
ress, to remonstrate with success. The
weakness as well as the strength of
Americanism is forever^ to be doing
something more efficiently, more
speedily, more voluminously. The
machine age is the triumph of mind,
but is it of spirit? If an essential
jobholder were found, even in a
state of conscious cerebration, with
his eyes closed, he would be open
to suspicion and a long walk for h?s
ROMA, South Africa.—(N. C. Vt. C.
—Fides.)—A touching story of how a
Catholic native Basutoland servant
baptized his dying master was reveal
ed at the inquest of Dr. George Her-
tig, held November 3. The story re
ceived considerable attention through
out the world, the secular papers er->
roneously terming the baptism “the
last rites of the Catholic Church.” The
servant, named Frederick, is a mem
ber of the Roma Mission, Basutolahd,
South Africa. His simple account
created great news interest.
After describin gthe fall of the car
into a deep raevine at Bains Kloff, he
continued, “I felt to see if I was in
jured and then went to look for the
doctor. I found him lying on his
face. I laid my hand on his head and
said, ‘Doctor, do you wish to be bap
tized?,’ because I saw he was dying
and wished to join him to God. He
agreed and I found water running
from the engine and used it qn him
and asked God to have mercy on
him.” The doctor died from his in
juries October 25. Rescuers were
astounded that the native boy had es
caped serious injury.
Roma is in the Vicariate Apostolic
of Basutoland, South Africa, which
contains 53,130 Catholics in a total
population of 500,000. The Oblates of
Mary Immaculate are in charge.
ADMIRAL’S CONVERT
WIFE LEAGUE OFFICIAL
Mrs. Storey, Canada, Enter
ed Church With Husband
OTTAWA, Ont.—Mrs. A. E. Storey,
wife of Admiral Storey, has been ap
pointed National Convener of study
clubs of the Catholic Women’s
League, it was announced this week
by Mrs. M. J. Lyons, Dominion
president. This is a new office in
the Catholic Women’s League.
Mrs. Storey was born in New !
Zealand and received her education i
in Germany. She later went to Kng- j
land, where, in 1394 with her bus- I
band, she became a Catholic .after
receiving instructions from the Rev.
Father Alphonsus Coventry, O. E.
“The plan of reorganization of the
office of Education has been complet
ed and is in process of execution,”
says the secretary, begining the dis
cussion of educational matters in his
report. “Its principle is the establish
ment of the Office of Education as
a research organization rather than
an administrative agency. It will
transfer to other agencies its present
administrative activities so far as
possible and concentrate on fact find
ing and research in the many fields
of education. In the past it has
been the administrator of the educa
tional system of Alaska. As rapid
ly as may be that responsibility
should be transferred to other agen
cies more local to Alaska. It has,
through an anomalous development,
become the custodian of the Alaskan
reindeer through its efforts to assist
the Alaskan natives to become self-
supporting. Care of the reindeer
will be transferred to more appropri
ate channels. The energies of the oi—
fice will thus be devoted to its prop
er functions of investigation and
publication of data designed to be of
assistance to local authorities in
improving school standards. It will
have an administrative division, un
der a chief clerk; a division of edu
cational research and investigation,
imder an assistant commissioned; a
division of publications, under an ed
itor-in-chief; a library division, un
der a librarian; an educational ser
vice division, under a service chief;
and a division of major educational
service, under the comissioner him
self. Known in the past as a bu
reau, its present dissociation from
administrative burdens will be mark
ed by a change of name. Hereafter
it will be known as the Office of
Education.
“Local government in education,”' 1
he continues, “is, in my opinion, the
keystone of proper training for cit
izenship by universal public educa
tion. A unique distribution of the
taxing power, so that the majority of
the taxes have been raised and
spent in local districts and States
and only a modest percentage out
side of those for war and its after
effects has come from the Washing
ton Government, has permitted a
wide ranee of development in the
public schools.
prolonged period of privately operat
ed and later privately endowed insti
tutions of higher learning. These
private institutions have provided a
constant stimulation for State insti
tutions of equal rank. The hand of
centralized government has been
largely kept off the schoolteacher
and the schoolroom. In some areas
absence of a proper sense of self-gov
ernment, financial disability, and a
lack of organizing power have pro
vided some dark spots. A suggestion
has been frequently made that a na
tional mechanism should be set up
to bring these dark spots up to the
average level of the country. Cor
rection of abuses is a poor method
of administration.
“There is a distinct menace in the
centralization in the National Gov
ernment of any large educational
scheme. Abnormal power to stan
dardize and crystalize education
which would accompany financial
power would be more damaging to
local aspiration and local self-re
spect and to State government and
State self-respect than any assistance
that might come from the funds.
We cannott rise higher than our
source. That source in government
with us is local. There is a dis
tinct place for research and the dis
semination of information in the ad
ministrative side of education in the
National Government but it should
not be recognized as an administra
tive position with large funds at its
disposal. A department of educa
tion similar to the other departments
of the Government is not required.
An adequate position for education
within a department and with suf
ficient financial support for its ro-
seraeh, survey, and other work, is
all that is needed. That is the aim
of the newly reorganized Office of
Education and that will be in its
position in this department.
“The office will give increasing at
tention to the possibilities of the use
of radio in education. To that end
a series of conferences have been*
organized and are proving of value.
The radio constitutes an entirely new
force, giving practically continem-
wide range to the voice and the mu
sical instrument and, hence, to lec
tures and features not otherwise
available to rural classrooms. It
seems inevitable that great use must
be found for tire radio in our pub
lic educational system. It will render
it possible to choose the most ex
pert lecturers and to have their au
diences in many places—homes and
classrooms instead of one hall. It has
been used until recently largely for
entertainment and amusement, but It
passing out of that stage into that of
community and domestic utility. Its
possibilities in the field of education
will be closely followed by the Of*
There have, fortu- fice of Education and its use fur-
nately, been nc national universities. ( ihered through consideration by the
State universities developed after a Radio Education Conference.
health. Of course loafing with your ! £r- Bognor. England. YS S con-
mind going is not spiritual medita- i hrmed P y Cardinal Herbert \ aughn,
tion but it is on the way to be a Archbishop of .Westminister. Sue
came to Canada in 1912 and took up
her residence in Guelph, where she
remained until 1928, when she came
to Ottawa.
Mrs. Storey has taken an active
part, in Catholic women's movements
in England and Canada. She was
the first president of the Guelph
sub-diyision of the Catholic Women's
i League, second Diocesan president of
' the Hamilton sub-division. She has,
held the position of convener of
education for the Ottawa sub-division
up until the time of her appointment
as National Convener of study clubs.
way
virtue. Harriman, railway wizard,
was making a tour of inspection and.
with a companion, came upon a head
man who had his up thinking. Said
the companion on leaving: “Harriman
you’re not going to keep that man
in that job are you?” Said the chief
“Yes. If he were fussing with de
tails I’d fire him.” Now reflection, as
a devout activity of the soul, is not
the American business man's state of
being, but better he if he could
purposely enter its realm. Ai) emi
nent* and venerated personage is
Pope Pius XI, who is being identi
fied with extraordinary events. To
his prelates throughout the world
His Holiness has addressed the En-
clclical saying:
“T ie greatest malady of the mod
ern age and the source of the ills
we all deplore, is the lact of re
flection, which with the constant and
truly feverish pursuit of all external
things, the unbridled quest for rich
es and pleasures which gradually
weaken in souls all noble ideas and
immerses them in things transitory
and earthly, does not permit them to
rise to the contemplation of the eter
nal truths of the divine laws of God.
Few would question the wisdom of
the utterance of this churchly schol
ar, observer and paternal counselor
of hundreds of millions—‘the great
est malady of the modern age is
the lack of reflection.’ ”
J. GILMOR: SMITH,
President, Charleston Board of
Trade. “Oldest Board of Trade in
America.”
JACKSONVILLE C. D. OF A.
IN FIRST 1930 MEETING
(Special to The Bulletin)
JACKSONVILLE, Fla.—Mrs. G. H.
McIntyre, grand regent of Court Im
maculate Conception, Catholic
Daughters of America, presided at the
first 1930 meeting of the organization,
at which plans for the coming year
were outlined A program of enter
tainment, arranged by a committee
headed by Mrs. A. H. Alfers, follow
ed at the club auditorium.
DR. JOLLY MEDAL TO
GO TO NOTRE DAME
Bishop Q’Hern Still
Chaplain of Prison
Rochester Prelate Retains
Post Held Before Elevation
McKENNA-GARVIN
Marriage Solemnized at St,
Joseph’s, Macon
(By N. C. W. C. News Service.)
PROVIDENCE. R. I.—Dr. Ellen
Ryan Jolly, of Pawtucket, R. I., has
provided that upon her death, the
Cross Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice, which
she received January 5th from the
hands of the Rt. Rev. William A.
Hickey. Bishop of Providence, will
go to the University of Notre Dame.
Dr. Jolly, who is believed to be the
first woman in Rhode Island to re
ceive this Papal decoration, is the
only woman ever to receive the de
gree of Doctor of Laws from Notre
Dame.
The Cross Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice
was awarded to Dr. Jolly in recogni
tion of her efforts to secure the site
in Washington, D. C.. on wich the
Ladies Auxiliary of the Ancient Or
der of Hibernians erected the monu
ment to the Nuns of the Battlefield.
The monupment was unveiled in 1924.
This event was followed by the pub
lication of “The Nuns of the Battle
field” by Dr. Jolly.
SCOTTISH BENEDICTINE
CALLED TO U. S. POST
(By N. C. W. C. News Service)
LONDON — Dom Swithun Bell. O.
S. B., has been recalled from the
English mission by the new Abbot of
Fort Augustus and is being sent at
an early date to the Priory, Ports
mouth, Rhode Islant. He belongs to
the Fort Augustus Abbey, Scotland,
and has been serving the missions
at Dowlais, South Wales and St.
Mary’s, Leyland, Lancashire.
(By N. C. W. C. News Service)
ROCHESTER. N. Y,-The Rt. Rev.
John Francis O'Kern, Bishop of Roch
ester, is to be reappointed chaplain
of the Monroe County jail, an office
We has held for the past 15 years.
Bishop O’Hern began his ministra
tions at the county jail 20 years ago,
and became its chaplain five years
later. When the Chaplain was conse
crated the third Bishop of Rochester
on March 19 last, the Monroe County
Board of Supervisors thought that lie
would then be unable, because of his
many new duties, to continue in of
fice. When he was asked concerning
the matter, however, Bishop O’Hern
said it would be a pleasure to con
tinue as chaplain, and the Board of
Supervisors promptly agreed to re-
apoint him to that office.
ST. JOSEPH’S DEFEATS
WASHINGTON ALL-STARS
Diocesan Home Wins Fine
Victory in Holiday Contest
(Special to The Bulletin)
WASHINGTON, Ga. — St. Joseph's
Home pranced into the athletic lime
light here January 7, by defeating
the Washington All-Stars 13 to 7, in a
hard fought and well played game.
Parker and Bremer made the St. Jo
seph touchdowns, while Williams
scored for Washington. Bob Van
Houten and Joe Stephens, backfield
and line coaches of the Marist elev
en in Atlanta, journeyed down to
Washington to put the finishing
touches to the St. Joseph eleven,
which is directed by Father Thom
as L. Finn, pastor of St. Josephs
Church. The lineup was: St. Jo
seph's: Barthelmess and Jones, ends;
Riley and Gant tackles; Parker and
Beauchea, guards; Forehand, quar
terback; Parker, Wise and Bremer,
backs. Washington: Sutton and
Wickersham, ends; David and Smith,
tackles; Farr and Callaway, guards;
Norman, center; Joles, quarterback;
Krumbein, Gresham and Williams,
backs.
(Special lo The Bulletin)
MACON. Ga.—Rev. F. J. Clarkson,
S. J., pastor of St. Joseph's Church,
officiated here at the irr.rriage of
Miss Anastasia McKenna, daughter
of Mr. and Mrs. W. A. McKenna, and
John Calder Garvin. A nuptial mass
followed the ceremony. Miss Mary
McKenna was maid of honor, Theron
J. Scbaupp best man and William
A. McKenna, Jr., William C. Barker,
Alton P. Heck and Charles Lanier,
ushers. The bride was given in mar
riage by her father, William A. Mc
Kenna. After the wedding break
fast Mr. and Mrs. Garvin left on a
wedding trip to Washington and the
East; on their return they will live
in Macon where the families of both
bride and groom are widely known.
MSGR. JAMES P. HOLDEN
DIES IN BALTIMORE
(By N. C. W. C. News Service.)
BALTIMORE—The Rt. Rev. .Tames
P. Holden, former pastor of the
Church of St John the Evangelist,
who had been ill since 1927. died Jan
uary 5th at Baltimore. A requiem
high Mass, celebrated for him by the
Rt. Rev. Magr. John J. Murray, pas
tor of St. Elizabeth's Church, was
attended by the Most Rev. Michael J.
Curley, Archbishop of Baltimore, the
Rt. Rev. John M. McNamara, auxi
liary Bishop of Baltimore, ten mon
signori and more than 100 priests.
Monsignor Holden had been confined
to a hospital since shortly after he
was stricken, and for months pre
vious to his death was deprived by
weakness of all his priestlv duties.
SAVANNAH AUXILIARY.
A. 0. H., PLANS BANQUET
(Special to The Bulletin.)
SAVANNAH, Ga.—Mrs. J. J. Clancy
is chairman of the committee in
charge of the annual St. Brigde’s
Day banquet at the Savannah Hotel
February 4th, plans for which were
made at the recent meeting of the
Ladies Auxiliary, A. O. H., which
also installed its recently elected
officers at the meeting. The Auxi
liary will sponsor a card party Jan
uary 24th,