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SIX
THE BULLETTIN OF THE CATHOLIC LAYMEN’S ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA
DECEMBER 16, 1933
THE BULLETIN
The Official Organ of the Catholic Laymen's
Association of Georgia
RICHARD REID, Editor
1409 Lamar Building Augusta, Georgia
Subscription Price $2,00 Per Year
Published monthly by the Publicity Department
with the Approbation of the Most. Rev. Bishops of
Raleigh, Charleston. Savannah. St. Augustine, Mobile,
Natchez and Nashville and of the Rt. Rev. Abbot.
Ordinary of Belmont.
FOREIGN ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE
George J. Callahan. 240 Broadway. New York
ASSOCIATION OFFICERS FOR 1931-1932
ALFRED M. BATTEY, Augusta President
J. J. HAVERTY, K. S. G., Atlanta .. First Vice-President
J. B. McCALLUM. Atlanta Secretary
THOMAS S. GRAY, Augusta Treasurer
RICHARD REID. Augusta Publicity Director
MISS CECILE. FERRY, Augusta. Asst. Publicity Director
Vol, XIV.December 16, 1933.No. 21.
Entered as second class matter June 15, 1921. at the Post
Office at Augusta, Ga., under act of March, 1879. Ac
cepted for mailing at special rate of postage provided
for in Section 1103, Act. of October 3, 1917, authorized
September 1. 1921.
Capt. P. H. Rice, K. C. S. G.
I N ITS previous issue The Bulletin devoted its leading
editorial to the president emeritus of the Catholic
Laymen’s Association of Georgia, Capt. P. H. Rice,
K. C. S. G. In those happy days we were spared the
knowledge that when The Bulletin appeared again its
leading editorial would be again devoted to Captain
Rice, not as president emeritus, but as our late and la
mented leader.
The death of Captain Rice comes to the Catholic Lay--
men’s Association with desolating force. Although he
retired as president at the Macon convention, the three
weeks intervening before his death were filled with la
bors for this Association as happy and as enthusiastic as
in any period of his activity for tlie organization.
He spent complete days at the Association office, plac
ing himself at the complete disposal of his successor,
President Battey. The day before death claimed him, he
was at the Association headquarters for several hours.
The day of his death, an indisposition made it inadvisa
ble for him to attempt a contemplated trip to Savannah,
but twice that morning he had messages phoned to the of
fice in connection with Association work he was do
ing. The second of these messages was practically his
last word. In a few minutes he was dead.
It is difficult to find consolation at such a time, but
there is consolation to The Bulletin in the thought that
it did not wait until Captain Rice was dead to pay him
tribute, and that he read with humble appreciation in the
previous issue of The Bulletin the following estimate of
his life and services:
"It is seldom in the history of the Church in the United
States that one has achieved such a record in lay activi
ty as Capt. P. H. Rice, K. C. S. G., who retired at the
Macon convention after serving the Catholic Laymen’s
Association of Georgia as president for fourteen years.
“For over fifty years Captain Rice has been active in
parish, local, Diocesan and national Catholic move
ments. In his younger days he was prominent in Catho
lic dramatics. For many years he was captain of the
Sacred Heart Cadets in Augusta and in the Diocesan
temperance movement of which it was a part; there is no
way of estimating the number of young men he influ
enced along the path of sobriety and useful citizenship,
many of whom would have followed the line of least
jesistance if it were not for his interest and the bene
ficial effects of the movement of which he was for
decades the leading factor in Augusta.
"He was a pioneer member of the Knights of Columbus
3n the Southeast, and his efforts were largely instru
mental in the introduction of the order in this section
pnd in its spread. He was the first grand knight of Pat
rick Walsh Council, Augusta, serving in that capacity
longer than any other man or even group of two or three
grand knights; he was grand knight during the war when
thousands of Catholics came to the city with the Penn
sylvania troops at Camp Hancock. It was mainly
through his efforts that the Knights of Columbus pro
vided facilities for their welfare. As state deputy of the
Knights of Columbus, as Master of the Fourth Degree for
the Carolinas and Georgia, and as a member of the
supreme board of directors, he achieved a national
reputation in K. of C. circles.
"But it is as president of the Catholic Laymen's Asso
ciation of Georgia that Captain Rice is best known. The
Association itself is a development of work he started as
State deputy of the Knights of Columbus. No man was
more responsible than he for the association's organiza
tion, and no man has done more to win for it the reputa
tion its work has earned for it than he. A decade ago
his record in parish, diocesan and national Catholic ac
tivities won him Knighthood in the Order of St Gregory
the Great, with the rank of commander, yet perhaps his
best work hits been accomplished in the intervening
years. ...”
This tribute we leave unchanged. Other and more
eloquent pens and voices have lauded Captain Rice; no
such tribute to him is exrggerated, none undeserved. As
long as the Catholic Laymen's Association of Georgia ex
ists—and no one is more responsible for the prospect
of its continuous existence than he—so long will it hold
Captain Rice in grateful memory. It feels that it has
gained a new and powerful advocate before the
Throne of God. May God console his loved ones in
their sorrow. And may he rest in peace eternal.
Christmas, 1933
O NE year ago the world in general and the United
States in particular were overcast with clouds of
despair. Today the prospect is still misty, but frequent
gleams of sunshine dispell the gloom.
Dark as was the outlook twelve months ago, there
was every reason for hope and confidence. There was
no famine. War and pestilence had not laid their dead
ly hands upon the land. There was no problem which
the Christian principles of justice could not solve.
There would have been reason to despair had there
been no Babe born at Bethlehem to die on Calvary, and
to teach that in the sight of God all men are equal, and
all equally subject to His law.
When Our Lord came into the world, slavery was the
normal lot of an overwhelming majority of the people
of the civilized world. They had no rights. The poor
were scorned and shunned. The orphaned were left to
die or sold into a life worse than death. The ill and
the aged dragged cut their weary existence without sus
tenance or care.
Gradually the principles of Christ, propounded by the
Church, permeated society, increasing in influence, with
each generation'| They substituted feudalism for slav
ery, peasantry for feudalism. Christian principles with
their emphasis on the equality of man before God and
on the dignity of the human person are alone responsi
ble for the difference in status between the slave of
nineteen centuries ago and the worker of today.
These principles still are active, still are effective, and
conditions among the working people which would not
stir a murmur in the hearts of men in ancient pagan
times—and all the rich were in the working class then
—now stir the machinery of the government to action
to apply to industry what Is considered at least an ap
proach to the program of application of Christian princi
ples proposed as a solution for current problems.
How this particular application will develop is prob
lematical, with the country highly hopeful, but it does
indicate that Christian principles arc still active, and
still attacking the worst of the evils which yet remain.
This Christmas there is, therefore, unusual reason for
hope and for gratitude. Because Our Lord was bom in
Bethlehem nineteen hundred years ago, not only are we
given the heritage of eternal salvation by proving worthy
of it, but each succeeding generation finds the really
Christian world less a place of trial and tribulation, de
spite the lamentations of pessimists who do not know
history.
The Bulletin expresses the hope that its readers will all
share in fullest measure in the accumulated fruits of
nineteen hundred years of Christian civilization, and that
Our Lord will shower down upon them His Choicest
Gifts during a blessed Christmas and happy New Year.
The Need for Vigilance
A N Atlanta member of the Catholic Laymen’s Asso
ciation of Georgia sends us a copy of “a diabolic
oath taken by the postmaster-general, all assistant post-
masters-general, and the attorney general of the United
States.”
The "oath”, being distributed by mail, is nothing more
or less than the old fake "oath” of the Knights of Co
lumbus, for the distribution of which numerous persons
have been convicted of criminal libel; a Georgia woman
has served a jail sentence for circulating the hateful
forgery.
No one is paying any particular attention to the "oath”
now. But let its circulation continue, and let it go un
challenged, and, like the constant drop of water, it will
have a corroding effect
The Catholic Laymen’s Association is collecting evi
dence on the circulation of the hate-breeding "fake” oath,
the purpose of which is to create bigotry which can be
capitalized politically. We ask that all readers of The
Bulletin into whose hands copies of this fake "oath” or
other antiCatholic literature fall send it to the office of
Hie Bulletin with the envelope In which is was mailed,
where it is available, and with other data which may be
helpful in determining its point of origin.
Dixie Musings
The Audience With
the Holy Father
BY RICHARD REID
(Editor of The Bulletin. Catholic Lay
men’s Association of Georgia, and
President of the Catholic Press
Association.)
(Written Especially for N. C. W. C.
Christmas Supplement)
There is no place under the sun
where heaven seems to touch the
earth at so many points as in the
Eternal City, and no spot there where
one is more vividly conscious of this
awe-inspiring contact than in the ex
quisite and majestic spaciousness of
St- Peter’s and the Vatican.
Majestic and exquisite as St. Peter's
and the Vatican are, it is from the
Papacy that they derive their monu
mental importance; they bask in the
reflected glory of the Pope, the
Bishop of Rome, the Vicar of Christ
on Earth, Supreme Pontiff of the
Universal Church, Patriarch of the
West. Primate of Italy, Archbishop
and Metropolitan of the Roman Pro
vince, and Sovereign of Vatican
City.
Spiritual shepherd of the Church
and . its 350,000.000 members, ex-
officio head of the world's greatest
educational, hospitalization, eleemosy
nary and other systems, temporal
ruler of Vatican City, and the guiding
spirit in the world-wide effort to
lead the generation out of its chaos,
the present occupant of the See of
St Peter. His Holiness Pope Piux XI,
viewed even through unsympathetic
eyes, is second in intrinsic importance
to no other personage in the world.
MAGNETIC PERSONALITY
-A
Charity’s Standard Does Not Change
T HERE is no reason for anyone, and Catholics least of
all, getting excited about the controversy between
the Hon. Alfred E. Smith and the Rev. Charles E.
Coughlin.
In presenting his views, Governor Smith does not pre
tend that he is speaking for the Church, nor does Fath
er Coughlin claim to be the Church’s mouthpiece.
Neither the gold dollar nor the commodity dollar is
an article of Catholic faith. They are matters on which
uncanonized saints, now walking the earth, may have
honest differences of opinion.
It is unfortunate that the discussion has not been lim
ited to the economic principles involved, and that per
sonalities have been injected and herrings drawn across
the trail.
Honest discussion of the gold and commodity dollars
and other subjects uppermost in the public mind is bene
ficial to the country, and may help the president. It
is not improbable that the president needs some empha-
sit on the right to counterbalance the organized influ-
ence of the extreme left which would have government
printing presses turn out money by the bale.
The country needs clear thinking in all quarters, and
in Catholic circles in particular, knowing as we do that
we have the eternal principles which will solve the
current difficulties. Let each individual avoid getting
excited, and let us all take special precautions not to
mistake personalities for principles. .mm.i-.
But those who have the honor and
the privilege of an audience with the
Holy Father, however brief it may
be, are impressed deeply by the fact
that His Holiness is more than a
mighty personage; he is a profound
and magnetic personality.
It was my happiness as president of
the Catholic Press Association, to be
received by His Holiness in special
audience- The audience was not
lengthy—but one need not spend a
year under the dome of St Peter’s to
be awed by the magnificence of
Michaelangelo’s genius, nor a day
with the Holy Father to be touched to
the heart by the penetrating spirit of
Christ which he radiates. One’s re
action to its is as spontaneous as
that of the Bay of Naples to the
rising moon or of the glistening lakes
of Killamey to the first golden rays
of the morning sun.
It was a hot September noon that
the Very Rev. Msgr. Joseph A. Bres-
lin, the distinguished vice-rector of
the North American College, and I
left the college for the Vatican and
the audience. New York is hqme to
Monsignor Breslin, but he knows
Europe as a New Yorker knows the
subway. Priest and educator by
vocation, he is by avocation adviser,
counsel and friend to Americans visit
ing the Eternal City. Through streets
wide enough for motorcycles to pass,
then over broad boulevards, across
the Tiber and into the sacred con
fines of Vatican City and the Vatican
itself the taxicab rattled under the
burning rays of the sultry sun.
Monsignor Breslin's long and wide
acquaintance at the Vatican ever more
than his prelatial robes drew a salute
from the Swiss Guards and immediate
admission. We were escorted into the
Sala Clementina, a great hall, which
even then was thronged with thou
sands of people waiting to see His
Holiness, who was not scheduled to
get there for perhaps hours yet. Mon
signor Breslin introduced me to sev
eral Vatican officials before Palatine
Guards escorted us through a series
of tapestried rooms in whicn groups
of pilgrims were awaiting audiences
with the Holy Father.
0 nz o
1 RECEIVES ALL PILGRIMS I
O- O
It is the duty of the Swiss and Pala
tine Guards to protect the Vatican, to
prevent unwarranted intrusion. The
walls of the Vatican render a simi
lar service. The September sun—and
the September sun is the bete noir
of Roman weather—beat down relent
lessly, but these staunch walls as res
olutely hurled it back, protecting the
delicious coolness within. And the
spirit of the Vatican itself stood
guard at the gates, denying admit
tance to anything which might dis
turb its peace and serenity.
There were pilgrims from various
parts of the world waiting to be re
ceived that day, from nearly
every country in Europe, and from
as far away as Mexico and the Ar
gentine Republic. Certain Vatican at
taches, solicitous for the health of
His Holiness, have suggested to him
that because of his years—he is 76—
and the strain under which he is la
boring, especially during the Holy
Year, he should forego receiving pil
grimages
But the Holy Father good naturedly
turned aside the suggestion. The pil
grims come to Rome from every part
of the world, and wish to see the
Holy Father; he would not disappoint
them. It involves tedious walking
through the long corridors of the Vat
ican from room to room, for the Holy
Father ordinarily goes to meet the
pilgrimages; they do not come to him.
Many days it takes two or three hours,
during which he is continuously on
his feet, meeting the pilgrims, allow
ing hundreds and sometimes thou
sands to kiss his ring—it is manifest
ly impossible for him to allow this
privilege to all—and occasionally ad
dressing groups. It is a task which
might well tax the strength of one a
generation younger, but he recalls his
mountain climbing days, during which
he and three companions were the
first to cross the Zumsteinjoch, the
second highest pass in the Alps, and
he reassures his solicitous advisers by
saying "This is my exercise.”
The world knows the Holy Father as
personage; Rome knows him as a per
sonality, and regrets that the world
has not the pleasure and happiness
of knowing first hand the great qual
ities of mind and heart which im
pelled the members of the Sacred Col
lege to select him, a Cardinal only
eight months, as the successor of the
illustrious and saintly Pope Benedict
XV.
o
PAST THRONE ROOM
0-
I
o-
From time to time Vatican officials
or officers of the Pope's Noble Guards
conducted us from reception room to
room, each containing fewer persons^
until we reached the throne room,
where Pope Benedict XV received
President Wilson in 1919. There were
two other persons there. One more
move to an adjoining room, and Mon
signor Breslin and I were alone in the
particular audience chamber in which
we were to see the Holy Father.
It was similar to the throne room,
and to the other reception halls, cool,
shaded, tapestried, with rich red walls,
and green and white curtained win
dows. Tte details, however, were
wasted off this pilgrim, who was busy
trying to appear nonchalant pending
the arrival of His Holiness.
Monsignor Breslin has presented
hundreds and thousands of Americans
to the Holy Father, and knows His
Holiness as few in Rome do outside
of Vatican officials. Never, he says,
has he seen the Holy Father anything
but serene. It matters not what dif
ficulties confront him, what worries
weigh on his mind, he is always the
same unruffled, kindly soul.
We heard the sounds of persons
walking down the corridor. ‘‘The Holy
Father is coming,” Monsignor Breslin
said; we knelt down. An instant later,
he appeared at the entrance of the
reception room.
Garbed entirely in white, his chain
and pectoral cross furnishing the only
contrast, the Holy Father appeared of
medium height. His complexion was
ruddy when he came to the Vatican,
but his years away from his native
hills of Lombardy and the mountain
climbing he loved so well have taken
the ruddiness from his countenance
without apparently affecting his
health.
SEEMS MUCH YOUNGER |
o
Seventy-six years old, His Holiness
does not impress one as a man of age.
One who did not know the date of
his bjfth would be inclined to judge
him to be 15 pr even 20 years younger.
The tendency to attribute pneumonia
to the president every time he has a
cold is a custom on which Americans
have no monopoly, and the reports
about the Holy Father’s poor health
appear to be in the same class as the
premature announcement of Mark
Twain’s demise—greatly exaggerated.
His Holiness greeted Monsignor
Breslin graciously, and the Monsignor
then presented his companion, who,
he told the Holy Father, was president
of the Catholic Press Association of
the United States.
"Mr. Reid is from Chicago?” the
Holy Father asked Monsignor Bres
lin, in Italian, the language in which
audiences ordinarily are conducted,
although he speaks several languages
fluently and English quite well.
This inquiry reflects the Holy Fa
ther’s fund of information on diverse
matters, as well as his keen interest
in the Catholic Press. The Catholic
Press Assocaition has its headquarters
in Chicago. Its most recent conven
tion was held there in June. At the
mention of the Association, His Holi
ness immediately connected it with
Chicago.
Monsignor Breslin informed the Ho
ly Father that I was from Georgia,
and the editor of The Bulletin of the
Catholic Laymen’s Association of
Georgia.
"Ah, Georgia!” exclaimed His Holi
ness.. "The Catholic Laymen’s Asso
ciation! We give our special blessing
to your particular work."
Here is another indication of the
Holy Father’s comprehensive knowl
edge of Catholic activity throughout
the world. Monsignor Breslin later
commented on his instant reaction to
the mention of the Georgia work and
the familiarity with the movement it
revealed. •
| ASKS ABOUT CATHOLIC PRESS 1
0 o
If it were not the custom to call
the Pope the Holy Father, the term
might well have been coined for Pope
Pius XI. He seems to radiate sanc
tity, strong, Christ-like sanctity. And
1 have never met a more fatherly man
—a gracious, kindly, considerate, lov
ing father, without a suggestion of
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