Newspaper Page Text
MAY 19, 1934
THE BULLETIN OF THE CATHOLIC LAYMEN’S ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA
SEVEN
Facts, Logic Led Him Into
Church, John Moody Asserts
They Proved to Him Exist
ence of God, Divinity of
Christ and Foundation of
Church by Christ
(By N. C. W. C. News Service)
WASHINGTON — Telling his au
dience of Catholics and non-Catho-
lics that once he had “grasped the
great underlying doctrines of the
Catholic Church, all those seeming
ly detached dogmas, which are us
ually the stumbling blocks for non-
Catholics, fell logically into place and
offered no further difficulty,” John
Moody, nationally-known layman
and convert, delivered an address on
“Why I Became a Catholic” at a
meeting here of the Convert’s
League of the Catholic Daughters of
America. The Most Rev. John M.
McNamara, auxiliary bishop of Bal
timore, presided at the meeting.
Mr. Moody, who is president of
Moody’s Investors Service, began his
address by telling some of the more
frequently expressed opinions of non-
Catholic friends regarding his con
version. It w y as attributed, he said,
to his “love of pageantry and pomp”,
his impulsiveness; he was “enticed
into the Church by a plotting Jesuit
priest”; it was “his escape from the
realities of life”; he was “getting old
and childish—his mind must be de
caying.”
ROME BRANCH, C.L.A.,
WILL MEET SUNDAY
B. S. Fahy President of
Group in Georgia’s Young
est Parish
(Special to The Bulletin)
ROME, Ga.—The Rome branch of
the Catholic Laymen’s Association of
Georgia, in St. Mary’s parish, of
which the Rev. Joseph G. Cassidy is
pastor, will hold its annual meeting
Sunday afternoon at five o’clock.
State President Alfred M. Battey
and Richard Reid, publicity director,
will attend the meeting. B. S. Fahy,
one of Rome’s leaders in business and
civic affairs, is president of the Rome
branch, in Georgia’s youngest par
ish.
THE FIRST FRUITS
OF BIRTH CONTROL
Decline in Population Brings
Mounting Per Capita Debt
DIOCESE OF SAVANNAH
BISHOP’S HOUSE
Savannah, Ga.
My Dear People:
Your Bishop asks you to help him educate our
students for the priesthood. Even in the cities we have
not a sufficient number of priests. And the poor places
of the diocese are in many cases almost wholly neglected.
Remember that without priests we have no Sacraments,
no Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, no Churches.
Last year we received in the annual Collection
$3,068.85. We spent $4,400.00.
I beg of you in your charity to help towards provid
ing priests not only for the cities, but for all Georgia.
I pray that the Holy Spirit may bring you His seven
fold Gifts and that He may remain with you forever.
Faithfully yours in Christ,
“Now it will be noticed,” he said,
*'that not a single one of these critics
gives any consideration to the idea
that one may have become a Catholic
for the very simple reason that he
had found Catholicism to be true—or
believed he had found it to be true—
end everything contradictory to it
false.”
Pointing out that it was an objec
tive and not a subjective experience
which turned his thoughts toward the
Catholic Church. Mr. Moody said: “I
decided to dig into this seemingly
fantastic religion by the same objec
tive methods that had made me ‘fat
with facts’ in Wall Street. And this
is why I sometimes say that Wall
Street led me into the Catholic
Church. I would first try to find
and examine the foundations df this
strange objective religion; it would
be time enough to pass judgment on
the details after I had ascertained
the strength or weakness of the base.”
His investigations, Mr. Moody said,
demonstrated to him that Catholic
Christianity, unlike all other faiths, is
built on a foundation of concrete,
provable facts. The first of these, he
said, is that the existence of God is
not a mere assumption or postulate of
“faith” or “hope”, but can be de
monstrated and proved by human
reason. The second fact, he referred
to is the Catholic contention that Je
sus Christ was the Son of God. The
Catholic interpretation of the Sav
iour’s life on earth and of His teach
ings is completely and wholly true,
Mr. Moody said, pointing out that it
is supported by a weight of objec
tive evidence which “has not been
dislodged one iota after 19 centuries
of controversy.
“I. for one, could not get away
from this line of reasoning. And by
the same token I could not deny the
fact that Christ had founded a visi
ble Church and made Peter its head;
that he had promised to be with this
Church to the end of time and to
guard it from teaching error. And
this being so, then this Church must
be in existence still, its head must
be the successor of Peter, and as a
teacher of faith and morals, it must
necessarily possess infallibility. This
Church must be one Church and not
several; it must teach what Christ
taught, and nothing else. And the
only living Church which met these
requirements was the Catholic
Church. There was no other.”
Returning to the dogmas of the
Catholic Church, Mr. Moody told how
he came to accept them. “I too,” he
said, “was sure I could never accept
them all. How. then, did I come to
accept them? Only because I dug
through the wall of the city to see
for myself what was really within.
What I found inside were several
things which fascinated me—among
them being something called the doc
trine of the Supernatural, to which
is joined the doctrine of Grace, and
also something called the Communion
of Saints. And for me at least, these
doctrines turned out to be the key to
everything else.”
Mother
By FATHER JEROME, O. S. B.
To North and South . . . around
you,
From East to mellow West,
Her glory beams as ever
By all the world caressed.
Each daughter, son, is brim
ming
With wonderment elate
That a frail woman ventured
So unafraid to wait
Beside long, pain-racked hour,
And there, with bated glee,
Swung wide life’s golden
portals
For helpless you and me.
(For Mothers Day, ISM)
(From the University of Notre Dame
Religious Bulletin.)
A recent study shows that South
Bend’s birth rate dropped from 25 per
thousand in-1920 to 14 in 1933. We are
informed that this drop parallels that
of the nation as a whole. The South
Bend News Times, commenting on
this condition, remarks: “Had South
Bend’s rate continued at the 1928 lev
el there would at the present time be
1,777 more youngsters in the city who
would have needed medical attention,
kindergarten, clothes, food, and even
tually another school or two, with
the consequent employment of more
teachers, not to mention the labor
and materials in building the schools
themselves.”
That’s only the start. Birth control
advocates have been filling our ears
with nasty propaganda about the
economic need of controlling popula
tion. Cutting down the population
has destroyed jobs, markets for food,
and the like, and has increased tax-,
ation and public debt. One thought
we wish to add is this: the burden of
paying the debt incurred today is go
ing to fall on the shoulders of the
boys and girls,the young men and wo
men of today, and it is going to be a
heavier burden by virtue of the low
er population, which will give a high
er per capita debt, and it will have
to carry on the expense of over
building indulged in during recent
years. Selfishness always overreaches.
“Legion of Decency” Motion
Picture Campaign Growing
u
Legion of Decency
in Raleigh Diocese
»
(Special to The Bulletin)
RALEIGH, N. C.—In line with oth
er members of the American hier
archy, the Most Rev. William J. Ha-
fey, D. D., Bishop of Raleigh, foster
ed the “Legion of Decency” in the
diocese by the establishment of the
Legion in each parish as a means of
combating the evils attached to many
current motion pictures. From over
the diocese gratifying results have
been recounted, indicating an active
and widespread co-operation on the
part of the Catholic laity in laboring
for a better type of cinema produc
tions. The Raleigh Times editorially
comemnted on the work of the Bish
ops in this matter, advancing the
opinion that such action is the most
effective method for effecting re
forms in the motion picture industry.
The Effect of the Work of
Georgia’s Catholic Laymen
From an Address Delivered in Chicago to the N. C. C. M.
National Convention by Simon Baldus, Managing
Editor of Extension Magazine.
The South is generally considered prejudiced and
bigoted. This is a state of mind one may expect to find
wherever Catholics are numerically negligible—a decid
ed minority, as we are in the Southern states. I believe,
though, that within recent years a change for the better
has taken place. There are still sections where there is
a great deal of animosity towards the Catholic Church
and clergy to be found; still people who, if not actively,
at least passively hate everything that is Catholic. But
it is not so pronounced as it once was. In one state —
Georgia—a tremendous change has taken place. Some
years ago a Catholic Laymen’s Association was organiz
ed there and through the vigilance and intelligent action
of its members broke down the ancient barrier of preju
dice and misinformation and established a most affable
attitude towards Catholics among the people of Georgia.
They did this chiefly by keeping in touch with the Press
of the state.
They subscribed for practically every paper — at
least all the important ones—carefully watching then-
editorials, special articles and news items, and whenever
anything unfair or offensive to Catholics was published
in any of them, the editor’s attention was called to it in
a courteous, gentlemanly way; the correct interpretation
was given, or the correct information or version was
provided; and in nearly all cases the editors played fair.
Today the entire Press of the State of Georgia can
be said to be exceedingly fair to Catholics, thanks to the
intelligent methods pursued by the Catholic Laymen’s
Organization of Georgia. What has been accomplished
there can be duplicated in other states where similar
conditions prevail. (Parenthetically I’ll say that con
troversy was not indulged in. I consider controversy,
generally speaking, as not only ineffective but often
harmful to us).
Pledges Against Indecent
Pictures Are Being Signed
From Coast to Coast
WASHINGTON. — Action by addi
tional diocesan groups in every sec
tion of the country marked the prog
ress of the campaign being waged
against indecent motion pictures. “Le
gion of Decency” pledges are being
distributed to parish organizations
and to individuals, ’and pastors, from
their pulpits, are asking all Catholics
to refuse to attend films which fail to
come up to proper moral standard.
The Most Rev. Michael J. Gallagher,
Bishop of Detroit, addressed a letter
to members of the clergy calling “all
decent-minded citizens to joint action
in cleaning and disinfecting this fear
ful and constant menace to the mor
als of the nation and the purity of
heart of innocent childhood”.
Addressing a congregation of more
than 500 persons in SS. Cyril and
Methodius Church, Slovak, Ark., the
Most Rev. John B. Morris, Bishop of
Little Rock, said:
“I consider the salacious motion
picture the most demoralizing influ
ence of the present day.” He asked
that every Catholic in the diocese join
the “Legion of Decency” and sign
the pledges that are being distributed.
IN SPOKANE the Diocesan Coun
cils of Catholic Men and Catholic
Women are co-operating with the
Most Rev. Charles D. White, Bishop
of Spokane, in launching the legion
movement in that diocese. The outline
being followed is that formulated by
the Episcopal Committee on Motion
Pictures.
BISHOP GERKE, of Tucson, has
arranged that all pastors distribute the
pledges, have them signed and re
turned to his office by May 15.
THE SAN DIEGO Council of Cath
olic Women has made public the text
of a letter addressed to the motion
picture producers of the country out
lining a program of decency in film
production.
SODALISTS are. urged to partici
pate in the campaign for clean mov
ies in a call issued by The Queen’s
Work, published by the Jesuit Fathers
at St. Louis, and a similar appeal has
been made by Mariana, publication of
the Student Sodality Conference of
Western New York, Pennsylvania and
Ontario.
IN DENVER one hundred thousand
copies of the pledge of the “Legion
of Decency were distributed
throughout the Diocese to be signed
at the order of the Most Rev. Urban
J. Vehr, Bishop of Denver. The
pledges were printed by The Register,
diocesan weekly.
Copies of an article written for The
Ecclesiastical Review by the Most
Rev. John J. Cantwell, Bishop of Los
Angeles-and San Diego, showing the
extent of evil influences in the mo
tion picture industry, were sent to all
priests in Colorado.
ALBANY has given enthusiastic
and widespread response to the Cru
sade for Clean Movies launched in
this diocese by the Most Rev. Edmond
F. Gibbons, Bishop of Albany. Priests
in many parishes have appointed
committees to co-operate in the cru
sade. Sermons were delivered in ev
ery church on Clean Movie Sunday,
May 6. During the following week
speakers addressed the children in
the parochial schools, explaining the
purposes of the crusade. Organizations
of Catholic men and women adopted
resolutions supporting the campaign.
METHODISTS CO - OPERATE —
Seventy congregations of the Meth
odist Episcopal Church in the Fresno-
Glendale district have joined in the
campaign launched by Catholics of
the Diocees of Monterey-Fresno to
crusade for clean motion pictures.
‘MICHIGAN CATHOLIC’
RECOMMENDS FILMS
Gives List of Unobjectionable
Motion Pictures
The following list of motion pic
tures has been recommended by The
Michigan Catholic, official organ of
the Diocese of Detroit, after a care
ful scrutiny of various film services
and reviews:
Take the Stand (Adults), I’ll Tell
the World, Twenty Million Sweet
hearts, The House of Rothschild,
Stand Up and Cheer, City Limits, Bot
toms Up, The Voice of Ireland.
Previously recommended: Chance at
Heaven, One is Guilty, Rhythm in the
Air, No Greater Glory The Man
Trailer, A Voice in the Night Beggars
in Ermine You’re Telling Me Mur
der in Trinidad Harold Teen Melody
in Spring Wild Cargo The Countess
of Monte Cristo David Harum Death
Takes a Holiday The Cat and the Fid
dle, Little Women. Cradle Song, One
Man’s Journey, Alice in Wonderland,
Lady for a Day, The Show-off, As
the Earth Turns, Three on a Honey
moon, Son of Kong, In the Money,
Invisible Man, This Side of Heaven,
Midshipman Jack, Counsellor-at-
Law, Duck Soup, The Lost Patrol,
Spitfire, As Husbands Go, Beloved,
The Right to Romance, Her Sweet
heart, The Line-up, The Ninth Guest,
The Crime Doctor, Before Midnight,
Massacre, Let’s Fall in Love, The
Poor Rich. King of Wild Horses, Eski
mo, Straightaway, The Chief, Devil
Tiger, The Fighting Code, Hold the
Press, I Am Suzanne ,Keep ’Em Roll
ing The Kennel Murder Case, Love
Past Thirty, Rider of Justice, Once to
Every Woman, Through the Centu
ries, Six of a Kind, Fog, Fugitive
Lovers, Man of Two Worlds, Thirsty
Swords and The World Changes.
Recent Deaths of
Catholic Notables
THE REV. FRANCIS A. BRIDGE,
Maryknoll missionary who returned
to New York a few months ago after
five years in Manchuria, died late in
April at the age of 39. He contracted
his fatal illness on the Manchurian
missions. Bom at Midland, Pa., he
was an alumnus of St. Vincent Col
lege and a World War Overseas vet-
ARTHUR CUNNINGHAM, control
ler of the City of New York, and
widely known as an able economist
and administrator and an exemplary
Catholic layman, died suddenly May
5 at the age of 40.
FATHER ALEXIS MALLON, S. J.,
famed archeologist and Biblical stu
dent, first director of the Pontifical
Biblical Institute, died late in April
in Bethlehem at the age of 59. He had
lived in the Holy Land 21 years.
BISHOP HURAULT of Nancy in
France was fatally stricken after a
meeting of deans of his Diocese. He
was 60 years old and during the war
served in the hospital corps of the
French Army.
COUNT EMMANUAL DE LAS
CASAS, one o fthe outstanding de
fenders of the Church in the dark
days in France a generation ago, is
dead at the age of 80. He was a
member of the Senate since 1903. Of.
fered a post in the cabinet in 1917, he
refused unless diplomatic relations
would be resumed with the Holy See;
although it was not done at the time,
he lived to see his wish fulfilled.
THE REV. J. J. FERDINAND, S.S.J.
bom in Baltimore in 1860, and for 38
years a missionary among the color
ed people of the South as a Jose-
phite Father, died late in April at
Hot Springs, Ark.
FR. ZEPHYRIN ENGELHARDT,
noted Franiiscan historian of the
Padres of California, died May 1, at
Santa Barbara, Cal., at the age of 82.
Father Zephryn was bom in Kentuc
ky in 1851. and entered the Fran
ciscans in Cincinnati in 1872, 62 years
ago.
4 Colored Priests to
Be Ordained May 24
By Bishop Gerow at Bay St.
Louis, Miss.
(By N. C. W. C. News Service)
BAY ST. LOUIS. Miss.—The first
colored priests of the Society of the
Divine Word will be ordained at St.
Augustine’s Seminary here amirl
elaborate ceremonies May 23. The
Most Rev. Richard O. Gerow. Bishop
of Natchez, will officiate at the cere
monies.
The four newly ordained priests
will celebrate their first Masses the
following day. Bishop Gerow will
preside on that occasion and the Most
Rev. Daniel F. Desmond, Bishop of
Alexandria, will preach the sermon.
The ordinations and first Masses
will take place in an outdoor sanctu
ary. Additional altars will be placed)
in the open-air sanctuary for the user
of the new priests.
The new priests will be sent out to
labor among colored people.