The bulletin of the Catholic Laymen's Association of Georgia. (Augusta, Ga.) 1920-1957, January 29, 1938, Image 7

The bulletin of the Catholic Laymen's Association of Georgia., January 29, 1938, Image 7

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Newspaper Page TextJANUARY 29,-1938 THE BULLETIN OF THE CATHOLIC LAYMEN’S ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA SEVEN Communism in U, S. Involves Numerous Groups Once Frankly Revolutionary, Now It Conceals Its Purpose Survey Made at Request of Bishops Reveals Growth in Active Membership From 7,500 in 1929 to 40,000 in 1937, With Myriads of Non-Member Sympathizers (By N. C. W. C. News Service) Following are excerpts from “Communism in the United States: A survey”, a pamphlet with study out line published by the National Ca tholic Welfare Conference, 1312 Massachusetts Ave., N. W., Washington, D. C., presenting the findings in a re port of its Social Action Department of a survey made at the request of the General Meeting of the Bishops of the United States. The report points out the peril to which the American people are being subjecte d by Communism, gives facts and figures, and deals in detail with the subtle activities of the Communists in the United Front scheme. On the back cover are listed the.titles of eleven N. C. W. C. pamphlets, sev eral of which also deal with Com munism. Bishop Gannon Says Catholic Press Unmasked the Reds Its Other Services, Particularly During Recent Months, Recalled by Chairman of N.C.W.C. Press Department purposes; the baseless attempt to identify the Holy Father and the Church with fascism; the exposure of the untrue news messages suddenly released to the world from Rome, de claring the Holy Father on the side of Japan against China. (Continued From Page One) conflict. The secular press, all too eager for the sensational, became a comfortable vehicle of exaggeration and downright falsity. As the scheme developed, without correction by the secular press the N. C. W. C. News Service, with its world-wide facilities for collecting and disseminating news, set in oper ation a counterplan to secure the facts and the truth of every event. Then, week by week, our News Service flooded the American news field and, in fact, the world, with the truth of the Spanish situation. It challenged and disproved the sec ular press reports, pursued relentless ly the lies of propaganda and sup plied the editors of American Cath olic periodicals with facts, figures and testimony of incontrovertible eye-witnesses. The Catholic editors, taking advantage of this service, were able to expose the nefarious Red pro- pagrnda, to challenge the veracity of many articles in the secular press and to save our people from becom ing innocent victims of an easy plot to confuse and to distort American public opinion- As a result, the sec ular press has become quite cautious m accepting stories from Spain and more subdued in its careless attitude toward another nation. Let us look at Mexico! Here we find an age-old Catholic people sub jected to the taunts and abuses of a political clique for over ten years. Deprived of the rights due them by the natural law, and' at times pun ished by bitter persecution, these Mexican Catholics have appealed to the free institutions of America to hear their cause and restore their inalienable rights. The N. C. W. C. News Service and our American Catholic editors bave been most dili gent in presenting their case, in all its varied lights, to the American people and have crowned their ser vice by opening the way to Monte zuma, New Mexico, where a mag nificent Seminary has been estab lished to train the Mexican youth for the Holy Priesthood, to keep the Church alive and strong until the Holy Light of Freedom again dawns on their unhappy land. Let us look at Germany! Here we see twenty-three millions of German Catholics caught in the vise of Nazi Absolutism and suffering a subtle persecution as destructive and bitter as any in history. Their free Cath olic Press has been destroyed; their Catholic schools closed and many of their more courageous leaders either imprisoned or silenced. Outside the Holy Father, the strongest voice left to plead their cause before the human race is the N. C. W. C. News Service with its 467 journals and nine mil lion subscribers throughout the world. This we propose to continue until the scorn of an enlightened world will be turned on the powerful dictators of Germany and the iron fist of Naziism will relax its unjust persecution of a distinguished, a bril liant and a virtuous German Catholic, Protestant and Jewish people. Should this day happily arrive, the N. C. W. C. News Service and the Catholic Press Association will share largely in the victory. With what pride one calls to mind the manner in which the Catholic Press thwarted the shameless plan of the Red Spaniards to exploit the Basque children, in shipping them to the United States for propaganda On the constructive side, what a wealth of light and wisdom has the Catholic Press contributed to the per plexing economic and social problems of America, by explaining the Ency clicals of the Holy Father on labor and capital, on justice and charity. It has taught the blessings of peace in a world stubbornly bent on arma ment and war. It has kept burning brightly the lamps of good literature, of clean drama, of inspiring music and, -bove all, it has warmed and strengthened the souls of men with the counsels and precepts of the Holy Gospel of Christ during a dark period when so many were sorely tried by losses and discouragement, even unto despair. And now, my dear gentlemen of the Press, you seek from me further counsel in great leadership, in wield ing the pen during the current year. My counsel is simple, direct and Apostolic- Continue, with well-filled pens, your valiant fight in defense of the Holy Catholic Chinch and its mil lions of faithful worshippers, not only in America but throughout the world. Your plea is the plea of Christ. Your purpose is the union of men’s minds with God. There are times when we must go down into the valley to fight out with the enemy, our fundamental rights. Your place, however, is on the moun tain tops where you can cast your signal lights of God’s truth and rev elation to the people living in wide spread areas. Your mission is not to be constantly engrossed in economic, political or material questions. Your mission was established by no less a Person than Jesus Christ, Who said: “Going, therefore, teach ye all na tions.” The mission of the Catholic Press is to gain souls for Christ. You should always keep in mind, besides the defense of the Church, the dis semination of the truths of Christi anity for the purpose of winning souls for Christ. This is your mis sion; this is your glory. It seems that the masses of our people are awaiting something positive and cer tain in the form of religion. The chimes lie ^Slumbering in the bell until the stroke awakes them. In the United States, one hundred million souls are waiting to hear your message. For some tiipe, tbe human race, has unhappily sinned against God. It is now somewhat abandon ed by God and in great confusion, is “sitting in the darkness and the shadow of death.” We are being pre pared by God to receive again the simple, fundamental truths of Christianity and eternal salvation. In such an hour of history, the grace of God will flow abundantly like a del uge. Gentlemen of the Catholic Press, dip your pens in the Truth of Christ and write so that the love of God for human souls, and especially Amer ican souls, will shine through the pages of your journals. May we soon have the great joy of seeing the be ginning of the return or conversion of Americans to the beautiful sim plicity and goodness and virtue of the lowly Nazarene! The Communist Party is the Ameri can section of the Moscow Com munist International Party. It is the strongest, ablest and most active organization seeking common owner ship m the United States and seek ing it through a revolution led by a cohesive party. The Party, having a paper follow ing of some 50,000 East European im migrants when it was organized in' 1919 by left-wing Socialists, soon dwindled and until the Depression stayed around 7,500 members. During that time it was strongly revolu tionary, rigid in its ideology and methods and against all other organ izations and movements. During the worst of the Depression and before 1935, idea and practice re mained the same except that the Party emphasized agitational organ ization among the new unemployed and ex-soldiers and created tem porary bodies to lead them. O O I MOSCOW ORDERED CHANGE | o o Late in ’34 and definitely in ’35, under orders from Moscow it chang ed face. The rise of Hitler in a country where a strong Party flourished, the delay of the “revolu tion.” fear of suppression, and Rus sian foreign policy dictated the change. Now it wanted friends for the Party and friends for Russia. Its membership has passed from 26,000 in ’34 to 30,000 in ’35 to 41,000 in ’36 (minus an unknown leakage) and to a little over 40,000 in June, ’37 The Party is not a working people’s party but mostly one of intellectuals and white collar people. Manual labor is only one-third, of whom by far the most are in small industries. Only three in eight were union mem bers in ’36. Farmers are one in 27 members. One-third are women. Nearly half of the members—some 19 or 20,000—are in one city, New York and one State, California. An other 10,000 are scattered throughout up-State New York, Massachusetts, ’Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Wis consin and Minnesota. O O AMAZING ACTIVITY The few active members do an amazing amount of work. Rigid train ing and stern discipline, a compact few acting under orders, a form of organization that lets the Party reach any type of member quickly, a policy of attacking evils boldly, the creation of closely dependent organizations and the co-operation with every organization possible, a continued advocacy of popular reforms at a time when so many are confused and reconstruction so needed, a membership, sacrificing fiery, un scrupulous and obedient and a mes sianic theory, make of the Party a most dangerous weapon. At the center, a general committee under a Chairman and Secretary, and an inside policy committee, dictate the Party’s whole life in accord with orders from the Moscow central com mittee and offices. In turn, the American central com mittee controls equally rigidly local policy and officials. O — —O GROUP ORGANIZATION I o o At the center also are offices to care for different groups and dif ferent subjects: Propaganda, labor, women, foreign language groups, youth, Negroes, farmers, press, litera ture, war, imperialism and research. State and local organizations fol low the national plan. An organizer, a director of agitation, and a litera ture agent appear the minimum number of officials. Thus they have: Organization for voting and political agitation; organ ization; organization by place of work and place of living to be reached easily with Party orders either for general or special work; organization by groups or by other organizations- for the same purposes; secrecy; flex ibility. Party meetings now, it is reported, consist chiefly of plans of work and discussion of tactics with the em phasis on showing the connection be tween working for reforms and revo lution. Recruiting formerly was done by arguing that reform is hopeless and only revolution worthwhile. Now it is done by -arguing that reform has hope but will be fought and therefore revolution is finally necessary in eelf-defense. Party schools are a means both of recruiting and of training after re cruitment. According to the Bishops’ surveys, such schools are widespread wherever Communism is even mod erately strong. O O COMMUNIST GROUPS | 0 O One group of organizations it works with have come down from the first periods, although even some of these are being changed. These are chiefly under Communist offi cials, but always under Communists’ complete control. Young Communist League. 15,000 members, two-fifths of whom are in New York. Formerly a youth dup licate of the Party. Young Pioneers. Boys and girls— Eight to 15. Conducts camps and training schools. Friends of the Soviet Union (Also American-Russian Institute for Cul tural Relations with the Soviet Union.) Propaganda about Russia. Small. International Labor Defense. Legal and agitational defense of arrested Communists and selected other per sons especially from minorities, e. g., Scottsboro boys. International Workers’ Order. Very important. By far the strongest 100,000 members or more. A fraternal insurance society chiefly among for eigners and some Negroes. Complete Communist control. Labor Research Associates. An economic research bureau in New York to prepare books, pamphlets and periodicals. O O | UNITED FRONT GROUPS | o o The following are clearly United Front Organizations in that there is formal co-operation with Com munists. American League Against War and Fascism. Chief United Front Organ ization, 8,000 to 9,000 active members, but reaching many persons. North American Committee to Aid Spanish Democracy. An offshoot of the American League but with dif ferent officers. An example of the common method of founding new temporary organizations for tem porary purposes and getting new names on letterheads. Workers’ Alliance. A close federa tion of the unemployed, particularly those on relief. Mixed Socialist and Communist national officials, but the Communist is reported as more able. American Student Union. A mixed federation of Communist, Social and “liberal” student clubs. 20,000 mem bers. American Youth Congress. Started under anti-Communist auspices. Communists changed the policy. Mixed in control. National Negro Congress. Agitates for Negro, rights at periodical meet ings. Non-Communist program. Many churches and fraternal organ izations are represented. Minority but strong Communist influence. Writers’ Congress and Artists’ Con gress. National and local loosely form ed organizations emphasizing ques tions of technique, representation of the unemployed among them and the class-struggle idea in writing and art. Organizations of Foreign Born. Be sides the I. W. O. and 1he language bureaus of the national office and national “fractions”, there are a few People’s Front groups and a Com mittee of Fraternal Organizations. Besides these there are the ^follow ing: Among Farmers. Some relation ships. with Farm Holiday groups Seems rather that of moral support. Among Teachers. The local of the Teachers’ Union in New York is re portedly dominated by Communists and through it they influence the na tional body. The Bishops’ surveys report a con siderable scattering of university and college professors who work with the United Front Organizations and the International Labor Defense. Among Social Workers. National Co-ordinating Committee of Social Service Employee Groups. Publishes “Social Work Today”. Civil Liberties Union. Non-Party radicals are in control but there is strong Communist representation. The Bishops’ reports name numer ous other organizations, some of which apparently are only locally “united fronf ’or are only local organizations. The situation is com plex. ARCHBISHOP LAUDS C. L. A. ACTIVITIES His Excellency in Washing ton Address Commends Ef forts of Laity of Georgia (Continued From Page One) up a great deal of the misunder standing of the Faith in Georgia,” Archbishop Curley said “what Dick Reid and his companions have done only goes to show what Catholic lay men can do.” He said that in Mr. Reid’s state there are more converts to the Faith in relation to the Cath olic population than in more Catholic centers of the North. The Catholic layman, Archbishop Curley said, is- called to war and to peace—to “a war against sin,” to “the peace that is the consequence of our union with Jesus Christ.” Noting that war is raging in various parts of the world, and is “being waged by men as though they were mere animals,” the Archbishop added that “our war is not against any man or group of men, but against ourselves-” “Men have conquered nations and yet in the war against themselves have been vanquished,” he said. “If we don’t win that war, everything is lost. We ay acquire fame, but if we fail to bring our wills to union with the will of Christ we must write our selves down a failure.” The horrible threat of Communism stalks among the people of our coun try, but Catholic lay retreatants will not be caught in its meshes or those of any other subversive influence, Archbishop Curley declared. "To day,” he said, “the welfare of this nations is tied up inseparably with the teachings of the Church—the Church that teaches respect for au thority, respect for the foundation of society—the family and the sanctity of the marriage bond, that teaches there is a life beyond this life.” Mr. Reid began his address by not ing that in the early history of our country Georgia was part of the Dio cese and later Archdiocese of Balti more, and by recounting the many ties that have bound the two places together ever since. The retreat movement in Georgia was started in 1921, seven years after it was inau gurated in Washington, Mr. Reid said- The first retreat was Held at the Jes uit Novitiate in Macon witl. 20 men in attendance. Shortly afterward the novitiate burned, and the retreatants took over an abandoned school build ing in Augusta, placing cots in the old classrooms, and held retreats there for six years. Terrific heat and mos quitoes—there were no screens for the windows, were real trials, but the men continued to hold their spiritual exercises in the abandoned school until the Jesuit Fathers offered the use of Berchmans Hall, Hot Springs, North Carolina. The retreats are now held in Georgia' at Washington and Savannah for the men and Macon for the women. Asserting that “meditation is a term which frightens the average layman, and even some retreatants,” Mr. Reid said that actually “we meditate hour after hour, day after day and yet when the thought of daily meditation about the purpose of life is suggested to us, even retreatants are inclined too often to regard it as a spiritual ex ercise for the clergy alone.” “Yet,” Mr. Reid continued, “medi tation is a primary requisite in the interior life of a Catholic layman. It does for us daily what the retreat does for us annually.” “If we read Catholic books, Cath olic literature. Catholic newspapers,” the speaker said, “we shall have plen ty of material for meditation. This meditation at first may not be as introspective as meditation should be to be most effective, but once we acquire the habit of meditation, the giving it the direction we desire will me a minor difficulty. “What a powerful source of medi tation, for instance, is the thought of our blessed good fortune in our mem bership in the Mystical Body of Christ, in the Church of God which is responsible for all the real prog ress the world has made ... If we can but realize fully the priceless heritage which is ours, none of us will be ungrateful enough not to strive to make ourselves worthy of this great privilege; thus from our meditation will flow not only a great er measure of personal sanctifica tion b.- God’s grace, but also that in spiration to Catholic Action of which personal sanctific tion is the founda tion.” “Meditation,” continued Mr. Reid “is but one of the means of develop ing the interior life of the Cath olic layman.” “There is no substi tute,” he said, “for frequent Com munion, daily if possible, but weekly at least, if It is impossible.” “There is no necessity,” he added, “for em phasizing before a group of retreat ants the part that retreats play in the interior life of a Catholic layman. He is indeed an exceptional man who, neglecting opportunities to make re treats, makes substantial progress in the development of the interior life." Present at the dinner were the Most Rev. John M. McNamara, Auxiliary Bishop of Baltimore, the Very Rev. James 1 Sweeney, S.: J-, head; of the Baltimore vice province of the Jesuit , Fathers, and a number of distinguish ed priests and laymen. The Rev. Robert S. Lloyd, S. J., Spiritual Di rector of Manresa-on-Sevem, the lay men’s retreat house of the Archdio cese of Baltimore, reported on the work of 1937. Charles P. Maloney, president of the association, made the opening address and Leo Codd, Esq., was toastmaster. MRS. PINKSTON DIES Americus Catholic Pioneer Member of Mission There AMERICUS, Ga. — Mrs. Elizabeth I. Pinkston, of St. Mary’s Church here, died early in January after an etxended illness. Mrs. Pinkston was a member of a family widely known in South Georgia and she was one of the pioneer Catholics in Albany. Surviving are her son, James A. Pinkston; her daughter, Mrs. Sher- ley Hudson; her brother, Thomas Jones, a grandson, Sherley Hudson, and a number of other relatives. The funeral was held from St. Mary’s Church with a Requiem Mass, the Rev. Thomas A. Brennan, pastor at Albany ; and of the Albany missions, officiating, assisted by the Rev. Michael Manning. Interment was in Oak View Cemetery. The church was filled to overflowing for tbe fu neral. BROTHER JOHN HENNESSY, seventh superior-general of the Con gregation of Irish Christian Brothers, is dead in Dublin at 83, and in the 69th year of his profession. He resign ed as. superior-general in. 1930 because of his health. He was a native of Tralee. Dr. John D. Mahaney Is Dead in Columbus Native of Connecticut Had Practiced There Since 1913 (Special to The Bulletin) COLUMBUS, Ga—The death of Dr, John Daniel Mahaney, widely known Columbus physician and vice chair* man of the state athletic commission, removed from this community one of its leading citizens. Born in Waterbury, Conn., January 23,1888, he made his medical studies at the University of Maryland, and practiced in Atlanta before coming here in 1913. In 1915 he was married to Miss Ellie Henderson of Colum bus. His brother, D. J. Mahaney of Waterbury, is a member of the state senate, and his sister, Mrs. Norah Harris, is democratic national ccm- mitteewoman from Connecticut. He was one of fourteen children; his father was a prominent realtor in Waterbury. Dr. Mahaney was a member of the American Medical Society, the Geor gia Medical Society and the Mus cogee Medical Society. He was a member of Holy Family Church, from which his funeral was held with a Requiem Mass, the Very Rev. D. J. McCarthy, V. G„ officiating. Inter ment was in Linwood Cemetery. MAISIE WARD (Mrs. Frank Sheed) has been selected i by Mrs. Gilbert K. Chesterton as the bio grapher of her late husband.