Newspaper Page Text
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APRIL 23, 1938
THE BULLETIN OF THE CATHOLIC LAYMEN’S ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA ^
Catholic Action in Georgia
Article in The Sign by John Toomey, Diocesan Sem
inarian at Catholic University
Six years before the pontificate of
Pius XI—the Pope of Catholic Ac
tion—was inaugurated, the Catholic
Laymen of Georgia had launched a
project which now stands out as one
of the most striking examples of
what the laity can do in furthering
the work of Christ.
About 22 years ago, the summit of
religious intolerance in Georgia was
reached. It was considered to be by
far the most anti-Catholic state in
the Union. In 1920, Thomas E. Wat
son, one of the most bitter and also
the most paradoxical of all bigots,
was elected to the United States Sen
ate by his fellow-Georgians on the
tide of religious intolerance. Watson,
who had sent his daughter and later
his grandsons to boarding schools in
Georgia conducted by the Sisters of
. St . Joseph, used the weapon of''big
otry to gain his political prestige. In
deed, a man’s chances of political
success seemed to be proportionate
to his anti-Catholicism. It was this
condition of affairs that caused the
passage of a state-convent inspection
bill in 1916. It was likewise this con
dition that brought about an organ
ized Catholic resistance, namely, the
Catholic Laymen's Association of
Georgia.
Confronted by intolerance on every
side. The Laymen’s Association was
organized in Macon, Ga., in 1916, in
a state with a total Catholic popula
tion of less than twenty thousand,
scattered throughout sixty thousand
square miles of territory—an area
larger than all New England except
Connecticut—and among a popula
tion of three million—in other words,
where there is one Catholic among
every hundred and fifty people. And
eight years later, the editor of the
National Welfare Conference Bulle
tin was able to assert that the Asso
ciation had placed the Catholics of
Georgia in a position where they are
perhag' t...... aff ■e d ^r«uli In
selves by supplying them information
about the Church and thereby gives
them the means to explain Catholic
doctrines to non-Catholics. When an
attack is made on the Church, mark
ed copies of The Bulletin are sent to
those concerned explaining our po
sition. Every newspaper editor in
Georgia receives a free copy of each
issue of The Bulletin.
Besides the task of publishing a.
newspaper, the publicity department
of the Laymen’s Association has to
do much letter-writing. Many of
these letters are written in reply to
those who answer the advertisements
inserted in the secular papers stating
what Catholics do not believe and
offering to explain to those interest
ed what they do believe. Numerous
hostile correspondents of former
days are now kindly disposed toward
the Church because of this phase of
the Association’s activities.
Needless to say, many of the let
ters written to the Association con
tain questions arising from the most
prejudiced sort of intolerance. One
inquirer specializing on questions
about convents was not convinced of
his mistaken ideas until he made a
long trip to accept an invitation to
visit a convent. But there are so
many who write in who are honestly
seeking the truth about the Church
that it makes one sad to know that
the Church has been laboring so long
under this veil of misunderstanding
among such sincere souls as these.
Every question, no matter how ab
surd it may sound to Catholic ears,
is answered with the utmost courtesy
and kindness But besides writing
letters to these correspondents, the
publicity bureau of the Laymen’s As
sociation writes^ letters of correction
to editors of the Georgia secular
press whenever reference uncom
plimentary CStholics appears in
fr cci from ait .ks tii.ni hi 1 one of these papers. The Association
- ii_ . t t : ~ rn.;. - ... ...
the start, the cost was much higher
because of the greater amount of
work to be done'at the time. At least
six thousand dollars was spent in a
successful effort to stop just one
man’s attacks on the Church. It's a
good thing all were not so obdurate
as he.
The results of this work are mani
fold. As has been previously point
ed out, the attacks against Catholics
have almost ceased to exist in the
secular press of Georgia. The Ku-
Klux have practically abandoned.
Their former national headquarters
in Atlanta was bought last year by
the Catholic Bishop of Savannah-
Atlanta for his Atlanta residence. It
is now being used as church and rec
tory while the new co-cathedral of
■the diocese is being erected next
door.
Many conversions have been
brought about by the activities of the
Association. In fact, the figures show
that there is an average of two hun
dred converts a year for the state, in
which the Catholic population is
twenty thousand. One large repre
sentative Eastern diocese of a million
Catholics averages only a thousand
converts annually. This gives Georgia
an average of ten times more con
verts annually than the Eastern
diocese in proportion to the Catholic
population. And the Laymen’s Asso
ciation is responsible in a good
measure for this.
since he was a Catholic. However,
throughout the election campaign,
the Laymen's Association refrained
from political activity. What it did
fight against was misrepresentation
of the Church. But it took no
political sides.
But the greatest result is the
achievement of the prime purpose of
the Association, namely, that of
“bringing about a friendlier feeling
among Georgians irrespective of
creed.” That this friendlier feeling
exists is proven in the results just
mentioned. That it exists is proven
by the friendlines and courtesy ex
tended by non-Catholics to our
priests and nuns throughout the
state. That it exists is proven further
by the good-fellowship existing in
the daily contacts of Catholics and
non-Catholics. And that this friend
lier feeling shall continue to exist,
the Laymen's Association continues
its work. It has accomplished much
and more will be done in the years
that lie ahead..
The election year of 1928 was a
great test of what results it had ac
complished. To be sure, some out
bursts of bigotry occurred. But
despite this, many a ‘'Hoover-Demo
crat’’ was surprised to find on elec
tion. night that A1 Smith had carried
Georgia, which he naturally should
have done, being a Democrat, but
which many expected him not to do,
Siberia Sentence for
Listening to Radio
(Special Correspondence, JkC.W.C.
News Service)
FRIBOURG, Switzerland. — A Sov
iet court in Witelsk, Russia, has ban
ned a 56-year-old workman of the
name of Koszitski and his wife to five
years hard labor in Siberia according
to the local Catholic news service
KIPA, because they were discovered
listening to a Catholic radio program
from a Warsaw station and were ac
cused to have taken notes which they
were said to have planned to pass on
to others on the contents of this broad
cast.
Georgia Seminarian
Author of Article
The author has not written with a
view merely to praise the work of
the Georgia laymen, but has intend
ed also to demonsrate the set-up of
this organization—its methods, activ
ities, and results—so that others may
see that what has been done in
Georgia can be done also in their
own localities by a similar group of
laymen. And it is certain that there
are many states in need of such an
organization.
At present, the Laymen's Associa
tion of Georgia is the only one of its
kind in the United States, although
the Narberth Movement is closely
akin to it. True, many phases of its
activity are taken care of by other
organizations in various dioceses, but
there is still a great need for simi
lar organizations in the majority of
John Toomey, the author of
“Catholic Action in Georgia”, is a
native of Augusta, the son of Mr. and
Mrs. Pierce Toomey of St. Mary’s-
on-The-Hill parish in that city, and
a student for the priesthood for the
Diocese of Savannah-Atlanta at the
Catholic University of America,
Washington, D. C. The accompanying
article, published in The Sign. Union
City, N. J.. has been selected by The
Catholic Digest, St. Paul, Minn., for
reproduction in its May issue.
them. The Catholic Laymen’s Asso
ciation of Georgia invites and is
worthy of imitation. It is an excel
lent way for the Catholic laymen to
answer the Holy Father’s call to
Catholic Action.
any other state in the Union. This
was a long step to take in eight short
years and indeed the statement is all
the more true today.
But how was this accomplished?
Did the laymen put on green hoods
at night and with St. Patrick's aid
hang all the white-hooded Ku Klux
from the nearest pine trees? Perhaps
Margaret Mitchell's blustering Ger
ald O’Hara would have greatly en
joyed using such violent methods if
prejudice had been so rife in his day.
On the contrary, the methods used
were far removed from what some
readers of Watson’s articles might
have been led to expect. And they
rather surprised those who had been
influenced to believe in “hating
Catholics for the love of God’’—to
use the phrase of the great convert,
the late Bishop Curtis of Wilmington
and Baltimore. The methods of the
Laymen's Association are far differ
ent and much more effective than
violence.
The Catholic Laymen s Association
had for its rnotto “To bring about a
friendlier feeling among Georgians
irrespective of creed.” For this was it
founded, and this it has accom
plished in the twenty-two years of
its existence. It recognizes at once
the root of all intolerance and big
otry. namely, ignorance. And for
this, it supplies the only remedy, in
formation, but information seasoned
with charity. It answers intolerance
with no hate, no satire, no revenge,
but with the kindliest respect and
courtesy for all. In this, it adheres to
the words of Pius X spoken in a
private audience to Father Doyle,
the Paulist founder of the Apostolic
Mission House in Washington: “Faith
is not to be built upon the ruins of
charity.” The first principle of apolo
getics is to explain the doctrines and
practices of the Church and never to
attack anyone.
maintains a connection with a clip
ping bureau which sends into the of
fice clippings good, bad or indifferent,
appearing in the papers of the state.
Every kindly comment is acknowl-
dged with a letter of appreciation,
and every misrepresentation is an
swered with a couteous letter of cor
rection.
One Georgia editor was obstinate
about changing his attitude toward
Catholics. Uncomplimentary refer
ences to them continued to appear
in his paper, despite the fact that
each time one appeared, he received
a letter of correction from the Catho
lic Laymen’s Association. After this
had happened about ninety times,
something complimentary appeared
in his paper—whether through an
oversight on his part or not, we don’t
know. But the Laymen's Association
wrote him a letter of appreciation
and he was so overcome and pleased
by it that no further references
against Catholics was printed by him.
Another obstinate editor didn't pro
vide the Association with such an
opportunity of flooring him with
charity, so the publicity depart
ment of the Association sent marked
copies of The Bulletin to his sub
scribers which contained a copy of
the letters written him in refutation
of charges against Catholics which
had appeared in his paper. Natural
ly, he was mote confused by this
procedure and did not leave himself
open to such exposure again. In 1916,
when the Association was organize^,
.these letters of correction averaged
it hundred a week. Now, only one
or two a month are needed, so free
from anti-Catholicism has the Geor
gia press become.
I ET’S keep Georgia in its traditional attitude
j of encouragement to industrial and business
development. Such growth will add to the pros
perity .of agriculture — the bedrock on which
- niir state. is. founded. It will furnish employment
to men'and boys on the t arilis,menand boys
not now profitably employed. It win: a*-d to
their purchasing power. It will furnish rich new
markets for farm produce — and it will leave
fewer among whom farm income must be
shared; fewer to depend on agriculture for tlieir
sole support... Georgia always will he funda
mentally agricultural, but in the interest of
everybody in the state — in the interest of better
roads, better educational facilities, better insti
tutions and added social security — let’s give
serious thought to industry and business, the
forces which must create the new wealth essen-
i tial to support all these governmental services
I so desirable for the welfare of the state.— P- S.
I ARKWRIGHT, president of the Georgia Power
I Company, in a speech delivered in Columbus,
[ Georgia, April 6, 1938.
As indicated by its name, the Asso
ciation is composed of lay people and
conducted from the lay person's
viewpoint. Both men and women are
members. Twelve hundred of Geor
gia’s twenty thousand Catholics con
tribute an average of six dollars each
anually to show their loyal member
ship in the organization. There is
no fixed membership fe \ but each
contributes according to his means.
There are no scheduled meetings
except the general state convention
which is held each year in a. differ
ent city. Tlie Association is organ
ized for the most part along parish
lines except in the larger cities where
one local organization suffices for
several parishes. The parish unit
holds meetings, such as election of
local officers or some other local
event demands it. The state officers
are elected each year by the dele
gates at the general convention. This
is the plan of the organization.
Now it is our aim to review brief
ly its methods of accomplishing its
purpose of bringing about a friend
lier feeling among Georgians.
The most important function of the
Association is its maintenance of a
publicity bureau, located in Augus
ta. Its paper supplies Catholc
news and information to the people
of four states, since Florida and the
, two Carolinas have no Catholic pa
per of their own. And the South is
not the only place where it is read,
as Subscribers are found all over
the nation.
But how does the Bulletin, as this
paper is called, bring about a friend
lier feeling? First, it corrects ignor
ance in the minds of Catholics them-
Besides fighting bigotry and ignor
ance by means of personal letters, the
Association also distributes free-of-
charge pamphlets dealing with perti
nent questions on the Church. More
than three million such pamphlets
have now been distributed to inter
ested non-Catholic readers. The As
sociation has also placed sets of the
Catholic Encyclopedia in several
Georgia secular and non-Catholic
colleges and universities.
These are activities peculiar to
the publicity bureau of the Laymen's
Association. But besides these, the
Association sponsors retreats for men
and women every year and also lends
its support and takes an active part
in all civic movements worthy of
commendation.
So far. we have merely enumerated
and explained the most important
activities of the Catholic Laymen’s
Association of Georgia. However,
there are several characteristics of
this organization’s manner of con
ducting these activities which are
worthy of notice. Perhaps the most
striking is the personal .note—the
friendly, personal answer to in
quirers and editors. The answers are
never sarcastic nor funny. A friend
lier feeling cannot be brought about
by sarcasm. A sincere willingness to
help others understand our Faith is
evidenced by all activities of the As
sociation.
Such is the spirit behind the Lay
men’s Association. As regards the
cost of this work, it now averages
about twelve thousand dollars a year.
A third of this is met by the revenue
obtained from the Association’s
newspaper in advertisements and
subscriptions. The remaining eight
thousand come from the contribu
tions of the members. Of course, at
It’s
Simple as A-B ■ C
EVERY straight-thinking Georgian wants Georgia to have better roads,
better educational facilities, better-equipped institutions, better pro
visions for social security for old and young.
Georr^t. however, always has been and always will be primarily an
agricultural state — and AGRICULTURE CAN NOT PAY THE BILL!
Agriculture, today, is paying all it can afford to pay. It can’t stand
any heavier burdens.
If our state is to have what it needs— what it MUST HAVE—in
tlie way of governmental services, there is only one solution. Business
aiul industry in Georgia must be encouraged to grow, to prosper. That’s
the only way the state’s material wealth, its purchasing power can be in
creased so that we can afford these desirable improvements in Georgia.
Any blow at industry or business in Georgia is a direct blow at
Georgia’s farmers — and a blow at every man, woman and child in
Georgia. Georgia’s ONLY hope for her rightful, brighter future is that
industry and business find the sort of treatment and consideration in
Georgia that will enable them to expand in confidence, to grow with
assurance — and thereby create in Georgia the new and added wealth
which is absolutely essential to the forward march of the state.
■% # —'M,
GEORGIA POWER
COMPANY
WUcd cM&lpA /ZuAUteAd — Helps Yon!