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SIXTEEN
THE BULLETIN OF THE CATHOLIC LAYMEN’S ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA
MAY
i;
THE BULLETIN
The Official OrgaD of the Catholic Laymen’s
Association of Georgia
RICHARD REID, Editor
815-816 Lamar Building Augusta. Georgia
Subscription Price $2.00 Pei Year
ASSOCIATION OFFICERS FOR 1937-1938
ALFRED M BATTED Augusta President
J. J. HAVERTY. K. S. G., Atlanta ...First Vice-President
J B McCALLUM. Atlanta Secretary
THOMAS F. WALSH. K. S. G., Savannah .... Treasurer
RICHARD REID. K. S. G. Augusta . Executive Secretary
MISS CECILE FERRY. Augusta. Asst, Exec. Secretary
VOL. XIX May 28, 1938 No. 5
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.
Member of N. C. W C. News Service the Catholic Press
Association of the United States, the Georgia Press
Association and the National Editorial Association.
Good Will in Ireland
T HE unanimous election of Dr. Douglas Hyde, a
Protestant and the son of a Protestant minister, as
the first President of Ireland is but another indication
of the tolerance which has always been characteristic
of the South of Ireland, which is 98 per cent Catholic.
Cardinal MacRory, Archbishop of Armagh, is among
those who have given warm endorsement to the selec
tion.
The Ottawa Journal, a secular daily in a Protestant
section of Canada, recalls that Grattan, Lord Edward
Fitzgerald, Wolfe Tone, Robert Emmett, Smith O'Brien,
John Mitchell, Thomas Davis, James White, George
Russell and others revered in Southern Ireland were
Protestants, and that men like James Stephen, W. B.
Yeats and Sir John Jameson, also Protestants, were
among the first appointments to the Senate of the Irish
Free State.
While most of the rest of Europe is seething with un
rest, democratic Eire, self-governing for the first time
in centuries, is giving the world an example of generous
treatment of minorities. Across the border in the North
Catholics are deprived of their rightful representation.
De Valera and Cosgiave in uniting on the choice of Dr.
Hyde as president have given a tolerant example to an
intolerant generation.
A Theory, Not a Fact
O UR attention was directed recently to a text on
evolution used in colleges in this section, which
quotes the Biblical account of the creation, and then as
serts:
"The six days referred to in this Biblical account of
creation are usually interpreted as being six days of
twenty-four hours each. Some men have given the pas
sage a rather strained explanation, making the six
days six geologic ages. But when one assumes a crea
tive God with unlimited^ arbitrary powers, the question
of time is insignificant. It makes little difference
whether the time is six hours, six days or six geologic
ages.
“If one chooses to accept the hero of some creation
story as his infallible God, to him further information
is not desirable, for whatever he believes to be the
word of God is final. But many devout men, have kept
faith free of dogmatism and. superstition, and find it not
difficult to recognize the fact of evolution in nature.
^Evolution is a fact based on certain definite physical
evidences. The study of evolution is a science. The
function of any true science is to seek truth a support
of its theories.”
Evolution is not a fact. It is a theory, and no scien
tist has yet presented evidence which the scientific world
has accepted as proof that it is a fact and not a theory.
If some scientist should some day present such evi
dence. the faith of no Catholic who knows his religion
will be disturbed. Catholic theologians are agreed that
theistic evolution is possible; they differ on its pro
bability. -
“The function of any science is to seek truth as a
support of its theories.” The function of any science is
no such thing. The function of a science is to seek the
truth whether or not it supports its theories. The chief
difficulty of many who are classed as scientists is their
seeking only such evidence as supports their theories,
and ignoring all the rest.
' Some men have giverr the passage from Genesis a
rather strained explanation, making the six days six
geologic ages.” The Hebrew word “yom" means either
day or period of time, and if the use of it as describing
a period of time is “strained”, it is strained only to
lhose who are interested in discrediting the Scriptures
while endeavoring to establish the theory of evolution
as a fact.
The tendency to discredit the Scriptures and indeed all
religion is further evident from reference to a per
son who "assumes a creative God with unlimited ar
bitrary powers” and who “chooses to accept the hero of
some creation story as his infallible God.
Religious-mmded parents place their sons and daugh
ters in the hands Of educators with such an attitude to
ward religion, and then express amazement, chagrin and
despair when these sons and daughters, unable because
of their youth, immaturity and mind and lack of infor
mation to detect the fallacies, transfer their allegiance
from the religion of Christ to the religion of atheistic
evolution. We wonder what our Protestant brethren
think of such efforts to undermine the Scriptures,
Christianity and religion.
An Editor Still Suspicious
T HE editor of The Charlotte, N. C., News, who as
sures us editorially that he is not a Catholic-baiter
and thoroughly dislikes Catholic-baiters, recently ex
pressed his opinion, as readers of Hre Bulletin will re
call, that Jesuit priests who were kidnaped in China
were Japanese spies. At this writing, no other editor
in the United States, as far as we are aware, has made
a similar discovery.
Now the editor of The News, reading that the vice
commander of the Catholic War Veterans of New Jersey
promised to call out his men to keep two Congressmen
out of Jersey City by force if necessary, voices the sus
picion, in view of the “intense pro-Fascist propaganda
of the Catholic Church during the past year”, that the
Catholic Church is behind what he chooses to call
“Fascism” in Jersey City.
The Catholic Veterans are an organization composed
of Catholics, and that is the limit of their right to the
name Catholic. Their position is opposed by the Catholic
Worker, which also expresses its own position and not
the position of the Catholic Church. With Catholics
on both sides, The News resolves its doubts in favor of
its preconceived notions.
At the time that the editor of The News was ex
pressing his suspicion of the Catholic Church, Pope
Pius -was deploring the action of the Italian government
in decorating Rome with swastikas m honor of Hitler;
the Vienna correspondent of the N. C. W. C. News
Service and The Bulletin, Dr. Funder, was confined to
jail for criticizing the Nazis, and numerous priests were
behind prison bars in Germany for hot conforming to
the anti-religious decree of the Hitler government.
The editor of The News talks about “the intense pro-
Fascist propaganda” of the Catholic Church despite the
fact that the Catholic press is continually telling its
readers that the Fascist and Catholic teachings on the
state are. hostile to each other, and after pulpit and
radio have resounded with the Catholic position, ex
pressed by Monsignor Sheen, that "Communism is
Fascism, only more so.” As Bishop Gerald O’Shaugh-
nessy, of Seattle, asserted in his Easter sermon;
“No choice is necessary between Communism and
Fascism, for they are in practice but two words for
absolutely one idea.”
Additional Evidence
“The hostility between the Pope and Hitler still shows
no sign of abating,” the Columbia, S. C., Record rays
editorially at a time when the Charlotte, N. C.. News
is suspecting the Catholic Church of having gone Fascist.
“The departure of Pope Pius from Rome on the eve of
Hitler’s visit is only the latest in a series of incidents
revealing the strain between the Vatican and Berlin.
The Vatican states that the Pope left Rome at his usual
time and did not hasten his departure because of the
coming of Hitler, but it is equally true that His Holi
ness did not delay his departure as a natural gesture
of friendship toward the German ruler.
Incidentally, while the editor of the Charlotte News
was assuming that Jesuit priests in China were Japa
nese spies, in accord with the alleged anti-Chinese policy
of the Catholic Church, the Chinese government was
extending its grateful thanks to the Catholics of China
and the United States for their contributions through
the Chinese Bishops’ Association for the relief of war
victims in the war-stricken area. Between October
and March 15 the association received contributions of
?67,883.23, and distributed $66,656.12 to aid the needy.
Our Nation and the Church
T HE position of the United States in the Catholic
world is again indicated by the fact that the only
Archdioceses established anywhere during 1937 were
in this country, those of Detroit, Newark and Louisville.
There were twelve Dioceses created in 1937, according
to the Annuario Pontificio, and four of these were in
the United States, those of Lansing, Paterson, Camden
and Owensboro. All the new Archdioceses of 1936 were
in the United States and Canada.
The number of metropolitan residential Sees is now
219, anfl of episcopal Sees 929. The United States, there
fore, with 112 Archbishops and Bishops who are
Ordinaries of Sees, has nearly one-tenth of the heads
of Dioceses, although it has less than one-fifteenth of
the total number of Catholics.
In addition to the 1248 Ordinaries who are Archbishops
and Bishops of Sees, there are 745 Titular Bishops, who
are Auxiliaries, Vicars-Apostolic or assigned to special
work, making the total number of Bishops in the world
at the beginning of the year 2048.
Cardinal O'Connell, Archbishop of Boston, is one of
the two oldest members of the Sacred College; he was
created Cardinal November 27, 1911, nearly twenty-seven
years ago.- There are sixty-seven living Cardinals, four
of whom are Americans.
From time to time in the secular press we read of
good people, not Catholics, who profess to be worried
by the manner in which the Catholics of the United
States are slighted by the Vatican. The Catholics of
the nation do not share that worry, and the statistics
quoted ought to relieve the minds of those who measure
such matters by mathematical formulae.
Dixie Musings
One of the little ones making her first
Confession in Augusta recently started
her Act of Contrition thus: ‘Oh, my
God, I am partly sorry for my sins.”
The Dalton Citizen resents Time’s
describing Georgians as a “tobacco-
chewing crowd.” The Georgians don't
chew tobacco, says The Citizen. They
chaw it.
Boake Carter disagrees with Mrs.
Eleanor Roosevelt on the appearance
of the “Birth-of-a-Baby” pictures in'
Life. "I never think honest things are
bad things,” Mrs. Roosevelt is quoted
as saying. To defend publication of
anything on that ground seems to make
comment unnecessary.
An editor once boasted that “what
ever the Lord allowed to happen” he
would print. Decent people properly
barred their doors to him. So would
Mrs. Roosevelt, indicating that she has
not thought through on her comment.
Father Toomey of America, the great
Catholic weekly published by the Jes
uit Fathers in New York, is leading a
movement to correct misstatements
about Catholics in the press there and
in other metropolitan centers.
For twenty-two years the Catholic
Laymen’s Association of Georgia has
been doing such work in Georgia, and
it has succeeded pretty well in drying
up the wells of misinformation within
the borders of the state. But it is be
ing piped in from other sections, chief
ly through syndicated features. None,
therefore, welcomes Father Toomey’s
movement more heartily than the
Catholics of Georgia.
As we understand the plan, its pri
mary purpose is to present the facts to
the editors. That is the proper pro
cedure. If an editor or reporter is
convinced that a report is untrue, he
will be a contemptible creature if he
prints it. There are some such indi
viduals in journalism. But they are
no more numerous there than else
where.
We say this in the face of the preva
lent misrepresentation of the news of
the war in Spain. The Leftist govern
ment made it difficult and often im
possible to get the news out. It de
stroyed dispatches of correspondents
and substituted its own. It had the
most highly organized propaganda ma
chine in the world. Four centuries
of anti-Spanish propaganda in English-
speaking countries, from the days of
the Armada, made most of our news
papermen receptive. When the facts
about Spain did start to trickle through
the poison of misinformation had done
its work.
We have discussed the Spanish sit
uation with many persons whose sym
pathies are with the Leftists. There
cculd be no doubt about the sincerity
of most of them. Facts are against
them, as countless observers,, includ
ing the diplomats and others quoted in
The Eulletin, indicate. Facts are stub
born things but not as stubborn as
preconceived notions, as proved by
every parent who can locate his own
children in a crowd of a thousand by
the halos no one else can see.
Dorothy Thompson, one of the syndi
cated writers whose mat ! er is piped
into Georgia, warns the League of
Catholic'Women to remember that this
is a Frotestant country and that the
Catholic Church is a minority religion.
The' implication seems to be that
since she believes this is a Frotestant
country and the Catholic Church a mi
nority religion, Catholics, like little
children, should be seen and not heard.
Freedom of speech appears therefore
to be a noble ideal until it affords op
portunities for expression of contrary
opinion.
It has nothing to do with the case,
but we should like to know what Miss
Thompson means when she says that
this is a Frotestant country. Catholics
constitute the largest group of church
goers, exceeding in number any Prot
estant denomination. This is certainly
not a Catholic country, but it appears
to be becoming less and less Protes
tant, and more and more pagan, there
fore less Christian.
If Miss Thompson means that a ma
jority of the people of the United
Slates claim to be Protestants, whether
or not they believe in the Scriptures
and the Saviour, she can probably de
fend her assertion successfully. If she
means that the country is officially
Frotestant, her position is impossible,
and she, with her abhorrence of "Union
or Church and State,” can hardly mean
that. If she means that thd' dominant
thought of the country is Protestant,
she opens up the question of what con
stitutes thought. And since Bishop
Candler and Bishop McConnell are as
far apart on the doctrines of their own
Methodist Church as Landon and
Roosevelt are politically, well not go
into that.
Westbrook Pegler is another column
ist with a pipe line to Georgia, and he
settles all questions with an infallibili
ty which the Pope never claimed. The
Pope is infallible when he speaks ex
cathedra in matters of faith and morals;
Mr. Pegler’s dogmatic decrees cover
more fields than a university. Recent
ly he stepped into tire role of a Gen
eral Council and handed down a
judgment on the Church in Spain.
Mr. Pegler is said to have been a
Catholic, and any faults of the Church
in Spain and anywhere else are due
not to the Church itself but primarily
to Catholics who give but lip service
to Catholic principles. There have
been such persons in the Church every
where and at all times, and anyone who
maintains that the inclusion of sinners
as well as saints in the Church gives
the enemies of all religion the right to
slaughter priests, nuns and members
of the laity, or even excuses such dia
bolical outrages, is indeed unfortunate
in his logic.
Illogical columnists in their wide
wanderings over various fields offend
most readers periodically, thus weak
ening their influence. We believe that
the Church will survive their stric
tures. Give them space enough, and
they will bury themselves in a mass
of contradictions.
It is our thought that columnists and
editors as well should endeavor to in
terpret news and events to their read
ers, rather than strive to impose opin
ions on them. We believe our readers
accept our comment in that spirit, for
when we suggest that those who have
not paid their subscriptions should do
so at once, the results are not such as
to indicate that we impose our will on
them.
Hon. Thomas J. Heflin, formerly
United States Senator from Alabama,
and now candidate for the Senate, for
the House of Representatives, etc., was
defeated in his race for Congress early
in May. The Associated Press quoted
him as saying that he was “not satis
fied” with the returns. We can under
stand that.
Governor Rivers in an address at
Macon condemned both Communism
and Fascism, and quoted Atlanta police
as saying that Commuists hold meet
ings there every night. The same day
two of our ranking national officials
condemned Fascists, for which we
commend them, but had nothing to say
about Communism.
Communists are active.not only in
Atlanta, as the Governor says, but in
every section of the United States.
They can turn out fifty thousand in
a parade in New York; they can SB
Madison Square Garden for a mass
meeting easier than any other group
in the metropolis.
Fascism is a reaction to Communism.
We shall have Fascism in the United
States only if Communism continues
to grow. Eliminating Communism is
the most certain way to avoid Fas
cism, and progress in this direction can
start only after the seriousness of the
Communistic movement is recognized.
The remedy then is not, as a New York
political leader, not a Catholic, assert
ed, "three feet of rubber hose,” but
concerted efforts to remedy those con
ditions on which Communism thrives.
The Universe of London reprints
headlines from the French newspaper
Moniteur in 1815 indicating his prog
ress from Elba and into the hearts of
the editors of that day. We first read
them a number of years ago but could
not locate them recently when we
wished to use them; we therefore re
cord them here:
"The Cannibal has left his den. . . .
The Corsican Ogre has landed in the
Gulf of Juan. . . The Tiger has reach
ed the gap. . . . The Monster spent last
night at Grenoble. . . . The Tyrant has
passed through Lyons. . . . The Usurp
er has been seen 60 leagues from the
capital. . . . Bonaparte advances swift
ly but will never enter Paris. . . .
Napoleon will be at our gates tomor
row. . . . The Emperor has arrived
at Fontainebleau. . . Yesterday His
Imperial Majesty made his solemn en
try into the Tuileries in the midst of
his faithful subjects."
One of our enterprising Catholic
newspapers early in March published
detailed plans for the funeral of •
Bishop then desperately ill, giving
the time of the arrival of the body,
details of the escorting to the morti
cian's and to the Cathedral, time of
the chanting of the office for the
Dead, time of Mass, place of inter
ment, etc. Eight weeks later the
Bishop was still living.
The economic as well as the moral
results- of birth control will continue
to mount. Fewer - children mean
fewer teachers, less markets for food
and clothing, less demand for com
modities of all kinds. If the nation
will not listen to the moral argu
ments, it will feel the mailed fist of
the economic ones.
The National Committee of the
Catholics of Japan has published a
pamphlet placing the blame for the
present situation in the Orient on
provocation given by China. Bishop
Yu-Pin of Nanking, in China, is just
as positive that Japan is at fault, a
position in which he is supported by
the Catholics of China. Proving that
Catholics are good—and often blind
—citizens of their respective coun
tries.
The Savior’s Call of St. Nazianz,
Wis., endorses The Bulletin's endorse
ment of the “I Don’t Believe It” Club,
the rules of which require members
to say T don’t believe it” whenever
they hear any unsubstantiated gos
sip or scandal.
One of the six new destroyers the
navy has under contract for construc
tion is to be named fo£ Admiral Wil
liam S. Benson, Geort’i’s illustrious
son and honorary vice-president of the
Catholic Laymen’s Association of
Georgia for over a decade before Ws
death in 1932.