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rOUK—A
arm nuLL^nfj or the CATHOLIC LAYMEN’S ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA
JUNE 27, 1942
THE BULLETIN
The Official Organ of the Catholic Laymen’s
Association of Georgia, Incorporated.
HUGH KINCHLEY, Editor
216-217 Southern Finance Building, Augusta, Ga.
ASSOCIATION OFFICERS FOR 1941-1942
BERNARD J. KANE, Atlanta President
MARTIN J. CALLAGHAN, Macon, 1st Vice-Pres.
J. B. McCALLUM, Atlanta Secretary
HUGH GRADY, Savannah Treasurer
HUGH KINCHLEY, Augusta.. Executive Secretary
MISS CECILE FERRY, Augusta, Asst. Exec. Secty.
A. M. McAULIFFE, Augusta Auditor
Vol. XXIII
June 27, 1942
No. 6
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
• n ^Section 1103, Act of October 3, 1917, authorized Sept.
Member of N. C. W. C. News Sendee the Catholic Press
Association of the United States, the Georgia Press Asso-
ciation and the National Editorial Association.
Published monthly by the Publicity Department with the
Approbation of the Most Reverend Bishops of Raleigh
Charleston, and Savannah-Atlanta, and of the Right Rev
erend Abbot Ordinary of Belmont.
THE VATICAN AND THE AXIS
S EVERAL months ago this column, under the same
heading that appears above, was devoted to
a discussion of a dispatch from South Ameri
ca that appeared in The Atlanta Journal, and which
brought from The Christian Index, organ of the
Baptists of Georgia, the statement that “From the
beginning of the war we have held that the Roman
Church was in sympathy with Axis ambitions. .
In the same connection, it seems that it would be
well at this time to reprint here two editorials which
appeared recently in The Augusta Chronicle. One
of them was in its entirely a quotation from the
editorial page of The New York Times, the other,
headed “Vatican Unyielding,” was written by Robert
Parks, editor of The Chronicle.
The editorial by Mr. Parks read as follows:
ST. MARY’S HOME
N EARLY a century ago, in 1845, the first founda
tion of the Sisters of Mercy in Georgia was
established in Savannah, and since that time
their record has eminently shown that their Order
was well and rightly named.
Immediately upon their coming to Georgia, the
good Sisters of Mercy became engaged in works of
mercy—instructing the young, mothering the home
less little ones, nursing the suffering and minister
ing to the dying. .
The history of their labors of love in Savannah
for orphan girls of this Diocese began almost a
hundred years ago, for in 1845, the very year in
which they came to Georgia, the Sisters of Mercy,
at Saint Vincent’s Convent, had twelve orphan girls
placed under their protection.
For thirty years this arrangement of caring for
the orphan girls at Saint Vincent's was, continued,
and as there was no special fund for the purpose,
except from an occasional small legacy, the Sisters
supported the children out of their own meagre
income.
In 1875, the increasing number of orphans
brought about the necessity for making new arrange
ments, and an old residence at White Bluff, nine
miles from Savannah, was secured, but this did not
prove suitable or satisfactory, and the Catholics
of the city, realizing that the burden, of supporting
the girls was too much for the Sisters to bear,
formed the Female Orphan'Benevolent Society in
1876, following the yellow fever scourge which had
bereft so many children of their parents.
Under the direction of the Right Reverend Wil
liam H. Gross, then Bishop of Savannah, the
original St. Mary’s Home was erected at. a cost of
$16,000, and paid for in two years. Later, the Home
was enlarged several times until its capacity was
doubled.
In 1938 the present magnificent structure which
is Saint Mary’s Home was completed. Located on
picturesque Victory Drive, with its parkway of
palms, the colonial type building stands in a setting
of beauty, towering trees and seasonal flowers add
ing to its attractiveness.
The erection of the new building opened a
bright new chapter in the history of Saint Mary’s
Home, which still is maintained by the Female
Orphan Benevolent Society, with the, Sisters of
Mercy still in charge.
Saint Mary’s Home is still supported by the
generosity of its friends and the Female Orphan
Benevolent Society. In his report, as President of
the Female Orphan Benevolent Society, published
in this issue of The Bulletin, the Most Reverend
Gerald P. O’Hara, Bishop of Savannah-Atlanta,
stresses the fact that, for the time being at least,
the Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Savannah-
Atlanta must direct its endeavors toward providing
the missionary sections of Georgia with chapels and
schools and until these fundamental and ^essential
religious needs of Catholics everywhere in the
Diocese are provided for, the established institu
tions must continue to be operated on their present
basis, so the dues to-the Benevolent Society are
necessary to the support of St Mary’s.
The lady collectors, throughout the Diocese, who
solicit help for Saint Mary’s Home and secure mem
berships in the Benevolent Society, are untiring in
their efforts, and faithful in their devotion to the
interests of the Home, as may be proven by the fact
that Miss Mary Malloy, of Savannah, has served as
a collector since 1903, and Mrs. P. H. Rice, of Augus
ta, has been a collector since 1905. No less unweary
ing on behalf of Saint Mary’s Home is John W. Glea
son, of Savannah, who as vice-president of the
Female Orphan Benevolent Society, has been called
upon every day to give some part of his valuable
lime to matters concerning the Home.
In a world that seems overflowing with cruelty
and hatred, it is well for us to remember that the
Christian virtues of pity and mercy and unselfish
thought of others still find expression in .the work
that is being done by the' Sisters of Mercy at Saint
Mary’s Home. The fruit of their self-sacrificing labor
is evident in the splendid Christian women that the
Home has given to Georgia in every year for nearly
a century.
“A former Rome correspondent for The New York
Times—Camille M. Cianfarra—who has just arrived
in this country, brings back an interesting story of
how the increased Fascist pressure on the Vatican
has completely failed; the Holy See remains un
yielding, despite Mussolini’s persistent efforts to
win its support for the Fascist cause and to curb
the temporal activity of the Pope.
“ ‘It would be an exaggeration,’ writes the cor
respondent, ‘to say that the Pope today is a prisoner
in the Vatican, as was Pope Benedict XV during the
first World War. Yet the fact remains that many im
portant clauses of the 1929 Lateran Treaty between
the Holy See and Italy that were drawn with the
specific aim of safeguarding the temporal independ
ence of the Pontiff were systematically violated
when they did not fit in with Mussolini’s plans.’
“The unyielding position of Pope Pius in the face
of Fascist pressure is told by the correspondent in
these words:
“ ‘The situation has become worse in the past year,
or, to be exact, since August, 1941, when Pope Pius
refused to come out in favor of the Axis war against
Bolshevist Russia. Signor Mussolini, this writer
learned from reliable Vatican circles, suggested that
the Pontiff sanction what the Fascist press termed
the ‘Christian crusade against the Russian atheists.'
Pope Pius, however, refused to commit himself.
His silence showed more significantly than anything
else tip to that time the grave concern of thie church
over a possible Nazi victory in Europe.’
“The Vatican, although seeking always to com
promise on temporal questions as long as the tenets
of the faith are not menaced, is making it increasing
ly clear that the church sees in a democratic victory
the only means of avoiding an era of widespread
persecution.”
Dixie Musings
The other editorial, originally , in The New York
Times, which was given space on the editorial page
df the Augusta newspaper, read:
“A courage no less exalted than that of the
Christian martyrs in pagan Rome inspires the Pas
sion Sunday letter of the German Bishops read in
all Catholic churches of the Reich. A copy of the
Historic document, dated at Wuerzburg, March 22,
has just reached this country. So solemn an appeal
to the conscience of Germany, we may all pray, will
not be made in vain. It reveals that previous attacks
on religion have now become an attempt to stamp
out every vestige of Christianity in the nation. It de
fies the persecution, .demands its end and pledges
eternal faith in Christ and the Church.
“Germany is overwhelmingly Christian. Ninety-
five per cent of the population are professing church
members. This, then, means that the Nazi dictator
ship is waging war on its own people. Indeed the
Bishops specifically call it a war and publicly protest
its continuance. Step by step they trace the broken
promises of the state to protect the church, the re
striction of worship and religious education, the ex
propriation of church property, the expulsion and
interment of priests for no other crime than the
practice of their faith.
“But the Bishops are not content to rest their case
there. They go on to show with irrefutable logic that
this assault on the church is only part of a broader
attack on all human rights, human freedom and the
human spirit. They demand the release of all their
fellow-citizens imprisoned without proof or due pro
cess of law. They insist on the return of stolen pro
perty. They protest with horror official murder of
“unproductive citizens” such as the insane, suffer
ers from incurable disease and other innocents. No
body’s life is safe, they assert, if the state assumes
the power to kill at will. Above all, they repel the
sickening charge that refusal to submit to this brutal
creed is lack of patriotism.
It is only possible to realize the destructiveness
of this struggle on the German home front through
the unthinkable assumption that our government
should attempt a similar persecution here. The meas
ures oUNazi madness is to have precipitated a civil
war in the midst of an effort to conquer the world.
If Hitler himself had dumped the British bombs on
Cologne it w T ould not have proved more shattering
to German morale than his bitter war on German
faith.”
Because of what has been ■published in Georgia on
the subject, it is felt that our readers should be
given the opportunity to read these editorial com
ments from the secular press.
Gratitude for the reading, over
the nationwide “Catholic Hour,”
of a letter she wrote to her son in
military service, was expressed
by Mrs. Frederic L. Beers, of Col
lege Park, Ga., to the Rev. Robert
J. Slavin, O. P., of the Catholic
University of America.
Father Slavin quoted Mrs.
Beers’ letter in an address over the
‘Catholic Hour’ as an example of
the true spirit of motherhood
amid the current crisis, saying its
words “give us the answers to our
questions far more directly” than
any message of his.
“Your reading invested my let
ter with a quality of beauty which
I am sure it did not possess with
in itself,” Mrs. Beers writes in her
letter to Father Slavin. “I pray
that my small effort may help
other mothefs who must endure
the strain of a long war, and
whose part is to serve by waiting,
enduring . . . and praying.”
“I am particularly glad you in
cluded my letter on the Mother’s
Day program,” she adds. “In these
dark hours the mothers of the
world are being brought into a
closer kinship with a Great Moth
er, who, two thousand years ago,
gave her Dear Son to die that
mankind might find freedom) To
day mothers are honored above all
women that we may share her sac
rifice. I ana proud to be such a
mother.”
The “Catholic Hour,” heard over
a nation-wide network, of the Na
tional Broadcasting Company, is
produced by the National Council
of Catholic Men.
Four discussions of the Liturgy
are being presented on the NBC
“Catholic Hour” during this month
by the Rev. William J. Lallou,
associate professor of Liturgy and
Master of Ceremonies at the Cath
olic University of America. The
series opened on June 7 with an
address entitled, “Why Should
There Be a Liturgy,” and other
titles in the series included: June
14, “The Supreme Act of the
Liturgy,” June 21, “Lay Partici
pation in the Liturgy,” and June
28, “Oriental Rites in the Liturgy.”
Father Lallou served as a Catho
lic chaplain at Camp Hancock, in
Augusta, during the World War.
In a letter addressed to the Dio
cesan Presidents of the N. C. C. W.,
Mrs. Margaret M. Angelo, national
president, wrote:
'“The ‘chatterbug’ was described
as the person who maliciously or
unintentionally spreads rumors,
true or untrue, which may ulti
mately cause a panic or which may
prove disastrous to our American
forces. Particularly were we warn
ed against giving out any informa
tion, by word or mouth or in the
newspapers, regarding troop move
ments. Enemy agents, learning that
a local boy is leaving for foreign
duty, can trace the regiment of
the boy, ascertain the size of the
division, its destination, and then
send word to enemy craft lurking
in our waters. The lives of our
sons, our relatives, our friends,
are dependent upon our not di
vulging their movements.
It was brought out that the
very persons — mothers, wives,
sweethearts — who are so anxious
about the welfare of their beloved
ones, are the ones who are spread
ing these rumors that may bring
about the destruction of lives. They
will tell their neighbors or friends
that John is leaving soon, and the
rumor spreads. Women, generally,
throughout the country, should be
aware of this danger, and caution
ed to keep any such information
confidential, and is a positive way
be discouraged from spreading in
formation for rumors. “The chat
terbug should be socially ostra
cized.”
Father Wililam A. Maguire, who
has served as a chaplain in the
Unted States Navy since the days
of the first World War, spoke a few
weeks ago on the “Catholic Hour”
program, and a book of which he is
the author, “Rig for Church,” has
just been published by Macmillan.
Father Maguire’s book is filled
with thrilling accounts of his ex
periences during the years which
he served with the fleets. One of
the incidents which he describes
may have been told to readers of
The Bulletin before, but it is worth
repeating.
Some years ago a group of mid
shipmen from the U. S. Naval
Academy at Annapolis made Rome
a stopping point in a round-the-
world cruise.' The ' midshipmen
were granted an audience by His
Holiness Pope Pius XI, who spoke
to the delegation from Annapolis.
After the Holy Father’s remarks
had been translated to the mid
shipmen, , one of them shouted:
"Let’s give a 4-N yell for Pius XI!”
Five hundred voices in perfect uni
son then blasted the solemn digni
fy of the Vatican with the Naval
Academy’s cheer of victory: “N-N-
N-N'. . . A-A-A-A / . . V-V-V-V
. . . Y-Y-Y-Y . . . Naaaavy . . .
Pius XI!” to the Consternation of
many of those present at the audi
ence. But as the cheer ended the
Holy Father smiled and clapped
his hands, and when the rector of
the American College in Rome ex
plained that the midshipmen had
taken the American collegiate way
of rendering high honor, His Holi
ness applauded again.
Father Bernard Hubbard, S. J.,
the noted “Glacier Priest,” who
delighted audiences in Savannah,
Atlanta, Macon and Augusta the
past winter with his lectures on
Alaska, is now on his way back to
Alaska to serve in an advisory
capacity to the armed forces of
the United States.
Honorable Eugene Talmadge, Governor of Geor
gia, who spoke before the Men’s Bible Class of the
First Baptist Church in Savannah recently, is quot
ed by The Savannah Morning News as saying:
“Protestant churches can reach out and take one
lesson from those of the Catholic denomination—
let there be more of the seven-day variety of re
ligion.”
The Pastoral Letter in which the German Bishops
reviewed and publicly protested the persecution of
the Church in Germany is a masterful document,
and it is regretted that limitations of space prevent
the printing of its entire text in The Bulletin, but we
cannot refrain from quoting its concluding para
graph, a magnificent pledge of loyalty to God and
country:
“We remain eternally true to our Fatherland just
because, and at any price, we remain faithful to Our
Saviour and our Church. God bless our country and
our holy Church. God give an honest, happy, lasting
peace to the Church and the Fatherland.” ’
With much regret this column
brings to its readers the news that
Miss Aimee Clohecy, the energetic
and efficient secretary and treas
urer of the Atlanta Branch of the
Catholic Laymen’s Association of
Georgia, was painfully injured in
an automobile accident some
weeks ago.
No member of the Laymen’s As
sociation has been more devoted
to its interests than Miss Clohecy,
and it can be said without any fear
of contradiction, that every mem
ber of the Association joins with
Miss Clohecy’s many other friends
in hopes and prayer for her speedy
recovery.
William J. Heffernan, Jr., young
Augusta insurance man, and a
member of the Catholic Laymen’s
Association of Georgia, has been
elected president of the Augusta
Lions Club. Other members of
the Laymen’s Association elected
officers of the Lions were John
W. McDonald, Jr., Louis J. O’Con
nell and Albert A. Saunders.
Lieutenant Commander Edward
H. O’Hare, the United States naval
aviator who was recently accorded
unique honors as a war hero by
his country at the White House,
was received into the Catholic
Church before his marriage in the
Church of the Immaculate Concep
tion, Phoenix, Arizona, last Sep
tember. Mrs. O’Hare, the former
Miss Rita G. Wooster, was a nurse
at the hospital conducted by the
Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent de
Paul in St. Louis. Friends of the
couple say that Commander
O’Hare had taken instructions prU
vately and surprised his bride by
receiving Baptism shortly before
their marriage.
He shot down five and possibly
six Japanese planes in the South
Pacific fighting, in what his cita
tion for the Congressional Medal
calls “one of the most daring, if
not the most daring single action
in the history of combat aviation.”
Dr. Irvin Abell, Jr., son of Dr.
Irvin Abell, of Louisville, Ken
tucky, the Laetare Medalist for
1938, has recently arrived in At
lanta where he is stationed at the
Lawson General Hospital.
The address delivered by Repre
sentative John W. McCormack, of
Massachusetts, majority leader of
the House of Representatives, at
the convention banquet of -the
Catholic Committee of the South,
in Richmond, has been printed in
the Congressional Record at the
request of Representative James
M. Barnes of Illinois. H. K.