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TWENTY-EIGHT
THE BULLETIN OF THE CATHOLIC LAYMEN’S ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA
NOVEMBER 23, 1942
Rev, John Smith, 0, S. 6,,
Dies in Virginia
BELMONT, N. ' C.—The Rev.
John Smith, O. S. B.. member of
the community ol' Belmont Abbey,
and chaplain of St. Benedict’s
Convent, Bristow, Va., died sud
denly on the evening of October
29. in his seventy-ninth year.
Father John had finished his sup
per and retired to his room to read,
and through the open door it was
observed that he had rested liis
head on the back of his chair, as
if asleep, but investigation dis
closed that he was dead.
Father John was born only a
few miles from Belmont Abbey, in
Gaston County, on October 14,
1S63. He attended St. Mary's Col
lege, later known as Belmont Ab
bey College, and in 1890 became
a novice at the Abbey, being in
the very first novitiate that was
held at Belmont. He was ordained
to the priesthood in 1894.
Field Mass at Chapel Hill
For a snort time Father John
was stationed in Newton Grove as
a missionary pastor. Later he
was sent to Richmond, where he
directed the school attached to St.
Mary’s parish. In 1903 he was
assigned to Bristow, where he re
mained until his death.
Several thousand attended a Pontifical Field Mass celebrated in Kenan Stadium, at Chapel Hill, by
the Most Reverend Eugene J. McQuinness, Bishop of Raleigh, for students at the United States Navy-
Pre-Flight School, at the University of North Carolina.
Catholic Committee of the South
Regional Conference in Atlanta
Priest Addresses
Prison Chaplains in
Session at Asheville
Following a Requiem Mass of
fered in the chapel of the Bene
dictine Sisters at the convent in
Bristow by the Very Rev. Nicholas
Bliley, O. S. B., Prior of Belmont
Abbey, Father John's remains
were accompanied to Belmont by
Father Nicholas, where a Solemn
Requiem Mass was offered in the
Abbey Cathedral by Father Nicho
las, with the Rev. Cuthbert Allen,
O. S. B., as deacon, and the Rev.
Martin Hayes, O. S. B., subdeacon.
The sermon was delivered by the
Rev. Ambrose Gallagher, O. S. B.,
who stressed the simplicity that
has characterized the life of the
deceased priest. Interment follow
ed in the Abbey Cemetery.
Clergy attending in the sanctu
ary included the Rt. Rev. Msgr.
William O’Brien, Durham; the Rt.
Rev. Msgr. Michael A. Irwin, New
Bern; the Rev. Lawrence Newman,
Charlotte; the Rev. John C. Ryan,
Warrenton. Va.; the Rev. Arnold
Walters, O. F. M„ the Rev. Re-
migious Goudreau, O. F. M.,
Statesville; the Rev. Maurice Mc
Donnell, O. S. B., the Rev. Phillip
Tierney, O. S. B., the Rev. Timo
thy Flaherty, O. S. B, the Rev.
Ignatius Remke, O. S. B , Char
lotte; the Very Rev. Boniface
Bauer, O. S. B., the Rev. Alcuin
Baudermann. O. S. B., Savannah;
the Rev. Cletus Helfrich, Salis
bury.
Mother Mary Joseph Fetter. O.
S. B., Superior of the St. Bene
dict’s Convent, and Mother Al-
phonsus, O. S. B.. of Bristow, at
tended the funeral services at the
Abbey Cathedral.
Spartanburg NCCS
Plans to Observe
Thanksgiving Day
(Special to The Bulletin)
SPARTANBURG. S. C.. — Per
sonal services at the USO Club
operated here by the National
Catholic Community Service, with
the Rev. Francis O. Ferri, as mod
erator, and Sam J. Francis, as di
rector, reached a new peak during
the month of October.
Approximately 9,238 service
men attended group events during
the month, these events including
five informal dances, three formal
dances, spaghetti dinners, five mo
tion pictures, four barbecues, a
birthday party, four game nights,
two concerts and a radio broad
cast. One Communion breakfast
was sponsored in cooperation with
Stamp Croft officials and members
of the Holy Name Society at the
camp. One hundred and fifty ser
vice men or their friends and rel
atives, were placed in private
homes in Spartanburg. Transpor
tation was furnished a large num
ber, envelopes and stationery
were distributed in great quanti
ties, as was religious material.
Birthday gifts and overseas gifts
were distributed. Packages were
^wrapped, money orders obtained,
and mending done. Seventeen vol
unteer leaders and program as
sistants gave 203 hours of service
at the club during the month, and
775 girls participated in the social
activity at the club.
(Special to The Bulletin)
ATLANTA, Ga.—Meeting in an
all-day session, held at the Ansley
Hotel, on October 27, the execu
tive board of the Catholic Com
mittee of the South formulated
plans to strengthen departmental
organizations, to intensify activity
within the Dioceses, and to co-or
dinate and stimulate the effort of
the separate Diocesan set-ups at
the regional level.
The Most Rev. Gerald P. O’Hara,
D. D., J. U. D., Bishop of Savar.-
nah-Atlanta, Episcopal Chairman
of the C. C. S., presided at the
session, which was conducted by
the Rt. Rev. James P. Gaffney,
Ph.D., of Little Rock, executive
chairman. Other officers attend
ing were Dr. A. L. Stabler, Bir
mingham, vice-president; Paul D.
Williams, Richmond, secretary,
and John C. Wegmann, New Or-’
leans, treasurer.
Representatives of the Archdio
cese of New Orleans; the Dioceses
of Mobile, Nashville, Richmond,
Charleston, Natchez, Little Rock,
Alexandria, Savannah - Atlanta,
and the Abbatia Nullius of Bel
mont were in attendance.
Among those attending were:
the Rt. Rev. Msgr. T. James Mc
Namara, Savannah; the Rt. Rev.
Msgr. Joseph E. Moylan, Atlanta;
the Very Rev. Msgr. Joseph G.
Cassidy, Milledgeville; the Very
Rev. William H. Reintjes, C.SS.R.,
New Orleans; the Rev. Dr. Geof
frey O'Connell, Biloxi, Miss.; the
Rev. Christopher P. Murray,
Knoxville; the Rev. Merlin F.
Kearney, Memphis; the Rev. Dan
iel J. Bourke, Savannah; the Rev.
Thomas Lenahan, Birmingham;
the Rev. Joseph R. Smith, Atlan
ta; the Rev. George Lewis Smith,
Aiken. S. C.; the Rev. E. J. Mur
phy, S. S. J., New Orleans; the
Rev. H. Dube, Alexandria, La.; the
Rev. William J. Castel, New Or
leans; the Rev. Claiborne Laffer-
ty, Little Rock; the Rev. Edward
J. Zeager; the Rev. Thomas H.
Lillis, Texarkana, Ark.; the Rev.
Leo. M. Byrnes, Mobile; the
Rev. Wm. J. Cusick, Pensacola,
Fla.; the Rev. Thomas E. O’Con
nell, Richmond; the Rev. Michael
J. Cannon, Richmond; the Rev.
Cuthbert Allen, O. S. B., Belmont,
N. C.; Charles Dinechaud, Jr.,
New Orleans; Leo Zuber, Knox
ville; William Davlin, Atlanta;
Bernard J. Kane, Atlanta; Hugh
Kinchley, Augusta, and Mrs. Wil
liam McAlpin, Atlanta.
Report was made to the confer
ence on the Summer School of the
Catholic University of America,
which was conducted under the
auspices of the Catholic Commit
tee of the South at Siena College
in Memphis, and at which 150 stu
dents were enrolled. It was also
announced that more than 200
students had enrolled for a simi
lar course next summer.
The conference named the fol
lowing regional chairman in the
five different departments of C.
C. S. activity: Rural Life Chair
man, the Rev. Christopher Mur
ray, Knoxville; Labor and Man
agement Chairman, the Very Rev.
Wm. J. Reintjes, C.SS.R. New
Orleans; Youth Chairman, the
Rev. Cuthbert Allen, O.S.B., Bel
mont, N. C.; Racial Relations
Chairman, the Very Rev. Msgr.
Joseph G. Cassidy, Milledgeville;
Educational Chairman, the Rev.
Dr. Geoffrey O’Connell, Biloxi.
1943 CONVENTION TO
BE HELD IN BILOXI
The conference accepted the in
vitation of the Most Rev. Rich
ard O. Gerow, D. D., Bishop of
Natchez, extended through Doc
tor O’Conqell, to hold its annual
convention in 1943 in Biloxi, Miss.
Those attending the conference
were guests of Bishop O’Hara at
a luncheon served in the Civic
Room of the Ansley Hotel.
Monsignor O y Brien
Invited to Speak at
University of S. C.
(Special to The Bulletin)
Columbia, S. C.—The Right
Rev. Msgr. Joseph L. O’Brien,
founder and rector of Bishop
England High School, and pastor
of St. Patrick’s Church, in
Charleston, wifi be one of the
outstanding speakers at the Uni
versity of South Carolina, De
cember 6-11.
The Christian Mission program
was started five years ago at the
University of Ohio. Its purpose
is to bring to the students a bet
ter understanding of religion, and
ways of facing all problems. The
theme of this year’s mission at
the University of South Carolina
is “Christianity and the World of
Tomorrow. The movement is
sponsored by the Y. W. C. A., the
Y. M. C. A., and the churches
of Columbia.
Sam J. Francis to
Direct NCCS Activity
at Greenville, S. C.
GREENVILLE, S. C.—The Rev.
Sydney F. Dean, assistant pastor
of St. Mary’s Church, has an
nounced that Sam J. Francis, di
rector of the USO-NCCS Club in
Spartanburg, will serve as volun
teer advisor for the recreational
program for the men stationed at
the Greenville Air Base and the
men in training at the local mu
nicipal airport. Father'Dean is the
spiritual director of the National
Catholic Community Service com
mittee in Greenville, sponsors of
the program.
Mr. Francis will continue to
serve as director of the club in
Spartanburg, but with Miss Louise
Collins, his assistant, will help to
coordinate and promote the local
recreational activities at Gallivan
Memorial Hall.
Parish organizations which will
participate in the work of the USO-
NCCS include St. Mary’s Guild, St.
Anne’s Guild, the Greenville Coun
cil of Catholic Men, the Greenville
Council of Catholic Women, the
Junior Council of Catholic Women,
and the Parent-Teacher Association
of St. Mary's School.
(By N. C. W. C. News Service)-
ASHEVILLE, N. C.—Work on
behalf of the criminal’s rehabilita
tion, is too often a matter of cut
ting off the top of the “noxious
weed’’ of crime, “leaving its roots
firmly embedded in the soil that
nurtured it,” the Rev. Francis J.
Lane, Catholic chaplain at Elmira
Reformatory in New York, de
clared in an address before the Na
tional Association of Prison Chap
lains here.
The association, of which Father
Lane is president, met in conjunc
tion with the American Prison As
sociation.
“The roots of delinquency and
crime find sustenance not in the
intellect nor in the muscle of a
man but in his will or in his heart,”
Father Lane asserted. “Our Lord
said, ‘As a man thinketh in his
heart, so he is.’ ”
While commending efforts made
to rehabilitate crime doers in the
academic, vocational and recrea
tional fields, Father Lane said not
one or all of such programs togeth
er “reach the root of what makes
a criminal.” “Crime is like a noxi
ous weed,” he added. “Too long
educators, social workers and citi
zens have been content to cut off
its top, leaving its roots firmly em
bedded in the soil that nurtured
it.”
Father Lane said anyone who
lacks the sense of right and wrong,
“whether he be within a prison or
outside is a danger to the com
munity.” “The stronger and
keener that sense, which might
also be called a sense of duty or
obligation to God, or to one’s coun
try or to our fellow men,” he add
ed, “the more noble a citizen he
becomes.”
“This sense of right and wrong
is developed at times through the
influence of one’s companions or
environment,” Father Lane said,
“but more commonly through reli
gious training, instruction and
education.”
He deplored the fact that so lit
tle of the assistance afforded by
states for the rehabilitation of
criminals is turned “into the
channel where it would do the
most good.” Pointing out that
staffs and equipment are provided
vocational and recreational proj
ects, Father Lane asked if it were
fair “to turn over not 50 but from
500 to 1,400 men to a single chap
lain and expect him to produce
adequate results.”
“Without religious and moral
training,” he said, “which up until
now has only been touched upon in
some institutions and disregarded
entirely in others, there can be no
solution to the problem of crime.
We, as chaplains, must keep before
us at all times the thought that set
ting forth and emphasizing the
moral and religious angle in our
field of endeavor is not only a duty
but a service to truth.”
REV. E. C. LONG, S. J„ mem
ber of the faculty of St. Charles
College, Grand Coteau, La., has
become a chaplain in the Army
and is stationed at Camp Croft,
Spartanburg, S. C.
Over 3,000 Attend
Navy School Field
Mass at Chapel Hill
(By N. C. W. C. News Service)
CHAPEL HILL. N. C.—More
than 3,000 attended a Military
Field Mass in Kenan Stadium at
the University of North Carolina
here, presided over by the Most
Rev. Eugene J. MeGuinness, Bi
shop of Raleigh.
The Mass was attended by stu
dents at the United States Navy-
Pre-Flight School, at the Univer
sity of North Carolina, and cadets
and naval officers formed a col
orful complement in the proces
sion which preceded and followed
the mass. Naval officers acted as
aides and guards of honor.
Catholic officers tendered a
dinner to Bishop MeGuinness and
visiting clergy later in the day.
Guests included: Commdr. O. O.
Kessing, commanding officer of
the school; Lt. Commdr. John
Graff, executive officer: Dr. Frank
Graham, president of the Univer
sity of North Carolina; R. B.
.House, dean of the university;
William Carmichael, comptroller
of the university, and Harry
Comer, of the Y. M. C. A.
President Proclaims
Thanksgiving. iVeu?
Years, Days of Prayer
(By N. C. W. C. News Service)
WASHINGTON.—Declaring that
the days are with us again when
we “solemnly express our depend
ence upon Almighty God,” Presi
dent Franklin D. Roosevelt has pro
claimed Thanksgiving day and
New Year’s day as days to be ob
served in prayer, publicly and pri
vately.
The president's proclamation of
the two days of prayer follows, in
part:
“ ‘It is a good thing to give
thanks unto the Lord.’ Across the
uncertain ways of space and time
our hearts echo those words, for
the days are with us again when,
at the gathering of the harvest, we
solemnly express our dependence
upon Almighty God.
“The final months of this year,
now almost spent, find our Repub
lic. and the nations joined with it
waging a battle of many fronts for
the preservation of liberty.
“In giving thanks for the great
est harvest in the history of our
nation, we who plant and reap can
well resolve that in the year to
come we will do all in our power
to pass that milestone; for by our
labors in the fields we can share
some part of the sacrifice with our
brothers and sons who wear the
uniform of the United States.
“It is fitting that we recall now
the reverent words of George
Washington, ‘Almighty God, we
make our earnest prayer that Thou
wilt keep the United States in Thy
holy protection,’ and that every
American in his own way lift his
voice to Heaven.”
The president then recommend
ed recitation of one of the Psalms,
and continued:
“Inspired with faith and cour
age by these words, let us turn
again to the work that confronts us
in this time of national emergency,
in the armed services and the mer
chant marine; in factories and of
fices; on farms and in the mines;
on highways, railways and air*
ways; in other places of public ser
vice to the nation; and in our
homes.
“NOW, THEREFORE, I,
FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT,
president of the United States of
America, do hereby invite the at
tention of the people to the joint
resolution of Congress approved
December 26, 1941, - which desig
nates the fourth Thursday in No
vember of each year as Thanksgiv
ing day; and I request that both
Thanksgiving day, November 26,
1942, and New Year’s day, Janu
ary 1, 1942, be observed in prayer,
publicly and privately.”
600 SERBIAN ORTHODOX
PRIESTS REPORTED SHOT
LISBON—A total of 600 Ser
bian Orthodox priests have been
shot by Hungarian invaders of
Yugoslavia, according to informa
tion received here from a reliable
source.
The same source says that re
sistance to the German-Hungarian
forces in Yugoslavia continues.