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EIGHT
THE BULLETIN OF THE CATHOLIC LAYMEN’S ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA
JANUARY’ 30, 1943
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 1942-1943
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- XXIV January 30, 1943 No, 1
Entered as second class matter June 15. 1921, at the Post
Office at Augusta. Ga_ under act of March. 1S79 Ac
cepted for mailing at special rate of postage provided for
in Section 1103. Act of October 3. 1917. authorized Sept.
1. 1921
Member of N C W. C. News Service the Catholic Press
Association of the United States, the Georgia Press Asso-
c r'icn d the Motional Editorial Associaticn
Published monthly by the Pu blicity 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.
Echoes of a Lonely Voice
P ROCLAIMING again those principles which are
eternal, and presenting what he termed "Five
Fundamental Points for the Order and Pacifi
cation of Human Society,” for the solution of the
problems confronting this tragic era, the voice of
His Holiness Pope Pius XII, heard on Christmas
Eve, when he delivered a Christmas Message to
“the city and the world,” has found resounding echo
in commendatory editorials in practically every im
portant newspaper in this country, as well as in
the press of other nations.
The favorable, and even enthusiastic reception
of the significant pronouncement of His Holiness
by the American press is evidenced not only on ihe
editorial pages, but also by the space devoted to
the Papal Message in news columns.
Elsewhere in this issue of The Bulletin, editorials
from a few of the leading newspapers in the United
States are quoted, but so widespread has been the
editorial approval of the Holy Father's message, it
is believed that the readers of The Bulletin would
appreciate more quotations of editorial comment.
“What the Pope said in his Message,” declares
the New York Daily Mirror, is so sensible and right
that it ought to be studied by ail thoughtful men
who are looking forward to the establishment of a
peace that will be difficult to devise and hazardous
to maintain,” and adds that “perhaps no other man
can command such an audience.”
The Brooklyn Citizen, in an editorial, says “it is
comforting to know that in this world of turmoil
there stands such a rock of common sense as Pope
Pius,” and also says that representing “a church that
has been in existence for nearly 2.000 years, the
Pope is able to see clearly through the fog that
obscures man’s vision.” •
George E. Sokolsky, whose widely read column
appears daily in The Charleston News and Courier,
and many other papers, termed the Pope’s message
“an inspirational revolutionary document lighting
for all mankind the eternal light of hope for the
individual.” Mr. Sokolsky pointed out that the
Pontiff “states the human freedoms in the sim
plicity of an everlasting morality,” and that His
Holiness avoids “philosophical confusion.”
The Chicago Times declares that the Pope’s
message was “a reasoned and tolerant yet resolute
plea for justice for the common man in every part of
the world.” The Cleveland News views the Pope's
statement as "a simple formula for peace” and as
offering” a hopeful vision of the world of tomor
row,” concluding with the statement that the
Pontiff's voice” can barely be heard above .he din
of war today, but his message gives the world a
promise of a better tomorrow.”
The Pope's avoidance of direct allusion to any
belligerent strengthens rather than weakens the
application of his message “to underlying issues of
the war.” declares the Norfolk Virginia-Pilot, say
ing “it is the impious deed that Pope Pius de
nounces,” the “doer of the deed” being “left to the
identification of those who read the deed's descrip
tion.”
The Record, of Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania, states
that “the just and decent peace of which the Pope
so earnestly and profoundly spoke is one which, if
the people of the United States have their way, the
United States will never waver in championing.”
The News Free Press, of Chattanooga, declares
that the appeal of the Pope was “far-sighted and
worthy of his great position,” and added that “if
his advice were followed, the war clouds soon would
be chased from the world.”
David Lawrence, noted columnist, and editor of
the United States News, views the message
as something “at once magnificent and yet simple,”
and says that throughout all Christendom, “the
message of the Pope strikes a note of hopefulness,
because it strikes at the root of the evils that
brought on- the war and the stubborness of the
barriers that must be removed if a lasting peace is
to be achieved.”
No less commendatory was the editorial opinion
of the'secular press in South America, where La
Nacion, government organ of Chile called the
message “a true prayer for peace from a lofty
Christian spirit, directed to a world in flames and
in the midst of tragic consternation. His voice of
concord and comprehension should cause profound
meditation among those who have the terrible re
sponsibility for events that have plunged the world
into sorrow.” La Patria. Conception daily, says
“the voice which for nineteen centuries has pointed
out to men the necessary norms of justice and right,
and the only paths that humanity can follow to
reach its great destinies,” has found a “profound
echo throughout the world.” “The ?ope”, this edi
torial continues, “the highest moral authority on
earth, cannot be indifferent to the great upheavals
that agitate the world. Since the outbreak of the
conflict his W'ords of peace have been heard many
times. Without taking sides, nevertheless he can
not remain neutral and for this reason he cries out
for truth and justice, and for the respect of the
sacred rights of human dignity.”
In Canada, the Toronto-Globe and Mail calls the
message a great plan for social action in an edi
torial which says: “ ‘Tied impartially to all the peo
ple’ entangled in this war, Pope Pius occupies an
unusual position. He does not—in the very nature
of that position he cannot—speak as a political
lei.der, nor as a martial leader of one host against
the other. Yet as a spiritual leader he did not
hesitate to judge the issues, and the impartiality
of his position lends mightily to the authority of
judgment.”
Reports reaching the Vatican from various parts
of Europe indicated that the Christmas Message of
the Holy Father was given wide publicity in that
war-torn continent. In Italy, the radio and the
Catholic Press carried the text of the message. In
Spain all papers received it enthusiastically, and
papers in Switzerland printed excerpts, one Geneva
newspaper commenting on the complete spiritual
harmony between the utterances of the Pope' and
the Archbishop of Canterbury despite the difference
of their religious opinion.
However, the European press was not unanimous
in its approval, for .according to the newspaper,
Peuple, of Geneva, the Axis press badly mutilated
the Christmas Message of the Holy Father, omitting
all mention of his condemnation of perseeution and
the glorification of the State.
—The Conference in Atlanta—
N EVER before today has there been a time when
it was more opportune or more necessary to
bring to all people the message that the Catho
lic Church can proclaim to all the world.
Recognizing this opportunity and necessity
the Most Reverend Gerald P. O'Hara, Bishop of Sa
vannah-Atlanta, extended an invitation, and
through its acceptance, the Catholic Conference on
Industrial Problems will hold a two-day session in
Atlanta next month.
The Catholic Conference on Industrial Problems
was organized in 1922, in the Loyola University
School of Sociology at Chicago, on the initiation of
the Department of Social Action of the National
Catholic Welfare Conference.
It seeks to promote the study and understanding
of industrial problems in the light of Catholic teach
ing and to advance the knowledge and practice of
this teaching to industrial life.
Leaders in Catholic social thought, outstanding
employers, labor leaders and economists have parti
cipated in its programs, and speakers of note, repre
senting each of these fields, will take part in the
discussions which will feature the sessions of the
Atlanta conference.
Sessions of the conference will be open to all who
are interested, and non-Catholics, as well as Catho
lics, are invited and urged to attend. Protestants,
as well as Catholics, will appear^ on the program,
and the open forum periods will provide opportun
ity for general participation in the proceedings.
The Catholic Church has the answer to the prob
lems of the day. By united action and by the dis
tribution of our information through conferences
such as that which will be held in Atlanta, we may
approach nearer the attainment of the goals which
were the objectives of Pope Leo XIII and Pope Pius
XI when their Encyclicals, which are our guides,
were written.
A Useful Life Is Ended
T HE death of Dr. George Washington Carver,
eminent Negro scientist of Alabama, brought
to an end a life, which although it began in
slavery,, was filled with fruitful service, devoted to
the betterment of his race, and the benefit of all
mankind.
Dr. Carver’s death recalls that the first annual
award made by the Catholic Committee of the South
to an individual who had made a significent con
tribution to the welfare and progress of the South,
was made to one of the world's greatest agricultural
scientists whose discovery of hundreds of by
products from the peanut, the soybean, the sweet
potato and cotton have been of inestimable value
to this section and the nation.
One of the most impressive incidents of the
Birmingham convention of the Catholic Committee
of the South, was the program at which the award
was made to Dr. Carver—a program which was
opened with prayer by the Most Reverend Bishop
of Savannah-Atlanta, and in which the Most Rev
erend Bishops of Mobile and Natchez participated.
As a testimonial to an humble man, who achieved
greatness, the citation on that occasion is quoted:
“Doctor George Washington Carver, a great
American was born a slave, but has spent his every
year freeing the minds of his countrymen of all that
makes for intolerance, misunderstanding, un-
Americanism.
“A genius in the laboratory, a father to his peo
ple, an inspiration to his fellow-man, he has en
riched the life of every American with uncounted
inventions and good deeds, without enriching him
self as well deserved.
“All who admire staunch faith when clouds are
darkest, who commend brilliant achievement cloak
ed in Christlike humility, who thrill at courage
amid the most overwhelming odds, must be in
spired by his example and leadership.
“In token of his unique accomplishments and
exalted character, this citation is presented by the
Catholic Committee of the South in convention
assembled at Birmingham, Alabama, to Dr. George
Washington Carver."
Dixie Musings
The Pittsburgh Catholic recalls
in an article by the Rev. John M.
Lenhart, O. F. M., on Catholicity
in the North African war area,
that John Howard Payne, actor
dramatist, journalist, diplomat
and author of “Home, Sweet
Home,” was received into the
Catholic Church in Tunis a few
weeks before his death, in 1852.
Announcement in Hollywood
that Jennifer Jones has been se
lected for the title role in the film
version of Franz Werfel’s "Song
of Bernadette” reveals that Miss
Jones is Phyllis Isley, daughter
of Mr. and Mrs. Phil Isley, of
Dallas, Texas, and that she is a
Catholic. In private life, Mrs. Bob
Walker, she lives at Bel-air with
her husband and her two sons.
Jennifer Jones was chosen to
play the role of St. Bernadette in
the 20th Century-Fox production
of" Werfel’s best-selling book on
•the maid of Lourdes from among
a thousand applicants for the role,
among whom were some of the
screen’s outstanding stars. She
was picked by the producer, Wil
liam Perlberg, after a search for
an actress who could portray the
role with sincerity and conviction
and one whose reputation would
be utterly blameless. She comes
to her first Hollywood role after
years of preparation in the legit
imate theatre. She began her
stage career upon graduation from
Monte Cassino School, conducted
by the Benedictine Sisters in
Tulsa, Oklahoma.
As a part of its Catholic Activi
ties program, Savannah Council,
No. 631, Knights of Columbus, has
had printed a thousand copies of
the English translation of “The
Mass on the Day of Burial.” These
have been distributed among the
Catholic churches in Savannah by
M. C. McCarthy, chairman, and the
members of the Catholic Activities
committee of Savannah Council.
According to The Augusta
Chronicle, the Honorable A. L.
Franklin, Judge of the Superior
Court of Richmond County, told
the jury last Saturday after a
court session at which more than
two hundred uncontested divorce
verdicts were awarded, that “It
looks to me like we’ve got to get
back to the old-time religion.”
The recent decision of the
United States Supreme Court that
each state must recognize divorces
granted by any other state, will
undoubtedly aggravate this evil
which is undermining the home,
the nation and civilization, but it
has served to remind that there is
an ancient religion which lias
throughout its history never ceas
ed to p.oclaim the indissolubility
of Christian marriage, and that
that religion, the Catholic Church,
is the only force in the United
States united and vigorous against
the ever-increasing evil of di
vorce.
An added and attractive feature
of the Army War show, which was
presented in Atlanta last month,
was a program of vocal selections
rendered by a choir composed of
fifty cadets from Marist College.
The student singers heard in choral
numbers, to the accompaniment of
the electric organ which was part
of the chaplains’ exhibit with the
show’, played by Corporal Richard
Purvis and Private Paul Callaway,
both nationally known concert
organists, now in the Army. Ar
rangements for the participation
of the Marist Cadets in the show
were made by Captain Thomas J.
Hanifin, a priest of the Diocese
of Cleveland, who was with the
Army show.
“By the Way,” editorial page
column in The Catholic News, of
New York, states in its latest is
sue that fifty years ago “Mrs. Ed
gar Thompson, daughter ..of the
late U. S. Senator Benjamin H.
Hill, of Georgia, and her two
children were received into the
Church in Atlanta by the Very
Rev. Benjamin J. Keiley, Vicar
General (and later Bishop) of the
Diocese of Savannah. In Know’
Nothing days Senator Hill was
that party’s candidate for Gover
nor of Georgia”
English sailors on shore leave,
who somehow found their way to
Augusta, spent five days in the
city as guests of the USO Club
operated by the National Catholic
Community Service, availing them
selves of the dormitory accomoda
tions which the club provides for
service men.
One of the group, Fred Emory,
of Bristol, England, said that the
club and Augusta were the nearest
like home he had se'en since en
listing in the British navy at the
outbreak of hostilities in Europe.
The sailors had the canteen
hostesses stumped for a w hile when
they asked for'tea and crumpets,
instead of the usual coffee and
doughnuts, so popular with our
own soldiers, sailors and Marines.
Fortunately, Bill Lenz, assistant di
rector of the club had foreseen the
possibility of the club’s entertain
ing Allied servicemen and had
stocked a few packages of tea.
Crumpets, however, were not to
be found, so the English lads ate
cookies, and one of them, Tommy
Harkins, of Liverpool, declared
that the homemade hot biscuits
supplied by a volunteer worker at
the club, were “better than any
crumpets I ever tasted.
The British sailors were delight
ed and amazed at the hospitality
shown in Augusta.
Colonel Carlos P. Romulo's “I
Saw the Fall of The Philippines”
is the January selection of the
Catholic Book Club. Colonel
Romulo writes simply of what he
and his friends experienced in the
fox-holes of Bataan and in the
fortress of Corregidor and tells of
the heroism shared by the Ameri
can and Filipino soldiers in a
series of the most courageous ex
ploits that history records.
Sixteen Cadets at the United
States Military Academy, West
Point, were received into the
Catholic Church during the past
year, it has been revealed by (he
Rev. George G. Murdock, rector
of the Catholic Chapel at West
Point. Fourteen enlisted men on
duty at the Academy were also
baptized. Eighty-eight members
of the recent class of 400 gradua
tes at the Academy were mem
bers of the Catholic Chapel
Squad.
Following the graduation twelve
of the newly commissioned offi
cers were married, with tradi
tional military ceremonial, in the
Catholic Chapel. Among the mar
riages was that of Lieutenant
Richard M. Combs, son of Lt.
Col. and Mrs. Willianf II. Combs
of New Rochelle. N. Y., to Miss
Katherine Power Smith, of Balti
more. Lieutenant Combs’ mother -
before her marriage, was Miss
Antoinette Maddox, of Augusta.
Among the lower classmen at
West Point is Cadet Thomas Mar
riott, a member of St. Mary's-on-
the-Hill parish in Augusta.
Cadet Marriott’s father, Lieu
tenant Colonel John Everett Mar
riott, former grand knight of
Patrick Walsh Council, Knights of
Columbus, in Augusta, who dis
embarked in France on November
12, 1918, and later served with the
Army of Occupation, has again
been reported as having landed
"Somewhere- Overseas.” Colonel
Marriott was recently executive
office at Camp Kilmer ip New
Jersey.
Not so long ago, Father Lawrence
Flynn, pastor of the Blessed Sacra
ment Church in Tallahassee, Flori
da, expressed a wish to build a
church for the Colored people in
that city, and his wish was heard
across the continent. Recently he
received a letter from “Bing” Cros
by, of radio and screen fame, and
in it was a check for a substantial
amount.
Unable to speak a word of Duteh,
a British pilot whose plane was
forced down in Holland after an
engagement recited the “Pater
Noster” and “Ave Maria” in Latin
to a Dutch farmer at whose house
he sought refuge. The farmer hap
pened to.be a Catholic and he not
only gave the pilot refuge but. risk
ing his own life, helped him to
cross the frontier. H. K.