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THE BULLETIN OF THE CATHOLIC L AYMEN’S ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA
JUNE 26, 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 FOK 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 June 26, 1943 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
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-
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.
Worthy of Distinction
I T IS difficulty to conceive of any honor to any
Catholic of Georgia that would bring more uni
versal pleasure than the distinction accorded
Martin J. Callaghan, of Macon, upon whom His Holi
ness Pope Pius XII has graciously bestowed the
Papal Medal “Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice.”
Papal favors are not conferred lightly. Those
whom the Sovereign Pontiff would single out for
honors must be outstanding in their devotion to the
Church. Their loyalty to Christ and His Church must
be unquestioned. Their good tVorks must be an ex
pression of their profound Catholic Faith and di
rected toward the advancement of the Kingdom of
God.
Martin Joseph Callaghan’s fruitful devotion to the
Church, has gone far beyond his own spiritu
al needs. By word of example he has sought
to bring many others, in the course of his
life, to know and love the Church, of which he
has been an obedient son.
The piety of his personal life, the simplicity of
his fervent faith, the intensity of his love for
Christ and His Church, have won for Mr. Callaghan
the highest respect and esteem of all who have
known him.
When the Catholic Church and Catholic doctrines
and practices were being slandered and belittled
in Georgia, a quarter of a century ago, Mr. Callaghan
was one of the first to come to the defense of the
Faith which he cherished more than life itself. He
was one of that group of courageous laymen who
met in Macon in 1916 to form the Catholic Laymen’s
Association of Georgia. He has ever held an active
interest in the organization, accepting without com
plaint financial losses that came to him because of
bis outspoken championship of religious truth.
Today, Mr. Callaghan holds the office of vice
president of the Laymen’s Association, while also
serving as president of the local branch of the As
sociation in his home city.
He has set an example of Catholic Action by the
dissemination of Catholic literature. He has shown
a Christlike love for the poor by a lifelong participa
tion in the work of the St. Vincent de Paul Society.
He has been an active promoter of the laymen’s
Retreat movement, and year after year has brought
large contingents of men to the annual Retreats. He
attended the first Retreat, held at St. Stanislaus Col
lege in Macon in 1920, and has missed attending only
one Retreat since that time. The cause of his ab
sence on that occasion being the conflict of the
dates of the Retreat with the day upon which one
of his daughters was to make her solemn profession
as a Dominican nun.
Mr. Callaghan has given two daughters to Reli
gion, the strongest proof of the intensely Catholic
atmosphere of the household of which he was the
head.
He was an organizer, and a charter member, of
Macon Council, Knights of Columbus, in 1904. Since
that time he has been a faithful member, and has
filled, among other offices, those of warden, treas
urer, trustee and grand knight, which last office is
now held by his son, Martin J. Callaghan, Jr.
For many years he has been a- daily attendant at
Mass, and a daily communicant.
Those who know Mr. Callaghan best will agree,
perhaps, that his greatest virtue is humility. His
service to the Church has been wholly unselfish, he
has always shunned prominence as an individual,
and has ever subordinated his own interests to the
welfare of the Church and the honor and glory of
God.
Mr. Callaghan’s reputation as a sterling Catholic
layman is not confined to Macon alone, but has
spread throughout all of Georgia, where he has
become known and beloved by those with whom he
had been associated in connection with activities of
the Laymen’s Association and the Knights of Co
lumbus.
It is not surprising, therefore, that from one end
Of the Diocese ol Savannah-Atlanta to the other,
there is rejoicing that Martin Callaghan’s long life
of constant fidelity to the Church, his daily aposto
lic zeal on behalf of religion and charity, his singu
larly exemplary life, the prestige that he has given
to the Church in his home city, have been reward
ed, deservedly, by the Holy Father, in the form of
a Papal medal.
May Martin Callaghan be spared for many years
to wear, with distinction as he will, the decoration
that is a testimonial to a fruitful Christian life.
Catliolic Effort Against Anti-Semitism
A N EDITORIAL, which appeared a few weeks
ago in one of the leading newspapers of Geor
gia, praised the Catholic Bishops in Germany
for their protest against the brutal measures which
the Nazis have adopted in the countries which they
have conquered and within the Reich itself.
The writer of- the editorial expressed hope that
around men of decency and courage who still exist
in Germany some nucleus of civilization may be
restored, but concluded with these words: “The
hope would be even higher if the bishops had con
demned the persecution of the Poles and Jews and
all persons cruelly and unjustly treated, regardless
of religious faith or church affiliation.”
Very graciously, the editor of the newspaper pub
lished a letter from the executive secretary of the
Catholic Laymen’s Association of Georgia, which
set forth that the failure of the German Bishops to
include a general condemnation of the Nazi program
of religious and racial persecution in their discus
sion of a particular phase of that program should
not lessen any hope that might be held for the
restoration of some nucleus of civilization in Ger
many, as the omission in this instance of any con
demnation of the treatment accorded the Jews by
the Nazi, was no indication that the German Bishops
approved of such treatment.
Because of its revelancy to the subject of the edi
torial mentioned and so in line with the reply that
was made to that editorial, it seems well to give the
readers of The Bulletin the benefit of the report
of the N. C. W. C. News Service on a speech which
was delivered some days ago on the floor of the
United States Senate by Senator James M. Mead,
of New York, in which the Senator lauded the par
ticipation of the Jews in this war and in every other
war in the history of this nation, and called atten
tion to the efforts of the Catholic Church to put
down anti-Semitism and to wipe out Jewish perse
cutions. *
Dixie Musings
His Excellency the Most Rev.
Gerald P. O’Hara, Bishop of Sa
vannah-Atlanta, recently confirm
ed a class, all of whom were adults,
at the Sacred Heart Church in
Milledgeville. The congregation at
tending the ceremony was com
posed largely of members of the
WAVE, SPAR, and women of the
U. S. Marine Corps who are in
training at the Georgia State Col
lege for Women in Milledgeville.
Bishop O’Hara in his sermon be
fore administering Confirmation,
stated that on such occasions it
was customary for the officiating
Bishop to question the children
composing a Confirmation class to
determine whether or not they had
been properly instructed in their
religion in preparation for the
reception of the sacrament.
Since there were no children in
the class to whom Bishop O’Hara
might address his questions, he
asked them instead of the young
women present who represented
the various branches of our coun
try’s Naval forces, and later ex
pressed his great gratification and
satisfaction at the splendid know
ledge of their Faith that the
WAVEs, SPARs and women Ma
rines demonstrated that they pos
sessed.
After recounting what steps had been taken by
other religious organizations toward these objec
tives, Senator Mead said:
“The Roman Catholic Church in this country has
likewise made countless utterances against the per- I returned to the church and upon
secution of Christians and Jews by the Nazis. In entering noticed three soldiers in
doing so it is following the fundamental teachings I the Baptistry. Greeting the service
of the Catholic Church. The late Pope Pius XI men - Bishop, O’Hara was informed
On the day^previous to his ad
ministering the Sacrament of Con
firmation in Milledgeville, Bishop
O’Hara had confirmed a class at'St.
Joseph’s Church in Macon. Later
in the day, seeking a place where
he could read his breviary without
being distracted, His Excellency
M ORGAN BLAKE, in The Atlanta Journal, dis
cussing Ihe proposal that the Bible be taught
in the public schools of Atlanta, declared that
“Perhaps the best way would be for the larger Pro
testant denominations to have their own grammar
schools and high schools in which the Bible be
taught, in addition to the Protestant colleges, where
it is taught. But that would require a lot of money,
which the denominations haven’t got.”
Catholics, while paying taxes to support the public
schools, continue to maintain their own grade and
high schools, as well as colleges and universities,
even if it does require a-lot of money.
started in 1938:
“ ‘Abraham was called our patriarch, our ancestor.
Anti-Semitism is not compatible with the sublime
reality of this text: it is a movement which we
Christians cannot share—no, it is not possible for
Christians to take part in anti-Semitism. Spiritually
we are all Semites.’
“Let me repeat that last sentence of the Pope.
‘Spiritually, we are all Semites.’ To sanction anti-
Semitism, my friends, is to destroy our spiritual
selves.
“The Roman Catholic - Hierarchy of the United
States, in an important pronouncement made last
November, stated: ‘We feel a deep sense of revul
sion against the cruel indignities heaped upon the
Jews in conquered countries and upon defenseless
peoples not of our faith.
“ ‘We raise our voices in protest against despotii
tyrants who have lost all sense of humanity by con
demning thousands of innocent persons to death in
subjugated countries as acts of reprisal, by placing
other thousands of innocent victims in concentration
camps, and by permitting unnumbered persons to
die of starvation’.”
« Asserting that Christians and Jews are in the
war together, Senator Mead continued:
“In Hitler’s own country the Christian leaders
are lined up against him. The great Archbishop of
Munich, Cardinal Faulhaber, not only denounced
the treatment of the Jews, but worked with the
Chief Rabbi of Bavaria to save valuable objects
from the Munich, synagogue when the Nazis tore
it down in October of 1938. He stored these Holy
Jewish objects in his own quarters to preserve them
from Nazi violence.
“When Nazi posters were displayed in Munich,
saying ‘Away with Faulhaber, the friend of the
Jews,’ what was the answer of Cardinal Faulhaber?
“He said: ‘You can see in this town of Munich
the destruction which blind racial hatred has caus
ed. We Christians must love every race as Christian
love and charity are fundamental commandments
of Our Lord Jesus Christ.’
“Though his dwelling was attacked by Nazi mobs,
ihe great Cardinal remained firm in his determi
nation to uphold the God-given rights of all persons.
“Conrad Count von Preysing, the Roman Catho
lic Bishop of Berlin, is another German churchman
who has dared to tell the Nazis that they commit
wrong. In a pastoral letter last December, which I
had the privilege of reading before this body, Bishop
von Preysing condemned Nazi theories as being
contrary to ‘the absolute sovereign power of God.’
“The Bishop of Munster, August Count von Galen,
told his congregation in March that the German de
feat at Stalingrad was a punishment for the Nazi
persecution of peoples in occupied countries and
especially of the Jew.
“Here is what all the Catholic Bishops in Germany
told the Nazis in a pastoral letter this spring:
“ ‘Before the authorities we stand up for religious
and clerical rights, but likewise for the human rights
bestowed by God on mankind’.”
Senator Mead related how His Eminence Pierre
Cardinal Gerlier, Archbishop of Lyon, in France,
told Catholics it was their duty not to surrender
Jewish children, whom they were hiding, to the
Nazi. He continued:
“Only last February a high-ranking Nazi official
summoned Cardinal Gerlier to him and demanded
that the Fftmch clergy cease their opposition to Nazi
anti-Jewish measures. Cardinal Gerlier told the
German commandant that the French clergy was
responsible not to the Germans but to the com
mands of the Pope. Then the French Cardinal re
minded this Nazi official:
“ ‘Doubless Your Excellency knows that the Holy
Father has condemned the anti-Jewish laws and
measures against the Jews’.”
Senator Mead recalled that in Belgium, although
arrests and executions have resulted from-defiance
of the Nazis, Belgians still are being instructed by
their clergy to pray every day for the persecuted and
tortured Jews. He also told of the efforts being
waged by. the Catholic and Protestant Churches
alike In Holland to aid the Jews.
by one of them that he was show
ing his friends where he had been
baptized the week before, adding
that he had expected to have been
confirmed that day, but due to the
absence of the Catholic chaplain of
his outfit he had not been able to
complete his preparatory instruc
tion.
The young soldier, whose home
was in Virginia, expressed his dis
appointment at not having been
able to be confirmed as he had
wished, and was delighted beyond
measur^ when Bishop O’Hara
made himself known and told the
young man that he could receive
the Sacrament of Confirmation
within the next few minutes.
Father Harold Gaudin, of the
Society of Jesus, pastor of the
church, was summoned from the
rectory, necessary arrangements
were quickly made, and Bishop
O’Hara then proceeded to con
firm the soldier of the United
States as a soldier of Christ.
Paul D. Williams, of Richmond,
Virginia, was one of those who took
the lead in the organization of the
Catholic Committee of the South,
and as its Executive Secretary, was
largely responsible for the pro
gress that the Committee made
since it was formed at a meeting
in Atlanta three years ago.
At the recent annual meeting of
the C. C. S., held in Biloxi, Mr.
Williams found it necessary to re
tire from the office which he held
with distinction.
Giving generously of his time
and his ability, Paul Williams lias
rendered splendid service to the
Church and to the South, and his
contribution toward furthering the
program of the C. C. S., has earned
him the grateful appreciation of
all those who are interested in the
attainment of the aims for which
the C. C. S., was established.
In selecting Father Thomas E.
O’Connell, of Richmond, to be
chairman of the Catholic Commit
tee of the South, the meeting at
Biloxi made a wise and splendid
choice. The meeting in Richmond
last year was one of the most out
standing in the history of the C. C.
S., and a great share of the credit
for its success is due to Father
O'Connell.
As far as the editor of The Bul
letin is concerned, one of the most
pleasant recollections of the trip
to Toledo to attend the convention
of the Catholic Press Association
was the stop-over in Dayton on the
return journey, and the opportuni
ty which it gave to visit the Uni
versity of Dayton, and enjoy a de
licious dinner as the guest of
Brother Thomas Price, S. M.. a
member of the faculty, and in the
company of Father John P. Kenny,
a young Dominican priest, also a
teacher at the University.
Brother Price, whose home was
formerly in Augusta, where his
brother, J. P. Price is the present
grand knight 1 of Patrick Walsh
Council, Knights of Columbus, per
sonally conducted the editor of The
Bulletin, and his Dayton relatives
through the University, a tour of
inspection in which one of the
highlights was a visit to the Home
Economics department which is a
charge of Sister Raphael, of the
Missionary Sisters of the Sacred
Heart, who was one of the nuns
who attend the University of Geor
gia several years ago for post
graduate study.
The two altar boys who assisted
the Most Rev. Charles F. Buddy,
Bishop of San Diego, at the Sol
emn Military Memorial Mass of
fered recently at St. Patrick’s
Cathedral, San Diego, California,
are the grandsons of one of Am
erica’s outstanding Catholic naval
heroes of World War I.
The altar boys are Richard and
Frederick Benson. They are the
grandsons of the late Rear Admir
al William S. Benson, who was
chief of naval operations during
World War I, and who was a for
mer president of the National
Council of Catholic Men. The
boys’ father is Captain F. W. Ben
son, U. S. Navy.
Admiral Benson, long regarded
as one of Georgia’s most distingu
ished sons, was a native of Macon,
and one of the leading Catholic
laymen of the United States. Tak
ing an active interest in the work
of the Catholic Laymen’s Associa
tion of Georgia, for a number of
years prior to his death, he held
the office of Honorary Vice-Presi
dent.
Survivors from the illuminated
hospital ship “Centaur,” which was
torpedoed by a Japanese subma
rine off the Australian coast, in
cluded Eleanor Savage, a Catho
lic, sole survivor among 12 nurses
who were in the party that drifted
36 hours offshore on a raft.
While the raft drifted, the Cath
olic nurse led the survivors in the
recitation of the Rosary, and she
also invoked the intercession of
the Little Flower of Jesus and St.
Christopher. When they were fin
ally sighted by an airplane, all the
survivors joined with the Catho
lic nurse in the recitation of pray
ers of thanksgiving. Several non-
Catholics who were on the raft
are now receiving instructions in
the Catholic faith.
Following the widely publicized
recommendation of the Rev. Rob
ert Brennan, O. S. B., of Savannah,
made at the time of the annual
convention of the Savannah-Atlan
ta Diocesan Council of the Nation
al Council of Catholic Women,
held in Atlanta last month, that
there should be a resident chaplain
at Tattnall Prison in Reidsville.
Georgia, there now comes the an
nouncement from the State Board
of Prisons of the appointment of
the Rev. C. P. Watson, a Baptist
minister of Blackshear, as a full
time chaplain at the prison in
Tattnall, while ministers of other
religious groups would have access
to the prison at all times.
From Chaplain Harold Barr,
“somewhere” in the Pacific war
area, comes a V-Mail letter dated
June 2, Father Barr writes that
he had no idea when he was or
dained to the priesthood in 1924
that he would spent the nineteenth
anniversary of his ordination on
the other side of the w*rld from
Georgia. ___ .
Friends of Patrick McCahill, a
member of- the Sacred Heart par
ish in Augusta, feel that he is de
serving of a Carnegie Medal for
the heroism, daring and presence
of mind he displayed recently
when effecting the rescue of a
young girl and her foster-father
who were struggling in the swift
waters of the canal after falling
through the floor of the Hawk’s
Gully bridge on Broad Street in
this city.
Miss Mary Flannery O'Connor,
who has just completed her fresh
man year at the Georgia State
College for Women, in Milledge
ville, is fast making a name for
herself as a cartoonist. The young
artist, doesn’t remember when she
wasn’t writing and illustrating hu
morous verse. Seventeen years
old, she is the daughter of Mrs.
Regina Cline O'Connor, of Mil
ledgeville, and the late Edward F.
O'Connor, Jr., at one time state
commander of the American
Legion in Georgia.
From what can be made out of
the new Income Tax Act adopted
by Congress, those who are not
subject to the 20 percent withhold
ing tax, will have to file a return
on September 15, estimating their
income for the calendar year, end
ing December 31.
It would seem that business men
will now not only be obliged to
hire certified public accountants
and tax experts to assist them in
preparing their income tax re
turns, but. will also have to enlist
the services of fortune tellers.
H. K_
