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Published by the Catholic Lay men’s Association of Georgia ■\ “To Bring About a Friendlier Feeling Among Neighbors Irre spective of Creed” Vol. XXIV No. 7 TWENTY-EIGHT PAGES AUGUSTA, GEORGIA, JULY 31, 1943 ISSUED MONTHLY—$2.00 A YEAR ■ . ANCIENT BASILICA DAMAGED IN ROME BOMBING % + + + The Basilica of San Lorenzo, in Rome, which suffered serious damage during the bombing of nearby military objectives. His Holiness Pope Pius XII left the Vatican to inspect the damage and addressed words of faith and comfort to the crowds. Built about the year 330, the Basilica was enlarged in the sixth cen tury and completed in 1216. It contains the tomb of Pope Pius IX (lower photo). (N.C.W.C.) + + + Holy Father Visits Bombed Strickened Area of Rome Bulletins IN THE DEATH of frank- Ber ing, editor of the Fraternal Order of Eagles Magazine, the University of Notre Dame mourned the loss VATICAN CITY, _(NC)— No sooner had news reached the Vati can that his beloved Diocese of Rome had been visited by a de structive air raid, then Pope Pius XII without hesitation hurried out from Vatican City to comfort and help the faithful in the stricken area. Without thought that it was the first time he had left Vatican City State since Italy’s entrance into the war, His Holiness rushed by automobile to the affected zone. His reception by the people was one of the most touching describ- able. His Holiness was particularly af fected by the report of serious damage to the Basilica of San Lorenzo. This ancient and vene rated structure, dating originally from the time of Constantine and one of the seven great Roman basilicas, was badly damaged, its interior filled with debris, al though the apse was still stand ing. It was noted, however, that the celebrated underground chapel where Pope Pius IX is entombed was apparently not seriously damaged. (The bombing of military ob jectives included the vital San Lorenzo railway yards and round houses, it has been reported by United States military authorities, and these are near the basilica). It was 5 o’clock Roman time when the news reached the Vati can. The Holy Father made his decision immediately. Accom panied by Monsignor Giovanni Montini, Secretary of State for Ordinary Affairs, he hurried by auto to the stricken area. He was Immediately surrounded by griev ing people. These latter were at •nee comforted by the presence •f the common Father and Bishop ®f Rome among his children. His Holiness was profundly moved by the demonstration of affection they gave him, and also by the spectacle of devastation. His Holiness distributed person ally material aid, at the same time addressing words of comfort and Christian hope to the people. Arriving at the Basilica, the Pope, still surrounded by a multi tude, descended from the car and approached the ancient structure. There he knelt, reciting the “de profundis” for the victims of the raid, the people joining in. Then, arising, he addressed to the crowd words of faith and comfort, and imparted the apostolic benedic tion. Before returning to the Vatican, His Holiness visited the streets of the nearby district, which had been heavily damaged. Returning to the automobile, it was found that the motor could not start due to the press of the crowd. Thereupon the people pushed the car for a quarter of a mile, when the Holy Father was transferred to the automobile of Count Galeazzi, who had arrived in the meantime, and departed fol lowed for a long distance by the grateful multitude. The car re entered the Vatican at 7:30. THE AERIAL BOMBARD MENT of the City of Rome brought His Holiness Pope Plus XII a keener appreciation than ever of what he called “the inde scribable suffering” endured by so many families in this war, ac cording to Osservatore Romano.. It has become known in Vatican City that some bombs fell in the Verano Cemetery, near the Basil ica of San Lorenzo and that one of these damaged the vault where the parents of Pope Pius XII are entombed. of one of its most valued members of the board of law trustees. Mr. Hering was an alumnus of the uni versity, a monogram winner, and the first paid football: coach. Al though a non-Catholic, he was an cutstanding champion of the Cath olic educational system. A MEMORIAL MASS for the repose of the soul of the renowned soldier-poet of World War I, Ser geant Joyce Kilmer, was offered in the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in Washington, D. C., on July 30, the twenty-fifth anniver sary of the day he made the su preme sacrifice for his country at Chateau-Thierry in France. TWO CATHOLIC PRIESTS are among the four Army chaplains who have trained specially in para chuting in order to serve with Uncle Sam's para-troopers during an invasion, according to advices received in Washington from 'an invasion center in North Africa, and are now believed serving with the invasion forces in Sicily. The priests are Capt. Matthew J. Con nelly, O. S. B., of Denver, and Lieut. Edwin J. Kozak, O. M. C., of Baltimore. Father Kozak, the first Catholic priest to become a quali fied parachutist, has nine jumps to his credit since serving at Fort Benning, Ga., last fall. A LIST containing the names of a third of those Americans who presently are held prisoners of war by the Japanese has just been received at the Vatican. The Holy See is moving without delay to communicate this list to the United States Government and to the Apostolic Delegation in Washing ton, D. C. | Pope Pius Voices Sorrow Over Bombing of Rome in Message to His Vicar (By Radio to N. C. W. C. News Service) VATICAN CITY. — His Holi ness Pope Pius XII has sent the following message to His Emi nence Francesco Cardinal Mar- clietti-Selvaggiani, Vicar Gen eral of His Holiness for the City and District of Rome, relative to the bombing of the Eternal City: To you, who so intimately share' Our government and pastoral care for this Diocese of Rome, center and head of the Catholic world and of Christian thought and faith. We wish to address Our mind in an hour of particular bitterness, in which Our soul is immersed. You know well how the sad spectacle of multiplying havoc and ruin—painful primacy of the pres ent war—hanging over unarmed and innocent populations, has moved Us, from the very begin ning the war, to attempt every means to the end that, notwith standing the conflict of arms, the sentiments and" dictates of hu manity should not remain com pletely overwhelmed and suffocat ed by passion. Therefore, in Our messages to all the Faithful. We recalled to the belligerents, no matter on what side they were fighting, that if they wished to hold high the dig nity of their nations and the honor of their arms, they should respect the' safety of peaceful citizens and the monuments of faith and civili zation. Consider—We sought to tell them—what a severe judgment future generations will pass upon those who destroy what ought to be jealously protected as the rich es and pride of all humanity and of the progress of peoples. Con sider that hate has never been the father of peace, and that re sentment arising from vast and unnecessary destruction causes to arise later, less stable and less serene, the day of peaceful union, which cannot consist in the humili ation of the conquered, but rests . and is consolidated only in broth erly concord, pacifying the minds of men and moderating the pas sions of rancor. As the Bishop of this beloved city, We have striven with assidu ous care—and Your Eminence has followed all Our efforts—that Our beloved Rome be spared the hor rors and harm of bombardments. Without recalling to mind the im mense historical importance of the ancient city, for Us Rome is the Holy City of Catholicism, risen and shining with dazzling glory in the Name of Christ, rich in marvel ous monuments of religion and art, guardian of the most precious documents and relics: Rome, whose catacombs in the time of fiercest persecutions were the first refuges of the Christian people and of the Martyrs who rendered sacred the l amphitheaters and circuses, to whose burial places people descend to pray today as they did in the very cradle of Christianity: Rome. I in whose territory are scattered the various organs of the Roman Curia, numerous institutes and Pontifical undertakings, interna tional societies and colleges un der Our dependence: so many sanc tuaries, without mentioning Our patriarchal Basilicas, so many libraries and works of the most famous artistic geniuses: Rome, to whom people in such large num bers come to learn not only the faith but also the ancient wisdom, and regard as a lighthouse of civi lization founded upon Christian virtue. But besides, almost in center of the city—and therefore exposed to the danger of aerial attack—is Our Vatican City, independent and neutral State which guards price less treasures qf faith and art, sacred patrimony not only of the Apostolic See but of the entire Catholic world. All this We have clearly and repeatedly made ap parent in recommending the safe ty of Rome to those *o whom it was a duty to safeguard it in the name of human dignity and Christian civilization. It seemed permitted to Us to hope that the weight of such evi dent arguments, the authority with which We are unworthily invested, the common acknowledgment of Our superior impartiality and the widespread, constant and benefi- cient activity which We have un dertaken for the good of all, with out distinction of nationality or religious affiliation, would have obtained for Us, among so many bitter experiences, the comfort of finding among both contending bel ligerents a favorable reception to Our intercession on behalf of Rome. Unfortunately, however, this, Our most reasonable hope, has proved a disappointment. And now the very thing We depracated has happened: the very thing which We feared and foresaw has become a sad reality, because one of the most notable of Roman Basilicas, San Lorenzo Outside the Walls, held sacred by all Catholics for its ancient traditions and for the mag nificent tomb of Our venerated predecessor, Pius IX, is now al most completely destroyed. In contemplating the luins of this monumental Basilica there came to Our mind the words of the Prophet Jeremias: “How is the gold become dim. the finest color changed, the stones of the sanctuary are scattered in the top oi every street?’’ (Lamentations of Jeremias. 1V-1) The sor rowful experience of these acts proves once again that, de spite the precautions which may be taken, it is almost impossible to avoid, on this sacred soil of Rome, the destruction of venerated edifices. Therefore, We deem it Our duty once more to raise Our voice in defense of the priceless treasures that constitute the orna ment of human and Christian grandeur, also because it is Our sacred intention, according to the promptings of Our heart, to safe guard and protect, in view of the opinion of all right-thinking people and of the judgment of future gen erations, the deposit with , which 1 we have been entrusted to protect and to transmit. Even though Our words come , from a wounded heart they are in- tended not as a spur to resentment 1 and hatred but. as We earnestly 1 hope, as an insistent and effica cious recall to a sense of lofty comprehension of the sacred des tiny of Rome, no less than to hu manity and Christian charity._ To Our beloved flock of Rome, so severely tried and whose piti ful conditions We were able to see with Our own eyes in the midst of recent ruins, We tried to bring immediate and all possible relief with the means at Our disposal. To them We now say. show forth today more than ever before the ardor and proof of that faith for which the Apostle of Gentiles gave praise to your forebears. May Christian resignation make your sorrow and privation meritorious. May this misfortune incite you to purify your souls, to expiate your faults and to return or draw more closely to Our Lord. All of Our children who look to Rome and to the Vicar of Christ, who, as Bishop, is their special and affectionate father wherever they may be. and Jn particular to all those whose experience of personal sorrow and that of others has made them more compassionate towards : the manifold human miseries, We : urgently invite them with paternal , insistence to pray the Lord that He may hasten the hour of His mercy, when the weapons of war are laid down and tranquillity of 1 the soul reigns once more, that then the light and joy of true peace may return once more and shine x-esplendent on the ti’oubled world. With this hope in Our heart, We impart to Your Eminence and to Our beloved clergy and people of Rome, the Apostolic Benediction. THE REV. JOHN F. CRONIN, S. S., Director of the Institute of Catholic Social Studies at the Catholic University of America, will give the first of a series of five addresses under the general title of “The Path of Duty”, on Sunday, August 1, over the na tion-wide “Catholic Hour”, which is broadcast each Sunday at 6 p. m.. Eastern War Time, by the Na tional Broadcasting Company, and produced by the National Council of Catholic Men. ■ "