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FEBRUARY 19, 1944
THE BULLETIN OF THE CATHOLIC LAYMEN’S ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA
ONE—A
Mil |l*»iu1fP»»f*MH
U. S. Aviators in China
Have Catholic Missions
Marked on Their Maps
(By N. C. W. C. News Service)
CHUNGKING — Maryknoll
Mission stations in the Kweilin
section of South China are enter
ed on the official flying maps of
American Army aviators. When
the flyers are forced to bail out
or make a crash landing over the
Kweilin area, they have learned
how helpful it is to seek out a
Maryknoller to take care of them.
For example, the Rev. Joseph
Regan, of Fairhaven, Mass., who
conducts the Pinglo Mission, has
just returned from Kweilin after
escorting his eighth aviator back to
an American base. This flier
crashed in the West River and
spent eight days in a sampan be
fore reaching Father Regan.
“The aviators all know where
our missions ate,” says Father
Regan. “They have them marked
on their maps. When they are in
trouble they come to us. They
certainly enjoy some bacon and
eggs after eating Chinese food
for days. Most of the fliers who
come our way are non-Catholics
but-all leave with a good impres
sion of Catholic mission work.
Chinese government officials have
been instructed to get in touch
with us as soon as a flier is re
ported forced down.”
Another Maryknoller, the Rev.
Francis Keelan, of Waverly, Mass.,
recently made two trips of 200
miles each to bring aviators to
the base near Kweilin.
Two other Maryknollers, the
Rev. Leo Walter, of Cincinnati,
and the Rev. Robert Greene, of
Jasper, Ind., are saying evening
Masses for Catholic flyers at the
air bases in their vicinity. The
fliers are very appreciative and
bring gifts of cigarettes and
American reading matter to the
missioners. Another Maryknoller,
the Rev. James Gilloegly, of
Scranton, has become a regular
Air Force Chaplain with the China
fliers.
ANNIVERSARY PROGRAM AT
HINESVILLE USO-NCCS CLUB
HINESVILLE, Ga.—As part of
the nationwide observance of the
third anniversary of the United
Service Organizations, a special
program was presented at the
USO-NCCS Club in Hinesville.
Officers from Camp Stewart
who spoke on the occasion were
General Edward A. Stockton, Jr.,
commander of the AAATC, whose
topic was “The USO and the
Army;” Capt. Jane Brown, com
manding officer of the WAC de
tachment, speaking on “The WAC
Part in the USO;” and Lieut. Ralph
Shumaker, of the military police
detachment, who spoke on “The
Value of the USO to Soldiers and
Civilians.” A number of enlisted
men also spoke, and a band under
the direction of Warrant Officer
Charleton S. Hickok, played. Chap
lain C. H. Kaveny, formerly of
the faculty of Roger Bacon College,
El Paso, Texas, conducted by the
Order of Friars Minor, gave the
invocation.
Appoint New Director of
Charleston Port USO Club
CHARLESTON, S. C.— Harold
A. Lane, of New York City and
San Francisco, is the ne’,v director
of the Port USO club on Yea-
man’s Hall Road, replacing John
J. Cimpi, who had been directoV
of the club on an emergency as
signment following the transfer of
Edward J. Cummins, former club
director. Mr. Cimpi is now direc
tor of the USO-NCCS Club at West
Palm Beach, Florida.
Mr. Lane was educated in Win
chester, England, and continental
schools, and has traveled in many
countries in the interest of dra
matic and stage production and
promotion. He has also engaged
in phases of motion picture pro
duction. This is his first assign
ment with the United Service Or
ganizations.
VALENTINE DANCE FOR"
SODALITY IN ATLANTA
ATLANTA, Ga.—The first social
event of the Sodality of Our Lady
was a Valentine dance on Febru
ary 11, at the Knights of Colum
bus. Home. Mrs. Robert Henry and
Mrs. J. J. McIntosh, assisted by
the committee chairmen of the
Sacred Heart School and Marist
College, were in charge of the ar
rangements.
The Rev. Andrew A. Walls, S.
1VI., spiritual director of the Sodali
ty, realizing the need for planned
recreation and spiritual training
for the young people of today is
very great, formed the Sodality
in December, with 163 members
from the high school grades of the
Sacred Heart School and Marist
College. The Sodality’s main object
is mutual helpfulness and the per
formance of works of charity, in
cluding work on behalf of Our
Lady of Perpetual Help Free Can
cer Homes and Our Lady of Lour
des Colored mission.
Officers of the Sacred Heart
School Sodality are Ruth Todd,
prefect; Virginia Azar, sub-prefect;
Theresa DiChristina, secretary;
Jacqueline Ely, treasurer. Offi
cers at Marist College are Fred
Kratina, prefect; Stephen Burke,
sub-prefect; Joseph Hurst, secre
tary; William Stoddard, treasurer.
VOCATIONAL SCHOOL
AUXILIARY MEETS
SAVANNAH, Ga — The Most
Rev. Gerald P. O’Hara, Bishop of
Savannah-Atlanta addressed the
January meeting of the St. Thomas
Vocational School Auxiliary, and
took that opportunity to thank the
members for the excellent work
with the boys at Christmas. The
Rev. Eugene Kearney, C. S. V.,
director of the school, and the
Rev. Daniel J. Bourke, pastor of
the Blessed Sacrament Church, al
so spoke.
Boys whose birthdays were cele
brated during the month were
Lucien Bultman, Fred Zehl and
Thomas Carroll.
AMERICAN CATHOLIC clergy
in Jerusalem, numbering seven
Franciscans and one Dominican
Brother, were the guests of Lowell
C. Pinkerton, Consul-General of
the United States, at a luncheon
given in their honor at the U. S.
Consulate during the holidays,
PAPAL AND CHRIST THE KING FLAGS
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Robert M. Kasper
Heads Branch of
C. L. A. in Albany
MR. KASPER
(Special to The Bulletin)
ALBANY, Ga. —At the annual
meeting of the Albany Branch of
the Catholic Laymen’s Association
of Georgia, Robert M. Kasper was
elected president to succeed
Joseph L. Rau, who has beaded
the local unit for the last four
years.
Other officers named were J.
H. Wiggerman, vice-president;
Mrs. F. V. Lewis, treasurer, and
Mrs. J. L. Bacon, secretary. .The
executive board will consist* of
Garrett Fleming, Morton M. Wig
gins, George Mock, L. E. Mock,
Mrs. Ray Pinkston, Miss Margaret
Mock, and Miss Mary L. Brosnan,
who will serve as chairman.
The new president of the Al
bany Branch is a native of Chi
cago. After graduating from a
vocational school, where he stu
died aviation, Mr. Kasper was em
ployed as a mechanic at the Darr
Aero Tech School in Chicago, and
when the school opened a branch
in Albany, to train flyers for the
Army, Mr. Kasper was among the
first to come here as a ground
school instructor.
AIR BASE BAND GIVES
CONCERT AT MACON USO
MACON, Ga.—Members of the
U. S. Army band from Herbert
Smart Field presented a concert
and a variety show at the USO-
NCCS Club on January 23, with
First Sgt. Joseph Forcucci, of
Granville, N. Y., as master of
ceremonies.
The program included an acro
batic act by Cpl. Henry Seager,
LeRoy, N. Y., and Cpl. Donald
Anderson, Mylo, N. Y., and female
impersonations by Corporal Sea
ger. Cpl. Charles Munson, Water-
bury, Conn., trumpet player, and
Cpl. Burton Morries, New York,
City, drummer, presented a
comedy skit.
Other members of the band
taking part were Pvt. Jack O’Con
nell, Lawrence, Mass.; Sgt. John
Coleman, Johnstown, Pa.; Elmo
Roberts, Tucson, Ariz.; Pfc. Robert
Ricter, San Antonio, Tex.; Cpl.
Pat Piccioni, Pittsburgh; Sgt.
Everett Hale, Denver; Pfc. Jack
D'Agostino, Bayonne, N. J.; Cpl.
Harold Trandahl, Alcester, S. D.:
Pfc. Berney Aaagbach, Hancock,
Mich.; Pfc. Tony Grocetti, Bridge-
ville, Pa., and Warrant Officer
Keaggel, director.
ATLANTA STUDENT ACTORS
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ATLANTA, Ga. — “The King’s
Players,” the dramatic club of
Christ the King High School, pre
sented three one-act plays on Feb
ruary 11, on the stage of the school
auditorium.
“The Magic Book,” was pre
sented by members of the fresh
men class with Mary Hepburn,
Gwendolyn McDonald, Patty
Wade, Joan Stephens, Barbara
Wrigley, Caroline Green, Barbara
Van Frank, Julianne Hartrampf,
Mary Ann Dahlbender, Jerene
Garges, Marilyn Wade, Mary Man
ning, Mary Elizabeth Beck, Joan
Gunning, and Pat Bagwell in the
cast.
Members of the sophomore
class appearing in “Oh! Say Can
You Sing,” were Barbara Bow
man, Josephine Kane, Lucille
Wrigley, Christine Stephens,
Joanne Wrigley, and Joan Ma
honey.
The cast of “The Knave of
Hearts," included Patti Conlan,
Ann Newman, Joan Stephens,
Rose Kelan, Julia Hepburn, Marie
Claire Gunning, Frances Whit
man and Betty Mitcham, of the
junior class.
Foreign Policy Report Upholds Vatican;
Cites Opposition of Popes to Totalitarianism
By
REV. WILFRID PARSON, S. J.
Catholic University of America
(Written for NCWC News Service)
The Foreign Policy Association
recently published a Report en
titled “The Foreign Policy of the
Vatican,” written by Sherman S.
Hayden, one of its research staff.
The news agencies’ account of this
report did less justice both to it
and the Vatican, and hence some
further description of it will be
useful.
The purpose of the Report was
to investigate the charge made
against the last two Popes that
they have been Fascist-minded,
and that the Church has fpllowed
them in this regard. It may be
said at once that the Report com
pletely absolves both the Popes
and the Church of this charge,
though it does find that in some
of his dealings Pius XI was too
trusting and complacent toward
Italian Fascism.
The Report properly makes a
distinction between the basic doc
trine of the Church and the per
sonal opinions and policies of the
Popes. On this count, it has no
difficulty in showing that there is
an inherent contradiction between
Catholicism ana the totalitarian
philosophy. There is one simple
reason for this. The totalitarian
philosophy insists “that service to
the State replaces service to God
as the highest duty of man.”
ENCYCLICALS CITED
Moreover, the Report reminds
us, the Popes in their teaching
capacity have not been remiss in
pointing out this fact to the world.
It has only to recall Pius XI’s two
powerful Encyclicals: Non Ab-
biamo Bisogno, of June 29, 1931,
against Italian Fascism, and Mit
Brennender Sorge, of March 14,
1937, against German Nazism. The
latter of these two, of course, as
the Report notes, appeared five
days before the same Pope’s En
cyclical On Atheistic Communism.
As far as doctrines go, there
fore, the record of the Vatican is
clear. The world has never been
left in doubt as to where the
Church must stand in its attitude
toward the totalitarian teachings.
What about the policy of the
Vatican toward the nations which
professed these teachings?
Here again the Report makes a
useful distinction. It reminds us
that, as the universal Father of a
universal spiritual body, the
Church, the Pope does not and
cannot take sides for or against
countries in which his spiritual
sons reside. Its policy, therefore,
is to have relations with all gov
ernments; and, the Report notes,
“The Vatican was no different in
this respect from the government
of the United States and Britain.”
The one exception to this rule
was Soviet Russia. Here the Re
port might have been mere ex
plicit. It inclines to attribute
Pius XI’s attitude toward Russia
to his fear and hatred of Atheistic
Communism, and holds that he
should have seen that it was a
lesser danger than Nazism in its
effect on men’s minds. It might
have recorded that Pius actually
condemned the Russian system—
the dictatorship of the proletariate
—as an unjust form of govern
ment, whereas the injustice of
Germany and Italy lay rather in
their policy than in their actual
political system. If Russia does
abandon its political theory, as
seems probable, the condemation
will no doubt be lifted.
PURPOSE OF CONCORDATS
It is this that explains the dif
ference of policy which the Popes
adopted , toward Italy and Ger
many on the one hand and Russia
on the other, it is true that the
Report does accept the difference
as inevitable and on the whole
justified, but one would expect a
clearer reason for it. The Popes,
of course, in making a Concordat
with such nations, are hoping that
that instrument will correct the
injustices of policy. It was a
tragedy that in the cases of bo!h
Italy and Germany those hopes
were shattered; but nobody can
do anything but praise the Popes
for hoping. The Report is clear
on this latter point.
This leaves a final and more
subtle question to be solved. It
has to do with what we may call
the quality of the policy adopted.
Toward Germany, after the first
few months of the Concordat, the
policy was harsh and unbending;
towards Italy it was uniformly
gentle and forgiving, with turbul
ent interludes.
The explanation given by the
Report for this fact is probably
the true one, though only history
will decide f.inuHy . It is that Pius
XI really believed that Fascist
Italy would prove to be a bul
wark against Communism, and
therefore should be supported, in
spite of its own tyrannies. Com
munism seemed to him to be the
greater evil. On the other hand,
Hitlerite Germany never conceal
ed its atheistic tendencies and be
liefs. Its racial doctrines were
especially hateful to Pius, and the
Report notes that it was not until
Mussolini 'adopted them from
Germany that the aged Pope real
ly turned against him definitively.
OTHER CONSIDERATIONS
Two stumbling blocks to a true
understanding of the Vatican's
policy remain to be considered,
and the Report is frank about
them. They are its attitude on
the Ethiopian aggression and its
policy toward Franco.
With regard to Pius XI’s “en
thusiasm” over the Ethiopian vic
tory, the Report following Pro
fessor Binchy of Dublin, is in
clined to look on it as his one
great blunder, and to attribute it
to his understandable Italian
sympathies. History again will de
cide on this.
As for the Vatican’s pplicy
toward Franco, the matter was dif
ferent. It was, the Report notes,
a deliberate choice made necessary
by the character of Franco's
enemies. “He (Pius XI) appears
to have convinced himself that
here was a clear case of conflict
between the Church and its
enemies. Franco’s Catholicism,
not his fascism, was the main rea
son for his enthusiastic support by
the Church.”
The Report has much to say
about the expressed policy of
j neutrality adopted by Pius XII in
I the present war. After what has
been said, it is not necessary to
go into this. It need only be sail
that the Report details the many
' occasions when the Pope has made
' it clear that his sympathies lie
with the United Nations, and tliu.t
it concludes that the Pope also
I .
realizes that the interests of the
Church lie there also, with some
natural fears that Communist
Russia will bring great problems.
TWO CONCLUSIONS CITED
Two of the conclusions of the
' Report are worth noting. They
j are: “(2) The view that the Pope
I is at heart a fascist and wishes to
' see the triumph of modern die-
! tutorships, while a long sequence
of superficial evidence can be
! constructed to support it, proves
, to be without foundation in fact.
(3) At the same time, he is not a
supporter of democracy, but is
just what he claims to be—indif
ferent to political forms, accept
ing any government which will
meet the minimum demands of
the Church.”
It may be noted finally that the
volume, “Principles for Peace,”
' published by the National Catho
lic Welfare Conference for the
American Hierarchy, was an in
dispensable aid to the writer of
the Report, and that without that
volume the Report would hardly
have been possible.
C. S. M. C. IN SAVANNAH
OBSERVES PRESS MONTH BY
SUPPORTING THE BULLETIN
SAVANNAH, Ga. — As their
contribution to the observance of
Catholic Press Month at St. Vin
cent Academy, the Theresian Unit
of the Catholic Students Mission
Crusade will sponsor a special
collection, the' proceeds of which
will be donated to the Cptholic
Laymen’s Association of Georgia
to aid it in carrying on the work
of promoting a better feeling
among Georgians, irrespective of
creed, and to aid in the spread of
Catholic literature by publishing
The Bulletin, the official organ of
the Laymen’s Associaiton and the
Catholic newspaper of Georgia and
the Carolinas.
The Rev. Frederick Gilbert, O.
M. I., of Douglas, has been invit
ed to address the students'at the
February Crusade meeting on the
work of the Oblate Fathers on the
Missions in South Georgia.
ATLANTA PAROCHIAL SCHOOL
ANNOUNCES WHO’S WHO LIST
ATLANTA, Ga. — The annual
superlative election was held re
cently at the Sacred Heart School
with the following result: Most
talented, Peggy Handley; most
popular, Jeanne Cantwell; most
athletic, Lenore Odom; best all-
around, Theodore Holbrook; most
intelligent, Ruth Todd; wittiest,
Maurys Graham; most beautiful,
Jane Harte; most school spirit,
Helen Liedke; most dependable,
Sarah Smith; most attractive,
Janes Carlton, and most original,
Virginia Smith.