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THE BULLETIN OF THE CATHOLIC LA YMEN'S ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA
FEBRUARY 24, 1945
THE BULLETIN
The Official Organ of the Catholic Laymen’s
Association of Georgia, Incorporated.
HUGH KINCIILEY. Editor .
216-217 Southern Finance Building, Augusta. Ga.
ASSOCIATION OFFICERS FOR 1944-1945
BERNARD S. FAITY, Rome President
MARTIN J. CALLAGHAN, Macon Vice-Pfes.
J. B. McCALLUM, Atlanta Secretary
HUGH GRADY. Savannah Treasurer
HUGH KINCIILEY. Augusta Executive Secretary
MISS CECILE FERRY, Augusta Financial Secretary
A M McAULlFFE. Augusta Auditor
Vol. XXVI.
February 24. 1945
No. 2.
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 ot N C. W. C. News Service. Religious News
Service, the Catholic Press Association of the United States,
the Gteorgio Press Association and the National Editcrial
Association.
Published monthly by the Catholic Laymen’s Association
nf Georgia, Inc., with the Approbation of the Most Rev
erend Bishops of Raleigh, Charleston and Savarmah-At-
Janta, and of the Right Reverend Abbot-Ordinary of Bel
mont.
Catholic- Pi 'css Month
N A SERIES of eight articles on the question—
“Can Catholicism Win America'.'''—which ap
peared recently in The Christian Index, a non-
Catholic magazine, Dr. Harold E. Fey, field editor
of that publication, devoted his third article to a
discussion of “Catholicism and the Press.’’
He wrote that a method of strengthening the
Catholic Press is the annual observance nationally
of Catholic Press Month.
If there ever was a time when the Catholic Press
needed to he strong it is in the disturbing days
through which we are now passing.
Never was a strong Catholic Press needed more
than it is needed today, when anti-Catholics are
taking advantage of troubled time to launch attacks
with greater frequency and vehemence.
The Catholic Press has a big job to do, and it
needs the support of. every Catholic, and certainly
every Catholic needs the support which can be given
him in return by the Catholic Press.
Those who are already fortifying themselves in
their Faith by reading Catholic papers and mag
azines are asked to impress upon their Catholic
friends the benefit of following their example.
Envoys to the Vatican
I N THIS issue, and in the last previous issue,
The Bulletin carried in its news column ac
counts of certain requests that had been made
for an investigation, by the Foreign Relations Com
mittee of the United States Senate, of the diplomatic
relations between the United States and the Vatican.
These requests have also been reported in the
columns of many daily newspapers, and wide pub
licity has also been given to the resolution adopted
at the convention of the Federal Council of Churches
of Christ in America, opposing diplomatic rela
tions between this country and the Holy See.
Honorable Herbert A. O’Brien. Justice of the
Domestic Relations Court, in New York, wrote a
letter to the New York Herald Tribune some weeks
ago, and discussed the subject of American diplo
matic relations with the v atican at some length,
the Herald Tribune did not publish Judge O'Brien’s
letter in its entirety, but it was published in full
by The Tablet, official publication of the Diocese
of Brooklyn, and if is believed that these quotations
from the communication, as it appeared in The
Tablet are of timely interest:
Japanese-Americans were ad
vised against returning to the
West Coast by the Rev. Leo H.
Tibesar, a Maryknoll Father, who
was formerly pastor of the Jap
anese mission in Seattle and now
Maryknoll director at Camp Mini
doka, Idaho.
Speaking in Seattle before the
Conference on Minority Groups,
Father Tibesar said: “After thir
teen years of service here, I feel
that the Japanese question is
hopeless of solution as far as the
West Coast is concerned. The
American citizen children of Jap
anese parents are entitled to a
chance at education under more
normal conditions than prevail
along the West Coast now.”
“The Federal Council of Churches of Christ in
America reported that diplomatic relations ‘would
confer upon one Church a special preferential status
contrary to the spirit of our American tradition’ and
would encourage ‘the un-American policy of a union
of Church and State.’
“The fact, however, is that an American Minister
to the Rope is not a new thing in our American
history. We had an American Minister at the Vati
can for many years. The propriety of an Ameri
can representative of public debates in the halls
of the Congress of the United States by what can
be termed the most distinguished Protestant states
men ever gathered in the halls of our capitol.
“The debates in the Congressional Record show
that every objection now advanced in the recent
release by the Federal Council of Churches of
Christ in America was carefully analyzed and fully
debated. Their conclusions remain a minute and
exhaustive study and approval of the value to the
American people of having American representa
tion at the Vatican.
“The original recommendation to send tin Ameri
can Minister to the Pope can e from President
James K. Polk. He was a Presbyterian and a Free
Mason, Royal Arch. Seven succeeding American
Presidents appointed Ministers to the Vatican from
time to time during their respective terms. Those
were Zachery Taylor. Milliard Filmore. Franklin
Pierce. James Buchanan. Abraham Lincoln and An
drew Johnson. President Johnson also was a Free
Mason, a Roval Arch and a Knights Templar.
"None of these Presidents of the United States
in sending a Minister to the Pope saw the slightiest
danger ‘of a union of Church and State’ or a ‘special
preferential status conferred upon one Church,’ or
that it was ‘contra./ to our history tradition.
“All of the Secretaries of State during the service
of our American Ministers to the Vatican were
Protestants. They included William H. Seward.
Lewis Cass. Edward Everett, W. L. Marcy. Daniel
Webster and James Buchanan (later President>.
“All of the American Ministers sent to Rome
bore personal messages of esteem and friendship
from the Presidents of the United States. Among
Hi esc were Rufus King, Brigadier General and
Regent of the University of Wisconsin, Lewis Cass,
Jr.. Richard M. Blackford. Alexander W. Randall,
later Governor of Wisconsin and John P. Stockton,
U. S. Senator from New Jersey, all distinguished
Protestants.
“The matter came before Congress in the shape
of a bill for appropriation of the salary and ex
pense of the American legation. The U. S. Senate
approved the resolution on March 6. 1848. by a vote
of 37.to 7. In the House of Representatives the
vote was -equally overwhelming, 137 to 15. Out ol
fne entire membership in the House there were but
two Catholics. ’
“The action of Congress tn this overwhelming
vote approving tlie necessity and value of a diplo
matic representation to the Pope was made distinct
ly American and distinctly Protestant by the em
phatic language of the Senators and Congressmen
themselves.
“it was Congressman G. II. lngcrsol in voting
approval, who said, ‘We arc a Protestant Congress
representing a Protestant community . . •’
“It was Senator William A. Allen, oi Ohio, who
voting his approval of the bill declared: this mis
sion to a government recognized as such . . . known
ty law to the nations, and sustaining relations as
a government to other nations, a government in all
essential features, independent of the peculiarity
of an ecclesiastic at its head.’
“It was Congressman Brown of Pennsylvania,
who approving the bill declared, ’it bad never been
made an objection to establishing diplomatic rela
tions with foreign countries, that their religion was
Episcopalian, Lutheran, Catholic, that it was any
thing or nothing ...”
“Senator Henry Foote of Mississippi, later its
Governor, in voting his approval hailed the Pope,
‘as the champion of freedom’ and said ’lie is worthy
of our highest regard, our sincerest reverence, out
most devout affection . .
Senator Lewis Cass of Michigan, later Governor
of Michigan and U. S. Secretary of War. declared
. . . ‘our relations with the Pope are with him as a
temporal prince, and not as the Sovereign Pontiff.
He has all the rights of any other Sovereign . . .
to do anything which of right an independent gov
ernment may do . .
Senator Cass dismissed the opposition by rea
son of the Pope's position as Head of the Catholic
Church in these words: ‘I do not understand at all,
sir, what effect the ecclesiastical functions of the
Pope can have upon his rights as Ihe head of an in
dependent State . . . His functions and position as
Head of a great branch of the Christian Church,
this government has no concern with.’
“Senator Cass said, ‘the Queen of England (Queen
Victoria) is the legal head of the English Church
and if she cannot exercise episcopal powers she
can make bishops.' ‘The Russian Emperor,” con
tinued Mr. Cass 'is tlie head of the Greek Church.’
"Senator John A. Dix, an Episcopalian, later
Governor of New York, a Vestryman of Trinity
Church and Secretary of the Treasury, said T con
sider tlie Pope to all intents as a temporal Sov
ereign . . . We send a diplomatic representation lo
the Emperor of China, who claims to be the sole
vice-regent of the Supreme Being on Earth. We
have a Minister at Constantinople . . . American
Consuls with diplomatic powers .it Morocco and
the Barbary States.’
“ ‘ The peoples of these countries,’ continued Mr.
Dix. 'are either Turks, Moors, Arabs or Berbers—
all utterly denying the authenticity of the Christian
faith.’
“Americans today are asking why do the Christian
nation maintain Ambassadors and Ministers
Plenipotentiary at the Vatican, to the Pope whose
Sovereignity, as Senator Cass said, lie has been
s< for the last 1.100 years.’ and Gilbert Chesterton
puts it covers ‘a tiny scrap of territory not much
larger than its own flag.' whose Papal flag ’is
saluted by all the flags of the world.’
"American's today arc asking why docs Protestant
England, Catholic France. Protestant Finland,
CathoJic Portugal, Protestant Germany, Catholic
Belgium, Pagan Japan. Catholic Hungary, Protest
ant Liberia, Catholic Poland, all the larger South
American Republics, Mexico, Cuba, Greek Orthodox
Rumania, Haiti, Catholic Spain, Slovakia, Santo
Domingo and otners. together representing 470
millions of people, why do these nations keep in
close contact with the Pope?
“Obviously a valuable tiling lo I in- whole world,
it must be equally valuable to 130.000.000 Ameri
cans, and the thought naturally follows: what power
ful influence opposes contact with the Pope. He
was among tlie first to tender aid and sympathy
tr our struggling infant nation in its most critical
period, the record of which is entered in the diary
cf Benjamin Franklin in bis own handwriting.
“A leaderlcss and bewildered world hinging
deeper into tlie morass of blood, hungers for a
trusted leader, and for an end to wars. Not once
has tlie cause of peace and its solution been placed
in the hands of tlie Pope—tlie only Christian leader
who lias insistently proclaimed that in peace, not in
war. can difference and disputes of nations 1)0 ad
justed and harmonized.
"Around the Papal Chair at his very moment tlie
Ambassadors ol the nations of civilization, including
our own diplomatic representative. Myron Taylor,
are gathered, where sits the sole champion of the
dignity and Hit' sovereignty of all tlie small nations
both Protestant and Cathclic, who alone did bis
uiinrrtt to save us all from war—the Pope.
“It was tlie Protestant Archbishop of Canterbury,
the Most Rev. Cosmas Cordon Lane, speaking in
the British Parliament who pledged the support of
all the Protestant denominations behind the Pope,
as the spokesman of all Christendom, in order that
a universal Christian society might have ils right
ful voice in the preservation of peace and to avert
wars.
“It was a Protestant Congressman. John G. Alex
ander of Minnesota, who not long ago on the floor
of Congress, in an earnest and moving address to
his fellow members expressed bis conviction of
this obvious fact in these words: ‘all bands join to
gether Protestant, Jews. Catholics and unbelievers,
behind the Pope. It is the only true way to peace.”
From-the parachute of a chap
lain who landed safely but who
was later killed in action on a Eu
ropean battlefield, a chasuble lias
been made and is worn by the
Rev. Martin Walsh, pastor of St.
Theresa Church, Shreveport, La.
Paratroopers gave the para
chute to the chaplain’s friends,
the Rev. Milburn J. Broussard, for
mer pastor of Christ the King
Church, Bossier, La., who is also
serving as a chaplain. Chaplain
Broussard sent the parachute to
a convent in England, where (he
nuns made a Gothic chasuble
from the material. Father Brous
sard sent the vestment as a gift,
to Father Walsh.
With a quotation familiar to
countless Catholics in all walks of
life Henry A. Wallace, former
vice-president and now nomirre
for Secretary of Commerce, start
ed a guessing game when in the
course of an address lie delivered
at a dinner in his honor in New
York some weeks ago, he quoted
warning from “one of the world s
great leaders” concerning the con
centration of “immense power and
economic domination” in the
"hands of a few.”
After he finished the quotation,
Mr. Wallace said: “This is from a
statement by one of the world’s
great leaders and I shall be intei-
ested in discovering which news
paper or radio man is the first to
identify the author. The analysis,
which was made in 1930, still fits.’
Mr. Wallace slipped on the date.
The correct date of the “analysis
was May 15, 1931. The author
was His Holiness Pope Pius XI,
and tlie quotation was from his
great social Encyclical. “Quadre-
simo Anno,” which marked the
fortieth anniversary of the fa
mous "Rcraum Novarum” Ency
clical of His Holiness Pope Leo
XIII.
It is interesting to note that the
quotation from the late Pope’s En
cyclical was promptly identified
by a number of secular newspa
pers.
Two Catholic programs are in
cluded In a pamphlet entitled
“The Best in Radio Listening”, is
sued by he Division of Christian
Education of the Board of Home
Missions of the Congregational
Christian Churches, representing
eleven million Protestants in the
Congregational-Christian, Presby
terian and Methodist churches if;
the United States.
The two Catholic programs in
the recommended list of sixteen-
dealing with religion are “The
Catholic Hour.” sponsored by the
National Council of Catholic Men
:ind carried on the network of the
National Broadcasting Company,
and the “Hour of Faith,” broad
cast over the Blue Network and
also sponsored by the N. C. C. M.
Also recommended are tiie Co
lumbia Broadcasting S y s t e m’s
“Church of tlie Air,” Mutual's “Ra
dio Chapel,” each of which has
Catholic representation.
Catholic* who have for years
paid taxes to support tlie public
schobls, while at tlie same time
maintained a Catholic school sys
tem. will probably be interested
in the following editorial, which
in The News and Courier, of
Charleston, recently, under the
headline "Would Starve Church
Schools:”
“Inasmuch as churchly teach
ing in publicly supported schools
and college is apparently in con
tradiction to the American consti
tutional system, the tendency in
those institutions is lo become not
only non-religious but sometimes
to admit anti-religion. In South
Carolina, this has not come to
pass, but it is factual in some of
tlie rich and great American insti
tutions, as well as in common
SC :■ ioIs of great cities, if Hie peo
ple of South Carolina shall lie
heavily taxed lo support public
institutions, the ability of support
ers of church colleges in the stale
will be proportionately reduced.
The net and final result would be
restriction of worship now guar
anteed by the Bill of Rights. 1 ax-
ation is compulsion, and church
institutions can lie caused to
shrink by imposing inordinate
taxes to maintain non-religious in
stitutions.”
Several days ago, the editor of
The Bulletin received a letter
from one of this paper’s valued
friends, the Rev. Alfred J. Laube,
formerly pastor of the Immaculate
Conception Church in Augusta,
but presently serving as auxiliary
chaplain at tlie Prisoner of War
Camps in Charleston and Waiter-
boro.
Father Laube reminded that some
years ago this column stated that
l lie great Russian, army leader;
“Tim O’Slienko” was fighting in a
way that he was as Irish as his
“name” indicated.
Now Father Laube has found the
following item in the columns of
The Ave Marla, and more light is
thrown ini the facetious reference
t the Russian general: "Accord
ing to Hie Irish Echo, Marshal
Timoshenko is tlie grandson of
Tim O'Shane, who left. Derry in
1889 and settled in Russia. Ac
cording to the Echo the original
O’Shane had a son who married a
Russian but who kept: the name
Tim O'Shane above his small shop
for a long time, laqpr changing it
to the Russian form. Timoshenko.”
Henry J. Murphy, president,
Mrs. John 15. Byrne, treasurer, and
Mrs. A. S. Connor, secretary, of
the Columbus Branch of the Lay
mens’ Association, have reported
Columbus lias already subscribed
Us full quota for the year.
A piece of Philippines victory
currency—Issued to our troops who
successfully took Leyte from the
Japanese turned up in Augusta
this week. It was sent in for in
spection by Capt. Louis Fink, pub
lic relations officer at Oliver Gen
eral Hospital, it was a one peso
note which bears the words “Cur
rency of tlie United Slates, with
“Vlfctory” in large letters written
across tlie orange-colored side of
the note. The other side closely
resembles an American dollar in
size, color and lettering, it reads
“This certifies that there has been
deposited in tlie treasury of tlie
Philippines one peso payable to
the bearer on demand in silver
pesos or in legal tender currency
of the United States of equivalent
value. A picture of Mabini. Phil
ippine hero, adorns the bill, and
it is signed by President Osmena.
It may be well for us, here in the South to re
member that not o ily did the United States main
tain diplomatic relations with Ihe Papal States lor
many years, but toward the close of the War Be
tween the States, Bishop Lynch, of Charleston, was
sent to the Vatican, by Jefferson Davis, as the ac
credited representative of the Southern Confeder
acy, which fact is a strong indication that in a
period when few Catholics could be found below
the Mason-Dixon line, the people of the pre-domin-
antly Protestant South could not have believed any
threat to the principle of separation of Church and
State was held in tlie presence of a representative
of their government at the Vatican.
Calling nurses tlie angels of The
sick bed, the Most Rev. Richard
J. Cushing. Archbishop of Bos
ton. paid high tribute to nurses
wlio had answered the call for ser
vice in tlie armed forces at a cere
mony honoring Boston City Hos
pital nurses.
Archbishop Cushing said the
soldiers will remember with warm
gratitude “tlie nurse who smiled
at their many demands, the nurse
who read and wrote letters for
them, the nurse who helped them
walk again, the nurse who moth
ered them in the ugliness of their
illness.”
The most brilliant designer of
Paris, said the Archbishop, could
not have designed a more beauti
ful costume than the white uni
form of a nurse. “And perhaps
Cod Himself,” he added, “would
be hard put to it to devise a finer
opportunity for generous, helpful,
cheering service than nursing of-
i fcj’s these young girls in white
Fifty-six U. S, Marines about to
go to a war area, were guests of
Maryknoll Sister - Missioners on
(lie Island of Maui. Hawaii, for
Christmas dinner. Sister M. Dan
iel. formerly of Butler. Pa., writes
in a letter received at Maryknoll,
N. Y.
"We wanted to make it: as lovely
and homelike as possible.” Sister
Daniel writes. "On Christmas Eve
some of the boys spent the day at
the convent, and we sent them
over to the homemaking room
with all the food which could be
restored in the refrigerator.
“On Christmas Day the hoys be
gan to arrive at 10 o'clock though
dinner was not scheduled until
2:30. They had been warned that
KP duty awaited them but they
took their jobs gladly. The din
ner menu was: fruit cocktail, roast
turkey, stuffing, giblet gravy,
mashed potatoes, corn niblets,
beets, celery, pickles, olives, cran-
bery sauce, ice cream, fruit cake,
homemade candy, and gallons of
I coffee.” Hi K.