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FEBRUARY 24, 1945
THE BULLETIN OF THE CATHOLIC LAYMEN’S ASSOCIATION
OF GEORGIA
THREE
JAPANESE NAVAL
OFFICER DIES TO
SAVE AMERICANS
(By N. C. W. C. News Service)
CHERRY POINT, N. C.—Echo
ing from the agony and torture
(hat was the "Death March of Ba
taan,” has come a saga of supreme
sacrifice by a Catholic Japanese
naval lieutenant, who gave his
life to save some of his country’s
American enemies. This is term
ed "one of (lie greatest, most hu
man stories of the Pacific war,” in
an editorial in The Wiindsook,
weekly newspaper of the U. S.
Marine Corps personnel at this air
station.
The story was related, the edi
torial reveals, by two young
American officers who escaped
from Japanese capture through
the sacrifice of the enemy naval
lieutenant and witnessed all the
events related.
"Those who survived the march
from Bataan were herded like cat
tle into troop transports bound for
the home islands . . . among
them the two young officers,” the
editorial states.
“Like wild beasts they w6re
jammed into small, stinking holds,
unable even to lie down. There
was almost no air. Occasionally a I
breath of fresh air would trickle
into the swarming hold.
That breath of fresh air was
supplied’by the young Japanese
oflicer. Stealthily he would creep
to the closed hatch cover; kick it
ajar. Finally, he was able to get a
word of explanation to the impris
oned men.
"This enemy officer was a Chris
tian, converted by the famed
Maryknoll Fathers. He had no
hatred for America, was fighting
only because his country was at
war . . He daily risked his life
in that small gesture of compas
sion . because he was a Chris
tian.
“Climax of his gamble wilii
death came when an American
torpedo ripped into the hull of
the transport. The enemy crew
swarmed into lifeboats, but only
after the hatch cover over the
prisoners had been firmly batten
ed down. In the blackened, stink
ing hold of that doomed ship
Americans waited for death
almost gratefully.
Suddenly the hatch-cover was
ripped away and the face of the
young Japanese lieutenant peered
in. Men surged up out of the hold,
among them the two young offi
cers who told this story.
“As they emerged, the young
Japanese lieutenant crumpled on
the deck, bullets from his com
manding officer's pistol buried in
his body. There he died, while the
enemies he had released plunged
over the rail of the sinking trans
port, some to die, others to ulti
mate safety.
“ ‘Greater love hath no man
World
ARMY HELPS RESTORE
FUNCTIONS OF CHURCH
ON LIBERATED LEYTE
WHERE 3,700 CIVILIANS WERE INTERNED BY Iapanfci? nn ,„ “ct , .
to the oldest university under the American ", Stars and Stripes have returned
Star Spangled Banner
Waves in Triumph Over
Santo Tomas University
New Catholic Chanlain at
Army Hospital in Augusta
AUGUSTA, Ga.—The Rev. Jos
eph A. Kelly, of the Bronx, New
York, has been assigned as Cath
olic chaplain ai Oliver General
Hospital. I ho Army's 1.600 bed in
stitution in Augusta.
Father Kelly arrived at the
hospital late in January, having
been transferred from Camp
Wheeler, in Macon. He replaces
Chaplain Walter Slnnott, now
serving in the Southwest Pacific.
Mass is offered daily at the hos
pital at 7:30 a. m., and on Sundays
at 8:30 and 11 a. m. The Mass on
Sunday is broadcast through loud
speakers to each ward.
With the great increase in the
number of casualties, Oliver Gen
eral Hospital is operating at full
capacity. Many of the men now
being received from overseas are
from the New England states,
where the proportion of Catholics
is higher than in most of the Sou
thern states. The hospital chapel
is well-filled every Sunday morn
ing, and Father Kelly has an ac
tive parish.
The main building of the hos
pital was formerly the Forest
Hills Hotel, which was for years
the mccca of winter tourists from
the North and East.
(By N. C. W. C. News Service)
The “Stars and Stripes” return
to Hie oldest university under the
American flag, and some 3 700
civilians — most of them Ameri
cans and predominantly women
and children—who have been in
terned at Santo Tomas since May
1, 1942, are now liberated. The
first act of the First Cavalry,
which by a wide encircling move
entered Manila in advance of oth
er forces., was to surround the
university grounds. The halls that
once were devoted to the quietude
of scholastic pursuits, and in
which for almost three years in
ternees have been sleeping on
desks, benches, the floor and some
few cots, became the scene of
what is described by press and
radio reports from Manila as
“room by room” fighting.
The Philippine Islands were
discovered by the Portuguese ex
plorer Fernando Magellan in
1521. Manila was founded by Mig
uel Lopez de Legaspi in 1571, six
years after he look possession of
the archipelago in the name of
the Spanish Crown. Santo Tomas
was founded in 1611 by the Dom
inican Archbishop of Manila, Mig
uel de Benavides. In 1645, Pope
Innocent X granted it the title of
Pontifical University and, the
same year, it received the title of
Royal University from Philip IV
of Spain. Its junior college, San
Juan de Letran, was established
in 1630 and. like the University,
is under the direction of the
Dominican Fathers.
At the time of the fall of Ma
nila. Santo Tomas had faculties
of sacred theology, canon law,
“philosophiae” as well as philoso
phy and letters, civil law, medi
cine and surgery, and engineer
ing; a central seminary, colleges
of education, liberal arts, com
merce and religion, and a school
of architecture and fine arts. Its
museum of natural history re
ceived special awards for exhibits
at the Paris. Madrid, Philippine,
Hanoi and St. Louis expositions.
Its library contained more than
25,000 volumes, and both museum
and library were important to any
student of Philippine ethnology,
zoology, botany, mineralogy and
numismatics.
Of the ecclesiastical members
of the Faculties of Santo Tomas—
many of the professors have been
laymen—some' 30 have bQen ele
vated to the episcopal dignity. A
seventeenth century Bishop of
Nanking, Gregorio Lopez, was a
native Chinese who had been ed
ucated at Santo Tomas.
Baptist Minister in Raleigh
Preaches Sermon on Catholicism
RALEIGH, N. C. — "When I
hear a Protestant criticize a
Catholic, I always feel like ask
ing this question: ‘Are you as
loyal to your church as he is to
his? declared Dr. Broadus
Jones, pastor of the First Bap
tist Church here, in a sermon
delivered on Sunday, January
28, and reported in THE RAL
EIGH TIMES in its issue dated
the following day.
Under the title. "Contribu
tions the Catholics Have Made
to Religion,” the sermon was
one of a series in which Dr.
Jones discussed contributions
made by various Christian de
nominations, and in reporting it
the Raleigh newspaper said:
"In his sermon on what Catho
lics have contributed. Dr. Jones
prefaced his remarks by pointing
out the cordial relations that have
existed between the Catholic
Church in Raleigh and the First
Baptist Church, in whose Sunday
school building the Catholic
school conducted classes for a
session during its building pro
gram.
First of all, Dr. Jones outlined
the government of the Catholic
Church, from the Pope to the par
ish priest, quoting a recent radio
sermon by Monsignor Fulton
Sheen, in which he emphasized
the belief held by Catholics that
Church authority is necessary
The Monsignor, Dr. Jones pointed
out, gave his reasons, both scrip
tural and logical, for this view
point. In this connection, 'Dr.
Jones pointed out that there is
too much lack of coordination in
the ranks of Protestantism, de
claring that, while he did not ad
vocate a merging of Protestant
denominations into an organic
uniqji,. yet there ought to be uni
fied pronouncements and pro
grams on which all could agree
and under which all could help
carry on the work of the King
dom of God on earth.
“The Catholic Church, through
its Pope, always has played and
will contiue to play its role in Eu
ropean affairs, Dr. Jones said. He
referred to criticism that some
times is heard concerning the
sending of Myron Taylor to the
Vatican as President Roosevelt's
representative. The European sit
uation he declared, must be dealt
with in a realistic manner and, of
course, the views of the Pope,
who must be a statesman as well
as a religious leader, will have
an influence on the future turn
of events. Taylor, he said, is sim
ply an observer and it is well for
this country to know the views of
ail who will help re-shape Europe
after the war.
"Among the contributions of
Catholics cited by Dr. Jones was
the spirit of evangelism. The
Catholic Church, he said, was re
sponsible not only for the evan
gelization of Europe and the
spread of science and culture
there, but also for the evangeli
zation of the entire world. The
Catholic Church, he pointed out,
makes no distinction as to geogra
phy or race, but views the world
as its field. In other words, he
said, the Catholic Church has a
world vision and does not draw
distinctions between local, state
and foreign missions.
"During the course of his ser
mons, Dr. Jones declared that the
Catholic Church gave the world
some of its greatest saints, refer
ring especially to Saint Augus
tine, with his zeal for evangelism
and his doctrine of grace; and to
Saint Frances of Assisi for the
part he played.
“Furthermore, the Baptist min
ister declared, that Catholics
were responsible for the preserva
tion of the Bible and for many
other books of religion, culture
and science during the dark ages,
when the lamp of religion and
learning was kept burning in the
monasteries which dotted Eu
rope.
(By N. C. VV. C. News Service)
HONOLULU—Closest coopera
tion between Americans and Fili
pinos marks the restoration of
church functions on Leyte, a dis
patch from the liberated island
reveals. Servicemen and civilians
attend church services together in
two chapels opened by the Army,
one of them the Chapel-in-the-
Palms, which was moved with each
new advance of a group of Avia
tion Engineers, to which it is at
tached.
The Pontifical Mass celebrated
in the chapel by the Most Rev.
Manuel Mascarinas. Bis'hop of Palo,
was taken as additional evidence
of the cordial relations existing be
tween the American Army and the
native population.
The Army has also reopened the
Seminary Chapel of the Fathers of
the Divine Word, where Mass is
being offered by the Rev. John
Wood, who had previously served
as Army chaplain in New Guinea
and in the Aleutians. A Catholic
womens organization is collecting
funds for a new church to be built
as an expression of Leyte’s grati
tude for its liberation from the
Japanese.
FATHER P. A. ROY, S. J„ Pres
ident of Loyola University of the
South, has been appointed by
President Roosevelt to the board
of visitors of the United States
Naval Academy for 1945.
Church to Be Built
in City Grown Around
Warner Robins Field
(Special to The Bulletin)
WARNER ROBINS, Ga.—The
Most Rev. Gerald P. O’Hara,
Bishop of Savannah-Atlanta, has
announced that plans are being
made for the erection of a new
church in the newly incorporated
city of Warner Robins, where the
Army Air Field will be a perma
nent installation.
On Sunday, February 11, Bishop
O'Hara celebrated Mass and ad
ministered the Sacrament of Con
firmation to twenty-nine soldiers
in the recreational hall at the Air
Base.
Thomas Lomax Hunter, Non-Catholic Columnist,
Discusses Harry Hophins Visit to Vatican
T h o m a s L o m a x Hunter,
whose column. “As It Appears
to the Cavalier,” is a feature of
the editorial page of The Rich
mond Times-Dispatch, of Rich
mond, Virginia, recently made
the following comment on the
visit of Harry Hopkins, Presi
dent Roosevelt’s personal advis
er. to the Vatican, prior of the
conference held this month by
the President, Prime Minister
Winston Churchill and Marshal
Joseph Stalin:
“Harry Hopkins is the Colonel
House of this administration. A
minister without a portfolio, he is
sent on missions too delicate to
be intrusted to any of the offi
cials of the State Department.
"When Marshal Stalin is to be
talked to, it is Mr. Hopkins who is
dispatched to whisper in his ear.
He is now in Europe, so I learn
from the dispatches, making plans
for the approaching conference of
the Allied triumvirate. Plainly,
Mr. Hopkins has the confidence
of the commander-in-chief as no
other American has it.
“Foreign potentates, kings and
dictators know that when they lis
ten t o him they are hearing .the
authentic voice of Mr. Roosevelt,
and he probably carries in his
bosom secrets entrusted to no
other man ...
“As I write this, Mr. Hopkins
is engaged in important conver
sations with the Holy Father in
battered and broken Italy. The
Holy Father and his predecessors
in office have seen many wars
sweep over Europe. They witness
ed the invasion of the Goth and
Vandal and Hun. They witnessed
thr crusaders marching toward
Asia Minor. They witnessed the
Moslem masters of the Mediter-
rean until Don Juan of Austria
defeated them in the great sea
battle of Lepanto. They witnessed
the armies of the young Corsican
upsetting the old order of Eu
rope and driving kings from their
thrones.
“There is no other institution
in Europe so certain to survive
this titanic war as is that church
over which the Holy Father pre
sides. Bombs may blast its an
cient temples and blow to bits
age old shrines. Its spirit is inde
structible.
“Mr. Hopkins will tell the Holy
Father of this new democracy
which we have spawned in AnW-
IN AN EDITORIAL in which it
deplored criticism aimed at His
Holiness Pope Pius XII for his ef
forts to bring about an end of the
war, the Daily News, secular
newspaper in New York City,
praised the Pontiff’s work for
peace witli these words:
“Like Pope Benedict XV in
World War I, Pope Pius XII in
World War II has labored consist
ently for an end to the slaughter.
For this, he has been often and
fiercely cursed by numerous pow
erful thinkers far back of the lines,
but not, to our best knowledge,
by any soldiers up front amongst
the muck, blood, stenches and ca
davers.”
The editorial, which was syndi
cated. appeared in many other
newspapers about the country.
REPORTING TO WAR Relief
Services-National Catholic Wel
fare Conference on completion of
his assignment in Italy, the Rev.
Aloysius J. Wycislo, of Chicago,
has announced establishment with
in recent weeks of twenty-five
welfare centers and rest homes
for members of the Polish forces
fighting with Allied troops in
Northern Italy and for members
of the Polish WAC. A partici
pating service of the National War
Fund, War Relief Services-
NCWC now is engaged in welfare
work for victims of war. prisoners
of war and merchant seamen in
thirty-five countries of the world.
TIIE JEWISH CHRONICLE,
published in London, comments
on two letters about His Holiness
Pope Pius XII and the Jews, one
received from an American Jew
ish soldier and the other from a
British Jewish soldier. “Both tes
tify,” it says, “to a warmth of sym
pathy for Jews felt and expressed
by the Holy Father, not merely
verbal sympathy but practical
sympathy; for the Head of the
Catholic Church, though many do
not know it, has exerted himself
tirelessly to protect refugees.”
MANY OFFICIALS of the Com
monwealth of the Philippines at
tended a Mass at St. Aloysius
Church in Washington, D. c". of
fered in thanksgiving for the lib
eration of Manila by American
forces under the command of
General Douglas MaeArthur, Fili
pino officials present were head
ed by Jaime Hernandez, Secre
tary of Finance, in the absence of
President Sergio Osmena, who
was reported to have been at Ma
nila when the U. S. First Cavalry
entered the city.
HIS HOLINESS Pope Pius XII
received the Rev. William Grau.
Colored priest of the Diocese of
Buffalo, serving as a chaplain
with the 92nd Division, and a
group of officers of the Division,
in private audience early this
month.
ica and the Holy Father will look
at it as a part of the passing show
just as he looked at the French
revolution, the Tartar invasion,
the revolt of Luther, and the
bloody repressions which took
place in Britain under Henry llie
Eighth. These things pass and it
remains.”