Newspaper Page Text
SEPTEMBER 29, 1945
THE BULLETIN OF THE CATHOLIC LAYMEN’S ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA
5EVWN
J
Address of Supreme Master Mulligan at
Fourth Degree K. of C. Banquet in Atlanta
(Special io The Bulletin)
ATLANTA, Ga.—In tile course
of ail eloquent address at the
banquet held by members of
the Bishop Gerald P. O'Hara
Assembly, Fourth Degree
Knights of Columbus, at the
Ansley Hotel here on Sept. 16,
following: (he exemplification of
the fourth degree by the assem
bly, William J. Mulligan, K. S.
G„ Supreme Master of the
Fourth Degree, from Hartford,
Conn., said:
The Fourth Degree of the
Knights of Columbus is the highest
degree in the order and is styled
the patriotic degree.
The highest degree'is not quick
ly attained. It is not lightly
bestowed. A man must go through
several stages before reaching it.
He must bo observed and sifted
and proved worthy. It entails
responsibility not only in those
who assume it, but also in those
who confer it. The latter must
know the former well and be able,
insofar as close scrutiny enables
them, to testify that the candidates
are fit for the distinction which
they seek.
It is no accident that the Fourth
Degree is called the patriotic de
gree. This designation is delib
erate, and meaty with meaning.
Some people think of patriot
ism as flag-waving, emotional fer-
vor( particularly in time of war),
and a readiness either to spout or
to drink down great gushing drafts
of ardent, if not particularly in
telligent, oratory. That kind of
thing Has the same relationship
to genuine patriotism as a Mother’s
Day gift has to genuine love of
one's mother. The lest of a man’s
love for his mother is not the size
or the cost of the bouquet which
he gives her on Mother’s Day, but
his respect, affection, his provi
sion for her needs, all year round.
So, too, the test of a man’s patriot
ism lies not in his feelings of
excitement on the Fourth of July
but in his attention and devotion
to his country’s good every day of
the year, every year of his life.
You Fourth Degree Knights are
picked men, men of understand
ing, of < spiritual substance, of
sound and balanced character, of
integrity and loyalty and readi
ness in service. You should be
patriots of the same order.
It is commonly said (sometimes
maliciously, sometimes ignorantly)
that the Church is not concerned
with patriotism and that a Catholic
cannot be a patriot. Actually a
good Catholic makes the best
patriot. It is alleged that the
Church fears and fights patriotism
because she wants men to have
but one allegiance: namely, to her.
This is not true. Indeed, it is
precisely the reverse of the truth.
Look through the writings of the
Popes, and you will find that,
with a special urgency, they insist
on the sacredness of patriotism,
tha they demand it of Catholics
as an obligation, and that they
define its character and its sanc
tion as well as its limitations.
ICxamine the writings of the last
three Popes, and you will be as
tonished at the amount, ol’ attention
given patriotism, and at the Popes’
constant concern that it be prac
ticed faithfully and a right.
Pope Pius XI spoke of patriotism
as the “lawful love of one's father-
land and a sentiment of due de
votion to one's own nation’’. It
is, lie said, “a great and noble
' sentiment productive of many
virtues.’’ “We are bound’’, wrote
Pope Leo XIII, “to love dearly
the country from which we have
received the means of enjoyment
which this mortal life affords
. . . The supernatural love of
the Church and the natural love
for the fatherland proceed from
the same principle, since God Him
self is the Author and originating
Cause.” When St. Thomas More
and St. John Fisher, the illustrious
English martyrs, were canonized
in 1935, Pope Pius XI said that
patriotism would continue, even
in heaven, to inspire these saints
with concern for the good of their
own people, for, he states, the
eternal happiness of heaven in
creases, rather than diminishes,
the love of one’s country.
These and many other declara
tions show on what a high level
of importance the Church puts
patriotism and how grave an
obligation she considers and
teaches it to be.
However, the Church is strongly
opposed to false notions of patriot
ism. For example, she rigorously
combats the totalitarian idea which
makes the state or the nation
supreme in everything over the
lives, the minds, the wills, the con
sciences of the people, which re
gards the state or the nation as
(he source of the citizen’s rights
and even of his very existence;
which demands that the citizen sur
render all responsibility and initia
tive into the hands of his rulers
and think, speak, act precisely as
he is directed to do. The Church
is highly eirtical of that extreme
version of patriotism which says,
“My country—right or wrong”,
which makes each nation a law
unto itself, and which requires
of the citizen an attitude of simple
idolalory. The Church can never
approve that distortion of patriot
ism which conceives the nation col
lectively as the ultimate reality,
superior to any and every other
nation, and therefore free to treat
other nations in whatever way,
legitimate or illegitimate by the
unchanging standards of morality,
which it chooses.
For the Church, patriotism is
not something unreasoning, slav
ish, and outside the realm of
morality. It is a duty binding in
conscience ;and its proper prac
tice is, in the real sense, a virtue.
It means a deep and operative love
of one’s own people and a constant
concern for their good, their best
interest, their honor, their virtue,
their preservation, improvement,
and advancement in freedom and
decency. It means not only an in
tellectual concept of all these
things, but action in accordance
with the conviction of the mind
and the dedication of the heart.
Our patriotism as Americans, as
Catholics, and as Fourth Degree
Knights of Columbus should lead
us, first, fully to appreciate the
magnificance of this country of
ours which God has so abundantly
—nay, so generously—blessed.
“Our country!” the very words
thrill us as they suggest the pic
ture of its happy geographical loca
tion, its expanse of territory, it*
varigated beauty, its plenitude of
resources, its incomparable polit
ical institutions, its freedom and
equality, all that is glorious in its
past, all that is splendid in its
present, all that is richly promising
in its future. Let us love our
country not in the abstract but
in the persons of our fellow citi
zens, people of such widely dif
ferent antecedents, but all full-
fledged Americans.
Secondly, our patriotism should
Charter Presented Atlanta Assembly
Fourth Degree Knights of Columbus
Presentation to the Bishop Gerald P. O'Hara General Assembly of
the Fourth Degree Knights of Columbus was made on the evening of
September 16 at a banquet, held at the Ansley Hotel. Pictured above,
seated, left to right, are William J. Mulligan, K. S. G., of Hartford
Conn., Master of the Fourth Degree: the Most Rev. Gerald P. O’Hara,
L. D., J. U. D., Bishop of Savannah-Atlanta, in whose honor the as
sembly was named; Thomas J. Gilmore, faithful navigator of the as
sembly. Standing, left to right, are Thomas J. Canty, of Savannah
master of the De Soto Province of the Fourth Degree, who presented
the charter, and William # J. McAlpin, of Atlanta, state deputy of the
Knights, of Columbus of Georgia.—(Photo—Courtesy of The Atlanta
Journal).
involve interest in, and endeavor
toward, the common good—the
welfare, that is, of the generality
and totality of our citizenry. What
tears a nation in pieces, what rends
its fabric and scatters its strength,
is social and racial conflict. Sel
fishness and prejudice, both of
them irrational, threaten the bal
ance, the unity, the comity of the
commonwealth. It is the part of
patriotism to avoid narrow
partisanship in the social field
and any kind or degree of bigotry
in racial relations, and to work to
gether, without cleavage or animus.
for the prosperity and security of
all alike. We are all Americans,
and that fact should take pre
cedence over the petty considera
tions which keep us apart or set
us at one another's throats. There
is room for us all in this spacious
land, opportunity for us all in this
marvelously endowed land, a com-
petenence, indeed—an abundance,
for us all in this land of fabulous
plenty. Let us realize that if we
Americans row together we shall
get somewhere, but that if we
rock the boat to spite one another,
we shall all drown.
Thirdly, our patriotism should
prompt us to feel concern for the
spiritual health of our beloved
nation. A nation, however strong
and wealthy, however high in
prestige, actually is internally
weak and in serious immediate
danger, unless it is spiritually alive
and alert. The Founding Fathers
were aware of this. The keenest
leaders who have been given the
country in its relatively short exist
ence, have been aware of it. A
nation which turns its back on
God, either officially or by un
official common consent, is a doom
ed nation even at the zenth of its
glory. Therefore we should be
vitally and practically interested
in the spiritual soundness of
America. We can do our part by
spiritual betterment of ourselves
and by cooperation with all men
of good will for the preservation
of moral standards and that rev
erence for, and that fidelity to,
the law of God which arc essen
tial if a people is to do what is
right and merit the blessing of the
Almighty.
Fourthly, in this hour of crisis
and challenge, we should do
everything that is in us to assist
our nation for national survival
and security. Did we not win this
struggle, we should see the smash
ing of all the great and good things
synonymous with that heart-stir-
ring world and symbol and reality
—America.
Moreover, we must do our ut
most to guarantee that our nation
does its full share to achieve and
safeguard enduring peace in the
family of the nations. This means
understanding, union of purpose,
and joint action in peace as well
as in war, and the effective promo
tion of genuine justice for all peo
ples. It is a vast undertaking, in
many ways and onerous under
taking, but absolutely necessary.
The Knights of Columbus have
always been ardently and con
structively patriotic. The record
proves it. The thousands upon
thousands of stars on our service
flag prove it. Countless local and
national projects of benefit to the
community, which we have launch
ed and carried on, prove it.
Tonight, in gratitude and in re
newal of devotion, may we re
solve to go valiantly forward under
the Cross of Christ and under- the
shining stars and stripes.
DOMINICAN NUNS
OPEN PAROCHIAL
SCHOOL IN ROME
ROME, Ga. — The parochial
school of St. Mary’s Church here,
where the Very Rev. Dan J. Mc
Carthy is pastor, opened on Sep
tember 17. giving this city its
first Catholic school and mark
ing another advance of the edu
cational program of the Diocese
of Savannah-Atlanta.
The new school is staffed by
Sisters of St. Dominic from the
Congregation of the Most Holy
Rosary, Adrian, Michigan, mem
bers of a Religious Order which
has been renowned for Its teach
ers for seven hundred years.
Sister Martin Marie, O. P.,
M. A., formerly of the faculty of
St. Joseph’s School, St. Joseph,
Mich., will be Superior of the
community and principal of the
school. Sister Max-tin Marie is
the daughter of Martin J. Callag
han, of Macon, vice-president of
the Catholic Laymen’s Association
of Georgia. Ollier membei-s of
the faculty of the school here are
Sister M. Ernestine, O. P., Ph. B.,
Sister Mary Anette, O. P. B M.,
and Sister Mai-y Faith, O. P., A. B.
The Congregation is represent
ed in the Ai-chdiocese of Balti
more and Washington, Chicago,
Cincinnati, Detroit and Santa Fe
and in the Dioceses of Cleve
land, Des Moines, Gallup, Lans
ing, Marquette, Monterey-Fresno,
Rockfoi’d, Saginaw, Toledo, Tuc
son and in the Diocese of St. Au
gustine, where the Sisters of St.
Dominic conduct Barry College
for Women, in Miami and a num
ber of academies and schools.
In March of this year, (he Most
Rev. Gerald P. O’Hara, D. D.,
J. U. D., Bishop of Savannah-At
lanta, acquired the attractive
propei'ty at the corner of Eighth
Avenue and West First Street,
overlooking the Oostanaula River.
The second floor of the imposing
residence which is located on the
property has been converted into
a convent for the Sisters while
I he lower floor has been made into
classrooms. Members of St. Mary’s
parish have attractively furnished
the building, and extended a cord
ial welcome to the Sisters when
they arrived on September 13.
The new convent and school will
be formally dedicated by Bishop
O’Hara at a future date, not yet
announced.
SERGEANT SIGO RASKIN
AWARDED BRONZE STAR
SAVANNAH, Ga.—Staff Ser
geant Sigo Raskin, who is with the
113th Cavalry Reconnaissance
Squadron in Germany, has recent
ly been awarded the Bronze Star
Medal for bravery in action in
October 1944, according to word
received here by his mother, Mrs.
Sophie Raskin.
Sergeant Raskin, a graduate of
Benedictine Military School, ac
cording to the citation, led a dis
mounted platoon patrol into mined
and booby trapped areas, defend
ed by enemy gun position. Work
ing well ahead of his platoon in
advance of supporting fire, Ser
geant Raskin surprised and cap
tured an enemy soldier, execut
ing his move with such skill that
the prisoner was evacuated before
the enemy could organize and
present a solid line of defense,
The skill, courage and devotion to
duty displayed by Sergeant Ras
kin reflected great credit upon
himself and the military service,
the citation concluded.
iCfe
Safes:
tv’-
j
COMPLIMENTS
of the
ANSLEY HOTEL
Atlanta, Georgia
Other Dinkier Hotels:
■■ •
CARLING DINKLER
President
THE JEFFERSON DAVIS
THE TUTWILER
THE ST. CHARLES
THE KENTUCKY
THE SAVANNAH
THE ANDREW JACKSON
** THE O. HENRY
Montgomery
Birmingham
New Orleans
Louisville
Savannah
Nashville
Greensboro
CARLING DINKLER, JR.
Vice-President