Newspaper Page Text
TEN
THE BULLETIN OF THE CATHOLIC LAYMEN’S ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA
FEBRUARY' 23, 1!)4G
lullrttn
The Official Organ qj the Catholic Laymen’*
Association of Georgia, Incorporated.
HUGH l/INCIILEY, Editor
216-217 Southern Finance Building, Augusta, Ga.
ASSOCIATION OFFICERS FOR 1945-46
BERNARD S. FAIIY, Rome President
M. J. CALLAGHAN, Macon
Honorary Vice-President
ESTES DOREMUS, Atlanta Vice-President
J. B, McCALLUM, Atlanta Secretary
HUGH GRADY, Savannah Treasurer
HUGH KINCIILEY, Augusta Executive Secretary
MISS CECILE FERRY, Augusta Financial Secretary
A M McAULlFFB, Augusta Auditor
Vo) XXVII February 23, 1946 No. 3
Entered as second class matter June 15, 1921, at the Post
Office at Augusta. Ga.. under act of March. 1^9 Ac
cepted for mailing at special rate of postage provided for
in Section 1103, Act of October 3. 1917. authorized Sent
1. >921
Member of N. C. W C. News Service. Religious New*
Service. Ihe Catholic Press Association of the United Stales
the Georgia Press Association and ..the National Editorial
Association
Published monthly by the Catholic Laymen’s Association
of Georgia, Inc., with the Approbation of the Most Rev
erend Bishops of Raleigh, Charleston and Savannah-At-
lanta. and of the Right Reverend Abbot-Ordinary of Bel
mont.
Daily Lenlen Reeding of The Bible
I N ACCORD with the wishes of the Catholic
Biblical Association of America, His Excellency the
most Reverend Bishop of Savannah-Atlanta has
designated Septuagesima Sunday, February seven
teenth, as "Biblical Sunday” in this- Diocese, and in
a Pastoral Letter issued in that connection. His
Excellency has .urged the laity of the Diocese to de
vote a portion of each day during the Holy Season
of Lent to the reading of the Sacred Scripture.
Elsewhere in this issue of The Bulletin will be
found a list of passages from tlie New Testament
as suggestions for daily Lenten readings from the
Bible, and reference to this list was made in the
letter from Bishop O’Hara which was read in the
churches of the Diocese.
In his Encyclical, “Providentissimus Dens,” Pope
Leo XIII wrote: "The Church lias never failed in
taking due measures to bring the Scriptures within
the reach of her children; she has ever held fast
and exercised profitably that guardianship con
ferred upon Iter by Almighty God for the protec
tion and glory of His Holy Word.”
His Holiness Pope Pius XII, gloriously reigning,
stated in his Encyclical. “Divino Alflante Spiritu,”
that: "The Sacred Books were not given by God
to men to satisfy their curiosity or to provide them
wilh material for study and research, but as the
Apostle observes, in order that these Divine
Oracles might ‘instruct us lo salvation, by the laiih
which is in Christ Jesus.’ and ‘that the man of
God may be perfect, furnished to every good work .”
To these words of occupants of the Holy See.
in our own lime, may be added quotations from the
Pastoral Letter of Bishop O'Hara:
“The Bible Is a library within a single cover and
a library whose contents have no equal. Even it
we did not know it as the Word of God and judged
it by appearances, no other writing awakens keener
interest • compares with it in Influence for good.
It is an article of our Catholic Faith given to the
Church b., Christ's Apostles as having been received
from Him that the Holy Scriptures are indeed in
spired by God and the hooks of the Bible have been
written under the inspiration of tile Holy Ghost.
They have God as their author and as such they
have been delivered to the Church.
“The Old Testament preserves a Divine revel
ation, given step by step through ages past, -o
prepare the world lor its deliverance from error
and sin. The New Testament records the fact of
that deliverance through Jesus Christ Our Lord,
and the substance of the full and final revelation
that is I [is.
"From the beginning of Christianity, all Who
have been renowned for holiness of lifp and sacred
learning have given their deep and constant atten
tion to Holy Scripture.
"It is the ardent desire of my Heart that you
make a more earnest effort to read and study the.
Holy Scriptures, that you may better know .God.
Whom lo know/ is life eternal, arid knowing Him
you will love Him and serve Him faithfully, si,
that, you will receive an abundant reward not only
in this life but. in 1 Ho life to come.”
CmIImiIu Press Month
I N statements reminding that, this is Catholic Press
Month, members of the Hierarchy all over lie
nation have brought to the attention of the faith
ful the Papal admonition that it “is the sacred duty
of every Catholic to support the Catholic Press” and
have emphasized that only in the Catholic Press can
be found the full and complete information regard
ing the Church's position on Ihe problems w hich the
world faces in'this critical period of human history.
Bishop Gerald Shaughncssy, S. M., of Seattle,
declare.; that “The Church fosters the Catholic Press
that the faithful may have a medium through which
truth may be presented, the counsels of the Holy
Father an the directions of your Bishop may be
imparted and Catholic ideals may he nurtured in
your hearts and homes,”
Archbishop John Gregory Murray of St. Paul,
Episcopal Chairman of the Press Department of the
National Catholic Welfare Conference, declared that
“the widespread repudiation of principles and th"
substitution of articles in almost every field of social
endeav. • throughout the world, resulting in the per
version of government, education, commerce, indus
try, welfare and family life, makes all the more
imperative the apostolate of the press to which all
Catholics of the United Slates are invited to g've
serious consideration and substantial support (lin ing
the month of February. The present crisis, not
only of Christendom but. the world at large, calls
for an apostolate not only of the consecrated min
isters of Christ but of the entire Catholic laity in
every land, to demonstrate a Catholic consciousness,
an unselfish devotion and militant crusade in the
cause of truth and juslice. The most effective ve
hicle for conveying universal knowledge today is
radio and the press.”
“Te entire Catholic population of this country
It’s Been a Iaing Time
I T has been a long time since the attention of the
Catholic Laymen's Association of Georgia has
been directed to the publication in this state of a
periodical which indulged in attacks on the Catholic
Church as a matter of policy, but. within the last
few weeks there came to our notice the first issue
of “The White Horse,” which is being printed in
Atlanta, with the purpose, as proclaimed on its edi
torial page, of giving its readers articles “against
the Roman Catholic Church and the Pope.”
in a banner headline across its front page, "The
White Horse” sets forth as a question, “Hitler Died
in the Faith?” All question in regard to the state
ment is lost in the opening paragraph of the article
which follows as it reads: “Dead or alive. Hitler was
a full fledged Roman Catholic.”
This is followed by the astounding declaration
that “Hiller may be alive . . . Who knows? He may
be found somewhere in the garb of a Priest. He
fought for the Pope to have supreme rule in re
ligion.”
The fact that a man was once a Catholic does
not mean that he is always a Catholic. The fact that
Adolf Hitler was born of a Catholic family and was
baptized in his infancy as a Catholic, does not mean
that he continued as a member of the Catholic
Church until his death. Certainly, there must he
ample evidence, for those who wish to find it, that
Hitler had ceased to be a member of the Catholic
Church long years ago. On page 13 of a book entitled
“National Socialism and the Roman Catholic Church,"
by a 11011-Catholic named Micklen, published in 1939
by the Oxford University Press, Hitler is quoted
as saying: "1 myself .am a heathen to the core.”
"The White Horse” goes on to say: “The Pope
■v;.s well-informed of the cruelties and horrors of
Hitler’s henchmen, but not a word of condemnation
until Hitler’s supposed death. Why? Because Hitler
was in good standing with the Catholic Church,
especially the POPE.”
This, despite what should be common knowl
edge. that Pope Pius XII consistently and persist
ently opposed and denounced the inhuman acts of
all the totalitarian powers, before and during the
war. despite the danger which might accompany
such a course of action. It is a matter of public
record, revealed recently at the Nuremberg trials
that Hitler threatened to invade the Vatican and
even to exterminate the Catholic Church.
It is a common method of propaganda lo trans
fer uncomplimentary ideas from one person, or
institution, o. movement, to another by implying
their association together. A striking example of this
is the charg that Hitler and Mussolini were baptized
Catholics and therefore were members of the Church
in good standing. The purpose of such charges
being t t transfer the world's animosity of Nazism
and Fascisn to the. Catholic Church.
These accusations have reached such propor
tions that Osservatore Romano, a semi-official Vati
can publication declared that Hitler and Mussolini
and others o' their type were what they were, not
because they were baptized as Catholics, but because
they had rejected the Catholic faith and had ceased
to practice that religion.
It is not possible, due lo limitations of time
and space, to discuss all of the accusations “against
Hie Roman Catholic Church and the Pope” which
appear in the eight pages of the first issue of “The
White Horse ” but at least one should be contra
dicted. the item headed "Nuns Helped Hitler's
Murders.” which quotes a Reuters dispatch from
Kaufbcuren. Bavaria, as published in The New York
Times Iasi summer.
An official report completely exonerates Cath
olic nuns of any share in the murders committed I
by the Nazis in their infamous camp at Kaufbcuren. ‘
After careful investigation of the charges contained 1
in the Reuters dispatch, officials of the Military 1
Government in Bavaria and the War Crimes C< m-
mhision have reported that not even one Catholic
Religious was involved in any way in this case. There
was evidently some contusion due to (he practice in
..(.me places to apply the title "Sister" lo lay nurses.
It is presumed dial “The White Horse” will make
Uie nccessaiy correction in the near future.
"The While Horse" does not restrict its "against"
to Catholics for in an article over the signature of?
its editor. J. A. Dennis, it ‘tales as a ‘Tact'’, that-I
“The, .rev, are a"ain* *t CluTT and His Church but 1
the Catholics and Protestants are likewise. They
fight i;. They hate it."
At a time when tile forces (If irreligion are
rampant in Ihe world, those who hold to any form
cl' religion •Tumid he seeking to weld a united front
• gainst a common enemy rattier than seeking for
uncmif.vm-d reports to be employed as grounds for
attackin ; those'who differ from them in belief. j
It is not believed that the people of Atlanta.
».r of any other part of Georgia, will respond in anv
great number to the request of “The White Horse"
tlial they ‘end "a free-will offering today. Help us.
cut on a fiellt against the loot of all false doctrine
. . . the POPE . the BISHOP , . the PRIEST.” I
Neither is it believed that tlm'citizens of Georgia,
a people noted for falr-mindedne anil tolerance will
extend a very hearty welcome to a publication which
announce.: a policy of attacking the Catholic Church
and its visible head.
The. publication of matter such as tlial appear
ing .'n the pages of "Tile White Horse” stirs up.
suspicion distrust, hatred and strife among neigh
bors and fellow citizens who ought Ip be permitted
to dwell together in peace and harmony, and docs j
more to retard the progress of this state than t ms j
of thousands of dollar^ spent in truthful advertising:
can do to accelerate the progress and welfare of
Georg .
After almost four hundred
years, the Cistercians of (life
Strict Observance are returning to
Scotland. Within a few months,
moils from Mount St. Joseph Ab
bey, near Roscrea, Eire, will cross
the Irish Sea to set up a new
foundation of the ancient order on
an estate acquired at Nunraw,
about twenty miles from Edin
burgh.
With their return to Scotland
the Cistercians of the Strict Ob
servance will resume the tradition
of their Order which began in
1136 when Melrose, the first Cis
tercian Abbey, was founded in
Scotland by King David I. -The
ruins of Melrose Abbey, Still al
most intact, are among the most,
glorious examples of Gothic ar
chitecture in the British Isles.
The town of Nunraw was for
merly part of the Cistercian mon
astery of Haddington, founded
about 1156 by Ada. Countess of
Huntington, under the direction of
St. Waltheof, Abbot of Melrose.
The Cistercian foundations in
Scotland were suppressed in the
general destruction of religious
house in the sixteenth century.
Cistercians of the Strict Ob
servance have four houses in the
United States, with prospects of
others in the near future. Their
oldest house in this country is
Gethsemani Abbey, at Trappist,
Kentucky. The youngest, the
Monastery of Our Lady of the
Holy Ghost, near Conyers, Geor
gia.
should accept their responsibility of u crusade that
I would i\ only put a Catholic paper in the home of 1
• every Catholic in the United States but in (lie home '
i of every non-Catholic in the country, through a'
j bona-fide, fully-paid, subscription in the Catli. lie
j paper being published in the territory nearest to 1
the recipient of the donated paper."
Rutting Archbishop Murray's Idea into practice,
Father Hubert Sweeney, of the. Passlonist Fathers.{
•speakin.: on a Catholic radio program in Savannah '
last Sunday, offered a. complimentary subscription
to The Bulletin, to any of Ids non-Catholic listeners
who wished to receive this paper.
The Bulletin is pleased to cooperate in every
way with die offer that members of die Knights of
Co nmbus and members of the Catholic Laymen's
Association in Savannah made through Father
Sweeney.
The denominational split in
Protestantism has posed the great
est problem and the greatest crisis
for that body since its inception,
Dr. Harry Emerson Fosdick, pas
tor of , the Riverside. Church, in
New York City, declared at the
annual dinner of the Protestant
Council of the City of New York,
held some weeks ago.
Speaking on the theme “This is
One World for Religion Too,” Dr.
Fosdick asserted that: division into
sects has left the Protestant
Church “frustrated, battled and
dreadfully ineffectual.”
After urging unity among
Protestants. Dr. Fosdick went on
further to say: "All of us. Catho
lics, , Protestants, and Jews, arc
going to lose one of the most criti
cal spiritual and moral battles in
our nation’s history unless we get
together lor certain common
(lids."
This was evident, Dr. Fosdick
continued, in the field of secular
education where the separation
of church and state has led* to
the exclusion of any kind of religi
ous teaching. “It isn't that posi
tive religious teaching is shut out.
What actually happens is often
worse than tlial, namely, that
while religious teaching is shut
out, incjiglous teaching is per
mitted."
"Echoes From the Valley,” a
column which is written by the
Rev. Joseph I*. Kiefer for the
editorial pave on THE STEUB
ENVILLE REGISTER, recently
contained the following Item:
Gregor /.inner will be remem
bered as (he author whose work
inspired the picture "Hitler’s Chil
dren." For twelve years lie eon-
dueled a school in Berlin prior .to
Hie outbreak of hostilities. Recent
ly lie returned from a lour of the
American occupation zone in Ger
many. We must concede Uiat his
experience rates him as an au
thority on the German people and
German thought.
A few weeks ago, Mr. /inner ap
peared mi the Town Meeting of
the Air. a iialion-w idd Thursday
evening broadcast. fie told the
radio audience that the dc-Na/.i-
fieation of Germany could best, lie
accomplished through the Roman
Catholic Church. He also slated
that Lutheranism, the only other
major religious factor in Germany,
would be powerless to do it. Too
had tlie readers of Pravda and
Jy.vrstia could not have tuned in
to these remarks.
Twenty four e On v e r I s made
their profession of faith and wore
received into tlie Church at a
ceremony held in St. Joseph's
Church, Mishawaka, Indiana, by
the Rev. Dr. Join: A. O'Brien,
professor of the philosophy of
religion at the University of
Notre Dame. An overflow congre
gation witnessed the reception.
A series of public lectures on
the teachings of Ihe Cliureh were
conducted by Father O’Brien two
nights a week for a three-month
period. Through the Rev. Curt A.
Suelr.er, the pastor, and Father
Vernon Rosenthal, his assistant,
non-Cathblics were invited to (lie
lectures and parishoners were
urged to bring their non-Catholic
friends, 1 especially those without
religious affiliation. Some hun
dred attended the lectures and in
addition to the twenty-four who
embraced the faith ten others
are preparing for their reception.
From widely separated sources
come stories giving evidence of
the popularity of His Eminence
Thomas Cardinal Tien, S. V. D.,
Vicar Apostolic of Tsi>ack.
China, among American troops
stationed in his See City. The
new Cardinal has several times
been the guest of honor aboard
U. S. warships. He can understand
English and carries on a fair con
versation with the American of
ficers and enlisted men. One re
port relates how Cardinal Tien
offered a Solemn Pontifical Mass
in his Cathedral for 4,000 Ameri*
can service men, addressing them
in English. When Father Robert
D. Goodill, Navy chaplain and
priest of tlie Diocese of Erie, ask
ed to baptize a sailor convert in
the Tsinglao Cathedral, the Car
dinal arranged the font and all
the accessories.
Dr. Lise Meitner, one of the
world's foremost physicists, who
became a member of the teaching
staff of the Catholic University of
America with the opening of the
curent semester, arrived in this
country from Stocholm, Sweden,
by way of England.
Research work done by Dr.
Meitner is acknowledged to be
basic to developments in the, field
of atomic energy. An Austrian,
she continued her research in
Sweden after being expelled from
Austria under the Nazi racial
laws. She is a sister-in-law of Dr.
Rudolf Alters, professor of psy
chology at Hie Catholic Univer
sity.
The Savannah Morning News
makes a practice of publishing ev
ery Monday morning the text of
a sermon which was delivered the
Sunday before in some church in
that Georgia city.
The Morning News in its ..ssuc
of Monday. January 28 contained
the text of: the sermon which had
been delivered the previous day
by the Rev Nicholas . Quinlan,
pastor of the Church of the Nativ
ity which serves a parish i.i Sa
vannah's suburban area, at Thun
derbolt.
Father Quinlan, a native of
Ireland, camt to America as a >oy.
After completing l|is study for
Uie priesthood at Belmont Abbey
Seminary, lie was ordained in 1932.
He served as assistant pastor at,
the Blessed Saerattie.nl Church,
Savannah: the Immaculate Con
ception Chureh, Atlanta. St Jos
eph's Church, Alliens, and was in
charge of St. Theresa's parish in
Albany before bivng appointed
pastor of (h«> Thunderbolt parish.
A "breviary” for laymen, com
posed by Giovanni Papini. noted
Italian author of "The Life of
Christ," lias been published in
Milan. The book consists of 366
quotations from great Catholic
thinkers—one for each day of the
year and a short comment on
each by the compiler. The quota
tions are from tlie works of Cath
olic lay writers ol all nationali-
t ics.
The Bulletin doesn't like to talk
about itself, but tlie fact that this
is Catholic Press Month may give
us an exoluso to quote from a
letter which .inis just been received
from C. B. Redmond. Jr., of Lum-
berlpii, N. C., with a ehefck to
cover a renewal subscription.
Mr, Redmond writes "I did ap
preciate your efforts in sending
The Bulletin to me while I was
in Okinawa for 1 received. lots
of pleasure from it. Xveiy copy
was passed around, so The Bulletin
had a very good circulation on the
Island.”
Outline of a* four-year course of
Bible study for high schools
throughout the country is being
circulated from Washington by
the Confraternity of Christian
Doelripe. The outline was edited
by the Rev Joseph L. Lilly C. M„
■eeretary of .the Catholic Biblical
Aocialion of America and is di
vided into four sections, two cov
ering Hie Old Testament and two
based on tlie New Testament.
The Confraternity undertaking
represents development on a na
tional .scale of a plan orginally
carried out in Texas schools un
der tlie direction of Archbishop
Robert K. Xuccy of San \iltonin
and tlie Rev. Michael M. Ries, C.
M.. of Cotiilla, Texas. Tlie course
is being offered for use in public
as well as Catholic high schools.
— H. K_