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JULY 27, 1946
THE BULLETIN OF THE CATHOLIC LA YMEN’S ASSOCIATION^ OF GEORGIA
FIVE
WITH OTHER EDITORS
SAINT FRANCES XAVIER
One does not have to be a pro
fessing member of the Roman
Catholic Church to appreciate the
significance of the canonization
of Mother Cabrini, who now. for
the ages will be known as Saint
Frances Xavier. Canonization
comes only after the most search
ing inquiry into the life and
works of the one proposed for
sainthood. One can say of a saint,
as we do now of Saint Frances
Xavier, that each lived a life free
from sin and devoted solely to
others.
The Church, of course, does not
make a saint. It only formally rec
ognizes what was exemplified in
the person. The heart within the
frail body of the little nun from
Italy, who founded the Mission
ary Sisters of the Sacred Heart
and became a citizen of the land
of her adoption, the United
States, held the everlasting mercy.
All who came in contact with her
rceognized it. as now does the
Church in Rome. Her cause is
unique.only that she is the first
citizen of this country to be can
onized and Hie canonization came
so quickly. She has won a place
that cannot be sought; it can
only be attained. And it comes
only after death. Who can say
what future saints may be walk
ing humbly among us today?—
(The New York Times.)
SONS OF TIIIC PROPHET
HEAR VICAR OF CHRIST
According to a United Press
dispatch of July 9 the Palestine
Arab Higher Executive council has
nominated four of its representa
tives to seek an audience in Rome
with Pope Pius XII, at which they
will present the Arab side of the
Palestinian situation.
The names of the four Arabs
were not disclosed. The nomina
tion followed a decision reached
at a recent higher executive meet
ing to- lay the Arabs’ ease before
tile Pope.
We recommend meditation on
the Arabs' decision to that group
of American Protestants who
claim they live in mortal fear that
some horrible union of Church
and state, some diabolical plot to
take over America, is in the olf-
’ing unless President Truman im
mediately recalls his personal rep
resentative from the Vatican. The
Arabs, followers of Mohammed,
ancient enemies of Christians, by
Iheir appeal to the Father of
Christendom have certainly shown
wisdom that the American Protes
tant “viewers with alarm” could
well emulate. For the pagan Arabs
recognize in tho Holy Father one
of die few men in the world, per
haps the only one, who will base
his decision and his advice strictlv
on tile principles of justice and
charity. They know he is one of
the few men whose outlook is
purely disinterested and truly in
ternational. /They know that he
has back of him the wisdom of 2.-
000 years and that he is the cen
ter of an organization which ex
tends throughout the world. They
recognize that the Vatican, there
fore. has access to information
which enables it to analyze inter
national events with an accuracy
unrivalled in the world.
Time was when the Pope was
recognized by ail Christians as the
man best qualified to settle all na
tional and international disputes.
It was the Pope for example, who
drew a line on a map of the New
World to settle the dispute be
tween Portugal and Spain over
territory here. As a result of his
decision Spain was given the
l ight to explore and colonize
North America and most of South
America. Portugal, as exploration
later showed, got only Brazil in
South America. She came out, it
would seem, second best. But she
knew that the decision had been
made fairly, according to the
knowledge then at hand. She ac
cepted second best in a spirit of
faith and trust in the Vicar of
Christ.
Oli. for a return to the Ages of
Faith, to the unity of Christen
dom w'hich the 16th century re
volt dissolved! Today representa
tives of Christian lands are
ashamed to ask the blessing of
God on the efforts to to form the
United Nations because Godless
men are present. Today the Vicar
of the Prince of Peace is denied a
place at the peace tables because
a Godless nation will recognize no
power except that of armies. To
day the head of Christ’s Church is
ignored for fear that a Godless
nation might be offended.
Today men calling themselves
Christians, unite in a “holy war”
to prevent the President of the
United States from hearing the
fatherly advice the Vicar of Christ
might give. Today pagans come to
the Pope, but Christians coerce
the head of our nation lest the
Pope bring the peace of Christ to
(lie world.—(Rev. James B. Ham
blin in The Denver Register).
muutTii msiup.v nas n ueen mon
uuportant that this country main
t*u contact at the diplomatic leve
,wiHi an organization which, next ti
Soviet Russia, has perhaps thi
UNREAL DEBATE
It is unfortunate that the ques
tion of American diplomatic rep
resentation to the Vatican State
should be catapulted at this time
into the arena of super-heated,
emotionalized controversy. . This
is true because at no period of
modern history has it been more
portant that this country main-
el
to
perhaps the
greatest influence in patterning
(lie peace of Europe—and hence
tire peace of the world.
If the naming of a representa
tive to this infinitesimally small
soverign state meant the abandon
ment of the principle of tire sep
aration of Church and State, the
issue would be a real one. With
in the 108.7 acres of Vatican State
the Pope is undisputed sovereign.
Undoubtedly, millions of Amer
icans disapprove of the head of a
church exercising civil power.
Many more Americans disapprove
of a secretary-general of a dic
tatorial political party exercising
undisputed sway over tho lives
and destinies of 160.000,000 Rus
sians. But W'e send an officially
accredited ambassador to Moscow,
first, because it in no wise even
implies that we approve of the so-
called Communist State, and sec
ondly. because it is tp our narrowly
selfish national interest to do so.
The present difficulty stems
largely from the lale President
Roosevelt’s impetuosity in sendln -
Birthplace ol First U. S. Citizen-Saint
The canonization of Mother
Frances Xavier Cabrini, who
spent much of her lifetime work
with Italian immigrants in the
United States, w'as the occasion
an extra-legal, unofficial personal
representative with the rank of
ambassador. The Senate should
regularize our diplomatic relations
wltli the Vatican State by what
ever treaties are necessary. It is
foolishly unrealistic to put the
conduct of our foreign affairs at
when forty-four other nations, in
cluding Great Britain, have now
and for many years have had regu
larly rttimed ministers and am
bassadors to tile Vatican. (Dallas
Morning News.)
of great rejoicing by the 5.000 in
habitants of Saint Angelo Lodi-
giano, in norther Italy, where she
was born, and where is preserved
many objects associated with her
early life. The modest home where
she w'as born, pictured above, is
how preserved as a shrine.—
(Acme Photos by Lee Stoecker—
NC Photos).
THE RUSSIAN MENACE
There is no doubt that Russia is
the greatest menace to permanent
peace. Because of that it seems
important for all of us to try to
get better acquainted with the
Russian philosophy and Russia’s
goals.
To do that we Highly recom
mend a new'-book by Wiliam C.
Bullitt, former U. S. Ambassador
to Russia, entitled: “Tile Great
Globe Itself.”
This book is frightening read
ing. It makes it appear as though
Russia’s interest in the United
Nations is merely a means of stall
ing for time while she prepares
for war against us. But Mr. Bul
litt should know what lie is talk
ing about. And even though some
of his reasoning may prove to be
wrong—we sincerely hope it is—
every American should be put on
guard against tlie possibility that
he is right.
Read his book, or tho summary'
of it in the July issue of Roade’r’s
Digest, and see what you think.—
(The Sparta Ishmaelitc.)
SECTS IN POLITICS
“It ill becomes the spokesman
of the Federal Council of Churches
and other Protestantmen to talk
about the separation of Church
and state, when for years' they
have been volunteering advice to
states and statesmen about politi
Best Wishes
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cal questions, national and inter
national.”
This is the statement of R. Gor
don Wasson, a Protestant, who, in
a letter to the “New York Times,”
lakes to task those who seek to
bring about Christian disunity by
demanding the recall of Myron C.
Taylor from the Vatican.
The decision of the Baptists and
the Church of the Brethcrn to
maintain representation in Wash
ington brings “religious lobbying"
to a new high, according to Lars-
ton D. Farrar, Religious News Ser
vice correspondent, and, if the
present trend continues, will win
more attention in months to come.
“Already in action ” Mr. Farrar
says, “are ’lobbyists’ for the Con
gregational Christian Churches,
tlie Methodist Church, tile Wom
en’s Christian Temperance Union,
the Friends (Quakers), the Chris
tian Scientists, and the United
Council of Church Women.”
The fast-growing National As
sociation of Evangelicals plan to
open a Washington office and the
Federal Council of Churches main
tain a “listening post” in Wash
ington in the person of Dr. Benson
Y. Landis.
Catholics have no objection, if
sects deem it necessary to have
W'atchmen in Washington to keep
an eye on religious or moral legis
lation for enemies of religion arc
constantly trying to put something
over.
Catholics do object when Protes
tants cast slurs on Catholic pro
tective measures and then use sim
ilar measures for their own ends.
It is psychopathic to argue that
religion has utterly no place in
statesmanship. What is wrong is
selfish control that thwarts the
common good. (The Columbus
Register.)
ANOTHER SMEAR
Cardinal Illond, Archbishop of
Warshaw, was imprisoned by the
Nazis for his refusal to cooperate;
he was liberated by the American
Ninth Army. While in exile in
France before being captured by
tlie Germans he saved the lives of
numerous Jews by preventing
their being sent to death camps
and by hiding them while he se
cured for them documents en
abling them to escape to America.
But certain Protestant and Jew
ish individuals and groups are
now endeavoring to depict him as
anti-Semitic.
The occasion is a statement
which .the Cardinal issued in an
interview with newspapermen af
ire the murder of Jews in Kielee,
after an utterly baseless report by
a boy that he had seen the bodies
of children murdered by Jews. In
tHis statement, which appears in
full elsewhere in 1 His issue of
Tlie Catholic News. His Eminence
said that the Catholic clergy al
ways and everywhere condemn
murder; that “these events are a
tragedy which fill me with sad
ness and regret:” that the Catho
lic clergy tried to reach tlie vic-
I ims but were stopped by soldiers;
that a proclamation prepared by
representatives of the diocese and
the city authorities to calm the
people and promote the restora
tion of peace was not published
by the authorities as agreed and
(hat tlie diocese issued ils own
proclamation denouncing violence.
Then, after recalling that man
ner in which Jews were protected
from tlie Nazis by Polish people
and priests during the war even
at the risk of their own lives, the
Cardinal said: “The fact that this
condition is deteriorating is lo a
great degree due to Jews who
occupy the leading positions in
Poland's government and endeav
or to introduce a governmental
structure that a majority ot their
people do not desire.”
“This statement has been distort
ed by some individuals and organ
izations by a segment of the press
into an assertion that the Jews
themselves were responsible for
the violence of which ttiey were
victims. Dr. Joseph Tcnebaum,
president of the American and
World Federations for Polish
Jews, declared that it was “remi
niscent of Hitler’s dogma.” The
New Y’ork Federation of tlie Meth
odist Federation for Social Ser
vice is quoted as writing Presi
dent Truman: "In view of the po
litical interference of the Vatican
State in Poland in shielding po-
gromists and in blaming Jewish
officials of a friendly government
for murders, instigated by others,
it is imperative that you termi
nate immediately diplomatic re
lationship with the Vatican and
withdraw your personal envoy.”
Those who seek lo distort the
statement of Cardinal Hlond into
justification of the murders of
(lie Jews of Kielee and to further,
their campaign for tlie recall of
the President’s representative to
the Vatican do the Cardinal a
grave injustice but they do the
Jews an infinitely greater dis
service. Catholics have been per
secuted and murdered in many
countries of the world: no Jew has
rendered or been in a position In
render them the protection given
Jews by Cardinal Hlond and the
Catholics of Poland, at the risk of
Iheir lives. The distortion of tlie
Cardinal’s calm and thoughtful
statement and the attempt to
smear him and tlie Catholics of
Poland is hardly the reaction one
has a rieiit to expect. — (The
Catholic News.)
PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER
NAMED BY PRESIDENT AS
AMBASSADOR TO CHINA
WASHINGTON—(NC)—Dr. J.
Leighton Stuart, Presbyterian
minister and missionary in China
and since 1919 president of the
Yencliing University at Peiping,
has been nominated by President
Truman as Ambassador to China.
This is not the first time that a
minister of religion has been call
ed to represent the interests of his
country abroad. Owen J. C. Noi-
em. a Lutheran clergyman, served
as U. S. Minister to Lithuania from
1937 to 1941.
Dr. Stuart replaces Gen. Patrick
J. Hurley who resigned as ambas
sador several monlbs ago. Dr.
Stuart went to China as a mis
sionary in 1905 and served as pro-
lessor at the Nanking Theological
Seminary from 1908 to 1919 when
he became head of tlie Yencliing
University.
8,905,165 POUNDS OK FOOD
have been shipped to Europe and
the Far East in recent weeks by
War Relief Serviees-National Cath
olic Welfare Conference. The
shipments were part of the Food
for Children drive conducted by
War Relief Services in which 30,-
000,000 cans ot food were collect
ed.