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AUGUST 24, 1946
Episcopalian Minister Discusses
Canonization of Mother Cahrini in
His Column in The Atlanta Journal
TOE BULLETIN OF THE CATHOLIC LAYMEN’S ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA
jtfLEVEN
thev M ^KTr CLAS ® AT f ST ; MARY’S HOMK~Pic<ured at breakfast on the morning when
Jean CrawTev rr' lhe t,,nc ■ are - 1<?ft to right, Ann Marie Altman, Barbara
Rachael HewiVt t^ 8 1 ' c? Fra " c ®f fivers. Lucille Hewitt, Nancy Shaw, Theresa Thomas.
Rachael Hewitt, and Jacqueline Shaw, of St, Mary's Home. Savannah, Georgia.
Ralph McGill, in The Atlanta Constitution,
Discusses “Sewing Kits, Catholics, Protestants”
Five Sisters of Mercy
A minister of the Protestant
Episcopal Church, the Right Rev.
Raitnundo de Ovies, Dean of the
Cathedral of St. Philip, in At
lanta, contributes a daily column
which is a feature of the edi
torial page of The Atlanta Jour
nal. Recently, Dean dc Ovies
devoted his column to a discus
sion of “The Canonization of
America’s ‘Mother Cabrini,’ ”
In graciously granting The Bul
letin permission to reproduce
his column about Mother Cab
rini, Dean de Ovies stated that
his purpose in writing it was to
make a little more clear to the
general public the Catholic po
sition regarding Saints.
Dean de Ovies discussed the
canonization of Saints with in
telligent understanding, and it
is believed that readers of The
Bulletin will be interested in
reading his column, published
under date of July 22, which is
quoted in its entirety, as fol
lows:
THE CANONIZATION OF
AMERICA’S ‘MOTHER CABRINI’
Protestants received the news
of- the canonization of the Ameri
can “Mother Cabrini” with min
gled .emotions, with doubt 5bout
what a “saint” is and with con
siderable pride over the recogni
tion given to an American citizen,
unique in the history of religion in
America. The trouble with so many
Protestants is that they are in
clined to give their own interpreta
tion to “Catholic terminology” and
many confuse “saintliness” with
“sinlessness”. The Roman Catholic
Church does indeed believe in a
sinless personality, but it recog
nizes that quality only in the
Person of Jesiis Christ and, of
course, the Blessed Mother of Our
Lord, Mary. Her saints have all
been redeemed from sin. converted
persons, changed persons by the
power of God. Even the gentle St.
Francis of Assisi did not consider
himself as one who had not sinned,
neither does the church which pro
claimed him a saint believe that he
never sinned.
The thing to remember is that
recognition of sainthood is one of
the most difficult things imagin
able. Shakespeare said, “The evil
that men do lives after them” not
the power for evil after they are
dead but the memory of their evil
which humanity retains and cannot
forget. That certainly is. true of
the Congregation of Rites in Rome
which examines the records of a
“proposed saint” with such eare
that it is a wonder that anyone at
all can be canonized. For instance,
three other persons were proclaim
ed saints at the same time the
honor was conferred on Mother
Cabrini. One had died in 1616, an
other in 1619 and the third in 1838.
Thus it required 108, 827. and 330
years respectively for the Vatican
to make up its mind that these
three men were deserving of saint
ly status.
Another thing to remember is
that officially canonized saints are
not the only saints. Those who are
canonized are the “known” saints.
There are others known only to
God; and even though it required
335 years for Saint Bernardino
Realini) to be “proclaimed” a
saint this year, he was just as much
a saint when he lived and died
those centuries ago as now. So,
“All Souls' Day” and “All Saints’
Day, so solemnly celebrated in
churchly rituals, are an admission
that man's estimate, or even the
church’s knowledge, is not the only
criterion of saintliness: and, as in
the Prophet’s day, God has His
thousands "who have not bowed
the knee to Baal." So 1 believe that
we may be proud that in 1889 a
frail little Italian woman came to
our shores and did her gracious
work among us, becoming an Am
erican citizen and our first "of
ficial saint.”
Ralph McGill, Editor of The
Atlanta Constitution, contri
butes daily a column of per
sonal comment to the editorial
page of that outstanding Geor
gia newspaper.
Recently, Editor McGill de
voted his column to a discus
sion of “Sewing Kits, Catho
lics, Protestants,” which con
tained some interesting reflec
tions. For the benefit of the
readers of The Bulletin who
may not happen to be readers
of The Atlanta Constitution,
Ralph McGill’s comment on
sewing kits and Catholics and
Protestants, is quoted as it ap
peared in The Constitution:
UNDER MOSCOW DATELINE I
note that Dr. Louie D. Newton
preached last Sunday in the Soviet
capital city in the Moscow Baptist
Church to a congregation of about
2,000. The number of Baptists in
Russia is set at about 2,000,000.
“It was just as free and open a
meeting as you would see in any
Baptist Church in the world,” he
commented afterward. And the
Soviet censors passed with pleas
ure the story of this freedom of
worship, since for some years one
of the favorite attacks on the
Soviet Union is that they were
hostile to religion.
Dr. Newton, who is pastor of
"the largest congregation in the
Southeast and Secretary of the
World Baptist Alliance, will come
back with renewed zeal for getting
more and more food and sewing
kits into the hands of the Soviet
Baptists. And my idea is such as
sistance will be permitted by the
Soviet government.
The Baptist of America sent
several million sewing kits into
Russia. This was the most intelli
gent idea I have seen in all the
hurry and bustle by the various
sects to get back into Europe and
especially to get a foothold in the
Soviet Union. As I understand it,
this was Dr. Newton’s idea.
It is difficult to imagine there
are whole villages of several hun
dred persons-where one needle is
a village treasure. It is passed from
family to family and it is worth
more money than could be offered
for it. There isn’t another needle.
Therefore it has a value far above
money.
This is true in countries other
than the Soviet Union, but it is
especially true there. And you may
put it down that the Baptist sew
ing kits were more potent than
millions of tracts of exhortations.
They will be more productive, too,
of loyalty to the Baptist faith.
NEED FOR PROGRAM I have
never understood why all churches
didn’t have a definite social pro
gram. It is pretty obvious from all
the religious zoos that spring up
in slum sections in rooms of old
houses or store buildings, or which
set up tents on vacant lots, that
many millions of Americans who
are poor in learning and what we
call culture as well as in worldly
goods, aren’t getting anything at
all out of the established churches.
The Catholic Church, with its
usual intelligence, was the first to
see the need for doing something
about it in a. practical way.
The result is an almost pheno
menal growth in membership,
churches and schools by the Catho
lic Church. They are reaching peo
ple no one was reaching save the
itinerant whoopers in the religious
zoos whose sermons are not much
more intelligible than the tobacco
auctioner chants. But more hypno
tic.
The Catholic Church has had a
rural program for a long time,
with priests traveling in trailer
chapels. For years now it has been’
reaching back into territory which
a few years ago thought priests
wore robes only to conceal a fork
ed tail. There their charity, in
practical form of affording dental
work, doctors and medical atten
tion for children, has won them
friendship, respect and converts.
It is this progress which has dis
turbed some other churches and
which has led to recriminations
in high places. My idea is that this
is the wrong way to compete.
PROTESTANTS Religion is a
field Of discussion which provides
much misunderstanding. Neverthe
less, it is so important it must be
discussed and the risk of misun
derstanding taken.
As a Protestant who admires and
respects the Catholic Church with
complete sincerity, I see no reason
(o object to their program of build
ing and membership growth. Cri
ticism of success usually is futile,
I would say, by all means send
aid to Russia and other needy peo
ples. It'is a fine thing and a Christ
ian act. But also, let the Protestant
Church look more to the field of
need at home. Let us develop a
social consciousness which is ex
pressed in practical results.
A -Catholic understands why he
or she is a Catholic. Very few
Protestants know why they are
Baptists, Methodists, Presbyter
ians, and so on. It usually is a
matter of birth or marriage. I have
always thought members of var
ious sects might be better members
if they - knew why they were mem
bers. Common sense, factual in
struction would do it.
All of us, in our way, are seek
ing God and seeking to express
Christianity.
Time spent in futile controversy
is time lost.
THE TITO REGIME in Yugo
slavia is pursuing a policy of mur
der and persecution that aims at
stamping out religion in all its
forms, according to reports from
inside Yugoslavia obtained by the
Rome correspondent of The New
York Times, and published in that
newspaper.
From Georgia Make
Solemn Professions
(Special to The Bulletin)
BALTIMORE, Md. — The Most
Rev. George L. Leech, Bishop of
Harrisburg, presided on August
16 at a ceremony held at Mount
'St. Agnes Convent. Mount Wash
ington. Baltimore, when five Sis
ters of Mercy of the Union, from
Georgia, Sister Mary Mercia Dil
lon, R. S. M., Sister Mary Rosalie
Mallard. R. S. M.. Sister Mary
Melanie Courtney. R. S. M„ R. N„
Sister Maureen Cartwright, R. S.
M,. R. N., and Sister Marian Mil
lard, R. S. M., pronounced their
solemn vows as Religious.
Sister Mary Mercia is the
daughter of Mr. and Mrs. J. E.
Dillon, of Savannah. She is „ a
graduate of St. Vincent’s Academy
in that city, and since finishing her
normal school course has been
teaching at St. .Vincent’s Orphan
age, Govans. Maryland.
Sister Mary Rosalie, a niece of
Mr. and Mrs. John W. Gleason, of
Savannah, who is also a graduate
of St. Vincent Academy, has been
teaching at St. Bernard’s School
in Baltimore.
Sister Mary Melanie, R. N., is
the daughter of Mrs. I. L. Court
ney, of Gainesville. She received
her early religious education at
the summer vacation school at
Camp Villa Marie, near Savannah.
She began her training for the
nursing profession at St. Joseph’s
Infirmary in Atlanta and complet
ed the course after her first pro
fession. Since then, she has befrn
stationed at Mercy Hospital, Bal
timore.
Sister Maureen fs the daughter
of Mr. and Mrs. II. L. Cartwright,
of Tifton, Ga. She was received
into the Church while in training
at the School of Nursing at St.
Joseph's Hospital in Savannah.
Since her first profession, three
years ago, Sister Maureen has been
stationed at Mercy Hospital, Balti
more.
Sister Marian is the daughter of
Mr. and Mrs. Henry Millard, of
Columbus, Ga., her mother being
the former Miss Kathryn Styles, of
Washington. D. C. She is a grand
daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Frank
P. Millard, of Savannah. Sister
Marian attended St. Joseph’s
Academy and the Columbus High
School. She entered the novitiate
of the Sisters of Mercy, at Mount
St. Agnes, in Baltimore, in 1941.
She has been teaching at Mount
Washington Country School for
Boys, near Baltimore.
Assisting in the sanctuary at the
ceremony was Monsignor T. James
McNamara, rector of the Cathed
ral of St. John the Baptist, in Sa
vannah. and Superintendent of
Schools for the Diocese of Savan-
nah-Atlanta.
Only expert counsel and the specialized ex
perience of those skilled in memorial design can
aid you in the problems that present themselves
when you come to final decisions in selecting a
family memorial.
As Master Craftsmen in Vermont Marble, the
Memory Stone, we offer you just such service
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classifies all types of memorials.
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East Broad at Walburg St.
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TO THE CATHOLICS OF GEORGIA:
Your attention is directed to the Female Orphan Benevolent Society which has
been in existence for many years in this Diocese and whose purpose is to help sup
port Saint Mary's Home, for orphan girls, in Savannah.
In this issue of “The Bulletin," is published an application for membership in
the above-mentioned society. The advisory board of Saint Mary’s Home asks that
those who can afford membership in the Female Orphan Benevolent Society, and who
are not enrolled among its members, make use of this application.
* Faithfully Yours In Christ
“IT IS A BAD WILL that does not mention God as
a legatee. If we provide for the orphans by leaving their
names as beneficiaries of our charity in the disposition
we make of our worldly goods we are doing something
for God, something for His orphans and much for our
own soul. God cannot resist the prayer of a little child
whose angels see the Father’s face in heaven.”
AM gifts and legacies intended for the orphans of
3t. Mary’s Home should be made payable to the “Female
Orphan Benevolent Society,” which is duly incorporated
under the laws of Georgia. v ~ -v.
(* / Bishop of Savannah-Atlanta.
f f Bishop of Savtmah-Atlanta
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