Newspaper Page Text
Published by the
Catholic Lay
men’s Association
of Georgia
nlUiin
“To Bring About
a Friendlier
Feeling Among
Neighbors Irre
spective of Creed”
Vol. XXVllI, No. 2
TWENTY PAGES
AUGUSTA, GEORGIA, FEBRUARY 22, 1947
ISSUED MONTHLY—$2.00 A YEAR
At Investiture of Papal Knights in Macon
Pictured at the conclusion of the ceremony wi h which they were formally invested as Knights of
St. .Gregory the Great, by Monsignor Joseph E. Moylan, Vicar General of the. Diocese of Savannah-At-
lanta are Augustine J. Long and Martin J. Callaghan, two of the founders of the Catholic Laymen’s
Association of Georgia, who were signally honored by His Holiness Pope Pius XII. Appearing in the
photograph above, taken in the sanctuary of St. Joseph’s Church, Macon, appear, left to right, Louis
F. Long, son of Sir Knight A. J, Long, Monsignbr Moylan, and Sir Knight Marlin J. Callaghan.—(Drinnon
Photo bv Griffin).
U. S. Supreme Court Renders
Decision in School Bus Case
Five Justices Hold New Jersey Law Providing Use of Tax
Funds to Transport Parochial School Pupils Is Not in
Support of Schools and Does Not Breach Wall Be
tween Church and State
Georgia Laymen Invested as
Knights of Saint G regory
Augustine J. Long and Martin J. Callaghan, of Macon,
Receive Papal Decorations and Honors of Knighthood
in Order of Saint Gregory the Great, Conferred on
Them by His Holiness Pope Pius XII, Front Monsignor
Joseph E. Moylan, Vicar General of Diocese of Savan-
nah-Atlanta
(N. C. W. C. News Service)
WASHINGTON. — The United
Styles Supreme Court, in a 5-to-4
decision which may well prove to
be a landmark in the sphere of
public aid to Catholic and other
private schools, affirmed the
right of a New Jersey school dis
trict to pay transportation costs
for children attending Catholic
schools.
Justice Hugo Black read the
majority opinion, in which Chief
Justice Fred M. Vinson, and Jus
tices Fl ank Murphy, Stanley Reed
and William O. Douglas, concur
red The dissenting opinion was
read by Justice Wiley Rutledge,
and he was joined in it by Jus
tices Felix Frankfurter, Robert H.
Jackson and Harold Burton. A
second dissenting opinion was
made by Justices Jackson and
Frankfurter.
“The State contributes no mon
ey to the (Catholic) schools. It
does not support them. Its legis
lation, as applied, does no more
than provide a general program
to help parents get their children,
regardless of their religion, safe
ly and expeditiously to and from
accredited schools.” This was the
gist of the majority opinion.
“The First Amendment,” the
Court added, “has erected a wall
between church and stale. That
wall must he kept high and im
pregnable. We could not approve
the slightest breach. New Jersey
has not breached it here.”
The question before the Court,
as the majority opinion summa
rized it. was twofold: did the
payment of the bus fares to Cath
olic parents by the Ewing Town
ship School Board take the pri
vate property of one group by
taxation and bestow it upon oth
ers, thus violating the “due
process” clause of the 14th
Amendment? and. did this pay
ment constitute support of
Church schools in violation of the
First Amendment, which says that
Congress (and by the 14th Amend
ment. the States) must not make
any law "respecting an establish
ment of religion?”
In a passage pertinent to the
first question, the Court held
that “the fact that a State law,
passed to satisfy a public need,
coincides with the personal de
sires of the individuals most di
rectly affected is certainly an in
adequate reason for us to say
that a legislature has erroneously
appraised the public need.”
The Court held that the power
to strike down Slate laws ou the
ground that they expend tax
funds for so-called private pur
poses must be exercised “with the
most extreme caution,” and con
cluded that).“otherwise, a State’s
power to legislate for the public
welfare might be seriously cur
tailed, a power which is a primary
reason for the existence of
States.” .
In treating the question of sup
port of a religion by the State,
the 16-page majority opinion
went into a review of the back
ground and environment against
which the First Amendment was
fashioned, beginning with the re
ligious reasons which impelled
many of the original U. S. set
tlers to emigrate from Europe,
and considering at some length
I he “Virginia. Bill for Religious
Liberty” which influenced the
drafting of the Federal amend
ment.
The Court decided that the
First Amendment meant that
“neither a Slate nor the Federal
Government can, openly or se
cretly, participate in the affairs
of any religious organizations or
groups or vice versa. In the words
of Jefferson, the clause against
the establishment of religion by
law was intended to erect ‘a'wall
of separation between Church
and State'.”
But, on the other hand, it held,
that the cutting off of such ser
vices as police and fire protec
tion, connections for sewage dis
posal, public highways and side
walks—-and in the case at hand,
transportation to a parochial
school where such transportation
is furnished to public school
children — “is obviously not the
purpose of the First Amendment
(which) . . requires the State to
be neutral in its relations with
groups of religious believers and
non-believers . . . (not) their
adversary State power is no more
to be used so as to handicap reli
gions, than it is to favor them.”
The dissent made by Justices
Rutledge, Frankfurter, Jackson
and Burton looked with alarm
upon the decision as “the first, if
it is indeed not the second (a ref
erence to the 1930 Cockran case
giving the State of Louisiana the
right to provide public school
textbooks to parochial schools)
breach to be made by this Court's
action” in the wait between
Church and Stale.
This opinion spoke of “two
Continued on Rage Two)
Bulletins
THE BRONZE STAR MEDAL,
which previously has been given
with a temporary citation to Fa
ther James Francis Cunningham,
C. S. P,, Superior General of the
l'aulists and a Navy chaplain dur
ing the war, has now beer, confer
red on him wilth a permenanct ci
tation by Navy Secretary James
Forres tat by order of President
Truman. 'The permanent citation
states that “although slightly
wounded and stunned by a bomb
hit near him, Lieutenant Com
mander Cunningham worked in-
defatigably to evacuate wounded
and dead personnel. His courage
and fortitude were in keeping
with the highest traditions of the
United States Naval Service.” Fa
ther Cunningham has also been
awarded the Purple Heart Medal.
OFFICERS of the Savannali-At-
lanta Diocesan Council of the Na
tional Council of Catho. e Wom
en, under the leadership of their
president, Miss Helen Roe Nugent,
of Savannah, and with the coop
eration of their spiritual director,
Father John D. Toomey, of Mil-
ledgeville, are now arranging an
interesting program for the an
nual convention of the Diocesan
Council, which will be held in
Brunswick, April 19-20, coincident
with the celebration of the Dia
mond Jubilee of St. Francis
Xavier parish in Brunswick.
CHRIST, as the Light of the
world, was the general theme of
Father Thomas E. O’Connell, pas
tor of St. Thomas Church, Rich
mond, Va„ in a discourse heard
February 16 on llie Hour of Faitli
program, which is produced by
the National Council of Catholic
Men and carried on the American
Broadcasting Company network.
A REVISED VERSION of the
controversial David O. Selznick
film, “Duel in the Sun,” has been
shewn for Legion of Decency Re
view at the Legion’s national
headquarters in New York. It was
the first opportunity the Legion
had been given to sec the film.
Announcement of a rating is not
expected until written reports of
the reviewers have been analyz
ed.
LEGISLATION which would
have obliged parents to obtain per
mission from local public school
officials in Spokane, Wash., before
sending their children to parochial
schools, has been killed by unani
mous consent of the Washington
State Senate at the request of one
of its co-sponsors, who asserted
he had not even read the bill.
(Special to The Bulletin)
MACON, Gu. — With impress
ive ceremony, at St. Joseph’s
Church, on February 16, Mon
signor Joseph E. Moylan, Vicar
General of the Diocese of Savan-
nah-Atlanta, formally invested
two of Macon’s outstanding citi
zens: Augustine Jossey Long, and
Martin Joseph Callaghan, with
Knighthood in the Order of Saint
Gregory the Great.
These two distinguished Catho
lic laymen of the Diocese of Sa-
vannah-Atlanta, both of whom
were among the founders of the
Catholic Laymen’s Association of
Geo rgia, and both of whom have
been prominent in its activity,
were knighted by Monsignor Moy
lan, acting lor His Excellency the
Most Rev. Gerald P. O’Hara, D.D.,
J, U. D., Bishop ot Savannah-At-
lanta, now serving as Regent of
the Apostolic Nunciature in Bu
charest. Romania.
His Holiness Pope Pius XII in
June of last year conferred the
honor of Knighthood upon Mr.
Long and Mr. Callaghan.
The formal investiture, was de
layed because the Papal docu
ments conferring the honors, on
Mr. Long and Mr, Callaghan did
not reach this country until De
cember. when they were brought
from Vatican City by Bishop
O’Hara, who returned immedi
ately to Rom? - to go to Rumania
as tlie representative of the Holy
See.
Presentation of the Papal dec
orations and the swords to Mr.
Long and Mr. Callaghan were
made at the end of a Solemn
High Mass which was celebrated
by Father Robert Bryant, S. J.,
pastor of St. Joseph’s Church,
with Father Edward P. McGrath,
CHARLESTON, S C. — Mrs.
Henry R. (Clare Boothe) Luce,
'journalist, author, playwright and
former Member of Congress, will
be the guest speaker at the patri
otic banquet which is being given
on tlie evening ot Washington’s
Birthday at the Francis Marion
Hotel by the Bishop P. N. Lynch
Assembly. Fourth Degree, Knights
of Columbus.
After serving two terms in the
U. .S. House of Representatives as
a member from Coneclicut, Mi's.
Luce announced her retirement
from political life last* year at the
time that she was Received into
the Catholic Church,
Mrs. Luce has served as asso
ciate editor of Vogue, and as as
sociate editor and managing edi
tor, of Vanity Fair. She has writ
ten such successful plays as‘‘Kiss
the Boys Goodbye,” “The Wom
en.” /md ’’Margin for Error.” She
has contributed a number of ar
ticles to nationally circulated
magazines, and the story of her
conversion to Catholicity is cur
rently appearing, under her own
authorship, in McCall’s Magazine.
At present Mrs. Luce is staying
at Mepkin Plantation, near
Moncks Corner, where site is do
ing some writing, She and her
husband, who is publisher of
Time, Life, and Fortune) own the
plantation.
In keeping with the celebra
tion of Washington’s Birthday,
and the principle of the Fourth
Degree of the Knights ,of Colum
bus, Mrs. Luce will speak on “Pa
triotism.”
S. M.. pastor of Sacred Heart
Church, Atlanta, as deacon, anil
Father Raymond J. Mullin, S, J.,
assistant pastor of St. Joseph’s
Church, as -subdeacon.
The sermon at the Mass was de
livered by Father Harold A. Gau
din.'S. J., formerly pastor of St.
Joseph’s Church here, and now of
the faculty of St. John’s College,
Shreveport, La. Present in the
sanctuary, in addition to Monsi
gnor Moylan and the .officers of
the Mass were Father Michael
McNally, S. J., assistant pastor of
St. Joseph’s Church; Father James
E. King, pastor of Sacred Heart
Church, Warner Robins, and Fa
ther Godfrey Weitekamp, O. F. M.,
pastor of St. Mary’s Church,
Americus.
In his sermon, which preceded
the investiture Father Gaudin
declared that it was unusual for
men to be praised from a pulpit
which was built to be a place
from which the praise of Almighty
God would be sounded, but that,
he did not believe that God would
be jealous if His pulpit were used
in paying well deserved tribute to
two of His devoted servants.
“Not only are the families and
friends of Mr. Long and Mr. Cal
laghan filled with pride at the
distinction which lias been given
them by the Holy Sec,” said Fa
ther Gaudin, “but the entire par
ish of St. Joseph, their many
friends in Macon, and many
friends throughout all Georgia,
arc also happy and proud.”
Speaking briefly, at the conclu
sion of the ceremony, Monsignor
Moylan extended his congratula
tions to the new Knights of St.
Gregory upon the signal honor
CLARE BOOTH LUCE
Lynch Assembly, will welcome
the guests, and John I. Cosgrove,
Charleston attorney, will present
Mrs. Luce to her audience. W. T.
McLaughlin, chairman of the
committee on arrangements, wilt
he the toastmaster.
Following the banquet there
will be a dance at the Knights ot'
Columbus Hall.
The committee on arrange
ments for the banquet and dance
includes the following officers of
Bishop Lynch Assembly: Joseph
J. Comar, 1 faithful comptroller;
James J. McDonald, faithful pi
lot: Father Joseph J. Murphy,
faithful friar; George M. Tray-
Monsignor James J. May, Vicar
General of the Diocese of Char
leston, and rector of the Cathe
dral of St. John the Baptist, will
speak on “The Church in South
Carolina.” Arthur E. Anderson,
faithful navigator of Bishop
nor, William L. Schaehle, faithful
sentinels; Wiliam L. MeAllan, J.
B. Clarey, faithful patrons, Al
bert J. Sotlile, faithful admiral.
T. F. Madden heads tlie reserva
tions committee.
(Continued on Page 20)
Mrs. Clare Boothe Luce to
Speak at Fourth Degree K. of C.
Patriotic Banquet in Charleston