Newspaper Page Text
EIGHTEEN
THE BULLETIN OF THE CATHOLIC LAYMEN’S ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA
FEBRUARY 22, 1947 ^
Distinguished Jesuit Discusses
Application of Church-State
Issue in School Bus Decision
The author of the following: article is recognized as an authority
on Church-State relations. He is editor of Theological Studies,
a contributing editor of the Catholic weekly, Americd, and pro
fessor of dogmatic theology at Woodstock (Md.) College.
By THE KEV. JOHN COURTNEY
MURRAY, S. J.
(Written for N. t. W. C. News
Service)
In his column in the New
York Times, Arthur Krock ven
tured tile opinion that the Su
preme Court decision in the Ever
son case, regarding school bus
transportation for pupils ol' non
profit private schools, will preci
pitate a line of cases dealing with
the same central issue—the re
strictions placed by the First
Amendment on governmental aid
to education.
This is probably true. But it is
to be hoped that future cases will
solidify in the law the basis of the
Everson decision, and confirm the
same reasoning of the majority
opinion. Justice Black, who wrote
the majority opinion, has contrity
tiled an important document to,
the history of American jurispru
dence. It is distinguished by its
learning .its firm grasp of the cen
tral legal issues, and'above all by
its vision of the concrete contem-
pory situation in which the issue
of “separation of Church and
St ate” has been raissd.
Justice Black’s opinion rather
quickly disposes of the contention
that the New Jersey statute and
resolution, Inasmuch as they au
thorize reimbursement of parents
for money spent by them for the
transportation of their children lo
non-profit private schools, is a
violation'of the due process clause
of the Fourteenth Amendment.
The Supreme Court clearjy up
holds the New Jersey legislature in
its decision that "a public purpose
will be served by using tax-raised
funds to pay the bus fares of all
school children, including those
who attend parochial schools."
Moreover, the court rejects the
contention that, because parents
send their children lo parochial
schools for their own private rea
sons, therefore- the public’s inter
ests are not served in these
schools. As r n ’’or of fact, even
the dissenting justices do not seri
ously challenge the public pur
pose character oi the New Jersey
statute and resolution.
It is clear, thereiore, that the
Supreme Court was interested in
the Everson case almost solely be
cause in it the issue of the First j
Amendment was raised. In his j
dissent. Justice Rutledge states: !
“This case forces us to determine
squarely for the first time what |
was ‘an establishment of religion’ i
in the First Amendment’s eoncep- j
tion, and by that measure to decide j
whether New Jersey's action vio- .
lates its command." j
Using the popular language of i
Jefferson and Madison. Justice j
Black sums up the whole case in j
his last paragraph: “The First |
Amendment has erected a wall be- j
tween Church and State That wall !
must be kept high and impreg-1
nable. We could not' approve the j
slightest breach. New Jersey has !
not breached it here.”. In tliisj
fashion the majority of the Su
preme Court disposes of the mis
leading “onterin ; wedge" argu
ment, of which such capital is!
made of this sort of case.
The essence of the decision is
(1> in its loyal affirmation of the;
American doctrine of religioue
freedom and consequent "separa
tion of Church and State” and (2>
in its refusal t< see this doctrine
so interpreted ar to “wall off” any
group of citizens, on religious
grounds, from in equal share in
the benefits of public welfare leg
islative By reason of this af
firmation and this refusal the
majority opinion is a new buttress
ing of both of religious liberty and
civic equality
Justice Black, and the concur
ring Justices, gi-c a thorough
study of the history and back
ground of the First Amendment,
its meaning, and its central place
in the American democratic sys
tem. Moreover. the> quite care
fully state the content of the “es
tablishment of religion” clause,
in itself and in its relation to the
following clause Ilia! forbids Con
gress to make nnv law prohibiting
the free exercise cf religion. These
clauses are “complementary”:
taken together, they define the
meaning of American religious
freedom, and show it to be realis
tically designea to protect Ameri
can citizens from two political
evils—religiou= interference in
temporal institutions and govern
mental interference with religious
rights.
Justice Black’s opinion, there
fore, shows full awareness of the
American tradition. But an equal
ly signal merit is its awareness of
the difficulty of applying the pro
visions of the First Amendment to
the present American educational
situation. In 1347 the First
Amendment means everything it
meant in 1795. but the America of
1795 was not the America of
1947.
The exigencies of the public wel
fare have grown vastly more com
plicated and the scope of govern
mental services has proportionate
ly widened. Today there must in
deed be the same strong will to be
faithful to the language and spirit
of the First Amendment and its
design “to protect religious free
dom and to .separate religions and
government.” Today, however,
there is a great and genuine “dif
ficulty in drawing the line be
tween tax legislation wdiich pro
vides funds for the welfare of the
general public and that which is
designed to support institutions
which teach reludon.” Here is a
social and legal fact well grasped
and honestly faced.
And the Supreme Court has re
fused to allow this line so to be
drawn as to bring the First
Amendment into conflict with it
self. It would, the Court in ef
fect says, be bi'ought into conflict
with itself if the State of New
Jersey (or any other State, or the
Federal government itself) were
to “hamper its citizens in the free
exercise of their own religion” by
statutes so framed as to “exclude
individual Catholics. Lutherans,
Mohammedans Baptists, Jews,
Methodists, non-believers. Presby
terians or the members of any
other faith, because of their faith
or lack of it from receiving the
benefits of public welfare legisla
tion." Here thy Supreme Court
makes a sound legal decision on
the basis of a firm realism and in
a high spirit of equity.
When New Jersey undertook a
general program of certain ser
vices to education, it was constitu
tionally warranted in making the
program general ' and in not ex
cluding anyone from its benefits,
for religious reasons. The First
Amendment, says the Court, ‘re
quires the State to be neutral in
its relations with groups of religi
ous believers and non-believers; it
does not require the State to be
their adversary. State power is
no more to be used so as to handi
cap religions than it is lo favor
them.”
This is good local realism which
cuts through all the unrealistic
legalism shown n the dissenting
opinions, and settles a difficult
problem on a sound, clear and un
controvertible ba«Js.
W UK f
< S'
' ' i
ORATORY SCHOOL, ROCK II1LL—The building pictured above,
which was dedicated in 1937, was a gift of the late Miss Lillian De
Cortpni and the late Miss Ma'ry O’Connell to the Oratory of St. Philip
Neri at Rock Hill, South Carolina. It was built to serve as a boarding
school where deserving boys who could not afford to attend other in-
situalions of learning might gain the benefits of a Catholic education.
However, with the advent of the war, so many of the boys enlisted in
the armed forces that it became necessary to close the school. The
upper floor of the building is now being used as a residence for priests
stationed at the Oratory, while the lower floor is used as a Catholic
| community center and parish hall.
[Articles by Mrs. Cla re Boothe Luce in
McCall’s Magazine Are Giving Her
Reasons for Embracing Catholicism
James J. Doherty
Dies in New York
NEW YORK, N, Y — A Solemn
Requiem Mass was offered a< Si -
Stephen’s Church for James J j
Doherty, a resident of (he Bronx,
who died on January 21.
Mr. Doherty is the father of the
Rev James K. Doherty, chaplain
of St. Joseph's Hospital. Paterson.
N. J.. who formerly served in the
Diocese of Savannah-Atjanta. An-
other son. also a priest, the Rev.
Andrew J. Doherty, is stationed at
St. Brendan’s Church in the
Bronx. In addition to his two sons
who are priests. Mr. Doherty is
survived by a third son. George p
Doherty, of the Bronx, and his
wife. Mrs. Anne Downey Doherty.
MRS. GEORGE W. SMITH
FUNERAL IN SAVANNAH
SAVANNAH. Ga.—Funeral ser
vices for Mrs. Elizabeth M.
Smith, widow of George W.
Smith, who died on February 15,
were held at the Sacred Heart
Church.
A native of Darien. Mrs. Smith
had made her home here for most
of her life. She is survived by
two sons. Raymond R. Smith. Gal
veston, Texas, and George R.
Smith. Savannah: fiye daughters.
Mrs. N. C. Young, and Mrs. J.
Holmes Clark, both of St. Simons
Island: Miss Margaret K Smith
and Mrs. J. K Calvin. both of Sa
vannah: Mrs. Elizabeth S. Tarver,
Albany; three nephews, Capl
John A. Browne, Martin Browne.
Savannah, and Lt. Leo O. Browne.
Brunswick: two nieces, Mrs. E. W.
Sleinhauser and Miss Ruth
Browne, botn of Savannah: top
grandchildren and three great
grandchildren.
_ NEW YORK. — (NO — “What
Catholics believe is precisely why
1 became a Catholic. 1 found T be
lieved it too.”
Clare Boothe Luce, playwright,
lecturer, editor, and former Con-'
gresswoman, who joined the Cath-'
olic Church in February, 194(1,
makes this statement in an article
on the reasons she embraced the
Faith appearing in McCall's Mag
azine for February. A second in
stallment of her story will be
pi Wished by the monthly in
March.
Mrs. Luce writes that thou
sands of people have asked her
for the “real” reason why she be
came a member of the Church,
blit that she could not choose be
tween the reasons, that they were
all “real” reasons. One reason,
she says, was that “by the Grace
of Gtid I was given the Gift of
Faith.”
Mrs. Luce disclaims any influ
ence of family background or
personal friends in her conver
sion. but mentions a correspond
ence she had during her term in
Congress with the Rev. Edward
Wiatralc. S. J.. of Cincinnati. She
states that his “priestly admoni
tions" had no effect on her con
scious mind during the period
prior to her conversion, but she
knew later that his prayers were
responsible, at least in part, fot
her decision.
In describing her wartime au
dience with Pope Pius XII. Mrs.
Luce writes: ‘Although 1 was
profoundly impressed by the Holy
Father, as many non-Catholic's
have been, there was nothing in
our meeting that suggested to me
that I mght ever become a Cath
olic. I had two subsequent inter
views with him in the war years,
and although my initial impression
of his sanctity and sweetness (and
aversion to war) were deeply re
newed, even then I had no idea
I Hat I ought to be, or ever would
become one of his daughters.”
Mrs. Luce tells of her visits to
(he Gothic cathedrals of Franco
and Germany during the travels
of her youthful days, and of “the
sense of deep peace” she found in
them.
“In my early twenties when my
head was full of Voltaire and
Montesquieu and Diderot and
oilier brilliant and lusty down-
with-the-Church-of-Romc writers
of the 18th Century. I still never
failed (o defend cathedrals as be
ing somehow objects which ought
to I considered separately from
the misehivotis and superstitious
hocus-pocus preached within
their walls,” she write.
“I would recall that there was
‘something’ about a Catholic eu-
(hetfiial that ‘unwed everybody.’
Sometimes I said that ‘some-
I fling’ was art, and that my ca
thedral emotions had been esthet
ic.” she sets forth. “Sometimes I
settled for the idea that it was a
cathedral’s magnificent empti
ness,’ as, though emptiness could
ever, make itself felt so violently
as ‘something’! I know now what
it was: it was the Real Presence.”
What she calls the “double-bar
reled” Great Question of Life and
Death, stirred in her by despair
and disorder of the depression
era. was made inescapable for
her by the war, Mrs. Luce re
veals, and (he quest for an an
swer to (hut question absorbed
her.
To deal with that question, she
writes. “I was exceedingly badly
equipped by what passed for ail
excellent modern education,
which had slowly through the
year- emptied my head of all re
ligious dogma and filled it with a
score or more of more secular
dogmas.”
Her creed of “liberalism," that
is, a belief Hint man has inalien
able personal rights which are su
perior to property rights, she
found to be deficient because the
so-called liberals denied the ex
istence of the Absolute 1 .aw Giver
who had endowed man with hi.s
inalienable rights.
40 HOURS DEVOTION
AT SACRED HEART
CHURCH. SAVANNAH
(Special to The Bulletin)
SAVANNAH. Ga, — The Right
Rev Vincent G. Taylor. O. S. B.,
D. D., Abbot-Ordinary of Bel
mont, was the celebrant of the
Solemn Pontifical Mass with 1
-which Forty Hours Devotion were
opened at the Sacred Heart
Church on January 26. Abbot Vin
cent also presided at the closing
service of (lie devotions, at which
members of Savannah Assembly,
Fourth Degree, Knights of Co
lumbus. served as a guard of hon
or.
Sermons at the services during
the devotions were delivered by
Monsignor John J. Reily. director
of the NationM Shrine of the Im
maculate Conception in Washing
ton, D. C.
Sister Elizabeth
Dies in Augusta
AUGUSTA, Ga.—Funeral ser
vices for Sister Mary Elizabeth
Garry, of the Sisters of St. Jos
eph of Carondelet, who died at
Mount St. Joseph Convent here
on January 24, were held at St.
Mary’s-on-The-Hill Church. Mon
signor James J. Grady officiating.
Sister Elizabeth was a native
of Brooklyn. N., Y., but had spent
the past forty-three years in
Georgia. She taught at St. Jos
eph’s School, Washington, St.
Francis Xavier School, Bruns
wick, Sacred Heart School, At
lanta, Sacred Heart School, Sha
ron, and for the last ten years at
Mount St. Joseph's Academy
here. She entered the Sisters of
St. Joseph in 1904, at the Mother-
house. which was then in Wash
ington, Ga.
Sister Elizabeth is survived by
a brother, Joseph Garry; a sis
ter, Miss Julia Garry, and sever
al nieces and nephews, all of
Brooklyn:
Assisting in Hie sanctuary were
Father J. E. O'Donohoc. S. J., Fa
ther James Carroll, ,S. J., Father
George Laugel, S. M. A., Father
Harold Barr, Father Patrick Con
nell. Father James T. Banalian,
Father Ralph Maher, Congr. Oral.,
and Father James E. King, of
Warner Robins, Ga.. who offici
ated at the services at the ceme-
I cry.
Pallbearers were John W. Mc
Donald. Jr.. Tobin Barrett. John
L. Murray, Lawrence Cashin,
Charles Bolder and Edward Cash-
in.
MRS. EMIL CETCHOVICH
FUNERAL IN SAVANNAH
SAVANNAH, Ga.—Funeral ser
vices for Mrs. Louisa Cetchovich,
who died February U, were held
from the Sacred Heart Church.
Mrs. Cetchovich, ’ a native of
Holland, lived on Daufuskie Is
land, S. C., »for more than fifty
years before coming to Savannah
three years ago. She is survived k
by her husband, Emil Cetclio-
vich; a daughter. Mrs. C. T. Hop
kins, and a soil. Emit Cetchovich,
all of Savannah.
A. W. HAWKES
Established 1870
OPTICIANS
83 Whitehall Street, S. W.
Atlanta
Ga.
Congratulations to
OUR LADY OF PERPETUAL HELP
FREE CANCER HOME
On Its Eighth Anniversary
LEONARD PHARMACY
6<>2 Pryor Street, S. W„ Atlanta
Open Day & NIglit
J. II. Hanley, President
HANLEY COMPANY UNDERTAKERS
AND FUNERAL DIRECTORS
21 Bell St., N. E. Phone: Walnut 1440
HANLEY’S ASHBY ST. FUNERAL HOME
10.‘5 Ashby St., S. W. Raymond 6164
PRIVATE AMBULANCE SERVICE ,
Our Prices are the Lowest No Deserving Poor Refused
ATLANTA, GA.
SERVICE—RIGHT IN YOUR UP!
GENUINE PARTS CO.
475 WEST PEACHTREE ST—ATLANTA
EAST POINT, WEST END, BUCKIIEAD, DECATUR