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P L
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•-
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h
OF THE CATHOLIC LA YMEN’S ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA
FIVE
MARCH 27, 1948.
THE
With Other Editors
A FAR-REACHING DECISION
BY THE SUPREME COURT
The Supreme Court decision
holding unconstitutional the use
of public school facilities for vol
untary religious instruction at no
cost to the taxpayers has had,
understandably, wide repercus
sions.
The effect may go far beyond
the case in question, wherein an
atheist mother was upheld in her
contention that the system in vo
gue in Champaign, Illinois, mak
ing classrooms available for short
intervals to Protestants, Roman
Catholic and Jewish groups,
breaks down the barriers erected
by the First Amendment between
Church and State.
That Amendment bars any law
“respecting the establishment of
religion or prohibiting the free
exercise thereof.” It obviously
forbids obligatory religious in
struction. But it was not in
tended, surely to repress religion,
any more than it would penalize
those who believe in no relig
ion at all.
Children of whatever faith stand
in need today of more religious
education and example, not less.
It appears to be stretching the
Constitutional guarantee of free
dom of worship rather far to de
clare it unlawful for parents to
devise a system for the instruc
tion of their children in theif
particular faith, in between class
room duties.
Justice Black, who wrote the
majority opinion, finds this to be
“a utilization of the tax-establish
ed and tax-supported public
school system to aid religious
groups to spread their faiths.”
The connotations of that state
ment are alarming. Justice Reed i
in his dissent, interpreted the de
cision as prohibiting any religi
ous instruction of public school
children during the school hours.
Justice Jackson, while concurring
with the majority conclusion, ex
pressed the opinion that it takes in
too much territory and may even decision of the United States Su-
preclude teaching subjects which preme Court declaring unconsti-
relate to church architecture, sa- tutional the released-time' religi-
cred music and religious move-j out education program in Cham-
ments. j paign County, Illinois, might open
Would not Justice Black's in- the' floodgates to anti-religious
terpretation, carried to its logical litigation in this country, was ex
conclusion, prohibit the release of pressed by Justice Jackson, in a
children from school for the ob- concurring opinion, and by Justice
servance of Christian and Jewish ' Reed in his dissent,
holy days? Does it not raise ! Justice Jackson summed up the
questions about the use of tax- prospect as follows: “I think it
payer funds for the retention of is doubtful whether the facts of
chaplains in the armecL. forces this case establish jurisdiction in
and the utilization of battleships, this Court, but in any event that
Army posts and other public prop- wo should place some bounds on
erty for religious services? the demands for interference with
It is significant that the atheist local schools that we are empow-
who has successfully attacked ered or willing to entertain,”
the Champaign system of volun- The sweep and detail of the
tary religious instruction i s not complaints by the appellant in
stopping there. She objects also thls case, Mrs. Vashti McCollum,
to the reading of the Bible in self-styled atheist mother, object-
public schools and to any teaching !P g , an Y, men tion of God or re-
that suggests that there is a God. llg *? n ln , th P P ubl,c schools of the
The Court’s opinion has the ap- nation Justice Jackson declared,
pearance of one that has not been I s a dal }®® r signal which warns
Cartoon by Jim Berryman in the Washington "Evening Star.”—Reproduced by permission. (NC Photos)
Washington Letter
By J. J. GILBERT
Decision of Supreme Court in McCallum Case
May Bring Anti-Religious Litigation
BY J. J. GILBERT i have had commissioned chaplains
WASHINGTON.—Fear that the I from early days. They conduct the
_j -- 1 public services in accordance with
the liturgical requirements of
their respective faiths, ashore and
afloat, employing for the purpose
property belonging to the United
States and dedicated to the ser
vices of religion. Under the Ser
vicemen's Readjustment Act of
1944, eligible veterans may re
ceive training at government ex
pense for the ministry in denomi
national schools ... In the
United States Military Academy,
schools wholly supported and
completely controlled by the fed
eral government, there are a num
ber of religion activities.”
“When actual church services
have always been permitted on
government property, the mere
use of the school buildings by a
non-sectarian group for religious
education ought not to be con
demned as an “establishment of
religion,” Justice Reed concludes.
The distinction between the
McCollum case and the Everson
Secular Newspaper
Lauds Bishops Drive
for Victims of War
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind.—(NC)—A
warm tribute to the vast amount
of good accomplished by the Bish
ops’ • Fund For The Victims of
war is accorded by the Indian
apolis Star, secular daily, through
an editorial urging support of the
campaign.
The editorial recalls that the
paper’s publisher, Eugene C. Pul
liam, a non-Catholic, after a re-
portorial tour of Europe a year
ago, wrote that the National Cath
olic Welfare Conference was the
greatest single agency for mercy
and American goodwill in Eu
rope.” The Bishops’ relief pro
gram for the war needy is car
ried on through War Relief Ser
vices — National Catholic Wel
fare Conference.
The editorial observes: “This
is the sixth year of this campaign.
The money is used in errands of
mercy all over the world—wher
ever there are needy war vic
tims. In the great tradiion of
Catholic charities aid is distribut
ed by the National Catholic Wel
fare Conference and the Bishops’
Emergency Relief Commitee with-
JAMES P. FLYNN
DIES IN ATLANTA
ATLANTA, Ga.—One of At
lanta's outstanding Catholics and
one of the qity’s business lead
ers, James Patrick Flynn, died
on March 16. Funeral services
were held from the Sacred Heart
Church, Father Andrew A. Walls,
S. M„ officiating.
The pallbearers were Frank
Neely, Eugene O'Brien, Leonard
Deihl, Henry J. Taylor, Bernard
Kane and Hughes Spalding, and
the iionorary escort was composed
of members of the Knights of
Columbus and the Holy Name So
ciety of the Sacred Heart Church.
A director of Rich’s, Inc., Mr.
Flynn served as merchandise man
ager of the piece goods division,
lie had been associated with the
firm for more than fifty years.
Frank Neely, president of
Rich’s, paid Mr .Flynn the fol
lowing tribute:
“Jim Flynn will be sorely miss
ed by his many associates in the
company he served so long and so
well—by his many connections
and friends in the field in which
he operated—by the civic and re
ligious grpups of which he was
an integral part of the commun
ity.
"Mr. Flynn has built the fore
most piece goods department in
the country and was noted at
home and abroad for his integrity,
his knowledge, his kindness
“His leadership among the
younger members of the organiza
tion was deeply felt by reason of
these attributes and virtues.
“This coming generation as well
as all people with whom he came
in contact will sorrow for him.
He was a fine influence and in
spiration, and the loss of this liv
ing force will leave a void in the
hearts of his countless friends.”
A life-long resident of Atlanta,
Mr. Flynn was active in the work
of the Catholic Laymen’s Associa
tion of Georgia, the Knights of
Columbus, tile Holy Name Society
and the Society of St. Vincent de
Paul.
Survivors include two sisters,
Miss Katherine McGee and Mrs.
M ,T. Lambert; a brother, John J.
McGee; two nieces, Miss Mari
anne Lambert and Miss Mary Mc
Gee; five nephews, M. Theodore
Lambert, Jr., John Joseph Lam
bert, Jack McGee, James McGee
and Joseph McGee; a grand neph
ew and a grand niece, all of At
lanta.
thought through as it should have of ^ ind of . l0 j al controversy case, in which the Supreme Court ou t re gard for race, creed or color,
been This is too large and com- we will be required to arbitrate if lest year upheld the constitution- 0n , need and suffering count,j
nW , „ ,1!*™;. 11 we do not place appropriate limi- ! ahty of a New Jersey statute au- xhe Catholic Church richilv
n 4. l ?u. <- Tu; S ; ! tation on our decision and exact thorizing local school districts to I stresses the s «iHt..»i
WILLIAM H. CUTCLIFFE
DIES IN ATLANTA
ATLANTA, Ga.—Funeral ser
vices for William H. Cutcliffe, who
died in Atlanta on February 24,
were held at St. Paul’s Church,
Birmingham, Ala.
Mr. Cutcliffe is survived by five
sons, William H. Cutcliffe and
Walter J. Cutcliffe, Atlanta, E. L.
Cutcliffe, Birmingham, L. C. Cut
cliffe, El Paso, Texas, and A. R.
Cutcliffe, Salem Ohio, and a
daughter, Mrs. Harold Smoot, At
lanta.
will iS he U 5 1 h ik< f!L. that ^ iS t d h eds T strict complian, ' with jurisdic-
BAPTISTS FAVOR
RELEASED TIME
After pointing out that educa
tion in which no mention might
be made of religion would ind. id
a in. a.. - ... T .._ be a system of education that one
Although the Baptist Joint Con- cou i d “hardly respect,” Justice
ference pn Public Relations asked Jathsoii observed that “the task
the Supremo Court to declare un
constitutional the “released time
program for the teaching of re
ligion in public schools,” they
certainly did not express the opin
ion of the rank and file of Bap
tists in tile country. The Divi
sion of Education of the Northern
Baptist convention declared in a
statement: “It is unfortunate that
Northern Baptists were made to
appear as being aligned with
those forces that are seeking to
do away with weekday religious
education on released time. Hun
dreds of Northern Baptist church
es and ministers and literally tens
of thousands of Baptist parents
have given and are giving their
support to the measure. Indeed,
Northern Baptists were among the
first to see the possibilities of
weekday religious education and
have been promoting the idea for
more than thirty years,”
And the Detroit Baptist Mis
sionary Society declared: “We
believe that the released time
plan is the most effective plan
offered to date which will give
tlie mass of our children needed
Christian education and at the
same time preserve the principle
of religious liberty. We would
remind the committee which ask
ed the Supreme Court to outlaw
this plan that they give the im
pression to the public that 14,-
of separating the secular from the
religious in education i s one of
magnitude, intricacy and delica
cy.”
Justice Reed, in his lone dis
sent, stressed the secularistic
character of the court's decision,
which, he observed, “conflicts
with accepted habits of our peo
ple.” The scope of the decision in
the McCollum case, he stated, is
thut “religious instruction of pub
lic school children during school
hours is prohibited.”
After pointing out that scores of
cases have been decided in the
state courts upholding the consti
tutionality of religion in the pub
lic schools, "except where the
exercises with religious signifi
cance partook of the ceremonial
practice of sects or groups,” Jus-
tice Reed continues:
"The practices of the federal
government offer many examples
of this kind of ‘aid’ by the state
to religion. The Congress of the
United States has a chaplain for
each House who daily invokes di
vine blessings and guidance for
the proceedings. The armed forces
,. „ , , i stresses the spiritual obligation
provide transportation of children , ... 6 i
to and from schools including | vh f lc go^nmente "have quarrel- 1
Catholic schools, is *hat in ihe for-
mer case public authority inter
vened directly to “aid” religion by
assisting in the holding of reli
ed and dawdled, non-political en
deavors such as the Bishops’ Re
lief Campaign, the CARE pro
gious education classes in the pub- i gram and Friendship Tra ' ns
lie schools, whereas in the latter ! bave . gan f. abead "fith the work
000,000 Baptists^-a sizable block
of our population—are standing'
with the alleged atheist mother
of Champaign, and other secular
ists whose aim is to destroy all
religion. . . .’’—Ave Maria.
the provision of transportation to
pupils attending .mnpublic schools
was held to be a public welfare
measure, aiding nonpublic schools
only indirectly and incidentally
and unavoidably.
The fundamental basis of both
of alleviating suffering. It is the
brightest page of postwar his
tory.”
belies any basis for fear that aid
JOHN JOSEPH ROSE
FUNERAL IN CHARLESTON
CHARLESTON, S. C.—Funeral
services for John Joseph Rose,
of Mount Pleasant, who died on
March 16, were held from St. Jo
seph’s Church, Father J. Alexis
Westbury officiating.
Mr. Rose is survived by his par
ents, two brothers, and three sis
ters.
and cooperation between public
authority and religious groups
opinions, however, in declaring i would destroy the right of free-
that the First Amendment to the dom °f religion.
Constitution precludes any direct | On the contrary, we see every-
aid to or cooperation by govern- . where today closely associated
ment with religious oups, is to , with extreme secularism, such as
be sought in the history of reli- . that embodied in these recent
gious persecutions associated with | decisions of the United States Su-
unions of church and state in the . preme Court, the advance of total-
past, and the fear that, in view of I itarian doctrines that deny reli-
the multiciplicity of religious gious freedom, place economic ob-
groups today, public aid or coop- stacles in the way of its exercise
eration would embroil the state in
religious dissensions and destroy
the right of reigious freedom.
Nevertheless, Justice Frankfur
ter, in his concurring opinion in
the McCollum case, points out
that religious freedom has not
been destroyed in other nations,
such as England, where provision
is made “for religious education
in State-maintained schools.”
This is the situation in a num
ber of other countries, such as
Scotland. Canada, Switzerland and
Holland, where allocation of pub
lic funds to religious schools un
der. Catholic, Protestant and Jew
ish, and indeed even to anti-reli
gious schools, coincidentally with
the existence of full religious free-
I dom and equality before the law,
infringe upon the rights of par
ents and the sanctity of the home,
deny freedom of labor and the
right of property, freedom of
speech and of the press, introduce
state monopoly of education, and
regiment the life of the people
under all-embracing dictatorship.
Well may Justice Jackson and
Justice Reed express fear for the
future of religious freedom in
this nation, as well as of all the
other freedoms associated with
the Christian culture of the West,
if the.doctrine of state secularism
now adopted by the Supreme
Court in its interpretation of the
First Amernment should be de
veloped in all its implications in
the future life of the nation.—(N.
C. W. C. News Service).
I MICHAEL C MCDONNELL
FUNERAL IN AUGUSTA
AUGUSTA, Ga.—Funeral er-
vices for Michael C. McDonnell,
who died March 5, were held at
the Sacred Heart Church, Father
F. D. Sullivan, S. J., officiating.
Mr. McDonnell is survived by
his wife, Mrs. Ella Taylor Mc
Donnell; two sons, P. ,1. McDonnell
and W. J. Murphy; five daughters,
Mrs. E. G, Wright, Mrs. J. E. Stev
ens, Mrs. C. C. Wright, Mrs. D. T.
Wright and Mrs. J. R. Holsenback;
a sister, Mrs. J. T. Nash; six grand
children hnd three great-grand
children.
MRS. MARY ANN WITT
FUNERAL IN SAVANNAH
SAVANNAH, Ga.—Funeral ser
vices for Mrs. Mary Ann Powers
Witt, who died February 24, were
held at the Cathedral of St. John
the Baptist.
Mrs. Witt, the daughter of John
Powers, a Canadian, who came to
Georgia to serve with the Con
federate Army, was born in Savan
nah, March 25, 1862.
Richard Witt, Lawrence Witt,
Wesley Witt, Arthur Slamey,
grandsons of Mrs. Witt, served ai
pallbearers.