Newspaper Page Text
Published by the
Catholic Lay
men's Association
of Georgia
"To Bring About
a Friendlier
Feeling Among
Neighbors Irre
spective of Creed"
Vot XXXIII. No. 3 TWENTY-FOUR PAGES AUGUSTA, GEORGIA, MARCH 29, 1952
ISSUED MONTHLY—$3.00 A YEAR
Diocesan Confraternity of the Laity to Be Organized
BISHOP HYLAND OUTLINES PLANS
FOR PERMANENT ORGANIZATION TO
IRELAND WELCOMES ARCHBISHOP O’HARA AS NUNCIO—The Most Reverend Gerald P. O’Hara,
Archbishop-Bishop of Savannah-Atlanta, is shown upon his arrival in Dublin to assume his new post as’
Papal Nuncio to Ireland. Among the leaders of the Church and State who greeted Archbishop O’Hara
were Archbishop John C. McQuaid of Dublin, Primate of Ireland (right); Frank Aiken, Irish Minister
for Foreign Affairs (left), and Sean Nunan, secretary in the Department of Foreign ’ Affairs. Also
on hand were six chaplains of the United States Armed Forces currently stationed in Germany, among
them Lieutenant Colonel James H. Grady, a native Georgian and a priest of the Diocese of Savannah-
Atlanta. Monsignor John C. Kirk, now head of the Rumanian Mission in Europe, and formerly
secretary to Archbishop O’Hara, joined His Excellency in Paris for the flight to»Irelan’d.—(RNS Photo
—Courtesy of The Catholic News.)
Archbishop O'Hara Warmly Welcomed
On Assuming Post as Nuncio to Ireland
(N. C. W. C. News Service)
DUBLIN — Church, government
and people joined in offering a
warm Irish welcome to Archbishop
Gerald P. O’Hara, Bishop of Sa
vannah-Atlanta, when he came to
the land of his forefathers to as
sume there his post as Papal
Nuncio to Ireland.
This welcome tn the Pope’s rep
resentative in Ireland found its
expression not alone in the official
ceremonies and addresses; it also
became strikingly evident in the
flags flying from many houses, and
in the crowds of men, women and
children from all walks of life
gathered to catch a glimpse of the
Nuncio and received his blessing.
Archbishop O’Hara—perhaps re
calling at that moment his ex
periences in Rumania, whose com
munist regime expelled him from
his post there—spoke of “the feel
ings of deepest emotion and intense
joy that I have in coming back to
the land of my forefathers.”
In presenting his credentials to
Ireland’s President Sean T. O’Kelly,
the Nuncio described Ireland as
“this blessed land,” whose Consti
tution is inspired by a frankly
Catholic spirit, whose government
is closely linked by most cordial
and devoted ties to the See of
Peter, where the Church stands in
pride of place, based on the will
of a faithful people inspired since
the days of St. Patrick by singular
allegiance to the Vicar of Christ.
Ireland is a country, Archbishop
O’Hara said, “ever distinguished
by the generosity of a faithful peo
ple, loyal in suffering during the
darkest days of persecution, splen
didly true in respect for Chris
tian truth in the present-day world
of changing values, noble as of
yoee in its generosity of mission
ary effort for Christ in the whole
world.”
President Kelly, voicing his own
welcome and that of the Irish peo
ple, expressed particular joy in
H»e homecoming of a distinguish
ed son of our race, called by our
beloved Holy Father in his benev
olence to be his personal repre
sentative among us.’ ’
The President assured the Nun-
*w that the deep attachment of
the Irish to the Holy See, which
prevailed through the centuries
since the days of St. Patrick, was
as deep and strong as ever, both
at home and in the Catholic mis
sions all over the globe where
Irishmen and women are found.
Archbishop John McQuaid of
Dublin, Prime Minister Eamon de
Valera, Foreign Minister Frank
Aiken and many other prelates and
officials attended the ceremony
marking the presentation of cre
dentials.
Eighteen Bishops, President
O’Kelly and Mr. De Valera, mem
bers of both houses of parliament,
the diplomatic corps, judges, repre
sentatives of religious organizations
and lay groups crowded the pro
cathedral for a liturgical reception
in honor of the new Nuncio.
Archbishop McQuaid and mem
bers of the metropolitan chapter
received the Nuncio at the main
door of the cathedral and guided
him to a throne in the sanctuary.
The Te Deum was sung and Bene
diction given by Bishop Patrick
Dunne, Auxiliary of Dublin. Arch
bishop O’Hara blessed all as he
passed through the crowded church.
At a civic reception in Gresham
Hotel, hundreds were presented to
the new Nuncio. Speaking to the
NC News Service correspondent,
Archbishop O’Hara reiterated how
deeply he was impressed by the
warmth of the welcome accorded
him and by the faith of the people.
On leaving the hotel, the Nuncio
was faced on the sidewalk by such
a large, cheering crowd that police
had some difficulty making passage
for him
Archbishop O’Hara arrived here
by plane from Paris where he had
spent a few days en route from
Rome. He was accompanied by
Monsignor John C. Kirk, now sta
tioned in Madrid, who had served
as the Archbishop’s secretary in
Rumania. The Nuncio was greeted
at Dublin airport by Archbishop
McQuaid, Archbishop Joseph A.
Fernandez of Delhi and Simla,
presently visiting Ireland; Monsig
nor Giovanni Benelli, official of
the Nunciature, and many other
representatives of Church and
State.
Bulletins
SUBJECTS for Bishop Fulton J.
Sheen’s Catholic Hour addresses
during the remainder of the 1952
series are “Pilate and Caiphas,”
on March 30, and “The Seven
Last Words,” on April 8, with the
concluding address of the series
on April 13, Easter Sunday. The
Catholic Hour is produced by the
National Council Catholic Men in
cooperation with the National
Broadcasting Company.
CHANGES IN THE NAMES of
two Dioceses in the United States
have been announced by His Ex
cellency the Most Reverend Amle-
to Giovanni Cicognani, Apostolic
Delegate to the United States. The
name of the Diocese of Baker City
has been changed to the Diocese of
Baker. The name of the Diocese of
Salt Lake has been changed to the
Diocese of Salt Lake City.
FOR EVERY NEW MEMBER
gained by the Church among the
nation’s Negroes through birth
during the last decade, two others
have been gained by conversion.
Since the 1940 census, the Negro
population has increased 15.9 per
cent, but the increase of Negro
Catholics during the same period
has been 52.5 per cent.
THE AIR FORCE is in critical
need of 125 more priest chaplains.
400 chaplains of all religious de
nominations are being sought.
Even if the Air Force obtains the
priest chaplains sought, it will
still be under strength in Catholic
chaplains.
DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS be
tween the Holy See and the Re
public of Austria have been raised
to the highest possible level. The
Austrian legation at the Vatican
has become an Embassy. The Ap
ostolic Interuunciature in Vienna
is now a Nunciature.
THE 1952 CONVENTION of the
Catholic Press Association of the
United States will be held June
18-21 at the University of Notre
Dame, in Indiana, instead of in
Reno, Nevada, as originally sched-
"‘ed.
SUCCEED BISHOP'S
SAVANNAH, Ga.—In a Pas
toral Letter which was read in
all of the churches of the Dio
cese of Savannah-Atlanta on the
first Sunday of this month, His
Excellency the Most Reverend
Francis E. Hyland, D. D., J. C.
D., Auxiliary Bishop of Savan
nah-Atlanta, reported on what
had been accomplished for the
Church in Georgia through the
Bishop’s Building Fund which
was launched three years ago,
and announced that as a succes
sor to that fund a permanent
membership organization, to be
known as the Diocesan Confra
ternity of th Laity would be
formed.
Bishop Hyland’s first of
several Pastoral Letters con
cerning the establishment of the
Confraternity of the Laity, and
expressing gratitude for the gen
erous support of the Bishops
Building Fund, reads as follows:
In 1948, a diocesan-wide cam
paign, known as the Bishop’s
Building Fund, was inaugurated in
our Diocese. In announcing of
ficially the close of the Bishop’s
Building Fund as of this date, I
am happy to pay a public and well-
merited tribute to the cooperation
of our clergy and the magnificent
generosity of our laity. In the name
of Archbishop O’Hara, as well as
in my own name, I express most
profound gratitude, to one and all
who cooperated in any way toward
the success of the Bishop’s Build
ing Fund.
About eighteen months ago, I
reported to you in detail what your
contribution to the Bishop’s Build
ing Fund had enabled us to ac
complish; namely, the erection of
nine churches, seven schools, four
rectories and three convents. Since
that report of eighteen months ago,
the church-school combination
building and the convent of St.
Thomas More parish, Decatur, have
been completed and a church, dedi
cated to St. Francis of Assisi,
erected in Cartersville. In addition,
your generosity has enabled us to
reduce our diocesan indebtedness
by a most substantial amount.
Thanks be to God and the inter
cession of Our Blessed Lady, our
Diocese is making notable progress
Last September new schools were
opened in Milledgeville and Thun
derbolt and new missions were
started in Bryan and McDuffie
Counties. After the Christmas holi
days, the children of the Immacu
late Conception parish, Atlanta,
moved into their new school. At
the present time schools are under
construction in Albany, Columbus
and North Atlanta. Plans are now
being prepared for two new mis
sion churches which will be erect
ed before the end of the year in
places which have never had a
place of Catholic worship.
This sounds like a very ambitious
program, but as a matter of fact, it
represents only a few of the many-
necessary things that have yet to
be undertaken and accomplished.
Please note I speak of necessary
things: — works and programs
which the diocese must put into ef
fect not only in order to bring the
true faith to those who do not
possess it, but also and especially
to' safeguard and preserve the
faith among our own Catholic peo
ple in the smaller towns and rural
areas of Georgia. It will distress
you, as indeed it distresses me, to
know that in at least a dozen places
in Georgia our Catholic people—
your own brothers and sisters in
Christ Jesus,—do not have even a
little chapel in which to worship
God: some of our children in those
places have never seen a Catholic
church. We are under grave obli
gation to remedy such sad situa
tions as soon as it is humanly pos
sible to do so.
Ia a subsequent letter, I shall
BUILDING FUND
bring to your attention other
urgent needs of our Diocese. The
purpose of this letter is to an
nounce as successor to the Bishop’s
Building Fund the establishment of
a permanent membership organiza
tion to be known as the Diocesan
Confraternity of the Laity.
Our Diocese is a mission Diocese.
We receive financial help from the
American Board of Catholic TVIis-
sions, the Catholic Church Exten- s
sion Society and the Board of.’
Negro and Indian Missions, In ad
dition, our priests as well as my
self are invited at times to make
appeals in the large parishes in the
North and Midwest. We are deeply,
appreciative of the assistance we
received from these various
sources. Needless to say, however,
this method of financing a Diocese
is haphazard and uncertain; so
much so that it is simply impos
sible to plan anything in advance..
Moreover, it is altogether inade
quate to meet the ever-increasing
needs of our diocese. The substan
tial financial help which we need,
and need most urgently, in order
to support and expand our various
works of religion, charity and edu
cation must come from the gen
erosity and sacrifices of our own
good Catholic people in Georgia.
In launching the Diocesan Con
fraternity of the Laity, about which
you will hear more in subsequent
letters, I am greatly encouraged by
your love of our holy faith, by your
Christlike charity toward your fel-
low-Catholics throughout Georgia,
and by your noble and self-sacri
ficing generosity of the past. I am
encouraged, too, by the fact that
the Confraternity is being inaugu
rated during the Holy Season of
! Lent, when we are all giving more
| than passing thought to the things
of God and of eternity, and when
sacrifice is the keynote of the
spiritual life. I express the earnest
hope that all who can afford to do
so will become members of our
Diocesan Confraternity of the
Laity and thus share in the minis
try which has been confided to us
by God and His Holy Church.
Protestant Group
Hears Explanation
Of Catholic Belief
AMARILLO, Texas.—-( NC).— A
Catholic priest gave a talk on the
beliefs of Catholicism here at the
special invitation of members of
a local Protestant Church.
The priest was Father Edmund
Hartigan, rector of St. Mary’s
Chapel in Amarillo. He spoke be
fore 200 persons in the auditorium
of the First Christian Church at
the request of the church’s Young
Adult club.
At the end of his talk. Father
Hartigan invited his listeners to
ask questions. Time ran out with
the questions still coming, and the
priest was invited by the minister
and people to come back the fol
lowing Sunday to continue his ex
planations.
Many persons in the audience
came up to shake hands with Fa
ther Hartigan and to thank him
for his exposition of what Catho
lics believe and why they believe
it. The priest described the expe
rience as “interesting and satisfy
ing.”
APPOINTMENT of the Rev. Dr.
Gerald V. McDevitt of St. Thom
as More High School in Philadel
phia as a secretary to the Apostol
ic Delegation in Washington has
been announced in the Archdiocese
of Philadelphia. Monsignor Joseph
M. McShea, of Philadelphia, who
had been secretary to Archbishop
Amleto Giovanni Cicognani, Apos
tolic Delegate to the United States*
was consecrated Auxiliary Bishoi
of Philadelphia last week.