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JULY 26, 1952 THE BULLETIN OF THE CATHOLIC LAYMENS ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA FIVE With Other Editors VATICAN -APPRAISAL* John P. McKnight, for five years a newspaper correspondent in Rome, asserts in his currant book, “The Papacy; A New Appraisal,” that Pope Pius XII is “a modern man set down in a dank maze of dusty dogma, musty custom, dark superstition and moss-grown stand- pattism.” He says that the Catho lic Church, while representing it self to be monotheistic in theory is actually a “highly practically polytheism.” He writes that “Pius XI crowned Victor Emmanuel III emperor of Ethiopia.” He makes many other glaring errors about the Catholic Church, of which no child of normal intelligence in a Catholic school would be guilty. Yet Mr. McKnight’s book is being accepted in some so-called intel lectual circles as an authoritative work on the Papacy and the Catho lic Church. Mr. McKnight is mistaken not only about the Catholic Church but This Book Page is confided each month to the patronage of Mary, Mediatrix of All Graces, with the hope that every read er and every contributor may be specially favored by her and her Divine Son. DR. BLANCHE MARY KELLY, author of “The Voice of the Irish.” published by Sheed and Ward, which tells the story of Celtic culture down through the ages. THE VOICE OF THE IRISH, by Dr. Blanche Mary Kelly, (Sheed and Ward), $4.25r (Reviewed by Virginia Chambers, President, Atlanta Catholic Business and Professional Women’s Club). No other race has more patriot ic devotion than the Irish, for this feeling emanates from the soul and goes much deeper than their earth ly heritage. In this book of 320 pages. Dr. Kelly, Chairman of the English Department of Mt. St. Vincent's College, New York, pre sents a scholarly work about a scholarly race. Never pedantic,-she writes interestingly and informa tively of Irish culture from ancient pagan days, through the golden Christian era. the silent behind- the-hedge penal age, to the pres ent when a rebirth of the voice of the Irish has broken upon the world. Of particular fascination are the first two chapters about the myth ological ancient past and a store house of legends of the origin of the Celtic race, preserved by a learned class unparalleled else where. At last the Mass bell broke the spell and the Christian era be gan. In the year 432 Patrick heed ed the voice of the Irish and re turned to the land of his captiv ity and took it captive for Christ— a land of saints. He turned druids into Christian priests, instructed brehons in the law of God and rais ed up a new generation of scholars and poets versed in heavenly lore. With the coming of Strongbow in 1169 began a merciless pillage to destroy the Celtic spirit, even the Gaelic language. The crest of sor row was reached during the reigns of Henry VIII and Elizabeth. But the spirit, fortified by the Catho lic religion, was not to die. Reduc ed to stark poverty for 700 years, Ireland rested in the arms of the Mother of Sorrows'. The devetopmtnt of the Irish Lit erary Revival is chronicled and about Christianity and indeed the j nature of religion itself. He ques-; lions the historical evidence of the! life of Christ. He scorns dogma, while dogmatically asserting that “thoughtful Christians accept the philosophic dictum that "all ulti- - mate religious ideas are logically | inconceivable.” He gives pagan an-! cestry to central doctrines of Christianity; the Holy Eucharist, for instance, “recalls theophagy,” or the pagan myths of the mani festations of the gods to men. He appears to have no concept of a personal God. Mr. McKnight commends the ef forts of Pope Pius XII for peace, i and he calls Protestant objections { to an American envoy at Vatican J City “unrealistic.” But his sources I are too often anti-Catholics, es pecially Paul Blanchard, whom the Protestant leader Dr. Daniel P. Poling says has been effectively answered by Prof. James M. O'Neill. However sincere Mr. Mc- sketehes are given of the predomi nant and seemingly inexhaustible personalities who contributed and are contributing to the restoration of an ancient culture. With each —poet, novelist, dramatist, wan dering bard; story teller of folk tales, musician—a synopsis of his principal works is given. The book undoubtedly will make every Irishman’s heart beat a lit tle faster. It will give to all not of the race a new respect for a down trodden people. With the rebirth of Young Ireland lies the knowledge that a culture directed to the praise of earthly beauty as a reflection of the heavenly cannot die. A SPOILED PRIEST AND OTHER STORIES, an anthology of short stories and sketches from The Thinkers Digest, edited by Sister Miriam, with an introduction by N. Elizabeth Monroe, (Kenedy) $3.50. (Reviewed by Sylvia Zsuffa) A common complaint against our Catholic magazines is: “The fiction is terrible.” This is true for many reasons but perhaps the core of the difficulty lies in not knowing and not being able to find good Cath olic short stories. Moralizing does not make the good Catholic short story. A story should first of all be a story. Nor d. unsanctioned miracles. These the Church scorns, bordering as they do on superstition. Nor do sto ries of goody-goodies, as much of our magazine fiction would have us believe, make the Catholic short story. What does make the good short story? Struggle, of course. In the case of the Catholic short story, the strugle should be between good and evil, showing the human heart engaged in such struggle and final ly triumphant over the mystery of sin. Whether the struggle be small or great, the struggle against temp tation to steal ten dollars or temp tation to kill, is not important. It is the quality of the struggle and the final triumph that determines Cath olic tone. „ In “The Spoiled Priest and Oth er Stories,” the human heart is re vealed in such struggles—against spiritual pride in Enid Dennis’ su perb “Peacemaker,’* this review er’s favorite; in the struggle against selfishness in Louis Stan- court’s “The Vacant Cross;” against mob prejudice in Grace Sartwell Mason’s poignant “The First Stone;” against spiritual mediocri ty in J. F, Powers’ “Prince of Darkness.” The list is as long as the 46 stories and sketches in the book. The content, background, types of characters, as varied as life itself. Though of unequal merit, all are excellent examples of the mov ing, dramatic, memorable short story. To those who have despaired of Catholic fiction, as written in our Catholic magazines, this reviewer recommends “The Spoiled Priest” for sheer enjoyment. THE HOLY RULE OF SAINT BENEDICT, (Grail), cloth $2.00: paper $1.00. SAINT BENEDICT THE MAN, by Dom I. Ryelandt, O. S. B., trans lated by Rev. Patrick Shaugh- nessy, O. S B., S. T. D., (Grail), $1.25. Two important little books for students of “the father of monks,” the great master who .140(0 years Knight may be, be is woefully mis informed on the Church and on re ligion. Protestants promoting such books do not seem to realize that j they are attacks not only on the I Catholic Church but on all Christ ianity and religion as well.—(The Catholic News). WATCH FOR THIS MOVIE Warner Brothers have completed a new movie, Our Lady of Fatima, which will not be released until some time in the fall. William Mooring, who writes the column, Hollywood in Focus, saw a pre view of this film the other day, and, in his opinion, it is a much better picture than The Song of Bernadetta. “I sneaked into the show,” he said, “ten minutes be fore it started, and the theatre was already packed. It was a typical J ‘me - and - my - gal’ audience, the j toughest upon whicch to try out | anything except perhaps a musical j or light comedy romance. Well, me I and my gal and everybody else and j his gal, seemed to enjoy Fatima immensely. Apart from the sponta neous bursts of laughter during the delightful comedy scenes, everybody sat still and quiet all through. There was a remarkable hush every time the three children were seen waiting for Our Lady | to appear. When she spoke to them, j you could have heard a leaf fall j The apparition scenes are most J skillfully and tastefully contrived. Somehow the new Warner color process suits the subject better than technicolor. The three chil dren are delightfully natural, and if Gilbert Roland doesn’t get an Academy Oscar for his perform ance, they might as well stop giv ing them out. I consider this movie the best picture of the year and I cannot think of a better since Leo McCarey came up with Going My Way.” If what Mr. Mooring says is true, and his judgment has been re markably accurate in the past, we may look forward to another great religious picture.—(The Ave Maria) MAROV1A, GIDE, AND BAD BOOKS On May 24, the Church con demned the books of Andre Gide, the late French novelist and dramatist. On May 26, the Church condemned the books of Alberto Pincherle (Moravia), contemporary Italian novelist. The books of these authors may not be read by Catho lics under penalty of ex-com munication. That is the meaning of the condemnation. This act of ecclasiastical cen sorship will be considered illeberal by the following groups: The few whose chief soeial oc cupation seems to be watching for publicity which can be turned aaginst the Church. The many honest but ignorant j citizens who are reached by this j adverse propaganda but not by the ! Catholic answer. The many whom secularism and lack of religious instruction have made amoral. This is the alarming- ago wrote the monastic rule which has served as a model for all other religious rules. The new edition of the Benedic tine Rule itself is supplemented by a biographical sketch of St. Bene dict and a sermon about him given in 1947 by Pope Pius XII. The other little volume studies the personality of St. Benedict as revealed in the Rule he composed and in “The Dialoges” written by Pope St. Gregory the Great about | 50 years after the death of St. Ben edict. It also compares his aescet- ical doctrine with that of St. Fran cis de Sales to show that, over the centuries, the holy patriarch's teachings have remained vital and practical. NEW BOOKS RECEIVED MY HAY AIN’T IN, by Eddie Doh erty, (Bruce), $2.75. THE SACRED HEART AND MOD ERN LIFE, by Francois Char- mot, S. J., translated by Kathryn Sullivan, R. S. C. J.. (Kenedy), $3.50. THE WORLD’S FIRST LOVE, by Fulton J. Sheen,. (McGraw-Hill), $3.50. THE FATHERS, a book of car toons, by Joe Lane, (Extension), $1.00. ONE SKY TO SHARE, by R. L. Bruckberger, (Kenedy), $3.00. SAINT BENEDICT—THE BOY WHO CHANGED THE WORLD, by Mario - Ceiesto F a d d e n, (Grail), $1.50. THE SHEPHERDS OF FATIMA, by Father John de Marchi, (Sheed & Ward), $2.00. TW1XT THE CUP AND THE LIP. by Margaret Cussler and Mary L. deGive, (Twayne), $3,95. BOOK REVIEWS EDITED BY EILEEN HALL GOD LOVE YOU Most Reverend Fulton j. Sheen MOST REVEREND FULTON J. SHEEN 44¥?VERYONE for himself” is the law of Satan; “Bear ye one an- 1 J other’s burdens” is the law of Christ. Those who have a deep faith are keenly sensitive to the fact that two-thirds of the popula tion of the world go to bed hungry every night and that their average income is less than $4 a week . . . There is only one man in all the world who feels the hunger of the world, and who burns with zeal for the conversion of every soul—that is the Holy Father. The rest of us have our sympathy localized. But with 100,000 missionaries knocking at his door, he turns to his faithful to fill his hands that he may empty them to lift the burdens of others. How much do you suppose the Catholics of America con tributed last year per head to the Holy Father for the spread of the faith through the 614 missionary areas of the world? Would your guess he that they contributed more in a year than people bet at a horse race? Well! In the 4 tracks of New York State last year we 4,000,000 people bet $78 per head. Would our sacrifices in 365 days equal that or would it be more? We speak not of what Catholics send directly to the Missions or to particu lar mission societies, but only of what was given directly to the Holy Father that he personally might distribute in His name as the Vicar of Christ, Here is the answer. The contribution of Catholics last year to the Holy Father’s Worldmission Society for the Propagation of the Faith was 15c per man, woman and child. That is not enough to buy a package of cigarettes. Most American children spend more than that each week on ice cream . . . Have we no sins in our souls for which we have to make reparation and penance? Are we not praying for a favor which might be won by sacrificing a day’s wages for the Holy Father’s Missions? ... If we tell Our Lord in Holy Communion that we love Him, then we ought to prove it by helping save more souls in India, Africa and those other mission lands for whom we pray daily on the World Mission Rosary which we will send at your request and a $2 offering. The rosary will be blessed by me. The world is full of willing people— some willing to help the Holy Father to aid the struggling in pagan lands; the others willing to let them . . . GOD LOVE YOU to P. K. who sends $10 and writes: “Several weeks ago I had asked for a new job where I am employed. While reading the ‘God Love You’ column one morn ing I pledged to send $10 out of my first pay if I got the promotion. That afternoon I was notified that the job was mine. Many souls must have been praying for me.” . . . GOD LOVE YOU to Mrs. A, H. for her sacrifice of $2 to the Holy Father’s Missions. “I have given up cream and sugar in my coffee for a month. Though the taste may be bitter for me. I feel that this sacrifice may add a little sweetness in someone else’s life.” . . . GOD LOVE YOU to E. A. H. who sold her Easter candy and sent the missions the $5 she re ceived from it . . . GOD LOVE YOU to V. S. for $8. “My room mate and myself decided to send this to the Holy Father's Mis sions rather than exchange graduation gifts.” If you had a private audience with the Holy Father would you say; “Your Holiness here is 15c for your 1,190.000 pagans.” Well! The Society for the Propagation of the Faith is His own Society with which He starts new dioceses, supplies new mis sionaries, and builds news churches. In the name of Jesus and Mary, lighten His burden and you will lighten your own. Cut this column out now, pin your sacrifice to it and send it to the Most Reverend Fulton J. Sheen, National Director of The So ciety for the Propagation of the Faith, 109 E. 38th St., New York 16x, New York or your Diocesan Director. ly large group which believes that the only moral standard is the criminal law of the state. Its ulti mate ethic is: Don’t do anything you can be put in jail for. Everybody would be helped by knowing just what is behind such censorship as that exercised in the case of Moravia and Gide. Its justification goes like this: A man has the duty to avoid things which threaten his integrity. His integrity is threatened by blasphe mous and obscene literature. So he should avoid such literature. That is the simple argument which.explains the Church’s ban ning of these 'authors and her ex communicating of Catholics who read them. Anyone with a sense of responsibility, who knows the real facts of Church censorship and penelities, will agree with her. Obscene literature is used al most exclusively for erotic pur poses. It is employed as an imagi native preparation for solitary sexual sin, for extra-marital liai sons, for adulteries, and for the mental equivalent of these outward disorders. About the one thing it is not used for is what is called “living a clean life.” The Church realistically ap praises this situation for what every honest man knows it is. And the Church establishes, for her own members, a spiritual penalty to dissuade them from harming themselves in this way. If there is any meaning what ever in that somewhat mysterious phrase of approval, “living a clean life,” the meaning is that the clean liver does not indulge in sexual practice except in proper marital circumstances. The Church would have no quar rel with erotic literature or movies or theater if they were used only as a help to lawful connubial en terprise. Any more than she has with* honeymoons or housekeeping or other basically sexual arrange ments of lawful marriage. But objectionable literature and movies and stage plays are not used principally as au honest con- I nubial stimulus. They are used for unlawful sexual adventure. And j they are used for that purpose by j high school kids and under. Everybody knows this. The pro- | ducers of objectionable entertain ment know it. But the trade makes ; money for them. And that is as far | as they think. Their service to the community is the equivalent of the ! dope peddler’s. The dope peddler ! makes money out of encouraging i physical wreckage. The producer | of erotic entertainment makes I money out of encouraging moral ! wreckage. Unfortunately, the only unified j voice which is raised in protest against hiiq is that of the Church. I Except for a few scattered and un organized allies, she must fight | alone. The Church is not queer in her ■ defense of decency and her con demnation of those who provida ! indecent entertainment. She is ; realistic. She is what a church i ought to be. Every honest realist ! is with her. It is the other sidz j that is queer.—(The Sign). Father W. J. Harty To Conduct Retreat At Camp Villa Marie SAVANNAH, Ga— Father Wil liam J. Harty, pastor of Holy Name of Jesus Church, New Orleans, will conduct the annual Retreat for men which will be held at Camp Villa Marie, August 8-10, under the auspices of the Savannah Re treat Section of the Catholic Lay men’s Association of Georgia. Father Harty, a member of the Society of Jesus who is distinguish ed for his eloquence, has spoken in Savannah, his native city, on many occasions, and has on pre vious occasions conducted Retreats and Novenas here. Julian Sipple, president of the Savannah Retreat Section, has an nounced that prospective retret- ants may make reservation* through their respective pastors.