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AUGUST 30, 1952
THE BULLET1N OF THE CATHOLIC L HYMEN'S ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA
FIVE
With Other Editors
IN HONOR OF THE GREAT ,
BOOK
Last February Catholic Bible j
Week became an observance of
note. This year, Bible Week will
be marked in the week from Sep
tember 28 to October 5. The
switch is in deference to the fact
that in October the 500th anni
versary of the Gutenberg Bible,
the first printed book will occur.
The Greek word “Biblos” means
simply ‘ book.” From it we get our
word Bible which means The
Book or rather the Book of All
Books. Literally, dt is a book of
many books, by many authors, both
of Old and New Testament times.
It is at once a little library and a
whole literature, for only a few
fragments of ancient Hebrew have
escaped destruction except the
writing contained in it. And these
include history, poetry, romance,
instruction and prophecy.
The Old Testament or strictly
Hebrew portion of the Bible con
sisted of these writings under the
name of the Scriptures. They were
considered sacred by the Jewish
people and were included in a
translation made into Greek for
the use of Greek-speaking Jews of
Alexandria and called the Septua-
gint from the 70 translators who
did the work. This list was the ba
sis for including Old Testament
writings in the Bible.
At the time there was no single
book but only a collection of serip-
tures with a list or canon (rule) as
to which were approved. Like
those of the New Testament, they
had been written at different
times and in different places by
different writers.
The Bible as we know it came
into being when the Bishops of the
Council of Nicaea in 325 A. D.
drew up the list or -canon of what
were considered sacred writings,
both Hebrew and Christian, and
declared such writings to be in
spired. During the near three cen
turies of persecution past, Chris
tians had no Bible, although many,
like St. Irene and her sisters, gave
their lives for the preservation of
the sacred books.
Before that, few and only great
churches possessed extensive col
lections. And it was probably not
a few years before the approved
list was included in a single man
uscript and then probably in a
number of volumes. Everything
had to be done by hand on big
pages of parchment. Few complete
copies remain and these are from
much later times. They are the
priceless possessions of the world’s
greatest libraries.
Not until Johann Gutenberg’s
invention of movable type was
quantity production possible. Un
til then, books were scarce, expen
sive and certainly not practical as
a means of spreading the truth.
That is why medieval churches
were made to be Bibles in carv
ing and picture and glass.
Strangely, the inspired Book of
the Nicaean Bishops became the
source of appeal by the “Reform
ers" against the authority that had
declared it the Word of God,—a
process not unlike that of moving
upstairs and tearing out the first
story below. The rule of private
interpretations was substituted for
the authoritative interpretation of
the Church with the result that
Christianity today counts over 300
different groups, each with its own
separate understanding of what
the Bible says. The Bible is infal
lible, but it is clear that its self-
appointed interpreters are not.
For nearly 2,000 years, Scripture
scholars have labored to collate,
compare, correct, restore and
transmit the intact text. Others
have spent their lives to fix the
exact meaning and to extract the
maximum of truth from every text.
This work still goes on in the Bib
lical Commission in Rome.
Modern science had opened up
new methods of determining the
age of manuscripts, detecting er
rors of copy or interpolation, re
storing the ravages of age. Even
now it is searching for a way to
unroll a bronze Hebrew find from
the shores of the Dead Sea with
out damage to the unusual and
much corroded scripture inside.
Whatever may be said about the
Church's attitude towards the Bi
ble—mostly through lack of accu
rate information or abundance of
misinformation,—none is able to
question the fact that, save for the
Catholic Church, there wouldn’t be
any Bible today. She put it togeth
er at the start, preserved it
through the ages of barbarism, and
brought it with her down the cen
turies to our own time, through
martyrdom and persecution,
through fire and war. She reads it
daily and encourages her priests
and religious and layfolk to do
likewise. It has always been and
still is and always be her Book.—
(The Catholic Review).
from Whom is all authority and to
Whom both of men and States must
be referred, we, the people of Eire,
humbly acknowledging all our ob
ligations to Our Divine Lord, Jesus
Christ, Who sustained our fathers
THE POPE’S LETTER
TO THE RUSSIAN PEOPLE „ „„ ou5lameu ou;
The Holy Father’s message last { through centuries of trial
week to the Russian people will ' u " - 1
have a triple effect. In the first
a
place, it will have an impact on
those to whom it was directed. Are
we recklessly optimistic in saying
this? Can it possibly be that the
Pope’s words will reach the Rus
sian people? The message was sent
out by radio, and unquestionably
some residents of the U. S. S. R.
heard it. Perhaps not many, but
some. But, as time goes on, the
substance of the communication
will infiltrate the far-from-iron
curtain and be. disseminated
through the vast reaches of Stal
in’s domain. Eventually many thou
sands there will know that Pius
XII has spoken in praise of the
Russian people, of their Christian
spirit down the centuries, of their
strong devotion to Our Lady, of
his love of them despite the er
roneous doctrines and vicious prac
tices characterizing the tyranny
which holds them captive, and of
his opposition to war. He is not
their enemy—this they will know,
and the Church which he heads is
not their enemy and never has
been.
In the second place, there
should be considerable effect in
the non-Soviet world. It is com
monly said that the Holy Father
is trying by every means to stir
up enmity toward the Russian peo
ple and a war against their home
land. This lie has been assiduously
promoted by those who insist on
misreading and misrepresenting
everything Catholic. But in his ad
dress the Holy Father traced the
long history of papal benevolence
toward Russia and her people, of
the friendly relations which almost
immemorially have existed be
tween the Holy See and Holy Rus
sia. He alluded to the papal re
lief missions to Russia after World
War I, extremely difficult and
costly undertakings which aimed
at feeding the starving, succoring
the sick, stabilizing the lost and
despondent. Despite the brutal fact
of Communist hatred and persecu
tion of religion, the Holy See
strove to help all the Russians it ^ We challenge comparison of the
could reach. This was a classic ex- I constitution of Ireland on the re-
could reach. This was a classic ex
ample of disinterested and often
heroic charity, and a reminder of
it is indeed timely just when it is
irresponsible asserted that the
Catholic purpose has ever been to
precipitate suffering and terror
in the land of the Soviets. Timely,
too. is the reminder that the Holy
Father resisted the fiercest Nazi
pressure in 1941. when, having at-
tacked the U. S. S. R„ Hitler want
ed the Holy See to bless his aggres
sion as a crusade against Com
munism. This the Pope refused to
do. though, had he been the op
portunist his detractors picture
him, he would readily have ac
ceded.
In the third place, and far more
important than all else, there is
the fact of the Holy Father’s con
secration of Russia to the Im
maculate Heart of Mary. To the
worlding, to the person who sees
things exclusively in terms of poli
tical military, or economic
strength, this will doubtless seem
a superstitious gesture. Yet it is
a tremendous move which will
have tremendous repercussions.
The Vicar of Christ has now put
the tortured realm of the Russians
in the hands of her who is the
Mediatrix of All Graces. She can
do what all the battalions of the
free world, all the diplomacy of
do hereby adopt, enact, and give
to ourselves this Constitution.”
Article 44, headed Religion,
states: ‘The State asknowledges
that the homage of public worship
is due to Almighty God. It shall
hold His Name in reverence, and
shall respect and honor religion.
“The State recognizes the spe
cial position of the Holy Catholic
Apostolic and Roman Church as
the guardian of the Faith profess
ed by the great majority of its cit
izens.
“The State also recognizes the
Church of Ireland, the Presbyte
rian Church in Ireland, the Meth
odist Church in Ireland, the Reli
gious Society of Friends in Ire
land, as wgll as the Jewish Congre
gations and the other.religious de
nominations existing in Ireland at
the date of the coming into opera
tion of this Constitution.
“Freedom of conscience and the
free profession and practice of re
ligion are, subject to public order
and morality, guaranteed to every
citizen.
“The State guarantees not to en
dow any religion.
“The State shall not impose any
disabilities or make any discrimi
nation on the ground of religious
profession, belief or status.”
“Legislation providing State aid
for schools shall not discriminate
between schools under the manage
ment of different denominations,
nor be such as to affect prejudi
cially the right of any child to at
tend a school receiving public
money without attending religious
instruction at that school.
“Every religious denomination
shall have the right to manage its
own affair, own, acquire and ad
minister property, movable and
immovable, and maintain institu
tions for religious or charitable
purposes.
“The property of any religious
denomination or any educational
institution shall not be diverted
save for necessary works of public
untility and on payment of com
pensation.”
We challenge comparison of the
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beptemben
her ^rJj j
M /
Anniversary of
vs
kjutenhcm Bibl
s 1 1
IHi MRS [ PRIM Fbi.) BOOS t > , T
CATHOLIC BIBLE WEEK POSTER — Publicizing the social
C , atI ?? llc ®. lb . le Week. September 23-October 5. some 60 000 copies
ot this official poster have been distributed to churches, schools
book stores and information centers throughout the United States’
. Resigned by William V. Cladek, of New York, the poster is issued
by the Catholic Bibical Committee of’America to observe the 500th
anniversary of the printing of the first book from moveable type
the Gutenberg Bible.—(NC Photos). ’
lations of religion and government
with that of the Scandinavian coun
tries or any other countries as
Protestant as Ireland is Catholic.
We submit that this Constitu
tion is as thoroughly Catholic as
that of any nation. We further sub
mit that it completley refutes the
arguments of the “Protestants and
Other Americans United for Sepa
ration of Church and State” who
picture the Catholic Church as
striving to dominate and to crush
wherever it has power.—The Cath
olic News).
Diocese of Dallas
To Have Its First
Catholic Newspaper
DALLAS, Texas. (RNS)—Coad
jutor Bishop Thomas K. Gorman is
establishing The Texas Catholic,
a weekly newspaper for the Dio
cese of Dallas.
First issue will go to press here
in September or October. The
weekly will be designed to serve
approximately 80,000 Catholics. It
will be the first newspaper to be
published by the Diocese in its
62-year history.
Bishop Gorman has named F
Gordon O’Neill,
GOD LOVE YOU
Most Reverend
Fulton J. Sheen
E NOUGH evidence has sifted through the Bamboo Curtain to
indicate that the Reds have three major fears: I. The
Blessed Mother; 2. The Holy Father; 3. Martyrs and Saints.
Those who are looking for the Divine in religion can find it bv
seeing what Satan’s cohorts in China hate most. First the Blessed
Mother. These Communists who know nothing about Christianity
he e mmher e of 0 R e Huh° bel ° ngS l ° the Legion of * Ialy - No man hates
the mother ot Buddha nor even the mother-of a Hitler. Why then
the hatred of Mary? Because she is the Mother of God Tt^Com-
mumsts are wiser than bigots. The latter spread lies about the
“l? a ! e ’ kut the Devil knows where to attack—namely the
Mothei oi Christ and the Mother of Christians.
F, ™ e n, SeC ° nd ” leal , fear of the Communists is the Holy Father.
Hence they organized an “Independent” Church promised release
from prison if the m^sionanes would deny the Holy Father; tried to
bnbe one Bishop to become the “new Pope.” As one Communist
strov P ?t P ” r tU* n a y ° U Cannot retorm youl ' Church, we will de-
McnH !' a I t *" ow very wel1 a Body cannot exist without a
Head, and that if the Church were without its Vicar, it would become
as disorganized in doctrine as the many sects. The Reds never heard
ot Christ s words to ePter: “Thou art the Rock," but Stalin is telling
layman widely
nu i, u , an me uipiomacy ot known in Catholic newspaper eir-
the geniuses in that line, all the j cle S, as editor,
economic pressure that might be i Bishop Gorman is chairman of
mustered, cannot do. She can j the Press Department of the Na-
toueh hearts; she can influence I tional Catholic Welfare Confer-
wills; she can wield supernatural I en ce. His interest in writing and
fftrPA Il’miflocc __ i npwsnanpr umrtr rlofac mnn.,
force, limitless and irrestible so
as to bring peace out of what
seems the proximate conditions of
war. Let all of us now join our
voices with that of the Holy Fath
er in urgent prayer to Our Lady
that Russia will soon again be a
cooperative member of the family
of nations under God.—(The Cath
olic Transcript).
CHURCH AND STATE IN EIRE
In the discussion of the rela
tions of Church and State, we wish
to cite the case of Ireland. Anyone
who denies that Ireland is a truly
Catholic nation will have arrayed
against him practically all the peo
ple of the Republic. Anyone who
seeks to find there evidence to
sustain fears of “Roman Catholic
totalitarianism” will look in vain.
The Constitution of Ireland
opens with these words: “In the
name of the Most Holy Trinity,
newspaper work dates to many
years ago. He was editor of The
Tidings, Los Angeles Catholic
weekly, from 1925 to 1931. Short
ly after he was named Bishop of
Reno, in 1931, he established The
Nevada Register, another Catholic
weekly.
Religious Community
To Aid Missions Has
Opened Its Novitiate
FRAMINGHAM, Mass. —(NC)—
The first six novices of a new reli
gious community, the Sons of
Mary, Health of the Sick, received
their habits at the opening of the
community’s novitiate here.
The purpose of the Sons of
Mary, founded by Father Edward
F. Garesche, S. J., is to help in the
home and foreign missions in the
.field of medical aid. In the foreign
The fmal fear of the Reds is saints and martyrs. They have put
stop t® Masses m Shanghai for Father Beda Chang who died a
m»rtyr; they have placed guards at his grave to stop visitors coming
0 . p *' ay; "'ey asked the Bishop if he intended to canonize fX?
Chang and told him he would be held resoonsible for any miracles
worked through his intercession. Holiness is fixation in goodness; it is
Saints the Communists fear, not Liberals or anti-Communists.
Here are three of the pillars of our faith, fellow Catholics!
ror each a renewed dedication: To honor the Holy Father make
some sacrifice, a thousand dollars if you can afford it or the price
of a dessert if you cannot afford it. To honor Our Blessed Lady
send for a World Mission Rosary which is dedicated to the 110 000
missionaries in 614 missionary areas on the 5 continents. A small
leaflet with each Rosary explains the significance of the colors.
At your request and a $2 offering, we will bless and forward you
this high form of missionary prayer. To honor the saints and to
be one with the martyrs, unite yourself with our saintly mission
aries by becoming a Perpetual Member of The Society for the
Propagation of the Faith for $40. For $100, you ean enroll all
your family, father, mother and children, living and dead. You
will then share in 15,000 Masses offered each year for your in
tention.
This is what others are doing: GOD LOVE YOU to A. McG foi
$31. “I am sending along the July check for $31. Since you told
how grateful a missioner is to receive a dollar a day I want to do al
least that much.” . . . GOD LOVE YOU to C A B. for the $2 she
sacrificed and sent to the Holy Father’s Missions. . . . GOD LOVE YOU
to V.D.K. for $22. “I am glad to be able to send you this money
for the Missions. I won the office jackpot on the All Star game
and as soon as I found out my score was high, I promised the Blessed
Mother that if I won I would send the money to you for the missions
in China.’ . . . GOD LOVE YOU to Anon, who sacrificed $125
vacation money to send to the Holy Father’s Missions.
Cut out this column, pin your sacrifice to it and send it to the
Most Reverend Fulton J. Sheen, National Director of The Society
for the Propagation of the Faith, 109 East 38th Street, New York
16x, New York or your Diocesan Director.
missions they will train native
nurse-catechists and send them out
to train still other natives in such
work.
One of the six novices is a priest,
the first to be ordained for tin
work of the medical missions. Tw<
others are studying for the priest
hood and the remaining three ar«
to be become Brothers.