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SEPTEMBER 27, 1952 THE BULLETIN OF THE CATHOLIC LAYMEN’S ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA SEVENTEEN
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Reverent treatment and dramatic power are praised in the production of Warner Brothers new motion
picture "The Miracle of Our Lady Fatima,’* which portrays the famed apparitions of Our Lady of
Fatima at Cova da Xria, Portugal, in 1917. In the picture above, Lucia, first to see the apparition is
starred by Susan Whitney; with her are Jacinta (Sherry Jackson) and Francisco (Sammy Ogg) shep
herd children. (NC Photos)
Catholics of Soviet Zone in Germany
Winners in "Second Battle of Berlin";
A Victory of Light Over Darkness
203 Malledge Road
Myrtle Court
By REV. DR. MAX JORDAN
(Correspondent, N.C.W.C. News
Service)
BERLIN. — East Germany’s
Catholics have won the second
battle of Berlin. America, with
the air-lift four years ago, won
the first one. This time the is
sue was freedom of worship. The
Red rulers of the Soviet zone of
occupation want none of it. To
them anyone unwilling to bend his
knee before the communist idols
is an enemy.
The two and one half million
Catholics in the Soviet zone feel
this hostility every day: in the
schools where their children are
being exposed to Marxist propa
ganda, and in all spheres of pub
lic life where every vestige of
church influence is being banned
systematically while totalitarian
thought-control is spreading more
intensely all the time.
Nevertheless, when the time
came for the meeting hare which
was to mark the 75th jubilee of
the establishment of national
Catholic conventions for all of
Germany, these East German Cath
olics made up their mind not to
miss the opportunity of meeting
freely with their brothers and sis
ters in the faith. The communist
rulers had refused to grant them
special trains at reduced fares,
they had refused to authorize pub
lic outdoor meetings even in the
Soviet sector of this city. They
had hinted ominously that the bor
der lines might be closed down, so
that no one would be able to leave
the unhappy land of slavery. How
ever, East Germany’s Catholics
were not deterred.
These brave men and women
came, teins of thousands of them
as if by common agreement, to
profess their faith. And the red
police did not dare hold them back,
Men and women and children
came, most of them poor people,
shabbily dressed, carrying knap
sacks and bags of all sorts, with
food to provide for their immedi
ate needs. Most of them had not
been in the West since the war, if
ever. They looked at West Ber
tin’s window displays, at the brand
new buildings which have gone up
during the past couple of years, at
the cafes crowded with people en
joying refreshments unknown in
the red paradise. They flocked to
the theatres and motion pictures
showing religious plays. And above
all, they filled the churches from
the earliest to th» last Masses
every morning.
By the time the Katholikentag
had reached its climax, some 150,
000 of these brave people had ar
rived, War Relief Services—Na
tional Catholic Welfare Confer
ence had arranged for feeding
them. Mobile kitchens were set
up on the lawns surrounding the
exhibition grounds which were
headquarters of the convention.
Patiently, and gratefully, the visi
tors stood in line to get their
bowls of soup, their hot dogs and
rolls and fruit juices, all gifts of
fered through the charity of Amer
ican Catholics, and with the help
of the. West German Caritas or
ganization. Both recipients and
givers were motivated by the same
spirit of mutual helpfulness. A
happy harmony prevailed among
all these hearts filled with the
love of God.
On the streets outside, dealers
had set up their stands. The visi
tors, wide-eyed, were strolling by.
Candy, fruit and all sorts of deli
cacies were on sale, but they could
not afford them. Prices, if figur
ed in their Eastern currency, were
prohibitive although quite reason
able by Western standards. How
ever, there were Santa Clauses
aplenty. Western Catholics play
ing host to their friends from the
East, bought up a whole candy-
stand to throw the sweet bonanza
at eager children, or purchased
soft drinks, or slipped a coin here
and there to those so sadly depriv
ed of the simplest of little plea
sures, such as cigarettes or oranges
or chocolate bars.
There were several thousand
Protestant visitors to this Katho
likentag, too, mostly young men
wearing both the goldein Catholic
emblem and the silvery Protestant
cross, to express their solidarity
with all believers in Christ. The
red rulers had refused them per
mits to attend the Protestant na
tional convention at Stuttgart. So
they went to the Catholic conven
tion instead. At least it was ac
cessible. And how welcome these
visitors were! In the exhibition
halls they could be seen reading
Catholic books. At home they
have no such literature. At home
there are no exhibits such as the
one here which was designed to
counteract marxist propaganda.
Huge posters, for instance, with
the pictures of great scientists
from all over the world, such as
Louis Pasteur or Alfred Einstein,
with quotations from their writ
ings proving that they see no dis
crepancy between science and
faith, that they believe in God.
And these young people from the
Soviet realm made notes of such
quotations, to take back with them,
to pass along to relatives and
friends, to give new courage in
the struggle against organized pa-
Television Films to Be
Used to Teach Religion
BOSTON , Mass. —(RNS)— Ca
tholicism may soon be taught in
parochial schools through TV
films, Father Michael F. Mullen of
St. John’s University, Brooklyn,,
told the 43rd annual Diocesan
Teachers Institute here.
Father Mullen said that the
Catechism is being filmed in
color for this purpose at a cost
of $100,000, and the project will
be completed in two years. He
said the film will bring out “the
elements of imagery, story and
drama that have been the Church’s
heritage.
During the Middle Ages, Father
Mullen said, the Church followed
the audio-visual way of teaching
religion. “St. Francis popularized
the bringing of the Christmas Crib
into the churches,” he explained..
“In that way people could see the
doctrine of the Incarnation just as
the shepherds first saw it.”
Mrs. Frank McNally
Dies in Savannah
SAVANNAH, Ga. —- Funeral
services for Mrs. Mary E. McNally,
wife of the late Frank L. McNally,
who died September 1, were held
at the Cathedral of St. John the
Baptist, with Monsignor T. James
McNamara offering the Requiem
Mass.
Mrs. McNally was horn in Au
gusta, but had lived in Savannah
for most of her life. She is sur
vived by four daughters, Sister
Mary Gloria, R. S. M., Mrs. L. J.
Wilkerson, Miss Margaret Mc
Nally and Miss Mary McNally, all
of Savannah, and several nieces
and nephews.
MISS ELIZABETH ROGERS,
daughter of Mr. and Mrs. E. A.
Rogers of Atlanta, who spent the
summer at Grailville, School of the
Lay Apostolate in Loveland, Ohio,
has returned to New York, where
she is associated with The Catholic
Worker, after a visit to her parents
in Atlanta.
ganism.
The bond of faith was stronger
than all politics. Prayers went up
from thousands of lips at the mass
meetings in the huge Olympic Sta
dium, and in dozens of churches
and other meeting places—prayers
more eloquent than even the best
o fthe sermons and speeches, pray
ers expressing unity across all ar
tificial boundaries, prayers for that
peace which the work cannot give.
In the spirit of this peace the
Catholics of Eastern Germany won
the* second battle of Berlin, peace
fully, quietly, and yet decisively.
Theirs was a victory of light over
darkness.