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FOUR.
THE BULLETIN OF THE CATHOLIC LAYMEN’S ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA
DECEMBER 24. 1955.
©lif Sullftitt
The Official Organ of the Catholic Laymen’s
Association of Georgia, Incorporated
JOHN MARKWALTER, Editor
416 Eighth Street, Augusta, Ga.
~ ASSOCIATION OFFICERS FOR 1955-1956 ”
HOLST BEALL, Macon President
E M. HEAGARTY, Waycross Honorary Vice-President
MRS. L. E. MOCK, Albany Vice-President
TOM GRIFFIN, Atlanta 1 Vice-President
DAMON J. SWANN, Atlanta 1 V. P., Publicity
GEORGE GINGELL, Columbus V. P., Activities
.TOHN M. BRENNAN, Savannah 1 Secretary
JOHN T. BUCKLEY, Augusta 1 Treasurer
JOHN MARKWALTER, Augusta Executive Secretary
MESS CECILE FERRY, Augusta Financial Secretary
ALVIN M. McAULIFFE, Augusta Auditor
Vol. XXXVI Saturday, December 24, 1955 No. 15
Entered as second class matter at the Post Office, Monroe, Georgia,
and accepted for mailing at special rate of postage provided by para
graph (e) of section 34.40, Postal Laws and Regulations.
Member of N.C.W.C. News Service, the Catholic Press Association
of the United States, the Georgia Press Association, and the National
Editorial Association.
Published fortnightly by the Catholic Laymen’s Association of Geor
gia. Inc., with the Approbation of the Most Reverend Archbishop-
Bishop of Savannah-Atlanta, and of the Right Reverend Abbot
Ordinary of Belmont.
BISHOP'S HOUSE
222 East Harris Street
Savannah, Georgia
December 14, 1955.
My dear People:
The annual collection for the support of our diocesan homes
for dependent children will be taken up at all the Masses on
Sunday, December 25th, the Feast of Christmas.
The Feast of Christmas is eagerly anticipated by all man
kind. This is true even, perhaps I should say especially, of the
people in those unfortunate countries where ruthless tyrants
are attempting to crush out all faith in Jesus Christ and where
Christmas can be observed only interiorly in the hearts and
souls of those who believe, and, because they believe, suffer
and endure for the faith. It is true also of the thousands upon
thousands of people in the world who are poor and homeless,
even as the Son of God was on the night of His birth, and for
whom Chi’istmas will be bereft of all those material joys and
consolations which we associate with it. Christmas has this
universal appeal because it is the feast of love and of hope
—of a Divine love which knows no bounds and of a hope that
Almighty God, Who so loved the world as to send His only
begotten Son to earth as its Redeemer, will eventually right
the wrongs which afflict mankind.
As we look forward to the Feast of Christmas, we should
be grateful that we, unlike so many of our fellow-Catholics
in the world, enjoy the right and the freedom to practice our
faith. We are able, therefore, to make Christmas a HOLY
Christmas for ourselves by a sincere confession of our sins, by
assisting devoutly at the Sacrifice of the Mass when Christ is
born anew in our midst, and by receiving our Divine Saviour
into our hearts and souls in Holy Communion. And we should
be grateful also for the material things with which God has
blessed us and which will enable us. by our gifts and remem
brances, to make Christmas a Happy Christmas for our dear
ones and especially for the children. Christmas is in a special
way the feast of children.
I beg to remind you, my dear people, that there are other
children besides those of your own household and family to
whom you must give thought and for whom you must provide
at Christmastime. I refer to the dependent children of our
diocese whom death or some worse tragedy has deprived of a
home and of the natural and normal care of parents. In the
Providence of God these children have been committed to the
charity and generosity of the Catholic people of Georgia. It is
in their behalf, in the name of the Infant Saviour, that I appeal
to you this morning. Christ is poor and homeless again in the
person of these children and there is something we can do
about, it. Certainly at this season of the year, when money is
lavishly spent on so many material things, we should give more
than a passing thought and token offering to our dependent
children. I am not unmindful of your generosity of the past
and I thank you for it, but I must repeat what I have so often
said before, we are not supporting our Homes for dependent
children as we should. There are ever so many things we can
and should do for these children and for the good Sisters who
care for them. I venture, therefore, to request every adult
Catholic to contribute at least $5.00 to the Christmas collection
for our dependent children. Indeed, I appeal earnestly to our
well-to-do Catholics to make a substantial contribution an
nually to our Orphan Homes and thus relieve the diocese of
all anxiety for their support. I am not appealing for luxuries
for our dependent children but only for what is necessary to
care adequately for them and to prepare them for an honorable
career in life. I appeal only for what you would desire for
yourselves and for your own children, if you or they were cast
in similar circumstances. And my appeal in behalf of these
children is in the name of the Divine Saviour, Who has identi
fied Himself personally with everyone who is in need.
Archbishop O’Hara joins me in wishing you and your dear
ones a generous share of the graces and blessings of the Holy
Season.
Devotedly yours in Christ,
FRANCIS E. HYLAND
Auxiliary Bishop,
Vicar General.
Tension In The Middle East
THIS WORLD OF OURS
(By Richard Pallee)
The frontier episodes and the
serious clashes between Israeli
and Egyptians on the Gaza strip
point up, as graphically as any
thing does, the profound uncer
tainties in the Middle East and
the enormously inflammatory
jnature of the si
tuation. In spite
of the concern
caused by the
acceptance
of arms from
[the Soviet bloc
|by Egypt and
jthe ensuing
pressure to per
suade the Unit
ed States to arm Israel, certain
features of the problem ought
to be stressed.
First, the Czech-Egyptian arms
deal is probably the consequ
ence of the failure of the United
States to keep a promise to Cairo
to sell arms, plus the bitter dis
appointment of the Egyptians
that after such a formal promise
they were let down and forced
to deal elsewhere.
The purchase of arms does not
necessarily mean that Egypt has
crawled in under the Soviet tent
or gone “communist.” Arms are
a peculiar commodity in that
nations are prone to seek them
where they can get them readily,
and in direct proportion to the
gravity of the situation as they
see it.
EGYPTIAN CASE
While in Egypt I was pro
foundly struck with the fact that
the Nasser government conceives
of Israel as the direct threat to
the Arab world and as a nation
whose aggressive tendencies are
taken for granted. The Egyptian
case is something like this:
Israel is now a small country
but a country that conceives of
its mission as one of indeter
minate expansion based on a
constant increase of immigration
and therefore of population
growth. The Egyptians see an
other half-mililon Jews coming
from North Africa and, further
more, are keenly aware that
Zionism proposes that all Jews
ultimately seek establishment in
the homeland. If this comes to
pass even in part, Palestine
as it now stands is quite incap
able of absorbing several more
millions. Expansion into Jordan
ian and Egyptian territory seems
the only possible out in view of
the land hunger and economic
dictates of the situation.
It may be that the Egyptians
are making a mountain out of
the thing and that Israel for a
long time will remain pretty
much what it is today. But the
fact remains that there is a con
viction in Cairo that Zionism is
the threat, not the present-day
Israel as now constituted.
KEEPING ISRAEL
ON THE ALERT
Social and political forces
within Egypt are totally unpre
dictable. I would compare the
present contingency as not un
like that in the Argentine with
military men running the show
and reversals when least ex
pected. Soldiers are dominating
Egyptian political life and the
•forces and currents at work be
hind the scenes are extremely
difficult to assess. It is conceiv
able that part of the present agi
tation is the fruit of internal con
ditions which make this sort of
thing a means of assuring the
Nasser government’s stability in
power.
At th'e same time[ I think it is,
also a form of the general Arab
blockade, the aim of which is
to strangle and contain Israel.
The peaceful development of
that country is obviously handi
capped if there are constant bor
der incidents and the threat of a
more general war. Since the
Arab governments are commit
ted to a blockade on the com
mercial and trade front, the
added element of military ten
sion cannot fail to undermine Is
rael and force it to devote a dis
proportionate share of its budget
to defense purposes.
It may well be that we are
witnessing something like the ,
Soviet policy toward us right af
ter the war, when the cold war
was on more violently than now
and America was jockeyed into
a position of having to arm to the
teeth, with no idea where the
blow might fall. This added a
new and very grave burden to
the economic load of the United
States and could not fail to be a
factor in disturbing normal Amer
ican recovery alter the conflict. I
can scarcely imagine anything
better Calculated to keep Israel
on the qui vive than the menace
of attack from Gaza, Sinai or
the Jordanian front.
»
THE BACKDROP
(Bv CHARLES LUCEY)
WILY OLD BOYS ON THE GO
(■ & n
It is doubtful if 1955 has seen
a more nervy, blatant example
of the pot calling the kettle a
fine charcoal gray than the re
cent performance of Russia’s two
big men, Krushchev and Bul
ganin, on their visit to Asia.
The Communist leaders wept
bitter, bitter tears for - the suf
ferings of India, Burma and oth
er Far East lands under the co
lonialism and imperialism of the
West — but with a fine, bland
disregard of the oppression and
exploitation visited by Moscow
for years on its ring of satellite
countries.
Krushchev, in a particular at
tack on Britain at a state dinner
in Burma, told his listeners that
“the English were sitting here
on your necks and were robbing
your people. They say they were
sitting in your colonies to bring
their civilization to backward
countries. We say they were sit
ting in your countries to rob the
piece of bread from the people.”
A LOUD SILENCE
But not a single word of the
way Russia subjugated and
crushed Latvia and Lithuania
and Estonia! Nor about Poland
or Czechslovakia or Bulgaria or
Albania or Rumania or Hunga
ry! Not a word of the police state
and the purges and thought-con
trol in Bucharest and Budapest
and Prague!
After four centuries of coloni
alism the tide is reversed today.
Empires are liquidated. Few de
fend the exploitation of primi
tive peoples all over the world
for gold and commercial gain.
Much of it was a filthy busi
ness. Properly, in many cases
native peoples demanded that
colonizing exploiters get out. The
pity is that in some cases west
ern overseers have withdrawn
with such ill grace as to help the
Communist cause,
CHAPTER AND VERSE
Granted all of this, but how
can Kruschev pass over what
has happened in—
Bulgaria, say, where people
have suffered chronic shortages
of food, clothing and fuel while
the country exported first-quali
ty vegetables, fruit, tobacco and
other produce to the Soviet Uni
on. Wher currency reforms rob
bed independent farmers, shop
keepers and others considered
hostile to the Communist regime
of vast sums. Where peasants
wishing to leave collectivized
farms and go it alone were not
allowed to take their livestock
or farm tools with them. Where
hounding and liquidation was
the Communist answer to dis
sidents.
Czechoslovakia, where in trials
modeled on the Moscow purges
opponents were tried for treason
and sentenced to hang for being
on the wrong side politically.
Where the Soviets sought to up
root and cut off ties with the
West and destroyed Czech liter
ature and imposed their own.
Where elections have been the
merest farce—the usual list of
hand-picked candidates repre
senting just one party.
Poland, too, where despite the
agreements of Yalta free and un
fettered elections never have
been held. Where independent
thought has been stifled as in
other satellite nations. Where op
ponents of the Communist reg
ime, arrested and sent to prison
a decade ago, still are unheard
of.
THE NUMBER
NOBODY KNOWS
,In every one of the satellites
the Communist regimes have
gone as far as they dared to
stamp out religion. No one can
be sure how many Catholic lead
ers have been persecuted, driven
from their churches, imprisoned
after trials in which men’s wills
were broken by torture and
drugging and degradation and
indignity.
No one knows how many thou
sands of persons in these coun
tries under the Red fist have
escaped into free territory —•
knowing well they faced death
or long imprisonment if caught
—because they could stand no
more of Communism’s oppres
sion. Some 50,000 to 60,000
Czechoslovaks are estimated to*»
have fled to Bavaria and Austria
since the Communists first took
that country.
CONVENIENT,
DISCIPLINED MEMORIES
Krushchev and Bulganin
would suppress all evidences of
unrest in the satellites, of course,
They would not tell the Inidians
or the Burmese that despite the
severity of repressive measures,
reports persist of peasant resis
tance to collectivization; of- in
dustrial sabotage and slow
downs; of workers riots; of the
need to station troops at railroad
bridges to guard against their
destruction by people who never
(Continued on Page Five)