Newspaper Page Text
Official
Newspaper For
The Di ocese Of
Savannah
Vol. 38, No. 6.
PUBLISHED BY THE CATHOLIC LAYMEN'S ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA
MONROE. GEORGIA, SATURDAY, AUGUST 17, 1957.
Official
Newspaper For
The Diocese Of
Atl anta
10c Per Copy — $3 a Year
HOMECOMING ON SHIPBOARD—Robert McCarthy, at left,
greets his brother, Father Charles McCarthy, S.J., aboard the SS
President Hoover as the latter returns from four years’ imprison
ment by the Chinese Communists. Two other brothers, Alex and
Walter, their wives, and seven nieces and nephews joined in wel
coming the Jesuit missioner home to San Francisco.—(NC Photos).
’'Your Freedom Under God"
Current Civics Club Theme Is
Recommended By Superintendent
ATLANTA—A comparison of
freedom with communism—the
timely theme to be studied in the
coming year by bovs and girls in
Catholic Civic Clubs of America—
was commended for its value this
week by Very Rev. Msgr Corn
elius L. Maloney Diocesan super
intendent of schools, in a letter
sent to Parochial-school princi
pals of the Diocese of Atlanta.
In his letter. Monsignor Malon
ey called this year’s theme—“Your
Freedom Under God”—a “timely
and, important subject” especially
since “this marks the 20th anni
versary of Pope Pius XI’s historic
encyclical on Communism, Divini
Redemptoris.”
The Catholic Civics Clubs of
America are sponsored by the
Commission on American Citizen
ship of The Catholic University
of America to encourage boys and
girls of the upper elementary
grades of parochial schools all
over the United States to partici
pate in community projects and
to learn more about their govern
ment.
Monsignor Maloney also noted
the availability of study aids in
the form of regular articles in
the Young Catholic Messenger, the
current affairs weekly that acts as
an intermediary between the
Commission and the Clubs in de
veloping the theme.
A preprint enclosed with Mon
signor Maloney’s letter outlines
the theme for the coming year:
“During the coming year, you
and thousands of other Civics
Club members are going to find
out how important in your daily
life are the God-given freedoms
you enjoy. You will see what the
loss of those freedoms has meant
to the citizens of other lands. You
will work—in your community
—against the inroads of material
ism.
“Your freedom under God is a
precious thing. You must learn to
use it wisely, to guard it jealous
ly.”
Special features planned for
the Civics Club study series will
include articles emphasizing in
dividual dignity, family, religion,
government, education, commun
ication, and police power.
Included in the preprint enclos
ed with Monsignor Maloney’s let
ter was a play to be used for a
possible Civics Club program—
"The Citizen: He’s a VIP.”
Monsignor Maloney closed his
letter with a recommendation that
every school participate in this
year’s project:
It is my sincere hope that
Catholic Civics Clubs will be
functioning in all our schools
during the coming school year.”
Held Uncertain If
Pope Will Reply
To Orleans Group
VATICAN CITY—(Radio, NC)
—Vatican authorities were unable
to say immediately whether His
Holiness Pope Pius XII would
reply to the appeal sent him by
a group of New Orleans Cath
olics requesting a halt to Church
activities in racial integration.
The Association of Catholic
Laymen of New Orleans appeal
ed directly to the Pope asking
that, pending a papal announce
ment, Archbishop Joseph F. Hum
mel of New Orleans be requested
to take no further steps toward
integration. They also asked that
the Pontiff issue a decree stating
that segregation is not morally
wrong and sinful as it had been
described by the Archbishop.
Unofficial sources close to the
Vatican have said that there
would probably be no action tak
en on the appeal in the near fu
ture. The same sources hazarded
the guess that, because of offen
sive elements in the appeal, it
would probably not be given any
public reply at all.
Those close to the Vatican
pointed out that Pope Pius and
his predecessors have reiterated
the Church’s unswavering oppo
sition to racial discrimination on
(Continued on Page 2)
Bishops Not Agents
STATE DEPARTMENT REPLIES
TO POAU PROTEST AGAINST
VATICAN, CATHOLIC BISHOPS
WASHINGTON — (NC) — The
State Department has answered a
letter of protest regarding U. S.
“recognition” of Vatican City as
a sovereign state and the status of
Catholic bishops in this country.
The protest was made by Prot
estants and other Americans Unit
ed for Separation of Church and
State (POAU) in a letter sent to
Loftus E. Becker, State Depart
ment legal adviser.
POAU asked whether the Unit
ed States recognizes the Vatican
as a sovereign state “and if so,
why haven’t American bishops
been required to register as agents
of a foreign power.”
Addressed to Stanley Lichten
stein, POAU research director,
and signed by Mr. Becker, the
State Department’s reply made
the following two points:
(1) The United States has nev
er* extended formal recognition
to the State of Vatican City or to
its government.” In regard to a
POAU protest against President
Eisenhower’s signing of a bill per
mitting Reps. John McCormack
of Massachusetts and John J.
Rooney of New York to accept a
papal award, the State Depart
ment letter said: “The most that
can be inferred from this kind of
legislation is that the Congress of
the United States, like all author
ities on international law, recog
nizes the fact that Vatican City is
a sovereign state.”
(2) The State Department said
it “has never understood that car
dinals, bishops and priests of the
Roman Catholic Church in the
United States are agents of a for
eign government.”
Mr. Becker said the question
of the effect of serving as a papal
nuncio on the citizenship of
American bishops was discussed at
length several, years ago with Paul
Blanshard, another POAU official^
Mr. Blanshard had contended
that Archbishop Gerald P. O’Hara,
then serving as papal nuncio to
the Irish republic, had expatri
ated himself under certain sec
tions of the 1952 Immigration and
Nationality Act.
These sections state that a na-
Gatholic-Protestant Relations
Held Greatly Hurt By Attacks
Made In World Council Meeting
WASHINGTON, — (NC) —
Great damage was done to Cath
olic—Protestant relations on a
world-wide scale by the public
dicussions at the meeting of the
Central Committe of the World
Council of Churches just held in
New Haven, Conn., it has been
charged here.
After rejecting more inflam
matory propsals, the New Haven
meeting called upon the World
Council’s executive committee to
“arrange for studies to be made
of the problem of religious liber
ty arising in Roman Catholic and
other countries.” In some of the
impassioned oratory that preceded
this action, speakers charged that
Protestants are persecuted in
countries where Catholics are
’“dominant”. Latin America in
general and Colombia and Spain
in particular were mentioned - as
places where such persecution
took place.
The Bureau of Information of
the National Catholic Welfare
Conference here said that, while
it recognized the steadying influ
ence of council leaders that
brought about the “toned-down
resolution.” it is nevertheless true
that “great damage has been done
to Catholic—Protestant relation
ships throughout the world.”
“Even the final resolution sing
ling out Catholic countries for
investigation will have an un
fortunate effect,” the bureau said.
Father John E. Kelly, NCWC
Information Bureau director, said
“the deliberations and the final
resolution of investigating especi
ally Catholic countries, are a
cause of regret and dismay to
Catholics.”
Martin H. Work, executive
director of the National Council
of Catholic Men, said it “seems
unfortunate that Protestant lead
ers could not have done some
thing postive” in matters of com
mon spiritual and moral concern
“rather than widen the breach
in the Christian community.”
Margaret Mealey, executive
secretary of the National Council
of Catholic Women, called it a
pity that “the World Council of
Churches should at a time of
world crisis allow itself to dis
sipate its power for good for such
ill-founded and unfair sallies into
the field of religious controversy.”
Father Kelly said Catholics in
countries cited by the World
Council in its deliberations “can
not help but be offended.” “The
effect,” he asserted, “will be to
make them less willing to partici
pate in inter-denominational pro
jects, studies and conversations
such as those on the increase in
France and Germany.”
The NCWC bureau released a
statement made by John W.
White, a Protestant newspaper
man who spent 25 years in Latin
America. He said the charges of
persecution laid to the Catholic
Church in Colombia and other
South American countries “are
(Continued on Page 10)
|tional of the United States shall
lose his nationality if he makes a
formal declaration of allegiance
to a foreign state or performs du
ties that require an affirmation of
allegiance to a foreign state.
In replying to Mr. Blanshard,
Mr. Becker recalled the State De
partment said ‘it has no evidence
of any law or regulation requiring
papal nuncios to take an oath, af
firmation, or declaration of alleg
iance to the State of Vatican City,
nor did it have any evidence that
they took any such oath affirma
tion or declaration.”
(Continued on Page 9)
New $35,000
Church For
Saint Mary’s
ST. MARY’S—Plans have been
announced for the construction
of a new $35,000 Church and
Hall here.
The new building will replace
the old one-room Chapel which
at one time was a part of the Bank
of St. Mary’s, whose history dates
back to 1330. W. D. Tollerton of
Waycross is the designer of the
new Church. Bids are expected
to be in the latter part of August
with construction beginning as
soon as possible.
There are approximately eighty
Catholics in St. Mary’s, with the
average Sunday Mass attendance
being fifty-five. The priest at St.
Joseph’s, Waycross, 68 miles
away, says his third Mass at St.
Mary’s every Sunday morning.
The Chapel belongs officially to
the parish of St. Francis Xavier,
Brunswick, but is served by the
Waycross Church.
The priest in charge at Way-
cross is the Rev. George Mailuta,
S. M.
Savannah K. Of C.
Names Class For
Auxiliary Bishop
SAVANNAH— Savannah Coun
cil No. 631 Knights of Columbus
will pay tribute to his excellency,
the Rev. Thomas J. McDonough,
Auxiliary Bishop of Diocese of Sa
vannah.
The First, Second and Third de
gree of the order will be Exempli
fied on September 8th. This group
of members-elect will be known
as The Bishop Thomas J McDon
ough Class.
The Knights and their candi
dates for membership will begin
the day by attending Mass and re
ceiving Holy Communion in a
body at 8:00 a. m., at the Cathed
ral of St. John the Baptist.
A communion breakfast and
exemplification of the degrees
will follow. Visiting Knights
from Georgia and South Carolina
are expected.