Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

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.