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Official Newspaper For The Diocese Of Savannah Vol. 38, No. 13. PUBLISHED BY THE CATHOLIC LAYMEN'S ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA MONROE, GEORGIA, SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 1957 Official Newspaper For The Diocese Of Atlanta 10c Per Copy — $3 a Year % M* si * WASHINGTON MEETING—Among the 179 prelates attend ing the Annual Meeting of the U. S. Bishops at the Catholic Uni versity of America, Washington, D. C„ are, from left: Bishop John F. Dearden, of Pittsburgh; Archbishop Leo Binz, of Dubuque, Iowa; Bishop Hubert J. Cartwright, Coadjutor, of Wilmington, Delaware; Bishop Francis E. Hyland, of Atlanta. -—(NC Photo). U S Bishops Issue Statement ASSERT CENSORSHIP' IS SOMETIMES GIVEN MISLEADING MEANING Archbishop To Baptist Pilgrimage Plans Announced For Atlanta Diocese ATLANTA — The Most Rev. Francis E. Hyland, Bishop of Atlanta, has announced that the Diocese of Atlanta will sponsor a pilgrimage to Lourdes during the centenary year of 1958. The pilgrimage under the di rection of Monsignor Joseph G. Cassidy, V.F., pastor of the Ca thedral of Christ the King, will include visits to Fatima, another famous Shrine of Our Lady, the Eternal City of Rome, Center of our Holy faith, and other interest ing cities and places of continent al Europe. The pilgrimage will present two tours — Tour “A” and Tour “B.” Both tours will leave New York by steamship on May twelfth, or by airplane on May nineteenth. Tour “A” will return to New York by airplane on June twelfth and by steamship on June twenty-first. Tour “B”, which will enable the pilgrims to visit some important cities of Italy, Switzer land, Germany, Belgium and fin ally Paris, will return to New York by airplane on July second and by steamship on July eighth. Bishop Hyland will accompany the pilgrims on Tour “A” and Monsignor Cassidy will continue with those on Tour “B”. It is anticipated that an audi ence will be obtained with the Holy Father while the group is in Rome. The tours will travel together until June 9 at which time Tour “B” will begin its ex tended tour of Europe. Cost of Tour “A”, which is being conducted in cooperation with American Express World Travel Service, ranges from $1069.00 to $1284.00 by steamer. Air price is $1181.90. Cost of Tour “B” by steamer ranges from Replies Queries Archbishop O'Hara's reply to Reverend Dick Houston Hall and the Co/nmittte appointed by the Southern Baptists will be found on page eight. SAVANNAH — His Excellency The Most Rev. Gerald P. O’Hara, has released the text of his reply to 14 questions submitted by a committee appointed by South ern Baptists seeking explanation of doctrines held by the Catholic Church. In making public his 28 page letter to the Rev. Dick Houston Hall, editor of the Christian In dex, weekly publication of South ern Baptists, the Bishop of Sav annah and Apostolic Delegate to Great Britain expressed h i s thanks for the opportunity to ex plain some parts of the Holy Faith. “Believe me,” he writes, “it is explanation of my own Faith I have sought to supply, not criticism of others.” This letter is the second writ ten the committee. The first was drafted last year when the group wrote the Bishop following his letter addressed to the faithful of the then Diocese of Savannah- Atlanta. The pastoral was read in all churches in conjunction with the ninth regional C.C.D. Con gress held at Savannah. Answering the queries, Arch bishop O’Hara notes that the chief difference between the writ ers is the “Church.” He devotes the greater part of his reply to an outline of the Church as Catholics see it. At the end of his letter he answers briefly the com mittee’s 14 questions, stating, “the answers will come better against a positive background.” In making his reply the Arch bishop, in difference to non- Catholics, makes all scriptural quotations from the Revised Ver sion of the Bible. $1491.00 to $1794.00. Cost of the tour by air is $1584.00. Additional information and re servations may be secured by con tacting Rt. Rev. Msgr. Joseph G. Cassidy, V.F., Cathedral of Christ The King, Atlanta, Ga. (N.C.W.C. News Service) WASHINGTON, — Freedom of the press is a basic right to be respected and safeguarded. But freedom of expression has social implications, and civil au thority “has the right and duty to exercise such control over the various media of communication as is necessary to safeguard pub lic morals.” The Bishops of the United States emphasized these points in a statement on “Censorship”, is sued in their behalf by the Ad ministrative Board of the Nation al Catholic Welfare Conference. The statement was adopted at the annual general meeting of the Archbishops and Bishops held at the Catholic University of Ameri ca. The Bishops said they have no intention of curtailing the work of the National Legion of Decency for motion pictures and the Na tional Office for Decent Litera ture for printed publications. “Far from curtailing the work of these agencies,” they said, “we must have them continue. Nor can we fail to be watchful over the fields of radio and television.” These agencies, in their work, “reflect the moral teaching of the Church,” and “neither agency exercises censorship in any true sense of the word,” the Bishops declared. The statement said censorship is today “a provocative and some times misleading word,” adding that it “generates controversy” by “provoking those who would deny in fact any restrictions, le gal or moral, upon freedom of expression.” It asserted that freedom of the press “must be understood and defended not as license, but as true rational freedom.” Obviously the State does have some power of censorship, the Bishops pointed out, noting its exercise in times of war or great national danger. “Morally,” they added, “the Church can and does exercise what is called censorship. This right is hers from her office as teacher of morals and guardian of divine truth. Her decisions bind her people but her sanctions upon them are only spiritual and moral. She does, nevertheless, ex press her judgments to all men of good will, soliciting their rea soned understanding and their freely given acceptance and sup port.” The statement observed that in discussions of freedom of ex pression, the freedom most com monly involved is “freedom of the press, not only in newspapers and other publications, but also such drastic expressions as is represented in the theatre, mo tion pictures, radio and televi-1 sion.” It said that although civil au thority has the duty to exercise such control over media of com munication as is necessary to safeguard public morals, civil law, “especially in those areas which are constitutionally pro tected, will define as narrowly as possible the limitations placed on freedom.” “Our judidical system has been dedicated from the beginning to the principle of minimal re straint,” it stated. “Those who may become impatient with the reluctance of the State through its laws to curb and curtail hu man freedom should bear in mind that this is a principle that serves to safeguard all our vital free- Sunday, Dec. 29th Day Of Prayer For Persecuted WASHINGTON — (NC) — The Bishops of the United States have called for Sunday, Dec. 29, to be made a day of prayer for perse cuted peoples. Reminding that "in the arsenal of Christianity, in reach of all men of good will,” there is “the invincible weapon of prayer,” the Bishops in a public declaration state that “it is unthinkable that we should in our day neglect to petition the Infinite Creator and Ruler of the universe in behalf of these moden martyrs.” ‘We, the Bishops of the United States, with profound reliance on the unfailing power of prayer, call upon our people and upon all who ‘love justice and hate in iquity’ to unite on Sunday, De cember 29, in a day of prayer,” the Bishops state. “Let us all beg God, our Com mon Father, to stretch forth His Mighty Arm, to restrain those who have long crushed His child ren, to strengthen and console the heroic souls who have endured so much and to lead them speed ily to the enjoyment of the free dom of the sons of God.” The statement notes that it was little more than a year ago that “the agonized cry of the Hungari an people broke through the sil ence that enveloped them and millions of others who are suf fering the most frightful persecu tion in history.” It adds that, while grieving over the atrocities “perpetrated upon them and our other brothers beneath the heel of communist slavery, we thrill to the striking evidence they have given that faith and hope still shine in lands of darkness and that not all the might of wicked men can over come the strength which is of God.” doms — to curb less rather than more; to hold for liberty rather than for restraint.” The Bishops drew attention to the fact that human action and expression “may fall short” of being legally punishable and may still “defy the moral standards of a notable number in the com munity.” “Between the legally punish able and the morally good there exists a wide gap,” they said. “If we are content to accept as mo rally inoffensive all that is le gally unpunishable, we have low ered greatly our moral standards. It must be recognized that civil legislation by itself does not con stitute an adequate standard of morality.” The statement said that “an understanding of this truth to gether with the knowledge that offensive materials on the stage and screen and in publications have a harmful effect” led the Bishops of the United States to establish the Legion of Decency and NODL. “The function of these agencies is related in character,” the statement pointed out. “Each evaluates and offers the evalua tion to those interested. Each seeks to enlist in a proper and lawful manner the cooperation of those who can curb the evil. Each invites the help of all people in the support of its objectives. Each endeavors through positive action to form habits of artistic taste which will move people to seek out and patronize the good. In their work they reflect the moral teaching of the Church. Neither agency exercises censorship in any true sense of the word.” The statement said the right to speak out in favor of good morals “can hardly be challenged in a democracy such as ours.” It noted that “it is a long-standing tradi tion of this country that groups large and small have given ex pression of their concern over in justice — political, social and economic.” “It would be most gratifying to find it unnecessary to carry on this work,” the Bishops asserted “One could wish that the sense of responsibility of those who write and those who produce motion pictures would make superfluous action of this nature. Past experi ence, however, does not permit us to look forward to a day when this sort of evaluation will no longer be called for. Far from curtailing the work of these agen cies we must have them continue. Nor can we fail to be watchful over the fields of radio and tele vision. Meanwhile, our existing agencies must be prepared to meet a continuing evil with an (Continued on Page 2)