Southern cross. (Savannah, Ga.) 1963-2021, January 19, 1963, Image 4

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Southern cross., January 19, 1963, Image 4

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Newspaper Page TextPAGE 4—The Southern Cross, January 19, 1963 That All May Be One* Why Is The U.N. Silent? Since the emergence of Cey lon and the Sudan as indepen dent nations, both countries have been conducting virulent and devastating persecutions of Christian minorities. Ca tholic schools have all but dis appeared from Ceylon. The few that remain are harrassed by continued unreasonable government restrictions on their administration and cur riculum. The most severe restric tions have been placed on mis sionary activities and the number of missionaries is systematically being reduced through visa requirements. In the Sudan, where gov ernment anti-Christian ac tivities have reached an al most fever pitch, 36 priests and 19 sisters have been oust ed in the last two months, and eight Presbyterian mission aries have been ousted from one province alone. All mission schools in south Sudan have been nationalized since 1957, and since the pas sage of the Missionary Socie ties Act of last year, no per son under the age of 18 may be baptized, even with his parents’ consent. One missioner has called the Missionary Societies Act a “diabolical plan’’ by which the Sudanese government hopes to get rid of Christian ity without incurring unfav orable publicity. It would seem that a simi lar hope is entertained by the Government of Ceylon. Both Ceylon and the Sudan are members of the United Nations, which was able to assure itself that it had the competency to consider ra cial persecution in South Af rica, and alleged anti-Negro persecution in Portugese An gola. In both instances, the voice of the United States U. N. delegation was raised to condemn the alleged oppres sion. The United Nations also found that it was within its rights in considering the “Al gerian Problem.’’ We wonder, then, why it has taken no cognizance, whatso ever, of the plight of perse cuted Christians in Ceylon and the Sudan, especially since large scale government-spon sored anti-Christian ac tivities have been carried out in both countries since the be ginning of their existence as independent nations. m The answer undoubtedly lies in the fact that no na tion has thought such perse cution important enough to bring before the world body for consideration, even though Ceylon and the Sudan are in clear violation of the princi ples of the U.N. Charter to which they are signatory pow ers. We suggest a campaign of mail to the United States Am bassador to the United Nations asking him “WHY IS THE U.N. SILENT?’’ Concern Over Man’s ering With Nature Tamp (By j. J. Gilbert) WASHINGTON - Man is ad vised to begin to show some concern about the effects of him attempts to “manipulate’' na ture. An advisory committee has told President Kennedy that “it would seem unwise to continue to tamper with environment without, concurrently, striving to determine the real and last ing effects of our actions.” The committee is a group of 12 scientists appointed by the National Academy of Sciences, at the President’s request, to study the conservation and de velopment of this country’s na tural resources. Now, after nearly two years, the report has been made public. The study deals with Ameri ca’ s resources and prospects in products of the land, water, non - fuel minerals, energy, marine and recreation. Then it says; “Perhaps the most criti cal and most often ignored re source is man’s'-total environ ment. Increasing awareness of the importance of understand ing the balances of nature is re flected in the gradual develop ment of interest in ecological studies. The study of the in teraction of all biological spe cies, among themselves and with the inanimate forces of nature, requires coordination of the contributions of all the sciences, natural and social.” “The wisdom of examining environment in the totality of its interaction with man be comes increasingly apparent in view of the rapidity of environ mental change in our country. We live in a period of social and technological revolution, in which man’s ability to manipu late the process of nature for his own economic and social purposes is increasing at a rate which his forebears would find frightening.” “The effects on man him self of the changes he has wrought in the balance of great natural forces and in the new microenvironment which he has created are but dimly perceived and not at all well understood,” the reports also asserts. The committee points out that, “after tens of thousands of years of very slow, very gradual change in environment,” man has in the past few hundred years made “radical and abrupt changes to which he has to ad just more rapidly than ever be fore.” “Evidence indicates signifi cant physiological and psycho logical reactions to such chang es, but neither the causes nor the short — or long-range re sults are clear,” the committee study warns. Among the “changed re-' gimes” which produce these physical and mental effects, the committee continues, are: the provision of artificial climates for an increasing number of the population; change in the light- dark cycles; changes in temper ature affd humidity, and in crease in surroundings noise .levels. “It is apparent that man must concern himself with a va riety of changes in the environ ment, both those caused by hu man beings and those reflecting man’ s responses,” the com mittee said in summarizing. "That we often do not have any clear-cut idea of the impact on man, or man’s response, is cause for concern.” Harass Ceylon’s Christians By Father Patrick O’Connor Society of St. Columban (N.C.W.C. NEWS SERVICE) COLOMBO, Ceylon, - What mixture of men, motives and movements has produced the discrimination against Chris tians, especially Catholics, in this sunny island of Ceylon? The most obvious element is Buddhist—not the general body of Buddhist believers but poli tico-religious extremists. They exert pressure largely through their All Ceylon Buddhist Con gress, which is not at all the widespread organization its name suggests. It represents a biased, assertive minority, whose words and actions have done grave injury to the Budd hist reputation for tolerance. The Buddhist extremists make use of politicans. Poli ticians, in turn, exploit Budd hist sentiment. Leftists, hostile to all religion, make their anti- Christian attitude look decep tively like friendship for Budd hism. “There’s a group of frustrat ed Buddhists being exploited by the Marxists,” a Ceylonese Catholic layman commented. “The Marxists have given them the impression that if Marx ists were in power, the Budd hists would have a heydey.” Some Buddhists have formed a liaison with the smallest of the three Marxist parties. The Communist party, also small but active, has been wooing Buddhists, and with some success. A prominent Buddhist monk presided at the public meeting held here to mark the 45th anniversary of the Russian re volution. According to the Ceylon Daily News, he said “as a Buddhist monk. . . he would always look forward to U.S.S.R. as an example of the Buddha’s teaching and would ad vise anybody to emulate the Russian way of living.” The (Continued on Page 5) UNITY OCTAVE OF PRAYER THE NEW LOOK’ CHURCH It Seems to Me One of the purposes of the ecumenical council is to make the Church look like what in truth the Church is—the house not only of God but of all God’s creatures; the dear and familiar hearth where everybody is at home, and away from which nobo dy, consci ously or un con sciously, is other than at least a touch home sick. The council, in effect, is to make known to the world some thing that is nutshelled in the story of the mother who replied, when somebody complained be cause her little children were romping in the basilica while she prayed, “Where shouldthey be playing, if not in the house of their Father?” ONE GREAT obstacle to com munication between the Church and much of the human race has been the fact that the Church really has looked rather for bidding from outside. A friend once exclaimed to me, a few days after he embraced the Faith, “Why didn’t you tell me how pleasant it would be?” But he admitted that I really couldn’t have told him; he wouldn’t have understood. Perhaps the element of strangeness cannot be com pletely eliminated fo^ those not reared in the Church, but cer tainly Pope John is determined that it shall be minimized, and that is must be overshadowed by the attraction, the winning ness, of the Church’s truth and beauty. This is the central rea- JOSEPH BREIG son that he called the world council. WHAT THE CHURCH is to do, then, is to go to the people; to become more and more ap proachable, like an old friend— like, indeed, what the Church really is, Christ still living among men. God did not enter human .nature in order that we should stand apart from Him in awe, but that we might come close to Him in love and com panionship. We are to be reminded that Christ went fishing with His disciples; that when they were hungry he built a fire on the shore and cooked for them. He talked with the people in their own language. He went into their homes, observed their customs, ate with them, and illustrated His teachings with homey references to sheep and stones and bread and the flow ers of the field. THE CHURCH in essence and in fact is like that, but often has not so appeared. Pope John wants to see that it does so appear. One of his first actions after his election was to stroll to the offices of Osservatore Romano and the studios of Radio Vatican, where he suggested that flowery references to the pope be omitted thenceforth. “Simply say,” said John XXIII, “that the pope did this or that, or said this or that.” He emerged from the Vati can for visits to hospitals and prisons. He began going from parish to parish on the Sundays in Lent. And in calling the ecu menical council, he said that he wanted to make visible the sim ple attractiveness of the Church, so that he could open his arms to all people and tell Most Movies Class “A” NEW YORK - The National Legion of Decency in 1962 put most of the American films it reviewed in one of its three “A” classifications. 153 of the 187 U.S. movies reviewed were so classified. Congress Gets Prayer Bills WASHINGTON — Six con gressmen have proposed con stitutional amendments con- First Mass Filmed MADRID - A documentary on a priest’s first Mass has been filmed at Abbey of the Holy Cross of the Valley of the Fallen, 32 miles from here. them, “This is your home; it belongs to you; come and see for yourselves.” THIS BEING the root reason for the council, nobody should be surprised that its first de cision was to encourage more use of the languages and the ways of the people in the lit urgy — in the Metis and the Sacraments. And this is to be done with great flexibility, so that in the various areas of the earth, the bishops of the regions can adapt things to the people. The Church in the years to come is going to be more in tensely interesting, indeed ex citing, than at any time since the days of the early Christians. Unity will be in diversity rather than in uniformity. Writers and photographers and travellers are going to find it fascinating to go from region to region to see—and describe—the vari ous ways of worshipping, teach ing and serving. For a long time we have de fended the exclusive use of Latin on the ground that a chap could go anywhere in the world and feel at home at Mass—which sometimes meant feeling so much at home as to be half- asleep and little-inspired. Once the changes to come are made, the traveller will feel at home in a new way; in the way of being intrigued with new things, which is surely a chief reason for tra velling at all. cerning public school prayer to the 88th Congress. Resolutions were intioduced on the first day of the newCon- gress by Reps. Frank J. Beck er and Steven Derounian of New York, John B. Williams of Mississippi, William C. Cra mer of Florida, George Huddle ston, Jr., of Alabama and D.R. Matthews of Florida. Smut Fight Continues WASHINGTON - The new con gress was faced on its opening day with bills and resolutions designed to deal with the prob lem of obscenity. Rep. Glenn Cunningham of Nebraska, sponsor of two such measures, told the House (Jan. 10) that “a new flood of ob jectionable and possibly ob scene material is being sent to persons across the country from New York and other plac es.” Film On Catholic Schools NEW YORK - A half-hour film on Catholic schools has made its television debut here. It will be released later for national distribution to TV sta tions and public meetings. Called “Who is My Neigh bor? -- Catholic Schools, U. S.A.,” the film features Holy- wood stars Danny Thom as, Jane Wyatt, Ann Blythe and McDon ald Carey. The motion picture is des cribed as a major effort by Catholic organizations to ex plain the principles and oper ations ofCathblic schools. The abbey was erected in mem ory of those who died in the Spanish Civil War (1936 to 1939). Gifts Not Tax-Free CARACAS, Venezuela - The existence of Catholic schools and welfare institutions in this South American nation has been threatened by a government de cree ruling that donations to them are no longer tax free. Most of the country’s 561 Ca tholic schools and 112 welfare organizations have been re ceiving large contributions from individuals and business es. These are expected to de cline sharply. Catholic schools here are educating close to 120,000 stu dents, more than a third of them free of charge. Argentine Day Of Sacrifice BUENOS AIRES - Argentina’s Catholics have planned a Na tional Day of Sacrifice for March 25 in connection with the World Week for the Cam paign against Hunger. The World Week is sponsored by the United Nations Food and Agri culture Organization. Censures Government PALAI, India - An Indian archbishop has censured the government for allowing ster ilization and birth control de vices to enter the country des pite import restrictions impos ed because of the border conflict with the Red Chinese. Restric tions have cut down the imports of many other articles of gen eral use. Shifts Burden ,, , To Church LUANDA, Angola - Angola’s main Catholic paper declared that the Portugese government Will Protect Family has left the work of educating STUBENVILLE, Ohio - The society that is concerned with its own well being will protect the individual family, Bishop John King Mussio of Stuben- ville said here. * ‘Communities depend for success upon good order, upon a sense of civic responsibilities among citizens, upon a high re gard for law and authority,” he said. “The training ground for these virtues ... is in the fam ily. When the family dies or its life is corrupted, there is the beginning of the breakdown of the community.” He declared that the com munity is obliged to support the family, protect the young and not oppose reasonable . . . directions from the family. Nor must it usurp parents’ rights, he added. QUESTION BOX (By David Q. Liptak) Q. What is a “first class relic?” What other kinds of relics are there? A. The veneration of relics First Joyful Mystery THE ANNUNCIATION Our ^Father The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a virgin,/ and the virgin’s name was Mary. Luke 1:26, 27 Hail ^ Mary ’Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee./ Blessed are thou among women.’ Luke 1:28 Hail ^ Mary When she had heard him she was troubled at his word,/ and kept pondering what manner of greeting this might be. Luke 1:20 Hail & Mary And the angel said to her, 'Do not be afraid, Mary,/ for thou hast found grace with God.’ Luke 1:30 Hail ^ Mary 'Behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb and shalt bring forth a son;/ and thou shalt call his name Jesus.’ Luke 1:31 Hail ^ Mary Scriptural 3\osarp Part 1 'The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee/ and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee.' Luke 1:35 Hail ^ Mary 'And therefore, the Holy One to be born/ shall be called the Son of God.’ Luke 1:35 Hail " 'He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Most High;/ and of his kingdom there shall be no end.’ Luke 1:32, 33 Hail ^ Mary But Mary said to the angel, ’How shall this happen,/ since I do not know man?’ Luke 1:34 Hail ^5 Mary ’Behold the handmaid of the Lord;/ be it done to me according to thy word.’ Luke 1:38 Hail ^8! Mary Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit./ As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. Editor’s Note: This, is one of the 15 decades of the Scriptural Rosary, a modern version of the way the Rosary was once prayed in the Middle Ages. We are presenting the complete Scriptural Rosary in 15 install ments as a service to our readers. You are invited to save these meditations for future use. Or you may obtain the complete set in illustrated prayer-book form by sending $1 to the nonprofit Scriptural Rosary Center, 6 N. Michigan A venue, Chicago 2, Illinois. (the word comes from the Latin relinquere: “to leave”) dates from the earliest years of the Christian era. To associate the mortal remains of the saints and martyrs with the holiness of their souls, which will be eventually reunited with their glorified bodies, is only natural. So too, the association with the homes in which they dwelt, the vestments they wore, the arti cles they used, and in the case of the martyrs, the instruments by which they suffered and died. THE MOST PRECIOUS of all relics are the True Cross and the Holy Shroud of Turin. Both (Continued on Page 5) Angola’s native people to Ca tholic missionaries without giv ing them the necessary help.j O Apostolado revealed that each missionary receives average subsidy of $30.00 month and called it ridiculoiJ to expect a priest to support a school as well as himself on such a sum. The paper was taking to task Angolan journalist HoracioCaio for his book, “Angola, Its Days of Despair: The Missions and Catholic Missionaries.” It said Caio seemed to be blaming the ineffectiveness of Catholic mis sionary work in the northern part of the country for recent subversion there. Hits Peruvian Landowners LIMA, Peru - An Italian priest told a crowd of 1,500 at the municipal theater here that landowners who fail to exploit their lands while people are go ing hungry “betray the mother land.” Father Riccardo Lombardi, S.J., spoke at a ceremony which was part of this city’s first Week for Peace in Christ. Present were the Archbishop of Lima and the Apostolic Nuncio of Peru. ‘ ‘They betray the motherland, those who deposit their capital in North American or Swiss banks while the motherland lacks funds to develop her econ omy,” he said. “They betray the motherland those who do not exploit their lands while there are people who lack work and food,” he added. The Southern Cross Vol. 43 P. O. BOX 180. SAVANNAH. GA. Saturday, January 19, 1963 No. 18 Published weekly except the last week in July and the last week in December by The Southern Cross, Inc. Subscription price $3.00 per year. Second class mail privileges authorized at Monroe, Ga. Send notice of change of address to P. O. Box 180, Savannah, Ga. Most Rev. Thomas J. McDonough, D.D.J.C.D., President Rev. Francis J. Donohue, Editor John Markwalter, Managing Editor Rev. Lawrence Lucree, Rev. John Fitzpatrick, Associate Editors