Newspaper Page Text
i
PAGE 6—The Southern Cross, January 26, 1963
St. James Council
MAJOR D. REIDMcFEELEY,
son of MR. AND MRS. DAN
McFEELEY of Savannah, was
in that city recently assisting
in working out details for the
smooth transition of Hunter Air
Force Base (Sav’h.) from SAC
'^(Strategic Air Command) to
MATS (Military Air Transport
Service). The major, a 1937
graduate of Benedicting Mili
tary School (Sav’h.) is assis
tant air installations officer on
the staff of the 8th Air Force
at Westover, Mass. . .FRAN
CIS CARDINAL SPELLMAN,
Cardinal-Archbishop of New
York, recently prayed at a cross
on the Berlin wall where a
young refugee was killed trying
to escape. The 73-year-old pre
late visited the East-West Ber
lin border immediately after
his arrival there by air from
West Germany on his 12th trip
overseas to spend Christmas
with American servicemen.
This year’s trip carried him
all around the globe. . .FRANK
DOWNING was elected presi
dent of the Benedictine Class
of 1941 at the group's annual
reunion held recently. Chosen
to serve with him for the com
ing year were WILLIAM DO YLE
vice - president; and MI
CHAEL J. GANNAM, sec
retary-treasurer . . . Former
Savannahian MARY KEATING
FLOYD is doing special work
in the offices of Representa
tive G. ELLIOTT HAGAN in
Washington, D. C. A former
editor of the Sunday Magazine
section of the SAVANNAH
MORNING NEWS, she is now
living in Alexandria, Va., with
her husband, PICOT FLOYD,
who is now executive assistant
to the city manager of Alex
andria. When in Savannah, Picot
was director of the Savannah
Historical Society. . .ADULT
INQUIRY CLASSES begin for
the second time this year on
Tuesday, February 5th. The
classes, which will be held
weekly on Tuesday evenings
from 7:30 to 9:00 are opened
to Catholics.-as well as non-
Catholics who are interested in
increasing their knowledge of
the Church. The meetings are
held in the CATHEDRAL DAY
SCHOOL Cafetorium (Sav’h.). .
Over twenty persons attended
the last session of the Adult
Inquiry Classes and six per
sons were received into the
Church. . .FR. LUKE BAIN,
O. S. B., faculty member of
Benedictine Military School
(Sav’h.) is conducting a Bible
Study Class in the evenings
Those interested might contact
Father at Adams 2-0792.
The St. Bernard College Ad
ministration has named S. J
(BUDDY) THOMAS, JR., Acting
Publicity Director of the Col
lege last fall. The son of MR.
AND MRS. S. J. THOMAS, SR.
of Savannah Beach, he will con
trol the news releases of the
College. . .JOHN R. SCHERER,
JR., student for the diocesan
priesthood at St. John Vianney
Seminary (Sav’h.) informs us,
via THE PIONEER, bi-monthly
publication of the seminary,
that Latin is far from a dead
language at St. John’s. Not only
spoken in class, it is also used
at lunch everyday in asking for
food and for carrying on table
conversation. . .BLESSED SA
CRAMENT CHURCH (Sav’h.)
wishes to announce a mission
to be conducted by a Vincentian
Father from Opelika, Alabama,
will begin on February 3.
NEWMAN CLUB directors and
members are reminded of the
Southeastern Convention to be
held this year at Florida State
University (Talahassee) on the
1, 2, and 3 of February.
Send news articles to
Fr. Lawrence A. Lucree
P. O. Box 180,
Savannah, Ga.
Atheists Would
Have Been Shocked
PALM BEACH, Fla., (NC)
The selection of His Holiness
Pope John XXIII as Time mag
azine’s man of the year shows
that religion has become “in
tensely relevant’’ to the 20th
century, Bishop John J. Wright
of Pittsburgh said here.
Bishop Wright said such 19th
century agnostics and atheists
as French writer Ernest Re
nan would have thought it “ab
surd’’ to suppose “that the Pope
of Rome, smack in the middle
pf the 20th century and at the
ening of the space age, would
chosen man of the year by
trictly secular news weekly
orldwide circulation.’’
Installs Officers
SAVANNAH - Highlight of the
January meeting of the
St. James Parish Council was
the installation of officers for
1963. Installing officer was the
Rt. Rev. Msgr. JohnD. Toomey,
pastor.
New officers are Mrs. C.
McElveen, President; Mrs.
James Head, Vice-President;
Mrs. H. R. Beville, Secretary;
and Mrs. R. M. Laird, Trea
surer.
Outgoing officers received
praise from Monsignor Toomey
“for work conscientiously
and well done.’’ They are Mrs.
J. M. Schroder, Mrs. E. G.
Brickner, and Mrs: Mel Prouty.
Citing the work of officers
and members who served on
committee assignments last
year Msgr. Toomey said,
“Their accomplishments dur
ing the past year clearly show
the type of work they can do
and should do as members of
the Church.
He also expressed, “mydeep
appreciation at the large turnout
for our recent Savannah Dean
ery meeting at St. Simon’s.”
“This is what makes the
Diocesan Council of Catholic
Women go forward and gain
greater insight into the purpose
of the Church and its workers,”
he said.
Monsignor Toomey also pre
sented a gift from the Parish
Council to Mrs. Schroder, out
going president.
St. Vmcenfs
Alumnae
Cook-Out
SAVANNAH - The members
of the St. Vincent’s Alumnae
Association enjoyed a cook-
out at their January meeting
with the Class of ’47 as host.
Mrs. C. E. McKenzie, Jr.
president, announced that the
annual Communion breakfast
would be held on Sunday, March
31st and Mrs. J. E. Corcoran
would serve as chairman. The
project for the year will be a
Fashion Show in April and com
mittee chairmen for this affair
will be disclosed at a later date
by Mrs. McKenzie.
Sisters M. Fidelis and M.
Jean, R.S.M. spoke briefly to
the members on the plans of
the association for the com
ing year.
Four workmen at Duchesne College, .Omaha, spent more
than 100 hours during evenings and weekends to produce a
wooden crucifix for the nuns of the school. Nearly 1,000
separate designs went in the making of the crucifix which
is made entirely of plywood. Shown with the crucifix above
are: (from left to right) John Schwery, Karl Kohlert,
Maurice DeVos, and Frank Wageman. (NC Photos)
New Chapel For Americas
Ground was blessed and bro
ken late this past fall in the
Vista Heights section of Ameri-
cus' for the construction of a
new chapel to replace the old
Chapel of St. Jerome which was
lost through urban renewal.
When completed it will be dedi
cated to the patronage' of St.
Martin de Porres. Paul Bush
is the contractor from Ameri-
cus; Benjamin Ritzert of Sav
annah is the architect. The
chapel is being built through
diocesan mission funds. Much
of the furnishing will depend
upon donations. Anyone wishing
to send an alms toward the
furnishing of this little chapel
might address it to Chapel of St.
Martin de Porres, P. O. Box
198, Americus, Ga. Each dona
tion will be gratefully acknow
ledged by the Franciscan Fa
thers in charge.
Time Grows Short!
WASHINGTON (NC) - A re
minder has been issued that
aliens in this country must re
port their addresses and other
data during January to avoid
possible fines, imprisonment
or deportation.
The reminder was given by
Bruce Mohler, director of the
Department of Immigration,
,National Catholic Welfare Con
ference, who pointed out that the
registration is required under
the 1952 Immigration and Na
turalization Law.
There are 3,128,765 alien
residents in the United States
subject to registration, he said.
Exemptions are granted only
to persons with diplomatic sta
tus, those serving certain inter
national organizations, and
farm workers temporarily ad
mitted to the country.
The requirement applies to
all other aliens in this country
temporarily, as well as to those
who have been admitted for
permanent residence but have
not been naturalized.
The registration card is
available at post offices and is to
be returned in person, not by
mail, Mr. Mohler said. In
formation required includes
name, alien registration num
ber or that of the temporary
entry permit, U.S. address,
place and date of birth, resi
dence status, place and date of
admission to this country, and
citizenship..
"RED DEAN”
RESIGNS
LONDON, (NC) - Anglican
Dean Hewlett Johnson of
Canterbury, known as the ‘Red
Dean” for his frequent expres
sion of leftist views, has an
nounced his resignation at the
age of 88. Dean Johnson, whose
resignation will become effec
tive at the end of May, said he
will remain active in politics.
Education Gap In Russia Cited
HILLSIDE, N.J. - Education
in Russia isn’t all it’s cracked
up to be in the American press,
according to a Catholic youth
leader just back from a two-
month trip in the Soviet Union.
Unquestionably, Russia “is
ahead in science and languag
es,” said Richard J. O’Neill,
22, a former regional and na
tional office holder in the Na
tional Federation of Catholic
College Students.
“But,” O’Neill said, “their
facilities are inferior to ours
and the average person goes
to school for only eight or 11
years.”
Now a management trainee
with a New York bank, he said
he was particularly disturbed
by one aspect of the Soviet ed
ucational system: the manner
in which a youngster’s career
is mapped out for him, often
by the time he is seven years
old.
If a child lives near a tex
tile factory because his father
works there, O’Neill explained,
he will begin specializing in
school, learning to work a cer
tain machine in the 6th or 7th
grade. The odds are small, he
said, that the child will ever
have the chance to do anything
in life but operate a machine
in the factory down the street.
O’Neill traveled some 10,000
miles inside Russia, holding
frequent discussions with com
munist youth leaders. A 1962
graduate of Seton Hall Univer
sity, South Orange, N.J., he
made the trip with three other
members of the Young Adult
Council, New York, of which he
is vice chairman.
The delegates made headlines
in the U.S. in December when
they criticized the Soviet Un
ion for striking the Siberian
city of Novosibirsk from their
itinerary. The group was upset,
he said, because the itin
erary had been mapped out
and approved 18 months earlier.
“It is difficult to say why
they didn’t want us to go there,”
he said. “They claimed it is a
so-called strategic city. We
knew it was a science city; we
wanted to go there chiefly to see
the fine university there. When
we said we didn’t know much
about science, they simply said
that Americans are not allowed
in Novosibirsk, and that was
that.”
What they were allowed to see
during their trip were the big
cities, such as Moscow and Len
ingrad, small villages of collec
tive farms, rapidly growing
Siberian towns, and rugged
pioneer settlements being carv
ed out of wild virgin land by
young people O’Neill compared
to Peace Corpsmen.
Paraded proudly before them,
he said, were an endless suc
cession of dams, apartment
houses, factories and “Pioneer
Palaces,” where children aged
FIRES RAZES CATHOLIC SCHOOL - As flames shot
high into sky, firemen battled to control a multi-alarm
blaze that destroyed St. Elizabeth’s school in Philadel
phia. Two firemen were killed when a wall fell
on a fire truck. Flying glass and bricks reportedly in
jured several spectators watching the four-story building"
burn; 500 persons were evacuated from homes
near the school. - (NC Photos)
“THE CHURCH AND POLITICS”
It is true that there have been
cases of “clerical inter
ference” in the temporal field,
but they are limited to the pri
vate initiative of individuals —
ecclesiastics or laymen - -
who take advantage of the au
thority with which perhaps they
are invested. Such actions have
always been condemned by the
pope.
PAPAL, PASTORAL AND
POLITICAL METHODS
As head of the Church, the
pope is not a temporal soverign,
but a spiritual and moral head.
Politics, economy, sociology do
not of themselves belong to his
jurisdiction. But his action in
these fields is fully justified,
as we have explained, when tem
poral questions present certain
moral aspects that refer to
guardianship of the Faith and
morals and the preservation
of peace and order in the world.
The pope, by divine mandate,
has the duty of expounding the
principles of divine right and of
natural private and internation
al right, that regulate the nor
mal development and func
tioning of the social order on
the basis of justice and charity.
Now the pope fulfills such a
lofty mandate with the help of
appropriate meahs that have an
important influence on the indi
vidual and public conduct that
thus might also have influence
on the course of political events.
These means can be distin
guished as pastoral or political
means, according to the nature
of the pontifical action. Their
source, however, is always the
same supreme spiritual author
ity, wisely exercised in view of
the circumstances of time,
place, need and opportunity, and
looking only to the aim of the
interests of the Faith and mor
als.
The most important pastor
al means are:
1) The exercise of suprem
acy: The Roman pontiff, as the
successor of St. Peter, has not
only a supremacy of honor but
also, and particularly, the su
preme and full power of juris
diction over the Universal
Church in matters of faith and
morals and in everything that
pertains to- the government and
to the discipline of the Church.
2) The issuance of encyclical
letters and other pontifical doc
uments: Expounded in these are
the principles that are to guide
Catholics in relation to the par
ticular spiritual, political, ecu
menic and social problem un
der discussion, in the light of
the Faith and custom. The so
cial encyclicals issued by the
papacy are of extreme inter
est and offer an impressive
testimonial to the keenness and
clearsightedness of the popes.
The conflicts and problems
that have affected national and
international relations in the
last 90 years were foreseen
tens of years before by the pon
tiffs, and had those at the gov
ernment helm welcomed their
teachings and admonishments at
the opportune time, we can well
think that the course of politi
cal history would have been dif
ferent.
3) The action of the hierarchy
and of the clergy: To them is
entrusted the execution of pon
tifical directives throughout the
world. Catholics the world over
bear a docile, ready and loyal
submission to the pope as uni
versal pastor.
4) The activity of the Catholic
laity: Catholic laymen can and
should exercise a beneficent in
fluence in every sector of pub
lic life, devoting themselves
thoroughly in behalf of the appli
cation of Christian principles
of the purpose of insuring peace
and order in the world. As Pius
XII was wont to repeat, the
Catholic layman must rise from
his lethargy and make his good
influence felt in public matters,
by making use of his right to
vote, by pledging himself in
political life, by assuming civ
il duties of high responsibil
ity, and in many other ways.
He who leads a,good person
al life is not worthy of praise
if he remains indifferent and re
signed to the evils of commun
ity life, while the social, econ
omic and political orders are
falling under the dominion
of powers that want to destroy
them.
Participation in political life
is equivalent to perfor ing a
duty of social charity. For this
reason Catholics are obliged
to do their best to bring about
prosperity and peace in their
own countries, always imbuing
with true Christian spirit the
customs and institutions of po
litical and social life. By rea
son of their principles they,
in fact, are more than
ever obliged to bring integrity
and zeal to the handling of af
fairs whereas by keeping them
selves aloof they facilitate the
way to power of men whose opin-
Following is part three of a 3-part translation of an ad
dress on “The Church and Politics” made to newspapermen
at the Vatican Secretariat of State on November 9 by Msgr.
Igino Cardinale, Chief of Protocol. Msgr. Cardinale says'that
when overriding spiritual or moral questions are at stake
in the political sphere or when a group of nations
“unanimously” seek the good offices of the Holy See as med
iator, the Vatican is bound to enter the area of temporal
politics always maintaining a nonpartisan attitude.
ions do not offer much hope
for the good of the state, which
furthermore would result in de
triment to religion.
The principal political means
are:
1) Pontifical diplomacy: This
is aimed at regulating the mutal
relations between Church and
State for the purpose of main
taining a peaceful harmony be
tween the two powers and thus
promoting the religious, moral
and social well-being of
peoples. The primary end of
pontifical diplomacy includes
all those questions that involve
the moral aspect of society
and to all efforts intended to
favor peaceful collaboration be
tween states.
2) The exercise of arbitration
among nations: In the Middle
Ages the pope was called as
arbiter to solve questions of
conflict between nations. Even
after the suppression of the pa
pal states in 1870 and at the
request of the interested coun
tries, the papacy acted as the
arbiter for the peaceful solu
tion of numerous particular
controversies of a political na
ture. It is important to point
out in this respect that ac
cording to the Holy See, in re
lation to the sovereignty that
pertains to it also in the inter
national field, states as fol
lows:
It wishes to remain and will
remain foreign to temporal
competitions between other
states and the international con
gresses called for such pur
pose, unless the contending par
ties make a joint appeal to its
mission of peace, reserving
to itself the right in any case
to make its moral and spiri
tual power known. For this
reason, Vatican City will al
ways and in every case be con
sidered as neutral and invio
lable territory.
As shown clearly by its con
duct, the Holy See has neither
the desire nor finds it appro
priate to take part directly
in the political life of nations,
detaching itself from the above
mentioned article, in the draft
ing of which, as is know,
certain local Italian political
circumstances were prevalent.
If the contending parties make
a unanimous appeal to its in
tervention as a disinterested
arbitrator, the Holy See reser
ves to itself the right to inter
vene, taking into account the
overriding interests of the pub
lic welfare. In any case, the
Holy See does not intend to
undergo any limitation in the
exercise of its mission in the
face of the multiform internat
ional problems that torment the
world and that involve the teach
ing authority and ministry of
the pope as a spiritual function.
3) Concordants:
The specific object of such
treaties may belong to’the spiri
tual, liturgical, educational,
economic or social order.Usu-
ally, they embrace the “mixed
matters,” in which Church and
State, respectively, have great
interest, such as questions re
lating to the celebration of mar
riage and its consequences; to
education; to the civil effects
of spiritual acts; to the division
of ecclesiastical districts; to
economic questions; to the ap
pointment of bishops and of
other ecclesiastical authori
ties; to the establishment
of religious orders; to eccles
iastical property.
Concordats are concluded ac
cording to the provisions and
practice of international law
with any well-disposed state,
regardless of the religion of
the majority of its population
and of those who govern the
people. They do not indicate
any approval of the particular
form of government with which
they are being thus their vali
dity continues also after the fall
of the government which nego
tiated the concordat.
4) The participation of the
Holy See in the activity of
international organizations:
Since early times the Holy
See has encouraged inter
national collaboration for the
attainment and maintenance of
a just and lasting peace and for
the improvement of conditions
of human society. More recent
popes have often illustrated the
principles on which internation
al organizations must be found
ed to avoid the defects and faults
of the past and to be truly
effective in the preservation
of international order, accord
ing to justice and equity.
The popes have never con
cealed their favor for forms
of joint collaborations such as
the League of Nations first, and
then the United Nations. But
they did not make a mystery
of their apprehension about the
difficulties experienced by such
organizations in the attempt to
reach an understanding, or be
cause of the lack of effective
ness of the guarantees for se
curity at times offered by them.
The Holy See, nevertheless,
is not a member of the U.N.
Its task is not to~feolve the
political, economic and com
mercial conflicts of states.Nor
could it engage, as the Char
ter of the U.N. demands, juri
dically and politically in inter
national coercion against a
member state guilty of having
violated the U.N. pact. The sov
ereignty of the Holy See must
stand apart from purely poli
tical quarrels and from the
temporal competitions of
St3t6 S
It appears clearly from what
has been explained that “the
Church is not and does not
wish to be a political power
that aims at political purposes
to be attained through political
means. She is a religious and
moral power, whose conpetence
extends over the entire reli
gious and moral field, that in
turn embraces the entire ac
tivity of man considered in him
self and in society, free and
responsible.
She has always considered the
seriousness and delicacy of her
universal mission in the face
of the demands of politics, which
are often quite urgent. Her
teachings are aimed at recalling
to the mind of those who govern
and of those who are governed
the supreme principles of re
ligion, of justice, equity and
charity, so easily forgotten
under the pressure of contin
gent interests. Her action aims
at establishing peace not only
between man and God and one’s
own conscience, but between all
nations.
“On this earth we have the
duty to favor the peaceful evo
lution of peoples that recog
nizes the rights of others, even
when this implies personal
limitations and renunciations,”
as the reigning Pontiff, John
XXIII, said in expressing the
•wish that men of different
origin may offer the world a
spectacle of loyal collaboration,
of reciprocal integration of va
rious energies and interests:
all unanimously aspiring to the
common good and to the ele
vation of the people.
The Pope wishes that the Se
cond Vatican Ecumenical Coun
cil collaborate particularly in
this work in order, as the Pope
hopes, “in the doctrinal struc
ture and in the pastoral action
that it promotes, it may ex
press the desires of peoples
and travel the path that Provi
dence has marked for everyone,
so as to cooperate in the
triumph of peace and render
more noble, more just and de
serving for everyone this ter
restrial existence.”
“The bishops, shepherds of
the flock of Christ from every
nation under heaven,” (Cf. Acts,
2,5) will recall the concept of
peace not only in its negative
expression, which is a detesta
tion of armed conflicts; but
more so in its positive require
ments, that ask of every man
constant knowledge and practice
of his own duties, hierarchy,
harmony and service of the
spiritual values, open to every
one, possession and employ
ment of the forces of nature and
of technique exclusively for
the purpose of elevation of the
spiritual and economic tenor of
the life of the peoples.
“Coexistence, coordination
and integration with very noble
aims, that are echoed in inter
national assemblies, induce
hope and instill courage.
"The council will want to ex
alt, in manners even more sol
emn, the most profound appli
cations of brotherhood and love,
which are natural requirements
of man, between people and
people.”
This is the spirit of the
Church in the cordial, gener
ous and constant exercise of
its lofty mandate, and particu
larly when the needs of a higher
order direct her maternal and
vigilant attention to the politi
cal field, in which, no less than
elsewhere, the “Ecclesia
Christi” must shine like the
“lumen gentium” (light of na
tions) to the health, gladness
and splendor of all countries.
6 to 16 are taught dancing, sing
ing woodworking, sewing,
mechanics and atheism.
Stock issues that came up at
discussions with communist
youth leaders, O’Neill said,
were Cuba, racial segrega
tion in the U.S., unemployment,
communist youth festivals and
why the U.S. won’t participate
in them, the exchange program
between the two nations, litera
ture, American television and
movies and delinquency.
“They know all the bad points
there are about us,” he said.
“But they refuse to acknowledge
any flaw in their own system.
The strongest self-criticism
they leveled was that progress
was being impeded by bureau
cracy.”
There was no protest by Rus
sians whom he met against the
blackout of intellectual contact
with the West, he said. They ra
tionalize that it would be harm
ful to read the western press
because it advocates war.
O'Neill was impressed with
Russia’s building progress, al
though he commented that “they
don’t seem to be able to make
cement yet — buildings that are
three years old are terribly
cracked already.”
However, he said, * ‘you have
to give them credit. Housing is
what they need most and that’s
what they are rushing to give the
people.”
t^outh
s.
op
e
Many teen-agers at the CYO
Convention were so impressed
with Miss Joan Martin’s talk,
that we thought it might be a
good idea to print a short sum
mary of it. This will benefit
also the youths who were unable
to attend the convention.
Allow me to present to you
an atheist and a Christian.
Which do you prefer—the athe
ist who says there is no God {
and lives accordingly, or the
so-called Christian who claims
he believes in God, yet lives
as if there were None? In order
to be a true person, we must
be all the way in what we do.
We can’t be halfway. We must
know who we are and what we
stand for and live accordingly.
If we say we are Christian,
we must be fully aware of what
this means and our lives must
be witnesses to this.
We learn our Christian prin
ciples in class, but do they
really have an impact on our
lives as teenagers? There is )
such a stress on clothes, pop
ularity, and a good time that
it is sometimes difficult for us
to be Christian. We are often
confronted with an unchristian
situation. Who is there but us
to assume the responsibility for
change?
A self-centered Christian is
a contradiction of terms. We'
cannot live in our own little
world but must go outtoothers.j
Christ wasn’t only concerned
about laws and rules but about
people. This is where YCS—
Young Christian Students— 1
come into play. YCS is a means
to inspire and train Christian
teenagers to face realistically
and to combat the pagan influ
ences and customs of our teen- v
age surroundings through or
ganized cooperative action. The
two-fold purpose of YCS is to
develop Christian leaders and
bring about a Christian influ
ence on the various areas of
teenage activity. The YCS is
built on the principle
that Christian leaders --
student 1 apostles—are formed
through action. The emphasis
is on small groups in which
everyone has an opportunity
to express himself. The ap
proach is based on reality:
finding out what is going on,
what it should be, and then
what we can do about it. YCS
finds us no longer merely con
cerned with ourselves; we begin
to see more of what’s going
on and then to act. Teenagers
alone will affect the teenage
world. Christ must become a
reality in the hangout, on the
dancefloor, and at the drive-in
. . .and teenagers are the ones
who can do this!
Many of the faithful in the
colony, the Bishop said, are
"new Christians whom we must
defend against the dangers of
indifferentism. The variety of
Christian denominations mush
rooming here has puzzled non
believers. We would not be
true to our mission if we did
not proclaim that Jesus founded
but one Church and that He
wanted His Church to remain
one.”