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PAGE 4—The Southern Cross, February 9, 1963
Catholic Press Month
WHO IS RESPONSIBLE?
Disappointment with and criticism of the
President’s proposed “omnibus” bill to ex
tend federal aid to American Education is not
limited to Catholic parents and educators.
Disappointment has been voiced from some
quarters over the President’s request for less
money than he had previously asked for, and
over the smaller scope of the 1963 proposal
as opposed to previous administration recom
mendations.
It has also been criticized as unwarranted
and unwise federal intervention in the field
of education by those who feel that the several
States are capable of solving their own edu
cational problems.
Still others see in proposals to broaden the
activities of the federal government in this
field a threat to the autonomy of State and local
school systems.
The validity of such criticisms depends, of
course, upon the ability of the critics to pro
duce hard facts to demonstrate their claims.
And the acceptance or rejection of the
concept of federal aid to education should
properly rest upon demonstrable fact, not
mere conjecture.
But, granting, without prejudice to oppo
nents of federal aid, that such help is
necessary for national survival and to “en
able EACH citizen to develop his talents
to the maximum possible extent”, how can
either purpose be served by extending the
needed aid to only a part of the nation’s school
children?
If deficiencies in the nation’s school system
have reached such grave proportions that the
resources of the national government must be
marshalled to remedy them, can the country
afford to neglect the educational needs of
more than five million of its children?
We think not. But apparently the adminis
tration, national professional education or
ganizations, and the general public think
differently.
Why? Why is it that only Catholic educa
tional circles and, for the most part, only
Catholic parents see this neglect as a glar
ing injustice? Certainly Catholics have no
“corner” on the virtue of Justice.
Perhaps the Administration, mindful of
the ugly controversy concerning “separa
tion of church and state” which has proved
the doom of past similar proposals, feels
that “half a loaf is better than none” and is
willing to sacrifice justice for a minority
in the interests of better education for a ma
jority.
Some national education organizations are
interested only in that segment of American
education which they control, and can be
expected to use every weapon at their com
mand to block inclusion of any school sys
tems which they do not control.
But it simply cannot be maintained that
the general public is insensitive to the de
mands of “equal justice for all.” The his
tory and progress of our country are suf
ficient refutation of such an idea.
Why then, the calm public acceptance of
the injustice of consigning five million chil
dren to what could soon become “second
rate” education, simply because their par
ents will not surrender the exercise of a
constitutionally guaranteed right to freely
choose the schools their children will attend?
We think the answer lies with the fail
ure of Catholic parents to be as vocal in
defense of their children’s rights, as are
those who would deny those rights,—and
their failure to seek support from their
neighbors, who are simply unaware of the
injustice which would be worked if the pre
sently proposed bill were to become law,
and from their elected representatives, who
are usually only responsive to majority will.
And let there be no mistake. Catholic
parents are the ONLY ones who can en
sure that their children will not be sac
rificed to political expediency or the de
mands of powerful and nationally organi
zed pressure groups.
Once Catholics stop merely commiserating
with one another and carry their case to
the general public, there may be hope for
the future. Catholic newspapers and maga
zines cannot do the job. They do not and
cannot reach the general public.
How often have you written to your Senator
or Congressman to plead your case? How
often have you asked your neighbor if he
thinks it right that your children should be
deprived of benefits extended to other child
ren by the government? How often have you
made use of the space most secular news
papers devote to “Letters to the Editor,”
in a calm and well reasoned attempt to
enlist popular support for “equal justice
for all”?
If the children of America’s parochial
schools are to be the victims of educa
tional discrimination, it will be due in no
small part to apathy on the part of their
parents.
Bill Excludes 5 Million Children
The Great “Write-Off’
(By J. J. Gilbert)
WASHINGTON--The strategy behind the
effort to get a Federal aid to education
bill through Congress this year may have
missed its mark.
Administration advisors had hoped that
they had devised a program which headed
off many objections raised against previous
efforts of this sort. They seem to have
failed.
The impression was given that Adminis
tration advisors had consulted with persons
representing a great many educational views,
and that the program would obviate questions
asked in the past.
But the program leaves unanswered the
question: Why are more than 5,000,000 child
ren attending non-public elementary and
secondary schools excluded from some of
the aid plan's principal proposals?
Not only is this question unanswered, but
the strategy behind the new program high
lights it in a striking way.
The proposed bill was called “selective”
and “stimulative” in its approach, to head
off the charge of “scattershot” aid, and
it was said to “pinpoint” crucial problems
of education in the U. S. At the same
time, the President’s message to Congress
was thick with phrases which called education
absolutely vital to the Nation and to each
individual in it. It is necessary to job
getting and a good life for the citizen,
it is essential to the security and well
being of the Nation.
QUESTION BOX
THE NO. 7 STORY
It Seems to Me
Like the sound of sword on
shield and of bugles signalling
the advance, there was a ring
ing note of defending-the-de-
fenseless and of upholding the
rights of the put-upon in my
wife’s voice.
This draws no argument. But it is asked
why one out of every seven school children
in the country is discriminated against in
such an important matter?
rt|i is not being stressed now, as it was
before, that to aid children in non public
schools would be unconstitutional. On the
other hand, one is tempted to ask now:
Can it possibly be constitutional to exclude
so large a group of children from national
concern in a matter which the government
itself says is imperative?
Apart from this and similar questions, the
program faces the same long standing diffi
culties in Congress. While calling itself
“selective,” the proposed bill holds out some
lure for almost everyone, except children
in private grade and high schools, and law
makers are regarding it as an omnibus
bill. Such a measure invites attack. There
are legislators who oppose Federal aid to
education as such.
Moreover, the education program came
to Congress hard on the heels of the Presi
dent’s budget estimates, his economic re
port and his tax proposals. All of these
involve serious legislative problems, includ
ing the cost to the nation. Congressmen
are noting that the cost of the new educational
aid program is vague beyond the next fiscal
year. Presumbably, no one wants to hazard
a guess at the cost.
Just from the viewpoint of political strate
gy, the program designed to obviate questions
seems to encourage them.
She had been
reading my
columns (for a
change) and
now she wanted
to know how it
came about
that I hadn’t
written a piece
welcoming our seventh grand
child.
The question, it seemed to
me, contained its own answer,
mathematically final. After all
—seven! The well of my in
ventiveness had run plumb dry.,
Mary answered with a ques
tion that started the waters to
flowing again:
“Aren’t you forgetting the
part about the baby’s name?
And the part about his birth
day?”
She was right as usual. She
was opening my eyes to a good
story that I had been looking at
and not seeing. If I’m not care
ful, my press pass will be lift
ed one of these fine days, and
given to her.
The story boils down to this:
a couple of old early Chris
tian wilderness saints have per
petrated a practical joke on me
that took 23 years to get to the
point.
I can almost hear the old fel
lows chuckling as they with
drew to some obscure corner of
the next world to scheme it up.
PICTURE ME, then 23 years
" JOSEPH BREIG
ago, at. the wheel of our pre
war car, taking Mary to a ma
ternity hospital.
Consider my feelings as I
heard her saying that she was
sure something had gone wrong;
she wasn’t going to pull through
—and neither was the little one
who was even then striving to
join our family.
I told her that for once she
was all wrong. I was entirely
confident that our prayers would
be granted. She would be fine;
so would the baby, and it would
be our first boy.
I HAD GUESSED his birthday
with precision, and had noticed
that it fell right between the
feasts of two famous desert
hermits--St. Paul and St. An
thony. I had made a pact with
them. If everything turned out
all right, I would name our
son Paul Anthony.
My mistake, of course, was
in not discussing the matter
with Mary. After Paul Anthony
arrived, she and the nurse in
the delivery room, decided upon
a name. Joseph Francis.
That blew Paul Anthony sky
high.
I apologized to my hermits,
explaining something they prob
ably knew anyhow—that in the
naming of children, man pro
poses, woman disposes.
SEVEN YEARS later, another
son was born to us, and this
time there was a firm agree
ment that he would be Paul
Anthony. But just as he arrived,
somebody else arrived—a
friend named Jim, home from
four years with the combat in-
(By David Q. Liptak)
Q. What could Christ have
meant by the sentence: “Heaven
and earth will pass away, but
my words will not pass away”?
Isn't it a doctrine of faith that
heaven will exist forever?
A. The declaration “Heaven
and earth will pass away, but
my words will not pass away”
(St. Matthew XXIV: 35) is pro
bably a parenthetical clause
referring to the stability of
Christ’s doctrine in general.
(A comparable clause appears
in V:18).
In the context, obviously, the
word “heaven” doesn’t mean
the theological concept but ra
ther the physical components
of outer space (i.e., the moon,
stars, planets, etc.) What our
Divine Lord meant, according
ly, was that his words are more
enduring than the physical uni
verse. The sense is explicit
in Msgr. Ronald Knox’s trans
lation: “Though heaven and
earth should pass away, my
words will stand.”
ANOTHER possible explana
tion advanced by scholars is
that the phrase “heaven and
earth” specifically refers to
the old order which is to be
replaced by the new world of
the Gospel.
Q. The current issue
of “Newsweek” carries a re
view on a new book called
“The Death of Jesus,” written
by an American who is styled
as both a historian and a jour
nalist. According to the article,
the book alleges that the tradi
tional Gospel story about Our
Lord’s passion, death and re
surrection is simply “post facto
propaganda.” Rather, it pro
poses that Christ was executed
because he attempted to lead an
armed insurrection against the
Romans and was really nothing
more than one of many national
leaders who “sprang up among
the Jews during their long-
drawn-out subjugation by
Rome.” The magazine holds
the book, though controversial,
as “a piece of historical de
tective work pursued with re
lentless logic.” Comments?
A. If Christ was crucified
simply because he wanted to
lead an insurrection against
the Romans, why didn’t he follow
through with his plans after he
rose from the dead? And to
dismiss the traditional Gospel
account of the Passion and Death
as so much “post facto propa
ganda” (shouldn't it read post
factum?) is an absurd gesture.
ANY THESIS which begins
with the gratuitous assumption
(Continued on Page 5)
Scriptural 3\osar?
Third Joyful Mystery
THE NATIVITY
Our ^ Father
Part 3
It came to pass while they were in
Bethlehem,/
that the days for her to be delivered
were fulfilled.
Luke 2:6
Hail ^ Mary
And behold, Magi came from the East,/
and entering they found the child
with Mary his mother.
Matt. 2:1, ll
Hail ^ Mary
And she brought forth her firstborn
son,/
and wrapped him in swaddling clothes.
Hail ^ Mary
Luke 2:7
And she laid him in a manger,/
because there was no room for them
in the inn.
Luke 2:7
Hail * Mary
And falling down they worshipped him./
And they offered him gifts of gold,
frankincense and myrrh.
Matt. 2:11
Hail ^ Mary
And Mary kept in mind all these things,/
pondering them in her heart.
Luke 2:19
Hail ^ Mary
And there were shepherds in the same
district/
And behold, an angel of the Lord
stood by them.
Luke 2:8, 9
Hail ^JcMary
’Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring
you good news of great joy/
which shall be to all the people.’
Luke 2:10
Hail ^ Mary
’For today in the town of David a
Savior has been born to you,/
who is Christ the Lord.’
Luke 2:11
Hail ^Mary
’Glory to God in the highest,/
and on earth peace to men of good
will.’
Luke 2:14
Hail ^ 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.
Cuban Students
WASHINGTON—The National
Federation of Catholic College
Students will sponsor a meet
ing of former Cuban student
leaders in Miami, February
20 to 24.
The 20 who will attend are
former leaders of the Cuban
Catholic Action Federations.
They hope to make plans for
organized apostolic action
By this time, I was beginning
to wonder whether the hermits
would be putting my name on
the blacklist up there.
among the Cuban exiles now
scattered throughout the United
States and South American re
publics. They will also try to
establish a formation center in
Miami for Cuban youth.
Grandchildren At
Priest’s Requiem
CHICAGO—Requiem Mass
for a priest who is survived
by two sons, ten grandchildren
and three great-grandchildren
was offered in St. Michael's
Church, Chicago.
The priest was Father Sada
Yonan, 79, assistant pastor of
St. Ephrem Chaldean Rite
church, one of two such
churches in the U. S.
Father Yonan’s wife, Helen,
died eight years ago. The Chal
dean Rite permits marriage
before ordination.
The Mass was offered by
Archbishop Zaya Dachtou of
Urmya, Iran, who is visiting
this country.
fantry in the Pacific.
Soldier Jim was elected god
father, and son No. 2 just had
to be named for him.
Peace Corps
BOSTON—Boston College
will undertake a U. S. Peace
Corps program to train some
50 volunteers from all parts
of the country who have been
selected for a community devel
opment project in Lima, Peru.
The program will include 650
hours study of the Spanish lan
guage, world affairs and com
munism; the culture, history
and economic structure of Peru,
health education and physical
fitness. Boston College is staff
ed by the Jesuit Fathers.
U. N. Conference
Praised
GENEVA—A United Nations
conference on using science
and technology to help the
world’s less developed areas
being held here is “one of the
greatest events in the history
of international organizations,”
the ecclesiastical advisor to
Catholic international organi
zations declared.
Aid Mentally Retarded
BELLEVILLE, Ont.—The
Order of Alhambra, a Catholic
men’s organization, established
112 scholarships last year for
the training of teachers of the
mentally retarded. This was
disclosed at an Alhambra meet
ing here by Stan Killeen of
Montreal,’supreme grand com
mander of the organization.
Rev. Henry de Reidmatten,
O. P., ecclesiastical advisor to
the permanent secretariat of the
Conference of International Ca
tholic Organizations said “This
conference is the first attempt
ever made to assess the global
needs of less developed areas
and to evaluate at the same time
the available resources of mod
ern science and technology 10"
promote rapid and effective de
velopment in all areas of the
world.”
SPIN THE WHEEL of life
now, and let 23 years pass.
Behold our son, Joe at the
wheel of his car, taking his
wife Ann to a maternity hos
pital.
Like his father before him,
he had a name in his head.
But it was a girl’s name. A
girl was what he was expecting.
A boy was what he got. And
his wife was prompt with a
name. Yep—Paul Anthony.
So now the hermits and I are
on speaking terms again.
Indeed, I suspect that I’m one
of their favorite persons. You
don’t play a 23-year joke on
somebody you don’t like.
LET’S SEE—what was the
other thing my wife mentioned
about this baby? Oh yes; he
was born on her birthday. When
those old hermits conspire
about something, they forget
nothing.
It is even rumored in some
circles that young Paul An
thony might grow up to look
something like his paternal
grandfather. I don't believe it
for one moment. Paul and An
thony may be jokesters, but
they wouldn't do that$to a help
less little kid. After all, they’re
saints—even if they are joke
sters.
Beauty Is Necessity
BUFFALO, N. Y.—A priest-
college president said here that
the modern city must be a
“reflector of the beauty of
man’s spirit and man's creator
like nature.”
Father James J. McGinley,
S. J., president of Canisius
College, spoke at a forum on
“Esthetic Responsibility in Our
Community” held at the
Albright-Knox Art Gallery
here.
The city “must inspire man,
not depress him; it must ele
vate him, not make him de
linquent; it must content and
complete him, not frustrate and
empty him of his humanness,”
he said.
Inter-faith Co-op
TAIZE, France—The Bro
thers of the Protestant monas
tic community of Taize and five
young farm couples who are
Catholic Actionists have pooled
their resources to form an
agricultural cooperative.
For the Taize Brothers, the
purpose of the co-op is to give
witness to the spirit of poverty.
For the membership as a whole,
the goal is to live their farming
life as Christians, and to serve
as a pilot project which could
benefit the whole region.
The co-op, known as "Co-
pex” expects to admit other
farm families as members after
an initial trial period.
NEW DISCOVERY IS y
EVIDENCE OF ANTIQUITY
OF EXTREME UNCTION
VATICAN CITY, (NC)—L’-
Osservatore Romano has re
ported discovery of an ancient
silver plate which gives evi
dence that Extreme Unction was
considered to be a sacrament
as early as the first century
after Christ.
The discovery reported by the
Vatican City daily was announ
ced in Jerusalem. It is consid
ered to be of great importance
since most of the other evidence
for the antiquity of the sacra- .
ment dates mainly from the late
fourth and fifth centuries.
As a result of the new dis
covery, the daily said. It is
evident that “as early as the
first century and while the
Apostles were still living, Ex
treme Unction was considered a
real grace-giving sacramental
rite.”
The silver plate, measuring
two and a half by one inches,
was bought from Arab nomads
by A. Spikerman, director of
the Flagellation Museum of Jer
usalem. Paleographer J. J.
Milik dates the plate, which
has 17 lines of Aramaic engrav
ed on it, back to the first cen
tury. Others have suggested that
it was produced sometime be
tween 70 and 90 A.D.
L’Osservatore Romano said
that a translation of the in
scription showed that it “re
ferred to the Judean Christian
ritual of the unction of the sick,
which was recommended and
promulgated as a sacrament by
the Apostle James. This means
that this peice of silver repre
sents the most ancient ritual of
Mother Church.”
Biblical scholars have found a ;
great similarity between the in
scription and the text of St.
James on which authority for the
sacrament is based. The in
scription begins with an evo
cation of the Angel Uriel and is
followed by an oath and an in
vocation of the name of the
Lord. The Apostle James in
structs that in the case of a
sick person, priests are to be
brought and are “to pray over
him in the name of the Lord”
(James 5, 14).
The ceremony includes ques
tioning the sick person and an
ointing him. Evidence of its
Christian origin is the use of
five crosses and two signs
(Continued On Page 5)
The Southern Cross
P. O. BOX 180. SAVANNAH, GA.
Vol. 43
Saturday, February 9, 1963
No. 21
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
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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