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I » 1 PAGE 4—The Southern Cross, February 23, 1963 MOST SEWERS SMELL THE SAME Books For The Blind The Public Library can be a source of information, education, inspiration and enjoy ment for all, even for those who have been deprived of the precious gift of sight. And the Public Library of Savannah, under the direction of Miss Geraldine LeMay, has undertaken a campaign to prove it. Miss LeMay, the library director recently sent letters to doctors, ministers, priests, rabbis, and workers with the physically handicapped in an effort to enlist their serv ices in publicizing the TALKING BOOKS FOR THE BLIND SERVICE. This service consists of the loan of books on records to those adults and children whose eyesight is so poor that they can not read the type in books. The records are 33 1/3 speed, and can be played on almost any modern record-player. For those who do not have a record-player or who cannot afford one, a limited number are available from the library. In order to be eligible for the TALKING BOOKS FOR THE BLIND SERVICE one must have a certificate from a physician attesting the need. The certificate may be sent to the Savannah Public Library with a request for the service, or, if a prospective reader prefers, it may be sent directly to the LIBRARY FOR THE BLIND, 1050 MURPHY AVENUE, S. W., ATLANTA 10, GEORGIA. The library sends qualified applicants two records, together with a catalog of books available. When a reader has finished one record, he mails it back and another is sent. Records are free with postage paid by the TALKING BOOKS FOR THE BLIND SERV ICE. This service deserves the highest praise. It also deserves the earnest attention of anyone acquainted with or working with blind or visually handicapped persons. Public enthusiasm for this project and a growing interest in “The Wonderful World of Books”, by the blind and the near-blind is the only reward sought by Miss LeMay, the Savannah Public Library, and the TALK ING BOOKS FOR THE BLIND SERVICE. Did Pontius Pilate Try To Save Christ? LIVERPOOL, England, (NC) Liverpool University his torians are studying a 1,500 year old document which tells a story of how Pontius Pilate tried to save the life of Christ—even calling for 2,000 reinforce ments who arrived too late. The document, found in a bun dle of ancient manuscripts in Liverpool and sent to the Vat ican for examination, has been sent back to this city from the English College in Rome. It purports to be a transla tion of a letter from Pilate to the Emperor Tiberius and according to Vatican ex perts was written in the fourth or fifth century. They think it could be his torically correct. A Liverpool University professor of modern history, D. B. Quinn, said the manu script was found by a Liver pool woman who handed it on to Catholic scholars, who in turn sent it to the Vatican for ex amination. When he returned it, Msgr. Gerald Tickle of the En glish. College,.Rome, included^ report from the Vatican Ar chives which said the docu ment is “apocryphal,” of doubt ful origin, having been written some years after the alleged original. The report added: ‘‘It is quite possible it contains historically correct facts because it was written so close to the time of the event.” The document quotes Pilate as being desperate to save Christ but as unable to do so because of the fury of the Jews. His reinforcements arrived the day after the Crucifixion, the document says. It also says that Pilate questioned the of ficer in charge of Christ’s grave after the Resurrection and was told it was not true that the guards had fallen asleep or that the body had been stolen. Quinn commented that the document was probably not a forgery in the modern sense of the term but could be a gen uine attempt to set down what people believed or wanted to be lieve. Father Joseph Crehan, S. J., told the Catholic Herald here that the document is support ed by what is known about propaganda measures taken during the centuries following Christ’s death. He said that in the final persecutions of about 300 A.D. the Roman govern ment put out several propagan da documents known as the “Acts of Pilate” in an attempt to justify its position. These were nearly all des troyed by the later Christian emperors but this did not pre vent the Christians in the time of the Emperor Constantine from compiling answers to them. In these answers they at tempted to fill in the details about Christ’s life and in par ticular about His trail and death. The letter of which this doc ument is said to be a trans lation may have been written by such a propagandist, not to deceive people but on sound historical knowledge and prob ably on a report that a letter had been sent by Pilate to Ti berius. Father Crehan said there are four extant letters allegedly ex changed between Pilate and Ro man emperors. One is in Latin and probably was written in the 16th cen tury. It is the least credible, he said. One is in Greek from Pilate to the Emperor Claudius. This letter, which is incorrectly dat ed (to Claudius instead of Ti berius) makes the Roman sold iers witnesses of the Resurrec tion. It says: ‘While my sol diers watched Him He rose again on the third day.” Obviously much earlier than the first, it probably dates from the fourth or fifth century and may be the work of a Chris tian propagandist. Another is in Greek to Ti berius. This relates that the principal charge by the Jews against Christ was one of hav ing violated the Sabbath. This is a common popular mistake and one easily made by people with an inadequate knowledge of the Gospels, Father Crehan said. The last is a letter from Ti berius to Pilate summoning Pi late back to Rome and mention ing that 2,000 men have been sent to accompany him back. It seems that the present let ter has drawn from similar sources and many have a basis of fact, Father Crehan added. The Jesuit pointed out that Pilate, according to some ac counts, was executed by the Romans for trying to save Christ. He is revered in the Church of Abyssinia as a mar tyr. Says Federal Aid Never ‘Temporary (By J. J. Gilbert) WASHINGTON--Could broad Federal aid to education be temporary? This is an important consid eration in the present effort to get a new Federal aid program through Congress. Experience would seem to prove that, once inaugurated, such a program could not be discontinued. The Administration realizes the real popular concern that revolves around this point. Pre sident Kennedy demonstrated this in his message to Congress. ‘‘I do not say the Federal government should take over responsibility for education. That is neither desirable nor feasible. Instead, its participa tion should be selective, stimu lative and, where possible, transitional.” Over the years, congressmen and others here have made two observations so often that they Archbishop O’Hara Recuperating LONDON, (NC)--Archbishop Gerald O’Hara, Apostolic Dele gate to Great Britain, who be came ill in Milan, Italy,_ has returned to London and is mak ing satisfactory progress. The Apostolic Delegate, for mer Bishop of Savannah, be came ill while on his way to London to preside at the fun eral of William Cardinal God frey, Archbishop of Westminis ter, who died January 22. He had stopped off at Milan to vis it a sick priest friend. have virtually become axioms ‘‘on the Hill.” One is that almost any kind of Federal financial assistance must entail Federal control: because Congress wants to know how money it appropriates is spent. The other “axiom” is that once an ap propriation measure is put on the books, it is next to impossi ble to repeal it. Several examples might be cited to substantiate the second axiom. Legislation to give aid to Federally-impacted areas comes readily to mind. In 1950, Congress enacted legislation (P. L. 815 and P. L. 874) to assist public school financing in areas which had large military or defense in dustry establishments. The theory behind this legislation was that the sudden influx of people into these areas, plus the fact that land was taken off the local tax rolls, made it im possible to maintain adequate public school systems in the areas thus affected. This legislation was gen erated primarily by the Korean Conflict. The need has since diminished, but the legislation has been regularly extended and appropriations have been sub stantially increased. Both the Eisenhower and Ken nedy administrations have en deavored to eliminate or phase out these laws, but without suc cess. Congressmen who or dinarily oppose general Federal aid measures support this leg islation, since many school bud gets rely heavily upon the Fed eral money coming from the impacted area program. This is an invariable pat tern: once Federal money is integrated in the school budget, the legislation providing the funds is regularly extended and expanded. While the President has ex pressed the wish that his new Federal aid program should be “where possible, transitional,” experience would seem to indi cate that it is impossible to make such programs tran sitory. THE ODD BUTTER CASE It Seems to Me With what may well have been a touch of polite understatement a newspaper dispatch the other day said that President John F. Kennedy “reacted negatively” when somebody called to his attention the fact that A m e r i- cans who are on relief are eating butter, whereas A m e r i- cans not on relief are eating oleo- m a r g a r- ine, which I believe costs about one-third as much. The story was written objec tively and with cool detach ment, but I cannot quite believe that the reporter who turned it out was able to refrain com pletely, while he typed it, from grinning or chuckling devi- sively—not to say diabolically. After all, this is the sort of thing that we are accustomed to describe—again politely- as a Gehenna of a silly situation. LET ME ERECT my defen ses before proceeding further. I have nothing against butter. I have nothing against oleomar garine. I am not on relief, but I have a couple of friends who are. When they are at my house, they eat oleo, for which I have paid. When they are at home, they eat butter--which I have helped to buy with my taxes, and which is given to them free by the government. Personally, I seldom eat either; I am suf ficiently roly-poly as it is. In this matter, therefore, I JOSEPH BREIG am disinterested—which does not mean, as so many folks nowadays seem to suppose, un interested or uninvolved. Dis interested means impartial. It means that one is capable of judging honestly because one has no selfish stake in the out come. 1 have no selfish stake. I get along without butter, and I get along without oleo, and I don’t care which you eat, or whether you eat either or both. I will confess that I ate some butter last Christmas season, but that was only because my wife said we’d better eat it before it spoiled. WHAT HAD HAPPENED was that one of our teen-age child ren had asked, among other things, for a pound of butter for Christmas. Not, as it turned out, because she really wanted butter; she didn’t eat much of it after getting it. She just wanted to wallow in the purple luxury of having butter because butter is more expensive. Once she had it, she was content; and after spreading it on her bread once, she forgot to get it out of the refrigerator thereafter and fell back into the habit of eating what was on the table. I would be disappointed in President Kennedy if he hadn't “reacted negatively.” This is not to say that I begrudge but ter to people on relief. Quite the contrary; I am delighted that they have it. But I cannot help asking myself whether there isn’t something slightly insane about an economy in which we eat oleo to save mon ey to pay taxes to buy and store and then give away butter. I DO NOT mean that thos< who have less of the world’: goods should eat oleo whili those who are moreprosperou: eat butter. No: nothing is mors profoundly Christian than t< deprive oneself to make other: happy. St. Francis gave awa] everything except what he abso lutely had to have to keep bod} and soul together, and I wist that you and I were half as holy. But I am talking now abou: economics; about governmeni policy. I have no objection tc subsidizing the dairy industry for the common good of the whole people. My question is this: Can we wisely and rightl} go on buying and storing but ter, and giving it away. While we eat oleo so that we can pa> the taxes to pay for the butter and the storing and the distri bution? ISN’T IT TIME that some thing were done to encourage— or, if you like, to goad--the dairy industry into finding uses for butter, or for milk, which will make it saleable again, so that we can extricate ourselves gradually from the ludicrous situation into which we have got ourselves? Are we going to go on forever levying taxes with which to buy butter, and eating oleo so that we can pay them? Are we really doing the dairy industry a favor, or are we perhaps depriving it of the ingenuity and inventive ness which would make it stand again on its own feet? I am merely asking questions. Fifth Joyful Mystery THE FINDING OF JESUS IN THE TEMPLE Our Father When Jesus was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem/ according to the custom of the feast. Luke 2:42 Hail Ul Mary And when they were returning, the boy Jesus remained in Jerusalem,/ and his parents did not know it. ™ Luke 2:43 Hail m Mary They returned to Jerusalem in search of him./ And after three days, they found him in the temple. Luke 2:45, 46 Hail PI Mary He was sitting in the midst of the teachers,/ listening to them and asking them questions. Luke 2:46 Hail m Mary And all who were listening to him were amazed/ at his understanding and his answers. „ Luke 2:47 Hail yj Mary Scriptural 3\osan> Part 5 And they did not understand/ the word that he spoke to them. Luke 2:50 Hail yj Mary And he went down with them and came to Nazareth,/ and was subject to them. Hail IS Mary Luke 2:51 'Son, why hast thou done so to us?/ Behold, in sorrow thy father and I have been seeking thee.’ Luke 2:48 Hail IS Mary 'How is it that you sought me?/ Did you not know that I must be about my Father’s business?’ Luke 2:49 Hail Ul Mary And Jesus advanced in wisdom and age and grace/ before God and men. Luke 2:52 Hail IS 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 Avenue, Chicago 2, Illinois. Block Church Construction PHILADELPHIA—Court ac tion is underway to block con struction of a new Catholic church, school and convent in Huntingdon Valley, Lower Moreland Township, Pa. On Jan. 12, the township’s zoning board of adjustment granted permission for the con struction. Four residents have filed an appeal asking reversal of the board's action. Church-State Expert PHILADELPHIA—W i 1- liam B. Ball, legal authority on Church-State questions, re ceived the Newman Honor Award of the Alumni Newman Club of Greater Philadelphia at a dinner here. It is presented annually to an outstanding Catholic layman. Ball is executive director and general counsel of the Penna. Catholic Welfare Committee. Nuns To Get Home MELROSE, Pa.—The Grey Nuns of the Sacred Heart, who received nation-wide publicity when they relinquished an es tate at the height of an acri monious zoning dispute over their occupancy of the property, have arranged to purchase an estate in Lower Makefield Township as a site for their motherhouse. Purchase is con ditional on their being granted a zoning exception to use the property for religious pur poses. Warns Film-Makers WASHINGTON—Rep. John Kyi of Iowa has told the House that the movie industry and theaters would establish and enforce a “decency code” or government agencies will do it for them. In a House speech, he also presented other lawmakers with a variety of statements and newspaper and magazine arti cles that he said showed “the sentiment for classification of movies is growing rapidly throughout the country.” Ice Procession MUENSTERLINGEN, Swit- zerland—Germans and Swiss took part in a 400-year-old ceremony, which takes place regularly every century or so. It occurs whenever the upper finger of Lake Constance freez es over. A procession crosses the frozen lake at a place where it is about 12 miles across and a portrait of St. John the Evangelist changes hands be tween a parish in Hagnau on the German side and a parish here on the Swiss side. The event has taken place only four times since it started in 1573, because the lake does not often freeze over. Spanish Freedom HUELVA, Spain—A Catholic bishop indicated here that Span ish law should be changed to allow religious freedom as it is generally known in other West ern European countries. Bishop Pedro Cantero Cuad- rado, referring to current legal restrictions concerning non- Catholic religions in Spain, said that the laws of Spain must be adjusted to conform more to “the present thinking of the Church” and to “the rhythm of the mental and political struc tures of the European and West ern community.” Catholic Spain "has nothing to fear from such a legal change,” he said. Holy See And U. N. GENEVA—Spiritual and hu man values were stressed by Holy See delegates to the United Nations meeting here on scien tific and technical aid for de veloping nations. Five of the nine Holy See representatives, including two U, S, priests, presented papers to the 1,500 delegates from some 80 countries at the Con ference on the Application of Science and Technology for the Benefit of the Less Developed Areas. QUESTION BOX (By David Q. Liptak) Enlarging upon this principle, Q. From a fashion commen- Pope Pius explained that indi- tator last week I heard an an- cations for such surgery need 1 nouncement to the effect that the not be physical or functional, classically elegant nose is but that sound psychological now out and gradually being factors must also be consider- replaced by the newer “outdoor e d. “Some disfigurements, or type nose-one reason being even mere imperfections,” he that the classically elegant said, “can be causes of psychic type doesn t go well in ski re- disturbances in a particular sorts. The implication is that patient, or else can become some women will undergo an obstacle in social and family plastic surgery to keep in fash- relations, or an impediment- ion. The morality of this kind particularly in people devoted of thing is highly questionable, t0 public life or art—to the ts it not? development of their careers.” A. Changing the shape of ] n other words, a defect or an one ( s nose is not like dyeing imperfection can so prosi- one s hair. mately contribute to emotional IF THE TRANSITION from a 0 r mental disorders that re- classically elegant nose to course to corrective surgical whatever else is going to entail procedure becomes esthetically surgery in the accepted sense and medically advisable. (or some comparable proce- TO SUM UP: There are many \ dure) then it is definitely a an d various factors which a medical-moral problem. Speci- plastic surgeon must study and fically this means that the moti- assess in each particular case vation for the alteration isrea- where cosmetic surgery is in- sonable and that there is due volved. proportion between the element Q. j n naming an infant in of risk involved (even the possi- honor of the Blessed Virgin bility of infection, for instance, Mary: are there other names and subsequent necrosis of the besides the usual ones (Mary, tissues, ect.) and the expected Marie, Maria, etc.)? And is it good sought after. Surely nasal permissible to use them? reconstructions comtemplated for mere vanity or the ever- A. Numerous variants of changing whims of fashion are “ Mar y” are § iven by Father morally questionable. William P. Dunne in his pam- ON THE CONTRARY, cosme- phlet “ Is ir a Saint ’ s Name?” tic surgery can be readily justi- (I nte g r ity Supply, Chicago: fied when there is ample cause. 1948 )* Some of the more In Pope Pius XII’s words: familiar variations are Mar- “There are many reasons why * on ’. Marien, Mara, Maureen, an operation might be legitimate M iriam an< 3 Marya. Other pos- * and even at times advisable.” (Continued on Page 5) The Southern Cross P. O. BOX 180, SAVANNAH, GA. Vol. 43 Saturday, February 23, 1963 No. 23 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