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V » I f PAGE 4—The Southern Cross, June 15, 1963 Pray For Cardinals During the approximately 1,930 year his tory of the Catholic Church, 261 bishops have succeeded to the Chair of Peter, the first Vicar of Christ on earth. For good or ill, the life of the Church during the reign of each was but a reflec tion of the life of the Pope. Though a hand ful proved unworthy of the great dignity and responsibility of the office to which they were elected, the vast majority ruled the sheep- fold of Christ with holiness and wisdom, and there are many who believe that the most illustrious of the 261 successors of the Prince of the Apsotles was the late and beloved “Par ish priest of the world.’’ But holiness, kindness, charity, and apos tolic zeal are gifts from the infinite treas ury of an infinitely holy, good, and loving God, and they cannot be exhausted through the life of any one man. And though we may never see the like of Pope John XXIII again, we know that God will raise up for us another Holy Father to guide and direct us on the way to Heaven. That is why we are confident when we pray that the successor of Pope John will be possessed of all the same qualities which endeared him to the entire world, and brought to the Church a place of preeminence and uni versal respect that it has, perhaps, never before enjoyed. Next Wednesday the eighty-two members of the Sacred College of Cardinals will meet in secret conclave to elect a new Pope. Theirs will not be an easy lot, and the awe some responsibility of choosing the man who will guide the destiny of the Church of Christ during these years of upheaval and rapid change will weigh heavily on the hearts of all of them. Then, when the last ballot has been taken, the mantle and the burdens of Peter and of John XXIII will rest on the shoulders of one of them. They know, of course, that God will not leave them without help in their tremendous task and they will pray long and fervently for the light of God’s Grace to direct their choice, as each one seeks to discern and judge the qualities and capabilities of each of his fellows. Nor should we leave them alone. We, too, have a responsibility to aid in the election of the 262nd successor of St. Peter. It is up to us to join our fervent and compas sionate prayers to those of the Cardinals, begging God’s strengthening and enlighten ing Grace. Then we can look forward with holy and confindent expectation to the election of anoth er worthy and devoted shepherd to carry on the work of Christ’s Church to bring the blessings of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to all mankind. Charity Begins At Home God’s World Leo J. Trese There are few proverbs more often misapplied than the ax iom, “Charity begins at home.’’ Usually this maxium is invoked to warrant excusing ourselves from some obligation external to the family. “I can’t give much to the parish build ing fund,” a man says. “My own house isn’t paid for and charity begins at home.” A woman, asked to participate in some outside activity, begs off on the score thkt "her family needs all her attention. “Charity begins at home, 1 ”'* she quotes as her clin-- cher. Both of these persons may be fully justified in declining the proposed responsibility. However, when they say that “Charity begins at home,” they are not using the phrase in its true meaning. The right sense of the pro verb is that, in the home of all places, love should reign. If we do not practice charity to wards those who are closest to us, how can we claim to love our neighbor? How can we honestly claim to love God? “Charity begins at home,” means that home is the real test of our charity. It is one of life’s continuing tragedies that we so often cause the most hurt to those who have the most right to our love. True enough, the home does present many temptations in the area of charity. Within the family, we are so exposed to one another’s faults and weaknesses. It is in evitable that we do at times get on each other’s nerves. And little things can so annoy us. “Do you always have to suck your teeth that way?” we say. “Can’t you ever sit down with out drumming your fingers on the table?” “Do you have to clutter up the bath with curl ers?” Another source of unchari tableness in the home is the fact that we are so defense less against each other. Having nothing to fear from those who love us, it is easy to unload upon them the hostility and the aggression which belong else where^ A ^psychological com monplace is the man who, re buked by his boss, comes home To give his wife" a irougfTtime. She catches the resentment that he dare not vent upon the boss. Children, too, frequently suf fer from misplaced wrath. Johnny’s pecadillo brings down upon him a blast of anger out of proportion to the gravity of his offense. Johnny does not know that he just happens to be a convenient lightning rod for his mother’s pent-up fire. He can only brood tearfully in the injustice of the adults in his world. But Johnny takes his turn at making the family an outlet for his grievances. He made a fool of himself in school today and was humiliated by the laughter of his classmates. He comes home from school in a wilful mood and exacerbates the family for the remainder of the evening. There is some excuse for Johnny, of course. He does not have an adult’s insight into the dynamics of human behav Pope Reached All Jottings “All days are good to be born and all days are good to die, and there is no need to worry. . .” Pope John on his 81st birthday * * * THE DEATH of a Pope is always a solemn and sorrowful occasion in the Catholic Church. But the death of Pope John is even more. His death is more than that of a pontiff respected and revered; his death touches all people in a human manner— a loved one is mourned. Pope John’s sickness and death was as if one of our household—the father of the house was ill and suffering and dying. It is indeed as a death in the family. Pope John is the spiritual father, the Holy Father, to the world’s Ca tholics but those “not of this fold” were never excluded from his fatherly love and concern. Pope John had the happy human facility of making everyone feel his personal concern and love. Pope John had that rare per sonality which exuded personal charm and individual concern. There were no crowds before him, only individual hearts and souls. No manner of man was alien to him. One of his first actions on becoming Pope was By BARBARA C. JENCKS to visit a jail in Rome, visits followed to hospitals, reformi- tories. The little Pope was anxious that all manner of men know of his great love, even as Christ did thousands of years before John became His vicar on earth. * * * THERE will be many citations given to this phenomenal ponti ficate of Pope John. He has been hailed as the Pope of Christian Unity and the Pope of Peace. When someone queried him on the purpose of the Vatican Coun cil, Pope John crossed the room opened a window and said: “See, it is to let a little fresh air into Church and world.” What Pope John said about the council could certainly be applied to himself as a personality. Pope John brought sunlight, simplicity, humility, charity, love into this stagnate world. The unpredict able Pope he was called. . .his homelies were humorous and delightful for the Vicar of Christ on Earth never forgot that he was a poor farmer’s son even as the first Pope was a poor fisherman. Those who were enemies, indifferent or cool to the Church could not help but respond to the sincerity and sweetness of this great little Pope. Pope John astounded the Communists by his council, en cyclicals and personality. Pope John warmed the non-Catholic .leaders by his graciousness, interest—invitations to the council, audiences, and person al talks to those of all faiths. * * * WE MOURN a personal loss with his death. The sun has gone in and a chill is felt. We have lost a father. Who did not feel that they knew Pope John as a friend or neighbor? It was hoped that come October, I would see this beloved pontiff during the council trip to Rome. Yet, it was not necessary to see or meet Pope John per sonally to know and love him. With millions, Pope John has had not only my eternal rev erence but loyalty and devotion and gratitude even as he will have it still in death. While we mourn Pope John in a way re served for those dearest, we also rejoice that we could wit ness the glorious chapter in Church history written during his pontificate, which has made our Church better known and loved and appreciated on earth. (Continued.on Page 6) ior. Yes, charity must begin at home. For a family in which there is frequent sniping and snapping, there is a simple remedy. Let the members of the family agree to treat each other as friends rather than as relatives. Let them show to wards each other the same consideration and courtesy that they would show, not merely to friends, but even to casual ac quaintances. Let them make liberal use of such phrases as, “Please,” “Thank you,” “Would you mind?” “Excuse me,” and “I’m sorry.” Let each watch him self carefully for resentments that are brought in from out side and Which are seeking ven tilation upon an innocent head. Let each be especially vigilant when he finds himself unduly fatigued or worried. Above all, let each have enough of a sense of humor to bear with one an other’ s faults. Such a family will find their efforts richly rewarded by the peace and harmony that des cends upon their home. Char ity has begun at home and will flow out from there to the world. And Christ can dwell there in comfort as one of the family. Father Trese welcomes let ters from his readers. The in creasing volume of letters pro hibits personal answers but problems and ideas contained in such correspondence can be the basis of future columns. Address all letters to Father Leo J. Trese, care of this newspaper.) The Error Of Dr. Rock It Seems to Me If the theology and phychol- ogy of sex and marriage had been developed, and universal ly taught, as soon and as fully as they should have been, I do not think the world would now be filled with c o n t r o - versies over contraception. The physical side of husband -wife love is very impor tant but the trouble is that it is not bal anced in our minds by a suf ficient appreciation of the spir itual and psychological aspects of that love. If it were so balanced, we would see at once that a man and woman degrade their hu man dignity, and indeed insult each other as persons, when they lower their approaches to the level of a mere use of each other’s bodies. SEX IS NOT truly human unless true human love is pres ent at least in some degree, and this means that there must be a giving and a receiving of each other not alon e on the physical level, but on the lev el of the soul—the psyche— also. Granted, for some of us, especially in the younger years, the physical tends to be strong er and the spiritual weak er. Even so, if the giving and receiving are honest and pure, the spiritual love is fostered, and grows. I suppose the theological manuals were stooping to our condition when they listed, among the “secondary purpos es’’ of marriage, the "relief of concupiscence;” but to me the expression seems unfortun ate. INDEED, it strikes me as er roneous, because the embrace of human beings ought always JOSEPH BREIG to be noble; it should be in formed with love for the other person as person—as this unique person whom one un iquely loves. When that is so, the coming together of husband and wife is a true giving and receiving, an expression not only of the body but of the spirit, and not alone of love for each other, but of love of their Creator, too. Physical love in marriage then is spiritually uplifting; it is , psychologically elevating; it en gages the whole man and the whole woman in a right and splendid relationship to each other, to God and to all of creation. MARRIED LOVE, when it is like that, is a profoundly re ligious thing; first because marriage was instituted and blessed by our Maker, and sec ond because, for the baptized, marriage is a sacrament. Marriage is a sacrament con ferred by the wife upon the husband and by the husband upon the wife; not by any priest or bishop or pope, but by the two who enter into it—two who are the ministers and the liv ing tabernacles of the sacra ment. Marriage, as Benedictine Fa ther Maur Burbach has writ ten, is a mystery in the full religious sense meant by St. Paul who compared it with the union between Christ and His Church; it is a mystery em bracing the whole creative and redemptive plan of God. MARRIAGE, FURTHER, be ing a sacrament, is a worship; it is liturgy. And it is sacri fice mysteriously partaking of Calvary, because the husband and wife give themselves totally to each other, entrusting them selves to the mystery of each other as persons. Every husband, then, should realize his wife’s deep need that his love for her be holy, and she should realize his same need—this because they hold in their hands, very largely, each other’s happiness, now and forever. All the purposes of mar riage—the partnering of God in creating, the companioning and helping and consoling of each other, the rearing and educat ing of children—should fuse into the one ultimate purpose of marriage: the making-holy of two persons, of the home, of the little ones, and even of the community and the world. A HUSBAND and wife should see that they are at one and the same time the priests and the recipients of the sacrament of marriage, channels of divine grace for each other at every moment; “two souls meant for each other,” as the Church says to the bride and bridegroom at the altar. To make of this relationship, by the use of any form of con traception (as distinguished from the mutual sacrifice call ed “rhythm”) a mere sel fish use of each other as bod ily conveniences, is a horror; it is a peculiarly degrading in sulting of two persons and of God; it is a prostituting of hu manity and of what is immense ly holy. That is why Dr. John Rock of Boston is profoundly mis taken in saying, in his book, that contraception — tempor al sterilization — by pill may come to be morally per mitted. Contraception by any means is fearfully destructive of all that marriage is, and of human persons as images of God. Being destructive of mar riage and persons, and of homes, it is also destructive of human society; it is ultimately a subversion of civiliation, of religion, and of the meaning of Creation and Redemption. Tells Poles Pope Saved Peace BERLIN, (NC)--In a procla mation of mourning read at a Pontifical Requiem Mass in the Warsaw cathedral, the Polish Primate, Stefan Cardinal Wys- zynski, decalred that “the con viction prevails that Pope John XXIII has saved the peace of the world.” In a report on the proclamation received here, the Cardinal also said: “For a great cause, John XXIII has given his life. We thank the Lord for giving such a servant to His people.” Argentina Mourns BUENOS AIRES, (NC)—The Argentine government decreed a day of national mourning and eight days with flags at half staff for the death of John XXIII. The cabinet and the president attended a Requiem Mass at the cathedral here. Flood Of Condolences VATICAN CITY, (Radio, NC) —More than ten thousand tele grams and an equal number of letters of condolence were received at the Vatican follow ing the death of Pope John XXIII, L’Osservatore Romano, the Vatican City daily, has re ported. Messages from govern ments included 30 from Euro pean countries, 19 from the Americas, 26 from Africa and 16 from Asia. Virtually all the communist countries re sponded. Vietnam Buddhists Wire Condolences SAIGON, (Radio, NC)— The president of the General Association of Buddhists of Vietnam, Venerable Thich tinh Khiet, has cabled a message of sympathy on the death of Pope John XXIII to Benedetto Car dinal Aloisi Masella, Chamber- lain of the Holy Roman Church. Vatican Replies To Khrushchev VATICAN CITY, (NC)~ The Holy See has sent the following message to Soviet Premier Ni kita Khrushchev: “The Sacred College of Car dinals thanks Your Excellency for the kind message with ex pressions of condolence on the occasion of the grievous event —the saintly demise of Pope John XXIII. His papal rule shines with the tireless labors he took for establishing just peace among the peoples. The respect of Your Excellency for his labors merges with the touching mourning and deep homage of the whole world.” Mexicans Refer To Pope’s Chairty MEXICO CITY, (NC)—Mini ster for Foreign Affairs Man uel Tello, offering the condo lences of the Mexican govern ment on the death of Pope John XXIII, in an official communi que said that the Pope devoted his vigilant care to all humani ty, “even in the hours of his prolonged agony.” Guatemala Mourns GUATEMALA CITY (NC) — Guatemalans observed three days of mourning for Pope John XXIII, Pope of peace and unity,” as the official order called him. Knelt In Streets SAN JOSE, Costa Rica, (NC) —People knelt to pray in va rious streets of this capital upon learning of the death of Pope John XXIII. The govern ment decreed eight days of na tional mourning and Archbishop Humberto Rodriguez of San Jose stated that the passing of the Pontiff has left behind a world “filled with the light of his social teachings and with his ardent charity.” Bishop’s Statements Jewish Committee: Says Pope John ‘Earned Place In World To Come” NEW YORK, (NC)—“Jewish history will reward Pope John as ‘one of the righteous among the nations of the earth who earned a place in the world to come.’ ” The tribute was contained in a message of condolence sent by the American Jewish Com mittee to Almeto Cardinal Ci- cognani, Papal Secretary of State. Signed by A. M. Sonnabend, AJC president, the message said: “The American Jewish Com mittee joins in the universal mourning over the death of Pope John XXIII. In the brief five years of his papacy, he has given extraordinary personal leader ship that has significantly transformed and irqproved hu man relationships in such a historic way that this may well constitute his greatest living monument. ‘ ‘His great personal human ity, his overwhelming charity, and his love for the human per son have endeared him and have won the universal respect of men of all races, religions and points of view. “It is obvious from the an xiety that men everywhere have felt during his recent illness that he was regarded as a friend and leader by men who are out side his own religious tradition. Jewish history will reward Pope John as ‘one of the righteous among the nations of the earth who has earned a place in the world to come.’ “The American Jewish Com mittee is persuaded that Pope John’s brilliant and greatly needed spirit of humanity and fraternity that made such a difference in the world of pub lic affiars will continue to ra diate in the relationships be tween man and his fellow for many years to come. May his memory continue to be a bles- ing.” The AJC, founded in 1906, has 62 chapters in 600 U.S. communities and a member ship of some 30,000. Its ef forts primarily are expended in the field of human relations. It also is organized in Israel and a number of European coun tries. Similar messages were sent by the AJC to Augustin Cardin al Bea, S. J., president.<of the Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity, and five U. S. Cardinals. (N.C.W.C. NEWS SERVICE) Grief at the death of Pope John XXIII mingled with praise for his character and achieve ments in statements by leading figures. Among reactions at the Pope’s death were these: Archbishop John J. Krol of Philadelphia: "His program for effecting the unity of the human family and of all Christians ... is irreversible and will bear much fruit. Bishop Walter W. Curtis of Bridgeport, Conn.: “He wish ed to be the shepherd of souls everywhere in the world that he might guide all to unity in Christ.” Bishop Thomas J. McDon ough of Savannah, Ga.: “Per haps no pope in the almost 2,000-year history of the Church has captivated the hearts of so many people.” Bishop Albert R. Zuroweste, Belleville, Ill.: “The Church has lost one of its greatest churchmen, and men of all creeds and no creeds have been deprived of a great benefactor.” Bishop Charles P. Greco of Alexandria, La.: "His serenity, his humility, his acceptance of the Divine Will must be an in spiration to each of us, whether Catholic or non-Catholic, Christian or non-Christian.” Bishop Frederick W. Freking of Salina, Kan.: “We should ... be grateful to God for the great good that has been accomplish ed through this humble, kindly, saintly man.” Bishop James V. Caxey, Lin coln, Neb.: “We pray that many men will carry on the cause of peace and unity inspired by his esample.” Bishop Francis J. Schenk of Duluth, Minn.: “No pope in his tory has ever made such a ap pealing impact on so many people in so brief a period of, time.” Bishop Charles A. Buswell, Pueblo, Colo.: “We pray that many men will carry on the cause of peace and unity inspir ed by his example.” Bishop Leo C. Byrne of Wich ita, Kan.: “The Catholic world and so much of the world that is not Catholic is of a common mind and a single heart in the expression of sympathy about our Holy Father.” Bishop Ernest J. Primeau of Manchester, N. H.: “Pope John XXIII has left his indelible im press upon the Church and has given it an orientation that will affect its course for years to come.” Bishop Leo T. Maher of San ta Rosa, Calif.: “Brief though his pontificate was, it was fill ed with an astonishing vigor that renewed the spirit and vi tality of the Church.” Bishop Hugh A. Donohoe of Stockton, Calif.: “It was for him to open the window and let in light and air so that all might see the Church for what it is—the society founded by Christ to bring to men the glad tidings of salvation.” Bishop Ralph L. Hayes of Davenport, Iowa: “Fewperson ages in all history have been so universally acclaimed and lov ed.” Archbishop Thomas A. Bo land of Newark, N. J.: “He has achieved an eminence of in terest and a maximum or res pect that will insure his rela tively short pontificate a glor ious place in the history of the papacy.” Bishop Coleman F. Carroll of Miami, Fla.: “Although he had the simplicity of a peas ant, he also had the dynamic power of leadership and admin istration.” The Southern Cross Vol. 43 P. O. BOX 180. SAVANNAH, GA. Saturday, June 15, 1963 No. 39 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