Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 4—The Southern Cross, July 18, 1963
In Search
The rioting and violence which has erup
ted in the city of Savannah can in no way
be justified or excused. Injury to life and
property can not possibly contribute to the
cause of racial justice.
But the most deplorable effect of the dis
orders has been a widening and deepening
gulf between white and Negro members of
the community, stemming from a rising tide
of recriminations on the one hand, and
threats on the other.
To all who genuinely seek peace with
justice for all men, we address the follow
ing counsel of the Apostle, St. James.
“Every best gift, and every perfect gift
is from above, coming down from the Fa
ther of lights ...
“Let every man be swift to hear, but slow
to speak, and slow to anger. For the anger
of man works not the justice of God. Where
fore, casting away all uncleanness, and abun
dance of naughtiness, with meekness receive
the ingrafted word . . .
“Bift be doers of the word, and not hear
ers only, deceiving your own selves . . .
And if any man think himself to be relig
ious, not bridling his tongue, but deceiv
ing his own heart, this man’s religion is
vain . . .
“What shall it profit, my brethren, if a
man say he has faith, but has not works?
. . . And if a brother or sister be naked,
and want daily food, and one of you say to
them, ‘Go in peace, be ye warmed and
filled, yet give them not those things that
Of Peace
are necessary for the body, what shall it
profit?
' . .The tongue is indeed a little mem
ber, and boasts great things. Behold how
small a fire kindles a great wood. And the
tongue is a fire. . .
“But the tongue no man can tame, an
unquiet evil, full of deadly poison. By it
we bless God and the Father; and by it we
curse men, who are made after the likeness
of God. Out of the same mouth proceed bless
ing and cursing. My brethren, these things
ought not to be so.
"... Detract not one another, my bre
thren. He that detracts his brother, or he
that judges his brother, detracts the law
and judges the law. But if you judge the
law you are not a doer of the law, but a
judge ...”
What is needed if racial peace is to be
attained is not increased acrimony and hat
red, but a careful and prayerful considera
tion, by both Whites and Negroes, of the
above counsels and the realization that all
of us will one day face a Judge Who has
said, “Whoever is angry with his brother
shall be in danger of the judgement. And
whoever shall say to his brother, ‘Raca’
(a word expressing contempt), shall be in
danger of the council. And whoever shall
say, ‘Thou fool’ shall be in danger of hell
fire”, and Who will say to each one of us,
“As long as you did it to one of these my
least brethren, you did it to me.”
The Thinking Man’s Virtue
’IT'S GETTING SO I CAN HARDLY HEAR YOU'
God’s World
(By Leo J. Trese)
Weep For The Pope
It Seems to Me
The word “prudence” has
fallen into some degree of dis
repute in our day. The old ad
monition, “Let your conscience
be your guide,” has given way
to the modern shibboleth, “Fol
low that im
pulse.’ ” If you
feel that some
thing is right
for you to do,
go ahead and do
it. Don’t let
yourself be
hamstrung by
the dictates of
reason. So
runs the personal philosophy, if
it can be called that, of a great
number of our contemporaries.
One evidence of this fact is
the increasing casualness with
which marriages are made and
broken. Ignoring all responsi
bility to God or to children, men
and women move on, via the
divorce court, from one infat
uation to the next. For them
reason has been dethroned in
favor of emotion.
The prudent person is not a
slave to emotion, but neither is
he a timid or excessively cau
tious individual. The virtue of
prudence is simply the habit of
acting according to the princi
ples of right reason. Prudent
behavior is rational behavior as
distinguished from impulsive
behavior. A prudent person
weighs the consequences of his
actions before making a de
cision; the consequences to
himself and to others. He acts,
not on the basis of what he feels
like doing but in the light of
what, all things considered, he
ought to do. Prudence is the
hallmark of genuine maturity.
Invariably the person who “nev
er grew up” is lacking in pru
dence.
Prudence may be either a na
tural or a supernatural virtue.
Natural prudence is principally
concerned with matters tem
poral. You practice natural pru
dence when you lock your doors
at night to keep out thieves.
You are similarly prudent when
you. keep your credit good by
paying your bills promptly.
Natural prudence is an ac
quired virtue. It is acquired
through experience—our own
experience and that of others.
We learn especially through our
mistakes. Having done some
thing foolish, with regrettable
results, we are careful (if we
are intelligent) not to repeat that
same foolish action.
Supernatural prudence, how
ever, cannot be acquired. With
the other cardinal virtues of
justice, fortitude and tem
perance, supernatural prudence
was infused into our souls with
the grace of baptism. These
four virtues receive the desig
nation of “cardinal” from the
Latin word cardo, which means
hinge. All other moral virtues
hinge upon prudence, justice,
fortitude and temperance. With
out these four, no other moral
virtue could be practiced
with any degree of perfection.
Supernatural prudence is a
God-given facility for dis
tinguishing between what is
right and what is wrong in a
moral sense, and for dis
tinguishing between what is good
and what is better. If you pay
your bills in order to preserve
your credit, you are practicing
natural prudence. If you pay
your bills because you consider
this an obligation in conscience,
you are practicing supernatural
prudence. If a married man says
to himself, “I must stop flirting
with that girl or I may hurt my
reputation,” he is naturally
prudent. If he says,' ‘I must stop
flirting with that girl of I’ll
be risking the sin of adultery,”
he is supernaturally prudent.
It seems obvious that pru
dence, natural as well as super
natural, is a virtue highly to be
prized. Sometimes it will be
hard for us to determine, in a
particular case, whether our
prudence has been natural or
supernatural — hard to know
whether our motives have been
this-worldly or other-worldly.
We need not worry. If we have a
natural prudence upon which to
build, it will be much easier
for supernatural prudence to
operate. It is an axiom of theo
logy that grace works most ef
fectively when underpinned by
natural goodness.
Probably not many people
think to ask God, in their pray
ers, for an increase in pru
dence. Yet, it is only from God
that an increase in supernatur
al prudence can come. With our
happiness, here and hereafter,
hinging so heavily upon pru
dence, it would seem grossly
imprudent to omit this petition
from our daily prayers.
(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. Ad
dress all letters to Father Leo
J. Trese, care of this news
paper.)
I wept in my heart for Pope
Paul VI while I watched his
coronation ceremonies on tele
vision. Never before had I rea
lized so keenly how heavy and
painful is the cross of pomp that
the centuries
have laid up
on those who
are made
heads of the
Church. They
have borne it
u n c omplain-
ingly, but now
there is rea
son to believe
that for the successors of Paul,
it will be lightened, be
cause it is an anachronism.
Jeweled vestments and mi
tres, ostrich plume fans, and
the papal tiara doubtless were
means by which the people ex
pressed their love and rever
ence for the papacy, and their
deep feeling that they would
honor Christ by honoring
Christ’s vicar. And one cannot
but admire the explosion of
enthusiasm which brought a
quarter of a million persons
through the heat of Rome to
stand for hours for the corona
tion in St. Peter Square.
ALL THE SAME, the cere
monialism seems to me to have
expanded beyond all reason. I
marvelled that the fragile new
pope was able to get through the
three hours without fainting; and
yet he is young by comparison
with many of the cardinals and
JOSEPH BREIG
other dignitaries who took part
in the coronation. In the tele
vision closeups, it seemed to
me, his face betrayed not only
that he was suffering physically
from the heat, the heavy vest
ments and the uproar, but also
that he was in spiritual pain of
humility because of the adula
tion.
After all, the popes of our
time did not grow up in the Ro
man Empire, or under feu
dalism or medievalism. They
Were'reared in the 19th and
20th centuries, amid fast
spreading concepts of demo
cracy, equality and simplicity.
In their seminary years, and in
their priestly assignments af
terward, they lived humbly,
even austerely. The pomp of a
papal coronation is as foreign
to their natures as to ours.
POPE JOHN the Good, I think,
prepared the way for a simpli
fying of much of the ceremon
ial in the papacy and in the
Church. His matter-of-fact,
old-shoe comfortableness and
chumminess made the office of
pope more loved than ever
before without ceasing to be
revered.
In all these matters, there is
a central governing principle—
the good of souls. And I do not
think it can be demonstrated
that mankind today is drawn to
Christ by Byzantine display;
whereas Pope John proved that
mankind is drawn by simplicity.
JOHN ONCE voiced publicly
his distaste for being carried
in the sedia gestatoria—the
ceremonial chair—and said that
he submitted to it only for the
practical reason that it enabled
the people, crowded into St.
Peter Square or Basilica, to
see the pope. After all, they
often stood there patiently for
hours, waiting for that.
I suppose the sedia will have
to stay if no other means can be
devised for bringing the popes
and the people into contact. But
I hope somebody will invent
something to make it unneces
sary.
ONE CEREMONY is specially
touching and inspirational—the
burning of the bit of flax, three
times, before the pope in the
coronation procession, and the
voice crying out, ' ‘Holy Father,
so passes the glory of the
world.” But I think that those
who cannot approve of any lan
guage but Latin in the Church
must have felt themselves un
dermined on this occasion.
The Vatican dignitary who
called out the triple warning to
Pope Paul VI spoke Latin with
an Italian accent. He did not
say “Sic transit gloria mundi,”
but “Seek-a transeet-a gloria
mundi.” And if folks attached
to the Vatican have that much
trouble with Latin, perhaps the
time has come to admit, as
Cardinal Cushing has, that we
need native tonges in the work
and worship of the Church.
Reject Pro-Red Pleas
By J- J- Gilbert
What Makes A Man Great?
“That man is a success who
has lived well, laughed often,
loved much. . .who has filled
his niche and accomplished his
task. . .who leaves the world
better than he has found it,
whether by an improved poppy,
a perfect poem or a rescued
soul. . .who looked for the best
in others and gave the best he
had; his memory is a benedic
tion.”
Robert Louis Stevenson
* * *
WHAT MAKES A MAN great?
Not too long ago, “Time” maga
zine attempted to probe the
common denominator of indi
vidual greatness in and out of
time. They selected Abraham
Lincoln as an ideal example of
greatness, leadership, indivi
duality. The magazine listed
artists, saints, visionaries, in
ventors, explorers, generals,
statesmen. In one category,
“Time” listed their choice to
great visionaries as “Buddha,
Pascal, St. Joan, Mary Baker
Eddy.” Recently two books ap-
By BARBARA C. JENCKS
propriate to this subject have
been published. Bruce recently
published a paperback edition of
“Makers of the Modern Mind”
by Dr. Thomas P. Neill, pro
fessor of history, St. Louis Uni
versity. Makers of the modern
mind included were: Luther,
Calvin, Descartes, Locke, New
ton, Rousseau, Kant, Bentham,
Darwin, Marx, Freud, Dewey.
“Thirteen for Christ” is the
title of a recent Harcourt pub
lication. The introduction
reads: “This book presents
thirteen modern figures who left
their impress on the modern
world. If these thirteen wit
nesses had not lived—and lived
precisely as witnesses—the
world we live in would be a
significantly different place.”
The book includes Pius XII,
Billy Graham, Martin Luther
King, John LaFarge, Dorothy
Day, Albert Schweitzer, Boris
Pasternak and T. S. Eliot.
* * *
FOR MOST OF us greatness
has a lot to do with goodness,
with noble motives, accom
plishments. For me, it is not
enough that someone is a re
bel, a genius as a philosopher,
scientist, or adventurer. Al
though his name and feats her
alded across the world’s head
lines. This alone would not
mean greatness to me. The mo
tive is important. The reason
for the act or declaration is
necessary. Gahndi and Ann
Frank are heroes because their
lives of suffering and their
eventual deaths were offered
for peace, love of fellow man.
A recent article in “America”
said that the man of today is
bent on keeping himself in the
forefront. . .the idea of sub
merging his personal preferen
ces in wholehearted dedication
to a common cause leaves him
cool. His must be a personal
contribution and one that re
dounds to him personally. He is
reluctant to function anony
mously as a mere cog in the
organizational machine needed
(Continued on Page 6)
WASHINGTON, (NC)—Some
of the leading arguments put
forward for recognizing and
trading with Red China are
negated in a pamphlet which has
arrived here from Australia.
Published by a group which
frankly calls itself the Austra
lia-Free China Association,the
little booklet has a special in
terest. It comes to hand at the
time of the Sino-Soviet talks in
Moscow, and it draws attention
to the fact that Australia is in a
different position from a lot of
other countries, as far as Red
China is concerned. Austra
lians, it says, “are a small
group of 10 million people of
European stock, living amongst
1,500 million people of Asia.”
It questions whether Australia
' ‘will be allowed the luxury of
neutrality,” should “a titanic
conflict” develop in the area.
Nonetheless, the group has no
hesitancy in throwing in with
Free China, against the Red
regime in Peking.
The pamphlet deals with some
“misconceptions” in this way:
. . .It denies that the Nation
alist government in China was a
“reactionary, corrupt and inef
ficient” group that was over
thrown by ‘ 'a spontaneous up
rising,” as some would have it.
It says the Nationalists, ex
hausted by their struggle
against the Japanese, were
forced to retreat to Taiwan by
Red armies financed and trained
by the Russians and armed with
the entire military equipment
of the Japanese Manchurian ar
my, which had surrendered in
1945.
. . .Those who say the Peking
Red regime must have the sup
port of the overwhelming ma
jority of the people or it
couldn’t survive, “ignore the
great resources of propaganda
and force available to a modern
government.” The “tragic
stream of refugees into Hong
Kong and Macao” argues
against the Red regime being
popular, the booklet says.
. . .Actions speak louder
than words and demonstrate
that the objective of the Peking
regime is not ‘ 'to elevate, edu
cate and enlighten” the mass
es, as is claimed, but “the
destruction (by force if neces
sary) of the‘imperialist world,’
that is, the Western world.”
. . .Recognition of the Peking
regime by Australia “would be
interpreted by all the people of
Asia as an abandonment of Asia
to communist power.”
. . .To the argument that to
withhold recognition from Red
China is to “ignore the exis
tence of 600 million Chinese,”
the pamphlet replies that * ‘the
mischief lies not with the Chi
nese people, but with their tem
porary masters, and it is their
plans and ambitions that we
oppose by nonrecognition.”
. . .To those who say Austra
lia could increase its trade
prospects by recognizing Red
China, the authors respond: “it
would be a deplorable thing, of
course, if the trading interests
of any group of Australians
were placed before national in
terests.”
. . .The proposal of a ‘ ‘two
China policy,” that is that both
the Reds and Nationalists be
recognized and admitted to the
UN, * ‘is absolutely unacceptable
to both Chinas,” the pamphlet
asserts.
. . .The fact that we recog
nize Soviet Russia is no argu
ment for recognizing Red China,
the authors say. ' ‘The free na
tions recognized Soviet Russia
at a time when her post-revo
lutionary aggression had cea
sed, and it appeared that she was
genuinely prepared to take her
place in the family of na
tions,” they observe. They add
that, as of now, no change can
be made in Soviet Russia’s pos
ition in the UN without ‘ ‘com
pletely wrecking” that organi
zation.
Layman Editor
MARQUETTE, Mich., (NC)—
Charles Gabel, 36, has been
appointed editor of the Northern
Michigan edition of Our Sunday
Visitor, Marquette diocesan
Catechism in Braille
ADELAIDE, Australia, (NC)
—Prisoners at nearby Yatala
prison have transcribed the New
Australian Catechism into
Braille. The prisoners’ group
works with the Braille Writing
Association of South Australia.
Greek Rite Mass
newspaper. He is a graduate of
Michigan State University jour
nalism school and recently
served on the staff of the Mining
Journal here and in Ishpeming.
Bishop Thomas L. Noa said he
succeeds Msgr. David P. Spel-
gatti, the founding editor who
will remain as managing edi
tor.
“Providential
Opportunity”
NAGYKANISZA, Hunga
ry, (NC)—Hungary’s only By
zantine Rite Bishop has offered
the Liturgy in his rite here
before a congregation of Latin
Rite Catholics. At the Liturgy
in this southwest Hungary town,
Bishop Miklos Dudas of Haj-
dudorog said he was celebrat
ing it in the spirit of Christian
unity engendered by the Second
Vatican Ecumenical Council.
JACKSON, Miss., (NC)—A
Catholic pastor said here that
current racial tensions create
a “providential opportunity”
for progress.
Msgr. Josiah G. Chatham,
pastor of St. Richard church,
predicted in a sermon that
“when the good people of our
southland” grasp the moral
issues involved in the racial
justice question, “harsh, lega
lized, enforced segregation will
be no more.”
“Under God’s grace a climate
of freedom shall be developed
in which free men move freely
and live with becoming dignity
as children of God and free
Americans,” he said.
Anti-Communism
ONAMIA, Minn., (NC)—The
spiritual and moral guidance of
a God-centered home is one
of the best safeguards against
communism, according to J.
Edgar Hoover.
The FBI director says in an
article in the July issue of To
day’s Family magazine, pub
lished here by the Crosier Fa
thers, the “good home—the one
which meets moral and spiritual
as well as physical needs ade
quately—is a basic weapon in
the massive struggle in which
we are engaged.”
Declaring that the U. S. must
“build solid bulwarks against
communist expansion,” he adds
that “one such bulwark unques
tionably is a God-fearing, in
formed family in a stable
American home.”
Americans Ordained
ROME, (Radio, NC)—Six
U. S. seminarians attending the
North American College here
were ordained to the priesthood
and 54 other Americans were
ordained deacons.
The six new priests were or
dained by Archbishop Ettore
Cunial, Vicegerent of Rome,
assisted by Msgr. Francis Gal-
les of the Winona, Minn., dio
cese, spiritual director of the
North American College, and
Father J. Warren Holleran of
the San Francisco archdiocese.
Vietnam Trial
SAIGON, (Radio, NC)—Sev
eral well known Vietnamese Ca
tholics are among civilians be
latedly tried by military courts
here this week for alleged com
plicity in an attempted coup of
November, 1960.
Le Kien, also known as Bui
Luong, sentenced to six years
in solitary confinement, was
formerly Secretary General of
the Vietnamese Confederation
of Christian Labor. Catholics
among the 33 acquitted num
bered at least four. They in
cluded Tran Van Ly, former
governor of central Vietnam,
and Le Quang Luat, the last
government delegate for North
Vietnam with whom the late
Dr. Thomas Dooley was asso
ciated during the refugees exo
dus from Haiphong in 1954-
1955. Le Quang Luat was later
Minister of Information under
President Ngo dinh Diem.
Some of those acquitted had
been in prison for many
months.
QUESTION BOX
(By David Q. Liptak)
Q. Some months ago, you ex
plained the origin of the first
Fridays. Did I misread the arti
cle which, I thought, stated the
number nine was never speci
fically mentioned in our Lord’s
request to St. Margaret Mary?
I have enclosed our church
bulletin, which does indicate
that our Lord requested making
nine first Fridays in order to
receive the traditional promi
ses. What is correct?
A. We’re certain we never
gave the impression that making
nine first Fridays in succession
is not required for meeting the
terms of the promises made by
our Lord to the seventeenth
century nun, St. Margaret Mary
Alacoque. On the contrary, we
have said (October 12, 1961)
that if one elects to practice
this devotion, he ' ‘can do noth
ing else than observe the letter
of the law, taking care to re
ceive on nine consecutive first
Fridays.”
ONE POINT we have tried to
make regarding first Friday de
votions, however, is that so-
called “nine first Fridays”
should be sharply distinguished
from the practice of receiving
Communion on the first Fridays
of the month.
RECEIVING the Eucharist on
any first Friday—no number is
involved here—has been highly
indulgenced by the Church. Ac
cording to the Raccolta, a plen
ary indulgence may be gained by
those who go to Communion on
any first Friday, provided that
they devoutly assist at public
exercises in honor of the
Sacred Heart and fulfill the
usual conditions (i.e., confes
sion and prayer for the inten
tions of the Holy Father). Those
who for legitimate reason can
not attend such public exer
cises are permitted to
recite some prayers in pri
vate in reparation for insults
to the Sacred Heart, but they
must make a visit to a church
or public oratory. Special con
cessions are also made for in
valids.
THERE ARE, therefore, two
distinct first Friday devotions.
Whereas both are to be encou
raged, only one is specially in
dulgenced—that of receiving
Communion on the initial Friday
of the month and fulfilling the
requisites mentioned in the
(Continued on Page 6)
The Southern Cross
P. O. BOX 180, SAVANNAH. GA.
Vol. 44 Thursday, July 18, 1963 No. 3
Published weekly except the last week in July and the
last week in December by The Southern Cross, Ipc.
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