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PAGE 4—The Southern Cross, August 1, 1963
Laws With Teeth’ Needed
There is small comfort in the statistics
revealed by Postmaster General J. Edward
Day in his statement that arrest and convic
tions for violation of mail laws against ob
scenity set a record the past year. He re
vealed that there were 761 arrests for vio
lation of mail laws with 637 convictions,
which represents more than a 25% increase
over the past year.
The report obviously is meant to strike:
an encouraging note, because it confirms
Postmaster Day’s view that "criminal act
ion" against offenders is made more effec
tive than "administrative penalties." How
ever, its total effect is anything but encour-
agind, although everyone appreciates the zeal
and alertness of the Postmaster and his aides
in attempting to dam the flood of obscenity.
For one thing, it is obvious that there is
far more traffic in filth in the mails than
ever before. The prime target, we are told,
is the teenager. Any child now can receive
the lowest kind of obscene literature without
ever finding out how his or her name got
on the mailing list. Adults are not ignored
by any means, but since they would be more
inclined to throw the stuff away or report it
to the authorities, they are not considered
a good risk.
To see an indecent book or magazine in a
rack where you can exercise the right to
accept or reject it is one thing, but to find
even worse material brought to your home un
requested through the United States mails
is a problem of far greater proportions. We
begin to realize something of the magnitude
of the evil when J. Edgar Hoover’s words are
pondered: "Filthy literature is a great moral
wrecker . . . it is creating criminals faster
than jails can be built."
A great many people believe that court
decisions in recent years concerning litera
ture and motion pictures have encouraged
these brazen publishers of hard core por
nography to blanket the country. It was a fed
eral district judge who over-ruled four
years ago the post office ban on "Lady Chat
ter ly’s Lover," a decision which came a few
weeks after the Supreme Court had stated that,
in effect, it is lawful to teach adultry and the
breaking of marriage vows.
Mr. Day states that 637 offenders were
fined a total of $53,530.00. This averages
only about $80 for each offense, so it ap
pears as if the Court is still only smacking
wrists and clucking tongues at the violations.
Obviously, something more than chasing
peddlers of filth needs to be done. Should
not public opinion be aroused so that citi
zens not only will report every instance of
such abuse by the mails, but will appeal
to legislators to put some teeth in the laws
governing pornography in order to protect
our young people against the filth merchants.
—(The Voice—Miami)
There Are Many Kinds Of Thieves
God’s World
(By Leo J. Trese)
Justice is the virtue by which
we render to every person that
to which he has a right. Con
versely, injustice is the vice
by which we deprive a person,
against his reasonable will, of
that to which
he has a right.
Justice is one
of the four car
dinal virtues—
one of those
four "hinge"
virtues upon
all other mor
al virtues de
pend.
Textbooks of moral theology,
which are studied by candidates
for the priesthood, give more
space to the consideration of
"Justice and Rights” than to
the treatment of any other vir
tue. This is not surprising,
since no other virtue gives rise
to as many questions as does
the virtue of justice.
"Is the theft of $25.00 a mor
tal sin or a venial sin?" “Am I
obliged to restitution if I have
knowingly accepted a stolen ar
ticle?" "Is it a sin to cheat
on my income tax?" "What must
I do if a store makes a mistake
in my favor on my bill?" These
and a thousand similar ques
tions resolve about the virtue of
justice. Such questions can best
be left to one’s confessor or to
the Question Box of our dioces
an newspaper. It is not our pur
pose to discuss them here.
Neither shall we dwell here on
that aspect of justice which so
plagues our contemporary
scene: racial justice. The moral
evil of denying a person his ec
onomic, educational or social
rights because of his color, is
undeniable. Just as undeniable
is the fact that few of us are
without blame in this area.
North, South, East, and west,
most of us have sinned either by
active discrimination or by
passive acquiscence. How
ever, there already is enough
being said and written on this
subject to stir the conscience of
anyone whose conscience still is
functioning. It is not my present
purpose to add to that body of
admonition. I should prefer for
the moment to direct attention to
the practice of justice in a
more limited area.
Physical belongings are not
a person’s most precious pos
sessions. There may be abnor
mal individuals who consider
money to be the highest good.
Most of us will agree, however,
that happiness is far preferable
to wealth. Happiness is a com
pound of many things—a feeling
of self-worth, a confidence that
one is loved by some and res
pected by many, contentment
with one’s lot, peace of mind—
these are a few of the ingre
dients.
Now here is an oddity of hu
man behavior. We readily ad
mit that we gladly would ex
change our worldly pos
sessions, if faced with such an
alternative, in order to obtain
or preserve our happiness.
(Many, in fact, do just that by
embracing voluntary poverty.)
Yet, we who would not dream of
stealing so much as a dime from
anyone, will disturb or destroy
the happiness of others with
scarcely a twinge of conscience.
There are many ways in which
we can rob others of happiness
and thereby sin against justice.
Gossip is one very common
thief of happiness. If, by gos
sip, we whittle down a person’s
reputation and diminish the res
pect in which he is held, we sin
against justice as well as
against charity. If, by sly digs
and insinuations, we set neigh
bor against neighbor, we are as
much a bandit as a man with a
gun. If we go into a sulk at home
and cast a spirit of gloom and
unease over the family, we are
fliching happiness from our own
flesh and blood.
There are many other ways,
too, in which we may defraud
people of their happiness. Harsh
and unfriendly criticism, ri
dicule, snubs, sharp answers to
well-meant questions: all there
are, in varying degrees, as
assaults upon the happiness of
family, acquaintances or fellow
workers.
Mindful of the infinite com
passion of our Lord Jesus to
wards all who suffer, we have
reason to be concerned if we
have been an unjust aggressor
against the right to happiness
of any other person. The thief
of money will have an easier
time of it, in judgment, than the
thief of happiness. We shall do
well to pray that no one ever may
weep upon his pillow or clench
his fists in mental pain because
of any act or word of ours.
(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.)
Stories Of Greatness
"Let me not leave my space
of ground untilled. Impress this
truth upon me ... that no
one can do the portion that I
leave undone."
THE WORLD is a wonderful
place for those who see, can
walk and carry on the normal
everyday life. It is only when
we are taken to the sidelines
that we seem to see things in
true perspective. Human nature
perhaps in perverse. We do sel
dom take time out to say 'thank
you, God, for letting me see
and to walk and to hit a golf
ball and to be able to go swim
ming and rush for the bus
and move about by myself. Yet
sickness takes on a purifying ef
fect not only for the one strick
en but those who know and love
him. Both are able to reach a
heroic height if illness is ac
cepted with the proper spirit.
There have been those who like
St. Therese have blessed the
Lord for an affliction. Yet most
of us find it hard to accept any
limiatation be it a week in bed
with a cold or the fact that a
loved one has incurable cancer.
There are some philosophers
who have felt that illness and
By BARBARA C. JENCKS
disease is easier borne by the
victim than by those who must
look on and watch the painful
process. When sickness and
death come, the nobility of the
human spirit is seen in one of
its most glorious moments. We
see man, the image and likeness
of God, in his full stature. The
stories of those who suffer are
all around us. There are those
who suffer ills of the body and
there are those who suffer a
worse disease the sickness
of the soul. There are the vic
tims of disease and there are
the victims of prejudice and
hate, these latter ones suffer
a particular painful existence
as they move in the world of
the physically well.
* * *
MARGUERITE DONNELLY,
A shut-in herself, wrote me
recently of two blind friends.
I had written a column about
blindness being my idea of the
hardest of all handicaps to
endure—never being able to
see a loved one’s face, the host
raised at Mass, a sunset, blue
skies, read the world’s great
literature. Miss Donnelly wrote
to tell me about Assunta Fossa,
and Tom Henry ‘ ‘two unsung
heroes of our time," according
TO Miss Donnelly. Mr. Henry has
been blind and without both legs
for several years. He is now
57 and is called "Mr. Coura
geous.” The Henrys who have
three daughters have built
ramps around their doorways
so that Tom is able to get out
and "enjoy" the outdoors. Mr.
Henry and Miss Fossa are said
to bring joy, not sadness,
wherever they go and have turn
ed their afflictions into an in
strument for cheering others.
Assunta has been blind and
crippled for 36 years.
RECENTLY ‘TIME’ maga
zine featured the story of the
Peace Corps and its operation
after two years being almost
too good to be true. Again there
is the story of generosity
which is particularly im
pressive when it is exhibited by
young people. At a time when the
younger generation was being
written off as shallow, beat,
self-centered, college students
by the thousands signed up to
give two years of their lives
without pay to the service of
their country in the underde-
(Continued oil Page 5)
ALL HANDS WELCOME - DIRTY OR NOT
A Rose is a Rose is a—
It Seems to Me
"A rose is a rose is a rose,"
wrote Gertrude Stein; and I
must say she was right about
that. But I, being no literary
pioneer but a mere hack of a
journalist, will take one rose
at a time.
What I want
to know is
s omething
that philoso
phers have
asked them
selves for
centuries:
"Why is a
rose a
rose?"
I mean to say, why is a toma
to a tomato? Why are cats cats,
and cabbages cabbages, and hu
man beings human beings?
To put the query in fancier
terms, what explains the un
changing stability deep down in
the "whatness" of things?
ONLY ONE ultimate answer
is possible, and sooner or later
every mind must either come to
it, or leave the mystery forever
unsolved. As G. K. Chesterton
said with his brilliant simpli
city, in the final analysis grass
is green because Some One with
the necessary power pointed at
it and commanded: "Begreen."
Which means that the Some
One not only was the creator
of grass, but the creator also
JOSEPH BREIG
of the human eye which sees
grass as green.
That, as I said, is the ulti
mate explanation. But what is
the machinery of it—of the cat-
ness of cats and the cabbage-
ness of cabbages?
How does nature go about
the business of obeying nature's
God?
By what means are His direc
tives conveyed?
FOR RESEARCHES in that
field three scientists were
awarded the Nobel Prize—Har
vard’s James D. Watson, and
Britain’s Francis H. C. Crick
and Maurice H. F. Wilkins.
"They have shown us," said
a previous Nobel winner, Hugo
Theorell, "how to read the se
cret language of life."
Other scientists said that as a
result of the work of the three,
man may some time "play God"
by "creating life in the test
tube."
Let’s make a distinction here.
Man may alter the instructions
contained in molecules, but man
will never create life in a test
tube or anywhere else.
THE MOST that man can pos
sibly do is to trigger the po
tentiality for life that lies hid
den in matter because the Crea
tor hid it there.
Creation—real creation—is
a field into which man cannot
ever step.
Creation is making something
out of nothing. More preceisly,
if is bringing something into ex
istence when previously nothing
at all existed.
God can do that because God
is almighty. No creature can do
it neither angels nor men.
All that scientists can do is to
discover, in matter brought into
being by God, hitherto unknown
laws of nature which also were
brought into being by God.
THE THREE Nobel winners
were honored for their studies
of the acids known for short
as DNA and RNA.
RNA, they found, is a
"messenger" which carries the
"code" which determines what
a thing is.
Watson, with refreshing hum
ility, said he didn’t think the
work involved "very profound
thought or great intellectual
insight. We followed three or
four steps and were lucky they
turned out the right way.”
Neither now or in future is
there any question of "crea
tion," but only, possibility of
alteration. God made the mole
cules; Watson and Crick and
Wilkins merely studied them
to find out what God wrought
therein.
Filipino Cardinal Says
Council Will Bring Untold
Advances To Mission Lands
MANILA, (NC) — The
ecumenical council will un
doubtedly bring untold benefits
to the vast mission territories
of Asia and the Pacific, Ru-
fino Cardinal Santos, Arch
bishop of Manila, said here.
He added that laymen will
play a major role in bringing
these benefits about.
Cardinal Santos spoke in an
interview given to theN.C.W.C.
News Service. Asked why he
thinks the council will aid the
missions, he answered:
"Because the council is de
voting considerable attention to
the expansion, promotion and
maintenance of the missions.
The bishops of the council will
give impetus and stress to all
constructive programs for the
spread of the word of God in
all these countries that long
have hungered for the benison
of light."
He added that the council will
unquestionably consider the
creation of new ecclesiastical
jurisdictions in mission areas,
discuss ways of helping them
financially and deal with the
problem of how to convert their
peoples effectively and per
manently.
He said that the council is
deeply aware of the shortage of
missionaries. Thar ip probably
one of the reasons why, he con
tinued, there has been some dis
cussion in the council of the
possibility of ordaining spe
cially trained laymen as dea
cons to help in the missions.
Cardinal Santos said he is
also convinced that devoted and
dedicated lay apostles, inspired
by the teachings of the council,
will be able to bring the mis
sions closed to the Holy See.
He stated'
"Fired with a new zest and
a true sense of mission, the
laity will be inspired to par
ticipate more actively and ex
tensively in the apostolate of
the hierarchy.
"Specifically, the laity will
increasingly find its place not
only in the doctrinal field but
also in the administration of
the Church and in the coordi
nation of missionary activities,
which must reach the farthest
nooks and corners of the
world."
Cardinal Santos was asked if
the council will have any ef
fect on the discipline of the
Church. He replied:
“Yes. Surely the council will
revise certain rules and de
crees, and this revision will
affect the regime of the bishops
and the life of the clergy.”
This, he continued, will be of
vital importance to the life of
the Church, and will necessitate
the adaptation of present-day
society to the Church, which
always desires the welfare of
human society.
The next question was: "Do
you envision radical changes in
the rituals and practices of the
Church as a result of the coun
cil?" The Cardinal answered.
"There will certainly be
some changes, but not on fund
amentals, We can befairly cer
tain that the council will bring
to our times the life of the
first era of the Church as of
ten expressed and described
in the writings of the Apos
tles, especially St. Paul."
Queried about the use of ver
nacular languages in the Mass,
he said:
"That is no longer a matter
for discussion. The decision has
already been reached in the
council that only some parts of
the Mass may be rendered in
the vernacular for greater fa
cility in understanding, for
instance, the Gospels and the
Epistles."
Speaking on Christian unity,
he declared:
"Pope John XXIII appealed
to all our separated brethern.
In doing this he was just try
ing to fulfill the example of
Our Lord when he prayed at
(Continued on Page 6)a
Catholic Colleges Ask More
Urgently Needed Catholic Schools
PORTSMOUTH, R. I., (NC)—
Sister M. Madeleva, a former
college president, said here she
favors the elimination of
primary and secondary paro
chial schools if this would make
Catholic colleges the best in the
country.
The former president of St.
Mary’s College, Notre Dame,
Ind., said that a basic goal of
Catholic education is to Chris
tianize and humanize the world,
and this end is best achieved
by high quality college educa
tion.
Sister Madelva spoke at a
seminar on Christian human
ism sponsored by the Spiritual
Life Institute of America at
Elmhurst Academy here.
Unusual Background
VIENNA, (NC) — Church au
thorities in communist-ruled
Hungary are negotiating with
government officials for per
mission to increase the number
of Catholic high schools there,
it has been reported here.
The negotiations follow a
large increase in the number of
applications for places in the
eight Catholic high schools now
operating in that country, re
ports said.
Meanwhile, for the first time
since the Communist party
came to power in Hungary fol
lowing World War II, graduates
of Catholic high schools are
being permitted to enter state
universities following protests
by Catholic parents who charg
ed their children were ebing
discriminated against, the re
ports stated.
BOSTON, (NC)—A linotypist,
a former Trappist monk, a high
school teacher, a tailor, a mul-
tilth operator and a U. S. Army
atomic weapons specialist will
begin their studies for the
priesthood in September at St.
Philip Neri’s School for Delayed
Vocations here.
Others beginning their
priestly training include an air
plane pilot, a youth supervisor,
a varsity football player from
Notre Dame, a movie theater
manager, a biochemical engin
eer and a native Irishman who
worked as a butcher and saloon
keeper in Dublin.
The future priests will
concentrate on studying Latin
and religion during the nine-
month preparatory course.
Applaud Message
OVIEDO, Spain, (NC)— The
300 delegates here for the 16th
national convention of Young
Christian Workers strongly ap
plauded a Vatican message
which called for a "Christian
uplifting of the world of labor."
Auxiliary Bishop Laureano
Castan Lacoma of Tarragona,
episcopal advisor for social
movements, read a cable which
Amleto Cardinal Cicognani, Pa
pal Secretary of State, sent to
the convention.
Coadjutor Archbishop Segun-
do Garcia De Sierra y Mendez
of Oviodo told the delegates that
the movement is striving to
bring to reality the social des
tiny of the Church.
Aid Quake Yictims
NEW YORK, (NC)—Catholic
Relief Services—National Ca
tholic Welfare Conference, act
ing immediately upon reports of
a "catastrophic" earthquake in
Yugoslavia, sent $1,000 to aid
victims and offered more help
if needed.
The U. S. Catholic overseas
relief agency dispatched the
$1,000 to Msgr. Alfredo Botti-
zer, head of the CRS—NCWC
office in Trieste, Italy, to aid
victims of a huge quake in
in Skoplje, Yugoslavia.
$1.3 Million Loan
WASHINGTON, (NC) — The
Federal government will lend
St. Mary of the Plains College,
Dodge City, Kan., $1,350,000
to finance constructine of two
residence halls and remodeling
of dining facilities.
The Catholic college is lent
the money by the Community
Facilities Administries of the
Federal Housing and Home Fi
nance Agency under the College
Housing Loans Program.
Serve As Hostesses
CAP DE LA MADELEINE,
Quebec, (NC)—Members of the
Oblate Missionaries of Mary
Immaculate are serving as hos
tesses to pilgrims visiting the
shrine of Our Lady of the Cape
here. The hostess-Sisters wel
come pilgrims, furnish infor
mation, and organize and guide
groups taking part in the per
petual Rosary devotion.
Name School For
Bishop Walsh
HONG KONG, (NC)—A school
for children of refugees
from Red China scheduled to
open here in September has
been named in honor o Bishop
James E. Walsh, M. M., Am
erican missioner serving a 20-
year sentence in a Red Chinese
prison.
The school, built in the pa
rish of Father Howard D. Trube,
M. M., of the Bronx, N. Y.,
in a refugee resettlement area
of Kowloon, will hold close to
2,500 pupils in double session
and evening classes.
QUESTION BOX
Q, Someone recently tried to
tell me that Cape Canaveral was
the site of a Catholic mission
founded a half-century before
the Pilgrim Fathers landed at
Plymouth Rock, Could this be
true?
A. What is now Cape Cana
veral, Florida, was the first
stretch of land sighted in 1565
by the explorer Pedro Menen-
dez de Aviles, who had set out
from Spain to find a perman
ent colony in the New World.
The date was August 28, the
feast day of St. Augustine.
ON SEPTEMBER8, 1565—40
years before the English settle
ment at Jamestown and 55 years
before the Pilgrim landing at
Plymouth Rock—Menendez led
his band on to the beach at a
place several miles (30leagues,
at the 30th parallel of lati
tude) to the north of the Cape.
The event was recorded by Fa
ther Lopez de Grajales, who
had put ashore the previous
evening:
" . . .1 took the cross and
went to meet him, singing the
Te Deum Laudamus. The Ad
miral, followed by all who ac
companied him, marched up to
the cross, knelt, and kissed it.
A large number of indians
watched these proceedings, and
imitated all that they saw done."
A MASS of thanksgiving was
then offered by Father Lopez.
An altar now marks the spot
where these rites were held.
THE MISSION of Nombre de
Dios (Name of God) was estab
lished at the site of the land
ing. The nearby settlement,
America’s oldest city, was call
ed St. Augustine, because the
Cape first came into view on
the saint's feast day.
A description of old St. Aug
ustine by a visiting bishop in
1674 revealed that it had more
(Continued on Page 5)
The Southern Cross
P. O. BOX 180. SAVANNAH, GA.
Vol. 44 Thursday, August 1, 1963 No. 4
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