Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

? PAGE 4—The Southern Cross, August 15, 1963 Orientation YOU'LL NEED THIS' The Reasons Are Valid Much has been said and written lately, concerning the coming civil rights march on the Nation’s capitol. Every American, of course, has the right to go to the seat of our National Government to seek redress of grievances, and if he wants to go in com pany with one or two hundred thousand other Americans, he has that right, too. But we doubt, seriously, that the march will prove either useful or prudent, and, in our view, the dangers accompanying a mas sive demonstration concerning such an em otionally charged issue as that of civil rights, in an already overcrowded and racially tense city, far outweigh any probability of induc ing a change in the present thinking of the law makers who will be debating President Ken nedy’s proposals at the time. This having been said, it is necessary to point out that the reasons which have im pelled leaders of Negro and white civil rights organizations to support the ‘ 'March on Wash ington" are both valid and right. With notably few exceptions, Negroes throughout the United States are the victims of discrimination which stigmatizes them as socially, mentally, and morally inferior to whites, and which denies to them simply and solely because they are Negroes—the opportunities in education and employment which would enable them to use the abilities and talents with which God has endowed them to build useful and rewarding lives for them selves and their children, and the personal and social rights without which no man can live with the dignity of a human being, cre ated in the image and likeness of God. So patent is this discrimination that it is impossible to credit honesty and integrity to government officials and individual citizens who continue to deny that it exists, or who seek to justify their own failure to make any attempt to rectify manifest injustices by claiming, against demonstrable proof to the contrary, that whites and Negroes have made more progress in the 100 years since the end of slavery "than two races living together have ever made living anywhere else on the face of the earth." Racial discrimination is an affront to God and completely at variance with the American concept of the God-given right of every man to ' ‘life, liberty, and the pur suit of happiness." It deserves the support of no man who calls himself either Chris tian or American, and merits the meaning ful condemnation of all. We do not know if Federal legislation is the best answer to racial injustice, but it is our contention that the rights which the presently proposed legislation seeks to safe guard have God for their author and are inherent in the very nature of man. And unless individuals, communities and States are willing, without delay, to accord the free and untrammeled exercise of human rights by every individual, regardless of race, un til he, by his own actions, forfeits those rights, then we do not see how the Federal government can refrain from intervening without betraying its obligations to secure the rights of EVERY citizen. Martyrdom Comes In Many Sizes God’s World Fortitude, as we learned in our catechism many years ago, is the virtue which enables us to suffer all things, even death, for the sake of Christ. It is one of the four cardinal virtues be stowed upon us at the time of our bap tism. If ever we give thought to this vir tue, we pro bably ex press to our selves the hope that, faced with the choice of denying Christ or suffering death, we would be brave enough to choose death. In all likeli hood we do not dwell long on this possibility since martyr dom seems, for most of us, a remote contingency. Conse quently we may not esteem for titude as a very important vir tue, as one having practical, here-and-now significance for ourselves. Such downgrading of the vir tue of fortitude would be a grave error. The truth is that forti tude is vital to the everyday practice of our faith. We need moral strength to resist temp tation. We need spiritual cou rage to accept God'swill cheer fully and to do His will brave ly. temptations may be innocent, but he becomes virtuous only when he has been tested and has proven his fidelity. Perhaps it is a disregard for the virtue of fortitude which accounts for the sophistries with which sinners sometimes try to excuse themselves. Here, for example, is a woman who has divorced her no-good hus band. She has several small children. She lets herself be come interested in another man and, by a civil marriage, em barks upon an adulterous union. "I know it’s wrong," she says, "but the children do need a father. Surely God won't hold it against me." Again, here is a mother whose health simply will not stand another pregnancy. Her cycle is too irregular to use Rhythm safely and her husband finds abstinence too difficult. Contra ceptives are the easy answer. ' ‘God will understand our pre dicament," the couple assure themselves. "There just isn't anything else we can do." Then there is the business man who indulges in sharp prac tices with the excuse, "I've got to do it to meet the compe tition," and the holder of the public office who defends his shady deals with, * ‘It’s a part of the game." Eternal merit is the reward of effort and struggle. A vir tuous person, in the ordinary sense of the term, is not a person without temptations. He is a person who has faced strong temptations and has con quered them. A person without. We have, too, the long pro cession of people who lie to escape a moment’s embar rassment, who cheat to get out of a financial jam, who pet to attract the boys or who gossip to court popularity. You will have noticed that in all the examples we have men- “I Must Go Down To The Sea Again” Jottings By BARBARA C. JENCKS "He shall rule from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth." has a more definite Christian imprimature than that of fishing and sailing. ALL THESE long summer days I have longed to be off and out of the city, the stone jungle of buildings, factories, and smokestacks belching into the sky and car exhausts and the sounds of the press running and linotypes clicking. I long these days to be off and down to the sea again where the gulls swoop low over the incoming fishing boats in late afternoon and the air is filled with clean smells of salt and fish and sand and the wind sails and all is uncluttered. It has been too long since I have felt the sea swell under my feet on the deck of a ship or a wharf creak under my sneakered step. This great longing for the sea became intensified as 1 settled myself in a city apartment one day last week to begin the paperback book, "Christ and the Sailor." This is a book for the sea-lover for there is no activity which MY FAVORITE BIBLICAL passages have always been those which referred to the sea, seaports, fishing expeditions, lowering the nets, the walking on the waters and the feeding of the multitudes and the Apostles with loaves and fishes. Peter Anson, the old salt, who writes "Christ and the Sailor" in poetic style as befits his sub ject, tells how he spent a week by the Sea of Galilee and was able to visualize almost every incident connected with those first fishermen apostles, re corded in the Gospels. He writes: "I watched them (fish ermen) returning to land in the early morning, bringing their catch ashore, sorting it, and putting it up for sale. I stood over the fishermen while they were cleaning and washing their nets. At nightfall, I would see them putting out to sea. , .The heavy sultry heat, not to men tion the smells, was an ever The Test Ban Treaty tioned, the persons involved assume that God expects us to be good only when it is easy to be good. When the practice of virtue becomes difficult, then we are absolved from the ne cessity of keeping God's com mandments. No one puts this fallacy into words, of course; the absurdity would be too evi dent. Often this dilemma is es caped by pretending to distin guish between God and His Church; by talking about what the Church forbids or com mands, rather than about what God expects of us. This leads only to Another fallacy: that Christ and His mystical Body are divisible. The fact is that in all these examples the individuals con cerned are lacking in the virtue of fortitude. Or, more accu rately, they are not exercising that virtue which is theirs by reason of their baptism. It is not true that martyrdom is a rare privilege enjoyed only by some persons who live in Communist countries. There is a little bit of martyrdom in the life of every person who under takes to follow Christ; who tries, day by day, to live his faith with fidelity. Indeed, it has been observed with some truth that often it is easier to die for Christ than to live for Him. (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.) It Seems to Me JOSEPH BREIG We've got to keep our guard up where communists are con cerned. But the fact that com munists must be watched does not mean that the Senate should not ratify the nuclear test ban treaty initi aled by Eng- 1 a n d, the USSR, and the U. S. Nei ther should it keep us from hoping and working for further agree ments with the Russians. President Kennedy express ed the situation accurately when he said that the treaty is "a step toward peace, a step toward reason, a step away from war." And I think he was entirely right in saying that we must take that step. As he said: "History and our own con science will judge us harsher if we do not make every effort to test our hopes by action, and this is the place to begin. . . Let us take that first step. Let us, if we can, get back from the shadows of war and seek out the way of peace." Nobody is more alive to the crimes of communism than the popes, because no institution has suffered as much from communism as the Church has. But Pope John XXIII did not hestiate—nor will Pope Paul VI hesitate—to talk with the com munists when the communists show a real desire to talk. We must look at the whole picture, not just at one or an other facet of it. The nuclear test treaty is one piece in a mosaic which includes such events as Russia’s bitter dispute with Red China over communist dogma and tactics; Khrushchev’s withdrawal of rockets from Cuba rather than risk a big nuclear war; Khrush chev’s sending of his son-in- law and daughter to meet with Pope John; the release from imprisonment of Archbishop Joseph Slipyi of the Ukraine and various other bishops, plus many priests, in various iron curtain countries, and the Vati can’s sending of official ob servers to the celebration of the 50th consecration anni versary of Patriarch Alexei of the Moscow Patriarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church. PRECISELY what these and other developments mean for the future, we do not know. They may be the beginning of great things, or they may come to nothing. But we must resolve that if they come to nothing, it will not be our doing; it will not be because we did not do every thing in our power to end or at least modify the cold war. We have a duty to do every thing in our power, and I don’t think we’d be doing it if the Sen ate refused to ratify the nuclear test treaty. It is not a matter of ' ‘trust ing the Reds." The treaty will end nuclear test explosions above ground and under water. If any such tests are made, we’ll know it. There’s no chance of cheating. If the Soviets go back to testing, our devices will tell us so, and we can resume testing if we wish. Meanwhile, In Vietnam present reminder of the atmos phere in which Christ and his disciples had been so accus tomed." He reminds that those three years of the active minis try of Christ were bound up with fishermen, fishing and fishing boats. . ."Jesus chose to make his home on the road to the sea. . .Among the fishermen he found the type of men he most needed for his inner circle, . . it was in the midst of this world of fishermen and fish workers, and all the many subsidiary in dustries connected with catch ing, selling, curing and export ing fish that Christianity arose, and Christ himself carried on his apostolate." These words should bring a surge of pride to those men who go down to the sea in ships. Crisis Rests Partially On Diem’s Shoulders The author of the following article on the conflict between Buddhists and the Vietnamese government of President Ngo dinh Diem has spent almost two decades covering the news in the Far East. For the past two years he has maintained headquarters in Saigon, Viet nam' s capital, and kept a close eye on the complex political currents active in that com munist-embattled republic. By Father Patrick O'Connor Society of St. Columban (N. C. W. C. NEWS SERVICE) OTHERS may choose to spend leisure time in the mountains or by a lake or on a farm but for me. . ."I must go down to the sea again." There is some thing there for me that no other element of nature could possi- (Continued on Page 6) SAIGON,—Many of Vietnam’s best Catholics feel that while the Buddhist agitators are wrong, President Ngo dinh Diem is not entirely right. Since he and his family are Catholic, any mistakes they make are likely to be used as ammunition against the Catho lic religion. This is particularly unfair when the mistakes arise not from the application of Catholic principles but from failure to apply them. Buddhist leaders are wrong in alleging that they have been suffering religious persecution. They have been wrong in lead ing their followers into public demonstrations in defiance of the law. They have been wrong in threatening a campaign of contemptuous "civil disobed ience," which means disobed ience to lawful authority to a degree just short of rebellion. They have been doing all this while their country is under attack from communist aggres sors. They have been doing it ostensibly to obtain redress of alleged grievances that, even if they were real, would not justi fy such extreme measures. Catholics, like other Viet namese citizens, recognize that the President has a duty to de fend the state and preserve pub lic order. Many of them feel, however, that he and his govern ment should have done it with more tact and less severity. Kennedy Honored INDIANAPOLIS, (NC)—Pre sident and Mrs. John F. Kennedy were named to receive the high est honors of the Knights of St. Peter Claver during the Catholic fraternal order's 48th national convention here. The Caritas Die Award was accepted by Indiana Gov. Mat thew E. Welsh in the name of the President in recognition of ‘ ‘outstanding leadership in hu man relations and heroic effort for achievement of social jus tice for all men everywhere." Mrs. Welsh received the Jeanne d’Arc Award for Mrs. Kennedy. Vernacular In Mass WOLLONGONG, Australia, (NC)—Use of the language of the people instead of Latin in the first part of the Mass in the communist countries could to some extent make up for the Reds’ suppression of religious instruction, according to Bishop Thomas McCabe of Wollongong. Addressing the annual alumni meeting at the Christian Bro thers’ college here, the Bishop said the ecumenical council will resume its discussion of the vernacular question when it re convenes September 29. Cardinal Tours U. S. Cruiser we can continue whatever un derground testing we judge ne cessary. AS POPE PAUL said, the treaty makes it possible to see signs of greater hope and se renity in the world, And surely it is hardly necessary to remind Catholics that nothing is so unchristian as despair. We ne ver stop trusting in the power of prayer to transform men and events. We do not forget that the providence of God over reaches all. If a man asks us to go one step with him in the right direction, we will go a mile. The treaty, said U, S. Secre tary of State Dean Rusk, ‘ ‘does not do a great deal. All that it does is to eliminate testing in the atmosphere, in outer space and under water. It does not reduce nuclear stockpiles. It does not eliminate nuclear war or the threat of nuclear war. It does not prevent an arms race. But, nevertheless, it helps to impose some limitations and some ceiling upon the arms race. . .And it may be the turning point. , .in which other questions could be taken up for further exploration." The arms race has long since reached the point of global lun acy. As President Kennedy said, a nuclear war could wipe out, in 60 minutes, 300 million Rus sians, Europeans and Ameri cans and "untold numbers else where," and would leave sur vivors, as Khrushchev said, envying the dead. How can any one oppose a first step toward correcting so insane a situa tion? Catholic War Vets GENOA, Italy, (Radio, NC)— Giuseppe Cardinal Siri, Arch bishop of Genoa, toured an American cruiser, the USS Lit- WASHINGTON, (NC)—A Sen ate judiciary subcommittee has favorably reported a bill to grant status as a congressional- ly chartered organization to the Catholic War Veterans. Sponsor of the measure (S. 1914) is Sen. Everett M. Dirksen of Illinois. Negro Dissillusionment BOSTON, (NC)—The present Negro summer of discontent may turn into a "winter of dis illusion” if whites do not acton their conscientious beliefs about racial justice, Father Ro bert L. Drinan, S. J.,saidhere. "And who would dare to pre dict what violence and revolu tion might follow in the spring following such a winter?" asked Father Drinan, dean ofthe Bos ton College law school. The Jesuit educator, ad dressing the Cambridge Ki- wanis Club (Aug. 7), called for a racial justice program com parable in scope to the Mar shall Plan to equalize Negro opportunities. tie Rock, and gave his blessing to the crew. The 57-year-old churchman was the guest of Adm. William gentner (Aug. 9). He was re ceived by Gentner and his en tire staff at nearby Calata Zin- gari, where the Little Rock is anchored, and then escorted aboard ship. Among the party accompanying him were offi cials of the U. S. consulate in Genoa. A Muslim Called Marie Laymen’s Ideas On Council WASHINGTON, (NC)—Arch bishop Patrick A. O’Boyle of Washington has invited laymen of this archdiocese to submit recommendations on matters to be considered at the second session of the ecumenical coun cil, which opens in Rome Sep tember 29. Archbishop O’Boyle asked that suggestions be stated * ‘very concisely” and deal with mat ters that the council has not yet discussed. He said recommen dations should be sent to Auxi liary Bishop Philip M. Hannan, Vicar General of the archdio cese. PARIS, (NC)— King Hassan II of Morocco named his daugh ter Marie because the name is cherished by both Christians and Muslims, it was reported here. L’Homme Nouveau, Catholic fortnightly paper, quoted King Hassan himself as saying ofthe child bom to his Queen a year?* ago: "She will be called Marie, for this name is blessed in the Koran as in the Gospel: it is the name of the Mother of Je-* sus. It is as dear to Christians as to Muslims. "I cherish the hope that ttjis will be a token of the striving toward brotherhood among all who believe in God and in the dignity of man." Six-Fold Increase TAICHUNG, Formosa, (NC) —The Catholic population in the Taichung diocese in central Formosa has had a six-fold increase over the past ten years. The number of Catholics went from 5,654 on June 30, 1953, to 35,919 on June 30, 1963. The total population of the dio cese is over two million. QUESTION BOX Not only would less severe methods have been more effec tive; they would have been more appropriate in a Catholic statesman. If any man should lean over backwards to avoid giving even an appearance of harshness to wards non-Christians, even law-violating non-Christians, it is a Catholic president in a country like Vietnam. President Ngo dinh Diem has not been guilty of persecuting Buddhists for their religion. They have no grounds, nor has any foreign journalist, for ac cusing him on that score. But he and his government have hit the Buddhists excessively hard for their politically ' aimed demonstrations. The hitting was done by sub ordinates, probably without the President’s knowledge. But after he came to know of it, he was slow indeed to do any thing to salve the hurt. No (By David Q. Liptak) Q. What are the "Dead Sea Scrolls?" Is it possible to as sess their significance? And do they—as some articles al lege—throw suspicion on the uniqueness of Christ and the gospel? A. The Dead Sea Scrolls or the Qumran Scrolls represent the most sensational archeolo gical discovery of this century, and probably one of the most significant finds of all time. NOW TOTALING approxi mately 500 manuscripts (a few remarkably well preserved) plus tens of thousands of frag ments, they have been unearth ed in eleven separate caves near Wady Qumran, a gorge about seven miles from Jericho, near the Dead Sea. THE FIRST scroll find was chanced upon in 1947 by a Be douin shepherd, Muhammad adh-Dhib. The fact that he was offered 150 dollars for it soon became known to the local in habitants who converged upon the area in search of similar discoveries. Before long it be came evident that a veritable archeological treasure had been opened. THE FIRST SCIENTIFIC ex cavation of Cave I in 1949 yield ed 600 fragments of biblical and nonbiblical works evidently dat ing from pre-Christian times. (The full significance of the scrolls had just begun to be realized the year before, when their discovery was publicized throughout the world.) IN 1951 the importance ofthe scrolls was dramatically con firmed by excavations at Khir- bet Qumran, conducted under the supervision of PeredeVaux of the Ecole Bibleque and Lank- ester Harding of Jordan’s De partment of Antiquities. Ruins uncovered at Qumran were identified as a kind of monas tery used by the Essenes, a Judaic religious sect whose his torical existence is known from non-biblical sources. Among the relics found were utensils and coins indicating that the monastery was occupied short ly before 100 B.C. and aband oned around 70 B.C., the tradi tional date assigned to the First (Continued on Page 6) The Southern Cross P. O. BOX 180. SAVANNAH. GA. Vol. 44 Thursday, August 15, 1963 No. 6 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 ctf change of address to P. O. Box 180, Savannah, Ga. member of his entourage was (Continued on Page 5) 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