Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

1 4 r PAGE 2—The Southern Cross, August 22, 1963 Hierarchy Repeats- (Continued From Page 1) and many souls would have gone without the supernatural graces that come to them only from having the Church active in their ; midst." Other southern bishops be sides Bishop Greco have spoken out on the racial issue in re cent months. In the midst of rioting in Bir mingham, Ala., last May, Arch bishop Thomas J. Toolen, Bi shop of Mobile-Birmingham said that "as Catholics we can not harbor hate in our hearts for our Negro brethren." "We are glad that Negroes are obtaining some rights, but do not approve of some of their methods,” Archbishop Toolen said. Following the assassination in June of Mississippi NAACP leader Medgar Evers, Bishop Richard O. Gerow of Natchez- Jackson, Miss., said Evers’ death was "shocking and sad dening." Speaking "as a loyal son of Mississippi and a man of God," Bishop Gerow said: "We need frankly to admit that the mur der of Mr. Evers and the other instances of violence in our community tragically must be shared by all of us. Responsi ble leadership in some instan ces has been singularly lack ing." For many, one of the most striking aspects of the current drive for racial justice has been the growing participation of clergy and Religious in civil rights demonstrations. Many Catholic churchmen have made noteworthy state ments on race in recent months. These are some of them: —Francis Cardinal Spell man, Archbishop of New York: "We need civil rights measures enacted into law, but we also need the attitudes of justice and charity to be applied by every person in our society to the con crete problems of housing, em ployment and education." —Richard Cardinal Cushing, Archbishop of Boston: "At the root of the problem is discri mination against the Negro which deprives him of his rights as a man and as a citizen, wholly contrary to the law of this' larid and the disposition of a vast majority of its people." —Joseph Cardinal Ritter, Archbishop of St. Louis: "The weapons of segregation, discri mination and economic oppres sion can be every bit as cruel as gas chambers and concen tration camps." —Archbishop Patrick A. O’Boyle of Washington: "No Catholic with a good Christian conscience can fail to give the Negro people the legitimate op- rHE^^ Oilontait MOTOR HOTEL • TV 4c AIR CONDITIONING • FAMOUS MIAMI BUFFET • ICE 4c BEVERAGE STATIONS • COFFEE MAKER, EACH ROOM LUCKIE AT CONE ST. A Good Address in Atlanta portunity to secure proper housing, equal opportunity for a job, proper and adequate wel fare needs and full participation in our public and private educa tional facilities." —Archbishop Paul J. Halli- nan of Atlanta, Ga.: "No citizen, white or Negro, can be in doubt about the Church’s teaching on racial justice in this archdio cese, or her honest determina tion to carry this out in prac tice." —Bishop John J. Russell of Richmond, Va.: "A Catholic cannot fail to recognize the right of the Negro people to secure proper housing, equal oppor tunity for work, full participa tion in educational facilities, both public and private, and the right to equal accommodation both on public property and within those enterprises licen sed and protected by the state for the service of the general public." Archbishop Gerald T. Bergan of Omaha in July directed Catholics of his archdiocese to observe a policy of open occu pancy in residential housing. Bishop Charles Helmsing of Kansas City-St. Joseph, Mo., announced in May that he will not attend any function held at a place which practices racial discrimination. The Bishops’ statement of 1958 declared that to work for racial justice "amid passions and misunderstandings will not be easy." "It will take courage," they said. "But quiet andperserver- ing courage has always been the mark of a true follower of Christ." Memorial Mass— (Continued From Page 1) gate to Great Britain in 1954. It was during his service in Great Britain that the Savannah- Atlanta See was divided in 1956 into two separate dioceses, each bearing the name of one of those major Georgia cities. He con tinued as Ordinary of the dio cese of Savannah until his re signation in 1959. His successor was Bishop Thomas J. McDon ough, Savannah's present Ordi nary. Archbishop O’Hara died at his post in London, following a heart attack, on July 16th of this year. He was 67. Bishop McDonough will be celebrant at the Mass, assisted by the Rt. Rev. Msgr. T. James McNamara, P. A., V. F., rec tor of Savannah’s Cathedral and Vicar General of the Diocese, who will serve as Assistant Priest. Deacons of Honor will be the Rt. Rev. Msgr. JohnD. Toomey, pastor of St. James Church, Savannah, and the Rev. Marvin LeFrois, pastor of St. Tere sa’s, Albany. The Rev. John Cuddy, dioce san superintendent of schools, will be Deacon of the Mass. Subdeacon will be the Rev. Jo seph Stranc, faculty member of St. John Vianney Minor Semi nary. The Rt. Rev. Msgr. Andrew J. McDonald, Chancellor, will serve as Master of Ceremonies. He will be assisted by the Rev. Kevin Boland, of St. John Vian ney Minor Seminary. Music for the Solemn cere monies will be provided by a choir composed of priests un der the direction of the Rev. F elix Donnelly, pastor of Sacred Heart Church, Augusta. n^! J .0 * Orradialed ]\tamtn-"D Xnnetted. Over 40 Years of Dependable Courteous Service SAVANNAH. GEORGIA Savannah’s Only Discount House DIXIE FURNITURE „V v MART “Where Everybody Trades* 9 2517 Bull Street Savannah, Georgia Phone AD6-8616 Paper Spikes Mindzenty Health Report NEW YORK, (NC)—Jozsef Cardinal Mindszenty, 71, Pri mate of Hungary, is in "very, very good health" and in "very good spirits," too. The report came from Turn er Shelton, principal American diplomat at the U. S. Legation in Budapest, who denied reports that the prelate’s health is fail ing. Shelton spoke by telephone from Budapest with A. J. B. Adams of the Catholic News, archdiocesan newspaper. Adams was checking radio, news service and other press reports that the Cardinal was suffering from diabetes and as thma and was "getting weaker." Since the 1956 Hungary revolt when the prelate was liberated from prison, Cardinal Minds zenty has resided in asylum at the American Legation in Buda pest. Efforts of Hungary’s ruling communist officials to have him surrendered to them have been refused by U. S. authorities. Shelton, charge d’affaires at the legation, was quoted by Adams as saying: "No doctor has been here. No doctor has been in to see him at all. He doesn’t need any attention. There’s nothing wrong with him at all.” TEXT- (Continued From Page 1) every faith and race, we can heal the ancient wounds of di vision. Thus our nation will reflect its true greatness, a greatness founded on the moral principle that all men are free and equal under God. In all these endeavors, we must remember that they labor in vain, who seek to work with out Almighty God. Our daily prayer for guidance will give us that confidence and courage we need to seek racial justice and harmony in our land. Above all, it is our prayer that the love of God may infuse our thoughts and actions, so that we may revere in every man the image of the Eternal God. U. S. Bishops— (Continued From Page 1) the rights of all citizens to vote. "Moreoever, we must pro vide for all equal opportunity for employment, full participa tion in our public and private educational facilities, proper housing and adequate welfare assistance when needed." Appealing for action to in crease knowledge of the atti tudes among both races before action is taken to correct in equities, the Bishops said: "We can show our Christian charity by a quiet and courage ous determination to make the quest for racial harmony a mat ter of personal involvement. We must go beyond slogans and generalizations about color and realize that all of us are human beings, men, women and child ren, all sharing the same hu man nature and dignity, with the same desires, hopes and feel ings. We should try to know and understand one another." By way of detailing how free exchange of ideas between races can be carried out, the Bishops said people in the same line of work can discuss problems caused by racial barriers. "Physicians of one race can talk with those of another. So can businessmen, teachers, lawyers, secretaries, farmers, clerks and other workers," they said. Catholic parish and diocesan societies, along with political gatherings and civic associa tions, can provide the ' ‘common meeting grounds," the prelates said. ‘ ‘We may act through the various lay organizations of the Church as well as with civic groups of every type," they said. "In many parts of the nation, there are interracial committees representing the major religious faiths as well as important aspects of civic life. We bless and endorse such efforts. . .’’ Civic action will be more fruitful, the Bishops said, if all citizens ‘ ‘openly and expli citly proclaim the religious ba sis of racial justice and love." "Accordingly," they said, "we repeat simply: Love one another, for this is the law of God. Revere in every man his human dignity, for this is a gift of God.” All cars should be equipped with a basic first aid kit, flares and other emergency gear for use in case of trouble. LAUNCHING A BUSY WEEK—these Young Christian Workers were among 300 dele gates who attended the llth National YCW Study Week at Renselaer, Indiana. They are delving into the role of the young working person in parish life, political life and racial equality. Local delegates pictured above are: L to R, from Fort Benning, Ga„ Back Row; Gene Horvath, Fr. Michael J. Rogers (Chaplain), Anthony Stergar, A1 Dager; Front Row: John Young, John Flanigan, Stan Jones, Pete Morales.—(Steve Herbert Photo) Vocations Problem (Continued From Page 1) tion increase has been explo sive, for in the past five years the Catholics have doubled per centagewise over the number of seminarians. The few figures available for Africa and Asia show the begin nings of similar phenomena. Some regions of Africa have already attained a condition like that of Latin America. Only in the United States has there been an increase in the number of vocations. The en rollment in U. S. seminarians today totals some 47,000. All of the rest of the Catholic world accounts for only some 50,100 seminarians, so the United States, with less than 10 per cent of the total Catholic popu lation, accounts for almost half the seminary students. During the closing days of the first session of the ecu menical council, Leo Cardinal Suenens, Archbishop of Ma- lines-Brussels, gave everyone present a copy of a book he had prepared on the changing condi tions of religious vocations in the modern world. He had titled this study "The Nun In The Modern World," but imme diately qualified it. "When we talk of nuns," he said, "we have also in mind all souls dedicated to God whose object is visible apostolic propaga tion. . .such as Brothers. . . and lay apostles of all kinds." Most of the recipients had time only to pack the book with council Documents before set ting out for their home dio ceses. But during the interven ing months all have now had a chance to read and evaluate Cardinal Suenens’ appeal for a more modern approach to the idea of the religious life. He wants to extend the Church’s apostolate to new dimensions, and makes some startling sug gestions for utilizing present personnel more effectively. "Many practices and regula tions of today’s Religious are outmoded," he asserts. "For this reason vocations are de creasing everywhere. . .Often it is due to the poor image so many communities have in the eyes of the laity. "I think it is significant," he adds, "that the least affected are the missionary and purely contemplative congregations. Their image is still that of heroic apostolic activity and of a life devoted to God in silence. "The ones who are suffering most," Cardinal Suenens con tinues, "are the nursing and teaching communities. In one of my suffragan dioceses 78 out of 522 religious houses have had to close in the last 30 years for lack of vocations." The Cardinal’s testimony is corroborated by Bishop Char les-Marie Himmer of Tournai, Belgium, who points out that in his diocese nearly 30 per cent of the Sisters are over 65, while only 10 per cent are under 30. "This factor of aging com munities,” he states, "natural ly complicates the problem of modernizing the group’s poli cies and practices.” Along with considering pre sent vocations the council Fa thers are also asking: Where can more vocations be found? Apart from the theological study of the matter, they recog nize that a great deal can be learned from a study of the social milieu, the geographical area, the type of family, and the youths’ scholastic formation. Some regions provide more vocations than others. In South America, for example, four de partments of Colombia (Antio- quia, Cundinarmarca, Caldas and Boyaca) account for 68 per cent of the diocesan vocations and 78 per cent of the religious vocations. These are rural areas, but in the United States where most Catholics are city people, it is just the opposite. Nearly 90 per cent of the voca tions come from the urban areas. In Belgium the agricultural class, which scarcely repre sents 10 per cent of the popu lation, furnishes 18 per cent of the religious vocations. The tion also needs consideration. There has been a wide variance in this regard. Seminary drop out rates range from as little as 10 per cent to over 80 per cent of the candidates. To explain such differences on the basis of love of pleasure and lack of generosity in youth is altogether too simple. It is also erroneous, for any prudent judge can appreciate the fact that there are many elements entering into the problem. Take, for example, the effects on the youths of early education in a Second Session Of Vatican Council Will Close Dec. 4 VATICAN CITY, (NC)—The second session of the Second Vatican Council will end this December 4, a high council source confirmed. The spokesman acknowledged the closing date after some council Fathers had revealed it in their own areas. The second session starts September 29. The closing date had been communicated to the bishops of the world, but not made public by the Holy See. But the council press office in mid-July denied reports to the effect that the session would end on December 8. There is still no official indication whether the council itself will conclude with the second session, or whether it will reconvene again at a later date. workers, who make up almost 50 per cent, give 17 per cent and the upper class, which is less than 10 per cent of the population, gives 21 per cent. The Netherlands shows dif ferent figures, due in part to the different distribution of Ca tholics in the population. There 23 per cent of the seminarians come from the working classes; 22 per cent come from the farms; and 7 per cent from the upper class. All this indicates that the council Father will probably study social and eco nomic factors as well as moral ones in seeking a solution to the vocation crisis. Another thing some of the council Fathers want to discuss is the practicality of minor seminaries. For 400 years, since the Council of Trent or dered the establishment of a seminary in every diocese, it has been taken for granted that younger vocations are the more common. The earlier a youth is accepted into a seminary, the traditional theory went, the better would he be developed academically, socially, cultu rally, physically and spiri tually. But many North European and South American bishops are now challenging these assum ptions. The Colombian Bishops, for instance, claim that 52 per cent of their seminarians have entered at the age of 17 or later; 28 per cent in their middle teens; and only 20 per cent at the beginning of adolescence. Such evidence must be weigh ed carefully in planning future action, for much depends on the milieu in which the vocations germinate. The matter of per severance in the religious voca- PRAY FOR OUR PRIESTLY DEAD REV. WILLIAM FAULKNER BROWNE Aug. 23, 1881 REV. CHARLES J. RETHANS Aug. 26, 1951 Oh God, Who didst give to thy servants hy their sacredotal office, a share in the priest hood of the Apostles, grant, we implore, that they may. also he one of their company forevtr in heaven. Through Christ Our Lord, Amen. parochial or public school, in a separate or coeducational school, in an accredited or non- accredited one. What is to be said of the home environment, social con tacts, the effects of communi cations media like the newspa pers, radio, television, and movies ? Only when all the ele ments affecting vocations have been considered will it be possi ble to formulate policies and make decisions. One tool for evaluating the effects of environment on the temperament and personality of a youth is the psychological- test. Since World War II more and more dioceses and religious institutes have been attempting, like their governmental and military counterparts, to sub ject potential candidates to psy chological tests to determine their temperamental and emo tional fitness for the priestly or religious life. The assump tion is that if youths are psy chologically suitable for the priesthood or religious life they are more likely to persevere. Now the question in the minds of some of the bishops and ma jor superiors is this: Should such tests be optional, or com pulsory? Or should they be ig nored altogether? Those who have already spoken out on the matter recommend caution and reserve. They do admit that these tests can and do supply important data about questionable appli cants. However, they hold that all of the tests need perfecting and those already available should be administered and in terpreted only by trained clini cal psychologists. The purpose of these tests, all agree, is not to determine the presence or absence:-of a vocation. It is simply to magni fy those components in a youth’s temperament, attitude and per sonality which may be obscure. Once all the factors are evident, it is easier for the bishop or religious superior to judge whe ther or not an individual is suitable for the priesthood or religious life. Where one’s personal obser vations of a candidate are ade quate, these tests are not need ed. This explains how the Church has managed for 20 centuries without such helps. But just as we now avail our selves of the advances of medi- Polish Government Fails In Attempt To Halt Pilgrimage MUNICH, Germany, (Radio, NC)—Attempts of the Polish government to stop an annual mass pilgrimage to the shrine of Jasna Gora in Czestochowa, Po land, ended in failure, according to reports reaching Radio Free Europe here. RFE said the government pretext for a ban on the pil grimage of the Feast of the Assumption (Aug. 15) was a smallpox epidemic. Although there had been a 100 cases of the disease and seven fatalities reported, the jban was to be an active poli tical repression rather than a public health measure, RFE Isaid. The ban followed the re cent closing of seven Catholic kindergartens in Cracow and one in Warsaw. In a series of broadcasts in Polish a priest on the RFE staff, Father T. Kirshke, doc umented the case against the communist ban on the pilgrim age. He noted, for example, that the Polish health authori ties, while warning the public of the dangers of smallpox du ring summer travels, had simp ly urged vaccination as a pre caution. There had been no previous restriction on group tours, he said, and a record half-million children were in summer camps in Poland. Although the mass pilgrimage was banned, it was reported that pilgrims to Jasna Gora (Bright Mount) had not been stopped but had simply joined small touring groups going to the shrine. Jasna Gora, a national as well as religious shrine, has sym bolized Polish independence ever since the fortified monas tery offered a haven against Swedish invaders in the 17th century. Yearly pilgrimages to the shrine took on a patriotic character following King John Casimir’s declaration in 1655 that the Virgin Mary was to be considered Queen of Poland. Teen-Agers Flee Sudan Persecution KAMPALA, Uganda, (NC)— Fifteen girls, aged about 15 years, walked 400 miles through swamps and forest from southern Sudan to refuge in northern Uganda to escape religious repression, accord ing to reports reaching here. Political power in the Sudan rests with the Muslim Arabs of the northern region who number about two-thirds of the country’s 12 million people. The south, peopled mainly by pagan Negro and Nilotic tribes, has about 500,000 Christians— more than half of them Catho lics. The Sudanese government’s anti-Christian moves in sou thern Sudan have brought the ex pulsion of 160 missionaries since late 1962. The govern ment is trying to spread Islam to unify the country. In the Torit area, seven Ca tholic catechists were sentenc ed by Muslim Chief Marhum Loture to seven years in pris on for teaching catechism and prayers to children, it has been reported. Other reports tell that sol diers burned huts and crops in villages of Rodo, Gederu, Mwendi and Pamuju. Senate Extends Bracero Program For One Year WASHINGTON, NC)—The Senate has approved another one-year extension of the con troversial bracero labor pro gram due to expire December 31. But it added a new section to protect American migratory farm workers. The measure, adopted (Aug. 15) by a 63 to 24 vote, now goes to the House which rejected on May 29 a bill to extend the pro gram for two years. The Senate bill provides that American workers must be pro vided the same benefits given Mexicans in the areas of work men’s conpensation, housing, transportation and a guaranteed minimum amount of work. Do mestic workers have no such protection now. Begun in 1949 as a temporary measure to meet a manpower shortage during the Korean war, the program provides for the seasonal importation of cal science to prove a person’s physical fitness, so many of the council Fathers feel that the findings of psychology and psy chiatry will help to evaluate a person’s mental fitness and emotional balance. All acknowledge that a suc cessful religious vocation is the work of the Holy Spirit and the acceptance of the Spirit’s goad by the individual. The goal of the Church today, as always, is to help the Christian to be able to know it when he has such a vocation, and to foster it. Mexicans to help harvest U. S. crops. It has been repeatedly extended on a one or two-year basis since its start. Religious and social action groups, including the National Catholic Rural Life Conference, have vigorously opposed exten sion of the program, alleging that the Mexicans compete un fairly with American workers. They say the presence of Mexi cans severely limits job oppor tunities and wages of domestic workers. On the other hand, growers’ associations, farmers and civic groups in farming regions de fend the program as essential to their well being, saying that Americans will not do "stoop labor" in the fields. The extension bill came to the Senate floor without committee hearings. It was originally a simple extension of the present program sponsored by Sens. Gordon Allott and Peter H. Dominick, both of Colorado. However, it was amended on the floor by Sen. Eugene Mc Carthy of Minnesota. McCarthy first tried to kill the entire bill and substitute one protect ing American workers and di recting the Secretary of Labor to take steps to assure a suffi cient number of American workers who would do the work previously handled by Mexi cans. However, this amendment lost on a 45 to 45 vote. / Your Electric Post Lantern • is so economical to install and operate • guards against accidents and prowlers • turns on, off — automatically • creates an air of prestige • provides extra electric outlet Contact your favorite electrical contractor. GEORGIA POWER COMPARY