Southern cross. (Savannah, Ga.) 1963-2021, September 12, 1963, Image 2

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Southern cross., September 12, 1963, Image 2

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Newspaper Page Textf r PAGE 2—The Southern Cross, September 12, 1963 INSTALLS OFFICERS AT AUGUSTA—First District Deputy, Dan Keene recently in stalled officers of the Patrick Walsh Council Knights of Columbus, Augusta. New offi cers of Council 677 are: Grand Knight, Johnny Myers; Deputy Grand Knight, Richard Murray; Recorder, Howard Hulme; Chancellor, Edward Welch; Advocate, D. O’Maho ney; Warden, Dr. J. Schmitz; Treasurer, J. Hurley; Inside Guard, Bill Price; Outside Guard, John Jeanson; Financial Secretary, John Buckley, and Trustees Richard Craig, Dave Kelsch, and Joe Gigandet. Msgr. Daniel J. Bourke is Chaplain. Msgr. Higgins Says Realtors Statement At Odds With Encyclicals SAN FRANCISCO, (NC) —Msgr. George G. Higgins charged here that the National Association of Real Estate Boards is encouraging racial discrimination in housing. The prominent authority on Catholic social teachings said the association's recent policy statement which upheld abso lute property rights means "that the social teaching of the churches has had practically no influence in the real estate profession." Msgr. Higgins is director of the Social Action Department of the National Catholic Welfare Conference, Washington, D. C. He spoke here (Sept. 5) to a local Conference on Religion and Race at which nearly every church in the city was repre sented. In his address, Msgr. Higgins said Ndgroes have "the duty" to stand up for their rights and clergymen ought to explain this to their congregations. He also said white Americans are free to disagree with the Negro’s tactics in the civil rights drive. But he added: "On the other hand, they are not free to tell the Negro to sit back patiently and wait for time to vindicate his rights." Msgr. Higgins said that while he did not rate President Ken nedy’s civil rights proposals "a perfect bill," it is a "great step forward.” "It is to be hoped," he said, "that religious organizations will do everything within their power to encourage the Con gress to enact this bill into law at the earliest possible date.” Msgr. Higgins brought in the National Association of Real Estate Boards because, he said, its opposition to open occupan cy legislation "is so diametri cally opposed to traditional Ca tholic teaching on the subject of property." The association, which he said represents 74,000 indivi dual real estate agents and 1,455 local boards, recently adopted at a Chicago meeting of its board of directors a policy statement on property rights. MOCK PLUMBING CO. / —BILL MOCK— Day or Night Phone AD 2-1104 925 E. 37th St. Savannah V Johnnie Ganem Steak Ranch CHARCOAL BROILED STEAKS PRIME STEAKS DINNERS - LUNCHEON COCKTAILS DINNER MUSIC Gaston and Habersham AD 3-3032 Msgr. Higgins said that the statement held that property owners have the right to own and enjoy their property according to their own dictates and the right to occupy and dispose of it without government interferen ce. "To call a spade a spade this means that, in NAREB’s opinion, property owners should have the legal right to discri minate against Negroes," he said. The philosophy behind this statement and another NAREB declaration that a realtor doesn’t have the obligation to change the mind of an owner who objects to selling to a Neg ro is "almost a caricature of 19th-century laissez faire in dividualism," Msgr. Higgins charged. "The fact that such an impor tant organization still officially subscribes to this philosophy and is still appealing to it as a justification for racial dis crimination in the field of hous ing is most disheartening. "It means, among other things, that the social teaching of the churches has had prac tically no influence in the real estate profession," he said. Of Catholic thought on this subject, he said: "If a property owner’s badly formed conscience tells him that he can discriminate against Negroes in the sale or rental of his property then Catholic social teaching would say that the government has the right and may even have the duty to intervene, in defense of the Negro’s right to decent hous ing, by enacting an ‘open occu pancy’ law.” Of the argument that real tors have no responsibility to determine the racial, creedal or ethnic composition of any neighborhood, Msgr. Higgins commented: "That’s a lot of doubletalk. Real estate agents are not ex pected to determine the compo sition of neighborhoods. On the other hand, they are expected to use their influence to promote the cause of interracial justice in their own profession. To shirk this responsibility in the name of professional ethics comes close to being hypocriti cal." Catholic real estate agents,, he said, ought to take time out to check the NAREB’s state ments with the social encycli cals of the Popes on the same subject. "They will find that the ency clicals flatly reject the notion that anyone has the right to ‘occupy and dispose of property without government interfer ence in accordance with the dic tates of his conscience,’ ’’ he said. For New St. Joseph’s Medical And Dental Staff Backs Plans SAVANNAH—Last week’s SOUTHERN CROSS reported the fact that the medical and dental staff of St. Joseph’s Hospital has given its support to plans for a new facility that would eventually cost 7.4 million. We reporudce here the reso lution which they adopted on August 27th. RESOLUTION WHEREAS the facilities of St. Joseph’s Hospital are inade quate and are not capble of further revisions, and WHEREAS due to caring for the poor and others for over three quarters of a century at less than cost the hospital has been unable to build modern facilities, and WHEREAS the Sisters of Mercy have given their services to this community for eighty- years and have received ma terially in return only mainte nance, and WHEREAS the Sisters of Mercy have demonstrated that they are able to administer a hospital efficiently and give skillful, scientific, and personal care suitable to the dignity of human beings, and WHEREAS this example has an elevating influence on the care rendered the sick in the whole community, and WHEREAS the Sisters of / V J > !Jrradialrd^lpmgjMVitamin-T) •• Jlnnethti- Over 40 Years of Dependable Courteous Service SAVANNAH, GEORGIA Mercy have conducted a School of Nursing in connection with St. Joseph’s Hospital for sixty- one years and have graduated many of the registered nurses now staffing the health facilities of Savannah and Chatham Coun ty, and WHEREAS beds are short in the area and difficulty is exper ienced in getting our patients hospitalized even in cases of emergency; therefore, be it RESOLVED that the officials of the Georgia State Department of Health, the Commissioners and people of Chatham County, the Mayor and Aldermen of the City of Savannah, the people and officials in adjoining counties, and all others who are con cerned, be informed that the members of the Medical and Dental Staff of St. Joseph’s Hospital, Inc., recognize the need for new facilities for St. Joseph’s Hospital and do pledge their help, support, interest, and willingness to assist in planning these facilities, and be it further RESOLVED that all of the above be informed that any help they give to the project will be appreciated by the said staff. 134th Parish OAKLAND, Maine, (NC)— The 134th parish in the Diocese of Portland will be established here September 14. The former St. Theresa’s mission serviced by St. Bridget’s church in North Vassalboro, will become an in dependent parish with Father Origne R. Guillet, as pastor. For Council Fathers Extent Of Intellectual Freedom Within Church Is Difficult Question The following article outlines the views of an internationally known educator on the question of intellectual freedom within the Church—which is expected to come up for deliberation af ter the Second Vatican Council reconvenes this September 29. The author, a onetime manag ing editor of the Commonwealth, served as president of Hunter College in New York City from 1940 until his retirement in 1960. In 1950, while Germany was still under military occu pation, he took a two-year leave of absence to accept President Truman’s appointment to be U. S. Commissioner for Bava ria. On his retirement from the presidency of Hunter he returned to his alma mater to serve as assistant to the presi dent of the University of Notre Dame. By George N. Shuster (N.C.W.C. NEWS SERVICE) As the council Fathers con tinue their deliberations, no question placed before them is likely to be either more crucial or difficult than this: To what extent can freedom of research and inquiry be reconciled with obedience to the teaching autho rity of the Church? In order to understand the is sues, one must first of all see what the modern university, on which the lower schools neces sarily depend, is attempting to do. Its scholars are trying to understand the whole of reality, whether in the form of nature or human nature. They proceed by formulating a number of guesses about it, which are usually referred to as hypotheses, and then by finding out how well these are support ed by the evidence. Thus—to take a simple ex ample—it was surmised that a substance called cholesterol might coat bloodvessels in such a way that they would function poorly, with the result that heart failure could ensue. When a careful and extensive study of the data seemed to support this view, the results were published and many doctors now recom mend using peanut oil rather than butter in the preparation of foods. Or, to take another example, after studying the documents a historian may conclude that in adequate use of artillery was the principal reason why the great Confederate charge at Gettysburg failed. Of course both the evidence and the con clusions derived from it may be questioned in these and other cases. That this incessant activity of the modern university is of central human importance is obvious. Not only has it already drastically changed the charac ter of man’s life on the earth, but it is still doing so and will undoubtedly engender even ST. BONAVENTURE greater "revolutions.” Whe ther any of us like it or not, we are in many fundamental ways compelled to live as the university decides we should. As a result respect for and con fidence in the validity of univer sity research is one of the basic characteristics of modern cul ture. But it is important to note that finality is not attributed to any hypothesis. Each and every one must be and will be challenged again and again, with the result that many will be superseded. Therefore a measure of "rela tivity" is implicit in university procedure. This is not a conse quence of accepting a doctrine of relativity in principle, but rather of a realization that the world of reality is infinitely complex while the powers of the human mind are limited. What has been said has of course not gone unnoticed by the Church. Pope Pius XI in parti cular had a very clear under standing of the methodology of modern scholarship and in sev eral statements of notable scope and depth expressed the convic tion that there can be no conflict between science and religion, as the Church understands and de fines religion. For instance in the document reconstituting the Pontifical Academy of Sciences (Oct. 28, 1936), Pius XI reasoned that the scholar is concerned with the world of time while the deposits of the Faith teaches what trans cends time. Since there is so marked a disparity of scope and concern, one cannot contradict the other. Nevertheless there is a diffi culty, and it is a substantial one. Many inferences are drawn from the language in which dog matic teaching is enshrined, and these are colored by assump tions which are altered as the course of history proceeds. Though the dogmas themselves are not hypotheses subject to revision, being of timeless truth because the God from Cardinal Bea Unity Forces Strong Enough For Optimism TRENT, Italy, (NC)—Augus tin Cardinal Bea, S. J., said here that the forces favoring Christian unity are strong enough to warrant confidence in the results of efforts toward unity. The Cardinal, President of the Vatican Secretariat for Pro moting Christian Unity, spoke (Sept. 4) while he was presid ing over the third session of the International Congress of Historians here. The congress met to commemorate the fourth centenary of the closing of the Council of Trent. Speakers on the day’s pro gram were Prof. Thomas Par ker of Oxford University, En gland, an Anglican, and Prof. Peter Meinhold of Kiel Univer sity, Germany, a Lutheran. Parker, speaking on "The Tridentine Reform Compared with the Anglican Reform,’ 'not ed that the word "reform" has various meanings which should be kept clear. In one sense, he said, it refers to the Protestant movement in opposition to Ca tholicism. In other senses, he stated, it may distinguish doc trinal reform from administra tive reform. Meinhold spoke on "Protes tants at Trent." He stressed the fact that the second period of the Council of Trent, often possed over by historians, was partic ularly important because it was the only period of the council at which Protestant orators and therorist were represented. He noted that new forces which were truly and properly religious had come to maturity on both Catholic and Protestant sides at Trent, but that they were so confused by political influences that it was im possible for them to achieve a mutual understanding. He said it might be possible to recover these forces. Commenting on this point, Cardinal Bea said: "The forces are sufficiently strong and pure today to allow greater confidence in their re sults. From a deeper histori cal vision of those events (at Trent) something may be drawn to contribute to mutual under standing." ST. THOMAS whom they come is eternal, they are revealed to men who live in a world of change. Thus so long as a timetable of Creation seemingly outlined in Genesis was read J^erally, some theologians contended that the theory of evolution must be false because the earth could not be more than a few thousand years old. Today, although many hypotheses which have devel oped during the course of the study of evolution have been abandoned, the basic fact that there has - been life on the earth for millions of years is indis putable. Any number of similar exam ples could be cited. It is there fore in the area of inference that freedom of inquiry seems absolutely necessary. For otherwise the human mind, con fronting evidence which cannot be questioned, will be tempted to conclude that theology is a discipline which, despite what the popes have said, comes again and again into conflict with science. The question before the ecu menical council may accord ingly be restated this way: To what extent should the inferen ces traditionally drawn from the language in which dogma is enshrined be equated with the hypotheses of scholarly inqui ry? If one argues that the equa tion should be complete, as does Augustin Cardinal Bea, S. J., president of the Vatican Secre tariat for Promoting Christian Unity, one is saying in essence that the university is once more to be the place in which the in ferences are tested. This means that the teaching authority of the Church will prescribe great latitude, provided of course al ways that the deposit of the Faith remains inviolate. On the other hand, if one holds that theological authorities out side the university should be the arbiters in each instance, a totally different situation is created. For then the decision will not be scientific—that is, made in the form of a hypothe sis subject to verification—but authoritarian. Here then, one thinks,, is what Swiss-born Father Hans Kueng, one of the official theologians of the Vatican council, has in mind as the area of freedom in the Church. Perhaps the best way to approach his reasoning is to note that he recommends that there ought not to be one theology but several, even many. This is not a new idea. In the heyday of their glory the medieval universities knew at least four wholly orthodox forms of theological inquiry: The traditional one, rooted in Augustinian thinking; that of St. Thomas; that of the Francis cans, exemplified by such mas ters as Duns Scotus and St. Bonaventure; and the more mystical, and therefore more eclectic, theology of the Bene dictines. Even if it be true that of these the Thomistic teaching is the most satisfactory, there can be no doubt that the others have been productive of profound wisdom to this very day. The meaning of the phrase "several theologies" is therefore clear. The usefulness of hypothesis is recognized, not (to repeat) in so far as revealed dogma is con cerned, but in the whole realm of inference. A good example of whht hap pens when this concept is adopt ed may be seen in Cardinal Newman’s theory of the devel opment of Christian doctrine. This was once considered ven- turesome.% But although today few would probably agree with Newman’s exposition in every respect, the central fact of de velopment is well established. We come therewith to the im portant question of caveats con cerning what the faithful may or may not read. No one quarrels with the general principle that books professedly obscene are forbidden to practicing Chris tians. They are in a quite ele mentary sense occasions of sin. But certainly any candid stu dent of the Index of Forbidden Books must conclude that the net which the examiners have spread takes in a quantity of strange fish. Critics point out, for example, that Victor Hugo’s "Les Miserables” was forbid den because the priest in the story, who permitted his guest to run off with the candlesticks, was deemed too humanitarian (the action may as a matter of fact have concealed somebody’s ire with St. Vincent de Paul). Or again Flaubert’s "Madame Bovary,” the sternest moral dissertation ever written for girls with romantic ideas about life, was denounced for im morality. The critics therefore feel that although not all of the In dex is similarly questionable, it is high time that the Fathers took a good look at it and also at the principle which underlies it. Evidently, however, some means must nevertheless be found for guarding against basic deviations in the presentation of dogma. Pope John XXIII placed the council’s discussions in the framework of ecumenical think ing. The quest for Christian unity necessarily implies great stress on freedom. The task is twofold—first, to discover in what measure Catholics and Protestants jointly cherish a common dogmatic faith; second, to find out if in the realm of inference a reconciliation of views is possible. Since preparation for this effort is farthest advanced in Northern Europe, the Fathers representing that part of the world have naturally been in the forefront of ecumenism. Such thinking focuses on three topics of the greatest significance: Scripture, the authority which derives from Tradition, and the liturgy. Of the three the first, name ly the study and explication of Holy Writ, is that in which the modern university has been most directly involved, and which therefore presents the greatest challenge. If the coun cil grants to Catholic Scripture scholars greater freedom in this area, a memorable step will have been taken toward bringing historical scholarship and the teaching authority of the Church closer together. There is much more. We can only pray that under the guidance of the Holy Spirit the deliberations of the Fathers will proceed in a manner which makes the life and the mission of the Church ever more rad iant, so that mankind will be drawn closer to Him who is the way, the truth and the life. \£y Mann v Television Service Company TV-RADIOS-TR ANSISTORS TAPE RECORDS-STEREOS 148 West Broad AD 6-6358 Savannah, Ga. MARRIAGES GODFREY-EVANS SAVANNAH — Miss Suellen Evans, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Allen Evans, be came the bride of Donald Paul Godfrey, son of Mr. and Mrs. Melvin Fulton Godfrey, of Pitts field, Mass., in a ceremony per formed by the Rev. Edward Frank, August 24th, in the Bles sed Sacrament Church. ROCKAFELLOW- GUNTER AUGUSTA — Miss Glenda Gunter, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Prentis C. Gunter, Clear water, S. C., became the bride of Mr. Richard Howard Rocka- fellow, Columbia, S. C., in a ceremony August 31st at St. Patrick’s Church, Augusta, with the Rev. Edward J. Murphy of ficiating. SNELL-HALVERSON AUGUSTA — Miss Betsy May Halverson became the bride of Mr. Kenneth Charles Snell on September 7th at St. Joseph’s Church, here. The Rev. Nickolas J. Quinlan officiated. The bride is the daughter of Mrs. Frances M. Halverson. The bridegroom's parents are Mrs. Levy M. Snell, Anaheim, California, and Mr. Roy W. Snell, Charleston, W. Va. HILL-HITCH SAVANNAH — Miss Sarah Battle Hitch and Benjamine Harvey Hill, Jr., were married at the Cathedral of Christ the King, August 31st. The Rt. Rev. Msgr. Cassidy Celebrated the Nuptial Mass. The bride is the daughter of Mrs. R. M. Hitch Sr., of Savannah, and the late Mayor Robert Mark Hitch. The bridegroom is the son of Ben jamine Harvey Hill of Atlanta. ROBERTSON-SCHRODER SAVANNAH — Miss Susan Marie Schroder, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John M. Schro der, became the bride of John Gilbert Robertson, son of Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert A. Robertson, September 7th, in St. James Church. The nuptial mass was celebrated bytheRt. Rev. Msgr. John D. Toomey. SC ARPETTI-LINTON SAVANNAH — Miss Sandra Patricia Linton, daughter of Mrs. R. L. Linton and the late Mr. Linton, became the bride of Peter Joseph Scarpetti Jr., son of Mr. and Mrs . P. J. Car- petti of Chester, Pa. The nup tial mass was celebrated by the Rev. Edward R. Frank, of the Church of the Most Blessed Sac rament, on August 31st. For Wedding Invitations i# ,t,s y I The Acme Press 1201 LINCOLN STREET PHONE 232-6397 DESBOUILLONS Savannah’s yV Leading ^ Bridal Store SINCE 1870 AD 2-1145 126 E. Broughton St. Savannah, Georgia etK Home Mortgage Insurance — Group Insurance Flem G. Cliet & Jr. Staff Supervisor Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. AD 3-7717 Estate Planning — Business Insurance SAVANNAH Savannah’s Only Discount House DIXIE FURNITURE MART Where Everybody Trades” 2517 Bull Street Savannah, Georgia Phone AD6-8616