Southern cross. (Savannah, Ga.) 1963-2021, September 12, 1963, Image 4

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Southern cross., September 12, 1963, Image 4

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Newspaper Page Textt J PAGE 4—The Southern Cross, September 12, 1963 i Press, Government Why Are They Silent? It is hartening to note that U. S. Govern ment officials and the American press are concerned about the violation of human rights in South Viet Nam. And it must be admitted that regardless of the political proclivities of the nation’s Buddhist organizations, police brutality, pro fanation of Buddhist places of worship, and government harrassment of political dissi dents certainly constitute violations of human rights. We hope that President Diem will give the grievances of South Viet Nam’s Buddhists a fair and impartial hearing, and that he will investigate their charges, instead of con demning them as unjust out of hand. If there is corruption in government, it should be rooted out. If local government officials in the country’s cities and towns have been practicing discrimination against the Buddhist population, then the truth should be admitted and the situation remedied. If, on the other hand, thorough investiga tion reveals that the charges are unfounded and that the activities of the country’s Budd hist leaders are directed, not toward secur ing full religious freedom for their co religionists, but simply toward the establish ment of a government which will deliver into their hands, by confiscation, the schools, hospitals, orphanages, and leprosaria which were built by Christian dedication, then that fact, too, should be made public—and with ample documentation. In the meantime, is it too much to hope that the press of the United States—and that means all the major wire services, televi sion and radio news networks, and daily newspapers — will stop either suppressing or simply ignoring very real and long es tablished religious persecution in Ceylon and the Sudan, and that the government will begin to evince the same interest in religious free dom for Christians that it manifests for Buddhists? In Ceylon, persecution of the country’s Christians has taken the form of nationaliza tion of private, schools, economic harrass ment of Christian religious institutions, a concerted and thinly veiled attempt to “squeeze out” Christian missionaries, and discrimination against the children in atten dance at formerly private Christian schools. The repression of Christianity in Ceylon is not unknown to the United States Govern ment, nor to American newsmen, nor to newspapers in any city which has a Catholic Diocesan newspaper. But it seems to have been almost studiously ignored both by gov ernment and the secular press community, including such notable professional organiza tions as the American Society of Newspaper Editors. Arbitrary arrest, imprisonment without trial, and deportation from the country has been the lot of scores of Christian mission aries in the Sudan, where an Arab govern ment in the north seeks to impose the Mos lem religion on the population of the pre dominately Negro and pagan south. Confis cation has been the fate of missionary-owned property and missionary activity has been so restricted by harsh and unreasonable govern ment decree as to be rendered unlawful to all intents and purposes. The fact of Sudanese anti-Christian perse cution has at least been mentioned, though not too loudly, in the United Nations Organization by U. S. Ambassador Adlai Stevenson. But the long-standing violation of human rights in both Ceylon and the Sudan have # called forth the public concern of neither the American press nor the United States Government. The government is to be commended for not backing away from the unpleasant task of reprimanding our South Vietnamese ally, which has apparently seen fit to adopt the un just methods of our common foe, and the press of the nation deserves thanks for arous ing the country’s indignation toward even an anti-comminist government, when it unjustly deprives any of its citizens of the fundamen tal rights of man which Americans cherish so dearly. But the failure of both government and press to voice any concern over the viola tion of these same fundamental rights in Cey lon and the Sudan casts doubt on the nation’s committment to freedom for all men, every where, and beclouds the press’ claim to the title of “defender of the rights of man.” Prelate Infers Viet Nam Suicides Actually Murder ROME, (NC)—Archbishop Pierre Ngo dinh Thuc of Hue, brother of President Ngo dinh Diem of Vietnam, declared in a newspaper interview published by the Rome newspaper II Tem po that Buddhist monks in his homeland planned to overthrow its government in a coup d’etat scheduled for September 21. The Archbishop said that fa natics of the General Buddhist Association also ■ envisioned a massacre of all Catholics in that communist-threatened south east Asian nation. Archbishop Thuc arrived in Rome to take part in the ecu menical council’s second ses sion opening September 29. Ac cording to II Tempo, he said he will spend the weeks before the session starts by visiting various European countries to give his account of the internal struggle that has shaken his na tion since May. II Tempo said the Archbishop charged that the Buddhists’ an tigovernment plot had been sus tained and even guided by for eign circles which he would not identify. But the Archbishop did say that these foreign circles were vexed at President Diem because “he did not want our country to be anybody’s satel lite.” From this II Tempo conclud ed Archbishop Thuc was speak ing about Americans. The Rome daily reported that the Archbishop said that the train of events leading to Viet nam’s internal troubles began some years back with the de sire of the General Buddhist Association to have a flag of their own like the papal flag flown by Catholics. But once the Buddhists had their own flag, he continued, they insist ed on flying it in a place of honor above the national flag, while Catholics complied with government regulations giving the national flag precedence. Last May 7, he said, the gov ernment renewed its regula tion of two years’ standing that the national flag must take precedence. This came just as the Buddhists were preparing to hold a great festival in honor of Buddha. Buddhists appealed (Continued on Page 6) Leave It Unsaid! God’s World Probably you have heard of the organization known as Re covery, Incorporated. Actually it is a fellowship rather than a formal organization. Recovery was initiated several years ago by a Chicago p s y chia - trist, Dr. Ab raham Lowe. The movement has now spread all over the United States. Recovery is network of small groups of people who have personality problems of one kind or another, psychological or emotional. The members of each group met weekly to discuss Dr. Lowe’s book, “Mental Health Through Will Training,” and to apply its principles to their own par ticular problems. Recovery has proven to be a very effective form of psycho - therapy. Through participation in Re covery, thousands have found emotional health and mental peace. If you live in a city of any size, you will doubtless find "Recovery, Inc.” listed inyour telephone directory. A call to the number listed will bring you information as to the times and places of meeting, or an ex planatory leaflet if you wish it. The reason for mentioning Recovery here is to take note of one of Dr. Lowe’s self-help (By Leo J. Trese) techniques. He calls it “mus cle control.” It is an effective device for controlling nervous symptoms by controlling the muscles involved. In one area, particularly, muscle control is an invaluable aid to happier living. This is the area of speech. Unless we live in the rarified atmosphere of sainthood, we must admit that our speech muscles cause an uncommon amount of unhappi ness to ourselves and to others. How often we have said, after some verbal slip, “I could have bitten my tongue off?” Control of the muscles of tongue, throat and lips is less heroic than biting off one’s tongue, but it does call for un remitting effort and practice. A young wife and mother con sulted me recently, in tears be cause her marriage is on the verge of breaking up. Why? Sim ply because, as she herself admits, she cannot hold her tongue. She is cursed with a jealous and suspicious mind. Her husband must give an ac count of his every movement. If he comes home late from the office, she digs and probes and questions his truthfulness. If he stretches out in his chair after dinner for a few minutes of peace, she cannot stand the silence. She is sure that he must be thinking about some other women, or thinking unkind thoughts about herself — and quizzes and complains. It is no wonder that the husband says he cannot stand it much longer and is threatening to leave. The woman does love her husband, and all that is needed to save the marriage is a little muscle control on her part. .She is not a typical wife, ad mittedly. Yet hers is not a un ique problem. No one knows how many marriages have foun dered because of the critical, the complaining, the cantanker ous or the just plan thoughtless speech of husband or wife. Neither can we estimate how many friendships have been broken up by words spoken has tily and regretted too late. Sim ilarly, there are no figures av ailable for the embarrassments caused by confidence vio lated and secrets revealed. It is equally impossible to count the tears shed or to weight the pain suffered because of sar castic, critical or belittling re marks. Yes, control of speech mus cles is a wonderfully simple preventive of pain. This is true even on the natural level. How much more true it is for those of us whoprofess to befollowers of Christ, He has charged us, over and over again, to “love one another!” Probably the most dreadful moment of our judgment will be the moment when we try to answer His ques tion, “But why,- why did you hurt others so?” The Reality We Face It Seems to Me To my mind, the most mean ingful testimony during the Sen ate Foreign Relations Commit tee hearings on the nuclear test ban treaty came from Dr. Her bert F. York, chancellor of the University of California. Dr. York, a leading nuc lear scien tist, was de fense r e- search and engineering director for Pentagon un der President Eisenhower and in the early days of the Kennedy administration. Technology, he explained to the Senate committee, has got us into the apocalyptic jam we are in. But technology cannot get us out. We waste our time, he be lieves, when we argue about whether the test ban treaty might hamper us in becoming militarily more powerful. BOTH THE U. S. and Russia are already suicidally power ful. War between them would be self-destroying lunacy. Their fear of each other has driven them into trading their national security for the capa city for mutual extermination. Each sits, not figuratively but literally, under the sword of Damocles. For extra clarity, I have di vided Dr. York’s analysis into the following points: 1. Ever since soon after World War II, American mili tary power has steadily grown. 2. But in the same period, JOSEPH BREIG America’s national security has been * ‘rapidly and inexorably diminishing.” 3. The Soviet Union’s situa tion is even worse — ' ‘much worse.” 4. Why is all this so? Be cause weapons have become so destructive that there is no defense against them. The only safety now, for us now living and for our descendants, lies in not using our power. 5. It is * ‘probably impossi ble” to create an anti-missile system that could protect ei ther side, or both. Therefore, there is no tech nological salvation for us, or for them. We must all look elsewhere for help. Said Dr. York: “. . .the problem posed to both sides by this dilemma of steadily increasing military power, and steadily increasing national security, has no tech nical solution. ‘ ‘If we continue to look for solutions in the areas of science and technology, the only result will be a steady and inexorable worsening of this situation.” The test ban treaty, said Dr. York, is “a first small step to ward finding a solution.” It should be followed by other ac tions to reverse the arms race. So much for Dr. York’s testi mony. We owe it not only to ourselves and to humanity today, but to the generations from now on, to labor tirelessly for a world ruled by reason rather than by nuclear terror. Those who look at the situation in terms of our “keeping ahead of Russia in the arms race” are blind to what has happened. The arms race, in any ration al sense, is over. Russia and the U. S. have long since burst the tape. Each has more weapons than needed to wipe out the other. Each has so much power that neither dares use it. The armaments contest has become an exercise in howling and slob bering imbecility. WITH HIS peasant shrewd ness and common sense, Nikita Khrushchev, I think, realizes this. That is why he has broken with his Chinese allies—be cause they talk war instead of peaceful coexistence, They are so bemused with doctrinaire Marxism - Leninism - Stalin ism that they cannot face real ity. In that sense, the Chinese Red rulers are not thinking sanely. Technology is inexorably pushing America and Russia into wary coexistence, and in the long run toward inescapable cooperation—inescapable be cause survival demands it. “History may well show,” said Atty. Gen. Robert Kennedy, ‘ ‘that the test ban treaty was only the first of many steps leading to the ultimate goal of a world free from the threat of nuclear destruction.” Years ago, three children in Fatima, Portugal, told of the Virgin appearing to them, pro phesying World War II, and laying down a program of prayer and good works as the way to peace through the conversion of Russia. What she saiid still stands. Technology can’t save us. God can. But Not Capital Tito May Visit U.N., Might See President (By J. J. Gilbert) WASHINGTON, (NC)—As of now this would seem to be the situation with regard to a visit to the United States by Mar shal Tito of Yugoslavia: There is a good chance that he will come to the U. S. If he does, he may meet President Kennedy. Whether or not he would come to Washington is becoming a particularly inter esting question. The Red dictator has wanted for a long time to come to this city and receive the red car pet treatment accorded to a chief of state. Previous at tempts to bring this off have provoked such resounding pro tests that the efforts were aban doned. Now a new plot seems to be in the works. Earlier this year Tito began to reiterate his desire to be a visitor here. Then it was re ported that Tito would visit Mexico, to repay a visit the president of that country paid to him. Some other La tin American places announced they might invite Tito for a vis it. It was suggested that, while he was in this hemisphere, it might be a good idea for him to visit the U. S. This suggestion didn’t stir too much enthusiasm, and Tito said he might, and later he said he expected to r visit the United Nations General Assembly be ginning September 17. Then a news story was print ed in this city saying President Kennedy had tentatively planned to see Tito either at Hyannis Port, Mass., or at Newport, R.I. at the time of Tito’s visit to the UN. The White House reacted to this by saying the President has no present plans to meet Tito this fall, but it would not com ment on the possibility that Tito and the President might meet at the UN. Tito said that he ex pects to visit the UN, and that he hopes to see the President at that time. While none of this is nailed down, there is a belief here that something is in the wind. It is interesting that until just recently no mention was made of Tito coming to Washington. Tito was invited here, six or seven years ago, and the invita tion was postponed, but not canceled. What happened was that an impressive number of Con gressmen said, in 1957, that they would boycott any joint ses sion of Congress Tito might be invited to address. What Tito really wants is to come to Washington and to receive an of ficial welcome. An address to a joint session of Congress is us ually a part of such a welcome. The 1957 congressional action so angered Tito that he put off the idea of coming at that time. Reports from Zagreb, Yugo slavia, said that on September 7, Tito told U. S. Secretary of Commerce Luther H. Hodges that he would see him in Wash ington in October. Hodges was reported as replying: “Yes, we are looking forward to seeing you.” Hodges was escorting Ti to, on a visit to the U. S. Pa vilion at the world’s fair in Zagreb, and Tito, Reportedly, said the two would meet again in * ‘five or six weeks. Calm Dignity Broad Mark Integration Training Urged CHARLESTON, S. C., (NC)— The “calm dignity” with which racial integration came to Ca tholic schools here was charac terized as an “expression of our Catholic people's confi dence in Catholic education” by the diocesan superintendent of schools. Integration in the Charleston diocese became a reality when 15 Negro students were enroll ed in four elementary schools. The 15 previously had attended the'all-Negro Immaculate Con ception school and now attend previously all-white schools. Father J. Fleming McManus, director of the diocesan school system, emphasized that not only was the integration accom plished peacefully, but increas ed enrollment in the nine paro chial schools in the Charleston area was an evidence of confi dence by Charleston Catholics in their schools. * ‘Their loyalty to the Church remains unquestioned now, as it has been in all the years of our historic diocese,” Father McManus said. New Staff Member Consultants Named WASHINGTON, (NC)—A new staff member and two consul tants have been named to the family Life Bureau of the Na tional Catholic Welfare Con ference. John T. Kenna of Washington, formerly public information of ficer for the President’s Com mittee on Youth Employment, has been named special assis tant for program and public re lations. The consultants are: Dr. Wil liam A. Ratner, director of pub lic health, Oak ARK, Ill., and A. H. Clemens, director of the marriage counseling center at the Catholic University of America here. Albany Editor ALBANY, N. Y., (NC)—Jo seph Varden, a member of the newspaper’s staff since 1946, has been named editor of the Evangelist, Albany diocese newspaper, it was announced by Bishop William A. Scully of Albany. Father Varden succeeds Msgr. Gerald H. Kirwin, who had served on the staff of the Evangelist since 1933. The lat ter will devote himself entirely to the administration of his parish, St. Pius X of Loudon- ville. Father Varden was ordained in 1941 and served in the Navy’s Chaplain’s Corps in World War II. He recently was named first pastor of Our Lady of the As sumption parish. TRIVANDRUM, India, (NC)— Archbishop James R. Knox, Apostolic Internuncio to India, has urged religious orders to train their members in all spheres of human activity. The papal envoy, speaking at a reception given in his hon or by the Carmelite friars here, recalled Pope Pius XII's appeal to Religious to intensify their , formation both spiritually and intellectually. Archbishop Knox stressed the | role religious communities can play in improving the spiritual condition of society. He voiced f regret that despite the fact that India has over 20,000 Sisters, \ more than half the parishes in ' the country have no convent. ‘ Old Prayer Forms i BUENOS AIRES, (NC)—The j Argentine Hierarchy has decid- } ed to maintain the traditional Spanish versions of the Our Father and some other major prayers instead of the revised forms provided in the new La- J tin-Spanish version of the Ro man Ritual. The Argentine Bishops’ Con ference at its meeting here indicated, however, that the new forms of the prayers might be adopted at some later time. \ Prayers involved include the / Apostles’ Creek and theConfit- i eor. 1 The new ritual, which pro- , vides for the use of Spanish in much of the rites for adminis tering the sacraments, was pre- f pared under the auspices of the Latin American Bishops’ Coun cil. It was approved by the Holy See in June of 1962. Robert Schuman / Requiem METZ, France, (NC)—Re- j quiem Mass was offered in the • cathedral here for Robert Schu- , man, a leader of the Catholic-^ oriented Popular party who was 1 twice premier of France and > served many times as its for eign minister. His Holiness Pope Paul VI joined President John F. Ken- ; nedy, President Charles de Gaulle of France and German ■! Chancellor Konrad Adenauer in ; sending a message of condo lence on the death (Sept. 4) of the French statesman at the age of 77. Schuman was a major figure ] in postwar moves toward Euro- ] pean unity. He was the author of the Schuman Plan for pooling French and German coal and steel production, a forerunner of the Common Market. He was also one of the chief architects of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). QUESTION BOX Q. Some time could you re view in your column the pre parations that are required when a priest has been asked to bring Holy Communion to a sick person at home? A. There is nothing myster ious about what is required by way of preparation for receiv ing a priest who has been asked to bring Holy Communion to the sick at home; common sense is the principal guide. THUS, SOMEWHERE conven iently close to the bedside should be a table, covered with a clean cloth. (The priest will place the pyx case containing the Blessed Sacrament on the table.) A SMALL GLASS of fresh water and. a spoon should also be readied on the table. (The priest needs these for purify ing his fingers after he has distributed Communion.) A CRUCIFIX together with two lighted candles should be placed at the center or toward * the back of the table. The cruci fix and candles which are in cluded in most sick call sets (available at Catholic supply stores) are more than adequate, j IF HOLY WATER is on hand, ) it should be placed out; like wise a napkin or small hand towel. (Priests carry blessed water with them on Communion calls in the event that none is available at the home—a fre quent occurance, since Catho lics are generally slow to fill their home fonts when they be come empty.) THE ETTIQUETTE sur rounding a Communion call to a home is as important as the re quired preparations. THE PRIEST SHOULD be met (Continued on Page 6) The Southern Cross P. O. BOX 180. SAVANNAH, GA. Vol. 44 Thursday, September 12, 1963 No. 10 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