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PAGE 4-A—The Southern Cross, October 3, 1963
Benedictine Military School
On September 23rd cadets at Savannah’s
Benedictine Military School began a new
academic year in a spacious and modern
facility in an area of the city which, only
a few short years ago, was wilderness,
but which, today, bears graphic witness
to the still youthful vitality of an ancient
city, in the never-ending expansion of Ogle
thorpe’s tiny stronghold, founded two hundred,
and thirty years ago.
In September of 1902 twenty one boys be
came students in the first class of a mili
tary school organized and staffed by priests
of the Order of St. Benedict, and certainly
there must have been many who wondered
if a Catholic high school for boys in an
area having so pitifully few Catholics could
be sustained for any appreciable length of
time.
The move of school facilities three years
later, from the modest beginnings on 32nd
street between Lincoln and Habersham to
quarters at 34th and Bull streets, familiar
now to three generations of Savannahians,
have proved the strength, vigor and fore
sight of a religious community dedicated
to the Catholic education of youth and the
devotion and committment of Savannah’s
Catholics to the cause of religious educa
tion.
Each year, for more than five decades,
young men have graduated from the class
rooms of Benedictine Military School into
the mainstreams of Savannah’s professional
technical, economic, social and family life,
enriching it with a heritage of Christian
thought and activity—contributing im
measurably to the growth of both their city
and their Church, and to the cause of Ca
tholic education marked in September of
1963 with the erection of an educational com
plex second to none among the secondary
schools of our State.
Gratitude and congratulations are due both
the Benedictine Fathers and the Alumni
of Benedictine Military School, who for more
than a half century have brought the teach
ings and precepts of Christ into the daily
life of Savannah and made a better place
in which to live.
Gratitude and prayerful remembrance are
also due the late Mrs. Helen Thornton
Anderson, whose devotion to the work of
the Benedictine Fathers and magnificent
benefaction finally made possible the exe
cution of a dream long cherished by Sa
vannah’s Benedictine community.
Ad Multos Annos! May the new Bene
dictine Military School long stand as a
beautiful and meaningful memorial to her
solicitude and generosity and to the sacred
motto of the sons of St. Benedict—“That
in all things God may be glorified.”
Church In Vietnam Stresses
Principles Of Gospels
VATICAN CITY (NC)—The
Church in Vietnam has stressed
the principles of the Gospels
to avoid violence and hatred
following the use of coercive
measures by the Vietnamese
government, seven bishops
from that Country said here.
The prelates’ joint statement
said that Buddhists in Vietnam
are ‘‘equally averse to violence
and are respectful of the con
science of each other.”
This bishops—four Viet
namese, two Frenchmen and
one unidentified—added that
“insofar as they ’ (Buddhists)
are faithful to their principles,
they are disposed to collaborate
for world peace.”
The bishops issued their
statement on the situation in
Vietnam — 'where Buddhists
have clashed with the govern
ment of President Ngo dinh
Diem, a Catholic—on their ar
rival here for the second ses
sion of the ecumenical council.
They said:
‘ ‘We are not able at this
time to answer questions. Our
religious mission requires us
to present ourselves to the
Pope. We should like at this
time to respond to the public’s
desire for information and to
help journalists to be diffusers
of truth, as their professional
conscience requires them to
be.
‘‘But, conscious of the re
cent activity of a certain sec
tion of the press that has been
spreading numerous grave er
rors. . . we have decided to
issue a somewhat conversa
tional text to substitute for all
the declarations that we would
be asked to make by you.
‘ ‘Here is what we judge it is
well to make known:
‘T. The delicate situation of
our country is of interest not
only to us—the whole Chris
tian world is not unaware of a
certain tension which binds us
one to the other intimately and
firmly. Good will and the search
on the part of the world for the
truth are the factors contribu
ting to peace for Vietnam as
well as for the rest of the
world. This time the goal of
the bishops who wilLreunite in
the ecumenical council, and
one of the goals of the council
itself, will be to define the sit
uation of the Church in the
world.
‘ ‘2. When a chief of state
makes use of coercive meas
ures for political and non-rel
igious reasons in view of the se
curity of the state, the Church
recalls the principles of the
Gospels to avoid violence and
hatred and does not involve its
charitable actions. This is the
case in our country.
‘‘3. Throughout our terri
tory the Faith increases. Re-
iigious vocations are numerous
and the missionaries continue to
help our Church to grow.
* ‘4. Buddhists and Catholics
are equally averse to violence
and are respectful of the con
science of each other. They can
not conflict in the religious
sphere. Toward us, as in other
counties in Asia and insofar as
they are faithful to their prin
ciples, they are disposed to col
laborate for world peace. Each
man of good will must help
others to dissipate the empty
propositions which create ten
sion and worsen it.
‘‘5. In view of the contem
porary events it is difficult to
have sufficient impartial infor
mation. It is necessary, there
fore/ to guard oneself against
making premature judgments.
An event cannot be understood
if it is not understood in the
context of the human circum
stances in which it occurs.
Lacking knowledge and calm,
one risks being mistaken.
“Pope Paul VI in his letter
of August 26, 1963, to the Arch
bishop of Saigon has expressed
his trust and his opinion about
the circumstances in which the
Church carries out its mission
in Vietnam. We ask the Chris
tian world to unite itself with
us in our hopes and in trust
in the Holy Spirit who guides
the Church along unknown but
sure paths.”
Fear Of “Latinization” Keeps
Many Orthodox From Reunion
PASSAIC, N. J., (NC)--ABy
zantine Rite bishop speculated
here that fear of “Latiniza
tion” has kept many Orthodox
church members from reunion
with the Roman Catholic
Church.
Bishop Stephen J. Kocisko,
of the new Byzantine Rite
Eparchy of Passaic, said: “It’s
a tragedy that we remain sepa
rated. We have to show them
that association with Rome
doesn’t mean that we lose our
rite and tradition.”
The Bishop was interviewed
shortly before his departure for
the second session of the Second
Vatican Council.
Speaking of the council, he
said; ‘ ‘I think this whole philo
sophy of the universality of the
Church was beautifully and ef
fectively demonstrated at the
first session of the ecumenical
council when all of the Church’s
rites were used on different
days as the meetings in St.
Peter’s opened with Mass.
“This said more about the
Universal Church than any
words could,” he added.
“I don’t know that our view
point of the council is too dif
ferent from that of the Latin
Rite bishops,” Bishop Kocisko
said.
“If there’s any difference at
all, it might be in our special
interest in unity with the East.
Obviously the Byzantine Rite
would stand to make tremen
dous strides should there be
substantial progress toward re
union.”
As far as liturgical reform is
concerned, he said the Eastern
Rites ‘ ‘have adapted to modern
needs already.” Now, he added,
“it’s more a matter of retain
ing the advances we’ve already
made.”
Bishop Kocisko said there
has been a growing interest in
the Eastern Rites by Latin Rite
Catholics. But there are still
too many people who have ‘ ‘the
idea that everything in the
Church should be exactly the
same, making no allowances
for local culture, for local tra
dition,” he observed.
“This,” he added, “is espe
cially regrettable in mission
work, where the enemies of the
Latin Church—and even those
not really enemies—associate
the Church with colonialism.”
The Bishop said he envisions
the council’s main task as one of
adapting the Church to the 20th
century, although such adapta
tion is pretty far along in the
U. S.
“In the United States,” he
said, “our priests have gone to
the people, but that’s not the
case in many other lands. In
too many parts of the world
there’s a gap between the cler
gy and the people that will have
to be bridged.”
“I haven’t had a bit of trouble since we installed seat
belts.”
Notionol Council of Catholic Youth
A White Problem
God’s World
So much is . being said these
days concerning the problem of
racial prejudice that there
seems little need for another
voice to be added to the chorus.
Yet, there is value in repeti
tion, as any
good teacher
will testify.
For this rea
son it may be
helpful to re-
v i e w here
some well-es-
t a b 1 i s h e d
truths.
As we must
know, the problem of desegre
gation is a White problem, not a
Negro problem. It is not the Ne
gro who i s daily flaunting the
one law which, above all oth
ers, God holds most inviola
ble—the Law of Love. In a tra
vesty of virtue, it is the sin
ner who preens himself on his
superiority and it is the inno
cent victim who is condemned. -
It is the leper who walks bold
ly abroad while the well man
must strike his breast and cry,
“Unclean, unclean.”
Probably not one Catholic
in ten, living in a “restric
ted” neighborhood, eating (per
haps unaware) in a “restric
ted” restaurant, staying at a
“restricted” motel, shopping
in a “restricted” store (where
the clerks just cannot see a
Negro if one should happen
in)—not one of us in ten real
izes the indignities to which
our Negro brothers and sis
ters are daily subjected, mere
ly because of the color of their
skin. We would be extremely
naive if we thought that these
indignities were confined to
the Deep South. The racial pre-
(By Leo J. Trese)
judice of the North is no less
soul-warping by reason of its
cloak of hypocrisy.
Even when we know the facts
we Whites never can know,
really, what it is like to be
perpetually insecure. We can
not appreciate what it means to
arrive in a strange city, for
example, uncertain as to whe
ther you dare to enter this ho
tel, this restaurant or this
store; uncertain as to whether
you will be insulted, ignored, or
merely treated shabbily. There
may be a law to which you can
appeal. But you cannot carry a
law around in your pocket. You
cannot buy food or bed with a
law. Above all you cannot buy
respect with a law.
Neither can you change any
one’s heart with a law--and it
is our hearts, most basically,
which need changing. Prejud
ice is not a thing of the mind;
it is an aberration of the heart,
of the emotions. We do not
first reason dispassionately
that Negroes have certain un
desirable traits and then, as
a result of our reasoning, be
gin to discriminate against Ne
groes. The process is the other
way around . We first absorb
a prejudice (usually in our
childhood, God forgive the ad
ults!) and then look around for
reasons to justify the preju
dice. It is our emotions which
need reforming, our hearts
which need changing.
Negroes are intellectually in
ferior to Whites, we tell our
selves. Yes, intelligence tests
have shown, time and again, that
this is not so. Child for child,
Negroes are the mental equals
of Whites. Any apparent infer
iority is due to educational and
cultural deprivations. Given the
same education opportunities
and the same economic and cul
tural advantages, Negro chil
dren will match, in intellectual
ability, the children of any race.
But, isn’t it true that the Ne
gro is a shiftless sort of per
son?
If we mean that many of the
Negroes we know, herded by us
into slum areas and condemned
to live in substandard dwell
ings with several families
sharing a unit meant for one
family—if we mean that such
Negroes are not “keeping up”
the property for which they pay
exhorbitant rent, are not saving
their money for a ranch-type
house in the suburbs and a col
lege education for the children
—well, would white families in
such circumstances be more
ambitious, more thrifty?
It is such avicious'fcircle, this
racial prejudice. We herd the
Negroes into ghettoes. We be
grudge them living room and
resent their effort to expand in
to White neighborhoods. We re
fuse them the better paying
jobs and discriminate against
them in the professions. We
force upon them a low standard
of living which effectively bars
them from educational and cul
tural opportunities. Then, hav
ing done all this (at least by
our passive acceptance of the
evil) we condemn Negroes for
being what we—and not their
color—have made them.
It is to be hoped that the
voices of our American Catho
lics soon will be raised, in a
unanimous cry which will not
be stilled and will not brook
denial, for justice for our Ne
gro brethren.
A Solemn Moment
“You in others — this is
what you are. Your Soul, your
immortality, your life in oth
ers. And what now? You have
always been in others and you
will remain in others. This will
be with you—the you that en
ters the future and becomes a
part of it.”
Boris Pasternak—
“Dr. Zhivago”
# * #
IT’S A SOLEMN moment when
one signs a last Will and Tes
tament. Counched in legal ter
minology, the little things of
life hardly seem recognizable
or appear as bridges between
the here and hereafter. A few
sheets of paper hold a life
time’s striving. For me, it was
hardly worth the price of the pa
per and the legal secretary’s
typing time to say nothing of the
patience of the good lawyer. I
By Barbara C. Jencks
wish it were possible to leave
funds that would be used for
scholarships or to aid needy
missions or favorite charities.
If anyone read my Will, they
would catalogue me as a fail
ure in an age which judges suc
cess on the size of the bank
book. It is a good thing to make
out a Will and to think about
the things you would leave be
hind you in both the material
and spiritual realm. Ade Be-
thune, artist-editor, in urg
ing her readers to make Wills
wrote “Die now and live.” I
recently heard of a school
teacher who is wisely giving
away much of her lovely
furnishings now and has al
ready experienced the joy in so
doing. Those who are able to
bring joy to others with their
possessions and money are in
deed blessed twice. Sadly
enough our impression of a
person embraces not only the
last mortal encounter but also
is gauged by the Will. This is
the last tangible evidence of a
person and thus sometimes the
last thing remembered.
* # *
THE THINGS OF LIFE we
would bequeath to our loved
ones cannot be summed up in
awesome legalese. Even if we
did have wealth or real estate
or stocks to leave, these would
not be what we’d want most to
bequeath. The world over was
impressed with the simplicity
that marked the last Will and
Testament of Pope John. The
Pontiff wrote ... “I am par
ticularly happy to die poor,
having distributed all that came
into my hands during the years
of my priesthood.” His was a
(Continued on Page 6-B):
Protestant Prayers
Asked For Council
PATERSON, N. J., (NC)—
Paterson’s Bishop James J.
Navagh, before leaving here
for the Vatican Council, asked
non-Catholics as well as Ca
tholic s to pray for the success
of the council.
He asked them “to make the
success of the council according
to the mind of Christ one of the
main intentions of their daily
prayers throughout the ses
sion.”
Pray For Council
LONDON (NC)—The Arch
bishop of Canterbury, leader of
the 40-million member An
glican Communion, asked
Anglicans to pray for divine
guidance for the Second Vati
can Council.
The Most Rev. Arthur Mich
ael Ramsey, who is Anglican
Primate of All England, said
in a (Sept. 27) statement:
“As the Vatican Council
starts its new sessions in Rome,
I ask that in our An
glican churches prayer will be
offered that the Divine Wis
dom may guide its decisions in
the service of justice, truth and
unity.”
Seminary Opened
BOYNTON BEACH, Fla.,
(NC)—St. Vincent de Paul Ma
jor Seminary conducted by the
Vincentian Fathers was opened
here with a pioneer class of
29 seminarians studying for
the Diocese of Miami priest
hood. When its eight-building
complex is completed the semi
nary will have accommodations
for 150 students. A Pontifical
Mass offered by Miami’s Bishop
Coleman F. Carroll in the col
lege chapel marked the opening.
Catholic Seminar At
Episcopal Center
DETROIT, (NC)—The Jesuit
Fathers’ University of Detroit
is offering a nine-week seminar
on city life and its problems at
the Detroit Episcopal Diocesan
Cathedral Center for a class of
25 clergymen.
Lawrence Kersten, an in
structor in the university’s de
partment of sociology, is di
recting the seminar which began
September 30. Guest speakers
from municipal and other civic
agencies will appear during the
weekly sessions.
Drop Marriage Bar
CHICAGO, (NC)—The Home'
Bureau of Catholic Charities of
Chicago has modified its re
quirements for couples seeking
to adopt children, including the
dropping of a bar against mixed
marriages.
Msgr. Bernard M. Brogan,
home bureau director, said
mixed marriage is no longer “a
total barrier” against adoption.
"If the wife is a parcticing
Catholic, and the couple meet
our other requirements, they
may adopt a child through our
agency,” he said.
Statue Of Pius XII
VATICAN CITY (NC)—A
monument to the memory of
Pope Pius XII stands under
drapes in St. Peter’s Basilica
ready for its dedication.
In the second chapel to the
right of the entrance, next to
the Chapel of the Pieta, the mon
ument is set into a niche in
the north wall of the chapel,
its brown marble dramatically
contrasting with the greys and
whites that predominate in the
other monuments of the great
temple.
The bronze statue of the late
pontiff, yet to be unveiled,
stands about 10 feet high. The
familiar figure of Pius XII, exe- $>
cuted by Italian sculptor Fran
cesco Messina, is vested in cope
and mitre, in a walking attitude,
with the long-fingered right
hand extended in blessing.
Fischer Quintuplets
VATICAN CITY (NC)—The
Fischer quintuplets of Aber
deen, S. D., have been given the
apostolic blessing of His Holi
ness Pope Paul VI.
In an audience with Francis
Cardinal Spellman, Archbishop
of New York, Pope Paul gave
the Cardinal small gold medals^
for each of the quints and asked
the American prelate to trans
mit to the quints, their pa
rents and the staff at St. Luke’s
Hospital in Aberdeen his feli
citations and his blessings.
Pope Paul also asked
Cardinal Spellman about con
struction progress on the
Vatican Pavilion at the New
York World’s Fair. He was told
that preparations are proceed
ing on schedule.
QUESTION BOX
(By David Q. Liptak)
Q. How late can one be for
Sunday Mass without having to
hear another Mass? Is “the
last possible moment” at the
Gospel or after the sermon?
A. One who is present at
Mass from the beginning of
the Offertory (just after the
Creed, which follows the ser
mon), through to the end sub
stantially fulfills the law to
assist at the Holy Sacrifice on
Sundays and Feasts of Pre
cepts.
BUT THIS NORM defines the
minimum only insofar as grave
obligation is concerned. What it
means is that anyone who,
through no fault of his own,
arrives at the beginning of the
Offertory and remains until the
end of Mass need not partici
pate in a second Mass in or
der to meet the requisites of
Church law. It does not mean
that there is nothing sinful about
arriving late.
ON THE CONTRARY, the
Sunday Precept requires atten
dance of an entire Mass. Hence
any deliberate omission, how
soever slight—because of
negligence , for example —
would at least constitute venial
matter. And even if slight tar
diness is not directly intended,
it surely implies irreverence,
and can be the source of bad
example.
WHILE PRECISE rules as to
how much of an omission would
comprise objectively grave
matter in this area are diffi
cult to set down, it should be
clear enough to any Catholic
that missing everything up to
the Offertory inclusive would
be serious, so too, the Offer
tory, Consecration and Com
munion; likewise, everything
up to the Gospel inclusive plus
the priest’s Communion.
■ * * *
Q. Do cardinals and bishops
wear red, violet or purple?
A. Scarlet red is the color
proper to cardinals.
PURPLE and violet are not
synonymous in ecclesiastical'
usage. Although both represent
a mixture of red and blue,
when the red is dominant, the
proper designation is purple;
when the blue is stronger, the
color is violet. (To make this
more confusing, Roman pur
ple, according to Father Mc
Cloud in his Clerical Dress
and Insignia, is reddish intone.)
Purple, according to the
above definition, is the color
for bishops and members of
the Papal Court, but unlike vio
let, it is not a liturgical color.
GREEN, incidentally, is also
known as “the episcopal color.”
Once used generally by bishops,
it is still prescribed for certain
episcopal appointments.
The Southern Cross
P. O. BOX 180. SAVANNAH. GA.
Vol. 44 Thursday, October 3, 1963 No. 13
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