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Vol. 44, No. 18
10c Per Copy — $3 A Year
SAVANNAH, GEORGIA, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 1963
Southeastern Region CPA
v J
Catholic Newsmen
Meet In Savannah
SAVANNAH, Nov. 7—Mr.
Jaime Fonseca, editor of Noti-
cias Catholicas, Spanish ver
sion of NCWC news service will
be the featured speaker at a ban
quet highlighting the Southeas
tern Regional Convention of the
Catholic Press Association be
ing held here today and tomor
row. Delegates from Catholic
publications in Southern Dio
ceses began registering this
morning.
Mr. Fonseca, a native of Cos
ta Rica will speak on the status
of the Church in Cuba and gen
eral conditions there; the out
look for the future; and the role
of the Christian, in and out of
Cuba, in effecting the outcome.
Editors and staff members of
publications in the Southeastern
Region will also hear talks on
the role of the catholic Press in
racial negotiations and federal
school aid, and on "The Role
of the Editorial Page.”
Race negotiations will be dis
cussed by the Rt. Rev. John D.
Toomey, pastor of Savannah’s
St. James parish, and promi
nent in negotiations between the
city’s white and Negro leaders.
The Rev. J. Fleming McMa
nus, Superintendent of Catholic
schools for the Diocese of Char
leston, S. C. will deliver a talk
on "Catholic Schools and Fed-
JAIME FONSECA
eral Aid to Education.”
"The Role of the Editorial
Page” will be the topic of the
Rev. R. Donald Kieman, con
sulting editor for The Georgia
Bulletin, newspaper of the
Archdiocese of Atlanta. All
talks will be followed by "round
table discussions.”
The convention will open with
a luncheon at noon at the Man
ger Hotel. Mr. James Doyle,
Executive Secretary of the Ca
tholic Press Association will
read a message from The Most
Rev. Archbishop Joseph T. Mc-
Gucken of San Francisco, Epis
copal Moderator of the
N.C.W.C. Press Department
and will address the delegates.
The Very Rev. Msgr. R. G.
Peters, editor of The Peoria
Register and Acting President
of the Catholic Press Associa
tion will address the closing
session at a luncheon on Fri
day afternoon at 1:00 p.m.
Delegates will also have an
opportunity to attend workshops
on Advertising, Circulation, and
Offset printing.
House Committee Study Says
Vietnam Crisis Political
WASHINGTON (N C)~'The
Buddhist crisis that helped
cause the overthrow of Viet
namese President Ngo dinh
Diem began as a legitimate re
ligious protest but ended as an
overwhelmingly political effort.
This conclusion is reached
by a report issued by eight
members of the U. S. House of
Representatives Foreign Af
fairs Committee who went last
month as a special study mis
sion to Vietnam and other South
east Asia areas.
Issued (Nov. 1) while the
military coup that toppled Diem
was still in progress, the re
port gave a rundown of events
that led to the uprising. It also
contained a warning about the
possible consequences of
Diem’s overthrow:
' ‘Some have recommended as
a solution the ouster of the Diem
family. . .The lesson of Cuba
must not be forgotten—Batista
was bad but Castro is worse.
The U. S. government should
move with great caution in this
area.”
The report said the Buddhist
crisis in South Vietnam began
as "legitimate religious pro
tests” against harsh and dis
criminatory treatment by the
regime of Diem, a Catholic.
However, it added, the pro
test quickly lost its exclusively
religious character and became
a political rallying point for
many forms of dissatisfaction
with the regime. It said:
"The conflict between the
Diem regime and the Buddhists
in the large cities has by now
acquired an almost entirely po
litical complexion.
"The Buddhist issue has be
come the umbrella under which
opposition to the government is
expressed. There is no doubt
that those opposed to the Diem
regime have deliberately ex
ploited this issue in order to
enlist world sympathy.”
Rep. Clement J. Zablocki of
Wisconsin, chairman of the
study mission, and other mem
bers of the group discussed the
Vietnamese situation at a press
conference after release of the
report.
Zablocki said the Buddhist
crisis was mainly confined to
the cities, while in rural areas
there was "no Buddhist prob
lem.”
He said there was no ' ‘hard
evidence” that communists had
taken over the Buddhist protest
movement and used it for their
own ends. He added, however,
that some Buddhist demonstra
tions did follow the communist
line and said that two of the
Ngo Dinh And Brother
Not Suicides
By Father Patrick O’Connor
Society of St. Columban
SAIGON, Vietnam (NC)—The late President Ngo dinh
Diem and his brother, Ngo dinh Nhu, both Catholics, did
not commit suicide.
They were killed after they had surrendered to the military
forces that overthrew their government on Nov. 1.
The president and his brother were not captured in the
palace, which was taken around 6:20 a.m. that day.
They had succeeded in making their way in an ordinary
passenger car to St. Francis Xavier church in the Cholon
section of Saigon. They entered the church at about 8:45
a.m. just after the last of All Souls day Masses had ended.
They remained in the church nearly one hour.
Meanwhile, they sent a young man who had accompanied
them to telephone military headquarters telling them where
they were. Then a military convoy of trucks and armored
personnel carriers arrived in front of the church. After a
short conversation outside the church with an officer,
Ngo dinh Diem and his brother were seen entering a per
sonnel carrier. The convoy then moved off around 9:50
a.m.
At 11 a.m. the official radio announced the two had
"committed suicide” at 10:45.
The late President was shot several times in the back.
His brother was stabbed in the chest and also shot in the
back.
supposed Buddhist bonzes
(monks) who burned themselves
to death in protest against the
regime had not been positively
identified as bonzes.
Pope Paul
Prays For
V ietnam
VATICAN CITY (NC)—Pope
Paul VI has sent a message
(Nov. 2) to Saigon’s archbish
op saying he is praying that
Vietnam will "overcome in
peace and concord this new
and painful trial.”
Without mentioning the coup
that overthrew the government
of President Ngo dinh Diem,
the Pope said in a telegram to
Archbishop Paul Nguyen van
Binh that he was suffering with
"all the dear Vietnamese peo
ple.”
The telegram said:
"Recalling the Apostle’s ex-
horation, ‘Weep with those who
weep,’ with fatherly affection
We make Our own your pain
and that of all the dear Viet
namese people, so severely
tried.
"Our prayer rises to God for
your country’s intention, so that
the divine assistance may be
more generously granted in
these difficult hours and that it
may overcome in peace and con
cord this new and painful trial.”
Award For
Catholic Paper
PHILADELPHIA (NC) —The
Catholic Star Herald, weekly
newspaper of the Camden dio
cese, will receive the annual
human relations award of the
Philadelphia Chapter of the Am
erican Jev/ish Committee here
November 9.
PRAY FOR OUR
PRIESTLY DEAD
VERY REV. HAROLD J. BARR
Nov. 7, 1952
Oh Cod, IVho didst give to
thy servants by their sacredotnl
office, a share in the priest
hood of the Apostles, grant,
we implore, that they may
also be one of their company
forever in heaven. Through
Christ Our Lord, Amen.
Curia Seen Loser In Debate
Prelate Hits Schema On
Government Of Dioceses
Discuss Return Of
Powers To Bishops
VATICAN CITY (NC)—Opening discussions of the Schema
"On Bishops and the Government of Dioceses” in the Ecumeni
cal Council indicated a short, hard-hitting battle in the week
to come with the Roman Curia a sure loser.
One of the clear issues was
whether or not powers now ex
ercised exclusively by the Ro
man Curia should be returned
to Bishops of Dioceses.
The Roman Curia—congre
gations and offices which as
sist the Pope in the central ad
ministration of the government
of the church—was not tech
nically a party to the debate,
since technically it has nothing
to do with the council.
Archbishop Binz of St. Paul,
a member of the commission
for. Bishops and Government of
Dioceses, referred to the sche
ma as "an unhappy schema”
With "no real introduction, no
connecting link and no real
conclusion.”
This, he said, was the re
sult of the fact that five chap
ters of the original schema had
been deleted when it returned
from the coordinating commis
sion.
He revealed that the schema
was completed in March, 1963,
and that only the Bishops near
Rome and experts of Rome were
invited to review it. He said,
however, that in its essence no
one objected to what the docu
ment said, but rather to what it
did not say.
On the matter of increased
faculties in Dioceses, Arch
bishop Binz said: "we are say
ing to the Holy F ather that any
of the faculties which we have
been able to get in the past
merely be presenting our re
quest and awaiting its confir
mation by return mail should
be able to be granted by the
Bishops themselves.”
Other Bishops in Rome were
referring to this as "rubber
stamp dispensations.”
All speakers at the Coun
cil’s General Meeting,
Nov. 5 discussed the general
acceptability of the schema. All
said in effect: "The schema
is generally acceptable, but
. . .” The "but” in all except
one speech was in reality an
arrow that pointed directly
at the heart of the Curia.
The one exception was a
speech made by Cardinal Mc
Intyre who did not touch upon
the Curia directly. Instead, he
expressed fear over giving jur
idical powers to National Con
ferences of Bishops.
The other speeches made
these three chief points:
1. An open acqusation of tam
pering with the schema in a
manner not in keeping with
council regulations.
2. Insistence that the Curia
should be made more interna
tional.
3. Insistence that powers
should be returned to Bishops
in all things necessary forpro-
per government of a Diocese.
Achille Cardinal Lienart of
Lille, France, said that the
schema should contain a spe
cial chapter on the relationships
between the Pope and the college
of Bishops. He was referring as
later speakers in the morning
were to do, to the previously
decided question of the colle-
giality of Bishops, that is, that
the Bishops acting together
share in the power of governing
the Church with the Pope.
THE REV. ROBERT J. REITER, (1.) on loan to Savannah
from the Diocese of Buffalo, N. Y., as he received assing-.
ment last week as assistant pastor of St. John the Evan
gelist parish, Valdosta from the Rt. Rev. Msgr. Andrew J.
McDonald, Savannah Chancellor.
Role Of Laity Topic
Of Prelates, Layman
ROME, (NC)—The role of
the layman in the Church con
tinues to be the subject of wide
discussion by those taking part
in the ecumenical council.
In three separate interviews
given to the Divine Word news
service two bishops and a lay
man gave their views on the
subject.
Archbishop Denis Hurley,
O.M.I., of Durban, South Africa,
said the hierarchy has to recog
nize and respect the position,
rights and responsibility of the
layman. "Although the hier
archy is entrusted with func
tions of teaching, directing and
sanctifying, in the fuller and
more formal sense of those
terms, it is becoming obvious
that in actual fact the witness
of the layman and the influence
of the layman’s Christian life
are what make a real impact
on the world,” he said.
"Agreeing with this point,
Emilio Inglessis, one of the 13
lay auditors admitted to the
council hall, said that the mis
sion of the laity includes the
consecration of the world.
"But the world meant here
is not only the Catholic world
in which we live,” he said,
"but rather the world of profane
realities in which we laymen
spend our daily lives.” He said
that the secular world was a
"mission field” closer to the
layman than to the cleric.
On the other hand, Bishop
Antonion de Castro Mayer of
Campos, Brazil, said that it
is wrong to "interpret the great
attention given by the Vatican
council to the laity as a kind
of democratization of the
church.”
He stressed that the "Church
will never abandon its divinely
established monarchial struc
ture. There will always be shep
herds to guide the Church under
the orientation of the supreme
shepherd, the pope.”
But Bishop Mayer granted
that the structure of the Church
does not impede the hierarchy
from listening to their flocks.
"In fact, special attention
should be given to those lay
men who are highly compe
tent in their particular pro
fessions,” he said.
Such assistance will be
"given conscientiously by the
laity and will be of inestimable
value,” he said, and added:
"At the same time, the laity,
mindful that they are the sheep
in the Kingdom of God, will
remain docile and will allow
themselves to be guided by their
legitimate shepherds.”
MEMORIAL SERVICE—Above photo shows members of St. Joseph’s Church, Bay
Branch, as they prepare to attend an evening Mass celebrated on November 2nd by the
Rev. John Garvey, pastor of Our Lady of the Assumption Church, Sylvania. St. Joseph’s
is a mission of the Sylvania church. Church members hold an annual memorial service for
the dead on the feast of All Souls, placing lighted candles and flowers on graves in the
tiny cemetery on the church ground, reciting the Rosary, and attending Mass.
Confraternity Drive
For Funds Near Goal
SAVANNAH—"Reports from
parishes indicate that almost
65% of this year’s goal of $140,-
000 has been reached,” said the
Rt. Rev. Msgr. Andrew J. Mc
Donald in announcing initial
progress of the 1963 Bishop’s
Confraternity of the Laity Cam
paign for funds for diocesan ac
tivities.
"Thirty-seven parishes and
missions have reported a total
of almost $90,000,” he said.
Six parishes have already re
ported 100% success.
The annual solicitation began
on Sunday, October 20th, with
the two following Sundays des
ignated as "Follow-up” days.
Final reports were not avail
able at press time.
Funds from this years drive
will be used to supplement the
income of mission parishes
which are not self-supporting
because of their small mem
berships: for the support of the
Diocese’s dependent children
at St. Mary’s Home in Savannah,
and St. Jospeh’s Home in Wash
ington, Ga.; for thre training
of young men studying for the
priesthood: the recently com
pleted renovations program oi
Savannah’s historic Cathedral
of St. John the Baptist; and sup
plemental support of THE SOU
THERN CROSS.
Now in its sixth year of op
eration, this annual drive, to
ward which each wage-earner
is asked to contribute a mini
mum of $25, has made it pos
sible for the Diocese to carry
on its varied works throughout
Georgia’s 88 southerncouncites
without conducting periodic,
large scale capital funds drives.
His Excellency, The Most
Reverend Thomas J. McDon
ough, in a message from Rome,
where he is attending sessions
of the Second Vatican Council
expressed his "prayerfulgrati
tude to our people, who havd al
ways responded so generously
and sacrificially to any appeal to
further the works of the Church
in our Diocese. I know how very
difficult it must be for many of
them, particularly in view of the
number of appeals for other
good and charitable purposes
which seems to be increasing,
year by year. And I wish I could
express, face-to-face with each
one of them my sincere and
heartfelt gratitude. Of course,
that is not possible, but in any
event, God’s gratitude to them
Italian
Bishops Warn On Communism
ROME (NC)—The Cardinals,
Archbishops and Bishops of It
aly have urged the Italian peo
ple to reawaken their Christian
conscience and to sharpen their
understanding of the threat of
communism.
The episcopate said in a joint
message to Italian parish
priests:
"We your bishops see a tre
mendous danger approaching:
the weakening of the religious
life or rather the loss of the
Christian outlook.”
The (Oct. 31) message said
that atheistic communism is the
"gravest and most insidious”
menace to religion and to the
civil order.
Atheistic communism’s anti-
religious system puts it "in ba
sic opposition to the rights of
the human person,” they added.
The Bishops appealed for the
understanding of everybody, in
cluding communists, intellec
tuals, workers, and women—
"the faithful guardians, in their
instinctive wisdom, of the high
est values of life.”
"Those who fear and fight
atheistic communism should
also understand us,” the mes-
Spanish Caritas
MADRID (NC)—Spain’s Ca
tholic charities organization,
Caritas, has decided to launch
a wide-ranging three-year de
velopment program to help
solve the country’s social prob
lems.
The 1964-66 program is the
first part of a 12-year Chris
tian Communication of Goods
plan assigned to Caritas by the
Spanish Bishops in 1961.
The results of a 22-month
survey carried out by Caritas
were presented to the 500 del
egates from Spain’s 64 dioces
es attending the five-day 18th
national Caritas Assembly
here. The survey showed that a
sixth of Spain’s 30.5 million
population is undernourished.
sage said. "But very often they
—with their neo-pagan and ma
terialistic concept of life, with
their cries oriented toward ec
onomic and social selfishness,
and with their skeptical and
corrosive criticism — suc
ceed only in undermining con
fidence in the moral resistance
and spiritual rebirth of our
people.
* 'So we feel obliged to say a
sincere word,so that nobody can
accuse the shepherds of souls of
remaining mute when their word
could still be uttered and—God
grant!—heeded.
"Here it is then: The Italian
Bishops remind you that the
theory of atheistic communism
has been repeatedly condemn
ed in solemn pontifical docu
ments.
"Such theory is totally ir
reconcilable with the Christian
Faith. It is opposed in the prin
ciples from which it stems, in
the ideas it supports, in the
methods it advocates. It brings
ruin on souls and civil society.”
The Bishops asserted that
many people follow atheistic
communism "not knowing its
theory and often in the delusive
hope of economic advantage.”
Therefore, the message said,
"it is necessary to enlighten
consciences on the errors
of that ideology, to underscore
its grave consequences in the
order of faith, of civil rights,
or the common good.”
BLESSED DOMINIC RELIQUARY—Pope Paul VI is pre
sented with a reliquary of Blessed Dominic Barberi, C. P.,
by members of the Passionist Order, following beatifica
tion ceremonies in St. Peter’s , Rome, on the Feast of Christ
the King. Blessed Dominic was born in Italy and died in
England in 1849. He received England’s Cardinal John Henry
Newman into the Catholic Church.—(NC Photos)
for their goodness to Him is
far more important than any
thanks I can give.”
Reds Heat
Church War
In Poland
BERLIN—According to re
ports received in Berlin, the
Bishops of Poland have in a joint
letter denounced the communist
regime’s continuing war against
the Church despite its claim
that religious freedom exists
in that country.
According to these reports,
the letter was drawn up at
Czestochowa, world famous re
ligious shrine, and dated August
28th, but was not distributed to
individual priests until October.
Included in the message are
accusations that the Red gov
ernment’s anti-Church weapons
are still intact and being used,
that the regime is trying to di
vide Bishops from priests, is
closing minor seminaries and
convents, continues to place
new restrictions on Catholic
publications and uses taxes in
an effort to destroy the Church.