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1 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.