^ Vol. 44, No. 24
10c Per Copy — $3 A Year
SAVANNAH, GEORGIA, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 19, 1963
BISHOP’S OFFICE
225 Abercorn Street
Savannah, Georgia
December 19, 1963
My Dear People:
Once again, I come to you in behalf of the dependent children of the Diocese of Savan
nah at St. Mary’s Home. I make this appeal now, at Christmas time, not because these
children need a gift for Christmas, but because they need a home throughout the year—
a home as full of love and security as we can possibly provide.
Love they have in abundance from the good Sisters who are mothers and counselors
to them, and from the Christ who loves little children and became one of them on the
first Christmas night.
But the security afforded by food, clothing, shelter and wholesome recreation can only
be provided by you, my dear people. It is axiomatic that one cannot give what one does
not have. And our Diocese can only give to these children what you give to us in this
annual Christmas collection.
This appeal, then, is to your generosity, prompted by your love for children depri
ved, for one reason or another, of a normal home life and the care of a mother and fa
ther.
A ten dollar donation from every wage earner in our Diocese can provide the love
and security our dependent children at St. Mary’s Home need and, in God’s design, ought
to have. And our people and our Diocese will be abundantly blessed by the Christ who
said of little children, “Of such is the Kingdom of Heaven’’.
Please use the special envelopes which will be distributed to you today.
With prayerful wishes for a happy and holy Christmas for all of you, and assurances
of remembrance at my three Masses on the Holy feast of Christmas, I am.
Devotedly yours in Christ,
Bishop of Savannah.
Continued Red Violence
Foreseen For Venezuela
CARACAS, Venezuela (NC)—
In the aftermath of Venezuela’s
presidential elections—in
which voters defied communist
terror—three main issues
begin to shape up.
One is the impact of contin
ued Red violence on the imme
diate future.
Another is the survival of the
coalition between the Democra
tic Action party (AD) of incum
bent President Romulo Betan
court and the Catholic-oriented
Christian Democrats (COPEI),
who scored major gains in the
elections.
The third concerns efforts
being made to improve the lot
of the people.
Some 55% of the electorate
obviously favored the record
of the coalition government.
AD’s Raul Leoni polled 32% of
the vote and Rafael Caldera,
COPEI’s candidate, received
23%. In 1958 the Christian De
mocrats had 16%.
The bulk of the balance—16%
each—went to Arturo Uslar Pi-
etri and his center party, and
to leftist liberal Jovito
Villalba.
The Revolutionary Leftist
Movement (MIR) and the Com
munist party had been banned
from election. In retaliation
the leftist leadership launched
a campaign of bombings, kill
ings and kidnappings. They
threatened to shoot down any
one in line at the polls. But
93% of those eligible to vote
came out, men and women. Some
stood In line for three and four
hours. Save for a few isolated
incidents, the election was or
derly.
“Fidel Castro had announced
a ‘tragic weekend.’The courage
of the people of Venezuela made
his claim ridiculous,” stated
Msgr. Jesus Pellin, editor of
the Caracas daily, La Religion.
The Organization of Ameri
can States has launched an in
vestigation of the Betancourt
charges that Cuba’s Castro has
been training Venezuelans as
guerrilla fighters and supplying
them with arms and ammuni
tion. But as inter-American
politics stand now, the OASwill
not go as far as to use armed
force.
Thus chances are that the
terrorist campaign will go on
unabated in Venezuela. This
country, rich in mineral re
sources, is a key objective of
the Red offensive in the Ameri
cas.
The Caracas magazine, Sic,
had this to say: “Violence in
Venezuela had its laboratory in
the schools. The naive propo
nents of militant secularistic
education opened the way to the
terrorists. Now with Marxists
entrenched in the National Uni
versity — overly protected by
immunity from army and police
forces—we find a complete net
of Red agents in colleges, high
schools and teachers’ insti
tutes. Even the government bu-
reacracy has been infiltrated,
as well as the armed forces.
Today’s violence is not a mass
upheaval. On the contrary.
“Public opinion is well aware
of the guerrilla brigades train
ed in Cuba, and of the money
Cuba spends to feed such armed
violence in Venezuela and Colo
mbia even though the Cubans
themselves are starving.”
The question of a new coali
tion between the COPEI and
President-elect Leoni must be
decided in the next few weeks.
President Betancourt ends his
term in March. Leoni, a skill
ful party organizer, has yet
to show his ability as a ruler.
Young dissidents of his party
call members of Leoni’s fac
tion “tired old oxen.” In fact
AD has lost its young members
to COPEI and to the Marxists.
Its 49% of the vote in 1958 is
now down to 32%.
Much of the new vote—per
haps 60,000 strong—went to
Caldera, who said recently:
“Our youth seek a solid, ideo
logical platform, not pragmatic
promises; they also want a con
structive revolution.”
Under these circumstances,
unless COPEI is able to com
mand a stronger position in the
cabinet and parliament under
Leoni, it is very doubtful its
leaders will want to continue the
coalition with AD. “If we con
tinue in the coalition without
strengthening our position, we
will sacrifice our popularity.
That will be too high a price
to pay,” said a COPEI leader.
Christian Democrats, on the
other hand, have said that the
stability of the nation and its
(Continued on Page 6)
TO THE PRIESTS, RELIGIOUS
ikk i
AND LAITY OF THE
DIOCESE OF SAVANNAH:
WMd-A f
MAY THE BABE OF BETHLEHEM BRING
EVERY PEACE AND JOY ON CHRISTMAS
Mfrr
DAY. AND MAY MARY, IIIS IMMACULATE
MOTHER AND SAINT JOSEPH GUIDE YOU
TO JUS HOLY MANGER.
mm,.
DURING THIS HOLY SEASON YOU AND
fcdP
YOUR LOVED ONES WILL HAVE A SPECIAL
REMEMBRANCE IN MY MASSES AND PRAY-
ERS.
IMPARTING TO YOU MY BLESSING, I
AM;
DEVOTEDLY YOURS IN CHRIST
, ... s
// f/ r
BISHOP OF SAVANNAH
Feast Of Christmas
God s Gift Of Love
(By Rev. Titus Cranny, S. A.)
"Father Titus Cranny is the author of several books, including
“Father Paul: Apostle of Unity” and “One Fold.” He has also
written numerous magazine articles and was formerly director
of the Chair of Unity Apostolate and associate editor of The
Lamp.
Love is the only word that
can describe Christmas. It is
love, pressed down and running
over, indescribable, incompa
rable, infinite and divine. What
else can one say? Christmas
is God’s display of love poured
out upon the world—the gift of
His love, the expression of the
Son of His love, seeking to unite
all men to Himself here on earth
and to lead them to eternal love
in paradise.
There is no need for analysis
in contemplating the Babe of
Bethlehem and His Holy Mo
ther. Just ponder and love—and
then wonder—at the love that is
so beautiful, so overwhelming
that it takes one’s breath away.
St. Ephrem of Syria lived in
the fourth century, a contem
porary of St. Ambrose and St.
Augustine and other spiritual
giants of that age. He was a
deacon (like St. Francis of As
sisi) whose love of Jesus and
Mary is almost without equal.
“O Great Little One,” he liked
Sto call the Divine Infant.
“Grant, O Lord, that we may
now celebrate this, the Day of
thy Birth, which today’s so
lemnity brings round to us. The
day is like Thyself—the Friend
of mankind. It comes to us in its
regular course, visiting us each
year. It grows old with the old;
it is young and fresh with little
children. . .Thy birthday, O Je
sus, is the treasure from which
we secure the means to pay our
debts.”
Then the holy doctor turns to
Our Lady, the holy Virgin Mo
ther enraptured with love for
her Child. She caressed Him as
her Child and adored Him as
her God. "Blessed art thou,
Mary,’ ’ he writes, “Daughter
of the poor, because thou hast
become the Mother of the Lord
of Kings. The Virgin lays Him
on her bosom and exulting with
joy, sings to Him her lullabies.
Very discreet were her bland
ishments; when others were
present she caressed Him as
an infant, when they were gone
she adored Him as the Lord of
majesty.”
“As she nursed the Child,”
he continues, “she caressed
Him, fondled and petted Him
with coaxing words, and then
adored Him, saying: 'Bid me,
My Master, embrace Thee,
since Thou art my Son, with
nursery rhymes will I soothe
Thee.’ ” Then he comtemplates
the Holy Infant: “Who can look
at Thee and not see how sweet
Thou art? See Thy tiny hands
bound in swaddling bands, Thy
little feet beating. . .Ah yes,
indeed, all-1 o v e a b 1 e art
Thou. . .”
Once again his words are fill
ed with joyous awe and love.
“Mary carried Fire in her
hands and embraces Flame in
her arms. Blessed art thou, O
Mary, because from thee came
forth that single Ray which
cast the very sun into dark
ness!”
Then the saint places himself
before the Holy Mother and
Child as though to sing a hymn
in their honor. “The Virgin has
invited me to sing her mystery
which I contemplate with awe.”
But he turns to the Divine Sa
viour: “Grant me, O Son of God,
Thy wondrous gift, that I may
enrich my harp and depict the
image most beautiful of Thy
Mother. Let the whole order of
virgins rejoice in Mary because
she alone of them so disposed
herself that she might bring
forth the Hero that bears up all
creation, by whom the human
race that groaned under slavery
has been set free.”
In the Ambrosian liturgy of
Milan (used by Pope Paul VI
and Pope Pius XI) we find this
tribute to Our Lady. It is a kind
of paraphrase and combination
of antiphons used during the
year in her honor:
“Rejoice and be glad, O Ma
ry, thou joy of angels!
Rejoice, O thou Virgin of the
Lord and joy of the prophets!
Rejoice, thou blessed one, the
Lord is with thee!
Rejoice, thou that didst re
ceive, at the angel’s announcing,
Him who is the joy of the world.
Rejoice, thou that didst give
birth to thy Creator and Lord.
Rejoice because thou wast
worthy to be made the Mother
Of Christ.”
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.
They form the story of Christ
mas. They give to the world the
same serenity and holiness tc-
(Continued on Page 3)
Bishop Gives
Talks On
Council
COLUMBUS—Two groups of
Catholic men heard the Most
Rev. Thomas J. McDonough, re
cently returned from the second
session of Vatican Council II
recount the deliberations and
achievements of the world-wide
meeting of Bishops of the Ca
tholic Church.
V V
Speaking to Holy Names men
of the greater Columbus area
after the 8:00 a.m. Mass at
St. Anne’s Church on Sunday,
and to members of the Colum
bus Knights of Columbus in the
evening after a Holy Hour at
Holy Family Church, Bishop
McDonough labeled as unfortu
nate “a popular notion that con
flict among the Council F athers
was one of the hallmarks” of
the Ecumenical Council’s sec
ond session.
“The virtual unanimity of
opinion concerning the two
schemata (decrees) on Liturgy
and the Communications Media
should reduce the element of
conflict to its proper propor
tions,” he said.
CYO Float
Prize Winner
WARNER ROBINS—The CYO
entered in the annual Christmas
Parade float competition again
this year and came out with the
first prize.
The float featured the mana
ger scene. Riding on the float
were Mary Clements, Lee Mc
Kinley, Vaughn Cranshaw, Lar
ry Brantley, Christine Peter
son, Dale Parably, Alice Wag
ner, Rosalie Dembowski, Mary
Dauby, and Joan and Elaine
Gulietta.
Confirmations In
Southwest Georgia
SAVANNAH—More than five
hundred persons received the
Sacrament of Confirmation at
six churches in the southwest
ern region of the Savannah Dio
cese last week.
On Wednesday His Excel
lency, Bishop Thomas J.
McDonough administered the
Sacrament to more than fifty
persons at St. Paul’s, Douglas,
where the class was prepared
under the direction of the Rev.
William Daly, O.M.I., the
church's pastor.
On Thursday fifteen children
of Our Lady of Peace parish,
Lakeland were confirmed,
where Father John J. Murphy,
O.M.I. is pastor.
In separate ceremonies , on
Friday, approximately 32 per
sons were confirmed at the
Church of Our Divine Saviour,
Tift on and more than 50 were
confirmed at St. Augustine’s,
Thomasville. The Tifton Church
is a mission of St. Augustine’s,
where the pastor is the Rev.
Paul A. Power, O.F.M.
Bishop McDonough confirm
ed more than 350 in Columbus
on Saturday. In an afternoon
ceremony more than 200, in
cluding some 30 adults receiv
ed the Sacrament at St. Anne’s,
in the presence of the Church’s
pastor, the Rt. Rev. Herman
Deimel, V.F.
Bishop McDonough’s Con
firmation schedule for the week
closed with rites at Our Lady
of Lourdes, Columbus, where
130 were confirmed at 7:30
p.m. The Bishop was as
sisted by the Rev. William P.
Dowling, pastor. At all the Con
firmation ceremonies, the Rt.
Rev. Andrew J. McDonald,Dio
cesan Chancellor and recently
appointed pastor of Savannah's
Blessed Sacrament Church ser
ved as Master of Ceremonies.
On Holyland Trip
Eastern Experts
Accompanying Pope
VATICAN CITY (NC)—Pope
Paul VI will be accompanied on
his Epiphany pilgrimage to the
Holy Land by three cardinals
who are top experts on the- Or
iental Churches.
Vatican Radio announced Dec.
12 that the Patriarch of the
West on his journey to the East
would be accompanied byapar-
ty to include Eugene Cardinal
Tisserant, Amleto CardinalCi-
cognani and Gustavo Cardinal
Testa.
Cardinal Tisserant, French-
born dean of the Sacred College
of Cardinals, has devoted most
of his life to Oriental studies.
Fluent in a dozen languages,
including Hebrew and Arabic, he
served as Secretary of the
Sacred Congregation for the
Oriental Church from 1936 until
1959. The Secretary ranks di
rectly after the Pope, who al
ways maintains the title of Pre
fect for himself.
Cardinal Cicognani, the
Pope’s Secretary of State, serv
ed as Assessor—the number
two administrative post—of the
Oriental Church congregation
from 1928 until he became
Apostolic Delegate in the United
States in 1933. He succeeded
Cardinal Tisserant as Secre
tary in 1959, shortly after Pope
John XXIII recalled him from
Washington to make him a car
dinal. He remained administra
tor of the congregation until he
was named Secretary of State
in August, 1961.
Cardinal Testa, Secretary of
the Oriental congregation since
August, 1962, is a Scripture
scholar and expert in Semitic
languages who served for many
years in papal missions to the
Middle East. He was Apostolic
Delegate to Egypt and Arabia
from 1934 to 1941. From 1948
to 1953 he was Apostolic Dele
gate to Palestine and Regent of
the Latin Rite Patriarchate of
Jerusalem. In this capacity he
was instrumental in drafting
plans for reconstruction of the
deteriorating Basilica of the
Holy Sepulcher, which will be a
primary goal of the Pope’s pil-
grimate.
Others named to accompany
Pope Paul on the Jan. 4 to 6
journey are these members of
his official household: Msgr.
Federico Callori di Vignale, the
major domo; Msgr. Mario Na-
sali RoccadiCorneliano, Maes
tro di Camera; Archbishop Die
go Venini, Private Almoner;
and Bishop Peter van Lierde,
O. S. A., Papal Sacristan.
The three officials of the Pa
pal Secretariat of State who
rank next to Cardinal Cicognani
will also be members of the
party. They are Archbishop An
tonio Samore, Secretary for
Extraordinary Ecclesis-
tical Affairs; Archbishop Ange
lo Dell ’Acqua, Undersecretary
for Ordinary Affairs; and Msgr.
Ernesto Camagni, Chancellor of
Apostolic Briefs.
Meanwhile, Vatican Radio re
ported that the city government
of Nazareth had decided to re
name the main street of that
(Continued on Page 8)
Pray For Our
Deceased Priests
REV. JOHN A MORRIS
Dec. 24, 1957
REV. M. J. RICE
Dec. 26, 1881
Following date and month un
known.
REV. THOMAS P. HAYDEN
1941
REV. T. J. MORROW
1940
HIS EMINENCE IGNATIUS
CARDINAL PERSICO
Fourth Bishop Savannah
1895
Oh God, Who didst give to
thy servants by their sacredotaf
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.
Begs Prayers For
Vietnam Catholics
By Father Patrick O’Connor
Society of St. Columban
SAIGON (NC)—An anxious
Vietnamese priest, some of
whose parishioners have been
beaten, arrested and terroriz
ed, begs for a crusade of pray
er for the Catholics of Vietnam.
He has some 50 refugees from
other villages living around his
church in Phu-Yen province.
Since the attacks on Catholics
began last month, they dare
not remain in their homes.
The perpetrators pretend to
be acting in the name of the
Nov. 1 revolution and of Budd
hism. The Military Revolution
ary Council has declared
against such actions. High
Buddhist authorities have not
yet condemned them.
A hand-duplicated tract dis
tributed in the district clamors
for the death of another priest.
Many of the people in the
region are fisherfolk. In sev
eral villages the Catholic men
have been prevented from going
out to fish at night, their normal
fishing time. New village offi
cials order Catholics not to
leave their homes by day or
night. The identity cards of
some Catholics have been taken
up, thus making normal move
ment impossible.
New Catholics and those un
der instruction are subjected to
pressure amounting to terror
ism. Some Buddhist spokesmen
(Continued on Page 2)
Dedication Rites At
Valdosta School
Valdosta—Four new classrqoms and a new auditorium
at St. John the Evangelist School, here, were dedicated
in rites last Sunday afternoon.
The ceremonies capped an expansion program undertaken
by the parish under the direction of the Rev. Thomas H.
Payne, the church’s pastor.
Bishop Thomas J. McDonough conducted the dedication
rites, assisted by Father Payne and the Rev. Robert
Reiter, assistant pastor at St. John’s. Master of Cere
monies was the Rt. Rev. Msgr. Andrew J. McDonald,
Chancellor.
