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Pope Paul
Sees Layman
Bridge Between
Two Worlds
By Msgr. James I. Tucek
VATICAN CITY (NC)—The
Catholic layman must be a
bridge between the profane and
spiritual world, Pope Paul VI
said in an address to an Italian
group of university graduates.
The Pope spoke during a Mass
celebrated in St. Peter’s basili
ca (Jan. 3).
He addressed the university
graduates as men who are pre
paring themselves for active
professional life, who in the
future will combine the prac
tice and profession of their
Faith with the exercise of their
professions. Pope Paul added:
“The fact, so simple to state and
yet so complex to define, that
men like you should call them
selves and be Catholics is of
very great interest to us.’’
He went on; “You know that
out doctrine recognizes for the
faithful layman participation in
the spiritual priesthood of man
and therefore his capacity—
indeed his responsibility—for
the exercise of the apostolate
. . .which arises as the mission
proper to the present hour.
“We speak of the consecra
tion of the world and the special
prerogatives which are attri
buted to the layman in the
sphere of secular life—a
sphere ripe for the possible
spreading of the light and grace
of Christ—precisely because he
can act on the secular world
from within. . .while the priest,
who is to a large extent sepa
rated from secular life, cannot
act on it except in an external
way, through his words and
through his ministry. . .
“Our Catholic laymen have
this function of being a bridge.
It is a function which has be
come extraordinarily impor
tant and in a way indespensa-
ble. And this is not to insure
the Church’s interference as a
dominating factor in the field of
temporal realities and in the
framework of worldly affairs,
but to make sure that the world
will not be left without the mes
sage of Christian salvation.’’
The Pope spoke of the lay
man’s having a dual citizenship.
He insisted that contrary to what
many claim, the two citizen
ships are not incompatible. He
said, instead, that the “dual
ism” which insists that the pro
fane and the spiritual are two
incompatible worlds “can be
accentuated to such a point that
it can make of the ecclesial
community a closed cenacle on
the one hand, remote from the
society where it nevertheless
finds itself, and paralyzed in its
doctrinal as well as in its
teaching, charitable and social
efficiency, while rendering the
secular world, on the other
hand, insensitive to religious
problems, the greatest prob
lems of life, and therefore ex
posed to the recurrent danger
of believing itself to be self-
sufficient, with all the sorrow
ful consequences which this il
lusion finally entails.
“The faithful layman cannot
forget that he is a man of this
world, precisely to remain a
participating member in the
communion of the Mystical
Body, nor can the man of this
world neglect every memory
and every pledge of the Chris
tian conscience in order to be
free to devote himself wholly
to the demands of his secular
profession.”
The Pope said therefore that
the function of the layman is
found in a twofold testimony:
the Christian within society, and
the secular within the Catholic
life.
He added: “the ecumenical
council speaks in you and with
you, the Catholic laymen, be
cause of the need which the
Church has for you, but even
more for the vocation to the
fulness of a Christian life which
the Church sees in your souls.”
V HOLY LAND: OUTSIDE HELP?
This letter arrives from the Holy Land just as the Pope is
scheduled to visit there on a pilgrimage . . . BISHOP AOH-
CHAER, in LEBANON, writes about
DAYR MIMAS, a village rooted in
history and the land. DAYR MI
MAS is on the border of “no man’s
land.” cut off from the Sea of Gali
lee (about 20 miles to the south) by
the fortified Israeli border . . . The
narish church in DAYR MIMAS is
the center of village life. Damaged
by earthquake years ago. it is now
dreadfully unsafe. Besides, it is
. . , much too small . . . “For an ade-
Tbc Holy rtibrr s Huston Aid qua t e church we must have outside
tor tht Orienhd Church help,” writes BISHOP ACH-CHAER
“Will you please ask someone to help us?” . . . We pass on this
appeal to you. Like you. we cannot ignore the needs of the poor
who want to pray . . . Will you help? To repair and enlarge the
church will cost $2,500 altogether. $1, $5, $10, $50, $100, wilt
buy building-supplies, rent builder’s equipment, pay for a hun
dred necessary things.—We’ll be looking for your letter.
PALESTINE
In some dioceses marriage jubilarians meet in the cathedral
or their parish churches on the Feast of the Holy Family for a
special blessing. It’s a lovely custom . . . We ask you, at such
a time, to remember the families of PALESTINE REFUGEES,
still unsettled in the Middle East ... A $10 FOOD PACKAGE
helps us feed a family for a month. A $2 BLANKET will mean
warmth and comfort to a Bedouin.
MATARIA, six miles from CAIRO, is said to be the Town
where the Holy Family rested on the flight into Egypt. Both
Coptic Christians and Moslems point out trees they insist date
from that visit. The Moslems believe the trees must be tended
by Christians alone, else the trees will die . . . The work of
i carrying Christ’s message to the Holy Land depends so much
, on fostering vocations. We have the names of many semina
rians like JOSEPH SCALIA and Sisters-to-be like SISTER
ROSE MARTIN who need help in their seminarian and con
vent training. The cost is $100 a year for six years for the
seminarian and $150 for two years for the Sister-to-be.
MASS STIPENDS
These are often the sole daily support for the priests in the
Near and Middle East. We ask your continued remembrance
of them.
ST. AUGUSTINE
When God sends a problem, He sends the answer ahead of
time. G. K. Chesterton explained Providence in another de
lightful way. One day on an English seacoast, he saw a scene
he wished to draw. He had paper but no pencil or crayon. Then
he realized he was standing on one of England’s great chalk
cliffs . . . Our priests in 18 countries need the help of Provi
dence. They are confident you will be there first to help them.
Your STRINGLEfcS GIFTS enable us to give immediate help.
' KINDLY REMEMBER THE CATHOLIC NEAR EAST WEL
FARE ASSOCIATION IN YOUR WILL. THANKS.
Dear Monsignor Ryan:
Enclosed please find for
Name
Street
City
Zone State
imiJlear East OlissionsjMi
FRANCIS CARDINAL SPELLMAN, President
Msfr. Jesert T. Ryoa, Natl S#c*y
Seed eR eeemieakeflees *e:
CATHPLIC NEAR EAST WELFARE ASSOCIATION
4Q0 Lexington Avt. at 46»h St. New York 17, N. Y.
vy At m i a m m
I W Jhi 1 jPi 9* Ik SH &
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CHAIR Of
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UNITY OCT AYE
JAN 18 te 25
We Are All Pilgrims. . . .
By Titus Cranny, S. A.
Just a short while ago our
Holy Father made his historic
visit to the Holy Land. He
went as a “pious pilgrim” to
visit the places made sacred by
the life and death of our divine
Master. His pilgrimage was
made for the sake of peace
and religious unity.
We too are pilgrims—all of
us—on the way to heaven and
to eternal life. The way is
fraught with difficulties and
dangers but we have the con
solation and strength of the
Church established for all men.
We have the life-giving power of
the sacraments to quicken our
spiritual lives. Wehave the spi
ritual motherhood of the Bles
sed Virgin Mary to protect and
to encourage us. We have the
holy faith to sustain us every
part of 'the way.
As pilgrims we do not jour
ney alone. We make our way
Jottings...
(Continued from Page 4)
signed up to go to an obsolete
mission and work for little pay
and little notable results. “We
had a desire to give back to the
Church something of our talents
and some of the joy that was so
generously bestowed upon us all
these years. We have known al
most continuous joy on the job
and a new understanding about
spirituality for the laity.”
* * *
Listen to the words of Assun-
ta Fossa, who has been blind
since she was ten years old
commenting on her Cross. “God
gives us a cross, but he also
gives us the grace to bear it.
As for me, I do my best. When
I awake in the morning I thank
God for giving me another day.
These are the gifts He gave me.
I am able to knit, read and write
braille, doing a little typing
enough to keep in touch with
friends, and do my own dialing
on the phone. These are my
gifts. Therefore I put myself
into God’s hands and do His
will.”
* * *
Here are the words of a young
seminarian who is spokesman
for all those who have left mo
ther and father and all things to
serve God: "I am sure you are
aware of how much all priests
and students for the priesthood
need prayers. When I think, at
times in meditation, of the tre
mendous task that confronts
each priest I shudder. The holi
ness that is demanded of us who
will one day bring Christ to
others. The great love that must
be in our hearts, for we are to
give the Tremendous Lover of
our Altars to others. I only pray
that God will give me all the
graces I need and desire to be
a true friar and a real priest of
Jesus Christ.
* * *
Once I asked a nun-friend
amid consternation why we as
Catholics were not better, why
there is discord when there
should be harmony many times
among us. Here is a New Year’s
answer for all times for people
who ask this question. "I know
that if all things went smoothly
in an office and everyone al
ways ' ‘Loved one another’ there
would be no great cross for it is
the splinters that are most pain
ful to our pride, hence, no jewel
of suffering to transmit the na
tural into the supernatural in
spite of our puny selves. God
never promised us a gay and de
lightful home on earth; He pro
mised, no, commanded this:
‘take up your cross and follow
Me' and that’s the only guaran
tee we have that we are on the
right road following; that it is
rocky and painful, full of bicker
ing and misunderstanding and
uncharitableness that constant
ly humiliate and send us to Him
for help.”
to heaven with others, conscious
of our ability to help them,
aware of our weakness but con
fident in the grace of Almighty
God. Everyone is a viator—one
on the way—to the home that
God has prepared for thosewho
love and serve Him.
Others, too, trod the way to
heaven, those who do not share
our blessed faith but seek for
heaven through the means that
God has given them. As Catho
lics we have the best and su
rest means of gaining heaven.
But we should help others as
best we can and long to assist
them in securing eternal life.
Such is the purpose of the
Chair of Unity Octave,
observed this January 18-25;to
help others to attain religious
unity for which they are
anxiously seeking and which God
desires for them. The Unity
Octave is a crusade of prayer
for all men, for religious unity.
It seeks the greatest possible
spiritual blessing for those
who do not enjoy complete and
perfect unity with Christ.
Christian unity is the task
of love of every Catholic, not
just of the bishop, priest, or
religious. It is the obligation
and privilege of every member
of the laity. Christians do not
pray enough for unity; but the
Chair of Unity Octave, begun in
1908 reminds them of their duty
and their priviledge. As Pope
Pious XII said: “The fact re
mains that many people remain
far from the Catholic truth
and do not bend the mind to
the inspiration of divine grace,
because neither they nor the
Christian faithful raise their
most fervent prayers to God for
that purpose.”
Archbishop Paul Hallinan of
Atlanta speaks of the impera
tive need of intense, dynamic
prayer for reunion. “Pray
er, then, is the first need:
fresh prayer arising from the
urgent need of unity today; daily
prayer because we can only take
one step at a time; community
prayer, because we have prayed
too long as individuals, instead
of praying to a common
Father.”
Christian unity is the concern
of all — of Catholics, of the
Orthodox, and of the Protest
ants. But they do not pray
enough and we do not. If 600
million Catholics prayed for
unity each January 18-25 and
200 Orthodox and 270 million-
Protestants, the results in
grace would sweep over the
world and change it radically.
We are brethren of a com
mon Father. We are marked
with the sacrament of Baptism.
We belong to Christ—and so do
our brethren, whatever be the
cause and degree of separation.
The differences of centuries
cannot be dissolved in a few
years and the walls of preju
dice and misunderstanding will
not crumble without the grace
of God. But steps can be taken
Saigon—
(Continued from Page 4)
than the Buddhists, and nobody
can say exactly how many they
are.
The province of Tay Ninh
which lies alongside Cambodia
is of great strategic importance
during the present Viet Cong
war. Already the Viet Cong are
strongly entrenched in it.
The military authorities and
the Provisional Government are
in a dilemna, and the Cao-
daists know it. If the new ru
lers of South Vietnam allow the
Caodaists to become once more
a state-within-a-state, they will
have a built-in problem certain
to harass them and their suc
cessors. On the other hand, they
feel that they cannot do without
the cooperation, or risk the hos
tility, of the Caodaists in that
critical region and in this cri
tical hour.
and action can be initiated to
heal the wounds and to bridge
the breach which has lasted far
too long.
We should realize that life on
earth is a pilgrimage and our 1
Journey is towards the holiest
of places and the shrine that
will be ever glorious— the
eternal mansion of heaven. As
Catholics we should pray for
Unity in a very ardent and con
fident way during the Octave;
then we should resolve to pray
and sacrifice every day—when
we offer daily prayers to God,
when we attend holy Mass, when
we perform some act of mor
tification. The cause of Christ
ian Unity, for which Jesus pray
ed and died, is worth our very
best efforts always. May we
imitate the Virgin Mary, Our
Lady of the At-one-ment, in
praying daily for this holy and
most burning cause of modern
times. She is the Mother of
our pilgrimage and she longs
t o welcome us, and those for
whom we pray, in the sanc
tuary of heaven.
Augusta
Club Is
Chartered ,
AUGUSTA — The Seventh
Grade of the Immaculate Con
ception School, Augusta, was
enrolled recently in the Saint
Dominic Savio Club. This club
was organized to present the life
and virtues of Saint Dominic
Savio to American youth of the
elementary and junior high
school grades and to pray for
ecclesiastical and religious vo
cations. The children pledged
themselves to practice purity
in word, thought and deed.
Programs of a religious, ath
letic and social nature have
been organized. Through these
programs the children are en
couraged to love and practice
virtue, to live and work with
one another, to love prayer and
to receive the Sacraments of
Penance and Holy Communion
frequently.
Under the guidance of this
young model of youth, the St.
Dominic Savio Club members
have already begun to produce
fruits of virtue and sanctity.
The Moderator of the club is
Sister Mary Ailbe of the Mis
sionary Franciscan Sisters of
the Immaculate Conception.
Saint Mary’s
Home & School,
Augusta
AUGUSTA — The regular
monthly meeting of St. Ma
ry’s On-the-Hill Home and
School Organization was held
in the school cafetorium.
Msgr. Bourke addressed the
parents. His topic was The im
portant part parents play in
the complete education of their
children.
The 7th and 8th grades en
tertained the parents with a
“Christmas Mass Chorale”".
The speaking chorus was made
up of eighth grade students.
The narrator was Virginia King.
The singing chorus was the sev
enth grade, under the direction
of Anita Cameron.
The script folders used by the
entire chorus were designed by
Stephen Pinzak of the eighth
grade. Stage management was
done by Thomas Blain of Aqu
inas High School. This pro
gram helped us to see more
clearly the relationship between
the Mystery of the Incarnation,
and the Holy Sacrifice of the
Mass.
The Southern Cross, January 9, 1964—PAGE 5>
| buff.
WRITERS
AND
READERS
EDITED BY LEO J. ZUBER "
2332 North Decatur Rd. Decatur, Georgia
GERMAN CATHOLICS AND
HITLER’S WARS, by Gordon
Zahn, Sheed and Ward, 1962,
236 pp„ $4.75.
Reviewed by Michele Cara-
her.
Gordon Zahn, a professor at
Loyola University and well-
known pacifist, asks in this
sociological study why German
Catholics almost unanimously
supported and served in Hit
ler’s armies. He concludes that
they did so because the German
hierarchy never really ques
tioned the justness of the war,
even when, as did Cardinal
Faulhaber and Bishop von Ga
len they fearlessly opposed
Nazism per se. Instead, ser
vice was regarded as ful
fillment of the Christian duty
to defend one’s country, and
called for in episcopal pronou
ncements , through the Catho
lic press and from the pulpit.
Professor Zahn gives full
weight to the complex consid
erations which influenced the
bishops’ attitude. He fairly
points out that Allied Catho
lics on their part did not ques
tion the morality of saturation
bombings, or refuse to carry
them out. But he leaves his work
open to shallow accusations of
latent anti-clericalism, anti-
German bias and sensation
alism—all of which have been
voiced since the book appeared
—because he fails to ex
plore in detail the German
Catholic pacifist and resistance
movements, and their effect on
the over-all picture.
This is unfortunate, for Pro
fessor Zahn extends his study
into some thought-provoking
comments on moral "practi
cableness” and the traditional
morality of war. On that count
the book is a piece of true
intellectual inquiry on a sub
ject most people prefer to
avoid, and both the author and
Sheed and Ward deserve praise
for having the courage to pre
sent it.
PRINCE OF DEMOCRACY:
JAMES CARDINAL GIBBONS,
by Arline Boucher and John
Tehan, Hanover House, 1962,
295 pp., $4.95.
Reviewed by Flannery O’
Connor.
Cardinal Gibbons; life was
equivalent to a short history
of the Catholic Church in Am
erica during its most crucial
years. He lived from 1834 to
1921, saw the United States in
three wars, and was an active
THE KINGDOM OF GOD, A
Short Bible edited by Louis
J. Putz, CSC, Fides, 1962, 383
pp., $4.95.
Reviewed by Flannery O’
Connor.
The Kingdom of God is an
abridged Bible for school use,
prepared for the German school
system in 1960, and now avail
able in English. There is no
indication as to what grades
this text is suitable for, but,
since German schools are gen
erally more advanced than ours,
the German child would
probably come to it several
years before the American. The
explanations before each read
ing are brief, stated in simple
language, and designed to show
the child what the ancient wri
ter’s intention was; for ex
ample, the explanation pro
ceeding Genesis I reads: “The
Bible begins with a song of
praise to God who created hea
ven and earth. God, through
His Word, created and sanc
tified all things. The Bible
gives its account of the crea
tion of the world in the pic
ture-story language of the an
cients; consequently the work
of creation is presented in the
seven-day week framework.”
Old and New Testaments are
tied in together with quotations
in such a way as to assist the
teacher to show the child that
sacred history is a continuous
revelation with the seeds of the
future contained in the past.
It is doubtful if the illus
trations in this text will appeal
to children. In every face
depicted, the sign for spiritu
ality is emaciation. Otherwise,
this is an admirable book, to
be recommended for the child’s
use at home as well as in
school.
FROM SHILOH TO SAN
JUAN, by John P. Dyer,
Louisiana State University
Press, 1961, 275 pp., maps,
illus., $3.95.
Reviewed by Joseph Power.
This is a re-issue of a suc
cessful book of 1941. The
volume deserves such acknow
ledgement. It can, with confi
dence, be handed to a reader
who is in no wise a Civil War
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Savannah
Joseph Wheeler, cadet of the
West Point Class of 1858, was,
at the end of five years, an
acknowledged leader of calvary
in the Confederacy. At the age of
26 h e wore the star of a gen
eral. He had proved himself
able to make his cavalry troops
fit into the tactics of an army
corps (Civil War) in battle. His
part of the war machine
produced results.
The author makes this book
attractive, in great part, by
introducing thumb nail sketch
maps. The reader follows the
progress of cavalrymen under
the guidance of Wheeler.
One such diagram makes un
derstandable the cavalry action
of his troopers just to the south
of Atlanta in the summer of
1864. Sherman had invested At
lanta. The job of Wheeler was
to protect the defeated Con
federate divisions. His limited
mission was accomplished.
Thirty-three years later
after Appomatox, Joseph
Wheeler, now the Congressman
from North Alabama, again
came into prominence. Pre
sident McKinley needed exper
ienced field commanders for the
Spanish - American War. To
Wheeler he gave a commission
as Major General of U. S. Vol
unteers. And Joe Wheeler,
cadet of 1858, closed out his
career as a commander of Uni
ted States troops in the 1898
invasion of Cuba.
PATRONIZE OUR
ADVERTISERS
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A Good Address In Atlanta
I h* Mr a>?
HfyS fcdkttdiJ
Democracy
JAMES \
CARDINAL %
. GIBBONS
bvARUNL BOUCHEfi JOHN TEHAN
churchman in the pontificates
of four Popes, Pius IX, Leo
XIII, Pius X—in whose election
he played a decisive part—and
Benedict XV. During these
years in Europe the Church,
shackled on every side by vio
lently anti-clerical govern
ments, was facing perhaps the
blackest time in her entire his
tory; only in America was she
expanding. Cardinal Gibbons;
great role was to recognize and
proclaim to the rest of the
Church what in America the
separation of church and state
had meant to the welfare of Ca
tholics. His voice usually pre
vailed., not only in Europe but
in this country as well, where
Bishops were divided and char
ity among them was not conspic
uous. He took a firm hand in
molding the Church’s position
on labor, he effectively pre
vented the establishment of
different national hierarchies in
the United States, he founded the
Catholic University in Washing
ton and nursed it through many
bad times, and he wrote the
most popular book of apologet
ics of his age, The Faith ofOur
Fathers.
This biography by Arline
Boucher and John Tehan is bet
ter written than most popular
biographies and will whet the
appetite for the definitive treat
ment of Cardinal Gibbons and
his times.
X ' ✓
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