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PAGE 4—The Southern Cross, January 23, 1964
Whose Cobra?
Panama
One of the young high school students
who helped to precipitate the recent tragic
events in Panama is returning to the Unit
ed States to continue his education here.
According to a network television com
mentator Sunday night the youth, interview
ed by newsmen before his departure,
voiced anew his displeasure over the Pana
manian Flag flying alongside Old Glory.
Thus far, no one has asserted that this
young man, whose cooperation in an act of
defiance of official orders of the United
States Government helped to plunge his coun
try into its first international crisis of 1964,
was ordered home. His comments how
ever would seem to indicate that if this
is , indeed, the case, no great pains were
taken to impress upon him the degree of his
responsibility in the deaths of 24 persons,
including three U.S. servicemen, and the
wounding of an additional 29 American sol
diers.
The flag-raising incident at Balboa High
School is, of course, only one of the causes
of the Panamanian violence. A rising tide of
nationalistic feeling throughout Latin
America and the communist genius for ex
ploiting any unrest for their avowed purpose
of world domination certainly played their
parts.
The rupture in diplomatic relations be
tween Panama and the U.S. now sees the
two governments at loggerheads concern
ing conditions for the resumption of normal
relations Panama insisting that the U. S.
must first agree to re-negotiate the treaty
of 1903 and our own Government refusing
to negotiate under threats and pressure.
Our position is, of course, that to accede
to Panamanian demands might well encour
age other nations to demand revisions in
their agreements with the U. S. under threat
of anti-American violence and severed dip
lomatic relations.
But what appears to be a glossing-over
of any American responsibility for the pres
ent state of U.S.-Panamanian relations is
not likely to bring about either a softening
of Panama’s attitude or an increase of Latin
American confidence in our Good Neighbor
Policy.
The Problem Of Poverty
It is scarcely coincidence that this month
the question of poverty and its related prob
lems has come to the fore on several fronts.
The Secretary of Labor’s year-end report
was followed by President Johnson’s State of
the Union message calling for a crusade
against poverty. The President’s words were
clear and forthright: “Unfortunately, many
Americans live on the outskirts of hope, some
because of their poverty and some because
of their color, and all too many because of
both. Our task is to help replace their de
spair with unconditional war on poverty in
America. . .”
Social scientists, as well as politicians, in
recent weeks have been turning their atten
tion to the far-reaching problems of poverty.
Georgetown University next week will be the
scene of a day-long symposium on this
problem of “Poverty in Plenty.” Engaging
in the discussions will be a blue-ribbon group
of acknowledged experts in the social and
economic spheres. We have not the slightest
doubt that their efforts are motivated not by
politics, but by an honest effort to ameliorate
the lot of the poor in our affluent society.
They approach their duscussions armed with
facts and figures, with years of rich experi
ence in their fields, and with the advantage
of several recently published studies on the
causes and problems of poverty to lean upon
and to spark discussion.
We cannot share, therefore, the rather
cynical approach that is being exploited
in certain-quarters that the sudden emphasis
on poverty in the world’s most prosperous
country is dictated by purely political rea
sons. It is true that the ' ‘elimination of
poverty” has been a rallying cry of politi
cians in both major political parties for
many decades. The promise of bread for the
masses by ambitious policital leaders goes
back for centuries, and it knows no national
borders. In America, we have lived through
the promises of “the full dinner pail,” and
“a chicken in every pot.” Herbert Hoover,
as Republican nominee for President, de
clared: “We shall soon with the help of God
be within sight of the day when poverty will
be banished from this nation.”
In the 1930’s we were told by President
Franklin D. Roosevelt that one-third of
American families were * ‘ill-housed, ill-
clad and ill-fed.” He, too, called for a cru
sade to end poverty.
Poverty is a relative term. There is no
fixed agreement on what constitutes pover
ty, but whatever definition is accepted, there
is widespread agreement that about one-fifth
of all Americans are poor. There is also
general agreement that there is no single
answer to a problem as old as history.
In our fast-changing society, for millions
of workers, the year 1963 was the best ever,
with the average pay of factory workers
exceeding $100 for the first time in history,
and yet the jobless rate remained distressing
ly high. Secretary of Labor W. Willard Wirtz
could point to a combination of factors—edu
cational deficiencies, fast technological pro
gress, a growing labor force and lagging job
opportunities—contributing to poverty con
ditions.
Beyond the economic factors, beyond the
pressing factor of low income, there are
human factors to be considered. * ‘The poor
you have always with you” has deep roots
in human nature. Some persons will be
“poor” regardless of the enormity of their
income. Spend-thrift practices, lack of pru
dence, indolence and a dozen personal prob
lems can bring on poverty status. But beyond,
stand the roots of poverty in sickness, physi
cal and mental disabilities, family desertion
and a host of other situations beyond personal
control. The plain fact is that, regardless of
the causes, society has an obligation to seek
remedies and eliminate the pangs and the
social ills of poverty.
We place our lot with those who are honest
ly seeking to appraise the present situation
and to aid the unfortunate poor. The job is
not one exclusively for government. Pri
vate individuals and groups must help. The
helping hand of private aid and private gui
dance is still needed. This is indeed a com
plex and distressing problem, but to the ex
tent that we can, we must open our hearts
and our hands — and use our heads. — (Stan
dard and Times — Phila.)
Blessed Are The Peacemakers
(rod’s World
As you assist at Mass with
your missal, you will have no
ticed that several times in the
course of the Mass we pray for
peace—peace for all men, peace
for Christ’s church, peace for
ours elves.
This recur
rence of the
theme of
“peace” is
not surpris
ing since
peace is the
fruit and the
expression of
charity, the
greatest of all the virtues.
Where there is love for God
there is peace in one’s own
heart. Here there is love for
neighbor, there is peace be
tween man and man.
It is no wonder that our Lord
Jesus, in His Sermon on the
Mount, said, “Blessed are the
peacemakers, for they shall be
called the children of God.”
Here is a path to heaven guar
anteed effective by Jesus
Himself: to be a peacemaker.
We need not look for sensa
tional or heroic things to do
for God. He will be more than
content if we do but this one
small thing for Him — be
a peacemaker in our own cir
cle of family, friends and neigh
bors.
We are peacemakers between
man and God whenever we do
anything to deter another from
sin or to restore a soul to
grace. We have a friend, for
example, who is contemplating
marriage outside the Church.
By kind but earnest reason-
(By Leo J. Trese)
ing we try to dissuade him or
her from this abandonment of
God. Or , we have a neighbor
who has not received the sa
craments for months, perhaps
years. We try to persuade him
or her to accompany us to
confession. These are seeming
ly small acts, but they loom
large in God’s eyes.
We are peacemakers be
tween man and man any time
that we try to prevent or to
mend a rift between individuals
or groups. Two of our fellow-
workers, for example, are bit
terly at odds with each other.
We find opportunity to point
out to each in turn the good
points of the other; we try to
clear up misunderstandings be
tween them and try to effect
a reconciliation. We follow the
same procedure with the couple
next door who are feuding with
each other and threatening di
vorce; if our own efforts fail,
we try to persuade them to
consult a marriage counselor.
Or, a Negro family is about
to move into our previously
all-white neighborhood. We try
to rally together a few other
Christy-minded families to stave
off the threatening wave of pre
judice and to bid the new
comers welcome.
It is in our own homes, of
course, that we learn and first
practive the role of peace
maker. Parents make a great
contribution to the peace God
so loves when they teach their
children not to carry tales, not
to harbor grudges, not to sur
render to petty jealousy and
not to make rash judgments.
Sr At
Mass From The Congo
It Seems to Me
The greatest reinforcement of
these admonitions will be the
parents’ own example.
A great disappointment to
our Lord must be those persons
who, professing to love God,
nevertheless can watch uncon
cernedly while friends fall out
and while enmities develop and
ripen. There are times when it
is a virtue to mind one’s own
business, but that time is not
when we can do or say some
thing to prevent discord or to
restore peace. At such times it
is not Christlike to remain un
involved.
It is a thousand times more
unChristlike to be a fomenter
of discord. In view of the su
preme importance which Jesus
attaches to the promotion of
peace, we have reason to fear
for the salvation of the hate-
inciter and the tale-bearer. In
some ways the hate-inciter is
the less despicable, because at
least he is open and unashamed
in his efforts to build up ill-
will against some individual or
groups.
The talebearer, however, is a
more insidious enemy to peace,
as he or she puts on a facade
of virute and hides behind a
pretense of good inten
tions. “Margaret, I really think
you ought to know what Jennie
is saying about you,” the tale
bearer announces piously, then
proceeds to do the devil's work
in creating enmity.
“Blessed are the peacemak
ers, for they shall be called
the children of God.” What have
WE done lately to merit that
promise?
A few weeks ago, for a group
of friends, I played a recording
of what is called the “Missa
Luba.” I offered it as an ex
ample of the diversity which I
feel sure the Church is going
to be show
ing forth in
future years
as a result of
some of the
decisions of
the Second
V a t i c a n
Council.
The Missa
Luba pre
sents a choir of boys in the
Congo, singing parts of the
Mass — for instance, the Ky-
rie, the Gloria, the Creed. The
words are in Latin, but are
chanted in native melodies and
rhythms. The profoundly mov
ing and meaningful accompani
ment consists solely in the
beating of African drums.
THE MISSA LUBA is in no
way official. It has not been
used at Mass. It was simply
an experiment, which in my
judgment came off astonishingly
well, by a Belgian missionary
priest who brought the choir
and drummers together to show
how the music of the Congo
might be adapted to the worship
of God.
For understanding and appre
ciation, it is necessary to rea
lize that the melodies and drum
beats are the same ones which,
from time immemorial, have
JOSEPH BREIG
been used in the Congo to
celebrate happy events such as
victories and good hunting; to
mourn sorrows and deaths, and
to weep over defeats and trage
dies.
THUS, as the Missa Luba ap
proaches the point in the Creed
where we recall the suffering
of our Savior, the choir falls
silent, and one hears only the
sound of a drum, growing fainter
and fainter, slowing in tempo,
and finally stopping as the choir
at last utters the terrible words:
“was crucified, died and was
buried.”
A moment later, the listener
is lifted to the heights by a
triumphant and exultant out
burst of melody and rhythm,
hailing the Resurrection.
As I said, I cite the Missa
Luba simply as an example, and
possibly an extreme example
(although personally I like it
very much) of changes that are
coming, and for which we ought
to be preparing ourselves.
THERE IS A PASSAGE in one
of Pope Paul’s Holy Land talks
which I think we can adopt as
our guiding light in the years of
reform and renewal which are
upon us. I will quote the whole
passage in a moment; but for
now, let it suffice to note that
the Holy Father said that diver
sity as well as unity is essen
tial to the Church.
It is important, 1 believe,
that we grasp that thought firm
ly and make it part of oursel
ves. We are accustomed to
thinking of the Church in terms
of unity; now we must learn to
see it in terms of diversity also,
and to welcome changes with
interest and pleasure.
THE TALK to which I refer
was given in the Church of St.
Anne in the Jordan part of Jeru
salem for an audience of Latin
and Eastern Rite prelates.
Pope Paul spoke of the diver
sity which entered into the unity
of the Church as the Faith was
spread through the world:
“Each nation received the
good seed of the preaching of
the Apostles according to its
proper mentality and culture.
* ‘Each local Church grew with
its own personality and cus
toms, its own way of celebrat
ing the divine mysteries;.
“All this, however, did not
harm the unity of faith or the
communion of all in charity
and in respect of the order es
tablished by Christ.
“Herein lies the origin of our
diversity in unity, our catholic
ity—that property which was
always essential to the Church
of Christ, and of which the
Holy Spirit gives us a new ex
perience at the present time and
in the (ecumenical ) council.
“Unity is catholic only if it
respects the legitimate diver
sity of each one. So also, diver
sity is catholic only insofar as
it respects unity, serves chari
ty, and contributes to the edifi
cation of “the holy people of
God.’ ”
Anti-Smoking Drive
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (NC)—
Arkansas Catholic schools and
the American Cancer Society
have planned a campaign to dis
courage cigarette smoking am
ong pupils.
Father William M. Beck,
schools superintendent, said the
Loving The Unlovely
Jottings
“Wherefore should any set thee
love apart?
Seeing none but I make much of
nought
How little worthy of love thou
art;
Whom wilt thou find to love ig
noble thee,
Save Me, save only Me?”
Francis Thompson
* * *
AUTUMN would be more
ideal a time for beginning and
ending a year than January it
seems to me. There is more of
a crossing over from Summer
to Fall than from snow and ice
to snow and ice! January is a
reflective time nonetheless.
Thus, I have been re-reading
and re-thinking of Caryll
Houselander's WAY OF THE
CROSS. It was written shortly
before her death several years
ago and is a magnificent mem
orial to her beautiful soul. Its
reflections are timeless. It is a
rare spiritual book. The medi
tations are not preachy nor
lofty but sincere and down-to-
By Barbara C. Jencks
earth. The author says we all
meet ourselves on the Way of
the Cross. Yet her meditation
on the station where Veronica
wipes the face of Jesus is one
which is especially impress
ive. It is timely today in our
racial crisis and all events of
the work - a - day world. She
spoke of the problem of loving
those who are not like us. Her
prayer goes; “Lord, give us
faith to know You . . .
in the most unlikely people. In
those who do not look like You,
who do not speak like You.”
Herein lies one of the Chris
tian's most difficult tasks.
THE WORDS of a poem, 1
once read, came to mind. It
was written by a Franciscan
Missionary of Mary and printed
in “Far Away Missions.” It
went as I recall; * ‘Give me to
love the unlovely/ Give me to
love, Lord, for thee/ The vis
ion hidden and humble/ Where
Thou are despised for me.”
This poem always brings a
mental picture of young, fas
tidious Saint Francis who lov
ingly embraced the repulsive.
Stories of other saints such as
Catherine of Siena and the lit
tle Flower describe how they
overcame that which was re
pulsive to their weak natures.
Catherine of Siena sought the
most repulsive hospital cases,
those with horrible sores and
unpleasant odors, as her spe
cial charges. As a recreation
companion in Carmel, the Lit
tle Flower chose the nun who
was least attractive to her. Her
warmness, patience, kindness
often prompted the unattractive
nun to ask Teresa why she
liked her so much! Caryll
Houselander drew a similar
parallel in her meditation on
Veronica. Our Lord certainly
appeared unrecognizable as the
fairest of men on the road to
Calvary. His eyes were swol
len from sleepless nights, he
(Continued on Page 5)
society is furnishing a film
strip and a record narration for
use in elementary schools, and
a motion picture entitled, “Is
Smoking Worth It?” for exhi
bition in Catholic high schools.
The program is scheduled for
the next month “in the light of
the recent governmental report
blaming cigarettes for the in
crease in lung cancer deaths,”
Father Beck said.
Gold, Myrrh--
And Who?
BARLING, Ark. (NC)—Fa
ther Bede Mitchel, O.S.B., was
conducting a children’s cate
chism class at St. Mary’s mis
sion here. He asked what gifts
the Wise Men gave the Christ
Child. One youngster replied:
“Gold, myrrh and Franken
stein.”
Back School Prayer
CLEVELAND, Ohio (NC)—
More than 1,000 officers of the
Diocesan Union of Holy Name
Societies have unanimously ag
reed to ask their 100,000 mem
bers to petition Congress in
support of a constitutional
amendment to permit voluntary
prayer in public schools.
Interracial
Home Visit
CLEVELAND, Ohio (NC) —
The second interracial home
visit day under interfaith aus
pices will he held here Feb. 9
with Negro families visiting
the homes of whites.
On Nov. 3, 1963, about 3,300
persons of both races took part
when whites visited the homes
of Negroes.
Honorary cochairmen of the
exchanges represent the three
faiths here. They are: Auxiliary
Bishop John F. Whealon of the
Cleveland Catholic diocese;
Ernest P. Scott, president of
the Cleveland Area Church Fe
deration; and Rabbi Arthur J.
Lelyveld of Fairmount Temple.
Indian Churchmen
Respond To Pope
SECUNDERABAD, India (NC)
—The (Protestant) Church of
South India at its ninth synod
here replied to a message from
Pope Paul VY by voicing thanks
for being able to send an ob
server delegate to the Vatican
council and by asking God’s
blessing on the council’s third
session.
Pope Paul had sent the synod
a message from Jerusalem ex
pressing wishes for its success.
The Church of South India, inau
gurated in 1947, has over a mil
lion members. It is a union of
Anglican, Methodist, Calvinist
and Lutheran bodies.
Pope’s Trip Hit
JERUSALEM, Israel (NC)—
Pope Paul Vi’s pilgrimage to
the Holy Land was bad for Is
rael, an Israeli newspaper said
in expressing an opinion mark
edly different from the general
ly favorable reaction in the Is
raeli press.
Herut, a daily opposed to the
present government, said every
step of the Pope’s visit “was
premeditated with the obvious
purpose of stressing that the
State of Israel does not exist
for the Catholic Church.”
The Herut editorial also said:
“It is becoming clear that not
only did the visit fail to bring a
new spirit on behalf of the Ca
tholic Church, but it involves
dangers we did not anticipate,
and heightened the hatred of
the Arab leaders toward us.”
Polish See Filled
VATICAN CITY (NC)—Bi
shop Karol Wo jtyla, Vicar Capi
tular (administrator) of the
Cracow archdiocese in Poland,
has been named Archbishop of
that See, vacant for the past
13 years.
Refusal by Poland’s commun
ist government to approve a
successor to Adam Cardinal
Sapieha had kept the Cracow
archdiocese empty since his
death in July, 1951.
Archbishop Wojtyla served
as Auxiliary to Archbishop Eu-
geniusa Baziak, Apostolic Ad
ministrator of Cracow, until
the latter’s death in June, 1962.
QUESTION BOX
By David Q. Liptak
Q. I think that people who have
children in parochial schools
should contribute more to
church support than, for in
stance, widows who have no
other source of income than a
Social Security Check. Why
isn’t this made explicit more
frequently in our pulpits ?
A. A widow with no other
source of income than a So
cial Secuirty check obviously
cannot contribute much to ber
parish. Nor is she expected to.
By her very intention to give
more, had she more to give,
she abundantly fulfils the law—
as witness the story of the wi
dow’s mite in the Scriptures.
SAYING THAT persons who
benefit from the parish school
ought to contribute more to the
parish than widows with low in
comes , is a rather crude kind
of expression.. It tends to re
duce the whole subject of
church support to a quid pro-
quo basis, a “What’e in it for
me?” arrangement.
WHAT THE QUESTIONER
here probably meant to ask is:
Shouldn’t parents who send their
youngsters to the parish school
try to be especially generous—
i.t., to a higher degree of self-
sacrifice than is usual—when
the Sunday collection basket
is passed their way? The an
swer of course is that they
should make such an attempt,
but only insofar as it can pru
dently be done. Or, to put ir
more accurately, parents of
children in parochial schools
have an added incentive insofar
as parish support is concerned
namely, the intention to help
defray school expenses.
NOTE THAT THIS is not
the same as saying that pa
rents whose children are enrol
led in the parish school should
give more in their envelopes
than persons with low incomes.
It could happen—in fact it does
happen—that such parents are
so impoverished that they can
hardly offer anything. Perhaps
they will be able to be of
greater assistance in the years
to come; perhaps not.
IN THIS AREA the “What's
in it for me?” philosophy has
no application. The basic reason
for Church support is—to re
tain the colloquialism —
“What’s in it for the extension
for Christ’s kingdom?” But
even this question is meaning
less unless it proceeds from
love, which of its nature de
mands sacrifice.
* * *
Q. Was there a St. Cain?
A. Cain is a variant of Keyne
or Kenya, a sixth century maid
en once widely venerated in
parts of England and Wales.
Her name was immortalized by
the poet Robert Southey, who
wrote of “her holy well” in
Cornwall. Nothing is known of
her life for certain.
The Southern Cross
P. O. BOX 180, SAVANNAH. GA.
Vol. 44
Thursday, January 23, 1964
No. 28
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
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Most Rev. Thomas J. McDonough, D.D.J.C.D., President
Rev. Francis J. Donohue, Editor
John Mark waiter, Managing Editor
Rev. Lawrence Lucree, Rev. John Fitzpatrick,
Associate Editors