Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 4—The Southern Cross, March 5, 1964
Pius And Broadway
IT WOULD BE VAIN to try to measure the
motives of those who have brought the con
troversial play, “The Deputy”, to Broadway.
The true Christian must, however, presume
them to be honorable in the absence of evi
dence to the contrary. The fact,nonetheless,
that the production perpetrates a grave and
offensive slander on the memory of Pope
Pius XII cannot fail to overshadow any of the
other aspects of the presentation. Whatever
good ends were intended in the caricature of
this able and saintly Pontiff cannot excuse
the lie which the author has used for his dra
matic purposes.
We have been asked to approach the play
with “an open mind”, which is probably good
advice, so long as we remember, in the old
phrase, that an open mind, like an open
mouth, is intended to close upon something.
In this case, if the matter under discussion
proves distasteful or indigestible, we may
have good cause for its rejection. To con
tinue the figure, it takes only one foul egg
to make a bad omelette. The defense of the
play has been most often made on the
grounds that it raises in dramatic fashion the
question of the guilt of this generation of hu
manity for the destruction of the Jews during
the dread pogroms of the Nazis. This surely
is an important question and one from which
most of us have preferred to turn away. If
the play causes us to look again into our
hearts and weight the actions of all of us in
those awful hours, it can be said to have at
least one salutary effect. The Christians of
Germany and the whole world, as well as so
many others, have scarcely begun the exam
ination of conscience that history will even
tually demand.
With all of this said, we have a right to ask
if what we are seeking here actually required
the defamation of the one person who was
more sensitive than all the rest of us to
the sufferings of those years and who used ev
ery effort he thought practicable to rescue
and assist the victims. Pius XII had a tor
tured pontificate of nearly twenty years
which he offered with resignation for an af
flicted world. Must he now undergo the pos
thumous abuse of petty partisans attempting
to defame his memory? For us the answer
is roundly negative. But we wonder even
here, if the judgment was to be that of Pius
himself, he might not have allowed—with his
Christian confidence in the ultimate vindi
cation of truth—even this last ignominy if
through it men might be brought to that bet
ter world for which he worked and prayed.
(THE PILOT—BOSTON)
Reds Tighten Grip
On South Vietnam
By Father Patrick O’Connor
Society of St. Columban
SAIGON, Vietnam (NC)—The
communist grip has tightened on
South Vietnam during the past
four months.
The areas under communist
control have become larger. In
other areas the threat of com
munist terror is nearer. Resis
tance is weaker, with less ini
tiative shown.
Here are some significant
figures from American military
sources:
The weekly average of “inci
dents” perpetrated by the com
munist Viet Cong during the
frist six months of 1963 wasi
270. The incidents include acts
of terrorism, propaganda, sa
botage and armed attacks.
The weekly average of these
incidents in the three months
of November and December,
1963, and January, 1964, was
560." * *. *
During the week of Nov. 6-
13, that is, the second week af
ter the overthrow of the Diem
government, Viet Cong inci
dents numbered 1,021, thehigh-
est total for any week on rec
ord. Again from Feb. 5 to
12, the second week after the
second coup d’etat, the Viet
Cong intensified their ac
tivities, reaching a total of 738
incidents.
The majority of these inci
dents are always acts of ter
rorism, according to American
military spokesmen. Terror
ism, basic practice of commun
ists everywhere comes first and
last on the program of the Viet
“There
Cong in their campaign to annex
South Vietnam.
Terrorism stifles objections
to their propaganda, gives them
safeguards in sabotage and en
sures secrecy and cooperation
for their armed attacks. By ter
rorism they obtain recruits,
food and information. By ter
rorism they paralyze local gov-
emement. Even while absent or
in hiding, they control whole
clusters of villages by terror
ism.
The men who do all this nev
er call themselves communists.
Even in North Vietnam, the
communists are careful not to
use that label. Like the Polish
Reds, they call themselves the
“Labor Party,” in Vietnamese
the Dang Lao Dong. Communist
has been a nasty word in Viet
nam for some 20 years.
Twenty-three years ago, to
camouflage their communism
and to ensnare noncommun
ist nationalists, the Vietnamese
Reds found an independence
league with a long name that
was shortened to Viet-Minh.
Similarly in December, 1960,
the North Vietnam regime spon
sored a new organization styled
the National Liberation Front
of South Vietnam.This “Front”
took over the guerrilla welfare
that was already being waged
—increasingly since February
1959—against the South Viet
nam government.
Hanoi claims that it is not
responsible for the “Libera
tion Front” and the war it is
waging in the south. Yet the
Hanoi radio and press espouse
the “Front” and publish its
propaganda. Its program in
booklet form is printed and
published by a government-con
trolled printing house in Ha
noi. In the center of its red
and blue flag is the same yel
low star that stands out against
the all-red background of the
North Vietnam flag.
Far more striking proofs are
seen in the documents, dairies
and supplies found in Viet Cong
hide-outs and on Viet Cong pri
soners and dead. These prove
that the hard-core Viet Cong
have come down from the north,
usually by crossing into Laos,
with detailed orders. Further,
captured weapons indicate that
the Chinese as well as Eastern
European countries are helping
to equip Viet Cong for their war
on and in "South Vietnam.
Consquently, as far back as
June 2, 1962, the International
Commission for Supervision
and Control pronounced that
“there is sufficient evidence to
show beyond reasonable doubt”
that, “hostile activities . . .
aimed at the overthrow of the
administration in the south”
had been incited and support
ed in the conclusions, reached,
after 11 months investigation,
by the Indian and Canadian re
presentatives.
Hence, the Viet Cong war,
now nearing a climax in south
Vietnam, is an aggressive war
waged with impunity by the
north Vietnam regime. It was
begun by it. It has been contin
ued by it. And the North Viet-
(Continued on Page 5)
Is Grace In Listening”
God’s World
(By Leo J. Trese)
Many Catholics look upon a
sermon as a necessary evil to
be suffered through with pa
tience. This attitude indicates
a lack of understanding of the
place of preaching in Christ’s
Church.
There is an
enormous
difference
between a
sermon and
any other
kind of public
address. A
talk given by
some eminent
authority may entertain, in
struct or persuade the listener.
A sermon, however, is a vehicle
of grace to the receptive hearer.
By a sermon is meant, of
course, the presentation of
God’s revealed Word by God’s
authorized representative.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ,
His Incarnate Word, God con
fided to the apostles and their
successors the duty and the
power to make God’s message of
salvation known to all men. The
successors of the apostles are
the bishops of Christ’s Church.
It is to the bishops that the oT
fice of preaching primarily be
longs. However, bishops can
and do delegate much of this re
sponsibility to their priests.
A priest who has been authoriz
ed by his bishop becomes, by
that fact, God’s official messen
ger in the dissemination of His
truths.
Obviously it would do little
good for the message of salva
tion to be proclaimed unless it
were accepted by the hearers of
the message. For this reason
God accompanies the preaching
of His Word with grace to the
listener. When the bishop
preaches, either personally or
through his priests, God offers
to the hearers of His Word the
grace necessary to give internal
assent to the truths proposed.
The grace which God gives is
the gift of faith. This may be
either the initial gift of faith to
one who previously has been an
unbeliever, or a deepening or
broadening of faith to one who
already possesses the gift. This
grace is not, of course, a com
pelling grace. It does not force
assent. Like any other grace,
it can be rejected.
Preaching God’s Word gives
grace. Preaching is an outward
sign. Preaching was instituted
by Christ. Quite logically we
are moved to ask, “How, then,
does a sermon differ from a
sacrament?”
A sermon and a sacrament
differ in two ways. In the first
place it is an actual grace which
the sermon imparts, not sancti
fying grace. The listener may
receive an increase of sancti
fying grace because of his own
interior dispositions—his doci
lity and humility, for example
—but the sermon itself does not
confer sanctifying grace.
The second difference lies in
this, that a sacrament gives
grace quite independently of any
personal defects in the one who
confers the sacrament. The
grace which flows from the
Mass, for example, is not less
ened by the slovenliness on the
part of the priest. The grace of
baptism would not be diminished
even if the one baptizing were
in the state of mortal sin.
In contrast, the grace of a
sermon is to some extend (al
though not entirely) dependent
upon the competence of the
preacher. We cannot give inward
assent to a truth if the presen
tation of the truth is confused
or incorrect. Consequently, if
a preacher presents God’s Word
in an inadequate manner, the
grace of faith which accom
panies his preaching is to some
extent stultified. A priest’s own
holiness will make a difference,
too. It is not his holiness which
gives grace to his listeners but
it is a powerful witness to the
truth of what he says. His holi
ness provides a “motive of cre
dibility” which makes it easier
for God’s grace to operate.
When we listen to a sermon,
then, God is personally and di
rectly at work within us. The
consciousness of this fact
should make it easier for us to
overcome any feeling of bore
dom or ennui as we settle back
in the pew for our weekly stint
of listening. However dull the
speaker may be, the reverence
and attention with which we lis
ten will be richly rewarded by
insights sharpened and faith
intensified.
Holy Name Sunday
How To Go To Jail
Seems to
Just in case there might be
somebody out there among
the readers who is looking
for a shortcut to jail (maybe
to get away from an irate wife
for a while, or something) I
rise to offer a suggestion that
is absolutely,
unconditionally
succeed every 1
time, or double
your money % ~0 F
money. All that
you’ve got to
do, chum is to try your hand
at promoting something in
which a bird or a beast is
going to get hurt. A dog fight,
for instance. Or a cock fight.
Or a bull fight or a bear-
baiting exhibition.
BEFORE YOU HAVE sold the
first cotton-pickin’ ticket,
friend, the Society for the Pre
vention of Curelty to Animals
will have you snatched up, book
ed and brought in for trial. And
you’ll be lucky if you find a law
yer willing to dirty his reputa
tion by agreeing to try to de
fend you.
You’ll be an outcast, cousin.
A moral leper. Society will turn
its back on you. Folks will stand
aside from you to avoid being
contaminated. And there’s no
use in your standing there
feigning innocence, because in
nocent you ain’t, and guilty you
jolly well is.
YOU’LL BE WASTING your
breath if you try to tell the
JOSEPH BREIG
judge and jury that after all,
you were merely trying to make
a buck or two by putting on a
sports event, just like other
people get up football or base
ball or hockey games.
Talk like that and you’ll be
horse-laughed (if not horse
whipped) out of court and right
into prison, where you will be
given plenty of time to come
around to seeing that God didn’t
make animals for you to set on
one another for your low pleas
ure, or anybody else’s.
IT IS ENTIRELY a different
matter, of course—not in the
same category at all—if what
you have in mind is merely hir
ing some human beings to get
up on a platform and pound and
bloody each other for the enter
tainment of a howling pack of
their fellowmen.
If that’s your racket, sir, why
you haven’t one single little old
thing to worry about. You are
legal and respectable, and you
are going to get all kinds of co
operation from the powers that
be, beginning with the news
papers.
THE NEWSPAPERS, you can
depend upon it, will give you tons
of free publicity. They will in
terview you and your fighters.
They will publish descriptions
of the sparring matches at your
training camp. They will stir up
speculation about who is going to
win the fight, and in which round
which fighter will have been
beaten into unconsciousness, or
technical unconsciousness—
which means that he has been
battered so badly that he can’t
keep on fighting, or the referee
is afraid that if he does, he
might get killed.
On the day before the bout,
the newspapers might even put
the story on page one, because
by that time they will have gen
erated among some of the people
a feeling that the future of man
kind practically depends on who
pummels whose brains out.
OH YES, MISTER, everything
will be fine for you as long as
there’s no chance of an animal
getting hurt. There will be po
licemen coming around to guard
your premises. There will be
state officials to weigh in your
performers.
There will be physicians to
examine them and to testify that
they will probably live through a
vicious beating. ~
Furthermore, sir, you may be
on your way to getting filthy
rich. Like only the other day
Nathan L. Halpem talked about
a new era in prize fighting.
HALPERN is president of
Theatre Network Television
Inc. He predicted that closed-
circuit TV “promises fights of
from $20 million to $30 million
status within the next few
years.”
So there you are, chum.
That’s civilization. For turn
ing a dog against a dog, you get
jail and the contempt of hu
manity. For turning man against
man—image of God against
image of God to beat each other
sensesless — you get plaudits
and—like I said—filthy rich.
My First Visit South
Jottings
By Barbara C. Jencks
"Look on the rising sun; there
God does live
And give his light, and give his
heat away.
And flowers and tress and
beasts and men receive
Comfort in the morning, joy
in the noonday.”
William Blake
* * *
THERE IS something very
satisfying and at the same time
incredible about lying on a Flor
ida beach in 82-degree heat and
reading about an Eastern bliz-
ard. It is incredible to think
that in three jet hours
this change of pace, climate,
mode is possible. God bless
the friends who made this first
excursion to Palm Beach and
points South possible and also
the cooperation of the doctor
and boss. The southern journey
began with a pilgrimage to Ar
lington Cemetery to the grave
of President Kennedy. It was a
bleak, raw, drizzily day but the
crowds waited in long lines,
bundled in heavy clothing, car
rying babies, many of them,
to pass by the small picket-
fenced area of the earth which
held the body of the president.
The tragedy seemed the more
unbelievable before the grave,
that earth could swallow such
youth, vigor and ability. It was
a Lenten lesson. When I arrived
in Washington to a deserted
Saturday morning traffic, the
taxi which took me to the hotel
followed the line of funeral
march and I could almost hear
the muffled drum beat and the
caisson’s squeaking wheels.
The emptiness gripped at the
stomach and tugged at the heart.
The next morning, I attended
Mass at the Cathedral of St.
Matthew where the requiem
Mass for President Kennedy
was sung. This is a route which
hundreds and thousands will
take in the summer. Cab driv
ers and bell hops all reported
that each weekend visitors from
all parts of the nation come to
Washington to make they long
sad walk past the Kennedy
grave. They predict record vis
itors this Spring with the Cherry
Blossoms, too, for it was Ken
nedy himself who spoke of the
site of his grave as “one of the
most beautiful spots where I
could stay forever.” At the air
port awaiting the Miami plane,
we also were shown the location
of the arrival of the plane from
Dallas carrying the martyred
president’s body.
* * *
THIS WAS my first visit to the
South and the Chamber of Com
merce in Palm Beach, Miami,
and Fort Lauderdale can hire
me anytime to sing its praises.
It was like another country. The
warm dry air, the long strips
of beaches and easy pace and
the courtesy of those who serve
the public completely captivated
me. It is a soft sweet place—
Poinsettias and Hybiscus, the
sound of the Mocking bird ser-
(Continued on Page 6)
Asks Bishops
Take Lead
SAN ANTONIO (NC) —Arch
bishop Robert E. Lucey said
here the U.S. hierarcy should
take the lead at the Second Va
tican Council to obtain adoption
of a decree proclaiming authen
tic and universal freedom of re
ligion.
This decree, said the San An
tonio Archbishop, ought to state
that freedom of religion should
be guaranteed by constitutional
guarantees.
Archbishop Lucey spoke
(March 1) to the 18th annual con
vention of the Archdiocesan
Council of Catholic Women.
Lauds Luke Hart
WASHINGTON (NC) — Rep.
Thomas B. Curtis of Missouri,
in a statement in the Congress
ional Record, praised the late
Luke E. Hart, Supreme Knight
of the Knights of Columbus, for
“his dedication to thepromotion
of the common good.” Curtis
placed in the Record an editor
ial paying tribute to Hart pub
lished in the St. Louis Globe-
Democrat.
Action On Prayer
WASHINGTON (NC) — The
chairman of the House Judici
ary Committee says the unit is
closer to hearings on proposed
constitutional amendments to
permit prayer and Bible reading
in public schools.
But no date has yet been set
for hearings, according to Rep.
Emanuel Celler of New York*
Staff studies of the proposals
recently have geen completed,
he said, and sent to committee
members.
Celler’s announcement was
made in a letter to Rep. Frank
J. Becker, also of New York.
Becker, a leading advocate of
the prayer amendment, put Cel-
ler’s letter in the Congress
ional Record (Feb. 26).
Becker added, however, that
he remained convinced that the
only way to get a prayer amend
ment out of the Judiciary Com
mittee is by a discharge peti
tion.
Conversion Revealed
PARIS (NC)—Movie director
Georges-Henri Clouzot, some
of whose films have been con
demned in Catholic Circles, has
become a Catholic at the age
of 57.
His recent conversion came
to public notice with his marri
age, which was celebrated in k
the church of St. Paul of Vence.
Clouzot, whose films include
Manon, Les Diaboliques, and
Truth, revealed that he had un
dergone several years of spir
itual uneasiness.
Church Taxes
SZEKESFEHERVAR, Hun
gary (NC)—Bishop Lajos Shvoy
of Szehesfehervar has required
Catholics ‘ to pay their Church
taxes if they expect to be god
parents, sponsors or witnesses
at Church ceremonies.
In a formal directive, the Bi
shop asked his priests to make
the regulation known to engaged
couples and to those making ar
rangements for ceremonies.
“Those who have fallen be
hind with their tax payments
should be politely requested to
remedy the situation,” the Bi
shop stated. "Those who have
categorically, refused to pay
their dues are to be given only
a bare minimum of service by
the Church.”
1
Tremblor Brings
Angel To Earth
SARMEN, Switzerland (NC)
—An angel dropped to earth in
the Catholic parish church here
during Mass, and the congrega
tion scurried out of the church.
It happened during the re
cent earthquake. A cherub’s
head weighing six pounds was
torn from the pulpit and fell to
the floor. Numerous cracks ap
peared in the church walls—
also in other buildings, includ
ing the local Capuchin monas-
tery—and the congregation par-J
ticipating in the weekday Mass
left the church. No one was hurt.
QUESTION BOX
Q. Now that the subject ot
marriage annulments is in the
news again (the Radziwill case),
for what reasons can a marriage
be declared null by the Church?
and how does annulment differ
from divorce?
A. A declaration of nullity
acknowledges the fact that no
true marriage has ever taken
place; consequently, a certain-
valid marriage cannot possibly
be declared null. Civil divorce,
on the other hand, is an attempt
to dissolve a valid marriage.
“MARRIAGE IS A relation
ship (God-made) resulting from
a contract (man-made),” writes
Frank J. Sheed in Nullity of
Marriage (Sheed and Ward). In
sofar as the contractual as
pect is concerned, certain re
quisites must be met.
NO TRUE MARRIAGE would
take place, for example, if (1)
what the parties consented to
was not really marriage (e.g.,
they had no intention whatever
of entering into a permanent
sacramental union); or if (2)
the parties were not free to
consent (e.g., either is already
married to a living spouse);
or if (3) they did not consent
freely at the time of the mar
riage (e.g., they were so drug
ged that they did not realize
what they were doing); or if (4)
they failed to observe the nec
essary form for validity (e.g.,
though Catholics, they did not
marry before a priest and two
witnesses).
THE REASONS cited here are
only examples. There are many
other grounds by virtue of which
a marriage can be null.
THUS, under (1) above, no
real marriage would take place
if the parties went through the
ceremony merely as a joke or
pretense.
UNDER (2), a marriage could
be null because of mental in
capacity (legal permenent in
sanity at the time of the mar
riage) on the part of one or
both of the parties; or because
of lack of age (a boy must be
16, a girl 14); or because of
impotence, or blood relation
ship, or spiritual relationship
(one cannot marry one’s god
child). Moreover, anyone in ma
jor orders (a subdeacon, dea
con or priest) cannot validly
enter into marriage; nor can
one who has taken solemn re-
ligius vows. Abudction is ano
ther invalidating marriage im
pediment; i.e., a man who kid
naps a woman with the intent
to marry her cannot validly
marry her so long as she re
mains in his power, even if
she says she is willing. There
are a few more nullifying caus
es in this category.
UNDER (3) one could add to
tal ignorance of what marriage
is, and error as to the per--
son whom one weds (i.e., one
thinks he is exchanging vows
with Miss A, but she is really
Miss B). Coercion is another
impediment.
UNDER (4), suffice it to say
that marriages of Catholics
must take place before a priest
and two witnesses.
THESE ARE all causes for
nullity, and they are obvious as
such. But to prove that an in
validating impediment existed
at the time of the marriage is
not always easy. "The proce
dure,” writes Msgr. J. D. Con
way, “is often complicated and
requirements of proof exact
ing, but constant efforts are
made to keep things moving
at a normal juridical pace . . .
There are (cases) which de
mand years, no matter how ef
ficiently the officials may work
The Southern Cross
P. O. BOX 180. SAVANNAH. GA.
Vol. 44 Thursday March 5, 1964 No. 34
Published weekly except the last week in July and the
last week in December by The Southern Cross, Inc.
Subscription price $5.00 per year.
Second class mail privileges authorized at Monroe, Ga. Send
notice of change of address to P. O. Box 180, Savannah, Ga.
Most Rev. Thomas J. McDonough, D.D.J.C.D., President
Rev. Francis J. Donohue, Editor
John Markwalter, Managing Editor
Rev. Lawrence Lucree, Rev. John Fitzpatrick,
Associate Editors