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Parental Right Submerged In School Prayer Debate
(This is the third and final
article in a series analyzing
implications stemming from a
proposal to amend the Consti
tution to premit prayer and
Bible reading in public schools.
The series has been prepared
for the Catholic press by George
E. Reed, associate director of
the Legal Department of the Na
tional Catholic Welfare Confer
ence, who is an authority on the
question of Church-State rela
tions in constitutional law.)
By George E. Reed
(N.C.W.C. News Service)
One of the disturbing aspects
of the House Judiciary Com
mittee’s hearings on the prayer
amendment is the submergence
of the parental right to educate.
Neither side in the con
troversy has taken full advan
tage of the importance of this
right as a factor in solving the
vexatious problem of religion
and education.
Arguments in behalf of an
amendment to nullify the U. S.
Supreme Court’s 1962 and 1963
decisions against prayer and
Bible reading in public schools
have focused on government.
The stress has been on the
right of government, acting
through public school boards,
to provide religious exercises
by virtue of the authority of the
Constitution.
Opponents of an amendment
have on several occasions ad
vanced arguments based on the
right of parents, but this ap
proach has not dominated their
testimomy.
Occasionally, the proposition
was put forward that a prayer
amendment would conflict with
the Supreme Court’s famous
Oregon school case decision in
1925. The court held then that
the parental right prohibits the
state from preventing opera
tion of private schools.
The court stated that the 14th
amendment * ‘excludes any gen
eral power of the states to stan
dardize its children by forcing
them to accept instruction from
public school teachers only.”
Some witnesses have con
tended that a prayer amendment
will authorize the state to
“standardize” the religious at
titudes of school children by
permitting adoption of a partic
ular prayer or version of the
Bible—regardless of the desire
of parents.
They have said that freedom
“of” religion and freedom
“from” religion are essential
parts of the fundamental
parental right guaranteed by the
Con stitution.
No attempts have been made
by amendment supporters to
refute this argument. One fac
tor in this failure is possibly
tendency to see the state as
the primary educator. Or, to
put it more moderately, to look
upon the public school system as
the exclusive agency of the
state.
Consequently, the parental
stake has not drawn the atten
tion it deserves. One result
has been to stifle development
of the argument that the Su
preme Court, by banning pray
ers and Bible reading, is not
really taking a neutral attitude
toward parents but helping
to erect a psychological wall of
resistance to parental inculca
tion of religion.
The child whose school day
is exclusively structured along
secular lines tends to develop
an attitude of indifference to
ward religion. This reaction is
well documented.
On the other hand, the ma
jority of parents may not coerce
the minority to adhere to
a designated form of prayer.
Had arguments stemming
from parental right received
more attention at the hearings,
the problem of religion and edu
cation would have been em
phasized in terms of the reli
gious freedom of two groups of
parents, rather than dealt with
as an issue between one group
and government.
The legal debate would have
been cast in terms of religious
freedom, rather than in terms of
doctrinaire establishment, and
thus open the door to a differ
ent approach to the problem.
For example, would not an ac
ceptable solution be a system of
religious instruction classes
conducted after the school day
and on school premises?
Instructors would be other
than public school teachers.
The program would not be inte
grated or enmeshed with the
public school machinery.
There would be ho coercion
on students if the plan was pro
perly administered. Moreover,
religion would still be asso
ciated with the school to an
extent that would accommodate
the religiously minded parent.
Such a plan would not put
government in the business of
imparting religious education.
Rather, this system would ac
commodate the facilities of the
public school system to the in
terests of parents.
It would reflect the mutual
character of the public school
system as designed to imple
ment the interest of both pa
rents and the state in education.
This approach has been ex
plored tentatively by the Ju
diciary Committee. One dif
ficulty seen was the use of
public school property.
The Supreme Court, in the
McCollum case, has condemned
such use, but the circumstances
were different. Religious in
struction was given during the
school day and with substantial
involvement of the school, in
matters such as keeping atten
dance records.
Undoubtedly the committee
will give additional attention
to this approach. In its careful
weighing of the proposal, the
committee may take up the pos
sibility of an amendment which
would end the constitutional un
certainty concerning the use of
public school property.
Such a system of religious in
struction, in addition to reflec
ting the mutual concern of pa
rents and state, would be an ap
plication of principle enunciated
by the Supreme Court in the
Zorach case. The court upheld
in that case the constitutionality
of released-time religious in
struction held off public school
premises. It said:
“When the state encourages
religious instruction or cooper
ates with religious authorities
by adjusting the schedule of
public events to sectarian
needs, it follows the best of our
tradition for it then respects
the religious nature of our
people and accommodates the
public service to their spiritual
needs.”
Vol. 44, No. 45
10c Per Copy — $5 A Year
In Mass
SAVANNAH, GEORGIA, THURSDAY, MAY 21, 1964
BISHOP’S OFFICE
225 Abercorn Street
Savannah, Georgia
Dearly beloved in Christ:
One of the most moving scenes in the life of the Church, is the ordination of
a young man to the Sacred Priesthood. As the ceremony unfolds, we feel the awe
someness of what is transpiring before our very eyes. Christ, the Great High Priest,
because of His love for mankind, actually deigns to commit into the hands of the
priest power over His very Body and Blood. This unique privilege of being
“other Christs”, is the sublimest of vocations. The priest is commissioned to
perpetuate the work of Christ upon earth. Through the august priesthood Christ
comes to man and man goes to God.
In spite of the greatness of the priesthood, we know only too realistically about
the dearth of priestly vocations. We, in Georgia understand the full significance
of the words, “the harvest is great, but the laborers are few”. But unless we have
priests, God’s work will be hampered, and the light of the true faith will not be
carried into every county of this Diocese. God gave us no alternative because
His command was, “go teach all nations”. Anything less than the complete, un
equivocal acceptance of this mandate makes us unworthy of His love. The only
way to achieve this goal is to pray unceasingly that young men fired with zeal and
dedication will respond generously to God’s call, “come follow me”. The pray
ers of our children, our people, our religious, and our priests have been storm
ing heaven to bless the Diocese of Savannah with many priestly vocations.
God in His infinite charity is calling many young men of this Diocese to be priests.
Our minor seminary of Saint John Vianney has an enrollment of fifty young men.
Thirty-four students are in Irish seminaries, and eighteen other candidates are in
seminaries of the United States. In all, about one hundred and two students are
studying and praying for the day when they will be ordained to fulfill the words,
“do this in commemoration of Me”. All of our students need your prayers, to the
end that God will give them the grace of holy perseverance.
Although we are now experiencing a critical shortage of priests, the future
looks hopeful. But to achieve our goal, we urgently need your help. God blessed
the person who extended a cup of water in His name. What blessings will accrue to
the individuals who, through sacrificial contributions, make it possible for a young man
to reach the cherished goal of the priesthood.
The education of one hundred and two seminarians for a missionary Diocese im
poses upon us a financial responsibility which is staggering. Yet, the spiritual value
of a priest far exceeds the financial cost involved. Every Catholic, out of grati
tude to God for sending us vocations, should feel privileged to educate His fu
ture ambassadors. The joy in having a share in the priesthood, surpasses all ex
pectations.
This year, I beg your unstinted cooperation in the collection for the education
of our seminarians. In the past, you have been generous—but the needs are
now greater and I am praying that you will respond accordingly.
Please use the envelopes which will be distributed to you for this collection
which will be taken up at all the Masses in this Church, Sunday, May 24th. If every
wage earner contributes, at least, ten dollars the greater portion ot our needs
will be realized.
Thanking you, my devoted people, for all of your prayers and assistance for
priestly vocations, and begging God to impart to you and your loved ones His boun
teous blessings, I am,
Devotedly yours in Christ,
Bishop of Savannah.
Sets Up Secretariat
For Non-Christians
American Bishops Decree
Liberal Use Of English
VATICAN CITY (NC) — Pope
3 aul VI chose the feast of Pen-
ecost to announce to the world
hat he has decided to set up a
lecretariat for non-Christians
somewhat similar tothatestab-
ished by Pope John XXIII to
leal with relations between Ro-
nan Catholics and other Chris-
ians.
Pope Paul’s revelation came
ilmost at the end of a lengthy
sermon on the significance of
he catholicity of the Church.
He was speaking in St. Peter’s
before 20 cardinals, more than
6,000 seminarians studying in
Rome, and thousands of other
pilgrims.
In the course of his address,
the pope defined true catholicity,
as transcending all differences,
so that “every nationalism is
merged in the good of the world
community. Every form of
racism is condemned, every
form of totalitarianism is re
vealed in its inhumanity.”
He developed the theme of
the Church’s catholicity and its
efforts to “bring closer to
gether, even through simple
contacts, those who belong to
other religions.”
In connection with these ef
forts, Pope Paul stated that he
wanted to announce that “we
shall institute shortly here in
Rome the secretariat for non-
Christians, an organ which will
have very different functions
(Continued On Page 3)
NEW YORK (NC) — The Bishops of the United States have de
creed the extensive use of English in the Mass in order to pro
mote the Church’s avowed goal of leading all the people to "that
full, conscious, and active participation in liturgical celebrations
which ... is their right and duty."
English is expected to come
into use throughout the country
at a date to be established by
the episcopate, presumably be
fore the end of this year.
The Bishops’ decisions,
adopted at a full meeting of the
American Hierarchy in Wash
ington on April 2, have now been
confirmed by the Holy See. They
consist of two separate decrees,
one spelling out the parts of the
liturgy that are to become Eng
lish, the other certifying the va
rious English texts to be used.
Confirmation was given by the
new commission for imple
menting the ecumenical coun
cils’ Constitution on the Sacred
Liturgy in a document signed by
its chairman, Giacomo Cardinal
Lercaro of Bologna, and dated
May 1. The commission docu
ment was sent to Francis Car
dinal Spellman of New York, the
ranking member of the Ameri
can Hierarchy. It covers both
sung and recited Masses and
other liturgical services.
The American Bishops’ de
crees provide that English may
replace Latin for the lessons
of the Mass—the Epistle and
Gospel and the other readings
which sometimes precede the
Epistle—and that they are to be
proclaimed facing the people in
stead of the altar.
English is also to be used
in the parts of the Ordinary
of the Mass which pertain to the
people, such as the Kyrie, Glo
ria, Creed, Sanctus, Lord’s
Prayer — together with its
introduction — and the Agnus
Dei. The Ecce Agnus Dei and
the triple Domine, non sum dig-
nus before the Communion of the
faithful are also to be in Eng
lish. The same is true of the
“common prayer” — the in
vocations of the faithful which
the Liturgy Constitution provi
des for after the Gospel and
sermon.
The new translations are un
derstood to adhere to the mod
ern English patterns set by the
Confraternity of Christian Doc
trine version of the Old Testa
ment and by the 1961 American
ritual book. These in general
eliminate the archaic second
person singular pronoun and
verb forms, replacing Thou and
Thee with You.
The decrees provide that the
Scriptural readings of the Mass
be taken from the version
translated from the original
languages by members of the
Catholic Biblical Association of
America and sponsored by the
Episcopal Committee of the
Confraternity of Christian Doc
trine. These include texts which
CANA CONFERENCE—Couples of the Savannah area are pictured at Cana Conference
sponsored by Savannah Knights of Columbus and held last Sunday at St. Mary's Home.
Also pictured is the Rev. Joseph Sranc who conducted the conference. —(Ward Studio)
have not yet been published, as
well as older ones in the stan
dard Confraternity Bible texts.
The laity, as well as indivi
dual priests and Religious who
obtain permission to recite the
Divine Offices in English, can
choose from two existing trans
lations of the Office. One is
' 'The Hours of the Divine Of-
(Continued On Page 2)
Mass Changes
In Outline
Catholics
Feel K.K.K. Pressure
JACKSON, Miss. (NC) —Ca
tholics in Mississippi are be
ginning to feel greater pressure
applied by the revived and
newly-militant Ku Klux Klan in
this state.
Klansmen now number 91,000
here and are advertising for
more native-born, white candi
dates to join their organization.
Excluded from membership are
Catholics, Jews, "Turks, Mon
gols, Tartars, Orientals, Ne
groes, or any other person
whose native background of cul
ture is foreign to the Anglo-
Saxon system of government by
responsible, free, individual
citizens.”
According to a Klan circular,
Catholics are excluded because
"they bow to a Roman dictator,
in direct violation of the First
Commandment, and the true
American spirit of responsible,
individual liberty.”
Jews are similarly not ac
ceptable "because they reject
Christ, and through the new
machinations of their interna
tional banking cartel, are at the
root center of what we call
‘communism’ today.”
Two publications, one of them
Catholic, have felt the sting
of klan anger in recent weeks.
The Greenwood Commonweal,
a secular paper, was assailed
after its editor commented un
favorably on a series of klan
cross burnings in 64 Miss
issippi counties. A printed cir
cular issued by an anonymous
"local civic group” attacked
the paper for its failure to
"stand withMississippians...’
The same circular attacked
the Center Light, a publication
of the St. Francis Center in
Greenwood. The center is op
erated by Pax Christi, a group
of laywomen who work with
Negroes.
The circular declared that
"this so-called newspaper is
nothing but racial agitation in
its rankest form. Its sole pur
pose is to extol Negro candi
dates for public office and to
announce integrated social af
fairs and report on their suc
cess.”
The klan circular continued:
"It comes as no surprise that
this group of people, who are
responsible for this publica
tion, use religion as a camou
flage for their integration ac-
(Continued On Page 2)
Following is an outline show
ing in general the revised usage
for the Mass:
Service Of The Word
Prayers at foot of altar: Latin
— “. . . Introibo ad altare
Dei ...” Introit; English.
Kyrie: English (priest and
people alternating) — “Lord,
have mercy. . . ”
Gloria: English (priest and
people together) — “Glory to
God in the highest . . . ”
Collect: Latin.
Epistle: English (facing the
people).
Gradual
Gospel:
people).
Homily: English.
“Prayer of the Faithful”
(when introduced): English.
Creed: English (priest and
people) — “I believe in one God
English.
English (facing the
Eucharistic Service
Offertory Hymn: English.
Other offertory prayers,
including “Orate, fratres,” and
Secret prayer: Latin.
Preface: Latin — “Veredig-
num et justum est. . . ”
Sanctus: English priest and
people) —' ‘Holy, holy, holy...’'
All of the rest of the Canon:
Latin.
Lord’s Prayer: English
(priest and people) — “Our Fa
ther ...”
Agnus Dei: English (priest
and people)—* ‘Lamb of God...”
Other prayers preceding the
priest’s Communion: Latin.
Ecce Agnus Dei: English —
' ‘Behold the Lamb of God. . .”
Domine, non sum din gnus:
English (priest and people) --
“Lord, I am not worthy . . .”
Communion hymn: English.
Postcommunion: Latin.
Dismissal and final blessing:
English.
Last Gospel: Latin.
Film Licensing Law
Challenged In Court
OPEN HOUSE — Saint James Parish, Savannah, held Open House on Sunday, May 17th.
Shown looking at display of vestments just prior to the arrival of visitors (1. to r.)
William Bennett and Lewis Hudson of the Men’s Club and Mon sign or John D. Toomey,
pastor of St. James. — (Ward Studio)
WASHINGTON (NC) — The
U. S. Supreme Court has been
asked to strike down Maryland’s
film licensing law on the
grounds that it violates the Con
stitution’s free speech guaran
tees.
The law requires movie ex
hibitors in Maryland to submit
films to a state Motion Picture
Censor Board before showing
them publicly. The board can
ban movies it judges to be ob
scene or tending 1 ‘to debase or
corrupt morals or incite
crime.”
The challenge has been
brought before the high court
by Ronald L. Freedman, mana
ger of the Rex Theater in Bal
timore, who was fined $25 by
Baltimore Criminal Court for
violating the law. His convic
tion was upheld last Feb. 10
by the Maryland Court of Ap
peals.
Freedman’s is a deliberate
test case. In November, 1962,
he exhibited a film called ‘ ‘Re
venge at Daybreak” without
submitting it to the censor board
but after having notified an
official of the board of what he
intended to do.
Auxiliary
Bishops
For Buffalo
WASHINGTON (NC)—Pope
Paul VI has named two priests
to serve as Auxiliary Bishops
of Buffalo—Msgr. Pius A
Benincasa of the Vatican Sec
retariat of State and Msgr.
Stanislaus Joseph Brzana,
pastor of Queen of Peace
parish, Buffalo.
Announcement of the appoint
ments was made here by Arch
bishop Egidio Vagnozzi, Apos
tolic Delegate in the United
States.