Newspaper Page Text
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FAMILY CLINIC
BY CHURCH
The Southern Cross, January 28. 1965—PAGE 5
by JOHN J. KANE, Ph. D.
Professor of Sociology
University of Notre Dame
My boyfriend and I are old
enough to be married. We would
like to do so within a year but
one problem separates us. He
is not a Catholic. I will not
give up my religion. He refuses
to become a Catholic and will
not enter into a mixed marriage
• use he says they don’t work
He’s a wonderful person in
every other way. Can you help
us?
* * *
This is the old problem of
what happens when an irresis
tible force meets an immovable
object? The basic answer is
that it just can’t happen — and
in your case it means that you
and he cannot be united in mar
riage.
But if you dip beneath the
surface of your letter, some
jstrange facts appear. You have_
been going together for some
time. He must have known for
some time that you are a Catho
lic. You have apparently also
made it clear you intend to re
gain a Catholic. Why then does
the continue to go with you,
since he is opposed to a mixed
religious marriage?
The price he is asking for
putting a wedding ring on your
finger is that you leave your
church. This you do not intend
to do but apparently you have
n’t quite convinced him of the
finality of your decision. He
must have some secret hope
that he can melt your resolve.
f u will have to make it even
er than you have to date
your decision is unalterable
and will remain so, even if you
two must part. As a matter of
fact, as much as it may hurt,
you will have to state quite
strongly that it is going to be
a mixed religious marriage or
no marriage at all with him.
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Congo Activity
Started Again
But I think you too have been
as unrealistic as he. It is not
wise to urge that he become a
Catholic only in order to be
come your husband. Conversion
entails much more than this.
He must be firmly convinced of
the truth of the faith and wish
to embrace it for that reason.
Of course, you should pray
that God may give him the gift
of faith. You can ask that he
read Catholic literature, attend
services with you and discuss
the Church with him. But you
cannot pressure him into con
verting, and 1 to attempt such is
quite wrong.
His statement that mixed reli
gious marriages do not work out
is not quite true. Some do, and
some don’t. If he begins with a
firm conviction that a mixed
marriage will fail, you are both
halfway to a failure.
Case histories and statistics
show that probabilities of a hap
py mixed religious marriage
are less than those in which
both parties are of the same
religious persuasion. But some
maxed marriages are happy and 1
successful in almost every sense
of these terms.
Since you seem to want to
get married and since you are,
as you put it, “old enough to
get married,” I suggest you are
wasting your time with this
man.
You did not say you were en
gaged, so I guess you aren't.
You seem to have what is
known as “an understanding”.
Sometimes these are like 99
year treaties and would last
that long if both parties surviv
ed.
There is another way to call
his bluff. Suggest that you both
begin to go out with other men
and women for a while. In your
own case, I think this highly de
sirable. You may meet other/
men whom you will come to like
and one perhaps whom you will
come to Love. At any rate give
yourself the opportunity of hav
ing more than one boyfriend
who apparently intends to be
that perennially.
If he really cares deeply for
you, he will have to come to
terms with reality and accept
the fact that some mixed mar
riages do work and you and he
intend to see that yours will.
Usually, I too am hesitant a-
bout mixed religious marriages,
but your case is somewhat dif
ferent. At least, you seem com
mitted to it. If you do enter
into one, you do so with your
eyes open to the fact that more
than the usual adjustments must
be made.
But frankly, I rather doubt
you and your friend will marry
at all. I wouldn’t waste too
much time waiting for him, or
you may be “waiting at the
church” the rest of your life.
* * *
Dr. Kane will be unable to an
swer personally. However, he
welcomes your suggestions of
topics that would particularly
interest you. Address Dr. Kane
in care of this newspaper.
LEOPOLDVILLE, The Congo
(NC) — The Catholic Church in
the Congo is resuming her ac
tivity in the strife-torn areas of
the Congo slowly and with dif
ficulty.
In such dioceses as Tshumbe.
Lisala, Ituri, Kivu? Uele and
Lolo the apostolic work was re
sumed very quickly. In Ikela,
Isangi, Wamba and Stanleyville,
the situation is still uncertain
because the leftist rebels fight
ing against the central Congo
lese government are still pres
ent in the surrounding country
side.
A large part of the country
is still controlled by the rebels.
A total of 112 foreign Catholic
missionaries are reported to be
still in rebel-held areas. Among
them there are 40 Sisters and
72 priests and brothers. Eighty
of them are Belgian, 19 Duch,
12 Italian and 1 Spaniard. The
missionaries are concentrated
mainly in Bondo, in the north
ern Congo, in Watsa in the
northeast region, and in Aba
also in the northeast, very
close to the border with the
Sudan. There are also 50 Con
golese priests, Sisters and Bro
thers there.
About 1,000 missionaries in all
have had to abandon then-
posts. By now nine dioceses
have been completely abandon
ed because of rebel activity and
five have not yet been liberat
ed. Some of these dioceses are
only half-liberated because the
rebels still control part of the
territory. These 14 dioceses
have a total population of 3,-
995,000, of whom 1,419,000 are
Catholics.
Even in totally liberated areas
pastoral activity is beginning
again very slowly because most'
of the missionaries had to go to
Europe to recover from impris
onment and ill-treatment by the
rebels. Such is the case for sev
en dioceses.
INCREASED
Overall, rebels in the Congo
have taken the lives of 93 for
eign missionaries, 4 Congolese
priests and 1 Congolese Sister,
since sporadic outbursts of vio
lence began soon after the coun
try became independent. Of the
foreign missionaries 64 were
priests, 20 Sisters and 9 Broth
ers. The Belgian missionaries
were the most numerous, 54.
There were 11 Dutch, 8 Luxem-
bourgers, 6 Italians, 5 Spani
ards, 4 French men and 2 Ger
mans.
Also one American, one Brit
ish and one Austrian Catholic
missioner were slain by the reb
els.
The religious orders which
suffered the largest casualties
were the Fathers of the Sacred
Heart and the Fathers of the
Holy Ghost, with 20 victims
each. The Belgian Dominicans
and the Sisters of Christian Doc
trine of Virton, Belgium, had
seven members slain by the
rebels. The White Fathers of
Africa had six victims, whereas
the Spanish Domincians of Pam
plona, the missionary priests of
Verona, Italy, and the Little
Brothers of Charles de Fou-
cauld counted four victims
each.
This list is probably not final
—at least until more is known
about the present military opera
tions of the national Congolese
army and their outcome. The
whereabouts of 15 missionaries
is known and there is fear for
their lives.
Not all is lost in the Congo,
but a lot of things ought to be
started anew. The future of the
Church in the areas still oc
cupied by the rebels or recently
liberated depends on the popu
lation itself and its attitude.
One thing at least seems to be
clear: the Congolese above all
want peace.
Tax Money For
Birth Control
Bill Provides School
Aid For All Pupils
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (NC) —
A plan which would give every
school child in Indiana a $50
payment was proposed in a bill
introduced in the 94th Indiana
General Assembly here.
Co-sponsored by Rep. Burnett
Bauer, South Bend, a Catholic,'
and Rep. McAdoo Clouser, Tip-
ton, a Protestant, the bill is
called “the school children’s as
sistance act of 1965.”
The proposed measure (Jan.
19) stipulates that its aim is to
protect the rights of parents to
have their children educated in
schools of their choice and by
so doing “avoiding any contra
vention or limitation, directly
or indirectly, of the constitution
ally guaranteed rights of any
individual in matters of educa
tion.”
Under the plan, payment in
the form of a $50 check would
go to the parent or other legal
guardian of the student. The
check would be honored for
payment only when endorsed by
the parent to the school in ’
which the child is enrolled. En
dorsement by an authorized of
ficial of the same school also is
required.
Private and parochial schools
would benefit the same as pub
lic schools, provided the schools
fall within the state’s “approv
ed schools” category.
Bauer, state president of the
Citizens for Educational Free
dom, said his bill is aimed at
helping parents of parochial and
private school children. Without
such help, he said, there is a
danger that parochial and pri
vate school systems will be cut
back because of increasing
costs.
The costs of the bill, describ
ed as the “Hooser Junior GI
Bill of Rights,’’ was estimated
by Bauer at $63 million, of
which $7 million would go to
private schools. He said the
money could be provided by
cutting back on public school
aid.
WASHINGTON (NC)-The De
partment of Health, Education
and Welfare has confirmed re
ports that an increased amount
of Federal money is going for
the support of local birth con
trol programs that offer advice
and materials.
A spokesman for the Chil
dren’s Bureau of HEW said
(Jan. 22) that the Federal par
ticipation has been going on for
“some time” in line with a
policy outlined by HEW Secre
tary Anthony J. Celebrezze last
June.
r
The bureau said it could not
determine the number of states
or cities which are supporting
birth control programs under
the Federal government’s Mat
ernal and Child Health Pro
gram, since the use of such
funds is not itemized in Wash
ington.
However the spokesman said
that of the 11 grants made to
states, counties and cities for
maternity and infant care un
der the 1963 amendment to the
Social Security Act, nine pro
grams are directly involved in
birth control.
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Late last year the City of
New York asked for and re
ceived a Federal grant of near
ly $1.5 million to operate clin
ics where women might receive
birth control advice and mate
rials. Dr. George James, city
health commissioner, said five
clinics are already in operation
and that three to five more
would be opened soon.
Last June 29 Celebrezze said
in a letter to Sen. Elmest Gruen-
ing of Alaska that his depart
ment has regarded the use of
Federal money for birth control
programs as a matter of state
option.
President Lyndon Johnson
said in his State of the Union
address that he would “seek
new ways to use our knowledge
to help deal with the explosion
in the world population . . .’’
Msgr. John C. Knott, director
of the Family Life Bureau of
the National Catholic Welfare
Conference, said at that time
that Catholics would support
basic research into the field of
reproductive physiology, but
that the Church would oppose
any public assistance to pro
mote artificial birth prevention.
“CIRCUS PRIEST” is the title performers of the Ringling Brothers and Bamum and
Bailey Circus have given Father Edward S. Sullivan of All Saints parish, Roxbury, Mass.
Father Sullivan, a long-time friend of the circus troupe, was employed by a circus supply
firm before studying for the priesthood. (NC Photos)
GAINS NOT REAL
Tito Shows Two Faces
In Dealing With Church
CLERGY DINNER — Catholic clergy of thei Columbus area are pictured at a
“Clergy Appreciation Dinner held last week by Knights of Columbus.
TRIESTE, Italy (NC)-Catho-
lics in communist-ruled Yugo
slavia are likely to face increas
ed difficulties and not to get
more freedom, as stated in the
official press, with the passage
of a proposed new law on re
ligious affairs. ,
A basic change in the law is
the requirement that both par
ents must now give approval
for a child’s baptism or attend
ance at catechism classes. Up
to now such approval has usual
ly been given only by mothers.
Fathers, fearing economic re
prisals from the state, even the
possible loss of their jobs, could
claim that their wives had act
ed solely on their own initiative
in giving approval.
It is feared that the number
of baptisms and attendance at
catechism classes will decrease
drastically in urban areas af
ter the law is passed. For al
though the proposed law states
that religious belief or the per
formance of religious duties will
not influence a person’s rights
or position, very few believe
the statement. There is a gen
eral belief that no religious per
son can be promoted or get a
better job and even faces being
fired.
There 1 have been cases in:
which no children have attended
a scheduled catechism class af
ter authorities asked the parish
priest for a list of those enroll
ed.
But despite fears, many Cath
olics attend church or major
feast days even though they are
also working days. Since people
cannot be absent from their
jobs for fear of dismissal dur
ing the day, churches are pack
ed for evening Masses.
Another provision of the pro
posed law likely to work to the
disadvantage of Catholics is its
grant of greater authority to lo
cal officials. These are more
likely to take restrictive action
against the Church than nation
al authorities who are more
conscious of the weight of inter
national public opinion.
Authorities claim the new law
is needed to bring legislation on
religion into harmony with the
nation’s new constitution and
increased democracy. And it is
a fact that the situation of
Catholics in Yugoslavia is much
better than it was 10 to 15
years ago and better than it is
now in most communist coun
tries. Priests are no longer
brought to trial or physically
attacked. There is no longer in
terference with church services.
But permits to build new
churches, even in places where
they were totally destroyed dur
ing the war, are almost impos
sible to obtain. It is even diffi
cult to get permission to repair
damages to existing churches.
A recent event only apparent
ly increased religious freedom
in Yugoslavia. It was announc
ed that the law banning people
with religious beliefs from join
ing the Communist party was
being dropped. Some thought
the party had changed its ideo
logical stand and was offering
greater religious liberty. But
the party has since officially
announced that the change in
law cannot be interpreted in
that way. It was stated that the
party has advanced so far and
its beliefs become so well known
that it should be clear to every
one, even without a law, that
party membership is restricted
to atheists.
In one sphere, however, there
has been some recent improve
ment in the Catholic position.
When the communists came to
power, the Church lost virtually
all its publications. Now the
Catholic press includes a fort
nightly — The Voice of the
Council — several monthlies and
a number of diocesan informa
tion bulletins. Some missals and
other religious books have been
published. The proposed law
promises to extend the legal
rights of religious publishing
firms.
INDIA: NO MASS FOR 1,000
CLOSE TO 1,000 CATHOLICS IN A WOE-BEGONE VILLAGE
IN SOUTHERN INDIA REGULARLY MISS MASS. The
reason? The village, called Panie-
kankudy, has no church, rectory, or
priest . . . Children grow up in dirt
and hunger with only the instruc
tion their poor parents can provide.
_ The main road is ten miles away by
^ ' ~' a =SgSS w foot. The priest who comes to
care for the sick trudges both ways
in heat and rain . . Can the vil
lage have its own, full-time priest?
Bishop Matthew Potanamuzhi, 61,
says Yes—but the priest must have
a church and parish center. The
men in the village have eagerly
agreed to do the construction work free of charge, since they
have no money to contribute. The materials will cost only $3,800
altogether ($1,950 for the church, $1,850 for the parish center,
in which the priest will have a room) Bishop Matthew and his
people are praying that someone will make it possible to bring
Christ to Panic-kankudy . . . Will you? Name the church or par
ish center for your favorite saint, in memory of your loved ones,
if you build it all by yourself. Send at least a smaller gift
($100, $50, $35, $20, $10, $5, $2), whatever you can afford.
Help give the villagers a full-time priest.
The Holy Father's Mission Aid
for the Oriental Church
JANUARY 31—Today, which is World Day for Leprosy Suf
ferers, the late President John F. Kennedy will be honored as a
“keen supporter of leprosy programs throughout the world.”
By joining our $l-a-month Damien Leper Club you can provide
food, clothing, medicines for lepers in south India month by
month. Lepers can always be helped, sometimes cured. Write
to us.
FOOD-^“Good food helps make good students,” says Carmelite
Father Michael Angel, rector of St. Joseph’s Seminary, Alwaye,
where candidates for the priesthood are being supported by
readers of this column. The cost of rice (the staple food) has
nearly tripled in recent months because of India’s food shortage
. .. Cut down on calories by doing without dessert or drinks this
week. The $2, $5, $10 you save, we’ll send to Father Michael.
MISSION VALENTINES—The gift cards we send, at your
request, to the friend (or friends) you remember St. Valentine’s
Day (Feb. 14) are personalized, colorful, artistic. They tell your
friend (be sure to send his complete address) you are helping,
in his name, to build a mission parish. Write us now. Here are
some gifts to select from: Chalice ($40), Altar ($75), Statue ($30),
Tabernacle ($25), Food Package ($10), Sanctuary Bell ($5),
Blanket for an Orphan ($2).
Dear Monsignor Ryan:
Enclosed please find for.
Name
Street
City
. State.
Zip Code
l*l.12car©st(IlissionsjM)
FRANCIS CARDINAL SPELLMAN, President
Msgr. Joseph T. Ryan, Not’l Stc’y
Send all communications to:
CATHOLIC NEAR EAST WELFARE ASSOCIATION
330 Madison Ave. at 42nd St. New York. N. Y. 10017