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SERVING 88 SOUTH GEORGIA COUNTIES
Vol. 46, No. 8 7 ' , / SAVANNAH, GEORGIA, THURSDAY, AUGUST 19, 1965
$5 Per Year
LEADERSHIP PROGRAM
4 States Send
53 Students To
Savannah Camp
The Sisters of Mercy, Pro
vince of Baltimore, are con
ducting their fifth annual Lea
dership Camp in Christian
Living,(August 16-24,) at Camp
Villa Marie, near Savannah.
The program this year is
concerned with the theme,
“Learn, Love and Lead the
^orld”. Fifty-three students
Pom the eight high schools
conducted by theSisters of Mer
cy are attending.
Institutions represented
include Mercy High School,
Baltimore, Md.; Holy Trinity
High School, Washington, D.C.;
Saint Vincent’s Academy, Sa
vannah; Mount de Sales High
School, Macon; Pacelli High
School, Columbus; Saint Pius
X High School, Atlanta; Mercy
High School, Mobile, Ala.; Pen
sacola catholic High School,
Pensacola, Fla.;
The Rev. Leo Joseph from Our
Lady of Florida passionist Mo
nastery, North Palm Beach,
Florida is the chaplain. Other
members include Sister
Mary Jude, RSM, Cathedral Day
School, Savannah; Sister Mary
Vera, RSM, Mount Saint Agnes
College, Baltimore, Md.; Sis
ter Mary Claudene, RSM, Sis
ter Mary Jeremy, RSMandSis-
ter Mary McAuley, RSM, Mercy
High School, Baltimore, Md.;
Sister Mary Rock, RSM, Saint
Vincent; s Academy, Savannah;
Sister Mary Alvin, RSM, Villa
Maria, ' Towson, Md.; Sister
Mary Doris, RSM, St. Francis,
de Sales School, Salisbury, Md.;
Sister Mary Felicitas, RSM,
Pacelli High School, Columbus;
Sister M. Angelita, R.S.M., Sa
cred Heart School, Augusta;
Sister Mary Sarto, RSM, Pa
celli High School, Columbus.
The speakers and their to
pics are; “Meeting Moral and
Spiritual Challenge Today,”
Rev. Leo Joseph; “The Mean
ing of Womanliness”, Sister
Mary Vera, RSM; “Christian
in Civic Life”, Julian Halligan;
“Liturgical Renewal”, Richard
McGuire; “Woman’s Role in
the Parish - a pastor’s View”,
Msgr. Andrew J. McDonald;
“Marriage and the Family”,
Mr. and Mrs. Ted Anderson;
“Sense of Vocation”, Sister
Mary Rick, RSM; “Woman’s
Fulfillment in Religious Life”,
Sister Mary McAuley, RSM;
“Personality Development
Through the Arts”, Col. Ray
mond L. Hill; “Toward Dis
cernment in Personal Re
sponse”, Sister Mary Sarto,
RSM; “Problems Confronting
the College Student-Panel”,
Miss Anne Sheehan, Miss Ber
nadette McDonough, Miss Phy
llis Sheridan, Miss Genny
Brown; “Definition of Leader
ship Goals, Methods”, Sister
Mary Claudene, RSM; “Appli
cation of Dynamics of Leader
ship”, Sister Mary Jeremy,
RSM; “Characteristics and Re
sponsibilities of Leadership”,
Sister Mary Matthias, RSM.
CARDINAL AM$
Joint Action To
9 Avert Violence
BALTIMORE (NC) -- Law
rence Cardinal Shehan called
here for joint action by all
forces within the community,
especially those of religion,
to avert future nightmares of
violence like the Los Angeles
riots.
Official
The Most Reverend Thomas
J. McDonough, Bishop of Sa
vannah, announces the following
appointment effective
REVEREND STEPHEN MAY
ER priest in charge of Our
Lady Star of the Sea, St. Mary’s
Ga.
The Archbishop of Baltimore
issued the call as he addressed
the States Dinner at the 83rd
Supreme Convention of the
Knights of Columbus.
Cardinal Shehan said the
heart of the problem is po
verty, which breeds “crime
and racial tension.”
“These are social problems
of the greatest magnitude,” he
declared. “They need the joint
action of all the forces with
in the community; and of those
forces none should be more
effective than religion.
< ‘Unfortunately, in the past the
religious bodies of this country
have been so divided as to make
any effective cooperation im
possible. Now, with the new
ecumenical spirit of under
standing and friendliness, co
operation is not only possible—
it is necessary. It should be all
the more effective because in
these areas there can be no
question of compromise in doc
trine or principle.
REVEREND WALTER di
FRANCESCO, ass’t Pastor, Sa
cred Heart Church, Warner Ro
bins, Ga.
The following appointments
for the Marist Fathers are an
nounced by the Chancery:
REVEREND JOHN MERCER,
S.M., pastor of St. Joseph’s,
Waycross.
REVEREND RAYMOMD
HEALY, S.M., assistant at St.
F rancis Xavier, Brunswick.
“It is particularly on the
neighborhood level that joint
action can be effective in re
lieving racial tension and in
eliminating their causes. In
our big cities, especially, it
is to be hoped that able and
energetic laymen from every
parish and from all our or
ganizations will join all other
concerned and dedicated men
in bringing about between the
races, through dialogue and
various appropriate projects,
a true spirit of understanding,
good will and cooperation.”
LEADERSHIP CAMP—Sisters and girls from the as J. Mcbonough, Father Leo J. Gorman, C.P. and
Savannah Diocese attending the Leadership Camp Father Benjamin Werner.
in Christian Living are pictured with Bishop Thom- (Staff photo by Bob Ward)
An Open Letter To
Dr. Martin Luther King
This letter was sent to the
Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.
earlier this week by the Rt.
Rev. Msgr. John D. Toomey,
pastor of Savannah’s St. James
Church.
Monsignor Toomey is a mem
ber of the Georgia Advisory
Committee of the U. S. Civil
Rights Commission and earlier
this year was appointed by
President Johnson to the Na
tional Citizens Committee of the
Community Relations Service.
For the past two years he
has been active in mediation
efforts between Savannah Civil
Rights leaders and representa
tives of the city’s civic, religi
ous and business communities.
ijc 5jc jf: *
DEAR DR. KING:
The lid is off in Los An
geles and all Hell has bro
ken loose. This was not com
pletely unexpected. Several
months ago, I sat with Dick
Gregory for lunch in a Wash
ington office building and heard
him speak of the troubles that
beset several of our major
American cities. He said then
that an explosion could take
place in one of them at any
time in the near future. He
talked of the seething turmoil
and frustration beneath the sur
face of the external life in the
poorer sections of these cities.
He feared the spark which might
touch off a riot.
Unfortunately, Dick Gre
gory’s fears have been rea
lized. And yet he had the cour
age to enter this arena of tur
moil himself a few nights ago,
seeking to restore sanity and
peace. Dick was wounded by
a sniper’s bullet and yet he
continued to aid the police in
this difficult situation.
Where were you that night,
D r. King, and what have you done
to restore peace in L.A. since
the riots began? I have read
your statement in the paper
deploring the violence. I am
sure you were sincere in this
statement. Yet I read of one
of your men, Rev. James Be-
vill, suggesting a World Peace
Force to go to Vietnam and
bring about a cease fire there.
He even named the Pope and
M rs. Kennedy and Mrs. Khrush
chev to this peace force.
It seems to me that the war
in L.A. and Chicago should be
brought under control first. As
senseless as all war is, the
killing and looting in L.A. is
by far the more useless and un
reasonable. So let’s start at
home and have peace in Ameri
ca first.
Now let me say something that
is on my own Christian con
science. I am not going to
condemn you and the whole
Negro race for the riots in
L.A. Perhaps some of our fel
low Americans will do so and
they are probably saying to
day that the Negro should never
have been given anything to
start with - “because now he
wants everything and will be
running the whole country
next”. No, I know you did
not start the riots in L.A.,
but many people will say that
you did, because you stirred
up people to other things. You
had a right to stir up people,
to other things - and I have
admired the work you have
done in civil rights.
I also want to confess that
the riots must have been a
hundred years in making. May
be they even find their roots
in slavery days. Why have these
big cities become cesspools for
crime, poverty and violence?
Why did the Negro move there
in the first place? Was it
not because of intolerable con
ditions in the places where he
lived before? Maybe it was the
hopeless future of life in the
cotton fields of Mississippi or
the barriers of segregation in
the small towns of Alabama.
Or maybe some of the young
men of the riots are sons of
the maids in Savannah who re
ceive only fifty cents an hour
INSIDi STORY
Los Angeles Riot
k. of c
> . . Pg> 2
U.S. Accused
. . . Pg. 2
Responsibility
... Pg. 4
St. Vincent's
. . . Pg. 6
and “car-fare” for the back
bending jobs of ironing and
cleaning the “better homes”
of our beautiful suburbs. The
“Green pastures” of the big
cities looked better until they
arrived there and found their
condition in life even more
hopeless.
Yes, Dr. King, we white peo
ple share the blame for the
conditions which led to the
rioting. But we did not do
the looting and burning and
shooting. And it is still wrong
to disobey the law, to flout
authority, to kill, to injure and
to steal.
Now, this is where you enter
the picture and this is why
I am writing to you. When
we had troubles in Savannah
two years ago, the Negro lea
ders insisted that the “White
Power Structure” could solve
the whole picture in very little
time. This involved desegrega
tion of public accomodations and
other facilities. They were
almost right. The power struc
ture went to work on these pro
blems and brought about a very
good solution which put Sa
vannah ahead of many cities in
the matter of race relations.
It is true that the Negro leaders
had an exaggerated conception
of the omnipotence of this
“power structure” at times,
but nonetheless the results
were significant. On e of your
own best leaders, Hosea Wil
liams, will testify to this.
Now, I am making a demand
on you - and I make it in be
half of the entire country - Ne
gro and white. This is not
a selfish appeal, made in fa
vor of any one group of peo
ple. I make this for America,
the land that you and I love
and the citizens of America who
wish to live in safety and peace.
You are a dominant part of
the “NEGRO POWER STRUC
TURE”. You and other lea
ders like James Farmer, Roy
Wilkins, and others are the lea
ders of millions of people. Most
of them respect your leadership
and have followed you along the
path to success in the civil
rights movement.
Therefore, I a^n requesting
that you put the full resources
of your organization in con
junction with other Negro
groups to work on the pro
blems that beset the major ci
ties of the United States. Begin
with Los Angeles and make it
a decent place in which to live.
Now I know it will be diffi
cult for your workers to give
up the more pleasant task of
reforming places like Craw-
fordville, Americus, and Al
lendale - these places needed
a lot of reforming and perhaps
still need more - but there must
be enough people in these lo
cal communities to do this job
themselves while you folks
tackle the tougher problems
of the big cities, like taking
knives and molotov cocktails
away from Negro boys.
In other words, let’s have a
good housecleaning in this whole
movement. I know the riots
were not a part of the movement,
but many people cannot make
that distinction - and so the
whole house has to be cleaned
from top to bottom and only you
and the Negro Power structure
can do it. Now, don’t tell me
you cannot do this, because
I know you can and I do not
want to lose my respect for
you like some folks have. It
won’t be easy, but it is the only
thing that can restore the free
dom movement to its rightful
place o f justice and non
violence in American life.
In the meantime, Dr. King,
I am going to continue my own
work for justice and charity
in our community. Every time
something like this happens, it
becomes more difficult to con
vince people to grant Negroes
the rights and privileges they
should have had long ago. But
we shall continue our efforts
towards greater understanding
of one another in the atmos
phere of peace and tranquillity
which we enjoy in our
community today. We have to
trust one another before we can
make any progress. And I am
trusting that you will take your
peace mission to Los Angeles
immediately. And ask Dick
Gregory to help you. His shot
in the leg may be the “Shot
in the arm” which your efforts
need.
Sincerely,
MSGR. JOHN D. TOOMEY
St. James catholic Church
Savannah, Georgia
1,500 SLAIN
Sudan Massacre
W as Intentional
Refugees Claim
KAMPALA, Uganda (NC)—
The mass killing of some 1,500
southern civilians by Sudanese
government troops in Juba on
July 9 was not accidental but
intentional, according to re
fugees from that southern city
who have escaped here.
The refugees say large mass
graves were dug near army
barracks in Juba before the
massacre took place.
The incident was part of the
civil war being waged between
the Sudanese government, do
minated by Arabic-speaking
Moslems of the north, and the
predominantly pagan souther
ners, who also include some
400,000 Catholics.
An official Sudanese govern
ment communique stated that
the July 9 killings numbered
only 52 and that the “regret
table incident was the result
of an attack by southern rebels
on the army barracks. The
army fired back...A number of
people were killed.”
Refugees here report that
over J,000—mainly women and
children—were killed. They
say they saw teams of soldiers
set fire to the straw buildings
in Juba and use artillery against
a lepers’ camp. Roads were
blocked to keep civilians from
fleeing, they say.
The Sudanese government has
blamed missionaries for in
stigating the rebellion of the
south against northern efforts
to impose Islam there and in
1964 ousted all missioners from
the south. In late July it was
reported in the Khartoum Mor
ning Post--which quoted the
Arabic-language A1 Ayam,
which in turn was quoting a
Khartoum news agency—that
the government was considering
expelling missionaries from the
north “because they are in
volved in the events in Juba.”
Meanwhile, it has been re
ported here also that a Su
danese priest came close to
being arrested as a rebel. One
report stated:
“On July 28, Father Barna
bas Deng, F.S.C«J., was coming
by train from Aweil to Wau.
In order to avoid appearing
in any way suspect, he took
a seat in a second class com
partment in which there were
a few police officers. At a
station near Wau a policeman
entered the compartment, or
dered the priest to put up his
hands and searched him tho
roughly. He then had him tied
up with his hands behind his
back and searched his baggage:
he had a radio and a recording-
machine.
“They asked the priest his
name. He replied: ‘I am
Barnabas Deng, a priest from
Aweil.’ They wrote down:
‘Mr. Barnabas Deng.’ They
took the transcript of their
interrogation to a higher of
ficer, who came and declared
the priest was suspected of
being a ‘freedom fighter.’
“They wanted to take him
away from the train to get
rid of him but a Nubian soldier
intervened; saying that this was
not lawful without the authoriza
tion of a still higher officer. The
Nubian went to this officer, who
came and declared that there
was no reason for suspicion and
freed Father Deng.
L HEADLINE
jHOPSCOTCH A,
NATION
Chaplains Needed
WASHINGTON (NC)— The Vietnamese war has created an
increased but not “insurmountable” demand for additional mili
tary chaplains, according to the Journal of the Armed Forces.
The weekly magazine published here said the three services
“anticipate no procurement problems unless there is a general
mobilization call-up.”
VATICAN
Deny Reports
VATICAN CITY (NC)—A Vatican spokesman has said there is
no foundation to reports that Pope Paul VI is not gaining strength
during his stay at his summer residence in Castel Gandolfo.
The denial was made after press reports asserted that the
Pope was recovering from overwork more slowly than expected
and may have an ulcer. The reports said the Pof»e went to
Castel Gandolfo under doctors’ orders to rest more and spend
more time outdoors.
EUROPE
Ruins For Sale
LONDON (NC)—One of the greatest relics of English Catholicism
and one of the best preserved abbey ruins in Europe, Fountains
Abbey in Yorkshire, has been put on sale. The remains of the
Cistercian abbey, wrecked during the Reformation, are included
in a 19,000-acre estate put up for auction. It is expected to be
sold for around $2.8 million.
Protestant Patriachate
NUERNBERG, Germany (NC)—The archbishop of Salzburg
has proposed the establishment of an “Evangelical (Lutheran)-
Catholic patriarchate” by which the Luthern church would be
accepted as a separate branch of the catholic Church.
In an interview published in the Catholic journal Der Feuer-
reiter, Archbishop Andreas Rohrache r of Salzburg said there
are precedents for such an arrangement.