Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 4—Th e Southern Cross, November 11, 1965
Most Rev. Thomas J. McDonough, D.D.J.C.D., President
Rev. Francis J. Donohue, Editor John E. Markwalter, Managing Editor
Phone 234-4574
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Who Will Play God?
Abortion is the willful destruction of innocent
human life or — to put it more simply -- abor
tion is murder.
Unfortunately the circumstances surrounding
-a few celebrated abortion cases in recent years
entailing, as they did, emotionally distraught
parents and the possibility of physical defor
mity or mental incapacity on the part of the
unborn children have led the unwary into the
acceptance — in practice, if not in principle —
of the notion that there are excusing causes for
murder. There is none.
And while it may be argued that emotionally
disturbed parents who seek abortion are guilty
of something less than outright murder, it
cannot be held that a physician who admits
that he does not know whether or not a foetus
is possessed of human life, and then proceeds
to destroy it is not guilty of murder.
He is guilty to the same extent as the hunter
who fires into a thicket without knowing whether
the movement he observes is produced by a
man or an animal — and kills a man.
Yet, at a panel discussion on family planning
during the White House Conference on Health
held at Washington last Thursday Dr. Leslie
Corsa, Jr., director of the University of Michi
gan’s Center for Population Planning pleaded for
legislation to make abortion “rational and safe”,
as well as lawful. The same panel heard Dr.
Alan F. Guttmacher, president of the Planned
Parenthood Federation of America, recommend
that the United States examine the mass abortion
programs of Japan and the Iron Curtain countries
as models for making abortion easier here.
The American Medical Association, which ex
pended tremendous sums of money in an un
successful attempt to defeat Medicare legisla
tion, has thus far elected to remain silent
on suggested abortion legislation though the
organization is ostensibly dedicated to the pre
servation of human life.
We hope they will speak out, strongly and
forcefully, denouncing any proposed legislation
which would cast either government or medicine
in the role of God, deciding which of the most
innocent and defenseless human beings in the
world — the unborn — will live and which wiU
die. F.J.D.
Thanksgiving Day 1965
Three hundred and forty-four years ago,
Governor Bradford of Plymouth Bay Colony
issued the first Thanksgiving Day proclama
tion, setting aside a day for the Pilgrims to
render public thanks to God for their first
harvest, after a long and cruel New England
winter.
Each year, during the Thanksgiving season,
our bishops ask American Catholics to donate
serviceable used or unwanted clothing for dis
tribution to the destitute and ill-clothed over
seas. Each year the generous response to the
bishops’ appeal has resulted in an increase in
poundage donated and in the number of needy
persons aided. Consequently, Catholic Relief
Services-NCWC, the overseas aid agency of the
American bishops and laity, was able to bring
help and comfort to nearly 40 million needy
persons in 79 countries with the clothing, foot
wear, blankets, bedding and other articles
donated during last year’s Thanksgiving Cloth
ing Campaign. Distribution was made on the
basis of need, entirely without regard to race,
religion or color.
This year, the appeal of our bishops takes
on added significance and urgency in view of
the great concern manifested by Pope Paul
and the Fathers of the Vatican Council over
the staggering problem of world poverty—a
problem that should concern us all.
As Thanksgiving Day draws near, reflect
on the initial meaning and purpose of that
national holiday--to render thanks to God and
to share your “harvest” with those in need,
Consider your “harvest”—the dresses that
no longer fit, the suits that are out of style or
a bit shabby, shoes that the children have out
grown, bed linen you no longer use or need,
all the clothing and household, articles that
clog the closets in your home. They can be
the means of clothing a helpless little war
orphan in Vietnam, can protect a destitute
mother and child against the blistering heat
of Africa’s tropic sun, can cover the torn
feet of an impoverished peasant scratching out
a living in one of Latin America’s vast areas
of need.
During the Catholic Bishops’ 17th annual
Thanksgiving Clothing Campaign this month,
bring or send a bundle of serviceable used
or unwanted clothing to your parish church or
rectory. Emphasize the giving in Thanksgiving.
Your holiday will be the happier and more
meaningful for having done so.
MALICIOUS TONGUES
God’s World
Leo J. Trese
It Seems To Me
The case of David Miller,
22, of Syracuse, N. Y., who
was arrested on a charge of
publicly burning his military
draft card in violation of fed
eral law, seems to me to point
insistently to a serious moral
problem confronting Dorothy
Day and the members of her
Catholic Worker movement.
§ C a n the
movement
conscien-
tiously go on
encouraging —
as has been
done for years
in its publica
tion , the Ca
tholic Worker, and in talks
on college campuses and else
where by some members—
wrong and un-Catholic posi
tions such as doctrinaire paci
fism and “Christian anarch
ism,” as the Worker calls it?
The popes—including Paul
VI— have warned us repeat
edly that pacifism is not the
way to peace; nor is anar
chism, which is the negation of
Joseph Breig
law, and cannot sanely be
coupled with the word “Chris
tian.”
Only by the works of peace
can peace be insured.
These include the corporal
works of mercy—feeding the
hungry, clothing the naked; and
those works, the Catholic
Worker movement indus
triously does, to its great cre
dit.
But the works of peace, as
the popes have said again and
again, also include the
cooperative establishment, by
the nations, of international
institutions of law and order—
institutions with authority to
settle disputes, and with po
lice power to prevent or punish
unjust aggression.
Those works of peace the
Catholic Worker movement
impedes by promoting such
errors as pacifism and anar
chism.
Young Miller, for instance,
with five other “Catholic pa
cifists,” went on tour of col
lege campuses to advocate
their ideas, and said they
were representing Dorothy
Day’s Catholic Worker.
As America magazine
noted, the draft law “provides
adequately and scrupulously
for the rights of conscien
tious objectors” to military
service. Objectors are free to
fulfill their obligations to their
fellow countrymen by serving
in non-violent ways — in
hospital or ambulance ser
vice, for instance.
Miller, however, told news
men that he had not asked to
be classified as a conscien
tious objector, because that
would involve recognizing the
authority of draft boards.
The Church has always
taught that disobeying and de
fying legitimate civil authority
is profoundly immoral. How
long can the Catholic Worker
movement go on flouting that
teaching?
If you never have been “talked about,” you are
unusually fortunate. Our Lord Jesus, despite His
eminent goodness, was the object of slander on
the part of His enemies. We lesser mortals hard
ly can expect to escape unscathed by malicious
tongues.
Still another person may make us the tar
get of his barbed tongue because he is mentally
or emotionally sick. He may be mildly paranoid
and critical of everyone; or, afflicted with
feelings of inferiority, he seeks to shore up his
tottering ego by finding fault with others.
U.S. FOREIGN policy
Capital Report
Slander, as we know, is an attack made upon
a person’s character by means of falsehoods.
For example, if it is reported
of a man that he is having an
affair with another woman, al
though in truth he is very faith
ful to his wife, this would be
slander.
Detraction, on the other hand,
is an attempt to injure a per
son’s character by revealing a discreditable
fact which, although true, is not generally known.
If a married man did at one time have an affair
with another woman but the matter is unknown to
his present associates, it would be the sin of
detraction to now publicize his former fall from
grace.
A less deadly form of character attack is
simple uncharitable criticism, the standard fuel
of much idle gossip. A woman may be criticized
by her acquaintances for her poor taste in clothes
or for her tendency to monopolize the con
versation. A man may be criticized for his
bossy attitude or for his slowness in paying bills.
Slander, detraction and uncharitable criticism
may spring from any one of a variety of motives.
One person may try to undermine our character
because he (or she) is jealous of us. He resents
our apparent successor our possession of talents
or qualities which he himself lacks.
Another person may take verbal pot shots at us
because we have offended him is some way.
He seeks to avenge the hurt by pointing out our
real or imagined shortcomings.
There are some basic steps which we can
take to defend ourselves against possible da
mage to our reputation. One such step is to
exercise the virtue of prudence; to avoid, as far
as we can, any conduct which might easily be
misinterpreted.
The statement, “I don’t care what people say
about me as long as my own conscience is
clear,” is valid only if we try to make out
ward appearance agree with inward truth. As
Christians, we are obliged not only to be good,
but also to appear good. Otherwise we do a
disservice to our weaker neighbors and fail in
our responsibility to bear witness to Christ.
When it does come to our ears that someone
has been maligning us (and there almost always
will be a “friend” eager to pass the word on to
us) we have a choice of two reactions. We can
become incensed at the gossiper and lower our
selves to his level by attacking his reputation,
or we can meet the crisis in a rational manner'.
A mature Christian will reason, “Either this
thing which is said about me is true or it isn’t.
If it is true, then I should be honest enough to
admit it to myself and do something to correct
the situation. If it isn’t true, then God and my
friends know that it isn’t true, and they are
the ones whose opinion I value. The person who
is talking about me is harming only himself. I
shall not play into his hands by becoming angry
or upset. Instead I shall pray for him.”
The truth is that no tongue in the world can
really hurt us except when pride or vanity makes
us vulnerable.
WASHINGTON (NC)—Se
cretary of State Dean Rusk is
noted for a talent for stating
complex things simply. He re
cently told here how this coun
try’s foreign policy decisions
are arrived at. They are cer
tainly not hit or miss de
cisions. A great amount of
thought and experience go into
their formulation.
In the very barest es
sentials, foreign policy de
cisions are arrived at by stat
ing the questions properly; by
weighing the involved in
terests, objectives and re
sponsibilities of the U. S., by
considering the views of
other countries directly in
volved; by considering the
past experiences; by deter
mining what principles of in
ternational law are involved;
by asking what will be the
reaction of the American peo
ple, of Congress; by obtaining
the judgments of all those
whose interests and responsi
bilities are involved.
In giving this outline, Se
cretary Rusk uttered some
expressions that are Worth
BY J. J. GILBERT
remembering:
“The first requirement is to
identify accurately the ques
tion which has to be answered.
In many situations the very
framing of the question
strongly affects the answer....
Let me emphasize that it is not
easy to pose the question ac
curately.”
“We will not get very far in
dealing with any problem un
less the ‘point to settle’ is
clearly defined.”
“We can only shape what
happens in the world by in
fluencing the views and ac
tions of other nations. And
other nations will only be
moved by the United States
if they believe that it will do
what it says and if its actions
are reasonably predictable.
“If we tell them one day that
we are going to do something,
and then later say that we have
changed our minds, they will
pay less attention to what we
say the next time. Allies and
potential aggressors will then
give less heed to our counsel
and our warnings, for neither
will see these as reflecting en
during commitments. We owe
it to the rest of the world, as
well as to ourselves, to remain
steady on our course.
“Few foreign problems can
be solved by the United States
alone. In facing most pro
blems, therefore, the policy-
makers assess what other go
vernments will think about
it.
“The founders of this coun
try, in declaring its indepen
dence, spoke of their ‘decent
respect to the opinions of man
kind.’ And so it is today. While
the views of bystanders should
not act as a bar tp needed
action, we want to take Ac
count of them, in shaping or
explaining our action, as, in
deed, we want to know the
views Of those who would make
themselves our adversaries.”
There is more. But even
this is sufficient to show that
it is much more difficult to
formulate foreign policy than
to demonstrate against it.
CABBAGES AND KINGS
Rev. William V. Coleman
On
Commitment
I don’t suppose there is any sadder story in
the gospel than the day the crowds left Jesus.
Our Savior had just finished giving his first
sermon on the Eucharist. He had told them
that unless they ate His flesh and drank His
blood, they would not have life in them.
This came as a blow to many and it is re
corded by Saint John that they
said, “This is a hard saying,
who can listen to it?” And
“men no longer went about
with Him.” Jesus turned to
the aspostles and asked them
whether they also would go
away. Peter, with his charac
teristic candor answered, “To
whom shall we go. You have
the words of everlasting life?”
Some lefLSome remained. Why the difference?
It certainly wasn’t that the Aspostles under
stood what Jesus meant but they did have
absolute faith in Christ.
It seems to me that we are approaching some
thing of the same crisis of Faith, as the decrees
come from Vatican H. Once again, Christ is
deeply disturbing men’s souls.^
The point which one man finds deeply satis
fying, another hears with consternation. What
a conservative group finds in the Constitutions
to its liking, a liberal sees as a test of Faith.
Jews rejoice while Arabs fear the future. Ca
tholics persecuted by their own governments
see, in action of the Council, a promise of a
better day. Conservative Catholic governments
read the same words and are indignant.
We, here in the South, have a critical pass
age from a council declaration; “We cannot
truly call upon God, the Father of all, if we
refuse to treat in a brotherly way any man,
created as he is in the image of God. Man’s
relation to God the Father and his relation
to men his brothers are so linked together
that Scripture says: ‘He who does not love,
does not know God’ (1 John 4:8)
“No foundation therefore remains for any
theory or practice that leads to discrimination
between man and man or people and people,
so far as their human dignity and the rights
flowing from it are concerned.
“The Church reproves as foreign to the
mind o f Christ any discrimination against men
or harrassment of them because of their race,
color, condition of life, or religion...”
For some, these will be hard words. Some
will “go away” by breaking with the Church
or trying to deny the obvious meaning of the
Council. This must, I suppose, happen , but
how wiU we answer when Christ says. “Do
you also wish to go away?”
QUESTIONS
Our F aith
Msgr. Conway
Q A few weeks ago I heard a T.V. Newsman
say that his session of the Vatican Council
was going to revise the divorce laws. Did I
hear a true and correct statement? If the Vat
ican Council does revise the laws on divorce
will they be made easier?
t A. I imagine he was speaking
about an intervention made in
the Council on Sept. 29 by Arch
bishop Eliaz Zoghby, Melchite
Vicar in Egypt. The subject
of marriage was being
discussed at the time, and the
archbishop urged that conside
ration be given to the grave
problems faced by an innocent spouse who had
been deserted and abandoned and also by a per
son whose spouse had become permanently
insane. Chould the Church, without prejudice
to her doctrine on the indissolubility of mar
riage, use her authority to aid such innocent
party?
About all the Archbishop did was recommend
careful study of the problem, and the nega
tive response of the Fathers indicated little
interest in the matter.
The Vatican Council will NOT revise any
laws about divorce.
* * *
Q. Will the bishops ever say the Mass on the
beautiful marble altar again? We are so un
happy looking at the cheap kitchen table. The
priest has his hinder part turned towards the
holy tabernacle all the while he says Mass. Let
us go back and use the marble altar which Christ
installed over 2000 years ago.
A. You should review your history, and read
tiJgain the Gospel stories of the Last Supper.
Jesus never saw a marble altar; he faced His
Apostles when He gave them His Body and
Blood to eat, and washed their feet, rather
than turning His back to them. His altar of
sacrifice was the rough-chopped wood of cross.