Newspaper Page Text
The Southern Cross, November 11, 1965—PAGE 5
FAMILY CLINIC IM ERF41TH CONFERENCES
By JOHN J. KANE, Ph.D.
Professor of Sociology
University of Notre Dame
My six year old sister at
tends a Catholic school. The
kindergarten teacher says her
dresses are too short, that
she is immoral and unethical
and wants to have her ex
pelled. My mother has talk
ed with the teacher to no a-
vail. Now my sister’s death
ly afraid to attend school and
suffers serious conflicts.
* * *
Your letter, Doris is a sad
one. If all of the teacher’s
claims were true, she
shouldn’t talk this way to a
six year old child. She ought
to realize that this little girl
is not yet old enough to rea
lize what the teacher is talk
ing about. She should have
discussed this with her mother
when the opportunity pre
sented itself.
But before you leap to con
clusions, a word of caution
is indicated. Any similarity
between what a teacher has
reputedly said and actually
said is sometimes purely co
incidental. Please be abso
lutely certain that the teach
er did make the statement
claimed. My answer is bas
ed entirely on the assumption
that these reports are accu
rate.
Modesty is a relative term.
By that I mean that standards
have changed over the years.
Not too long ago men were
required to wear tops to their
bathing suits on public beach
es. Today, trunks are quite
acceptable and I wonder if
anyone considers this immo
dest?
Women once wore dresses
that swept the floor. They
must have been cumbersome
and inconvenient but the sight
of an ankle was alarming to
people at that time.
Whether . your sister’s
dresses are too short or not
can be readily determined.
Simply note if they are short
er or considerably shorter
than those worn by other girls.
I f not, the teacher is wrong.
If so, then for the sake of har
mony, why not let down a hem
of if possible get longer
dresses?
Claims that this child is
immoral and unethical should
be vindicated. What, specifi
cally has she done or said
to merit this condemnation?
Your mother, and possibly
your father too, should insist
that the teacher sustain her
charges or else withdraw
them.
I would suggest that anoth
er appointment be made with
the teacher. Let your pa
rents discuss toe matter
calmly and at length. If they
are unconvinced by the teach
er’s complaints, there is a
higher court of appeal.
Normally, I do not favor
going over a teacher’s head
to the principal, but this is
just what may have to be done.
Sometimes this makes mat
ters worse for the child, but
this situation is already so
bad, that almost any change
will have to be an improve
ment.
I really dislike to criticize
teachers. The lot of the ele
mentary and high school
teachers in some sections of
the United States is scarcely
an enviable one. They usually
work hard for little pay and
sometimes their work is ac
tually hazardous.
But some teachers, like
persons in other fields, may
be emotionally disturbed.
Some even visit their perso
nal frustrations upon their
students. I hope this is not
the case but I cannot lightly
dismiss this possibility.
TUCSON, Ariz. (NC)—The
Catholic press was strongly
criticized by two Protestant
clergymen and a newspaper
If discussion with the prin
cipal does not change the
teacher’s attitude, you may
have to go to the pastor or
one of the parish priests. I
hope this will prove unne
cessary because the higher
the authority you evoke, the
more the teacher may resent
it. Yet, I fear it will have
to be risked because I won
der if your sister’s plight is
unique. How many other child
ren of similar backgrounds
may also be suffering?
Finally, if none of these
measures work, and I feel
hopeful some will, a trans
fer to a kindergarten in a-
nother school may be neces
sary. For many reasons this
is not desirable at this time
of the year. The child will
have to make new friends and
many adjustments. Your pa
rents will have to decide whe
ther this is better or worse
than the present situation.
Dr. Kane will be unable to
answer personally. However,
he welcomes your suggestions
of topics that would particu
larly interest you. Address
Dr. Kane in care of this news
paper.
executive here, but the clergy
men admitted that papers of
their faiths are not better.
Lack of freedom of the Ca
tholic press—and control ex
erted over the papers by chan
ceries andbishops--were sin
gled out for special criticism
by the three-man panel during
a clinic conducted during the
annual meeting here of the
Pacific region of the Cath
olic Press Association.
The Rev. John Clinton Fow
ler of St. Michael and All
Angels Episcopal church, and
the Rev. Robert M. Herhold
of the Dove of Peace Lutheran
church, urged elimination of
chancery control as far as
possible.
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The third member of the
panel was David Brinegar,
executive editor of the Ari
zona Daily Star of Tucson.
Panelists also urged that
the Church press cut down on
club stories and routine re
ports and concentrate on
leadership on social issues—
slums, poverty and social jus
tice.
The panel split when dis
cussing the Legion ofDecency
movie ratings, with one side
considering them a valuable
guide for parents and children,
and the other faction calling
them too dogmatic.
Earlier a former ambassa
dor to Ghana said “Africa
is no longer a dark continent...
and it’s not money down the
drain” to help the African
people.
“Our Christianity is wel
come because it offers to save
souls,” William P. Mahoney
told a banquet audience.
Grass-Roots
Ecumenism Pilot
Venture Basis
LEXINGTON, Ky. (NC)-
Frotestants, Catholics and
Jews decided here to begin
talks on the lowest level of
organization, merely as mem
bers of a religious body, about
the social and doctrinal prob
lems of unity.
Three talks supplied the
meat for discussion at the
Lexington Theological Semi
nary (Nov. 2) in a pilot ven
ture at grass-roots ecu
menism, sponsored by the Na
tional Conference of Christ
ians and Jews.
Richard Horchler, confe
rence program director re
turned from the Second Va
tican Council to speak at the
meeting, before more than 100
ministers, nuns, church wo
men, priests and laymen. He
said Christians are being gi
ven a second chance to reform
the Church that 400 years ago
was not ready for reform.
Before the council, Horch
ler said, Catholics were liv
ing in a medieval, pre-Re-
formation world and Protes
tants were living in the 19th
Century.
“We have seen only the ba
rest beginnings of the refor
mulation of doctrine,” he said.
Everything about the Vatican
Council is astonishing from
Pope John himself to the way
Protestants and Jews received
the invitation to attend the
council, the Catholic writer
stated.
One painful effect of the
council in regardtoCatholics,
he said, is the fact that it has
caused them to pull away from
externalities and ritualism,
leaving many Catholics naked
and empty. Catholics who had
an answer for every moral
problem are now asking for a
handbook on how to live with
out a handbook, he said.
Dr. George G. Beazley, Jr.,
speaking on current church
union talks among the major
Protestant bodies, said it is
possible that within ten years
members of the Protestant
Episcopal, Methodist, Pres
byterian, Church o f Christ,
United Brethren and Disciples
of Christ Churches could be
worshiping in common in a
church “truly catholic, truly
reformed and truly evangeli
cal.” Great progress has been
made in some unexpected
areas, since merger plans
were made in some unexpect
ed areas, since merger plans
ware first discussed in Wash
ington in 1962, he said.
The Rev. Lewis H. Deer
described the Broadway Inner
City Project in Indianapolis
as an example of social action
by Christians which deeply
involved them in the question
of the relevance of the Church
in the lives of the poor, un
educated urban populations,
white and Negro. The Rev.
Mr. Deer said if it is not a
question of too little too late,
that perhaps the only factor
which can cause Christians
to serve and save the dis
possessed in metropolitan
areas is the flexibility of the
Christian body to adapt to the
needs in hope that the “offi
cial church” may ultimately
recognize the new structures
of religion.
The audience broke into
small groups of 16 persons to
discuss the ideas provoked by
the three speakers.
MONTESSORI system is now being used in teach
ing pupils in St. Francis Xavier’s (Brunswick) Pre-
School. Groups are kept small and children pro
gress at their own rate of speed. Music group is
pictured with their teacher, Mrs. Sapenfield.
Parish Scenes
St. James P.C.C.W.
Robert Hammon, Executive Director of the Chatham County
Mental Health Association gave a talk on “Mental Health In
Georgia” at the November meeting of St. James (Savannah)
P.C.C.W. A new Constitution for the Council was read by Mrs.
Edmund Anderson and the group formulated plans for a Dinner
Meeting at Anton’s Restaurant on December 6th.
St. Teresa’s P.C.C.W.
The November luncheon meeting of St. Teresa’s Council
of Catholic Women was held on the 2nd at the Knights of Colum
bus Hall. Four new members were introduced by the pre
sident, Mrs. James Schnieders. Mrs. L. E. Mock played a
tape concerned with St. Mary’s Home and urged the members
to support it. A report on the recent Halloween Fair was given
by Mrs. Carlton Ussery. Catholic Charities chairman, Mrs.
Bill Stephenson, asked for volunteers l o tour Milledgeville
State Hospital and to present gifts to the patients on November
10th. Father Marvin J. LeFrois played a recorded talk on
teen-agers and closed the meeting with a prayer.
St. Clare’s C.Y.O.
The CYO at Albany’s St. Clare’s parish sang at high Mass
on the feast of Christ the King to mark the opening of Catholic
Youth Week. After Mass a breakfast was served with Father
Gene Krygier, assistant at St. Teresa’s, Albany, guest speaker.
In the evening the CYO went through the community “trick-or-
treating” for UNICEF, the United Nations Committee which aids
needy children throughout the world. Thanks to the youth effort
$25 was sent by the St. Clare CYO as their contribution to
UNICEF.
SISTERS from Columbus and the surroundng districts joined the Ursulines
of Our Lady of Lourdes Convent, Columbus, in celebrating the feast of Saint
Ursula. Picture taken outside Our Lady of Lourdes School.
CITES SCMPTJJRE
Cardinal Bea Refutes
Bishop Carli On Jews
ROME (NS) — An extra
ordinary epilogue to the Va
tican Council’s declaration on
the Jews was provided here
by Augustin cardinal Bea,
its chief author, when he pub
lished a repudiation of the
arguments used by a strongly
conservative Italian bishop in
spearheading opposition to the
document.
Writing in the Jesuit bi
monthly, Civilita Cattolica,
the 84 year-old prelate, once
the rector of the Pontifical
Biblical Institute, noted that
Bishop Luigi Carli, of Seg-
ni, and some other Council
Fathers had challenged the
declaration that what happened
in Christ’s death could not
be charged against all Jews,
either those then alive or
those of today.
Bishop Carli had declared
last Spring in an Italian Cle
rical magazine, “I consider it
legitimate to affirm that the
entire Jewish people at the
time of Christ was responsi
ble collectively for deicide,
although only the leaders and
a portion of their followers
materially committed the
crime.”
Regarding the Jews of to
day, the Bishop went on: “In
this sense, and according to
the Biblical mentality Judaism
after the time of Jesus is ob
jectively participating in the
responsibility for deicide by
the measure in which this Ju
daism constitutes the free and
voluntary continuation of the
Judaism of those times.” For
this reason, he said, Jews can
be called “cursed by God.”
Cardinal Bea’s article, dis
playing the Scriptural back
ground for which he is noted
seemed to some, here, to re
veal in depth the Scriptural
authority behind the Council
statement on non-Christian
religions, of which the decla
ration on the Jews was apart.
Said Cardinal Bea, “One
cannot speak of the culpabili
ty of the Jewish people in the
crime of deicide. Where the
New Testament speaks expli
citly of the crucifixion of
Christ, it refers to the San
hedrin or to the inhabitants
of Jerusalem, alone. The peo
ple of Jerusalem are included
only to the extent that they
shared the spirit of their lead-
Panel At
Blessed
Sacrament
Monica Hogan, Chairman of
Christine Doctrine, assisted
by Father William Simmons,
presented a radio-television
panel discussion ontheChurch
in the modern world at the
November meeting of the
Blessed Sacrament Parish
Council of Catholic Women.
In honor of Veterans Day,
Mrs. Vanita Brower read from
the August issue of V.F.W.
magazine, the story of “Chi
cago’s Enshrined Veterans”.
Mrs. Nora Smith announc
ed plans for the annual cake
sale to be held November 21.
Mrs. Tosha Burke, president
reported 934 cancer pads have
been made to date. Mrs. Ann
Fulton, chairman of Catholic
Charities, formulated plans
for the Carmelite Thanksgiv
ing pantry shower.
ers. The only allusion not
to Jerusalem is found in St.
Paul’s Second -Epistle to the
Thessalonians (2:14ff.) where
those persecuting disciples of
Christ are associated with this
same spirit.”
Cardinal Bea also declared
that the severity of the judge
ment on Jerusalem does not
prove a collective culpability
of the Jewish people for the
crucifixion of Jesus. Its gra
vity is explained by the fact
that it came at the eftd of
a long history of rebellion
toward God which included
crimes against His Prophets,
and by the fact that it is a
type of the final judgement-
God warning all men of its
severity, he said.
The charge of Deicide, said
the German-born prelate,
“can only be leveled against
those who were fully aware
of the divine as well as hu
man nature of Christ.
* ‘It cannot be justified that
the Jewish people of the time
directly participated i n the
trial of Jesus. It can be said
even less about the people
that were then scattered
throughout the world and even
less again about those in the
following centuries. The
charges against the Jews for
the crucifixion really should
be directed to those who were
implicated personally.”
Shortly after the Council
the declaration on non-Chris
tian Religions, Bishop Carli
was asked whether he con
sidered the persecutions suf
fered by the Jews throughout
the centuries justifiable.
Said Bishop Carli, “We have
nothing against the Jews as
individuals..^But as a peo
ple, as followers of the Jew
ish religion, we must consi
der them as having placed
themselves outside the stream
of history by refusing the sal
vation offered . . .byChrist.”
WITH
A BROOM
THE HOLY FATHER’S MISSION AID TO THE ORIENTAL CHURCH
To be a Christian in Northern Syria means to
be poor, and the Chaldean Bishop of Aleppo
chooses to be poorest of all. Most Christians in
this improverished land belong to the Assyrian
Rite and are separated from Rome. Bishop
Stephen Bello is head of a new Catholic Diocese
of the Chaldean Rite. Bishop Bello’s 'palace' is
a tiny room next to his sacristy. Here he eats,
sleeps, receives his people, administers his far-
HELP ranging diocese. He prepares his own meals,
PAUL VI does his own housework, even sweeps out his
REUNITE own ‘cathedral.’ He badly needs a small house
SYRIA'S ($3,800) to bring fitting dignity to the office of
CHURCHES Bishop (The disciples’ first question to Christ:
“Master, where do you live?”). Bishop Bello is
also worried about the Chaldean priests who are
eager to share his poverty and help him win
back the Assyrians. One priest is ready to go to
Khanik, a Chaldean village where there are well-
financed missionaries of other religions, but the
Catholics there have no chapel ($3,500), no
school ($2,900), no priest’s quarters ($2,100).
Whatever you send ($100, $75, $50, $30, $25,
$20, $15, $10, $5) will help Pope Paul welcome
the Assyrians home to the universal Church.
Your Thanksgiving turkey will seem tastier and
be more meaningful if you share your blessings
A with the hungry families huddled in refugee
THANKSGIVING camps of the Near East. For only $10—less than
RECIPE the cost of most Thanksgiving dinners—you can
feed a Palestine refugee family for an entire
month. To show their thanks to you, we'll send
you an Olive Wood Rosary from the Holy Land.
Urgent pleas for help come from Near East mis
sionaries to the Holy Father faster than he can
report them to you. Pope Paul always needs
‘stringless’ gifts to meet emergency cases.
NO There’s special satisfaction in knowing that your
STRINGS gift is serving a particular need. There’s an
extra joy in not letting the left hand know what’s
going on in the other—in letting the Holy Father
decide. Just mark your gift, “No Strings,” and
it will go to work right away.
Dear enclosed please find $
Monsignor Ryan:
FOR
Please name_
return coupon
with your street.
offering
city
.state.
.zip code.
THE CATHOLIC NEAR EAST WELFARE ASSOCIATION
mear
MISSIONS
FRANCIS CARDINAL SPELLMAN, President
MSGR. JOSEPH T. RYAN, National Secretary
Write: Catholic Near East Welfare Assoc.
330 Madison Avenue*New York, N.Y. 10017
Telephone: 212/YUkon 6-5840