Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 5 — January 1, 1970
FAMILY CLINIC
By John J. Kane, Ph. D.
Professor ^Sociology
University'of Notre Dame
I am a seventeen-year-old
girl living in a small town and
just about sick of it all. There
is nothing, but nothing, to do
here. A friend of mine
recently ran away. Since then
I got a card from her. She is
in East Village in New York
having a blast. 1 promised not
to tell her parents and she
wants me to come too. I’m
pretty up-tight right now and
would like to go. But I
promised a sister I’d write
you. Please answer fast.
***
Well, Jane, I put your
letter at the head of a number
I am trying to answer. I hope
you see the reply before you
end up in East Village or a
similar place. I also hope
you’ll heed it. I really think
that you have sold yourself a
bill of goods, and I am
wondering if anything I say is
going to make any difference
whatsoever. However, I’ll try.
It seems incredible to me
that at the tender age of
seventeen one can be so
jaded. You say there is
nothing but nothing, to do in
your town. I seriously doubt
that. What do you mean by
nothing to do? Do you mean
you cannot find the kinds of
things you want to do? This I
suspect is what you really are
talking about. And one
reason you are talking about
it is because you are thinking
very largely in terms of
yourself and not in terms of
others. Try to take a little
broader perspective of the
situation and perhaps things
will not seem so up-tight as
they are at the moment.
How would your parents
feel if you ran away? The
parents of your girl friend
must be sorely worried about
where she is and how she is.
Her parents are over thirty.
You may not believe they know
anything at all. But believe
me, they still have emotions
and one of the major
emotions is a deep and lasting
love for their children. True
enough there ate some
parents who are not this way,
but fortunately they are the
very, very snail minority of
the parents.
It might be interesting for
you to check into the case
histories of some of the girls
who end up in the hippy
areas. Many of the stories are
quite dismal-some are tragic.
If you would just glance over
the back issues of
newspapers, you will read
how a girl was found
murdered in the hippy
section of New York in the
last year or so. You might
also read about some of the
clinics that have been
established to help young
people in various areas where
the hippies hang out. Many of
these youngsters become drug
addicts. I am not referring
merely to marijuana but to
the hard stuff like morphine
or heroin.
Not only are they taking
hard drugs but they are
mainlining, that is, injecting
them directly into the blood
stream. This has very serious
dangers and more than one
has ended up with hepatitis, a
disease of the liver which can
be very serious.
In my personal experience
I knew of a girl your age who
ran away from home about a
year ago. At first no effort
was made to contact police
but finally, out of
desperation, her father got in
touch with the authorities to
try to trace her. He was
unsuccessful. About eight
months later one evening he
received a telephone call from
his daughter saying she was
on a street intersection in the
town in which he lived. He
drove there immediately and
almost failed to recognize
her. To put it briefly she was
emaciated, pale and aged. By
this time she was eighteen but
she looked as though she
were closer to forty. She
admitted that she had been
living with groups of hippy
youngsters in a certain large
city. She admitted that she
had taken drugs, and she was
trying to kick the habit.
I am not trying to use a
scare technique on you.
Certainly all girls who ran
away from home do not end
up quite so badly as she did.
But the statistical
probabilities are very heavily
stacked against you. Let me
also assure you that certian
things that at the moment
may appear as thrills may be
little less than plain, stark
terror when or if you
experience them.
Incidentally, since your
friend is having such a
marvelous time, meeting so
many new friends and so
forth. I wonder why she is
asking you to join her? By
any chance did she ask you to
bring money?
CA THOLICS VS PA NIC PEDDLERS
Warfare In Chicago
BY DAVID SUTOR
CHICAGO (NC)- The
Catholics and the panic
peddlers are fighting on the
west side of Chicago. The
Catholics have formed a
group whose membership is
open to non-Catholics. It’s
called the Our Lady of the
Angels Committee Against
Panic Peddling.
Our Lady of the Angels
church is in the east
Humboldt area. Parishoners
are taking the initiative to
stem a high outflow of whites
from an area which has a
significant ratio of black
residents.
It’s an ugly problem which
has been witnessed, often
p a s sively, • by other
communities across the
United States.
West Humboldt has a
dividing line: Chicago
Avenue. Blacks reside on the
south side, whites on the
north. There is a mixture of
lower middle class workers,
Puerto Rican, black and
white. There is also a strong
Italian community.
The problem, according to
Sister Marilyn Gestner, a
second grade teacher at the
school, is to stop real estate
dealers, in and outside the
community, from scaring
whites into selling their
homes quickly and cheaply
by using phone, mail and
door-to-door panic
solicitation tactics.
The parish committee’s
goal, she said, it to maintain
racial stability in the area
while allowing blacks to move
freely within the community.
She said that as many as
60 realty firms have
systematically circulated
through the west Humboldt
area during the last six
months trying to convince
whites to sell their homes.
According to the pastor,
Father Donald F. Kelly,
parish statistics have shown a
withdrawal during the last
year of some 300 white
families south of Chicago
avenue, and a concurrent
school enrollment decrease.
While some withdrawals
stem from racial disharmony
in changing neighborhoods he
said, “I’m sure the rate would
be much smaller if it were not
for the efforts of panic
peddling realtors.”
The parish committee was
fromed, according to Sister
Marilyn, at the suggestion of
Jerry Prete, senior citizen
activities organizer for
Catholic Charities of Chicago,
and A1 Velto, a community
organizer.
The two men asked Father
Kelley to alert his
parishioners about the panic
peddling efforts, she said.
After an initial planning
session in early November,
Father Kelly convened three
open meetings that saw about
25 people at the first, 75 at
the second, and about 300 at
the third, including
non-Catholic residents of the
area and several clergymen of
other faiths.
Currently, the committee
has 25 active members,
including some blacks, plus
considerable support from
others in the community.
Father Richard M. Dodaro,
assistant pastor, is chairman
of the group.
Tactics of the committee,
since November, have been to
concentrate on those realty
firms which members believe
are responsible for spreading
panic in the community by
their solicitations.
To date, the committee
has apparently had nothing
but success.
According to Sister
Marilyn, 11 realty firms, most
within west Humboldt, have
signed statements committing
them to not solicit the parish
area for three years by phone,
mail or door-to-door. The
agreement also stipulates that
firms will not post “sold”
signs. Such signs, says Sister
Marilyn and Father Kelly, are
key factors in spreading
community panic.
Thy agreement does not,
however, forbid firms from
advertising in the print media
when they have homes in the
area for sale.
In some cases, Sister
Marilyn said, realtors have
denied the panic peddling
allegation have refused to sign
the agreement.
If an agreement is not
signed, she said, picketing
takes place immediately. In
each case, she added,
picketing has resulted in a
signed agreement from the
realtors involved.
Most notable picket, said
Sister Marilyn, is a
75-year-old Sister Felicia, of
Our Lady of Angels, who
graduated from the school in
1907. “She usually stands on
street corners, passing out
literature and explaining our
cause.
EDITORS SA Y
Synod Top
News Story
Doris Answers
YOUTH
BY DORIS REVERE PETERS
WASHINGTON (NC)-
The second World Synod of
Bishops which met in Rome
during October was rated first
among the top ten stories of
1969, according to a survey
of editors conducted by NC
News Service.
The Synod was unique in
that only one topic-
--collegiality, or the
relationship between the
pope and the bishops-was on
the agenda. Yet, the event
provoked news long before it
took place because of the
controversy and speculation
preceding the actual meeting.
In second place, according
to the Catholic editors in the
U.S. and Canada, was the
financial crisis in Catholic
schools. Many stories in 1969
were concerned with mergers,
closings, and state
aid-considered “crucial” to
continued operations.
Voted No. 3 story was
Bishop James P. Shannon’s
resignation as auxiliary of St.
Paul and Minneapolis and his
subsequent marriage.
The next seven top stories
chosen by the editors were:
-No. 4: U.S. Bishops’ fall
meeting in Washington,
during which a National
Office for Black Catholicism
was established, a Crusade
Against Poverty launched, a
celibacy statement issued,
due process and arbitration
procedures approved, and
Father Patric O’Malley,
president of the National
Federation of Priests’
Councils, was permitted to
address the meeting.
-No. 5: New Mass Order
promulgated and U.S.
Bishops’ approval of the
English translation for it.
-No. 6: Pope Paul Vi’s
visit to World Council of
Churches and International
Labor Organization in
Geneva, Switzerland.
-No. 7: U.S. astronauts’
moon landing (Apollo 11)
and the Pope’s comments on
the event.
-No. 8: Continuation of
anti-Catholic violence in
Northern Ireland.
No. 9: Pope Paul’s
motuproprio on the litugical
year and new universal
Roman calendar. Some
popular saints, like St.
Christopher, were not
included.
--No. 10: Vietnam
Moratorium Peace
demonstrations held in
Washington.
Runners-up in the poll, in
their order of perference,
were:
Pope Paul’s visit to
Uganda, including the
all-African bishop’s
symposium.
Auxiliary Bishop Matthias
Defregger of Munich admits
part played in World War II
reprisal shootings of Italian
villagers.
Campus unrest,
demonstrations,
violence-opposition of
campus recruiting by armed
services and certain firms.
Continuing controversy
over sex education programs
in Catholic schools.
Four American cardinals
(Dearden, Cooke, Carberry,
Wright) among 35 named by
Pope.
MAKE-UP AND
HOW TO USE IT:
Dear Doris:
Why can’t my mother be
like other mothers? All the
other kids in my class are
allowed to wear make-up, but
I can’t. I’m 15 and think I
should be allowed to wear a
little make-up, don’t you?
Disappointed.
Dear Disappointed:
The battle of parents vs.
cosmetics is fought every day
on almost every home front.
Your friends may wear
make-up but it’s my guess
that it’s a compromise or a
ruse on their part. The battle
usually begins with “You’re
not old enough to wear eye
shadow,” or “No, you may
not leave this house looking
like that!” And it continues
with “But everyone else
wears it.”
Believe it or not, your
mother does have a point.
Try to be objective and take a
look at her side of the story.
Nine times out of ten she is
not being old-fashioned or
just plain stubborn. She
probably thinks, in all
honesty, that you just don’t
need make-up yet. And she
might have a point.
Did you ever stop to think
why women wear make-up?
The cosmetic commercials
will give you the clue: it’s not
just to look beautiful. Women
wear make-up to look
younger-to recapture the
fresh complexion they had in
their teens; to radiate that
indefinable look of youth;
and that look you have right
now.
Your mother may feel that
these are just the assets you
may be covering up with
make-up. However, before
you begin to think I am on
your mother’s side, let me say
there are times when you
could wear a little. But a
“little” make-up is hard to
come by. Particularly when
used by the young and eager
like yourself.
I think for teens like
yourself a natural appearance
is of utmost importance. It
should look custom made and
at the same time effortless.
Yet this well-groomed
appearance, the look that is
pictured in every fashion
magazine now, is not always
as easy to acquire as it looks.
To achieve this dewy
appearance and before you
use cosmetics, first make a
long and ruthless examination
of your mirror image; an
examination to be made only
after having a freshly washed
face, combed hair and
brushed teeth. Use no
make-up at all. Take a
realistic stock of your
features, keeping in mind that
you will want to play up your
best ones, minimize the
others.
Then use make-up as a
sculptor would, as a tool to
refine and enhance your given
features ... let it bring out
the real you. You should not
feel compelled to use every
product on the market, as
exciting as they all might
seem. Instead use as little
make-up as possible to
achieve a total illusion of not
having used any make-up at
all.
GLEN CAMPBELL FAN?
Dear Doris:
Do you like Glen
Campbell and do you know
of any album he’s recorded
recently?
Ken L.
Dear Ken:
I’m a great fan of Glen and
of his winning ways with
songs, both old and new. I
heard a colorful two-record
album taped during a concert
recently. It has all the
excitement of a live
performance and you’ll find a
variety of songs never
recorded before by Glen plus
several revised versions of his
earlier hits. (Capitol 268)
And a bonus in this album is
his strong yet tender
performance of “The Lord’s
Prayer.”
‘WHERE HAVE
YOU BEEN?’
Dear Doris:
Here’s something I
thought you might like to
insert in your column:
“Teens in a small Nebraska
town have a great retort when
parents ask where they’ve
been. Seems the most popular
hangout for the young crowd
there is a swinging
discotheque called No Place.”
* * *
Mrs. Peters answers letters
through her column, not by
mail. Please do not ask for
personal reply. Young readers
are invited to write her in
care of this paper.
Chaplains Comment On Alleged Massacre
By Father Patrick
Burke, S.S.C.
(NC News Service)
SAIGON (NC) — Although
many explanations of what
allegedly took place at My
Lai on March 16, 1968, may
be attempted, no number of
explanations can amount to
an excuse. This sums up the
reaction of United States
Army chaplains to the
charges of atrocities against
Vietnamese civilians.
Vietnamese Catholic
bishops and priests hold the
same view-that the deliberate
killings of civilians is morally
wrong and cannot be excused
under any circumstances.
Atrocities, whether on a
large or small scale, cannot be
tolerated and are condemned
unequivocally. There can be
no moral justification for
deliberately killing civilians in
cold blood.
The horror of the alleged
massacre in the small
Vietnamese hamlet is that
women, children and old men
were said to have been
deliberately killed in large
numbers. The moral
implications of any atrocity,
even a single one, are never in
doubt.
killed is as big as reported.
Vietnamese priests, while
adamantly maintaining that
all atrocities are morally
wrong, are skeptical about
the numbers. Having lived
with war for 23 years, a
particularly dirty war-as are
all guerrilla wars-they are
shocked to think that such a
thing could happen. They are
also prepared to believe that
such a thing is possible, that a
moment of madness can take
hold.
Perhaps more than the
American chaplains, the
Vietnamese suspect that the
enemy propaganda machine is
working full time to blacken
the name of the U.S. soldier
as a fighting man who kills
wantonly, savagely and
indiscriminately. The
Vietnamese point to the
number of civilians killed by
the enemy (already 5,999
since Jan. 1 of this year, with
an additional 15,015
wounded and 6,200
kidnapped) and wonder why
there is not the same moral
outrage against the enemy as
there is against U.S. troops.
U.S. chaplains, without
exception, also pointed to the
moral outrage and said the
alleged massacre is getting so
much publicity precisely
because it is an exception.
Nobody denies that
civilians are accidently killed
due to a variety of
reasons-such as not heeding
the warning to leave an area
where fighting is likely to
take place.
From personal experience
the chaplains know war is a
dirty business and that
civilians get caught in the
middle, but they point out
that this situation is different
from the deliberate killing of
civilians.
They also realize that this
is a very controversial war
and that any adverse criticism
of the military will be well
publicized. None of them
doubt that the alleged
incident at My Lai would be
an exception, an isolated
incident, but even so, not one
to be condoned.
Guerrilla warfare is a new
experience for all military
men arriving in South
Vietnam for the first time.
If the guerrillas live among
the civilian population like
fish in water, then inevitably
there are going to be civilian
casualties.
In the heat of battle it is
not possible to distinguish
friend from foe. But there are
rules of engagement
specifically drawn up to
minimize civilian casualties.
They are strict, they are
concise and clear. They are
adequate for the protection
of civilians if they are
followed out.
Inevitably, they are
accidently violated. If they
are deliberately violated
perpetrators are tried and
punished.
Chaplains pointed out
there are some U.S. soldiers
now in prison for deliberate
violations of the rules of war
and also pointed out that this
is proof that the U.S. military
does not condone deliberate
violations.
The chaplains pointed out
that every U.S. military man
arriving in South Vietnam is
given two small leaflets. One
of them gives nine rules for
the proper behavior toward
the civilian population. The
second one titled “The
Enemy in Your Hands,”
states plainly and
unequivocally that U.S.
soldiers must comply with
Sao Tome Revisited
“We do not measure the
gravity of an atrocity by its
size. They are all morally
wrong,” said Father (Lt. Col.)
Daniel Byrne of Norwich,
Conn., U.S. Army Republic
of Vietnam (USARV) deputy
command chaplain.
Father William R.
Fitzgerald, O.M.I., of
Washington, D.C., command
chaplian of the Military
Assistance Command
Vietnam (MACV) and senior
chaplain in Vietnam, said: “If
the reports are correct, it
means there was a
breakdown, a moral collapse.
In our character guidance
lectures we set ethical
standards and in church we
preach Christ crucified.”
Father Byme added: “We do
not debate the morality of
war in general or the morality
of any particular war. Our job
is to look after the spiritual
welfare of the men.”
There is general disbelief
that the number allegedly
(Continued from Page 4)
With the formation of
Joint Church Aid, Sao Tome
lost its century of peace and
quiet. (Joint Church Aid is a
consortium of church relief
agencies from Europe and
North America, aided by the
American Jewish Committee,
that has organized the mercy
airlift of food and medicines
to Biafra.)
Today, 300 American,
Danish, German, Swedish,
Norwegian, Icelandic,
Canadian and Irish members
and officials of Joint Church
Aid and its air crews have
brought a new life and
vitality to the island. Each
night between 15 and 20
church relief planes take off
for the two-hour flight to
Biafra. As much as 250 tons
of medicine and food supplies
are flown in nightly. The
huge stores are constantly
replenished with fresh
supplies arriving weekly by
ship from CRS, and Church
World Service (the aid agency
of the National Council of
Churches) from he United
States, from Nordchurchaid
of Scandinavia, and various
other participating relief
agencies from all over the
world.
More than 300 local
people are now employed by
Joint Church Aid to load the
planes each day and night, to
guard the stores and
warehouses and to assist in
the maintenance of the 12
planes that form the mercy
air fleet of the combined
churches.
Sitting here in the brilliant
sunshine at one of the three
restaurants that serve the
town, I cannot help but think
of the tremendous role the
churches are playing in this
Nigeria-Biafra tragedy. We
seldom hear the positive side
of church activity today. Its
faults, its weaknesses, its
negative aspects-these are
what make news most of the
time.
Sao Tome, which has
already witnessed almost
5,000 mercy flight depart
from its airstrip in the past 18
months, carrying 50,000 tons
of food and medicine to
millions of Biafran women
and children who would most
surely have died of hunger
and starvation without these
supplies, is today a living
witness of the positive role
that the Church can
fulfill-and is fulfilling in our
world, thank God!
the Geneva Prisoner of War
Conventions of 1949. It tells
them: “You can and will”
disarm your prisoner, guard
him carefully, and take him
to the place designated by
your commander.
It states also: “You cannot
and must not” mistreat your
prisoner, humiliate or degrade
him, take any of his personal
effects which do not have a
significant military value,
refuse him medical treatment
if required and available.
The leaflet then very
clearly states: “Mistreatment
of any captive is a criminal
offense. Every soldier is
personally reponsible for the
enemy in his hands,” and
again: “All persons in your
hands whether suspects,
civilians or combat captives,
must be protected against
violence, insults, curiosity
and reprisals of any kind.”
It adds: ‘‘Leave
punishment to the courts and
judges. The soldier shows his
strength by his fairness,
firmness and humanity to the
persons in his hands.”
The National Salvation
Front of Sen. Tran van
Don-one of the chief
political rivals of President
Nguyen van Thieu-issued a
statement on its findings on
the alleged massacre at My
Lai that said: “Beyond any
doubt there was a mass
killing, mostly of women and
children, on March 16,
1968.”
The statement severely
condemns “the guilty
criminals, although the
massacre represents an
isolated case.”
The National Salvation
Front condemned the
government’s attitude “in
refusing its responsibility and
guilt in the massacre,” and
recommended the
government set up a joint
U.S.-Vietnamese control
board over military
operations to avoid such
incidents in the future.
Tran van Don organized
his front after the first wave
of the 1968 Viet Cong Tet
(lunar new year) offensive,
and did not join President
Thieu’s National Social
Democratic Front formed
from six political parties last
May.