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PAGE 4—The Southern Cross, March 30,1972
The Southern Cross
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Easter Must Come
St. Luke records for us, in the second
chapter of his version of the Gospel, that
when Jesus was presented in the Temple
a week after his birth, a holy man named
Simeon “blessed them and said to Mary
his mother, ‘You see this child: he is
destined for the fall and for the rising of
many . . .destined to be a sign that is
rejected ...”
Rejection, indeed, dogged his life,
beginning with Herod’s campaign to seek
him out and destroy him while he was
still a tiny infant. When he became of
age and began to preach in the
synagogue of Nazareth, his home town,
he was rejected by his friends and
neighbors, literally forced to move on to
Caphamaum.
The final rejection came on Good
Friday when, deserted by even his
closest friends, hanging in torment from
rough nails which held him fast to a
cross between two of society’s worst
outcasts, so disolated in spirit that he
cried from the very depths of his being,
“My God, My God, why have you
forsaken me,” he died at the hands of
those he had come to save.
But, rejected by men, he was exalted
by God, his Father, and raised from the
dead on Easter Sunday, now an eternal
and unconquerable sign of God’s
presence and power among men.
Jesus was slain not because he had
cheated or robbed or killed, but because
he called for the spiritual renewal of men
and their society. He declared that his
heavenly Father’s rule over men was one
of love and not of subjugation which
required a slavish adherance to dictums
and traditions which degraded them and
denied their dignity as his beloved
children.
He pointed out, for instance the
harshness and injustice of laws which
forbade the healing of sick people on the
Sabbath, and which made it unlawful for
hungry poor prople to go into the fields
in search of food on the Sabbath. He
called such restrictions insupportable
burdens and those who enforced them
“whited sepulchers, outwardly pleasing
to the eyes of men, but inwardly filled
with dead men’s bones.”
He proclaimed that a man’s love for
God was in direct proportion to the way
in which he sought to answer the needs
of his neighbor, saying, “I was hungry
and you gave me to eat. I was thirsty and
you gave me to drink. I was naked and
you clothed me; sick and in prison and
you visited me.” He also said, “as long as
you did it to the least of my brothers,
you did it to me.”
Because of these things, he was
murdered -- the ultimate rejection.
Today, his church, the visible sign of
his presence and power among men, is
being rejected by many - for the same
reasons.
His church, or rather, his people,
examine dictums and traditions which
degrade men and deny their dignity as
his brothers and sisters and, therefore,
brothers and sisters of one another, and
declare that they are wrong and need to
be changed. And Christ in his followers
is pilloried again.
They hold up the poor for the
affluent to see and are called agitators
and troublemakers. They decry as
unbearable the burden of poverty in the
midst of plenty and are tarred with the
brush of “Communism.” They call for
peace in war-torn world and are called
cowards or traitors. They call for humane
treatment and rehabilitation of those
who have transgressed the law, and are
called “bleeding hearts.” They proclaim
the equality before God of all men,
whatever their color or nationality, and
are called “mongrelizers.”
But they take heart in the memory of
Christ’s resurrection. They know it was
preceded by Good Friday but that, in
the end, no power on earth can
withstand the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Men can forestall its triumph but they
cannot prevent it. Easter must surely
come.
Some Good Features
Of Russian Children
Doctor Armand DiFrancesco
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It is commonly know that child-rearing
practices vary in different cultures throughout
the ages for better and for worse. While many
parents have behaved according to “what comes
naturally,” myths and superstitions have
abounded up until the present time.
In the beginning, children were raised alone
by their mothers and the father’s role consisted
mainly of obtaining food and protecting the
family unit. Cultural attitudes and religious
teachings have played a major role of influence
in parenthood, as well as political dogma. This
latter is most evident in the U.S.S.R. where
communism has influenced all areas of life. The
responsibility for childrearing is not only vested
in the parents but also children’s groups, known
as the children’s collective, defined as “a group
of children united in common, goal-oriented
activity and the communal organization of that
activity.”
In infancy, Russian babies are almost
universally breast-fed and receive considerably
more cuddling, hugging and kissing than
American infants. They are carried by their
mothers almost constantly, even while cooking.
Russian mothers are very solicitous and
concerned about keeping their babies warm,
out of drafts and safe from harm, illness and
discomfort.
It seems that all Russian adults assume a
collective parental role; that is, they concern
themselves about other children and it is not
uncommon in a crowded public conveyance to
have a child placed on someone else’s lap.
Strangers strike up an acquaintance with the
child are called “dyadya” (uncle) or “tyotya”
(auntie).
Urie Bronfenbrenner, a professor of
psychology at Cornell University, in his book,
“Two Worlds of Childhood,” recalls an incident
that occurred on a Moscow Street.
“Our youngest son, then four, was walking
briskly a pace or two ahead of us when from
the opposite direction there came a company of
teenage boys. The first one no sooner spied
Stevie than he opened his arms wide and calling
“Ai malysh!” (Hey, little one) scooped him up,
hugged him, kissed him resoundingly, and
passed him on to the rest of the company, who
did likewise, and then began a merry children’s
dance, as they caressed him with words and
gestures.
No doubt this universal concern for children
may be why Soviet youngsters exhibit less
anxiety when their mothers leave tnem (48% of
Russian women are in the labor force) than
their American counterparts. Much emphasis is
placed on obedience and self-discipline. Soviet
children are inculcated with the principle that
they must be obedient towards their parents
and all adults, by following orders, instructions
and advice of grownups.
Self-discipline is defined as having the desire
to do what he is told and to obey rules. In the
first seven years, the external commands
gradually are internalized (becomes the
conscience) and becomes “self-discipline.” The
Russian child expert, I.A. Pechernikova states:
“If a child does not obey and does not consider
others, then his independence invariably takes
ugly forms.”
Obedience is taught by giving children a brief
and concise explanation of the reason he should
behave in a given fashion, with encouragement
and praise for effort.
Soviet authorities are against physical
punishment, feeling that it is ineffective and
harmful. Instead, they recommend removing
privileges, withdrawal of love by “acting cold”
or ignoring the child, and scolding or “bawling
them out.”
Stress is placed on teaching children to share
and to engage in joint activity. In fact, they
kind of have group therapy, in the sense that as
soon as they are able to express themselves,
they are given training in judging and criticizing
each other’s behavior. They learn early to clean
up, help others, serve at table and do chores.
School begins at age seven and all bring
bouquets of flowers to teacher on the first day.
The important thing about Soviet education is
that the ultimate goal is not only education,
but more importantly so, “vospitanie” or
character education, for each grade level
includes training in behavior at home and in the
community.
From seven to 11 they are taught communist
morality, a responsible attitude toward
learning, cultured conduct, appreciation of the
arts and physical culture.
While collective methods are suited to the
collective society of the U.S.S.R., what is
needed in America is greater involvement and
concern of everyone in the lives of children and
greater involvement of children towards the
goals of respect and responsibility to adults and
society.
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(RNS Photo)
Ireland —
Theocratic State Indeed!
Reverend Andrew M. Greeley
One of the arguments used by Edward Heath
(who must be Lloyd George reincarnate and by
the anti-Catholic segments of the American
press, such as THE NEW YORKER, to justify
the continued British presence in occupied
Ireland is that the IRISH Republic is a
“theocratic state.” Such a comment is repeated
with so much frequency that it has become
axiomatic without ever having been proven. It
is time that someone points out that it is also
utter nonsense.
As far as freedom goes, one might well ask
how many Protestants are being held without
trial in jails in the Republic? Or one might
inquire when the Stormont regime would be
willing to appoint a Catholic vice premier.
(Erskine Childers, the vice premier of the
Republic is Protestant - as was Douglas Hyde, its
first president.) One might ask whether
Protestants in the south or Catholics in the
north suffer more civil and political disabilities.
The answer is that Protestants in the south
suffer no disabilities at all. One might wonder
where in the whole Catholic Church there is a
clergyman to compare with Rev. Mr. Paisley.
One might point out that all the beautiful
medieval cathedrals (St. Patrick’s in Dublin, St.
Finbar’s in Cork, for example), which were
stolen from the Catholics by British
imperialists, remain in Protestant hands. As one
Irish leader observed to me, “Ah, we couldn’t
take them back; that would be violating
religious freedom.”
Theocratic state indeed! If there is any
theocracy in Ireland, its capital is in Belfast, not
in Dublin.
There is something unique about the
Republican government, but you won’t hear it
from Edward Heath or THE NEW YORKER.
Of all the twentieth-century revolutionary
countries, Ireland is the only one to develop -
and within a decade of the end of the civil war
- a two party democracy with a peaceful
exchange of power by an orderly electoral
process. The party that prevailed at the end of
the war and made terms with the British lost in
a democratic election and gracefully yielded
power. Some years later, it was swept back into
power, again without violence and again in
another democratic election.
I do not wish to make any case for the Irish
Catholic hierarchy. It has immense informal
veto power. It has not always used this power
wisely. On the other hand, given the history of
Ireland, no one in his right mind would expect
the Catholic Church not to have great
influence. On the whole, its influence has been
more enlightened and restrained than it has
been in many other countries.
In addition, the younger Irish clergy includes
some of the most mature radicals in all the
world. Anyone with any familiarity with the
Irish situation knows that the Church is about
to blow wide open - and the explosion will
make the Dutch and American ones look mild.
Except that may not happen either. The new
forty-seven-year-old archbishop of Dublin,
Dermott Ryan, was chosen after close
consultation with the priests of his diocese -- in
part, it would seem, because he is the kind of
man who can steer a course for rapid and
reasonably smooth change.
And so the Irish beat all of us and select their
own Church leaders. Too bad it isn’t a
democratic country!
Spring
Is Here
Reverend Joseph Dean
The whole earth is ready for Spring.
Everyone looks forward to Spring, for it brings
new life and longer days. Christian farmers are
specially blessed by God, for they live so
intimately with the works of God.
They see the wheat, planted last Fall, getting
a new burst of life as it begins its steady growth
towards the day of harvest. They see the trees
breaking forth with buds and leaves and
blossoms. They see the flowers struggle through
the top soil in many different colors.
In all their daily chores they are reminded
again and again of the new life that Jesus holds
out to us. They are reminded of the need of
their own rebirth. They remember often the
words of Jesus, “Unless a man be born again of
water and the Holy Spirit, he cannot enter the
kingdom of heaven.” (John 3,5,)
These coming days of Spring are days that
help us all think more and more of God. God is
the one who makes the sap surge once again
through all the branches of the trees. He is the
one who causes the crop of hay to grow to
maturity, to sway in rhythm to the blowing
breezes that He sends. God gives all the animals
of the farm their life. He is the one who sees to
it that they breathe His air and drink of His
streams. Truly, God brings about a tremendous
variety of life in the whole earth - and all of it
stands but a shadow of the Life He is preparing
for us in heaven.
St. Paul calls out to us “We are buried
together with Christ by Baptism into death:
that as Christ is risen from the dead by the
glory of the Father, so we also may walk in
newness of Life.” (Romans 6,4)
Christians, then, who have risen to a new
Life, a rebirth through Baptism, must not be
concerned about the old way. They use the
things of this world only to serve God, to come
closer to Him, to increase and grow in this new
Life of Jesus Christ our Savior. Read what St.
Peter tells us about sharing in the Life of Jesus,
becoming even “partakers in the divine nature.”
(2 Peter 1,3-21)
God bless you now.
Population
Growth
Joseph A. Breig
In the light of President Nixon’s visit to the
People’s Republic of China, let us look at the
first report of his “Commission on Population
Growth and the American Future.”
Perhaps it has occurred to Mr. Nixon --
although not to the commission - that China,
even though communist - ruled, is reminding us
forcefully of an immensely important and
historic truth.
It is a truth which Jesus Christ expressed in
various ways. One was his response to Satan
who was tempting him, after his 40-day fast, to
perform a prideful and self-serving miracle by
turning stones into bread.
“Man does not live by bread alone,” Jesus
told the Evil One, “but by every word that
proceeds from the mouth of God.”
On another occasion, in the Sermon on the
Mount, Christ invited us to observe the birds of
the sky and the flowers of the field. God, said
Jesus, provides for them; how much more will
he provide for us, we who are weak in faith!
“The unbelievers,” Jesus said, “are always
running after these things” -- worrying about
food and clothing and the like. But God knows
all that we need; therefore, “Seek first his
kingship over you, his way of holiness, and all
these things will be given you besides.”
I realize that at this point some readers,
including some of our secularized
“theologians.” will begin to shrug me off as an
ignorant, unrealistic idealist. But I confront
them with one perfectly practicable question:
Why is China of such immense importance to
the world’s future that th£ president of the
world’s most powerful and wealthy nation went
there to talk with China’s leaders?
The inescapable basic answer is that China
has three-quarters of a billion population, and
before the year 2,000 will have a billion - a
thousand million people. That fact is the root
of China’s strength of the world scene.
Yet now we have the Commission on
Population Growth and the American Future
issuing a nervous - nellie warning that our
country, which has many times the resources
and wealth that China has, must choose a
future of two-child families, and of no
population growth.
And why?
In a nutshell - because the commission
(which is headed by a multimillionaire who, if
he knew what is truly good for him, would be
giving most of his money to God’s poor)
consider material things more important to the
American future than human life and spiritual
values.
Give up a material thing like a second or
third automobile in the garage, or another
factory polluting the air and water, to make
room for sons and daughters who will live
forever? To the Commission on the American
Future, such thoughts are heresy. Leave that
sort of thing to the Chinese -t and in the
process, leave to them the world’s future also!