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PAGE 4 — The Southern Cross, October 19,1972
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The Southern Cross
Business Office 225 Abercorn St. Savannah, Ga. 31401
Most Rev. Gerard L. Frey, D.D. President
Rev. Francis J. Donohue, Editor • John E. Markwalter, Managing Editor
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How Many Are Poor?
The story on Page 3 of this issue of
THE SOUTHERN CROSS, concerning
criticism of government poverty
programs, merits deep and thoughtful
consideration by everyone who sincerely
believes that a nation as bountifully
blessed with nature’s wealth as this one
is ought to be able to eradicate
widespread poverty among its people.
As the campaign for Human
Development notes in its criticism,
conflicting government figures
designating the minimum standard of
living for 1972 project conflicting
estimates of the number of poor people
in the United States today.
One government standard, which
would place every urban family of 4
persons with an annual income of less
than $4,137 in the poverty bracket
indicates there are 25.6 million poor
people.
Another standard, adopted by the
Bureau of Labor Statistics, holds that an
urban family of four whose annual
income is less than $6,960 falls in the
category of poor people. Based on this
standard, there are between 70 and 80
million poverty-stricken persons in the
United States.
than twenty-five million Americans have
no one to blame for their poverty but
themselves.
The number of those without jobs
keeps increasing even as the rolls of the
employed continue to grow, and there is
no reason to assume that, unless strong
and effective measures are undertaken
by government, there will not be even
more poor people in this country one
year from now.
Perhaps we’re too cynical, but it
sometimes seems that the only time
government leads is when it is taking the
people into war. For the rest, it seems
content to follow the people and to
respond to public demand, provided the
demand is loud enough.
It is quite obvious, from the way in
which Congress has abandoned any
effort to alleviate the plight of the poor
this year, that the voice of the public has
not been raised loud enough.
But because a majority of U.S.
legislators voting against any further
consideration of projected new
anti-poverty programs have sloughed off
their responsibility to the nation’s poor
is no reason why anyone else has to.
But, whichever standard is used in
calculating the number of poor people in
our nation, one thing appears certain -
there are AT LEAST twenty-five and
one-half million people who do not have
enough to live on in simple decency.
And that should trouble everybody.
More than that, it should make them
question the methods by which
government, business and industry are
overseeing the distribution of goods and
services among the people of this
country.
No one in his in right mind could
possibly believe that a minimum of more
Next month, the church will be
asking you to do something about
making the lot of the poor a little bit
better, through the Campaign for Human
Development.
Between now and then, total up your
own basic expenses for food, clothing,
housing, education, medical care and
vital transportation. Make an honest
appraisal of just how much it does cost
for an urban family of four to live in
simple decency. Compare it with
government estimates. Then, keeping in
mind how blessed you are, give to help
those who are now living below the
minimum subsistence level to help
themselves to a better life.
How to Fight Fear:
Love God, Keep Busy
Dr. Armand DiFrancesco
Probably the most painful and distressing
emotion that is experienced by man is that of
fear. Fear is a feeling of dread, insecurity,
uneasiness, of being scared or frightened, of
dread or of impending doom. It can reach the
stage of panic and terror, a feeling once
described by a patient of mine as: “Just like
waiting to die in the electric chair.”
When God created man He gave us an
instinct of self-preservation as well as a built-in
defense system, known as the adaptation
system to protect us from external dangers.
Fear or anxiety is the emotional reaction to
stress and acts as a continuous stimulus to the
body, keeping it always aroused for flight or
fight.
In acute fear, the bodily reactions include
rapid pulse and heart rate, sweating skin,
dilated pupils, raised blood pressure,
outpouring of adrenalin and sugar in the blood
stream, tensing of the muscles, spasms of the
stomach and intestines and, perhaps,
incontinent urine and bowels.
It is noteworthy that our most intense
feelings are directed towards other human
beings. Electricity is a mixture of positive and
negative charges and, similarly, human beings
have the most intense effect upon each other’s
emotional reactions.
Our loves, hates, fears and ambitions must be
realized through and in relation to other people
in society. Each person generates feelings in
others. We also can generate feelings towards
ourselves such as self-love and self-hate.
Besides the unpleasantness of fear,
secondary fears develop when fear is prolonged
or intense i.e., a fear of mental collapse, a fear
of physical collapse or permanent handicap.
Those with a guilty conscience usually develop
a fear of death.
Much of the basis of fear is the fear of the
unknown as well as a misuse of the imagination.
Because children lack knowledge and
experience, they have “wild” imaginations and
irrational fears.
Infants fear strangers, unusual noises and
objects. Little children fear the dark, loud
noises, the “boogie-man” and anything that
smacks of possible loss of love. A child may
fear dolls, for example, because the doll
represents “another child” competing for
mother’s love.
When the first fear attack occurs in a special
circumstance or location, danger is attached to
that situation. For example, a person gets a
panic attack in a crowded supermarket.
Thereafter, that person develops a fear of
supermarkets (“the scene of the crime”) and
anxiety even comes when thinking about
supermarkets.
Most fear is imaginery and the anxiety is
anticipatory anxiety. This means that
anticipation brings on anxiety. An individual
anticipates (worries) that he will fail or lose
someone’s love, etc., and thus gets nervous.
Nervous thoughts and negative thoughts
bring nervous feelings. Like Mark Twain said:
“In my life I’ve had many problems, most of
which never happened.” All worriers are
made, not born, because of negative
conditioning influences in growing up. The
worry habit and negative thinking can be
unlearned however.
Firstly, don’t dwell on problems or worries
unnecessarily. When you can’t “think straight,”
escape for awhile. Go to a good movie, read a
book, take a walk or brief trip to visit with a
friend. When you are feeling better and are
more composed, you can face the problem with
a clearer mind.
Sometimes, tension can be worked off by
working in the garden or any manuel labor or
exercise. Learn to live simply and in
moderation. “Idleness is the Devil’s
playground” and worrying often follows
boredom or nothing to do.
Keep busy; try to get fun out of life; have
faith in God; do all things, including eating and
drinking, in moderation and think positively.
Don’t think about past mistakes for as Dale
Carnegie put it, “You can’t saw sawdust.”
Fill your mind with faith and love of God
for that is all that matters in this world. If
worries and fears persist, seek professional help
and learn to get more “miles to the gallon of
living.”
Practical Solutions
Are Better Than Utopia
Rev. Andrew M. Greeley
I began this series of columns on the recent
book of Christopher Jencks with comments on
the social science accuracy of his findings about
the failure of education to achieve social
equality. I am now locked in controversy over
what I take to be the fundamental
egalitarianism of the book’s philosophical
context.
I take the stand that once misery on the one
hand and favoritism of the other are reduced
(the poverty of the very poor and the power of
the very wealthy are, in other words, being
effectively controlled), residual income
inequality is not inherently immoral. It is
difficult to defend my position against the
attacks of passionate egalitarians. They are
against inequality; do I mean to say that I am
for it? How much residual inequality do I think
is moral? Where will I draw the line? Do I mean
that even in an ideal world, I would still
tolerate inequality? If men were all saints
would not they all be content with the same
income?
I prefer not to dialogue in the context of
such questions. But to shift to my own context,
let me at least essay some answers. I cannot
imagine a society in which all men are saints. I
cannot imagine what an ideal world would be
like. I can only conceive of a society in which
there are both sinners and saints and most of us
are a bit of both. I can only conceive of a less
than ideal world. I think however useful
Utopian visions may be philosophically they are
a poor basis for designing a social order for
mortal humans. In a real social order the
problem is to achieve not so much the
perfection of one ethical ideal but a balance of
several. The trouble with the egalitarians is that
they, like all Utopians, have only one ideal.
Consider the fundamentally opposite
Utopian vision - that of the anarchists. In the
egalitarian society a maximum of social control
(either through external force or internal
socialization) has been used to achieve equality.
Everyone has the same income and by
implication the same values, habits and
attitudes (or they would not accept egalitarian
controls). It is all neat, rational, balanced and
orderly.
In the anarchist Utopia there are no controls
at all. Everyone is free to do his own thing,
hopefully motivated by idealism but still free.
Far from setting income levels, the government
does not exist at all. Everything tends to be
disorderly, chaotic, spontaneous and creative.
In anarchy freedom rules supreme.
There have been attempts - both in the
so-called Socialist countries like Russia, China
and Cuba and in some of the youthful communes
in the United States -- to merge these Utopias.
Invariably the egalitarian ideal triumphs over
the anarchist and social control replaces
freedom. Then a “New Class” emerges and both
equality and freedom are lost to a new tyranny.
I take it that the goal of a democratic
society is to preserve as much freedom and as
much equality as possible, neither having so
much freedom that oppression and misery
become rampant nor so much equality that
freedom is lost to the control mechanisms
which enforce equality. The insight of the
egalitarian vision must not be surrendered
completely to the insight of the anarchist
vision; nor must the wisdom of the former be
yielded to the wisdom of the latter. How
freedom and equality can be combined at a
given time and place is not a philosophical
question but a prudential political and social
one.The answers must be achieved more by
politicians than by idealogues.
On the whole, I am happy about this fact
because politicians are much less likely to
impose one value at the expense of the other
than are ideologues. I suppose that this is
another way of saying that I think politicians
are more human - and know more about other
humans - than do intellectual ideologues.
So, in practice, I am in favor of reducing
income differentials up to the point where such
reduction is necessary to make possible the
maximum amount of feasible freedom for all
citizens. I am against such reduction when the
point is reached that the freedom of all citizens
will be notably impaired by such reduction. I
am indifferent about what goes on between
these points -- should there be any area
between.
Monsignor John F
QUESTION:
ANSWER: Mary’s virginity in the
VII, 14): “A virgin shall conceive, and bear a son.”
literal sense of this text; otherwise, as St.
no question of a sign, as Isaias had promised
conception at the Annunciation:
to the same effect: “Joseph, son of David,
that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit” (Matt. 1,20). And St. 1
Jesus: “ . . .being (as it was supposed) the son of Joseph” (Luke III, 23).
Tradition confirms that the conception of Christ was virginal,
the testimonies of St. Ignatius the Martyr, St. Justin, Tertullian, St. Irenaeus.
creeds teach that the Son of God made flesh “was
operation of the Holy Spirit.” It was
in 649.
The arguments which
by St. Thomas: (1) It is appropriate that He Who is
no father on earth, but only in heaven; (2) The Word,
complete purity, should be conceived virginally when being made flesh;
human nature
not be formed by the
born of a virgin Christ showed that
virginal and spiritual spouse, the Church.
The Lateran Council affirmed the
St. Thomas’s arguments to show the , ^ „
follows: (1) To hold that Mary had other children is
himself, for just as He is the only Son in <
only Son in time of the Virgin; (2) It is ,
Who sanctified once and for ever the virginal womb of Mary;
would
whom he knew,
taken a vow of perpetual virginity
this be done, because I know not man?”
Greek-speaking Semites used the terms ADELPHOS and ADELPHE not only in the
ordinary sense of blood brother and sister but also for nephew, niece, half-brother,
half-sister and cousin. Since, according to tradition, Jesus was Mary’s only child, this
expression is understood in the sense of “cousin” as helnntdmr to the same blood. fMk.
VI, 1-6).
Goodness
And Beauty
Rev. Armand M. Nigro
The students in my classes this semester are
very special. There is so much goodness and
beauty in them that it’s a special joy and
privilege to work with them. I’ve never felt in
students more willingness to work and
cooperate, more eagerness to learn than I do in
these.
Something good must be happening all
across this nation among young people, because
I keep hearing good reports from other
teachers, not only here at Gonzaga, but from
other colleges too.
One conclusion I draw is that many parents
have been doing a good job of raising children
and we are seeing the results. Another is that
Catholic elementary and high schools are
among the best in the nation and are producing
high quality students for college. The sacrifice
and energy to maintain Catholic school systems
has not been in vain. It would be a tragedy if
they were forced to close.
What has struck me most forcefully is the
special obligation we college teachers have
(especially in areas of Philosophy and
Theology) to nurture that goodness and beauty.
When students are so cooperative and so willing
to learn, they are a special “trust” to us
teachers. They deserve well-prepared class
periods and as much individual attention as we
can give them.
That can’t be done in just 8 or 12 hours a
day when classes are large, but when the
feedback from the students is so appreciative, it
injects new energy and incentive into teachers.
There is a mutual nurturing process here.
Good students help to make good teachers, just
as good teachers help to make good students.
And good parents deserve much credit for both.
What Is
A Priest?
Joseph A. Breig
rirrrrrrrrrriViNVtV.'.V.V,-, 1 .-.-.-.-.-,
“Our understanding of the priesthood begins
with the nature of the Church, and passes
quickly to the nature of the men who are called
to serve her as priests. The posters that try to
sell the priesthood like a product catch little
sense of its majesty and deep meaning in the
people of God.”
I am quoting from a sermon delivered
recently at the funeral of a pastor. To continue:
“No candidate for the priesthood is worth
recruiting unless he is prepared to give all that
he is for the redemption of mankind. No priest
is worth ordaining unless he sees his life as given
to the Church through the serving of all God’s
people.
“Life in the priesthood is life in the Spirit, a
life of mystery and trust, or it is no life at all.
“What we priests are, the Church is; and
what the Church is, the world is. Politics does
not ultimately determine war and peace. What
is decisive is the spiritual state of the Church
living in and leavening the world.
What we do to sanctify ourselves sanctifies
the world. When the shepherd is lazy, the sheep
are hungry; when the shepherd sleeps, the sheep
are lost; when he is unfaithful, they lose their
judgment.
“If the shepherd is not willing to be a victim
for his sheep, the wolves come and devour
them.
“The priest’s service to God’s people springs
from the total gift of his manhood to the
ministry of the Spirit. His identity comes from
yielding all of himself to the service of the
Church under guidance of the Spirit.
“The priest must face conflict and
confusion, the loose ends of a thousand lives.
He must be strong enough to give himself to his
people even when his own courage is thin, and
his own understanding of life’s problems is not
clear. He must face truths which hurt but which
make men free.
“The Church makes no impression in the
world so long as those outside see it only as a
‘sect’ or an ‘organization’ or as ‘one of the great
religions.’ Our Lord made His impact through His
Cross. The wounded Christ redeemed
humankind; and only a wounded Church cah
effectively apply that Redemption.
“Every worldly priest hinders the growth of
the Church; every saintly priest promotes it.
The holiness of priests makes the Church holy;
and the Church begins to decline when the
holiness among priests falls below that of the
people.
“The priest empties himself, as did Christ
the First Priest; he is poured out like water, as
was St. Paul; his life is given as a ransom for
many. Our Lord immolated himself, and every
priest must perform a like immolation, and pass
on its fruits to the whole people.
“The hard facts about the priesthood are
much better than the soft sell. The times call
for Churchmen, not choir boys; for men ready
to give themselves rather than feeling sorry for
themselves. This is asking a lot from men
because it is asking for everything; but these
truths boom like a great bell whose summons
cannot be ignored. Let it sound, loud and clear,
across the world, and the People of God,
themselves will respond with a kingly
generation of priests.”