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PAGE 7—The Southern Cross, February 15,1973
A Woman Looks at ERA
CARDINAL CITED FOR BRAVERY - Cardinal
Lawrence J. Shehan of Baltimore listens as Mayor
Donald Schaefer (left) reads a citation commending
him for talking an airline hijacker into surrendering at
Baltimore’s Friendship Airport last month. At right is
FBI agent Thomas Farrow who was similarly honored.
(NC Photo)
Canadian Bishops Say Case
For Death Penalty Unproven
OTTAWA, Ont. (NC) - “The case for
the retention of the death penalty has
not been proven,” the administrative
board of the Canadian Conference of
Bishops (CCC) declared in a statement
to all members of Parliament.
The board also questioned the need
for the death penalty as a deterrent.
The statement criticized the use of
biblical texts in arguing for the
retention of the death penalty in
modern times. In addition, it said that
the question of the death penalty
should not focus on whether a
convicted murderer deserves to die but
on whether or not Canadians should try
to break the escalating spiral of
violence by refraining from violence
even as a deterrent.
A bill to extend the suspension of the
death penalty in Canada will soon come
before Parliament. Capital punishment
was suspended for a five-year period in
Canada in late 1967. That suspension
was up Dec. 30,1972.
(The U.S. Supreme Court in July
1972 held that the death penalty as it
had been administered in the United
States was unconstitutional, but it left
open the possibility of new laws
applying the death penalty for specific
reasons and in a fair manner.)
The CCC board said it believes it had
a duty to issue its statement because
“many persons have adduced varying
understandings of Christian teaching to
support this conclusion or that” in the
current debate on the death penalty.
The board of bishops made the
following points in its statement:
“1. We consider it an illegitimate use
of the Bible, especially the Old
Testament, to quote texts in order to
argue, in our time, for the retention of
the death penalty. Each biblical text
supporting the death penalty must be
studied in the light of its historical
context, and not simply applied to
present-day Canada. Furthermore, each
such Old Testament text must be
weighed against many passages in the
New Testament where Jesus constantly
rejects the normal human tendency to
redress injury by injury and calls instead
for generosity. He established the norm
that violence and hostility are not
corrected by counter-measures of
violence and hostility.
“2. The question of the death
penalty, in our opinion, ought to focus
on whether a convicted murderer, no
matter how wanton, ‘deserves’ to die.
The focus should be on us: should
Canadians as a community try to break
the escalating spiral of violence by
refraining from violence even as a
deterrent?
“3. To a Christian, whose starting
point is reverence for the sanctity of
life, the death penalty can surely be
only a desperate resort. A Christian
must be utterly convinced of its social
necessity before supporting it. Our
society, it is true, has traditionally
exacted the death penalty. But this
ought not mean, as it often seems, that
those who favor suspension must bear
the burden of proof. On the contrary,
those who favor retention should be
required to convince a Christian of its
necessity.
“4. There is also a pragmatic,
statistical question whether the death
penalty is an effective deterrent. We will
not enter this debate. Our question is
not whether the death penalty is an
effective deterrent, required by good
order in Canada today. Unless you are
convinced that it is, then we feel that
the presumption should be for
suspension. Furthermore, in our
opinion, the case for retention of the
death penalty has not been proven.
“5. We would hope that, during a
possible second period of suspension,
research committees would study
exhaustively all the ramifications of this
complex problem and publish their
reports within a specified period. We
might note the need for study of the
effects of violent crime on the families
of both the criminal and the victim.”
Parochial Basketball
St. Mary Boys and Blessed Sacrament
Girls, both undefeated and untied, lead
their respective divisions in Savannah’s
Parochial School League as the
basketball season enters its last
weekend.
The annual tournament will be
played at Benedictine Military School
Gym on Friday, Saturday and Sunday,
February 23, 24 and 25.
The last set of games in the regular
season to be played this weekend at
Blessed Sacrament gym are as follows:
Saturday February 17 at 2:00 P.M.
(Boys) Blessed Sacrament - St. Michael,
3:00 P.M. (Girls) Blessed Sacrament -
St. Michael.
On Sunday February 18 at 1:00 P.M.
(Boys) Nativity - St. Mary, 2:00 P.M.
(Girls) Nativity - St. Mary, 3:00 P.M.
(Boys) Cathedral - St. James, 4:00 P.M.
(Girls) Cathedral - St. James.
The league standings after 6 weeks of
play are:
BOYS WON
St. Mary 5
St. James 4
Sacred Heart 4
Blessed Sacrament 2
Cathedral 2
Nativity 1
St. Michael 0
GIRLS
Blessed Sacrament 5
St. James 4
Sacred Heart 4
Nativity 2
St. Mary 2
Cathedral 1
St. Michael 0
LOST
0
1
2
3
3
4
5
“Cactus Sam” Spots
Debut in Diocese
“The day was dark for Cactus Sam.
Anger galloped through his mind. Seems
a neighbor had rustled his heifer and
Sam’s thoughts were mighty
unkind . . .”
Nestled among those radio
commercials for headache remedies,
auto loans, and current movies, you
might hear some of these “CACTUS
SAM” spots. These short ballads are
narrated by Walter Brennan, and
produced and distributed for radio
stations in the Catholic Diocese of
Savannah by PCS - Paulist
Communications Services.
The spots focus on the experiences of
an Old-West character, Cactus Sam. He
has his heifer stolen and is torn between
revenge and forgiveness; he braves the
danger of rustlers in order to bring food
to an old widow; he stops in a church to
get cool and does some thinking about
his relationship to God.
CACTUS SAM is part of the diocese’s
efforts to explore fresh approaches to
religious broadcasting. Part of the
production cost for these spots was
made possible by a grant from the
Catholic Communications Foundation
and the airtime for the ballads is
donated by local radio stationns.
Because of this, Rev. Frank Donohue,
Diocesan Director of Communications,
hopes that people who hear these spots
will contact the Program Director of the
station and voice their approval.
The first station to air the “Cactus
Sam” spot's in the Savannah diocese is
WNMT, Garden City. The spots are
heard on the station’s “Town Crier”
program at 9 a.m., 1 p.m. and 4 p.m.
In addition to the “Cactus Sam”
spots, another program provided for the
diocese is “Close to You.” It can be
heard on WSOK, Savannah on Sundays
at 5 p.m. and on WPAX, Thomasville at
7:30 a.m. on Sundays.
Paulist Communications Services,
PCS, is under contract to the Diocese of
Savannah. It produces radiospots, news
features, seasonal specials and other
programs which are distributed to many
radio stations in the area.
By Gil Brown
Publicity Chairman
D.C.C.W.
The proposed “Equal Rights
Amendment” to the U.S. Constitution
has kicked off a clamor of arguments,
both for and against, among lobbying
groups and women’s organizations all
over the nation. Even the men have had
their say! Some reactions we have heard
of include the following:
“It is a demand for unisex by
consitutional amendment” (Professor
Philip Kurland of the University of
Chicago Law School).
“It would not take women out of the
home. It would not downgrade the roles
of mother and housewife. Indeed, it
would give new dignity to these
important roles.” (Congresswoman
Dwyer of New Jersey.)
“The struggle for women’s rights has
barely begun. We hope it will not take
another half century for it to reach the
goal of equal justice.” (The Progressive.)
“I know one thing. I have a wife and
three daughters, and I’m against
anything that would force them to be
sent into combat.” (A North Carolina
legislator.)
The most extreme views, both for
and against, seem to be expressed by
people who have an emotional response
to the basic idea of womanhood. On the
one hand there is the nostalgic picture
of the little lady whose only job in life
is to keep house and bear children, and
who believes that such weighty matters
as voting or wage earning are for
men only. On the other hand there is
the image of the militant woman’s
libber, who believes in free sex and the
right to enter a restroom marked
“Men.”
If it is ratified, the Equal Rights
Amendment could make a difference to
our lives. It seems important, therefore,
to try to sort out the facts from the
rhetoric, and to make up our minds
about it sensibly.
This is not an easy task. Though
knowledgeable people can give us a
good idea of the possible effects of the
Amendment, no-one really knows for
sure what it will do. The full effect will
only be known when, if it is ratified, it
begins to be put into application by the
Courts.
The facts, so far as we know them,
are these. The proposed Equal Rights
Amendment (the 27th Amendment to
the Constitution) states:
Equality of Rights under the law shall
not be denied or abridged by the United
States or by any State on account of
sex.
The Congress shall have the power to
enforce by appropriate legislation the
provisions of this article.
The amendment shall take effect two
years after the date of ratification.
The Amendment was approved by
Congress last year, and has already been
ratified by 26 states (as of February
13th). However, in order to become the
law of the land, it has to be ratified by
38 states (three quarters of the States’ ■
Legislatures) within seven years of
March 1972. ,
Both the Republican and Democratic
parties have supported the proposal in
their national party platforms. It has, at
different times, received the
endorsement of Nixon, Johnson,
Kennedy and Eisenhower.
While no-one argues the point that a
woman has rights and that these rights
should be respected, there are very
different opinions about the concrete
effects of the amendment in specific
areas, such as employment, military
service, the special area of the home and
family. Some of these opinions are
worth thinking about.
HOMEMAKER STATUS
THOSE AGAINST ERA say that it
will break down the safeguards that
surround the family, and will wipe out a
woman’s present freedom of choice to
take a job or to be a full time wife and
mother supported by her husband.
THOSE IN FAVOR explain that the
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amendment will not take women out of
the home, and will not downgrade the
roles of mother and housewife. It will
instead give new dignity to these roles,
by showing them to be positions
accepted by women as equals, not
imposed on them as inferiors.
SOCIAL SECURITY
THOSE AGAINST state that ERA
will eliminate the preferential Social
Security benefits women now enjoy.
THOSE IN FAVOR say that it will
simply extend the same benefits to men.
(For example, widowers with small
children would receive a benefit based
on their deceased wife’s employment,
under the same circumstances that a
widow with minor children would
receive. A man retiring at age 62 would
have his benefit computed under the
same formula as a woman retiring at the
same age.)
MILITARY SERVICE
THOSE OPPOSED say ERA will make
women subject to the draft, and put
them into combat duty on an equal
basis with men whether we have a draft
or not.
THOSE IN FAVOR agree that
women would be subject to military
service under the same conditions as
men, but point out that mothers of
small children would be exempt, that
women would be assigned to serve
where their special skills and talents
were applicable (not necessarily on the
battlefield), that women would be able
to volunteer for service on the same
basis as men (instead of having to meet
higher standards for qualification), that
they would be eligible for benefits
including the GI Bill, medical care, etc.;
and that Congress has always had the
power to draft women in times of
emergency anyway.
EMPLOYMENT
THOSE AGAINST say that ERA will
wipe out many protective labor laws
that benefit women.
THOSE IN FAVOR say that many of
these laws had become restrictions
preventing women from holding certain
jobs, and that certain minimum wage
laws and rest period laws would now be
extended to men as well.
ERA would require equal pay for
equal work for government employees,
but would not effect private
employment.
CHILD SUPPORT
THOSE AGAINST say ERA would
make a woman responsible for providing
50 per cent of the support of her
children.
THOSE IN FAVOR say ERA would
not require mathematically equal
contributions from husband and wife,
and that support obligations would be
based on current contributions from
both - including not only earnings but
the “uncompensated” everyday work of
the mother in the home. In cases of
divorce, parents would share the
responsibility of providing for the
children - not necessarily in equal
amounts. (Research has revealed that in
broken families it is the woman, more
often than not, who now provides more
than half the financial support of the
children).
A number of States have already
turned down the Amendment. If one
quarter turn it down it will be
temporarily dead, but will in all
probability be reintroduced in
subsequent years. While many reputable
organizations have endorced it, others
(including the NCCW) have not. Much
of the opposition, however, seems to be
based on fears that are groundless. To
set the record straight, there is nothing
about the amendment itself that is
“communistic,” “satanic” or “foreign,,
to the Christian concept of woman’s
dignity.” While there may be real
reasons for opposing it, these do not
include the likelihood that it will
legalize prostitution, or do away with
separate rest-rooms.
Individually, as “responsible and
intelligent daughters of the Church”
Catholic women must make an effort to
find out as much as possible about the
effects of ERA. It is hoped that they
will have the common sense to see
through some of the emotional fog that
presently surrounds it, and try to make
a reasonable judgment based on what
facts are available. Having done this,
they should let their legislators know
their views. Consulting an experienced
lawyer for an opinion might be a good
beginning. The following leaflets are
available.
WOMEN AND THE DRAFT - what
does “equal rights” mean? (WOMEN
UNITED, Suite 805, 2001 Jeff Davis
Highway, Arlington, Virginia. 22202.)
15c
THE EQUAL RIGHTS
AMENTMENT - WHAT IT WILL AND
WON’T DO. (Citizens Advisory Council
on the Status of Women, U.S. Dept, of
Labor, Room 4211, Washington, D.C.,
20210).
Savannah KC’s to Mark
Washington’s Birthday
The 6 th annual Savannah
Washington’s Birthday Observance will
be held Monday, February 19,
beginning at 12 o’clock noon in
Washington Square at Houston and St.
Julian Streets in historic downtown
Savannah. The observance is sponsored
annually by the Immaculate Conception
General Assembly, Fourth Degree,
Knights of Columbus.
The celebration will begin 12 o’clock
noon with a parade around the square
led by the U.S. Marine Corps color
guard and the Drum and Bugle corps
from Parris Island, S.C. The Fourth
Degree Knights of Columbus Color
Guard and marching unit will march
behind the Marine Units.
At the end of the brief parade, the
American flag will be raised by Mr. and
Mrs. Joseph E. Russell, parents of U. S.
Army private Patrick Anthony Russell
killed July 3,1969, in Vietnam.
A Mass for Peace and for the happy
repose of the souls of all those who lost
their lives in the Vietnam war will be
offered by Msgr. Daniel J. Bourke,
Rector of the Cathedral of St. John the
Baptist, and the St. Vincent’s Academy
Chanteurs will render appropriate
patriotic selections during the
ceremonies.
After the Mass an address will be
delivered by Col. Albert H. Roughen,
Asst. Deputy Post Commander of
Hunter Army Airfield and Fort Stewart
Complex.
This affair is not only a patriotic
observance, but also serves as an annual
homecoming for the hundreds of
Savannahians who were born and raised
in the “Old Fort” Section of Savannah
in which Washington Square is located.
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