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PAGE 4—The Southern Cross, January 30, 1975
The Southern Cross
Business Office 225 Abercom St. Savannah, Ga. 31401
Most Rev. Raymond W. Lessaid, D.D., President
Rev. Francis J. Donohue, Editor John E. Markwalter, Managing Editor
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Catholic Press Month
The month of February is Catholic
Press Month and our readers will be
asked to renew their subscriptions on
February 16th, and that’s not very far
off. So, we’re going to offer a few good
reasons why you should renew your
subscription.
Catholic newspapers, and in this
instance THE SOUTHERN CROSS, are
indispensable for anyone who desires to
understand the teachings of the Church
and what answers it has to the problems
which beset Christians in today’s world.
It is our judgment -- admittedly a
personal one, but we hope not a biased
one -* that the polarization one finds in
the church today stems from a lack of
understanding of what is happening, an
inability to comprehend both the FACT
and the WHY of the great changes which
have occurred during the past dozen
years. We believe that much of that lack
of understanding has its roots in the
failure of Catholic people to avail
themselves of the wealth of material
which has appeared in Catholic
newspapers and periodicals, and which
could have helped them to grow with the
Church.
It used to be said that the duty of the
Catholic laity was simply to “pay, pray
and obey.” If such a maxim were ever
true, it certainly cannot be considered
true today.
Pope Paul, the International Synod of
Bishops and our own National Council
of Catholic Bishops have made it
abundantly clear on more than one
occasion that the laity, through their
Baptism into the Body of Christ share in
his priesthood and in his ministry of
proclaiming the Good News of the
Gospel.
That means proclaiming it to one
another as well as to those who have not
yet heard it, or have heard it only
faintly. Such proclamation requires
dialogue -- the exchange of ideas
concerning what it is that the Gospel
demands of the Church and the people
who comprise it.
The Catholic press provides a public
forum where every man may exchange
ideas. In the case of THE SOUTHERN
CROSS that forum is provided by our
letters to the editor or ‘Readers’ Reply’
column. If you haven’t seen it lately, it’s
because no one has been making use of
it. But we earnestly invite you to do so.
The only requirement we place on
letters to the editor correspondents is
that their letters address themselves to
events or institutions (not personalities),
that their letters be in good taste and
that they be signed with their name and
address. We will,*of course, respect the
wish of any correspondent to remain
anonymous.
We’d like to quote something
Archbishop Joseph Bernardin, President
of the National Council of Catholic
Bishops said two years ago:
“That part of the Catholic Press which
is of general interest (that includes THE
SOUTHERN CROSS) publishes news
and opinions and background articles
about all the facets and problems and
worries of modern life. This it does in
the light of Christian principles. It is the
task of the Catholic Press to balance, to
complete and, if necessary, to correct
the news and comments about religion
and the Christian life. At one and the
same time, it will be a glass that reflects
the world and a light to show it the way.
It will be a forum, a meeting place for
the exchange of views. This Press needs
talented men and funds if its
professional competence is to be above
dispute.”
We hope you agree with the
Archbishop. We hope, too, that you
agree with us that THE SOUTHERN
CROSS falls within the parameters he
outlined, and that it is worthy of your
continued support.
F.J.D.
There Must Be Love
For Reconciliation
Mary Carson
Why is it so difficult to love as Christ asked?
“Love one another, as I have loved you.” “Love
God. Love your neighbor.” “Love your
enemies.”
Christ loved the poor, the sinners, the weak.
He even loved those who crucified Him. Not lip
service ... He really did it!
We’re certainly all not doing every one of
these things . . . but there’s a little of it in each
of us.
We defend our prejudices, claiming we won’t
be compromised. There’s a time to put our foot
down. We shouldn’t let ourselves be pushed
beyond a certain limit!
And how do we imitate Him?
We love the poor. .. providing they are
deserving. We’d gladly carry a meal to a little
old widow who is sick. But would we as
cheerfully carry the same meal to an unwed
mother who was too drunk to get out of bed?
We firmly believe in racial equality,... as
long as a black or Puerto Rican doesn’t get the
promotion we expected.
We knew the evils of Nazism in World War II,
and commended those who fled Germany in
those years. But those who left the U. S. rather
than fight the war in Viet Nam . .. that’s a
different story.
Drug addiction is a multi-faceted illness; it
should be treated... in someone else’s
neighborhood.
But where is that point? How do we
determine that limit which shouldn’t be
crossed?
Is it when we are threatened?
Are lies being used to accuse us of things we
never did?
Are we persecuted . . . ridiculed?
Are the things we believe in being
challenged?
Where did Christ draw the line . . . as He
hung dying on His cross?
Where do we draw the line?
I doubt we can fully achieve His kind of love.
But we can try.
Retarded and handicapped children must be
helped to lead normal lives ... as long as they
are kept out of sight.
Each day, for this year of reconciliation, let’s
try to make a bit of progress toward the love
Christ asked.
This should be a year of reconcUiation . ..
but a former priest is the last person who will
be permitted to act as an extraordinary
minister.
We preach ecumenism and unity ... as long
as everyone agrees WE are right.
Christ refused to condemn the adulteress . . .
but a woman who has had an abortion should
be publicly condemned.
Christ warned us about judging others. . .
but any one of us can enumerate the sins of
someone we don’t like.
That neighbor we can’t stand. See one thing
good in him. And ERASE one hard thought
we’ve had.
The fellow-worker who’s such a bore. Instead
of walking awa£, really try listening to him.
The child who is such a worry to his parents.
Let them dwell on his good points.
I believe that if for one year we all work on
loving as Christ did. .. with the same
whole-hearted enthusiasm that we feed our
prejudices... we will “renew the face of the
earth.”
YOUR
CATHOLIC PRESS
CHURCH COMMUNITY
I think I understand why some Jewish
leaders reacted negatively to the “silences” in
the new Vatican guidelines which call for
increased Catholic-Jewish dialog, for joint
prayer, and for joint social action for the
common good.
Those Jewish leaders complained that the
Vatican document did not speak on Jewish
peoplehood, religion, and religious attachment
to the Promised Land.
In my tour of Israel, I became profoundly
conscious of those factors.
On Jewish peoplehood: Words can only
faintly suggest the sense of peoplehood which
moved the Israelis to welcome into their
struggling new state, and to care for, every Jew
who wished to come -- no matter how ill, how
handicapped, how poor, how aged, how
helpless.
To do that, the Jews in Israel heroically
made themselves the most heavily taxed
citizens on earth. And the same sense of
peoplehood caused millions of Jews in other
countries to contribute sacrificially to the costs
of establishing the new nation, and of
defending it in repeated wars aimed at its
extermination.
On Jewish religion: In Israel I became aware
how deep in the Jewish soul religious
consciousness goes - especially the
consciousness of the Covenant between God
and the Jews, and of their longing awaiting for
fulfillment of their hopes and expectations.
Great Pornography
Fiasco
Reverend John Reedy, C.S.C.
Notre Dame’s great pornography fiasco
deserves at least a footnote in the chronicles of
Catholic Americana.
It occurred a number of years ago, early in
the ugly years which afflicted the college
campuses. (It never got very ugly here.) Though
I wasn’t involved directly, this is the account I
heard.
Somebody in the English Department got the
idea that pornography, as a social phenomenon,
deserved a mature, academic examination. Why
does it exist? What constitutes pornography?
What distinctions should be made about
content and treatment?
In itself, it seemed like a perfectly legitimate
university effort.
In the excution, however, things got out of
hand. Instead of dealing with the subject in a
small group seminar, the project ballooned as it
caught the interest of the campus. The
organizers decided to have a museum type
exhibit, a presentation of a series of films, some
open lectures of analysis.
On the eve of the exhibit, someone in the
administration began to get cold feet, realizing
that this was not just another
appreciation-of-Emily Dickinson week.
Quickly, a committee was appointed to
evaluate the exhibit before it opened. It’s
evaluation was predictable, “Yep, the stuff’s
pornographic!”
hide a role of Instamatic film under it. After a
mismatched wrestling match, one of the cops
wound up with the film . .. and, roles reversed,
he fled out the door.
He and his companions ran across the
campus with a mob of students after them,
trying to throw snowballs on the run.
Finally, at the entrance of the campus, the
police took refuge in the University Club and
locked the door. The students milled around
like the Mexican Army outside the Alamo.
In that parking lot there were Patrick Henry
type speeches about academic freedom and the
first amendment. I assume that inside the police
were sensible enough to have a couple of drinks
while they sat out the siege.
Finally, the mob drifted away. The
prosecutor got the film. The sleazy operator
complained bitterly that it was his only copy.
And the administrators sighed in relief.
All of this proves nothing - except that I am
beginning to feel the effects of the cold, ugly
Indiana winter, and my thoughts are trying to
escape subjects like the economy, the
Arab-Israeli conflicts and morale problems in
the Church.
But don’t give up. After a couple of weeks
away from this desk, I’ll again be in shape to
offer friendly suggestions to Pope Paul and
President Ford and the antagonists in the
Mideast.
On Jewish attachment to the Promised Land:
The people of Israel, through their love of that
land, have made the deserts bloom, have
clothed barren hills with millions upon millions
of trees. And we must remember, if we are to
understand, that for 19 centuries the world’s
Jews prayed for a return to that land from
which they were driven into exile by the
Romans in A.D. 70.
This understanding came to me profoundly
while I stood praying with de'vout Jews from
many parts of the world at the Western
(Wailing) Wall which is all that remains of the
foundations of the Temple in Jerusalem.
Almost physically, I felt the impact of Jewish
reverence for this remnant of a time of Jewish
glory.
I do think, therefore, that I understand the
negative reactions of such Jewish leaders as my
cherished and greatly admired friend, Rabbi
Marc Tanenbaum, in their comments on the
Vatican guidelines. And yet I consider such
reactions hasty, although fully understandable.
Nevertheless, they do constitute a beginning
of the dialog which the Vatican seeks. The
purpose of dialog is mutual understanding and
friendship. If the dialog proceeds as Pope Paul
VI wishes, it will afford plentiful opportunity
to open minds to such concerns as Jewish
peoplehood, religion and love of the Promised
Land.
“Israel,” wrote Father Marcel Jacques
Dubois in an “Open Letter” in 1973 from his
Center for Jewish Studies and Jewish-Christian
Dialog in Jerusalem - “Israel is alone, a
consequence of its peculiar destiny (and)
because of misunderstandings and lies which
surround it on every side. It falls to us then, as
Christians, to eliminate the rejection and
hostility as soon as possible, by trying to
understand, and enter into the depths of, this
mysterious singularity .. . which began with
Abraham and will end in the fulfillment of the
Kingdom.”
So an edict went forth that only those with
special, academic interests were to be admitted.
This policy simply generated more attention for
the project, and a lot of people tried to
formulate far-fetched justifications for their
special academic interests.
For the film program, a sleazy porno
operator from New York provided a particular
title which soon became the center of
anticipation.
For some reason, the special-interest
requirement hadn’t been applied to the
screening, and a large number of students
showed up.
What One Person Can Do
Rev. Richard Armstrong
So did the police. A local crusader for
decency, who had nothing to do with the
university and who had not seen the film, had a
report that it was obscene. He persuaded the
local prosecutor, who also had not seen the
movie.
According to the report I heard four or five
police appeared to seize the film, not when it
arrived, but when the students had already
gathered for the showing.
The resulting confusion slowed the bust long
enough for one of the students to grab the film
and run out the door. The cops ran after him.
The mob of students ran after the cops.
The fuzz must have been out of shape
because the student got to another building
equipped with a projector and screen. A good
number of the undergraduate fans found him
before the police did. Again, confusion. This
time a girl who wasn’t a student tried to
frustrate the law by embarrassing it. She tried
to hide the film under her skirt.
Unfortunately, this kid, who later worked
for us, wore a skirt so short that she couldn’t
LYNN CAINE, WIDOW
“Being a widow is like living in a country
where nobody speaks your language.” The
words are Lynn Caine’s, taken from her
best-seller “Widow” (William Morrow &
Company, Inc.). In the sometimes shocking
book, Mrs. Caine describes her experience of
being widowed with two small children when
her husband Martin died of cancer at the age of
fifty.
She tells of her loneliness, of the struggle to
achieve her own identity, of the pain of helping
her children cope with their loss, of financial
worries - real and imagined - because “I have
experiences and feelings as a widow that I want
to share. They may help other widows survive
as persons, knowing who they are, instead of
slamming head-on into an identity crisis on top
of their grief, their hurt, their rage - all the
cataclysmic emotions of bereavement that leave
the strongest psyche tattered.”
To those looking for advice on how best to
be of help to a widow, Mrs. Caine offers many
suggestons, including these thoughts on
condolence letters:
“Keep in mind that the widow is shaken.
Alone. Insecure. So don’t tell her how bad you
feel. She can one-up you in spades.. .offer
comfort.. .a remembrance .. .an offer to take
the children for a day or two.. .or an
invitation for a weekend to get away from
everything. But mean what you say. Finally,
think of the widow, not of yourself.”
Death hurts. But all must die. And we must
all mourn, and go on living. In sharing her pain
and hope, her strength and weakness, Lynn
Caine has done a service to those who read her
book. She has shown that sometimes the most
significant thing one person can do is to reveal
himself or herself to another.
For a free copy of the Christopher News
Notes, “Let’s Talk About Death,” send a
stamped, self-addressed envelope to The
Christophers, 12 E. 48th St., New York, NY
10017.