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OUR WORLD
OUR DIOCESE
SERVING GEORGIA'S 71 NORTHERN COUNTIES
of Atlanta
VOL 1, NO. 1
f
ATLANTA, GEORGIA
FRIDAY, JANUARY 4, 1963
$5.00 PER YEAR
Official
The Catholic newspaper of northern Georgia has now turned a
new calendar leaf. But with this issue, Jan. 4, 1963, it has done
much more. With a new managing editor and staff, a new name
and weekly publication schedule, The Georgia Bulletin enters the
new age of Catholic journalism.
In his lead editorial, Mr. Gerard Sherry discusses, the crisp
and refreshing concepts, “What We Are About?” It is my inten
tion to write this short companionpiece entitled, “The Catholic
Newspaper and the Church”.
THE CHURCH must make its presence felt in every Catholic
family in the archdiocese. The weekly appearance of The Georgia
Bulletin in each home will assure our people of this presence.
We have enjoyed, in this region, an excellent tradition of journa
lism, both religious and secular. Few Catholic dioceses can proud
ly point to a newspaper with a record of more than forty years.
Among the nation’s great newspapers, the Atlanta dailies enjoy a
fine tradition of leadership. The small papers of the state gene
rally have faithfully recorded local news.
The Georgia Bulletin is not in competition with these media. It
applauds their excellence, but seeks to give its readers a more
complete view of life, — the religious focus. It is in corhpeti-
tion, in fact, with only two things: religious ignorance and reli
gious prejudice. Our new archdiocesan paper then proudly takes
its place in the ranks of Southern journalism as well as in the
best traditions of the Catholic press.
There is a sense,—a restricted one,—in which The Georgia
Bulletin is an official newspaper of the archdiocese. It will
carry all official announcements. And when it is engaged in the
task of teaching religion, it will teach as the Church teaches. In
its larger framework of reporting, its spirit and its mood will be
in keeping with the large pattern of Catholic ideas and Catholic
culture.
BEYOND these stipulations,— to which our subscrioers and
advertisers are entitled in their use of a “Catholic newspaper”,
—there is a vast area of free play open to our editors and our
readers. The progress of Vatican Council II has already indicated
the wide dimensions of this liberty. The Georgia Bulletin’s report
ing will be honest and objective. Its handling of news-values will
be based on the highest canons of journalistic balance. And its
interpretative columns will strive for depth and context.
These standards are no more nor less than are expected of
any good newspaper of integrity and courage. In a religious
paper, however, there is even greater obligation to honor and ob
serve them. The religious journal which is excessively narrow,
unfairly slanted, unduly cautious, or indifferent to the human so
ciety around it, is badly out of step with both good journalism
and the cause of religion.
The religious press is not meant to be a “house organ” or a
"trade sheet”. Its whole reason for being is that it might enter
the community bearing light and courage, — light enough to ex
pose society's ills as well as its strengths; courage enough to in
spire justice and charity in those who might falter along the path.
UPON the staff, especially Mr. Sherry as managing editor, and
Father Donald Kiernan as consulting editor, I ask God's blessing
in this new step forward. As Archibishop of Atlanta, I am happy to
'have a dual part in it. As Publisher, there is an area of respon
sibility that is singularly mine. And as reader, I can assure the
new staff that from Milledgeville to Look-out Mountain, there will
not be a reader more Interested, more eager, than L
Paul J. Hallinan
Archbishop of Atlanta
AT COUNCtL
Bishops Got New
View Of Church
BATON ROUGE, La. (NC)
Most U. S. bishops probably
brought back with them from
the Second Vatican Council “a
new realization of what the
Catholic world is really like,”
Bishop Robert E. Tracy of Ba
ton Rouge said.
More than half the bishops at
the council sessions “had not
the means, without aid from the
Holy See, even to journey as far
as Rome, much less meet the
daily expenses of living there,”
Bishop Tracy said.
MISSIONARY bishops “by the
hundreds came to American
bishops daily telling of the won
derful progress of the Church
in their countries and of the
goodwill among their po
Atheistic Films
BERLIN (NC) During the past
year antireligious motion pic
tures in the Soviet Unior drew
25 million spectators, accord
ing to the Soviet magazine,
Agitator, received here.
goodwill among their people,”
he said, “but also of the over
whelming difficulties” created
by lack of material resources.
“I spoke to a bishop from be
hind the Iron Curtain who is
not allowed to even baptize the
babies of his diocese,” he said.
GREAT achievements are be
ing realized from day to day in
the fields of practical scientific
research, Bishop Tracy said.
“Man-made satellites are
whirling around the earth now
by the dozens, messages and
images are being bounced from
Telstar to every nation under
heaven, and medicine is steadily
stretching the life expectancy of
mankind,” he commented.
“Still Christian nations are
not doing anything nearly as
spectacular in advancing social
justice and charity. In our own
midst many devout Catholics
would be more than satisfied
to keep the social order exact
ly as it is: with all its injus
tice, with all its lack of charity.
He said they were interrogated
for long periods of time and
often in the early morning
hours. They had to try to sleep
under glaring lights in areas
about three feet wide. “We
covered our eyes with hand
kerchiefs,” said Father Macho.
THE PRIESTS stated that al
though prisoners who became
seriously ill were "finally”
taken care of by the "prison's
communist doctor,” there were
few preventative measures ta
ken against illness and many
prisoners suffered from dysen
tery.
Father Macho said that when
they were transferred to the
Isle of Pines prison the past
May 27, the militiamen “made
me run while they beat me
with guns.”
The Jesuit priest said that
during Advent the prisoners
composed poems about the Na-
prison walls. For 27 weeks, he
stated, he conducted classes in
Chistian doctrine for an hour
and a half daily for prisoners
on the Isle of Pines.
ACCORDING to the three li
berated priests, four priests
are still imprisoned on the
Isle of Pines; Fathers Fran
cisco Lopez Biacquez, Jose
Luis Rojo Seijas, Reynerio Le-
broc and Jose R. Fidalgo, O.P:
Survival of the invasion pri
soners was termed a miracle
by Manuel Artime, the civil
leader of the brigade. He had
high praise for the work done
by the three freed chaplains.
He recalled that when Mass
was offered on Christmas, 1961,
prison guards fired shots over
the heads of the priests and
prisoners.
Artime said the brigade did
not want to bring just political
freedom to Cuba, but also to
re-establish Christianity.
RACIAL HARMONY
Preparation Lag
Hinders Effort
CHICAGO, (NC) Preparation
of “the white community to
accept integration peacefully"
is particularly necessary "be
cause of the depth of white ig
norance” in regard to problems
posed by segregation, the leader
of an antidiscrimination com
mittee said here.
John Kearney, executive di
rector of the United Citizens
Committee for Freedom of
Committee for Freedom of
Residence, told a seminar spon
sored by the International Ca
tholic Auxiliaries there are
many things that can be done to
prepare white communities for
integration.
"ONE OF the simplest and
most dramatic,” he stated, is
“a plan whereby a small group
of white visitors is brought in
to the home of a Negro family
with whom they can identify for
an hour’s serious conversation
about race relations.”
Referring to this as the
Friendship House Educational
Home Meeting, Kearney added:
“We have found from the thou
sands of people who have par
ticipated in these visits over
the past few years, a great many
incidences of rather dramatic
changes in attitudes as a direct
result.”
KEARNEY, who is also na
tional director of Friendship
Council Expert
WASHINGTON, (NC) Father
John J. King, O.M.I., profes
sor of dogmatic theology at the
seminary of theOblatesof Mary
Immaculate here, has been
named an expert of the Second
Vatican Council. Father King
attended the first session of the
council as the personal theolo
gian to Archbishop Egidio Vag-
nozzi, Apostolic Delegate to the
United States;
House, a Catholic movement
for interracial justice, said that
programs formed for commu
nity understanding often evolve
into human relations councils
that investigate causes of dis
crimination in employment and
housing.
He stressed that underlying
all efforts to achieve positive
integration "is the need for
legislation.”
He cited the importance of
such groups as the committee
for freedom of residence, which
he heads. The committee, he
stated, "seeks to coordinate the
work of some 10,000 citizens
throughout the state (Illinois)
who are all working actively
in order to bring about a law
which will make it a crime
to discriminate on the basis
of race, religion or nationality,
solely.”
Missions
Fund Up
ROME (NC) Contributions for
the maintenance of the mis
sions were greater than ever
in 1962, but they still fall short
of the needs.
This was indicated in a finan
cial report of the Pontifical
Society for the Propagation of
the Faith for 1962 recently pub
lished here.
THE REPORT shows that $22,
4 70,000 was received in dona
tions to the mission and orga
nization in 1962 and that this
was $2,130,000 over the amount
given in 1961. It was added,
however, that this amount co
vered only one-third of the
requests for assistance receiv
ed.
An increase in contributions
was reported also by the So
ciety of St. Peter the Apostle,
which helps develop native voca
tions in mission territories.
ARCHITECT’S rendering of St. Mary's new hospital located in Athens. The 135-bed edifice will have five floors and a base
ment service area. Construction is expected to be underway early this year. (See story Page 6).
MIAMI, Fla. (NC) Three
priest-chaplains imprisoned
for 20 months in Red-ruled Cu
ba said they had to offer Mass
secretly in prison, using a bro
ken glass jar as a chalice and
smuggled altar bread.
The priests, who were cap
tured by Castro forces during
the Bay of Pigs invasion in
April, 1961, arrived in south
Florida aboard the airlift that
brought more than 1,000 libe
rated invasion prisoners from
Cuba. The priests, all natives
of Spain formerly stationed in
Cuba, are Fathers Ismael de
Lugo, O.F.M. Cap., who was
wounded in the invasion, To
mas Macho, S. J., and Father
Segundo Lahera, S. P.
THEY SAID they offered
Mass daily in a swamp until
their capture within a week
after the abortive invasion. Cu
ban militiamen confiscated
their chalices, breviaries and
Bibles before imprisoning them
with some 200 other brigade
members in Havana’s Principe
prison, they said.
Father Macho said that Cuban
women visiting the prison
brought altar breads concealed
in scapulars and shirt sleeves,
enabling the priests to distri
bute Communion several times
to the prisoners. A small bottle
of wine, which was allowed for
nedicinal purposes, was dis
pensed by a dropper so that it
could be conserved for cele
bration of Mass whenever pos
sible. Confessions were heard
regularly.
FATHER Lugo, who gave the
invocation when President Ken
nedy addressed the invasion
brigade in Miami last week said
the prisoners lived under inhu
man conditions.
The Capuchin priest stated
that no meat or milk was ser
ved during the 20 months the
priests were imprisoned and
they had eggs only four times.
Father Lugo said there were
only two lavatories and two
showers available for more than
200 prisoners, and soap and
Mass In Secret
Celebrated For
Cuban Prisoners
ARCHBISHOP Paul J. Hallinan shown here at his desk after his recent return from participation
in the Second Vatican Council. The Archbishop is a member of the Council’s Liturgical Commission.
IRRESPONSIBLE CUSTOM
Sociologist Scores Teenage
Dating - Blames Parents
ST. LOUIS (NC) Parents and
teachers are encouraging a dan
cing-dating process among
teenagers that is hindering their
development into responsible
adults, according to a priest-
sociologist.
“Reactions of parents, teach
ers and youth leaders range
from relatively ineffective de
nunciations of steady dating to
promotion of programs unwit
tingly calculated to perpetuate
the very problems they were de
signed to solve”, says Father
John L. Thomas, S. J.
THE JESUIT priest, writing
in the January issue of Social
Order, monthly publication of
the Institute of Social Order,
says that nobody seems to fa
vor the trend toward early cou
ple - centered entertainment
“yet everybody is actively pro
moting it.”
“Once the early dancing-dat
ing process gets started,” Fa-
comes practically self-promot
ing. Growing youngsters look
forward to it; parents, teach
ers and youth leaders take it
for granted; the social life of
teenagers is organized to pro
mote it, and alternate forms
of entertainment almost cease
to exist.”
HE SAYS that the whole pat
tern of this process is wrong,
and “the most fundamental need
of adolescents is to develop an
integrated, consistant set of
values, ideals, aspirations and
life goals.”
This in turn calls for a longer
formal education on the part
of youth, and less attention to
social life, especially in the
form of couple-centered par
ties.
But if youngsters “are not
intellectually anu spiritually
challenged by a keen sense of
personal responsibility for
their own future and that of
their own country”, says Fa
ther Thomas, “they can be ex
pected to show little enthusiasm
for serious study or long-range
preparation.”
Welcome To Us!
This is the first issue of The Georgia
Bulletin. Much work and preparation has
gone into it and we hope that it will be of
real service to our subscribers.
Like all new efforts, there will be few
things “not quite right” about our product.
We ask the readers indulgence. Further
more, there is a dearth of local or Arch
diocesan news. We hope parish and orga
nizational correspondents help us rectify
this ommission as soon as possible. Ad
dress all communications to The Georgia
Bulletin, P. O. Box 11667, Northside Sta
tion, Atlanta 5, Ga.