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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.