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PAGE j GEORGIA BULLETIN THURSDAY, MARCH 14, 1963
the
Archdiocese of Atlanta
GEORGIA BULLETIN
SERVING GEORGIA'S 71 NORTHERN COUNTIES
Official Organ of the Archdiocese of Atlanta
Published Every Week at the Decatur Dekalb News
PUBLISHER - Archbishop Paul J. Hallinan
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Liberal Catholicism
NEUTRALITY AWARDS THE ANTI-CHRIST
LITURGY AND LIFE
Perspective Of Redemption
There has been much talk about
Catholic Liberals in the past few
weeks and it might be well to
answer the question: “What is a
Catholic Liberal?** There are
some who deny his existence;
in the same manner that they
deny the existence of a Catholic
Conservative. Bearing in mind
that this is all part of a con
fusing semantic tangle, we will
endeavor to define the Catholic
Liberal.
First of all he is surely Catho
lic. What about his liberalism?
It is certainly not the liberalism
of Locke and Hume, or the libe
ralism of Rousseau. These men
were European secular Liberals
whose 17th Century political phil
osophy has been improved on by
modern secular Liberals. It has
no religious connotation. Secular
liberalism worships only man
kind and its achievements. Catho
lic Liberals do not follow this
philosophy, and cannot be equated
with the secular Liberals. There
is a confusion of labels.
To quote Bishop Robert Dwyer
of Reno, “To the extent that
liberalism in America has taken
over the Hegelianism and Mar
xism of European liberalism (and
there is ample evidence that
this process of conversion is
in full swing), we are confronted
with the same disastrous con
fusion of language that has bed
eviled the West for the past
century.**
For example; the 1961 state
ment of the U. S. Hierarchy
called for a reassertion of per
sonal responsibility. Catholic
Conservatives claimed that it
was a slap at their Liberal coun
terparts. But was it? Here again
we quote Bishop Dwyer; “If words
have ,meaning, can be defined
according to historical context,
are not subject to arbitrary inter
pretation, this was essentially a
Liberal document. It was based
upon that concept of human free
dom wherewith Christ has made
us free. But it was understood
by many commentators in the
opposite sense as being an ex
pression of an ultra-conservat
ive viewpoint, as though the Bis
hops were projecting themselves
into the arena of national politics
for the purpose of denouncing
certain libertarian trends of
government.**
The Catholic Liberal is very
conservative in his religion, but
liberal in sociological and econ
omic fields. He is for the free
enterprise system, but is well
aware of the Catholic principle
of Subsidiary Function. He rests
secure in the fact that the Divine
Deposit has an unchangeable ker
nel, but a very human shell.
When the Catholic Liberal talks
of vital Catholicism, he is not
thinking about Communion break
fasts or conventions. He is con
cerned with day to day living.
He is concerned not only with
parish activities but also with
community activities. He sees
the Tabernacle, not only as a
defense bastion, but also as a
springboard for authentic witness
to the God-Man. He is not inte
rested in mechanical piety. After
all, a crowded Communion rail
means little unless the Christ
bearers share Him with their
neighbors.
Catholic Liberals are notanti-
Anti-Communism. It is true that
they look suspiciously at the
professional anti - Communist,
This because while we must all
be anti-Communist, it does not
give us license to pillory this
group or that group simply be
cause we do not agree with its
policies.
So, too, it is found that many
professional anti-Communists
are also anti-Semetic and Anti-
Negro. Alas, some Catholics are
among them. The one great evil
in this kind of anti-Communism
is that it repudiates the very
principles that Catholics are
sworn by Baptism to uphold.
The Catholic Liberal repudi
ates any kind of supermarket
patriotism. He denounces the ex
treme nationalism of the ultra
conservatives. He loves his
country. But he realizes that to
be a good Catholic he must also
love his fellowman; that he must
share his country’s spiritual and
material wealth will all people
throughout the world. He wel
comes innovations which do not
compromise his Faith. He sees
dangers but prays for the cou
rage to face them as opport
unities for further witness.
The Catholic Liberal realizes
that there are other views with
in the Church. He makes what
he considers a prudential judge
ment, understanding that there
is nothing official about it. He
realizes that he is fallible
(in the same manner as in his
Conservative counterpart) and
has all the human limitations that
grace alone can alleviate. His
greatest hope is that no one will
read him out of the Church simply
because he holds a different point
of view.
Therein lies the basic
difference. The Catholic Liberal
is tolerant, if impatient. His
greatest cross is the intolerance
of fellow Catholics who equate
him with the secular Liberals.
The Catholic Liberal loves his
Church and obeys competent ec
clesiastical authority. By this
means he pays heed to the authen
tic teachers -- the Hierarchy.
Finally, he cannot stand political
quacks who further extremes of
the right or left under the guise
of Catholicism.
GES
BY FR. ROBERT W. HOVDA
(Priest of the Pittsburgh Oratory)
MARCH 17, THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT. The
superiority of faith and of the supernatural or
der to which faith introduces us over the powers
of evil and even over human ties of flesh and
blood is the message of the Gospel today. And
the First Reading instructs us in some of the
moral aspects of our thanksgiving for the gift of
faith.
The other texts of the Mass stress the baptis
mal theme of our cleaving to the Lord, our de
finitive choosing of "sides'* against Satan and
evil. Whatever temporary victories the Tempter
achieves, the Christiana's orientation is firmly
Godward. ''Upon you, Lord, have I set my heart"
(Entrance Hymn). We "fix our eyes upon the Lord,
our God*’ (Tract). "Happy are they who dwell in
your house" (Communion Hymn).
BY REV. LEONARD F.X. MAYHEW
We are now fully in the swim of Lent. More
than any other season of the liturgical year,
Lent is able to absorb our attention and to capture
our imagination. Much could be said for Lent as
a dramatic work of art, faceted and subtle, yet
dynamic enough to elicit ever more intense and
always varying responses from the participant. Of
course, this demands an openness of mind and de
cision rather than mere passivity on the part of
the part of the participant, as does every work
of art.
As the Lenten liturgy marks its measured ad
vance - repentance, reparation, divine mercy, new
life, redemption - much of its meaning unfolds
against the background of the Old Testament. Each
weekday Mass of Lent contains
a reading from one of the sac
red books of the Old Testa
ment. The steady succession
of instructive selections from
the Old Law recalls Our
Lord's praise for the prudent
householder who "draws out of
his treasure new things and
old". In the hands of the
Church the Old Testament
achieves its most striking effect because it is
viewed in the perspective of Redemption and as
applied to the "new Israel", the Mystical Body of
Christ. This is the accomplishment of the pro
phecy from Isaias read on the Tuesday of the first
week of Lent; "as the rain and the snow come
down from heaven and... soak the earth and water
it... so shallmy word be, which shall go forth from
my mouth; it shall not return to me void, but
it shall do whatsoever I please and shall prosper
in the things for which I sent it.**
The most dramatic effect is achieved when the
Liturgy juxtaposes the primary revelation of an
Old Testament passage with its fulfillment in the
Gospel. This may occur through typology, when
an event or a person that foreshadowed Christ
in the Old Law is shown next to the accomplish
ed fact in Our Lord. On the Friday of the sec
ond week, for example, we read the account of
Joseph’s betrayal by his brothers before we hear
in the Gospel Christ's prophecy of his own death,
"he sent his son to them...but the vine-dressers,
on seeing the son, said among themselves, 'TTUs
is the heir; come, let us kill him.’ '*
Sometimes the spiritual perfection of Christian
doctrine is placed side by side with its anticipa-
LITURGICAL WEEK
The Lord's dominion is no uncertain thing, no
momentary upper hand in a balance-of-power
situation, but rather an eternal truth. We who
have chosen, in Baptism, to "gather with" Him
renew that choice in every celebration of the
Eucharist, in every public and private prayer.
MARCH 18, MONDAY, THIRD WEEK IN LENT.
The rich baptismal symbolism of the story of Naa-
man and Eliseus is evident in
the First Reading. A spokes
man for the living God sends
a pagan to bathe in the Jor
dan, and this figurative en -
trance into the promised land
brings cleansing, health, and,
above all, faith. "Ihavelearn-
ed...past doubt...there is ' no
God...save here in Israel."
The Gospel further emphasizes this event, making
tion. Twice, on Ember Wednesday and the Wed
nesday of the third week, the Old Testament
lesson concerns the giving of the Commandments
to Moses. In the Ember Wednesday Gospel, Christ
shows himself as the new Lawgiver, binding us to
an inward and total allegiance to the will of God in
love: "whoever does the will of my Father in
heaven, he is my brother and sister and mother".
On the Wednesday of the third week, Christ con
demns formalism and commands purity of heart
as the only morality worthy of a Christian.
Hearing the Old Testament read along with the
words of Christ brings us very near to the ex
perience of his original hearers. Jesus, as all re
ligious Jews of his time, was educated in an at
mosphere immersed in the history, prayer and
doctrine of the Bible. Certainly, in his mind and
in those of his hearers, the Old Testament
formed a constant background to his own teach
ing. A word, an allusion, a parallel story would
evoke in the memory of those who heard him
preach an entire pattern of associations, compa
risons and contrasts. Sadly, the Old Testament is
all too frequently unexplored territory for us. The
Church re-creates the experience of hearing
Christ through the Scripture readings of the Lenten
Masses.
Lent is in a very special sense a Eucharistic
time. Much of the Church's efforts are directed
toward renewal of our fervor in relation to this
Sacrament. The Eucharistic message of Lent is
not primarily concerned with the formal reception
of Holly Communion, even frequently, so much as
it is with a fully realized Eucharistic life resul
tant from receiving Communion. The inner vitali
ty of our religion is to be augmented to bring
its full influence to bear on every part of our
existence. This is only possible through a grow
ing realization of the facts of our relationship to
God through and in Christ. This nourishment of
our faiths is particularly available in the Scrip
tures. The lessons of the Liturgy are practical,
ready-to-live applications of Christian doctrine,
designed to be absorbed in experience.
This is the kind of nourishment typified in the
second reading of Ember Wednesday. Elias, ready
for death, is provided supernatural food. And
Elias "arose and ate and drank, and walked in
the strength of that food forty days and forty
nights, unto the mount of God." This is the pro
mise of Lent - nourishment to walk these forty
days - and the forty days and forty nights of our
life span - "unto the mount of God**.
the point of the New Covenant's extension to the
Gentile nations.
MARCH 19, ST. JOSEPH, HUSBAND OF OUR
LADY. Protector of the Incarnate Word, Jesus,
Joseph is also and consequently patron of Christ
in His members, patron of the Church. Today's
Mass hymns this just man who was providentially
entrusted with the task of providing that family
situation necessary for Christ’s total humanness.
Who who ask God today to hear his prayers for
us become in the process more aware of the
Church as a family, of Its building as a home, of
its public worship as a family celebration.
MARCH 20, WEDNESDAY, THIRD WEEK IN
LENT. The prayers and hymns of today’s Mass
express our special Lenten consciousness of sin.
Continued On Page 5
WE ARE SMUG?
Catholicism
And The City
BY GERARD E. SHERRY
Father E. James Peterson is a curate of a city y
parish in a far western diocese. He is a young
priest who often puts down his ideas on various
things, but not always for publication. He once
wrote down for .me some ideas on city Catholi
cism. Here is the gist of what he has to say:
Catholics are smug.
We rest secure in the knowledge that ours is
the true faith, that the priest can answer our
questions, that we
don’t have to go
around "acting like
a bunch of Jehovah’s
Witnesses" to prove
our faith. The facts
are these: Last year
the Jehovah's Wit
nesses recruited one
convert for every
nine members. Ca
tholics counted one convert for every 279 mem
bers.
Catholics are cold.
Our Sunday Mass obligation is precisely that,
an obligation. It's something that "has to be
done". Consequently, we get there late and roar
out of the parking lot as fast as possible. If the
priest manages to unvest with the speed of a quick-
change artist, he may be able to nail one or two
parishioners after Mass to pass the time of day
with.
IF THIS doesn't give you much concern, con
sider the convert - or possible convert - who has
quite likely gone to a great deal of trouble to
bring himself to the door of the church. What do
you suppose are his reactions when he comes to
realize that not one single person cares if he
comes or not? His Protestant family has no
doubt begged him not to become a Catholic. Where
is the warmth and support he needs?
Catholics are lazy.
I guess that 60 to 75% of our parish goes
to Mass regularly every Sunday. The University
of San Francisco made a survey recently, and
these are the facts* anywhere from 17 to 30%
of the Catholics in any sizeable city attend Mass
regularly. The rest (not counting the sick or those
who are otherwise legitimately excused) miss
Mass once, twice, or fifty times a year.
Who's to blame if all of this is true?
OFTEN the priest is to blame. He has an un
necessarily great amount of unpriestly respon
sibilities thrust upon him from the moment he
is ordained. It is automatically assumed that he
emerges from the seminary of a great organiz
er, a towering intellect and a financial wizard.
The plain fact is that he is rarely any one of these
things. Consequently, he becomes entangled in a
frightening schedule of "doing things." His time is
consumed with tasks a layman should be doing,
and who - more often than not - could be doing
them better. The priest's real vocation, that of
being a father to souls, begins to suffer. Realiz
ing how unbelievably busy he himself is, he tends
to make excuses for those under his spiritual
care.
AND THE laymen themselves are surely to
blame. U they get the church and school built, they
figure all the work is done. They can go to Mass,
put their envelope in the collection and call it a
day. Being a member of Christ's Mystical Body is
reduced to something purely social. It is only
slightly more significant than belonging to the
Klwanls or the American Legion. Christian re
sponsibility to our neighbors is a discomforting
thought, one preferably forgotten.
This is a distrubing (and admittedly one-sided)
picture of the church in the United States. Where
have we bogged down? We have failed to recognize
the proper role of the layman in the church.
WTien Jesus entrusted to His Apostles, His divine
mission to teach, rule and sanctify, it was not to
be a great secret known only to a few. The hier
archy exists as guide, interpreter and - most
important of all - as the custodian of the truths
that are handed down from generation to genera
tion. Bishops ami priests alone do not constitute
the church. Paul-Emile Cardinal Leger, Arch
bishop of Montreal, recently pointed out that to
say that the laity shares the responsibility for
spreading the Gospel is not a concession - it is
a definition of precisely what the Church is.
There are a number of simple, practical things
that can be done to put this truth into action.
• Know your faith. Your parish priest will
quickly respond to an honest, level-headed re
quest for more instruction for your family or -
better still - for your neighborhood group. Be
careful, though. He may faint.
a KNOW your neighbors. Did you ever borrow
a cup of sugar Just to make friends? Did you ever
invite your bridge partner or golfing buddy to the
convert class? Do you offer any help when the
lady down the block has a sick child? Do you
welcome newcomers to your neighborhood? Offer
to introduce them to the pastor if they are Ca
tholics? Did you ever explain the Mass to a Pro
testant who has just attended a Catholic wedding
or funeral? Ever introduce yourself to someone in
the vestibule of the church?
• DO you and your family attend Mass every
Sunday without fail? Do you think going on a trip
is a legitimate excuse for missing Mass? Do you
think that gives good example to others? Do you
bqlieve in the efficacy of the Mass? How often do
you receive Holy Communion?
If you bat a thousand with the above questions,
chances are you're a member of an exciting, liv
ing parish. If not, fhink about Judgment Day.
Message Of Superiority Of Faith
KEAPimS
AT
RANDOM.