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GEORGIA BULLETIN
THURSDAY. APRIL IU 1963
Message To ‘All Men Of Good Will’
with the light' of reason and
with a natural and operative
honesty. In such relations let
the faithful be careful to be
always consistent in their ac
tions, so that they may even
come to any compromise in
matters of religion and morals.
At the same time, however,
let them be, and show them
selves to be. animated by a spir
it of understanding and de
tachment, and disposed to work
loyally in the pursuit of ob
jectives which are of their na
ture good, or conducive to
good. (66)
However, one must never
confuse error and the person
who errs, not even when there
is question of error or inade
quate knowledge of truth in the
moral or religious field. The
person who errs is always and
above all a human being, and
he retains in -every case his dig
nity as a human person, and he
must be always regarded and
treated in accordance with that
lofty dignity. Besides, in every
human being, there is a need
that is congenital to his nature
and never becomes extin
guished, compelling him to
break through the web of error
and open his mind to the
knowledge of truth. And God
will never fail to act on his
Interior being, with the result
that a person, who at a given
moment of his life lacks the
clarity of faith or even adheres
to erroneous doctrines, can at a
future date be enlightened and
believe the truth. Meetings and
agreements, in the various sec
tors of daily life, between be
lievers and those who do not
believe or believe insufficiently
because they adhere to error,
can be occasions for discovering
truth and paying homage to it.
It must be borne . • ».nnd.
furthermore, that nei f ' er can
false philosophical teachings re
garding the nature, origin and
destinv of the universe and of
man, be identified with histori
cal movements that have eco
nomic, social, cultural or politi
cal ends, not even when these
movements have originated
from those teachings and have
drawn and still draw inspira
tion therefrom. Because the
teachings, once they are drawn
up and defined, remain alw’ays
the same, while the movements,
working on historical situations
in constant evolution, cannot
but be influenced by these lat
ter and cannot avoid, therefore,
being subject to changes, even
of a profound nature. Besides,
who can deny that those move
ments, in so far as they con
form to the dictates of right
reason and are interpreters of
the lawful aspirations of the
human person, contain elements
that are positive and deserving
of approval?
It can happen, then, that a
drawing nearer together or a
meeting for the attainment of
some practical end, which was
formerly deemed inopportune or
unproductive, might now or in
the future be considered oppor
tune and useful. But to decide
whether this moment has ar
rived. and also to lav down the
ways and degrees in which work
in common might be possible for
the achievement of economic,
social, cultural and political ends
which are honorable and useful:
these are the problems which
can only be solved with the vir
tue of prudence, which is the
guiding light of the virtues that
regulate the moral life, both in
dividual and social. Therefore,
as far as Catholics are con
cerned, this decision rests pri
marily with those who live and
work in the specific sectors of
human society in which those
problems arise, always, how
ever, in accordance with the
principles of the natural law,
with the social doctrine of the
church, and with the directives
of ecclesiastical authority. For
it must not be forgotten that
the church has the right and
the duty not only to safeguard
the principles of ethics and re
ligion, but also to intervene
authoritatively with her chil
dren in the temporal sphere,
when there is a question of
judging about the application
of those principles to concrete
cases. (67)
PRESIDENT KENNEDY
Little by Little
There are some souls, partic
ularly endowed with generosity,
who, on finding situations where
the requirements of justice are
not satisfied or not satisfied in
full, feel enkindled with the de
sire to change the state of
things, as if they wished to
have recourse to something like
a revolution.
It must be borne in mind that
to proceed gradually is the law
of life in all its expressions,
therefore in human institutions,
too, it is not possible to reno
vate for the better except by
working from within them,
gradually. Pius XII proclaimed:
Salvation and justice are not
to be found in revolution, but
in evolution through concord.
Violence has always achieved
only destruction, not construc
tion, the kindling of passions,
not their pacification, the ac
cumulation of hate and ruin,
not the reconciliation of the
contending parties. And it has
reduced men and parties to the
difficult task or rebuilding,
after sad experience, on the
ruins of discord.68
An Immense Task
There is an immense task in
cumbent on all men of good will,
namely, the task of restoring
the relations of the human fam
ily in truth, in justice, in love
and in freedom: the relations
between individual human be
ings, between citizens and their
respective political communi
ties, between political commu
nities themselves, between in
dividuals, families, intermediate
associations and political com
munities on the one hand, and
the world community on the
other. This is a most exalted
task, for it is the task of bring
ing about true peace in the or
der established bv God.
Admittedly, those who are en
deavoring to restore the rela
tions of social life according to
the criterions mentioned above,
are not many. To them we ex
press our paternal appreciation,
and we earnestly invite them
to persevere in their work with
ever greater zeal. And we are
comforted by the hope that
their number will increase, es
pecially among those who be
lieve. For it is an imperative
of duty, it is a requirement of
love. Every believer in this
world of ours must be a spark
of light, a center of love, a vivi
fying leaven amidst his fellow-
men: and he will be this all the
more perfectly (the more close
ly he lives in communion with
God in the intimacy of his own
soul.
In fact, there can be no peace
between men unless there is
peace within each one of them:
unless, that is, each one builds
up within himself the order
wished by God. Hence St. Au
gustine asks: Does your soul
desire to overcome your lower
inclinations? Let it be subject
to Him who is on high and it
will conquer the lower self:
there will be peace in you true,
secure and well-ordered peace.
DWIGHT EISENHOWER
In what does that order consist?
God commands the soul, the
soul commands the body and
there is nothing more orderly
than this. (69)
The Prince of Peace
These words of ours, which
we have wished to dedicate to
the problems that most beset
the human family today and
on the just solution of which
the ordered progress of society
depends, are dictated by a pro
found aspiration which we
know is shared by all men of
goodwill: The consolidation of
peace in the world.
As the humble and unworthy
vicar of Him whom the prophet
announced as the Prince of
Peace, (70) we have the duty to
expend all our energies in an
effort to protect and strength
en this gift
However, peace will be but
an empty-sounding word unless
it is founded on the order
which this present document
has outlined in confident hope:
An order founded on truth,
built according to justice, vivi
fied and integrated by charity,
and put into practice in free
dom.
This is such a noble and ele
vated task that human re
sources, even though Inspired
by the most praiseworthy good
will, cannot bring it to realiza
PRESIDENT GRONCHI
tion alone. In order that hu
man society may reflect as
faithfully as possible the king
dom of God, help from on high
is necessary. For this reason,
during these sacred days our
supplication is raised with
greater fervor toward Him
who by His painful passion and
death overcame sin—the root of
discord and the source of sor
rows and inequalities—and by
His blood reconciled mankind
to the Eternal Father, for He
himself is our peace. He it is
that hath made both one. . . .
“And coming He announced the
good tidings of peace to you
who were afar off, and of
peace to those who were near."
(71)
And in the liturgy of these
days we hear the announce
ment: “Our Lord Jesus Christ,
after His resurrection, stood in
the midst of His disciples and
said, ‘Peace be to you, allelu
ia!’ The disciples rejoiced see
ing the Lord.” (72)
“He leaves us peace, He
brings us peace: peace I leave
with you, My peace I give to
you, not as the world gives do
I give to you.” (73) This is the
peace which we implore of Him
with the ardent yearning of our
prayer.
May He banish from the
hearts of men whatever might
endanger peace, may He trans
form them into witnesses of
truth, justice and brotherly
love. May He enlighten the ml-
w. r. McMillan
PRESIDENT DE GAULE
ers of peoples so that in addi
tion to their solicitude for the
proper welfare of their atisens,
they may guarantee and defend
the great gift of peace. May
He enkindle the wills of all,
so that they may overcome the
barriers that divide, cherish the
bonds of mutual charity, under
stand others, and pardon those
who have done them wrong. By
virtue of His action, may all
peoples of the earth become as
brothers, and may the most
longed for peace blossom forth
and reign always between
them.
AN AMERICAN Apache Indian boy kneels to kiss the ring <rf Pope John XXIII as thrre of his
companions look on during a papal audience at the Vatican. The Indians, who are all Catholics
and belong to the mission church of St. John near Phoenix, Arizona, are part of a group six
who came to Italy to participate in a festival on the island of Sardinia. They presented the Pontiff
with the gift of an Indian Chief’s headdress. Pope John was reported to be greatly pleased with
their visit and imparted his personal blessing on them during the audience. . « ,.