The Georgia bulletin (Atlanta) 1963-current, April 11, 1963, Image 6

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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. . « ,.