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GEORGIA BULLETIN BOOK SUPPLEMENT PAGE 3
Cardinal Scores Doctor Rock Theology
TIME HAS COME—A Catholic
Doctor's Proposals to End the
Battle Over Birth Control. Al
fred Knopf. $4.95.
BY RICHARD CARDINAL
CUSHING
(Archbishop of Boston)
Dr. John Rock of Brookline
has published a new book ent
itled “The Time Has Come”
with a subtitle suggesting that
this work is intended to present
"a Catholic doctor’s proposals
to end the battle over birth con
trol.” Since Dr. Rock writes
explicitly as a Catholic and
since I am his Bishop, I have
been asked from several sour
ces to make some observations
on his latest publication.
The law of the Church re
quires that every Catholic who
writes on a subject pertain
ing to faith or morality sub
mit his manuscript to Church
authority for a so-called "im
primatur.” This is an official
statement by the local bishop
that the contents are free from
doctrinal and or moral error.
Such a law should not be in
terpreted in any sense as an
unjust Infringement upon the
rights of the Catholic in quest
ion, but rather a means which
the Church is entitled to employ
in order to keep an accurate
image of her official teaching
before the eyes of the non-
Catholic world.
tion the true complexity of this
problem and so commits in the
field of theology the same mis
take he urges against the theo
logians in the field of repro
ductive physiology. The entire
chapter on the teaching of the
Natural Law in matters which
pertain to the morality of art
ificial conterception in over
simplified.
IN HIS defense of the "nat
ural” and, to his mind, "law
ful,” use of the progestational
steroids as contraceptive de
vices, Dr Rock does not meet
the incisive arguments against
his position which have been
continually voiced by Catholic
moral theologians.
In the pages of this book Dr.
Rock is emphatic in his claim
to be a good and devoted Cat
holic. It must be said, however,
that some of the positions which
he defends therein are not in
agreement with Catholic teach
ing.
Surely Doctor Rock, and other
physicians, have much to offer
the Church and her teaching
authority if medical men and
theologians study together the
complex problems of human re
production. Theologians must
recognize the competence of
Dr. Rock in the field of rep
roductive physiology but he
recognize their competence in
the field of Catholic moral
teaching.
Fair minded people will ap
preciate that such cooperation
in no way curtails the doctor’s
scientific freedom. It would rat
her aid him in his dedicated
pursuit of the ultimate truth in
this matter, the defense and
formulation of which in theolo
gical terms is not the task of
an individual but that of the
whole teaching Church.
Consuela Bright — A Moving Novel
CONSUELA BRIGHT, By Con-
elia Jessey. Sheed and Ward
($3.95)
Most of the people in Cons
uela Bright have, as one char
acter put it, "brushed against
God and from then on can’t talk
about anything else but Him.”
The atmosphere Cornelia Jes
sey creates is a distinctly Je
wish one; an immigrant Russian
family is involved with one
PH
another through a generation of
joys, sorrbws, misunderstand
ing and affection. Ancestors and
distant Spanish past are linked
in the person of the central
figure, all woven together to
form her personality.
Listening to Jews interested
in Christ, most readers will
forget their pleasure in the tale
long enough to ponder the sig
nificance of some scenes. Early
in the story, Consuela asks her
self how it is possible for a
Jew who has experienced the
scourging of the so-called Ch
ristianized centuries to come
to Christ.
"God had to pick each Jew
up in His hand and lift him
across that smoking, burned and
deadly land. On his own bare
feet no Jew could cross that
burning trrain which constantly
smouldered and burst into flame
when he least expected it.”
Consuela's own journey to
Catholicism is counterpointed
by the strange path her name
sake famous aunt took to arrive
there; by Isaac, the idealst
who believes but may have died
unbaptised; Consuela’s father
who followed the spirit of Ch-
CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
Latin America
pavla | WANTS YOU
I REGRET to observe that
Dr. Rock has published his book
w ithout such an "imprimatur.”
Therefore, the opinions on the
morality of artificial birth con
trol as presented in the text
lack any official approval as
authentic Catholic teaching.
In this book there is much *
that is good. The author has
presented a detailed and grap
hic account of the history of
the birth control controversy in
the United States, and many
times he rightly criticizes the
excesses to which some Ca
tholics have gone in this matter.
He has quoted accurately and
unequivocally from officially
approved Catholic authors in an
attempt to present a correct
picture of the much misunder
stood Catholic position on birth
control, and has clearly demon
strated that the Church is not
opposed to birth control as such
but to the use of artificial
means to control births.
HE PRESENTS many cogent
arguments for the formation of
a public policy on birth cont
rol, and some of his suggestions
could contribute to the estab
lishment of domestic peace in
our pluralistic society. With
reason, he calls to task those
who are unwilling to face the
implications of the much public-
cized population explosion.
There are now 150 men and women Papal Volunteers serving in twelve Latin
American countries. Requests on hand at the beginning of 1963 call for 183
more as follows:
Business Administrator- i man Mechanics/Handymen-
2 men
Catechists-
1 woman, 2 men or women
Catechetical and Social
Welfare Workers- 2 men, 5 women
Credit Union and Cooperative
Organizers 2 men or women
Community Development
Organizers— 3 men, 6 women
Communications Media Personnel:
RADIO STATION ADMINISTRATORS- 6 men
PUBLIC RELATIONS- 1 man
Engineers and Technicians:
RADIO TRANSMITTER MAINTENANCE- 2 men
RADIO RECEIVER MAINTENANCE- 1 man
CONSTRUCTION ARCHITECT- 1 man
CONSTRUCTION ENGINEER- 1 man
LINOTYPISTS— 2 men or women
NEWSPAPER LAYOUT- 1 man
PRESS OPERATION and MAINTENANCE-1 man
Medical Personnel:
DOCTORS— 1 woman, 3
DENTIST-
NURSES—
MEDICAL TECHNICIANS- 3
PHARMACIST—
men or women
1 man
16 women
men or women
1 man
Sailors
(Coastal mission boat)—
2 men
Secretary (English language)— 1 woman
Social Workers (Juvenile program)— 3 men
Teachers:
ENGLISH LANGUAGE-
4 men, 11 women, 6 men or women
VOCATIONAL and AGRICULTURAL SCHOOL-
16 men
GRADE SCHOOL— 2 women
HIGH SCHOOL (College Graduates)—
7 men, 11 women, 34 men or women
UNIVERSITY (Sociology; Engineering;
Civil, Mechanical, Electrical, Electronic,
Social Work; Physics; Chemistry.)—
Youth Workers-
8 men, 9 men or women
4 men (3 with counselling experience)
HE MAKES AN eloquent,
and much needed, plea for Fed
eral grants to perfect the so-
called Rhythm System so that
it might become a means of
controlling births which is not
only morally acceptable but also
scientifically accurate.
Not everything in the book,
however, can pass without crit
icism. It also contains several
statements which are theologi
cally incorrect and certainly
misleading.
When he speaks on the forma
tion of the Catholic conscience
he fails to take into considera-
Requests for persons in many other categories are being received continually.
The above requests have been received from the following countries: Argentina, 5; Boliva, 13; Brazil, 61; British Honduras, 34;
Chile, 14; Colombia, 11; Costa Rica, 2; Ecuador, 10; Guatemala, 2; Honduras, 2; Panama, 4; Peru, 25.
Papal Volunteers sent by the Church of the United States serve for a three year period. Persons joining the
program are trained in the language and culture of the country in which they serve.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Papal Volunteers for Latin America
National Office
1300 South Wabash Avenue
Chicaeo 5. Illinois
OR
Rev. Leonard F. X. Mayhew
204 Battle Street
La Grange, Georgia