Newspaper Page Text
PACE 4 GEORGIA BULLETIN THURSDAY, MAY 2, 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
MANAGING EDITOR Gerard E. Sherry CONSULTING EDITOR Rev. R. Donald Kieman
ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Sue Spence
Member of the Catholic Press Association
and Subscriber to N.C.W.C. News Service
Telephone 231-1281 U.S.A. $5.00
Canada $5.50
Foreign $6.50
Second Class Permit at Decatur, Georgia
2699 Peachtree N.E.
P.O. Box 11667
Norths ide Station
Atlanta 5, Ga.
The Bond Issue
PIRATE OF DIGNITY
SOCIAL DOCTRINE
In the recently published En
cyclical of Pope JohnXXIII, Pac-
em In Terris, there appears an
eloquent passage charging Chris
tians to enter public life and per
meate it with Christian wisdom
and understanding, in order to be
of service in conjunction with all
men of good will.
This obviously implies a com
mitment to be active in civic
affairs as well as purely domes
tic or Catholic affairs. Readers
in Atlanta and Fulton County have
an opportunity to make such a
civic contribution in voting on the
Fulton-Atlanta Bond Issue on May
15. The fifty million dollar Issue
is an important one. 15.9 million
will go to the County, with the
remainder earmarked for At
lanta.
It is not our purpose here to
propagate for or against the
Issue. Readers will have to make
up their own minds in the light of
their own convictions. We do re
commend, however, that they ex
amine all sides of the subject
in order that the decision made
is in the best interest of the whole
community. Certainly, emotion
has no place in the judgement,
neither has hate, prejudice, self
ishness, or greed.
Naturally, in such an issue as
this politics does play a part.
A uthentic
The secret of authentic witness
lies in witnessing to Christ, not
to ourselves. We must consider
always, and speak of Christ's
function as teacher, Christ’s
work of salvation, Christ’s role
as law-giver, Christ’s action in
making men holy. In reality,
Christ is primary, and thus He
must be first in mind, first on
the tongue and first in consid
eration.
We, His members, instru
ments in His hands, docile to
His ministrations, receiving of
His bounty, are secondary.
Since this is the reality behind
the dogma, all we have to do
is to really accept it, and then
live it. If we are Christ-cent
ered and not self-centered our
neighbors will be able to listen
to us without fear.
In becoming a Man, God took
up the limitations of a man.
Christ, the Godman, lived in one
place, in one time, in one neigh
borhood. And yet His work was
universal. That He was a Jew
must have scandalized the
Greeks. That He was a carpenter
must have scandalized the petty
temple officials. His mountain
accent offended the city dweller.
And yet Incarnation demands this
limitation, without being frust
rated by it. When God mixes in
humanity, He is bound to produce
mysteries.
Since the Church is the Incar
nation spread abroad in time and
space, she will also have Her
own particular marks and these
can ojfend. But we are fair when
we ask Her to carry the burden
But the progress of Atlanta and
Fulton County demands that no
one should play politics in order
to influence the outcome. All
political parties and groups
should look to the common good,
rather than narrow partisan
viewpoints.
For this reason, it is to be
regretted that the issue of rac
ial discrimination is being
brought into the reasoning of
some in urging citizens to vote
one way or the other. We sin
cerely believe, however, that the
race issue has no bearing on
whether one should vote yes or
no.
Injustice to the Negro is real;
and we work actively against such
unchristian attitudes, even among
our own co-religionists.
We feel, however, that the
Negro community will make a
mistake if it uses discrimination
as a lever to defeat the Bond
Issue. Here, too, no matter what
the provocation, they must think
of the common good.
May 15 is an important date.
Whether we make our vote “Yea”
or “Nay” let us live up to our
civic responsibilities.
Witness
of our snobbery? We have no
license to offend. We are not
permitted to build stumbling
blocks.
The fact that we have been
called into this Body of Christ
means that we must do His work,
we must be as open to His
use as were His own eyes and
hands. The mystery of God’s
choice of instruments is deep
enough without our clouding it
any further by our pride. We
rejoice, but we do not boast.
We accept, but only to share.
We look up to God with grati
tude, not down on our neigh
bors with contempt.
BY FR. ROBERT W. HOVDA
(Priest of the Pittsburgh Oratory)
MAY 5 THIRD SUNDAY AFTER EASTER. Re
alism and balance are words which fit the lit-
rugy of the Church like a glove. That is why
people who love the Church's public worship
and live deeply in its spirit rarely become
"indulgence addicts” or -reuc-chasers” or an}
other kind of spiritual eccentric.
Today's Mass brings this to
mind because, while we are ce
lebrating the Easter feast,
God's grace-ful gift of triumph
over death, and perhaps in
clined to lose sight of the world
and its work, its goods and its
evils, the liturgy calls our at
tention to the Ascension. It will
be a "little while" before Jesus
comes in final and full glory
(Gospel), before we will know the full realiz
ation of the triumph we possess now in faith.
Human Being
BY REV. LEONARD F. X. MAYHEW
Catholic social doctrine, as proposed by Pope
John XXIII in Pacem In Terris, has its foun
dation in the nature of every human being as
a person - that is, a rational and free being.
From this personal dignity of every man flow
certain natural rights which belong equally to
every human being without discrimination. Cor
responding to each of these rights is a related
duty. Together, these rights and duties const
itute the basis of natural law. The Pope points
out that the principles of his encyclical, being
based on natural law, "provided Catholics with
a vast field in which they can meet and come to
an understanding” both with non-Catholic Chr
istians and with those who do
not believe in Christ, "but
who are endowed with the light
nf reason and with a natural
And operative honesty." The
acclaim which the new encycli
cal has received from ever}'
quarter is an example of the
meeting of minds over common
oroblems which the Holy
Father wishes to stimulate.
In the past, solid response to the teachings
of Papal social encyclicals has been very slow
to materialize. With the initial acclaim once worn
off, any real change in thinking on the part of
Catholics has taken many years. Apparently,
there are many who have still not fully absor
bed the significance of the encyclicals of a gene
ration or two ago. We cannot afford to allow
this to happen in the present case. The problems
and issues treated by Pacem In Terris bear
immediately on the present situation of crisis
and danger for the whole human race. Because
of this urgency, Pope John several times in the
encyclical presents us with an analysis of world
conditions that is as actual as today’s headlines.
EARLY in the encyclical the Pope indicates
three "distinctive characteristics of our age”
which mark a pattern in the historical evolution
of society. He lists first the emergence of the
working class. Great gains have been made by
the worker in economic status and political
power, most of these advances dating roughly from
the era following the first World War. "Today,"
the Pope continues, "workers... insist that they
The First Reading reminds us almost brutally
that during this "little while" even the life of
the baptized is full of struggle and contest, of
pain and suffering. The Church in this 'Tittle
while” is a Church of free men in an as yet
unconsummated creation, hence a Church of
sinners, to whom virtue does not come easy.
MONDAY, MAY 6 MASS AS ON SUNDAY. Yet
the hymns of the Mass still ring with Easter
praise, joy, confidence. "Acclaim him”
(Entrance), "The Lord has brought redemption”
(Gradual), "Praise the Lord” (Offertory), "Af
ter a little while you will see me" (Communion).
It is this Christian thanksgiving for God’s tre
mendous gifts (from which the Mass, the Euc
harist, is itself named) that enables the holy
and priestly people to lend their hands to the
toilsome task of shaping creation.
TUESDAY, MAY 7 ST. STANISLAUS, BISHOP,
MARTYR. A bishop-martyr symbolizes in his
person this triumph-defeat paradox of Chris
tianity. Bishop, he stands in the line of the Ap-
Is A “Person”
be always regarded as men with a share in
every sector of human society: in the social
and economic sphere, in the fields of learning
and culture, and in public life." No one can
doubt that this emergence of the laboring class,
at all the various stages that different nations
exhibit it, is the source of thorny and sometimes
explosive problems. They range from Castroism
to our own complex wrestling with the effects
of automation and technological progress.
The second characteristic, which the Pope
styles as "obvious," Is the emerging importance
of women in public life. Once again, this pat
tern runs to many and varied examples depend
ing on the history of the culture on which we
concentrate.
THIRDLY, Pope John cites the revolutionary
change in social and political life as "men all
over the world have today - or will soon have -
the rank of citizens in independent nations.”
The old world of some nations ruling other nat
ions is about to disappear* with the exception
of the Communist empire. In discussing this sub
ject the Holy Father takes occasion to declare
that "racial discrimination can in no way be
justified" and to point out the "fundamental im
portance and significance for the formation of
a human society” of this principle. The emer
gence of free non-white nations and the struggle
for equality of citizenship of Negro Americans
are twofacetsof this "distinctive characteristic"
of our age.
In the world view of Pope John, then, our time
is characterized by the actualization of the natural
equality of men. There is a gradual fading of
a false sense of inferiority on one hand and also
“of the corresponding superiority complex which
had its roots in social-economic privileges, sex
or political standing."
The present movement in the world, as Pope
John sees it, is toward a more human society,
one more in keeping with the dictates of natural
law, since it Is based on an awareness of moral
rights. The maximum degree of real freedom
for every man- that is, freedom which is actual,
which can be exercised concretely sees to be
the criterion of a truly human and truly Christian
society. In such a society relationships will be
expressed in terms of rights and duties, equal
and undifferentiated for all.
Like Glove
ostles, proclaiming the good news of God's
saving work in Jesus Christ. Martyr, he reminds
the Christian assembly of which he is president
that the Church's existence in this 'Tittle while”
is not a triumphal existence but an existence of
humble witness and apparent failure.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 8 MASS AS ON SUNDAY.
"Help all who call themselves Christian to live
up to that name and to reject what is contrary
to it." This opening prayer of the Mass is
echoed in the other proper priestly prayers:
the prayer over the offerings (Secret) and the
prayer after Communion. It is good to be here
in this dangerous "little while”-- "creators”
under and with the Creator, "redeemers" under
and with the Redeemer.
THURSDAY, MAY 9 ST. GREGORY NAZ1-
ANZEN, BISHOP, CONFESSOR, DOCTOR. A doc
tor ("teacher”) of the Church is more than a
"relay-station”, though there is nothing insign
ificant about relaying or simply passing on the
CONTINUED ON PAGE 5
LITURGICAL WEEK
Fits Liturgy Of Church
CIVIC COMMUNITY
The City
Of Man
BY GERARD E. SHERRY
While it is true that many Catholics, lay and
clerical, still hold a narrow parochial approach
to the problems of the civic community in which
they live, I do not think that I need to belabor
the point that this is an un-Catholic attitude.
The strong urgings of the modern popes and
our own American bishops should be sufficient
for that. But I do feel that it is important for
us to investigate the question of how Catholics
can enter into the solution of the vexing problems
of the cities in which they live, and to which
they should belong.
Permit me to
wraw upon the Gos
pel for a fundamen
tal principle which
can guide us in our
discussion. At least
twise, Christ told
us that we are to
be the Salt of the
Earth, and the lea
ven which raises
the whole mass of dough. Now, both of these
concepts imply a certain catalytic function. The
salt makes good food taste better, and more to
the point, in the days of the Gospels, which had
no freezers, the salt preserved meats. The salt
does this by being what it is, and by working
on the food or meats at they are. The salt
respects the food it savours and the meat is
preserved. The leaven, or yeast, works slowly
and yet effevtively, releasing the hidden powers
of the dough. Hiddenly, imperceptibly, the yeast
works throughout the whole mass, but as with
the salt, by being what it is and by acting on
the dough as the dough is.
Here lies the basic principle for a Catholic
contribution for the civic community: a sound
respect for the civic community in all its reality
and a real effort for Catholics to be what they
are.
LET us look first at this civic community.
This city, so fraught with dangers, so bright
with hopes, so burdened with problems, so open
to improvement, so threatening to man, and yet
so essential to his human development; this city
is our home and our responsibility. This city
is lovable and fascinating, challenging and
dangerous.
This city is not the City of God, but neither
is it the City of Satan; it is the city of man.
All that Is noble, inspiring and inspired in man
finds its natural completion and perfection in
this city. But also, all that is debasing and savage
in man finds free rein in this city. The city
contains all men, of all conditions, all stations
and all kinds.
Because it is the City of Man, it must serve
men. It must be shaped to the measure of man,
it must be for men. The constant temptation to
make the city foremost and man secondary must
be resisted at all costs. To reverse the roles
and make man for the city not only ruins men,
but it peverts the city. Because it is the city'
of man, it can never limit man to this world
and its goals. It must always leave the door
open to higher goals for men. Because it Is the
City of Man, it can work only with human power,
with the strength of men. But it stands in need
of more power than mere man car. give it.
THUS we look at our civic community as a
good thing, called to the heights, but besieged
by self destruction. We see it as the servant
of men, but limited to human vision, human power
and human goals. Where can the city get a higher
vision, a higher power and a higher goal?
This is the role of the Christian, a man of
Faith, of Hope and of Charity. The city of Man
needs men who know what they are, where they
are going and how they are to get there. This the
the Christian has by Faith. Because his God has
told him by word and deed that he, man, is good,
lovable and loved, the Christian knows who man
is. Because God became a man, the Christian
knows, by Faith, that everything human cries
out to be baptized, to be raised beyond itself,
just as man has been raised to share in the
Divine Life itself. The Christian man’s faith sets
the goals and judges the means for all that Is
human, even or especially for the building of the
City of Man.
The City of Man sets its sights upon the goal
of Man. The Christian knows by faith that his
goal lies beyond this world, beyond and yet my
steriously through this world. Heaven begins here,
is won here, and can be lost here. Before all
of the dangers, discouragements, and difficulties
which the ambivalent City of Man offers to men, the
Hope of the Christian gives courage and conviction.
The Hope of the Christian is no chimaera,
a dream. It is the clear perception of distant
goals, and the power to obtain them. Rooted in
the knowledge of Faith, Christian Hope is the
power of God himself, given to men to make It
possible for them to do what it impossible by
their own strength. Since the City of Man is an
essential part of man’s pilgrim life, a threat
or a help, the resources of hope are available
even for the building up of the City of Man.
THE CITY of Man can call upon Justice as
its highest motivation. But mere justice Is so
hard to maintainn, ami can be so cold even when
maintained, that it needs a higher power, a greater
impetus. The Christian man is a man of Charity
- that is, he is a man in whom dwells the God
who is l*ove. With this Charity, made up of the
command to serve his neighbor and the means
to render this service, the limitations of mere
justice are transcended, the mechnical nature
of mere justice is converted into a warm human
thing. Men whose hearts of stone have been re
placed with hearts of flesh by God are men who
can ennoble and enliven the City of Man as it is
building.
REAPINGS
AT
RANDOM.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 8