The Georgia bulletin (Atlanta) 1963-current, May 09, 1963, Image 4

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The Georgia bulletin, May 09, 1963, Image 4

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Newspaper Page TextPAGE 4 GEORGIA BULLETIN THURSDAY, MAY 9, 1963 the Archdiocese of Atlanta GEORGIA BELLETI SEKVINQ 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 Kiernan 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 Northside Station Atlanta 5, Ga. Birmingham, 1963 On another page of this issue we publish comments by one of our fellow editors at the Miami Convention of the Catholic Press Association last week. He suggests that the Catholic press is negligent in not shaking the complacency of Negro leadership as to the morals of their people, and even their attitude to life itself. He quoted from statistics used by segregationists in their ef forts to deny the Negro his ele mentary rights as a human per son. It is a pity he did not men tion that there are also statis tics available which dispute this view of our Negro brethren. Other figures show that they are really no more immoral or un Ameri can than many of our White bre thren. Recent events in Birmingham Alabama, give lucid testimony to the fact that our fellow editor’s criticism is hardly valid. Neither the Catholic press nor the gene ral press can have any influence on the Negro as long as we re main silent or apathetic about the brutality which his people have suffered in recent days. A copyrighted story from the New York Times describes how peaceful protests were met with vicious dogs and fire hoses, with pressures ranging from five to 250 pounds. The water ripped off the shirts of peaceful demon strators -- and there was no denial of these facts. In addit ion, electric poles, normally for herding cattle, we re used to move along the peaceful demonstr ators. Finally, there was the un denied report of little Negro children being left outside a jail yard in a rainstorm. There is no use excusing it all on the grounds that the jails are full. These children should not have been jailed in the first place, A lot has been made of the fact that “outside agitators*' started it all; and that if left to themselves Birmingham Negroes and Whites could have come up with a solution. This is hard to believe. The Negroes of Birmingham have been pro testing for years without results. Furthermore, the White City Fat hers can t even decide who is to run the city. Two factions claim to be the ruling body. Amid such chaos, it is not hard to under stand the Negro’s reluctance to wait another hundred years. The Christian conscience cr ies out for justice for the Negro, not only in Birmingham, Alabama, but anywhere he is den ied recognition of his Divine dig nity and eternal destiny. Pious platitudes are not the answer, demonstrators are not asking for anything other than recognition of their constitutional rights, guar anteed by their American citizen ship. We here can help with our prayers that reason and justice will prevail over brutalopperss- ion. Catholic Public Service The Missouri State Assembly’s rejection of a bill permitting par- chial pupils to ride on tax paid school buses has brought forth a surprising protest by parents. Hundreds of parochial school children were enrolled in Miss ouri public schools. Although short lived, the protest served to remind the gen eral public (and the bigots) of the public service rendered by the Catholic school systems through out the country. Missouri’s State Commission of Education made the pointed comment that if the 172,000 Missouri Catholic stu dents were turned into the pub lic school system, it would cost a minimum of $66,500,000 to accommodate them. This, he re marked, could cause “financial disaster. ” Here in the State of Georgia, where Catholics are not so num erous, Catholic education is sav ing the State's public school sys tem some $6,500,000 -- this baaed on the per pupil cost and teachers' salaries. From a purely materialistic point of view, this is quite a savings to our tax-conscious citizens. However, we think that to argue on a purely cost basis is nega tive. More to the point, Catholic schools are performing a real public service. This should be made clear, not only to the tax conscious, but also to those po liticians and secula rist educators whose opposition to justice for Catholic pupils is based solely on prejudice. These are the gent lemen who see religion not only separated from the State, but also from life itself. What is often forgotten by the general public is that Catholic schools and colleges still have to conform to federal and state standards. What is taught in Cat holic schools is not inferior to that taught in public schools. We add the religious concept in order to provide those experiences which, with the assistance of God’s help, are best calculated to develop in the young the ideas, the attitudes, and the habits that have demanded a Christ-like liv ing in our American democratic societey. 'NOW DONT FAINT...YOUR VOICE OF WISDOM AND TALENTS ARE NEEDED’ PACEM IN TERRIS Pope’s Vigorous Optimism BY REV. LEONARD F. X. MAYHEW One of the most striking impressions culled from reading Pacem In Terris is the vigorous optimism of our octogenarian Pontiff. Reviewing the parade of crises, problems and dangers of the contemporary world from the throne of Peter, the Pope does not offer mankind a jeremiad but a prescription. We find none of the clear-cut absurdities so loudly chanted at us from both sides of the political great divide. The Holy Father will not waste his time with a “better dead (or Red) than the other way around" ment ality. Far, far better- and entirely possible, says good Pope John, to be neither Red nor dead. Far better, indeed, to apply the astounding in genuity of the human reason, so lavishly pro ductive in science and technology, to the moral and political labor of establishing a truly human and peaceful society. It is not surprising that the iPope's prescription for the jsoclal ills of mankind avoids Ithe extreme of rootless pra- Igmatism. What apparently has jjcome as something of a sur prise to many is that an.ap proach to complex problems lthat is rooted in universal pri- Inciples of morality could at the same time be so eminent ly practical. In Pacem In Terris Pope John is not holding himself above the real world and preaching empty verbiage to men wrestling with real problems. Where he feels that the need is greatest for general guidelines for the re cognition of a problem and its solution, he is content to define them clearly without being overly specific. He leaves much for the political ex perts to work out. This appears particularly wise in that it soes not presuppose any absolutely static world order. At the same time, the encyclical is not so remotely general that it might be construed as little more than a well meant but not par ticularly helpful sermon. When Pope John dis cusses the United Nations it is abundantly clear that he means this specific organization, made up of fallible human beings, subject to ignor ance and confusion. He discusses the purposes and structure of the U. N. in some detail and LITURGICAL WEEK singles out for special praise as an "act of the highest importance'* the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. He concludes with the “ear nest wish that the United Nations Organization may become ever more equal to the magnitude and nobility of its tasks." There can be little doubt from a study of this section that Pope John aligns himself with those who see the United Nations as the germ of an eventual world authority able to safeguard the rights of "every human being" and effectively regulate the relations be tween states for the promotion of the "universal common good." will not escape the attention of world leaders and of Catholic public opinion. The notion of common good has always been at the center of Catholic social ethics. It envisages the existence of a true community - a family, labor union, parish, nation - which binds indiv iduals together for the attainment of a common purpose. Each society has its specific common good, the particular well-being of its members that it is designed to achieve. This may be the mutual love of the spouses and the procreation and education of the children in the society es tablished by marriage. For the state It is the temporal well-being of all the citizens. For the Church it is the glory of God and the sal vation of mankind. The role and activity of each society is defined by its common good. When he speaks of a universal common good, it becomes clear that the Holy Father conceives a real community which embraces all members of the human race. Present conditions make it Impossi ble for the governments of the nations of the world to insure the security of the human family by independent initiatives. There is demanded, as a consequence, a further step in the evolut ion of society, the institution of "public authorities which are in a position to operate in an effect ive manner on a world-wide basis. The moral order. . .demands that such a form of public authority be established.” The death knell of isolationism, at least among Catholics, has been sounded with these words. The Holy Father has prescribed, with confidence and optimism, the remedy of human reason for the ills of mankind. We must, to begin with, abandon our pre-conceived judgements and habits of prejudice. We must adjust our thinking to the dictates of reason - enlightened by Christian faith - and then we can get on to the staggering task of solving our problems. Spirit Comes With Message BY FR. ROBERT W. HOVDA (Priest.of the Pittsburgh Oratory) MAY 12 FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER. Ascension and Pentecost ("He who is to befriend you" — Gospel) are in the air. And supreme confidence— for the Spirit comes with a mess age from on high to make things plain to us, and with the Father, whose gift of redemption we now celebrate, ("there can be no change, no swerving from his course"— First Reading). In this changing world (Collect), our public worship plants our feet firmly on the bedrock of His everlasting convenant, His love which in Jesus' Resurrection all the world can see (Entrance Hymn). And the Spirit who will come to us (Gospel, Communion Hymn) confirms that transcendent reference, makes it Impossible for the Christian to be merely a victim of worldly flux and flow. "It will be for him to prove the world wrong" (Gospel). Not in everything cert ainly. Only in appropriating to itself the abso lute claims which belong ultimately and only to God's saving Word. MONDAY, MAY 13 ST. ROBERTBELLARMINE, BISHOP, CONFESSOR, DOCTOR. The First Reading of this Mass of a great teacher of the Church is ap propriately (after yesterday's Gospel) a hymn to wisdom. Wisdom, in the Christian view, is a gift of the Spirit—not without its human components of experience and intelligence, but imposing on these things ian orientation, an order, a bre ath which is of God. The Fat her pleads with us today to prize this gift, to value it beyond wealth or health or beauty. TUESDAY, MAY 14 MASS AS ON SUNDAY. “Come, you worshipers of God, and listen while I tell you of the marvels he has done for me" (Offertory Hymn). This is the theme of Easter time, the great high season of the Christian year. And it is why the Eucharist (Thanksgiving) is a more vivid and descriptive name for our chief service of public worship, though less common, than the “Mass." TTie glory of Jesus' rising again, since we are baptized “into him," can never be absent from the consiciousness of the Christian. WEDNESDAY, MAY 15 ST. JOHN BAPTIST DE LA SALLE, CONFESSOR. We "confess the faith" in deeds as well as in words. The deeds of our worship—our hymns, our “Amens," our pre sentation of bread-wine gifts, our offering of divinizing and ritual confirmations of all our deeds, the deeds of our lives (who could have transgressed, and has not transgressed"— First Reading). THURSDAY, MAY 16 ST. UBALDUS, BISHOP, CONFESSOR, Another Mass of a confessor and again we celebrate the deeds of the Christian life. The deeds of worship (First Reading) and the deeds of secular activity (Gospel). Neither, we learn, is for the Christian measurable in purely human terms. The wisdom of the Spirit within us confounds the wisdom of the world around us. Only He who is the ground of our being and the sources of our "talents" can judge. FRIDAY, MAY 17 ST. PASCHAL BAYLON, CONFESSOR. The deeds of a Christian, in order to be worthy of being associated with, being caught up in, the offering of our Lord's Body and Blood, must be the deeds of men who look for the coming of the Master (Gospel). They must be deeds informed by the habit of working for the CONTINUED ON PAGE 5 PRESS MEET It’s Off The Record BY GERARD E. SHERRY Dear Consulting Editor: You asked for a report on the Catholic Press Convention held last week in Miami. I'm delighted to oblige, although I must ask that you keep it all strictly “off the record." This is necess itated by the fact that almost everything of signi ficance that I learned from the convention deli berations is not meant for public consumption. It is getting to a state that in exercising our right to know, we Catholic editors are being deprived of our right to inform. There was obvi ously a strained air at Miami. Pope John’s “fresh air” of renewal was bat tling, not only the rainstorms which kept us cooped up in the hotel for over three days, but al so the stale air of the status quo. New faces sprinkled with the rain among the assem bled delegates. Alas, some did not seem to be faces of renewal and reform. Rather appreared to be the faces of samenes dedicated to obli gations at the expense of rights. There was al so the negative stress on blind obedience — whatever the mistakes or injustice involved. Editors were often reminded of the importance of truth, but love was hardly mentioned — as if truth could survive without love. YOU asked was there anything new on Catholic University. Yes, there was, but I can't tell you. It's all off the record. What I can say is that most of us come out of the first briefing more confused than ever. There seemed too many conflicting "facts.” What is more, we were not permitted to ask questions. A second (private) briefing at which many leading questions were asked, brought more light on the subject. Alas, I must honor my committ ment to silence on the particulars. We all did agree that Catholic University was too important to be bandied about in fruitless debate. This, too, might also be said of some of the persona lities involved. Their characters are also im portant, no matter what side they were on. There integrity must not be challenged, merely to save face. LATIN America was the convention theme, and we benefited by all that was said in this re gard. We met Cubans who had fought Castro, and some who fled to relive in democracy. We heard that Communism was much more of a threat to our southern neighbors than we had ever realized. We were urged to acquaint our readers with the facts, so that they might be inspired to help according to their talents. Some may be able to volunteer to serve in their pro fession; others may be able to help financially or with prayer. There were workshops on all kinds of sub jects. Editors, advertising managers, circulation staffs, business managers, all paired off to their respective sessions, hoping to justify their stay in the Americana — an expensive but pleasant environment. Many worked hard at it; some merely played. Even so, all learned — and according to their study. There was of course the election of officers and the drama of the final business meeting. The election was routine. The president was re elected for another year; and so was the vice- president and the secretary and treasurer. The right of succession in the Catholic Press Asso ciation is almost as sacred as the Divine Right of Kings. If you attempt to buck it, you are cast into the role of an agitator disturbing the status quo. Anyhow, the vice-president will make a good president next year. They all do. THEN CAME the resolutions — all in favor say 'Aye." As was the practice, there were de letions and attempts at amendments. The spirit of Pope John had so pervaded the convention halls, that some were affeared we might move faster than even the Pontiff desired. They there fore wanted us to resolve to daily admittance of our shortcomings— almost self-scourging. It seemed to some of the delegates that Uriah Heep was best left in the pages of Dickens. We hoped that Christian humility meant more than that. Recognition of our shortcomings is not a resolve but an admission of utter depen dence upon God. We trust this is a daily thought in all of us. There were some good resolutions mentioning Paeon In Terris, Catholic Relief Services of Miami which gives such wonderful help to Cuban refugees, the recent Religion and Race Confer ence, and Catholic attempts at speeding interr acial justice. And they all passed without trouble. Indeed, the final business meeting was the short est on record. At least, that's what one of the "older" editors told me. President Floyd Ander son is to be congratulated on two counts. Not only did he win the “Outstanding Catholic Jour nalist" award, he also presided over the shortest convention business session. DID WE give the award for the best secular news coverage of the Vatican Council? Yes, we did. It went to the New Yorkerfor the articles by Xavier Rynne. Who is Xavier Rynne? Those who know told me. He is a bishop from the Far West; he is a Redempcorist from New York; he is a Jesuit editor; he is an Eastern bishop; he Is Hans Kueng; he is a liberal seminary professor from Los Angeles. Please don’t let me down. This all was told to me "off the re cord." I’d like to keep it that way. What did we accomplish at Miami? Much, in my opinion. We all realized that vital Catholic journalism means the end of timidity without repudiating the Virtue of Prudence There was a hard examination of conscience in relation to many controversial Issues we have tackled in the past year. We can confirm that the spirit of Pope John has permeated the ntinds and hearts in the majority of Catholic editors of this country. REAPINGS AT RANDOM