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. feat**.; .. . . ... PACE 4 GEORGIA BULLETIN THURSDAY, MAY 16, 1963 the Archdiocese of Atlanta GEORGIA BULLETIN SIRVING GCOROIA'S 71 NORTHCRN 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. Parish Support Recently we have had several letters complaining about the imposition of tithing in some of our parishes. And the complaint has been based, not so much on the principle, as on some of the literature that has been used to further the aims of tithing. Hav ing seen it ourselves, we are inclined to agree that some of the authors of tithing literature appear to know little about pub lic relations. More important, some of their theology is ques tioned by competent theolog ians. Alas, it is freely taken for granted that we Catholics are generous in our support of the clergy and the Church; but on what estimate this is based, and againstwhich standard it is judg ed generous, is not so obvious. Only a little experience of tak ing up collections in church, up on which after all, the parish depends for most of its income, shocks by the frequency with which the dime or the quarter is made the offering. If each Catholic were to seriously ex amine his conscience on the subject and compute his average contribution in a year and com pare it with the average annual expenditure on personal plea sure -- cigarettes, tobacco, movies, ball games , and so forth, the results would, we are sure, surprise. There are few, if any, who measure their contributions to the support of their pastors and the Church by the taxes they have to pay to Caesar for very much more doubtful returns. It is probably true to say that the average Catholic's total an nual contribution to the clergy and the Church fall well below expenditures on pleasure, vaca tions, hobbies, clothes, volun tary hospitalization, subscrip tions to trade unions, business associations, sports, and social clubs. In fact, money paid in church collections is the lowest item in per sonal and family bud gets. We are in sympathy with the principle of tithing. Its useful ness has been proven through out the country. However, we feel that where it is introduced, other parish appeals should be done away with. A family which is giving its fair share to the parish should be free from the obligation to Support other "gimmicks." After all, there are still the archdiocesan and national appeals to which he must also contribute in a gene rous manner. Naturally, there are still too many people who do not give their fair share in support of their parish. It is to these people that we must appeal, not by scathing, but through love. Concern For The World We have been chided recently for interest and comment on so- called secular or social matters. Some readers are of the opinion that we should stick to religion and mind our own business about everything else -- especially in relation to racial matters, Medi care, and the United Nations. We wish these readers would take the trouble to look at the recent encyclical, Pacem In Ter ris, by Pope John XXIII. The mad- date for our concern and interest is clearly there. So, too, his late lamented predecessor, Pope Pius XII , also stressed the mandate. He said: ‘‘To wish to draw the exact line of separation between rel igion and life, between the natural and the supernatural, betweenthe Church and the world, as if they had nothing to do with each other, as if the rights of God were val ueless in all the manifold real ities of daily life, whether human or social, is entirely foreign to Catholic thought and is postively anti-Christian. The more, there fore, the powers of darkness bring their pressure to bear, the more they strive to banish the Church and religion from the world and from life, the more there is need on the part of the Church itself of steadfast and persevering action in order to reconquer and to place all fields of human life under the most sweet empire of Christ, so that His spirit may breathe more abundently, His law reign with a more sovereign sway, and His love triumph more victoriously. Behold what we must understand by the Kingdom of Christ! This task of the Church is in deed arduous, but they are sim ply unwitting deserters or dupes who, in deference to a misguided supernaturalism, would confine the Church to the "strictly reli gious" field, as they say, whereas by so doing they are but playing into the hands of their enemies." ‘I'VE GOT IT... MORE BIRTHS TO GET RID OF THIS STUFF!' NATIONAL CONCERN Disturbing Adolescents BY REV. LEONARD F. X. MAYHEW Disturbed and disturbing adolescents have ach ieved a conversational ascendancy that rivals even the weather. In sheer volume of words spoken, written or thought, the problems of the abolescent years would appear our number one national concern. When the anti-social and self- defeating activities of teen-age children reach acute proportions, they become the basis of stat istics and the content of analyses. Delinquency, promiscuity, adolescent marriage and divorce rates, school drop-outs - all are periodically studied and restudied. As distinct from the weat her, some effort is made to "do something about it." Even the less dramatic manifestations of the teenagers’ conflicts receive their due of attent ion and discussion. The high schools, pastors and beleagured parents pool their concern and confusion. Their recurrent lament is the ina bility to understand the implied plea is for in formation. The whole process of maturing that intervenes between childhood and adulthood is a profound mystery to most of us. AN article (Jubilee Magazine, May 63) by Robert J. Cambell M. D., Chief of the Outpat ient Psychiatric Service of St. Vincent's Hospital, New York, demonstrates how much help could be had from psychiatry and psychology. The understanding of the adolescent process that these fields could provide, if their data were translated into understandable terms, would form a foundation upon which a practical approach to the problems might be built. The obvious aim of adoles cence is the formation of a socially competent individual ! based on sexual development. Maturity implies the achieve ment of a balance among the drives built into human per sonality and the transfer of these energies from the paren tal society onto some object of personal fulfillment, nor mally someone of the opposite sex. The person ality is a dynamic unit whose energy and drives arise from the very fact of life itself. In Dr. Campbell’s words: "In the area of sex and the teenager (this) means that sexual energy is present and is no more removable than the biological energy that makes the hair grow or the heart beat." It is essential to understand LITURGICAL WEEK and accept the processes of puberty and adole- sence as normal and understandable growth and, if possible, to communicate this mentality to the young persons themselves. THE DRIVES and energies of the human per sonality are then a normal and constant part of life. In the infant, insofar as they are operat ive, they are directed exclusively to himself. The first awareness of environment will after ward be directed to the parents. At this stage and as the child's awareness is extended to include other individuals and institutions, the beginnings of conflict are born. The necessity of choosing between the objects of desire, the need to delay their achievement, the absolute impossi bility of obtaining some or all of them - all this tension contributes to the particular per sonality of the child, especially according to how well or poorly it is guided by those in authority. This stage and the years of sexual latency be fore puberty are the preparation for adolescence. With the dawn of adolescence an intensly new world of choice and conflict comes into being. Swift and drastic change can be a threat even to a stable and mature adult. For the teenager, limited by his inexperience, the abrupt physical, emotional and social changes associated w ith pub erty- typically engender chaos. The task to be accomplished during adolescence is the fusion or balancing of the drives built into personality. The normal intensification of the sexual impulse needs to be made understandable to the adoles cent. The stages of social development, from gene ralized interest in the opposite sex to exclusive attraction of one individual, ought in turn to foster the maturing process. Various stages within the psychology- of the abolescent lead to a determination of the form and object the sexual impulse will assume. It is to be expected that these adjustments w ill be accompanied by unpredicable behavior, guilt, confusion, anti-social activity . These symptoms are signs of the conflict within the teenager. They are / many times^his defense or escape from reactions within himself which he cannot manage. The dangers they imply are obvious. Our society hastens the start of adolescence intensifies its confusion and defers its end. Lack of equilibrium at this period is normal, easily- accounted for and well documented. Anticipation erf its appearance would allow responsible adults to offer more effective guidance and better pro tection against the manifold dangers. Road That Leads To Life "Can you loop the loop?” BY FR. ROBERT W. HOVDA (Priest,of the Pittsburgh Oratory) MAY 19 FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER. "He It was who put me on the road that leads to life," we sing in the Offertory Hymn. "He has not allowed my steps to falter," so the Lord's rising again is completed by His return to and everlasting glory with the Father. This week's feast of the Asscension (Gospel) Is the inevitable conclusion of our Easter cele bration. The "road" is Jesus Christ and the "life'' to which it leads is the unalloyed hap piness and fulfillment we call heaven. His sav ing work of assuming "manhood into God" is finished only with his return to the Father. The pattern is perfected. It remains for us to be fitted by faith and grace Into it. So the First Reading teaches about the Christian's responsibility as he looks into the "law of freedom" established by that pattern. The Gospel prepares us, too, for the days of asking (Rogation) which precede Ascension. Our asking will be not only for peace and plenty and profit but also that the whole of human life and activities may become part of the pattern of return to the Father. MONDAY, MAY 20 ROGATION DAY. Our "ask ing" is based on two certainties. One, that rain and dry- weather (First Reading) and bread (Gospel) and all the "Creatures" and earthly realities for which br ead stands are good and are relevant to God's plan and God's pattern. Two, that we have in Ch rist a relationship to the Fat- |her which involves utter con fidence. The First Reading is also concerned that our asking be in the frame work of unity and solidarity with the community of disciples: "confess your sins to one another and pray for one another." TUESDAY, MAY 21 ROGATION DAY. The pro cession before Mass calls on all our brothers and sisters, in the Faith to pray with us and for us, to join in our asking. This “litany of the saints" expresses the Christian's conviction that he never prays alone, even in the moments of his most private dialogue with God. Always he prays "in Christ" and therefore in real union with all of Christ's members. WEDNESDAY, MAY 22 ROGATION DAY. VIGIL OF ASCENSION. The Mass of the Vigil may be celebrated in place of the Rogation Mass. "Glor ify me with thyself, with the glory- that 1 had with thee before the world existed," prays Our Lord in the Gospel. The Father answers this prayer with the As cension event. The First Reading points to the CONTINUED ON PAGE 5 NCCW-FPA STUDY Focus-Latin America BY GERARD E. SHERRY Latin America was the central theme of the recent annual convention of the Catholic Press Association at Miami Beach. Experts, including American missionary priests and laymen, work ing in the area, spent many hours presenting die situation. We all realized that we had not given enough attention in our newspapers to the pressing problems of our southern neighbors. It is therefore good to make known the work of those U. S. Catholics who fur ther the work of the Church through so cial as well as spir itual activities in South .America. Last week we had evidence of the high concern erf Pope John XXIII. In a letter written to Richard Cardinal Cushing, Archbishop of Boston, the Pope expressed "profound joy" at the contribution made by- U. S. priests and lay volunteers in the countries of South America. The Pope went on to stress that "the greatest efforts be made, as far as possible, during this time, so that they- may- assume added significence as the ec umenical council’s priceless gift to the Catholic peoples of the Western hemisphere." IT IS for this reason that I also want to re commend a project of the National Council of Catholic Women entitled "Focus: Latin America." It is a study and discussion program preparec by the NCCW with the assistance of the Foreig: Policy- Association of New York City. There an nine fact sheets plus an introduction to the pro gram. Among the subjects taken up are "Allhs for Progress": "Mexico- Land and Liberty" "The Four Hundred Year Lag;" "Hunger br Land;" "Urban Explosion;" "Coffee-Tin and Bin- anas'’; "Communist Inroads” and "Democncy and Leadership.” Various diocesan groups of Catholic wenen have launched this study which is followel by questionnaries to be answered by members as to their views of the subjects under discu;sion The whole project has an excellent professional touch. The material is well prepared, aad is presented in simple language. TTie NCCW aid the Foreign Policy Association are to be congraulated on their enterprise in giving American Citholic women an opportunity to "know” Latin Anerica. NATURALLY, there is opposition to the program; and it comes from the same tiiesome groups - the ultra Right Wingers - Catholics and non-Catholics alike, who are bent on sabota ging the project at any cost. And it cat all be traced back to their perennial opposition to the Foreign Policy Association, in my ow» state of Georgia, various grand juries have assumed the right to declare the FPA a subversive organization or a pro-Communist organiza tion — or something else. The main bone of contention is that years ago some FPA pamph lets were written or edited by persons of ex treme Left Wing views. There were other pam phlets written by "middle-of-the-roaders” which also came infor criticism. This because both sides of the questions were presented; and recognition of Communist China was among the recommen dations made. Opponents of the FPA keep harping about a certain Vera Micheles Dean, whose pamphlets raised many eyebrows — and not only those of the ultra Right. This lady is no longer doing work for the Foreign Policy Association, and she has not for some time. Despite this, FPA critics keep using her as the club in their vendetta (and that is all you can call it)against the organi zation. But the Foreign Policy Association should not have to be defended. Its officers and board of directors are composed of most dedicated Amer icans. The FPA draws its support from many leading Republicans and Democrats, as well as many religious leaders. I can say without re servation that no responsible Catholic leader has found it necessary to condemn the group or to warn Catholics away from it. Yet I know that some Catholic members of the ultra Right would want us to believe that the organization is dan gerous and has left Wing sympathies. Nothing could be further from the truth. THIS IS not to say that the Foreign Policy Association has not made mistakes in its choice of writers or research consultants. What group hasn’t? Even the Georgia grand juries condemning the FPA have admitted theirs. All but one of the county grand juries involved have cleared the FPA of the "subversive" tag. The lone holdout is Bibb County-and who knows...? The important thing is to rectify the mistakes of judgement and proceed on with the job of furthering the cause of American Democracy. The NCCW project " Focus Latin America" is a vital contribution to world understanding. We are, through it, made aware of the problems in South America and are inspired to concern and activity- in behalf of those less fortunate than ourselves. One would wish that members of the ultra Right would stop sniping at the NCCW and the FPA. They would be better Served by thinking up their own programs to help the peoples of the whole world. Maybe then we can take them seriously. REAPINGS AT RANDOM