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GEORGIA BULLETIN THURSDAY, MAY 30, 1963
the
Archdiocese of Atlanta
GEORGDlBULLETt
SeiVING 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 Kieraan
ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Sue Spence
2699 Peachtree N.E
P.O. Box 11667
Norths ide Station
Atlanta 5, Ga.
Member of the Catholic Press Association
ind Subscriber to N.C.W.C. News Service
Telephone 231-1281
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Unity Of
Both religious and secular news
services are full of reports on ra
cial disquiet throughout the coun
try, The problem cannot be ignored
as the crisis is at hand. What we
do now, as well as what we say, will
have a profound effect for years to
come.
We join all who express a fear
that extremists of both sides will
take advantage of the situation. But
we should be careful not to bandy the
term “Extremist” about in order to
justify our own inaction. Religious
leaders, especially, should be care
ful that they do not lead their con
gregation into a state of ennui, sim
ply because to take a strong stand
would rock a boat or a congregation.
Indeed, to our mind, in this area
of race relations we should here and
now cooperate with our Protestant
Purpose
more applicable in our common civ
ic affairs than revelation. The re
ason, of course, is that the state is,
as we say, a “natural society.”
The Church is definitely a super
natural society. Marriage, for the
baptized, has been raised to the dig
nity of a Sacrament. We cannot get
acceptance of these truths from
those who do not accept Christian
revelation on these matters as we
do.
Fortunately, we can appeal to
everybody’s understanding of nat
ural-law morality, because every
body with a normal human mind
should be able to understand and
accept it. Many, many, millions of
Protestants and Jews do accept it.
This is especially so in relation to
discrimination against the Negro.
They see the injustice of this as
clearly as do Catholics. We have
‘MAY I SUGGEST TWO PAIRS ?
THOROUGH READJUSTMENT
Church Is Moved Forward
and Jewish brethren in working
towards a just and peaceful solu
tion. We have to remember that the
only basis of moral unity we have
with all God-fearing people is na
tural-Law morality as applied to
society. They do not always believe
in revelation the way we do. Without
the gift of faith, they cannot believe
in it. Hence, the only appeal Cath
olics can make to our friends, the
only common ground we can meet
them on, is that of natural-law mor
ality.
It so happens that this “common
ground” is by all odds more com
prehensive, more acceptable, and
additional and deeper reasons for
respecting human rights than
they, but basically otir rea
sons and theirs are the same. The
most fundamental reason is writ
ten into the Declaration of Indep
endence, all men are created
equal. Our Constitution protects
every person from being depri
ved of “life, liberty and property”
without due process of law. Our
Constitutional system, as a matter
of fact, embodies this ( and many
other) natural-law principles, so
in calling for its application we
are trying to apply what is at once
a Catholic and an American moral
principle.
Memorial Day Reflections
A century ago, May 30 was ap
pointed as a special day for com
memorating; the soldiers and sai
lors who sacrificed their lives in
the Civil War. The first official
observance occurred on May 30,
1868 by order of the G.A.R. Com
mander, General John A. Logan,
Now, this commemoration includes
those glorious dead who have offer
ed themselves in the cause of freed
om in the Spanish-American and two
world wars. A date had been est
ablished; a place had to be chosen.
It was obvious that a place should
be selected in each community.
While the school and the commun
ity hall and park were worthy pl
aces, the cemetery with its reli
gious character was readily and
quickly recognized by all as the pri
mary place for such memorial.
If not the actual resting place,
it was the symbolic resting place
of all who sacrificed their lives
for their country.
istian living and dying.
Our cemeteries come forth from
our desire not to forget . They are
memorials in themselves, enjoying
special privilege and immunity be
cause of their significant purpose.
Catholic sections of our local ce
meteries have special memorial
services on All Souls Day in Nove
mber, We believe, however, that we
should seize upon the religious sign
ificance of Memorial Day and go to
our cemeteries that we may medi
tate on life and death, and pray for
those who deserve this hallowed sh
rine -- because they lived as good
and sacrificing citizens of this world
with an eye on the immortal reward
that is to come.
BY REV. LEONARD F. X. MAYHEW
Pope John is a man of many parts, as the re
cord of his reign demonstrates. He is as well,
in the sense that he has accomplished if not the
impossible, at least the unexpected, a man of
many miracles. Almost single-handedly he has
moved the Church forward in several significant
areas where a certain rigidity seemed to have
become ingrained. The aura of his personal in
fluence, the deliberations of the Vatican Council
and the optimism of his social teaching stand as
clear witnesses of a willing
ness, not formerly considered
characteristic of Catholicism,
to change decisively wherever
a far from static world demands
a new approach. His joyful list
ing of the inalienable moral
rights of man includes a vig
orous endorsement of freedom
as foremost among them.
One facet of the encyclical
Pacem In Terris which calls for a thorough re
adjustment, on both a theoretical and practical
plane, is the Pope’s treatment of error. Every
individual, he teaches, posses "the right to free
dom in searching for truth and in expressing and
communicating his opinions." This freedom cl
early precedes and transcends any judgement of
the objective truth or falsity of a person’s con
victions, since it is concerned precisely with
"searching for truth" and with "opinions." This
freedom of conscience extends into the area of
religious conviction: "Every human being has
the right to honor God according to the dictates
of an upright conscience, and therefore the right
to worship God privately and publicly." The
primary and inviolable dignity of the individual
conscience has never before been so clearly vin
dicated, although it has been a traditional, if
sometimes insufficiently honored, principle of
Catholic morality.
THE Holy Father has laid to rest once and for
all the too familiar dictum that "error has no
rights." On the contrary, he warns that "one
must never confuse error and the person who
errs, not even when there is a question of error
or inadequate knowledge of truth in the moral
and religious field." It must always be remem
bered that the erring individual or group retains
LITURGICAL WEEK
the lofty dignity of the human person whose
moral rights must be respected in every in
stance. With characteristic optimism Pope John
points out that " a drawing nearer together or
a meeting" with those whose views we hold to be
erroneous or inadequately true may now or in
the future serve the cause of peace and truth.
The door must be left open for the influence of
grace and reason to operate on the common as
pirations which we share as men. The impli
cation of the encyclical appears to be that such
a "drawing nearer together" should not merely
be negatively tolerated but may under the right
circumstances be prudently worked toward. I
believe we can discover an application of this
principle not only in the cordial relationships
between Pope John and many non-Catholic re
ligious leaders but in the startling interview
granted by the Pontiff to Alexei Adzhubei, the
son-in-law of Premier Khrushchev.
THIS brings up what is undoubtedly the most
startling element of the encyclical, a hint of a
new policy toward the actually existing and his
torical reality called Communism. It is not a
question, emphatically, of a changed judgement
of the several errors and evils of the philoso
phy of Communism. Neither is it a failure to
assess clearly the enormous evil that is done
in the name ctf that philosophy. The Holy Father
is merely applying to the greatest problem the
world now faces some hopeful and common sense
principles of action. He points out that histori
cal movements of a social and economic na
ture tend to evolve, even when they have arisen
originally from false and immoral theories. As
they continue to be influenced by the profound
demands erf human nature, they may tend to in
corporate "elements that are positive and de
serving of approval." The proverbial dictum
concerning the kernel of truth in every error
may then be applied even to Communism. Pius
XI noted in 1931 the frequent and striking simi
larity of program of anti-Christian socialism
and the just demands of Christian social reform.
THE mentality of Pope John's encyclical in
dicates that a dialogue prudently and sincerely
engaged in with those from whom we differ far
surpasses in hopefulness a rigid repetition of
anathemas. Not only the man who errs but the
error too is ultimately capable of redemption.
Pentecost Fills, Elevates Human Nature
Certainly Catholics and all
God-loving persons who understand
the sacrifices made by their con
freres i n fighting the battle of life
in the cause of eternal freedom,
will be the first to grasp at this
date and place of sacred memory.
All the religious elements nece
ssary for inspiration are present.
A symbol of sacrifice, dedicated
and religious, recalls the willing
ness to lose all for God and cou
ntry. By giving up our lives, we
hope to find them more abundantly
and to set up a way of Christian
self-denial that will lead others to
greater peace and joy onearthwhile
they pursue the eternal goal. We
remember what others have done for
us and what we ought to do for them
by way of continued prayerful sacr
ifice, The cemetery is indeed a wor
thy and pronounced symbol of Chr-
BY FR. ROBERT W. HOVDA
Priest of the Pittsburg Oratory)
JUNE 2, PENTECOST SUNDAY. Whitsunday.
"We will both come to him (the faithful man),"
Jesus says of the Father and of Himself (Gospel).
Today's great feast celebrates the fact that the
divine life within us is Trinitarian. "He who is
to befriend" (Gospel) us has come. Father, Son,
and Holy Spirit indwell in us.
God is love and the love of the divine Three
fills, transforms, elevates our human nature.
Already the Kingdom is within us. This is the
dignity man was created for. This is the dignity
we recognize and express in the Church's pub
lic worship with our bows to one another, our
•aiutations (Domlnus voblscum") our cenalngs,
our kiss of peace. Rational animals, yes, but
vivified by that Trinitarian life which is the
source of all life.
JUNE 3, PENTECOST MON
DAY. In the Collect of today's
Mass we pray for peace as die
fruit of the Spirit's presence.
The mystery of Pentecost con
firmed the Church which was
bom out of the death and ris
ing again of the Christ. It con
firmed the unity of the human
race, both in its ultimate goal.
"Speaking in many languages, the apostles told
of God’s wonders" (Alleluia). The very sign of
division and difference among men was made at
Pentecost a vehicle of understanding and common
enlightenment.
JUNE 4, PENTECOST TUESDAY. The Holy
Spirit's coming has an ecclesiastical as well as
an individual dimension. There is a community
of the Spirit. It is the Church, the sheepfold of
the Gospel. The sacraments of the Spirit's
coming are also the sacraments of initiation in
to the community, the holy people of God-Bap
tism and Confirmation. The same Spirit guides
us inwardly and outwardly, in conscience and in
the total life of the Church.
JUNE 5, EMBER WEDNESDAY AFTER PEN
TECOST. The Entrance Hymn sings to the Holy-
Spirit as God-with-us in prophetic words of the
Old Testament. And the First Reading quotes
the prophet Joel to explain the joyful enthus
iasm of the apostles at Pentecost.
The Spirit is wine that kindles fire (Alleluia).
If he is with us, who can be against us? What
evil, what misfortune, what handicap or impedi
ment can loom large in this pentecostal light?
Everything was created by this same breath
(Alleluia after First Reading), this Holy Spirit
now in us.
JUNE 6, PENTECOST THURSDAY. The Ecu-
Continued on Page 5
FOUGHT MILS
Editor-Martyr
-An Example
BY GERARD E. SHERRY
Last week in this column we w ere talking about
the necessity of courage in the Catholic press.
And there are many examples that can be quoted
of editorial courage. Sometimes this courage has
led our editors into difficulties — and not be
cause they were wrong or imprudent, but merely
because their references had hit home.
Then, too, the courage of some editors leads
them to suffer abuse
from the extremist
groups. These extre
mists nearly always
try to undermine the
priest or lay editor
through letters to
bishop-publishers. It
is an old trick often
used to discredit with
half-truths and innu
endos. They write letters to'bishops, sowing the
seed of doubt, in the hope that they will get rid
of the opposition. Their documentation is often
clever, and some bishops are taken in by it. Many
editors have suffered through this type of pres
sure - unjustly maligned. The trouble with these
extremists is they will go to any length to destroy
their opponents.
IT IS therefore good to be able to report that we
editors can find solice in the life and times of one
of our fellows, Father Titus Brandsma, a Dutch
Carmelite priest-editor. He died a martyr's death
in the Nazi "hell of Dachau". His martyr's death
came about solely on account of his editorial op
position to the Nazi oppression of occupied Holland
during World War IL
Steps are now being taken which will probably
lead to the beatification of Father Brandsma. A
petition initiated by the Polish Dutch and German
hierarchy has been presented to the Fathers of
the Second Vatican Council. None of us can expect
the privilege of martyrdom, but when things are
rough we can at least take some comfort in such
an inspiring example.
REAPINGS
AT
RANDOM
A BIOGRAPHY of Father Brandsma entitled
"Un gioradista matire" written by Msgr. Fausta
Vallaine, is an Italian best seller. Pope John is
reported to have been so moved by the biography
that he sacrificed a part of a night’s sleep to
finish the book. They day after, in an audience
with international i journalists, the Pope said
of him, "He has aroused in my heart so much res
pect, because this book deals with a personality,
who his immeasurable ordeal has always carried
with him the exercise of love of one's neighbor,
of utmost heroism."
Father Brandsma was delegated by the Dutch
hierarchy to represent them in their fight against
Nazi attempts to eliminate the Catholic press.
He travelled all over the country explaining to
fellow editors and newsmen the need for resis
tance against any attempts to hinder the freedom
of the press. Every large diocese in Holland had
its own newspaper, and the Nazis decreed it un
lawful to reject articles and advertisements fav
orable to their cause. Father Brandsma called on
all Journalists to choose sides, and uphold Catholic
principles, whatever the cost. Within a month, he
had written pledges from all the editors that they
would remain loyal to the Church. The Gestapo
then stepped in an arrested him.
At his trial Father Brandsma insisted that the
Church did not fear the consequences in protecting
the Catholic press: "When the Church upholds her
principles, she considers primarily the ideal and
only indirectly the material loss to her faithful
in defending those principles". Then, almost
prophetically, Father Brandsma added: "At all
times there have been men who when necessary
have given their lives as martyrs for the Church."
FATHER Brandsma was sentenced to imprison
ment until the end of the war. He remained in the
prison at Schieveninger from January 19 until
March 12, 1942, when he began his journey
through several prisons terminating in the dreaded
Dachau on June 19, 1942. Here as elsewhere he
displayed heroic virtue in his sufferings, patience,
encouragement and charity to others. There are
numerous accounts of fellow prisoners - Catho
lics, Protestants, and Jews — to Father Brand-
sma's spiritual valor in the face of serious phy
sical illness and inhuman cruelty.
Father Brandsma, hero of the Catholic press,
completed his mission six weeks after his arrival
at Dachau. Months of privation and suffering had
laid waste his emaciated frame. He died as the
result of severe beatings on July 26, 1942.
The Nazis have sunk into the pages of history,
but their blood-brothers, the Communists, the
Racists, the anti-Semites, and the Religious Bi
gots continue the attempt to undermine the Church
and our American democracy. They have not
yet reached the stage where they can offer us the
dignity of martyrdom. But they might reach this
stage if the Catholic press and its editors fail
to see "the writing on the wall." We can ull make
life easier for ourselves by succumbing to the
pressure around us. Alas, there is always the
Day of Judgement to face. And who would want
to be there empty-handed, with nothing but ex
cuses.