The Georgia bulletin (Atlanta) 1963-current, July 25, 1963, Image 4

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PAGE 4 the GEORGIA BULLETIN THURSDAY, JULY 25, 1963 Archdiocese of Atlanta GEORGIA BULLETIN SCRVINO GEORGIA'S 71 NORTHERN COUNTIES Official Organ of the Archdiocese of Atlanta Published Every. Week at the pecatur Dekalb News Published by Archbishop Paul J. Hallinan Printed at Decatur, Ga. MANAGING EDITOR Gerard E. Sherry CONSULTING EDITOR Rev. R. Donald Kiernar ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Sue Spence Member of the Catholic Press Association nd Subscriber to N.C.W.C. News Service Telephone 231-1281 j j U.S.A. $5.00 Canada $5.50 Foreign $6.50 2699 Peachtree N.E. P.O. Box 11667 Norths ide Station Atlanta 5, Ga. men L nd! Application to mail at Second Class Postage Rates is pending at Atlanta, Ga. Trouble In Vietnam Papers lately have been filled with the “religious issue’* in South Vietnam. The recent press conference of President Kennedy and the paid advertisement in the New York Times and the Wash ington Post of 12 non-Catholic clergymen would leave the dist inct impression that all that is in volved in South Vietnam could be settled as soon as the Roman Catholics and the Buddhists get together. This week it was reported that soldiers invaded Buddhist pago das and brutally treated those monks as they were engaged in prayer. The whole thing has sha des of an “Inquisition’* being sta ged by us. However, veteran NCWC corr espondent Father O’Connor, who. has been close to the scene for a number of years, has report ed quite differently than did those articles which appeared in the ad vertisement of the Times and Post. Father O’Connor, we think, proves that the government of South Vietnam is not a “Catho- The Cause PRINTERS INK AROMAandthe bustle of the newsroom have been part of the background of Pope Paul Sixth. In his first press con ference after his election he re vealed that his father had been a journalist, and that he had in herited a sympathetic and appreciative attitude toward the press. One of the events which en deared Pope John XXIII to the press of the world and through it to millions of newspaper rea ders was his friendly reception of reporters and his welcome to photographers. It was some thing new in Vatican protocol and the press and public loved it. Now Pope Paul VI has in dicated that he wishes to con tinue the same open door re lations with the media of com munication. Of special interest at this time is his statement that the Vatican authorities will do all in their power to assist the press in reporting the second session of Ecumenical Council. lie government. True, Pre sident Diem is a Catholic, but the vice-president of that Asiatic country is not. Only five of the 17 cabinet members are Catho lic, and the National Assembly is less than 50 percent Catho lic. It would appear, too, that the Buddhists have prospered under the regime of President Diem. Father O’Connor reports that the Buddhists have more than doubled their number of schools in the past six years, and some 1,275 Buddhist pagodas have been built since 1954 with aid granted by the government amounting to more than nine million piastres. Whatever the trouble in South Vietnam is, it certainly does not look like religion is the cause. A government headed by a Cat holic is not necessarity a Cat holic government. The govern ment’s discriminating tactics certainly are not chargeable to the Church in the light of auth entic Catholic teaching. RDK Of Truth courage in the interest of the public welfare. We hope that all publications will measure up to the trust which Pope Paul places in them. We hope that they will insist on treating the truth responsibly, fearlessly and faithfully. We in the Catholic press field have the duty of setting the pace in this regard. We above all others have the obligation of using the power of the printed work for the welfare of all man kind, in the natural order as well as in the supernatural. We hope that we shall prove worthy of the confidence which our Chief Pastor has in us. CANAD1A I REGISTER Relate REAL PARTICIPATION The Post-Dialogue Mass BY REV. LEONARD F.X. MAYHEW The liturgical movement has come a long way. It has long since passed from being a radical movement of a few enthusiasts to the secure posi tion of official approval. It has subsequently pass ed from the olympian approbation of papal ency clicals to popular practice inmost areas through out the Church. By now in most dioceses of the U. S. the dialogue Mass is the accepted and nor mal form of public worship. The use of English in the administration of Baptism, Matrimony and many of the sacramentals is already almost vene rable. The increasing number of churches in this country where Mass is offered with the celebrant facing the congregation are still | something of a novelty. But in ] Europe this has already become common and was the daily oc- | currence at the Mass preceding the plenary sessions of the Va- tical Council. There can be lit— [tie doubt that the second ses- Ision of the Council will pro- Iduce at least a framework for further development of the li turgy of the Mass and the Sacraments which will include broader active participation by the faith ful. In the midst of this liturgical development it is imperative that we not be satisfied with purely external change. We need to evaluate each stop by careful comparison with the end and purpose of the liturgy. This end and purpose must be conceived as the external glory of God delibera tely and consciously achieved by the assembled community of the Church. Through the liturgy the members of the Church knowingly and with under standing offer themselves and their homage to Almighty God. The liturgy is sacramental inso far as it is designed to foster and embody that understanding and the sentiments that proceed from it. The silent, passive presence of the faithful in the church where Mass is being offered is in it self meaningless in terms of the liturgy. Just as there is an inherent contradiction in the notion of liturgy, which' is external and public worship, not being outwardly and actively participated in by those who are offering it, so also there is an in herent absurdity in an attitude that would be satis fied with purely external participation. There is no great value to be gained from an unknowing reci tation of even the most sacred words. While we are at the Latin stage of the Mass and for as long as we remain at that stage, the demand made upon the conscience of the faithful is the ef fort to understand and to recite knowingly their particular portions of the Mass rite. This demands greater effort, to be sure, than if the language of the Mass were immediately understandable. That does not, however, furnish an excuse from such an effort. There can be no objection against advocating further liturgical development. In die meantime, however, an honest attitude will face the present situation as well as possible. A syndicated co lumnist in the Catholic press has complained against the latin dialogue Mass because it is, on the one hand, incomprehensible to the faithful, and on the other, interferes with their use of the English missal. If he had marshalled the argu ments for the use of the vernacular, this would hardly be original and it would be entirely unob jectionable. But merely to complain about the present stage of development seems ungracious at best. With a little effort, the dialogue Mass, even in latin, can be followed with ease and no con fusion with the help of an English translation. The important thing is to participate with under standing and that is quite possible. A bit of homework would be of considerable help. Of particular importance would be the effort of parents to help their children learn to recognize the various parts of the Mass that are said out loud, and to - know them and. their significance by heart. LITURGICAL WEEK Friendship To Altar vHis< Holiness hopes that jour nalists everywhere will be guided by the same sense of responsi bility and the deep regard for truth which characterized his father during his years in the newspaper field. The press, the Pope insisted, should be animated by solid principles of virtue and should not be swayed by affec tion; it has a mission in the service of truth, democracy and progress which it must fulfil with JULY 28, EIGHTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTE COST. The average modern Catholic may not think of it in this way, but one of the purposes of our public worship is to help us make fri ends, friends who share a Faith, a life-view. God calls us together in the liturgical assem bly to renew th e covenant he has offered us as a family, as a community, as friends. Everyman's life is informed by a spirit—though the spirit may be materialism or pleasure or power. Today's First Reading teaches that die Spirit of the Christian's life is not a what but a who, the Holy Spirit of God. And life in the Spirit must be nourished by friend who share the same Spirit (Gospel). This does not mean we will not have or should not have other friends. It does mean that the liturgy offers us an opportunity to love and sup port and encourage our brothers in the Faith and in the Spirit. Relating friendship to the altar, and being a friend at Sunday Mass, streng thening the social and family ties of the worship ing community, can save us from the crass level of friendship of the Gospel steward, assur ing "our spirit, that we are children of God." MONDAY, JULY 29, ST. MARTHA, VIRGIN. !Y FR. ROBERT W. HOVDA Priest of the Pittsburgh Oratory) There is a divine jealousy (First Reading) when we forsake the Sunday assembly of worship, when He comes and fails to find us watching (Gospel). "For I betrothed you to one spouse," the Ch urch teaches the Church in the first lesson. The Church teaches because it is Christ's Body, the instrument through which He works on earth today. The Church is taught because it is not all Head, its members are disciples, students of the Lord. TUESDAY, JULY 30, MASS AS ON SUNDAY. "Give an account of thy stewardship," says the symbol of God in Jesus' Gospel story. Res ponsibility is a key and distinguishing note of the Christian view of man. It is mysterious, too, this human responsibility. God is almighty. We can do nothing without His help. We pray in today’s Collect for "the spirit of right thought and right action.” Yet the moral life, the life of love, is as truly our doing as it is His. WEDNESDAY, JULY 31, ST. IGNATIUS, CONFESSOR. "The Society of Jesus," while it may not be the most modest title in the his tory of ecclesiastical organizations, is certainly a bold and affirmative one. The texts of to day’s Mass tell us much about that Society. The First Reading in its bold fearlessness, its willingness to suffer for the sake of the good news, proclaims, "The word of God is not bound." The Gospel is Jesus* own exhortation to mission ary zeal. THURSDAY, AUGUST 1, MASS AS ON SUNDAY. Worship is a part of wisdom, a great part of that wisdom which the steward (Gospel) did not possess for all of his sharpness and his cunning. And "nature," as the First Reading uses the term, means (not sex or material things) a Godless and worship-less existence. It means man alone and "on his own," isolated from Father and brothers. "A life of nature" is a life without worship. FRIDAY, AUGUST 2, ST. ALPHONSUS MARY DE LIGUOR1, BISHOP, DOCTOR. A familiar Chrisitian theme—the teaching of others, the missionary task—is the dominant one in today’s Mass, as we commemorate the founder of an other of the religious congregations. The hymns as well as both lessons remind Christians that the Word in whom we belive is dependent upon our words an our zeal for sharir^. AUGUST 3, MASS OF ST. MARY ON SATURDAY. "My God has granted me a share in his own domain," says the Old Testament lesson, app lied in today’s Mass to the Mother of our Saviour. She speaks for all of us, for the human race which finds in the Christian message a dignity and even a glory to which it could not other wise aspire. As theologian Karl Rahner tells us, a Christian theology of Mary is possible because a Christian theology of man is possible. BRITAIN Pounds And Paradoxes BY GERARD E. SHERRY President Kennedy's steps last week to alleviate the Balance of Payments problem in relation to the dollar have special reference to the enor mous tourist trade between the U. S. and Europe. Mind you, it's too one-sided to be of much aid to this country. Not enough Europeans are com ing here and far too many Americans (from a dol lar drainage point of view) are going there. These lines are being typed in Edinburgh, Scot land. The place is full of Americans, as well as Germans, French, Dutch and Swiss. The United Kingdom is enjoying a boom year in industrial output and tourism. And things have changed in this tight little Island since I was here some four years ago. Everyone looks prosperous and every thing is looking more modern than I could ever have imagined. The major towns are going American in habits and profile. Milk bars and drug stores are becom ing the fashion. The old chemist shop has lost its bath salt aroma and it is coming more and more to resemble the Rex- all drug outlet on our own Main Street. The corner sweet shop is still there, but it has taken to selling bread, milk and all the other small items one forgot to get at the fishmonger, the butcher and the bak er. The corner gro cer is converting into supermarket practices and, in the large towns, he's almost out of business. The chain growers have become the English answer to the A&P. All is not lost, however. The countryside is about the same. The towns are not spreading out as much as they are going up. Modem flats house the millions recently in slums and over crowded inner cities. There’s still a lot to be done, but the new face is there for all to see. The British may have lost their Empire but they are knuckling down to the new conditions and appear to be making more headway than they ever dream ed was possible. Typical of the contradictions involved, most of this prosperity is the result of the actions of the Conservative Government of Prime Minister Mc Millan. Yet recent election results, and opinion polls, show "Mac's" party to be most unpopular. The reasons are varied. The Conservative Go vernment has been in power for more than 12 years. There is a general feeling that there is time for a change—this despite the fact that everyone agrees that they never had it so good. The Labor Opposition leaders look young and vi tal, even if their philosophy calls for more na tionalization of major private enterprise. They offer fresh solutions to pressing national and in ternational problems—and few people bother to ponder whether the socialist policies will work in practice. I think the common attitude among the working people is that the Labor Party (Socialists) should be given a chance to do even better than the Conservatives. Strangely enough, the Profumo Scandal has not affected the British voters as much as is made out in the U. S. press. After all, the Conserva tives were losing elections long before it broke. Indeed, I have found a rather disconcerting apathy among the ordinary people. The standard of living is up so much that there is a rather Hellenic atmosphere in many places. People seem much more interested in pleasures than problems. Hardly anyone shows concern about Castro’s Cuba. Berlin is just a place where some British troops are holding a line; and South Vietnam and Laos are so far away. It's summer, too, and the sea side is just around the corner. Why should they bother about the Cold War and other "mundane" things. But the contradictions or paradoxes continue to astound the observer. The Catholic contribution to the current British campaign to Feed the Hun gry project, sponsored through a U. N. committee, amounts to some sixty thousand pounds (about $168,000), from a tenth of the population. This money will help needy people throughout the world. In addition, British newspapers abound with ap peals from all kindfc of committees whose aims are assistance to underdeveloped areas of the world. The beaches and playlands are crowded with the fun-loving, but those who care about their country and the world, still seem to get the headlines and appear successful in their endea vors. I mentioned the countryside of Britain—it still has that same charming look and remains almost unspoiled. The trouble is to get there. In the past three years, British car production has almost trebled and this has led to the good old American plan of buying on time—hire-purchase plan it is called. The vast increase in cars on the roads has made driving quite a nightmare. It is nigh im possible to get in or out of London, yet people at tempt it every day. Commuting to work to and from the suburbs becomes a daily exercise in patience and fortitude. The roads were never made for anything other than Roman chariots and some highways date back to the days of Hadrian’s Wall. All over the country roads are finally being widened to cater to two lane traffic on either side. But while this is being carried out, one lane traf fic remains. It took me four hours to go seventy miles in one rural area around Devon. And on a trip from London to Canterbury, I was on the road for 5 1/2 hours for the 42 mile distance. There are some major four lane highways going north and south but they are, for the most part, always under repair, and one averages about 35 miles an hour, even where there is no speed limit. Television is also full of paradoxes in Britain. New scasts are vastly superior to those of the aver- CONTINL'ED ON PAGE 8 REAPINGS AT RANDOM