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THURSDAY, AUGUST 29, 1963 GEORGIA BULLETIN PAGE 5 GEORGIA PINES Saints in Black and White CARDINAL SPELLMAN Poultry To PT Boats ST. THOMAS BECKART BY REV. R. DONALD KIERNAN In a small town the coffee shop provides a scene in which business men of the commu nity gather in tn informal way to discuss every thing from locat politics to what "the preacher" talked about on list Sunday. Now in every town there are coffee-clubs which meet at various hours. One group gathers about 7 in the miming and this is followed by another group anc so on until near the dinner hour. Hardly any group would sit past a half- hour lest they incur the wrath of the next crowd coming in. THIS SEEMS to be an inte gral part of community life in the small town. It affords men of different walks in life and various social standings to get together Beside promoting good fellowship it aids in promoting community and civic projects and leads to a general under standing of each others prob lems. Possibly some of these would never meet socially, but in a coffe. all are equal. men club I belong to such a club and it meets every morning at 8 a.m. in the Dixie-Hunt Hotel here in Gainesville. There are no officers, no dues, no records- just good fellowhsip. IN OUR club we have the president of one of the local banks, a former director of the highway- patrol, a lawyer, a city commissioner, a poultry plant owner, the local army recruiter and my self. It is interesting to hear the commissioner tlak about the city's problems and their possible solution; the poultry plant owner has just returned from a state department trip to Russia; the law yer gives us hints on current legal battles now going on; and the former highway director, now in the roofing business, gives us his woes every time it rains. ONE OF the more interesting conversations, though, come from a man who just "stopped by" to have coffee one morning with us. He is the personnel director at one of the local fac tories. He had been in the PT boat next to Lt. Kennedy that night when the future president got hit. As a matter of fact, this man was the one who reported Lt. Kennedy as missing in action. The story goes that eight PT boats left the base that night for a raid on some Japanese shipping barges. All did not go well with the raid and when their position was discovered they were met with a barrage of shells. The radio on his boat and Lt. Kennedy’s boat was disabled and they were unable to hear a recall order. Talking by mega phone to each other, this man and Lt. Kennedy decided to do a little more patrolling before returning to the base some 80 miles away. AFTER ABOUT two hours on patrol, Lt. Kennedy pulled along side and, again talking through a megaphone, said that he would take the lead position for a while. This is just when the Japa nese destroyer appeared "almost out of nowhere". Our visitor said that the last he saw of Lt. Kennedy's boat was as it was going down in what appeared to be a sea of flames. Returning home, he reported the ship as lost. THE STORY is now famous of how the natives appeared with a message written on the side of a cocoanut and the subsequent rescue of the man who was later to become our president. Of course the story triggered many questions. (The coffee club met longer than usual that morn ing) Was he Aell liked? What did his men think of him? Dozens of questions followed. Finally at the end of the meeting, our visitor turned to me and said, "Father, I'm a Republi can, but make no bones about it. . .the guy is a real hero". QUESTION BOX Prejudice-Ideas? BY MONSIGNOR J. D. CONWAY Q. THANKS AGAIN FOR COMING TO SPEAK TO US ON RACIAL JUSTICE. A LOT OF COM MENTS, SUCH AS; "I KNOW HE IS RIGHT BUT HE HASN'T CHANGED MY MIND ONE BIT." A GOOD CATHOLIC SAID, "EXCELLENT, GUESS WE ALL HAD BETTER TAKE A LOOK AT OUR OWN ATTITUDES." ANOTHER COMMENT WAS, "I GOT MADDER BY THE MINUTE AS I HAVE MY OWN IDEAS OF THE COLORED RACE IN HOUSE RENTALS." A. No roof is more impermeable to rain than prejudice is to ideas. *** Q. IT IS MY UNDERSTANDING THAT THE CATHOLIC FAITH IS, IN EFFECT, AN EXTEN SION OF JUDAISM. IF THIS IS TRUE, WOUL0 T BE WRONG FOR A JEWISH CONVERT TO CONTINUE TO ATTACH SPECIAL SIGNIFICA- CE TO THE JEWISH HIGH HOLIDAYS AS LONG * HE OBSERVES THE PRACTICES AND TEA CHINGS OF THE CATHOLIC FAITHS aa- « _ A. It would probably be more exact to say that the Catholic jk faith is the successor to Juda ism. The ancient convenantwas made between God and the Jew- 7 H is h people as a preparation for the coming of the Redeemer. It .was a true and valid covenant as long as it remained in effect. But I in due time its purpose was ful filled: the Redeemer came, and througl Him God made a new covenant with his people, -eplacing the old. Certaiiy a Jewish convert to Catholicism should Cutinue to hold in reverence the sac red days traditional importance to his people; and he my well enter into customs and cere monies wi(ch commemorate these days in the home or $ the civic and social life of the community. He should not take active part In official relig 0 us celebrations of these holydays- in the Synag,gue, for instance. This would imp ly that he h continuing unity with the Jewish faith - a unit which he broke when he became a Catholic. »** Q. HOW CAB I EXPLAIN TOA NON-CATH- OLIC THE CHlRCH'S VIEW' ON CREMATION? A. The ChurcPs prohibition of cremation is based mainly on a constant Judaeo-Christian tradition which dites back to the time of Abraham, at least. Jews and Christians have generally found cremation as less than reverent treatment of the luman body. And Catholics emphasize the dignity of the body which was joined to the soul as an integral part of man, which will rise again to resume that unity, which was the temple o the Holy Spirit, sanc tified by the sacraments, and offered frequently to God in union with tte Body 0 f Christ in the Mass. Cremation is not contrary to any doctrine of Catholic faith. Resurrection is no more difficult after cremation than after the decay which follows burial. The burning of human body is not Wrong in itself, and would be tolerated by the Church in times of war, ep.demics, etc. The Church s traditional opposition to cre ation became more forceful in the middle ages, and again in the 19th century, when those who ad- v °cated it often showed a spirit hostile to reli gion. She became adamant on the subject in the face of opposition. For centuries the Church’s ceremonies; the funeral Mass, the absolution and the committal services have been keyed to burial. Some new sort of ritual would have to be developed if crema tion were accepted. Q. IF A FORMER CATHOLIC, NOW A LUTH ERAN, DIES, SHOULD WE GO TO THE SERVICES IN THE LUTHERAN CHURCH? SOME OF US SAY, "YES, HE NEEDS OUR PRAYERS NOW MORE THAN EVER." OTHERS SAY, "THIS DOES NOT INCLUDE ACTUAL ATTENDANCE AT THE SER VICES, REGARDLESS OF WHETHER HE IS A RE LATIVE OR NOT." A. Much depends on the circumstances. If this man became a Lutheran in good faith, then there should be no scandal involved in your attending the funeral. And many good reasons may urge your attendance, especially if he was a relative or a close friend. If this man’s defection from the Catholic Church was a recent and notorious thing, then the answer would probably be different; since many people might think you were giving formal approval to what he had done. We must keep in mind that people are extre mely sensitive when a loved one dies or is buried. If we slight the family on such occ asion we may cause deep hurt, which may turn into resentment against the Church. Charity should inspired us and prudence guide us on such occasions; and it is hard to lay down firm rules for either virtue. Q. WHERE ARE SOULS BEFORE CONCEP TION? ARE THEY CREATED ATTHE SAME TIME AS THE BODY? MY HUSBAND WAS VEXED BECAUSE I TOLD OUR VERY YOUND CHILDREN THEY HAD BEEN WITH THE ANGELS WAITING TO COME TO US. PERHAPS THAT WAS GOING TOO FAR . . . A. Since the time of St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic thought about the soul has been generally uni fied: Each soul is created individually by God at the moment a human embryo is able to receive it. The first great Christian writer to speculate deeply about die soul was of the same nature as an angel; and that each soul had lived for ages in heaven before it was imprisoned in a human body. The spiritual soul was not happy in its prison of flesh, but eagerly awaited death which would liberate it. Now we consider the soul as much a part of man as his body: they are made for each other. When they are separated in death the soul will be incomplete, waiting eventual reunion with the risen body. Q. RECENTLY I RECEIVED A CHAIN LETTER FROM A FRIEND ASKING ME TO SEND A POST CARD TO THE FIRST ADDRESS ON A GIVEN LIST OF FIVE PEOPLE. MY PAYMENT WILL BE 250 POSTCARDS IN LESS THAN TWO WEEKS. MY MOTHER FORBADE MY TAKING PART IN THE CHAIN,SAYINGTHATITWASAGAINSTOUR RELIGION. I THEN INVESTIGATED A PARISH PRIEST GAVE SOME HELP, SAYING THAT A CHAIN LETTER CONTAINING A THREAT OR A PRAYER CHAIN SHOULD NOT BE ANSWERED. MY MOTHER WAS NOT SATISFIED. I AM WILL ING TO ACCEPT YOUR ANSWER WHETHER IN MY FAVOR OR NOT. A. The parish priest has given you the answer: chain prayers are bad - superstitious-especially when there is threat of dire consequences if the chain is broken. They should be torn up and drop ped into the waste basket. However, your postcard deal is only a harmless fad - harmless if you can stand receiving 250 postcards all at once. Urges Holy Name To Lead Social Justice Struggle ACROSS 65. Branch of Learning 26. He Was Killed By A 1. Crone 67. Hands on Hips 71. Blonde 28. Cycle 4. Half 74. Of Good Birth 29. Bar 8. Whim 77. Small Brook 31. Atmospheric; abbr. 32. "Anthony and Cleo- patra”character 11. Cheat; Slang 78. Confess 14. Ever 79. Biscuit 15. Minced Oath 81. Vow 34. Saurel 16. Follower 84. Accomplish 35. Palpitate 17. Bullfight Cry 18. “Blue Eagle” 85. Vase 37. Holy 86. Armed Service 38. Deserves 19. Arrive Organization 39. Scoff 20. Untried 89. A Medley 40. Steep Slope 21. Ear 88. Saint; female 41. Avid 22. Revolt 89. Railroads 42. Excuse 24. East 90. implore 44. All 26. Ken 91. Den 47. Din 27. Previous to to-day -92. Decade 49. Site 30. Has Killed 33. Beach DOWN 52. And Others; abbr. (Lat.) 54. Yemen. Arabia Capital 36. Bars 1. He Served As Chancel 57. World War II Area 40. Main lor Under King .... 59. Southern Organization 43. Recess 2. Eagle Nest 62. New Year Drink 45. Wizard 3. Lawn ■„ 64. Knight 46. Comb, form meaning 4. His Feast Day Is In 66. Pronoun Like Calcium 68. Middle 48. Grub 5. The Whole Man 69. Goosefoot Herb 50. Prop 6. Mother 70. Ancient 51. Spry 6. Mother 71. He Was Forty-.... When He Became 53. People who Get Things 7. Date; Roman Done 8. Year End Examinations Bishop 55. Melody 9. Consumed 72. Amiss 56. Deduction 10; Moisture 73. Taverns 58. Fracture 11. He and the King Were 75. Meridian 60. Soviet Socialist .... Companions 76. Myth Republic 12. Viola 79. Little Fellow 61. He Became .... of 13. Cat Sound 80. Exercise England 23. And So On-, abbr. 82. It Is 63. Jerks 25. Equal 83. Peppery ANSWER TO LAST WEEK'S PUZZLE ON PAGE 7 BUFFALO, N.Y., (N.C.)— Francis Cardinal Spellman urged thousands of Holy Name men meeting here to take on the challenges of the times in the spirit of optimism and courage sparked by the ecumenical council. The Archbishop of New York told them they have a respon sibility in the work of Christian unity and exhorted them to be in the vanguard of the battle for social and interracial justice. THE CARDINAL addressed more than 10,000 persons at a Holy Hour and candlelight cere mony held in War Memorial Stadium (Aug. 23) as part of the Holy Name Society convention. He said "the Second Vatican Council has already proved to be an event of momentous conse quence for the Church and for the world" and "has caught the imagination of men every where." "THE ULTIMATE goal of this council is the reunion of all Christians." he continued. "Admittedly a reunited Christ endom is to be realized not now and all at once but gradually, and fully only at some future time. But the vision and the dream has been reawakened and desire and longing for un ion is in the hearts of all." Declaring that Christian unity ARNOLD VIEWING 55 Days At Peking BY JAMES W. ARNOLD L'Osservatore Romano's favorite producer, Samuel Bronston, works out of a $2 million studio in Madrid where since 1959 he has manufactured such big budget epics as "John Paul Jones," King of Kings" and "El Cid." Bronston’s films are not bad, but they are never quite as good as they might be. The curse holds for "55 Days at Peking," an original screen-play about the Boxer Rebel lion, a bloody uprising against foreigners and Christians in China in 1900. The locale did not stop Bronston, who has brought about $30 million into Spain in a kind of one-man Marshall Plan. He duplicated the old walled city on a giant 250-acre set, imported 600 Chinese extras from London and Marseilles, and proceeded with a cast and crew that likely had never been closer to Peking than Catalina. The result, ig 150 minutes of wide-screen color action and mayhem bears only some re semblance to history and esta blishes a new movie category, the Far Eastern Western. But within these limits it is reason ably interesting, comparable to robust adventure films of the 1930’s like "Bengal Lancer" and "Gunga Din." THE STORY concerns the small group of for eign soldiers, civilians and Chinese Christians besieged in Peking's international compound for 55 days while an 11-nation military force bat tled overland to their rescue. The obvious moral: persons of many backgrounds and nationalities hanging together to avoid annihilation. Everyone is heroic but the Chinese (not much box-office in Red China). Deeper causes, with vast po tential for dramatic conflict, are handled casually. At the end the troops march in smartly, bands playing and flags waving; no mention is made of the fact that they then looted the city and re- taliatedsavagely on die Chinese. THE VATICAN newspaper admires Bronstonfor his self-proclaimed effort to produce "family" pictures; he differs from Disney chiefly in his yen for the historical spectacular, that is, for burning down sets rather than warming hearts. In describing Bronston as die producer whose intentions and principles were "nearest our point of view," the L’Osservatore writer must have swallowed hard his memory of "King of Kings'* a diaster which only true faith could survive. Catholics may also have reason to .quibble with "Peking": 1 - Despite the importance assigned to one priest-character, the script (by Phillip Yordan of "King of Kings") largely ignores crucial re ligious overtones of the incident and the center- stage role of the Church. The Chinese nation alist attack was as much anti-Christian as anti- foreign, and Peking's Catholic cathedral was a center of the resistance. 2 - Although the priest is sympathetic and well-acted (by Harry Andrews, the impressive Peter of "King of Kings"), he spends most of his time devising makeshift artillery weapons and launching firebombs at the enemy. He is identi fiable only by name and cassock, and by his employment in the vicinity of the Catholic or phanage. 3 - While there is little explicit sadism (one sees no beheadings, but hears only the swoosh ing blade and the thunk), life in the battle area is cheap on both sides. The Chinese extras seem more willing and expire five times more frequently; in one sequence, shells blast them off the walls in bunches and U.S. Marines eagerly pour down flaming debris on fleeing stragglers. 4 - Actress Ava Gardner guarantees the film’s sexual innocence with some of the finest non acting since Zas Zsa Gabor was a starlet. She plays a Russian baroness who has induced the suicide of her husband by carrying on with a Chinese general (only Britisher Leo Genn, who doesn’t get within 20 feet of her on-camera). The baroness is rehabilitated by tending a wound ed soldier, and has a splendid death scene. Doctor: Don’t you want to live? Baroness (with an ironic smile): I have lived... DESPITE the lack of ^exiand decolletage, "Pek ing" does a more frightful disservice to love by pretending it exists between the baroness and the leather-tough Marine major (Charlton Heston). It’s an electric thing that starts with a pickup in a bar and ends with her in-nurse's-attire kissing him farewell as he sets off on one of several impossible missions. Silly, perhaps, but hard to explain, when discussing the reality of love with teenagers at CCD meetings. In its favor, "Peking" observes that the Chinese dowager empress (played in high classic tragedy style by Flora Robson) is defended by an army of eunuchs without pushing the point ( as Man- kiewicz did in "Cleopatra"). A Chinese waif, Lynne Sue Moon, is affecting as the orphan of a Marine casualty, but one feels that director Nicholas Ray ("King of Kings") wants tears and throat-lumps so badly he is willing to grab the audience by the collar and shake. MOST satisfactory are the action scenes, in which the shrieking armies charge in, through and over Bronston’s massive sets, under the baton of Ray and Andrew Marten ("The Longest Day"). Superior editing and photography make it dreadfully real, and several fantastic night ex plosions and conflagrations are literally stunning. But "Peking" is too profuselyHollywooded(or Madrided). Heston’s heroics become so routine that on the last mission he is forced to lug along a dying man just to even the odds against the Chinese army. One must believe that David Niven, as a key British diplomat, helps lead a volunteer mission through the sewers to blow up an ammuni tion dump. Robert Helpmann (the great British ballet star) is a traditional Fu Manchu villain - haughty, tight smile, shifty eyes, choppy, high- pitched voice. As they say at the local amateur playhouse, it may not be good, but by George, it's thea trical. CURRENT RECOMMENDED FILMS: For everyone: The Miracle Worker, To Kill a Mockingbird, Lawrence of Arabia, The Four Days of Naples. For connoisseurs: Sundays and Cybele, The L- Shaped Room. Better than most: The Longest Day, Mutiny on the Bounty, Days of Wine and Roses, A Child Is Waiting. Kids may like; PT-109, List of Adrian Messenger, The Lion. is the work of the Church, he added: "It is not for the Pope alone to accomplish it, nor for the Fathers of the council, nor for the priests and nuns and Brothers. It is for all the mem bers of Christ's Church." "IT IS in fact no exaggera tion to say that ours is pree minently the age of the layman in the Church," he asserted. "So much so that during the council it was decided that we must emphasize more clearly the role of the layman. . .Let no mistake linger in your minds, ours is a time of renewal, a time of rebirth. The last two pontiffs have declared it and those who have eyes to see must see it all around them." "Many in the world await the message of Christ our Savi our," Cardinal Spellman told the laymen, "and you are char ged to be His messengers. Sanctify yourselves as Catholic men and proclaim to die world the holiness and thehappiness of a Christian life, a Christian Approves Charter WASHINGTON (NC) — The Senate has passed by voice vote a bill to grant a Federal char ter to the Catholic War Veterans of the United States. The bill goes to the House. family life," URGING THE men to devote themselves "enthusiasticallyto the causes which are the chal lenges of our times," the Car dinal continued: "Do not be af raid to enter the very frontlines of the battle, whether the strug gle is to save our sciety from the clutches of communism, or to obtain justice for the working man, or to help our Negro bro thers to achieve full citizenship in our free society.*' "These are the areas," the Cardinal stressed, "Which be long in a very special way to our laymen, whose lives are lived in the marketplaces of the modern world and who, far better thanpriest or Religious, can carry on the struggle for freedom and justice for all men." HE THEN urged the laymen "to be imbued with a spirit of courage and enthusiasm and opimism, that spirit which shone forth so nobly in the last two supreme pontiffs and which marks the beginning of the reign of our new Holy Father.” "Problems by the score con front us," Cardinal Spellman concluded, "but in the spirit of the ecumenical council let us at last confront our problems, as men courageous and strong with the strength which comes from God." God Love You BY MOST REVEREND FULTON J. SHEEN Sixteen of twenty-one civilizations which have perished in the pages of history did not succumb to attacks from without; they decayed from within. Material prosperity may ravage both body and soul by making the body grow quickly old through excessive ease and comfort, and by making the soul serve two masters. Applying this to the Church in the United States, do we not have too much while others have too little? As Catholics we are members of the Mysti cal Body everywhere in die world; the hunger of India is our hunger; the infra-human de gradation of the slums of Latin America is our deadened spirit. The sad fact is that wherever there is economic prosperity the rich get richer and wher ever there are vast populations, our soul-explosions, there is growing poverty. Catholics have a duty to aid the poor of the world. To keep the Church spiritually healthy we might well consider the merits of these sug gestions: 1. When you make contributions to institutions already having millions — to a hospital, a school, a university, a parish hall, or for the construct ion of an excessively expensive Church—-ask that a share of that contribution be given to the Holy Father and his Society for the Propagation of the Faith. This may help to alleviate the hunger which, in Asia, is more dangerous than the atomic bomb. 2. When you buy a new car, new furniture, clothes or records, or pay taxes to help build a hundred million dollar Polaris submarine, should you not think of giving to those in whom Christ relives His poverty? Regardless of how much we are giving, it is still below what the Lord expects of us. It must worry us to know that about one-fourth of Santi ago's people live in hovels and tumble-down shacks; in one slum there is no water, sewage or electricity. We must begin retrenching, cutting back, cutting down, diminishing our wants to be worthy of the Lord who took upon Himself the hunger, the thirst and the suffering of human hearts. Two-thirds of the world does not want to go to heaven on an empty stomach, nor can we go there on a full one day after day. Only a wounded Christ won the world and only a wounded Church can save it. May the Spirit inspire you to walk worthy of the Faith to which you have been called! GOD LOVE YOU to A. P. for $200 "This is in Thanksgiving for recovery from a coronary." . . .to M. K. O. for $20 "I have been saving my winnings from a Friday night card club." . . .to R. L. Q. for $4 "The Good Lord gave me this money to use for something worthwhile” . . . to E. B. for $10 "I promised this to the Missions for a favor received." DARE TO DISCOVER YOURSELF! Learn if you are a member of "The Church of the Poor" or "The Poor Church" by reading our special September-October issue of MISSION. If you wish to be put on our mailing list for this bi monthly magazine, Just ask us via: The Society for the ^Propagation of the Faith, 366 Fifth Avenue, NFEW York I, New York. SHEEN COLUMN: Cut out this column, pin your sacrifice to it and mail it to Most Rev. Fulton J. Sheen, National Director of The Society for the Propagation of the Faith 366 Fifth Avenue, New York 1, N. Y. or your Diocesan Director.