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PACE 4 GEORGIA BULLETIN THURSDAY, OCTOBER 10, 1963 Archdiocese of Atlanta the GEORGIA BULLETIN SERVING 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 Kieman 2699 Peachtree N.E P.O. Box 11667 Norths ide Station Atlanta 5, Ga Member of the Catholic Press Association .and Subscriber to N.C.W.C. News Service Telephone 231-1281 Second Class Permit at Atlanta, Ga. U.S.A. $5.00 Canada $5.50 Foreign $6.50 Out Of Order A couple of days ago Associate Justice William O. Douglas of the U. S. Supreme Court told the New Jersey Education Association that discrimination is practiced against Buddhists by the “Catho lic Government” of Vietnam. He added that the civil violence in Vietnam was a “Catholic strug gle for supremacy over Budd hism.’ Justice Douglas’ remarks on Vietnam were allegedly a preface to a talk on the abuse of civil rights. He charged that Catholic schools in Vietnam received go vernment subsidies while Budd hist schools do not. He said Ca tholic students are selected for scholarships abroad, while Budd hists are now. He made several other charges of a similar nature. We think Associate Justice Douglas is out of order. Many of his alleged facts have been dis puted by competent American news representatives on the scene. We feel a man in his high position should stick to facts in any public commentary -- all the more so when one considers the steps being taken by our govern ment to ease the civic tensions in Vietnam. We hold no brief for any perse cution of Buddhists by the Viet nam government. But we are tir ed of this sinister labelling of that regime as “Catholic”. It seems to be a deliberate attempt by some public figures, in and out of this country, to embarrass the Catholic Church. We could find some excuse for it if Justice Douglas was consistent in his labels. We have never heard him call the government of England the “Protestant Government”, or the Ceylon regime the “Buddhist Government”, or the Sudan the “Moslem Government.” Furthermore, we have yet to hear from Justice Douglas, a widely-travelled man, any com ment on the acknowledged abuse by the Ceylon “Buddhist regime” of Christian minorities in that country. Neither have we heard from him on the systematic eli mination of Chrisian minorities in the southern regions of the Su dan. There is no question of the facts in relation to these two countries. The process has been going on for several years. Yet, we hear nothing about it in the American press or from public figures in high office. We are disturbed by this ap plication of a double standard in relation to the abuse of civil rights. They are just as wrong in Ceylon and the Sudan as they are in Saigon and Birmingham, Ala bama. We suggest that Justice Douglas be as diligent in his re search for facts about Vietnam as he obviously is in his opin ions rendered through the Su preme Court. Bracero Scandal The recent death of 32 brace- ros, imported Mexican farm workers, in an accident near Sa linas, California, points up the need for an end to a program which gives scandal to our Ame rican ideal. The dead braceros were in a truck-bus which was hit by a train at a rail crossing, while they were being transported from the fields in which they worked. A similar accident took place three years ago at Mendoto, Cali fornia, and almost as many farm worker lives were lost. The bracero program, which authorizes importation of farm workers from Mexico to this country, has been in existence about 20 years. Earlier this year, the House refused to extend the program on the grounds that it deprived domestic farm workers) statement of management and circulation iMi ai U, G#, Tide it UflflNRt Sum# Gate) i- G*s* * RUage iRmwi iir 36, i*fri L TiU* at THE GEORGIA BULLffTIW %, FarisipMf af imm Thuri^ *- ****** * fr-UixiXUm Wft P«*chtr»« N. E., Atlanta (FUlon County) Ceor- >*. mm 5. R ife* s*a*quar’.ar» m z*T*rd ixmrn&t flCfcNM at -h* pubUahers; 2699 Peachtree Rtud, K E,* asimm*, Gmrfl* ****** «** a tHtiihtmr mA ;naaagin« «iturj PyfaBafeer - ArcMtttfcop Paul J. Hallman. ******, CM*fit, tiRHi'-Qorord fi. Skerry, Adama, Georgia ?. Oman 9»mm CMteuc akIsf - - A corperade* sol* 6. Hoc 9. Use Avg. m, C*f4«S Each issue during Preceding 12 months Single issue Near* »t to Filing date A. Total N®, c*0*s PrksmA >mm Pres# %AOt} 7,992 8,200 %. P*&> Or 9f carrier im- t *try, or by acMr SMSms 7.4UO 7.776 2. ace^ta, saw* dfeflNrs, m vtmnAAm m 2)0 ‘ rSi, m 17© D. I Aj* No. ueftt** Usm «t 7,77® 8,146 * a******.-** mutt ay «* *r« awragt .omsiou. QmtfA 1. Sjfcerry Managing £dttor of jobs, and that it was merely an excuse for many farmers to hire cheap labor. However, the program is far from dead. Farm lobbyists and legislators from states where the braceros are used extensively are attempting to keep it alive. The program is opposed by the National Catholic Rural Life Con ference, One of the chief objec tions is that the regulations go verning it are often abused, as are the Mexican workers. For every farmer who treats them with dignity and pays them a liv ing wage, there is one who treats them like cattle; for every farm er who provides decent housing, there is another who provides hovels. Many braceros are ex ploited beyond human compre hension, even in this so-called civilized age. Many are contrac ted out in a manner reminiscent of the slave days. One has only to recall the documentary film, “Harvest of Shame”, which was televised nationally several years ago, and shattered the complacency of most of our citi zens. It is not sufficient for farm ers to answer that only Mexican braceros will do the stoop work needed on our farms. Many do mestic farm workers are willing, if they receive a just wage for their labors; if decent housing is made available; and if they are granted other benefits now en joyed by millions in our labor force. Very little of the bil lions of dollars which are pro vided in farm subsidies by our government goes to improve the working conditions of farm la borers., This is the crux of the whole matter. nz REFORM OF ROMM CURIAtJ Last week in this space we published a syndicated cartoon and caption “Break ing Through the Spaghetti Curtain". Other Catholic newspapers also published it. We considered the original caption in bad taste. We still do, and regret its publicat ion. A substitute caption which we had prepared was inadvertently left out through an error in the offset make-up. POPE AND COUNCIL An Intellectual Leads BY REV. LEONARD F.X. MAYHEW The second session of the Vatican Council has begun with a vigor and sureness that are thrilling and hopeful. At the time of the opening of the Council even the most saguine observers could hardly repress a feeling of skepticism and possible defeat. A good deal of confusion had been engendered by the contradictory state ments of many in high places. It seemed too much to hope that the bishops could sustain the vision of Pope John and lactually accomplish the reform [that he desired. The facts con- Ifounded the pessimists. In his [opening address John dismissed [the "prophets of doom” around {him and rallied the Council Far thers to the task at hand. The [manner in which this remark able man embodied the hopes of so many, Catholics and ot hers, earned him an unequalled place in the af fection of the world. It was entirely natural that, following his death, there should again be some concern for the future of his great work. That fear too may now be dismissed. Pope Paul is bringing his own personal mark to bear on the work of the Council. His person ality is not that of John. Nor is it that of the Council. Plus XII, under whose influence he worked for so long. He has spent the first months of his pontificate in the background, absorbed in the work of preparing the second session of the Council. He has not been the subject of the almost daily news releases that relayed his predecessor's warmth, wit and flashes of brilliance. As a re sult, it is a little difficult to get the feel of Paul's personal touch. Pope Paul's personality comes through most forcefully in his few public statements to date. I am thinking particularly of his address to the Roman Curia some weeks ago and the homily he delivered at the opening of the second sess ion of the Council. The qualities that stand out are clarity and vigor combined with gentleness. Both speeches are rather long. They exhibit a distrust for vagueness and a trust of reason that should be immeasurably helpful in the days a- head. There is another quality apparent in the state ments of Pope Paul. They are measured. This does not imply that he proposes half-measures. Far from it. The point is that when he propos es radical reforms, as in his speech to the mem bers of the Curia, he prescribes them with a reasonableness that has clearly been well consid ered. In his opening homily to the Council Fat hers, as Archbishop Hallinan noted last week, he used terms not usual in papal statements, such as reform, dialogue, ecumenicity. The words are, in a sense, radical but the Pope’s manner is not. Never do the terms turn into slogans and run away with the ideas. Rather he speaks with consideration and the depth and realism of his thought shows forth clearly. What emerges is the conclusion that Pope Paul is an intellectual (a word considered suspect in certain Catholic circles in the past, unfortu nately). He is an intellectual in the authentic and traditional Catholic meaning of the term. He has faith in human reason and its ability to achieve certitude. The intensity of his state ments balances a passion for ideas with an honest tolerance for the feelings and views of others. While his gestures may be less spontan eous than Pope John's, they are subtle and esp ecially moving because of the deliberation that has clearly preceded them. LITURGICAL WEEK Spinning Of Myths REV. ROBERT W. HOVDA OCTOBER 13, 19TH SUNDAY AFTER PENTE COST. Contrary to those who think of Christianity as a matter of rose-colored glasses and a some times lovely mythology, we believe it is utter realism. It is the good pagan and the non-religious humanist who wear the glasses and spin the myths. Our celebration of the Eucharist today involves, as usual, a heavy dose of rea lism. No man can lift himself up by his own bootstraps. No man can achieve his own sal vation. No one has a right to be at the marriage feast-—un less he is wearing the garment which only the King can give. Without grace man is naked, destitute, likely to be (as the First Reading realistically implies) a liar, a hater or a thief. It is the religion which has the highest view of man—our Christian Faith—which accepts- him honestly where he is and for what he is. ing). A pattern, to be useful, must be Intelligible to the age and generation for which it is intended. ST. TERESA OF AVILA, VIRGIN. We do not know "the day nor the hour" (Gospel), but we do know that creation moves toward fulfilment and completion and "spiritualizaton.” A saint like Teresa, who even in a turbulence of the age of the Reformation and in the midst of heavily adminis trative duties stoutly maintained the primacy of prayer, is a sign we need today. "Would to God that you could bear with a little of my foolish ness 1" (First Reading.) WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, ST. HEDWIG, WIDOW. "Grace is poured out upon your lips," the Mass today repeats in Gradual and Offertory- Hymns. Christ is the Word of God. Our religion is a religion of the Word, the Gospel, the good news. Our worship is action, but action which gives a clear primacy to the Word and to faith as assent to a word. It is natural then that a chief criterion of holiness among us is the message we convey in the words of our speech and writing. MONDAY, OCTOBER 14, ST. CALLISTUS I, POPE, MARTYR. This Mass of a pope with its clear recognition of the fact that the pope, like all of us, is utterly dependent on the Lord, that he too stands under the judgment of God, reminds us of the urgencyof our prayers for the Fathers of the Council,now in their second session, and for Pope Paul's leadership in this work of renewal and reform. Efpeciilly that he and all the Fathers may be truly a "pattern to the flock" (First Read- THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17, ST. MARGARET MARY ALACOQUE, VIRGIN. Love makes the Christian "yoke. . .ease” and the "burden light" (Gospel). Love is the universal language which robs Christianity of any possible snob ap peal and makes it as intelligible to the simple as to the sophisticated. Christians of our age will find anatomical symbols of the love which is the Gospel less suitable and meaningful than the sac- CONTINUED ON PAGE 5 REEXAMINE Bishops Call For ‘Poverty’ BY GERARD E. SHERRY Bishop Fulton J. Sheen, our national director of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, recently called for a return to true poverty in many spheres of Church life, and he suggested that rich parishes adopt certain mission areas* About ten days ago, Archbishop Helder Pessoa Camara of Rio de Janiero is reported to have proposed that his fellow bishops drop such titles as "Excellency** and "Eminence** and generally give up expensive trappings of their office, in cluding rings, pectoral crosses and Cadillac limousines. BOTH PRELATES received a drubbing in some of our Cath olic newspapers. The Philadelphia Cathol ic Standard and Times editorially- charged that the La tin American Arch bishop was "talking through his mitre." The St. Louis Review dismissed Bishop Sheen's proposals as unrealistic. 1 think the criticism levelled at these bishops was unfair and unrealistic. Given the usual ex aggerations on emotional issues, I find more than a grain of truth in their observations con cerning the distance that separates the rich from the poor; the distance that separates some of the clergy from the faithful. To quote Archbishop Camara, "Let us make our moral strength and our authority depend on the make of our car. There are small and simple cars, the use of which everyone understands and accepts, there are cars that scandalize and revolt." THIS OBSERVATION does not apply only to bishops, and is symptomatic of a grave problem in the Church in all parts of the world. For ex ample, we are inclined to think that the Church is poor only in the foreign missions. However, there are stark contrasts here in tills country. One has only got to consider the material con ditions of the clergy in the big metropolitan area of the east, middle west, and southwest with their conferes in the rural south and some other areas. The gap between the "haves** and the "have nots** is, in many cases, startling. This is one side of the coin. There is the other side on which Archbishop Camara makes pointed com ment, "Let us end once and for all the impres sion of Bishop-Prince, residing in a place, iso lated from the clergy whom he treats distantly and coldly. Let us end, once and for all, the im pression of authority which insists more, in pra ctice, in making itself feared than loved, of making itself served, rather than in serving. "Some times, too, churches are so "Grandiose** that the poor lack the courage to enter them.** Then, too, there is question of religious vows of poverty. In the old days, this really meant some thing, and still does in some countries and mis sion areas. Alas, in many of the highly industria lized countries it has lost a good deal of its meaning. While the priests or religious may well own nothing, individually or personally, few are poor in a civic sense. REAPINGS AT RANDOM Let no reader misinterpret these Reapings as an anti-clerical diatribe. Far from it. Many bishops and priests are genuinely worried about the modem trends in relation to all this. The high station of a bishop, and the importance of the clergy and religious in the sacramental life of the community makes it imperative that no false image be given of them. The laity must be educated to a constant reverence of the bishop and the priest. They must be urged to contribute to their support. * No one is suggesting that the clergy be doomed to ) unnecessary poverty while the laity live "high on the hog". Questions are being asked in all areas of Church life. While not all bishops and priests live luxuriously, some do; while not all bishop’s residences and parish rectories are grandiose, some are. While our archdiocese is not affected, it is to these contradictions that I think both Bis- 1 hop Sheen and Archbishop Camara are pointing. THEY POINT, too, to the contradictions bet ween the rich and poor laity, and that a fair share of the wealth should be distributed to alll. This Is one of the problems posed in the present emphasis on tithing within the Church. Many of the laity have never given a fair share to support the work of the Church. But more and more are doing so. They have mortagages up to their necks; they have tuition bills for school; all the de mands of both Church and community charities. The future is secure only as long as the brea dwinner Is working. It is not unnatural for them to ask that their sacrifices be matched by the elimination of unnecessary frills and opulence in the erection of churches, schools, and rect ories. There is nothing anti-clerical in their thinking this way. After all, Catholic education is producing a new breed of laity which is not subservient, nor is it arrogant. Perhaps intell ectual docility will be the correct phase for this so-called age of the laity. There is a vast dif ference between this and subservience. THE FACT that Archbishop Camara and Bishop Sheen have declared themselves publicly on tills subject is a further Indication that Pope John's call for renewal affects not only the Church as a structure, but also as Individual members of the Mystical Body. Our present Pope has shown that he intends to continue this renewal in all phases of Catholic Life. The eradication of un essential* will re-emphasize the unchangeable kernel of the Divine deposit, while focusing on the changeable human kernel.