Newspaper Page Text
1
GEORGIA PINES
6 Ask Not.-’
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 1963 GEORGIA BULLETIN PAGE 5
Saints in Black and White ! PmSmjwm LdYMm
ST. GERARD
74
REV. R. DONALD KIERNAN
Monday, November 25, 1963 ... a day to re
member. All over the country ears are tuned to
radios, and faces are fixed upon television scenes
to witness the final tribute of a sorrowful nation
to a truly great man, John F. Kennedy.
Since that fateful movement on last Friday when
an assassin's bullet: ended the life of our first
Catholic President, messages, prayers and tri
butes have been pouring into Washington from all
over the world. This man was loved, admired
and respected.
The resume of his life pre
sented over all television cir
cuits brought many remem-
berancesandrecollections, lam
sure, to millions of people in
this land of ours.
The first time I remember
j seeing John Kennedy was years
ago in Boston. He was running
for a seat in the House of Representatives. I re
call overhearing two old men making a comment
following a rally speech which John Kennedy had
just given. One man said to the other: "He has
the fire of old Honey Fitz". (Honey Fitz was
his grandfather who had served as Boston’s may
or.)
Kennedy was not too well known to Georgians
until the Georgia delegation to a national Demo
cratic convention picked him for the vice presi
dency to run with Adeli Stevenson. Kennedy de
clined to run at this time.
When I was stationed in Athens, I recall that he
came to the University of Georgia and delivered a
graduation speech in Sanford stadium. The au
dience was packed with Georgia politicans and al
ready this young man had gained fame on the na
tional scene with his best seller, Profiles in Cou
rage.
The late President’s next visit to Georgia was
while he was running for President. I recall a
reception at the Dinkler-Plaza hotel in which he
charmed everyone with his easy manner, warm
smile and terrific personality.
I drove to Warm Springs to see and hear him
spea k to Georgians during his bid for the presi
dency. He was a great figure standing on the porch
of Roosevelt’s "little White House" and all went
away convinced that this man could win. I recall
that when I returned to my car, handbills had
been placed in all the automobiles reading that if
this man won the "Pope of Rome would be run
ning the country." (I wonder where those hate-
mongers are now I)
Just last summer while riding on a friend’s
yatch in Nantucket Sound, I saw the President
through field glasses as he cruised about guard
ed by two coast-guard vessels.
I went to Washington in January of 1960 to
see this man inaugurated as the 35th President
of the United States. A big snow storm fell the
night before and workmen worked fevorishly the
night through to clear the parade route. It did not
dampen the ceremony one bit and I think the one
single thing remembered from that day were
his words, "ask not what your country can do
for you, but what you can do for your country."
All over the world today memorals are being
conducted in Protestant, Catholic and Jewish chur
ches. There is a feeling that this good man belong
ed to us all. Here in Gainesville at Saint Michael’s
Church the Mayor, City Commissioners, depart
ment heads of the city government along with of
ficials of Hall County joined the parishioners in
a final requiem for America's departed President.
"Ask not what your country can do for you, but
what you. . ." John Fitzgerald Kennedy lived
these words. Tireless, devoted, selfless, a man of
unquestioned integrity, he gave his own life for the
country he loved so much.
QUESTION BOX
Catholic Birchers?
Q. CAN YOU GIVE ME SOME GUIDANCE IN
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CATHOLICISM
AND MEMBERSHIP IN SUCH SOCIETIES AS THE
JOHN BIRCH SOCIETY. HERE IS A CLIPPING
ABOUT A PRIEST WHO BOASTED FROM THE
PULPIT OF HIS MEMBERSHIP IN THIS
SOCIETY, AND URGED HIS PARISHIONERS TO
SIGN A PETITION, CIRCULATED AT THE CH
URCH DOOR, CALLING FOR THE IMPEACH
MENT OF CHIEF JUSTICE WARREN. IT IS
DIFFICULT FOR ME TO UNDERSTAND HOW A
CATHOLIC —LAYMAN OR PRIEST—CAN PRO
MOTE SUCH A SOCIETY AND RECONCILE HIS
OWN CATHOLICISM WITH THE AIMS AND PUB
LIC STATEMENTS OF THE JOHN BIRCH SOC
IETY.
A. I was pleased to read that this misguided
priest received a public reprimand from his Chan
cery Office. I hope he is given
a penance requiring daily medi
tation on Pope John’s two great
encyclicals: Mater et Magistra
and Pacem in Terris. I will
wager that he has never read
either of them.
Any Catholic, lay or clerical,
who consorts with the John
Birch Society is either totally
ignorant of the social principles
of his religion, or is carried away by blind pre
judices. And any priest who urges his parish
ioners to sign a petition asking for the impea
chment of the Chief Justice should be sent to
a psychiatrist. He is mad — even as the mad
.racists.
We may not like some of the decisions in
which the Chief Justice has participated, along
with a majority of the court, But judges are not
appointed to please all the people, but rather to
interpret the law and apply the principles of our
Constitution to modern problems. By and large
the Warren court has done this job admirably.
And even if you disagree violently with this state
ment, you must, if you have plain, common sense,
admit that there are no legal grounds on which
impeachment proceedings could even be instituted
against any member of the court. For
tunately our Constitution has made them immune
from the rabid rantings of public opinion. Only
thus can justice be done.
Q. JESUS WAS A HUMBLE MAN AND CHOSE
SIMPLE HUMBLE MEN AS HIS APSOTLES. HE
HAD ONLY CONTEMPT FOR THE PROUD AND
HAUGHTY. THAT IS WHY I CANNOT UNDER
STAND THE BISHOPS OF THE CATHOLIC
CHURCH. IF A LAYMAN OR A PRIEST WANTS TO
TALK TO A BISHOP HE MUST FIRST KNEEL
AND KISS THE BISHOP’S RING. WHEN THE BIS
HOP VISITS A PARISH HE WANTS TO HAVE A
THRONE TO SIT ON, TO SHOW THAT HE IS A
BIG SHOT, AND WE INFERIOR BEINGS.
WAS IT EVER NECESSARY FOR A REALLY
BIG MAN TO PUT ON THE DOG TO MAKE AN
LITURGICAL WEEK
Meaning Of Incarnation
(CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4)
CONFESSOR. Every Mass is a consecration of
our few talents to the Almighty (Gospel). And the
First Reading today suggests specific examples
of the general Gospel mandate. Since our talents
are God’s gifts, they are to be used in humility—
not only in subjection to Him, but also in chari
table subjection to others and to our superiors.
All this in an atmosphere of praise.
SATURDAY, DEC. 7, ST. AMBROSE, BIS
HOP, CONFESSOR, DOCTOR. Another great doc
tor and teacher this week, so another opportunity’
to return to the Council Fathers in our thoughts
and prayers. May what they have provided for the
renewal and reform of Catholic public worship
soon become evident around these altars in the
things we say and do at Mass.
Billy Graham Receives
Belmont Abbey Ovation
i.
4.
8.
13.
14.
15.
17.
19.
20.
22
23!
24.
25.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
35.
3 1.
55.
36.
3”.
38.
40.
41.
44.
4 5.
46.
47.
49.
ACROSS 50.
. 51.
Siouan Indian 52.
Boot 53.
Aida 54.
Thus S5,
Occident 56.
Ovexdecorate 57.
Superiors 58.
Dye 59.
Roman Catholic; 62.
abbr. Ci 1,
Minerals (,5.
Behave
Cheer! 66.
Charge 6".
South 68.
Legend
Biblical wild n\
Returned to lite 1.
Place where he was
born in France 2.
Blunder 3.
Dull persons (slang) 4.
Me was noted for his 5.
sweetness of 6.
Yes in Cuba
Sulker “.
Six on a die 8.
Obtains 9.
Sailors 10.
Soak 11.
God of War; Gr. Myth. 12.
Musical composition 16.
Spanish coin
Trite 18.
13 - 19 19.
Unknit 21.
Brother of 37 down 23.
Baseball team 2 i.
Narrate again 2 5.
I nits of weight; abbr. 26.
Haven 2".
Stop watch 2s.
F.rrors excepted 30.
Roman album 51.
Purifying plant 33.
Swiss song
Females 36.
Teacher's Association; s~.
abbr. W.
Infant id.
Cupolas ) I.
Obscure
■i2.
DOWN 15.
Religious order of i5.
nicn; nbbr. 16.
Bond i~.
". ... Revolution" -.8,
Sugary .»•).
Personal Pronoun 50.
Government Agency; 52.
abbr.
" tu. Brute" 5 v
Derive 5 5.
Serenity V v
Revise 5 s
Operatctl 5‘>.
Gobi symbol i< >
Plate where his t.i
estate was (. 1.
Journey
Male and female 6i.
A kind of trout
Part of a stair
Inclined vs ay
Attire
\X eiriJ
Causeways
Similar
L- s»os
HI ion
I dihlc.mushroom
Am. tfur
Wall painting
B.other of 51 across
Rattans
Cut..Ip.I
Characteristic of the
ikrgy
Ass (German)
Tax
Kncamp
Communion plate
Bundle
He founJe-l one
Bt >re
Negligent
Me was born of
parents
(•at
West Point freshman
Duration
Ohio College I own
Brnr.il Seaport
Portuguese coin
v.\e • Potato
River in
VCV.lt rn >|lv r ;a
Gadolinium; abbr.
ANSWER TO LAST WEEK’S PUZZLE ON PAGE 7
BELMONT, N.C. (NC)—He
preached the gospel according
to Graham, but it sounded as if
Evangelist Billy Graham were
using a Catholic translation of
Holy Scripture for his text.
The renowned crusader won
a standing ovation from 2,000
priests, nuns, and laymen for
his first address ever on a Ca
tholic college campus.
BEFORE THE overflow
crowd in Belmont Abbey Col
lege gymnasium here, Billy Gra
ham called for Christian unity;
praised the Second Vatican
Council and the late Pope John
XXIII; confessed he lifted some
words and phrases of Bishop
Fulton J. Sheen for use in his
sermons; strongly condemned
America's secularistic trend,
and underscored present day
revolutions—Christian, racial,
moral, political and scientific.
“We have on our coins,” he
said, "the inscription ’In God
we trust’; we have chaplains in
our armed forces. And we have
people who seem bent on re
moving these things from our
way of life. We must remem
ber that God honors the na
tion that honors God."
THERE IS "a great revolu
tion" now raging in Christen
dom, he said.
"I don’t know when it began.
Perhaps during World War II,"
he continued. "I think the em
phasis that the late Pope John
brought, the Ecumenical Coun
cil of the Bishops in Rome it
self—a council that has the
prayers of all Christendom—
herald the present Christian re-
IMPRESSION? WAS NOT THIS KNEELING AND
KISSING BUSINESS COPIED FROM THE PROUD
AND ARROGANT PRINCES AND KINGS A THOU
SAND YEARS AGO.
DO YOU THINK ANY UNITED STATES PRE
SIDENT WOULD EVER BE ELECTED A SECOND
TIME IF HE WERE TO DEMAND THAT EVERY
VISITOR KNEEL AND KISS HIS HAND? IS IT NOT
ABOUT TIME FOR THE HIERARCHY OF THE CA
THOLIC CHURCH TO GET UP TO DATE AND DO
AWAY WITH THIS SHOW OF PRIDE AND ARRO
GANCE?
MY WIFE IS A CATHOLIC AND I THINK THE
CHURCH IS OKAY, BUT HAVE NO USE FOR ANY
ONE WHO DEGRADES HIS FELLOW MAN.
A. You have a point, sir, but you make it
much too sharp. It is painful as a needle.
It is true that Jesus was humble; He came to
serve and to minister. Yet He was pleased when
a sinful woman knelt at His feet, bathed them with
her tears and dried them with her hair. And He
strongly defended Mary of Bethany who anointed
Him with precious oil. Love and respect can give
dignity to signs of homage. Feudalism debased
these signs.
This kneeling andkissingbusiness was certainly
copied from die proud and arrogant princes of
centuries ago. In those days bishops were apt to
be princes - or at least counts or dukes.
Respect Is due to authority. All legitimate
authority comes from God; and we honor God when
we respect His representative. But the norms and
manners of respect may change as customs evolve.
Kneeling and kissing were fitting signs of respect
\n feudal times. They are anachronistic in modern
America. We tolerate them as ceremonial ves
tiges of our ancient heritage.
The throne is even more ceremonial; tradi
tion has made It a part of our liturgy. There may
be a temptation for one bishop or another to think
he is a "big shot" while seated on his throne;
but others may be humbly conscious of their un
worthiness. I doubt that the average bishop has
any intention of making you and me feel inferior
beings. And actually I doubt that * the average
Catholic does have this inferior feeling, even
though die throne, the mitre, and the incense do
Impress him with the high office of the bishop as
the successor of the Apostles - mostly fisher
men of the Lake of Galilee.
The kneeling and ring-kissing are on the wane
in democratic America. Most bishops reserve
them for ceremonial occasions.
For the rest, I respect your argument that the
Church should get up to date and sluff off many
of Its antiquated vestiges of feudalism. And it
would not much hurt prelatial pride if Monsig-
norial robes and dignities were among the first
to go.
ARNOLD VIEWING
Funny, Talkative
BY JAMES W. ARNOLD
"Mary, Mary" will please nearly everyone -
ranging the considerable gamut from Debbie Rey
nolds fans to admirers of Jean Kerr - except
movie buffs. In defiance of the principle that
movies must move, practically nothing in"Mary,
Mary" moves except the performers' mouths.
There hasn't been so much tongue-wagging in
one place since the Senate took up the foreign aid
bill.
The result is not really catastrophic, since the
sounds have all emerged from the fertile mind of
Mrs. Kerr, die onetime Pallas Athena of Catholic
University. The lady's mastery
of the wisecrack is comparable
only to that of Dorothy Parker,
who when told of the death of
Calvin Coolidge reputedly ask
ed: "How do they know?"
SHE ALSO IS shrewd enough
to realize that waggish females
can be a drag. "Mary, Mary" Is
about a Kerr-ish girl (Miss
Reynolds) who has just bon-motted herself out of
a husband (Barry Nelson). She wins him back only
when she learns to keep her mouth shut. As the
fellow says her skin reminds him of white por
celain, she simply purrs - instead of firing back,
"You mean like the kitchen sink?’’
Both characters are victims of inferiority
complexes. He is a serious-minded book publish
er torn by self-questionings ("How could I com
municate with you? You were always communi
cating with yourself. The line was always busy").
Mary’s compulsive witticisms hide feelings of
inadequacy left over from an awkward teenage.
Conversing with her is like throwing custard pie at
a fan.
VIEWERS WILL FIND little in the film related
to ordinary human problems. Mary edits letters to
the editor for Ladies Home Journal ("a little
like incest"). Other characters include her hus
band’s tax lawyer (Hiram Sherman), an aging film
idol (suave Michael Rennie), and a rich food fad
dist (Diane McBain, who looks like the late Carole
Lombard but isn’t quite as funny). There is some
good stuff on typical male-female misunderstand
ings (I didn't say you were plain, he apologizes,
but an ordinary, average girl. ..). But the comedy
has more glitter than substance.
As a 1961 stage hit, the show was a prototype
for the more lethal "Who’s Afraid of Virginia
Woolf?" In both, the sexes stand around with
half-empty glasses jabbering at each other. Mrs.
Kerr’s characters use dialog as a blunt instru
ment, but do not intend to maim. In the end there
is armistice for the sake of love and peace: life
will be duller but happier.
THE PLOT IS MAINLY an excuse for Mrs. Kerr
to engage In harmless repartee with herself on
such vulnerable subjects as television commer
cials, Hollywood (Rennie hears giggling in the kit
chen, confesses nostaligia for the old days on the
Paramount lot), even th e state of society (Ren
nie’s ex-wife fell in love with her plastic surgeon
after he removed a wartfrom her shoulder blade).
But some gags are very "inside," as when a bust
of a morose Indian is said to look like Jack
Warner.
If one believes that movies should do more than
just make plays or books available to a wider
audience, "Mary, Mary" is not much of a movie.
Scenarist Richard Breen (onetime Fordham man)
has made few script changes. The comedy is still
verbal rather than visual; about 95 per cent of it
takes place In one room.
THE CHARACTERS are state concoctions, mak
ing their contrived entrances and exits, pouring
drinks, circling the sofa, whipping up snacks in
the kitchen, etc. Producer-director Mervyn Le-
Roy ("Gypsy") uses three or four cameras and
fast cuts to provide an illusion of motion; perhaps
his best touch is an argument over a bobbing ex-
ercycle between actors Nelson and Rennie (both
holdovers from the Broadway cast).
Actor Nelson, in fact, is so good the show’s
title might easily be "Barry, Barry." A kind of
harrassed combination o f Johnny Carson and
Jackie Cooper, he performs in restless spurts and
arm-wavings like a toy soldier wound too tight.
With ingenious gestures and vocal tricks, he gets
vast mileage from such lines as "Life with Mary
is like being caught in a telephone booth with an
open unbrella...no matter which way you turn you
get it in the eye."
THE BEST SCENE has Nelson and Miss Rey
nolds desperately ran-sacking the apartment in
search of a cigaret ("Just ask yourself where you
would go If you were a cigaret"). Later, Nelson,
who has somehow taken sleeping pills, stands bar
ring the door (to prevent an elopement between
Rennie and Miss Reynolds) with the sleepy reso
lution of a demolished boxer trying to re-focus
on Sonny Liston.
Debbie shows admirable sophistication in belt
ing out the Kerr lines ("It was bad enough being
plain, but plain and bright 1 In my high school that
was a beatable combination"). But along the way
she has picked up a theatrical, Bette Davis-ish
way of ending her sentences in the air like ques
tions, e.g., "In your whole life you never shook
a bottle of magnessyah."
THE RARE PLAY-FILM differences are fas
cinating. In giving an example of "someone who is
nice to look at but not beautiful,” Mary says Carl
Sandburg. (In the play, it was Mrs. Roosevelt).
Mary gets locked in the closet instead of the bath
room (too earthy?) Rennie suggests going to a
movie at the Museum of Modern Art. Instead of
"Duck Soup," it’s "The Informer." (The Marx
Brothers are "out" this season).
The best thing about the Kerr lines is that
they're funny even when you hear them wrong.
Man’ criticizes one of her husband's authors:
"He writes like a sick elf." I thought she said
"sick elk." I laughed harder, because I know
more elks than elves.
CURRENT RECOMMENDED FILMS:
For everyone: Lawrence of Arabia, Lilies of the
Field, The Great Escape.
For connoisseurs: Winter Light, 8 1/2, This
Sporting Life.
Better than most: The Longest Day, The Haunt
ing, The V.L P.’s, The Reluctant
Saint.
volution.,.The emphasis in our
time may be on the Holy Spi
rit. Everywhere people are ga
thering—Protestants, Catho
lics and, yes, Jews—to pray
together. I know of 114 such
groups on Long Island itself.
Is the Holy Spirit in our time
doing something that is beyond
any of us?"
THE MAIN PORTION of the
Graham address was a sermon
—the personal sermon of a man
dedicated to his faith, a man
convinced that all men "must
accept Jesus Christ as their
personal Saviour."
It was only in this area that
Graham strayed once from Ca
tholic theology. He placed his
emphasis on forgiveness for sin
from Jesus. But in so doing he
omitted the Sacrament of Pen
ance.
Afterwards, a priest remark
ed: "Billy Graham comes so
close to the Church, He walks
up to the line, then backs away.
And his theology even on this
point was not totally wrong.
There is, you know, perfect
contrition,"
THE WARMTH, the stage
presence, the dynamism of Gra
ham enveloped his audience,
capturing it for Graham if not
for his crusade,
"I am not a Protestant pope,"
he said, "although inParaquay
I was once referred to as the
Protestant pope. And I admit
that there are Protestants who
think they are popes.”
To newsmen in the audience,
primed to ask questions, he
cautioned; "Everywhere I go
I’m asked what I think will come
of the Ecumenical Council. I
don’t know. I’m not a prophet."
But, he added, he is certain
that the council has engen
dered a greater understanding.
IN A BRIEF news conference
prior to the address, Graham
denied reports that he has ac
cepted invitations to speak at
five other Catholic colleges.
Father John Oetgen, O.S.B.,
president of the Benedictine
college, summed up the ef
fectiveness of the event. He
said; "We have received news
paper clippings from through
out the country praising us for
inviting Dr. Graham to speak
here.
"After listening to Dr. Gra
ham, I must say that we should
not be praised for being the first
to invite him. We should be
blamed for having waited so long
to extend the invitation.”
New Auxiliary
WASHINGTON (NC) — Pope
Paul VI has transferred the
Most Rev. James E. McManus,
C.SS.R., from the See of Ponce,
Puerto Rico, to the Titular
Diocese of Benda and named
him Auxiliary to Francis Car
dinal Spellman, Archbishop of
New York.
Seminary Fund
Remember the SEMINARY FUND of the
Archdiocese of Atlanta in your Will. Be
quests should be made to the “Most Rev
erend Paul J. Hallinan, Archbishop of the
Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta and his suc
cessors in office”. Participate in the daily
prayers of our seminarians and in the
Masses offered annually for the benefactors
of our SEMINARY FUND.
God Love You
BY MOST REVEREND FULTON J. SHEEN
ROME...The other night, as we dined with about eighteen bishops
from behind the Iron Curtain, we asked seven of them who were
near us at table to add up the number of years they had spent in
prison and In concentration camps because of their Faith. The
total was twenty—six years! We then told them that they were "dry'
martyrs," explaining that a “wet martyr" was one who shed
blood for his Faith while a dry martyr was one who died a thousand
times through suffering. They answered: "We are all potential
wet martyrs," adding that they had either just gotten out of prison
or were getting ready to be sent back.
We then told them that Christ has
various kinds of presence in the
world: one is in the Church, another
is in the Eucharist, another in the
poor (Leon Bloy, unable to receive
Communion one day, asked that a
poor person be brought into his sick
room), and the other presence of
Christ is in the suffering of His bis
hops, priests and people who are
by their lives. Millions and millions of
our faithful Catholics live in a state preparatory for martyr
dom. Youths in many countries think not so much of living but of
dying for the Faith.
"witnessing to Christ*
Won’t you identify yourselves with these holy men and women
by little acts of self-denial, so that you may at least have pin
pricks to set alongside their scars? One of the great advantages
of fasting is that by doing without something you want, you be
come one with those who are in need. St. Paul says that if one-
member suffers, for example the hand, the whole body suffers
with it. So it is in the Church; the poor and the suffering are
part of our body. If you denied yourself just one cigarette a day,
you could send the Holy Father, through his Society for the Pro
pagation of the Faith, about $6 a year, or $5.73 more than the
average per capita contribution of United States Catholics to the
Vicar of Christ for the Missions and missionaries of the world.
May the Holy Spirit inspire you to love those who love unto death!
GOD LOVE YOU J. A. H. for $1 "I am 12 years old and am
sending you four weeks allowance, hoping it will help a little.”
...to R. R. K. for $10 "In thanksgiving for the short wait in the
expectant-fathers’ room for number six to arrive." ...to Mr.
and Mrs. F. E. 0, Jr. for $100 "We could have paid a few store
bills with this, but the stores will be paid in time anyway. The
poor and suf ering of the Missions, on the other hand, have been
way overdue for a ‘payment* from us."
Why not give a WORLDMISSION ROSARY blessed by Bishop
Sheen for Christmas this year? Each decade is a different color,
representing the five continents where m issionaries are labor/ng to
bring Christ to the pagans. Sed your request and an offering of
$2 to The Society for the Propagation of the f aith, 366 Fifth Ave
nue, New York, New York - 10001.
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, N. Y. 10001, or your Diocesan Director, Rev. Harold J.
Rainey, P. O. Box 12047, Northside Station, Atlanta 5, Ga.