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PAGE 4 GEORGIA BULLETIN THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5,1963
the
Archdiocese of Atlanta
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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 Kiernan
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Advent First
Ir. recent years we have been
amazed at the effrontery of busi
nessmen and department stores
that do not even wait for Thanks
giving to come and go before they
put out the decorations for
Christmas. They excuse them
selves on the grounds that the
people like to shop early for
Christmas and, after all, what
other purpose is there for that
happy seasontide?
To us, this is a most blatant
example of modern day secula
rism. Few businesses propagate
the real meaning of Christmas.
To them Christmas has no re
ligious connotation. It is simply
a happy time for which they can
provide happiness. They encour
age a rather pagan attitude to
wards one of the greatest Chris
tian feasts. They talk about the
“spirit of Christmas”: but they
have no time to emphasize the
spiritual.
It is true, of course, that some
shopping centers and some stores
erect a crib as a sample of reli
gious deference. But it is unfor
tunately mostly a gimmick, a
come-on, for the so-called senti
mental shoppers. Ordinarily, we
would not get excited about such
everyday expressions of the se
cularist trend. But we think it is
tim~ to demand that the business
community stop exploiting Chris
tianity and its beliefs. After all,
they have taken Christ out of
Christmas and have replaced Him
with the false God of Commerce.
What is being said is that re
ligion is no longer a part of
Christmas; that the spirit of
Christmas is not Christ, but some
nebulous diety symbolized in the
merchandise and tinsel decorat
ing our store windows; that the
spirit of Christmas is your dol
lar, given from the heart, for the
purchase of gifts from a shop
which is gay and colorful.
Of course, this modern-day
spirit of Christmas is also por
trayed by the shopkeeper who
stands at his cash register glee
fully piling in the dollars from-
those who have the heart to pur
chase goods. This Christmas spi
rit also includes our dear old
friend Santa Claus (Oh, how St.
Nicholas must be turning in his
grave) sitting on his gilded
throne, smiling benignly as he
pats children’s heads and asks
them what they’d like for Christ
mas,
Poor old Santa Claus. It seems
such a shame to fool the kids.
But more important, its disgust
ing how we tolerate the whole
nasty affair.
What better season than now,
during Advent, to make the neces
sary preparations for putting
Christ back into Christmas. Ad
vent is a time of penance while
we prepare for the Great Event
which leads to our salvation. It
is a time of prayer; it is a time
for the consolidation of family
unity. The tinsel and the bells
are but trappings of the world.
Advent reminds us that before
Redemption there must be the
Cross. Let us, therefore, focus
now, on the real Christmas, when
Christ takes on the mantle of man
in order that we might be saved
from our own iniquities.
GERARD E. SHERRY
Courageous Step
The Atlanta Aldermanic Board
is to be congratulated on its cour
ageous step in adopting a resol
ution urging immediate consi
deration of voluntary desegrega
tion of public accommodations in
the metropolitan area. Our only
regret is that it should have been
necessary for such a resolution
in Atlanta, which is allegedly the
most progressive southern city
in racial affairs.
The resolution was adopted by
a majority of ten to four, after
a lot of acrimonious debate not
only at Monday’s Aide rmanic Bo
ard meeting, but also at last
week-end’s public hearing. This
latter meeting was dominated by
testimony from segregationist
groups and individuals whose re
marks could only leave a sour ta
ste as far as the majority of our
citizens is concerned.
Now devoid of substantial arg
ument, these segregationists
have resorted to the unedifying
tactic of asse rting that mowes to
wards racial justice are inspired
by, and have the backing of, Com
munists and other subversive gr
oups. We have no doubt that Com
munists would like to make capi
tal out of the present situation,
but there is no evidence that
they have any influence on the
mam leaders in the fight for ra
cial justice. Indeed, we are con
fident that the integregation
movement has always been insp
ired by American. rather than
Communist ideals.
Catholics, certainly, have no
need to apologize for their con
tributions to the cause of racial
justice. Theirs is a moral obli
gation, a mandate found in the
teachings of the Church. Earlier
this year, the American bishops
confirmed this mandate,
this moral obligation. No one can
equate atheistic materialism
with the teachings of the Church,
and it should not be necessary to
even talk about it. Alas, we are
dealing with people who will go
their best to smear their oppon
ents in order to sow the seeds
of doubt and mistrust in the com
munity.
We can only continue to work
for the elimination of the poli
tical and social disabilities pre
sently imposed on our Negro fel
low citizens. Obviously, we would
prefer voluntary action over
legislation.
We trust that the Atlanta Ald
ermanic Board action will gain
the support of not only the bus
iness and professional commu
nities, but also individual citi
zens of our great city.
GERARD E. SHERRY
OPPOSITION
Press Media
Schema Notes
BY GERARD E. SHERRY
One of the advantages of being in Rome for the
Council deliberations is that one is able to dis
cuss all aspects of a problem with Council Fathers
during the debate and after the vote has been taken.
It was especially enlightening to me to have been
able to have seen the text of the proposed decree
on the communications media which was passed by
the Council Fa-
thers on Novem
ber 25. As thede-
bate was in pro
gress, there were
REAPINGS
moves to have
further amend-
AT
ments to improve
it, and also mov
es to kill it, be
cause it was not
RANDOM
satisfactory.
THERE WAS ample opportunity forlobbyistsof
both sides to press their points outside the Council.
Indeed, three American laymen, JohnCogley, Ro
bert Kaiser, and Michael Novak, issued a state
ment on the communications media proposals
which was countersigned as "worthy of considera
tion** by Jesuit Fathers John Courtney Murray
and Jean Danielou, and Father Jorge Majia.
The three laymen said the proposed decree
hardly fits in with the tenor of a Council called
to make the Church relevant to modern man. It
is not an aggiornamento, but a step backward.
Where the document is not vague and banal, it
reflects a hopelessly abstract view of the rela
tionship of the Church and modern culture. It
deals with a press that exists only in textbooks
and is unrecognizable to modern journalists.
UNES OF EXCELLENCE
‘Full Use Of One’s Powers’
THE LAYMEN argued that by its moralistic
emphasis and simplistic treatment of the difficult
problem of art and prudence it appears to deny the
intrinsic value of a work of art and to compromise
the integrity of the Christian artist.
BY REV. LEONARD F. X. MAYHEW
A reporter asked President John F. Kennedy a
few weeks ago if he was happy in the office of the
presidency. President Kennedy answered affirma
tively by a reference to the notion of happiness
formulated by the ancient Greek philosophers. He
paraphrased their conception of happiness as "the
full use of one’s powers along the lines of excel
lence.” Another key dictum comes from one of
his most important and impressive speeches. He
urged us forward with confidence in God’s aid
"conscious that here on earth
God’s work is our own.”
The combination of these two
motives creates a significance
in this man that transcends the
transistory effect of this parti
cular policy or that particular
decision. We have, on the one
hand, the humane ideal of chal
lenge and fulfillment and on the
other, the moral imperative to purposeful com
mitment and optimistic initiative. President Ken
nedy’s public philosophy seems to epitomize the
whole thru:., of today’s society toward total moral
involvement, particularly on the part of the lay
man.
IN REALITY, of course there is no such thing
as "the layman”, an amorphous figure defined
only by not being a cleric. What really exists is
an infinite variety of individuals each involved
with the temporal world in a specific fashion
and under particular circumstances. There is a
growing awareness in the world and in the chur
ches that this is where the real frontier of mora
lity is to be found.
It is the individual layman (and the social groups
to which he belongs) who must deal, not precisely
with moral principles but with the actual imple
mentation of those principles. It is not his prime
task to deal with moral theory or with the complex
and disembodied casuistry of too many textbooks
and sermons. The layman has to wrestle with a de
cision that affects himself and others immediate
ly. The spiritual and emotional cost of each deci
sion and act must draw upon resources that can
not but be limited.
Discussion of the expanding moral role of the
layman is likely to arouse suspicions of latent
anti-clericalism. Sometimes this may be true. It
is not necessarily true, however, and, in any case,
it is irrelevant. The real point is that n oral ini
tiative and responsibility belong to the layman on
the basis of the principles we have always held,
although not always fully understood.
MORALITY exists in the concrete, in a specific
decision and its consequent act. It is, then, emi
nently practical. No moral act takes place in a
vacuum. It is formed against the total background
of conscience, experience, personality of the man
who places it. This formation of consciences is
the concern of the teachers,and preachers of moral
principle and of the churches.
Without even approaching the arena of political
partisanship, it is possible to see in John Kennedy
a typification of the man in and of the modern
world, who stands at the real frontier of mora
lity. The formation of his conscience was made
clear in his public statements. He belonged in the
Judaeo-Christian, humanist, liberal tradition that
is the mainstream of our civilization. He refer
red frequently and with apparent naturalness to the
Bible to illustrate his convictions. He quoted
philosophers and thinkers of the past with an ob
vious consciousness of the pattern in human af
fairs that we call history. He sought authority and
readily accepted the responsibility for its use,
whether successful or not. In the midst of ex
tremes and simplistic responses to complex ques
tions, he was willing to embrace a difficult and
moderate position, not automatically, but because
it frequently seemed dictated by reason.
The basic ingredient of our civilization is thein-
tuition that what is most singular about man is
reason. The consequence of this is the responsibi
lity of each man to know, to judge, to decide and
to act for what is true, just andwise. The Church
must act to build adequate consciences, properly
informed with meaningful principles. The layman,
the man of the world, must direct and save that
world in the agony - and martyrdom, if need be
- of fitting principle to problem.
LITURGICAL WEEK
Freedom From Fault
BY REV. ROBERT W. HOVDA
SUNDAY, DEC. 8, IMMACULATE CONCEP-
4TION. The feast of our Lady’s freedom from hu
manity’s common fault takes precedence over the
Sunday Mass today. And because she takes her
place with Isaia and John the Baptist as Advent
figures in a special sense, her feast fits well into
this season. Nor is the reference only to the past
coming, the historic coming of the Word-made-
flesh. For Mary is also a figure and type of the
Church, whose spotlessness
jgprepares the way for the
jm \ Christ’s final coming in glory.
The first lesson, particular-
ly, illuminates this identifica-
HkA f tion of Mary and the Church,
as does the refrain of the En
trance Hymn: "as a bride
adorned for her wedding.” Just
as the holiness of the Church
is not the product of its human membership, but
of its Head, its Soul and its divine election, so
Mary’s holiness is God’s gift (Gospel).
MONDAY, DEC. 9, MASS OF 2ND SUNDAY OF
ADVENT. As Lent is a time of revival for the
Church’s consciousness of itself and its baptis
mal commitment, so Advent is a time of revival
for its missionary spirit, The university of
Christ’s mission is the clear teaching of the First
Reading and the implication of the Gospel. His
coming in history lays the mandate of missionary
zeal upon His Church. His coming at the end of
time calls for all deliberate speed in fulfilling it.
TUESDAY, DEC. 10, MASS OF THE SUNDAY.
"Joy” and "hope” are the prominent words of
today’s liturgy. We generally recognize thatfaith,
hope and love are necessary ingredients of any
true Christian worship. But the joy department
frequently lacks buyers. Rather than hail His com
ing, we prefer to hug our problems (which His
coming solves) to our bosoms. Our public wor
ship, especially Mass, seeks to open us up to Him.
To accept His coming is to accept joy.
WEDNESDAY, DEC. 11. ST. DAMASUS, POPE,
CONFESSOR. "Who do you say that I am?*’
Jesus asks us in the Gospel. Our christened life
is our reply. And this constant spiritual "You
are the Christ” breaks out into vocalization at
every Mass. Not only as we listen obediently to
His Word and not only as we do His saving deed
"in memory of” Him. But every prayerwe utter
here around the altar is to the Father, "through
Jesus Christ your Son, our Lord.”
THURSDAY, DEC. 12, OUR LADY OF GUADA
LUPE. The Gospel tells us that Mary left home
CONTINUED ON PAGE 5
"While the document speaks of the ‘primary’
moral obligation of those who communicate in
formation, it never speaks of the obligations of
those who should be the sources of information
which they need (though the right to it is acknow
ledged in the text.) It thus fails to come to grips
with the problems of all those who are victimized
by authoritarian secrecy.
"The flat statement in one section that seems
to imply that the specifications of natural law and
‘Christian judgment’ are effortlessly provided in
the Catholic press. This could be interpreted as
endowing the Catholic press with a teaching autho
rity and near-infallibility that is neither proper
to journalism nor helpful to the formation of pub-,
lie opinion in the Church.
"THE DOCUMENT appears to be setting up an
intermediate ecclesiastical authority between the
individual communications worker and his em
ployer. This is likely to be taken as a threat to
the integrity of the media. It will seriously com
promise the layman working in the general or
‘secular’ press.
"In two important passages it seems to give
the state (auctoritas civilis) an authority over
mass media which is dangerous to political li
berty everywhere and which in some coun
tries like the United States is proscribed by con
stitutional law.
"This document may seem to many a mere pas
toral exhortation. But it is proposed as a solemn
decree of an ecumenical council.
"No decree which the Second Vatican Council
has yet discussed could touch the lives of contem
porary men so directly. And yet this decree,
as it now stands, may one day be cited as a clas
sic example of how the Second Vatican Ecumenical
Council failed to come to grips with the world
around it.”
THIS STATEMENT was received with mixed
feelings by Council Fathers. Many American bis
hops thought it improper and contained a note of
impudence. Others argued that two of the signers,
Robert Kaiser and Michael Novak, were accredit
ed journalists, and were abusing the privilege
in issuing the statement. Furthermore, it is
known that one Vaticanhish Council Official pri
vately charged that the statement had in fact
been inspired by the American Hierarchy, and he
was very upset about it. The truth of the matter
was that no American bishop had anything to do
with it whatsoever. Indeed, many were against it.
What was more important, in my view, was
the fact that the week before the vote was taken
on this important decree, I was assured by those
who should know, that the communications schema
would squeak through even though many Council
Fathers did not like it. The final vote seemed to
bear out this judgment — it got just a little over
the two-thirds majority required. This because
many bishops felt it was better than nothing, and
many others were indifferent. This seems a pity,
for the subject of this schema is indeed impor
tant, especially to those of us in the Catholic
press.
The one consolation is that the subject is
likely to come up again. This is but a plateau in
the Church's never-ending search for the best
ways of presenting the Truth. Furthermore, the
many ambiguities in the decree give leeway In
interpretation.
' ' - 11 HU r • " ’