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PAGE 4 GEORGIA BULLETIN THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12, 1963
the
Archdiocese of Atlanta
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 Kiernan
2699 Peachtree N.E.
P.O. Box 11667
Northside 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 $5.00
Foreign $6.50
A Christmas Gift
COUNCIL GOALS
Vision Deepening
Man Of
It is a sad commentary on our
educational system in this state
when a school principal is asked
to apologize to a PTA group for
no other reason, other than some
parents did not like what he had
said.
Joseph Parham, Principal of
Woodland (Talbert County) gram
mar school quit his post in order
to ease tensions in the school
district. It was a great act of
humility on his part, for he had
done no wrong --he had merely
exercised his right as a citizen
to speak his mind. Mr. Parham
had written a letter to a news
paper stating that some 11 and 12
year olds in one of his classes
had applauded at the news of the
assassination of President Ken
nedy. Nobody has denied the truth
of his statement, but Talbert
County school officials urged him
to appear before the PTA to apo
logize anyhow.
Whether they know it or not, the
citizens of Woodland, Georgia,
have suffered a loss. It would
have been more to the point if
school officials had investigated
the reasons for such a sorry
spectacle as cheering children
who had no respect for their slain
president. It is the parents of
these pupils, not Mr. Parham,
who should have been held up for
public scorn Who are these so-
called Americans, who can bring
up children in a spirit of hate
and prejudice? They surely do not
represent the majority of Wood
land citizens, or the people of
Georgia.
Harper’s
In the December issue of Har
per’s Magazine, there appears an
article entitled “Restraint onthe
American Catholic Freedom”
authored by a Catholic write r un
der the pseudonym of Jon Victor.
It is an empty piece, contain
ing half-truths, and certainly not
the work of someone well versed
in the works of the Catholic
press.
The article rehashes the con
troversy over the banning of four
theologians from a Lenten series
at Catholic University of Ameri
ca. It suggests that the majority
of Catholic newspapers were of
ficially muzzled in relation to it.
Nothing could be further from the
truth, and we resent such ill-in
formed observations.
This newspaper made a strong,
adverse criticism of the C.U. ban,
even though we believe it con
formed to the norms of.charity.
No one, officially or otherwise
attempted to muzzle us; nor would
they have had need to. It was a
legitimate area of comment, and
we were only one of a number
of Catholic newspapers which
took a stand.
What we really object to in
this Harper article is the use of
the C, U, incident as an excuse
Honor
Haven’t we had enough of hate
and bigotry? Did President Ken
nedy really die in vain? Or can
we pick up the pieces from his
assassination and start spread
ing about a little love -- and
mainly in the home. For if w e
cannot teach the children to love,
how can we expect them to know
it when they have grown into po
sitions of responsibility.
Joseph Parham may be out of
a job, but he has kept his honor
and integrity. He could have stay
ed and fought out the issue, but
he saw this would have engender
ed more hate and prejudice. We
hope at least the children of
Woodland have learned by his
example and that the parents
involved might try to make
amends; not to Mr. Parham, for
he is a big man, and well able to
hold himself erect; but rather to
their children, for whom they
must answer to God.
We might make one additional
comment. In some areas of the
Georgia school system, too much
power seems to be in the hands
of PTA groups. Principals and
teachers seem to have less say
than PTA’s as to what is good for
their children. Indeed, it appears
to us that teachers, who are the
backbone of our educational sys
tem, are given little considera
tion or respect either by school
administrative officials or the
parents they serve.
GERARD E. SHERRY
to resurrect old gripes and scutt
le but; and to justify it. We re sent,
too, the assignment of blame for
the C. U. incident to some church
officials who were not involved.
To suggest that the C. U. affair
was systematic of “a further
lack of freedom in the Catholic
press” is outrageous, simply
because it is not true. The anony
mous author, alias Jon Victor,
was seemingly fed his informa
tion by some disgruntled Catho
lics who have failed to grow up
and mature in the field of legi
timate controversy.
The Harper’s article does a
disservice, not only to the Ca
tholic press, but also to the
Church in general. It appears to
us to be a rehash of a piece we
rejected a few weeks after the
C. U. incident was reported from
the Catholic press. Not only does
it contain nothing new, italso re
surrects material as old as the
hills which bears little resem
blance to the real issue of free
dom within the Church.
No press in the world is any
freer than the Catholic press in
the United States. If some edi
tors don’t take advantage of it, or
don’t apply it in the spirit of pru
dence and charity, that is not the
fault of the Church. We wish that
Harper’s Magazine (which states
that the manuscript had been
checked “by eminent Catholics”)
had consulted editors who took
part in the C. U. controversy.
Perhaps then it would have been
consigned to the waste basket,
where we believe it belongs.
GERARD E. SHERRY
BY REV. LEONARD F. X. MAYHEW
The second session of Vatican II has closed,
with a third session already announced for next
fall. This may come as something of a surprise
and a let-down to those who expected dramatic
changes to arrive quickly and who, rather nai
vely, thought the Council might achieve its work
in the first year. I do not feel that this is a
dominant mood, however. Accounts in both
the Catholic and secular press have seemed to
indicate that the complexity of the Council's work
has been only gradually grasped even by the bis
hops. This has been communicated to the general
public as well by the news releases and by the
.several books attempting to analyze, more or less
’successfully, the issues at stake. There have
been few predictions lately about the ultimate
duration of the Council.
There is a growing realiza
tion that the renewal of the
Church, which is the goal set
for the Council by Pope John,
is a very difficult and far-rea
ching combination of complica
ted questions. The Fathers
must deal with hard issues and
prudential judgments, many of
them basic to the constitution of
the Church. While there is very
wide latitude within which they may choose their
course, they must at the same time maintain
fidelity to the divinely revealed truths embodied
in the continuing traditon of the Church. If they
are convinced of the need for adjustment and re
formation (formerly a bad word, now heard rather
often with regard to the Council). They must com
bine a sense of urgency with a sense of history.
All in all, there seems to be little room for doubt
that the forces working for change and moder
nization will win out. The direction cannot be
turned back.
BY REV. ROBERT W. HOVDA
DEC. 15, THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT. To
day's Mass paints with heavy strokes a vivid
contrast between the Advent piety of Christians and
the hopelessness of man's natural situation. With
out the assurance of His coming, past and future,
man is anxious and without peace (First Reading),
is in captivity (Entrance and Offertory Hymns),
has little understanding (Collect) and no ground for
confidence and courage (Communion Hymn).
The Christian's joy springs
from his consciousness of free
dom from all this. With John
the Baptist, the Christian points
to the Lord's coming, to a cer
tain emancipation and liberty he
already tastes in Church and
sacraments (despite environ
ment's sometimes choking wil
derness) and which he longs to
enjoy to the full in eternal life.
MONDAY, DEC. 16, ST. EUSEBIUS, BISHOP,
MARTYR. "For the Son of Man is to come with
his angels in the glory of his Father" (Gospel).
Even the witness of suffering and martyrdom can
not deprive the Christian of his joy (First Read
ing), for his joy has a transcendent basis, cause
and assurance. Indeed, to "take up the cross" is
a requirement for discovering one’s "life," one’s
relation to Christ and to those ultimate events
which promise happiness. The way is not made
straight without some digging and some grading,
without some dsitress.
TUESDAY, DEC. 17, MASS AS ON SUNDAY.
THERE ARE CERTAINLY defects in the work
ings of the Council, The faulty press relations,
the over-emphasis on an untenable secrecy, the
repetitiveness of many of the addresses have all
been pointed out and criticized. Steps appear to
have been taken to obviate or reduce these fai
lings. The honest struggle to hammer out the right
path for the Council to follow, even if it is time-
consuming, is not one of these defects. On the
contrary, it is eloquent testimony to the serio
usness with which the bishops view their free
dom and responsihiity for the entire Church. Like
wise, it is childish to reduce the liberal-conser
vative tensions within the Council to the plane of
an ecclesiastical western, good guys versus bad
guys. This kind of over - simplification milit
ates against the creation of an atmosphere in
which the final decisions of the Council can be
fruitfully implemented.
SOME OF THE ISSUES of Vatican II, like the
decree absolving the Jews from exclusive blame
for the crucifixion and the consideration of uni
versal freedom of conscience, seem quite simple
to American Catholics. Having largely resolved
these questions, at least in theory, we are temp
ted towonder what all the worry is about. Ot
her questions, which are perhaps more central
to the long-term effect of the Council, seem dis
tant from our mentality. Of these probably the
most far-reaching is the basic meaning of the
collegiality (sharing of Authority_ of all the bis
hops with the Pope. All the future policies and
forms to be adopted by the Church, as well as
the progress of Christian unity, will depend upon
the final decision in this matter.
The Fathers of the Council are no doubt deep
ening their vision of the Church, the beauty of
her holiness and the scandal of her weaknesses.
This deepened vision is already filtering throu
gh r« the mass of the faithful.
John the Baptist, the Advent figure of today’s Mass,
heralds Jesus’ public ministry as the Church
heralds His final coming at the end of time. Es
pecially in the Eucharist, where we "show forth
the Lord’s death until he comes," are we witnes
ses to the fact that time will have an end, a con
summation.
Then the bread and wine will have served their
purpose, and Christ will be seen in all His glory.
The sacraments, all of them, are signs of this fu
ture event as well as memorials of past deeds.
DEC. 18, EMBER WEDNESDAY IN WINTER.
The Masses of these Ember Days are a kind of
final preparation for the Christmas-Epiphany
celebration, with references both to the historical
incarnation of the Son of God and to the last things.
We hear two Old Testament readings, messianic
prophecies, and the Gospel announces their ful
fillment—at least the beginnings of their fulfill
ment, for its full flowering will come only with
Christ's coming in glory.
THURSDAY, DEC. 19, MASS AS ON SUNDAY.
"Our God is coming to save us" (Communion
Hymn)--this is the Being, the Ultimate, whom the
Christian confronts in worship. Christianworship
is not a matter of clients frantically searchingfor
a disinterested God. God is the one who searches,
who finds, who loves patiently while waiting for a
free response of love. "The Lord is near" (En
trance Hymn,) First Reading) always. Our Advent
task is to make our antennae more sensitive to
His current comings in Word and sacraments.
DEC. 20, EMBER FRIDAY IN WINTER. With
CONTINUED ON PAGE 9
ROME VIEW
Sees Religious
Liberty Stall
GERARD E. SHERRY
According to the NCW C News Service, the drop
ping of a vote at the last session of the Council
on the subject of religious liberty is somewhat of
a mystery. Yet, to anyone present covering the
Council it was obvious there were forces at work
to try and kill it altogether.
In this regard, I listened to a rather informa
tive talk on the sub
ject by Jesuit Father
John Courtney Mur
ray of Woodstock
College, a few days
ago in Rome, where
he had a large hand
in the preparation of
the original docu
ment. Father Murray
said that it was "the
American theological issue at the Council" and
that the American Hierarchy was greatly pleased
that it had finally appeared on the agenda of the
Council, "not withstanding many efforts to block
its discussion." Father Murray said:
“THE SECRETARIAT for Christian Unity com
posed its text before Pope John XXIII published
his encyclical, Pacem in Terris. But the doctrine
of the text is identical with ihe doctrine of the
encyclical. The text presents the term of a lengthy
development of theological thought in the matter,
and the encyclical confirms by its authority the
validity of this development.
"There are, in general, two essential points of
doctrine. First, it is asserted that every man by
right of nature has the right to the free exer
cise of religion in society according to the dic
tates of his personal conscience. This right be
longs essentially to the dignity of the human per
son as such.
"Secondly, the juridical consequences of this
right are asserted, namely, that an obligation
falls on other men in society, and upon the State
in particular, to acknowledge this personal right,
to respect it in practice, and to promote its free
exercise. This, in a mode of general statement,
is the heart of the matter.
"Four reasons are seen for the proclamation of
this doctrine. All of them derive from the concrete
situation of the world today.
"FIRST, IT is necessary today to state the
true doctrine of the Church with regard to re
ligious freedom in society, as this doctrine had
been clarified by theologcal reflection and also
by political experience, over the past few genera
tions.
"Secondly, it is necessary today for the Church
to assume a universal patronage of the dignity of
the human person and of man’s essential freedom,
in an age which totalitarian tyranny has imposed
itself upon nearly half the human race.
"Third, we are living in the age of the reli
giously pluralist society, as it is called. Men of
all religions and men of no religion must live to
gether in conditions of justice, peace, and civic
friendship, under equitable laws that protect the
whole range of human rights, actually including
the right to religious freedom. It is therefore
necessary for the Church to show the way to jus
tice and peace in society, by encouraging the cause
of human freedom, which is, as John XXIII taught,
both an essential end of organized society and
also the essential method and style of political
life.
"Fourthly, and finally, we are living in an age in
which a great ecumenical hope has been born. The
goal of Christian unity lies, of course beyond the
horizons of our present vision. We do, however,
know that the path to this far goal can lie only
along the road of freedom - a social, civil, po
litical and religious freedom. Hence the Church
must assist in the work of creating conditions of
freedom in human society. This task is integral
to the spiritual mission of the Church, which is to
be herself the spiritual unity of mankind and to
assist all men in finding this unity. These, in
brief, are the four reasons for the Decree on re
ligious freedom.
"THIS IN the conception of religious freedom
that Is contained in the conciliar text and develop
ed in the Relatio. One must have in mind that it
will be the duty of the Council to establish the for
mula, "religious freedom" within the Christian
vocabulary, to define or describe its full sense and
meaning, and to do this in such a way there may
be at least general agreement among all Chris
tians, Catholic and non-Catholic, with regard to the
essential content of this formula.
"The intention of the Decree is pastoral and
ecumenical. Therefore, it undertakes to define the
attitude that Catholics ought to maintain and exhibit
toward their fellow Christians and towards all
men. This attitude is based on the Catholic doc
trine with regard to the necessary freedom of the
act of Christian faith.
"The Church has always fought for her own
freedom, and for the freedom of her children. The
question today is, whether the Church should ex
tend her pastoral solicitude beyond her own boun
daries and assume an active image."
FATHER MURRAY’S remarks must be taken
seriously. He has devoted most of his priestly
life to the subject, and was called to Rome as an
expert on the insistence of Francis Cardinal
Spellman of New York. Father Murray’s views
represent the entiments of many bishops attached
to the Secretariat for Christian Unity, as well
as a large number of U. S. Prelates. It’would be a
pity i f those who fear religious liberty were
able to sidetrack this much needed declaration.
The subject will be re-introduced a' next Sep
tember’s session on the Council. It is to be hoped
that it will be overwhelmingly accepted by the
Council Fathers.
- Bizarre
LITURGICAL WEEK
Advent Piety-Hopelessness
REAPINGS
AT
RANDOM
