The Georgia bulletin (Atlanta) 1963-current, January 16, 1964, Image 4

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

PAGE 4 GEORGIA BULLETIN THURSDAY, JANUARY 16, 1964 ., 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 Kiernan 2699 Peachtree N.E. P.G. 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 U.S.A. $5.00 Canada $5.00 Foreign $6.50 Second Class Permit at Atlanta, Ga. K Of C Advance There's been some good news on the racial front here in At lanta. Among other things, 14 of the major hotels in the city have decided on complete desegre gation. There’s been some bad news, too, such as the intransig- eance of most restaurants which insist that a Negro is unworthy of their services. But there’s been much better news from another part of the State, and it concerns the Knights of Columbus. This fraternal or der of Catholics has taken some hard knocks of recent date. Some of its Councils in the North con tinue to practice discrimination and have blackballed potential members merely because of their race or color. In the South, hardly any K of C Councils have had the courage to drop racial barriers. Now things look more encouraging. A new Council named after the late President John F, Kennedy was recently formed at Augusta. Of 63 candidates advanced to Knighthood, five were Negroes. Two of the Negroes hold office in the new Unit. John F. Kennedy Council 5484 is the first council of the Georgia Knights of Colum bus to become integrated. The Georgia leadership of the Knights of Columbus has so com mitted itself to the policy of dropping racial barriers that Bernard S. Dunstan of Augusta, the State Deputy, has transferr ed his membership to the new, integrated council. This is indeed a refreshing change from the sterile, fearful attitudes of the past and should breathe new life into the Knights of Columbus. We trust that the Knights of Columbus councils in Atlanta will take heart from the example of their brothers in Augusta and will openly invite and welcome Negro members into the presently all- white groups here. There’s noth ing fraternal about discriminat ion. Knights of Columbus should be the first to understand this. State Deputy Dunstan is to be congratulated on his courageous leadership in a matter of such import to the welfare of both the Church and the community. GERARD E. SHERRY No Bartering Away It was on the subject contained in the above editorial that we lost one of our few advertisers this week. The brief letter said: ‘‘Please cancel my contract for any further advertising. I just don’t see eye to eye with you on the integration issue. . .” American and communist - in spired. They are the same ones who talk constantly of states rights, but only for those with whom they agree. They hold a totalitarian concept of politics which is alien to the American way of life. Newspapers of all shades of opinion suffer from such pres sure tactics. In the summer, this newspaper survived a concerted effort by individuals belonging to an extremist group who tried to intimidate our advertisers. We lost only one -- and he seeming ly believed that only one side of any argument should be heard-- the side he agreed with. The people whouse these pres sure tactics are nearly always the same ones who condemn Negro boycotts of segregated businesses, labelling them un- We uphold the right of anyone to express disagreement with our views, and we welcome construc tive dialogue with our readers and advertisers. Alas, we have no respect for those who use economic or other un-ethical pressures to make people bend to their will. This is a typically communist or fascist tactic, not one which is becoming to genuine Americans. In any case, the Catholic position on racial jus tice cannot be bartered away, even to secure survival. GERARD E. SHERRY PILGRIMAGE ON TV Restoration Of Delight BY FATHER LEONARD F.X. MAYHEW The miracle of television made millions of us something indefinably more than spectators of Pope Paul’s historic Holy Land pilgrimage. The electronic eye passed on the infectious drama of the first papal jet flight, the portentous confronta tion of Moslem king and Hebrew president with the Vicar of Christ, the near-hysterical fervor of the crowd at the Damascus Gate, the ecstasy of the Pontiff's Mass at the Holy Sepulcher, the magnifi cent embrace of the Patriarchs of Rome and Con stantinople. | Watching the incredible crush of human beings who greeted the Pope at the Damascus Gate and who carried him in their midst along the Way of the Cross, it was evident that here was some thing more than acclaim for a celebrity. Even adding up all the “firsts” and headline ma terial, the real explanation re mained elusive. The calm dignity of the Pope and one radiant picture of a stunningly beautiful nun receiving his blessing confirmed the presence of something Ineffable, something deeper and more important than mere crowd emotion. THE POPE’S visit to the source of his faith struck a responsive chord even in those who do not share it. The longing for unity and peace is not an abstract conviction. It exists agaonizingly in the hearts of millions of men. The sight of this one noble man detaching himself from the crowd and making a pilgrimage in quest of this unity and peace aroused the desire of many les ser men to share the experience with him. This was the instinct of the crowd at the Damascus Gate, as they swayed and jostled and pushed, as if they wanted to make physical contact with the slender figure in white who embodied their hope. A great event was taking place, an event which they understood and with which they had sympathy. They wanted to be part of it. IT WAS ONE of those moments when men trans cend themselves, E. M. Forster wrote of such rare instants once, during the second World War: ‘There are moments when each of us, however feeble, can feel within himself the strong hopes of the human race, and see beyond his personal death its renaissance, and the restoration of delight.” The profound peace of Pope Paul’s smile in the midst of the frenzy on the Via Dolorosa and, later, when he gazed into the eyes of the Patriarch Athenagoras reflected a taste of this deepdown delight which is in the right order of things as they ought to be. Ours is largely a world without heroes. The authentic hero must be pitted against a more powerful foe. But the odds, clearly, cannot be impossible, as they appear to be in our time. What man can stand against the forces that threaten our survival? A kind of despairing passi vity comes over most of us when we face them. That is why we are aroused at the sight of a man of courage and imagination who asserts himself against our common fears. That is why we want to be part of his experience. And again, that is why we should absorb what we can of his spirit and courage and faith. LITURGICAL WEEK Christian Unity Prayer Church At The liturgy is the Church at worship. It is our own life at work in the public worship of God in union with our Head, Jesus Christ, It is what St. Paul meant by his penetrating phrase; “I live, now not I, but Christ lives in me.” The layman and the priest can remain sadly apart in many areas of life, but not in the liturgy. Each of us enters Christianity by a liturgical act--baptism. We grow in confirmation and are nourished by the Eucharist and the other sacraments. Unless we are aware of what is going on, we can reach a dreary plateau without joy. Our private pipeline to God, unrefreshed by the living waters of our salvation, runs dry. Suddenly (at least it seems sudden to us now), the Church is offering modern man his full share in the liturgy, a role pro per to his status as a layman, much of it in his own language and in his own mode of life. Lit- urgy will no longer appear to be the exclusive hobby of a few; it Worship is the birthright of us all. It is the bread and butter of our spirit: our actions, our efforts, our pre sence offered to God through the service of His priest, and, in re turn, divine grace flowing sacra mentally through familiar chan nels into every corner of our lives. As the first chapter of the schema summed it up: “The lit urgy is the summit toward which all the actions of the Church tend and, at the same time, the source from which it draws all its strength.” This social worship touches everyone--father, mot her, child, the worker, the intel lectual, the dispossessed. Man cannot live by pure theo logy alone; he can live only by a true formation in the life of Christ. It is not the man just informed by Christian wisdom who will survive the pressures of our times; it is man formed by Christian faithand grace. This is the burden of the liturgy, and accordingly it is the role, task, and privilege of the modern Christian to use it. ARCHBISHOP HALLINAN BY REV. ROBERT W. HOVDA JAN. 19, SECOND SUNDAY AFTER EPIP HANY. Yesterday we began an annual week of prayer for Christian reunion. And today’s Mass celebrates in both Gospel and Communion Hymn the marriage union of Cana as another sign of Christ’s epiphany, of His manifestation as Lord of lords. Both have great relevance for this season, for the Christ, whose coming has been our theme, is Himself the great sacrament of unity between God and the human race. The oneness of God is so perfect that three Persons possess the very same nature, the very same being. As mankind at- ' ta* ns deeper levels of unity, it jUfT \ becomes more God-like, grace redeeming nature from sin’s flaws. In the Collect we pray VL/ for oneness, too, as we ask for ft < T 1 peace in our time. MONDAY, JAN. 20, SS. FABIAN AND SEBASTIAN, MARTYRS. But the oneness that we seek is no superficial sameness. It lies in the depths of the Mystery of Christ, and is accomplished in Bap tism and the Eucharist. To seek this unity may be to set oneself at odds with those whose ideal of oneness is more modest, “Blessed are you when men hate you. . Jor the Son of Man’s sake,” says Jesus in the Gospel. And the First Reading lists the horors endured by apostles of unity at the hands of their fellows. So we ask for courage, despite our weakness, that our guest for unity, whether it be in civil rights or in ecumenism, may be undaunted by the enemy. TUESDAY, JAN. 21, ST. AGNES, VIRGIN, MARTYR. The enemy is evil, and every man who has set himself in the paths of evil is against the unity of God’s covenant promise (First Reading). But the enemy is also the foolish, the improvi dent, the imprudent (Gospel), who futilely seek the Christ without bothering about the means. Lazily and casually they proceed in some sense toward the good. They do not take Him serious ly. They are the weak ones, not those whom the world holds weak, as today’s virgin-martyr. WEDNESDAY, JAN. 22, SS. VINCENT AND ANA- STASIUS, MARTYRS. Today's Mass, again of martyrs, again confronts the power of evil, di vision, dissension. . .confronts it soberly and without fright. It may be that victories for unity, for Christ, may be for now only “sparks that break out, now here, now there, among the stubble” (First Reading). But they are uncon querable. Their deliverance is coming, the same lesson teaches, and then they will shine out. The Gospel tells us as we pray for unity: “It is by endurance that you will secure possession of your souls.” THURSDAY, JAN. 23, ST. RAYMUNDOF PENA- FORT, CONFESSOR. More powerful than evil is the goodness we celebrate in this Mass of a con fessor. Who has done more than the saints for the cause of unity, more than any holy, any thoroughly good man or woman? For the closer we come to Him who is Love, the closer we come to our brothers of every, and of no faith. Where there is perseverance in right reason, good counsel (Entrance Hymn), freedom from greed and sinful ways (First Reading), constant attentiveness to the Master (Gospel)—there is al ways attraction, desire for communication and, perhaps for communion. CONTINUED ON PAGE 5 MOMENTOUS Unhooked Again BY GERARD E. SHERRY The U. S. Public Health Service Rep t on ciga rette smoking arrived at my office ;ull forty- eight hours too late to have any eect on my future smoking habits. At ten P. M.ist Thurs day I finished my usual fourth pa< of the the day and said goodbye to the habit, rankly, the advance build-up given the reportvas so well done that I was scared enough toiuit before I found how near to death I could be ifhe Surgeon- General’s findings were true. The funny thing about all my prevaus a tempts at quitting smoking is that they’veallsuccfeded— for a time. I stopped once fortwoyeas; ano ther time for two months; then six nonhs; and last year for five weeks. This time it’s gt to be for keeps. Some people try to stop smoking by cutting down on the number of cigarettes each day until they cut it out altogether. Alas, this hardly ever works. Others try- to be more sub tle. They buy pills and tablets from drug stores which guarantee the killir of the smoking habit within a set number days. The pill or tablet makers are quite irrressive with their testimonials. It seems as iquite a number of leading baseball players, jlf pros, and drag racing experts have got r of the vice of smoking merely by taking dris. How ever, 1 am convinced that there is>nly one way to stop doing anything—and tht?s not do it. Hence, the cheapest and most effee'e way to get rid of the habit of smoking is no-o smoke. I realize there are some people m<e virtuous than myself who find they can’t bre; the habit. It seems they need cigarettes to calm eir nerves, ease their tensions, and feel relaxetBut this is really only an excuse to justify thJnability to break the habit. We use similar exc^es to justify all our vices. REAPING AT RANDOf* % There is of course a moral angle toallthis. If, in fact, we are all slowly killing ourstves by smoking cigarettes, can we justly perp:uating the habit? I remember seeing in “Amrica”, the Jesuit National Weekly Review, a san'imon- ious editorial reflection that if smokin is as dangerous as is believed, then heads of fnilies have the moral obligation not to smok This sounds fine to me, except that it also Ideally follows that the second-in-command of thamily has an equal moral obligation. You can cry this argument all the way through. Priests and members of religious ores, not merely superiors, are also obligatedo quit smoking. This because, if smoking isoing to kill them before their time, then theyre fail ing in their duties and responsibilities their religious orders, which have gone to 'eat ex pense to educate and train them. The sie could be said to be true about almost ar*ne any where. A newspaper office, be it large r small, is normally an easy place to identify, .due smog hangs over the desks, and all the arrays are full to the brim. We never seem to Re learned our lesson, however, for I know than awful loi of journalists have died of cancer the lung, ulcers, throat ailments and heart tacks. No body is attributing the demise of m^ fine news paper men solely to cigarettes, K it’s worth thinking about. Naturally the tobacco industry, i eight billion dollar investment, is not taking the furgeon General’s report lightly. To its erdit, it las not attacked the report, even though idoes notaccept its conclusions as difinitive. Nome canblame the tobacco industry for this. Afte all, thcisands of jobs and some three billion n tax rvenue is involved. The thing that bothirs me s that the experts who contributed to he reprt are adamant that, “In view of the contJing and mounting evidence from many sourc* it is the judgment of the committee that ciga*te smok ing contributes substantially to moality from certain specific diseases and to e over-all death rate.” The mortality rate among cigari smokers, according to one study quoted in t report, is about 70 percent higher than thatoP n ~smokers. It added that “The death rates inP ast with the amount smoked.” When ten emi- n t scientists come up with such a finding I f- 1 it's time to quit. I have marked Thursday, Janu-'Y as ^ a Y when 1 became “unhooked” f»m the dreadful habit of cigarette smoking, aftt goodness knows how many years. As I am windig up these ffcap- ings, a fellow comes into the office with acar- ton of my favorite brand. It stims as if Brother Nefarious is making a valiaitattempt to g t me “hooked” again. 1 hope I sur/Ve the test, bt the Brother has some good arguments: the staffhinks I’m grumpy, my nerves are :ll shattered, Ihven’t been relaxed since Thursdy evening, and*hat’s more, lung cancer doesn't strike everyor. The Brother thinks I’ll get awiy with it, but don’t know. Anyone want a carton of my favoriterand?