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PAGE 4 GEORGIA BULLETIN THURSDAY, MARCH 12, 1964 GOOD TEXT ,, Archdiocese of Atlanta the GEORGIA BULLETIN SfRVINO 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 Second Class Permit at Atlanta, Ga. U.S.A, $5.00 Canada $5.00 Foreign $6.50 Education Debate The dropping of the first grade from the Cincinnati Archdioce san school system emphasizes the need for calm debate on the future of our Catholic parochial schools. The problem is also brought into sharp focus with the recent publication by a Catholic writ er, Mary Perkins Ryan, of a provocative book entitled, “Are Parochial Schools the Answer?” (Holt, Rinehart and Winston. $4). Mrs. Ryan, the mother of five, goes so far as to question whether there should be “a Catholic school system maintained as part of the very structure of the Church.” Already the doom-mongers have entered the controversy de claring that Mrs. Ryan’s book is part of a dark plot by so-called Catholic liberals to weaken if not eliminate parochial schools. Such comments indicate a lack of acquaintence with even the re cent history of the parochial schools. Many of the questions asked by Mrs. Ryan indeed, many of the fears she expresses in re lation to the parochial school system have been commented on publicly many times in the past by both Bishops and concerned clerical and lay educators. To cite only one example of many the dropping of the lower grades of our parochial school system was advocated several years ago by Archbishop Lawrence J.She- han of Baltimore, then Bishop of Bridgeport and Chairman of the Education Department, National Catholic Welfare Conference. When Bishop Shehan made his suggestion no one questioned his good faith or his competence to propose a solution to the most urgent problem facing American SPRING CLEANING Catholicism. We suggest that to day the situation can be viewed in even a clearer light. This is due in large measure to the con tinuing discussion of the state of our schools which has been car ried on within the teaching pro fession and in the press. The fi nancial burdens of Catholic edu cation are such that both par ents and parishes, inmany areas, are being priced out of educa tion. There is nothing new in this. We have seen it coming for some time. The question which must now be faced is, “How much of a parochial school system do we feel essential and practicable in the light of modern conditions?” Certainly there is no seman tic tangle necessary in advocat ing a retrenchment of the paro chial school system. Indeed, it is obviously unwise to continue grades which impede the pro gress or financial stability of the whole system. This was ob- viouslv the conclusion of the Archbishop of Cincinnati. We, no doubt, will see other dioceses taking similar action. There are several added considerations over and above financial prob lems, which need to be measur ed. The very existence of our school system binds the Church in an implicit contract to offer first class education, fully com petitive with the best being pro vided by public institutions. When and if it becomes clear that in terms of facilities, classroom populations, pupil - teacher ratios, etc., we are not able to meet top standards, some ad justment on our part becomes obligatory. There is again an obligation of justice to the teach ers employed in our schools. Our educational system must be in a position to offer equal recom- pence for equal service. There is another serious and hithertofore ignored aspect in the dropping of various grades in the parochial systems Many of those persons who have violently op posed Federal aid to private and parochial schools are going to find themselves paying extra taxes to provide the public school accommodations for the Catholio children unable to attend Catholic schools. Several Ohio cities and towns affected by the Cincinnati Archdiocesan move have been suddenly jolted by this stark fact. The phasing out of the primary grades is only one of the steps being recommended to solve the problems of parochial schools. It is essential that a calm and reasonable discussion be allowed to exist in order that the best ideas may be discovered and adopted. What is beyond doubt is that some changes must and will be made. This should not be a cause of scandal. As Fr. Denis Geaney, O.S.A. wrote last year; “The (parochial school) system is not of divine origin. It is a re sponse to a Protestant-oriented culture ... of the past century It might be that the best service we could render the Churchtoday would be to ... ask ourselves if the premises of the bishops of 1884 are valid in the drastically changed world of 1963”. GERARD E. SHERRY St. Joseph—God’s Guardian GEORGIA PINES The Good Ladies BY REV. R. DONALD KIERNAN Long before I came to Georgia, I was well acquainted with the organization known as the Catholic Laymen's Association. It was or ganized some forty-five years ago and it was the organization which first started printing the Bulletin. Led by such outstanding laymen as James Farrell, Richard Reid and Hugh Kin- chley the organization succeeded in stemming the tyde of bigotry and prejudice which was ram pant for a number of years in our state. These were men of vision humble men with a dedicated purpose. Their names are now, i,13^g with many others, synonymous with the Church in Georgia. The church grew. New parishes were establ ished, schools opened and parochial organizat ions were founded. No longer, as time went on, was the state-wide organization necessary because the church was now organized on a more local level. garet Garner, Catherine Etheredge, Louise Quar- rells (I know I left some outl) but it was ladies such as these who made for the spirit which exists in the Council today. With the establishment of the Diocese of Atlanta new talent was called for in order to establish a totally new organization. . . .one just for the Atlanta diocese. To the front came ‘pioneers’ 1 such as Dorothy Correll, Mary Chappell and Gla dys Gunning. Such “seasoned" members as Mary McGuire and those “old reliables” from the Sacred Heart parish succeeded in getting the new Council off the ground and really working. Mentioning names in a column is a dangerous thing. I know as I scribble these notes that there are many more whose supporting arms were responsible for the success which the Council enjoys today. Please forgive me, for in my anx iety to pay tribute to a group of dedicated women, I know that my enthusiasm is out-running my memory. In its stead, however, the women of the dio cese amalgamated their local units with the Nat ional Council of Catholic Wo men, a seven million member organization found in nearly every comer of the country. Fifteen years ago when arrived in Savannah, the talk the whole diocese was the a{ of Monsignor (no Bishop) Fulton J. Sheen on sponsored by the Die cesan Council. The event, he in Rome, drew a record attendance and wt termed highly successful. I recall too hearii the famed founder of the Christopher moveme address a similar convention in Savannah. When the whole state was one diocese the annual convention of the ladies was a most enjoyable event. It brought together ladies of the four deaneries of Albany, Atlanta, Augusta and Sav annah, in dedicated work eager to compare notes and formulate successful programs. In particular I recall so well the ladies from the Immacu late Conception parish in Atlanta Mar- I have been stationed in six different parishes since I came to Georgia, fifteen years ago. In each one of these parishes, without exception, it was the industry and willingness of the Coun cil of Catholic Women which was the driving force. 1 don’t know what it is but every time the ladies of this parish (Gainesville) return from an archdiocesan or deanery meeting. . . . they come back full of fevor and enthusiasm. If God has been good to the church in Georgia, He has cer tainly extended this goodness through the most wonderful, hard working, loyal and dedicated wo men of Georgia. I’ve never attended a national convention. How ever, last year I understand that there was a a candidate for national office. Everything was tense until a priest from Atlanta uninten tionally forgot his ticket for the banquet. The waitress informed the good Father that he-could just sign his name and that he would be billed on his room. Everyone rocked w ith laughter as the Atlanta priest signed the ticket: Monsignor John D. Toomey (Monsignor Toomey is the Spir itual Moderator of the Savannah Council I). RESEARCH EXCELLENCE Warm Springs Complex BY REV. LEONARD F.X. MAYHEW Thirty-six years ago the late President Franklin D. Roosevel founded the Georgia Warm Springs Foundation for the care of polio and for clinical researc h related to po to care. The March of Dimes and the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis were established as off-shoots of the Warm Springs Foundation in the fight against the terrible crippling disease, whose fearful spread has now largely been halted by the Salk and Sabin vaccines. This world-famous center of therapy and research is still in full operation in the quiet village of Warm Springs, on the eastern edge of the Chattachoochee Valley inwes:. central Georgia. The successful use of the vac cines has led to a decline in the net^i for polio treatment facili ties. Polio parents are still cared for but Warm Springs has now expanded its physical facilities and its services in physical and internal medicine and in orthopedic surger\ toen- able it to care for physical dis abilities resulting from all neuromuscular and musculoskeletal diseases. The pa.ients presently cared for at Warm Springs include victims of rheumatic, diseases, strokes, muscle diseases, injuries resulting from accidents and many other conditions that cause physical disability. THE MAIN complex of buildings at Warm Spring is en ered through he stately portico of Georgia Hall, built b\ the ‘contributions of the people of the state. Directly across the road and facing Georgia Hall is the glistening white chapel, used by Catholics, Protestants and Jews for worship. Once inside Georgia Hall, and all hrough the wards, therapeutic facilities and of ices which surround the beautiful, grassy guadrangle, the visitor meets an c nosphere of cheerv efficiency and bus.It. L‘ one hadfearedto find the depressing gloom of the sickroom, the surprise is not only pleasant but complete. The-morale of the patients is almost disconcertingly high. They are busily intense on a constant program of treatment and training under the- confident, energetic care of the expert staff. A tour of the Warm Springs facilities is like a step through .he looking-glass into a new world, CONTINUED ON PAGE 5 Mind Of The Layman BY GERARD E. SHERRY One of the great deficiencies in his age of the so-called “Emerging Layman” has been in the practical theology associated with his apostolate. Furthermore, most of the bciter books on the lay apostolate (and the place of laymen in the church) have come from Priests and Bishops. Few laymen, even among the so-called educated ones, have had the know-how to see, judge and act on the reali ties invo.ved. Donald Thorman, in his book “The Emerging Layman,” scratched the sur face of the problem, pointing out the prin ciples involved. However, he neglect ed, for the most part, the clear application o principles necessary if the layman is ever to really emerge from the subierranean depths of ennui. AT LAST WE have a book which goes beyond superficial piety in the search of the real Catho lic spirit of reform and renewal. Daniel Calla han’s. THE MIND OF THE CATHOLIC LAYMAN, (Scribner's $3.95) is the first lay-written essay which comes to grips w ith the problem of the laity in the twentieth century. And what makes the book so useful is that it 'provides a historical back ground leading up to the current problems. Mr. Callahan treats history with reserve, while ack nowledging the accuracy of records. His theology, too, is devoid of the superficial, and comes to grips with concrete realities rather than text book abstractions. REAPINGS AT RANDOM Must reviews of this book have highlighted chap ter six entiiled, "Concord and Conflict: Clergy and Laity”. While this is one of the really good dis cussions within he book, it does not give me the same satisfaction as the chapter on “The Layman as Citizen”. This is a subject long ignored by all but a few Catholic theologians. I have emphasized before that the true citizen is he who understands that while the civic community is not the city of God, neither is it the city of Satan; it is the city of Man which has to be shaped to the measure of Man. Thus we look at our civic community as a good thing, called to the heights, but besieged by self destruciion. We see it as the servant of men, but limited to human vision, human power and human goals. Where can the city get a higher vision, a higher power and a higher goal? Mr. Callahan attempts an answer while posing questions. He points out, “Among the laity.per- haps no question has been raised so frequently or insistently as this: what contribution should Catho lics try to make to American life? This ques tion means not only what Caiholics as individuals should try to accomplish, but also what the Church as a community of clergy and laity, should aim for. There is still another sense in which this problem is often understood: how ought the Church seek to preserve, sustain and protect itself from harmful forces? How ought it to seek to strengthen itself internally to ensure faithful and effective service its members? The first sense of the basic question bears on the positive, apostolic laskof the Church; the second on its defensive, preservative lask. At first glance, it might appear that these different senses of the question ar- of only academic in- teres . Nothing could be further from the truth. The different interpretations of the quesiion ac count for very differem attitudes concerning the Church and the American life, and for some of ihc sharpest arguing among Catholics.” ON THE subject of the clergy and laity, Mr. Cal lahan is as much concerned about clergy’s free dom as he is about the laiiy’s. He has the un happy faculty of seeing both sides of the tension involved. This w ill put him at odds w ith both sides of his friends among the clergy and the laity. Because he recognizes a real role and value for authority, obedience and society, he will become suspect to some; because he stresses a real sin cere love for God’s great gift to man, his free dom; and because he realizes tha. there are lim its to the teachings of the Church, and that the application of these teachings depends upon the day by day prudential decisions by a particular Catho lic, he will become suspect to others of his co religionists. THE MIND OF THE CATHOLIC LAYMAN is a book which should be read in the refectory of every cloister; should be made compulsory reading for all seminarians after Tonsure; and should be available in even - rectory library as a source of sermon ideas. Let no parish society complain, in the future, of the lack of a suitable s udy text. This book fits the bill for, in s udylng it one secs the urgency of the judgments involved and the necessity of action now.