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PAGE 8 GEORGIA BULLETIN THURSDAY, APRIL 2, 1964 THE CATHOLIC PRESS - 8 Horizons Which Do Much More Than Girdle The Globe BY GERARD E. SHERRY The Catholic Press should be judged by that which should make it Catholic: Horizons which not only girdle the globe, hit also reach back through all history and forward to the unending glory of heaven; revealed truths which unlock mysteries and give sure guidance; divine strength, promised and delivered; strength which should give an astral calm and an assured deliberation; these are the things which we bring as Catholics into journa lism. This is our mountain, and from all evidence we do labor. But what a mouse emerges! Something old, something new, something bor rowed, forever true. This will classify this eighth in a series of articles on the Catholic press, written exclusively for the GEORGIA BULLETIN by editors throughout the country. Mr. Sherry is managing editor of this newspaper. Through the columns of Catholic newspapers a civic sense has to be fostered—that is the aware ness of rights and duties in civic society. Catho lics must be encouraged to be good citizens as well as good football players, good carnival or ganizers or bingo winners. The boundaries of any urban parish would seem large compared to the little field we tend. Some editors are so nervous that they jump at any boo coming from any little Poauer, or other bigot. One senatorial generalization sets us in a tizzy. But our worse crime is the constant effort to reduce the majestic truths of God to the tiny dimensions of our own cramped craniums. We have yet to resolve (some of us, at least) to grow up as Catholics and as journalists. This is cer tainly so in our handling of the civic commun ity. duty and honor of the press, particularly the Catholic Press, was "to enlighten, nourish and elevate minds and hearts." The Catholic weekly newspaper has an obliga tion to assist its readers to conquer life itself— to change their own lives and the lives of their neighbors— so that nothing in their lives es capes the Christian influence. And when we talk of the conquest of life, we must mean the whole of life— the physical , intellectual, religious, moral, sentimental, cultural, social. We might ask ourselves whether either of these two approaches I have mentioned, fit the MU. This topic covers the diocesan weekly as a Community Newspaper. And I would suggest that to be successful, the diocesan weekly must be Just that. It must be a part of the life of the community in every locality. It is also a conquest of environment, of that whole complex of habits, customs, conventions, values and social institutions which are the frame work in which the individuals life is lived and which is a most potent influence on him. These are the things which, when presented in a Catholic newspaper, make it a necessity in the spiritual and material struggle going on in every community in the country. The proper function of i diocesan newspaper in relation to the civic community has, I suggest, been studiously ignored by some editors, many readers and quite a number of Catholic publishers. Pope Paul VI has reminded us all" It is not nsc- •sssry for a Catholic newspaper to limit itself to publishing religious news and comments; nor must it artifically stress Us confessional and apologetic character to the detriment of its pri mary function of iitformation," It must strive to have at least as much in fluence. It must be the representative mouth piece of all Christian thinking and information; it must protect the vital Interests of Christians in a community, both in their work and leisure- in their education, in their growth, It must fight for the reform of any conditions which are a denial of the dignity of man of an obstacle to his progress, How do we go about achieving this community spirit through a diocesan weekly? the group of Catholic newspapers which preach bedrock Conservatism, there are some which stifle completely any liberal expression. A grave injustice is thereby inflicted on the many rea ders who do not agree with the editorial.polic ies expressed. They are, as it were, de-fran- chised readers and subscribers, deprived of a voice in public opinion within the Church. It is in areas where the Catholic press does not ex press diverity of opinions that one finds virulent cells of Catholic and political extremism. In those communities where the Catholic newspaper may well have aliberal or Conservative policy but preaches diversity of opinion, Catholic and political action is less belligerent and more ef fective. It is the over-stress on the political at the expense of "A Catholic view" which tends to des troy a Catholic paper’s influence in the commun ity. There are many things within a community which, while having political overtones, are of concern to the Churchand are vital to the spiri tual welfare of citizens. First of all, I think, by stressing the fact that we are all witnesses, The whole Mystical Body is called to be witnesses. Witnesses to what He is — Witnesses to His will as He has revealed it. GERARD E. SHERRY Yet, there are two approaches which tend to sat isfy the consoieneea of some; one is that of aim ing for and attracting a national readership (at the expense of looal) with all kinds of "name" columnists pontificating weekly on all kinds of topics, These papers have some room left for news and editorials, but not much, But that is not all—the religious newspaper in striving for the good of the Church within the community, must also fight and work for the com mon good— this includes Catholics, Protestants, Jews; it Includes Negroes, Puerto Ricans, Chi nese, Japanese and any other race color or creed within the community, We have a strict obliga tion to work for the protection and assistance of everyone so that he may enjoy a right and reason able life, Through this first step, the majority of Catholic Press readers—the laity—become aware of their part in the witnessing work of the Church. This is simply a continuation of one of the many ser vices a diocesan weekly provides for the parochial clergy, The priests in the parish stress the obli gation to bear witness and the laity are counseled to do their witnessing in the world, TOe second approach is to load up the paper with items better suited to the gossip and social columns of the local dailies. The externals of diocesan and parochial societies and groups are published, The carnivals, the bingos, the benefits, the dsneesi etc, are given prominence over pro blems of poverty, injustices and indifferentism, To do this requires that the Catholic weekly newspaper become more than a gossip sheet- more than a pictorial presentation of the glamor girls of the sodalities', the leaders of women's groups, men's societies— it must express Christian conscience both in its news and edi torial columns, But in encouraging and fostering witnesses we should, I think, beware of following false concepts in modern Catholic activity, There are two which have been constantly rejected by the Popes, One is what can be called "pure spirituality" and the other "political Catholicism," But in both approaches, the presence in the diocese, and therefore in the community of a vast, dynamic stream of Christian influence and Chris tian action is ignored or found uninteresting, The inroads of secularism have reached into our editorial rooms to such an extent that the words "apostolate" and "social" are two separate enti ties. Yet we have been taught that the apostolate is the social expression of sanctity, That sanctity is vital and social — it is the aposto late, And our press work is one of the most important and effective means of this apostolate. It must express a social conscience—not a poli tical one. A social conscience which is the apostolate of the Catholic Press- A conscience which cries out against injustice to any man and preaches and practices charity towards all, In 1954, Pope Pius XII told members of the Italian Catholic publishers’ Association that the To express this social conscience—we assume it has a spiritual one— the paper must take a lively Interest in local and state problems, The state legislature must be recognized for what it is and can do for the good or evil of citizens. The legislators, too, must be known, watched, praised, chastized as the case may be. The same goes for those who rule or govern on a local level. The first is an attitude of escapism—the con fining of the Church to a purely "spiritual" mis sion, to the fostering of a religion divorced from life, in the hope that somehow, with the intensifi cation of devotion within the Catholic body, social evils may be made to disappear of themselves, Political Catholicism, on the other hand, results from an opposite misconception of the role of the Church in society, in the community. Christ's Kingdom is not temporal: the Church is not a political party, She cannot achieve her alms through successea of political parties. The king dom of God cannot be brought about by unreal dreams of a sort of theocracy. Some of our papers have no news and are all instruction, Some prefer to have the minimum of instruction and are more or less propaganda Sheets for the social or political causes the editors and (in some cases) the publishers have in their hearts, It is amazing to think that some of our editors would prefer to quote a United States senator on the morality of Communism rather than their own bishop or some other member of the hierarchy. It shocks, too, to realize that many editors treat such subjects as "Right To Work", "Medicare", and "Welfare Aid" lea* on a morel plane than they do on a political one, Even social encyclicals of the Popes are used only when they can be quoted to conform to particular political programs, The fact remains, some Catholic news papers (admittedly they are in a minority) are not as Catholic as they are political in editorial orientation, The poor, the needy, housing, roads, schools, hospitals, taxes, bond issues-indeed a host of local problems which are as much the concern of the diocesan weekly as they are of the secular dal lies and weeklies. And why? Simply because we are concerned with the whole of life, We are con cerned with the Joys and sorrows of our neigh bors— the charity and justice we preach is not the right solely of our Catholic brethren — it is the right of all men, all families— in our sphere of action, A Catholic paper's Influence is not gauged by the way it presents the current news, for it has not the news nor the technical facilities which give the pres* its power. The Catholic paper has influence through its policies, its inspiration and brings everything under the penetrating beam of the faith, We do not always have to speak about religion— but we will speak religiously about everything and everyone. Our object as Catholic editors must be to steer clear of these two errors—to restore Christian values to the whole of life. Yet, if we look at Catholic papers today, we do find in many a lop sided emphasis one way or the other. So, too, soms Catholic newspapers do not ex press through their editorial stance that diver sity of opinion (outside of faith and ;norals) which is permitted within the Church/Catholic newspaper publishers or Catholic editors who de liberately deprive their readers of "the other side" in a controversy are guilty of stifling Holy Lberty in an area where it needs to be expanded. Of course, many times one finds that the answer of such publishers or editors is that "silence is dictated in the interests of the Church". Alas history proves that where injus tice is involved the Interests of the Church are never served by perpetuating it. The public image of the Church is often harmed by the over slanted bearing of some Catholic weekly newspap- ers./The frequent criticism of the Conserva tive Catholic press is more than justified. Among The Catholicity of a diocesan newspaper will not be judged by how loud it shouts about Commun ism— how loud it shrieks for the emancipation of the laity. The chains that bind the laity are, in the main, of their own choosing, And those that shout loudest against Communism are often those who also want to Isolate the United States from the rest of humanity, including some of them our’ fellow citizens who happen to be Negroes or Jew, It is obvious that to be a real community pap er , the diocesan weekly must recognize that there is a hierarchy of values— that the news must be placed in proper focus. It is basically a problem for editors. A problem which cries out for serious study of current affairs in the light of Catholic social principles. Finally, it requires editors to see in their neighbors, their readers, all the human longings for peace and happiness. These are things accomplished only through God— we are His mere instruments— blunt or otherwise. FRED A. YORK PEST CONTROL SERVICE OUr Slogan - Nearly Right Won’t Do Our Service - Always Guaranteed Our Products On Sale At Office CALL FOR FREE INSPECTION OR INFORMATION Phone TR 5-8378 Atlanta, Ga. 766 State St., N.W. CURIA OFFICIAL Cardinal Sees Council End Phon* 522 - 6500 U» FOttmtl Hi. N t • AM anf* 12. G* VATICAN CITY (NC) — The Second Vatican Council can be ended with a third session, but this means symplifying present procedure and eliminating many of the 17 projects now proposed, according to Alfredo Cardinal Ottaviani. The 73-year-old Roman-born Prince of the Church declined to specify how the operation of the council’s general meetings and the work of the individual com missions might be improved, "This is the Holy Father’s pro vince, with whom and under whom councils are held,’’ he said. increase of members," he said, "of commissions will permit ac celeration of work by increasing subcommissions.’’ The Secretary of the Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office told the N.C. VV C. News Service in an exclusive interview that "with some simplification of the procedure, the council should be able to conclude its work in the next session." ST. JOSEPH’S INFIRMARY SODA FOUNTAIN COFFEE SHOP AND RESTAURANT HOWEVER, he stated, "to con clude the council in the next ses sion, it will be necessary to eli minate many of the present sche mata. Much matter in these sche mata pertain to the reform of the Code of Canon Law and to the directive norms to be Issued af ter the council." Asked to evaluate the speed of the council, Cardinal Ottaviani stated that he thought "the first session was slow, but not the second, which has produced fruit of capital importance. It must be remembered that the main theme of the council is the Church and its relation to the world." ASKED if he thought it advis able to remove the rule of secrecy which now covers all projects which have not been brought to the council floor, the Cardinal said he did not. assist the Pope in major prob lems, the Cardinal replied: ’This is a matter which depends on the free choice of the Holy Father. It would be indelicate not to leave this choice to him." GEORGE’S DELICATESSEN 1041 North Highland Ave. N. E. Syrian, Lebanese, Greek and Kosher Foods Imported and Domestic Wines Open 8 a.m. until Midnight Owner: George M. Najour Phone: TR 4-1319 The Cardinal was optimistic about the result of the expansion of the membership of the con ciliar commissions ordered by Pope Paul VI last year. 'The "It is not advisable to remove the condition of secrecy because it would make it easier for peo ple not competent in the matters under discussion to speak about things which ought to be studied from a religious point of view, without interference from those who follow principles of a so cial or nationalistic nature." LOCATED NEXT TO OUT SHOP ON MAIM FLOOR IN NEW BUILD DIO ATLANTA, OJL PRIMARY MARKETS IN APPROXIMATELY 100 UNLISTED STOCKS Tax-free municipal bonds PORTFOLIO ANALYSIS j. C. Bradford & Co. Member* Of the New York Stock Exchange fit American Exchange Thomas H. Stafford, tosidont Managor SUITE 736, BANK OF CEOROIA BUILDING PHONE jAckfon 2-6834 ATLANTA, GA. Asked what he considers the most critical problem which the council still must face, the Car dinal answered that "the ques tion of collegiality is very im portant." The Cardinal, who supervises the work of the Holy Office preserving the Faith and dealing with matters of faith and morals, explained that it is necessary to find "thu right an swer" to the question of col legiality because the "right answer must safeguard the con stitution of the Church and the primacy of the Pope." IN REGARD to this, Cardinal Ottaviani indicated that he thought the project on the nature of the Church (De Ecclesia), which in part deals with the collezlaiitv, should be among the first mat ters to be taken up by the coun cil when It reconvenes in Sep tember, Cardinal Ottaviani said he thought it "likely" that the ques tion of religious liberty will be taken up for discussion early in the third session. But he added, "I’m not a prophet," He said he thinks it necessary to complete the discussions begun during the second session. Turning to the subject of the statement proposed to the coun cil in the ecumenical schema concerning the relations of the Church to the Jews, the Cardi nal stated: "IN THIS regard, many have pointed out that the Church is the 'light of all peoples,’ (lumengen tium) not only for one race or belief, but for all people, differ ing in their ideas of life and of the supernatural." 'The schema on the Church is already under discussion," he said. 'This must be finished. The pastoral aspect of the Church has to be studied to effect the 'aggiornamento* (bringing up to date) of the dioceses and par ishes." MISS LEONCE RICH, Plus X graduate and Christ the King parishioner, has been named ROTC Queen at the University of Miami. A junior, she is also Commander of Angel Flight, president of Tri-Delta, treas urer of the College Board, vice- president of Orange Key, editor of the University of Miami Hos tesses, and a member of Rho Lambda. Miss Rich is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. C. J. Rich, 588 Valley Green Drive, NE, Atlanta. The Cardinal indicated that he did not think council would take action regarding race re lations because "the Church has already taken a stand on racism." The Cardinal said this stand is to be found "in sacred Scripture, especially in the Gospels and in the Epistles of St. Paul: There is neither Jew nor Greek.’ " ASKED ABOUT the possibility of there being set up eventually a senate of residential bishops to 1964 PILGRIMAGE SHRINES of EUROPE From July 21 to August 11, Sponsored By The Georgia Bulletin Killarney • Dublin • Aylesford* • Paris Versailles . Lisieux • Lourdes . Rome Assiii • Lisbon • Fatima Rev. John J. Mulroy Pastor St, Joseph's Athens, Georgia (Spiritual Director) All-Inclusive Rule *897.00 RATE INCLUDES: Air transportation Jet Economy Service on group fare, comfortable hotels, twin-bedded rooms with bath, all meals, sightseeing as specified In the itinerary, meetings, transfers, and entrance fees. FOR RESERVATIONS WRITE TO; CATHOLIC TRAVEL OFFICE DUPONT CIRCLE BUILDING WASHINGTON 6, D.C. Travel By AIRLINES © IRISH nmmnmi mmt mums