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THURSDAY, APRIL 9, 1964 GEORGIA BULLETIN PAGE 3 CATHOUC EDUCATORS Convention Members Weigh School Praise, Criticism ATLANTIC CITY, N. J. (NC) — More than 17,580 Catholic educators held their schools— and their leading critic—up to the sun in this resort city for four days of close inspection. Looking at their schools, the educators saw what was com monly described as crisis, but no permanent flaws. They turn ed aside talk of panic and ap plauded speaker after speaker who said the challenge could be overcome. THE RECORD - breaking number of registrants, attended by a large press corps, also looked closely at critics, but whatever the term used, such as "a member of the lay in telligentsia,” they clearly were Studying the thoughts of only one person—Mrs. Mary Perkins Ryan. Mrs. Ryan’s book, "Are Parochial Schools the Ans- DISTINGUISHED NEW YORK — NC.— Gerard E. Sherry, Managing Editor of the Georgia Bulletin, is among the three priests and three laymen moninated for the an nual award of the Catholic Press Association given "for the most distinguished contribution to Catholic journalism” during 1963. The other five are: John G. Deedy, Jr., Editor of the Pitts burgh Catholic; Robert G. Hoyt, Editor of the Catholic Reporter, Kansas City-St. Joseph Mo.; Father Patrick O’Connor, Soc iety of St. Columban, Far East correspondent of theN. C. W. C, News Service; Msgr. James I. Tucek, former chief of the Rome bureau of the N. C. W. C. News Service; and the late Father Gustave Weigel, S. J., of Woodstock (Md.) College. Announcement of the award winner will be made at the annual Catholic Press Associa tion convention, to be held May 26-29 inPittsburgh. The names of the nominees were made public here by James wer”? was generally conceded to be the biggest single influ ence at the 61st national con vention of the National Catholic Educational Association in Convention Hall. THE NEW HAMPSHIRE Cat holic author and llturglst sug gests in her book that the Church could abandon its schools and colleges today. She claims pupils could get a bet ter religious formation outside them, especially in view of the liturgical renewal. Mrs. Ryan’s book was the subject of a major press conference, the inspiration for a project to explain the alms of Catholic education and the fre quent departure point for speeches about the future of the schools. THE AUTHOR herself, not in attendance at the convention, told the Camden, N. J,. Catholic CONTRIBUTION’ Doyle, executive director of the CPA. Doyle said ballots for voting will be sent out short ly to registered agents of member-publications of the as sociation. Reasons given in support of the nomination of Sherry in cluded the following:* "In the short space of one year Mr. Sherry has put the Georgia Bulletin into first place among the leading southern Catholic papers. The paper has been made a weekly; has expressed the voice of the new Archdiocese of Atlanta in the columns of Mr. Sherry, Father Donald Kiernan, and Father Leonard Mayhew; has carried documen tation to explain the Council, the liturgy and current history of the Church; and finally has given the Georgia Bulletin a voice that is not only regional but national.” Theme of the CPA convention next month will be 'The Press and the Council.” A highlight of the meeting will be a panel ses sion on Vatican Council press coverage and the council’s de cree on communications media. Star-Herald by telephone from her home that her intention was merely to ask for an examina tion of the value of the Catho lic school system. If this examination results In more schools, fine; if it re sults in fewer schools, that’s fine too,” she was quoted as saying. BOTH THE preacher at the convention’s opening Mass and the keynote speaker at the first general session spoke of the challenges facing Catholic schools today. Archbishop Celestine J. Damlano, Bishop of Camden, N. J., said at the opening Mass there were "certain diffi culties,” but they are not in surmountable. "LET US NOT panic and eli minate certain grades or be come selective and ruin the school system our people have established in sacrifice and generosity,” he said. Bishop John J. Dougherty, president of Seton Hall Univer sity, South Orange, N. J., spoke in the keynote speech of "the mouting crisis in Catholic edu cation” due to financial pres sures and a lack of sufficient number of teaching nuns. At the convention’s second major press conference, devot ed entirely to Mrs. Ryan's book, four superintendents took ex ception to her views. ONE, HOWEVER, Msgr. Ar thur T. Georghegan, said he hoped Mrs. Ryan would contin ue to write in the same vein, eliminating what he called the irrelevant and inaccurate material which he said makes up most of her present book. HE SAID Mrs. Ryan’s book deserves "serious considera tion,” but that his own convic tion is that the nation needs Catholic education to assure "survival of a strong Christian humanism.” Delegates to meetings of the NCEA's elementary school de partment, at their first meet ing, overwhelmingly approved a proposal to contribute to a fund to publish a fully docum ented book on the validity of the concept of the U. S. paro chial school. THE FUND could total about $40,000. It also would be used "to publicize in popular terms the remarkable success story of the American parochial school,” according to its spon sor, Msgr. William E. Mc Manus, Chicago Archdiocesan superintendent and retiring president of the elementary de partment. A press conference was told later by an official of theNCEA that statistics for the current academic year indicated the quality of Catholic elementary schools was being continually raised, that student enrollment still expands rapidly and more Sisters entered classrooms this year than the year before. THIS WAS the report of Msgr. O’Neil C. D'Amour, associate secretary of the NCEA’s school superintendents department, who gave newsmen this opinion on the "crisis” in the school: "I agree that we are on the brink, but I think we are going up, not down, as long as the panic mongers do not gain as- cendacy,” IN ANOTHER session, a widely known Catholic socio logist, Father Andrew Greeley of Chicago, told Catholic educa tors that unless they support more objective social research into their schools, they will be unable to refute "the armchair experts” who comment on parochial education. At the convention's second general session, the new Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus proposed that in view of the challenges Catho lic educators see facing them today, a national advisory com mission be formed. JOHN W. McDevitt said the commission could collect and disseminate information "on every phase of the present pro blem" and help coordinate at tempts of local groups to solve their problems. FORBIDDEN BOOKS Catholic Teachers Ask End Of Index WASHINGTON, D. C. (RNS) —The Society of Catholic Col lege Teachers of Sacred Doct- Will Celebrate NEW YORK (NC) — Priests, Religious and laymen of the New York archdiocese will celebrate two anniversaries with Francis Cardnal Spellman on May 3, 4 and 22—his 25th year as Archbishop of New York and his 75th birthday. iuy Your »l*« Trom Uaa'V MAX METZIL. Owo«r KX B MEN’S SHOPS i Ptachtrtf Industrial SW4. mitt Plata Shopping Oanur Phont 4SMIU 9T5 Paachtraa. N.E. TR 4-9512 — At 10U> •».* MOTOR HOTEL FREE PARKING • TV Si AIR CONDITIONING • FAMOUS MIAMI BUFFCT • ICE A BEVERAGE STATIONS S COFFEE MAKER EACH ROOM Harry Oonohua, Mmnagar American Isprtst* Cradlt Cards Accapttd LUCKIL A r CONK ST. A Good Addresa In Atlanta rlne, in an unprecedented ac tion, called on the American hierarchy to support at the Second Vatican Council pro posals that would "reform tho roughly” the Church’s Index of Forbidden Books. A spokesman said the Index constituted an "anomaly” in the modern world. SOME 395 priests, Sisters and Brothers voted on the re solution adopted at the Society’s annual meeting. Two resolutions were pre pared; the first, considered "weak” by a majority of dele gates, was withdrawn in favor of the following stand which ask ed the U, S. bishops to: ". . .support at the next ses sion of the Vatican Council the effort to reform thoroughly that section of Canon Law dealing with prohibited books and the Roman Index, so that Catho lic scholars, teachers and stu dents may be able to enter into more meaningful dialogue with the contemporary world.” A PRIEST said that the phr ase "reform thoroughly” was really tantamount to a request that the Index of Forbidden Books be dropped entirely. He told newsmen that the ex istence of the Index inthe 20th Century "offends many Catho lics. A lot of people would like to see the whole idea of for bidden books eliminated from the image of the Church.” Sherry Nominated By Catholic Press SINGERS’ LEADER Cites Ecumenism Of Sacred Music AS CATHOLIC EDUCATORS MEET - Key figures at the 61st annual meeting of the National Catholic Educational Association, held in Atlantic City, N. J., discuss the convention’s pro gram. Left to right: Archbishop John J. Cody of New Orleans, President General of the NCEA; Auxiliary Bishop John J. Dougherty, Newark, N J., president of Seton Hall University, key note speaker; Archbishop Celestine J. Damiano, Bishop of Camden, host to the delegates, and Msgr. Frederick G. Hochwalt, Executive Secretary, NCEA, Washington. QUESTIONS PAROCHIAL SYSTEM Church Educators Attack Woman’s Book On Schools ATLANTIC CITY, N. J. (NC) — Four Catholic school super intendents took strong exception to Mary Perkins Ryan's new book here, but one hoped Mrs. Ryan will not be dissuaded by the barrage from writing more. The four agreed in a press conference at the annual con vention of the National Catholic Educational Association that their own experiences con tradict Mrs. Ryan’s argument that a Catholic child today can receive as strong a religious formation outside Catholic schools as within them. THEY ALSO expressed con cern about what they saw as Mrs, Ryan’s too - broad generalizations on weaknesses of parochial schools and three of the four predicted “immense harm and confusion” in certain regions of the country where parochial schools need more than usual support. The four are Msgr, Arthur T. Georghegan, superintendent, Providence, R. 1.; Msgr, Wil liam Lester, superintendent, Fort Way”"' - South Bend, Ind,; Msgr. O’Neil C. D’Amour, as sociate secretary of the NCEA's School Superintendents Depart ment; and Father Paul Button, assistant superintendent, Grand Island, Nfcb. THE SUBJECT of the press conference was Mrs. Ryan's book, "Are Parochial Schools the Answer?” The New Hamp shire author and llturglst pro- poses that parochial schools be abandoned, alleging the spiri tual formation given their pupils is inferior to what might be obtained by other programs, held outside the schools and based on the new movements in liturgy. Msgr. Geoghegan said he had "admiration for this very en gaging and thorough-provoking book, adding that "I hope that if we today take exception she won’t be dissuaded from writ ing.” BUT HE SAID that the book is "a potpourri of ingredients— some of them accurate and re levant, but most of them Ir relevant and many just plain inaccurate.” Msgr. Geoghegan said he is convinced the book is more about liturgical renewal than education. "I, for example, in no way question that Mrs. Ryan has captured the hope of the people for the liturgical re newal. Buth this is not relevant to education in toto.” Poverty Book WASHINGTON (NC) — "A Religious View of Poverty,” Feb. 28 statement of the Social Action Department, Nat ional Catholic Welfare Confer ence, has been published here as a 12-page pamphlet. Pric ed at 15 cents per copy, >i is available from the Pub lications Office, National Catholic Welfare Conference, 1312 Massachusetts Avenue, N. W„ Washington, D. C., 20005. THE RHODE ISLAND edu cator took "unqualified except ion” to Mrs. Ryan’s thesis that the average product of a parochial school has a closed mentality and becomes bored with his religion. "As a Newman Club chaplain at Brown University,” he said, "I do not find this to be true. The leadership of the Newman effort—and this probably is true across the country -- comes from the parochial schools, especially the Catholic high schools,” he said. FATHER BUTTON told the newsmen he thought the book has done "an immense amount of harm,” especially in areas where Catholics might be "sit ting on the fence” about sup porting a new Catholic school. "Many people,” he claimed, "will take the Ryan book as an excuse not to support the schools." "WHAT AMAZES me,” said Msgr. Lester in agreement, "is that thoughtful people are taking to this book and quoting it as if it had a certain validity.” Msgr, Lester added; "I am not unaware that problem* exist in our schools, but I do not see where we are put in a situation where we must seriously con sider closing them.” He said Mrs. Ryan "would put us all in a state-controlled system,” to which Msgr. Geo ghegan added, "she is looking for the nice, homogenized American.” Msgr, D’Amour, who was among the first U. S. Catholic educators to criticize the book, said he still believes the book is “getting a lot of attention because that is what happens when you attack the established order.” IN THE meantime, in another session , an NCEA educator Fire Kindles Brotherhood SYOSSET, N.Y. (NC)—A fire destroyed a Jewish synagogue here—and kindled the spirit of community brotherhood. Shortly after the blaze 100 pupils from the synagogue at tended religious instruction classes in a Catholic school. Facilities for services, class es and meetings were offered by most of the neighboring chur ches and synagogues. THE JEWISH religious class es in St. Edward Confessor Catholic school probably will continue for the next two months, according to Rabbi Morris Appleman. "I have only praise for our Catholic neighbors and friends who helped us in our hour of need,” Rabbi Appleman said. He added that he Intends to send Pope Paul VI a commendatory letter. charged that the public today is getting what for the most part is "a very distorted picture of Catholic education.” Father C. Albert Koob, O. Praem., associate secretary of the NCEA’s Secondary School Department, spoke (April 3) to the annual meeting of lay representatives from each U. S. diocese. These lay people at tended a day-long program after the formal closing of the con vention for an intensive brief ing on school issues. FATHER KOOB insisted that "only one who has had broad experience over a long period of time can fully Judge the good this system has accomplished and Judge the course of action for the future.” He said that problems facing schools today "are no worse than they have always been.” "IT SIMPLY is true that people in general are looking more closely at their schools, expecting more of them, and feeling perfectly free to criticize in areas where they themselves have no special competence.” But he added: 'These people probably will be with us for a long time. Maybe they will be our greatest blessing in the long run, if they force us to keep pace with our lofty deals set down at the time of con vention each year.” LORETO, Italy (RNS) — An invitation ot composers to cre ate sacred music that would be not only artistically valid but such as to permit vocal parti cipation of the faithful in litur gical chants was made here by Msgr. Fiorenzo Romita, pre sident of the International Fed eration of Little Singers. Msgr. Romita, who is also secretary of the Rome Vicari- ate’s Commission on Sacred Music, spoke at the opening of the federation’s tenth con gress which brought together thousands of Catholic choir boys from countries around the world. The congress was pre sided over by Bishop Prlmo Principi, Vatican administra tor of Loreto, famous for its basilica housing what is said to be the house of the Blessed Virgin. IN HIS talk, Msgr. Romita called attention to the Consti tution on the Sacred Liturgy approved by the Second Vatican Council, noting, in particular the importance given in the document to music as a vital aspect of the theological nature of the liturgy. "More than once,” he said, "attention is drawn to the in timate and basic link between the earthy or wordly liturgy and the heavenly liturgy. In this re lationship, the Little Singers hold a major role, not only because of the exterior resem blance whichthe imagination of artists has created- between them and the angels, but the real and substantial one which Christ Himself has noted bet ween the souls of children and the heavenly spirits.” THE MONSIGNOR said that a second aspect of the Liturgical Constitution, "which found a re sponse in the activity of the Little Singers, has to do with the need of the faithful to ex press in their lives, and to manifest i toothers, the mys teries of Christ and the genu ine nature of the true Church.” Msgr. Romita said the Con stitution also stressed the ec umenical duty to favor all that may contribute to the union of all believers in Christ. "AND NOTHING can ful fill this ecumenical duty bet ter than music, which is the only true universal language,” he added. Recalling that th e Federa tion of Little Singers was founded in Paris in 1945 by the late Msgr. Fernand Mail- let, its first president.. Msgr. Romita stressed what he said was the intensified liturgical education the Little Singers are being given, as well as the ef forts constantly being made to "perfect their means of expres sion and to develop their com municative senses.” "THE LITTLE Singers, next to and subordinated to the cele brant and ministers of the Mass, must be, and feel them selves to be,” he said, "part of the liturgical action”. The congress was scheduled to close with a Solemn Mass at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome at which more than 3,000 Little Singers would provide the music. NELSON RIVES REALTY INC. 3669 CLAIRMONT ROAD CHAMBLEE, GEORGIA REAL ESTATE, INSURANCE SALES, RENTALS RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL PROPERTY PHONE: 451-2323 audio stereo in c„ High Fidelity Component* Sales and Service A. J. "DOC" SCHIER 2929 Peachtree Road, N. E. 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