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PAGE 4 GEORGIA BULLETIN THURSDAY, APRIL 9, 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 EDTOR Rev. R. Donald Kiernan 2699 Peachtree N.E. P.0. Box 11667 Northside Station Atlanta 5, Ga. ASSOCIATE EDITOR Rev. Leonard F.X Mayhew 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 Anti- Semitic Reds The hostility of Communism to Religion is not news. Indeed Com munism is classified as atheis tic materialism. Furthermore, ever since the Soviet subjugation of Christian behind the iron cur tain, we have been very much aware of the cruel depths to which the Kremlin will go in its attempt to eradicate belief in God. Today the Soviets are stepping up their persecution of Jews, a move which has been in progress for some time. Despite strict censorship, enough evidence is available that attempts are being made to force the Russian Jew - ish community to give up their religion for Communism. Most of the Red persecution of recent times has been against Christians. We not only recall the millions who died for their love of God, but also the millions, behind the iron and the bamboo curtains, who languish in alien dungeons for their faith. We Americans are particularly in censed at the imprisonment of Bishop James Walsh by the Chi nese Reds. This gallant Mary- knoll missioner's only crime was his desire to serve his Chinese Catholic flock in their hour of need. He suffers persecution as did Archbishop Beran, Archbis hop Slypy, Cardinals Mindszenty and Wyszynski, and the late Car dinal Stepinac. The list of Chris tian martyrs, of many faiths, who have died at the hands of the Reds is a long one. Even though there is not much that we can do other than protest this latest Soviet persecution of the Jews, we must join all men of good will in raising our voices in order that some relief of the situation may be obtained. What is not generally under stood is that the re are some three million Jews in the Soviet Union, and this community is only sec ond in size to that of the Jewish population in the United States. Supreme Court Justice Goldberg recently described the status and condition of his co-religionists in Russia: “Every other Soviet nationality is permitted the use of its nation al language and is granted support for its cultural institutions. But the teaching of Hebrew, the Bib lical language, is banned in the Soviet Union; Yiddish, the tongue of 450,000 Soviet citizens, is dis couraged; Jewish schools vir tually prohibited and non-exis tent; the once flourishing Yiddish theatre scarcely tolerated and Jewish literature and publica tions sharply curtailed..... “Increasingly, synagogues are closed and private worship re stricted; both Bible and prayer books are denied printing; other necessary religious articles made unavailable. The last Kos her butcher shop inMoscow clos ed down; the ancient Jewish cemetery in Kiev condemned; the state baking of Matzoh discon tinued; private baking discourag ed by prosecution; the training of seminarians hampered and re ligious exchanges discouraged.” The Communists must be call ed to task for this and other crimes against religion. What is more , it is a violation of the Charter of the United Nations, a document so often and glibly quoted by the Soviet delegates. The Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith is distributing a “Letter of Conscience”, which appeals to Soviet authorities to alleviate the repressive condi tions of Soviet Jewry. We rec ommend that our readers join their Jewish brothers in signing the appeal. GERARD E. SHERRY Public School Prayer Predictions are being made that a constitutional amendment allowing public school prayer and Bible reading is imminent in the House of Representatives. A Catholic viewpoint on such an is sue is not easy to come by. To be “for” such a program in volves the danger of indifferent- ism; to be “against” it threa tens scientism. Obviously, we would not be concerned with maintaining our own schools and in their absence providing strong catechetical programs if prayer in public schools was the answer. A brief time of interfaith prayer could hardly fashion a student’s spiri tual life. While parents are primarily responsible for the total educa tion of their children, we have always recognized that the church and school can offer a major assistance in religious instruc tion. But what about prayer and Bible reading in the public school? If we continue to sepa rate such exercises from the educative process in the class room scientism could result. The developing mind needs orienta tion toward God. If the child doesn't see reference to God in cluded in his formal training, he may well consider religion to lack importance in his life. On the other hand if we do in clude group prayer it would ne cessarily be so generalized that it would tend toward indifferentism. We see no possibility of Bible reading producing a salutary ef fect. Faced with the reading of any translation isolated from en lightened comment the child would acquire only confusion re sulting in possible distaste for the word of God. If a program of prayer and Bible reading is adopted, the most meaningful way of conduct ing it would be to separate the students according to their speci fic beliefs. These groups could be led by an informed parent vol unteer. We are convinced of the need for religious training. The amount of time allotted would de termine the content and method to be utilized. ST. LOUIS REVIEW SCHOOL DEBATE Mrs. Ryan Has Some Rights BY GERARD E. SHERRY Cardinal Newman once said: “I have one remark certainly, if I’m obliged to bring religion into aft er-dinner toasts (which indeed does not seem quite the thing), I shall drink — to the Pope, if you please— still, to Conscience first, and to the Pope afterwards.” The primacy of the individual conscience and the right to express diversity of opinion (outside of faith and morals) without fear of suppression, are two basic principles which conform with the spirit of renewal and reform so ardently desired by the Council Fathers. The late Pope JohnXXllI’s aggiomamento still pervades the Church and his successor, Pope Paul VI has em braced it with em phasis. We are in the midst of an excited and emotional debate over the merits of Catholic schools as a system. Right at this moment the debate is a roaring hurricane with Mary Per kins Ryan’s book, “Are Parochial Schools the Answer?”, sitting calmly in the eye of the storm. Voices have been raised at the annual meeting of the National Catholic Educational Association in Atlantic City, whose passion is unmistakably that of convinced defenders of our schools. The speakers have expressed able, intelligent views on the present and continuing contribution of paro chial schools to the Church and to the nation. REAPINGS AT RANDOM Islam ‘Conversion’ GEORGIA PINES Along The Golden Isles BY REV. R. DONALD KIERNAN Back from the Golden Isles. One of the "treats” which I have given to myself through the past years is an annual visit to the Georgia coast right after Easter. I began this practice some ten years ago with the late Monsignor Maloney and I have kept it up even to this year. For some reason or other the Georgia coast seems especially refreshing around Easter time. I guess it is because of Spring, although this year the day after Easter Sunday could have matched any day last winter in Gainesville. I ARRIVED on Saint Simon's Island a little af ter nine o’clock on Sunday evening. The first person I met at the airport was Father Andy Walls, the Marist. Father Walls is well known around the metropolitan area. For a number of years he was at Sacred Heart church and Sunday after Sunday he would drive up to Marietta when Saint Joseph's was just a mission church. Later he became the first resident pastor of the Marietta church. I visited the Marist Fathers church in Brunswick. It brought back memories of twelve years ago when I was invited by the pastor, Father Mercer, S.M. to preach at the Forty Hours devotions. The Marist Fathers have always been known for their hospitality and this year, Father Burkort, Father Martel and Father Walls were no except ion to this rule. MONDAY AND Tuesday afternoons were spent on the golf course on Jekyll Island. The weather was cold, but pleasant. I would like to blame the cold for my extremely miserable score and I guess this is about as good an excuse as I can offer. 1 was amazed at the crowd on the island. . . . all taking advantage of the playground facility provided on an island which was once known as BY REV. LEONARD F. X. MAYHEW There is a new kind of criminal in American society. And, by way of an odd match, there is a new kind of hero in American society as well. The perfect example of the criminal type in our midst is Mrs. Malcolm Peabody, septuagena rian mother of the Governor of Massachusetts and a member of one of the most illustrious famil ies in American history. Mrs. Peabody recently spent a night in a Florida jail and is now free on bond pending her trial next month. Her crime: trying to order some lunch. The new kind of American hero is cut from the same cloth as Mrs. Peabody. Once upon a time heroes had to do something extraordinary. The new American heroes and heroines do only the most ordinary things - under extraordinarily hazardous and trying condit ions. Calvin Trillin’s book An Education in Georgia (Viking Press, 1964) singles out Char- layne Hunter and Hamilton Hol mes as the prototypes of the new Student Hero. Campus heroes formerly had to run touchdowns, swallow a prodigious number of gold fish or maintain straight-A averages. Miss Hunter and Mr. Holmes became Student Heroes merely by attending class. Others have achieved the same the Playground of Millionaires. There are no tolls on the two bridges going from Brunswick to Jekyl Island. The approach to the island is positively breath-taking. Great care has been put into planting and providing for pretty scenery. Everywhere there is evidence of growth. An addition to the shopping center and the enlarge ment of the convention halls are presently under way. ONE OF THE things, however, which struck me as being incongruous is the condition of the original buildings which once were the homes of the island’s owners. Almost everyone who visits the island from out-of-state is anxious to see the millionaire's mansions. Were it not for the goodness of the Georgia Historic Society most of these homes would fade into oblivion. One side of the island is modern, well kept, and flourishing with activity; the other is dilapidated, over grown, and seemingly unkempt. I would think it a good idea (and it would provide employment too) if guides were readily available who could paint a word picture and restore the "glory-that-was” in the minds of visitors to the island. Possibly some sort of . a fee would be in order which would guarantee the continuous upkeep of the buildings which made the island famous originally. I KNOW THAT a big roar would go up in some quarters at the very idea of a state charging a fee, but it does seem a shame that these homes will eventually rot away because of lack of proper upkeep. Most of the homes are mansions of people who helped mould American history. They provide, even today, a history and inspiration into our way of life. Th e planning and development which has gone into Jekyl Island has kept it from acquir ing a "Coney Island” atmosphere. It is a facil ity well worth visiting and one of which Georgians can be justifiably proud. status by ordering a meal, like Mrs. Peabody, or by registering to vote. The ordinary and the extraordinary have somehow switched places. ANOTHER EXTRAORDINARY reversal has made the news. Governor George Wallace of Alabama rece.ved an ecstatic reception and promise of sup port in a heavily Catholic section of a major in dustrial city in the north where he is campaign ing in the Democratic primary. For the crowds who cheered him and begged his autograph, he has become some sort of a hero. Truth has many faces. So does falsehood. True words can conceal false meanings or they can cease to contain any meaning at all, which is probably worse. Concerning America's racial prob lems, we can hear that no solution is possible until men change in their hearts. True enough- but also false. Because what is usually meant is that nothing must be done here and now to upset men’s minds and habits so that they may change their hearts. We hear that education must come first and that morality cannot be legislated. But, just laws are always a part of education. Laws against murder are still necessary after how many thousands of years of knowing 'Thou shalt not kill”? What is really meant is that laws must not be made which will jar men to the point of receptiveness, which is the heart of education. CONTINUED ON PAGE 5 One attitude has been evident, however, in the remarks of the schools advocates which brings an uneasy tone to the discussion — for in effect Mrs. Ryan’s right to speak at all has been dis puted. Names have been tossed at her like so many stones: "Armchair expert,” Panic monger”, Liberal Catholic,”, and finally 'member of the lay intelligentsia.” All appear aimed at some form of intimidation of any lay criticism of the system. Msgr. William Lester of Fort Wayne charged before his fellow-educators that Mrs. Ryan "would put us all in a state controlled system.” Father C. Albert Koob, O. Praem., an NCEA official, insisted that "only one who has had broad ex perience over a long period of time can fully judge. . . this system ...” Father Paul Button, Grand Island, Neb., warns ominously that the book has done "an immense amount of harm. . . many people will take it as an excuse not to support the schools. Seemingly unsure of themselves, delegates to the elementary school section of the Catholic educa tors’ convention, overwhelmingly voted to con tribute $40,000 to finance a fully-documented book on the validity of the concept of U. S. paro chial education — in plain English, to refute Mrs. Ryan. This comes at a time when we already have several national research studies on this sub ject underway. Parents, like Mrs. Ryan, are going to have to pay this $40,000, even if 8,000 paro chial elementary schools are each assessed or contribute five dollars apiece. The $40,000 would be better spent as a contribution to the Propaga tion of the Faith or the war on poverty. Should our Catholic school system have to be evaluat ed again merely to prove that it’s not as bad as some people paint it? As if all this wasn’t enough, Father Andrew Greeley, Chicago sociologist, and noted critic of Catholics who show concern for the state of the Church, put in his pennyworth in a recent review of Mrs. Ryan’s book. He said; "Catholic ‘Liberals’ will read her book and feel that warm sensa tion that comes from being able to say, 'See, I knew this all along and here it is in print.’ ” Father Greeley knows that the most profitable sport in the Church these days is to attack so- called "Catholic Liberals,’’ Such “Liberals” as Fathers John Courtney Murray, Godfrey Diekmann, Gustave Wiegel, Msgr. John Tracy Ellis, and a host of laymen, have borne the brunt of similar criti cism for years. Recent decisions of the Council Fathers, however, have vindicated much of what they stand for. These ardent defenders are expending a great deal of energy and emotion upon a book which is far less devastating than they would have us believe Mrs. Ryan’s avowed purpose is a mild one — to set us all thinking about the purposes and direction of Catholic education. Having read the book I would venture to say that it is not the most reasoned, articulate presentation of the case that might be made. Many will disagree with her, but she does have the right to say her piece with out getting the raspberry for her daring. Mrs. Ryan’s work was granted an‘‘Imprimatur" certifying that it was free from doctrinal error. In addition, her Ordinary, Bishop Ernest J. Pri- meau of Manchester, N. H., wrote a forward to the book in which he lauded Mrs. ^ Ryan for "her frank and intelligent discussion.* She, in g°°d conscience, wants to give vent to her ideas. As a Catholic parent, she has as much (if not more) stake in a successful Catholic school system than have her so vocal critics. Yet. they chaheng e diat the subject is even open to discussion, except on their terms and using ° n Iy their evaluation. Is the air at Atlantic City so conducive to select- . ive; amnesia that the delegates to the National Catholic Educational Association convention could already have forgotten the Cincinnati story-' Arch bishop Karl J. Altar closing down the first grade CONTINUED ON PAGE 5 ORDINARY, EXTRAORDINARY A New Kind Of Criminal