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! o o 4% ' * QUESTION BOX Protestant Attendant? Saints in Black and White ST. ROBERT BELLARMINE 102 BY MONSIGNOR J. D. CONWAY Q. I ATTENDED a girl friend’s wedding last Sunday. Just recently she became a convert. Her sister, a Protestant, was her only attendant. The other witness was Catholic, but 1 had always thought that both witnesses must be Catholic. Was a dispensation granted to permit this, or don’t both witnesses have to be Catholic? A. CANON LAW makes no requirements re garding the religion of witnesses to marriage It simply states that the marriage of a Catholic must take place before a priest (usually pastor or as sistant) and two witnesses. In some dioceses there may be special requirements, and it is generally held more fitting that in a Catholic ceremony, parti cularly at Mass, the witnesses should be Catholic. Even if there are diocesan {regulations requiring that wit nesses be Catholics, I am con fident that any bishop would make an exception where a recent convert is concerned. It was most fitting that she should have her sister as attendant. »** Q. I WONDER if you could explain the Church’s stand on cremation. I am very curious as to why it should be prohibited. What is the difference since our bodies will turn to ashes anyway? What about people who are killed in fires or die in ex plosions? I am sure we shall all rise again on the Last Day regardless of the manner of our death. When I was in grade school I was taught that the reason was because our bodies were temples of the Holy Spirit; but when a church or temple is desecrated and becomes unusable it is burned. Why then should not the Church allow her ”human temples" to be disposed of in the same manner. A. EARLIEST CHRISTIAN burial customs were probably borrowed from the Jews, and to some extent possibly from the Egyptians. Burial was a fairly common custom among theGreeksand Romans. Many of the barbarians who invaded Eu rope had the custom of cremation. The Emperor Charlemagne imposed a death penalty against any one guilty of cremating a corpse. This generally discouraged the practice in westernEuorpe. Pope Boniface. VIII, in 1299, clearly forbade cremation by church law. In later times, and even a hundred years ago, some people who did not believe in the resurrec tion, used cremation as a means of expressing their defiance of church teaching. As you say, the resurrection is just as easy for a body which is burnt as for one which is buried and devoured by worms. But at least the gesture was grandilo quent. In consequence church laws became more stringent, forbidding Christian funeral cere monies to those who ordered that their bodies be cremated. Moralists held that they might not receive the last sacraments of the Church be cause of their evil intentions. Now, because of changed customs and attitudes, the Church does not insist on these penalties, unless it is evident that the person is ordering cremation out of defiance of faith. *** Q. IN ONE OF your columns I read about a woman asking her assistant priest if there would be room in heaven for everybody. His answer was, "I am going there, and I will help you to get in." 1 hope that woman reads your column every week like I do because according to the Scriptures the only way to heaven is through Jesus Christ. St. John 14, 6: Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the ruth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but through me." A. THERE FOLLOW in this letter a number of similar quotations, but 1 am not printing them here, because I think we all believe firmly that L ^f. there is no way to heaven except through Jesus Christ. He is the Son of the Father who shared our human nature that we might be able to share in His divine nature. He redeemed us from our sins, gave us the example and pledge of our future resurrection, and continues to sanctify us through His Mystical Body here on earth. I am sure that the assistant priest was merely attempting a bit of humor to parry a question which seemed a bit foolish. *** Q. ON THE second Sunday after Easter the pas 1 tor of my church made the following statement from the pulpit: ’ Any Catholic parents who send their children to any school other than a Catholic school commit a mortal sin." He said there are no if’s, and’s, or but’s. No excuse at all. It is a mortal sin for Catholics to send their children to public schools. Is this correct? If so shouldn’t all Catholic par ents who are sending their children to public schools and who intend to continue to do so be excommunicated? For good reason we have our children in public school. A, I WOULD NOT dare make a statement like that of your pastor, for fear my parishioners might take me seriously. Then what would I do? Build new class rooms and hire more lay teach ers? Using what for money? I am familiar with Canons 1372-1674 which em phasize the obligation which Catholic parents have to take care of the religious education of their children, the kind of religious education which must be given in schools, and the duty of Catholic children not to frequent non-Catholic, mixed or public schools. However, if your pastor will read Canon 1374 he will find that there are some if’s. It is up to the bishop to decide in what circum stances, and with what cautions, attendance at such schools may be permitted. We read these days that 50 per cent of our Catholic children are in public schools; so most of our bishops must be reasonably tolerant - and probably for the same reason 1 am. What would they do if they suddenly decided to provide Catholic schools for that miss ing 50 percent? The law provides no excommunication for those who send their children to public schools. How ever, the parents’ obligations in this matter are very strict, and if they seriously neglect the re ligious education of their children they are, in deed, guilty of mortal sin. They will not be ex communicated for it, but it should burden their consciences heavily. Let them recall the words of our Savior: "But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it were bet ter for him to have a great millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depths of the sea." (Matt. 18, 6). A parent who neglects the religious education of his/her children is giving them scandal. My greatest worry about children in public school is that very often they come from homes poorly equipped to give them proper religious instruction. Sunday school can never be a satis factory substitute. *** Q. I WOULD like to remark on a point which has bothered me for some time: What right has the Church to deny the Blood of Christ to the lay man? Christ certainly spoke clearly when He said, "All of you drink of this; for this is my blood of the new covenant, which is being shed for many unto the forgiveness of sins." (Matt. 26,18). A. THE CHURCH does not completely deny the species of wine to the laity. They do receive it in our churches of Eastern Rite, and the ’’Con stitution on the Sacred Liturgy" promulgated in the second session of the present Vatican Coun cil states that "communion under both kinds may be granted when the bishops think fit, not only to clerics and religious, but also to the laity, in cases to be determined by the Apostolic See as for instance, to the newly ordained in the Mass of their sacred ordination, to the newly professed in the Mass of their religious profession, and to the newly baptized in the Mass which follows." In all truth I might simply deny the supposition of your question: The Church does not deny the Blood of Christ to the layman at all. We receive the living Christ - the glorified Christ of heaven - when we receive under either species: bread or wine. It is because of this profound theolo gical truth that the Church was able to permit the custom of receiving under only one form - that of bread - to develop during the middle ages. And it was to defend this doctrine of the com plete, living presence of Jesus Christ in the Eu charist that she later forbade the giving of the Cup to the laity. Let us hope that the number of special occa sions on which we can use both forms - bread and wine - will rapidly increase. CONSTITUTION ON LITURGY Parade Of Insights CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4 brothers. They are attached to Christ. Without them, he is without Christ. Without Christ, he can not worship. IF THE VATICAN Council were to accomplish nothing else but the Liturgy Constitution, it would have produced sufficient results to engage us in life-long effort. The Constitution is a call - of Christ's Holy Spirit, we must never forget-for us to awaken every ounce of our energy. The doors of the treasure house have been flung wide open. What is offered to us is not novelty, not inno vation for its own sake. Such a view would be frivolous. We have available in the liturgy renewal the complete richness of immediate contact with Christ. Numerous demands will be made upon us, if we are to take advantage of the spiritual oppor tunities which are presented. Some of these de mands will be slight, merely a matter of chang ing habits and absorbing new ideas. We are not asked to forfeit anything. On the contrary, we are to be the recipients of the most generous largesse. If there is some slight discomfort to be felt in the awakening of our spiritual appetites, their ready satisfaction will be a matter of delight. THE MOST PRESSING demand is on our free dom - to accept the Implications of worship; to accept Christ as he shows himself in his Church; to embrace him where he is most perfectly pres ent: in all out brothers. If we recognize that free dom is another name for love, we will have come well along the way. THURSDAY, MAY 7, 1964 GEORGIA BULLETIN PAGE 5 ADDRESSES BISHOPS Pope Paul Urges Council Prayer During Pentecost ACIIGSS 1. ecclesiastical title 5. drink 6. hlstrio 14. sparse 15. Central American tree 16. directs IB. queries IS. guttural sound 21. slur over 82. defeats 24. dentine 25. stern 26. tool 88. Biblical lion 29. playing card 30. Ho received a cardinal's 33. Latin pronoun 35. parsonages 38. Emerald Isl' 38. hurried 89. trudge 40. r.umac 41. football position 42. we all do It 43. where Tom Dooley worked 47. silently 40. opening 50. bird of prey 51. each 59. study 93. Hla arohblshoprlo 54. open 13. 57. shelter 17. 59. Lenten penanoe 20. 60. snare 23. 61. eye cosmetie 27. 63. fish 29. 64. fabulist 30. 66. measures of length 31. 68. Ho ea?ned this 32. title 34. 73. no good 35. 74. fruit decays 37. 76. spico 39. 77. used in roofing 42. 79. region 43. 80. Judicial 44. examination 45. 81. king 46. 82. request for reply 48. 83. English city 49. 52. DOWN 64. 1. monotonous 55. 2. affluence 56. 3. boats 67. 4. settles 68. 5. Alcott character 63. 8. shelter 65. 7. He studied and 67. taught here 69. 8. trends 70. 9. chemical symbol 10. pigtail 71. 11. American tennis 72. champ of 30's 75. 12. repugnant 78. conquer brands triple early Greek letter plague man of the house neb Japanese aborigine vehiclo club emporium day noble dasn petal harp in Naples obligation accommodate state (abbr.) chiclets r.avant about He was one islands Slav in Saxony Moslem Easter not i’-eneral excuse stanza (Norwegian) key sled for hauling logs Roman poet macerates lymph chemical (abbr.)’ ANSWER TO LAST WEEK’S PUZZLE ON PAGE 7 VATICAN CITY (NC)-Pope Paul VI has called on the world's bishops to offer special prayers on Pentecost Sunday for the success of the Vatican council. He also asked clergy and laity to pray for the council, and to in form themselves about it and in particular to "draw closer to our separated brethren." NOTING that the Church's bishops "are preparing them selves with the greatest dili gence for the third session of the council," scheduled to open Sept. 14, the Pope declared that "such a great event calls therefore for the overflowing virtue of the Holy Spirit who fills minds with enlightenment and who strengthens wills to un dertake new projects and to ac cept responsibility." The Pope’s appeal was con tained in a letter dated April 30 and addressed to all the bishops of the world. He urged them "especially as Pentecost draws near, to redouble your prayers to ob tain for the ecumenical coun cil those copious and consid erable fruits which all of us desire," THE POPE called upon the clergy and laity to "continue with calm and reverence to draw closer to our separated brethren, not turning down some opportunities for calm and friendly conversations and, be ing more concerned for their welfare rather than our honor, they may seek together the means for recomposing broth erhood, based on the identity of the faith and mutual charity which was desired by Christ for His Church." ARNOLD VIEWING ‘Trial’-For The Audience BY JAMES W. ARNOLD Did-Oswald-really-do-it buffs will be frustrat ed further by a new movie cranked out with very little fanfare by a group of little-known profes sionals in Dallas. The film, 'The Trial of Lee Harvey Oswald," received an unheralded pre miere in Milwaukee, where it was greeted with enthusiastic apathy. It is scheduled for national distribution. Hypothetical, and often ingenious, solutions to the Oswald case have become international pas times rivaling scrabble and even romance in- popularity. No one who really i plays the game will settle for something less than a Grand Conspiracy theory. According to some of these, he really was jj a rightist pretending to be a I leftist, an undercover man for | the CIA, or the fall guy for j a brilliant plot to kill the Pres- ! ldent by the Dallas police. NEARLY ALL the guesswork can find some shred of support in the morass of public reports on the Dallas tragedy. The game is especially popular in Europe, but a recent Lou Harris poll showed that 40 per cent of Americans believe there was a connection between Oswald and his executioner, Jack Ruby. The conjectures will probably become legend and persist into his tory, but for most people the forthcoming re port, scrupulously put together by the Warren Commission, should resolve reasonable doubts. Incurable conspiracy fans will merely smirk and suggest that the Commission has been fixed. The movie, in the meantime, is not much help. It reviews and organizes, in about 100 hurried minutes, most of the known facts. When it’s all over, the average viewer will probably accept Oswald’s guilt in preference to two fascinating but fanciful alternatives: (1) a conspiracy by one or more law enforcement agencies tocoverupthe truth, or (2) a set of fantastic coincidences which made Oswald appear guilty while the real killer escaped In the confusion. THE FILM DOES not raise either question, al though the defense counsel mildly attacks some of the fuzzier aspects of the state's circumstantial case, e.g„ the disturbing speed with which Os wald allegedly made his cross-town getaway, and the marksmanship problem (three hits on a mov ing target in 6.8 seconds). One suspects that a real attorney, in the Belli mold, would have exploited these and other Issues with less timidity. He would also have made a glorious Roman massacre of the incredible botch of the entire affair by Dallas authorities. The Texas filmmakers probably found this approach impolitic. THE FILM’S MAIN defense, as It likely would have been In reality, is one of insanity. The prob lem is debated intelligently, using real evidence that Oswald was a schizoid as a child and fic tional psychiatric testimony that he was now a paranoid schizophrenic and Incapable of knowing right from wrong. There is the predictable dis agreement by the state’s "hanging psychiatrist," and the audience is left to ponder: does insanity automatically exclude a knowledge of right and wrong? Is the right-and-wrong test itself fair? The movie, surprisingly, is not at all sensa tional. If the producer-writer-director-editor team of Harold Hoffman and Larry Buchanan turn a quick profit, it will be due to hard-sell ads and public curiosity. The film itself has almost no dramatic or artistic qualities. It is possible that it was produced at Dallas' Southwest Film Center to improve the troubled city’s image by providing Oswald the reasonable trial he was de nied in life by the police, the news media and ul timately by Ruby. IN DIRECTOR Buchanan’s antiseptic approach, the entire action takes place in a small simulated courtroom with the audience serving as jury. Lawyers and witnesses are shot from station ary cameras in medium long-shots and occasion al closeups, with little cutting. The witnesses, representing real-life counterparts, are allowed some personality, but not enough to reflect on their testimony. Every scrap of emotional material is excluded. The lighting is flat and gray, there is no music. There is no footage of the actual events of Nov. 22. The only cuts to real locations (the assassi nation scene, Oswald’s rooming house, the theater in which he was captured) are for purposes of dry documentation. THE TECHNIQUE is nice legally, but it may try viewers used to the souped-up court conflicts staged by Hitchcock or enacted by E.G. Marshall. Aside from eloquent summaries by both attorneys, the only sequences with impact are occasional reaction shots of Oswald, shown from the rear, in profile or in extreme closeup. The actor bears a strong resemblance only from nose to eyebrows, an effective view which Buchanan chooses often. The total effect, unhappily, is of complete un reality. Had it been allowed to occur, the trial would have throbbed with atmosphere, emotional outbursts, interruptions, reactions from the pack ed courtroom. There would have been a feeling of (in Hemingway’s phrase) "how the weather was," a natural ebb and flow of tension and boredom, excitement and fatigue. With his mood of sterile impartiality,^Puchanan has boiled most of the life and humanity from the situation. "LEE OSWALD," then, is not much either as a movie or as a document. But it has a decency and dignity missing heretofore in this vast tragedy. There is also a gratifying compassion for the defendant, who may well have been mad, and an implicit accusation of the society which made it profoundly easy for him to achieve a dreadful immortality. CURRENT RECOMMENDED FILMS: For everyone: It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World; Lord of the Flies, Lilies of the Field. For connoisseurs: Tom Jones, 81/2, The Leopard. Referring to the council, the Pope urged all the faithful that "in this time of diligent prep aration, they accompany the common effort with their pray ers and voluntary acts of pen ance." He expressed the wish that they “be informed about the themes of the council with opportune methods, especially by means of the press and by suitable talks." The Pope recalled his pil grimage to the Holy Land, dur ing which he prayed that all Christians may participate in the riches of divine grace, and that "men of our day may be brought efficaciously to a bet ter knowledge ’of the mind of Christ.’ " DWELLING ON his visit in the land of Jesus, the Pope recall ed that "there we prayed to ob tain a sure means of approach to the recomposition in unity of our Christian brothers, now sorrowfully separated from us." ' 'On that same occasion when, surrounded and greeted by an immense crowd, we came to the place ourself near the most holy memories of the Saviour," he said, "we moreover dwelt with emotion on how we might direct our ardent affection and the in clination of our heart even be yond the confines of Christiani ty toward all souls and all peo ples who believe in the one God. This is a fact which offers great hopes for a progress toward just understanding, for mutual charity and for a more sure peace of civil society." THE POPE declared that these are the goals to which his pontificate and the ecumenical council aspire. The council is working to make the Church shine before all men so that they may be attracted to "the marve lous life of the Mystical Body of Christ," he said. To achieve this, therefore, "we increas ingly exhort our most beloved sons of the clergy and the laity that, aware of their own dignity, they may dedicate themselves and their own proper means to the stable establishment here on earth of the Kingdom of Christ," he added. Without naming names, Pope Paul expressed his sympathy for non-Catholic religious bod ies undergoing difficulties, a particularly important point in light of the difficulties which the Orthodox Church is encounter ing in Turkey these days. HE SAID: "On this occasion we demonstrate very willingly to them our good will and that we are close to them with our pa ternal heart to share with them joys and anxieties. And es pecially we pray ardently to the Lord for those among them who under present circumstan ces are in fear, desiring that, with the removal of every dan ger, they may enjoy in liberty, in security and in peace their proper rights, which are found ed on the natural law." Returning to the subject of the council, the Pope noted that the third session is being pre pared for with great diligence and that the new, reduced and concentrated schemata will be sent to the bishops soon for their study, along with an out line of the procedure which will be adopted for examining and approving the individual pro jects. THE POPE also addressed himself to the council experts, "persons qualified by virtue and wisdom," and said "may they, conscious of their duties, faithfully carry out their man date. May they yvork for the progress of the interests Of the council, which are superior to individual aims, with their ex emplary lives, God Love You AY MOST REVEREND FULTON J. SHEEN What makes a missionary different from the rest of us? After more than a decade of close intimacy with them, perhaps I can answer this: They live under a "must." We live under a "should". The 4 must’ is not unwelcome necessity which gripes with sharpened fangs. It is the must" which passes into the will and the heart and moulds the inmost desire to conform with Christ. Our Lord often used the word, e.g., He "must first suffer many things." Referring to His Agony, He reported, all this "must take place." Our missionaries are under that same "must." The same Gethsemanes, the same poverty, the same Calvaries, the same want, the same no where to lay their heads, the same "no room in the inn," the same darkness set in the Heart of Christ on the Cross, They live in poverty, wondering where they can get fifty dollars for sulfone, $2,500 to build a church, $10 to pay a catechist for one month. Their bishops are on the - road constantly, and in one country, they iive on 4og (not "hot dog" — just plain dog). They are driven out of the Sudan. They live under the threat of their schools being disposses sed and yet, like Paul, they are willingly "handicapped on all sides —never frustrated; puzzled on all sides—never in despair. Everyday we experience something of the Death of Jesus, that the life of Jesus may be plainly seen in our mortal lives." And we? We live under the "should” or the "ought." We "should" be more sealed with the Cross. We "ought" to share their burdens. We feel only the White Hands of Christ, before the Crucifixion and the Resurrection; they feel the Scarred Hands of Christ, after Good Friday and Easter. They are under necessity; we are "at our pleasure." Do you not want to be one with them and share in the sanctity of the Church? Yes, continue to contribute to the mortar of your parishes, but forget not the mortals for whom the missionaries suffer. Be happy that you have a nice * plant" in your parish, but rejoice more that you share the sufferings of these missionaries. . . "No wound? No scar? Yet as the Master shall the servant be, And pierced are the feet that follow Me; But thine are whole: can he have followed far Who has no wound or scar?" After reading this, do you think you "should" send a sacrifice to the Holy Father for his missionaries, or do you think you must" —that sharing His Cross you will also share His Glory. GOD LOVE YOU to E.R. for $2,500 ‘Tobuild a school in mem ory of my beloved husband, D.D.R.." ....toT.C. for $10 'To feed the world’s poor.” ....to Rev. T.vT for $300 "Since my insur ance covered a recent operation, I am glad to send this to you." ....to R.P. for $2 'This is not much, but I hope to send more when ever I canr* How to increase your spendable income after taxes without read ing the Wall Street Journal? Send your appreciable securities to The Society for the Propagation of the Faith for an annuity. Save on capital-gains tax and receive a greater return spiritually and financially. Direct your request for our pamphlet on annuities, in cluding the date of your birth, to Most Rev. Fulton J. Sheen, 366 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10001. Cut out this column, pin your sacrifice to it and mail it to Most Rev. Fulton J. Sheen, National Director of The Society for the Propagation of the Faith, 366 Fifth Atenue, New York lx, N. Y. or your Diocesan Director, Rev. Harold J. Rainey, P. O. Box 12047, Northside Station, Atlanta 5, Georgia.