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GEORGIA BULLETIN THURSDAY, JUNE 18, 1964
SEMANTIC TANGLE
the
Archdiocese of Atlanta
GEORGIA BULLETIN!
SCI VINO OlOtOIA'S 7) NOtTMM* COUNTIIS
WIlCT Official Organ of the Archldocese 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 Kieman
ASSOCIATE EDITOR Rev. Leonard F. X. Mayhew
Member of the Catholic Press Association
2699 Peachtree N. E.
P. 0. Box 11667
Norths ide Station
Atlanta 5. Ga.
and Subscriber to N. C. W. C. News Service
Telephone 231-1281
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Ecumenism Or...
The following quotes are from
the column of Louie D. New ton
which appears in the current is
sue of the Christian Index, offi
cial Organ of the Baptist Con
vention of the State of Georgia.
“Freedom: The ablest
message I have come upon
in the proceedings at Atlantic
City is the address of Pre
sident G. Earl Guinn of Louis
iana College, “Contemporary
Threats to Freedom," deli
vered at the Pastors’ Con
ference. He began: “God could
have made man secure. He
chose to make him free. This
freedom is the glory and bane
of human existence. Used
wisely, it creates a paradise;
abused, it means a loss
of Eden. But use freedom,
man must. Sartre said: ‘Man
is condemned to be free.
“Threats: Dr. Quinn then
moved into the area of con
temporary threats to free
dom: communism, Roman
Catholicism and secularism.
I would like to pursue his the
sis, but space does not per
mit. Let me close this grate
ful commendation with Dr.
Guinn's closing paragraph;
“God grant that the church-
the renewed church-will rise
up like a mighty army and un
der freedom’s holy light pro
claim Christ as the One who
makes men free.’’I hope every
pastor will carefully read this
great address.”
We are struck by the highly
ecumenical tone of the item. Dr.
Newton is pastor of Druid Hills
Baptist Churchand national pres
ident of Protestants and other
Americans United for the Sepa
ration of Church and State.
iffm
It ; ,\
viArvi'JM
Brother to Brother
GEORGIA PINES
Georgia Jesuits
Atlanta Pot-Holes
Visitors to Atlanta invariably
comment with enthusiasm on the
beauty of the city and its en
virons. They sing the praises of
our impressive churches and
public buildings and of the lovely
homes and residential areas in
every section of the metropolitan
area. The thousands of blossom
ing dogwood trees that decorate
an Atlanta spring are a trad-
mark of the taste and visual
splendor of which Atlantans are
so justifiably proud.
There is one particular defect
of the Atlanta scene, however,
which visitors and inhabitants a-
like bemoan- the shocking con
dition of so many streets and
roads in and around Atlanta. The
tone of the comments may vary
at times from annoyance to fury
but the comments themselves are
constant and seemingly ineffec
tual.
There does not seem to be any
lack of activity on the part of
those in charge of road repair.
Crews of workmen are every
where; patching, filling, black
topping. Detours appear to the
motorist to be designed for max
imum inconvenience over the
longest possible period. And still
the ruts, potholes, broken pave
ments multiply, or at least seem
to remain constant in number.
The jolts and bounces jar the
nerves and destroy the patience
of thousands of commuters and
tourists each day.
Atlanta does not claim to be
perfect. It has the same diffi
culties with more than average
skill. The persistent worries of
urban life must be tolerated so
long as serious effort is made
toward their solution. It seems
incongruous, however, that a city
of such obvious prosperity
and ambition as Atlanta should
suffer patiently the continued in
convenience of so many outrage-
oulsy ruined streets and roads.
Atlanta is a city of automobiles
and, therefore, of people constan
tly at the mercy of the condi
tions of their streets. The accu
mulated wear and tear on tires,
cars and drivers must by now far
outweigh the cost of proper main
tenance of good road conditions.
Closing Debate
The cloture vote in the Senate,
cutting off the fillibuster on
Civil Rights came none too soon.
We wondered how long the
country could afford to tolerate
endless obstructionism under the
guise of democratic protection
of state rights.
We hope that this important
piece of legislation will soon be
approved by the Senate, and that
the House will compromise on
the several amendments deemed
necessary for passage of the bill.
What is important is that
our Negro fellow-citizens obtain
by law what they have been de
prived of in the way of rights
for more than a century. We
would have preferred the
voluntary granting of these
rights. Alas, hatred and bigotry
is still so rampant thatthe Negro
has had to demand the protection
of the Constitution.
We are fully aware that the
passage of the Civil Rights Bill,
will not automatically bring com
pliance. We think, however, that
it will be in the best interests
of all citizens, as well as the
country, to accept the measure in
a spirit of good-will and co
operation. We have tarried too
long in this area of human re
lations. We have an awful lot
to answer for; we have an awful
lot to make up. We pray that we
all are capable of meeting the
test of brotherly love in the spirit
of charity.
BY REV. R. DONALD KIERNAN
On a bank overlooking the Chattahooche River,
on a piece of land dug out of the side of a moun
tain and nestled among tall Georgia pines, lies
Manresa of Atlanta, the Jesuit Retreat house.
The Jesuit Father’s foundation dates back only
to December 16, 1960, but the Jesuit Fathers
are not new to Georgia., Indeed, at one time a
seminary for future priests was operated by the
Fathers* in Macon, Georgia. A
graduate of their training, Fath
er Healy, later became Presi
dent of Georgetown University
in Washington, D. C„ and his
brother became the Bishop of
Portland, Maine.
AT A TIME when Catholics
were considered of little or no
consequence in this State, the
Jesuit influence in Macon was
great enough to have a street
in Macon named Pio Nono (Pius IX) Street.
The Fathers also staffed churches in Macon and
in Augusta, Georgia at a time when the Diocese
was so short of secular priests that the Jesuits
came to the ’’rescue” of the Georgia Bishop.
IN JANUARY 1958, Mrs. Suzanne Spald
ing Schroder donated a home and a parcel of
property to the Jesuit Fathers Mrs. Schroder’s
son had been ordained a priest in the Society in
1955. (He is Father John Schroder, S. J. of
Grand Coteau, La.). More property was donated
by Mr. William Schroder and additional property
was purchased later in 1958, bringing the total
acreage to 19.72. acres.
The Jesuit Provincial (Southern Province)
named Father M. V. Jarreau, S. J. as the first
Director and his task was that of organizing
a retreat movement and the arranging of con
struction for a building.
IN 1959 ground was broken and blessed by
the former Bishop of Atlanta, Francis E. Hy
land. Construction began immediately and with
the "usual delays” of weather, construction hind
rances etc., the building was ready for occu
pancy in December, 1960.
Ill health forced Father Jarreau to resign
and he was followed by Father Harold Cooper,
S. J. and the present director, Father John L.
Hein, S. J.
A TREE lined drive up an incline leads to a
building which resembles a motel in construc
tion. This is the first unit of a complex which
eventually is designed to be the finest retreat
facility in the south.
The first impression of the carpeted hallways
and rooms would be that of "plushness”. How
ever, the carpet serves a purpose which is
aptly set forth in a frame just outside the tem
porary Chapel: "Silence is the very essence of
the retreat movement”.
PRIVATE rooms, private baths, air condit
ioning and excellent food are all conveniences
which add up to the aim of the Jesuit retreat
movement; that is, no distraction can take away
from the few days of concentrated prayer and
meditation.
The present Director of the Retreat House is
Father John L. Hein, S. J. Father Hein recalls
that the first retreat held in January, 1961,
drew 43 persons. The first year (1961) 546
people made retreats at Ignatius House. This year
(1964) 595 persons had made retreats as of June
7.
THE JESUIT Fathers were organized into the
Society of Jesus in 1534 by an ex-soldier, St.
Ignatius Loyola. After the organization of his
Society at Manresa in Spain, his followers went
out in army-like discipline as soldiers of Christ.
Some of the finest universities and colleges in this
country today are conducted by the Jesuit Fathers.
The Jesuit Retreat facility in Atlanta is the
newest addition to a growing metropolitan area
which serves persons of all faiths in their search
for God through meditation, contemplation and
prayer.
INDEPENDENT KENYA
Your World And Mine
BY DR, GARY MacEOIN
Kenya offers a somber illustration of the appal
ling degree to which the European administrators
and settlers misinterpreted the temper and mis
judged the ability of the African while they con
trolled his destiny. If we ignore this modern ex
perience, we can never understand why Africans
are today so profoundly mistrustful of everything
the West offers them, while naively taking at face
value the Communist professions of disinterested
support against neo-colonial-
fism. Unfortunately, the Chris-
Jtian missions generally accep-
! ted the evaluation made by the
/colonizers. It was a bad mis-
jjtake, and they are paying dearly
I for it.
The settlers believed they
|could create three separate so-
cieltles, European, Asian and
African (as they called them), distinguished not by
place of birth but by race, each allotted the share
of social and economic benefits which the Euro
peans decided they deserve.
To the European went political and economic
control. Law and administrative procedures were
developed with his needs and desires in mind.
Only he could settle what he cynically named the
White Highlands, the country’s best land and most
healthy climate, twelfth of the total area. The
Asian was to be his batman, small trader, labor
supervisor and skilled worker. At the bottom of
the pile the African lay prostrate, a limitless
source of cheap unskolled labor,
THREE SEPARATE systems of education were
intended to perpetuate the relationship of the
races. All European and a high proportion of
Asian children had as much education available as
they could absorb. Some 80 per cent of the Afri
cans remained illiterate. Only a handful got sec
ondary schooling, with not more than a token
number reaching university entrance level.Those
who did persevere were excluded by racial dis
crimination from entering the general economic,
social or political life of the country.
Nearly all education for Africans and a large
part of that for Europeans and Asians was in the
CONTINUED ON PAGE 5
Opportunities
And Dangers
BY GERARD E. SHERRY
I see by the papers that certain writers are
complaining about an alleged monopoly by Liber
als in the Catholic Press. It is certainly a joke
to be informed that only the Conservative Catho
lic newspapers give both sides of any discussable
question. I can’t name one, and they all come
into my office.
However, because they have brought up the sub
ject, I thought it would be useful to reiterate
views on the differences between the two forces
in the Church. After i
all, it would be fool
hardy to suggest that
divisions do not
exist. The Divine
T ruths which we
Catholics espouse
are unchanging and
they cannot be chal
lenged in the dialogue
between so called
Liberals and Conservatives within the Churchi.
THE REAL issue, the real question today is
this: can the Gospel be brought to life in the
Twentieth Century? Obviously, the answer is
yes. The Gospel must be lived as well as
preached. In doing this, we must strive to
apply the divine truths to concrete situations
rather than try to apply them to some non
existent abstract.
REAPINGS
AT
RANDOM
Some of our fellow Catholics seem hypnotized
by abstractions and show genuine fear at current
expressions of vitality within the Church, They
so often wrongly equate a vital Catholicism with
some past heresy. Yet such vitality should be
understood as representing an honest effort to
avoid the extremes of secular liberalism and re
actionary Conservatism.
What makes a man a Catholic Liberal or a
Catholic Conservtive? How is it possible for two
men of equal education and exprience to arrive
at contrary conclusions about the Faith.The whole
history of the Church gives abundant evidence to
the fact that every age has its Conservatives and
its Liberals. Each era in the Church bears wit
ness to the dynamic tensions between these two
tendencies. As far back as the Apostles this life-
giving dialogue was a factor. St. Paul had to fight
to assure the easy access of the Gentile conver
ts, while some others fought to bind them to the
Mosaic law,
ONE FACTOR which cannot be overlooked, or
at least so it seems to me, is the basic emotional
approach each man has to reality. Two men can
stand before one and the same situation: One will
be caught by the dangers involved and the other
will be sized by the opportunities which it pre
sents. Objectively the dangers and the opportuni
ties have a constant value, but these two men
place a greater emphasis on one over the other.
Fundamentally the Conservative is sensitive to
dangers, and the Liberal is sensitive to opportu
nities.
Because he sees dangers and because the
dangers imperil the pearl of great price, the
Faith, even if only remotely, the emotional re
sponse of the Conservative is one of flight, or
at least a cautious inactivity, sometimes excused
as prudence.
BECAUSE he sees dangers, and thus con
structs defenses, the Conservative naturally would
choose to push the barricades out as far as pos
sible, and accordingly choose to fight for some
poorly chosen ground. He tends to make abso
lutes out of some perfectly good relatives. He
tends to blur the distinction between the essentials
and the accidentals. To defend the Divine deposit,
he tends to equate its changeable, human shell with
the unchangeable kernel.
The initial condemnation of St.Thomas Aquinas
was occasioned by the failure to distinguish
between the Faith and the Platonic philosophy
in which it had been clothed for so long. Because
St. Thomas wished to enlist Aristotle into the ser
vice of the Faith, he was condemned. Because he
had in no way endangered the Faith, but had given
it a new defense, he was later canonized.
BECAUSE he sees opportunities, and because
these opportunities are the occasion for the spread
of the Faith, the emotional reaction of the Liberal
is one of Joy, an eager desire to work, to plan
and to advance. Because. Because he sees a
chance to bring more and more men to the know
ledge and love of the Revealing God, the Lib
eral is very sensitive to the distinction bet
ween the essential and the accidental, and he
is very impatient with any effort to absolutize
things which are of their nature only relative.
Desiring to share the Faith, he looks kindly upon
any pruning operations, and he actually hopes for
adaptations.
Pope Pius XII knew that many people were not
going to Communion. With true pastoral concern
he looked upon the centuries old Law of Com
munion Fast. He saw that this bulwark had become
a barrier, and so with serenity, he changed the
law. Reception of Communion is much more imp
ortant than the preparation for Communion} if the
preparation hindered the reception, then change
the preparation. This is the attitude of the Liberal:
first things first,
CONTINUED ON PAGE 5