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About The Georgia bulletin (Atlanta) 1963-current | View Entire Issue (June 25, 1964)
» THURSDAY, JUNE 25, 1964 GEORGIA BULLETIN PAGE 5 THE CATHOLIC SCHOOLS Evaluation Or Abolition? Saints in Black and Whitt COMMUNICATIONS FAILURE BY LEONARD F.X. MAYHEW The Catholic parochial school systems have recently - apparently, much to their surprise - come under heavy criticism from various quarters. By far the most serious and hard hitting attacks have originated from Catholics who feel strongly on the question, Mary Per kins Ryan's recent book on the School issue has certainly received the greatest amount of attention. To some degree, it must be admitted that her book has been mis-represented both by commentators and by her publishers, who gave it an over-simplified and |misleading title. However, she fdoes level a very strenuous and critical eye at the entire con cept of parochial schools in our day. The irony in this intra- 1 mural criticism, as Wilfred |Sheed wrote in The Saturday j Evening Post, is that "now I that the parochial system is at last receiving the kind of abrasive criticism that every institution needs, the critics are calling not for reform but for abolition," The Catholic school is not a sacred cow. It is not above criticism, even mistaken criticism, brought against it with honest motivation and a respect for the facts. One of the factors that has beclouded the issue even more than it might have been is that Mrs, Ryan, has been attacked in many quarters merely for speaking out. It is one thing to disagree with her findings. It is quite different and quite illegitimate to appear to deny her right to have and express an un popular opinion. Freedom of speech - we have the authority of Pius XII, John XXIII, Paul VI and Vatican II to back us - is a normal and healthy facet of Catholic life, AS MR, SHEED points out in his article, nobody is for bad parochial schools. No agency which engages in education has the right to educate badly or inadequately. This includes the Catholic Church. If there exist faults in Catholic schools - and such faults must exist and certainly do exist - they need to be criticized roundly and corrected. However, it is going rather far to conclude from the fallibility of our educational efforts that the entire attempt should be cut off summarily. In thinking about the parochial school, we need to keep a number of important points in mind. First of all, the parochial schools provide a freedom of choice to Catholic parents. (We are inclined to ignore the fact that there are parochial schools belonging to other de nominations, This is not entirely a Catholic question). Without parochial schools, parents would have to face the legal requirement that they school their children and they would have only one possibility open to them. The private schools are for the wealthy and the wealthy are a segre gated minority even in our affluent society. Most Catholic parents, as any pastor knows from ex perience, want parochial education for their children. They have a right to freedom in this regard. SECONDLY, THERE is definitely a Catholic philosophy of education, to use a rather ponder ous phrase. Education does not mean the learn ing of facts in a vacuum. It is preparation for life and as such ought to provide a place for moral and doctrinal values. InCatholiceducation, the approach to various fields of learning and endeavor can be "saturated", as it were, with the consciousness of God and of the destiny and dignity of man. Without this, most Catholics would find education, no matter how skillfully imparted, seriously lacking. Education has always been a part of the Cath olic approach to life. Respect for truth and learn ing is a human and natural value absorbed into the bloodstream of Christianity from the be ginning. Our schools—the best schools we can provide — are necessary to an integral Catho licism. QUESTION BOX Latin Sinful? BY MONSIGNOR J. D. CONWAY Q. About these English responses the people are going to be making to the priest at Mass, the hymns to be sung, etc. Will we be obliged under pain of sin to do these things, especially on Sundays and Holy Days? Will these re sponses, etc., be included in our obligation of hearing Mass on those days? Your reply will help me personally and also guide me in in structing the children, either telling them they SHOULD or they MUST. A. You know it often takes people a while to change their habits. Some prefer to use the missal instead of responding out loud, for a while. It is evident that we parish priests have . a task to perform during these next few months, before English comes into use in the Mass. We must guide our people to a better understanding of the Mass as joint, united, unified offering of all the people-priest and laity-mer ged with Jesus Christ in the giving of Himself, and our selves, to the heavenly Father in worship, thanksgiving, re paration and petition. If we can convey an understanding of the true nature of community wor- to Join in it as thoroughly as possible. There will be no question of SHOULD or MUST. In any case there will be no question MUST in the sense of an obligation imposed by church law. You can fulfill your Sunday obligation of assisting Mass by being in the church and staying awake. But you SHOULD assist as at tentively and devoutly as possible. You SHOULD take part in the sacrifice as thoroughly as con ditions permit: in intention, action, word and song. But your doing it should be prompted by love, not by law. *** Q. When does Jealousy become a mortal sin? A. When it begets hatred. Q. I gave up something I liked for God, in re turn for a big favor (say almost a miracle). I was wondering just what would happen if 1 didn't give it up anymore. A. I am quite confident nothing would "happen," A. Many do travel alone these days. NKRUMAH Your World And Mine Fall-Aways Among Deaf ACROSS i. Catch 5 Metal 9. Barricade 13 Background 14 Highway. L. 15 Oak fruit 17 Wing-like parts 18. Sign of grief 20 French friends 22 He established a monastery at Monte 25. Male 26. Spanish river 27. bluegrass 28. Sorrowful Amateur Girl’s name Printer’s measure Passionate dis likes Jacob’s son 35. Paddles 39 His -is also a canonized Saint Pepper plant Exclamation Articles of baked clay He is patron of 51. Rested 52. Deceive 53. Three-hand card game 56. Intend 59 J.F.K.’s opponent 60 Familiar form of address (Fr.) 61. Large bird 29 30 31 32. 34 41 12. 44. 48 62 ,r heologlcal degree 63. Bill 64. Dad’s wife 66 Biblical mountain 68 Eskimo 69. Discolored 71. Munitions manu facturer 73. Neve 75, Pertaining to flight 76. Besmirch 78 Silk thread 80 Coconut fiber 81 Rebuff 82 Covered with small figures 83. Upon DOWN 1 Spoor 2 Pass on 3. A scientific association 4. Hastens 5 Soldier 6 Holy Roman emperor 24 State; abbr. 29.' Possesses 33. boss 34 Fortify 35 American organization 36. Quadrant 37. Cheer 38. Restrain 40. Gnaw 42. Association of automobile drivers 43 Painters 45 Kind 46 Government agency 47 Prepare 49. Admit 50 Measuring instru ments 54 Defraud 55. He lived in a cave here 56. He was one 57 Jugs 58 Books 60. Chinese pagoda 63. Size of shot 7. Confederate general 64. Deserve 8. Spectacular 9. Scale syllable 10. Peruvian plant 11. He lived outside of—— 12 Clnns 16 Constitutional vigor Egyptian king Fly aloft 19 21 23. -—Hunter 65. First word of a well known Catholic Hymn 67. Exposed 69 Propel oneself moved in water 70 Gaseous element 72 Edomite city 74. Mineral 77. Rubidium 79. Pronoun but I would suggest the advice of a confessor or spiritual counsellor regarding the continuation of your sacrifice. *•* Q. All the Catholic funerals I have attended these last two or three years have me wonder ing why the priest does not recite the three Our Fathers, the three Hall Marys and the three Glories at the grave in the cemetery. In the Catholic shcool I attended we were taught that one Our Father, one Hail Mary, one Gloria was for the person being buried, then one each for the last person who was burled, and one each for the next one to be buried in that cemetery. A. You have just taught me something new I The prayers you mention are not part of the Catholic burial ceremony; just something that many priests added—probably because the ritual prayers were in Latin and could have little neaning for the people assisting at the grave. That idea of a prayer for the next person, to be buried might be salutary: make us stop and think. ANSWER TO LAST WEEK'S PUZZLE ON PAGE 9 WASHINGTON (NC) — Fallen- away Catholics among deaf people is a serious problem that is yet to be faced by the Church, according to a Dutch priest here who has been hon ored by the world's only col lege for the deaf. Father Bernard Tervoort, S. J., expressed concern for the situation of deaf Catholics in an interview at Gallaudet Col lege, the government-supported school for the deaf that awarded him an honorary doctorate of letters (June 8), A YOUNG priest. Father Tervoort has been working among the deaf since prior to his ordination in 1954. Although a Dutch citizen, he is now in the process of finishing a six-year project among deaf children for the U.S, Vocational Rehabilita tion Program. The main reasons why deaf people leave the Church, he said, arise from marriage con flicts and from their inability to participate in Church wor ship. "DIVORCE is high among those deaf people who marry hearing persons," said Father Tervoort. "And of course their choice is limited if they want to marry a deaf person, even in large cities. For example, if there are a dozen deaf per sons of marriageable age in a city, only a few of those may be Catholics. The one the deaf person is attracted to may not be a Catholic, yet he is told he should marry a Catholic girl." The deaf Catholic also finds difficulty in Catholic services, ARNOLD VIEWING When Is It ‘Art’? BY JAMES W. ARNOLD Q. If you can call modern art beautiful you have a taste for the most ugly looking £jngs I have ever seen. I expect a statue to lc a person but modern ones look like apes. like A. Possibly evolution has turned full circle. •** Q. It is two thousand years since the time of Christ. Why has so little progress been made to Christianize the world? A. Largely because there are so few people who live and act and think like Christians. They call themselves Christians, but fail to identify themselves as such: "By this will all men know that you are my disciples, if you love one another as I have loved you." Persecutions, intolerance, prejudices and hat reds never advance the cause of Christianity. This has been proven true in history; and it remains true today. Yet recent voting returns in three of our states show that prejudice is increasing among Catholics — which simply means that they are becoming less Christian. »»* Q. Why do nuns have to travel by two’s? Why cannot they travel alone? Nothing is as frustrating as reading published comments about the movies that tend to spread and maintain myths that for years have soaked through Catholic publications like soggy dishwater. In full knowledge of the pitfalls that await those who com pile lists of heresies and heretics, let us begin to record some of these Errors Committed by Other People: 1 - That there is something phoney and stuffy about describing the movies as "art." Either film is an art-form or it is not. If art is defined, broad ly, as a human interpretation of reality, that is, reality changed and made more meaningful by someone, then it is clear that movies can be art to the extent that theTIIm medium is able to shape and interpret reality. (The complete re production of reality, with 3-D, color, natural sound, feelovision and smellovision, could not be art at all). ALMOST EVERY movie is at least a little bit artful. And the best of them are capable of pro ducing aesthetic impact on a level with theater and literature, and in rare cases, with music and painting. Just because our generation has literally CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4 A SOCIETY IN which wealthy men have several wives will have fewer single women than men at lower economic levels. Trlbals wars served to adjust the ratio in the past, but in recent times the effect of the shortage has been a steady increase in the bride price in obedience to the laws of supply and demand. Without payment of the bride price, there can be no marriage according to tribal law, and consequently vari ous kinds of informal or temporary liaisons have become widespread, A common practice is for the man to make a part payment to the bride's parents on the basis of which they authorize cohabitation in the girl’s home. Later, when with her help the man has accumulated the balance of the payment, the wedding is cele brated and they set up their own horns. Catholic missionaries have naturally done all they can to instill a Christian attitude towards woman and the family. But Ingrained custom dies hard. Even Christians do not feel that they are properly married unless the bride price, or "bride gift" as it is now being called, has been paid. Besides, in many countries the practice has become enshrined in civil law so that a church marriage can be performed only on production of a certificate that customary law has been complied with. Accordingly, what the Church now tries to do in most places is to keep the payment low so that inability to pay will not prevent young people from marrying. Irregular liaisons continue nevertheless to flourish, and it will probably take several gen erations before the Christian teaching on mar riage will be fully reflected in Africa practice. One of the more hopeful developments is the greater role being played by women in public life. As women’s organizations spread, their members become conscious of their rights as human beings. The abolition of polygamy is soon proclaimed as a goal. Next, women come to see that they should have a voice in choosing their husbands. And, as ever man knows, when women make up their minds it Is folly to resist. grown up with film, or because many people still treat it as a kind of adolescent narcotic, we need not feel self-conscious about callingit"art.’’One of the sadder trends of the day is use of the word "art-film" as a term of derision. 2 - That the key artist in film-making is the ac tor. The actor in movies (considered as art and not as a business attracting customers) is important only if the film is unoinematic, that is, very much like a filmed stage play. The stage is the medium of the writer and actor, with emphasis on the spoken word and sustained performance. In the true film every factor - actor, dialog, setting - is secondary to the visual effect, which is under the complete control of the director. HE CHOOSES what is to be photographed, from what angle, with what lighting. He decides what shots will be included in the final film, what will be cut, how long shots and scenes will run, in what rhythm and order they will be spliced together to produce a desired effect. He can alter the sound of an actor’s voice, or dub in the voice of another actor. He selects the music or sound behind a closeup, and thus can add meaning and force to the most vacant expression. All that film requires of an actor or actress is that they look and move as the story requires, that they Save interesting and expressive faces especially when the language is foreign to him and the cele brant has his back turned, he continued. "PARTICIPATION is easier in a ‘word service' "—those Protestant services centered around a sermon and Scripture readings, he said. "Deaf Catholics come to me and tell me they get nothing out of Mass, Yet they will go to a Protestant service with their non-Catholic wives and come away uplifted by the ex perience." WHILE HE was hopeful that changes in the liturgy would make worship easier for deaf Catholics, the Dutch priest pre dicted there may be areas in the United States and Europe "where this problem Is not solved yet 100 years from now. 1 cmi»T-48 # HOIIY CROSS BROWER • aorr HOMif • oma wo«k • POtMM MMKStof Fot Information WrDtt irUfr PnoH Nonael, CSC 104 Htly Cross School 4950 Dauphine Street Orleans, & La. 70117 SPANISH WEDDING VEILS (cf. Shirley MacLain or Steve McQueen) and that they be capable of sustained performance for the few seconds or minutes a shot requires. The star-worship of the public has been disastrously influential in turning the movies into a medium for recording acting performances. Thus only a few directors have the "complete control" the true film demands. But it is pointless to try to evaluate a movie without analyzing the elements on which its quality really depends - camera per spective and editing, the individual shots and their combination (montage). These are the primary means by which film "shapes" reality. 3 - That movies are for "young people" and ought to be approached, like comic books, chiefly as a frivolous and possibly evil influence on young minds. TWO ITEMS here can probably be accepted as fact: (1) that the majority of the world’s movie goers are people at the dating age and young mar- rieds, with an age range of roughly 14 to 30, and (2) that films have a long-range effect on the values and social attitudes of this audience. But it is less certain that films can incite specific acts of im morality, unless those affected are already eager and ready to perform such acts. The root question is whether film artists should have freedom to pursue whatever themes interest them - as novelists and playwrights do - in view of the youth of their audience. Phrased this way, the question overlooks (a) the growing minority of older adults who will not and should not be satis fied with Juvenile-oriented material and (b) the fact that many, if not most, of the 14 to 30 group are mature enough to handle adult material. They are, after all, immersed in adult material day after day, and coping with it somehow, whether their elders want them to or not. The real question: how do we protect the immature teenager without letting him dictate the content of the entire film industry? The first task for those concerned with the moral effect of movies would seem to be to work for a classification system which would separate ma ture and immature audiences. But on what basis? At what age does a person become "mature"? 14? 16? 18? 65? The chances of achieving rea listic and enforceable classification at an age higher than 12 or 14 is not very good: yet even this might be helpful. SECONDLY, we can find out what movies the "immature" usually see. We will, I think, find that they are not the foreign art films, which have been attacked out of all proportion to their likely influence for either good or evil. The films they are most exposed to are tEe inglorious U.S. pro ducts: the Doris Day comedies, the horror films, Elvis Presley and "Muscle Beach Party." We can try to tell them why these films are bad; above all, our schools should educate them so they can see for themselves. (W ? hat a revolution that will bel) Above all we must accept the fact that films are becoming at last an adult art-form. We should not shriek in dismay. We ought to encourage the trend, and we ought to be influencing it. Exquisite handmade with silk thread, imported directly from Spain. Also mantillas. Assorted designs, sizes and colors. Call or write: LOPEZ IMPORTERS Tel. 237-7998 Box 13954 St. K Atlanta, Ga. Seminary Fund Remember the SEMINARY FUND of the Archidocese of Atlanta in your Will. Bequests should be made to the “Most Reverend Paul J. Hallinan, Archbishop of the Catho lic Archdiocese of Atlanta and his successors in office". Participate in the daily prayers of our semi narians and in the Masses offer ed annually for the benefactors of our SEMINARY FUND. God Love You By - MOST REVEREND FULTON J. SHEEN President Cleveland once received a letterfrom a thirteen-year- old child which read: "Dear President, I am in a dreadful state of mind and I thought I would write and tell you about it. Two years ago, I used two postage stamps that had already been used. En closed please find three stamps. Now, my dear President, will you please forgive me." This young girl gave more than she had stolen, as did Zacharlas, who promised OUr Lord he would return fourfold what he had stolen as a tax collector. But repara tion for sins goes beyond sins of theft. Being for given a sin is not the same as making up for it. If I steal your watch you will forgive me, but you will also say: "Give me back my watch." When you confess adultery, marriage outside the Church, al coholism, big weddings and nothing for the poor, cutting corners in business, do you think a mouth ful of Hail Marys whispered in a minute satisfies the Divine Warning: "Repent or you shall all like wise perish?" Your confessor would help you more if he told you to give $50. to the Holy Father through his Society for the Propagation of the Faith. It would impress upon you the gravity of your offense and give you the added Joy of helping spread the Faith after endan gering your own. Get into the habit of helping the poor in reparation for each ser ious sin you commit. The road to alcoholism could be stopped by a ten dollar tax on every second cocktail - and what it would do for the lepers 1 Or put a reparation box in your room, and at the end of the month send your penance-sacrifices to the Holy Father through his Society for the Propagation of the Faith. Then, when the time comes to make out your will, give not to those who already have much, but to those who have nothing. If you want more informa tion on how to leave your money to the Holy Father for the poor of the world write to us at: 366 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 1001. GOD LOVE YOU to a Sister of St. Francis for $10 "Sister re ceived the enclosed as a gift for her Diamond Jubilee. 'HumphI' she said, 'and what should I do with it? But there is Bishop Sheen. He has a whole bookful of requests; send it to him.’ " ....to Mrs. D.A.R. for $8.75 "I promised to send 10 per cent of what I made from part-time work to the Missions." ....to Anonymous for $2 "My baby sister died. 1 hope this money will help to save some other baby." We are not only askingfor your sacrifices, but for your rayers, too. Send your request and an offering of $2 for the WORLDMIS- SION ROSARY, and we will send you these multicolored beads blessed by Bishop Sheen. Each time you say the WORLDMISSION ROSARY you will remember to put aside a daily sacrifice for the Holy Father. Cut out this column* pin yourt sacrifice to ft and mall it to Most Rev. Fulton J. Sheen, National Director of the Society for the Pro pagation of the Faith, 366 Fifth AVenue, New York lx, N. Y. or your Archdiocesan Director, Very Rev. Harold-J. Rainey P, 0. Box 12047 Northside Station, Atlanta 5, Ga.
