Newspaper Page Text
YOUR
PRIZE-WINNING
NEWSPAPER
diocese of Atlanta
ERVING
GEORGIA’S
NORTHERN
COUNTIES
VOL 2 NO. 27
A rchbishop 9 s
Notebook
SHOCKERS
The United States has been the scene lately of some trage
dies that have shocked us: a mob yelling to a would-be sui
cide "Jump, Jumpl" — dozens of people watching with fascina
tion the rape and murder of a girl, yet doing nothing to prevent
it. Suicides and rapes are common. What has chilled the Ameri
can heart is th,e concern of so few, the psychotic eagerness
of so many to see violence.
What is happening? Here in our own city which we are proud
to call civilized, crowds of non-thinking, non-feeling people
take the law into their own hands with ax-handles provided by
a segregationist leader. On Independence Day, whites savagely
beat up Negroes at a rally called (May God forgive us I) for
"American patriotism". The reporter who covered the story asked
the agonizing question: "How, in God’s name, do you reach them?"
DISTORTION OF A CARDINAL’S WORDS
Last week, a letter appeared in an Atlanta newspaper which
proved how badly we are tailing to "reach" these people. It
was, of course, signed "name withheld". It scolded "any arch
bishop or other human being who excommunicates a Catholic
for his social or political belief," It praised an American Car
dinal for saying that the race issue was a purely political one, in
which the Church has no right to interfere.
Whether "name withheld" is a Catholic or not, I do not know.
But to misrepresent Cardinal McIntyre is a grave injustice.
The practical measures to be taken In Los Angeles may legit
imately differ from those in New Orleans, New York or Atlanta,
But the position of the Catholic Church is clear from three
pastoral letters of the American Bishops (1947,1958, 1963)
as well as the teachings of the past four Popes. When the U. S.
Bishops Issued their statement in November, 1958 they put it
clearly:
L "It is unreasonable and injurious to the rights of others
that a factor such as race, by and, of itself, should be made a
cause of discrimination. . ."
2. "Legal segregation, or any form of compulsory segre
gation, in itself and by its very nature, impress a stigma of
inferiority upon the segregated people."
ST^Tne* heart of the race question is moral and religious."
The Cardinal signed that statement which was issued as the
official position of the Catholic Church. It expresses his convic
tion, as well as that of the other American bishops.
There is only one thing wrong with "Name Withheld's com
ment,' "There is entirely too much 'speaking out* by the clergy."
There should be more, not less speaking out; about the real
evils of our society. "
OPENING WINDOWS
Pope John's phrase has become a good description of the Church
today. If you compare the conversation of Catholics, say in
1934 and 1964, you will notice that now it is likely to deal with
a whole wide range of ideas - liturgy, ecumenical steps, social
and family, problems, the Scriptures, the work of the laymen.i
bridging the gulf with the modern world.
Today’s conversation is more interesting. So are our Catholic
newspapers and magazines. So are our schools, and the univer
sity programs for Catholic students.
One great advantage; — it's more# difficult today to be a "Cath
olic hobbyist"- You know the type-, specialist who puts all his
religions eggs in one apostolic basket: "This, and this alone
will save the world." Today calls for greater breadth and de
pth. Specialization has its pitfalls .
When one is writing a column like this, the problem is to touch
as many diversities (not just one) but keep them in the Christian
pattern of unity (not disconnected). If you think that a certain
subject is overdone, it may be that it has become a dangerously
tangled thread in the fabric of today’s society.
&&&
LEARNING LATIN
Although the vernacular language will make muchof ourliturgy
more understandable, Latin will continue to be the official tongue
of the western Catholic Church. Certain parts of the Mass
will remain in Latin. Much seminary theology, and many com
munications with the Holy See use Latin because it has a fixed
and universal quality. For our priests, a working knowledge
of Latin is an essential tool.
To help those whose high school education is giving them little
opportunity to learn Latin, a special Latin School "was estab
lished last summer. It had an excellent start. This year it will
move on to offer a second year program.
Young men who are considering a vocation to the priesthood
should use this Latin school. Call Msgr. O’Connor at St. Thomas
Moret for details,
^ (/Lug 9-
ARCHBISHOP OF ATLANTA
ATLANTA, GEORGIA
THURSDAY, JULY 9, 1964
$5.00 PER.YEAR
IN A SURPRISE VISIT—Pope Paul VI dishes out soup at
a home for the aged in Rome, conducted by the Little Sisters
of the Poor. He paid a surprise visit to the old folks there
on the occasion of the first anniversary of his coronation.
POPE DECREES
Council Gathers
On September 14
VATICAN CITY (NC) — Pope
Paul VI has established Sept.
14 as the opening date for the
third session of the ecumeni
cal council.
The announcement by Papal
Secretary of State Amleto
Cardinal Cicognani said: ‘The
Supreme Pontiff Paul VI, in an
audience granted to the under
signed today, deigned to
establish that the third session
of the Second Vatican Ecumeni
cal Council will begin next
September Fourteenth, the
feast of the Exaltation of the
Holy Cross." The announce
ment was dated July- 3 and
published July 4.
AT THE next to last meet
ing of the council’s second ses
sion, on Nov. 29, 1963, the
council’s secretary general an
nounced that the council would
probably begin its third session
on Sept. 14, 1964. But the sec
retary, Archbishop Pericle
Felici, told the council Fa
thers that the Pope would give
them a definite opening date
in good time.
Although no closing date has
yet been announced, the session
will probably end before Nov.
25 to give' the council Fa
thers time to attend the Inter
national Eucharistic Congress
in Bombay, India, beginning on
that date. The council press
secretary, Msgr. Fausto Val-
lainc, said in March that the ^
session would close on Nov,
20.
THE FIRST session of the
council opened on Oct. 11,1962,
and closed on Dec. 8 that year.
The opening of the second ses
sion was originally scheduled
for Sept. 8, 1963, but was de
layed three weeks because of the
death of Pope John XXIII, The
session ran from Sept, 29 to
Dec. 4, 1963.
‘Stealing Candy’
CARACAS, Venezuela (NC) —
Four gunnmen wearing priests’
garb robbed a children's hospi
tal here of close to $12,000,
and one of the four was shot
and killed in an ensuing battle
with guards.
FORECAST 20.000
Liturgical Week
Registry Grows
ST, LOUIS (NC) -- Advance
registrations already nearing
1,600 Indicate the 1964 Liturgi
cal Week to be held here Aug,
24 to 27 will be the largest
such gathering since they were
organized 25 years ago, Fa-
their David Thomas said.
The advance registration is
running almost three times
greater than for any previous
Liturgical Week, Father
Thomas, local vice chairman
declared. He forecast a total
registration of about 20,000
persons for the four-day con
vention. Last year's Philadel
phia convention drew some
13,000.
WIDESPREAD interest in
Catholic liturgy reforms which
will go into effect in the United
States later this year was
credited by Father Thomas for
the record expectations.
Theme for the week, 'The
Challenge of the Council: Per
son, Parish, World," was in
spired by the Constitution on the
Sacred Liturgy, enacted by the
Second Vatican Council, ’Fa
ther Thomas said.
A NUMBER of convention
events at Kiel Auditorium and
downtown hotels will demon
strate how the new changes in
Catholic worship will be car
ried out in parishes through
out the nation. Workshops, ex
hibits, general session and
actual worship services will
help to show these reforms and
wxplain their purpose, Father
Thomas said,
Joseph Cardinal Ritter of St.
Louis is host to the 1964 pro
gram and Auxiliary Bishop
George J. Gottwald is the local
chairman. The sponsor of the
week is the national Liturgical
Conference which has head
quarters in Washington, D.C,
Excuses, Excuses
VIENNA (NC) -- A Moscow
antirellgloua journal has de
clared that churches and
synogoguea can be closed by
the government when there are
not enough worshipers and when
the land is needed for recon
struction.
—
T
TP
BY RUSSELL SHAW
(N.C.W.C. NEWS SERVICE)
WASHINGTON—Massive sup
port from the churches played
a major role in tipping the
scales in favor of the Civil
Rights Act of 1964,
The ceremony at which Pre
sident Johnson signed into law
the strongest civil rights bill
since Reconstruction days
marked the culmination of a
remarkable sustained effort on
behalf of the measure. Among
its most striking features was
the virtually unprecedented in
volvement of the churches,
singly and in collaboration.
From the time President
Kennedy introduced his civil
rights program a year ago until
the waning days of the rights
debate in Congress, Catholics
and other religious groups
actively supported the bill. Both
backers and opponents of the
measure have testified to the
impact of their efforts.
‘Make Rights Bill Work’
Say Nation’s Churchmen
COMMON CAUSE
and Race. Attended by Catho
lics, Protestants, Orthodox and
Jews, that meeting is credited
with having mobilized religious
support of the civil rights
movement to a degree never
before achieved.
IN THE wake of the con
ference, local conferences on
religion and race have been
established in dozens of cities
throughout the nation. They have
helped bring the churches’
commitment actively to the
(Continued on Page 8)
AT THE COLLEGE OF SAINT PETER-APOSTLE, in Rome,
Pope Paul VI greets an African priest. He was there for
the opening of a new wing of the college which is a resi
dence for priests from mission lands who are studying in
the Holy City,
PRAYERFULLY
Churches Had
Major Role In
Rights Passage
SEN, HUBERT H. Humphrey
of Minnesota, Senate floor man
ager of the bill, repeatedly
called the churches’ support
crucial, Typical was his state
ment at the May 30 commence
ment of the College of St. Teresa
in Winona, Minn.: "It is the
churchmen today of all faiths
who are turning the tide on
civil rights legislation. The
moral issue has been recogniz
ed; the responsibilities have
been felt."
Even more telling, perhaps,
are the comments of Southern
legislators. Sen, Richard Rus
sell of Georgia, their Senate
leader, was s blunt in his final
speech before the Senate’s
historic June 10 cloture vote
to cut off the anti-rights fili
buster.
Expressing "profound sor
row" at the role of religious
leaders, Russell said those who
had thrown their support behind
the bill included "cardinals,
bishops, elders, stated clerks,
common preachers, priests,
and rabbis."
On the Catholic side, cer
tainly, the Senator’s assess
ment was accurate. The list of
active backers of the rights bill
ran the gamut from princes of
the Church to youthful semi
narians, and included as well
many laymen and Catholic or
ganizations.
SOME RIGHTS opponents
sought to paint this religious
involvement as a violation of
an American tradition on the
role of religion in public life.
But this argument was rebut
ted by one of the leading Catho
lic figures in the interreligious
effort, Father John F, Cronin,
S. S„ assistant director of the
Social Action Department,
National Catholic Welfare Con
ference.
"I don't think anyone from
the churches presents their
position as political pressure,"
he said in an interview last
April, 'They don’t say, 'We’re
Religious leaders, hailing
signing of the civil rights bill
into law, stressed that it is
up to all Americans to make
it work.
Archbishop Paul J. Hallinan
of Atlanta, Ga„ said that on
civil rights the "majority" of
Catholics, Protestants and Jews
"do not stand with the extremist
whose creed is hate, nor with
the gradualists whose tactic
is delay."
ARCHBISHOP Patrick A.
O'Boyle of Washington said the
Civil Rights Act of 1964 "pre
sents to the people of the United
States an achievement fend a
challenge unsurpassed in our
history."
"Will those who opposed the
bill, however sincerely, accept
it now with the same sincerity
as the law of the land?" Arch
bishop O’Boyle asked. "Will
political leaders rise to new
heights of statesmanship — as
many of them already have —
putting the rights of all the
people above traditional sec
tional differences?
"WILL THOSE who have suf
fered from the injustices of the
past, chiefly our Negro bro
thers, remember now to be gen
erous in their hour of vindica
tion, recognizing that some
wounds heal slowly and time
and patence are needed rather
than overnight cures? Will we
have the greatness to match the
rightness of our decision with
charity and forbearance in its
execution?
’These are the critical
questions which challenge us
today. Pray God we find the
light and fortitude to meet them
wisely."
Citing the interreligious co
operation that helped v/in pass
age of the rights bill, the
Archbishop, who is chairman
of Washington's Interreligious
Committee on Race Relations,
suggested that "this ... was
what the late Pope John XXIII,
that modern apostle of peace and
order in the universe, had in
mind when, as a spiritual fa
ther, he called on 'all men of
good will' to make common
cause to win for every creature
in every land the dignity with
which God endowed him."
"PERHAPS we may imagine
‘Inmate’ Serves
STATE VILLE, Ill. (NC) —
Exiled Bishop Rembert
Kowalski, O. F.M., of Wuchang,
China, who was imprisoned 28
months by the Red Chinese, ad
ministered the sacrament of
Confirmation to 101 inmates of
the Illinois State Penitentiary
here.
that, from his place in heaven,
the beloved Pontiff looks down
on us and is glad at the start
we have made this day," he
said.
Bishop William G, Connare of
Greensburg, Pa„ speaking be
fore the bill’s enactment to a
convention of the Wheeling, W,
Va„ Diocesan Council of Catho
lic Men, said Catholic laymen
should be "in the vanguard"
of those working for compliance
with the measure.
WITH THE passage of the
bill, he said, "it will no longer
be a matter of whether you
agree, but rather whether you
accept the law of the land."
Bishop Connare said the
civil rights law was putting re
ligious people "on the spot,"
James Francis Cardinal Mc
Intyre of Los Angeles said he
was "happy that the elected re
presentatives of the people have
kept faith with the constitution
of the United States and the
benign spirit of Abraham
Lincoln."
"WE ARE confident that the
provisions of this new law will
be accepted and obeyed with
docility, understanding and
Christian love," Cardinal Mc
Intyre said.
representing so many million
people in our denomination.'
All they say is, This is the
moral leadership speaking.'"
One of the earliest signs—
and certainly one of the causes
—of the unprecedented inter
religious effort came in Chicago
in January, 1963, at the historic
National Conference on Religion
A VISIT WITH POLISH CARDINAL—U. S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, his
wife Ethel and three of their children are shown with Stefan Cardinal Wyszynskt, Pri
mate of Poland, during a visit to the Marian shrine at Czestochowa, in southern Poland.
The children, (from left) Kathleen, Bobby and Joseph are shown with their parents and
the cardinal in the Jasna Gora Monastery library. The famed "Black Madonna" painting is