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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