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PAGE 8 GEORGIA BULLETIN THURSDAY, JULY 9, 1964
PRAYERFULLY
Churches Had Major
Rights Passage Role
(Continued from Page I)
grass-roots level.
The Chicago conference's
spirit of cooperation was mani
fest on July 24 last year, when
spokesmen for three major
Catholic, Protestant and
Orthodox, and Jewish agencies
made simultaneous joint state
ments on civil rights to House
and Senate committees consid
ering the bill* The plea for
racial action departments of the
National Council of Churches,
the Nationsl Catholic Welfare
Conference, and the Synagogue
Council of America*
Even earlier, Francis Cardi
nal Spellman of New York had
spoken out, On July 11, 1963,
he told a Harlem audience that
"we need civil rights measures
enacted into law." "In the
months ahead, the Cardinal was
to make several more declara
tions on race and civil rights.
Others did the same. In
September, Joseph Cardinal
Ritter of St. Louis told a special
institute on human rights for
priests of his archdiocese: "If
our Congress is worthy of the
ideals and traditions of this
nation, if its members are de
voted to the common good of all
our citizens, it will not hesi
tate to enact efficient civil
rights legislation in this
session."
RICHARD Cardinal Cushing
of Boston spoke several times
on the need for rights legisla
tion, When the Senate had final
ly approved the bill, he said
its passage had lifted "a shadow
that has stretched across our
American life for 100 years,"
The nation's Catholic
Bishops on Aug, 23 issued a
joint statement on racial
harmony, repeating that "the
heart of the race question is
moral and religious’* but adding
that "respect for personal
rights is not only a matter of
individual moral duty; it is also
s matter for civic action,"
Soon after came what was to
many the most dramatic of all
the many demonstrations and
declarations for civil rights—
the stirring March on Washing
ton for Jobs and Freedom of
last Aug, 28.
Gathered in the shadow of
the Lincoln Memorial, a throng
of more than 200,000—whites
and Negroes, from all parts
of the country and all stations
of life—listened intently to a
program in which the re
ligious element came through
loud and clear.
LEADING churchmen, among
them Archbishop Patrick A,
O'Boyle of Washington, spoke
and prayed at the ceremonies.
Seven Catholic bishops were
present. But perhaps most im
pressive of all was the large
turnout of Catholics, including
hundreds of priests and
seminarians, who Joined the
marchers filing through the
streets of Washington on that
memorable day.
With the rights march over,
the commitment of the churches
did not slacken* Indeed, the
tempo increased, And the tragic
death of President Kennedy
seemed only to strengthen the
dedication of those who had ac
cepted his leadership in the fight
for civil rights. Passage of the
bill, it was agreed, would be the
best memorial to the slain Pre
sident,
The bill's backers received
major encouragement when, on
Feb. 10, the House passed the
bill by an overwhelming 290-
130 margin. But the victory
was far from final. The Senate
was next, and there Southern
legislators were mobilized to
filibuster the bill to the point
of emasculation or death.
The churches' respone was
to step up their drive. On April
10 plans were unveiled for a
joint drive by national agencies
of the major faiths to win pas
sage of the "strongest pos
sible" bill. High point of the
effort was to be an April 28
National Interreligious Con
vocation on Civil Rights here,
Acknowledgement meanwhile
came from the White House of
the importance of the church
men's role. President Johnson
told a group of Southern Baptist
officials: "We are going to
pass the rights bill. But our
efforts alone are not enough.
I am proud to say that in this
case some of our strongest
allies have been religious
leaders,"
AND AS their elders in
creased their efforts, the
nation's Catholic, Protestant
and Jewish seminarians also
pitched in to do their share.
On April 19 they launched the
Theological Students Vigil for
Civil Rights, a silent, round-
the-clock demonstration across
the street from the Lincoln
Memorial.
Over the next two months, in
rain and shine, heat and cold,
2,500 seminarians from all
parts of the country logged more
than 2,000 hours of inter re
ligious witness to the funda
mental moral Issues Involved in
the rights fight.
On April 28 the Interrellglous
Convocation on Civil Rights
took place before an overflow
crowd of 7,000 at Georgetown
University. Archbishop Law
rence J, Shehsn of Baltimore,
the Catholic spokesman on this
occasion, called for Immediate
action on the bill as "a re
quirement of Justice.*' •
HE WAS Joined on the plat
form by Archbishop O'Boyle,
chairman of the convocation,
end by such other strongly com
mitted rights backers as the
Rev, Eugene Carson Blake,
Stated Clerk of the Presby
terian Church in the U. S, A„
and Rabbi Uri Mil er, presi
dent of the Synagogue Council
of America,
The next day the meeting’s
leaders met at the White House
with President Johnson. "It is
your Job—as men of God—to
reawaken the conscience of our
beloved land," the President
told them, "Inspire and chal
lenge us to put our principles
into action."
The Washington convocation
touched off a series of similar
religious gatherings and follow
up efforts in many parts of the
country, On May 5 a meeting
was held in Omaha, Neb., to
rally Catholic support for the
bill in the key Midwestern
states whose senators' votes
were Judged crucial for cloture.
Protestants and Jews also
Increased their efforts. Dally
prayer services were held for
passage of the rights bill in a
Protestant church on Capitol
Hill, with nationally known
churchmen participating, while
similar prayers were called for
BLESSING OF THE FISHING FLEET—At Gloucester, Mass., Richard Cardinal Cushing,
is shown aboard the dragger "Grace and Salvatore," one of the fishing vessels he blessed
in traditional rites held there annually. The Cardinal made the 30-mile trip from Bos
ton by auto, marched in a civic precession, officiated at Benediction and addressed a crowd
of 10,000 at the historic fishing port. He returned home on one of the newly-blessed boats.
FURTHER CHALLENGE
Religion Leaders Across
Nation Hail Rights Bill
WASHINGTON, D.C. (RNS)—
Religious leaders across the
nation hailed the new civil rights
law and were in virtually una
nimous agreement that the leg
islative accomplishment stands
as a challenge to even great
er effort in the struggle for rac
ial justice.
Among those who have fought
tirelessly for the law was Dr.
Eugene Carson Blake, United
Presbyterian chief administra
tor and chairman of the Na-
LETTER
TO THE EDITOR:
It was with interest that I
read the column by Father
Smith, "replying" to Father
Coogan's article on the "lib
eral" catholic press. The latter
must, Indeed, have hit rather
close to home to warrant such
a prompt response. Father
Smith comments that he doesn’t
find "half the scorn, snide in-
uendos or subtle discrediting of
fellow Catholics" referred to by
Father Coogan. If this is an
admission that at least some of
it is going on, it would be re
freshing objectivity indeed. If
it is meant to imply that such
does not exist, than certainly
Father Smith may be chided
for not reading the Georgia
Bulletin editorial column, or
Mr. Sherry’s personal opinion
column which appears on the
same page. The implications
concerning slanted news cover
age in the "Visitor" are equal
ly puzzling. On one hand it is
suggested that only letters sup
porting a conservative position
are published in the "Visitor",
yet the paper is reported as
carrying a weekly column by
Mr. Fitzgerald, a reviewer with
a demonstrated liberal bent. It
might be noted that a column
supporting a conservative posi
tion is conspicuously absent
from the pages of the Bulletin.
Father Smith asks "What is
wrong with being a Catholic lib
eral" - One may pose the query
"What is wrong with being a
Catholic conservative?"
Finally, Father Smith attacks
a "holier-than-thou" attitude
on the part of conservatives.
Yet the last paragraph of his
column refers to "the majori
ty of non-liberal priests who
have not yet caught up with the
Vatican"— How does that fam
ous biblical verse go? Some
thing like "Let he who is with
out guilt cast the first stone..."
LEO E. REICHERT, JR.
DECATUR, GA.
tional Council of Churches’ race
commission. He said the bill
represents an "inching for
ward" for American Negroes
in their century-old wait "for
entrance into the mainstream of
American life."
"THE NATION'S churches
and synagogues cannot afford to
rest on any laurels they might
have won up to now in the battle
for Justice, equality and free-
don," he said, stressing that
the religious community has
the "influence" to bring about
new patterns of race relations.
"We must use that Influence
wisely but never timidly," Dr.
Blake continued. "We dare not
miss the opportunities which
are ours to act and to speak in
the midst of the greatest moral
crisis of our time."
MSGR. GEORGE G. Higgins,
director of the Social Action
Department of the Natonal
Catholic Welfare Conference,
administrative arm of the
American hierarchy, cited the
"significant and perhaps deci
sive" role played by major re
ligious groups in pushing the
bill through Congress.
Pledging cooperation with
other religious groups and "all
men of goodwill" in attaining
goals of the legislation, Msgr.
Higgins said the bill will be "of
little avail unless the great
mass of American people are
prepared to go beyond the let
ter of the law and to help ere-
NW Deanery
Sets Meeting
Thursday, July 16, 1964
has been set as the date for
the final Open Meeting of the
1963-1964 season for the North
west Deanery. All ladies of the
Diocese are invited to attend.
Mass will be celebrated at
10 a.m. at the St. Paul of the
Cross Church, 551 Harwell Rd.
Atlanta, Ga.
Bried business session, in
cluding nomination of new of
ficers for the coming season
will be followed by a talk on
"The Christian & the Modem
World" by our guest speaker
Rev. Father Dale Freeman,
newly appointed Dean of the
Northwest Deanery.
A luncheon will be served by
the ladles of the host parish,
St. Paul of the Cross at a
nominal fee of 50tf per lunch
will be charged.
ate an atmosphere of mutual
understanding and racial broth
erhood in their neighborhoods
and communities."
RABBI URI Miller, president
of the Synagogue Council of
America, which represents Or
thodox, Conservative and Re
form Jewish groups, called the
rights bill a "stimulant to in
tensified dynamic action," a
step forward in American
"moral and ethical growth" and
an opportunity "for continued
spiritual growth."
"The task of the religious
community is to translate into
a renewed religious conscience
the legal provisions of the Civil
Rights Bill," Rabbi Miller said.
"We must, through education
and religious inspiration,
change men’s hearts to corre
spond with the law...cleanse
ourselves, including the inner
life of the church and syna
gogue, of the dross of prejudice
and the abuses of power, and
seek to make the equality of all
men a living reality."
THE "NEW guarantee of civil
liberties" has given Indepen
dence Day "an ironic cast this
year" as the rights bill be
came law "in the face of the
fact that Americans have for
nearly 200 years prided them
selves on liberty and justice
for all," said Dr. Lewis Web
ster Jones, president of the
National Conference of Chris
tians and Jews.
Mathew Ahmann, executive
director of the National Catho
lic Conference for Interracial
Justice, hailed the bill as "one
more step ... in building an
America Democracy with
freedom for all. . ."
"IN PASSING this crucial
legislation," he said , "the
House of Representatives and
Senate have recognized the con
cern which all of our Ameri
can society must have for the
higher law which is that of
God’s."
In addition to citing the wide
interreligious support of the
bill, Mr. Ahmann said "Ameri
cans of goodwill owe special
appreciation" to President
Johnson and Senators Hubert
Humphrey (D.-Minn.) and Eve
rett Dirksen (R.—Ill.)*
‘Unjust Burden’
VATICAN CITY (NC) — Pop.
Paul VI has declared that
children of convicts "must not
be made to carry the unjust
burden of crime they did not
commit, of baseless suspicion
and of dangerous isolation,"
Archbishop 9 s
Statement
The majority of our Catholic citizens are at one with the majo
rity of our Protestant and Jewish fellowmen in their pursuit of
justice and peace. In civil rights, they do not stand with the ex
tremists whose creed is hate, nor with the gradualists whose
tactic is delay.
The new Civil Rights Bill is a tremendous, national step forward,
long overdue and painful in preparation. It safeguards for the Negro
only what each white insists upon for himself. In some parts of
both North and South, It will require a reversal of the customs of
a century. In our Atlanta community, however, the way has been
paved by a general preference for justice over inequity, for order
over violence. The Catholic cause has advanced here because the
civilized climate of law has prevailed. For this we are grateful.
Our white and Negro Catholics have for generations shared the
same churches; for years, the same diocesan lay organizations.
For two years, their children have attended the same schools.
Our hospitals admit patients on a basis of need, not of color. Our
experience of integration has reinforced our moral conviction that
prejudice, discrimination and segregation are wrong, and that only
the path of justice will guarantee to everyone his full rights as a
creature of God, and a citizen of our nation.
our society. But if it is evaded or flaunted, both sides will lose,
and Georgia and the American nation will suffer. Only if it is ac
cepted as the law of our land, carried out with honesty and dignity,
and implemented with Christian love, will all be well. Only when
white and Negro persons see each other as brothers will the Ju-
daeo-Christian fraternity of all men under God be realized.
I ask the prayers of all our people that we will move steadily
toward that reality.
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TO THE
GEORGIA
BULLETIN
INDIA: TO CARE FOR RABIES
FIFTEEN BABIES ARE ALIVE TODAY IN KODAK Alt A,
INDIA, because the Sisters of the Holy Family refused to let
them die . . . The infants were found
abandoned, anemic and covered with
filth and sores. Now they are clean
am! recru'arly fed. thinks to the Sis
ter-’ loving care . . . The woman who
£! S works earns as little as live cent*
” a day In India. Many mothers can
not keep their children . . . The
Sisters, therefore, look to us for
help. They need a few rooms in
which to keep these babies (and
TI»Hohr«l>*iMM>nAU ** w f" "f
i « — , . ... , cribs, etc. We can irlve them every
for tot Orttntsl Cburcb thing they nepd f(Jr on , y 000
Will you help? The Sisters arc caring for 30 orphans, in addi
tion to the babies. Imagine the expense. Just for food ant
clothing! ... If you’d like to build and equip tills “home” foi
babies in memory of a loved one (82,000). please write to u?
now. Send, at least, whatever you can afford—$1, $2, 85, $10.
Who can refuse a helpless baby?
PERSONAL: TO G.V.G.
THANK YOU. G.V.G.—Your three $50 bonds will help build
a church in ETHIOPIA, train a native Sister in INDIA, pro
vide medical care for refugees and lepers.
GAZA: THE BLIND
BLIND YOUNGSTERS IN THE GAZA STRIP (which lies be
tween EGYPT and ISRAEL) will be able to support themselves,
thanks to what they’re learning in the Pontifical Mission Center
for the Blind . . . 8300 pays the overall cost of a blind boy’s
training for one year . . . $25 pays it for one month . . . The
Holy Father asks your help.
WELCOME, PARTNER!
Dear Monsignor,
I received the enclosed $25 for a Communion Breakfast
talk about Lebanon and the Maronitcs.
We're partners. Whatever I receive for talks like this.
I'll give you for the missions.
(Mrs. S. B.—Brooklyn, N.Y.)
WHATEVER YOU GIVE to the Catholic Near East Welfare
Association is used, under the direction of the llolv Father
himself, to help the needy in 18 countries in which Catholics
are a very slim minority. EGYPT, for instance, is only .6'* Cath
olic: CYPRUS. 1.1'r; ERITREA. INDIA, 1.5'< . . . Please
remember our priests and Sisters when you make a will, or
when you want Masses offered.
Dear Momignor Ryan:
Enclosed please find
.. for
Name
Street ..
City
Zone . State
ll»iL < l2ear'East(llissioasjM)
FRANCIS CARDINAL SPILLMAN, President
Hsflr. Joseph T. lyes, Net’l See’y
Seed ell communleoHoai to:
CATHOLIC NEAR EAST WELFARE ASSOCIATION
IS9 Modisea Ave. et 42ad St New Yerk. N. Y. 10017