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THURSDAY, JULY 16, 1964 GEORGIA BULLETIN PAGE 3 AND INDIANS Alaska Jesuit Superior Defender Of Eskimos BY ED FORTIER (N. C. W. C. NEWS SERVICE) FAIRBANKS, Alaska — A chartered bush plane landed at the small village of Kaltag on the lower Yukon river last No vember. Its single passenger was a high-ranking officer of the De partment of Interior who had come from Washington, D,C. to the Indian community to con sult with a white man about pressing problems of Alaska’s 43,000 Eskimos, Indians and Aleuts. THE GOVERNMENT official sought out Father Jules M. Con vert, S.J., French-born Jesuit who last May was named super ior of Alaska’s far-flung Jesuit missionaries. The Arctic-toughened priest who has spent 22 years with Alaska’s wilderness-dwelling Eskimos and Indians is rapidly emerging as Alaska’s most elo quent and outspoken defender of the state's natives and their heritage, A strong advocate of the pro posed Domestic Service Corpa, Father Convert is executive secretary of Alaska’s Socio- Economic Advisory Committee, It is headed Jointly by Catholic Bishop Francis D, Gleeson, S. J„ and Episcopal Bishop Wil liam Gordon, both of Fairbanks, It Includes all Catholic and Episcopalian missionaries of interior and Arctic Alaska in its membership. Acknowledgement throughout the state that things are not go ing well for Alaska’s natives in the transition from their prim itive way of life to the white man's civilization can be traced in part to Father Convert be cause he speaks the truth as he sees it. "I HAVE seen this whole area pass from what could rightly be called a Stone Age way of life to that of the Atomic Age,” the Jesuit told state officials sev eral years ago, "I have also witnessed the hurts and damage caused by too rapid an evolu tion in the social and economic fields.” A tall, handsome man who Army, he served in Syria, teaching at the University of Beirut and training with the French Foreign Legion. He reached the United States in 1937 and completed his Jesuit training at Alma (Calif.) Col lege. The roster of primitive out posts where Father Convert has served includes such remote settlements as Scammon Bay, St. Michael, Holy Cross, Steb- bins, Unalakleet and Kaltag. For years after his arrival in 1942, Father Convert drove a dogteam in serving his par ishes. Since being stationed at Kaltag, he has flown his own bush plane in caring for the spiritual needs of his native flocks. BUT IT is willingness to meet problems of Alaska’s na tives head-on that has made Father Convert a vital force in efforts to improve the social and economic lot of the Eski mos and Indians, In the mid-1940s left wing elements made a strong bid to organize natives who had start ed working in Briitol Bay’s sal mon canneries. As chaplain of the first large group of Eskimos flown to Bristol Bay for sum mer work, Father Convert worked alongside his friends. He led the successful fight to organize the Bristol Bay Resi dent Cannery Workers as an AFL-CIO union. While at Stebblns, the mis sionary from distant Bourges, France, directed organization of a cooperative store and re indeer herd. Something of the character of the man was tempered by the disastrous 1957 floods on the mighty Yukon. Father Con vert was Superior of Holy Cross Mission at the time, AS ICE piled up below Holy Cross, the great river flooded low lying homes and mission property and wrecked boats at Holy Cross. belies his more than 50 years, Father Convert joined the Jes uits in 1929. While in the French uavi chriitwo at HOLY CROSS BROTHER • YtACHINO • BOYS' MOMU • RANCHI w* • omcs WORK • TRAMS • KM MOM SMSBIOMi For Information Writot IrettisrVmldNonssI, CSC Holy Croat School 4950 Dauphine Street New Orleant. La. 70117 C & S REALTY COMPANY "Specialists in Commercial and Industrial Real Estate” Suite 200 Henry Grady Bldg. Atlanta 3, Ga. Warehouses, Stores, Mfg, Plants, Acreage, Shopping Center Dev,, Subdivision Dev., Industrial Dev,, Insurance 524-2052 MIKE & STEVE SERTICH The Air Force ordered a B- 29 bomber to blast the jam be low Holy Cross. Father Con vert requested the bombers to hold up their lethal charges. Using short way radio, he told authorities that high ground remained at Holy Cross, and although property would be de stroyed, he feared for the safe ty of downriver villages if the ice dam were blasted and the pent up torrent released. He preferred that his own mis sion bear the brunt of the flood rather than endanger other set tlements which lacked the safe ty of high ground. When the Indian residents of Kaltag on the Yukon were dis satisfied with merchandising acilities in their village, Fath er Convert assisted them in or- . CARY SANDERS' Television, Radios Stereos SALES AND SERVICE 375$ Roswell Rd., N.E. Phone 233-4275 Rattan & Willow Furniture Imported from Far East an d Europe. Span- H 1 WrOU * ht ,! ron hand crafted wood artic es. World-wide exotic and useful gift items from all over the world. FinAmirlcan Imports ^Q^J^£j^£|^£££ M ^£^jOh^Buckhead) 233-9785 audio sfereo me,, Jii- f High Fidelity Component, Sale, and Ser A. J. "DOC" SCHIER 2929 Peachtree Road, N. E. Atlanta, Georgia 231-4374 ganizing their own cooperative store. Starting with $500 received from a construction firm's ren tal of the community haU, the village council established its new store in 1961. The first year’s gross was $3,000. It rose to $5,000 in 1962 and last year totaled $12,000. "AT YEAR'S end the village had a paid inventory of $4,000 in stock and $1,000 in the bank,” said the proud missionary, "Rather than pay members a dividend, the village leaders de cided to use their store’s prof its to acquire a light plant or build a medical center. "As a result of their success in the store, the Kaltag Indians have a new spirit of pride and the beginning of self-reliance. It is thrUling to them to rea lize that even without education and only a little money they can do things for themselves,” Father Convert said. To the charge that the Eski mos and Indians are lethargic and shiftless, the priest ask ed: "After witnessing the waste, inefficiency and contradictions, sometimes plain ineptitude of the bureaucratic machine, year after year, would you still keep plugging day after day, in the faint hope that some day, some how, maybe,,,,? "IS THIS man-made environ ment conducive to action? It can and does generate only apathy, lethargy, pessimism, or at best some educated skepticism.” In his defense of the native, "Father Convert recently pro duced this penetrating analysis of the way Alaska's aboriginal people think and face life: "Intelligent leadership is bas ed on knowledge, the fruit of education. What is the educa tional background of our pres ent village leaders? The aver age is third grade, maybe. "What they really know, though, they learned for them selves, as their ancestors did. Their school: Nature. You have to learn to live with things over which you have no control, take them as they come, feel your way, accommodate, adapt your self. "You just cannot will favor able weather for trapping or fishing trips, nor an ample harvest of fur, fish, game or berries. All you can do is try. It doesn’t work? Don't buck. Give up and wait for better conditions. Don’t rebel against the weather; go to sleep in stead. Tomorrow might prove better, maybe,,. "MY CONTENTION is that all our agencies have failed and are failing in their responsibility to understand the people they serve. They are failing in their educative role of our village adults. All their actions have set a pattern, "Government, for our village folks, is just a big, powerful, vague and impersonal entity, similar to Nature, Treat it in the same way. Try but don't buck. If it doesn’t work, sit down quietly and wait in hope of the favors you cannot possi bly win through your own ef- forts... "Village people have never learned to properly think along the same channels as we do, nor in the same manner. They were never taught. Nature, their only school, has only taught them to feel. "AND THE official agencies, mysterious, paternalistic at best in their programs have only served to reinforce this attitude, basic in their cul ture, "Granted, our village leaders, all our village people have to learn to think and follow logic and reason Instead of their feelings if they are going to survive in the new culture and become useful members of the American community, "Until they have learned that, and we also have learned to un derstand and respect the way their own brains work, we are Just not speaking the same lan guage.” ESCAPES EARTHQUAKE DAMAGE — Following the earthquake which left severe damage throughout southwest Mexico, two devout parlshoners search the rulna of a de stroyed Catholic church, They recovered a painting of Our Lady of Guadalupe (tilted in background) which remained undamaged, in the town of Coyuca de Catalan. Archbishop’s Notebook VOICE OF THE PEOPLE Several weeks ago, this column listed an offhand series of questions about Catholic life today. . . just some thoughts on the liturgy, the ecumenical efforts, welfare. Readers were asked to write in with their comments. The replies are coming in—from suburbs, from down town Atlanta, from other Georgia cities and towns. This week the age-spread was 17 years to 77 years. You may enjoy some of the conclusions and comments, Most favor the celebrant of the Mass facing the people, although one thought it would distract the priest. All favor a library with books on Catholicism and other religious, and singing at Mass. One added: "You have really hit a spot here. Through the years I have heard so many people express how they wanted to sing at Mass. . . I have on occasional visits to Thomson attended Mass at Queen of Angels Chapel. There I enjoyed so much the singing, as we did years ago at Sharon.” This sentence is significant: "If there is anything that Catholics have a tinge of envy for in our separated brethren, it is being denied the privilege of prais ing God in one of the most natural and happy ways.” FOR THOSE IN NEED The letters show a variety of opinions on a priority list for our archdiocesan organs of mercy. Some thought the pre-delin quent youth should be next (after our dependent children are pro vided their new home). Others put the mentally-retarded. Others thought the aged should be cared for first. One woman was frank to say, "Naturally, because of my age, 1 am interested in a program for the aged.” But she added in a most Christian manner, "of course, the other projects are so very worth while!” IN BIBLICAL STUDY Cardinal Reconciles Some Apparent Contradictions ROME (NC) — Augustin Car dinal Bea, S.J., has given some rules of thumb for reconciling apparent contradictions in the Biblical accounts of Christ’s life. .he head of the Church's Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity, who has de voted most of his 83 years to the study of the Scriptures, listed "some principal rules” to bear in mind: • That the Gospels are not stenographic records of Christ’s words; • That Christ probably re peated the same idea in dif ferent words; • That each sacred writer has his own distinctive style and that the Orientals of the ancient world had a manner of expressing themselves quite different from the manner of westerners of the modern world; • That every account of an event is shaped by the purpose the author has in writing about the event. rise to confusion, as if what is less primitive had less theolo gical value, were less the Word of God, less genuine and less faithful to the thought to of Jesus. This might perhaps be said by those who consider the Gospels purely from the humanistic-historical point of view, not by those who consider them as the inspired Word of God.” Cardinal Bea began his ar ticle by pointing out that while the Gospels are inspired by God, the human who is used by the Holy Ghost as His in strument still "makes use of all his faculties—of intellect, of imagination andof will—no less than any other human au thor.” Cardinal Bea said the special influence of the Holy Ghost ’leads the author to write precisely what, the Spirit of God wants and in the manner He wants.” After pointing out that the Evangelists gave varying ac- PERMT DENIED counts of the life of Christ because of their human dif ferences and their different aims, Cardinal Bea commented: "WE MAY even add a word regarding the advantages of these differences. If the Apost les had not offered us a preach ing which varied in the as pects it presented to us, in its emphasis and its manner of presentation, we might wonder why Jesus chose 12 of them, and 12 of such varying temper aments, as they reveal them selves in the Gospels. "It is clear, instead, that Jesus desired that the infinite light of His life and His doc trine, filtering through the life, character and preaching of the Apostles, should be divided like sunlight in a prism into so many colors of the spectrum, and should reveal itself as fully as possible in its abundance and its riches.” Playboy Club Bid That's one problem. And, I suppose, the future plans will have to be based on the actual needs—in terms of numbers and urgency. BUILDING FOR THE FUTURE The question was; "Should we plan our construction for 1964, or should we keep 1974, 1984 and 2004 in mind?” One reply said— "for 1964. Our Lord will supply the answers for future years.” But another stressed that we should "build for a few years in advance, allowing that as our archdiocese grows, so will our income. Build with a firm foundation.” The needs of 1964 are certainly grave enough to call for con siderable outlay of funds right now. But one point about the future must not be overlooked—the rising cost of property in a grow ing economy like Atlanta. This means that wise land purchase today may save thousands of dollars for tomorrow. NEW IDEA DEPARTMENT Here was the most interesting part of all. Among the sugges tions: a chapel-shrine at Locust Grove, the birth-place of the faith in Georgia; the use of whole wheat (darker) bread for hosts at Mass; greater awareness in our parishes and schools of the possibilities in a religious vocation. All of these suggestions are being sent on to the proper people. An idea may not be practical; in any case, it will be con sidered. Have you ever thought of this suggestion: children should be seated in the first pews in church at Mass? Not that they will stop distracting adults; not that they will be more easily disciplin ed. The reason? So that they can see what’s going on! &&& ENCOURAGING: Most of those who wrote said that they enjoyed sharing their ideas with the Church. One man said: "1 hear people giving opinions freely when no one in an offi cial capacity is around to hear them.” A young woman observed: Halted By Church Cardinal Bea styled this pur pose of the author "the funda- mentgal question.” He pointed out that Pope Pius XII, in the encyclical, Divino afflante Spiritu, called it "the supreme norm of Interpretation.” CARDINAL Bea made his points in Clvillta Cattollca, a fortnightly review of the Rome province of the Society of Jesus. His article dealt principally with the Gospels of SS. Matthew, Mark and Luke. He warned against trying to reconcile differences among the Gospels by seeking to extract their essential religious ele ments and regarding the rest as mere "dressing,” Aside from the practical difficulties of attempting such distinctions, he said, "there would be a risk of abandoning faefs and particu lars that might be very lm« portent, simply because the ex- egete momentarily does not see their connection with faith and morals or with the essential points of the faith.” He also warned against giv ing more theological weight to Biblical passages which scien tific criticism indicates are more "primitive.” The more primitive passages deal more directly with events or with the works of Christ, while the less primitive passages are ex planations furnished by the Evangelists for a particular pu blic. SUCH DISTINCTIONS, said the cardinal, "must not give CINCINNATI (NC) -- Objec tions raised by representa tives of St. Loujs church in downtown Cincinnati led to the denial of a night club permit to a proposed Playboy Club. State Liquor Director Donald D. Cook refused to approve the club’s application for transfer of a permit from another night club purchased by the Playboy interests. ** TRANSFER of the permit, he said, would result in substantial prejudice to sobriety and good order, and the club’s presence would "materially increase the existing burden of maintenance of law and order in the com munity," Bishop Paul F, Lelbold, pastor of St, Louis, pointed out in a recent parish bulletin that "going two squares in each direction from St, Louis Church, one could have no less than 43 drinks of intoxicating liquor and never take more than Captive Nations WASHINGTON (NC) — An all night vigil of prayer in re sponse to President Johnson’s proclamation urging that Americans mark Captive Na tions Week is being held in the Shrine of the Sacred Heart July 17. one drink in any particular dis pensary, AS TO tne "alleged high class” club planning to move into the Korger building on Seventh St„ he said it was his "obligation to at least raise the warning signal against this in vasion of more creeping im morality.” An attorney for the club said an appeal from the liquor di rector’s ruling would be taken to the State Liquor Commission and, if necessary to common pleas court. Hospital Head SELMA, Ala, (NC) — Sister Michael Ann has been named administrator of Good Samaritan Hospital here, suc ceeding Sister Louis Bertrend, Sister Michael Ann has been serving as acting admini strator ,, Sister Louis Bertrand was administrator of the hospi tal, staffed by the Slsteks of St, Joseph, for 19 years, and was instrumental in formation of the hospital’s school of practical nursing. Elect American ROME (NC) — The general chapter of the Missionaries of Our Lady of La Salette has elected Father Conrad Blan- chet, M.S., an America#, as its superior general. "Thank you for reading my random thoughts. I pray that they will not be discounted Just because they came from a young per son, and I feel certain they will not.” Get ready for another round of questions. Besides having the replies as a starting pool of Catholic Opinion, the questions serve as a good stimulant for a column. Much better than the commer cial efforts to find out how many are listening—by offering a free box of detergent to all who write in! (/Lj? J- ARCHBISHOP OF ATLANTA Office Equipment Business Medlines Seles-Service-Supplies PHONE 525-6417 172 WHITEHALL STREET, S.W. ATLANTA 3, OEOROIA