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CATHOLIC CANDIDATES
Cynicism And Bigotry
Saints in Black and White
BY REV. LEONARD F.X. MAYHEW
Until four years ago it was considered. a
serious political disability in certain circum
stances for a candidate to be a Catholic. In
fact, it had become a political axiom in this
country that a Catholic could not be elected
president and that a Catholic vice-presidential
candidate would be a hindrance to the ticket.
John F. Kennedy's election to the presidency
not only disproved this particular myth; it ap
parently created a new and
more insidious one in its place.
At least there was a certain
sense of dignity in being - or
feeling - persecuted.-
The Republican party has
nominated a Catholic vice -
presidential candidate. The talk
has long been that President
Johnson’s running mate will
have to be a Catholic. This is
remarkable. We have perhaps seen within the
space of a very few years the rise of an en
tirely new folk-myth. This sort of thing usual
ly takes a much longer time to coalesce and be
come a significant cultural force. On the other
hand, it may only be the common-sense con
clusion of the professional politicians to keep
their “smart money” on a winning combina
tion.
OR, IT MAY BE a cynical attempt to
captitalize on the bias and presumed political
naivete of the American people - in this case,
particularly Catholics. Newsweek magazine last
week quoted the Republican vice-presidential
candidate to this effect: “Barry is a Jew and
an Episcopalian and 1 am a Catholic. Anybody
who votes against that ticket is a damn bigot.”
This is cynicism an3 bigotry. This is a cheap
insult against religion and against the intelli
gence of every religious citizen in the country.
It is no excuse that he may have been half-
joking. This a sensitive and serious matter.
It would not even have made too much difference,
if he had not actually made the statement. The
intent and mentality is too obvious - and too
bipartisan - to be ignored or tolerated.
As Catholics - and here we are at one with
our brethren of all faiths - we have been taught
the sacred duty of devotion to our country. This
has been spelled out for us as part of the Fourth
Commandment. The duty of obedience to law;
the duty to pay our just taxes; the duty to de
fend our country when it is attacked - none of
these has been more seriously impressed on us
than the duty of contributing of ourselves by
responsible participation in the political process.
This means casting an intelligent and unpre
judiced vote with a view to the good of the entire
community. Whether we have practiced what we
have been preached is a separate - sometimes
very separate - question.
THE PATTERNS of politics, especially local
politics, have all too frequently pandered to
what is least mature and least intelligent. The
racially and religiously “balanced” city machine
is a fixture in many localities. Even the national
tickets have had to be geographically sym
metrical - an easterner balanced with a farm
state candidate, a westerner with a southerner,
etc. And, of course, still no Jews or Negroes.
One can only conclude that either the professional
politicians do not know their trade or that Ameri
can voting patterns have been motivated in large
part by prejudice.
From what one could read, it was apparently
never satisfactorily determined whether more
non-Catholics voted against John Kennedy on re
ligious grounds or more Catholics voted for him
because he was a Catholic. It was perhaps under
standable that a number of Catholics, tired of
being told none of their number could be pre
sident, were moved to support a Catholic candi
date. The issue should now be dead. Catholics
should exhibit unmistakably their revulsion with
the entire idea of religiously motivated voting.
It offends not only our good taste and our sensi
bilities; it opposes the clear moral prinicples
involved in exercising the franchise as responsi
ble citizens.
THE BASIC principle of Catholic social
philosophy is the individual's responsibility to the
common good - the good of the entire community,
which includes state, nation and world. The
candidate and politcal philosophy which we see
as most conducive to the common good deserves
our support - given and asked for on no other
basis than that.
QUESTION BOX
How About My Answers?
BY MONSIGNOR J. D. CONWAY
Q. (The following question was received by a
Sister teaching summer classes in grade school.
She forwarded it to me).
“Where does Father Conway get all the answers
to the questions that are sent in? Does he ever
get the answers from the Pope.?”
A. Yes, very often I get answers from the Pope.
He has never written me personally. But many
Popes have written encyclical letters, given in
structions and decrees, and made important ad
dresses to various groups. There can be no more
reliable source for answers.
On the other hand, some of
the answers I think up myself
might not be quite the same as
the Pope would give. At least
that is what some of my read
ers tell me.
Q. Is it compulsory to have a
couple (man and woman) to act
as sponsors at Baptism, or is it
permissible to have two men or
two women instead?
A. According to canon law there is really
supposed to be only one sponsor at baptism, but
two are permitted if they be man and woman.
Two people of the same sex are not permitted,
and it would be a serious error to have two wo
men as sponsors for a boy, or two men as spon
sors for a girl. If the sponsors were of the same
sex as the person baptized, it would still be
wrong, as contrary to law, but not a very ser
ious matter. In my own personal opinion it might
even be permitted for sufficient reason.
Days this year in February and May instead of
at the time the seasons change. To my knowledge
I can’t remember that this ever occurred. I see
the next ones are in September.
A. The Ember Days of spring and summer
depend on the date of Easter, which was unusually
early this year. The Ember days of spring al
ways come in the week following the first
Sunday of Lent; those of summer during Pente
cost week.
Some confusion is caused this year by the
September Ember Days. They used to come on the
Wednesday, Friday and Saturday following the
feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross (Sept.
14). Now they come after the third Sunday of
September. Some calendars are wrong this year
in designating these Ember Days.
The reason for this change: In former times
the Sunday nearest the first day of the month
was counted (liturglcally) as the first Sunday of
the month. Under this system quite often the
“first Sunday of September” actually came in
August. So the old rule (after Sept. 14) always
put the Ember Days in the third liturgical week
of September. Now the first Sunday of each month
cannot come earlier than the first day of the
month. So the rule had to be changed to keep the
Ember Days in the third week of September.
Is that confusing? Just remember: After the
third Sunday of September. The winter Ember
Days come after the third Sunday of Advent.
Possibly the new liturgical reforms will eli
minate these Ember Days entirely. They don’t
seem to serve much purpose in modern times.
Q. Please explain to me why we have Ember
CHURCH EDUCATIQML role
Your World And Mine
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4
from Europe, with the Catholics generally play
ing a preponderant part.
Gradually a system of subsidization by the
colonial governments was developed to
encourage the expansion of education. The schools
continued to be built, owned, staffed and ad
ministered by the mission authorities, but the
major part of their revenue came from govern
ment grants.
For a variety of reasons the new independent
governments are reluctant to continue this sys
tem. Some of them feel that the mentality of the
missionaries reflected too closely that of the
colonial powers, tending to exalt European cul
tural values and attitudes to the neglect of those
of Africa. Such an allegation is far from uni
versally founded, but it contains enough truth in
certain cases to make it embarrassing. Besides,
many point out that in practice the mission schools
have served primarily the children of Christians
and catechumens. In an area in which only a small
percentage of the children can get education,
this constitutes a discriminatory application of
state funds,
THE CATHOLIC authorities have shown an
admirable readiness of meet their critics more
than half way. In Tanganyika, for example, they
recently stated that the Church recognizes that
education is a social service and that according
ly its schools are equally open to all without
religious test. They added that the Church would
not open further schools in any district in which
schools guaranteeing freedom of conscience al
ready exist.
Both in Tanganyika and elsewhere the bishops
realize that education is going to become more
and more a state function. They believe the cause
of religion will best be served by accepting the
inevitable gracefully, cooperating in the transfer,
and developing new social activities calculated
to benefit! the entire community and to further
the national objectives as established by the
people through their own representative institu
tions.
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THURSDAY, JULY 23, 1964 GEORGIA BULLETIN
THIS TIME AN ARCHBISHOP
PAGE S
Another Speaker Banned
Across 83 Orient
1 Scatter
5 Egyptian Sacred bull Down
9 chopped
13 Bishop's seat (ancient) l
*' gypsy 2
cepa (vegetable) 3
consider 4
severity 5
obstruct 6
He worked to ——— the 7
people with contempt of 8
temporal death
Pollcltal party; abbr. 9
fee io
mouth ii
3 ways 12
bother 16
Confederate States of 19
America; abbr. 21
A degree 23
flock of wild fowl 24
cant
coagulate 29
shrewd 33
an 34
designating high octave 35
shell fragments 36
He lived during the time of 37
Emperor , 38
used in cooking; abbr. 40
old make of car 42
smirk 43
anecdote 45
mollusk 46
flues 47
note; music 49
chalice veil 50
out; Scottish 54
Gaelic Sea God 55
after thought 56
Babylonian God of Wisdom 57
deed 58
He taught the people the 60
love of life 63
He refused to ——the Gods 64
of the Emperor 65
opera 87
top notch 69
retinue 70
Slav 72
Algonquin Indian 74
fool 77
long hair 79
14
15
17
18
20
22
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
34
35
39
41
42
44
48
61
52
53
55
56
59
60
61
62
63
64
66
68
89
71
73
75
76
78
80
frl
82
wireless
unlatches
exercises
enticed
current
stride
worldwide worker's group
The who watched him
saw God visit him
hunting cry
compass point
desire
observation
Norwegian
please
blast
anger
The state whose nickname is-
“Gunfllnt"; abbr.
N. Z. vine
attendant
exclamation
prefix: together
Truth personified
—Harrison
airship
pat
friend in Paris
a p.uddlng
"Blue Eagle”
lamprey
love; Scottish
ideology
favoritism
macerate
raised level
Galilee town
opens
tree; (Br)
exact point
shavetail; abbr.
lights
winter precipitation
Bethsheba’s husband
gain
Female name
and so on; abbr.
Roman Goddess
digraph
exist
ANSWER TOLAST WEEK'S PUZZLE ON PAGE 7
LOS ANGELES (RNS>—Arch
bishop Thomas D. Roberts, S,
J„ controversial English pre
late, has been denied permis
sion by the chancery to speak
in the Los Angeles archdioce
san area.
A lecture tour from July 19
through July 29 at various sou
thern California communities
has been cancelled, according
to the Catholic Human Relations
Council, a group of laymen hav
ing no official status with the
Church’s administrative ma
chinery.
ARCHBISHOP Roberts was to
have spoken before Protestant,
Jewish and Catholic bodies and
civic groups under overall
sponsorship of the American
Friends Service Committee and
the CHRC.
Archbishop Roberts' present
visit to this country was origi
nally under the auspices of the
Fellowship of Reconciliation, a
religious pacifist organization
founded by Protestants 50 years
ago.
“UNDER A papal constitu
tion issued last December, "
said the 71-yean-old prelate
(in a release by CHRC), “all
Catholic bishops have the fac
ulty to speak in any diocese with
the presumed permission of the
local ordinary.'’ The ordinary
here is James Francis Cardi
nal McIntyre, Archbishop of
Los Angeles.
Archbishop Roberts said that
in this country he did not "pre
sume'' but “asked" for per
mission, making clear the visit
was arranged by non-Cathoiic
and unofficial Catholic bodlta
“anxious to increase yet further
the impact for peace in Pacem
in Terris,” the encyclical is
sued by the late Pope John XXIII.
The archbishop added that he
made clear he would accept “in
advance any restrictions, abso
lute or partial,” according to
the CHRC, He has lectured and
participated in seminars in 10
dioceses in this country and
Canada.
HE SAID Cardinal McIntyre
ARNOLD VIEWING
Inept ‘Carpetbaggers’
BY JAMES W. ARNOLD
We may have to wait another generation before
seeing again a movie as stupefyingly inept as “The
Carpetbaggers.” The pornographic best-seller by
Harold Robbins has been turned into a solid
contender for the worst big-budget film of all-
time, an area where there is already stiff com
petition.
In almost every movie, no matter how ex
cruciating, it is possible to find something
worth praising, even if it is only the back
ground music or a 30-second camera shot that
shows someone somewhere was doing more than
putting in his time. But in
"Carpet” everything - script,
direction, sets, costumes, act
ing, photography - has the zip
of a pop fly with the bases
loaded.
THE CRmC'S first im
pulse is to ignore what is
basically a grievous offense
against human sensibility; if
he cannot ignore it, he can
always, somehow, make it laughable. But in this
case one is staggered by the simple facts. “Car
pet" is a hit. It has been, for a month, the big
gest theater attraction in this country. It has
made even more money than “road show” films
selling tickets at two or three times the price.
(In Juicy contrast, the biggest grosser in Ger
many since the war has been Ingmar
Bergman's ’The Silence.")
The phenomenon is beyond understanding. After
feverish work by censors, there is less ex
plicit sex in “Carpet" than in most issues of
Life Magazine. The insistent are reduced to
getting kicks from an occasional Minsky-ish
costume or crudely double-meaning line. The
story has no sympathetic characters, little
action and no suspense; the dialog would be
funny even in an original Fathers Night show
at the PTA (“We're both bad - we belong to
gether" or “Don’t call me crazy I" - the latter
accompanied by a wild look and bongos on the
sound track). Of the stars (Poppard, Ashley,
Baker, Cummings, Hyer) none means or meant
anything to the public except the late Alan Ladd.
OF COURSE, millions read the book, and the
movie has been widely promoted as naughty.
But word must get around that the film is no
more titillating than a stiff shot of yogurt. There
are two plausible explanations. One, people have
been up to their eyebrows in junk for so long
they can no longer tell the difference. Two,
they enjoy watching the allegedly Rich and Famous
being beastly to each other.
Both possibilities are worth worrying about,
if you can spare the time from Red China and
the conventions. If a large number of Ameri
cana can really enjoy “Carpet," either as art
or as vicarious living, then we are sicker than
we dare to be, Here are a few of its more ob-
vious themes:
The hero: a sadist whose entire motivation is
to get power over people so he may control and
hurt them. Played by George Peppard with a
fixed Jerry Lewis grin and glazed eyeballs.
Women: masochists: (they love to be hurt)
who are over-sexed and stupid. Played by Car-
roll Baker and Martha Hyer, indistinguishable
blondes whose acting is only slightly more
graphic than the over-ripe sets, and Liz Ashley,
a high-class newcomer now and then visible
over the goo of the script.
Fathers: drunken brutes who mistreat their
children.
Character motives: sex, money, power, re
venge.
BUSINESS success: achieved by luck, ruth
lessness, cunning, treachery. One executive coolly
sends his young son to seduce an alcoholic movie
siren into a new contract.
Among the more spjne-cracking moments:
The miserable scene in which overacting Bob
Cummings threatens non-acting Miss Hyer with
showing one of her old obscene films. The two
scenes in which Miss Ashley catches her hus
band in their apartment with a blonde. (A re
prise of a stimulating moment). The Ladd-
Peppard fight in which doubles splatter the set
with make-believe blood. The Ashley-to-Peppard
line: “You're not an easy man to love, but I’m
trying."
All this wonderment was scotch-taped together
by scenarist John Michael Hayes (“The Chalk
Garden”), whom producer Joseph Levine has re
warded with the job of script chief for all future
productions, and director Edward Dmytryk, whose
lant film was, illogically enough, ‘The Reluctant
saint.”
PARDON my limited <ecstasyover plans to film
the stage production of Richard Burton’s “Ham
let" and offer it as a movie on a “road show”
basis at theaters across the country. The en
tire “movie" has already been shot from seven
special cameras during an actual performance at
New York's Lunt-Fontanne theater.
The thing will be an artistic bomb, whatever
advantage there may be in preserving the play
via photography for the untutored masses west
of the Hudson, The assumption that a successful
film can be a mere record of a performance
designed for the stage is a heresy already too
widespread to be further encouraged.
This pseudo-film will have none of the ad
vantages of film, except perhaps closeups of
actors rolling their eyes and salivating for the
balcony customers. There will be no editing,
changes of time or place, complete control of
sound, artful use of camera angle.
informed him that the “pre
sumed permission” had been
‘ removed.”
The cardinal explained, he
said, that a visit at this partic
ular time would not be oppor
tune. Visitors from abroad have
been speaking at four colleges
in California, he said, and since
some of them have been pre
lates, the result has been' much
confusion."
Supplementing the cardinal’s
letter was a telegram from
Msgr. Benjamin G. Hawkes,
chancellor of the archdiocese,
which said that the required
permission "was not forthcom
ing." The chancery had no fur
ther comment.
ARCHBISHOP Roberts, who
retired as head of the Bombay
See in 1950 in favor of an In
dian, now Valerian Cardinal
Gracias, has engaged in many
controversial issues.
The prelate, who lives in Lon
don, does extensive travelling,
lecturing on the Vatican Coun
cil, peace, the cold war and oth
er topics.
Soon after coming to this
country in April he called on
the Vatican Council to give some
study at its third session to the
problem of birth control. The
subject, he said, is of “great
ecumenical importance and di
vides Protestants and Catholics
very sharply."
THE ARCHBISHOP maintains
that the laws of nature and 01
the Church have undergone im
mense changes over the cen
turies and there is no certain
ty that the Church's attitude to
ward contraception is not liable
to change.
In the past he also has call
ed for more “freedom" in the
Church, and has been critical
of the Sacred Roman Rota, the
Church’s court of appeals in
matrimonial cases.
ALMOST PRESIDENT
Just 100 years ago Gen. Wil
liam S. Rosecrans (above)
Civil War general and con
vert to the Catholic faith,
turned down a chance to be
the Republican nominee for
President of the United
States. Later at the conven
tion, when nominations were
being considered for vice-
president he was offered the
chance to be Lincoln's run
ning-mate.
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 &EMINARY FUND
God Love You
BY MOST REVEREND FULTON J. SHEEN
It is very difficult to convince anyone of the words of Our
Lord: “Give, and it will be given to you.” The counsel of the
world is; “Keep it for yourself, and you will have it,” Those
who have followed the Lord’s advice have always prospered
spiritually, but those who hoard are not necessarily so fortu
nate.
Recently this letter came to our attention:
“Twenty-two years ago I promised the Lord
that if He would provide work for me, I would
give a tenth toward His work. Soon I had my
first job. I earned eighteen dollars in six weeks
Gladly 1 placed a dollar in the offering, but
how the devil tempted me not to part with the
eighty cents, then with a quarter, and then to
withhold a nickel. Fortunately, for me, the Lord
reminded me to keep my promise, and h re
solved to give; not cheerfully, I admit. God
had kept His promise, so I had to do the same.
I have not since been tempted to withhold any of the Lord’s
portion. The Lord continues to open the windows of Heaven
and pour out blessings. He has increased my earning abilities
twenty times in twenty-two years. I, too, have increased my
giving. Instead of one tenth, I am now giving three tenths of my
earnings. There are mant blessings in giving to the Lord, be
cause: “Where your treasure is, there is your heart also.”
To whom should you give the Lord’s portion? This is some
thing you must decide for yourself, but always keep in mind
the words of the Vicar of Christ: “Charity to the Propagation
of the Faith exceeds all other charities as Heaven, earth and
Eternity, time..” In other words, the best way to remember
the Lord is to extend the Faith to others. The Society for the
Propagation of the Faith is the Holy Father’s own Society
and all the money that you give to his society goes directly
to him. No distribution is made by any bishop, or any diocesan
or national director. Only the Vicar of Christ distributes your
sacrifices to the many needy missions thrvughout the world
that carry on the work of the Lord.
GOD LOVE YOU to a lawyer for $1,000 “This check is not a
contribution, but a debt. It represents the fulfillment of a pro
mise to deliver my full fee to the Missions if I were successful
in settling a law case. The case presented insurmountable pro
blems which were unquestionably solved by the invocation of
Divine Aid.” ... to P.S.C. for $50 “Please accept this for the
Holy Father's Missions.” ... to a waitress for $30.27 “My
regular donation of all my Tuesday tips for the past three months.”
We think the world of you, our benefactors. But do you think
of the world? The multicolored W0RLDM1SS10N ROSARY re
minds you to pray for each of the five continents where our
missionaries are striving to win souls for Christ. Send your
request and an offering of $2 to The Society for the Propaga
tion of the Faith, 366 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10001.
Cut out this column, pin youn sacrifice 10 it and mail i( 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 Archdioces'an Director, Very Rev. Harold *J V Rainey P, O.
Box 12047 Northside Station, Atlanta 5, Ga.