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PAGE 4 GEORGIA BULLETIN THURSDAY. AUGUST 13. 1964
"T " "" "
the
iocesG of Atlanta
GEORGIA BULLETI
SMVINO OCOtOIA'S 7) NOUTHMw COUNTIES
Official Organ of the Archidocese of Atlanta
Published Every Week at the Decatur DeKalb News
*
PUBLISHER- Archbishop Paul J. Hallinan
MANAGING EDITOR Gerard E. Sherry
CONSULTING EDITOR Rev. R. Donald Kiernan
ASSOCIATE EDITOR Rev. Leonard F. X. Mayhew
Member of the Catholic Press Association
2699 Peachtree N. E. and Subscriber to N. C. W. C. News Service
P. O. Box 11667 Telephone 231-1281
Norths ide Station
Atlanta 5, Ga. Second Class Permit at Altanta, Ga.
U. S. A. $5.00
Canada $5.00
Foriegn $6.50
Election Policy -1
Each presidential election
seems to touch nerves of a
moral, and therefore of a re
ligious nature. It is ironical
to contrast I960 when the popu
lar question was: “Can a Catho
lic be elected president 7 ” with'
1964 when it has already been
asked; “Can a political party
win without a Catholic candi
date?” As Catholics, Pro
testants, Jews and others united
to answer the first question with
a decisive -Yes, so do thinking
men of all faiths unite in their
insistence that the 1964 question
is irrelevant, unreasonable and
perhaps even insulting.
A brief excursion in history
helps us to keep our perspec
tive. Archbishop John Carroll
of Baltimore at the beginning
of the 19th century set a whole
some pattern whereby the
Catholic Church kept free of
political candidates and parties.
Bishop John England of
Charleston reiterated this in
the nullification struggle of the
1830’s. As the new biography
of Bishop Augustin Verot of
Savannah, by Father Michael
Gannon (to be published in
September) will show, this fiery
prelate ventured into political
writing over slavery.
But it was in the cause of
justice, as he saw it, to both
slave-holder and slave; and with
the fall of Savannah in 1865,
he left the arena, and wrote
passionately for a peaceful end
to the awful strife. By the time
of Cardinal Gibbons, the ori
ginal pattern was again well
established: the Catholic
Church must stay out of the
battleground of politics, but
never out of the field of
morality.
This was the happy discovery
of the French observer, Alexis
de Tocqueville who Wrote a
perceptive study of Democracy
in America after his extensive
visit in the 1840’s. He noted,
of Catholic priests:
“They all attributed the
Religious
There are few today who
would suggest that a man should
be restricted in his right to wor
ship God according to the dic
tates of his conscience. This is
in accord with traditional Catho
lic teaching that the act of Faith
is of its very nature free.
When, however, this freedom
is translated in terms of public
worship and the right or free
dom to work for conversions,
resistance is not an uncommon
reaction. In this country the at
titude of stubborn opposition to
religious proselytism is popular
ly identified with the regimes of
the predominantly Catholic
countries of Europe and Latin
America. Where unsatisfactory
conditions have existed in the
past, they are rapidly changing
in these places. The expected
declaration of the Vatican Council
on the subject should bring full
compliance with the modern
world's demand for religious
libe rty.
Does this mean that every na
tion will then recognize and de
end full religious freedom with-
peaceful dominion of religion
in their country mainly to the
separation ofchurchand state.”
And of the laity:
“These Catholics are faith
ful to the observances of their
religion . . . yet they consti
tute the most -republican and
the most democratic class in
the United States.”
De Tocqueville broadened his
view to include all the religions
in the United States; “The
American Clergy in general ...
Keep aloof from parties and
from public affairs. In the
United States religion ex
ercises but little influence upon
the laws and upon the details
of public opinion; but it directs
the customs of the community,
and by regulating domestic life,
it regulates the state.” If this
optimistic opinion may be ques
tioned in the mid-20th century,
we may at least hope that we
have held to de Tocqueville*s
summary point;
“Religion in America takes
no direct part in the govern
ment of society, but it must be
regarded as the first of their
political institutions. For if it
does not impart a taste
for freedom, it facilitates the
use of it.”
Our own history leads us to
avoid the two extremes: (1) the
meddlesome interference of the
clergy in the parties and candi
dates of the political world; and
(2) the apathetic or frightened
evasion of the moral issues
which underlie the policies, de
cisions and acts of our politi
cal instruments. For the Catho
lic Church to use her institu
tions to favor or disfavor
parties and their candidates
would be to trespass on the
ground of Caesar. For her to
remain aloof from the moral
issues before the nation would
be to retire from the ground of
God.
Freedom
in its borders? Is no voice to
be raised in protest against the
suppression of Christianity by
the militant Mohammedan
government of the Sudan, or the
oppressive policies of the Bud
dhist government of Ceylon? Is
the real intolerance in certain
countries, veiled by constitu
tional guarantees, to be equat
ed with religious liberty? Is
there a rational basis for con
demning religious intolerance in
Latin America, while regarding
it as a cultural heritage in Saudi
Arabia? Can only Catholics sin
against religious freedom?
We believe that the new unity
towards which the world is tend
ing demands the guarantee of re
ligious freedom to all men, and
that in this context, such a guar
antee includes the right to witness
to one’s creed publicly. We hope
that the moral pressure of the
United Nations Commission on
Human Rights will be brought
to bear increasingly on all of the
nations of the world.
ST. LOUIS REVIEW
Postman’s
BY REV. R. DONALD KIERNAN
Next to these north Georgia mountains I think
the most attractive section of our state is the
Golden Isles of Saint Simon's and Jekyll. In a
year when it seems that almost every auto
mobile in the state is headed north to the World's
Fair, the Glynn County area affords less traffic
and fewer people consequently an opportunity
to see more and do more under less crowded
Last Sunday I took a few days
off with four priests and we
toured this section of the state.
What do priests talk about on
their time off? I guess that they
fall into the proverbial catagory
of the postman who goes walk
ing on his day off. Like the
layman of today, the priest has
a genuine interest in the "re
newal". Changes in the Lit
urgy, applying these changes to their own parish
es, speculation about how these changes will af
fect the individual laymen etc., all of these
things are of utmost importance to the priest
today and these subjects occupied a major por
tion of our discussion time.
ON ST, SIMON’S Island the "little" church of
Saint William has through a renovation become
the "big" church of Saint William, The scene
of Father Zebarth's labors for many years, the
church which saw only visitors to the island has
now become the "parish church" of the many,
many people who have moved to the Island as
permanent residents.
The Glynn County area for many years has
been attended to by the Marist Fathers. It is always
a pleasure to stop by St. Francis's Church on
Newcastle Street and renew friendships. Father
Walls, the former Treasurer of Marist Col
lege and the founding pastor of Marietta's Saint
Joseph's Church is now living in Brunswick.
It was sort of a reunion for all of us.
THE RETURN trip up the Georgia coast in
cluded a visit to Savannah, Georgia's first
Cathedral, St, John the Baptist, has recently
been renovated and now stands out as a gem in a
Holiday
setting of trees for this port'city. Cathedral
Rector, Monsignor McNamara, is ever a delight
ful host and our "postman's holiday" also in
cluded a few words with him in a short dis
cussion we had.
The flatlands of south Georgia soon turned
into the rolling hills as our car made its way
home, headed north. We passed through such towns
as Brooklet, Metter and Louisville.
BROOKLET at one time had quite a settle
ment of Italian immigrants. When the late Arch
bishop O’Hara first cams to Georgia in 1936,
he preached a mission in this town to these
settlers. . .in Italian. Not familiar
with the English language the settlers felt lost and
the Archbishop’s warm manner of speaking to
them in their owu tongue gave the settlers a
genuine feeling of hospitality in their new home
land.
The small colony of Catholics which settled
around Bay Branch have now moved to Metter
and a more imposing church structure has been
built in this town. The old wooden chapel at
Bay Branch has seen many of the older priests
in Georgia tending the spiritual needs of the
people who formerly lived in that area.
LOUISVILLE is known for its Slave Market,
A small hut in the center of town is reminis
cent of an age when men deprived their fellow-
men of rights and privileges merely because
of their color. The spot attracts many interest
ed visitors today. But it is not too hard to im
agine a day when families were broken up on
that same spot and human beings were traded
and sold as a commodity,
Washington, Georgia and Athens, Georgia with
their stately mansions, well kept lawns and
gardens provided the cursory visitor with 'quite*
a contrast to the sandy flatlands and mar
shes of south Georgia.
DOWN THE expressway and into Atlanta and a
trip is finished. The "postman’s holiday" which
was Interspersed with a little sightseeing was
made all the more complete because of the
favorable attitude of the weatherman.
conditions.
ORTHODOX WELCOME HELP
Your World
BY DR, GARY MACEOIN
'The Catholic Church can be of the greatest
help to Greek Orthodoxy. We have lived for
centuries in under-developed countries. As com
pared with you Catholics raised in the modern
world, we are behind both in the development
of theological thought and in
the creation of social and civic
institutions. We need your
know-how,"
I was surprised when these
sentiments were expressed to
me in Athens by one of the
most respected figures in the
Greek Orthodox Church, Father
Elias Mastrogiannopoulos,
superior of the Zoe Brother
hood. It is well known that Greece has been the
least enthusiastic of the Orthodox Churches in
accepting the initiatives of Patriarch Athenagoras
for union. Antagonism to Rome is indeed deep-
seated, and a nodding acquaintance with history-
recent as well as distant — makes it under
standable. But it is by no means universal. Nor
has it blinded all Orthodox leaders to the fact
that the extreme emphasis on old forms and
formulas is a weakness as well as a strength,
THE MOST dedicated proponents of this view-
And Mine
point have been the members of the Zoe Bro
therhood. In Orthodoxy, monasticism has al
most without exception retained the contempla
tive form which alone it took in the early Church.
There has been no movement to parallel that of
the mixed and active orders and congregations
of men and women which form an almost es
sential part of Catholicism as we know it.
One of the few exceptions is the Zoe Bro
therhood founded by a Father Eusebius Matho-
poulos. It began informally as a mission band.
'The people have indeed a lively sense of re
ligion in their hearts, but because they have
neither guides nor preachers, nor pastors to
lead them to the saving and life-giving truth,
they are sleeping the sleep of apathy and
spiritual death," wrote Father Eusebius to a
friend in 1879,
IN PASSING, an interesting aspect of the
Brotherhood, whose numbers exceed a hun
dred, is that the majority are laymen. They
are not, however, lay brothers as they would
be in a typical Catholic community, but full
members on the same level as the priests.
Many of them are trained theologians (as is
common in Greek Orthodoxy) and they preach
missions on terms of complete equality with the
CONTINUED ON PAGE 5
0
IN HECTIC WEEK
Separate
News Items
BY GERARD E. SHERRY
It’s been quite a hectic week in more ways
than one. Four important separate items have
almost made prime news — but not quite; There
was the U.S. clash with the North Viet Nam PT
boats, the discovery of the three missing civil
rights workers in Mississippi,- the arrest of four
men charged with being concerned in the death
of the Washington D.C. Negro educator shot in
Georgia, and finally the clash between Turks and
Greeks over Cyprus.
It’s very difficult
to understand how
these events all seem
to fall at once; the
Viet crises was pro
bably the gravest
since Cuba and the
Russian missiles.
But equally grave
was the discovery of
the bodies of the
three civil rights workers. For it showed that as
a democracy we have not yet convinced all our
people that justice is earned not bought. What is
more terrifying is the fact that the two White
youths and the Negro companion had been brutally
beaten before being shot in some drum-head
fashion by self appointed executioners.
WHAT IS SO sad is that of all the civil rights
workers those who came to Mississippi were not
thOre to riot, sit-in, or incite anyone to disorder;
they were there to teach and encourage Negroes
in voter registration. In other words they were
helping fellow citizens who had long been de
prived of an elementary right under the constitut-
tion — a right which few of them knew about be
cause they had also been deprived of a decent
education and a job.
Up to the time of writing there have been no
arrests, but someone was responsible and should
be punished. The Viet Nam clash obscured this
as major news, but we can't forget it; we can’t
erase the evil deed from our minds. We should
be very proud of the Federal Bureau of Investi
gation for it was their tenacious efforts and long
hours of hard work. We all must remember, too,
that many of those who opposed civil rights
laughed off the disappearance of the volunteer
workers as a hoax. It was suggested that their
disappearance was part of a dark plot by Negroes
and their sympathizers to embarrass the state
of Mississippi. Surely the state of Mississippi
must be indeed embarrassed — and we hope
ashamed that such a thing took place soon after
local law enforcement officers had arrested
the missing civil rights workers on traffic
charges.
THE DEATH of these three civil rights workers
gives ammunition not only to our internal enemies
but also to our external ones. The Gommunists in
various parts of the world are painting us as a
barbaric people who have no respect for human
dignity. It's tragic that the events in Mississippi
should lend color to such an obvious lie.
The FBI is also to be congratulated in its
discoveries concerning the case of the slain
Lt. Col. Penn outside the Georgia cultural city
of Athens when he was en route home to Wash
ington D.C. after completing a national guard
tour. Four men have been arrested in connection
with the slaying of the Negro officer. It is a pity
that this news also had to be relegated on account
of the international situation. We need to point
it up simply because it is important and may act
as a break on others who, filled with hate, wish
to destroy their fellow men. A democracy has
no place for violence in respect to honest dis
agreements. We should be able to settle dif
ferences without using a gun or a knife or a
rope.
REAPINGS
AT
RANDOM
i
0
THE FINAL item is in relation to the Cyprus
problem. This has been a cancer in the inter
national-body-politic ever since independence was
granted to the former British controlled island.
With its predominance of Greeks it’s awfully
hard to talk about equality for the Turkish mJnori- ^
ty. The original agreement worked out between
the Cypriots and the British called for guarantees
for the Turkish minority with the government
of Turkey being one of the guarantors. The
events of the past few months, especially the
denunciation of the existing JsLuid constitution
by Archbishop Matkaris, Cypriot President, has
made a solution of the problem hard to find.
There is even a suggestion that he made the
original treaty for independence simply to gain
time to plot the eventual union of Cyprus with
Greece.
There is no doubt that the Archbishop's cur-
rent thinking is on these lines. I am inclined to
agree with the editorial in Monday’s New York
Times which squarely lays the blame for the
current empasse on the shoulders of the Cypriot
President, There is no doubt that the Greek
Cypriots have no intention of giving the Turkish
minority much say in the government. The Turks
represent only 20% of the island's population and
maybe, don't deserve the representation they have _
had up to now. However, under the Makarios *
plan the Turks would have no say whatsoever.
The extent to which the .Cypriot Archbishop is
willing to go can be gauged by the utterance of
his high commissioner in London, soon after
the United Nations Security Council had met in
emergency session. The President of the Council
called for an immediate cease-fire whereas the
Cypriot High Commissioner declared that his
government was going to call for military aid
from Russia and the United Arab Republic "even
if this meant the outbreak of World War III".
IN THIS nuclear age such statements must
be considered reckless. No one in his right mind
could start a nuclear holocaust simply to establish
a shaky national pride.
Some solution will have to be worked out for
Cyprus — and without war. But it is tragic that
there are so many little men who through pride,
arrogance, or stupidity can start them and bring
the world to ruin. Perhaps if Archbishop *
Makcarios could stop being a politician for a few
minutes and revert back to his vocation as a
spiritual leader the world could rest a little easier
than at the moment.