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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.