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PAGE 4 GEORGIA BULLETIN THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 1964 OVER DONE? the Archdiocese of Atlanta GEORGIA BULLETIN SEftVlNO GEORGIA'S 71 tyORTHMM COUNTIES Official Organ oi Jhe 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 2699 Peachtree N. E. P. O. Box 11667 Northside Station Atlanta 5. Ga. ASSOCIATE EDITOR Rev. Leonard F. X. Mayhew Member of the Cathqlic Press Association and Subscriber to N. C. W. C. News Service Telephone 231-1281 Second Class Permit at Altanta, Ga. U. S. A. $5.00 Canada $5.00 Foriegn $6.50 Strange Silence There has been a strange editorial silence over the week end riots by teenagers at Hamp ton Beach, Va., and in Seaside, Oregon. In both places, college students and others went on the rampage, destroying property, attacking policemen and jeering at National Guardsmen called out to disperse them. Neither inci dent was minor; nor was it the first time that such teenage disorders had occurred--it seems to be an annual event and covers many of our resort areas. Consider the different treat ment accorded the recent riots in Philadelphia, New York's Har lem, Rochester, and Paterson and Elizabeth, New Jersey. These riots were caused by Negro hoodlums who do not represent the aspirations of the majority of their race, yet there was national denunciation of Negroes for not being more patient in re lation to their civil rights. There was talk of whites taking repri sals at the polls. Politicians san- ctimoneously suggested that these Negro disorders should be ruthlessly put down, and law and order restored. We are against disorders by whatever group within the com munity. We believe in respect for the policeman in performance of his duty to safeguard our citizenry against attacks on life and property. But we object to making a racial issue out of what has become a major break down in public morality, es pecially among the young of all races. We object to the politi cal line that only Negroes are criminals; that only Negroes cre ate disorders; that only Negroes have a lack of respect for law and order. The events in Seaside and Hampton Beach give the lie to this obvious piece of political propaganda. The students invol ved were white. They attacked the police and National Guards men. They damaged property. They injured innocent Ibystan- ders and received injuries-- some serious. Their parents seemingly excused the rampage as part of a natural end-of vaca tion letting off steam. '‘It’s hap pened before and therefore should be treated lightly," was the reported attitude of some par ents. We think that such Vacation- land disorders should be stamp ed out ini as:dilligent a manner as that exercised against alleged racial riots and the like. We think, too, that the parents of disorderly students should be held as much responsible as their children. The breakdown in public morality knows no color bar. Everyone is affected by it. Hence, we cannot in good conscience condemn riots in Harlem and condone them in Hampton Beach. Indeed, the rioters in the latter place have less excuse. Just Accounting As American citizens we enjoy many rights. These are a most precious heritage, which we are loath to forfeit. One of the most important is to be able to de mand a just accounting from those who govern us. We have the fundamental right to expect that justice be administered impartially and that our rights and safety be protected. This summer, several hei nous crimes have taken place. Medgar Evers and three young civil rights workers were kill ed in Mississippi. Here, in our own state, Lemuel Penn was kill ed by a shotgun blast as he was returning from his military ser vice, In none of these cases have the culprits been identified le gally. Justice has yet to been done. As citizens, we are deeply con- ALTAR BOY NAMED "SPECK" cerned that the infringement of others’ rights to life and sa fety threatens the rights of all of us. Likewise, we are con cerned for the moral health of our state and our nation. We cannot stand idly by when these are improverished. We feel an obligation to ask questions. Lemuel Penn was shot to death by someone. When will that per son be apprehended and properly chastized? What explanation can our law enforcement agencies give for the fact that men are driving our roads at night with loaded shotguns? We would like to know why the news media of some of our communities feel free to establish a ‘black out’ of certain kinds of news. What recourse do these commun ities have when such lack of preparation leaves them helpless in the face of tragedy and dis grace? The law-abiding citizens of our state and nation do not only have the right to ask these questions. They have a duty to ask them. They have a duty to be concern ed that justice is done, that the rights of all are protected, that the public services of their com munities be conducted with a conscientious concern for the common good. We can contribute to the edu cational fund for Colonel Penn’s children; we can express our sympathy to his widow. But, even more urgently, we must ask pointed questions and insist on honest answers in the hope that such tragedies may be avoid ed in the future. " .. in various parts of the world episodes of war explode in fearful sparks.. Pope Paul VI. Warning Voice GEORGIA PINES Watershed Runoff BY REV. R. DONALD KIERNAN Among the things which rural people take a justifiable pride in are the accomplishments of their watershed programs. Being a city boy I had no earthly idea what a watershed was until the other night. Of course, I know what water is and I know too what a shed looks like. Just as one knows that wood is kept in a woodshed, I naturally presumed that a water shed would be a barn-like construction built over a body of water. The other morning while I was having some coffee at the local coffee shop someone suggested that It would be nice to attend the annual water shed meeting down at Talmo. The challenge of finding out all about water sheds made it an invitation I could not turn down. Talmo is about ten miles south of Gainesville, on the road to At hens and is located in Jackson County. I WAS amazed when our car approached the town and parked automobiles could be seen for blocks around. My host men tioned that the Governor attended the meet ing last year and this year ninth district Con gressman, Phil Landrum, would be in attendance. The affair took on new prominence to me since its importance would be able to draw civic leaders of such status. ABOUT 300 people from all over Jackson County were at the meeting. A huge barbecue had been prepared and chairs were placed all over the grove. Everyone was the guest of Mr. Hubert McEver, Talmo’s leading citizen. A packer by trade, Mr. McEver has had a vital interest in soil conservation and the water shed programs for many many years. If any man in Jackson County were to be singled out for plaudits in this regard, I am sure that the honor would go to Mr. McEver. ONCE A year Mr. Mac, as he is affection ately known in this farming community, invites all of the citizens of this watershed area to his home for a barbecue. This is Mr. Mac’s pride and joy, and as a host he is supreme. This year, however, Mr. Mac had to make a trip to St. Joseph's in Atlanta and he had to play from the sidelines. That is, he tried to. When he walked out on the speakers platform and attempted to take a “back seat” the high regard and loyal esteem which the towns folk - have for him was visibly displayed by a long and loud roar of applause. A FRIENDLY neighbor, just a farm away, is Tom Blackstock. Mr. Tom is a sort of “side kick” to Mr. McEver and together they have given excellent leadership tc this program. Water is necessary for life. Its aubundance draws industry. Farms, too, would soon become sterile were it not for water. For many years all over this country water went unharnassed, soil washed away and streams were permitted to run polluted. IT WAS the common interest of people in con servation which gave rise to the watershed pro grams. Today, all over this nation, communities are cooperating with state and federal pro grams in conservation. The value and importance of water is more and more being realized. Talmo’s gathering the other night was a sort of ’’town meeting” of peoples with a common interest. This fellowship enables all to work more closely and consequently insures suc cess for this important program. ALL OVER Georgia, our thanks goes to men like Mr. Mac and Mr. Blackstock for their initi ative in beginning conservation programs, and then working side-by-side with others to continue its success. KASHMIR CONFLICT Your World And Mine BY DR. GARY MACE ION The ever present Chinese threat calls for a solution of India's conflict with Pakistan over Kashmir, a conflict that goes back to the 1947 partition of British India. The Pakistan position is simple. Partition was effected on a religious basis, and that gives 80 per cent Moslem Kashmir to Pakistan. Two assumptions underlie this position, namely, that it was ever agreed that Kashmir's future should be settled by the views of its inhabitants, and that the Moslems would automatically optfor Pak istan simply because they are Moslems* These positions and assumptions either do vio lence to the historic facts orcallfora new evalu ation on the basis of the ex perience provided by seventeen years of partition. "Ours is a multi-religious state,” one vet eran observer said to me in India. “It has an overwhelming Hindu majority. But it also has significant Moslem, Christian, Sikh, Djain and Animist mino rities, as well as some Budd hists, Jews and Zoroastrians. We have a constitutuion and administrative pro cedures which make all equal before the law and enable all to live in peace together. And in fact, all do live in peace except for the unfor tunate clashes between the Moslems and others, clashes for which I blame the fanaticism generat ed in Pakistan.” HERE IS, I think, the most important element in the equation. India has set up a state in which# people of different religions and cultures can live and develop together, as we do in the United States. The Islamic Republic of Pakistan, on the contrary, has proved unable or unwilling to im plement the freedom of religion guaranteed by its constitution (suspended since 1958) to other religions.The conflict is not between Hindus and* Moslems but between Moslems and everyone else. The politically unimportant Christian minorities experienced this year again the anger of the mobs in the latest of the recurring re ligious riots. Whatever argument might have been advanced in 1947 for dividing the subcontinent along re ligious lines, this subsequent experience has re vealed its lack of merit. It is consequently important to realize that Kashmir was never Included in the area to be so divided. THE INDIAN EMPIRE consisted in part of British India, over which Britain held sovereign rights, in part of princely states associated by 'CONTINUED ON PAGE 5 The Variety “Blacklash” BY GERARD E. SHERRY The term "backlash” is being overdone in our conversation and writings of recent date. It also is being over (and under) estimated in rela tion to the current political situation. Last week the alleged “white backlash” was discounted after a primary race in Michigan re sulted in the choice of a Democratic candidate who voted for the Civil Rights Act. The loser, a congress man who voted against the Act, was supposed to have won through the support of the “backlash- ers.” Alas, the whole thing only cre ated confusion. This 1 because of the contradictions involved. In another Michigan election, the * ‘white back lash” was credited with being responsible for the passage of a Detroit “Homeowners Rights Ordinance” which, in effect, legalizes racial discrimination in city housing. What's more, the fellow who sponsored the discriminatory measure was leading all the candidates in a primary race for a vacant seat on Detroit's City Council. The ordinance was opposed by the Catholic Bishops of Michigan, as well as the religious leaders of other faiths. The bishops declared the measure much more of a moral issue than a political one. They added: '% T 0 CATHOLIC, in good conscience, can sign petitions or support laws or ordinances that deny minorities a full and equal opportunity to secure decent homes on a non-discriminatory basis.” Michigan's Catholic newspapers also spoke out against the proposed ordinance. The Michigan Catholic of Detroit, declared editorially that 'There is little doubt that the ordinance was spawned by racial hatred, despite sweeter titles that have been suggested. Its targets were Negroes who were to be banned from white neighborhoods. It was branded long ago much more a moral issue than a political issue by those who ought to know, leaders of every religious denomination. And yet it won quite handily. And with its triumph, a little of Detroit fell down, It all means, that in Metro politan Detroit justice and charity have been slap ped hard. It was a blow whose white fingered scar will long remain.” THE "WHITE BACKLASH” obviously was very much alive, just as it was in the Maryland and Wisconsin primary races earlier this year. How else could a man like Governor George Wallace of Alabama have garnered so many votes in these states. What is equally tragic is the number of ethnic group Catholics who have joined the “white backlash.” Admittedly, there are no dues-paying members; indeed, there is no tangible organiza tion. It is solely a frame of mind, nurtured by fear of losing what one has gained by hard work and industry. Not even our Catholic bishops seem to be able to influence their flocks in these areas. The politicians hold sway and morality goes down the drain of indifference. REAPINGS AT RANDOM There is the racial backlash and now, according to DonaldThorman, author of 'The Emerging Lay man”, there is the “ecclesiastical backlash.” This he describes as the reaction of the Hierarchy to the irresponsible criticism of the laty. He says that the “exuberant, incautious and openly critical •statements of some of the laity have served to frighten the more conservative members of the clergy on all levels.” I think Mr. Thorman might have added that the so-called liberal priests and bishops also are per turbed at irresponsible criticism from either their own followers or from those of the other end of the semenatic tangle. There is negative criticism made of the laity, by some in authority, and this also is creating some of the tensions mentioned by Mr. Thorman. WHAT BOTHERS ME, however, is that many people in the Church are being urged to silence not because what they say is negative or wrong but merely because it might upset someone. In some cases' error is permitted or tolerated on the grounds that speaking up about it might rock a boat, or hurt a feeling. There is another size to all this: Many of the positive critics within the Church are being penalized for the outbursts of a few cranks who have no respect for authority. I heard recently of a leading Catholic laymen who was likened to the CURE pickets who walk out side the Los Angeles Chancery Office, simply be cause he challenged an obvious injustice in a mid- western parish. I think that it's time to be very careful before blanketing all current criticism as coming only from irresponsible elements within the Church. This very question came up last week-end at the National Newman Congress in Milwaukee. I gave one of the closing talks and several delegates broached the matter in the question period after wards. One fellow said he felt there was a con certed effort to silence and deride anyone who dared to be other than subservient. He pointed to the constant harping by some in authority against so-called Catholic intellectuals. And he asked how could the Catholic intellectuals be blamed if they reacted to the negative stance to their apostolic endeavors. Much of the “Ecclesiastical backlash” is the result of mis-understandings and should not be al lowed to destroy our essential unity. While the laity must hold their criticism to that which is both charitable and just, so too, the clergy and the Hierarchy have an obligation to avoid lumping the genuinely concerned and loyal laymen with the cranks and opportunists within our midst. For the latter groups we hold no brief.