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PAGE 4 GEORGIA BULLETIN THURSDAY, DECEMBER 3, 1964
U.N. CRISIS
i
^ 'Archdiocese of Atlanta
GEORGIA BULLETIN
«f«VINO GtOSGIA'S 7\ NORTHf»w COUNJIES
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
2699 Peachtree N. E.
P. O. Box 11667
Norths ide Station
Atlanta 5, Ga.
Member of the Catholic Press Association
and Subscriber to N. C. W. C. News Service
Telephone 231-1281
Second Class Permit at Altanta, Ga.
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Unnecessary Spat
The spat between F. B. I. Dir
ector J. Edgar Hoover and civil
rights leader, Martin Luther
King, is unbecoming of these
two great Americans. We are
therefore, most happy that they
met on Tuesday of this week to
sort out their differences.
There may well be impatience
on both sides over the inability
to convict white persons accus
ed of murdering and injuring civil
rights advocates in some south
ern communities. Some law en
forcement officials have even
suggested that it is futile to ar
rest such white persons, even if
there is no doubt about their
guilt. There are enoughfacts ava
ilable to show that the Negro can
not get elementary justice in
some southern communities
where it is hard to find a jury
to convict a white person. This
is at the root of the Negro im
patience with the F. B. I.
an agency which has solved many
cases far more difficult than that
of the murdered civil rights wor
kers in Mississippi.
Furthermore, the reported text
of Mr. Hoover’s press confer
ence in which he called Dr.
King “a, notorious lier” also
contained some startling partisan
remarks. Mr. Hoover praised
Governor Paul Johnson of Miss
issippi as doing “an excellent
job", and spoke of the F, B. I.*s
inability to “wet-nurse every
body who goes down to reform or
re-educate the Negro population
of the south.**
Mr. Hoover must surely know
that the three murdered civil
rights leaders were not expect
ing to be “wet-nursed” by the
F. B. I. or anybody else. They
did expect normal police protec
tion afforded all citizens. They
had volunteered to help the Miss
issippi Negro attain elementary
civil rights guaranteed them un
der the Constitution; few Negros
in Mississippi have then. Mr. Ho
over must know that if Governor
Johnson and other Mississippi
leaders took the lead, racial
justice could come peacefully
within a reasonable time.
Mr. Hoover’s partisanship was
also evident in his reported
quotes that:
“I have been one of these
states’ righter s all my life. Natu
rally, I get more and more ir
ritated when I see Congress pass
ing along to us matters which
should be handled at the state
level. When you weaken the state
authorities, you do a great dis
service to law enforcement all
over the country. . .We have
had difficulty in Mississippi dur
ing the last few years; it was
due to the rather harsh approach
to the Mississippi situation by the
authorities here in Washington,
by the Department of Justice.”
Here again, the F. B. I. Dir
ector must surely be aware that
if the southern states had pro
tected the civil rights of the Negro
minority, there would have been
no need for the Federal Govern
ment or the Justice Department
to- intervene. The F. B. I.’s role
is to participate in investigations
where local law enforcement
agencies are unable or unwilling
to do so.
J. Edgar Hoover’s contribution
to the security and well-being of
these United States is vast and
meritorious, it would be a pity
if the twilight of his service as
Director of the Federal Bureau
of Investigation be clouded by un
necessary controversy. Every
effort should be made to re
instill confidence in all our citi
zens that the F. B. I. investi
gative procedures are carried
out in Justice without fear or
favor.
Welcoming Renewal
Finally, to the Shepherd of
the Flock, our Archbishop, must
go the gratitude of all for his
inspiration and solicitude in our
faltering steps to Liturgical re
form. The First Sunday of Advent
this year was a momentous day
for the Universal Church. A
proper appreciation of Liturgical
reform will make every day mo
mentous from now on.
The introduction of the verna
cular into the Liturgy of the
Church was achieved without any
undue difficulty within the Arch
diocese. Through the foresight
of Archbishop Paul J, Hallinan
and the Archdiocesan Liturgical
Commission, which works under
his leadership, the people were
well prepared for the authorized
changes.
Significantly, this preparation
has led to an almost unanimous
and enthusiastic reception. As
we have said before, only an in
telligent participation in and ce
lebration of the Liturgy can make
authentic renewal possible. This
is why the Council Fathers turned
their attention to the reform of
Worship before efforts at reform
in other directions.
We are proud of the spirit
of cooperation which has mani
fested itself among the people
of God in the Archdiocese, We
are grateful to our priests for
having so willingly given of
themselves in the past few
months that we may be worthy
of the renewal and reform which
we have embraced.
It has been difficult for some-
after all, change always is. The
sacrifice of both the Clergy and
the Laity in the special inter
est of smooth transition to the
vernacular was marked by ge
nerosity and understanding. The
Archdiocese will surely reap the
spiritual benefits of all such
works of charity and concern.
Debts
For Payment
BY GERARD E. SHERRY
The United Nations General Assembly which
opens this we< k may well turn out to be one of
the most momentous in history. This, because
tiere is the pressing problem of non-payment of
dues by the Soviet Union and several other coun
tries, including a couple of our Allies.
The compromise worked out this week by Secre
tary of State Dean Rusk and Soviet Foreign Minis
ter Gromyko does nothing to ease the crisis; rath
er, it serves to ac-,
centuate it. It is
merely a question of‘
putting off the evili
day or reckoning i^
hope that somehow by
February we will be
able to persuade the
Soviet Union to pay
its debts to the Unit
ed Nations. By Feb
ruary too, we will have the problem of France,
one of the corner stones of our alliance, also be
coming delinquent in its payments to the United
REAPINGS
AT
RANDOM
TO MY mind, the issue should have been faced
this week, with this country taking its stand ac-
* cording to the Charter, however unpleasant this
may have been. If the rules state that those who
don't support the United Nations within a given
period lose their voting rights, then this should be
the result. To suggest that more time is needed
to work out compromises is a lot of "hog-wash".
We have had almost one year to work out a com
promise if such is in the best interests of the
United Nations and its members. It is obvious
that if the Soviet Union continues to refuse to pay
its debts, then justice demands that it be deprived
of its vote.
Contaminated Water
BY REV. R. DONALD KIERNAN
Paul Shields did an excellent job as narrator
and Charles Bond was equally superb in the
photography which went together to make up
a public service program over Channel 5 one
evening last week.
The program concerned itself with the sub
ject of water contamination with the causes,
problems and possible solutions to a very press
ing and most important concer.
INTERVIEWS with various
f■■ Persons and pictures taken at
ijr*' OT ’V' the actual scenes made for a
most interesting and informa
tive program. After watching
the program my regret was
that it did not receive more
advance publicity because it
was most enlightening. More
publicity, I am sure, would
have insured a greater au
dience.
From the standpoint of familiarity, the most
interesting interview was the one with Ed Dodd.
Ed Dodd is the creator of the internationally
known comic strip MARK TRAIL which has over
five million readers in this country and abroad.
A Gainesville (Georgia) native, I met Ed Dodd
when I was first assigned to Saint Michael’s. I
was eating one of those famous smorgosbords
featured on Sunday nights at the Dixie Hunt Hotel
here in Gainesville. A group of friends seated
with the famous cartoonisft asked me to join them.
After the meal we spent a very interesting evening
at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Ed Dunlap Jr.
MR. DODD has for years been interested in soil
conservation and water pollution. Through his
comic strip he has injected a note of seriousness
whenever these problems become a topic of a
series.
In the interview Mr. Dodd spoke in the language
of a layman and his point really got across. The
beautiful scene surrounding his studio the stream,
the foliage etc. tended to become a reality border
ing on destruction as he spoke about the impend
ing dangers now facing us if we neglect to care
for our water supply.
ONE OF THE things which was pointed out in
the program and, I think, a point we often not
often considered by the average person, is the fact
that there now lurks as many health hazards in
our water systems as there are in cigarettes
and cigars. Continuous use of the rivers as a
dumping ground for refuse from industrial firms
has made many a beautiful river into a virtual
cesspool.
It was pointed out that Georgia, has an ad
vantageous graphical position so far as water
is concerned. However, the rapid growth of our
big cities had put such a strain on our water
and sewerage systems as to forsee the day when
a halt might have to come to industrial expansion
unless something is done real soon.
THE PICTUERESQUE waters of Lake Lanier
were painted as possessing a potential danger
as great as any cesspool unfit to even swim
in. Housewives may not even have to add deter
gents to their water in washing unless we expand
our purifying systems.
Of course, the whole solution lies with money.
Money is raises by taxes and .o one likes taxes.
However, when you consider that an acre having
a sewerage system intended for five families
now has fifty families on the same spot...the
problem becomes real as you contemplate just
where does all the refuse go.
It was a most interesting program and one
which not only should, but does, concern all of
us. I wish that Channel 5 would re-run it. Only
this time with a little more advance publicity.
ASIAN CHRISTIANITY
Your World And Mine
BY GARY MacEOIN
Asia today differs frgm Africa in one basic
respect. The penetration of Africa by Western
culture has, I believe, reached a point of no re
turn. Some African leaders talk of creating a civi
lization based on indigenous African values. That
such exist I do not deny. How
ever, the destruction of the tra
ditional society has been so ex
tensive, and the current de
pendence on outside sources
for education and for material
development is so complete,
that what will emerge can at
most be a sub-culture of the
West.
In Asia on the contrary, the tide of Western
civilization that seemed destined as recently as a
generation ago to sweep across the entire globe,
has been turned back before it had made more
than a dent. Today the native cultures are in full
countermovement. All the new nations, as well as
the old ones which have emancipated themselves
(like China) from Western tutelage, are cancelling
the advantages earlier accorded the languages,
commerce and customs of the West.
EVAN JAPAN, in its calculating way, is with
drawing from the orgy of westernization which
marked the Occupation years. One sees the change
on television. A current serial glorifies a group of
samurai warriors who waited long years in a sec
ret brotherhood to avenge the defeat of their lord.
One can measure it in religion. Christianity leaped
forward immediately after the war. Now comes the
turn of the "new religions" combining elements
from Buddhism, Shintoism and other traditional
beliefs.
Our future world society will not be based on a
triumphant Western civilization, as our forefath
ers anticipated. It seems destined for a longtime
to remain multi-cultural. Unlike the past, how
ever, when different cultures inhabited separate
parts of the globe with only minimal inter-pene
tration, the future promises a relatively open
world permitting and encouraging the exchange of
people and ideas.The wall of separation around the
Soviet empire is already crumbling. That around
the Chinese cannot long stand.
The civilization of the West was a product of
Christianity, But by the time that the Western
powers set out in the nineteenth century to domi
nate Asia and open it to their commerce, they had
officially ceased to be Christian. In addition,
Christianity had become so divided as to be in the
view of many an embarrassment. They sought to
export their trinkets, accordingly, and later their
Coca-Cola, as though these were the essential
values they had to offer.The missionaries follow
ed on their own account, the Western powers wel
coming them only when they could use them to
promote their material ends.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 5
We always claim we are realists and it is in this
area that we face the main difficulty. It must be
admitted that the majority of United Nations
members are unwilling to support the United
States despite the justice of its case. Many of the
nations realize that depriving the Soviet Union of
its vote is tantamount to expelling it from the
World Organization. They think it will also mean
the end of the United Nations and this few want.
Our biggest problem is with the African-Asian
block of so-called non-aligned nations. They are
the '^iave nots" of the world and depend upon a
multiplicity of United Nations services to operate
as free and not-so-free independent countries.
We spoke before of the phony neutrality being ex-
poused by some African leaders. It is certainly
the case in relation to the Soviet debts to the United
Nations.
rr IS also at the root of the problem In relation
to the Congo. In this situation we have the United
States called an aggressor whenits mercy mission
to save white hostages of Congo rebels is under
way. Even after the Belgian paratroopers have
been air-lifted back to their own country in United
States planes, the "aggressor" label is still used
in Asia-African circles. Most of these same
countries used a different standard when the So
viet Union crushed the Hungarian rebels; when the
Russians built the Berlin wall; when they put mis
siles into Cuba.
Interestingly enough, these Afri-Asian critics
of ours get their arms from the Communistic
world but their bread and butter from the West,
especially the United States. Alas, it is more than
a question of biting the hand that feeds you — it is
a blatant amoral attitude of trying to get the best
of both worlds without assuming any responsibili
ties; many of these nations are actually free load
ing on thd benefits of the United Nations at the ex
pense of the United States. They demand a place of
leadership in United Nation affairs but don’t have
the cjlalities as individuals which respond to the
needs of the times. The savage butchery by Con
golese rebels against innocent white citizens has
drawn little, if any, protest from other African
leaders. Indeed, one of them is quoted assaying
“If the whites hadn’t been there, there would have
been no need for the massacres."
These so-called neutrals know, although they
won’t admit it, that the much hated white man (be
he or she doctor, lawyer, missioner or Peace
Corps volunteer) is making a vital contribution
to Africa’s stability. The white volunteers often
make considerable sacrifice to assist the under
developed nations to the better life. Certainly,
most of them would not even be independent if it
wasn’t for the anti-colonial policy of the United
States. Most of the foreign aid they receive
from the United States is written off and what they
pay for is usually through ridiculously low term
interest rates and long term loans.
SIXTH UNGRATEFUL attitudes on the part of the
m ajority of Afro-Asian countries surely tries the
patience and the good will of the United States. Yet,
we must always remember that one of the prime
virtues in leadership is patience, which is also a
pre-requisite for charity. The American Govern
ment and the people it serves have a proud record
in international dealings. Mistakes have been
made but these have been more than counter-bal
anced by the truly good and correct approaches
that have contributed so much to world stability.
To my mind, the Russians should be told to pay
their debts or lose the privileges of the "club".
I think that our world leadership requires that we
worry less about what the neutrals think and do
what is right and proper to counteract a growing
amorality in international affairs.
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