PAGE 4 GEORGIA BULLETIN THURSDAY, OCTOBER 14, 1965
of Atlanta
SERVING GEORGIA’S 71 NORTHERN COUNTIES
Official Organ of the Archdiocese of Atlanta
Published Every Week at the Decatur DeKalb News
PUBLISHER- Archbishop Paul J. Halllnan
'mw,
MANAGING EDITOR Gerard E. Sherry
CONSULTING EDITOR K ev». R. Donald Kiernan
2699 Peachtree N. E.
P. O. Box 11667
Norths ide Station
Atlanta, Georgia 30305
ASSOCIATE EDITOR Rev. Leonard F. X. Mayhew
Member of the Catholic Press Association
and Subscriber to N. C. W. C. News Service
Telephone 231-1281
Second Class Permit at Atlanta, Ga.
U. S. A. $5.00
Canada $5.00
Foreign $6.50
Crawfordville Travail
Who is responsible for the Civil
Rights mess in Crawfordville,
Georgia? This is a question which
requires an immediate answer if
peace and tranquility are to be re
stored.
Last week Governor Sanders
met in his office with the town
and Taliaferro County officials.
Later the same day, he met with
a State-wide Negro investigative
committee, which included one of
the Crawfordville leaders. The
Governor called for a morator
ium on demonstrations until the
Courts had decided on the Negro
complaints of de facto segrega
tion in the county school system.
He implied that this moratorium
had the agreement of both the
white and Negro delegations to
his office. This was later de
nied by the Crawfordville Negro
participant.
Complicating the situation is
the fact that the demonstrations
are being directed under the aus
pices of the Southern Christian
Leadership Conference. Its rep
resentative, Hosea Williams, has
refused to go along with the
moratorium until school deseg
regation, and other Negro griev-
anqes. ^are, negotiated with the
white leaders. Recent news
paper stories have intimated that
Mr. Williams was the only stumb
ling block to a peaceful settle
ment. No evidence was offered
other than to quote nameless “in
siders” at Crawfordville. Fur
thermore, leaders of the Negro
community have reaffirmed local
determination to acceptSCLC di
rection until a solution is found.
Dr. Martin Luther King’s visit
Monday to the strife-torn town
seemed to confirm this.
Crawfordville’s white power
structure attempts to circumvent
the law on school integration is
but one of the issues involved.
There is also the economic re
prisals against Negroes attemp
ting to bus their children to white
schools; then there is the lack of
employment for Negroes; and the
disgracefully low wages that are
paid those who are employed.
The Negro community, although
numerically almost as large as
the white, has no political rep
resentation whatever either in the
City or in the County. To sug
gest an end to demonstrations un
til the Courts have ruled is to ask
the Negroes to forego the only
weapon they have to get justice.
Without the demonstrations of
the past several weeks neither
the Governor nor anybody else
AN ALTAR BOY iiliiKkhui.
“Just holding it for a friend, Sister!”
would have needed to be con
cerned.
It is unfair to suggest that the
Southern Christian Leadership
Conference is an outsider in the
Crawfordville situation. Here
again the SCLC*s function is to
assist Southern Negroes who oth
erwise might be at the mercy of
a white power structure which
will not initiate any reforms re
lating to Civil Rights problems.
This was true in Americus, Al
bany and a host of other Georgia
towns which have moved ever so
little towards granting equal
rights and opportunities to their
Negro fellow citizens.
One cannot blame the Negro
leaders for turning a deaf ear
to the pleas to let the Courts de
cide--they have had many exam
ple s of Southern justice applied to
their race which do us little cred
it. Secondly, they feel they should
not have to go to Court on many
issues. Recent history shows
that despite the Civil Rights Act
of 1964 and the Voting Rights
Act of 1965, costly legal maneu
vers have had to be initiated to
gain the fruits of this legisla
tion. ,
The Negroes in some of 'our
communities outside of Atlanta
give the impression of complete
despair and frustration. Their
own local leaders can get no rec
ognition from white leaders who
will move only when forced to.
Negroes feel they are being used
as pawns in a State-wide politi
cal game. They charge that our
State leaders talk of equal rights
and equal opportunity but never
actively work for it. They see
demonstrations and the import
ing of SCLC leadership as the
only means of dramatizing their
case. They have no say in the
political structure of their area.
Their struggle for even a mini
mum recognition of their dignity
as human beings is constantly
thwarted by a de facto disenfran
chisement on the political and so
cial levels.
We agree that demonstrations
are not always helpful, but with
out them we doubt whether even
Atlanta (never mind the rest of
the nation or the world) would
have be)en appraised of the tra
vail of the Crawfordville Negro.
What is needed is high state of
ficials themselves visiting the
trouble spots and listening to both
sides. If this is done, we are
sure the innate Southern generos
ity and dedication will be moved
to a greater application of ele
mentary justice in behalf of our
Negro brethren. We agree with
those who say patience is need
ed on the part of the Negro; but
let us not forget that the Supreme
Court ruling on school desegre
gation was issued eleven years
ago. Only this year have some
Southern communities introduced
partial desegregation. Others
are still attempting to circum
vent the law in this regard.
This is why we were surprised
at the “pilate” stance of sev
eral TV station editorials which
last week called on Negroes to
stop demonstrations in the in
terest of Civic peace. Would the
Founding Fathers of this great
Nation have agreed with such a
stance when the question of jus
tice was at stake?
BY GERARD E. SHERRY
NEEDS CONCERN
Fearful Press
Is Worthless
OUR RECENT observations on poverty and as
sistance to the poor have drawn a large corres
pondence. Some people have suggested that we
quit worrying about the poor and “stick to
religion** in editorial comment.
Waycross Pope Arrives
say the most interesting. It seems to me that as
world problems get more serious the seminars,
lectures and discussions take on a more profes
sional outlook. The chiefs did not turn their backs
on the question of police brutality, juvenile delin
quency, and racial strife but rather faced these
problems head-on with a profound sense of justice,
integrity and right order. The array of speakers
and pannelists looked like a “Who's Who" in in
ternational law enforcement.
Founded seventy-two years ago ttye organization
has grown to over fifteen thousand members in
sTxty-sik'dCferentPBSuritffl&s of the fffe% K v?6rld.‘its^” "
growth during the last decade most probably is '
attributed to a former director of the FBI, Mr.
Quinn Tamm. Mr. Tamm, the present Executive
Director, has co-ordinated many of the activities
of the organization into a forceful and realistic aid
for police executives regardlesss of the size of
the department.
I enjoyed meeting with and talking to Chief Bill
Parker of Los Angeles; Chief Tom Cahill, an
Irishman from the “old sod’*, the subject of a re
cent book by Ernest K. Gahn, “OfGoodand Evil’*,
and who has recently been appointedby the Presi
dent of the United States to a crime commission;
former Chief Uullea of San Francisco who has been
a Serra Club member for years and whose son is
the president of San Francisco University.
There was the light side of the convention too
when New Yorkers began kidding Commissioner
Sullivan of Boston what he would do if the Holy Fa
ther had visited Boston instead of New York.
Chief Bill Barnes of West Palm Beach described
the wealth of Miami Beach as a place where the
police use 1 , French Poodles insted of police dogs,
where the police department has an unlisted num
ber, and where people gift wrap their garbage and
it is picked up in a Lincoln Continental!
It was inspiring sight to see all of these
Chiefs working together. Some were lettered men,
others came through the ranks with little or no
formal education; but no one would doubt their
dedication to duty and their sincerity in attempting
to preserve peace and order. Everyone there was
there because he wanted to make his own commu
nity a better place in which to live and work.
GEORGIA PINES
BY REV. R. DONALD KIERNAN
LAST WEEK I was one of those millions of
persons glued to the television sets across the
nation watching the historic visit of the Holy Fa
ther to this country. I had planned to attend the
convention of the International Association of
Chiefs, of Police in Miami, and unfortunately this
convention fell on the same date as the Pope’s
visit. I did spend most of that day watching the
visit, and I’m sure that I saw more events and
closer views than those attending in New York
City.
One humorous event which took placl in Miami
was when Chief Wilbur Perkerson of Valdosta,
Georgia was waiting for Chief Ray Pope of Way-
cross to arrive by plane. He
turned on the TV in his hotel
room and the sound track came
on before the picture. Chief
Perkerson heard the announcer
say, "Pope has arrived by plane
in New York”. Immediately he
thought that his friend has
boarded the wrong plane and
landed in New York instead of
Miami!
I had a very interesting convesation on Tuesday
afternoon with Commissioner Vince Broderick of
New York. He and his chief Inspector flew in for
the convention after the Holy Father had left New
York. He had many interesting sidelights and sto
ries to tell since he had spent the whole day with
the Papal party. Incidentally I learned that the
Commissioner had taught school during a summer
session years ago here in Atlanta, at Oglethorpe
University.
The convention drew over 1,600 Chiefs of Po
lice from some 30 different countries. Aboutthirty
chiefs from Georgia attended and through the kind
ness of Southern Bell Telephone we were guests
at a breakfast on Wednesday morning atwhich our
own chief, Herbert Jenkins, spoke. Chief Jenkins
is the immediate past president of the international
group and did a superb job in conducting the con
vention.
MOST OF the days were spent renewing old ac
quaintances and listening to lectures. This is the
third convention which I have attended and I would
The basic function of the Catholic Press is to
inform and instruct. Hence, the editiorial page
plays an impor
tant role in exer
cising the func
tion. It should be
the unofficial but
competent mouth
piece of Catholic
thinking in the
Diocese. It should
give prudential
judgments on the
affairs of the day without claiming infallibility.
To me, the average editorial page of our Ca
tholic newspapers is as somber as the
funeral parlor. It lacks, however, the background
music and glittering furnishings with which today’s
morticians bury the dead. Sometimes we notice the
flippant spark of daring similar to that exhibited
at an Irishwake, but too seldom is Catholic vitality
evident.
One of the basic weaknesses is that most of the
Catholic Press is timid. There is too much yearn
ing for the safety of the status quo and too much
fear of the possibility of being wrong. So, too,
there is the fear of the many pressure groups
within our midst. Our own Catholic societies all
have axes to grind, and gripes to make; hence, we
fear their reaction. We fear their adverse com
ments to what we write and say.
Then there are the national pressure groups en
dorsed by some Catholics but whose motives ap
pear solely political. So,too, : there areanti-Com-
munist pressure groups within the Church and few
editors wish to court their disfavor.
We so often give the impression that the one
true Church demands one track minds. We cower
behind our editorial defenses wishfully yearning
for the peace and quiet of ennui. Many of us are
so afraid of controversy that we invoke the virtue
of prudence at the expense of justice. In all these
things we seem to have lost the heritage and tra
dition of the Catholic Press. Where are the cru
sading men of old who entered the field of con
troversy with courage and vitality? While they
may at times have lacked prudence, they at least
voiced the Christian optim ism of the just and fought
for the Faith with a conviction which knew no
bounds.
What is the purpose of the editorial page? It is
the same as the secular newspaper editorial page
— the encouragement of an articulate public
opinion. It is useless to expect a 1 vital lay apost-
.olate jf the Catholic Press 'fails, through neglect,
to lead the layman to his ultimate responsibilities.
The Catholic Press does not exist simply to defend
the Church. It also has to propagate the teachings
of the Church. Inasmuch as the Diocesan com
munity is also our ’concern, the laity must be
made aware of this.
The Catholic editor must be willing to learn
about and form opinions on local secular pro
blems, especially those which affect the welfare
of the community. He will be interested not only
in zoning laws affecting the erection of Catholic
schools, but also those affecting public and Pro
testant and Jewish parochial schools. The Ca
tholic editor should be as willing to defend the
rights of the non-Catholic as he normally is will
ing to fight for the rights of his co-religionists.
We must show all men the breadth and vision,
the aged wisdom and the perennial youth of the
Church. We should be as vocal about racial in
justice as we are about Communism or smut. We
should be as firm in relation to corruption in bu
siness as we are in relation to Corruption in la
bor. We should avoid aligning ourselves with any
group. This will give us the freedom to denounce
even our friends if they’ve become un-Catholic
or anti-community.
We must also avoid the danger of accepting
the counsel and advice of those who say you
mustn’t attack this or that evil because Mr. or
Mrs. Jones is a large contributor to the Church.
We must not be afraid to speak out against pos
sible Catholic injustice to the community and in
justice by Catholics in the community. We must
at all costs avoid the cracking of the “Catholic
whip.” We must show our neighbors the univer
sality of the Church, its love for all men, and
its concern for all problems.
REAPINGS
AT
RANDOM
COUNCIL STUDIES ATHEISM
Your World And Mine
BY GARY MacEOlN
ROME. “When Vatican I proclaimed papal in
fallibility, the workers of Europe were too weak to
Stand up and cheer,” says Father Arthur McCor
mack. "With that historic experience, Vatican II
has even less excuse, if it fails to show;today’s
dispossessed masses its concern and meaning for
them.”
Father McCormack, member of the English
mission society of Millhill, is an expert on prob
lems of population and of world
development. Co - editor of
"World Justice” (Louvain), he
is closely associated with Car
dinal Suenens in seeking to make
the document on the Church in
the Modem World as useful and
relevant as possible for those to
whom it is addressed.
They will have to settle for
much less than perfection. The debates on the re
vised versiori have revealed gaps which all agree
cannot be filled in the time available. In addi
tion, deep divisions of viewpoint remain on how
to deal with many basic issues, and the current
Council mood is to find vague formulae to mask
over such disagreements.
A GLARING EXAMPLE is what to do about
atheism. The Council discussion and the parallel
talks and writings outside the aula have revealed
an amazing study in recent years of this pheno
menon, in search of a pastoral approach. Prac
tically every part of the world is involved and
concerned, with the curious exception of the
United States. Apparently, the conclusion reached
by Will Herberg ten or more years ago remains
valid. Our pluralism is governed by rigid con
ventions. The only socially approved categories
are Catholicism, Protestantism and Judaism.
Specifically, agnosticism and atheism are still out.
In consequence, the U. S. bishops took no sig
nificant part in the discussions. But just about
every other region was well represented. What
was new in the exposition was the search for
the positive elements in contemporary atheism,
or at least the reasons why those who propagate
it regard it as necessary for human progress.
"Let us talk about atheism within the men
tality of those who are atheists,” said Cardinal
Seper, of Zagreb, Yugoslavia, "It is a fact that
CONTINUED ON PAGE 5
All this will require of editors the avoidance
of the so-called middle of the road. We must leave
this island of inaction, with its hesitations and its
fears, and dare to speak and act in defense of truth
and morality. I do not mean to be trite. We have
compromised for much too long with the rest of
the world. We must now stand up and be counted
in a very real way. If it means being unpopular,
even among fellow Catholics, then so be it. The
times are too serious for pussy-footing or the
pious mouthing of cliches.
It is my conviction that Catholic editors have a
special role in these times — that of striving
for religious and professional competence in or
der that they may become part of the new leader
ship, promoting the new spirit of adventure which
has come about through the emergence of new
nations and new forms of government.
So many of us are afraid of innovations, be
they in terms of spiritual formation or temporal
affairs. We are always looking for precedents
to justify our actions. Sometimes we might find
ourselves alone in a point of view. Yet, if we
believe we are right, then we should follow our
conscience. By all means let the critics be heard,
but they must never be permitted to reduce an
editorial stand to merely being all things to all
men. An editor is human—he therefore will at
times lack prudence and charity; he will also be
wrong, at times; but this is the human trait, and
it should never be the excuse for timidity or lack
of concern for man’s problems. Yes, it is true
— through a firm moral stand an editor “sticks
to religion.” Whaf more can be asked?
