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PAGE 4 GEORGIA BULLETIN THURSDAY, APRIL 21, 1966
diocese of Atlanta
Official Organ of the Archdiocese of Atlanta
Published Every Week at the Decatur DeKalb News
PUBLISHER- Archbishop Paul J. Hallinan
SERVING GEORGIA'S 71 NORTHERN COUNTIES
CONSULTING EDITOR Rev. R. Donald Kiernan ASSOCIATE EDITOR Rev. Leonard F. X. Mayhew
2699 Peachtree N. E.
P. O. Box 11667
Northside Station
Atlanta, Georgia 30305
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
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The opinions contained in these editorial columns are
the free expressions of free editors in a free Catholic press.
Increased Vitality
Next Tuesday, the first Auxi
liary Bishop of Atlanta will be
consecrated to episcopal orders
in the Charleston cathedral. The
joy and the prayers of the entire
people of God of the Church of
Atlanta will be present in the
sanctuary with Bishop Joseph
Bernardin.
Bishop Bernardin has already
shown himself a man of the Se
cond Vatican Council by his
choice of an episcopal motto:
“As those who serve.” The pa
ragraph of the Decree Concern
ing the Pastoral Office of Bis
hops in the Church from which
these words are taken commu
nicates movingly the holy and
beautiful nature of the office of
bishop. “In exercising their of
fice of father and pastor, bishops
should stand in the midst of their
people as those who serve. Let
them be good shepherds who know
their sheep and whose sheep know
them. Let them be true fathers
who excel in the spirit of love
and solicitude for all. Let them
so gather and mold the whole
family of their flock that every
one, conscious of his own duties,
may live and work in the com
munion of love.”..
The motto of Bishop Bernardin
and the spirit in which he comes
to us are a promise of increased
unity and added vitality in the
Church, a true growth in love
within the Christian family. In
that same spirit we greet and
embrace him.
The Cultural Catholic
As a Christian reads the gospel
pages, he is struck with the
sharpness of our Lord’s words,
the direct thrust of the motives.
He provides for us, the warmth
of His love, the depth of his wis
dom.
From it all, the informed Ca
tholic emerges—informed by fai
th, reformed by grace. He moves
with the Church.
There is another kind of Ca
tholic too. Sincere and satisfied.
He is counted as a “good Catho
lic,” and indeed he is. But is he
ready to scrutinize himself? What
kind of Catholic is he? Since the
Vatican Council placed “aware
ness* of the Church as the first
item on its agenda, should each
of us not do the same?
AN ALTAR BOY
NAMED "SPECK"
[TOQ©M
“Now it’s your turn—see if you can
stump him!’’
It isn t a matter of good guys
and bad gpyjs,, liberals and con
servatives, the “ins” and the
“outs”. The good Catholic is
made up of many elements. But
at the core, he is humble. He
knows what it means to be a
servant of God, a servant of his
fellowmen.
The Cultured Catholic has ta
ken a different slant. He has the
substance of the faith but it has
been strained and sifted.
He sees the Word of God not for
reflection and spiritual fare; ra
ther it is for confidence and as
surance. The Body of God is not
a pledge of eternal life, and the
demonstration of unity, but rather
a matter of consolation.
The faith, inside the Cultural
Catholic, is there alright. But
tragically it is covered over with
the trappings and frosting, the
non-essentials. Novenas instead
of Masses. Pomp and excessive
ceremony instead of the dignity
of worship. Rote catechetics, not
healthy religious curiosity and
expression.
Vatican II stripped our
lives of many of these trappings.
The Council showed clearly that
the use of Latin language is not
necessary in liturgy. Pope John
XXIII emphasized the substance
of doctrine, not the manner in
which it was expressed.
In our archdiocese, our people
are making a mighty effort to
scrutinize, to re-learn, to come
alive. But we have far to go.
In conversation with some of the
re sisters, their Cultural Catho
licism stuck out like a liturgical
sore thumb.
They wanted the priest to face
the wall, not the congregation.
They wanted to pray not in their
mother tongue of English but in
the dated language of Latin. They
wanted the priest to do all the
talking, the layman to do all the
listening.
It was as if there had been no
Council. It was as if the Church
had become a museum. It was
as if Catholicism had become a
matter of culture. It existed, but
it had ceased to live.
A Prayer for Guidance
GEORGIA PINES
Golden Isles Trip
BY REV. R. DONALD KIERNAN
EASTER WEEK and my annual trip down to
the Golden Isles. This year marked the tenth
consecutive year that I have been able to get
away and in the privacy of palm trees and moss
covered oaks improve my golf game. Usually
on Monday afternoon after finishing golf I stop
by the Marist Father’s rectory. This rectory has
many pleasant memories forme. It was the Church
where shortly after Ordination, that I was asked
by Father John Mercer to preach the Forty Hours
Devotion.
I remember in particular af
ter finishing dinner I walked
out on to the front porch and
remarked to the late Father
Ziebarth how peaceful and quiet
it was. “Don’t say that!’’, Fa
ther “Z” immediately said.
Naturally I inquired why. Then
he told me that Bishop Hyland
had said those exact same words
about a month before and with
in seconds the wail of sirens could be heard,
police chasing a get-a-way car, and a crash
right in front of the rectory. Within seconds hun
dreds of people, ambulances, wreckers etc. were
milling around. The ; peace and quiet had abruptly
endedl
This year, however, when I pulled up in front
of the rectory there was no front porch. As a
matter of fact there was no rectory and there
was no church. All had been razed to make way
for a new church which Father Burkort has Under
construction.
Only the hospitality remained, and as I pulled
up in front of the rectory there Father Andy
Walls was waiting to greet me.
We all had a great talk about the old church and
the rectory and the history of the church in that
locale. One point of interest to me was the fact
that the first Catholic church was reputed to
have been built in Wilkes County (Locust Grove)
back in 1796, yet Mass was said on the coast 230
years before this by the Jesuit Fathers.
Actually the Islands developed before the city
of Brunswick, and Darien which is north of Bruns
wick was at one time, because of lumber, the most
important city south of Baltimore, Maryland. The
Spanish Missionaries (Franciscans gave the na
mes to the Cblden Isles: St Simon, St. Andrew and
St. Bonaventure (which was changed to Jekyll
by the English).
The Jesuit Fathers preceded the Francisan
Fathers in Brunswick and this probably is the
reason why the parish church was named St.
Francis Xavier. The present Elks lodge in Bruns
wick was the home of a French settler by the
name of du Bignon. Mass was said in du Bignon’s
home before the parish church in Brunswick was
built in 1890.
Diocesan priests led by Father Quinlan began
the parish in Brunswick (this was when the popu
larity of the Islands began to dim insh and the pro
minence of the town of Brunswick began). Father
Quinlan was followed by Father P.J. McCabe.
(Father McCabe’s bones Were transferred to the
local cemetery by Father Burkort when construc
tion of the new church began). In 1897 the Marist
Fathers took over the spiritual care of the people
living in Brunswick and on the islands.
Next year, I hope, that I will once more be en
joying the hospitality of the Marist Fathers and
the peace and quiet of their front porch.
REFORM OF CURIA
Your World And Mine
BY GARY MACEOIN
EVEN BEFORE I knew who he was, I was fas
cinated by a 54-year old Belgian priest, a pow
erful heavy-set man, who was one of the domi
nant figures of the recent conference of theolo
gians of many faiths at Notre Dame’s Center for
Continuing Education. His two formal addresses
death with aspects of Vatican II’s twin pillars,
the constitution, on the Church and the decree
on the Church in the Modern World, Even more
striking were his incisive informal comments
in the wide-ranging exchanges during the week of
discussions. He was at home with repartee,
quick to turn a joke against himself.
Canon Charles Moller is particularly impor
tant right now, because he reveals at least
part of what Pope Paul had in
mind when he assured the Coun
cil Fathers late last year that
he would carry out the reform
of the Roman Curia which they
had requested. Hefis the re
cently named sub-secretary of
the Congregation for Doctrine,
the updated and renamed Holy
Office.'
As sub-secretary; Canon Moeller is third man
in the Congregation,; after the 75-year-old Cardi
nal Ottaviani and the 74-year-old Archbishop
Pietro Parente, Until this year, the title was
commissario, and the functions included that of
presiding judge when the Holy Office tried char
ges of apostasy, heresy and schism. The com
missario was a carryover from the Inquisition,
which became the Holy Office in 1542, and its_
holder was always a member of the Dominican
Order.
FATHER R. VERARDO, the last commissario,
has been named apostolic administrator of Amalfi
in southern Italy. The technique of “promoting
out” is known to all civil services. It fulfils
the assurance Pope Paul gave the Curia last year
that the reform will take account “of the re
spect which persons and traditions merit.’’ But
it also ensures that it will not be held back by
the longstanding practice of automatic internal
promotion.
It would have been difficult for Pope Paul,
who loves resounding gestures more than pre
cise statements of intention, to find a better
man to mark a new start. The Congregation for
Doctrine, the Pope had said, will be less con
cerned with defending orthodoxy than with look
ing for truth wherever it is to be found.
It is a program after Canon Moeller’s heart.
Starting with his Scandinavian great-grandfather,
who taught the history of philosophy at Louvain
University, his family is renowned in Belgium
for its dedication to the search for truth,
THE TALKS GIVEN by Canon Moeller at Notre
Dame, like all his writings, reflect the amazing
range of his interests and associations. I was
particularly struck by his sympathetic analysis
of human culture and his ability to move freely
from the post-Christian West to the horizons of
Africa and Asia. I was accordingly little sur-
(CONTINUED ON PAGE 5)
‘SCLC STRAYED»
Civil Rights
Set Back
BY GERARD E. SHERRY
Two events this past week have, in my opinion,
set back the civil rights cause. One was the Sou
thern Christian Leadership Conference’s call for
the Johnson Administration to abandon Viet Nam.
The other was the disgraceful boding, jostling and
hooting down of Sargent Shriver, at an anti-po
verty meeting in Washington.
The SCLC hea
ded by Doctor
Martin Luther
King, strayed
from its speciali
zed field of civil
rights and enter
ed the arena of
f o r e i g hpolicy
when it said “We
call on our government to desist from aiding the
military junta against the Buddhists, Catholics
and students of Viet Nam, whose efforts to de
mocratize their government are more in con
sonance with our traditions than the policy of
the military oligarchy. If we are true to our own
ideals we have no choice but to abandon the mili
tary junta under such manifestly vigorous popular
opposition.’’
The SCLC resolution went on to say that “we
believe the moment is now opportune and the need
Urgent to reassess our position and seriously
examine the wisdom of prompt withdrawal.’’ It
also urged the Johnson Administration to seek
free elections and to abide by the results.
There are a couple of things wrong with all this.
First, our government has already publicly agreed
to abide by the results of free elections. Second,
a prompt withdrawal would hand the country over
to the communists of the North. Thirdly, the main
opposition to the military junta comes from Budd
hists whose avowed purpose is political power.
They are not religiously motivated and they ad
mit it.
There is much genuine concern about the events
in Viet Nam. It’s an un-popular war and I don’t
think we should have got embroiled in it. But we
are there. Americans are dying there. But so al
so are Vietnamese. Both sides would surely like
to call it quits. How to go about it is the problem.
The SCLC answer is an American surrender, and
the handing over of South Viet Nam to the Hanoi
Regime. The Civil Rights Group may deny this,
but that’s what it boils down to. The trouble with
the SCLC judgement is that none of their main
leaders have been to Viet Nam, and all their U.S.
and European contacts on the subject are either
militant pacifists or pro-Hanoi.
I think the greatest weakness tn the civil rights
groups stand is that nowhere in it is there the
slightest criticism or request to the -other side
in; :the dispute —v the Hanoi-backed, Vietcong.
It seems to me that the United States is being
painted as an “aggressor” by Dr. King’s or
ganization while the communists opposing us are
presumed in the right. While the civil rights
organization is entitled to this viewpoint-one
must always uphold responsible dissent—its com
petency inforeigh affairs can be challenged. The
fact that Dr. King received the Nobel Peace prize
does not make him or his organization “experts”
on Viet Nam or anywhere else. Furthermore,
their suggestions might have had more value had
they been balanced.
There ought to be peace in Viet Nam. The U.S.
should withdraw. There should be free elections
in the North and South. The results of these elec
tions should be accepted as binding. The U.S.
has agreed to all this. The only thing holding up
its implementation is the fact that the other
side refuses to agree to anything but ignominous
capitulation. What self-respecting people could
go along with this? All the more so when a na
tion such as ours has the power to destroy the
other side. It hasn’t done so because it wants
peace—without total victory. Most of those leading
anti-war demonstration in this country; most of
those, including the SCLC, who condemn the U.S.
action in Viet Nam, are too one-sided to be taken
seriously. Yet they do us harm and hinder the
peace efforts. Hanoi will never settle on reason
able terms as long as it believes the people here
are against their own government on this issue.
The Washington uproar, while Shriver was at
tempting to address a luncheon at a "Poor
People’s Convention,” was a complete exercise
in bad manners which, admittedly are not mono
polized by any one race. Few in this country, in
cluding Negroes, have done as much for the poor
and oppressed as Sargent Shriver. His record
on the international level, when director of the
Peace Corps, is also hard to beat. Yet, he was
castigated as a “liar” a “cheat” and a “soak
the poor” type. He had to be hustled out of the
place because some of the audience were threa
tening toward the speaker’s platform.
It got so bad that after Shriver had left, the
sponsors of the affair, including Bayard Rustin,
quit in disgust, and the meeting disintegrated.
Rustin, a well-known civil rights radical leader,
is an old hand at demagogy. It must have been
real bad if he gave up and quit.
The point is that many leaders and rank and
file civil rights workers are alienating those who
have always been with them—those whites who
have Stuck their necks out for racial justice for
years, especially when it was most unpopular.
These whites have not changed their convictions.
But they are amazed at the growing lack of re
sponsibility of the very people to whom the coun
try looks for courageous leadership in this period
of racial change. Some civil rights leaders are
talking and acting as if nothing has been done to
ease the lot of their people. Yet thefact remains,
much has been done—even though much more re
mains.
But the one way to slow it down is to act as if
anarchy was to be the norm.Rights have corres
ponding duties. Civil rights leaders must give
the example first—otherwise how can one expect
their followers to act differently. That’s why 1
think, for example, that the SCLC has plenty to
do at home without engaging in resolutions dis
crediting American motives abroad.
KEAPINGS
AT
RANDOM