I Yoith Taer
Volume IV.
Nazareth, N. Cv Friday, January 6, 1950
Number 14
HOLY YEAR
V MV* ______ _
CPA Head Calls for Alert
Catholics in Publicity Field
WASHINGTON. — Because of
what he called their characteris
tic “apathy” towards either fav
orable or unfavorable publicity,
American Catholics are said to
“get the press they deserve,” the
Rev. Paul Bussard, editor of The
Catholic Digest, St. Paul, Minn.,
says in the current issue of Cath
olic Men, published here by the
National Council of Catholic Men.
The priest-editor, who is also Pres
ident of the Catholic Press Asso
ciation of the United States, gives
two suggestions for promoting a
better press.
Catholic Apathy
“One of the characteristics of
American Catholicism,” writes Fa
ther Bussard, “is the apathy with
which Catholics react to either
favorable or unfavorable public
ity. If a Catholic writer succeeds
in placing an article which re
flects Catholic philosophy or the
ology, or even an aspect of Cath
olic life, in a secular publication,
he rarely, if ever, gets a letter
from a fellow Catholic congratu
lating him. In a similar fashion,
if a person attacks the Church in
a secular publication, illogically
and in an untrue fashion, he hardly
ever gets enough letters, from
Catholics to make him understand
the general resentment which we
feel.
“The same apathy is shown to
wards the Catholic press. It has
been our custom merely to say
it isn’t very good or it isn’t very
interesting. That attitude has oft
en led observers to say that Cath
olics, after all, get the press they
deserve.
Active Interest
“I should say that the two ways
of producing one are first, to ex
hibit an active and intelligent in
terest towards Catholics who pro
fess their faith in secular publica
tions and to exhibit that same in
terest in critical appraisal of Cath
olic publications; and the second
way of doing it is by interesting
ourselves in promoting the circu
lation of Catholic magazines
among Catholics. Just what can
be done will depend upon circum
stances peculiar to each group.
However they differ, the principle
and necessity are clear.”
New Mexico Judge Denies Disloyal
Attitude Toward Papal Principles
SANTA FE, N. Mex.—U. S. Dis
trict Judge Luis E. Armijo of Las
Vegas, N. Mex., has disclaimed
any intention of criticizing the re
marks of His Holiness Pope Pius
XII in a recent address to Italian
jurists in which the Holy Father
set down religious principles as
guidance for their juridical du
ties.
The Judge was quoted nation
ally by a secular press association
as having said that he would not
submit to the principles set forth
by His Holiness and that he was
an American first and then a Cath
olic. In a letter to the Chancellor
of the Santa Fe archdiocese,
Judge Armijo declared that the
Interview with the press had
taken place over the telephone and,
as a consequence, the true mean
ing of his statements had been
misconstructed. He said in a
statement to the Chancellor:
“Inasmuch as my recent inter
view with the press regarding the
pronouncement of Pope Pius XII
concerning the norms of the Di
vine Law affecting marriage and
divorce has been misunderstood,
I wish to make the following
statement to rectify the erroneous
impression created:
“I am a Catholic and adhere
faithfully and unhesitatingly to
the tenets of my religion. I def
initely did not intend, as was in
ferred by recent newspaper items,
to express any antagonistic or dis
paraging spirit toward His Holi
ness* announcement.
Holy Father Calls The Vatican
"Citadel of Peace" in Address
i
i
Holy Father Conducts
First Group of Pilgrims
On Visit to St. Peter's
VATICAN CITY. — His Holi
ness Pope Pius XII led in person
the first organized group to make
the Holy Year of Jubilee visit to
St. Peter’s Basilica. The Holy
Father walked through the Holy
Door this morning at the head of
some 7,000 members of the Roman
clergy with whom he recited the
prescribed prayers at the "Tomb of
St. Peter.
From the first instant it was a
solemn spiritual occasion, with
His Holiness going on foot as he
led his priests through the Holy
Door into the basilica. Thousands
of members of the laity awaited
inside. They had been admitted
beforehand through side doors of
the great church. All were touch
ed at the solemn sight and were
greatly moved by the spirit of the
occasion. There were no plaudits
such as mark the appearance of
the Pontiff when he is borne on
the sedia gestatoria in triumphant
procession. There were reverent
glances and fervent responses of
“Ora pro nobis” as the Litany of
the Saints was chanted.
Customary Visit
Having passed from the Holy
Door to an aisle formed in the
center of the huge church, the
procession paused opposite the en
trance to the chapel of the Blessed
Sacrament while the Holy Father
made his customary visit. Re
turning from the chapel to the
aisle, His Holiness led the proces
sion to the altar of the Confession
of St. Peter.
Pope Was Pilgrim
The Pope was a pilgrim this
morning, and he knelt at the altar
of the Confession for a full 20
minutes, following the prayers
like all the other pilgrims from
the prayerbook which all of them
used. After the Litany and other
prayers which are suggested for
recitation by the pilgrims, Pope
Pius and the members of the clergy
gathered round him, recited three
Our Fathers, three Hail Marys and
three Glorias, followed by one
Our Father, one Hail Mary and
one Gloria for the Holy Father’s
intention — the prescribed pray
ers for gaining the Jubilee indul
gence.
Following this, Pope Pius went
to the other side of the main al
tar, where he ascended the steps
and gave his Apostolic Blessing to
those, present.
Moscow Chaplain
IS
Rey.^ Arthur O. Brassard, A.A.,
of Assumption College, Worces
ter, Mass., who has been granted
an entry visa to Soviet Russia,
following a ten-month delay. He
will go there as chaplain to the
I American Catholics in Moscow in
accordance with stipulations of
the Roosevelt-Litvinov agreement
of 1933. Father Brassard replaces
the Rev. Antonio Laberge, who
returned to the United States for
a vacation, but had his re-entry
visa cancelled by the Kremlin.
Both, are Augustinian Fathers of
tfeft Assumption. (NQ .'Photos)
Beware of Hate, Tokyo
Editorial Writer Warns
TOKYO. — Half truths are
more dangerous for human rela
tions than down-right lies, the
Rev. W. A. Kaschmitter, N. M.,
says in an editorial entitled, “The
Sooner We Can Forget . . .,” sent
out by the Tosei News, Catholic
news agency for Japan.
“In human and world relations,”
the priest writes, “the sooner we
can forget that we are dealing
with Americans, Britishers, Chi
nese, Frenchmen, Germans, Ital
ians, Japanese, Russians or Span
iards and can remember only, that
we are dealing with our fellow
men, the sooner the world can
hope to have a rational peace.
“During a dozen years spent in
China, the writer often heard well
meaning foreigners say: ‘Remem
ber, you are in China now! The
(Continued on Page 4)
Solemn Pontifical Mass Is Offered
For Most Rev. William A. Griffin
TRENTON. — A Solemn Ponti
fical Mass was offered yesterday,
January 5th, for the repose of the
soul of the Most Rev. William A.
Griffin, Bishop of the Roman Cath
olic Diocese of Trenton, New eJr
sey. The funeral Mass was of
fered by Archbishop Thomas J.
Walsh of Newark, New Jersey.
Bishop Griffin died early Sun
day morning, January 1st, after
having suffered a stroke on De
cember 26th. He was the sixth
Bishop of the Diocese of Trenton
having been named to the post
in 1940. Prior to his assignment
to the Trenton Diocese, Bishop
Griffin served as the first Auxil
iary Bishop of the Archdiocese of
Newark.
His Excellency, The Most Rev
erend Vincent S. Waters, D. D.,
Bishop of the Diocese of Raleigh,
N. C., was among the hundreds
of prelates and dignataries who at-*
tended the funeral rites.
Pope Pius Expresses •
His Desire for Peace
At Diplomats' Meeting
VATICAN CITY. — His Holi
ness Pope Pius XII told diplomats
of 38 countries accredited to the
Holy See that the Vatican, though
small territorially and without
armed force, stands as “a citadel of
peace and reconciliation amidst
the grave events of the present
and as a great hope for the future.”
Responding to the collective New
Year’s greeting of the diplomats,
the Holy Father said: “The Vati
can’s peace potential is incalcula
ble.
“It is Our hope, founded in the
aid of God, Ruler and Friend of
Peace, to witness the further
raising of this peace potential un
til it becomes wholly effective for
the benefit of all peoples.”
The Holy Father told the diplo
mats that as eye witnesses they
are able to form, “a clear and just
idea of the essential motives guid
ing Our intentions, actions and
efforts.” "Better than others,” he
said, “you can sense the joy that
would be Ours if the Holy Year
marked a starting point for a new
orientation of hearts and souls, and
a return to exact understanding of
true foundations of a peace assur
ed in social life and international
relations.”
Learning for Peace
“After the painful experiences
of the past,” the Holy Father said,
“there now arises among all peo
ples and nations a yearning for
rapprochement, and for a spirit
ual brotherhood among all men of
good will.” I
“In this vital period in the gen
eral development of humanity and
Christianity,” the Holy Father
asked, “is there not a deep and a
striking significance in the confi
dence' shown by so many heads of
state, who have sent you to this
Apostolic See as ambassadors, min
isters and charge d’affairs in this
State of Vatican City, whose im
portance could not be expressed in
statistics, nor measured in extent
of territory, nor gauged in strength
of arms?”
Universal Scope
The Holy Father noted, “the ter
ritory on which you are united
is a mere speck on the maps of the
world, but in the spiritual order
(this territory) is a symbol of high
value and universal scope, the
guaranty of the absolute inde
pendence of the Holy See for the
fulfilment of its mission in this
world. Its armed force as a ma
terial reality is practically non
existent, the war potential of
this tiny state is nil.”
“Yes,” the Holy Father continu
ed, “this bit of earth, chosen by
Providence, is, through its moral
worth and the power and range
of its influence, one of the focal
points around which gravitates the
world’s history; a reality outside
which the entire evolution of the
past would remain only an inex
plicable riddle. It is therefore not
in vain that this small territory of
the Vatican stands as a . . .
staunch support, upon which is
centered the attention of many,
even among those outside the
Church."
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