Newspapers / North Carolina Catholic (Nazareth, … / Oct. 31, 1965, edition 1 / Page 5
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1 I J^.@d\OVl — B» Ear* Heffner 8 ■ m All too often the more orderly of us like to have a comfortable little slot in which to place all as pects of society as it affects us. With rare exceptions, we design such a filing point to fit our own particular needs. When something doesn’t fit the way we want it to do, it is then that we strike out with words or actions as we deem the circum stances warrant. Such a situation now exists for a very good friend of mine. But this friend’s reaction extends be yond his own personal life and af fects the thoughts of others. Be cause of this, because his reaction is not untypical in our modern so ciety, I feel constrained to answer. The friend: Pete Ellis, editor of the Mecklenburg Times. His prob lem: Pope Paul’s speech in New York and his thinly veiled advo cacy that Red China be admitted to the United Nations. And Pete’s larger problem: an expressed, ed itorially, desire that all pastors— the Holy Father and those of the Protestant National Council of Churches—restrict their utterances to those things spiritual. Now while I, too, am opposed to admission of Red China to the ' U.N. I can see some advantages, some logic to such a move. Cer tainly it is basic that the solution of problems between nations re quires some dialogue; equally cer tain it is that such dialogue cannot begin unless there is some forum for it. However, it is not the purpose of this particular column to debate the question of admission of Red China to the U. N. , Rather, its purpose is to stress how unreasoning it is to want our religious leaders to restrict their sermons and public statements to the spiritual realm. First, there is the right of free i dom of speech that gives all of us a responsibility to express our considered views on all subjects to which we may contribute some constructive thought. Even more important, religion is not something that can be con signed to a corner of the week, to an hour in the morning each Sun day. Religion, and in our case Chris tianity, is the primary force and factor in our lives. It must be in the marketplace of ideas; it be longs in the middle of the struggle for peace, for social justice, for the welfare of mankind. Ethics and morals are based on NEED TO RAISE MONEY for your Church, Sunday School Class, Cir cle, Women's Fellowship, Scout Troop, etc.? WE HAVE SEVERAL fast-selling items with good profit for this (in cluding the Gurley Christmas Can dles). Brochure and samples on request. JOYCE BROS. CO. Dial PA 2-1209 P.O. Box 3058 Winston-Salem, N.C. Red Cross Pharmacy Prescriptions Phone 838-5114 224 10th Street North Wilkesboro, Carolina religious concepts or otherwise have no firm foundation. These re ligious concepts are shaped and formed and interpreted by our ex perts. And the only true experts in this field are our theologians, our religious leaders. For them to withhold then opinions would be wrong. My friend Pete Ellis, his Meck lenburg Times, and all others who hold the view that pastors must re strict their utterances to things spiritual are dead wrong. They have the natural right we all possess to express their views or. any subject; they have the moral obligation to express them selves on all subjects that affect the welfare of men. With them we may at times dis agree. With them at times we may ar gue. But we cannot, with reason or justice, deny them the right of that expression. Pope Paul, dear Pete, was not off base to advocate admission of Red China to the United Nations. Nor were you off base to dis agree with this position. But you were wrong to deny him the right to take such a posi tion. As wrong as he would be, were he to suggest censorship of your newspaper, by so doing urg ing that your own opinions be re stricted to those things political. ACLII Opposes Obscenity Test WASHINGTON _ (NC) — The American Civil Liberties Union has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hold that publications may be banned for obscenity only if they pose a “clear and present danger” of causing anti-social conduct. The ACLU called on the court to drop its current test of obscen ity, established in 1958. That test is “whether to the average per son, applying contemporary com munity standards, the dominant theme of the material taken as a whole appeals to prurient inter est,” The Civil Liberties Union took its stand in an amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief filed in the case of publisher Ralph Ginz burg. Ginzburg faces five years in jail and heavy fines for his activi ties in publishing the magazine Eros and other publications found to be obscene. The ACLU said the current test of obscenity leads to “a vast guess ing game” with “freedom of ex pression ... hanging in the bal ance.” It said the test “inhibits the dissemination of expression which is not obscene.” The organization urged freedom of expression “without social re straint” up to the point where it could be shown that the expression “will necessarily harm another.” The ACLU said its concern was with freedom of expression, “not in the protection of smutty books and magazines.” To Greek Orthodox Saint's Relics Returned VENICE, Italy—(NC)—A delega tion of Greek Orthodox leaders at tended solemn ceremonies in the Venice church containing relics of St. Sabbas, which are being re turned to an Orthodox monastery in Jerusalem after centuries in this city. The ceremonies included the formality of recognizing relics and examining the documents, seals and actual remains to assure au thenticity. Then the relics were carried to the basilica of St. Mark where they were to remain for veneration for five days. On Oct. 24 an Orthodox liturgy (Mass) was celebrated by repre sentatives of Orthodox patriarch Benediktos I of Jerusalem in the Orthodox church in Venice. The Liturgy was attended by Catholic officials. Giovanni Cardinal Urbani of Venice celebrated a Latin-rite Mass in the square in front of St. Mark’s. At the end of the dual ceremo nies the relics were consigned to the Orthodox leaders and carried to their church of St. George in solemn procession. The following day (Oct. 25), the relics, accompa nied by Orthodox leaders and Aux iliary Bishop Giuseppe Olivotti of Venice, were taken by air for Jeru salem where the relics were placed in the basilica of the Holy Sepul cher until they can be solemnly in stalled in the chufch of the monas tery St. Sabbas founded in the desert near the Dead Sea. The Orthodox leaders here in clude Archbishop Basilius of Jor dan; Archimandrite Hermanus, NO. 1 SHELL SERVICE STATION MAX COOKE, Operator WE GIVE TOP VALUE STAMPS 24 Hour Wrecker Service 789-9289 Highway 601 Mt. Airy, N. C. who is guardian of the Holy Sep ulcher basilica; Archimandrite Theodosius, superior of the church of Bethany; and Archimandrite Serafin, superior of the St. Sabbas monastery. Cardinal Urbani said in a pas toral letter in March that the deci sion to return the relics to the ancient Orthodox church in which they had originally been preserved was made with the approval of Pope Paul VI. The cardinal wrote that Patri arch Benediktos had told him that every night Orthodox monks in the monastery founded by St. Sabbas gather around his empty tomb to pray for the return of his relics. St. Sabbas was born in 439 in Cap padocia and fled as a youth to Pal estine where he lived as a hermit. He also founded a monastery in the Judean desert, which is the one referred to by the patriarch. He is regarded as a founder of Eastern monasticism. “It is not without sacrifice,” the cardinal wrote, “that we prepare to witness the return to the East of these venerated relics, objects of our devotion for many centuries. But at the same time we are very happy to give by means of our two fold gesture sincere and cordial testimony of fraternity, closeness and the most lively hopes for those who like us glory in the name of Christ.” SECHREST FUNERAL SERVICE Since 1897 1301 E. Lexington Ave. Dial 882-2555 414 South Main St. Dial 888-4545 HIGH POINT, NORTH CAROLINA Only Necessity Permits Communion Outside Mass VATICAN CITY —(NC)— The practice of distributing Commun ion apart from Mass, although . r missable in some cases, is not in line with the opinion of the ecu menical council. This unofficial but authoritative interpretation appeared in the current issue of Notitiae, Latin magazine of the commission for implementing the council’s litur gical constitution, which was re leased Oct. 18. To the question of whether the practice of distributing Commun ion before Mass was fitting, the an swer was no, since “Communion is and must appear as the culmina tion of participation in the Mass.” It is therefore “fitting,” the maga zine said, that Communion be dis tributed during Mass, as is evident from the latest liturgical books. However, Notitiae said, “if there is some necessity for before-Mass distribution, the priest should wear an alb and stole rather than Mass vestments.” This stand was reiterated in re sponse to another question relat ing to the practice of celebrating requiem anniversary Masses at spe cial altars where the Blessed Sac rament is not reserved. In these cases, according to the questioner, people often are required to leave that altar to receive Communion at an altar where the Blessed Sac rament is kept. Notitiae said it is “fitting that in each Mass hosts be consecrated for the Communion of the faithful even though their number be small, so that they participate more perfectly in the Mass.” Answering other questions, No titiae made the following points on varied subjects: —Special permission from the bishop is not required for priests to concelebrate the evening Mass of Holy Thursday unless the bish op has ruled otherwise. —The local Ordinary is compe tent to approve special versions of the new “Prayer of the Faithful,” recited after the Creed, without having to refer it to the liturgical bodies of national bishops’ confer ences. This interpretation, Notitiae said, stands until definitive laws are issued on the prayer of priests, pilgrimage and the like. —The formerly common semi nary practice to two Masses on Sunday, the first a normal commu nity Mass at which Communion is received and the second a solemn high Mass, does not fit into the spirit of the liturgy constitution. Communion should be received at the solemn Mass, Notitiae said, and if this “renders participation in another Mass difficult or impossi ble, it would seem the latter should be suppressed or perhaps made op tional, without prejudice to sin cere piety.” RELIABLE INSURANCE AGENCY Auto - Life - Fire and Homeowners Gray Simmons, Agent Specializing in Assigned Risks PHONE 786-6860 MT. AIRY, N.C. MOSES RICHTER Charlotte, North Carolina HARRIS HARDWARE and BUILDERS SUPPLY, CO. "The Builder's Super Market" Phone 786-6193 203 South Main Street *1 North Carolina Mount Airy,
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Oct. 31, 1965, edition 1
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