editorials
It's Good lor People
A few years ago the curriculum of the elementary schools for the
Diocese of Raleigh called for a study of Communism, “What You
Should Know About Communism and Why,” geared to the mentality
of the upper grades and which met one hour each week. The tool was
an attractive book intended for the boys and girls, well illustrated
with graphs and photos of historical action. The response was worth
while, a spontaneous enthusiasm for projects which illustrated items
of history, geography, religion and a beginners’ introduction to Catho
lic sociology.
Previous to the use of the text we explained what kind of a
“subject” this study of Communism was, simply saying that it tells
how an individual.person gets along with other people. We told the
children that sociology helps a person to have a good life in this
world so that he may desire with greater hope for the things which
Christ, Our Lord, has promised to us in the future life with Him in
Heaven. For the fifth time now within the lifetime of our senior
citizens, the Holy Fathers have written in great detail on matters of
Christian sociology. Each of these encyclicals met an urgent need of
a particular deeade.
More than anyone else in the world, we Americans dread the
rising costs of armament spending, yet Pope Paul writes of the budget
of expenditures of wealthy nations, “When so many people are hun
gry, when so many families suffer from destitution, when so many
are steeped in ignorance . . . every exhausting armaments race be
comes an intolerable scandal.”
When he handed over the twelve-thousand-word document last
week entitled “Development of Peoples” for universal publication,
Pope Paul simply remarked, “Sta tuto bene” . . . “It is good.” He
asks that people of the human family see the need of solidarity of
human rights: basic social justice and the duty of universal charity.
A few weeks ago at High Point we heard the American-born An
glican bishop of Kimberley, South Africa, describe the horrible pres
sures under which millions of virtually enslaved people live under the
“apartheid,” the derivation of the word actually meaning “hatred
apart.” Remote to us, it is hard to believe that such inhuman condi
tions exist.
On the other hand, the Wall Street Journal says in part the en
cyclical is a kind of “warmed-over Marxism which is highly unlikely
to help the bulk of poorer nations.” The extremes of the misuse of
the capitalistic system are cited, especially in the case of India. The
Asiatic country, it said, has not provided for its food needs during
the years of American relief. Perhaps the “famine even U.S. food
cannot eliminate, but which could have been prevented by more sen
sible domestic policies” is at fault. Capitalism says dependent nations
misuse aid.
We on the other hand may offer Israel as a nation that has used
aid to assure its solidarity. Fraternal Jewish concern supplied not
only financial aid, but initiative, technological know-how, and as a
result this small isolated independent nation has used Capitalism
wisely and made of itself the garden spot of the Near East.
It may well be a fact that we are “starting to recognize that
misused foreign aid impedes rather than advances the development
of peoples” as the Journal concludes, but this frustration of ours must
not blind or stop our ears to the needs of suffering in the problem
nations.
Time magazine sees the Papal document a bit out of date as it
says Capitalism today is a continual investment process rather than
a medium of amassing fabulous personal fortunes by a few. Surely
there have been many mistakes in foreign aid, squandered funds,
misappropriated by the under-privileged nations themselves, stolen
by politicians, no doubt monetary responses which have even been
turned against our intentions by transactions with the Red Line, but
we must remember that the sociology of the parable of the Good
Samaritan” remains the Papal way and not that of the almighty dol
lar.
Secularization ...
The first time we ever heard the word “Secularization was its
use by our high school teacher when lie described the ousting of all
teaching and nursing religious by the French government shortly
after the turn of this century. As a Christian Brother he was forced
to leave his homeland and teach French in America. Upon bringing
up the matter at the dinner table, our parents told us of the Seculari
zation of Germany under Bismarck’s Kulturkamph, which was a “happy
fault” for it brought many religious from that country to meet the
tides of immigration to our shores. The only religious community
which was officially permitted to remain in France was the Little
Sisters of the Poor, taking care of the elderly.
Then the term “Secularization” next came to our attention as we
studied for the diocesan clergy and we were classified as “Secular”
priests in distinction to “Religious” priests of Community rule. Some
times we heard the Sisters saying that they were not permitted to
eat with the “seculars” meaning, no doubt, the laity.
Then of recent date came a news story of the “Secularization” of
a midwestem women’s college, owned and operated by Sisters. Edi
torial reactions were contradictory as* different writers had various
interpretation of the word . . . from a crass materialistic defini
tion to a stand that it was thoroughly a Catholic-oriented college to
be administered by Catholic laity. >
Now Catholic headlines add to the confusion of the definition
with flags as “Guideline on Academic Freedom Urged to Bishops ’ or
“Urges Education in Conciliar Changes” or “Students, Faculty Con
sultants as School sets to become Secular” or “Challenge to Catholic
Schools: Produce Contemporary Christians,” or at the Atlantic City
convention last week: “Catholic Higher Education Said Involved in
Secularization Progress.”
Rational dialogue depends upon a mutual understanding of ter
minology as well as the acceptance of good will and intention on both
parties. Before adding to the present confusion let us consult the
dictionary and arrive at some agreement of meaning, so that we
are talking about the same thing. _
New Papal Best Seller
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Archbishop Lucey
Upholds U.S. Vietnam Policy
SAN ANTONIO, Tex. — Pres
ident Lyndon B. Johnson and a
large delegation of Latin Ameri
can ambassadors and envoys
heard Archbishop Robert E. Lu
cey of San Antonio strongly de
fend the United States’ policy in
Vietnam as morally justified.
“Unjust aggression must be
halted by the nations as a
whole,” Archbishop Lucey de
clared. “Such intervention is not
merely allowed and lawful, it is
a sad and heavy obligation im
posed by the mandate of love.”
The Mass was part of a round
of activities for the ambassadors
and envoys from more than 30
Latin American countries who
were in San Antonio for a week
end visit as well as for a series
of conferences with the Presi
dent at the nearby LBJ Ranch.
Stressing that peace is every
body’s business, the archbishop
noted that during the Vietnam
conflict Pope Paul VI has raised
his voice repeatedly to aggres
sors and defenders to come to
the peace table to negotiate a
cease-fire and an honorable
peace.
Archbishop Lucey said that
last Feb. 8, President Johnson,
in a letter to North Vietnamese
President Ho Chi Minh offered
to stop the bombings in the
North and freeze the U.S. troop
level in the South, if Ho would
stop his infiltration tactics.
“In view of the fact that the
communists cannot win,” the
archbishop remarked, “this di
rect action by our President was
both historic and magnificent.”
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He said the reply of the com
munist leader was “as usual
scornful, arrogant and brutal to
his own people.”
“Peace is not a blessing which
happens by chance,” the prelate
said. “There must be established
the basis for peace and then on
that basis peace must be or
ganized — the machinery of
peace must be built.”
Archbishop Lucey quoted at
length from principles pro
claimed by the late Pope Pius
XII to justify the morality of
U.S. intervention in Vietnam.
Archbishop Lucey said that
according to Pius XII it is law
ful to defend freedom of reli
gion, freedom of conscience, the
democratic way of life, and, in
general, vital human rights and
fundamental freedoms. “The
saintly Pontiff,” the archbishop
added, “goes beyond that to
proclaim that the defense of
liberty and justice is an obliga
tion of the nations as a whole
who are bound if they have the
power to defend the nation at
tacked.”
Cites Pacifists
Referring to pacifists who con
tend the United States should
wage peace, not war, the arch
bishop reminded that Pope Pius
XII once declared conscientious
objection to the just defense of
one’s country was wrong. “If
history has any lesson for us it
is this: unprovoked aggression
imposed by force has seldom
been stopped by meekness,” the
archbishop said.
“If the major nations of the
world had agreed to defend jus
tice and peace with force at the
turn of the century,” Archbishop
Lucey said, “we would all be
much better off today. If we had
made it clear half a century ago
that we would defend justice
and peace with all our power,
the unjust aggressors would
have feared to start a war.”
Eucharist
Continued from page 1A
overcome as a result of the
latest meeting.”
The group, it was reported,
plans to prepare statements at
its next session “indicating the
developing convergence and the
continuing difficulties in regard
to the Lord’s Supper.”
THE CATHOLIC Bishops’
Committee on Ecumenical and
Inter-religious Affairs will host
the next meeting, Sept. 29 to
Oct. 1, in St. Louis. The sixth
meeting will be held March 8-10,
1968, at a place to be deter
mined.
Catholic theologians giving
papers at the fourth meeting
were: Father Jerome D. Quinn,
Professor of Old and New Testa
ment, St. Paul (Minn.) theolog
ical seminary; Father Thomas
Ambrogi, S.J., Professor of Sac
ramental Theology and Ecumen
ics, Woodstock (Md.) College;
James McCue, School of Reli
gion, State University of Iowa,
Iowa City.
Lutheran speakers included:
Dr. Bertil Gaertner, Professor of
New Testament, Princeton (N.J.)
Theological Seminary; Dr. War
ren A. Quanbeck, Professor
of Systematic Theology at Lu
ther Theological Seminary, St.
Paul, Minn.; Dr. Arthur Carl
Pipekom, Chairman, Depart
ment of Systematic Theology,
Concordia Theological Seminary,
St. Louis.
ASKED TO AID
Brasilia, Brazil — (NC) —
Brazil’s president-elect Arthur
Da Costa e Silva was asked to
aid in completion of the new
cathedral here at a Mass of
thanksgiving he attended after
his election. The request came
from Archbishop Jose Newton
de Almeida Batista of Brasilia,
who celebrated the Mass.
NORTH CAROLINA CATHOLIC
Weekly Newspaper
for Raleigh Diocese
Second Class postage paid at Hunting
ton. Indiana.
Entered at the Post Office in Hunting
ton. Indiana, U.S.A., at the rate of post
age provided for in Section 1103 of the
United States Act of October 3, 1912
and of February 28, 1925.
Associate Editors
Rev. H.C.X. MulhoHand
Rev. Frederick A. Koch
Address: Box 9503
Raleigh, N. C.
Tel. 919-833-5295
April 16, 1967
Vol. XXII, No. 27
Catholics' Right to
Seek Laws Said
Force on Citizens
QUERY: Is it right for Catho
lics to seek legislation which
would impose their views about
moral questions on the com
munity as a whole?
Answer: There is question
here of legislation which would
restrict freedom in a field in
which freedom might otherwise
be presumed. We are not dis
cussing proposed legislation
which would make it obligatory
to violate a clearly established
requirement of the natural law.
Legislation restricting free
dom is quite common under all
forms of government. Speed
limits for those who drive on
public highways would be an
example. Another example
would be zoning laws, designed
to protect existing neighborhood
characteristics. When such laws
are made, at the instance of
those who believe them to be
necessary for the common good,
all citizens are obliged to ob
serve them.
Large segments within the
community have strong convic
tions regarding such activities
as the showing of obscene films,
the displaying of pornographic
literature and the dissemination
of birth control information.
They are fully within their
rights as citizens when they at
tempt to have legislation en
acted which would restrict or
forbid such activities. They are
likewise within their rights
when they attempt, by lawful
means, to keep such legislation
in force when it already exists
for the same reasons. Those who
hold opposite views are not pre
vented from attempting by law
ful measures to have restrictive
legislation removed.
Unanimous Vote
It is unsound in principle to
suggest that Catholics should
not insist on their own convic
tions regarding the matters un
der discussion because these
convictions are not shared by
those of other faiths. It is
equally unsound in principle to
hold that Catholics should not
work for the introduction or re
taining of restrictive legislation
is of its very nature unwelcome.
It will always be opposed; it will
never represent, in its applica
tion to concrete questions, the
unanimous conviction of all to
whom it will have reference.
Laws are necessary because
large numbers of people are not
disposed to conform voluntarily
to the prescriptions of law.
Necessity
The critical question is not
how many people are opposed to
the law, but whether or not the
law is necessary for the com
mon good. The attitude of Cath
olics on moral problems such as
those under consideration is not
determined by the purely dis
ciplinary regulations of their
Church, but by their honest con
viction that what they believe is
morally sound independently of
their religious convictions.
Catholics are not bound to
yield even to the honest convic
tions of other groups when they
themselves are certain of the
moral validity of their own
views. The support of state leg
islation may be lawfully sought
by any group within the state
who have strong reasons for
their own views on moral mat
ters. There is no valid ground,
either in natural law, or under
the Constitution of the United
States, for the assertion that
Catholics have no right to op
pose legislation that would re
move what they regard as re
strictions necessary for the
moral well-being of society as a
whole. (Boston “Pilot”)