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4—THE CATHOLIC TTMTA Fndav, Sept. 17, 1954 THE CATHOLIC TIMES Published Every Week by The Catholic Times, Inc. Columbus. Ohio NOTICE: Send All Changes of Address to P. O. Box 636 Columbus. Ohio Executive and Editorial Offices: 246 E. Town Street, Columbus 15, Ohio Address all communications for publication to P. O. Box 636, Columbus 16. Ohio Telephones: CA. 4-5195 CA. 4-5196 Price of The Catholic Times is per year. All subscription* should be presented to our office throurh the pastors of the parishes. Remittances should be made payable to The Cath ol ic. Time*. Anonymous communications will he disregarded. We do not hold ourselves responsible for any views or opinions expressed in the communications of our correapondenta. Entered as Second Class Matter at Post Office. Columbus, Ohio. St. Francis de Sales. Patron of the Catholic Press. Pray for us! This Paper Printed by Union Labor Thp intention of the Mayur to form a commit tep which will work with city officials in prepai ing a lav. “with teeth in it" to rid the city of the menace of bad comics is an action which should re ceive the applause and backing of the entire com munity And. if it is to work, this committee will need the .’ooperation and backing of all interested citi zens of this community. The committee will design and promote the necessary legislation needed to ban comics which teach, condone and glorify crime, sex and violence. It will be up to the members of the community, though, to a great extent to see that this legislation is effectively carried out. Parents, teachers and newsdealers will be the vanguard of the public force which will back up the coming legislation. W. Carl Long, a Worthing ton druggist, started some weeks ago to lead the the way in what must be a “grass-roots” war against bad comics and other forms of obscene literature He is doing what others must do: censoring and sending back to the publisher all objectionable ma terial. Any store which sends the comics hack will naturally be cutting off some of its profits. If the pattern holds good here that has obtained in other communities across the nation, the dealers may even have to battle distributors and publishers on the ‘package” plan in order to retain their bus iness in good publications. If so, the end, in this case is well worth the means. Tracing the development of the fight against had literature in other communities we can pre diet that some “fringe” operators, publishers and distributors will try to minimize the danger of had rnmics, etc. in an attempt to thwart any action that would hurt them in the pocketbook, which the war on bad literature will certainly do. We refer anyone who would feel himself in clined to agree with the contention that loo much Is being made over the presence and danger of filthv literature in the community to Dr. Frederick Wertham's recently published book.' “The Seduc tion of the Innocent.” The eminent New York psychiatrist paints a terrifying picture of the quality and quantity of smutty writing and its effect on the minds o( out youth His calm, factual and detailed indictmenl of the comic industry alone will satisfy the most skeptical and incredulous that a very real danger and basis for alarm is present where .in action is taken to police and destroy what is had in the literature available to our youth St. Francis Hospital All citizens of this community can well echo Bishop Ready when he declared that his announce ment denoting the merger of St. Francis Hospital with St. Anthony’s was made “with sentiments of sorrow Like the departure of old friends, the bonds which linked the hearts of (he community to this venerable institution will be cut with many a twinge of sadness For nearly one hundred years St Francis has been a haven of refuge and a source of healing for the sick of every color, race and creed. The Sisters nf St, Francis have endeared themselves to lour generations of this area’s people by their unselfish and devoted sacrifice. The memory of their work amongst us al St. Francis is a permanent and im portant part of our community history. As such it will never be forgotten The sadness of farewell, however, in this case, is softened to a great extent by the knowledge that this community will continue to be served by this staff of devoted Sisters in the new' and en larged St Anthony’s which will be formed by the merger of the two hospitals Bishop Ready expressed what is in the hearts of us all when he wrote: “All of us who cherish St. Francis and what it contributed to the welfare of Columbus express a prayer of thanksgiving to God for its splendid mission to the sick through almost a century May we add a fervent prayer that God prosper and direct them in their new venture of selfless, devoted service in our midst I he Half Mill Levy Life in the modern city has become so compli cated that projects which have an important hear ing on the future of the community as a whole, are practically unknown to many of the citizens It sometimes also happens that the people who sup port a particular project become so impressed with the importance of their particular idea that they overlook the value of the projects proposed by other groups. The need to consider all projects unselfishly and to determine which suggestions are most important is evident. In our own Columbus, for some ten years the work of the Metropolitan ommitttee has helped determine the order in which many civic community needs are met Within the past week the Metropolitan Commit lee has again voted support to a series of levies and bond issues. The pa.v.age of their proposals will as sure Columbus and Franklin County a continual ion of progress and the well being of its citizens In the weeks to come, there will be much writ ten and much said about the need to pass the levies. Thde people who are particularly interested in nne or other proposal will work to secure its pass age. In our concern for the poor, we should not overlook one small levy of one-half of one mill which is proposed to support poor relief and child welfare There will be few who are actively working for the passage of this levy -ince it is the pool who will benefit The poor themselves lack the necessary influence and helpful organizations which will support the other levies and bond issues In our own concern for the poor the Church must speak out as always for the downtrodden At the present lime relief rolls are up 300 pei eent nx er a year ago In terms of people this amounts to some four Io live thousand citizens. For more than fifteen years monev from the excise taxes collected by the State of Ohio and from the matching money provided by the State Welfare Department was used to care for the poor. Now that the needs of the poor have become greater, there is an urgent need for local tax money from both city and count) The same situation exists n a somewhat dil fereni way regarding 'he care nf children who nr* in charge of the County Child Welfare Rnard xnfl Die County Children’s Home. The economic conditions which have increased the relief rolls and the social problems which have followed the increased papulation in Franklin County have thrown an increasing burden onto the public agen cies responsible for the care of children. The 5 mill levy will also help meet the increasing costs of child care. Just Among Ourselves Passing Commant Considered or Inconsiderate l^et us continue the discussion we began last week. All devoted readers of this column.—the whole dozen of them,—will clearly recollect that we were speaking of morals as contrasted with mores. And we had reached the point of estab lishing the existence of the natural law, noticing that this law is well expressed in the Ten Com mandments. For, while the Ten Commandments are super naturally revealed to us in the Word of God, they are naturally knowable too. A studious person could think them out, failing only in one detail, that is. the precise day that shculd be set apart for special honor to God. Yet fallen man is not studious. Thinking connectedly and deeply is a hard task. Therefore, while a normal person could think out the Commandments, verv few persons would actually do so. Thus it is a great kindness of God, and a thing relatively necessary for us, that He should make known by supernatural means, these vitally needful laws for human living. Even a person who is not studious must notice, onefe (he Commandments are made known to him. that they are perfectly reasonable laws, and that they make for human decency, peace, and happi ness. Without the sane restraints which they im pose, and the obligations they lay upon mankind, life on earth would be savage, chaotic, and without hope of peace and harmony. Indeed, all the dis turbances which mJrrk and have marked the con duct of men and nations in the social and polit ical history of the race, may be referred directly to one cause.—the ignoring of the Commandments of God. A man is aware of the reasonableness of the Commandments because he is, by his nature as a thinking being, aware of their core and essence in the briefest expression of the natural law: “Do good avoid evil.” A person past infancy is as nat urally conscious of the existence of good and evil in the universe as he is conscious of health and sickness in himself and other men. It is manifest that customs of various kinds arise among men it is just as manifest that the fundament al moral concepts (good, evil, duty) are not the product of such customs. It is merely mud dled thinking which identifies mores with morals, It is also muddled thinking which identifies actions which are brought under a law’ with the law itself. And there is a great deal of this par ticular type of muddled thinking. Thus you will hear a man remark that what used to be evil is sometimes found good in our enlightened age. Hence this muzzy-minded person concludes, the moral law itself is a changing*thing. You might just as well say that because some item of food,—say horse meat,—was once considered vile and is now, in some localities, acceptable, that people have no permanent equipment railed the sense of taste. And lor those who deny morality by saying that a thing is sometimes considered morally good among a certain people and morally bad among othera, we may remark, with Chesterton, that this is like saying that because some people like the smell of frying fish and others dislike it, w’e have proof that none nf these people have noses. The point is that all peoples of all times have had a clear concept of good and bad, and of their duly to do the one and avoid the other. No matter what special items (indifferent in themselves) may he included in the category of good, or in that of evil, among different peoples or at different times, the basic fart is unchanged. The law is not less the law because wisdom nr ignorance includes things under its rule or excludes them from its application. There are many things so manifestly out of line with reason (and man’s thinking mind or reason is what makes the natutral law binding) that no moral person could ever regard them as good,— such things, for example, as theft, or murder, or lying, or vicious calumny. These things under no circumstances, can bp brought into conformity with reason They are called things evil in them selves. Such are the things prohibited by the natural law and forbidden by the Commandments of God. There are other things so evidently in accord with the reason that no normal person can regard them as evil,—such, for instance, are respect for human life, recognition of one’s duty to God. co operation in just and equable social efforts. These things are good in themselves. Now, it Is to he noted that when a thing Is evil in itself, nothing whatever can make it good. Rut what is good in itself can be made evil by a perverse human will. Just so, a poor painting can not he made good bv a splash of while paint, but a good painting can he spoiled by a splash of black paint. Most of our human actions have no morality themselves Walking, talking, eating, thinking, are in themselves acts that are morally indifferent. Yet when a person performs such an action, he will inevitably do so reasonably or unreasonably, and by that fact will bring the action under the moral law. It is reasonable, for instance, to walk or talk or eat or think in a manner that involves no excess, no harm, no bad purpose, no unsuitable ness hence these acts are morally good. But it is unreasonable, and therefore morally evil, to talk for the purpose of annoying another, or Io disparage him it is evil to walk out for the purpose of doing wrong it is evil to eat Io excess it is evil to think upon degrading things, And therefore every action that a man performs with full attention and choice is either morally good or morally evil. It is so either in itself or in its circumstsances. And this morality „f deliber ate human actions is always objective It is a mor ality of things, and not merely a person's view of things. It is possible for a perton to have a mistaken notion of the morality of things, at least of some things.. The Kanakas of the Sandwich Islands thought it evil to step on the shadow of the king. And, indeed, if (his action were an accepted symbol of rebellion and disloyalty, it was wrong, not be cause the shadow- of a king is holy but because rebellion and disloyalty are unholy. If grandma considered smoking sinful, she erred but she did not err a bit in considering obedience to parents and deference to sane social practice as proper and virtuous. And if the passing of time makes grandma change her opinion on the first point to the extent that a cigarette is seldom absent from her lips, she has not changed at all on the second point. With her, practice has changed morality has not changed. And this is ever so. Morality itself never changes. Only the things which are circum stantial can, and do. change. The natural law itself is changeless. WASHINGTON LETTER WASHINGTON When disas ters such as hurricanes and earthquakes strike, society’s re action is now usually dramatic and highly efficient. Medical aid, emergency housing and feeding facilities and communication re pair crews can be rushed to the stricken area promptly. But disasters of another sort can be less dramatic and hard er to relieve. They are the hu man tragedies behind the cold statistic that every year 350.000 Americans are added to the num ber of physically handicapped who need rehabilitation and op portunity, in order Io continue as useful, independent citizens. This is a field that has always been of special interest to Cath olics— ever since the example was set by Christ Himself. Not very many years ago— perhaps three or four decades —there was next to nothing in the way of general public pro grams for rehabilitating the handicapped in this country. In recent years, interest in the prob lem has zoomed ahead, and with it a wide variety of practical programs have begun to create some hope for persons with al most any variety of physical im pairment. There is still a long way to go. LOUIS I Hl DEN/ Speakers before the recent American Legion Convention in Washington who exposed the folly of “peaceful coexistence” caused hyper tension among the Commun ists. The Daily Worker edit orially declar ed that these speakers “join ed in the howl for a more warlike stand, for an increase of war tension in the world.” be the Red th That is now to me in reply to Cardinal Spellman's frank words and the denunciation of the “co existence” idea by President George Meany of the American Federation or Labor. This is an utterly false theme. If our leaders pay heed to it, not peace will result but the dev astation and destruction of the United States. Cardinal Spell man put it forcefully when he warned that if Americans are beguiled by “peaceful coexist ence” they invite the possibility of another Pearl Harbor “em bracing the whole American people.” Leader* Hoodwinked The Communists themselves bear witness to the necessity of our lidding ourselves, once and for all. of all such fatal illusions. The August 23 rejoicings of the Daily Worker at the collapse of the European Defense Commun ity is merely an addition to its joy at every breakdown in the feehte efforts of the United States to defend itself. Those ef forts are so feeble, every reading of Communist documents will confirm, because a considerable America A iva kening ^1/ 1 The Handicapped In Industry and two events at this time one in August and one next month—are serving to focus at tention on the progress made and the road ahead. Late last month, the President’s Commit tee on Employment of the Physically Handicapped held its annual meeting here in Wash ington And a few weeks hence, from October 3 to 9. the coun try will observe National Employ the Physically handicapped Week. This w-eek was first ob served in 1945, as the impact of World War II in human physi cal impairment began to be realized. It has been marked by presidential proclamation every year since. Keynote of current efforts for the handicapped is rehabilita tion. In the last ten years a great deal of progress has been made in stimulating public and em ployer acceptance of the useful ness and employability of handi capped persons. In fact, many U.S. industries are now, through experience, sold on the fact that some learned years ago: for jobs they can do, the handicapped turn out results far above the average for non4iandicapped workers. They have been found above average in conscientious Australia Exposes Red Sham number of our leaders have been hoodwinked into adherence to “peaceful coexistence.” The myth that Soviet Russia means peace when it talks “peace” has been exploded again in the hearings before the Royal Commission on Esfflonage just concluded in Australia. Oui daily press has been very coy about giving full information on the startling revelations made there. America Should Know We do have the news report that Madame Rose Marie Oilier, formerly second secretary at the French Embassy in Canife rra, has been arrested as a Soviet spy because of the testimony of Vladimir Petrov, former Soviet diplomatic agent *in Australia. That is something, for it does give us a glimpse of the Soviet penetration of the diplomatic staffs of various countries, but it is not enough. There have been revelations which make cer tain that all Red talk of “peace ful co-existence” is a shameful sham. All America should know about them and I am able to share them with you because of the courtesy of my friend, Thaddeus Armstrong, in forwarding cur rent copies of the Sydney Morn ing Herald from the island con tinent. “Assassination” Agency Unchallenged and unchalleng ahle evidence presented to the Royal Commission disclosed that Soviet Russia is feverishly set ting up an extensive espionage system throughout the world in preparation for '‘inevitable war in the near future.” That was the sense of a letter of direc tives to Petrov fro »i Moscow and of a coded message from 1he Soviet capital. In order to carry Zo rd/ ness, and in attentiveness. But also, the blind, for instance, have been found better than oth ers at some types of testing work, and the deaf at desk jobs and jobs needing concentration on minute mechanisms. Groups interested in the field have em phasized the idea that it is abili ties that count, not disabilities. Rehablital ion work, on the other hand, concentrates on the special problem that not all handicapped persons are employ able, and that some need special preparation and training both for living and, earning. What is especially encourag ing today is to see how practical reasons tor handicapped pro grams are pointing in the same direction. Not only are employ ers seeing the special value of the handicapped as good work ers. Statesmen are recognizing more and more that the rehabili tated, independent, employed handicapped not only take the “lie” out of liability, but actual ly make an important contribu tion to the nation's economy, in production, in the taxes they pay and in countless other ways. It is one more striking case where practical realism agrees very strikingly with moral con siderations. on fully Soviet underground work in all democratic countries, seven “directorates” of espion age are functioning from the Soviet foreign office. At least five of these are in every coun try. including the United States. In addition to those “director ates” which respectively cover political intelligence, military espionage, technical infiltration, and the organization of sabotage, there is also one specific agency set up for the assassination of “Soviet enemies.” That is only the beginning of the story. Practically every mem ber of every Soviet embassy or consulate is a representative of one or the other of these agen cies. Each of them works in co operation with the Soviet secret police, here in the United States as elsewhere. The written direc tives on espionage order Soviet diplomats “to concentrate atten tion on the study and recruit ment of persons engaged on sec ret work of the government (for instance, that of the United States) and occupying leading* posts in political parties and or ganizations, capable of supplying us (Moscow) with valuable in formation.” That order should be re-read, so that it can be used to rid many gullible people of their animus against "McCarthyism.” Press Members of Secret Police The Tass news agency—The Soviet-controlled press service— has long been an object of sus picion in Washington. But Petrov tells us directly what it is: an important arm of the Soviet es pionage service. Every member of the Tass staff must be a mem ber of the Soviet secret police, the former Soviet diplomat de clared under oath. Inquiry Corner Q. Is it a sin to tell a slander ous statement made by another regarding the morals of another, especially if not true? Is it an obligation on the part of anyone who knows the person who started the slander to make known their name in order to clear the names of the persons offended? A. Slander is a false report injuring the reputation of an other and is always a sin against the Eighth Commandment. It is more serious as it deals with more serious matters and slan der involving the moral life of a person is ver/ serious. The pri mary obligation to restore the person’s good name rests with the slanderer. He is bound in conscience to correct the false account he has given. Another person who knows of the offense should approach the slanderer and remind him of his duty if that is possible. If the offender will not make reparation the innocent person or a responsible associate may take steps to cor rect the slander. This would not seem to involve making mention of the slanderer. Advice of the pastor of the place would seem to be desirable, but in any case correction of the evil should not lead to a greater evil. Q. What is restitution? A. In the Old Testament the reparation for things stolen was very strict. “If any man steal an ox or a sheep, and kill or sell it: he shall restore five oxen for one ox, and four sheep for one sheep.” (Exodus 22:1) Resti tution is the logical consequence of the Seventh Commandment. It means restoring to the owner goods which have been stolen or the equivalent. If the owner is dead stolen goods must be re stored to his heirs. If the owner or heirs cannot be found after reasonable effort restitution may be made by giving the amount involved to the poor or to pious causes. No one can be forgiven in Confession without promising to make restitution. Q. Is it possible for a couple to have a Nuptial Mass in the morning with the marriage cere mony taking place in the after noon? I have observed that uhen the Mass follows the mar riage the couple must come to the altar several times and I feel that this is distracting and non Catholics do not understand what is happening. A. The Nuptial Mass is a votive Mass offered with special pray ers for the couple being married and including the NuptAI Bless ing for bride and the blessing of the couple before the Ia»t Blessing. While these “interrup tions” in the Mass may be unus ual they should be considered an unusual privilege. The Ca tholic marriage ceremony is By John Vlam* Father Healey——-------------- given a special beauty and dig nity primarily because it is join ed with the Nuptial Mass. A study of a pamphlet such as that by the Liturgical Press or the leaflet Missal would show the great beauty of the Nuptial Mass with the special blessings. Many couples provide copies of them for those attending the wedding. There is no custom sanctioning the arrangement you mention and the Synodical legis lation of the Columbus Diocese excludes afternoon ceremonies. Q. What prayer does one say when one lowers the head and strikes the breast three times for Benediction? Quote the prayer that one may say to gain an indulgence that goes something like, “Behold me, Jesus most kind A. There is no prescribed pray er to be recited at the moment ef Benediction in Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. The Rac colta mentions a prayer for any time before the Blessed Sacra ment exposed: “Jesus, My God, I adore Thee here present in the Sacrament of Thy love!” (300 days indulgence) The Raccolta has three prayers beginning “Be hold, 0 my most loving Jesus, how far Thine exceeding love hath reached! etc.” (page 119), “Behold. O good and sweetest Jesus, 1 cast myself upon my knees in Thy sight etc.” (Page 132). and “Behold me at Thy feet, O Jesus of Nazareth, behold the most wretched of creatures etc.” (Page 142). They are too long to reprint here. See the Raccolta, A Man ual of Indulgences, published by Benziger Brothers, Inc. Q. What is the Douay Bible* A. Published chiefly by Eng lish priests living in exile it has been the official edition in English of the Bible since 1610 (the New Testament was trans lated in 1582) It takes its name from the place in Belgium where the exiled English Catholics pub lished this approved translation. Since the New Testament was finished while the college was temporarily set up in Reims the edition is also known as the Douay-Reims. In the 18th cen tury Bishop Chailoner brought out a revised edition which was the commonly accepted one until our own time. There are several approved English translations which have come out in recent years. You may notice that the American Confraternity of Chris tian Doctrine edition of the New Testament is subtitled “A Re vision of the Challoner-Reims Version.” Send questions to Father Ed ward F. Healy, Inquiry Corner, The Catholic Times, Box 636, Co lumbus (16), Ohio. Catholic Management Tins is the first of three “guest columns" by Mr. John Quincy Adams, based on an ad dress he delivered at Serra In ternational Convention in Grand Rapids.. Mich. Mr. Adams.a prom inent leader in field of Catho lic social action, was one of the founders of the Catholic Council of the Rood Industry in New 1 ork City, and has been a fre quent participant in regional meetings of the Catholic Con ference on Industrial Problems. In 1948 the New York Chapter of the Association of Catholic Trade Unionists awarded him its annual Quadragesimo Anno Medal for his outstanding lead ership in the field of Catholic social action, I am grateful for the oppor tunity afforded me by Monsig nor Higgins to express a few thoughts on the responsibility and opportunities of manage ment in the light of Catholic so cial teaching My remarks on this subject are based on my own experiences as a Catholic businessman, as chairman of the coordinating committee of the food industries of New Yot k— a group of 50 trade associations —and as a firsthand observer at the scene of some of the most flagrant transgressions of its sacred trust by management. 1 refer in this matter to the New York waterfront. The task before us is the re form of man and institutions. This cannot talc, place unless we have individuals and organiza tions dedicated to reform. Indi viduals cannot effect this reform no matter how powerful their personalities. Organization ex tends and perpetuates the influ ences of individuals and com pensates for their weaknesses. There is no substitute for organ ization. Management Organization All classes and groups—labor, management, white and black, Jew, Protestant and Catholic— have a vital role to play in this reform, all bound together by charity and a teal for social jus tice. Just as the worker must go to the workers organizations, so we in management must go to management organizations. It was for this reason that Pope Pius XI urged organization of employers when he said, “But if this cannot be said of organi zation which our same predeces sor intensely desired establish ed among employers and manag ers of industry and we cer tainly regret that they are so few the condition is not whol ly due to the will of men but to far graver difficulties that hin der associations of this kind which we know well and esti mate at their full value. There is. however, strong hope that these obstacles also will be re moved soon, and even now we greet with the deepest joy of our soul, certain by no means insig nificant attempts in this direc tion, the rich fruits of w'hich promise a still richer harvest in the future.” Without Sectarian Base The purpose of such organiza tions should be to push forward and give practical application to the grand ideals of Christian social teaching. These employer organizations should not have a narrow and sectarian base. They should be open to all regardless of race, color or creed. For there can be no reform of our econom ic structures unless workers, management, and the public gen erally believe that such reform is desirable. We must have a similar framework of underlying beliefs and ‘alk the same lan guage. Unless we believe in the sacred dignity of man, we can not build an economy that works for man and the common good of all. We must believe with the Holy Father that “to receive one’s wage is a prerogative of the per sonal dignity of anyone wrhn makes his productive contribu tion in one form or another as employer or laborer, toward the output of the nation's economy." As did Leon Harmel, that far sighted and sainted French em ployer, we must learn to con eider those who are in our plants not jnerely as employees or wage earners. They are men and women who. like ourselves, were made by God to know Him and love Him. That they are employ ed by us is just another condi tion of their lives. From us. their employer, they must receive no evil and as much good as pos sible. Man, Not Profits The plant and its atmosphere are shaping the lives of workers. Ours is a world of plants and industry. It is in this world that we have to be Christian. Our vo cation as employers is surely to practice in a special sense the virtues of prudence, justice and charity. Employers bear serious responsibilities, spiritual and ec onomic.