The Catholic times. [volume], November 26, 1954, Image 1

About The Catholic times. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1951-current

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Vol. IV, No. 8
-V
a’
Keeping Christ In Christmas
t-
I
I
To do any job well, we need
the proper tools. This holds
true in our spiritual life as
well.
There are many useful tools
we can employ to help us pre
pare for Christmas. This is
the first in a series of articles
to be carried
Times in a campaign to em
phasize the spiritual content of the
Holy Season preceding Christmas.
There are many beautiful customs
and rituals sanctioned b.v the
Church to enable the individual
and families to make this prepara
tion a
life.
The entire family can assist in
making the wreath as well as take
part in the ritual that accompanies
its use. There are many ways the
wreath can be made and here arte
a few' suggestions:
Take an ordinary round gelatin
(Collection
Sunday Will
Aid Pontiff
A Christmas gift for
Holy Father and financial
1
prepared.
in The Catholic
part of their intimate home-
such aid in preparing our
for Christmas is the use of
One
selves
the Advent Wreath in the home.
The practice is becoming more and
more popular and may be partici
pated in by every member of the
family.
the
sup­
port for the Catholic Univer
sity of America will be the
goal of a special collection to
be taken up throughout the
Columbus Diocese Sunday.
In scheduling the annual collec
tion in the diocese on the First
Sunday of Advent, Bishop Ready,
in a letter to all pastors, cited the
“great demands which are made
upon the financial resourses of the
Holy See from desperate peoples
in all parts of the world.”
The collection also is important
to Catholic University Bishop
Ready asserted, adding that the in
tellectual training it has given to
thousands of priests and lay men
and women has greatly enriched
the Catholic life of the nation.
"Responsible, moral leadership
national activity
factoi if the Uni
fulfill its destiny
of nations," the
In all areas of
is an important
ted States is to
in the family
bishop declared,
type of citizen which the Catholic
University in Washington is edu
cating for our country. It is a
great patriotic work to which all
of us should b* dedicated
It is just this
Contributions, he added, will
supply the physical resources nec
essary for Catholic University to
maintain its high standards and
continue its splendid record among
institutions of learning in America.
Usually scheduled annually, the
collection was not taken in the
diocese in 1953 because of the
nation wide fund campaign to com
plete the construction of the Na
tional Shrine of Our Lady in
Washington, D. C.
rnp
1 Lie
Use Of The Advent Wreath
The entire family can take part in making the Advent Wreath and in the ritual ac
eompanying its use. The wreath is one of the many spiritual aids that can be employed to
help the family make a proper preparation for Christ's coming on Christmas day. In the
picture above, Mr. and Mrs. James Lang and their family of St. Christopher parish, gather
to light the wreath they have
mold about 10 inches across, with
a hole in the center. Fill with soil
or sand, add four candles evenly
spaced and trimmed at the bottom
with purple and rose ribbons. Cov
er the base wjth evergreen and
there is your wreath.
Or you can buy a ring base
ready-made from a florist. This is
a wire frame filled with moss into
which evergreen twigs can be
stuck. Finishing nails or wire pegs
cut from coat hangers will hold the
candles in the ring. When inserting
pegs into candles, heat them slight
ly to make the going easier.
The wreaths may appear as table
centerpieces or can be placed, on a
home altar.
The first candle is lighted before
supper on the Saturday evening
preceding the First Sunday of Ad
vent.
The head of the family can read
a special blessing like this one:
FATHER: "Our help is in the
Nam* of the Lord."
Family: "Who hath mad* heav
en and earth."
FATHER: "Let u* prey. O
God, by Whose Word all things
are sanctified, pour forth Thy
blessing upon this wreath, and
grant that w* who use it may
prepare our hearts for the com
ing of Christ and may receive
from Thee abundant graces.
Through Christ our Lord."
FAMILY: "Amen."
The father then sprinkles the
wreath with holy water and reads
the prayer for the first week:
Here is another prayer which
also can be said:
"O God, by whose word all
things ar* sanctified, pour forth
Thy blessing upon this wreath
Abolishment
Of Clersv Bv
Reds Is Seen
FRANKFURT, Germany
(NC) If Communist persecu
tion continues at the present
pace, the Catholic clergy be
hind the Iron Curtain will be
exterminated within ten to 20
years, the director of a sem
inary near here said.
In an interview with the U.S.
Army newspaper, Stars and Stripes,
Msgr. Alfred Kindermann, director
of the Albertus Magnus seminary
at Koenigstein, said that commun
ist persecution has halved the
number of Catholic priests in East
Europe’s Iron Curtain countries.
He said there were about 40.000
priests behind the Iron Curtain be
fore the persecutions began. Now
he estimates there are only about
20.000.
An escapee himself, Monsignor
Kindermann directs one of the
largest havens in Western Europe
for refugee and escapee priests
from satellite countries. Those
priests have given him up-to-date
testimony on the grinding pressure
being applied to the Church. He
formerly w headed the German
priests’ seminary at Prague Uni
versity.
gu -v
and grant that w* who us* it
may prepare our heart* for th*
coming of Christ and may receive
from The* abundant graces. Who
livest and reignest forever.
Amen."
There is no set ritual to be fol
lowed-in the family observance of
the Advent Wreath custom, how
(Continued on Page 2)
Church's first martyr. It is ex
pected that special service* will
be held in parish churches
throughout the nat:on, as was
done in answer to the Bishops'
appeal last year in observance
of the day of prayer.
the statement
Hierarchy fol-
The full text of
by the American
lows:
of the United
We, the Bishops
States, cannot adjourn our meet
ing here without a statement of
protest against persecution and a
word of consolation to all who suf
fer. A year ago our thoughts were
with the persecuted of Eastern Eu
rope, long afflicted aqd much tried.
Today we add to these the people
of Vietnam and its neighbor na
tions who most recently have come
upon days of disaster and now face
the persecution so often known in
the Church of Christ.
We cannot end this meeting
which has been held in the free
dom of our beloved country with
out a plea to all who love justice
and hate iniquity that tttby will
stand with us in prayer and in
protest in prayer for the afflict
ed in protest against misuse of
power. For we cannot be so blind
as to imagine that Asia or Europe
stands alone. Rather there seems
to be a master plan of oppression,
world wide. In it. we of America
are included by intent as others
elsewhere are included in grim
reality.
The grim reality is that men are
in prison, men are broken, fami
lies live in fear or are disrupted,
nations are threatened or under at
tack. The grim reality is that such
oppression is an attempt to break
men’s faith in God or
men from their Savior
Church.
to divide
or their
W* pray then that God v-ill
restrain th* tyrant and relieve
the anguish of th* afflicted. We
beg our Catholic people to cher
ish well th* blessing* of freedom
they enjoy and to pray fervently
The Bishops condemned the
“pressure and violence” being
exerted by Vietminh commun
ists to thwart the provisions of
the Geneva agreement on Vietnam
The agreement assured the Viet
namese the right to decide freely
in which zone they wish to live.
The Bishops stated that the Viet
minh violations of these provisions
can no longer be permitted to pass
without the strongest protest.
The nearly 200 Cardinals Arch
bishops and Bishops assembled
here at their annual meeting took
these actions: They
—Directed the chairman of their
Press Department. Bishop Thomas
K. Gorman of Dallas-Fort Worth
to bring their indigination to the
attention of the general public.
—Called upon their Special Com
mittee to Promote the Pope's
Peace Plan, headed by Samvel
Cardinal Stritch. Archbishop of
Chicago, to issue a “white book"
within two weeks detailing these
violations of the Geneva agreement
in regard to hundred* of thousands
of Catholics in North Vietnam.
The Bishop* emphasized that
these violations of the Geneva
agreement persist in spite of the
presence in Vietnam of the In
ternational Commission for Su
pervision and Control. They de
clared that "this shameful situ
ation" is cause for indignation
in this country and throughout
the world.
The Bishops asserted that the
Vietminh are using trickery, pres
sure and the most brutal violence
to keep the people from using
their Geneva-guaranteed right to
choose where they wish to live.
They noted that hundreds of men.
women and children have actually
lost their lives while attempting
to exercise this right. Most of.
them thev charged, died of drrfcoF
mg when they tried to escape by
sea: others were machine-gunned
or bludgeoned on the beaches.
“These manifold violations of
(Continued on Page 2)
Prayer, Protests Urged
For orld’s Persecuted
WASHINGTON (NC) An appeal “to all who love
justice and hate iniquity that they will stand with us in prayer
and in protest” against the persecutions throughout the world
“to break men s faith in God” has been made by the American
Hierarchy.
Before adjourning their annual meeting at the Catholic
University of America, the Cardinals. Archbishops and Bishops
of the nation, issued the appeal,
entitled “A Plea for Justice.”
At th* same time, th* Bishop*
called upon the nation's 30
million Catholics to ebserv* Sun
day, December 26, as a day of
prayer for the Church's persecut
ed and persecutors. This day is
the Feast of St. Stephen, the
has
for those whose freedom
been lost or is in danger.
We beg our neighbors
them in the United States,
whom the blessings of our
ties here are a cherished heritage
—that by our united prayers, our
sympathetic understanding and by
action (as far as action lies with
in our power) w’e may give comfort
to those who are tortured in body
or in spirit, and that the power
of God will quicklj restore to
them in justice the freedom which
their souls crave and their nature
demands.
all of
all to
liber-
C&gaolic Times
Columbus 16, Ohio, Friday, November 26, 1954
Bishops Score
(Communism's
‘Latest eto'
WASHINGTON (NC)
The American Catholic Bish
ops have taken extraordinary
action to underscore their
“concern and indignation”
over what they called “com
munism’s latest veto Viet
namese lives.”
Bishop Ready is shown conversing with Bishop Matthew
F. Brady of Manchester, N.H. between sessions of the an
nual meeting of cardinals, archbishops and bishops of the
United States in Washington. At the meeting. Bishop Brady
was re-elected episcopal chairman of the Department of Edu
cation of the National Catholic Welfare Conference's Ad
ministrative Board. Bishop Ready was re-elected episcopal
chairman of the Department of Immigration of the NCWC
Administrative Board.
Legion Of Decency Day
Set Dec. 12 In Diocese
Catholics in the Columbus Diocese will be called upon
Dec. 12 to renew the pledge to stay awaj from indecent, im-
moral motion pictures and other forms of entertainment
The occasion has been designated as “Legion oi Decent) Da\
by the Bishops ot the United
States.
Bishop Ready, announcing the
date in a letter to all pastors this
week, asserted that it is becoming
more and more necessary for the
clergy to lead the faithful to a “ful
fillment of the ideals embodied in
the pledge
Bishop Ready declared:
“The assistance of the law in
this regard has been weakened
the cooperation of producers and
distributors is indifferent to any
plea for righteousness and morali-
“There remains only the detei
mination among people of good
conscience that evil will not pre
vail and that vouth will be protect
ed from an uncensored parade of
Bishop Ready Vi ill
Preside At Forty
Hours In Cathedral
Bishop Ready will preside at the
opening of Forty Hours Devotion
at St. Joseph Cathedral next Sun
day at the 11 a m. Mass. Celebrant
of the Mass will be Monsignor Har
ry S. Connelly, pastor of the a
thedral. Father Bernard McClory
and Father George Fulcher, assist
ants at the Cathedral, will be dea
con and subdeacon of the Mass re
spectively. Father James Kraus,
S.T.D.. assistant pastor at St Mary
Magdalene Church and professor
at St. Charles Seminary, Columbus,
will preach the sermon.
The Bi-hop will also preside at
the closing ceremonies of the devo
tion Tuesday evening at 7.30 m.
Father Omer Schroeder, professor
at St. Charles seminary, will preach
the closing sei mon.
St. Michael School Dedicated
The naw 10-classroom St. Michael's School in Worthington
was dedicated by Bishop Ready Sunday. In the picture above, the
Bishop blesses the new concrete block building as an estimated 450
parishioner* look on. At the Bishop's right is Father John i. Byrne,
pastor of St. James the Les* Church, deacon at the ceremonies.
Other priests assisting at the dedication were Msgr. Roland T.
Winel, chancellor of the diocese Father John P. Byrne, pastor of
St. Michael's and hi* brother, Fr. James O. Bryne, pastor of St. Paul's
Church, Yellow Springs. The school already ha* 290 pupil* in it*
eight grade*. It is staffed by th* Sister* of St. Francis of Mary
Immaculate.
wrongs and temptations to wrong
on the motion picture screen
The pledge follows:
In the name of the Father end
of the Son and of the Holy Ghost.
Amen.
I condemn indecent and im
moral pictures, and those which
glorify crime or criminals.
I promise to do all that I can
to strengthen public opinion
against the production of inde
cent and immoral films, and to
unite with all who protest
against them.
I acknowledge my obligations
to form a right conscience about
picture* that are dangerous to
my moral life. As a member of
the Legion of Decency, I pledge
myself to remain away from
them. I promise, further, to stay
away altogether from places of
amusement which show them a*
a matter of policy.
is because
Pope said,
movements
support to
It
VATICAN CITY (NC) His Holiness Pope Pius XII
has called on the labor movement to aim higher than at mere
material gains and to set its sights on the sublime values of
civilization, the union of minds and hearts.
The Holy Father developed these i—
thouehls in an address to member'
thoughts in an address to members
of the administrative council of
the International Labor Organiza
tion (ILO) whom he received in
audience at Castelgandolfo.
After praising the organization
for its efforts in seeking improve
on an
contin-
factor
Pope
ment of the human
all-arouna basis, the
ued:
“The International
ization has not desired to represent
only one social class or to become
the means of expression for one
exclusive tendency. It accepts all
that is constructive, and all that
corresponds to the real necessities
of a harmoniously composed soci
ety.’
Labor Organ-
of these efforts,
that Christian la
have been giving
the International
of the
the
bor
full
Labor Organization, one
specialized agencies of the United
Bishop To Attend
Bishop Ready will give the invo
cation at ceremonies opening the
22-mile Eastgate section of the
Ohio Turnpike Wednesday. The
dedication is set for 10:45 a m. at
the Ohio Pennsylvania state line.
At the ceremonies. Mrs. Frank
Lausche will unveil a plaque, and
Janies W. Shocknessy. chairman
of the Ohio Turnpike Commission,
will place documents in the cor
nerstone of the Eastgate Toll Plaza.
Other ceremonies are scheduled
at 9:30 a m. at the Niles-Youngs
town Interchange, west of Youngs
town. and at the Youngstown Inter
change.
Afterward, the dignitaries will
attend a luncheon at the Youngs-
town Country Club. At this time,
Governor Lausche. Shocknessy and
Pennsylvania Governor John S
Fine will give the radio signal
opening the super highway to pay
ing customers.
.....................................
Downward Trend
“Indeed, the trend in public and
private’ morality ha* been down
ward: there is an alarming disre
gard in practice for God s teaching
and for God’s law,” the Bishops as
serted. “Is there any need to in
stance the growing evils in family
life, the lustful self-indulgence
which leads from birth prevention
to divorce, from broken homes to
the lives of youthful delinquents?
Need we adduce in evidence the
appalling circulation of indecent
literature, and the low moral level
of so much of the public enter
tainment in these days?”
The Bishops said it “is not that
the existence of God is expressly
World Labor Movement
Praised By Holy Father
Nations. “They (Christian labor
groups) hope thus to reach iheir
social objective more quickly and
more securely he said, explain
ing this objective as the establish
ment of living conditions that safe
guard the inalienable rights of the
human person as contained in natu
ral and formulated in positive law
However, the Holy Father went
on. law itself is little more than
a barrier and an indifferent norm.
What is always essential, he added,
“is the spirit that animates the
law’s defenders.”
“It is not only the interests of
the working class and its attain
ment of the full exercise of its
own responsibilities that are
stake, but rather the *uture of all
human society,” the Pope explain
ed.
“The labor movement cannot be
satisfied with material successes
or a more perfect system of guar
antees and assurances of a greater
influence on the economic regime,”
the Holy Father said, adding that
the labor movement cannot 'con
sider its foundation in terms of
opposition to other social classes
or to exaggerated state dominion.”
“The end to which the labor
movement tends must be consider
ed on the same plane on which
your organization (the ILO) has
placed it, namely on a world plane
—as the 'Encyclical Quadresimo
Anno envisioned it—m a social or
der where material benefit results
from a sincere collaboration of all
toward the general welfare and
where it serves as support for the
most sublime values, those of civil
ization, and above all the inde
fectible union of minds and
hearts.”
Improving mutual relations in
industry is one of the best
things
done by the International Labor
Organization, the Pope said.
“Among all sectors into which
your activity reaches today, that
of relations between employers
(Continued on Page 2)
Help Fight TB
Buy Christmas
Bishops Emphasize
Need For Renewed
Faith To Curb. Evil
WASHINGTON (NC) The threat of atheistic ma
terialism, “a tyranny already imposed upon a billion souls,’*
can be combatted in this nation by renewing “our Faith in God
and in His Christ” and by clinging again “to that Christian
moral code which is the American way of life at its purest
and its best,” the American Hierarchy has declared .5
The nation’s Cardinals. Archbishops and Bishops sounded
the 'warning and prescribed the antidote in their statement
released at the close of their annual meeting here in the
nations capital. The title of the
1954 statement is ‘'Victory Our
Faith.”
The Bishops emphasized that the
tyranny of atheistic materialism
can come in the form of commun
ism or as godless humanism They
said: ‘‘We need, first of all. to
identify our enemy to recognize
it for what it really is” And they
warned: ‘‘If our nation is to escape
the fate of Poland and of China, of
Jugoslavia and of Hungary, and of
so many others, if we are to survive
as a free Christian nation, then we
must be clear-eyed and we must
he strong.”
Material strength, the Bishoo
reminJed, is necessity, but
“like physical vision," it not
enough. The Bishops said: "This
nation must look to its spiritual
strength. Our vast physical re
sources and our nasterly tech
nical skills will avail us noth
ing unless we are a people strong
in the faith that gives purpose
to action, and in the morality
which fosters discipline and
courage. The tru* strength of a
Christian nation is in the power
of God which out veighs all force
of arms."
The Bishops said that in recent
times th. drift from God and from
the spiritual way of life ha weak
ened this country. They observed
that in the last few years, there
has been a rise in church member
ship “but in tne light of other
evidence, one is forced to que«tion
how significant such mere statis
tics may be.”
A
Price Ten Cents $3.00
Year
o- drn fd it i* rather
that so many men ignore Him and
His lav. their absorption with
the material world which He cre
ated There no deliberate turn
ing aw a. from God but “an excess,
ive preoccupation with creature*.”
the members of the Hierarchy de
clared
"This term of materialism re
veal* itself as secularism poli
tics and government, as avarice
in business and in the profes
sions, and as paganism in the per
sonal lives and relations of all
too nan men and women the
statement declared.
Materialism has brought about a
decline in the influence of relig
ion upon American life and has
caused “Confusion our thinking
and a of paralysis of the na
tional will.” the statement contin
ued. The Bishops said history clear
’hat ..n'e-s ‘“we arrest
this religiou5- decline, unless we
push back the domestic invasion
of materialism, w» 'hall not be
able to withstand the enemy
from without.” Materialism is the
rea r-nr y bnih at bnme and
abroad the Bishops said.
Faith Is the Key
The Bishops sa th nation
n^ed- f’.r-t oi al ta:’h in God be
cause faith i' the first essential of
human living. Faith is the key to
knowledge of the big' est and nob
lest character, the statement as
serted. for by “faith, we rise above
the things of earth and ef time and
glimpse the things of heaven and
of eternity.”
“The Western v orld. with its
law of fraternal charity and ita
humane culture,” the Bishops de
clared, “was created by this Faith
in God and His Son, Jesus
Christ. At its best, our civilization
was the fine flowering of the Chris
tian Faith. Now that the West has
fallen from its former greatness,
let us recognize that it is because
so many have fallen away from the
Faith, or have denatured it by
dilution and compromise
“We have fallen down before
the idols of flesh and of gold. It
is not the True Faith that has fail
ed us it is we who have failed
the Faith A weak and vacillating
Christianity, a partial, truncated
Christianity, paying lip service to
God and to the spirit, but devoted
in practice to man and to matter,
can never triumph in the battle
with total, determined material
ism
“Our nation if it is to survive,!
(Continued on Page 2)
Official
Bishop’s
Appointments
Wzdnesday, December 1st:
9:30 a. m.—Invocation, opening
of Ohio Turnpike, Pennsylvania
Border.
Thursday, December 2nd: 7.30
p. m.—Confirmation, Christ the
King.
Saturday, December 4th: 9:00
a. m.—Mass and Investiture Cer
emony, Carmelite Monastery, Co
lumbus.
Sunday, December 5th: 9:00 a.
m.—Mass, Cathedral Corporate
Communion by Knights of Co
lumbus commemcrating Bishop
Ready's 10th anniversary in Co
lumbus 4:00 p. —Confirm*
tion, Saint Sylvester, Zaleski
7:30 p. m‘.—Confirmation, Holy
Trinity, Jackson.
Monday, December 6th: 7:00
p. m.—Invocation, Ohio Farm
Bureau annual meeting, Ohio
Stat* airgrounds.
Wednesday, December 8th:
11:00 a. m.—Pontifical Mass, Ca.
thedral 4:00 p. m. Blessing of
new Vest Wing, Saint Anthony
Hospital, Columbus.
Thursday, December 9th 6:00
p. m.—Blessing of Rectory, Our
Lady of Peace tarish
Sunday, December 12th: 11:00
a. m—Mass and Ground-break
ing Ceremony, Good Samaritan
Hospital, Zanesville 3:00 p.
—Confirmation, Cathedral.
Saturday. December 25th:
Midnight, Blessing of the Cri|,
Pontifical Mass, Cathedral.