The Catholic times. [volume], November 26, 1954, Image 3

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

Image provided by: Ohio History Connection, Columbus, OH

                
VICTORY OUR FAITH
The Bishops of the United States of America, gathered
in annual assembly at Washington, send greeting and paternal
blessing to all their priests, religious, and people.
This greeting and blessing we send to you with mixed
hope and concern. For while our hope is in the blessing of
Christ and His Church, our concern is aroused by a tyranny
already imposed upon a billion souls. It threatens the destruc
tion of our own land as it has
already attacked the culture of
others. The tyranny is atheistic
materialism, whether revealed in
communism or in godless human
ism.
The battle is joined. If our
nation is to escape the fate of
Poland and of China, of Yugoslavia
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
be strong. It is the blind and the
weak who fall into the pit.
We need, first of all, to identi
fy our enemy to recognize it for
what it really is. Some see the
enemy only as a political state or
group of states, or merely as an
economic system. Spiritual vision
gives better intelligence of the
fact. The enemy is atheistic ma
terialism. Whether it be en
trenched in the organs of a for
eign state, or in one of our own
domestic institutions, it is athe
istic materialism that seeks to
destroy us. This is the enemy.
In the second place, we must
he strong. Material strength is
necessary, of course, and its pro
per organization and disposition
are of immediate urgency. But
material strength, like physical
vision, is not enough. This nation
must look to its spiritual strength.
Our vast physcal resources and
•ur masterly technical skills will
avail us nothing unless we are a
people strong in the faith which
gives purpose to action, and in the
morality which fosters discipline
and courage. The true strength
nf a Christian nation is in the
power of God which outweighs al!
force of arms.
Unfortunately, in recent times
the drift from God and from the
spiritual and supernatural view of
life has seriously weakened this
country. It is true that a rise
in church membership has been
reported during the past few years,
but in the light of other evidence,
one is forced to question how
significant such mere statistics may
be. One looks in vain for any cor
responding increase of religion’s
beneficent influence upon the na
tion’s life. Indeed, the trend in
public and private morality has
been downward there is an alarm
ing disregard in practice for God’s
teaching and for God’s law. Is
there any need to instance the
growing evils in family life, the
lustful self-indulgence which leads
from birth prevention to divorce,
from broken homes to the broken
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?
God Ignored
It is not that the existence of
God is expressly or generally
denied it is rather that so many
men ignore Him and His law in
their absorption with the material
world which He created. There
is not yet a deliberate turning
away from God, but there is an
excessive preoccupation with crea
tures. This form of materialism
reveals itself as secularism in
WASHINGTON The following is the full tert of the ___ __.__
statement issued by the Cardinals, Archbishops and Bishops of the
United States at the close of their annual meeting here:
politics and government, as avarice
in business and in the professions,
and as paganism in the personal
lives and relations of all too many
men and women. “This people
honors Me with their lips, but
their heart is far from Me.” (Mark
7, 6).
Materialism has brought about a
decline in the influence of religion
upon American life. Confusion in
our thinking and a sort of paraly
sis of the national will have been
the inevitable results of this de
cline. Here then we have the
source of that weakness which is
causing so much concern to men
of good will. Unless we arrest
this religious decline, unless we
push back the domestic invasion
of materialism, we shall not be
able, as history clearly attests, to
withstand the enemy from without.
Materialism is the real enemy,
at home as well as' abroad. In
its varieties there is ’ittle differ
ence of kind the difference is
largely one of degree. Both are
deadly for America. The way of
matter and of the flesh is the
way of death the way of God
and of the spirit is the way of
life. If we would have life, we
must renew and reaffirm our
Faith in God and irWHis Christ
we must cling again to that
Christian moral code which is
the American way of life at its
purest and its best.
We need Faith, first of all be
lief in God and in the Son Whom
He sent us, Jesus Christ. Faith
is the first essential of human liv
ing. But let us be clear about
what we mean by this wondrous
word. Faith is not a mere emotion.
It is not a vague sentiment of rev
erence in the presence of goodness
and beauty, or of awe in the
presence of mystery. Faith has
to do with knowing, not with feel
ing. It is knowledge jn its highest
and surest form. Faith is the in
tellectual act by which, under the
influence of grace, we accpet on
the authority of God the truths by
Him revealed.
By Faith, we know. It is a key
to knowledge, to knowledge of the
highest and noblest character. By
Faith, we rise above the things of
earth and of time and glimpse the
things of heaven and of eternity.
From this high point of vantage,
we sweep the horizon of human
life from origin to destiny, and
make the discovery that God is our
beginning and our end. With
Faith we break through the bar
riers of nature, to the supernatural
vision of grace. How they mis
understand who consider Faith a
mere pious emotion! It is, instead,
the surest of all forms of cogni
tion the word of Him Who knows
unerringl.v and speaks with truth
because He can neither decicve
nor be deceived. God Himself is
both Revealer and Guarantor of
the truths of Faith.
Let. us be clear, too, as to what
we mean when we utter the Sacred
Name of God. Those who have
confused the notion of Faith, have
also falsified the wonder which is
God. To the timid who retreat be-
Christmas Seal Sale Project
3b
Members of the school press project advisory committee met
at the Tuberculosis Society recently to plan for the annual educa
tional event conducted throughout Franklin County. Open to every
junior and senior high school in the county, the project is advised
by a committee of faculty members. Clockwise are committee mem
bers Father Bennett Applegate, diocesan superintendent of schools
Mrs. Sally 3ruggemann, Grove City-Jackson High School Miss
Caroline Moores, East High School, and Miss Estella Paul, Central
High School. During the past several weeks scores of Catholic stu
dents from seven different schools have participated in the TB
press conferences and tours to the tuberculosis hospital, conducted
by the Society to prepare for the school press project. The project
Is one of a number of health education activities sponsored by the
Tuberculosis Society through Christmas seal funds.
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fore any positive assertion, there
can be no understanding of the
majestiy nf Pure Being, Infinite
Affirmation, which is God
Shallow men prattle of a
shadowy world spirit or essence of
things of a dim projection of the
ego, of a hypothetical construction
of the mind for the purpose of
explaining the hidden laws of
nature. The reality is so inexpres
sibly greater, warmer, more up
lifting, more comforting, more pro
foundly influential in our lives.
God is. He is self-subsisting, per
fect Being. He is Personal God,
all-wise, all-powerful, all-good, all
just, all-holy. He is changeless,
eternal, infinite. He is one God
in three Divine Persons. He creat
ed us innocent and holy. He re
deemed us after our fall into sin.
He sanctifies us. He is our begin
ning and our final purpose or end.
He loves us as our Father with a
tender love, and He wants our
filial love in return. He gave us
His Son as our Brother, and with
the love that surpasses all other
loves, our Brother laid down His
life to give us life eternal.
Here is the answer to all our
questioning the satisfaction for
all our needs. The purpose of hu
man life can be summed up in
the three luminous propositions
which define our relationship to
God: we were created to know
Him, to love Him, to serve Him.
We were created by Him and for
Him. We shall find no rest until
we rest in Him He is the fulfill
ment of all our aspirations—
truth and goodness and beauty.
He is the beginning and the end,
our origin and our destiny. He
is our only hope for happiness.
The most perfect revelation of
God to man is made in His Son,
Jesus Christ. He is Emmanuel,
God with us. Just as the Creator
brought light and order to the
ancient chaos at the dawn of crea
tion, so His Divine Son, Jesus
Christ, restored light and order
to a world sunk in error and evil.
The mission and message of Christ
complete the earlier, partial reve
lations of God, and launch the
world on the Christian era.
Triumph In The Cross
The era of Christ! In the sign
of the Cross, Christ conquers the
paganism which had enslaved man
kind, and He sets man’s feet on
the highroad of Faith, Hope, and
Love the highroad of happiness
through harmony with God, with
fellowman and with himself. Jesus
Christ restored meaning and pur
pose and love to human life He
warmed and illuminated our life
where before it had been cold and
dark. He rescued man from the
wild wandering and the black des
pair of the atheistic materialism
of that day. In this day of the new
paganism, we Christians can again
triumph in the sign of the same
Cross of Christ.
Christ is the Prophet and the
Teacher, in whose doctrines are
the truths which inspire and satis
fy the souls of men. He speaks to
us with power and authority. He
has the words of life eternal.
Christ is the Priest, the Media
tor. His is the great Atonement.
By His Sacrifice, we are redeemed
from our sins. The Cross of Cal
vary stands for that great love
which throughout the centuries
has drawn men powerfully to
Christ that love by which He
laid down His life for His friends.
And Christ is King, the Lord of
Heaven and earth, whose Kingdom
endures for ever and ever. He is
the Lawgiver, laying down the
code of conduct that binds the
consciences of men. He is the
Judge, merciful and just. Who re
wards the good and punishes the
evil. He is the Ruler Who reaches
from end to end mightily and dis
poses all things well. From Him
alone do earthly magistrates rec
eive their power of governance.
He is the King of Kings. Worship
and obedience, order and discip
line. filial love these He exacts
from His subjects, but in return
He gives them His Father’s love
and His Father's home, rich, lar
gess of grace and abiding peace of
soul. Truly, to serve Him is to
reign.
This, then, is what we mean by
the Faith this is the truth about
God and Jesus Christ. This is
why we repeat without ceasing
that God and His Christ afford
the answer to all our problems,
and provide the solution to all our
difficulties. Those who have never
known the Christian religion, or
who have not known it in its full
ness as taught by the Catholic
Church, should turn to it now, and
examine its credentials. It is the
answer to their quest.
The Western world, with its law
of fraternal charity and its humane
culture, was created by this Faith
in God and in His Son, Jesus
Christ. At its best, our civilization
was the fine flowering of the
Christian 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 de
natured it by dilution and com
promise. We have fallen dowm
before idols of flesh and of gold.
It is not the True Faith that has
failed 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 materialism.
Our nation, if it is to survive,
must, recover and renew its Chris
tian Faith. Here alone can we find
purpose to end the present con
fusion strength instead of weak
ness. a dynamic zeal to overcome
Full Text Of U.S. Bishops’ Statement ‘Victory--Our Faith’
Pope Again Lauds Zea]
Of U.S. Bishops, Flocks
WASHINGTON (NC) His Holiness Pope Pius XII
has once more lauded the zeal of the American Bishop? and
the charity of their flocks.
In a new and special message, His Holiness has commend
ed the diversity and magnitude ol the works undertaken by
American Catholics at home, and their generosity in assisting
the Supreme Pontiff in carrying on his works of assistance
to the needy round the world.
“Welcome indeed is the oppor
tunity presented to Us once more
of addressing this word of ben
evolent greeting to you, Venerable
the difficulties of life, an uplifting,
soul-stirring motive for the fight
to the death against the total
materialist enemy. In the sign of
Christ's Cross our ancestors in the
Faith conquered the ancient pagan
ism and gave mankind the golden
ages of the Christian era. We in
our day shall conquer the new
paganism, atheistic materialism, in
the same triumphant sign.
Signed by the members of the
Administrative Board, National Ca
tholic Welfare Conference, in the
name of the Bishops of the United
States:
Edward Cardinal Mooney, Arch
bishop of Detroit.
Samuel Cardinal Stritch. Arch
bishop of Chicago.
Francis Cardinal Spellman. Arch
bishop of New York.
James Francis Cardinal McIn
tyre, Archbishop of Los Angeles.
Karl J. Alter, Archbishop of
Cincinnati.
Patrick A. O'Boyle, Archbishop
of Washington.
John F. O’Hara, C.S.C., Arch
bishop of Philadelphia.
Joseph E. Ritter, Archbishop of
St. Louis.
Francis P. Keough, Archbishop
of Baltimore.
John J. Mitty, Archbishop of San
Francisco.
Richard J. Cushing, Archbishop
of Boston.
Michael J. Ready, Bishop of Co
lumbus.
Matthew F. Brady, Bishop of
Manchester.
Thomas K. Gorman, Bishop of
Dallas-Fort Worth.
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Brethren, upon the occasion of
your annual meeting," His Holi
ness wrote. The new letter was
addressed to the Cardinals, Arch
bishops and Bishops gathered at
the Catholic University here for
their annual general meeting.
"A year of effort and accom
plishment has crowned the noble
resolutions of your last confer
ence," the Pontiff continued, “and
as you come together again under
the guiding influence of God s
Holy Spirit, you will assuredly
draw from this Divine source re
newed wisdom and courage for
the pursuance of the multiple tasks
which face you collectively and
individually as Bishops in your
great country.
"Let all that you do be done
in charity. (1 Cor. 16:14). It is
for Us a continuous consolation
that your many diverse and wide
spread activities are infused
with that charity of which the
Apostle speaks. The magnitude
of your works is known to Us
and attests to your consuming
desire as zealous shepherds not
to be wanting in service to your
flocks.
“And for Us as the Universal
Shepherd your maganimous never
failing charity to those in need
outside your own United States
has sustained Our hands in as
suring the suffering multitudes
and in drying the tears of their
desolation.
“We cannot but repeat Our
gratitude to you and your flocks
as you continue in the mission of
charity, and while assuring you of
Our prayerful intercession that
your discussions and deliberations
may be rich in fulfillment for the
welfare of souls. We impart with
heartfelt affection to you. Vener-
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Reds Sentence
Polish Bishop
To 20 Years
BONN, Germany (NC)
An Auxiliary to His Eminence
Stefan Cardinal Wyszynski, im
prisoned Primate of Poland,
has been sentenced to 20 years
in prison, according to reports
by KNA, German Catholic
news agency here.
Attributing its information
to Polish exile sources in Lon
don, the agency reports at the
same time that the prelate. Auxil
iary Bishop Anton Baraniak of
Gniezno is seriously ill because of
able Brethren, and to Our beloved
children committed to your pas
torial care Our paternal Apostolic
Blessing.”
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Latest Teaching Methods Demonstrated
Sitfars and lay teachart of the diocesan school* attended centralized language art* and science
demonstrations this rWonth conducted throughout the diocese by Miss Elizabeth Flynn, education con.
suitant from Chicago. The group pictured above attended the demonstration presented at Sacred Heart
School, New Philadelphia, participated in by teacher* trom Sacred Heart, St. Mary, Dennison St.
Joseph, Dover and St. Nicholas and St. Thomas, Zanesville. Also attending were Sister Mary Lilian,
O.S.F., diocesan school supervisor, and Sister Celestine, diocesan cafeteria supervisor, both of Co
lumbus. Miss Flynn is pictured at extreme left, ’’’he classes were also conducted at Our Lady of
Peace and Corpus Christi Schools, Columbus, and St. Peter School, Chillicothe. Using pupils from
various grades in her demonstration classes, Miss Flynn described the latest teaching methods in
language arts, including reading, spelling and pronuncation. and science classes.
grave communist mistreatment. He
is reported to have been placed
in a hospital in Kobierzyn near
Cracow.
Bishop Baraniak was arrested In
October 1953. about the same time
as Cardinal Wyszynski. The re
gime reportedly charged him with
“espionage harmful to the people's
democracy.”
A Salesian, Bishop Baraniak was
active in educational work and
promoting vocations to the priest
hood before becoming secretary to
the late Cardinal Hlond and later
to Cardinal Wyazynski.
o----------------
College Rprtor Appointed
VATICAN CITY (NC) Fa
ther Ludwik Semkowski. S.T.D
has been named rector of the
Polish College here. He succeeds
Father Bronislav Zielinski. S.J. The
college was founded in 1866 under
the auspices of the Holy See for
the higher education of Polish
priests.
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Holy Name
Notes
The JatLedral Holy Name So
ciety has set Sunday, Dec. 12, as
Communion Sunday. All members
will attend Communion in a body
at the eight o’clock Mass. A break
fast at the K of Hall, S. Sixth
St., will follow the Mass. Serving
on the committee for the affair
are Jerry O’Shaughnessy, chair
man, William H. Eckenrode and
Charles W. Scott.
—-o----------------■
MILWAUKEE. Wis. (NC)
Series II of “Life is Worth Liv
ing" by Auxiliary Bishop Fulton J.
Sheen of New York is the Decem
ber selection of the Catholic Liter
ary Foundation. Series I of the
same title, which was a national
best seller, was offered by the
foundation in January, 1954.
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