The Catholic times. [volume], September 30, 1955, Image 4

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4—THE CATHOLIC THIES
Friday. Sept. 30, 1955
.....
THE
CATHOLIC TIMES
Published Every Week by
The Catholic Times, inc.
Columbus. Ohio
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Religion and Brainwashing
Education without i elision is not education.
That ought to be clear by this year oi 1955. en
turies of progress have not dimmed this fact and
modern progress only serves to make it more ap
parent to those who care to know it. Only the blind
of mind and the opponents of religion refuse to
realize what is plainly before them.
Perhaps this truth was never more apparent
than when a priest and a Rhodes scholar came out
of the depths of Communist China recently. The lay
man intellectual was a good example of the success
of “brainwashing'' by his Communist captors. He
was confessing his “guilt” and professing the value
of Communism. He e\en felt sorry because he was
not worthy nr did not measure up to the om
munist ideals In contrast to this sad defaulting
on the part of the Rhodes scholar, was the quiet
reserve and patience of the priest He told report
ers: “I fought Communism. I fought sabotage,
strikes, demoralization and progressive (pro
Communist) actions at my university.
Now all can be quite sorry for the long months
of suffering endured by both these lormer pi ison
ers of the -Reds. But it would seem quite apparent
that intellectualism alone was not sufficient to
withstand the mental and physical tortures of the
Communists. Without moral values, without intel
lectual discipline, without self control and training
in spiritual fundamentals, without a devotion to
truth, how can one stand up under attacks such as
those made by Red persecutors of religion
The revelation in a Congressional investigation
lome weeks ago that two-thirds of the high school
children of New York City had not an much as
heard of the Ten Commandments, must give pause
to the people who are concerned about the future
moral and social fabric of our great nation. If there
is moral training in the school, and if (as seems
apparent) the home does not instruct in such funda
mentals as the Ten Commandments, then whence
will the future citizens derive the conscience, the
moral principles with which to conduct .themselves
and thereh" keep society from complete deterior
ation and ruin?
Something more than knowledge of material
things is evidently necessary. The priest in his long
years of training had sought Truth. His devotion
to God, Who is Truth, and to sound moral and spir
itual principles, made his the truly educated mind.
The Rhodes scholar needed more than knowledge
to withstand the tortures of “brainwashing." It
may hr well tn see if the beginnings of “brainwash
inf" a moral way arc not already under way on
a large scale in our very midst.
Brought to Christ
Sunday’s Mass opens with a prayer for peace
framed by the Psalmist centuries ago a prayer
that has been echoed by generation after genera
tion. and that represents the hopes and desires of
our nwn times in particular. And the Gospel selec
tion brings home to us the fact that the peace we so
long for must, indeed, he sought in prayer, as a
gift of God It is an account of one of Christ’s nur
acles, dealing with human suffering, incurable by
human means, as is true of so many of the afflic
tions that the world suffers from today.
The paralytic who was brought, “lying on a pal
let,” and set at the feet of Jesus, was blessed in
having friends so concerned for his welfare that
they refused to accept the verdict that his case
was hopeless after great difficulty they got him
into the presence of the Master, with the result that
their faith and the afflicted man's faith were re
warded by a double manifestation of divine mercy
and omnipotence First Christ spoke the.words re
storing life to the soul of the paralytic: “Take cour
age, son, thy sins are forgiven thee
And then came the lesser miracle, which arous
ed tear and awe in the hearts of the crowds stand
ing hy: “Rise," the Savior said, “take up thy pal
let and go to thy house. And the man who hail
been helpless found life and strength coursing
through his wasted limbs “he arose and went away
to his house. The man's need had hecn desper
ate. hts soul was stained with sin. and his body
wax stricken wuh a malady which was a living
death: bringing him to Christ meant the solution
for all that had seemed hopeless.
If all the world could be brought to Christ, as
this paralytic was, how swiftly would the woe and
distress that weigh so heavily upon civilization
be dispelled! The paralysis that has descended
upon men and nations, rendering them unable to
free themselves from the trials that enmesh them,
is not alone physical, or mental moral disorders,
indifference Io spiritual values are the basic cause
of the confusion and helplessness Faith in Christ,
a turning to Hun for aid and direction, obedience
to Hi* tea hings and commands thexe would bring
the glorious message: “Thy sins are forgiven arise
end walk!"
Th” fact that nations and the world as a whole
ere so mriillerrnt tn the saving power of Christ
means that His follow us, those who profess to know
Him and trust in Him, arc not sufficiently zealous
in bringing the afflicted to him they fail to turn to
Hi.j when they encounter desperate cases of spir
itual and physical suffering Their own faith should
be so strong that it would inspire faith on the part
of others the vigor of their faith should be evi
denced in the uprightness of their lives, in their
charity, theii justice, so that the world would want
to know the Source of the grace that fires them.
We canno* look for a peaceful, happy world until
men. helpless in their sins and their afflictions,
are brought to Chri.d.
Religious Russia
Anil the Realities
W
Sometime we feel sure that (I) (hu own
United St.-tc- the most naive nation in world
hUKory 2 that there was nevet a countrs «n in
(■lined to shut eves tn unpleasant realities, CJ)
that the first
cHIb i
coloi eri glasses (unless
the Russian claim (hi* dr covci too) weie invent
ed and reached their widest ii: i ibution rmhl heie
«t Lome
?This p. -sib y cyni'a! reaction w.1.1 brought on
by.- the statements of sonic I’olLanna wanderers
who have recently returned from a carefully con
ducted tour of "religious" Russia Everything was
fine Religion «»s flourishing “There are 1.500
Catholic and BOO Uitheran churches open to the
people,” said one.
Fortunately, our cynicism is considerably check
ed hy a more realistic report from some down-to
earth business men who saw what they saw, not
what they wanted to see. Their report, too, haw on
its side the recommendations of logic and ordinary
horse-sense. How could religion flourish in Russia?
Recently interviewed in the U. S. News find
World Report the business men answered the fol
lowing questions:
Q. Did you visit any churches?
A. Most of the churches are abandoned. Some
of the ancient churches are being restored. A few
churches are being used.
Q. Were there many young people in the
church,
A. Not many. Having heard that it was only
the older people who go to church, we w-ere sur
prised to see as many as we did. There were per
haps 10 or 15 youngish men and women and maybe
a dozen children out of about 300 people alto
gether.
Q. Did you see anything that looked like a
marked religious revival?
A. No. During the war period there was re
vived interest, but our impression is that religion
is on the decline. It has heen maintained hy the
old people. The young people with whom we
talked scoffed at religions belief (italics ours).
The influence of the schools is anti-religion, and
a teacher who was religious himself would not
dare exert a religious influence on any of the
pupils.
Just Among Ourselves
Passing Comment Considered or Inconsiderate
The newspapers tell us that there is concern
among some sectarian religious leaders about the
“peace-of-mind" type of religion that is commonly
preached to day and notably by radio. This sort of
religion is currently popular many people are join,
ing “the church of their choice there seems to
he what the papers call “a real resurgence of inter
est in religion.” The leaders who are worried think
that perhaps the movement is wrongly motivated:
“God has been made to appear a servant of man
rather than the opposite.”
This objection is not without solid foundation.
For when a man faces the fact and the responsi
bility of human life, and looks to a judgment to
come, he must realize that his business is to know,
love, and serve God, and not-merely to seek peace
of mind for his own present comfort.
Peace of mind can mean several things. II may
mean a mere lulling of worries that ought not to be
lulled. It may mean the “escapism” of the man un
willing to exert effort in the acquiring of virtue
and the knowing of God’s will in his regard.* Or it
may mean the true peace of soul which comes with
the conscious possession of God s grace (not the
emotional or imaginative self-assurance of having
God’s grace), despite the continuing trials and
stresses of earthly life.
life is meant for the steady carrying of the
Cross of Christ. Life is meant for duty, and duty
is never altogether free from pain. But true peace,
—the peace of soul, the peace of Christ of which
Scripture speaks, can exist side by side with hard
ship and suffering. It was to people enduring much
for the sake of Christ, people who might at any
moment be called upon to endure persecution and
death, that the Apostle wrote the confident words of
hope, “May the peace of Christ abide in your
hearts.”
The fundamental truth to remember here is
this “the truth shall make you free.” A person in
quest of peace must know what he is to believe
and what he is to do. Without that knowledge, he
is a traveller without a map he cannot know
whether he is actually travelling to,the right goal or
away from it. To what purpose would anyone advise
such a man to cultivate peace of mind? Rather, the
only sane advice to give the traveller is to find
the right road and then travel it faithfully, even
if it is a hard one to follow. He may not have peace
of mind or peace of body as he toils forward, but
he will have peace of soul in the knowledge that he
is making headway towards the true goal. He will
have the hardships of struggle, but he will “not
fight as one beating the air he will have the
painful effort of the race, but he will “not run as
at an uncertainty.”
Now, it has ever been thr mark of the sects
that they cry out against the need of knowing, and
knowing for sure, what men are to believe and to
do. They shout down truth as “dogma," and they
decry any authentic directives touching morals as
an effort to enforce slavery or serfdom. Christ told
His Church to 'teach all men." Rut the sectarians
say that to accept teaching is to enslave the mind.
Christ told His Church to have men do “all things
whatsoever 1 have commanded.” But the sectarians
say that to accept direction of conduct is to enslave
the will.
And now it appears that the sectarians are
troubled about the poor fellow to whom they have
denied the light of infallible truth, and the direc
tives of infallible authority. They tell him he is
indeed in a had way, hut that he is not to worry he
is to cultivate "pea -e of mind.” No wonder the
more thoughtful among the religious leaders in
the sects are dubious about this easy prescription
for living No wonder they are troubled as they
face the fact that the “peace of mind" business is
a service of sell and not of God. No wonder they
conclude that this type of religion puts God in the
place of a servant and man in the place of the
person to be served.
One minister remarks, "Of Course, religion will
give you peace of mind. All true religion seeks
to do that, and accomplishes that." But the purpose
of religion is to adore and serve God, and to gel
a man to heaven ultimately, with perseverence in
God's grace religion will bring the peace which
surpasseth understanding. But there is no guaran
tee that it will bring "peace of mind" here on
earth.
A hen a naval officer, captain of a gun crew,
asked Arnold Lunn whether his conversion to the
Catholic religion had marie him happy (a modern
officer would have asked Lunn whether his conver
sion gave httn “peace of mind") the convert re
plied, “What’s the difference? You and your crew
tried a new gun yesterday Do you ask whether
the gun made the crew happy, or whether it en
abled them to hit the target? My embracing of the
true faith enables me »e hit the target, to attain the
goal of life. Whether it makes me happy is quite
heside the point."
How often do we hear a person say, "I love to
go to that church, or to hear that speaker 1 find go
,ing there nr hearing aim a great consolation." Cer
tainly one is tempted to reply. "Why dn you go
to church oi listen to sermons? To find conso
lation? If so, you go Io servo yourself, and not
to serve God The object of religion (to adapt an
old saying) is not to attain the consolations of God,
but to serve the God of Consolation.
The exercise of religion is not an emollient, not
an opiate, not the taking of a kind of spiritual
aspirin tablet. It is a strong and demanding effort,
requiring steady self-discipline, exacting continual
acts of self-sacrifice. It does not consist in wor
ries or pains, hut it is not a more means of escape
from worries and pains. It makes a person riisrr
gard worries and pains or helps him endure them
bravely as he seeks tn serve God who is also to
be his Reward exceeding great.
WASHINGTON LETTER
Reds Miss
WASHINGTON Perhaps the
most interesting story to come
out of the recent International
Astronomical Congress at Dub
lin, Ireland, has reached here by
private correspondence.
It serves to cast new doubt
on the authenticity of the
“smile" which communists make
such a great effort to exhibit
to the world in recent days.
Registered at the Dublin meet
ing as representatives of com
munist-dominated Rumania were
two delegates. One was Dr. G.
Demetresco, 67-year-old director
of the Bucharest Observatory
and a known anti-communist.
The other was Prof. D. Dinules
co, whom nobody could identify
as an astronomer and who even
tually became known as a com
munist leader, political commis
sar and a sort of undercover man
at the Dublin meeting.
Professor Dinulesco’s princi
pal function at Dublin proved to
be to keep Dr. De met resco from
having any contact with the
West.
What brought the whole thing
into the open was a chance meet
ing between Dr. Nicholas Donici
and Dr. Demetresco. Mr. Donici,
81 years old and at present a
professor at the Rumanian Col-
MONSIGNOR HIGGINS
The September 1954 issue of
Jubilee magazine included a spe
cial 15page section entitled
“Catholics and U. S. l^tbor"—
an illustrated
historical sur
vey of what
the clergy and
laity have done
to encour age
and assist Am
erican labor
its struggle for
e o nition
and status.
In our opin
was extremely
ion, the survey
well done. Given the limited
space at their disposal, the edi
tors of Jubilee covered the sub
ject of religion-and-labor com
prehensively and, for the most1
part, accurately. Their selection
of photographs and cartoons was
particularly good.
On* Big Flaw
It occurred to us recently, how
ever, that there was one big
flaw, one major gap. in the
Jubilee survey: It failed to men
iion the contribution which the
Catholic women of the United
States have made in the field
of religion-and-labor. With the
single exception of Dorothy Day,
founder and guiding spirit of the
Catholic Worker, every person
mentioned in the article was a
man, and the majority were
priests or bishops.
As one of Jubilee's consult
ants and therefore partially re
sponsible for this unchivalrous
oversight, the present writer
would like to make amends, as
gracefully as possible, to what
the Liturgy so frequently refers
to as the "devout feminine sex."
More specifically, he would like
to make amends to the teaching
Sisters of the United States who
have’ done so much to prepare
the way for the priests and lay
men who blandly take the lion's
share of the credit for whatever
the Church has been able to ac
complish in the field of social
action, as well as in every field
of endeavor.
L*y W#m»n, Too
In paying special tribute to
the good Sisters, we are not un­
Month of the Rosary
Chance to
lege in Paris, where exiled Ru
manians are taking courses, was
walking slowly toward the New
man House in Dublin to have a
meal. He came upon Dr. Deme
tresco, a friend of some 35 years.
The two were about to shake
hands and embrace, when “Pro
fessor” Dinulesco intervened,
laid a firm hand upon Dr. De
metresco, and led him away.
Dr. Donici was not only star
tled, but was also saddened.
When he could regain his com
posure. he told associates that
he had never heard of "Profes
sor” Dinulesco as an astrono
mer. He added that the man who
"shadowed” Dr. Demetresco so
constantly was not a ‘‘protector,"
but had purged the Rumanian
Academy of Science when the
communists took over Rumania.
Dr Donici said “Professor" Din
ulesco had stricken his name
from the list of Academicians.
Other delegates report in word
received here that it was impos
sible for them to talk alone with
Dr. Demetresco. As soon as the
respected Rumanian astronomer
would begin to engage in conver
sation with a scientist from the
West, “Professor” Dinulesco
would appear out erf nowhere
and become a third member of
the talk. And he insisted on he-
Honor— Where Overdue
mindful of the great work which
has been accomplished by Cath
olic lay women in the social
apostolate. -We are thinking, for
example, of such a woman as
IJnna Bresette, who, as the tire
less field secretary of-the Cath
olic Conference on Industrial
Problems, did as much as any
other single American of our
generation to promote the so
cial teaching of the Church.
Miss Bresette, who was forced
to retire a few years ago for
reasons of health, lived out of
a suitcase for more than 25
years, traveling constantly from
one end of the country to the
other to arrange for more than
100 national, regional and dio
cesan conferences In the field
of industrial relations. Between
conferences she represented
NCWC on countless committees
and agencies concerned with eco
nomic and social problems.
N*gl*ct*d Pioneer
Many other lay women could
be singled out for honorable
mention in this connection. But
they themselves. I am confident,
would want us to concentrate at
this time on the unheralded con
tribution made in the field of
Catholic social action by so many
teaching Sisters, now living or
dead. As a matter of fact, one
of these lay women Mary Sy
non of Catholic University’s
Commissioin on American Citi
zenship is immediately re
sponsible for our own belated
interest in the work of Sisters in
the social apostolate.
Miss Synon, who in her own
right has contributed much to
the cause of social justice in^the
United States, recently published
a biography of Mother Emily,
first Mother Superior of the Sin
sinawa Dominicans, a neglected
pioneer in the history of the
Catholic social movement in this
country. “Mother Emily of Sin
sinawa American Pioneer”
(Bruce. $3.75).
Vision and Initiative
Mother Emily was indeed a pi
oneer. Ixrng before the majority
of lay people and many of the
clergy had awakened to the im
portance of the social problem
YOU MUST SAY Tue
&0SAAYsf wMr
SAY IS DM€,A» £SA
Use 'Smile'
ing “counted in.” More than once
the "Professor” took Dr. Deme
tresco by the arm and steered
him elsewhere.
Rumanian exiles here said
they had fheard of “Professor"
Dinulesco. but not as a scientist.
His behavior at the Dublin meet
ing seemed to cause them no
surprise. They were far more in
terested in hearing about Dr.
Donici. whom they remember
ed as former Professor of Astron
omy at the Kishineff University
of Bessarabia and founder and
director of the Starya Doubos
sary Observatory in Bessarabia.
They w'ere also interested in
hearing about the Pgris sChotfl
for Rumanian refugees where
Dr. Donici now teaches.
There is some speculation as
to why the communists let De
metresco take part in the Dublin
meeting at all. One explanation
is that perhaps they thought it
would be taken to be a part of
the communist "new look." If
so, they must have counted on
"Professor” Dinulesco doing a
less obtrusive job of gumshoe
ing. The “Professor" seems to
have fallen down on his assign
ment, and the Reds have failed
to make friends of some of the
world's top astronomers.
in the United States, she had
started to prepare her associ
ates at Sinsinawa to take a sym
pathetic interest in this problem
in the light of Catholic social
teaching. As a member of a Re
ligious Community, she was not,
of course, in a position to en
gage in social action as such.
But she did everything possible,
within the limits of her relig
ious calling, to encourage pro
gressive movements in the field
of social reform. More specifi
cally, she demonstrated extra
ordinary vision and initiative
in preparing the Sisters of her
community to pass to their stu
dents an intelligent awareness
of the social problem and a deep
interest in Catholic social teach
ing.
“Generally,” Miss Synon says,
"Mother Emily’s method was
socratic rather than formal. She
established no classes for the
study of the Rerum Novarum but
she found other methods of in
doctrination. She used the Con
gregation custom of oral reading
in the refectory to submit sec
tions and interpretations of the
Pope’s letter. She gave copies
to those whom she thought best
fitted to become its apostles.
She mentioned to individuals, as
they told her some particularly
flagrant social condition, that
Pope l^eo had seen and sought
to cure these evils."
Better Late Than Never
God alone knows the good ac
complished by this saintly wom
an and her devoted followers
and by thousands of like-minded
Sisters in many other Religious
Communities throughout the
United States.
We know enough about it,
however, to be able to say that
in this field, as well as in many
others, the women’s religious
orders of the United States are
deserving of much more recog
nition and gratitude than they
generally receive from those of
us who have benefited so much
from their training, their encour
agement and—most important of
all—their unceasing prayers. It
is a little late to be saying thank
you, but better late than never.
Inquiry Corner
--------------—Father Healey
Q, The recent return of air
num Schmidt and the newspa
per accounts of the remarriage
of his wife, who believed him
dead, has raised the question as
to whether such a set of circum
stances could arise among Ca
tholics. What is the law of the
Church concerning the remar
riage of a Catholic under sim
ilar conditions?
A. A situation of this kind
would be very rare among Cath
olics for the Church is strict in
permitting a aefond marriage
even when there is a civil dec
laration of death. If such a mar
riage were to be performed
among Catholics, however, and
the person who was presumed to
be dead should return, the sec
ond marriage would be invalid.
There certainly would be no
question of the person who re
married making a choice, for the
first marriage would endure “un
til death.” A civil declaration of
death (e g. prolonged absence by
reason of war) would not be suf
ficient evidence for remarriage.
There would have to be a docu
ment or the testimony of wit
nesses, etc., to give moral cer
tainty of the fact. Ordinarily the
bishop would decide whether the
evidence w'as conclusive. There
ar» some well known instances
■where (e.g. an explorer) a man
has been missing for years, but
for lack of evidence of his death
the wife is still held by the
Church to that marriage.
Q. Is it correct for a Catholic
couple to be married at a low
Mass? I thought the Nuptial
Mass should be said so that the
Nuptial Blessing could be re
ceived?
A. Ordinarily the Mass offer
ed after the reception of the Sac
rament of Matrimony is a sung
(or high) Mass. Unless circum
stances prevent it this Mass,
whether a high Mass or a low
Mass, will be the Nuptial Mass
(Missa pro sponsis). Within this
special Mass is the nuptial bless
ing. The Nuptial Mass and the
nuptial blessing have special
power to bring appropriate bless
ings upon the newly-married Ca
tholics. On some of the major
feast days the Mass of the day
prevails and the Nuptial Mass is
commemorated and the nuptial
blessing is given. During Advent
and Lent (the “closed times”)
RICHARD PATTEE
On Arriving in
JERUSALEM The run from
Amman to Jerusalem is about
two and a half hours, straight
through the Dead Sea valley via
Jericho. This
sun-baked
s e rile coun
tryside is so
rich in history
and so thick
with Bibli a 1
assoc iations
that scarcely a
s uare foot
can be said to
be without its
significance in
our relig i o u s
tradition.
Jord anian
Jerusalem is profoundly, vehem
ently.-even raucously Arab, as
anyone who listens to the blare
of Arabic music for hours on end
over the loud speakers can at
test. The city outside the walls
partakes of the twentieth cen
tury. This is strikingly true of
the splendid new Ambassador
Hotel which, aside from a maitre
d’hotel in white robe and tar
bush, might be located in Rich
mond or Minneapolis. The old
city is just what the seeker af
ter the exotic wants: narrow,
thronged streets, covered alley
ways, and the hodgepodge of cos
tumes and garments that makes
for about as picturesque a sight
as one is likely to find anywhere.
I was prepared for over-com
mercialization of the Hdly Plac
e's but, fortunately, in the late
summer the tourist crowds seem
to have thinned out and will not
appear in gaping hordes until
Christmas rolls around.
Crossing the Line
In the week I spent in Arab Jer
usalem. as it is commonly called,
I hustled about to make all the
arrangements for crossing over
into Israel. This takes a bit of
doing. One must get his^exit per
mit. then apply at the American
consulate for authorization to
cross the No Man’s Ixind that
divides the city in two parts.
A day, the precise hour, is
fixed. Once the papers come
through in jny case the con-
sulate got them 15 minutes be
fore my hour was due—the trav
eler rushes- to the Mandalbaum
Gate not a gate at all and,
appareptly, having nothing to do
with anyone named Mandalbaum
—and proceeds to cross the line.
In Jerusalem, with becoming del
icacy, the person contemplating
entering Israel is always asked
if he plans to “cross over.”
Lugging my handbags and
portable typewriter, I got
through the Jordanian authori
ties a*nd proceeded to walk the
couple of hundred yards to a
shack that housed the Israelis.
Here I was met by a husky
young man, who looked like
something straight out of the
British Ninth Army, and was
amiably welcomed to Israel. Mr.
Haim Zohar of the Press and In­
formation Department of the Is
rael government was on hand
and announced that everything
the solemn nuptial blessing is
forbidden? but. the bishop may
permit it even during these times
if he judges there is sufficient
reason.
Q. How can -so non Catholic
attend a Catholic wedding as
a bridesmaid? I thought all the
attendants should be Catholic,
not just maid of honor and the
best man!
A. The whole wedding party
should receive Holy Communion
and take an intimate part in the
ceremony and the Mass, so or
dinarily all the attendants of the
bride and groom should be Ca
tholics. The Fifth Synod of the
Diocese of Columbus makes dear
that "the principal witnesses
(groomsman and bridesmaid or
maid of honor) are to be Catho
lics in good standing.” Since it
does not seem to be explicitly
forbidden, however, it would
seem to be possible to have an
attendant (e. g. a brother or sis
ter if one party is a convert)
who was a non-Catholic. Such a
decision should be left to the
pastor. From the synodical leg
islation it is clear that a non
Catholic cannot be best man or
maid bf honor.
Q. If a person keeps n sin bark
in confession and later confesses
it, is it necessary to make n gen
eral confession?
A. If a mortal sin is deliberate
ly withheld in confession that
constitutes a bad confession. All
later confessions are bad if the
person does not correct the de
liberate omission. Consequently
when the sin is finally confess
ed it is necessary to confess all
mortal sins (at least) since the
original bad confession. It
would not be necessary to make
a general confession, involving
an examination and confession of
all sins of a w'hole lifetime, hut
all serious sins not properly con
fessed must be repeated. In par
ticular cases it is well to ask the
priest for advice after explain
ing simply and honestly what has
happened. The confessor wants to
help the penitent gain peace of
soul and even the shame felt
over a series of bad confessions
should not stop a person who
wants to make a good complete
confession.
Send questions to Father Ed
ward F. Healey, The Inquiry Cor
ner. The Catholic Times, Box
636, Columbus (16) Ohio.
Israel
was in order
short trip by
of the city.
for the entry and
car to the eenter
Kind of Transmigration
No Mans Land is a bleak
strip of abandoned territory with
ruined buildings, rusty barbed
wire and the usual rubble that
lies about after battles have
been fought. Pockmarked build
ings and gaping windows make
it a fairly dismal sort of spec
tacle.
Once on the way to the new
Jerusalem, all of this changes
quickly. The passage from one
part of the city to the other is a
kind of transmigration, a meta
morphosis in time and atmos
phere so startling as to in
credible. Arab Jerusalem is the
Middle East as it ought to be
Israeli Jerusalem is a buzzing,
modern urban center in which
there is scarcely a note of the
Orient save in a very limited
number of its streets and quar
ters.
The first impression of Israel
is that it is Western pugna
ciously, aggressively, blatantly
Western in every aspect of its
life. The national garb seems to
be khaki shorts and open shirts.
The tempo of life is comparable
to any busy American city. The
external aspect of things, if one
could remove the street signs in
Hebrew, is of any community
in any part of the world except
the eastern Mediterranean.
Reasonably Good Facsimile
To be sure, the visitor is im
pressed at once that in this na
tion, which is seven years old
politically- and five thousand
years old historically, there is
the most disconcerting medley
of human types and races.
Somehow or other, Israel has
managed in a very short ‘space
of time to mold its population
until each citizen is a reasonably
good facsimile of every other
citizen.
It is the more remarkable that
a larger and larger proportion
of Israel’s people are of non
European origin: Yemenites and
Iraquis, Egyptian Jews and
those from Tunis and the rest
of North Africa. When one be
gins to get the feel of the place,
the variations become dearer.
On my first day in the country,
I did not get things in focus at
once. In the general blur I might
very easily have landed in some
beach spot in Florida by mistake.
Limited as one’s Hebrew may
be on arrival, one quickly ac
quires the use of the ever pres
ent and constantly used Shalom
for greeting and on taking leave.
From the Eden Hotel in down
town Jerusalem, I began to try
to bring some order into the
confusion of appointments and
visits that had been proposed tn
me. With all respect, 1 would
add that if one falls-into the
hands of the Israeli authorities
to be shown around, he will have
precious little time for solitary
meditation during his sojourn in
the country.