Evening star., 1939-12-20
Msgr. Sheen Relates
Broun' S Conversion
Al Funeral Rites
Tells of Writer'S Fear
Of Death and Desire
For Spiritual Peace
By the Associated Press.

Ds the hSSOClaltU fTcSS.
NEW YORK, Dec. 20.-The story
of Haywood Broun's conversion to
the Roman Catholic faith-a dra-
matte account of the columnists
fear of death and his craving for
spiritual peace-Was recited at his
funeral in ST. Patrick's Cathedral
today by the priest who baptized
him there on May 26.
For half an hour after the solemn
mass of requiem had been sung,
Msgr Fulton j. Sheen, associate
professor of philosophy at Catholic
University, spoke to the thousands
of Mr. Broun's friends and admirers
who filled the big church to the
doors.
He disclosed that Mr. Broun re-
ceived the name of Matthew when
he was baptized, that he was the
first person in the New York Arch
diocese to be confirmed by the re-
Gently elevated Archbishop Francis
j. Spellman. and that on his death
bed last week he received the Papal
blessing from Pope Plus XII.
Love for Mankind Praised.
He revealed another thing-Mr
Broun'S bitter diSilluSionment
month after his conversion at the
illiberal attitude of so many of my
liberal friends who spoke eloquently
of freedom and would deny it to me. y
Il have never in all my life Msgr
Sheen said. met any one who gave
me such an idea of what our Lords
love for mankind meant. I have
never seen man who so loved his
fellow-men, never seen such a great
passion as his for mankind"
Mr.. Broun, he said, came to him
last February after an introduction
by a mutual friend, and for As min
utes talked of himself and his de-
sire to become Catholic. He was
worried and dissatisfied, he told
Msgr. Sheen. He had tried psyche
analysis, he said. but that had been
useless. He sought some harmony
between himself and God. and felt
it could be satisfied only by joining
the Catholic Church.
Il am fearful" Msgr. Sheen quoted
Mr.. Broun as saying, that the
church might not want me because
of my radicalism But wish to say
to you. father. that am not Com
munist, I never was Communist
and I never will be Communist.
I have too much intelligence"
Fear of Death Told.
Msgr. Sheen said Mr.. Broun ad-
vanced other reasons for his fear the
church might reject him. One of
them was his former advocacy and
defense of birth control.
Il wouldn't defend it now" he was
quoted as saying. I've begun to see
the beautiful spiritual side of birth u
Mr.. Broun spoke to him of his fear
of death, of how he awoke at night
and thought of >death and judg
ment, how he felt the necessity of
doing penance
His instruction lasted 80 hours
the priest continued. land often he
would say to me, Father, don't de-
lay. must hurry. may not live
long
Il have never come in contact
with a man who had so clear an
intimation of his approaching
death"
Msgr. Sheen said he warned Mr.
Broun that he might regret joining
the church, but Mr. Broun insisted
he must. To him, he said, nothing
in the world was so ridiculous "as
individual religion, individual poll
tics or individual economics"
"a man might just as well have
an individual mathematics or as
tronomy," the columnist said. and
went on to speak of joining his pray
ers with those of his fellow-men in
a vast corporate prayer to God.
Mr.. Broun died Monday of pneu-
monia. He was 81.