davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Catholic times. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1951-current, 1951-12-14
Open Your Mouth and
Close Your Eyes

The motherly solicitation of the Church for her
children comes TO light again in the return of the
Enber DAYS next week-those days which test the
endurance Of everyone in general and the ingenuity
OF housewives at the kitchen range in particular
The groans Of the starving male form strident
harmony with the laments of the kitchen queens as
everyone INDUCES in mock heroies. We suspicion
that over the back fences cooks refer TO these times
as "Ember Daze"
Catholics look upon the Church's insistence on
these days and the other times OF penance much as
children do their mothers stern commands 10 par.
take of some bitter seasonal tonic. And they are
right That is just about the case.
Knowing the nature OF her children, the Church
wants TO ensure their spiritual health by seeing
that they do al least the minimum Of the penance
prescribed for them by Christ the Physician
Our friends and scqusintances may smile or shake
their heads in disbelief that modern men can still
let themselves be bound by this stark medaeyalism.
And maybe, we concur and resent or complain about
these outmoded structures. II so, we would all do
well to remember that il is only by becoming little
children that shall enter the kingdom of heaven
The Catholic times. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1951-current, 1951-12-14

Protestant ministers in Ohio in the 1850 elections
campaigned against Catholic candidates for public
office simply because those candidates we're Cath
ocs II made no difference TO the militant ministers
what stand the candidates took on important issues
Their religion was sufficient reason for vote
against them.
This un.American activity not the work OF q
few isolated fanatics Twenty thousand letters
branding candidates as Catholics were broadcast
A ring leader in the biRoted campaign was the Rev.
r. r. Lamb, prominent enough TO be president OF the
Onio Council OF ProesanD Churches for 81 years.
One of the leading targets OF the nti-CahoIic
drive was Joseph Ferguson Catholic, who was run
ming against Senator Robert A. Taft. We have not
been informed at this writing whether or not Mr..
Taft was aware of the underhand methods used
against Mr. Ferguson. Senate investigation shows
that in the Ohio campaign Taft and Ferguson were
pretty much in the dark as to the activity of their
these tactcs and an uneauvoeal denuneiaton of the
Senator and that promptly.
This revelation of unAmeriean discrimination
In Ohio leaves bad taste in mouths. Ameri-
can Catholics are not ant.Protestant or anti.
anything that is American and good As Bishop Noll
recently remarked, we not told to vote for or
against anybody because of his religion
The activity OF the nonCatholic clergy seems TO
get increasingly offensive. Theirs is the reSponsl-
bity of putting their own house in order. Let them
purge themselves of Blanshardsm and similar big
otry Until then. they'll have TO pardon MS If we re-
gard their talk Of Brotherhood with cold and skep.
tical eve
The Witness Dubuque loipd December s, 1851
The Catholic times. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1951-current, 1951-12-14

dom. But something, now apparently forgotten, is
the fact that the early American tradition one
of equal blessing to all religions not ignoring
separation of our country from any and all religion;
certainly not the ruling out of God from all our
legislative and executive and educational halls.
Something of the origins of American principles
of democracy were explained the other day in far
off Chile by Claude G. Bowers, u. S. Ambassador to
that country He made it clear that the fundamentals
of democratic philosophy given to centuries
before Thomas Jefferson gathered them in the Pre-
ambe of the American Declaration of Independence:
they we're taught by Christ the Lake of Galilee.
Mr.. Bowers is noted historian, and authority on
the life of Jefferson 'It is significant fact" he
said that in Jeffersons private library there we're
the works of the great Cardinal Bellarmine who ex-
pressed the democratic concept with a cearness
greater than that of the British philosophers Locke
and Sydney"
Going back further than ST Robert Bellarmine
who lived from 1912 to 1921 Mr. Bowers pointed
out that during the course of the centuries, the
altar candles remained the only light that illumined
the dense darkness The Church in the Middle Ages
became the solemn guardian of classical culture and
defender of human rights"
OF particular significance are these words of our
learned Ambassador: again it is the spiritual forces
of humanity that stand as an unsurmountable bar
rier to the combined attack of tyranny anarchy and
atheism We wish to live where mankind may
heaTken to its conscience in obedience to God"
Mr.. Bowers is doing his country tremendous
service; he is doing all humanity a service. II is
hoped that more and more of his countrymen will
come to know and realize the truth of his words.
The Catholic times. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1951-current, 1951-12-14
WASHINGTON LETTER
Marshal Tito Missed The Boat
In Latest Stepinac Episode

minoritieS in Spain should have
absolute religious freedom of all
rites"
But, even with no strings at
tached" to the moneys given to
him, Marshal Tito was unequal
to the occasion when he sought
to relieve American officials of
the necessity for blushing when
dealing with him. He still is not
lin a good light"
Tito tried to make ii ap.
pear that the Imprisonment of
Archbishop Stepinac is the sole
issue marring good relations be-
tween his subjugated country
and the West. Actually, this is
only one incident in vast and
continuing persecution of relig-
ion. Bishop Guile and hundreds
of priests and Religious are still
in prison Scores and even hun.
dreds of priests and Religious
have been put to death.
Tito also ignored the fact that
the trial" of the Archbishop
was rigged. In well-presented
publicity build-up, he said over
and over again that the Arch
bishop was a convicted" Grim
inal. He thus perverted what he
was trying to make appear as a
msgnanimous gesture.
The Catholic times. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1951-current, 1951-12-14

strength has rested solely in the
fact that Stain, who set him up
in the dictator business, no long
er has any use for him.
Authorities here have gone to
some pains to have it known that
they did not insist upon the re-
lease of Archbishop Stepinac as
a condition for the financial aid
given YugoSlavia. They have let
it be said with some emphasis
that the help was given with no
strings attached"
AT the same time, c. L. Sulz-
berger, the New York Times
correspondent who was able to
forecast accurately the release
of Archbishop Stepinac, even to
its conditional" nature, report
ed that the United States is put
ting a number of pretty definite
conditions on any assistance Civ
en- Generalissimo Franco in
Spain. Mr.. Sutzberger wrote
from Paris, where Secretary of
State Dean Acheson, Director Of
the Mutual Security Agency w.
Averell Hartman and the U. S.
Ambassador to Spain, Stanton
Griffis, had met. He quoted Mr..
Griffis as saying that he told
GeneralisSimo Franco this year
that the United States insisted
that the Protestant and Jewish
The Catholic times. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1951-current, 1951-12-14
WASHINGTON LETTER

WASHINGTON, Dec. 10 -
Whether because of vanity or an
insuperable hatred of religion,
Marshal Tito seems to have
missed the boat in his highly
dramatized gesture of granting
conditional release of Arch
bishop Aloisius Stepinac from
Lepoglava prison.
There is a widely held belief
here that the Red dictator in Bel
grade took this action principal
iy, if not solely, for the purpose
OF making leaders in the United
States feel freer in lending him
a lot more money. There is no
reason to doubt that officials
here would have been happier
if they had a more decent Tito
to deal with.
But Tito helped no one. He
certainly did Archbishop Stepln-
&C no favor. lie didn't make him
self look any better. He didn't
make it any easier for policy
makers here to say they are
lending money to a man who is
trying to do the right thing.
Tito already has received from
Western Powers, chiefly the
United States, handouts estimat-
ed to total more than S250,000,.
900. He is back in the breadllne
again, All along, his bargaining
The Catholic times. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1951-current, 1951-12-14
FATHER HIGGINS
Appeal To Catholic Readers

filled this purpose remarkably
we'll over the past 25 or 80 years;
but the majority of observers
would agree, | think, that it de-
serves the active support of
more than $4,000 subscribers out
Of a total population of more
than IS million relatively pros
porous Catholics.
It is no reflection on the dio.
cesan Tor Officially Catholic
press of the United States; nor
is it a reflection on the many
semi-official, non.diocesan per-
iodicals edited by priests or re-
ligious (America. for example)
to suggest that the Common
veal for the moment at least,
is the most deserving Catholic
publication in the United States.
This is not TO suggest that The
Commonweal is necessarily the
best publication in the field
of weekly Catholic journalism.
America, in our opinion, is just
as good in its own way. On Ger
tain economic and political is.
sues its editorial policy is some.
times more to our personal lik.
ing than that of The Common
veal, and vice versa.
Be that as il may, The Com.
monweal is unique in the sense
of being the only representative
American weekly edited by Cath
olic laymen on their own initia.
tive and responsibility. The mere
fact of its existence is hopeful
sign of progress an indication
that the laity is gradually com.
ing into its oWn-an isolated but
nevertheless important symbol
of lay initiative in the intellec.
tual life of the Church. On the
other hand, the fact that II now
has its back to the wall financial.
ly and is seriously threatened
with bankruptcy is a sure sign,
it seems to us. that there is
something rotten in Denmark.
The failure of our Catholic edu.
cational system to provide :
reading audience large enough
and generous enough to guaran
The Catholic times. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1951-current, 1951-12-14

more than "a hours. This may or
may not be satisfactory defin-
ition OF an educated Catholic,
but ii can serve appropriately to
introduce an appeal for sub.
scriptionS to both of these inn
portant periodicals, and partlc.
ularly to The Commonweal in
view of its current financial diff
fieultieS.
The Commonweal, with cir.
culation of $1,000 or less, is des-
perately in need of at least $500
new subscriptions to enable 1t
to stay in existence for another
calendar year. Ii this column
serves to persuade even a hand
ful of the nations 25 or 30 mil
lion Catholics TO come TO the res
cue of this distinguished weekly,
TO the tune of 81 year 1886
Fourth Avenue. New York l6, N.
W, the writer VIII feel that he
has performed a useful service.
Unique In lis Field
II would be difficult to exag
gerate the importance OF The
Commonwea as witness to the
Gospel in the temporal order.
It if didn't exist. il would have
to be created. II is the only pub
lieation of its kind in the United
State: lueekty journal OF opln.
ion edited by ldgmen on their
opn initldtive and responsible
itg for the purpose of analysing
political. social aud cultural af.
fairs IN the light of Christian
principles. Not everybody viii
agree with the present writer
that The Commonweal has fu
The Catholic times. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1951-current, 1951-12-14

tee the stable security of a single
Catholic weekly edited by and
for the laity indicates. among
other things, that the prospec.
tive de-emphasis on collegiate
football is long overdue.
Temporal Periodicals
All of this presupposes, OF
course, that lay initiative in the
intellectual life of the Church is
not only desirable but necessary.
1t presupposes that a magazine
like The Commonweal is neceS-
sary complement to the diocesan
or official" Catholic press. Of
ficisl or semi-official Catholic
Notwithstanding non-dio-
cesar periodicals edited by
priests or religious-almost in
evitably involve the responsible
ity of the Church as an institu-
ton whenever they take a posi-
tion on political or social
problems of the day. Such
periodicals are necessary, of
course, but even the best of them
are under certain limitations in
their efforts to penetrate the
temporal order with the princi-
pies of the Gospel. They need to
be supplemented by lay-inspired
and lay-directed publications, de-
scribed by Jacques Maritain as
temporal periodicals which
draw their inspiration in the
most courageous and intrepid
manner from Christian wisdom"
but involve no other initiative
than that of the particular per-
sons or groups who have started
them"
This second type of periodic.
al, Msritain concludes, this
press formally belonging to the
temporal plane and Christian by
inspiration not denomination, ap.
pears to correspond to a vital ne
cessity." The Commonwesl woule
seem to be a very good example
in its own particular fields
this second type of periodical
corresponding TO vital necess
ity.'
The Catholic times. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1951-current, 1951-12-14
RICHARD P4TTEE
Drift TOUnrds Chaos

very worst foresight. The de-
struction of the Austro-Hungar-
ian empire is, in certain his.
torical sense, the first step in the
direction leading of the expul-
sion of the British from the Near
East and later, perhaps, of the
French from North Africa.
At a time in history when we
have talked most about lone
world" this world is becoming
more hopelessly divided than
ever. In period of history
when communication has improv-
ed beyond the imagination of men
fifty years ago, the separation of
peoples has become more accent
uated than ever. The founda-
tions, in the strictly modern
sense, we're laid at Paris in 1919
when nationalism was accepted
as a sound criterion for the or
ganization of peoples.
Nc Dividends
have no intention here of de-
Tending the colonial status;
but it is worthy of some remark
that the encouragement we have
consistently given peoples ev-
erywhere to attain their inde-
pendence is rapidly paying off in
disaster after disaster. If the
British come off badly in Egypt,
or if their expulsion from Suez
becomes a fact, there is little
doubt that the separatist fervor
will spread with extraordinary
rapidity throughout North At
RIGA. The loss of this area, now
largely in French hands, would
be a grave blow to the whole
military policy encirclement OF
the Soviet Union to which we
are dedicated.
The tragedy is that, politically,
our support of these movements
has not paid dividends. Our sup
port to India has not led Nehru
to a more sympathetic attitude.
Our support of Burma could not
even persuade the Burmese to
come to San Francisco. Reports
indicate that American prestige
is not particularly high even in
the areas where our stand for To-
cal independence has been I'M
qualified.
To be sure, the British case in
Egypt is better than in Iran--a
treaty is being violated, not just
a private corporation under fire.
And it is encouraging to observe
that our government has taken
a sound and honest stand, side
by-side with London. For, as |
indicated in a previous article,
even the professional British
baiters will find it difficult to
Justify the outrages now being
perpetrated in Cairo against
Great Britain.
The Catholic times. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1951-current, 1951-12-14

SuDJecI IOr ragetul writing. you
are against Russian Commun.
ism; of course you are. But are
you against it because it is
Russian or because it is Com
munist? That is the basic ques-
ton on which American
opinion is becoming more and
more divided in our day.
1t is hidden disagreement,
sub-surface cleavage that can
pass unnoticed in many gather
ings. Few of us want to look a
gift horse in the mouth, and any
stranger who shares our anti
pathy to the Russian Reds is
gift horse at a social gathering.
Nobody likes to reject the help
of an ardent ally, or to be so
churlish as to say, Il won't let
you in on my fight because your
rage has a different source than
my own" 1t is plessanter to
make allowances than argu-
mentS.
And yet, very serious catastro-
phes can come to the free world
If its citizens do not think clear
ly on this matter. 1t was T. S.
Eliot who pointed out, in more
spiritual context, that, This is
the last and greatest treason. To
do the right thing for the wrong
reason" Well, TO oppose the
right enemy state for the wrong
reason could easily wreck the
world.
What Do We Fear?
There is group of anti-Stalln-
lists who still lay mental wreathS
at the tombs of Marx and Lenin.
They are the disillusior ed Left
lists who believe that Commun
ism has been betrayed because
the wrong men got control of
Russia after Lenin died. Their
faith in Communism as a theory
is unshaken. They urge us to
support Tito and the Red Chi.
nese leaders and any Commun-
list at all who breaks with Mos.
COW. For they look on Russia as
a country with hostile leaders,
whose personal brutality, alone
has got us in this mess.
But this group. although artlc,
ulate is small. It is composed
of the philosophers of the Left
the men who sometimes cal
themselves Socialists. sometimes
Progressiyes, but who admitted
ly derive most of their socia
views from Marx. A much larger
section of the public which
shares their viewpoint is indif
ferent to philosophy: its mem
bers have not read Marx snt
they have an understandable re
pugnance to ever doing so, TO
he is one of the dullest writer
The Catholic times. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1951-current, 1951-12-14
Whence Comes Democracy

Some weeks ago national publicity vas given TO
. consideration Of the origin of the principles of
democracy in this nation Attention given to the
rise OF religious freedom, of our countrys most
precious heritages. But II indicated that these
came primarily from Professionalism. As was pointed
out in this column II that time, 1t was Catholic
Maryland that fought the battle for religious free
The Catholic times. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1951-current, 1951-12-14
CRETTA PALMER
Kn0U Your Enemy

of all time. Nonetheless, they
stand side by side with the anti
stalinist Communists in this:
they fear Russia, but they do not
fear Communism.
These are the people who have
lately seized, with delight. on
the Marquis de Custine's ear
ly 19th-century accounts of his
travels through Russia, where he
encountered despotism, red tape,
secret police, unjust arrest. 1t
is a fascinating book if taken as
a travellers account. But to con-
clude, as many reviewers of the
book do, that our 1851 troubles
come from the unchanged Rus
sian character is another mat
ter. and a serious one.
What is it that we fear today
Russia or Communism? In an
Swering that question properly,
American Catholics can do their
country the greatest service OF
the century. For they, and al.
most only they, still understand
that PHILOSOPHERS form actions.
Green Light
But you may say you have for.
gotten your philosophy; you do
not know how to answer the
Russophobes and set them right.
Perhaps not. But there is one
very simple way that you can set
them thinking. For nearly all the
leaders of the Russians are al
ways like that" school are liberal
enough to believe in racial toler-
ance. They are the same peopls
who insist that race means moth
ing in the evaluation of Jew or
Negro in America. Well, Russ
ians are human beings, too. Can
an inter-racialist persist, with
any show of logic, in blaming
concentration camps and mass
murders on the Russian race?
These who say that the Russian
nature is responsible for the
troubled world are entering on
the path that Hitler trod. Tell
them so!
And there are other, far more
fundamental ways in which the
modern Catholic can speak out
in our day. He can spend 45
minutes on that small classic by
Frank ]. Sheed called Com
munism and Man" and be pre-
pared to prove almost every nee
essary point. For it is evident to
anyone who reads this Catholic
summary of Marx that Commun.
ism will always breed its own
Stains in every country, among
every race, in every period, until
the end of time.
Yes. you are against Russian
Communism. So is everybody
else. But are you against the
country. or the creed? 1t may
make a very vital difference. On
ly those who oppose the Rec
philosophy wheverer it appears
in no matter how friendly ;
guise, can be counted to defenc
America or Christianity. Ant
Catholics, by the mere fact that
their schools deE.and the stud,
o. philosophy, may save the ma
ton when those who underrata
philosophy have failed.
The Catholic times. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1951-current, 1951-12-14

nesia and other states that have
appeared since the conclusion of
the war. From time to time ref
erence has been made in this
column to the danger of over
simplifying the colonial issue,
of talking about the self-deter-
mination and independence of
peoples with exaggerated facil-
ity. The difficulty lies in the
fact that the word colonial" has
come to have an unpleasant
meaning; and independence, "
no matter how insignificant the
real content of the expression,
has come to be sort of "open
sesame" to all problems.
In Iran today we are reaping
the harvest of long years of con-
scious and unconscious sowing of
the seeds of self-assertion and in
tense nationalism. Woodrow Will
son was responsible in lcrge part
for the launching of an idea
that seemed extremely sound in
1919 but which, in many ways,
has done irreparable damage
since then: the "self-determina-
tion of peoples" The phrase
sounded splendid at Versailles,
but the actual effect was far more
devastating than had ever been
anticipated.
The Catholic times. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1951-current, 1951-12-14

r us a n
Communism is
the man-eating
shark of the
moment . .
the thing that
everybody is
against the
safest subject
in the world
for IN editor
ial writer in
search nf a
The Catholic times. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1951-current, 1951-12-14

Som e b o d y
has described
an educ a e d
A m e r / an
Catholic as a
man who be-
comes impa-
tient when the
current issue
of America or
The Common
veal is delay
nd in fhp mails
The Catholic times. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1951-current, 1951-12-14

The United
States govern
ment has taken
i t S $ I a n d
a g al nst the
perpetuation of
what is COM
monty call e d
Colonial S m"
a stand evi-
denced in the
vigorous sup
port given to
the independ-
ence of Indo
The Catholic times. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1951-current, 1951-12-14
Ultimate Fruits

II the principle of the self-de-
termination of peoples is really
applied, the world becomes an
incredible chaos in which the
augmentation destroys every ell
ement of solidarity and of mu-
tual support. No country in Eu-
rope is safe from the demands of
minorities within its borders for
self-determination; no people,
no matter how primitive are i'm
mune to the idea-sooner or lat
er-that they have national"
rights and their dignity demands
that those rights be consecrated
in the form of national state.
The process is almost impossible
to stop. We are facing today the
ultimate fruits of what was soWn
in 1919-with the very best of in
tentions, to be sure, but with the
Evening star., 1951-11-14
BY the As.oeiotsd Press

ROANOKE. Va. Nov. IA 96-
Iyear-old great-grandfather from
Wallins Creek. KY, heads list OF
SO winners in a Kroger contest
held recently to determine who
among their customers has the
greatest number of living descend
ants.
John L. Osborne took top honors
because he can gather 293 chill
dren, grandchildren and great
grandchildren around him for a
quiet family dinner" He and the
other winners will receive a turkey
and fruit cake from the company
for Thanksgiving.
The contest was limited to the
|five-State area covered by the
Roanoke branch office.
Second and third place winners
were Virginians: Jesse F. Over
street of Thaxton, listed 213 liv-
ing descendants and Mrs. Ema-
line Huffman of Dublin was one
behind him, 212 descendants.
Mr.. Osborne was chosen the
father of 1850" by the Nation
wide American Fathers Day Com
mittee. He has never been more
than 100 miles from home, and
refused to 60 to New York to ap-
pear on a radio show last wear.