Evening star., 1953-03-16
father Is ReIegated
To Back Seat by N,
Catholic Group Told
. By cospor Nonnes
Stor SfoH Correspondent


forgotten man in the home.
Catholic television program di-
rector said today.
Dad has been displaced by a
television set in many homes"
Dean Mccarthy of Washington,
director of television of the Ma
tional Council of Catholic Men.
declared at the 21st annual Ma
tional Catholic Family Life Con-
ference here. The three-day
conference opened this morning
and will close Wednesday.
Dad has been relegated to a
back seat" Mr.. Mccarthy said.
Even when he tries to select
those television programs which
will be seen in his home, by his
wife and children, he comes last.
Eoth mother and father have
stepped aside and have allowed
a television set to rule the living
room"
Urges Vigilance in Homes.
Mr.. Mccarthy hit at people
who want television programs
censored without taking steps
themselves to protect the family
from questionable programs.
Unreasonable, indeed, are
those who cry for censorship
of television because they are
unwilling to exercise vigilance in
their own homes" he said. Par
ents should regulate the pro-.
grams their children see by turn
ing bad ones off"
The Catholic television director
praised the industry as making
sincere efforts to raise the moral
level of it's programs.
I'm morality the programs
have improved tremendously the
past year and in quality have
also shown real progress" he
said.
Role of Home Emphasized.
Earlier today the Most Rev.
Patrick A. O'Boyle, Catholic
Archbishop of Washington. de-
clared the home was one of
Americas strongest bulWarks
against Communism.
There is a tendency to think
. and to dwell upon her (Ameri-
cas- outstanding leadership in
industrial productions. through
her mighty mills and factories
dotting the land from coast to
coast, and to take pride in the
world commerce and business
through her big Cities" Arch
bishop O'Boyle said. "All these
we have and we thank God for
them.
"Yet on sober reflection we
know that the true wealth of
America is to be found in the
home where God is worShlpped
and loved. The homes where
parents and children pray daily
to Almighty God are impreg-
nable bulWarks against atheiStic
communism.
Mass Opens Conference.
The prelate spoke at a ponti-
f1caI high mass in the Cathedral
of Saints Peter and Paul which
opened the conference this morn
ing. The Most Rev. Amleto Glo-
vanni Cicognani. apostolic dele
gate to the United States, was
Celebrant.
Archbishop A'Boyle warned
that our country was suffering
sickness "in the most vital in
s5itution of all, the family and
the home" as we'll as in eco
nomlc, political and educational
institutions.
THE cause here is not far to
seek" he SAID. Men insist on
proceeding on the indefensible
assumption that they have the
right to set up specifications of
home and family life without
reference to God at all. They
are like builders, who take care
fully worked out plans of the
architect, and then erect
structure to suit themselves de-
spite the fact that they thereby
invite not only wanton evils in
the result, but the severity of
angry condemnation when the
architect is overlooked and
sound principle ignored.
THE architect of human mar
riage and all that is constitu-
&tionally inseparable from mar
riage is God himself. The pri-
mary duty of men and women
in marriage is therefore to build
the structure of marriage as
God has designed it in holy
wisdom"
Theme of Meeting.
The theme of the three-day
meeting here is "the father, the