c. c.

JANUARY

PRESENTING A SYMPOSIUM "CATHOLIC ACTION AND THE FAMILY" With Twenty Articles As Follows Place of the Family in a Christian Society The Changing World and the Family The Spiritual Life of the Family Christian Education and the Family Our Fight Against Pagan Ideas of Family Life The Rural Community and the Family Economic Justice and the Family Good Government and the Family Civic Duty and the Family Lay Organization and the Family The Press and the F amity Good Literature and the Family The Lay Apostolate and the F amity The Family and Preparation For Catholic Action Social Work and the Family Community Life and the Family World Problems and the Family The Immigrant and the Family Recreation and the Family Catholic Action and the Family

Subscription Price Vol. XII, No.1 Domestic-$1.00 per year January, 1930 Foreign- $1.25 per year 2 N. C. W. C. REVIE~T January, 1930 N. C. W. C. REVIEW OFFICIAL ORGAN' OF THE NATIONAL CATHOLIC WELFARE CONFERENCE

N. C. W. C. ADMINISTRATIVE ff This organization (the N. C. N. C. W. C. DEPARTMENTS COMMITTEE W. C.) is not only useful~ but AND BUREAUS MOST REV. EDWARD J. HANNA, D.D. Archbishop of San Francisco necessary.. We praise all EXECUTIVE- Chairman who in any way cooperate in this The active executive of this De­ RT. REV. HUGH C. BOYLE, D.D. great work."-POPE PIUS XI. partment is the General Secretary of Bishop of Pittsburgh the Conference, who also coordinates Chairman Department of Education the work of all its other departments. RT. REV. THOMAS F. LILLIS, D.D. FACTS ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION Bureaus maintained are: Immi­ Bishop of Kansas City gration, Publicity and Information, Chairman Department of Social Action HE National Catholic Welfare Conference was Historical Records, Publications, Bus­ RT. REV. JOSEPH SCHREMBS, D.D. T organized in September, 1919. iness and Auditing. Bishop of Cleveland The N. C. W. C. is a common agency acting un­ Chairman Department of Lay der the authority of the Bishops to promote the EDUCATION- Organizations welfare of the Catholics of the country. Serves as a clearing house of in­ RT. REV. JOHN G. MURRAY, D.D. has for its incorporated purpo "unifying, Bishop of Portland It formation concerning Catholic edu­ Chairman Legal Department. coordinating and organizing the Cath . c people of cation and as an advisory agency in the United States in works of education social wel­ the development of Catholic schools RT. REV. PHILIP R. McDEVITT, D.D. Bishop of Harrisburg fare, immigrant aid and other activities." and the Catholic school system. Chairman Department of Publicity, It comprises six departments-ExECUT"VE, EDU­ Divi ions: Statistics and Informa­ Press and Literature CATION, PRESS, SOCIAL ACTION, LEGAL and LAY tion, Teachers' Registration, Health Education and Library. MOST REV. JOHN T. McNICHOLAS, ORGANIZATIONS. O.P., D.D. The Conference is conducted by an Administra­ PRESS- Archbishop of Cincinnati tive Committee composed of seven Archbishops Member and Bishops. Serves the Catholic Press in the Each department of the N. C. W. C. is adminis­ United States and abroad with regu­ REV. JOHN J. BURKE, e.S.P., S.T.D. lar news, feature, editorial and pic­ General Secretary tered by an Episcopal Chairman. torial services. Through the General Secretary, chief executive officer of the Conference, the reports of the Depart­ SOCIAL ACTION- The Purpose of the N. C. W. c. ments and information on the general work of the Covers the fields of Industrial Re­ IN THE WORDS OF OUR HOLY FATHER: headquarter's staff are sent regularly to the mem­ bers of the Administrative Committee. lations, Citizenship, Social Wark and "Since you (the Bishops) reside in Rural Welfare, serving therein as (1) cities far apart and there are matters The administrative Bishops of the Conference re­ a clearing house for Catholic social of a higher import demanding your port annually upon their work to the Holy See. teaching, (2) a bureau of information joint deliberation. it is im­ Annually at the general meeting of the Bishops, and standards, and (3) an active or­ perative that by taking counsel together detailed reports are submitted by the Administra­ ganization to assist in establishing you all agree on one common aim and tive Bishops of the Conference and authorization civic, social and economic welfare. with one united will strive for its attain­ secured for the work of the coming year. ment by employing, as you now do, the No official action is taken by any N. C. W. C. LEGAL- means which are adequate and adapted department without authorization of its Episcopal Maintains a record of federal, to present-day conditwns." Chairman. state and local le~lation and ex­ -Pope Pius XI to the Bishops of the United No official action is taken in the name of the changes legislative mformation with States, August, 1927. whole Conference without authorization and ap­ other departments of the Conference proval of the Administrative Committee. and with interested organizations IN THE WORDS OF OUR BISHOPS: It is not the policy of the N. C. W. C. to create and individuals. "We have grouped together, under new organizations. the National Catholic Welfare Confer- It helps, unifies, and leaves to their own fields LAY ORGANIZATIONS- ence, the various agencies by which those that already exist. the cause of religion is furthered. It aims to defend and to advance the welfare both Comprises the NATIONAL COUNCIL Each of these, continuing its own of the Catholic Church and of our beloved Country. OF CATHOLIC MEN and the NATIONAL special work in its chosen field, will It seeks to inform the life of America of right fun- COUNCIL OF CATHOLIC WOMEN, now derive additional support through damental principles of religion and morality. both of which maintain at N. C. general cooperation. It is a central clearing house of information re- W. C. headquarters a permanent "The task assigned to each depart- garding activities of Catholic men and women. representation in the interests of the ment is so laborious and yet so promis- All that are helped-the dioceses and all within Catholic laity of the United States. ing of results, that we may surely ex- the dioceses-may play their part in promoting the The N. C. C. M. and N. C. C. W. pect, with the Divine assistance and good work and in maintaining the common agency, function directly through local units the loyal support of our clergy and the National Catholic Welfare Conference. of the two Councils and indirectl v people, to promote more effectually The N. C. W. C. REVIEW records monthly through some 3500 affiliated societies. the glory of God, the interests of His the work of the Conference and its affiliated organi- The N. C. C. M. maintains at its Church, and the welfare of our zations. It presents our common needs and oppor- national headquarters a Bureau of Country." tunities. Its special articles are helpful to every Apologetics. The N. C. C. W. maintains in -From the ]919 Pastoral Letter of the Catholic organization and individual. Archbishops and Bishops of the Washington, D. C., the National American Hierarchy. I I Catholic School of Social Service. I------~-~ CHARL~A.McMAHo~E~fur --~------I

Editorial and Business Offices PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY THE Publication Office 1312 Massachusetts Ave., N. W. NATIONAL CATHOLIC WELFARE CONFERENCE Industrial Building Entered a! second-class matter at the post-office at Baltimore, Md., under the Act of Washington, D. C. March 3, 1879. All changes of address, renewals and subscriptions should be sent Baltimore, Md. directtoN. C.W. C. Headquarters, 1312 MassachusettsAve.,N.W., WashingWu, D. C. January, 1930 N. C. W. C. REVIEW 3

AROUND THE CONFERENCE TABLE "Conte now, 'that we may take counsel together."~2 Esdras, Chapter VI: 7.

BY SPECIAL FAVOR of His Holiness, THE CEREMONIES OF consecration of Pope Pius XI, St. Ann's Church in East the Very Rev. Msgr. Joseph H . Albers,

Twelfth Street, N ew York City, has been raised WE CHANGE OUR NAME Chancellor of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati I to the dignity of a national and pastor of St. Louis' Church Honor for shrine and named the Pri- UNDER OUR NEW TITLE-N. C. Auxiliary in that city, who was named St. Ann's in mary Church in the W. C. REVIEW-we extend to all Bishop of by Pope Pius XI to be Titular New York City United States for the readers and friends of our publication cordial Cincinnati Bishop of Lunda and Auxiliary Archconfraternity of the greetings for the New Year. May 1930 bring Bishop to His Grace, the Most Motherhood of St. Ann. to every member of the N. C. W. C. family an Rev. John T. McNicholas, O.P., Archbishop "We raise forever," stated the Holy Father abundance of Heaven's choicest blessings, of Cincinnati, took place in St. Peter's Cathe­ in his brief confirming tills signal honor and spiritual and material. dral in Cincinnati on December 27. Arch­ sent to the Right Rev. Msgr. George J . War­ In changing the name of our publication, bishop McNicholas' was the consecrator, as­ ing, Ph.D., LL.D., rector of St. Ann's and we discontinue with no little regret the title sisted by the Right Rev. Francis W. Howard Vicar General and Chancellor of the Army by which it has been known since its incep­ and Right Rev. Francis J. L. Beckman as and Navy Chaplains, "the pious Confrater­ tion. The BULLETIN was established in co-consecrators. nity of St. Ann, canonically established in June, 1919, as the mouthpiece of the National Monsignor Albers was born in Cincinnati, New York City, in the Church of St. Ann, Catholic War Council. With the discon­ March 18, 1891, and studied for the priest­ the American National Shrine of St. Ann, to tinuance of the emergency war organization, hood at Mt. St. Mary'S Seminary of the West. the dignity of an Archconfraternity or Pri~ the BULLETIN carried on as the official Following his ordination he was for six years mary, with the usual privileges attached to publication of the National Catholic Wel­ secretary to the late Archbishop Moeller. it." fare Conference and is now in its eleventh During the World War, Monsignor Albers St. Ann's is one of New York's most beau­ year. served as a chaplain. He was appointed tiful, as well as venerable, churches, having In keeping with the growth of the N. C. Chancellor of the Cincinnati Archdiocese in celebrated its diamond jubilee in 1927. As W. C., the work of whose various depart­ 1924, but, in 1926, went to Rome to pursue a one of the pioneer parishes in New York City, ments requires the issuance from time to two-year course in Canon Law at the Apol­ it has played a prominent part in the progress time of special bulletins and statements, linare, from which he received the Doctorate of the Church in this great metropolitan area. the Archbishops and Bishops of the Adminis­ in Canon Law. In 1928, he returned to Cin­ Members of the widespread Confraternity of trative Committee, N. C. W. C., have author­ cinnati and resumed his duties as Chancellor. St. Ann, as well as the many friends of Mon­ ized the change to the more appropriate title-­ The N. C. W. C. REVIEW offers to the signor Waring, will rejoice with him over the N. C. W. C. REVIEW. Bishop Albers congratulations and best wishes high honor which the Holy Father has con­ This new name does not indicate any for a long and successful pontificate. ferred upon this parish. change in policy or scope, but rather a con­ tinuance, in keeping with our new title, of +++ +++ DISTINGUISHED HONOR has come our work of reviewing the activities. of the A THE NATIONAL COUNCIL of Catholic to Dr. Ellen Ryan' Jolly of Pawtucket, various departments of the N. C. W. C., as Women, at its 9th Annual Convention, author of the "Nuns of the Battlefield," in well as the work of Catholic organizations pledged the participation of its component the award by His Holiness, affiliated with the Lay Organizations branch groups to a study during the Holy Father Pope Pius XI, of the Pro of the Conference or otherwise contributing Study coming year of the liturgy. In Honors Ecclesia et Pontifice Medal. to the promotion of the objectives which the of the taking this action, the delegates Dr. Jolly The medal and papal certi­ Bishops of the United States had in mind Liturgy reasoned that this was one way ficate accompanying it were when establishing the Conference-namely, for the Catholic women of the received last month by the Right Rev. Wil­ "The more effective promotion of the glory country "to participate in the apostolate of liam A. Hickey, D.D., Bishop of Providence. of God, the interests of His Church, and the the Hierarchy" and that, through participa­ Dr. Jolly instigated the movement which welfare of our Country." tion in this form of Catholic Action, they resulted in the erection by the Ladies Auxili­ We are grateful, indeed, to the Bishops, would be acting in accordance with the mind ary of the A. O. H. of the "Nuns of the Battle­ clergy and laity of the United States for of the Church. field" Monument in Washington, D. C. Her their interested support of this publication. "To know the mind of the Church," stated notable history of the Civil War services of It shall be our aim to increase its usefulness Miss Hawks in her November presidential the sister-nurses-"N uns of the Battlefield" and to merit a continuance of this cooperation. message to organizations affiliated with the -is now in its fourth ~dition. She received N. C. C. W., "we must study very particu­ the Degree of Doctor of Laws in 1918 from larly the language of the Church-the liturgy Notre Dame University and is the only -and learn from it how to make our united woman ever to have been so honored. action Catholic Action. tain recommendations as regards the use of This recognition of Dr. Jolly's distinguished The headquarters office of the N. C. C. W. available study club outlines on this general services is most fitting and appropriate. To has prepared some practical suggestions for subject. A request directed to N. C. C. W. the congratulations of her legion of friends those who are now planning to undertake headquarters will bring this information to the N. C. W. C. REVIEW is pleased to add the study of the liturgy, together with cer- all who are interested. its own word of felicitation. - ----+- ---- 4 N. C. W. C. REVIEW January, 1930 New Volume Presents Pope's Words on "Catholic Action" Proof of Holy Father's Zeal Contained in Msgr. Cavagna's Collection

EDITOR'S N oTE-Of special interest, in view of the symposium entitled "Catholic Action and the Family" presented in this issue, is the accompanying review of a recently published vol'ume presenting in its more than 500 large and closely printed pages the encyclicals, letters and addresses of Pope Pius XI on HCatholic Action." From February, 1922, to the date of the volume's publication in September, 1929, it is stated that only in three months did the Holy Father fail to speak publicly on "Catholic Action," explaining it, urging it, developing its content. The collection of the Holy Father's words on "Catholic Action" was made by Msgr. Cavagna, ecclesiastical assistant of the Italian Catholic Young Women's Society. The appended review, together with the excerpts from the Holy Father's pronouncements which it presents, should receive the thoughtful consideration of those who occupy executive positions in organizations of men and women affiliated with the N. C. W . C., and should stimulate them to greater endeavor in promoting the Holy Father's objectives in this most vital work.

OPE PIUS XI'S WORDS on Catholic then he goes on to speak of how all our living Action have been brought together in a and doing is to be penetrated with Catholicism. P large volume by Monsignor Cavagna, Catholic Action, he repeats often, is "the ecclesiastical assistant of the Italian Catholic part' pation of the laity in the hierarchy of Young Women's Society. The volume is in apostoiates.". Just as among the angels there Italian and is published by the Central Com­ is a hierarchy, that is to say, an order of mittee for the Priestly Jubilee of Pius XI. ascendiLg functions and nearness to God, so Everyone who has read something of the too in the apostolate on earth, in the com­ encyclicals, letters and addresses of the Holy munion of saints on earth, there is hierarchy Father and the decrees of the Sacred Congre­ and order among the kinds of work to be done. gations has known of the interest of Pius XI Catholic Action is the part of the laity in this in' Catholic Action. The present volume is apostolate of Bishops, priests and people work­ impressive and overwhelming evidence. Five HIS HOLINESS, POPE PIUS XI ing together for the coming of the Kingdom of hundred and thirty-nine large and closely Whose encyclicals, letters and ad­ dresses on " Catholic Action" have God in the hearts of men, in their actions printed pages are filled with his direct words, recently been published in a 539- and in their institutions. page volume, a review of which is with newspaper summaries of addresses he de­ presented in the accompanying ar- Like the training of the missionary, Catholic ticle. livered, with telegrams sent in his name by Action looks to personal perfection and the Cardinal Gasparri, secretary of state, and with decrees of Pope writes to the Archbishop of Breslau that "this is, in­ congregations. deed, its first and highest purpose." But it looks, as well, The chronological index by itself is startling proof. From to the externalization of the interior life, to the showing February, 1922, to the closing dates in this book in Septem­ forth of the life of the spirit in everything done, both in per- ber, 1929, only in three months did he fail to speak publicly . sonal and private acts and in the public action of whole so­ of Catholic Action, explaining it, urging it, developing its cieties and governments. Catholic Action is as broad as content. Again and again he turns to it. There is little life. . It is "spreading, defending and applying" our faith doubt that, along with his settlement of the Roman question, and morality "in individual, family and ciVil life." It is, as he will go down in history as the great pope of Catholic he said at another time, "the cooperation of the laity in Action. spreading and strengthening the Kindgom of Christ the King among individuals, among families and throughout society." OVER and over again he insists on action. "When we prepare a missionary," he writes to a Catholic society CATHOLIC Action is therefore not confined to Catholic in Belgium, "we think particularly of his inward training, organizations, which are themselves called "Catholic but if the missionary should keep to himself this interior life, Action" in several countries of Europe when they are unified the world would not be converted. He must preach, he must in forms similar to the National Catholic Welfare Confer­ perform good works, he must act exteriorly. ence. Catholic organizations are rather the spear-head of "So, too, with Catholic action. Its first consideration several of the functions of Catholic Action. They are be­ should be to make good Christians. But the Christian, once sides a training ground in Catholic faith and morals both for trained, must spend outside of himself the life that he has the work of the organizations themselves and for those parts received. He ought to carry everywhere this treasure of of life which stand separate from the work of Catholic or­ Christianity and make it live in every field of life, in the ganizations. family and in public life, not excluding politics. For what He is speaking to the Italian Catholic Young Men's Asso­ We wish is that Christ rule on earth as He rules in Reaven ciation. He is telling them that all of life is the sphere of and that His Kingdom over the world become effective." their Catholicity. "To reach this Catholic solution of the He is speaking to the leaders of Catholic organizations in problems of life, preparation is needed so as to bring together Rome. "What is Catholic Action? It is action and as such the whole program of Catholic teaching, so as to let its light it includes every effort of life; it is to live and to do." And shine in all corners of life, so as to make its efficacy felt in all January, 1930 N. C. W. C. REVIEW 5 directions." He commends study clubs for intellectual prepa­ they may not join in the apostolate of work and he tells ration and lay retreats for spiritual preparation. them that next to the Our Father no other prayer is so direct as that Christ Himself. uttered: "Send workers into thy BUT the organizations are acting organizations. He is vineyard." He speaks to another group of the apostolate speaking of "the importance, the extension and the need of good example. To another he speaks of Catholic Action of this kind of apostolate, of this sharing of lay people in at one's daily work. He speaks of Catholic Action in the the proper mission of the Church." He says of organized family circle. He speaks of Catholic Action as furnishing Catholic Action that it is "an executing activity in the prac­ the guiding lines of conduct in our occupations; he lists half tical order," to distinguish it from the teaching function of a dozen to make his thought more specific. He speaks to the Church. These organizations are to deal wit.h all sorts journalists and tells them of the training in Catholic Action of matters saving and excluding politics; they are to work on and the impetus to Catholic Action which they can give. He the spiritual and heayenly plane and not the political plane. speaks of Catholic Action in international relations. He But he makes here and elsewhere a distinction between par­ speaks of it in terms of general education. He speaks of it tisan politics and some of the subjects with which political to catechists. parties deal. "If," he adds, "by the necessary connection of matters, TO him Catholic Action is a means to the realization of his it (organized Catholic Action) must go down to the economic motto: "The Peace of Christ in the Kingdom of Christ." and social field, touching even political subjects, it does so It is a means of making life holy and (as he often urges) of only because of supernatural interests and the moral and working for the coming of the Kingdom just as we pray for religious welfare of individuals and peoples." Yet over and it when we say: "Thy Kingdom come." Personal sanctity, over again he admonishes organized Catholic Action to stand prayer and sacrifice he urges at every step; but he lets few apart from partisan politics. chances pass without an emphasis upon living exteriorly To a group that had come on a pilgrimage to him, he speaks one's grace of God, one's sacrifices and one's prayers. of the apostolate of prayer which all may follow even"when -R.A.M. "----+;---- Holy Father's Jubilee Accompanied by Two Notable Encyclicals ERTINENT TO THE FOREGOING review of Msgr. public, Roumania and Prussia, the bettered conditions of P Cavagna's collection of Pope Pius Xl's words on "Cath­ Mexico, the good dispositions of the Oriental Churches, and olic Action" is the news that comes to the United States the recent Roman Congress of the Ruthenian Hierarchy. through the N. C. W. C. News Service of the Holy Father's The encyclical makes special mention of the extension of two recent encyclicals (the complete texts are not Jet avail­ seminaries and houses of studies in Rome, the various cen­ able), the publication of which coincided with the observance tenaries in which he took special interest, the beatifications of the 50th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood. of the year, and lastly the edifying demonstrations of the The first encyclical, issued on December 20, is an exclu­ Holy Year, particularly of the pilgrimages and the proces­ sively spiritual document and recalls the precious fruit pro­ sions of penance, "all of which brought to His Holiness deep duced by the jubilee year in the souls of the faithful, whose consolation. eloquent demonstration of their filial love has been given under the Holy Father's own eyes, by such an imposing num­ IN his encyclical the Holy Father mentions especially the ber of pilgrimages. Centenary held in England, Scotland and Ireland by Cath­ The Holy Father traces the exhortations made by Pope olics in commemoration of the restoration of their freedom Leo XIII and Pope Pius X on the occasions of their sacerdo­ and their civil rights, placing them on a par with non-Cath-· tal jubilees and addressed to the Catholic clergy and people. olics; and, through the singular providence of God, the con­ He believed it opportune, the encyclical says, to do some­ soling glorification of a phalanx of martyrs whom these three thing similar in recommending spiritual retreats and by offer­ nations sent to Heaven and who were raised to the honor of ing this recommendation as the paternal record of his jubilee the altars" by the reigning Pontiff. year. The entire encyclical explains and exalts the utility For all of these considerations, the Pope recommends that of meditation and spiritual retreats. thanks be given to God all the more sincerely as the graces received have been greater, gratitude being shown especially THE second encyclical, issued on December 23, reviews through the amelioration of our lives and the redoubling of all of the events of the year of special concern to the our exercise of virtues individual and social. Apostolic See, particularly the solution of the "Roman In order to obtain more abundant fruits, His Holiness, Question"-events regarded by the Holy Father as so many according to the expressed desire of many from all over the divine favors urging Christians to give thanks to Our Lord. world, then extends the period of the Holy Jubilee until the Other matters mentioned by the Holy Father in the encycli- end of next June. He concludes by best.owing the Apostolic cal are the concordats of the year with the Portuguese Re- Benediction as a token of peace and his paternal benevolence. ------+------6 N. C. W. C. REVIEW January, 1930 Catholic Action a-nd the Family A Symposium of 20 Articles Each of Vital Interest and Importance

EDITOR'S NOTE-In conformity with the policy inaugurated in ow' January issue, last year, when we pub­ lished the symposium entitled "Our Common Catholic Work," we are pleased to present. in this number a series of articles of even more vital importance, each dealing with Catholic Action in its relation to the needs of family life. The two introductory articles-"The Place of the Family in a Christian Society" and "The Changing World and the Family"-provide the keynote for the eighteen special articles which follow, each of which, generally speaking, (1) connects the particular subject under discussion with the needs of family life; (2) states the motive behind Catholic Action in behalf of the family in the particular field of work indicated; (3) shows what is being done in this particular field w,£th reference to the family; and (4) states the further need of Catholic Action through lay organization, emphasizing one or two practical works that should be undertaken. The series, which presents a fairly complete mosaic of Catholic thought and action with reference to the family, should prove of more th-an usual interest and usefulness to all Catholic individuals and organizations working to pro­ mote the Ho7.y Father's wishes with regard to Catholic Action as it advances the welfare of the Church and the Nation through the contribution of the Catholic family animated by the principles and ideals o,t ;atholic teaching,

Place of the Family in a Christian ~ociety By Rev. John A. Ryan, D.D. NASMUCH AS IT IS BASED upon a contract which is of the family, mainly internal and domestic, in which the I a Sacr~ment, the Christ.ian family is supernatural. The wife's claim to the determining voice is better than that of Sacrament of Matrimony confers upon husband and wife the husband, simply because she is better fitted to discharge an increase of sanctifying grace and gives to them a claim them. In other words, equality of personality and of nature upon those actual graces which are necessary properly to does not mean equality in all thing. Difference in function fulfill their conjugal duties. Through the Sacrament, all implies difference in authority. The happiest and - most the relations within the family are supernaturalized and sanc­ Christian families are those in which there is full consulta­ tified. Supernatural also is the end of the family, namely, tion between husband and wife and full recognition by each the salvation of parents and children. Finally, the ideal of of the superior capacities of the other. the marital union is supernatural, since it is found in the Next to their duties to one another, come, of course, the union between Christ and His Church. duties of husband and wife with regard to the children. The nature and functions of the family in Christian so­ First among these is the obligation of abstaining from all ciety are easily deducible from its supernatural character positive and artificial means of preventing births. All such and pill'pose, as thus briefly outlined. The primary requisite practices are condemned by the Church as essentially im­ of the union between husband and wife is mutual love. Un­ moral. When children come, each parent is obliged to make der this head is comprised not merely the love of the senses, every reasonable effort properly to sustain and educate nor necessarily that sentimental feeling called romantic love, them. To the mother belongs the greater part of moral and but, primarily and always, that rational love or affection religious formation; upon the father mainly falls the duty which is based upon mutual appreciation and constantly of providing for their physical and intellectual wants, aims at mutual welfare. An important element and requisite Whether children have a strict right to care, support and of this rational love is capacity for self-sacrifice, not only education by the parents, or whether their claim for these for the sake of the other partner, but for the welfare of the goods is only a claim based upon the virtue of piety, is a _children. question that has no practical importance. These duties The particular functions of husband and wife in the family rest upon the parents and they are of the gravest kind. The are determined by their respective natures and by their re­ extent to which parents are obliged to provide for the differ­ lation to the immediate end of the family, namely, the pro­ ent wants of their children depends upon the parents' ability creation and rearing of children. The exact comprehension and resources. For their part, the children are bound to of the words of St. Paul, "Wives, obey your husbands," has give to their parents love, reverence and obedience until never been authoritatively determined. Nor is a precise de­ they reach their majority, or form families of their own. termination necessary. Inasmuch as the husband is the nor­ Even afterwards, they are obliged to show their parents mal provider of the family and ordinarily has charge of its love and reverence and, if nece sary, to provide them with economic and administrative activitiesj there is a real sense in a reasonable degree 0 f support. which he is its head. On the other hand, the wife is the hus­ The family in a Christian society should be based upon band's equal, both as a human being and as a member of indissoluble marriage. Such is the teaching of Christ and the conjugal society. Moreover, there are many functions such has been the uniform position of the Catholic Church. January, 1930 N. C. W. C. REVIEW 7

Undoubtedly, a good case can be made for divorce in some capacity for sacrifice in the family is bad for the children, extreme instances, provided that one emphasizes the con­ bad for society, bad for the race and, in the long run, de­ venience of the parties involved rather than the welfare of trimental to the vast majority of those who think that they society. There does not seem to be any middle ground be­ are benefited either by divorce or by a departure from tween very free divorce and no divorce at all. Where the strict fidelity to the marriage bond. If society is to emerge divorce rate is kept pretty low, as in England, the cases in safely out of the present chaotic state resulting from the which it is granted nearly always involve some sort of fa­ notorious loosening of the marriage bond, its salvation will voritism. Divorce is then a privilege available in the main come through those who accept and practice the Catholic only to the wealthy and powerful. This is obviously unjust, teaching on the family. However foolish these may seem inasmuch as there are thousands of equally appealing cases in the eyes of their lax fellow citizens, they enjoy the cer­ in which divorce cannot legally be obtained. Where divorce tainty that they are at least as happy as those who reject is granted for many causes and with great facility, as in the the Catholic doctrine and that they will.be the saving rem­ United States, the objection of favoritism and discrimination nant for society and the race. does not hold, at least, not to anything like the same extent, In a Christian society the family is the true social unit. but the injury to society is obvious and exceedingly grave. The individual is, indeed, the end to which both the family One of the worst aspects of easy divorce is the fact that and the State are means, but the individual can not be reared it creates a great deal of the ·evil for which it is offered as and developed in a rational way outside of the family. It a remedy. The consciousness that divorce can be obtained is conceivable, indeed, that both marriage and the family without much trouble and the willingness to seek it cause might be abolished and that such children as came into the dissatisfaction in many marriages which otherwise would world would be brought up and educated by the State. either not take place at all or would be found tolerable. However, all experience, both general and particular, proves The issue between the practice of the Catholic Church on that a society established on this basis would quickly de­ divorce and the practice that obtains in the United States is generate. No social group has ever maintained itself for any the difference between social welfare .and individual selfish­ length of time upon such a basis, and our experience of human ness. Christian marriage curbs egoism and encourages selfishness and of the unique superiority of parental care sacrifice for others. That the latter quality is one of the most assures us that no society ever could flourish with the family essential elements in a happy and progressive society is abolished. Hence, it is the duty of the State to treat the abundantly proved by experience. All attacks upon the family, rather than the individual, as the social unit, to Christian family and all speculations about a substitute for safeguard its soundness and authority, and to promote its it are vitiated by their disregard of the social necessity of welfare by every means within the capacity of legislation self-sacrifice. Any institut,ion or theory that weakens the and administration. The Changing World and the Family By Rev. R. A. McGowan HEN A FARM FAMILY moves to the city, or a It is an age of the machine in the work of men and women W city family moves to the country, it has to think and even in recreation. Women's work in the home has been hard to know what to do in the new kind of life. In the last immensely shortened and changed by machines and machine­ generation the United Stat.es has moved into a new world. made products. Women work out of the home on goods Nearly all our surroundings have changed. Along with the once made, perhaps, at home. The machine has changed change in surroundings, prophets have arisen, false and true, man's work and shortened its hours. to tell Americans what to think and do and what habits to The machine masses us in groups and standardizes us. develop in these new surroundings. It subordinates most of us to those who own and cont-rol it. We all know the strangeness of life now. This is why We, too, become cogs. We work f~wer but tenser and regi­ more parents send .their children to high school and college mented hours. We wo.rk fewer years but when thrown out and why young people seek more and more training. It is of work at the earlier age we are thrown out of pay. Our a reason, too, for the intense activity of the parish, the mul­ work satisfies us less, is piecemeal, drains our nerves·. We titude of work of Catholic organizations, the strength of grow irritable, take up with strange fads, pitch our recreation our press. to the rhythm of machinery . We do not yet control the We were once a nation of farmers, small townsmen and machine. We are far from at ease with it. The tilne it small city people. Now enormous cities house more and saves we do not know how best to use; the wealth it creates more of us. If we still live on the farm, in the town or the we do not distribute right; in using the wealth we are lost. small city, the large city reaches out and touches us . . We The family is in the center of this new whirlpool of city live and move in masses. We live closer to made things and and machine civilization. Examples are endless. Once less close to created or growing things. It is an age of the homes were large and roomy and had good back yards and city. near-by vacant lots for the child~en to play in. Streams for 8 N. C. W. C. REVIEW January, 1930

fishing and swimming were not far away. Recreation was a _Catholics have a special difficulty. A generation ago more home and neighborhood matter and was self-made. Now it of us were new to the country. Now we have struck our is the entertainment of the street, machine recreation, hired roots deep. Most of us live in the city and are in the grip entertainment, directed recreation. of the machine age at its intensest. We have the contrast The demands of family life are more costly. Children do between old American and new American and also between not work till their middle teens or later. The working life immigrant and native. of the father may suddenly be cut short by the call for Upon this changing world there rains a flood of recom­ younger men. Many, both wage and salaried workers, re­ mendations, suggestions and hints. There is a jumble. ceive little. The father works away from the home where Many stand confused. Some are in despair. Many seek once not long ago his workshop or store was under the only material comfort or recreation or pleasures or vices. household roof; he is away from the children and must de­ American newspapers and magazines, short stories, novels, liberately make friends with them in the hours of rest to poems, movies and plays are mirrors. So many now do not substitute for the old day-long companionship of father and know what the purpose of their life is. son. To equip children with some of their needs in the new This affects every American. It affects Catholics because world, schools take more and more of their time and interest we are Americans. It is dangerous. The tradition for gen­ and withdraw from parents steady responsibility for chil­ erations past of our country and the world has been to limit dren's training. Now that the mother has more time to religion to a narrow part life. Yet as long as the world train her daughters they are longer away from her. Young and our country were not changing so much, many old women work before marriage at other than house work in habits which religion had taught remained. Religion kept the competitive world of business and industry. Some its influence very often in faL ily life when public life and women marry and still hold a full-time wage or salaried job working life had almost entirely escaped. But now it is the even when children are born. These are new things home harder for religion to guide life and form habits that will life encounters. turn our new ,world to our welfare now and in the life to come. People shift about more. Many a family that lived for Much is pagan or simply false that is written and spoken on generations in one place has since the turn of the century how to live the good life in a changing world. We live in this seen itself 'scattered from coast to coast and running the tornado of ideas and malestrom of example. whole gamut of American working life. We are restless. Yet in the large there is no reason to despair or fear. In­ The clamor for more comforts, more machine products, deed the fewer hours of time now needed to earn enough to more standardized recreation, heightens selfishness and the live on or do the work of the household, the greater chances desire for show. The members of the family tend to move of education, the greater knowledge, the ease of communi­ apart. Their work, their schooling, sometimes their time of cation, our boundless wealth, and, in the special case of Cath­ rest and recreation, their associates, many of their ideas are olics, our greater familiarity with the country, our schools, different. The old spiritual unity is fractured. Pieced to­ organizations and press, our Sacraments and our unfailing gether on occasions, it soon falls apart again. Separation guide-Holy Mother Church-are reasons for final hope. and divorce become easy. Children and young people generally have lived their But if they are reasons for final hope success depends upon whole life while these changes have come upon us. The old our own individual and organized thought and care. Like America they know hardly at all. They know the changed Alice in Wonderland we have to run fast to stand still. America. Yet they are not at ease. Neither old nor young The family is now suffering, even the Catholic family. Yet are yet equal to the job of using the changes for our welfare it may become better even than the holy, happy Catholic now and in the future life. family life we look back upon before these great changes came.

The Holy Father's Call to Catholic Action

II THE URGENT CALL has gone forth from the Vicar of Christ to our Catholic men and women for unity andfor team-work under the banner of Catholic Action. The call has resounded throughout the world for Catholics to unite in their opposition to all those things that are directly contrary to the Gospel of Christ, and to exert to the utmost their influence in forming public opinion against whatever indirectly impedes the work of the salvation of men, whatever under­ mines public morality, whatever destroys belief in the religious truths that are in the custody of the Church. This must not be a spasmodic action, but a sustained, purposeful one. . .. "What inestimable benefits it (the lay apostolate) could confer by laboring unceasingly to show the inviolable character of the sacramental contract of marriage; the divine sanction of family ties; the duty of respecting all lawful authority because it is derived from God; the obligation of obedience to the law, even in the civil order, as a religious as well as a civic duty . ... If all these things, or even some of them, in their varied phases, could be propounded by our lay apostles, we could count on Catholic Action to give the State its best citizens and its most conscientious officials, and the Church its best-informed and most devout members."-ARcHBISHOP McNICHOLAS. January, 1930 N. C. W. C. REVIEW 9

By I Spiritual Practices and the Family Rev. John K. Cartwright, D.D.

E CATHOLICS OF THE UNITED STATES are tures of Christ, the Blessed Virgin and the saints. They have W descendants for the most part of people who lived in such pictures not only in the bedrooms, but also in the living solidly Catholic communities of Europe. Our fathers lived, room and, since good prints of the great religious pictures to too, in relatively stable, relatively static, relatively unchang­ which the most noted painters have dedicated their genius ing communities. Now we, their children, live in a swiftly can now be bought at a low price, the artistic standard of moving, ever changing country and time and we live among religious pictures in the home is much improved. a people of hundreds of religions and of no religion at all. During May, the children prepare a May altar, perhaps Our fathers were careful that religious practices were fol­ on the dresser in a bedroom or perhaps on a niche in the cor­ lowed in the home. Night prayers were said in common. ner of one of the rooms. They keep lights· burning before Grace was said before and after meals. The word of God was it and place flowers on it. Many maintain permanently reverently on the lips often. Holy water was about the house miniature shrines to their favorite patron saints. for frequent use. The crucifix and miniature shrines called They make of Christmas within the family more than a often to their Faith as they moved about the home. The gift-exchanging day. Besides going to the Christmas Masses children were taught their prayers soon. Prayer to God in and receiving Holy Communion, they see to it that the giv­ gratitude and prayer to Him for help were not limited to ing of gifts possesses a Christian symbol. Perhaps it is by stated intervals; prayer was an integral part of the ·conver­ a small and simple Christmas crib alongside the Christmas sation. Their Faith was visible always; it pierced their whole tree. Perhaps it is by th~ formality of Christmas carols sung life. after the gifts are distributed. Still other means are taken, Though they lived in Catholic surroundings and though sometimes by symbol, sometimes by words to show the their communities were moving along an even road, they meaning of Christmas gifts. knew that for the Faith to be carried on from generation to They have holy water fonts at the bedroom doors at a generation it had to be expressed in the daily life of the convenient height for children to reach to the holy water and family and that the children had to grow up as used to the bless themselves. The children are enrolled early in the Faith as they were to the air they breathed, or the meals they scapular and wear the scapular medal. They have each ate, or the house they lived in. their rosary and when they learn to read their prayer book, This is more necessary now. A changing world and non­ they are encouraged to add a litany to the morning or night Catholic surroundings make the difference. prayers. Family novenas are not uncommon, especially Some of the old customs do not fit in with the new times. the Novena of Grace which, more and more, families are They have been cast aside and will not be revived again. making as a unit. The use of the Sunday Missal is also be­ Others of the old customs are unfailingly good and new cus­ coming more common. toms are being developed to take the place of old customs no Some families make a great feast of First Communion and longer in use. Moreover, old world customs are going through Confirmation days, give the children extra pleasures that a winnowing process, and we in the United States, descended day, and have the pictures taken of the first communicant of all the national stocks, are freely borrowing from one an­ and the one confirmed. Families of South European origin other and are building up a set of customs which are a com­ still retain to a certain extent the custom of annual com­ posite of many different national customs of Europe blended memorations of the saints' days of the members of the family. with customs original to us. Yet we have not built up any Some families make it a point to sing in unison evenings uniformity as yet. some of the better and simpler hymns. They tune in where Variations are made from family to family because of tra­ they can on Catholic radio programs. If they have a vic­ ditions and because sometimes working and school hours trola, they include among the records three or four hymns and even the hours of meals differ for different members of sung by great singers. the family and because the recreation of the family is so little Many still keep the old custom of blessing the house into unified. Yet when parents wish to, they can and do estab­ which they move. The priest comes and blesses it room by lish family religious observances adapted to the particular room according to the form prescribed in the ritual of the needs of the family. The parents continue to live and the Church. A newly built house receives a special blessing. , children grow up in an atmosphere of Catholic devotion In some families, the privilege of leading the prayers be­ and practice. fore and after meals is reserved to the youngest of the chil­ As much as possible, they say morning prayers and even­ dren as they turn four or five years old. In others, another prayers in common. Some families continue the old custom member of the family is chosen. of saying the rosary at bedtime together; but since the hour In this country where the ordinary holy days are rarely of going to bed is no longer so uniform, they say it together holidays, it is difficult to commemorate them by more than at the children's bedtime hour. attending Mass. Some families, though, prepare for them They have the crucifix on the walls, or more usually pic- by a family novena ending with Holy Communion on the 10 N. C. W. C. REVIEW January, 1930 holy day and the principal meal of the day takes on the tendant upon such membership bring many graces to the nature of a festivity. family circle. Many such confraternities have junior Religious reading is more and more being recognized as a branches providing special devotions for the younger mem­ practical aid to the cultivation of the spiritual life of the bers of the family. Through such membership children are family. The Catholic paper of the diocese is proving a steady disciplined in the practices of the Faith; they receive special day-by-day influence in building up in children a conscious­ spiritual benefits; and they come to have a deeper conscious­ ness of their faith and of its widespread ramifications and ness of what it means to be a member of the Communion of importance. Families are collecting small Catholic libraries the Saints. in the home and they are encouraging their children to bor­ Through these devotions families are surrounded and pene­ row Catholic books from other sources. A good "Lives of trated by a Catholic atmosphere. The fruits of such devo­ the Saints" has proven, especially where common reading tions are greater happiness in the home, greater mutual love in the family has been a practice, of lasting influence to many of parents and children, a firmer allegiance to the moral a person. teachings of the Church. Thus guided, children will grow Membership in one or more of the various confraternities, up better men and women; they will live their life and leave sodalities or societies so strongly recommended and the prac­ it the good Catholics that Holy Mother Church and their tice in the home or outside of it of the religious exercises at- parents wish them to be.

/

'j Christian Education and the Family Bev. George :~hnson. Ph.D.l +------~I~tl HERE IS A TENDENCY ABROAD these days to parent that sets the stage and directs the action. While it T think of education primarily in terms of the school. is true that g

The Rural Community and the Family Rev. Edwin V~fO·Hara. LL.D. i ~------~ HE RIGHT OF THE FARM to an important position religious vacation school movement, reaching seventy dio­ T in national economy is based on considerations of its ceses in 1929, is making a beginning of the solution of this relation to the family as well as of its position as the original problem. source of the supply of food and clothing. For the farm may The health of the country family provides a problem of rightly be described as the native habitat of the family. deep concern to the Church. Health conditions in the coun­ Unity is the keystone of the domestic arch. Sanctity and try are fundamentally superior to urban health conditions; indissolubility are its pillars. Modern industry and urban but while the city is filled with constructive health agencies, life generally have "made a vicious "attack upon family.life, there is an utter dearth of such agencies in rural communi­ denying its sanctity by immoral practices, shattering its ties. The Catholic Church is the greatest voluntary health unity by separating the interests of husband, wife and agency in America. Its hospitals, clinics, medical and children, and making mockery of its indissolubility by fre­ nursing schools are to be seen in every city, but such service quent and repeated divorce. is conspicuous in the country chiefly by its absence. Cath­ In contrast to the threatened collapse of the urban home, olic health service to rural families is confined to a compara­ family life still flourishes on the farm. It is unfortunately tively small number of small town hospitals. It would be not to be maintained that the rural home has entirely es­ safe to say that there are twenty-five hundred counties in caped the contagion of prevailing urban tendencies. The the United States in which Catholic health agencies are quite rural birth rate has declined and the divorce rate has in­ unknown. creased, but neither this decline nor this increase brings the Experience has shown that it is entirely practicable for rural figures within close range of the corresponsing urban rural parishes to undertake the development of specific figures. The country districts will continue to be the strong­ health programs. "The writer established in his parish four hold of childhood, for there economic forces work for the years ago a dental service for the children of the entire county. unity of the family. Marriages are earlier. Father, mother This clinic has made progress each year and has taken its and children have their intellectual and social interests in place among the recognized health agencies of the county. common and children are economically an asset even from The rural family bears an important relation to the prob­ their early years. lems of education and recreation confronting Catholic coun­ But while the fundamental conditions for wholesome try communities in the present period of rapid change. family life are generally characteristic of rural communities Catholic rural communities often tend to be ultra-conserva­ there are many weaknesses in the position of the contem­ tive in the matters of education and recreation. Indeed, porary farm home which must seriously concern the country there are not lacking individuals who hold that no farmer's parish and the entire Church in America. boy should go beyond the sixth grade in school. And there First must be acknowledged the lack of opportunity for are not a few Catholic rural parishes in which there is no op­ religious education which frequently results in the farm portunity for education beyond the eighth grade. family either abandoning the farm or losing the Faith. In This is the right policy if the aim is to create an ignorant no small degree the decline of rural Catholic parishes is due peasantry on the land and to perpetuate for the Catholic to the lack of religious schools in country communities. The farm boys and farm girls who go to the cities their tradi- 12 N. C. W. C. REVIEW January, 1930 tional role as hewers of wood and haulers of water. But if the percentage of Catholics is so small that mixed marriages farming is a profession and crops are not to be planted by are the rule. On the other hand, there are a small number the phase of the moon, a high school education is the rightful of Catholic rural communities where mixed marriages have heritage of the children in rural families. been unknown in the entire history of the parish. Nowhere Of course, the best agricultural education given to children is Catholic home life better exemplified than in these parishes. in the United States is provided by the boys' and girls' agri­ Country pastors who have undertaken a thorough going cultural clubs-the so-called Four-H clubs, in which many Catholic social program in their parishes have found it possi­ more than half a million farm boys and girls are enroled. ble to reduce the number of mixed marriages to a minimum In many parishes home life is being vastly enriched by these and even to eliminate them altogether. In cases of mixed professional clubs. The success which has crowned the efforts company-keeping rural youth are usually ready to comply of hundreds of country pastors who have promoted 4-H with the requirement of complete Catholic instruction. It clubs gives grounds for the hope that this movement will is the opinion of many rural pastors that it would be a dis­ spread to a thousand other parishes in the near future. tinct gain to secure permission to surround the marriage These clubs provide the most encouraging organized method ceremony in those cases where mixed marriages are per­ of making the farm family' proud of its profession. mitted with greater religious solemnity than has been usual. In the neglect of, or apathy toward, educational and re­ While it may be said that wholesome family life in Cath­ creational facilities, there is great danger that the older olic rural communities wiJ1 iepend upon the zealous spiritual generation will find themselves entirely out of sympathy leadership of the rural clergy, it must be recognized that the with the younger members of rural families. The inevitable effectiveness of such leadership Will be conditioned by the result will be that more and more energetic youth of both alertness and intelligence of loy cooperation. In the sparcely sexes will rush to the cities, a condition fatal to the future of settled rural districts, above all, there is an imperative call both the rural family and the rural parish. for the organization of Catholic action in the sense set forth In reference to the opportunities for Catholic marriages, by Our Holy Father, Pius XI, if family life is to measure up the rural situations in the United States vary from one ex­ to the possibilities of its rural environment and to the ideals treme to the other. In the majority of rural communities, of The Holy Family.

By Economic Justice and the Family Linna E. Bresette I CONOMIC JUSTICE is one of the first imperatives in the ~arth all that is necessary for life. Since wages paid for E the stabilization and preservation of the family which labor provide for the necessities of life then wages must be is the unit of society and the bulwark of civilization. Eco­ adequate. nomic justice is one of the great forces which must be meted Economic justice also demands economic security. Un­ out if the family is to be provided with the necessities of life, employment provides the opposite of that and unemploy­ proper housing, food, shelter and education that will enable ment or economic insecurity has a disastrous effect on the its members to be physically strong and self-respecting men family, for in the absence of an income, the family suffers and women. and unquestionably no small number become as a result When we speak of economic justice in relation to the objects of charity. family, we necessarily think in terms of decent wages and Perhaps three millions are out of work today and fami­ economic security, for these represent the existing standard lies suffer as a consequence. These sufferings are the result of industrial justice. Wages or income must be in sufficient of economic injustices. Unemployment is responsible for amount to keep the family without impelling the mother to the abject poverty of thousands of people. If family life is go into industry to eke out the family income. It implies to be maintained on a decent level, poverty must not be wages in sufficient amount that children will not have to go allowed to be rampant. Why talk of maintaining standards to work when they should be in school. The last census of the home and pomoting ideals of family life unless these showed that more than 2,000,000 children between ages of influences which degrade and disrupt family life are attacked? 10-15 were gainfully employed. The need for economic justice may be emphasized by point­ Competent authorities today agree that an annua] in­ ing out some of the economic injustices existing today. come of $1500 a year is necessary for the decent support of Unemployment is now very prevalent. Many fathers of the family of five, yet studies have been made which show families are receiving incomes vastly inadequate to maintain that the income received by a large number of fathers is much their families in health and decency. We can point out in less than this figure. many American cities congested areas where are unsightly Pope Leo says: "For a man to accept a wage inadequate homes, sometimes whole families living in a single room, to secure the means of decent living is to compel him to making a social condition that is a "menace at once to in­ exist at a level below that which God intended him to live." dustrial efficency, civic health, good morals and religion." God made the earth for man and expected him to obtain from We can point to the children at work; to the women who January, 1930 N. C. W. C. REVIEW 13 are working for starvation wages. The effect of such condi­ Leo's Encyclical. "Whenever the general iuterest or that tions on the home and the family may easily be visualized. of any particular class suffers or is threatened with mischief In this country, rich in resources and productive power, the which can in no way be met or prevented, the public author­ poverty-stricken wage earner is unnecessary. ity must step in to deal with it." The president of the Catholic Conference on Industrial Mothers' pensions, worklnen's · compensation laws, maxi­ Problems recently said: "If we hope for economic justice we mum hour laws, social insurance and old age pensions, when must not permit the present system of low wages and its applied, have a beneficial effect on family life. The shorten­ accompanying unemployment system to prevail. If it does, ing of hours of employment, for instance, enters materially then families must continue to live in poverty. Their homes into the betterment of family life as it gives the worker time will continue to be unattractive and minus conveniences for a fuller life and opportunity for moral, mental and physi­ and comforts which contribute to the joy and happiness of can improvement. family life." All these efforts lnust be backed by public opinion and by There are definite ways in which economic justice may at public action. Public opinion must first be educated. To least partially be attained. It· can be brought about first by this end the Catholic Conference on Industrial Problems is at a general acceptance of the practical and Christian princi­ work promoting a program of Catholic social teaching along ples embodied in the Encyclical of Pope Leo XIII and the industrial lines. It aspires to give to the family the economic Bishops' Reconstruction Program. The industrial program backing it requires. The Catholic Conference on Industrial outlined in these pronouncements is well known to students Problems is gathering to itself Catholic lay men and women of Catholic social action. who recognize that it is not only important to know and One principle set forth is that "the living wage includes enunciate Catholic principles but that these self same ·prin­ not merely decent maintenance for the present, but also a ciples must be applied if economic justice is to prevail. The reasonable provision for such future needs as sickness, in­ N: C. W. C. Social Action Department is at work on this validity, old age, and unemployment" and calls this "the question all the time. So, too, are the Industrial Committee minimum due in justice to the worker." of the National Council of Catholic Women and the Central Organization of workers and legislation are both advocated. Bureau of the Central Verein. If workers were organized we might look forward to a time "It must be remembered," says one distinguished author­ when collective bargaining and economic law would secure economic justice for the wage earner by giving him a reason­ ity, "that all attempts to bring about economic justice shall able return for his services. fail unless it first be acknowledged that the divine precepts In referring to legislation we · find this statement in Pope of justice and charity must govern all economic endeavors."

Br Our Fight Against Pagan Ideas of Family Life Patrick J. Ward

ANY CENTURIES AGO Plato, setting forth the holding together in the tradition of the past, it makes an M principles of his ideal city, laid it down that "the appeal to material well-being and advancement. It sets parent shall not know his child, nor the child his parent;" egotism against altruism in appealing to paternal instincts that children should be of common mothers and the property in the education, physical .well-being, and opportunity of the of the State. A leading Russian economist today advocates child. For "oneness in Christ" is substituted the isolated a similar system for the Soviet Republic. The same idea of consciousness of a social unit. proprietary right persists in this country in education despite In creating a false sense of values in parents the "new" the ruling of the supreme legal authority that the child is thought succeeds in producing self-centered individuals who not the creature of the State. Year after year there come lose the perspective of their place and purpose in society. forward legislative proposals which have no other justifica­ Individual gain, material progress, selfishness, love of ease tion than the principle that it is the State's proper function and the good things of life become justified and worthwhile to rear the citizen, and perfect him in physique and morals. on the assumption that these make up the whole social good. Even religious training has been so envisioned. Men think nothing of practicing debased ethics of business Thus time and again ideas which are as old as history to enhance the social standing of their families and to itself dress themselves in modern fashions and parade before give sons and daughters a good education and a start in the unwitting as something new in reform. These ideas life. Thus perceived, the family, which colors all society, come resurrected from the tomb of pagan thought. They may undermine the very foundations of the State, which enter into the mind-stream of the time when it reaches a depends on a sense of cooperation among its citizens, on a stage prepared and ready to receive them. We term them willingness to practice self-denial for the general welfare, and the New Paganism. certainly on a reproduction of sufficient numbers to preserve This neo-paganism, truly perceiving the structure of so­ its very existence. ciety, centers its attack in that grouping of individuals, the Secondly, in the family group thus deprived of a spiritual family, and for two reasons. First, in the family group, still moti ve, the poison of pa~an concepts can most quickly 14 N. C. W. C. REVIEW January, 1930

spread. The thought and practice of parents probably con­ the general opinion of moral theologians is that sterilization stitute the most powerful single force acting on the mind of the mentally unfit is not justified. They should know and conduct of growing children. The absence of the prac­ that the most recent knowledge of heredity tends to bear tice of religion in a home invariably leaves a tragic and, un­ out this position, and that sterilization as now carried out fortunately in many cases, an unconscious emptiness rarely is in the nature of a social experiment rather than restin~ on filled in later life. The maintenance of a high religious and a scientific certainty. moral standard in the home is always a matter of determined Legislation relating to divorce, birth control, steriliza­ effort, the success of which is only possible through some tion, companionate and trial marriage bears directly on the special means of spiritual sustenance such as the Catholic life and continuance of the family. To break down the family family has in the Sacraments. or to weaken it in any way through false conceptions of its How difficult then must it be in families where "a man is origin and of its place in the State is to demolish the very at variance against his father and the daughter against her nucleus of society. Do Catholic fathers and mothers realize mother," where there is no binding force of religion and sufficiently their obligations in this regard, not only to prac­ therefore no unity of intelligent purpose. In such circum­ tice the Christian virtues within the home, not only to keep stances the family becomes simply a group of individuals, Catholicism strong and vigorous through public testimony disunited in essentials and loosely coordinated according to of their Faith, but courageously to oppose every pagan evi­ whims and fancies, only held together by more or less ex­ dence which threatens their own security and the temporal pedient motives which may pass at any moment. as well as the eternal d v 'tiny of their families? Should we Thus we see in the new paganism the grave menace to the judge by the apathy of many arid the feeling of false security family and society without the unifying and sustaining and satisfaction which mat.erial prosperity seems at times to forces of Catholic teaching and practice. No doubt any engender in our Catholic people, the Christian family would Catholic will agree with this-on paper. But it may be certainly appear to be in jeopardy. fairly questioned if the average Catholic family is sufficiently While serious responsibility rests on parents to organize aware of the actual dangers lurking in every step of its path and consolidate their forces against these dangers, the chil­ because of a non-Catholic tradition and pagan culture. dren of the family, the new generation, have likewise their Take; for example, the logical sequences of this material­ obligations. The pretensions of pagan thought are subtly istic philosophy which conceives the child and the family attractive and appear quite reasonable to the modern young as existing primarily for the welfare of the State. The and undeveloped mind. Only the greatest care, a reorgani­ Catholic parent, suffering with others under economic pres­ zation, we may say, of our Catholic family life according to sure, is easily convinced of the desirability of the small well-tried Christian principles, and the expansion and per­ family. To be able properly to clothe, feed and educate his fection of Catholic education can po sibly save the younger children seems to him reasonable. Yet to some there is then generation from being swept into the vortex of pagan habits but a short step towards restricting his family that he may and ideas. provide not merely for the necessities of his state but partake These various matters discussed are not siro ply theories of the good things of life as well. Before long he may be and possibilities. Any reference to the daily press, legisla­ faced with the temptation to practice conscious artificial tive activities, current literature, our court calendars, and birth restriction. crime statistics, will bear tragic evidence that the family is It is for the Catholic, therefore, to realize at once that the gravely menaced. On one hand is the gradual absorption question is not merely of the social and economic well-being by the State of sacred individual and family rights in the of himself and his family or of the State, but an issue between belief that the family is of negligible value when the greater Christian and pagan teaching, between eternal right and good of society appears to conflict with it; on the other, are eternal wrong. the attractions of modern life, sapping the spiritual resis­ From the point of the welfare of the State, the Catholic tance, not only of non-Catholics, but in a relatively greater must know first that the family is prior to the State and that degree of Catholics because of their higher standards and its tempo of life is not primarily the welfare of society but greater opportunities for grace. Individual effort is but a the law of God. In the Divine Wisdom, however, the welfare puny barricade against the onrushing tide . . of society and the State is bound up inextricably with the Since in the order of organization comes the family and Divine dispensation and the former follows logically from then the State, the Catholic family owes it to the latter to adherence to the latter. be actively interested in all that touches directly or indirectly The welfare of the State, it is claimed, is threatened by on the welfare of both. The State in turn is responsible for the generation of the mentally deficient; the family and its safeguarding the family wellbeing and the rights of the indi­ rights must bow before the general social good. In the first vidual. The family's duty to the Church is to that Mysti­ place, Catholics should know the fact, borne out by medical cal Body of which Christ is the head and we the members. evidence, that the general welfare is not menaced to the To family, Church, and State every Catholic has a solemn degree that advocates of sterilization presume. It is the obligation to work for the common good. Modern require­ duty of Catholics to study this question and to know that ments point clearly to mass organization backed by indi­ while the Church has made no official pronouncement on it, vidual enthusiasm, group action, and wise leadership. January, 1930 N. C. W. C. REVIEW 15

By Good Government and the Family Wm. F. Montavon ~------~ "THE FAMILY," wrote our Holy Father, Pius XI, in that is gaining momentum, is well under way which, if allowed 1926 in a letter to the Catholic people of Uruguay on to pursue its course unhindered, seems destined to extend the centenary of their national independence, "because the authority and the functions of the Federal Government it is the fountain source of human existence and the fun­ until they reach into the innermost and most intimate re­ dament~l bond by which through an unbreakable love lations of home life. one individual is bound to another, is the basic unit of so­ On examination of the "laws by which the States under­ ciety. Upon the material well-being and the moral purity take to regulate marriage we find one outstanding uniformity. of the family depend the morality and the well-being of the Every State recognizes the sacramental character of marriage community. Steps, therefore, taken to improve home life by granting civil validity to mar~iage contracted before ec­ physically or ethically or to give economic security to the clesiastical authority. The sacramental character of mar­ home, are steps taken for the good of the community; and riage, accepted and respected though it was in ancient steps by which the dignity,- the sanctity or the inviolable civilizations and even among primitive peoples, reached its unity of the home are undermined are steps which lead fullest development only through Christianity. In their straight to decadence endangering the very life itself of or­ attitude toward sacramental marriage the States are emi­ ganized society." nently Christian. Such being the all important role and supreme position of In modern society the family is an economic unit, it ac­ the family in organized society, no act of government affect­ quires and administers property. To maintain justice in the ing the family, whether for good or ill, can be without interest administration and distribution of the family patrimony is to the citizen, and certainly not to the Catholic. Our Federal a civil function which the modern state is called upon to Union is based on the sovereign state as the unit of its poli­ perform. Holding that it is obliged to take equally into tical organization. Its functions do not transcend the account the religious beliefs and practices of every group sovereignty of the individual state. By the very nature of into which the people are subdivided, the State cannot ignore its origin and organization our Federal Government is not those who reject the Christian principle that marriage is authorized to perform any act by which the family and the not dissoluble, and provides for divorce. In only one State home are directly affected. Such acts under our political is divorce with the right to remarry unknown. Catholic system lie within the sole competency of the State as dis­ Porto Rico, under American control, admits divorce, and tinguished from the Union. even in the Catholic Philippines for years a controversy has Differences in ethical and political standards, a wide been waged over this subject. variety of resources, material and human, conflicting pur:. One divorce law may be a greater source of evil than an­ poses and methods result inevitably in a wide divergence other. A divorce law, pretending merely to regulate the between the acts of one state and those of another related terms upon which the parties to a marriage contract are to even to an institution that is fundamental as is the family. be released from their mutual obligations, by the nature of Inequalities-what seem even to be injustices-endangering its provisions or by the manner in which it is administered social standards, are the necessary result of this confusion in the courts, may become an incentive to divorce, a power­ and give rise to a demand for further grants of power to the ful instrument for the destruction of the family which it Federal Government in the hope that, through federal ac­ pretends to protect. tion, uniformity may be secured and high standards pre­ The direct outgrowth of lax divorce laws are not alone served. Affecting the family and the home we have the de­ the great number of homes that have been shattered, of mand for the federal regulation of marriage and divorce, of children that are left unprotected; but to these laws and es­ child labor, of provisions for the relief of destitution of both pecially to their administration are to be traced such immoral children and the aged, of education, etc., and unnatural practices as trial and companionate marriage. Under our representative system political action is action Fortunately there . seems to be under way a movement of by the individual not by the family. The federal authorities reaction against the too easy granting of divorce. Good are far removed from the influences of local conditions. government will take advantage of any such movement to The home, the church, the local group have a less powerful amend its laws giving more adequate protection to the home. as well as a less direct appeal to them than to the local or No function of the family, after that referred to by the state authorities. The Federal Union is only an institution, Holy Father in those beautiful words "the family is the its jurisdiction is over States and not over territory or citi­ fountain source of human existence," is so sacred as that of zens, and as such it has no atmosphere, no mentality, no providing an adequate education for its children. The soul that is properly its own. It is a composite being made government of our country recognizes, respects and pro­ of sovereign States. It was not intended nor is it either protects this function of the family. There are not wanting competent or adapted to regulate and control the intimate those who, through misguided nationalism, demand that relations and interests of home life. And yet a movement, . education be reduced to the. role of producing standard citi- 16 N. C. W. C. REVIEW January, 1930 zens, holding like views on economics, on justice and even our attitude, to be adequate, must be constructive rather on religion. Our system has made of our nation, in spite of than defensive. The family as an institution is under at­ the diversity of races and cultures that have migrated to tack. Government alone, even good government, cannot our vast territory, a nation that is inferior to none in the unsupported by the citizens protect the family against its homogeneity of its culture or in the loyalty of its citizens. assailants. Government must be able in emergencies to call Good government will not lightly remove the control of upon the citizens as a reserve. In the last analysis the citizen education from the family, which having that control has wields the power and dictates the decisions of authority. The produced results such as these. ballot, care in the selection of those to be entrusted with As evil government destroys the home and the family, so authority, an active cooperation with the organs by which good government preserves and strenghtens them. Love of public opinion is created, these are the instruments. Good home and love of country require that as Catholic citizens government necessarily results when they are employed with we be ever on the lookout for what endangers either. But virtue and wisdom.

By r Lay Organization and the Family Mary G. Hawks

RGANIZATION SPRINGS, naturally, from commu­ norant, the unfo unate, the sick and imprisoned, has multi­ O nity of interests: it tends to the protection and satis­ plied Catholic lay organization, by the family, for the faction of common rights and common needs. It is essential family, broken by death, disease or sin, to protect their in human life. For, indeed, the primal unit of lay organiza­ rights, to care for their needs, either by direct service or tion is the family itself, which, in exercising its God-given as auxiliary to religious organizations. The preservation, power of reproduction and education, multiplies organization the restoration of the home, the up-holding and up-building for the protection of its rights and the satisfaction of its of · the sacred unit of the family is the inspiration and the needs and aspirations. objective of countless lay organizations. Civil government, from its earliest primitive form-the The family spirit engenders "fraternal" lay organizations clan-to its modern complex structure bears testimony to of men and women, whose far-flung family line reaches the the fertility in organization, by the family for the family. country over-and beyond. They foster, as brothers and And innumerable supplementary organizations keep pace in sisters should, the social intercourse between Catholic and quantity and variety with the increase of families and their Catholic, the cultivation of common counsel, focusing at­ varied groupings, each destined to contribute to some special tention on the interests of Holy Mother Church, helping the need or to protect some special right. needy, instructing the ignorant, supporting the missions. In this natural order, organization stands for the solidarity They impersonate the family spirit, organized to protect of the human family. It is the foe of individualism. For, and to serve the family of the faithful. however much the individual may participate in organiza­ Children of an older growth, yet clinging to their alma tion and be affected by it, through it he does not stand alone mater, are lay organizations of alumni and alumnae. Vital but in relation to society and its basic unit, the family. product of Catholic education, they organize to extend In the Christian dispensation, organization stands for Catholic intellectual life from the youngest to the oldest of more than solidarity. It stands for unity as members of the the children of the family. Founders of families, their or­ Body of Christ-the Church. The star of Faith points the ganization is potent to guard the home from the encroach­ way to the family as holy because it is the chosen medium ments of paganism and to pass on the Christian culture they of Divine Love for the propagation of a holy race and the have been privileged to receive. reorganization of society. In this new order the family be­ Reverence for the past, for family traditions, link the comes both subject and object of organization in which spiri­ family of today with brave and venturesome ancestors who tual solicitude takes precedence over, and inspires, temporal came to build new families in this new land. Thus lay or­ solicitude. ganizations of men and women with a common background, So the earlier forms of lay organization in the Church spring into being to keep the family fires burning and the spring from a community of soul interests and tend to the memory green of forebears who gave of brawn and brain to protection and satisfaction of common spiritual rights, needs plant the Faith in the "land of the free" and to make our and aspirations. They are spiritual organizations and, like Republic live. all true organization, their purpose is not only to evidence Desire for mutual helpfulness, dread of an hour of need, life, but to strengthen and increase it. If in the process, in­ born of family experience and of family unity, create mutual dividuals are seemingly withdrawn from the circle of the benefit associations. These lay organizations serve the family family, it is only to perfect t heir perspective and restore by giving care to the sick and burial to the dead. them as a father, a mother, a child, according to the Heart Lay organizations seek to "establish the peace of Christ of Christ and His Spouse, the Church. in the Kingdom of Christ," to preserve national principles, Service of Christ, in the person of the little ones, the ig.. and to contribute to national thought the stability of Catholic January, 1930 N. C. W. C. REVIEW 17

truth and morals. And so lay organization continues to de­ economy: an expression of the Christ-life within her. Each velop as families multiply and the needs of family life in­ may function as a separate organ, yet are they all "members crease; for organization, in one form or another, is the medium of Christ and members one of the other." They are one in through which all needs of the family are supplied. the indivisible Mystical Body of Christ-the Catholic The family is the object of predilection of both the Church Church. and the State. The State may well respect it as its creator. To accentuate this essential un~ty in Christ: to coordinate The Church jealously guards it as a most precious child of each wonderful part into a perfect whole until the activities God and legacy from Christ. For the social organizations of Catholic lay organization are co-extensive with _Christ's that protect and satisfy its material needs, although man­ made, she recognizes a Divine sanction. To the lay organi­ desire for the welfare and happiness of the family, and the zations within her own fold, she grants spiritual blessings spread of His Kingdom, this is the purpose of the federated and spiritual guidance. They are a '(department" of her Councils of Catholic Men and of Catholic Women.

l The Press and the Family Clarene.,. MeCabe 1 ~II-'------~ ARDINAL GASPARRI, referring to the Catholic press information and guidance regularly brought into the home C recently, emphasized its value in offsetting the "con­ through the agency of the Catholic press. Moreover, in fusion of ideas and corruption of morals" reflected daily in view of the constant flood of irreligious propaganda, the the secular press. Pope Pius XI, in his address at the inter­ home without a Catholic newspaper is deprived of a steady national meeting of Catholic journalists in Rome, empha­ religious cultural influence, indispensable in counteracting sized its positive function as the voice of Catholic Action. the effects of constant secular reading. It is doubtless in this double capacity that the Catholic Study and discussion of Catholic news in the home, sup­ press is serving the Catholic family, aiding it to take an ac­ plemented by Catholic reference works, can be made profit­ tive part in the upbuilding of the religious and social life of able and interesting. A practical grasp of current Catholic the community. affairs can be obtained in this way, within the home circle, No Catholic can fail to observe the frequent misunder­ assisting the members of the family to be able to give a standing and misrepresentation of his Faith contained in reason for their faith, to answer the questions which their reports -in the secular press, or indeed can remain wholly non-Catholic friends will ask regarding reports in the secular uninfluenced by the vast output of current literature, much press, and by a kind word or a brief explanation, to help in of which is paganistic in tone. minimizing hostility against the Church and even in awaken­ With a few exceptions, the secular press today is engage61 ing sympathy and interest in Catholic thought apd life. in seeking the spectacular. In ever-increasing quantities, Children in the Catholic home, subject as they are to the news and special articles dealing in a sensational way with varying influence of modern social life, should not be deprived religio-scientific subjects appear daily in the columns of of the help brought to them by the Catholic press. At the our metropolitan newspapers. The confused opinions of very least, a Catholic newspaper should have an equal place heterodox ministers, the theories of atheistic scientists, the of honor on the library table of the home with the daily questionable schemes of irreligious social reformers-these secular paper. are the things which confront the Catholic reader in looking Cooperation such as this by the Catholic family will en­ over his daily newspaper. courage the Catholic editor to broaden his scope of news Frequently the discussions and events of the day touch and special material and meet all the requirements of the intimately upon the Catholic Church and Catholic life. f~mily circle. The increased prestige of the Catholic press, Granted that no malice is involved, the haste with which as it grows in strength and influence, molding- opinion and the modern newspaper is put together, ignorance of the serving as a standard advertising medium in the community, Church and of Catholic philosophy, and the requirements cannot but redound to the benefit of the family and to larger of a cosmopolitan reading public, make for frequent misrepre­ Catholic participation and influence in the life of the com­ sentation and constant inadequacy in the presentation of munity and of the nation at large. Catholic news. The Holy Father recently felt compelled to Our Catholic diocesan newspapers are for the most part express deep regret that so many biased and unfair reports standard publications. T~ough the N. C. W. C. News regarding the Lateran treaties had made their way into the Service, with its world-wide news gathering facilities, they daily press and that the press had found it so difficult to bring into the Catholic home authentic accounts of all the speak properly of his intentions. major events of Catholic interest occurring anywhere in the Under such circumstances it is obviously impossible for world. Through the continued interest and support of the the Catholic family to keep abreast of Catholic affairs, to Hierarchy and the growing strength of the papers them­ fortify itself with facts, or to be able to participate actively selves, the Service is being constantly extended and -im­ and intelligently in organized Catholic Action, without the proved. In addition to the weekly budget of news from all 18 N. C. W. C. REVIEW January, 1930 parts of the world, the N. C. W. C. News Service provides the clergy and the time and efforts of Catholic editors, who the Catholic papers with timely news photographs illustrat­ serve for small pecuniary compensation. Yet no one will ing Catholic events; syndicated articles by leading Catholic dissent from the 'View that the Catholic press is still in its authors covering special phases of Catholic thought and ac­ infancy and is capable of attaining in the future to a much tivity, and a weekly output of first-grade light features ap­ greater position of distinction and influence, provided it re­ pealing to every member of the Catholic household. ceives the active cooperation and support of the Catholic In brief, judged from ordinary newspapers standards, our family. Bishop Schrembs recently challenged the people diocesan papers are first-rate publications, containing au­ of his Diocese to subscribe to the diocesan weekly for a thentic news, able editorials, special articles, the best Catholic period of three months and to be able to say that the ex­ fiction, and attractive and interesting household departments. periment had not been worthwhile. No Catholic home, in They are taking their places on the news racks of public fact, can afford to be without the influence of a Catholic libraries and in public news stands; they serve as standard paper in promoting its own inner religious and cultural life advertising mediums, and the circle of their influence is con­ and assisting its members to share in the larger, outward stantlyextending. They exercise, in fact, a positive, forma­ expression of Catholic life. tive influence, not only among Catholics, but to an increasing No Catholic family can afford to deprive itself of this extent outside of Catholic circles. effective antidote against the poison resulting, as Cardinal The marked progress of the diocesan weekly within the Gasparri stated, from the "confusion of ideas and corruption last decade has been made possible through the interest and of morals" emanating from much of our present day secular financial support of the Bishops, with the cooperation of journalism.

World Problems and the Family Elizabeth ByB. Sweeney 1

ANY OF THE PROBLEMS OF FAMILY LIFE are be better able to do our part in avoiding strife and pre­ M closely related to world problems, particularly on ac­ serving the lasting peace which the Church desires. count of the changes that have occurred during the past As a result of this more intimate international relation­ three decades affecting persons, ideas, and goods. These ship, what takes place in one country interests every other three factors in their international phases go far in influenc­ one. One phase is of importance. The world powers are ing the life of the family today. rapidly industrializing themselves and drawing their popu­ Rapid transportation and rapid communication have lation from the open country into cities. The breakdown in brought about opportunities which turn national problems family life is obvious here as shown in comparative statistics into world problems. Peoples know one another better of rural and urban communities where the divorce rate in since it no longer takes months to cross the ocean and news the cities is more than twice as high as that in the rural is not carried by a courier. The standards of family life sections. The lower ethical standards of family life in one have now taken on international aspects and the standards country tend to pull down tLose of other nations. of one nation affect, and are affected by, the standards of Just as common problems and responsibilities cannot be surrounding countries. The rapid interchange of ideas be­ met effectively without the full support and cooperation of tween nations, whether through the radio, the cable or the Catholics throughout the nation, so problems in the inter­ press, has awakened in the family circle an interest in world national field which have a direct relation .to Catholic problems. American homes are more concerned in foreign teaching and are therefore intimately connected with our affairs today than ever before. The front pages of our great own national activities, call for our attention and study. metropolitan dailies are indicative of this new awakening. The importance of the family group to world problems may The Associated Press, the United Press and the N. C. W. C. be seen in the activities of Catholic associations here and News Service have expanded their foreign staffs and con­ abroad. The International Congress on Family Life was tacts abroad and in Latin America to bring to the hearth organized in Geneva in 1927 by an assembly of persons the news of other lands and other peoples. from various nations interested in preserving the integrity This is all a great factor in removing a selfishness which of the Christian family as a predominant factor in inter­ often hems in a little family group and makes it fail to realize national well-being. A representative of the National Coun­ the oneness of men, their universal brotherhood and the cil of Catholic Men and the National Council of Catholic great goal towards which all are striving. With geographi­ Women participated in the launching of this movement to cal, social and religious barriers removed, the "little learn­ offset the propaganda of the proponents of neo-Malthusian­ ing" we have concerning "the foreigner," whether he be ism and to study closely the social and economic factors Mexican, Chinese, German or Italian, can be increased and that offset family life in different countries. the foundation of international goodwill be laid. Only The International Union of Catholic Women's Leagues, through a wide-spread knowledge of right and wrong in representing twenty-three countries, cooperate in the study international matters can right conduct be assured. The of world problems, especially those dealing with the preser­ family unit can do much to accomplish this so that we shall vation of the home and the protection of children. In a January, 1930 N. C. W. C. REVIEW 19 letter from Pope Pius XI addressed to the President of the The International Congress of Mental Hygiene, the Cath­ Union we find: olic International Film Congress, the International Catholic "We have also taken particular pleasure in seeing that Press Convention, the Catholic Circle at Geneva and numer­ your Union by remaining faithful to its own principles has ous others constantly keep before them the family and the perfectly understood and realized true Catholic action such many questions that confront it today. as we have approved, and such as we have definitely stated Here in the United States the Catholic Association for many times; full participation by the Catholic laity with International Peace is interested not only in the actual work the Hierarchy for the defense of religious and moral princi­ of promoting international understanding based on Christian ples, for the development of a sane and wholesome social ethics, but in studying the forces that are breaking down action under the direction of the Hierarchy, without con­ family life in various countries, and in proposing remedies nection with any political party, for the intensifying of Cath­ for strengthening family bonds. olic life in the family and in society." "Catholic responsibility for keeping our homes Christian," The purpose of the Union Catholique d'Etudes Interna­ writes an outstanding Catholic interested in international tionales, begun in Fribourg in 1917, is to study world prob­ affairs, C(can be fulfined only by a national unity of Catholic ' lems in the light of Catholic teaching. The National Council forces. Legislation which threatens the Christian home may of Catholic Men and the National Council of Catholic be successfully defeated here or there only to spring up Women have participated in the annual assemblies of this again elsewhere. Not only is national organization essential Union, which endeavors to bring to Catholics in all countries but international cooperation is equally important." a knowledge of the teaching of the Church regarding the We realize the great need today for Catholic international rights of the individual and the family. groups to work together in solving such questions when we Since we are members of a Universal Church we can reflect that non-Catholic societies are now organized whose learn from the richness of her teachings the obligation that programs is a far cry from that laid down by the Church to we have to "all nations" whom the Apostles were instructed maintain the home and the dignity of mankind. There is a to teach. Christian brotherhood moves out through various great need for action on the part of Catholic lay organiza­ cycles from the little family circle into the large international tions here and abroad to offset the false individualism of the sphere which embraces all mankind. It is only when we age with the leaven of Christian teaching regarding the visualize "our neighbor" in the latter aspect that we can sacredness of marriage and the dignity of motherhood. establish the Peace of Christ in the Kingdom of Christ. The program of the International Congress of Catholic We should take a more active interest in the annual as­ Charities deals mainly with problems bearing on the family semblies of Catholic representatives from various countries. group. At its first meeting in Strasbourg, 1927, the sections Their deliberations go far to offset the forces tending to de­ dealt with the following subjects: children, relief, temper­ stroy the home and help preserve the foundation upon which ance, health, migration and education. The relation of these true civilization is built-the Christian Family. There -is a problems to the home was the issue with which the Congress great need today in the millions of Catholic homes for an was concerned. Many other national and international as­ understanding of things outside our own hearth-an under- sociations are vitally concerned in world-wide problems standing of international good will which will go far in bring­ bearing on the home and its integrity. ing "Peace on Earth to Men of Goodwill."

Civic Duty and the Family Charles A~YMcMahon 1 OW MANY OF US THINK of the Christian home as Do we conscientiously and consistently strive, through H the first and most important school of citizenship the fulfillment of our mutual duties in the family, to prepare training? Here is the seat of government and scene of action for a useful and efficient citizenship-a citizenship that will of that holiest form of human society-the Christian family. justify the position of the family as the basic unit of civil In it, we find, in the sacred relationships between parents society, contributing to the latter the dignity, permanence and children, the counterpart of those duties and responsi­ and utility of the family and infiltrating the body politic bilities that devolve upon citizens in a political society. In with something of the high idealism and noble attributes of - it, husband and wife exercise their divine commission to the Christian home? rule; children comply with the divine mandate to honor and It is undoubtedly true that most Catholic fathers and obey. mothers are actuated by a deep sense of their responsibility How many of us realize that just as the success of the as agents of Almighty God in carrying out His. plans for the family as a social unit is dependent upon the mutual loves, propagation of the human species, and that they are striv­ reverences and sacrifices of its members, so is the success of ing, with the aid of Divine Grace, to rear, sustaiJ? and educate the political unit contingent upon the sincerity and consider­ a new generation better equipped if possible than themselves ation with which those in authority reciprocate the interest to advance the glory of God and the welfare of humanity. and support of those whom they govern? Do such parents, however, always apply these excellent 20 N. C. W. C. REVIEW January, 1930 motives to their civic activities? Are they, in their capacity enlightenment of our children, the voters of tomorrow, any either as voters or officials, working to develop a government of the suitable texts dealing with the duties of American more deeply rooted in justice and better equipped than its citizenship and the functions of our American government; predecessor to serve the public good? Do they themselves or for the guidance of the adult members of the family, such urge and cause others to respect the principle that public enlightening books, for example, as Dr. John A. Ryan's power proceeds from Almighty God and that this delegated The Catholic Church and the Citizen or The Church and State, authority must in conscience be exercised for the material, by Fathers Millar and Ryan? moral and spiritual good of all the people and not for any It is only through the study of books such as these that selfish purpose? we shall be able to understand the workings of our govern­ In the ideal Christian family parents and children are ment and to discuss fearlessly and logically the teaching of happy when no single duty or opportunity to serve is neg­ the Church with regard to the civil and spiritual allegiance lected. It is edifying, indeed, to witness the unified efforts of Catholics-a matter concerning which there is so much of all its members and to view the accomplishments of their confusion in the minds of non-Catholics. common work. Are we active in civic education study clubs? Are we Do members of such families, however, always view helping melnbers of immigrant families in our respective their government as a cooperative enterprise, maintained communities to prepare for the naturalization process? Co­ for the benefit of all the people, dependent for its success on operation with local public and private agencies working to the interest, loyalty and support of every citizen? In the mould into our American citizenship the several million aliens matter of voting, the fact that often, even in presidential in .. he United States is a task that should appeal to every elections, less than fifty per cent of the qualified electorate Catholic organization. take the trouble to exercise the right of suffrage has caused Catholic leadership in civic activity of this nature has conscientious citizens to fear for our boasted democracy. time and again been urged by the ecclesiastical authorities More disgraceful still are the statistics reported regarding of the Church. Speaking recently on this subject, Archbishop participation in primary elections. Good results in govern­ McNicholas of Cincinnati said: "Catholics are too much ment, like success in the family, are impossible when only a inclined to hold themselves aloof in these matters. We as certain few perform the work expected of them. Catholics are not making the contributions we should to For the duties of citizenship are not reserved for some of civic life or to the solution of questions that come before our the people; the burden falls upon all. Anyone who fails to federal, state and municipal governments." The Archbishop do his part in a common enterprise operated for the good of added that Catholics have an opportunity to apply the teach­ all is shirking a bounden duty and does not deserve a share ings of the Church to different questions involving the public in the benefits that the conscientious work of his fellow citi­ interest, particularly those concerning moral issues. Nor zens brings about. The shirker in the family and the slacker does His Grace think that activity in this particular field in the community are ingrates, indeed, and deserve the con­ should be limited to male citizens. "Catholic women," he demnation of all just men and women. said, "should make their influence felt. They should not Catholic parents are usually familiar with the specific stand aloof. They should not dismiss the question of civic teaching of the Church which forms the "constitution" of duty as one belonging wholly to men. On the contrary, they the family with regard to marriage. Patterning after The should realize that it belongs to them as well and that they Holy Family of Nazareth, they not only live in accordance cannot in conscience shirk it. If our Catholic women remain with that teaching, but are zealous in combating movements disinterested, if they reject or ignore the opportunities now and influences that would tend to destroy its sanctity, bring offered of moulding public opinion, how can they reasonably about its disintegration, or interfere with the prerogative complain if legislation is passed which threatens their vital of its members. interests?" How many of us, however, are equally familiar with the magna charta of our civil government-the Constitution of The need of civic leadership is obvious but it is only when the United States? How many of us are active, either in­ we are fortified with a knowledge of these problems that we dividually or through organizations, in preserving for our can contribute constructively to their solution. The study families and the families of the future, the Constitution's club movement offers to Catholic men and women the most precious guarantees of liberty and equality? For how many practical method of qualifying as informed and competent of us does the statement made on Constitution Day by Arch­ leaders in the very important field of civic action. bishop Hanna of San Francisco present a heretofore unheeded In the family circle the most powerful factor in influencing message? "It is the duty and the privilege of every Ameri­ the development of true Christian conduct is that of good can," said His Grace, "to see to it that for him our Constitu­ example. Good citizenship in the home invariably means tion is a living ideal to which he endeavors to mould his good citizenship outside of it and there is nothing that will thought, his social and his public attitude. It is well to study impress our daily associates more favorably than the con­ its origins and its paragraphs: it is better to live its princi­ stant application of those Catholic ideals of citizenship which ples and its precepts." Holy Mother Church has alway held before her children. "Have we brought into our homes and our schools for the Such exemplification by Catholic men and women in their Janua?'Y, 1930 N. C. W. C: REVIEW 21

social and civic activities would prove at once an inspiration to elevate the standards of our democratic government. and a challenge to their fellow citizens. "Citizenship," says the N. C. W. C.'s Civics Catechism on Kindness in the family, charity outside of it; companion­ the Rights and Duties of American Citizens, "is our duty to ship in the home, neighborliness in the community; affection God fulfilled in our care and solicitude for our country, whose and peace at the fireside, amity and brotherhood in the arena welfare God has placed in our hands. of business and politics; loyalty before the hearthstone, true God has given us our lives, our talents and our opportuni­ patriotism in the legislature and in offices of public trust­ ties to' be accounted for in accordance with His design. He these are not simply fantastic ideals impossible of realiza­ has established the instrumentalities of the family and the tion. These and others equally high in principle and noble State as channels through which we may serve Him and our in purpose should be part of the equipment of all good citi­ fellowmen. He has set for us in each sphere laws by which zens and of all good government. our conduct shall be regulated and our services measured. The family that serves society in the way that has been He has made clear to us the duties which we must perform indicated is entitled to a cooperation equally conscientious in order that our 'lives may conform to His plans. An and equally helpful from society. This reciprocity of serv­ ever-present consciousness of our duty, both within the ice should safeguard the family from every form of political sacred confines of the family circle and in. the none the less or economic injustice, provide for its members the best in sacred field of civic life and action, will guarantee the at­ educational, cultural and industrial opportunity and safe­ tainment of those splendid objectives of good citizenship guard their resources-moral, spiritual and material. To mentioned in the 1840 Pastoral Letter of the American permit the State to escape its part in these responsibilities Hierarchy, viz., "the respectability of our land, the stability is to waste our civic inheritance and nullify the efforts of of our Constitution, the perpetuation of our liberties, and the those who have striven since the inception of our Republic preservation of pure and undefiled religion."

Good Literature and the Family Burton Confrey,By M.A. r

OR SEVERAL REASONS adults often find themselves vealing debauchery and sensuality or disseminating anti­ Fin a quandary nowadays in so far as knowing what to natural doctrine. The pagan yielding to temptation as the read is concerned. They have become accustomed to reading best way of overcoming it, the atheistic avoiding of satiety extensively in both books and periodicals; but they must merely to preserve desire, and the know-aIl's deletion of exclude from their homes so much of what issues from the God's name from books and thinking can be so cleverly pre­ presses that they find themselves in the distressing circum­ sented that an author's notorious name can ensnare the stance of wanting to read when lacking matter. adolescent mind. While it recognizes obscenity in expression Their home life and school training assure them that de­ and situation, the salacious tabloid poison, the leering or cency of life is normal and vice and obscenity the exception, nasty insinuation-youth cannot know how thoroughly but an acquaintance with the current novels, short stories, such evil impregnates the world's thought to-day. His ad­ and what-not, suggests that depravity is being countenanced. visers, however, must be conscious of the ineradicable im­ Too many of the books and periodicals they come in contact pression such moral and religious virus makes on imma­ with are indecent in parts or otherwise unacceptable from the turity; weaning it from right-mindedness and decency, in viewpoint of Catholic ethics; and the danger to which many cases before youth is conscious of the alteration. younger members of the family would be exposed makes it So dangerous is the outcome of unwise leniency or indul­ imperative that questionable literature be excluded from gence in this matter that .it becomes imperative for adults the library table. Vicious treatments of subjects that the to seek direction from those who know, from those whose adolescent mind is incapable of analyzing engender a dis­ grasp on philosophy and world affairs is such that they can torted view of life, in which man's appetites are in supreme point out the dangers involved even in the commonplaces command. of our daily intercourse. Catholic pUblications may be re­ Books, that speak through the eye, Cardinal Manning lied upon to a void the disguised pandering of much of our once designated our worst tempters-especially when the current periodical literature and books, so that even the badness is concealed or cleverly presented. Explicit grossness mature are wise to confine their reading to them. would repel and shock the decent reader; but the fair face of Catholic periodicals not only supply suitable reading ma­ "smart-cracks" often disguises the foul heart of the material terial and present sufficient choice to satisfy varied tastes, so effectively that brilliance of innuendo blinds the eye and but they include book reviews that will guide a reader in leads the reason astray, while the heart is poisoned unawares. the selection of his more permanent literature. Further, The sentimentality camouflaging sin as a natural expres­ the Catholic book clubs and guilds not only make a choice sion of normal desires (supposedly the only means of living each month of what issues from the press; they also list addi­ one's life or of preventing the emotional disturbances brought tional preferences. The advantage of subscribing to a book on by repression) is as deceptive as a competent stylist re- club or to those magazines best suited to the family's tastes 22 N. C. W. C. REVIEW J anua1'Y, 1930 lies, as we can readily see, in the. fact that one then has such misrepresentations in the public press of the Church's material when he wants it and, when he has finished with it, teaching on faith or morals, or any public question. can pass it on to those who would appreciate its benefits. In their various communities, adults can interest them­ Lack of space prevents the listing of readings. Reference selves in preventing the adoption of vicious reading matter in might be made here, however, to the lists frequently com­ the public libraries, as did a man known to the writer. For piled by some of the Catholic monthly and weekly periodi­ eight years this zealous apostle of good reading scrutinized cals. The N. C. W. C. News Service sent out in its Light every book whose choice could be questioned-and many Feature Release of December 16 an excellent list of books were rejected. recommended to Catholics as Christmas gifts. This list, Organizations such as the Catholic Instruction League, which has a permanent value, includes classification under which is doing much toward supplying religious reading for autobiography, fiction, history, government, literature, children and material to supplement their teaching, are essays, poetry, drama, religion, travel, adventure, etc., and worthy of our support. We may with profit keep in touch presents a composite of nominations made by the Literature with the reading lists published from time to time by the In­ Department of A merica, by the Catholic Book Club, New ternational Federation of Catholic Alumnae. America (39: York, and by the Catholic Book Lovers' Guild, Philadelphia. 264, June 23, 1928) contained letters with suggestions on a In line with the foregoing information, mention might be Catholic Rental Library Plan and on the relationship of the made of the following practical suggestions for the promo­ Catholic Press and the child. The Racktenders' Associa­ tion of Catholic reading, which were recently sent out from tion was esented in the same magazine (39 :250ff., June 23, N. C. W. C. headquarters: - 1928)-"Elght Miles from a Bookstore." The Junior Rack­ tenders' Association was discussed in the Catholic News on 1. Subscription to the local Catholic paper. page 8 of its issue for June 16, 1928. 2. Subscription to a national Catholic weekly-and to a When forgetfulness of God has become a festering sore on Catholic monthly. the body politic, practical Catholicity is a necessity. It is 3. Conversation, now and then, at the family dinner­ only by spreading His Kingdom through word and example table of some item in the Catholic paper, or magazine. that we shall keep Him ever before the minds of our fellow men; and that is, of course, the best service we could render 4. Reading of the articles by Cardinal Hayes' Committee our social group. for the Promotion of Catholic Literature and syndi­ Catholic organizations can assist the cause of good reading cated through the N. C. W. C. News Service. in the home by cementing the union betwee~ parish, school, 5. Formation of .at least a small home Catholic library. and home through personal interest in parent-teacher asso­ 6. Presentation of some subject of popular interest for ciations, for instance, wherein we can hearten those teachers discussion at the monthly meetings of Catholic really alert to guard he young against debasing reading organizations. matter and particularly diligent in training youths to choose 7. Formation in such organizations of a standing com­ the best, for there is constant need of discrimination even mittee that would undertake to answer at opce all after one leaves school.

The Lay Apostolate and the Family Walter T.By Johnson r

ATHOLIC ACTION, in its essence, is the fulfilment by rounded and should be sustained. Catholic Action directed C 'the individual of those dutie~ which he owes to God, to to the protection, maintenance and well-being of the family the"-Church and to the State. Some of these duties the indi­ is therefore a support and a service first of all to the indi­ vidual can and must perform by and for himself; others he vidual, and that even before he knows, or is known by, the can discharge only in concert with his fellows. Whether the State, and secondly to Society as a whole, including the individual act alone, as, for illustration, in the practice of Church and the State. his religion or in his efforts at moral and intellectual self­ In what forms and fields may Catholic Action be made to improvement; or whether he labors with others, as for in­ subserve the welfare of the family? The answer might be stance, in joint endeavors for the achievement of religious, given in a sentence r "The study of Catholic principles and cultural or civic aims, his fellows benefit by his actions­ their realization in every thought, word and deed of every in the one case, spiritually, by the example of his good life, Catholic," But there are, of course, specific ways in which and in the other case, both spiritually and temporally, by Catholic Action can and should find expression. In this his good works for the common welfare. country and this age there are grave problems and still Catholic Action in this sense takes into account the ends graver evils for which only Catholic philosophy and Catholic and the needs of the family, recognizing in it the basic unit morals can furnish the correctives. There are the problems of the State and the nursery of the spiritual life of the indi­ of international peace, of internal government, of education, viduals who compose it and of the society by which it is sur- of industry, of social justice-each of them soluble or mitiga- January, 1930 N. C. W. C. REVIEW 23 ble by the application of Catholic principles. There are, too, of the same good disposition are recorded in the press almost the evils-the national menaces-of divorce, of juvenile and daily. All these events and conditions reveal our oppor­ general lawlessness, of irreligion. As the continuance of tunity. Shall it be said that they disclose also our inertia­ these problems and the existence of these dangers are a hurt our complacence? to the family-and through the family to the State- so Only a few sentences need be devoted to recounting our their solution and correction would be a help both to the resources for this undertaking, this work of spreading Cath­ family and the State. Here, then, are some of the objectives olic Truth, of creating common goodwill. The membership of Catholic Action-collective labors for peace between the of our organizations of men and women is larger than the nations, for good government, local and national; for sound Catholic population of England or of Holland. They ramify Christian education, for better ethics in industry; for the to every State and to almost every locality. Their income is vindication of marriage, for the inculcation of obedience, many millions yearly. Thus far their programs have, in the and the rest. main, contemplated only Qatholic effort for Catholics. They These are good works for the American Catholic laity, who have not looked beyond the fold. are twenty milli9ns of the population. To the extent of their We have come now to an era in which the Church in the numbers they are responsible for public opinion and for United States must grow by accessions from the outside if public morals. The truths they possess, the principles they she is to continue her growth at all. Immigration is no longer hold as their Catholic heritage, should give them an influence a source of recruitment. If we are to attract to the Church greater than their mere numbers warrant. In England, and any considerable number of the non-Catholics who surround particularly in Holland, the Catholic laity give proofs of the us, we shall have to seek them and convince them. In a power that dwells in Catholic Moral teaching. The Cath­ word, our interest in them must precede their interest in us. olic laymen and laywomen of the United States have a We and they have been neighbors for a long time. If some greater need, a better opportunity, larger resources for a lay of them do not know and trust us and accept our views the apostolate than almost any other Catholic body in the world explanation is at least in part our own aloofness. ' possesses. They are living in a country whose people are We have the opportunity, the need, and the means. We two-thirds of them at present indifferent, but likely to become also have the summons. The Holy Father and our Bishops hostile to religion. The existing guarantees of freedom of have called the laity to a part in that Catholic Action which worship will hardly gain respect or security from a majority would translate the spirit and principles of Catholicism first wbich rejects God as "obsolete" and religion as an "opiate." into the lives and activities of Catholics and ultimately into The liberty of the Church and oi Catholic education here in the lives of their fellows. Through this Catholic Action, the United States depends, humanly speaking, on the con­ said Archbishop McNicholas in his sermon at the opening of tInuance of a public opinion and a public policy which recog­ the convention of the N. C. C. M. in Ft. Wayne, October 20, nize God and Christian principles in government. In a 1929, the laity "are admitted to the apostolate of the Hier­ larger measure in the future than in the past, Catholics must archy." contribute to the defense and preservation of, the Christian What that apostolate is and requires and what spiritual ideals of America. and temporal benefits it promises, His Grace made plain: So much for the need that confronts the American laity. "The apostolate," he said, "in a special way must concern Turn now to the opportunity: In the vast multitude who are itself with the general welfare of all citizens, since it is deal­ lapsing from Protestnat ism to Indifferentism, there is still ing with the whole life of man. Its principles must direct the prospect of finding a hearing and reception of Catholic him in all pU:blic affairs which have a spiritual aspect. They Truth-including the Church's philos.. ophy of government, must enable him to avoid whatever implies moral turpitude, of education, of property, etc. So far as human vision is able whether it be education, art, the press, politics, the profes­ to penetrate the future, Catholicism and the remnant of sions, industry or social life. Our conditions in America call Protestantism, combined, seem destined, before many de­ for a participation in the public life of our community in all cades, to be numerically inferior to the .religionless . millions its phases. This does not in any sense mean "affiliation ,with who will be ruling America, unless there IS meantIme a great political parties, but it does imply an expressed judgment and successful apostolate to enhance Catholic strength not where the public weal is at stake, when it is possible for us to only in total units but in intelligence, zeal and activity. clarify the situation by throwing upon it the light of our su­ Recent movements to present the claims of Catholicism pernatural principles. Our aloofness, our silence, our refusal to sections of non-Catholics have demonstrated that their to make the contacts with those who misunderstand or differ misunderstandings and suspicions of the Church are per­ with us, when it is in our power to show the sanity of the haps as much our fault as theirs. The Catholic Laymen's Catholic position, the ennobling influence- of the law of the Association of Georgia has won a hearing for Catholic teach­ gospel, the necessity of supernatural motives, the absolute ing; the Laymen's League of Virginia, only a few months old, need of an organized religious society, with delegated limited is receiving non-Catholic support in the same behalf. Groups authority, cannot be justified. " of Catholics, Protestants and Jews in several different com­ Catholic Action in the character of the lay apostolate munities are cooperating in the cause of good relations among serves and safeguards the integrity, the objects, and the the various religious bodies. Numerous individual examples interests of the family. In a positive way it promotes the 24 N. C. W. C. REVIEv\ January, 1930

institution of the family as such and furnishe.s to it those Archbishop McNicholas points out how great a force for aids and influences which strengthen and sustain it-re­ Church and State are the Catholic laity. ligion, education, charity, order, spirituality. In a negative "All our federated groups," he says, "would mean a legion way Catholic Action offers to the family protection against of Catholics who are spiritual athletes for Christ and for the the evils which threaten it-paganism, materialism, Caesar­ Church. Realizing the necessity of team-work, they would ism. And just now the defense of the family, not from for­ strive to effect it. . . . The call has resounded throughout mal attacks by the State but from false philosophies is the the world for Catholics to unite in their opposition to all more necessary and the more salutary mission of the lay apos­ those things that are directly contrary to the Gospel of Christ, tolate. Preservation of the Christian family conditions the and to exert to the utmost their influence in forming public preservation of the Christian State. To save the family for Christ is to save the nation for Christ. opinion against whatever indirectly impede~ the work of the The laity are the founders of the family. It is their pos­ salvation of men, whatever undermines public morality, session. To give assurance of its functions, of its welfare, whatever destroys belief in the religious truths that are in of its perpetuity-this is the duty of Christian men and the custody of the Church. women. It is to them that both the Church and the State "This must not be a spasmodic action, but a sustained, must turn for the saving of the home and the family. purposeful one."

By The Family and Preparation for Catholic Action Margaret T. Lynch

/ +------~ NEWSPAPER SUMMARY of our Holy Father's ad­ which are engrossing the p'ublic mind? Shall we fail to tell A dress on October 19, 1923, to the Committee of Italian liberty-loving and peace-loving Americans what the Church Catholic Action contains the following: understands by liberty, and by peace; how she has ever been "To reach this Catholic solution of the problems of life, the guardian of the one and the promoter of the other? such a preparation is needed that will comprise the whole We are called upon today to stand for God and Country. We program of Catholic teaching, that will cast the rays of its should take our position with earnestness and intelligence so light upon every aspect of life, that will make its effective­ that our influence may be felt. ness felt in every direction. When thus you will be prepared, It is vitally necessary, if tne general welfare of the Church you will be in a position to find the word of answer to every and the good of souls are to be promoted, that Catholics be problem that life presents and you will see in practice the ready to interest themselves in general matters of public wide sphere to which your preparation extends, the magnifi­ concern which, after all, reach to the very heart of our in­ cent results which derive from it." stitutions. Questions of education, of child welfare; of pub­ With that recognized unit of society, the Catholic family, lic and private morality-thes have a special concern for rests the ultimate responsibility for this preparation for the Catholic family.. It is obvio s, then, that the laity must Catholic life referred to above and so frequently stressed in be well instructed and well trained in the faithful and effective the addresses and letters of Pope Pius XI. discharge of their duties in these matters. Our future How can we live the life of the Church, how explain the policy must be one of more education-more adult educa­ attitude of the Church, unless we know it? It is not suffi­ tion, more child education, especially as regards the Cath­ cient today to have the knowledge in our hearts: we must olic background and the Catholic principles involved in have intelligent information and be able to impart it in an questions the solution of which impinge upon the family intelligent way. To this end, study clubs are established; and the home. apologetic literature is published; outlines, courses, biblio­ The responsibility for building up a background of the graphies, and many other aids are at our command. All Catholic faith in the minds and hearts of the younger genera­ that is necessary is to take advantage of the opportunities tion rests upon the home as well as upon the school. Public presented. . sentiment in favor of the unity and sanctity of the family We should have a greater knowledge of the Church, of her and of the Catholic school must be strengthened. We can­ institutions, of her history, of her traditions. No man or not successfully defend Catholic education unless we have woman can study the true facts of the Catholic Church with­ an understanding and appreciation of it. out being compelled to acknowledge her as the world's The study and practice of the Liturgy of the Church is greatest force for rignt-thinking and right-living, and its one of the largest contributions to a liberal education, in fact, most powerful exponent of law and order. it is the true foundation for it. The Catholic viewpoint, rightfully presented, should have Liturgy is life, it is the life of the Church; liturgy is service; a great influence upon the entire population. Public opinion it is our faith carried into action. It enters vitally into every is in a formative stage. The masses are willing to listen. phase of the Christian life. While they are thus receptive, shall we be silent? Shall we It is no mistake to view every Catholic activity as deriving fail to speak out the truth, especially on those questions its inspiration from the Liturgy. We are not so many indi- January, 1930 N. C. W. C. REVIEW 25

viduals striving separately fQr the Qne end which is "per­ an abundance Qf material. But what Qf the ability to. read fectiQn unto. the greater glQry Qf GQd." That can Qnly be rapidly, the PQwer to. scan, and to make prQper selectiQn? attained if each has a share in the life Qf the whQle Qrganism. The majQrity Qf Qur newspapers devQte mQst Qf their space This leads to. a fuller appreciatiQn Qf the CQmmQn family life, to. the latest sensatiQns, neglecting the impQrtant, the seriQus the Qbedience Qf children, the guidance and directiQn Qf events Qf the day. The mQtiQn picture, the radio., the theatre, parents. even PQlitical activities, seem to. be guided by a desire to. There must be a clQse relatiQnship between the members appeal to. thQse who. do. not think, at least seriQusly. of the family themselves and with the whQle Church. Each Material efficiency, cleverness, the genius fQr finding shQrt family is a vital part Qf the living Qrganism-the Mystical cuts to. desired ends, are Qther elements that tend away BQdy Qf Christ. As a unit, the family shQuld be a well fitted frQm real study. The PQPuiar "bQQk shelves" are evidence and harmQniQus part Qf the entire life Qf the Church. Every Qf Qur faith in shQrt cuts even in the matter Qf culture. fibre Qf that unit, every member Qf the family, must live by There is danger that Qur utilitarianism is leading us to. sub­ the life principle Qf the Church, and cQntribute his entire stitute material gain ~Qr intellectual excellence. EducatiQn, activity tQward the end Qf the Qne CQmmQn life in Christ. true educatiQn, is neither a means Qf material gain nQr a Thus, will every creature again serve his Qriginal purPQse way Qf keeping up appearances amQng neighbQrs and as­ which is "the praise and, glQry Qf GQd in a universal wQrship sQciates. under the high PriesthQQd Qf Jesus Christ." Our civic and sQcial relatiQns have changed so. as to. de­ Our HQly Father, Qn August 16, 1927, in addressing the mand an amQunt Qf cQntinuQus study previQusly thQught Belgian YQung Men's AssQciatiQn, referred to. study circles unnecessary. Our religiQus life requires a fuller living, a as grQups "which fQrm a permanent flQwering Qf preparatiQn," deeper knQwledge to. live the "life Qf the Church." just as retreats are their spiritual cQmplement. "The participatiQn Qf the laity in the apQstQlate Qf the We must, therefQre, jQin that ever-increasing thrQng who. Hierarchy;" the preservatiQn Qf the hQme as a <;livine insti­ are devQting themselves to. intellectual grQwth and develQP­ tutiQn; cQnsideratiQn Qf CathQlic literature; allegiance to. ment, in Qrder to. enrich Qur culture and to. refresh and CathQlic principles Qf sQcial actiQn; the return to. simple brQaden Qur vQcatiQnal knQwledge. Otherwise we resign standards Qf life and living; an education leading to. greater Qurselves to. the enjQyment Qf a small PQrtiQn Qf the culture cultural and spiritual develQpment; the spreading, defending of the race and even risk the danger that Qur vQcatiQnal and applying Qf Qur Faith and Qur mQrality in individuals, equipment will becQme hQpelessly antiquated. in the family, in business and in civil and sQcial life-these CathQlics have the additiQnal incentive Qf develQping nQt are Qur resPQnsibilities. only a brQader material and intellectual life, but an enriched To. meet effectively these resPQnsibilities, we have but to. spiritual and religiQus life in uniQn with Christ Himself. fQIIQW the practical advice Qf Our HQly Father who. reCQm­ The existence Qf libra~ies and the ease and cheapness mends retreats fQr spiritual preparatiQn and study clubs fQr with which bQQks and periQdicals may be Qbtained, supply intellectual preparatiQn. +------+ B1 1The Immigrant and the Family Bruce M. Mohler

T IS IN THE FIELD OF immigratiQn that Qne really PQrtance: the natiQn itself was built UPQn a fQundatiQn Qf I finds the unusual QPPQrtunities fQr the applicatiQn Qf immigrant families. The individual family must be CQn­ CathQlic principles and Qf CathQlic ActiQn. The immigrant sidered equally as impQrtant nQW even thQugh relatively family, mQre perhaps than any Qther, exists in varying less numerQUS in prQPQrtiQn to. tQtal PQPulatiQn. The stages Qf instability. This applies especially to. thQse who. spiritual well-being Qf the immigrant family determines to a are recently arrived. Oftentimes they cQnsist Qf disQrgan­ very large degree its quality. This fact has been recQgnized ized grQUps who. find themselves at the variQus gateways to. by the Church frQm the beginning. CathQlic ActiQn there­ America. They have suddenly becQme separated frQm Qld fQre has been cQnstantly in the fQregrQund wherever immi­ established anchQrages in their native cQuntries, leaving grants have settled and alQng the rQutes Qf tJ:1eir travels. behind all that was mQst preciQus, their Qld assQciatiQns, Likewise the spiritual and material care Qf the immigrant their relatives, their friends, the hQmes which they and has always been the Qbject Qf Qur ArchbishQPs and BishQPs thQse who. had preceded them had learned to. IQve and in their QrganizatiQn Qf the Bureau Qf ImmigratiQn Qf the cherish and abQve all their priceless traditiQns withQut which N atiQnal CathQlic Welfare CQnference and the variQus Qther life in a new cQuntry is bQund to. appear unharmQniQus and well-functiQning QrganizatiQns engaged in assisting and prQ­ CQnfusing. Even' fQr thQse who. CQme under the mQst favQr­ tecting the immigrant. able circumstances there is much that is bewildering and When giving attentiQn to. immigrants at the PQrts Qf entry which demands prQmpt interpretatiQn as to. relative signifi­ the factQr Qf family is almQst invariably present in Qne fQrm cance and value. Qr anQther. It may be an apPQintment by nQtificatiQn frQm To. the United States Qf America the quality Qf Qur immi­ abrQad at the instance Qf a mQther anxiQus abQut the welfare grant families has always been cQnsidered Qf primary im- Qf her child who. has CQme to. a new cQuntry lacking bQth 26 N. C. W. C. REVIEW January, 1930

relatives and acquaintances; or it may be unaccompanied for which do not even suffice for the elementary requirements children traveling to parents already here; and again it may of the unification of wives and dependent children with their be a mother and her flock destined to husband and father who head. The more one sees of these deplorable cases the more has already preceded them and established a home. In all he feels how justified are those devotees who have for years cases there is much to be done by way of a friendly greeting, advocated the policy of corrective legislation which would information and advice, and assistance with such matters reserve places in the quotas for the service of dependent as customs, baggage transfer, money exchange, locating of families. relatives and friends, changing of railway orders, securing Such a measure was the so-called MacGregor Bill CH. J. temporary shelter and employment, protection against ex­ Res. 234) which provided for reserving one-half of all quotas ploitation, transit to railway stations and finally the guaran­ for the use of these family dependents and which was intro­ tee of safe travel to destination, proper protection at rail­ -duced into the Seventieth Congress and supported by the way transfer points and notification to interested parties in N. C. W. C. Bureau of Immigration, the National Councils this country as to the approximate time of the traveler', f Catholic Men and Worn n and five oth r . tt' ng national arrival. welfare organization. Instead of accepting the MacGregor Equally important are the handling of Catholic immigrant Bill, Congress passed S. J. Res. 5, known as the Copeland­ marriages, advice in regard to excluded cases which means Jenkins amendment, which unfortunately grants only limited representation before Federal boards at Washington, relief leaving the evil of separated families practically as smoothing out of trivial and imaginary difficulties, com­ much a problem as befo . forting and explaining in cases of exclusion,' arranging for There is, however, an e_'ception to this niggardly attitude affidavits, witnesses, etc., enlisting assistance abroad for de­ of Congre s in granting relief where immigrant families are portees and special attention for mental cases, expectant concerned. It is the recent enactment on March 2, 1929, of mothers and unaccompanied young girls. H. R. 349, commonly known as the Regi tration Act. This However, there is a phase which i more necessary, even mea ure had the active support of all national welfare or­ though it is perhaps less picturesque. It is the follow-up ganizations. It provides for the legalization of entry of all attention which should be given to the immigrant families aliens-subject to minor requirements as to personal charac­ • after they have reached their intended destinations in thi ter and continuous residence-not ineligible for citizenship, country. The as istance which they receive en route to the who entel'ed the United States prior to June 3, 1921 and for United States and upon arrival' at the port, and in some whom there exists no record of admi sion for permanent instances when under detention there, is of course important residence. It is a masterpiece of legi lative relief for immi­ in a material way and carries the definite values attached to grant families, since it grants permanent residence to thous­ first impressions, but the place for real, permanent instruc­ ands who were here illegally and, more important, opens for tive action is in the local communities which the immigrant them the way to American citizenship. There still remains have chosen as their new places of residence. For that a single defect in that the date should be brought down to reason the immigrant follow-up which is now effectively June 30, 1924, thus including those who came illegally since operating in 86 dioceses in the United States is ranked as June 3, 1921 and are no longer deportable. Such an amend­ being the most important part of the N. C. W. C. immigra­ ment is in prospect. It will carry relief to thousands of addi­ tion program. Incidentally, follow-up is confined solely to tional immigrant families. those of the Catholic faith as differentiated from the port Undoubtedly the most fanatical immigration- legislation work, which is for all. ever to pass the U. S. Congress and which has a brutal effect In accordance with this theory Catholic immigrants are upon many immigrant families is the recently enacted De­ referred to agencies appointed by the respective Ordinaries, portation Act (S. 5094) making it a felony for persons ar­ so that they may be visited, advised and assisted under rested and deported to even attempt to reenter this country. Catholic auspices and in order that these may help the new­ Worst of all, this Act is retroactive, thus reaching everyone comer to become adjusted and properly assimilated. The who has ever been deported for any reason whatsoever. chief purpose in addition to making him a worthy citizen is The Act notes no worthwhile exceptions, gives no considera­ to protect the immigrant's Catholic faith. tion to the existence of American citizen relatives, and makes The problem of separated immigrant families also pre­ no distinction as to reasons for deportation. The law should sents an opportunity for diocesan follow-up organizations. be repealed or amended at the earliest possible time. Some of these exist in almost every diocese. Usually it is The present demand for better laws to alleviate the needs the husbands who are here. The long time separation from of separated immigrant families and for the repeal of those wives and children is dangerous, oftentimes leading to vary­ laws which are now aggravating these conditions is a direct ing degrees of an unmoral situation. There are also grave challenge for Catholic Action through the concerted efforts humanitarian que tions involved. of lay organizations. Likewi e there exists a golden oppor­ Hundreds of cases of separation, desertion, concubinage, tunity for as. isting immigrant families in becoming adjusted divorce and other forms of domestic tragedy are directly to the new conditions which they encounter in this the land traceable to the operation of the U. S. immigration restric­ of their adoption so that they may become worthy citizens, tion laws in their incidence on certain countries, the quotas loyal to our Country and true to their Catholic Faith. January, 1930 N. C. W. C. REVIEW 27

Social Work and the Family Rev. Karl J.By Alter, LL.D. I If HERE IS NOTHING casual in the life and works of the importance of maintaining the normal functioning of T Christ. Every word, every act, every incident in His family life by anticipating and preventing those conditions life is weighted with infinite significance. When, therefore, which militate against its welfare. This is all very abstract He chose to work His first miracle at the marriage feast of but some concrete illustrations may help to make it clear. Cana, and 'thus with a divine benediction on the home as There is at least twenty percent of the families of this His first public act, enter upon the work of our Redemption, country living in what is called primary poverty. By that He did so with the evident purpose of focusing our attention is meant that they have not sufficient income to provide for upon the family as the fundamental social unit. As the themselves the things necessary to maintain a standard of family lives, so lives society. When it prospers, civilization living which i in k eping with the generally accepted re­ prospers. When it decays or disintegrates for any cau e quirements of a normal life. This percentage is conservative. whatsoever, then society decays and disintegrates as a neces­ Many authorities place the figure much higher. We do not sary consequence. wish to imply that these people are actually receiving relief Social work under Christian auspices is an application of or assistance from public or private charity. There are poor the principles of charity and justice as taught by Christ, to people who are not dependent just as there are at times our social relations. It aims to impregnate the whole struc­ dependents or paupers who are not poor. ture and function of society with the life of Christ. It is We mean that this large mass of people have not sufficient concerned primarily with the material, physical, and mental income to meet their full needs in the way of food, clothing, well-being of society but uses these objectives as means to and shelter; not sufficient income to provide out of their a higher end, namely, the moral and spiritual welfare of own resources for health, education, reasonable recreation, mankind. It is Christian precisely in this respect, that it moral and spiritual well-being. Much less are they in a posi­ recogruzes a hierarchy of social values, subordinating all tem­ tion to accumulate a reserve for death, sickness, accident, poral values to eternal ones, natural to the supernatural. unemployment, old age, and so forth. It is important to It recognizes, Inoreover, that nature builds on grace, and that visualize this large mass of mankind not in terms of figures man can be thwarted in the attainment of his spiritual but in terms of flesh and blood. Literally there are millions destiny, not necessarily it is tru~ but practically, by en­ of these disfranchised people; from the standpoint of material vironmental factors, called occasions of sjp. according to the possessions and economic resources; in fact over twenty language of Catholic tradition. million of them. This is a first fact that is to be kept in mind. Social work, therefore, in relation to the family has for its The second fact is the implications of poverty in the com­ objective the discovery of those various factors which inter­ plicated organization of present day society. Poverty de­ fere with the normal functioning of the family. It is con­ nies an equal opportunity with wealth to the possession of cerned not merely with the discovery of these factors but knowledge and education, to health physical and mental, to with their elimination. It aims first to bring relief and culture of mind and body, to moral and spiritual develop­ remedy into the individual family where these disintegrating ment. Poverty is not to be confused with the simple life or factors have made their appearance. It imitates the Good the spirit of detachment. The two are not synonymous in a Samaritan in pouring oil and wine into the wounds of such society such as ours where all the emoluments of well-being afflicted families, but as a result of its experience with cases are directly or indirectly based upon economic status. of individual distress, it sets out to eliminate the causes, Social workers have been the first to discover this close which in general bring about such conditions for society as interrelation between family well-being and social organiz,a­ a whole. It strives to make safe the road leading from Jeru­ tions, and they have been the first to suggest the remedies salem to Jericho. It seeks not merely a remedy in the in­ which must be applied. They realize better than anyone dividual case through Christian charity but a prevention of else that this large group of families walk along the edge of similar disasters through the application of Christian justice. the precipice and that the slightest push from death, acci­ The medical , doctors appreciate perhaps better than any dent, sickness, unemployment or other physical or mental one else the value and importance of good health. Their handicap topples the family over into the valley of misery familiarity with disease, its nature and extent, its cause and and distress. treatment, have led them to emphasize the importance of The social workers are concerned in the first place with preventing disease. They are concerned with the individual the task of rescuing the individual families which have fallen who is ill , but they are likewise concerned with the public. into disaster. They supplement the family resources ac- that is well. They wish to keep it so. Hence the attentIOn cording to definite method and purpose. They recognize paid to preventive medicine; hence the many measures adopted to promote public health. In similar fashion the the necessity of making a careful diagnosis of social problems social workers through their contact with abnormal family before making any plan of treatment. They must distin­ conditions have come to appreciate better than anyone else guish between mere symptoms and ultimate factors in their- 28 N. C. W. C. REVIEW January, 1930

understanding of each case but that being done the remedy tect the family from the consequences of becoming dependent should be applied promptly, adequately, and constructiv.ely. upon _public or private charity to some extent. The social workers function through what are termed the There are two outstanding problems which social workers family welfare societies, the St. Vincent de Paul Confer­ dealing with families face at the present time. The one is ences, the Catholic Ladies of Charities, or similar organiza­ sickness, the other unemployment. Together they are re­ tions. They serve their clients through hospital and health sponsible for most of the family misery and disorganization. clinics, through visiting societies, and child guidance clinics, Both, however, can be controlled in part and their ravages and through a host of other agencies and organizations. reduced substantially if only we would use our present The second task of the social workers is equally important, knowledge. Indifference is the obstacle. Interest is lacking if not more so. They must organize the financial and per­ because the problem is not dramatized for the public. The sonnel resources of the community in order that the above facts lack the spectacular appeal of war, famine, pestilence, mentioned services may be established and maintained. or great public catastrophe. Christian sympathy would not They must moreover anticipate family distress by recom­ be lacking if only the facts could be made sufficiently known mending and fostering various types of social legislation and and realistic. This is the most urgent problem of social social insurance which will protect against the hazards of workers at the present time. The Christian public must be death, accident, sickness, unemployment, old age, etc. If made to understand the plight of the family not as one here they cannot ward off the emergency, they can at least pro- and there but as many everywhere.

Community Life and the Family Agnes :t Regan J 'I T WOULD SEEM STRANGE, indeed, did anyone which characterized the early settlements in our country I question the intimate relation existing between the family and still characterizes so many of the cities of the old world. and the community, but that which is recognized is fre­ The gathering together of peoples from all parts of the world, quently ignored. No better example of this fact could be differing in customs, traditions, religious belief, presents a given than the apathetic attitude towards so-called com­ new series of influences which may be effective either for munity problems which characterizes so many of our people. good or ill as the community meets them. For the purposes of this brief presentation we shall con­ The physical well-being of the family is dependent very sider "the community" to be a population living in the same definitely on the general health conditions of the community. geographical area, having common interests and common How the community cares for housing conditions, disposal needs and living under a common government. So our com­ of sewage and garbage, milk and water supply are of vital munity may be a village; a town; a city neighborhood; the importance. The family may exercise every care, but it city itself; or the nation itself may, under certain conditions, cannot escape contacts with neighbors. assume a community aspect. The schools of a community-whether they be public or The family-the basic unit of society-was in the old days private-touch the family in a more intimate way than any a much more independent institution than it is today. Its other agency. To them is entrusted in large the training of material needs, shelter, food, clothing, were supplied by in­ the child, physically, mentally, morally. The influences dustry centered in the home itself; education and recreation which go out of each and every school are factors in com­ were recognized as home responsibilities, the teaching and munity life, and therefore in family life as well. practice of religion were an essential part of family life. So, too, the economic conditions-attitude to living wage, While the instinct for association and the need for mutual the length of working day, to labor of women and children­ protection impelled the living together in groups, each family affect the family. Poor wages lead to dependency, long retained its independence. A man's home was, indeed, his hours to physical breakdowns; and, too frequently, the castle. But the conditions of modern life have changed all mother in industry, to juvenile delinquency. that. The development of industry and the consequent rise The most important phase of the-whole question is the and growth of cities, have brought families together in such attitude of the community to those things which most di­ great numbers that the simple problems of that older day rectly influence moral character. A reference was made to have become very complex. Industry has been removed the problem of meeting need for right use of leisure time. entirely from the home. Education has largely become a Is the playtime of the child safeguarded by ample play­ function of the State or of the Church. grounds, well supervised? If not, boys and girls spend many With changed conditions in the home, the restriction of hours in fruitless idling, offering ample opportunity for play space without and within the city, the shorter working juvenile delinquency and that delinquency is not always of day and the increased leisure of the working man, the ques­ the type that reaches the juvenile court-it may be instead tion of how to care for the leisure hours of children makes the gnawing canker which reveals itself only in later life. recreation an outstanding problem. How the community Then, too, there are all the commercialized amusements, meets that need means much to the individual family. dance halls, the movies with their frequently suggestive Again the modern community has lost that homogeneity posters and films, bowling alleys, pool rooms-all these are , January, 1930 N. C. W. C. REVIEW 29 possible influences on the families which make up the com­ inimical to family welfare they will support movements for munity. Corrective influences in such matters can best be civic betterment. brought about only through group action participated in The individual working alone in the community or in the by leaders mustered from the families of the community. nation experiences in such efforts failure more often than Respect for authority, or its absence, is today a burning success. This is sometimes true of the detached organiza­ question. Where the majority of families are reared with tion as well. It is only through a proper consolidation of the sense of respect for parental authority the condition in our forces and coordination of our efforts that we can hope the community is likely to reflect that attitude. If the to attain speedily and completely the objectives we seek. administration of justice in the community is lax, as evi­ The program of the N. C. W. C. is after all a great pro­ denced in some of our great centers by disregard for law and gram of coordinated community organization and action. order, whether in high or low places, then the family suffers The National Councils of Catholic Men and Women are the accordingly. channels through which this program is to be effective. One might multiply instances of interdependence, but it They, therefore, emphasize first the sanctity and the dignity is not necessary. Just as the farmer who desires a good crop of the family and for that reason they seek to interest all chooses the locality best suited to its production and then organizations of Catholic men and women in the study of prepares the soil for the planting, so the wise parent would community problems to the end that their solution may be choose the community where conditions would promise brought about by the application of Christian principles, best for tlte rearing of a family. through which alone they can be solved. But circumstances sometimes compel the choice of resi­ Just as unwholesome community conditions militate dence in a locality where conditions are far from ideal. This against the well-being of the family so too do high standards brings us to the consideration of our responsibility as citi­ build up and maintain its morale. Catholic social action zens of a great commonwealth and members of the Mystical touches every phase of human life. It concerns itself with Body of Christ in the work of changing such conditions. the welfare of the individual, with the family in its manifold This responsibility the Holy Father seeks to bring home to activities and relationships. It is continually directing its us in his call for Catholic Action which means but this: energies to the ideal type of community in which Christ that we as members of that Mystical Body share in the ac­ reigns as King. tivity, in the success, in the failures of even the least of its To ·this end it asks the affiliation of all existing organiza­ members. We cannot go on caring only for those of our own tions of Catholic men and women in two great national coun­ household-we are our brothers' keepers. cils, which, holding to the Catholic ideal of the family will Some years ago a survey was made of a number of cities stand guardians of its integrity an lend unfailing support in a certain state for the purpose of deciding which of them to all those movements which tend to the betterment of was best suited to the rearing of a family. It was an inter­ religious, social and economic conditions in every community esting study. Citizens of the various cities were amazed to in which they find themselves. This is the greatest service find wherein their communities failed to meet ideal condi­ which qatholics can render to their country. tions. Similar comparative studies would be of inestimable value. They would bring to light conditions in many cases "Unless the Lord build the house, they labour in shocking, but, because of that fact, the remedies would sooner vain that build it. be applied. Once our citizens realize that they share as in­ "Unless the Lord keep the city, he watcheth in vain dividuals in the responsibility for the existence of conditions that keepeth it."-(126, The Book of Psalms.)

By Recreation and the Family Rev. Paul Hanly Furfey, Ph.D.

ODERN SOCIAL CONDITIONS have brought about ters went together to the husking bee or the church picnic. M striking changes in American family life. For one The change spoken of above has not been without its un­ thing, the members of the family take comparatively little fortunate effects. Youth in our modern, complex, urban recreation in common. The parents have their own clubs communities needs guidance more than ever before, and this and their own preferred types of amusement. Their adoles­ guidance is conspicuously lacking. The alarming amount of cent sons and daughters enjoy the company of their own set. juvenile delinquency evident in recent years can be traced The younger boy has his gang. The family as a whole has largely to this source. little recreation together. The above statement is not mere conjecture. It has This was not the case a generation ago. America was been the experience of our juvenile courts, confirmed by largely rural then. A great deal of leisure time was passed published scientific studies, that the lack of wholesome at home. Many amusements were enjoyed by the whole recreation is one of the outstanding causes of delinquency community as a unit. Mo~hers and fathers, sons and daugh- among the young. 30 N. C. W. C. REVIEW January, 1930

It is useless to say that family recreation ought to be re­ responsibility for instituting and coordinating recreational stored to its former place, that parents and children shou!d programs. take their recreation once more in common. This would, Besides these local ventures there are certain national indeed, be a happy solution to the problem but modern con­ recreational movements in which Catholic Action expresses ditions render it Utopian. The next best thing is frankly to itself. The Iillights of Columbus has done splendid work recognize the facts and to do the best possible under existing in the training for leadership. Its boy guidance course at conditions. This means that the family must be supple­ Notre Dame University has helped to develop the trained mented by other agencies in the organization and supervi­ personnel so essential for successful activity. The Colum­ sion of the recreation of the young. bian Squires, sponsored by the Knights of Columbus, the The Church with her unvarying solicitude for the welfare Catholic Boys' Brigade under the leadership of Father of youth has long recognized this fact. As a result she has Kilian of N ew York, and the Junior Catholic Daughters de­ sponsored well-developed recreational programs. This is veloped by the. Catholic Daughters of America, are other particularly true in Europe where the French patronages, examples of Catholic recreational work on a national basis. the Italian oratori, and the German Youth Movement bear A close cooperation has also been developed between Cath­ witness to the important place which ecclesiastical authori­ olics and certain non-sectarian national organizations such ties assign to organized play. In America the movement is as the Boy Scouts and the Girls Scouts. gaining. The problem of selecting proper entertainment for the The cornerstone of Catholic recreational work should be family, especially f its adolescent members, is one that the parish club just as the parochial school is the cornerstone exists everywhere and unfortunately one that is not on the of our educational system. As a matter of fact there are whole receiving due consideration either in the family or in numerous examples of such clubs scattered throughout the the community. Aside rom the dangers to morals presented country. The well-organized parish club will include card in much of the commercialized entertainment to which mem­ rooms, game rooms, libraries, an auditorium or hall for ama­ bers of the family are exposed, such entertainment, and it is teur dramatics and other gatherings, and athletic teams, especially applicable to the movies, is neither conducive to with Scout Troops for the younger boys and girls. There health nor to the development of the mental faculties. Un­ has unfortunately been a great deal of unevenness in this questionably the selection for the most part of this type of work in the past. recreation is made without proper discrimination and guid­ In a few localities adequately equipped boarding homes for ance and the patronage is much in excess of that which is girls and community centers and houses offering practically conducive to the best moral and cultural interests of the every form of recreation and entertainment under Catholic family. auspices have been established. The need for more facilities The field of recreation is a very appropriate field for Cath­ of this type is apparent to all who have any knowledge of olic action on the part of the laity. Many of the signifi­ the situation. cant movements have been initiated by laymen and almost The camping movement is another significant development all of them have depended for their success on active lay co­ in this field. The first Catholic camp in America was opened operation. This cooperation has expressed itself both in some forty years ago. The earlier camps were under private the work of individuals and in the work of organizations. direction and appealed to a select few. Much more signifi­ Individual lay leadership is necessary in almost every ven­ cant from our standpoint are the more recent, medium­ ture. Parish clubs usually depend on volunteer supervision. priced camps whose fees bring them within the range of the Scout masters and scout captains are almost exclusively large majority of our boys and girls. While some camps of volunteers. The same thing applies to the coaching of parish the latter type are sponsored by individual parishes, a better and club athletic teams. Catholic men and women ought to arrangement, generally speaking, is to organize them under realize that such recreational leadership is as truly a form of the direction of some Catholic body more comprehensive Catholic charity as is the work of the St. Vincent de Paul than a single parish. For example, some are sponsored by Society. the Knights of Columbus, or similar organizations, or di- Catholic organizations can help the good work by build­ rectly by the diocese. ing club houses, by conducting training courses, by sponsor­ In a number of places it is customary to have inter-parish ing camps, and by raising the funds necessary for these ac­ athletic leagues, city-wide field days, and the like. Since tivities. these require the cooperation of more than one parish, it is There are uninformed persons who still look upon recrea­ tional work as a comparatively minor form of social action. a question who should have the responsibility for organizing Those who are closely in touch with social conditions, how­ them. Various solutions are being tried out in different ever, will not be led astray by this view. They will realize places. Perhaps the most promising arrangement is to give that one of the most urgent challenges to Catholic social some diocesan agency such as the diocesan charities office action today is the necessity of supplementing family life or the office of the diocesan superintendent of schools, the by organized and supervised rp.crp.a.t.ion. January, 1930 N. C. W. C. REVIEW 31

By Catholic Action and the Family Rev. R. A. McGowan

HE AIM OF CATHOLIC ACTION is simple enough. show this, regardless of which view one takes of prohibition T God moves among the pots and pans, St. Teresa of itself. The fact is clearest in the case of the education of Avila said. In Catholic Action we move with God while He children. There must be an organization, i.e., a school and moves among the pots and pans of life and we move with there must be teachers, i.e., persons especially equipped to Him as He moves among the sacred vessels of the altar. do the job. The foregoing articles of this symposium show three Society depends indeed on the family but the family de­ truths. One is that nothing human or divine is alien to the pends also on society. Great and varied and intelligent ac­ family. The family is a sun about which rotate a multitude tivity inside the family and outside the family is necessary of stars. The family is a pivot of life upon which all of life because of this inter-relation. The activity outside the family hinges. It is a hub of the wheel of our life into which every must be in large part organized and persons must be equipped spoke of our life converges: It is a great sea of our life fed to handle it and the activity inside the family must be un­ by every creek and river in the continent of our being. usually intelligent and bolstered up by outside helps. No metaphor is here exact. One may make a sound case In St. Teresa's phrasing, this is most of it the pots and for the proposition that good family life and bad family life pans of life, ordinary things, day by day work and recreation. affect education, public morals, good citizenship, the pros­ It is all we do now and all we ought to do to meet the needs perity of the community, economic justice among the mem­ of our life and of the community, occupation, nation and bers of the community, international welfare and peace, world of which we are a part and which drives in upon us good literature, interesting and worthwhile recreation, the all the time. It is prayer: but after we have said "Lead us general cause of religion, and indeed everything important not into temptation," it is actual work to keep family life in life. One can make a sound case also for the effect of all from being lead into temptation. It is receiving Holy Com­ of these upon the family. They interact. They are not munion: but thereafter going out of the Church to an actual separate from one another. Life is a whole. work in every part of life, that, with God's help, the body of The foregoing articles in this symposium show this clearly. our Lord Jesus Christ guide our souls into life everlasting. They are more intent, though not entirely so, upon showing It is saying: "Thy Kingdom come," and then working for how the family is helped by good schools, sound citizenship, the Kingdom to come. economic justice, good literature, good laws, good adminis­ Catholic Action is all of our life and every part of our life tration of laws, the press, religion, than they are upon show­ lived actively and intelligently for the purposes of Christ ing how good family life affects all of these. and under the rule of Christ's teachings. It is all the matters Their theme is clear and their theme corresponds to mentioned in this symposium and much more besides. In this the facts of life today. It is unusually important now to symposium they have been connected with family life; they look to everything under the sun at the same time that we could all have been related to anything else of importance look to everything under the family roof. to us since all parts of life move together. The second truth these symposium articles make clear Catholic Action is not simply the work of Catholic organi­ both directly and by immediate inference is that an intense zations. It is not simply explaining and defending the faith. amount of intelligent general activity is necessary if the It is not simply supporting the Church or, for example, send­ family is to be of the right sort in these changing and most ing children to Catholic schools. It is one's whole life and complicated years. The articles indicate some of the things all parts of it, in Catholic organizations, at work, at play, to be done though not at all everything necessary. at the duties of citizenship as well as at prayer. A third truth they bring out is that while parents can do This symposium indicates how much must be done to a great deal by themselves, much that is necessary can only promote family welfare in this era between two eras. It indi­ be cared for by organizations and by persons specially cates the importance of united Catholic action that the w'ork equipped to handle particular tasks. may be done adequately, intelligently. A father and mother wish to be careful about the movies It is an appeal to action by Catholics in and through their children attend; otherwise their family life will be hurt. Catholic organizations, in and through other organizations But are they to learn solely by themselves what movies the of which they are members, in and through their individual children should go to? They wish enough money to provide life in all of its phases. It is not an appeal to a chip"-on-the­ the children with their needs. But if production in the shoulder attitude towards one's faith. There is a difference community is low and if justice and equity do not rule between "injecting religion" and living one's religion. This in distributing production then many a family suffers. and the solid preparation such a task requires are the theme Neither of these matters can be effectively corrected by a of this symposium. single person. If the laws are not good laws or if good and THE FAMILY NEEDS CATHOLIC ACTION AND, they are badly administered, the family is hurt. The pro­ BECAUSE THE FAMILY NEEDS IT, EVERY PART hibition amendment and laws as well as their administration OF AMERICAN LIFE NEEDS IT. ------+------32 N. C. W. C. REVIEW January, 1930 LA TEST N. C. W. C. PUBLICA TIONS LIST Timely Pamphlets and Books Presenting the Catholic Viewpoint

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