Courage -- a civics text


THE CATHOLIC HOUR

COURAGE—A CIVICS TEXT
BY

REV. MSCR. T. JAMES McNAMARA
Superintendent of Schools in the Diocese of

Savannah-Atlanta

NOV 1946'

The second in a series of four addresses, delivered in the Catholic
Hour, broadcast by the National Broadcasting Company in coopera-
tion with the National Council of Catholic Men, on November 10, 1946,
by the Rt. Rev. Msgr. T. James McNamara, Superintendent of Schools in
the Diocese of Savannah-Atlanta. After the series has been completed
on the radio, it will be made available in one pamphlet.

National Council of Catholic Men
Washington, D. C.



COURAGE—A
Fellow Americans:

The season of humiliations

had indeed passed. Humanity,

united with divinity, its head

bowed in death on Calvary, finds

the earth under the weight of

the cross breaking the bonds and

loosening the shackles by which

men^s souls had been robbed of

their vision. Yes, humanity, as

the head of Christ droops in

death, finds its eyes raised to a

recaptured perspective in which

life is revealed in its fulness of

meaning. Witnessing to the

triumph of the cross and to the

freedom which had come to

men’s souls with the passing

of the season of humiliations,

. . the earth quaked, and the

rocks were rent, and the tombs

were opened, and many bodies
of the saints who had fallen as-

leep arose. . . (Matthew 27

:

51-53).

From the lips of the Roman
Centurion came the testimony,

the substance of which from

generation to generation was to

dissipate men’s fears, establish

their faith and sustain their

hopes. This pagan, as the earth

trembled beneath his feet and

he heard humanity’s cry come

forth .from the parched lips of

its Savior, exclaimed, ‘‘Ay, truly

CIVICS TEXT
this was a just man; this was

indeed the Son of God.” In the

hearts of the soldiers who had
stood with their leader “over

against Jesus” atop the hill of

crucifixion, the testimony of the

Centurion was re-echoed. They

together, leader and soldiers, in

their fears, their faith, and

their hopes, gave voice to the

heart of all mankind. Recog-

nizing that God through Christ’s

humanity made expiation on

Calvary’s cross, men’s sights

were raised anew to that vision

which God in the beginning had

established for the children of

men.

Ever since, men in their gov-
ernments have sought more or

less successfqlly to state as the

foundation of their political

structure the truths which con-

stitute
,
the substance of this

vision. It was not, however, until

eighteen centuries after Calvary

that the highest and most com-

plete political declaration of

these truths was formulated.

With a courage, born of exile

from home for conscience’s sake,

the Founding Fathers of our

glorious nation gave to the

world in their Declaration of

Independence, the classic politi-

cal expression of those truths



brought from obscurity by the

death of the God-Man on

Calvary.

^ July 4, 1776, is more than the

birthday of a nation; current

events dramatize it as the pole

star of the racie of men strug-
gling ever against the destruc-

tive forces of slavery. Emanci-

pation from the slavery of sin

came with crucifixion on Cal-

vary. The Blood of the Redeem-

er of mankind, flowing into the

stream of humanity, re-estab-

lished the priceless worth of

the human personality. Down
through the ages since Calvary,

there have come tyrants who
would re-enslave men and blot
out the individuars personal

worth. Always, too, since Cal-

vary there have been men, bor-

rowing knowledge and strength

from Calvary’s redemptive force,

who, in the words of the Found-

ing Fathers, could mutually

pledge to each other their lives,

their fortunes, and their sacred

honor in defense of man’s God-

given and God-restored freedom.

These Founding Fathers acted,

as they themselves state, with a

firm reliance on the protection

of Divine Providence.

Out of this deep and abiding

trust in the Providence of the

good God, the representatives of

the United States of America, in

Congress assembled, July 4,

1776, brought forth a document

unique in the political annals of

mankind. In their Declaration

they incorporated the charter of

human liberty and human free-
dom, sealed by the Precious

Blood of the God-Man on the
hill of crucifixion. They, the

Founders of our country, pass-

ing through the humiliations

heaped upon them by the

tyrant’s rule, under the impact

of suffering rose to the glorious

heights of Calvary.

We, of this modern America,

have inherited * the priceless

legacy of freedom so clearly

defined by those to whom our
country owes its origin. We, of

this modern America, reviewing

current events, wonder whether

the newspaper headlines are but

the passing shadows of a season

of humiliations that we perforce

must suffer. Will we, before

crucifixion, rise to the heights of

Calvary and recapture the vision

which gives meaning and sub-

stance to our boast of freedom

and strength to our stand for

liberty? In the death on Calvary

a new hope and a new courage

came into the hearts of men.

From the crucible of sufferings
on Calvary was distilled a

strength which has enabled men

to rise above petty ambitions

and declare themselves for those

principles which give life mean-



ing and make it purposeful.

Nicodemus, the member of the
Sanhedrin, who, it seems, only

at the hour of crucifixion, cour-

ageously declared his faith in

the God-Man, has many counter-
parts in the world of the present

time.

Today, we, as a people, are

challenged by a political system

which is the negation of our

own. In effect, we are asked to
demonstrate that we genuinely
cherish for ourselves and for

others the spiritual and intellec-

tual ,freedom of which we boast.
We are challenged to show that
we are willing to sacrifice to pre-

serve them. By implication we
are asked to prove that these

freedoms, which have made for

progress on the part of the race,

are still the means whereby men
can steadily advance their own

development.

Must we, as a people, ex-

perience crucifixion before we
will profess openly the validity

of the premises on which our

country’s Declaration of Inde-

pendence and' its Bill of Rights

rest? Must we, as a people, have

part in crucifixion before, like

the Centurion, standing “over

against Jesus,” we declare

courageously our attachment to

“the laws of nature and nature’s

God”?

Looking back upon the as-

sembly of July 4, 1776, we see
there the position the citizens

of this nation must assume if

we are to hasten the passing of
the season of humiliation. Look-

ing back, we see the position
which,

^
once assumed, should

save us the horrors of cruci-

fixion. Looking back on that

historic assembly, out of which

came our nation, the United

States of America, we see there
men of varying shades of re-
ligious belief. While not uni-

form in the practices of religion,

or in the content of dogma, they

were united in the acceptance- of

that central sweeping dogma

which gives integrity and solid-

arity to the race of mankind and

establishes the equality of all

before God and governments.

They, Protestant, Jew, and

Catholic, on that memorable

Fourth of July, 1776, “with a

firm reliance on the protection

of divine Providence,” jointly

and unitedly professed their

common faith.
One hundred and sixty years

have passed since Protestant,

Jew, and Catholic, acting to-

gether, gave to the world this

classic political Declaration of

what was written first in the

race’s oldest document, the Book

of Genesis, and later brought

out into bold relief on the

heights of Calvary. In these one



hundred and sixty years, under

the impact of economic changes,

men have become confused and
bewildered while striving for an

economy which would reflect the

equality politically declared by

the Founding Fathers. Seeking

the good things of earth, they

have lost sight of the self-evi-

dent truths which alone can

rationalize and support their

strivings. Emotionally moti-

vated, they have pulled away

from the safe and secure moor-

ings of reason.

This is, indeed, a time of

crisis. National unity is threat-

ened, and strange as it may
seem, the threat is from within,

because there are so many in
our civic life who get their in-

spiration by fixing their eyes on

the earth. “In God We Trust’’ is
to them something archaic,

something in the nature of a

pietistic hangover. If national

unity, in defense of American-

ism, is to be had, then all en-

joying the rights and privileges

of American citizenship must

rededicate, themselves to certain

religious truths, as proclaimed

by the Founding Fathers, and

described by Thomas Jefferson,

the Apostle of Americanism, as

self-evident.

All must accept these truths

axiomatically, without reserve.

To reject them, or quibble about

them, or call into doubt their

validity, manifests the fact that

we are not truly American.
His Holiness, Pope Pius XII,

in Sertum Laetitiae, a letter ad-

dressed “to the Church in the

United States,” reminds us that

“we must make possible a salu-

tary union of thought and policy

between Catholics and other be-

lievers in God.” “It is impres-

sive,” the Holy Father writes,

“that the Spirit of God still

dwells in the multitude.” This

salutary union of thought and

policy, enunciated by the Pope,

we Catholics of the United
States see reflected in a measure

in our country’s dual system of

education. The Catholic school

and the public school are both

equipped to train intelligent

American citizens; both are ap-

proved by the state. Each ex-

periences the same concern in

the crisis through which our

nation is passing as it endeavors

to bring the curative power of

its political and religious faith

to a world that is stricken.

Catholic schools in partner-

ship with public schools in seek-

ing to achieve the American

educational objective of better

citizenship serve as a ferment to

keep active in the life of the

nation the self-evident truths of

our country’s Declaration of

Political Principles. Not in com-



petition, but through cooper-

ation, the Catholic school with

the public school serves the wel-

fare of the nation by training

its pupils and students for in-

telligent participation in the

rights and duties of citizenship.

In the spirit of the members

of the Congress assembled on

July 4, 1776, the Catholic school

insists that education should

concern itself, not alone with

mere knowledge, but with the

inculcation of the causes which

give meaning and purpose to the

objectives which education sets

itself. Happy in the knowledge

that its philosophy is consonant

with the philosophy of the

Founding Fathers as set down

in the Declaration of Indepen-

dence, the Catholic school re-

joices that its system in its

enunciation and integration of

this philosophy actually comple-

ments the public school curri-

culum in the field of citizenship.

Because the public school has

as yet been unable to formulate

a civics text which would escape

the charge of sectarianism and

thus be acceptable to all, the co-

ordinating philosophy, stem-

ming from the Declaration of

Independence, has not rooted it-

self in the curriculum of Amer-

ican schools financed by public

funds. Until such a text is

formulated, the Church school

will be the ferment keeping

active the cause on which are

based Americanism and its uni-

que championing of human dig-
nity, human liberty and human
freedom.

The Catholic school, public in

all things save its method of

support, centers on the sacred-

ness of the human personality
and insists that man's highest

natural endowment is that of

free will wherein the Creator

gave to him the faculty and

capacity of returning love for

love, service for service, the

fulfillment of duties for the

exercise of rights. Its class-

rooms, from kindergarten to

grade and high schools into col-

lege and university, are not un-

like the classrooms of schools

under public auspices, except

that religious pictures and

crucifixes combined with the

teachers' garb stress the in-

herent dignity of the individual

and the moral obligations this

dignity entails.

Again, its classroom instruc-

tions are not unlike the class-

room instructions in schools

under public auspices save that

through the instructions in the

Catholic school, like a golden

thread, there runs the truths

which the Declaration of Inde-

pendence enunciates as self-evi-

dent, and more, the truths which



make of life a totality extending

the bounds of time. The teach-

ings in our Catholic school

demonstrate the citizen as a

child of God, having obligations

to fellow citizens and to the

state.

From the acceptance and ful-
fillment of these duties will flow

an order resulting in peace and

tranquility. This teaching sup-

plies motives for the fulfillment

of obligations, even though the

fulfillment at the moment seems

antagonistic to self-interest. In

a word, the Catholic school

points the Way, which is Christ;

teaches the Truth, which is

Christ; urges the Life, which is

Christ. Its instruction seeks to

form the child into a citizen

charged with making secure his

eternal welfare through serving

the welfare of his nation.

Conscious of the high destiny

of the nation as our wounded

world’s workshop of human
values, the Catholic school knows

that this destiny arises from our

country’s Declaration of Inde-

pendence. Unless the super-

natural aspect of the premises

of the Declaration’s corollaries

of human freedom and human
liberty are recognized, they be-

come meaningless and ineffec-

tive. Realizing this, the Cath-

olic school is distressed that a

vague sort of emotionalism in

the thinking of so many citizens
is the only prop to support the

cause of freedom and liberty.

The Catholic school, in its

anxiety to preserve American

values which are likewise Chris-

tian values, looks hopefully to

the future now that world dis-
tress and totalitarian challenge

are forcing a re-examination of

premises. More and more, de-

velopments show that freedom

and liberty do not result from

legislative enactments, but from

the Providence of an all-wise,

and all-loving Creator. More and

more, too, developments threat-

en crucifixion. It is the prayer

of the Catholic school child and

the Catholic school authority

that American faith, as enun-

ciated in our country’s Declara-

tion, will re-assert itself and

force the formulation of a civics

text which will elaborate on

causes as well as on effects

;

which will profess and ration-

alize American faith as well as

the benefits that faith estab-

lishes.

Looking to the signers of our

country’s Declaration, we see

there Protestant, Jew, and Cath-

olic, men of varying shades of
belief, but all concurring in the

acceptance of certain super-

natural principles which give

meaning and substance to Amer-

ica’s boast. Looking to our



country's practice, we read as

the basic tenet of American

economy, ''In God We Trust,"
and we find in Executive Procla-

mations the conviction that

thanks should be returned to

God.

We, of the Catholic school,

would like to believe that

eventually all the schools of the

nation will incorporate in their

civics text the whole American

tradition of belief and trust in

God and the necessity of return-

ing thanks to God. The convic-

tion of a personal God from

whom has come the noble en-
dowment of life, liberty, and the

pursuit of happiness, together

with the conviction that the na-

tion is the creature of the people

protecting this God-given en-

dowment, is not foreign or alien

to the American concept of gov-

ernment. A civics text declaring
and giving the reasons for

America's faith could dissipate

confusion and establish order at

home and enable the world at
large to understand the better

America's aims and objectives.

Such a civics text seriously and

sincerely taught, could so in-

doctrinate the children of the

schools that within their own

generation they would constitute

a valid hope for a lasting and

just peace.

The atom bomb is the result

of knowledge. The Declaration

and all it implies is our security

against the disastrous effects of

uncontrolled knowledge. The

Centurion, ‘'over against Jesus,"

on the hill of crucifixion, feeling

the earth trembling beneath his

feet, made his act of faith.

Our country, with its harnes-

sed atomic energy, has the ca-

pacity of shaking the world with

fear; with its faith declared and

expounded, it hafe the capacity

of sustaining men's hopes for a

better and more peaceful world.

The pledge to our stricken world

is not in energy stored and as-

surances given, but rather in

the declaration of principles

made and integrated in the na-

tion's’' life. Our prayer is that

we, as a nation, with courage

will so declare our faith, and so

act accordingly that exempli-

fying the truths, which were

salvaged on Calvary, we, and the

world through our leadership, -

might escape the sufferings of

crucifixion.