The Cross

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Part of The Cross

Title: The Cross
Description: Cross National Catholic Magazine
Official bi-monthly organ of the KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS in the Philippines, K of C, Gen. Luna cor. Sta. Potenciana St. Intramuros, Manila
Issue Date: Volume II (Issue No.7) July 1947
Publisher: Knights of Columbus
Year: 1947
Language: English
Subject: Catholic Church--Philippines--Periodicals.
Rights
Place of publication: Manila
extracted text: JULY, 1947 The Case Of The HEADLESS CORPSE AN INTERNATIONAL BILL OF RIGHTS By Tibor Payzs CONFESSIONS OF A CATHOLIC NEWSPAPERMAN By Cirilo Mendoza RELIGION AND VD By Rev. Alejandro Olalia THE BRIDE WAS FIFTY-TWO By Mercedes Mercado MOVIE REVIEWS By Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero (For complete Table of Contents, see page 2) GREETINGS To THE PHILIPPINE REPUBLIC ! ! ! "7 X P50.000 can go up in smoke in the space of minutes: A rice mill of timber and galvanized iron—costing about 1*50.000 and which represents the income of hundreds of men and their families—can be pro tected from the disastrous blows of unforeseen events at the sum of 1’3.85 a day for premiums! IXSUIiH WITH PHILIPPINE GUARANTY I, OFFICES AT THE THIRD FLOOR, INSULAR LIFE BLDG. Z PLAZA C ERVANTES , MANILA ________ / * BOOKS OF GENERAL INTEREST Adamic DINNER AT THE WHITE HOUSE .......... F 5.00 Ratcliff SCIENCE YEARBOOK OF 1946 .................. 5.00 Ratcliff SCIENCE YEARBOOK OF 1947 ................... 5.00 ONE HUNDRED TRUE STORIES OF WORLD WAR II ..................... 8.00 Guerrero THIRTEEN PLAYS ............................................ 15.00 Haggerty GUERILLA PADRE IN , MINDANAO .... 5.50 Evans BEVIN OF BRITAIN .......................................... 6.00 Spellman NO GREATER LOVE ......................................... 4.00 Hayes WARTIME MISSION IN SPAIN .................. 6.00 Root SECRET HISTORY OF THE WAR, 2 volumes .............................................. 22.00 Pyle LAST CHAPTER .................................................. 5.00 Wagner PERSONALITY AND SUCCESSFUL LIVING .................................................. 5.50 McIver TOWARDS AN ABIDING PEACE ............ 5.00 Ward NEW WORLDS IN MEDICINE ................... 11.00 Iswolsky SOUL OF RUSSIA ............................................... 5.50 Herman THE LUFTWAFFE: IT’S RISE AND FALL 6.00 LOST TREASURES OF EUROPE .......... 10.00 Chiang Kai-Shek COLLECTED WARTIME MESSAGES (2 volumes) ......................................... 11.25 Harriman BOOK OF ETIQUETTE ..................................... 3.00 Rombauer JOY OF COOKING ............................................... 5.00 Maas COOMMON SENSE IN HOME DECORATION .................................... 3.50 MAIL ORDERS ACCEPTED; ADD F0.20 PER BOOK FOR POSTAGE THE “WE SELL TO SERVE’ REGINA BUILDING ESCOLTA-BANQUERO, MANILA TABLE OF CONTENTS FEATURES: The Case of the Headless Corpse ...................... Wilfrido Borja 3 An Internationa) Bill of Rights .................................. Tibor Payzs 39 GENERAL: Legion Behind Bars ............................. Rev. Casimiro O. Alvarez 6 Thefts in the Philippines .......... Rev. George Vromant, C.I.C.M. 10 Confessions of a Catholic Newspaperman .......... Cirilo Mendoza 17 Religion and VD............................................. Rev. Alejandro Olalia 20 Who Copied From Whom? ..................... 23 Swindler’s Interlude ........................................................... Jesus Ruiz 30 DP’s are People ........................................ Rev. Fabian Flynn, C.P. 33 Catholic Action In a Prison Camp ................ Bernard F. Meyer 45 Newman’s Rules for Writing .... .......................................................... 48 POETRY: A Letter to Jesus ............................................... Sergio R. Alfafai;a 24 COLUMNS: At The Crossroads ........................................ Santiago Artiaga, Jr. ' DEPARTMENTS: Cross Sections of Filipiniana ............................................................... Quiz Section: What’s Your Moral I.Q.? ............................................................... ' What Kind of a Theologian Are You? ................................... Threads of Life: II The Bride was Fifty-Two ....................... Mercedes Mercado Newsmonth ........ Catholic Information Service ■» ' Movie Reviews by Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero Milionaryong Hampas-Lupa .......................................................... f ■ Nagtagpo Sa America ....................................... -......................... 6f Cross Currents of Readers’ Views ..................................................... 5'> JULY, 1947 THE VOL. II NO. 7 Published hy THS CROSS MAOAZINB Regina Bldg., 15—17 Banquero and Escolta, Munlla Philippines Murder! THE CASE OF THE HEADLESS CORPSE By Wilfrido Borja July 8, 1946 was the first Sun day after the proclamation of the Philippine Republic. On the morning of that memora ble day Father Teofilo Limlingan left his convent in Baluloc, Barrio Apalit, Pampanga and went to his parish church. He had prepared a powerful sermon condemning the vicious violence of the Hukbalahap movement and he was pre pared to deliver it. Of course he knew the danger in making such a sermon; but, being young, he was unafraid. Or, perhaps, he sim ply didn’t care. After the Gospel, he wended his way through the crowded aisle and went to the pulpit. From his vantage-point he looked down upon his people and spoke. That sermon was a fateful one; it was also to be his last. Death Strikes One morning in August, 1946 he simply disappeared. A parishioner, passing an old dried-up well in Ba luloc, looked down and saw what appeared to be the inert figure of a human being. It was the head less corpse of Father Limlingan. The head, severed from the body, was smashed behind the cars, evi dently by a great blow. In the public indignation that followed the perpetration of the crime, the provincial government ordered an investigation. Two Hukbalahaps, who shall remain nameless, were subsequently ar rested on suspicion. 3 From this point, the story be comes extremely interesting. The developments which followed this arrest are a perfect illustration of how fear and intimidation may align themselves together and de feat the purposes of human justQuestioned by the authorities the two suspects made an extra judicial confession (a confession not made in open session of a com petent court) on the strength of which, if purely legal technicalities had been set aside, they would have been swiftly and surely con demned. The two Huks admitted that, following the sermon of Father Limlingan, they had been ordered by the Huk commander in Baluloc to “execute” the priest because of his "anti-Huk utterances." Confession? They admitted then that they had taken him away and killed him. How? By hitting him on the back of the head with a bamboo pole; after he was dead, they had decapitated him and thrown his remains into a dried-up well, the same in which he was subsequent ly found. Meanwhile even mire gory tales on how Father Limlingan had been killed were circulating and even reached as far as Manila. One version, later found to have been without basis, was that he had been tied, hand and foot, to four carabaos, one limb to each beast. The carabaos had then been goaded and made to pull in points corresponding roughly to the four points of a compass. Fa ther Limlingan, the gory version ended, had been torn apart. This and other wild versions were, of course, discounted and disproved by the extrajudicial con fession. But now follows the most intriguing part of the story. The case come up for trial be fore the Pampanga Court of First Instance. The charge brought against the two defendants was. murder. One morning in August a passerby looked down a driedup well and saw an inert figure. It was the headless corpse of Fr. Teofilo Limlingan ... JULY, 1947 Acquittal The provincial fiscal, as well as Atty. Pedro Henson, who was act ing as private prosecutor in the case, of course expected the speedy conviction of the accused Huks. They believed in this because they thought that what the Huks had confessed to extrajudicially, they would repeat in open court, count ing- upon a confession to save them from maximum penalty im posed by law for murder. The defendants did the exact opposite. They denied having made such a confession. As a matter of fact, they denied that they had had anything at all to do with the killing of Father Limlingan. Stun ned by this turn of events, the prosecution sought witnesses. None, of course, could be found. We are not intimating here that Huks and Huk sympathizers outside had intimidated witnesses into forgetting whatever they knew of the murder. We are sim ply stating a fact: nobody dared to testify against the defendants. “It is well known that anyone, who testifies against the Huks, may expect reprisals against him self and his family.” No other evidence could be found to support the charge of murder. The court had no alter native but to release the prison ers and drop all charges against them. Those men are free at this very moment. We know of no further investigation, no other attempt to bring the killers of the Baluloc priest to justice. Another chap ter of terrorism has been closed... or has it? GKC—The Wit The Catholic Bookman for Dec ember, 1937, informs its readers that Sister Mary James of Mt. St. Mary’s College, Milwaukee, Wis consin, won the tenth annual con test of the International Mark Twain Society for the best anec dote dealing with an author, an author living or dead. Here it is: One day during the World War, when G. K. Chesterton, who was a huge man weighing over 250 pounds, was walking along Fleet Street, London he was accosted by a fanatic woman who asked indignantly: “Why aren’t you out at the front?” “Madam,” replied Chesterton, “if you’ll go around to the side and look at me, you’ll see that I am out at the front.”—The Sign THE CROSS Legion Behind Bars “High walls do not a prison make” The national highway going south from Manila cuts through the little town of Muntinlupa, Rizal. Jupt as you enter the town limits a little road emerges from £he left and cuts across the highway to slide down a hill to the west. Catching its breath at the bottom of the in cline, the little road rises gradual ly until its progress is halted by high, thick walls that seem a little harsh and forbidding even in the bright sunlight. This is Bilibid Prison, house of the larcenist and the thug, the little city where doomed men pay their debt to society. It is hard to conceive of men striving after sanctity in such a place as this; the company of murderers and robbers does not encourage a man to seek the higher things in life. He may dream, of course, but action is usually greeted with a sneer and a laugh from his comrades in misfortune. Yot the Legion of Mary has struck its roots in this barren ground. Aa The Morning Rising In June 3, 1946 Major Eriberto Misa. Director of Prisons, gave As told by Fr. Casimiro O. Alvarez to a Cross Staff Member his prison chaplain, Fr. Casimiro 0. Alvarez, permission to organ ize the Legion within the prison walls. Father Alvarez went to work immediately. He gathered twelve of the more promising inmates; they were to form the nucleus of his Presidium. At 9 o’clock in the morning he celebrated an inaugural Mass. The first meeting was held imme diately afterwards. Elisa Jalbuena, a Legionary from the town was present; to her was given the the job of teaching each of these hardened men what the Legion was, and what it should mean to them. The Praesidium was named after “Our Lady, Comforter of the Afflicted.” Their first assignment were simple enough. They were told to recruit auxiliary members, propagate the devotions to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, spread the Rosary devotion, teach their com rades the catechism and invite them to Sunday Mass. One week later the new Legion aries met again. Father Alvarez, now the unit’s Spiritual Director. JULY, 1947 was a little nervous; the reports would show whether his Praesidium was going to live... or die. The reports were read, one by one. One convict had convinced several of his friends to become auxiliary members, which meant they would say the Rosary every day; another had taught catech ism to his brother-convicts. When the results were added up, Father Alvarez was glad. Twelve auxil iaries had been recruited; four in mates were making their devo tions to the Sacred Heart of Je sus; 25 others had started say ing the Rosary; 15 would go to Sunday Mass; above all, four hardened men were being taught the essentials of the Catechism. Perhaps, Fr. Alvarez must have thought, the Legion would con quer, after all. Men Among Men The prison Legionaries soon found out that it was not easy to work openly for their Faith in New Bilibid. They met jeers, taunts. Perhaps, a few asked themselves whether the fight was worth the mental bruises inflicted upon them. But they went on. Truth is often very hard to fight for, they told themselves; and they were right. From the mouths of hardened criminals they heard fantastic doctrines, some of them centuries old, others born of minds warped by solitary confinement and the hunger and despair that stalk be tween the cells and touch the shoulders of men steeped in crime. They learned many lessons, these resurrected men. Prudence, caution, they whispered to them selves, as hot blood rose to meet a taunt or an insult. Humility, they sighed, humility is the price of real greatness. And in this they were right, too. The Legion went on; it became, indeed, a comfort to the afflicted inmates, men whose souls were tortured and in misery. Improvised altars were con structed for different prison bri gades. Legionaries organized and led the community Rosary, for the Rosary came to be recited in each brigade, night and day. This was always followed by devotions to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Some times a novena was recited. The Legion’s tree was bearing fruit; attendance at these devotions rose to eight hundred. The Apostle ship of Prayer was organized with a membership of 105; the Con fraternity of the Holy Rosary, too, with 147 active participants. Who can say how much grace A prison is no place for the higher things in life. A man striving after them is greeted with sneers and laughter... THE CROSS poured into the hearts of these men, melting the outer core of cynicism, bringing contrition and regret for the fruitful years that had been squandered and would never he regained? March of the Legion The entire prison was becom ing Legion-ifiinded. In addition to the regular members, 166 au xiliaries were recruited, and they complied faithfully with their daily prayer obligation. Legionaries visited the sickwards; they carried on the Rosa ry and Sacred Heart devotions among patients and attendants alike. The medical officer in charge remarked, with pardon able exaggeration, “The Holy Rosary is responsible for the low death rate among prisoners in this hospital." And, perhaps, there was realy no exaggeration. But the Legion was really on ly' beginning. Among these con victs there were many who had never learned to pray; ignorant of God, they had grown up into corrupt manhood and had quickly become steeped in the ways of crime. To meet this problem, ca techetical classes were organized. It was a proud moment for Fr. Alvarez when he could tell the prison officials that 600 convicts had made their Confession and received Holy Communion for the first time. The spectacular rise in attend ance at the Mass celebrated on Sundays in the prison chapel fol lowed as a natural consequence. In the early days of the Libera tion, before the Legion was or ganized in Muntinlupa Prison, only a few of the inmates had ever attended Mass. Regular at tendance has increased to 1,000 since then, and the convicts are packed in the pews. Father Alvarez is justly proad of his Legionaries. Spiritually,'he says, they have travelled as if they had been shod with seven league boots. And in their pro gress, he continues, they have not gone alone; they have pulled their comrades along with them. The prison officials themselves have become fully conscious of the role that religion can play when a prisoner needs moral building-up. To carry on the work of relig ious education within the walls of Muntinlupa, the Legion has set up a book barrow and filled it with religious pamphlets and newspapers donated by generous Catholics and other better-equip ped Praesidia. It also makes use of the public address system, dubbed KZNBP by the inmates, and gives a daily “Moral and Spiritual Guidance Program” in English and Tagalog. Legionar ies themselves take care of these broadcasts. JULY, 1947 Prison officials have commented that, since the Legion was started, the peace and order problems within Bilibid has improved tre mendously. Quiet reigns in the prison compound. Not quite all the time, of course. Sometimes, the calm of an afternoon is split by a low rumbling, like the buzz ing of a thousand bees, or the ominous mutter of angry men. If you ask Fr. Alvarez what that means, he dismisses your fears with a slight shrug of the shoulders. “The men are pray ing,” he says and starts to finger his own rosary beads. Nor Iron Bars A Cage A very pretty Legionary was working among the inmates of the town jail. She smiled cheerfully at one of them. “I wouldn’t brood too much if I were you,” she told him. “You’ll be out before you know it. Besides,” she added brightly, “ ‘prison bars do not a prison make.' ” The prisoner looked at her gloomily. “But they sure help, Miss,” he said, “they sure help.” ------ oOo-----Bamboo English The young estudiante from the city had been told by his mother to discharge the plumber who had been hired to fix some leaking water tubes, because the latter had hiked his prices. Not finding the plumber in his house, the young scholar left a note: “You were of the goodest when my mother was first engaged to you. She regrets, however, that you must not come again because you are very dear to her.” He had translated the message literally from Tagalog tcT English. 10 THE CROSS The Absolute Standard For THEFTS IN THE PHILIPPINES By Rev. George Vromant, C.I.C.M. Author of “Doctrine and Liturgy” Juan Ramos, an employee of a wealthy landowner in Pampanga, asked the following question: “Some time ago I purloined from my master the sum of 100 pesos. Am I guilty of a mortal sin? This damage could not be seriously felt by my wealthy master; and, besides, the money in the Philip pines has at least four times less purchasing power today than it had before the war. For this rea son I believe myself guilty of on ly a venial sin.” ANSWER: Only the erroneous conscience which he had developed can ex cuse Juan from the guilt of mor tal sin; however, this erroneous conscience does not excuse him from making restitution under pain of grave sin. Let us now rectify the erron eous conscience of the culprit. From it6 nature a sin against justice, such as theft, robbery, fraud or unjust damage is a grave sin. The thief, in fact, attacks the sacred rights of the individ ual to his property; besides, as we see at present in' the Philip pines, he imperil? the peace and stability tf society itself. Al though a sin against justice may be a venial sin from the smallness of the matter involved, it is evid ent from the preceding principle, that there are and must be two different standards for measuring the gravity of matter, the one with respect to the individual robbed, the other with respect to society in general. The first is called relative standard, the sec ond absolute standard. Estimation of the Relative Standard The amount of loss should be estimated by personal injury of the proprietor who suffers the loss, and accordingly, by his dis pleasure in suffering it, because the unwillingness of the owner is a condition and an essential ele ment of theft. Relatively grave matter, therefore, is to be consi dered according to the economic condition and daily earning power of the one who suffers the dam age. If Juan is earning a daily sal ary of 15 pesos to maintain him JULY, 1947 self and his family, Pedro, his servant, commits a mortal sin if he secretly takes away the whole amount of the latter’s daily wage. Pedro commits a venial sin if he steals only 2 pesos from his mas ter. But if Juanito, the son of Juan, secretly takes from his fa ther 15 pesos to enjoy a free day, he ordinarily commits but a ven ial sin, because Juan is presumed to be less unwilling that his son should take his money, than if a stranger should cause him the same damage. Yet, Juanito com mits certainly a mortal sin if he steals 30 pesos from his father. If the owner who suffered the damage is a bachelor, or a mar ried person without family bur dens, the amount stolen, to con stitute relatively grave matter may also, just as for Juanito, be increased to twice the sum of money required to make it a grievous sin. Estimation of the Absolute Standard in the Philippines In considering acts of injustice, the peace and stability of society at large ought likewise to be tak en into account. If an act of in justice, because it does not ser iously harm or grieve a very wealthy person, were, only for this reason, always venial sin, the pro perty of the rich in general would not be sufficiently safeguarded. Moreover, the danger of frequent reiteration of those acts of in justice would seriously handicap labor and' commerce, as well as the intercourse among citizens of the country, as experience has proven in the harbor of Manila. It is rhetorical to ask the ques tion: For what sum should we in the Philippines think a thief worthy of eternal damnation? The question rather ought to be: What is the sum the taking of which with impunity, so far as grievous sin is concerned, would be very prejudicial to the security of society? 1.—The standard for measuring this gravity of matter is not an invariable one; it differs accord ing to circumstances of time and place. Since money in the Philip pines has less purchasing power today than it had in the Spanish time or before the war, other things being equal, it is less harmful to steal in Manila the sum of 20 pesos in 1947, than it was to steal the same amount in One of the most familiar of the GIs’ gripes against the Filipino was that he was a thief. And so a master apologetist asks, “How guilty is a thief?” 12 1890 or in 1940. 2. —The standard for a parti cular country is to be interpreted morally, not mathematically, for it depends in part on the opin ions or estimates of the prudent, which, after all, are only approx imations and subject to revision. Hence it would be absurd to de cide that he who steals 50 pesos, is certainly guilty of mortal sin and fit for hell, while he who steals 49.50 pesos is guilty of venial sin only and not fit for hell. 3. —The absolute amount, as a rule, ought to be fixed above the daily earnings of a highly paid worker or employee, but below the daily income of a very wealthy person. Therefore A. McHugh, O.P. and Ch. J. Callan, O.P., in their Moral Theology, published in 1930, then rated absolute matter in the United States around $35. Rule for the Philippines at the present time 1. —In the provinces or islands of the Philippines for instance in Bohol and Cebu, where the pur chasing power of the Peso is al most what it was in prewar times, the absolute standard must be rated also what it was before the war, that is around 25 pesos. 2. —In the provinces or islands where the money has about four times less purchasing power than it had before the war, the abso lute grave matter may be rated around 50 pesos. It must be noted that in those provinces we are not allowed, as a consequence, to multiply by four the prewar ab solute standard of 25 pesos. As a matter of fact, if such an amount could be taken without grave fault, it would seriously tend to make property in the Philippines insecure, and render men unwill ing to undertake the labor neces sary to advance their own welfare and that of the state. If, for ex ample, at present the sum of 100 pesos and more could be taken without the serious moral obliga tion of restitution, the necessary moral sanction in human con science would be lacking, to the detriment of the maintenance of order and peace in society. This rule is confirmed by the common opinion of the scholars; e.g. A Vermeerch, S. J., Theologia Moralis, II, second editon, n. 639.—H. Davis, S. J., in his Moral and Pastoral Theology, 5th ed. 1946, II, pp. 303-304, quotes Piscetta-Gennaro, who thinks that now the absolute sum is £4 in England (a little more than 32 pesos); Garriepy, who, for Can ada, thinks the sum would be eight to ten dollars; and Prummer, writing for Switzerland, who puts the absolute sum at 100 francs gold standard (a little more than 32 pesos, as in Eng land). We think, therefore, that with JULY, 1947 13 the exceptional rise of wages in some parts of the Philippines, 50 pesos would, for the time be ing, represent a safe and not too rigorous standard in those prov inces or islands. 3.—The persons to whom indiv idually the absolute standard may be applied are the wealthy busi nessmen, employers, etc., whose daily salary or income is not be low the amount of the absolute standard of the country. There fore, in Manila, there are those, whose annual income at present is around 20,000 pesos or more. When the damage affects joint owners, and the organization is not poor, the gravity of matter is measured by the absolute stand ard. There, are cases when even the absolute standard may be increas ed to constitute a grave sin. 1. —If a son or daughter pur loins money or any object from his wealthy parents, the absolute standard can be ordinarily in creased to twice the amount, be cause parents are presumed to be less unwilling that their children cause them some damage. 2. —Petty thefts may combine to form grave matter if the thief proceeds from a previously form ed purpose of stealing by install ments a large sum; or even, when the thefts do not proceed from that previously formed plan, but have been perpetrated within a proportionately brief period of time. When there is an internal of about one week between extreme ly small thefts; or a period of about one month when the mat ter falls far short of grave mat ter, and the stolen goods have been disposed of, there is no ac cumulation of such petty thefts. A period of about two months is required when the sum of money stolen constitutes almost grave matter each time, and is also each time disposed of. When there is an interval of those two feasons accumulate, the sum required for grave matter may be calculated at twice the amount of the relatively grave matter, according to the wealth of 'the owner who suffers the damage. As a matter of fact, the owner does not feel the loss so much when his goods are taken in small amounts and at different times; and such petty thievery imperils peace and stability of so ciety to a lesser degree. If Juan, therefore, each month, purloins about 35 pesos from a bank in Manila, where he is hired as an accountant, his thefts will constitute grave matter, and he is guilty of mortal sin, at the mo ment he realizes that the stolen amount reaches twice the amount THE CROSS 14 of the absolute standard, that is, at present, around 100 pesos. Conclusion: By stealing one contracts a debt that simply has to be paid, whenever this can be done. And this will be paid ei ther voluntarily by restitution, or by the punishment of purgatory or hell, at least as long as one cannot reasonably presume, that the owner who suffered the dam age condones the theft. Our life is a book, every page is a year. This book is the “book of life” (Apoc. XX, 12), in which everything is written. How appalling to think that every word, act, and thought of ours, perhaps forgotten long ago, was recorded. Every pennyworth of ill-gotten good is put down in that great book, out of which one’s reckoning will be made be fore the judgment seat of God. (Read: Petty Thievery, by L. M. Merrill: The Cross, Feb., 1947). LEGION MIRACLE Two Legionaries were working on "a particularly difficult mar riage validation case. The couple in question raised every objection against a church marriage that they could think of. Then one of the Legionaries had an idea. “You don’t have any children, do you?” she asked the woman. "No,” the woman answered, hanging her head in something like shame. "We haven’t had that kind of luck—yet,” the man added. “Perhaps,” the Legionary sug gested, "it’s because you haven’t been properly married. But if you were, perhaps God would be kinder to you ...” The couple were thoughtful for a moment; then he gave their col lective answer. “We’ll get married,” he said. “Right away.” Two months after the wedding, one of the Legionaries went to visit the couple. “Senorita,” the woman told her. “Teriong wants me to thank you for everything. Also he wants to know if you will act as god-mo ther for our child.” Both of them smiled, and there wbb a look of bliss in the woman's eyes. JULY, 1947 15 AT THE CROSSROADS By Santiago Artiaga, Jr. Someday we are going to write about a little black book we have. Our book does not contain addres ses; not even one "interesting" telephone number. No, our little black book is not that kind of a book. But it does contain a wealth of informa tion on really valuable things. In formation about daily prayers, the Mass, Confession, Communion, the various devotions and Acts of Faith. The other kind of black book promises a “good time.’’ Our little book gives the means for attain ing eternal happiness. We do not know what their owners get from the little black book of the addresses and num bers. We do know what we can get from our little book. Well, for one important thing, we can ob tain peace of mind, which follows peace of heart, which In turn is the result of trust in the wisdom of the step taken. Trust, that if we follow the Way we will save the only thing worth saving — our immortal souls. You can buy what is catered in the little book of addresses; you could not buy — because they are not for sale — the spiritual trea sures contained in our little book. There perhaps lies the real dif ference between the two. One is “black” whatever the color of its cover. The other is "white’’ even if its cover is black. The world can have its little black books of addresses; We will keep our own. We will keep it and someday—God permitting, we will be grateful we picked the right black, book; the one which give the “address” of the soul by pointing to the path it must fol low. The suggestion has been made ltt THE CROSS that “Catholic writers sugar-^oat their material to make it more pa latable”. Maybe. But we should not forget that there should be more “medicine” than "sugar” and that it is a rare "medicine” that is nice to the taste. Recent developments in our government have made cynics re mark that “it’s all u big joke.” Well, there’s nothing wrong with jokes except that with this one it is people who are made the butt of the joke. The barbershop philosopher met a man known for his devout Cath olicism and the following conver sation ensued: B.S.P. — “Why are you a Ro man Catholic? Are you a RoDevout Catholic—"Why do you wear americdnas? Are you an American?” The dealer in Surplus goods died and went to "the other place”. Immediately, he announced bids for the hottest surplus rocks ly ing around. TURNABOUT “Satan is represented as runnin’ after folks wif a pitchfork,” said Uncle Even, “which de truth is dat so many folks in pullin’ at his coat tails dat he ain’t got time to chase nobody.”—Washington Star. THE IRREPRESSIBLE TWAIN Mark Twain used to tell the story to illustrate the value of brevity of speech. Twain began by saying that he went to church on Sunday morning, and the preacher began a passionate appeal to save the heathen. The humorist listened for five minutes and was willing to give fifty dollars. After ten minutes more of listening he reduced it to twentyfive. After another half hour he reduced it to five, finally when the plate was passed Twain took two dollars out of the collection. IMPERIALLY SPEAKING Emperor Charles V was one time attending Holy Mass, when he was informed that the ambassador of a foreign power had arrived and begged to be received immediately. The Emperor sent this message: “Tell the ambassador that I myself am notv being received.” JULY, 1947 17 This may shock you, but it’s true! Confessions of a Catholic Newspaperman By Cirilo Mendoza IF YOU WANT to be a news paperman and make money at the same time, don’t call your self a Catholic newspaperman. It doesn’t pay. Publishers will shrug their shoulders and smile inward ly if you talk of Catholic publica tions as sound financial risks. “Don’t be a fool,” they’ll tell you. “Who ever heard of a Ca tholic magazine that ever made money? Why, it’s one of the most graceless tasks to sell a Catholic publication to a Catholic people.” And with that comment they dis miss tlje subject. Not quite believing that the situation can be as bad as that, you see somebody who actually runs a Catholic newspaper. “Better think twice before you ask for a job on a Catholic news paper,” he’ll tell you. “Newspa permen in the Philippines, as a general rule, are underpaid. Ca tholic newspapermen follow the general rule; only they’re more If you are a young journalist just starting in the game, brim ming with ideals on working for the Catholic Press, this will be a distinct shock to you. But at least if you still want to go ahead and work for a Catholic publica tion, you will do so with both eyes wide open. By now you, dear reader, will probably be wondering why peo ple go on working for a Catholic paper. That question we shall try to answer for you. Fools When I secured my first job on a Catholic publication, my editor told me, right off the bat: “Now that you’re in, you’re a fool just like the rest of us.” Of course my eyebrows came up and I looked at him with ques tion-marks in my eyes. “Look at it this way, sonny-boy,” he told me. “Anybody who's will ing to do a man's work nowadays for a dog’s wages is a fool. That's what you’re going to do from now on. And, take it from an old fool, you’re going to like it.” Maybe I’ve painted the finan cial side of a Catholic newspaper 18 THE CROSS man’s life too darkly. I’m not im plying that Catholic publishers violate every tenet on Social Just ice preached by the Popes. You need not starve on the kind of salary they’ll give you; but you can give up your dreams of retiring, a rich man, after twen ty years of hard work. Because that, my budding journalist, will only happen if you switch to an other line where the lucre gleams more plentifully. Principles Any newspaperman, who still sticks to a Catholic publication after, say, one year of hard work, will always remain an idealist at heart. Otherwise he won’t last very long and, in all probability, will give up most, if not all, of his Catholic principles on journal ism and switch to a secular paper. Catholic newspapermen, most of them anyway, stick to their jobs because they believe their type of publications is necessary. A Ca tholic newspaper, for example, must be run along lines stricter than those followed by the secular press. For one thing, you can’t build up your newspaper through what is popularly dubbed as “yellow journalism.” You can’t use start ling headlines on murder, arson, or corruption simply because you want people to buy your paper on the strength of your headline. Nor can you sacrifice a single one of your principles even if it means losing a fat advertising contract or antagonizing some powerful group. You can’t use “cheesecake” pic tures indiscriminately to build up your circulation. And, last but not least, the expression of aijy per sonal opinion or the printing of an opinionated story (always dangerous for any newspaper) is doubly dangerous in a Catholic publication because readers will automatically identify your stand with that of the Catholic Church. After eliminating j’yellow jour nalism” with its screamingly sensational headlines, near-libel, “cheesecake” pictorials, and sto ries tinged with personal opinion, you have very little left with which to make your Catholic pub lication agreeable to the public taste. As a matter of fact, the whole business boils down to this: You have nothing but the truth to. give to your readers. And how many people are there even among Catholics, who always like the truth? So the best you can do is make the truth as attrac tive as possible. In short, you work along the same principle as JULY, 1947 19 do the manufacturers of the sugar-coated medicine pill. Growth of the Catholic Press The funny thing about the Ca tholic Press is that, inspite of all the difficulties which it has to meet, it is constantly growing. At present there are four Catholic publications which are national in scope. With the exception of one of them, the Santisimo Rosario which is published by the Domi nicans in Manila, all of them are being published through the ini tiative of Catholic laymen. In the not-too-distant past all Catholic publications were fi nanced exclusively and propagated* usually by members of the clergy. This is no longer true nowadays. The Philippines Commonweal, for example, which has the offi cial title of “National Catholic Weekly of the Philippine Repub lic” is being published by Ramon A. Tagle. The policies of the newspaper, of course, are still drawn in their general outlines, by the Bishops of the Philippines. But entire financial responsibility rests on the shoulders of a lay man. That a simple Catholic, not a priest, should be willing to shoulder this responsibility, is a healthy sign for the Catholic Press. The same thing is true for this magazine. Censorship of articles involving faith and morals is of course done by a competent cen sor, but the operation of the ma gazine rests ih the hands of an editorial board, the vast majority of which is composed of laymen. Filipinas is likewise run by a group composed largely of lay men. The active management of this magazine is in the hands df“ the Reverend George Willmann, a genial Jesuit who is largely re sponsible for the sound standing of the magazine at present. The rest of the staff, however, is com posed of Catholic laymen, most of them young, and all of them willing enough to work for the Catholic Press. The total circulation of these four Catholic publications at pre sent will not go beyond thirtyfive thousand. But compared to the circulation they had a year ago, the progress that has been made is encouraging. It is no longer quite true that selling a Catholic publication to a Catholic people is a thankless task, ffilipinos are becoming used to the idea of seeing Catholic publications standing side by side with specimens of the secular press. And there is no reason why someday Catholic newspapers and magazines should not rank among the most influential pe riodicals in this country. This, at le?st, is what every CathoMc newspaperman believes. That is what he lives for. Some times that’s what he dies for. At any rate, your Catholic news paperman is not as big a fool as he^seems to be. 20 THE CROSS RELIGION AND VD By Rev. Alejandro Olalia Church Representative to the National VD Control Council A common and widely acknow ledged manifestation of a break down in the morality of our peo ple in the postwar period is found in the increase and rampancy of commercialized prostitution, espe cially in the large cities of the country. This epidemic of crime and vice is the source of many social and communicable diseases that are presenting to the nation an extraordinarily complex pro blem. The treatment of venereal di sease contracted by those who are victimized by this vicious traffic costs the nation several hundred thousand pesos yearly, but the greatest cost of all, which money cannot redeem, is the loss of health both in soul and body. With a view to remedying this social malady, a National Vene real Control was created in Mani la a year ago under the chairman ship of the Secretary of the De partment of Health and Public Welfare. Since then the Council haB been very active in the study of the real causes of this vice and the preventive measures neces sary to stamp it out altogether or at least, to keep it under con trol. Prostitution is found in all na tions of the world. Several prac tices and methods have been ex cogitated in foreign countries to deal with prostitution, but all of them have failed to produce the desired results. The United States has tried all systems, from main taining segregated districts to law enforcement, any yet no one would dare to deny the existence of this age-long evil in that coun try. During the first world war General Pershing wrote: "Many of us who have experimented with licensed prostitution or kindred measures, hoping thereby to min imize the physical evils, have been forced to the conclusion that they are really ineffective.” The preventive measures usual ly adopted now-a-days are based merely on naturalism which re fuses to recognize the inborn weakness of human nature caused by the fall of the first man. Fur thermore, naturalism entirely ig nores the experience of facts. From this it is clear that intel lectual ignorance is by no means JULY, 1947 21 the principal cause of bad habits; rather are they due to the weak ness of the human will when un supported by divine grace. The defenders of .naturalism strongly advocate that man can be forearmed against vice by purely natural means, without the help of God, such as a timely in itiation at an early age to oc casions, to which he is expected to accustom himself and thereby be made invulnerable against such dangers. History, however, tells us that the principles of natural ism have failed in the solution of the problem under consideration. The only remedy that really goes deep into the root of this social cancer is the divine teach ing of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Our common efforts will not fully at tain their objective unless we give religion its proper place in our campaign against venereal disease, and unless people are convincing ly taught to give the supernatur al its proper value in their every day life. There are two commandments in the decalogue that, if faithful ly obeyed by man, will certainly free the world from all this social trouble. Eternal happiness, is prohiised to those who keep them and endless punishment to the of fenders. “Do not err,” says St. Paul, “neither fornicators, nor adulterers ... nor the effemin ate ... shall possess the kingdom of God." God who has given the commandments promises His help and grace abundantly. And with the grace of God man can easily fulfill the divine command. Man must have ever present in his mind a Christian attitude to wards his body. This attitude will inspire in him great reverence. For St. Paul teaches us that our bodies are members of Christ. When the regenerating waters of Baptism flow over the body, it becomes something sacred; it be comes the temple of the Holy Spirit. If then the body belongs to Christ, man has no right to use it for sin. Moreover, the human body is destined to be glorified for all eternity. This truth is surely a great appeal to keep the body always pure. It gives man great hope in the future. The suffer ing of self-restraint so necessary for the preservation of purity here below is rendered less diffi cult by the knowledge that soon the battle will be over and that the reward is great. Man should also know that the most practical and evident ex pression of true and sincere love for Christ is the fulfilment of There are 7,000 bawdy-houses in Manila alone. Venereal disease is on the march. How can we stop it? 22 THE CROSS that difficult commandment, the commandment of purity. Christ says: “If you love me, keep my commandments.” These are a few of the strong motivations that our religion of fers to man in his constant strug gle against the evil inclinations of the flesh. Fear of physical consequences, which is the only motivation of most of the pre sent hygienic programs, is not as effective as it is believed to be. Hence, religion has a very im portant role in the present cam paign against immorality and must be given its proper place and importance in all the activi ties intended to that end. WATCH OUT It was in an assembly, one of the speakers going to tell a shady story, asked, “Are there any ladies present?” looking around sus piciously. To which General Grant curtly replied, “No, but there are gentlemen present.” OUT OF THE MOUTH OF ARABS ... Colonel Laurence of Arabian fame tells how an Arab sheik, after hearing what a Western Astronomer revealed that he had seen in the telescope said, “You foreigners see millions of stars, and nothing be yond. We Arabs see only a few stars and God.” THE ANSWER Some boys were taunting a poor barefooted lad one day, making fun of his Christian faith. They said to him, “If God really l<fves you, why doesn’t He take better of you, why doesn’t He tell somebody to send you a pair of shoes?” The lad seemed puzzled for a moment, then with tears rushing to his eyes, replied, “I think He does tell people, but they are not listen ing.”—Catholic Missions. EMBARASSING MOMENTS A tiny four-year-old was spending a night away from home. At bedtime she knelt at the knee of her hostess to say her prayers, ex pecting the usual prompting. Finding Mrs. Beak unable to help her out, she concluded thus: “Please, God, ’scuse me. I can’t remember my prayers, and I’m staying with a lady who don’t know any.”—Home Herald. JULY, 1947 23 WHO COPIED FROM WHOM? Declaration of Independence 1776 “All men are created equal; they are endowed' by their Creator with certain inalien able rights.’’ “To secure these rights governments are instituted among men.” “Governments are institut ed among men deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.” “Whenever any form of government becomes destruc tive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it and to institute a new government.... Pru dence indeed will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient reasons.” Cardinal Robert Bellarmine 1576 “All men are equal, not in wtsdom or in grace, but in essence and nature of man kind.” “Political right is from God and necessarily in herent in the nature of man.” “It is impossible for men to live together without some one to care for the common good.” ‘‘It depends upon the con sent of the multitude to con stitute over itself a king, con sul or other magistrate. This power is indeed from God but vested in a particular ruler by the council and dic tion of men.” “For legitimate reasons the people can change the gov ernment to an aristocracy or a democracy or vice versa.” “The people never transfers its powei' to a king so com pletely but that it reserves to itself the right of receiving back this power.” Catholic Information Society (Marberth, Pa.) THE CROSS A LETTER TO JESUS Dearest Lord, my God— Thou art the Immortal, mortalized Because of me; I. the mortal, immortalized Because of Thee— What great mystery this of love divine! Unloved, Thou didst die loving me! Whilst I, loved, love not Thee— What great ingratitude is mine! O most celebrated Lover of my soul: Let me be to Thee faithfully grateful, And keep forever in my memory The lesson Thou hast taught me in Calvary, Where, from the pulpit of the Cross Thy words rung true —that to lose One’s life for others is love's greatest form. Now I'm resolved to love Thee as my life's norm. That then I'll be living and dying only for Thee To live happily hereafter in heaven for an Ageless Eternity. Yours for faith, hope and charity, sergio r. alfafara. JULY, 1947 25 CROSS SECTIONS of FILIPINIANA THE DRIVER of a bus on the San Francisco-Quiapo line was heard exhorting his passengers: "All right now, fill up the back seats and act as if you were in church.”—ARJ. AN ARMY CHAPLAIN tells this story which happened during the recapture of Ipo Dam from the holed-up Japanese forces. A young Filipino guerrilla, whose name will never be known, made a gallant dash towards a Jap machine-gun position. Before he had covered fifteen yards, he was cut down by a murderous burst from the machine-gun. Half an hour later he was dragged in by his comrades; his right leg was hanging by a thread of flesh. A young American soldier knelt by the wounded guerrilla to give him a lighted cigarette. “Gee,” he said, “it must be tough losing a leg.” The Filipino smiled wanly, “I didn’t lose it,” he said. “I gave it.”—Cirilo Gatmaitan. ***** A PRELATE in the Philippines is very fond of using energetic language once in a while. A visit ing layman was shocked to hear him flare up once with the re mark, "You can tell them to go to Hades.” "Your Grace,” he spluttered, “isn’t that profanity.” "No, it isn’t,” the prelate shot back. “It’s classical.” AN OLD FARMER walked into the old Agricultural and Indus trial Bank to pay off a mortage on his farm. Hearing of this, a bank official approached the old man to congratulate him for li quidating his debt, when the farm-. er remarked: “Yes, I’m paying off all my debts. They’re the only thing I can buy now and get my money’s worth.”—Jaime Serrado. SCENE: A honky-tonk in down town Manila during the Occupa tion. The place is crowded, and for lack of tables, the following are seated around the same table: An old Filipina, a Japanese offi cer, a very pretty young lady and an officer of the Bureau of Con stabulary. It is night-time. 26 THE CROSS Suddenly the lights go out. In the silence that follows the sudden darkness the following are heard: a resounding kiss, a fist blow and a cry of pain. Then the lights go on again. All four are still seated, except the Japanese officer who is getting up from the floor, rubbing a rapidly blacken ing eye. Each has his own thoughts. The Jap officer: What a smart ferro that Firipin-jin is. He kiss es the young redy and I get brack eye. The old Filipina: What a plucky girl she is. Not every Filipina would dare strike a Japanese of ficer that hard. The young lady: I wonder why the Jap officer kissed that old woman instead of me. For that he deserves the blow. The Filipino constabulary offi cer: What a smart guy I am. The lights go out, I kiss the back of my hand, sock a Jap and get away with it.—Ciriaco Gabriel. A LOVE-LORN YOUNG MAN in Manila, whose girl friend had gone to the United States to con tinue her studies, decided to send her a cablegram on her birthday. After much thought, he gave the receiving clerk the following ca ble: “I love you. I love you. I love you.” The clerk glanced over it with a smile and told the young man: “You can send a ten-word cable for the same cost, you know.” The young man took the slip back and frowned over it for an other ten minutes. Then he gave a grur.t of satisfaction, wrote down something and handed the slip back to the clerk. The tenword cable read: “I love you. I love you. I love you. Regards.”— Geronimo Legaspi. * * * * * A RICH OLD FARMER in Tansa, Cavite was planning to get married again. He confided his secret to a friend. "Do you think," he asked at length, “that I would have a better chance if I told the girl I was fifty instead of sixtyfive?” “Frankly, Pareng Pidiong,” was the answer, “you would have a better chance if you told her you were seventy-five.” — Ernesto Re yes. Yes Sir! A girl, who had become, a zeal ous deaconess, was asked by Fa ther Thompkins one day “why she became a Protestant?” “Oh,” she replied, “I’ve learned all about the ignorance and dark ness of the Catholic Church.” “Very good. For instance, what did you learn?” “Why, about — about indulgen ces, for example.” “Oh yes. What did you learn an indulgence is?” “An indulgence is a piece of paper that you buy, and then you can eat meat." Light Cavalry—H. de la Costa, SJ. JULY, 1947 27 What's Your Moral I. Q. ? Conscience and Morality 1. What is conscience? 2. Must one always follow his own conscience? 3. Tony believes that the use of “damn” and “hell” is sinful, and nonetheless deliberately uses them. Is his conscience correct? Does he commit a sin? 4. Nellie sincerely thinks she should eat the remains of the meat dinner of Holy Thursday on Good Friday, so that such a large quantity of food will not be wasted. Does she do wrong? 5. In order to keep his sons from using vulgar language, Mr. Jose tells them that it is mortal sin to speak this way. Is his advice com mendable? 6. Guillermo reads a novel without realizing that it is a book for bidden by the Church. When he learns the truth, his conscience begins to trouble him. Must he confess that he read the book? 7. Marta thinks she remembers hearing her English teacher say that a certain novel is on the Church’s Index of Fofbidden Books, but there are other good reasons for thinking that this is not so. Is she justified in reasoning, “I may read the novel, for a doubtful law does not bind”? 8. Since Roberto is not sure whether it is a holyday of obligation or not, he does not go to Mass. Does he commit a sin? 9. Maria’s watch says 11:55 P.M. and Erlinda’s 12:05 A.M., just as they finish a midnight snack. May they go to Communion in the morning? 10. Elena is told by her confessor that she is scrupulous in think ing that it is wrong to go to school dances. What should she do if her conscience still bothers her? (Answers on page 29) THE CROSS 2S What Kind of a Theologian Are You? Give yourself 10 points for oetoh. of the 10 questions which you ans wer correctly. If you score 95-100, give yourself an SCL (summa cum laude) ;90-95, an MCL (magnet cum laude); 85-90, a CL (cum laude); 80-85, a BP (bene probatus); 70-80, a P (probatus); 0-70, an NP (non probatus or flopperoop The Blessed Trinity 1. When did Our Lord say: “But when the Advocate has come, whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness concerning me"7 2. Is it of divine and Catholic faith that in the one true God; ' (a) there are three persons but one substance, essence or nature; (b) these three persons are cosnbstantial, coequal, coeternal; (c) the Son proceeds from the Father alone? 3. Are these three persons (a) really distinct from each other; (b) really distinct from the divine essence; (c) three parts of one God? 4. All three persons have identically the same (a) intellect; (b) will; (c) perfection. 5. Is it true that (a) whatever the Father has He has from. Him self; (b) whatever the Son has He has from the Father alone; (c) whatever the Holy Spirit has He has from the Son alone? 6. Are we sure that (a) the Father is wholly in the Son and in the Holy Spirit; (b) the Son is wholly in the Father and in the Holy Spirit; (c) the Holy Spirit is wholly in the Father and in the Son? 7. Is it heretical to say that the Father (a) has given the Son only part of His substance; (b) precedes the Son in eternity; (c) ex ceeds the Holy Spirit in glory? 8. Is it true that (a) the Son proceeds from the intellect of the Father; (b) the Holy Ghost proceeds by way of spiration? 9. Natural human reason can demonstrate that God is (a) one simple substance; (b) three persons; (c) only three persons. 10. The Trinity is denied by (a) Jews; (b) Mohammedans; (c) Unitarians; (d) Orthodox Christians; (e) Jehovah’s Witnesses. (Answers on page 29) JULY, 1947 MORAL I. Q. ANSWERS 1. Conscience is the judgment about the moral goodness or bad ness of an action here and now to be performed, 2. Yes. One's own conscience is the final norm of the righteous ness of an action. However, one must try to form his conscience in accordance 'with God’s law and right reason. 3. His conscience is erroneous, but he must follow it. He does commit a sin when he deliberately uses these words because of his erroneous conscience. 4. The action itself is wrong, but Nellie does right in following her conscience. 5. No. He does wrong in exaggerating, and harms his boys by creating in them an erroneous conscience. 6. No. A sin is committed only when one realizes that the action here and now being performed is wrong. 7. She does wrong unless she has taken reasonable means to re solve a doubt. Reasonable means for Marta would be to ask a priest or a teacher in a Catholic school. 8. Yes. Roberto sins if he did not try to find out whether it was really a holyday or not. 9. They may go to Communion provided there are good reasons for believing that Maria’s watch is correct, even if there also are good reasons for thinking otherwise. 10. She should always follow the advice of her confessor. —Adapted from the Queen’s Work Answers to Dogma Quiz —Adapted from The Queen s Work 1. At the Last Supper. 6. a, b, c — Yes. 2. a, b, c — Yes. 7. a, b, c — Yes. 3. a—Yes. b—No. c—No. 8. a—Yes. b^-Yes. 4. a, b, c — Yes. 9. a—Yes. b—No. c—No. 5. a—Yes. b—Yes. c—No. 10. a—Yes. b—Yes. c—Yes. d—No. e—Yes. THE CROSS How an orphanage was swindled Swindler's On the outskirts of Manila is a little orphanage run by .Catholic Sisters. It lies off the national highway which runs north of the city and houses a few hundred children who have been abandoned by their own parents and from their tenderest years have known no other, except the gentle Sisters. This is the story of how this little orphanage was swindled, and how the culprit got away. It also tells how he tried to “pull” the same trick on another Catholic convent but made a little mistake. And this is the story of how he got away again. The Sacks of Rice Last March the Superior in charge of the Orphanage was glancing through her mail when she came to a letter that sent her into as great a fit of happiness as her quiet nature could muster. The letter was brief and to point; it was. signed by a "Mrs. Canlas” who was supposed to be the wife of the governor of Da vao. The letter simply stated that the good lady had 100 sacks of rice to spare, and these she was I nterlude By Jesus Ruiz donating to the orphanage. An a matter of fact, if the letter was to be believed, the rice at the time should already have been in tran sit and headed for Manila. The Mother Superior was so glad that she asked the Sister's working with her to offer their Holy Communions in thanksgiving for the great gift. To understand the magnitude of this joy, the reader will have to consider this: the orphanage had suffered a dis astrous fire in February and its food-stocks had been eaten up by the flames. Enter: “Carlos Canlas” On March 16 a young man came to the orphanage. Describing him later, one of the Good Sisters said that he was youngish-looking, had a pleasant face and a stocky build. He was just a little over five feet tall, his eyes were Chinese, and he "talked very plausibly.” 'Anyway he introduced himself as Carlos Canlas, a "nephew” of the Mrs. Canlas who was donat ing the 100 sacks of rice. The Sisters, of course, were extremely glad to see him. Had he brought the rice with him? they asked. JULY, 1947 31 “I’m sorry I haven’t got the rice with me, Mother,” he told the Superior. Probably seeing the very distinct disappointment in their eyes, he went on quickly, “But it’s been shipped from Davao al ready.” Then he explained how, enroute to Luzon, the ship carry ing the rice had been “stalled” at Calapan, Mindoro. The Sisters brightened up at this. “But that isn’t so bad,” they exclaimed with relief. “We could store the rice with the S.V.D. Fa thers in Calapan, and then just draw on them whenever we need the rice.” “It isn’t as easy as that,” Car los Canlas broke in. He hastened to explain that the rice had come with a shipment of copra, onethird of which was his. The co pra itself was bound for Manila, and it would be more convenient for him if the rice itself was not separated from the rest of the cargo. “The truth of the matter, Mo ther,” he explained to the Supe rior, “is that I haven’t got enough money to pay for trans portation expenses from Mindoro to Manila.” He took out a list of figures and after a moment’s consultation, said, “I’m short ex actly 1*200.00.” Believing him implicitly the Mo ther Superior said that she would be only too willing to give him the additional 1*200.00. She got out the money and counted it out to him. Thanking her profusely, Carlos Canlas took his leave. This would have been a beauti ful story if, say, a week later, 100 sacks of rice had actually come to the orphanage. Bait the sordid truth is this: Nothing more was heard again, either of the young man or of the rice. The story, however, has a sequel. Another Try Late last May another Catholic congregation, which runs a school for girls in Manila, received a let ter which, too, contained an offer “to donate” rice. Shortly after, the same young man appeared at the Manila convent. Thia time he introduced himself as “Carlos Zulueta,” and claimed that he was a nephew of Secretary of Interior Jose Zulueta. He explained to the Mathers that he ' had a shipment of 300 sacks of rice coming from Davao which die wanted to donate-to the con vent. Unfortunately, the ship bearing the cereaf had been “stall ed” at Bohol, and he did not have enough money to cover transport ation expenses from Bohol to When the Sisters running the orphanage received a let ter from Davao, things were bound to happen. Then along came “Carlos Canlas” ... 32 THE CROSS Manila. Taking out a very fam iliar list of expenses, he said that he lacked exactly 1*450.00. Actual expenses would come up to Pl 150, he said, but he already had P700.00. Then he made his mistake. “I don’t blame you if you don't trust me at all, Mother,” he told the Sub-Prioress. “But if you want to find out anything about me, I suggest that you look up Mother------------ at the-----------Orphanage. You see, I was able to secure 300 sacks of rice for them.” He went on to explain, in de tail, what a great friend he had been of the Superior of the Con vent which he had formerly swin dled. He did not of course men tion the last detail. “Before she left for the States,” he confided, “I went to a lot of trouble and secured fifteen differ ent kinds of orchids from Minda nao for her.” Wishing to check up on her story, the Sub-Prioress told him to come back at 5 o’clock that same afternoon; she would have the money ready for him then. Discovery As soon as she left, the cau tious Sub-Prioress sped to the Or phanage to check up on Zulueta. She, of course, was told the sad truth. One of the Sisters offered to go with her and confront the swindler with the facts. They even planned to call for a plainclothesman so Zulueta could be arrested, but decided to wait until he would show up before calling in the police. They left for the Convent. Meanwhile five o’clock had sounded and “Carlos Zulueta” was waiting restlessly for the Sub-Prioress to show up with the money. He looked at his watch; she was late. Perhaps his mistake showed up glaringly; anyway, he realized that she must have gone to the Orphanage to check up on his story. “He left a few minutes ago,” the Sub-Prioress and the Sister from the Orphanage were told when they arrived. “He seemed very restless "and hurried away without leaving any message.” So that was how Carlos Canlas alias Zulueta made good his escape. Nothing has been heard of him since; but he may try again. Next time he will be caught. In the Philippines, too What this country needs is dirt ier finger nails and cleaner minds. —Will Rogers. JULY, 1947 33 Displaced persons form one of Europe’s touchiest problems DP's Are People Rev. Fabian Flynn, C. P. AFTER the first world war they were referred to as refugees. It is a harsh-sounding word but a word with unmistakable meaning. However, our enlightened age now has dubbed them DP’s—displaced persons. The term has an impersonal, almost clinical, sound and signifi cance, hasn’t it? Surely, a more cleverly designed sugar-coating or more deceptive euphemism cannot be imagined. What is a DP—that nameless, often stateless, long-suffering hu man of whom you read and hear so much, whose plight is a stench in the nostrils of decency and justice? Is he a refugee? He is indeed, and a lot more. His great crime was that he and his family and his home stood innocently in the path of onrushing conquer ing armies in the maddest, most cruel, most brutally mechanistic and soulless war in all human his tory. Thousands of him are the weary, bewildered, and half starved liberated inmates of Nazi concentration camps. Liber ated from prison routine, but still prisoners in the political potboil that is Europe. Thousands of DP’s were ruth lessly torn from their homes and families and livelihoods and de ported to far-off places as slave laborers in the Nazi war machine. They are still slaves, pushed hi ther and yon at the whim of the conqueror. Other thousands axe the victims of a vicious and satanically planned program of whole sale mass exile wherein entire populations are uprooted and driven forth from homes and lands inhabited for hundreds of years. This horrid social and economic immorality is condoned even by our own United States Govern ment. Thousands are helpless victims caught in the mad maze of the border and boundary squabbles of our amateur geo-politicians and self-appointed, hate-inspired re makers of the map of Europe. The DP is certainly the great est contemporary challenge to mankind's sense of charity and justice, and most worthy of help and understanding. Yet, current 34 THE CROSS ly the DP is a pawn in the hands of selfish, power-mad, territory grabbing despots and politicians. The DP is a “nuisance” to the oc cupying armies. The DP is a pos session much sought after by gangster totalitarian governments. The DP presents the world with one of its most pressing postwar problems. Who is he? Let’s make a quick tour around a DP camp. It is a former concentration camp. The hateful barbed wire still sur rounds it, the same indecerft over crowding continues in the bar racks, the same foul-smelling makeshift toilets stand, the food is a bit better and the mounted machine guns are gone. The in mates are free! They have held meetings and elected their little local committees and governments. They have turned a warehouse in to a chapel, simply but tastefully decorated. They have begun a school for their children. A few of them, perhaps, have picked up jobs with the occupying army as translators, waiters and waitres ses, guards, chauffeurs, etc. The rest try to occupy themselves with the many small everyday tasks about the enclosure. But it is a depressing life that often be gets despair. Here is a young woman sewing a tablecloth. One day, five years ago as she sat in her convent classroom learning embroidery from the good Sisters, a loud knocking was heard at the door and in stepped a Gestapo of ficer. He looked about, beckoned to her and several other girls to follow him. The distraught Sister expostulated but was roughly pushed aside. She and the other girls were herded into a freight car that night and, after a threeday journey, found themselves ip a mill town in Prussia. There sho worked making cartridges until the war was over. Her father was killed by the Russians. She does not know whether or where her mother and little brother live. Torn from her home and loved ones when just a little girl, she is now a young woman who knows not where to turn. There, walking across the qua drangle, is a priest who somehow survived three years at Dachau. To the end of his days he will bear the indelible marks of three years of torture. So long as he lives will he remember the one thousand and three hundred of Jus fellow priests who died in that infamous charnel-prison. Never can he forget the smell of their burning bodies or the inhu All over the European continent wander thousands of men and women. Cold, starving slowly to death, they refuse to go home. Why? JULY, 1947 35 man, worse than cannibal, “ex periments” to which they were subjected before death finally rescued them and cheated' their jailers of further inhumanities. Standing at the door of the rough-hewn chapel is another priest who spent the war as a forced laborer. He shoveled gar bage in a soap-rendering plant in Hamburg. Sitting at that window is a for mer university professor. He too was forced to heavy manual la bor. Frail and weak looking, he will never again be healthy. There is a group of young wo men on their way to an Ameri can Army mess where they are waitresses. The dull, gray-co lored maid’s uniforms were made from a bolt of casket lining. Of the thousands who died at the hands of the Nazi madmen, very few were buried in caskets. That, perhaps, may explain the slight surplus of this macabre material. Why doesn’t the DP go home? The war is over. Why doesn’t he return to his native land begin to pick up the pieces? The DP wants to go back. But in most cases he cannot or dares not. His native land is now ruled by ano ther dictator or totalitarian group usually more despotic than that which sentenced him to his pre sent plight. He knows that to re turn would mean further perse cution, cruel erile, or perhaps death. Would you go back? That first priest we saw—the one who survived Dachau—is go ing to conduct devotions. Before leaving the camp, let’s join the congregation. We kneel in one of the crude, rough-hewn pews and gaze around quietly and respect fully. Nearly everyone is there. Kneeling humbly and devoutly they present a memorable picture. Their worn and patched clothing has been washed clean, for des pite tortures and many wander ings, one must not lose respectabi lity. Gaily colored squares of cloth cover the women’s head, and the little girls wear berets. One is immediately impressed by the large representation of men. The Rosary is recited with genuine fervor. All join in the traditional hymns. At the solemn moment when the monstrance is raised aloft it is as if Our Blessed Lord “look ing upon” another multitude, up on whom He would have us to have compassion. At the conclu sion all stand and sing their na tional anthem. But, by virtue of an ancient and beautiful custom, it is a version that is sung only in church. Yes, faith they still have. It was faith that made whole the man in the Gospel. It may be in faith that these .innocent, brok en, and scattered people will be made whole again in a Europe and a world where charity, peace, and justice will reign. THE CROSS The Bride Was Fifty-Two VERMONT during the Japa nese occupation was a quiet street cutting across the midriff of Malate. It was more than a street, though; it was real ly a* demarcation line between the filthy slums and the swank re sidential section that characterized the two extremes of metropolitan society. Turning right from Taft Ave nue, as long as you kept your eyes glued to the right side of the street, you saw nothing but the mansions that made pre-Liberation Malate one of the show places of Manila. The wrong side of the thoroughfare, however, was different: just a long line of cheap, rambling accessorias, stark and barn-like, that rolled along, block after block. There was a little Chinese store on the corner of Vermont and Georgia. And as you passed this coming from Taft Avenue, you came to a little alley that wormed its way into the heart of the slums. It was flanked by a tiny dilapidated house, windows fringed with cheap print curtains, and an unpainted accessoria that might By Mercedes Mercado have been new once but which never could have seen better days. You could turn left on this alley if you weren’t too squeamish about getting green slime and the waste of dogs and little children on the soles of your shoes. Straight ahead you ended up against a tall, thin house that held a dozen families, one to each It was here that Mang Tino lived with his -wife. Anybody who wanted to see Mang Tino had to skirt the filthy canal bordering the facade like a tiny, ineffectual moat. 'Its dirty water turned around the left cor ner of the house and hugged the side till it reached the muddy backyard where it served as ha bitat for a million flies before dumping itself -into a cesspool. The back of the house was solid, gray-lgoking even on the brightest day, with dark patches of shadow where the sketchy door and windows leered at you with sunken eyes. The door opened in to a dark passageway, punctuated by commas of sunlight filtering JULY. 1947 37 in through chinks in the walls and ceiling. On the right was a series of doors, the second open ing into Mang Tino’s room. The first thought that struck you as you stepped across the threshold was how anything so neat could exist in a neighbor hood so dirty. The room was small, barely ten feet on each side, but every inch of ,the wood en floor was as shiny as constant rubbing with banana leaves and a bit of tallow could make it. The interior was bare of furni ture except for a creaking table and a pair of decrepit chairs that groaned warningly as they received your weight. In one cor ner were two old wooden chests, shiny with age; they held all the possessions of Mang Tino and his wife. The walls were colorful; practically every inch was cov ered with pictures of simpering girls stripped from magazine cov ers, and saints in ecstasy, the kind you can get from any stall in any church square in Manila. What space was free was covered by a calendar, a dimpled baby pasted on its face, as fresh as it had been in 1941 when the calen dar had first been begged from some Chinese grocery. 1 am not going to tell you too much of Mang Tino’s story. Suf fice it to say that he was sixty seven years old when I first met him in the course of my Legion ary work. Almost every time I visited him he would be curled up in a corner mat, pale and sweat ing, hugging his sides because his diseased bladder was torment ing him again. His common-law wife was fif ty-two; she supported him and herself by taking in laundry work. Every time I smell the salty-fresh, starchy odor of new ly-pressed clothes I remember her. They had been living together for twenty-five years without benefit of clergy when I met them; they had one daughter, aged nineteen, whom I never met; she worked at a bar in one of Manila’s cheaper downtown sec tions. Mang Tino was vociferous in his objections when I first brought up the subject of marriage. “Child,” he told me, "for twen ty years Teriang and I have lived without marriage; now we are old and of nd use will our getting married be.” And again: “But, child, we have no money. To get a marriage li He was sixty-seven, and she was fifty-two. Perhaps they were too old for marriage. But stranger things than this have happened, and so... THE CROSS cense, you need money; when you go to the priest for the ceremony, you need money. Then there are friends to be invited, for what good is getting married if you cannot feed your friends? Money, money all the time. And if you have none, daughter, what can you do?” And after all these questions had been answered came the real Teason for his reluctance: “Daughter, I am ashamed to mar ry the mother of my child. The neighbors will laugh at me.” I shall never forget the day on which the old couple finally made their marriage vows. They looked so happy that day, almost as if they were telling themselves, “Now we can look God into the face again.” They came to the church when dusk was falling, be cause they were afraid their neighbors might notice that they were all dressed up and ask too many questions. After being baptized condition ally, both of them made their First Confession; then they were married. Who knows? Perhaps they were as happy then as a young couple just seeing the first rosiness of their future together. Aling Teriang was as nervous as any young bride, and Mang Tino acted like a traditional bride groom. As we wended our way home in the growing darkness, Aling Te riang placed a timid hand around her husband’s arm. “Tino,” she whispered because she did not want me to hear, "let us walk in the Boulevard before we go home. Like a honeymoon, Tino, please.” Mang Tino shrugged his shoul ders impatiently. “Stop talking like a silly bride, Teriang. You know that is not for old people like us.” “Please, <Tino,” she begged him, clinging to his arm. Now only have I asked you to do such a thing.” For a moment Mang Tino’s pace became slower. Then he shrugged his shoulders and muttered, fero ciously, “Lightning!” “But, Tino,” she pleaded, “it will be the nearest thing to a honeymoon that we will have be fore we die. Perhaps also we can pretend that we are young.” For the second time Mang Tino faltered in his pace. “Ligh'tning!” he exclaimed again, but there was something caressing in the way his tongue rolled over the words. He turned to me, as if he wanted to say something. But I never heard him; I went on ahead. I knew I was going home alone. After a while I looked behind. I could still see their figures in the darkness that was rapidly snuffing out the rosy gleam of twilight. They turned back and he was holding her hand. They were going for that walk along the Boulevard. JULY, 1947 39 Let us implement the “Four Freedoms’! An International Bill Of Rights That the human person in so ciety has inalienable rights has always been recognized by Christ ian moralists. Formal bills of rights, however, have been the achievements of politically mature peoples who strove to safeguard the free exercise of their inalien able rights against the caprice of a tyrant — “to the end that it may be a government of laws and not of men.” It should be a welcome sign of general progress that the rights of man everywhere are coming to be the common concern of those governments and peoples who have regard for the human person. This is well indicated in such an au thoritative statement as that of Mr. Stettinius—then Secretary of State of the United States—.who remarked in May, 1945 at San Francisco: “As long as rights and freedoms are denied to some, the rights and freedoms of all are endangered.” The movement for an Interna tional Declaration on Human Rights is substantial and is rapid ly increasing. Historically, per haps, it is motivated by reaction against the totalitarian system By Tibor Payzs over which the recent victory was won and which represented a denial of the dignity of the hu man person. Perhaps it is also motivated by the sincere desire of the West to liberate a large por tion of human society from an atheistic and materialistic social philosophy, to which some men acquiesce only because of ignor ance or compulsion. The present preoccupation with human rights and fundamental freedoms does not seem to be flowing from the individualistic thought of nineteenth-century bourgeois liberalism, for, apart from the conservative rights (civic and political rights, such as free dom of speech or religious wor ship, equality before the law or properly rights), the more pro gressive rights (economic and so cial rights, like the right to pro per conditions of labor, to social security, to health measures) are also a matter of general concern. The gradual recognition of these progressive rights is the product of a more recent epoch of social welfare. Christians are not without guid ance as to what should be pro 40 THE CROSS perly considered the rights of man. Several social encyclicals and other pronouncements of the Popes leave no doubt on the mat ter. An especially clear enumer ation of personal rights may be found in the 1942 Christmas mes sage of Pope Pius XII: He who would have the star of peace shine out and stand over society... he should uphold respect for, and the practical realization of, the following fundamental personal rights: the right to maintain and deve lop one’s corporal, intellectual and moral life, and especially the right to religious formation and education; the right to wor ship God in private and publjc and to carry on religious works of charity; the right to marry and to achieve the aim of mar ried life; the right to conjugal and domestic society; the right to work, as the indispensable means toward the maintenance of family life; the right to free choice of a state of life, and hence, too, of the priesthood or religious life; the right to the use of material goods, in keep ing with his duties and social limitations. The Christmas message of 1944 also declares the fundamental pol itical rights of a citizen in a dem ocracy: To express his own .views of the duties and sacrifices that are imposed on him; not com pelled to obey without being heard: these are two rights of the citizen which find in demo cracy, as its name implies, their expression. While the rights of the human person are fundamentally univer sal and invariable, changing con ditions make specific elaborations desirable, with particular atten tion to economic and social rights in our own age. This is reflected in the teachings of such a philo sopher of the Thomist tradition as Jacques Maritain who, in his The Rights of Man and Natural Law, enumerates the rights of the hu man person as such, the rights of the civic person and the rights of the social person and, more par ticularly, of the working person. In the last two decades several organizations of unofficial char acter have made suggestions for the uniform adoption by all mem bers of the society of nations of an International Declaration of Rights of man. The Institute of International Law, for one, adopt ed such a Declaration in 1929; in 1943, the American Law Institute appointed a Committee to draft a Statement of Essential Rights. Other organizations have also undertaken the task. The most recent unofficial International Bill of Human Rights was prepared and adopted by the Executive Committee of the Committee on Human Rights of the Commission to Study the Organization of Peace. JULY, 1947 Official international organiza tions also have made declarations recognizing the inviolability of the human person and the rights proper to human dignity. Some of these international organiza tions, however, have limited func tions or are confined to a definite geographical region of the globe.. The International Labor Organ ization is such an agency with a limited scope of functions; its Philadelphia Charter was drafted in 1944. Lasting peace, the ILO declares, can be established only if based on social justice. And, further: All human beings, irrespective of race, creed and sex, have the right to pursue their material well-being and their spiritual development in conditions of freedom and dignity, of econo mic security and equal oppor tunity. The attainment of these ends must be the central aim of na tional and of international policy, according to the ILO. Concerning human rights in the hemispheric scene, the system of American republics is a regional arrangement. The American re publics held their Inter-American Conference on Problems of War and Peace at Mexico City in Feb ruary, 1946. Abiding by a resolu tion of this conference, the Inter American Juridical Committee submitted on December 31, 1945 a Draft Declaration of the Interna tional Rights and Duties of Man to the Governments of the Re publics of the Western Hemi sphere. The Draft Declaration contains twenty-one articles deal ing with human rights, civil rights, economic and social rights. It i6 accompanied by a Report which states: The protection of the funda mental rights of men in every land may be regarded from two distinct points of view. In the first1 place, it is an essential condition of friendly cooperation between nations. ... In the sec ond place, the protection of the fundamental rights of man within each state is part of the larger objective of developing the individual human being as a free, self-reliant and responsi ble member of the international community... In the larger, world sphere a purposeful development is shaping for international protection of human rights and for the draft ing of an international bill of rights within the framework of the United Nations. The Charter of the UN was drafted at the San Francisco Conference, officially the United Nations Conference on International Organization, from April 26 to June 26, 1946. Some delegations, particularly those of Cuba, Panama and Uruguay, sug gested the immediate adoption by the Conference of a Declaration of the Rights and Duties of the 42 THE CROSS Individual, or a Charter of Man kind. At that time, however, it was found feasible not to go be yond some general statements re garding human rights in the Charter. So, among the purposes of the United Nations, the desire is included to achieve internation al cooperation “in promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental free doms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language or reli gion.’’ Similar preoccupation with human rights recurs at several other points in the Charter. The implementation of human rights laid down in the Charter is entrusted primarily to' four of the six principal organs of the United Nations — that is, to the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council, the Trustee ship Council and the Secretariat. Actual work falls most heavily on the Economic and Social Council, which has a Commission on Hu man Rights, with sub-commis sions on the Protection of Minori ties, on the Prevention of Discri mination (on grounds of race, sex, language or religion) and on Freedom of Information and of the Press. There is also a Com mission cn the Status of Women. The responsibilities of other Com missions of the Economic and1 So cial Council consider human wejfare, but are perhaps less direct ly .concerned with human rights. The General Assembly has au thority over both the Economic and Social Council and the Trust eeship Council. Among the several standing committees of the Gen.eral Assembly, one of them, the Social, Humanitarian and Cultu ral Committee (third committee), is to give assistance toward the realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms. In addition, the activities of several departments of the Sec retariat of the United Nations are related to human rights. The Secretariat is now working.on the compilation and publication of a Year Book on law and usage re lating to human rights. It-is obvious from the above ac count that there is no lack of organization within the UN for the promotion and encouragement of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, and for the future adoption of a Declara tion of the Rights of Man. Con sequently the attainment of the goal—the regard for fundamental human rights everywhere — is more of a political than an or JULY, 1947 43 ganizational problem. But the United Nations is not a world government. It is an or ganization of sovereign states. Its authority is limited. It is not “to intervene in matters which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any state." After the adoption by'the members of a Declaration of the Rights of Man it still will be primarily the task of sovereign governments to in. terpret and. promote such rights. The adoption of the Declaration will certainly be followed by in ternational machinery to which individual persons or groups of persons may have recourse in case their rights are encroached upon by their own governments. The actual machinery may be in the form of an International Court of Human Rights. The dif ficulties, however, of such ap peals to an international arbiter are quite obvious. Those persons, especially, who are living under governments not genuinely demo cratic may face hardships. The history of international relations is not without precedents in this respect. After World War I the Minorities Protection Treaties were signed between Central Eu ropean and Balkan States on one side, and the principal Allied and Associated Powers on the other. Obligations were undertaken in these treaties concerning the rights of minorities. The Council of the League of Nations was charged with the supervision. The project as a whole was not a suc cess. Neither was the guarantee of pertain fundamental rights of the backward peoples under the Man date System of . the League of Nations a success. The limited achievements of these experiments in the international protection of human rights may serve, how. ever, as valuable lessons for the future. Naturally, the Declaration muot be adopted first. A substantial advance toward this end took place quite recently, the credit for which goes to two good neigh bors, Cuba and Panama. In Lon don, on February 12, 1946 the Cuban Delegation submitted .to the First Part of the First Ses sion of the General Assembly of the UN a Draft Declaration on Human Rights. In New York, on November 26, 1946 the Panama Delegation submitted to the Sec ond Part of the First Session of the General Assembly an Inter national Declaration of the Fun damental Rights of Man. The General Assembly unanim ously resolved on December 11, 1946 to refer the Draft Declara tion of Panama to the Commis sion on Human Rights of the Eco nomic and Social Council. The Commission on Human Rights convened on January 27, 1947 at Lake Success and is at present in session. The Draft Declaration submit44 THE CROSS ted by Panama is based on one of the drafts of the unofficial or ganizations, the Statement of Es sential Human Rights, prepare^ by a committee appointed by the American Law Institute. This Statement enumerates, in eighteen articles: freedom of religion; free dom of opinion; freedom of speech; freedom of assembly; freedom to form associations; freedom from wrongful interfer ence; right to a fair trial; free dom from arbitrary detention; freedom from retroactive laws; right to own property; right to education; right to work; right to reasonable conditions of work; right to adequate food and housing; right to social security; right to take part in government; right to equal protection of the I laws, and a Statement on the Limitation on these Rights by the : Rights of Others. i In the fourth century the Bi shop of Hippo, Augustine, spoke : of the human person as a member of the home and of the state and of the world. The latter he called the “third circle of human socie ty.’’ The adoption of a Declara tion of Human Rights by the ; member states of the United Na> tions will bring mankind closer to the realization of a world so; ciety of human persons politicall ly organized. ■0O0-----THE MISTAKEN — NO. 1 One day at a most Inconvenient moment, just as Father Monsabre, the famous preacher of Notre Dame, was preparing to enter the pulpit, a lady came to him with many airs and redundancies, told him that her conscience troubled her greatly, because she had that morning ad mired herself in the looking glass more than usual, thinking how pretty she was. Whereupon he answered: “Go in peace, my child, a mistake is not a sin.”—The Sign. THE 60th DECADE OF THE ROSARY Fr. Reyes used to say his Sunday Masses in barrios miles apart. One Sunday he was vexed to find that he had forgotten his chalice. A pious lady volunteered to lead the Rosary for the congregation until he should return with the chalice. He was gone a long time. When he came back he found the volunteer announcing the sixtieth decade of the Rosary. And her suggested meditation was “The Stabbing of Pon tius Pilate by Judas Iscariot.” JULY, 1947 45 They surrendered, but carried on CATHOLIC ACTION IN A PRISON CAMP By Bernard F. Meyer The surrender of Hong Kong on Christmas day, 1941 was followed by the internment of the British and American civilians at Stanley. When the Americans were exchanged in 1942, two of us remained to care for the 450 British Catholics in the Camp po pulation of 2,500. The sense of community among the Catholics was very much un developed. Several told how they had attended the English speak ing church for years without hav ing met one another. Their friends were mostly non-Catholics, and mixed marriages predominated. An effort to promote Catholic socials in order to bring them to gether met with little success. Then Study-Action Groups were organized. Each meeting opened with religious study, but did not end there. The second part of the meeting was given to a discussion of camp problems, especially the lack of Catholic community spirit. For some time the chief activi ty stressed was the making of new Catholic friends. The need to de velop a sense of community among our people helped us to realize that the true Catholic Action technique is influence through in creased friendships in the spirit of Christ. "Contact, Friendship, Com munity” was the slogan. A group of eight young ladies began by studying the little book, Into Their Company, for a halfhour at each weekly meeting. Then some time was spent in dis cussing how actual conditions in and around the group fell short of the Christ-ideal. A brief ques tionnaire helped to guide them in the survey or inquiry into condi tions. Some young lady Catholic Actionists taught religion in the camp school; one produced plays for children and young people; others acted as counsellors for children’s clubs. But the results of which we were most proud were the firm friendships, the 6ense of community, of mutual confidence, of a realization of the Mystical Body, which developed among these former strangers to 46 THE CROSS one another and which gradually spread among all the Catholics. The camp was divided into four chief districts, owing to the ar rangement of the buildings, and clubs for adult Catholic women were eventually organized in each district through the efforts of the Catholic Actionists and their Chaplain. If such a result could come about in three years, what could not be done in a parish through a long-range and unin terrupted program of this kind? Two Catholic Action Groups of men functioned throughout the duration of the camp. By begin ning with study, the members had something definite to do while gradually finding themselves in apostolic activity. To study to gether was quite easy; it gave them a sense of togetherness, which they needed before they could work together in the apostolate. Both Groups stressed the mak ing of friendly contacts. More than one had previously been neg ligent in their religious duties. One of these said later, “To live the fuller life one must work for a cause. Yet it is not so much what one does for the cause as what the cause does for him that counts.” He spoke from a full heart. Both Groups organized discus sion clubs for the Catholic men who were not in Catholic Action, on such subjects as Prayer, Cre dit Unions, Cooperatives, Labor Questions, Ricksha Coolies, etc. During the camp a total of twcnty-two clubs and groups were or ganized by the Catholics. This included clubs for children. The children did dances, songs and little plays. Many Catholics brought Protestant friends, and the adults had even more fun than the children. The refreshments consisted of tea, which they brought themselves, and a piece of rice-flour cake baked communally from contributions of a tablespoon or two of rice, oil or brown sugar by each one from their meagre rations. That the results attained were not ephemeral may be seen from the fact that all those who were members of Catholic Action look back with gratitude to God, and sometimes even with a tinge of re gret, on the time spent in the camp, and are continuing with Ca tholic Action outside. An Angli can minister who has been giving talks in England on the camp keeps referring with admiration to the Catholic activities carried on there. In the diocese of Hong Kong the Stanley Camp experience is being made the basis of a reorganization of Catholic Action on parish lings. It was felt that the old parish societies were tending to become JULY, 1947 47 moribund, due to lack of a dyna mic principle and apostolic aim and formation. Groups of men, women, young men and young wo men are being organized for spe cial formation according to the study-action technique. They are expected to infuse new life into the parish societies. The parish needs to be more than a place where Catholics ful fill theii- religious duties. To ex emplify the Mystical Body it must be a true community. The family itself is not specifically a training ground for social action, and hence we have parishes made up of disconnected families. Nor is the average parish society in it self the solution, because it is to large and loosely knit to make possible the apostolic formation of its members except by break ing it up into smaller units capa ble of organic life. The writer believes that the discussion study club so popular in this country is already a good foundation for the study-action apostolate in the parish. It is a small and well-knit group. Its members have begun to acquire a sense of togetherness, of be ing a unit. In most cases they are anxious to “do something,” and experience tends to show that without a practical outlet in ac tion their interest in study can not be long sustained True, perhaps not all members of a study club would be suitable material for a Study-Action Group. This difficulty is easily obviated by following the usual study club practice of limiting the first sessions to eight or ten weeks, so that they come to an end automatically. Then only those members who show promise of be coming leaders are invited to form the Catholic Action Group. The study part of the meetings was found most valuable, because the members soon realized that the training which they had received in religion class at school was in adequate .in many instances to an swer the pressing problems of adult life. Hence the doubts which had so often arisen, or the feel ings of inferiority. Study gave them confidence and aroused their interest; soon they were doing private reading in religion, history, social topics. (Non-Catholics began asking them questions and before long they found it quite easy, in conversa tion about social economic or po litical affairs, to expose the Christian viewpoint. And because they had at the same time become apostolic-minded through their environment, many did not let a day pass without seeking occasion to enlighten someone. TIIE CROSS RULES FOR WRITING By His Eminence John Henry Cardinal Newman 1. “A MAN SHOULD BE EARNEST, BY WHICH I MEAN, HE SHOULD WRITE NOT FOR THE SAKE OF WRITING, BUT TO BRING OUT HIS THOUGHTS. 2. HE SHOULD NEVER AIM AT BEING ELO QUENT. 3. HE SHOULD KEEP HIS IDEA IN VIEW, AND SHOULD WRITE SENTENCES OVER AND OVER. AGAIN UNTIL HE HAS EXPRESSED HIS MEAN ING ACCURATELY, FORCIBLY AND IN A FEW WORDS. 4. HE SHOULD AIM AT BEING UNDERSTOOD BY HIS HEARERS OR READERS. 5. HE SHOULD USE WORDS WHICH ARE LIKELY TO BE UNDERSTOOD. ORNAMENT AND AMPLI FICATION WILL COME SPONTANEOUSLY IN DUE TIME, BUT HE SHOULD NEVER SEEK THEM. 6. HE MUST CREEP BEFORE HE CAN FLY, BY WHICH I MEAN THAT HUMILITY WHICH IS A GREAT CHRISTIAN VIRTUE HAS A PLACE IN LITERARY COMPOSITION. 7. HE WHO IS AMBITIOUS WILL NEVER WRITE WELL, BUT HE WHO TRIES TO SAY SIMPLY WHAT HE FEELS, WHAT RELIGION DEMANDS, WHAT FAITH TEACHES, WHAT THE GOSPEL PROMISES, WILL BE ELOQUENT WITHOUT IN TENDING IT, ^ND WILL WRITE BETTER ENG LISH THAN IF HE MADE A STUDY OF ENGLISH LITERATURE.” JULY, 1947 49 NATIONAL FRONT OF BILLS AND CITIES A total of 108 bills passed dur ing the second session of Con gress have become part of Phil ippine statutes. President Roxas has signed 98 measures during the time alloted to him by the Constitution. The list of approved bills include those creating four new cities; namely Rizal (Pasay); Ormoc, Leyte; Lipa, Batangas; and Dagupan, Pangasinan. The President has also approved the bill which provides block voting. WELCOME Recent visitors to Manila were Mayor Roger Lapham of San Francisco and a group of Amer ican newspapermen. Mayor Fugoso, who welcomed them, gave each of them a gold key to the city. He said: "These keys are really unnecessary because every house in Manila is open to you, gentlemen.” FRIENDS OF THE LEPERS "Friends of the lepers” is a new ly organized movement designed ter help the 35,000 lepers in differ ent leprosaria in the Philippines. The organization intends to spon sor solicitations for gifts and retiuests for a fund to be known as the “Joey Guerrero Lepers Fund.” It will raise sufficient money to buy promin—the newly discovered drug that is said to cure leprosy. NEW BISHOP Msgr. Juan Sison, newly creat ed Bishop, will be consecrated Bishop on July 25 in the Cathedral of Vigan. Msgr. Sison was the par ish priest of Mangaldan, Panga sinan up to the time of his ap pointment. As soon as he received the news of his appointment he rushed to his mother to break the good news. Msgr. Sison is only 35 years old. DRATTED The coalesced minority parties have nominated Dr. Jose Laurel candidate for Senator in the com ing November elections. Nom inated with him to form the min ority senatorial ticket was Lo'renzo Tahada, who as Solicitor General is prosecuting Dr. Laurel before the People’s Court for col laboration. BEWARE Fake money bills in 10 to 100 peso denominations have been found circulating in Manila and its suburbs. The bogus money have been traced to a big coun terfeiting ring operating in a nearby province, 50 THE CROSS FORGOTTEN FILIPINOS The Negritos are at present liv ing a wretched existence. They eat only twice a day as a result of poor harvest of upland rice. Each of them has only one suit of clothing (short pants and un dershirt). The plight of these aborigines is attributed to their contribution to the resistance movement during the Japanese occupation, when they acted as guides and gave up their cara baos. The Department of Interior has sought the aid of the PRRA to help these forgotten Filipinos. EYES ON YOU A group of 30 boy scouts head ed by Scoutmaster Gerardo Flo res left for France June 23. They will represent the Philippine Re public in the world boy scout jamboree there. Bidding the boys Godspeed, President Roxas said: “You must try to prove to the world that the Filipino boy scout can take his place side by side with any other boy scout in the world. The eyes of your country are focused upon you and hoping to see you display the best that is in you.” CLAIMS STEPPED UP The U.S. War Damage Com mission has stepped up the tempo of claims payment. Claims are now approved at the rate of 150 to 200 a day. During the period from March 3 to May 31 a total of 162,579 claims were received. During May alone 80,024 were filed. Estimated value of the 162,579 is P268.981.487. Of the total number of claims received 99.5 per cent were filed by Filipinos. BREAK FOR TENANTS The Philippine government has purchased the Hacienda Luisita in San Miguel, Tarlac from the Tabacalera for Pl,500,000. The ha cienda includes 3,500 hectares. Another 500 hectares were donat ed to the government by the Tabacalera. The land will be re-sold to the tenants in parcels at P400 per hectare, payable in ten years. THE BARGAIN The Philippine Alien Property Administrator Jame6 Henderson has turned over to the Philippine Republic the share certificates of 25 plantations in Mindanao. The plantations contain 12,769,444 hec tares and had a pre-war value of P6,000,000. The nominal payment for the deal was P7.00. JULY, 1947 HONORED His Holiness Pope Pius XII has conferred pontifical decorations on the following laymen, for out standing service to Holy Mother the Church. Justice Pastor Endencia, Dr. Jose Jose, and Messrs. Justo Lopez, Eitel Baumann and Jesus Paredes received the ponti fical medal “Pro Ecclesia.” Dona Consolacion Singian and Mrs. Vic tor Pecson posthumously received the "Benemerenti” medal. NEW PRELATES Four Filipino priests in the .Diocese of Nueva Segovia have been named Domestic Prelates of the Vatican by His Holiness Pope Pius XII. They are Frs. Ignacio Cordero, Laoag, Ilocos Sur; An selmo Lazo, San Fernando, La Union; Crisanto Padernal, Sto. Domingo, Ilocos Sur and Quintin Velasquez, Luna, La Union. PEOPLE KIDNAPED: Arthur Lee, local Chinese businessman, and shot. KILLED: Three farmers in Tarlac, while planting rice, by a stroke of lightning. MURDERED: Emma Foronda Abaya, FEU co-ed, a widow with two children, in defense of her chastity. CAUGHT: FisheB (hito) on the Escolta during the recent flood, following a typhoon' with a hea vy down pour. NABBED: Four American exGIs wHb took part in the P40.000 Berg robbery case. ARRIVES: Rev. Aloysius Torralba, S.J., who served as army chaplain in the Philippine cam paign, after completing his Ter tianship in Auresville. NAMED: Joaquin Pardo de Tavera, present DI chief, as Direc tor of the newly created National Bureau of Investigation. INTEERNATIONAL FRONT GENIUS AT 8 Blonde and blue-eyed Ferrucio Burco, aged 8 years two months and fourteen days, made his Rome debut June 22 as conduc tor. He led the 80 piece Rome Opera House orchestra thru a difficult six number symphonic concert. Wildly applauded by more than 1,000 listeners, he re ceived eight curtain calls. The veteran orchestra claimed that Ferrucio’s performance was ex cellent “after the first two num bers." END OF STRIKE After a six-day nationwide strike, 600,000 French railway workers streamed back to their jobs June 12. Jean Tounemaine, leader of the railway federation appealed to them to return to their work immediately as an agreement had been reached with the management of the state owned railway. The strike had paralyzed French transportation. 52 RECORD TRIAL The trial of Hideki T8jo and his 24 co.defendants was one year old June 4. Members of the pro secution and defense concede that it may last for another year. Al ready 6,000,000 ; words have gone into the official court record in 231 court-room days. The record has reached 23,436 pages. HAPPY CHOICE Congressman Emmet O’Neal of Kentucky was sworn in as U.S. • Ambassador to the Philippines June 20. The Senate unanimously approved his nomination as suc cessor to Paul V. McNutt. Com menting on O’Neal’s appointment, Ambassador Joaquin Elizalde said: “O’Neal is admirably equipped to assist us. His 12 years in the house make him a happy choice for the post.” LESS LIPSTICK “American exporters are send ing absolutely junk to the Phil ippines,” declared Gil Puyat, President of the Philippine Cham ber of Commerce, at a press con ference in San Francisco. Puyat attended the rotary’s international convention there. "We do not need lipstick so much as we need clothes and building materials,” Puyat further stated. “Per capita we are the number three consu mers of American textiles and number seven in hardware and building materials.” CANONIZED Blessed John de Brito and Bernardine Realino, members of the Society of Jesus, were canonized by His Holiness Pope Pius XII in a special ceremony at St. Peter’s June 22. St. Bernardine, an Ital ian, was a distinguished lawyer and mayor of Felizzano before he entered the Society at the age of 34. St. John, a Portuguese, was martyred at Madura in 1693 for his defense of conjugal chastity. DANGER SIGNAL In a statement published in the L’Osservatore Romano, His Holi ness Pope Pius XII censured the United States and Russia for the growing tension between them that may lead to another war. American foreign policy makers made a careful study of the warn ing. They considered it the Church’s traditional policy to raise danger signals whenever events appear to be leading to war. Melquiades Virata, Jr. Attorney-at-Law 1226 Azcarraga Manila, P. I. JULY, 1947 53 UNLUCKY 13? Ambassador Joaquin Elizalde signed a $45,000,000 Philippine budgetary loan with the Recon struction Finance Corporation June 13. After the signing, RFC treasurer Harry Sullivan com mented: “It is an unlucky day for this is Friday, the 13th.” Elizalde smiled and replied, “There’s plen ty of worse luck that could hap pen to us than getting $45,000,. 000." RECORD FILIBUSTER The longest filibuster in 20 years and the third longest ses sion in the history of the U.S. Senate took place June 22. The session lasted 30 hours, 51 min utes; the filibuster ended when the session was only 28 1|2 hours old. AWARDED Ambassador Joaquin Elizalde, in the name of the Philippine Republic, presented the Military Merit medal to seven U.S. Con gressmen. The distinguished solons played important part in draft ing independence and rehabilita tion measures for the Philippines. DEATH LETTERS A new menace threatening the safety of prominent British offi cials is the letter bomb—deadly explosives sent thru the mail. About 20 prominent British fig ures including Prime Minister Clement Atlee and Winston Churchill have received such death-laden missives. None of them however was hurt. Experts say, the bomb would blow a hole i a steel plate, would kill a per son, or at least, inflict severe in jury. DEMOCRACY IN JAPAN Emperor Hirohito formally opened the first session of the diet June 23 under the new Japa nese constitution. The plainlyworded imperial rescript stressed that parliament is the “sole lawmaking authority of the state.” TRAVESTY “Democratic government is a travesty in several countries of eastern Europe today,” declared Minister Atlee'in his most pointed anti-Russian statement June 21. “In most states human rights are denied. Freedom of speech, free dom of conscience and personal freedom is the right of individ uals .. . wherever you find the right of opposition denied, whereever you find a* government that cannot be removed by the method TUASON and SANPEDRO Inc. Globo de Oro 801-817 Qulapo, Manila Lumber, Construction and Furnitures (Wooden and Raccan) THE CROSS of the ballot box, there is no truedemocracy, there is no true free dom.” $2,000 FOR A NEWSPAPER China’s inflation is getting worse everyday. A newspaper now costs $2,000 Chinese Dollars, breakfast is $24,000, a cup of cof fee, $2,000, a pack of cigarettes, $6,000 and a cocktail $36,000. Money comes in bundles of thou sand dollar bills and nobody bo thers to count them. Lunch is $64,000 and a dinner party with out champagne ovef a million dol lars. BELIEVE IT OR NOT The oddest of Ripley’s oddities is himself. Originator of "Believe It or Not”, which is printed in 17 languages all over the world and • appears in 325 newspapers read by almost 80 million, Ripley has traveled 600 thousand miles on visits to 201 countries and never had a single vacation. He draws his cartoons upside down; he has five automobiles and can’t drive a car; he was the first man to broadcast simultaneously around the world. He started his news paper career as a sports cartoon ist for $8 a weak. When he re quested a $2.50 raise — he was fired! PEOPLE KNIGHTED: Actor Laurence Olivier on the birthday of King George VI. ELECTED: Miguel Cuaderno as vice-chairman of the United Na tions economic commission for Asiu and the Far East. RECEIVED: Vice-President Elpidio Quirino by King George VI in London and French President Vincent Auriol in the presidential office at EJlysees Palace. HANGED: Six Japs in Guam for atrocities ranging from can nibalism to machine-gunning 96 American prisoners of war. DENIED: That Adolf Hitler had any doubles by four men who were in the tight iron-ringed circle of his associates. ACCEPTED: An offer of $200,000 to fight in nine exhibitions in Manila and Honolulu and seven in Australia by Joe Louis. LISTED: President Roxas, Ex President Osrnena, and Secretary Jose Zulueta, in the eleventh edi tion (1947) of the “International Who’s Who” published in London. ATTACKED: President Truman by Senator Robert Taft, for vet oing Taft’s labor bill which the President termed a shocking piece of legislation. CLAIMED: Turtle Islands, a group north of Borneo, by VicePresident Quirino in the name of the Republic. Sign of the Times In the gentlemen’s rest-room at the Ateneo de Manila is a sign, written boldly by a scholar, that will go down in history. It says briefly: “KILROY FRAT HIC ” JULY, 1947 55 Movie Section Reviews by Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero Author, “13 PLAYS'* M1LLIONARYONG HAMPAS-LUPA MILLIONARIONG HAMPASLUPA (Palaris Films; story by Hernando R. Ocampo & Davao Santiago; screenplay by Davao Santiago; direction by Fernando Poe) has some of the best photo graphy and sound I’ve yet seen in local pictures. If you ever visit Palaris studios you’ll see their latest, brand-new, well-equipped lighting and sound equipment. Fernando Poe, Nati Bernardo, Pat Mijares, Rolando Liwanag, Gregorio Tieman and Oscar Keese all act well. Ah, but the plot of Millionariong Hampas-Lupa is taken, almost situation after situation, from Withering Heights (remember Merle Oberon and Lawrence Oli vier?). Millionariong HampasLupa is based on the stage show which Fernando Poe produced at the Avenue Theater during the oc cupation, but a few minor changes especially in the ending, were made in the picture version. Ah, Wuthering Heights. Why this general Filipino weakness— this lack of originality, this ten dency to borrow, steal, or beg from foreign sources? -Characters in all local movies have never yet been consistent in their actions. They behave not like individual human beings, with characteristics all their own, but like puppets being pulled here and there by their masters. For ins tance, a character begins to clown to the audience’s delight, and you laugh to your heart’s content. In the middle of the picture the same character, without warning, goes dramatic in a big way. This i8 a severe jolt to your nervous sys tem. You expected to see Lou Cos tello and instead you see Paul Mu ni. Why can’t movie characters be consistent in their behavior throughout the picture? Let the comedians do the comedy, and if the leading parts must also join in some comedy sequence, let this be in keeping with their charac ters. These inconsistencies in movio characters are very confusing very annoying, very aggravating, and show a lack of artistic inte grity and of knowledge of human psychology. Of all local movie producers, Fernando Poe so far has tried to 56 THE CROSS offer our masses a little more in telligent pictures. But he, like Bert Avellana and the rest of our directors, is apparently still great ly influenced by the stage shows shown during the occupation. In using the zarzuela type of stage shows to attract crowds during those war weary years—melodra ma and farcical comedy, dished out in plain, obvious doses—our directors, in making a movie, can’t get rid, it seems, of that melodra ma influence both in their stories and in their directing. This is extremely unfortunate, because the movies like literature, reflect the general culture of a nation. There seems to be a hidden hor ror on the part of our producers and directors to strike original soil and try something new. I can well understand that making money is th*e principal objective of our producers and directors, and from the bad example of certain people you can’t blame anybody if money is they’re all, at present, interested in. But (pardon my naivete and idealism) there’s such a thing as intellectual integrity. If our pro ducers and directors, particular ly the intelligent and educated ones, insist on being false to their mental talents, then they’re guiltv of being dishonest. For how can one be honest with others, if he isn’t honest with himself? But then honesty, in its broadest sense, implies ideals. And have we got many Filipinos with any ideals left? NAGTAGPO SA AMERICA NAGTAGPO SA AMERICA (Luzon Hollywood Pictures; screenplay, direction, and photo graphy by James Matthews) is the Tagalog picture made, not ap parently in Hollywood as adver tised, but seemingly in Los Ange les, judging from the exterior shots. The direction, the acting, and the delivery of lines by all the players are so painfully and in comprehensibly slow and affected that I caught myself yawning se veral times. Nagtagpo sa America tells the story of a Filipino girl Cora (screen name: Maria San Marco; JULY, 1947 57 real name: Evelyn Bennett) who, after Liberation, goes to America. In Los Angeles she encounters a Filipino doctor, Dr. Ramirez (Da vid Caballero) who resembles her lover Fernando (also David Ca ballero) while she was in the Phi- - lippines during the Jap occupa tion, and whom the Japs kill. When Cora, unable to forget her war sufferings (she also lost her kid J brother, brutally tortured by the Japs), tried to end it all, Dr. Ramirez saves her. Then—she re counts her nerve-shattering ex periences in the Philippines dur ing the war. The story isn’t excitingly told, and except for the realistic tor ture scenes the picture is quite dull. There are plenty of exterior shots: of a rodeo, streets, a car nival or the equivalent of Coney Island, mountain views, which while pleasing to the eyes, add nothing to the story but result in the impression that we’re seeing a' newsreel. And the color isn’t so glorious as advertised. Evelyn Bennett, who was my classmate in the U. P., is greatly self-conscious and her facial ex pressions are e'xaggerated. She has poise, though. Margo who used to appear in Fernando Poe’s stage shows at the Avenue and Capitol during the occupation, appears in a bit role as — a kankong vendor! Incidentally, the frequent refer ences to lugao, kankong, and the Jap money are funny. The leading man, David Cabal lero, is stilted in his gestures and delivery of lines. Somehow the muscles of his face are too hard set to be able to express differ ent emotions adequately. There are two women, both ap pearing as friends of Cora, who stand out. The first is a tall, wellproportioned Filipina in her late thirties but with beautiful feat ures, and who strangely resem bles Nati Bernardo. I should like to see her in local pictures in the role of a mother or a distinguished society matron. The other is a Filipina born in the U.S. and who speaks only English. Both wo men have poise and a striking per sonality. Two things I particularly liked about Nagtagpo sa America-, the typical Hollywood camera angles (Wish our cameramen would im prove their technique), and the women’s beautiful clothes. But you Filipinos in the movie business in the U.S. — with the technicians available there—can’t you give us something better? I’m sure you can—if you try hard enough. June 8, 1947 Dear Editor: Congratulations on your new cover. I have no doubt that your improvement that in your issue, you carried a caricature of a Ca tholic personage on your front cover. I have no doubt that your readers will welcome the improve ment as much as I have. I notice, however, that your cover is not as glossy as your for mer issue’s; have you changed the kind of paper you use on your paper? Anyway, here’s hoping that The Cross goes on improving as much as it already has. Brigida Keyes Cavite, Cavite Ed: Wo are still using coated paper for our cover. Due to some inadvertence, however, the usual coat of varnish was not applied. To owr readers, our apologies. The July issue and succeeding is sues will have covers as glossy as our previous issues. June 9, 1947 I thoroughly enjoyed reading Mario Gatbonton’s article, “H, B. Reyes: Scholar with a Pipe,” in your June issue. Question: Why not go ahead printing more arti cles on Catholic personalities? Leonardo Rosales 512 Dapitan, Manila Ed: We will carry articles on Catholic personalities in our suc ceeding issues. Mr. Gatbonton will continue to write them, and accompemying caricatures will also continue to be made by Gat of the Manila Chronicle. We hope our readers will continue to greet these articles with the same en thusiasm. June 11, 1947 Dear Mr. Editor, Your "Cross-Section of Filipiniana” is definitely an improve ment over your “One Minute Sto ries." For one thing, all the sto ries have local color. Further more, they seem to have snap to them. Are they compiled by a cross staff-member, or do your JULY, 1947 59 readers send them in? Maria del Rosario Mala bon, Rizal Ed-. Anecdotes contained in “Cross-Sections of Filipiniana" have been compiled from contri butions sent in by our readers. For the information of all interested parties, we should like to state that all anecdotes sent in must bo addressed to-. Filipiniada'Editor, the Cross Magazine. No notice of acceptance will be given, and we request that all material sent in be original. For each anecdote accepted. The Cross will issue a free six ^months subscription, either to the contributor or to any one whom he may designate. June 12, 1947 Dear Sir: Your “Church-Offenders” was an eye-opener. I have a sugges tion to make. Why not make a regular feature out of it? You could devote - such an article to padrinos and madrinas, for ex ample. Such a feature will be re miniscent of Lib Abrena’s cari cature-cartoon feature in the Sunday Times Magazine. How about it? Jose Bernabe 357 Sancho Panza Sampaloc, Manila Ed: We are willing to carry more articles along the lines mapped out by “Church Offend ers" if we can get some of our local writers to help us out. What does reader Bernabe have to say to that? Will he take it up him self? We hope a lot of other readers will send us in their ideas. HELL WAS SO MUCH BETTER The spiritualist was communicating with her deceased husband. She—Are you happy where you are, deer? He—Oh, my yes. She—Are you happier than when you were here with me? He—Yes, indeed I am. She—Heaven must be wonderful. He—Probably it is, but I'm not there. GNASHING OF TEETH A negro preacher was preaching on Hell. “Muh brothahs, in hell theah shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” A voice from behind was heard, “Muh deah pastah, what if a man ain’t got no teeth?” The preacher not at a loss for an answer replied: “He shall be provided with, muh brothah.” 60 THE CROSS Cable Address: MIDELCO M. DE LARA & CO., INC. MANUFACTURER Pharma-Chemical Laboratory Halcon Engineering Co. Hinatuan Lumber Co. VSILASIN SALES COMPANY 2278 Azcarraga, Manila STATIONERY, OFFICE EQUIPMENTS, SALES & REPAIRS Our Service Is For Those Who Want The Best at a Price They Can Afford BISAYA LAND TRANSPORTATION CO., INC. SHIPPING DEPARTMENT Shamrock Bldg. Waterfront Tel. 29 -Cebu City VESSELS | PORTS OF CALL DEPARTURE FROM CEBU DON MARIANO DA. REMEDIOS DA. JUANA Tagbilaran, Dumaguetc Zamboanga, Cotabato Dadiangas, and Davao Alternating Every 3 days, at midnight. DA. FI LON ENA Uigan. Misamia, Tubud, and Mambajao (Optional) Every Monday and Friday at 6:00 P. M. F-10 Dumaguete, Pulawan. Sindangan, Liloy & Labaaan Santa Fe (Bantayan) Every Friday at 6:00 P.M. Wednesday at 6:00 P.M. F-91 (Princess*. de Biliran) Ormoc. Merida, Palompon Villaba, Naval. San Isidro, Kalubian and Tacloban Every Monday at 6:00 P.M. TN LINE WITH THE GENERAL POLICY A OF THE CROSS, i.e., THE PROMOTION OF GOOD READING, AND ENCOURAGED BY THE ENTHUSIASTIC RESPONSE OF ITS READERS AND FRIENDS TO THE FIRST ANNIVERSARY OFFER OF BOOK-GIFTS, THE EDITORS OF THE CROSS ARE HAPPY TO ANNOUNCE THAT THIS BOOK GIFTS OFFER WILL BE FEATURED PERMANENTLY. THIS MONTH THEY ARE INTRODUCING A NEW SET OF TITLES, INCLUDING MANY ALL-TIME FAVORITE NOVELS, THAT BOOK LOVERS WILL WANT TO ADD TO THEIR LIBRARIES. PLEASE TURN TO THE FOLLOWING PAGES, AND BE SURE NOT TO MISS ANY OF THE BOOK SUR PRISES! 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