June 24, 2011

What was in the news on June 23, 1961? Supreme Court rules that states cannot mandate belief in God to hold public office

By Brandon A. Evans

50 Year LogoThis week, we continue to examine what was going on in the Church and the world 50 years ago as seen through the pages of The Criterion, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary.

Here are some of the items found in the June 23, 1961, issue of The Criterion:

  • Pope gives decision on language for Council
    • “VATICAN CITY—His Holiness Pope John XXIII said that Latin must be the official language of the coming ecumenical council. But he said that if need be, participants may use their own language in addressing the meeting. Pope John made the statement in solemnly closing the first session of the council’s Central Preparatory Commission.”
  • Franklin laywomen aid apostolate
  • Charged with conspiracy: Hungary sentences 9 priests, 3 laymen
  • Cuban national Church now seen imminent
  • Common sense and the Communist peril
  • Better training urged as a spur to vocations
  • Church-State relations still tense in Haiti
  • Editorial: For women only
    • “The ladies have short memories. Our own private pool shows that women outnumber men in opposition to the Freedom Riders. ‘The wrong way to gain full equality for the Negroes; doing more harm than good; patience will win more in the end.’ That’s the way the women are talking. But there was a time when the girls sang a different tune. Once, they were struggling for full democratic rights. Anyone remember? The American suffragettes were not known for their patience. Like the Negroes of today, they discovered that patience got them nowhere.”
  • Urges coping with Reds ‘within structure of law’
  • Youths use ham radios to ‘sell’ democracy
  • Schools that built Babe Ruth is razed in Baltimore, Md.
  • After 25 years: Encyclical on movies still has great impact
  • Family Rosary Crusade is now in 44th country
  • Peace Corps needs teachers
  • Pressure tactics being used on Church in Ceylon
  • Stresses parents’ role: Education, schooling not the same, speaker says
  • Charges too many selling U.S. Catholic press short
  • For public office: High Court rules out belief in God proviso
    • “WASHINGTON—The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that a state may not require a declaration of belief in the existence of God as a condition for holding public office.”
  • Use of private groups in foreign aid urged
  • ACLU hits inequities in school aid proposal
    • “NEW YORK—The American Civil Liberties Union has urged Congress to reject an amendment to the federal aid to education bill, which would base state fund allocations on their total school enrollment. The ACLU said this allocation formula, under which private school children would be counted in when a state’s share of aid is determined, but counted out when the money is distributed, would be ‘discrimination.’ ”
  • Adult male choir urged as nucleus of music program
    • “ST. LOUIS—The St. Louis Archdiocesan Commission for Sacred Music has urged all pastors here to build their musical programs around an adult male choir.”

(Read all of these stories from our June 23, 1961, issue by logging on to our special archives.) †

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