Zuroweste, A. R.

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The Linacre QuarterlyVolume 6 | Number 3 Article 3July 1938The Catholic Press and the Professional Man*A. R. ZurowesteFollow this and additional works at: http://epublications.marquette.edu/lnqRecommended CitationZuroweste, A. R. (1938) "The Catholic Press and the Professional Man*," The Linacre Quarterly: Vol. 6 : No. 3 , Article 3.Available at: http://epublications.marquette.edu/lnq/vol6/iss3/3THE LINAGRE QUARTERLY THE CATHOLIC PRESS AND THE PROFESSIONAL MA~* By REV. A. R. ZUROWESTE Belleville, Ohio It is not exaggeration to say that today more than ever before Catholics need the Catholic press, and conversely, that the Catholic press needs the full support of Catholics . Much is being written these days about such things as fascism, communi m, capitalism, and the need of a new social order. But it seems a fair question to ask how many, even among those who set themselves up as instructors, have a clear and comprehensive grasp of the fundamental problem, or are desirous of presenting the matter in a constructive and ob-jective way-calming minds, al-laying fears, guiding people aright_, and creating a spirit of cooperation in which to work peacefully toward a dynamic and just social order. There is a great need today of a worthy press, an intelligent press, a press devoted to the well-being of all classes of society, a press dedicated to friendly coop-eration among nations. Yet, if we make a few notable exceptions, the secular press generally falls short of these high aims. It is too fre-quently actuated by purely mate-rial considerations or by mere partisan hip, based upon orne conception of economic advantage • This address was delivered at meet-ing of Catholic Physicians' Guild, Belle-ville, Ohio, February 22, 1938.) for a group or class rather than the welfare of the nation as a whole. The tremendous pressure in modern industrial society to dispose of goods when a sufficient amount of purchasing power is not available, has commercialized and cheapened the press. The competition for circulation has re-sulted in the printing of numerous editions and the exploitation and debasement of readers by rapid and cheap reporting, with empha-sis on novelty and sensationalism. In a word, there seems to be far too little recognition of the fact that the right of freedom of the press carries with it the corre-sponding duty of utilizing that freedom in the promotion of worthy ends and that, after all, the very freedom of the pre s de-pends upon a dynamic, well-func-tioning, and just society. The Holy Father, knowing that "the word is ruler of the world" in creating those dispositions and disseminating that knowledge nec-essary to the preservation of indi-vidual and social well-being, ac-claims the Catholic press and calls upon the faithful in every clime to come to its support. "Here is a field of apostolate," he says, "worthy of all the solicitude and interest of good Catholics, of the members of Catholic Action . They can never cultivate the Catholic pre s enough. According [ 61 1 THE LINACRE QUARTERLY to the care with which they pre-pare, so will the beneficent fruits be abundant. With this aposto-late they will obtain the other precious result of averting the evil effects of a poisonous press that propagates things that should be abolished not only by culture but also by civilization. Here then is a large field for apostolic activity, since the widespread reading of a good press is a great good and the spread of the reading of a bad press is a great evil." The Catholic press is the pro-ponent of Christian culture, of the eternal verities of faith. In its presentation of news, its editorial expression, it special articles, its books and periodicals and pam-phlet , it is concerned with the really worthwhile and lasting things of lif~the spread of Christian truth, the integrity of the home and family life, the de-velopment of spirituality and good will, the promotion of chari-table enterprises and welfare work, the application of the great social principles of the Gospel to the task of industrial and eco-nomic rehabilitation. There is no possibility for the development of an effective Cath-olic Action without a well-sup-ported Catholic press, and it is equally true that Catholic fami-lies and individuals need the infor-mation and knowledge that come to them through the Catholic press if they are to realize some-thing of the vision of the Faith, of its efficacy in promoting social well-being, and to enjoy the per-sonal satisfaction of Catholic life. Children in the Catholic home, subject as they are to the varying influences of modern social life, should not be deprived of the help brought to them by the Catholic press. In the broader field of the study club the Catholic press, un-derstood as embracing news-papers, periodicals, book , pam-phlets, etc., is indispen able in the development of Catholic lay read-ers. Why, you might ask, do I bring these facts of the need of the Cath-olic press before you, the Catholic Physicians' Guild of the Belleville Diocese. The answer is simple. The Catholic professional inan is the educated Catholic and from this group the Church expects and wants to obtain its lay leader-ship. If, for example, we can in-terest the Catholic physicians and the Catholic lawyers in the Catho-lic press and have them to realize the importance, especially of their own diocesan paper, we are mak-ing a great step forward for the welfare of the Church in the Dio-cese and are cementing the great-e t bond that we have of present-ing a united front against the many isms that would tear down the high ideals of both Church and state. The diocesan paper i the voice of the Pope, the bishop, the priests and the people in the diocese. It forms a strong bond of union whereby we as Catholics are united in thought, in expression and in Catholic Action. It is really the only medium through which Cath-[ 62 l THE LINACRE QUARTERLY olic people can present a com-manding influence for the promo-tion of a diocesan cause. Perhaps if we were deprived of it, we might appreciate its importance. It is indeed sad that we take so lightly the great benefits and gifts of our Catholic faith in this free Amer-ica. If the government took away our right to maintain our Cath-olic schools, if our Catholic hospi-t als and charitable institutions should become government con-trolled, then our Catholic people would rise up in protest against the unfairness of the government's actions and they would r ally around their cause. But, do you realize th a t today in America many Catholic schools retain their freedom only because of the power of the Catholic press? Do you realize that children at-tendit:~g Catholic schools have been given the same privileges of bus transportation in certain states only because the Catholic press within tha t state, supported by other Catholic papers throughout the country, put up a noble fight and placed the facts before the public? Do you realize that there are many hospitals and Ca tholic institutions that have kept their autonomy only because the Cath-olic press has waged ba ttle for them? Take your own profess ion and examine the attitude of the Catho-lic press towards it and you will be forced to acknowledge that if you have received any aid in up-holding the high ideals and ethical principles of your profess ion this aid has come primarily, if not ex-clusively, from the Catholic press. As a practical example of what the Catholic press is doing for the Medical Association, permit me to quote the following N. C. W. C. news release of this week: "Chicago.-Referring to a survey by Fortune magazine of what it ca lls 'the business of birth control,' an ed itorial in the current issue of The Journal of the American :Medical Association says, 'it is a strange industry, with one foot among the sciences a nd the other among hundreds of scoundrels who make small fortun es out of ignorance.' The F ortune survey is quoted as saying 'the industry' at present does a $250,000,000 a year business and that there is an estimated annual profit of $75,000,000 a year for the manufacturers alone. "'As the writers in F ortune empha-size,' the editorial says, 'the contracep-tive manufacture r realizes that most of the products are unsatisfactory a nd fre-quently fail to produce the desired re-sult.' "The Journal's ed itorial adds that 'the feminine side of the birth control busi-ness is appalling' ; that women spend $ZOO,OOO,OOO annually for 'at least 636 different brands, sold largely under the deceptive advertising term 'Feminine Hygiene'; that not one of them has been proved to be entirely effective whe!J used alone, and some of them are potentially dangerous.' "'Feminine hygiene products,' the edi-torial adds, 'may even be advertised as "sure, safe and dependable contracep-tives." The result of such advertising is that thousands of women a re duped. There is not one product on the market that is 100 per cent efficient as a contra-ceptive measure.' "'It is interesting,' the editorial also says, 'that a publication like Fortune has made available complete information as to the manner in which commercial inter-ests are exploiting the public in this field.' " ( 63 1 THE LINACRE QUARTERLY Did you gentlemen read this in any secular paper? I didn't . As far as I know the Catholic press is the only press release that gave this particular editorial any pub-licity after its appearance in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Now in turn I ask, what you as a physician or as members of this Guild do for the Catholic press. I am a king how many of you can conscientiously say that you read a Catholic paper each week. How many of you ever discuss the articles contained therein with other members of the profession, with your patient~, or with your own families? Would you be will-ing, if called upon, to write an article dealing with some Catholic que tion pertaining to your own medical profession? Now what could you do as indi-viduals or as members of this or-ganization? Before I answer, per-mit me to digress for a moment to give you the human side of a pa-tient waiting in the doctor's office, which in my opinion the physician too frequently overlooks. This little incident was commented on by a friend of mine, a member of the Catholic Press Association and appeared in the paper of which he is the editor. I quote: office girl is phoning to and thumbing through ancient magazines. Everybody s its in a row and looks blankly at every-body else: Then someone whispers that the doctor is late. One by one the pa-tients try to figure out what disease is afflicting the other person. "The doctor, of course, slips in a side door. Anyhow, before you know it, the office girl nods to a fat woman and says that Doctor Tippin will see you now, Mrs. Gutowsky. This is your first dis-appointment, as you were sure you would be called first. Anyhow, you hope Mrs. Gutowsky's ailments aren't very severe. There follows a long spell when patients wiggle around, study the painting on the wall, wonder what size shoe other patients are wearing and in general make themselves uncomfortable." While the average patient is trying to figure out how to enter-tain himself he has the opportu-nity of spending some moments in reading. Now, how many doctors have a copy of their diocesan paper or any Catholic literature in their waiting room? One will find a copy of Life, Esquire, Lit-emr·y Digest, Saturday Evening Post, Rotarian, Boy Scout .Maga-gine-a11 ancient copies it is true, but nevertheless the doctor is not afraid to advertise that he bclono-s 0 to the Rotarians, is a member of a Boy Scout committee or that his wife reads the Delineator, but I am sorry to say that I have never found a Catholic paper on display in any Catholic doctor's office. "Your appointment with the doctor is 2 o'clock. But you arrive at 1:55, hop- What would it mean to have the ing to get in ahead of the others sooner. d'oce an paper sent to your office You discover that at least 10 other p er- each week? While patients are sons had the identical idea, so the wait- · · wa1bng to see the physician, one ing room is practically filled at the ap-pointed hour. There doesn' t seem to be never knows what article may in-much to do in a doctor's waiting room, t erest them, or what item might outside of trying to figure out whom the appeal to them. In this manner [ 64 l THE LINACRE QUARTERLY it might so happen that a non-Catholic becomes interested in the truths of our Faith and from this cursory reading eventually ac-cepts the Faith.-If we make a companson be-tween the secular dailies and the Catholic weeklies we will find that as far as news content, editorial thought, and interesting articles are concerned, the Catholic paper has all these with a triple "A" rating. If we are looking for real freedom, the Catholic editors and the Catholic writers enjoy this gift much more than the writers in our secular dailies . If we are look-ing for truth, real news, void of scandal and salacious writing, the honor must also go to the Catholic press . Thus, in brief is the thought I would impress upon you . I plead with you to realize the importance of the Catholic press, especially your own diocesan paper, for you as individuals; for you as members of a Catholic Physicians' Guild; for you as Catholic educated lead-ers who must look beyond your own personal and private interests to the interest and welfare of Holy Mother the Church. CATHOLIC DENTISTS TAKE APPROPRIATE ACTION O~r colleagues of the Dental Profes ion-members of St. Apol-lonia Guild-have taken a stand which we physicians must admire. Aroused by the efforts of the "Dental Appeal for Aid to Span-ish Democracy," which succeeded in having certain supply houses contribute to the aid of those car-rying on this unholy conflict, our dental confreres protested and in the case of one large manufac-turer of dressings, secured a repu-diation; the firm stating that their gift was not intended to be used in Spain, the appeal merely asking for dressing for a clinic in a small town in New York and for European clinics. The firm wrote that "at the time of the re-quest and mailing, we knew noth-ing of Dr. P 's affiliations with any group or party in Spain or elsewhere. Had we known of the proposed use of these prod-ucts, we should have refused to make this contribution." A black-list was printed of the other donors, and the members of the Guild were requested to divert their patronage from such houses. Americans will deprecate boycotts which have not the sanction of the national government, but we have the right to be arou ed against those people who, without national authorization, conspire to help those who are carrying on a war against religion and in further-ance of Communi m. [ 65 1 

The Catholic Press and the Professional Man*

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The Catholic Press and the Professional Man*

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