©o TV) e. Co ihm/ss io f t _ /Ime-rtcan c/frzensK* C?7^7 The Commission on American Citizenship THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA WASHINGTON, D. C The Commission on American Citizenship of The Catholic University of America R I G H T R E V E R E N D P A T R I C K J . M C C O R M I C K President of the Commission M O S T R E V E R E N D F R A N C I S J . H A A S Chairman of the Executive Committee V E R Y R E V E R E N D F R E D E R I C K G . H O C H V A L T Director of the Commission THE FOUNDATION OF THE COMMISSION IN the year 1938—the last year of peace before the outbreak of World War II—the Holy Father, Pope Pius XI, sent to the Cardinals, the Archbishops, and the Bishops of the American Hierarchy a letter remarkable for its foresight, its counsel, and its results. This Apostolic Letter, written upon the occasion of the Golden Jubilee of The Catholic University of America, did not merely congratulate the institution upon its attainments. It declared the real reason for its issuance, the belief of the Holy Father that, in the years ahead, the Catholic University would be called upon to assume "greater and more momentous respon- sibilities" than it had undertaken in the past. It would be the task of the institution to meet the challenge of the critical times in which we live; and it would be the mission of the insti- tution to continue to guard the natural and supernatural herit- age of man. The exigencies of our age, the Holy Father pointed out, require the giving of special attention to the social sciences in order that it might be possible to bring to bear upon the pressing problems of our time Christian principles of justice and charity. In these words the Holy Father stated the general problem of human society, the one way toward its solution, and the part of the Catholic University in a program for social education for that solution: The world has entered upon one of those periods of un- rest, of questioning, of disorientation, and of conflict which have been well described as turning points of his- tory. Christian doctrine and Christian morality are under attack from several quarters; dangerous theories which a few years ago were but whispered in the secret conven- ticles of discontent are today preached from the house- tops, and are even finding their way into action; private immorality and public subversion have in manv places raised the banner of revolt against the Cross of Christ. It is a source of deep consolation to Us, as it must be to r 3 ] Church in America is so well prepared to meet the challenge you, Our Beloved Sons and Venerable Brethren, that the of these critical times, and that in the Catholic University We possess such an admirable instrument for the exposing of error and for the dissemination of Christian truth. Through the University it will be possible to bring to bear upon the most pressing problems of the day the full force of those principles of justice and charity in which alone they will find their solution. In the course of Our Pontificate, We have had occasion to treat these problems more than once in Our Encyclical Letters; here We wish only to point out the solid basis upon which Our teaching rests. Since the sciences of civics, sociology, and economics deal with individual and collective human welfare, they cannot escape from the philosophical and religious implications of man's origin, nature, and destiny. If they ignore God, they can never hope to understand adequately the creature which He formed in His own image and likeness, and whom He sent His own Divine Son to redeem. Christian teaching alone, in its majestic integrity, can give full meaning and com- pelling motive to the demand for human rights and liberties because it alone gives worth and dignity to human person- ality. In consequence of his high conception of the nature and the gifts of man, the Catholic is necessarily the cham- pion of true human rights and the defender of true human liberties; it is in the name of God Himself that he cries out against any civic philosophy which would degrade man to the position of a soulless pawn in a sordid game of power and prestige, or would seek to banish him from member- ship in the human family; it is in the same Holy Name that he opposes any social philosophy which would regard man as a mere chattel in commercial competition for profit, or would set him at the throat of his fellows in a blind, brutish class struggle for existence. The Catholic University, then, because it is Catholic, has the traditional mission of guarding the natural and supernatural heritage of man. In the fulfillment of this sublime mission, it must, because of the exigencies of the present age, give special attention to the sciences of civics, r 4 ] sociology, and economics. The Encyclical Letters to which We have already referred deal with the modern problems in these fields, and apply to them the unchanging prin- ciples of philosophy and religion. With these Encyclicals as the basis of study and research, the University can evolve a constructive program of social action, fitting in its details to local needs, which will command the admiration and acceptance of all right-thinking men. It is our earnest desire, Our Beloved Sons and Venerable Brethren, that under your patronage and direction the schools of the above-mentioned sciences be developed to the highest possible point of excellence so that men will naturally turn to the University for enlightenment and guidance on social questions. With expanded and im- proved facilities, with an increased corps of distinguished professors whose lectures, consultations, and writings carry authority, and with picked groups of talented students from all parts of the country, it will be possible to achieve the desired eminence, and to exercise thus a salutary Chris- tian influence upon contemporary society. In a Pastoral Letter to the priests and faithful of the United States, issued on the twelfth of October, 1938, by Dennis Car- dinal Dougherty, for the Cardinals, Archbishops, and Bishops of the American Hierarchy, the Catholic University was formally instructed to establish a program of social education upon all levels. The letter stated: The Holy Father in his Jubilee Letter lays special em- phasis upon the sublime mission of the University in guard- ing the social heritage of man in the natural and supernat- ural order. Pope Pius XI knows better than any other living person how that heritage is endangered today. "The world has entered," he says, "upon one of those periods of unrest, of questioning, of disorientation, and of conflict which have been well described as turning points of history. Christian doctrine and Christian morality are under attack from sev- eral quarters; dangerous theories which a few years ago were but whispered in the secret conventicles of discontent m are today preached from the housetops, and are even find- ing their way into action; private immorality and public subversion have in many places raised the banner of revolt against the Cross of Christ." We Bishops, shepherds of souls, whose duty it is to guard the sheep of Christ and to seek other sheep not of His fold, are seriously alarmed by the spread of subversive teaching and by the audacity of subversive action in our country. We are witnesses today of proclamations and programs which, if translated into action, would destroy all that is just and ennobling in liberty-loving America. When, therefore, Pope Pius XI says that the Catholic Uni- versity "must, because of the exigencies of the present age, give special attention to the sciences of civics, sociology, and economics," His Holiness calls us to the defense of our democratic government, framed in a Constitution that safeguards the inalienable rights of man. The Pope ex- plicitly instructs the Catholic University to "evolve a con- structive program of social action, fitted in its details to local needs, which will command the admiration and ac- ceptance of all right-thinking men." This charge solemnly approves the American Hier- archy's traditional position of unswerving allegiance to our free American institutions. To carry out the injunction of the Holy Father it is necessary that our people, from childhood to mature age, be ever better instructed in the true nature of Christian democracy. A precise definition must be given to them both of democracy in the light of Catholic t ruth and tra- dition and of the rights and duties of citizens in a repre- sentative Republic such as our own. They must be held to the conviction that love of country is a virtue and that disloyalty is a sin. To foster this Christian concept of citizenship, the Bishops in their annual meeting have charged The Catholic University of America to compile at once a more compre- hensive series of graded texts for all educational levels. On the foundation of religious training, which is the dis- tinctive characteristic of our schools, these texts will build an enlightened, conscientious American citizenship. r 7 ] We, therefore, entreat all the faithful of every walk in life to unite in this Catholic crusade for better citizenship, which will bring to every individual wider opportunities for sound social education. The scope of the program of Christian social education dele- gated to the Catholic University by the American Hierarchy was further interpreted and amplified by the Rector of the University, the Most Reverend Joseph M. Corrigan, in this acceptance for the University of the mandate: No one who adheres at all to the principles of Chris- tianity can harken to the words we have heard of the Ven- erable and world-beloved Holy Father—the outstanding moral hero of the day and age—and remain entirely un- moved. No heart attuned to the true spirit of Christian brotherhod can resist his poignant appeal for a thorough religious and educational training in the principles of civil government and Christian society. If his words are heeded and given effect, millions of minds will be entrenched in a high and unassailable loyalty — millions of characters shaped and moulded into a patriotism of enduring rugged- ness and virtue. The Catholic University of America pledges itself to this great task which the Holy Father de- clares dear to him. The enemies of God and of right gov- ernment have known well how to center their efforts and their hopes on the youth of the nation. Shall we be less wise? To train a generation in true Christian democracy means that the elementary school-room must begin the task. It must be carried through secondary schools and keep pace with the developing mind of the future citizen. The Catholics of America may well thrill with pride at the message of the Holy Father. His insistence on the necessity of civic education must be heeded if Catholic youth is to be formed into Catholic citizens capable and courageous, forming across the nation a bulwark against seditious assaults upon legitimate authority and still not deprived of one whit of their right to protest against g o v e r n m e n t a l abuses. By repeated admonition and through numerous encyclicals Pius XI has endeavored to impress upon the world—as have his four illustrious Prede- 1 « | cessors—that the anguish through which the world is pass- ing is primarily moral and religious in its origin and must look mainly for its solution to the moral law and to religious pronouncements. Governments of human devis- ing are subject to human frailities and when they are de- prived of the guidance of God's grace are prone to error and excess. The degree of their immunity from distress and disaster is in proportion to the extent to which both the people and the administrative authorities are faithful to those Christian principles through which alone they can attain their nation's destiny. It is man's everyday treat- ment of men which is now on trial, and the very justice and wisdom of God's laws for all men and all governments which are being challenged or most cruelly assailed. With great profit to the soul and the body of the nation, always exercising prudence and caution and abiding charity to- ward all men, the Catholic schools of America will be privileged in the great task with which the Hierarchy has charged the University—to guide the minds of Catholic children toward those eternal verities which must be oper- ative both in the material and in the spiritual spheres of life, if God's will is to be accomplished upon earth. Catholic education will be treading here on no new ground, and intruding upon no forbidden or unfamiliar fields of thought or speculation. The eternal verities are indeed what the sublime phrase implies—the laws of God and of eternal justice, lived and expressed in the passion and death of Jesus Christ—and instantly and immediately applicable to the problems of life in time as well as of life everlasting. There has long been, and there still is, a world-wide tendency to divide and render antagonistic the civil and religious categories of life. They can not be divorced without hurt to the citizen and to the state. We can not divide the citizenship of heaven from the citizen- ship of earth. It is the compulsion which rests upon the citizen and is in the very conception of man's relationship to God and to society which is the very antithesis of that secular and utilitarian interpretation which today so largely rules the world. There is the urgent and constant neces- r 9 ] M O S T R E V E R E N D J O S E P H M . C O R R I G A N First President of the Commission sity for man to remember that although he seems to be serving two masters, he is in very truth serving only one. Accepting the august mandate of the Holy Father, and heeding his insistence on sociology, The Catholic Univer- sity of America consecrates herewith its best efforts to bring his noble admonition in practical ways to the Catholic schools of America. It shall be our endeavor to make the spiritual and the temporal one beautiful composite whole, by rearing a citizenship loyal alike to God and government. We believe the task before us will win the approval of all upright men and women who still hold fast to belief in God. All must come to recognize that only those who acknowledge dependence on God can bring to patriotism that respect for authority and that recognition of human rights and liberties which underlie the concept of true Christian democracy. The Catholic, secure in these prin- ciples, is the true patriot and a worthy citizen of any democracy. The churchless man is properly the suspect. He is the man without moorings, driven by every new artifice of subversion, welcoming every new specious pre- text of a Utopia, the usual masquerading forerunner of a dominating tyranny or an atheistic communism. It is no new thing for a great popular movement to come to the people from a popular university—no new thing that a university should foster a new rallying of a people to a great ideal. The Catholic University of America dedicates itself to such loyal obedience to the commission of the august Pon- tiff that Catholics in this country, trained from childhood in the true concept of constituted authority and of man- hood's rights, shall not be found spineless and lethargic while godless men, mouthing much about democracy, do the work of traitors in this Republic. We hold suspect of treason the godless man, and aggressively we maintain the Catholic American whose obedience to lawful author- ity is founded on his obedience to God, is the patriot this country needs today. Pope Pius XI has put in our hands a glorious contribution to the future peace and prosperity of our beloved America. [ 13 ] THE ORGANIZATION OF THE COMMISSION PON these mandates the Catholic University established that organization which has, for the past seven years, been building a program of social education for the Catholic schools of the nation, a program aimed at the better- ment of citizenship through the widening and deepening of the teaching of the Christian principles of justice and charity which have always been the basic elements of Catholic education. Delegated by the Board of Trustees of the Catholic Univer- sity, three members of the University Faculty—the Most Rev- erend Joseph M. Corrigan, the Rector, the Most Reverend Francis J. Haas, now Bishop of Grand Rapids and at that time Dean of the School of Social Science, and the Right Reverend George Johnson of the Department of Education—organized the Commission on American Citizenship as the instrumen- tality to carry out the mandate of the hierarchy. With Bishop Corrigan as president, Bishop Haas as chairman of the executive committee, and Monsignor Johnson in direct authority over all matters pertaining to educational methods, the Commission started the building of a structure broad enough, deep enough, and strong enough to fulfill its purpose in the teaching of citizenship. The primary task of the Commission was immediate concern with Catholic youth. In realization, however, that work in citi- zenship-training is a vital part of all American life and neces- sarily important to all Americans, irrespective of creed or racial background, the group sought the cooperation of Americans representative of differing creeds and racial groups. More than one hundred men and women, distinguished for service in the religious, social, economic, and racial groups which make up our American commonwealth were invited to become members of the Commission. From the beginning the Commission has enjoyed and profited from the friendly cooperation of these members, although they never met as a group and have had no jurisdiction over policies or methods. From time to time the Commission has reported to these members its progress in its delegated labors and has been [ 12 ] given the enthusiastic commendation of those most interested in the betterment of American citizenship. Twelve of the orig- inal members of the Commission have died since the formation of the organization; but the membership is still so generally inclusive that no replacements have yet been made. Since it was important that the program of the Commission meet the highest educational standards, an Advisory Committee of scholars distinguished in educational work, particularly in the social sciences, was brought together. The duties of this group were purely advisory. Neither individually nor as a group were its members responsible for any final decisions. The committee, however, gave noteworthy service in its discussions of the gen- eral scope of the program in relation to the general social prob- lems of the nation. To aid in the work of the Commission in its formative period all the members of this group gave gen- erously of their time and talents: H E R B E R T C. F. B E L L , Professor of History, Wesleyan University, Mid- dletown, Connecticut. F R A N K L I N D U N H A M , Educational Director, National Broadcasting Company, New York City. C H A R L E S G. F E N W I C K , Professor of Political Science, Bryn Mawr Col- lege, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. J A M E S L . H A N L E Y , Superintendent of Public Schools, Providence, Rhode Island. >. F . E R N E S T J O H N S O N , Professor of Education, Columbia University, New York City. J E R O M E G . K E R W I N , Professor of Political Science, University of Chi- cago, Chicago. D A V I D A . M C C A B E , Professor of Economics, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey. F L O R E N C E S T R A T E M E Y E R , Professor of Education, Columbia University, New York City. H E N R Y C. T A Y L O R , Director, Farm Foundation, Chicago. H O W A R D E . W I L S O N , Professor of Education, Harvard University, Cam- bridge, Massachusetts. Cooperating committees were formed of the Diocesan Super- intendents of Schools, Supervisors of Social Studies in various dioceses, and the Faculty of the School of Social Science and of the Department of Education at the Catholic University. Throughout its seven years of existence the Commission has been greatly helped by members of these committees. Diocesan Superintendents have contributed in no small measure to the [ 13 ] advancement of the program, both by practical suggestions and by general acceptance of the aims of the work. On May 8, 1940, the Women's Catholic Order of Foresters generously pledged itself to raise $25,000 from its membership for use by the Commission in the promotion of Christian social education. Since the death of Mrs. Anna Rochford Downes, who was High Chief Ranger of the organization at the time when the fund was pledged, the Foresters have regarded the fund as a memorial to her. The Commission has always been deeply appreciative of the aid given by the Women's Catholic Order of Foresters. Coincidentally with the naming of Commission and com- mittee members, the executive committee of the Commission established a working staff. On this staff Doctor Robert H . Connery was Director until June, 1942; Doctor Mary Synon, Editorial Consultant; Sister Mary Joan, O.P., and Sister Mary Nona, O.P., for the writing of the Curriculum; Sister Mary Marguerite, S.N.D., for the writing of the Primary Readers; Sister Mary Thomas Aquinas, O.P., for the Intermediate Read- ers; and Sister Mary Charlotte, R.S.M., for the Upper Grade Readers. The general organization of the Commission has changed little since its inception, but through death it has suffered the loss of two of its founders—Bishop Joseph M. Corrigan and Monsignor George Johnson. At the death of Bishop Corrigan, the executive committee of the Commission requested the Right Reverend Patrick J. McCormick, now Rector of the Catholic University, to serve as its President; and at the death of Mon- signor Johnson the executive committee requested the Very Reverend Frederick G. Hochwalt to act as its Director. Both Monsignor McCormick and Monsignor Hochwalt have given eminent and laborious services in these positions, carrying on with notable success and fine discrimination the work inaugu- rated by their predecessors. Bishop Haas, at the special request of the Rector of the University, has remained as chairman of the executive committee even though his appointment to the See of Grand Rapids took him from Washington. In that ca- pacity he has continued to give unwavering devotion and keen attention to the work of the Commission, thereby enabling it to maintain its originally established policies upon its planned road. [ i»S ] THE WORK OF THE COMMISSION The work of the Commission has fallen into three general divisions—an informational service to educators, Catholic and non-Catholic, of its principles, its aims, and its methods; in- struction for Catholic school teachers by means of a Curriculum for Guiding Growth in Christian Social Living; and instruction for Catholic school students by means of a series of Basal Readers and other textbooks. Material in these divisions may occasion- ally overlap, but in general the sections are rather clearly de- fined. Less clearly definable has been the assignment of workers upon these divisions, for the builders of the Curriculum have worked in cooperation with the builders of the Readers and have contributed to the tasks of the information service. Informational Service The informational service has included the issuance of pam- phlets, news stories, and news features, the giving of lectures and a wide continuing correspondence as well as appearances at conferences of other organizations seeking the end of better citizenship. In this service the Commission has had the active cooperation of the Public Relations Office of the Catholic Uni- versity and of the press section of the National Catholic Wel- fare Conference. It has also had friendly assistance from such Catholic educational periodicals as the Catholic Educational Review, the Journal of Religious Instruction, and the Catholic School Journal. In advance of its own publication the Com- mission utilized the very effective service of the Young Catholic Messenger, the Junior Catholic Messenger, and Our Little Mes- senger, published by George A. Pflaum, Inc. By use of the Pflaum publications the Catholic elementary schools were pre- pared for the later direct publications. Through the same company the Commission put out a Civics Manual, first called Americans All but later revised as Good Citizens, to accompany its establishment of Catholic Civics Clubs in the higher grades of the elementary schools. The com- pany has also brought out a manual for teachers on the Teaching of Current Affairs, designed to aid teachers in presenting world news in the light of Christian principles. [ 1 6 ] The Catholic University Bulletin, as well as nearly all other University agencies, has given wide publicity to the Commis- sion's work. So, too, have various periodicals published by religious communities throughout the country. Beyond the boundaries of the University the Commission has been given great aid by various divisions of the National Catholic Welfare Conference: notably by the Department of Education, the Social Action Department, the Family Life De- partment, the Rural Life Department, the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, the National Council of Catholic Men and the National Council of Catholic Women. The National Catholic Education Association has also given widespread and generous help in calling the attention of Cath- olic educators to the Commission's work upon its mandated task. Officers and representatives of the Commission have been asked to appear upon the programs of the association at its annual meetings. Among the organizations within the Catholic Church which have closely cooperated with the Commission is the Society for the Propagation of the Faith. In realization that the aim and work of the Commission parallels its own aims and achieve- ments, the Society has requested its diocesan directors to give particular considerat ion to both Curriculum and Readers wrought by the Commission. The directors have responded to the request with a zealous interest which has done much to aid in the widening of influence in these fields. In association with the Catholic Rural Life Conference the Commission has issued copies in pamphlet form of two stories of rural life contained in its Reader VIII, These Are Our Horizons. These copies will be distributed by the Conference at its meetings in the Northwest and in the Southwest. The stories were chosen by the Conference because they represent the use of Christian principles for the solution of some of the nation's most difficult rural problems. Most important of all informational material issued by the Commission—although it was primarily intended as a State- ment of Principles for guideposts in the teaching of Curriculum and textbooks—has been the book, Better Men for Better Times, by Monsignor George Johnson. This book, the publication of which was made possible by a small grant from the General [ 1 7 ] M O S T R E V E R E N D F R A N C I S J . H A A S Chairman, Executive Committee of the Commission Education Fund, came out in a limited edition from the Cath- olic University Press. It was expected that its appeal would be almost exclusively to Catholic educators, with the possible addi- tion of leaders in the general field of secular education. Imme- diately upon publication, however, the book was reviewed by David Lawrence in the United States Neil's. Orders for it thereupon poured in from men and women throughout the world, most of them in the armed services and most of them non-Catholics. In addition to these orders, requests came by the hundreds from both employers and labor organizations. Orders for the book still continue, and the range of those re- questing it remains almost as widespread as it was in time of war. An important aspect of the work of the Commission has been the giving of information to other agencies in the United States which are operating for the building of better citizenship. Notable among these is the Conference of Christians and Jews, which has given noteworthy aid in calling attention to the gen- eral aims and particular accomplishments of the woi"k being done by the Commission on American Citizenship. Out of this cooperation, representatives of the Commission have been en- abled to appear at meetings for consideration of measures for social improvement and to set forth at these meetings the prin- ciples and methods which the Catholics of the United States are using to achieve social betterment. Educational Bases From its beginning the work of the Commissio|n was spade work. There was no chart, no precedent, no estab- lished guide for the tremendous job of devising a plan whereby the long-established social tenets of the Church would be taught to students in all grades of the schools. Had it not been for the experience and wisdom of its dele- gated ecclesiastical directors, the work would have had to be a trial-and-error method. Instead, it wag, from its in- ception, a swift-moving construction job which is already showing the soundness as well as the depth and breadth of its basic structure. After a careful study of possible approaches to the prob- lem, Bishop Haas and Monsignor Johnson, working in close association with the staff they had chosen, decided to con- centrate upon two activities: [ 19 ] The production of a curriculum for the elementary schools whose purpose would be the development in the school child of the understandings, the attitudes, and the habits that are required for Christian living in an American society; The writing of a series of basal readers for the grades to accompany and implement the curriculum. Both the cur- riculum and the readers were to be closely integrated with religion, their aim being to make the learner aware of all that the dogmas and doctrines of the Church require of him in the way of civic and social virtue. These two activities, although different in method of presentation, have been closely interrelated. Both curricu- lum and readers have had to translate into practice the social and economic teaching of the Church. Both imple- ment the Catholic philosophy of education and help the children in Catholic schools to become more and more aware of the intimate relationship between the love of God and the love of their fellowmen. Both activities aim to inspire boys and girls in our Catholic schools to put the truth they have learned in their religion classes into their lives at home, in the classroom, on the playground, and in the larger community. Both develop outward from the core of the child's early consciousness of his own home and family to his later consciousness of the wide world. Fortunately for the Catholic educator, there are definite beacons for his guidance upon the storm-swept seas of social confusion. The Commandments of God, the words of Christ as set down in the New Testament, the general teachings of the Church and the Papal Encyclicals and their authoritative inter- pretations give him direction. From all these the leaders of the work set down definite principles for the workers on both Curriculum and Readers. These principles have been the bases for both activities: The dependence of man upon God; The individual dignity of every human person; The social nature of man; The sacredness and integrity of the family; The dignity of the worker and his work; The material and spiritual interdependence of all men; r 20 ] The obligation of all men to use the resources of the earth according to God's plan; The obligation of men to share non-material goods with one another; The obligation of justice and charity that exist between peoples and nations; The unity of all men. The Curriculum The curriculum is now a complete achievement. Under the immediate supervision of Monsignor Johnson and the intensive guidance of Bishop Haas, Sister Mary Joan, O.P., and her associate, Sister Mary Nona, O.P., the curriculum builders of the Commission, have erected an educational structure which promises to loom in educational history like a high tower upon a plain. The objectives which are set down in the curriculum are in accordance with the principles enunciated by Pope Pius XI in his encyclical on Christian education. The major objective in building the curriculum for the elementary school has been the direc- tion of the school program toward the growth of each child in Christian social living. The term curriculum is taken to mean all the guided experiences of the child under the direction of the school. Sister Mary Joan brought to the work her own wealth of experience in constructing curricula. With Sister Nona and other helpers she has broadened and deepened these existing models to produce the curriculum entitled, Guid- ing Growth in Christian Social Living. The helpers on this work have been so many that the Curriculum is distinctively a democratic project in its personnel of construction. Not only the Department of Education and the School of Social Science, but practically every department and school of the University has contrib- uted something important to the work. The Right Rev- erend Monsignor Patrick J. McCormick, Rector of the University and President of the Commission, and the Right Reverend Edward B. Jordan, vice-rector of the University, cooperated by their careful reading of the finished manu- scripts. The School of Philosophy, and, in particular, its Dean, the Very Reverend Ignatius Smith, O.P., has given notable aid in the association and clarification of philosoph- ical ideas with educational processes. The generous co- [ 2 1 ] operation of members of the Faculties of both University and Houses of Study has greatly advanced and facilitated the labors. In addition, the builders have had the criticism and suggestions of scores of teachers and educators throughout the country. No one knows better than the builders, however, that their work is an adaptable, flexible instrument in the hands of teachers and educators. The Curriculum, entitled Guiding Growth in Christian Social Living, has been organized into three volumes, and published by The Catholic University of America Press. Volume I deals with the primary grades of the elemen- tary school, Volume II with the intermediate grades, and Volume III with the upper grades. All of them present the guided experience of the child under the direction of the school. All of them stress the individual growth of each child toward five goals: physical fitness, economic com- petency, social virtue, cultural development, moral per- fection. All of them take into account the child's basic relationships: God, the Church, fellow man, nature, self. One of the most attractive features of the volumes is the illustration, by means of photographs, of children at work in Catholic schools. There are full-page pictures of chil- dren engaged in many activities, all motivated by the spirit of Christian social living. These pictures, taken at schools in New York, Chicago, Washington, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Omaha, Milwaukee, Burbank, an Indian reser- vation in Arizona, and many other places, show how the Christian ideal is developed by the Catholic school in rela- tion to the daily lives of its students. The three volumes make a notable guide for future devel- opment in the nation's Catholic schools of the program projected by Pope Pius XI and put into operation by the members of the American Hierarchy. The volumes stand as permanent memorial to Monsignor Johnson who saw in their pages the fulfilment of his long-cherished dream of educating the Catholic children of the nation "to grow up into Christ" that each one of them might become "another Christ, going about doing good and bringing salvation to his fellow man." [ 2% 1 The Curriculum has not only won the interest of educators but is already being used as base for Courses of Study in several archdioceses and dioceses. A book on the teaching of Arithmetic, issued by the Archdiocese of Chicago as part of its Course of Studies based on the Curriculum, shows how Christian social principles may be associated with the teaching of the study. Other dioceses have worked out similar plans for texts to imple- ment the Curriculum. Many teaching Communities have taken over special work upon associating the Curriculum with their own normal work. Institutes have been held throughout the country; and the Catholic University has established a course upon the teaching of the Curriculum, given by one of the Curriculum builders, and a Curriculum laboratory. Members of the staff have given lectures and class courses on the Curriculum in several colleges and normal schools. Sister Mary Joan has conducted classes at Rosary College, River Forest, Illinois, Sister Mary Thomas Aquinas at Mount Saint Mary Col- lege, Los Angeles, California, and Sister Mary Nona at the Catholic University. The tremendous work of building the Curriculum and the Readers could not have been accomplished without the full- time labor of the Sisters engaged in this service. In realization that this work kept the Sisters from other and much-needed work in their own Communities, the Commission wishes to give particular thanks to these Mothers-General and Mothers-Provin- cial who, in answer to the requests of Bishop Corrigan and Mon- signor McCormick, have given the releases: To Mother Mary Samuel, O.P., of the Sinsinawa, Wisconsin, Dominicans, for the services of Sister Mary Joan, O.P., and Sister Mary Nona, O.P. ; To the late Mother Mary Evarista and to Mother Mary Vera of the Sisters of Notre Dame of Cleveland, Ohio, for the services of Sister Mary Marguerite, S.N.D.; To Mother Mary de Lourdes, O.P., of the Newburgh, New York, Dominicans, for the services of Sister Mary Thomas Aquinas, O.P.; To Mother Mary Grace, R.S.M. and Mother Mary Emmanuel, R.S.M. of the Mercy Provincial House of Cincinnati, Ohio, for the services of Sister Mary Charlotte, R.S.M. r 24 ] The Basal Readers Just as the Curriculum on Guiding Growth in Christian Social Living has aimed to help the Catholic elementary school teacher in understanding of the social teachings of the Church so the Faith and Freedom Series of Basal Readers aims to implant these Christian principles in the mind of the Catholic school student to guide him toward their use in his daily living. Based on the principles integrated in the Curriculum, these Readers were written for the purpose of establishing in the child understandings and attitudes which would determine his be- havior, both in the present and in the future. Their construc- tion was based on a plan which was the exact opposite from that of some readers used in Catholic schools, a method which merely added a few Catholic stories, essays, and poems to readers already in use in the public schools. The writers of the Faith and Freedom Readers—Sister Mary Marguerite for the Primary and Sister Mary Thomas Aquinas, Sister Mary Charlotte and Doctor Mary Svnon for the Intermediate and Upper Grades— threw aside this method and built a series directly and com- pletely based upon social education according to the principles cited as base for the work of the Commission. The content material of the Readers was determined by both Curriculum builders and Reader builders, working together. They used charts, graphs, and surveys for the determination of where material should be placed. Under the counsel of Mon- signor Johnson they developed the books according to a child's growing consciousness, starting with his first impressions of home and family and working outward to the world at large. For that reason the books, published by Ginn and Company for the Commission, are titled: This is Our Home This is Our Family These are Our Friends These are Our Neighbors This is Our Town This is Our Land These are Our People This is Our Heritage These are Our Freedoms These are Our Horizons r 25 ] V E R Y R E V E R E N D F R E D E R I C K G . H O C H W A L T Director of the Commission r 26 ] The Readers follow closely the teaching of social studies in the grades of the Catholic schools, as determined by a survey made by the Commission. This is Our Land is built upon the work of the Catholic missionaries in the area now the United States, paralleling the teaching of pioneer life, the subject of social study at that grade level. These are Our People depicts American life today. This is Our Heritage follows the study of the history of the Church, showing its contribution to the civil- ization of Europe. These are Our Freedoms is associated with the teaching of American history, showing the contributions of Catholic Americans to our basic freedoms. These are Our Horizons, the final book in the series, presents, by means of stories, articles, and poems, concepts for guiding the student in the home, the community, the nation, and in international rela- tions, thus associating itself with the social study of modern problems taught at that grade level. As indication of the integration of religion with the social studies the unit titles of this Reader, These are Our Horizons, may be cited. They are: Christ, the Life, abides in our Homes Christ, the Way, leads us to our Neighbors Christ, the Truth, guides us in our Nation Christ, the King, lights the lamps of the World The content of the Faith and Freedom readers, from the books for the first grade through the book for the eighth grade, is deeply permeated with the spirit and teachings of the Church. So closely are the religious themes interwoven in the texture of the whole that it is difficult to point to a given selection and say, "That is not a religious story." Each selection in every book was chosen because it exempli- fies a religious or ethical principle. The trivial and medi- ocre have been winnowed, leaving stories, poems, and arti- cles of high dramatic interest and of literary quality rarely found in school readers. The scope and truly Catholic character of the material may be judged best by examining in the Manuals the Christian Social Living objectives which precede the directions for teaching each selection. r 27 ] The content of Faith and Freedom is a body of truth which tends to create in the mind of the young Catholic reader certain fundamental understandings which lead to an attitude of determined desire to bring his conduct into conformity with Christian ideals. The dual purpose of this series is to teach children the art of reading and to associate religious motives with attitudes created by the teaching of social understandings. A sympathetic understanding of other human beings, based on the child's recognition that all children are children of God, is constantly stressed. In addition to the religious principles so skillfully intro- duced, the reader meets many of the great leaders of the Church, not as historical characters, but as courageous human beings, as children of their own time and place might have known them. Some of these great men and women thus met are Father Martín Mendoza, the first parish priest in the United States; Father White, who led the Catholics of England to religious freedom in Maryland; Father Isaac Jogues, who suffered martyrdom at the hands of the Iroquois; Father Fen wick, later the Bishop of Cin- cinnati; Father Samuel Mazzuchelli, the great Dominican missionary of the Northwest Territory; Bishop Rosati, the first Bishop of St. Louis; Bryan Mullanphy, founder of the Saint Vincent de Paul Society in the United States; Father Pierre-Jean De Smet, the apostle of the Rockies; Father Junipero Serra and his brother Franciscans; Saint Paul, Saint John, and Saint Peter, the Apostles of Our Lord; Saint Brigid and Saint Patrick, beloved of Ireland; Stephen Langton, the Archbishop of Canterbury, who led the fight for Magna Charta; Saint Thomas Aquinas; Fray Juan Pérez, the Prior of La Rábida and friend to Christopher Columbus; John Sobieski, King of Poland and deliverer of Vienna from the Moslem; St. Vincent de Paul, friend of the poor; Frederic Ozanam, founder of the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul; Bishop von Ketteler, friend of the work- ingman; John Barry, the first commander-in-chief of the United States Navy; Tadeusz Kosciuszko, friend of the American Colonies; Mother Rose Philippine Duchesne of the Religious of the Sacred Heart; Father Gallitzin, whose parish was carved from the Pennsylvania wilderness; r 28 ] Father Gabriel Richard, the champion of free press and free speech; and Chief Justice Taney of the United States Supreme Court. These Readers, although the final book has been only a year in print, are now in use in more than 6,000 of the 8,000 Cath- olic elementary schools of the United States. They are being used in more than thirty-five, including some of the largest, archdioceses and dioceses of the United States. It is too early as yet to estimate their instructional value in the forming of social attitudes; but attitude tests conducted by schools using them show that the students not only like the books but have already absorbed the principles set within their pages. The response of the students in these tests leads the Commission to believe that the method will be notably successful. As corollary to the Basal Readers the Commission is now at work upon a series of books to present literature at the various grade levels. This series will meet the requirements of many schools in communities which hold tests for students upon standard literature. It will also give the students more than the usual amount of literature by great Catholic writers. In addition to the Readers—both Basal and Literary—the staff of the Commission has compiled manuals, workbooks and various aids for teachers at all grade levels. This is an impor- tant part of the work, especially as the social objectives may be emphasized to the teacher by the manuals and other aids. The Faith and Freedom Readers have awakened interest not only in the Catholic schools of the United States but in other fields. Inquiries about them as possible models for books to be used in schools other than Catholic are many. At official request copies have been sent to the military authorities who are revising systems of education in occupied countries, both Japan and Germany. Catholic publicists in Belgium, France, and the Neth- erlands are basing plans for future education in their countries upon the series. A missionary priest in the Philippines has sent in a plea for hundreds of copies of the Readers with the declara- tion that their use "is the only way I can save the souls of the children here." Thousands of copies of the Readers are already in use in other districts of the Philippines. Nearly every Cath- olic school in Hawaii is using the books. r 29 ] Fuhtre Work Under the authority of the Board of Trustees of the Catholic University the Commission has already gone into work on the Secondary School level. With the Department of Education of the University, through a Seminar in the Graduate School conducted by the Commission Director, Monsignor Frederick G. Hochwalt, it has made a general survey of aims and objec- tives on the Secondary School level. A staff is now at work upon surveys of the schools in anticipation of the building of a curriculum for the Secondary Schools. This curriculum will be bridged to follow the curriculum for the Elementary Schools and will continue the purpose of that completed work. The Commission is also working upon material for the teach- ing of the peace program formulated by His Holiness, Pope Pius XII. The teachings already in use in the schools are being associated with the peace plans of the United Nations and of the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organi- zation. In this material the Commission aims to show that the basis for right attitudes of good will to all men are already within the core of Catholic teaching and that the task of the teacher is largely one of re-statement and new educational emphasis. As need arises for textbooks to clarify and intensify the teaching of Christian principles the Commission plans to super- vise the writing of such books. These, like the Basal Readers, will be integrally associated with the Curriculum on Guiding Growth in Christian Social Living. With the passing of time and the adoption of Readers and Curriculum by so many archdioceses and dioceses the Commis- sion has become keenly aware of its obligation in helping the teacher elucidate this program of social education. It has already provided, as far as has been possible with the limited number of its staff, lectures, institutes, and complete courses for teachers. It hopes however to extend this work, not by greater numbers on its own staff but by the aroused interest of those who have attended the courses. In this extension the Commission hopes and plans to give active aid through informational service to those who carry on the work of education in Christian social living. r 31 ] Throughout the course of its work the Commission has been deeply conscious that, in the long run, the success of its labors depended upon the Catholic elementary school teacher. In recognition of her valiant service in the cause of that Christian education which alone can bring the kingdom of God upon earth, the Commission wishes to pay her sincere and deserved tribute. Without her understanding and cooperation no pro- gram of social education could be of value. Whatever success has been achieved in this program envisioned by the Holy Father and created by the Archbishops and Bishops of the United States has been due, in large measure, to the noble zeal of the members of the teaching Sisterhoods. They know and inspire the souls of the boys and girls in the parochial schools, men and women of tomorrow. With them rests the promise of that brighter future foreseen by the Holy Father in his direction that the Catholic University establish a program of Christian teaching to "give full meaning and compelling motive to the demand for human rights and liberties because it alone gives worth and dignity to human personality." To them the Com- mission on American Citizenship acknowledges its deepest and most permanent debt of gratitude. r 32 ]