August 31, 2012

What was in the news on Aug. 31, 1962?

A study on large families and vocations as well as an update on total Catholic school enrollment

Criterion logo from the 1960sBy Brandon A. Evans

This 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.

Here are some of the items found in the August 31, 1962, issue of The Criterion:

  • Study the social encyclical, labor, management advised
  • Two new high schools: Expansion of facilities mark school opening
  • Family, Church rights in education stressed
  • Labor Day Mass slated in two cities
  • Who is a ‘nominal’ Catholic?
  • At Helsinki Youth Festival: How Hoosier Catholic newsman ‘tricked’ Reds
  • Protestant Labor Sunday message
  • Jewish Labor Day Message
  • Petition at convention urges English at Mass
  • Esteem for others seen first step toward unity
  • Radical differences: Council will be unique in annals of the Church
  • Large families and vocations
    • “MONTREAL—A sociological survey among Quebec major seminarians published here indicates that vocations tend to come from large families. The results of the 1961 survey, which appeared in the review Priest Today, showed that the families which produced seminarians averaged 7.3 children. Of a total of 593 seminarians, only 12 came from one-child families, while 46 came from families with 10 children and nine from families with 16 or more children. The survey further indicated that 28.1 percent of the candidates for the priesthood had brothers or sisters in the religious life.”
  • Edith Stein cause begun
  • Vacation ‘Catechism Camps’
  • ‘Pray-and-pay’ role of the laity deplored
  • School enrollment nears 6 million
    • “WASHINGTON—The Nation’s more than 13,000 Catholic schools and colleges are expected to enroll about 5,917,000 students this year, another record high total. As in past years, the biggest increase is expected in the grade schools, about 115,000 children. High school enrollment should go up by about 64,000 youngsters and colleges by nearly 29,000 students.”
  • Americans to staff India med school
  • $2 million plant: New Brebeuf Preparatory School ready to welcome first students
  • Several parishes slate picnics on Labor Day
  • Cardinal asks missionary post
  • Asks new approach to church unity
  • 54 percent of graduates going to college
    • “CLEVELAND, O.—Fifty-four percent of the 4,485 graduates of high schools operated by the Cleveland diocese in 1961-62 will go on to college, a survey taken by the Diocesan School Board showed here.”
  • ‘America’ editorial: Cautions Jewish groups on school prayer issue
  • Hopes shared-time plan will be given fair trial
  • 13 Federal prisoners receive Confirmation
  • K.C. asked to provide loan fund
  • Morality of automation discussed by prelate
  • Red ‘feastdays’ proposed
  • Rabbi urges covenant on encyclical
  • Classed dropped; teacher shortage

(Read all of these stories from our August 31, 1962, issue by logging on to our special archives.) †

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