Newspaper Page Text
Jt
►
i
y
POPE OF
THE PEOPLE-
(Continued From Page 2)
munion to a group of working
class youths.
On many occasions he has
shown his personal humility and
concern for other people’s feel
ings. Once he admitted before
some 100,000 people that he
doesn’t enjoy sitting on the por
table throne called the sedia
gestatoria.
“I would be most happy to
walk on foot like everybody
else,” he stated. ‘‘Then I think
that if I went on foot, no one
would be able to see me, and
therefore I use it (the sedia) as
an exercise of mortification.”
On another occasion he told
the captain of the papal gendar
merie, ‘‘Captain, you are a big
ger noise than I am, because I
was only a sergeant.”
The announcement of the ecu
menical council was made on
January 26, 1959, to 17 cardi
nals who attended ceremonies
commemorating the conversion
of St. Paul. Pope John at the
same time announced a synod
for the Diocese of Rome.
Wearing the Triple Tiara of the papacy, His Holiness Pope John XXIII, following
the ceremony of his coronation, Nov. 4, 1958, gives the papal blessing, “Urbi et Orbi,”
from the balcony of St. Peter’s basilica to the thousands of faithful below. First public
speech of his pontificate appealed to leaders of nations to work for peace in world, the sub
ject of his great encyclical, Pacem in Terris.
Pope Of Many Surprises
He Shattered Traditions,
Established Precedents
Church Problems
Pope John has stressed in
addresses that the main pro
blems facing the Church are
persecution, the communist
danger, the spread of atheism,
the tepid attitude of many Ca
tholics, the reunion of the East
ern churches with Rome and the
reorganization of the Church to
meet modern conditions.
In the first public speech of
his pontificate he appealed to the
leaders of nations to work for
peace. Early in the first year of
his reign, Pope John ruled,
through an official ‘‘admoni
tion” issued by the Holy Of
fice, that it would be sinful for
Catholics to vote for any politi
cal candidate, communist or
not, known to support commun
ists or their activities. The
ruling complemented and stiff
ened the Holy Office ruling of
1949 which excommunicated
communists and those who sup
port communism.
The Pope’s first encyclical,
‘‘Ad Petri Cathedram” (To the
Chair of Peter), was issued on
June 29, 1959. It invited sep
arated Christians to return to
the Catholic Church, and ap
pealed for renewed efforts for
peace in the world.
On August 1 of the same year
the second encyclical was is
sued, “Sacerdotii Nostri Pri-
mordia” (From the Beginning
of Our Priesthood). It com
memorated the centenary of the
death of St. John Vianney and
dealt with the priestly life.
The third encyclical, ‘ ‘Grata
Recordatio” (Grateful Memo
ry), was published on Septem
ber 26, 1959. It urged Catho
lics to pray the Rosary in Oc
tober for five intentions; gui
dance of the Pope, the success
of missionaries and the Chris
tian apostolate, peace among
nations, the success of the Ro
man Synod and the success of
the Second Vatican Council.
Almost as if he were hurry
ing to lay the foundations of his
pontificate, Pope John issued
still another encyclical in 1959,
‘‘Princeps Pastorum” (Prince
of Shepherds). It urged increas
ed recruiting and training of
priests and lay missioners, and
called on Catholics in mission
areas to play an active part in
public life.
The Pope’s own vital interest
in the missions was demon
strated in two ways: On Holy
Thursday, 1959, he got down on
his knees in performing Holy
Week rites to wash the feet of
13 missionary priests, and in
May, 1960, he consecrated 14
missionary bishops in St.
Peter’s basilica.
On October 11, 1959, Pope
(Continued On Page 6)
(N.C.W.C. News Service)
Pope John XXIII has been
a man of many surprises. He
not only broke traditions, he es
tablished many precedents, and
even reinstated old customs
that had fallen into disuse.
Although many of the changes
he brought about were private
or personal things, he did not
hesitate to revise or even dis
pense with ages-old protocol.
He felt that each pope should
be free to establish new cus
toms of his own.
Immediately following his
election as pope on October
28, 1958, Angelo Cardinal Ron-
calli delved into history and
chose John for his name. Al
though a name most chosen by
popes, it had not been used
for more than 600 years. The
fact that it was last used by
a false pope did not deter him
from his choice.
One of the first customs
he dispensed with was the tra
dition that the pope should eat
alone. His immediate predeces
sor Pius XII had rigidly ad
hered to this custom. Some
other popes on special occas
ions had shared their food with
relatives, but usually they were
seated at a separate table. Pope
John’s previous experience as a
diplomat and his genial nature
were opposed to his eating
alone.
‘‘I tried it for one week and
I was not comfortable,” he said.
‘‘I searched through Sacred
Scripture for something saying
I had to eat alone. I found noth
ing, so I gave it up and it’s much
better now.”
Early in his pontificate, Pope
John chose to waive traditional
rules. He made frequent use of
the telephone to call in his aides
and ruled that his close assis
tants need not genuflect and
kiss his ring every time they
came into his presence. This
traditional sign of reverence
shown to popes he limited to
their first and last visits of the
day. It saved time, he said.
The day after his election
as pope, he made an impromp
tu tour of the Vatican terri
tory, one of many to follow.
The Vatican radio station, the
Vatican garage, the printing
plant of L’Osservatore Romano
and Vatican Polyglot Press,
the barracks of the Swiss
Guards, the Vatican Museum
and Library, and even the car
pentry shop, chatting informally
with the workers.
His curiosity took him into
every corner of the Vatican.
One result of such inspection
was Pope John’s decision to in
crease the wages of the 3,000
employees of the Vatican. In
his formula to bring financial
equity to them, he decreed that
the man who received the small
est pay and yet supported
the greatest number of chil
dren was granted the greatest
increase.
In his first Christmas as
pope, he made a surprise visit
to the Regina Coeli Prison in
Rome. It was the first papal
visit to a jail since Pope Pius.
IX, who visited them every
Christmas during his pontif
icate (1846 to 1878). ‘'Youcould
not come to see me so I have
come to see you,” he told the
inmates.
The following day he dropped
into Rome’s Child Jesus
hospital to cheer the sick chil
dren there. Three week’s later
he ‘‘disappeared” from his Vat
ican office and made an unan
nounced visit to a home for re
tired and infirm priests. This
and many other unexpected de
partures from the Vatican lim
its, without informing Rome
police, as required by the Vat
ican Concordat, gave security
officials much concern. It was
finally settled by stationing two
motorcycle escorts at the exit
of the Pope’s palace to escort
him, whether he desired it or
not.
On one occasion he insisted
on visiting Rome's tough Tras-
tavere section to give Com
munion to a group of working
class youth. On another oc
casion he made an unscheduled
stroll through downtown Rome
on his way to address some
5,000 seminarians at St. Igna
tius Church. In all, it is said
he went outside the Vatican at
least 150 times.
In September, 1960, he made
a motor trip of 50 miles from
his summer residence at Cas-
telgandolfo to the Benedictine
Abbey at Subiaco. This was ec
lipsed by his first railroad trip
as pope. On October 4, 1962
he made a 400-mile journey
from the Vatican City railroad
station to two of Italy’s famous
shrines—at Loreto and Assisi.
There he prayed for the suc
cess of the coming ecumeni
cal council. It marked the long
est trip any pope has taken
away from the Vatican in 105
years.
The tradition-breaking pope
is noted also for reviving other
papal traditions. He revived an
ancient custom of 200 years
when as Bishop of Rome he
personally led on foot the sta-
tional procession to the church
es of Rome during Lent. He of
ten expressed his dislike of
pomp, expecially at being car
ried aloft in the sedia gesta
toria, the portable papal throne.
When Vatican officials insisted
on doing so, Pope John offered
it as an exercise in mortifica
tion.
As for his precedent shatter
ing, early in his pontificate he
decided that during his after
noon walks in the Vatican Gar
dens he was not to be alone.
He told the gardeners and main
tenance crew to continue their
work. On occasion he even in
sisted that two or three car
dinals walk with him.
When asked by officials if
they should continue the custom
of closing the Vatican roof to
tourists during such walks,
Pope John replied:‘‘Let the roof
stay open while I’m out. Iprom-
ise not to give any scandal to
tourists.”
Although at times a tradi
tionalist, he was often an in
novator. For use during his
summer walks he introduced a
new papal style—the wear
ing of a white, widebrimmed
hat and red Morocco leather
shoes. For winter wear he re
vived the use, for the first
time in more than 60 years, of
the camauro. This tight-fitting,
red velvet cap trimmed with
white fur covers the back of
the head and ears. It is used
on non-liturgical occasions.
In April, 1959, Pope John,
in Holy Thursday ceremonies at
the Archbasilica of St. John
Lateran in Rome, revived the
ancient custom of personally
washing the feet of 13 clerics,
in memory of Christ’s washing
the feet of the Apostles.
In January 1959, Pope John
announced his intention of con
voking a general ecumenical
council of the Church, the first
in 90 years. It opened on Oc
tober 11, 1962.
Perhaps the most important
event in the government of the
(Continued On Page 8)
Pontiff Makes Last Lenten Church visit—Thousands of
Roman citizens lined the streets and filled balconies as
His Holiness Pope John XXIII made his last Lenten Sun
day visit by automobile to a Rome church. This time
(Palm Sunday) the Bishop of Rome visited the church of
St. Tarciscus on the way to Naples. (NC Photos)
The Southern Cross, June 8, 1963—PAGE 3
Climaxed By Pacem In Terris
Impassioned Feeling Marked
Pope John’s Pleas For Peace
Signs Encyclical on Peace—His Holiness Pope John XXIII affixes his signature to
the latest papal encyclical, ‘‘Pacem et Terris” (Peace on Earth), in an unusual cere
mony that emphasized the importance he attached to his first encyclical devoted ex
clusively to the theme of peace.
(N.C.W.C. NEWS SERVICE)
World peace was a constant
and ardent prayer of Pope John
XXIII. He made impassioned
pleas for peace in all his Christ
mas messages to the world. He
renewed this appeal with deep
feeling on more than 30 other
occasions: in audiences, on the
radio and in solemn documents.
As early as October 29,1958,
one day after his election as
pope in the first public ad
dress of his pontificate, he
called upon the world’s rulers
to hear and make positive re
ply to the appeals of their peo
ple for peace.
On that occasion he asked the
rulers of all nations: ‘‘Why
should not discords and disa
greements be finally .composed
equitably? Why should the re
sources of human genius and the
riches of the peoples turn more
often to preparing arms—
pernicious instruments of death
and destruction—than to in
creasing the welfare of all
classes of citizens, and parti
cularly the poorer classes?”
The first public, reply from a
chief of state to Pope John’s
first appeal for peace came
from U.S. President Dwight D.
Eisenhower. In a letter sent
through his personal represen
tatives to the coronation cere
monies, Gen. Eisenhower de
clared: "I share with you the
fervent desire for a peaceful
solution of the momentous pro
blems which beset mankind.”
In his first Christmas mes
sage to the world, delivered
over Vatican Radio on De
cember 23, 1958, Pope John
pleaded for efforts toward peace
by men of good will and called
for Christian unity in the face
of men of ill will.
Again early in his pontificate,
Pope John in his first Easter
Message (March 28, 1959) re
minded the world’s rulers of
their great responsibility to
work for peace. ‘‘We offer a
prayer that peace, the daughter
of gentleness and goodwill, may
establish a lasting rule among
nations, made over anxious by
the clouds which repeatedly
darken the horizon. We pray for
the heads of states, joined with
Us in recognizing that their
high calling establishes them
not as judges, but as guides of
the nations.”
In the first encyclical letter of
his pontificate, Pope John
pleded for Christian unity and
sounded a warning of the uni
versal devastation that would
result from nuclear war. The
letter, dated June 29, 1959, and
entitled Ad Petri Cathedram
(At the Chair of Peter) declar
ed that “God created men not as
enemies but as brothers. He
gave them the earth to be cul
tivated by their toil and energy,
so that each and every one
might take from it its fruits
and whatever should be neces
sary for his sustenance and gen
eral needs in life.”
Peace and concord among na
tions was one of five intentions
for which Pope John asked the
faithful to recite the Rosary
during the month of October.
In his encyclical of September
26, 1959, Grata Recordatio
(Grateful Memory), he urged
prayers that ‘‘the men respon
sible for the destinies of nations
great and small. . .may atten
tively assess the serious duty
of the present hour.”
On December 6, 1959, Pope
John received in audience
President Eisenhower, who was
on an international good will
tour. Speaking in English, the
Pope told him he rejoiced to see
the American nation striving
‘‘toward the lofty ideals of a
loyal and effective concord be
tween nations.”
* ‘The Catholic Church, whose
constant yearning is the estab
lishment of true peace between
peoples, cannot but greet with
joy every sincere effort
directed toward that end and
wish it the most consoling suc
cess,” he said.
In the second Christmas mes
sage of his pontificate, Pope
John admonished: ‘‘No peace
will have solid foundations
unless hearts nourish the sen
timent of brotherhood which
ought to exist among all who
have a common origin and are
called to the same destiny. . .
The basis of international peace
is, above all, truth.”
When he addressed the lead
ers jf Pax Christi, international
Catholic peace organization, on
April 19, 1960, he told them
tuat peace had been and would
continue to be a dominant theme
in all his speeches and personal
contacts.
He predicted that the forth
coming ecumenical council
would contribute to world peace
by giving an indication of the
spirit of unity and fraternity
which is increasing in the life
of the Church.
Whether it was a group of
workers, or educators, or
Olympic athletes, or delegates
to the UN Food and Agriculture
Organization conference# his
admonition was always that they
work for human brotherhood and
peace.
In his third Christmas mes
sage to the world, December 22,
1960, Pope John pleaded for a
fidelity to truth in the cause of
world peace. “The evermore
grave news of the storms which
rage over some parts of the
world, and threaten not only
the social order, but more im
portant, many souls. . .moves
Us to direct a word to those who
have the highest responsibili
ties in the public and social
sphere,” to remind them ‘‘to
act honorably in these days of
general danger.”
In his great social encyclical
Mater et Magistra (Mother and
Teacher), May 15, 1961, was a
plea for cooperation on a world
scale and help for the under
developed nations. He deplored
the lack of trust among nations.
Those who seek to bring peace
to others must first know peace
within themselves, declared
Pope John at the Vatican on
July 26, 1961, when he address
ed members of the third inter
national pilgrimage of Pax
Christi. “It is certainly your
duty to show in your lives a
beautiful application of the
words of Jesus ‘beati pacifici’
(blessed are the peacemak
ers).”
On September 10, 1961, Pope
John XXIII, in a radio address to
the world made a strong appeal
for justice and peace based on
reason rather than force. He
warned of the frightful effect of
new weapons and called upon
the rulers of nations to “face
squarely the tremendous re
sponsibilities they bear before
the tribunal of history and the
judgement seat of God.”
These sentiments the pope
repeated at the opening (Novem
ber 6, 1961) of the second meet
ing of the Central Preparatory
Commission of the Second Vati
can Council. He reminded the
commission that many people
were worried about world con
ditions and again called for
peace. Three days earlier he
had issued another peace plea
when he received delegates
from 67 nations attending cere
monies marking his birthday
and coronation anniversaries.
Two weeks later, he told
delegates to the 11th conference
of the UN Food and Agriculture
Organization in Rome: “To
day’ s world is aspiring to great
ends—peace and bread. . .One
may say that the first implies
Ithe other.”
In his bull, Humanae Salutis,
[(December 24, 1961) convoking
the Second Vatican Council,
Pope John said: “Finally, to a
world lost, confused and anxi
ous under the constant threat
of new frightful conflicts, the
forthcoming council is called
upon to offer an opportunity for
all men of good will to turn
itheir thoughts and their inten
sions toward peace.”
The following day in his ser
mon at the Christmas Midnight
Mass he told the diplomats pre
sent of his wish that all peoples
be assured of “the incompara
ble blessing of peace.” He said
“it is obviously not a question
of just any kind of peace,” and
that the Church “loves peace
that is based on justice.”
Pope John, in his Christmas
radio message to the world
(Dec. 21, 1961) and again (De
cember 28) in his remarks at
the annual reception of the dip
lomats accredited to the Holy
See warned the rulers of the
world of their responsibility
before God and men.
"The judgment of history will
be severe with those people who
neglect to do everything in their
power in order to remove the
scourge of war from humanity,”
he said.
Delegates of the Association
of Jurists of the U.S.A., holding
a European conference organi
zed by the Special Committee
for World Peace Through Law,
were told by Pope John (April
4, 1962) that “relations among
nations, like those among peo
ple, cannot be governed by
force, but must be regulated
by juridical norms in con
formity with reason and founded
upon universal and immutable
moral principles without which
peace cannot exist among
states.”
Pope John’s concern “over
the problem of the threat to
peace” was again voiced in his
Easter Message of April 22,
1962. “A harmoinous effort by
everyone is the only hope for
the preservation of peace where
it already exists; and where it
does not exist, everything po
ssible must be done to remove
whatever is endangering its
foundations,” he declared.
At a general audience in St.
Peter’s basilica on May 30 he
warned that without God’s help,
“still more bloody battles and
still deeper sorrows could
come. . .a conflict which could
annihilate all the good that hu
manity possesses,” he said.
A few days later (June 3)
he again appealed for an end
to the slaughter in Algeria and
voiced his profound sorrow
over the strife there. “Let the
rule of law prevail in mutual
charity. May the day of peace
soon dawn for all those
regions.”
One month later (July 3,1962)
when he received President An
tonio Segni of Italy, Pope John
said: “All nations of the world,
all honest and open souls are
invited to cooperate in the great
undertaking of building, not ma
terial weapons of destruction,
but of fashioning the world in
the light and constant brilliance
of the eternal principles of
Christian order.”
On September 7, 1962, Vice
President Lyndon B. Johnson
was received at the Vatican by
Pope John. Johnson was on a
visit to six countries to con
solidate the peaceful aims of
the U.S. and promote closer
cooperation among nations. His
efforts were praised by the
Pope who told him of his own
“solicitudes, encouragements
and paternal insistence in favor
of the great cause of peace.”
He added that he prayed daily
for “those who bear the greater
responsibilities in the govern
ment of nations, so that their
minds and hearts may always
be aware of the delicate re
sponsibility they have before the
Divine Law and the just expec
tations and aspirations of the
great human family.”
When the world was on the
brink of nuclear war, Pope John,
in a surprise broadcast, Octo
ber 25, 1962, warned of the
horrors of a nuclear war and
begged the political leaders to
keep negotiating towards peace.
Only one day earlier a * ‘quaran
tine” ordered by U.S. Presi
dent Kennedy against the deliv
ery of offensive weapons to
Cuba had gone into effect, and
Soviet Premier Khrushchev had
declared that any U.S. attack on
Soviet shipping meant nuclear
war. At the same time troops
of communist China were ad
vancing into northern India.
“Let them do everything in
their power to save peace,” the
Pope urged world leaders. “By
so doing they will spare the
world the horrors of a war that
would have disastrous conse
quences such as nobody could
foresee. . .Let them continue to
negotiate. . .at all levels and at
all times.”
Pope J ohn’s extraordinary
broadcast for peace soon had
fruitful results. For on Octo-
(Continued On Page 6)