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PAGE 2—The Southern Cross, August 15, 1963 Controversy Developed Last Fall Scripture And Tradition Question To Be Taken Up Again By Council The following article pro vides the background on the im portant topic of Revelation which elicited vigorous debate in the first session of Second Vatican Council and will be taken up again when the council reconvenes on September 29. The writer is rector of Imma culate Conception Seminary, Darlington, N. J., where he has taught dogmatic theology since 1939. Contributor to a wide range of journals, including the American Ecclesiastical Re view and Theological Studies, he is a past president of the Catholic Theological Society of America. He is an official expert to advise the Second Vatican Council. By Msgr. George W. Shea (N.C.W.C. NEWS SERVICE) Just as at the Catholic hier archy’s very first meeting in Jerusalem about 49 A. D., dif fering views and lively discus sion have regularly preceded agreement in the Church’s ecu menical councils. The Second Vatican Council is no excep tion. Apparently the most contro versial topic at the council to date is the all-important ques tion of how best to expound and express Catholic doctrine on divine Revelation. The council’s Theological Commission had prepared a draft on that, but the project—especially its first chapter, "On the Twofold Source of Revelation’’—met so much opposition last November that Pope John called a halt after five days of discussion and sent the whole matter to be re considered by a special com mission of several cardinals and members of the Theological Commission and the Secretar iat for Promoting Christian Unity. The revision produced by this mixed commission bears the simple title, "On Revelation,” and is to be discussed—quite likely at some length—when the council reassembles September 29. The controversy lastfall cen tered on the first chapter of the original draft. The chapter dealt with problems raised by the fact that God’s progressive Revela tion to mankind ended centu ries ago, with the death of the last apostle. Where do we find this Reve- REFRIGERATOR SERVICE / Bishop’s Appliance Service 31 Years Experience in Savannah Automatic Wa*her* - Freezers - Refrigerators Air-Conditioners EXPERT GUARANTEED SERVICE AD 6-1197 Nights 354-6880 4°/ ? MENTION THIS AD AND SAVE $1.00 Television Hospital TV Radio Hi-Fi Satisfaction Guaranteed 2127 Germain Drive Savannah, Georgia 355-6685 47 Columbus \ Columbus Fish Company FISH IS OUR MIDDLE NAME Retail-Wholesale Restaurant 3800 River Road Columbus, Georgia •s' For Home Delivery Call FA. 3-3651 COLUMBUS, GA. lation? Only in divinely inspired books, Sacred Scripture? Or must one look also to Tradition (the deposit of Faith as handed on orally and in other ways, apart from Scripture) as a source of our knowledge of Revelation? And if so, how are Scripture and Tradition related —in particular, does Tradition add anything to the divine mes sage in Scripture? Further, did God put these sources of Revelation at the di rect disposal of the individual, for his private interpretation, or did He instead entrust them as a sacred deposit to a divine ly instituted and assisted teach ing authority, charged with the task of guarding, defending and interpreting them authorita tively for the faithful? The early Protestant answer was simply, "Scripture alone.” The Bible contains the whole of Revelation and is its only source and judge, according to the Re formers. Tradition, although it merits respect, is merely hu man, has no divine authority, at least since the completion of the Bible. The individual inter prets Scripture for himself with the help of the Holy Spirit, does not have to listen to any teaching agency. Modern Protestant scholar ship has tended, however, to place greater value on the place of Tradition. Against the anti- traditional stand of early Pro testantism has come a new in sight: "Scripture is nowhere by itself alone.” Like Protestants, though to a lesser degree, the separated Eastern Christians have shied away from the idea of a teaching agency divinely instituted to ex plain and interpret Revelation authoritatively for the faithful. But the Eastern Christians do recognize Tradition as a source of Revelation along with Scrip ture. Indeed, they tend to exalt Tradition at the expense of Scripture. And they insist that Tradition contains much of Re velation which isn't in Scripture at all. A summary in L’Osservatore Romano, the Vatican City news paper, indicated how the Theo logical Commission’s original draft conceived the Catholic answer to the above questions. God revealed through the pro phets in the Old Covenant and through His Son in the New. The Apostles, sent by Christ, spread God’s Revelation first andfore- most by preaching, then later, some of them by writing. Hence, according to the draft, there are two sources of Revelation, Scripture and Tradition. These complete and clarify each other and constitute the deposit of Faith, which God entrusted to the custody, defense and inter pretation of the living magis- terium (teaching authority) of the Church and not to the indi vidual faithful. It seems implied in this summary that part of Revelation is to be found only in Tradition. Many bishops objected that the draft presented as settled some points on the relations between Scripture and Tradi tion which they felt are still obscure and debatable. Several balked particularly at calling Scripture and Tradition "sources," "two sources,” of Revelation, on the ground that God alone is Revelation’s source, and/or because theolo gians still dispute whether Scripture and Tradition are two distinct sources or only two manifestations of a single source. Another criticism of the draft was that its wording was so abstruse that it might make the truth incomprehensible to all but specialists. Tied in with these and other objections was the desire to avoid doctrinal formulations that could sharpen Catholic and Protestant differences, thus re tarding the reunion of the sepa rated brethren. The criticisms relied heavily <o / Nothing disappears as fast as. COLUMBUS, GA. on the many studies of recent years on Scripture and Tradi tion which have sought to shrink the area of genuine disagree ment between Catholic and Pro testant doctrine. In varying degrees, many of these studies limit Tradition to being a commentary on Scrip ture. The definition of the Coun cil of Trent in 1546 (repeated by the First Vatican Council in 1870), was that divine Revela tion "is contained in written books (Sacred Scripture) and unwritten traditions.” Some people hold that Trent merely wished to uphold, against the Reformers, the vali dity of divine Tradition, without determining its precise rela tions with Scripture—for ex ample, the question whether any of Revelation is only in Tradi tion. For their view that the whole of Catholic Faith can be found in the Bible at least in germ, the latter authors appeal to Church Fathers and medieval theologians, adding that there is no Catholic dogma without some roots in Scripture, roots discernible in the light of Tradi tion. Most would permit one excep tion—the canon or authoritative list of the inspired books, which they admit to be a revealed truth known only from Tradition (whereas, for the minority, the canon may have been settled, not (Continued on Page 6) Georgian Receives Habit COLUMBUS — Miss Norma Faye Griffin, daughter -of Mr. and Mrs. Percy E. Griffin Sr., of St. Benedict’s, will receive MISS GRIFFIN the habit of the Vincentian Sis ters of Charity at the Mother- house in Pittsburgh, Pa., Aug ust 15, in the Reception Cere mony at 10:30 a.m. Miss Griffin is a graduate of Mother Mary Mission high school in Phenix City, Alabama and Albany State College, Al bany, Georgia. Before entering the convent as a postulant last September Miss Griffin was employed in the research and library de partments of the Smithonian In stitute in Washington, D, C. She has three brothers, Per cy, Jr., Robert and Thomas of Columbus. Miss Griffin will be one of a class of 14 to receive the habit of the Vincentian Sisters of Charity in Pittsburgh on the Feast of the Assumption. 6 Complete Education ? Only Cure GARY, Ind., (NC) — "Com plete eradication” is the only remedy for race prejudice, Bi shop Andrew G. Grutka has de clared. Bishop Grutka in a pastoral letter on racial justice said "inbred social evils” such as race prejudice sometimes re quire "drastic action” to cor rect them. He said "right thinking per sons and practicing Christians” should "lend them (Negroes) a hand” in their efforts to win equal treatment. CRS AID FOR EARTHQUAKE VICTIMS—Msgr. Alfred Bottizer, program director in Trieste, Italy for Catholic Relief Services-National Catholic Welfare Conference, super vises the packaging of 300 camp cots and foam rubber mattresses purchased by CRS for the earthquake victims in Skoplje, Yugoslavia. He also released 1,500 bales of clothing from the CRS warehouse in Trieste for their use.—(NC Photos) Vietnam Fight Basically Political, Not Religious (By J. J. Gilbert) WAS HINGTON—Through some quick-breaking develop ments, the focus in the so- called Buddhist issue in Viet nam was transferred briefly from Saigon to this city. Out of these developments emerges the very strong Im pression that while people in this country have been led to believe there is a religious persecution of Buddhists j in south Vietnam, this is not true. There also emerges the im pression that politics is at the root of the trouble. Vietnamese Ambassador Tran Van Chuong issued a state ment disavowing remarks made by Madame Ngo Dinh Nhu on an American television interview produced in Saigon. This caused a stir because Madame Nhu is the Ambassador’s daughter and also the hostess, or "First Lady,” of her brother-in-law, Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem, who is a bachelor. The Ambassador said,, re marks of Madame Nhu in the interview "only represented the personal opinion of the inter viewee” and did not reflect the viewpoint of his government. In the interview, Madame Nhu was reported as saying the Buddhists in Vietnam had "bar becued one of their monks” whom they had "intoxicated,” and that they used "imported gasoline” to do it. This ob viously was what the Ambassa dor referred to, as he said subsequently he was sure "my government does not approve the lack of respect for the mem ory of the Venerable TithQuang Due.” (Thi s was the monk who burned himself to death in June.) Madame Nhu also said a few "Young Turk” Buddhists want to overthrow the Vietnamese government, without having anything positive to offer in its place. Apparently the Ambassa dor was not disavowing this statement, as the embassy is sued at the same time a booklet entitled "Documents on the Buddhist Issue in Viet-Nam.” One of the documents in the booklet is a communique of the Movement of the Republi can Youth in Vietnam alleging that "certain elements ordi narily rather indifferent to wards the heroic struggle of the people against communist invasion showed themselves to be extremely enthusiastic in beginning a campaign of sys tematic and disloyal distortion of facts, aimed at poisoning the souls of the faithful, at exert ing a heavy pressure on the venerable monks and at arous ing a movement of insubordi nation to the law, under the fallacious pretext of ‘fighting against the repression of Budd hism’ and ‘for the defense of the Faith.’ ” All of this served to recall that more than one warning has been issued that the "Buddhist Issue” in Vietnam is not a religious struggle, does not stem from persecution of the Buddhists, but is basically a political maneuver. Father Patrick O’Connor, S.S.C., Far East correspondent of the N.C.W.C. News Service, has been in the van of those issuing such warnings. Father O’Connor said "Buddhists in south Vietnam have been selling the American public a bill of goods.” He said they have re presented themselves as under going religious persecution, but that "Buddhists agitating for ‘religious freedom’ in south Vietnam are really aiming at the overthrow of the govern ment.” U. S. Ambassador to Vietnam Frederick E. Nolting said that "Vietnam has impressed me as a country of religious toler ance.” He added: "In the time I have been here—in visits to all parts of the country during nearly two and half years—I have never seen any evidence of religious persecution or of bi gotry on the part of any reli gious group.” The impression has been PRIEST-HISTORIAN HONORED—Msgr. Philip Hughes (left), noted historian of the Roman Catholic Church, is congratulated by Father Theodore M. Hesburgh, C. S. C., University of Notre Dame president, after receiving an honorary degree at the school’s summer commencement exercises. Msgr. Hughes, who is retiring from the Notre Dame faculty after eight years, was cited as "a great priest, a great historian and a great personality. . .The depth of his learning and the elegance of his prose style are enduring models for those who would serve the Church through scholarship.” - (NC Photos) created in this country that Ca tholics, and even the Catholic Church, are persecuting the Buddhists in south Vietnam. Much has been made of the fact that President Diem is a Catho lic. Father O’Connor has point ed out that some Buddhists are engaged in a struggle with the President, whom Father O’Con nor says is "strong-willed— some would say ‘obstinate.’ ” But, the correspondent added, the fact that Diem is a Catholic "does not make it a Catholic government.” The government and Budd hists have already signed an agreement covering the five de mands on which the latter large ly base their struggle with the regime. Since then, the Budd hists have accused the govern ment of insincerity. The gov ernment proposed formation of a mixed commission toinvesti- gage Buddhist complaints, but Buddhist leaders refused to take part. There are those who say that, no matter what conces sions the government makes, the Buddhist Inter-Sect Com mittee will reject them, or make new claims. KEYNOTER—Judge Ed ward T. McCaffrey, (above) of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, will be the key note speaker at the 28th annual convention of the Catholic War Veterans of the U.S.A., to be held August 20 to 25 at Miami, Fla. U. S. Bishops (Continued from Page 1) Those presenting reports, and the council commissions to which they belong, include: James Cardinal McIntyre, Archbishop of Los Angeles, Archbishop Karl J, Alter of Cincinnati, and Archbishop Leo Binz of St. Paul, Minn., all of the Commission for Bishops and the Government of Dio ceses; Archbishop John F. Dearden of Detroit, Bishop John J. Wright of Pittsburgh, and Auxiliary Bishop James H. Griffiths of New York, all of the Doctrinal Commission for Faith and Morals; Archbishop O’Boyle and Archbishop John P. Cody, Apostolic Administrator of New Orleans, both of the Commission for Seminaries, Studies and Catholic Schools. Also: Archbishop Joseph T. McGucken of San Francisco, and Bishop Francis F. Reh of Charleston, S. C., both of the Commission for Discipline of the Sacraments; Archbishop Martin J. O’Connor, rector of the North American College in Rome, Commission for the Lay Apostolate, the Press and En tertainment; Archbishop PaulJ, Hallinan of Atlanta, Ga., Com mission on the Sacred Liturgy; Archbishop Lawrence J.Shehan of Baltimore, Commission for the Discipline of the Clergy and Christian People; Ukrainian Rite Archbishop Ambrose Seny- shyn, O.S.B.M., of Philadelphia, Commission for the Oriental Churches; and Auxiliary Bishop Fulton J. Sheen of New York, national director of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, Commission for the Missions. The possibility of a pro nouncement by the ecumenical council on religious liberty has come up before. Last June Augustin Cardinal Bea, S.J., head of the Vatican Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity, discussed the question in a published inter view conducted by Archbishop Hallinan of Atlanta. In reply to a question by Archbishop Hallinan, in which it was stated that many Ameri cans are * ‘anxious” for a' ‘more accurate and modem definition of religious liberty,” Cardinal Bea said this desire "is shared by Catholics and non-Catholics of many other countries.” The Cardinal said the Secre tariat for Promoting Christian Unity had concerned itself with the subject and had submitted to the council’s Central Prepara tory Commission a schema dealing with religious liberty. Cardinal Bea said this sche ma "upheld the necessity of re cognizing a man’s right to follow the dictates of his own con science in matters of religion.” He said it emphasized "the duties of civil society, in all its forms, including the state, to respect in practice the citizen’s inalienable rights to religious liberty.” In this connection Cardinal , Bea quoted a passage from the late Pope John XXIII’s encycli cal Pacem in Terris in which the Pope said: "Every human being has the right to honor God according to the dictates of an upright conscience, and there fore the right to worship God privately and publicly.” A leading U. S. Protestant scholar said last May that an "explicit conciliar statement on religious liberty” would do much to reduce tensions between Catholics and non-Ca tholics. This point was made in an , address at Stanford (Calif.) Uni- < versity by the Rev. Robert Mc Afee Brown, a Presbyterian theologian who attended the ecu menical council’s first session as an observer. The Rev. Brown said a coun cil statement on religious liber ty ‘ ‘would have the most signi ficant immediate results of any thing the second session of the council could do.” U. S. Congressman (Continued from Page 1) inequality, but rather in a way that it will stimulate equality for all. "What the states have cho sen to regulate, the Federal government may stimulate. If a school is accredited and li censed by the state, then the Federal government must recognize the students of that school as eligible for its bene fits. It is unthinkable that any Federal aid would accentuate the present difficulty of the seventh child schools by giving to all others the funds that will help to hire away their teach ers and otherwise increase their hardship.” Rep. Carey said ‘ 'the clear way to equal aid for all” is the Junior G. L Bill, spon sored by Rep. James J. De laney of New York. "It has more companion bill sponsors than any other general education bill now pending,” he added. He then called attention to the objection "that religion per- permeates the curriculum of seventh child schools and that it makes the obvious secular and public purpose subjects in divisible from religious indoc trination.” ‘ ‘I point out, he continued, CEF Elects Clergy Of Three Faiths DETROIT, (NC)—For the first time in the four-year his tory of Citizens for Educational F reedom, clergymen repre senting the three major faiths were elected to the organiza tion’s board of trustees. Elected at the CEF conven tion here were Father Virgil C. Blum, S. J., head of the politi cal science department at Mar quette University, Milwaukee; Dr. John F. Choitz, superinten dent of the Lutheran High School Association of Greater Detroit, Missouri Synod; Rabbi Alexan der Mittelman of Sherman Oaks, Calif.; and Dr. Erwin Palmer, an ordained minister of the Christ Reform Church and a member of the faculty of West minster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia. Some 230 delegates to the convention elected as president of CEF Dr. Mark Murphy of Flushing, New York. He will serve a one-year term. He succeeds Vincent Corley of St. Louis. Also elected for one-year term were Stuart D. Hubbell of Traverse City, Mich., vice president; Mrs. Mae Duggan of St. Louis, re-elected secretary; and Warren O’Connor of Mil waukee, treasurer. Re-elected chairman of the board of trus tees was Glenn Andreas of Pel la, Iowa. Three regional vice-presi dents were elected: Timothy Fahey of Minneapolis, Ralph Schulz of Louisville and James R. Brown of West Hartford, Conn. Returned to office as board members were Paul W. Brayer of Rochester, N. YL; Edward O’Keefe of Niagara Falls, N. Y.; and T. Raber Taylor of Denver, Colo. New board members are Wil liam D. Valente of Philadelphia, John H. Norton of Fairfield, Conn., and C. Joseph Danahy of Brooklyn, N. Y. The CEF Citizen of the Year Award was presented to Hub- bell, the new vice president, for heading a campaign which led to the passage last fall by the Michigan legislature of a law allowing private school pu pils to ride on tax-paid buses. The convention voted the Judge Anthony Daly Memorial Award to Dr, Robert M. Hutch ins of the Fund for the Republic for his efforts in helping re solve the Church-State contro versy and for speaking in favor of equal educational opportuni ties for all pupils. * ‘that the American creed, the Declaration of Independence, is ■ permeated with theology, and our public life is replete with religion reference points. "The overriding concept is that the nature of the subject matter in the public purpose seventh child schools is secu lar and governments must deal with the nature of things. Edu cation is education and per meation does not change its na ture whether that permeation be secularistic or theistic,” Rep. Carey stated that ‘ 'two years after the enactment of the G. I. Bill for Junior the education of all our children ^ would be enriched by 1,5 billion A dollars. * ‘The state would be no weak er because it invested in its own citizens,” he said. "The Church and State would be as separate as before, but the student—the interest of both—would be a more enlightened citizen, and Church and State should be more secure in that con fidence.” In conclusion, Rep. Carey urged that "with (Pope) John as a basis for ecumenism in education and peace let us ad vance the universal declaration of human beings. . . and the prior right of the parent in the education of his children.” "Let us advance,” he said, "the cause of educational free dom and the ecumenism in a most militant way—march as we must, as far at least as the corner mailbox, the local CEF chapter, the congress man’s district office. The fairness and force of our idea will carry, our ranks will swell.” SO RENTAL SERVICE Household Appliances You Name It, We Got It! Walter Smith, Prop. 302 West Victory Drive Savannah, Georgia AD. 6-7942 T ^ Brinson Exterminating Co. Complete Pest Control Service SURETY BONDED EL. 5-1661 Or EL. 5-0492 Savannah Home Mortgage Insurance — Group Insurance FI cm G. Cliett, Jr. . Staff Supervisor Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. AD 3-7717 Estate Planning — Business Insurance SAVANNAH