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1 i Y \ I 7 _ SAVANNAH, GEORGIA, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 31, 1963 CATHOLIC YOUTH WEEK PROCLAMATION—His Honor, Mayor Malcolm Maclean signs proclamation designating the week of October 27th to November 3rd as National Catholic Youth -Week in the city of Savannah. Looking on are Father Teoli and officers of the Catholic Youth Organization of Nativity parish. They are (1. to r.) Father Teoli, Nativity pastor; Michael Roach, Vice-Pres.; Paul Caldwell, Treas.; Janice White, Chairman of Spiritual Activities; Mayor Maclean; Ray White, Pres.; Margaret Ganem, Chairman of Cultural Activities; and Diane Thompson, Secretary.—Proclamation on Page 6. Mark 5th Anniversary Of Pope John’s Election By Patrick Riley (N.C.W.C. News Service) VATICAN CITY—Pope Paul VI offered Mass in St. Peter’s basilica for the ecumenical council Fathers and a vast throng of laymen, priests and Religious to mark the fifth an niversary of the election of Pope John XXIII (Oct. 28). The celebration of the elec tion of a late pope is unprece dented in living memory and perhaps—some authorities say certainly—in all history. Leo Cardinal Suenens of Malines-Brussels, in an hour- long eulogy delivered after Pope Paul’s Mass, said Pope John "left men closer to God and the world a better place for men to live.” The Belgian Cardinal said LEADS USO APPEAL—Gen eral Emmett O’Donnell, Jr., (above) of Brooklyn, combat commander and U.S. Air Force hero of World War II and the Korean War, has accepted chairmanship of the United Ser vices Organization national campaign committee for 1964. The National Catholic Commun ity Service (NCCS) is one of six civilian agencies of the USO serving the spiritual and social welfare of the men and women in the U.S. Armed Forces. The organization, founded in 1941, operates in 34 points in foreign countries and 165 local com munities in the United States. —(NC Photos) that although Pope John has left us, "we dare to believe that he is more than ever present in our midst.” The Cardinal de clared: "It is right and fitting that we should ask him to intercede for us now with God, so that our council labors, which he inspired, should evolve and come to perfection.” This public plea for prayers to a man not officially proposed by the Church for the venera tion of the faithful astounded many in the council hall. Pope Paul, in opening the council’s second session (Sept. 29), had spoken to Pope John as to a living person. But this could have been interpreted as a rhe torical figure of speech, as when an orator says: "You, Abraham Lincoln, freed the slaves.” No such ambiguity clouded Cardi nal Suenens’ unequivocal state ment. Much comment was aroused by Pope Paul’s choice of Cardi nal Suenens to deliver this im portant eulogy. From the very outset of his pontificate, Pope Paul has publicly showed the Cardinal from Belgium some thing like the same deference and honor Pope John in his pontificate showed him when he was Cardinal-Archbishop of Milan. At his very first appearance at the window of the papal apart ment to bless crowds in St. Peter’s Square, Pope Paul brought Cardinal Suenens with him and presented him to the people. He appointed him one of the four cardinal moderators he made responsible for the smooth functioning of the coun cil. Now he not only chose him to honor Pope John, but at the end of the eulogy, he embraced him. This, too, is unprecedent ed. For the commemorative ce remony, St. Peter’s basilica was still rich with damask wall hangings of the previous day’s beatification ceremony. Innum erable chandeliers installed for Blessed Dominic Barberi’s beatification illumined the ce remony honoring Pope John. The late Pope’s two brothers were present. Pope Paul shook hands with both of them as he left the basilica. Cardinal Suenens described his speech as a simple effort "to represent before us for a few moments the figure of John XXIII in a collective act of filial piety and deeply-felt gratitude.” Cardinal Suenens noted that "on the morrow of his election John XXIII might have seemed to be a ‘pope of transition.’ ” "And indeed he was that, but in an unexpected manner that the expression does not suggest in its usual meaning. History will surely judge that he opened a new era for the Church and that he laid the foundations for the transition from the 20th to the 21st century.” Radio, television and the press made Pope John’s death "like a death in the family,” Cardinal Suenens recalled. "Never has the whole world taken part at such close quar ters in the poignant stages of a mortal sickness. Never has it shown such unanimity of feel ing.” Cardinal Suenens said Pope John is still "present in our midst” in two ways. "First of all he is present in his well beloved successor, Pope Paul VI, the august con tinuer of his work. . .It is clear that Providence has given Pope Paul VI to the Church to give form and substance to the pro phetic intuitions of his prede cessor.” Applause rose from the coun cil Fathers at these words The second way in which Pope John continues to be pre sent, Cardinal Suenens said, "is by reason of the sacrifice of his life, which he offered for the happy outcome of the coun cil’s labors.” He recalled that in the course of an audience Pope John gave at Castelgandolfo—Cardinal Suenens did not say to whom Pope John gave the audience, but it sounded like an incident Cardinal Suenens himself had witnessed—the late Pontiff re ferred to some council schema- continued on Page 6) No Separate Schema On Our Lady VATICAN CITY—The Ecumenical council voted October 29th to include the council’s declaration on Our Lady in the schema On The Church instead of in a sep arate schema. The vote was 1,114 to 1.074. The Day’s moderator, Cardinal Agagianian, said before balloting: "No vote on either side can be construed as constituting any lessening of the dignity of the Blessed Virgin or any diminution of her preeminent role In the Church.” Msgr. Thomas A. Brennan Diocese Mourns Savannah Pastor ROME (NC)—An American Archbishop has scored the wording of a passage in the fourth chapter of the Council’s schema "On the Nature of the Church” as dangerously am biguous and said that some changes in the text must be made lest "the world” misin terpret the phrase. Archbishop Lawrence J. Shehan of Baltimore told a press conference here that the phrase "separation of Church and State” has such political and emotional overtones that he has asked the ecumenical council to drop it from the schema "On the Nature of the Church,” now being debated. Archbishop Shehan was the first American prelate to ini tiate a special Wednesday press conference sponsored by the American Hierarchy, at which U. S. Bishops or experts will speak to the press on various phases of the council or allied matters. At his conference Archbishop Shehan stated that he has intro- By U. S. Archbishop Church-State Text Called Ambiguous duced two other changes to the schema, one of which would clarify the nature and extent of papal infallibility and a second which would make more precise a section dealing with Scripture and Tradition. He said all three of his steps have ecumenical overtones. His speech in the council, which he gave in the name of all American Bishops, dealt with a passage in the schema’s fourth chapter in which laymen are cautioned against the "regret- able separation” of Church and State. Unfortunately, Archbi shop Shehan noted, there is an ambiguity in the phrase. He said the problem is this: Do the 10 lines dealing with this passage mean that it is regret- able that any separation of 'Church and State exists, or does 'it mean that it is regretable that the things of the City of God are in conflict with the things of the City of the World? Archbishop Shehan said that most bishops believe that the second notion was the original intention. But rather than run the risk of having the world misinterpret this phrase, he said that some changes must be made. He stated: "The word ‘separation’ has become a fighting word for all of us. We want to get rid of the word ‘regretable’ and, if the section cannot be suitably re vised, to eliminate it entirely at this time.” The Archbishop said that he favors eliminating it entirely because the whole question of the relations of Church and State are "too important to be intro duced into the schema obliquely. If it is to be treated, it should be treated thoroughly.” 20% Raise For Vatican Workers VATICAN CITY (NC)—Pope Paul VI has raised the salary of every Vatican employee 20 per cent. The salary increase was or dered "in consideration of the increase in the cost of living,” the Vatican Press Office stated. Cardinal Says Viet Trouble Is Political Rt. Rev. Msgr. Thomas A. Brennan BEATIFICATION SCHEDULED— Father Leonard Murialdo (above), Italian founder of the Pious Society of St. Jo seph of Turin wall be beati fied on November 3, in St. Peter’s Basilica, Rome. The new beata died in 1900. (NC Photos) because lay people were not ready to take a very active part. "All that is changing now, and the laity, particularly those with education and the leaders in business . . . are becoming more active. They are solid Ca tholics and unsurping the rights of the hierarchy has never en tered their minds. Speed-Up Of Council Work Urged By Father Placid Jordan, O.S.B. (N.C.W.C. NEWS SERVICE) VATICAN CITY — The French, German and African Bishops have reached virtual agreement on a plan to speed up the work of the ecumenical council. They feel confident that other groups of bishops will join in their proposal to change coun cil rules to reduce the number of weekly general meetings from five—Monday through Friday—to three. The other two days are to be used for meetings of the var ious national or regional bi shops’ conferences at which council Fathers will not have to speak in Latin and will have a real opportunity to debate the issues. The proposal states that fol lowing discussion in national conferences, only two Fathers would be assigned to present' the pros and cons of a topic at a general meeting. This, ac cording to the plan, willcutdown on duplicating speeches as well as those that stray from the point under debate. The proposal was prompt ed by a widespread feeling among the Fathers that the counci 1 needs to speed up its work. "The work of the council be gan a year ago,” an American bishop remarked, "and we still have not adopted a single schema. With 17 schemata on (Continued on Page 6) SAIGON VATICAN EXHIBIT—Buddhist bonzesses (nuns) are welcomed by Father John Thanh Lang as they arrive to view an exhibit illustrating Vatican Council II in Saigon City. Organized by Song Dao, lay-edited Catholic weekly, it was shown in a hall beside the Catholic Church of the Viet namese Martyrs. It is also moved from place to place with in the city and the provinces of South Vietnam. (NC Photos) Assistant Pastor At Valdosta VALDOSTA—The parish of St. John the Evangelist here received a new assistant pastor this week. He is the Rev. Robert J. Reiter of the Diocese, of Buf falo, New York. On loan to the Diocese of Savannah for one year, he will work with the Rev. Thomas Payne, pastor of St. John’s. "I am sure I express the gra titude, not only of the pastor and people of St. John's parish, but of His Excellency, Bishop Mc Donough and the entire Diocese in welcoming Father Reiter,” said the Rt. Rev. Msgr. Andrew J. McDonald, Savannah Chan cellor. "The growth and vitality of our Diocese is due in great part to the missionary zeal of priests like Father Reiter, who have come to us from other parts of the country, and to the gener osity and Apostolic Spirit of Bishops like the Most Rev. James A. McNulty of Buffalo, who have deprived their own dioceses in order to help ours,” he said. Father Reiter, who was or dained earlier this year is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Henry Reiter of Buffalo. After eight years of elemen tary school at St. Teresa’s in Buffalo, he entered the Buffalo Preparatory Seminary, com pleting his high school studies and the first two years of college there. Father Reiter received his degree of Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy at Christ the King Seminary, Olean, New York and was ordained on March 9th, 1963 after completing Theologi cal studies at St. John Vianney Major Seminary in Buffalo. After ordination he undertook further studies at St. John Vian ney Seminary and the Catholic University of American, Wash ington D. C. His first assign ment, before coming to Valdos ta, was to the City Apostolate, Buffalo. included in propaganda against communism, the Cardinal replied : "Yes, for in propa ganda all forms of human good ness can be utilized.” Cardinal Tien was asked for his opinion of the ideas on the role and rights of the laity coming out of the ecumenical council. "The Church,” he said, "has made great progress in For mosa and Hong Kong. Until re cently, most of the work was done by priests and Religious, PRAY FOR OUR PRIESTLY DEAD REV. JOSEPH KADDAH November 2, 1928 REV. STEPHEN BEYTAGH November 5, 1876 REV. JEREMIAH F. O’NEAL November 6, 1868 Oh God, Who didst give to thy servants hy their sacredotal office, a share in the priest hood of the Apostles, grant, we implore, that they may also he one of their company forever in heaven. Through , Christ Our Lord, Amen. HONG KONG (NC)—Thomas Cardinal Tien, S.V.D., of Tai pei, Formosa, said here that "Vietnam’s troubles are not religious but political—clearly religion is being utilized by communists.” Cardinal Tien, on his way back to Formosa from the ec umenical council in Rome, stop ped here to say a Mass at the Hong Kong government stadium for the Feast of Christ the King (Oct. 27). Some 45,000 took part in the dialogue Mass. (In Vietnam, on the same day, a Buddhist monk burnedhimseif to death in flaming gasoline out side Saigon’s Catholic cathedral to protest alleged suppression of his religion—the seventh such suicide since last ju.ie.) Cardinal Tien said there is a crucial need for strongly organ ized propaganda in South Amer ica and in the Far East to off set the difficulty of penetrating the Iron and Bamboo Curtains. When asked during an inter view if economic aid should be SAVANNAH—The Right Reverend Monsignor Thomas A. Brennan, pastor of Blessed Sacra ment parish here, died last Sunday at St. Joseph’s Hospital. He was 69. He had been a priest for forty years and had served posts in Atlanta, Albany, the south west missions of the then "Savannah-Atlanta” Diocese, Augusta and Savannah. A native Savannahian, Mon signor Brennan received his elementary school education at Cathedral School and was a graduate of Savannah’s Bene dictine Military School. He undertook preparatory studies for the Priesthood at St. Charles College, Catonsville, Maryland, and finished his Theological studies at St. Ber nard’s Seminary in Rochester, New York. He was ordained in 1923. After serving three years as assistant pastor of Atlanta’s historic Immaculate Conception Church, he was named assis tant pastor of St. Teresa’s, Albany, in 1926 where he was later named pastor. During more than a decade as pastor there, Monsignor Brennan was placed in charge of the largest "Home Mission Area” in the United States, comprised of 11 churches in 55 southwest Georgia counties. In 1941 he was appointed pastor of St. Mary’s on the Hill, Augusta and named Vi car F orane of the Augusta Dean ery. He was appointed to his last post, which he held for eight een years, in April of 1945. During his tenure at Bles sed Sacrament parish, a new school building, including a large gymnasium and cafeteria was erected. New residential facilities for both priests and sisters were also constructed. He was elevated to the rank of Domestic Prelate by the late Pope John XXIII in 1959 and appointed to the Board of Diocesan Consultors by His Ex cellency, Bishop Thomas J. Mc Donough. Monsignor Brennan was an active member of the Knights of Columbus, holding posts in Sa vannah Council 631, and serv ing as Chaplain and Faithful Friar in the Immaculate Con ception General Assembly, Fourth Degree. He was also a past exalted ruler of the Albany Lodge of the Benevolent and Protective Or der of Elks and a past State Chaplain of the Georgia Elks Association. Monsignor Brennan was a nephew of the internationally known "Waving Girl” of Sa vannah, Miss Florence Martus. On Tuesday, October 29th, The Right Reverend Thomas I, Sheehan, pastor of St. Joseph’s At the time of Mon signor Brennan’s death on Sundav afternoon, Monsignor An drew J. McDonald, Chancel lor, telephoned Bishop Mc Donough in Rome, Italy, where he is attending the Second Session of the Vatican Council. Bishop McDonough ex pressed "deepest senti ments of sympathy to the Catholic people of the par ish, the city and the Diocese upon the loss of a faithful and beloved priest.” Citing the ‘ ‘wonderful ex ample of priestly loyalty, the deep respect for authority which characterized the life of Monsignor Brennan,” the Bishop said, ‘ ‘He was a man who always realized that first things come first. "His life was an inspira tion to all who knew him. He bore his illness and suffer ing with admirable patience and fortutide.” Bishop McDonough asked Monsignor McDonald to ' 'convey my sympathy to the immediate family and close friends of Monsignor Bren nan. "His death is a loss to all of us, but it is to be hoped that his life of good example will inspire other young men to become priests.” "It is a source of deep regret to me that I cannot be present for the Funeral Mass, but I shall offer a Triduum of Masses on Mon day, Tuesday and Wednes day, here in this eternal city of Rome, for the happy re pose of the soul of a truly good Priest,” he said. Church, Macon was celebrant at a Requiem Mass at Blessed Sacrament Church, for the chil dren of the parish. The eulogy was delivered by the Reverend Edward Frank, assistant pastor of Blessed Sacrament. Following the Mass, the body lay in state throughout the day. Rosary services were held at 8:00 p.m. with members of Sa vannah’ s F ourth Degree Knights of Columbu s mounting a guard of honor. Priests of the Diocese chan ted the Office for the Dead at 10:45 a.m. Wednesday and a Solemn Mass of Requiem was sung at 11:30 a.m. Celebrant for the Funeral Mass was the Reverend Robert Brennan, a cousin of Monsignor Brennan and pastor of Sacred Heart parish, Warner Robins. He was assisted by the Rever end Edward Frank, who served as Deacon and the Reverend William V. Coleman, rector of St. John Vianney Minor Semin ary, Subdeacon. The Right Reverend Andrew J. McDonald, Chancellor, was Master of Ceremonies, assis ted by the Reverend Cornelius Keane, assistant pastor of Bles sed Sacrament. Preaching the sermon was the Right Rever end Monsignor T. James Mc Namara, rector of the Cathe dral of St. John the Baptist and Vicar General of the Sa vannah Diocese. The Priests’ Choir, under the direction of the Reverend Felix Donnelly, pastor of Sac red Heart parish, Augusta, sang the Mass. The burial service at the priests’ section of the Catholic Cemetery was conducted by Monsignor McDonald, who is serving as temporary adminis trator of Blessed Sacrament parish. Monsignor Brennan is sur vived by a sister, Mrs. Walter Futch of Savannah; a brother, Joseph Brennan of Rochester, New York; and several neph ews and nieces.