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Final Council Week Council In Review ■ttef jaaaa JFK REQUIEM IN POPE’S CATHEDRAL—Overall view of the requiem Mass celebrat ed on November 25, for U. S. President John F. Kennedy in Pope Paul Vi’s own cathedral, St. John Lateran in Rome. Some 40 cardinals, more than 1,000 bishops, diplomats and high Italian government officials attended the Mass celebrated by Francis Cardinal Spell man of New York. It was the climax of three days of mourning in Italy.—(NC Photos) At Council Relations With Non-Catholics Discussed VATICAN CITY (NC) - Ex treme liberality was the key note of the final week of the ecu menical council’s second ses sion as the council Fathers discussed ways to encourage ecumenical relations with non- Catholics. The measures recommended included recognition of the vali dity of mixed marriages before non-Catholic ministers, per mission to attend non-Catholic religious services and coopera tion with non-Catholics in the intellectual field. During the week the date for the council’s third session was set for Sept. 14 to Nov. 20, 1964. Forty-three Fathers were al so elected to additional posts on council commissions, in cluding six members of theU. S. Hierarchy. No other country had so many bishops elected to the additional posts. U. S. Bishops chosen were Auxiliary Bishop Gerald V. Mc- Devitt of Philadelphia; Bishop John W. Comber, M.M., Super ior General of Maryknoll; Bishop Loras T. Lane of Rock ford, Ill.; Bishop Allen J. Bab cock of Grand Rapids, Mich.; Bishop Charles H. Helmsing of Kansas City-St. Joseph, Mo.; and Bishop Ernest J. Primeau of Manchester, N. H. Also elect ed was American-born Bishop John E. Taylor, O.M.I., of Stockholm. During the week council debate was on Chapters II and III of the schema on ecumenism. Chapter II deals with the imple mentation of ecumenism and Chapter III with separated Christians. Since Chapters IV and V of the schema, which concern Christian relations with Jews and religious free dom, had not yet been submitt ed to a vote for acceptance as part of the schema, Chapter III was the last topic to be discussed pending the fate of the two final chapters. Chapter III is divided into two parts, one dealing with the “special situation of the Orien tal church’’ — the Orthodox —and the other with “commun ities that have arisen since the 16th century onward’’—the Protestants. Part I recognizes that “in the East many local churches had their origin directly from the Apostles’’ and admits the debt of the Church in the West to the Eastern churches for many of its liturgical ele ments. In phrases of highest respect, the schema says that “pastors and faithful of the Catholic Church should give special attention to the fraternal communion existing among these churches on the eccles iastical level and also to their antiquity and opostolic origin.” With an eye to reunion the text declares: “The council solemn ly affirms the principle of ‘unity in diversity of custom and prac tices, especailly when these are sanctioned by the Church Fath ers . . . The full observance of this traditional principle, too often disregarded, is a neces sary condition to the restora tion of unity.” Acknowledging that a wall di vides the Eastern and Western churches, the schema declares: “It is our wholehearted purpose to demolish that wall, so that there may be but a single dwell ing whose cornerstone, Jesus Christ, will make both one.” As for the “communities that have arisen from the 16th cen tury onward,” the schema re cognizes the common accept ance of the Bible as “an inval uable means for the bringing about of dialogue.” While the faithful “are ad monished to abstain from all superficiality and from any im prudent zeal,” nevertheless the text commends “the first steps of Christians to enter into a dialogue which has already brought them closer to one an other.” Speaking on Chapter II, Jo seph Cardinal Frings of Cologne, Germany, said the council should demonstrate that one church is possible here and now and is not necessarily something to be awaited in the distant future. To demonstrate this possibility, he urged recognition of the validity of mixed marriages contracted before a non-Catholic minister. He did so, however, with some strong reservations. He said: “We should at the same time declare disapproval of mixed marriages. We should insist on the question of religious schools for the education of our chil dren. If a non-Catholic party feels it is against his con science to promise to bring up his children in the Catholic F aith, he is not to be sub jected to pressure, but he should give up an idea of marriage in the circumstances. We should declare the validity of mixed marriages contracted in the presence of a non-Catholic min ister and should remove the ec clesiastical penalties of such marriages. All this would clear the atmosphere and prepare the way for fruitful ecumenical ac tivity.” Cardinal Frings was suppor ted in these suggestions by Fa ther Hilaire Capucci, superior general of the Melkite Rite Or der of St. Basil of Aleppo, who also added that legislation on participation in non-Catholic religious services should be changed. Coptic Rite Auxiliary Bishop Jean Nuer of Thebes, Egypt, urged participation of Catholic priests and laity in non-Ca tholic religious services. Beyond cooperation with non- Catholics in the social field, Archbishop Haycinthe Thian- doum of Dakar, Senegal, said there should be cooperation also in the fields of science, art and culture. “We should not lose sight of the importance of intellectual activity in the work of recon ciliation,” said Archbishop Emile Blanchet, rector of the Catholic Institute of Paris. “We should carefully avoid any feel ings of superiority or condes cension and should guard against any attitude which might give the impression that accept ing the Catholic Church is like abandoning one’s mother. We should have respect for the positive aspects of the faith of our separated brethren.” Opening the discussion of Chapter III, Antonio Cardinal Bacci of the Roman curia not ed that the schema states that it is the duty of the Roman See “to preside in charity.” To this, he said, should be added “and in authority.” Melkite Rite Patriarch Max- imos IV Saigh of Antioch ex pressed his regret that some council Fathers had suggested a unification of the two codes of canon law of the Latin and Eastern churches. He said “Rome has gone to consider able trouble to give the orien tal churches a code of canon law different from that of the Latin Church. The results of this project are certainly not perfect, but they are leading in the right direction.” Bishop Bernardin Collin, O.F.M., of Digne, France, was the first of two bishops who suggested that the Anglican Church be given special treat ment in the schema, just as is given the Orthodox. The other was Coadjutor Archbishop Paul Gouyon of Rennes, France. Maronite Rite Patriarch Paul Meouchi of Antioch said; “Progress in ecumenism can be likened to progress in the spiritual life, in which the first steps are in the'purgative way.’ In the Spirit of this way, it is important to purge ourselves of all prejudice and false impres sions and thus to buildup a gen uine respect for the churches of the Orient.” Fernando Cardinal Quirogay Palacios of Santiago de Com postela, Spain, urged that there be special mention in the sche ma of the dogmas which are shared with the separated Eas tern Christians, such as the Eu charist and the Apostolic Suc cession of the episcopate. The objection was raised by Bishop Helmsing that the text refuses to apply the term “Church” to non-Catholic com munities. This will certainly be an obstacle to any effective ecumenical action, he said. Bishop Helmsing defended the use of the term “church” as applied to non-Catholic re ligious bodies by citing the won derful spirit among Pro testants. He paid tribute to the Rev. Martin Luther King—a leader of Negro efforts to win civil rights—as an example of the witness non-Catholic com munities show for Christ. La ter, at the U. S. Bishops’ press panel meeting he added: “We American Bishops are all very much impressed by the Negro clergy leadership in the drive for racial equality.” Bishop Thomas K. Gorman of Dallas-Fort Worth support ed this statement saying: “All southern bishops would join in this sentiment.” Bishop Helmsing added at the end of his council’s speech and exhortation to the F athers to proceed to a vote on accep tance of Chapters IV and V of the schema before the end of the session on Dec. 4. He was voicing what was a growing concern, coupled with resent ment, among many of the coun cil Fathers that there might be a studied attempt to stall a decision on the chapters and end the session without sub mitting them to the promised vote. During the week it was an nounced that there would be a solemn vote and promulgation on Dec. 4 of the constitution of the liturgy and the decree on Brunswick TV SERVICE Glynn Electronics 2423 NORWICH — AM 5-7669 VATICAN CITY, (NC)—Ex treme liberality was the domi nant note of the ecumenical council’s Nov. 28 meeting as the world’s bishops discussed ways of encouraging ecumeni- c al relations with non-C atholics of East and West. The measures recommended included such things as recog nition of the validity of mixed marriages before non-Catholic ministers, permission to attend non-Catholic religious srvices and cooperation with non- Catholics in studies. In spite of the fact that a majority vote had closed dis cussion of the second chapter on the schema on ecumenism, which deals with the implemen tation of ecuminism, 15 coun cil Fathers succeeded in finding another five Fathers each to support them in their requests to continue speaking on Chapter II. As a result, although tech nically speaking consideration of Chapter II was already clo sed, only four of the day’s speakers could be heard on. the topic properly under discus sion, Chapter III dealing with separated Christians. One of the 15, Archbishop Eugene D’Souza of Bhopal, In dia, yielded the floor in view of the great number of Fa thers who had asked to speak on the second chapter. He was roundly applauded. The long list of speakers on the “closed chapter” had a noticeable effect on the meet ing. This reporter had never seen the council hall so empty. A majority of the bishops were in the side aisels of the basi lica, walking up and down and conversing privately. One of the bishops comment ed that he believed there was no one left in the council hall but the bishops listed to speak and the five bishops each who had supported their request to speak. During the morning, ballots of the council Fathers forelec tion of additional members of council commissions were col lected. Since each ballot called for 45 votes, the tally of some 2,000 ballots could not be made until the following day. First speaker on Chapter IV was Joseph Cardinal Frings of Cologne, Germany. He said the council should demonstrate that one church is possible here and now and is not necessarily something to be awaited in the distant future. To demon communications media. A defi nition copy of the liturgy con stitution was distributed (Nov. 29) to council Fathers with the advice that a definitive copy of the communications decree would be distributed on Dec. 2. Archbishop Pericle Felici, council general secretary, add ed to his announcement that, given the special pastoral char acter of the council, the Fa thers should rest assured that no vote on any document is intended with a view to infal lible definition and that, if such a case should arise, this fact would be clearly indicated. The documents to be con sidered at the public session of Dec. 4, he said, are pure ly disciplinary and, although they present the authentic teaching of the Church, there is no question of infallible de finitions. He added that the Pope had asked the council Fathers to study the texts in question very seriously and to pray fer vently that the light of the Holy Spirit might guide them in their vote. strate this possibility, he urged recognition of the validity of mixed marriages contracted before a non-Catholic minister. He did so, however, with some strong reservations. While urging the council to declare the validity of mixed marriages before non-Catho lic ministers, he said: “We should at the same time declare disapproval of mixed marriages. We should insist on the question of religious schools for the education of our children. If a non - Catholic party feels it is against his conscience to promise to bring up his children in the Catholic Faith, he is not to be subjec ted to pressure, but he should give up an Idea of marriage in the circumstances. We should declare the validity of mixed marriages contracted in the presence of a non-Catholic minister and shoudl remove the ecclesiastical penalties of such marriages. All this would clear the atmosphere and prepare the way for fruitful ecumenical REQUIEM MASS for Father John LaFarge, S.J. (above), author, editor and champion of interracial justice, was held in St. Ignatius Loyola Catholic Church in New York, on Nevember 27. The 83-year old priest died in hia sleep. (NC Photos) Broadcast Spokesman Hits Church Stand PHILADELPHIA (NC)--The president of the National Asso ciation of Broadcasters said here that a church group’s re cent statement on broadcasting would lead to government “domination” of radio andtele- vision. LeRoy Collins, NAB presi dent, made this claim in an address (Nov. 30) to the Assem bly of United Church Men, a unit of the National Council of Churches. He was referring to a statement on broadcasting is sued last June 8 by the National Council. Collins said the church coun cil “is not . to be criticized for seeking to get higher standards in radio and television pro grams. But the way to accom plish this is not through greater Federal control.” Meanwhile, it was announced that representatives of the NAB and the church council will meet in New York Dec. 9 to discuss the statement. A spokesman for the broad casters association said it ob jects particularly to the state ment’s “call for regulation by the Federal Communications Commission of commercial an nouncements and its endorse ment of network licensing.” activity.” Cardinal Frings was follow ed in these suggestions by Fa ther Hilaire Capucci, superior general of the Melkite Rite Order of St. Basil of Alsppo, who also added that legislation on participation in non-Catho lic religious services should be changed. Beyond cooperation with non- Catholics in the social field, Archbishop Hyacinthe Thian- doum of Dakar, Senegal, said there should be cooperation also in the fields of science, art and culture. Bishop Vicente Reyes of Bo- rongan, the Philippines, sug gested that it would be a prac tical step to promote a joint novena with non-Catholics in preparation for the feast of the Pentecost for the intention of unity in faith and charity. “We should not lose sight of the importance of intellectural activity in the work of recon ciliation,” said Archbishop Emile Blanchet, rector of the Catholic Institute of Paris. “We should carefully avoid any feel ings of superiority or condes cension and should guard against any attitude which might give the impression, that ac cepting the Catholic Church is like abandoning one’s mother, We should then have respect for the positive aspects of the faith of our separated bre thren.” Abbot Benedict Reetz, O.S.B., President of the Benedictine Congregation of Beuron, Ger many, recounted his exper iences with theologians of the Protestant faculty of the Uni versity of Tuebingen, Germany, who sometimes make a retreat in his monastery. He said: “One of their major com plaints is what we might call contorted and acrobatic theo logy . . . Similarly they dis like the excessive scholasti cism in our theology which is often lacking the Biblical touch. They dislike undue juri- dicism, which exalts the le gal element in the Church to the point where it becomes dif ficult to understand its rela tionship with human liberty. “Lastly, they object to cer tain forms of piety which ob scure true piety . . . * ‘On the other hand, they admire our liturgy with chant, the marvelous unity of the Church, the monastic life, the celibacy of the clergy and sa cramental confession.” Since Chapter II speaks of the Biblical movement as a pledge and augury of the suc cess of the ecumenical move ment, said Bishop Guillaume Shoemaker of Purwokerto, In donesia, the council should en trust the preparation of a text of the Vulgate for all Chris tians to a post-council commis sion, with experts from ev ery nation and religious con fession collaborating. Bishop Garabed Amaduni, Apostolic Exarch of Armenian Rite Catholics in France, sug gested a special college in Rome for the training of Eastern Rite clerics which would also admit clerics of churches separated from Rome. In order that “this great grace of the council” not to be simply recorded and filed away, Archbishop Henrique Golland Trinidade, O.F.M., of Botucatu, Brazil, urged that public opinion be taken into ac count. He said “We cannot in fluence this opinion by radio, press, or television, but it is always in our power to influ ence it by good example.” of/ For Protection For Your • HOME • CAR • FAMILY Joe Sullivan Insurance Agency Southsid? Professional Building S3S East 65th Street, Savannah, Georgia Representing The Travelers Insurance Companies Business: 354-8535 Residence: ELgin 4-4087 <r ) ^ person - to - person Service for Jl Lanin ids your oanmny neet SAVANNAH BANK & Trust Co. Savannah, Georgia Member F. D. I. 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In one district of Quang Tri province, (through which the 17th parallels dividing south Vietnam from the Red-ruled north passes) leaflets attack ing Catholics appeared in mid- November. After two days,par ties of youths went around the villages searching Catholic houses. They seized and bound 15 persons of whom 11 were Catholics. In one village, two groups of youths made the rounds of Catholic families converted in recent years, putting pressure on them to give up their reli gion. One old woman Catholic was dragged to the pagoda where her captors tried to force her to make prostrations before a sta tue of Buddha. Placards and leaflets have been displayed in some villages accusing Catholics of preparing to kill Buddhists, of storing arms in churches for this pur pose and of having dug pits in- Progressives, Conservatives Both Right FLORENCE, Italy (NC)--One of the ecumenical council’s four moderators has declared that both the council’s so-called conservatives and its so-called progressives are right.. Both, said Leo Cardinal Suen- ens of Malines-Brussels, Bel gium, have a task to accomplish inside the Church. The Cardinal was speaking at the University of Florence on “The Church Before the Evo lution of Today’s World.” He was the first speaker in a ser ies of meetings on the council organized by Florentine mem bers of the Italian Federation of Catholic University Students. Cardinal Suenens said: ' ‘Truly for the first time the world is becoming explicitly aware of its unity and also of its diversity. This situation is new for the world. It is new for the church. “A great part of today’s heal thy tension inside the Church it self derives from the fact that some of its members are more sensitive to the inheritance to be guarded, and others to the talent to be exploited. That is, one part underlines perenniality and the other underlines dynamism. “Both are right and both have a task to accomplish to day inside the one Church.” New Nuncio For Phillippines VATICAN CITY, (NC) — Pope Paul VI has named Archbishop Carlo Martini to be Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines. The Archbishop had served as Nun cio to Paraguay. He succeeds Archbishop Salvatore Sino, who was named Nuncio to the Phil ippines in March, 1959 and died in Rome Oct. 8, 1963. PATRONIZE OUR ADVERTISERS side churches to bury their victims. Secondary school students are prominent in anti-Catho.lic activities in some rural areas. The similarity of slogans and false accusations in dif ferent places indicate a plan ned campaign. It is feared mat communist Vietcong agents ai-e involved. Maj. Gen Tran van Don, Min ister of National Defense, and Maj. Gen. Ton that Dinh, Min ister for Security, flew to Hue (Nov. 28) and later visited Da- nang (formerly Tour an e) to in vestigate and take measures to remedy the situation. Unity Octave Intentions Announced GARRISON, N.Y. (NC)~The Chair of Unity Octave, an eight- day prayer period for the re union of Christendom, will be observed Jan. 18-25. Father Titus Cranny, S. A. director of the Chair of Unity Apostolate at the motherhouse here of the Francisan Friars of Atonement, announced the daily intentions as follows: Jan. 18, for the unity of all Christians in the Church; Jan. 19, for separated Eastern bre thren; Jan. 20, for Anglicans; Jan. 21, for European Chris tians; Jan. 22, for American Christians; Jan. 23, for spiri tual renewal of Catholics; Jan. 24, for the Jewish people; Jan. 25, for extension of the Church in other lands. 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