Newspaper Page Text
1
X,
Pope Paul’s Trip Will Make History
Vol. 44, No. 25
10c Per Copy — $3 A Year
——
SAVANNAH, GEORGIA, THURSDAY, JANUARY 2, 1964
IN COUNCIL POST. Ameri
can-born Bishop John E. Tay
lor, O.M.I., of Stockholm,
Sweden, has been named to
a new seat on the Second
Vatican Council’s commission
on the Sacraments. Born in
East St. Louis, Ill., 49 years
ago, Bishop Taylor went to
Denmark in 1958 to begin
work to open a mission to
Greenland. He was conse-
crated bishop in Stockholm’s
city hall in 1962. (NC
Photos)
Welcomes
Meeting
BERLIN (NC) — The Soviet
news agency, TASS, reported
(Dec. 28) that Patriarch Alexi
of Moscow, head of the Rus
sian Orthodox Church, wel
comed the projected meeting in
Jerusalem between Pope Paul
VI and Orthodox Patriarch Ath-
enagoras I of Constantinople.
TASS quoted Patriarch Alexi
as saying, however, that Pa
triarch Athenagoras would be
representing only the Orthodox
Christians under his jurisdic
tion, and would not be a spokes
man for all the Eastern Ortho
dox Churches.
Pope’s Transport
Is DC 8 Jet
VATICAN CITY (NC) -- The
plane carrying Pope Paul VI to
the Holy Land will be a new
DC 8 jet with only a few mo
difications made to accommo
date the Pontiff and his party
of 30.
A spokesman for Alitalia air
lines told a press conference
that “arrangements made for
the Pope are far less com
plex and far less revolutionary
than might be imagined.”
The Pope’s seat, located in
the forward section of the plane,
is one of two regular commer
cial airline seats. At the Vati
can’s request no provisions for
a throne, an altar or a kneel-
er have been made.
The character of the trip
(Jan 4-6 ) is that “of a pil
grimage, a penitential journey,
and everything has been done
with this in mind,” the Ali
talia spokesman said.
From the outside the four-
engine jet differs little from
the normal aircraft operated by
Italian airlines. On the fuselage
near the door of the first class
section, the coat of arms of the
Pope has been painted. The tail
section has been painted in the
gold and white colors of the
Vatican.
Inside, three rows of twin
seats have been removed from
the left side of the plane to
provide room for the Pope,
whose seat is next to the win
dow. The seats between have
been covered with light green
velvet and the walls and curtains
carry out the color theme. The
spokesman said use of tradi
tional red damask was decided
against because that color can
be disturbing to air passengers.
Also on the wall is the papal
coat of arms.
On the forward walls of the
Pope’s section are bronze sta
tues of Our Lady of Loreto,
patroness of air travelers, and
a crucifix, both gifts of the
Vatican to Alitalia. In the papal
section there are a total of 10
seats and 2 tables which will
permit the Pope to have visi
tors as he wishes.
-In what would be the equiv
alent of the tourist section of
the plane are located the rest
of the Pope’s entourage, in
cluding the three cardinals who
will occupy the first rows of
seats near the papal section.
The plane has a total of 64
seats, more than necessary.
The plane is due to take off
from Fiumicino at 8:30 a.m.,
Jan. 4, and will fly the normal
air route from Rome to Bei
rut, Lebanon; Damascus, Sy
ria; and Amman, Jordan. Flight
time will be approximately 3
(Continued on Page 2)
Pray For Our
Deceased Priests
REV. PATRICK HOOKE
Jan. 2, 1859
REV. JOSEPH REISERER
Jan. 5, 1880
REV. MICHAEL J. BYRNE
Jan. 8, 1922
Oh Cod, Who didst give to
thy servants by their sacredotal
office, a share in the priest
hood of the Apostles, grant,
we implore, that they may
also be one of their company
forever in heaven. Through
Christ Our Lord, Amen.
MONSIGNOR MCDONALD INSTALLED—The Rt. Rev. Msgr. Andrew J. McDonald
kneels before Bishop Thomas J. McDonoough during ceremonies at which Monsignor
was installed as pastor of Blessed Sacrament Chruch, Savannah. Monsignor McDonald
will continue to serve as Chancellor of the Diocese. Bishop McDonough is flanked in
the picture by the Rev. Eladio Pascual (left) and the Rev. Cornelius Keane. (News-
Press Photo by Robert McDonald)
‘To All
Nations’
On December 4, 1963, the world
took a new look at the papacy.
Paul VI, calmly and solemnly an
nounced he was going to become
a pilgrim to the Holy Land. Be
cause, he said, he was convinced
that “prayers and good works are
necessary” if the Vatican Council
is to succeed in its job of renewal.
BlAXtry VG-,
What is a pilgrim? A wanderer with a purpose. A man who goes to see
with his own eyes the holy places where his Faith has roots. From the
days of the Apostles, Christians have set out to Jerusalem. Special laws
allowed them to pass through battles and warring countries without harm.
Some stopped and built towns. Some carried letters. Others wrote them
and laid the foundations for modern geography. A few travelled with
troops but most walked unarmed, their only ‘‘safety . . . and strength”
the “sign of the Cross of the Lord,” across their chest.
Pope Paul too, wears a cross. It is a
symbol of his dignity as a bishop; a sign
of his dedication to Christ. Now his cross
has become a pilgrim’s cross. He goes
to the Holy Places, he said, to pray and
do penance, ‘‘To implore Divine Mercy
on behalf of peace among men” and to
ask “for the salvation of the entire hu
man race.”
Paul is not alone. As Christ’s vicar he stands
for Christ on earth. He heads His Church.
We, too, stand for Christ as members of His
Mystical Body. At Christmas, as we go in
spiritual pilgrimage to the crib, we see vividly
how much Christ chose to depend on us for
His Mission. He came as a hungry, helpless
child. And He gave His Mission into our
hands when He gave us the Church.
Today, that Church’s relations with the world have entered a new era. The
papal flag no longer represents a small armed kingdom in central Italy.
It represents a spiritual kingdom—without boundaries. The last Pope to
leave Italy. Pius VII, left as Napoleon’s captive in 1809. In 1964 an air
corridor is cleared for Pope Paul’s plane. The Israeli Cabinet sets up a
special committee for the visit; King Hussein of Jordan offers the hospi*
tality of his palace; the Orthodox Patriarch Athenagoras of Constantinople
speaks of the hope for a spiritual summit and the Christian world prays
for Unity.
In Jerusalem Pope Paul will pray in the Garden of Gethse-
mane, walk up the winding road to Calvary, celebrate Mass
at the Holy Sepulchre where Christ rose from the dead. He’ll
visit Bethlehem and Nazareth and hear the Sea of Galilee.
In a significant stop he’ll offer Mass at the Church of the
Annunciation; to bring Christ to men in the Eucharist in the
same place Christ first came to men in Mary’s womb. Each
place, he said, will be a place of “prayer, penance, and re
newal.”
Today, although Jerusalem is a divided
city, it is a symbol of unity. Men of all
faiths call it holy. Moslems believe it is the
site of Mohammed’s ascent to Allah. Jews
pray here near Solomon’s Temple and go
to see the stone where God asked Abraham
to offer his son. Christians of every kind
come, to be in the land where Christ was
born.
Now Pope Paul comes on pilgrimage. But there is more
in this pilgrimage than the first papal airplane ride; more
than a courtesy visit with Orthodox leaders, more than
the Pope’s leaving Italy. The Pope’s plane marks a new
era for the Church. For with Pope Paul the Church goes
forth into the modern world in a modern way. The re
newal called for by the Council has already begun. Next
fall it’s India. The Pope has taken the lead; we must
prepare to follow.
Holy Land Visit Follow-Up To
Ecumenism Of Late Pope John
By Carl A. Balcerak
(N.C.W.C. News Service)
Pope Paul Vi’s visit to the
Holy Land is a dramatic se
quel to the late Pope John
XXIII’s announcement two^ed * : *
ago that he was convoking an
ecumenical council.
Pope Paul was expected to
keep in motion the ecumenism
started by his predecessor, but
not in the unexpected fashion
characteristic of Pope John.
Pope Paul’s announcement
came on the final day (Dec.
4, 1963) of the second ses
sion of the Second Vatican Coun
cil, and it was made in words
as simple and clear as those
with which John XXIII convoked
the council. Despite this some
persons have tagged the trip
with political connotations, al
though objective, general app
roval of it has far out
weighed any criticism or ul
terior motives ascribed to it.
“We wish to go to Pales
tine in January,” Pope Paul
said, “to honor personally the
holy places where Christ was
born, lived and died and as
cended to heaven after His Re
surrection.”
After noting that no succes
sor of Peter has returned to the
Holy Land, Pope Paul said that
among the reasons why he is
making the (Jan. 4-6) pilgram-
age is * 'to summon to this One
Holy Church our separated bre
thren, to implore divine mercy
on behalf of peace among men
. . . and to beseech Christ
Our Lord for the salvation of
the entire human r^ce.”
War and peace, Arab and
Jew, Bethlehem and Nazareth,
King and President, Pope and
Patriarch—these are some of
the pairs of words that come to
mind in the context of Pope
Paul’s pilgrimage.
For the Holy Land the Pope
is going to is an armed camp,
no longer referred to as Pales
tine but as either Jordan or
Israel. The sacred shrines are
cut off from one another: Beth
lehem is in Jordan, Nazareth
is in Israel. Jerusalem is a
divided city, with Jordanian and
Israeli soldiers, armed with
submachine guns, facing each
other daily.
The Pope, the first pontiff
to travel by plane, will be met
by King Hussein at the Amman
airport on Jan. 4. The fol
lowing day he will be welcomed
to Israel by President Shneor
Shazar at Megiddo, in the nor
thern part of the country. Pre
sident Shazar will also bid the
Pope farewell in Jerusalem on
Jan. 5.
Patriarch Athenagoras I of
Constantinople (now Istanbul,
Turkey) said he may go to Je
rusalem to pray with Pope Paul
on Jan. 6. This will be the
first meeting between a pope and
a patriarch in 525 years. In
1439 Pope Eugene IV and
Patriarch Joseph II met in
northern Italy in a n effort
to heal the breach originating
between Rome and Constanti
nople in 1054.
The Israeli government cal
led the papal visit “a
unique and memorable event”
and said it “welcomes the
Pope’s intention to visit our
country.”
Gov. Daoud Abu-Ghazaleh of
the Jordanian sector of Jerusa
lem said he is * 'very proud
of the visit of His Holiness”
and referred to it as “an ex
ceptional and historic event.”
» There was some discord be
tween the Israeli press and
Egyptian newspapers in regard
to the visit. Major play was
given in Israel to stories quo
ting editorials in Egyptian
newspapers stating that the
papal trip could be looked upon
as constituting support of
Israel.
A leading Cario daily, A1
Abram, said that “Israel has
already embarked on endeavors
to exploit the Pope’s pilgrim
age for her own ends.”
The Rome embassies of
Jordan and Israel stressed the
religious nature of the Pope’s
pilgrimage the day after he
announced it, but rumors con
tinued strong about “political”
connotations. Two weeks after
the Pope’s announcement, Is-
rale’s Ambassador to Italy,
Maurice Fischer, reiterated:
“The pilgrimage of the Holy
Father to the Holy Land has
an exclusively religious signi
ficance, as he himself has de
clared.”
In his Christmas message,
Pope Paul said: * ‘Once again
we declare clearly that the na
ture and purposes of our pil
grimage are solely religious.”
Pope Paul mentioned several
reasons for his trip, but its
accent will be on reli
gious unity. This is evident from
an announcement (Dec. 12) that
experts on the Oriental Chur
ches, including three cardinals,
will go with him; from a
Vatican Radio description of the
nature of the pilgrimage and
from the attention the Pope
himself gave to these themes
in his Christmas message.
Accompanying the Pope will
be Eugene Cardinal Tisserant,
dean of the Sacred College
of Cardinals, who has devoted
most of his life to Oriental
studies; Amleto Cardinal
Cicognani, Papal Secretary of
State, who served in the second
highest ranking post in the Ori
ental Church congregation for
five years; and Gustavo Car
dinal Testa, secretary of the
Oriental congregation, who is
Pope
Speak
Paul
8 Of
His Trip
VATICAN CITY—Pope
Paul spoke of his trip to the
Holy Land to more than 30,-
000 gathered to receive his
New Year’s blessing.
The Pontiff said: “Soon we
will begin our pilgrimage to
the Holy Land. We will pray
for you so that the Lord may
grant to you the grace that
we are seeking, to be brought
back to the fidelity of his
origins.”
a Scripture scholar and expert
in Semitic languages.
The papal entourage will also
include Msgr. Jan G. M.
Willebrands, secretary of the
Secretariat for Promoting
Christian Unity, and Msgr. Jo
seph T. Ryan of New York,
president of the Pontifical Mis
sion for Palestine.
A Vatican Radio commenta
tor referred (Dec. 19) to the
papal journey as “an appeal
to unity.” He said that “in
penance and spiritual renewal”
the Pope ' ‘will offer his Church
to Christ there where Christ
founded it, and will call the
separated Christians to the one
and holy Church, as the
Lord wished.”
In his Christmas message the
Pope referred to his pilgrim
age as * ‘a journey of search and
of hope, search for all those
who are for us sons and bro
thers in Christ.”
* ‘Where is the flock of
Christ?” he asked. “Where are
the lambs and the sheep of His
fold? Are they all here?
Which ones are missing? And
so we cannot but implore
Jesus the Good Shepherd, using
His own words: ‘May there be
one fold and one shepherd! ”
The Pope said that on the
pilgrimage “our heart will
reach out also to those outside
the fold of Christ, and our good
intentions will embrace all the
peoples of the world, those far
and near, with sentiments of
respect and love, wishing them
happiness and peace.”
After Pope Paul is wel
comed at the Amman airport
(Jan. 4) by King Hussein, he
and his entourage will go
by automobile through Amman
to Jerusalem, a distance of
about 65 miles. Before reach
ing the Holy City he is sche
duled to visit Bethany, where
Mary and Martha and Laza
rus lived. He plans to
arrive at the Basilica of the
Holy Sepulchre in Old Je
rusalem at 4 p.m. and will
offer Mass there at the site
of the Resurrection.
Afterwards he will go to the
residence of Archbishop Lino
Zanini, Apostolic Delegate to
the Holy Land, where he will
have dinner and spend the night.
At 10;30 that evening he
will take part in a holy hour
on Gethsemane in the Church
of the Agony. During the cere
mony ->$he • Gospel account of
Christ’s Passion will be chant
ed in several Eastern languages
as well as in Latin.
On Jan. 5 Pope Paul will
leave the apostolic delegation at
6 a.m. to drive to Israel. There
he will visit the Sea of Gal
ilee, the Mount of the Be
atitudes, and the town of Tab-
gha, which preserves ruins of
(Continued on Page 2)
Patriarch’s
Meeting With
Pope Set
ISTANBUL, Turkey (NC)
—The Orthodox Patriar
chate of Constantinople an
nounced (Dec. 30) that Pa
triarch Athenagoras I was
leaving Istanbul, Friday,
Jan. 3, and would meet Pope
Paul VI in Jerusalem.
Officials of the patriar
chate said that the Ecumeni
cal Patriarch would join
Pope Paul in prayer atop the
Mount of Olives, where
Christ suffered His Agony
the night before the Cruci
fixion. Pope Paul is flying
to the Holy Land for his
three-day visit on Jan. 4.
PAPAL TRIP MAP—This special newsmap shows some of the Christian shrines in Israel
and Jordan which Pope Paul VI will visit during his Jan. 4 to 6 pilgrimage to the Holy
Land. The Jerusalem map (right) indicates the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, built over
the site where Christ was entombed, where the Pope is scheduled to offer Mass on the
feast of the Epiphany, Jan. 6. (NC Photos)
*
