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PAGE 2-—'The Southern Cross, February 6, 1964
Bishop Urges Changes In
Mixed Marriage Practices
STEUBENVILLE, Ohio (NC)
—Bishop John King Mussio has
advocated overhauling the
Church’s mixed marriages
practices, noting that in
“America’s pluralist society
there is no possibility of reli
gious segregation.’’
The head of the Steubenville
diocese recommended abolition
of promises now required of a
non-Catholic before a mixed
marriage. He said the pledges
“have ceased to serve the pur
poses for which they were in
tended,’’ and also “spawn deceit
and contempt.” He added: “We
don’t serve the best interests
of marriage by starting it with
one of the members smarting
from a sense of compulsion.”
"The better way today to
safeguard the Faith of the Ca
tholic member of a mixed mar
riage is to concentrate on the
preparation of the Catholic
partner,” the Bishop stressed.
“Before entering marriage,
both parties should be careful
ly instructed in what is expect
ed of them in a Christian mar
riage. The non-Catholic part
ner should be given every
opportunity to know exactly what
the Faith demands of the Catho
lic partner in the marital rela
tionship, and the under
standing required for his right
ful fulfillment of conscientious
duties.”
When assurance of coopera
tion by the non-Catholic is vo
luntary and comes from under
standing, “the marriage has a
far better chance to succeed
than were formal pledges de
manded,” Bishop Mussionoted.
“The loss of Faith by the Ca
tholic member of a mixed mar
riage is due often to his own
negligence.”
Religious training of child
ren born of a mixed marriage
"presents a very difficult and
delicate problem,” the Bishop
said. "To the Catholic this
means only the Catholic Faith,”
the prelate added, though a sin
cerely “religious non-Catholic
partner has the same obligation,
and feels the same necessity,
to protect the best spiritual
interests of those children.”
Bishop Mussio said the mar
riage should be called off if
both parties cannot agree on
the religious training their
children receive. He found no
objection in an agreement that
the children attend public
schools and take religious in
structions during off-hours.
“At some time the Catholic
must stand on his own feet and
demonstrate the worth of his
Faith,” Bishop Mussio said.
“He must do this in business
prove it in his social rela
tionships, uphold it in the pro
fessions, politics and in a thou
sand other different facets of
human activity. So, why not in
marriage? We cannot continual
ly treat these Catholics as tied
to the Church’s apron strings.”
Bishop Mussio recommended
surrounding “the mixed mar
riage with all the religious at
mosphere possible.” He said
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the marriage must be in a Ca
tholic church “where the mar
riage is held to be a sacra
ment, something intimately
joined to the salvation of man.”
“Of course, it is asked, ‘What
is wrong with a marriage in a
Protestant church? Nothing is
wrong for the non-Catholic. But
we cannot get around the fact
that to the Catholic the rite is
false,” the Bishop said.
Opposing the “back door”
treatment and bare marriage
ceremony in a rectory or sac
risty, Bishop Mussio said
“these young people belong in
the church, before the altar,
with everything given that en
hances the spiritual beauty of
the step they are taking.”
“I see no reason why the min
ister of the non-Catholic party
could not be invited to be pre
sent, and after the ceremony
is over be permitted to give his
personal blessing to the cou
ple,” Bishop Mussio said.
The Bishop said he did not
favor validation of marriage
before justices-of-the-peace
and non-Catholic ministers be
cause in such situations “the
kind of marriage instruction
needed by the Catholic party is
entirely missing.”
Treating the birth control
problem, Bishop Mussio said
the impression that the “Church
commands large families” is
untrue. He said the Church does
not ban family planning. It is
allowed “not to favor the selfish
pleasure of the marriage part
ners, but simply to guarantee
the proper upbringing of the
children of the marriage.” He
said the planning must be done
morally and this excludes con
traceptives and practices which
violate the natural law.
“The rhythm system may be
used, though much is yet to be
done toperfect it,” Bishop Mus
sio said. “We pray that greater
research will be made to bring
the rhythm system up to a bet
ter grade of reliability. . .Al
ready clinics are being estab
lished and research centers
financed. And in time the so-
called ovulation pills can be
studied, and perhaps found use
ful in a moral way to regulate
birth according to the condition
of parents to properly receive
them.”
Bishop Mussio expressed his
views in the Steubenville Regis
ter, diocesan newspaper. The
article was one in a series on
subjects expected to be treated
at the Second Vatican Council’s
third session.
Faculty Members
Introduced At
Valdosta School
VALDOSTA — The regu
lar monthly meeting of St.
John The Evangelist Home and
School Association was held in
the new auditorium. After the
secretary and treasurer made
their reports, the new lay mem
bers of the faculty were intro
duced. Room count was taken
and won by the fifth grade taught
by Sr. Agnescine.
The men on the advisory
board were announced, their
chief function to supervise any
purchase made by the associa
tion, such as the new movie
screen for the auditorium.
The school principal, Sr.
Mary Pauline, gave an interest
ing account of the Teachers’
meeting held recently in Savan
nah. The School curriculum was
discussed, and it was stated that
St. John’s meets the state stan
dard.
A committee was appointed to
revise the present by-laws so
as to maintain more continuity.
First Communion class in
Valdosta is scheduled for March
8.
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ROME CARDINALS IN SPECIAL SESSION — All but two
of the 28 cardinals resident in Rome met at the Vatican in a
“general plenary congregation” on Jan. 31, called by Pope
Paul VI. Leading the cardinals in prayer at the beginning of
the meeting is Eugene Cardinal Tisserant, dean of the Sac
red College. The Pope was not present at the unusual meet
ing. The three hours of discussions reportedly centered
about the meeting of Paul VI with Orthodox leaders in Jeru
salem. — (NC Photos)
Cites Importance
(Continued From Page 1)
ter et Magistra’ should have
stood the Church on its head in
America. . . .but the average
layman felt no obligation to read
and implement them. I’m just
afraid they are going to have as
little influence as Pope Pius XII
splendid blueprint for Peace
that has been pretty generally
ignored by the world’ s 550
million Catholics.
Hutton made reference to both
Foreign and Public Welfare, de
claring that Pope Paul Vi’s
Christmas Message “should
have reoriented many Catholics
in their view” toward both.
“We are all made to the
image and likeness of God and
are members of Christ's Mys
tical Body, so we have the same
“Mission and interest that God
has. Ignoring the needs of any
other image of God and member
of our Mystical Body isn’t con
sistent with this relationship.
A prayer isn’t enough. I wouldn’t
be surprised if the Priest and
Levite who passed the man on
the road to Jericho said a pray
er for him but didn’t stop be
cause they had too many other
things to do, but the Samaritan
helped him,” he said.
He called on Catholic laymen
to imitate the early Christians
who changed the Pagan institu
tions they found into Christian
ones without destroying them,
and to “permeate existing so
cial institutions with Christian
principles.”
Among the suggestions he
made for greater lay participa
tion in carrying out the mission
of the Church were using the
“normal methods of transmit
ting ideas — television, news
papers, and magazines. . .
. . .“The same strategy should
be used in sensitive Govern
ment posts like Health, Edu
cation and Welfare, State and
Labor.”
He advocated that young per
sons with the intellectual capa
city and personality that indi
cates they would excel in these
fields be furnished scholarships
to colleges capable of giving a
theologically oriented educa
tion.”
For persons not fitted to par
ticipating in these phases of the
lay movement, Hutton suggest
Criticize U.N. Document
On Religious Intolerance
UNITED NATIONS N.Y. (NC)
—Christians, Jews and com
munists have voiced objections
to a new United Nations docu
ment on religious intolerance.
Catholic, Protestant and Jew
ish observers here said the
document does not clearly safe
guard the supranational charac
ter of certain religions.
Catholics and Protestants no
ted that it does not deal with
the fact that religious convic
tions are reflected in a per
son's social and professional
life and that this must not be
a cause of discrimination.
The communists complained
the document does not make ath
eism and religion equal and that
it does not call for separation
of Church and State and church
and school. They objected to
the fact that it says parents
have the right to determine the
religious education of their
children.
The document is the preli
minary text of a declaration on
religious discrimination trans
mitted by the U.N. subcommis
sion on the Prevention of Dis
crimination to the Human Rights
Commission.
The text was prepared by
Arcot Krishnaswami, the ex
pert from India. It represent
ed an attempt to combine his
own previous text with those
submitted by Morris Abram of
the United States and Peter
Calvocoressi of Great Britain
on the basis of the views ex
pressed by the members of the
subcommission. Members are
named as “experts ” in the
field of combating discimi-
ination and not as government
representatives.
The resolution transmitting
Krishnaswami’s text was adopt
ed by a vote of 12 in favor, none
against and two abstentions. The
latter were registered by Boris
Ivanov of the U.S.S.R. and Wo-
jciech Ketrzynski of Poland.
Reservations regarding the text
were expressed by several
members, but it was the
majority view that it could serve
as a working basis for the Hu
man Rights Commission when it
begins its 19th session at U.N.
headquarters on Feb. 17.
The Human Rights Commis
sion will also receive the re
cords of the subcommission’s
discussion, which reflect the
members’ sometimes divergent
viewpoints, as well as state
ments submitted by non-govern
mental organizations. The lat-
MONSIGNOR DANIEL J.
BOURKE, V.F., pastor of Saint
Mary’s on-the-Hill, Augusta, is
presently in Ireland, where he is
seeking vocations to the
priesthood for the Diocese of
Savannah. Msgr. Bourke is vis
iting Secondary Schools and
Colleges during a three week
period.
ter included written memoranda
presented by Pax Romana, in
ternational organization of Ca
tholic intellectuals, and the
predominantly Protestant and
Orthodox World Council of
Churches.
Subcommission members
said that they felt that lack of
time prevented their elabor
ating “the precise wording” of
a declaration on religious in
tolerance, but recalled that the
Human Rights Commission had
requested only a preliminary
draft from the subcommission.
The preamble of the Krish
naswami text recalls that the
Universal Declaration of Hu
man Rights sets forth the right
to freedom of thought, con
science and religion, and that
it declares the equality of all
persons before the law. The
preamble also notes that reli
gious discrimination has
brought great suffering to man
kind and that to eliminate and
prevent all forms of religious
intolerance “it is vital> fo%
governments to take legislative,
educational and other mea
sures to that end, and for or
ganizations and private persons
to lend their fullest support to
the achievement of this objec
tive.”
The text outlines in 14 ar
ticles certain rights of indi
viduals and of “religious
groups” which must not be tam
pered with.
The first article declares that
"discrimination between human
beings on the grounds of re
ligion or belief is an offense
to human dignity and shall
be condemned as a denial of
the principles of the Charter
of the United Nations, as a vio
lation of human rights and fun
damental freedoms proclaimed
in the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights and as an ob
stacle to friendly and peaceful
relations among nations.”
The second states that “no
state, institution, group or in
dividual shall make any discri
mination in matters of human
rights and fundamental free
doms in the treatment of per
sons on the grounds of their
religion or their belief,”
The prior right of parents to
decide upon the religion or be
lief in which a child should
be brought up is affirmed.
Among the rights of “reli
gious groups,’’mention is made
of the right to teach, to train,
“personnel required for the
performance of its practices or
rites,” to bring teachers from
abroad if necessary, and to pub
lish religious books and texts.
The text also provides for
“equal legal protection” to “all
forms of worship, places of
worship and institutions. Si
milar guarantees shall be ac
corded to ritual objects, lan
guage of worship and sacred
books.”
Among the points suggested
by Pax Romana, the World
Council of Churches and the
World Jewish Congress was the
supranational or international
character of certain religions.
This is not clearly safeguard
ed in the preliminary draft,
Catholic observers said here.,
Another matter mentioned by
Catholic and Protestant ograni-
zations, which is not reflected
in the text, is the fact that one’s
religious convictions are re
flected in the conduct on one’s
social and professional life, and
that this must not be a cause for
discrinimation.
Chief opposition to the draft
text was voiced by Ivanov, chief
ly because it does not speci
fically equate religion and ath
eism. He also objected to the
right of parents to decide on
the religious education of their
children, and insisted the draft
should explicityly request the
seperation of church and State
and Church and school.
Victor Titov of the U.S.S.R.
suggested that the document in
clude the statement: “Freedom
of religious worship and
freedom of antireligious propa
ganda are recognized for all
citizens.”
Both Krishnaswami and Mo
hammed Awad of Egypt pointed
out that the mention of atheism
would give it a privileged po
sition in the text, since no re
ligion was specifically mention
ed by name.
Krishnaswami also noted the
close link between the state and
communism in certain coun
tires.
Another objection was raised
by Francisco Cuevas Cancino
of Mexico. The right to teach
and learn religion had been used
in Mexico in the past, he said,
‘ ‘as a pretext for international
intervention” in his country’s
affairs. He also felt that a state
must have the right to prevent
religious institutions from
owning property and “becoming
powerful economic forces
within a country.”
Most of the agreement on the
text was expressed in general
terms, while several of the ex
perts repeated that they would
prefer a shorter and more gen
eral form of declaration.
ROYAL CONVERT - Prin
cess Irene, 24, (above) of The
Netherlands, second in line
to the Dutch throne has been
received into the Catholic
Church by Bernard Cardinal
Alfrink, Archbishop of Ut
recht. The second daughter of
Queen Juliana and Prince
Berhard, she becomes the only
Catholic member of the royal
family. — (NC Photos)
Irish In Mass
TUAM, Ireland (NC) — Arch
bishop Joseph Walsh of Tuam
said here that Irish will be
used in parts of the Mass in
Irish - speaking districts.
He said there are at least
14 churches in his See in Which
Irish will be used in the litur
gy.
The Archbishop spoke on his
return from London where he
and Bishop William Philbin of
Down and Connor represented
the Irish Hierarchy at discus
sions of the English and Welsh
Bishops on the use of English
in the liturgy.
Mixed Reaction
Greets Word
Of Conversion
AMSTERDAM (NC)—The re
velation that Princess Irene
of the Netherlands has become
a Roman Catholic was greeted
with mixed reactions in Dutch
Protestant circles.
A spokesman for the 24-year-
old Princess announced Jan. 29
that Princess Irene had been re
ceived into the Catholic Church
by Bernard Cardinal Alfrink
of Utrecht. Her parents, Queen
Juliana and Prince Bernhard,
are Protestants, as are all other
members of the Dutch royal fa
mily. Princess Irene is second
in line to the Dutch throne.
The statement revelaing the
conversion said that Princess
Irene made the step “after long
and intensive deliberation” and
out of “deep conviction.”
A secretary to Queen Juliana,
commenting on the action, said:
“The Queen and the Prince of
the Netherlands recognize the
right of free choice for their
children and for that reason
they fully respect this decision
of their daughter, Irene.”
J. Smallenbroek, leader of the
(Protestant) Anti-Revolution
ary party, stated that every
one is free in matters of faith.”
But the acting leader of the
Christina Historical Union,
Miss C.W.I. WittewaallvanSto-
etwegen, commented: “I am
shocked by this news.” And
C. N. van Dis, leader of the
conservative, Calvinist-orient
ed Political Reformed party,
said that the “news that a mem
ber of the House of Orange has
abandoned the Reformation
“would be received with great
distress” by his party.
Het Parool, socialist daily
ed “the very important task of
moulding public opinion.
“In our system of Govern
ment, decisions on public poli
cy are made by Public Offi
cials. But they in turn are ex
posed to powerful pressures
from public opinion.
“This fact presents opportu
nities; it also presents dangers.
A bad policy cannot survive for
long under widespread criti
cism that is intelligently made
upon the basis of fact and prin
ciple. . .By the same token, a
good policy cannot survive, or
even be made, in the face of
an adverse public opinion that
is uninformed and irresponsi
ble. . .
"So all Christians, and es
pecially laymen, have a respon
sibility to honestly analyze pub
lic affairs, so that they know
the truth about them, and then
use every opportunity to offer
rational, just and charitable
opinions. . .“This analytical
opinion. . .comes thru disciplin
ed reading and intelligent dis
cussion.”
He urged frequentation of the
Sacraments as a mean for de
veloping the “courage, humility
and other virtues” necessary
for promulgating these opinions
when “it is frequently emba
rrassing, socially and finan
cially” to do so.
newspaper here, complained of
the earlier secrecy concerning
the Princess' joining the Ca
tholic Church, stating that the
conversion took place last sum
mer.
Te Tijd, national Catholic
daily, said in an editorial that
the Princess would consider
her new faith more a com
pletion rather than a rupture
with her past.
THE SPIRIT
OF THE CHURCH
r A series of six lectures and discussions portraying the spirit of the Catholic Church
in the modern world.”
Catholics and all interested in these timely religious questions are invited
February 13th
The Prospect of Reunion
The Reverend John J. Cuddy
SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS, DIOCESE OF SAVANNAH
February 20th
The Liturgical Revival
The Right Reverend John D. Toomey, S.T.L.
PASTOR, SAINT JAMES CHURCH
February 27th
The Church and Matrimony
The Right Reverend Andrew J. McDonald, J.C.D., S.T.L.
CHANCELLOR, DIOCESE OF SAVANNAH
Cathedral School
Auditorium
Thursday Evenings
8:00 P.M.—Talk 8:30 P.M.— Refreshments 9 ; 00 P.M.—Discussion
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