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The Southern Cross, October 15, 1964—PAGE 3
Regional Meeting Of
Catholic Press Told
Adjustment Necessary
ST. PAUL, Minn. (NC) — To
serve the community of the
( Church, the press must adjust
to the personalist, pluralist and
worldly qualities of that com
munity, delegates attending the
Catholic Press Association’s
Midwest regional meeting here
were told.
Father Robert Hovda, of St.
Paul’s student center at North
Dakota State University in Far
go, and David Host, journalism
professor and director of the
Institute of the Catholic Press
at Marquette University, Mil
waukee, were principal speak
ers.
Father Hovda said the Church
is a community of free and re
sponsible persons and “only if
the ‘ Catholic journalist loves
himself can he love readers.”
The press must be “open to
all areas,” he declared.
For- many centuries, Father
Hovda said, there has been “an
unbalanced view of the Church,
stressing only the authority,
rights and functions of the hier
archy.” But now the Church is
discovering the layman’s func
tions, and “if the press is going
to serve the community of per
sons, it must be aware of this,”
he added.
The Church also has a corpo
rate, pluralist character, being
made up not only of individuals
but also of autonomous commu
nities, Father Hovda said, as is
recognized in the Constitution
on the Sacred Liturgy and the
principle of collegiality.
The press “has to be con
cerned about affirming the pro
per autonomy” of the Church
communities, he said. It should
serve as a means of communi
cation between various groups
and organizations within the
Church, and report their con
tributions to the life of the
Church.
Discuss
*uy Father Placid Jordan, O.S.B.
(N.C.W.C. News Service)
VATICAN CITY — A joint
meeting of officials of the ecu
menical council has reportedly
resulted in a decision not to
bring the council’s third session
to an abrupt halt. The most
probable closing date appears
5 to be Nov. 20.
According to reliable sources,
the meeting of the council’s
presidency, coordinating com
mittee, moderators and general
secretariat (Oct. 7) agreed that
the present session should be
long enough to permit discus
sions on pending schemata and
propositions to continue without
pressure.
The target date for the coun-
icil’s formal closing is now Pen
tecost Sunday, June 6, 1965.
During the six month inter
val between the third and
fourth sessions, committees will
have sufficient time to go over
the many amendments proposed
for various texts so that the
Fathers will be able to complete
the final voting during a fourth
session to be called shortly af
ter Easter.
A majority of the Fathers
feel that the schema on the
Church in the modem world re
quires special consideration
which ought not to be rushed. A
feeling also prevails that many
propositions as now drafted
leave a lot to be desired and
would result in general disap
pointment if not put on a more
solid footing.
^^The schedule now contemplat-
will make it possible to pro-
^^ide for these needs to even
tually lead to more positive re
mits from the council.
The Church also has a world
ly character in that it consid
ers “the sacred and secular as
a team, not as opposed,” Fa
ther Hovda said. This concept
is being recognized in worship,
according to the liturgy consti
tution, and in the church’s mis
sionary character, which now
considers the Christian as “at
home in the world,” he said.
When the Christian “speaks
of the secular press, he’s talk
ing about his press,” he said.
It is not a matter of “our press
being the Catholic press,” he
said, “for the secular is ours
too; the secular world is ours.”
“The peculiar function of the
Catholic press is not to substi
tute for the secular press but
to bring to the total community
the special and legitimate con
cerns of the sacred community
within it,” he said.
Host said the press can func
tion as a part of the Church
community as long as its wbrk
contributes to the Church in its
community aspect.
Some articles, like those re
porting a past meeting, contrib
ute nothing to the community,
he said, while other articles
contribute little and some a
great deal.
An announcement of a coming
event open to readers can con
tribute, he said, because the
readers can take part in the
event.
The contribution of the press
to the community can function
only if readers have the spirit
of community, - Host said, and
the press can teach them to
use articles properly, instruct
ing them in this sense of com
munity.
The “sense of community is
really charity — love in Christ
by which we are united in
Christ,” he said. The Catholic
press “could do more in in
structing” readers on love and
telling them of the need for
love, he said.
Host also said that good cri
ticism “can do nothing but good
to the spirit of the community.”
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111 N. SLAPPEY DR. ALBANY
PROMINENT among laymen attending the third session of Vatican Council II are: (left to right) Mieczyslaw de Habicht,
Polish, permanent secretary, Conference of International Catholic Organizations; Jean Larnaud, French, general secre
tary, Catholic Coordinating Center for UNESCO; Ramon Sugranyes de Franch, Spanish, president of Pax Romana, inter
national organization of Catholic students and intellectuals, and president, Conference of International Catholic Organ
izations; Jean Guitton, French, University of Paris professor and the only Catholic layman to attend the first session of
the council; Francesco Vito, Italian, rector of the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Milan; James J. Norris, Ameri
can, assistant to the executive director, Catholic Relief Services-National Catholic Welfare Conference, and president, In
ternational Catholic Migration Commission; and Dr. Emilios Inglessia, Greek, executive director, International Council of
Catholic Men. (NC Photos)
Fourth Week In Review
Council Fathers Seek Greater
Role For Laity In The Church
The "Upper 400”
Men Behind Scenes
At Vatican Council
VATICAN CITY (NC) - The
ecumenical council turned its
gaze on the Catholic laity dur
ing the fourth week of its cur
rent session. Many council Fa
thers promptly sought a larger
role for the laity than was pro
posed in the document under
debate.
The Fathers interrupted this
discussion long enough to com
plete the voting on the three
chapters of the schema on ecu
menism. The chapters voted on
stressed the ties that bind Cath
olics to separated churches in
the East and West, and recom
mended that, under certain cir
cumstances, Catholics take part
in Orthodox services.
The very first speaker on the
lay apostolate schema, Joseph
Cardinal Ritter of St. Louis, set
the tone for what was to be
come the Fathers’ general feel
ing toward the draft statement.
Cardinal Ritter said 1 the text
as presented to the Fathers
would need a complete revision,
although he asked the Fathers
to accept the text as a basis
for discussion.
As for the flaws in the text,
Cardinal Ritter listed a clerical
spirit which seems to have a
patronizing tone, as if the high
est role of the laity were to aid
the clergy and not to pursue its
own role. He criticized the docu
ment’s juridical tone as being
improper and non-pastwal, and
he cited the fact that the activ
ities generally grouped under
the term Catholic Action are
favored in. it to the detriment
of the many other forms of the
apostolate.
Cardinal Ritter said the text
was unorganized, that it con
tained non - essential elements,
that the proper distinction be
tween the laity and the hierar
chy was not brought out, and
that the text did not have a
proper theological basis for the
lay apostolate.
To remedy this last situation,
the American cardinal suggest
ed an introduction on the theolo
gy of the lay apostolate taken
from chapter four of the
schema on the Church. He said
the introduction could then set
forth the essence of the lay
apostolate and conclude with an
exhortation to the laity.
The majority of the remaining
bishops who spoke during the
first day of debate on the sche
ma agreed with Cardinal Ritter.
Bishop Paul Charbonneau of
Hull, Que., said the tone of the
douement must be declericaliz-
ed, and that it must be made
clear that the lay apostolate is
not merely a remedy for the
priest shortage.
Bishop Paul Sanj of Den Pa-
sar, Indonesia, complained that
the temporal order — which the
layman is expected to restore—
is not defined in the text nor is
its restoration explained. He de
clared that the lay apostolate
should not be separated from
the daily lives of Catholics.
Michael Cardinal Browne, O.P.,
Irish member of the Roman
Curia, expressed h i s general
satisfaction with the schema,
but nevertheless suggested some
changes in the terminology it
uses.
Although Cardinal Ritter
thought Catholic Action was ov
eremphasized in the schema,
Archbishop Carlo Maccari, Bish
op of Mondovi, Italy, said the
text did not place enough stress
oni Catholic Action—a fact, he
said, that was playing into the
hands of the Church’s enemies.
The second day’s debate (Oct.
8) continued in the same direc
tion as the first, and was ex
tended when Archbishop Eugene
D’Souza of Bhopal, India, sug
gested that laymen be permit
ted to fill offices in the Roman
Curia and the diplomatic corps
of the Holy See.
Archbishop D’Souza took issue
with the statement in the draft
that nothing in the lay aposto
late field can be undertaken
without the bishops. He said it
is false to believe that no ac
tion can be started without the
bishop’s expressed approval. In
fact, he continued, bishops must
be careful not to usurp the re
sponsibilities of the laity in
such areas a,s education, social
services and the administration
of temporal goods.
Using an English phrase, Aux
iliary Bishop Stephen A. Leven
of San Antonio, Tex., declared
that the document should be
streamlined and “given more
punch.”
The lay apostolate is not a
concession made to the faithful
but is their right, he said. He
added that while bishops can
direct this apostolate they can
not forbid it or so hem it in
with restrictions as to make it
meaningless.
Bishop Leven said a greater
dialogue between the hierarchy
and the laity is needed, declar
ing that little will be gained if
a bishop consults only a few
people—especially if these few
are only his doctor and house
keeper.
In order to promote this dia
logue, Bishop Leven called for
the etablishment in each dio
cese of a senate similar to the
one which, it has been suggest-
by Father Placid Jordan, O.S.B.
(N.C.W.C. News Service)
VATICAN CITY—With the ap
proach of what might be called
the “seventh inning” of the
present council session, the im
pression resulting this week
from the generally rapid prog
ress being made was that the
council at last had been thrown
into high gear.
A slight correction of this ap
praisal was in order when the
schema on the lay apostolate
was debated for three days with
another 100 speakers still wait
ing to talk. It is now obvious
that the lay apostolate is one
of the most controversial sub
jects on the council agenda.
It is now expected that clo
ture will have to be applied to
enable the Fathers to tackle
schema 13, on the Church in
the Modern World, which has
been awaited by the general
public with tense interest.
Unfortunately schema 13 in
ed, might be founded after the
council to assist the pope.
Auxiliary Bishop Heinrich Ten-
humberg of Muenster, Germa
ny, speaking for 83 German-lan
guage Fathers, suggested lay
men could be placed in diocesan
curias to assist the bishops.
South African Archbishop O-
wen McCann of Cape Town told
the council Fathers that laymen
are mature and that there is a
need for mutual trust between
the clergy and the laity. He de
plored the text for lacking the
inspiration expected of it, say
ing that the laity had looked for
a Magna Charta, but did not get
one.
Eighteen Fathers spoke dur
ing the second day of debate,
and they were in general agree
ment that the schema needed
modifications. Speaking in be
half of the Dutch Bishops, Bish
op Gerardus De Vet of Breda
said the text should allude to
the fact that the lay apostolate
is already being carried out and
that it should not be regarded
as a necessary evil. The world
is the proper place for the laity
to work in because they are of
it, he said.
Spa n i s h Archbishop Vicente
Enrique y Tarancon of Oviedo
claimed the text is confined in
many things and said he want
ed! it made clear that laymen
who dedicate themselves to the
apostolate are doing it in .their
own right and not by virtue of
a benign concession from au
thority. He said the activity of
the laity should be clearly dis
tinguished from the activity of
the clergy.
Archbishop William Conway of
Armagh," Ireland, said he was
discontented because the docu
ment overlooks the need's of
youth.
Even as the council Fathers
expressed their views on the
text, there was a movement a-
foot to alow the lay auditors to
speak on the subject. The audi
tors normally must keep silent
its present form has already
elicited widespread criticism. It
is realized that its scope is so
comprehensive that only basic
principles can be enunciated
while specific solutions for the
many problems it raises will
have to be worked out later.
In the meantime, there is
more going on behind the coun
cil scenes than meets the public
eye. A priest-physicist has com
pared the council to a pendulum
swinging freely to and fro and
alternating at times between
opposite extremes.
“However,” he said, “as in
the case of a pendulum, the
center of suspension remains in
variable and the sum total of
what might be called the poten
tial and t h e kinetic energies
never seems to undergo any
change.”
The simile appeals to many
here who realize that there will
always be attrition between
various currents of thought in
so vast an assembly as an ecu-
during the council’s general ses
sions. The auditors drafted their
request to speak and sent it to
the council’s moderators, who
in turn forwarded it to Pope
Paul VI. The auditors selected
Patrick Keegan of England,
president of the World Move
ment of Christian Workers, to
express their views, if permis
sion to speak were granted.
On the evening after the sec
ond! day’s debate, 22 cardinals
and nearly 1,000 council Fathers
attended' the funeral in Rome
of Father Jean Baptiste Jans
sens, S.J., general of the Socie
ty of Jesus, who died earlier in
the week.
Antonio Cardinal Caggiano of
Buenos Aires opened the third
day of debate by calling for a
stricter definition of Catholic
Action in the document. He said
Catholic Action, as described by
Pope Pius XI and perfected by
Pope Pius XII, requires laymen
to be firmly founded in theolo
gy and to work with the clergy
with mutual trust.
Leo Cardinal Suenens of Ma-
lines-Brussels, Belgium, said he
did not want to see Catholic Ac
tion limited to a few organiza
tions that have already been
given that title. He said either
many new forms of the aposto
late should be included under
the title of Catholic Action, or a
new title should be created.
During the first two days of
discussion, the Fathers halted
their talks long enough to vote
approval to the final chapters
of the schema on ecumenism.
Chapter two was approved by a
vote of 2,174 to 34, and the
third chapter by a vote of 1,843
to 24.
The amendments to chapter
three are concerned with separ
ated churches in the East and
West. One section calls attention
to the fact that the Catholic and
Eastern Churches have the
same Eucharist and venerate
Mary and the same saints. It
notes the possibility of Catho
lics joining in Eastern Eucharis
tic services.
menical council, even though
the foundations remain firm
and constant. The foundation in
the case of this council is the
basic concept of Church renewal
from within, but clearly diver
gent currents remain alive and
will remain alive long after' the
council adjourns.
As the council agenda is still
heavy with controversial topics,
it remains to be seen whether
in the few remaining weeks
they can at least be debated to
a point where committees can
take over during the recess be
fore the fourth session which
will presumably meet in the
spring.
Among the still-pending mat
ters are the missions and the
priesthood, which should not be
glossed over lightly just to save
time. At any rate it is agreed
that in these remaining weeks
the council Fathers will feel the
pressure of time to a growing
degree. They will no doubt be
the busiest weeks of the whole
council.
by Father Placid Jordan, O.S.B.
(N.C.W.C. News Service)
VATICAN CITY - There are
some 400 men in the ecumeni
cal council whose voice is nev
er heard on the floor. Yet their
influence is considerable.
Some call these men “the
powers behind the bishops’
thrones.” Others call them
“mystery men.”
In reality they are not mys
terious at all.
They are the “periti,” t h e
theologians who function as ex
pert consultants to the council
Fathers, men of great learning
appointed by Pope Paul VI on
the recommendation of their
bishops. Their names are listed
in the official papal yearbook.
Bernard Cardinal Alfr.vik of
Utrecht, the Netherlands, said
here that most bishops have lit
tle time to devote to study. This
is why they must rely on their
theologians when topics come
up for discussion in the council
which require a great deal of
theological knowhow.
So the “periti” are consulted
all along, mainly in committee
meetings. There they are asked
to express their views and of
ten express them c*n their own
accord.
They are men of great reputa
tion. Among the best known A-
merican periti are Father John
Courtney Murray, S.J., of Wood-
stock College, Md.; Father
George Tavard of Chicago, who
is professor of Church history
at the Catholic University of
America in Washington, D. C.,
and associate editor of the
Catholic Historical Review; Fa
ther Frederick McManus of
Boston, professor of canon law
at Catholic University; Father
Godfrey Diekmann, O.S.B., pro
fessor at St. John’s college, Col-
legeville, Minn.
There are 10 council commit
tees, each made up of from 25
to 30 members. These examine
and revise the draft proposals
to be discussed on the council
floor. American members serve
on all of them.
Archbishop John F. Dearden
of Detroit, Bishop John J.
Wright of Pittsburgh and Bish
op Marco McGrath of Santiago
de Veraguas, Panama, are mem
bers of the Commission on
Faith and Morals presided over
by Alfredo Cardinal Ottaviani,
Secretary of the Congregation
of the Holy Office.
On the committee dealing
with bishops and diocesan gov
ernment, James Francis Cardi
nal McIntyre of Los Angeles,
Archbishop Leo Binz of St. Paul
and Archbishop Karl J. Alter of
Cincinnati are the American
members. Other Americans
serving on various committees
include: the Oriental churches,
Bishop Bryan J. McFntegart of
Brooklyn; the administration of
the sacraments, Archbishop Jo
seph T. McGucken of San Fran
cisco and American-born Bishop
John E. Taylor, O.M.I., of
Stockholm.
Bishop Edward C. Daly, O.P.,
of Des Moines, Iowa, and Bish
op Joseph McShea of Allen
town, Pa., are on the committe
dealing with Religious.
Auxiliary Bishop Fulton J.
Sheen of New York is a mem
ber of the missions committee.
The liturgy committee has
Archbishop Paul J. Hallinan of
Atlanta. On the committee on
the welfare of the clergy and
faithful is Joseph Cardinal Rit
ter of St. Louis.
The committee on seminaries
and Catholic education includes
Archbishop John P. Cody, Apos
tolic administrator of New Or
leans.
The lay apostolate committee
has Archbishop William E. Cou
sins of Milwaukee and Bishop
Allen J. Babcock of Grand Rap
ids, Mich.
In addition. there is the Sec
retariat for the Promotion of
Christian Unity headed by Au
gustin Cardinal Bea, S.J., with
Archbishop Dearden and Arch
bishop Lawrence J. Shehan of
Baltimore as the American
members.
The “periti” are indispensable
to the council. Its success de
pends on them to quite some
extent. Many an important
speech has been drafted by
them, many a council document
has been prepared! with their
expert advice. No wonder their
influence is felt, but for this
very reason instructions were
recently issued to prevent them
from giving public interviews or
otherwise trying to make their
views prevail. So now as a rule
they remain in the background
and shun publicity.
These “upper 400” are men
of great discretion. They know
that it is behind the scenes that
the really important decisions
are reached.
38 Million?
During the 1939 World’s Fair
General Motors announced to its
captive Futurama audience:
“There are approximately 38
million motorcars in this Ameri
ca of 1960 — almost a third
more than in 1940!”
But there now almost 70 mil
lion motorcars, more than three
times as many as in 1940, the
Catholic Digest points out. More
than any other single compari
son, the gap between GM’s pre
diction and the staggering truth
points up what America has be
come since Futurama.
Albany
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For Council
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