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LENT - TIME OF PRAYER AND PENANCE
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Vol. 45, No. 37
NEWSPAPER DIOCESE OF SAVANNAH
SAVANNAH, GEORGIA, THURSDAY, MARCH 25, 1965
$5 Per Year
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SOUTHERN OPPOSITION
L.B.J. Vote Bill
Will Face Battle
In U.S. Senate
WASHINGTON (NC)--Speedy
passage in the House but a pro
longed battle in the Senate appear
the likeliest prospects for the ad
ministration’s voting rights bill
as the measure begins moving
through Congress.
President Johnson urged Con
gress to “turn its attention im
mediately to this legislation and
• nact it promptly” in a letter
impanying the bill sent to Vice
President Humphrey as Pre
sident of the Senate.
In the House, Rep. Emauel
Celler of New York, chairman of
the Judiciary Committee, intro
duced the measure and scheduled
hearings at once. Atty. Gen.
Nicholas Katzenbach, a chief
architect of the legislation, was
the first witness (March 18).
In the Senate, bipartisan sup
port for the measure came from
Majority Leader Mike Mansfield
of Montana and Minority Leader
Everett M. Dirksen of Illinois.
Dirksen was also reported a prin
cipal author of the bill.
But major obstacles loom in the
Senate. The first is the Judiciary
Committee, whose chairman is
Sen. James O Eastland of Miss
issippi. Next is the threat of a
southern filibuster on the floor
of the Senate.
If the bill wins early passage
in the House and then encounters
a slowdown and ultimate con
frontation in the Senate, it will
be following the same pattern
as last year’s comprehensive
Civil Rights Act. The 1964 leg
islation was enacted only after
a historic Senate vote to cut off
debate.
In sending the voting rights bill
to Congress, President Johnson
said it was intended to “help
rid the nation of racial dis
crimination in every aspect of
the electoral process and thereby
ensure the right of all to vote.”
The measure was designated
“A Bill to Enforce the 15th A-
mendment to the Constitution of
the United States”—which pro
vides that voting rights shall
not be denied “on account of
race, color, or previous con
dition of servitude.” Among its
provisions are these:
—“No voting qualification or
prodecure shall be imposed or
applied to deny or abridge the
right to vote on account of race
or color.”
-The use of any “test or
device”—including literacy and
interpretation tests—would be
barred for prospective voters in
Federal, state or local elections
in states or political subdivi
sions where less than half the
persons of voting age were reg
istered to vote or voted in the
last presidential election.
Katzenbach told the House
Judiciary Committee that this
would apply to Louisiana, Miss
issippi, Alabama, Georgia, South
Carolina, Virginia and Alaska,
as well as 34 counties in North
Carolina and one in Arizona. He
said that “elsewhere the tests
and devices would remain valid,
and similarly the registration
system would remain exclusively
in control of state officials.”
IN SELMA
Prelate Lauds
Priests, Nuns
SAN ANTONIO, Tex. (NC)—
The presence in Selma of clergy
men and nuns was praised here
by Archbishop Robert E. Lucey
of San Antonio.
In a special article in the Al
amo Messenger, newspaper of
the archdiocese, the prelate con
demned racial injustice and
praised demonstrations. He
wrote (March 19):
“Fortunately, the voice of re
ligion has been heard in Selma.
Protestant ministers, Jewish
rabbis and Catholic priests have
gone there from many parts of the
nation to give witness to the faith
that is in them and to play a vital
role in brotherhood.
“And Catholic Sisters, God
bless them, marched down the
streets of Selma giving testi
mony to the charity of Christ
in need and in truth. The con
science of America has revolted
against the atrocities of Selma
^^the brutal denial of freedom. ’ ’
Archbishop Lucey said that
some Catholics will maintain that
the participation of priests and
nuns is improper.
“After all this, some Catholics
will probably still maintain that
civil law is sacred; priests should
be the first to obey; they should
stay home and be quiet. If some
law is unwise, let the laity clean
it up. Priests should be docile
meek and humble of heart. De
monstrations are undignified,”
he said.
These Catholics should re
member, he wrote, that Christ
“demonstrated vigorously one
day” when He drove the money
changers out of the temple.
“If it is wrong to defy an
unjust law,” the prelate wrote,
“the leaders of the American
Revolution were traitors to the
crown and Benedict Arnold was
a saint.”
CHARITY to others
New Holy Week
Changes Stress
Role Of Priest
LUTHERAN AND CATHOLIC representatives are
shown at meeting (March 16th) with Lawrence
Cardinal Shehan, in Baltimore. Group met to plan
further steps along ecumenical path, expected in
July. America’s newest Cardinaljs chairman of the
recently formed U.S. Catholic Bishops’ Commission
for Ecumenical Affairs.
(N.C. Photo)
WILL PROBE THEOLOGY ON CREED
U.S. Catholic Bishops’ Commission
To Meet With Lutheran Churchmen
IT’S NOT EASY to be patient
when thoughts of the next meal
come in the form of a question
and the shelter of a home is
only a memory. But this refu
gee from Red China has learned
to understand. Last year he lived
in captivity; now he is free,
though destitute. You can help
keep hope alive by donating to
the Catholic Bishops’ Fund for
the Needy Overseas.
BALTIMORE (NC)—A select
group of Lutheran and Catholic
theologians is to plunge almost
immediately into a thoroughgoing
examination of some of their
two churches’ basic doctrines as
a result of the first official meet
ing between representatives of
the two sides.
Churchmen appointed by the
National Lutheran Council and
by the U.S. Catholic Bishop’s
Commission for Ecumenical Af
fairs set up the framework for
deep probing aimed at getting
to the heart of just where Cath
olic and Lutheran theology agree
and where they differ in their
interpretations of the Nicene
Creed, which both churches pro
fess in common.
The initial confrontation here
on March 16 brought together
five Lutheran and five Catholic
clergymen for nearly six hours
of talks—including a luncheon
given for them by Lawrence Car
dinal Shehan of Baltimore—to
begin “dialogue-in-depth dis
cussions.”
At the conclusion of the meet
ing, Auxiliary Bishop T. Austin
Murphy of Baltimore, chairman
of the Catholic bishops’ subcom
mission for dialogue with Luthe
rans, and the Rev. Dr. Paul C.
Empie of New York, executive
director of the National Luthe
ran Council, said in a joint state
ment that the first “high theolo
gical level” talks with take place
in Baltimore early in July.
Each group is shortly to ap
point seven representatives, pri
marily theologians and church
scholars, for the July meeting,
and two on each side are to
collaborate in writing “position
papers” defining their church’s
interpretation of the Nicene
C reed.
The discussions presumably
will center on the meaning of the
original Greek of this creed,
which is a development of the
one formulated at the first ecu
menical council, at Nicaea in
Asia Minor, in 325 A.D. The
Anglican Communion proposed in
1888 that the Nicene Creed should
be a basis for Christian reunion.
Participants in the initial
meeting here were, on the Lu
theran side, the Rev. Dr. George
F. Harkins of New York, presi
dent of the National Lutheran
Council; Dr. Empie; the Rev.
Dr. Warren A. Quanbeck, pro
fessor of systematic theology at
Luther Theological Seminary, St.
Paul, Minn.; the Rev. Dr. George
A Lindbeck, associate professor,
of historical theology at the Yale
University Diyinity School, New
Haven, Conn., and the Rev. Vir
gil R. Westlund of New York,
4
k
secretary of the Department of
Theological Cooperation, Divi
sion of Lutheran World Federa
tion Affairs, National Lutheran
Council.
The Catholic participants, in
addition to Bishop Murphy, were
Msgr. William W. Baum of Wash
ington, executive director of
the Bishops’ Commission for
Ecumenical Affairs; Msgr.
Joseph W. Baker, vice chairman
of the Commission on Ecumenism
of the St. Louis archdiocese;
Father Walter J. Burghardt,S.J.,
professor of patrology and pat
ristic theology at Woodstock
(Md.) College, and Father George
A, Tavard, A.A., chairman of
the theology department ofMount
Mercy College, Pittsburgh.
The 3 8-member National
Lutheran Council had voted at its
Feb. 9 meeting in Los Angeles
“to sponsor theological conver
sations” with representatives of
the U.S. Roman Catholic bishops.
At the same time, the NLC —
whose main constituent bodies
are the American Lutheran
Church, with 2.5 million mem
bers, and the Lutheran Church
in America, with 3.2 million—
voted to ask the 2.6 million
member Lutheran Church-
Missouri Synod to take part.
According to Dr. Empie, the
Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod
has “responded favorably.” Dr.
Empie said the July meeting in
Baltimore will be a two-day ses
sion to discuss the prepared posi
tion papers and to map out further
meetings. These meetings are
expected to take place twice a
year, alternating between a
Catholic and a Lutheran center.
The March 16 session, which
was described as “awfully
friendly,” was held without any
predetermined agenda. Accord
ing to Father Burghardt, it took
“a fair amount of time, as was
expected,” to settle on the Ni-
HEADLINE
HOPSCOTCH
3
NATION
Youth Adoration Day
WASHINGTON—Catholic youth across the nation are being in
vited to participate in a National Youth Adoration Day on Sunday,
May 2. Msgr. Frederick J. Stevenson, director of the National CYO
Federation, which sponsors the event, said Catholic young people
will be urged to attend Mass and receive Holy Communion.
Cathedral Consecration
The newly reconstructed, renovated and redecorated Belmont
Abbey Cathedral, Belmont, N C. will be solemnly consecrated
this Sunday. Right Reverend Walter A. Coggin, O S B , the Abbot
Ordinary of Belmont Abbey, will bless the Cathedral on which re
novation has been in progress since last July.
EUROPE
Drop Dead
LONDON—Hugh Burnett, television producer for the British
Broadcasting Corporation decided he needed some professional help
in preparing two satirical programs, one on “heaven” and the other
on “hell.’ He wrote to Father Agnellus Andrew, OF.M, BBC’s
Catholic consultant, asking how he could get the official Roman
Catholic view of “heaven” and “hell.” The memorandum he got back
consisted of one word; “Die.”
Birth Control Commission
ROME—The special commission on family planning and population
problems established by Pope Paul VI last year began its first full
meeting here March 25. The highly secret group, whose membership
has not been announced here, gathered at the Domus Maria conference
center for three days of discussions.
AUSTRALIA
Leper-Care Nun Killed
DERBY, Australia—Mother Mary Gertrude Green, honored with
the Order of the British Empire in 1951 for long service with leper
patients here, has been killed in an auto accident. During air raids
here in World War H, Mother Gertrude led patients into the bush
country and took care of them in primitive quarters until they could
return to the leprosarium.
cene Creed as the initial topic
of discussion.
Dr. Quanbeck said later that
the Nicene Creed was selected
as “a sample of dogma suf
ficiently concrete that the talks
would not just be up in the air .
It is the most Christ-centered
of the ancient professions of faith
and one in which there is “a
great deal in common” between 1
the Catholic and Lutheran inter
pretations.
On the Catholic side, Father
Burghardt is expected to be one
of the two theologians appointed
to draw up the position paper.
Father Burghardt said, how
ever, that he is not totally cer
tain his busy schedule will enable
him to do so. He said the pre
paration of the draft must neces
sarily be a painstaking task,
and that it will require “fairly
frequent” communication be
tween the participants while the
work is in progress. Besides
that, he said, the material ought
to be ready to be mimeographed
for distribution to all the par
ticipants by early June so that
they will have enough time to
consider it thoroughly before the
July meeting.
The Jesuit theologian said the
initial papers will first of all
pinpoint those sections of the
C reed on which each church has
taken a dogmatic stand. The
papers will also deal with the
parts of the Creed whose in
terpretation is considered still
“a matter of free discussion,”
presumably outlining the various
possible meanings to be attached
to them.
Dr. Empie and Bishop Murphy
said in their joint statement that
the participants in the July meet
ing are to be named “at a later
date.” They said that the exact
dates for the meeting will be
announced in mid-April.
The two sets of churchmen are i
expected to form what Father
Burghardt called a “quasi-per
manent dialogue group.” Dr.
Empie said (March 18) that he
expected to go to Chicago at
the end of March to discuss the
July meeting with the Rev. Dr.
Oliver R. Harms of St. Louis,
president of the Lutheran
Church-Missouri Synod. He said
the appointments of the NLC
and Missouri Synod participants
would be made at that time.
Dr. Empie said the March 16
meeting here was a very sat
isfactory meeting which “ac
complished what it was supposed
to.” He looks forward to the
July meeting with “keen anti
cipation,” he added.
VATICAN CITY (NC) — Pope
Paul VI has approved new changes
in the liturgy for Holy Week, in
cluding the introduction of con-
celebration of the Mass on Holy
Thursday and revisions in the
prayers for other Christians,
Jews and other non-Christians
in the solemn prayers of Good
Friday.
The Good Friday changes were
made to remove “every stone
which might constitute, however
remotely, a stumbling block or a
cause of discomfort.”
The new prayers eliminate
such references as “heretics and
schismatics” and “infidels” and
“pagans.” The former prayer for
the “Unity of the Church” is now
to be called for the “unity of
Christians,” and asks God’s help
,for “all brothers who believe
in Christ.” The prayer formerly
entitled “For the Conversion of
the Jews,” is now simply: “For
the Jews,” while the one formerly
“For the Conversion of Unbe
lievers” has been changed to
“For those who do not yet be
lieve in Christ.”
lhe CUa.ugfe” AV
the Jewish people is the fourth
provided for by the Holy See in
less than two decades. Originally
the prayer was for the “perfidis
Iudaeis”--which was generally
translated “the perfidious
Jews.” In 1948 the Holy See
suggested that this should be
translated as “unbelieving” or
“disbelieving” instead of per
fidious.
The second change was in 1955,
when the Holy See restored the
ancient practice of kneeling after
the deacon’s call to pray for the
Jews—since the middle ages the
only one of the nine prayers for
which there was no call to kneel.
Then in 1959, shortly after he
came to office, Pope John XXIII
ordered the elimination of the
POPE HOPES
word “perfidis” or “unbeliev
ing” in the prayer for the Jews.
With the new version, refer
ences to the “darkness” and
“blindness” are also sup
pressed.
The most extensive of the chan
ges are in the Mass of the
Chrism, the Holy Thursday mor- 1
ning Mass celebrated by the bi
shop in his cathedral, surrounded
by his priests, in which the holy
oils are blessed. The new rite
for this morning Mass-which is
distinct from the Mass of the
Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday
evening—simplifies the bles
sings of the oils and gives new
emphasis to the commemoration
of the institution of the priest
hood.
The Holy See restored the an
cient Chrism Mass only in 1955,
and selected new epistle and
gospel texts for it at that time.
These texts, which both men
tioned anointing with oil, have
been superseded by new texts
which emphasize the priestly
mission. Other changes were
made in the Offertory and Com
munion anthems.
The new changes were revealed
by Father Annibale Bugnini, C.
M., secretary of the postcon-
ciliar liturgy commission, in an
article in the March 19 issue of
•L’Osservatore Romano, the Vati
can City daily. Father Bugnini
in effect was commenting on re
visions contained in a pamphlet
entitled “Variations to be made
in the Holy Week ordinal.” This
document, prepared by the litur
gy commission and approved by
the Pope, is being published under
the auspices of the Congregation
of Rites, of which Father Bugnini
is undersecretary for liturgical
affairs. The changes are to go
into effect this Holy Thursday,
April 15, and the Vatican Poly
glot Press said that publication
was “imminent.”
Space Conquests
For Good Of Man
VATICAN CITY (NC) — Pope
Paul VI paid tribute to Soviet
spacemen’s latest triumph and
expressed the hope that “all
this progress may serve to make
men better, more united and in
tent on serving the ideals of
peace and the common good.”
Pope Paul voiced his praise
the day after the flight at the
end of a Mass he celebrated
in St Peter's basilica on the
POPE PAUL VI
feast of St. Joseph for more
than 8,000 Italian Catholic work
ers. He had delivered a sermon
during the Mass and spoken to
various groups attending it. At
its end he departed from the
usual custom of giving his bless
ing to declare:
('■i.x’r/-
“Let us after our conversa
tion with the groups present at
this sacred rite... pay tribute our
self with applause to the space
accomplishment which today
stirs the world.
“We passionately express this
hope: May all this progress serve
to make men better, more united
and Jntent on serving the ideals
of peace and the common good.
“And we break out into a
hymn to the God of creation,
who governs all with a wisdom
that stretches through the fhr
reaches of space and who in
the immense, silent and unknown
cosmos has aroused man, made
in His image and called to a
supernatural conversation, to
make him the lord not only of
matter but also of thought which
can penetrate and govern all
and to make him capable of
addressing Him with a great
and free voice: Our Father who
art in Heaven.”
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