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WASHINGTON (NC) - The bishops
of the United States have issued a
pastoral letter designed to “reaffirm our
heritage of faith in Mary, the Mother of
God, and to encourage authentic
devotion to her.”
The letter, entitled “Behold Your
Mother,” reaffirms basic teachings on
Mary, deplores the decline in Marian
devotions, and asks for
Catholic-Protestant cooperation in the
study of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
“In writing this pastoral letter,” the
bishops say, “our concern about Our
Lady is most keenly felt in the area of
devotion. No survey is needed to show
that all over the country many forms of
Marian devotion have fallen into disuse,
and others are taking an uncertain
course.”
The bishops say they “wish to affirm
with all our strength the lucid
statements of the Second Vatican
Council on the permanent importance
of authentic devotion to the Blessed
Virgin not only in the liturgy, where the
Church accords her a most special place
under Jesus her Son, but also in the
beloved devotions that have been
repeatedly approved and encouraged by
the Church and that are still filled with
meaning for Catholics.
“There is little doubt,” the letter
says, “that we are passing through a
period marked by a lack of interest in
the saints. Much more is involved here
than devotion to the saints, even St.
Mary. What is at stake is the reality of
the humanity of the risen Jesus. There is
danger of so spiritualizing the risen
Christ that we diminish awareness of His
humanity.”
The bishops urge increased devotion
to Mary both in the Mass -- through
special readings and votive Masses -- and
in the rosary.
PAGE 7—The Southern Cross, November 15,1973
Bishops Issue Pastoral on Blessed Virgin
PASTORAL ON MARY ISSUED -- At left is the Mary (right). The pastoral is designed to “reaffirm our
cover of “Behold Your Mother,” a pastoral on Mary heritage of faith in Mary, the Mother of God, and to
being issued by the bishops of the United States encourage authentic devotion to her,” the bishops said,
officially Nov. 21, the feast of the Presentation of (Nc Photos)
“It is unwise,” they say, “to reject
the rosary without a trial simply
because of the accusation that it comes
from that past, that it is repetitious and
ill-suited to sophisticated moderns.”
The bishops point out that the
prayers and mysteries of the rosary are
based in the Bible and they suggest that
Catholics “can freely experiment” with
new forms of the rosary, including new
sets of mysteries such as ones dealing
with the public life of Christ.
In a section on ecumenism the
bishops acknowledge that Catholic
devotion to Mary “has been a sharp
point of difference with other Christians
of the West” and they ask “our brothers
in other Christian churches to
reexamine with us Mary’s place in our
common partrimony.”
The letter says that recent “initiatives
taken on both sides (on the Catholic
side especially through the Second
Vatican Council) have brought
Christians to consider the difficulties of
doctrine about and devotion to Mary
openly and with charity.”
“No sound ecumenism can ignore the
question of Mary,” the bishops say, and
they suggest that other Christians join
Catholics in studying* a variety of
theological issues related to Mary.
The 20,000-word letter, printed in
booklet form, begins with Old
Testament texts and traces the
development of Catholic doctrine
concerning Mary through the New
Testament and early years of the
Church to the Second Vatican Council.
“The Virgin birth,” the letter says,
“is not simply a privilege affecting only
Jesus and Mary, but a sign and means
for the Spirit to build the new People of
God, the Body of Christ, the Church.
The glorious positive sign value of the
Virgin birth is the merciful and free
saving grace of the Father sending His
Son, conceived by the Holy Spirit, bom
of the Virgin Mary, that we might
receive the adoption of Sons.”
The letter also reaffirms “Mary’s
lifelong virginity” and says it is “an
example of the Church’s growth in
understanding of Christian doctrine.” In
this teaching, it says, “the Church has
here recognized as an aspect of ‘public
revelation’ a belief not demonstrable
from the Scriptures.”
In speaking of the “blessedness of
Mary,” the letter reaffirms the doctrines
of the Immaculate Conception and the
Assumption. It also restates the teaching
that Mary is the Mother of God.
“Mary’s initial holiness, a totally
unmerited gift of God, is a sign of the
love of Christ for His Bride the Church,
which, though composed of sinners, is
still ‘holy Church,”’ the section on the
Immaculate Conception says.
The Assumption is treated in relation
to the Resurrection of Christ and
described as “a gracious reminder to the
Church that our Lord wishes all whom
the Father has given him to be raised
with him.”
The letter reaffirms Mary’s title of
“mediatrix” but acknowledges that the
Second Vatican Council was cautious in
the use of this term for ecumenical and
pastoral reasons.
“Ecumenically, ‘mediatrix’ has
seemed to many who are not Catholics
to clash with the Biblical insistence on
Jesus Christ as our one Mediator (1 Tm.
2:5),” the letter says. “Pastorally, the
bishops were anxious that Catholics
understand even better Mary’s true
place under Christ.”
This title of Mary “takes away
nothing from Christ’s all-sufficient
mediatorship,” the letter says. Rather
the title shows that Mary “is the
supreme example of loving association
with the Savior in His mission of
redeeming mankind.”
The pastoral letter was prepared by a
committee headed by Cardinal John
Carberry of St. Louis. Other members
of the committee are Cardinal Timothy
Manning of Los Angeles; Cardinal
Humberto Medeiros of Boston; Bishop
David Maloney of Wichita, Kan.;
Archbishop William Baum of
Washington; and Auxiliary Bishop John
Dougherty of Newark, N.J.
Communion in Hand Voted Down at Bishops’’ Meeting
WASHINGTON (NC) - The U.S.
Bishops’ meeting here soundly defeated
a motion to ask the Vatican to let the
United States introduce Holy
Communion in the hand.
The vote 121 opposed, 113 in favor,
was nowhere near the two thirds
majority that would have been required
to pass the request on to the Vatican.
The vote was taken November 13 at
the bishops’ annual meeting here.
Opposition to communion in the
hand was led by Cardinal John J.
Carberry of St. Louis who made a
strong plea that introduction of the
option was filled with danger, and the
division among bishops led to spirited
floor debate, both on the issue itself and
on prodecedural questions.
Under current Vatican guidelines, the
reception of communion in the hand as
an optional alternative to the traditional
method of receiving on the tongue is
allowed only in countries which have
received Vatican permission after a
formal request by a two-thirds majority
of that country’s bishops.
VILLANOVA, Pa. (NC) - In 1965
when Bill Atkinson’s big brother A1 was
making his first bone-crushing tackles
for the New York Jets, Bill lay in a
hospital bed, paralyzed from the
shoulders down.
It looked then that if there were
going to be any heroics in the Atkinson
family, they would have to come from
Al, the Villanova University football
hero who made it to big-time pro
football.
For Bill, who a year earlier had
entered the novitiate of the Augustinian
order, it looked like the end of the line.
If he lived the best the doctors could
promise him would be a life confined to
a wheel chair as a quadriplegic.
Today, Bill Atkinson is still a
quadriplegic, which means he has lost
the natural use of his arms and legs. But
through grueling therapy, special
aparatus and a determination not to
become a burden to others, he has more
than just survived.
Next February, Atkinson will be
ordained a priest in Philadelphia. The
Augustinians had to get special
permission from the Vatican and they
finally received it. No one can say for
sure, but it is believed that Atkinson
will be the first in the United States,
possibly in the world, to become a
priest under such a handicap.
Bill, like his brother Al, was
Of the 26 countries that have been
allowing the practice, only one, Canada,
is a member of the 11 English-speaking
nations that make up the International
Commission on English in the Liturgy.
It appeared almost certain that the
issue will not again be raised officially in
this country for at least several years. At
their November 1969 meeting the
bishops voted on the issue, and 54 per
cent - more than half but less than the
required two-thirds - were in favor. At
the April 1972 meeting a straw poll
before the meeting indicated 60 per
cent of the bishops in favor. However,
since this still fell short of the required
two thirds, the matter was kept off the
agenda and did not come to a formal
vote.
The bishops’ liturgy committee
placed the resolution to ask for the
option on the agenda for this year’s
meeting, and the debate began even
before the bishops came to Washington.
In preparation for the debate
Cardinal Carberry mailed all the bishops
an extensive packet of documents and
arguments opposing the option.
Bishop Walter Curtis of Bridgeport,
Conn., chairman of the liturgy
graduated from Villanova. He joined the
Augustinian Novitiate at New Hamburg,
N.Y. in 1964. Then a year later the
tragedy struck.
Atkinson and three of his friends
were tobogganing down a hill in New
Hamburg when suddenly the tobaggan
began to go out of control. A heavy
snow was blowing, making vision poor.
Young Atkinson decided to jump off
the runaway toboggan. As he jumped,
he hit a tree in such a way that it struck
the back of his neck. He was rushed to
St. Francis Hospital in Poughkeepsie,
N.Y., completely paralyzed from the
shoulders down.
His respiration had to be maintained
through breathing devices. Bolts were
screwed into his skull. The doctors were
taking extraordinary means to keep him
alive for six weeks. At one point, he
contacted pneumonia. His breathing
became so slight that one doctor,
thinking Atkinson was dead, sadly said
“That’s it,” and called the morgue.
Atkinson survived. Then came the
plans to rehabilitate as best as possible
Atkinson’s paralyzed body. He needed
to be moved to the Magee Memorial
hospital in Philadelphia, an institution
renowned for treatment of disabled
persons.
At Magee, Atkinson began to regain
the use of his shoulder muscles.
Meanwhile doctors gave Atkinson
committee, argued that the proposed
option has become an accepted practice
in countries where it has been
introduced and that there was no
serious question of bad theology,
irreverence, or lessening of faith or
respect.
If there were, he said, “the Holy
Father could not permit it at all.”
On the contrary, Bishop Curtis said,
the Pope has allowed it in 26 countries,
for over one-fifth of the world’s
Catholic population.
Cardinal Carberry responded that
“optionality is extremely dangerous,”
both theologically and pastorally. He
questioned the unwillingness of the
Bishops’ Committee on Pastoral
Research and Practices to institue a
survey of the laity to determine their
views.
He cited a cultural context in which,
he said, “The sacredness of life is
disregarded; a spirit of secularism is
rampant; a spirit of demonism is
rampant.” He asked that whether in
Fight”
But despite his stay of 16 months at
the hospital Atkinson is still very much
dependent upon others. To take care of
his needs, the Augustinians sent six of
its seminarians to Magee hospital where
they were trained by specialists on how
to care for Atkinson. The seminarians in
turn have trained other seminarians.
The superior of the Augustinian
province of St. Thomas, Father Harry
A. Cassel, wrote to the Vatican from
Villanova to gain permission to have
Atkinson receive Holy Orders. The
request was granted recently.
Father Cassel said Atkinson’s greatest
desire is to be a hospital chaplain. “He
sees his particular vocation of suffering
as a great aid to his work in comforting
the sick and bringing the peace of Jesus
in their suffering,” the superior said.
Father Cassel said Atkinson will be
able to celebrate Mass seated, and with
some training he will be able to baptize,
annoint the sick and hear confessions.
Speaking about his own recovery, he
said: “I could never have done it by
myself. And so it goes. No one does it
by themselves. It must be done with
others.”
Atkinson’s brother Al, in nine years
as a football professional, has become
regular linebacker and a defensive
captain for the Jets. He stands at
six-feet-two, and weights 230 pounds.
PARALYZED SEMINARIAN
Wins “The Good
such a context it would be wise to
expose the Eucharist to further danger
of disrespect or irreverence.
Cardinal John Dearden of Detroit
pleaded with the bishops to approve the
practice so that bishops who felt a need
to introduce the option would have it
available to them. “If they need it, let’s
not deny it to them.” Bishops would
not be required to introduce the
practice in their own dioceses if they
felt no need to do so, Cardinal Dearden
said.
Auxiliary Bishop Gerald McDevitt of
Philadelphia asked the bishops for
“proof that it will increase reverence.”
Auxiliary Bishop Thomas Grady of
Chicago scored a “deprecating reference
to Holland” by Cardinal Carberry, who
had said that the practice “started in
Holland, where there are strong
opinions against transubstantiation.”
It is wrong “to implicate less faith or
reverence” to those who favor the
option, Bishop Grady said.
Bishop Carroll T. Dozier of Memphis
said that the fear of the danger is
unwarranted and he added, “Our
problem in Memphis, surprisingly
enough, comes from St. Louis.” He
explained that in Memphis the practice
of taking communion in the hand had
been introduced by students from the
University of St. Louis, in Cardinal
Carberry’s archdiocese.
Auxiliary Bishop John Graham of
Philadelphia issued an impassioned
warning that if the bishops approved
communion in the hand without any
consultation or survey of the laity, then
“it will be too late” to recover the trust
and loyalty of the people.
The bishops debated for 45 minutes
on complicated procedural aspects of
the vote. The bishops finally agreed that
they would send the proposal to Rome
if two thirds of the bishops present
approved the proposal, even if this fell
short of two thirds of the total number
of bishops eligible to vote - a situation
which arose because of the absence of
some bishops.
Ironically the discussion on
procedure proved unnecessary when less
than half the bishops actually voted in
favor of the proposal.
LEAFLETEERS ARRESTED - Officials of the
Statler Hilton Hotel Monday ordered the arrest of
three persons handing out leaflets in the building.
Father John Egan (right in top left photo) and Mrs.
Tesi Kihlenburg give leaflets to bishops leaving a
luncheon. Mrs. Kohlenburg (right photo) goes limp and
is about to be lifted by Washington police. Father Egan
(bottom left) is read his rights by a policeman as he
waits in a van which took him to jail. The protestors
were objecting to the meeting site. (NC Staff Photos)
Priest Gets Twelve Years In IRA Case
BRIMINGHAM, England (NC) - A
priest, found guilty of having recruited
men for a unit of the outlawed Irish
Republican Army (IRA) and of plotting
a bombing campaign in Coventry,
England was sentenced to 12 years in
prison. -
The priest, Father Patrick Fell,
32-year-old assistant at All Souls’
Church in Coventry, the unit’s
intelligence officer, was one of four men
sentenced in Brimingham Crown Court.
The man described as the unit’s
commanding officer, Francis Stagg, 32,
and its explosives officer, Anthony
Lnych, 46, were sentenced to 10 years.
A “rank and file member,” Thomas
Rush, received a seven-year sentence.
Father Fell and Stagg were convinced
of two charges of conspiracy to damage
buildings and a third of taking part in
the control and management of
the Coventry unit of the IRA, which was
organized and trained to promote a
political objective by the use of the
physical force.
Lynch was convicted of possessing
explosives and Rush of conspiracy.
The jury failed to agree on charges
that the four had conspired to cause an
explosion in Britain. Three others were
acquitted on conspiracy.
The judge told Father Fell that he
considered him to be by far the most
blameworthy of the four men
convicted.
“I do not accept that this was a
moment’s forgetfulness of the high
principles for which your Church had
brought you up. This was quite
deliberate plotting to achieve, by
violence, the objective which you
thought right,” the judge said.
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