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PAGE 2—October 2,1975
CARDINAL IN ISRAEL - Cardinal Terence Cooke He was visiting the Holy Land after attending the
concelebrates Mass in the Grotto of the Annunciation canonization of Mother Elizabeth Seton in Rome. (NC
in Nazareth, part of the largest church in the Mideast. Photo courtesy Israel Ministry of Tourism)
AT EPISCOPAL BISHOPS 9 MEETING
Book Of Common Prayer Discussed
BY NCCB PRESIDENT
Amendments Rejection
Seen Pro-life Challenge
BY JO-ANN PRICE
PORTLAND, Me. (NC) - Major
changes in the Episcopal Book of
Common Prayer -- the central liturgical
text for 3.1 million Episcopalians across
the land - will come up for preliminary
approval at the church’s law-making
general convention September 1976, in
Minneapolis, after 12 years of
experimentation and trial use in local
parishes.
The changes, according to Bishop W.
R. Chilton Powell of Oklahoma, will
bring the prayers close in form to the
new Roman Catholic liturgy here and
throughout the world. They embody
almost intact the texts of the
International Consultation on English
texts and the three-year lectionary cycle
observed in the Roman Catholic
Church.
But for many persons who dislike
,contemporary language for worship the
rich and melodic readings of the 1928
American Prayer Book will be available
in the revision as alternate prayers.
The progress of the prayer book draft
occupied most of one morning of the
Episcopal House of Bishops’ meeting
here.
Although much of the session of the,
hierarchy will be taken up with the
thorny question of the ordination of
women priests, there is probably no
other subject than the prayer book
revisions that has caused more
discussion among average worshipers.
“The liturgy is like the room you live
in - when you start changing around the
furniture and decorations, it can be
disturbing,” observed Bishop Robert R.
Spears of Rochester, N. Y. “I’m heartily
in favor of the changes.”
He said that former Presiding Bishop
John E. Hines frequently described
reaction in favor of the old prayer book,
which contained much of the majestic
Elizabethan prose of the original version
of 1549, by telling about the letter to
him from a little old lady.
“Jesus Christ would turn over in His
grave if He knew what you were doing
to the Book of Common Prayer,” she
wrote.
Bishop Powell observed that the
whole of Christendom has learned so
much about liturgy in the last 75 years,
that today most major English
communions are praying “in the same
language, on the same day and with the
same texts.”
“Now that’s pretty terrific,” he said.
Much of the opposition to the new
draft version which will come up for
preliminary legislative approval next
year for a second final vote in 1979, has
come from , the Society for the
Preservation of the Book of Common
Prayer, whose members have fought
against usage of three trial versions
published in 1967, 1970 and 1973. The
society claims a membership of 100,000
Episcopalians.
However, Bishops Powell and Spears
pointed out in interviews and on the
floor of the House of Bishops, the
framework of the liturgy is such that
prayers of the traditional and
contemporary rites can be interchanged,
like new and old tires on a car.
Liturgists have been open to new
suggestions and flexibility.
In this way, said Bishop Powell,
chairman of the House Standing
Liturgical Commission, any parish
wishing to adhere to the old language
can do so.
The new liturgy, he said, contains five
times as much biblical material as
previously. Church liturgists have left
themselves open to all kinds of
suggestions, based on historic usage,
“singability” and the flow of language,
and flexibility. Six versions of the Bible
are allowed. Church leaders have
encouraged discussion and argument
before the final text is approved.
During the bishops’ debate, liturgists
said they would take to heart the
objections voiced by three bishops from
the Diocese ofi New York for further
clarification in the proposed initiatory
rite between “church membership and
communicant status.”
“We see full membership in the Body
of Christ as being effected at Baptism,”
they said. “Yet we think it is essential
that adults from other Christian
traditions who receive Holy
Communion regularly at Episcopal
altars be strongly encouraged to present
themselves for Confirmation - to make
an act of mature commitment.”
The New York bishops, headed by
Bishop Paul Moore of New York, scored
theological ambiguities in the intiatory
rite. They supported a 1971 opinion of
the House of Bishops that children of
the Episcopal Church “may receive the
sacrament of Holy Communion prior to
Confirmation as soon after Baptism as
their parents and priest decide.”
The proposed liturgy will replace “I”
with “We” - the original form - in the
Nicene Creed. It will include all 150
psalms in a psalter, as well as a number
of Prayers for Pastoral Offices, such as a
thanksgiving for the birth or adoption
of a child and the celebration of a new
ministry.
Among historical documents retained
in the Draft Book of Common Prayer,
to be published next February as a
preliminary to the general convention,
are the Articles of Religion, known as
the 39 Articles, as adopted by the
general convention of 1801.
WASHINGTON (NC) - The president
of the National Conference of Catholic
Bishops (NCCB) said that a Senate
subcommittee’s rejection of several
proposed anti-abortion constitutional
amendments is a challenge to the
pro-life movement “to stay with the
fight.”
Archbishop Joseph L. Bernardin of
Cincinnati, the NCCB president, said the
“ultimate success” of the pro-life effort
“depends on the perseverance of those
millions who firmly believe that human
life is too precious to be sacrificed to
expediency.”
On Sept. 17 the Senate subcommittee
on constitutional amendments voted
not to report out any of several
amendments to reverse the Supreme
Court’s 1973 decisions declaring most
state laws against abortion
unconstitutional.
The NCCB President said that the
subcommittee action raises the question
of the “responsiveness” of legislators.
The “overwhelming majority” of
Americans oppose abortion on demand,
he said.
Cardinal Humberto Medeiros of
Boston called the Bayh subcommittee’s
action “another sign of the disregard for
the unborn.”
“The value of human life at all its
stages,” he said, “has been of
paramount concern to all who have
been saddened by the continued official
approval of abortion.
“This latest action coming at a level
which should be more expressive of
people’s wishes and votes should serve
to step up the efforts of pro-life
groups.”
“This is not a time to grow weary in a
struggle which has to do with the very
beginnings of our life as the children of
God in this world.
“At this very moment, we are seeking
to insure the constitutional civil rights
of people who have been victims of
mhn’s unjust laws for over a century.
Are not God-given human rights the
basis for all civil rights?”
In other reaction, the Indiana Right
to Life, Inc. criticized Sen. Birch Bayh
(D-Ind.), chairman of the Senate
subcommittee which defeated the
amendments.
The group said Bayh, speaking at a
Minneapolis forum for Democratic
presidential hopefuls, had said he held
hearings on the amendments only to
show how much harm they would do.
But a spokesman for Sen. Bayh in
Washington denied Bayh made such a
remark.
Also critical of the Senate
subcommittee was Randy Engel,
president of the U.S. Coalition for Life,
an antiabortion group.
“The onus is on Sen. Bayh and those
subcommittee members who refused to
report out a true Human Life
Amendment,” she said.
“We intend to stay and fight both in
the House and Senate and in the
executive and judicial branches of
government and after the Bayh fiasco
pro-life people will fight harder and
with greater political wisdom which
comes with experience, she said.
Hinting at future action in the Senate
Mrs. Engel warned that from now on,
every U.S. Senator can look forward to
a litany of votes on the abortion issue as
anti-abortion and anti-population
control and pro-family amendments are
placed on appropriate pieces of
legislation being considered by the full
Senate.
Following is the text of Archbishop
Bemardin’s statement:
Last week the Senate subcommittee
on constitutional amendments voted
against several proposals intended to
correct the situation created by the
Supreme Court’s 1973 abortion
decisions. The “situation” in question is
one in which an estimated one million
unborn lives a year are destroyed in this
country by legalized abortion.
This action raises several questions.
BY JOHN T. MUTHIG
ROME (NC) -- The desire of African
bishops to “localize” the Church in
Africa does not mean that the African
Church wants to be independent from
Rome, according to a leading African
bishop.
Bishop John Njenga of Eldoret,
Kenya, told a press conference here that
the bishops of Africa “want a local
African Church.” But he explained:
“This does not mean that we are
working independently of Rome.
Localization of the Church must not kill
the Church’s universality. Don’t confuse
indigenization of the African church
with the formation of independent
African churches.”
Bishop Njenga is one of 50 bishops
from Africa, including five cardinals,
participating in the fourth plenary
assembly of the Symposium of the
Episcopal Conferences of Africa and
Madagascar (SECAM).
The conference is being held in
Grottaferrata in the Alban Hills south of
Rome Sept. 22-28. Various officials of
the Vatican and missionary orders are
also participating.
The theme of the meeting is
“Evangelization in Africa Today.” The
press conference met Sept. 19 to
explain the aims of the meeting.
Bishop Peter Kwasi Sarpong of
Kumasi, Ghana, told the press
conference that social justice would be^
studied by the bishops, but that no
“grandiose declarations” on apartheid
or other social issues were expected.
“We can’t talk about evangelization
without also talking about promotion of
For legislators it raises the question of
responsiveness to the American people.
Granted, abortion is a controversial
issue and support of a constitutional
amendment is sure to earn a legislator
criticism from those who favor
abortion. But the overwhelming
majority of Americans oppose abortion
on demand. They have a right to expect
better treatment than this - not for
their own sakes, but for the sake of
unborn children. I trust that in the
future an increasing number of
congressmen will see the matter in this
light.
For pro-life people this development
raises the question of their readiness to
stay with the fight. No one has ever
believed that a constitutional
amendment or any other solution to the
problem of abortion will be achieved
overnight. It is tragic that this action by
the Senate subcommittee further
postpones the restoration of legal
protection to the unborn. However, the
pro-life cause has come a long way since
the Supreme Court decisions. Its
ultimate success depends on the
perseverance of those millions who
firmly believe that human life is too
precious to be sacrificed to expediency.
human dignity since Africa is the place
whifere human dignity has been trampled
on more than in any other continent,”
Bishop Sarpong said.
“But we want actions rather than
words. It may be that we would be
hurting the people we think we are
helping by issuing grandiose declarations
on justice.”
IRISH CANONIZATION - This
portrait from the National Gallery
of Ireland shows Oliver Plunkett,
archbishop of Armagh and
primate of Ireland, who was
executed for his faith in England
in 1681. He will -be canonized Oct.
12 at Vatican City in a ceremony
expected to attract 5,000 Irish
pilgrims. (NC Photo courtesy Irish
Tourist Board)
Bishops Want Africanized Church
Ending Racism No Part-Time Thing, Says NCCIJ Leader
BY GERARD E. SHERRY
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (NC) - “Ending racism is not a part time thing, nor is it
the job of an isolated office in a diocese,” the chairman of the National Catholic
Conference on Interracial Justice (NCCIJ) said in an interview here.
Stanley P. Hebert, vice president and assistant secretary of the Bank of America, has
headed the NCCIJ for the past two years. He is considered one of the leading black
executives in the nation’s business world. Also an attorney, he has been involved in
interracial affairs since his youth.
Hebert said that philosophically and theologically the conference “would not
distinguish itself from Catholic beliefs and social teachings.”
“In fact, it owes its existence to Catholic beliefs,” he said. “Whether one’s faith is
‘old’ or ‘new’ we feel that racism or discrimination is not reconcilable with
Catholicism. To use distinctions of skin color or nationality to protect one’s own
economic advantage or self-image is in no way part of the Gospel.
“When Catholic belief is juxtaposed to the life in the United States, the conference
seems to have something of a different perspective.
Participation by Catholics and by the Church as an entity in a system which exploits
race and nationality is simply contrary to the faith which Catholics hold in common.
Our ability to live so comfortably with this system makes a charade of our religion.
This is not a question of respecting other people’s conscience nor of defending an
innocent party.
“We Catholics generally continue to participate in and benefit from the system of
racism. We may deny this or protest that we have never discriminated. But that is not
the point. Recall the ‘Report on Civil Disorders’ which followed the urban rebellions
of the 60s. The report found, ‘White institutions created it, white institutions maintain
it, and white society condones it.’
“Catholics are a good part of white society. How have we withdrawn our support
from ghetto maintenance? The conference sees this as a priority for white Catholics in
the interest of their own salvation, if you will. Not for blacks or browns.”
Hebert said the NCCIJ also “puts different dimensions on this problem.”
“Given the depths of racism in this society, working against it has got to involve all
of us ~ certainly all the professionals in the Church. But our experience has been that
we continually underestimate the problem,” he said.
“In the mid-60s, many dioceses began to move on race and urban problems. Many
of these efforts have been terminated or severely curtailed. And in retrospect it can
easily be seen that the offices were little more than front operations. Personnel had
little training, and budgets were limited.
“But what was really defeating to this effort was the organizational concept. The
race office was a sort of a lightning rod to protect the institution. It wasn’t conceived
as an integral part of the organization charged with affecting the organization. Once
the ‘storm’ was over the lightning rod became less important; even unnecessary.
“Today it is more obvious than even that. The problem of segregation is at heart
moral and religious. More, not less effort is required. The popular concern over
injustice to minorities has decreased but the moral imperative so eloquently extolled in
pastoral statements, is still with us.”
Hebert said the conference has good relationships with other Black Catholic
organizations and minority groups.
“Minority people remind us that the problems of discrimination, whether personal
or institutional, are white problems,” he said.
“While we recognize that there are some things which white, black and Hispanic
people must do separately, we feel that there must be continued cooperation,
communication and united action if real progress is to be made.”
The NCCIJ leader said he is sure the Church is serious in its commitment to
eliminate racial injustice, but the problem is “more in understanding what
implementation or fulfillment of that goal entails.”
Hebert said that the people involved in NCCIJ “believe the Church is serious about
injustice. We see our role as helping to develop the programs through which this
commitment can be actualized.
“The issue for the Church is not just an apostolate to the blacks. There must be an
apostolate to white Catholics. It would seem that this Holy Year of Reconciliation, the
Bicentennial program, Liberty and Justice for All, and the upcoming Eucharistic
Congress are all events which could be used not to make people just feel guilty, but to
expand the Catholic sense of responsibility for our own behavior as members of this
society.”
Hebert said that the Church cannot ensure justice for black or Hispanic Catholics
“until there is justice in society.”
Hebert stressed: “The serious issues which confront minorities are still here -- jobs,
very serious at this time; education, the crisis of 10 years ago has simply perdured;
housing; white Catholics flock to suburbs protected by a bulwark of laws and real
estate and financing practices. The Church, like so many other institutions gives all the
signs of pulling out of the ghetto -- even of the cities. This is not said to minimize the
challenge of staying in the cities.”
Hebert said more black Bishops are needed in the Church, for there are presently
only three and they “cannot serve as identity figures and provide effective leadership
for black Catholics scattered around the country.”
The NCCIJ leader said that black Catholics have many concerns in relation to the
Church and they look to it to practice what it preaches.
“Most serious for minority persons is the fact that their fellow Catholics, personally
and institutionally, continue to support - by their active, if albeit perhaps unconscious
- participation in a racist system,” he said. “This is very important. Racism is a very
involved social system with economic payoff for many people. For a white to claim
not to be prejudiced, but to use stores, banks, real estate offices, political systems
which do discriminate is meaningless. Whites may claim not to understand all this. It is
in their self-interest not to understand. Again, serious Christianity demands that they
understand. Why did Jesus direct us ‘to be wise as serpents’ as well as ‘simple as
doves’?
“Then blacks see whites endure injustices themselves rather than identify with
blacks when both suffer from the same system. Working class and poor whites suffer
from a lack of jobs, from expensive credit, harshness from the legal system, poor
schools, etc. The reforms which blacks have been calling for are defeated at least in
part because racism prevents whites, many of whom are Catholic, from identifying
with these black-originated efforts. As working class whites respond more to the
community organization now going on in their communities, they may be able to
identify their own priorities and effect some coalitions with minorities, but they
shouldn’t be surprised if blacks and browns don’t trust them.
“The faith of many socially aware black Catholics - as of socially aware white
Catholics - has been neutralized. They may or may not attend church. But their
expectations are zilch. Having looked at the program rather than the rhetoric of the
Church, they are convinced that institutional maintenance is the priority. If an avante
garde position in race relations is helpful to the institution, that pose can be struck.
When it isn’t the thing, it can be chopped.
“Read the pastoral letters of the American bishops on racial issues published in
1958, 1963 and 1968 in the light of present practice of any diocese. The
contradictions will say what blacks have against the Church.”