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4 New Rules For Laity Council, VATICAN CITY (NC) - Pope Paul VI has breathed new life into two Vatican organisms established experimentally to promote initiatives charted by Vatican Council II, by giving them new constitutions and a permanent status. The most fundamental changes, contained in two papal “motu proprio” decrees released here Dec. 16, concern the Council of the Laity. A “motu proprio” decree is one issued by a pope on his own initiative. Pope Paul has raised the council to the level of a “quasi-congregation” with important new responsibilities regarding Church laws on the laity and the settlement of disputes involving the laity. In a second decree, Pope Paul clarified the part to be played by the Pontifical Commission for Justice and Peace. The decree broadens the competence of the commission, which was set up as a papal study center and watch dog in the field of human rights. But it also requires the commission to get clearance from the papal Secretariat of State prior to making any statements on specific violations of human rights. The decrees call for both the council and the commission to be headed by separate cardinal-presidents resident in Rome. They were both previously headed by Cardinal Maurice Roy of Quebec. Newly-created Cardinal Opilio Rossi, 66, will take over the presidency of the Laity Council. Bom in New York City of Italian immigrant parents who left the United States soon after their son’s birth, Cardinal Rossi was papal nuncio to Austria before being named to the college of cardinals. The Justice and Peace Commission will be headed by African Archbishop Bernardin Gantin, 54. Archbishop Gantin, former head of the Cotonou, Dahomey, archdiocese, has been vice president of the Justice and Peace Commission for almost a year. He will have the title of propresident - a designation given to bishops who fill a post slated for a cardinal. Most such bishops eventually receive the red hat. Archbishop Gantin is believed to be the first black African to head a major office of the Roman Curia, the Church’s central administrative body. The Vatican Committee for the Family -- another Vatican body established on an experimental basis -- will be incorporated into the Laity Council, according to the papal motu proprio. Canadian Bishop Edouard Gagnon will continue to head the Committee for the Family as vice president, working under Cardinal Rossi. Among the important new powers given the Laity Council in the motu proprio, entitled Apostolatus Peragendi, are: -- The power to settle disputes involving laity through arbitration on the administrative level; -- The task of encouraging a more effective presence of lay people in the Church’s liturgical, sacramental, catechetical and educational activity; Vatican Changes Analyzed VATICAN CITY (NC) - The recent changes ordered by Pope Paul VI in the constitutions of the Vatican Council of the Laity and its Justice and Peace Commission left some winners and some losers. Among the surprise winners was the women’s movement. The Laity Council’s constitution demands that a “suitable proportion of men and women” be represented as members and consultors of the council. It is the first time that an official constitution signed by a pope has explicitly banned sex discrimination in the nomination of officials. Another clear winner was the Church in Africa. For the first time a black African will lead a major Vatican body. Archbishop Bernardin Gantin, named propresident of the Justice and Peace Commission will almost surely be made a cardinal at the earliest opportunity. Africa now has 12 cardinals. Among the losers must be listed those progressive churchmen who wanted the Justice and Peace Commission to maintain the maximum possible freedom of action. The commission’s new constitution requires it to come to prior agreement with the diplomacy-conscious papal Secretariat of State before speaking out on any specific violations of human rights. Although the Vatican Committee for the Family fell victim to attempts to trim the financial deficit of the Roman Curia, the Church’s central administrative offices, the committee can hardly be called a loser. When Pope Paul set it up on an experimental basis as an independent organism in 1973, the world was about to mark the 1974 population year. Canadian Bishop Edouard Gagnon, who will continue to head the committee now that it has been placed under the Laity Council, represented the Vatican at the Bucharest, Rumania, World Population Conference. He and other committee members gave visible witness to the Church’s position against a carefully orchestrated American plan to push through a massive birth curb program. The fact that the Committee for the Family will continue its work indicates that the Church is not backing down on its commitment to the family. But an independent, prestigious representation for the family is not as vital as it was on the eve of World Population Year. It is not yet clear whether the world’s 700 million lay Catholics emerge as big winners following the papal changes. The laity “won” in the sense that the Vatican body dedicated to them has had a boost in prestige. It will now be led by a cardinal living in Rome. Cardinal Maurice Roy of Quebec formerly served as president from his See city. Aquinas Students Score High In National Testing Program Results from the National Educational Development Testing Program (NEDT) given to Aquinas ninth and tenth grade students in October have been received by the school and interpretations of the tests given to the students and their parents. The tests help students relate information about their educational development to other information about themselves in planning for their remaining in high school years and beyond. The battery consists of six tests: Test of Learning Ability; English Usage; Mathematics Usage; Social Studies Reading; Natural Science Reading; Word Usage. National Percentiles based on a representative sample of 30,000 students provide an estimate of how well the entire population of students in the United States in any particular grade and semester would perform on the NEDT. Certificates are awarded by the NEDT program to students whose composite score is at or above the 90th percentile nationally. The following students received certificates: FRESHMEN: Kathleen Andrews, Susan Beck, Jennifer Belt, Margot Boerner, Teresa Bright, Charles Brotherton, Marc Brown, Renee Dillon, Bruce Fryer, Michael Grady, Chris Hulbert, Chris Kemple, John Longley, Sarah McBride, Becky Munn, Debbie Osborne, Louis Sganga, Mark Tribby, Donna Winner. SOPHOMORES: Eddie Aziz, Sheila Beatty, Ann Beier, Ann Dukes, Brett Garrison, Sean Grady, John Lamb, Inge Moor, Cheryl Moores, Robert Rockholt, Bess Schachner, Dan Sullivan. Eleventh-grade Aquinas students who took the PSAT/National Merit test in October also received results and interpretations. In addition to the four Semi-Finalist awards and one Letter of Commendation, the following juniors ranked in the top 10 percent of the nation’s students who took the test: Erich Boerner, Karl Boerner, Richard Dover, Robert Dukes, Sandra Clay, Carolyn Fenicin, James Gordon, Steve Mirshak, Beth Strong, Jemi Nicoll, Barbara Parsons, Ann Wooley. The Laity Council will now have a high-ranking clergyman on the scene to fight its battles and to exert pressure. The council staff is less likely to doze off and council work will not logjam as has happened in other Vatican bodies whose presidents do not live in Rome. But no one knows what the new council’s main program will be. The Laity Council has come under heavy criticism in the past for devoting too much time to paper work, such as approval of constitutions for Catholic associations. Critics say that such a bureaucratic vision of the council’s job detracts from the main tasks for which it was founded in 1967. Among those tasks are to serve as a center for developing a theology on the laity’s place in the Church and to provide a vehicle for contact between bishops and lay people. The wording of the new papal decree making the changes deemphasizes these tasks and stresses juridical-administrat ive ones, such as helping to settle disputes in which laity are involved. Its new constitution encourages the council to strengthen its ties with lay Catholic organizations -- an aim which is laudable and reflects the Pope’s own preoccupation over the declining membership in Catholic groups. But too close an involvement, especially with the established core of European-based associations, is liable to entangle the council in verbiage and paperwork. Just what Cardinal Opilio Rossi intends to do as president of the Laity Council remains to be seen. Among his co-workers will be Laity Council board member, Cardinal Eduardo Pironio. As recently appointed prefect of the Vatican Congregation for Religious and Secular Institutes, Cardinal Pironio has shown a willingness to get in touch with the grass-roots Religious and has projected a “pastoral” image which can only help the new Laity Council. Cardinal Rossi himself has spent his priesthood in the Vatican diplomatic service and has little direct pastoral experience. But he has important friends in high places in the Vatican -- not the least of which is Pope Paul himself who, as papal undersecretary of state, personally called the future cardinal into the diplomatic service. The laity can only hope that the new council leaders will see the need to serve as a kind of layman’s advocate in the Roman Curia, a bureaucracy whose work usually reflects a heavy clerical hand. BAMBOO MANGER -- A Chinese nativity complete with dragon is one of many unusual displays in the Roman Christmas crib museum. Other displays collected by the Italian Friends of the Christmas Crib include designs from throughout the world. (NC Photo by Mary Michelle Noon) PAGE 3—The Southern Cross, December 23, 1976 Justice And Peace Commission - Powers to deal with questions concerning parish or diocesan pastoral councils; - The job of serving as Vatican go-between with international and national Catholic organizations of all types -- including those which have some priest-members. Cardinal Rossi will carry out these and other tasks with the help of a three-cardinal board, a group of mostly lay “members” and a number of consultors -- most of them lay people. The three cardinal board members are Cardinal Ugo Poletti, Pope Paul’s vicar for the Rome diocese; Cardinal Eduardo Pironio, prefect of the Congregation for Religious and Secular Institutes, and Cardinal Joseph Schroeffer, former secretary of the Congregation for Catholic Education. Regarding appointment of the yet-to-be-named members and consultors, the decree specifically states that “a suitable proportion of men and women” must be chosen. It is believed to be the first papal constitution for a permanent Vatican body ever to demand equal representation of the sexes. The decree for the Justice and Peace Commission is considerably broader than the vague outline of the commission’s role given in 1967 at its founding. The motu proprio charges the commission with carrying out “action-oriented studies” in the field of justice, the development of peoples, human advancement, peace and human rights.” After a “theological evaluation” of these studies, the commission is to help all facets of the Church “translate into concrete commitments” specific findings of the commission. The document stresses that the commission is to have “regular organic contacts” with national and regional bishops’ conferences and “regular links” with the papal Secretariat of State. Occasionally the commission has come in conflict with one or the other group over a controversial initiative. While the commission is charged with gathering information “on denial of justice, violation of human rights and injustices occurring in concrete situations,” it can make statements on specific violations only after “coming to an agreement with the Secretariat of State.” At a press conference at the Vatican Dec. 16, Archbishop Gantin said that the Justice and Peace Commission’s mandate is very different from that of other Vatican bodies since it is neither juridical nor administrative, nor is it limited to a specific geographical sphere or class of people. “It has rather the task of attentive listening, of study, of proclamation and encouragement wherever justice and peace find their vital dimension,” according to the archbishop. The Vatican also announced that a new list of members and consultors of the Justice and Peace Commission is being prepared. AZALEALAND CHRISTMAS PARTY - St. Vincent’s Academy “Les Chanteurs” under the direction of Mrs. Patty Schreck, with Father O’Brien and Santa Claus at the Christmas party for residents of Azalealand Nursing Home. The party was sponsored by the Catholic Women’s Club. Statesboro Pastoral Council Meets The fall meeting of the Statesboro Deanery Pastoral Council was held at St. Matthew’s Parish Hall with 39 in attendance. It was emphasized that a representative from each parish council should give the report and not expect to leave it up to each pastor to report on his parish at each meeting in the future. Reports were made by the following: Father Clem Borchers for Lyons-Vidalia; Father Frank Korzinek for Sylvania-Millen; Father Don Kunkel for Swainsboro-Metter; Father Lawrence Lucree for Statesboro; Father William Smith for Claxton; Father Joseph Dean for McRae and Hazlehurst; Sister Camile Collini for Campus Ministry at Georgia Southern College. Father Borchers as Dean gave a report on the married diaconate saying tentative plans were to have the couple attend classes twice a month for two years before ordination and that it should start next April. It was decided that a copy of the minutes of the meeting would be mailed IN CANADA Six Anglican Women Are Ordained Priests TORONTO (NC) - Six women have been ordained to the Anglican priesthood in Canada. The ordinations, the first of their kind in the Canadian Anglican (Episcopal) Church, took place Nov. 30 in St. Catharines and London, Ont., and in Vancouver and Prince George, B. C. Observers here felt that the ordinations will increase pressure on other national Anglican bodies to admit women to the priesthood. The stance of the Catholic Church on Episcopal ordination of women, summarized in an exchange of letters between Pope Paul VI and the Anglican primate, Archbishop Donald Coggan of Canterbury, which was made public earlier this year, is that the action creates serious problems in ecumenical dialogue and obstacles to reunion. But, said Pope Paul in the exchange, it should not mark the end of dialogue or of advances in interfaith understanding. Archbishop Edward Scott, primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, sent a letter last August to all the Anglican clergy to explain his views on the ordination of women to the priesthood. While recognizing that women priests in the Anglican Communion may be another obstacle in ecumenical dialogues, he said “it is believed that it will not cause a severing” of relationships. For Wedding A Invitations . , The Acme Press DORIS JEWELERS AUGUSTA, GA. Phone 232-6397 1201 Lincoln Street to all deanery representatives, along with agenda and a copy of the constitution. Each parish was asked to contribute $10.00 to take care of expenses. Father Joseph Dean and Father Dominic Duggins are in charge of the Youth Program for the Statesboro Deanery. A Retreat is planned for December 28-29-30 at Little Ocmulgee State Park near McRae, Ga. Sister Camille reported a record number in attendance at the Statesboro Deanery C.C.D. Workshop held by the D.C.F. Next workshop is January 22. The youth from Our Lady of the Assumption Parish in Sylvania reported that their C.Y.O. was sponsoring a dance on December 17, and they were inviting all youth of the Statesboro Deanery. The office of Vice-President being vacant, Douglas McCusker of Sacred Heart Parish in Vidalia was elected. Next meeting is set for Sunday, February 6. C©rish CORISH & COMPANY, INC. 206 E. Bay St.' Ph. 234-8868* Savannah, Ga. 31402 FINE FOODS SINCE 1937 7th & REYNOLDS AT THE LEVEE MASON INC. Printing Office Supplies Office Furniture Duplicating Machines and Supplies AD 2 4192 18-20 W. BRYAN ST.