Newspaper Page Text
The Southern Cross, Page 4
Thursday, September 7, 2000
Blessed John XXIII and Blessed Pius IX
T he beatification of two modem-
era popes would have been a
noteworthy event even if the two
new beati (“blesseds”) had not been
so well known. Very few popes
have been beatified or canonized in
the past 500 years and and only one
other pope in recent memory has
been so honored: Saint Pius X
(reigned from 1903-1914), who
was beatified in 1951 and canon
ized in 1954.
Blessed John XXIII (pope from
1958-1963), universally known as
“Good Pope John”, was and
remains so beloved that there has
been virtually no criticism of his
beatification. Indeed, since his
death, it has simply been taken for
granted that Angelo Giuseppe
Roncalli would be beatified in a
relatively short time and canonized
in due course.
Already an old man when he was
elected at 77, Pope John occupied
the chair of Peter for a very short
(four and a half years). Yet his pon
tificate was extraordinarily fruitful
for the Church. Not only did this
peasant-bom pope summon the
Second Vatican Council (1962-65)
and initiate the revision of the Code
of Canon Law (completed in 1983),
but by his own consistent example
of faith and charity won increased
respect for the Catholic Church
throughout the world. The German
Jewish philosopher Hannah Arendt
wrote a touching memorial to Pope
John, in which she mused on what
seemed to her to be the extraordi
nary phenomenon of “a Christian
on the throne of Saint Peter.”
It is often forgotten that Pope
John often expressed the desire to
be the pope who might be found
worthy to celebrate the beatifica
tion of Pope Pius IX. Pio Nono
(“Pius Nine” in Italian) had sum
moned the First Vatican Council in
1869, the first ecumenical council
to meet since Trent, three hundred
years before. The council dealt
with two issues: the relationship
between faith and reason and the
Church. The decree on faith and
reason was a powerful statement on
the respective roles of two God-
given ways of knowing that has as
much relevance today as it did in
the nineteenth century. The decree
on the Church was only partially
complete when the outbreak of the
Franco-Pmssian War in 1870
caused the council to adjourn sine
die, that is, without specifying a
date for reconvening.
Because another result of that
war was the withdrawal of French
troops from the Papal States, which
left Rome and its outskirts vulnera
ble to conquest by the new King
dom of Italy, the council never
reconvened. As a result, Vatican I’s
discussion of the Church was limit
ed to what had been debated before
the council’s adjournment: the role
of the Bishop of Rome as successor
to Saint Peter. It was to correct this
incomplete treatment of the Church
that Pope John would later sum
mon Vatican II.
Unlike John XXIII, Pius IX was
relatively young (54) when elected
pope in 1846. During his reign of
32 years—the longest in history—
Europe and much of the world
underwent a profound sea change,
politically, economically and spiri
tually. At first, the noble-bom
Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti
seemed to be an unthinkable thing:
a liberal pope. Compared with his
reactionary predecessor, Gregory
XVI, who refused to allow rail
roads in his domains, lest they
bring in radical ideas, or street-
lamps, lest they encourage night
time conspiracies, Pio Nono was a
breath of fresh air. He quickly built
a papal railroad and seemed for a
time to favor the growing move
ment for Italian unification rather
that Austria’s continued domination
of northern Italy and the political
fragmentation of the peninsula.
In the revolutionary ferment of
the late 1840s, Pius granted consti
tutional government to the Papal
States for the first time in a thou
sand years. But the outbreak of rev
olution in Rome in 1848 quickly
led to the murder of his new prime
minister and the pope’s own flight
from the Eternal City in fear for his
life. When he returned some three
years later, thanks to the interven
tion of French troops, Pius was no
longer friendly towards the liberal
ism of the time, which had be
trayed him. His denunciations of
modem liberalism in such docu
ments as the Syllabus of Errors
(1864) need to be interpreted in
terms of this historical background
and not in terms of today’s much-
changed world.
In spiritual terms, Pius’ pontifi
cate was extremely fruitful. This
pope actively encouraged popular
piety and missionary zeal. He
defined the doctrine of the
Immaculate Conception of the
Blessed Virgin Mary and promul
gated Vatican I’s definitions of the
primacy of the Roman Pontiff and
his infallibility.
Pio Nono reestablished the Ca
tholic hierarchies of England and
Holland, which had lapsed at the
Reformation and supported the
Catholics of Germany in the face of
state-sponsored persecution. Given
the supposed tolerance of these
countries, the official protests of
their governments at the provision
of shepherds for their Catholic citi
zens revealed an hypocrisy on their
part that remains astonishing. In the
face of the vimlent anti-Catholi
cism that raged in the United States
at that time, Pope Pius indefatiga-
bly promoted the growth of the
Church here, establishing a large
number of dioceses, including
Savannah, founding the North
American College in Rome for the
training of priests and arranging for
religious orders to undertake mis
sionary work here. American
Catholics were especially devoted
to Pio Nono, as the Macon street
named after him continues to bear
witness.
There has much criticism of Pio
Nono’s beatification from the secu
lar media, to whom Pius IX’s
staunch Catholic faith and overt
piety are simply incomprehensible,
and from prominent Jewish repre
sentatives, who have objected to
certain of his statements and actions
that appear to be interpreted out of
context and by the standards of
another time. Pope John Paul has
shown great courage in beatifying
two of his predecessors who dif
fered from each other in many
ways, yet shared the distinction of
calling the two Vatican Councils.
Both occupied the chair of Peter in
difficult times and radiated the same
deep and abiding faith to the world.
—DKC
Diocese—Celebrating Our Heritage
The Savannah
By Cathy Gilligan
he people of the world have come together
in a special way to make the Diocese of
Savannah a unique place to be Catholic.
People already inhabiting this area met an
amazing array of people coming from Europe,
Africa, South America and Asia. While history
often focuses on the African, English, and Irish,
the vast mixture of people in south Georgia
speaks of an even richer cultural heritage. On
Saturday, December 2, as a part of the celebra
tion of the diocese’s 150th anniversary and the
rededication of the Cathedral of Saint John the
Baptist, the diocese is planning to focus on the
cultural heritage of south Georgia.
At 11:00 a.m. the day will begin with a Mass
in the Cathedral which will spotlight the many
ways Catholics celebrate faith in God. Follo-
wing the Mass a block party will celebrate the
Saturday, December 2, 2000
many cultures of the Catholic population. This
celebration will focus on introducing the public
to the restored Cathedral and the richness of the
Catholic heritage in south Georgia.
Each of us has an ethnic heritage. The diocese
needs your help in celebrating that heritage. The
committee planning the December 2 event
would like any individuals or organizations who
wish to represent a cultural heritage to contact
them. The plan is to have food and entertain
ment to spotlight as many cultural groups as
possible. The committee must begin by deter
mining which cultural groupings wish to be rep
resented. Please consider this as your invitation
to be a part of a very special event to celebrate
the reopening of the Cathedral of Saint John the
Baptist.
For information, or to register to participate,
please call according to your geographic or lan-
guage grouping.
—Spanish Speaking Cultures: Lydia Gonzalez
at 912-898-1465 or gonzaly4@aol.com.
—European Cultures (except Spanish
Speaking): John Burke at 912-652-0299.
—African and African-American Cultures:
Charles W. Bell at 912-234-0611.
—Asian Cultures: Cathy Gilligan at 912-238-
2320 or Gcatie@aol.com.
—Native American Cultures: Cathy Gilligan
at 912-238-2320 or GCatie@aol.com.
—The Americas (except Spanish Speaking):
Cathy Gilligan at 912-238-2320 or
GCatie@aol.com.
Anyone wishing to participate must make con
tact with one of the above by September 25.
Cathy Gilligan is a member of the
Sesquicentennial Festival Committee.