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ARDENT PRAYER
MONDAY JUNE 3. 1963
GEORGIA BULLETIN
PAGE 3
Impassioned Feeling Marked
Pope John’s Pleas For Peace
World peace was a constant
and ardent prayer of Pope John
XXU1. He made impassioned
pleas for peace in all his
Christmas messages to the
world. He renewed this appeal
with deep feeling on more than
30 other occasions: in audien
ces, on the radio and in sol
emn documents.
As early as October 29,1958,
one day after his election as
pope in the first public address
of his pontificate, he called up
on the world’s rulers to hear
and make positive reply to the
appeals of their people for
peace.
ON THAT occasion he asked
the rulers of all nations: "Why
should not discords and dis
agreements be finally compos
ed equitably? Why should the re
sources of human genius and the
riches of the people turn more
often to preparing arms — per
nicious instuments of death and
destruction — than to increas
ing the welfare of all classes
of citizens, and particularly
the poorer classes?"
The first public reply from
a chief of state to Pope John’s
first appeal for peace came
from U.S, President Dwight D.
Eisenhower. In a letter sent
through his personal represen
tatives to the coronation cere
monies, Gen. Eisenhower de
clared: "I share with you the
fervent desire for a peaceful
solution of the momentous pro
blems which beset mankind."
In his first Christmas mes
sage to the world, delivered ov
er Vatican Radio on December
23, 1958, Pope John pleaded
for efforts toward peace by
men of good will and called for
Christian unity in the face of
men of ill will.
AGAIN early in his ponti
ficate, Pope John in his first
Easter Message (March 28,
1959) reminded the world’s ru
lers of their great responsi
bility to work for peace. **We
offer a prayer that peace, the
daughter of gentleness and good
will, may establish a lasting
rule among nations, made ever
anxious by the clouds which
repeatedly darken the horizon.
We pray for the heads of states,
Joined with Us in recognizing
that their high calling es
tablishes them not as judges
but as guides of the nations."
In the first encyclical let
ter of his pontificate, Pope
John pleaded for Christian un
ity and sounded a warning of
the universal devastation that
would result from nuclear war.
The letter, dated June 29, 1959,
and entitled Ad Petri Cathedram
(At the Chair of Peter) decla
red that "God created men not
as enemies but as brothers. He
gave them the earth to be cul
tivated by their toil and energy,
so that each and every one
so that each and everyone might
take from its fruits and what
ever should be necessary for
his sustenance and general
needs in life.
PEACE and concord among
nations was one of five inten
tions for which Pope John ask
ed the faithful to recite the
Rosary during the month of Oc
tober. In his encyclical of Sept
ember 26, 1959, Grata Recor
dation (Grateful Memory), he
urged prayers that "the men
responsible for the destinies of
nations great and small
may attentively assess the ser
ious duty of the present hour."
On December 6, 1959, Pope
John received in audience Pre
sident Eisenhower, who was on
an international goodwill tour.
Speaking in English, the Pope
told him he rejoiced to see the
American nation striving "to
ward the lofty ideals of a loy
al and effective concord between
nations."
"The Catholic Church, whose
constant yearning is the estab
lishment of true peace between
peoples, cannot but greet with
Joy every sincere effort direc
ted toward that end and wish
it the most consoling success."
he said.
IN THE second Christmas
message of his pontificate,
Pope John admonished: "No
peace will have solid founda
tions unless hearts nourish the
sentiment of brotherhood which
ought to exist among all who
have a common origin and are
called to the same destiny .,
Famed for his many sur
prise strolls, His Holiness
Pope John XXIII is shown
walking among groups of
workers gathered in St.
Peter’s Square to mark the
anniversaries of the two
great social encyclicals—
Rerum Novarum and Quad-
ragesimo Anno. Shortly
after this picture was tak
en, Pope John issued his
own social encyclical —
Mater et Magistra — in
July, 1960.
The basis of International
peace is, above all, truth."
When he addressed the lead
ers of Pax Christi, interna
tional Catholic peace organiza
tion, on April 19, 1960, he told
them that peace had been and
would continue to be a domi
nant theme in all his speech
es and personal contacts.
He predicted that the forth
coming ecumenical council wo
uld contribute to world peace
by giving an indication of the
spirit of unity and fraternity
which is increasing in the life
of the Church.
WHETHER it was a group of
workers, or educators, or Oly
mpic athletes, or delegates to
the UN Food and Agriculture
Organization conference, his
admonition was always that they
work for human brotherhood and
peace.
In his third Christmas mes
sage to the world, December
22, 1960, Pope John pleaded for
a fidelity to truth in the cause
of world peace. "The ever more
grave news of the storms which
rage over some parts of the
world, and threaten .„t only
the social ord**;, Dut more im
portant many souls ... move
Ua to direct a word to those
who have the highest respon
sibilities in the public and so
cial sphere," to remind them
"to act honorably in these days
of general danger."
In his great social encycli
cal Mater et Magistra (Mother
and Teacher), May 15, 1961, was
a plea for cooperation on a
world scale and help for the
underdeveloped nations. He de
plore the lack of trust among
nations.
Those who seek to bring peace
to uthers must first know peace
within themselves, declared
Pope John at the Vatican on
July 26, 1961, when he addres
sed members of the third in
ternational pilgrimage of Pax
Christi. "It is certainly your
duty to show in your lives a
beautiful application of the
words of Jesus 'beati pacifici'
(blessed are the peacemakers).
On September 10, 1961, Pope
John XX1U, in a radio address
to the world made a strong ap
peal for justice and peace based
on reason rather than force. He
warned of the frightful effect
of new weapons and called up
on the rulers of nations to "face
squarely the tremendous res
ponsibilities they bear before
the tribunal of history and the
Judgement seat of God."
THESE sentiments the Pope
repeated at the opening (No
vember 6, 1961) of the second
meeting of the Central Pre
paratory’ Commission of the Se
cond Vatican Council. He rem
inded the commission that many
people were worried about
world conditions and again cal
led for peace. Three days ear
lier he had issued another pea
ce plea when he received de
legates from 67 nations attend
ing ceremonies marking his
birthday and coronation anni
versaries.
Two weeks later, he told
delegates to the 11th confer
ence of the UN Food and Ag
riculture Organization in Rome:
"Today’s world is aspiring to
great ends — peace and bread -
One may say that the first im
plies the other."
In his bull, Himanae Salutls,
(December 24, 1961) convoking
the Second Vatican Council, Po
pe John said: "Finally, to a
world lost, confused and anxious
under the constant threat of
new frightful conflicts, the for
thcoming council is called up
on to offer an opportunity for
all men of good will to turn
their thoughts and their inten
tions toward peace,"
THE following day in his ser
mon at Christmas Midnight
Mass he told the diplomats pre
sent of his wish that all peo
ples be assured of "the in
comparable blessing of peace."
He said "it is obviously not a
question of just any kind of
peace," and that the Church
"loves peace that is based on
justice."
Pope John, in his Christmas
radio message to the world
(Dec. 21, 1961) and again (De
cember 28) in his remarks at
the annual reception of the dip
lomats accredited to the Holy
See warned the rulers of the
world of their responsibility be
fore God and men.
"The judgement of history
will be severe with those peo
ple who neglect to do every
thing in their power in order
to remove the scourge of war
from humanity," he said.
Delegates of the Association
of. Jurists of the U.S.A., hold
ing a European conference or
ganized by the Special Com
mittee for World Peace
Through Law, were told by
Pope John (April 4, 1962) that
"relations among nations, like
those among people, cannot be
governed by force, but must be
regulated by juridical norms in
conformity with reason and fou
nded upon universal and immu
table moral principales without
which peace cannot exist among
states."
POPE John’s concern "over
the problem of the threat to
peace" was again voiced in his
Easter Message of April 22,
1962. " A harmonious effort by
everyone is the only hope for
the preservation of peace where
it already exists; and where it
does not exist, everything pos
sible must be done to remove
whatever is endangering its
foundations," he declared.
At a general audience in St.
Peter's basilica on May 30 he
warned that without God’s help,
"still more bloody battles and
still deeper sorrows could
come ... a conflict which could
annihilate all the good that hu
manity possesses," he said.
A few days later ( June 3)
he again appealed for an end to
the slaughter in Algeria and voi
ced his profound sorrow over
the strife there. "Let the rule
of law prevail in mutual char
ity. May the day of peace soon
dawn for all those regions."
One month later (July 3,1962)
When he received President An
tonio Segnl of Italy, Pope John
said: "All nations of the world,
all honest and open souls are
Invited to cooperate in the great
undertaking of building, not ma
terial weapons of destruction,
but of fashioning the world in
the light and constant brilliance
of the eternal principles
of Christian order,"
ON SEPTEMBER 7, 1962,
Vice President Lyndon B, John
son was received at the Vatican
by Pope John. Johnson was on
a visit to six countries to con
solidate the peaceful aims of the
U.S. and promote oloser co
operation among nations. His
efforts were praised by the Pope
who told him of his own "soli
citudes, encouragements and
paternal insistence in facor of
the great cause of peace."
He added that he prayed dai
ly for "those who bear the gre
ater responsibilities in the go
vernment of nations, so that
their minds and hearts may
always be aware of the deli
cate responsibility they have
before the Divine Law and the
just expectations and aspira
tions of the great human fam
ily."
When the world was on the
brink of nuclear war, Pope John
in a surprise broadcast, Oct
ober 25, 1962, warned of the
horrors of a nuclear war and
begged the political leaders to
keep negotiating towards peace.
Only one day earlier a "quar
antine" ordered by U.S. Pre
sident Kennedy against the de
livery of offensive weapons to
Cuba had gone into effect, and
Soviet Premier Khurshchevhad
declared that any U.S. attack on
Soviet shipping meant nuclear
war. At the Same time troops
of communist China were ad
vancing into northern India.
"LET THEM do everything
in their power to save peace,"
the Pope urged world leaders.
"By so doing they will spare
the world the horrors of a war
that would have disastrous con
sequences such as nobody could
foresee ... Let them continue
to negotiate ... at all levels
and at all times."
POPE John’s extraordinary
broadcase for peace soon had
fruitful results. For on October
28, the Feast of Christ the King,
Premier Khrushchev announced
that his nation would stop work
on missile sites in Cuba and
would dismantle them. Presi
dent Kennedy stated that the
U.S. would end its blocade of
Cuba and would not invade that
country.
On October 26, in receiving
members of the Balzan Founda
tion, a group similar to the No
bel Foundation, led by Italian
President Giovanni Gronchi,
Pope John again repeated his
hopes for world peace.
On October 27, in answer to
a telegram of good wishes from
the Fathers of the council on
the fourth anniversary of his
election to the papacy, he said:
"Let us pray constantly toge
ther to the Prince of Peace
that His peace, which is above
all knowledge, may safeguard
the hearts and minds of men,
removing all dangers against
peace, dangers which can cause
endless ruin and tears if they
are not elininated immediately
and with supreme prudence."
SPEAKING to some 30,000
persons gathered in St. Peter's
square on the feast of Christ
the King (October 28) he made
another plea for peace, telling
them: "Throughout the world,
there are fervent efforts to
build, to heal and to make the
heavenly light shine more vi
vidly in the faces of men."
WITHOUT referring direct
ly to the easing of the Cuban
crisis, Pope John told a general
audience on October 31, 1962,
that "peace is knocking at our
doors. We see the rays of peace
appearing and spreading on the
horizon." He added that "the
world is tired of anxieties,
turmoil and uncertainties."
In his fifth Christmas mes
sage to the world, entitled
"Truth and Peace," on Decem
ber 22, 1962, Pope John repea
ted the impassioned peace ap
peal he launched at the height
of the Cuban crisis and noted
that his words had not been
wasted.
Speaking to representatives
of some 50 diplomatic miss
ions accredited to the Holy
See on December 23,1962, Pope
John reminded them that: "The
cause of peace is your own, gen
tlemen, for are you not by pro
fession the craftsmen of ne
gotiation, the enemies of hasty
and violent solutions to the
difficulties between nations?
But the cause of peace, to
speak more truly, is the cause
erf the whole world."
«*«
Pope John’s motto is "Ob-
edlentia et Pax" (Obedience
and Peace). It is painted over
the door of the farm house where
he was born on November 25,
188L
RECORD-BREAKING PONTIFF
Last Plea
For Peace
(CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1)
• .Became the first pope in 600 years to take the name of
John.
• .Appointed, the day after his election, the first Papal
Secretary of State named in 14 years.
• .Within a month, broke a 400-year-old tradition by incre
asing the membership of the College of Cardinals from 70 to
75. Later he increased the number ot 87.
• .Named the first Negro, Japanese and Filipino cardinals.
• .Visited jails and hospitals at Christmas time, saying:
"Since you cannot come to see me, I have come to see you."
• .Made frequent and sometimes unheralded journeys out
side the Vatican. Often he mingled with the working people in
the poorer sections of Rome. In the first four years of his pont
ificate, John XXin drove out from Vatican City almost 150-
times.
• .Issued eight encyclical letters, including the already great
Mater et Magistra and Pacem in Teris.
At the consistory of March 28, 1960, His Holiness Pope
John XXIII created seven Cardinals, raising the College
of Cardinals to a record number of 85 members. Above, the
Holy Father prepares to confer the red biretta upon
Laurean Cardinal Rugambwa, Bishop of Bukoba, Tangan
yika, the first Negro to be elevated to the Sacred College
in modern times. In February, 1962, the Holy Father
named ten Cardinals, raising the number of members to
an alltime high of 87.
• .Canonized nine saints and advanced a half-dozen other
causes to the beatification stage.
• .Created 40 new cardinals.
• .Personally consecreated 14 missionary bishops.
• .Changed an old custom which had the pope always eat
alone.
HE CONVENED
Council Had
Pope’s Mark
• .Introduced a white summer hat and red leather shoes
(instead of red velvet slippers) as papal attire. For winter wear,
he revived the camauro, a tight-fitting red velvet cap trimmed
with white fur.
• .Made a 50-mile motor trip from Castelgandolfo to Sub-
iaco.
• .Traveled 400 miles by train to two famous Italian shri
nes— Loreto and Assisi, the farthest any pontiff had journeyed
from the Vatican in 105 years.
Of all the actions and pron
ouncements of Pope John XXIII
which affected both the Catholic
and non-Catholic worlds, none
has been ranked as more por.
tentious and revolutionary than
the Second Vatican Ecumenical
Council.
Three and a half years in
preparation, the Council was
formally convoked by Pope John
on Christmas Day, 1961. In an
Apostolic Constitution he said
it would be "a demonstration of
the Church always living and
always young, which feels the
rhythm of the times and which,
in every century, beautifies it
self with new splendor, radiant
new light, achieves new conqu
ests while remaining identical
in itself, faithful to the Divine
Image impressed on its conte-
nance by its spouse, Who loves
and protects her, Jesus
Christ."
TEN special commissions
named by the Pope to prepare
the schema or drafts of pro
posals had completed their work
when the Council was formally
opened by Pope John on Oct. 11
1962 amid scenes of unparal
leled pomp and splendor. A
total of 2,540 prelates and 201
officially appointed ecclesiast
ical experts were present. Al
so attending were 39 delegate-
observers from Protestant and
Eastern Orthodox bodies, in
cluding three from the Russian
Orthodox Church. Thefirstnon-
Catholic observers ever invi
ted to a General Council of the
Catholic Church, they were per
sonally greeted by Pope John
after die opening session.
The observers, several of
them from the United States,
also were given a reception by
Augustin Cardinal Bea, Ger
man-born head of the Secret
ariat for Promoting Christian
Unity, who hailed them as "Bro
thers in Christ" and assured
them that the secretariatwould
"always be most willingly at
your disposal." The facilities
and courtesies accorded the
delegate- observers were
among the most commented-
upon features of the Council,
and invoked an extraordinary
chorus of appreciation from
them.
DURING a discussion on the
liturgy project — a draft that
was expected to have far-re-
aching effects, especially in
mission lands — Pope John de
creed the first change in the
Canon of the Mass since the
7th century. He ordered the
name of St. Joseph, patron of
the Council, to be inserted in
the Communicantes, following
the name of the Blessed Vir
gin Mary.
Later the Pope Intervened
to break a deadlock over a
draft on the sources of reve
lation by terminating the dis
cussion and setting up a new
commission to prepare a re
vised schema.
The discussion had seen the
Fathers of the Council divided
into what newspapers described
as "progressive" and "conse
rvative" groups — implying
that one side was pushing for
reforms or adaptations inside
the Church which the other side
opposed as unwise or unwarr
anted. The freedom of discu
ssion deeply impressed the de-
legate-observers who agreed,
in general, that the Council had
clearly established that the Cat
holic Church was by no means
the monolithic structure many
people had imagined.
WHEN the Council terminated
its first session Dec. 8, Pope
John named a Coordinating
Commission to supervise the
work of the Council pending the
opening of the second session
on Sept. 8, 1963. The Pope vo
iced his pleasure with the Cou
ncil, saying that it had enabled
him "to hear the voice of the
whole Catholic world." Com
menting on the disagreements
that had arisen between the
"conservative" and "progres
sive" groups, he said: "We
are not friars singing in a
choir."
The Pope was present at only
one of the Council’s general
congregations, but closed cir
cuit television enabled him to
follow the debates.
***
Father Angelo Roncalli(Pope
John XXU1) served as secre
tary- to Bishop Giacomo Rad-
ini Tedeschi of Bergamo for 10
years, beginning his service at
age 24. During that time he
was also professor of eccles
iastical history in the Bergamo
seminary.
• .Revived a 200-year-old custom by personally leading on
foot the processionsto stational churches in Rome during Lent.
• .Restored an ancient practice of personally wishing the feet
of 13 clerics on Holy Thursday in the Archbasilica of St. John
Lateran, his cathedral church. This is in memory of Christk
washing the feet of His Apoltles at the Last Supper.
• .Promoted devotion to st. Joseph, and inserted the name of
the foster father of Christ in the Canon of the Mass in a motu
proprio effective December 8, 1962.
• .Received in audience countless world figures, including
Queen Mother Elizabeth of England; Queen Elizabeth Hand Prince
King Paul and Queen Frederika of Greece; King Frederick IX
and Queen Ingrid of Denmark; King Gustav VI and Queen Louise
of Sweden; King Bhmiblo Adulyadej and Queen Sirikit of Thali-
land; Mwami (King ) Wambutsa IV of Burundi; King Baudouin
and Queen Fabiola of the Belgians; Presidents Grochi of Italy,
DeGaulle of France, Stroessner of Paraguay, de Valera of
Ireland and Macapagal of the Phillippines; Chancelor Adenauer
of West Germany, and many other heads of state and heads of
government.
• .Reveived England’s Archbishop Geoffrey F. Fisher of Cante-
bury on December 2, 1960. It was the first time in over 400
years that the spiritual leader of the Anglican Church and a pope
met.-
• .Received in November, 1961, Bishop Arthur Lichtenber-
ger, presiding bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church of th
U. S.
• .Received scores of other non-Catholic religious leaders.
• .became the first individual to receive the Balzan Peace
Prize, and in three-part ceremonies of its presentation, became
the first pontiff to enter the Quirinal Palace in Rome since the
fall of the Papal States in 1870. The Quirinal, now the residence
of the Italian heads of state, was formerly the residence of the
popes.
• .Received Mrs. Jacqueline Kennedy in March, 1962, mark
ing the first time the wife of an incumbent President of the U.S.
was received in papal audience.
POPE John will probably be best remembered, howeve,
for having convoked the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council.
Hardly three months after his election, he announced his in-
tentibn to have the council, the first since 1870. When the first
session opened, less than four years afterwards, it turned out
to be the best prepared for, the most widely heralded, the largest
and most closely followed meeting of its kind ever held.
AN AMERICAN Apache Indian boy kneels to kiss the ring of Pope John XXIII as three of his
companions look on during a papal audience at the Vatican. The Indians, who are all Catholics
and belong to the mission church of St. John near Phoenix, Arizona, are part of a group of six
who came to Italy to participate in a festival on the island of Sardinia. They presented the Pontiff
with the gift of an Indian Chief's headdress. Pope John was reported to be greatly pleased with
their visit and imparted his personal blessing on them during the audience.
