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CLERGY, RELIGIOUS SHORTAGE
Council Fathers Expect To Discuss Vocations Problem
The following article gives some of the back
ground for the vital problem of vocations, which
is expected to be taken up by the bishops of
the world when they gather in St. Peter's for
the second session of the Second Vatican Coun
cil, which begins on September 29. The writer
is the executive secretary of the Pontifical Office
for Religious Vocations at the Vatican, an oper
ation within the Sacred Congregation of Religious.
A native of Iowa who was ordained a Passionist
priest in 1946. He was in the forefront in the voc
ations movement in the United States for a dozen
years prior to assuming his Rome post in Dec
ember, 1961. Author of six books and numerous
pamphlets on recruiting and vocational guidance,
he was director of the First International Con
gress for Religious Vocations, held in Rome in
1961,
BY FATHER GODFREY POAGE, C.P.
(N.C.W.C. NEWS SERVICE
The lack of priests and Religious is so acute
in many parts of the world that the Fathers of
the Second Vatican Council are almost sure to
take up the problem of vocations.
Why is it, the bishops want to know, that vo
cations flourish in some places and appear
virtually nonexistant in others. The statistical-
analyzing apparatus of today—the Pontifical Office
for Religious Vocations installed a UNIVAC com
puter over a year ago—throws the situation in
bold relief.
WHY are there such differences, for example,
between the number of Catholics in certain coun
tries and the number of priests serving them?
Belgium, for instance, the ratip of Catholics per
priest is 600 to 1, while in Guatemala it is
11,000 to 1.
In the United States, while the ratio is 820
to 1, that figure is rapidly changing, for the
Catholic population here has increased 35.9
per cent in the last decade and during the same
time the priests have increased only 22.2 per
cent.
The Montreal archdiocese, with some 1.3
million Catholics, has 2,180 priests. Madrid, with
2.6 million Catholics, has 2,349 priests. And
Manila, with a Catholic population of 2.7 million,
has only 725 priests.
THE OVER-ALL picture in the Church is one
of vocation shortage. In Europe the Catholic popu
lation has been increasing steadily, while the
number of priests has been decreasing. In Latin
America the population increase has been
explosive, for in the past five years the Catholics
have doubled percentagewise over the number
of seminarians.
The few figures available for Africa and Asia
show the beginnings of similar phenomena. Some
regions of Africa have already attained a condition
like that of Latin America.
Only in the United States has there been an
increase in the number of vocations. The enrol
ment in U. S. seminaries today totals some47,000.
All of the rest of the Catholic world accounts
for only some 50,100 seminarians, so the United
Stares, with less than 10 per cent of the total
Catholic population, accounts for almost half the
seminary students.
DURING the closing days of the first session
of the ecumenical council,Leo Cardinal Suenens,
Archbishop of Malines-Brussels, gave everyone
present a copy of a book he had prepared on
the changing conditions of religious vocations in
the modern world. He had titled this study “The
Nun In the Modern World, “but immediately quali
fied it. “When we talk of nuns,” he said, “we
have also in mind all souls dedicated to God
whose object is visible apostolic propagation. . .
such as Brothers. . . and lay apostles of all
kinds.”
Most of the recipients had time only to pack
the book with council Documents before setting
out for their home dioceses. But during the inter
vening months all have now had a chance to read
and evaluate-Cardinal Suenens' appeal for a more
modern approach to the idea of the religious
life. He wants to extend the Church’s aposto-
late to new dimensions, and makes some start
ling suggestions for utilizing present personnel
more effectively.
“Many practices and regulations of today’s
Religous are outmoded,” he assets. “For this
reason vocations are decreasing everywhere. . .
Often it is due to the poor image so many
communities have in the eyes of the laity.
“I THINK is is significant,” he adds, “that
the least affected are the missionary and purely
contemplative congregations. Their image is still
that of heroic apostolic activity and of a life
devoted to God in silence.
“The ones who are suffering most,” Cardinal
CONTINUED ON PAGE 8
PRAY FOR
CHRISTIAN
UNITY
Archdiocese of Atlanta
SERVING GEORGIA'S 71 NORTHERN COUNTIES
VOL. 1 NO. 33
ATLANTA, GEORGIA
THURSDAY, AUGUST 22, 1963
$5.00 PER YEAR
AT COUNCIL
Liturgy Chapter
A ‘Magna Carta’
Toward Renewal
AUXILIARY Bishop Givoanni
Colombo of Milan smiles as
he receives the news, August
14, that Pope Paul VI has named
him to be his successor as Ar
chbishop of Milan. The 60-
year-old prelate was born at
Caronno in the Archdiocese of
Milan.
PHILADELPHIA (NC) — The
study of the liturgy and its place
in the life of the Church will
receive greater attention as pne
of the first fruits of the Second
Vatican Council, Philadelphia’s
Archbishop John J. Krol told the
1963 North American Liturgical
Week here.
“This Liturgical Week has a
unique advantage,” the conven
tion host said. “For the first
time the Liturgical Week is
able to direct its discussions
and activity with a certainty
derived from the approval by the
general session of the Second
Vatican Council of the preamble
and first chapter of the consit-
tution on Sacred Liturgy.”
THIS CHAPTER which deals
with the general principles for
reforming andfosteringliturgy,
he said, “has been likened to the
Magna Carta, the promotion and
reform of the liturgy.”
“It contains in face specific
directives on the subject of your
Liturgical Week, 'The Renewal
of Christian Education’,” he
noted.
NEW PROGRAM SET
Teacher Workshop
To Open Monday
Archbishop Paul J. Hallinan,
will address the teachers of the
archdiocese on August 26 at the
opening of a three-day RELI
GIOUS AND READING WORK
SHOP to be held at Saint Pius
X Catholic High School Cafe-
torium.
Also teachers new in the
Archdiocese of Atlanta Catho
lic School System will attend a
two-day ORIENTATION PRO
GRAM at Saint Pius X Catho
lic High School Cafetorium on
August 29 and 30 from 9;30
to 12:00 each morning.
ft
MRS. MATTHEW J. Dwyer,
past president of St. Joseph’s
Infirmary Auxiliary, will at
tend the National Convention of
the American Hospital Asso
ciation in New York City Aug-
U0t 24-29. Mrs. Dwyer will re
present the State of Georgia.
SISTER M. Leonard and Sis
ter M. Andrea, O.S.F. from
Pittsburgh will conduct the re
ligion session. The LIFE WITH
GOD SERIES on Monday. On
Tuesday teachers of Grades
One through Four will meet
as a group and teachers of
Grades Five through Eight as
another group. The final ses
sion on Wednesday will be for
the entire group. Discussion
will be on SERVICE OF THE
WORD and activities which can
be used to activate the reli
gion program in the schools.
Miss Mary Heffeman, edu
cational consultant for Ginn and
Company, w ill conduct the read
ing session.
Each morning the workshop
will begin at 9:30 and continue
until 12:30. All teachers, re
ligious and lay, are expected
to attend this workshop.
SISTER MARY Severity, C.S.J.,
archdiocesan supervisor, will
conduct this orientation pro
gram, the first of its kind to
be offered in the archdiocese.
Some of the topics to be con
sidered will be the Handbook
of Policies for the Archdiocese,
Record Keeping, Scheduling and
Lesson Planning, Discipline,
Textbooks, Manuals, Teachers’
Guides, Supervisory Visits,
ABC’s of Classroom Manage
ment, and the Importance of
being Professional.
“By virtue of this chapter,”
the Archbishop continued, “the
science of liturgy will become a
major discipline in the eccles
iastical study of rubrics or of
the history' of rites. Neither will
it be limited to such accidentals
as the cut of a sacred vest
ment, the form of a sacred
vessel, the position of the altar,
or some of theincidental pract
ices and ceremonies which un
fortunately have been regarded
as hallmarks of Liturgical re
form,”
According to the decrees of
the council, the Archbishop sta
ted, liturgy must be studied in
its theological, historical, spir
itual, pastoral and juridical
aspects.
“By bringing the mystery of
Christ and the history of sal
vation into clear focus,” he de
clared, * 'the relation of each ec
clesiastical subject with liturgy
will emerge spontaneously. The
science of liturgy, without inva-
CONTINUED ON PAGE 8
Council Session
Closes Dec. 4
Vatican city (NC)-The
second session of the Second
Vatican Council will end this
December 4, a high council
source confirmed.
The spokesman acknowledged
the closing date after some
council Fathers had revealed
it in their own areas. The se
cond session starts September
29. The closing date had been
communicated to the bishops of
the world, but not made pub
lic by the Holy See.
IN A JOINT pastoral of the Catholic Bishops of the United States, members of the Church and its
agencies are urged to get personally involved in efforts toward race harmony. In this photo,
a Milwaukee ^nun, Sister Rebecca visits with a group of children living in an overcrowded section
of the nation s capital. She is one of a group of summer school students at Georgetown University
who are doing social welfare work in the city in their spare time.
STRONG APPEAL
Pope Paul Asks Unity
With Orthodox Groups
DISCRIMINATION EVIV
Bishops Reiterate
Racial Stand As
Moral Question
• SEE TEXT PAGE 2
WASHINGTON (NC)—The na
tion’s Catholic Bishops have
urged members of the Church
and its agencies to get per
sonally involved in the quest
for harmony during the present
racial crisis.
Individual Catholics and
Church groups should sponsor
biracial discussions of mutual
problems and concerns, the
Bishops said. They urged simi
lar action by civic associations.
THE PASTORAL noted that
the hierarchy has condemned
racial discrimination twice in
the past, 1943, and 1958. But it
said that in the “present cri
sis,” the Bishops wish to offer
“some pastoral suggestions for
a Catholic approach to racial
harmony.”
Condemning all forms of dis
crimination and segregation
based on prejudice, the Bis
hops counseled Catholics: “It is
our strict duty to respect the
basic human rights of every
person.
“NO CATHOLIC with a good
Christian conscience,” they ad
ded, “can fail to recognize the
rights of all citizens to vote.
“Moreover, we must provide
for all equal opportunity for
employment, full participation
in our public and private educa
tional facilities, proper housing
and adequate welfare assistance
when needed.”
Appealing for action to in
crease knowledge of the atti
tudes among both races before
action is taken to correct ine
quities, the Bishops said;
“We can show our Christian
charity by a quiet and coura
geous '‘determination to make
the quest for racial harmony a
matter of personal involve
ment. We must go beyond slo
gans and generalizations about
color and realize that all of us
are human beings, men, women
and children, all sharing the
same human nature and dignity,
with the same desires, hopes
and feelings. We should try to
know and understand one ano
ther.”
GROTTAFERRATA, Italy
(RNS) — Pope Paul VI, in one
of the most momentous talks of
his pontificate, made a strong
appeal to the Eastern Ortho
dox Churches to unite with
Rome.
“The barriers between us are
not based on real differences,”
he declared during a visit to
the 11th century Basilian Abbey
here near Castel Gandolfo, the
papal summer residence some
15 miles from Rome.
POPE PAUL ignored a sum
mer storm to celebrate Mass
for the Eastern Rite monks and
a group of worshippers in the
monastery church of St. Mary.
After the Gospel, he gave an
improtu and unexpected talk in
which he urged that the barri
ers which separate the East
ern Churches from Rome “fall
without delay.”
“We do not,” he said, “wish
either to absorb or mortify the
great flowering of the Eastern
Churches, but we wish it to
be regrafted again on the one
tree of the unity of Christ.
“The barriers between us are
not based on real differences.
It is not good that either of
us should stand on statements
and words which separate us for
the reasons of who is right
and who is wrong. In no argu
ment are the rights or wrongs
undivided on one side.”
THE POPE'S appeal came
just six weeks before the sche
duled opening o f the second
session of the Second Vatican
Council at which Christian uni
ty will be a major topic of so-
called Byzantine or Uniate Ca
tholics who are in full com
munion with die See of Rome
although differing their liturgy
rites, laws and customs.
Describing the Basilian
Abbey as “an Eastern com
munity at the gates of Rome,”
Pope Paul told the monks that
“you yourselves, in your rites,
invite me to look toward all
the Eastern Churches that have
the same baptism, the same
fundamental faith, a valid hei-
rarchy and Sacraments that are
full of grace.”
Asking whether the delay on
the road to reunion had not
been due to lack of understand
ing on the part of Catholics
themselves, he said:
“We are all a bit deaf. We
are all a bit dumb. May the
Lord open us up to understand
the voices of history, open to
us to understand His voice, the
word of God.”
DECLARING that “we ex
press a great salute of honor
to these ancient and great Eas
tern Churches and our vener
ation for them, with the great
est sincerity,” the Pope said
it was “a brotherly expansion
of spirit” which had prompt
him to send Bishop Francois
Charriere of Lausanne, Fri
bourg and Gena, Switzer
land, to celebrations in Mos
cow last July honoring Patri
arch Alexei, supreme head of
the Russian Orthodox Church,
on the 50th anniversary of his
episcopal consecration.
“It was done,” he said, “with
the intention of rendering re
spect, of showing there is no
reason for rivalry for presti
ge. It was done neither from
pride nor ambition nor any de
sire to perpetuate dissonances,
dissidence which existed in the
past, but which are now, it
seems to me, totally anachron
istic.”
“Let us, ” the Pope continu-
CONTINLED ON PAGE 8
“We know”, they said, “that
public authority is obliged to
help correct the evils of unjust
discrimination p racticed
against any group or class. We
also recognize that every mino
rity group in America seeking
its lawful rights has theobliga-
tion of respecting the lawful
rights of others.
“We may act through the va
rious lay organizations of the
Church as well as with civic
groups of every type,” they
said.
CIVIC action will be more
fruitful, the Bishops said, if all
citizens “openly and explicitly
proclaim the religious basis of
racial justice and love.”
Knights Foot Bill
WASHINGTON, Aug. 20 (NC)—The Knights of Columbus have
made $25,000 available to the Archdiocese of Washington to
provide 10 hostels for participants in the March on Washington
for Jobs and Freedom to be made August 28.
A statement by Archbishop Patrick A. O'Boyle of Washington
says:
"The Board of Directors of the Knights of Columbus at their
annual convention in Milwaukee appropriated $25,000 to the
Archdiocese of Washington to provide ten hostels for participants
in the March on Washington. These hostels include the gymnasium
at Georgetown University, the Catholic University and eight
Catholic parish halls in the city of Washington.
“The hostels will provide supper and breakfast for those
participants who because of distance or illness will find it
difficult to return to their homes the night of August 28. The
hostels will be staffed and directed by committees representing
the Knights of Columbus, the Catholic Interracial Council, diocesan
and religious priests and Brothers of the Archdiocese of
Washington.”