Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

PAGE 2 GEORGIA BULLETIN THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 1963 REFORMS AND DECENTRALIZATION Roman Curia VATICAN CITY (NC>— Fol lowing is the text of an English translation of His Holiness Pope Paul Vi's September 21 address announcing that he plans re forms within the Roman Curia, the central administration of the Church: Venerable Brothers Dearest Sons! and It is easy to understand the motives that have prompted Us to call this meeting. We have desired to meet with the Roman Curia, that is to say with the persons of the Cardinals, the major and minor officials, the ecclesiastics, the directors and employees who work in the sa cred congregations, the tribun als, and the offices, together with the various bodies and institutions of which the Pope makes use for governing the Universal Church, as well as the Diocese of Rome and Vatican City. We have desired, as We were saying, this meeting at the beg inning of Our apostolic min istry, above all to give all here present Our cordial and rever ent greeting in an explicit and collective way. We Ourself have had the honor to give Our hum ble service in the Roman Curia for many years. In the ranks that compose it We have had very worthy superiors and tea chers, excellent colleagues, collaborators and unforgettable friends. We have shared in the LEWIS PHARMACY 2802 Piedmont Road N. E. PHONE: CE 3-5353 For Prompt Delivery Service >u Otfaatim MOTOR HOTEL t rv A ikin CONOiriONIN«i • famous Miami buffit • tea A BCVIAAOI BTATiOM* • BACH ROOM i uciMi. mi com • i A GautI AtUhv.'. m At , i. i labors, responsiblities, stud ies experiences, joys and sor rows of this complex and uni que organism. We have follo wed, for more than 30 years, the development of its life from a privileged observation point— the Secretariat of State, the excellent and dear and faithful office which assists the Pope in his personal activity. WE HAVE THUS been able to appreciate better the wise com position of the Roman Curia, derived from a coherent and fle xible tradition. We have listened to suggestions pertinent to the new needs of this very organ ism; We have gathered also the criticisms which have been addressed to it, and We have often made them the object of sincere reflection. Finally We have known and appreciated the efficiency of the services that the Roman Curia renders the Papacy and the Church. It has therefore seemed toUs a duty from the beginning of Our apostolic ministry, to give a sign of Our fatherly benevolence to the people who direct and form the Roman Curia, and to make them feel how much We like and how anxious We are to feel in communion with it, not only in the specific activity that engages the whole of it and in the spirit with which the com mon service has to be accomp lished, for the well being and good example of the whole Ch urch and its mission in the in the world, and for the glory of Him who is everything to Us, the Lord Jesus Christ. THEREFORE ACCEPT, Car dinals, and accept Venera ble Brothers and Beloved Sons, the expression of Our esteem, Our gratitude, Our encourage ment. Also, maintain for Us— in time and in merit the last of the servants of the servants of God—for Our very modest persons, for Our highly difficult mission, the comfort of your constant solidarity, yourjHlial obedience, your worthwhile col laboration; also, as We were saying, of your intimate com- munio n which joins not only hands and minds to Our office but also feelings, prayers, the charity of your hearts to Our heart, which if the Lord assists Us hopes to be for you all the heart of a friend a pastor and a father. Another reason for this meeting has been suggested to Us by the extremely beautiful and serious time through which the whole Church, is -called to live, certainly by divine design —a historical time, a Ecume FOR ALL YOUR PHARMACY NEEDS CITIZENS PHARMACY PHONE LI 6-6556 ATHENS, GA. ja£kson sts D “PET.»you bell" PET Mil* COMPANY DAIRY DIVISION For Convenient Home Delivery In Atlanta Call 636-8677 Where Insurance is a Profession, Not a Sideline SUTTER Sc McLELLAN JA 5-2086 nical Council, which as Is known will reopen Its solemn sess ions in a few days. IT HAS seemed opportune to Us that the Roman Curia take congnizance together with Us of this great event, not because the Curia is unprepared-Since on the contrary it awaits it and is busily occupying itself with it; and not because the Curia has neglected to meditate on the enormous importance of the council during its first ses sion since Its extraordinary and complex dimensions were on the contrary discerned more fijlly by the Curia than by anot her sector of the Church and of public opinion. The Curia's con cern was such as to show at times some amazement and apprehension about such an unexpected and sudden concil- ian convocation and about the gravity of the problems that It would raise. It seemed opportune, there fore, that the Curia and We be aware of this great event in order that such knowledge may be deepend in all of us, may be made uniofrm and trustful, and may be intimately penetrated by the conviction that a great and mysterious event, guided by the Holy Spirit, is happening at the tomb of the Prince of the Apostles. This event is sur rounding this providential cen ter of the Catholic Church in the mighty flow of those hid den powers of God’s kingdom which make its functions stand out, which show its cardinal position in the history of re deemed humanity, and which severely and publicly tries its virtues, almost as if to const rain it to be, as it should be, the light of wisdom and of hol iness to the whole world. THE HOUR is great and it is sacred. We, and you before oth ers, members of the Roman Curia, must live it with deep understanding and with magna nimous heart. Let the first ex pression of this due proport ion of our spirit to the great ness of the event be unifor mity of will, or rather of fer vor, for its worthy celebration. Let it be identity of outlook. He who wanted the Second Vat ican Council is a pope to whom truly the spontaneous acclama tion of the public voice attri buted the Gospel words about the forerunner of Christ: "The re was a man, one sent from God, whose name was John." We believe history will repeat such words when it registers the salutary consequences of the sudden, splendid decision of the one who called the Catholic Church to the Council and op- ended doors and heart to the separated brothers for a sin cere reconciliation. But what ever the orgins of the Coun cil's convocation, it is the Pope who proclaimed it, theVIcar of Christ. It is that successor of St. Peter whom the Roman Cur ia, second to no one, recogni zes as its bishop, its teacher, its head. We are certain that no hesitations regarding the chief desires of the Pontiff will ever come from the Roman Curia; or of feelings with re gard to judgments or feelings of the Pope. If ever such con formity of minds with what the Pope commands or desires be its law and its pride, this is the moment to give it firm and open profession. AND SINCE We know that this is, and is intended to be, the resolution of each and every one making up the Roman Curia, We have in turn desired, with this meeting, to give praise and en couragement to that filial, har- monous, joyous unison of your thoughts and your resolutions with those of the Pope, who to day has made his own the heri tage of John XXIII of happy me mory, and makes ofthat heri tage a program for the entire Church. Such accord between the Pope and his Curia is a constant norm. Not only in the great hou rs of history does such ac- accord reveal its existence and its strength. It is always in force, in every way and in every act of the pontifical ministry, as it is proper for the organ of immediate adherence and of absolute obedience which the Roman Pontiff utilizes to carry out his universal mission. It is this essential relation of the Roman Curia to the exercise of the Pope’s Apostolic activity which is the justification or ra ther the glory, of the Curia itself. From that same relat ionship arises its necessity, its usefulness, its dignity and its Sc RANGE BUT TRU By M. ittle-Known MURRAY Facts For Catholics E Copyright, IMS, N C.W C. Newt Service MAGNIFICENT MEAD OF CNRtST FORMS PART OF AN ELABORATE °&p n -*SX%. MOSAIC decoration IN THE APSE OF ST PUDENZIANA'S IN ROME m Ons of tfve ynosi •famous of old <gty£'sA, fonts' IS 1 fya monk of READING ABBEY tn me /3Z" century. h. -tstfgjgs JUDAS iSCfiR'° r ' 7O the four suns IF/A PACK OF CARDS WERE STANDARD!SCO IN ARRIS OYER 600 YEARS AGO. THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO REPRESENT THE FOUR CLASSES IN SOCIETY, HEARTS BEING THE BISHOPS AND CLERGY. MTU SPADES THE NOBLES. CLUBS THE PEASANTS Or DIAMONDS THE PROFESSIONAL CLASSES. authority. In fact, .this body, the Roman Curia Is* the inst rument which the Pope needs and which the Pope utilizes to fulfill his own divine mandate, A most worthy instrument, and it is no wonder that everyone, and We above all, asks so much of it, demands so much of itl Its workings demand the highest ability and virtue, precisely be cause its office is the highest. Its functions are most delicate, such as that of watching over or echoing divine truth, and of transforming it into a langu age and dialogue with human minds. Its functions are very vast, such as that which has as its boundries the whole universe. Its functions are most noble, such as that of hearing and interpreting the voice of the Pope and at the same time not letting him lack any useful and objective information, any filial and well-considered ad- vce. BECAUSE TO BE worthy of its task the Roman Curia must be very learned and highly ex pert, as you know—you desire this, and you yourselves have been more eager, even before your critics and evenmorethan they. It must be equal through special virtues to the ever new and growing demands of your office. We said critics 1 Ye% because it is known that criticism has been addressed to the Roman Curia, along with much praise and recognition of its indisput able merits. As We have hinted, this phenomenon derives above all from the nature and from the purpose of the Curia Itself. The measure of giving is never filled up where it concerns the service of Christ's cause and the cause of souls. THAT SUCH a phenomenon appears from time to time along the path of ecclesiastical his tory is therefore understand able and providential. It is a prod to watchfulness, a recall to observance, an Invitation to reform, a ferment to perfection We must accept the criticisms that surrc d us, with humility with reflection, and even with gratitude. Rome has no need to defend itself by making itself deaf to suggestions that come to it from honest voices, espec ially if these voices are those of friends and of brothers. To ac cusations, so often groundless, it will reply; it will defend its honor; but without stubborn ness, without hurling back char ges, without polemics. Meanwhile, it can be observed today that the resolution to mo dernize juridical structures and deepen spiritual consciousness not only finds no resistance in the center of the Church, the Roman Curia. It finds, rather, the Curia itself in the advance guard of that perennial reform of which the Church itself, inso far as it is a human and earthly institution, has perpetual need. IT IS FROM Rome that today comes the invitation to the "aggionamento" (according to the expression used by Our ven erated predecessor), that is to the perfecting of everything concerning the Church, internal and external. It is from Rome that has come the announcement of the reform of the Code of Canon Law, of that very law, that is, which solemnly rules the ecclesias tical city and world. It is from Rome that in these last hundred years has come that regular, untiring, coherent, stimulating government which has brought the entire Church to th e point not only of external expansion— which all must recognize—but of interior sensitivity and vit ality, also of treasures and my steries with which Christ has endowed it. Today, happily, St. Bernard would no longer write his burning pages on the Roman ecclesiastical world. Norwould the reformers of the 16the cen tury have written theirs. PAPAL ROME today is en- tirewly different, and by the grace of God so much more wor- they and wise and holy; so much more conscious of its evangel ical calling, so much more deeply immersed in its Christ- eager for, and therefore sus ceptible to, perennial renewal. This We say, Venerable Bro thers and Dearest Sons of the Roman Curia, with a threefold purpose: to praise you, to bring you peace, and to exhort you. Praise is in fact owed to the faithful, competent, devoted service that you render the Holy See and the Pope, and therefore to the entire Catholic Church as well. The Roman Curia, as exe cutor of the will fo him who has the responsibility and the power to feed the Church itself, and It merits Ours. THE PEACE that We would like on this occasion to infuse in Our Curia concerns the pos sible reforms which should be adopted In its regard. That some reforms should be introduced in the Roman Curia is not only easy to realize but good to de sire. As everybody knows this old and complex organization traces back in its current form to Pope Sixtus V’s celebrated constitution fo 1588, Immensa Aeterni Dei. St. Pius X gave it new life with the constitution Sapienti Consilio of 1908, and the Code of Canon Law, in 1917, made this substantially its own form. Many years have passed. It is understandable, therefore, how such and establishment would have grown ponderous with its own venerable age, how it feels the disparity of its organs and of its practices with respect to the needs and cus toms of new times, how at the same time it feels the need of being simplified and decentral ized and the need of being broad ened and made fit for new functions. THEREFORE various re forms will be needed. They will certainly be weighed. They will be drawn up according to vener able and reasonable traditions on the one hand, and ac ording to the needs of the times on the other. They certainly will be functional and beneficial, be cause ephemeral and superflu ous in the forms and in the forms and in the norms that regulate the Roman Curia, and of putting into being what is vital and ser viceable for its efficient and proper functioning. They will be formulated , propagated ■ by the Curia itself 1 Therefore the Roman Curia will not be afraid of being re cruited with a broader suprana tional vision, or of being edu cated with a more ac urate ec umenical preparation. Did not St. Bernard say, even in his time: "Why not choose from the whole world those who one day will have to judge the whole wor ld?" (De Consideratione IV,) THE ROMAN Curia will not be jealous of the temporal pre rogatives of former times, of exterior forms no longer suit able for the expression of high religious meanings. Nor will it be miserly of its faculties which the episcopacy, without damaging the universal eccles iastical order, can today exer cise better by itself and locally. Nor will economic purpose and advantages ever carry weight in organs of the Holy See if that is not required by good ecclesias tical order and by die salvation of souls. It is the sacred rule of the departments of the Roman Cu ria to question the bishops and to avail themselves of their judgment In handling business. Among the consultors of the sacred congregations are found not a few bishops, coming from various regions. We shall say more: Should the Ecumenical Council evince a desire of see ing some representatives of the episcopacy, particularly among prelates who direct a diocese, associated in a certain way and for certain questions, in con formity with the Church’s doct rine and Canon Law.iththe sup reme head of the Church in the study and responsibility of ec clesiastical government, the Curia will surely not oppose it. On the contrary it will sense the growth of the honor and the bur den of its sublime and indis pensable service, which, aside from the due procedure of the ecclesiastical tribunals, both in the ROMAN Curia and in dio ceses, we will know, is spec ifically administrative, consul tative and executive. ONCE AGAIN the Roman Curia thus will feel, in a stron ger way, its calling to good example before the whole Ch urch and the world at large. It is thfs exhortation that We dare to address to you in a paternal way, at the conclusion of these simple words of Ours which seem to Us to echo those of the apostle St. Paul addressed to the Roman Ch urch: "Your faith is proclaimed all over the world." (Romans 1,8). People everywhere are wat ching Catholic Rome, the Ro man Pontificate, The Roman Curia. The duty of being auth entically Christian is especia lly binding here. We would not remind you of this duty if We did not remind Ourself of it every day. Everything in Rome teaches The letter and the spirit—The way we think, study, speak, feel, act, suffer, pray, serve, love. Every moment, every aspect of our life finds us surrounded by a glow that can be beneficial if we are faithful to what Christ wants from us; that can be harmful if we are unfaithful. THAT IS why We desire that beyond your specific contribut ion of qualified service, our Roman Curia~all of you, Bro thers and Sons— give to Us, or rather to the Church, to Christ our Lord, the precious offering of your example: of rigorous unselfishness and ab negation, of religious and sin cere piety, of loving welcome to as many as have recourse to it, and of attentive service. The Roman Curia is not an anonymous body, insensible to the great spiritual problems, which dictates laws automa tically. It is instead a living organ, faithful and docile, of the head of the Church—an or gan engrossed in the serious responsibilities of its functions and full of reverence and sol icitude towerd those prelates whom "the Holy S;irit has plac ed as bishops to rule the Ch urch of God.*’ (Acts, 20,28). THEREFORE LET the Roman Curia not be a bureaucracy, as some wrongly judge it, prete ntious and apathetic, merely legalistic and ritualistic, a jou sting field of hidden ambitions and of intractable antagonisms, as others accuse it of being. But let it be a «true commun ity of faith and charity, of pra yer and action, of the Pope’s brothers and sons who do ev erything, each with respect for the competence of the other and with a sense of collaboration In serving him in his work for the brothers and sons of the Universal Church and of the entire world. We know that this desire of Ours expresses yours, sincere and profound. It is this desire that in Us and in you becomes prayer, in order that Christ the Lord, through the in tercession of Mary Most Holy and of the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, may make shine like the light on the candelabrum this old and ever new Roman Curia, "so as to give light to all in the house” (Matt. 5,15)— in the house, that is in the Church of GodI Finally, do not be displeased If We ask you all, ecclesias tics and laymen of the Roman Curia, to be willing to add to your labors of office some other spontaneous labors of the min istry and the personal aposto- late. Help the Pope to evange-| lize not only the world, but the City as well, of which you are the foremost faithful and he the BishopI Confident in your goodness, and assuring you that all of you are present in Our prayers, with all Our heart We give you Our apostolic blessing. FOR A DAY OF FAMILY FUN Be Sure To Come To The ST. PIUS X FOOTBALL FIESTA On The School Grounds Oct. 5, 1963 - 10 A.M, To 10 P.M. And That "LITTLE OLE” Dine Maker THE GOLDEN LION Will Be Serving At Family Prices A SPAGHETTI DINNER From 5 To 8 P.M. WE ARE SUPPLYING MANY CATHOLIC SCHOOLS OVER THE STATE OF GEORGIA MAIL OR PHONE YOUR ORDERS ASK FOR NEW SCHOOL SUPPLY CATALOG mftleU School & Suftfiicec The McGregor Co. Athens, Ga.