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( PRAY FOR THE COUNCIL VOL. 1 NO. 39 ATLANTA, GEORGIA THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3, 1963 $5.00 PER YEAR GEORGETOWN University in Washington, D. C. opened a year long observance of the 175th anniversary of its founding. The Jesuit school was founded in 1789 by Archbishop John Carroll of Baltimore, the same year the U. S. Constitution was ratified. This illustration depicts President George Washington addressing the students in 1796 from the porch of the "Old North” building. COUNCIL Strong Optimism Marks Beginning VATICAN CITY (NC)--Reac- tion of non-Catholic delegate- observers at the Vatican coun cil to Pope Paul Vi’s opening address to the council was gene rally favorable. This appeared front conver sations with several of the dele gate observers in a position to express the prevailing views. WHAT STRUCK a particu larly responsive chord, these sources indicated, were the sentences in which Pope Paul "humbly begged God’s forgive ness and asked pardon of our brethren who feel themsleves to have been unjured by us.” As an American delegate who did not want his name to be used expressed it: "This is the first time sin ce the Reformation that such gratifying words have come from a pope.” This delegate felt that a sta tement of such sincerity- will go far in allaying many a Pro testant apprehension in regard to the prospects of more inti— THE EDITH STEIN AWARD for 1903 will be presented on October 13 to Mother Kath ryn Sullivan (above), scrip ture scholar and author, at Manhattanville College of the Sacred Heart, Purchase, N. Y. The annual award is given by the Edith Stein Guild for promoting good will and understanding between Catholics and Jews, mate interfaith contacts. "WE OURSELVES," he ad ded, "must follow suit. We must not be less generous than the Pope, for we as well need an ’aggiornamento.” ("Aggiornamento” — updating —is the word applied by Pope John to the work of the coun cil with regard to the Church The general feeling among the delegate-observers is that Pope Paul went even further than Pope John in stressing the tra nscending importance of the ec umenical movement and that on the strength of so friendly a disposition on the part of the Catholic Church, further pro gress in interfaith relations now may well be expected. In one respect, however, the observers are hesitant to ex press approval. THIS IS when it comes to the Pope's statements about Ch ristian unity- as he seems to understand it. "To speak of unity,” said one observer, "and to interpret it as though, as the Holy Fa ther put it, there should be only one church, cannot but elicit certain basic reser vations on our part.” Tills impression at least in part appears to have been crea ted by a faulty translation of the Italian text of the Pope's address, where the words "a single ecclesiastical direction” were translated as meaning "single ecclesiastical control. The Latin text says "unicl ec clesiastic! regiminis." Armenia Church Attends Council VATICAN CITY, (NC)-The separated Armenian Church has sent two observer delegates to the second session of the ec umenical council. The delegates are Bishop Parkev Gevorkian, member of the Supreme Spiritual Council of the Kaihollkos of Echmiad zin, and a lay theologian Gri- gor Bekmezian. SEPARATED BRETHREN Large Delegation Of Observers For Council VATICAN CITY (RNS)—Some 60 non-Roman Catholic deleg ate-observers and guests, in cluding 17 from the U. S., were listed by the Vatican Se cretariat for Promoting Chris tian Unity as attending the Se cond Vatican Council’s second sesskon. The observers, and their al ternates or substitutes, are of ficially representing non- Catholic international confess ional bodies, or the World Co uncil of Chruches, which com prises Protestant, Anglican and Orthodox groups. The guests- eight — are present as indivi dual churchmen and do not re present their respective deno- , minations. All are noted for their efforts toward the advan cement of unity among Christ ians. Sessions Dr. Dana McLean Greeley of Boston, head of the Unitarian Universalist Association; and Prof. George H. Williams of Harvard Divinity School (subst itute), for the International As sociation for Liberal Christian ity. Guests are Dr. Stanley I. St- uber of Jefferson City, Mo., executive director of the Miss ouri Council of Churches, who was also present at the first session; Dr. William A. Nor- gren of New York, director of faith and order studies for the National Council of Churches in the U. S. A.; and Archpriest Alexander Schmemann, dean of St. Vladimir Orthodox Seminary New York, also present last year. REOPENS ECUMENICAL COUNCIL. Pope Paul VI, Bishop of Rome, wears a mitre instead of a crown to show his equality with other bishops at the opening of the second session of Vatican Council II, September 29, in St. Peter's Basilica. SOME OF the observers and guests also attended the Vati can Council’s first session last year, when about 40 churchmen from non-Roman Catholic bod ies were present. working session Council Fathers Settle Into Tasks Immediately World confessional organi zations which have so far named observers include the Anglican Church, World Lutheran Fe deration, Congregational Coun cil, Friends World Committee for Consultation (Quaker), In ternational Association for Lib eral Christianity (Unitarian Un iversalist), and World Conven tion of Churches of Christ (Dis ciples). The World Council of Chur ches, with 209 members, named four observers, including a Greek Orthodox churchman. So far only two Eastern Or thodox Churches have designa ted official observers, They are the Russian Orthodox Church and the Armenian Apostolic (or thodox) Chuch(Etchmiadzin Pa triarchate), both naming two each. At the Council’s first session, the Russian Church was the only Eastern Orthodox body represented. THE 17 Americans include 14 observers and three guests. The observers are: Prof. William J. Wolf of the Episcopal Theological School, Cambridge, Mass., for the An glican communion. VATICAN CITY (NC)-The Second Vatican Council got right down to business at its first working assembly. The draft proposal "On the Nature of the Church" was ac cepted as a whole for detailed discussion by the second ses sion of the ecumenical council by an overwhelming majority of council Fathers. The action was taken at the second session’s second gene ral meeting, with only 46 dis senting votes out of 2,301 Fa thers present. The vote meant that the Fa thers agreed to go on to a dis cussion of the parts of the project. Technically, it could still be scrapped. But com ments on the project taken as a whole were favorable with out exception. This seems to guarantee that, when certain details are amended after dis cussion of the project’s parts, it will be given final approval. Comments on the Project on the Church — "De Ecclesia” —were led off by Joseph Card inal Frings, Archbishop of Col ogne, and by Giuseppe Card inal Siri, Archbishop of Genoa. The consensus appeared to be that the schema was generally acceptable. Several recom mendations were made looking toward its improvement,' how ever. CARDINAL FRINGS made a general reference to "some ob scure points likely to give rise to doubt and uncertainty.” He also requested that more space be given in the schema to the Blessed Virgin Mary, even Christmas Stamp WELLINGTON, New Zealand, (NC)--New Zeland's postal ser vice will issue a special stamp commemorating Christmas*for the fourth straight year. The stamp will carry a color reporduction of 16th-century Venetian painter Titian's work, "The Holy Family.” The ori ginal painting hangs in the Nat ional Art Gallery in London. though the council will later take up for consideration a separate schema concerning St. Mary as Mother of God and Mother of the Church. A change in the title of the "De Ecclesia” schema was suggested by Cardinal Siri. It should not be simply ’The Ch urch,” he said, but rather 'The Church of Christ.” He under lined his pleasure at seeing the schema express "the long-awa ited declaration of the sacra mental nature of the episcopal consecration.” He said, how ever, that this point should be further clarified and be assign ed a theological note. Speakers on the first day in addition to Cardinals Frings and Siri included Armenian Rite Patriarch Ignace Pierre XVI Batanian of Cilicia; Archbishop Caslmiro Morcillo of Saragossa Spain; Archbishop Pierre Ngo dinh Thuc of Hue, Viet nam; Archbishop Ermeneglldo Florit of Florence; and Ar chbishop Giuseppe Gargitter of Bressanone, Italy. CONTINUED ON PAGE 8 Dr. Georg* Llndbeck of Yale Divinity School and Prof. Warrne Quanbeck of Luther Theological Seminary, St. Paul, Minn., (substitute), for the LWF. Dr. Robert McAfee Brown of Stanford University, Palo Alto, Cal., for the World Presbyte rian Alliance. Bishop Fred P. Corson of Philadelphia, Prof. Albert C. Outler of Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas, and Dean Robert E. Cushman of Duke Divinity School, Durham, N. C. (substitute), for the World Methodist Council. Bishop Cor son is president of the Council. Dr. Douglas Horton of Randolph. N. H., former mode rator of the International Con gregational Council, and three substitutes: Prof. Heiko A. Obe- rman of Harvard Divinity Sc hool; Prof. Elmer Arndt of Ed en Theological Seminary’, Web ster Groves, Mo.; and Dr. How ard Schomer, president of Chi cago Theological Semonary. PROF. DOUGLAS V.Stecre of Haverford (Pa.) College, for the Friends World Committee, ^ ^ COFFINS, containing the bodies of 32 braceros, Mexican farm workers who were killed when a train plowed into their truck-bus, was placed in the Palma High School gymnasium, Salinas, Calif,, where a requiem Mass was offered for them on September 26. Nearly 10,000 persons, mostly mexlcan farm workers, attended the services. COUNCIL OPENING Pontiff Gives Encyclical In Living Words BY ARCHBISHOP HALLINAN • SEE PAPAL TEXT PAGE 2 With his voice frequently bre aking because of his own deep feelings, Pope Paul opened the second session of the Vatican Council 11 Sunday morning. For 2,450 of us in St. Peter’s, the Pontiff chartered the course the Council would follow in our mo dern world. It was a lengthy address, really an "Encyclical in living words,” as he called It. He glanced often at his wrls- twatch and spoke rapidly as if conscious that, after two hours ceremony, the one hour allo cution was tiring his audience, but he did not falter. And now, the Fathers have listened to two historic landmarks of Christi anity, John’s opening address last year, and Pope Paul's to day. Liberally, this first-hand re port will concentrate on three high points and a little back ground: Paul VI acknowledge our de bt to John in warm, personal words, calling on him by name: "You have gathered the broken thread of the first Vatican Cou ncil,” The bishops confidence rose as the new Pope dispell ed any idea that John's Ponti ficate was a single shot in the dark.. There was anything but retreat in Paul's challenge: "Let us, therefore, brethren, go forward.” The discourse was orderly, easy to read in the English text that our Roman Seminar ian, Jerry Hardy, brought me right after the ceremony. There was a starting point, the vis ion of the Church as the Bride of Christ: a road to follow: and a goal. Four sections dealt with the Church's awareness of herself, reform, unity, and the modern world. "We ought to be realists,” he said, and every paragraph was a blueprint for reality. PRESIDENT’S BILL Words long suspect, or at le ast alien, *were used by Pope Paul with sureness and insight. One of the humbling experien ces of a Council is to hear the Pope make his own profession of faith, Insuring no break in the line of Christian faith. But then came words like reform, dialogue, ecumenicity, the bridge toward the contemporary world, youth expressing Itself, and the liberty which men of culture and learning must en joy. At no point was the great soul of the Pope more evident than when he said to our separ ated brethern, "If we are in any way to blame for that sep aration, we humble ask God’s forgiveness." Protestant ob servers noted this carefully, as they did Cardinal Bea's fr iendly smile as he passed them after making his obedience to the Pope. The opening-was more businesslike than last year; no outdoor procession, smaller crowds, less ceremony. "The work ahead,” said Paul, "is vast and burdensome.” The modern world must be served and saved, not conquered or despised. This work begins tomorrow, the Schema on the Church itself. Next week the voting on the liturgy should come. The urgency of the task ahead had a symbol in today’s cere mony. TTie Pope was carried in his chair half way down the ai sle. Then , like John before him, he dismounted and walked with firm steps the rest of the way, as if anxious to get on with the work. Beautiful Ro man sunlight was everywhere. As it came through the high windows of the Basilica, it was a token of nature for the Pope's ringing words, "Let no other light be shed on this Council, but Christ, the Light of the World.” Religious Leaders Ask Rights Action WASHINGTON (NC)— Religious leaders here have called on Congress to adopt the Kennedy administration's civil rights bill at this session. The 46-member Interreligi ous Committee on Race Relat ions, under the chairmanship of Catholic Archbishop Patrick A. O’Boyle, also criticized op ponents of the legislation’s pro vision against discrimination in public accommodations. NOTING ARGUMENTS that private property rights should not be "violated” by the govern ment, the committee said in a statement this is a "spurious moral issue.” "Neither law nor morality sanction th e concept of the ab solute right of private pro perty,” th* churchmen said. "Both insist that th* owner must use his property in a so cially responsible manner.” "THOSE WHO fear that equal access to public accom modations for all citizens may violate 'private property rights' should be reminded of the ex tent to which provisions for en forced racial segregation are now being imposed upon pro perty owners by state and local ordinances, often at consider able expense to such owners. MSGR. ELMER H, BEHRMANN, A MEMBER OF President Ken< nsety's Panel on Mental Ret ardation, will speak tomorrow at 8 pm, at the Dinkier Plasa, before Our Lady's Association for Exceptional Children.