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BLESSED DOMINIC BARBERI
Archbishop Hallinan Preaches In Rome On New Beatus
The following is the text of the sermon by
Archbishop Paul J. Hallinan in the Church of SS.
John and Paul, Rome, Italy, on Tuesday, October
29, on the occasion of the Triduum honoring
Blessed Dominic Barberi, Italian Passionist
Missionary' to England, who was. beatified last
Sunday in St. Peter's Basilica. Fernando Car
dinal Cento, Major Penitentiary of the Apostolic
Chancery, was celebrant of the Mass, assis
ted by the students of the Bega College in Rome.
The Pontifical Sistine Choir sang the Liturgy'.
Yesterday (October 30) the Triduum closed
with a Pontifical Mass celebrated by Archbishop
John C. j Heenan of Westminster, England.
The preacher was Father Alfred Wilson of the
English Province of the Passionist Fathers.
“Christ sent me to preach the gospel;
not with an orator's cleverness, for so
the cross of Christ might be robbed
of its force. To those who court their
own ruin, the message of the cross
is but folly; to us who are on the way
of salvation, it is the evidence of God's
power." 1 Corinthians, 1, 17-18.
In Octover, 1841, a young Italian priest went
England to establish the first house of the
Passionist Fathers in that country. Eight years
later, he died. It was an incredibly short apos-
tolate, but Dominic Barberi was an incredible
man. He has slipped into history' by the back
door (as one writer has put it); — it was he
who received the great John Henry Newman into
the Catholic Church. This was no mean claim
to distinction, because Newman’s conversion is
one of the unmistakeable landmarks of English
Catholicism, But if Dominic became famous only
because of the accident of being the right man
at the right time and place, then surely the Cat
holic world should ask — was it a mere acci
dent? Why was he at Littlemore at the precise
moment that Newman's will and the divine im
pulse of grace came together? Why was Dominic
Barberi the right man?
WE COULD start with the very name of the
religious community that is now honored by his
beatification. The Passionists take their name
from the passion of Our Lord; their cross is the
symbol of His suffering and death. But our language
today gives an added meaning to the word 'pas
sion', meaning that goes beyond the acceptance
of pain. . We use the word to describe what
happens in the heart of a man who suffers.
Passion becomes an active flame, a burning
desire, an overwhelming urge. We often speak
of a passion for life or for love. But these are
human. A divine passion is the flame and the
urge in a man who has surrendered himself
to the redemptive suffering of Christ on the
cross. It leaps forward to conquer a soul, a
neighborhood, a world,— not for gain nor for
fame,—but to bring back that world to Him who
died for it. Dominic is now called Blessed by
the Church he loved and served. He is blessed
because he immersed himself in Christ, and iden
tified himself with Christ’s passion, But he is
blessed too because this experience seized his
soul, and poured itself out in a passionate burst
of energy that was both perfectly disciplined but
recklessly spent. He totally resigned to the will
of God, but he was almost hopelessly ambitious
in his plans for the advancement of the Kingdom.
This is the Passionist pattern. This w-as Dominic’s
pattern.
Those who knew him did not need to ask why
he was the right man for England in the mid
nineteenth century. His novice-master spoke of
his “extraordinary humility". A Belgian priest
CONTINUED ON PAGE 8
PRAY FOR
THE COUNCIL
Archdiocese of Atlanta
GEORGIAS
NORTHERN
COUNTIES
SERVING
VOL. 1 NO. 43
ATLANTA, GEORGIA
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 31, 1963
$5.00 PER YEAR
BLESSED DOMINIC BARBERI
Pope Paul Gives
Homily At Rites
PICTURED ABOVE ARE EIGHT YOUNG MEN who are studying
for the Atlanta Archdiocese at All Hallows College, Dublin. They
are, left to right (seated): John Kseran, Michael Feeney, Tho
mas Kenny, Michael Hogan; (standing) Leo Herbert, Rev. Mr.
Simon Slattery, Patrick O'Connor Michael Woods. James Bar
rett, also destined for Atlanta, is not putund. Msgr. Patrick
J. O'Connor, Archdiocesan Director of Vocations and pastor
of St. Thomas More, Decatur, recently visited the seminarians
sed to Dominic's relation with
Cardinal Newman.
“It was Father Dominic who,
on the night of Oct. 8, 1845,
at Littlemore (England), heard
the decisive profession of the
Catholic Faith by that most sin
gular mind (Newman), The ex
traordinary importance of that
simple event and the ever-in-
creasing greatness of the fam
ous Englishman reflects a shin
ing light on the humble Reli
gious."
THE POPE NOTED that New
man’s conversion —“which as
we all know matured through
most laborious and dramatic
meditation"—cannot be attri
buted to the direct merit of
Blessed Dominic. Yet, the Pope
said, we must recognize in
Blessed Dominic two other
great reasons for merit.
SETER ELIZABETH ANNE, R.S.M., of St. Joseph's Infirmary, receives an autographed picture of
Pope Paul from young Stephen Bagley, a patient for three months at St. Joseph's. Some time ago
Stephen wrote to the Pope, asking for the picture and explaining that he wanted it to give to Sister
“Because she had been so good to him." Stephen is not a Catholic and Sister Elizabeth Anne com
ments: “It was a lovely, ecumenical present."
EASTER DATE
Approve Change
The first is that "of having
heeded a mysterious, inexpli
cable vocation, clearly present
in his soul from the early years
of his religious life, to conse
crate his apostolic ministry to
England, where the Passionists
had not yet set foot... and the
other merit of having provided
the image most likely to win
the esteem and the admiration
of Newman,” who wrote of Bles
sed Dominic.
POPE PAUL QUOTED this
reference to Father Dominic by
Newman Just before his recep
tion: “...a simple, holy man,
CONTINUED ON PAGE 8
Fathers
ROME (NC)—The Fathers of
die Second Vatican Council have
opened a subject of Interest to
men everywhere, the reckoning
of the passage of time. In so
doing, they have reminded the
world of the part the Church has
played in determining the or
derly procession of days,
months and years.
Their action is related to a
desire for a fixed annual date
for Easter and for a simplified
permanent calendar. It immed
iately calls up the fact that an
earlier group of council Fathers
—meeting at Nicaea in the year
325—set the present method of
determining the date for the ob
servance of Easter. It also dir
ects attention to Pope Gregory
XIII, who gave his name to the
Gregorian Calendar now in use
in most of the world.
BY VOTES OF over 2,000
to less than 10 the present-
day council Fathers made these
recommendations:
"The council considers the
wish expressed by many for a
fixed Sunday Easter, and for a
permanent calendar, to be of no
small moment, and hence, af
ter paying due heed to the con
sequences that may follow from
such a new calendar, declares;
"THE COUNCIL is not oppo
sed to fixing Easter on a dete
rmined Sunday in the Gregor
ian calendar, provided this is
agreeable to all others who are
concerned with the problem, es
pecially the Christian bre
thren separated from commun
ion with the Holy See.
“Similarly, the council is not
opposed to the various lnitat-
ives for establishing a perpe
tual civil calendar, provided the
week of seven days with its
Sunday is safeguarded and pro
vided the regular succession of
weeks remains intact—unless
most serious reasons would, in
the judgement of the Holy See
persuade otherwise."
THESE POSITIONS were
taken in the form of amendments
to the fifth chapter of the coun
cil's schema on the liturgy.
Though they are far from urg
ing any concrete action they are
still considered a significant
beginning. They drew prompt
and favorable responses from
Orthodox and Anglican leaders.
Easter now is celebrated each
year on the first Sunday after
the full moon which occurs on
or next after March 21.
I OFFICAL I
The Law of Abstinence does
not oblige tomorrow (Friday,
November 1) the Feast of All
Saints, because it is a Holy
Day of Obligation (Canon 1252
#4).
VERY REV. HAROLD J.
RAINEY, CHANCELLOR
and made an appeal for more students. Within the next four
years, fifteen young Irish students will be ordained for this
Archdiocese. Next June Rev. Mr. Slattery, of Limerick, will be
ordained; he will report for assignment in the Archdiocese
during the summer. Pictures of five students at St. Patrick's
College, Carlow, and of our other students at St. Kieran’s,
Kilkenny; St. Patrick's, Thurles; Mungret Apostolic School and
St. Patrick’s College at Maynooth, will be in future editions.
BEATIFICATION SCHEDULED
Father Leonard Murialdo
(above), Italian founder of
the Pious Society of St. Jo
seph of Turin will be beati
fied on November 3, in St.
Peter's Basilica, Rome. The
new beata died in 1900.
Council II
Speed-Up
VATICAN CITY (NC) —The
French, German and African
Bishops have reached virtual
agreement on a plan to speed
up the work of the ecumenical
council.
They feel confident that other
groups of bishops will Join in
their proposal to change coun
cil rules to reduce the number
of weekly general meetings
from five—Monday through
Friday—to three.
THE OTHER TWO days are
to be used for meetings of the
various national or regional
bishops* conferences at which
council Fathers will not have
to speak in Latin and will have
a real opportunity t > debate the
Issues.
VATICAN CITY (NC)—Pope
Paul VI cited John Henry New
man’s description of Blessed
Dominic Barberi—“He loved
England very much"—during
the Italian Passionist's beati
fication ceremonies in St. Pe
ter’s on the Feast of Christ the
King.
In the afternoon part of the
Rites, the Pope venerated the
relics of the new Blessed Do
minic of the Mother of God and
entwined his name with that of
the distinguished English Car
dinal as symbols of the future
of the Church in England,
THE BEATIFICATION had
begun with morning rites which
included the reading of the of
ficial document granting Father
Dominic the honors of the altar.
This was followed by Pontifical
Mass sung by Paolo Cardinal
Marella, Archpriest of St. Pe
ter’s.
The Pope took part in the late
afternoon service in honor of
Blessed Dominic. The rite was
attended by the cardinals in
Rome, most of the archbishops
and bishops of England, rep
resentatives of the Passionist
congregation, and thousands
of other persons. Solemn Bene
diction of the Blessed Sacra
ment was given by Archbishop
Igino Cardinale, newly appoint
ed. Apostolic Delegate to Great
Britain.
THE POPE DEVOTED most
of his homily on the new Bles-
ALSO D1ACONATE
Bishops Vote
Broad
VATICAN CITY (NC)—Coun
cil Fathers yesterday (Wednes
day) voted to broaden the pow
ers of the bishops in the gov
erning of the Church with the
Pope. They also voted to restore
active deacons, although noth
ing has been stated, as yet, as
to whether or not this would in
clude married persons.
On Tuesday the Fathers vot
ed 1,114 to 1,074 to include
their declaration on Our Lady
in the schema on the nature of
the Church rather than in a se
parate schema. Before the vote
was taken, the day's moderator,
Gregorio Cardinal Agagianian,
stated: “No vote on either side
can be construed as constituting
any lessening of the dignity
of the Blessed Virgin or any di
minution of her preeminent role
in the Church."
TWO OTHER MAJOR steps
taken at the Oct. 29 General
meeting were to give overall
approval to Chapter V of the
liturgy schema, which con
cerns the liturgical year, and
to begin voting on amendments
to Chapter VII, which deals with
sacred music. The vote on
amendments to Chapter VII
which deals with sacred music.
The vote on Chapter V was 2,154
in favor; 21 against and 16 in
favor but with reservations.
The long-awaited “four
points" on the schema on the
Church finally made their ap
pearance at the day’s meeting.
The leaflets which were distri
buted, however, presented five
Instead of the often-mentioned
four points. The leaflet explain
ed that the vote—to be taken
Oct. 30—will not have the effect
of approving or rejecting any
part of the text, but will only
serve as a guide to the Theolo
gical Commission in its revis
ion of the text.
The five propositions were
stated in the form of ques
tions.
THE QUESTIONS WERE:
• Whether it is agreeable
that the schema should be so
drawn up as to state that epis
copal consecration is the high
est grade of the Sacrament of
Orders?
• Whether it is agreeable that
every legitimately consecrated
bishop in communion with the
bishops and the Roman pontiff,
who is head and prim ipal of
unity, can be said to be a mem
ber of the body of bishops?
• Whether it is agreeable
that the body or college of bis
hops in evangelizing, sancti
fying and feeding the flock can
Powers
be said to succeed the college
of Apostles; and that this col
lege, in union with the Roman
pontiff and never without him,
has full and supreme power
over the Universal Church?
• Whether it is agreeable
that the aforesaid power belongs
to the college of bishops in un
ion with its Head by divine right?
• W hether it !s agreed that it
is considered timely to restore
the dlaconate as a distinct and
permanent rank of the sacred
ministry, according to the needs
of the Church in different re
gions?
A LENGTHY BOOKLET con
taining amendments to the sche
ma on Our Lady was also distri
buted. It seemed likely, how
ever, that in view of die de
cision to combine the schema
on Our Lady with the one on the
Church, further revisions might
be made in the text.
At the American Bishops’
press panel after the meeting,
Father Bernard Harin, C.SS.
R., said that there were two
predominant reasons motivat
ing those who voted against
making the schema on Our Lady
part of the schema on the
Church. Some of the Fathers,
he said, did not want the mat
ter of Our Lady to be treated
at all, mostly for reasons of
ecumenism. Others, and the
greater part felt that if a spe
cial place was not given to the
Blessed Virgin in a separate
schema, her glory would be di
minished, he said.
FATHER HARING revealed
that three other schemata be
sides the present one have been
drawn up on Our Lady. The
first of these was composed
CONTINUED ON PAGE 8
First Friday
Club To Meet
The First Friday Club of
Atlanta, a national Catholic
men's club, will hold their mon
thly lunc heon meeting tomorrow
(Friday) noon at the Cox-Car-
lton Hotel. Steve Sertich, Club
President, announces the spe
aker, is Mr. Harry Mehre, At
lanta Journal Sports Writer,
and former member of the
Notre Dame football team with
the famous 4-Horsemen under
Knute Ro<. kne, and formerly
football coach at the University
of Mississippi and University
of Georgia.
All Catholic men are invited.
Mr. Mehre is a member of the
Cathedral of Christ the King.