The Georgia bulletin (Atlanta) 1963-current, December 12, 1963, Image 8

Georgia Historic Newspapers

The Georgia bulletin, December 12, 1963, Image 8

About The Georgia bulletin (Atlanta) 1963-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 12, 1963)

Page of 12

Prev Issue Next Issue

Text PDF JP2 (10.7 MB) Clip/Print Image

Page of 12

Prev Issue Next Issue

Return to Top

Newspaper Page TextLITURGY. MEDIA TEXTS diocese of Atlanta SERVING GEORGIA'S 71 NORTHERN COUNTIES YOU 1 NO. 49 SUPPLEMENT THIS GENERAL VIEW OF THE COUNCIL shows the desk of the four moderators (foreground), Cardinals Agagianian, Lercaro, Dopfner, Suenens and, behind that, the desk of the presidents. In the center of the aisle is the portable altar at which Mass is celebrated daily. FULL TEXT Communication Media Legislation Approved ON THE MEDIA OF SOCIAL COMMUNICATION INTRODUCTION 1. Among the wonderful tech nological discoveries which men of talent, especially in the present era, have made with God's help, the Church wel comes and promotes with spe cial interest those which have a most direct relation to men's minds and which have uncove red new avenues of communi cating most readily news, views and teachings of every sort. The most important of these inventions are those media which, such as the press, movies , radio, television and the like, can, of their very na ture, reach and influence, not only individuals, but the very masses and the whole of human society, and thus can rightly be called the media of social com munication. 2. The Church recognizes that these media, if properly utlized, can be of great ser vice to mankind, since they gre atly contribute to men's ente rtainment and instruction as well as to the spread and sup port of the Kingdom of God. The Church recognizes, too, that men can employ these me dia contrary to the plan of the Creator and to their own loss. Indeed, the Church experiences maternal giref at the harm all too often done to society by their evil use. Hence, this sacred Synod, at tentive to the watchful concern manifested by the Supreme Pontiffs and Bishops in a mat ter of such great importance, judges it to be its duty to treat of the principal questions linked with the media of social com munication. It trusts, more over, that the teaching and re gulatlons it thus sets forth will serve to promote, not only the eternal welfare of Christians, but also the progress of all mankind. CHAPTER I ON THE TEACHING OF THE CHURCH 3. The Catholic Church, since it was founded by Christ our Lord to bear salvation to all men and thus is obliged to pre ach the Gospel, considers it one of its duties to announce the Good News of salvation also with the help of the media of social communication and to in struct men in their proper use. It is, therefore, an inherent right of the Church to have at us disposal and to employ any of these media insofar as they are necessary or useful for tne instruction of Christians and all its efforts for the welfare of souls. It is the duty of Pastors to instruct and guide the faith ful so that they, with the help of these same media, may fur ther the salvation and perfect ion of themselves and of the en tire human family. In addition, the laity espe cially must strive to instill a human and Christian spirit into these media so that they may fully measure up to the great expectations of mankind and to God’s design. 4. For the proper use of these media it is most necessary that all who employ them be acqua inted with the norms of mora lity and conscientiously put them into practice in this area. They must look, then, to the nature of what is communi cated, given the special charac ter of each of these media. At the same time they must take into consideration the entire situation or circumstances, na mely, the persons, place, time and other conditions under pro priety. Among these circums tances to be considered is the precise mannerin which a given medium achieves its effect. For its influence can be so great that men, especially if they are unprepared, can scarcely be come aware of it, govern its impact, or, if necessary, reject it. 5. It is, however, especially necessary that all parties con cerned should adopt for them selves a proper moral outlook on the use of these media, es pecially with respect to certain questions that have been vigor ously aired in our day. The first question has to do with "information,” as it is called, or the search for and reporting of the news. Now cle arly this has become most use ful and very often necessary for the progress of contemporary society and for achieving closer links among men. The prompt publication of affairs and events provides every- individual with a fuller, continuing acquaintance with them, and thus all can con tribute more effectively to the common good and more readily promote and advance the wel fare of the entire civil society. Therefore, in society men have a right to information, in acc ord with the circumstances in each case, about matters conc erning individuals or the com munity. The proper exercise of this right demands, however, that the news itself that is communicated should always be true and complete, within the bonds of justice and charity. In addition, the manner in which the news is communicated sh ould be proper and decent. This means that in both the search for news and in reporting it, there must be full respect for the laws not all knowledge is helpful, but "it is charity that eddifies" (1 Corinthians 8:1). 6. The second question deals with the relationship between the rights, as they are called, of art and the norms of mora lity. Since the mounting contro versies in this area frequently take their rise from false tea chings about ethics and esthe tics, the Council proclaims that all must hold to the absolute primacy of theobjective moral order, that is, this order by itself surpasses and fittingly coordinates all other spheres of human affairs - the arts not ex cepted -even though they be en dowed with notable dignity. For man who is endowed by God with the gift of reason and summoned to pursue a lofty destiny, is alone affected by the moral order in his entire being. And likewise, if a man resolutely and faithfully up holds this order, he will be br ought to the attainment of comp plete perfection and happiness. 7. Finally, the narration, de scription or portrayal of moral evil, even through the media of social communication, can in deed serve to bring about a dee per knowldge and study of hum anity and, with the aid of ap propriately heightened drama tic effects, can reveal and glo rify the grand dimensions of truth and goodness. Never theless, such presentations ought always to be subject to moral resitraint, lest they work to the harm rather than the benefit of souls, particularly when there is question of treat ing matters which deserve re verent handling or which, given the baneful effect of original sin in men, could quite readily ar ouse base desires in them. 8. Since public opinion exer cise the greatest power and aut hority today in every sphere of life, both private and public, ev ery member of society must fulfill the demands of justice and charity in this area. As a result, all must strive, through these media as well, to form and spread sound public opinion. 9. All who, of their own free choice, make use of these media of communications as readers, viewers or listeners have spe cial obligations. For a proper choice demands that they fully favor those presentations that are outstanding for their moral goodness, their knowledge and their artisitic or technical merit. They ought, however, to (CONTINUED ON PAGE 8) ATLANTA, GEORGIA THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12, 1963 $5.00 PER YEAR VATICAN COUNCIL LEGISLATION Full Text Of Papal Promulgation Of Sacred Liturgy Constitution BY N. C. W. C.NEWSSERVICE VATICAN CITY—Following is the text of an English tran slation of the "Constitution on the Liturgy,” promulgated by Pope Paul VI at the closing of the second session of the Se cond Vatican Council on Dec. 4.: CONSTITUTION ON THE SACRED LITURGY INTRODUCTION 1. This sacred Council has several aims in view: it desi res to impart an ever increas ing vigor to the Christian life of the faithful; to adapt more suitably to the needs of our own times those institutions which are subject to change, to foster whatever can promote union among all who believe in Christ; to strengthen whatever can help to call the whole of mankind in to the household of the Church. The Council therefore sees particularly cogent reasons for undetaking the reform and promotion of the liturgy. 2. For the liturgy, "through which the work of our redemp tion is accomplished,” (l)most of all in the divine sacrifice of the eucharist, is the outs tanding means whereby the fait hful may express in their lives, and mainfest to other* the my stery of Christ and the real na ture of the true Church. If is of the essence of the Church that she be both human and divine, visible and yet invisible equip ped, and yet not at home in it; and she is all these things in such wise that in her the human is directed and subordinated to the divine, the visible likewise to the invisible, action to cont emplation, and this liturgy daily builds up those who are within into a holy temple of the Lord, into a dwelling place for God in the Spirit (3), to the mature measure of the fulness of Christ (4), at the same time it mar velously strengthens their power to preach Christ, and thus shows forth the Church to those who are outside as a sign lifted up among the nations (5) under which the scattered chil dren of God may be gathered together (6), until there is one sheepfold and one shepherd (7) 3. Wherefore the sacred Cou ncil judges that the following principles concerning the pro motion and reform of the litur gy should be called to mind, and that practical norms should be established. Among these principles and norms there are some which can and should be applied both to the Roman rite and also to all the other rites. The pract ical norms which follow, how ever, should be taken as apply ing only to the Roman rite, ex cept for those which, in the very nature of things, affect other ri tes as well, 4. Lastly, in faithful obedie nce to tradition, the sacred Co uncil declares that holy Mother Church holds all lawfully ackn owledged rites to be of equal right and dignity; that she wis hes to preserve them in the fu ture and to foster them in every way. The Council also desires that, where necessary, the rites be revised carefully in the light of sound tradition, and that they be given new vigor to meet the circumstances and needs of modern times. CHAPTER I GENERAL PRINCIPLES FOR THE RESTORATION AND PROMOTION OF THE SACRED LITURGY I. The Nature of the Sacred Liturgy and Its Importance in the Church’s Life. 5. God who "wills that all men be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth” (lTIm. 2:4), "who in many and var ious ways spoke in times past to the fathers by the prophets” (Heb. 1:1), when the fulness of time had come sent His Son, the Word made flesh, anointed by the Holy Spirit, to preach the gospel to the poor, to heal the contrite of heart (8), to be a "bodily and spiritual medic ine" (9), the Mediator between God and man (10). For His hu manity, united with the person of the Word, was the instru ment of our salvation. There - fore in Christ "the perfect ach ievement of our reconciliation came forth, and the fulness of divine worship was given to us" (11). The wonderful works of God among the people of the Old Te stament were but a prelude to the work of Christ the Lord in redeeming mankind and giving perfect glory to God. He achie ved His task principally by the paschal mystery of His blessed passion, resurrection from the dead, and glorious ascension, whereby "dying, he destroyed our death and, rising, he res tored our life” (12). For it was from the side of Christ as He slept the sleep of death upon the cross that there came forth "the wondrous sacrament of the whole Church” (13). 6. Just as Christ was sent by the Father, so also He sent the apostles, filled with the Holy Spiriti. This He did that, by preaching the gospel to every creature (14), they might pro claim that the Son of God, by His death and resurrection, had freed us from the power of Sa tan (15) and from death, and brought us into the kingdom of His Father. His purpose also was that they might accomplish the work of salvation which they had proclaimed, by means of sacrifice and sacraments, ar ound which the entire liturgical life revolves. Thus by baptism men are plunged into the pasc hal mystery of Christ: they die with Him, are buried with Him, and rise with Him (16); they re ceive the spirit of adoption as sons "in which we cry: Abba, Father” (Rom. 8:15), and thus become true adorers whom the Father seeks (17). In like man ner, as often as they eat the supper of the Lord they pro claim the death of the Lord un til He comes (18). For that re ason, on the very day of Pen tecost, when the Church appea red before the world, "those who received the word” of Pe ter "were baptized.” And "they continued steadfastly in the tea ching of the apostles and in the communion of the breaking of bread and in prayers. . .prai sing God and being in favor with all the people” (Acts 2:41- 47), From that time onwards the Church has never failed to come together to celebrate the paschal mystery; reading those things "which were in all the scriptures concerning him” (Luke 24:27), celebrating the eucharist in which "the victory and triumph of his death are again made present” (19), and at the same time giving thanks "to God for his unspeak able gift” (2 Cor. 9:15) in Ch rist Jesus, "in praise of his glory’; (Eph. 1:12), through the power of the Holy Spirit. 7. To accomplish so great a work, Christ is always present in His Church, especially in her liturgical celebrations. He is present in the sacrifice of the Mass, not only in the pier- son of His minister, "the same now offering, through the min istry of priests, who formerly offered himself on the cross” (20), but especially under the eucharistic species. By His pewer He is present in the sa craments, so that when a man baptizes it is really Christ Himself who speaks when the holy scriptures are read in the Church. He is present lastly, when the Church prays and si ngs, for He promised: "Where two or three are gathered to gether in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matt. 18:20). Christ indeed always asso ciates the Church with Himself in this great work wherein God is pjerfectly glorified and men are sanctified. The Church is His beloved Bride who calls to her Lord, and through Him of fers worship to the Eternal Fa ther. Rightly, then, the liturgy is considered as an exercise of the priestly office of Jesus Ch- rst. In the liturgy the sanct ification of man is signified by signs perceptible to the senses, and is effected in a way which corresponds with each of these signs; in the liturgy the whole public worship is performed by the Mystical Body of Jesus Ch rist, that is, by the Head and His members. From this it follows that ev ery liturgical celebration, be cause it is an action of Christ the priest and of His Body which is the Church, is a sac red action surpassing all others; no other action of the Church can equal its efficacy by the same title and to the same degree. 8. In the earthly liturgy we take part in a foretaste of that heavenly liturgy which is cele brated in the holy city of Jeru salem toward which we journey as pilgirms, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God, a minister of the holies and of the true tabernacle (22); we sing a hymn to the Lord's glorywith all the warriors of the heavenly army; venerating the memory of the saints, we hope for some part and fellowship with them; we eagerly await the Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ, until He, our life, shall appear and we too will appear with Him in glory (23). 9. The sacred liturgy does not exhaust the entire activity of the Church. Before men can come to the liturgy they must be called to faith and to conve rsation: "How then are they to call up>on him in whom they have not yet believed? But how are they to believe him whom they have not heard? And how are they to hear if no one preaches? And how are men to preach un less they be sent?” (Rom. 10: 14-15). Therefore the Church annou nces the good tidings of salva tion to those who do not believe, so that all men may know the true God and Jesus Christ whom He has sent, and may be conve rted from their ways, doing pe nance (24). To believers also the Church must ever preach faith and penance; she must prepare them for the sacra ments, teach them to observe all that Christ has commanded (25), and invite them to all the works of charity, piety, and the apostolate. For all these works make it clear that Christ’s fa ithful, though not of this world, works make it clear that Ch rist’s faithful, though not of this world, are to be the light of the world and to glorify the Fat her before men. 10. Nevertheless the litur gy is the summit toward which the activity of the Church is directed; at the same time it is the fount from which all her power flows. For the aim and object of apostolic works is that all who are made sons of God by faith and baptism should come together to praise God in the midst of His Church, to take part in the sacrifice, and to eat the Lord’s suppjer. The liturgy in its turn moves the faithful, filled with "the pa schal sacraments,” to be "one in holiness’ (26); it prays that "they may hold fast in their lives to what they have graspjed by their faith" (27); the renewal in the eucharist of the cov enant between the Lord and man draws the faithful into the com pelling love of Christ and sets them on fire. From the liturgy, therefore, and especially from the eucharist, as from a fount, grace is poured forth upon us; and the sanctification of men in Christ and the glorification of God, to which all other activi ties of the Church are directed as toward their end, is achie ved in the most efficacious pos sible way. 11. But in order that the lit urgy may be able to produce its full effects, it is necessary that the faithful come to it with proper dispositions that their minds should be attuned to their voices, and that they should co operate with divine grace lest they receive it in vain (28). Pa stors of souls must therefore realize that, when the liturgy is celebrated, something more is required than the mere obser vation of the laws governing va lid and licit celebration; it is their duty also to ensure that the faithful take part fully aw are of what they are doing, ac tively engaged in the rite, and enriched by its effects. 12. The spiritual life, how ever, is not limited solely to participation in the liturgy. The Christian is indeed called to pray with his brethren, but he must also enter into his cham ber to pray to the Father in secret (29 ; yet more, accord ing to the “teaching of the Apo stle, he should pray without ce asing (30). We learn from the same Apx>stle that we must al ways bear about in our body the dying of Jesus, so that the life also of Jesus may be made man ifest in our bodily frame (31) This is why we ask the Lord in the sacrifice of the Mass that, "receiving the offering of the spriitual victim,” he may fashion us for himself "as an eternal gift" (32). 13. Popular devotions of the Christian people are to be high ly commended, provided they accord with the laws and norms of the Church, above all when they are ordered by the Apos tolic See. Devotions proper to indivi dual Churches also have a spe cial dignity if they are under taken by mandate of the bish ops according to customs or books lawfully approved. But these devotions should be so drawn up that they harmoni ze with the liturgical seasons, accord with the sacred liturgy, are in some fashion derived from it, and lead the people to it, since, in fact, the liturgy by its very nature far surpa sses any of them. II. The Promotion of Liturgical Instruction and Active Parti cipation 14. Mother Church earnestly desires that all the faithful should be led to that full, con scious, and active participation in liturgical celebrations which is demanded by the very nature of the liturgy. Such participat ion by the Christian pjeople as "a chosen race, a royal priest hood, a holy nation, a redeem ed people” (1 Pet. 2:9; cf. 2: 4-5), is their right and duty by reason of their baptism. In the restoration and pro motion of the sacred liturgy, this full and active participat ion by all the people is the aim to be considered before all else; for it is the primary and indi spensable source from which the faithful are to derive the true Christian spirit; and th erefore pastors of souls must zealously strive to achieve it, by means of the necessary in struction, in all their pastoral work. Yet it would be futile to en tertain any hopes of realizing this unless the pastors them selves, in the first place, be come thoroughly imbued with the spirit and pxjwer of the li turgy, and undertake to give- instruction about it. A prime need, therefore, is that atten tion be directed, first of all, to the liturgical instruction of the clergy. Wherefore the sa cred Council has decided to en act as follows: 15. Professors who are appo inted to teach liturgy in semi naries, religious houses of study, and theological faculties must be prop>erly trained for their, work in institutes which specialize in this subject. 16. The study of sacred litur gy is to be ranked among the comp>ulsory and major courses in seminaries and religious houses of studies; in theologi cal faculties it is to rank am ong the principal courses. It is t o be taught under its theolo- glclal, and juridical aspects. More over, other professors, while striving to expound the mystery of Christ and the his tory of salvation from the angle proper to each of their own sub jects, must nevertheless do so in a way which will clearly br ing out the connection between their subjects and the liturgy, as also the unity which under lies all priestly training. This consideration is especially im portant for professors of dog matic, spiritual, and pastoral theology and for those of holy scripture. 17. In seminaries and houses of religious, clerics shall be given a liturgical formation in their spiritual life. For this they will need proper direction, so that they may be able to understand the sacred rites and take part in them wholehearte dly; and they will also need personally to celebrate the sa cred mysteries, as well as pop ular devotions which are imbu ed with the spirit of the litur gy. In addition they must learn how to observe the liturgical laws, so that life in semina ries and houses of religious may be thoroughly Influenced by the spirit of the liturgy. 18. Priests, both secular and religious, who are already (CONTINUED NEXT PAGE)