The Georgia bulletin (Atlanta) 1963-current, January 09, 1964, Image 6

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HOLY LAND SUPPLEMENT THURSDAY, JANUARY 9,1964 POPE SAYS: Visit: ‘Humble Pilgrimage To Sacred Places’ (CON’T FROM PREVIOUS PAGE) kish fashion the approach of a person of importance. The scene of the Pope's en try was full of strange con trasts. The front of the dila pidated church is undergoing extensive repairs, and steel girders, corrugated tin sheds, and piles of concrete, sand and stone cluttered the area. The inside as almost as im probable a setting. The circu lar church walls, lined with steel and wooden scaf olding, were crisscrossed by television cables. Floodlights obscured the golden lamps hanging in a gallery overlooking the altar which had been erected tempo rarily in front of the Edicule, the tiny chapel surrounding the site of Christ's tomb. The en tire chapel is housed in a stone shrine situated directly under the main dome of the basilica. ON ENTERING the church, Pope Paul knelt first at aflat reddish rock set in the floor near the door. Known as the stone of Uncrion, it is held to be the stone on which the Body of Jesus was anointed prior to being placed in the tomb. Af er a brief prayer, the Pope proceeded to the altar, where he vested for Mass as the Te Deum was sung in thanksgiving. Flanking the entrance to the chapel of the tomb were six 20-foot high oil candles, and four 10-foot ones, all blazing with four-inch flames. The Pope offered a dialogue Mass, and the few hundreds able to fit inside the church made the Latin responses resound from wall to wall. SHORTLY after the Conse cration, a fuse blew and all the television lights went out. A small fire broke out on a wall about 20 feet from the Pope, where a cable was joined to scaffolding. The fire caused mild consternation among those present--except for the Pope, who continued celebra ing the Holy Eucharist without ever in dicating he was aware of the commotion. Several efforts were made to extinguish the fire with hoses, but they were not long enough. Eventually one of the heralds’ star was handed up to a man on the scaffolding, and one Arab parted with his head dress; the cloth on the end of the staff being used to snuff out the fire. The cavernous basilica re mained in candellighted gloom. At he conclusion of the Mass, the Pope sat upon a hrone chair erected behind the altar, fac ing the tomb chapel, and led the people in special prayers in French for Christian unity. THEN POPE Paul left the throne and entered the chapel of the tomb. Strictly speaking, this is composed of two tiny chapels, he outer one comme morating the angel who greeted the Disciples on the first Eas ter and told them that Christ had risen, and the inner one the site of the tomb itself. It is reached by bending low to pass through the little marble door. For the Pope’s visit a cushion and a rug were placed on the floor before the gray marble slab covering the sepulcher. On the walls were a silver bas relief of the Risen Christ and a silver-covered ikon of Christ Crucified. Four small golden angels holding candles stood on either side of the ikon. Simple vases of roses and chry santhemums filled the narrow marble shelves above the tomb. Behind the Pope, close to the low ceiling, were two cameras with cables attached to record the scene as the successor of St. Peter prayed alone at the site of the Ressurection. The Pope paused in prayer before the altar close to be black and white marble star which marks the place believed to be the spot on which the cross stood. Then he walked to the ad joining chapel which contains the 11 h and 12th Stations, and which is in the custody of the Franciscans. The Taking of Christ down from the Cross is represented by a polycrome statue of the Sorrowful Mother, and the Nail ing to the Cross by a mosaic. Here a prie-dieu had been plac ed on a valuable carpet, and here the Pope again prayed. The Pope left the basilica to the cheers of hundreds of special visitors gathered out side o the chur h. He walked up the short path leading to the Custody of the Holy Land and to his car. He was driven to the Apostolic Delegation almost an hour behind schedule. ARRIVING at the Apostolic Delegation, on the Mount of Olivesjthe Pope was visited by Greek Orthodox Patriarch Yegheshe Derderian. Pope Paul re urned their visits la er be fore leaving for a special holy hour at the Basilica of the Agony in the Garden of Gethsemane, where now stands a magnifi cent chapel known as the Church of All Nations. Before the ser vice, the Pope received the Oriental and LatinCatholic pa triarchs, archbishops and bis hops. It was 10:30 p.m. as the Pope set out for the Chapel of All Na ions, his motorcade winding a round-hills-of Jerusalem could be seen for miles. At the start of the drive the Pope passed through rows of bystanders holding lighted torches, a breathtaking sight to the thou sands waii ing at the basilicas as the Pope allighted. Again he was swept up and al most carried along by the crowd But the military did a superhu man job of holding back the crush. Inside the church, Pope Paul led the holy hour, depart ing at 11:30 p.m. to return to the Apostolic Delegation, Orthodox Oppose ATHENS (NC)—The Orthodox Church of Greece remained adamantly opposed to any re- approchement between Ortho dox and Roman Catholics, and an allnight prayer vigil was held here, Jan. 4-5, to “preserve Orthodoxy from the conse quences of the dangerous ap- proch that Patriarch Athenago- ras (of Constantinople) is mak ing toward the Pope.” The vigil was sponsored by the Pan-Hellenic Orthodox Un ion, a religious society, in ac cord with the thinking of Arch bishop Chrysostomos of Athens, the Primate of Greece's State Church. It was understood here that Archbishop Chrysostoms ear lier forbade two archbishops under his Jurisdiction to ac company Patriarch Athena- goras I of Constantinople on his Journey to meet Pope Paul VI in Jerusalem. Informed sources here said that Patri arch Athenagoras had asked Archbishop Chrysostomos to let Metropolitan Seraphim of loan- nlna and Metropolitan Pantelei mon of Salonika accomparty him, but the Greek Primate refused. ISRAEL STRUCK this gold medal to commemorate the pilgrim age of Pope Paul VI. One side (top) bears an image of the Holy Land and the Latin words, “Terra Sancta,” in the style of an cient maps. The other side repeats in Hebrew, French and English Christ's injunction: "Love Thy Neighbor as Thyself.'* PAPAL TEXT Damascus Gate JERUSALEM, Jordan (NC)-— Following is the text of the speech prepared by Pope Paul VI for delivery (Jan. 4) at the Damascus gate on his entry into the Old City of Jerusalem: Mr. Governor, Mr. Mayor, People of Jerusalem and all of you who came from far and near to be with us at this moment; We greet you, and we offer you an expression of our Joy and of the happy feeling filling our heart as we enter this holy city. TODAY SEES fulfilled for us the aim of the desires of so many men during the period of patriarchs and prophets, and of so many pilgrims who for 20 centuries have come here to visit Christ’s tomb. Today we can exclaim with the Holy Writer: “Andnow we have set foot within your gates, O Jerusalem,” and say also in his words and in all truth: "This is the day the Lord has made, let us be glad and rejoice in it." FROM THE DEPTHS of our heart we thank Almighty God for having led us to this place and to this tour, and we Invite you all to unite yourselves to this thanksgiving. OUR thankfulness must be expressed first of all to the author ities, for the ardent welcome we have received here. Then to the inhabitants of Jerusalem we express our esteemfor their religious spirit, for their noble traditons of courtesy and hospitality to ward pilgrims visiting the holy places. We invite them to raise up to heaven their hands and hearts with us, to Invoke upon their holy city and abundance of divine blessings. TO OUR CATHOLIC sons and daughters, and to all those who glory in the name of Christians, we say: Enter with us into the ..spirit of this pilgrimage; come with us to follow in the foot steps of Christ, to climb with Him to Mount Calvary, to venerate His eternally glorious tomb, from which He rose filled with life after vanguishing death and redeeming the world. Come with us to offer Him His Church in the various places where He shed His blood for her. Let us all together implore the most desired grace of union among all the disciplines of the Gospel. And to all we say: By your wishes and your prayers, invoke with us upon this land, unique in the world, which God has visited, His graces of concord and of peace. Let us here, all together, implore the grace of true profound brotherhood between all men and among all peoples, JERUSALEMI As we enter within your walls it is again the Inspired Writer who supplies his words to our lips: “May those who love you prosperl May peace be within your walls, pros perity in your buildings; I will say. . .peace be within you I .. I will pray for your good." This invocation, 3,000 years old, we gladly pronounce again here and on this day. May God deign to hearken to it and shower upon this holy city and all those who pray herein with us his most copious benedictions. PASSING from the chapel, the Pope left the sanctuary of the basilica to climb the steep white marbie stairs abou 25 feet up to the Chapel of the Crucifixion. This chapel is in the custody of the Greek Orthodox and is hunt with silver vigil and altar lights. Its images are Byzan tine in s yle. The focal point of the chapel is a painted Christ Crucified- with a sliver loin cloth, flanked by silver cover ed images of Mary and John. UH 1 COMMEMORATE PILGRIMAGE. The Franciscans, who have been charged with the custody of the shrines in the Holy Land, have arranged for two medals to be struck to mark the pilgrimage there of Pope Paul VI. Both medals will have the portrait i Cen , t * r ’ on one side - ° n the reverse side, one medal will show the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher, in Jerusalem, left, and the other the Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth. ON m. OF OLIVES Pope, Patriarch Meet, Embracing In Kiss Of Peace JERUSALEM, Jordan (NC)— The wdrld leaders of the Cath olic and Orthodox Churches came together in brotherhood twice in this birthplace of Christianity, exchanging the symbolic kiss of peace, and af ter walking arm in arm resol ved to try t o pave the road to unity. Pope Paul VI, the Patriarch of the West, and Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras I of Con stantinople exchanged separate visits on Jan. 5 and 6 on the Mount of Olives. It was the first time a Pope and a Pa triarch of Constantinople had been together since the death of Patriarch Joseph at the 15th century Council of Florence. And it was only the second such encounter in over 1,250 years. THE MEETINGS near the site where Christ suffered His Agony in the Garden and 43 days later ascended into heaven had great significance in Christen dom's search for unity. Both men clearly felt the dramatic importance of the moment. Patriarch Athenagoras, ac companied by several members of his retinue, arrived at the Apostolic Delegation headquar ters on the Mount of Olives at 9:30 p.m. Sunday. Standing in the doorway to greet him was a somewhat tired Pope Paul who had just completed a 14-hour whirlwind tour of the holy places in Israel. Yet as he greeted the 77-year-old Patriarch, the Pope seemed to have sloughed his fatigue: h e showed great animation and emotion. The Pope and the Patriarch immediately embraced at the entrance to the delegation and twice exchanged the ritual kiss of peace. Observers present said both churchmen showed they were conscious of the his toric import of the moment in which the ages-old isolation of the two great branches of the Christian religion was being dissolved, even if only on a level of courtesy and affection. The Pope’s first words were in Latin: “May Jesus Christ be praised I" The Patriarch re sponded with a similar salu tation in Greek. Then the 66- year-old Bishop of Rome took the arm of the towering, six- foot-four Bishop of Constan tinople in his, and they walk ed arm in arm, with hands clasped, to a small audience room. They remain alone for 20 minutes. After concluding their pri vate discussion, the two asked their chief attendants to come into the audience room. The three cardinals who had ac companied Pope Paul from Rome—Eugene Cardinal Tis- serant, dean of the College of Cardinals; Amleto Cardinal Ci- cognani, the Pope's Secretary of State; and Gustavo Cardinal Testa, Secretary of the Sacred Congregation for the Oriental Church—and Archbishop Ange lo Dell'Acqua, Undersecretary of State for Ordinary Affairs, and Archbishop Enrico Dante, Papal Master of Ceremonies, entered the room. They joined dignitaries of the entourage of Patriarch Athenagoras, which included four theology profes sors. THE PATRIARCH, who be came a United Sfates citizen while serving in America prior to his election to the Constan tinople See, then read a five- minute formal speech of greet ing to the Pope in Greek. It was immediately translated in to French. Patriarch Athenago ras expressed joy at meeting Pope Paul in the land sancti fied by the life of the Lord “where Christ shortly before His Passion prayed in the sweat of agony for the confirmation in truth and in unity of all those who believe in Him." After saying that he regard ed the event of exceptional im portance and significance in the life and in the history of the Church, Patriarch Athenagoras voiced the hope that the good intentions recently shown on both sides "shall become the prelude of a mutual commun ion, the dawn of a luminous and blessed day, in which fu ture generations, communing in the same chalice of the most precious Blood and of the Body of the Lord, will glorify the only Lord and Saviour in chari ty, peace and unity." In thanking the Patriarch for his visit, the Pope informed him that he would return it the fol lowing day in circumstances matching the loving expressions voiced inthePatr iarch ’s speech. After the exchange of greetings, the two leading churchmen recited the Lord’s Prayer, first in Latin, then in Greek. TO COMMEMORATE the meeting, Pope Paul presented the Patriarch a gold comme morative medal. He also gave copies, of- the commemorative medaj to each member of the Patriarch’s party. At the close of this first meet ing, the two spiritual leaders again embraced. Observers said the emotion they felt com municated itself to everyone in the room. The Pope accom panied the Patriarch to the doorstep, and watched until he had descended the stairs lead ing from the Apostolic Delega tion and entered his car. The next morning, following his Epiphany Mass in Bethle hem, Pope Paul returned the Patriarch's visit, traveling to the residence of Orthodox Pa triarch Benediktos of Jerusa lem, where Patriarch Athena goras was staying— only seve ral hundred yards away from the delegation. The Pope had al so visited Patriarch Benedik tos there the previous Saturday night. HERE THE warmth of the en counter 12 hours earlier was repeated, with Patriarch Athe nagoras receiving Pope Paul at the front door. The Pope and the Patriarch talked privately. Then Pope Paul presented two members of the staff of the Vatican Sec retariat for Promoting Chris tian Unity whom the Patriarch had met earlier—Msgr. Jan G. M. Willebrands, the secre tary, and Father Pierre Duprey, W.F., undersecretary for Or thodox relatons. The Pope in a formal ad dress in Latin expressed his “great and profound” gratitude for the Patriarch's coming to Jerusalem to meet him in this truly historic" meeting. He said that the will “to work to sur mount disunity, to break down barriers," is becoming ever more widespread among all Christians. And in closing, he said that "it is not a 'goodbye* that we say to you, but, if you allow us, an *au revoir* based upon the hope of other fruitful meetings 'in the Name of the Lord.’ ’’ FOLLOWING the exchange of formal greetings, the Pope left the patriarchate on the arm of the Patriarch, who accompanied him out of the building, down stairs and into the courtyard to his waiting car. A special communique was issued stating: “This meeting cannot be con sidered otherwise than as a fra ternal gesture inspired by the charity of Christ, who left to His disciples the supreme com mandment of loving one another, of forgiving offenses until seventy times seven, and of being united among themsel ves.” Following this second meet ing with Patriarch Athenagoras, the Pope drove to the residence of Latin Rite Patriarch Alberto Gori, O.F.M., of Jerusalem. Pope Sees Mayor JERUSALEM, Jordan (NC)— Before returning to Vatican City (Jan. 6) Pope Paul VI received Jerusalem's Mayor Mordachi Ish-Shalom, and members of the Municipal Council as well as Anglican Archbishop J. Mclnnes and Coptic Patriarch Stephanos I Sidarouss. In a separate audience he re ceived Msgr. Thomas Ryan and Father Dennis Mooney, O.F.M., of the Pontifical Mission for Palestine, POPE PAUL VI offers a prayer as he visits the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem (Jan. 6) on the final day of his pilgrimage to the Holy Land. HUSSEIN DECLARES Trip Won’t Help Arab- Israel Hate JERUSALEM, Jordan (NC)— King Hussein of Jordan told a press conference here that he believed Pope Paul Vi's pil grimage to the Holy Land would not only help Christian unity but also improve Christian-Mos- lem relations. But he said it would not help to end the Arab-Israeli conflict. THE 27-YEAR-OLD King, who claims descent from Mo hammed, spoke to several hun dred and then answered ques tions in English. He said the papal visit (Jan. 4 to 6 ) was a ‘landmark in world history as well as in that of the Holy Land.” THE KING SAID he hoped the Pope’s visit to his country would "herald a new era of genuine understanding, cooperation and a working in concert between our two great religions" and would "erase misunderstand ing, which is of man’s making and not divine." "It is my earnest hope,’’ he said, "that eminent spiritual leaders of our two great faiths will take concrete steps with a view to achieving this blessed historic objective.’’ HE CITED AS an example of possible cooperation between Islam and Christianity the work of St. Thomas Aquinas in the field of Arab philosophy. He declared: 'There is little realization that the great religions owe each other a great deal: that notwithstanding differences of interpretation, Islam reveres and believes in the divine na ture of Jesus Christ, as emana ting from the spirit of God, and that our Holy Koran has no where anything but reverence and belief in the divine mess age of Christ.” KING HUSSEIN said that Pope Paul’s pilgrimage would "high light th e affinity between the two great religions” and strengthen the already “har monious tolerance between the peoples of the Mohammedan and Christian faiths.” The King said that Jordan, an overwhelmingly Moselm na tion, was proud to be the pro tector of Christian holy places. HE STRESSED that the Pope’s visit to the Holy Land was to be “purely religious and a pil grimage, and we intend to make every effort to facilitate it.” He added: “I do not consider the Pope’s pilgrimage has any po litical implication." Replying to a question, King Hussein said he did not see how the Pontiff’s visit could help Arab-Israeli relations. SPEAKING OF his country’s relations with “occupied Pale stine”— that is, Israel—the King stated: ‘The problem...is a matter of injustice. And until there is a Just and honorable conclusion to this problem I hardly see how relations could be improv ed. “I FEEL IT is a duty to try to find that just solution. But until people of occupied ter ritory are willing to remedy the wrongs they committeed— and not by use of force—I do not see how progress toward a solution can be made,” ‘The feeling in the Arab world," the King stated, "is that Israel as it stands has de signs and plans to carry out further aggression and to ex pand at our expense." KING HUSSEIN referred spe cifically to the Israel plan to divert water from the River Jordan—which forms part of the boundary between the two countries—to irrigate the Ne gev desert area. He said here- fused to believe that “the Chris tian world would countenance and acquiesce in the diversion and the almost complete obli teration of the River Jordan, with all its precious and his toric religious associations." The King was also asked if he would accept papal media tion of the Arab-Israeli con flict. He answered: "I have told you that there is nothing pontifical in this pilgrimage. So the question does not arise. Any mediation between Arabs and Israelis,” he stated, “is useless before Palestinian Arabs rights are restored,” Medal Cast VATICAN CTY (NC)—The Vatican has coined a medal to commemorate the pilgrimage of Pope Paul VI to the Holy Land. The first casting was presented to the Pope,