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PAGE ft GEORGIA BULLETIN THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 1964 VIGOROUS CONTROVERSY Should The Church Ordain Women To The Priesthood? BY FATHER PLACID JORDAN, 0. S. B. (N. C. W. C. NEWS SERVICE) ZURICH, Switzerland —Should women be ordained priests? This question has stirred up a vigorous debate in several European nations lately, and the affirmative answer to the question has found supporters among many serious Catholic theologians. A MEMORANDUM has even been drawn up by two women theologians in Germany, and has been presented to many leaders of the Vatican'Council, promoting the thesis that fe male priests are not only per- missable, but necessary. The arguments given infavor of women in Holy Orders are many, but they can be summed up under four general head ings: • THOSE WHO point out that Jesus and His Disciples were all men are begging the quest ion, because the social status of women at the time of Christ made it impossible for women to be accepted as serious teachers. • The Messiah was a man, but He represented all of humanity, not men alone. Humanity would have been saved just the same had the Messiah been a woman. • ST. PAUL has been in correctly interpreted, by St. Thomas Aquinas among others, as saying women cannot attain Holy Orders. There were fe male deacons in the early Church, and if St. Paul were alive today he would support the notion of women in Orders. • Those who accuse some Protestant groups of hamper ing the ecumenical movement by ordaining women are them selves hampering the ecumeni cal movement by refusing to admit the possibility of women as priests. THE DEBATE on the position of women in the Church was opened two years ago by a Catholic woman attorney in Zurich, Gertrud Heinzelmann. She petitioned the Second Vati can Council to reexamine those provisions of canon law which she said were discriminatory against women, and which re sulted from an inadequate un derstanding of the Epistles of St. Paul. For a time the debate slum bered among the pages of theo logical journals, but the petit ion was drawing some impres sive support. Father Haye van der Meer, S. J., studying at the University of Innsbruck under the ecumenical council expert, Father Karl Rahner, S. J., wrote a thesis entitled: "Theological Considerations of the Proposit ion —' Only Men Can Be Ordained.’ ’’ FATHER VAN der Meer argued that the priesthood of women is not contrary to the essence of Christianity by de- vine right, and he asked for a thorough review of the problem by Catholic theologians to establish "whether men alone can represent sufficiently the , fulness of the divinity of Christ." Without pretending to offer definitive conclusions, Father Van der Meer suggested that "greater opportunities be of fered to women in the Church." D’Youville Posts Honors Ten percent of the D’Youville Academy enrollment received first honors during the third quarter recently ended. Highest on the list of honor students was senior Michaels Ruppert who achieved a 97.6 average, leading the honor roll for the second consecutive quarter. Other first honor students in clude senior Pam Parker, jun iors Florence Farnsworth, Maria de Give and Elaine Reil ly; sophomores Leslie Laird and Valerie Gornto; and fresh men Judy Dieterle, Camille Peachtree Road Pharmacy PICK UP AND DELIVERY SERVICE I CALL CE 7-6466 4062 Peachtree Rd. Atlanta Wells, and Denise Simons. Second Honors went to sen iors Mary Ann Lambert, Carol Marchman, and Cathey Man- guno; and juniors Wendy Jones, Ann Marie Bradley, Carol Of ten, Ann Gude, Cynthia Parker, Helen Gude, Malin Davis, and Danelle Grove. Underclassmen who received second honors were sophomores Pam Gatto,, Carol Upchurch, Cathy Hare, Camilla Capo, and Anne Farns worth; and freshmen Suseen Graham, Francine Dyer, Diane Mix, Maria Gonzalex, Sophie Gatins, Alison Chase, Karen Skaggs, Natalia Schoeck, and Julie Wenner. Total honor stu dents constituted 31% of the Academy registration, Ed Curtin Presents ALLEN GOLLAY SEXTET ~sTo toTTo BILL FARMER TRIO Chjtfr » Hume/ • Muii' Let Owr lounge Bt Your Afternoon and Ivoning Retreat dance at thi Sand Saudi 760 W#»t rtroo TR. 3-4211 New Arrivals Mr. & Mrs. Edwin Langford Martha Lunday 1945 Sandringham Dr., S. W. Blessed Sacrament Girl 4/11 Mr. & Mrs. Scott Allen Sally Anne Harrington 2311 Meadowvale Dr. Innaculate Heart of Mary Girl 4/9 Mr. & Mr. Michael Harrington Gail Llppold 1344 Navajo PL, N, E. Our Lady Of The Assumptior Girl 4/11 Mr. & Mrs. George Davis Anna Ellzey 1532 Aragon Way Our Lady of the Assumption Girl 4/12 SEVENTH, EIGHTH GRADE and HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS and their Parents or# invited to participate in a VOCATIONS DAY RALLY Und#r Th# Joint Auspices Of THE CYO THE TENTH MAN CLUB THE SERRA CLUB A Pageant To Be Staged On The Grounds Of St. PiuiXx High School Sunday, April 26th., 7:30 PM THE CRY for "greater op portunities" for women was not confined to scholarly works alone. No less a personage than Leo Cardinal Suenens of Malines - Brussels, Belgium, stood up at the Vatican council and stated that "in our age when a woman almost trav els to the moon, it is indis pensable to let her assume a more important role in the Church." Father Josef Funk, S. V. D„ writing in an Austrian Journal Archives of Canon Law, main tained that the shortage of clergy demands the admission of women at least to the dl- aconate. He based his argu ments of practices on the early Christians. THE DEBATE moved Into the open a 'short time ago when Auxiliary Bishop Walter Kampe of Limburg, Germany, in an article distributed by the German Catholic news agency, KNA, criticized those Pro testant groups, especially in Scandinavia, which were or daining women. Bishop Kampe was willing to agree that women should play a greater role in the Church, even in the ministry of the Church. He noted the role play ed by the Blessed Virgin in the history of salvation, and the role played by many holy women in the Church. But, he said, those Protestant groups were causing "serious theo logical misgivings," especially since they are depending almost entirely on Scripture and there fore should not dismiss the writings of St. Paul and the fact that Our Lord chose only men as His Apostles. ONE SHOULD never forget, Bishop Kampe went on, the symbolic relationship that pic tures the Church as the Bride of Christ—a polarity that re flects the position of men and women in the Church. His article drew an immedi ate reply from Mrs. Heinzel mann in Zurich's independent dally, Tagesanzelger, who said Bishop Kampe’s views would make interfaith dialogue more difficult. She noted that the Mosaic Law at the time of St. Paul placed women in an in ferior position, on a par with slaves, and that this could not apply today. ANOTHEK WOMAN attorney, Lotti Ruckstuhl, in a letter to the same paper, stated that St. Paul was upholding the social order of his day only because he did not wish to undermine existing society. The Roman legal system was discrim inatory to women, children and slaves. "St. Paul today," she said, "as In his own day, would urge men to love their wives. But love Implies a recognition and full acceptance of those who are loved, which in turn should have its practical con sequences. Otherwise, love is not sincere." SUBSCRIBING TO this view was Mary Daly, believed to be the first American women to receive a doctorate in theology, who teaches in Fribourg, Switz erland. Miss Daly said the ordi nation of Protestant women may be a barrier to interfaith co operation, but "the establish ing of such barriers in the Catholic Church by its re fusal to ordain women to the priesthood" creates a similar handicap. Two theological students in Muenster, Germany, Iris Mueller and Ida Ramlng, have gathered these arguments In an extensive memorandum which has been sent to the Vatican council’s secretariat in Rome, to the Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity, to Cardinal Suenens and to all German Ordinaries. Among other things, the memorandum alleges that canonical discrimi nation against women runs counter to Pope John XXIH’s encyclical, Pacem in Terris, which insists on equal rights for all persons, regardless of sex, race or social position. THE MEMORANDUM is ex pected to get further support when the St, Joan's Internat ional Alliance, a Catholic women's group, meets in Antwerp, Belgium, this sum mer. HOLY NAME SPEAKER Warns Of ‘White Collar’ Thefts MR. CHARLES Hayes, President of Druid Hills Kiwanis Club, presenting the winning trophy to Greg Beckham, Captain of Explorer Post 47 basketball team, sponsored by St. Thomas More Church, Decatur. The basketball tournament was managed by Dr. William A. Hopkins (left) who is the Advisor for Post 47. AT FELLOWSHIP DINNER Msgr. O’Connor Defends Parochial School Progress See picture on Page 1 Msgr. Patrick J. O’Connor, pastor of St. Thomas More Church, Decatur, and Arch diocesan Secretary for Educa tion, was the guest speaker at the annual Fellowship Dinner of the Home and School Associa tion of St. Paul of the Cross Parish. More than 250 persons ga thered at the Mays Building in Morehouse College for the Dinner which was also attend ed by State Senator Leroy John son and other Negro Civic Lead ers. An extract from Msgr. O’Con nor’s remarks follow: Without hesitation I say that, though a small educational sys tem ours is a very effective one. It consists of some ^par ish schools and three high schools. A school named "Our Lady’s Day-School for excep tional Children" two private schools: Marist school for boys and D’Youville Academy for young girls. We find in all of the schools devoted and con secrated priests and sisters, loyal lay men and women. Over and above their spirit of dedi cated service to the cause of Catholic education we know them to be men and women es pecially well trained in their academic work, many with their Master’s degrees. Marist school, a private high school under the administration of the Marist Fathers, has been operated in Atlanta for some sixty years and it is to no small degree that the spirit of Cath olicism has spread through the influence and the teaching of these Fathers. They have labor ed long and efficiently in these parts and have had much to do with dispelling ignorance of the Catholic religion and creating an atmosphere of good will to ward the Catholic Church. Hav ing moved to their new location in recent years they are con tinuing their vital contribution in the apostolate of teaching. St. Pius X High School, es tablished only seven years ago, Is the oldest of our archdioce san high schools. It is safe to say that no other school has achieved a finer record of ac complishment in so few years. Ably staffed, many are the na tional honors reaped by the stu dents of St. Pius X. And this school is signally honored by receiving four national merit awards. St. Joseph High School this year is graduating its first class of seniors. A downtown school, staffed by three priests, seven sisters, and thirteen lay men and women, this school, (recently opened), got one na tional merit award this year. Drexel High School, with which you are so familiar, is ably staffed by two priests and the sisters of St. Joseph and the sisters of The Blessed Sac rament plus a lay staff. I think it is most important for you to know that we are working for.state accreditation of all of o^lr schools. This will mean meeting certain stand ards, and toward this accredi tation we are progressing. It is the wish of our Archbishop that quality education will be the type of education given to all of our children. Just re cently I had the privilege of appointing priests, sisters, lay men and lay women to an advi sory council to the secretary of education and through these members of this council we ex pect to receive great assis tance, guidance and coopera tion: not only outlining a "Plan For Progress" but in helping to see it effected. I report to you today, then, that the local scene on the Catholic educational ho rizon is one of brightness and of promise. Education is placing within the reach, as Andrew Carnegie stated, "The ladders upon which the aspiring can rise". But what about the national educational scene? The leaders in the Catholid Educational Sys tem on the national scene will be the first to admit deficien cies in our system, but ways to improve are being constantly looked for. But what is most annoying, what causes appre hension today, is that some of our own people should attack the very existence of the paro chial schools as if they had be come an unbearable burden dragging the church down, im peding her progress and pre venting her from fulfilling her mission to the people of this country. There is talk about Catholic education being di visive. We do not feel that the training in our schools is "Di visive". By the religious train ing our children receive they are being fitted to enter the mainstream of life with sound Christian principles. We are training the young for citizen ship here on earth and citizen ship in the world to come. We aim to train citizens who are free, rational, responsible In dividuals. To law and to moral standards we as Catholics are committed. To those on the national scene who say that the problems con fronting Catholic education can only be solved by closing Cath olic schools, we say that they remind us of those Georgians who, five years ago, believed that the only course open to the state facing Integration was abandonment of public schools I How ridiculous that was 1 Since the time when the third plenary council of Baltimore wrote into our Church law the famous statute of religious edu cation, the parish school has commonly been regarded as the necessary instrument for the preservation and development of the Catholic Faith among our people. Every phase of our Catholic life has been profound ly affected by it. Few can doubt that the true strength of the Church in the United States has in large measure been the pro duct of the parochial school system. There Is no question In any one’s mind that the system is far from perfect. But the great efforts made by religious teaching communities and dio cesan agencies of supervision to improve and strengthen our schools will bear witness to our own consciousness of the short- Guest Speaker Monsignor P. J. O'Connor, Archdiocesan Secretary for Education, was guest speaker at the recent Altar and Rosary Society Meeting of Our Lady of the Assumption Church. comings of our school system. By knowing the shortcomings and having the desire and the will to Improve, we will make progress. The struggle today on the na tional scene is to keep God in education. One main difficulty of education emptied of reli gious content arises from the fact that religion forms the necessary foundation for mo rality. George Washington, the father of our country, states, "reason and experience both forbid us to expect that nation al morality can prevail in ex clusion of religions principle." From our God-centered schools here in Atlanta come three quarters of the graduates of non-public schools. We are proud of those and we, you and I, as Catholics feel that we are contributing by our educational system to this city, state and nation well trained, high prin cipled young men and young wo men. We must never fall to re member that "greatness with out knowledge Is weak and fee ble; yet knowledge without greatness is dangerous. But united they form the noblest character and lay the surest foundation of usefulness toman- kind". "White collar workers steal four million dollars a day from their employers and put 250 companies out of business •very year because of theft," Louis C. Fink told Sts. Peter and Paul Holy Name Society members at their regular mon thly meeting, Sunday, April 12. Speaking about "Morality in Business," Fink, an assistant vice-president at the Trust Company of Georgia, said the problem must be met and solv ed as a matter of individual responsibility. "DON’T WORRY about everyone else, " he explained. "Instead, ask yourself whatyou are personally doing to remedy the situation. Become Involved in the fight against the forces of evil; Join the six million men who recite the Holy Name pled ge every month." Fink called on the members to exert a positive influence through good example. "After attending Mass on Sunday," he said, "don’t turn around on Monday and bring home paper and pencils from the office for the kids. This is stealing in its simplest form." HOLY NAME President Arthur Ceconi commented on the excellent attendence at the meeting and gave credit to hard-working membership and publicity committees. Don Kuhlman, vice president, an nounced that the Sts. Peter and Paul Holy Name Society now has 114 active members. Plans are being completed for a retreat at St. Ignatius House on April 23 sponsored Parents To Meet Christ the King Parents’ As sociation will hold their month ly meeting on Monday, April 20th, at 1:00 p.m. in the Cathedral Center. Father Conald Foust, an assistant pastor at Christ the King Cathedral will present his new ly formed Boys’ Choir as the program. The business meeting will follow. by the Sts. Peter and Paul group. A golf outing was also discussed as well as prepara tions for a Spring Dance featur ing Tony Lawrence’s orchestra to be held In the church cafe- torium Saturday, May 23. REV. MICHAEL Manning, Sts. Peter and Paul pastor, thanked the Holy Name mem bers for their active interest in church activities, " Drama Club Play The Marist Dramatic Club presented a comdey, "Career Angel", at the Oglethorpe Uni versity Theatre April 10,11 and 12th. The play was written by Father Gerard M. Murray and opened on Broadway in 1943. The play dealt with the finan cial problems of a Catholic boys’ orphanage and what hap pens when a wise-cracking, ca reer-seeking angel gets into the picture. Included in the cast were Jo seph McCloskey, Timothy Mc- Kane, Alfred Platt, Patrick Waldron, Joseph Kayser, P. Kenneth Davis, Dennis Wiley, Sky Brown, Joseph Szabo, Dan iel White, John Reardon, John Hotard, Kenneth Cook, and James Pent. NELSON RIVES REALTY INC. 3669 CLAIRMONT ROAD CHAMBLEE, GEORGIA REAL ESTATE, INSURANCE SALES, RENTALS RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL PROPERTY PHONE: 451-2323 call, 231-3040 RYBERT • MINTING « LITHOGRAPHING TRInlty 5*4727 Strtlti All tula Sines 1912 COMPANY 550 FORREST ROAO. N. E. ATLANTA, GEORGIA 1964 PILGRIMAGE SHRINES of EUROPE July 21 to August 11, Sponsored By The Georgia Bulletin RESERVATIONS WRITE TO: CATHOLIC TRAVEL OFFICE DUPONT CIRCLE BUILDING WASHINGTON 6, D.C. Killarney • Dublin • Aylesford Paris • Versailles • Lisieux • Lourdes Rome • Assisi • Lisbon . 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