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PAGE 8 GEORGIA BULLETIN THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 1964
THE CATHOLIC PRESS-9
Council Exemplified Freedom And Apostolic Frankness
BY REV. LEONARD F.X. MAYHEW
There can be no reasonable excuse for ignoring
th'- fact that the Catholic Church Is going through a
period of transition. The various evidences of
change are too obvious and too numerous. While
the most striking dramatization of evolution is
certainly the Vatican Council, the distant stage of
papal policy is not the only plane upon which we
can discern the beginnings erf new directions. The
pattern of new ways replacing old passes through
the sphere of ideas in theology, liturgy, philosophy
and history. The vigorous awakening of an intelli
gent and fully emmitted contribution from the
laity toward a solution of the issues which face the
Church is a still nascent but
very encouraging phenomenon.
A new approach, reasonable,
humble and, best of all, loving,
is addressed to our separated
brethren, including those who do
not believe or have ceased to be
lieve, as Pope Paul indicated
in his Easter Message.
THESE signs of aggiorna-
mento, of up-dating the Church, do not remain In
the sphere of abstractions or in the hands of
theoreticians solely. This is the most solid basis
for hope in their ultimate, lasting effect. Every
where in the Church, including our own archdio
cese, our own parishes, our own newspaper, our
own Christian Unity Commission, we find welcome
signs of renewal. At the same time, in order to
avoid mere random change becoming a substitute
for well-directed progress, due consideration
must be given to guiding principles, eventual aims
and the over-all pattern that is shaping events. The
Catholic Press, in the present context, is the focus
of many influences which characterize the chang
ing condition of the Church. One of the most im
portant of these is the place of freedom both of
expression and of initiative relative to the role of
authority.
All of the main currents of transition within the
Church seem to converge in a renewed emphasis
on the essential freedom of the Christian. It is
commonplace to see the era being Introduced by
Vatican Council II as the logical next step follow
ing the four centuries of reaction to the Protes
tant Reformation. The Council of Trent and the
Counter Reformation were largely defensive
measures. They closed Catholicism in upon Itself
as a protection against the heterodox Individualism
of Protestant doctrine.
VATICAN Council I contributed to this men
tality, perhaps accidentally, by its only partial
definition of the teaching authority of the hier
archy and the consequent emphasis on the Paper.
Uniformity, traditionalism, stress upon authority,
antagonism toward whatever was "outside” have
been the marching orders. The future, as pro
jected by the teachings of Pops John and Paul
and the attitude of the present Council, will be
marked by openess, diversity and broader areas
of freedom. Karl Rahner, S.J., and many other
eminent theologians, conceive the present state of
the Church as the end of a period which began
with the establishment of Christianity as the of
ficial religion of the Roman Empire. Catholic life
and thought can - and must - no longer be tied
to forms and practices deriving solely from Euro
pean society and political structures. The Church
has lost its control of society but it is also freed
of the limitations which that control imposed. It
is free to change and adapt to new and different
situations as it will.
The Catholic Press has a clear and vital inte
rest in this new atmosphere of freedom. Likewise,
the Church has a vital Interest in a vigorous and
responsible Catholic Press, if an honest and pro
ductive liberty is to survive. It remains, then, an
extremely necessary task to understand what this
.freedom Is, what It demands, how far It extends.
As John XXIII pointed out In Pacem In Terris,
freedom demands not only that Its limits not be
exceeded but also that It be exercised to the ful
lest.
Today's re-awakened appreciation of freedom
within the Catholic Church shows no evidence of
being inimical to the traditional and necessary
respect for authority. Catholic moral theology
has always Insisted on the primacy of a free
conscience, "that which Is deepest and most In
trinsic In man," as Pius XII named it. There Is
no question of any doctrinal change. Freedom
of the human person and authority In the Church
have no conflict. They demand each other. Cardi
nal Newman, the "absent Council Father" of Vati
can II, saw this clearly; "The general sense of
right and wrong, which Is the first element of
religion, Is so delicate, so fitful, so easily puzz
led, obscured, perverted. . . this sense. Is at once
the highest of all teachers, yet the least lumi
nous; and the Church, the pope, the hierarchy
are In the divine purpose the supply of an ur
gent demand." (Difficulties of Anglicans).
This Is simple enough to see In the abstract.
What difficulty there Is, appears when these
Ideas are reduced to practice. If there is an as
pect of this question of freedom and authority
which is characteristic of our time, it is the strug
gle to achieve sufficient balance to live up to the
demands of freedom as well as the proper use
of authority. The danger is that, when freedom
is exercised in a concrete situation - by an edi
tor, for example - the adherents of authorit
arianism (as distinct from true authority) will
panic into a defensive positlpn, as if the whole
fabric of the Church were being threatened.
Where can we find a more refreshing example
of Catholic freedom than in the Vatican Council?
There is nothing more orthodox or more authenti
cally Catholic than an Ecumenical Council. The
present Council exhibits a very different picture
from the close knit, tightly controlled, centralized
bureaucracy that many - inside and outside the
Church - have imagined the Church to be. The
Council Fathers have exercised their freedom of
discussion (and disagreement) with enthusiasm,
unhampered by interference from higher authority
or by any guilty consciousness of being untrue to
their Catholic principles.
The example of Vatican Council II in this regard
must be seen as completely relevant to the role of
the Catholic Press in the modern world. In all Its
various forms, from books to news-weeklies, the
Catholic Press forms an important link in the com
munications among Catholics, between clergy and
laity and between Catholics and our separated
brethren. In The Council in Action (Sheed and
Ward, 1963) Hans Kung's reflections on freedom
and frankness set an obvious standard for the
Catholic Press; "For everyone taking part In it,
the freedom of the Council is a great and decis
ive experience...Thus a virtue came Into Its own
again which had for long been almost forgotten in
the Church; the virtue of apostolic frankness. And
everyone felt what a liberating thing this frank
ness was, a liberation from fear, from sham,
from Inaction.
"THIS FEARLESS assertion of freedom in the
Council Is Indeed what Is needed If there Is to be a
true renewal of the Church... The Council's free
dom has not expressed Itself in negative, de
structive carping and rebellion, but has kept
pressing on to constructive proposals. The Coun
cil has thus so far manifested an astonishing
openess concerning the needs of the Church and
the world and the great tasks which cry out for
fulfillment today. There are indeed, as In every
reforming council, a conservative wing and a pro
gressive wing. But so far, even after violent de
bates, It has always been possible to re-estab
lish communications, and that in a fundamentally
frank and open relationship."
The Catholic Press comes close to fulfilling the
demands of its task, only when it takes as its pro
gram the assertion of freedom and "apostolic
frankness" exemplified by the Council Fathers.
Freedom and authority have very different bounds
in the several spheres of Catholic life and thought.
Many of the practical difficulties experienced by
those responsible for the Catholic Press arise
from their own or their readers’ misunderstand
ing of where these limits lie. In defined matters
of faith and morals we have the utmost, unques
tionable certitude of Catholic Faith. Yet, even here
freedom has a role. Theology can only remain
productive, if speculation within the bounds of de
fined doctrine is allowed to strive freely for new
insights and a deeper understanding of revealed
truth. Admittedly, this is not the concern of most
of the Catholic Press. Yet, the complaint is fre
quently heard that little freedom for new or mino
rity opinions is allowed in many American theolo
gical journals. Censorship of whatever species is
no substitute for mature and reasoned discussion,
even in theology, nor is It in the spirit of the Vati
can Council.
THE USUAL arena in which the relationship be
tween authority and freedom must be determined
by the Catholic Press is not theological in the
strict sense. It has to do with matters of disci
pline, of policy, of the application of principles
to concrete issues, either in strictly ecclesias
tical questions or problems in the secular order
which have moral implications. This can become
a complicated business, Indeed.
The first offense against Catholic freedom can
be labelled an exaggerated sacrallsm. Such an at
titude would deny the Church's right to speak on
any matter not immediately connected with her
domestic affairs. Within the Church, an exagge
rated clericalism would resent any expression of
opinion by a layman in matters of theology, morals,
liturgy, policy, and so forth. These errors are
basically one and the same. They represent a
supposed monopoly of certain subjects by certain
groups. Neither conforms even slightly to the con
ception of the Church presented authoritatively
by recent Popes.
Teaching authority and disciplinary jurisdiction
belong exclusively to the hierarchy, within very
definite limits. Even the supreme teaching au
thority of the Pope is limited, as Vatican Council
I made clear In its definition of papal infallibility.
The application of philosophical and moral princi
ples to concrete questions inevitably produces a
healthy diversity and can only be effective in an
atmosphere of free discussion. The Catholic Press
does and can not claim to share the apostolic
authority of the hierarchy. It must, if it is to be
true to its mission, attempt to make the connection
between the certitude of principle and the some
times problematic conjunction of principle with
practice. The Catholic Press will be successful to
the degree that it represents accurately to its
readers Catholic doctrinal and moral truth plus an
intelligent approach to current problems.
THOSE RESPONSIBLE for the Catholic Press
must both possess freedom and allow it. They
must courageously exercise their prerogative to
speak in a truly Catholic spirit on the real issues
and the hard problems that face us. The informa
tion they present must be accurate and complete.
At the same time, the temptation to create new or
thodoxies out of their particular school of opinion
must be avoided. Out of fear of a loss of populari
ty they cannot afford to avoid unpopular stands. No
failure of nerve may be allowed as an excuse to
temporize for political advantage. Editorial free
dom and responsibility go hand in hand.
Most importantly of all, perhaps, the Catholic
Press ought to be an instrument of freedom.
"Dialogue" has become a catchword of out time.
It is a good word, however, and a good idea. Dia
logue between Catholics and non-Catholics, be
tween clergy and laity, between conservative and
liberals - all can most effectively be promoted by
a free and freedom-respecting Catholic Press.
The formula involves intelligence, maturity,
charity and absolute commitment to the full im
plications of Catholic Faith.
AND AUDIENCES
Bishops Urge Maturity
For Film Makers
THE BISHOPS then turned
to the responsibility of
audiences, commenting that "to
have great artists in the film
medium, there must be a great
audience to receive them?"
The legion's efforts to this
end, they said, have included
giving special recommendat
ions to superior films and the
"more fundamental" policy of
urging film study in schools.
Recalling the endorsement of
film study in the council’s de
cree and in Pope Pius XII’s
encyclical Miranda Prorsus,
the statment said progress in
this area "has been slow but
there have been encouraging be
ginnings." It cited film study
courses and film festivals in
high schools, colleges and
seminaries.
at the same time, it
said, "high optimism is not
yet warranted." it blamed edu
cators for failing to appreciate
and act upon the importance of
the "communications revolut
ion" and said:
YOUNG people are still taught
as if films and television did
not really exist, as if the media
had influence neither upon the
formation of their lives nor
upon the molding of 20th century
culture and values. . . .
"In the past, when films were,
for the most part, escapist en
tertainment designed to appeal
to the most unlettered member
of the mass audience, educators
might have been permitted the
privilege of ignoring them, To
day they do so at the risk of
falling to assist young people
in developing a taste for the
good, the beautiful, the truly
human.
"As Christian educators they
ignore films at the risk
of rendering the good news of
salvation totally Irrelevant to a
confused world."
The Bishops emphasized that
moral ratings of films will con
tinue to be a principal function
of the National Legion of De
cency. "If legion services were
necessary in the past, they are
even more required today,"
they said.
THEY CALLED the record
of the American film industry
"entirely commendable" and
noted that last year 85% of
American movies were rated
by the legion as acceptable
for at least some segment of
the audience.
But, they added, "during the
past six months the national
office has been confronted with
efforts on the part of power
ful factions in Hollywood to re
vive the 'anything-goes' policy
of pre-Production Code days."
"If these producers were to
have their way, nudity and vari
ous forms of voyeurism would
become standard elements for
film treatment," the statement
declared.
A "new and far more seri
ous problem," it continued, is
"the growing tendency on the
part of some film-makers to
challenge the Judaeo-Christlan
vision of man."
WHILE THIS is more pro
nounced in some foreign films,
"nevertheless in Hollywood
productions there sre already
enough signs to Justify con
cern," it said. Specifically It
cited what it called "covert
attempts to condone and even
promote" premarital sexual in
dulgence. It accused films of
this sort of being "funda
mentally dishonest" in treat
ing this theme in a glamorized
and falsified manner.
Referring to the Legion of
Decency Pledge taken annually
by U. S. Catholics, the Bishops
noted that it does not impose
any new obligations but simply
puts into words the duties of
any sincere Christian in his
attitude toward films.
'The purpose of the pledge,"
they said, "is to provide Ca
tholics with the annual op
portunity of making a corporate
witness to their Faith in those
matters which pertain to a
mature and Christian choice of
film entertainment. By their
pledge they freely commit
themselves to a support of the
Legion's apostolate."
THE STATEMENT outlined
the legion's review operation
and said it merits "con
fidence." It noted that review
ers include movie critics
and other professional laymen,
priests, husband-wife teams,
student counselors, and the
Motion Picture Department of
the International Federation of
Catholic Alumnae.
"No film of any consequence
is classified without a qualitat
ive analysis and consideration
of the written opinion of 30 to
40 (frequently more) of these
reviewers," it said.
The Bishops' statement
pointed out that the ecumeni
cal council so far has adopted
two decrees—one on the liturgy
and one on the mass media. It
cone uded:
"Both documents are con
cerned with a world of signs
and symbols — the first di
rected to God, the second to
men. . .Through the liturgy we
live among the signs and sym
bols through which God speaks
to us and we to God. Through
the cinema we live among the
signs and symbols through
which man speaks to his fellow
man.
"May the signs and symbols
of the film medium speak to all
men of who they really are-
made in the image and sign of
God."
THE CHILDREN of SS. Peter and Paul School, Decatur, will present their second annual Spring
Festival on Sunday, April 19 at 3 p.m. in the school cafetorium.
The theme, "The Sound of Music Around the World", will feature through songs and folk dances,
the three vocal groups vWitlng such countries as England, Ireland, France, Canada and Mexico.
The finale will pay tribute to our own United States.
Student accompanists for the program will be Johannah Low, Paula Broyles, Mary Cebulski,
Angela Courchaine, Deborah Faust, and Mary Schmich.
All proceeds from this festival will be used to buy books for the newly-opened school library.
L - R. Front Row; Paula Broyles - Johanah Low Karen Knapp - Do'nald Norton.Standing in rear
Lawrence Hauch.
It’s all right, Father, he can drip dry!"
A HOUSE FOR GOD IN CHITTISSErV
CHITTISSEItY is a neilected village Ih Southern INDIA.
When It rains there on Sunday morning, moat of our Catholics
cannot get'to Maas . . . CHITTIS-
SERY has no chapel of lta own.
When the roads’ are flooded oil
Sunday morning, our Catholics can’t
walk to the chapel five miles away
. . .’ We have a priest in CI1ITTIS-
SERY—by name. FATHER AUGUS
TINE TIIATTIL—but we have no
houie for God. Would you like to
help us build one? . . . The land has
alreadv been purchased, the men
in CIIITTISSERY will volunteer
Tbt Holy Psibtr’j Mumo* Md-' their labor, but we need $2,500 for
for tht OrunulCkttKjf. building materials. Will you give
$1, $5, $100 for this house for God?'. . . Perhaps you’d like to
build this chapel all by yourself, as a MEMORIAL CHAPEL
fer a loved one. If so, please write to ns now . . .There are at
least 2,000 Catholics in CHITTISSERY, all of them poor laborers.
Please help.
THE WAY TO REMEMBER NAMES, we’re told, Is to link
them with people ami names we already know . . . When think
inp of the missions, remember this name: THE CATHOLIC
NEAR EAST WELFARE ASSOCIATION. Catholics are few in
our 18-eountry mission world—and part of that world is The
Holy Land . . . Want to help? Make yours a “Stringless Gift."
Tell us to use it wHere it’s needed most.
□
IT TAKES" A’ GOOD MEMORY to list quickly our 18 mission
countries. THr names of some begin with “1": Iraq, Iran, India.
The names of some begin with “E”: Egypt, Ethiopia. Eritrea .
Then there are the others: Cyprus, Syria, Lebanon, Turkey,
Greece, Palest’ :c, for instance . . . You can help in many ways:
□ By building a parochial school. Cost: $2,500 to $6,000.
By sending a DOLLAR A MONTH to one of our MIS
SION CLUBS—the DAMIEN CLUB <for lepers).
ORPHANS’ BREAD (food for orphans), PALACE OF
GOLD (care for the aged), MARY’S BANK (trains
Sisters), CHRYSOSTOM CLUB (trains future priests).
By Joining this Association. Offering: $1 a year for an
individual, $5 for a family. You share in the graces or
15,000 Masses.
sacred article for a mission chapel.
RADIO APPEAL
Vocation Prayer Urged
VATICAN CITY ^C)~ Pope
Paul VI has told the world's
Catholics that they have a duty
to foster vocations not only be
cause of the Church’s need for
them, but also because the num
ber of vocations to the priest
hood are a "precise and indis
putable index of the vitality of
the Faith."
In an appeal broadcast over
Vatican Radio on the World Day
of Prayer for Vocations (April
12), Pope Paul cited the words
of St. Matthews "The harvest
is great but the laborers are
few."
POPE PAUL also composed a
prayer asking God for an in
crease in vocations to commu
nities of Brothers and Sisters.
The Pope said that vocations
are few "compared to the in
creased necessities of pastoral
care." He added: "Few they
are in consideration of the exi
gencies of the modern world
with its uneasiness, its need for
light and guidance."
THE CHURCH, the Pontiff
said, stands in need of "teach
ers and directors who are pro
gressive yet sympathetic for
the past" as well as of voca
tions to care for "the great
numbers who have strayed from
Christian ideals and who are
indifferent...but who still need
to see in priests and Rellgous
the living example of a per
fect Christian life."
"Above all there is a great
need for dedicated hands on the
mission field, where so many
of our brothers need to be cate
chized, helped and consoled."
THE POPE said the voca
tion rate is an index to a peo
ple's Catholicity because
"where vocations to the priest
hood and religious life are abun
dant, there the people live gen
erously in accord with the Gos
pel. There, too, you find good
and fervent parents who are not
afraid, but rather happy and
honored, to give their children
to the Church."
In his prayer, Pope Paul ask
ed God that today's youth may
"share Your thirst for that uni
versal redemption for which
You daily renew Your sacrifice
upon the altar." The prayer
appealed for "many young men
who may prolong here Your
mission and edity Your Mystical
Body, the Church," and also
for "generous hearted young
women who may grow in their
desire for evangelical perfec
tion and may dedicate themsel
ves to the service of the Church
and their neighbors, who so des
perately need such assistance
and charity."
□
□
□
By donating a
Mass Kit $100
Altar $75
Vestments $50
Monstrance $40
By buying the dress, shoes
Chalice
$40
Stations
$25
Ciborium
$40
Censer
$20
Statue
$30
Linens
$15
Crucifix
$25
Bell
$5
veil for a little girl who next
month will receive
The coat: $10.
her FIRST HOLY COMMUNION.
REMEMBER THE SISTER who taught you in grammar schoo ?
Chances are. if she were near you now, you’d do anything in
the world for h*r» . . . One thtnu vou can do—in her memory,
as it were—is help train another Sister ... We need sponsor.*
for 547 vouna ladies who want to become Sisters. Two ol them
for 547 ywnguu i He#rt Convent Jn In(lla _ slS TEH MARY
CHARLES and SISTER MARY ST ANY . . . sponsor
Sister costs only $300 for the entire two-year training, oi $150
That’s less than the average smoker spends for
. please write to us.
year .
cigarettes
MASS STIPENDS ARE THE TYPICAL
ONLY MEANS OF DAILY SUPPORT.
MISSIONARY’S
Dear Monslgnor Ryan:
Enclosed please find..
Name
Street
.for.
Pltv
Zone
State
iMillear Sst 01isslonsj&
f KANCIS CARDINAL SPIUMAN, President
Mtfr. U»pk T. lyee,
Seed eit aemnealeetiees tet
CATHOLIC NIAK «AST WILPAKi ASSOCIATION
400 Lexington Avt. of 44th St» 1 N. Y.