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PAGE 2 GEORGIA BULLETIN THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 1964 IN ST. PETER’S BASILICA Pope Paul VTs Opening Address At Council’s Session POPE f aul VI opens the third session of Vatican Council II. He gestoria. In the background, the Council Fathers, prelates is shown being carried into St. Peter’s Basilica in the sede from all over the world, look on. Session began September 14. Following is a N.C.W.C. News Service translation of the Latin address delivered by Pope Paul VI to the opening meeting (Sept. 14) of the third session of the ecumenical council. Under the sign of the Holy Cross, in whose honor we have concelebrated holy Mass, we open today the third session of the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council. The Church is present here. We are the Church. We are the Church as members of the Mystical Body of Christ, for God has granted us the ines timable favor of being baptized, of being believers united by love and constituting the con secrated and visible people of God, We are the Church since we are ministers of the Church herself, priests invested with a special character received at our sacramental ordination. On us are conferred marve lous and tremendous powers, making of us a hierarchy en trusted with functions meant to perpetuate in time and to ex tend on earth the saving mis sion of Christ. We are the Church, finally, because as teachers of the Faith, pastors of souls, stewards of the mys teries of God (1 Cor. 4, 1 ), we represent here the entire Church, not as delegates or deputies of the faithful toward whom our ministry is directed, but as fathers and brothers who personify the communities entrusted to the care of each one of us, and as a plenary as sembly legitimately convoked by the Holy Father. THE POPE has called the council into session in his capa city, which links him with all of you, as your brother, the bishop of historic Rome, and as the humble but authentic successor of the Apostle Peter—before whose tomb we are devoutly gathered—and therefore as the unworthy but true head of the Catholic Church and Vicar of Christ, servant of the servants of God, Recapitulating in our persons and in our functions the univer sal Church, we proclaim this council ecumenical. Here is the exercise of the unity, here the" exercise of that universality by which the Church gives evidence of her prodigious vitality, her marvelous capacity to make men brothers and to welcome within her embrace the most di verse civilizations and langu ages, the most individualized liturgies and types of spiritual ity, the most varied expres sions of national, social and cultural genius, harmonizing all in felicitous union, yet always respecting legitimate variety and complexity. HERE IS the exercise of the holiness of the Church because here she calls on the mercy of God for the weaknesses and de ficiencies of the sinners thatwe a '-, and because here as no where else do we become aware of the power granted to our ministry to draw from the "un fathomable riches of Christ" (Eph, 3, 8) the treasures of sal vation and sanctification for all men. Here we realize that this min istry of ours has no other pur pose than to "prepare for the Lord a perfect people" £Lk, 1, 17). Here, finally, is made manifest the apostolicity of the Church, a prerogative which is a marvel even to us, to us who have experienced our own weak ness and who know how history bears witness to the frailty of even the most powerful of hu man institutions, AND AT the same time we know with what continuity and fi delity the mandate of Christ has been transmitted from the Apostles to our lowly and ever astonished persons. We know how inexplicably and how tri umphantly the Church has en dured throughout the ages, this Church which is ever living and always capable of finding in her self the irrespressible spirit of youth. At this point we can repeat with Tertullian: "It is the whole Christian world which is here represented and which we vene rate. And see how good it is that from all sides men are gathered because of faith in Christ! See how good and happy it is for brothers to dwell to gether! (De leunils, C. XIII; P,L. 11, 1024). NOW IF the Church is here, here also is the Spirit, the Ad vocate, whom Christ promised to His apostles for the building up of the Church: "I will ask the Father and He will give you another Advocate to dwell with you forever, the Spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you shall know Him, because He will dwell with you, and be in you" (Jn. 14, 16-17). For there are, as we know, two factors which Christ has promised and arranged in dif ferent ways to continue His mission, to extend in time and on earth the kingdom He found ed and to make of redeemed mankind His Church, His Mys tical Body, His fulness, in ex pectation of His definitive and triumphant return at the end of time. THESE TWO factors are the apostolate and the Spirit. The apostolate is the external and objective factor. It forms the material body, so to speak, of the Church and is the source of her visible and social struc tures. The Holy Spirit is the internal factor who acts within each per son, as well as on the whole community, animating, vivify ing, sanctifying. THESE TWO agents, the apostolate which is entrusted to the sacred hierarchy, and the Spirit of Jesus, which uses the hierarchy as its ordinary in strument in the ministry of the word and the sacraments, co operate with one another. Pen tecost shows them wonderful ly linked at the beginning of the great work of Jesus, who al though invisible remains ever present in His apostles and their successors, "whom He set over His Church as His shep herds and vicars” (Preface, Mass of apostles). These two agents, differently yet harmon iously, bear equal witness to Christ the Lord in a combina tion that confers on apostolic activity its supernatural force (Cf. 1 Pet. 1, 12). May we believe that the salvi- fic plan, by which the redemp tion of Christ reaches and is fulfilled in us, is even now in action? Yes, my brethren, we may believe, indeed, that this plan is continued and actuated by our means, in virtue of a pow er and sufficiency that comes from God, "who has made us fit ministers of the new conve- nant, not of the letter but of the spirit. , .which gives life" (2 Cor, 3, 6). To doubt this would be an insult to Christ’s faith fulness to His promises, a be trayal of our apostolic mandate, depriving the Church of her cer tainty, which the Divine Word has guaranteed and history has confirmed, and of her indefecti- bility. THE Spirit is here, not yet to confirm with sacramental grace the work which all of us, united in the council, are bring ing to completion, but rather to illuminate and guide our labors to the benefit of the Church and all mankind. The Spirit is here. We call upon Him, wait for Him, follow Him. The Spirit is here. Let us reflect on this doctrine and this present reality so that, above all, we may realize once more and in the fullest and most sublime degree possible our communion with the living Christ. It is the Spirit who Joins us to Him, Let us reflect on this truth also that we may put ourselves before Him in trepi dation, fully at His disposal; that we may become aware of the humiliating emptiness of our misery and the crying need we have of His help and mercy; that we may hear as if spoken in the secret recesses of our soul the words of the Apostle: "Discharging. . .this ministry in accordance with the mercy shown us, we do not lose heart" (2 Cor. 4, 1). THE council is forus a mom ent of deep interior docility, a moment of complete and filial adherence to the word of the Lord, a moment of fervent, earnest invocation and of love, a moment of spiritual exalta tion, To this unique occasion the poetic words of St, Ambrose apply with a special aptness: "Let us drink in joy the sober inebriation of the Spirit” (Hymn at Lauds). Such for us should be this blessed time of council. And finally we have this to say; The hour has sounded in history when the Church, which expresses herself in us and which from us receives struc ture and life, must say of her self what Christ intended and willed her to be, and what the age-long meditation of the fath ers, pontiffs and doctors in their wisdom has explored with piety and fidelity. The Church must give a definition of herself and bring out from her true con sciousness the doctrine which the Holy Spirit teaches her, ac cording to the Lord’s promise "but the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He will teach you all things and bring to your mind whatever I have said to you". (Jn, 14, 26). "The Spirit Himself gives testimony to our spirit that we are sons of God” (Rom. 8, 16). THUS must be completed the doctrine that the First Vatican Council was preparing to enun ciate, but which external ob stacles prevented it from de fining, except in its first part dealing with the head of the Church, the Roman pontiff, and his sovereign prerogatives re garding primacy of jurisdic tion and infallibility of teach ing, which Christ was pleased to bestow upon the Apostle Peter, His visible vicar on earth, and upon those who suc ceed him in so sublime and tremendous an office. The discussion on this doc trine remains to be completed, so as to explain the mind of Christ on the whole of His Church and especially on the nature and function of the suc cessors of the apostles, that is of the episcopate, with which dignity and office the greater part of you, venerable Fathers, and we ourselves, most rever end brothers, are of God’s good pleasure invested, THE council has many other important subjects to deal with, but this one seems to us to be the weightiest and most deli cate, The council’s delibera tions on this subject will cer tainly be what distinguishes this solemn and historic synod in the memory of future ages. It must undertake a number of difficult theological discussions. It must determine the nature and mis sion of the pastors of the Church, It must discuss, and with the favor of the Holy Spir it, decide the constitutional pre- orgatives of the episcopate. It must delineate the relations be tween the constitutional idea of the Holy See, It must show how homogeneous is the constitu tional idea of the Church under its differing Eastern and Wes tern expressions. Itmustmake clear for the faithful of the Catholic Church and also for the separated brethren the true notion of the hierarchical or gans in which "the Holy Spirit has placed you as bishops to rule the Church of God” (Acts 20, 28), with the bretheren, as becomes pastors—minis ters, that is—of faith and char ity. These thoughts are all the more important for us, and certainly for you, venerable brothers, because of the fact that this third session of the ecumenical council has chosen from among its many concerns this central objective: to in vestigate and clarify the doc trine of the nature of the Church, thus resuming and integrating the work done in the first two sessions, and making this solemn synod the logical con tinuation of the First Vatican Council. AT this point the Church wants to study itself, or rather probe into the mind of Christ, its divine Founder: Just what and how much to say in order to honor His wisdom and char ity and, by restoring to Him the full practice of its faith and fidelity, to render itself an even more fit instrument in the work of salvation for which it was founded. But in case anyone should think that in doing this the Church is closing it on itself in an attitude of complacency, for getting on the one hand Christ, from whom it receives every thing and to whom it owes every thing, or on the other hand hu manity, to whose service it is committed, it places itself be tween Him and the world, not satisfied with itself, not as a forbidding barrier, not as an end in itself, but deeply con cerned to be completely the Church of Christ and for Christ, as well as completely the Church of men, among men and for men, humble and yet glor ious, the Church of the Saviour and yet reaching out to all men, preserving and yet diffusing the truth and the grace of the su pernatural life, IN our time which seems to be blessed in a special way, this seems to be all the more true and important, for today the inquiry concerning the Church will have a point of great interest for us, and es pecially for you, namely the hierarchic structure of the Church itself, and consequent ly the origin, nature, function and power of the episcopate, which is a major part of the hierarchy, in which with us "the Holy Spirit has made you bishops. . .to keep watch. . . over God’s Church” (cf. Act 20, 28). And so we have in mind to tune in with a plan of Divine Provi dence in celebrating this his toric moment by giving to you, our venerated and beloved brothers in the episcopate, the honor which Our Lord desired to be shown to the apostles to gether with Peter. THE FATHERS of the First Vatican Council defined and proclaimed the truly unique and supreme powers conferred by Christ on Peter and handed on to his successors. This recogni tion has appeared to some as having limited the authority of bishops, the successors of the Apostles, and as having rend ered superfluous and prevented the convocation of a subsequent ecumenical council, which, however, according to canon law has supreme authority over the entire Church. The present ecumenical synod is certainly going to confirm the doctrine of the previous one re garding the prerogatives of the Roman pontiff. But it will also have as its principal objective the task of describing and hon oring the prerogatives of the episcopate. LET every one understand that the convocation of this council has been a free and spontaneous act on the part of our venerated predecessor of happy memory, John XXIII, an act which we have readily con firmed, knowing full well that the theme of this sovereign and sacred assembly would deal with the episcopate. It could not have been otherwise, taking into consideration not only the proper inter-connection of the doctrines concerned but also because of a sincere determi nation to proclaim the glory, the mission, the merits and the friendship of our brothers en trusted with the work of in trusting, sanctifying and gov erning the Church of God. Let us repeat as our own those well-known words which our distant and saintly predecessor of immortal memory, Gregory the Great, wrote to Eulogius, Bishop of Alexandria: "My hon or is the honor of the universal Church. My honor is the strength of my brothers. I am thus truly honored when the honor due to each and everyone of them is not denied to them” (8, 30., P.L., 77,933). THE integrity of catholic truth now calls for clarification con sonant with the doctrine of the papacy which will place in its splendid light the role and man date of the episcopate. In its work of tracing the outlines of such a role and such a mandate, the council will be anxious about nothing except interpreting the thought of Jesus Christ at its true source and genuine origin. We have already had the pleasure of recognizing in the bishops our true brothers, ad dressing them, as the Apostle Peter did, as "elders,” and gladly claiming for ourselves the equivalent title of "fellow elder" (1 Pt. 5, 1). We have had the pleasure of addressing to them the words of the Apos tle Paul: "My partners in tri bulations and consolations" (Cf. 2 Cor, 1, 7). We have been anxious to reassure them of those religious convictions that characterize our relations with them: esteem, affection, soli darity. We are bound by our duty to recognize them as the teach ers, rulers and sanctifiers of the Christian people, the "stew ards of the mysteries of God" (1 Cor. 4, 1), the witnesses to the Gospel, the ministers of the New Testament and, in a certain sense, the very re flection of the glory of the Lord (Cf. 2 Cor. 3, 6-18). AS successors of Peter and, therefore, as possessors of full power over the entire Church, we have the duty of heading the body of the episcopate, although we are surely unworthy of this dignity. Nevertheless, our po sition in no way defrauds you, our brother bishops, of your due authority. On the contrary, we are among the first to re spect that sacred authority. If our apostolic duty obliges us to impose restrictions, to define terminology, to prescribe modes of action, to regulate the methods which concern the ex ercise of episcopal authority, you realize that this is done for the good of the entire Church, for the unity of that Church which has proportionately greater need of centralized leadership as its worldwide ex tension becomes more com plete, as more serious dangers and more pressing needs threatens the Christian people in the varying circumstances of history and, we may add, as more rapid means of commu nication become operative in modern times. No one should regard such centralization as a device for^ mulated by pride. Centraliza tion will surely be always tem pered and balanced by an alert and timely delegation both of authority and of facilities for local pastors. We assure you, our brothers in the episcopate, that this centralization is rath er a service and a manifesta tion of the unifying and hierar- chical spirit of the Church. It is the glory, the power, the beauty which Chirst promised to His Church and which He grad ually grants to it as the ages run their course. APROPOS of this topic, we can recall the words which Pius XII of happy memory ad dressed to a certain group of bishops: **This union and this timely communication with the Holy See arises, not from a kind of longing to achieve centraliza tion and homogeneity, but rath er from the divine law itself and from a truly fundamental principle affecting the very es sence of the Church of Christ” (A.A.S., 1954, P. 676). Such centralization streng thens rather than weakens the authority of bishops, whether that authority be considered in the individual bishop or in the colleglallty of the bishops. 0 how deeply we admire, how stanchly we support the rights and duties proper to the sacred hierarchy, which is the very Instrument, born of the charity of Christ, and fashioned by Him to complete, to communicate, and to safeguard the integral and fruitful transmission of the Treasures of Faith, of example, of precepts, and of favors be queathed by Christ to His Church! THE hierarchy is the mother of the community of the faithfiil. It is the architect of its visible framework. It is the public rej>- resentative which wins for the Church the titles of mother and teacher. It is the bearer of the riches of the sacraments, the conductor of the symphony of prayer, the inspiration of works of charity. Placed at the head of the sac red institution, how could we to devote to it our solicitude, our trust, our support? How could we fail to defend it? What duty presses upon us with great er frequency, with graver con sequence, or with deeper satis faction than that of safeguard ing the independence, the free dom, the dignity of sacred hier archy throughout the world? Is it not true that this exhausting task has been the very fabric from which has been woven the tapestry of the history of the papacy, especially in these years of political upheavals? LET us add one further thought to this tribute to the episcopate in order to show how much its intrinsic nobility and its effec tive charity are enhanced by the harmonious unity which must bind it in dose union with the Apostolic See, and how much the Apostolic See needs you, venerable brothers. For your part, dispersed as you are all over the world, if you are to give shape and sub stance to the true catholicity of the Church, you have need of a center, a principle of unity in faith and communion, a uni fying power, such as, in fact, you find in this Chair of Peter. Similarly, we need to have you always nearby, to give more ful ly to the coutenance of the Apos tolic See its beauty, its human and historic reality, even to give harmony to its faith, to be an example in the fulfilment of its duties and a consolation in its times of stress. SO that, while we look forward to the dearer definition which the council’s deliberations will give to the doctrine of the epis copacy, we hear and now pay you honor, pledge to you our af fection as brother and father, and ask of you cooperation and support. May the communion, which binds together the Cath olic hierarchy in living faith and charity, emerge from this council deeper, stronger and more holy. It will be to the glory of Christ, the peace of the Church and the light of the world. There is much more we would like to say on this question and on many others of the first im portance which have been brought up for the attention of the council, but we do not wish to tax your patience. HOWEVER, we cannot forego the pleasure of sending a spec ial greeting at this moment from this Holy See to the var ious dioceses and parishes which you represent here; first of all to our beloved and esteem ed priests who labor so unself ishly in collaboration with their bishops; and to Religious, striv ing for every perfection that will make them like Christ and of service to their fellow men; to the Catholic laity, working with the hierarchy for the good of the Church and for the good of so ciety; to the poor, the perse cuted and the suffering; and especially to those whom the lack of freedom still prevents from coming to this council. We wish also to welcome the auditors here present. Their high ideals and outstanding merits are not secret to us. And we are delighted to welcome among the auditors our beloved daughters in Christ, the first women in history to partici pate in a conciliar assembly. The auditors—both men and women—will not be slow to rea lize that behind this welcome of ours lifes our fatherly love for all groups who make up the people of God, our desire to give the Christian community an ever-increasing sense of harmony, collaboration and charity. AND now we turn to you, the observers, with reverence and esteem, for you have once more accepted our invitation to attend the council. We welcome and thank you. We wish to assure you once more of our purpose and hope to be able one day to remove every obstacle, every misunderstanding, every hesi tancy that still prevents us from feeling hilly "of one heart and one soul” in Christ, in His Church (Acts 4, 32). For our part, we shall do everything possible to this end. We are fully aware that the restoration of this unity is something of no small moment, and we shall give it all the at tention and the time that it calls for. It is something new, in contrast with the long, sad history which led up to the var ious separations, and we shall wait patiently for the condi tions to ripen that will make possible a positive and friendly solution. It is something, too, •of deepest: significance, hav ing its roots in the mysterious counsels of God, and we shall strive, in humility and faith, to dispose ourselves to deserve so great a grace. WE recall the words of the Apostle Paul, who brought the gift of the Gospel to all nations, seeking to become ' all things to all men" (1 Cor. 9, 22), such an adaptability as we might today be tempted to call "plu ralism in practice." At the same time we recall how the same apostle has exhorted us to "preserve the unity of the Spir it in the bond of peace" because there is only "One Lord, one faith, one Baptism, one God and Father of all” (Eph. 4, 2, 5-6), We shall therefore strive, in loyalty to the unity of Christ’s Church, to understand better and to welcome all that is gen uine and admissible in the dif ferent Christian denominations that are distinct from us. And at the same time we beg of them to try to understand the Catholic Faith and life better and, when we invite them to en ter into the fulness of truth and charity which, as an unmerited blessing but a formidable re sponsibility, Christ has charged us to preserve, we beg them not to take it in bad part, but as being prompted by respect and brotherly love. For that fulness of truth and charity will be made the more manifest when all those who profess the Name of Christ are re-assembled into one. MEANWHILE, through you, our reverend and esteemed guests and observers in this council, we wish to send our cordial greetings to the various Christian communities which you represent. May our re spectful regard also reach those which are not represented here. We gather together in our pray er and our affections all those members who are still parted from the full spiritual and vis ible wholeness of the Mystical Body of Chirst; and in this yearning of our love and con cern, our sorrow grows, our hopes increase. 0 churches that are so far and yet so close to us, churches for whom our heart is filled with longing, churches that are the nostalgia of our sleepless nights, churches of our tears and of our desire to do you hon or gy our embrace in the sin cere love of Christl 0 MAY you hear, sounding from this keystone of unity, the tomb of Peter, apostle and mar tyr, and from this ecumenical council of brotherhood and peace, the loving cry we send you! Maybe great distances still separate us, maybe Itwlll be long before our full and ef fective meeting can be realiz ed. But know for sure that al ready we hold you in our heart. May the God of mercies sup port our deeply felt yearning and hope. And finally may our thoughts go out to the world about us, with its own Interests, also with its indifference, perhaps even its hostility. We renew the greeting which we addres sed to it from Bethlehem with our resolute purpose of placing the Church at the service of its spiritual salvation and of its social prosperity, to bring it peace and true happiness. We invite you all now, vene rable brothers, to call upon the Holy Spirit together, as we make ready to inaugurate the third session of this Second Vatican Council, and in the name of the Lord, with trust in the help of Mary Most Holy and of the holy apostles, Peter and Paul, we bestow upon you all our apostolic blessing. Seminary Fund Remember the SEMINARY FUND of the Archidocese of Atlanta in your Will. Bequests should be made to the “Most Reverend Paul J. Hallinan, Archbishop of the Catho lic Archdiocese .of Atlanta and his successors in office". Participate in the daily prayers of our semi narians and in the Masses offer ed annually for the benefactors of our SEMINARY FUND.