Newspaper Page Text
7
• a
FIRST OF A SERIES
THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 24, 1964 GEORGIA BULLETIN PAGE
Footsteps On The Council-Great Decisions
BY ARCHBISHOP PAUL J. HALL IN AN
OUR AWARENESS OF THE CHURCH
For two years, we have become conscious of
changes in the old Church we know and love. It
still stood there, sturdy and serviceable, rather
grimy in the urban centers, rather glossy in the
suburbs. The structure was basically the same
that our parents and grandparents knew. The laity
was “under” the clergy in doctrine, morals and
worship; the priests “under” the bishops; the
bishops ' under” the Pope. All was well.
But was it really? In another country, France,
the Archbishop of Paris had looked carefully at the
Church of the war years, and the world that lay
around it. Then, in the 1940’s, Emmanuel Su-
hard wrote a series of pastoral letters, — in
‘The Parish Community”, "GrowthorDedine”,
'The Meaning of God”, “Priests Among Men”.
What he wrote pierced the hearts of many French
Catholics; his influence spread through Europe and
America. With the dreams of Christian priests
and laymen and the pronouncements of Pope Pius
XII, the Suhard thesis became the Catholic blue
print for a renewal of the Church. The Second
Vatican Council, in its decrees, is energizing the
ideals of Suhard and others.
Because all is not well. Why do some Catholics
resent the efforts of their bishops and pastors to
preach full equality and justice for the Negro?
Why do scholarly Catholics feel that the Church
is not interested in the intellectual questions of
our times?' Why do the faithful so often prefer
private devotions to the public Liturgy of the Mass?
Why did it take so long for our schools to absorb
the social guidelines of Leo XIII, the scriptural
promptings of Pius XII, the Ecumenical spirit of
John XXIII?
In opening this third session of the Council, Pope
Paul points to the reason: “the humiliating empti
ness of our misery, and the crying need we have
of His help and mercy.” IftheChurch in the Unit
ed States is not understood by those of other faiths
(as the presidential campaign of 1960 clearly
showed), is it because it is not sufficiently un
derstood by us who are its members?
The Schema on the Church opened the debate
this third decisive session. Pope Paul who put
“awareness of the Church” first in his opening
address of 1963 and in his first Encyclical, The
Paths of the Church, has called this Schema “the
weightiest and most delicate of all.” Cardinal Bea,
who has come to be reckoned by Catholics, Pro
testants and Jews as a fatherly guide, explains
the long debate on it by his insistence that it is
the “most important document of Vatican II.”
What questions does it involve? As Paul VI has
stated:
' The hour has sounded in history when
the Church,. . .must say of herself
what Christ intended and willed her
to be. . . .The Church must give a
definition of herself and bring out
from her true consciousness the doc
trine which the Holy Spirit teaches
her.”
The Holy Father in addressing the council mem
bers asked the Church “to study itself or rather
probe into the mind of Christ; its divine Founder”
so that it may be an “even more fit instrument
in the work of salvation for which it was found
ed.” But it will not be a tight, inclusive, legalis
tic definition. Christ who formed it for all men, on
the one hand; and humanity, “to whose service it
is committed”, both forbid such a notion.
In the beginning, things were different.The con
cern of Christ and His Apostles wasfirstwith the
internal, spiritual development of the Soul toward
God. The Gospel of Christ is studded with passages
which call for such interior dedication, the Beati
tudes, the Two Great Commandments, the Par
ables. “Seek you first the Kingdom, and all
these other things will be added to you.”
Likewise, St. Paul spoke of Christ’s Mystical
Body, not as a legal, external organization, but a
body in unity of function and goal. The bishop, the
priest, the layman were to serve in a ministry of
love. Likewise, St. Gregory the Great, writing to
an Egyptian bishop, said: “My honor is the honor
of the Universal Church, My honor is the strength
of my brothers.” St. Thomas Aquinas called the
Holy Eucharist the focal point, the sacrament of
unity.
No one questioned the need of authority and,obe
dience, the preservation of the Word and the neces
sity of the Sacraments. But it was not until these
were repudiated by some of the reformers of the
sixteenth century that a shift in the definition of the
Church became noticeable. St. Robert Bellarmine,
to whom we owe much for the conservation of the
Church’s identity in the post-reformation days,
spoke from the beleaguered position of Catholi
cism in a chaotic Europe. His definition read:
'The one true Church is the Com
munity of men gathered together by
the profession of the true faith, com
munion in the same sacraments, and
under the government of legitimate
pastors, and principally the one Vicar
ofChnstonearth, the Roman Pontiff.”
Every word of that is true — but it does not go
far enough. It held the line against the attacks of
heresy, but it does not serve today. It puts empha
sis mainly on external conformity: outward pro
fession, outward sanctification and outward obe
dience.
The new Schema on the Church has eight chap
ters:
The Mystery of the Church, Written in language
rich in Scriptures, this chapter places the Church
in its proper relationship to God, Father, Son and
Holy Spirit. The Mystical Body of Christ is beauti
fully and effectively described, starting with St.
Paul and carrying us down to the encyclical of
Pius on that subject. The whole chapter makes a
little silly theexpession, “I belong to the Catholic
Church.” As you read it, your response will prob
ably be: “I am the Catholic Church, apart of it.”
The People of God, Here the Fathers will dip
into the Old Testament and God’s covenant with
His people. Members of the Church are defined in
these terms, adding a clarification of the phrase
“the priesthood of the laity,” and showing how the
sacraments make possible and enhance this
priesthood. The gift of charisms, special revela
tions possible to every order of the Church, will
be carefully explained.The Schema closes with re
freshing words on the place of non-Catholics and
non-Christians in the overall use of the term,
“the people of God.”
The Hierarchy. Only in an abstract, text-book
sort of manner will the old charts on the Church’s
government now survive. The whole sense of this
debate will center on Service and Ministry, be
cause the Son of Man came to minister, not to be
ministered to. The sharing of the responsibility of
the Pope with the bishop is called *'collegiality”.
This is examined in terms of Christ, Peter and
the other Apostles, then the application is made to
the Church today, Christ, the Pope and the Bishop.
The three—fold task of the Episcopacy—-teaching,
sanctifying and ruling, is to be explored. At the
urging of a number of bishops, notably Archbishop
William Conway of Armagh, Ireland, a much-need
ed section on priests has been added.
The Laity: It used to be said that only two can
ons out of some 2200 in Canon Law referred to
laymen, and the only available definition was “a
person who is not a cleric.” Articles 30-38 now
. spell out the all-important role of the laymen in
the Church, defining him in much more positive
terms, underlining his dignity as a member of the
People of God. His apostolic life, his witness of
Christ, his royal service of Christ the King, his
relation to the hierarchy—all these topics are in
cluded. The older role of layman in the choir,
classroom and collection basket (still very neces
sary) and his newer role as lector and commenta
tor in the liturgy (even more necessary) will sure
ly be enhanced as the decrees of Vatican II begin
to take effect.
The Universal Vocation to Sanctify: Religious
Orders, The Eschatology of the Church (her
heavenly destiny), The Blessed Virgin Mary in the
Mystery of Christ and the Church.
These chapters each has a logical place in this
vital Schema, and the thinking Catholic will want to
follow the debate, and study carefully the final
form of the decrees. In next week's article, a
summary of some points of the debate will be
given, with special attention to the interests of our
people. Already, Cardinal Suenens has objected to
the procedure for the beatification of Saints: too
long, too expensive and too centralized. Fathers of
both the Eastern Rite and Western Rite have
claimed that the Holy Spirit is underemphasized.
The Cardinal said the chapter on Eschatology en
riched the whole Schema, but an Archbishop said it
should be totally omitted because it said nothing
not already known. And, although the chapter deals
with the Church in heaven, two bishops thought it
should include hell. The Church — in hell I
There are new procedures now, and more effi
cient presentations. Certain features of the Ses
sion are disappointing—the restrictions of the U.S.
Press Panel, the outside pressures and inside
leaks about the statement on the Jews. But there
are very encouraging signs: the opening concele-
brated Mass of the Pope and twenty-four Bishops
including our own Archbishops Shehanand Krol;
Pope Paul’s stress on collegiality; the new word
against civil interference in concordats; the pro
gressive work of the new Liturgy Consilium.
Only one topic seems to have earned a “non
placet” of practically all the Bishops. They don’t
like the new hour of opening the coffee-bar, 11
a.m. In the earlier Sessions, the counter provided
all sorts of coffee, and (I was glad to note) Coca-
Cola plus light pastries. It was a great place to
gather and discuss the Schemata especially while
one Council Father at the microphone was saying
what had already been stated a dozen times.
Maybe the 11 a.m. opening is a move to dis
courage the Bishops. We'll know, if this becomes
the last Session.
BRANAN & SCHMITZ REALTY CO.
4641 Roswell Rd. N. E.
Atlanta, Georgia
255-7770
BUYING OR SELLING A HOUSE? contact
Branan & Schmitz for qualified personal
service! Specialists in AREAS I & II -
Residential Sales - Acreage - Insurance - Leases'
POPES PRIMACY INVOLVED
Collegiality Is Major Issue
In Current Council Debate
HnJuAance in all iti jjOsunj!
ty i£i uMiitten, we wsute it . . .
Sutter & McLettan
1422 RHODES HAVERTY BLDG.
JAckson 5-2086
WHERE INSURANCE IS A PROFESSION NOT A SIDELINE
What’s The Good Word
"Beat Kitchen Drudgery”
Make A Date....
It’s Fun To Eat Out
And Then Go To The Game
St. Pius X High School
v/s
Russell High School
•The St. Pius X Athletic Assn.
Is Sponsoring A Fish Dinner Friday Oct
ober 2nd At The School Cafetorium 10
M To Help Equip The Concession Stand
At Joe Bean Stadium
Dinner Starting At 5:00 P.M.
And Serving Until Game Time
Adults *1.25
Students .75
BY PATRICK RILEY
(N.C.W.C. NEWS SERVICE)
VATICAN CITY—The pros
and cons of collegiality—the
supreme power of the College
of Bishops to teach, rule and
sanctify the Church— came
vividly befor e the council
Fathers in a capsule debate
organized by officials of the
council (Sept. 21).
The outstanding point at issue
was whether this teaching would
weaken or endanger the Pope’s
primacy in any way.
BISHOP Frane Franic of Split,
Yugoslavia, declared that it
would. Archbishop Pietro
Parente, number two admini
strator of the Congregation of
the Holy Office, denied this.
Both men spoke on behalf of
the council’s Doctrinal Com
mission, which drew up the
draft of th e constitution **De
Ecclesia” (On the Church ), in
corporating the concept of
collegiality.
This departure from the cus
tomary procedure inpresenting
a schema was ordered by the
council’s coordinating commis
sion, the presidents and mode
rators. Instead of the usual an
nouncement explaining the
schema as it stood.
ARCHBISHOP Parente pre
sented the commission’s de
fense on the subject of colle
giality while Auxiliary Bish
op Luis Henriquez Jiminez of
Caracas presented the com
mission’s defense of a perman
ent and non-celibate diaconate.
This debate occupied so much
of the council’s time that only
five council Fathers were able
to continue regular debate and
only four of an announced six
votes could be taken.
THE FIRST speaker in the
regular debate was Paul-Emile
Cardinal Leger of Montreal who
said paternalism in the hier
archy is outmoded. He got ap
plause when he urged that the
council consider revising $e
dress and titles of clerics.
The first vote was on the
text stating that the bishops
are the successors of the
apostles and the Pope is the
successo r of St. Peter. This
was passed by 2,166 to 53
with one null.
THE SECOND vote was on a
passage declaring that the
apostles were organized in the
manner of a college with Peter
in charge, to exercise the
mission of salvation in the
world. This passed by a small
er majority—2,012 in favor,
191 against, with three null.
In the course of the meeting,
Archbishop Parente informed
the council Fathers that two
of their number had died earl
ier that day—Archbishops Josef
Gawlina and Leone Nigris, both
of the Roman curia. Recalling
that Archbishop Gawlina had
spoken before the council in
praise of the Blessed Virgin
only four days earlier, Arch
bishop Parente voiced a pray
er that the Polish prelate would
be received by her in heaven.
EUGENE Cardinal Tisserant,
dean of the College of Cardinals
and Chairman of the council
of the presidency, complained
that certain council experts
were violating the restrictions
imposed on them by giving con
ferences and that some mem
bers of the doctrinal com
mission had distributed litera
ture criticizing thestatements
that were to be presented that
day on collegiality.
Archbishop Pericle Felici
announced that the doctrinal
commission had requested that
Bishop Franic’s statement list
ing objections to chapter three
of the schema be presented
along with the statements in de
fense of it.
FRANZISKL’S Cardinal Koe
nig of Vienna, who introduced
the statement defending the
text, declared that the two
statements, for and against,
were not to be understood as
majority and minority reports
from the doctrinal commission.
He said the entire commission
had approved the text of both
statements.
(However, Bishop John J.
Wright of Pittsburgh, a mem
ber of the doctrinal com
mission, told newsmen at a
meeting of the U . S. Bish
ops’ Press Panel, that Bishop
Franic “spoke in a great part
for himself. It was not s mi
nority report. It was the mind
of the commission unanimously
that Archbishop Parente’s re-
latio (statement) presented the
mind of the commission.”
(Bishop Wright said than
Bishop Franic asked if he could
state the “difficulties lingering
in the mind of a few.”)
BISHOP Franic’s objections
were directed against the con
cepts of the sacramentality of
the episcopate and episcopal
collegiality and the restorat
collegiality and the restorat
ion of a permanent diaconate,
eith married or celibate.
He admitted that most
theologians agree the epis
copacy has sacramentality with
the impression of a distinct
character. But he felt the ques
tion was not yet sufficiently
settled for a conciliar state
ment.
TURNING to collegiality, he
said the doctrine stated in the
schema does not safeguard the
Drop Usual Act
Of Contrition
SAGINAW, Mich. (NC)—Pen
itents in the Saginaw diocese no
longer are asked to make an act
of contrition in confession.
Instead the priest asks: “Are
you truly sorry for these sins
and do you intend not to commit
them for the future?” An affir
mative answer is taken as an ex
pression of the required dispo
sition of sorrow. The penitent
then listens as the priest re
cites the absolution in English.
English now is used in the
administration of all sacra
ments and sacramentals in the
diocese.
teaching on papal primacy of
the First Vatican Council. If
the bishops were to receive
full and supreme power from
Christ Himself by virtue of
their episcopal consecration,
and are sharers even on a su
bordinate level of this supreme
power, a diminishing of the
Pope's primacy would be in
evitable, he held.
The schema uses Scripture
and tradition to buttress its
teaching that the episcopate
power has supreme power by
divine institution, Bishop Fran
ic said. But he asserted that the
schema’s basic Scriptural proof
from St. Matthew, (18, 18) fails
to establish that the power there
given to Peter was also given
to the apostolic college unit
ed to its head. He said the
Pontifical Biblical Commiss
ion, in its reply to a question
on this very point, backed him
up.
(In May Archbishop Felici
asked the Biblical commission
to give its opinion on whether
the Bible offers sufficient basis
for doctrine of collegiality. The
commission had four days in
which to reply. In an opinion
saigned only by those of its
consultors who live in Rome,
the commission said it is not
clear that the Bible gives
foundation for the doctrine of
collegiality.)
BISHOP Franic said “many
Fathers” are convinced that
tradition offers no proof for
collegiality. All arguments
marshaled from tradition in the
schema were known to the early
Church fathers and teachers,
and especially to the popes,
yet all affirm that only the pope
has fqll power received im
mediately from Christ, while
the bishops take power im
mediately from the pope and
only indirectly from Christ.
Bishop Franic rejected the
distinction that these Popes
were speaking only of the exer
cise of jurisdiction and not of
the jurisdiction itself.
HE ADMITTED that the pro-
CONT1NUED ON PAGE 8
MEMENTO OF COUNCIL OPENING—The gold-lace stole
showm above was worn by Pope John XXIII when he opened
the first session of Vatican Council II in St. Peter's Basilica
on October 11, 1962. Only shortly before his death, Pope
John directed that the stole be sent to the United States as
a gift to the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception
in Washington, D. C. The stole has been on loan from the
Shrine for exhibition in the Vatican Pavilion at the New
York World’s Fair.
. . x v. •: tfflflwi •••
x. . x%. v .%•.\.
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.
JUHAN'S CLEANERS
Expert - P*r*onaB*ed Bcrrlc*
Olven to RVery Garment Coming
Into Oyr Plant
in n. Mai* at. ro.
Oada— Pvt Oa.
•Rujr Vt.ur aiax Prow Has" *
man METZIL. Owner
MAX'S MEN'S SHOPS
o4 Peachtree Industrial llvd.
Chamhtee RJata (hopping Center
Phone eSl-UU
*TS Peachtree. N E.
Phone TP e-flJM — At lOUi *t.
prei inspectionYcall CE. 7-W94
Strvint Atlanta Since 1912
• PRINTING
^ •LITHOGRAPHING
COMRax/vy
550 FORREST ROAD, N. E., ATLANTA, GEORGIA • TRinity 5-4727
Office Equipment Business Machines
Sales-Service-Supplies
PHONE 525-6417
PHONE 525-6417
172 WHITEHALL STREET, S.W.
ATLANTA 3, GEORGIA
•dee StucU&
WEDDINGS
PORTRAITS
COMMERCIAL
BLACK - WHITE AND NATURAL COLOR
1164 N. HIGHLAND AVE., N.E.
ATLANTA, GA.
TR 6-3716
WE SPECIALIZE IN FINE WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY.
OUT OF TOWN ASSIGNMENTS ACCEPTED
IGNATIUS HOUSE
RETREATS IV JESUIT PRIESTS
Weekends For Men
And
Weekends For Women
6700 Riverside Drive N. W. 255-0503
Atlanta, Georgia 30328
C you Can Eat!!
shrimpMlobster
2 75 j CROSS ROADS j 3 75
“Where Peachtree Meets Spring” Complete Sea Food Menu
Free Parking— TRinity 5-2288 and Your Favorite Beverage
OPIN DAILY 'TILL MIDNIGHT-MKM»ft AMERICAN EXPRESS