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PACE 2 GEORGIA BULLETIN THURSDAY, OCTOBER 1, 1964 MOTHER’ OR MEDIATRIX ' Council Fathers Face Big Problem In Marian Debate BY REV. GEORGE H. TAV^RD (N. C. W. C. News Service) ROME—The last chapter of the schema on the Church has presented the council Fathers with a thorny problem. It is devoted to the Virgin Mary, under the title; "The Blessed Virgin Mary, Bearer of God (Deipara), in the Mystery of Christ and the Church." It replaces the formerly indepen dent schema on Mary. DISCUSSION of the new text occupied more than two days of debate by the council Fathers. The d ibate centered on two points; Can Mary be called "Mother of the Church?" Should the schema speak of her as "Mediatrix?" The sharp divergence of opinion expressed on the chapt er must now be reconciled by the Theological Commission and brought back to the council Fathers for a vote. THE question of the mother hood of Mary in relation to the Church is not raised by the pre sent text of the schema, but by the absence of that ex pression from its title. For the phrase, p "Mother of the Church," appeared in the last version of the formerly sepa rate schema on Mary. It was not in the original version, but only in the second, and it has now been omitted. The new title corresponds to the votes of the bishops during the second coun cil session, when it was deci ded to treat the topic of Mar- iology in the context of the mystery of the Church. However, Mariologistsfollow two main tendencies, called "Christo-typical" and "Ec- clesio-typical." THE first sees Mary as a beautiful imitation of Christ and describes her holiness, her function and her privileges on the pattern of the correspond ing qualities and functions of Jesus. The second sees her as the image of the Church, and un derstands her meahing in the history of salvation on the model of the meaning and place of the Church. THE current title of the chap ter therefore shows one pur pose of the text; to follow a middle way between Christo- typical and Ecclesio-typical Mariolcgies by drawing on the insights erf both. The fact that the bishops’ speeches have not been concerned with this, indi cates that the synthesis of the two points of view has been fair ly successful. The bishops who have asked for a return to the title of Mary as "Mother of the Church" have done it on two grounds. ON THE one hand, this title seems to them likely to increase the devotion of Catholics. But Augustin Cardinal Bea, presi dent of the Secretariat for Pro moting Christian Unity, felt it necessary to state that the question before the council is not the devotion of anybody but the accuracy of doctrine. On the other hand, this title has been advocated because it has been found by some speakers to be identical with the title, universally recognized, of Mary "Mother of the faithful." A MONG the more doubtful ar guments used to support the title, "Mother of the Church," it has been said that the Church is the family of God, in which there must be a mother. Obv iously, this literal understand ing of the word "family" takes no account of the symbolic or analogical use erf theological terms. It has also been said that Mary must be the "Mother of the Church," since she is al ready the "Mother erf all men, the Mother of Protestants, erf Mohamedans, of unbeliev ers," and so forth. REDUCED to its theological proportions, the problem is simple. Does such a title correspond to the Church’s tradition? As was pointed out by Bishop Sergio Mendez Arceo erf Cue rnavaca, Mexico, there a re two known instances of this title being used in the 9th and the 10th centuries. The bishop could not find other uses of it until the end of the 19th century, with Pope Leo XIIL Recently Pope Paul VI invit ed theologians to find out if this appellation could be used meaningfully. An invitation to study this title implies at least that its legitimacy is not obvious to the Pope. THE contents of such a title depend primarily on one’s un derstanding of the Church. If the Church is seen simply as the organ and channel of salva tion, Mary could be called Mother of the Church. By bring ing Christ into the world, she was made the spiritual Mother of all those who will be saved by Him, and she be came a central element in the salvation of mankind. But to see the Church only in this Individualistic perspe ctive does not do full justice to the mystery of the Incarn ation. The Church is also the holy community of God and man communing with each other in mutual indwelling. Coming down from heaven as the New Jer usalem, the Church brings to men, and first of all to Mary in the mystery of the Annunci ation, the fulfilment of the pro mises of God and the imple mentation of His covenant with man. OF SUCH a Church, Mary can only be the daughter. And it is a notable fact that the title "Mother," from the time of the early Fathers to ours, has been given to the Church, moth er of all the redeemed, who have been reborn in her through the waters of baptism. one tries to give a precise theo logical content to these devot ional titles. The name in ques tion, "Mediatrix," clearly re fers to Mary's prayer with and for all Christans. It is some times qualified as "Mediatrix of All Grace (singular). All grace being summed up in Christ, this means no more than the traditional names "For th bringer of Christ" or "Christbearing Virgin." IT has also been qualified as "Mediartrix of All Graces" (plural), which would seem to imply something quite different, namely that all graces do infact comes to men through Mary. At this point, theology, and with it the council, runs into diffi culties. It is of course impossible to conceive that all graces without exception must come through Mary. For the grace of God was already given in the Old Testa ment, before she was born. And Mary herself received grace, of which surely she could not be the "Mediatrix" in her own favor. IN view of this, the extreme school of Marilogy, for which Mary's mediation is not only a fact of Christian life but also a necessity in God’s plan for the salvation of the world, plac es itself at the limits of or thodoxy. For where such a nec essity taken literally, it would follow that Mary is not only redeemed by Christ, as impl ied in the definition of her Im maculate Conception, but also self-redeemed. And it would follow that she must have been somehow pre-existent to her own birth. After the bishops’ ex change on this question, it seems unlikely that the title "Mother of the Church" will be restored in the final text of the constitution on the Church. THE other major point on which the bishops have dis agreed in relation to the chap ter on Mary concerns the tide "Mediatrix." The schema is very careful here. It does not itself call Mary "Mediatrix," but it stat es the fact that custom has given her this title. And it cautions that this word must not be understood as taking away from, or adding to, the dignity of Christ as the only Mediator. IN spite of this prudence, several cardinals and bishops, some of them speaking in the name of a large number of their colleagues, have asked for the total removal of the word "Mediatrix," from the schema. Others, on the contrary, have insisted that it be kept and, if possible, reinforced. This question arises origin ally from the Catholic (andalso the Orthodox) practice of pray ing frequently to Mary, asking for her intercession in our favor. Orthodox devotion has done this for centuries. Yet Orthodox theology has never tried to express this by build ing up a speculative system concerning the place of the Vir gin Mary in the plan of sal vation. BUT the trend of Latin theo logy has always been to rationalize the broad assump tions of Christian piety and to organize them into a rational system of thought. Piety, both liturgical and private, tends to see Mary in the halo of poe try, and most of the titles giv en to Mary first arose in the lyrical content of Marian piety. Thus Mary has been called, not only "Mother of Jesus" and "the Virgin," as in the New Testament, not only "Forthbringer of God" (The otokos), as at the Council of Ephesus, which employed this expression to safeguard the in tegrity of the belief in t he In carnation, but also "Inter cessor," "Auxiliatrix," "Ae4 vocate, " **Mother of the faith ful," "Mediatrix," IN their popular use, these titles are without a well-de fined theological meaning. And the Litanies of Loretto provide a sourcelist of poetic titles of the Virgin which have never been studied theologically and probably never can be. The difficulty arises when It is in keeping with the logic of this extreme type of Mari- ology that the title "Co-rede- mptrix" prolongs that of "Mediatrix." TTius, the medi ation of Mary does not remain posterior to Redemption, being the outcome of Mary’s eleva tion to heaven by her Assump tion, but it becomes intrinsic to Redemption Itself. The chapter on Mary does not mention co-redemption but only mediation. It neither recom mends nor condemns it, but simply warns not to take it in a way that would be detrimen tal to faith in Christ, the only Mediator. THE immediate question, then, is; Should this title re main in the council’s consti tution, or should it not? Some practical difficulties militate against its retention: How can one explain to Mohan- medans and others, Archbishop Adrianus Djajasepoetra of Jak arta, Indonesia, asked, that we believe in only one Mediator between God and man, and also in a second Mediator subor dinate to the first? How can we be certain that our own people, especially in regions where Marian devotion has a tendency to run wild, make no mistake about the only mediation of Christ, when they proclaim Mary "Mediatrix?" THE gravity of the situation was indirectly pointed out by Bishop Francisco Renderio of Faro, Portugal. He complain ed that removal of the word "Mediatrix" would scandalize Catholics' in many parts of the world, who believe that all grac es come to them through Mary. The statement implies that Catholics in other parts of the world do not hold such a belief. The question then is why should these be scandalized by reten tion of the name. Among the arguments for keeping the word "Mediatrix," several bishops have mentioned its use by recent popes, espec ially Leo XIII, Pius X and Pius XL This raises an issue that has been basic to all the council’s work: Is the use of an expression, a theological point of view or an explana tion in a recent papal docu ment a valid reason for an ecumenical Council to do the same? If the council’s function where to provide a digest of pa pal documents, it would limit its work to the culling of papal writings, which would restrict its authority to that of the documents cited or referred to. AS was pointed out by Car dinal Bea, a conciliar consti tution must be a more solemn document than a papal encycl MONTH OF THE ROSARY—October is dedicated to the de votion which the Blessed Mother revealed to St. Dominic some seven hundred years ago. Mrs. Mary Cramer, 90, a resident of Carroll Manor, Hyattsville, Md., is one of count less thousands in the United States who say the Rosary daily. ical. An encyclical, written for the circumstances of the day, may use the transistory langu age of its period. This commits the pope who publishes it, but not the whole Church. On the contrary, a solemn proclamation by an ecumenical council is expected to stand for centuries, inspiring and regu lating Christian life and theo logy for a long time. For the same reason, it should look for its sources, not In the recent past, but in the oldest Tra dition, and specifically in the writings of the Church Fathers and the decisions of previous ecumenical councils. A council should also be con sistent. It should therefore take care that what it says in one place is in line with the contents of its other constitu tions, decrees and declarations. How the already promulgated Constitution on the Liturgy, the proposed Constitution on the Church in its first chapters, the proposed Constitution on Revelation, which is schedul ed to be debated later in the third session, center all piety and doctrine on the testimony of Sacred Scripture. IT would be inconsistent for the council to approve in its chapter on the Virgin Mary the use of a term which con tradicts the New Testament. As several speakers have pointed out, the term "Media trix" as applied to Mary is incompatible with the teaching of St. Paul: "As there is only one God, so there is only one Mediator between God and men, the man Jesus Christ, who gave himself as a ransom for all" (1 Tim., 2:5-6 . Admittedly, a strong expres sion is used in Orthodox piety: "Christ is the only Mediator, and Mary the only Mediatrix after Him." This could set a precedent for a doctrine of "Mary Mediatrix," if it were a doctrine in the Orthodox Church. But it is only a pious ejaculation. A council should not endorse an expression, how ever poetical and devotional, which runs counter to the New Testament. IN defense, the upholders of the title assert that the two are compatible. It is only under Christ that Mary mediates; she mediates as "Servant of Christ the Redeemer." But this begs the question, for it assumes that Christ has such a servant in the work of Redemption it self. That the Church, Mary and also all Christians are, in their task of spreading the Gospel, associated to the Redemption of the world is undoubted. That such a contribution to the work of Christ and the Holy Spirit is instrinsic to Redemption it self and makes a creature into a secondary mediator is a to tally different conclusion that many bishops feel unwar ranted by the premise. One cannot foresee how the council will finally decide on the hotly debated question of the legitimacy of the world "Medi atrix," It is recognized that it does correspond to some thing which is true of the Vri- gin Mary, and not necessar ily of her alone. But many con tend that, is spite of this the appellation remains unbiblical and misleading. Nevertheless others maintain that the name of ’*MedIatrix" should be kept because it extols the glory of the Mother of God. THE Doctrinal Commission of the council must decide what to do in view of the con tradictory positions adopted by the council Fathers. Where the majority will lie if the matter is put to a vote is not certain. But it is certain that if the constitution retains the title of "Mediatrix," it will do so by way of description, without re commending its use and with a strong warning not to explain it against the basic faith in the unique Mediation of Christ. AT any rate, it seems likely that theology, if not piety, will learn from the debates at the council to be more sober in borrowing Marian titles from the language of popular devo tion. BRONZE PLAQUE honors late Pope Pius XII at Catnedral of Essen, Germany. Donated by the Guild of Catholic En- girieers, the inscription reads: "To the founder of the Dio cese of Essen, the friend of the German people, the advocate of justice and peace.” COUNCIL TIDBITS Warm Weather, Late Coffee Break Features Of Session BY FR. PLACID JORDAN,OSB N. C. W. C. News Service VATICAN CITY— Council guests admitted to the Masses in St. Peter’s basilica which precede the daily meetings are edified when they notice how many bishops go to con fession prior to starting their day’s work. Multilingual con fessors a re on duty every morn ing near St. Joseph's altar. There bishops along with other priests assigned to council duty can be seen waiting for their turn to receive the sacrament of Penance while others re main in adoration collecting their thoughts before proceed ing to their seats. PHOTOGRAPHERS are per mitted to enter the council hall every mbming and to remain up to the moment when the voice of Archbishop Pericle Felici, the council’s general secretary, is heard over the loudspeakers saying: "Exeant omnes" (All should leave). This, of course, applies only to those who have no council business. However, a good hour and a half normally is available for taking pictures, which is not permissible once the meeting have started. So the candid cameramen have a field day while cardinals, archbishops, bishops, abbots, general superiors, monsignors, obser vers and lay auditors are en gaged in lively conversation on the council floor. UNSEASONABLY warm and humid temperatures befell the city of Rome the very day of the opening of the third council session. The heat was particularly oppressive in the basilica, which has but little ventilation, after huge spot lights were turned on to pro vide for television coverage of the inaugural session. James Francis Cardinal McIntyre of Los Angeles was one of three people who collapsed in this ordeal. One had to admire Pope Paul VI and the 24 bishops concelebrating Mass with him for bearing up under it despite the added burden of heavy litur gical vestments. AT THIS writing the heat is still on, making it quite uncomfortable, especially for council Fathers seated under neath the balconies where they are almost entirely cut off from fresh air. The "assi- gnatores loci," or priest- ushers, can be seen wiping the sweat off their brows while rushing about the stalls to de liver correspondence and mes sages to the bishops. Their jobs are particularly trying on days of heavy voting when ballots must be picked up almost with out interruption, to be de livered to the voracious com puters. ANOTHER dogday problem is the service in the council coffee shops dubbed "Bar- Jona" and "Bar-Rabbass" They used to open at 10:30 ajn. to accommodate bishops craving refreshment or a smoke. This time, to make the council Fath ers stick to their job, the opening hour was moved to 11 a.m. As a result, with a lar ger number of bishops than ever crowding in to get a cup of coffee or a soft drink, the jam in the two rather small snack bars is so bad not even a cardinal could squeeze through. So now quite a few secretary urging him to res tore the earlier opening hour. The poor waiters, too, will be glad if this is done so they can breathe more easily. MICHELANGELO'S Pieta is away from home to grace the New York World Fair’s Vati can pavilion and its niche in St. Peter’s basilica was sad ly emptied for a while. But then a plaster replica was put in its place which now is great ly admired by the council Fath ers because it really looks like the original. The bishops are particularly pleased by the replacement because now again they can make use of the Pieta comer for appointments, as was customary at the last session. One easily gets lost among the 2,000 people attend ing the council, Ixit always one can agree to just "meet at the Pieta." BOTH ARABIC and Chinese are now official languages in the council press office. News releases in these languages are handed out every day giving the highlights of council pro ceedings to correspondents un able to read English, Italian or any other of the nine langu ages customarily used. The exotic characters of these novel documents are intriguing even to those who cannot make them out. "It’s all Greek to me," re marked a reporter, “but it looks exotic all right, really Catho lic!"* COUNCIL Fathers from Japan tell their colleagues that genuflecting to a Catho lic bishop or kissing his ring has been abolished in the land of the Rising Sun, except during liturgical functions. Japanese Catholics now only bow to their shepherds, for the for mer Catholic practice was often and obstacle to the propagation of the Faith, especially because Buddhists consider it almost sacreligious. THERE IS an innovation in Italy, too, which causes quite a bit of comment among the coun cil Fathers. Bishop Antonio Santin of Trieste has just given permission to his priests to wear suits rather than cas socks in public. Italians call clerical coats and pants "the clergyman" because they see Anglican priests wearing them. Now the question seems to be; When is a priest a clergy man? Or a clergyman a priest? WANT TO get a ticket of admission to a council session? FLOWERS 166 COURTLAND STREET, N- E., ATLANTA. C EORGIA 30303 "Why," said an American bishop the other day, "it’s eas ier to get a ticket to hea ven!" As a matter of fact, the pri vilege is granted but rarely to a chosen few, mainly to visit ing prelates interested in a particular council debate. A bishop must sponsor the re quest which then goes to Archbishop Pericle Felici, the council general secretary. If the favor is granted, the appli cant may have to cool his heels for quite a while when pick ing up the permit because always there is a waiting line in the archbishop’s of fice across the street from St. Peter’s. Altar Meeting At Assumption The Altar and Rosary Society of Qir Lady of the Assumption Church will hold its monthly meeting in the school cafe- torium on Tuesday, October 6. The guest speaker will be Mr. Louis A. Erbs. Mr. Erbs is the archdiocesan Chairman for the Conference on Worship, and is recently re turned from the Liturgical Con ference In St. Louis. He is a parishioner of Assumption church. All ladies of the parish are invited to attend. For Information Uritet Emitter Donold jHananl, CSC 1A4 Holy CroM School 4950 Dauphine Street New Orleans. La. 7011T Phono 522 - 6500 .CoSmm 589 FOARCST Ro . N E • ATLANTA 12. Ga “PET.^you bet!" PET auucommnv dairy DIVISION For Convenient Home Delivery In Atlanta Call 636-8677 31 PRIMARY MARKETS IN APPROXIMATELY 100 UNLISTED STOCKS TAX-FREE MUNICIPAL BONDS PORTFOLIO ANALYSIS J. C. Bradford & Co., Members of the New York Stock Exchange & American Exchange Thomas H. Stafford, Resident Manager SUITE 736, BANK OF GEORGIA BUILDING PHONE lAckson 2-6834 ATLANTA, GK