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THE BISHOPS AND THE CHURCH Footnotes On The Council-Great Decisions THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8, 1964 GEORGIA BULLETIN PAGE 3 BY ARCHBISHOP PAUL J. HALLINAN Sometimes it’s interesting to look for the “Why?*' behind a negative vote. When the Council Fathers voted on Collegiality, amendment #20put the question of a bishop's duty to be "missionary minded" in supplying men and money for needy churches. Sounds obvious, doesn’t it? But 23 voted "No". Amendment #22 stressed the idea of "service" in the teaching and preaching of a bis hop. Again, it seems like being for the flag. But 35 were against it. Were that many like the Council Father last fall whose vote always came out null because he re fused to use a magnetic pencil? He voted a straight ticket—none of his ballots counted. But perhaps the 23 and the 35 just could not read Latin, or had bad eyesight. Collegiality is a two-edged sword. Only in the recent news-stories is this being spelled out. By sharing the right of the pope to govern the Church (without reducing his supreme authority), the bis hops share his responsibility for the universal Church. This concept, the Missionary Bishop, can revolutionize the Church—if it enkindles enough missionary pastors and missionary laymen. The Council experience of each bishop has nec essarily broadened his view. He has had three uni que opportunities since October, 1962, when the council began: (a) He has sat with more than 2,000 fellow bishops in a General Coun cil,-listening, thinking, praying, speaking up, debating, voting, and in fact, legislating for the whole Church; (b) In one country (and in most oth ers), he has met with all the American bishops to legislate for the entire Catholic population, not just his own diocese. At the April episcopal conference, the U. S, bishops, in the liturgical changes, legislated for the first time since 18841 (c) He has spoken freely with dozens of scholars, the periti or specia lists, the best in the Catholic world. To update his own know ledge, these contacts (with lec tures and books) have been in dispensable; (d) He has become more familiar with the finest in Protestant and Orthodox thought by meeting the observers at the Council. In addition, the Motu Propris (direct act) of the pope stopped the practice of applying to the Holy See for many minor (and a few major) permis sions. As of January, 1964, bishops may grant these faculties themselves. NOT FUNCTIONARIES These experiences increase a bishop’s respon sibilities as well as his rights. After papal prim acy was defined in 1870, the German bishops warned against an over-centralization: * the bishops are not merely instruments of the pope, they are not pontifical functionaries without per sonal responsibility." Popes Pius IX and Leo XIII gave full approval to their statement. Yet there has been a serious curtailment of the bishops’ role over the past century. Decisions af fecting Catholicism in a particular nation have been handed down without reference to the na tion’s bishops. The hierarchy has sometimes learned of significant changes through the daily papers. These instances of neglect are rooted in the failure to grasp the full Pope-Bishop bond of collegiality. It is partly to change this that Paul VI called for "a more effective and responsible collaboration with our beloved brothers in the episcopate." It is a delicate problem, shaded by history and sometimes charged with deep feeling. It is there fore all the more surprising when a midwestem COUNCIL PREDICTION pastor last February missed the whole point in a lecture he gave on the Council. Holding that col legiality would not be decided for many years, he said "What the bishops want amounts to an in fallible definition of doctrine, needing extensive research....They want to move in on the Pope, and with him tell the Curia what they are to do.” This Matt Dillon approach may work in Dodge City, but theological development is of sterner soil. Bishops have issued no ultimatum; rather they have gathered with the Holy Father (as the other apostles gathered with Peter) in the earnest search for the full meaning of Christ’s teaching. Secular observers saw the overwhelming votes, and called it a victory for the liberals." More mature and religious Christians read the results, not only in the computer-ballots, but in the mysterious pas sage of the Holy Spirit in the Church. SOME VISIBLE EFFECTS Episcopal conferences, and probably plenary (nationwide) councils will be more frequent. The bishops will use this new tool to share their ideas, needs, crises, problems and resources. Insuring the unity of the Church by their communion with the See of Peter, these conferences and councils will act within a properly centralized framework. But more attention will be paid to local trends, difficulties and potentialities. At Rome, it appears that an * Apostolic Senate" will be established to help the Pope in his world wide tasks. Cardinal Lercaro has called such a senate, composed of pastoral and missionary bis hops from all over the world, "a practical un dertaking." The Jesuit writer, Father Grasso, has called it, "a pastoral necessity of our times." But every fresh right conveys a comparable new duty. Our Lord taught a "ministry of ser vice." The hierarchy’s authority is not based on law, or power, or money, or titles, t is blue-print ed in Christ's words after he had washed the Apostles’ feet: "I have set you an example that you may do what I have done." (John 13, 15) He firmly rebuked them when they sought "greatness" and "higher places in His King dom. They learned the lesson. For Peter, Paul, James, Jude and John, in their writings, the Key to their ordination was the pair of Greek words, "doulos," or slave, and "diakonos' or servant. OTHER SIGNIFICANT RESULTS We will undoubtedly see, in the years to come, smaller dioceses; the delegation of proper roles to priests and laymen; the elimination of titles and gestures that were once linked to a royal court, and have little meaning today. These changes will bring about smaller parishes, an increase in lay responsibility, and more real Christian fraternity among priests and people. Respect for authority, and those who exercise it, are as essential in the Church as in the home or nation. But true respect is not nurtured by pomp. Pomp is not a property of Christ’s Church; it is a prop for the devil. Bishops, priests, and laymen earn an authentic respect by the. usual formula: love, hard work, prayer and service. All of this should lead to widened horizons. The parishioner in Atlanta must share the missionary instinct that formed a parish in Rome, Georgia. And the parishioner in Rome, Georgia, shares the apostolic duties of the head of the Church in Rome, Italy. Collegiality, like a fresh spring, bursts through the hard earth of legal barriers, seeks its level of love, overflows its banks in dynamic zeal. A new flood of charity pours from the Apostolic College. Priests and laity, already at work in their own field of mercy, will intensify this "fraternal community of service," as the French theologian, Father Congar, put it. As the new changes in the Liturgy broaden man's way to God in worship, so does the newly-dis covered concept of collegiality smooth God's path to each of us, and to all baptized in Christ. Third Down, 4th To Go: Majority BY PLACID JORDAN, O. S. B. (N, C. W. C. News Service) VATICAN CITY—The closing date of the ecumenical coun cil’s third session is now being considered certain for Nov. 20 and arrangements are being made by the council office of the ■atiphal Catholifc Welfare Con-^ nes to accomodate the American council Fathers for their trip home on Nov. 21. One of these planes will fly non-stop to New York, the other to Chicago. Not all the American bishops will be able to avail themselv es of this opportunity because some have commitments in europe immediately after the session closing. Some expect to participate in the 38th Inter national Echuaristic Congress to be held in Bombay, India, from Nov. 28 to Dec. 6. THIS also means that there is no longer any doubt about the necessity of holding a fourth session, which will be the last of this ecumenical council, probably after Easter of next year. There were those who jwped a fourth session would not i be required, but it is now ob vious that the council’s agenda cannot possibly be exhausted within the remaining seven weeks. While discussion on the lay apostolate schema will being next week and the one on the SPECULATION Church’s presence in the mod ern world is to follow in the latter part of October, the nu merous amendments to be pro posed for these as well as for other schemata already ex amined— notably the ones on the Church, divine revelation and ecumenism— must first be gone over by competent com mittees and referred back to the floor for final votes. THE SIX "propositions” and the "resolution” remain also to be debated, although not a great length. However the com mittees will have time during the recess to examine all the amendments proposed so that Open Question - Pope To Bombay? Ed Curtin Presents ©A^tCJLAItH* ScmrSouce Mlf-iTMl VATICAN CITY (NC>- Speculations were reopened on a possible visit of Pope Paul VI to Bombay to attend the 38th International Eucharistic Congress to be held there from Nov. 28 to Dec. 6. Although unofficially the Vatican press offices have con sistently denied knowledge of any such plans, a statement by Valerian Cardinal Gracias of Bombay in an interview Any Time - Anywhere , Call a Taxi Radio Cabs DECATUR CO-OP CABS 310 Howard Ave. 24-Hour Service Passengers Insured Trips Anywhere DR 7-3866 - DR 7-1701 DECATUR, GA. jy. Sr rt ” 3527 Wo Aside pLy., WM At TV /V Jj?* 237-404/ RRANAN & 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 granted (Oct. 2) to the Vat ican City daily, L’Osservatore Romano, aroused new interest. L’Osservatore’s interview reported Cardinal Gracias as saying that Pope Paul had re ceived a formal invitation from the Indian government and "if the Pope should decide on the eight-hour journey he would announce it at least few weeks beforehand.” THE Vatican City daily said that Cardinal Gracias "did not dwell on the possibility of the journey.” Cardinal Gracias spoke on the Pope’s interest and pray ers for the congress.The news paper said that "not only does Pope Paul VI live’ the great vigil of Bombay. . . but alrea dy he plans to be symbolically present, not only through the appointment of a legate but also through generous presents and his instructions that a large sum of money be used for the purchase of food and clothing to be distributed in his name to the poor at Bombay." THE Roman daily, U Gior- nale d’ltalia, gave more than passing attention to the inter view of Cardinal Gracias. It said (Oct. 2) that the Cardinal's declarations show “first, that they are evident ly the result of a conversa tion between Pope Paul and the cardinal on this subject and, second, that Pope Paul himself probahly wanted the question of his journey to India to-be brought up again and proposed to public attention. the fourth session will probably be short. Already the council has ac complished a great deal more than expected during the sec ond session, in contrast to the previous one. The atmosphere continues peaceable now that all doubts have jjeen removed about the sentiment of an overwhelm ing majority. The uncertain ties being eliminated, the council has now proceeded with remarkable speed, confident that its major objectives will be achieved. THE council Fathers can point to the adoption of the col legial principle which might find its tangible expression in a supreme council of the world’s hierarchy that might supersede the Roman Curia in the govern ment of the Church. The Fath ers, in their discussions, — have also manifested truly ec umenical sentiments and af firmed tolerance and freedom in relation to other faiths and governments. The restoration of the sacra mental diaconate, even for ol der married men, confirms the trend toward the "openness” which will make the Church more conversational than ever before toward all the children of God in a spirit of true charity and good will. D’Youville’s New Building Is Dedicated BUFFALO, N.Y. (NC) — A new, 10-story, $1,750,000 resi dence hall was dedicated at D’Youville College here (Oct. 3) and five other new buildings are planned to be completed by 1973. Sister Francis Xavier, presi dent of the 57-year-old college, said a seven-story science building is next on the pro gram, with the groundbreaking scheduled in February. This will be followed by a student center an athletic building; a chapel; a fine arts center, and a faculty residence for the Grey Nuns of the Sacred Heart who conduct the college for women. Sister Francis Xavier said the building program shows that the college will remain in Buffalo, although a number of "experts" had advised a move outside the city to expand. The college now has more than 900 students and expects an enroll ment of 1,500 in 1973, target date for the building program. GROUP picture shows boys from St. Joseph's Homl^-Washing ton, during their Atlanta weekend, which was sponsored by the Knights of Council #660. BISHOP WRIGHT: ‘Council Decision On Laity Vital’ VATICAN erTY (NC)—For Bishop John J. Wright of Pitts burgh, all the trouble and tra vail of the Second Vatican Coun cil will have been justified by the council’s teaching on the laity in the Church. ’The doctrine already noted by the council on the laity opens up thrilling possibilities,” Bishop Wright told other bish ops and journalists at the Pan- African secretariat. "ONE wishes that Europe, when its nations were aborning, had the same guidance for the laity that the laity of Africa’s insurgent young nations will have from the council,” he said. To the remark common in Rome that the council’s work on collegiality alone would have justified all the trouble of the council, Bishop Wright added Italians Honor Saint Francis ASSISI, Italy (NC>i-The 25th anniversary of the proclama tion of St, Francis of Assisi as patron of Italy was commemo rated here with solemn reli gious and civil ceremonies. The highlight was theconcel-* ebration (Oct. 4) on the saint’s feast by the Franciscan Arch bishop Rodriguez Ballon of Are- quipa, Peru, and 20 Franciscan priests, in the basilica contain ing the saint’s tomb. Not For Selfish ST. PAUL, Minn. (NC)—De mocracy is "unfit for selfish men,” Msgr. Richard T. Do herty, theology professor at the St. Paul Seminary here, told a Red Mass congregation of judges and lawyers. / NOV 814,1964 xtOMM. CATHOCtC WILTMt CO**Wf*«*C* } OW»AWT*«HT O* aOUCftHO* i U/A*Ht*aTO* D. C POSTER for Catholic Education Week, Nov. 8 to 14, when many schools will hold open house to acquaint the public with the schools. Over 12',/ of all elementary, secondary and higher education institutions in the United States are under Catholic auspices. ABSOLUTION FROM POPE Jesuit Head Dies In Rome Hospital a rider of his own: "I think that is true also of the coun cil’s teaching on the laity in the schema De Ecclesia (on the Church) and in the schema on the laity itself." WHAT most pleases him about the teaching on the laity contained in the draft consti tution on the Church, he said, is its emphasis on the laity’s role in the Church’s prophetic or witness-giving office, "with its constant emphasis on the laity’s intellectual life.” "It was a great thrill for me to use Maritain’s name and teaching during the debate on religious liberty," he said. (Jacques Maritain is a French is a French Catholic lay phi- lospher.) BISHOP Wright denied the common assertion that the Church’s attitude toward the laity is negative. To the argu ment that canon law mentions the laity only once and in ne gative terms, the American bishop declared that canon law contained at least 38 clear and specific references to the laity. However, he did agree that the Church, when its hier archical structure was under assault during the Reformation, had set about buttressing the hierarchy while paying less at tention to the laity. He said the Church in acting that way was like a town that devoted most of its energies to streng thening its dike threatened by an encroaching sea, while pay ing less attention to the life of the town itself, 'THE votes on collegiality and the laity are evidence that the dike has held, and we now can go ahead with the life be hind the dikes.” he said. VATICAN CTY (NC)—Fath er Jean Baptiste Janssens, S.J., 27th. General of the Society of Jesus, died here (Oct. 5) minutes after receiving a final absolution at the hands of Pope Paul VI. He was 71. Father Janssens had been general of the Church’s largest religious community since 1946. Until a new general is elected, the society has been en trusted to its vicar general, Father John L. Swain, S.J., of Port Townsend, Wash., a mem ber of the Seattle province of the Jesuits, FATHER Janssens has been in ill health for several years. He died of heart failure and lung edema less than a week after being stricken with a severe cerebral thrombosis (Sept. 30). The funeral service was scheduled in the Jesuits’ Church of Gesu in Rome. Pope Paul arrived 20 minutes before Father Janssens died and imparted final absolution. FATHER Janssens was born Dec. 22, 1889, in Malines, Bel gium. He entered the Society of Jesus Sept. 23, 1907, and took his first vows in Tronchiennes, Belgium, on Sept. 24, 1909. He spent two years at the Institute of Philosophy at Louvain and four years in theological studies at Brussels and Louvain. He was ordained a priest on Sept. 7. 1919. Father Janssens studied both civil law and canon law. He ser ved for a time as a Jesuit novice master, and from 1929 until 1935 was rector of the University of Louvain. In 1938 he was appointed provincial of the North Belgium Province of the Jesuits and served there un til elected general of the order in 1946, succeeding Father Vlodimir Ledochowski, S.J., of Poland. THERE are more than 35,000 members of the society through out the world. In the United States there are 5.365 Jesuit ■priests, 2,740 seminarians, and 680 Brothers. JUHAN'S CLEANERS Expert - P«r»on»H»*d ferric* Olven to Beery Garment Coming Into Our Plant in n. Man n ro. OrtWe rut, Ota J Ah m FEW m MAY JUN ; JUW m a pet m . AOO WORK ALL YEAR call! ^AROUND i cMtuT-Jc* m HOLY CROSS BROTHER > Ylachimo • aovi' noun • KAMCMIMA • Office WOCK iTtADtS • POeMNMMtOM For In/ornuhion Writet Rrottiar Donald HoamI, CSC 1*4 Holy Croat School 4950 Dauphine Street New Orleans. La. 70117 *Win. Terence 0 Brien KNOWS LIFE INSURANCE # IHM. Suite 715 270 Pchtr Bldg. N.W.,Atl., Ga. Home BU 4 1191 Office 688-2600 Southland Life INSURANCE 083 COMPANY Home OH<ce • Southland Cmter • Dallas 6W BOV ' A RESCUE SHIP... 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