Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 8 GEORGIA BULLETIN THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15, 1964
TOO CLERICAL
Laity Schema Lacking Lay
Deliberation, Participation
I?*
4,717 ACRES OFLANDon ButtnerRoad 2,500 feet West of the Intersection of Tell and Fulton Coun
ty line, purchased by the Archdiocese as the future site of the Village of St. Joseph—Home for De
pendent Children (Boys and Girls) of the Archdiocese of grade school age have been approved for the
purposes stated. A special use permit was approved and issued by the Fulton County Commission
ers on October 7th after the joint Atlanta-Fulton County Planning Commission had given its appro
val on September 30th. The City map as above shows the locations of the proposed Village in rela
tion to Blessed Sacrament Church and Holy Family Hospital.
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
men involved in its prepara
tion — but they were not called
in for consultation until after
the soup was spoiled, so to
speak. It was a clear case,
said she Canadian Bishop Car
ter (in English) of “too little,
too late.*' Bishop Carter, in
cidentally, described the total
absence of lay representatives
on the preparatory commis
sions themselves as an “absurd
situation.*'
The laymen consulted at the
eleventh hour were not always
the wisest choice, either. Some
of them are heads of political
Catholic organizations who
move constantly in the cleri
cal ambience. A few, but not all
by any means, said Msgr.
George H. Higgins of Washing
ton, D.C., a peritus who work
ed on the schema, are “more
clerical than I hope I am.*'
IF THE commission and sub
commission members were so
tone-deaf to the “churchy*’ mu
sic of the draft document, how
did it happen that so many bis
hops caught it?
For one thing, the bishops had
the document in their hands for
several months, and some were
wise enough to run through it
with members of their laity.
Other bishops who are actively
engaged in the pastoral aposto-
late have trained their ear to
know what goes and what does
not go these days with members
of the flock.
THERE were other difficul
ties connected with the draft.
For instance, a number of Fath
ers noted that it is not an accu
rate reflection of the theology
of the laity put forth in the
monumental “De Ecclesia*’ (On
the Church), The lack of coor
dination is painfully obvious. It
is almost as if the two sche
mata were talking about sepa
rate entities in their treatment
of the laity. In “De Ecclesia*'
the laity are treated as fully
mature members of the Church,
sharing a common priesthood
and enabled by the grace of the
sacraments to fulfill a genuine
Christian vocation by living as
men of the world and to parti
cipate in the life of the Church
with a full sense of “belong
ing*'. These teachings are duly
noted in the opening section
of the schema on the lay apos-
tolate, but as it goes on, the
style, tone and emphasis of the
document revert back to the
father-knows-best attitude of
yester-year. Archbishop Fran-
jo Seper of Zagreb, Yugoslavia,
said that the text reeks of the
“horror of the laity which has
been too common in ecclesias
tical circles.*'
In commenting on the dis
parity between the two docu
ments concerned with the laity,
the energetic Archbishop Hur
ley, the young intellectual lead
er of the South African hier
archy, predicted that if the
schema is left as it is there
will be a danger of two kinds
of laity developing, the one
claiming to be “of chapter 4,
De Ecclesia*’ and the other
claiming to be the laity “of the
Lay Apostolate schema.*'
A mitigating factor to be
taken into account for the fail
ure of the document may be the
fact that it was drastically re
duced in size. Actually it is
only one-fourth its original
length, since the commissions
working on “De Ecclesia*’ and
the forthcoming draft on 'The
Church and the Modern World*'
covered much of the same ma
terial, That of course does not
explain away the unfortunate
tone, the verbosity, or the need
less repetition which several
Fathers complained of. It is al
most certain now that the sche
ma will have to be drastically
altered or even entirely re
written if it is ever to get the
approval of the Council Fathers.
THERE are rumors that lay
men will be consulted in making
the revisions and perhaps more
of them will come out of secu
lar milieux. Msgr. Higgins an
nounced at a press briefing that
he was going to recommend
that the schema be re-done by
one competent writer in order
to get around the problem of
jerry-built prose.
In spite of the negative em
phasis of so many of the inter
ventions on this schema though,
the discussion provided some
valuable material for the Fath
ers to chew on. Certain basic
disagreements about the role of
the laity in the Church, and in
deed about the whole concept of
a lay apostolate, showed up.
MOST of the bishops went
along with the proposition in
the schema that the exercise
of an apostolate by members
of the laity is not a privilege
granted by ecclesiastical su
periors but a religious obliga
tion. 'The Christian vocation
by its very nature is also a vo
cation to the apostolate,*' the
draft says. But even this was
not universally accepted. For
example. Bishop Luigi Barbero
of Vigevano, Italy, stated that
since the lay apostolate means
collaboration with the hierarchy
in specific tasks and programs,
not all are qualified for it nor,
consequently, are all called to
it. As Bishop Barbero under
stands it, the apostolate is like
a vocation to the priesthood or
the religious life. It is not
enough to want it, one also has
to have the physical stamina
as well as the mental and moral
qualifications necessary for it,
and to receive a clear “call*
from the proper ecclesiastical
authority.
At the other end of the spec
trum, Bishop Kozlowiecki, the
Northern Rhodesian prelate,
warned against “institutiona
lism*’ or the straight-jacketing'
of lay initiative. He reminded
the Council Fathers that they
had just completed talking about
religious liberty for all. The
same spirit, he said, the liberty
of lay people in the Church
should not be circumscribed by
authoritarian restrictions. “It
is not our job to dictate to the
Holy Spirit.
THE intervention of Bishop
Paul Sani of Indonesia ran along
the same line. The faithful must
be taught, he said, that the
apostolate is not something dis
tinct from their daily lives,
something they do after-hours.
Rather, it is their daily lives.
These differences between the
“institutionalists’’ and the
more free-wheeling interpre
ters of the lay apostolate came
to the fore again and again. The
schema states that a bishop has
responsibility for the apostolate
of his entire diocese and quotes
a bolstering dictum from a
Father of the Church, Ignatius
of Antioch: “Let them do noth
ing without the bishop.*’ The
“institutionalists*' pounced on
the quote. St. Ignatius, in the
contest of his writing, was re
ferring to the celebration of the
liturgy rather than the Aposto
late of the Laity, but his words
were particularly dear to the
all-out supporters of Catholic
Action in the aula. Catholic Ac
tion of course is officially de
fined as “the participation of
the laity in the apostolate of
their hierarchy."
THE free-wheelers, though,
felt that the words of the saint
were not applicable. A number
of them objected either to the
“favoritism” shown to Catho
lic Action in the schema (Car-
dinal Ritter), to the monopoli
zation of the words 'lay aposto
late” by official Catholic Ac
tion (Cardinal Suenens), or to
the “residue of clericalism”
implicit in the insistence on an
episcopal mandate for the apos
tolate (Archbishop D'Souza of
Bhopal, India).
Their concept of the Aposto
late of the Laity seemed to be
basically sacramental and bib
lical, rather than canonical and
juridical. For them the idea of
a lay apostolate is based fun
damentally on the “priesthood
of the laity” — a phrase which,
despite its Pauline source,
makes so many conservative
bishops apprehensive. The
“priesthood of the laity” as
they see it is to be exercised
not only by active participation
in the liturgy of the Church but
by Christians in the world whose
duty it is to “incarnate” the
spirit of the Gospel in the life
of society. It is not a “priest's
helper” or substitute formiss-
ing religious they have in mind
when they talk about apostolic
laymen. The basic “mandate*’
for the layman in fact is deriv
ed not from a communique from
the chancery office but from the
sacraments of Baptism, Confir
mation, and to a great extent,
Marriage. When it comes right
down to it, the inspiration as to
how to proceed to fulfill this
generic “priesthood” of lay
Christians, consequently, is
more the business of the Holy
Spirit than of the local hierar
chy, The hierarchy, to be sure,
has a duty to “test the spirit*'
— that is, authoritatively to
pronounce against heresy and
dissension in the Church — but
it is not empowered to crush
the spirit.
THE Fathers who take this
position are quite persuaded
that the Church needs both
“priests” and “prophets” to
invoke a classic distinction,
and that sometimes the “pro
phets*’ with their charismatic
gifts are found in the ranks of
the laity. Historically, such
“prophetic” laymen as Francis
of Assisi (who later became a
deacon), Ignatius Loyola, and
Philip Neri (both of whom be
came priests after their work
was under way), and Joan of Arc
are cited as supreme examples
of the kind of 'lay initiative*’
they want to encourage. In the
United States one might cite
Orestes Brownson, the late
Peter Maurin, and numerous
lesser figures who initiated
works that gave expression to
their faith.
The ' institutionalist” school
of thought was represented
clearly by Bishop Biagio
D'Agostino of Vallo di Lucania,
Italy, who stated without ifs,
ands, or buts that “the lot of
the apostolate is in the hands
of priests.” In this view, the
lay apostolate should be almost
as rigorously structured, juri-
dicized, and carefully directed
as the apostolate of the clergy.
THE Apostolate of the Laity
is conceived not as a right but
as a privilege, and a derived
privilege at that, issuing from
the overarching apostolate of
the hierarchy. Consequently,
the permission to exercise must
be “mandated” from above. It
is given specific tasks to per
form by the bishop and its ex
ercise remains always under
his supervision, though he may
grant it more or less freedom
to experiment.
In this view, much more at
tention is given to social under
takings than to individual initia
tives, To serve well in the or
ganized ranks of Catholic Ac
tion, as the “institutionalists”
see it, is the greatest contri
bution, and maybe even the only
significant contribution, the
layman can make to the work
of the Church in the world,
THE difference between these
two “tendencies” — to use the
soft-spoken word now employ
ed at the Council to denomi
nate drastically opposing ideas
— can be noted in the recurring
phrases used by either party.
One speaks frequently of “lay
initiative,*' "charisms,” and
' the prophetic/’Theotheruses
soldierly language, like “man
date,” “commission,” and
“militant."
Neither concept, of course,
totally cancels out the other.
Both can exist side by side in
the Church, in some places
they actually do. But they are
rarely found equally regarded
by the same person because, if
the truth be told, they reflect
two different operating con
cepts of the Church. One is the
product of the old “siege men
tality,” the other of the new,
“open Church” mentality.
THE Catholic Action of Italy,
for example, with its highly
structured organization, bur-
WASH1NGTON (NC) — Arch
bishop Egidio Vagnozzi, Apos
tolic Delegate in the United
States, has made the following
announcement here:
“As the Most Rev. Edward
Hoban, Archbishop-Bishop of
Cleveland, and the Most fc»v.
Joseph Albers, Bishop of Lan
sing, have asked for reasons of
age and health to be relieved
i of the active government of
their dioceses, His Holiness,
Pope Paul VI, has made the fol
lowing appointments:
“MOST REV. Clarence G.
Issenmann, formerly Bishop of
Columbus, to be Titular Bis
hop of Filaca, Coadjutor Bis
hop of Cleveland, with the right
of succession, and Apostolic
Administrator ’sede plena* of
the diocese of Cleveland,
“Most Rev. Alexander M.
Zaleski, formerly Auxiliary
Bishop of Detroit, to be Coad
jutor Bishop of Lansing, with
the right of succession, and
Apostolic Administrator of the
diocese of Lansing."
Archbishop Hoban, who was 86
years of age last June 7, has
years of age last June 27, has
been a priest for 61 years and
a bishop for nearly 43 years.
eaucratic leadership, and
mass-movement tactics has
long horrified the apostolic
groups of France, with their
cellular, “team” approach and
strong emphasis on “penetra
tion,” personal formation and
spiritual liberty. Again, neither
of these two approaches seems
congenial to Americans. The
mass-movement is foreign to
the religious tradition of an
American shaped by free-
church Protestantism, with its
distaste for disciplined cadres
and religious pressures. The
cellular movement is too sus
piciously “Fifth Columnist” to
go in a society priding itself
of its openness, and almost
paranoic about possible con
spiracies.
More and more the Church
in America has given up ex
perimenting with European
models of the lay apostolate
and is developing its own —
like the family missionary ef
forts — which in fact if not in
theory depend more on “ini
tiative” than “structure.” At
the present time, to strengthen
that position, the American
Catholic community takes great
pride in the late President Ken
nedy. Mr. Kennedy would un
doubtedly blush to be called a
He has served the Church in
three U.S, Sees, including more
than 21 years in the diocese of
Cleveland.
BISHOP Issenmann was born
in Hamilton, 0„ in 1907; was
ordained in Mount St. Mary of
the West Seminary, Norwood,
0„ in 1932; was named Titu
lar Bishop of Phytea and Auxi
liary Bishop of Cincinnati in
1954, and become Bishop of
Columbus in 1957.
As first Bishop of Lansing,
Bishop Albers, 73, has admin
istered that See since its erec
tion in 1937. He has been 48
years a priest and 35 years a
bishop.
Bishop Zaleski was bom in
Laurel, N.Y., in 1906, and stud
ied at SS, Cyril and Methodius
Seminary, Orchard Lake, Mich.,
and at the American College in
Louvain, Belgium. He was or
dained at Louvain in 1931, and
made post-ordination studies
at the Biblical Institute in Rome.
He was named Titular Bishop
of Lyrbe and Auxiliary Bishop
of Detroit in 1950.
☆ ☆
See you at the Conference on
Worship, Oct. 22 - 25, at the
Cathedral Center, Atlanta.
'lay apostle.” But there is a
widespread feeling among
American Catholics that the
work he did was not wholly cut
off from the notion of the Apos
tolate of the Laity — and cer
tainly it was not dependent on
any hierarchical “mandate” or
ecclesiastical bureau.
THE Kennedy experience has
had a tremendous effect on
shaping the current idea of the
lay apostolate for the Ameri
can Catholic community, in
cluding many of the bishops.
That too is evident here in
Rome,
This idea is quite different
from the one still dominant in
Italy and other Latin countries
where the words “Catholic Ac
tion” suggest aggressive politi
cal movements. Such overtones
are sedulously avoided not only
by Catholics in pluralistic na
tions like the U.S, and Britain
but in the developing “mission
countries" and, for obvious
reasons, those behind the Iron
Curtain.
SOME of these considera
tions though they were never
spelled out, were behind the
vigorous differences between
the Fathers of the Council dis
cussing the lay apostolate. The
non-Latins, though, were at a
disadvantage. Catholic Action
as it is understood in Italy has
been lavishly praised by recent
Popes, right down to Paul VI,
who has already twice com
mended it is a noble expres
sion of the lay apostolate. The
bishops who might take a dim
view of it as a universal model,
then, felt that they had to talk
around the subject, lest they
seem to be critical of the Holy
Fathers.
An underlying difficulty fac
ing those who were charged with
drawing up the ill-starred sche
ma on the lay apostolate was that
they felt both these views had to
be given equal weight.The docu
ment they came up with conse
quently hid the virtues of neith
er, nor did it receive the whole
hearted support of either
school.
FT WAS charged by the one
with being a relic of old-style
clericalism and juridicism, and
by the other with soft-pedalling
the benefits of Catholic Action.
A spokesman for the first
group of critics, for example,
said that “there is no hope for
the Apostolate of the Laity if
they are always to be under
the thumb of clerics* (Arch
bishop D’Souza), A spokesman
for the other side said in char
acteristically military termi
nology that “the enemies of
the Church are legion today and
we should not be lulled into a
sense of false security and be
induced to lay down the arms of
prudence" (Archbishop Carlo
Maccari).
»K SURE TO VOTE IN GENERAL ELECTION, November 31
• VOTE FOR JIM ALMAND. Re-ELECT ALMAND
COUNTY COMMISSIONER for DeKolb District I
• JIM ALMANO has served DeKalb County well during his first
term as County Commissioner. In 1957-60 he helped make DeKalb
dynamic as a member of th County Board of Education.
• JIM ALMAND stays on the job and gets things done to keep De
Kalb growing good and going great. He studies the problems, talks
with citizens, then acts for our county’s best interests and progress.
• JIM ALMAND, a DeKalb citizen for 37 years, in the Sept.
Preferential Primary was nominated by a vast majority. Vote for
his re-election November 3!
THIS AD PAID FOR BY ADMIRERS OF JIM ALMAND
CLEVELAND-LANSING
Two Dioceses Receive
Coadjutor Bishops
LEGION SPONSORS
Prayer Carried
On Book Jackets
BROOKLYN, N. &. (NC) --
Thousands of New York state
children may be praying in pub
lic schools this year—and doing
it legally—thanks to a Methodist
minister here.
The Rev. Alfred C. Thomp
son, pastor of Vanderveer Park
Methodist Church, has prepar
ed “For God and Country*'book
jackets that carry a reminder
of the nation's debt to God and
a 60-word nondenominational
prayer.
THE U.S, Supreme Court in
1962 struck down compulsory
recitation of a 22-word prayer
in New York public schools. In
1963 it ruled out Bible reading
and recitation of the Lord's
Prayer.
Promotional activity for the
Rev. Thompson’s book jackets
is being carried on through the
New York department of the
American Legion, of which he
is a past chaplain.
The front of the book covers
bears the motto “For God and
Country,” the insignia of the
American Legion, and spaces
for the book's title, and the
name, address and school of
its owner.
The back carries the state
ments that:
“Our nation was founded on
Godly principles.
“Our *pledge of allegiance*
indicates our desire to be a na
tion under God.
“We are dependent upon God
for peace and hope.
“A cardinal principle of the
American Legion is 'For God
and Country.’ *’
THEN comes the 60-word
prayer, along with the sugges
tion “that you pray the follow
ing prayer at the beginning of
each school day.”:
“We acknowledge our depen
dence on Thee, almighty God,
and pray Thee to assist with
Thy spirit of counsel and forti
tude the leaders of our country.
“GRANT that they may per
petuate to us the blessings of
liberty and freedom. Bless our
teachers and parents and all the
people of our beloved country
and may we ever be faithful to
Thee. Amen.”
‘Catholic News’
Publisher Dies
In New York
NEW YORK (NC)—Requiem
Mass was offered here for
Charles H. Ridder, 76, publish
er of the Catholic News and for
mer treasurer and president
of the Catholic Press Associa
tion.
Auxiliary Bishop Phillip J.
Furlong of New York offered
the Mass (Oct. 13) in St. Pat
rick’s Cathedral for the veteran
Catholic press figure who died
(Oct. 10) in St. Francis Hos
pital, Poughkeepsie, N. Y.
RIDDER joined the Catholic
News in 1910 as assistant to
his father, Henry Ridder, then
publisher. The privately owned
weekly which serves as the
New York archdiocese’s paper
was founded in 1886 by Herman
Ridder, who left it later to de
vote himself to secular journa
lism.
Ridder was elected president
of the Catholic Press Asso
ciation in 1938 and served two
terms. He also was the asso
ciation's treasurer for many
years and in 1960 was award
ed a plaque by the professional
group for 50 years of service
in the Catholic press field.
“I WAS SICK, AND YOU...”
IN INDIA, MONKEYS DO GREAT DAMAGE, yet nobody lifts
a hand . . RATS also are a problem. The foverament cannot
exterminate them because Hindus
(who make up 85% of the popula
tion) believe it is not lawful to kill
any living thine . . . Our priests and
Sisters do their best to teach people
how to avoid disease. Epidemics are
I 1 common, as one would expect.
“When a man is sick, however,” one
priest said, “aspirins are better
than sermons.” . If Our Lord
were to preach in INDIA today, He
might very well say: ”1 was sick,
and you gave me medical care.”
He would be speaking of our nursing
Sisters, born and raised In INDIA, who put in 18-hour-days help
ing people in pain . . . These Sisters asking nothing for them
selves.—But to do their work they must have the basic essentials
. In AN-GA-MALY, 17 Sisters of St. Theresa of the Child
Jesus need a chapel for the student nurses and patients in the
hospital they run. It will cost altogether only $3 825. Can you
spare $1, $5, 510, 5100? While fighting disease, you’ll be giving
worn-out Sisters a place to pray for you Please write.
The Holy Father's Mission Aid
for the Oriental Church
THE EASY WAY TO HELP REGULARLY? .. . Join a Mission
Club. The dues are only 51 a month, a prayer (for missionaries)
a day . . . Your money will be used for what you want—lepers
(DAMIEN LEPER CLUB), orphans!ORPHAN’S BREAD),future
Sisters (MARY’S BANK), the aging (PALACE OF GOLD CLUB)
. . . You'll know, for sure, you’re helping someone unselfishly.
YOUNGSTERS IN SEBEA. ETHIOPIA, ARE NEVER LATE
FOR SCHOOL—because the village has no school! BISHOP
CAHSAI asks help to build four classrooms (53,500 altogether)
for youngsters in the bleakest part of ETHIOPIA. Would you
like to give one classroom (5850)?
YOU “BELONG,” IF YOU ARE A MEMBER of this Asso
ciation . . . For individuals, the dues are only 51 a year, 520
for life. For families, 55 a year. 5100 for life ... We want you
on our mission team!
OF ALL THE BLIND CHILDREN in the Pontifical Mission
Center in GAZA, not one is a Catholic! The Holy Father asks
help that “they may see” . . 5300 pays the overall cost of a
blind boy’s training for a year . . .525 pays it for one month . . .
51.25 a month gives him lunch each noontime.
NOVEMBER IS ONLY WEEKS AWAY. Write us now if you
want a missionary priest to offer Masses for your deceased.
Your offering supports for one day the missionary who celebrates
Mass for your intention . . . Ask us, too, about GREGORIAN
MASSES (30 Masses, one each day without interruption).
MAKING A WILL? REMEMBER THE MISSIONS.
OUR LEGAL TITLE:
CATHOLIC NEAR EAST WELFARE ASSOCIATION
Dear Monsignor Ryan:
Enclosed please find
for
Name
Street
City .
Zone State
rMlearEistfllissionsj
FRANCIS CARDINAL SPILLMAN, President
Ms*r. Joseph T. I you, Neff Sec*y
Seed ell cewweaicefiees fe:
CATHOUC NEAR EAST WELFARE ASSOCIATION
330 Meditea Ave. at 42ad St. New Yerh. N. Y. 15017