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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
