Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 8 GEORG LA BULLETIN THURSDAY. NOVEMBER 19, 1964
MOMMEVrAL TASK AHEAD
Further Session Seen
As Urgent Necessity
THANKSGIVING Clothing Collection being conducted by
Catholic Relief Services-N.C.W.C. during November in all
parishes of the United States will benefit children like this
lad in Calcutta, India, Useable clothing you no longer need
will help the less fortunate in 70 countries where CRS-
N.C.W.C. aids people of all races, colors and creeds. You
can spare something from your abundance, can’t you ? Take
it to the rectory of your parish—now!
‘AS A RULE’
Nuns Don’t Meet
Their Potential
CONTINUlD FROM PAGE 1
hesitate consequently to take the
step. This did not constitute
any kind of revolt or formal dis
obedience on their part, since
the Pope had not commanded
but merely stated a desire that
the propositions be passed.
Many of the bishops recalled
that Saint Paul told of "stand
ing up" to Saint Peter in a sim
ilar difference of opinion. But,
still, in the past the Pope’s
merest wish constituted a com
mand in ecclesiastical Rome...
The bishops’ action in any case
was still the talk of the town,
a week later.
There were the usual com
plaints because the schema on
religious life had also been re
duced to propositions.The Very
Rev. Germain Marie Lalande,
C.S.C., a Canadian who serves
as superior-general of the Con
gregation of the Holy Cross,
spoke for many religious when
he voiced dissatisfaction with
the schema. It does not corre
spond, Father Lalande said, to
what "religious men and women
are expecting from this Coun
cil." Most of the religious
orders in the Church, he said,
like the Church itself, are seek
ing renewal and refreshment.
They are eager to adapt rules,
customs, and most of all their
specific spirit to the needs of
the time. They realize that if
there is a vocation shortage, he
said, it may well be because
modern youth see the religious
life today as hopelessly bogged
down in outworn traditions and
unincarnated in the life of their
own time. Looking at the re
ligious orders themselves,
many young people cannot find in
them any reflection of the high
ideals they have set for them
selves, lie added,
rr IS necessary, then, said
Father Lalande, that the schema
on religious life be re-done to
point up the perennial signifi
cance of the religious life and
the special example that living
vows can give to offset the ma
terialism of the age. But, first,
it is necessary that the orders
themselves begin to think in
more universal terms, seeing
their role in the light of the
work of the entire Church and
putting themselves unselfishly
at the service of all. He sug
gested that, in redrafting the
doctrine, periti — experts —
who are younger and more in
tune with the times should be
consulted.
The notion that the orders
sometimes seem more inte
rested in their own welfare than
in the over-all good of the
Church was also stressed by
other speakers. The schema
treats religious, said Bishop
Gerard Huyghe of Arras,
France, "almost like members
of a separate Church." It is no
wonder, other bishops hinted,
that the religious themselves
frequently act as if they were
the order and its needs some
times seem to count more than
the Church and its needs.
Bishop Smiljan Cekada of
Skoplje, Yugoslavia, who de
scribed himself as a "friend
of religious" but nevertheless
felt it necessary to speak un
pleasant truths about them,
complained about an exaggerat
ed independence shown by some
orders. He suggested that regi>-
lar meetings between bishops
and religious superiors be held
to clarify rights, explain priv
ileges, and "see everything
clearly,"
THE GREATER part of this
discussion was concentrated on
the priestly orders. Several
speakers, however, 3poke for
the teaching Brothers and for
the nuns, both active and con
templative, who,of course,have
no spokesmen of their own in
the Council, For example, the
Very Rev. Paul Hoffer, S.M.,
superior general of the Mar
ian! st Society, a community
which includes both priests and
teaching Brothers, noted that
there was little in the 3chema
which would be helpful to Broth
ers engaged in education. These
men, he said, "must understand
the world. . .in order to help
those entrusted to them." The
schema as it is, though, puts
almost exclusive emphasis on
the "internal aspect" of re
ligious and the world outside
the cloister.
Something of the same spirit
was in Cardinal Suenens’ in
tervention, The Belgian cardi
nal, author of an influential
book on nuns and the modern
world, repeated much that can
be found in his writings on the
subject. He called for a new ap
preciation of the Sisters’ apos-
tolate, a breai^ with useless
traditions and with the regula
tions that needlessly hamper
rather than help the work of
nuns in the world — such as
rules restricting their activi
ties to daytime hours, the cus
tom of always going two-by-
two, eating alone, wearing out
moded garb and the insistence
on a strict monastic routine for
women whoseworkis outside the
cloister.
Sister Mary Luke, superior
general of the (American) Sis
ters of Loretto, who is in Rome
as an auditor, joined the regular
press panel during the discus
sion of the schema on religious
life. In answer to reporters’
questions, she seemed to share
the spirit expressed in Cardinal
Suenens* intervention. The thing
most American Sisters want
above all else, she said, is to
have a voice in, or at least to
be heard by, the ecclesiastical
bodies which regulate their
lives. The notion of the nuns as
inarticulate little persons with
no ideas of their own and no
desire to make their special
needs or desires known seems
to be gone forever,
FRANCIS Cardinal Spellman,
in one of the few interventions
he made during this session,
said that many Sisters superior
asked him to note that too
much cannot be expected from
active nuns. A teacher, the car
dinal said, cannot be expected to
undertake other forms of apos-
tolate, if she is to do justice to
her work as a teacher. But over
burdening the Sisters does not
seem to be what Cardinal Suen
ens has in mind. He talks, rath
er, about the need to broaden
and facilitate the apostolates al
ready undertaken by the orders
of women and to liberate them
from outworn restrictions and
crippling regulations, devised
at a time whan the role of women
in the world — and especially
women in the Church — was
hemmed in by prejudice, a mis
taken notion of feminine weak
ness, and was woefully lacking
in understanding of the womanly
potential.
The revised schema will
probably have more to say on
this subject, especially If — as
Sister Mary Luke suggested —
more women religious are con
sulted before It is written, and
— as Father Lalande suggest
ed — additional consultants are
chosen from younger religious,
more attuned to the progressive
currents of thought now sweep
ing through all but the most
drled-up religious orders.
The third big subject of the
week, seminaries and the for
mation of priests, has been the
recent source of controversy
throughout the Catholic world,
not least of all In the U.S„
where the education given future
priests has come under severe
attack as "isolated" — from the
life of the world In which the
priest will exercise his aposto-
late — as cut off from the cur
rents of modern thought, as a
preparation for participation
not in modern culture but in a
clerical sub-culture which is
meaningless to those who are
not part of it, and as tending
by its long insistence on the
students' utter dependability on
others to produce men who are
immaturp, uncertain of them
selves, and rather lost in the
world when they get out in it.
THE DISCUSSIONS of the
Fathers took account of some
of these criticisms. Some, like
Ernesto Cardinal Ruffini and
Archbishop Dino Staffa, secre
tary of the Congregation of Sem-
Book Award To
Barbara Ward
NEW YORK (RNS)—Barbara
Ward, noted British Roman
Catholic author and editor, was
given the Catholic Book Club's
1964 Campion Award here for
"long and eminent service In
the cause of Christian letters,"
Miss Ward is foreign affairs
editor of The Economist in Lon
don and has written a number of
books on international affairs
and other subjects.
inaries and Universities, de
fended the present system of
priestly training and were
warmly applauded by the tra
ditionalists in the aula. Cardi
nal Ruffini thought that more
attention should have been given
to the teaching of Saint Thomas
Aquinas in the schema. He cited
the 80 Popes since medieval
times who have approved Saint
Thomas as the foremost teach
er in Catholic history. He also
spoke approvingly of the need
for minor seminaries, arguing
that "new wine cannot be put
in old wineskins" — a senti
ment that, coming from the
arch-conservative Archbishop
of Palermo, drew a smile from
some of the Fathers,
Paul-Emile Cardinal Leger
of Montreal, Canada, took quite
a different tack. He was pleas
ed, he said, that the present
schema does not put undue em
phasis on the teaching of Saint
Thomas, Thomism, he argued,
Is only one of a number ofphil-
osophical systems open to the
Church, It is certainly not to be
disregarded, but no philosophy
— or system of philosophy
should be imposed by authority
even though it is conformable
with Christian doctrine. There
is need for a wider exposure to
the thought of other Christian
teachers and doctors in Catholic
seminaries, both in philosophy
and theology. While SaintThom-
as should always be held up as
an exemplar of the Christian ap
proach to reason, there is also
a danger that seminarians rais
ed exclusively on Thomism will
"build an artificial world and
live inside it, as in a cloister,"
"A dialogue with the Middle
Ages," the cardinal said, "is
not a dialogue with the present."
While he was on the subject of
seminary studies, the cardinal
also took note of the fact that the
teaching of moral theology is
frequently "too juridical, too
legalistic, and too casuistic,*’
He pleaded fora stronger link
between moral and dogmatic
theology. Such a joining, Cardi
nal Leger held, "would prepare
the way for a new evangelical
dynamism coming from Vatican
II."
CARDINAL Suenens repeated
concerns about seminary train
ing which he has voiced In pub
lic conferences in Rome since
the third session began. He is
opposed to the running of semi
naries in accordance with mon
astic patterns. Seminarians, he
argued, should not have imposed
upon them the curriculum of
monks but should be prepared
for life in the world, where they
are destined to serve as pas
tors. They should be given prac
tical training and have a chance
to gain' practical experience
during their years of training.
Work with experienced pastors
in parishes is as important to
proper preparation for the
priesthood as classes in theolo
gy, The present pattern, the-
cardinal holds, is seriously in
adequate. He urged the Coun
cil to take action by organiz
ing a commission to study over
hauling the entire seminary
system.
Of course not all the Council
Fathers welcome the radical
changes envisioned by such
churchmen as Cardinals Suen
ens and Leger, A number rose
to speak against the changes
suggested. Archbishop Staffa
and Cardinal Ruffini are not
alone in defending the tried-
and-true as the best known
way to turn out good priests.
Apparently, such Fathers feel
no personal inadequacy in ful
filling their own priestly work
and see no reason why future
generations of priests should
be handicapped by receiving a
training barely different from
what they themselves got.
When Cardinal Suenens ar
gues that the system coming
down from the Council of T rent
needs revamping, they remain
skeptical. When certain mis
sionary bishops argue that
Thomism is unsuited as a phil
osophy for the non-Westem
mind, they speak of the eternal
sameness of truth — as if the
truth and one particular mode
of its expression were identi
cal, When Cardinal Leger
speaks of the need for freedom
in order to develop strong
priestly personalities, they re
ply with Cardinal Ruffini that
"too much contact with the out
side world can weaken unity and
discipline In the seminary,"
NEW ORLEANS (NC) — The
executive director of the Sister
Formation Conference said
here that persons working with
nuns have concluded that Sisters
"are not as a rule living up
to all of their potentialities."
Sister Annettee Walters of
Washington, D.C, was featured
speaker at a symposium
on health care of clergy and
Religious held in conjuction with
a conference on medical educa
tion and research. The con
ference was sponsored by the
National Federation of Catholic
Physicians Guilds with the co
operation of the Catholic Hos
pital Association.
SHE cited a need for more
nun-psychologists in religious
communities and said they can
make an "essential con
tribution" In working with the
adjustments required of Sis
ters,
A psychologist herself, she
said her experience and that of
others indicates that the "one
single human problem that leads
most often to maladjustment in
Sisters—whether to relatively
minor disorders, such as psy
chosomatic disturbances of di
gestion or to headaches, or to
the serlour problems of deep
depressions and neuroses—is
that of adjustment to authority
figures."
This problem, she continued,
"is not often dealt with in the
confessional because it is not
recognized by the Sister for
what it is."
SHE warned too that cliches
such as, "If you will Just pray
more, everything will be all
right," tend to blind people to
what is really happening."
Sister Annette said there is
"no question here of letting a
Sister forget that she has a
vow of obedience. It is rather
a matter of helping her to be
come completely available-
mind as well as soul andheart-
to her community and to the
Church,"
She cautioned that a nun-
psychologist must be accepted
by the members of her commu
nity needing help and must not
be thrust upon them. She added
that Sisters selected to be psy
chologists should be able to re
solve their own emotional and
social problems or have learn
ed to live with them in such
a way that they will not threa
ten their professional judgment.
REPORTS pm the progress
of mortality and morbidity stu
dies of nuns were given by Dr,
James T, Nix, New Orleans
surgeon and chairman of the
Joint committee on medical care
of clergy and Religious of the
Federation of Catholic Physi
cians* Gilds and the Catholic
Hospital Association; and by
Con J. Fecher, Dayton, Ohio,
statistical consultant of the joint
committee.
Dr. Nix’s study of ailments
among Sisters compared with
the same ailments among lay
women is based on the theory
that a person’s health is af
fected by environmental con
ditions.
’The best Illustration of en
vironmental health," he said,
* 'is the fact that one never sees
bunions on Poor Clare Nuns"
who wear sandals In winter and
go barefoot in the summer."
IN HIS report, Dr. Nix em
phasized cancer research as
pects of his studies. He said
that while nuns have an infre
quency of cancer of the lungs
or cervix, they frequently deve
lop cancer of the uterine fun
dus, the ovary and the breast.
Elaborating on the import
tance of the study, he pointed
out that many physicians feel
the cure of cancer may lie in
its prevention.
Dr. Nix praised the 262 re
ligious communities for women,
comprising a membership of
116,173 of the 180,000 nuns in
the United States, who are co
operating in the health
research.
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 benefactor* of
our SEMINARY FUND.
CHRISTIAN EDUCATION DRAFT
U.S. Cardinals Urge State
Aid To Religious Schools
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
parents, not necessarily to seek
money from the public trea
sury’ for religious schools."
Noting that in many nations the
school support question is dif
ficult for historical, sociolo
gical and political reasons, he
proposed the following change in
the text:
"Parents should be free to
choose the schools they
wish for their children. They
should not in consequence of
this choice be subject to unjust
economic burdens which would
infringe upon this freedom of
choice. Since it Is the function
of the state to facilitate civil
freedoms justice and equity
demand that a due measure of
public aid be available to par
ents In support of the schools
they select for their children.
"Moreover, if these schools
serve the public purpose of po
pular education, the fact that
they may be religious In their
orientation should not exclude
them from a rightful measure of
public support."
CARDINAL Spellman said he
proposed this amendment to
make the council’s Intention
"Clearly apparent, and accord
ingly I hope that useless quar
rels over the words of the
schema may be avoided in the
future."
He also warmly favored the
text’s proposal to establish a
postconcillar commission to
study further the intricate
problems of Christian education
because, "in my opinion, con
sidering the variety of schools
from place to place, with the
consequent diversity of pro
blems, no commission can de
cide all particular norms for
the whole world or give de
finitive answers to the schools
of all nations and their pro
blems."
The cardinal urged that the
postconcillar commission be
composed of representatives
from major areas of the world
and also "truly expert members
from all phases of education,
including laymen along with
priests and Religious men and
women." He said he also liked
the fact that practical applica
tion of general principles is
to be left in the hands of the
national episcopal conferences.
CARDINAL Ritter expressed
satisfaction that the text pro
vides for a postconcillar com
mission "to make necessary
surveys and research in a pro
fessional manner to produce a
document on education not only
worthy of the council but of real
and genuine value to men of
good will everywhere."
Commenting on the fact that
the title of the declaration had
been changed from one on Cath
olic schools to a larger concept
of Christian educatiln. Cardinal
Ritter praised this decision to
give it "a much wider term"
He also asked the council to
give a "ringing endorsement"
Proposition two—dealing
with the family's responsibility
to promote vocations—was app
roved 1,721 to 10. Proposition
three— dealing with the need
to screen vocations— was ap
proved 1,808 to 4.
Favorable-with-reservations
votes were respectively 120,
149, and 154.
THREE COUNCIL Fathers,
speaking in the name of 70
or more bishops, spoke on the
seminaries schema. Arch
bishop Gabriel Garrone of Tou
louse, France, led off by stat
ing that it was good that au
thority for seminary training
was left with national bishops’
conferences, but said that this
will require closer cooperation
between conferences and Rome
to facilitate coordination of the
various regions.
He called for renovation of
the Congregation of Seminar
ies to make it capable of meet
ing the needs of the hour and
to keep up with midern deve
lopments. Up to now, It has been
too negative and detached from
the times, he said. He also said
the congregation should be in
contact with the congregation
dealing with priests so that it
knows what problems priests
have and thus can prepare stu
dents for the future. He sugges
ted it might be profitable to
merge these two congregations.
Bishop Sergio Mendez Arceo
of Cuernavaca, Mexico, asked
for an organic and vital treat
ment of clerical celibacy. He
urged that celibacy be treated
in the terms of St. Paul in which
it Is seem as apostolic celi
bacy. . He warned against the
dangers of loneliness and urg-
Fr. Ahern Gets
Theology Award
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (NC)—
Father Barnabas M. Ahern,
C. P., a Bible scholar and
official consultant to the ecu
menical council, has been nam
ed 1964 winner of the annual
Cardinal Spellman Award for
theological achievement given
by the Catholic Theological So
ciety of America.
Father Ahern, a professor at
Sacred Heart Seminary' here, is
a peritus—expert—of the coun
cil and a member of the Vati
can Secretariat for Promot
ing Christian Unity.
ed not only that common life
be recommended but also that
fraternal contacts among fel
low priests be ecnouraged to
offset this danger. He also as
ked that bishops be given the
faculty to dispense unfaithful
preists from celibacy and to
reduce them to the lay state
under certain circumstances.
However, he asked that discus
sion on this point be held off
until the fourth session.
AUXILIARY Bishop Joseph
Reuss of Mainz, Germany, also
wanted celibacy considered in
its positive aspects. He said
it is a mistake to look on celi
bacy as nothing more than a
renunciation or as a necessary
admission ticket to Holy Or
ders. It must be regarded in
the positive light of the imita
tion of Christ.
A summation was delivered
by Bishop Guuseppe Carraro
of Verona, Italy, in the name
of the commission which draft
ed the propositions. He promis
ed that all usggestions made
would be reviewed and the best
ideas incorporated into the re
vised text.
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INDIA: THE POPE AND FATHER MARK
POPF. PAUL WILL BE IN BOMBAY DECEMBER 3 to pay
homage to Christ in the Eucharist.” He wants also, he says
to ’‘meet a great people” (the citizens
of India), and to express his grati
tude to missionaries . . FATHER
MARK Is one of these. A tvearj
zealous Carmelite, he lives in a l>ar-
S" I r*n. thatchcd-roof cell in the un
spcakablc village of Narasim-hara
japura. His penniless parishioners
(they number 1.500) and their Hindu
neighbors are his concern .
FATHER MARK has cleared the
land for the church he must build if
Christ in the Eucharist is to be pro
perly taken care of. Won’t you
help? . . . The church will cost only S3.100 altogether (name it
in honor of your favorite saint, in memory of your loved ones),
since FATHER MARK’S parishioners have volunteered the labor
free-?f-charge. Whatever you can send ($1. S3. $5. S10. S50
$100) will be a Godsend; the laborer in India earns only’ pennies
a day. Please send something now. FATHER MARK will
start construction, please God. Immediately.
The Holy Father's Mutton Aid
for the Oriental Church
A DAY WITH THE POOR—In India Pope Paul will spend a
day with the poor, irrespective of caste or creed, according to
Cardinal Gracias of Bombav. “The poor are alway's with us.
the Cardinal said. “We do not have to gather them from the
highways and the byways.” . . . Even the smallest gift '$1. $2. So
$101 enables the Holy Father to help where help is needed most
Mark your gift “Stringless ”
SISTERS; “KIND LITTLE PEOPLE”?—Nuns of today must
be more than “kind little people.” Mother Mary Onier said in
Cincinnati. “They also must be professionally able.” ... In
mission countries like India, this is especially true. Our native
Sisters, trained by readers of this column, are acclaimed by
Hindus as well as Christians as outstanding teachers, nurses,
administrators . . . Like to enable a God-loving girl, too poor to
pay her own expenses, to become a missionary Sister? It costs
only $300 altogether ($150 a year for two years), and you need
pay only $12.50 a month . . . Write to us. The Sister you
“adopt” will write to you.
MASS OFFERINGS: A PRIEST'S SUPPORT—The Offocih,;
you make when you ask a missionary priest to read Mass for
your intention supports him for one day. Our priests in south-
west India and the Holy Land will offer promptly the Masses
you request. Simply write to us.
THANKSGIVING: FEED A 1 AMILY--You eah brighten your
dinner next Thursday, Thanksgiving Day. by feeding hungry
refugees in the Holy Land. $10 will feed a family for a month!
As a token of our thanks, we ll send you ah Olive Wood Ro«a.j
from the Holy Land.
WHEN YOU MAKE A WILL. MENTION
THE CATHOLIC NEAR EAST WELFARE ASSOCIATION.
Dear Monsignor Ryan:
Enclosed please find for
Name
Street
City zone
State
[MllJearKstfllissIoiisjMi
FRANCIS CARDINAL SPILLMAN, President
Ma«r. Ja*epk t. I you, Not’l Sn>
Seed ell tammaalcotlaat tat
CATHOLIC NEAR EAST WELFARE ASSOCIATION
1M Meditaa Are. «t 42ad St. Ntw York. N. Y. 10017