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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. ARTHRITIS PAINS? * Good Housekeeping • V MMMTIIS / GET YOUR MONEY BACK nuw...i»tl KcLIcr OR Rush out pain . . rush in relief. Thai s what you want whenever na^gin^. mod erate pains of Arthritis. Rheumatism or Muscular Aches occur. And that's just what can happen when you take DOLCIN Tablets. What's more WF GUARANTEE you must get quick, sat isfying relief or you get your money back. But don't try jusi one or two tab lets and expect miracles. Take all the tablets in the bottle ... the way the di rections tell you. And . . if you don't get wonderful results > money back. How do w this absolute guarantee.’ know DOU IN has helped millions of other sutler- ers. We feel sure that, if you give Dot ( IN » a fair trial, ii may help von. Si* you see, you have noth in y to lose hut your pants. Buy a bottle at your drug 'tore today. mi get your e dare make Because we mg NMWM •mimik ■IKIltl Mill | . w,.., ' 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