Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 2 GEORGIA BULLETIN THURSDAY, DECEMBER 3, 1964
COUNCIL ASSESSMENT
Historic Consensus
Achieved By Fathers
BY JOHN COGLEY
Religious News Service Special
Correspondent
During the third session, the
Ecumenical Council reached its
maturity. The bishops in Rome
began to achieve a distinct iden
tity not as prelates called in
from here, there, and the other
place but precisely as Fathers
of this particular Council. A
consensus was reached, in gen
eral terms, of what the present
needs of the Church are and of
the direction in which the Cath
olicism of the future will move.
The unpredictable change that
takes place when a group gets
together for prolonged dialogue
no longer seemed as strange as
it did even last year. In short,
the Council, which began as an
idea in the mind of Pope John,
which first came together in un
certainty and confusion, and
which was over many meetings
a collection of individual pre
lates, each moved by a separate
vision, now has an existence of
its own that transcends the im
portance of any particular Fath
er. It is even possible to imagine
an entirely new body of bishops
attending the fourth session
without the Council itself taking
any sharp turns.
EARLY IN the third session,
Archbishop John Carmel Heen-
an of Westminster (England)
explained the increased pace of
the Council progress by saying
that the Fathers were more ex
perienced now and had over
come some earlierdifficultie3.
That was undoubtedly true, but
it was not the total explanation.
More important was the emer
gence of the conciliar consen
sus — the recognition by all but
the most obtuse that, whatever
their disagreements, the Fath
ers of Vatican II were intent on
pursuing Pope John’s goal of
aggiomamento and of relating
the ancient doctrine of their
Church not to textbook abstrac
tions but to the present world
and to the actual men and wo
men now living in it.
The ultra-conservative Fath
ers were once, and not long age
either, merely a minority with
in the Council, to be accounted
for numerically -- the losing
side noted in a series of votes.
The change now is that this
minority has become a dissi
dent group opposed to the con
sensus that quietly became evi
dent as the Council pursued its
work. Consequently, the only
truly significant disagreements
now are between the Fathers
who share this consensus.
They may, for example, argue
about whether terminaldeacons
may marry or whether married
men may become terminaldea
cons. This sort of disagreement
is difference within a consensus
that terminal deacons are nec
essary and desirable in the
modem Church. But one who
does not go along with the whole
idea of restoring the diaconate
is upholding opposition of a dif
ferent kind and has moved out
side the conciliar consensus al
together, He is, as a result,
more an annoyance than a threat.
THE SAME would be true of
any Father who argued against
the whole concept of Religious
Liberty and faithfully echoed the
wholehearted intolerance of a
previous age. If any such Fath
er were still to be found among
the 2,300 in Rome — and it is
unlikely that such a one could
be found, even among those op
posed to the present schema on
Religious Liberty — his opposi
tion would be much more radi
cal than that offered even by a
Cardinal Ottaviani or Cardinal
Browne, who acknowledge the
rights of conscience but argue
that a ’’Catholic state” should
restrict non-Catholic prosyle-
tism and the public, though not
the private, manifestation of er
roneous religions.
It is possible, then, to sketch
the broad basis of the conciliar
consensus coming out of Vatican
II.
In the earlier catch-all cate
gories of "progressive” and
"conservative,” it is over
whelmingly "progressive.”The
conservatives were outvoted on
practically every single issue
up before the Fathers and did
not gain a single significant vic
tory. A few of their maneuvers,
to be sure, enjoyed a certain
kind of success, at least tem
porarily, but it may not even be
going too far to say that even
here the "progressives” were
victorious.
FOR EXAMPLE, the two maj
or efforts of the die-hards in
the Roman Curia and their al
lies during the third session
came to nothing, though they
caused a great deal of anxiety
when they were first discover
ed. When, in October, it was
learned that both Religious Lib
erty and the statement on the
Jews were being relocated and
subjected to a review by a com
mittee of hand-picked arch
conservatives, 17 "progres
sive” cardinals managed to get
Pope Paul’s assurance that
there would be no tampering
with the controversial docu
ments. Later, at the end of the
session, when even the prelimi
nary vote on Religious Liberty
was put off, thus theoretically
endangering the document's
very survival, there was the
famous "bishops’ revolt,” led
by American prelates.The Holy
Father did not accept the pro
testing bishops* "urgent, very
urgent, most urgent" request
that he countermand the decis
ion. But he did give his assur
ance that Religious Liberty
would be at the top of the agen
da in the final session of the
Council and he thereby assur
ed its survival. It is already
clear that it has the votes nec
essary, so it is almost certain
to be passed. The statement on
the Jews, of course, is stronger
than ever and has already been
substantially approved by the
Fathers.
So it has gone ever since the
Council began. The "progres
sives” have enjoyed one land
slide after another. Their mark
is on all the documents already
formally proclaimed (with the
exception of the mediocre Com
munications Decree) and of
those sent back for revision
before final consideration,
every single one has been re
turned in order to make it not
less but more conformable to
the "progressive” mindset.
rT USED TO be said, early
in the Council when some Fath
ers were trying to escape ack
nowledging that there were
clearly identifiable "progres
sive” and "conservative” blocs
in Rome, that these terms were
meaningless since many Fath
ers were progressive in one
matter and conservative in ano
ther. If that were true, though,
It would be hard to explain the
constant string of victories for
the liberal faction.
It is not at all certain that
even Pope John was as "pro
gressive" as the Council has
turned out to be. Whether he
envisioned the clean sweep this
party would win must always
remain a matter of conjecture
for the beloved Holy Father
himself might well have changed
many of his views as the Coun
cil proceeded. But, whether it
was accurate so to portray him
or not, John has been the patron
of the "progressive" forces
all along — and it can be said
that Vatican II has been not only
the "pastoral” and "ecu
menical” Council Pope John
desired but a "Johannine”
Council as well.
It is impossible to imagine
such a consensus emerging
from a Council held under Pope
Pius XII's direction, or indeed
of any of his predecessors. Be
cause Pope Paul VI followed
John, there has seemed to be
no contradiction between his
pontificate and the Council.The
present Holy Father, however,
had he followed directly after
Pius XII, would probably not
have made such a complete
break with the past. Such a
break seems totally foreign to
his way, his manner of looking
at things. If the remarkable
John, then, turned out to be the
liberating force for the Church
at large, it might also be said
that he liberated Paul himself
from the frozen ideas of the
Papacy which he might have in
herited. It seems perfectly nat
ural that Paul VI should preside
over a "progressive"Council.
Now it seems perfectly natural.
The idea would seem prepos
terous to those who knew Car
dinal Montini even a half dozen
years ago -- and probably not
least of all to Cardinal Montini
himself.
THE DISTINCTIVE mark of
Vatican II is that it has been
not a combative Council but a
conciliating gathering, heal
ing old wounds, calling off an
cient wars, and reaching out,
with its predominant notion of
the Church as a community of
love, to all men — historic
friend and enemy alike. Pope
John made it clear that he did
not want his Council to be con
cerned either with proclaiming
new doctrines or denouncing
new heresies. Like the Pope
who convoked it, it was to be
eminently positive and show the
face of the Church’s love for all
men. This wish of the Holy
Father has been widely obser
ved. As a result of Vatican II,
mankind has been drawn more
closely together. Catholicism
has sought out and emphasized
its points of agreement rather
than its differences with Ortho
doxy, Protestantism, Judaism,
AFTER 30 YEARS
Galileo Book Ban
Lifted At Vatican
ARMENIAN KITE Mass was celebrated in St. Peter’s basilica (Nov. 18) by Armenian
Patriarch Ignace Pierre XVI Batanian in the presence of Pope Paul VI and the council
Fathers.
Islam, and other religions.
At the same time, it has made
efforts to call off the meaning
less and useless war thatCath-
olics have carried on with mod
ernity for so long. At Vatican
II the Church has earnestly tried
to speak to modern man — to
share his concerns —to under
stand his anguish — to sympa
thize with his aspirations — to
communicate with him in words
he can understand — and to show
a new appreciation for his ac
complishments. This belated
attempt has of course not been
entirely successful yet. Mod
ernity is not so easily achiev
ed that just by taking thought
even the Church can catch the
ear of contemporary man. But
the start has been made, and the
contemporary world for the
first time in living memory and
for long before that has begun
to take Catholicism seriously.
This is only a beginning. Much
remains to be done. But, con
sidering the situation only a de
cade ago, the change in attitude
is amazing — both on the part
of the Church and of the con
temporary world. This is no
mean achievement for Vatican
II.
THERE IS every reason to
believe that the mood of the
third session of the Vatican
Council will carry over to the
fourth session. In any case, it
is too late now for any perma
nent reversal or return to the
pre-Council Church. Too much
has been said on the Council
floor by the Church’s highest
spokesmen. Their consensus,
which individually even they
probably did not suspect was
their true belief until they came
together, is now too obvious for
serious challenge.
During the third session the
Fathers discussed many impor
tant matters — like religious
liberty, birth control, atomic
war, the priesthood in the mod
em world, the religious orders,
the lay apostolate, non-Chris
tian religions, the missions —
which will come up again. At the
end, the Holy Father and the
Council Fathers proclaimed
three historic achievements —
the decree on the Church ("De
Ecclesia”) and those on ecu
menism and the Oriental Chur
ches.
Of these three, the greatest
was "De Ecclesia." This was
the Church’s meditation on it
self — the Church’s own answer
to the question, "What are
You?"
THE DECREE will last for a
thousand years. Nothing more
important or more profound can
come out of the Council. Every
thing in the future of Catholic
Christianity will, one way or the
other, be linked to this most fun
damental doctrine. No matter
what he does in the future, Pope
Paul will have his place in his
tory if only because he was the
pontiff who proclaimed it. If the
Fathers were never to be call
ed back to Rome, they would
have gained a place in Catholic
glory because it was they who
conceived of its importance,
who wrote it, refined it, and
finally passed it in Council.
Nothing the Council can do in
the future will outrank "De
Ecclesia"' in significance.
For this reason alone, then,
the third session, whateverdis-
appointments might be tied in
with it or whatever disputes it
might have left unsettled, was a
magnificent success. It was
during these weeks that the
Fathers finally recognized the
consensus that gave them their
historic identity. Without that
identity, "De Ecclesia” could
never have been passed. With
out "De Ecclesia” the consen
sus could never have been
achieved. With both, Vatican II
has already fulfilled Pope
John’s highest hope.
VATICAN CITY(NC)—Thirty
years ago this book could not
have been published I
Sounds like an ad for some
sensational novel, doesn’t it?
But it isn’t. It is a true state
ment about an Italian monsig
nor—a professor of Church his
tory at Rome’s great Catholic
Lateran University-whosebook
on the great scientist, Gali
leo, was classified as “inop
portune.”
IRONICALLY the book, "The
Life and Works of Galileo,"
has been published with the im
primatur of the vicar general
of Vatican City, Bishop Peter
van Lierde, and published under
the auspices of the Pontifical
Academy of Science.
Its author is the late Msgr.
Pio Paschini, a professor at the
Lateran University for 50 years.
In 1913 he took the chair of
Church history at the univer
sity after its former holder,
Prof. Ernesto Buonaiuti, had
been dismissed on charges of
favoring modernism, a heresy
condemned by Pope Pius IX.
During this time Msgr. Pas
chini became friendly* with
Father Angelo Roncalli, later
Pope John XXIII, and they re
mained friends for life. In fact,
Pope John made a special visit
to the bedside of the dying mon-
signor and knew well the his
tory of the unpublished man
uscript.
THE LATERAN history pro
fessor in the early 1930s com
pleted a 721-page study of Gali
leo which has been described
by present day critics as a
* ‘courageous and objective
study." He submitted it for an
imprimatur but was advised not
to publish the work because the
times were "inopportune." Ap
parently the inopportunity cen
tered on the fact that the Church
and pope at that time were un
der attack from the Italian Fas
cists and ecclesiastic authori
ties felt the book might be ex
ploited to attack the authority
of the pope.
Msgr. Paschini accepted the
advice and the manuscript lay
CHARGES ‘UNTRUE* REPORTS
Council Official Flays Press
unpublished for 30 years. How
ever, with Pope John on the
papal throne, the by-then aged
scholar had a powerful friend.
The occurrence of the fourth
centenary of the birth of Gali
leo proved "opportune" for fin
ally letting the work see the light
of day.
In the work Msgr. Paschini
notes that Galileo failed to de
fend his teachings before the
Inquisition and actually denied
them. At the same time he found
that personal enmities played
a part in the treatment given
to Galileo and that the essen
tial wrong in the trials of the
great scientist consisted "in the
stiffening of erroneous positions
by the Inquisition judges.
The Italian weekly news ma
gazine, Vita, summed up the
publication of the work as "a
milestone in the process of
rapprochment, of collaboration
between faith and science. The
fact that after a ban lasting
nearly 30 years, it should be
published by the Vatican and at
the end of the third session
of the ecumenical council is not
without a precise significance."
Human Relations
Council Meeting*
Set For Monday
David Carey, Executive Di
rector, Atlanta Council on Hu
man Relations, will be the fea
tured speaker at the monthly
meeting of the St. Martin’s Hu
man Relations Council in the
Scout Room of the Cathedral
Auditorium on Monday, Decem
ber 7th, at 8 p.m.
Mr. Carey will speak on the
"Emory - Druid Hills Section
Fair Housing Program”, ex
plaining the norms for the At
lanta Council’s educational pro
cedures on housing.
The St. Martin’s Human Re
lations Council is the Arch
diocesan affiliate to the Nation
al Catholic Conference on In
terracial justice. Monday’s
meeting is open to the public
and non-members will be wel
come.
VATICAN CfTY (NC)-—The
secretary of the ecumenical
council, Archbishop Pericle
Felici, has lashed out at "un
true, inexact and incomplete"
press reports regarding the
third session’s uproar over the
religious liberty schema;
Without naming names, he al
so drew a bead on "certain par
asites” who express ideas
which are "far from serving
truth, foster confusion and in
subordination.”
ARCHBISHOP Felici was
speaking at a special conference
he had called for diplomats,
ecclesiastics and others (Nov,
27), a meeting which he said
was "conversation among
friends.”
'The balance sheet of the
council is positive beyond ex
pectation,” he said, "not only
because three documents of
great importance were approv
ed, but also because it has
been possible to examine all
the schemata on the agenda.
All this enables us to look foi>
ward to an intense, but brief
and final fourth session.”
If the third session could
have been extended until about
Dec. 8, he said, "another
three or four documents could
have been given final sanction
in public session. Among these
most probably would have been
the document on religious free
dom, long awaited on many
sides.”
REGARDING this last docu
ment and the emotional ex
changes in the council when it
was denied a vote by the presi
dent’s decision during the ses
sion’s last week, Archbishop
Felici deplored the reporting of
the event "by certain press
services which do not have, par
ticularly as regards the secre
tariat general, the necessary
*****
Qj*
L—
Ml
FOR THE HOLIDAY SEASON
NAME BRAND SWEATERS
AND OTHER ITEMS 50% OFF
GIFT WRAPPED FREE
th# Iwaetuiombcr
2136 CANDLER PLAZA
SHOPPING CENTER
DECATUR 284-3983
VISIT OUR OTHER LOCATION
9-
STEWART LAKEWOOD CENTER
2803 Lakewood Avenue PHONE: 766-5565
A
USE \
OUR 1 *
LAYAWAY I ^Cf
PLAN /
serenity of judgment.”
He* said the final draft of the
document was presented to the
secretariat on the evening of
Nov. 11, and "could only be dis
tributed to the council Fathers
on Nov. 17 for the voting which
was to take place on Nov. 19.”
EXPRESSING hope that the
interim between sessions will
aid reflection and deeper exam
ination of this and other docu
ments, he said, smiling, "Any
reflection will be a help to
everyone because in the end
even those who wanted the sche
ma on religious liberty approv
ed at this session would have
disliked haste.”
He spoke of the "deplorable
but inevitable phenomenon”
which he said accompanies
every ecumenical council, but
which in this one has acquired
"even greater proportions.”
"Just as at the foot of the
strongest and healthiest trees
mushrooms grow which are not
equally healthy; just as in the
midst of the good corn weeds
grow—so on the occasion of the
council, which is the work of
God, and outside that council,
ideas spring up and voices are
heard which, although they may
be beautiful in appearance, far
from serving truth (they) fos
ter confusion, insubordination
and error. These are the para
sites of the council.
"rT IS AN evil in part nec
essary, which must be borne
with patience, mindful of the
Gospel precept: 'Let (the weeds)
grow.’ This patience may be
for some a motive for medita
tion.”
Archbishop Felici gave sta
tistics on the third session, in
cluding the facts that 50 miles
of tape were used to record the
session, 800,000 words were
spoken and 327,000 votes tabu
lated.
Referring to the council’s
concluding session, he said:
"We have full confidence in the
Fathers of the council who, as
sisted by the Divine Paraclete
will bring about the triumph of
the spirit of Christ, the spirit
of Faith, humility, obedience
and charity. We have immense
trust also in the head of the
council, to whom Jesus has en
trusted the task of confirming
the others and being their guide.
To him, Vicar of Christ, visible
stone in the mystical edifice of
the Church and therefore the
source of unity and solidarity,
goes all our devotion, g ratitude
and love. For where Peter is
there also is the Church, and
where the Church is there is
Christ.”
COGGINS
SHOE STORE
SHOES FOR THE FAMILY
46 W. PARK SQ.
MARIETTA, GEORGIA
PHONE 428-6811
SPANISH WEDDING VEILS
I
Exquisite handmade with silk
thread, imported directly
from Spain. Also mantillas.
Assorted designs, sizes and
colors. Call or write:
LOPEZ IMPORTERS
Tel. 237-7998
Box 13954 St. K Atlanta, Ga.
Vi Gallon of SWEET CREAM
•n every pound of
LAND O’ LAKES
Sweet Cream
Butter
BRANAN & SCHMITZ REALTY CO.
4641 Roswell Rd. N. E.
Atlanta, Georgia
255-7770
BUYING OR SELLING A HOUSE? cohtact
Branan & Schmitz for qualified personal
service! Specialists in AREAS I & II-
Residential Sales - Acreage - Insurance - Leases
only
s 229 50
will bu
GRUnOIG
Stenorette
THE WORLD'S MOST APPRECIATED
DICTATING SYSTEM
PHONE TODAY FOR DEMONSTRATION
WITHOUT OBLIGATION
HYNES COMPANY
172 WHITEHALL STREET, S.W.
ATLANTA, GEORGIA PHONE -6417