Newspaper Page Text
VOL 2 NO 52
REBELLIOUS TENDENCY
‘NewBreed’ Priest
Seen Stirred By
Social Problems
NEW YORK (RNS)—A Domin
ican priest suggested here that
the “apparent rebelliousness*'
among the “new breed*' of
young priests, Brothers and
Sisters stems from their acute
awareness of social problems
and a strong desire to do some
thing about them.
Father Sylvester S.Mac Nutt
O.P., of Ekibuque, Iowa, said
that the “ground swell of ques
tioning, of criticism of authori
ty* among some young relig
ious shows that they feel
“something is wrong, even
though they cannot articulate it
clearly.*’
“SUCH UNREST baffles those
of us who were brought up in
traditional ways,*’ he wrote in
the Jan. 2 issue of America,
national Catholic weekly.
We hear the groan without
being able to see the logic of the
speech. But they are trying to
say something, and for this
very reason it is vitally import
tant to see what they really
mean, to understand the thought
behind the incoherent cry.**
Father Mac Nutt then pro
ceeded to quote what some young
religious might say if asked for
a frank opinion about the real
cause for the “seeminglycriti
cal spirit’’ among them.
Most of them, the priest said,
understand the “theory of obe
dience and accept it... we are
not disturbed by what obedience
asks us to do; it*s what obe
dience sometimes asks us not
to do. That worries us.
“In other words, we some
times feel we are asked to sin
through omission.**
CITING THE parable of the
Good Samaritan, the article
continued: “A wounded man is
lying in the ditch; I see him ly
ing there and naturally I want to
help him. In fact, I feel I must
help him. Now, what should I
do if I am told to pass by .. to
Ban Distinction
BARCELONA, Spain 0JC)—
Class distinctions in funerals,
weddings and baptisms have
been banned beginning March
7 by the Barcelona archdio
cesan committee on liturgical
matters. Pastors may apply the
ban even before March 7.
MOVIE RATINGS
N.Y.
New
ALBANY, N.Y. (NC>- The
New York State Board of Reg
ents has decided to ask the Leg
islature for authority to classi
fy motion pictures according to
their suitability for children.
Under the terms of the bill
proposed by the Regents, the
motion picture division of the
Department of Education would
review all films submitted by
movie distributors and exhibi
tors for classification.
THE bill would authorize the
board only to label films as ac
ceptable for minors under 16—
not to say that objectionable
ones were unacceptable for
showing to that group.
James E, Allen, Jr„ Com
missioner of Education, said
the bill would enable the Regents
leave the poor man to his mis
ery.
“What happens if nobody else
is helping and the man needs
help desperately? ... Yet in the
eyes of my generation we are
sometimes asked to walk by that
wounded man — modern man.*’
Father Mac Nutt said that this
is what is disturbing the young
religious: “We are walking
along a road, see a man hurt,
and cannot help because of a rule
or command ...
“We know we can’t be rushing
around worrying about all the
problems of the world. But what
disturbs me is the wounded man
lying at my feet — the one who
is my responsibility. All I have
to do to help him is reach out
my hand; yet suppose I am for
bidden to do it. What then?*’
FATHER MacNUTT said the
young religious are more dis
turbed than the older genera
tion of priests “because we
have been trained to be aware
of social problems.
“Just as our country has be
come aware of the poverty of
the world, we as young Catho
lics are sensitive to poverty
and wretchedness — spiritual
as well as material ...
* We have accepted the idea
that all Catholics have an obli
gation to the direct social apos-
tolate ... We heard the cries of
our fellow man before we en
tered the seminary or convent,
and we cannot now close our
ears to those cries.
“IT IS WHERE we young sub
jects feel there is unawareness
or the part of authority regard
ing modern problems, where the
rules seem to prevent the com
munity from meeting the real
apostolate, that we feel distrub-
ed.
“We hear modern man’s cry
for help; we hear the Negro
crying for freedom, and we feel
we must march with him; we
hear young people crying alone
at night with their problems, and
we feel we must talk to them.*’
Father MacNutt, whose arti
cle was entitled, ‘The Problem
of Obedience,’’ is president of
the Catholic Homiletic Society
and chairman of the Department
of Communications at the Aqui
nas Institute in Dubuque.
to inform parents of films suit
able for the children. The ab
sence of approval, he added,
might serve as a warning.
The bill would also modify
the rarely enforced state law
that bars children under 16
from theaters unless accom
panied by an adult. It would al
low children between 8 and 16
to sit in special sections of
theaters under the supervision
of matrons.
Congo Toll
LEOPOLDVILLE, The Congo
(NC)—Successive rebellions in
the Congo have taken the lives
of 75 foreign Catholic mission
aries since February, 1961, ac
cording to statistics released
here.
Regents Seek
Censor System
ATLANTA, GEORGIA
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 31, 1964
$5.00 PER YEAR
CONCELE BRAT ION of midnight Mass at the Trappist Monastery
of the Holy Ghost at Conyers, emptied the chapel choir stalls as
the whole community participated in the Eucharistic Banquet
within the confines of the sanctuary. See also, picture, page 8,
EPISCOPAL RITE
Priest Had No Authority To
Attend Friend’s Ordination
JEFFERSON CITY, MO (NC)
—Bishop Joseph M. Marling,
C.PP.S., of Jefferson City has
informed clergy of his diocese
that he did not authorize a priest
to take part in a recent Epis
copalian ordination ceremony
and considers the action a
serious infraction’’ of canon
l&W *
Bishop Marling said in a let
ter to clergy of the diocese that
he was not consulted* in advance
about the matter and “had my
permission been sought, it
would have been refused."
THE BISHOP wrote his letter
after Father John B. Schultz,
assistant pastor at St. Pius X
parish in Moberly, Mo., read
the litany at the Dec. 19
ordination of the Rev. Richard
H. Baker, an Episcopalian pr
iest. The ordination ceremony
took place in Palmyra, Mo.,
and was performed by Episco
pal Bishop George L. Cadi-
gan of Missouri. Clergymen of
several other religions also
were present.
It had been reported that
Father Schultz acted with
Bishop Marling’s permission.
However, the bishop, who was
visiting missions in Peru at
the time, called this an “error
and said “l knew nothing about
this move.”
“In order to provide gulden
lines concerning such actions
and to enable you to set stra
ight members of the laity who
are expressing surprise that
this procedure was officially
approved, I may add that had my
permission been sought, it
would have been refused,” he
said in his letter.
“It is my judgment,” the bis
hop said, “that the act in
question was a serious in
fraction of canon 1258, which is
still in force and which re
presents the mind and wish of
the Church.” Canon 1258 of the
code of canon law forbids Cath
olics to take an active part in
non-Catholic religious cere
monies.
IT WAS also reported that
Father Schultz had received
permission to take part in the
ordination ceremony from the
Jefferson City chancery office.
But Msgr. Ralph G. Kutz, chan
cellor, denied this.
“No permission was given
to Father Schultz by anyone
on the chancery staff,” he said.
“Furthermore no action or
statement or statement of any
one on the chancery staff could
have been even remotely con
strued as either granting such
permission or tolerating Fath
er Schultz’s participation in the
Episcopal ordination service.”
We Introduce
A Conservative
With this issue the Georgia Bulletin introduces a new weekly
column of personal comment by Garry Wills, a 30-year-old Native
Atlantan author-scholar-editor with a rising reputation as an ob
server of the American Catholic scene. We believe readers will
find his “Old and New*’ column lively and enlightening, and that
even readers who differ from his approach will enjoy the challenge
he offers.
GARRY WILLS is a classicist by profession, a member of the
classics department at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Md.
He is also an associate editor of National Review, a former asso
ciate editor of the Richmond News Leader and a contributor to such
journals as The Commonweal and The Critic. Though his opinions
on social and political matters are not always predictable, his
general inclination is toward the conservative end of the spectrum
and he may aptly be described as a voice of the responsible right.
His recent pioneering study Politics and Catholic Freedom has
been widely discussed in the general press as well as in Catholic
newspapers and reviews. He is also theauthorof Chesterton, Man
and Mask, and has contributed essays to What Is Conservatism
and to the forthcoming The Generation of the Third Eye.
WILLS HOLDS a bachelor's degree from St. Louis university,
master's degrees from Xavier university and Cincinnati and Yale,
and a Ph.D. from Yale. Born in Atlanta in 1934, he is married and
has three children.
Hiy first column appears on page 5,
HOLIDAY SCHEDIIT.F
Pope Addresses
Diplomatic Corps,
Visits Bedridden
VATICAN CITY (NC)—The
backdrop for Pope Paul Vi’s
second Christmas as head of
the Church varied from the
splendor of the Sistine Chapel
to a tiny room in a working
class suburb of Rome.
A drizzling rain was also a
part of the observance, forc
ing a scheduled outdoor Mass
in St. Peter’s square to be
celebrated inside the basilica
and cutting attendance for the
Christmas blessing from the
usual hundreds of thousands
to less than 20,000.
THE Pope celebrated his first
Mass of the day at midnight
for the diplomats accredited to
the Holy See and their families
in the hushed splendor of the
Sistine Chapel at an altar fac
ing Michelangelo’s master
piece, “The Last Judgment.”
“On this night you are for us
the world,” the Pope told the
congregation. Speaking of his
role as head of the Church, the
Pope said: “Our only reason
for existing and our sole de
sire consists in spreading in
the world love and peace.”
EARLY on Christmas day
the Pope celebrated a second
Mass and spoke briefly again,
but to a very different group
of people.
At 8 a.m. he arrived at the
working-class parish of St. Ra
phael the Archangel in the Tru-
Ho district of Rome. He was
greeted by damp crowds and
slightly soggy bunting and car
pets which had been used to
ornament balconies over
looking the street in front of
the church.
The Pope told his listeners
that they must heed the voice
of heaven when it tells them
of their Faith and then they must
put it into practice, and par
ticularly they must practice
their Faith so that they can
trust in Christ to help them.
THE poor were the first to
come into contact with Christ,
he said, and thus it is you
yourselves whom Christ first
calls, he explained.
The Pope distrubuted Holy
Communion to the parish’s chil-
drep and its youth groups and at
the end of Mass he presented
the church with the chalice and
chasuble he had used. He also
gave an unspecified amount of
money to help the poor and
left many packs of gifts. In
return the Pope was given flo-
Enthrone In
Charleston
CHARLESTON, S.C. (NC>—
Bishop Ernest L. Unterkoefler
will be enthroned as Bishop of
Charleston, S,C„ in the Cathe
dral of St. John the Baptist here
Feb. 22.
The prelate, who has been
auxiliary bishop of Richmond,
Va„ since December, 1961, will
be enthroned by Archbishop
Paul J. Hallinan of Atlanta,
Bishop John J. Russell of Rich
mond will preach at the service.
Bishop Unterkoefler, 47, will
be spiritual leader of 37,960
Catholics in South Carolina’s
population of 2,383,549,He suc
ceeds Bishop Francis F, Reh
who was named rector of the
North American College in
Rome.
wers, a lamb, two doves and an
album of pictures prepared by
the school children.
Before he left the area the
Pope was driven in an open car,
despite the rain, to visit two
bedridden persons, First he
talked with 26-year-old Lo-
reta Del Vecchio, who has been
paralyzed for 17 years. The
girl was visibly moved.
THROUGH her tears she
managed to say “This Christ
mas, Your Holiness, is the
most beautiful day of my
life.’* He spoke words of
comfort and presented her with
a statue of the Christ Child
and a personal gift of money.
At a second visit nearby, the
Pope talked with 62-year-old
Alcide Sereni, a former em
ployee of the Vatican’s print
ing facility, the Polyglot
Press. He had lost the use of
his legs 12 years ago after
an auto accident.
At 11 a.m. the Pope cele
brated a low Mass in St. Pe
ter’s after being carried there
on his portable throne. After the
Gospel he spoke briefly, urg
ing the more than 10,000people
attending to make their Christ
mas truly good by “giving
it its authentic spiritual value
and recognizing its deep hu
man meaning.”
AFTER the Mass he went up
to the main balcony in the fa
cade of St. Peter’s which was
hung with a huge banner of red
and white bearing his coat of
arms. He was saluted by the
band of the national police and
by details from the Italian
Army, Navy and Air Force.
The Pope took his place on
a throne. Unlike last year’s
Christmas , he did not wear
the triple crown of his office.
This time he wore a gold-
embroidered miter.
After speaking briefly of the
meaning of Christmas he exten
ded his blessing to all, par
ticularly the children. Many in
the wet crowd knelt as the Pope
pronounced the solemn bene
diction Urbi et Orbi— to the
city of Rome and to the world.
This conclude d his public ob
servance of Christ’s Birthday.
N E W SECRETARY O F
COMMERCE. John T. Con
nor, who will succeed retir
ing Secretary Luther H.
Hodges in President Lyndon
B. Johnson's cabinet, prob
ably on Jan. 15, 1965. The
post is subject to Senate
confirmation.