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PAGE 2 GEORGIA BULLETIN THURSDAY, DECEMBER 31, 1964
TEXT OF CHRISTMAS MESSAGE
Pope Scores Racism-Urges Disarmament, Brotherhood
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WHCKK INSUHANC* IS A FSOSSSSION NOT^A SIDELINE
and peoples to be watchful and
to moderate this facile instinct
of prestige and rivalry, or it can
once again prove fatal. We make
it our wish that the functions of
the organizations set up for
uniting the nations may be sus
tained and respected by all in
the spirit of loyal and recipro
cal collaboration. Patient nego
tiations and opportune pacts are
needed to avoid war and to pre
vent clashes, to facilitate the
growth of the awareness and ex
pression of international law
and, briefly, to give peace its
lasting security and dynamic
eauilibrium.
Another obstacle that raises
its head again is racism, which
separates and opposes the dif
ferent branches constituting the
great human family, resulting in
pride, mistrust, exclusivism,
discr'mination and sometimes
even oppression, thus ruining
the mutual respect and due es
teem which ought to turn the
diverse ethnical groups into a
peaceful concert of brotherly
peoples.
And so, we cannot help being
alarmed at a militarism no
longer focused on the legiti
mate defense of the countries
concerned or on the mainte
nance of world peace, but tend
ing rather to build up stock
piles of weapons ever more
powerful and destructive—a
process which consumes enor
mous quantities of money and
manpower, feeds the public
mind on the thought of power
and war, and induces men to
make mutual fear the treache
rous and inhuman basis of world
peace.
IN THIS context, we have no
hesitation in expressing our
hopes that the rulers of na
tions will find a way to pro
mote, prudently and magnani
mously, the process of disar
mament. We would like to see a
generous-minded investigation-
of how—at least in part and by
stages—military expenditure
could be diverted to humanitar
ian ends; and this, not only to
the advantage of the particular
countries concerned, but also
of others in the course of de
velopment or in a state of need.
Hunger and misery, sickness
and ignorance still cry out for
remedy in this age of plenty and
of brotherhood, we do not hesi
tate to make our own once more
the pleas of the innumerable
poor and suffering today in need
of genuine and substantial re
lief. You, good and generous
men who are in a position to
help the hungry and the suffer
ing, those in misery and in a
state of abandonment, hear in
our voice the divine and human
voice of Christ our Brother in
every human need.
Can we, in this tragic list of
obstacles to human brother
hood, ignore the barrier of
class, still a very real source
of bitterness in modern society?
Can we Ignore the spirit of di
vision and strife over ideas,
methods, interests, organiza
tions within the structures of the
various communities? On the
one hand, such complex and
widespread social phenomena
VATICAN CITY— Following is
an English text of the Christmas
address (Dec. 22) of Pope Paul
VI in which he calls for an end
to racism and nationalism and
urges disarmament. The text
was released by the Vatican
Unfailingly tender and mov
ing, touchingly human and at the
same time sacred and myster
ious, the feast of Christmas,
followed by the beginning of the
new year, beings to our heart
even more than to our lips an
overwhelming abundance of best
wishes to all of you who are so
kind as to listen to our voice.
WE EXTEND these best wish
es to you, our dearest children
and brethren, whom the same
faith and the same charity bind
to us in united joy, enabling us
to sense the tidal wave of emo
tion and of contemplation with
which the heart is flooded as it
reflects on the mystery of
Christmas. We express our best
wishes also to all men of all
ages, of all countries, of all be
liefs, toward whom today more
than ever we feel we owe our
esteem, our affection, and our
united efforts.
In a genuine sense Christmas
makes us experience the very
essence of our universal re
sponsibility of announcing the
Good News to all men, the Good
News which reveals to men their
potential for happiness, for
peace, and for salvation* For
this reason, on this day more
than on any other, we feel our
selves not merely anxious but
even obliged to communicate to
the world our message of good
wishes.
This year the message that
we address to all our hearers
is one of brotherhood, a broth
erhood which is more meaning
ful, more effective, more uni
versal than the type which now
unites men.
VIVIDLY impressed on our
heart is the recollection of our
recent trip to Bombay, a trip
directed by a religious purpose,
as is obvious, but at the same
time a trip which has become
for us something of inestimable
human value. We went forth as
a foreigner and a pilgrim into
a distant land unknown to us. We
could have remained as an iso
lated foreigner, surrounded
only by our brothers in the faith.
Instead we met people, a festive,
overflowing throng which seem
ed to us to represent not only
the countless peoples of vast
India, but also all the other
Asian peoples. To be sure, they
were not Catholic, but they were
courteous, receptive, eager for
a glance and a word from the
strange visitor from Rome. It
was indeed a moment of un
derstanding and blending of
many hearts.
What it is that these rejoic
ing crowds saw in us, we do not
know. In them we saw a most
worthy segment of humanity,
one faithful to its millenary cul
tural traditions, not all Chris
tian, to be sure, but profoundly
spiritual and in many respects
humane and good, at once most
ancient and youthful, today alive
to and turned toward something
which even the marvels of mod
ern progress cannot provide, if
they are not perhaps actually an
obstacle.'
Then a feeling of profound
understanding brought us a con
firmation of what Christianity
has been saying for centuries,
and which the evolution of civ
ilization has been slowly and
gradually discovering and pro
claiming; AH men are brothers.
CONTACTS among men are
becoming so numerous and so
convenient that they should lead
to love. Distances are so reduc
ed and almost abolished that
love should become universal.
The idea of neighbor, which the
parable of the Good Samaritan
extends beyond conventional
limits, embraces the whole of
humanity; Every man is our
neighbor.
On the one side, the evidence
of men's needs becomes so
manifest and deplorable, and
on the other, the possibility of
relieving them increases daily
so abundantly that it becomes
clear toward which goal today
the progress of civilization
should tend: the mobilization of
these forces for solidarity mong
men, so that no one will lack
for bread and dignity, so that
all men will make of the com
mon good their major preoccu
pation.
Human progress has been
discovering the importance and
the value of that which Christ,
having become man like us and
our teacher, had already taught
us in these words of His Gos
pel, which have never been fully
comprehended and not yet uni
versally put into practice: “You
are all brethren*’ (Mt. 23, 8);
that is, equals, united among
yourselves, having an obliga
tion to acknowledge the image
of the same Heavenly Father re
flected in each of you, and to
work together to achieve the
same destinies: fullhumanper-
fection and divine sonship
through grace in this life, and
eternal happiness in the next.
TODAY brotherhood must be
given recognition; friendship is
the principle of all of today's
living in common. Instead of
seeing in the other the outsider,
the rival, the undesired, the ad
versary, the enemy, we should
accustom ourselves to seeing
the man, which is to say, a be
ing like ourselves, worthy of
respect, of esteem, of assis
tance, of love, as we ourselves
are. May these marvelous
words of the holy African doc
tor echo in our heards: "Dila-
tentur spatia caritatis" (May
the boundaries of love grow wid
er) (Sermon X, “On the Words
of the Lord*').
The barriers raised by the
spirit of selfishness must come
down; the promotion of legiti
mate private interests must
never prove detrimental to oth
ers or run counter to the rea
sonable claims of public wel
fare.
Democracy, to which all man
kind today appeals, must take
on a more universal aspect,
which will transcend all the ob
stacles that stand in the way of
the effective brotherhood of all
men.
We know that these ideas find
today a ready response in the
hearts of men. We feel that the
young are particularly con
scious that these are the fruits
of the future, because rooted in
the irreversible progress of
civilization. These ideals are
lofty without, however, being
utopian; though arduous, they
deserve study and call for ac
tion. They have our support;
just as the young have our sup
port who yearn to create a world
which will be a home for all
men and not a system of tren
ches at the service of undying
hatred and never-ending strug
gle.
BUT WE are also aware how
transient these lofty ideas can
too easily be. At different
moments of history they ap
pear as if rising brightly in
the heavens, only to be sudden
ly obscured by opposing clouds.
The path toward genuine pro
gress can never be free from
toil and uncertainty. Mankind,
by its stubborn resistance,
knows how to divert the contin
uing quest for good. Men are in
constant, The pursuit of hatred
comes more easily than love.
Because of this, we desire
to place at the service of the
world the inexhaustible and ever
timely patrimony of divine and
human truth and of spiritual
energy inherent in Catholicism,
thereby to sustain the efforts
of men of good will to promote
the common good, to bring about
universal peace and the broth
erhood of all men. Ours is a
sincere offer. In the ecumeni
cal council the Church is engag
ed in meditating on these rich
es; she is drawing them out of a
heart filled with a new love, a
love which Christ has enkindled
in the world. In a humble,
friendly gesture, she offers
these riches for the free accep
tance of the modem world,
which cannot, however, refuse
them if it is really concerned
about its own salvation.
We are not unaware of the ob
stacles which continue to stand
in the way of human brother
hood, and it is with sorrow that
we observe that at the present
moment we are passing through
a period in which 1 they appear
more clearly in evidence, and
prove themselves at times to be
dangerously effective. In the
presence of the charming
sweetness of Christmas it is
PENSIVE PONTIFF, Pope Paul VI, in his Christmas ad
dress (Dec. 22) called on ‘'all men, of all countries and of
all beliefs” to seek relief from the ills of the world —
hunger and misery, sickness and ignorance” — through
brotherhood that would combat "nationalism, racism and
militarism.”
not possible to enter into a de
tailed discussion of these ob
stacles which show the dramatic
and frightful aspect of the con
temporary world situation. In a
message, however, of essential
sincerity like the present one,
it would not be proper to pass
over in complete silence this
threatening reality.
LET US then briefly point out
some concrete forms from
among so many existing and
possible ones, in which the op
position to human brotherhood
manifests itself. We just men
tion them by way of example,
as it were.
First of all there is nation
alism, which divides peoples,
putting them in opposition to
one another, raising up among
them barriers of conflicting
ideologies that produce closed
outlooks, exclusive interests
and self-sufficient ambitions, if
not greedy and overbearing
forms of imperialism. This
enemy of human brotherhood is
today gaining strength. It had
appeared to have been at least
virtually overcome after the
tragic experience of the last
World War. It is rising anew.
We appeal to governments
FORESEES COUNCIL END
Pope Urges ‘Perseverance’
To Members Of The Curia
VATICAN CITY (NC)— Pope
Paul VI urged officials of the
Roman curia to “generous
perseverance, continous stri
ving toward perfection and wise
efforts to give ideal and spiri
tual value" to their tasks.
In his Christmas Eve audie
nce to cardinals living in Rome
and to officials of the curia,
the Pope expressed “thanks for
the work which each accomp
lishes for the Holy See." The
curia is the collective term for
all offices, congregations and
commissions which assist the
Pope in Rome to carry out his
mission of guiding and serving
the universal Church.
IN addition to exchanging
seasons greetings ami thanking
all for their assistance, the
Pope disclosed that the fourth
council session would be the
last. However he set no date
for its opening.
Speaking especially to the
curia, the Pope said:
of Rome, Pope Paul declar
ed he was not "displeased"
that the council did not ach
ieve its results without "long,
diverse and difficult dis
cussions." He said this in
dicated the “liberty of opinion
and of speech which was per
mitted ever since the start to
the Fathers, and it is a sign
of the lively interest they took
in various matters submitted to
their study."
THE Pope, however, said it
would be inexact to character
ize the council as riddled
with inner dissensions.He poin
ted to the “profound and mu
tual desire for substantial
unity and fraternal coopera
tion which inspired Indivi
dual conciliar declarations,"
and to the “almost unanimous
agreement" with which the final
results were accepted.
It was at this point that he
spoke of the “fourth session
which will be without doubt the
last." .
Pope Paul took note of the
nations of the world where the
Church is not free to carry out
its mission, and to the suffer
ings undergone by mission
aries this year.
ALMOST immediately after
he finished his speech, the
Vatican Press Office release
the text of a telebram from the
Pope to Catholics in the Con
go, urging them to work for
peace in their country and
commiserating with them for
the sufferings many have under
"May we be allowed to en
courage all of your venerable
brothers and beloved sons to
generous perseverance, con
tinuous striving toward per
fection, wise efforts to give
ideal and spiritual value to
your respective tasks so that
this Roman curia of ours may
appear more and more the in
dispensable instrument, the
well-ordered unit, the exempl
ary circle about the chair of
St. Peter in its pastoral of
fice for the good of the Holy
Church."
NO reference was made in
the speech by the Pope to the
expected reform of the Roman
curia which has been under
consideration by a special com
mission for more than a year.
However, it was understood
from various informed sour
ces that the announcement of the
plans for reform may be ex
pected within the first months
of 1965. Although nothing of
ficial has been released to
date, it is known that the gen
eral program for curial re
form has been drawn up and
is being readied for final
approval.
Elsewhere, in his discourse
to the assembled prelates
to f
-si*
POPE PAUL VI pours aromatic balsam into water before immersing the wax medallions
known as “Agnus Deis.” With him. left to right, are Bishop Canisius Van Lierde, O.S.A.,
papal sacristan and vicar for Vatican City; Amleto Cardinal Cicognani, papal secretary
of state; Archbishop Enrico Dante, secretary of the Sacred Congregation of Rites and
papal master of ceremonies; Msgr. Salvatore Capoferri, a privy chamberlain of the Pope,
and Archbishop Diego Venini, the Holy Father's private almoner.
bring together men who share
common interests. But on the
other hand, they create great
rifts between the various
groups, making strife itself the
center of life, and stamping our
society—so highly developed
technologically and economi
cally- with the tragic and bitter
mark of division and hatred.
Men are not happy because they
do not live as brothers.
WE KNOW well enough the
enormous and seemingly insol
uble difficulties which lie
across the path of freedom and
friendship in social life. But,
for our part, we will never grow
tired of urging love for one's
neighbor as the basic principle
of any truly human society; and
we shall go on hoping that sin
cere reflection and the exper
ience of life will help men to
see where our many social di
visions come from, and to
search for a pattern of social
living that is evermore authen
tic and humane.
Also, for this reconstruction
of modern society according to
the unsuppressible demands of
peaceful living together, for
the restoration of mutual col
laboration among various so
cial classes and various na
tions, and for the restoration
of happiness resulting from liv
ing together, our ancient Gos
pel, open today to the page of
peace on earth to men of good
will, has new living words to of
fer to the brotherhood of man.
Listening to our message,
some may ask: Is not religion
a motive for the division among
men, and especially the Catho
lic religion, so dogmatic, so de
manding, so discriminating?
Does it not impede an easy
conversation and a spontaneous
understanding among people?
Oh, yes, religion. Catholic no
less than any other, is an ele
ment of distinction among men,
even as is language, culture,
art and the professions, but it
is not of its very nature a di
visive element.
It is true that Christianity,
by the newness of the life which
it brings into the world, can be
a motive of division and of con
trast because of that which
brings good to humanity; it is a
light shining in darkness, dif
ferentiating the various areas.
But it is not of the nature of
religion to oppose itself to peo
ple. It is in behalf of people,
it stands in defense of all that
is sacred and unsuppressible
in them, of their fundamental
aspiration to God, and their
right to manifest this external
ly in a worthy form of worship.
THE CHURCH must, how
ever, express publicly her sor
row when so incoercible a pro
pensity is impeded, hindered,
forbidden and even punished by
force of public power, which in
this case presumes to enter a
field beyond its competence.
Apropos of this topic, which
demands a more full and rea
soned reply, we can at least
repeat what the Church today
goes on proclaiming: justice
and well-understood religious
liberty, which forbids one to
shake the foundation of others'
beliefs when they are not con
trary to the common good, which
forbids one to impose a faith not
freely accepted, or to proceed
by odious discrimination or un
deserved vexations, promoting
respect for whatever is true and
good in every religion and in
every human opinion, with the
special intention of promoting
civil concord and collaboration
in every sort of good activity.
Truth stands fast and charity
sheds light on its beneficent
splendor.
This today more than ever is
our program, convinced as we
are that the world needs love,
needs tobreakthe bonds of self
ishness within itself, needs to
open out to a sincere, ever in
creasing, universal brother
hood.
And it is our wish for you,
sincere, good people listening to
us. We make it with joy and
hope in the name of Him who is
the “first born among many
brethren" (Rom. 8, 29), Christ
the Lord.
IN THIS wish of ours, our
heart opens in a father's loving
embrace for mankind the world
over, for whose redemption the
Divine Saviour came down to
earth. And, in particular, we
turn to our venerable brothers
and dear children, those es
pecially who by reason of the
sad restrictions still impose
upon them cannot add outward
signs of happiness and serenity
to the feast of Christmas. Next
we turn to priests, to men and
women Religious, especially
our beloved missionaries whose
anxieties and difficulties we
well know.
AGAIN, we turn to all Chris
tian families, to the generosity
and promise of youth, the inno-
cense of the little ones, the en
thusiasm of young people. In
our embrace we include all who
work, with their tiring and at
times monotonous daily tasks;
the sick and suffering with their
burden of pain known to God
alone who understands and re
wards all; and we have a very
special thought for the poor of the
whole world—their fears and
hardships echo deeply in sorrow
in our heart. May the newly
born Child bring to them the
comfort of His love and the
sweetness of a renewed confi
dence; and may He likewise spur
all who have the power and the
means- those most of all who
are responsible for the com
mon good—to unite in a con
structive effort, in an effec
tive solidarity, to bring new
means, speedy remedies and
suitable plans to bear on the im
mense needs of the world's poor
and on their hopes which can
not continue to be disappointed.
Filled with these thoughts we
renew our good wish to you and
with an open heart we give to
all of you who are listening and
to the entire family of mankind
the comfort of our apostolic
blessing as a pledge and re
flection of the goodness of the
Divine Child of Bethlethem.
AM I TO A39UME THAT NX! NAVE
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