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PAGE 2 GEORGIA BULLETIN THURSDAY FEBRUARY 4, 1965
NEW PHASE IN ECUMENISM
Historic Contacts Marked
By Realistic Approaches
BY RELIGIOUS NEWS SERVICE CORRESPONDENT
As development follows deve
lopment in the ecumenical mo
vement, it is difficult at any
one moment to define the par
ticular “stage" of the effort
among religious groups to find
new mutual understanding,
cooperation and— in some cas
es— unity, Still, several re
cent events indicate strongly
that inter-Protestant relations,
relations between Protestants
and Roman Catholics and the
Christina- Jewish encounter
are now at the beginning of a
new chapter.
The next phase of the ecum
enical movement, which ap
pears to have gained an irre
versible momentum, seems to
promise energetic effort to se-
arch jointly for understand
ing and unity, at the same time
approaching those goals out of
caution and a realistic aware
ness of the very real differen
ces that do exist.
IMMEDIATE past days
have been rich with an ecumen
ical atmosphere. tTo an extent
probably greater than ever in
history, Protestants and Catho
lics joined in joint observan
ces of the coinciding Week of
Christian Unity sponsored by
the World Council of Churches
and the Catholic-sponsored
Chair of Unity Octave. There
were signs that the spirit of
the special week - would
carry over into the future in the
form of ever more interrel
igious worship events.
Sentiments along the line of
those expressed in Bombay, In
dia, by Valerian Cardinal Gr
acias at a "first time" in
terdenominational unity meet
ing were heard in cities around
the globe during the prayer
week. "Winds of change" are
blowing over the world's reli
gious groups, he said, "and
gradually we are expected to
-get ourselves accustomed to
“them. . , Ajlew era.has dawn-
*ed for ©tfristianity; but the goal
still is far off and can only
be reached by much patience
and prayer."
Perhaps the most outstanding
ecumenical development of the
new year was the action taken
by the policy-making Central
Committee of the World Coun
cil of Churches in approv
ing formation of a “working
group" with the Catholic Church
to study ecumenical relations
and explore possibilities of co
operation and collaboration.
THOUGH actual establish
ment of the group depended on
Vatican approval, there apne-
ared little doubt that Catho
lic agreement was forthcoming.
World Council and Vatican
Secretariat for Promot
ing Christian Unity represent
atives jointly planned the group
and following the WCC action,
Secretariat officials applaud
ed.
Described as the first such
"official" WCC- Catholic unit
to be created— and to exist
on a continuing basis—- it was
expected to take actual shape
in the very near future.
Initial discussion of the new
Protestant-Catholic unit, how
ever, was indicative of the cur
rent status of the ecumenical
movement. While leading
churchmen both at the Vatican
and in the world organization of
Protestant, Orthodox, Anglian
and Old Catholic Churches
sought not to minimize the im
portance of the prospective dis
cussion group, its "consul
tative" character was emphas
ized.
The group cannot take final
actions or "Negotiate union,”
it was stressed; it will serve
Charter Flight
NEW YORK (NC) — A Catho
lic press charter flight to Rome
for the opening of the final ses
sion of the Second Vatican Coun
cil is being organized by the
Catholic Press Association
here.
James A. Doyle, CPA execu- ,
tive secretary, said prelimi
nary plans call for departure
from New York by jet on Sept.
8 or 9 and return from Rome
Sept. 19 or 20. Details of the
flight are being handled for the
CPA by Catholic Travel Office,
Washington, D. C.
mainly as a forum for the in
vestigation of problems and
programs “which can best be
discussed at an international
level." Individual contacts bet
ween the Catholic Church and
other religious groups will
continue.
PERHAPS the most indicative
comment to come from Rome
was that of Pope Paul VI.
At a midweek general audience
the same day the WCC approved
formation of the working group,
the pontiff warned Catholics ag
ainst "the temptation to shel
ve controversial points of doc
trine" or to "minimize. . .
certain truths" in seeking Ch
ristian untiy. Still, the Pope
was clear in his desire that
Catholics take a full part "
"sustaining the dialogue of fra
ternity" and openly discussing
doctrinal difficulties and other
problems.
Similarly, Dr. Franklin Clark
Fry, chairman of both the Cen
tral and Executive Committees
of the World Council, counsel
ed caution in evaluation of Pro-
testant-cCatholic relations.
The Protestant leader,
through joining those who call
ed the working group a step
forward in the ecumenical mo
vement, stopped short of
describing its stablishment as
"a great milestone."
MANY PROTESTANT and
Orthodox churchmen, he said,
are keeping "hopes in sus
pense” and waitng "to see how
the course of history flows."
Recent decrees approved by the
Vatican Council contain "con
flicting tendencies" which could
lead to either a "backward
looking" or ''decidedly for
ward-looking” Catholic Church
Dr. Fray said. He called at
tention to the "uncertain pos
ture” of the Council's decla-
f ration ‘bri'Fefiglbus liberty,f
| which was deferred in die clo s**
*ing v n days 'df thexonOlave'rf
third session. (Pope Paul, while
turning down a move led by
American bishops to force a
vote on religious liberty at the
third session, stated that the
issue would be the first order
of business at the fourth ses
sion next fall.)
Considerable disappointment
was expressed immediately
throughout non-Catholic Chur
ches over the postponed Vote
on religious liberty. Several
comments from Council obser
vers, however, have included
advice against hasty evalua
tions. One of these, Dr. John
Newton Thomas, who repres
ented the World Presbyterian
Alliance, warned against ex
treme judgments of the Council
and issued a plea to keep open
'lines of communication."
"LET US continue with vigor,
sincerity and intelligence the
conversations, joint study pro
jects and other expressions of
the ecumenical experience al
ready begun,” Dr.-Thomas said
at the annual meeting of the
North American Area Council of
the Alliance. "For meeting of
the North American Area
Council of the Alliance. "For
44 years Protestants have been
asking for these conversa
tions."
CathOlic-Jewish relations,
which were notably improved
by Vatican Council passage to
be moving quickly into the area
the Judeo-Christian tradition,
the causes and cures of anti-
Semitism and mutual responsi
bility in regard to contempor
ary issues.
Recently in America parti
cularly, there have been re-ea-
ted scenes of Catholics and
Jews sharing the same plat
form. Paralleled many plac
es have been joint seminars
such as one sponsored last
weekend at Mercy College,
Dobbs Ferry, N, Y„ by the
Catholic school and the Anti-
Defamation League of B'nai B'
rith. Though largely devoted to
anti-Semitism, the discussions
also covered a wide scope of
topics*— legislation on moral
ity, parochialism and church-
state relations.
AT LATROBE, Pa., a collo
quy brought together Jewish
and Catholic theologians. Spon
sored by the American Benedi
ctine Academy and the Natio
nal -Conference of Chris
tians and Jews, the meeting
was called an attempt to build
understanding that will "dispel
stereotypes and lay the ground
work for a more rational conf
rontation of differences between
Jews and Catholics." Rabbi
Arthur Gilbert, staff consul
tant on the NCCJ, called the
colloquy "the first time in his
tory that Jewish and Catholic
scholars have met each other
for the sake of study and dis
cussion in an atmosphere of ea-
uality and mutual respect with-
outh intent to evangelize."
Within Protestantism, recent
events have included moves to
bring conservative denomina-
ionS more actively into the
ecumenical movement. At the
WCC Central Committee meet
ing, an energetic effort in this
direction was urged. Churches
of "conservative evangelical”
leaning which now belong to the
world body were called on to
make more direct contacts with
similar denominations who re
main outside the WCC.
IN ANOTHER significant
move, the influential conserva
tive Protestant fortnightly,
Christianity Today, called for
new efforts to achieve break
throughs in the search for Ch
ristian unity.
"Churches whose existence
derives only from sociological,
racial, or cultural differences
ought not t o remain separa
ted and divided," the magaz
ine said. "They should seek,
wherever possible, union with
other Churches of like con
victions."
Also included in the is
sue was an article by Dr. Way
ne Dehoney, president of the
Southern Baptist Convention,
who maintained that the ecum
enical movement “should aban
don its drive for organic union,
forsake its policy of erasing
denominational differences, and
develop more areas of coope
ration at the local level." ,•
FROM OTHER quarters,
there were calls for new ef
fort to achieve Church union.
Dr. Eugene Carson Blake, chief
administrative officer of the
United Presbyterian Church in
the U. S. A., returned t o the
same pulpit where he made
his dramatic 1960 plea for a
"united Church, tryly catholic,
truly reformed, and truly ev
angelical" and renewed the call
for serious effort to solve theo
logical and organizational bar
riers in the way of Church un
ion.
In his sermon, Dr. Blake cit
ed “positive, negative and am
biguous” developments since
his initizl union proposal and
cited "pitfalls" that stand in
the way of union.
AMONG majordevelopments,
he said, has been the Vatican
Council and the "Reality of Cat
holic renewal" and its "beat
ing Upon the life and direction
of all Christian Churches." In
some ways, he continued, the
Catholic event has "made more
important and urgent the effort
to unite major Protestant Chur
ches," and in other respects
"has forced a reassessment of
the kind of union and coopera
tion that the new ecumenical
climate now demands.”
Possibly striking a keynote
for the current ecumenical mo
ment, Dr. Blake stressed that
"the kind of Church union which
alone we dare to press for, is
one which is recognized clearly
as supplementary to all other
manifestations of Christian
unity, especially those obliga
tions laid upon us all by the
new ecumenical insights of the
20th Century."
PRIESTS FROM Region 1 Of The Archdiocesan Expansion Program Meet To Plan Parish Cam
paigns. Seated Left To Right: Very Rev. Harold J. Rainey, Chancellor, (Coordinator); Rev. John
D, Stapleton, Pastor St. Jude's; Rev, Noel Burtenshaw, Vice-Chancellor (Assistant Coordinator).
Standing Left To Right: Rev. Ellis DePriest, S.N., Pastor St. Joseph’s, Marietta; Rev. John F, Mc
Donough, Rector Christ The King Cathedral; Rev. Joseph Ware, Pastor Holy Spirit; Rev. Christian
Kochenbrod, C.P., St. Paul OfThe Cross; Rev. Leo TurgeOn, SM, St. Joseph's, Marietta; Rev. Den
nis Walsh, CP, Pastor, St. Paul Of The Cross.
WORSHIP A DUTY
Lay Role In Liturgy
Viewed As Forma tive
BERLIN (NC) — Vatican II’s
Constitution on the Sacred Lit
urgy not only makes the laity's
active participation in worship a
duty, but also gives lay people
a formative role in die very
structure of church services, a
liturgical scholar observed
here.
In a pricnipal address to the
more than 700 participants in
the East German liturgical con*-
gress, Professor Otfriencf
Mueller of Erfurt declared:
PONTIFF SAYS
'THIS means that the faithful
take part in Christ's and the
Church’s priestly office. In a
certain way, laymen conductthe
worship. This does not in any
way mean an erasure of the
(separate) duties of prieists and
26) on the second day of this
first major Catholic gathering
in communist-governed Ger
many. West German Bishops
came to the Soviet sector of
Berlin to join their fellow Cath
olics in East Germany.
Public Morality
Church Interest
VATICAN CITY (NC) — ;
Through the Church must |
remain apart from politics, it
cannot be disinterested in "the
ideological, moral and spiritual
inspiration of public life," Pope
Paul VI told an Italian Catho
lic Action group.
Defining politics as "the
management of the temporal or
der," the Pope gave guidelines
lor lay participation in this field
to a n audience composed of
members of the civic commit
tee of Catholic Action assem
bled in Rome for the opening
of a three-year-course in civic
education.
"WE NOTE with satisfaction
that there are those who syst
ematically and wisely assist
our people in their doctrinal
maturation as well as their
proper behavior in civic acti
vities. This is your task, all
assistance is greater. They are
urged by the customs of mod
ern life to know everything
to assess everything in the pub
lic life. They are besieged and
entrapped by a dangerous and
stormy pluralism of contrasting
opinions, by incessant and over
whelming propaganda, often in
on way conforming to an up
right civil and Christian way of
thinking, and they are in the
end compelled through their
participation in the electoral
contests to decide the fate of
society, the Pope said.
The exercise of the voting
right, he said, "must be en
lightened, free and orderly.
It is a work of no little merit
to educate and guide citizens in
POPE PAUL
such an exercise. In practice
it will be your program to carry
out informative and educational
activity among various social
categories regarding the pro
blems of civic life."
THE POPE noted that
schools, press and political
parties all aided in this civic
education, but that their speci
fic instruction was technical,
economic, political and juridi
cal.
"Without neglecting these...
you should .take care to stress
higher aspects, that is, the
moral aspects. You should re
gard it as an honor and a duty
to link these teachings with the
social doctrine of the Church,
from which can spring so much
light, so much security, so much
vigor for those who give it at
tention and trust," the Pope
’said.
"Do not think that your ac-
ai tion will become sterile or ab
stract and useless through the
prevalent consideration of these
ethical and illumines them. It
does not enter into the contest of
specific political debates, but
penetrates into the secrecy of
conscienes and guides their
judgment, applying to the civic
order the same moral norms
which are at the base of the
private order. It does not pro
nounce on technical questions
or those concerned with public
affairs, but demands that
competence, honesty and per
sonal conduct correspond t o the
gravity, to the rectitude, to the
exemplary nature of the func
tions of the common good."
Charity Mental Retardation Key
VATICAN CITY (NC>—Pope
Paul VI, addressing specialists
in problems of mentally re
tarded children, declared that
charity plays a key role in their
work.
"It is this supernatural love
that inculcates in us a profound
respect for life, for the sacred
character of the person and of
the absolute and mysterious
value of his dignity, even among
those poorly favored from a hu
man point of view," he said.
The specialists had come to
Rome from throughout Europe
and North America for a con
gress on the theme "Social,
Professional and Religious In
tegration of the Mentally Re
tarded." The congress was
sponsored by the International
Catholic Office of Childhood.
"WHAT can we say to you on
this theme, which you already
know better than we do?" the
Pope asked.
"We will give you rather a
word of encouragement for this
highly arduous task which is
yours. It is always difficult to
be educators. How much the
more when it concerns persons
whose intelligence, submerged
by rebellious nature, must be,
as it were, recreated. For that,
first and above all, charity is
needed.”
The meeting both opened and
closed with Bible vigil services
in St. Hedwig’s cathedral in East
Berlin. The first working day
(Jan. 26) opened with the con-
celebration of the HolyEuchar- ,
ist in St. Hedwig’s by Archbis
hop Alfred Bengsch of Berlin
and 12 other priests, including
another East German prelate,
Auxiliary Bishop Hugo Lufder-
beck, of Fulda stationed in Er
furt, in the Soviet Zone.
ARCHBISHOP Bengsch said in
his sermon that the liturgy is
not a question of human wisdom,
but rather of the mystery of
Christ. He continued;.
‘The Church is a pilgrim,
and it is part of her nature to
penetrate deeper into the truth
through the help of the Holy
Spirit, or truth is inexhausti
ble.
"IT WOULD be heresy to be
lieve that we have already
learned everything and under
stood everything. The liturgy
is a spiritual action, the work
of the Holy Spirit, Only the
Spirit of God is capable of
making a liturgical action more
than just a ceremony.
The archbishop voiced regret
that for so long a time' the •
Church’s public worship and
her spiritual life were consid
ered at opposite poles. ‘The
opposite is the case," he said,
"the two belong together.”
In his initial homily, at the
opening Bible service, Archbi
shop Bengsch urged priests to
persevere in the liturgical re
newal "even if people prefer
darkness to light.” Then he
said:
"We all know the burden that
we bear. Our service is in the
interest of a harried and dis
tracted people and often meets
With incomprehension^ But to
be a priest means to be suc
cessor of Him Who was cruci
fied.”
ON THE third day of the con-
vertion (Jan. 27), Bishop Auf-
derbeck noted that of EastGer-
manu's 1.7 million Catholics,
250,000 live in about 2,000 iso
lated villages which can be vis
ited by a priest only every two
to four weeks. He said that on
Sundays when a priest cannot
reach them to celebrate the
Holy Eucharist, the faithful
should still gather to celebrate
a Bible service led by a lay
man.
The liturgical conference re
ceived at least a token show of
welcome from communist gov
ernment officials. But only a
few.days earlier, the secretary
general of East Germany's pain
ty - line - following Christian
Democratic Union attacked the
Catholic clergy of East Ger
many for not participating in
the so-called peace meeting in
East Berlin. The East Ger
man CDU official, Gerald Goet-
tine, said the refusal of the
Catholic hierarchy to partici
pate could serve to "estrange
them from the people and also
from the new currents in Cath
olicism throughout the world.”
CATHOLIC-JEWISH
Rabbi Asks New
Debate Approach
LATROBE, Pa. (NC)—A par
ticipant in a Catholic-Jewish
colloguy has called for "theo
logical examination of the
meaning of religious freedom,"
in order to help develop "cre
ative and new approaches to our
differences and inspire us to
additional coopejative ventures,
working in achieving justice
among men and peace in the
world.”
In a statement at the close of
the colloquy, Rabbi Arthur Gil
bert, a staff consultant to the
National Conference of Chris
tians and Jews, termed it "a
remarkable new developmental
ecumenical relations.” He said
it "was truly inspired by the
new spirit engendered by the
ecumenical council."
ARCHABBOT Rembert G.
Weakland, O.S.B., of St. Vin
cent Archabbey, where the col
loquy was held (Jan. 25-28),
called it 'a total success."
"Its purpose," he said, "was
to rovide an occasion for sev
eral Catholic and Jewish scho
lars to become acquainted with
one another and for them to pre
sent and discuss,..not only com
mon points of view, but also dif
ferences, that each might gain a
deeper insight into and esteem
for the other’s position.
HE CALLED the confronta
tion "forthright, sincere and
candid."
Rabbi Gilbert said the confer^
ence began with the purpose of
discussing "significant issues
of religion in a spirit of mutual
esteem, with a sincere desire
for growth in understanding,
and without any polemic intent
to demonstrate error in the
other's most cheristhed faith
commitments."
"It was evident as out meet
ings transpired," he said, “that
we have much to learn about
each other, just to know in truth
and without distortion who we
are. Stereotypic conceptions
were tested by the light of ex
perience and misinformation
gave way to new knowledge."
RABBI GILBERT said the
conference enabled each par
ticipant to be strengthened in
his own faith and "enriched by
a glimpse of the vision of the
Divine as held by the. other.”:
He said there is "much merit
in such conversation" and ex
pressed hope that “similar
studies on matters of faith will
continue.”
The 12 papers delivered at the
four-day colloquy, sponsored by
the National Conference of
Christians and Jews and the
American Benedictine Acade
my, will be published by Sheed
and Ward.
IN SAVANNAH
Judge Bans Book
Under Obscenity Law
SAVANNAH, Ga. (NC)—Sa- MEANWHILE in Augusta, Ga„
vannah Superior Court Judge the Miller Theatre canceled
Dunbar Harrison has banned a scheduled showing of the film
paperback book on the grounds,, . "Kisg ,Mp» Stypicj" nffgr v; stur*
of obscenity in the first ac- dents at Aquinas High School
tion brought by the state 1^-jAjJ^fe collected more than 1,500
erature Commission under a names on a protest petition. The
new anti-obscenity law.
Judge Harrison’s order makes
it a crime to sell or distri
bute the book anywhere in Geor
gia.
NAMED AS respondents in the
civil action that brought about
the order were the book's au
thor, publisher, an Atlanta dis-
bributor and local newsstand
operator. Only the newsstand
operator appeared in court, and
his attorney conceded that the
book was obscene.
movie has been rated class
"C", condemned, by the Na
tional Legion of Decency.
In canceling the film, the
theatre manager asked school
officials if students would sup
port the movie he had held over
instead. In response, teachers
agreed not to assign homework
on one weekday night, and some
200 of 311 students enrolled at
the school showed up at the
theatre for a showing of the
held-over film.
A spokesman for the Litera
ture Commission has described
the action as a test case for the
Literature Commission has de
scribed the action as a test case
for the new anti-obscenity law.
However, lack of opposition in
the case prompted Judge Harri
son to remark, ,"AU we’ve is
remove one book. I don’t know
what this means."
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