Newspaper Page Text
THURSDAY, JULY 29, 1965
GEORGIA BULLETIN PAGE 2
IN ALL FAITHS
Seminary Education Seen
In ‘Critical Transition’Stage
BY RELIGIOUS NEWS SERVICE
A theological education exe
cutive speaking in Lima, Peru,
in mid-July keynoted a situa
tion causing sweeping concern
through virtually all of Christ
endom when he declared that the
process of preparing young men
for the ministry is in a period
of “critical transition.”
In the minds of many, the
course seminary education
takes will in large measure de
termine the future of the en
tire “aggiornamento” (up-dat
ing) movement now underway
not only in the Catholic Church
but throughout most Christian
bodies.
areas Interseminary Faculties
Union, a group representing 12
Protestant seminaries, that
“too much attention (is paid)
to antiquated questhps and too
little attention theo
logical thought and Iherelations
of theology with other , learned
disciplines.’’ Theological edu
cation, he maintained, needs
“more breadth and depth’’ by
in - troducing "contemporary
problems and...more modern
methods...’’
MANY STEPS have already
been taken to broaden and deep
en the scope of theological ed
ucation.
It is widely agreed that to
morrow’s religious leaders
will be ineffective spokesmen
unless steps are taken today
to prepare them for a ministry
not only within sanctuary and
parish boundaries but to an in-
creasinly complex world.
THE CHURCHMAN, speaking
in Peru, Dr. E. Theodore Bach-
mann of New York, executive
secretary of the Lutheran
Church in America’s Board of
Theological Education, stressed
to professors from Lutheran
seminaries in Mexico, Argen
tina and Brazil that all Chris
tians today share “not only
the awareness of a ministry
confronted by many different
situations but also the uncer
tainly of what kind of minis
try is needed and where.’’
Dr. Bachmann noted that
"ministers themselves have
been revealing increasing un
certainty about their calling and
their actual work... many are
disturbed by their apparent loss
of status in the community, by
their activist role as ’pastoral
director,’ by their basic lone
liness and by their insufficient
preparation for the practical
demands of their ministry.”
Within Catholicism, it is an-
ticapted that passage of a do
cument pending before the Va
tican Council — "On Priestly
Formation” — will give new
stimulus to the up-dating of
seminary training. A key pro
position of the document states
that the preparation Of pastors
"is to be practical as well as
theoretical and is to be ac-
compained by apostolic train
ing,” a clear directive for se
minarians to learn about the
world they will serve at the
same time they engage' in tra
ditional studies.
According to Msgr. George
W. Shea, rector of Immacu
late Conception Seminary in
Darlington, N.J., a Vatican
Council expert, Catholic semi
nary training has improved
significantly in the last 50
years. "But, ” he added, ''I
think the Vatican Council will
make some significant changes
in areas... which will make the
priest’s training even broader-
and better.” The problem, he
said, involves retaining growth
while traditions while making
changes, combining "tradition
al methods with wise innova
tions.”
A major cause of such a di
lemma among present minis
ters and priests, according to
a Catholic theologian, can be
fdhnd' °m ' yeitfinary so ddueatiotis , ‘
that have been too Tirriited to’
dogmatic ana philosophical
structure.
Father John L. McKenzie,
S.J., professor of Biblical his
tory at Loyola University of
Chicago, told members of the
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TO AN EVER-EXPANDING
degree, the ecumenical temper
of the times is being reflected
on the seminary scene. In nu
merous areas Protestants are
launching new cooperative se-
minary programs and there
have been significant beginnings
in the joint exploration of theo
logical education by Protestants
and Catholics.
One of the most broad-based
Protestant - Catholic discus
sions of theological education
and ecumenism to date took
place late laat year at Chica
go under the sponsorship of
the University of Chicago Di
vinity School and Loyola Uni
versity in cooperation with the
National Conference of Chris
tians and Jews. Some 75 pro
fessors from over 40 seminar
ies attended the sessions, urg
ing expansion of interreligious
discussion at the seminary level
and examining several issues
facing theological education, in
cluding its task in a secular
society.
Among speakers at the Chi
cago meeting, Dr. Joh Casteel,
director of the Division of Life
and Work in the United Church
of Christ, stressed that it is
impossible to deal with ecu
menism solely in theological
terms and maintained that at the
present time theological educa
tion does not appear able or
ready to respond to the con
temporary world. "How long
can theology go on, without liv
ing contact with those communi
ties outside theology, the semi
nary and the church?” he ask
ed, advocating development of
"a theology of the contempor
ary world.”
THE INAUGURATION last
year of the noted theologian,
Dr. John Coleman * Bennett, as
the 11th president‘■'■•'.of. Union
Theological Seminary in New
SndMSuznce in all iti l&imsi)
91 itd. written, U& write it .:.
Sutter & McLellan
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WHERE INSURANCE IS A PROFESSION NOT A SIDELINE
York also was the occasion for
a call for up-dating ip the se
minary world. Declaring that
theological education ‘ "should
always have in view the con
tinuous reformation of the
church,” Dr. Bennett pointed
out that today’s interrelated
"bitter problems” of the inner
city and the drive for racial
justice are specifically challeng
ing the churches. Theologocal
education, he said, consequent
ly has a major task in pre
paring students “to take part
in this fluid situation with cri
ticism of existing structures but
without cynical attitudes toward
existing congregations of Chris
tian people.”
Improvement of theological
education has been sought
through interdenominational
Protestant, and, in some cas
es, interreligious cooperation.
In an unprecedented move this
summer, faculties from semi
naries maintained by the Cath
olic order of Dominicans, the
American Lutheran and United
Presbyterian Churches and the
non-denominational School of
Religion of the State University
of Iowa formed the Association
of Theological Faculties in
Iowa. It was believed to be the
only such alliance in the U.S,
Earlier, St. Albert's Domini
can College, a Catholic semi
nary in Oakland, Cal., became
affiliated with the Graduate
Theological Union which rep
resents five Protestant semi
naries in the Bay area, pooling
their resources in post-grad
uate religious education pro
grams. There was academic
and ecumenical interest when,
also in California, the Catholic
Immaculate Heart College
agreed to move to a site adja
cent to the Associated Colleges
of Claremont, making it a neigh
bor of the Methodist School of
Theology at Claremont.
ANOTHER NEW proposal,
voiced at a Catholic National
Workshop on Christian Unity
at Boston this June, calls for
some parts of Protestant wor
ship to be used in Catholic sem-
iqafi^s, Jpte^eMgious^eplq?!,
gical contact is being promoted,
too, through such programs as
a new study center for clergy
and laymen in Detroit and the
increasing exchange of speak
ers among seminaries.
Within Protestantism, a new
program believed to be among
the most advanced in preparing
young men to cope more effec
tively with practical problems
has been announced at Union
Theological Seminary at Rich
mond, Va.
In the first major curriculum
change in eight years at the
Presbyterian Church in the U.S.
(Southern) school, some sub
jects virtually unheard of a de
cade ago reflect the broadening
field of Christian social con
cern. Together with "pas
toral counselling,’’ and “clin
ical pastoral care,’’ elective
courses include such special
ties as "group dynamics’’ and
"religion in the changing
South.”
DENOMINATIONS continue to
seek greater coordination in
their individual seminary sys
tems and cooperative support
for institutions is seen in such
schools as the Interdenomina
tional Theological Center in At
lanta, Ga„ and many places
overseas. Among developments
-- thirteen different Churches
have agreed to establish jointly
,a theological college for the
Pacific Islands at Suva, Fiji;
:four Protestant bodies are
opening an interdenominational
seminary this summer at Bare
illy, North India; Presbyterian,
Methodist and Congregational
Churches in New South Wales
are considering a united theo
logical school.
Periodic reports indicating
an increasing rate of seminary
‘ ‘drop-outs ’ ’ at both Protestant
and Catholic institutions have
been a cause of searching con
cern over the status of theologi
cal education. A decrease in
Catholic seminary enrollments
in nearly all European countries
has been reported; recent sur
veys from Detroit and Balti
more indicate declining Cath
olic seminary enrollments in
this country; Lutheran semi
naries in the U.S. last year re
ported fewer students for the
third consecutive year; drop
ping enrollment has led to a pre
diction that Oberlin (Ohio)
Graduate School of Theology,
founded in 1835, will close in
the next few years.
While the statistical indica
tions have been contested by
KEEPING PACE
IN THE ROSE GARDEN at the White House (July 21) President Lyndon B. Johnson
greeted educators attending the White House Conference on Education. Here among
the conferees are (left to right): Sister Marie Charles, M.H.S.H., Wilmington, Del.; Sis
ter Margaret Louise, S.S.J., Brooklyn, N. Y.; Sister St. Regina Marie, C.N.D., Washing
ton, D.C. In background is Sister M. Lillian, SS.N.D., New Orleans. (NC Photos)
some— increased enrollments
are noted in some areas — the
various reports also have
prompted comments that under
score the need to re-examine
and revamp seminary educa
tion.
Msgr. W. B. Kerr, - rector of
St. Augustine’s College atScar-
borough, Ontario, discussing a
bishop McCarthy
reported increasing drop-out
rate among seminarians in the
province, called the situation
“a phenomenon of the age —
an age in which the world ap
pears to have so much to offer
the layman."
"BIG SALARIES are attrac
tive,” the rector continued.
‘ 'I don't think the boys can real
ly see the future clearly defin-
ed...I think students now are
insecure in today’s world.” Al
so noting that today’s seminar
ians are not content with “pat
answers ” to current problems,
he added; “They are searching
into questions which we took for
granted and when they find the
answers they will end up with
a stronger faith.”
Sees Racial Involvement
As ‘Christian Imperative’
CINCINNATI—A bishop said
here that involvement in the
problems of interracial justice
and charityis "a Christianim-
pdrative"
In his first public talk since
his consecration last month,
Auxiliary Bishop Edward A.' I
McCarthy of Cincinnati told the
Cincinnati Catholic Interracial
Council (July 19) its work is
"the noble endeavor of giving
forthright witness to the love Of
Christ and of His Church fOf
every man.”
He said,this same love "mult
bethe ’ttlffiftlate' ®'61iitRiii r U5 f r tfii#
grave pF&yem oLr^cial injus
tice trat* 5 Seftri
sciences.”
matter how successful the de
monstration, the problem is not
solved unless positive'action is
taken to correct the abuses that
the demonstrators; are protest
ing... to remove discriminatory
laws or practices, to create
jobs, to provide better educa-
j tional opportunities;3 better
housing.
REITERATED
"This is the sweat of the
movement - not dramatic, not-
exciting, not perhaps as re
lieving of a guilty conscience
as carrying a sign—but this
is the essential solution, the
hard, plugging, brain-wracking,
everyday, follow - up — the
positive,; constructive ap-
Droach," the bishop said.
Churchmen Score
lo nouqtono
4|ik *
"What a sacrilege,” He said,
"that those of Us who partici
pate as a family in the liturgy,
together as a sign of unity, who
kneel for Communion at the
same divine banquet, table,
should ever refuse to eat at
the same restaurant table]”
HE RECALLED that the U,S.
bishOps’ 1958 statement affirm
ed the problem as a moral and
religious one.
"Every man—whatever his
color—is created in the image
and likeness of God. He has
the sublime dignity of intelli
gence, of free will, of an im
mortal soul. He is destined to
spend eternity in an unsegre
gated heaven with God and the
saints,” the bishop said.
Suggesting "guiding princi
ples for action,” Bishop Mc
Carthy said: "All your activi
ty should be motivated by one
dominant, fixed idea—you are
giving witness to the love ofc
Christwhich urgesyoU on. This
should be the distinctive con-;
tribution of the Catholic Inter
racial Council to the community
effort to solve the race pro
blem—love.”
PROTEST demonstrations
"held under the proper condi
tions” are sometimes the “Only
way a smug society will hear
the cry of conscience,” Bishop
McCarthy said.
He advised that such demon
strations should meet certain
conditions. Bishop McCarthy
detailed: "They : must be in
support of some specific, pro
per, attainable objective—for
example, passing of a specific
law, repealing of a specific le
gal disability—not a vague pro
test against general condi
tions.”
Demonstrations must be law
ful, he stressed, “under proper
auspices and properly directed
to their true objectives.”
“In other words, you mugt
not permit yourselves to be used
for some ulterior motive,” the )
bishop advised, "Just because
the purpose is good and right,
the demonstration is not neces
sarily good unless the means
used and conditions also are
right.”
HE ALSO cautioned that “no
WASHINGTON (NC) — Mem
bers of three religious groups
sent telegrams to all members
of the House of Representatives,
reiterating their opposition to
the “right to work laws” sec
tion of the National Labor Rela
tions Act,
The telegrams were sent by
the Rev. Cameron Hall, direc
tor of the commission.on church
and economic life at the Nation
al Council of Churches of
Christ; Msgr. George G. Hig
gins director, Socal Action De
partment, National Catholic
Welfare Conference; and Rabbi
Richard of the Central Conf
erence of American Rabbis.
A proposal to repeal section
14B of the law is now being
considered by a House Labor
subcommittee headed by Rep,
Frank Thompson of the New
Jersey.
THE THREE churchmen ear
lier sent a message to Rep.
Thompson in which they stated:
"We look upon bona fide col
lective bargaining between
management and organized la
bor as a constructive method of
handling industrial relations.
Nevertheless our devotion to
Medicare Will Aid
Church Institution
the principle of religious lib
erty compels us to defend the
rights of those who find it im
possible, as a matter of relig
ious belief, to join our support
outside organizations, includ
ing labor unions.”
The message was circulated
generally among members of
the House by a representative
of a religious group who advo
cated opening the legislation to
unlimited debate and amend
ment. The churchmen then
sent a second message, ad
dressed to all members of the
House, in which they stated:
"fT HAS COME to our atten
tion that this telegram (the
first message) is being inter
preted to mean that we are ad
vocating an amendment to the
rule proposed in HR 437 which
would open HR 77 to unlimited
debate and amendment. This
was not the intention of our
telegram. As a matter of fact;
we deliberately refrained from
trying to tell Congress, in spe
cific terms, how to handle the
religious liberty issue refer
red to above. Our only pur
pose was to record our support
of principle of religious liberty
while reiterating our opposi
tion to section 14B”.
$1.2 MILLION
WASHINGTON (NC) — The
newly approved medical aid bill
for the elderly will be a great
assistance to Catholic institu
tions that care for aged per
sons, according to Bishop-elect
Raymond J. Gallagher, secre
tary of the National Conference
of Catholic Charities.
Bishop - elect Gallagher,
named by Pope Paul VI to be
bishop of Lafayette in Indiana
last June, said the measure will
enable Church-run institutions
to offer better and more ex
tensive medical services for the
aged.
HE SAID there are 357 Catho
lic - run Residences, convales
cent homes or nursing homes
for the elderly in the United
States. They provide care for
about 35,000 persons.
The Cleveland-born prelate
said the homes, most of them
operated by Sisters, were origi
nally designed to be places of
refuge for the poor or for el
derly persons who found their
pensions could not meet the
rising cost of living. In time,
many of them began to offer
medical as well as custodial
services.
At the present time he said
there are about 100 genuine
nursing homes run by the
Chruch in the U.S. Approxi
mately 125 other have nursing
wards staffed by registered
nurses and part-time physi
cians. The rest are custodial
homes.
"This bill,” he said, "marks
another stage in the people’s
desire to care for their aging.
The Sisters have an opportunity
to amplify operations in homes
providing a moderate degree of
medical attention. We are mov
ing from custodial homes to
those with moderate medical
care and, now, to bona fide
nursing homes.”
BISHOP-ELECT Gallagher
emphasized that Church - run
homes have not been "dragging
their feet” in comparison with
other private or publicly op-
■efate'd' 1 H&Vids ld f(Jir thfe”61dfe l riy. i
H"^ n fe‘S%3'the !< sbt i Vici 0 tW titfe'
in the Church has beihSkd^ittg 3
pace with the service offered
by other agencies.
Ireland.
Land Of
Celibacy
DUBLIN, (NC)—The number
of unmarried adults in Ireland
is from two to six times that
of any other European country,
"quite a fantastic situation,”
the Irish chief national statis-
ician told a Council of Europe
conference on population and
refugees here,
“Lest it be thought that this
fact is in any way seriously
influenced by the number of
priests, Brothers or nuns in
the country, let me hasten to add
that in any particular age group
only about 3% of the males and
about 5% of the females are in
religious life,” said Dr. M. D.
McCarthy, director of the Irish
Central Statistics office.
Dr. McCarthy said that the
Irish are n6w marrying young
er. Compared to 1946, the aver
age marrying age for men has
dropped from 33 to 30 and for
women from 28 to 26 1/2.
Home Loan Awarded Priest
WASHINGTON (NC)—Peru’s
credit union priest has won ap
proval of a $1.2 million loan by
the Inter-American Develop
ment. Bank to help finance con
struction of more than 500
homes for low-income fami
lies in Peru.
1 . The 20-year loan, with an an
nual interest rate of 1 1/4%
was made to Father Daniel
McLellan, M.M., from the So
cial Progress Trust Fund,
which the bank administers.
THE LOAN will enable the El
Peublo savings and loan asso
ciation, which Father McLel
lan founded and still heads, to
build over 500 homes, with a
maximum value of $5,250, to be ■
assigned to families with in
come less than $130 per month.
FATHER McLELLAN spear
headed the credit union move
ment in Peru. Ten years ago
he established the first such
cooperative organization in his
parish in Puno, with 23 mem
bers and $32 in assets.
The movement spread and in
1959 he founded the Central
Credit Union as a national co
ordinating body. A year later
he founded the El Pueblo sav
ings and loan association as a
nonprofit organization to mobi
lize private resources in an at
tempt to build low-cost hous
ing.
He won two $1 million loans
in 1961, one to help El Pueblo
build 370 homes, the other to
be lent by the Central Credit
Union for housing, farm im
provements, water supply and
sanitation.
El Pueblo has since become
the largest savings and loan
"The largest help to our o-
peration will be ability of the
person himself (by means of
government assistance) to pay
a larger share of the opera
tion. This bill will enable the
Sisters to continue the Chris
tian receiving of patients who
are unable to pay.”
Besides enabling the Church -
run homes to improve their ser
vice and care for more people,
Bishop-elect Gallagher said one
provision of the medicare bill
will reduce the pace in which
older people apply for institu
tional care, since now they will
have financial means to pay for
medical care at their homes.
He said the post-hospital me
dical care provided by the bill
will make hospitals more will
ing to accept aged persons in
acute need of medical aid. Pre
viously, he said, some elderly
persons who lacked funds or a
place to live could not be dis
charged easily once their acute
need was met.
ONCE IT IS signed into law,
the medicare bill will provide
hospitalization, nursing home
care, home nursing service and
out-patient diagnostic services'
for all Americans over 65
through the expansion of the so
cial security inucce pro
gram.
An additional government in
surance program will pay for
doctor bills and some other
•health costs for persons who
voluntarily pay $3 a month in
premiums. The individual Con
tributions will be matched by
the federal government at a cost
of about $600 million a year
from general tax revenues.
The bill will further provide
a 7% increase in all cash be
nefits under the present Old
Age, Survivors and Disability
Insurance Program and other
liberalizing changes in the so
cial security law.
The Senate-House committee
turned down a Senate provision
thMt- WduW-'havealloweS'pers 6ns
agddi^Q-'tfe' recdlVe •SodidP'ste^
cUrity benefits at a reduced
rate. The present retirement
age is 65, and reduced rate
payments are available at the
age of 62. The committee a-
greed to perm it retired persons
to earn as much as $1,500
annually without losing their be
nefits.
EXCEPT FOR nursing home
care, benefits under both the
basic and supplementary in
surance plans will become avai
lable next July 1. The nursing
home aid be effective on Jan.
1, 1967. The 7% increase in
social security benefits is re
troactive to last Jan. 1.
Leader Jailed
BONN, Germany (NC)— Fr
anz Kosatik, a former pre
sident of Catholic Action in Cze-
chosolvakia, has been arrested
and jailed, according to KNA,
the German Catholic news ag
ency. Kosatik previously serv
ed several years in prison af
ter an arrest in 1950. Foll
owing his release he was for-
bideen to practice law and was
working as a gardner.
organization in Peru, last year
accounting for more than 28%
of the loans made by such as
sociations.
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