Newspaper Page Text
ARCHB. HALLMAN IN GROUP
Draw Up English
Liturgical Text
SPECIAL TO THE GEORGIA BULLETIN
FR. JAMES a McCOWN, S. J.
has been assigned to Ignatius
Retreat House in Atlanta. Born
in Mobile, Ala., Fr. McCown
worked in the oil industry after
graduation from Spring Hill
College. Later, as a member of
the Society of Jesus, he ser
ved as a student counsellor
in the South and was attached
to St. Joseph* s parish, Macon.
He built and was pastor of St.
Juliana Mission Church in Fort
Valley, Ga. Fr. McCown is cur
rently writing a book about Mex
ico.
Rome, October 18, 1963-
Plans were begun this week for
a 'liturgical English*’vernacu
lar to be used in the Catholic
Mass and sacraments. Bishops
of ten English-speaking na
tions met Thursday evening,
Oct. 17, at the English Col
lege, at the invitation of Arch
bishop Francis Grimshaw of
Birmingham, England.
American representatives
were Archbishop Paul J. Hal-
linan of Atlanta, Ga., and Bis
hop James Griffiths of New
York, Archbishops Denis E.
Hurley of Durban, S. Africa;
Guilford C. Young of Hobart,
Tasmania, Australia; Joseph
Walsh of Tuam, Ireland; Mi
chael O'Neill of Regina, Can-
HISTORIC DECLARATION
Ready Statement
On Anti-Semitism
VATICAN CITY (RNS) — An
historic declaration condemn
ing anti-Semitism and aimed at
improving relations between
Roman Catholics and Jews is
ready for distribution to Bi
shops attending the Second Vati
can Council, but how soon it
will be discussed remains an
open question.
Prepared by the Secretariat
for Promoting Christian Unity
headed by Augustin Cardinal
Bea, the draft document — al
ready warmly hailed in offic
ial Jewish quarters — is en
titled "De Catholicorum Ha-
bitudine ad non-Christianos et
Maxime ad Judaeos" (On the
Catholic Attitude Toward Non-
Christians and Especially To
ward Jews).
DEBATE OF ANY part of
the schema on ecumenism at
the Council’s current session
is considered unlikely, in view
of the extended debate on De
Ecclesia, the schema on die
nature of the Church which is
expected to occupy the Coun
cil Fathers until the second
session concludes on Dec. 4.
However, authoritative sour
ces said there was some
possibility that Cardinal Bea
shortly would appear before
the Council to discuss the do
cument on the Jews, which, at
all events, is now a part of
the Council's official record.
SOME OF THE points stress
ed in the document — accord
ing to reliable sources — are;
1. The Catholic Church owes
its origins to Judaism, with
which It shares the heritage of
the Old Testament, and Ca
tholics should never forget that
Jesus, His family and the Apost
les were Jews. ‘
2. The guilt for die Cruci
fixion of Christ falls more pro
perly on all humanity than on the
Jews. The Church condemns
anti-Semitism in any form. It
has an abiding affection for the
Jews, and deplores in the
strongest possible manner the
attitude of those who hate, per
secute or show contempt for the
Jews.
ADOPTION OF the draft de
claration would climax previ
ous action by the Church in
deleting from its liturgy’ re
ferences that could be constru
ed as offensive to Jews.
In March, 1959, Pope John
XXIII ordered removed from
the prayers of Good Friday the
phrase "perfidious Jews'* in an
ancient text referring to those
who crucified Christ. The
Pope’s order was later im
plemented by a decree of the
Sacred Congregation of Rites.
Earlier, Pope Pius XII had
ordered the phrase j to read,
"the unbelieving Jews."
Mrs. Kennedy Sr.
Gets Seton Award
GREENSBURG, Pa. (RNS)—
Mrs. Joseph P. Ke-medy, the
President's mother, was awar
ded die Elizabeth Seton Medal
from Seton Hall College, a Ro
man Catholic women's school
conducted here by the Sisters of
■Charity.
ada; Gordon Gray of Edinburgh,
Scodand; and Bishops Leonard
Raymond of Allahabad, India,
and Owen Snedden of Welling
ton, New Zealand were the oth
er representatives of the En
glish-speaking hierarchies.
The objective of the group is
to lay the foundation for a long-
range liturgical text to serve
the Church in the English-
speaking world. Liturgy ex
perts will meet regularly with
the group in Rome, and plans
are being made to include Bib
lical scholars, musicologists,
and stylists to insure an Eng-
list text true to the needs of
public worship, as well as mu
sical and literary require
ments. The goal is a text that
will win wide acceptance in
those parts of the world where
English is spoken.
Archbishop Grimshaw is
chairman of the group, with
Archbishops Young and Hal-
linan as vice-chairmen.
'The first steps are being
taken," said Archbishop Hal-
linan, "toward a revitalization
of the words of sacred worship,
Vatican Council has already
pointed the way in two respects:
— it has called for a vigorous
re-examination of the liturgy
that will insure full participa
tion of the laity; and it has au
thorized a generous use of the
vernacular languages.
The long-range plan,—a lit
urgy in English to suit the pre
sent needs of our people in the
United States and other lands,
—will not slow down the avow
ed intention of the Council Fa
thers to use the vernacular as
soon as possible, it was point
ed out. According to the Coun
cil decrees now awaiting pro
mulgation, each national body
of bishops may (upon promul
gation) implement them im
mediately. This will be done by
the enactment of "proper local
legislation to suit a whole re
gion, and the authorization of
suitable translations.
"Many of these translations
are already available," Arch
bishop Hallinan said. "As soon
as the national conference of
bishops authorize "enabling
legislation" for its area, a
suitable selection of these
translations can be approved for
the Mass, and the Sacraments.
Meanwhile, the new committee
with its specialists will be
working on a common text that
will suit all English-speaking
nations. It is reasonably esti
mated that this common text
will be ready by the time the
postconclliar commission has
completed its revision of the
liturgical rites.
OVER WHELMMGLY
DAHLIAS WHICH WON a blue ribbon at the Southeastern Fair
were given to St. Joseph's Infirmary patients by the Veterans of
Foreign Wars Post #3027, Atlanta, by Charles Moran, Past
Commander and Al. R. Rumph. Commander. Sister M. Eliza
beth Anne, RSM: Toni Moran, student nurse and member of VFW
Auxiliary; and Sister M. Kristen, RSM, are shown accepting the
bouquet.
fflM Talk
Set Sunday
'The Church: Liberal or
Conservative?" will be the sub
ject of a talk at the Holy Name
Breakfast of Immaculate Heart
of Mary parish on Sunday, Octo
ber 27. The speaker will be
the Reverend Declan Kane, 0.
P., from Providence College
in Providence, R. I,
Father Kane, a native of Hart
ford, Conn., attended Catholic
University after military ser
vice in World War 11 and then
entered the Dominican Order.
After ordination in 1956, he
received the two degrees of
Lee to rate and Licentiate in
Sacred Theology from the
Pontifical Faculty of the Do
minican House of Studies in
Washlngotn in 1957, Since then,
he has been associate professor
of philosophy at Providence
College,
FATHER MULROY OF ST. JOSEPH'S, ATHENS, celebrates Mass facing the congregation. This is
symbolic of the liturgical progress which is taking place in the Athens parish and is described in
detail in the article on St. Joseph’s on Page 3 of this issue. We hope to have a regular 'Parish
Profile' feature ever two weeks in the future. The next parish to be covered will be St. Luke's, Dah-
lonega, in the Nov. 7 issue.
SCHOLAR EARNS
American Bishops’ Image
Distorted By Newsmen
ROME (NC)—A prominent U,
S. Scripture scholar has ex
pressed concern about the im
age certain reporters are cre
ating of American Bishops in
the ecumenical council.
Father Barnabas Ahern, C.
P„ prefect of studies at the
Passionist seminary in Louis
ville, Ky„ and a former vice
president of the U. S. Catholic
Biblical Association, said in an
interview here:
"ALTHOUGH THE press in
general has been both generous
and sympathetic, I feel that
some writers have often miss
ed the true spirit of the coun
cil and have failed to measure
Justly the character and role
of the American Bishops."
A council expert, Father
Ahern has frequently address
ed national hierarchies, includ
ing the American Bishops.
'THE RECURRING use of the
convenient cliches left and
right wings,' 'liberal and con
servative,’ 'progressive and
reactionary,' " he said, "has
given a simple and understand
ably human explanation of coun
cil deliberations. This simplifi
cation, however, obscures the
fact that most bishops belong
to neither group,"
OPERATION UNDERSTANDING
Griffin Men Planning
‘Eyeball To Eyeball’
GRIFFIN — Menof the Sacred
Heart Church in Griffin have or
ganized a unique "eyeball-to-
eyeball" personal call program
in connection with Operation
Understanding, the November
10, project of the Archdiocesan
Council of Catholic Men.
Parish Chairman Joe Man-
sour and Publicity Chairman
Jim Hedderman announced
plans for personal visitations
to Protestant Sunday School
Classes in Griffin by men of the
Parish, extending invitations to
these groups to participate in
the project,
"Since the majority of us
have many friends in the Pro
testant Churches throughout the
community," said Hedderman,
"it is felt that this will be
most effective and that this per
sonal follow-up of the letters
of invitation will enable us to
have a most successful venture
in Operation Understanding."
This latest in the activities of
AC CM involves a tour of all
Catholic Churches in the Arch
diocese, open for the occasion
on Sunday afternoon, November
10th, from 2 to 5 pm. Ca
tholic laymen of each parish
will serve as guides for die
tour, offering explanation of the
various externals of the Church
Church - confessional baptis
mal font, stations of the Cross,
vestments and sanctuary.
Commenting on the Griffin
plan ' of personal approach,
Archdiocesan Chairman Dr.
Norman Beery expressed the
hope that all parishes in the
Archdiocese will follow suit,
stating that this type of invitat
ion will assure die success of
the project.
Fathers Vote
Breviary In
Vernacular
He said the bishops "are
seeking the best good and the
most effective means of Church
reform."
HE WENT ON to say that
those who interpret the coun
cil as a struggle between two
opposing sides do not see the
total picture.
Father Ahern, who goes to all
the general meetings of the
council, said that in the coun
cil hall one senses a real grop
ing for truth "through a pro
cess of testing and sifting." All
the speeches in the council, he
said, are the means the Holy
Spirit uses to enlighten the
"minds of the council Fathers
to formulate whatever is best
for the life of the Church."
THE AMERICAN Bishops, he
observed, are fulfilling the role
of "impartial arbiters." Those
who minimize their contribu
tion fail to take into considera
tion the distinctive American
character of the U. S. hierar
chy, he said.
‘To appreciate their contri
bution," he continued," one
must always bear in mind the
unique qualities of the American
Hierarchy, qualities which the
press many times has failed to
place in proper focus."
Father Ahern said that these
"unique qualities" are:
• AS BISHOPS of agrow
ing, developing Church, the
American Bishops had to be
come builders, administrators
and financiers. 'To shirk these
duties," he pointed out, "would
mean a real neglect of inte
rests which are essential for
the proper functioning of the
Church in our country." He said
that the fervent spirit of Catho
licism in the U. S. is a tribute
CONTINUED ON PAGE 8
VATICAN CITY (NC)—The
Council Fathers, in an over
whelming vote yesterday (Wed
nesday), agreed that bishops
and priests can say their daily
office in the language of their
country.
Voting by the Fathers also
indicated some substantial
changes in the breviary, the
book containing the Divine Of
fice, which priests are obliged
to recite every day.
OF 13 proposed amendments
to the breviary section of the
council's document on public
worship, the first two were pas
sed Oct. 21 and the next six
on Oct. 22. The amendments
proposed for the text—Chapter
IV of the liturgy schema —
were:
• Emphasis on the fact that
Christ continues His priestly
activities through the Church
not only in the celebration of
the Holy Eucharist, but in other
ways as well, especially in the
Divine Office, which offers to
the Father both praise and in
tercession for the salvation of
the world.
• Addition of exhortation to
those who recite die Divine Of
fice to do so with great fervor
and devotion.
• A statement that priests
engaged in the pastoral minis
try have a special need to re
cite the Office prayerfully, that
the Lord will make their labors
effective.
• Provides that the hour of
Matins (originally the night Of
fice—which consists largely of
psalms and readings from the
Bible and the Fathers of the
Church) should have fewer
psalms and longer readings.
• Proposes the suppression
of the hour of Prime, which is
a second form of morning pray
er and somewhat of a duplica
tion of the principal morning
prayer, which is Lauds.
• Provides that an individual
who is obliged to pray the Of
fice should be bound to recite
only one of the three remaining
shorter hours of die day. (The
"little hours” traditionally
have been Prime, Terce, Sext
and None. This amendment and
the preceding one would con
siderably shorten the total
length of the Office.)
• A new article urging
priests and all who take part
in the Church's public prayer
to make it a source of holiness
and personal spiritual growth.
• Decrees that the revision
of the Latin translation of the
Book of Pslams should take
into account the nature of
Church Latin, the fact that the
pslams are chanted, and the tra
ditions of the Latin Rite Church,
(The point here is that a trans
lation, which might be techni
cally and literally satisfactory,
might not be the best for public
worship.)
• Proposes that some spe
cific but minor details in the
original schema relative to the
revision of the Office be sup
pressed. (The point here is
that specifics be left to a post-
conciliar commission and that
the council concern itself only
with general directives and
statement of principles.)
10 and 11, According to these
amendments, which are really
additions to the schema, provi
sion would be made (A) to ex
cuse from the recitation of some
parts of the Office those clerics
or Religious who participate on
a given occasion in some other
liturgical function, and (B) to
allow bishops and other Ordi
naries to dispense from the ob
ligation to recite the Office for
good cause.
• While insisting that the
traditional Latin Office be
maintained by the clergy of the
Latin Rite, the amendment con
cedes a faculty to bishops and
other Ordinaries to permit the
clergy in individual cases to
recite the Office in an approv
ed text of the vernacular.
• Recommends that the Of
fice be prayed in common when
possible, especially in the case
of priests who live together.
AMENDMENT 12, due to be
voted on Oct. 23 came in for
lengthy discussion at the U. S.
Bishops' press panel. It was
noted that the bishops might be
allowed by law to give permis
sion in individual cases to
priests to read the breviary in
the vernacular. Various report
ers interpreted this as being
restrlcitive rather than as being
in favor of increased use of die
vernacular.
Father Georges Tavard, A.
A., a council expert, pointed
out that, although some bishops
have given such permissions al
ready, there is no basis in
Church law for this and they are
taking on themselves something
that might not be theirs to do.
Father Diekmann added that,
in practice, the amendment if
approved would be "an opening
of the door" for wider use of
the vernacular.
Doctor Bars
Birth Pill
CLEVELAND (NC) —Use of
contraceptive pills is a form of
sterilization, and therefore im
moral, a public health authority
told the Catholic Physicians and
Dentists Guild here.
Dr. Robert A. Ratner, public
health director in Oak Park,
HI., said it makes no differe
nce that the pill is a tempor
ary form of medical steriliza
tion instead of a permanent sur
gical one. It is still against the
order of nature, he added.
Dr. Ratner, who is on the
staff of the Strltch School of
Medicine at Loyola University
in Chicago, also said:
VEN. DOMINIC Barberi, C.P.,
(above) will be beatified in St.
Peter's Basilica on Sunday,
Feast of Christ the King. The
Itallan-bom priest died in
Reading, England in 1649, four
years after he received Eng
land's Cardinal John Henry
Newman into the Catholic
Church.
