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HISTORIC TRIP T
HE SURPRISE DECISION OF POPE
VISIT THE HOLY. LAND WILL MAKE HISTORY ON THREE COUNTS. PAUL
VI TO
His visit to the birthplace of Christianity between January 4 and 6 will be the first time a Pope has set foot on Holy Land soil since St. Peter left Palestine. This v:sit will also be the first time a Pope has left Italy since the time of Pius VII, who was taken prisoner to France by Napoleon in 1809. It will also be the longest trip made by any Pope and the first journey by air by a reigning Pontiff. It has been stressed that the Holy Father's motives for making the trip are strictly religious. Sources said he was making the pilgrimage to the land where Christianity originated as a matter of personal devotion and to implore heavenly guidance for himself and the Ecumenical Council. Other side-effects of the papal pilgrimage could be— an easIng of relations with the Jews; • a possible opening to settle religious arguments over the Holy Places; • and in the interests of peace in the frontier situation between Jordan and Israel. The Holy Places are in both nations.
A LI,
Analysis Of Second Session Shows Steady Drive To Main Aim The Ecumenical Council's second session took up the ecumenical and pastoral lead from Pope Paul VI's opening address and made a slow but steady drive towards "aggiornamento" — bringing the Church up to date. The session started its business on September 30 with a study of the nature of the Church—a critical analysis that included self -criticism—and advanced on November 18 to debates on ecumenism which covered what the Church must do for Christian unity. Seemingly endless debates were occasionally sparked with sharp clashes. Speeches on the council floor promoting the "new order" were answered with arguments for the "old order" in a process that seemed like stalemate. But when issues were put to a vote, the new order overwhelmingly won out. The council Fathers— VOTED clearly in favour of giving bishops a larger role in governing the universal Church; APPROVED a reform simplifying the Church's public worship and bringing modern languages in the Mass and sacraments; ADOPTED a set of principles on the Church's use of press, television and radio; VOTED in favour of restoring the deacon as a permanent member of today's Catholic clergy. THE SESSION SHOWED UNMISTAKABLY THAT THE NEW ORDER IS TO REPLACE THE OLD.
Secrecy Lifted The rule of secrecy Which covered almost everything that took in the council hall place during the first session (October 11 to December 7, 1962) w as eased during the second session. Archbishop Pericle Felici, the council's general secretary, explained at the session's first general meeting that secrecy was 1 :aw 1 texts limited to the actual of the proposed .s ichemas and the work of ri!clividual council commissions. Direction of the council's work was taken over by f our m oderators—Leo Cardinal Julius Suenens of Belgium, Cardinal Doepfner of Munich, Giacomo Cardinal Lercaro of Bologna,
a n d Gregorio Cardinal Agagianian, Prefact of the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith. Sixty-three non-Catholic religious leaders came for the second session of the council, which opened on September 29, as observerdelegates or guests of the Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity. This was 18 more than those at the first session.
Layman's Part Pope Paul gave laymen an official role at the council for the first time. He named 15 lay auditors. Their role, according to a council press bulletitn, was to help in the work of
the council. The bulletin said that they might "be called upon to give their advice to the conciliar commissions." Cardinal Suenens urged strongly that more lay auditors be named, including women, "since women constitute one - half the population of the world." He also said there should be representatives from the "great congregations of Brothers and Sisters who contribute so significantly to the apostolic work of the Church."
Curia Reform
"episcopal possibly an senate" to work with the Pope, was talked over in the council hall. And on the last day of the session, the Pope was to publish a document increasing the powers of bishops.
Tone Set Pope Paul set the tone of the session in a moving opening address on September 29. He told of his "deep sadness" at the "prolonged separatIon" of the Catholic Church and other Christian Churches. The Pope said that the "principle concern" of the session would be to "examine the intimate nature of the Church." The Church must be seen as totally Christ-centred, he said, if the council's ;-nain objectives were to be rightly understood.
Just a week before the council opened, Pope Paul said in a speech to the members of the Roman Curia, on September 12, that the curia, the central administrative body of the Church, had "grown ponderous with its own venerable age." It needed to be Four Points simplified a n d decentraHe outlined these objeclised, he said. The Pope outlined the tives in four points—"The reforms needed — reforms knowledge, or, if you prefer, the awareness of the to be "formulated- and promulgated by the curia it- Church; its reform; the self"—and these reforms bringing together of all Christians in unity; the were seconded later in dedialogue of the Church bates on the council flooi • Members of the curia with the modern world," will be recruited on a The session itself opened "supranational" basis (Its with discussion on a conmembership is now pre- troversial but vital subdominantly Italian.) ject, the nature of the • Members will have Church. what the Pope called an As they debated the na"ecumenical" education to ture of the Church, the prepare them for work in Fathers also voted on the the curia. changes to the liturgy • Local bishops will schema. This schema had take over those functions been discussed in the first now performed by the session. curia which can be handled On October 9, the Fathers more efficiently on a local passed—by an overwhelmbasis. ing majority—changes to • Local bishops may be the schema which would eventually bring modern brought into the curia. This idea of bishops languages into the Latin taking a bigger part in Rite Mass. running the Churrh, with • CONTINUED PAGE 2
Where He Will Visit . . .
7:_y Arriving by plane after a two-hour j'et flight from Rome, the Holy Father will visit the Holy Land as a pilgrim, January 4 to 6. This panoramic view shows three of the leading landmarks of Jerusalem in Jordan. At the lower right is the Franciscan "Church of All Nations:" at the left of the church is the Garden of Gethsemane where Christ spent his last hours of agony before the Crucifixion; on the upper left is the Mount of Olives whence He ascended into Heaven.
CHARTERED AIRCRAFT FOR TWO CHARTERED AIRCRAFT WILL ARRIVE AT PERTH AIRPORT BRINGING DELEGATES TO THE UNIVERSITIES CATHOLIC FEDERATION OF AUSTRALIA CONVENTION ON JANUARY 1. The airlift has been organised by the Melbourne Newman Society to overcome holiday period transport difficulties. The theme of the convention, which commences on January 2, will be the r elationship between "The Church and the Popular Arts," and will centre around talks and discussion. Among those who will be giving talks will be Dr. Bertrand Adderley, B.A. (Hons), Dip.Ed., who is the present Director of Education for the Sunbury Diocese. Together with Mrs. J. Dunphy, he will be giving the talk on the "Church and Song." Other lecturers will include Monsignor J. Bourke and Brother Mannion, who is at present writing a thesis for his M.A. Many colourful personalities will visit Perth for the convention. These will include former West Australian Father Challis, O P., and Gai Fitzgerald, who designed the Crucifix for the Sydney Cathedral. Father E. J. Stormon, the Chaplain of this Convention, said: "The forthcoming U.C.F.A. Convention will give those attending an opportunity for grappling with two important problems. What is the
effect on contemporary minds (our own included) of the widely diffused artforms of today (e.g. the the film)? What opportunities do the typical present-day media offer for expressing a Christian vision of life? The answer to these questions will involve a reassessment of the Church's relationship to the arts in the changed society of today." The delegates will be staying at St. Thomas More College, St. Catherine's College and Kingswood College. The lectures and discussions will be held at the University. These will be open to the public, at a slight charge. Those interested should contact the U.C.F.A. Secretary, c/o St. Thomas More College, telephone 86-5080. Among the features of the convention will be a film evening and a drama evening at which two plays will be presented, "A Phoenix Too Frequent." by Christopher Fry, and "The Farce of the Devil's Bridge," by Andre Gayon. The convention will begin with a High Mass at St. Mary's Cathedral, and will include a highly unusual religious feature—.a Ukrainian (Eastern Rite) Mass.