Pope John Convokes
Ecumenical Council
Pope John XXIII has form
ally convoked the Second Vat
ican Ecumenical Council to
meet in the year 1962 but has
not announced the actual open
ing date.
In a 2,500 word Bull entitled
“Humane Salutis” issued Christ
mas morning, the Pontiff convok
ed the Council so that he could
give “the Church the possibility
of contributing more efficaciously
to the solution of the problems of
the modern age.”
The Bull was publicly read by
Archbishop Pericle Felice, Gener
al Secretary of the Central Pre
paratory Commission of the Coun
cil after he had received it from
the hands of the Pope. The read
ing was made from the atrium, or
front porch, of St. Peter’s Basilica,
which was windswept and dismally
cold.
Applause greeted the formal an
nouncement of ^he Council’s con
vocation, which came late in the
text. Pausing significantly, Arch
bishop Felici read these words
slowly: “After hearing, therefore,
the opinion of Our brothers, the
Cardinals of the Holy Roman
Church, with the authority of Our
Lord Jesus Christ, of the Holy
Apostles Peter and Paul, and with
Our own, We institute, announce,
and convoke for the forthcoming
year 1962, the Ecumenical and
Universal Council which will be
held in the Vatiean Basilica on
days that will be established ac
cording to the opportunity which
good Providence may deign to
give Us.”
After announcing formally the
Council’s convocation, the Pope
See Ecumenical Council, page 7A
Cardinal Dalla Costa, 89
Is Buried in Florence
FLORENCE, Italy — (NC)— Elia
Cardinal dalla Costa, Archbishop
of Florence for 30 years and the
oldest member of the College of
Cardinals, was buried here. He
died Dec. 22 at the age of 89.
Cardinal dalla Costa, noted for
his efforts on behalf of the poor
and ill, died of a heart ailment
brought on by an attack of in
fluenza. The day before his death
he had received the Viaticum —
Holy Communion for those in dan
ger of death—and the blessing of
His Holiness Pope John XXIII.
Pope John said in his message
to the Cardinal:
“Our prayers rise to the Divine
Saviour, shining in the grotto of
Bethlehem. May He grant you an
abundance of His comforts and
every gift of cheer, serenity and
peace in welcoming His Divine
Will.”
Rabbi Fernando Belgrado of
Florence paid public tribute to
Cardinal dalla Costa on hearing of
his death. He recalled that he and
eight members of his family were
sheltered from the nazis in a reli
gious house at the Cardinal’s or
ders.
The Rabbi summed up his opin
ion of the late Cardinal thus:
“The Jewish community of Flor
ence cannot forget the acts of
brotherhood and of help that the
late Cardinal performed for Jews
during the sad period of the nazi
fascist persecutions.
“As a man and as a Rabbi,
therefore, I turn with revered
thoughts to the memory of this
pious and just man who will be
welcomed under the wings of Di
vine Providence.”
CHRISTMAS STATEMENT
By Gov. Terry Sanford
It is in keeping with the heritage of men of good will
the world over to pause from their work to commemorate
Christmas. In this year of Our Lord, 1961, when a godless
ideology challenges the peace, the freedom and the very
existence of men and nations of good will, it is especially
appropriate that we should honor the birth of the Prince
of Peace.
The spirit of Christmas is universal. In our small part
of the universe, here in North Carolina, we join fellow pil
grims the world over in turning our attention to the man
ger and the hope which rose from it for persons of all races,
colors, creeds and nations.
We will pray that we may celebrate next Christmas
and the succeeding Christmases in peace. We will also pray
for the strength and the courage that, in peace or war, future
Christmases shall be celebrated in freedom.
We will pray finally that neither rockets, nor satellites,
nor the mushroom cloufls of nuclear bombs will ever ob
scure our sight from the Star in the East which heralded
peace on earth, good will to men.
Shun Force,
Pontiff Tells
World Rulers
VATICAN CITY—(NC)— His
Holiness Pope John XXIII called
on the rulers of nations to “shun
all thought of force,” as he re
newed his pleas for peace in the
fourth Christmas message of his
reign.
Pope John broadcast his 3,000
word message to the world over
Radio Vatican and other networks.
Following the broadcast, transla
tions in 30 languages were put on
the air.
The Pontiff declared that the
only means of achieving peace to
day is for man to imitate Christ’s
goodness in a world where men
have become “calculating, suspic
ious and selfish.”
The Pope’s talk took into ac
count the destructive possibilities
of nuclear power and warned rul
ers that they too are men, “fragile
and mortal.”
He told them that they have
received their power from God
“not to destroy but to build, not
to divide but to unite, not to cause
tears to be shed but to provide
employment and security.”
Pope John declared:
“We cannot believe that the
terrifying energy now under the
control of man will be released
for the world’s destruction. For
side by side with elements of fear
and apprehension, there are posi
tive signs of a good will that is
constructive and productive of
good.
“While we give thanks to the
Lord, the source of goodness, we
also give voice to a heartfelt ap
peal that all those who control
the economic forces should risk
everything—but not the peace of
the world and the lives of men—
to seek every means that modern
progress has put at their disposal
to increase the welfare and secur
ity of the world, and not to sow
distrust and mutual suspicion.
“And again to use the words of
Our encyclical Mater et Magistra,
‘We point out with sadness . . .
that while on the one hand are
brought out in strong relief situa
tions of want, and the specter of
misery and hunger haunts us; on
the other hand scientific discover
ies, technical inventions and eco
nomic resources are being used,
often extensively, to provide ter
rible instruments of ruin and
death.’ ”
All-Purpose
ANAHIM RESERVE, B.C. —
(NC) — Indians of the Anahim
Reserve are building a 127-by-32
foot fallout shelter. Father John
Patterson, O.M.I., resident mis
sionary, said that “if we don’t
need it for fallout, then we’ll use
it as a root celler.”
BEHIND THE IRON CURTAIN — Christmas greetings from
ten-year-old Laszlo Hamos of Englewood, N.J., to his aunt
still in Hungary, are recorded at Radio Free Europe’s New
York studios. Tibor Florian, editor of RFE’s “Messages” pro
gram, looks on. During Christmas week RFE carried a full
schedule of Christmas programming behind the Iron Curtain,
including His Holiness Pope John XXIII’s annual Christmas
message.
Efforts Made to Reopen
Polish Relief Program
MILWAUKEE — (NC) — Ef
forts are being made by the world
wide relief organization of U.S.
Catholics to reestablish a full scale
program to aid the Church and
needy of Poland.
The disclosure was made here
by Auxiliary Bishop Aloysius J.
Wycislo of Chicago, who served for
16 years as assistant executive di
rector of Catholic Relief Services
— National Catholic Welfare Con
ference.
The prelate told the Polish
American Historical Association
convention here that the CRS—
NCWC relief program in Pbland
was discontinued in 1956 after the
communist regime of Poland re
neged on its promise to allow duty
free relief supplies to enter the
country.
The Red regime slapped “a 60
per cent tax on the free will of
ferings” of U.S. Catholics, the
Bishop said.
Bishop Wycislo said the attitude
of the Polish government on dis
tribution of relief by the Church
is in keeping with other restric
tions against the Church and free
dom of the press. Despite this at
titude, he continued. CRS—NC
WC during the last few years has
sent representatives to Poland to
discuss with the Cardinal -Primate
and the Polish government the
possibility of resuming a relief
program.
“Negotiations for reestablish
ment of a full scale program are
being continued,” Bishop Wycislo
said.
The Bishop recalled that the
first overseas shipment by the
worldwide relief agency of U.S.
Catholics benefited the needy of
war ravaged Poland in 1945.
Meantime, Poland’s Primate has
petitioned that communist-ruled
nation’s Parliament to investigate
illegal government action against
the Church, according to reports
reaching here.
Stefan Cardinal Wyszynski call
ed for the probe into violations of
Church rights in a letter to Czes
law Wychec, speaker of the Polish
Sejm (Parliament). The letter was
sent in November after a meeting
of the Polish Bishops in Warsaw
and has the approval of all of the
Bishops, reports said.
To date there have been no re
ports that the Sejm has replied to
the Cardinal’s petition.
Day of Prayer
For Persecuted
(N.C.W.C. News Service)
Catholics throughout the nation
are observing December 31 as a
day of prayer for the persecuted
throughout the world.
The Administrative Board of
the National Catholic Welfare
Conference at its annual meeting
in Washington in November rec
ommended the day of prayer for
the Church of Silence and for im
migrants.
Many dioceses have scheduled
periods of exposition of the
Blessed Sacrament, holy hours of
reparation and other services in
connection with the observance.
theologian speculates
Is There Life on Other Planets?
WASHINGTON — (NC) — A
Franciscan theologian says God
could have created rational beings
with material bodies on other
planets.
“The existence of such beings is
not opposed to any truth of the
natural or supernatural order,”
writes Father T. J. Zubek, O.F.M.,
of St. Rita’s church, Buffalo, N. Y.,
in the December issue of the
American Ecclesiastical Review,
published here. >
Noting that flights to the moon
are possible today, Father Zubek
claims that the question of living
outside earth is no more a topic of
fantasy only.
The priest’s article deals mainly
with the ways in which other
creatures might be related to God.
Two of the possibilities he dis
cusses are that they are fallen be
ings, “devils incarnate,” or that
they live a beautiful life free from
suffering and death.
Or, he continues, if there turns
out to be more than one other
planet on which life can survive,
it might be found that their state
differs from one celestial body to
the other.
Supposing that God gave the
other creatures a time of trial and
they failed, but were given no op
portunity for repentance, the fallen
space creatures would be punished
forever, he writes.
Father Zubek also writes that
space creatures because they would
not be offspring of Adam, would
not belong to the human race and
consequently would not have
Adam’s original sin.
Algae May Offer a Clue
NEW YORK—(NC)— A Ford
ham University chemist who is a
discoverer of new evidence point
ing to life on other planets said
here Catholic colleges and univer
sities undersell their resources.
He is Dr. Bartholomew Nagy
who, with Dr. George Claus, a mi
crobiologist at the New York Uni
versity medical center, published
a report on their findings in a re
cent issue of the British scien
tific journal, Nature.
The two scientists discovered
tiny, one-celled organisms resem
bling fossil algae on meteorites
which fell more than 70 years ago
a few thousand miles apart. The
algae are unlike any organisms
known to have lived on the
earth’s surface.
The scientists interpret their
finding as strong evidence for, but
not proof of, the existence of a
form of life outside the earth.
See Algae May, page 3A