Czechs Optimistic About Church-State Accord J
Vienna, Austria — (NC) —
There is continued optimism among
Catholics in Communist Czechoslo
vakia that their government will
reach some kind of accord with
the Holy See giving the Church
greater freedom to carry out its
mission.
All reports arriving here from
Prague indicate that the Czechoslo
vak government is willing to make
some concessions .o insure domes
tic peace and to put on the best
possible face for its neighbors in
the West.
NO ONE, neither the commu
nists nor the Catholics, regard this
phenomenon as a fundamental
change in communist ideology. The
< Czechoslovak government is still
wed to atheism, and the destruc
tion of religion remains an ideol
ogical goal. Nor do Church au
thorities believe any Church-State
accord will settle all outstanding
problems. Instead, the agreement
will be a modus vivendi like that
reached last September between
the Vatican and communist-ruled
Hungary. It will only mean that
severe restrictions will become
less severe, and that the Church
will be given some room to breathe.
Negotiations now underway^be
tween Prague and Rome are con
centrated on four points: the ap
pointment of bishops, religious in
struction for youth, the removal of
restrictions against seminaries, and
the future of suppressed religious
orders.
THE APPOINTMENT of bishops
is the area in which the talks have
apparently been most successful so
far. For years the barrier to any
accord in Czechoslovakia was the
presence of Josef Cardinal Beran
of Prague. Now that the cardinal
has left the country and the Prague
archdiocese is being administered
by Bishop Frantisek Tomasek, the
way seems open to agreements on
other members of the hierarchy.
A second barrier apparently over
come is a formula for the oath
which a bishop must take to be ac
ceptable to the state. It has been
reported that Bishop Tomasek took
such an oath when appointed to
the Prague See in February.
AT THE PRESENT time there
are nine dioceses in Czechoslovakia
without bishops, either because no
bishop has been appointed or be
cause his work is obstructed by
the government.
On a wider scale, the Czechoslo
vak bishops would like to establish
a national bishops conference. The
first talk of such a conference
would be to set down norms or
official translations for the use of
vernacular languages in the liturgy.
Until now bishops have made
temporary arrangements for liturgi
cal services.
IN A JOINT pastoral letter late
in May, the bishops announced
plans to create “special commit
tees” in Prague that would deal
with Biblical studies, catechetics,
pastoral work, art and music. A
liturgical handbook is being issued
for the clergy.
Turning to the problem of edu
cation, it has been reported here
that in August priests all over
Czechoslovakia will ask parents to
send their children to religious in
struction classes this fall. A short
time ago if a priest made such a
request from the pulpit he would
be imprisoned.
Now, although the communist
government seems willing to per
mit some young children to attend
religion classes, the situation
far from satisfactory for Chi—
officials. It is estimated that
percent of all children under
now attend classes, but the vast«
jority of these are in rural sectt
of the country.
WHEN IT COMES to the ed»
of seminarians, the situation
even worse. There are two
naries permitted to accept stud*
at Bratislava and Litomerice
gether they have about 140
dents.
The shortage of young prjd
can be seen in the Archdioeeae
Prague. This year only three prie
will be ordained for Prague Be(i
World War II the archdiocese
about 25 new priests each year,
before World War I it ordained
average of 50 priests a year
average age of the priests in
archdiocese at the present tin
65.
Papal Gift Presented
To Hungarian Primate
Vienna — (NC) — Franciskus
Cardinal Koenig of Vienna has
presented a gift chalice from Pope
Paul VI to Josef Cardinal Mind
szenty, Primate of Hungary, mark
ing the 50tli anniversary of the
Hungarian’s primate’s ordination
to the priesthood.
It was reported in Rome that
Cardinal Koenig spent 90 minutes
talking with Cardinal Mindszenty
(June 11) on the eve of the anni
versary observed in the U.S. Lega
tion in Budapest where the pri
mate has been living since the
Hungarian uprising of 1956. Vati
can officials aid Cardinal Koenig
delivered a personal message to
Cardinal Mindszenty from the
Pope.
The Vatican City newspaper
L’Osservatore Romano stated that
Pope Paul “united himself spiritu
ally” to the Hungarian cardinal
while celebrating Mass (June 12).
The paper said Pope Paul includ
ed “the illustrious archdiocese of
Esztergom and the beloved Hun
garian nation” in his wishes and
prayers.
The Latin inscription on the
chalice presented to the cardinal
readg: “Pope Paul VI to Josef
Cardinal Mindszenty on comple
tion of 50 years in the priesthood,
as a token of deepest affection.”
Although Cardinal Koenig has
acted as a Vatican negotiator in
eastern European countries in the
past, having visited Cardinal Mind
szenty previously in 1963, sources
have indicated the recent trip had
no diplomatic purpose. They said
Cardinal Koenig had no instruc
tions to discuss the possible future
of Cardinal Mindszenty.
While in Hungary, Cardinal
Koenig met with Archbishop En
dre Hamvas of Kalocsa, chairman
of the Hungarian bishops’ confer
ence who is confined to a hospital
in Kalocsa. It is reported the
archbishop is suffering from can
cer.
Prelate Urges Anglican
Orders Be Re-examined
London — (NC) — Greek Or
thodox Metropolitan Athenagoras,
the head of the Orthodox Church
in Britain, has suggested that the
Catholic Church would greatly ad
vance ecumenism in this country
if it would re-examine the whole
question of the validity of Angli
can orders.
Preaching in Westminster Ab
bey, the Metropolitan also suggest
ed that the Catholic and Greek
Orthodox Churches withdraw mu
tual excommunications aimed at
each other in the 12th century.
THE RETRACTION of these
“unhappy and ill-considered doc
uments,” he said, could be a first
step to real Catholic-Orthodox
unity.
Regarding Anglican orders, Met
ropolitan Athenagoras urged the
Catholic Church to re-examine “in
the spirit of today’s ecumenical
concern” the encyclical “Apostoli
cae Curae” issued by Pope Leo
XIII in 1896 which held that An
glican orders were not valid.
THE ENCYCLICAL based its
contention on the fact that the
Anglican ordinal, the book which
sets down the form for church
rites, was substantially changed
following the break of the English
church from Rome. The encycli
cal declared that by the time the
ordinal was revised once more in
1662 the Anglican Church had lost
its ties to Apostolic succession.'
Metropolitan Athenagoras sug
gested it might be preferable “to
leave the question of the validity
of Anglican orders as it was in the
16th century, as it was in the days
of Augustine and Theodore.” He
said such a decision would help
heal “the sixth wound in the
Body of Christ which is still open
and bleeding.”
Holy Office
Denies
Report
Rome, Italy—(NC)—A spokes
man for the Congregation of the
Holy Office has issued a categor
ical denial of published reports
that jurisdiction over marriage
cases has been transferred from
that body to other Vatican offices.
The spokesman said that the cur
rent regulation on Holy Office
competence in marriage cases, ex
pressed in Canon Law 247, re
mains full in effect. The law
states: “It (the Congregation of
the Holy Office) has exclusive jur
isdiction in cases which involve
directly or indirectly the Pauline
Privilege in marriage, disparity of
cult and mixed religion, and to
this congregation belongs the
power to dispense from these im
pediments.”
That the Holy Office refers mar
riage cases to other organs of the
curia is in accordance with a pro
vision of the canon which states
that the congregation “may, ac
cording to its judgment and as the
case demands, refer it to another
congregation or to the tribunal of
the Sacred Rota.”
The spokesman also took issue
with a published statement that
cases had been “assumed at var
ious times in the past by the Holy
Office.” He said that the compe
tence which the Holy Office now
has in certain marriage cases was
given to it by the Church’s highest
lawgivers, the popes.
FCC REJECTS ATHEIST'S 'EQUAL TIME' PLEA
Washington — (NC) — The Federal Communications Commis
sion has turned down a plea by Mrs. Madalyn Murray, widely pub
licized atheist, for equal time on 15 Honolulu radio stations to reply
to their religious programs.
The FCC said the stations “acted reasonably in good faith” in
refusing equal time to Mrs. Murray. FCC chairman E. William Henry
and two other commissioners said in a concurring opinion that the
stations had not dealt with “controversial issues of public impor
tance” requiring equal time for atheists.
FCC commissioner Lee Loevinger dissented from the commis
sion’s action and said it should have dismissed the petition for want
of jurisdiction instead of replying to it. He contended that the com
mission was putting itself in “the role of superviser of religious pro
gramming” contrary to the Constitution.
Mrs. Murray, formerly of Baltimore, was the plaintiff in one of
two cases that led to the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1963 ruling against
prayer and Bible reading in public schools.
FRIENDS OF THE DEAF — As President Lyndon B. Johnson
signed a law (June 8) authorizing the establishment of the
National Technical Institute for the Deaf, sponsored by Rep.
Hugh L. Carey of Brooklyn (left), he shook bands with Msg:..
John P. Hourihan (right), chairman of the special educations
department, Seton Hall University, South Orange, N.J., whifc
Father Thomas F. Cribben of Brooklyn, chaplain of the Inter-?
national Deaf Association, awaits his turn. (NC Photos)
Revised Texts Completed
Continued from page 1A
Revelation — terminated in the
last session and they will be ready
for voting and amendment during
the fourth session, which begins
Sept. 14.
FIVE OTHER schemas already
in the council Fathers’ hands were
approved in substance by a vote
at the last session. The council
will consider their amendments
during the fourth. Texts of the
amendments will be distributed at
the beginning of the session. These
include: the pastoral office of the
bishops in the Church, suitable ren
ovation of religious life (former
ly the schema on religious), the
priestly institution (formerly “on
seminaries”), Christian education,
Urges New Approach to Care for Aged
St. Louis—(NC)—A Sociologist
told the Catholic Hospital Associa
tion convention here that the
health professions must give more
attention to the behavioral and
social sciences to understand the
illness of the nation’s growing
aged population.
Father Lucius F. Cervantes, S.J.,
director of the Family Research
Center at St. Louis University,
cautioned against thinking that the
problems of old people are “pri
marily biological rather than sit
uational and social.”
The “special health problem” of
the aged, Father Cervantes de
clared, is “survival in a society
that finds their minds and bodies
superfluous.’’
Noting that there are presently
18 million Americans 65 or older
and that estimates say three
fourths of all medical work in the
U.S. will soon be concerned with
their care, he urged delegates to
understand the true nature of their
problems. <
The priest suggested that the
health professions in the U.S. are
guilty of a “cultural lag” in con
tinuing to concentrate on tradition
al killer diseases and neglecting
other more contemporary problems.
“One of these bright days,” he
said, “you will realize that you
already possess a working know!
edge of the fundamental aspects oi
the biological mechanisms of dis
ease and you will force yourselvee
to examine more closely the cir
cumstances under which disease
and illness occur in a human being
who is a thinking, feeling, social
being highly susceptible to envi
ronmental conditioning . . .
and the Church’s attitude towsl
non-Christian religions.
The latter contains the hi^l
controversial statement on
Jews which has come under
both from conservative theolo
and politicians — largely in
nations, who fear it might sup
Zionistic claims. Though
have circulated between se
that this document still faces,!
rocky road, extraordinary ®t<*|
vention would be required
change it in substance, sinceiti
ceived an overwhelming majo
of votes. Only 99 of 1,992 v«
Fathers rejected it.
IN THE LETTER accomp
ing the documents, Archbishop I
lici stated that the Fathers
wish to speak on either re
liberty or the Church in the i
em world during the fourth ses
should send the text of their t
or at least a summary, to hi® !
Sept. 9.
Each of the final five
ments sent to the bishops cot
a note pointing out that it ®
ing forwarded according to *
cision of Pope Paul VI comr*
icated (May 18) to Amleto
dinal Cicognani, Papal Secr«»
State, who is chairman otwr
ordinating commission of WT
cil. The Pope had examine
documents after they were^
to final form by the vanQM
missions meeting in Rome <
April and May.