Some press comments on the pope's visit to Geneva

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Language

English

Year

1969

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In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted

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634 BOLETIN ECLESIASTICO DE FILIPINAS He expressed his profound appreciation for the development of current relations between the World Council and the Catholic Church, two bodies very different in nature but whose collaboration has proved to be fruitful. “In common accord with Our Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity, competent Catholics have been invited to participate in your activities in various ways. The theological reflection on the unity of the Church, the search for a better understanding of Christian worship, the deep formation of the laity, the consciousness of our common responsibilities and the coordination of our efforts for social and economic development and for peace among the nations — these are some examples of areas where this cooperation has taken shape. There are plans also to find the possibilities of a common Christian approach to the phenomenon of unbelief, to the tensions between the generations, and to relations with the non-christian religions.” On the delicate question of whether the Catholic Church should become a member of the World Council, the Pope had this to say: “What can We answer at this moment? In fraternal frankness, We do not consider that the question of the membership of the Catholic Church in the World Council is so mature that a positive answer could or should be given. The question still remains .an hypothesis. It contains serious theological and pastoral implications. It thus requires profound study and commits us to a way that honesty recognizes could be long and difficult. But this does not prevent Us from assuring you of Our great respect and deep affection. The determination which animates Us and the principle which guides Us will always be the search, filled with hope and pastoral realism for the unity willed by Christ.” SOME PRESS COMMENTS ON THE POPE’S VISIT TO GENEVA The Holy Father’s journey to Geneva was commented on and analyzed in many quarters and in many ways. The Swiss newspaper La Liberte (Fribourg, June 11) said that “It would be difficult to find another occasion on which a few hours concentrated such an amount of history and involved consequences of such importance for the future.” The French newspaper La Croix (June 11) printed an article by Felix Lacambre, who began with an opinion expressed by Cardinal Koenig: “This is more important than the Pope’s visit to the United Nations Organiza tion.” The Archbishop of Vienna added, “John XXIII might perhaps have hesitated to act with such courage.” And on the Pope’s visit to ILO: “Never again will work be superior to the worker, never again will work be against the worker; but always work will be for the worker, work will be in the service of man, of every man and of all of man.” The Protestant pastor, G. Richard-Moland, wrote in Le Figaro of June 16: “The open-air Mass in the Parc de La Grange was certainly a Catholic THE CHURCH HERE AND THERE 635 manifestation, but the visit to the ILO and, above all, the hour spent at the headquarters of the WCC were events that concerned everybody.” “At Geneva Pope Paul VI did not speak of power, of divine right or rights, but of duties and service... Far from rejecting the idea of the Roman Church entering the World Council of Churches, he rejected neither the hypothesis nor the eventual possibility. He wisely stressed the difficulties involved above all the theological difficulties.” The Frankfurter Allf’tmeine ’Zeitung wrote on June 11 that the decisive stage in Pope Paul’s 12-hour visit to Geneva was his visit to the World Council of Churches. “His visit and his participation in comman prayers were more than a symbol. They were felt as an irreversible step. Rome laid public stress upon her collaboration with the ecumenical movement. This Pope — in spite of certain things that are said about him — has actually opened more doors than his predecessor. His sober evaluation of the pos sibility of the Catholic Church entering the World Council of Churches agrees with the Council’s own opinion.” HALO NOT TAKEN FROM ANY OF THE SAINTS The Vatican City weekly, rising to meet a storm of protest over the dropping of time-honoured saints from the new liturgical calendar, has reassured Catholics that the Church “has not taken the halo away from any of her saints.” Tire weekly, L’Osservatore della Domenica, said: “In general, the removal of a name from the calendar does not imply a judgment that the person never existed or lacked holiness. “Many have been removed because all that remains certain about them is their name, and this would say too little to the faithful in comparison with many others who, through the mere historical documentation of their life, can become more powerful teachers of how to .live,” the weekly said. Tire Holy See’s anxiety to smooth feathers that have been ruffled over the removal of various saints from the new calendar was mirrored in the fact that this article was released to the press several days before the publication of the magazine itself. As released, the article was unsigned, but it was reliably attributed to an official of the Congregation for Saints’ Causes, Father Carlo Bragga, C.M. On the removal of patron saints such as St. Christopher, the patron of travelers, and St. George, patron or protector of several nations, the magazine said: “The saint may always be invoked by those who are devoted to him.” It concluded: “The Church has not taken the halo away from any of her saints. At most, she has judged the greater or lesser importance which a

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