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Christians Await Vatican Council
United Press International
A meeting that could have a profound impact on all Christians will get underway in Rome next month.
In response to a summons from Pope John XXIII, more than 2,500 bishops, archbishops, cardinals and other church fathers will assemble in St. Peter's Basilica for the first Ecumenical Council in nearly a century.
An Ecumenical Council (the term comes from a Greek word meaning "worldwide") is one which brings together the entire Roman Catholic hierarchy for solemn and secret deliberations on the state of the church. There have been only 20 such councils in the past 2,000 years. The most recent was held in Rome in 1870. Known as the first Vatican council, it remained in session for eight months, and proclaimed the dogma of papal infallibility.
THE ASSEMBLY BEGINNING Oct. 11 will be called the second Vatican Council. With recesses for Christmas and Easter, it may continue into the summer or fall of 1963.
Pope John has said that this council will not promulgate any new doctrines. What it probably will do, however, is to re-state and clarify a number of Catholic teachings, in an effort to make them more intelligible to modern man and more acceptable to Protestants.
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In defining the goals of the council, the Pope has expressed hope that it will (1) "bring the church into step with modern times; and (2) clear away some of the roadblocks to Christian unity. He also hopes that it will spark a moral and spiritual revival throughout Christendom, and that it will further the cause of world peace.
Most of the world's major Protestant and orthodox bodies have accepted the Pope's invitation to send observers to the council. They will be allowed to listen in on debates which are closed to the press and public. If they have comments, suggestions or criticisms to offer, they can submit them to the council through its secretariat for Christian unity, headed by Augustin Cardinal Bea, S. J.
NO INFORMED PERSON. Catholic or Protestant, expects the council to result in a dramatic reunion of the long-divided Christian family. The differences which have accumulated during five centuries of separation are too great to be resolved that easily or that quickly. But the Pope is earnestly praying—and millions of Protestants around the world are praying with him — that the council's labors will somehow smooth the path toward eventual Christian unity.
Besides clarifying some doctrines (such as papal infallibility) which are particular stumbling blocks for Protestants, the council may take at least two specific actions to remove ancient irritants from Protestant-Catholic relations.
First, it is likely to re-state the doctrine of "no salvation outside the church" to make it crystal clear that all baptized Christians belong to the church in some sense, and that salvation is not limited to those who are Roman Catholics.
SECOND. THERE IS A GOOD chance that the council will adopt a strong statement on religious liberty, upholding the right of non-Catholics to freedom of worship in Catholic countries. There has never been a clear and unequivocal declaration from the Vatican on this issue, and the World Council of Churches, representing the major Protestant and orthodox bodies, has expressed hope that the council will remove any doubt about the Catholic position on religious tolerance. There is strong support for such action among U.S. Catholic bishops, who will constitute more than one-tenth of the voting members of the council.
What the council does not do also may be important to future Catholic-Protestant relations. There has been some speculation that the council might further enhance the status of the Virgin Mary in Catholic devotion by proclaiming her "co-depremtrix" with Christ. But this idea
has encountered strong opposition from some prominent Catholic theologians who recognize that it would only widen the gulf.
Christian unity will not be the only concern of the council. Most of its time, in all probability, will be devoted to the church's internal problems. And its actions in this realm may have a far-reaching effect on the world's 550 million Catholics.
High church officials predict, for example, that the council will authorize use of modern languages rather than Latin in some parts of the Mass. This reform has tremendous popular support among American Catholics.
THE LAYMAN'S ROLE in the church will come in for much discussion, and the rights and responsibilities of the laity probably will be both clarified and enlarged.
Of less popular interest, but of great importance to the church, will be the actions the council will take to spell out more clearly the duties and powers of bishops. There is a strong feeling in the hierarchy that too many decisions have been concentrated in the hands of the predominantly-Italian Roman Curia, and that the time has come to "decentralize" the administration of the church by giving bishops more autonomy in their dioceses.
Official Bulletin
International Club: 7:30 p.m., Ballroom, Kansas Union. Chancellor W Clarke Wescow will speak, followed by rehearsals and dancing. Everyone欢迎。
Episcopal Evening Prayer: 9:30 p.m.
Danforth, Chapel.
TODAY
University Daily Kansan
welcome
Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship:
7:30 p.m., 829 Mississippi "What Is Christianity?" Dr. Ben Friessen.
Friday, Sept. 21, 1962
Soviets Fire 14th In A-Blast Series
UPSALA, Sweden — (UPI) — The Soviet Union detonated a nimegaton nuclear device in the atmosphere in the Novaya Zemlya area in the Arctic today, the Upsala Seismographic Institute announced.
The blast was the 12th reported
by the Institute in the current nuclear test series in the Soviet Union. These figures apparently refer only to tests at Novaya Zemlya. The U.S. Atomic Energy Commission has disclosed two others, at Semipalatinsk in Central Siberia, for a total of 14.
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