Correct: Council Vatican Council I or II















@TITLE PG CTR = The Melkite Church at the Council

@TITLE PG CTR = @TITLE PG CTR = @TITLE PG CTR = @BODY TEXT CTR = Discourses and Memoranda of Patriarch Maximos IV and of the Hierarchs of His Church at the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council

























@BODY TEXT CTR = Sophia Press

@BODY TEXT CTR = Newton Centre, Massachusetts

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@TITLE PG CTR = The Melkite Church at the Council

@TITLE PG CTR = @PAGE BREAK = Notes re printing:

The explanatory prefaces at the beginning of every chapter and of every intervention were originally in italics. Since my word processor does not have italics, I have put them in parentheses and centered them. It probably would be best to restore them to italics.

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Introduction

Preface



CHAPTER I. PREPARATION FOR THE COUNCIL

A. At the stage of the Antepreparatory Commission

Note on Reconciliation with the Orthodox

Questions to Be Submitted to the Council

Calling upon NonRoman Collaborators

B. At the Stage of the Preparatory Commissions

For a Permanent Roman Organization on Ecumenical Matters

The Language of the Council Organization and Internal Regulation of the Council Invitation of NonCatholics to the Council Remarks concerning a New Formula for the Profession of Faith

Patriarchal Letter on the Eve of the Council

CHAPTER II. DIVINE REVELATION

Sources of Revelation The Absence of Eastern Theology Growth and Progress of the Living Tradition in the Church Scripture and Tradition in the Eastern Perspective

CHAPTER III. THE LITURGY

Various Aspects of Liturgical Reform For the Use of Living Languages in the Liturgy Concelebration and Communion under Both Species Setting the Date for Pascha

CHAPTER IV. THE MYSTERY OF THE CHURCH

The Unilateral Aspect of Roman Ecclesiology The Absence of Eastern Theology The Church and the Churches The Call to Holiness in the Church Mary and the Church

CHAPTER V. THE CONSTITUTION OF THE CHURCH

Priority for the Question of the Episcopacy Episcopal Collegiality The Pope and the Origin of the Bishops' Powers The Divine Constitution of the Church Five Declarations of Principle What Eastern Theology Says

Primacy and Infallibility

CHAPTER VI. THE PATRIARCHS IN THE CHURCH

The Rank of the Patriarchs at the Council Memorandum on the Rank of the Patriarchs in the Church For an Amelioration of the Conciliar schema The Patriarchate and the Cardinalate; Latin Patriarchs of the East

Final Declarations on the Patriarchate Patriarch-Cardinal

CHAPTER VII. THE EPISCOPATE AND THE ROMAN CURIA

The Pope, the Roman Curia, and the Episcopate For a <169>Synod of Bishops<170> around the Pope The episcopal conferences Episcopal <169>Faculties<170> or Pontifical <169>Reservations<170>?

Dividing Dioceses Internationalization of the Roman Curia Reform of the Holy Office Ecclesiastical Censures and the Holy Office Restoring the Free Election of Bishops in the Eastern Church

Memorandum on the Interpretation of a Conciliar Decree

CHAPTER VIII. FORMATION AND LIFE OF THE CLERGY

The Formation of Priests The Permanent Diaconate Priesthood and Celibacy Fair Remuneration for Priests

CHAPTER IX. THE RELIGIOUS LIFE

CHAPTER X. THE LAITY

The Apostolate of the Laity Concrete Examples of the Lay Apostolate The Place of NonChristians and of Women in the People of God

CHAPTER XI. THE EASTERN CATHOLIC CHURCHES

The <169>Rites<170> in the Church Observations of the Synod on the First Conciliar schema Observations of the Synod on the Second Conciliar schema The Rite of Easterners Desiring Union with Rome The Multiplicity of Catholic Jurisdictions in the Catholic Near East

Hierarchies for Eastern Immigrants Public Discussion of the Conciliar schema

CHAPTER XII. ECUMENISM

The Requirements for Union

The Importance of the Secretariat for Christian Union Union and Christians of the East The Ecumenical Movement <169>Communicatio in Sacris<170>

CHAPTER XIII. THE MISSIONARY CHURCH

The Missions and the Roman Pontiff For an East that is Again Missionary Mission in Eastern Theology

CHAPTER XIV. THE CHURCH AND OTHER RELIGIONS

The Jewish Problem at the Council and the Arab Reactions

CHAPTER XV. MARRIAGE AND THE FAMILY

Indissolubility of Marriage Birth Control Mixed Marriages

CHAPTER XVI. THE SACRAMENTS OF THE CHURCH

The Minister of the Sacrament of Confirmation The Sacrament of Penance Penitential Discipline of the Church Indulgences Mass Stipends NonCatholic Ministers and their Admission to Holy Orders

CHAPTER XVII. CATHOLIC TEACHING

The Infallible Magisterium Thomism Catholic Schools

CHAPTER XVII

I. CODIFICATION OF CANON LAW

Against the Drawing up of Single Code for East and West

CHAPTER XIX. THE CHURCH AND THE MODERN WORLD

For a New Presentation of Morals The Profound Causes of Atheism The Serving Church The Church of the Poor The Church and Human Rights Condemnation of War

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@FIRSTPAR = L'Eglise Grecque Melkite au Councile (The Melkite Greek Church at the Council) was the original title of this book, first published in French in 1967. Then as now, twenty-five years later, it would be difficult to imagine a book of this title about the role of any other Eastern Catholic Church at Vatican II. At that time no other Eastern Church in communion with Rome had as yet played any significantly <169>Eastern<170> leadership role in the wider Catholic Church. In the case of the Ukrainian and Romanian Catholic Churches, this was prevented by persecution. In the case of other Churches, their insignificant numbers or the vagaries of their history rendered any such corporate role unlikely, though outstanding individual bishops from these Churches, such as Ignatius Ziade, Maronite Archbishop of Beirut, and Isaac Ghattas, Coptic Catholic Bishop of Luxor-Thebes, gave eloquent voice to the aspirations of these Churches too. But if size or persecution explain why other Churches played no notable corporate role at Vatican II, this does not explain why the Melkite Church did.

To what, then, can one attribute the remarkable essor of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church at the Council? In his Preface to the 1967 French edition of this volume, Patriarch Maximus IV attributes it, first, to the fact that the Catholic Melkites had never lost contact with their Orthodox roots, and thus never became closed in on themselves. This allowed them to discern what is essential (i.e., Catholic) from what is contingent (i.e., Latin) in Catholicism, enabling them at Vatican II to witness to a pensee complementaire, another, complementary way of seeing things, as a counterbalance to Latin Catholic unilateralism. Maximus IV also offers a second reason, the synodal cohesion of the Melkite hierarchy (at that time the patriarch with sixteen bishops and four general religious superiors) in its preconciliar discussions preparatory to Vatican II, and the consequent unity of its voice at the Council. We see this exemplary Eastern conciliarity from the start, in the letter of August 29, 1959, accompanying the first Melkite response to the Preparatory Commission of the Council: <169>We have believed it more useful to give our proposals together, in common...<170> This was collegiality ante factum, long before the later work of the Council had made this ecclesiology common coin.

With the advantages of hindsight, I would suggest adding to Maximus' list three other reasons that facilitated Melkite leadership at Vatican II: 1) education; 2) courageous, intelligent, innovative leadership; 3) imaginative and universal vision. None of these can be considered traditional clerical virtues. By training and tradition, the clergy are more inclined to conservatism, obedience, regularity, stability, the attributes of any social organization, where too much imagination is a liability, and routine is prized above initiative.

First, education. All of us are at once the beneficiaries as well as the victims of our background and training. Eastern Catholicism is often criticized, sometimes exaggeratedly, for its <169>Westernization,<170> an accusation, every honest person must admit, that contains some truth. This Westernization has brought with it obvious disadvantages, specifically a certain erosion of the Eastern heritage.

But every coin has two sides, and contact with the <169>West,<170> a term some Orthodox writers use like a <169>four-letter word,<170> has also had decided advantages. It is <169>Western<170> culture that invented <169>modernity<170> with its traditional values of pluralism, civility, respect for individuals and their rights, and an intellectual, artistic and cultural life that strives to be free of outside restraint or manipulation, and seeks to be objective, even-handed, and fair. These ideals may not always be realized, but in the West they are at least ideals, and one can not always say the same for the Christian East, where it is not uncommon even for representatives of the intellectual elite to engage in the most grotesque caricatures of the Christian West. But from that same bugaboo one can learn the <169>Western<170> secular values of intellectual honesty, coherence, consistency, self-criticism, objectivity, fairness, dialogue; moderation and courtesy of tone and language even when in disagreement; and a reciprocity which, eschewing all <169>double-standard<170> criticism, applies the same criteria and standards of judgment to one's interlocutor and his thought and actions that one applies to one's own. Such <169>Western<170> values lead to cultural openness, and the desire to know the other. Just look at the endless list of objective, positive, sympathetic<197>yes<197><169>Western<170> studies and publications on the Christian East, its Fathers, its spirituality, its liturgy, its monasticism, its theology, its history. How preferable this is to the ghetto-like insularity, the smug self-satisfaction of those convinced they have nothing to learn from anyone else!

So a dose of the <169>West<170> can be good medicine for the East, and Melkite bishops at Vatican II, imbued with what was best in the superb postwar French Catholic intellectual tradition, speaking French fluently and thus accessible to personal contacts and dialogue, were enabled to understand and appreciate what was happening in the Catholic Church in a way they never could have done with a simplistic caricature-image and paranoid rejection of the <169>West.<170> That is why the Melkites at Vatican II were repeatedly called a <169>bridge<170> between East and West: they knew both sides of the river and could mediate between them. Those who would deny this should remember that it is a question here of the lived experience of the Catholic Church, and only Catholics can judge that. So if Eastern Catholics at Vatican II were not a bridge between Orthodoxy and Rome <197>and only the Orthodox can decide that<197>Catholics experienced them to be a bridge that allowed the voice of the East to be heard at the Council sessions.

Of the other qualities, courageous, intelligent, innovative leadership was not proper to the Melkite bishops alone but shared by all the great progressive leaders of Vatican II, to the discomfiture of the conservative minority and the astonished admiration of the rest of the world. Peculiar to the Melkites, however, was the disproportion between their conciliar leadership and their numbers, a patriarch and a mere sixteen bishops awash in a Latin sea.

Equally unique to the Melkite council Fathers as a group was the truly remarkable imaginative and universal vision they showed. Altogether too often, Eastern Christians think only with<->in their own frame of reference, address only their own problems, protest only against injustices done to them, further only their own interests. Not so the Melkites. In addition to being among the first to state categorically that the Council should avoid definitions and condemnations, the list of important items of general import on the Vatican II and post conciliar agenda that the Melkite bishops first proposed is simply astonishing: the vernacular, eucharistic concelebration, and communion under both species in the Latin liturgy; the permanent diaconate; the establishment of what ultimately became the Synod of Bishops held periodically in Rome, as well as the Secretariat (now Pontifical Council) for Christian Unity; new attitudes and a less offensive ecumenical vocabulary for dealing with other Christians, especially with the Orthodox Churches; the recognition and acceptance of Eastern Catholic communities for what they are, <169>Churches,<170> not <169>rites.<170>

But for the Melkites, perhaps none of the above qualities would have <169>worked<170> without the audacious yet unfailingly courteous courage of Maximus IV and his close collaborators. I first encountered this in 1959, I think it was, just after returning from three years teaching in Baghdad. I was doing Russian studies at Fordham University in New York, preparing for theological studies and ordination in the Byzantine-Slavonic Rite. With barely repressible glee the late Father Paul Mailleux, S.J., then superior of the Byzantine Jesuit Community of the Russian Center at Fordham, showed me a copy of a letter Maximus IV had sent to an American cardinal. For some time the Byzantine Rite Jesuits of that community had, on occasion, been following the lead of the U.S. Melkites in celebrating the Byzantine Divine Liturgy in English, in accordance with the age-old principle of the Byzantine Churches to use whatever language, vernacular or not, was deemed pastorally most suitable in the circumstances. The cardinal had written Patriarch Maximus to challenge this practice, surely not because of any special concern for the East, but, as with the issue of married clergy, from fear of <169>contamination.<170> This was before the vernacular debate at Vatican II, and if U.S. Catholics were exposed to Catholic eucharists, especially in their own parish churches on the dies orientales or <169>Oriental Days<170> held in those years to acquaint Western Catholics with the East, they might be led to the ineluctable conclusion that vernacular liturgy was not only possible, but a good thing.

Here as elsewhere, Melkite attitudes and usage were prophetic, and the cardinal's fears real. Maximus IV, fully conscious of being an Eastern patriarch and not some curial dependent, responded with dignity and courtesy, but with great firmness and unambiguous clarity, that the liturgical languages of the Byzantine Church were none of his eminence's business. It is of such stuff that leaders are made. And prophets too. For it is thus that in North America, Melkites and others, celebrated Catholic eucharistic liturgies in English long before anyone ever heard of Vatican II.

But Maximus IV did not stand alone at Vatican II. He was the first to acknowledge the synodal, collegial nature of the Melkite enterprise, and other major Melkite council figures like Bishops Elias Zoghby, Neophytos Edelby, Peter Medawar, and our own Archbishop Joseph Tawil, also made the trenchant and eloquent <169>Voice of the East<170> heard at Vatican II.

In this same context I must mention one of my own heroes, Archimandrite Orestes Kerame (+1983), who, though not a bishop, was a major source of Melkite thought at Vatican II. A former Jesuit, he left the order in 1941, in the name of a higher fidelity, when it was not so easy to be a member of a Latin religious order and at the same time a convinced ecumenist totally dedicated to preserving and living the traditions of the Christian East. In long conversations in French with him in his later years, I had confirmed what had always been a guiding principle of my own double vocation as an Eastern Rite member of a Latin religious order: whenever there is a conflict, real or apparent (i.e., so perceived by superiors), between the demands of my rite and those of the order, the rite, an ecclesial reality superior to the contingent customs of any religious order, congregation, or monastery, must always take precedence. Fortunately, the problem has never arisen for me in any substantive way, for times have changed since the early 1940's. The December 25, 1950, letter and decree of the Jesuit General John Baptist Janssens, Pro ramo orientali Societatis Iesu (On The Eastern Branch of the Society of Jesus), can be considered the Magna Carta of Eastern-Rite Jesuits. It legislates explicitly that they are to live their rite in its integrity, and elements of the Jesuit Institute that by nature pertain to the Latin Rite do not apply to them. Kerame, whose love for the Society of Jesus never lessened in spite of the painful choice he was forced to make, not only lived long enough to witness this greater openness in the Catholic Church. His life and thought prepared for it.

But when all is said and done, our basic point of reference will always remain the great figure of Patriarch Maximus IV and the role he played in his own and the broader Church during the twenty critical years (October 30, 1947-November 5, 1967) of his historic patriarchate. Among the dozen or so most quoted council Fathers in the published histories of Vatican II, he gave from the start a hitherto unimaginable importance to the Eastern Catholic minority at the Council by the content and elan of his interventions. The legendary Xavier Rynne first brought him to the attention of Americans in his gripping account of Session I serialized in The New Yorker, awakening the Western mass-media to the importance of this hitherto ignored minority. Rynne described Maximus as <169>the colorful and outspoken Melchite patriarch, His Beatitude Maximus IV Saigh, of Antioch,<170> and spoke of His Beatitude's conciliar interventions as <169>laying the cards squarely on the table as was his custom, and speaking in French, as was also his habit.<170>

At Session I of the Council, Maximus' electrifying opening speech on October 23, 1962, set the tone for the Melkite onslaught on the one-sided, Latin vision of the Church. He refused to speak in Latin, the language of the Latin Church, but not, he insisted, of the Catholic Church nor of his. He refused to follow protocol and address <169>their Eminences,<170> the cardinals, before <169>their Beatitudes,<170> the Eastern patriarchs, for in his ecclesiology patriarchs, the heads of local Churches, did not take second place to Cardinals, who were but second-rank dignitaries of one such communion, the Latin Church. He also urged the West to allow the vernacular in the liturgy, following the lead of the East, <169>where every language is, in effect, liturgical.<170> And he concluded, in true Eastern fashion, that the matter at any rate should be left to the local Churches to decide. All this in his first intervention at the first sesson! No wonder numerous council Fathers, overcoming their initial surprise, hastened to congratulate him for his speech. And no wonder it hit the news. That was a language even journalists impervious to the torturous periods of <169>clericalese<170> could understand. Maximus spoke simply, clearly, directly <197> and he spoke in French.

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Has the postconciliar Melkite Church lived up to its promise at Vatican II? Indeed, has any of us? Ideals always have a head start on reality <197> that is why we call them ideals, something not yet fully attained, that towards which we strive. So it is natural that certain Melkite ideas advanced at the Council remain undeveloped and unrealized in the Catholic Church: the principle that collegiality should be operative not just among bishops, but on the diocesan level, between the bishop and his presbyterate; that the laity, especially women, should be given their proper dignity and role in church life; that adequate hierarchical provision be made, as a pastoral right and not as a concession dependent on the good will of anyone, for the pastoral care of Eastern Catholics in the diaspora; that a more supple, nuanced view, like that of the Orthodox Churches, be allowed regarding the remarriage of unjustly abandoned spouses; that the problem of the date of Easter be resolved in ecumenical agreement with other Churches; that the Roman curia assume its proper place within a healthy ecclesiology, no longer operating as a substitute for the apostolic college of bishops, or pretending to possess and exercise incommunicable powers which belong by divine right to the supreme pontiff alone, and cannot be delegated to or arrogated by anyone else.

As for the Melkite Church itself, there can be no denying that Melkites, like many others, are often better at giving speeches and making proposals than at observing them. Even before the Council, Melkite rhetoric and Melkite reality have often been miles apart.

So much work remains to be done. May this welcome translation of an historic book be a stimulus to getting on with it.



Robert F. Taft, S.J.

Pontifical Oriental Institute

Rome



NOTES:

1. Cited in <169>Vatican II: 25 ans apres,<170> Le Lien 55.1-2 (janvier-avril 1990) 37.

2. Further documentation in N. Edelby, <169>The Byzantine Liturgy in the Vernacular,<170> in Maximus IV Sayegh (ed.), The Eastern Churches and Catholic Unity (New York: Herder & Herder 1963) 195-218.

3. X. Rynne, Letters from Vatican City (London: Faber & Faber 1963) 26, 85.

4. Ibid., 102-5.



@CHAPTER # = Preface





@FIRSTPAR = At the Second Vatican Council, which has just ended, our Melkite Greek Catholic Church played a remarkable role. Aside from certain criticisms, which were useful to us, and for which we were grateful, public opinion in general has been generous in its compliments, thus encouraging in our hierarchy, in spite of the relatively limited number of its faithful and the difficult circumstances in which it exercises its ministry, the boldness of its interventions, the originality of its theological thinking, its esprit de corps, and the seriousness with which it applied itself to study the problems posed at the Council, to provide the best contribution of which it was capable.

The reasons for this outstanding role played by our Church at the Council should be sought in the providential elements of our vocation, as well as in the climate of freedom that popes John XXIII and Paul VI gave to the deliberations of the Council.

The cornerstone of our vocation is Eastern Orthodoxy, with which we have never lost contact. At no moment of our history have we considered ourselves a closed community that has reached the final stage of its evolution. We have always reserved, in our thoughts and in our hearts, a place for those who are absent, for that Orthodoxy from which we came forth, which we have never disowned, but which we have sincerely believed would be reunited with Roman Catholicism in a union that we embraced as it was then presented concretely to us. It is only gradually, and rather belatedly, that we have made a distinction between those things that were indispensable, and thus permanent, and those which were accidental, and thus obsolete.

The concern to maintain contact with Orthodoxy has furnished us with distinctive ideas, which in fact were nourished by sources of thought that were not exclusively Western, but which always tried to draw from the living and lifegiving wellsprings of Christian truth, above all by renewing contact with the Eastern Fathers, known and experienced through a liturgy in which all the thought of Catholic Orthodoxy is epitomized, and which we have tried to maintain free of all hybrid deformation. Our liturgy has certainly provided us with a great resource.

We have always refused to become <169>latinized,<170> even at times when <169>latinization<170> appeared to be a title of glory, a sign of progress, a demonstration of evolution and of openness. We have always wished to be ourselves, simply, without any lack of appreciation for the values of others, but also without an inferiority complex.

These things have enabled us, at the Council, to be witnesses of complementary ideas, just as the Council intended. The West, after centuries of unilateral evolution, had reached the limits of its theological reflection. It had arrived at extreme views, from which it could not escape without a return to biblical sources and to that other ecclesial and apostolic tradition, that of the East, in order to provide equilibrium, nuances, and wholeness. We have tried to be as effective witnesses of that other tradition as our small numbers would permit.

It would have been naturally preferable if this testimony had been put forth by our Orthodox brothers themselves, in a new <169>Council of Union,<170> which would be free, this time, from all pressure and all purely human concerns. In the absence of a true Orthodox presence, we have wished, without claiming to represent it officially, to bring to the Council to the best of our ability a faint but faithful echo of this presence. This echo has caused surprise. It may have scandalized at times those who could not have reacted otherwise, but on the whole it has aroused interest. It helped those who were seeking escapes from the impasses, from the inflexibilities, from the excesses to which we had been led by late Scholasticism and the Counter-Reformation, and then by the absolutism of the last century. That is why the role played by our Church was notable and noticed.

Should I add to these strong reasons some motives that are rather personal? I shall only say, in praise of my brothers in the episcopacy, that among the reasons for our profound influence on the Council must also be included our cohesion, that unity of action among the members of our hierarchy, working together as a synod, collegially, knowing how to surpass oneself, if necessary, or, on the contrary, to hold back in order to maintain unity of action born of a union of hearts, without, however, excluding complete freedom of thought.

This is also the place to mention the presence at our side of devoted collaborators, who made a real contribution to the success of our efforts. I am pleased to cite among them my auxiliaries, their Excellencies Pierre-Kamel Medawar and Neophytos Edelby, and Archimandrite Oreste Kerame, my Referendarius, a pioneer ecumenist of international fame, in our resource group; Archimandrite Adrian Chacour, my secretary, of unflagging zeal; Archimandrite Elias Nijme, Secretary of the Holy Synod, who accompanied me to all the sessions of the Council, and in particular served me as Press Attache; and finally Reverend Michel Geday, S.J., Professor at the College of the Holy Family at Cairo, one of the most profound and discreet of our Melkite Greek Catholic theologians.

For the sake of completeness, I should point out the collaboration of many other priests of our community: university or seminary professors, historians, journalists, even if they have not directly contributed with us to the work of the Council. Laymen, too, have given us great comfort through the harmony of their thoughts with ours. Truly, the whole Melkite Greek Catholic Churchhierarchy, clergy, faithfulbrought to the Council the witness of its spiritual patrimony.

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All this action would have been impossible apart from the atmosphere of freedom and confidence that popes John XXIII and Paul VI created at the Council. At the First Vatican Council, our hierarchy was certainly less well prepared, but even the small amount of original thought that it would have wished to echo was suppressed by the authoritarianism that dominated that council. One now understands the humiliations undergone by my predecessor Gregory II Youssef Sayour, humiliations concerning which he had the discretion to remain silent for the rest of his life.

We owe to John XXIII and Paul VI the introduction of a new spirit in Catholic customs, an openness, a spontaneity, a humility, that one might have thought to have been forgotten. The Catholic East not only was not humiliated: without any inferiority complex, it entered with its head held high, it was welcomed fraternally, listened to with interest, and understood favorably. For all of that, it was necessary to speak out, to raise our voices, to contend at times, but we were sure that after this effort to provide indispensable information we could count on the goodwill of the Council as a whole.

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Hardly any trace remains of the participation of our predecessors at VaticanI, at least in a form accessible to the general reader. My fellow bishops and I have thought that this time we ought not only to make sure that the history of our work will be available, when anyone wishes to write it, but also to inform our priests, our faithful, and our friends of what we were able to accomplish at the Council, by the grace of God and with their help. Some Western theologians have also insistently asked us to do this.

A long time will pass before all the interventions at the Council are published. In addition, our interventions represent only a small part of our effort. The limitation of ten minutes for each intervention did not allow our speakers to do more than outline their ideas. The remainder was sent in writing to the Secretariat of the Council. The Holy Synod, before each session of the Council, met and made detailed observations on the texts of the schemas. These observations were reproduced and distributed among the Fathers. Sometimes we wrote directly to His Holiness the Pope. Those of us who were members of conciliar commissions drafted long notes. We also gave numerous conferences during the Council, interviews with the press and television, etc.

These materials constitute a voluminous collection of documents. It was evident that we had to make choices. We have retained, for publication here, only those which appeared to be what one might call <169>official,<170> coming from our conciliar Fathers and addressed to the authorities of the Council: interventions at the Council, either actually spoken or sometimes sent to the Secretariat, comments of the Holy Synod, notes sent to different pre-conciliar or conciliar commissions by those of our bishops who were members, and finally official correspondence of the patriarchate or of the Synod with the Holy See of Rome, relative to questions raised at the Council or, subsequently, concerning the carrying out of the Council's decisions. All the rest has been set aside and lies in our archives.

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In addition to the texts that we are publishing in this collection, it would be easy to draw up a balance sheet of the Council on matters that concern our Church. It can be said that on the whole we obtained what we asked from the Council.

The Church was the fundamental theme of the Council; it was therefore on questions of the Church that we put forth our principal efforts. Starting with the period of the preparation for the Council, we insisted on the necessity of complementing the teaching of Vatican I on the primacy and infallibility of the Bishop of Rome by determining the nature of episcopal power, and of episcopal collegiality in particular. Vatican II can be called in a sense the <169>council of the episcopacy.<170> The doctrine of episcopal collegiality was drawn up, timidly enough it is true, but openly enough so that the forward trend of this thought is irreversible. Without this perspective of collegiality, the prerogatives of the Bishop of Rome remain incomprehensible in the East. During the Council a certain Roman canonist published in two parallel columns our teaching on collegiality and the definitions of Vatican I, to demonstrate their opposition, and to conclude implicitly that our position should be condemned.

Unfortunately for him, the Council did not find any opposition, but instead discerned complementary ideas, and it was rather the contrary attitude that was condemned. We asked for the creation, at the Roman Curia, of a permanent bureau for ecumenical affairs. The Secretariat for Christian Unity has been founded and assured permanence. As for the new <169>style<170> which we sought in the relations between Rome and the other Churches, it is necessary to say that our hopes have been exceeded in this regard: the journey of the pope to Jerusalem, the exchange of official delegations between Rome, Constantinople, and Canterbury, the lifting of the anathemas of 1054, the presence of observers at the Council, the beginning of direct negotiations, etc. Who would have thought, as recently as ten years ago, that such things were possible?

In the preparations for the Council, we emphasized the necessity of calling on collaborators outside Roman circles. Although the preparatory commissions remained strongly influenced by the Curia, the conciliar commissions were less so, and the post-conciliar commissions even less so.

On the other hand, concerning the language of the discussions, we failed in our attempt to have the use of simultaneous translations admitted at the Council. But this failure was as good as a victory. The principle was admitted that Latin was not the language of the Church, and we insisted on speaking in a language other than Latin.

On dogmatic matters especially, we called for a halt. It was not possible, considering our small numbers, to exert a greater positive influence on the theological thought of the Council. At least we warned the theologians of the Council against the danger of considering their Western theology as the theology of the Church. The Council was alerted to tiihis reaction on our part. Although we were not able to incorporate Eastern theology into that of the Council, we at least succeeded in making the Council realize that there was in the Church something besides Western theology. Eastern theology remained for the majority of the Fathers an unknown quantity, but one that was no longer automatically disregarded, and about which henceforth they wished to know more. With respect to the liturgy, we strongly supported the demands of the promoters of the reform of the Latin liturgy. Besides, the example of the Eastern Churches was often the best weapon for demolishing positions that were reputed to be impregnable and for obtaining such important reforms as the use of living languages, concelebration, Communion under both species, etc.

Regarding the setting of a unified date for Pascha, we were not able to do more than alert the Council. We made known our sadness and our confusion about the present state of affairs. The definitive solution can come only through direct negotiation among the Churches. We shall not cease to prod those in authority, for this unification of the date of the <169>feast of feasts<170> will be for us, in the Arabic Middle East, the first step towards unity.

On the questions concerning the constitution of the Church, it was nearly impossible to get the West to accept a theology of the patriarchate, which it had lived with the East, but which it had long since forgotten. We and our friends had to be content to offer very vigorous reminders, but these were lost in a sort of historic void, as the assembly could not visualize an order of values other than that to which it was accustomed. Certainly, a great step was made in restoring to the patriarchs of the East, at least externally, the honors due to them, but on the whole the patriarchate remained in the eyes of the majority of the Fathers an honor, nothing more than an honor. At least, the door is not closed. Miraculously, the Decree on Eastern Catholic Churches was able to affirm two principles, which appeared mild, but which in reality are heavy with consequences. The first affirms that the rights and privileges of the patriarchs should be re-established as they were during the thousand-year union between the East and the West; the second states that the patriarchs, with their synods, constitute the highest authority for all affairs of the patriarchate, without prejudice to the inalienable rights of the Roman pontiff. These two principles, if they are respected, contain the seed of a restoration of an order of things which could be accepted by Orthodoxy.

We insisted very strongly on a reform of the Roman Curia, in the direction of decentralization and internationalization. This reform has been decreed and will be implemented gradually. Already, the powers of bishops are no longer considered to be Roman concessions, renewable <169>faculties,<170> to be extended or limited at will. It is rather the Roman interventions that are to be considered as reservations that are exceptional, rare, and, above all, motivated by the general good of the Church.

Synodalism, which characterizes the system of government of the Eastern Church, has inspired and sustained the establishment of episcopal conferences. Even more, we were the first to uphold in the Council the idea of a <169>permanent synod of bishops<170> surrounding the pope.

We proposed the restoration of the permanent diaconate. As for the married priesthood, which has always existed and been honored among us, we defended it against the unrealistic view which would identify priesthood and celibacy. In this sphere, we remain convinced that the example of our Eastern Church has not ceased to be useful.

We sought and obtained that the door should be no longer closed to an expanded concept of morality, to the problems of family planning and of the innocent spouse. We joined our voice to those who sought the condemnation of nuclear war and a more constructive view of the problems of modern society.

Above all, we concentrated our efforts on the situation of our own Eastern Catholic Churches. Their condition in the bosom of Catholicism has been difficult. Being victims of discrimination, their hands were tied. We sought and obtained the recognition of their absolute equality with the Latin Church with respect to rights and duties, including the right and the duty to evangelize the non-Christian world. We obtained the condemnation of latinization of the East, while leaving a latitude for personal exceptions. We saved our emigrants, by securing the recognition of their right to establish everywhere ecclesial communities and to be governed by their own hierarchy. Through the prerogatives conceded or to be conceded to patriarchs and to their synods, one can see for these Churches, in the near future, the beginnings of a respected canonical situation, which will permit them to exist honorably while awaiting the global union of Churches, which must always remain their supreme reason for being.

@BODY TEXT CTR = * * * * * * *

On the basis of what we have said at the Council and by what we have already obtained from it, there can be no doubt that we have cleared the terrain and laid out the road for the meeting of Orthodoxy and Catholicism. The length of the dialogue has thereby been shortened.

The anthology that I am happy to present at this time will show future generations of our Church the road that has been traveled, and the distance still to be traveled. We have laid out the path. Much remains to be done, but the forward movement has begun, and it is irreversible. There are doors which the Holy Spirit has opened and that no one will ever be able to close.



Damascus, December 25, 1966

Maximos IV

Patriarch of Antioch and of All-the-East

of Alexandria and of Jerusalem Cardinal of the Holy Church



@CHAPTER # = Chapter 1

@CHAPTER TITLE = Preparation for the Council at the Stage of the Antepreparatory Commission

@BODY TEXT ITA = (On January 25, 1959, Pope John XXIII announced the convocation of the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council.

@BODY TEXT ITA = On May 17, the Feast of Pentecost, the pope appointed an Antepreparatory Commission, with Cardinal Tardini as president. The latter hastened to ask, on the following June 18th, for <169>the advice, counsel, and wishes of the future Fathers of the Council... for the preparation of the problems to be examined... with full freedom and frankness... concerning the questions which are susceptible of being treated at the future council.<170>

@BODY TEXT ITA = Instead of replying individually, the members of the Melkite Greek Catholic hierarchy preferred to give a collective response. Thus the patriarch called them to a synod held at Ain-Traz on August 24 to 29, 1959. It was during this synod, almost exclusively devoted to the affairs of the Council, that the Melkite hierarchy set forth its suggestions for the Council in a collective letter to Cardinal Tardini, dated August 29, 1959, and signed by the patriarch, fifteen bishops, and four superiors general. The Melkite Greek hierarchy would continue to act in this manner: synodally and collegially. This letter accompanied the sending of two notes which we publish below in their entirety: one deals with <169>Reconciliation with the Orthodox,<170> the other contains the suggestions by the hierarchy on the <169>Questions To Be Submitted to the Council<170>).

@MAJOR SEC HDG = Note on Reconciliation with the Orthodox

@BODY TEXT ITA = (This note of the Melkite Greek Catholic hierarchy was sent on August 29, 1959, to Cardinal Tardini in his capacity as president of the Antepreparatory Commission of the Council. It already indicates the tremendous importance that the Melkite Greek Catholic hierarchy intends to give to the ecumenical problem, which, in its eyes, takes precedence over all the other problems of the Council.)

Our Melkite Greek Catholic Church believes that its principal mission is to work for Christian unity, and more particularly, to reconcile our Orthodox brothers to the Holy See of Rome.

Therefore we believe that among the labors of the forthcoming Council those that should claim our greatest attention, and that of the Council, are precisely those which are meant to prepare for the restoration of Christian unity. It is, moreover, on this point that we believe that our contribution to the council will be most appreciable, for, in spite of our small numbers, we represent, within the Catholicism of our time, the great Eastern apostolic Christianity in its origins. Unfortunately, the greater part of this Eastern Christianity is today still outside the Roman communion.

It is an undeniable fact, evidenced by long experience, that since the separation between the East and the West, and especially during the past two centuries, the attitude of the authorities of the Western Catholic Church, in spite of the purity of their intentions and their personal sanctity, has only exacerbated the estrangement of the Orthodox, deepened the gulf of the schism, and hardened positions. This is seldom realized in the West, where there is a tendency to accuse the Easterners of being at fault. But we Greek Catholics, who feel and endure all the repercussions of the conflict between the Latins and the Orthodox, owe it to ourselves to bring the matter to the attention of the ecumenical council, frankly indicating the principal cause of the trouble and proposing the appropriate remedies for it.

1. The principal cause of the trouble, it seems to us, is the tendency of the majority of the Latin theologians and canonists to concentrate all the authority conferred by Christ to his Church in the sole person of the supreme pontiff, making him the source of all power, and as a consequence giving excessively centralized and practically sovereign powers to the Roman Curia which acts in his name. With this perspective, it is difficult for them to see in the apostolic power of patriarchs and bishops anything other than a pure and simple delegation of the supreme authority of the pope, limitable and revocable at will. Thus the pope, the father of Christians, has become, for that part of Christianity presently dissenting from his communion, a disfigured personage, accused by the non-Catholics of insatiable pride and human ambition, often repugnant, whatever may be his personal charm, his human qualities, and his eminent sanctity.

The legislation of canon law and ecclesiology influence each other in this sphere, and give birth to theses and governmental measures that are increasingly centralized, and which, in the light of the power of the pope - that is to say, in fact, of the Roman Curia -cause the disappearance of all other authority in the Church.

Therefore the first thing we must do is to resume and complete the work on this matter done by the Vatican Council which was suspended in 1870. It had defined the powers of the supreme pontiff, but did not have the time to define the nature and the powers of the episcopacy. Now, the hierarchy instituted by our Lord rests on the Twelve, with the primacy of Peter. It is indispensable from the point of view of union with the Orthodox and of the internal peace of Catholics as wellthat the power of Peter be balanced by that of the Twelve.

From the dogmatic viewpoint, that, it seems to us, is the principal task to be accomplished by the Council.

Moreover, the coming Council must, we believe, henceforth put a rein on the excessive zeal which drives certain groups or certain individuals to campaign in the Church to have the pope pronounce more and more dogmatic definitions in matters that until now have been optional. The effect of this tendency has been to stir up in reaction a contrary doctrinal tendency among other Christians, alienating them still further from the possibility of union around the Holy See of Rome.

2. Creation of a Special Commission to Work for Church Unity.

The task of preparation of this part of the Council certainly will be consigned to a special commission.

a) Composition This commission must not be recruited, it seems to us, solely from among the theologians and canonists with the <169>centralizing tendency,<170> who dominate the bureaus of the Roman Curia and the pontifical universities, where, theoretically and practically, each one thinks that he is doing the right thing by outdoing the others with regard to the concentration of powers in the Curia. This commission must also include persons of the other side, that is to say, persons who know the apostolic Christian mentality of the East, who understand its intuitions and recognize the extent to which they are good and just, persons who realize the impression that words and gestures of the Roman See can produce on the Christians of the East. Theologians of this latter category are not numerous, but, thank God, their numbers are increasing. If we were asked to name a few of them and to suggest that they be designated as members of the said commission, we would be happy to do so.

b) Orthodox Contacts This commission must not restrict its labors to the speculative study of the powers of the episcopacy and their canonical formation. As a body or through some of its members, it must not fear to get in touch with representatives of Orthodoxy, prelates and knowledgeable theologians, who may even be officially designated by their hierarchy, to study these questions in truth and charity, to compare viewpoints which are often not opposed but rather complementary. Such contacts with the Orthodox are indispensable. By <169>Orthodox<170> we naturally mean the Orthodox of the patriarchates or of other autocephalous Churches, but nothing prevents conferring with the other Churches that call themselves Orthodox: the Armenians, the Copts, and the Syrians. Moreover, we know that their <169>Monophysitism,<170> or, in the case of the Assyrians, their <169>Nestorianism,<170> is increasingly considered to be merely verbal.

c) Urgency

We insist on the necessity of quickly setting up the said commission for two reasons:

Granted that meeting with the Orthodox is indispensable from the viewpoint of restoration of unity, the fomation of this commission and its implementation to contact them seems to be the best method of entering into agreement with them, for it is evident from the first reactions that, under the present conditions of Christianity, there will be neither an invitation from the pope to the Orthodox to participate in the Council, nor any possible Orthodox response to such an invitation. There remains only the proposed recourse: a commission which will officially assure the necessary contacts.

d) Permanence

Besides, we can hope that the services of this <169>commission<170> will be such that the Holy Father will decide to keep it in existence, even after the end of the Council, as a permanent institution for contact with the Separated Churches. It could even become one of the Roman Sacred Congregations, to which would be imparted the handling of everything relating to ecumenism and to the constant effort to reform, without prejudice to Catholic dogma, morality, or discipline, everything that is open to criticism in Catholic relations with other Christians, whether in words or in actions. Thus the Catholic Church will become, as is universally wished, the head of a true catholic ecumenism.

The primacy of Peter, the infallible primacy, is a great grace, a charism granted by God to His Church, not for the advantage of a few, nor of Catholics alone, but of all Christians, including Orthodox and Protestants. All these Christians have the riqht to profit from this charism. At the present time there are obstacles that prevent them from seeing and attaining to this charism, obstacles placed either by them or by us Catholics. For our part, we must begin by removing the obstacles that stem from us, without waiting for the others to get started. This work will be part of the functions of the proposed commission.

@MAJOR SEC HDG = Questions to be Submitted to the Council

@BODY TEXT ITA = (The following note, also sent to Cardinal Tardini by the Melkite Greek hierarchy on August 29, 1959, is titled: <169>Questions proposed by the patriarch, the bishops, and the superiors general of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church for possible submission to the ecumenical council.)

@MINOR HEADING = I. Dogmatic Questions

1) In view of progressively preparing for Christian unity, and in order to avoid depriving certain souls of the advantages of ecclesiastical communion, we propose that the Catholic Church relax its present legislation on the matter of <169>communicatio in sacris<170> in all cases where doing so would not necessarily involve the denial of Catholic truth or a scandal for Christians. On this subject we note that at the present time, and especially in our countries, what scandalizes the faithful is not so much the participation of Catholics in Orthodox ceremonies as their refusal to participate in them. We believe that it is not permissible to treat Christian <169>non-Catholics,<170> above all if they are Orthodox, in the same fashion as we treat unbelieving <169>non-Catholics.<170>

2) Certain movements, parties, or sections, concerning which the Church has formerly made pronouncements, have taken on new forms of a nature to deceive souls. Thus we consider it useful that the Church once more determine its position in their regard, so that the pastors of souls may be provided with the necessary official documents, brought suitably up-to-date. We are thinking in particular of the following doctrines and organizations: Communism, Freemasonry, racism, Nazism, Fascism, extremist capitalism, etc.

3) The teaching of philosophy and theology in our major seminaries and our clerical faculties must assign a more important place to the doctrines of the Fathers of the Church and to modern philosophical theories.

II. Pastoral questions

4) Our century is the victim of atheistic materialism, of an unbridled pursuit of pleasure, and of religious indifference. Children and young persons are nurtured in this spirit in irreligious secular or atheistic educational institutions; the working class is losing the spirit of faith and increasingly breaking away from the Church. Thus we should review the methods of our apostolate, to re-establish contact with young people and manual workers through religious education, or by Catholic Action, to which the Church should grant an official and canonical form, as well as by encouraging priestly vocations, or through the use of the press, motion pictures, radio, television, etc.

5) our century suffers from a crisis of priestly vocations and the lack of missionaries, in particular in certain parts of the world, as in South America, Africa, and Asia. To remedy this state of things, would it not be opportune to restudy, in the light of the true interests of the Church and its expansion, especially in mission countries, the question of married priests? The shock that this idea at first causes will perhaps be followed by a state of greater understanding. It would be also necessary to take effective measures to encourage priestly vocations and to guard against the moral isolation and material distress suffered by rural priests in particular.

III. Liturgical Ouestions

6) It is our hope that liturgical prayers and ceremonies while remaining as faithful as possible to the tradition of the Fathers, may evolve normally, like every expression of life, so as to be understood by all the faithful and lived by them. Certain rites need to be shortened and varied; others could usefully be reviewed with a view to the more exact expression of the truths that they contain. All should be celebrated in the language of the people. As for the Eastern Churches, however, this evolution should take place in a manner that will not accentuate the differences which separate us from our Orthodox brothers, and, if possible, be accomplished in concert with them.

IV. Questions of Discipline

7) Unification of the date of Pascha. The reform of the calendar ordered by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582, which has not yet been adopted by the Eastern Churches not in union with Rome with respect to the date for Pascha, has had as a result that Christians in the East seldom celebrate together that <169>Great Feast,<170> that memorial of the <169>Resurrection of Christ, foundation of our faith,<170> that symbol of our unity. Thus, according to the ecclesiastical calendar for the next sixteen years, from 1960 to 1975, we shall have the joy of celebrating together only four times (1960, 1963, 1966, 1974); four times there will be a difference of 35 days (1964, 1967, 1970, 1975); the eight other times, the difference will be seven days.

In the West (Europe, America) and in the countries where Christians are primarily Catholic or Protestant (Africa, Asia, Oceana), there is little awareness of the importance of this problem. In all the East, however, and everywhere in the areas where there are Orthodox minorities, Christians suffer painfully from this situation, as much from the religious viewpoint as from the social viewpoint.

In fact, in all those countries, there is no strict compartmentalization between the various Christian communities; many families are mixed: numerous families have a Catholic branch and an Orthodox branch. All families maintain among themselves social relations of friendship, neighborliness, and business. In the East the feast of Pascha assumes a very particular importance, not only to the Christians but also to their Muslim neighbors, who, on this occasion come to visit them and to offer their felicitations. Think of how much pain the Christians feel on this occasion which should be in principle only a time of internal and external joy! Think of the sarcastic remarks of which the Christians are the object on the part of others: <169>While some raise Him,<170> they say, <169>others bury Him<170>! Not all the people are scholars or cultivated persons to see in this calendar difference only a question of astronomical calculations. The Muslims see in it one of the irremediable defects of Christianity, dedicated to division. Ordinary Christiansthe majoritysee in it an effect of the stubbornness and ill will of the ecclesiastical leaders. Each year the same catch phrases and the same complaints are stridently repeated.

More than ever, in the Arab East, Christians feel the need for union, at least in externals, while waiting for a more complete and more permanent unity. This need for unification of the date of Pascha is so great that, when His Holiness Pope John XXIII announced his intention of convoking an ecumenical council, the whole of the good Christian people of all confessions thought that this council would have as its principal aim the setting of a common date for the <169>Great Feast<170> of all Christians!

In the days of the League of Nations at Geneva, there were studies of various projects for calendar reform. What interests us is the date of Easter or Pascha. Among those projects there was one which proposed setting the date of Pascha as the second Sunday of April. This project received the adherence in principle of the Catholic Church, of Protestants, and of the Orthodox Churches. However, the political events of that epoch, notably the war of 1939-1945 and the disturbances that it brought to the world and which caused the League of Nations to disappear, have made the reform of the Paschal calendar disappear from view.

That is why we suggest the establishment at Rome of a small commission of a few specialists to study the question technically and to immediately make contacts with the Orthodox Churches on this matter. These contacts are absolutely necessary; they should be pursued with perseverance and charity until a conclusion is reached. They may well result in an agreement which could be put into force even before the meeting of the ecumenical council.

8) We propose a revision of the parts already published or to be published. of the future Code of Oriental Canon Law before its definitive promulgation. This revision, in which the Eastern Churches themselves should be better represented and, above all, heard, would be carried on in the spirit of a greater fidelity to the authentic traditions of the Christian East, without excluding the advisability of making minor changes tending to simplify and mitigate the ancient law. We are thinking in particular of matrimonial law and of the need for our countries in the East to recognize the validity of mixed marriages contracted before Orthodox authority. This is a very important point on which our patriarchate and the bishops united in synod have frequently approached the Holy See of Rome, strengthening their propositions with factual arguments, which seem to them to be decisive.

9) The election of the sovereign pontiff should, it seems to us, have a broader base. To confirm the authentic catholicity of the Church, and given the centralizing powers that the pope ordinarily assumes in the Church as a whole, we propose that henceforth the Eastern patriarchs participate in his election. We would be pleased also to have this election carried out by a still larger number of electors, better representing all the Churches of the Catholic world.

10) Pontifical representation in the world, whether its character be diplomatic or simply religious, should be subjected to a serious revision, so as to avoid having the papal representatives transformed in fact into <169>superbishops<170> governing, in the name of the pope, the dioceses of the entire world. In selecting them, the choice should not be more or less reserved to those in a Christian nation to the detriment of the others. We would wish also that Easterners might be called to render such services to the Church.

11) We propose that the Holy See bring about a reform of the Roman Curia, leading to a clearcut decentralization of powers and to a real catholicity (viz., international character) of those who compose it. Excessive and continuously growing centralization is one of the principal grievances of non-Catholicsand of Catholics themselvesagainst papal authority.

12) The General Council should, we believe, solemnly reaffirm the declarations of earlier ecumenical councils and the formal promises of the popes relative to the rights and privileges of the Eastern Churches. It must not happen that the promises of cumenical councils and the popesassuring the Eastern Churches that would unite with the Roman Church that the rank that they occupy in the Church, the rights and privileges of their patriarchs and bishops, and the rite and discipline that belong to them would be respected and protectedshould be rendered in fact illogical in their declarations and unfaithful to their promises. With such precedents, which cast doubt on the good faith of the Catholic party, it is not possible to hope to deal fruitfully on the subject of a return to catholic unity with our separated brothers. We think in particular of the following three points:

a) The rank of the Oriental patriarchs in the Catholic hierarchy. This rank, as it was established in the ecumenical councils and as the popes have promised to respect it, places the Eastern patriarchs immediately after the Roman sovereign pontiff. Thus it is not permissible, out of respect for the authority of the ecumenical councils and for the formal promises of the popes, as well as for the very interests of the Catholic Church and for the efforts for the restoration of Christian unity, that all the cardinals and all the representatives of the Holy See of Rome, even if they are not legates a latere, and even if they are simple priests, should precede the Eastern patriarchs. The order of precedence in the Catholic Church should remain what it has always been: the pope of Rome in first place, then in order the actual Eastern patriarchsnot the titular patriarchsof Constantinople, of Alexandria, of Antioch, and of Jerusalem.

b) The powers of the Eastern patriarchs. The new Eastern canon law, promulgated by the Holy See of Rome, does not respect the prerogatives of the patriarchal institution, and submits the exercise of the majority of patriarchal powers to the humiliating and unnecessary prior or subsequent authorizations of the Roman Curia.

c) The safeguarding of the Churches. The Holy See of Rome should take effective measures to prevent the latinization of the Orient by poorly-informed Western missionaries. Eastern Catholics should remain Eastern. Eastern Catholics are no less Catholic than their Latin brothers. It is not necessary to be Latin in order to be fully Catholic. The establishment of Latin ordinary jurisdictions whose goal is to sustain the latinization of the East must be forbidden. Such, for instance, is the <169>Latin Patriachate of Jerusalem,<170> which is a real threat to the Christian East, and which should be suppressed. The Eastern Catholic Churches have as many, if not more, rights over the Holy Places as the Latin Church, rights which today are absolutely unrecognized by Latin authority. Moreover, Eastern Catholics dispersed over the world should be provided with pastors of their own rite, at all levels of the hierarchy, and in collaboration with local authority.

On these three points the bishops of our patriarchate have set forth their thoughts in detail in a synodal letter to Pope Pius XII, dated February 10, 1958, and in a synodal letter to Pope John XXIII, dated May 1, 1959.

13) Restoration of the institution of metropolitan. The role that the institution of patriarch plays in the East, should be played by the institution of metropolitan or primate in the West, in relation to the suffragan bishops of one province or of one country. This presupposes the restoration in the West of the institution of metropolitan, which for centuries has been reduced to the rank of an position that is almost entirely honorary. Thus at the head of a region or of a country there would be a centralizing function, intermediate between the authority of the pope and that of the bishops, a role which until now has in practice been carried out by the representatives of the pope, thereby contributing still more to the centralization of the Church.

14) Episcopal powers should be recognized and strengthened. In what concerns us, we are thinking of the power of bishops, which has always been recognized, to elect their patriarch, to elect their colleagues in the episcopacy, and to ordain the clerics of their dioceses, and to do these things without any hindrance from the Roman Curia.

15) The position of the priest in the Church should be re-evaluated, both spiritually and practically.

16) Clerical attire. It is time, we think, for clerical attire to conform better to the needs of life and of contemporary duties.

17) The discipline of fasting and abstinence, as well as the number of holy days of obligation and the way to observe them, should be revised. On these subjects there are too many divergences from one place to another. Fasting and abstinence are rarely observed. The abstention from work on Sunday and holy days of obligation can no longer be based on the outdated and sometimes inequitable distinction between servile works and those which are not.

18) The Western Church is inclined to legalism and to the organization of the Church as a human society. This mentality presents the difficulty of viewing the Church from an angle that is too exclusively human, as being like every other society of the world, whereas the Church is above all a spiritual and supernatural society, whose primary goal is not of this world. This mentality should be re-examined, as well as the legislation and the canonical institutions that it animates.

19) The need is felt to set forth solemnly the position of the laity in the Church: their role, their mission, their rights and duties, their participation in the apostolate, and, in particular, their collaboration in the material tasks of the Church. In other words, the Church should establish a theology of the laity, which can be drawn up from the papal documents published especially since Pope Pius XI.

@MAJOR SEC HDG = Calling Upon NonRoman Collaborators

@BODY TEXT ITA = (Patriarch Maximos noticed that the members of the Antepreparatory Commission were all chosen from among the officials of the Roman Curia. He saw in this a possible danger for the direction that the future Council might take. The East, in particular, was not at all represented. On August 11, 1959, the patriarch expressed his thoughts to John XXIII, with his customary frankness and courage.)

Very Holy Father:

The consolation that I felt at the time of the long audience that I had the honor and the joy to have with Your Holiness on last May 23rd and also the spirit of supernatural comprehension of the problems of the Eastern Church which Your Holiness demonstrated, induce me to address to you with confidence and frankness these few lines that I believe necessary for the good of the Church in view of the forthcoming Council.

Your Holiness has deigned to name an Antepreparatory Commission for the ecumenical council, composed of prominent ecclesiastics, whose eminence nobody can dispute from any point of vlew .

This commission has stated that it <169>will receive with a respect and veneration the opinions, advice, desires, and requests of the bishops and of all those who of right will be Fathers of the ecumenical council...<170> We are all profoundly grateful to it for this, and the episcopal body of our Church will soon submit its ideas to the commission.

However, all the persons who compose this commissionpermit me, Holiness, to say this humbly and simplybelong to the Roman Curia. The ideas that guide them follow a predetermined direction, toward an ever more closed centralization from which the Latin world itself is suffering. without anyone daring to talk about it for fear of being considered anti-Roman. As for the Eastern Church, it absolutely cannot live in this atmosphere. Thus the wall that separates the Eastern Church from the Western one is becoming thicker and thicker. The ecumenical council will without doubt have great repercussions on the Western Catholic Church, but it runs the risk of not having any effect on the Eastern Church, which will not have been touched at all.

Would it not be appropriate and even necessary to have among the members of this Antepreparatory Commissionand for greater reason, of the Preparatory Commission that will succeed itecclesiastical persons who are profoundly Catholic and Roman, but at the same time open to the problems of the Eastern Church? Must the Eastern Church always remain a closed book for the Western Church? No successor to Saint Peter is better able to grasp these ideas than Your Holiness. Therefore I implore Your Holiness to break this ice that is over one thousand years old and to hear other voices than those of the Roman Curia, for which we otherwise have the greatest respect and consideration.

I entrust these humble lines to your heart as successor of Saint Peter, for whom the unity of the Church of Christ is the highest ideal.

II

AT THE STAGE OF THE PREPARATORY COMMISSIONS

(At the stage of those commissions which are properly called preparatory, it was at the Central Commission, above all, that the Melkite Greek Church had its greatest influence. Patriarch Maximos was named a member, as were all the other Eastern patriarchs. He made a great contribution. In spite of his age and the occupations of his high pastoral duties, at a profoundly troubled epoch in the history of the Arab Middle East, the patriarch took part personally at one of the meetings of this commission (January, 1962). He had to excuse himself from the other meetings, but he had obtained from the pope the favor of being represented by his secretary, so that his thought and that of his Church were always heard.

Another effort was supplied in the Oriental Commission, in which the Melkite Greek Catholic Church had three representatives: Archimandrite Neophytos Edelby, then Secretary to the patriarch, Archimandrite Athanasius Hage, Superior General of the Basilian Chouerite Order, and Archimandrite Maurice Blondeel, Rector of the Melkite Greek Seminary of Saint Anne (White Fathers). A third field of action was provided by the commission <169>on Bishops,<170> to which Bishop Philip Nabaa, Metropolitan of Beirut, made an important contribution.

All told, five Melkite Catholic Greek prelates participated directly in the preparatory commissions of the Council. However, these contributions, even when presented with the signature of one or the other, were in reality the fruit of multiple consultations and of close collaboration among the members of the hierarchy.

It is necessary to add here the name of a sixth Melkite Greek Catholic among the most eminent: the late Cardinal Gabriel Acacius Coussa, who died unexpectedly in July, 1962, on the eve of the opening of the Council. As Assessor of the Eastern Congregation, then as Cardinal, he collaborated with the works of the Eastern Commission and of the Central Commission. He would have been able to play a very important role at the Council. Providence decided otherwise.

In general, the interventions of the Melkite Greek Catholic prelates created a sensation. But, with a strict limit of ten minutes, they sought to present the essentials of their thought, sacrificing proofs and nuances. The notes they entrusted to the different preparatory commissions of the Council are more numerous and more fully developed. It is especially in them that one finds the underlying thought of the Melkite Greek Catholic hierarchy. Since they deal with quite varied questions, we have not chosen to group them all in this chapter devoted to the preparation for the Council. They will be found distributed, according to the order of the subjects, among all the chapters of this collection, interspersed with the interventions that are conciliar in the strict sense.)

@MAJOR SEC HDG = For a Permanent Roman Organization on Ecumenical Matters

@BODY TEXT ITA = (What first drew the attention of Patriarch Maximos in this second stage of the preparation for the Council was the absence, around the pope, of a permanent organization for ecumenical matters. For a Council that had for one of its principal goals to prepare the path for union between the Churches, this lacuna was serious. Profiting from his first visit with John XXIII, on May 23, 1959, the patriarch sent him the following note, which already demonstrated the constant concern for ecumenism that the patriarch would bring to the Council. This note doubtless played a part in the setting up of the <169>Secretariat for Christian Unity.<170>)

Here is a humble suggestion that I entrust to the great heart of His Holiness Pope John XXIII, supreme head of the universal Church. At the present time, when there is so much talk about ecumenism, would it not be advisable to have in the Catholic Church, which represents Christ on earth, a permanent institution to promote the union of the separated Churches, in accordance with the desires of our Lord? The reiterated appeals from time to time by the sovereign pontiffs seem to have had almost no effect. Even more, they seem at times to have produced a more pronounced stiffening against Rome.

Would it not be advisable, for example, to create a new congregation or a special Roman commission to deal with everything that concerns the relations with the Christian Churches that are not in union with the Holy See, and with everything that can promote progress towards union? That is a very serious question that seems to deserve the greatest attention.

In this congregation or commission there would be a high-ranking member of the Holy Office, of the Sacred Congregation for the Eastern Church, and a member of the Secretariat of State. Everything relating to ecumenism would be in the jurisdiction of this new institution. Within this institution the member representing the Holy Office would be free to make necessary dogmatic remarks, without his being able to take any measures against the persons subject to this institution, which for its part would have the right to act severely, if need be, whether ex officio or at the request of the Holy Office itself. Through this new creation hearts and horizons would be widened, and thus, it would seem, the first steps would be taken for effectively approaching our brothers separated from the center of Christian unity.

@MAJOR SEC HDG = The Language of the Council

@BODY TEXT ITA = (In collaborating in the preparations for the Council, the patriarch was intrigued by the excessive importance that certain Roman groups gave to Latin. The patriarch saw in this notable drawbacks, relating to the very character of the Council: was this an ecumenical council, or a plenary Council of the Latin Church? He first raised the subject with Archbishop Pericle Felici, then Secretary General of the preparatory Central Commission. The letter is dated February 4, 1961.)

Concerning the language to be employed in the forthcoming ecumenical council, a number of high prelates have already declared to the press that only Latin would be authorized. It has even been specified that although the Fathers of the Council could use modern Latin for the deliberations, it was understood that for the publication of the Acts of the Council only classical Latin would be used.

On this subject, we wish to make a proposition. We agree that, for us also, classical Latin must be the language of the Acts of the Council. However, we suggest that for the speeches and the deliberations, in full session or in commissions, the Fathers should be able to freely use a living language of their own choice from among the four or five living languages most frequently employed today in international meetings. To this end, the organizers of the ecumenical council will do well, it seems to us, to profit from the progress of modern technology: the speeches, submitted in advance, will be simultaneously heard in all the admitted languages, and the deliberations will likewise be translated and retransmitted by qualified interpreters.

The exclusive use of Latin presents, in fact, notable drawbacks: the great majority of the Fathers of the Council are not able to express easily, rapidly, and correctly in Latin the nuances of their thoughts, above all on matters of the modern apostolate, where the classical formulas render the thought only in an imperfect manner. It would not be proper, we think, that because of insufficient practice in Latin the majority of the Fathers should be reduced to remaining silent or to expressing themselves incorrectly and without nuances...

@BODY TEXT ITA = (Then on May 17, 1961, the patriarch, moved by the evasive responses made to him, decided to write directly to Pope John XXIII on this question of the language of the Council. Although these observations unfortunately were not accepted, they certainly had the merit of preparing for the future.) Holiness: The simplicity and the freedom with which Your Holiness wishes that we express ourselves in addressing you on matters concerning the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council encourage me to submit to Your Holiness the following question regarding the language of the Council.

On February 4, 1961, under No. 121313, I had the honor to address to His Excellency the Secretary General of the preparatory Central Commission a letter containing a concrete proposition for the authorization of the Fathers of the Council to use, in addition to Latin, a few living languages, taking advantage of the progress of modern technology which facilitates the deliberations at international gatherings. In his response of February 13, 1961, Prot. N. 694 COM/1961, His Excellency Pericle Felici gave me the assurance that the question would be carefully studied and that the decisions adopted would be communicated to me.

Now I have just read in the press a note that has all the appearance of being at least a semi-official communique. It announces that <169>an installation of simultaneous translation will be set up for the use of the official observers of the various non-Catholic Christian confessions who will attend the Council, so that they may be able to follow the deliberations that take place in Latin.<170>

I am very happy with this initiative, for which the Technico-Organizational Commission should be congratulated. Nevertheless, I wonder why is it necessary that the said official observers and/or delegates should be favored more than the Fathers of the Council themselves? Is it that there can be a suspicion that the majority of these Fatherseven those who use Latin in the performance of their liturgical ministryare not in a position to follow with ease discussions in the Latin language, and above all to participate appropriately in them? Will it thus be necessary that all the substantive activities of the Council that are so far-reaching and so diverse be concentrated in the hands of a small number of specialists?

The Council must without doubt have an official language and it is natural that this official language be Latin. Still, in addition to this official language, the bishops incapable of expressing themselves sufficiently well in that language should be able to express themselves in one of the languages recognized today as universal. Why is it necessary to exclude from the dialogue successors of the Apostles who have, by divine right, the qualifications to teach and govern and to reserve this right to the latinists, some of whom could not be successors of the Apostles?

The common sense that, in addition to so many other qualities, is a remarkable ornament of the spirit of Your Holiness will not allow that so serious and so just a criticism be made, now or in the future, of so important a Council convoked by Your Holiness.

That is why, convinced as I am of being on this subject the spokesman for the great majority of the Fathers of the Council, I come to beg humbly and urgently Your Holiness to kindly give instructions to those in charge to put into practice the suggestions contained in my aforesaid letter of February 4, 1961, namely: 1) to authorize, in addition to Latin, the use in the Council of a few other modern languages; 2) to install the system of simultaneous translation, not only for the use of the non-Catholic official observers, but also for the benefit of the Fathers of the Council...

@BODY TEXT ITA = (Finally, on October 23, 1962, the patriarch, speaking to the Council concerning the use of living languages in the liturgy, took advantage of the occasion to entreat for the use of living languages at the Council, by means of simultaneous translations.)

Concerning vernacular languages, may we be permitted to say a few more words:

How happy we would have been if we had been permitted to understand all that is being said in the Council, by means of simultaneous translations, as is done in all the great international assemblies. We are not maligning anybody when we say that the exclusive use of Latin prevents us, and also prevents many others, from understanding questions that are often serious, on which we are required to render decisions. We of the East are not obliged to know Latin, but we have the right to pronounce judgement only when we understand what we are doing. The words of St. Paul, <169>How can anyone ...say 'Amen'... when he does not know what you are saying,<170> applies to us. Moreover, we are required to place our signatures at the bottom of the Acts of the Council, and this can be done only with full knowledge and understanding of what we are doing. For us of the East, translation in one, or, even better, in two languages will be enough, and that is not so difficult.

We urgently beg the venerable President of the Council to do what is necessary to accede to our legitimate request and thus permit us to perform human acts and not mechanical ones.

We address to him in advance our most sincere thanks.

@MAJOR SEC HDG = Organization and Internal Regulation of the Council

@BODY TEXT ITA = (From June 12 to June 22, 1961, the Central Commission held its first working session. In regard to the agenda item: <169>Questions on the manner of holding the Council,<170> the state of the health of the patriarch did not allow him to make the trip to Rome. He sent his opinion in writing, dated May 19, 1961. He replied to the questions, point by point. Here we publish the most noteworthy passages of his answer.)

I. <169>In addition to the persons who must of right be summoned to the Council, who should be admitted and by what right?<170>

The ecumenical council is a general assembly of all the bishops of the Catholic Church, in communion with one another and with the Roman See, under the presidency of the Bishop of Rome. It is, in other words, the solemn assembly of the successors of the Apostles, under the presidency of the successor of Peter.

This concept, traditional in the East and in conformity with the practice of the first ecumenical councils, entails the following practical consequences:

1) All Catholic bishops, whether residential or titular, are members by right of the ecumenical council. The episcopal consecration, in fact, and it alone, establishes them as successors of the Apostles. All who hold this title have deliberative votes.

2) It follows, therefore, that no priest or other cleric can by right be a member of the ecumenical council, whatever his personal qualifications or the high position that he may occupy in the Church. In fact, from one viewpoint it is not the ecclesiastical rank, the knowledge, or the ecclesiastical power which confers the status of successor of the Apostles, but episcopal ordination. From another viewpoint, it is not proper for the Church to change in this regard the constant and universal tradition of at least the first eight centuries its history on a point intimately linked to the foundations of the constitution of the Church.

There have in fact always been in the Church, in the first centuries as well as today, monks and priests who, because of their eminent theological doctrine or their exceptional apostolic activity have exercised in a practical way a greater influence on the destinies of the Church than a sizable number of bishops. Nevertheless, that has not appeared to the Fathers of the Church to be a sufficient reason to have these monks or priests sit in ecumenical councils as de iure members.

As a result of this principle, no priest not invested with the episcopal dignity, even if he is a Cardinal, or nuncio, or apostolic delegate, can be admitted as a member of the Council. It is clear, however, that these high dignitaries should be able to be called to the Council and to enjoy a deliberative voice in it. Thus we suggest that henceforth these dignitaries be invested with the episcopal character. It is the episcopal character, and it alone, and not the importance of the position that one occupies, that confers in the Church the standing as a successor of the Apostles and consequently constitutes the foundation of all precedence. It seems to us that the Church must hold firmly to this criterion of the apostolic tradition.

3) It is nevertheless desirable and even necessary that there should be monks and priests not only in the preparatory commissions of the Council but also as counsellors in the course of its business. They constitute vital forces which the Church should utilize, but they can have only consultative voices.

4) On the other hand, the ancient tradition of the Church has admitted to ecumenical councils clerics who were not bishops, but only as representatives of the Roman pontiff (legates a latere), the patriarchs, and of other bishops who were legitimately absent. As for these representatives, the ancient tradition granted them a deliberative voice, because they were seen as expressing opinions of their mandatories. Today, because of the volume of the matters to be treated and of the ease of communication, it may appear expedient or desirable not to admit these representatives (except those of the Roman pontiff), or to accord them only the right of being present and of signing the Acts in the names of their mandatories.

@MINOR HEADING = II. The Language of the Council

1) It is true that today Latin is the ecclesiastical and especially the liturgical language of the Latin Church, but it is false to say that Latin is the language of the Church, meaning by that the Church that is catholic and universal. This confusion between the Church and the Latin Church is very regrettable.

2) Since the ecumenical council represents not only the Latin Church but the whole Church, it is not proper to consider the language of only onealbeit the principal oneof the Churches that constitute it as the only language of the Council.

3) Moreover, from the historical aspect, Latin has not always been the language of ecumenical councils, at least not the only language. Hence, we should not make the exclusive use of Latin at the Council a question of a sacred principle, which would imply, if pushed to the extreme, the denial of the authentic catholicity of the Church. The question is purely practical. In other words, it concerns knowing what language it is proper to use so that the Fathers can speak and make themselves understood. This is not a question of an intangible principle or of prestige. It is a question of convenience. Even to express revealed truths, languages other than Latin have formerly served and can still serve. The Roman Church used Greek during the first three centuries. It is necessary above all to avoid making Latin a sort of untouchable dogma.

4) In all the questions that we have to consider, or the decisions that we have to make, we must always take into account the impression which we will make on those Christians who are not yet in union with the Holy See of Rome. We are not directly a <169>council of union,<170> but we are a <169>council preparing for union.<170> Let us then not assume attitudes or make decisions of principle which will rebuff them, drive them further away. They are perfectly capable of understanding the practical convenience and necessities in the use of languages, but they would have every right to complain if we wished to impose on them, as an ecclesiastical principle, the use of the Latin language.

5) Having said this, we readily agree that today the most practical language for the Council, when everything is considered, is Latin. The Acts of the Council and all other official documents will be drawn up in Latin.

6) As far as the interventions of the Fathers, either in commission or in full session, are concerned, Latin will ordinarily be the language most frequently indicated. But we must provide equipment, like that in use today in international congresses, permitting the Fathers to express themselves in one of five or six of the most widely known languages of the world, with simultaneous translation into Latin and the other languages. We might propose the following languages: French, English, Italian, German, Spanish, and Portugese. It is rare that any cultivated person, as the Fathers of the Council are, is unable to understand and speak fluently one or another of these languages. Thus the Fathers will not be reduced to the role of spectators or of listeners to speeches that have been more or less prepared in advance, giving a disproportionate advantage for the latinists over the pastors of souls and over other theologians who are not always accustomed to using Latin.

@MAJOR SEC HDG = Invitation of Non-Catholics to the Council

@BODY TEXT ITA = (A second meeting of the Central Commission was held from November 7 to 18, 1961. The patriarch was not able to take part personally. The agenda included, among other items, a series of questions concerning <169>the invitation of non-Catholics to the Council.<170> It was only this last point that the patriarch developed in his reply of October 4, 1961.)

1. Should observers from the Orthodox and Protestant Churches be invited to the Council?

Yes, without any doubt. If the coming Council were a council of union, in the fashion of that of Lyons in 1273 or of Florence in 1439, we would have wished that all the Orthodox bishops of the East would be convoked to the Council, even before the proclamation of union. Since the forthcoming Council will be above all <169>an internal act of the Catholic Church,<170> the least that we can do is to invite the Orthodox Churches of the East and the Protestant Churches to be represented there by official observers, who must not be treated as journalists or simple spectators.

2. What qualifications should these observers have?

It is preferable, on the part of the Catholic Church, not to establish any qualification or requisite condition for these observers. The non-Catholic Churches themselves will decide which observers designated by them will represent them worthily. Their names will be provided to the authorities of the Council, who should naturally agree in advance, as is the case for diplomatic representatives. As for the number of the observers, it seems preferable to leave this determination to the invited Churches themselves.

3. To what sessions should the observers be admitted?

It is difficult to reply to this question without knowing in advance how the Council will be concretely organized.

At least it is possible to say that these observers should be admitted to as many sessions as possible, and not only to the general sessions, for then their role would consist of a merely ceremonial presence. They should also see the Fathers of the Council at work, whether in commissions or in private sessions, with or without theologians. The observers should not have the impression that they are being invited merely to cleverly-staged ceremonies. Besides, the Catholic Church has nothing to hide, and one can justifiably suppose that the possible discussions among the Fathers of the Council will contain nothing that is not edifying. Even differences of opinion or of pastoral attitude will be very well understood by the observers.

We exclude from this general rule only the organizational meetings of subcommissions for drafting or for administration, which have no general interest for the observers.

Before and during the Council, the Secretariat for Christian Unity should be the agent for liaison between the Council and the observers. It can organize meetings, exchanges of views, etc. It is in this sphere that the non-Catholics could express their viewpoints and obtain replies from qualified Catholic theologians.

4. What non-Catholic Churches should be invited?

Limiting ourselves to the Eastern Orthodox Churches, we say:

a) The invitation must come from the Holy Father himself, and it must not be communicated to the press before it arrives in the hands of the recipients. It is fitting that the personal invitation of the Holy Father be delivered by hand by the representative of the Holy See in each area.

b) The invitation must not be addressed to the Orthodox bishops individually, but to the head of the Church to which they belong. The Orthodox do not like to have the pope go over the heads of the highest authorities of their Church to address each bishop directly. Besides, the invitation is to be addressed to the particular Church as such, requesting that it send observers.

c) The invitation should be addressed to all the Orthodox Churches, autocephalous or autonomous, in the persons of their respective heads: patriarchs, archbishops, or metropolitans. The guidelines on this matter could be what was done recently at the Pan-Orthodox Conference at Rhodes, or else an official request can be made to the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople for the list of Orthodox Churches considered autocephalous or autonomous.

@MAJOR SEC HDG = Remarks Concerning a New Formula for the Profession of Faith

@BODY TEXT ITA = (The same session of November, 1961, was to study a new form for the Profession of Faith. The patriarch attended, and on November 28th made some remarks reflecting the Eastern viewpoint.)

1) Concerning the addition of the <169>Filioque.<170> While professing the doctrine expressed by this word, this addition as such remains optional in the Eastern Catholic Churches, according to the declaration of the Council of Florence. A remark, appearing as a note, at the bottom of the text, could explain this. This could have an excellent effect on the attitudes of our Orthodox brothers.

2) Concerning bishops. I believe that it would be good to make more explicit the collegiate responsibility of the episcopacy, in communion with the Roman pontiff and under his authority, in the general administration of the Church, according to whatever the forthcoming ecumenical council may declare to complement the definition of the primacy and the infallibility of the Roman pontiff made at the First Vatican Council. For a complete view of things, that previous definition needs to be balanced by a more precise declaration of the nature and the powers of the episcopal body.

3) Concerning the <169>words of consecration.<170> The text of the profession of faith on this point should not be understood as excluding, in transubstantiation, the fulfilling action of the Holy Spirit, such as is traditionally expressed in Eastern liturgies by the prayer of epiclesis.

4) As to form, it would be better to state which are the points of the encyclicals <169>Pascendi<170> and <169>Humani generis<170> that are to be included in the profession of faith, rather than referring to these two encyclicals in a general way.

@MAJOR SEC HDG = Patriarchal Letter on the Eve of the Council

@BODY TEXT ITA = (When the patriarch was about to leave for the first session of the Council, he addressed to his Church a pastoral letter, dated September 30, 1962. In it he explained the mission of his Church at the Council and called upon the faithful to collaborate with it.)

Glory always to God

MAXIMOS IV

by the grace of God Patriarch of Antioch and of all the East, of Alexandria and of Jerusalem,

to our dear Sons, the Priests, the Religious, and all the Faithful of our Melkite Greek Catholic Church both in the East and in the Diaspora.

Peace, Salvation, and Apostolic Benediction!

At the point of my departure for Rome, with most of our venerable brothers the bishops of our eparchies, to take part in the work of the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, we wish, dear sons, to address this letter to you to inform you about the mission to which we intend to consecrate our efforts.

The ecumenical council is not an international congress in which states, nations, or other peoples are represented by delegates, with the view of participating in works or projects relating to scientific, literary, or political interests, or other lofty purposes, for the good of the members of the congress or that of human civilization in general. However noble the aims of these congresses may be, they are very different from those of ecumenical councils convoked by the Holy Church, in which only the bishops of the Catholic world solemnly take part to testify concerning the truth of the revelation recorded in Holy Scripture and in the deposit of faith conserved in Christian Tradition, as well as to lay down the disciplinary regulations that the Church needs according to the varying requirements of the times to help Christians reach their eternal destiny in the most efficacious way.

The bishops united in the Council are thus not deputies charged with representing their eparchies, their patriarchates, their communities, their nations, or their own people. Neither are they counsellors qualified to express their own private opinions before the Council. They are the successors of the holy Apostles, to whom Christ entrusted the mission of preaching to the world and of baptizing the nations in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, promising to be with them always until the end of the world.

In this capacity, the bishop has a teaching, jurisdictional, and sanctifying power for the universal Church. A bishop, who in ordinary times is the head of a particular eparchy and whose power is restricted by the boundaries of this same eparchy, sits in the ecumenical council as one of the successors of the Apostles, with universal jurisdiction over all Christians of the entire world, bearing collective solicitude for all the Churches, in union with the successor of the leader of the Apostles, Peter, whom Christ established as the visible head to shepherd his flock.

The bishops of the Council come from all the countries of the world. Each one thus represents the experience of the Christians of his region with respect to the understanding of Holy Scripture, fidelity to the apostolic tradition, practice of the spiritual life, the ordering of public prayer, the observance of fasts and holy days, and also the administration of the sacraments. In addition to that experience, each bishop knows the particular needs of his Church, in regard to a better knowledge of religion and a more faithful practice of the Christian virtues, as well as its needs for assuring the propagation of the word, and for overcoming the spiritual and moral dangers to which his faithful are exposed. Putting together this aggregate of diverse experiences and reactions, the bishops of the Council define, in the light of Christ's teaching, what conforms to the true faith and what does not. They reaffirm sound morals, both public and private, and they disseminate evangelical principles throughout society. In all of this, they have at heart safeguarding the unity of spirit, and fulfilling the wish expressed by our Lord that all who believe in Him may be one, as He and the Father are one.

Such is the mission that is confided to us, as well as to your venerable bishops, at the ecumenical council. Such are also the intentions of the souls of each one of us.

@BODY TEXT CTR = * * * * * *

The Second Vatican Ecumenical Council presents, in comparison with ecumenical councils that have preceded it, some particular circumstances. Among others, we must point out the fact that the previous councils were most often assembled to clarify an obscure point of dogma or to reject a particular heresy or to condemn a sect. The Council to which His Holiness Pope John XXIII has summoned us aims, in the first place, at pastoral action that proposes to eliminate everything that mars the Church and makes it appear outmoded in the light of the rapid evolution of humanity in various spheres of life. The Church will thus appear before the world as <169>glorious, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.<170> In appearing thus to the world, the Church will have taken a great stride along the road toward the regrouping of Christians and will have drawn them closer to the unity that Christ desires.

The matters that will be treated at the Council are extremely varied. We cannot give you even an elementary idea of these matters here. We only wish to inform you of the spirit with which we, patriarch and bishops, shall deal with these questions.

Each question in fact, can be treated under different aspects. Preparatory commissions, composed of eminent ecclesiastical persons, have considered all these aspects. At the Council itself, other commissions will be designated to review them. What will be our attitude on all these questions?

The particular viewpoint that we shall use as a basis for our actions will be that of the bearing that each of the proposed solutions might have on the problem of the union of the Churches. This union is not the direct goal of the Second Vatican Council, but it is the ultimate and long-term goal.

The union of the Churches undoubtedly represents for a considerable number of bishops a serious and fundamental problem, but they perceive it only theoretically. For us, the schism is a wound that is always bleeding, that we feel at the greatest depth of our souls. The problem of the union of Churches is our greatest care, our primary concern, and the deepest desire of our hearts. It is the goal to which we stretch all our energies, and for which we wish to be the redemptive victim, so that it may be attained. It seems to us that working for the union of Churches is our reason for being and the fundamental mission which Providence has entrusted to us, individually and collectively. The Orthodox of the East and we constitute only one people, one family, one blood, one language, one mentality, one rite, and one history. Our religious and social problems are the same. We need to unite with them as much as they need to unite with us. Each of us nurtures a sincere love and a deep affection for the other, but each refrains from manifesting what we feel. The time has come for the two brothers to embrace one another at last after their long separation. The time has come for Christians to work to fulfill Christ's wish: <169>that they may be one.<170>

For all these reasons, you understand, dear sons, why we intend to consider all the questions of the ecumenical council in the light of their effectiveness in facilitating union. We have taken on ourselves the responsibility of representing at the Council the true Eastern spirit, this spirit of apostolic tradition, which in itself brings forth sanctity that is just as eminent as that attained by the Catholic West, for in both cases holiness proceeds from the same wellspring, which is the Holy Gospel and the Savior's Cross.

@BODY TEXT CTR = * * * * *

On this occasion, We wish to reaffirm here what we have expressed many times before, in various circumstances, officially and privately, orally and in writing, which is to say that we are Catholics adhering to the extreme limit to the Roman Church and the primacy of His Holiness the sovereign pontiff, as we are at that same time Easterners, attached to the extreme limit to the traditions of the Christian East and of the holy Fathers, and also to the rights, privileges, discipline, customs, and rites of the Eastern Church.

We ask you, dear sons, to support us in this attitude by your prayers and fervent supplications to the Father of Lights so that He may help us accomplish this duty that is incumbent on us. Pray, pray without ceasing, in spite of the news that perhaps might deceive you. Our sins are great and numerous; the favor for which we implore is very great; thus We must never cease asking insistently and humbly, with absolute trust in God's mercies and the intercession of the <169>never-failing Protectress of Christians,<170> the All-Holy Mother of God.

@BODY TEXT CTR = * * * * *

During our absence, which may be prolonged and repeated, we have appointed his Excellency Pierre-Kamel Medawar, our auxiliary, to replace us in all spiritual and temporal matters. his excellency, as you all know, is worthy of this trust.

@BODY TEXT CTR = * * * * *

Finally, we expect of your piety, dear sons, that you will take it to heart to preserve the spirit of charity and harmony among yourselves and in your relations with your fellow citizens, and obey dutifully the vicars who have been set up in each eparchy of our community to administer its spiritual and temporal affairs. By doing so, you will help us to devote ourselves entirely to the work of the ecumenical council, and you will prove by deeds that you are a <169>chosen people,<170> worthy of praise.

In conclusion, we renew our paternal salutation and our apostolic blessing.



Given at our patriarchal residence at Ain-Traz,

September 30, 1962.

MAXIMOS IV

Patriarch of Antioch and of All-the-East,

of Alexandria and of Jerusalem

@CHAPTER # = Chapter 2

@CHAPTER TITLE = Divine Revelation Scripture <197> Tradition <197> Dogmas of the Church

@MAJOR SEC HDG = Sources of Revelation

@BODY TEXT ITA = (On November 14, 1962, the 19th General Session undertook the study of the dogmatic schema <169>On the Sources of Revelation.<170> A strong opposition to this schema, and, more generally, to all the dogmatic schemas, had already been apparent for several weeks. It was felt that there was a too docile attitude towards the ideas of certain Roman groups, an unjustified hostility to the great theologians of the hour, a too scholarly mentality, anxious to hunt out heresies everywhere, and making the dialogue with non-Catholics more inflexible. The patriarch took the floor to reject this schema in its entirety.)

May I be permitted to express, on the subject of the schema of the dogmatic constitution <169>De Fontibus Revelationis,<170> a general opinion, inspired above all by pastoral and ecumenical considerations.

In an ecumenical council, the criterion for choosing the subjects to be submitted to the deliberations of the Fathers is not that of their objective importance, but their relationship with the life of the Church. Thus, as the Holy Father has stressed more than once and even in his speech opening the Council, he wished to see all questions dealt with from the pastoral angle. Now, I ask, what present and pastoral interest is there for the Council to discuss the question of the sources of Revelation from the narrow, negative, and polemical angle with which it is being presented to us? I shall explain: 1) First of all, we may well wonder in what measure this schema <169>De Fontibus Revelationis<170> truly responds to the desires and wishes of the bishops and Catholic universities. The suspicion comes spontaneously to mind that this text was written rather to put an end to quarrels between theological schools. It seems to me that the ecumenical council should keep its distance from these quarrels.

2) As for the specific matter of the doctrine of the Church on the sources of Revelation, no danger is truly menacing the Church. There is no need to proceed to new definitions of faith or to dogmatic declarations, which would risk stiffening traditional positions or arresting the harmonious development of dogma. In fact, certain ideas, such as those that concern the relationship between Scripture and Tradition, or the interpretation of certain passages of the books of the Old and of the New Testament, have been for some years the objects of research and indepth discussions among specialists both in the empirical sciences and in sacred studies. Do we today have all the necessary knowledge which would permit us to settle definitively the current debates? These discussions, in our opinion, have not yet reached a sufficiently mature stage to justify imposing definitive solutions.

3) Certain parts of the schema, it is true, repeat the traditional teaching of the Church on points that are certain, but this certain teaching is presented in a rather negative form, of condemnations and polemics. Now, that is not acceding to the wishes of the pope or the expectations of the faithful who await from us a statement that is serene, constructive, and rich in the history of our salvation, to nourish their Christian life.

4) On the ecumenical level, one must regret that the schema does not strive to prepare the way for further dialogue with other Christians, but is content to repeat the dated formulas of the <169>CounterReformation<170> and of <169>AntiModernism.<170>

For all these reasons, and without wishing to go into detail, I propose that the Council reject purely and simply the examination and the adoption of this schema.

The teaching of the Church on this point should be explained in a positive and pastoral manner, and the way should remain open to the research of specialists, among whom are Catholic scholars and theologians of great renown, in whom the Church normally would place its trust.

@MAJOR SEC HDG = The Absence of Eastern Theology

@BODY TEXT ITA = (On November 17, 1962, during the 21st General Session, Archbishop George Hakim of St. John of Acre and of all Galilee, returned to the charge and rejected the schema <169>Concerning the Sources of Revelation,<170> but for a more general reason, namely: this schema, like all the dogmatic schemas presented to the Council, took into account only one theological tradition: that of the West. Eastern theology was not recognized.)

If I intervene now, it is not to repeat what numerous and eminent prelates have already said perfectly on these doctrinal schemas. I am only expressing my explicit adherence to the criticism that they have formulated, and which lead them to think that these schemas should be not only amended but rewritten, if we wish to remain faithful to the apostolic goals of this Council.

I only wish to let the Council hear a voice of the East and of its patristic tradition, and to say that the doctrinal schemas presently being studied are foreign to that venerable and authentic tradition, in their wording, in their structure, in their perspective, and in their conceptualization.

These schemas certainly contain riches and values of Latin theology, and we are pleased to pay fervent homage to the magnificent <169>intellectus fidei<170> that this theology has provided for the Church. Nevertheless, we regret that, completely ignoring Eastern catechesis and theology, that of Cyril of Jerusalem, Gregory of Nazianzus, Gregory of Nyssa, Maximus, John of Damascus, and so many others, the drafters have apparently monopolized the universal faith for the benefit of their particular theology, and seem to wish to erect as exclusive conciliar truth what is a valid expression, but a local and partial one, of God's Revelation.

In Eastern theology, where the liturgy is the efficacious place for the transmission of the faith, where initiation occurs within the sacramental mystery, and not in an abstract instruction without any symbolic links, Christ's mystery is set forth directly as an <169>economia.<170> It unrolls in the history of the preparation in the Old Covenant, the accomplishment in Christ, and the realization in the time of the Church. Theoretical explanations, however legitimate and necessary they may be, are never separated from the warp and woof of Scripture and the testimony of the Fathers.

This concrete character of the Word of God manifests its presence in the world. The Church, the Body of Christ, is precisely the authentic site and the living Magisterium of its transmission. Any separation, or even the appearance of separation, between Scripture and Tradition, as occurs in the draft of <169>De Fontibus<170> now being submitted to this Council, will be judged by many as doing violence to the authentic unity of the paths of transmission, which are never separated in Eastern theology, and which we cannot conceive of as being separated.

The schemas which have been presented are exclusively the fruit of scholasticism <197> good and true fruit, certainly <197> but produced by only certain elements of the Tradition of the Church. The ecumenical character of the Council invites us to avoid confining the word of God within particular categories, and to avoid eliminating another <169>intellectus fidei<170> by disregarding it.

Here are some examples that illustrate what I am saying:

Eastern theology gives full emphasis to the definition of man as image of God, which leads it to conceive in a manner different from that of the Latins the abstract distinction between nature and grace, and thus the relationship of God and men, as it is presented in Revelation.

Another example: Eastern theology considers the <169>Paschal mystery<170> in its unique totality <197> death and resurrection <197> while Latin theology dwells more on the aspect and the theory of satisfaction.

I enumerate quickly these examples to demonstrate the Catholic presence of Eastern theology, whose truth and orthodoxy are clearly indisputable.

That is why I, nourished by this authentic tradition, feel myself a stranger to the terminology and the structure of the proposed schemas, and I understand still more clearly the criticisms that have been made from the evangelical and pastoral perspectives, and with which I am in complete agreement.

@MAJOR SEC HDG = Growth and Progress of the Living Tradition in the Church

@BODY TEXT ITA = (Under this title, the Melkite Greek Patriarchate published at Rome, on October 3, 1964, as a supplement to the sessions of the Council, a note stressing the notion of living Tradition, referred to in the new schema, and explaining in what sense it can grow and develop.)

In its new form, the schema on Revelation shows not only an improvement, not only a substantial change, but a complete reversal of the earlier schema <169>De Fontibus Revelationis.<170> Its primary merit consists in the affirmation of the unity of the revealed object. This object is God himself, intervening in the lives of men and manifesting himself to them through Jesus Christ, in Jesus Christ. The mystery of Christ is the whole of revelation. As the author and perfecter of our faith, Jesus Christ, in the indissoluble unity of his being, is at once the one who reveals and who is revealed. The overwhelming majority of the Fathers seem to be very much pleased with themselves for making such an affirmation. Several of them even ask that it be stressed still more, such as Bishop Zoughaie of Upper Volta, who cites on this subject the beautiful chapter of Saint John of the Cross in the <169>Ascent of Mount Carmel.<170>

Another datum of the Catholic faith is that the revelation of Christ is definitive; it is a truth ordinarily expressed by saying that revelation <169>ended with the death of the last of the Apostles,<170> witnesses of Christ. When revelation is seen as only the communication of a series of pronouncements, one can adhere to this truth of faith; however, it is not understood. One does not see, in fact, that which would render impossible the communication of new pronouncements in the future. On the other hand, if one holds that all revelation is summed up in the mystery of Christ, one understands immediately that God, having spoken his one and only Word to us, having spoken it to us (insofar as it is possible for us in our earthly condition to hear it) in its totality, has henceforth nothing more to say to us, in the same way that having given us his only Son, he has nothing more to give to us. It then becomes impossible to imagine any new revelation in the future, that of the incarnation of a new Son of God. The New Testament is truly, in the strictest sense, the <169>last<170> and the <169>eternal<170> one (<169>novissimum et aeternum<170>).

For this very reason, we can understand at the same time that a limitless field is open to Christian reflection, which can and should be unremittingly pursued, with the view of exploring and cultivating what Saint Paul calls the <169>unfathomable riches of Christ.<170> This is in fact not a question of dead formulas to be preserved in the intellect, like precious stones in a jewel box, although the irreformable formulas have an essential role to play. The Word of God reechoes perpetually in the bosom of the Church, as the perpetual truth of life. Now, the conditions of human life (historical, intellectual, social, and cultural) are subject to change. In each generation, in each place, in the face of each new situation, we must draw from this Word the light to illuminate our journey to God. It is to this task that the Church applies itself, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, who is the Spirit of Jesus Christ. The Spirit does not provide a new object, but introduces us <169>into all truth,<170> that is to say, into all the truth of Christ.

However, we must really understand that this evernew fruitfulness of the revealed <169>object<170> is in no way comparable to a continuation. Revelation, as we have already said, is unique and final. The magisterium of the Church, which has the responsibility for safeguarding it, cannot add anything to it. The conceptual clarifications and the developments, even the doctrinal ones, which have appeared in the course of the ages in response to the needs of the times, through the influence of various factors, and in conformity with the laws of the human intellect, are only a means of better preserving and analytically encompassing an object, who, in himself, does not have to grow and indeed cannot grow. Thus they never constitute more than an advance <169>secundum quid.<170> The Church preserves and transmits the preaching of the Apostles in the two forms in which it has been embodied: Scripture and Tradition, without ever claiming to make additions, under one of these forms or under the other. Scripture and Tradition, whatever may be our method of visualizing their relationship (in any case their intimate connection must be recognized, since one and the other both express the single Mystery), contain divine revelation and constitute the absolute and indispensable norm of our faith. Just as there is nothing to add to Scripture, there is likewise nothing more to add to apostolic tradition. Just as the effort to <169>examine the scriptures,<170> which is pursued from age to age, does not claim to enrich the treasures of the scriptures, so, too, the living Tradition of the Church, which is expressed from age to age in various forms, does not claim to enrich the treasure of the Tradition received from the Apostles. It discloses and develops their inexhaustible resources, to bring their light to bear on the successive aspects of human life and to provide for the salvation of successive generations. For Christ is the universal Savior. <169>Jesus Christ yesterday. today. and forever.<170>

It is perhaps this that paragraph 8 of Chapter II, devoted to the description of Tradition, does not stress sufficiently. This was a particularly difficult task because the idea of apostolic tradition does not offer to the intellect the same readily evident consistency as does the idea of Scripture. While it is easy for us to distinguish, through the words themselves, Scripture and its interpretation, the same word serves as a matter of course to designate (apostolic) tradition and its subsequent transmission. These last two ideas seem to converge to form the idea of <169>living tradition,<170> as set forth in this paragraph 8. Thus by saying that this living tradition <169>grows<170> and <169>develops,<170> we seem to imply more or less that the apostolic tradition <197> that is to say, in fact, divine Revelation itself, the Word of God <197> <169>grows<170> and <169>develops.<170>

A few slight editorial modifications would undoubtedly suffice to prevent such an interpretation, which certainly does not represent the thinking of the drafters.

Yet these corrections seem to be all the more imperative because there is confusion today in the minds of many. It is not entirely absent from one or another intervention that is otherwise excellent. It threatens to gain ground. There is a tendency in certain theories of progress to interpret various phases of development as a sort of continuous revelation. Thus the uniqueness of the Revelation of God in Jesus Christ would be compromised, drowned in a universal flood. We therefore have reason to rejoice that a number of Fathers, coming from the most antithetical points of the theological spectrum, have agreed on the same request, that the language of paragraph 8 be made more precise. It was Cardinal Leger who in our opinion requested this with the loftiest thoughts, greatest doctrinal rigor, and most compelling power in his speech of October 1, in defense of the transcendence of the deposit of Revelation.

@MAJOR SEC HDG = Scripture and Tradition in the Eastern Perspective

@BODY TEXT ITA = (On October 5, 1964, at the 94th General Session, during the debate on the second part of the schema on Divine Revelation, His Excellency Neophytos Edelby, Titular Archbishop of Edessa and Patriarchal Counselor, spoke to the Council about the relationship between Scripture and Tradition according to the theological perspective of the East.)

Number 12, which deals with the interpretation of Holy Scripture, contains excellent elements concerning the contribution of sciences to exegesis, particularly literary criticism. It seems, however, that the second paragraph (i.e. lines 21 to 32, page 28) is too weak compared with the first, and requires a few developments in conformity with the principles contained in Chapter II. It is on the subject of the specifically theological principles for the interpretation of Scripture that we would like to offer the testimony of the Eastern Churches. Our Orthodox brothers will recognize in it our common faith in its purest form.

The timidity of this paragraph is without doubt explained by the difficulty of the Latin Church has had in freeing itself from the post-Tridentine frame of mind. Now, the age of the controversy with the Reformation has passed; it was always extraneous to the Eastern Churches, as it is to the new Churches of Asia and Africa. We must definitively overcome this obsession and enter into the totality of the mystery of the Church, for this schema concerns the whole Church, and not subtle and sterile scholarly debates.

Certainly the Reformers set up Scripture in opposition to the Church, but the reason for that is that the Latin Church, in which they were born, had allowed the authentic Tradition, in which the East and the West had lived together during the first millennium, to atrophy. In separating itself from its Eastern sources, the Latin Church had ended up in the sterility of the 16th Century, and in the pseudoproblems which trouble us, in particular with regard to the interpretation of Scripture.

The best remedy is for us to return once more to the heart of the Mystery of the Church. We must break away from the mentality that is too juridical, even nominalist, in which the Reformed Churches and the Latins have imprisoned themselves. Already in the Middle Ages this mentality had opposed the combination of the consecration and the epiclesis; it is this that recently thought of the primacy and collegiality as separate realities. It is always this, which here reappears in juxtaposing Scripture and Tradition. The question is badly posed. We must return to the mystery of the Church, which is the heart of the Council. We cannot separate the mission of the Holy Spirit from that of the incarnate Word. It is there that the foremost theological principle of all interpretation of Holy Scripture is found.

We need to recall that, beyond all the auxiliary sciences, the goal of Christian exegesis is the spiritual understanding of Scripture in the light of the risen Christ, as the Lord himself instructed his Apostles according to Chapter 24 of Saint Luke.

Here is another principle: Scripture is a liturgical and prophetic reality, a proclamation before being a book, the testimony of the Holy Spirit on the event of Christ, whose privileged moment is the Eucharistic Liturgy. It is through this testimony of the Spirit that the whole <169>economia<170> of the Word reveals the Father. The postTridentine controversy has above all seen in Scripture a written norm; the Eastern Churches see there the consecration of the history of salvation in the form of human words but inseparable from the Eucharistic Consecration, in which all history is recapitulated in the Body of Christ.

Still another principle: this consecration needs an Epiclesis, and it is the Holy Tradition. Tradition is the epiclesis of the history of salvation, the theophany of the Holy Spirit without which this history remains incomprehensible and Scripture a dead letter. This is what should be developed under the term <169>In viva Ecclesiae traditione<170> (I. 23). Our schema is at the heart of the mystery of the Church, that is to say of the People of God assembled by the Holy Spirit to become the Body of Christ in its full stature.

From this follows another principle: Scripture must be interpreted within the totality of the history of salvation. In an earlier time the Spirit of God raised up saving events and a community that was the witness of and the performer of these events, and the writings of the Old Testament are as it were the first epiphany of God to his people. In a second era, the saving event and the community were realized one time for all in Christ: it is the economia of the incarnate Word, of whom the writings of the New Testament are as it were the one and only epiphany. In yet a third era, the final days in which we live, the Holy Spirit is poured out personally in order to make present for all history the economia of the incarnate Word and the power of his Resurrection. This is the economia of the Spirit, or Tradition in the age of the Church.

We see thus that Tradition, that is to say the Church in transmitting the outpouring of the economia of the Word, is essentially liturgical. <169>Lex orandi, lex credendi.<170> We opened this Council with the mystery of the Liturgy, we have deepened it in the sacramentality of collegial episcopacy, it remains for us to draw conclusions on the total mystery of Tradition.

One of the applications of the interpretation of Scripture concerns the living criterion of this interpretation, for the Spirit is not disincarnate, but truly the Spirit of the Body of Christ. Tradition must be seen and lived first of all in the light of the sacrament of apostolicity, that is to say of the episcopacy. This liturgical and prophetic sign is also an epiclesis of the unity of the infallible faith of the People of God. And how desirable it would be, let us say in passing, that the infallibility of the successor of St. Peter be more clearly explained according to this mystery of epiclesis! Authority, as a juridical reality, derives from authority as liturgical and prophetic reality; it is not the source, any more than the canonical mission is the source of the episcopal order.

Finally, let us mention one last principle, which is not the least important: the sense of mystery. The God who reveals himself is the <169>hidden God.<170> Revelation must not let us lose sight of the unfathomable depths of the life of God the Trinity, lived by his people but always inexhaustible. The East declares that Revelation is first of all <169>apophatic,<170> that is to say, lived in mystery before being uttered in words. This apophatic aspect of Revelation is for the Church the basis of the always living richness of Tradition. One of the causes of theological deadlocks in recent centuries has been the effort to imprison the mystery within the framework of formulas. Indeed, the mystery in its plenitude exceeds not only theological formulation but even the limits of the letter of Scripture. Thus, although the Council does not have to take sides on the question of the <169>full<170> sense of Scripture, it should affirm the necessity of reading Holy Scripture <169>spiritually,<170> that is, in the Spirit. There is a question here of far more than the analogy of the faith, there is a question of the meaning of the totality of the risen Christ, whose testimony and parousia the Holy Spirit is progressively actualizing in the Church.

@CHAPTER # = Chapter 4

@CHAPTER TITLE = The Liturgy

@MAJOR SEC HDG = Various Aspects of Liturgical Reform

@BODY TEXT ITA = (The Liturgical Commission had submitted to the pre<->para<->tory Central Commission an excellent schema <169>On the Sacred Liturgy.<170> At the MarchApril, 1962, meeting of the Central Commission, the patriarch praised this schema. That did not prevent him from making some reservations on the points where the Eastern liturgical practices did not seem to have been sufficiently taken into consideration.)

The schema of the constitution presented by the Liturgical Commission deserves all praise. It does honor to the commission which prepared it....

Granted, this schema concerns only the Latin Church, and, more particularly, the Roman rite. Thus, I am not directly qualified to offer amendments of a technical nature. I would only say that in what concerns the Eastern Church and the movement towards union, the schema seems to me to reflect attitudes of spirit that are excellent in every regard. It emphasizes in its preamble that every reform in the Catholic Church should have in view, among other aims, the drawing closer of our separated brothers, that this Council should avoid making any new dogmatic definitions, that the proposed liturgical renewal concerns only the Roman rite, which is only one of the rites of the Holy Catholic Church, and that the Holy Catholic Church intends to safeguard and to surround with an equal respect all liturgical rites that are presently in use. This lastmentioned truth, repeatedly declared by the Roman pontiffs, should, it seems to us, be solemnly declared by the Council, in order to discourage definitively the reactionary <169>apostles<170> of the latinization of the East. This does not appear at all superfluous to anyone who knows the stubbornness of these latinizers and the support which they unfortunately still find in certain circles.

In the second place, the liturgical reforms which are proposed to us contribute indirectly to the work of union, by bringing the Western liturgical usages back to a traditional form, better preserved in the Christian East: Eucharistic concelebration, Communion under both species, diaconal litanies, etc.

Having said this, I believe that I must nevertheless make a few slight observations concerning this schema, which is otherwise excellent:

1. Renewal of the Sacred Liturgy

I agree with the principle of the necessity of adapting the liturgy to changing conditions of place and time. I shall make, however, two remarks on this subject:

a) The first is that the Eastern Catholic Church should, for more than one reason, renounce at this time making any change in its rites independently of the corresponding Orthodox branches, to avoid creating new differences with our separated brothers. Liturgical adaptation should be made only in concurrence with them.

b) The second remark is that we should not exaggerate to an obsession our concern for liturgical adaptation. Liturgical rites, like the inspired texts, have enduring value in spite of the circumstances which brought them into being. Before making any change whatever in a rite, we must be sure that this change is absolutely necessary. Liturgy has not only an impersonal character, but also a character of universality both in space and time.

2. The Use of Living Languages in the Eucharistic Celebration

This use is confined to the biblical readings, to the common prayer after the homily, and to certain paraliturgical hymns. We are resolute adherents of a much wider use of living languages, even in the celebration of the Mass. Whatever may be the advantages of liturgical Latin <197> and they are numerous <197> they should, it seems to us, be outweighed by the irreparable disadvantage that it is not understood by 99% of the faithful who participate in the sacred action. In the light of this painful consideration, we think that the example of the Eastern Church, which strongly advocates the use of language that can be understood by the people, should serve as a model. We fear above all that the fervor with which certain groups defend the almost exclusive use of Latin is not inspired by purely pastoral or ecclesiastical considerations, not to mention those who claim that Latin is <169>the language of the Church,<170> forgetting that the Latin Church is only one of the Churches within the Catholic Church, and that latinism and Catholicism are in no sense identical.

3. Communion under Both Species

Very fortunately the schema proposes to restore in the Latin Church Communion under both species. This restoration first of all conforms with our Lord's wish, for he did not lightly institute the Eucharist under two species, for the faithful as well as for the priests. Without condemning the Latin practice of giving Communion to the faithful only under the species of bread, our separated brothers could well have been surprised that the Latin Church does not follow more closely in this regard the desire of the Lord and the ancient tradition of the Church. Thus it is a restoration that is equally desirable from the point of view of drawing closer to our separated brothers of the East and of the West.

This restoration is unquestionably inspired by the example of the Eastern Church. That should convince the partisans of total <169>latinization,<170> if there is still a need to do so, that there are other rites in the Catholic Church, and how senseless it is to deprive the Catholic Church of everything that is not Latin, in the matter of the liturgy, as well as in discipline, art, organization, etc.

4. The Obligation to Attend Mass on Sundays and Feast Days The schema rightly recommends to the pastors of souls that they make the faithful understand that they should participate in the whole and entire Mass, and not only in those parts that are called <169>essential<170> or <169>integral.<170> On this proposal, I hope that the Council can find a way to prevent the casuistry of the moralists who have dissected the Mass into segments differing in nature and involving an unequal obligation. I am delighted that this schema, while retaining the obligation to attend Mass, has avoided talking of mortal sin and venial sin. Western moralists, since the Middle Ages, have indulged in two excesses: juridical excess, which seeks to specify rigorously the limits of serious sin, and the excess of casuistry, which corrupts the moral sense of the Christian. A Christian must be able to go to God without the constant threat of serious sin and of censures, and likewise he ought to serve God a bit more fully than the subtleties of casuistry indicate to him.

5. Concelebration of the Eucharist

Here again is a desirable restoration inspired by the example of the Oriental Church. I likewise applaud without reservation this felicitous innovation, whose benefits will quickly make themselves felt. I shall merely take the liberty of making the following remarks:

a) The faculty to concelebrate is restricted to specific circumstances, although it is concelebration which is the rule, and individual celebration the exception. The Eucharistic sacrifice is above all the sacrament of unity, and in the first place of priestly unity. There should be a truly serious reason for a priest to refuse to concelebrate with his brothers. Here again there would have to be a reversal of perspective. No limit should be placed on concelebration other than the necessity of assuring other Masses in the course of the day for the good of the faithful.

b) The concelebrants are only permitted to wear the alb and the stole. We think that the concelebrants should wear all their sacred vestments and participate intimately in the liturgical action, which is simply presided over by the principal celebrant, notwithstanding the recent practice of certain nonByzantine Eastern clergy. Moreover, it is not necessary that all concelebrants say all the prayers at the same time. Concelebration is not a simultaneous gathering of several individual celebrations, but rather a common action in which each one plays his role.

c) Only the ordinary of the place has the right to permit concelebration, on a case by case basis, and to set the number of concelebrants. Again, this is an excessive limitation of an act that is not only more legitimate but even more consistent with tradition. Priests should be able to concelebrate as often as they wish, as long as this does not interfere with their pastoral duties, and to do so in as large a number as they choose.

d) Finally, concelebrants are permitted for good reason to receive an honorarium for a concelebrated Mass, just as for an individual celebration. That is selfevident, for a concelebrated Mass is no less a Mass than a Mass celebrated individually. It is even surprising that the Roman Curia believed that it had to intervene, in the 18th century, to affirm this obvious fact. However, this affirmation should not be based on the assumption that in concelebration each priest celebrates a distinct sacrifice. In concelebration there are not several Masses, but one single Mass offered and celebrated in its entirety by several priests.

6. Reserved Blessings

There should be no blessing that a bishop cannot give. No blessing should be reserved for the pope, for patriarchs, for cardinals, or, for greater reason, for religious. The bishops should be able to give even the apostolic blessing, since all bishops are successors of the Apostles.

7. Feasts of the Saints

The schema seems to favor the critical spirit towards the <169>legends<170> of the saints and even the celebration of their feasts. The liturgy is not a school of historical criticism. For instance, the blunder of taking St. George down from the pedestal on which the Church had placed him for centuries had the most unhappy consequences among our people in the East. We ourselves have been obliged, in order to calm the populace, to declare that St. George exists and retains his sanctity and his dignity, just as our Eastern Church has always proclaimed.

@MAJOR SEC HDG = For the Use of Living Languages in the Liturgy

@BODY TEXT ITA = (On October 23, 1962, the Council held its fifth General Session in which the discussion concerned the liturgical language. At the very end of the meeting, the patriarch was given the opportunity to speak. In a strong and confident voice the patriarch gave his first address to the Council in French. He affirmed that Latin is a dead language, but the Church is living and should speak the living language of its faithful today. Some said, <169>A bomb has been hurled at St. Peter's.<170> The Fathers of the Council were introduced to this noble elder, who did not fear to say what he thought simply and courageously. Many bishops ran to shake his hand at the end of the meeting, thanking him for daring to say what many thought inwardly. Through this historic discourse, it was said by some, Patriarch Maximos had put an end to the <169>myth of Latin.<170> The cause of living languages in the liturgy had been won.)

Although the schema <169>De Sacra Liturgia<170> concerns only the Roman rite, may I nevertheless be permitted to bring to the debates the testimony of a patriarch of the East, who follows with interest the progress of the liturgical movement in the Latin Church. To make it briefer, this testimony will bear only on the problem of the liturgical language, considered in No. 24 of our schema.

I should begin by saying that this schema, as a whole, is excellent. With the exception of some amendments, which the interested bishops will not fail to make, the schema does honor to the commission which prepared it, and more generally, to the liturgical movement itself, which inspired it.

I shall take the liberty only of remarking that the principle expressed in the heading of No. 24 appears to me to be too arbitrary: <169>Let the use of the Latin language in the Western liturgy be preserved.<170> It seems to me that the quasiabsolute value that they wish to give to Latin in the liturgy, in teaching, and in administration of the Latin Church represents, for the Eastern Church, something quite abnormal; for, after all, Christ indeed spoke the language of his contemporaries. It was also in the language understood by his listeners, Aramaic, that he offered the first Eucharistic sacrifice. The Apostles and disciples did likewise. The idea never occurred to them that in a Christian assembly the celebrant could have the scriptural pericopes read, or the psalms sung, or could preach or break the bread while using a language other than that of those who were assembled. Saint Paul even tells us explicitly: <169>If you bless with the spirit (that is to say, speaking a language that is not understood), how can anyone who does not comprehend say the 'amen' to your thanksgiving, since he does not know what you are saying. For you may give thanks well enough, but the other man is not edified... In Church I would rather speak five words with my mind, in order to instruct others, than ten thousand words in a tongue (that is not understood)<170> (1 Corinthians 14:1619). All the reasons invoked in favor of an untouchable Latin <197> a liturgical language, but a dead one <197> should, it seems, yield before this clear, frank, and precise reasoning of St.Paul.

Besides, the Roman Church itself, at least until the middle of the third century, used Greek in its liturgy, because it was the language spoken by its faithful at that time. And when, at that date, it began to abandon Greek in order to use Latin, it was precisely because in the meantime Latin had become the language spoken by its faithful. Why should it nowadays cease to apply the same principle? As for the East, after the Aramaic and Greek of the first Christian generations, Coptic was introduced in the Egyptian countryside. Then it was the turn, from the fifth century on, of Aramaic, Georgian, Ethiopian, Arabic, Gothic, and Slavonic.

In the Western Church, it was only in the Middle Ages that Latin was considered the only universal language of the Roman civilization and of the Holy Empire, in contradistinction to the languages of the barbarian nations that dominated Europe. Likewise the Western Church made Latin its official and sacred language.

In the East, on the contrary, no problem ever arose concerning the liturgical language. Every language is, in fact, liturgical, for in the words of the psalmist: <169>Praise the Lord, all nations<170>; in every language, whatever it may be, we must glorify God, preach the Gospel, and offer the Sacrifice. We, in the East, do not conceive that it is possible to assemble the faithful to pray in a language that they do not understand.

The Latin language is dead, but the Church remains alive. The language, vehicle of grace and of the Holy Spirit, should also be living, for it is for men and not for angels. No language should be immune to change.

We all admit, however, that in the Latin rite, the adoption of the spoken languages should be carried out gradually and with the precautions required by prudence. But I would propose first to soften somewhat the rigidity of the initial principle contained in No. 24, which is <169>Linguae latinae usus in Liturgia occidentali servetur<170> (<169>Let the use of the Latin language in the Western liturgy be preserved<170>), by saying, for example: <169>Lingua latina est lingua originalis et officialis ritus romani<170> (<169>Latin is the original and official language of the Roman rite<170>).

In the second place, I would propose to leave to the episcopal conferences in each region the responsibility to decide if, and in what measure, it is fitting or not to adopt the living language in the liturgy. The text of the schema leaves to the episcopal conferences only the task of proposing this adoption to the Holy See of Rome. There is, however, no need at all to have an episcopal conference make such a proposal. Any member of the faithful can make it. Episcopal conferences should have the power not merely to propose, but to decide, subject to the approbation of the Holy See.

Thus I would propose that No. 24 (lines 619) conclude as follows: <169>It should indeed be left to the episcopal conferences in each region to set the limits and the manner of admitting the vernacular language in the Liturgy, with recognition of the right of the Holy See to act.<170>

@MAJOR SEC HDG = Concelebration and Communion under Both Species

@BODY TEXT ITA = (At the General Session of October 30, 1962, Cardinal Ottaviani attacked with some irony the efforts of the Latin liturgists to reintroduce, under certain conditions, the usage of concelebration and of Communion under the both species. There was no direct allusion to the Eastern usage, but it was made to appear, after the Cardinal's speech, as exceptional and merely to be tolerated. Some eminent members of the Liturgical Commission telephoned to the Patriarch, asking: <169>Doesn't the East have anything to say to defend itself and us?<170> The next day, October 31, his Excellency Neophytos Edelby, Titular Archbishop of Edessa and Patriarchal Counselor, made an intervention at the Council, stating in brief: it isn't the Eastern usage which is the exception; it is the Western usage which needs to be vindicated; concelebration and Communion under the both species are the rule, not the exception.) Although the schema <169>De Sacra Liturgia<170> deals only with the Roman rite, as the preamble clearly affirms, may I nevertheless be permitted to make a few brief remarks on Chapter II, so that the voice of the East, even in the matter of the reform of the Latin liturgy, be may be usefully heard and that eventual obstacles to the union of Churches may be averted in case the reform of the Latin liturgy is not carried out as well as could be wished.

I shall limit myself to two remarks. The first concerns Communion under both species:

Christ instituted the sacrament of the Eucharist under the two species of bread and wine, and it is under these two species that he wished that his faithful should normally receive him. Since Christ acted in this way, we cannot doubt that he acted well. It is also necessary to notice that Christ did not in any way reserve Communion of the chalice to priests alone, but he authorized access for all the faithful. It even seems that he made it as a precept, saying: <169>Drink of this, all of you.<170> These words of the Lord are definite and clear. It is also certain that the Apostles and their first successors distributed Communion to all the faithful under the species of wine as well.

Likewise, it is certain that the Eastern Church, or at least the Byzantine rite, faithfully following in this matter the example of the Lord and the usage of the Apostles, has always admitted the properly disposed faithful to Communion under both species at each Eucharistic liturgy. Therefore the practice of Communion under both species should be considered as an evangelical, authentic, apostolic, and normal practice. It is neither a privilege nor an exception.

Nevertheless, we recognize that there can be, and there have in fact been, prudential reasons which require that Communion be given under one or the other species alone, since Christ is totally present under the species of bread and totally present under the species of wine. These reasons of practical order have been confirmed, not only in the Western Church, but also in the Eastern Church, which, under extraordinary and exceptional conditions, has occasionally given Communion under the sole species of wine. Still, Communion under only one species should be considered an exceptional, extraordinary, and less traditional practice.

It follows that no one who adheres to the truth can claim that the practice of Communion under both species is erroneous, condemned, or dangerous for the faith. It is true that the Council of Constance condemned the error of those who maintained that the Latin Church had forbidden Communion under both species without reason and illegitimately. But it never condemned as such the usage of Communion under both species; otherwise, we would have to consider the Eastern Christians as affected by this same condemnation.

We must conclude that the usage of Communion under one or two species is a purely disciplinary matter which is subject to change with the times. Nevertheless, there is no doubt that, insofar as possible, it is better to follow faithfully the example of the Lord and the practice of the Apostles. Among the reasons which have gradually induced the Church to abandon the ancient practice of Communion under both species, some are of a psychological order, others of a practical order, but none is of a doctrinal order.

The reasons of a psychological order constitute mainly what modern thinkers call a <169>complex.<170> The Catholic hierarchy of the Latin rite fears, on one hand, that the Church may appear to concede today what it has refused in the past so many times and with so much tenacity. It is as if by retracting its ancient refusals, it would be succumbing to external pressure. Another <169>complex<170> consists in the fear some of the Fathers among us have of being assimilated on this point to our separated brothers, Protestant and Orthodox.

If I am not mistaken, we must reject our complexes, and <169>decomplex<170> ourselves, as the modern thinkers say. In the first place, the circumstances have changed; there is no shame for the Church in changing its discipline. Today, nobody denies the presence of Christ under each of the two species. Nobody any longer exerts pressure on the Church to obtain by force the usage of the chalice. That is why the Church can, in all truth, authorize what it formerly forbade. On the other hand, if, while completely safeguarding the Catholic faith, we can bring our liturgical practices nearer to those of our separated brethren, there is no shame in that. It is, on the contrary, a very glorious achievement, since it contributes to assist union among Christians.

As for the practical difficulties which make Communion under two species somewhat inconvenient, they surely exist, but they should not be exaggerated. We Eastern Catholics, at least those of the Byzantine rite, each day give Communion under both species, and in our churches the number of communicants is not that much less than in the other churches.

Of course, the faithful do not drink directly from the chalice, which nowadays would appear to be nearly impossible. But the priest dips the consecrated bread partially in the Precious Blood, and places it, thus intincted, on the tongue of the communicant. There is thus nothing unsuitable about it, or so little that it amounts to nothing, in comparison with that great and eminent grace of receiving the Lord also under the species of wine, as the Lord instituted it.

Be this as it may, on this point as on all the others, it is necessary to give proof of moderation. We must not in one fell swoop, immediately and without distinction, grant the use of the chalice in the Latin Church. Indeed, nobody is asking for this. What many desire is that the door be not closed to a subsequent evolution of the liturgical discipline, and that meanwhile the Holy See of Rome can concede the usage of the chalice to the faithful, in certain welldefined cases.

That is why, in my humble opinion, the text of the schema, as it is now proposed to us, is sensible and moderate. It deserves our support, for reasons that are above all ecumenical.

May I just be permitted to propose one small amendment. In the schema, in the part concerning Communion under both species, the wording is: <169>provided danger to the faith is removed.<170> These words do not seem to me correct, for there is the risk of interpreting them as if Communion under both species were of itself a danger to the faith. Much to the contrary, Communion under both species is a legitimate and normal usage, founded on the example itself of the Lord and of the Apostles. What is doubtless meant is that the heretical doctrines of the Middle Ages, denying the total presence of Christ under each of the two species, are over and done with, and that, since the danger of this false doctrine has passed, nothing any longer prevents once again giving Communion to the faithful under both species. That is why I would propose the following amendment: <169>Communion under both species, since the perversions of the faith have now ceased...may be given not only to clerics and religious, but also to lay persons.<170>

Now I wish to add a few words on sacramental concelebration.

We know that the practice of concelebration continues in force in the Eastern Church, occurring frequently and indeed even daily. It can even be said that for us concelebration is as it were the rule and individual celebration the exception. The practice of concelebration, which is apostolic and traditional, is not based on some practical necessity. In other words, we do not concelebrate because there are not enough altars or to save time. We concelebrate because in concelebration the unity of the priesthood is made more evident, as is the unity of the mystical sacrifice; fraternal charity among the priests is better sustained, and the public character inherent in all liturgical action is more clearly seen.

When our schema extends the practice of concelebration <169>to gatherings of priests, if it is not possible to arrange otherwise for individual celebrations<170> the authors of the schema demonstrate that they have not understood the real meaning of concelebration, its spiritual usefulness, its mystique. We do not concelebrate because we are unable to celebrate individually. We concelebrate because we wish to celebrate better.

I am certain that this miserable empirical conception was not to be found in the first schema prepared by the Liturgical Commission. Thus I propose that on this point there should be a return to the original text, as it read prior to the changes introduced by the Central Commission.

@MAJOR SEC HDG = Setting the Date for Pascha (Easter)

@BODY TEXT ITA = (This is one of the themes closest to the hearts of the Eastern bishops, especially the Arabic Middle East. There, in fact, Christians and Muslims live side by side. In the years in which the Orthodox and the Catholics do not celebrate Pascha on the same day, they feel themselves humiliated before their Muslim fellow citizens. Unification of the date of Pascha is for them the first condition for union. His Excellency Philip Nabaa, Metropolitan of Beirut and Under-Secretary of the Council, devoted his intervention of November 10, 1962, to this question.)

Much could be said on the subject of setting the date of the feast of Pascha, on a single and invariable Sunday. Chapter V of the schema <169>On Renewal of the Liturgical Year,<170> which speaks of it, could lead to prolonged liturgical, historic, scientific, social, and ecumenical developments. However, I shall be brief. I shall develop here only the ecumenical reason which postulates the stabilization of the feast of Pascha throughout all the universal Church, and most of all in the Eastern countries where Christians live with non-Christians, and where Catholics are side by side with non-Catholics of all rites and nationalities.

It is the ecumenical reason that we must focus on especially here, since it clearly illustrates what setting date for the feast of Pascha means in the universal Church. Now, this common cele<->bration of Pascha signifies that it unites all Christians in one and the same faith in the resurrection of Christ, and that it raises the same hope in all Christians, who do not wish to celebrate Pascha as separated brothers, but who await from this ecumenical council a broader, more nearly perfect, and stronger Christian unity. This great hope is alive and is the prayer of the Church of Christ all over the world, and more particularly in those regions where Christians are divided.

Indeed, in all these regions, which extend over the whole Middle East, and even to many other Western nations which have Eastern rites, the union of Christians is fervently desired, and is sought especially in the celebration and the glorification of the Resurrection of Christ, Savior of the whole world. Here, in fact, we must point out that the Catholics and the Orthodox do not use the same calendar for the feast of Pascha. The Orthodox, who follow the Julian calendar and not the Gregorian one, celebrate Pascha sometimes on the same day as the Catholics, sometimes one week later, sometimes five weeks later.

There are two principal ecumenical reasons that press us in the East to unify the glorious celebration of Pascha.

The first reason relates to our one undivided faith. All Christ's faithful, regardless of the rite or confession to which they belong, have the same faith in Christ, raised from the dead for all, on the third day. Thus it is fitting that Christ's faithful be united as one in the glorification of the Resurrection. It is also fitting that they be one in beginning a new life, in the unity of the grace that Christ merited for us by his resurrection.

Besides, we must not forget that perfect unity among Christians will be realized only gradually and by stages. The union of brothers in the celebration of the days of grace and of salvation constitutes not only a first stage, but also a firm and necessary step toward union. Many Christians even say, and with reason, that the union of Churches should even commence with the union of the faithful in celebrating together the great mysteries of Christ, and above all his resurrection. This common Paschal manifestation, even if it is not complete and perfect union, represents a great step forward and sets us on the sure path of charity and of union.

The second ecumenical reason concerns the non-Christians who live in the same region as Christians. In fact, the division of Christians in the celebration of Pascha, or rather the division of Pascha itself into the first Pascha, for Westerners and Catholics, and the second Pascha, for Easterners the Orthodox, causes a great scandal for non-Christians. They see it as dividing Christ and the mystery of his passion, his death, and his resurrection. Moreover, it provides them with the opportunity to doubt our true, firm, and undivided faith. Finally, by these Christian divi<->sions over Pascha, we offer to the non-Christian world a spectacle in which we are the object of confusion and irony. All of this unfortunately is detrimental to our faith. These are the reasons why, to avoid these scandals and promote Union, I propose to the venerable ecumenical council the following suggestions:

1. The formation of a mixed commission, composed of Catholics and non-Catholics, to develop a new and single Paschal calendar. This commission would function with the consent of the sovereign pontiff to avoid making the liturgical calendar a new obstacle to union with our separated brothers who follow the Julian calendar.

2. The acceptance of the World Calendar prepared by the League of Nations. This acceptance should be given, in the universal Church, with the consent of all the Separated Brothers, in the East and in the West, at least the part concerning the setting of the date for Pascha.

3. If none of these suggestions is accepted, let the feast of Pascha be set, with the consent of the Separated Brothers, at a Sunday which never falls before the Passover of the Jews, for example the second or third Sunday of April.

4. In any case, let the feast of Pascha at least be fixed on an invariable Sunday, in all the Eastern Church, so that all Eastern Christians may be united, in the eyes of the non-Christian world, on the day of the Resurrection and of glory.



@CHAPTER # = Chapter 4

@CHAPTER TITLE = The Mystery of the Church

@MAJOR SEC HDG = The Unilateral Aspect of Roman Ecclesiology

@BODY TEXT ITA = (On December 5, 1962, in the course of the 34th General Session, the patriarch charged that the first schema <169>On the Church<170> was unilateral in presenting the truth. He showed, for example, how much harm the exclusive and excessive affirmation of the Roman primacy does to the Church. Such a primacy does not fit into the general framework of the hierarchy, which is essentially a pastorate of love.)

To discuss a draft of a text, in order to supply amendments, or even to demand its complete recasting, should not be considered as an act of hostility, and even less a deviation from sound doctrine. It is rather a proof of the interest which one brings to that text and the importance that one attaches to it.

This schema <169>de Ecclesia<170> is the doctrinal centerpiece, by far the most important document of the entire Council. In fact, our task is to complete the teaching of the First Ecumenical Council of the Vatican relative to the whole of the Church, and more particularly, concerning the episcopacy, so that the primacy and the infallibility of the Roman pontiff may be apparent in the general framework of the hierarchical pastorate and of the infallibility of the universal Church.

In that perspective, may I be permitted to note what, in the first chapter, does not appear to me to correspond to sound ecumenical theology.

In a general manner, I would say that this chapter does not contain errors, but it does not tell the whole truth. It is incomplete, and, being incomplete, it falsifies the perspective of the very truths that it sets forth.

Here are some examples:

1) The comparison of the Church with <169>an army set in battle array<170> (confertum agmen) is not a very happy one. This <169>triumphalism,<170> as has been already stressed in this venerable assembly, has no foundation in the Gospel. It risks falsifying the conception of the Church which <197> as Body of Christ, who suffered and rose from the dead <197> is called to consummate with its leader, in faith and suffering, the redemption of mankind, and with it the entire creation.

2) Number 5 sees the foundation of the diversity of the members of the Body of Christ only in the command of some and the submission of others. That is partially true, but it is not the whole truth. In fact, between the ecclesiastics and the laity there are many other relations than those of chiefs and subjects. This purely juridical character of the Church falsifies the true idea of the Church of Christ. Through the insistence that one places on it and the exclusiveness which surrounds it, it becomes a concept that is foreign to the thinking of Christ. Here is a typical instance of stifling legalism: since, according to the authors of the schema, jurisdiction is the basis for all power ????? sin the Church, and as the titular bishops do not, of the very nature, have jurisdiction, the schema does not even mention them in its chapter on the episcopacy, as if the titular bishops, who are indeed successors of the Apostles and members of the episcopal body, did not exist. We find here oversights or very significant reticence.

3) However, the unilateral and consequently incomplete aspect of our schema appears above all when it speaks of the primacy of Peter and his successors. Beyond the unhealthy insistence on recalling this truth, as if all Christianity were contained in this dogma, the text isolates the Roman pontiff from the rest of the hierarchy, as if in the Church there were only the pope, to represent Christ, and the flock subject to him. That is also a false conception and a false presentation of the Church of Christ. Once again what is said positively here is true, but it is equally not the whole truth, for our Lord established the Apostles and their successors to be shepherds of the Church also, in union with Peter and under his leadership, and he likewise built the Church on the Apostles and the prophets. Saint Paul clearly teaches us, saying, <169>You have been built on the foundation of the Apostles and the prophets, and the cornerstone is Christ<170> (Ephesians 2:19-20). And St. John says in the Apocalypse, <169>He showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God... The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them the twelve names of the twelve Apostles of the Lamb<170> (Revelation 21:10,14).

I do not wish to push my deductions any further. I have simply wished to give examples of this unilaterality, I would say this partiality, with which a certain school deals with theological problems, going so far as to disfigure them, indeed to accuse ecumenism of wishing to weaken the truth and to seek compromises in the faith. Nobody wishes such compromises, neither the Catholic ecumenists nor our Orthodox or Protestant brothers. What we ask, and what they ask, is that the whole truth be spoken, and not a part of the truth, and that it be spoken accurately.

Venerable Fathers, the primacy of Peter and his successors is truly comprehensible only in the perspective of the pastorate of the hierarchy. The primacy is not an human <169>imperium<170> or a similitude of the rule of the Caesars, but a ministry, a pastorate of love given by the Lord to the Church, His spouse, in order to unify and guide the efforts of all his Apostles and their successors. It was not in vain that Christ, before entrusting this ministry to Peter, asked him three times, <169>Peter, do you love me... Feed my lambs, tend my sheep.<170> It is not in stressing the human aspects of this ministry, which are contingent and variable, that one exalts the papacy. It is not by flattering or self-interested exaggerations that one raises its prestige. Christ has tied jurisdiction to love, and confided it to Peter, a man like all human beings, and a repentant sinner.

Venerable Fathers, we confess that we were truly shocked when we read in books made available to everyone statements like the following, <169>The pope is God on earth... Jesus has placed the pope above the prophets..., above the forerunner..., above the angels..., Jesus has set the pope at the same level as God<170> (from St. John Bosco, Meditazioni, Vol. I, Ed. 2a, pp. 89-90).

The papacy has no need of such intemperate language which turns into impiety, and which misleads consciences and scandalizes even the souls of non-Christians. The papacy is great enough and lofty enough in itself to captivate our minds and subjugate our hearts. It is a charism that Christ, the divine Spouse of the Church, has granted to the Church, for the benefit not only of the Church itself but also of all humanity. The duty of us all, especially of those of us who are pastors of souls, is to help the Church in carrying out its salvific mission to the world, by loving it, devoting ourselves to it, by striving with our humble means to purify it from profane dross, so that we may present it to the world in the beauty in which it was divinely constituted. The primacy of the bishop of this Church of Rome is a primacy of ministry, of universal mission, which is the first among all the others only because, according to the words of St. Ignatius of Antioch, <169>it presides in charity,<170> for God is Love.

@MAJOR SEC HDG = The Absence of Eastern Theology

@BODY TEXT ITA = (The next day, December 6, 1962, during the 35th General Session, Archbishop George Hakim of St. John of Acre and of all Galilee, the charge against this schema that he had already made against the dogmatic schemas in general: Eastern theology did not recognize itself in them.)

We have all come to this Council, sustained by the hope that great things would be accomplished in us and by us, in spite of our weakness and our small numbers. This hope certainly comes to us from our beloved Pope John XXIII <197> for whom we wish a prompt and complete recovery <197> who in his call <169>Ad Petri Cathedram,<170> in his convocation of the Council, and above all in the opening address to the Council traced a very specific line of conduct.

The pope has certainly opened a new course of action, which corresponds to the aspirations of the world, which, St. Paul tells us, is suffering the pains of childbirth, this world that expects the Church to be its universal mother, <169>everyone's Church, and especially the Church of the poor,<170> as the Holy Father said on September 11, and as His Eminence Cardinal Lercaro has reminded us in deeply stirring terms.

It is certain that the real results of our Council will only be felt in ten or fifteen years. What will the world, what will the Church be like then? Whether we like it or not, a council held during the latter part of the twentieth century must be the council of the twenty-first century, at a time when humanity will have doubled, reaching six billions, at a time when hunger will also have doubled. Where will the evangelization of the world be then?

That is why we would prefer to find in the schema on the Church not the texts of our classic manuals of yesteryear, no matter how exact they may be, but rather what the world of tomorrow expects from us. We would ask that the language be that of our century, that Vatican II do for the episcopacy what Vatican I did for the papacy, that, in brief, the language be that of John XXIII, that of the Gospel. It would be so comforting to speak of the Church as <169>Mater Amabilis,<170> of papal primacy and episcopal power as service, as the reply to the Lord's loving question, <169>Peter, do you love me more than these?<170> Such language would be understood by all, Christians and even non-Christians.

Now here is my comment from the Eastern point of view, and we are grateful to his Eminence Cardinal Frings for having suggested it with his characteristic firm clarity and with unequaled force. Like the schema <169>De Fontibus,<170> <169>De Ecclesia<170> does not take Eastern thought into account. It is conceived solely in juridical categories, and the Mystical Body itself is reduced to visible realities alone.

Here is a simple corroborative detail: in the approximately three-hundred notes and references of this schema, which cover nearly half of the pages, only five references mention the Greek Fathers. Is not the Catholic Church interested in enriching itself with this thought, which is part of its patrimony, so as to be truly Catholic, and thus more open to ecumenical dialogue? Now, what are we declaring here? The realism of Greek theology is being atrophied by the legalism of the schema. Here are two examples:

1) First, the Church, according to the Eastern Fathers, is the continued <169>mysterion<170> of Christ. This mystical reality, into which one enters by an <169>initiation,<170> and which is nourished by the liturgical mysteries, assumes its consistency and its authenticity in a visible society, with its powers and its magisterium. This essential visibility, however, does not encompass the mysterious substance of the ecclesial Body. Never have Chrysostom, Basil, the two Gregories, in their catechesis, or John of Damascus, whose feast we have just celebrated and who is the author of the first theological summa, which could be advantageously consulted, never, I say, did these Fathers reduce St. Paul's doctrine of the Mystical Body to a system in which authority on one side, and obedience on the other, would suffice to define the attitude of the faithful. Thus it is with pained surprise that we read the chapter on evangelization, which is presented only as an indisputable right, and not first of all as the proclaiming of the Good News to men of good will, as the identification of Christ with the poor, according to Jesus's own words, <169>I was hungry and you gave me to eat.<170>

2) The Episcopacy: According to the perfect logic of this ecclesial mystery, bishops are not defined first by their jurisdictional authority, but by the mystery itself, of which they are, by their consecration and as successors of the Apostles, the architects and the strategists, to use the words of the Greek hymn of the third century.

Thus the episcopal body proceeds from Christ, and jurisdiction simply localizes, in accordance with the pontifical power, a function which in itself and collectively concerns the entire ecclesial Body.

This collective responsibility is extraordinarily exercised in the Council, but it is the normal duty of every bishop, in as much as he is, beyond his own diocese, in solidarity with the entire work of salvation that Christ has confided to the apostolic college with Peter at its head.

It is a serious matter to diminish this truth. We affirm it with the vigor of the Eastern theology, which has always expressed this truth in its doctrine and in its synodal institutions. The church is a community rooted in mystery, and it thus transcends the juridical system.

In the texts of John XXIII we would find these ideas; why not in the schema?

I suggest that this schema, like that of <169>De Fontibus,<170> be sent back to a commission including experts on Eastern theology and most fortunately they are numerous among our Latin brothers themselves from whom we Orientals have acquired love and respect for our Tradition and our Fathers.

Finally, may I be permitted to say, to calm one or another Father here present, that if we appeal to the Eastern Fathers, it is not through provincial fanaticism, but rather in order to return to the apostolic wellsprings.

There is no need to say that these very sources confirm us in our fidelity to Peter and his successor, to whom we vow an obedience, of which we have the occasion, in various countries where Eastern Catholics are an infinitesimal minority, to give at times proofs with our very blood. It is with love and joy that we do this, especially those of us who live near the beautiful Lake of Galilee, where these words of our Lord still resound, <169>Feed my lambs, tend my sheep.<170>

@MAJOR SEC HDG = The Church and the Churches

@BODY TEXT ITA = (On the same day, December 6, 1962, Metropolitan Athanasius Toutounji of Aleppo intervened in the council to make three suggestions:

@BODY TEXT ITA = 1) that there be better clarification of the concept of Church and of Churches;

@BODY TEXT ITA = 2) that the Roman Church should not be identified with the Mystical Body of Christ;

@BODY TEXT ITA = 3) that the ecclesial character of Orthodoxy should not be called into question.

@BODY TEXT ITA = Since the intervention could not be read aloud, for lack of time, it was transmitted in writing to the secretariat of the Council.)

May I be permitted to express before the holy Council three desires relating to the nature of the Church:

1) The first is that the concept of the Church and of the Churches be more clearly stated. We all know that the Church of Christ is one. It is even one of the truths of the <169>profession of faith,<170> concerning which there is unanimous accord among all Christians. And yet St. Paul himself talks sometimes about the Church, sometimes about the Churches. These expressions are found in the writings of the Fathers of the Church and in our liturgy, in which we pray every day <169>for the well-being of the holy Churches of God and the union of all.<170> The sovereign pontiffs themselves call the Roman Church <169>Mother of all the Churches.<170> Thus it seems to me that we must believe that this concept of the Church and of the Churches represents an enrichment of the ecclesiological doctrine that must not be lost.

If I may be permitted to express my opinion on this subject, I would say that this double use of the word indicates a twofold reality. The first is that the Church is an organic body, and not an aggregation of cells directly connected with the head. Just as in every organic body there are members, constituted diversely and functioning diversely, likewise in the one and catholic Church there are Churches which are so many members.

The second reality is that in each of the Churches the complete notion of the universal Church is found, and that in the universal Church are found the features of each of the particular Churches. In this twofold sense, the Fathers of the Church, and the Apostles before them, have given the name of Church, in the particular sense of the term, to each diocese. This is all the more true for a group of dioceses united around an archbishop or a patriarch. It is in this sense that it is very proper to speak of the Western Church, the Maronite Church, the Syrian Church, etc.

2) My second desire is that the Roman Church not be identified with the Mystical Body of Christ. As his Eminence Cardinal Lienart has already emphasized, the Roman Church certainly is not to be identified with the Church suffering or the Church triumphant in heaven. Now, the Church militant on this earth is not the whole Church. It is above all with reference to the Church in heaven that the Church in general is to be defined. I would add that, even for this short life, the Roman Church should not be identified with the Body of Christ. One can, in fact, belong more or less intimately to the Body of Christ. If certain Christians are at odds with the Roman Catholic Church, they must not on that account be excluded from belonging to Christ.

3) Finally, I ardently implore the Fathers of the Council not to support excessively the views of a certain theological school, too imbued with legalism, and to safeguard the ecclesial character of our Orthodox brothers. These brothers do not constitute the one and only true Church of God, but they are nonetheless a Church. They possess the word of God, the sacraments, a hierarchy, and all the elements that are required for a church, in the sense that we understand it. The sovereign pontiffs have on several occasions not hesitated to recognize in them this ecclesial character. They are a Church separated from us, but they are a Church.

I humbly submit these three suggestions to your venerable assembly. They are of some importance, it seems to me, for a deeper conception of the Church and to pave the way for a union of all Christians.

@MAJOR SEC HDG = The Call to Holiness in the Church

@BODY TEXT ITA = (In this intervention, which was simply delivered to the secretariat of the Council, Archbishop Joseph Tawil, Patriarchal Vicar at Damascus, asked for a deepening of the call to holiness according to Holy Scripture, then stressed some aspects of holiness as Eastern theology conceives it.)

In can be said of the chapter <169>On the vocation to holiness in the Church,<170> that it contains many good elements, but that it lacks other essential elements. One of these good elements, and not the least, concerns Holy Scripture. It is true that a few biblical citations illustrate the assertions of this chapter, but that is not enough. We would have desired to see Holy Scripture animate the very inspiration of the subject, not only through some texts that are cited, but, more profoundly, through the idea of the divine Counsel which has been revealed to us in the Sacred Books. But this inspiration is missing. This flaw seems to be the result of a twofold cause:

1. First, to the method of developing the schema. If I am not mistaken, the absence of expert exegetes is clearly apparent in it. Why is biblical theology reduced to silence in the theological commission, to the point that such a deficiency can be seen in the wording of this schema? In contrast, the Sovereign Pontiff Paul VI expressly declared to the observers here present the necessity of biblical theology in the exposition of the mystery of the Church.

2. Then, the defect touches the very thinking of the schema, which depends almost entirely on a certain recent Latin tradition, going back only four centuries, and which, as a result, simply ignores the Eastern tradition of the Church, and which ignores even more the ancient Latin tradition. In those times the Fathers were closer to the living wellspring of the biblical tradition, and that is why they must once again become our teachers. This is very serious, as much for the <169>sensus fidei<170> of the universal Church as for ecumenism.

That is why, in the spirit of our Fathers, I propose these four observations:

1) The vocation to holiness is intrinsic to the mystery of the People of God. The People of God exists because it forms the object of the pre-existing love of God. God is Love, and through love He calls all mankind to share in His life, <169>in many and various ways, formerly by the prophets...in these last days by the Son<170> (Hebrews 1:1-2). The people of God is essentially called by the Word of God. This calling, in the course of the history of the People of God, has been revealed thus: -The people of God is holy because, from Abraham to the present, it has been called by the Word of God and justified by faith in Him.

-It is holy because, having been saved by the blood of the Paschal Lamb, it has been freely purchased by <169>Yahweh the Savior,<170> that is to say <169>Jesus<170> in the paschal mystery.

-It is holy because it receives the perfect law from the new Moses, that is to say the Holy Spirit, who writes in our hearts the law of Love. -It is holy because the promise of Love (<169>I shall be your God, and you shall be my people<170>) is consummated in a new and eternal covenant. -It is holy because it is chosen and sent forth as a royal priesthood, as the authentic Eastern tradition constantly affirms. -It is holy because it is continually being purified and judged in exile and does not yet arrive at the holy land except through the promise of the Holy Spirit. -It is holy because, thanks to the ceaseless divine solicitude, it is snatched away from its sins and transferred to the true freedom of love through the about-face that consists in penance. -It is holy because its success is not of this world, but is granted by God alone in poverty; it is a people of the poor. -It is holy because it is eschatological, anticipating here below the eternal life which is communion (koinonia) with the Father through the Son in the Spirit.

-It is holy, finally, because its vocation is cosmic: this royal priesthood is destined to sanctify and liberate every creature.

2) That is why the Holy Fathers have described the mystery of the Church in the image of the life of the most holy Trinity in the communion of love. The Christian vocation is completely contained in these words: <169>in<170> the image of God-Love, since the mystery of the unity of the people of God depends essentially on the bond of love.

a. It is useful to recall here that the hierarchy and all the other ministries in the Church have meaning only in view of fostering love. Consequently, the title of paragraph 34, p. 21, line 35, cannot be <169>Under the authority of the Church,<170> as if the Church were identified with the hierarchy. The hierarchy is not the whole Church.

b. This chapter could also speak at greater length about the newness of the Christian life as a participation in the life of the most Holy Trinity, in whose name we have been baptized. It is through the Spirit, in fact, that we have already been made heirs of the promises referred to in my first observation.

3) Concerning deification: this expression <169>deification<170> was always very dear to the tradition of the Fathers, because it is an excellent explanation of the movement of the divine Counsel in which we live by the Holy Spirit. If this traditional doctrine of deification were explained more clearly, we could more easily avoid the sentimental tone of our preaching, and the faithful would have a deeper understanding of the unity and the simplicity of the <169>spiritual<170> life which is <169>life in the Spirit.<170> The Spirit, in fact, is the true gift of the promises by which <169>we become partakers of the divine nature<170> (2 Peter 1:4). But, since we are still awaiting a new heaven and a new earth, the <169>spiritual<170> life of the People of God is paschal, in a new exodus, in which <169>Christ, our Passover, has been sacrificed<170> (1 Corinthians 5:7), <169>so that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings<170> (Philippians 3:10).

4) In this chapter, the word <169>Christians<170> is rightfully used in place of the word <169>laity.<170> The word <169>laity<170> certainly refers to the <169>people of God<170> (laos tou Theou) and consequently includes both those who are ministers and non-ministers. However, under the influence of clericalism, the sense has been confined to those who are not ministers in the Church. And yet where holiness is concerned, we are all Christians, each one being called to the holiness corresponding to his or her particular charism.

In conclusion, I propose:

1) that the preamble explain more fully and in greater depth the nature of the vocation to holiness according to the treasure of biblical theology;

2) that the mystery of the Church, here and elsewhere, be presented more as communion in love, in the image of the mystery of the most blessed Trinity;

3) that everything that refers to holiness in the Church be drawn from the traditional doctrine of deification, and that it be said explicitly that <169>spiritual<170> life is life <169>in the Holy Spirit<170>;

4) that the terminology referring to the members of the Church be inspired more by the same terms in the holy Scripture, as for example: faithful, Christians, brothers, saints, community of brothers.

(Archimandrite Athanasius Hage, Superior General of the Chouerite Basilians, discussed the same subject in an intervention sent in writing to the secretariat of the Council:)

Chapter IV, <169>On the Vocation to Holiness in the Church,<170> offers us a doctrine founded on Scripture and Tradition, and contains some constructive elements concerning the universal calling to sanctity in general, as well as to the state of perfection in particular. It is necessary to note this beautiful dynamic development in the pursuit and acquisition of holiness by clergymen dedicated to the pastoral ministry, as well as by lay persons successfully carrying out temporal responsibilities and apostolic works, and by those who, whether living in the states of perfection or in the world, observe the evangelical counsels, so that all may collaborate in the extension of the kingdom of God.

Life in the states of perfection is here very well presented under its ecclesial aspect, that is to say, as an institution whose members are dedicated to the service of the Church, either in the contemplative life or in the active life. This does away with the conception that some may have of the religious life as being individualistic and self-centered, as if religious were concerned only with their personal perfection and their own salvation.

Finally, a large and distinctive place is reserved for the states of perfection in the dogmatic schema <169>On the Church.<170> May the authors of the schema receive our gratitude!

Nevertheless, this rich Chapter IV can be and should be amended and improved in certain respects.

In fact, it is highly inappropriate, either for the religious life or for the laity, to speak of only one form of holiness in the Church that everyone must attain, and to refer to the evangelical counsels in the world and in the states of perfection in the same breath, as well as to speak of clergy, laity, and religious under the same aspect, without speaking clearly and firmly of the fundamental distinction that exists between the life of the laity and the religious life, between the holiness of lay persons and the holiness of the state of perfection, and above all without mentioning the superiority of celibate life over the conjugal life. That is why this twofold distinction must absolutely be made, and that for diverse reasons:

1. The Theological Reason

On the one hand, the distinction between the category of the laity and the category or the order of consecrated virgins is based on a constant tradition: the Fathers always and carefully distinguish three orders in the Church, that is, the hierarchical order, the order of virgins and those who live in continence, and the order of lay persons. This tradition has its origin in the words both of Christ and of the Apostles who set up the counsel of virginity, as opposed to the matrimonial life, as absolutely better (cf. Matthew 19:11 and 1 Corinthians. 7:7: <169>I wish that all were as I myself am; but each has his own special gift from God, one of one kind, one of another<170>).

As for obedience and poverty, if in the scriptures we have only a general call to cultivate the spirit of poverty and obedience, the Fathers, however, have recognized in this invitation and in the example of Christ and of the Apostles, as in the life of the first Christian community, a way of life appropriate to a special category of Christians.

On the other hand, the holiness of lay persons differs very much from the holiness of the life of religious: there is no question that, as the schema affirms, there is only one holiness in the Church, namely love; but this holiness can have specifically diverse degrees. In fact, holiness is attained in the use of earthly goods and the conjugal life according to the evangelical commandments, while in the states of perfection, sanctity is obtained, in contrast, by the renunciation of earthly goods themselves and conjugal life, by following the evangelical counsels.

2. The Psychological Reason

If this twofold distinction between lay persons and the souls consecrated to God is passed over in silence, a certain ambiguity can arise about it in the minds of the laity. Then the religious life will appear to them, not as a degree of holiness absolutely superior to conjugal life, but as something that is purely institutional and juridical in the Church. The laity, as a result, will not see sufficient reason for embracing this life.

On the other hand, if in the schema <169>On the Church<170> the religious life is clearly distinguished and emphasized, and if its superiority is praised, how great will be the life of the two million religious spread out over the world in the service of the Church, and how great the encouragement given to them so that they may exercise more and more their apostolic zeal.

3. The Ecumenical Reason

Our Orthodox brothers consider the life of the monks as quite an eminent state in the Church, and the monks as forming an order distinct from that of the laity. Likewise, our separated Western brothers fully recognize the importance of the monastic life and are beginning to practice it well. To encourage the dialogue of union, it is very useful to reserve a place of honor in the Church for the states of perfection.

4. The Charismatic and Pastoral Reason

Religious life in the Church is a most eminent charism and constitutes an extraordinary witness of the spirit of abnegation in a world imbued with materialism and hedonism. That absolutely distinguishes the religious life and its holiness from the life of lay persons and their holiness...

Mary and the Church

(The preparatory doctrinal commission had begun by preparing an independent schema entitled: <169>On the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God and Mother of Men.<170> On June 5, 1962, the patriarch wrote to praise two intentions expressed in the text, namely: no new title for the Virgin, no new Marian dogma. But already he had been struck by the absence in the text of patristic citations, above all Eastern ones, in a domain which the Eastern Fathers have explored superabundantly. Only popes are cited.)

1) We agree entirely with the care demonstrated by the theological commission in not granting to the holy Mother of God any new titles that have not been accepted by the Tradition of the Church.

2) We equally agree with the care to avoid defining new Marian dogmas, in spite of the pressure, as blind as it is well intentioned, of certain groups of devotees of the Virgin. In this matter, as in so many others, we must never lose sight of our separated brothers, above all those of the East, and avoid that which, in our efforts to honor the Virgin, deepens the chasm that separates us from them. The Virgin surely is not pleased by a homage that unnecessarily contributes to the widening of the divisions among her children.

3) We would point out, with respect to the drafting of the notes, that one should not be content with citing popes, especially in a matter on which the Fathers of the Church have spoken so much and so well. We must avoid giving the impression that in the eyes of the theologians of the Council only popes form the magisterium of the Church. With a unionist goal, it would even be good to cite in particular the Fathers of the Eastern Church.

@BODY TEXT ITA = (It will have been noticed that during the passionate debates that characterized the Council's discussion of this schema <169>On the Virgin Mary,<170> Patriarch Maximos and the Melkite Greek Fathers refused to intervene. They were astonished to their very depths at the importance that was attached to recognizing or refusing this new title <169>Mother of the Church<170> to the Theotokos. Accustomed to the poetic language of their liturgy, in which the Virgin is saluted with a thousand titles, they had no trouble in accepting this new title, if it is interpreted in a large, liturgical, and poetic sense, or in refusing it, if it is interpreted in a sense that is too realistic and too literal.

@BODY TEXT ITA = Nevertheless, Patriarch Maximos, urged to speak, began to prepare the intervention that we publish below. Finally, he decided not to deliver it. This was in the 1963 session.)

Before entering into a study of this schema <169>Concerning the Blessed Virgin Mary,<170> it is proper to ask ourselves this question: Is it necessary that this Second Vatican Council, already swamped with questions, devote a special dogmatic constitution to the most holy Mother of God?

For my part, I do not think so. Certainly that is not because the subject is not important in itself or that the Mother of God does not deserve a special constitution, but because the insertion of a question in the agenda of the Council depends not on the importance of the subject but rather on its necessity or practical usefulness. Now, what is the necessity or practical usefulness of doing this? On the one hand, this constitution does not teach anything new either to the Catholics or to the Orthodox, and, on the other hand, it appears ill-conceived as a means of presenting the Catholic doctrine to our brethren of the reformed Churches.

That is why I propose either to pass over this constitution in silence or to be content with a single, adequate paragraph inserted in the schema on the Church, to show the relationship of Mary with the Church, since, as it has been said, the Church seems to be the central theme of this Council.

However, even if it is abridged, this text must be done over, in my opinion, in a different spirit and according to other methods. It should be less scholastic and more pastoral. It must emphasize the devotion to the holy Virgin and the need to develop it and purify it of affectations and exaggerations. In fact, this devotion must be the path which leads to our Lord, our only Master, showing that the Virgin is a channel that must never be transformed into a wellspring. Also, in our Byzantine iconography, the Virgin is always represented with her Son, and never alone; for simply as a creature she is nothing, but with her Son she is everything.

Moreover, we need a text with higher inspiration, one that is more ecumenical and less <169>pontifical.<170> Let me explain: the method, the terminology, everything in this schema has the savor of Latin scholasticism. There is nearly nothing of liturgy, spirituality, and the Eastern Fathers. It is always from only one viewpoint, as if that one viewpoint represented the whole Church. And, what is still more serious, it is that the authors of the schema seem to know no other source of Revelation than the pontifical encyclicals. Besides, they say so ingenuously. In fact, they declare in <169>Praenotandum III<170> that, in the light of the controversies of the theologians on the origin, the authority, and the interpretation of the sources of Christian Tradition, they have preferred to have recourse to the authority of the <169>Magisterium of the Church,<170> and by the <169>Magisterium of the Church<170> they naturally mean the teaching of Roman pontiffs only. We must recognize that this is a bit simplistic. Thus, while there are one hundred twenty-three citations of popes, there are only two of St. John of Damascus and one of St. Germanus of Constantinople. And we know the riches of the Eastern Church, especially concerning the Virgin. Have not all the feasts of the Mother of God come to the Latin Church from the East?

Thus, I deem that for the dignity of the ecumenical council, of which the sovereign pontiff is at once the head and a member, we must at all costs do away with the notes that accompany this schema. We must indeed remember that the purpose of an ecumenical council is not to summarize the pontifical teachings, and that it is customary, in order to remain faithful to the tradition of these councils, to cite before all else the holy Scripture and the holy Fathers of the entire Church.

At the beginning of this intervention we have suggested either passing over this constitution in silence or being content with a simple paragraph on the Virgin Mary because the need for it is not obvious. We have also done so with the aim of expediting the work of the Council, for, the way things are going, the conciliar work could last indefinitely: moderation is the daughter of prudence. The Council has begun; we should be able to finish.

@CHAPTER # = Chapter 5

@CHAPTER TITLE = The Constitution of the Church

@MAJOR SEC HDG = Episcopal Collegiality and Papal Primacy Priority for the Question of the Episcopacy

@BODY TEXT ITA = (The problem of the episcopacy was of deep concern to the Melkite Greek hierarchy. As early as their arrival in Rome for the first session of the Council, the patriarch and his prelates signed, on October, 1962, a <169>proposition<170> tending to give to the schema <169>On Bishops<170> priority over all the others in the discussion:)

The undersigned, Melkite Patriarch of Antioch and the Bishops of his Patriarchate, Fathers of the Vatican II Ecumenical Council:

Inasmuch as the First Vatican Ecumenical Council, after having defined the primacy and the infallibility of the Roman pontiff, was interrupted without being able to study the origin and the powers of the bishops, who, by divine right, succeed the Apostles; and inasmuch as the determination of the origin and of the powers of bishops is of the greatest importance for clarifying the other questions which are proposed for conciliar debate, such as ecumenism, decentralization, pastoral activity, missions, and the apostolate of the laity; we do propose that priority be given to the study of the schema <169>On Bishops.<170>

@MAJOR SEC HDG = Episcopal Collegiality

@BODY TEXT ITA = (An overall study of this question had been prepared by Patriarch Maximos in May, 1962, some months before the holding of the first session of the Council. It was to inspire all his conciliar interventions. We publish it in full.)

IMPORTANCE OF THE PROBLEM

Theologians sometimes wonder if the government of the Church, as it has been willed by its divine Founder, is monarchial, oligarchic, or democratic. In reality, this problem has been poorly stated, for the Church, as a divine and human society of a type that is completely unique, escapes all the classifications of human constitutions. The Church is in a sense monarchial, through its one head, who is Christ, and through the leader of its human pastors, who is the Bishop of Rome. It is in a sense oligarchic, if one considers the small number of those who exercise power in it. It is also in a sense democratic, through the royal priesthood of its faithful and the apostolic mission entrusted to all its members. But, strictly speaking, it is none of the above in particular, and all the above at the same time.

Christ wished a minimum of external constitution, around which the Church has developed its organization according to forms that are very variable, according to persons, times, and places. This diversity, because of its contingent nature, can still evolve indefinitely, except for the untouchable constitutional core willed by its divine Founder. So it is that the Christian East has in general adopted forms of organization that are more democratic and more decentralized, while the West has set forth gradually on the road toward forms that rather recall absolute monarchy and nearly total centralization of all powers of jurisdiction in the hands of the Bishop of Rome alone.

All these forms of organization are legitimate, on the condition, however, that they respect the divine constitution of the Church. For example, to push democratic and decentralizing forms to the extreme could end in the denial of all central power and to the establishment of absolutely autonomous particular Churches, to the detriment of the unity desired by Christ. On the other hand, to push the monarchial and centralizing element to its extreme limits ends fatally in transforming the Church into a society that is purely human and external, submissive to a single head, whose other subordinate leaders receive their powers and their mandate by way of a permanent or occasional delegation. It is precisely this trend of the Catholic Church toward autocratic forms of government centered around individuals that the ecumenical Council must, it seems to us, rectify.

This rectification is necessary if we desire that our Catholic East, with its particular forms of organization and of internal government, should not be in Catholicism as a strange body, a poorly tolerated exception, a paternalistic concession, although its organization and its ecclesiological concepts are perfectly apostolic.

This rectification is also necessary if we wish to continue the dialogue with Orthodoxy and Protestantism. In particular, Orthodoxy refuses to see in the excessive enhancement of the Roman primacy a normal evolution of the primitive core laid down by the Lord in the divine constitution of the Church, and accuses the papacy of engrossing power for reasons of ambition or human self-interest.

Finally, this rectification is necessary if we wish to remain faithful to the thought of Christ and the tradition of the Apostles and of the Fathers of the Church. The apostolate, and in particular the missionary apostolate, presupposes a collective responsibility of the whole episcopacy in the preaching of the Word. Bishops are not governors of provinces, charged with executing the directives of a central authority that is solely responsible for the definitions of the ecclesiastical magisterium, of the liturgical worship, and of the power of jurisdiction. Bishops are successors of the Apostles, or, more precisely, the episcopal college is the successor of the apostolic college. Power in the Church belongs fundamentally to the college of the Apostles and their successors. under the direction of the leader of the Apostles. Peter. and his successors, the bishops of Rome. Bishops, after all, are not responsible for their dioceses alone, and their power is not limited to their dioceses; in union with their head, the Bishop of Rome, and under his direction, they have the collective responsibility for the whole Church, and they exercise with him, in some manner, a collective power over the universal Church. This is what we mean when speaking of episcopal collegiality. This is a rich idea, as ancient as the Gospel, but very much blurred in the concepts and the practices of these recent centuries, and one that on the occasion of the Council should be restored to the light.

IN SCRIPTURE

The collegiality of the Church is an idea as old as the Gospel. The apostolic college, in fact, is designated in the Gospels by the most concrete expression <169>the Twelve.<170> The Twelve constitute the foundation of the New Israel, of which they are at the same time the Fathers and the Judges (Matthew. 29:27). This is what the number twelve symbolizes. With the defection of Judas, it appeared indispensable to find a replacement for him, so that the college would remain complete. The Twelve are forever the foundations of the Church. In the Apocalypse (21:14) Saint John says, <169>The wall of the city (the heavenly Jerusalem) had twelve foundations, and on them the twelve names of the twelve Apostles of the Lamb.<170> Thus the Church rests on the foundations of the twelve Apostles and their successors, a collegial government.

The Twelve are not, however, an occasional and inorganic group. They form a college, having a president: <169>Peter and those who were with him<170> the Evangelists say (Mark 1:36, Luke 9:32, 8:45).

Peter certainly appears in the life of the primitive Church as the one who has primary responsibility, but always as head of the apostolic college, which shares with him his responsibilities. When Philip evangelized Samaria, <169>the Apostles...sent Peter and John, who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit<170> (Acts 8:5, 14-16). Did not Jesus send the Twelve on mission, two by two (Mark 6:7)?

Everywhere we see the Apostles exercising their mission collegially. The Acts say that Paul, converted to the Christian faith, <169>attempted to join the Apostles... Barnabas took him and brought him to the Apostles... So he went in and out among them at Jerusalem, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord<170> (Acts 9:26-29). He writes, <169>After three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Cephas<170> (Gal. 1:18). <169>Finally, after fourteen years, I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along with me... I laid before them (that is to say the apostolic college) the Gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but privately among those who were of repute, lest somehow I should be running or had run in vain... And James and Cephas and John, who were pillars, gave me the right hand of fellowship<170> (Gal. 2:1-9).

Everywhere the evangelization appears to be collective. Although the mission among the Jews was more especially the role of Peter, and that of the Gentiles the role of Paul, we nevertheless know that Paul always spoke first to the Jews before going to the Gentiles (Acts 16:13; 17:1,10; 18:4; 19:8-10; 28:17), and that Peter equally evangelized the Gentiles (Acts 10 and 11). Peter came to Antioch, where Paul and Barnabas were evangelizing (Galatians 2:11), and finally Peter and Paul both evangelized at Rome, a Church founded by Paul as much as by Peter. The memory of Paul is, in liturgical worship, inseparably tied to that of Peter, and Byzantine icons represent both of them supporting the Church of Christ.

The Apostles' helpers also evangelized collegially, without being tied definitively to one territory. When, after the deaths of the Apostles, they succeeded them, they kept the consciousness of collegiality in evangelization and remained itinerants, not permanently attached to one or another Church. How far we are from a Saint Peter exercising control and authority over the whole Church by himself alone!

IN THE TRADITION OF THE FATHERS

Later, when the successors of the Apostles settled down in one Church, they nevertheless continued to be aware that their care went beyond that Church and extended in a certain manner to all the Churches. St. Clement of Rome was concerned with the Church of Corinth. It could be said that he did it as successor of Peter. But Ignatius of Antioch wrote to the Churches of Asia to strengthen them in the unity of faith around their respective bishops. Polycarp of Smyrna wrote to the Church of the Philippians in Macedonia. Dionysius of Corinth, said Eusebius, <169>not content to exercise a zeal in God over those who were subject to his authority, extended it further and freely to other countries<170>; he wrote letters to the Lacedemonians, the Athenians, the Nicomedians, the Cretans, the Churches of Amastris, of Pontus, and of Gnossus (Eusebius, Hist. Eccl., IV, 23, 1-8).

If we limit ourselves to the modern theories of the pope as the sole responsible person in the Church, all these Fathers, who are the foundations of the Christian tradition, should be considered intruders.

St. Cyprian of Carthage gives us the reason for the behavior of these Fathers when he says: <169>There is, in fact, among the bishops only one Church, only one soul, only one heart... There is, through the institution of Christ, one and only one Church, spread out over the whole world, one and only one episcopacy represented by a multiplicity of bishops united among themselves... The Church forms a single whole, whose bond is the union of bishops<170> (Epistle 66, 8,3). For, he adds, <169>the episcopacy is one and indivisible episcopal dignity is one and every bishop possesses jointly and severally a portion of it without any division of the whole<170> (De Unitate, V). Can anything be clearer and more explicit?

Finally, episcopal collegiality manifests itself through the meetings of the bishops in synods, either regional or ecumenical, to compare local traditions and to make decisions having obligatory force for the whole region or the whole Church. If each bishop had authority only over his diocese, the synods would not have been able to decide in common for a whole region or for the whole Church. If they do so, it is because they are expressing and putting into action the collegiality of the episcopal body.

In brief, when we listen to the Fathers, it is evident that the Church of Rome, and its bishop, are situated within the union of the Churches and of the apostolic collegiality of their bishops, according to the expression of St. Ignatius of Antioch, who calls the Church of Rome <169>president in love<170> (Epistle to the Romans, Par. 1). Such is the underlying sense of its primacy and of its privileges, which are manifested above all in the cases where the faith is in peril, according to the words of Jesus to Peter: <169>I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail; and when you have turned again, strengthen your brethren<170> (Luke 22:32).

THEOLOGICAL DEDUCTIONS

From this brief survey of the contributions of Holy Scripture and of the teachings of the Fathers of the first centuries, one can legitimately deduce the dimensions of episcopal collegiality: 1) In the first place, it is clearly apparent that the theology of the collegiality is linked with the theology of ministry and of the service of the word. If the hierarchy in the Church is conceived solely in the sense of a power, in place of being thought of and expressed in the sense of a service, episcopal collegiality becomes impossible, for in the face of a universal and direct power <197> if such is the way that the Roman primacy is understood <197> all other power can only be delegated and particular. It is quite the opposite if the primacy is considered as a ministerial charism at the service of the Church, which is granted to the one who likes to call himself <169>servant of the servants of God.<170>

Ministry in the Church is a power, but a power to serve. The human notion of jurisdiction, applied indiscriminately to the hierarchs of the Church, has falsified the nature of the apostolic ministry. It is well known that in the East not only is the term jurisdiction unknown, but also that the institutions of the Church escape the legalism that characterizes the mentality and the institutions of the Western Church. 2) In the second place, this apostolic ministry, which constitutes the totality of ecclesiastical power, is not entrusted solely and individually to Peter, with the responsibility of distributing it by delegating it to the other Apostles. Nor is it entrusted to the Apostles individually. It is given to the Twelve, that is to say, to the apostolic college as such, taken collectively, collegially, with solidarity, having Peter as the head.

3) In the third place, the charism of primacy conferred upon Peter has meaning only when it is considered in its total context, as being the power to lead the apostolic college. It is not a personal power independent of any reference to the Twelve, to whom collectively has been granted all power in the Church. Neither chronologically nor as an idea does the primacy of Peter come before the ministry of the Twelve. Even while possessing this primacy of leadership, Peter remains one of the Twelve, an Apostle like them, sharing the power which was given to them jointly and severally, not only as a member of the college, but also as president and chief of the college, an eminent member who sees to it that the Twelve are an organic college, and not an aggregation of independent individuals.

Likewise, after as well as before the granting of primacy to Peter, the other Apostles did not cease to be the brothers and the companions of Peter in the apostolate. The primacy of Peter does not take away from the Apostles any of the powers which were given to them by Christ, but sustains, coordinates, and guides them. Without Peter the power of the Apostles would degenerate into confusion, and without the Apostles, Peter's power would degenerate into absolutism. These two powers complement each other, and are mutually indispensable.

4) In the fourth place, the Bishop of Rome, successor of Peter, has no more power than Peter, and the episcopal college has no less power than the apostolic college. The exercise of the power of each bishop in particular may vary and has in fact varied. Yet the totality of the powers of the episcopal body must not yield anything to the whole of the apostolic powers. If the episcopal college should encroach upon the powers of the Bishop of Rome, or if the Bishop of Rome should encroach upon the powers of the episcopal college, there is in both cases, violation of the Lord's will, and therefore danger of controversies and even of schisms in the Church.

5) The government of the Church thus does not rest on one man alone, but on a college of men, the bishops, who must work together and in union with their chief, the Bishop of Rome. The Bishop of Rome operates as the center of unity of the body, from which he receives at all times suggestions, advice, reminders, which may go so far, as in the case of Paul with Peter at Antioch, and so many Fathers of the Church with the popes of Rome, as respectful but vigorous objections. <169>When Cephas came to Antioch,<170> says Paul, <169>I opposed him to his face, for he was clearly wrong<170> (Galatians 2:11). Without doubt the pope reserves for himself the right to judge as a last resort, discerning what in the wishes of his brothers comes or does not come from the Holy Spirit. It is his responsibility to affix his definitive seal on what has been decided by the unanimity, at least moral, among his brothers of the episcopal college.

6) The successors of the Apostles have long since ceased to be itinerant and are generally given charge of a specific diocese that they must administer and where they are expected to reside. But this direct and immediate responsibility of the bishop over his diocese does not dispense him from continuing to assume a more general responsibility over the Church as a whole. Now, this more general responsibility of each bishop with respect to the universal Church is manifested first of all in the ecumenical councils where the episcopal college, having the pope as its head, exercises in the Church a sovereign power of judgment and of government.

This responsibility is also exercised in synods, conferences, and other episcopal meetings, in which each one of the attending bishops participates in the pastorate of a whole region, without having the decisions of the synods necessarily submitted, of divine right, to the approbation of the Bishop of Rome.

Finally, this responsibility is exercised each day in the suggestions, the adaptations, the observations, that bishops make to each other, and also make, with all due respect, to their hierarchical superiors: archbishops, metropolitans, patriarchs, and pope. It is exercised through the participation of the entire Church in the Roman central administration, which must also be representative of collegiality. It is exercised through concern for the preaching of the word throughout the world: a care which does not weigh solely on the shoulders of the Bishop of Rome, but which is a burden on the consciences of all bishops. It is exercised, finally, through the constant preoccupation which each bishop should have for the good of the universal Church, according to the words of Saint Paul, who said, <169>There is the daily pressure upon me of my anxiety for all the Churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is scandalized, and I am not aflame with indignation?<170> (2 Corinthians 11:28-29).

In the last analysis, that is what episcopal collegiality is: the taking charge, by all bishops jointly, in communion with their head, the pope of Rome, of the interests of the Kingdom of God that is the Church. Such is the Church willed by Christ.

@MAJOR SEC HDG = The Pope and the Origin of the Bishops' Powers

@BODY TEXT ITA = (The preparatory Theological Commission of the Council had prepared a schema <169>On Residential Bishops.<170> This schema proposed a theory, that the patriarch deemed <169>inadmissible,<170> of the <169>pope, ultimate and only source of all power in the Church.<170> The patriarch refuted this theory in a long memorandum that he addressed to the Central Commission, in its meeting of May, 1962.)

This Chapter IV of the Constitution <169>On the Church<170> is, by all means, the most serious and burdensome in consequences among all the schemas that have been presented until now for the examination of the Central Commission.

Not only is this chapter dogmatic in nature, but it advances a theory that, unless there is a mistake, we consider as to be a truly new dogma: the dogma of the Roman pontiff as the ultimate source of all power in the Church.

In its exposition of the divine constitution of the Church, the First Vatican Council emphasized only the constitution and functioning of its visible head, who is the Roman pontiff. Almost unanimously the bishops of the Catholic world have wished that the Second Vatican Council would present a less unilateral vision of things, by stressing this time the constitution and divine origin of the power of the bishops, the successors of the Apostles. The schema which should have been presented to us was intended to satisfy this legitimate desire. Now, the one that has been presented to us emphasizes even more the powers of the Roman pontiff, and does not supply anything very notable in the determination of those of the bishops.

In the light of the gravity of the question, we reserve for ourselves the presentation to the Central Commission of a more detailed study on this point. In the meantime, we take the liberty of making the following comments. If we are mistaken, we declare that we are submitting in advance and without reservation to the infallible magisterium of the Church and of the Roman pontiff. If, on the contrary, it is the theological commission that wishes to introduce surreptitiously a new dogma, we ask it either to withdraw its schema or to present it openly as the introduction of a new dogma, a corollary of the dogma of Roman primacy, and to ask the Fathers of the Council explicitly to discuss it and define it. But it is not permissible to present as doctrine tacitly accepted by all something that is, in reality, only a simple opinion at best. Having said this, we here briefly present our comments:

1. Holy Scripture affirms a power of primacy, on the part of Peter, over the rest of the Apostles and over the whole Church. But Scripture does not affirm in any way that no bishop can be constituted in the Church except through the intervention, <169>direct or indirect,<170> of Peter and his successors the bishops of Rome. We even explicitly see the other Apostles constituting bishops without referring in any way to Peter. The same is true of their disciples, such as Titus or Timothy. If it is necessary to understand the text as applying to bishops in the strict sense, doesn't the Scripture say that it is the Holy Spirit who instituted the bishops to rule the Church (cf. Acts 20:28)? It is difficult, without doing violence to the text, to find in the Scripture a basis which permits affirming that no bishop obtains jurisdiction over his Church except through the <169>direct or indirect<170> intervention of the Bishop of Rome, successor of Peter.

2. As for Tradition, one finds, it is true, certain texts in favor of that opinion, especially in the writings of popes of Rome, like Saint Leo. But we cannot say that this is the teaching of the majority of the Fathers. On the contrary, there are numerous ancient and impartial texts which affirm the opposite. There are Fathers of the Church who are even opposed to this trend of exaggeration of the papal power. We can even say that the majority of the Fathers, above all in the East, are of a contrary opinion. While conceding a power of primacy of the Roman pontiff, they do not agree that he is the source of all power of jurisdiction in the Church, to such a point that no bishop can be appointed except by him.

Thus Tradition is not on the whole favorable to the extremist opinion which this schema demonstrates. May I be permitted here to make a remark which holds true for many other excessive tendencies in modern theology: the West does not produce untrue texts, but it produces only texts that please it, and passes over in silence, consciously or unconsciously, the texts that do not agree with its theories, even if they are more numerous. An objective study of Tradition must take into account all the currents of thought and all the texts. In the face of a few texts favorable to <169>the Roman pontiff, sole and ultimate source of all power,<170> there are many other texts which ignore this theory or affirm the contrary. Where then is the true Tradition to be found?

3. In this matter, the practice of the Church remains the best criterion. Indeed, even in the West, bishops were not always appointed and invested directly or indirectly by the Roman pontiffs. As for the East, during the first nine centuries of the Church, when the East and the West were usually united, the popes have certainly claimed the right to intervene, especially when serious danger threatened the Church, to name or occasionally depose a bishop. But the East has never surmised that only the popes of Rome could, directly or indirectly, name the bishops.

When Pope Nicholas I chided Patriarch Photius for having been elected without the intervention of Rome, Photius could answer that it had never been the custom of the Church. Now, Pope Nicholas seems to have based his claim, in good faith, above all on the False Decretals that had just been circulated in the West. We don't wish to say that the extremist position of the schema is based on the False Decretals. We only wish to affirm that for centuries the Church did not claim that the appointment of bishops or their <169>mandate<170> in their respective dioceses was the exclusive province of the Roman pontiff. In our Melkite Church, until some twelve years ago, the bishops were chosen in a synod, and we sought no confirmation for them from the Roman pontiff. It was Pope Pius XII who demanded for the first time that no bishop of our Church henceforth be proclaimed without papal confirmation. Pope Pius XII was no doubt applying the opinion which the schema of the theological commission is now appropriating.

4. The supporters of this extremist opinion, aware that Tradition is not on their side, have recourse to an expedient and believe that they have solved everything by inserting this clause: <169>directly or indirectly.<170> Thus, if history proves that out of one hundred thousand episcopal elections in the East, from the time of the Apostles until the middle of the twentieth century, the popes have intervened in only a hundred cases, certain theologians will nonetheless say that it is through the authority of the pope that these appointments were made, their view being that this authority was exercised <169>indirectly<170> either by synods, or patriarchs, or in some other way...

Actually, the popes themselves did not think along those lines, any more than they thought of granting the Eastern priests the power to confirm. Such deductions do not result from the facts, but bend the facts to preconceived theories. With this method it can also be claimed that ordinary priests obtain their canonical mission from the pope, but indirectly, through the intermediary of their bishops. Following this train of thought, we can ask ourselves what, in the Church, does not issue from the pope... The very excesses of these deductions show that the method is scientifically condemnable and that the deductions are unjustified.

5. The supporters of the opinion that we are opposing have recourse to another deduction. They claim that their opinion is a logical conclusion of the dogma of Roman primacy. Therefore, they say, according to the definition of Vatican Council I, the pope possesses an ordinary, episcopal, and immediate power over the pastors and the faithful, and the bishops obtain their power over their respective dioceses only through the pope's mandate. To this we reply: the definition of Vatican Council I does not in any way include a statement that the pope is the ultimate and sole source of all power in the Church. Someone can have authority over another without being the source of all authority for this other person. The two things are distinct. To pass from one to the other is to surreptitiously desire the Church to accept a new dogma that Vatican Council I in no way defined, even though it could have done so.

6. Be this as it may, the new dogma that is being proposed to us accentuates even more the differences between the Eastern Church and the Western Church. While our Orthodox brothers still recognize in the pope a certain power of primacy, their entire ecclesial tradition forbids them from acknowledging in him the ultimate and sole source of all power in the Church. Their entire legitimate ecclesial tradition forbids them from reserving to the pope the nomination or confirmation of all the bishops in the Church. The Second Vatican Council, which the pope desired to prepare the paths for union, would result on the contrary in hardening the positions of the Catholic Church and creating a new dogma that the Orthodox Church cannot accept. With such a theory, the Catholic Church must decide to interrupt all dialogue with Orthodoxy, and it will not be the fault of Orthodoxy, which, on this point, wishes to remain faithful to Tradition.

7. Finally, we can ask ourselves why the theological commission and, with it, certain theologians, persist in wishing to make the Council pronounce excessive principles in praise of the papacy. There are certainly certain groups in the Catholic Church today who wish to see in Catholicism only its head: the pope. From exaggeration to exaggeration, they finally lead the Church towards a certain <169>papolatry,<170> which does not appear to be a chimerical danger. They have made of the pope, not the father, the humble and devoted shepherd, the big brother concerned about the honor and the apostolate of his brothers, but an ecclesiastical replica of the Roman Caesar. An old subconscious imperialism consumes them, and they seem to wish to find in the papacy a compensatory solution for their dreams of universal domination. Now, that attitude has no place in Christ's Church, where authority is a service, and the greatest among us must be the servant of all. Certainly, the popes realize this evangelical ideal magnificently in their private lives. Yet we wish, for the greater good of the Church, that the flattering or self-interested theologians may be kept away from their entourage. This can only enhance the greatness of the papacy and increase esteem for it.

8. In the light of the preceding considerations, we propose the amending of certain passages of the schema in question:

a. A note that seems harmless proposes theories of the greatest gravity. It even stirs up the question of whether the bishops receive their power immediately from God or from the pope. How can anyone say such a thing? If the bishops receive their power immediately from the pope, then they are delegates of the pope. The note claims that it wishes to exclude this theory, but it affirms it nonetheless by insinuation. Now it is this method of tendentious insinuations that places the doctrines of the Church in danger. This entire text should be eliminated.

b. The schema affirms that the bishops receive their mandate <169>a regimine Ecclesiae, et quidem ab ipso successore Petri..., a quo ergo in officium assumuntur, et etiam deponi, transferri, restitui possunt<170> (from the government of the Church, and indeed from the very successor of Peter .., by whom therefore they are received into their office, and by whom they can also be deposed, transferred, and reinstated). The text says rightly, <169>by the government of the Church.<170> But why does it identify the <169>government of the Church<170> with <169>the successor of Peter<170>? Apart from Peter and his successors, is there nothingness in the Church, and is the <169>government of the Church<170> reduced solely to the government of Peter and his successors? Peter is at the head of the Church, but he is not the whole Church. There is no body without a head, but neither is there a head without a body. This theoretical and practical identification of the pope with the Church and of the Church with the pope is one of the exaggerations that have done most harm to the Church. In order to honor the pope there is no need to see him as being the whole Church and to reduce the Church to him.

c. The text affirms that the pope possesses such power in the Church <169>ut ipse actualem eorum (episcoporum) iurisdictionem ordinariam ampliare vel restringere possit, etiam subditorum exemptione<170> (so that he can increase or restrict their [the bishops'] ordinary jurisdiction, even by exempting those subject to them). This needs to be toned down. The pope's power is not arbitrary. It is restricted by the divine constitution of the Church that intends that the bishops should not be proxies of the pope, but his brothers and the successors of the Apostles. The pope cannot arbitrarily do whatever he wishes with the Church and in the Church; he must always respect the plan of its Divine Founder. The Church is a monarchy, tempered by an oligarchy,and even by a certain democracy. It is not a dictatorship.

d. After reducing almost to nothing the original and legitimate rights of the bishops, the text continues: <169>Absit tamen ut per hoc iura episcoporum minuantur<170> (The rights of the bishops must not be diminished by this). That is almost ironical. By these exaggerations the rights of the bishops are most certainly diminished. More than one Catholic bishop has thought in his innermost heart that he was practically reduced to the role of a <169>prefect<170> executing the orders of the Roman bureaucracy.

e. Speaking of the unity of the Catholic Church, the text affirms: <169>cuius centrum et fundamentum et principium unitatis est successor Petri<170> (whose center and foundation and principle of unity is the successor of Peter). What is left to Christ in this concept of ecclesial unity? What needs to be said is that the center and foundation of the unity of the Church is Christ and subordinately and vicarially. the bishops and at their head the Bishop of Rome. In the concept of the Church, it is hardly forgivable to forget the bishops. But it is absolutely unforgivable to forget Christ. The exaggerations of certain theologians have made the pope not the representative of Christ, but his substitute, his successor. And that is very serious.

f. Speaking of the collegiality of the episcopal body <197> a very rich idea that is still unexplored <197> the schema conceives it in a rather diminished and simplistic way. It says, <169>Episcopi, quamvis singillatim sumpti vel etiam quam plurimi congregati potestatem in universam vel in aliam ac sibi commissam Ecclesiam non habent, nisi ex collatione Romani Pontificis...<170> (The bishops, whether taken individually or even when many are gathered together, do not have power over the universal Church or over another Church assigned to them, except as it is conferred by the Roman pontiff). In the minds of the authors of thesschema, the bishops, as a body, have no power of their own of universal solicitude. If they do in fact exercise such power, in councils or otherwise, it is solely by virtue of a delegation of power coming from the Bishop of Rome. Is that the genuine Catholic tradition? Does not this tradition affirm that the bishops in some sense share with their head, the Bishop of Rome, the care of the entire Church? Does it not affirm that they possess, with him and under his authority, a certain power over the whole Church, for example in ecumenical councils? It is true that, under present law, an ecumenical council can be held only under the authority and with the approbation of the Bishop of Rome. Yet that does not mean that all the authority that the bishops exercise in an ecumenical council comes to them from the Bishop of Rome. Again, these are very harmful exaggerations.

g. The schema concludes: <169>Nemo episcoporum ad hoc Corpus pertinere potest, nisi directe vel indirecte a successore Petri, Capite Corporis, in Collegium assumptus sit<170> (No bishop can belong to this Body, unless he has been directly or indirectly incorporated into the College by the successor of Peter, the Head of the Body). It is correct to say that no bishop belongs to the Catholic episcopal college unless he is united with and subject to the head of this college, who is the Bishop of Rome. However, to say that no bishop belongs to this college unless he has been chosen by the Bishop of Rome is something else. It is a theory that must be proved, and that we for our part believe is devoid of any foundation in the sources of our faith.

Conclusion: The schema that is presented to us is clearly tendentious. In addition to the exaggerations in form that we have pointed out, it proposes a theory of the constitution of the Church that is not at all certain. We, for our part, believe that it is erroneous. This schema must be restudied by theologians who are more objective and who have been more soundly nurtured in the Patristic tradition. It is our opinion that this schema, as it is now presented, cannot be proposed to the Council.

@MAJOR SEC HDG = The Divine Constitution of the Church

@BODY TEXT ITA = (The Holy Synod, in its <169>Comments on the schemas of the Council (1963)<170> made a detailed critique of the first part of the schema <169>On the Church.<170> It touched on many varied points, but the central theme remained <169>the Divine Constitution of the Church,<170> or the relations between the Apostles and their successors, the bishops, on the one hand, and on the other, Peter and his successors. Although it sometimes touched on details of wording, this synodal document deserves to be cited in its principal passages.)

1) Peter: rock and Apostles-pillars. The simile of the <169>pillars<170> applied to the Apostles originates in the New Testament quite as much as the simile of the <169>rock<170> applied to Peter. Better still, we propose to replace <169>founded on Peter the rock and upon the Apostles<170> with another scriptural formula such as <169>established on the foundation of the Apostles (and prophets).<170>

Indeed the draft awkwardly anticipates the following paragraph which deals with the primacy. The present draft is less felicitous than the text from Vatican I which is cited here. That council distinguished three periods in the divine plan: the first period, Christ wishes to found a Church as a temple of eternal duration; the second period, to lead and rule this Church, He gives it as shepherds the twelve Apostles who are perpetuated in the bishops, their successors; the third period <169>so that the episcopate may be one, he set Peter above the other Apostles.<170> The present schema, by speaking too soon about the primacy of Peter, symbolized by the rock, reverses the perspective.

2) Apostolicity: <169>apostolicus primatus<170> does not adequately designate the primacy of St. Peter. Actually, there are other Apostles besides Peter. It is also a current habit in the West to use <169>Apostolica Sedes<170> to designate only the Roman See of Peter. Indeed, in the West, there is no other <169>apostolic see<170> than that of Rome founded by Peter. But we must react against this procedure, for not only are there other Apostles besides Peter, but there are also other <169>apostolic sees<170> besides the See of Rome. This statement is important in order to make oneself understood by the East, which is so deeply attached to the apostolicity of its patriarchal sees. We know that Orthodox Christians protest against the monopolizing of the epithet <169>apostolic<170> by the Roman See in expressions like <169>apostolic see<170> or <169>apostolic blessing ,<170> etc.

3) Vicar of Christ: Following Saint Bernard especially, Western piety has liked to give the Roman pontiff the title of <169>Vicar of Christ.<170> However, even in the West, at least until the eleventh century, the pope of Rome tended to be called the <169>Vicar of Peter,<170> and not the <169>Vicar of Christ.<170> This latter title came into general use only with St. Bernard, without being exclusively reserved to the Roman pontiff, since Western tradition continued here and there to call all bishops indistinguishably vicars of Christ.

The Roman pontiff is naturally the Vicar of Christ in a more eminent, but not exclusive, way. The exclusive application of this title to the Bishop of Rome is unknown in Eastern patristic tradition. Moreover, this title leads to lack of restraint, and we know how lack of restraint in this domain, in unwary, flattering, or self-interested minds, is dangerous for the Church. It has led some to blasphemy in the strict sense of the word, when they wanted to make a pope a God: <169>The pope is God on earth..., Jesus has placed the pope above the prophets..., above the precursor..., above the angels...Jesus has placed the pope on the same level as God...<170>

For the same reason, we believe that the expression <169>head of the Church<170> (especially in Latin: <169>caput Ecclesiae<170>) must be explained in an ecumenical context. For it is not the pope who is head of the Church in the strict sense, but Christ alone, whom no one succeeds in this capacity. The pope succeeds Peter, but he does not succeed Christ. We should explain it rather in the sense that the pope is the <169>visible head of the Church<170> or <169>the head of the visible Church.<170>

4) Foundation of the Church: The Church was certainly built on Peter, but also on the other Apostles, as many texts of the New Testament prove. It is by combining all these texts that it is appropriate to speak of the foundation of the Church. Orthodox Christians reproach Catholic theologians not for citing false texts, but for not citing all the texts.

The text of the schema would give us to understand that the Church, as such, is founded on Peter alone. On the contrary, the faithful are built on the foundation of the Apostles and the prophets, etc. This seems to be an attempt to avoid the difficulty of the texts of Saint Paul (Ephesians 2:20) and of Revelation (21:14), applying them only to the faithful. Actually, these texts of Matthew, the Letter to the Ephesians, and Revelation complement one another. The Church and the faithful that constitute it are founded on Peter and the Apostles. That is the reason for the proposed addition.

5) The canonical mission of priests. The canonical mission of priests does not come from the Roman pontiff or from their bishop, but only from their bishop. This does not mean that the Roman pontiff has no power over priests. But it is one thing to have universal power over all the faithful or clerics of the Church and quite another to be the sole source of all power in the Church. Specifically, the bishops do not need any delegation of power to give a canonical mission to one of their priests for the purpose of governing a portion of their flock. In territories directly subject to the Bishop of Rome, as such, priests naturally receive their mission from him.

6) The Latin Church and the universal Church. When the Catholics of the West speak of the Church or of the general discipline of the Church, they are limiting their vision to the Latin Church, as if the Eastern Church and Eastern discipline were exceptions to the rule. On the contrary, they should remember that the Latin Church is one Church within the Catholic Church, just like the lowliest of the Eastern Churches, and that Latin law is a particular law of the Latin Church. <169>Ecclesia universa<170> does not signify <169>Ecclesia Latina,<170> and <169>jus commune<170> does not signify <169>jus latinum.<170> Since in fact the Catholic Church has unfortunately been reduced for centuries to the West, or almost so, the West has acquired the habit of considering its Latin Church as synonymous with the universal Catholic Church. This is a point of view that must be corrected today, not only in terminology but also in the entire conduct of the Church.

7) Head and body of the episcopal college. Instead of saying that the episcopal college has authority (we are speaking here of universal authority) only when united with the Roman pontiff, we prefer to say that the episcopal college, of which the pope of Rome is a part as its President, constitutes a college only if it is united with the Roman pontiff, who is its president. It is a difference in perspective, but an important one. There is a tendency in the West to place the pope not only at the head of the episcopal college, which is very true, but also outside the episcopal college, which is false. Likewise, there is a tendency to think of the pope as being outside the ecumenical council, the latter studying, discussing and proposing, whereas the pope confirms and sanctions. More than one proof could be given to demonstrate the existence of this mentality, which does not seem to us to be correct.

8) Nature of the Roman Primacy: The schema begins by affirming that the Roman pontiff has by himself alone full and universal power over the whole Church. We should like to specify that this universal power of the pope is given to him only inasmuch as he is the head of the whole hierarchy and for the purpose of fulfilling his primatial ministry. Indeed, it is important to show that this universal power of the pope is the consequence of a ministry as head of the Church, and that it is not a privilege without foundation or public usefulness.

In the second place, we should like to specify that this universal power of the pope is essentially a pastoral and personal power. It is pastoral in this sense that it is not a prerogative that allows him simply to command for the pleasure of commanding, or in order to dominate the rest of the Church. Power in the Church is a <169>diakonia,<170> a ministry, a pastorate. That is why the East does not like the term <169>jurisdiction,<170> so dear to the canonists of the West, because it senses a concept of power that is entirely human, composed of superiority and domination over others. Moreover, this universal power of the pope is strictly personal. The pope can certainly be assisted by all sorts of collaborators, but no one shares his primacy in the Church with him. This statement has countless practical consequences. In today's Catholicism all who, whether near or far, are in the service of the pontifical administration claim a primacy over the other bishops of the world, and even over the incumbents of the other apostolic sees of Christendom... It is fitting to specify very clearly that the pope's primacy and infallibility are strictly personal.

To designate the universal authority of the episcopal college, united, of course, with its head who is the Roman pontiff, the schema uses a tortuous circumlocution, as if to drown this idea. It says that the episcopal college <169>indivisum subjectum plenae et supremae potestatis in universam Ecclesiam creditur<170> (is understood to be the undivided subject of full and supreme power over the universal Church). Why this <169>is understood,<170> and why this <169>subject of the power<170>? This might be interpreted strictly as delegated subiect of the power, according to the doctrine dear to certain canonists who claim that no power exists in the Church unless it comes from the pope. The truth is that the apostolic college really has universal power over the Church, and this power comes to it directly from Christ. It is an innate, original, divine, ordinary, and inalienable power.

9) What episcopal collegiality includes: Speaking of the collegial power of the bishops, that is to say, of their power as members of the episcopal college, the schema reduces it to an ordinary universal solicitude very useful to the Church. That is too little. It is true that the collegial power of each bishop over the Church as a whole is not the same as his direct power over his diocese, but it is not an ordinary solicitude for the general good of the Church. In fact, the responsibilities that the schema attributes in the following lines to the episcopal college exceed mere solicitude and constitute a real power.

10) Collegiality and Mission: The work of evangelizing the world is not, in itself, one of the exclusive provinces of the Bishop of Rome. Rather it is a mission given by Christ to all the Apostles, and after them to all the bishops of the Church. Indeed, ecclesiastical history shows us that many other bishops of Christendom have concerned themselves with evangelizing the world by sending out missionaries and by supporting them, even founding new missionary Churches and organizing the hierarchy in mission lands. Yet today, in fact, in order to avoid useless dispersion of energies and to better organize the work of evangelization, the central authority over the missions has been reserved to the pope.

11) What is the source of the bishops' canonical mission? A certain school of canonists in the West holds, as we have said, that no bishop receives his mission over his diocese except through the direct or indirect intervention of the pope. This opinion had found a place in the old schema. The new schema has corrected this absolutely unacceptable assertion. Nothing in Scripture or Tradition, in fact, proves that the canonical mission of the bishops over their respective dioceses comes to them exclusively from the successor of Peter. The canonists in question have simply transplanted on the universal level of the whole Church and on the level of doctrine what was a contingent fact in the patriarchate of the West. In the West, for quite a while, the canonical mission, and even the appointment of the bishops, has in fact been reserved to the Roman pontiff. But it was not always so in the Church from its origins and in every place.

In the face of this consideration, which we have energetically stressed in the Central Commission, the new schema has toned down its assertions and recognized that the canonical mission could be given in virtue of laws or legitimate customs not revoked by the supreme authority (which is not only that of the pope, let us recall in passing, but also that of ecumenical councils). This canonical mission can also be given directly by the Roman pontiff, either as Patriarch of the West or as the successor of Peter. But it is not by the same right that the pope names the bishops of the West and can be called, in certain cases, to name the bishops of the East. In the former case, he acts as Patriarch of the West, whether or not he is helped by his synod (specifically the Consistorial Congregation or the Congregation of the Faith). In the latter case, he acts as head of the Church when the good of the universal Church exceptionally demands his direct intervention over and above the institutions peculiar to the East.

In the second place, it is certain that the pope can depose a bishop for very serious reasons. But the wording of the schema risks being misinterpreted, as if no bishop could have a mission in his own diocese unless he were positively accepted by the pope. Such a claim, based on the False Decretals, was, as we know, the origin of the conflict between Pope Nicholas I and Patriarch Photius. In consequence, the text of Canon 392, #2, of the Motu Proprio <169>Cleri Sanctitati<170> must be amended.

12) The foundation of papal infallibility: The pope is infallible only because he is the head of the apostolic college and the spokesman of the infallibility of this college and of the whole Church. When thus clarified, infallibility becomes comprehensible. It is no longer an honorary privilege. The pope does not proclaim infallible dogmas without reason, without foundation, without reference to Scripture, to Tradition, and to the Church, needlessly, just to show that he is pope. Infallibility is a charism granted to him for the general welfare and stemming from his ministry. These clarifications are absolutely essential and indispensable for anyone who wants to work for the union of the Churches, for they have not been sufficiently taken into account until now.

The text of the schema literally reproduces the definition of infallibility given by Vatican I. But this definition has in fact given rise to misinterpretations and regrettable exaggerations. It is therefore fitting that Vatican II should clarify this notion and make it more easily understandable. Thus the <169>ex sese<170> (by himself) is clarified by saying: <169>ex officio suo<170> (by his office); the <169>non ex consensu Ecclesiae<170> (not by the consensus of the Church) is clarified by saying: <169>non ex delegatione, nec ex canonica, etsi implicita, confirmatione<170> (not by delegation, nor by canonical collegial confirmation, even if it is implicit).

In the second place, it is true that the definitions of the pope are irreformable and without appeal, but we think that a clarification should be added, namely, that the definitions of the pope cannot contradict the faith of the Church and of the episcopal college.

These clarifications are generally accepted today. It is appropriate to insert them, so that Vatican II may bring new light to this doctrine of papal infallibility.

13) The ordinary maaisterium of the Church: By definition this ordinary magisterium is not infallible. However, it deserves respect. The text of the schema even demands respect for the will and for the intellect, sincere adherence to it, etc. But in this case, what is it that actually distinguishes this non-infallible (that is to say, fallible) magisterium from the infallible magisterium? It seems to us that the paragraph must nonetheless make it clear that this ordinary teaching of the popes is subject to error. Actually, more than once popes who did not intend to define a truth of faith have taught things which after careful examination have been seen to be erroneous. What has happened in the past can happen again in the future. It is wise not to expand the field of papal infallibility indefinitely and with specious reasons. The respect due the teaching of the highest authority is one thing, and the infallibility of this teaching is something else. Too rigid censure risks not only halting scientific and theological progress but also transforming a fallible formula into an infallible formula, by artificially creating a false unanimity in the Church.

14) Primacy and sovereianty: We prefer not to introduce into the Church the notion of sovereignty used in international secular law. If the pope's power were a sovereign power in the secular sense, it would logically follow that all the other powers in the Church are delegated powers. Now, as we have seen, that is not the case. The pope's power is traditionally described in the Church by the word <169>primacy.<170> It is best to hold to it and avoid terms borrowed from secular law. Nor must we forget that the pope is not the only sovereign power in the Church. The same sovereign and universal power belongs to the ecumenical council, that is to say, to the episcopal college with the pope as its head. Besides, even the Latin Code of Canon Law includes in the expression <169>De suprema potestate in Ecclesia<170> (On the sovereign power in the Church) both the pope and the ecumenical council.

15) The pope, guardian of episcopal collegiality: The episcopate, which succeeds the apostolic college, is not first of all the sum of the dioceses, each forming a relatively closed entity around its bishop. On the contrary, it is first of all the apostolic college, having a common responsibility for the whole human race to be incorporated into Christ.

This responsibility is not one of domination, but strictly of service. Obviously, in order to express this responsibility it is necessary to make use of the concept of authority. However, the most felicitous expression for this authority is not in terms that overemphasize jurisdiction. That is why, it seems to us, that in place of juridical expressions such as <169>by divine right,<170> <169>by ecclesiastical right,<170> it would often be preferable to use terms like <169>evangelical reality,<170> <169>apostolic reality,<170> and <169>directed in the Holy Spirit.<170>

It is in order to better serve the flock that it is divided into groupings, whether <169>patriarchal,<170> <169>diocesan,<170> or <169>subdiocesan,<170> without detriment to the primary responsibilities retained by each and all of the bishops with respect to the Church as a whole.

In all of this, and up to this point, the pope is the egual of all the other bishops. However, he emerges into a second reality, precisely to second this one episcopate in its mission. For this episcopate needs to preserve its unity. The pope is the recognized responsible conservator of this collective unity. This unity cannot be reduced to himself alone or to some charism that he may possess. On the contrary, he must adapt to <169>catholicity<170> in order to serve it with his variety of dynamisms, knowing that he is as such not personally coextensive with the Church and that the Church is not coextensive with him..., for this would again reduce the Church to the pope, to <169>Romanism,<170> to his person..., in fact, as a result of history so far, making it coextensive with Latinism.

Just as the bishops have powers over the flock in order to serve the Church <197> powers imbued with humility <197> so too the pope, in order to serve the episcopate in its mission, has powers imbued with humility and specified by the finality of his function, which does not create the episcopate but is the servant of the episcopate of which he remains a member. His brother bishops, in the situations in which life has placed them, have the same authority as he in the immediate portion of their current responsibilities: diocese, primacy, patriarchate.

@MAJOR SEC HDG = Five Declarations of Principle

@BODY TEXT ITA = (On October 7, 1963, during the 42nd General Congregation, the patriarch set forth in five principles the essentials of the remarks made by his Synod on the Divine Constitution of the CHurch. His intervention caused a shock. At the preceding General Congregation the patriarch was also supposed to speak. But the first Cardinal of the Council of the Presidency, troubled by protests made by certain partisans of Latin against the patriarch's use of French, had asked that the patriarch's talks be at least followed by a Latin translation. The rumor spread in Rome and was printed in the newspapers that the patriarch had been forbidden to speak in French. The patriarch stood fast and continued to speak in French. His Bishop-Counselor read the translation of his discourse in Latin.)

The First Ecumenical Council of the Vatican defined the dogma of the primacy of the Roman pontiff. This definition gave rise here and there to abusive interpretations that disfigured it, making the primacy, which is a charism granted by Christ to his Church, an obstacle to Christian unity. Now, we are convinced that the obstacle to union is not the doctrine of the primacy itself, clearly inscribed in Holy Scripture and in the Tradition of the Church. Rather, the obstacle lies in its excessive interpretations and, even more, in its concrete exercise, in which, to authentically divine elements and legitimate ecclesial evolution, there have been added, more or less consciously, regrettable borrowings from modalities in the exercise of a purely human authority.

The Second Vatican Council, according to His Holiness Paul VI's beautiful words in his opening locution to the second period of the Council, proposes to prepare the paths of union. That is why, it seems to us, the Council must not be content to repeat on this point the words of Vatican Council I, which have already been stated, but must seek to clarify and complement them, in the light of the divine institution and the indefeasible rights of the episcopate.

In this sense the new wording of the schema <169>De Ecclesia<170> shows notable progress with respect to both the former wording and also the routine formulas of the theological manuals.

The fact remains, however, that from the ecumenical viewpoint several texts should still be improved so as to bring out more clearly the principles that assure the evenhanded exercise of Roman primacy willed by the divine Founder of the Church.

Leaving details of lesser importance to the written notes that we have already transmitted to the secretariat, it seems to us that the text of the schema of the Council should emphasize the following principles:

1) It must be clear to all of us that the only ruler of the Church, the only head of the Body of Christ that is the Church, is our Lord Jesus Christ, and He alone. The Roman pontiff is the head of the episcopal college, just as Peter was the head of the apostolic college. The successor has no more power than the one whom he succeeds. That is why it is not fitting to say of the Roman pontiff, by the same right and without distinction, as we say of Christ, that he is the head of the Church: <169>caput Ecclesiae.<170>

2) We agree completely with the explanation given by several venerable Fathers with respect to the foundation of the Church, constituted not only by Peter but by all the other Apostles, as is proven by several texts of the New Testament. This does not in any way contradict the primacy of Peter and of his successors, but rather sheds a new light on it. Peter is one of the Apostles, and at the same time the head of the apostolic college. Likewise, the Roman pontiff is a member of the episcopal college and at the same time the head of this college. The head commands the body, but it is not outside the body.

3) It must be clear that the power of the Roman pontiff over the entire Church does not destroy the power of the whole of the episcopal college over the whole of the Church <197> a College which always includes the pope as its primate <197> nor is it a substitute for the power of each bishop over his diocese. Every canonical mission, within the limits of a diocese, stems from the bishop of the diocese, and from him alone.

Moreover, it would seriously harm the doctrine of the Roman primacy and jeopardize every possibility of dialogue with the Orthodox Church if this primacy were presented in such a manner as to make the very existence of the Eastern Church inexplicable. Indeed, the latter owes its sacramental, liturgical, theological, and disciplinary life to a living apostolic Tradition in which an intervention by the Roman See appears only rarely.

4) It must be stressed that the universal power of the Roman pontiff, total as it is, and remaining within its own mandate, is given to him essentially inasmuch as he is the head of the entire hierarchy and precisely for the purpose of fulfilling this primatial service. Saint Matthew's <169>You are Peter<170> (16:18) must not be separated from Saint Luke's <169>Strengthen your brothers<170> (22:32). Moreover, this power is of its nature pastoral and strictly personal. It is of its nature pastoral in the sense that it is not a prerogative directed toward commanding for the sake of commanding. It is a ministry, a service, a <169>diakonia,<170> a pastorate, as His Holiness Pope Paul VI has clearly emphasized. This power is of its nature personal and cannot, inasmuch as it remains so, be delegated in any way.

5) Finally, it must be clear that neither the naming of the bishops nor their canonical mission is reserved, by divine right, to the Roman pontiff alone. What has been a contingent circumstance of the Christian West must not be transferred to the universal level of the entire Church and to the level of doctrine.

When the primacy of the Roman pontiff is thus free from exaggeration of doctrine and of exercise, it not only ceases to be the principal stumbling block for the union of Christians, but it becomes the principal dynamism that reguires and maintains this union. It is absolutely indispensable as the bond of unity for the Church. Christians can never thank the Lord Jesus enough for this ministry that He has established in his Church.

What Eastern Theology Says

(On October 16, 1983, his Excellency Elias Zoghby, the Patriarchal Vicar in Egypt and the Sudan, in an important intervention, called attention to the viewpoint of Eastern theology on the exercise of the Roman primacy and its relations with the episcopacy.)

I am surprised that this question has not been asked before now: why, after a guite brief schema <169>De Ecclesia,<170> another special schema has been proposed, devoted to the <169>Eastern Catholic Churches,<170> as if these latter formed a kind of appendage to the universal Church. I am not criticizing. I am simply noting a fact, which, indeed, has been guite eloguently illustrated: the fact that the Eastern bishops present at this assembly comprise only 5% of the conciliar Fathers, and that, in turn, they represent only 5% of the Christians of the East.

The general schema <169>De Ecclesia<170> would be more useful to everyone if it applied egually to the traditions of both Churches, Eastern and Western, whose ecclesiologies are complementary. In fact, the patrimony of the Eastern Church is very rich and even constitutes the largest part of the patrimony of the entire Church. These two parts of the Church, the East and the West, lived in comparative peace during the first thousand years, each with its own constitution, its own discipline, its own theology, its own customs, languages, character, and spirituality. The state of separation is abnormal in the Church. It would be good to provide a paragraph on the particular Churches, the Latin as well as the Eastern.

For example, with respect to the primacy of the Roman pontiff, the Eastern Churches have never denied its existence, or that it was the principle of Catholicity. Yet in fact, after so many centuries of separation, this doctrine has evolved so unilaterally that it is very difficult for our Orthodox brothers to recognize it today. Formerly the Roman Church rarely exercised its primacy over the Eastern Churches as a whole and over those which, from time immemorial, as major, apostolic, patriarchal Churches, exercised a primacy over the neighboring Churches, and which, even today, are the foundation of the ecclesial structure. This last consideration is of the greatest importance and it is indispensable to any dialogue with the Eastern Churches separated from us.

In its modern form, insinuated into our schema, the doctrine of primacy, which we find too prevalent in several paragraphs, is proposed in an unduly unilateral manner, becoming almost unacceptable to the Orthodox. In fact, it offers a theological aspect elaborated by the West alone, without the concurrence of Eastern tradition.

Eastern tradition, joined to Western tradition, would have prevented the doctrine of primacy from taking on such unacceptable proportions vis-a-vis the episcopacy. This must be affirmed especially today with the development of ecumenism, at a time when the efforts of Catholics for unity are being taken seriously into consideration by everyone.

Three remarks will illustrate my affirmations:

1) Every time that the schema deals with the authority of the bishops, it is said to be subordinated to the authority of the Roman pontiff. The excessive repetition of this affirmation finally becomes tiresome and leads to the belief that the authority of the Roman pontiff is simply a limitation of the power of the bishops.

Now, the primacy of Peter in his successors is an invaluable gift to the Church, and it must not be reduced to a yoke imposed by force. The authority of the Roman pontiff was not given in order to restrict the authority of the bishops, but to defend and support it, just as in a family the authority of the father strengthens and sustains the authority of the mother, but does not diminish it in any way, even though it extends to the mother and to the children.

We must be content to affirm once and for all the dependence of the episcopal body with respect to the pope, without repeating this affirmation indefinitely. On this point, let us follow Peter's own warning: <169>Be sober and watchful.<170> Otherwise, why not, with egual logic, refer each time to Christ as the Supreme Shepherd, from whom both the Roman pontiff and the other bishops draw all their power and their very priesthood?

Moreover, the authors of the schema, somehow obsessed with the primacy, seem to have neglected an essential point, namely, the doctrine of Christ the Priest and the doctrine of the sacraments instituted by him, especially the Eucharist, which is the bond of unity within each Church and in the universal Church.

2) We speak freguently of the exercise of the episcopal and collegial power, but dependent upon the Roman pontiff. Is there not another truth to be affirmed and emphasized even more in the schema so as to attain balance, namely, that the authority of the Roman pontiff is not absolute, isolated, independent of the existence of the college of bishops? The authority of the Roman pontiff, like that of Peter, can be understood and explained only in relation to the college over which he presides and which truly and efficaciously assumes, under his primacy, responsibility for the entire Church. Not only does this mutual interdependence between the head of the college and the college itself conform to reality, but it appears necessary for any dialogue with Orthodox Christians.

3) May I be permitted to draw attention to Paragraph 16, page 27, line 4, in which <169>the Successor of Peter, the Roman pontiff<170> is set in opposition to the bishops, the <169>successors of the Apostles.<170> The Roman pontiff, the successor of Peter, is also a successor of the Apostles, inasmuch as he is a bishop, just as the other bishops, successors of the Apostles, are in a certain sense also successors of Peter, inasmuch as Peter is an Apostle. I therefore propose the following amendment: <169>The Roman pontiff, successor of Peter, as head, and the other bishops, successors of the Apostles.<170> This tendency, already pointed out several times at the Council, of separating the Roman pontiff from the college of bishops, is more detrimental than helpful. When we do this, we somehow allow the greatest gift, the greatest grace, in the Roman pontiff to be downplayed, namely the grace of the episcopacy. Indeed the greatest grace that Peter received from Christ was being chosen as an Apostle and as a member of the apostolic college, in which the charge to <169>strengthen the others<170> is not something special superadded to his eminent apostolic vocation in the strict sense.

That is why the successor of Peter who is the Roman pontiff is first of all a bishop. This grace of the episcopacy remains for him, even after his election to the supreme pontificate, the most important grace of his whole life. The Roman pontiff does not cease being a member of the apostolic college by reason of the fact that he has the responsibility of strengthening his brothers. He does not become a universal bishop in the sense that he would take the place of the others, as the German bishops clearly declared to Bismarck in 1875, in a letter that Pius IX solemnly approved and that would deserve being mentioned in our schema.

According to tradition, the pope is not elected directly by the conclave to the Roman Pontificate, but to the See of Rome, which was once Peter's. Having been elected to the See of Peter, by that very fact he succeeds Peter in his primacy. That is why the electors of the Roman pontiff, regardless of the nation to which they belong, are titulars of the churches of the city of Rome or of the suburban sees. We are very grateful to our Pope Paul VI, who, after the example of his predecessor of holy memory, John XXIII, solemnly declared at the beginning of this session that the See of Rome was indeed his own. He declared: <169>The college of cardinals has chosen to elect me to the episcopal See of Rome and consequently to the supreme pontificate of the universal Church.<170> In former times this truth had been rather nebulous in the minds of the faithful.

Finally, before concluding, with regard to episcopal collegiality, on which the Fathers have expatiated at length here, I am surprised that so many of you still hesitate, even though it is evident from the life of the Church in the first centuries that collegiality was operative then and that it continues to be in force today in the Eastern Churches. In the patriarchal system, the synod holds a very important place. No important decision is taken without the synod or apart from the synod. The metropolitans, then the patriarchs, conscious of their obligation to safeguard unity among the Churches, were accustomed to exchange synodal letters among themselves, in order to arrive together at common solutions. In doing this, they were convinced that they were continuing the apostolic tradition.

@MAJOR SEC HDG = Primacy and Infallibilitv: Final Synodal Remarks

@BODY TEXT ITA = (The schema <169>On the Church<170> was profoundly revised. The Melkite Greek Synod, assembled in the summer of 1964, made its final remarks on the new text. A step forward had been made, but, the synod pointed out, there still remained much to do to coincide with the Eastern and primitive tradition of the Church. We reproduce a few remarks.)

The present schema on the constitution of the Church is, on the whole, a good work. This is true even with respect to the chapters or paragraphs dealing with the hierarchy of the Church, in particular the college of bishops and their head, the pope... Catholics will accept with serenity and trust everything that is said there...

However, as we see it, from an ecumenical viewpoint with reference to Orthodoxy, all that is said concerning the hierarchy, in particular with regard to papal primacy and infallibility, will give a negative impression. In fact, it might seem to insist more on the pope, his primacy, his supreme jurisdiction, his infallibility <169>ex sese<170> especially, than on <169>episcopal collegiality<170> itself, and indeed when it is treated ex professo.

We think that if these texts-written in a context that is admirable but composed in a very Latin style <197> are adopted by the Council just as they are, there is danger that we would have to say <169>adieu<170> to any dogmatically effective conversation with the Orthodox: Vatican II would thus replicate Vatican I as an obstacle.

We have said: <169>Catholics will accept with serenity and trust<170> what is said in the chapters or paragraphs dealing with the hierarchical aspect of the Church. In fact, they know through living experience, and they will know even better from all that is said in the schema about <169>collegiality<170> and the <169>communion<170> aspect of the Church that the papacy is not a dictatorship either with respect to matters of government or those of faith. This is where we should make use of everything that determines and in fact limits all jurisdiction, even that of the pope: natural law, Christian law, the finality of the office, the concomitant co-responsibility of the episcopacy in relation to the pope, while maintaining all due respect for his primacy, etc.

Yet, because of the formulas used, the Orthodox world will inevitably see the opposite: that is to say, a dictatorship pure and simple... no matter how charitably the popes in general intended these formulas.

There is therefore need of another formulation of the immutable dogma of the primacy and infallibility of the successor of Peter, and this formulation must also conform to Eastern patristic tradition. But this Council is, in fact, in spite of all its sincere good will, physically and psychologically a Latin council for all intents and purposes. It will be difficult for it to imagine such a tearing apart of strictly Western formulas to achieve a synthesis with an Eastern formulation. We must, however, note:

1. that this principle of different formulations of the same dogma is not only obvious but also affirmed by popes John XXIII and Paul VI.

2. that there have been precedents. We shall mention only one:

The Council of Justinian, the Second General Council of Constantinople (the Fifth Ecumenical Council), gives such a different formulation of the dogma of Chalcedon (two natures), while being dogmatically identical with it, that Pope Virgilius agreed, then refused, then agreed again (under duress, but agreed nonetheless) to sign it. But others refused: e.g., northern Italy, which was in schism against Rome for 150 years, Latin Africa, which excommunicated the pope, and Ireland, which was content to make remonstrances. The West no longer identified itself with the formulations of this ecumenical council.

Why, then, would a new Eastern formulation of the dogma of primacy <197> infallibility be impossible, even if it should surprise some Western theologians?... The overriding duty of encouraging the unity of the Church must, on the contrary, impel us to want an Eastern formulation of this dogma... This is something that can usually be done only during and after one or more Catholic-Orthodox encounters such as Rhodes proposes.

May we suggest:

1. either affirm Vatican I soberly, and add to it, omitting certain attenuations, the notable votes of October 30;

2. or simply let all this ride until the Roman-Orthodox theological meeting reguested by Rhodes, which will more easily find formulas acceptable to both parties.

Meanwhile, we are content to make a few remarks on specific points:

1) The Church of Christ, constituted in this world as a society, is said to <169>subsist in the Catholic Church, governed by the successor of Peter and the bishops who are in communion with him, even though there exist outside its structures many elements of sanctification and truth, which, being the very gifts of the Church of Christ, impel toward catholic unity.<170>

To say that Christ's Church on earth is identified purely and simply with the Roman Catholic Church is to affirm indirectly that the other Christian groups, whatever they may be, are not part of Christ's Church, are not Churches, and that the Roman Catholic Church is the whole Church of Christ.

The new text of the schema, in spite of some improvements in details, has not succeeded in avoiding this wholly external concept of the Church, a very humiliating concept for the other Christian Churches which are truly Churches.

To say that these Christian groups preserve only <169>elements of sanctification and truth<170> does not suffice to characterize them as Churches. Islam and Judaism also possess <169>elements of sanctification and truth.<170> Now, there is an essential difference between Islam and Judaism on the one hand and the non-Catholic Christian Churches on the other, and especially the Orthodox Churches. These Churches, in a certain measure, in spite of their dogmatic or disciplinary divergences with the Catholic Church, constitute the Church of Christ. In other terms, as soon as we admit that the non-Catholic Churches are nevertheless Churches, we can no longer say that the Roman Church is the whole Church, but only that, in our opinion, within it the notion of Church, as Christ has willed it, is more faithfully realized.

We leave to the specialists of the theological commission and of the secretariat for the union of Christians the task of finding the precise formula that expresses, with reference to the one and only Church of Christ, the real relationship between the Roman Catholic Church and the other Christian Churches which, at some moment of history for one reason or another, broke off communion with it. In this connection, we call to mind the words of Pope Pius XI: <169>The fragments of an auriferous rock are also auriferous.<170> Without falling into a fragmentary conception of the Church, we can envisage, better than the text of the schema does, the relationship between the Roman Church and the non-Roman Churches.

Moreover, between <169>in eius communione<170> and <169>gubernata<170> we would insert a word or two like <169>de jure<170> or <169>de jure divino<170> (by divine right), because either in the past or at the present time some episcopal Churches <197> not governed by the pope <197> form part of the Church in an exceptional manner and do not merely possess <169>more or less numerous elements given to the Church.<170>

We are thinking, for example, of the following:

a. The Schism of Antioch: Can anyone say that Saints Mellitus, Flavian, and John Chrysostom were outside the Church, and that those who supported them, Basil, Gregory, etc. were schismatics? Can anyone say that John Chrysostom, who was outside the Church throughout his life in Antioch, returned to the Church when he became Bishop of Constantinople?

b. The <169>Great Western Schism<170> in which considerable portions of Latin Christianity were ruled by one or even two anti-popes, were all those persons in actual fact outside the Church?... No one in the West thinks so.

c. We are thinking especially of the Orthodox Churches to which the Roman primatial institution by divine right was not clearly transmitted by the Fathers, and for whom the subseguent Roman definitions (notably, Vatican I) arrived after long separations <169>during which responsibilities were shared,<170> as is now admitted, and under concrete conditions making the acceptance of the definition of Vatican I morally, strictly, invincibly inadmissible.

Therefore, the words that we propose <197> <169>by divine right<170> maintain the right and do not falsify the fact: the Church is the papal Church.and it is incontestably the only one. However, in exceptional cases some Churches not ruled in fact by the pope are part of this Church, which is necessarily papal, by right.

Do catechumens belong more to the Church than non-Catholic baptized Christians?

If an insertion of the type indicated is accepted in the spirit manifested by what is said in this note, it will greatly alleviate the painful impression of the Orthodox with respect to the texts dealing with papal primacy and infallibility in the same schema <169>De Ecclesia.<170>

2) Number 15 should be done over, it seems to us, in a more ecumenical spirit. It seeks to clarify the relations between <169>the Church<170> and non-Catholic Christians. The title itself, <169>Links between the Church and non-Catholic Christians,<170> presupposes that these non-Catholic Christians not only are not the Church, but they are not even part of the Church, since the Church has only some links with them. It is true that the text lists all these links, and they are numerous. But all this is external. There should be a vision of the Church in which non-Catholics would be seen from within, as members of one and the same Church which is in fact <169>disunited.<170>

The way to achieve this would consist in seeing things from a historical point of view. Christ founded one and only one Church, which includes all those who, believing in him, are baptized in his name. Within the bosom of this Church, which remains always the same and always one, currents of division are always active, as so many currents of sin. Conflicts arise, some of which are guickly calmed; others, on the contrary, have ended up in the founding of true communities claiming autonomy. In these conflicts, responsibilities are shared. We consider those faithful fortunate to whom grace has been given to maintain their adherence to the integral teaching of Christ and of his Church, manifested by submission to their legitimate pastors in communion with the successors of Peter.

Those who, through no fault of their own, are more or less far from sound doctrine or from the necessary communion with their legitimate pastors, and who have constituted themselves into autonomous groups, have nonetheless not broken the unity of Christ's Church, which cannot, through anyone's fault, cease being one, holy, catholic and apostolic. There are schisms in the Church, but the Church remains one. The relations between the Church and these brothers separated from us are not, as No. 15 would indicate, the relations of a human society with deserters who nevertheless maintain a few links with the motherland. They are the relations of a mother with sons in trouble, or, better, with brothers who have guarreled among themselves.

We Catholics firmly believe that we have remained faithful to the total thought of Christ and to the constitution that he has given to his Church. But our non-Catholic brothers, although they are separated from us by some articles of faith, or at odds with us for different reasons, in which we often bear some blame, nonetheless belong to the Church of Christ. And their relations with Christ's Church cannot be those of strangers who have <169>something in common<170> with us.

3) The expression <169>under one pastor,<170> if it refers to the pope, is excessive. There are other pastors. There is <169>collegiality.<170> The <169>One Pastor,<170> purely and simply, is Christ.

4) The text seeks to reaffirm the declarations of Vatican I concerning the primacy and infallibility of Peter and his successors before going on to study the episcopacy. But let us first of all say that in a chapter devoted to <169>The Hierarchical Constitution of the Church,<170> we must not begin by speaking of the Roman prerogatives. Logically and chronologically, this must come at the end of the treatment. First of all there are the faithful, then the priests and bishops, and finally the <169>First Pastor<170> who is the link among the members of the hierarchy and who assures unity. Peter is perpetuated in his successors.

In the second place, the text should be written in such a way as to show how Vatican II, in dealing with the remainder of the ecclesiastical hierarchy, complements, clarifies, and gives equilibrium to the definitions of Vatican I on the prerogatives of the Roman primacy. Vatican II should not simply <169>go one step further<170> (in eodem incepto pergens). It should adapt, clarify the first step taken by Vatican I with respect to what could have seemed to be too unilateral, too rigid in its declarations. We must not be afraid to say so. More than one ecumenical council in the past has thus thrown a clearer light on the definitions that preceded it. We need only think of the role of Chalcedon with respect to Ephesus, and of the <169>Council of the Three Chapters<170> in relation to Chalcedon. Let us add a few words about terminology: a. <169>Apostolic Primacy,<170> at least to Eastern ears, is not the correct term to designate the <169>primacy of St. Peter.<170> In fact, <169>apostolic,<170> strictly speaking, is not an epithet reserved to matters relating to St. Peter. There were other Apostles like him. Likewise, <169>apostolic see<170> in universal ecumenical language must not be exclusively reserved for the Roman See, any more than the <169>apostolic benediction<170> is the exclusive privilege of the bishops of Rome. b. Once again we ask the Fathers of the Council to use terms that Eastern tradition approves when speaking of the pope so as to facilitate dialogue with our Orthodox brothers. This is not the case, for example, with the expression <169>Vicar of Christ,<170> even though Vatican I did use it. It is totally unknown in the Eastern tradition, where all the bishops are vicars of Christ. Moreover, the schema <169>De Ecclesia,<170> No. 27, p.71, line 3, calls all the bishops <169>vicars and delegates of Christ.<170> Within the Western tradition this designation came very late, in any case after the rupture between the East and the West. The popes are <169>successors of Peter,<170> and that suffices as a basis for all their prerogatives. Christ continues to live in His Church: no one is his successor, as if he had disappeared and could no longer act effectively.

c. We wish to assert the same thing about the other expression by which the pope is designated: <169>visible head of the Church.<170> The Church has only one head: Christ. All others who are called <169>head<170> are only his humble ministers and the servants of the Church. The annexation of the epithet <169>visible<170> does not solve this difficulty. The pope does not rank above Peter. Peter is an Apostle, leader of the apostolic college. Like Peter, the pope is a bishop, the head of the episcopal college. These titles suffice as a basis for all his prerogatives without any need to resort to metaphorical titles which are true only if they are accompanied by detailed explanations, and which in fact have resulted in unseemly exaggerations.

d. Saint Peter is called <169>the perpetual and visible principle and foundation of unity of faith and communion.<170> This is excessive. Strictly speaking, these words apply only to Christ. Peter and his successors are the sign of unity of faith and communion.

5) After weighing the meaning of the different formulas used in Scripture referring to Christ, Peter, and the Apostles, on whom the edifice of the Church rests, the text of the schema seems to have felt the need to make a distinction between the Apostles, on whom the Church is <169>founded<170> (condidit), Peter, on whom the Church is built (aedificavit), and Christ, who is the keystone (angulari lapide) of the whole structure. Actually, these are only metaphors, from which we draw the following conclusion, namely that the Church is founded on Christ, the Apostles, and Peter, but with different titles that the only texts cited do not sufficiently distinguish. There is no doubt that the Apostles are the foundations of the Church and that Peter plays an eminent role in this in relation to his brothers. There is no need to push the deductions any further.

6) <169>Nonnisi in communione cum collegii capite et membris exerceri possunt.<170> (They cannot exercise this power except in communion with the head and members of the college.) This affirmation needs to be modified.

If a local Church can exercise its power only when united to the head and members of the universal Church, must the union be conscious for this exercise to be efficacious and legitimate? In case of <169>schism,<170> is the power suspended? To speak of an <169>implied delegation<170> in such a case would be a juridical fiction. What became of the power of the Church during the great Western Schism? What is the present power of the non-Catholic Churches? This is certainly a notion that needs to be clarified.

The same is true, on pages 63 and 64, with respect to Orthodox synods. Thus the local Church has an innate vitality... to be determined and defined.

7) <169>Nisi simul cum Pontifice Romano<170>; <169>et nunguam sine hoc capite<170>; <169>guae guidem potestas independenter a Romano Pontifice exerceri neguit.<170> (Except together with the Roman pontiff; and never without that head; which power cannot indeed be exercised independently of the Roman pontiff).

Certain schemas of Vatican II, notably its masterpiece <169>De Ecclesia in Mundo Huius Temporis<170> (On the Church in the World of Our Time) are concretely pastoral in tone, style, and temper; we cannot affirm the same <197> in spite of some efforts in that direction <197> about what is said concerning papal authority in <169>De Ecclesia.<170> And this is a great shame. More than that: it is extremely serious from the viewpoint of Catholic-Orthodox ecumenism. Here we fall back into abstraction, acrimony... Now, there is a way of saying things differently...

Indeed, can we act as though we were forgetting what theology, history, and experience teach? They tell us:

a. That the pope remains a mortal, responsible man, with all the conseguences of that basic situation. Notably, the fact that a mortal man does not and cannot have really absolute power.

b. That the pope can resign, whereas no one resigns from his baptism, or from his priesthood, or from his episcopacy. The pope, therefore, is not a <169>sacramentalized<170> personage . . . and even less is he <169>transfigured,<170> <169>superior to the prophets.<170>... And yet he has a function <197> the highest of episcopal functions but a function extrinsic to his personality in its limited substance, just like anyone else's.

c. They also say that a pope <197> because he is mortal and a sinner like every other man <197> can find himself in a definitive physical and moral incapability of exercising his function. Who is to determine this if not the college of bishops <169>without its head.<170> And that is why, instead of saying: <169>numguam sine suo capite<170> (never without its head), we would prefer: <169>et non sine suo capite<170> (and not without its head). The word <169>non<170> defines the rule, but leaves room for the inevitable exception. <169>Inevitable<170> because it has not been avoided: consider the Council of Constance.

The episcopacy therefore has a permanent, fundamental right and obligation with respect to the exercise of the papal function. And it is here <197> without scanning the whole course of history <197> that Saint Paul's resistance to Saint Peter at Antioch assumes its constitutional value in the matter of collegiality, and even of the personal responsibility of each bishop.

d. In addition, traditional theology declares that a pope can become a heretic. Here again, who will pass judgement if not the college of bishops, with the rights and obligations that this responsibility <197> latent as it may be <197> necessarily gives it on a permanent basis?

e. Finally, this same traditional theology (cf. Suarez and Wernz, who echoed so many doctors before them) declares that a pope can become schismatic. In other words, he can exercise such abuse of power, as Suarez indicates, giving one or two possible cases, that he, the pope, through his own fault, jeopardizes the unity of the Church to such a degree that he can be considered as having resigned. Here again, who will pass judgement?

It is therefore evident that, supreme as the papal function is dogmatically and juridically (infallibility-primacy), as indeed it is in its order, it is nonetheless not what it would be if there were no episcopal collegiality by divine right succeeding apostolic collegiality, of which and for which Peter was constituted <169>primate.<170> The apostolic college is primatized in Peter, and not imperialized.

<169>Strengthen your brothers<170> means: strengthen them in a faith that is already theirs and not a faith that descends from the pope toward them, toward the Church which would not already possess this faith! This is a faith that the Church possesses in a habitual state, whereas the infallible papal or conciliar confirmation is accidental, called for by specific circumstances. <169>Strengthen your brothers<170> means: confirm them in their activities that depend on him only for his <169>confirmation<170> or <169>nonconfirmation<170> and not for their free inception and development.

Their <169>activities<170> are not all limited to strictly diocesan jurisdiction. They can envisage vaster, even universal actions. They can pursue this goal without being acts of local jurisdiction in the strict sense. The achievement of the <169>Fathers,<170> of the <169>Church of the Fathers,<170> is there for us to see: their great activity of direction, movement, and thought in the entire Church. In particular, this is the monumental achievement of the so-called <169>Eastern<170> Church. What does it owe historically to the Holy See in its activities, apart from an essentially dogmatic collective collaboration between East and West, in the ecumenical xouncils or around them, <169>primatized<170> as this collaboration may have been?

Let us add <197> and ecumenically this is of capital importance that this dogmatic and jurisdictional papal authority, sovereign as it may be on its own level and in its own order, is of its very nature fraternal and not paternal in relation to the bishops: <169>strengthen your brothers.<170> The pope remains one of the bishops, regardless of the fact that he is truly their primate.

And this is where we must hope for a profound transformation of the papal ceremonial relating to the bishops. As it now appears, it comes not from Peter but from Constantine. It comes from the emperor of Constantinople, with everything that the feudalism of the Western Middle Ages has added. This is difficult to tolerate, and it will be tolerated less and less, because it is neither evangelical... nor constitutional.

This renewed evangelical spirit should also inspire <197> as a conseguence <197> the transformation of the ceremonial of bishops.

Humility, poverty, brotherhood must pass from words to action... A rigid hierarchism (in the imperial style) kills them..., causes flights toward old sects..., creates new sects..., in which unbelief grows, and especially the newly created unbelief of Marxism.

8) Why is there hesitation to say <169>college of bishops<170>? The term <169>order of bishops<170> has been chosen in preference. In itself, we see no problem in this. But one line further, we read: <169>college of Apostles,<170> and it is affirmed that the <169>order<170> of bishops has succeeded the <169>college<170> of Apostles. We must be logical. If the Apostles constituted a <169>college,<170> the bishops who succeed them also constitute a <169>college.<170>

9) The power to convoke an ecumenical council is reserved at the present time to the Roman pontiff, but it has not always been so in history. Nor does it follow, according to history, that the confirmation of the first seven ecumenical councils was reserved exclusively to the pope of Rome.

10) The relations of the bishops within the college. This is the most delicate of all the paragraphs of this schema, and at the same time one in which we sense the least fidelity to the notable vote of October 30, 1963. There are so many objections that one can make about it that, practically speaking, the entire paragraph needs to be rewritten.

a. The pope is said to be <169>the principle and visible foundation<170> of unity in the universal Church, just as the bishops are each <169>the principle and the center of unity<170> in their respective Churches. This is excessive. The foundation of unity is adherence to Christ, baptism which incorporates us into him. The pope is, more precisely, the link and the sign of unity, and the same holds true for each bishop in his diocese.

b. The distinction between the bishops taken individually (gua singuli) and the bishops <169>as members of the episcopal college and lawful successors of the Apostles<170> does not seem to be correct. The bishops are always successors of the Apostles, and exercise, even individually, their share of authority over the universal Church.

c. Certain lines are a pure and simple negation of the notable vote of October 30, 1963. First, when referring to the pope, the words <169>power<170> and even <169>jurisdiction<170> are used. When referring to the episcopal college, the word <169>solicitude<170> is considered adeguate, even though the bishops are <169>bound<170> to have this <169>solicitude<170>... This is a far cry from the <169>supreme power<170> of the episcopal college, as it was voted on October 30, 1963. And then it is said that this <169>solicitude<170> which is reguired of the bishops is not an <169>exercise of jurisdiction,<170> whereas for the pope the <169>supreme power<170> is a <169>jurisdiction.<170> What is the origin of this distinction, unknown in the Gospel and in patristic tradition?

d. The text indicates wherein this universal <169>solicitude<170> of the episcopal college consists: promoting unity of faith and discipline, inspiring love for the Mystical Body of Christ, and especially for his suffering members, working for the propagation of the faith, and, above all, the text says, taking good care of one's own diocese... In other words, the bishops are told: <169>Take care of your own affairs. You have no power over the universal Church, but it is incumbent upon you to perform a few duties of moral solicitude for this Church.<170> With this text, we can no longer see what happened to the vote of October 30. It has been cleverly emptied of its meaning. It would be better to say that during this famous session of October 30, 1963, the Council purely and simply went astray... as has been said over and over by several Fathers, who ultimately succeeded in imposing their viewpoint on the theological commission.

e. The work of preaching the Gospel to the unbelieving world is said to have been entrusted <169>in a special manner<170> to the successor of Peter. On what biblical text does this assertion rest? This great work has been entrusted to the entire apostolic college. Naturally, this will be done in conformity with the pope's directives, but it cannot be said that this task has been entrusted to him either exclusively or personally. Review the history of Christian expansion over the world.

f. With respect to the very beautiful text (which was added) on the patriarchates, there are two desiderata: Instead of <169>divine Providence,<170> which is more specifically deistic than Christian, we would put something like <169>A Christo Jesu 'pastore et episcopo' pe rmanenti Ecclesiae suae factum est per Spiritum Sanctum eius ut...<170> (It was done by Christ Jesus, the enduring 'pastor and bishop' of His Church, through the Holy Spirit, that...).

Why, since we are dealing with patriarchates, should we avoid the name, when the <169>coetus episcopales<170> (episcopal conferences) are named? We would, therefore, put in something like: <169>Guaedam inter has Ecclesias, veluti matrices fidei alias peperunt Ecclesias guasi filias, guarum celebriores Romana aliunde 'primatialis' <197> Constantinopolitana, Alexandrina, Antiochena, et Hierosolymitana, patriarchales dicuntur<170> (Among these Churches, certain ones, like mothers of the faith, have brought forth other Churches, like daughters. Among them the more illustrious ones, those of Rome <197> otherwise primatial Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem, are called patriarchal).

11) The text reads: <169>If the pope refuses his communion, the bishops cannot occupy their posts.<170> The sentence needs to be toned down to admit episcopacy and episcopal powers outside the Catholic Church among bishops who are not in communion with the Roman See.

12) After <169>Roman pontiff<170> add <169>and other bishops.<170> It does not suffice to be in communion with the pope; it is also necessary to be in communion with the other bishops.

13) On the subject of pontifical infallibility it seems to us that the few explanations given do not sufficiently balance, by shedding new light on them, the definitions of Vatican I. This is how, in our view, the doctrine could be presented under a general title: <169>Infallibility of the Church, of the Episcopate, and of the pope<170>:

Even though the Church is structured, it is nonetheless a <169>whole.<170> More precisely, it is first of all a <169>whole<170> for which a structure, which is internal, is prescribed.

Thus, it is the whole Church that is infallible, both pastors and faithful. It is indeed in its entirety the <169>Body of Christ,<170> who is the Word, the thought of the Father, and it is guickened by the Spirit of Truth. The faith of the Church <197> the faith of the total Church <197> is necessarily infallible.

However, the authorized formulation of this faith is the responsibility of the pastors, the bishops. It belongs to their collegial function to declare the faith with definitive authority. But it is the faith of the Church that they proclaim, and not their own exclusive faith, separated from the clerics and the faithful who are the Church together with them. This collegial declaration of the episcopate has value <169>of itself<170> and not by a subseguent canonically colored approbation of the priests, clerics, and the faithful. A useless approbation: all of them are ontologically one with their pastors within the Body of Christ. And these latter proclaim the faith of the baptized pleroma, giving it an appropriate formulation. It goes without saying that the episcopal body must, for the validity of its dogmatic decision, have spoken with true, primatially <169>recapitulated<170> collegiality and not under outside pressure, as was the case, for example, during the Arian crisis.

And yet the apostolic college has a <169>primate,<170> Peter, who continues to live in his successor. He too, if he speaks under the reguisite conditions of manifest information, freedom, and presidency, in his capacity as primate of the apostolic episcopate, and, committing his full authority to it, formulates an indisputable affirmation <169>ex sese.<170> Just as the college of bishops did not need the canonical consent of the clerics and faithful to formulate their real faith in all clarity, drawing them out of the labyrinth of actual or possible controversies, neither does the pope need the canonical consent of the bishops and the faithful to be infallible. He is united as one with them. He proclaims <197> in the exercise of his office <197> their faith and his own. His formulation cannot contradict what the Church <197> the bishops and the faithful <197> has believed and believes as a whole, even if only very implicitly until then. If there is an apparent opposition, a more thorough study will show either that there has not been a dogmatic definition (Liberius, Honorius, Boniface VIII), or that the truth thus defined <197> while remaining true needs to be complemented.

What is the difference then between an infallible papal formulation and an infallible conciliar formulation? The difference is that of a solo without any false note <197> the voice of itself being more or less beautiful <197> and a chorale without any dissonance, and yet more or less powerful. Other soloists, succeeding the present one in his function, other choirs will be able to take up the same themes and reveal still greater artistry, richness, and truth. And that is how the councils and the popes irrevocable as their definitions may be <197> complement one another. The new definitions do not change the old ones, but rather shed a light on them that can be very new. This has been seen in the past <197> in Christology, for example <197> and it can very well be seen in the future.

The fact remains that the bishops are the successors of the Apostles and possess in common, collegially <197> of necessity under a president <197> the duty of preserving and proclaiming the faith. Conseguently, deep-seated customs emanating from the structure of the Church, which has not become <169>imperialized<170> but rather <169>primatized,<170> and likewise rational thinking, the spirit of the Gospel, and even plain common sense, as well as the most elementary prudence demand that papal definitions not be proclaimed without the knowledge and concurrence of those in charge of pastoral teaching, in other words, the episcopate. Far more, definitions should not be declared without preparing the faithful through some preliminary inguiry or dialogue with them.

Because of all these things, the ideal, no rmal definition remains the conciliar definition: <169>Strengthen your brothers.<170> This has been proven true in the life of the Church, in the Church's history. The rare papal definitions have all been preceded by an ecumenical episcopal consultation or by a previous majority approbation of the truth to be defined, even if not always of its advisability. It remains the right of the historians and pastors <197> and indeed of the theologians <197> to pass judgement on the advisability of papal <197> or even conciliar definitions.

The definition of papal infallibility by Vatican I confirms what has just been said. In this definition, the infallibility of the Church is declared to be the <169>principal analogue<170> to which the infallibility of the pope is referred.

@CHAPTER # = Chapter 6

@CHAPTER TITLE = The Patriarchs in the Church

@MAJOR SEC HDG = The Rank of the Patriarchs at the Council

@BODY TEXT ITA = (This question had been discussed at length at the Melkite Synod of August, 1959: In the light of the rank presently given to the Eastern patriarchs, was it fitting for Patriarch Maximos to take part personally in the Council at the risk of scandalizing the Orthodox? On the one hand, the patriarch understood how imperative his personal presence was. On the other hand, he realized how much the relegation of the patriarchs to a rank after all the cardinals of the Roman Church must have shocked the Orthodox East at the very moment when the papacy was planning a vast effort of rapprochement with it. It was a painful dilemma. Before making any decision the patriarch attempted a personal approach to John XXIII, whom he knew to be open to these questions. The letter is dated October 8, 1959.)

Most Holy Father:

The announcement of the approaching ecumenical council has filled the entire Christian world with joy. The bishops of our Melkite Greek Catholic Church, the superiors general of our religious orders, and we ourselves, desirous of making our modest contributions to the success of the Council, after careful study by our Synod, have with solicitude proposed to the antepreparatory pontifical commission the wishes, recommendations, and suggestions that it asked of us in the name of your Holiness. It is a pleasure for us to remain entirely at your service with respect to any additional studies or information you might judge suitable to ask of us, especially on matters in which we believe that we can be most useful, namely, everything that concerns rapprochement with our separated brothers of the East.

The holding of an ecumenical council is such an important event in the life of the Church that all our bishops and superiors general will make a point of attending this one personally and participating in a holy and active way in its labors. The ends for which such a council is convoked are always of the greatest importance for the faith, ethics, discipline, and life of the Church. In particular, the Council that your Holiness is planning to convoke is all the more important in our eyes inasmuch as through your Holiness' declarations, as well as through the efforts made to resume contacts with the separated confessions, we have the firm hope that the means of facilitating the reunion of divided Christendom will be treated cordially there.

Now, this goal is precisely one of the reasons for the existence of our Eastern Catholic Church. We represent in Catholicism the hope and already the seed of a corporate reunion of the Christian East with the Holy See of Rome, maintaining all due respect for everything that constitutes the riches of the East's specific spiritual patrimony. Likewise, in spite of our advanced age we cherish the hope of being able to participate in person in the labors of this ecumenical council, in which the Christian world hopes to find a truly open door leading to the Christian unity for which it so deeply yearns.

However, there is a preliminary difficulty to a personal and fruitful participation on our part in the labors of the Council. We owe it to ourselves to set it forth to your Holiness with simplicity and trust. It concerns the rank of patriarchs in the Catholic hierarchy in general, and consequently the rank that they must hold in these very solemn sessions of Christianity which the ecumenical councils constitute. This question was given prolonged consideration by the bishops and superiors general of our Church gathered in their annual Synod held under our presidency at Ain Traz (Lebanon) during the last two weeks of August, 1959. They asked themselves the following question: In a council in which the Roman Church wishes to deal especially with the means of rapprochement with the separated East, how can one explain the presence of the patriarch and the bishops of an Eastern Catholic Church that is suffering because it is browbeaten and scoffed at with reference to its rights, which are the most obvious, the most palpable rights of the Eastern Church? Does not the presence of this patriarch, belittled and reduced to an inferior rank, constitute in these instances an inconsistency both on the part of the pope who invites and on the part of the patriarch who accepts his invitation? The considerations that I shall have honor of submitting to your Holiness's benevolence are echoes of the deliberations of the Fathers of our above-mentioned Synod concerning this question.

According to the Motu Proprio <169>Cleri Sanctitati<170> of your predecessor of blessed memory, the late Pope Pius XII, promulgated on June 2, 1957, the patriarch is relegated to a rank after the cardinals (Canon 185, par. 1, no. 21), indeed after the representatives of the Holy See: nuncios, internuncios, and apostolic delegates, even if they are simple priests (Canon 215, par. 3, complemented by an authentic interpretation of August 25, 1958, which, far from changing the mind-set of the canon, essentially affirms it more definitively).

Most Holy Father, is it conceivable that at an ecumenical council where they formerly traditionally occupied the first rank after the pope, the patriarchs of the East appear at the 150th rank after all the cardinals, all the nuncios, internuncios, and apostolic delegates, even those who are simple priests? (Actually, at the first session of the Council the representatives of the Roman See did not obtain any precedence, but occupied their rightful places as bishops, which is altogether normal.)

The very statement of this historical <169>enormous mistake<170> suffices, we are sure, for your Holiness to order immediately a total review of this question and restore the patriarchs of the East to the rank that has always been given to them by ecclesiastical tradition, the decisions of the Ecumenical councils, and the so-often-repeated declarations of the supreme pontiffs, and to do this not in order to satisfy a petty vanity, but out of respect for authentic ecclesial values and in the interest of Christian unity for which the ecumenical council is proposing above all to prepare the way.

In fact, ecclesiastical tradition since the first centuries has been unanimous in determining the rank of the sees in the universal Church according to the following order: Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem. Ecclesiastical tradition is equally unanimous in recognizing that the incumbents of these five patriarchal sees precede, according to the rank of their respective sees, all other ecclesiastical dignitaries. In conformity, therefore, to this ancient and unanimous tradition, the supreme pontiff of Rome is followed immediately, in the Church's hierarchy, by the incumbents of the four other apostolic patriarchal sees. The cardinals are auxiliaries of the pope, first of all as the Bishop of Rome, then successively as Metropolitan of the Roman Province, as Patriarch of the West, and finally as the ecumenical pastor. Their dignity is a participation in the first see, of which they are auxiliaries, but this dignity cannot logically exceed that of the other sees, by infringing upon their traditional and legitimate rights. Just as an aide or a patriarchal vicar <197> that is to say, a prelate whose dignity is a participation in the dignity of the patriarchal see <197> cannot precede the suffragan bishop of the patriarch, so too the pope's aides cannot, under the pretext that their dignity is a participation in that of the pope, precede the patriarchs. As for the representatives of the Holy See as such, unless they are legates a latere, they cannot precede the bishops, and even less the patriarchs. That is the simple and sound norm of authentic apostolic Tradition. All the ecumenical councils that have had to deal with this question have been unanimous in recognizing the hierarchic order as set forth above. As for the precedent set by Vatican Council I, where patriarchs were seated after cardinals, we should not take time to examine it for the following reasons:

1) This derogation, the first in history, was the result of a regrettable anti-Eastern mentality that then dominated certain groups of the Roman Curia, a mentality that was understandable at a time when the West did not know the Eastern Church the way it does in our day, and when Eastern Catholics themselves did not know one another and <197> as a result of persecutions and other vicissitudes <197> had a certain inferiority complex vis-a-vis Europe, which was then at the height of its colonial vigor. But your Holiness surely would not approve of such a mentality.

2) The apostolic letter <169>Multiplices inter<170> of November 11, 1869, which Pope Pius IX promulgated, <169>de ordine sedendi et non inferendo alicui praeiucidio<170> (concerning the order of seating and not introducing any precedent), made the decision about infractions against the order of precedence to the effect that no prejudice can result from it and no new right can be acquired by it (Cf. E. Ceconi, Storia del Concilio Ecumenico Vaticano, Vol. I. P.424).

3) In any case, our Patriarch Gregory Youssef, who was present at the aforesaid council, formulated, before he signed its acts, the limitations he could set in order to safeguard the rights recognized by the Council of Florence, including, of course, the order of precedence of the patriarchs.

Finally, all the supreme pontiffs without exception have declared on many occasions that the return of the Eastern Churches to Catholic unity was being accomplished with total respect for all their rights, traditions, privileges, and rites. How can we reconcile these explicit and solemn promises with an approach that reduces Eastern patriarchs to the rank of simple bishops within the framework of the centralized system that has come to prevail in the West since the Middle Ages?

It is not out of a desire for vainglory that on this specific point we now claim respect for ecclesiastical tradition, for the decisions of the ecumenical councils, and for the promises of the supreme pontiffs. Of this your Holiness can be sure. In this matter, as in all others that we discuss with the Holy See of Rome, our humble person counts for nothing. Besides, we are on the threshold of eternity, and, at our age and after long years of Apostleship and struggles for the Church, self-love seems a very paltry thing to us. If all precedence is renounced in the Church, we shall be the first to accept the lowest place. However, since the importance of Churches is signified by their rank. since rank is only a symbol of greater service and the expression of the homage rendered to the Apostles. we owe it to our mission in the Church and to the memory of the holy Apostles to defend as much as is in our power the rank that rightfully belongs to our patriarchs.

We simply add that it is useless for the Catholic Church to seek paths leading to reunion with our separated brothers if the patriarchs of the East do not obtain the rank that is due them within the universal hierarchy. Our Orthodox brothers want to see, on the basis of our example, what place the Roman Church would give their patriarchs in the event of union, what respect it holds for ecclesiastical tradition and for the decisions of the ecumenical councils, and how well it honors its own promises.

This question of the rank of the Eastern patriarchs in the Catholic hierarchy has been the subject, in part, of a long synodal letter, sent by special messenger, that we had the honor of addressing to His Holiness Pope Pius XII on February 10, 1958. May Your Holiness deign to refer to it.

Since we know with certainty your Holiness' greatness of heart, as well as your experience in the East and your sense of justice, we have no doubt that the questions we have allowed ourselves to raise in this letter will receive your careful attention and a just and worthy solution. Otherwise, God forbid, our personal participation in the ecumenical council would tend to be an insult to the Christian East and would contribute on the contrary to widening the gulf that divides Christians.

Confident that your Holiness will receive our proposition benevolently and will deign to give it the only just solution that it deserves, we humbly bow to kiss your august hands and to implore Your apostolic benediction...

@BODY TEXT ITA = (On January 17, 1962, having at last decided to take part personally in the labors of the Central Commission, Patriarch Maximos reminded his Excellency Archbishop Felici of his earlier comments and expressly claimed all the rights and privileges of the patriarchs of the East: for the greatest good of the Church, the patriarch agreed to be seated at the inferior rank assigned to him, but retained the rights of the patriarchal institution as such. It was a historical declaration that the patriarch asked to be inserted in the official acts of the Council:)

On October 8, 1959, I had the honor of asking His Holiness, in the name of all the Fathers of the Synod of our Melkite Greek Catholic Church, to be so good as to settle, even before the holding of the ecumenical council, the question of the rank of Eastern patriarchs in relation to the Catholic hierarchy as a whole.

On September 22, 1961, Reg. 14, No. 404, I took the liberty of writing to your Excellency about this same subject.

As your Excellency and all the Fathers of the Council can easily realize, this question of the rank of the Eastern patriarchs, as it has been established by the ecumenical councils, and recognized by the supreme pontiffs up until the union of Florence, is in no sense a personal question of vanity or of human prestige. If it depended only on our humble person, nobody would snatch the lowest place from us.

However, in this ecumenical council above all, where, through the express wish of the supreme pontiff, concern for the union of Churches holds a place of choice, it is ha rm ful to the best interests of union and of Catholicism to humiliate in our person the Eastern Church which we unworthily represent. Orthodoxy is listening intently. If the Eastern patriarchs who, according to the decisions of the ecumenical councils, occupy the first places after the Roman pontiff, are relegated to places after all the cardinals and even theoretically after all the representatives of the Holy See, even if the latter are simple priests, how can the Orthodox East believe that the popes, in inviting it to unity, wish to respect it and are determined, while they await the hour of union, to maintain its place of honor within the bosom of the Catholic hierarchy? Indeed, on the basis of the way we are treated today, Orthodoxy draws conclusions as to the way it will be treated if some day union is achieved.

Because of my burning concern to spare the Catholic Church and Orthodoxy a scandal that is all the more serious in that it is occurring in these general sessions of Christendom that the ecumenical council represents, my conscience would have made it a duty for me to be seen as little as possible.

Yet, in order to clearly demonstrate that my defense of the legitimate rank of the Eastern patriarchs is not, in my eyes, a personal matter; in order to give a new proof of my desire to cooperate to the extreme limit possible with my brothers in the episcopate in the preparation of appropriate reforms of the existing discipline, especially on points relating to the reaching out in fellowship of the Western Church to the Christian East; and in the hope that the Central Commission, and later on the ecumenical Council, will approve the plan presented by the commission of the Eastern Churches for once again recognizing the rank of Eastern patriarchs in the Church immediately after the Roman pontiff:

I thought it my duty to participate in the sessions of the Central Commission, expressly retaining all the rights and privileges of the patriarchs of the Eastern Churches, as previously decided by the ecumenical councils, as recognized by the Roman pontiffs, and as confirmed by time-honored usage, in the face of the diminutions to which they have been subjected in recent years by a frame of mind with little concern for Christian unity.

I would be grateful to you, your Excellency, if you would be so kind as to submit to our holy and beloved Father the pope the contents of this letter, which I beg you to consider as an official declaration of principle that to my mind is of greatest importance...

@BODY TEXT ITA = (On the eve of the opening of the Council, the patriarch was requested by the Holy Synod of August 1962 to attempt a final effort to persuade the general secretariat of the Council. He wrote to Archbishop Felici on September 20, 1962:) The Fathers of the annual Synod of our Melkite Greek Catholic Church, held at our residence at Ain Traz from August 27 to August 31 last, have requested that I make a last effort through your good offices to reach our Holy Father the Pope, as well as the presidential commission of the Council, so that the Eastern patriarchs be given the rank assigned to them by the canons of the first ecumenical councils, namely, the first rank immediately after the supreme pontiff.

The decisions of the first ecumenical councils on this matter were respected at the sessions of the Council of Florence in 1439, where, by order of Pope Eugene IV, the Patriarch of Constantinople Joseph II held the first rank after the pope and preceded the cardinals. The union between the Greeks and the Latins was proclaimed in Florence only on the basis of respect for all the rights and privileges of the patriarchs of the East. Now, among these rights and privileges of the patriarchs of the East, the first to consider is the privileged rank these patriarchs hold in the hierarchy of the Catholic Church.

Since that time, these decisions of the ecumenical councils have never been expressly revoked. However, as was the case during the First Vatican Council, today the Eastern patriarchs again face a fait accompli on the part of those in charge of protocol who invariably grant precedence to cardinals over patriarchs.

In order to demonstrate the cogency of our claims, we thought we should make an objective study of the entire question in a memorandum on <169>The rank of the Eastern patriarchs in the Catholic Church,<170> which we consider it our duty to transmit to your Excellency within a few days. (A few copies of this memorandum were sent to Archbishop Felici in a letter dated September 27, 1962, No. 1435/14).

The question is serious and can constitute an almost insurmountable obstacle for the future of the union of the Orthodox Churches and the Catholic Church.

Our humble person plays no part at all in this matter of Church discipline. If it depended only on ourselves, no one would snatch the lowest place from us. However, we owe it to the Church to reclaim the observance of the decisions of the ecumenical councils and Tradition, respect for the conditions of union set in Florence, and fidelity to the solemn promises made so many times by the popes to our predecessors.

Above all, we owe it to Christ to avert everything that could constitute an obstacle to the reunion of the Churches. We are more convinced than ever that Orthodoxy cannot envision a rapprochement with the Roman Church if its leaders, the patriarchs of the apostolic sees, to whom the ecumenical councils gave precedence, immediately after the supreme pontiff, over the entire hierarchy, find that they have been relegated to the hundredth rank.

Because of these considerations which affect the supreme good of the Church, we would have wished not to appear at the approaching Council, in order to prevent the depreciating, in our person, of the honor due to the patriarchal sees of the East.

But in order to prove that this is not a personal matter of conceit or vainglory on our part; in order to enter into the views of our Holy Father the Pope, who has opened the way to a better understanding with respect to the Christian East and given proof of profound benevolence; in order that through our presence the voice of the East may be heard; and to collaborate with our brothers in the episcopate for the progress of the pastoral work in the Church, we have decided to take part personally in the sessions of this ecumenical Council, in spite of our advanced age and the state of our health, but explicitly declaring that our presence must not preiudice in any way the respect of rank due to our see and reserving in the most explicit way the rights and privileges of the Eastern Church, as the ecumenical councils and Tradition have defined them and as the popes have promised many times to have them respected.

I beg your Excellency to be so good as to submit the present letters to our Holy Father the Pope with the homage of my deepest respect as well as to the presidential commission of the Council.

I likewise beg your Excellency to consider this letter an official declaration that is an integral part of the acts of the Council.

Now that I have thus unburdened my conscience before Christ, before the Church, before my community, and before my Orthodox brothers, there remains only for me to pray the Father of Lights to deign to inspire those in whose hands rests the responsibility for souls to take the measures that He deems appropriate.

In unshakable faith that Christ will sustain His Church and that the best solutions will always ultimately triumph for the greatest good of souls, I beg your Excellency to accept...

(Archbishop P. Felici, in a letter dated October 4, 1962, acknowledged receipt of the patriarch's letter and of the memorandum that accompanied it. He added that the question would be submitted to the Holy Father.)

( To its <169>Remarks on the schemas of the Council<170> [1963], the Holy Synod added the following memorandum).

MEMORANDUM

On the Rank of the Eastern Patriarchs in the Catholic Church

PART ONE

The Authentic Tradition of the Church

1. The Decisions of the Ecumenical Councils

The Ecumenical Council of Chalcedon held in 451 approved what had been a gradual development whose principal stages were marked by Canons 6 and 7 of the First Ecumenical Council of Nicea in 325 and Canons 2 and 3 of the Second Ecumenical Council of Constantinople in 381. In its Canon 28 the Council of Chalcedon first of all confirmed the privileged rank granted to the Bishop of Constantinople by Canon 3 of the Second Ecumenical Council of Constantinople in 381, placing him immediately after the Bishop of Rome and before the Bishop of Alexandria. Then the same canon established the ranks of the five great patriarchal sees of Christianity as follows: Rome (without prejudice to its universal primacy), Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem. This canon, which ratified a new ecclesiastical organization in the East (the patriarchal organization) and a new order of precedence in the Church, was at first contested. Yet, notwithstanding the initial opposition of Rome, the new organization remained in force. Emperor Justinian confirmed this <169>patriarchal pentarchy.<170> (Novelle 126, De sanctissimis et Deo amabilibus episcopis, Cap. II: Novelle 131 De ecclesiasticis titulis.) Pope Adrian II (867-872) finally recognized it indirectly by approving Canon 21 of the Fourth Ecumenical Council of Constantinople in 869-870. The Fourth Ecumenical Lateran Council in 1215 officially recognized it and again approved the ranks of precedence among the five patriarchates of the Christian world, as it had been fixed by Canon 28 of Chalcedon. It is true that at that time the patriarchal sees of the East were occupied by Latin incumbents by reason of the Frankish conquests of the Crusades: Jerusalem since 1099, Antioch since 1100, Constantinople since 1205, and Alexandria since 1209. But the rites of the incumbents mattered little, and it is certain that for the Catholic Church the decisions of the ecumenical councils still remain valid today. According to these decisions, the five highest places in Christianity are reserved, without prejudice to the primacy of Rome, in descending sequence, to the incumbents of the Sees of Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem. These decisions of the ecumenical councils have never been abrogated either by the popes or by any other subsequent ecumenical council. Thus, if we wished to hold to the decisions, still in force, of the ecumenical councils, the first places, after that of the supreme pontiff, at the sessions of the forthcoming Second Vatican Council should belong by right to the Patriarchs of Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem.

2. The Rise of the Cardinalate

However, in the meantime a new institution was being born in the Church of Rome: the <169>College of Cardinals.<170> In the beginning this college included only the principal pastors of the city of Rome, who formed a sort of diocesan council around their bishop, such as there were in other Western dioceses, especially in Paris. Then little by little this college came to embrace also the principal deacons of the city and even the suburban bishops, thus forming a sort of council for the entire Roman province. In this capacity it replaced with increasing frequency the ancient Roman <169>synods<170> which the popes had been using to administer not only the affairs of their Roman province but also those of their Papal State, of all Italy, of the West, and even of the entire Church. There were also some laymen among them. The importance of the College of Cardinals has not ceased to grow at the expense of the hierarchy of the bishops, the successors of the Apostles. This importance was manifested especially in 1059, when Pope Nicholas II reserved for the Cardinals the exclusive right to elect the pope.

This decisive development in the importance of cardinals occurred, we might point out, when the East and the West were already separated. It was a phenomenon intrinsic to the Western Church. In the West, cardinals, even those who were laymen, assumed priority over priests and even over the bishops, who are divinely instituted, something that is absolutely unthinkable in the East. Until the twelfth century history indicates no marked opposition to this prodigious ascent of the cardinals, who ultimately were given precedence over the entire hierarchy of the Western Church.

3. The Cardinals and the Latin Patriarchs

The cardinals faced an initial opposition by the Latin patriarchs, who, beginning in 1099, occupied the patriarchal sees of the East. The problem then arose: which of the cardinals or Latin patriarchs should have precedence?

Until 1439 a compromise solution seems to have prevailed. The Latin patriarchs were seated among the cardinal-bishops, and, as a rule, immediately after the first cardinal-bishop and before the other cardinals. This is recorded in the <169>Liber caeremoniarum pontificalium<170> compiled in 1488 by Agostino Patrizi, Bishop of Pienza in Tuscany, and published for the first time in Venice in 1516 by Cristoforo Marcello, the archbishop-elect of Corfu. Thus, speaking of the <169>Ordo Sedendi in Cappella Papae<170> (Lib.III, Sectio II, Cap. I, fol. 195 verso), Patrizi says: <169>Indeed the four principal patriarchs, namely those of Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem, were accustomed to sit among the cardinal bishops, as we said above concerning kings, and consequently to wear a cope, and they had train-bearers, like the cardinals.<170>

And the author adds, speaking of the period after 1439: <169>However, in our days and in the days of Eugene IV, neither do they sit among the cardinals, nor do they have train-bearers.<170>

Actually, we know that at the sessions of the Ecumenical Council of Ferrara in 1438, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem was seated after the first cardinal-bishop and before all the other cardinals.

However, under Pope Eugene IV, and more precisely in 1439, a change occurred in the order of precedence which placed the Latin patriarchs after the cardinals. A conflict arose that year between John Kemp, Archbishop of York, who had been created a cardinal by Pope Eugene IV in 1439, and Henry Chicheley, Archbishop of Canterbury, who refused to cede the first place to him (this was an ancient quarrel over precedence between the two great archepiscopal sees of England). Pope Eugene IV intervened to definitively approve the precedence of the cardinals over every other hierarch in the Latin Church, be he archbishop or even patriarch. In his letter <169>Non mediocri,<170> written in Florence and dated as of the eighth year of his pontificate (March 4, 1439 March 4, 1440), the pope traced the origin of the cardinalate to Saint Peter himself, attributed some of the Cardinals' privileges to the First Ecumenical Council of Nicea, which he dated as <169>about the year 330,<170> declared that the cardinals constituted <169>part of his body,<170> referred to the donation of Constantine, whose authenticity he, like all his contemporaries, naturally admitted, and referred as well to the honorific privileges with which this emperor was said to have endowed the cardinals, and concluded that it was a common canonical and traditional doctrine that the cardinals were superior to the (Latin) patriarchs.

As matter of fact, after this letter of Pope Eugene IV, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, who, as we have seen, was seated at the sessions of Ferrara after the first cardinal-bishop and before all the othercCardinals, gave precedence from then on to the cardinals, and we see him at the last session of the Council of Florence, on July 6, 1439, sign the Bull of Union <169>Laetentur coeli<170> after the eight cardinals present.

So we see that in the discipline of the Latin Church, it is since 1439 that the cardinals, continuing their ascent, have taken precedence over the Latin patriarchs.

4. The Cardinals and Patriarchs at the Council of Florence

This applied only to the relations between the Latin cardinals and the Latin patriarchs. But when it came to the respective rank of the cardinals and the Eastern patriarchs, precedence was always granted before, during, and immediately after the Council of Florence to the Eastern patriarchs over the cardinals, and not only with the knowledge of the pope but at his express command. Our proofs naturally come from the history of the Council of Florence, because before that Council, cardinals and Eastern patriarchs had never met and consequently the problems could not have arisen.

On January 8, 1438, the Patriarch of Constantinople, Joseph II, having arrived in Venice, received the homage in that city of a deputation composed of bishops and notables sent from Ferrara by Pope Eugene IV and led by Cardinal Nicola Albergati (also called Cardinal of Santa Croce), who had been named president of the council by the pope. On March 9, 1438, Patriarch Joseph II arrived in Ferrara. By order of the pope, the two youngest cardinal-deacons, Prospero Colonna and Domenico Capranica, went to welcome him.

On April 8 the first session of the council in which the Greeks participated was held in Ferrara. The Latins were to the right of the altar and the Greeks to the left. This was an ingenious compromise, for the left side of the altar, where the icon of Our Lord and the throne of the hierarch are located, was considered to be the first place by the Greeks, whereas the right side of the altar was considered by the Latins to be the first place. Thus the Patriarch of Constantinople faced the first cardinal-bishop.

When the council was transferred to Florence, the patriarch entered that city on January 23, 1439, with one cardinal on his right and another on his left (the same ones who had welcomed him in Ferrara).

So there can be no doubt that Pope Eugene IV considered the Patriarch of Constantinople to be superior in rank to his cardinals.

This view must have been shared by his imm ediate successors. Indeed, after the failure of the Council of Florence we see two cardinals raised to the patriarchal See of Constantinople: Bessarion, former Metropolitan of Nicea, and Isidore, former Metropolitan of Kiev. Both had been made cardinals by Pope Eugene IV on December 18, 1439. Now, Isidore of Kiev was promoted by Pope Pius II in 1458 to the patriarchal See of Constantinople, and when he died on April 27, 1463, Cardinal Bessarion was chosen to succeed him, and he remained the incumbent of the patriarchal See of Constantinople until his own death on November 14, 1472.

So here are two cardinals raised to the patriarchal dignity: a sign that the supreme pontiff of that time considered the patriarchal dignity in the East as being superior to the dignity of the cardinalate.

5. The Cardinals and the Eastern Patriarchs in Modern Time

What happened after that? From the middle of the 15th century to the beginning of the 18th century there was in the Byzantine East no patriarchal succession officially united with Rome.

This long absence of Eastern Byzantine patriarchs in the Catholic hierarchy sufficed to make the contrary point of view prevail among the canonists. The Latin West withdrew within itself. Its Latin institutions seemed to it the only valid ones in the entire Catholic Church. Inasmuch as in the West, since the time of Eugene IV, cardinals have held precedence even over the Latin patriarchs, it was thought that they must precede all patriarchs, even the patriarchs of the East.

This is a false analogy, because the Latin patriarchs are simply ordinary archbishops endowed with the purely honorific title of patriarch, whereas the Eastern patriarchs are true heads of particular Churches with a hierarchy of bishops under their jurisdiction, by the same right as the Bishop of Rome is the patriarch of the West.

On the other hand, however, there were not at that time any Eastern Byzantine patriarchs to defend their rights, and on the other hand the Roman milieus were not displeased to see the Eastern patriarchs identified with the honorific Latin patriarchs. Finally, the cardinals were continuing their unobstructed ascent in the hierarchy and assuming ever greater importance in the general administration of the Church, whereas the importance of the Eastern patriarchs, on the level of influence, wealth, and membership was continually decreasing.

That is why at the First Ecumenical Vatican Council the Roman Curia does not seem to have distinguished between the Eastern and the Latin patriarchs. They were all considered inferior to the cardinals. It was even thought that the patriarchs of the East were being honored by being likened to the Latin patriarchs, because by virtue of the discriminatory theory of <169>precedence of the Latin rite<170> that was in favor in Rome during the 18th century the Latin patriarchs were supposed to take precedence over the Eastern patriarchs. However, Pope Pius IX intervened and declared that in the Catholic Church all rites were equal.

Thus, during the 19th century as well as at the beginning of this century, everybody, or almost everybody, was henceforth convinced that cardinals are the highest dignitaries in the Catholic Church after the Roman pontiff and must take precedence over patriarchs, whether they be from the East or from the West. Only the Melkite patriarchs have continued to claim for their patriarchal sees the rank that was assigned to them by the ecumenical councils, explicitly recognized by the popes up to the 15th century, and since then never explicitly revoked.

PART TWO

Reasons for Respecting This Authentic Tradition in the Church

There is no doubt whatever that the primitive and authentic tradition of the Church places in the first ranks of the Catholic hierarchy after the supreme pontiff not the cardinals but the incumbents of the patriarchal sees of the East.

Must this tradition be respected? We believe that the answer should be an unhesitating <169>yes,<170> for the many reasons given below:

1. The reason of ecclesial tradition itself

In the first place, the Catholic Church owes it to itself to respect the decisions of the ecumenical councils, even in the matter of discipline. If, in the course of time a modification appears to be necessary, it is fitting to have it adopted by another ecumenical council or to have the authority of the supreme pontiff intervene in an explicit way to revoke it. Now, in the case of this serious question of the rank of the Eastern patriarchs, neither the popes nor the subsequent ecumenical councils have revoked the decisions made by the first ecumenical councils. After the 15th century, certain Latin canonists have allowed themselves to make erroneous analogical deductions to support the rise of the institution of the cardinalate at the expense of the honor of the apostolic sees of the East.

2. The reason of apostolicity

The patriarchal institution in the East, contrary to what is happening in the West, is not simply an honorific title. It is founded first of all on the apostolicity of the see. When Canon 28 of Chalcedon sought to base on human considerations the first rank that it wished to grant, after Rome, to the See of Constantinople because that city had become the capital city of the Empire, it was Pope Saint Leo who took care to rectify the thinking of the Fathers of the council. He told them: <169>The structure of human things is not the same as the divine. The apostolic origin of a Church, its foundation by the Apostles, this is what assures it a higher rank in the hierarchy.<170> (Epist CIV, 3 = PL, Vol. LIV. Col.995)

In the Catholic Church the highest honor must be granted to the apostolic foundation. The reason that Rome is the mother of all the Churches is because it was founded by the Apostles Peter and Paul and because it was the definitive see of Peter.

This honor due to the preeminent <169>apostolic see<170> that is Rome applies by analogy to the other apostolic sees of Christianity, which are the patriarchates.

We know the famous texts of certain popes which seek to ground the origin of patriarchal dignity as though on some sort of diffuse primacy of Peter, thus making them participate in a certain sense in the supreme solicitude for all the Churches that Peter bequeathed to his successors on the See of Rome: Peter to Jerusalem, Peter to Antioch, Peter to Alexandria (through his disciple Mark), Peter to Rome. Thus Pope Innocent (402-417) writing to the Bishop of Antioch, said: <169>Wherefore we observe that this has been attributed not so much because of the magnificence of the city as that it is shown to be the leading seat of the leading Apostle.<170> (PL, Vol. XX, col. 548)

Still more clearly, Pope Saint Gregory the Great (580-604) wrote the following in a letter to the Emperor Marcion: <169>He (the prince of the Apostles) exalted the see in which he deigned to settle and to finish his life on earth (Rome). He adorned the see to which he sent his disciple the evangelist (Alexandria). He confirmed the see in which he sat for seven years before leaving (Antioch). (PL, T. LXXVII, col. 299)

Jerusalem certainly cannot be excluded from the circle of these <169>Petrine<170> cities, for it was there that Peter first and so manifestly exercised his primacy.

While Constantinople cannot historically claim to have been founded by Peter or by another Apostle, it has other grounds, as we shall see, for its claim to patriarchal honor.

And so we see from the testimony of the popes themselves that the eminent rank of the patriarchates of the East in the Catholic church is an honor due to their apostolicity. Cardinals do not occupy apostolic sees, and are not, as cardinals, successors of the Apostles. Now, what more important criterion is there than the apostolicity of a see, in a Church one of whose essential marks is that it is apostolic and at whose head is the <169>apostolic see<170>? Must not the apostolicity that made Rome the first see and the head of Christendom logically give the other sees that claim apostolic origin the first ranks after the Roman pontiffs? Is not apostolicity as a criterion of precedence, recognized by the pope and by the ecumenical councils, superior to every other criterion of precedence that could be claimed by the cardinals, some of whom in earlier times were not even priests?

Beyond this, the patriarchal sees, as the popes testify, participate in a certain way in the primacy of Peter. It is Peter who founded them, even if he did not remain in them permanently. From this Petrine origin the patriarchal sees have inherited not only a primacy of honor over all the other sees, but also a certain participation in the universal solicitude for the Churches, bequeathed by Peter in an eminent and absolutely unique right to his successors in the See of Rome.

From this it follows that the first auxiliaries of the pope in the overall administration of the Church are, according to the authentic tradition of the first centuries, not the cardinals but the patriarchs. It was to the patriarchs that the pope first announced his election. The patriarchs, in turn, wrote their letter of communion to him immediately after their election. In moments of danger and during the dogmatic or disciplinary crises that convulsed the Christian world, it was to the patriarchs that the pope turned to devise a plan of action. When they could, the patriarchs maintained a permanent representative at the pope's side, and the pope maintained a legate called an apocrisiary by the side of his patriarch in Constantinople. In their letters to the patriarchs, the popes expressed themselves in very fraternal terms. It was evident that for the popes the Eastern patriarchs, the incumbents of the apostolic sees, were their brothers and their principal collaborators.

This apostolicity is the basis in the Catholic Church for the eminent rank given to the Eastern patriarchs.

3. The reason of gratitude

The Eastern patriarchs, however, have other grounds for occupying the first ranks after the pope. Christianity owes them this honor out of gratitude. Whatever the past and present merits of the cardinals, they are far from equalling those of the patriarchal sees of the East.

It was in Jerusalem that our salvation was accomplished. It was from Jerusalem that the faith spread first <169>in Judea, Samaria, Galilee, and in the entire world.<170> According to our liturgical books and the constant tradition of the first Fathers of the Church, Jerusalem is the <169>mother of all the Churches,<170> for it was the first church and it was from Jerusalem that all the other Churches were founded throughout the world.

Alexandria made the Christian faith reach out over Egypt, Pentapolis, Libya, Cyrenaica, Nubia, and Ethiopia. It brought monasticism to Europe. For a long time, it was the mouthpiece of Rome in the East.

It was in Antioch that the faithful were first called Christians. Antioch preached the Gospel throughout the then-known portions of Asia. It implanted the Christian faith in the Persian Empire, in India, and even as far as Mongolia and China.

Constantinople converted the Slavic world, which, by itself, once represented one third of Christendom.

Can the Catholic Church forget these first centers of Christianity? Is it not somewhat unfitting to give precedence over them to young Churches in America, Australia, or Africa which have just recently been founded, simply because their incumbents have been made cardinals?

4. The reason of fidelity to the promises given by the popes

In addition, the popes solemnly and repeatedly promised the Eastern patriarchs who reunited with the Holy See of Rome that none of their legitimate rights and privileges would be diminished, that they would find again in the Catholic Church the same rank, rights, and prerogatives which they had enjoyed up to that time.

The promises are so numerous that it is hard to find one pope who did not feel obliged to repeat them, and in ever more solemn terms. In order not to lengthen this memorandum, we shall be content to cite only a few of these declarations, among those that are most significant:

a. At Florence the union was proclaimed only on condition that all the rights and privileges of the Eastern patriarchs be safeguarded: <169>with all their privileges and rights preserved.<170> This solemn promise, originally made to the four Byzantine patriarchs, was repeated in the Bull of Union with the Armenians. (Cf. texts in J. Gill, The Council of Florence, Cambridge 1959, p.415).

b. After Florence, more than once the Holy See of Rome proposed union to the Eastern patriarchs, always with the same conditions, that is to say <169>with all their privileges and rights preserved<170> (Cf. G. Hoffman, Patriarch Kyrillos Lukaris, in Orientalia Christ., XV, 1, Rome 1929, p.53).

c. On the occasion of proceedings for union, the Holy See of Rome solemnly promised the Eastern patriarchs that their dignity would not be diminished in any manner because of their union with Rome, but that on the contrary their rights and privileges would be fully maintained. Thus Pope Clement XI, writing on April 11, 1703, to the Coptic Patriarch John XVI: <169>By which salutary measure (namely union)... you would again set that distinguished patriarchal see in that place of dignity in which because of its extraordinary prerogatives.. almost all the records of the Catholic faith demonstrate that it was formerly placed.<170> And the pope continues: <169>When with the help of divine grace you will have fulfilled the laudable plan (of union), most certainly you will be able to convince yourself that We, having retained the practices of this Holy See, which strives not only not to diminish but indeed to protect and enlarge the rights and privileges of the Eastern Churches, will embrace you in the Lord with all the good will and testimonials that are harmonious with your office and dignity, and that nothing will ever be omitted by us that is deemed to be fitting for your future convenience, distinction, and splendor.<170> (Cf. J.P.Trossen, Les relations du Patriarche Copte Jean XVI avec Rome (1676-1718), Luxembourg, 1948, pp. 171-172)

On July 8, 1815, Pius VII wrote to the Coptic Patriarch Peter VII: <169>We shall take care that the prerogatives and privileges of your see are most diligently restored and protected.<170> (De Martinis, Pars I, Vol. IV, p. 530)

Likewise, in 1824, Pope Leo XII promised the Coptic Patriarch of Alexandria that he would preserve all his ancient rights and privileges: <169>We grant to this Catholic Patriarchate of Alexandria, and to the one who will hold it, all the honors, privileges, prerogatives, titles, and all power that are based on the sacred canons or usages, which not unreasonable circumstances may support.<170> (Loc. cit., p. 651)

d. Finally, here are more general and still more solemn promises:

Pope Benedict XV, in his famous <169>Demandatam<170> of December 24, 1743, wrote: <169>For the rest, we desire that all rights and privileges and the free exercise of your jurisdiction remain intact for your Brotherhood.<170> (Loc. cit. Vol.III, p. 130)

The great Pope Leo XIII wrote in the motu proprio <169>Auspicia rerum<170> of March 19, 1896: <169>For nobody can deny, inasmuch as it is fitting and wholly in order, that the patriarchal dignity does not lack among Catholics any of those supports and distinctions which it enjoys abundantly among the dissidents.<170> (Acta S. Sedis, T. 28 (1895-1896), p. 586)

More clearly still, in his apostolic letter <169>Praeclara gratulationis<170> of June 20, 1894, the same Leo XIII addressed the Eastern Churches in these terms: <169>Nor is there any reason that you should hesitate in that thereby (because of the union) we or our successors would detract anything from your rights, your patriarchal privileges, or the liturgical usage of any Church.<170> (Ibid., T. 26 (1893-4), p. 709)

It is certainly the heartfelt wish of the Holy See of Rome to honor its solemn promises. The greatest of the rights and privileges that the pope promised the Eastern patriarchs they would maintain is precisely the right to occupy in the Catholic Church the rank that the ecumenical councils and the authentic tradition of the Church assigned to them, namely, the first rank after the Roman pontiff. To relegate these patriarchs to the 100th place cannot constitute the maintenance of their rights and privileges, as solemnly promised by the popes at the time of the union and after the union.

This assumes extraordinary gravity the moment that the Holy See of Rome once again is proposing union to the Orthodox Churches, guaranteeing, on the condition of unity of faith and government, the safeguarding of their own liturgy and discipline. How could the Orthodox Churches not be tempted to mistrust when they see that the guarantees so solemnly given by the pope to the Eastern patriarchs who are in union have not been respected?

5. The reason of the apostolate for union

This consideration brings us to the definitive and conclusive reason why the Catholic Church owes it to itself to respect the rank that the Eastern patriarchs traditionally hold in the hierarchy. This reason is precisely the supreme interest of Christian unity.

Indeed, if the Eastern Catholic patriarchs claim for their apostolic sees the first ranks after the Roman pontiff, it is not out of vanity or out of a desire for vainglory.

Nor is it out of concern for antiquated ideas.

It is solely because the humiliating and in their view unjust position in which they are placed by the Catholic hierarchy constitutes an insu rmountable obstacle to rapprochement and then to union with the Eastern Orthodox Churches.

In Orthodoxy, whatever the real and current importance of the patriarchal sees, the patriarchs continue to represent a summit in the hierarchy. They are the heads of Churches. Even a patriarch of Moscow bows and kisses the hands of the patriarchs of the ancient apostolic Sees of Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem, regardless of the number of their faithful. These patriarchs know and proclaim that they are the highest dignitaries of the Church after the Roman pontiff. How can we speak to them of union if we do not recognize for them today what Pope Eugene IV recognized for their predecessors at the Council of Florence?

If the Orthodox patriarchs are thinking of reuniting some day with the Roman Church, it can only be in order to reoccupy in Catholicism the place that was theirs before the schism. But if they notice that this place is being refused them, and that in the event of reunion they are to be relegated after all the cardinals, or if <197> worse still <197> this place is promised to them but afterwards refused, there is little hope that the dialogue that has begun will culminate in union.

For all these reasons, and especially the last-mentioned, it seems to us that the supreme interest of the Church demands that the rank that authentic ecclesial tradition has assigned to the Eastern patriarchs and which the popes have promised be indeed maintained.

PART THREE

Response to the Objections

1. It will be objected: This is a question of vanity and of human prestige.

R. Not at all. Certainly, questions of precedence are very paltry, especially on the part of the disciples of the One who said: <169>The first among you must be the servant of all.<170> But the honor given to the hierarchs in the church is not addressed to their individual persons but to their ministry, to Christ, and to the Apostles whom they represent. In this case, the privileged rank claimed by the Eastern patriarchs is, as we have seen, a recognition of the apostolicity of their sees and a debt of gratitude toward these first centers of the spread of Christianity. Besides, why would the patriarchs who claim their traditional rights be at fault, and not those who contest those rights so as to pass ahead of them? In any case, Patriarch Maximos IV has declared more than once that if it depended only on him, no one would snatch the last place in the Church from him, but that only the supreme interests of the respect for tradition and for Christian unity made him consider it his duty to claim the rank that is due to patriarchal dignity.

2. The following objection will also be made: Today the cardinals are universal auxiliaries of the pope, whereas the sphere of the patriarch's ministry is limited to their flocks.

R. Even if the patriarchs were not in any way auxiliaries of the pope, that would not be a reason for depriving them of the rank assigned to them by the ecumenical councils and the authentic tradition of the Church. The councils and the Fathers knew what they were doing.

Besides, we have seen through the testimony of the Roman popes themselves that, in a sound ecclesiology, the patriarchs were to be considered as the foremost auxiliaries of the pope, his innate auxiliaries.

The patriarchs are even more than auxiliaries of the pope; they are his brothers, incumbents like him <197> naturally without prejudice to his universal primacy <197> of the great apostolic sees of Christendom.

When addressing the cardinals, the pope says: <169>my son<170>; when he addresses the bishops, and especially the patriarchs, he says: <169>my brother.<170> The cardinals are freely created by the pope, and are in no sense, as cardinals, successors of the Apostles. The patriarchs are elected by the bishops of their church and are, by the loftiest right, successors of the Apostles.

Compared with the nobility of apostolicity and the importance of the patriarchal ministry which participates secondarily in the universal solicitude of Peter's successor, the claims of the cardinals to precedence cannot be supported unless the patriarchates are in fact treated as simply honorary titles. In that case, it would be understood that the patriarchs would not appear to be more important than the cardinals. But this is a distorted notion of the patriarchates, popularized by a certain self-interested ecclesiology that has no links to the authentic tradition of the Fathers.

3. Yet another objection is that the privileged rank of the patriarchs is a matter of simple ecclesiastical discipline decreed by the ecumenical councils. Now, what an ecumenical council has done can be abrogated by the pope or by another ecumenical council.

R. That is correct. Indeed no one claims that the rank of the patriarchs as established by tradition is immutable or of divine right. However, the fact that this rank can be changed is one thing, and that it should be changed is something else. Now, from what we have seen, no ecumenical council or pope has until now expressly given precedence to the cardinals over the patriarchs of the East. It is as if the matter were settled and not subject to possible contestation. It is our opinion, on the contrary, that so many and so serious decisions of the first ecumenical councils should be discussed at length, and then should be abrogated only if the supreme interest of the Church demands it, and then by an explicit contrary decision emanating from an ecumenical council or from the pope by virtue of his supreme power. It is not fitting that in such a serious matter the Eastern patriarchs should continue to be faced with a fait accompli, as happened at the last Vatican Council, and as we foresee will happen at the forthcoming Council.

4. Another objection will be that the privileged rank of the Eastern patriarchs was founded on an actual importance that they no longer have today, whereas the cardinals are constantly gaining greater importance in the Church.

R. It is correct that the patriarchates no longer have in the Church the importance that they once had as true capitals of the Christian world. However, first of all, influence, wealth and numbers are not the only criteria of rank in the Church. Rome may some day be only a little town, or even disappear. It will nonetheless remain the Holy See of Rome and the head of all the Churches. In fact, as of now several dioceses in the world are already more <169>important<170> than Rome. Is this a reason to diminish its leadership? Admittedly Rome holds primacy in the Church by immutable divine right, but this example is cited here only to show that the rank of a see does not necessarily coincide with its real and current importance.

Besides, does anyone believe that the subvicariate dioceses of Rome are so very much more important than the other sees of Christianity that it is necessary to raise their incumbents to the rank of cardinals?

How many dignitaries there are in the Roman Curia who have almost no importance today and who nonetheless continue to receive precedence over bishops of larger and more important dioceses of the Christian world!

If there is any community in the world that respects traditions relating to precedence, it is certainly the Roman community. Why, then, must the Eastern patriarchs be the only ones who can no longer maintain their traditional rank?

Finally, resorting to reductio ad absurdum, if we say that the Eastern patriarchs must give up their traditional rank because their actual importance has declined and that of the cardinals is increasing, we logically have to place them not only after the cardinals but even after all the bishops whose dioceses are more <169>important<170> than those of the patriarchs.

If numbers, wealth, and membership were all that counted in the church, the Eastern patriarchates would count for nothing. But in Christ's Church there is room for superior values: apostolicity, tradition, the initial Christian expansion, the proclamation of the Word, Christian unity. According to these values, infinitely more important than the former, the Eastern patriarchs still represent what deserves the greatest respect in Christ's Church after the Roman papacy. These are values that do not pass away, and, thanks to them, the Eastern patriarchs have lost none of their true importance.

5. Finally, the objection is made that when the <169>true<170> patriarchs of the East, namely the Orthodox patriarchs, agree to think about union, it will naturally be necessary to recognize the eminent place they occupied before the schism. But the Eastern patriarchs presently in union are new creations of the Holy See, which therefore grants them the rank and powers that it deems appropriate.

R. This concept, which denies the Eastern Catholic patriarchs the right to be considered the legitimate successors of their predecessors in their respective sees, is the new weapon that the <169>latinists<170> have used against the Catholics of the Eastern rites. Unfortunately for them, this concept, while it can, if necessary, be accepted by the Orthodox separated from Rome, is incomprehensible for Catholics and absolutely contrary to the concept of the supreme pontiffs themselves.

Since we cannot cite the countless pontifical texts supporting our view, we shall be content to reproduce those that concern our own Patriarchate of Antioch, whose incumbent Cyril VI Tanas officially proclaimed union with Rome in 1724. When the papal legate enthroned him on April 25, 1730, he proclaimed him <169>legitimate Greek Patriarch of Antioch.<170> (Mansi, Vol. 46, col. 189) Pope Benedict XIV, in his allocution in the consistory of February 3, 1744, recognized Cyril VI as the true and only incumbent of the Orthodox See of Antioch, and said of his dissident rival Sylvester that <169>he invaded the patriarchal see,<170> and declared of the Melkites that in them <169>the venerable remnants of the Church of Antioch, formerly buried, are brought back to life.<170> (Ibid., col. 340)

In his letter of February 29, 1744, addressed to the same Patriarch Cyril, Benedict XIV expressed himself in this way: <169>While we consider that illustrious Antiochian Church of the Greeks, for a long time separated from the Roman See by a calamitous schism and ruled by patriarchs infected with that blemish, now it is at last committed to your brotherhood, in the safeguarding of a legitimate pastor.<170> (Ibid. col. 341) And the pope continued, rejoicing that it was henceforth possible once again to introduce the name of the Patriarch of Antioch into the diptychs of the Roman Church.

From all of this, it is clear that, for the popes, the Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarchate is the legitimate continuation of the successors to the See of Antioch. Therefore the same rights and privileges are due to its patriarchs as to his ancient predecessors.

Other objections can be found. It will be easy to answer them as well. The heart of the problem comes down to this: should the Catholic Church of our time purely and simply ratify the special development of the Latin West from which the cardinalate sprang, or should it harmonize in its heart the more recent institutions of the West with the more ancient institutions of the East? In other words, is Catholicism a broadened and conquering Latinism, or is it a divine, supra-regional, supra-national institution in which the traditions of the East and those of the West have equal inherent rights?

The problem of the rank of the Eastern patriarchs in the Catholic Church is not a question of vainglorious precedence. It postulates a return to more apostolic and hence more authentic ecclesiological concepts.

(We know the outcome of all these discussions. By order of Pope Paul VI, the patriarchs, including the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, were placed beginning on Monday, October 14, 1963, on a platform set apart, to the right, facing the cardinals, as had been the case in Florence. History will some day relate the exhausting labors of Patriarch Maximos, with the help of his episcopate, to have this change accepted. On October 15, 1963, the patriarch wrote to Pope Paul VI to thank him for it.)

For an Amelioration of the Conciliar schema

(The Eastern Commission had submitted to the session of January 1962 of the Central Commission the draft of a schema <169>On the Eastern Patriarchs.<170> Since the patriarch did not expect to take part personally in that session, he sent from Damascus on December 21, 1961, a few notes intended to improve the contents of the draft:)

This schema is of the greatest importance for the future of the union of Churches. The rights claimed in it for the Eastern Catholic patriarchs refer not to their humble persons but to their mission. Depending on the way that the Catholic Church treats these Eastern Catholic patriarchs, Orthodoxy will reach conclusions as to how its patriarchs will be treated in the Catholic Church the day that union can be achieved.

On this matter, here are a few criticisms to be made to the preamble, as well as to the expository portion of the document:

1. The preamble, intended in principle to introduce and justify the rights recognized for the patriarchs in the following section, seems rather to aim at minimizing these rights, as if it were feared that they might be an infringement on those of the supreme pontiff. Not only do the rights of the patriarchs not encroach upon those of the supreme pontiff, they confirm them. <169>My honor is in the honor of my brothers<170> are the words of Pope St. Leo. In addition, the wording of this preamble seems to need reworking.

a. <169>Episcopi quoque, Apostolorum successores, ex divino iure, mediante tamen Romano Pontifice, plena pollent potestate . . . (Also the bishops, successors of the Apostles by divine right, although with the mediation of the Roman pontiff, are endowed with full power...).

This intervention or <169>mediation<170> by the Roman pontiff in the transmission of the divine right to the bishops seems to us contrary to the tradition of the Church. I fear lest it invite confusion and lest certain individuals might wish to give it a meaning that it does not have, for example, the meaning that all power in the Church emanates directly and exclusively from the Roman pontiff.

b. <169>Si autem.. prae oculis iura habeantur, quae saeculorum decursu tacite vel expresse a suprema auctoritate concessa sunt . . .<170> (If, however,...those rights should be held up to view which in the course of the centuries have been tacitly or expressly conceded by the supreme authority...)

This phrase also invites ambiguity. The patriarchal institution has not always and exclusively depended on a tacit or explicit concession by the supreme pontiff. It was also created by the ecumenical councils, as No. II of the proposed schema acknowledges: <169>quippe qui amplissima potestate, a Romano Pontifice vel a Concilio Oecumenico data seu agnita...<170> (who indeed [have] the fullest power, given or acknowledged by the Roman pontiff or by an ecumenical council...) Now, an ecumenical council, even though it requires the confirmation of the pope, is not one and the same authority with him. The expression <169>supreme authority<170> designates in canon law the Roman pontiff as well as the ecumenical council. It would be wise to avoid ambiguity by clarifying the thought.

c. The same ambiguity occurs a little farther on where the patriarch is said to have a supra-episcopal power <169>ex participatione Pontificiae potestatis<170> (by participation in the Pontifical power). In one sense, it is true to say that the patriarchs, as heads of particular churches, participate in some manner in the universal solicitude of the Roman pontiff. But does this also mean that all supra-episcopal power, whether it be metropolitan, primatial, or patriarchal, is necessarily an emanation or a delegation of the supreme power of the supreme pontiff?

The author of the preamble seems to wish to glide toward a theory that is not in any way defined <197> and which it is not advisable to define or even to encourage defining today. According to this theory, all power in the Church would be a delegation or an emanation of the power of the supreme pontiff.

2. The expository portion of the document seems to me to be well drafted, and I approve it except for the following points:

a. It is abnormal and prejudicial to the work of Christian unity that the patriarchal sees of the East be occupied by Latins, even those that are simply honorary. Thus Article IX proposes that the titular Latin patriarchates be eliminated, but it illogically makes an exception for the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, whose continuance it recommends. We would say that on the contrary it is the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem that must above all be eliminated.

This patriarchate of Jerusalem, founded by the Crusaders in 1099 in accordance with the mentality of that time, disappeared after their domination ended in 1273. It was not restored as a residential see until 1847 by Pope Pius IX. Since then and contrary to the explicit and repeatedly expressed will of the supreme pontiffs, this patriarchate has made every effort to latinize Eastern Christians, whether Orthodox or Catholic. This has constituted a painful denial of the pope's declarations promising the Eastern Christians who returned to unity that they would not have to become latinized. Our own patriarchate has explained at length its point of view on this question in a brochure entitled: Catholicisme ou Latinisme? A propos du Patriarcat latin de Jerusalem (Harissa, Lebanon, 1961) [Catholicism or Latinism? Concerning the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem]. We ask that it be referred to for fuller information on this subject.

b. Given the mission of each Eastern Catholic church, it appears difficult to reduce the patriarchal sees within the same territory to only one, just as it is difficult and ha rmful to limit the rites to one. The fact that there may be two or three Catholic incumbents occupying the same patriarchal see is a historical reality that cannot easily be avoided at this time. It is better to accept it as it is, to organize it, and to try to make the best of it, considering it as a division of labor rather than as a dispersion of energies. The disadvantages of this situation can be diminished if there is a sincere collaboration among patriarchs. This depends on the persons involved rather than on the institution itself. In any case, this phenomenon exists especially in the See of Antioch. On the other hand, in Jerusalem, where there had always been a single Catholic patriarch, the Holy See doubled the hierarchy by restoring the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem. So we see this division of authority is not always the fault of the Eastern Churches. I therefore completely reject this article X as premature, unrealizable and harmful.

c. Article XI cannot be accepted, and it is not in the best interests of the Catholic Church that it be accepted. If it is clearly understood what a patriarch is in the Eastern Catholic Church, it cannot be wished or allowed that he become a cardinal, even if this is merely an honorary title. It is not necessary to make the patriarchal institution an appendage in order to honor it. It is a sufficient dignity in itself in the Catholic Church. It must retain this dignity the way that it has been defined over the centuries.

d. In itself, Article XII is contrary to ecclesial tradition, namely, that the patriarchs of the East not participate in the election of the Roman pontiff. However, since this tradition has been changed in the direction of greater centralization, to the point that the Roman pontiff now intervenes in the confirmation of the patriarchs, and even very often in their election or nomination, another innovation can be accepted, namely, that the Eastern patriarchs participate in the election of the Roman pontiff. On the other hand, if, as Article XIII provides, the Eastern patriarchs are considered to be superior in rank to the cardinals, it is normal that they should also be the first to participate in the election of the Common Father of the Church. In this sense, I approve Article XII.

e. Article XIII proposes three drafts relating to the precedence of the patriarchs. Only the first draft, which maintains for the patriarchs the first rank in the Church after the pope, seems to us to conform to the decisions of the ecumenical councils and, of course, to the best interests of union. I reject the other two drafts, and I would like to see a decision made in this direction at the very opening of the Council, so that the presence of the Eastern Catholic patriarchs may not turn out to be disadvantageous to the work of union in this ecumenical council, which is intended to be a prelude to union.

@MAJOR SEC HDG = The Patriarchate and the Cardinalate; Latin Patriarchs of the East

@BODY TEXT ITA = (At the last minute the patriarch decided, for serious reasons, that he must take part personally in the Central Commission's meeting of January 1962. When invited to speak on the theme of patriarchs, he set aside his written text and developed two important aspects of the problem: The patriarchate and the Cardinalate, then the Latin patriarchs of the East. His talk was given on January 18, 1962.)

I. THE PATRIARCHATE AND THE CARDINALATE

The patriarchate and the cardinalate are two institutions of different orders. A patriarch is the head of a particular Church, and generally the incumbent of an apostolic see. According to the decisions of the ecumenical councils, the Bishop of Rome, in addition to his universal primacy in the Church, is also considered to be the patriarch of the West, the first of the five classical patriarchs of ancient times. After the pope, considered as patriarch of the West, next in order of priority come the patriarchs of Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem. Later on, other so-called minor patriarchates were constituted in the East, and purely honorary patriarchs were constituted in the West.

As for the cardinals, they were originally the immediate auxiliaries of the pope in his office as Bishop of Rome (the cardinal-priests and the cardinal-deacons), or in his office as Metropolitan of the Roman Province and as patriarch of the West (the subvicariate cardinal-bishops).

When the East and the West were still united, no one could have imagined that these immediate auxiliaries of the Roman pontiff could eclipse the incumbents of the other patriarchal sees of the East.

Then, little by little, cardinals increased in rank in the hierarchy, until even the primates of the Western Church were relegated to the background. But this rise of the cardinalate occurred at the moment when the West and the East were divided.

When partial reunions were achieved between the Roman Church and the majority of the Eastern Churches, the question arose as to the relations of priority between the Catholic patriarchs of the East and the cardinals who had meanwhile been promoted to the pinnacle of the hierarchy of the West.

A twofold question arises here: first, which of the patriarchs or cardinals are to have priority in the hierarchy of the Catholic Church; second, whether it is fitting that the Eastern patriarchs be named cardinals through the free choice of the supreme pontiff.

As to the first question, namely the order of precedence between the patriarchs of the East and the cardinals, the Commission of the Eastern Churches answered by voting by a majority in favor of the honorific priority of the Eastern patriarchs. I ask the venerable members of this commission to ratify in this manner this schema that has been presented to us. It is not a question of personal pride or human prestige. If it were simply a matter of our humble person, we would on the contrary see to it that no one would snatch the lowest place in the Church from us. But Orthodoxy is listening intently. The Holy Father wishes to prepare in this Council the paths toward Christian unity. If the Orthodox patriarchs of the East should desire union today we should be able to show them that the Catholic Church continues to reserve for them the place that is rightly theirs through the decision of the ecumenical councils and through the explicit promises of the popes. Besides, it is not normal that the cardinals, who are the auxiliaries and sons of the pope, should proceed ahead of the patriarchs, who are his brothers in the apostolic sees.

As to the second question, namely, whether it is fitting that the patriarchs of the East become cardinals, I believe, contrary to Article XI of the schema proposed to us, that we must answer in the negative. In fact, if we really understand what a patriarch is in the Catholic Church, we must not, in my humble opinion, either wish or permit that he be made a cardinal. One must not wish it, since by the very fact that he is a patriarch he possesses an eminent rank in the Catholic Church, as we have said earlier. Nor must we permit it, for it is unthinkable that a patriarch should become a deacon, a priest, or even a suffragan bishop of the Roman Church. Even if these titles are purely honorary and do not correspond with reality, it remains abnormal that a patriarch, the head of a Church, should become a member of the clergy of another Church.

However, there is nothing to prevent a priest or a simple bishop of the Eastern Church from becoming a cardinal, as did Bessarion and Isidore of Kiev.

There is a trend in the Catholic Church today which tends to reaffirm the institution of the patriarchate. Now, the best way to do this is still to respect the meaning of the patriarchate in the East, to safeguard its authentic place, and to recognize its legitimate rights.

In achieving this, we should not consider the number of faithful subject to each of the patriarchal sees or the influence of their respective Churches. The criteria of numbers and influence are neither the only nor the most important ones in the Catholic Church. If they were, then the archbishop of New York, or Paris, or Malines (in Belgium) would precede all the subvicariate bishops who govern much less important dioceses.

In reality, we know that the Christian Church owes a debt of gratitude to these great Eastern sees that spread the Gospel to Asia, Africa, and even to Europe, and we owe a debt of respect toward the sees founded by the Apostles. That is the origin of the rights and privileges of the great patriarchs of the East.

II. THE LATIN PATRIARCHATES OF THE EASTERN SEES

Today in the I.atin Church of the West there is a double series of patriarchs: the Latin patriarchs of Western sees, such as Venice, Lisbon, and Goa, and the Latin patriarchs of Eastern sees, such as Constantinople, Antioch, and Jerusalem.

Concerning the Latin patriarchs of the Western sees (Venice, Lisbon, Goa), I have nothing to say.

As for the Latin patriarchs who occupy the Eastern sees, I must distinguish between the sees that are purely titular, such as Constantinople and Antioch, and the see of Jerusalem, which was once again made a residential see in 1847.

In itself, it is abnormal and prejudicial to the work for the union of the Churches for the Eastern patriarchal sees to be held by Latin titulars. In fact, these Latin patriarchates were created at the time of the Crusades on behalf of the political-religious domination of the Franks in the East. In particular, the survival of a Latin patriarchate in Constantinople is felt very painfully by our Orthodox brothers who cannot forget the excesses of the Fourth Crusade. Besides, the Holy See of Rome seems to wish to prepare for the pure and simple elimination of these titles, since it has been leaving these sees without titulars for some years now. I therefore believe that the elimination of these honorary Latin patriarchs of Constantinople and Antioch does not present any great difficulty.

On the contrary, the schema that is presented to us seeks to make an exception, in Part 2 of Article IX, for the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, so that in this very Eastern see a Latin incumbent is maintained, who is not merely honorary but residential, as he is today.

At this point, I earnestly beg the venerable members of this Commission not to consider what I have to say as a personal matter. I have here beside me his Beatitude Archbishop Gori, the worthy and greatly-revered incumbent of this Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, whose post I would ask to be cancelled, naturally in the manner and at the moment that the Holy See of Rome deems advisable. His Beatitude Archbishop Gori, the incumbent of the see, is our colleague and our friend. What will be said of the see does not in any way concern his dear person, whom we love and respect because of his dignity and his remarkable qualities. Nor does it concern our own poor person, who already has one foot in the grave. What is at stake here is a lofty question of principle that affects to the highest degree the existence of the Catholic Church in the Holy Land.

I deem before God, therefore, that it is illogical and ha rm ful to the best interests of the Catholic Church and to the progress of union to make an exception in favor of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem. This Latin patriarchate of the most venerable see, that of Jerusalem, must be abolished. The Patriarchate of Jerusalem must be Catholic, but not Latin. It must remain an Eastern see.

The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem was created by the Crusaders in 1099, on behalf of Frankish domination in Palestine. It was attuned to the mentality of that period, according to which a Latin hierarchy was needed to correspond with Latin domination. In fact, when the Latin-Frankish domination ceased in 1273, with the fall of St. Jean d'Acre into the hands of Muslims, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem ceased to exist. It became a purely honorary title until 1847, the date on which Pope Pius IX, for political-religious reasons that it would take too long to explain here, deemed it good to restore it as a residential see.

Since then, and contrary to the express will of the supreme pontiffs, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem has latinized Eastern Christians, both Orthodox and Catholic, instead of letting them remain in their Eastern rite.

The presence of this Latin patriarchate in Jerusalem cannot please the Eastern Christians, since it reminds them of Frankish domination and the exile of their own patriarchs. Whatever one makes of it, it is still a foreign patriarchate. In our own time, we Catholics must not be the last ones to open our eyes. What is happening at the present time in the Afro-Asiatic countries is such that we can understand that it is good for the Catholic Church to be represented everywhere not only by a local hierarchy but also by a local rite, especially if this rite is of the greatest antiquity and answers to the spirit and needs of the people for whom it was created. Today all the peoples of the world are gaining their independence. Must the Church be the last, for human reasons, to share this history lesson?

Finally, the latinization of the East, undertaken by the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, constitutes a painful repudiation of the explicit declarations of the popes, who promised the Eastern Christians who return to unity that they will not be latinized.

If the Eastern Christians can be Catholic without being Latin Catholics, I ask: why, then, maintain in the East, in the middle of the twentieth century and in a Muslim land, a Western patriarchate that can survive only by latinizing at the expense of the Eastern church?

For all these reasons, I owe it to my conscience and to my fidelity to Christ to ask for one of two things: either that the Latin patriarchate not be an exception to the general plan that is proposed to us to eliminate all the Latin patriarchs of the East, or that this question not be dealt with by the ecumenical council but be left to the judgement of the Holy Father, who, through the grace given him, will see what appropriate steps should be taken according to the variable needs of the times. In the last analysis, this is a purely administrative matter that ecumenical councils are not in the habit of handling.

Besides, what I ask for is the elimination of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem as a patriarchate, and not the elimination of the Latin rite or the Latin community in the Holy Land. The East offers hospitality to everybody. Far more, I hope that the Latin presence in the Holy Land may be more vital and stronger still, without the necessity of clothing the person who governs this Latin community in the Holy Land with the patriarchal dignity. The Patriarchate of Jerusalem is an Eastern patriarchate, and I believe that it must remain Eastern.

@MAJOR SEC HDG = Final Declarations on the Patriarchate

@BODY TEXT ITA = (In the end, the Eastern commission decided not to present a distinct schema <169>On the Eastern Patriarchs.<170> The subject was to be treated in a few paragraphs within the schema <169>On the Eastern Catholic Churches.<170> Patriarch Maximos IV, in his intervention at the Council on October 15, 1964, expressed his views on the matter:)

In its disciplinary proposals the present schema <169>On the Eastern Churches<170> constitutes, generally speaking, a certain progress, for which we wish to congratulate the Eastern Commission that prepared it.

Unfortunately, we cannot say the same about what in the schema stems from a more doctrinal or more ecumenical vision of the problems.

Thus, for example, the preamble praises the Catholic Church for always having had the highest esteem for the institutions of Eastern Christianity. In doing so, it sets up the Catholic Church, which extends this praise, as opposite to or as distinct from the Eastern Churches which are the objects of this praise. This leads to the belief either that the Catholic Church is identical with the Latin Church, which is not correct, or else that the Eastern Churches are not in essence in the Catholic Church, which is equally incorrect.

And yet of all the chapters in the present schema the weakest is without doubt the one devoted to patriarchs (Nos. 7-11). This chapter, as it has been presented to us, is inadmissible. It defies history and in no sense prepares for the future.

In dealing with the most venerable institution of the hierarchy after the Roman primacy, the schema has succeeded only in giving definitions that are academic and also incomplete, while expressing platonic hopes, most often repeating recent canonical texts, as if Vatican II had not been called to take a few steps forward but had to be content with the imposed status quo.

Four important comments need to be made:

1. It is false to present the patriarchate as an institution just for the East. It is a universal institution of the Catholic Church that is proud to have at its head the veritable successor of Peter in the Roman See. The foremost patriarch of the Catholic Church is the Bishop of Rome, as the ecumenical councils have declared so many times, as it appears in the official titles of the pope in the <169>Annuario Pontifico,<170> as is confirmed by the very name of this <169>patriarchal<170> basilica of Saint Peter where we are assembled. We are also reminded by the name of the residence of the Bishop of Rome, the Lateran Palace, perpetuated in archives and in stone: <169>Patriarchium.<170> As successor of Peter in his universal primacy over the whole Church and as Bishop of Rome, the pope is also patriarch of the West. Patristic tradition and the ecumenical councils have always considered him to be such, without ever believing that this could be detrimental to his primacy. Why would the pope, who does not feel diminished by reason of the fact that he is the Bishop of Rome and as such the equal of the bishops, feel diminished by reason of the fact that he is also patriarch of the West, and on that level the colleague of the Eastern patriarchs? Today we have gone too far in forgetting the concept of the <169>patriarchate of the West<170> and replaced it by the institution of a few honorary titles. This last-named institution must disappear in order to make way for the true concept of the patriarchate, a concept that is absolutely necessary for a serene dialogue with Orthodoxy. Why deny these facts, as if that could wipe them out of history?

2. The patriarchate is not an anonymous institution. The eumenical councils that the shema cites have recognized this dignity as applying to certain designated sees that they cited by name, for specific reasons peculiar to those sees. Now, these sees should be cited once again, even if the list needs to be complemented by the names of other patriarchal sees that have been created more recently. It is not permissible to speak of the Eastern patriarchs without citing even once, for example, the Holy See of Rome or the Ecumenical See of Constantinople, whose incumbent represents, above and beyond any consideration of numbers or temporal influence, the leading dignitary of the Orthodox Church, recognized and honored as such by His Holiness Pope Paul VI. As far as the drafters of the schema are concerned, it would seem that the historic encounter between His Holiness Pope Paul VI and His Holiness Patriarch Athenagoras I means nothing at all.

3. If we wish to be faithful to history, which is as it were the action of the Holy Spirit in the Church, we must not forget that the incumbents of the patriarchal sees were intimately linked to the universal solicitude for the whole Church entrusted to Peter and his successors. The popes and the Eastern patriarchs were, during the period of union, the peaks of the universal episcopate. Almost as soon as he was elected, the Bishop of Rome would send his profession of faith to the four Eastern patriarchs. And the latter, as soon as they were enthroned, did the same exclusively among themselves and with the Bishop of Rome. And so a patriarchal college was constituted in the Church, or as we would say today, a <169>summit<170> of universal solicitude, through which, while safeguarding the inalienable and personal rights of the successor of Peter, was brought about the visible collegial communion of all the episcopate. Their exchange of <169>irenical<170> letters (the name in use in Orthodoxy) would be proof enough of this, without mentioning the exchange of the pallium, sent by the patriarchs to the pope as well as by the pope to the patriarchs, and the commemoration by each of the patriarchs of the Bishop of Rome and of the other patriarchs.

It is certainly up to the supreme authority in the Church to renew or rejuvenate these forms of ancient ecclesial communion. But the principle on which they were founded must not be passed over in silence if we wish to offer our Orthodox brothers a rough draft of the charter of union.

4. Finally, the patriarchate is not merely an honorary dignity. Its dignity can only be the external expression of its actual importance. Besides, we must not heap honors and precedence on the Eastern patriarchs, only to treat them afterwards as subordinates whose authority is limited in its smallest details by infinite obligatory recourse, both in advance and afterwards, to the offices of the Roman Curia. While leaving untouched the prerogatives of the successor of Peter, each patriarch, with his Holy Synod, must under ordinary conditions be the ultimate recourse for all the business of his patriarchate. It is this internal canonical autonomy that saved the Eastern Christian Churches from all sorts of vicissitudes over the course of history. It could be an interesting formula to envision for other ecclesial groups that find themselves in exceptional situations. It could also serve as the basis for union between the Catholic Church and other Churches, in the West as well as in the East.

Venerable Fathers, when we speak of the East, we must not think only of those who humbly represent it today within the bosom of Roman Catholicism. We must reserve a place for those who are absent. We must not have a closed circuit of Catholicism in a dynamic and conquering Latinity on the one hand and a rather weak and absorbed fragment of the East on the other. We must leave the circuit open. Let us make Catholicism faithful to its solemn affirmations, to its definition of <169>catholic<170> in the sense of universal. Let us make it great, not for our humble persons and communities in blessed communion with Rome, but so that our original Churches can recognize themselves in it when it has been enlarged, in fact as well as legally, through the accomplishment of love, to universal dimensions.

@MAJOR SEC HDG = Patriarch - Cardinal @BODY TEXT ITA = (What Patriarch Maximos dreaded <197> being made a Cardinal <197> was to happen to him.. It was the greatest trial of his life. Taken by surprise by events, the butt of misunderstanding, the patriarch gave the ultimate proof of his faith: he placed his trust in the pope. Summing up and repeating in part the different declarations through which he sought to legitimize his attitude, the patriarch on March 14, 1965, in the Cathedral of Beirut, gave an important discourse <169>on his acceptance and of the dignity of the cardinalate.<170> The discourse represented the ultimate evolution of his thinking. We are publishing an extensive part of it:)

Most beloved sons:

You have chosen, in the person of your revered Pastor, our brother his Excellency Archbishop Philip Nabaa, to invite us to celebrate before you a solemn Liturgy on the occasion of our return from Rome where the supreme pontiff His Holiness Paul VI has just given the Eastern Church a greater global radiance by conferring the cardinalate on some of its patriarchs, with full respect for the dignity of the Eastern Church, its particular mission, and its ancient traditions.

We for our part would like to profit from this happy occasion to explain to you, with the clarity and frankness that is our custom, this question whose true nature has escaped certain persons, for it is not without difficulties, given the historical, canonical, and theological implications which have given rise to differing interpretations.

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Yes, for valid reasons, we have now accepted the dignity of the cardinalate, just as for valid reasons we had in the past excused ourselves from receiving it. In acting in this way we have not deviated from the course which, with God's grace, we have always tried to follow.

Here are a few clarifications:

I. The reasons that formerly motivated the refusal can be summed up in a few words: patriarchal dignity in the East, especially the dignity of the apostolic sees, constitutes a peak above which there is only the papal primacy which extends to the entire Church, both East and West. As for the dignity of the cardinalate, from its origins it has been an institution of the particular Church of Rome. Organized during the Middle Ages, it evolved over the centuries, but it never ceased being a Western dignity whose incumbents were considered as counselors or auxiliaries of the pope in the central administration. We likewise know that according to the decisions of the ecumenical councils, in particular the first seven, equally recognized by the East and the West, there are five apostolic patriarchates in the universal Church: Rome, which holds primacy in the entire Church, a primacy that the Eastern Church recognizes as much as Western Church, even though they do not agree as to the extent or scope of this primacy, then Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and finally Jerusalem.

Therefore, since the patriarchal institution constitutes a peak in the East, surpassed only by the papacy, and since on the other hand the cardinalate is, in the patriarchate of the West, an accessory dignity and of more recent institution, it is not normal for the dignity of the cardinalate to be conferred as an indication of promotion to someone who already possesses through the patriarchate the highest dignity. For a patriarch, the very fact of receiving this dignity as a promotion constitutes an incompatibility with the discipline of the Eastern Church.

That is the truth that, for years and even before the present the Second Vatican Council, we have worked and continue to work to propagate, in order to make it known to the Christian West where the idea of the patriarchate has almost vanished. In fact, the only existing patriarchate in the West is the patriarchate of Rome. Now, this Roman patriarchate has somehow been merged with the papacy. It has become so completely identified with it that its distinctive signs are no longer discernible, and it has become, so to speak, simply a title. Moreover, for many, if not the majority, that pointing out that the pope is also the patriarch of the West arouses astonishment, if it is not considered an offense against the Holy See of Rome and a diminution of its rank. But is it possible to open a dialogue with a view to union with our Orthodox brothers if the authentic rights of the patriarchates recognized by the ecumenical councils are not restored to them? Now, these authentic rights require that the patriarchal sees succeed one another in rank without intermediaries, according to the established order of precedence: Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem.

For these many reasons, we have maintained that the cardinalate, as it has existed in the Latin Church, was not appropriate for an Eastern patriarch.

II. As for the reasons that now justify the acceptance of this dignity, they may be summed up in the following considerations:

1. The role of the cardinalate, under the impetus of His Holiness Pope Paul VI, is manifestly evolving. It is being transformed from being a local and Western institution into a worldwide and catholic institution embracing both the East and the West. Today the cardinalate has in fact become a senate of the entire Catholic Church.

In order to emphasize this transformation and avoid any confusion, we have chosen not to use the expression <169>Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church,<170> but to say simply <169>Cardinal of the Holy Church.<170> In this way everybody will understand that in accepting the cardinalate we did not join the Western Church, but that we have remained Eastern, faithful to the East. Thus the evolution of the very notion of the cardinalate entails an evolution in our attitude toward it. 2. In addition, the valid motives that militated against the acceptance of the dignity of the cardinalate by an Eastern patriarch have disappeared, or almost so. There remains only a trace of them that will progressively disappear, we hope, thanks to the understanding shown by His Holiness Pope Paul VI with respect to existing realities, and thanks also to his heart's openness to the dimensions of the world.

Here, then, are the principal changes that have in fact already occurred and whose absence has until now prevented the patriarchs of the East from accepting the dignity of the cardinalate:

a. According to Latin usage, every cardinal received a titular church in Rome, which he was supposed to administer as a bishop, priest, or deacon. In this way the cardinals became, even though in appearance only, bishops, priests, or deacons of the particular Church of Rome and became, so to speak, a part of its local clergy. Obviously, this was not applicable to the situation of an Eastern authority, especially if it is patriarchal. Now, according to the new dispensation, the Eastern patriarchs receive no Roman titles but enter the sacred college in the title of their own patriarchal sees.

b. A second modification in the discipline in effect until now affects the rank of the Eastern patriarchs in relation to the cardinals. We know that the ancient ecumenical councils decided that the Eastern patriarchs occupied the first rank after the patriarch of Rome. But during the centuries of separation the Christian West experienced a disciplinary evolution that was independent of the East. As a result, it came to consider the cardinalate as the highest dignity in the Church after the papacy. It thus gave the cardinals, even those who were laymen, deacons, or simple priests, precedence over all the bishops, archbishops, and patriarchs. On the basis of this unilateral evolution, the canon law for the East promulgated in 1957 relegated Eastern patriarchs to the last rank after cardinals, and indeed after every representative of the pope, even simple priests. Such an error cannot be accepted by Eastern tradition.

Today, the Holy Father intends to recognize in practice the prerogatives of the Eastern patriarchs. At the second session of the Council he transferred their places, having them face the cardinals. Today, he introduces them, at least a few of them, into his supreme council, by recognizing their right of precedence not only over all the Catholic bishops and archbishops of the entire world, numbering over 2,000, but also over the cardinals as well, except for those whom His Holiness considers as forming a single person with him, namely the six cardinals who are placed at the head of the so-called subvicariate dioceses, and who are immediately subject to the Roman metropolitan. Even this exception is subject to change, and it is possibly a first step toward recognizing the rights of precedence and the other historical prerogatives of the Eastern patriarchs, not because of their entrance into the college of cardinals but simply by reason of the fact that they are patriarchs.

c. The third modification of the discipline in effect until now is that in accepting the dignity of the cardinalate we do not cease to consider the patriarchal dignity as a peak in the ecclesiastical hierarchy, after the papal dignity. As for the cardinalate, we consider it an additional responsibility given to us for the good of the universal Church. That is why we do not see the cardinalate as a promotion in the strict sense of the word. We were and we remain above all the patriarch of our patriarchal sees. To this primary and fundamental dignity we shall add the title of cardinal, indicating an additional and independent responsibility that we assume in the council of His Holiness the Pope and in the Roman dicasteries (congregations, tribunals, offices, etc.) for the good of the whole church. That is the reason we have changed nothing of our attire, of our general comportment, of our daily routine, or of our traditional titles. His Holiness the Pope himself, when he graciously spoke to us, continued to address us as Beatitude and Patriarch. We are preserving this title as a precious patrimony of the Church. In our turn, we shall ask that we continue to be called: <169>His Beatitude the Patriarch.<170> That is what we were, that is what we shall remain.

d. A fourth change has affected the investiture ceremony of the cardinals. This ceremony included gestures, symbols, and words incompatible with the patriarchal dignity. Inherited from the Middle Ages when the papacy experienced its temporal apogee, it was inspired by the customs of feudalism. The pope transformed this rather secular ceremony and replaced it with the most sublime of the liturgical rites, namely a Eucharistic concelebration, in which he joined with us in consecrating and receiving the Body of Christ. To this rite he has added the fraternal embrace, the symbol of our greater collaboration with His Holiness in carrying, as His Holiness says, the weight of the keys of the Kingdom that have been entrusted to him for the government of the Church. By this gesture the pope soared like an eagle from earth to heaven. Who would have predicted a few years ago that such a transformation would come about in so short a time?

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All these things and other less important ones have produced a change in the cardinalate which we cannot fail to take into consideration as if it had never occurred. It is one thing to hold fast to principles, and it is quite another to apply them according to the variable circumstances and events that arise. Levelheadedness is the principal quality of good judgement.

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These bold modifications that are indispensable for dialogue with Orthodoxy, for the sake of restoring the necessary equilibrium of the Church, have been realized today in great part, sooner than expected, bringing divergent points of view closer together and saving the time and efforts of those participating in the dialogue.

3. If we add to all that has been said the reiterated wish of our Holy Father the Pope to see us closer to him in the central administration <197> for the general good of the Church, with the aim of making it reach out more to the world in order to give this world back to Christ <197> we would have thought that we were failing in our duty if we had not responded to this paternal appeal coming from the pope's apostolic heart. If, in accordance with our axiom, we wish to remain faithful to the East and to Orthodoxy, should we be less faithful to the Catholic Church?

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Another consideration is added to this, namely: in questions in which opinion is divided and in which theoretical discussion is still possible, it is permissible for each one to express his point of view on the serious measures that the highest authority intends to take. But once this duty of forewarning is accomplished, there is nothing more pleasing to God and more useful to men than conforming to the wishes of superiors. If, indeed, the Catholic Church can take glory in anything, it is certainly in its spirit of order and discipline which has enabled it to experience an unparalleled spiritual development in the world.

It is also a principle followed from the earliest days by the Eastern and Western Churches that in controversial questions the view of the Bishop of Rome must prevail, for the common tradition recognizes in him the function of arbiter, moderator, director, and chief pastor in the universal Church of God.

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Two motives have inspired us, in agreement with our Holy Synod, to assume the attitude that we have followed and which, in our view, must be followed. These are on the one hand our personal conviction, following the changes made in the institution of the cardinalate, and on the other hand the reiterated wish of our Holy Father the Pope, for whom we nurture in the depths of our heart the greatest respect, veneration, and love. For God has chosen him to lead the Church according to the legitimate requirements of our times, after his predecessor of holy memory had opened its bronze portals to the world.

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Perhaps God also willed this new situation for the Eastern patriarchs so as to permit them to make their voices heard more forcefully by the Latin world in which their faithful are already scattered to the four corners of the world.

Here we call to mind another consideration which has determining weight in the decision of our brothers the bishops. History and experience are the best teachers. At the synod that we held during the summer of 1962 to study the conditions for our participation in Vatican II, which was soon to open, an extremist opinion was expressed and discussed which advised us to boycott the Council and not participate in it as a form of protest, until the Holy See of Rome granted us our rightful demands. But the Holy Synod decided that we had to be content to formulate the necessary reservations and then take part in the Council. If the extremist position had then prevailed and we had abstained from being present at the Council, we would not have accomplished the great good that God, through no merit on our part, has worked through us. Today, likewise, we are convinced that our positive attitude toward the cardinalate <197> although this institution, in its relations with the patriarchate has not attained its fullest development <197> is preferable to the attitude of negative intransigence which, had we adopted it, would perhaps have inspired in certain groups am ephemeral reaction of admiration and praise, but which would surely have prevented any efficacious contribution on our part within the Council, not only for the good of our particular Church but also for the good of the ecumenical movement itself.

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We also think that it would be underestimating the great personages of Orthodoxy <197> as has been reported to us from one of them <197> to suppose that they are incapable of understanding that the cardinalate, like every other ecclesiastical institution, is susceptible to evolution and has in fact evolved.

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My very dear sons, we have wished to give you these brief clarifications so that you might know the real truth, just as it is, and so that you might appreciate the efforts of your spiritual leaders who are working not for their own personal interests but for the interests of the universal Church and yours as well. We have also done this so that you might know the efforts being made by His Holiness Pope Paul VI, who, in his work of understanding and openness to the Eastern Churches, must also take into account the mentality of hundreds of millions of our Western Catholic brothers and the ancient traditions in effect in the Roman Curia, and all of this so as to bring hearts closer together in view of the union of the holy Churches of God, efforts that history will record with his name in letters of gold.

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As for us, we shall actively and humbly pursue our apostolic ministry for the remainder of the days that will be given to us to live on this earth, so as always to do the will of Christ, to whom we have consecrated our life and all that we are. To Him, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory forever.

@CHAPTER # = Chapter 7

@CHAPTER TITLE = The Episcopate and the Roman Curia

@MAJOR SEC HDG = The Pope, the Roman Curia, and the Episcopate

@BODY TEXT ITA = (This memorandum was presented at the February 1962 meeting of the Central Commission. In an analysis of the schema <169>On the Relations between the Bishops and the Congregations of the Roman Curia,<170> the patriarch established the theological foundations of decentralization.)

This schema could be entitled <169>On Decentralization in the Church.<170> It states the desire to recognize broader powers for the bishops and at the same time limit the competences, which we believe are too broad, of the dicasteries (offices, congregations, tribunals, etc.) of the Roman Curia.

I. The least felicitous part of this schema, it seems to us, is its preamble. Certain doctrines are insinuated in it that seem to us to be at the very least debatable.

1. Thus, after affirming in the first paragraph that the episcopate stems immediately from Christ, the preamble continues: <169>Jurisdictio particularis, quam singuli Episcopi vi officio pastoralis in suas dioeceses exercent, a Romano Pontifice, tanquam ex causa proxima, est derivanda<170> (The particular jurisdiction which the individual bishops, by the power of their pastoral office, exercise in their dioceses, must be derived from the Roman pontiff, as if from the immediate cause).

First of all, this theory, which makes the Roman pontiff the immediate source of the pastoral power in their dioceses, is in no sense a dogma. It is not even a necessary consequence of a dogma, since the Roman primacy does not necessarily determine that the pope be the source of all episcopal power in a specific diocese. Inasmuch as the bishops are by divine right the successors of the Apostles, they receive their power over a specific diocese through the authority that presided over their election or nomination.

In the West, for many centuries but not always, no bishop has been nominated except through the definitive intervention of the Roman pontiff. Thus the proponents of the theory that prevails in the preamble has been able to find a certain basis in this fortuitous canonical custom. In the East, however, it is unanimously agreed that the bishops were neither named nor confirmed by the popes. This was recognized not only by the Eastern Christians but also by the popes themselves, who, in classical Christian antiquity before the great separations, never asserted that the designation of the bishops or their investiture depended solely on them, either explicitly or implicitly. What, then, is the basis for the theory which the preamble sets forth?

It is true that this theory is currently called a <169>common doctrine.<170> We would prefer to call it a <169>current theory.<170> However, in our opinion, not only is this theory not defined, but it is very debatable, to say the least. It is therefore not appropriate to insinuate it as a doctrine peaceably accepted by everyone, because it is heavy with consequences for a dialogue between the East and the West. We see it as one of the evergrowing number of theories popularized by certain modern theologians and canonists in order to exalt papal power at all costs, to the detriment of the power of the bishops. Besides, the preamble finds no document to support this theory other than a reference to Wernz-Vidal. We believe that this is not sufficient and that nothing in the authentic tradition of the Fathers could be found to support such an extreme theory. It is better, therefore, to remain in the traditional line of the dogma defined by the First Vatican Council: the Roman pontiff has a direct power over each of the pastors and the faithful. But it does not logically follow from this that he is the ultimate and exclusive source of all power in the Church. 2. Furthermore, the preamble states that the Roman pontiff, by reason of his right of primacy <169>jurisdictionem episcopalem plus minusve amplificare vel restringere potest<170> (He is able to widen or restrict the episcopal power to a greater or lesser degree). Asserted in this way without any nuances, this proposition is not correct. It is true that in view of the common good, the synods, the patriarchs, and the popes can, up to a certain point, limit the exercise of the power of the bishops in order to better coordinate their pastoral activity. It is also true that the pope can reserve for himself as many <169>major causes<170> as the common good of the Church demands. But it is false to insinuate, as the preamble does, that the limits of episcopal power depend unconditionally on the will of the pope who can widen them or restrict them arbitrarily. This would make the bishops simply legal representatives of the pope, having no attributes except those that the pope cares to give them. Such insinuations are very serious.

3. Then, the preamble gives the reasons why the popes have reserved for themselves certain <169>major causes.<170> We must say that the extensive extension of these <169>major causes<170> has been the principal reason for the excessive Roman centralization about which the Catholic world is now complaining almost unanimously. Before a <169>major cause<170> can be reserved to the pope, there must be assurance that this reservation is demanded by the higher good of the Holy Church, and not by the human desire to <169>centralize.<170> All power has a natural tendency to monopolize as many prerogatives as possible at the expense of the powers of others. The trend toward centralization that for certain fortuitous historical reasons has dominated the Roman organizations for centuries must now give way to a trend toward decentralization, for the greatest good of the Catholic Church and of the Roman organizations themselves.

4. Finally, the preamble, in response to the almost unanimous hopes of prelates and Catholic universities, proposes that broader faculties be granted to the bishops. On this subject we take the liberty to point out that the power of the bishops must not be conceived as the aggregate of the faculties that are granted to them by the pope. A bishop in his diocese should have all the powers necessary for his apostolic ministry, certain cases being reserved to the synods, to his patriarch or metropolitan, or to the pope. It is not a question of giving the bishops powers they would not already have; it is a question rather of enumerating the cases that are believed to be reserved to supra-episcopal authority for the common good.

Therefore, instead of drawing up a list of faculties, whether quinguennial or other, there is need to pinpoint more precisely a list of reservations that are truly <169>major causes,<170> while limiting them considerably. It is not a question of aiving more to the bishops; the need is to take less away from them. This change in perspective is of the greatest importance.

II. Turning now to the details of the measures taken to decentralize the Church, we make the following comments:

1. The schema proposes that certain more important <169>faculties<170> be reserved to the nuncios and apostolic delegates. It seems to us that this is not expedient, for it would contribute still more to having these representatives of the Holy See considered as super-bishops. Now this falsifies the true notion of the episcopacy. Either the <169>faculty<170> in question can be left to the bishop, or else, if it is a very serious matter involving the general good of the Church, the bishop must have recourse to the supreme authority. But the representatives of the Holy See must not be made into viceroys of sorts, commanding <169>prefects<170> (bishops) guided from afar by central organizations. This does not seem to us to be the authentic concept of the Church.

2. Once again we propose the elimination of the <169>secrecy of the Holy Office<170> which might open the way to abuses, just as we also propose the reform of the Holy Office itself, which must be reorganized in such a way as to avoid the numerous complaints that are justifiably being levelled against it from all sides, even if one does not always dare to say so because of the climate of fear that the Holy Office has created in the Church.

3. Among the proposed reforms should be added the internationalization of the Roman Curia. At least seventy-five percent of the central government of the Church and the external representation of the Holy See is in fact reserved today to Italians who are tempted to consider the Holy See a little like a family patrimony, a source of advantage and an opportunity for a career. An internationalization of the Curia would broaden the horizons of the central government, permit a wider choice of personnel, lead to a salutary renewal in ideas, and make the Church appear as truly and effectively catholic. There is still too much nationalist chauvinism in the Roman Curia. We hold no brief against the Italians, whose beautiful human qualities on the contrary we esteem, but we must affirm that they are not the whole Catholic Church and therefore must not have a monopoly on it. These are things that everyone thinks deep in their hearts and about which there is talk in small committees, but concerning which unfortunately few of the ecclesiastical leaders dare express their opinions openly, in order to avoid the annoyances and trouble that it might cause them. As for us, we owe it to our conscience, to God, and to the Church to be very frank on this point as well as on all others, even at the risk of displeasing persons who are most dear to us.

The comments that we have just made on this schema are of a very serious nature. If certain theologians insist on applying to the papacy ideas that do not adequately conform with dogma, and if there is a militant effort to have them accepted, we run the great risk of seeing this Council fail lamentably from the point of view of Christian unity. Far more, we would have definitively created an insu rmountable obstacle to union between the Eastern Church and the Western Church. This is enough to make every soul that loves our Lord and who wishes to accomplish his divine desire for unity tremble with fear.

@MAJOR SEC HDG = For a <169>Synod of Bishops<170> around the Pope

@BODY TEXT ITA = (This is one of the most important interventions of Patriarch Maximos IV. It took place on November 6, 1963, at the end of the sixty-first General Congregation. Received with applause, it was to encounter strong opposition in certain quarters. We know that ultimately the pope constituted around himself a <169>Synod of Bishops,<170> an eloquent sign of episcopal collegiality in the central administration of the Church.)

Chapter I of this schema on <169>The Bishops and the Government of the Dioceses<170> envisions, around the supreme pontiff and to help him in his primatial ministry with respect to the universal Church, only the congregations, the tribunals, and the offices which in their totality form what has come to be called the <169>Roman Curia.<170> In No. 5, it is true, our text proposes a small and timid reform, envisioning the possibility of inviting bishops from the entire world to take part in the dicasteries of the Roman Curia in the role of members or counselors.

It seems to me that this way of limiting to the Roman Curia the collaboration of the Catholic episcopate in the central government of the Church corresponds neither to the real needs of the Church of our time nor to the collegial responsibility of the episcopate with respect to the Church.

Likewise, may I be allowed to propose a new solution, which appears to me to meet more fully the needs of our time and to agree with sound theological principles.

Peter with the Apostles, that is the pope with the episcopal body. The pope is also the Bishop of Rome, the Primate of Italy, and the patriarch of the West. Yet these roles are secondary although real <197> by comparison with his universal primacy.

Such being the case, it follows that when the pope governs the universal Church, he associates to himself, to share his responsibility, the college of bishops which succeeds the college of the Apostles, and not the priests, deacons, and other clerics of the Diocese of Rome. The particular court of Rome, which belongs specifically to the Diocese of Rome, must not take the place of the college of the Apostles living in their successors the bishops. It is therefore the duty of this holy Council to use the means necessary to bring to light this truth beclouded by an age-old practice wrapped in ever-deepening shadows, to the point where many, even among us, have come to think of the situation as being normal, even though it is something else. >>>>>>>>>>ms desunt >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> With the present court of the pope it is difficult for those who are outside the Catholic Church and for some who are in it to see the ecumenical stance of the Church, and they see instead the particularism of a particular Church to which men, time, and favorable circumstances have given a considerable human and temporal increment of grandeur, power, and wealth. The very fact of assigning the cardinals to particular churches in Rome clearly shows that the cardinals belong to the particular Church of Rome, and not to the universal Church of Christ.

It goes without saying that all the bishops of the world cannot be constantly assembled in council. This concrete responsibility of helping the pope in the general government of the Church must devolve upon a small group of bishops representing their colleagues. This is the group that could form the true holy college of the universal Church. It would consist of the principal bishops of the Church. These would be first of all residential and apostolic patriarchs, as recognized by the ecumenical councils of the first centuries; then the cardinal-archbishops as a prerogative of their cathedral and not of a Roman parish; and finally there would be bishops chosen in the episcopal conferences of every country. The last suggestion should be studied in order to be made perfectly clear. This universal holy college could be convoked by the pope at certain fixed times and when the need is felt to debate the general concerns of the Church.

Yet, of course, that is not enough. There would be a need to have constantly in Rome what the Eastern Church calls the <169>synodos endimousa,<170> that is to say, a few members of this apostolic and universal holy college succeeding one another so as to be at the side of the pope, their leader, who always has the last word by primatial right. That is where the supreme council of the Church, the <169>suprema,<170> would be, the executive and decisive supreme council of the universal church. All the Roman bureaus must be submissive to it. This suprema will have its special rules concerning its constitution. It will make Christ shine out over the entire world, especially the pagan world. Since it will not be closed in on itself, it will not even think of wishing to monopolize everything, regulate everything, dominate everything in a uniform and sometimes petty way. It will understand that the problem of peoples must be settled by themselves or with them but never without them.

To sum up, we say that the Holy Father cannot, any more than anyone else in the world, whoever he or she may be, govern with his confidants an institution as large as the universal Church in which the best interests of Christianity in the whole world are at stake. And all this is in conformity with the Gospel, for while the Church has been entrusted in a special way to Peter and to his successors, it has also been entrusted to the Apostles and their successors. And if this government is entrusted to nonconstitutional persons, such as the confidants and the local clergy, the general good would not be served and real disasters could ensue. History gives us examples of this.

In our time, these truths of a theological, constitutional, and practical order take on an aspect of urgency and gravity.

In the lands of the Mediterranean civilization of the ancient Roman Empire of the East and the West, or in lands that have sprung up from it, things might work out for an indeterminate time if we are content to grant great powers to the episcopal conferences, which, after all, are a modern form of the historical patriarchates. However, in the countries with great agglomerations of peoples like China and India, lands of great and ancient civilizations that have nothing in common with Mediterranean civilization, something more is needed and it must be found with the help of Christianity itself. The same can be said of the African Churches which are so rich in their dynamisms.

This will involve a great and fundamental effort so that these Churches may feel at home with respect to their language, mentality, ways, and customs. They must feel that Christianity is not foreign to them, that it can become the soul of their soul. These peoples should also enjoy a greater internal autonomy than that of the Mediterranean lands, while preserving the necessary link at the highest level with the See of Peter. Only what is essential to the constitution of the Church should be imposed on them, as was decided by the first Council of Jerusalem in the early days with respect to the Gentiles. After so much very meritorious work, dedication, expense, and sacrifice, can we say that Christianity has won the hearts of these lands? However, this must be achieved.

Is is up to the new holy college to elucidate these great problems and to give them the solution they require, with the help of prayer, study, time, and the necessary prudence. The members of the holy college, coming from all parts of the world and thus having an ecumenical mentality, will be in a position to bring this work to a successful conclusion and to endow the Church with an organization capable of leading all peoples to Catholic unity.

Seeing that the Holy Spirit, through the intermediary of Pope John XXIII of holy memory, inspired the holding of this Council to bring about openness and dialogue on the part of the Church with the entire world, and seeing that after his death, the Holy Spirit inspired the choice of our Holy Father Paul VI to continue and organize this divine work, it is because He is still in His Church to guide and vivify it. <169>Send forth your Spirit and He will renew the face of the earth.<170>

@MAJOR SEC HDG = The Episcopal Conferences

@BODY TEXT ITA = (First of all, here is a memorandum presented by Patriarch Maximos at the meeting of February 1962 of the Central Commission. It is dated February 9, 1962. It comments on the draft of a schema <169>On the Meetings or Conferences of Bishops.<170>)

I approve the schema as a whole. The idea of encouraging episcopal conferences on the national level coincides with one of the concerns of the Eastern Catholic Churches: the restoration in Catholicism of the idea and the exercise of episcopal collegiality. The Church is not made up of individuals directly linked to the head, or even of bishops directly and exclusively subject to the pope. The Church is an organic body, constituted not of individual cells and of a head, but of organs, diversely constituted, diversely grouped, and with diverse functions. The bishops are not responsible only for their respective dioceses. Collegially they are also responsible for the Church of their country and for the universal Church.

However, I feel that I must make the following observations on the text of the schema that is presented to us:

1. In the East, episcopal conferences or synods must be viewed overall on a twofold level: first, synods of one specific church or rite, then synods of the entire Catholic episcopate independently of rites. The former, namely the synods of a rite, generally extend beyond the borders of one nation. The latter can usefully be confined to a specific nation. It would be good likewise to look forward to inter-ritual patriarchal synods for the East.

2. The decisions of these episcopal conferences, it is said, have no juridical value. Actually, I don't see why these conferences that assemble the entire episcopate of a country would not be able to make decisions that are binding, as long as they are not contrary to the common law of the Church. When these conferences are held annually or frequently, synods or plenary councils will be rather rare. Why then, not grant these conferences the juridical strength that the decisions of the plenary councils have, especially since constitutionally there is no difference between the episcopal conferences and the plenary councils?

3. It is said that if in these episcopal conferences a question requires a juridical solution there must be recourse to the Holy See and they must abide by its decision. It seems to me that the plenary assembly of the bishops of a whole nation unquestionably possesses a legislative power. It would be desirable to recognize that the synods of bishops, even in the Latin Church, possess a genuine power in the Church, without requiring that their decisions have binding power only through recourse to the Holy See. What one bishop can do in his diocese where he possesses legislative power, as is recognized by No. 4 of this paragraph, all bishops of a country can do collegially for all their dioceses. Papal confirmation has been necessary only according to recent ecclesiastical law. In the ecclesiastical past, even in the West, provincial or regional synods were held and made decisions having the power of law for the province or region, without anyone believing it necessary to have a confirmation by the Roman pontiff. It would wise to step back a bit and recognize in the bishops, whether individually or collegially, the powers that the authentic tradition of the Church admits that they have. This contributes to the decentralization that is necessary in the Church.

4. The schema envisions episcopal conferences only at the national level. Today international conferences are increasing in number. Why would the Catholic Church be the last to profit from the benefits of these international gatherings? Episcopal congresses or conferences on the regional or continental level would be useful.

(On the same subject of the episcopal conferences, here is the text of the intervention at the Council on November 15, 1963, by His Excellency Bishop Elias Zoghby, Patriarchal Vicar for Egypt and the Sudan)

I sum up my intervention on the subject of the episcopal conferences in the four following considerations, some of which have ecumenical importance.

1. The Roman Church was involved with the Orthodox East through ten centuries of union, during which it not only recognized its collegial and synodal regime, but even lived this regime, in common with the traditional or apostolic Churches of the East.

Indeed, apart from the great ecumenical councils that assembled the episcopates of the East and the West under the uncontested presidency of the Bishop of Rome, the Roman Church exchanged with the traditional or apostolic Churches of the East synodal letters that dealt with problems concerning both the local Churches and the universal Church.

In our own era, when the Catholic Church is striving to become more accessible to communion with the Orthodox East and is preparing for ecumenical dialogue, the Second Vatican Council cannot propose to the Churches of the East any ecclesiastical regime other than the synodal regime, i.e., the regime of active and effective episcopal conferences. To speak of purely consultative conferences is to condemn all dialogue to failure beforehand.

2. The synods or episcopal conferences in the Catholic Churches of Eastern rites have been stripped of all real power to the advantage of the Roman dicasteries, and especially of the Sacred Congregation for the Eastern Church. In order to realize this, it is sufficient to consult the new code of Eastern canon law. This Congregation actually assumes the role of a pseudopatriarchate.

It is true that the six patriarchs have been named adjunctmembers of the Congregation for the Eastern Church, which already has some thirty members, all of them cardinals. This solution is neither efficacious, nor honorable, nor ecumenical.

To make the patriarchs, presidents de iure of their synods, inferior members, numerically in the minority, in a congregation responsible for the affairs of their own patriarchates is in fact to condemn the synodal regime.

In the place of this congregation there should be an organization whose members would be delegates of the episcopal synods or conferences of the Churches of the Eastern rite.

3. The bishops are the pastors and have primary responsibility for Catholic action and for the entire lay apostolate. Now, this apostolate is no longer circumscribed within the limits of specific parishes or dioceses. It is organized on a national or worldwide scale. Only the collective power of the episcopate will enable it to exercise its pastoral function at the level of the national or universal organizations of the lay apostolate which the bishops must control and direct.

4. In this hall the specter of danger of nationalism has been raised in opposition to collegiality and to episcopal conferences with jurisdiction.

Now, we live in an era when nationalism, as long as it is not exclusive and dedicated to centralization, no longer constitutes an obstacle to the general welfare, but is rather a principle of enrichment for the whole of human society.

Indeed, while young nations are rising and attaining liberty, we see international organizations arise with greater prestige than ever, in which all peoples participate on an equal basis.

Can churchmen be less generous and less open-minded than statesmen?

@MAJOR SEC HDG = Episcopal <169>Faculties<170> or Pontifical <169>Reservations<170>?

@BODY TEXT ITA = (The patriarch discussed this question in a memorandum presented at the meeting of the Central Commission in May, 1962.)

In my opinion, there should be no question in the Catholic Church of <169>faculties conceded to the bishops,<170> permanently or for a specific time, since the bishop has in his own Church by divine right all the powers necessary to rule his flock, without any limitation. However, when there is a higher interest, certain powers are reserved to the metropolitan, to the patriarch, to the synod, or to the Roman pontiff. We should speak of <169>reservations<170> rather than <169>faculties.<170> In other words, we must not draw up a list of <169>faculties<170> but a list of <169>reservations.<170> Moreover, these reservations must be limited to serious cases in which the general interest of the Church requires that the bishop not use his rightful power. But to reserve to the Holy See the blessing of Stations of the Cross or permission for those in cloisters to leave their enclosure to go to the dentist, and then to cede the <169>faculty<170> for this to the Ordinaries is a manifest abuse. If the bishop cannot by his own right bless Stations of the Cross, what else can he do? We have started from the false principle that the Holy See has all the powers and that it alone has them; it then cedes their use, sometimes and as it chooses, to the bishops, as a favor. This concept, never formally stated but applied in practice, is inadmissible.

We even suggest that the future Eastern canon law, even if it is worked out in Rome in the interest of greater uniformity, be promulgated not by the Holy See but by the highest authority of each Eastern Church. The consequence of its promulgation by the Holy See is that every dispensation, even the most minimal, is reserved to the Holy See. If this canon law is promulgated by the highest local authority, there will be no need to have recourse to the Holy See for dispensations in very trivial matters. Only certain serious cases of general interest will be reserved to the Holy See.

@MAJOR SEC HDG = Dividing Dioceses

@BODY TEXT ITA = (A memorandum presented by Patriarch Maximos at the session of the Preparatory Commission in February, 1962. It deals with the problem of <169>personal dioceses<170> for Eastern emigrants.)

In general I approve this schema <169>de Episcopis et dioecesium regimine<170> (on bishops and the administration of dioceses) presented by the commission. I take the liberty, however, of making the following comments:

1. Article I sets out to define what a diocese is. Very felicitously, it stresses that the diocese is a Church in the particular sense of the word, entrusted to a bishop, who is a successor of the Apostles, to govern it, and it adds: <169>sub Romani Pontificis auctoritate<170> (under the authority of the Roman pontiff). We think that this definition should be amplified by saying: <169>sub Romani Pontificis auctoritate aliorumque qui, iure ecclesiastico, potestate supra-episcopali gaudent<170> (under the authority of the Roman pontiff or of others who by ecclesiastical right, enjoy supra-episcopal power), such as patriarchs, archbishops, metropolitans, etc. In fact, it is not correct to present the pope as being the only one to have supra-episcopal power in the Church. Other hierarchs likewise enjoy this power, but only by ecclesiastical right.

2. Paragraph 6 recommends that an episcopal commission in each nation have the responsibility of proposing to the Holy See the fixing of boundaries of dioceses. We know that changes in the boundaries of dioceses are not reserved directly to the Holy See in Eastern law. It is therefore also necessary to amend the text of the schema as follows: <169>Sanctae Sedi vel aliae auctoritati competenti ad normam iuris proponat<170> (Let it propose it to the Holy See or to another competent authority according to the precepts of the law.)

3. The same comment applies to Paragraph 8, which deals with the union of two dioceses that are <169>equal in importance.<170> Inasmuch as this matter is not directly reserved to the Holy See in Eastern law, the text of the schema must be amended as follows: <169>nisi Sedes Apostolica vel alia competens auctoritas ad normam iuris aliter decreverit<170> (unless the Apostolic See or another competent authority according to the precepts of the law should decree otherwise).

4. Article 12 envisions the creation in each country of a commission of bishops with the responsibility of proposing to the Holy See all the necessary mutations in the boundaries of the dioceses, allowing the rights of the Eastern Church to remain unchanged. We think that even for the Latin Church the formation of such a commission is inopportune. We propose that this work be the responsibility of the national episcopal conference itself. It is useless to create new organizations.

5. Paragraph 13 envisions the possibility of creating personal dioceses for the faithful of a different rite. Yet the terms that it uses appear to us inadequate because they are either too weak or too elastic: <169>erigi poterunt<170> (they could be erected). This paragraph must be harmonized with an article already presented by the Commission of the Eastern Churches in which it is said that whenever the number of the faithful of another rite is sufficient and the welfare of souls requires it, the maintenance and development of the Eastern rites must be provided for by the creation of personal dioceses.

The Latin Church has divided up the entire world in such a way that there is not a single parcel of land that is not subject to a Latin jurisdiction. Even in places where there is only one Eastern Catholic jurisdiction, a Latin jurisdiction has been created for the benefit of the Latins, thus doubling the local Catholic hierarchy. By contrast, even for tens of thousands of Eastern Catholics, the Latin hierarchy of certain countries still refuses to allow a personal diocese of the Eastern rite to be created by the Holy See, under the pretext that it wishes to remain alone and free in its movements on its own territory. The modern history of the Eastern Catholic Churches also offers many examples of such discriminatory measures that unjustly affect the Catholics of the Eastern rite, especially in India and in America.

We think that the Council, by using more categorical terms, must request the creation of these personal dioceses of the Eastern rite whenever the number of the faithful permits it and the welfare of souls requires it, so that the long-standing opposition of certain territorial bishops may at last be seen by them to be prejudicial to the good of the Church. In the countries of emigration our Orthodox brothers have their own hierarchy, organize themselves, and develop. We, on the contrary, because we are Catholic, see ourselves deprived of a hierarchy, which not only places us in a state of inferiority by comparison with the Orthodox, but prevents us from assuring the spiritual service of our faithful and the effective oversight of our priests. This results in a veritable confusion in our parishes of the diaspora, and as a consequence the loss of our children in many localities.

@MAJOR SEC HDG = Internationalization of the Roman Curia

@BODY TEXT ITA = (In its <169>Comments on the schemas of the Council<170> (1963), the Holy Synod proposed the practical means of internationalizing the Roman Curia. The comment is made on the subject of a paragraph of the schema <169>On the Bishops and the Government of Dioceses.<170>)

The schema proposes that certain members of the episcopate, designated by the episcopal conferences of each country, be named members or consultors of the Roman congregations. This, it is hoped, will accomplish the internationalization of the Roman Curia, which is so strongly desired. We believe that this measure is not sufficient. To accomplish this internationalization we think that the following measures must be taken:

1. Have the courage to face reality clearly: the Catholic Church, in its central administration, is not very universal, not very international. More than ninety percent of the representative staff of the Holy See consists of Italians: at the Roman Curia the percentage must not be much lower. The same holds true of the Roman universities as a whole. How can we prevent anyone from thinking that the administration of the Catholic Church is de facto monopolized by the Italian nation, which, for that matter, is extremely venerable and obliging? A thousand reasons will be given to justify this state of things. Yet, are these authentic reasons, valid before God, or self-interested pretexts? If the Council does not remedy this situation, the reforms it plans to accomplish in the Church will not be complete. Whether we like it or not, we are faced with an abnormal situation, which can perhaps be explained by the historical evolution of pontifical power, but which is no longer justifiable.

2. In order that the bishops of the entire world be appointed members of the Roman congregations, current canon law, according to which only cardinals can be members of a Roman Congregation, must be changed. Even recently, His Holiness Pope John XXIII, favorably accepting a suggestion that we had made to him, wished to introduce the Eastern patriarchs into the <169>plenary<170> assemblies of the Eastern congregation. It seems that in order not to contravene canon law it was considered adequate to give the patriarchs the title of ''adjunct-members'': a useless insult to the patriarchs whom the Holy Father intended to honor.

3. The practice of the Roman congregations, which holds that the members be neither convoked nor regularly consulted, must also be changed. If, in fact, one of them is temporarily in Rome, and if by chance a <169>plenary<170> is held during that time, he is permitted to attend. But no file is sent to him ahead of time to study. In reality, to be a member of a Roman congregation, for those members who live outside Rome, is a purely honorary title. As a matter of fact, this has been the case for the Eastern patriarchs who have been appointed <169>adjunct-members<170> of the Eastern Congregation. L'Osservatore Romano and other newspapers have outdone themselves in pointing out this gesture of <169>special benevolence<170> by the Holy See for the Eastern patriarchs. In fact, since they were named, the patriarchs have never been convoked; they have never received a file to study; they have never been asked for their opinion. That is how the most generous reforming intentions are neutralized by the routine of administration.

4. In actual fact, the most important questions must be reserved for the deliberations of all the members and not be settled by the Cardinal Prefect or the Secretary, with at most one or two officials of his department.

Naturally, the text of the schema is not opposed to these reforms, but it does not require them. It is content to make theoretical assertions, but it would be good for it to go into a few details on this point.

One would also like to see provision made for a sort of supreme council around the pope, composed of the Eastern patriarchs (as incumbents of the great apostolic sees of Christendom), the cardinals, and even the primates (under whatever title they are called) of all the Churches (for example, the presidents of the national episcopal conferences).

@MAJOR SEC HDG = Reform of the Holy Office

@BODY TEXT ITA = (The Holy Synod, in its <169>Comments on the Schemas of the Council<170> (1963) asked for the reform of the Roman Curia in general and of the Holy Office in particular.)

In our opinion, the Council owes it to itself to provide the fundamental principles of a reform of the Roman Curia. The faithful will be shocked to see the Council begin the reform of dioceses, of parishes, of religious institutions, of associations of the faithful, etc., and not touch on the reform of the organizations of the Roman administration. More than one will think that this indicates the premeditated intention to avoid all reform of the Curia, whereas this reform, according to the universal view of popes, bishops, and the faithful is necessary for the good of the Church.

The reform of all dicasteries of the Roman Curia requires detailed studies which are more within the province of the post-Conciliar commission. The Council should merely order the reform and indicate its broad outlines.

Reform is especially necessary in what concerns the <169>Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office.<170> With respect to this congregation there is something like a conspiracy of silence: a respectful silence perhaps, but above all a silence of fear. We think that on the contrary, through love of the Church and of the Holy See, the Fathers of the Council should speak out, always respectfully but frankly and courageously, for God will hold them accountable for having seen the evil, of complaining about it in secret, and not denouncing it. We shall simply say what we think. But others than ourselves have certainly much more to say.

Every physical or moral body owes it to itself to possess a structure capable of defending itself against ailments. Likewise, the Catholic Church must have within its bosom an effective structure to defend the faith and sound morals. The necessity of a congregation <169>De Fide et Moribus<170> is therefore not called into question. Yet between such an organization and a <169>Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office<170> with its current form and procedures, there is a difference, and what a difference!

Thus a reform of the Holy Office is indispensable. Here are the reforms that, in our opinion, are the most urgent ones:

1. First of all, the spirit that dominates at the Holy Office must be changed. This spirit does not seem to us to be the spirit of Christ and of His holy Gospel. From its origins, the Holy Office has inherited an absolutism of thought and procedures that was inherent in the customs of the time, but that our contemporaries, with good right, can no longer tolerate. The spirit of Christ is a spirit of non-violence, of charity with respect to those who sin or who involuntarily go astray, a spirit of humble search for the truth, of graciousness, service, openness, forgiveness, etc. The members of the Holy Office can be, and we believe are in fact holy persons who individually possess all these qualities. However, as a body, they do not act according to the spirit of Christ. As a result, they give the faithful and others a false idea of Christianity. The Christian virtues must be practiced, not only individually but also collectively, in a body.

2. In particular, what shocks our contemporaries is this self-assurance that the Holy Office displays in every domain, dogmatic as well as moral, political, artistic, etc., so that in its view everything is clear, evident, and certain. The Holy Office acts as if it were endowed with infallibility.

3. It is also necessary that the Holy Office no longer remain above the Law. Its public legislation must be widely known. In legislating on procedure, the Code begins by excepting the Holy Office (can. 1555, #1), which would have its own particular norms, which would remain secret. The procedure of the Holy Office must cease to give the impression of being left to the arbitrariness of the members of this congregation.

4. The Holy Office must also have a clearly-defined iurisdiction. Under the pretext of safeguarding faith and morals, it must not take care of everything. In fact, the entire discipline and the entire administration, and in the last analysis everything in the Church stems in a certain respect from faith. The Holy Office has been seen to meddle in the liturgy, the apostolate, politics, art, nominations, everything, under cover of faith and morals, for example, when it sought to prohibit priests of the Byzantine rite from using the vernacular language in the liturgy or to forbid an Eastern bishop from exercising the apostolate with regard to certain non-Christians of his diocese in order to reserve it for Latin authority of the same diocese.

5. Likewise, it must never happen that a sentence handed down in the first instance by the Holy Office be final. When the Holy Office pronounces on appeal, it is normal that its sentence be final, but when it pronounces in the first instance, an appeal must be assured.

6. Moreover, no sentence of the Holy Office must be handed down without the interested party's having knowledge of the grievances imputed to him and very ample means available to him for defending himself.

7. The system of <169>secret accusation,<170> tolerated if not encouraged by the Holy Office, must be eliminated. The accusers must be severely punished. Except in very rare and very serious cases, such accusing, even when it is not false, harms the Church by creating an atmosphere of suspicion, fear, and terror.

8. No member of the laity, and especially no ecclesiastic, must be judged and condemned by the Holy Office except after his hierarchic leader has been heard. That is ordinary common sense.

9. The Holy Office must no longer condemn ex informata conscientia, by arrogating omnipotent and absolute power over consciences. Justice, and even simple decency, condemn such a method.

10. We must put an end to this terror of the <169>Secretum Sancti Officii,<170> which forbids speaking under pain of very serious censures or which imposes commands that are sometimes repugnant to the conscience. Such for example would be the case when the Holy Office directs a bishop <169>sub secreto Sancti Officii<170> (under the secrecy of the Holy Office) to take a stern measure against a priest while making the priest believe that this measure comes from his bishop and not from the Holy Office. Such procedures are repugnant to the natural conscience and create mistrust in the Church. It is even immoral.

In a word, the Holy Office can no longer live in the Middle Ages. The Inquisition of Torquemada is over. The Holy Office, which inherited its spirit, must also come to an end in its present form and with the procedures that it still uses, in order to give way to a normal Congregation <169>De Fide et Moribus<170> (On Faith and Morals).

We for our part acknowledge that throughout our life we have never heard anything but complaints, and often very bitter ones, concerning the Holy Office. Yet very few are those who dare to raise their voices. We have done so, and we shall do it again, because we deem that our patriarchal and episcopal duty demands that we speak out openly but also with respect for the venerable members of this congregation.

@MAJOR SEC HDG = Ecclesiastical Censures and the Holy Office @BODY TEXT ITA = (A memorandum presented by Patriarch Maximos at the May 1962 meeting of the Central Commission concerning two schemas on ecclesiastical penalties that will not be retained in the future.)

I completely approve of this schema which has introduced into the penal administration of the Church some indispensable guarantees of justice. It was a point of weakness in the procedures of the Church to commit the accused to the prudent judgement of the Ordinary. Certainly, the Ordinaries must have our trust, but trust must also be inspired in the accused, and he should not be given reason to believe that the Church refuses him the guarantees of defense and equity that all the tribunals of the free world today now provide. On this point the Church law was still manifesting the customs of the Middle Ages.

And yet the tribunal that, in the Church, is most seriously accused of not observing these formal guarantees of justice will still escape, according to the schema, this absolutely indispensable reform. I speak of the Holy Office, which Canon Law still dispenses from these rules of common procedure.

We do not doubt the virtue and good intentions of the members of the Holy Office, but that is not the question. What is at stake is whether the Church will continue to tolerate in the mid-20th century that the Holy Office will continue to proceed like the Holy Iqguisition of the Middle Ages, for example by condemning someone ex informata conscientia, without having heard him, without giving him the opportunity to defend himself, and by reserving for itself the rights to inflict penalties not provided by law and to follow an unknown procedure. Such ways of acting degrade the Church in the eyes of unbelievers, and of believers as well. They embitter Catholics. They give the Holy Office an exaggerated power in the Church, to the point of sometimes allowing it to neutralize the wishes of the supreme pontiff. They humiliate the Catholic hierarchy. They surround this organization, which should be only a simple dicastery of the Roman Curia like the others, with a reputation for shadowy terror, something that is most contrary to the spirit of the Gospel. The Holy Office must defend faith and morals, but by evangelical means, not by the means, mitigated it is true, of the Holy Inquisition of the Middle Ages, and, in any case, with the formal and external guarantees of justice that all tribunals of the free world approve.

For all these reasons, we ask that the Holy Office be obliged to observe the common procedures of the Church and not constitute an exceptional tribunal as to either jurisdiction, procedure, or penalties. For the honor of the Church, a radical reform is absolutely indispensable.

I approve all the simplifications in the penal law accomplished by this schema. I would even wish for greater simplification. Ecclesiastical penalties are most often vestiges of a past medieval society. It is enough to have ten or so censures or penalties for really serious cases, intended to avoid scandal and to put an end to contumacy.

The censure foreseen for No. 16 (censure latae sententiae reserved for the Holy See against clerics or religious who become guilty of moral offenses with minors under the age of 16) should not be introduced, in our opinion. First of all, the statement of such an offense in the acts of an ecumenical council does not befit the honor of the Church and the dignity of the clergy. Besides, there is no need to inflict a censure on this sin. Inasmuch as it is concerned with clerics or religious, the evil of the sin, in itself, should suffice to deter them from such a shameful offense. Finally, and above all, it is not fitting that the censure be reserved for the Holy See. This would be interpreted as an indirect means used by the Holy See to dominate consciences. It suffices that confessors warn their penitents of their serious duty, under certain circumstances, to denounce their accomplice to the Ordinary who will take the appropriate measures, since he knows the circumstances of place and persons. Generally speaking, the custom of informing, even if anonymous, must not be introduced into the Church. In fact, if informing to the Holy See is anonymous, it has little usefulness; if it reveals the name of the guilty party it transforms the Holy See into a bureau of police investigation, which is odious.

@MAJOR SEC HDG = Restoring the Free Election of Bishops in the Eastern Church

@BODY TEXT ITA = (This is a post-conciliar memorandum written by the patriarch in Damascus on April 9, 1965. In its <169>Decree on the Eastern Catholic Churches,<170> the Council had decided to restore to the patriarchs together with their synods the right to freely elect, without need of pontifical confirmation, the bishops of their rite within the limits of the patriarchal territory. However, when, after the Council, it was necessary to exercise this right, difficulties arose. This memorandum had to be written in order to defend the decision of the Council.)

1. Nothing in Holy Scripture or in the Tradition of the Fathers reserves to the Roman pontiff the election or confirmation of bishops in the entire world.

In the East, after the variety of customs in the first three centuries, the designation of bishops was always carried out by way of an election in a provincial synod, presided over by the metropolitan, by the patriarchal synod, presided over by patriarch, or by any other synod possessing internal canonical autocephaly.

This in no way denies the right of the supreme pontiff to intervene by directly naming a bishop. However, this intervention is only sporadic, motivated by extraordinary urgent circumstances or by the supreme interest of the universal Church. Apart from these cases, the supreme pontiff respects the normal functioning of the institutions of the East that reserve to the holy synod the free election of bishops.

Once the Eastern bishops have been elected in a synod, they do not need, according to authentic Eastern law, to be confirmed by the supreme pontiff.

Never during the thousand years that the union of the East and the West endured did the Bishop of Rome intervene to confirm the election of an Eastern bishop.

Even in the West, it was only very recently that the nomination or confirmation of bishops was reserved to the Roman pontiffs. This is an evident proof that there is question here of a reservation of a purely disciplinary nature, not demanded by Catholic dogma. Now, in a purely disciplinary matter, not only is evolution accepted, but divergence between the East and the West must be accepted. On this question of the designation of bishops, the East does not impose its discipline on the West. Conversely, neither must the West impose its discipline on the East.

2. Unfortunately, it has happened that when segments of the Eastern Churches united with Rome during the last few centuries, the West imposed its own discipline on them in this matter. Whether due to ignorance of the institutions of the East or to an erroneous conviction that this was a point of doctrine, the fact is that little by little the various Eastern Catholic Churches have been compelled in this matter of the designation of bishops to follow measures that have been progressively restrictive of their internal canonical autonomy, even when the right to freely elect their bishops was not completely taken from them and reserved entirely to the Roman pontiff.

The Eastern Catholic Churches allowed this to be done to them. It did not even occur to them that they could do anything else, since their hierarchs were for the most part imbued with the theories of the Counter-Reformation, according to which all power in the Church issues from the pope and no bishop can be received into the college of the successors of the Apostles unless he is directly named or at least confirmed by the pope.

In this general atmosphere of submissiveness amid the forgetfulness of the authentic discipline of the East, which is more ancient on this point than the discipline of the West, the Melkite Church and the Maronite Church refused to allow themselves to be latinized. The Melkite Synod, presided over by the patriarch, has always proceeded freely in the election of bishops without being held to any previous authorization or confirmation by the Holy See of Rome. Out of deference to the supreme pontiff, the patriarch simply transmitted to Rome, purely by way of information, the name of the elected bishop. Thus Rome knew that there was a new bishop in the Melkite Church and could deal with him. It was in no sense a request for confirmation, but simply the transmission of information. The name of the bishop was not cited by the pope in consistory, and he received no bull of nomination or confirmation.

It was only under Benedict XV that the Eastern Congregation took the initiative on its own to publish in the Acta Apostolicae Sedis, when learning of a new bishop elected among the Melkites or the Maronites, that the Holy Father <169>ratam habuit<170> this election. This does not mean that he <169>ratified<170> it, but that he simply <169>recognized it as valid.<170> On the other hand, with respect to the other communities subject to a latinizing discipline that demanded the confirmation of the pope (the Armenians, the Copts, the Syrians, and the Chaldeans), the <169>Actae<170> said that the pope <169>electionem confirmavit<170> (confirmed the election). (Cf. on this question A. Coussa, <169>Epitome praeelectionum de jure ecclesiastico orientali,<170> Vol. I, Rome, 1948, No. 296, pp. 297-8.) As for the communities that had no patriarch, such as the Ukrainians, the Ruthenians, the Romanians, the Malabars, etc., Rome named the bishops directly.

3. This last vestige of internal canonical autonomy, this last trace of authentic Eastern discipline miraculously preserved by the Melkite Church and the Maronite Church, was destroyed by Pope Pius XII.

Under his orders, the Sacred Eastern Congregation, by a letter of December 15, 1951 (No. 389-51), addressed to all the heads of the Eastern Churches, made obligatory the part of the proposed codification of Eastern law which concerns the elections of bishops. This new discipline went into effect immediately, but it was to remain secret by the order of the pope. It was to be made public by the publication of the Motu Proprio <169>Cleri sanctitati<170> of June 2, 1957. We have energetically protested against these measures, but in vain.

The most serious aspect of this new discipline is the obligation, henceforth unlimited and extended to all the Eastern Churches, including the Melkite Church and the Maronite Church, to receive from the Holy See either the confirmation of bishops elected or else the prior approbation of lists of those under consideration for elevation to the episcopacy, to be renewed every six months. In each alternative, there is the same obvious and serious infraction of authentic Eastern discipline.

More serious still is the principle adopted for legitimizing this restriction of the freedom of election of bishops. According to the letter of the Sacred Eastern Congregation mentioned above, it is <169>the intention to provide that these promotions to the episcopal dignity more perfectly reflect the fundamental principles of doctrine...<170>

This allusion in turn reflects not Catholic doctrine but a certain theory, very much honored in certain quarters, notably the Roman, according to which Catholic dogma requires that no bishop be designated except by the `pope, directly or indirectly. This is the theory that inspired the first draft of the schema <169>De Ecclesia,<170> still completely imbued with the above-mentioned theory. This draft said in substance that no bishop is received into the apostolic college except through the direct or indirect intervention of the pope.

The Melkite representative and also the late Cardinal Coussa demonstrated to the Central Commission, where this first draft was submitted for discussion, how lacking this theory was in scriptural, patristic, and historical foundation. It projected on the universal Church what was simply a fortuitous disciplinary and rather recent custom of the Western patriarchate alone, while elevating it to the level of a theological doctrine.

In the face of these criticisms and others that came later, this theory was abandoned, and a new draft was adopted by the Theological Commission that respects the truth of revelation and of history.

This new draft, with slight modifications, found a place in the dogmatic constitution <169>On the Church,<170> approved by the Council on November 21, 1964, which says the following in the last paragraph of No. 24:

<169>The canonical mission of bishops can come about

-by legitimate customs which have not been revoked by the supreme and universal authority of the Church,

-or by laws made or recognized by the same authority,

-or directly through the successor of Peter himself. If the latter refuses or denies apostolic communion, a bishop cannot assume office."

Of the three possibilities envisioned by this text, the third is the one that suits the Latin Church, in which the pope directly names all bishops; the second has been applied to those Eastern Catholic Churches upon which a so-called <169>Eastern<170> legislation has been imposed in this matter, which is really only a stage of latinization. Only first possibility constitutes the true and authentic law of the East, in which bishops are elected by the Holy Synod, by virtue of legitimate customs and of a conciliar law that should not be revoked.

4. In other words, the transitory law that is the latinizing legislation of the motu proprio <169>Cleri Sanctitati<170> must be replaced by an authentically Eastern law. On this point, as on so many others, the authentic Eastern law must be restored.

a. This is absolutely necessary if we wish to enter into discussions with Orthodoxy with a view to union. Orthodoxy will never accept union if it knows that its bishops will be nominated or confirmed by Rome, as are the Latin bishops.

b. The Latin Church must not absorb the Eastern Churches. We must be Catholic, but not necessarily Latin. In everything that does not concern dogma and the necessary communion with the successor of Peter, it is necessary to recognize the broadest disciplinary autonomy of the Eastern Churches.

c. One must have confidence in the synods of bishops. The candidate whom they will elect is better known and judged by a group of 15 or 20 bishops assembled in synod than by a <169>minutante<170> or by another functionary of the Roman Curia, who necessarily judges on the basis of reports that are not always truthful. In our own time especially, the episcopate is demonstrating great maturity of judgment, and we believe that no pernicious influence could make it deviate from its course.

d. It is necessary to avoid the shame of having to receive approbation of lists of those qualified to become bishops and of having the approbation renewed every six months. Likewise, it is necessary to avoid the shame of electing a bishop in synod, and then waiting at least one month until Rome has studied his file, as if the judgment of the bishops assembled in synod had no value compared with the judgment of a <169>minutante<170> of the Roman court. Meanwhile the Catholic episcopate is the laughing-stock of Orthodox Christians.

e. The ecumenical council, aware of these difficulties, has made serious decisions that radically remedy the situation and must now be put into practice.

Referring to the Eastern patriarchs, the Council in its <169>Decree on Eastern Catholic Churches<170> sets forth in No. 9 three governing principles that absolutely require a radical recasting of the <169>latinizing<170> legislation in force until now.

The first principle: <169>This sacred Synod, therefore, decrees that their rights and privileges should be re-established in accord with the ancient traditions of each Church and the decrees of the ecumenical Synods.<170>

Now, it is evident, absolutely evident, that the free election of bishops is one of the moat authentic and most serious prerogatives of the Eastern patriarchs with their synods, according to the ancient traditions of the Eastern Churches and the decisions of the ecumenical councils.

The second principle specifies how we are to understand this restoration and what are these rights and privileges to be restored. It says: <169>The rights and privileges in question are those which flourished when the East and West were in union, though they should be somewhat adapted to modern conditions.<170>

Therefore this restoration must be accomplished not according to a hybrid and latinizing law conceived by the Roman Curia, but according to the authentic Eastern law as it was applied during the thousand years of union between the East and the West. Now, during the time of union, never, absolutely never, would it have come to anyone's mind that the bishops of the East must be elected or confirmed by Rome. Those who think otherwise are ignorant of the elements of history. It is all the more true in that even until the twentieth century, and more precisely until the end of 1951, no Melkite bishop ever needed confirmation by Rome.

It is true that this authentic Eastern law can and sometimes must be <169>somewhat adapted to modern conditions.<170> But these modern conditions in no way require, quite to the contrary, that the Eastern bishops be confirmed by Rome.

The third principle removes all doubt about this matter, since it considers our case in particular. It says: <169>The patriarchs with their synods constitute the superior authority for all affairs of the patriarchate, including the right to establish new eparchies and to nominate bishops of their rite within the territorial bounds of the patriarchate, without prejudice to the inalienable right of the Roman pontiff to intervene in individual cases.<170>

According to this conciliar text, the patriarchs with their synods are normally the superior authority for all the business of their patriarchates, including the right to name the bishops of their rite within the patriarchal territory. This could not be stated more clearly. The pope can certainly intervene whenever he so wishes, but if he does not intervene for reasons of exceptional gravity in which the general welfare of the Church is at stake, the nomination of bishops, as well as all the other business of the patriarchate, is under the jurisdiction of the patriarch with his synod.

5. The three principles naturally call for a complete recasting of the current Eastern codification in the direction of greater internal canonical autonomy, but this work will no doubt require several years.

Meanwhile, one must conclude that through these principles the Council virtually abrogates the directly contrary restrictive provisions of the motu proprio <169>Cleri sanctitati,<170> in particular Canons 253 and 254, that require the confirmation the confirmation by Rome of elected candidates or the prior approbation of lists of those being considered as potential bishops.

6. Practical conclusion

In order to avoid any doubt as to interpretation, and while awaiting the recasting of Eastern canon law, we humbly suggest that the Holy Father, as an application of the decrees of the ecumenical council, abrogate or suspend the effect of the two above-cited canons by declaring that the Eastern patriarchs with their synods can freely proceed to the election the consecration and the installation of the bishops of their rites within the limits of the patriarchal territory.

This point, which is of very great importance, is, as it were, the touchstone which will indicate the sincere determination of the central administration to apply the reforming decisions of the Council in accordance with the spirit of the Council.

Indeed, the decisions of the Second Ecumenical Vatican Council approved and promulgated by Pope Paul VI must not remain dead letters, in the state of futile solemn declarations but never applied, as happened with all those that were proclaimed by Leo XIII and a few other popes but never put into force by their central administration. For the honor of the Roman Church, these decisions of the Second Ecumenical Vatican Council must be put into practice.

@BODY TEXT ITA = (The Sacred Eastern Congregation had expressed interest in gathering the opinions of the Eastern patriarchs on the practical way of applying Article 9 of the conciliar <169>Decree on the Eastern Catholic Churches.<170> Patriarch Maximos again assembled his Synod in Beirut on January 11, 1966. The Synod proposed to Rome a procedure which would allow the Holy See of Rome to intervene on occasion if the good of the Church required it, and allow the Eastern Churches to exercise their prerogative of free election.

@BODY TEXT ITA = The patriarch, as of January 18, 1966, transmitted to His Eminence Gustave Cardinal Testa, Pro-Prefect of the Sacred Eastern Congregation, the deliberations of the Holy Synod.)

Your Eminence:

Following up on my letter of November 27th last, relating to the practical procedure proposed by Your Eminence for applying Article 9 of the Conciliar Decree on the Eastern Catholic Churches, I hasten to inform Your Eminence that I convoked the Synod of our Bishops on Tuesday, the eleventh of this month, in Beirut. Seventeen bishops were able to attend; five excused themselves from coming for reasons of health or work...

The Fathers asked me to transmit their response to you in writing the following text:

1. The Synod, by law as well as in conscience, must hold to Article 9 of the Decree on the Eastern Catholic Churches, restoring to the said Churches their full freedom in episcopal elections that they enjoyed previously. That is why the Synod does not wish to give an opinion in what concerns the procedure of the elections that could be interpreted as if we were renouncing a right that the ecumenical council has recognized that we have.

2. Inasmuch as the patriarch is obliged by reason of his function to consult before proposing the candidacy of anyone for episcopal election, it is natural that he consult the Holy See of Rome, on condition, however, that this consultation not be considered as a renunciation of our rights or as the recognition of a new right of others.

3. The procedure of consultation indicated below must be considered not as an obligatory juridical norm to be inserted in the Codex, but as a practical measure of the pastoral order.

Here, then, is the practical procedure of consultation before the election:

a. The patriarch writes to the Holy See of Rome to present to it at the opportune time a list of names of priests who seem to him deserving of being candidates in future episcopal elections.

b. This presentation of names does not have as its purpose to obtain approval or confirmation of future candidates. However, its purpose is to provide information that enables the Roman pontiff to intervene in each election if he judges it appropriate, as the Second Vatican Council says (Decree on the Eastern Catholic Churches, 9).

c. The list presented by the patriarch can be increased by new names, or reduced, according to the circumstances of times and persons and the needs of the Church.

d. The names on this list that have been formally vetoed by the Holy See of Rome will be the objects of explanation or definitively excluded. The other names can be presented to the electoral Synod, as candidates for episcopal election.

As soon as they are elected, they can, without other prior notice, be proclaimed bishops.

e. However, out of deference to the Holy See of Rome, the first notification shall be made to the pope through the intermediary of his representative in the locality.

In transmitting this response of the Holy Synod, I am certain that Your Eminence will understand the underlying reasons why our Church wishes to retain the freedom of elections restored by the Council, and at the same time benefit from the authoritative opinions of the Holy See of Rome. I believe that the proposed procedure allows Rome to exercise its right and allows our Church to exercise its prerogatives...

@BODY TEXT ITA = (Meanwhile, the patriarch learned that the post-conciliar Central Commission, as of January 31, 1966, had given Article 9 of the conciliar <169>Decree on the Eastern Catholic Churches<170> an interpretation contrary to the text and spirit of the decree. The patriarch convoked his Synod once again, at Ain-Traz on April 25 and 29, 1966. On April 30 he wrote an urgent letter to the Holy Father, begging him to please defer the publication of this interpretation. The Holy Father in fact suspended the effect of this interpretation. In a second letter dated May 11, 1966, the patriarch transmitted to the Holy Father the reasons why he, together with his Synod, believed that the interpretation of the post-conciliar Commission was inadmissible. He accompanied his letter with an explanatory memorandum; the full text follows:)

Memorandum on the Interpretation of No. 9, sentence 4, of the Conciliar Decree on the Eastern Catholic Churches I The Context

The fourth sentence of No. 9 of the conciliar <169>Decree on the Eastern Catholic Churches<170> states the following:

<169>The patriarchs with their synods constitute the superior authority for all affairs of the patriarchate, including the right to establish new eparchies and to nominate bishops of their rite within the territorial bounds of the patriarchate, without prejudice to the inalienable right of the Roman pontiff to intervene in individual cases.<170>

In order to understand this text it is advisable first of all to place it in its context. Several interventions of the conciliar Fathers stressed that in the current discipline of the Catholic Church the authentic rights of the Eastern patriarchs were greatly reduced. This appeared to be an obstacle to ecumenical dialogue with Orthodoxy, in which the patriarchal dignity is held in high esteem. That is why the Eastern Commission submitted to the Council, which approved them, a series of measures intended to restore the dignity and the powers of the Eastern patriarchs.

After explicitly affirming in the first sentence of this No. 9 that <169>the patriarchs of the Eastern Churches are to be accorded exceptional respect,<170> the second sentence goes further and says: <169>This sacred Synod, therefore, decrees that their rights and privileges should be re-established in accord with the ancient traditions of each Church and the decrees of the ecumenical Synods.<170> Thus, the Council presumes that at the present time, according to the discipline in force (in particular, the discipline of the motu proprio <169>Cleri sanctitati<170>), the patriarchs are deprived of at least certain of their rights and privileges and the Council decides that they must be aiven back to them. Therefore, if the pre-conciliar law of the motu proprio is maintained as such, the Council, which decided to restore the rights and privileges of the Eastern patriarchs, is not being obeyed.

In order to make for still greater clarity, the third sentence indicates in what direction this restoration must be made. The Council says: <169>The rights and privileges in question are those which flourished when the East and West were in union, though they should be somewhat adapted to modern conditions.<170> The Council therefore commands that the inspiration for the restoration of the rights and privileges of the patriarchs be drawn not from the recent law of the Motu Proprio of Pius XII, or even from the recent synods of the communities united with Rome, which have often introduced a very shocking hybrid law, but from the classical and authentic Eastern law such as it was practiced during the millenium of union between the East and the West. It is the Council's thought, therefore, that we must pass over a certain recent period of legislation and return to the ancient law. It is not in accordance with the thinking of the Council to refer constantly to the motu proprio of Pius XII and cling to it as to an immutable law. The interpretation of the conciliar texts on this matter need not culminate in the confirmation of preconciliar legislation. If that were to happen, the Council would have accomplished nothing. There was no need to assemble a Council in order to confirm, purely and simply, the status quo ante.

To conclude, the Council approved, in the fourth sentence, an important application of the principles of restoration that it had just set forth. The fourth sentence is intended to return to the patriarchs with their synods a certain internal canonical autonomy insofar as it is reconcilable with the recognition of the dogma of Roman supremacy. We must not allow ourselves to be impressed by the expression of opinion that has indeed been used at the Council by eminent orators, such as Cardinal Fr. Koenig himself. There is no question of autonomy in the sense of independence vis-a-vis Rome or of autocephaly such as the Orthodox understand it. It is a question of recognizing the right of the Eastern Churches to govern themselves internally, with full recognition of the prerogatives of Roman primacy, without being obliged to have recourse, constantly and often for administrative details, to previous authorizations and to subsequent confirmations by the dicasteries of the Roman Curia, as is the practice today, according to the current law in which the patriarch cannot even give a celebret to a priest who is going to America for two or three months without obtaining an authorization from Rome, etc.

The Council has sought to react against this state of affairs and to liberate the patriarchs from these administrative servitudes by recognizing their right, as in former days of union, to govern their patriarchates as leaders of particular Churches, conscious of their duties and responsible for their apostolic mission, not as executive agents of the Sacred Eastern Congregation. This does not mean that Roman primacy and the exercise of that primacy are denied. However, from the fact that the pope can intervene in all ecclesiastical matters, even the smallest, it does not follow that he must intervene in all matters and that no measure can be taken without his consent or his confirmation.

The East was closely united with Rome before the great rupture of the eleventh century and fully recognizes Roman primacy. However, it governed itself freely, but the pope retained the right to intervene when he deemed it advisable for the good of the Church, and in fact he did intervene, more or less frequently, according to the gravity of the cases.

It is this perfectly Catholic state of affairs, during the millenium of union between the East and the West, that the Council intends to give as the model for the future codification of the Eastern Canon Law when it pronounces the following principle contained in the fourth sentence of No. 9: <169>The patriarchs with their synods constitute the superior authority for all affairs of the patriarchate, including the right to establish new eparchies and to nominate bishops of their rite within the territorial bounds of the patriarchate, without prejudice to the inalienable right of the Roman pontiff to intervene in individual cases.<170>

Before passing to the commentary on this text, it is perhaps appropriate to recall that this text is henceforth a conciliar text. Whether it please certain persons or not, whether it has been presented by the Melkites or by others, whether it has been bitterly debated at the Eastern Commission or not, it belongs from now on to the incontestable heritage of the universal Church. Those who were formerly opposed to it at the preparatory stage should not be authorized today to raise doubts about it or to cleverly empty it of its efficacy by the devious means of all sorts of interpretations that do not respect its original meaning.

II. What Does This Text Grant to the Patriarchs with Their Synods?

The Council is deciding that <169>for all the affairs of the patriachate<170> without exception <169>the patriarchs with their synods constitute the superior authority.<170>

The affairs that the patriarchate deals with are many and unlimited: the discipline of the clergy and of the faithful, seminaries, the apostolate, etc. No exception is made.

In all these affairs, the patriarchs, alone or with their respective synods, according to the determinations of positive law, constitute the <169>superior authority.<170> The term <169>supreme<170> is not used, in order to respect the <169>more superior<170> or <169>supreme<170> authority of the Holy See of Rome. And yet, the Council says that normally all the affairs of the patriarchate are under the authority of the patriarch with his synod. This is the obvious meaning of the Council's statement. In accordance with this principle it will therefore be necessary to review completely current legislation which takes an infinite number of affairs of the patriarchate away from the [atriarchs with their synods. The Council has chosen to set bounds to these countless limitations on the rights of the patriarchs, in order to restore it to the situation that prevailed <169>during the time of union.<170>

The Council, naturally, could not enter into the details of a reform of legislation. Nevertheless, in order to avoid possible hesitations, it mentions two affairs among the most important ones of the patriarchate, to make it clear that even these two matters are under the jurisdiction of the patriarchs with their synods. It says: <169>including the right to establish new eparchies and to nominate bishops of their rite within the territorial bounds of the patriarchate...<170> If the Council felt the need to mention these two matters, it is because they had in fact during modern times been withdrawn, in certain rites, from the competence of the patriarchs and of their synods. The Council commands that they be restored to them.

III. What is the Role of the Roman pontiff?

This role is indicated in the conciliar decree by the final clause <169>without prejudice to the inalienable right of the Roman pontiff to intervene in individual cases.<170>

In order to fully understand this clause, it is necessary to take note of the following:

1. This clause is general in character. It is found, in this form or in similar form, hundreds of times in the documents of the Council. Actually, it would suffice to affirm the prerogatives of the Roman primacy once and for all, without having to repeat this clause each time. It is clearly understood, in fact, that the pope can intervene everywhere, always, in all matters. The reason that a special need has been felt to insert this clause in the section that we are discussing is that the text lays the foundations for a certain internal canonical autonomy for the Eastern Churches. Now, in order that there may be no misinterpretation of the meaning of this internal autonomy and so that it may not be confused with autocephaly as it is practiced in the Orthodox Churches, the authors of the decree have felt the need to add the clause cited above in order to show clearly that the internal autonomy in question presumes respect for the prerogatives of the Roman primacy. Yet this clause, once again, is of a general nature and has no more authority in this paragraph than anywhere else. It simply signifies this: the broad jurisdiction recognized for the patriarchs and their synods to manage their own affairs must remain compatible with the rights of Roman primacy, such as they have been defined by Vatican I and clarified by Vatican II in the light of the powers of the episcopate.

2. Having said this, the conciliar text affirms that the pope has the right to intervene in every case, and that this right is inalienable. The difficulty <197> if there is a difficulty <197> would relate to the meaning of the words <169>jus interveniendi<170> (right to intervene) and <169>in singulis casibus<170> (in individual cases).

a. <169>In singulis casibus<170> does not mean <169>in aliquibus casibus<170> (in some cases) or <169>in particularibus casibus<170> (in particular cases). According to Catholic doctrine, the right of the pope extends to all persons and all cases. If necessary, according to the letter of the law, there is not a single ecclesiastical matter in the world of which it can be said to the pope: <169>this is not within your competence as pope.<170> According to the letter of the law, the pope can intervene even to name a pastor in a parish, the rector of a church, or a school principal, etc.

<169>In singulis casibus<170> includes <169>in omnibus casibus,<170> but adds a nuance to it. It could be translated <169>in all cases, these being considered each in particular.<170> The nuance is not to be scorned; it is in each case in particular (it does not say: in certain particular cases) that the pope can intervene. This therefore presumes not a general rule commanding intervention, but a particular determination appropriate for each case in particular, even if, in an extreme hypothesis, this determination were to be repeated for all cases.

b. <169>The right to intervene<170> means the power to intervene, if the pope deems it appropriate. The right to intervene does not involve the obligation to intervene, namely, the necessary exercise of this right. The fact that the pope can intervene even in the nomination of pastors of parishes does not signify that he must intervene for each nomination of a pastor and that the Ordinary of the place cannot name a pastor without the previous or subsequent intervention of the pope. Likewise, the fact that the pope has the riqht to intervene in each nomination of a bishop or in the erection of a new diocese does not signify that he must necessarilv intervene, and that without his prior or subsequent intervention the patriarch with his synod cannot validly and licitly perform the acts in question.

It should be noted that we do not distinguish here, as certain persons do abusively, between the right and the exercise of the right. If the pope has the right, he can always exercise it. What we affirm is that neither the obligation nor the necessity to intervene logically result from the right to intervene.

It is true that the pope's right to intervene involves a corresponding obligation for the patriarch and the synod. But this is the obligation not to prevent this right from being exercised whenever the pope wishes to do so.

Nothing more can logically be deduced from the conciliar text.

Since the conciliar decree of November 21, 1964, sufficient time has not elapsed to permit discerning from experience whether the clause in question is the object of abuse on the part of the Eastern Churches. If in spite of this the pope wishes to assume the responsibility of imposing on the patriarchs and on their synods a new obligation by restricting the jurisdiction which the Council has acknowledged in them, he can according to the letter of the law do so by relying on his supreme power. However, one must not have recourse to a violent interpretation of a text by making the Council say what it has not said.

To make our explanation clearer, let us imagine a similar text, for example this one: <169>Ordinarii locorum suorum cum suis variis Consiliis superiorem constituunt instantiam pro quibusvis negotiis suae dioeceseos, non secluso jure constituendi paroecias novas atque nominandi parochos sui ritus intra fines territorii dioecesani, salvo inalienabili Romani Pontificis jure in singulis casibus interveniendi.<170> (The ordinaries of their locations with their various councils constitute the superior authority for all the affairs of the diocese, including right to establish new parishes and to nominate pastors of their rite within the territorial bounds of the diocese, without prejudice to the inalienable right of the Roman pontiff to intervene in individual cases.)

By virtue of such a canon the pope could certainly, if he so desired, intervene in the establishment of a new parish or the nomination of a pastor, and even, in the last analysis, if the welfare of the Church demanded it (a purely extreme hypothesis) intervene in the establishment of all new parishes and the nomination of all pastors. But does that mean that the Ordinary of the place cannot validly and licitly establish new parishes and name pastors without the intervention of the pope?

Let it not be said that the analogy is invalid since the founding of a parish is not the founding of a diocese, and the nomination of a pastor is not the nomination of a bishop. Admittedly, these matters are not of equal importance. But that is not the question. The question is to recognize that, through the conciliar text, the founding of a diocese and the nomination of a bishop have been said to be within the superior authority of the patriarch and of his synod, just as the formation of a parish or the nomination of a pastor is within the jurisdiction of the Ordinary of the place with or without his council.

In the light of what precedes, it is possible to pass sounder judgment on the interpretation given by the Central Commission on January 31, 1966: <169>Utrum per clausulam 'salvo inalienabili Romani Pontificis jure in singulis casibus interveniendi', de qua in No. 9, comm. 4 Decreti 'Orientalium Ecclesiarum' statuatur, quod spectat ad elegendos episcopos, plena facultas indicandi singulis in casibus, ante electionem, utrum candidatus dignus et idoneus sit?<170> <169>Affirmative.<170> (Whether through the clause <169>without prejudice to the inalienable right of the Roman pontiff to intervene in individual cases,<170> which appears in No. 9, sentence 4, of the <169>Decree on Eastern Churches,<170> which pertains to nominating bishops, there is a full faculty for the Roman pontiff of indicating in individual cases, before the election, whether the candidate is worthy and suitable? In the affirmative.)

In our opinion <169>facultas<170> (faculty) says no more than <169>jus<170> (right). We remain at a standstill. We would even say that this interpretation, rightly understood, actually restricts the power of the pope unduly, for he has not only the <169>faculty of indicating in individual cases before the election.<170> He can intervene just as much after the election as before the election. The Council places no limitation on the pope's power of intervention.

However, the interpretation has not touched the crux of the problem. No one can deny that the pope has the full faculty to intervene either before or after the election.

Yet the question remains whether he must intervene, or at least whether it is necessary that he intervene so that the acts laid down by the patriarch and his synod may be valid and licit. To this question the interpretation of January 31, 1966, gives no answer, at least if it is understood in its obvious sense. The answer is given in the Central Commission's proceedings. In it we read, <169>All members...have unanimously decided to reply that the Holy Father has the right to intervene. Consequently, the patriarchs must present a request before the election of bishops. More precisely, that the patriarchs present the names of the candidates and wait until the Holy See gives the answer as to their suitability.<170>

This interpretation appears to us to be erroneous on two points:

a. in that it passes from the right to intervene to the obligation to intervene;

b. in that it limits the unconditional right of the pope to intervene in every case to an intervention only prior to the election, as if the pope could not intervene even after the election.

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After this statement of a canonical nature, may we be permitted to add a few words on the human and ecclesial level.

The whole history comes down to this: the conciliar text in question won in the Eastern Commission the necessary majority of two-thirds plus one vote. It displeased certain members and consultors of the commission. When afterwards it was almost unanimously approved by the Council, it displeased certain groups that see in it a diminution in Roman control over the activities of the patriarchs. The reform of the former legislation on this point displeased them. Since they were unable to block the conciliar text, they are now trying to empty it of its content. With this violent interpretation of the text there is practically a return to the prior situation and we act as if the Council had never existed. That is the whole story.

However, this conciliar text is of primordial importance from the pastoral and ecumenical point of view. It marks the beginning of decentralization. It indicates that there is an ever-growing desire to place trust in the patriarchs with their synods. In the ecumenical dialogue, it places before the eyes of Orthodoxy the state of affairs that Catholicism can offer it in the event of union. In the eyes of Catholics themselves it is a test that will show if there is a decision to go forward according to the spirit of the Council, or if, by evasions through more or less violent interpretations we wish to nullify the Council and come back, whatever the cost, to the prior situation. The problem is more serious than it appears.

@BODY TEXT ITA = (On June 22, 1966, the Sacred Eastern Congregation transmitted to the patriarch a new solution adopted by the postconciliar Central Commission to solve the problem arising over the interpretation of Article 9 of the <169>Decree on the Eastern Catholic Churches.<170> This solution, which conformed essentially to the practical procedure proposed by the Melkite Synod of January, 1966, was received by the Synod of August, 1966. Thus, the freedom of episcopal elections and of the erection of new eparchies was confirmed, at the same time that the pastoral utility of a previous and private consultation between the patriarchs and the Holy Father was recognized.)



@CHAPTER # = Chapter 8

@CHAPTER TITLE = Formation and Life of the Clergy @MAJOR SEC HDG = The Formation of Priests

@BODY TEXT ITA = (We glean from Patriarch Maximos's memoranda to the Central Commission (1962) and from the <169>Comments of the Holy Synod on the schemas of the Council<170> (1963) a few thoughts on the subject of the formation of future priests. They refer to the schema <169>De sacrorum alumnis formandis.<170>)

I. Concerning the <169>Apostolic<170> Visitation of Seminaries

Provision is made for a periodic apostolic visitation of the seminaries. It is also said that this visitation is requested by several Fathers of the forthcoming Council. We believe that the Fathers who have asked for such a visitation do not constitute the majority. Besides, more than once the Fathers of the forthcoming Council have expressed the desire to see the central administration advance in the direction of a progressive decentralization. As a matter of fact, the present centralization is excessive, burdens the Holy See of Rome with too many minor cares, and involves a considerable number of other serious disadvantages for the Church. It is not fitting at the moment when the Council is preparing to initiate the movement of decentralization to introduce in the discipline of the Church a periodic apostolic visitation of the seminaries. This visitation does not appear to us to be at all appropriate. It can even cause serious conflicts between the Ordinary of the place and the apostolic visitors. It can also reduce the mutual trust between the bishop and the directors of his seminary, as well as diminish the bishop's sense of his total responsibility for his seminary. Apart from a few advantages, the periodic visitation of seminaries involves a great number of disadvantages, and we therefore believe that it is not opportune. Besides, there is nothing to prevent the Holy See of Rome from ordering an extraordinary visitation, if the need arises.

II. The Teaching of the popes

By way of introduction, there is a stress on how much the Roman pontiffs have elucidated the need for holiness in priests. On this subject we should like to make a general comment which applies to almost all the schemas proposed to date to the Central Commission. It would seem that the authors of these schemas know, in addition to the Holy Scripture, only the encyclicals of the recent popes, and above all those of Pope Pius XII. Beyond doubt, the encyclicals of the popes are very important documents of the Church's magisterium. We also understand that the writings of the most recent popes, assembled in convenient collections, provide citations that are easy to reproduce, thanks to the detailed indexes that have been carefully provided. However, it is not fitting that an ecumenical council have such limited horizons.

After Holy Scripture, the texts that should be cited most often are those of the ancient ecclesiastical tradition, in which the Fathers of the East occupy a place of the first rank. Besides, the popes do not constitute the only voices of the ecclesiastical magisterium. The bishops of the entire world, the Councils, the authors who are approved and truly competent on these matters should also be cited. The schemas give the invincible impression that in the Catholic Church of the present day only the popes of Rome count for anything. This way of doing things, apart from the fact that it is false and savors of flattery, does not facilitate the acceptance and comprehension of the texts of the Council by our separated brothers.

III. Education for Celibacy.

It is strongly urged that seminarians be educated in the practice of ecclesiastical celibacy <169>quo Ecclesiae ritus latini sacerdotes statum virginitatis christianae assumentes, integra animae et corporis deditione Domino interserviunt . . .<170> (by which the priests of the Latin Rite Church, taking on the state of Christian virginity, serve the Lord with complete dedication of soul and body...)

The expression is inexact, for in the Eastern Church as well there are priests who vow their celibacy to God. In the Eastern Churches they are even by far in the majority. Celibacy is not an exclusive glory of the Latin Church. The difference between the Latin church and the Eastern Churches is that in the former celibacy is obligatory, whereas in the Eastern churches it is optional, but recommended and held in special honor.

IV. Latin and Greek.

Greek remains the source language not only of the Byzantines but also of all the Easterners, and was used in the Western Church as well during the earliest times. Moreover, we propose to add the following:

<169>In the seminaries of the Eastern rites, a place of choice will be reserved for the study of their own liturgical languages, as much for the sake of a better celebration of the liturgical services as for a greater appreciation, for the benefit of the universal Church, of the patrimony bequeathed by the Fathers and the ecclesiastical writers in that language.<170>

V. The Teaching of Philosophy.

Philosophy is not in every sense and solely <169>the handmaid of theology.<170> This formula has done too much harm to the value of pure philosophical thinking in the Church, and to the philosophical formation in Catholic seminaries and universities. It is referred to as <169>philosophy adapted to theology.<170>

Why always hold on to this distinction, especially in a conciliar document, if not to say this opposition between <169>perennial philosophy<170> and <169>modern philosophy<170>? Philosophy, like every science, is one. Starting out from fundamental notions, it evolves, it never ceases to be enriched by new contributions, bringing to light one or another aspect of being. Why grant Thomistic philosophical thought so much prominence in the Church? It was a stage in the evolution of philosophical thought. For this reason we propose a draft that would be along these lines:

<169>A philosophical formation as sound as it is broad is necessary both for education and for a deeper formation in the aggregate of the ecclesiastical disciplines, as well as for apologetics and the priestly apostolate in the modern world.<170>

VI. Thomism.

In the Church there exist legally and in fact several theological trends, without prejudice to the fundamental identity of dogma, several ways of expressing in human terms the same revealed deposit. Divine revelation, which is universal in its thinking, cannot be linked to one human way of thinking, whatever its merits and its richness, because it is part and parcel of a particular civilization.

VII. Formation of the Married Clergy.

There should be a paragraph in this schema on the formation of married clergy, which exists in the Eastern rites. Even though, since the introduction of certain disciplinary reforms in the West, especially since the Council of Trent, Latin theologians are loath to speak of a <169>married clergy,<170> the traditional institution of this married clergy in the East is indeed a very useful and living canonical reality which the East as a whole is not prepared to abandon. That is why a paragraph on the formation of the married clergy should be included in this schema. We propose that it be drafted as follows:

<169>In proclaiming the superiority of the evangelical counsel of perfect chastity and the practice of ecclesiastical celibacy, the Council respects the tradition of the Eastern Churches with respect to the promotion to Holy Orders of men bound by the sacrament of matrimony. It moreover directs that the greatest care be taken in their recruitment and in their priestly formation, both during their stay in the seminaries appropriate to their state, as well as after their ordination, in conformity with the holy canons in force in the above-mentioned Churches.<170>

VIII. A Manly Formation.

We think that the schema should make a greater effort to provide a manly formation to future priests. In the Church there is too great a tendency to consider the clerics as perennial minors, as overage children who cannot assume their responsibilities. In this system, there are evidently cases that turn out successfully, but in many other cases the results are mediocre.

@MAJOR SEC HDG = The Permanent Diaconate

@BODY TEXT ITA = (Concerning the draft of a schema <169>On the Sacrament of Orders<170> presented to the Central Commission in its session of January, 1962, the patriarch said what he thought about the restoration of the permanent diaconate and about a few other related questions concerning the age of the ordinands.)

1. The statement is made that the restoration of the permanent diaconate <169>ne fiat nisi de iudicio Sanctae Sedis<170> (should not be done except by the judgement of the Holy See). This regulation must apply only to the Latin West, for, in the Eastern Church, the institution of the permanent diaconate has always been accepted and therefore has no need of being restored, nor does it need any authorization by the Holy See of Rome.

2. It is stated that the permanent deacons are those who do not aspire to receive priestly orders. It should be added: <169>normally<170> or <169>generally,<170> for there is nothing to prevent one or another of these deacons from later being raised to the priesthood if his bishop deems it opportune and if he fulfills all of its conditions. The state of permanent deacon is not a sentence never to rise to a superior level, if all the conditions are fulfilled. Just as a priest is not necessarily destined to become a bishop, but nevertheless can become one, so, too, a deacon may always remain a deacon, but he can also become a priest if he fulfills the necessary conditions.

3. The schema sets forth the liturgical functions of the deacon. To be truthful, it is necessary to add at the end a clause such as the following: <169>Haec omnia juxta disciplinam unuscuiusque ritus<170> (all these things according to the discipline of each rite). This is because the liturgical functions enumerated in these lines relate only to the Latin rite, which, to repeat, is not the only rite of the Catholic Church and must not serve as the exclusive point of reference in the Council's decrees.

4. It is affirmed that <169>by a general dispensation set down for certain regions, or by a particular apostolic dispensation,<170> married men can be ordained permanent deacons. I completely approve this new discipline which is inspired by the age-old custom of the East and answers the needs of the Church in many countries. However, it is well understood that this general or particular dispensation is necessary only for the West. In the Eastern Church, the ordination of married deacons has always been considered licit, and is currently in force, independently of any dispensation from the Holy See of Rome or from the patriarchal See.

5. It is said that the permanent deacons, if they are celibate and fulfill all the other conditions, can be ordained priests by their bishop, <169>accedente dispensatione apostolica<170> (by means of an apostolic dispensation). This dispensation seems to me to be superfluous, for, on the one hand these deacons, even though they are permanent, are celibate and fulfill all the conditions for acceding to the priesthood. What more is needed, and why is such a dispensation necessary? Such a restriction makes the situation of celibate deacons worse than the situation of celibate laity, which is contrary to all justice and to the whole ecclesiastical spirit. To repeat, the status of the permanent deacons must not be considered as exceptional, barely tolerable, and restricted by all sorts of prohibitions.

6. The schema states that the level of education of the permanent deacons must be fixed by <169>instructions emanating from the Holy See,<170> according to the needs of each nation. I think that it is more appropriate to leave to the regional councils or national conferences the responsibility for determining the level of education, since the bishops of the place are expected to be better informed on the needs of their country. Since there is talk in the entire Church of the need of a certain administrative decentralization, this is a concrete case in which decentralization should be put into practice.

7. A married deacon can continue to attend in part to his civilian functions. The schema says that that can only be done through an indult from the Holy See: <169>Quodsi Sancta Sedes indulserit<170> (insofar as the Holy See permits). I think that the bishop's authority suffices and that there is no need to have recourse to the Apostolic See for that. In my opinion, the supreme authority of the pope must never be burdened with too many responsibilities about details. That does not diminish the pope's prestige, but on the contrary reinforces it. There are matters that the local authority can regulate more easily and more effectively on the spot. The central authority should intervene only in order to provide general rules and to settle conflicts. Let it be said by way of a general principle: Excessive centralization is a danger for the Church.

8. It is said that a permanent deacon can be reduced to the lay state through a rescript of the legitimate authority and <169>for just cause.<170> It seems to me that in order not to be arbitrary it is necessary to determine what this legitimate authority is and what this just cause may be. We believe that the legitimate authority is naturally the authority of the deacon's own bishop.

9. The schema reserves all dispensations concerning the age of the ordinands exclusively to the Apostolic See. If this discipline is to be applied to the East, it is fitting that the same power be granted in the East to the patriarch, as the head of a Church. Besides, he is in a better position to judge the appropriateness of this dispensation than the Roman dicastery. Once again I repeat that responsibilities must not be reserved to the supreme authority when they can be carried out by the local authority.

10. I approve the idea of having deacons spend a year in pastoral practice before their priestly ordination. But I believe that this year need not necessarily be spent in a seminary or other institution. In the East we consider that the normal place for a deacon to be is with his bishop. It is by learning from the bishop and living in community with him that he will learn the practice of the sacred ministry.

11. The schema provides that candidates for the diaconate, if they are celibate, cannot be ordained before they are thirty years old. This severity appears excessive to me. I do not see why, if priests need only be twenty-five years old, permanent deacons must be thirty years old, inasmuch as the ministry of the latter is easier and both groups are celibate.

12. The requirement for married permanent deacons is forty years of age. It seems to me that thirty-five years suffice.

13. I should like to specify that the subdiaconate must not be a diriment impediment to marriage, for it is considered to be a minor order. In spite of a few fluctuations, this has been the classical discipline of the East and its continuing practice for centuries. Actually, in the Byzantine Church ordination to the subdiaconate is carried out not at the altar but in choir with prayers that are practically as simple as those for the lector, whereas ordination to the diaconate, the priesthood, and the episcopacy is performed at the altar with almost identical prayers and ceremonies for all three.

@MAJOR SEC HDG = Priesthood and Celibacy

@BODY TEXT ITA = (There is a serious question that all the Fathers of the Council asked themselves, but which no one justifiably dared to discuss in the conciliar assembly: the question of ecclesiastical celibacy.

From all sides the patriarch was receiving urgent requests to speak either to defend the Eastern Custom of the married priesthood, cavalierly dismissed in a few lines by the conciliar schema, or to open a new approach to the discipline of the Latin Church.

After careful consideration the patriarch decided to intervene. He reworked his discourse several times, constantly making modifications so as not to hurt anyone's feelings, but also in order to serve more courageously the spiritual interests of the Church.

In the end, the superior authority rightly decided that a public debate on this delicate question should be avoided.

The patriarch limited himself to sending the text of his intervention to the Holy Father, accompanying it with an explanatory letter. We are publishing both documents here. In fact, even though at the time of the Council it was dangerous to discuss publicly a question which an ill-informed press could seize upon to cause discord in the Church, it seemed to us that after the Council it was necessary to explain clearly and soberly the discipline of the Eastern Church on this point which is misunderstood in the Western Church, as we ascertained from the many letters we received.) I. The Patriarch's Discourse (not delivered) PRIESTHOOD, CELIBACY, AND MARRIAGE in the Eastern Church

Venerable Fathers:

The text being proposed to us <169>On the ministry and life of priests<170> devotes one paragraph (No. 14 in the draft, No. 16 in the final text) to the <169>evangelical counsels in the life of the priest,<170> namely, perfect chastity, poverty, and obedience.

Referring to the chastity of the priest, the text emphasizes the advantages of celibacy.

Stressing the importance of celibacy, its particular fittingness for the priesthood, and the ascetic and apostolic advantages for the priesthood that result from it is truly excellent, just, and most necessary, especially today when celibacy is the object of unjust attacks.

Indeed, virginity and celibacy for the Kingdom of God are two eminently priestly virtues which illumine the Church with an aura of distinguished glory and make its action more far-reaching and more redemptive. Christ and His Mother are perfect models.

While the Council in its schema <169>On the Church and the Modern World<170> has praised the nobility of families and of conjugal love, it is no less true that voluntary consecration to celibacy constitutes the loftiest mark of a life totally dedicated to God. On this, the entire ecclesiastical tradition of the East and the West is in accord.

And yet, while stressing the beauty of celibate priesthood, we must not ruin or depreciate the parallel and equally apostolic tradition of a priesthood living within the bonds of holy matrimony, as the East has lived it and continues to live it now.

When we speak of married priests, we mean men who are already married being able to accede to the priesthood. but not men who are already priests being able to accede to marriage. For, according to the tradition of the East as well as the West, ordination establishes a man permanently in his state of life.

When they read this paragraph No. 14, the married priests of the East, and those very few married priests of the West, who are as Catholic as the others, will inevitably feel that their priesthood is simply being tolerated, or at best an expedient.

Now, that is not the case at all. The conciliar text must rise to a high enough level of Catholicity to embrace all situations.

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Permit me, therefore, venerable Fathers, to present briefly to you the spiritual and apostolic advantages of a married clergy, such as it exists in the East. In doing this, I am aware of fulfilling a duty, for here is a matter of a profoundly Catholic institution that it is not fitting to dispose of in an incidental clause consisting of two lines, as the schema does in No. 14. I do this by way of information. The Christian West is free to follow the evolution that best suits its temperament and which it believes to be in the best interests of the Church. But <197> as on many other points <197> the Christian East has also preserved, for the good of the universal Church, a parallel tradition that is founded quite as much on Scripture, the Apostles, and the Fathers. And this tradition, at the moment and in the countries where the Church deems it appropriate, can be invoked in order to support a turning point in history that will perhaps be made necessary by the changing circumstances of time, place, and persons.

Now that this has been said, we offer the following considerations:

1. Neither Scripture nor Tradition, especially the Tradition of the first centuries, considers celibacy as an indispensable condition for the priesthood, a condition sine qua non. The early text of the schema affirmed that <169>even among the first Apostles, a few were married.<170> The new text preferred to omit this mention, as if by omitting it we could change the truth of history. It is unnecessary to recall that Saint Peter and most of the Apostles and the first disciples were married. Those who today in the Eastern Church are likewise married deserve all our support.

2. The East clearly distinguishes between priesthood and monasticism. A man can be called to the one without being called to the other. This distinction opens up new perspectives: Celibacy is the specific vocation of the monk-religious. but it is not necessarily the specific vocation of the priest, in his capacity as a minister of the Church. The priesthood is a function before beina a state of life. It is linked not to a personal striving toward perfection such as celibacy for the sake of God. but to the usefulness to the Church. Therefore celibacy can disappear if the usefulness for the ministry of the Church requires it. The mystery of the redemption, perpetuated in the priesthood, is not subject by obligation to any accidental form. In case of need, it is not the priesthood that must be sacrificed to celibacy, but celibacy to the priesthood.

3. This distinction between the priestly vocation and the monastic or religious vocation was from the earliest centuries of Christianity subjected to the influences of an idealistic rigorism. At the First Council of Nicea in 325 A.D. we see certain Fathers seeking to impose perfect continence on the married clergy. According to Socrates (Hist. Eccl., Book I, Chapter 2, P. G. Vol. 67, Col. 103), Saint Paphnutius, Bishop of upper Thebaid, a confessor of the faith and a miracle worker, universally renowned for his chastity and his austerities, defended with much common sense and with a realistic spirit the traditional discipline of the married priesthood. And, the historian tells, all the Fathers of the Council were won over to his view. Since then, the Church of the East has remained faithful to this tradition that favors celibacy of priests but does not impose it. The Western Church has followed a different tradition which gradually brought it to impose, definitively and universally, ecclesiastical celibacy at the First Lateran Council of 1123 A.D. This is a tradition that, after all, was established at a more recent date.

4. Be this as it may, it is certain that the Eastern tradition maintains and favors more numerous priestly vocations, which the Church needs so much, especially today. In fact, the lack of priests, felt in our modern times in an agonizing way especially in certain countries, cannot be resolved by palliatives that are not sufficiently effective even if excellent, such as the lending of priests by the more favored dioceses, because the urgent needs are disproportionate to the help offered. The Church is in danger of being submerged by this rising human tide, and the danger is growing with each passing day. In this state of urgency, the Christian East counsels that more should not be imposed on priests than Christ himself has imposed.

5. In addition, there are many individuals who experience an immense desire to serve the Church and souls, but who are incapable of maintaining perfect chastity. This is particularly true in certain areas where physical and moral isolation constitutes a serious danger for an average celibate priest.

6. Finally, I shall add that there is no need to fear that the freedom provided by Eastern discipline to choose between celibacy and marriage may gradually cause ecclesiastical celibacy to disappear. There are now and there always will be in the Church many souls called in a special way, to whom flesh and blood are foreign, and who, while they are free to marry, will remain virgins in order to give themselves more totally to God. We have proofs of this in the Eastern churches, whether Catholic or Orthodox, in which the two categories of priests have rubbed elbows for centuries, each developing fully according to his state and in his own special perfection. With this freedom of choice and of consecration, we have on the contrary fewer downfalls to deplore and more virtues to admire.

Another very serious consideration is this: In our capacity as heads of Churches we cannot fail to consider with anxiety that Christianity is declining in terms of the conversion of the world to Christ, and that this is due to the dearth of priests. The growth of Christianity in the world, through births and conversions, is far from corresponding to the staggering increase in world population. Consequently, Christianity is in a continuous relative decline , and this relative and continuous decline is accelerating each year at a more rapid rate, something that gives us much cause for thought.

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Venerable Fathers, that is the tradition of the East on the married priesthood. This is certainly a very delicate subject. And yet it seems to me it must not always remain a subject that is taboo, absolutely closed.

While justifying the Eastern tradition, I cannot but admire the lofty morality of the parallel tradition of the West. But perhaps the time has come when, through the will of the Church, and wherever it may chose, the Eastern tradition might be useful to the universal Church.

I conclude: granted that our thinking is not yet sufficiently mature for definitive decisions, we propose the creation of a post-conciliar commission for the study of this serious problem that concerns in the highest degree the very life of the Church. We believe that a pure and simple return to the ancient and authentic tradition of the Church would be welcomed both by informed lay Christians and by the clergy open to the realities of life. This will bring peace of soul and freedom of conscience.

II. Letter to the Pope (Rome. October 13 1965) To His Holiness, Pope Paul VI Vatican City

Most Holy Father:

In conformity with the desire of Your Holiness, I hasten to transmit to You, through the intermediary of the Council of the presidency, the text of the intervention that I had the intention of delivering before the Council on <169>Priesthood, Marriage, and Celibacy in the Eastern Church.<170>

My sole intention was to set forth and explain the Eastern practice of the married clergy. Actually, the text of the schema that is proposed to us disposes in three lines of this venerable institution which goes back to the Apostles, as if it were a practice that is just barely tolerated. It seems to me that on this point the text of the schema must be significantly amended. If it is not, it would be an insult to the married clergy of the entire Eastern Church, both Catholic and Orthodox.

As for the Latin clergy, all that I take the liberty of submitting to Your Holiness is that you set up a special commission to study this problem and face it squarely. Most Holy Father, this problem exists and is becoming more difficult from one day to the next. It demands a solution. It serves no purpose to hide it from ourselves or to make it a taboo subject. Your Holiness knows very well that truths that are silenced become envenomed.

I fully agree that a public debate in the council chamber would have produced more scandal than concrete results, especially when the press and passions are involved. Yet I am absolutely convinced that in spite of the applause that welcomed the directives on this subject, the problem troubles the conscience of more than one bishop. We are constantly receiving confidences from priests who are indeed known for their piety and their zeal, begging us to raise our voice, to break the silence. Alarming statistics are offered. Too many candidates for the priesthood are turned away because of the increasing difficulties of celibacy. Others are pushed into the celibacy of the priesthood and accepted thoughtlessly. A host of married men could serve the Church in the priesthood.

Celibacy will always remain the ideal of an elite that God chooses for Himself, and it will never die out. But celibacy should not therefore be imposed as an indispensable condition for the priesthood. Considering that secular priests are not forced to assume monk-like poverty, which is easier to practice, why impose on them celibacy, which certainly requires a very special vocation, and very special aptitudes?

The Catholic West does not yet seem disposed to make such a radical change in discipline, but one will go slowly with all the necessary prudence, after the experience of the married deacons authorized by the Council.

All that I ask of Your Holiness, in order to obey a serious imperative of my conscience, is that the door not be systematically and irreversibly closed.

With this trust, I humbly kiss Your hands, imploring Your paternal and apostolic blessing.

@MAJOR SEC HDG = Fair Remuneration for Priests @BODY TEXT ITA = (During the discussion of the schema <169>On the ministry and life of priests,<170> His Excellency Philip Nabaa, Metropolitan of Beirut, made the following intervention:)

The equitable remuneration of priests, dealt with in No. 16 of the schema, is a very serious and very urgent question. It must hold the attention of the Second Vatican Council and find a sure and comforting answer for priests who are poor and discouraged and disappointed in their ministry. There are many such priests, and they are to be found in all dioceses and in all countries. A few of them even live in a state of material poverty that places them below the poor laborers of society. Given such great poverty, the poor priest has no access to any social life, and he is unable to provide any charity to the poor.

A solution based on social equity and justice is immediately in order. Priests responsible for souls and those who no longer have this responsibility expect this from our Council. Aspirants to the priesthood also expect it, for they would not want to be priests with means of livelihood that are so precarious, ineffective, and discouraging. In order to help find the desired solution and to show our feelings of justice and gratitude for the priests who are our beloved associates and collaborators in the service of the people of God, may I be permitted to make the following comments:

1. It is certain <197> and the schema makes it very clear <197> that priests who serve the Church are deserving of a fair remuneration. Indeed, Christ has said: <169>The laborer deserves his wages<170> (Luke 10:7). And St. Paul added: The Lord has so ordained. <169>The Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel<170> (1 Corinthians 9:14).

2. But how much will this fair remuneration be, and who is to pay it? These are the two points that the Council must establish, at least in a general way. In order to help it to do this, we must first of all affirm that fair remuneration must never allow priests or bishops or any other minister of the Church to give up the evangelical poverty, in which they must live, in order to conform more closely to Christ and to be more ready to serve Him, for Christ became poor for our sakes, even though He was rich: <169>Although He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor<170> (2 Corinthians 8:9). The remuneration of priests must not, therefore, become a means of getting rich, even less of living like prosperous capitalists, but a means of living in a dignified way and of working effectively.

That is why the schema requires only what is necessary for an honorable standard of living. It declares that the bishops of a diocese or of a region must establish laws that assure priests who serve or who have served the people of God a remuneration that provides them with a suitable livelihood and also enough to share a little with the poor.

The amount necessary for the suitable subsistence of a priest on a monthly or yearly basis is difficult to determine exactly. And yet we can say in general that a priest needs what a man of the middle class needs to live suitably. It is up to the bishop of the place to specify the required sum, the method of collecting and distributing it, taking into account all the appropriate circumstances.

This sum must be basic and equal for all priests. Social inequality, which is often very great, among priests who are members of the same family, is a scandal. It must be stopped. Equity, the dignity of priests, and the welfare of souls require it imperatively.

3. Who is to pay the fair remuneration of priests? The schema does not state it explicitly. And yet it is obvious that it must be paid by the people of God, that is to say, the faithful who are served by the priests, or better by the parishes and dioceses where they provide their services and their lives. For while the bishop has the obligation to determine the fair level of payment due to priests, it is up to the faithful, all the faithful of all the parishes and all the dioceses, to pay these suitable salaries of their priests and of other sacred ministers.

In this Council we must lay great stress on this obligation of the faithful to support their priests and their churches. The reason that many of our churches are poor and deserted is that the faithful are not fulfilling their duties of piety and charity. And the reason many of our priests in the country or in small parishes live in great poverty and insecurity is that the faithful do not fulfill their duties in justice toward them, but depend on the bishop to do so.

An explanation is in order here, to reassure our priests and enlighten our faithful. We shall never allow our priests to live in penury while we live in opulence. On the contrary, we shall always share our life and our substance with them, striving to assure them a fair and dignified livelihood. And if God wills that we serve Him in great poverty, our hearts will remain joyful, as we repeat with Saint Paul: if we have something to eat and if we have clothes to wear, that suffices.

As for our faithful, we must enlighten them. The obligation to assure their priests a fair livelihood devolves on them in the first place, and not on the bishop. Indeed, the priests are not the servants of the bishop in the Church, or his paid employees, engaged in an enterprise that belongs to him, but are collaborators in the same priesthood and the same ministry. They are also shepherds together with him of the same flock, the people of God, which, for its part, must provide for all an honorable and dignified life. They are the ones who are served first, and not the bishop.

In conclusion, I therefore propose two additions to No. 16 of the schema (No. 18 in the final text):

a. We must explicitly affirm that the obligation to assure an honorable livelihood to the priests and the sacred ministers devolves first of all on the faithful.

b. The just remuneration of priests must be equal, or nearly so, to the amount required for the ordinary life of a man of the middle class in their respective regions.

(Metropolitan Nabaa likewise presented a proposition for a common discipline to regulate the honorable sustenance of the clergy:)

I. In order to provide greater equity in the distribution of the ecclesiastical resources, and in order to help and encourage priestly vocations, a general fund for priests should be set up in each diocese or ecclesiastical province. This general fund must support all priests who devote themselves to pastoral work and assure them at least the minimum income for their upkeep, since those who serve the altar have the right to live by the altar in like manner and in dignity. In any case, no one should live in indigence.

II. The general fund for priests must come from:

1. all the revenues of the churches;

2. all the honoraria or gifts received by the priests;

3. all the gifts of the faithful offered for the upkeep of the priests.

III. The salaries of the priestly ministry must be diocesan rather than parochial, so that all priests may be equally remunerated. Thus a pension fund should be instituted, to which all priests will have access after a certain number of years of age or service.

IV. The amount of the pension to be provided a priest for his honorable support must be determined by the bishop, or by the episcopal conference, for the entire diocese, or by the entire ecclesiastical province, according to the needs of time and place.

V. Priests who have provided for the spiritual needs of the faithful but who are no longer able to provide these services because of age or infirmity must be assured a fair and sufficient pension for their honorable sustenance until they die.

VI. Each diocese or ecclesiastical province must have its priests' residence for elderly priests and for the care of those who are invalids or in poor health.

VII. All priests are required to pay a premium to an insurance company providing for illness or misfortune. This insurance will not only benefit them but will also benefit all their brother priests in the diocese who are poor, sick, disabled, or elderly.

@CHAPTER # = Chapter 9

@CHAPTER TITLE = The Religious Life @BODY TEXT ITA = (The following reflections are excerpted from memoranda presented by the patriarch at the session of June, 1962, of the Central Commission and from the Comments of the Holy Synod on the schemas of the Council (1963). They refer to the draft of a schema <169>de statibus perfectionis adquirendae<170> (on acquiring the states of perfection) and to another schema <169>de rationibus inter Episcopos et Religiosos praesertim quoad opera exercenda<170> (on the relationships of bishops and religious, especially in respect to performing the works of the apostolate.)

1. The religious life and the eremitical life

The religious life is defined in such a way <169>ut nunc vita anachoretica individualis inter status perfectionis minime recenseatur<170> (so that the individual eremitical life is now seldom counted among the states of perfection). And yet the individual eremitical life was the very origin of the religious life, the first model of what has come to be called <169>status perfectionis adquirendae<170> (the state of acquiring perfection).

The West constructed its form of religious life around life in common. And since the eremitical life no longer fitted these categories, it was excluded from the idea of the religious life. Should we not on the contrary broaden the definition of the religious life in such a way as to include in some way the original form of the religious life, namely the solitary life? There is all the more reason for this because in our time there are men in the Catholic world striving to lead the eremitical life, not to mention that in the Orthodox world this form of religious life is being practiced effectively at the present time. At the present moment, the cause for beatification is pending in Rome for a modern Maronite hermit, Father Charbel Makhlouf.

2. Perfection to be acquired and perfection acquired

There is always question of the famous distinction, dear to Western scholasticism, between <169>the state of acquiring perfection' and <170>the state of perfection acquired or being practiced." Bishops are being included in the latter state. Could we not avoid this distinction which is as artificial as it is humiliating for bishops, since what bishop believes that he has arrived at the state of perfection? Besides, is there indeed a state of acquired perfection? Or is not Christian perfection rather always to acquired, not only by bishops but even by the saints? For the East this distinction is absolutely incomprehensible.

3. Patriarchal and pontifical exemption

Referring to the exemption of religious, the schema affirms that the supreme pontiff <169>ad seipsum, vel in Ecclesia Orientali ad Patriarcham, avocare potest religiones...<170> (can exempt religious institutes to himself, or, in the Eastern Church, to the patriarch...) The formula does not seem to be correct, for as it stands, it can lead one to believe that the patriarchal or <169>stavropegial<170> exemption is also, although indirectly, a pontifical exemption. More precisely, exemption is the act by which a religious institute is withdrawn on certain points from the authority of the Ordinary of the place and is made directly subject to the authority of the pope (pontifical exemption) or to the authority of the patriarch (patriarchal exemption).

4. In the case of a multiplicity of rites. The schema deals with the <169>subjectio religiosorum pro diveritate rituum<170> (authority for religious where there is a diversity of rites). It envisions only two cases. The first case is when religious work in a place where there is so to speak only one rite. In that case, according to the terms of Canons 5 and 15 of the notu proprio <169>Cleri sanctitati<170> of Pius XII, the religious are subject to the Ordinary of the place of this rite in all that concerns their apostolate. The second case is when Latin religious exercise their apostolate for the benefit of faithful of several different rites. In that case they depend for their apostolate on the Ordinary who has called or admitted them.

However, the most frequent case, which has not been envisioned by the schema, is the one in which Latin religious exercise their apostolate for the benefit of the faithful of different rites, but have not been called or admitted by any ordinary of the Eastern rite. In such a case, they may continue to depend on the Latin Ordinary, even though the Latin faithful in the territory are very few in number or almost non-existent.

It is this third and more frequent case that the schema should consider in order to provide a suitable solution for it. Naturally, this question should not be dealt with by the Council. It would be under the jurisdiction of the commission for the reform of the Western and Eastern codes. A few years ago we worked out a plan for regulating these sorts of cases, and we take the liberty of attaching it to this memorandum for whatever help it may be.

5. Title of the schema

We are not happy with the title of this conciliar schema. The authors have felt the need to compose more than one page to legitimize it, which is clear proof that it has already been subject to attacks. This title exudes pedantry and vagueness. It is not correct to say that it is <169>most ancient,<170> because it goes back only to the scholastics. It is better to use the expression of the Code, <169>De Religiosis<170> (or simply <169>the states of perfection<170>), although this title does not agree with all the categories, since it is unknown in the East. (It is not possible to argue from the recent codification for Eastern Catholics.)

On the other hand, the term in the former legislation which recognized only monks (and the canons of the West) can no longer suffice. It is better to keep to current terminology than to use difficult formulae that belong only to the scholarly vocabulary. If the intention were to introduce secular institutes and to find a broader generic term, it would have been better to say simply: <169>De Religiosis et de aliis Institutis Similibus<170> (Concerning Religious and Similar Institutes). The formula would have remained the one in current use. We might also ask ourselves if, by reason of a more general legislation, we would not have to name monks in the first place, then religious, etc. Let us think of the separated East. A strictly monastic legislation should exist. The Code of Canon Law was written in an era when no thought was given to the separated East. Now that monastic values are regaining interest and rights in the Church, we must speak of them differently. The schema simply takes sections of the Code, adding to it secular institutes. The Council is not bound in any way by the Code of Canon Law.

6. Contemplation and Action

A much too rigid division is made between contemplative Orders and active Orders. There are many cases in which, by the nature of things, contemplation and action are combined. Excessive compartmentalization always brings cumbersome surprises. This is the case, for example, of papal enclosure. Why not simply put an end to it?

7. Secular Institutes

We would be delighted to see an allusion, in connection with the secular institutes, to the first ascetics, the widows, etc., groups dedicated to pious works, in the early days of the Church, and then completely blended into the laity pure and simple, and which seem to be revived in these contemporary forms of secular institutes.

8. Privileges of Religious

These privileges link the teligious far too exclusively with the Apostolic See, and are harmful to contacts with the local Churches and bishops.

9. Latin Religious in the East

Stress here that the Latin religious who work in the East must understand and love the Eastern world as a whole and not as an imitation of the Latin world.

10. Associations of Major Superiors

It must be specified that these associations of major superiors can be founded only with the consent or at the very least after notice to the Ordinary of the place. Likewise, their statutes should not be approved by Rome without notice to the same Ordinary. Where the East is concerned, these Associations of major superiors must stem not from the Congregation of Religious but from the Eastern Congregation.

Moreover, it would be good that one of the bishops of the corresponding ecclesiastical province be present at these meetings of major superiors.

@CHAPTER # = Chapter 10

@CHAPTER TITLE = The Laity @BODY TEXT ITA = (In their comments on the schemas of the Council (1963), the Fathers of our Holy Synod stated: <169>This schema appears to us to be one of the best. If the Clergy were treated in such a manly way, we would have made the Church progress considerably. In the schema <170>De Clericis," there is an impression of dealing with minors. Here we are speaking to adults. If this schema produces its full effects, we shall in 50 years have a laity that will be far superior to the clergy, which it must nevertheless obey. Care must be taken not to produce this strange inequality."

The quality of the present schema no doubt stems from the fact that since the question of the laity is new, in thinking it through, men aware of modern needs have been consulted, whereas <169>De Clericis<170> and <169>De Religiosis<170> were prepared by functionaries who repeated familiar ideas.)

The Apostolate of the Laity (Intervention of the Most Reverend Father Hilarion Capucci, Superior General of the Aleppine Basilians, on October 9, 1964.)

The Church of the East has always, in the exercise of its mission in the world, known a close relationship between its clergy and its people. It has never experienced the dissociation between the Hierarchy, aristocratically conceived as in sole charge of the Kingdom of God, endowed with the charism of command, and the Laity, considered solely as the flock to be governed and from whom only obedience is required. The Church, the Body of Christ, is missionary in its entirety, it is totally directed toward the return of the Lord; it is in its totality on the move and in action, fashioned by the Holy Spirit through the countless gifts of His uniform grace poured out in profusion into the members of Christ, for the service of the whole of the Father's family. <169>In the last days it shall be, the Lord declares, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh....and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; yea on my menservants and my maidservants I will pour out my spirit and they shall prophesy<170> (Acts 2: 17-19).

Perhaps it has even happened that the East has fallen into a certain excess of democracy. It has unduly circumscribed the role of the clergy within hieratic functions, leaving to the laity, organized in Councils, but always under the presidency of the pastors, not only all temporal administration but also even theological education, charity, and relations with the State. The role of these lay Councils has been preponderant in episcopal elections and in the Holy Synods.

We can cite the advantages and disadvantages of every human institution. Nevertheless, is it not time for the Church to abandon its clericalism and open wide its doors to a laity treated as adults, and to integrate them into ecclesial and pastoral life, with the full responsibilities of mature men and women? The forms of this integration can change according to circumstances of time, place, and persons. Yet the orientation remains the same: a Church of cosmic dimensions closing its ranks; a laity aware of its duties, assuming its full responsibility, gathered around a hierarchy with an open mind and a heart oriented toward the Kingdom of the Lord.

Let us therefore get rid of our clerical complexes of absolute superiority and exclusive effectiveness, and let us put our trust in the zeal, the competence, the feeling for the Church of those we have chosen and trained from the ranks of the laity.

Possible failures, groping starts, cannot discredit a trend that is increasingly asserting itself in the Church by reason of its nature, which is inspired by the action of the Spirit and not simply because of the scarcity of priestly and religious vocations, as is sometimes said.

Let us never forget that in the church bishops and priests are the servants of the Spirit. They are given to the Church <169>to equip of the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ<170> (Eph. 4:12), to work in order to give the Church its missionary cohesiveness. They have the responsibility of seeing to it that the church is in truth a priestly people, faithfully fulfilling its mission of the apostolate: <169>that you may declare the wonderful deeds of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light<170> (1 Pt 2:9). They must listen to the Spirit who acts in the entire Church, in order to understand how to discern with a completely spiritual comprehension the initiatives inspired by the Spirit for the salvation of the world. They must transmit the divine knowledge that will enable the baptized to become a spiritual sacrifice in the Eucharist. That is to say they must help human freedoms to mature in the awareness of their responsibilities and to develop in a truly Christian freedom, completely transfigured by the Holy Spirit.

Far from lamenting, let us rejoice. The Holy Spirit is making the Church aware of what it is, especially in all the faithful people. The only sign of salvation placed in the world is in the communion of bishops, priests, and laity living the Mystery of Jesus Christ at the level of human problems, human values, human efforts.

Concrete Examples of the Lay Apostolate (Intervention of His Excellency Archbishop Zoghby, Patriarchal Vicar General of Egypt and the Sudan, on October 9, 1964.)

I shall give you a concrete example of the cooperation of the laity with the clergy in the East among the Orthodox and in certain Catholic communities. I shall speak of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church of Egypt, where I have exercised my apostolate during twenty-five years as pastor and as bishop.

In each city in Egypt where we have a parish there is a lay commission that is called the Patriarchal Commission. In Cairo and in Alexandria it consists of 24 members, two-thirds of whom are named by the people and the other third designated by the Ordinary of the place, who is the patriarch.

This commission is presided over by the patriarch, and in his absence by the Vicar General, who is a bishop, and at the parish level by the pastor.

This patriarchal Commission plays a broad role in the Church. It is divided into several committees: the Education Committee takes care of everything that relates to our schools, in collaboration with the priests who direct these schools; the Juridical Committee, composed of lawyers, settles the legal matters of the patriarchate and directs all activities of the Church from the point of view of their relationship to the law. It was from among these lawyers that the community tribunal was chosen to judge the civil effects of marriages contracted before our Church, such as alimony, the custody of children, adoption, etc. This jurisdiction has been taken away from us by the suppression of religious tribunals in 1955.

There is also the Committee of the Wakfs, that is to say, of the ecclesiastical resources, which concerns itself with the management of the Church's properties, always under the presidency of the Ordinary or of his representative, without whose consent nothing important can be decided. Likewise, there is the Committee of Cemeteries, which supervises their maintenance; the Committee of Churches, which collaborates in their material administration, their maintenance, and arranges to have poor churches benefit from the income of those that are less poor. This Committee of Churches is aided by a certain number of churchwardens, who, under the direction of the pastors, look after the churches directly, take charge of collections, prepare the churches for special ceremonies, and organize parish festivals and gatherings.

Other lay organizations are in charge of the apostolate of charity. Chief among these is the Social Welfare Society, to which some of the faithful bequeath some real estate. A large number of the faithful, both men and women, is mobilized every year to collect the donations necessary for this good work. This Social Welfare Society, composed of laypersons, has its offices in the very buildings of the patriarchate. It provides, insofar as its means permit, maintenance of poor families and hospitalization for the sick; it furnishes the necessary funds for free education. Ladies are associated with this charitable activity. They take care of clothing supply for the poor, and of noon meals for undernourished children, which they themselves take turns in serving. Other ladies take care of the decoration of churches and of altar linens.

All these works are centered in the patriarchate itself. That is where their meetings are held, in the shadow of the Church, in close collaboration with the clergy. The laity devote themselves to these works with an admirable apostolic spirit. They are very respectful of the ecclesiastical authorities; they offer their services without charge, without seeking to impose their will. Conversely, the clergy derives great benefit from the experience of those faithful who are lawyers, engineers, businessmen, whose cooperation is indispensable. Any of our bishops and pastors who refused the collaboration of the laity would be discredited and would lose their influence over the faithful.

In addition to this collaboration of the laity in the material, social, charitable, and pious works within their own Church, one may add an interritual collaboration at the level of Catholicism as a whole: Catholic Action in the strict sense, the Legion of Mary, the Conferences of St. Vincent de Paul, the Vacation Colony Project, etc., about which I shall not speak, because you know them already.

So you see, Venerable Fathers, that the collaboration of the laity with the clergy is close, continuous, and extends to every sphere of activity. Suffice it to note that one third of the premises of our patriarchate in Cairo and in Alexandria are devoted to purely ecclesiastical activities, and two thirds are devoted to lay activities in the service of the Church. The collaboration of the laity extends even to the service of the altar. A layman chants the Epistle during the Divine Liturgy; members of the laity read the prayers and psalms and prophecies at the liturgical hours. In the Orthodox Coptic Church the churches often have, together with their pastor, a lay preacher who has specialized in preaching. I shall not persist any further.

This is another chapter in which the East provides an example. I am certain that the West, as it opens itself to the apostolate of the laity, will in turn help us to preserve and deepen this heritage that our Fathers have bequeathed to us.

The Place of Non-Christians and of Women in the People of God (In an intervention that made a sensation, on October 24, 1963, His Excellency George Hakim called the attention of the Council to human realities: the great majority of men and women are not Christians. What is their place in the <169>people of God<170>? At least half of the <169>people of God<170> consists of women. What is their role in the Church?)

After studying with the greatest possible care Chapter III of <169>The People of God,<170> and after hearing certain comments in this hall, I should humbly like to make the following two points:

1. As Archbishop of Galilee, having under my jurisdiction the Holy Land itself, where there are not many Catholics <197> and this is also true of most of the regions of the Near East which were once the territory of flourishing Apostolic Churches <197> I am troubled as I read the text of this schema and when I hear the interventions of certain Fathers in this hall. I am troubled, I say, because of this prevailing spirit of triumphalism already denounced at the first session, and which,after the actions and declarations of John XXIII and Paul VI, we hoped had been destroyed!

In fact, how is it possible to speak of the people of God in the terms used in our schema when Christians <197> Catholics, Orthodox, and Protestants taken together <197> constitute only one third of the human race, and two out of three men and women do not know Christ? Do these two billion human beings, who apparently are of good faith, having not heard the Gospel, that is to say the good news of salvation, have nothing to do with the people of God?

Calling to mind the momentous words of His Eminence Cardinal Wyszynski, Archbishop of Warsaw, and the path so clearly opened by His Excellency Archbishop Dubois of Besancon, I would hope that the schema on the Laity will be based on truth and in conformity with the situation of the modern world. This Council is in fact the Council of the 21st century, and in the modern world the Church must be the Epiphany of the charity of Christ. Saint Paul has told us that <169>His goodness has appeared,<170> and it must not look at itself as if it were alone in the world . . . Is it not sent to evangelize this world?

This schema was written by bishops and experts from Christian regions; it was conceived as the sanctioning of that state of ecclesiastical power that, although still alive in certain regions of the West, no longer exists in most of the regions of the world. In fact, if we are not hypocrites, we must admit that the Catholic Church in this world is the <169>little flock.<170> Its strength continues to rest on the Word of God and not on its selfglorification. Besides, certain observations that we have heard do not seem, in my humble opinion, to take into account those who are not Catholics or witness to them the love that we owe them. Here is just one example: several participants in this hall have scorned and belittled married deacons, disregarding how much and what good they do in Christian Churches that fortunately have preserved this institution. As we glory in the ecclesiastical celibacy of the Latin Church, are we not forgetting, are we not scorning these married clerics of the Eastern Churches and so many married pastors and priests of other Christian denominations? . . . Actually, it is not a question now of having a deacon who is already ordained marry afterwards, but of elevating a thoroughly tested layman, who is already married, to the diaconate or to the priesthood.

2. In presenting my second comment, I shall speak briefly, since His Eminence Cardinal Suenens has already dealt with it perfectly.

I should humbly like to denounce a serious oversight: there is no reference in our schema to women. Do we not often make declarations as if women did not exist in the world? And yet what an admirable role they play in the apostolate! What great help we enjoy today from the lay auxiliaries who so often constitute the nucleus of the works of God!

In as much as in certain places women are not sufficiently honored, I propose that the Council, in recognizing the advancement of modern women, due in large part to devotion to the Mother of God, declare the eminent place that belongs to them in the people of God, in the apostolate of the laity, and in all works of the Church.

@CHAPTER # = Chapter 11

@CHAPTER TITLE = The Eastern Catholic Churches @MAJOR SEC HDG = The <169>Rites<170> in the Church @BODY TEXT ITA = (It was in the bosom of the Eastern Commission that the Melkite Greek hierarchy displayed its greatest activity. It was represented there, in the preparatory stage, by Bishop Neophytos Edelby, Archimandrite Athanase Hage, and Archimandrite Maurice Blondeel; in the conciliar stage by the patriarch himself and by Bishop Edelby. As early as November, 1960, Bishop Edelby presented to the commission a complete project of a schema <169>On the Rites in the Church.<170> Although modified many times in the course of the discussions, it continued to form the basis of Chapter I of the conciliar Decree <169>On the Eastern Catholic Churches.<170> The lasting value of this project resides in its commentaries, which reflect very well the thought of the patriarch and his hierarchy on this point. One will notice that the author speaks of the <169>Rites in the Church,<170> and not of the <169>Eastern Rites,<170> for in the Church there are not only <169>Eastern Rites.<170> The Latin Church itself is one of the <169>rites<170> in the Church.)

Relative to the Eastern Rites, it seems to me more opportune for our Commission to propose to the Central Commission and, through it, to the Fathers of the Council, not by one or another article responding to a particular need (for example, the change from one rite to another), but the schema of a <169>decree,<170> that is to say, of a chapter that embraces all this question in an organic manner. For, in the first place, that presents a greater logical interest. In the second place, it is not every day that we have an ecumenical Council; now it seems that the very existence of <169>rites<170> in the Catholic church, their content, their innate rights and obligations will remain material for discussion as long as, on all these points, the Council itself has not manifested definitely and with ruling authority the thought of the Church. I propose that this chapter <169>On Rites in the Church<170> be composed of the ten following articles:

Article 1. On the Variety of Rites in the Church

<169>The Holy and Catholic Church, which is the Mystical Body of Christ, is organically composed not only of the individual faithful who are united in the same faith and the same Christian life, but also of many groups joined to the hierarchy, or particular Churches, which are improperly called <170>rites." These rites or particular Churches, even though they may differ in part in liturgy, intimate constitution, ecclesiastical discipline, and other proper qualities of the spiritual patrimony, yet in an equal manner are committed to the pastoral solicitude of the Roman pontiff, who divinely succeeds Saint Peter in his primacy over the universal Church."

a. This affirmation of principle aims in the first place at dispelling an exclusively <169>individualistic<170> concept of the Church. The universal Church is not solely or above all a society of individuals, but also, and in the first place, a communion of Churches (in the particular sense of the word), that is to say, of hierarchical groups (eparchies. metropolitan jurisdictions, archbishoprics, catholicosates). This remark has a great importance for the union of the Churches: union should not appear as the absorption of all the Christian communities by one of them, (the Latin community or Church), but as the communion of all the Churches (including the Latin Church) in the same faith, the same sacraments, and the same supernatural life, under the paternal and fraternal vigilance of the Roman pontiff, to constitute the <169>Catholica.<170>

b. In the second place, in dispelling this <169>individualistic<170> concept of the Church, the Eastern Churches, or, as they are called, the <169>Eastern Rites,<170> no longer appear as a concession of the Roman Church, as a privilege, as a more or less inconvenient exception. Too many still consider the Latin Church as being, in brief, <169>the Church,<170> and the communities of Eastern rites as a toleration in the midst of Catholicism. They are, some say, <169>united<170> Churches, a sort of appendix, something annexed, and nothing more than that. This concept is absolutely false. The <169>Catholica<170> is composed of all the Churches in communion with one another and with the Roman pontiff. Among the particular Churches in communion among themselves and with the Roman pontiff, there are a Latin Church and a certain number of other churches, of Eastern rite, today inferior in numbers, in the expectation of the universal reunion of all the Christian Churches.

c. In the third place, one wishes to dispel by the same act the concept <197> formerly dear to those around Pope Pius IX and still too widespread in certain Western circles <197> which makes the Eastern Churches a simple affair of <169>liturgical rite,<170> differing from the <169>normal<170> rite of the Church, which is the Latin rite. <169>Eastern Churches<170> is not at all synonymous with <169>Eastern rites.<170> The liturgical rite is only one of the points by which a Church can be distinguished from another Church. But the rite can be the same, while the Churches are distinct (for example, the Byzantine rite is common to a number of Churches); nothing prevents there being different rites in one Church (for example, at Toledo). What constitutes the different Eastern Churches is not only a difference from the Western Church in the liturgical rite. There can be also, and there are in fact, differences in spirituality, in theological points of view, in discipline, in constitution, in organization, in art, etc., so much so that when one <169>respects<170> the <169>Eastern rites<170> (in the liturgical sense), one has not thereby respected the <169>Eastern Churches.<170> Now, for the union of Churches, one would wish to arrive at respecting, in the <169>Catholica,<170> not only the different liturgical rites but also every other difference compatible with the faith and communion with the Roman pontiff.

d. Thus an organic concept of the Church is favored, in which catholicity is not synonymous with Romanism and unity not synonymous with uniformity, in which there is a place for different modes of being, of thinking and acting, not only in liturgy but also in organization and in discipline. Nobody can ignore how much such a concept is indispensable for every effort for union with the autocephalous Orthodox Churches, and not only with individuals.

Article 2. On the Equality of Rites

<169>While retaining the honor due to the Roman Church, all those particular Churches that constitute the universal or catholic Church possess equal holiness and dignity, enjoy equal rights and privileges, and are held to equal obligations. No superiority or domination or hegemony is allowed in the Church by reason of rite. Therefore all Churches or Rites are with equal right entitled to a just increment and are held by an equally grave obligation of preaching the Christian faith in the whole world, under the vigilance of the ecclesiastic pastors in the place, and also under the moderation of the Roman pontiff.<170>

a. This article aims first at affirming vigorously the equality of all Churches in the bosom of the universal church. If the Church is catholic by right, one cannot deny that it has nevertheless to make efforts to be always more catholic in fact, that is to say, to realize always better a greater universality of spirit, of tendencies, of representation, of authority, of service, etc. The Catholic Church is not a monopoly for any person, any race, any nation, any continent, any rite. It is the great gift of God to all humanity, and all humanity should equally share in its cares, as well as in its honors, its services, its representation, etc. Too often, the Catholic Church appears to be allied to the human interests of certain fixed groups. It would not be difficult to draw up a list of grievances that could be asserted by certain groups that feel that they have been injured or that have the impression of being like poor relatives in catholicity. It is enough for us to affirm the principle of the equality of all the faithful and of all the Churches in the bosom of the <169>Catholica.<170> Its concrete realization will require many years and much effort. In other words there is in the Church a <169>pre-eminence of the Roman pontiff,<170> but there should not be a <169>pre-eminence of the Latin rite.<170>

b. The article aims equally at eliminating from the discipline in force every measure discriminating against a particular Church. An equality of rights should correspond to an equality of situation, of needs, and of aptitudes. Nobody in the Church should feel himself impaired because of the rite to which he belongs.

c. Finally, the article aims at eliminating the intolerance that still weighs, here and there, on Eastern Catholics, and that unjustly deprives them of the right, insofar as they are Eastern Catholics, to evangelize the infidels of a particular region, as if the Eastern Churches were closed communities, destined to disappear rather than expand. No human authority can forbid a bishop to preach the Gospel to the infidels of his eparchy, to baptize them, and to incorporate them in his Church. If, in fact, two or more Catholic Bishops are established in the same territory, all and each equally have the right and the duty to evangelize, to baptize, and to incorporate in their Church. The prohibition of evangelizing the infidels should not, above all, weigh upon the hierarchy that represents, better than the others, the native Church.

Article 3. On the Usefulness of Rites

<169>This diversity in the Church, rather than harming its catholicity, instead declares it and makes it concrete. For the Church greatly wishes that that nearly infinite abundance of ecclesiastical traditions remain uncorrupted and entire, as it wishes its rule of life to adapt to the various spiritual needs of each and every Christian community.<170>

The article affirms the usefulness of this diversity in the Church. One will note that it concerns not only a diversity of liturgical rites. Even the diversity of disciplines in the Church is a good thing in itself, and one should not seek to minimize it or to make it disappear for the sole reason of a greater uniformity. The variety of rites and disciplines responds to a natural variety of needs and of mentalities. To wish to reduce everything to uniformity is to deprive oneself uselessly of the charisms of each Church and to close catholicity to every culture other than our own. Pope Saint Leo IX said it so weil in his first letter to Michael Cerularius, Patriarch of Constantinople, no. 29 (Mansi XIX, 652): <169>For (the Roman Church) knows that customs differing according to the place and time are no hindrance to the salvation of the believers, when one faith, working through love the good things that it can do, commends all to the one God.<170>

Article 4 On the Rite of the Roman Pontiff

<169>The Roman pontiff, in his capacity as successor of Saint Peter in his primacy over the universal Church, is not bound to any liturgical rite.<170>

The sovereign pontiff is first the Bishop of Rome, and it is according to that title that he succeeds to the blessed Peter in his primacy. Nobody is astonished that he is a part, from this point of view, of the Western Church, and thus of the Latin rite. The principle aims only at affirming that the Holy Father, insofar as he is father of the universal Church, is not more Western than Eastern, for many of the Westerners have drawn the argument in favor of the <169>pre-eminence of the Latin rite<170> from the fact that that rite was that of the pope of Rome.

It goes without saying that the Roman pontiff can use one or another of the Eastern rites, according to what he judges opportune.

Article 5 On the Safeguarding of Rites

<169>All and each of the faithful ought to preserve the proper rite that they have, and cultivate it, and, unless they are legitimately impeded, practice it wherever they are located. Therefore all attempts of any rite to absorb other rites is to be severely condemned.<170>

a. Since diversity in the Church is a good thing in itself, this article wishes to affirm the perpetuity of this state of things. The existence of the Eastern churches is not a transitory concession, in the expectation of the definitive passing to the Latin rite.

b. The article also affirms that this diversity is admitted throughout the world, that it is not limited to the East alone.

c. Finally, this article forbids any Church, Latin or Eastern, to develop at the expense of other Churches by absorbing them. Through it there is a particular condemnation of the latinization of the East, which has been pursued for centuries, often contrary to the directives of the Holy See of Rome.

Article 6 On the Rite of Those Returning to Catholic Unity.

<169>In restoring unity with the Catholic Church, the faithful who have been up to now separated ought to be received in their proper rite, and to keep it. Therefore, every attempt to draw them into another rite or to admit them to a foreign rite is to be severely condemned.<170>

This article recommends the return to the discipline of <169>Orientalium Dignitas,<170> as opposed to the dangerous innovation of canon 11, No. 1, of the motu proprio <169>Cleri Sanctitati.<170> The subject deserves being studied a bit more closely.

a. The innovation of canon 11, cited above, is contrary to the declarations of popes and to the legislation in force before now.

1. Declarations of the popes:

-Benedict XIV, in the constitution <169>Allatae Sunt<170> of July 26, 1755, no. 33, intended to summarize the constant norm followed by the popes by declaring: <169>Never have the Roman pontiffs required from those who return to the Catholic faith that they abandon their rite and embrace by obligation the Latin rite. That would be, in fact, the disappearance of the Eastern Church and of all the Greek and Eastern rites, something that not only has never been attempted, but has always been and today still is absolutely alien to the spirit of the Holy See.<170>

-The Propaganda equally replied, on June 1, 1885 (Collectanea II, No. 1633, second) that missionaries, in receiving into the Catholic Church those who were born in schism, must inscribe them in their Eastern rite, and not in the Latin rite, except by special authorization of the Holy See.

2 Legislation until now in force

-The Easterners who return to Catholic unity may choose, among the Eastern rites, that which they prefer. See the Decree of the Propaganda dated November 20, 1838 (Collectanea, I, No. 878). Likewise, Letter of the Propaganda dated February 4, 1895.

-Apostates who, abandoning the Catholic faith, have become heretics or schismatics, cannot, on returning to the Catholic faith, enjoy the liberty of this choice, but remain enrolled in their former rite. See the letter of the Propaganda of April 7, 1859.

-Eastern Catholics who have previously passed over to a Western heresy (for example, Protestantism) cannot on reconverting embrace the Latin rite. See Instruction of the Propaganda of July 15, 1876 (Collect. II, No. 1458).

-"If, among the dissidents, a community, a family, or a person shall return to the Catholic unity, while a necessary condition has been set down that they embrace the Latin rite, let them remain for the time being enrolled in that rite, with the ability to return one day to their original Catholic rite. If such a condition has not been set down, but the said community, family, or person are served by Latin priests because of a lack of Eastern priests, they are obliged to return to their rite as soon as there is an availability of an Eastern priest" (Leo XIII, Constitution <169>Orientalium Dignitas,<170> No. 11).

-If no condition has been laid down and no choice of another Eastern rite has been made, the convert must be admitted into the Eastern rite corresponding to his own.

b. The new canon, it is true, does not oblige non-Catholics to pass over by obligation to the Latin rite. But for the <169>latinizers<170> it is sufficient that such is permitted for them to redouble their fervor to deprive the Eastern Catholic Churches of all new help of a nature to nourish them. Certainly, there is nothing improper in that the Roman Holy See, taking into consideration the particular needs of certain individuals, authorizes them to change by exception to the Latin rite, whether at the moment of their return to the Catholic faith or even after they have adhered to it. For the ultimate goal of all legislation must be the good of souls, not a satisfaction of self-love. But, to permit the Latins to admit to their Latin rite the Eastern nonCatholics who wish to return to unity is, under the present circumstances and given the considerable means at the disposal of the latinizers in personnel, in works, and in resources, to condemn the Eastern Catholic Churches to an inability to expand. Thus the equality desired by the canon is equivalent in practice to delivering the weak to the mercy of the strong.

c. Leo XIII had prescribed severe sanctions against those who pushed Easterners to adopt the Latin rite. The sanctions have in practice remained without execution, and the movement of latinization of the East has continued as before. Now, what the severest sanctions have not been able to prevent, will a simple wish, stealthily set at the end of the canon, to encourage the Easterners to remain in their rite, do any more to prevent?

d. While the new canon authorizes the Eastern non-Catholics to pass over to the Latin rite, the law presently in force forbids the Western non-Catholics to pass over to the Eastern rite. Besides, is it normal that the Protestants of Rome, for example, in converting to Catholicism, should pass over to an Eastern rite? It is not more normal for Eastern non-Catholics to pass over to the Latin rite.

Conclusion: If one wishes that the Eastern Catholic Churches should grow and continue to fulfill their mission, it is necessary to forbid the latinization of the East, unless there is a personal exception.

Article 7. <169>The faithful of Eastern rites who, notwithstanding the instructions of the Roman pontiffs, for whatever reason have at certain times been enticed to desert their native rite in order to embrace the Latin rite, are paternally invited by this holy Council to return to their former and original rite.<170>

That is, in other words, the intention of <169>Orientalium Dignitas<170> No. 11: <169>If, among the dissidents, any community or family or person shall return to the Catholic unity, while a necessary condition has been set down that they embrace the Latin rite, let them remain for the time being enrolled in that rite, with the ability to return one day to their original Catholic rite. If such a condition has not been set down, but the said community, family, or person are served by Latin priests because of a lack of Eastern priests, they are obliged to return to their rite as soon as there is an availability of an Eastern priest.<170>

Article. 8. On Change to Another Rite

<169>It is the prerogative of only the Roman pontiff, having heard from the interested hierarchs, to permit Catholic faithful, for grave and personal reasons, to transfer to another rite.<170>

There can be presented particular cases in which the higher good of a soul requires the change to another rite. In order to avoid all kinds of conflict and above all the abuse which a too easy procedure would produce on this point, it is thought that the best method would be to reserve these transfers to the judgement of the sovereign pontiff.

Article 9. On the Eastern Rites outside the Eastern Regions

<169>As, in the East, a Latin hierarchy has been set up for the good of the faithful of the Latin rite dwelling there, likewise there will be a provision throughout the world for the safeguarding and growth of Churches of the Eastern rites through setting up an Eastern hierarchy wherever the number and the spiritual good of the faithful of Eastern rites require it.<170>

The Roman Holy See establishes everywhere in the world its own hierarchy for the benefit of the faithful of the Latin rite (no corner of the world lacks a Latin hierarchy), whereas it does not establish for the benefit of the numerous Eastern faithful of the diaspora its own hierarchy. The most frequent reason for this is the opposition of Latin Ordinaries who do not wish a jurisdiction parallel to theirs in the same territory. The above principle aims to affirm the normal character of this multiplicity of jurisdiction everywhere in the world wherever the number of the faithful and their spiritual good require it.

The Orthodox have established a hierarchy almost everywhere in the diaspora. Prevented by the opposition of Latin Ordinaries, Eastern Catholics are, in the emigration, almost everywhere without their own hierarchy, which causes considerable injury to them and slowly undermines their existence. While our Orthodox brothers are established in the emigration, we must state that we delay. Thus, for example, the Melkite Church has nearly half of its members outside the East, without a hierarchy, sometimes even without a parish priest. On this point, our union puts us in a position of inferiority compared with our Orthodox brothers.

Article 10. On the Cooperation of Rites

<169>When there is a multiplicity of various Rites of the Catholic hierarchy in the same territory, let more extensive faculties be granted, on behalf of the common good and for nourishing the coordination of apostolic efforts, to the synod of all hierarchs who possess jurisdiction in that territory.<170>

The multiplicity of rites can be, in the absence of organization, a regrettable dispersion of forces. Certain persons do not cease to extol the suppression of different rites and their replacement by a single rite precisely because of the inconveniences which result from the multiplicity of jurisdictions. Now these inconveniences can easily be avoided if there is installed in the Church a system of synodalism charged with all questions of general interest. Concretely, in a fixed territory with multiple jurisdiction, most serious questions will arise even if there is a single authority that, in the place of that of a single hierarch, becomes that of a synod of hierarchs: which is, to be definite, an excellent thing and introduces into the Church a moderated democratic element, more consistent with the traditions of the East. Naturally, all of this must be clearly specified in the future code of canon law.

Each of the propositions mentioned above, taken by itself, could be a subject for discussion, for there is no human institution that does not present some drawbacks. But if one has in view that the principal reason for the existence of us Eastern Catholics is to promote Christian union, these proposals acquire a capital importance and assert themselves on their own merit.

(In conformity with the above project, the Eastern Commission prepared a draft of a distinct schema <169>On the Eastern Rites.<170> The patriarch approved it as a whole, but made a criticism of a detail. The text was read at the third meeting of the Central Commission, held in January 1962.)

This schema <169>On Rites in the Church<170> corresponds to the ideas that I have always defended on the situation and the mission of the Eastern Catholic Churches in the bosom of Catholicity. Thus I am happy to approve the main part of this schema.

I shall make only one criticism of a passage in the preamble where it is said that the Catholic Church does not place any limits to the recognition and expansion of the Eastern rites other than those <169>that produce a danger for souls and derogate from ecclesiastical respectability.<170> This phrase, borrowed from the Fourth Lateran Council, is not fortunate. It is indelicate, in fact, and also absolutely false, to suspect that only in the <169>Eastern rites<170> as such there is a <169>danger for souls<170> or a <169>derogation of ecclesiastical respectability.<170> The Eastern rites are an integral part of the Catholic tradition. They are not heretical or schismatic rites. Likewise, in the Eastern discipline there is absolutely nothing that constitutes a danger for souls or a violation of ecclesiastical respectability. This phrase of the Fourth Lateran Council is explained by the mentality of the epoch.

@MAJOR SEC HDG = Observations of the Synod on the First Conciliar Schema <169>On the Eastern Churches<170> (1963)

@BODY TEXT ITA = (The first schema <169>On the Eastern Churches,<170> distributed to the Fathers of the Council, was submitted to an intensive review by the Holy Synod of August, 1963. The text of these first observations of the synod deserves to be published in major part, because of its historic importance. It follows step by step the text of the conciliar schema.)

1. Criticism of the Preamble

The Council considers itself as belonging to a Church which venerates the Eastern Churches, as if they were not part of the Church. Thus this preamble should be done over, according to the following observations:

-Eliminate the interpolation: <169>the very large and honorable crown of the Eastern patriarchs and prelates.<170> This expression seems a bit hyperbolic. It is true that at the Second Vatican Council the number of Eastern prelates is greater than at the First Vatican Council, but it still remains only modest, compared with the first councils of antiquity, and also with the total of the Fathers in attendance, who are about 95% Latin.

-"Earnestly desiring therefore to manifest its solicitude for these venerable Churches." These words are paternalistic. Besides, they have been used too frequently. The Eastern Church should not be pampered like a weak child or coaxed like an unmanageable child. There is no need for special <169>solicitude.<170> It is a branch of the Church, which wishes only that it be granted a just place in Catholicism, which is presently too massively Latin in constitution and in mentality.

-Omit the expression: <169>Among the people of the East.<170> In fact, the proper mission of the Eastern Church is not limited to only the people of the East. The Church of the East is not today a geographical expression. It is a branch of the Church, nowadays spread out a bit everywhere. It is fitting, therefore, that it display its activity everywhere. The schema reveals, here and there, a mentality that is not very favorable to the East, as we shall see. For the schema, the Latin Church is the rule, the norm. The Eastern church, the Eastern discipline, the patriarchs are the exception, which it is fitting to limit as much as possible. There are favorable wishes that the Eastern Church live and work, but <169>among the people of the East.<170> Outside the East, it has nothing to do, and its faithful of the diaspora are normally destined to be latinized. It is necessary to react against this mentality.

-Omit the clause: <169>proposed by the Eastern patriarchs and prelates.<170> For, to begin with, it is not true. One should not attribute to the patriarchs and prelates of the East this schema, which is not their work, and which is, to be definitive, not very favorable to them. In the second place, it is not fitting that an ecumenical council be content to affirm what a portion of its members has proposed. The conciliar texts are the work of all the Fathers, even if they have been prepared by one group.

2. Particular Churches

Commence this portion with this affirmation of principle, which has as its aim showing that the epithet <169>particular Churches<170> applies not only to the Eastern Churches, as it is said, but to all Churches, including the Latin Church: <169>All Churches of the apostolic tradition, of whatever rite, whether Eastern or Western, are particular Churches.<170>

-Omit the word <169>Orientalium.<170> In fact it is not the variety of Eastern Churches that, <169>far from harming the Church, demonstrates its Catholicity.<170> It is the variety of all the particular churches. It is not only the Eastern Churches that are particular Churches. Even the Latin Church is a particular Church in the universal Church.

-Replace <169>of the nation or of the region<170> with <169>of the Church.<170> Indeed, it is not a matter of safeguarding the traditions of each <169>nation or region,<170> but of each <169>Church.<170> It is not a matter of folklore, but of ecclesial traditions.

3. The Eastern Churches and the Roman Pontiff

One cannot say that all the particular Churches are <169>in an equal manner<170> entrusted to the pope. The Church of Rome is entrusted to him as its immediate bishop. The Western Church is entrusted to him as its patriarch. But the Eastern Churches and all the Churches are entrusted to him as the successor of Peter.

4. Easterners not provided with hierarchs

Add the following phrase: <169>Where indeed an Ordinary of any rite has jurisdiction over the clergy and faithful of another rite, he should rule them with paternal love according to the spirit of their own rite. The spirit of the rite is that which thrives in the patriarchate or in other superior authority of that rite.<170>

This addition is intended to prevent certain abuses: contamination of the rite, serious negligences in liturgical and disciplinary matters, etc. Since Latin Ordinaries, for example, have jurisdiction over some Eastern faithful, they should govern them according to the spirit of their Eastern rite, and the source of this spirit should be the superior authority of the rite.

5. Religious Institutes working in the East

Add the following proposal: <169>among whom not only is the Eastern rite observed, but also the Eastern spirit prevails.<170>

To us, this proposal seems to be necessary. In fact, it is not enough for Latin religious institutes to open houses or provinces of the Eastern rite; it is necessary that these foundations be animated by the Eastern spirituality, and, above all, it is necessary that they have the love of the East. The rite does not make the Easterner. One has seen strangers make themselves Eastern in regard to the rite, and at the same time nourish much aversion for the Eastern Church, its discipline, its spirituality, its apostolate, etc. One should rather forbid these persons to adopt the Eastern rite.

6. Rite of the Orthodox Passing over to Catholic Unity

This number 9, as it is shown in the schema, is absolutely inadmissible. It constitutes a serious injustice, that we shall never tolerate, and a fatal blow to the Eastern Catholic Church. Therefore, given the gravity of the matter, we must expand a bit on this point.

First, it is appropriate to recall that this number, absolutely unexpectedly, has replaced a paragraph that the Eastern Commission had approved by a large majority, after long discussions. We thought that the affair was closed. But <169>certain persons<170> <197> we do not know which ones <197> have improperly replaced that former paragraph, favorable to the Easterners, with this new text, which constitutes a true injustice. Naturally, to cover up doing things in this manner, care was taken not to convene the conciliar commission, so that the Fathers of the Council would be confronted with an accomplished deed. We protest vigorously against this abuse of confidence.

a. State of the question

While awaiting the blessed general reunion of all the Churches, to which we aspire with all our hearts, and for which we are willing to sacrifice ourselves, we must state that there are inevitably in Christianity some individuals or groups not united to Rome who ask access to union with it. For these cases, which we cannot ignore, we must establish applicable norms that are provisional <197> that is to say, until the global union of the Churches <197> to regulate these individual or partial unions.

The working out of these norms should not offend our Orthodox brothers or be considered as an indication of a proselytism of a bad type that <169>nibbles away<170> at their Church. We proceed here as would the Orthodox Church itself, which, in its canon laws and in its liturgical books, legitimately decrees prescriptions to be applied to other Christians who come to Orthodoxy.

In this section, it is a matter of baptized non-Catholics who come to the Catholic Church. To which rite should they belong? For example, an American Protestant who becomes Catholic, must he belong to the Latin Church, or should he, at the moment of his conversion, be able to choose to enter the rite that he wishes, for example, the Malabar rite? Common sense will doubtless reply: an American Protestant, if he becomes Catholic, normally should only be made a part of the Latin Catholic Church of America. If particular circumstances require that he become Malabar or Armenian, he has only to make application to the Holy See.

And if it is a question of non-Catholic (Orthodox) Easterners, what should one think? For example, an Ethiopian Orthodox who wishes to become Catholic, to what rite should he belong? Common sense replies: Normally, he will belong to the Ethiopian Catholic Church. However, for personal reasons that are completely special, of which superior authority remains the judge, he will be able exceptionally to become Malabar, Armenian, Ukrainian, or Latin. This is the point of view that we have always defended: Eastern Orthodox, in becoming Catholic, must normally remain not only Eastern (that is to say, not Latin), but also, in a more precise manner, Easterners of the same rite to which they may belong in Orthodoxy, except for personal reasons which may require their change to another rite, with the consent of the Holy See.

Unfortunately, such has not been the opinion of those who wrote this last schema, who have succeeded in maneuvering in such a way as to let the text voted by the preparatory commission fall into oblivion, to avoid summoning the conciliar commission and thus to present, as if it were coming from the Eastern prelates, a latinizing theory which is contrary to the constant attitude of the Holy See on this point.

This requires some explanations. We shall show first the discipline that was in force until now, then we shall review the text that is presented to us now, to defend afterwards the text which was voted by the preparatory Eastern Commission of the Council, and which we shall continually defend with vigor, for the very future of Catholicism in the East is involved.

b. Discipline in force until 1958

Until 1958, that is to say until the motu proprio <169>Cleri Sanctitati<170> of June 2, 1957, came into force, non-Catholic baptized Easterners who came over to Catholicism could choose, among the Eastern rites, whichever one pleased them. Thus, an Orthodox Ethiopian, on becoming Catholic, could become Armenian, Coptic, or Malabar, but he had to remain at least Eastern. To become Latin, he needed either an express indult of the Holy See, or to pose a condition, as it were a sine qua non, of not being willing to become Catholic except in the Latin rite. In practice, the apostles of latinization were not much bothered by this, and they counseled all whom they <169>converted<170> to set down this condition sine qua non. Entire regions were latinized in this manner. The Easterners protested vigorously, but the latinizers found powerful support at the Roman Curia and among the representatives of the Holy See in the locale. The most generous intentions of the popes thus remained a dead letter.

This discipline, in force until 1958, had an advantage and presented a drawback. The advantage was that it aimed at normally leaving the Easterners in the Eastern Church, without excluding the possibility of changing into the Latin rite, if special conditions were realized in the judgement of the Holy See. The drawback was that it authorized the Easterners, at the moment of their passing over to the Catholic Church, to join freely any Eastern Church whatsoever. Thus an Ethiopian could become Ukrainian, an Armenian could become Malabar, and a Russian could become Malankar. In practice, that did not happen, for each one remained in fact in his rite, but the legislation was defective in theory. It called for an improvement, in the sense of greater precision .

c. Discipline in force since 1958

The motu proprio <169>Cleri Sanctitati<170> of June 2, 1957, instead of improving the situation, aggravated it. Canon 11 of this motu proprio, in fact, gives to baptized non-Catholics of an Eastern rite, on becoming Catholic, the option of choosing the rite that they wish: <169>they can embrace the rite that they prefer.<170> And that is just as true in the East as outside it. It is well known what vigorous protests our Melkite Church has raised, since the Synod of Cairo in 1958, against this canon. Here we summarize them briefly for the attention of those who have not become aware of them:

i. Canon 11, which was an innovation, is contrary to the declarations of the popes and the legislation which was in force until then. In particular, Pope Benedict XIV, in the constitution <169>Allatae Sunt<170> of July 26, 1755, no. 33, intended to summarize the constant norm followed by the popes when he said: <169>Never have the Roman pontiffs required from those who return to the Catholic faith that they abandon their rite and embrace by obligation the Latin rite. That would be, in fact, the disappearance of the Eastern Church and of all the Greek and Eastern rites, something that not only has never been attempted, but has always been and today still is absolutely alien to the spirit of the Holy See.<170> And the Propaganda equally replied, on June 1, 1885 (Collectanea II, No. 1633, second) that missionaries, in receiving into the Catholic Church those who were born in Orthodoxy, must inscribe them in their Eastern rite. and not in the Latin rite, except by special authorization of the Holy See. Finally, it is clear, from what we have said under letter b, that canon 11 is contrary to the legislation which was in force until then.

ii. The new canon, it is true, does not oblige the Eastern non-Catholics to enter, by obligation, the Latin rite. But it is sufficient that they are permitted to do so in order for the <169>latinizers,<170> still very numerous in the East and in the West, to redouble their fervor and to deprive the Eastern Catholic Churches of nearly all new development. Certainly, there is nothing improper in that the Roman Holy See, taking into consideration the particular needs of certain individuals, authorizes them to change by exception to the Latin rite, or to an Eastern rite other than their own, for the ultimate goal of all legislation in the Church must be the good of souls. But Church law should anticipate what is normal, not what is exceptional. Normally an Ethiopian Orthodox will be an Ethiopian Catholic, a Malabar Orthodox will be a Malabar Catholic, etc. But it is not normal for a Greek Orthodox to become Latin or Malabar. Besides, to permit the Latins to admit into their Latin rite, on a normal and regular basis, non-Catholic Easterners who wish to come to unity, is in the present concrete circumstances, given the considerable means that the latinizers have at their disposal in personnel, in works, and in resources, to condemn the Eastern Catholic Churches not to develop normally. Thus the liberty and the apparent equality intended by the canon are in practice equivalent to delivering the weak to the mercy of the strong.

iii. Leo XIII had prescribed severe sanctions, going as far as the deprivation of office, against those who pushed Easterners to adopt the Latin rite. The sanctions have in practice remained a dead letter, and the movement of latinization of the East has continued as before. Now, what the severest sanctions have not been able to prevent, will a simple wish, stealthily set at the end of the canon, to encourage the Easterners to remain in their rite, do any more to prevent? Canon 11 says, in fact: <169>Baptized non-Catholics of Eastern rite, who are admitted into the Catholic Church, can embrace the rite that they prefer; yet it is hoped that they retain their own rite.<170> A platonic wish, which does not deceive anyone.

iv. While this canon 11 authorizes the Eastern non-Catholics to pass over to the Latin rite, the law presently in force forbids the Western non-Catholics to pass over to the Eastern rite. It is quietly admitted, in fact, that an Italian Protestant who wishes to become Catholic cannot normally adopt the Eastern rite, but will belong to the Latin rite. Besides, does it make good sense that Protestants of Rome, for example, in converting to Catholicism, pass into an Eastern rite? It does not make any better sense for Eastern Orthodox to become Latin.

For all these reasons we have protested vigorously against the innovation of canon 11 of the motu proprio <169>Cleri Sanctitati,<170> and, benefitting from the fact that the Eastern Commission was studying this question anew, the Melkite delegate proposed an amendment to this canon to be submitted to the Council. Here is how things have gone:

d. The Text Proposed by the Eastern Commission

The Commission <169>On the Eastern Churches,<170> preparatory to the Council, approved by a large maiority, in its session XVI, of April 21, 1961, the following text (See document No. 81-1961, pp. 2 & 3):

<169>Baptized non-Catholics, who are admitted to the Catholic Church, are obliged to retain their own rite, while the right is preserved, in particular cases, of having recourse to the Apostolic See.<170>

This text presented the following advantages:

i. It does not set up any discrimination between the Latin rite and the Eastern rites. The rule that it proposes is equally valid for Western non-Catholics and for Eastern non-Catholics.

ii. It indicates that this must be the rule, the norm: each one must remain faithful to his rite, Western or Eastern.

iii. It sufficiently takes into account particular cases: the Holy See can give as many dispensations as it judges expedient.

Nevertheless, in spite of this opening that it allows for passing into another rite, the text has not pleased certain persons, who seem to wish at any price to favor the latinization of Easterners. Not taking into account the maiority vote of the commission, they have tried, by the means at their disposal, to change the text, and that by stages, very cleverly, as one will see.

e. Modifications brought about successively to the text voted by the Eastern Commission

A first retouching, made in a photocopied communication entitled <169>Amended and Abridged Text,<170> and dated December 15, 1962, reduced the text to the following:

<169>Baptized non-Catholics, in regions of particular rites, who are admitted to the Catholic Church, must retain their own rite; outside the regions of the particular rites they can embrace the rite that they prefer, although it is hoped that they retain their own rite, while the right is preserved, in particular cases, of having recourse to the Apostolic See.<170>

Thus this first retouching, by interpolating very cleverly the addition <169>in regions of particular rites,<170> limits the norm voted by the commission to Eastern regions alone; outside the Eastern regions, Eastern non-Catholics, on becoming Catholic, are not held to remaining Eastern, and of their original rite, but could choose the rites that they should wish, that is to say, in practice to pass into the Latin rite.

Thus we have protested with extreme vigor both this interpolation and the proceedings that consisted of scorning the deliberative vote of the commission in order to substitute in place of its text a text made in secret by unknown persons.

The result of our protest: the same persons who interpolated the first text drew up a text still more unfavorable to the East, that of the present schema No. 9, which reads as follows:

<169>Baptized non-Catholics, returning to the Catholic Church, in regions of their own rites, are admonished to retain their own rite...<170>

Thus, not only has the rule of remaining in one's own rite been limited to the East (<169>in regions of their own rites<170>) but this obligation itself has disappeared; the verb <169>must<170> is cleverly replaced by the verb <169>are admonished<170>; after the admonishing, one is free to do what one wishes. And the prelates of the East, who had struggled so hard for the safeguarding of their rights, have been duped. And with the summit of the cleverness it is all presented as if coming from the Eastern prelates themselves: <169>to approve several chapters, proposed by the Eastern patriarchs and prelates.<170> There is no need to comment.

f. Conclusion

i. The text on which the preparatory commission <169>On the Eastern Churches<170> had decided by a large majority should be respected. It can only be changed by a formal decision of the Conciliar Commission, which has no meeting until the middle of September, 1963.

ii. Again we declare that it is the province of the Fathers of the Council alone to approve or reject the only text legitimately proposed by the competent preparatory commission, namely the following:

g. Text proposed to the Council

<169>Baptized non-Catholics, who are admitted to the Catholic Church, are obliged to retain their own rite, while the right is preserved, in particular cases, of having recourse to the Apostolic See.<170>

This discipline, which does not favor one or another Eastern Church that does not have an Orthodox branch, does not as such close to them the door to a wide apostolate of union. For they still have the possibility of recourse to the Holy See, and of working directly among non-Christians to lead them to the Catholic Church according to their particular rite. Happily, these Churches constitute an exception in the Christian East.

We regret that the study of this No. 9 of the schema has occupied us so long; but the question that is raised is of vital importance to the Eastern Catholic Churches.

7. The Patriarchs

One cannot say <169>thus and simply<170> that the patriarchal institution has been bestowed or recognized by the popes or by the ecumenical councils. That is historically false. It is not the popes of Rome who have created the true and great patriarchates of Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem. It is not even the ecumenical councils that created the institution of the patriarchate. The first Ecumenical Council of Nicea, in mentioning the three principal sees of Christianity (Rome, Alexandria, and Antioch), already implied the patriarchal institution, not as to the name, but as to the reality. This supra-episcopal reality that is the patriarchate has its roots in the apostolic age. The councils approved an accomplished fact. The popes have only created certain united patriarchates of recent institution. The patriarchate, as such, if it is not of divine right, is nevertheless apostolic and founded on the most ancient patristic tradition.

No. 12 of the schema can therefore remain as a wish that the Council expresses to see the patriarchal institution honored in the Catholic Church. But to follow up on this wish, it will be necessary to do much work. For, truly, in the Catholic Church the patriarchal institution appears to the partisans of centralization as the principal enemy. However, nothing supports the primacy of the successor of Peter as much as the crown of his brothers, the patriarchs of the great sees of Christianity. To depreciate Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, or Jerusalem is to depreciate Peter and his successor. One should recall the words of Pope St. Gregory: <169>My honor is in the honor of my brothers.<170> But it will doubtless be necessary to wait another century for Catholicity to become aware of what the institution of the patriarchate is. The West has forgotten that it has a patriarch, who is the Bishop of Rome, and that the East, its senior in Christianity, has several patriarchs. To measure the incomprehension of the Catholic West on the subject of the patriarchal institution, it is sufficient to read the three-fourths of a page that the schema <169>On the Eastern Churches<170> devotes to it.

We repeat: in a hundred years, it will be necessary to take up this theme again. Knowing the present state of minds, we have no hope of being able to achieve the adoption of a text on the patriarchates which will truly conform to Tradition and to what the Church has a right to expect from an institution that has presided, with the primacy of the successor of Peter, over the destinies of the faith across twenty centuries.

That is why we propose that either the Council should not speak of the patriarchates, rather than speak of them in this manner, or else that it be content with the following few lines, leaving to future generations the care of maturing this question: <169>The patriarchs are the principal bishops in the Catholic Church. That is to say that they enjoy full episcopal power, which is minimally or little bound by canonical limitation, as it is for other bishops. For it does not exceed the innate power of the successors of the Apostles that the senior bishops, each for his own region, should create other bishops, with whom they collegially govern the same territory, and over whom they preside as princes of the pastors.

<169>What, however, concerns the title or number or the territorial limits or the precedence of sees, that pertains to ecclesiastical law.

<169>According to the ancient tradition of the Church and of the ecumenical councils, the following are the titles and order of the major patriarchal sees: the first see is the Roman one of Saint Peter, the leader of the Apostles, the second Constantinople, the third Alexandria, the fourth Antioch, and the fifth Jerusalem.<170>

This very brief text has for its aim first to combat the thesis that underlies the schema, according to which the patriarchate is constituted by the pure privileges that the pope concedes, and which he can modify at will. Now, one would wish to know the name of the pope or the council that erected as patriarchates the sees of Antioch and of Alexandria. On the contrary, for Saint Leo and Saint Gregory the Great, the three sees of Rome, Alexandria and Antioch draw their authority from the Apostle Peter: Peter at Antioch, Peter at Alexandria through his disciple Mark, Peter at Rome. Even if today one does not share the opinion of these two great popes, it still remains none the less true that the patriarchate is not a simple question of privileges granted by the pope or by the Council to bishops taken at random.

In the second place, the Council owes it to itself to cite the five patriarchal seats of Christianity. In setting aside the Roman seat, and making the patriarchate an institution that is purely Eastern, and almost non-Catholic, one distorts the facts of history and the very character of the patriarchal institution.

If one wishes nevertheless to go into some canonical details, we would propose to add also the following text:

<169>Except for the Roman See, there exists no patriarchal see, properly so-called, of the Latin rite. <170>The patriarchs who are called Eastern, by the force of their dignity, power, and traditional pre-eminence, whether in ecumenical councils or outside councils of that type, that is to say in handling all affairs, are, together with the Roman pontiff, their chief leader, special bishops of that Church which is everywhere. <169>That power of the patriarchs over their own bishops, clergy, and faithful, which has flourished from most ancient times, indeed from apostolic times, is produced by the Holy Spirit in the Mystical Body of Christ.

<169>The patriarchs thus constitute, by traditional and canonical right, in communion with the Bishop of Rome, the supreme college in the Church.

<169>What the Synod of Florence and after it the Roman pontiffs have affirmed very frequently concerning not reducing substantially the rights and privileges of the patriarchs, this holy Synod solemnly confirms. These rights and privileges are those that were in force during the thousand-year union of the East and the West, and even if they should occasionally be adapted to our times, they are truly not to be diminished appreciably.<170>

8. Minister of Confirmation

One knows that the Council of Trent has defined that the <169>ordinary<170> minister of the sacrament of confirmation is the bishop. Besides, the expression <169>ordinary minister<170> is not a happy one when applied to the Eastern discipline. It is manifestly inspired by the Latin practice, in which the bishop is in fact the minister who ordinarily administers this sacrament, whereas, in the authentic Eastern discipline it is the priest who ordinarily administers this sacrament, and the bishop quite extraordinarily. On the other hand, the Eastern priest can confirm only when using the Myron or Holy Chrism, which only the patriarch or bishop can consecrate. To reconcile these two practices, it is proposed to say that the bishop is the <169>minister said to be the ordinary, or rather primary or original.<170> To understand the Eastern point of view on this point of terminology, let the Latin theologians pose this question to themselves: if the Latin Church had confirmation ordinarily administered by the priests and not by the bishops, would they have called the bishop the <169>ordinary minister<170> of confirmation? It is thus necessary to find a term which fits both the Eastern discipline and the Western one, and not to make the Eastern point of view bend each time to the Latin practice.

9. The Eucharist to the Newly Baptized

As the Easterners have remained faithful to the usage of conferring the sacrament of confirmation at the same time as baptism, it is logical to confer also the third of the <169>three sacraments of Christian initiation,<170> which is the Holy Eucharist. All those who have been baptized in Christ are at the same time confirmed in Him and receive His Body and His precious Blood. There is no reason to give Confirmation to infants and to refuse to them the Holy Eucharist. It is a universal and very beautiful usage of the Eastern Church, which it is fitting to preserve or to restore.

10. Mixed Marriages

The Eastern Commission has voted a text to ease the present discipline of mixed marriages in the East. It was believed necessary to have this text preceded by a preface that is inspired by a spirit that is rather opposed to the openmindedness of the section that follows, not to mention that this preface is complicated, a bit offensive to non-Catholics, and definitely unnecessary. It begins by saying that it is not easy to avoid mixed marriages. That is obvious, as well for the East as for the West. However, the text adds, it is necessary to warn the faithful to avoid these mixed marriages. That is to establish as a principle that these marriages are something bad. Then it is said that if one can not avoid them, one should watch out that the spouses avoid the dangers that they comprise, etc. To remark that the non-Catholics take the same measures to protect themselves against us is to put the faithful in a very tormented state of conscience.

The text of the schema adds two other phrases that we propose to eliminate. The first sets up a condition: <169>and if there likewise should be danger lest the non-Catholic partner oblige the Catholic partner to join him.<170> This condition is not necessary to permit the bishop to dispense from the form of marriage. It occurs sometimes; at other times it does not. If it is put in the conciliar text, theologians are going to believe that henceforth the Church demands another condition. The second phrase is: <169>Yet the conscience of the hierarchs is gravely burdened by the observance of the precautions that are prescribed in the law.<170> According to a widespread opinion, which has been officially communicated to us by the Eastern Congregation, the Church only requires of the Catholic party that he or she promise to do as much as possible to ensure that the children are baptized and brought up in the Catholic Church. Nothing more seems to have been demanded, above all of the non-Catholic party, except respect of his Catholic spouse. Given that opinion and the practice that it inspires, it seems to us that the phrase of the schema <169>gravely burdened conscience<170> becomes a bit excessive. What sort of Catholic party is one who does not wish to do what is possible?

11. Sacred Times

It seems to us that this matter <169>of sacred times<170> should be rather in the jurisdiction of the future code of Eastern canon law. It is not appropriate that the Council descend to these details, unless it wishes to totally renew and unify this rather complicated matter. Now, this is not the case, for each number of the schema leaves an opening for the regulations of the particular law. Thus, nothing is accomplished. After the Council, as before it, each Church will continue pretty much to be guided by its own intentions. Besides, it seems difficult to unify this discipline in all the countries of the world at the same time. It is better, it seems, that the Council invite the hierarchs having jurisdiction in the same country to unify the discipline in the matters of the feasts, of fasting, and of abstinence. This is a question of local interest that synods or episcopal conferences can handle more advantageously.

12. Living Language in the Liturgy

The Church is dynamic, living, adapting continuously. Although we Melkites, for example, have passed from the Greek to Syriac, then from Syriac to Arabic, it isn't that we should stop there. In the United States, our <169>Arabic<170> is English; in Paris, French; in Argentina, Spanish; etc. Since we are permitted to celebrate everywhere in the living language, we do not have to inform the hierarch of the place, for it is a general law of the Church, which is supposed to be known and respected. Likewise, we do not inform him if we wish to celebrate with leavened bread. But, if we habitually wish to celebrate in a language that is not the living language of the country, or if we wish to celebrate in a language that is not habitually in use in our Church, then, in that case, we must inform the hierarch of the place. For example, if we have to celebrate in Spanish in New York. But if, in New York, we wish to celebrate in English, we do not have to give notice to the Ordinary of the place, for the general law of the Church authorizes us to celebrate everywhere in the vernacular, therefore in English in New York.

13. Union of Christians

This second part of the schema deserves complete praise. We say that all the more willingly in that we have been severe on the first part, on the canonical aspect. We shall make one or another remark, primarily of details, so that the text may be even better, if possible, but the spirit with which this second part has been composed is clearly different from the spirit of the first part. One feels there respect and love with regard to the Christian East. All our congratulations, without reservations.

These amendments are proposed to soften what the expressions of the schema may have that is uselessly offensive; for example: <169>that they may come to Catholic unity.<170> Catholic unity is the unity of all Churches in the universal Church, the <169>catholica.<170> It is not fitting to present union as the return of our brothers to us, but rather our reunion in the Catholic Church: a matter of nuances, but very important in ecumenical dialogue. Likewise, it is necessary at all cost to eliminate the clause <169>and that they may participate in the fullness of revelation,<170> for our Orthodox brothers do participate in the fullness of revelation, since they do not deny the Scriptures, nor Tradition, nor the magisterium of the Church. Likewise, it is not completely exact to say that only by their joining Catholicism will our separated brothers <169>be made members in fact of the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church of Christ.<170> What were they formerly? The schema <169>On the Church<170> has corrected, on this point, the theories of certain too rigid theologians; it is fitting to take this into account.

Having said this, it pleases us to renew our congratulations for this second part, while wishing that the first be done over in the same spirit. We also wish, with the Fathers of the first session of the Council, that a single text <169>On the Union of Eastern Christians<170> be drawn up in collaboration with the Secretariat for the Union of Christians. A frank collaboration should be sought.

@MAJOR SEC HDG = Observations of the Synod on the Second Conciliar Schema <169>On the Eastern Churches<170> (1964)

@BODY TEXT ITA = (Profiting from the written remarks that had been made to it, the Eastern Commission reviewed its schema, reducing it considerably. The Holy Synod of August 1964 made new observations on it, which were multicopied and distributed to the Fathers of the Council at the time of their Session III (Autumn, 1964). They deserve, like the preceding synodal observations, to be published in major part, in light of their historical importance.)

I. Preliminary Question: Is This Schema Necessary?

Many Fathers have thought that a special schema <169>On the Eastern Churches<170> was not necessary and that its matter could advantageously be included in other schemas. In fact, the Eastern Churches are not Churches on the margin of the Church, distinct from the Church, of such a sort that the Council should devote a separate schema to them. They are of the Church as much as the Latin Church. There is thus a danger that in addressing itself in a particular manner to the Eastern Churches, the Council might identify itself with the Latin Church addressing itself, with a touch of paternalistic benevolence, to the Eastern Churches.

This danger is not chimerical, but it can be avoided by appropriate clarifications, some of which already appear in the text of the schema, and others should be added. The Council is the universal Catholic Church, which is no more Latin than Greek, Armenian, or other. Through the Council, it is the Catholic Church itself that addresses sometimes the Latin Church to bring about reforms (which is the case for the mass of the canonical schemas), sometimes to the Eastern Churches, which have particular needs, sometimes to the Church as a whole, the Latin and Eastern, without distinction. The confusion between the Catholic Church and the Latin Church can thus be easily avoided.

Besides, numerous positive reasons provide evidence in favor of a particular schema <169>On the Eastern Churches<170>: a. The Eastern Catholic Churches today certainly have problems to be resolved, which are not posed to the Latin Church as a whole: the effort to resist massive latinization and to remain faithful to their Eastern vocation, the restoration of the patriarchal and synodal privileges, return to a truly Eastern canonical discipline, inter-ritual collaboration, wider interconfessional relations with our Orthodox brothers, etc. These problems, special to the East, should receive a particular solution and cannot be dispersed among the other schemas, with the risk of being unnoticed, or of receiving a less than adequate solution. Nevertheless, in all the other schemas, institutions particular to the East are often taken into account, in the manner of a lure announcing the schema devoted to the Eastern Churches.

b. In the second place, the present schema has profited from the tendency of the Council, the supreme authority, to abolish, in the present Eastern canonical legislation (done by way of the Roman authority), that which appeared inopportune or contrary to sound Eastern tradition. If it should happen that this schema were eliminated, the codification commission, sitting at Rome, would risk either indefinitely postponing its work or codifying it in a sense unfavorable to the Easterners. See, for example, the measures taken by the schema to forbid massive latinization (No. 4, p. 6, lines 6-7: <169>and also the baptized non-Catholics coming to the Catholic Church<170>), to make known everywhere the validity of the sacrament of Confirmation administered by Eastern priests (No. 13-14), to widen the Sunday precept (No. 15), to facilitate confessions (No. 16), to restore the sub-diaconate among the minor orders (No. 17), to effect a reasonable easing of mixed marriages in the East (No. 18), etc. Taking everything into consideration, the present schema, even if it can be improved on more than one point, is good, and it will help the Eastern Churches to rediscover themselves.

c. Finally, what is a considerable advantage, the presence of a particular schema on the East, prepared by a special commission, will open the way for the creation of a post-conciliar commission, which will take up the work that has been commenced and will improve it. Like all the other post-conciliar commissions, it will be international, with wide horizons and piously audacious. The progress of the East will thus be, in large part, the work of the Easterners themselves or of brothers who are friends of the East.

For all these reasons, we believe that the present schema should be maintained as a distinct schema, and that it is written well enough to be proposed to the Council. It must be corrected on certain points. On other points, it can be improved, but, as it is, it represents an improvement.

II. Title of the Schema

Since the term <169>Eastern Churches<170> applies to the Eastern Orthodox Churches as well as to the Eastern Catholic Churches, and since, on the other hand, the Council intends to legislate only for Catholics, we propose saying <169>On the Eastern Catholic Churches.<170> <169>Eastern<170> and <169>Western<170> are understood not so much as of a geographical position, but as of two manners of being in the Church, of two partially distinct forms of ecclesial life. For, geographically, there are today Easterners in the <169>West,<170> and Westerners in the <169>East,<170> in Africa, everywhere. To permit the Easterners, as well as the Westerners, to be <169>at home<170> wherever they are, one should no longer speak of the <169>Eastern territories<170> and the <169>Western territories<170>: there are faithful of the Eastern rites and faithful of the Latin rite dispersed throughout the world, and everywhere they are all at home in the bosom of the same Catholic Church.

III. The Preamble

The preamble is not felicitous. It does not sufficiently avoid giving the impression that the Catholic Church is speaking of the Eastern Churches as entities distinct from it. Well, the Catholic Church is composed of the Eastern Churches as well as of the Latin Church.

In the second place, the Catholic Church gratuitously pays the compliment of <169>having always held in high esteem<170> the institutions, the rites, the ecclesiastical traditions, and the discipline of the Eastern Churches. Well, apart from the liturgical rites (again!), the other institutions of the East have generally been so little respected in the Catholic Church that, without the relatively recent awareness of certain Easterners, they were running a great risk of disappearing. The latinization of the East is not only a phenomenon of the past; today it is still extolled openly and upheld secretly and even publicly by very weighty authorities of the Catholic Church, in spite of the warnings of the popes, which have been severe and repeated a hundredfold. To say after that that the Catholic Church, represented, to be sure, by Catholics, leaders and faithful, has always held in high esteem the institutions of the East, appears to be almost ironic.

We propose saying more clearly and more humbly: <169>All the Christian faithful and leaders everywhere must hold... the institutions of the Eastern Churches.<170>

One can also purely and simply eliminate this preamble and substitute for it Number 2, which is, in general, a good introduction to the existence, in the bosom of the Church, of hierarchical groups such as that of the Latin Church or the different Eastern Churches.

IV. The Particular Churches

One is a bit surprised by this title. Not that the expression <169>particular Churches<170> causes any difficulty today, as it is widely used in the schema <169>On the Church.<170> But one is astonished that the Council speaks of <169>particular Churches<170> right at the beginning of the schema devoted to the <169>Eastern Churches,<170> as if only the Eastern Churches were particular Churches, and the Latin Church synonymous with the universal Church. This impression, contrary to Catholic doctrine, can be dispelled if there is inserted in the text a word of clarification.

We would willingly propose that Number 2 serve as a preamble to the whole schema, in case the present preamble could not be sufficiently improved. Besides, it repeats an idea, expressed in greater depth in the schema <169>On the Church,<170> on the origin of Churches within the Church. In every case, this should be sustained in order to exclude all confusion between particular Church and liturgical rite. The same rite can be common to several Churches, for example the Byzantine rite, employed not only by the Greek Church but also by the Russian, Ukrainian, Romanian, Bulgarian, Melkite Churches, etc. Likewise, a Church can have, in itself, different liturgical rites, for example the Church of Lyons, which practices the Lyons rite and the Roman rite. It is thus necessary to distinguish these ideas, and above all to avoid seeing in the Eastern Churches nothing more than different liturgical rites. It is that that Number 2 has wished to avoid doing.

To avoid promoting the belief that only the Eastern Churches are particular Churches and that the Latin Church is the universal Church, it is absolutely necessary to modify the beginning of paragraph 3, as follows: <169>Particular Churches of this type, whether Eastern or Latin, although in rites, etc. . . .,<170> It is necessary at any cost to declare, once and for all, that the Latin Church is, in the bosom of the Catholic Church, one of the particular Churches, although today it is in fact the most numerous. Thus the Eastern Churches in Catholicism would no longer appear as exceptions, as annexes, but as Churches, as much as the Latin Church.

The expression <169>yet in an equal manner they are entrusted to the guidance of the Roman pontiff ...<170> does not correspond to theological and historical truth, and that for two reasons:

a. First, it is not true that all the Churches are entrusted in an equal manner to the Roman pontiff. The Church of Rome is entrusted to him as its immediate bishop; the province of Latium, as its metropolitan; Italy, as its primate; the West as its patriarch; finally, all the Churches as the successor of Peter in his universal primacy. It is certain, for example, that over the West the pope exercises prerogatives that are of a rather patriarchal character, which are normally and traditionally reserved, in the East, to the patriarchs and their synods, for example the designation of bishops. These distinctions are bit by bit blurred in the teaching and practice of the Latin West, where ecclesiastical organization is reduced in practice to two ecclesial realities: on one hand, an infinity of dioceses, on the other, a central power directing all of them equally. The East has remained faithful to a more hierarchical organization, and, above all, to a more nuanced conception of the ecclesiastical order. That is why the expression <169>in an equal manner<170> appears inadequate.

b. In the second place, the text begins by indicating those things by which the particular Churches differ among themselves: liturgy, discipline, and spiritual heritage. Then it tries to indicate the common bond between these Churches, and it finds only the fact that they are all <169>equally entrusted to the pastoral guidance of the Roman pontiff.<170> That is very little and purely extrinsic. The different Churches, although having certain particular things, nevertheless and above all have many things in common: adherence to Jesus Christ by faith, the same sacraments, the same morality, the same mission in the world, etc. And even in the matters in which they present some variety, as liturgy, discipline, etc., the points of convergence are infinitely more numerous than the points of divergence.

That is why we propose the following amendment:

<169>Such particular Churches, although they differ somewhat among themselves in what are called rites, that is in liturgy, ecclesiastical discipline, and spiritual heritage, Yet all with equal right constitute one Church.<170>

The rest of the sentence can be omitted. If one nevertheless persists, although it is not necessary to repeat it everywhere, in mentioning the Roman primate, who is the visible basis of the unity among the Churches, one can add: <169>which (Church) is entrusted to the pastoral guidance of all bishops in communion with the Roman pontiff, who divinely succeeds to Saint Peter in the primacy over the whole Church.<170>

The rest of the paragraph is excellent. It repeals with a stroke of the pen the theory of the pre-eminence of the Latin rite, and affirms the right of the Eastern Churches to have their indispensable part in the evangelization of the world: two fundamental truths, still to a large extent unrecognized.

This schema opens new horizons and sets new landmarks for a radical reform of attitude with regard to the Christian East.

V. New and Important Improvements

Number 4 is very weighty and we request the Council to vote it as a whole without adding any modifications for each word has been carefully weighed. It represents on behalf of the Eastern Churches three new and important improvements, obtained after numerous and laborious discussions in the Commission:

a. The right of Easterners to have their hierarchy everywhere, <169>wherever the spiritual good of the faithful so demands,<170> that is to say, in practice, wherever they are in sufficient numbers.

Until now, the Latin hierarchy considered itself master of the universe. The Latin Church partitioned the world for itself. It was present everywhere. There is not a point of the globe where there isn't a territorial Latin hierarchy, considering itself fully at home, even at the heart of Constantinople or Moscow. Even where there were only 500 Latins, for the greater part foreigners in the country, a local Latin hierarchy has been installed. Eastern authority could not raise its voice in protest, without the anxiety of being viewed in a bad light or having its Catholic faith suspected.

On the contrary, there are hundreds of thousands of Eastern Catholics who have settled in Europe, in Africa, in Australia, and especially in America. For numerous years we have entreated for the establishment of a hierarchy for them, even a simple personal one, to look after their priests, their works, their future, because the Latin hierarchy, even with the best good will, cannot take care of them effectively. They need not only priests of their rite, but also bishops of their rite. Wasted effort!

Thousands of reasons are found to refuse us what we ask, not for ourselves, but for our poor faithful who are on the road to being separated and lost. The episcopacy of the affected country refuses, we are told. As for us, when a Latin hierarchy has been installed in the very heart of the East, our opinion has not been requested. And when we have succeeded, after an infinite number of proceedings, in convincing the one who had the right to accept an Eastern bishop, there appeared other difficulties of the financial, political, local, or personnel order. Without our faith in God and our love for souls, we would have despaired while seeing our children drifting away more and more because our hands have been tied, when we could save them. We have undergone these misfortunes because we are Easterners united with Rome, while the Orthodox, because they are not united with Rome, are organized and expand.

This injustice must cease. The first part of this paragraph affirms that the good of souls surpasses everything. It goes without saying that this should apply to us also. In the same manner that Latin parishes and hierarchies have been installed in the East on behalf of the faithful of the Latin rite, even when their number is sometimes minimal, one should also in justice without talking about charity and the good of souls <197> install parishes and hierarchies in the <169>West<170> (Europe, Africa, Australia, and especially America) on behalf of the faithful of Eastern rite.

As for the method of bringing about this principal reform, we place our confidence in the common Father, the sovereign pontiff of Rome. The Council, in this beginning of paragraph 4, respectfully calls upon him in this sense, and in doing so shatters the opposition, very prejudicial to souls, of all those who still do not wish to understand.

b. Inter-ritual Cooperation: Although having a single jurisdiction in a territory may be in principle the best formula, there are great advantages and sometimes the necessity for having Churches of various rites and different traditions, existing in the same territory, entrusted to different hierarchies. The fact is that it is impossible, without very serious inconveniences both for the Church and for the faithful, to make at the present time an abstract rule for this state of things. Nevertheless, in spite of the multiplicity of jurisdictions, unity of action in the Church should be protected by inter-ritual synods. This particular form of episcopal collegiality requires that, if for the good of the faithful, several hierarchs have jurisdiction in the same territory, they should take in common, collegially, timely decisions to unify the action of the Church in their territory.

There are thus new attitudes of thought and of action that the bishops have urged, above all in the East. For all the questions that are not of a strictly ritual order or pertaining to a community, it is necessary to collaborate, to unite efforts, to decide in common, collegially, to avoid dispersion of forces: schools, press, radio-television, charitable works, pastoral care of the whole, catechism, preaching, etc.

The different Churches have until now lived as rather shut in on themselves, jealous of their prerogatives. Today, a new mentality should correspond to new times. Although the jurisdictions cannot be united, there can and should be a unification of action, to take the maximum advantage of the possibilities of episcopal collegiality, of synodalism, so dear to the East.

c. Latinization Is Forbidden: The third part of this paragraph is of the greatest importance: it closes the door once and for all to the latinization of the East. In our observations on the preceding schemas, distributed in the course of the second session of the Council, we have related the history of this serious question.

With only three votes short of unanimity (in a total of 17 votes), the Eastern Commission has voted the present text, and we beseech the Fathers of the Council who have at heart the future of the East to approve it as it is. In brief, the idea is as follows:

Each of the faithful must remain in his rite, that is to say, in the particular Church in which Providence has placed him: if Latin, he must remain Latin everywhere, even in the East; if Eastern, he will remain Eastern everywhere, even in the West.

This rule does not present any difficulty when it is a matter of the Catholic faithful, who can change rite only for reasons that are grave and, except in the case of marriage, with the authorization of the Holy See itself.

Does that also apply to baptized non-Catholics (Orthodox and others) who ask to enter the Catholic communion? That is the whole question. We are not unaware of the great ecumenical movement that impels a dialogue of union between one Church and another. We wish even to confirm again our desire to condemn all proselytism that would diminish one Church in order to expand another.

But, while awaiting the happy general unification of all Churches, we must state that there are inevitably in Christianity some individuals or groups not united with Rome who ask to come to union with it. In these cases, which are not abstract ones, certain applicable norms must be established provisionally <197> that is to say, until the general unification of Churches <197> to regulate these individual or partial unions.

It is not necessary that the working out of these norms offend our Orthodox brothers or be considered an indication of a proselytism of a bad kind which seeks to <169>nibble away<170> at their Church. We are here acting like the Orthodox church itself, which, in its canonical and liturgical books, legitimately issues regulations that apply to other Christians who approach Orthodoxy.

Neither should our brothers of the Latin Church be offended if we wish to hinder, under normal circumstances, the changing of these Orthodox to the Latin rite. We respect and love our sister Church of the Latin rite, but we re-emphasize that Easterners should remain Easterners in the Catholic church, and this for the very good of the Catholic Church.

That having been said, there are three possible attitudes in regard to this problem of the other Christians who wish to join the Catholic church.

1.Viewpoint of the <169>latinizers<170>

They say, let non-Catholics be free to choose, at the moment of their becoming Catholic, the rite which they wish, at least when they set down their joining the Latin rite as a condition sine qua non of their <169>conversion.<170> Arguments of the latinizers: a) It is the present discipline of the Church. See canon 11 of the motu proprio <169>Cleri Sanctitati<170> of June 2, 1957. b) Non-Catholics do not belong to any rite. Each (missionary) can admit them, in <169>converting<170> them, to his own rite, a bit like the Jews, the Muslims, or the pagans. That creates a rivalry among missionaries as to who can <169>convert<170> more. c) Eastern non-Catholics themselves, that is to say the Orthodox, in becoming Catholic, generally refuse to remain in the Eastern rite and demand that they become Latin. d) The Eastern Catholic clergy does not try hard enough to <169>convert<170> Orthodox. If one wishes to <169>convert<170> all the Orthodox, one must let the Latin missionaries do it. e) Eastern rite Catholics are <169>imperfectly Catholics,<170> <169>of dubious faith.<170> One must avoid having Orthodox transfer to them. <169>Easterners will never be fully Catholic unless they become Latin.<170> f) To compel the Orthodox who become Catholic to remain Eastern is to abridge human liberty, which is an element of the person and guaranteed by the <169>United Nations Charter.<170>

Reply to the Arguments of the Latinizers:

To a) The discipline contained in canon 11 of the motu proprio <169>Cleri sanctitati<170> dates only from 1957. It was imposed on the Easterners in spite of themselves, following obscure maneuvers which history will one day reveal. The former discipline gave the Orthodox who wished to become Catholic the choice of joining the Eastern rite that they preferred, and not the Latin rite, unless they placed becoming Latin as a condition sine qua non of their joining Catholicism. In practice, the latinizers arranged to have their <169>converts,<170> each time, place this condition sine qua non. They even had forms printed in advance and distributed beforehand to be signed. What in the thought of the legislators should be an exception became the normal practice. The motu proprio of 1957 suppressed even this theoretical impediment, opening wide the door to latinization. It is this provision of the motu proprio of 1957 that the schema intends to reform.

To b) It is not true that the Orthodox are not of any rite. They very definitely belong to a rite, to a Church, and in becoming Catholic they must remain faithful to their rite, as to a calling. The case of the non-baptized is completely different.

To c) Orthodox who wish to become Catholic do not demand becoming Latin except when the priests counseling them put this idea into their heads. The best proof of this is that everywhere in the East, except in a region which the latinizers have chosen as their own (Palestine), Orthodox do not place this condition. If they place it in that region, it is because they have been urged to do so by a clergy that has an interest in latinizing them. If the clergy counselled them to remain Eastern, or left them free to choose, the Orthodox would not ask for more. (See our booklet <169>Catholicism or Latinism?<170>)

To d) It is not right to accuse the Eastern Catholic clergy of not <169>converting<170> sufficiently. The Orthodox do not need to be <169>converted<170> but to be <169>reconciled<170>; one must show them the ideal of Catholic communion and invite them to restore unity, by showing them by deeds how the Holy See of Rome respects their rites, their discipline, all their spiritual heritage.

To e) The latinizers do not believe in our full Catholic faith, although we have defended it, over the centuries, at the price of thousands of sacrifices. But it is certain that Catholicism does not represent for us what they would wish. We wish to be Catholic and Eastern at the same time. That is the only good formula for ecumenism.

To f) There is nothing contrary to human freedom in obliging Easterners to remain in their rites. Every law, by definition, places some restraint on human freedom with the view to assuring a higher good, that of society. In this case, the higher good of the society that is the Church requires that Easterners do not become Latin, that they understand their mission and their vocation. Nevertheless, if for personal reasons one or another Easterner is absolutely determined to become Latin, we see no objection to it. That is why the text of the schema anticipates these particular cases by stating: <169>while retaining the right, in particular cases, of having recourse to the Apostolic See.<170> We prefer, in these cases, recourse to the Holy See, rather than the former condition sine qua non, which has proved to be inefficacious, as we have said. But it is not right, under the pretext of respecting each one's freedom, to utilize the wealth and personnel at the disposal of the Latin missionaries in the East to impel the Easterners towards latinization. Let us help them to regain the Catholic communion, while remaining at the same time Eastern, like their fathers, as Providence has made them.

2.-Another Viewpoint

It is said that the Orthodox should not become Latin. That is agreed. But let us at least permit them, at the time of their joining Catholicism, to choose, among the Eastern rites, whichever they prefer.

Arguments:

a) Thus, it is said, the danger of latinization is averted on the one hand.

b) In addition, this is a return to the discipline existing prior to that of 1957.

c) More freedom is provided for the Orthodox desiring to be reconciled with the Roman Church.

Reply:

To a) This theory does not entirely avert the danger of latinization, for the latinizers can object: why do you permit an Armenian Orthodox to become Maronite, and do not permit him to become Latin? Isn't the Latin rite a Catholic rite like the Eastern rites?

To b) The discipline prior to that of 1957 represented an objectionable order of logic. It is not normal, in fact, that an Ethiopian Orthodox should become Ukrainian Catholic, or that an Armenian Orthodox should become Greek Catholic. If each one has a mission to fulfill in the Church in which Providence has set him, he should normally remain there and not leave it except for personal reasons, and under extraordinary circumstances.

To c) Ecclesiastical law must not guarantee the freedom of escaping from one's vocation, from the mission that is assigned to everyone in his Church.

In other words, when we ask that the Easterners remain in their own rite, in their own Church, it is in order that, at the moment of the so greatly desired general union of Churches they can rejoin their Orthodox brothers of the same rite, and, once again, constitute with them one single Church, united and in communion with the universal Church.

In this perspective, we believe that each Easterner must remain in his own rite.

However, among the Eastern rites there is a community of origin, of thought, and of apostolate, so that an Easterner who changes to another Eastern rite is not at all in the situation of an Easterner who changes to the Latin rite. That is why we state that if the other Eastern communities so prefer, we ourselves give our concurrence for a pure and simple return to the discipline prior to 1957, which is that Orthodox passing into the Catholic church can ask to ioin the Eastern rite of their choice, while it remains forbidden to pass into the Latin rite, unless there is recourse, in particular cases, to the Roman Holy See.

3.-Viewpoint of the Great Majority of Easterners

On becoming Catholic, the Orthodox (and non-Catholics in general) will normally remain each in his rite. That is the rule. Exceptionally, if the good of his soul requires it, he can always request the Roman Holy See to grant permission to change to another rite. It will readily be granted, since the final and supreme goal is the good of souls. But outside of these particular cases, each one, as the Apostle says, <169>should remain in the vocation to which he has been called.<170> That is what the text of the schema has very successfully codified, and we hope that the Fathers of the Council will approve it in full.

VI. The Eastern Patriarchs

This chapter is the least pleasing of all those in the present schema. On certain points, it is even inadmissible.

a. Deficiencies of this Chapter

1. The schema, in speaking of the rights and privileges of the Eastern patriarchs, refers to the ecumenical councils and to a <169>very ancient tradition in the Church.<170> Well, the ecumenical councils and Tradition have not spoken of the <169>Eastern patriarchs.<170> They have never considered the patriarchate as an institution of the Eastern Churches, but rather as an institution of the Church, conciliar, in which the See of Rome belongs in the first place.

Pope John XXIII and Pope Paul VI, by asserting constantly that the sovereign pontificate must not hinder their being the regular bishops of Rome and their being personally involved in their diocese, have put an end to this false conception of a papacy detached from the episcopacy, presiding over the episcopal college without being part of it. The pope is the leading bishop of Christianity, but he has not ceased thereby to be the Bishop of Rome.

The pope, the Bishop of Rome, is also the patriarch of the West. Patristic tradition and the ecumenical councils have always considered him as such, without ever believing that it could jeopardize his primacy. Why should the pope, who does not feel himself belittled by the fact that he is Bishop of Rome, and in this capacity equal to the bishops, feel himself belittled by the fact that he is also patriarch of the West, equal, on this level, to the patriarchs of the East?

Any attempt to place the papacy above and outside of the episcopacy and the Church would damage the serenity and the sincerity of the dialogue with Orthodoxy.

Is not the secretary general of the Council always there to solemnly inform the Fathers of the Council of the program of the papal ceremonies in the <169>patriarchal basilica<170> of St. John Lateran, the <169>patriarchal basilica<170> of St. Peter at Rome, the <169>patriarchal basilica<170> of St.Paul-outside-the-Walls, and the <169>patriarchal basilica<170> of St. Mary Major? As for the Lateran palace, where the popes live, the archives and the stones have preserved its name: it is named the <169>patriarchium.<170>

The title of patriarch is thus not a purely Eastern title that does not pertain to the popes of the Roman Church.

2. On the other hand, the schema speaks of the Eastern patriarchs without mentioning, at least in passing, the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople and the three apostolic sees of Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem. The schema exalts the patriarchal dignity, referring to ancient traditions and to the ecumenical councils. Well, the ancient traditions and the ecumenical councils have not exalted an anonymous patriarchal institution, as the schema does. They recognized for certain specific sees, which they have cited by name, a particular dignity, based on precise reasons, proper to these sees alone.

Moreover, these sees have been declared the foremost in the Church <197> after Rome <197> by the oldest tradition of the Church and by the ecumenical councils, even before they were invested in the fifth century. with the title of patriarchate. To exalt the institution of the patriarchate, on the basis of tradition and the councils, while remaining silent on the names of the sees to which the patriarchal institution owes its existence, is to give the title priority over the see, and the insignia priority over the person. That could be interpreted as a premeditated desire to submerge the four patriarchates, which are always at the head of the Eastern Churches, in the multitude of the sees to which this title or its equivalent has been granted by stretching and in a secondary manner.

On the contrary, what should have been done is to name <197> as the councils have done <197> the five traditional patriarchal sees that have priority over the others, and to put at their head the See of Rome. That was the place to say again in three lines what these councils have wished to say, which is that in the Church there are five traditional sees that have priority over the others and which should be listed as follows: Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem.

These councils have not said that, in the Eastern Church Constantinople had priority over Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem, but they have said that in the Church of God, the Church everywhere, Constantinople was the first see after Rome, Alexandria the second see after Rome, Antioch the third see after Rome, and Jerusalem the fourth. And, in fact, the incumbents of these four patriarchal sees of the East have shared in the solicitude of the whole Church, in collaboration with the Bishop of Rome and under his primacy. And, in fact, the incumbents of the four great Eastern sees have exercised, in the course of the thousand years of union with Rome, a role of the first order in the life of the universal Church.

Popes and Eastern patriarchs were, during the time of the union, the summits of the universal episcopacy. As soon as he was elected, the Bishop of Rome sent his profession of faith to the four incumbents at Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem, and only to them. And the latter, on the occasion of their enthronement did the same among themselves and for their consideration exclusively. Thus there was established in the Church a patriarchal college, a <169>summit<170> of general care, through which was brought about the visible collegial communion of all the Churches, of all the episcopacy, as was confirmed by this exchange only among themseves of letters which were <169>irenical,<170> according to the nomenclature used in Orthodoxy.

It should not surprise anyone that at the Fourth Council of Constantinople, called the Eighth Ecumenical, a council that started with a dozen bishops and never had a very full attendance, just the presence, direct or through representatives, of the four Eastern patriarchs would have sufficed to have it considered up to our day as universal. The agreement of the four patriarchs, canonically and actively united with their episcopate as with the Bishop of Rome, appeared sufficient to have it recognized as having such an ecumenical standing. (Canon 21 of this council stated: <169>We decree that those who preside over the patriarchal sees should be considered worthy of all honor, especially the very holy Pope of Old Rome, then the Patriarch of Constantinople, then the one of Alexandria, then those of Antioch and Jerusalem.<170>)

Likewise, there was nothing astonishing when the Council of Florence, in its turn, after the eighth ecumenical council, stating the order of the foremost seats of Christianity, called patriarchal, as in the ninth century they had already existed for many centuries, listed them in the following order: Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, and pronounced that in doing so it <169>renewed the ancient tradition.<170>

From these facts, from so many others, from the esteem, for example, in which Pope St. Gregory held the incumbents of Alexandria and of Antioch, whom he considered as successors with him on the same seat, that of Peter, from all the reality with which today's Orthodoxy in particular is nourished and lives, there bursts forth forcefully the more particularly universal care of the patriarchs in the Church.

There are also all the consequences that this implies: care manifesting itself very specially again through the wonderful missionary activity of Constantinople in eastern Europe, notably through its sons Cyril and Methodius, of Alexandria in Nubia and Ethiopia, of Antioch in Armenia, in Persia, and through the extension of its daughter of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, as far as India and China.

b. Proposed Amendments:

Title: Say <169>On Patriarchs,<170> without adding <169>Eastern.<170>

1. To No. 7: Eliminate in this number all the words that could make one believe that the patriarchate is an institution peculiar to the East.

Then say:

<169>The institution of the patriarchate has flourished in the Church (eliminate the word <170>Eastern") from the earliest times, and was recognized by the first ecumenical Synods. By the name of patriarch (eliminate the word <169>Eastern<170>) is meant the bishop to whom canon law grants jurisdiction over all bishops, including metropolitans, clergy, and people of that territory or rite." (Eliminate the rest.)

The remainder of that sentence, <169>to be exercised in accordance with the norms of the law and without prejudice to the primacy of the Roman pontiff,<170> should be eliminated for two reasons:

a) It is evident that patriarchal power must be exercised <169>in accordance with the norms of law.<170> What power is there which can be exercised <169>contrary to the law<170>? It is also evident that the patriarchal power is exercised <169>without prejudice to the primacy of the Roman pontiff.<170> Nothing in the Church can be done contrary to the primacy of the Bishop of Rome or not taking it into account. Is it necessary to repeat this truth on every occasion, until there is a surfeit?

b) Since the pope of Rome himself is also a patriarch, it is not logically appropriate to say, in speaking of him as a patriarch, that his patriarchal power is exercised <169>without prejudice to the primacy of the Roman pontiff.<170>

2. To No. 8: Start this number with this very important reminder: <169>According to the ancient tradition of the Church and the decrees of the ecumenical councils, these are the titles and order of the major patriarchal sees: first, the Roman see of Saint Peter, leader of the Apostles, second Constantinople, third Alexandria, fourth Antioch, fifth Jerusalem.<170>

Then replace the text of No. 8 with the following text: <169>Although some patriarchates are of later origin than others, all are equal to the major patriarchal sees as far as the exercise of patriarchal power is concerned, retaining among themselves the precedence of honor that has been legitimately established.<170>

In all cases, the word <169>Eastern<170> should be eliminated in this No. 8, for the reasons set forth above.

Then add:

a) <169>The patriarchs with their synods constitute the supreme authority for all affairs of their patriarchates, including the right to establish new eparchies and to freely name bishops of their rite wherever this appears to be suitable, without prejudice to the inalienable right of the Roman pontiff to intervene in individual cases.<170>

b) <169>The patriarchs who are called Eastern, by the force of their dignity, power, and traditional pre-eminence, whether in ecumenical councils or outside such councils, that is to say in carrying out all affairs, have constituted from ancient times and constitute, in communion with the Roman pontiff and under his primacy, the supreme hierarchical council in the Church.<170>

c) <169>What the Council of Florence and the Roman pontiffs after it have affirmed very frequently concerning not reducing substantially the rights and privileges of the patriarchs, this holy synod solemnly confirms. These rights and privileges are those that were in force during the thousand-year union of the East and the West, and even if they should occasionally be adapted to our times, they are truly not to be diminished appreciably.<170>

d) <169>Wherever a hierarchy of whatever rite is established, it is under the jurisdiction of the patriarch of the same rite, even outside the boundaries of the patriarchal territory.<170>

N.B. On the subject of the patriarchs and of the institution of the patriarchate, many other things should be said. This matter is still too much ignored in the Catholic theology of our day. The progress of historical and patristic studies will prepare bit by bit the basis for a more complete view of the subject.

3. To No. 11: It is not normal to speak, in this schema, of the patriarchs, without saying a word about the patriarchal synods and their competence. Thus we would gladly propose a Number llb, which would be devoted to these two points.

In fact, the authentically Eastern concept of the patriarchate is inseparable from the synodal system. The patriarch is the president of the synod of the bishops of his region, the one who coordinates collegially the activity of the bishops, his brothers. Beside him and under his direction, his holy synod holds a principal place. A patriarch is inconceivable without his synod. As this synodal institution has been somewhat forgotten in the majority of the Eastern Churches, in imitation of the West where synodalism is not honored, the schema should revive it.

In the second place, it is appropriate to allow the holy synod its full powers, in particular relative to the election of bishops, which it should be able to do freely, without the necessity of obtaining a previous authorization or a subsequent confirmation by the Holy See of Rome. In sound theology, based on Holy Scripture, patristic tradition, and the history of the Church, the naming of bishops is not reserved for the Holy See of Rome, not even the right of later confirmation. It was Pope Pius XII who, only 16 years ago, extended to all the Eastern Catholic patriarchs the obligation to draw up in the synod lists of the candidates for the episcopacy, previously approved by Rome, or to obtain subsequent confirmation by Rome. But this measure, far from being required by the theology of the Church, as we have said, is contrary to constant Eastern tradition, and it is fitting to return to the respect for the competence of the Holy Synod on this point. When all the bishops, around their patriarch, elect a candidate to the episcopacy, one must recognize the free exercise of their right. In some particular cases, for motives of the general good of the Church, the Roman Holy See can use its right of universal primacy, but, outside of those exceptional circumstances, one must respect the normal action of Eastern institutions and allow the patriarchal synods their full competence, as in the past.

As for this proposal, it is also necessary to say that the present canonical procedure permits, without due cause, going over the heads of normal judicial instances to introduce the instance in the court in Rome. This method is frequently utilized by one of the parties to harass the other party, to cause him excessive expenses, or to draw out the length of the process. Thus we propose the normal succession of instances in the procedure be respected.

We also propose that judgement in the matter of marriage <169>ratified but not consummated<170> be reserved not to the pope, but to the Eastern patriarchs for their respective faithful.

To provide examples, we suggest the following formulas:

a) <169>Without prejudice to the right of the Roman pontiff to have jurisdiction over disputes, cases of every kind must follow the hierarchical course of the various instances, nor is it allowed, without a special mandate of the Roman pontiff, to bypass episcopal or patriarchal instances so that the case may be directly introduced before the tribunals of the Roman Holy See.<170>

b) <169>The introduction and also the dispensation of cases concerning marriage that has been ratified but not consummated are reserved to the patriarch for the faithful subject to him.<170>

VII. Sacramental discipline

This chapter is good in its entirety. It contains interesting restorations, in the Catholic Church, of the ancient Eastern discipline and pleasing adaptations to the needs of modern times.

Numbers 13 and 14 affirm the validity of the sacrament of confirmation conferred by any Eastern priest, regardless of the territory or the person. Thus the recent regulations, which are absolutely illogical, placed on the exercise of this right in certain Latin regions, are removed.

Number 15 takes account of the custom of certain Eastern Churches according to which the faithful satisfy the Sunday and feast day obligation by participating either in the Holy Eucharistic Liturgy or in the Divine Office. It also allows the fulfillment of the Sunday or feast day obligation to start at vespers of the vigil, since, logically, the liturgical day begins at vespers; that can facilitate the observance of the obligation by certain categories of the faithful.

No. 16 extends the <169>jurisdiction<170> for hearing confessions to all the places and to all the faithful of other rites. That facilitates the exercise of the holy ministry in the East, where several jurisdictions are intermingled.

No. 17 desires the positive restoration of the permanent diaconate in all the Eastern Churches. The permanent diaconate was never abolished by law, but among nearly all Eastern Catholics, it needs to be put back into force. No. 17 renews the sub-diaconate among the minor orders, in conformity with Eastern discipline, closing a gap opened by the motu proprio <169>Crebrae allatae sunt<170> of 1948.

No. 18 proposes a solution to the acute problem of mixed marriages in the East. Every Ordinary of the place can, for proper reasons, dispense the Catholic party from the form of marriage, so that he can validly contract marriage before an Orthodox minister. When everything has been well considered, we prefer to recognize purely and simply the validity of mixed marriages of the Eastern faithful entered into outside the Catholic Church, always on the condition that they are contracted before a Christian religious authority. This solution is very important from the ecumenical point of view.

VIII. Divine Worship

This chapter is equally good, and can be passed in its entirety. We only propose to shorten it.

No. 19 speaks of feast days of obligation, both those common to the whole Eastern Church and those limited to a particular Church. It decides what authority can establish these feasts, but it does not teach us anything new and, as a result, does not offer much of interest. We would willingly propose to drop it.

It is the same for No. 21, which permits the Easterners living outside the East to conform to the rule in force in the country, insofar as feasts of obligation are concerned. Spouses of different rites can equally follow one or the other discipline. All this is already known through canon law, and it is not necessary for the Council to stoop to these details.

On the contrary, No. 20, discussing the date of Easter, is of very great importance.

The Council has already expressed its desire to see the feast of Easter celebrated on the same day by all Christians. On this point all Christians agree. In practice, how can this wish be realized?

If, by agreement among all Churches and eventually with the cooperation of international organizations, the date of the feast of Easter is fixed (for example, the first or second Sunday of April), the problem is resolved. But this solution on the international level can be delayed, although it is necessary to do everything to hasten it.

While waiting, the Eastern Christians are losing patience. The faithful no longer want this difference in dates, which humiliates them in the view of non-Christians. It is necessary at any cost to find a solution. That will be a great step toward the union that is so much desired.

The schema, in No. 20, authorizes patriarchs and other supreme heads of the area to conclude, after unanimous consent of all those interested, local agreements so that all the Christians of a region may celebrate Easter together.

No. 22 only recalls to mind the obligation of the Divine Office, according to the standards and customs proper to each Church. It says nothing new.

No. 23 discusses the use of vernacular languages in the liturgy. It recalls that all this matter is under the exclusive right of the supreme authority in each Eastern Church, which regulates the use of vernacular languages and approves new versions, without any necessity of having recourse to the Roman Holy See, as in the Latin Church, in which the pope has the additional office of patriarch.

As one can see, this chapter <169>On Divine Worship<170> is of clearly Eastern and decentralizing inspiration. The Fathers can pass it without hesitation.

IX. Relationships with Our Orthodox Brothers

This last chapter on the relationships with our Orthodox brothers is a true success of the Eastern Commission.

No. 24 begins by affirming the ecumenical calling of the Eastern Catholics, their <169>vocation as uniters.<170> The schema indicates the circumstances in which they can fulfill this noble and great mission: prayer, authentic example of Christian life, fidelity to Eastern traditions, knowledge of Orthodoxy, and brotherly collaboration.

No. 25 justifies the necessity of adopting, with regard to our Orthodox brothers, a more lenient attitude in the matter of <169>communicatio in sacris.<170> The dangers that one fears in general from this <169>communicatio<170> with non-Catholics do not occur ordinarily as far as the Orthodox are concerned. That is why, all danger in matters of faith having been dispelled, the Church deems it opportune to indicate a new turning point, with the chief aim of enhancing the advances toward union between the Catholics and the Orthodox.

No. 27 sets forth the new rule: Orthodox in good faith, if they ask of their own accord and have the right dispositions, can receive from Catholic ministers the sacraments of penance, the Eucharist, and the anointing of the sick. In their turn, Catholics can ask for these same sacraments from Orthodox ministers as often as necessity or a genuine benefit recommends such a course of action, and when access to a Catholic priest is physically or morally impossible.

No. 28 applies the same rules, a fortiori, to the <169>communicatio<170> in other sacred functions, things, and places of worship.

Finally, No. 29 entrusts this new and very delicate discipline to the prudence of the local Ordinaries. Each individual must not remain the judge in this matter, for it is a matter of public order.

This chapter alone, concerning <169>Ecclesiastical relations with our separated brothers,<170> will suffice to show with what depth and with what breadth of viewpoint the Eastern commission has approached these problems of disciplinary order.

We have serious reservations for the chapter <169>On Patriarchs,<170> which is inadmissible in its present form.

Except for the amendments that we have indicated, we hope that this schema will receive the approval of the Fathers of the Council.

This is only a beginning, but it is an indication that the Easterners are starting to find themselves again, and that they know how, proceeding from their own patrimony, to make their discipline evolve and to adapt it to the needs of the times.

Nevertheless, we hope that there will not be a final vote on this schema before it has been reviewed by the Secretariat for Christian Union.

@MAJOR SEC HDG = The Rite of Easterners Desiring Union with Rome @BODY TEXT ITA = (On October 8, 1964, the patriarch published at Rome a circular letter addressed to all the Fathers of the Council. In it he defended the point of view that the Council would finally approve: Easterners desiring to rejoin Rome must normally remain in their native rite.)

Your Excellency, Venerable Brother:

You have doubtless received a letter from the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, in which your vote is solicited against a section of Article 4 of the schema <169>On the Eastern Churches,<170> which is expressed thus:

<169>Finally, each and every Catholic, as also the baptized member of every non-Catholic Church or community who enters into the fullness of Catholic communion, should everywhere retain his proper rite, without prejudice to the right of recourse to the Apostolic See in particular cases, and should cherish it and observe it to the best of his ability.<170>

Utilizing in his argument the good of souls, fidelity to the former discipline, and respect for religious liberty, the venerable author of the letter would wish to eliminate the phrase <169>including baptized non-Catholics who enters into the fullness of Catholic communion,<170> and to add the following clause: <169>without prejudice to the right, for baptized non-Catholics entering into the fullness of Catholic communion, of choosing another rite if that is set down by them as a necessary condition.<170>

The alleged reasons are not convincing, as Your Excellency can ascertain from the enclosed note.

Besides, the fact that two Eastern Churches, for reasons specific to themselves, have felt that they should uphold the point of view of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, should not make one forget that they are the only ones following this road, and that the other Eastern Churches (more than twelve) are in agreement with the text of the schema.

In reality, the basic question comes down to this: the Eastern Commission, by over three-fourths of the votes has wished once and for all to close the door to the massive latinization of the East, while, as we elsewhere very freely agree, reserving the exceptional cases to the judgement of the Holy See of Rome, which can, if it deems it appropriate, endow its representatives in the area with the necessary powers ad hoc.

It is obvious that this attitude, which puts an end to centuries-old abuses, cannot please everybody. But along the line of ecumenism, in which the Council is definitely engaged, for the general good of the Catholic Church, which should not be in the position of being accused of latinizing the East, as also for the good of the Eastern Churches, which, in order to accomplish their mission, must be able to retain their children, it is necessary that Easterners remain Easterners, while exceptional cases are reserved for the judgement of Rome.

Consequently, I beseech Your Excellency to support the text of Article 4 of the schema as it is presented. With two exceptions, it is the desire of the Eastern Churches themselves and of the Latin bishops who are friends of the East. EXPLANATORY NOTE <169>Concerning the Rite of Baptized Non-Catholics Entering into the Fullness of Catholic Communion<170>

The end of Article 4 of the schema <169>On the Eastern Churches<170> considers what the rite will be of non-Catholic faithful (Orthodox, Anglicans, Protestants, or others) who wish to join the Catholic Church. There are two opposing viewpoints on this subject:

I. The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, to which are joined two or three Eastern communities for reasons that are particular to themselves, proposes to allow those involved the freedom of choosing the rite that they desire, if they make this freedom of choice a necessary condition of their entering the Catholic Church.

In favor of this opinion, there is an appeal to the good of souls, to previous legislation, and to respect for religious freedom. But these reasons are not at all well founded:

a. The law should provide for normal cases and seek to assure the general good of society, without harming the individual. Now, it is normal that an Easterner remains Eastern and that he continues to belong to his own rite, that is to say, to the ecclesial community in which God has placed him to work for his progress. If, in exceptional cases, a necessity of conscience impels him to choose another rite, we do not see any objection; on the contrary, one should help him. That is why the schema has provided, for this kind of exceptional cases, recourse to the Holy See of Rome, which will render judgement, either directly or by the intermediary of its representatives in the area. The good of souls is thus completely protected.

b. As for previous legislation, one knows that it has changed much. The present discipline dates only from 1957, and was imposed on the Easterners in spite of themselves. Against this new legislation, the majority of the Eastern Churches have made their serious criticisms heard. To do justice to these complaints, the Eastern Commission thus proposes to the Council a just and beneficial reform, responding to the intimate desire of the Holy See, expressed many times by the popes, to see the Easterners remain Eastern and in their proper rite.

c. As for respect for religious freedom, the text of the schema does no damage to it. The Easterner who wishes to become Latin or to change to another eastern rite can ask for it and obtain it from the Holy See. But the law provides that, normally, he must remain in his own rite. All law restrains the exercise of human freedom in view of the general good of society. There is in the text of the schema no damage to human freedom, any more than in the other laws of the Church.

II. The other Eastern Churches (more than twelve) are in favor of the text of the schema:

Normally everyone must remain in his own rite; in exceptional cases, the Holy See can authorize changing to another rite. This is a wise, practical, and beneficial rule. Here are the principal reasons for it:

a. In the same manner that each Catholic must remain faithful to his rite, the non-Catholic brother who is reconciled to the Catholic Church must remain in his rite, for he already belongs to that rite, to that ecclesial community. That is a calling to which he should remain faithful.

b. It is a desire of the Roman Holy See that Easterners remain Eastern. Now, if one allows them the choice of becoming Latin, it is to be anticipated that the <169>latinizers<170> will use their numerical, cultural, and financial superiority to induce them to change to the Latin rite. This is no chimerical danger, but rather a sad reality. The result: instead of helping Easterners to be Catholic and Eastern at the same time, one <169>latinizes<170> them. Now, that is contrary to the will, repeated a thousand times, of the Holy See.

c. That <169>necessary condition<170> of changing to another rite, set down at the moment of reconciliation with the Catholic Church, is nothing more than a stratagem. There are all sorts of external pressures. Those who wish to latinize arrange in practice to have this condition always set down by their <169>converts.<170> They even have printed forms that the people sign at the request of the parish priest, as if it were taken for granted. On the contrary, if one had taught the people the respect and the love for their rite, as the Holy See desires, the people would not ask for anything more than remaining in their rite.

d. In every case, the basic question returns to this: does the Catholic Church desire that the Easterners be Catholic or Latin? If it wishes them to be Catholic, why not let them be Eastern and Catholic at the same time? If it wishes them to be Latin, then let us not speak any longer of ecumenism and of union of the Churches. It is better not to put the Catholic authorities in a position of being accused for a long time more of duplicity.

CONCLUSION:

Our viewpoint, expressed in No. 4 of the schema, is clear:

a. Catholics, Eastern as well as Western, must remain everywhere and always in their rite.

b. Those of our non-Catholic brothers who wish to join us must remain in their rite, in the ecclesial community to which they already belong, and which, with their cooperation, must restore its unity and develop inside the universal Church.

c. If one person or another, for personal motives, desires to change to another rite, we do not see any obstacle to it. But this change to another rite, must depend not on a condition sine qua non set by him and that simply serves to disguise the pressures put on him to make him change his rite (most frequently to latinize him), but on a decision of the Roman Holy See that will give judgement with complete objectivity.

The two solutions, basically, meet on the two most important points:

-Normally, everyone must remain in his rite;

-Exceptionally, particular circumstances can advise change to another rite. But, who will pass judgement as to how well-founded the circumstances are?

-The interested person himself, says the Latin Patriarchate.

-No, says the schema, with good reason, it is the Church, represented by the Roman Holy See, which alone escapes local pressures. Thus: Pass No. 4 of the schema without adding any modification.

@MAJOR SEC HDG = The Multiplicity of Catholic Jurisdictions in the Arab Near East

@BODY TEXT ITA = (This is a serious and acute problem. The Melkite Greek Hierarchy discussed it in an Appendix to its <169>Observations on the schemas of the Council<170> (1963).)

There have been various rumors these days on the subject of an eventual unification of the multiple patriarchal and episcopal Catholic jurisdictions that are exercised in one and the same territory, in the East in general, and more particularly in the Arab Near East.

No draft has until now been officially submitted to the Council, but the idea is in the air, and several attempts have been made to have one or another preparatory conciliar commission take hold of such a draft.

Fortunately, public opinion in the East has not been made aware of this.

Only some few Eastern prelates, echoed by some Western scholars who in general are not in touch with the real situation of the Church in the East, think that this question should be debated anew. The authors of this suggestion are beguiled by the possible advantages of such a unification and are not thinking of its real drawbacks and of the dangerous and incalculable reactions that it would arouse in a region that is already too much troubled. The Westerners who echo them favor in this unification a system that agrees well with their mentality and with the ecclesiastical organization to which they are accustomed.

Thus the Fathers of the Council are in danger of being saddled unexpectedly with a draft, presented suddenly by the intermediary of a conciliar commission or by a request signed by a number of bishops who in reality are rarely those who can have complete and precise information on this subject.

That is why we have believed it necessary to put the Fathers of the Council on guard against the possibility of such actions, which represent only the opinions of a very limited group, by providing them with the elements of brief and objective information. We deliberately limit our study to the Arab Near East, for two reasons: first, it is there that the problem of the multiplicity of jurisdiction is posed most acutely; second, because, living in this milieu and bearing its responsibilities, we are in a better position to speak of it with knowledge of its origins.

A BRIEF HISTORY

It is fitting to begin our inguiry with a brief historical reminder, for the present situation can only be explained through a return to the origins.

It is unfortunately the history of the gradual crumbling of Christianity in our region.

The doctrinal controversies of the first centuries created in the area Churches detached from official orthodoxy, which were hierarchically organized in separate communities. First there was the Nestorian Church, then came monophysitism, which erected a national Church in each region: the Coptic Church in Egypt, the Syrian Church in Syria, the Armenian Church in Armenia. Later, monothelitism also raised up a monothelite Church, which fortunately did not last.

Opposite these Churches separated from official orthodoxy, established from the fifth to the seventh century, the Orthodox-Catholic Church <197> also called in these regions the Melkite Church <197> the Church of the councils, maintained the orthodox faith and the catholic communion with the rest of Christianity, in spite of the diminution in the number of its faithful.

The Muslim conquest of the first half of the seventh century sanctioned this division and even accentuated it. Islam recognized an autonomous status for each of these Churches, seeing in them, more than rites or different religious confessions, autonomous <169>nations<170> equally submitted to the <169>protection<170> of the conquering Muslims.

As a result of a prolonged vacancy in the Orthodox Patriarchal See of Antioch, the Maronites were also established as an autonomous nation-Church.

Thus the Arabic Near East knew, throughout the Middle Ages, six Church-nations, internally ruled by their religious leaders: the Greek nation, Orthodox or Melkite; the Nestorian nation; the Coptic nation; the Syrian nation; the Armenian nation; and the Maronite nation.

The schism between Byzantium and Rome involved, bit by bit and almost imperceptibly, the great majority of the Greek-Melkite nation in the separation from Rome. In contrast, the Maronite nation maintained constant ties with Rome, at least since the Crusades.

In the heart of these communities-Churches-nations, movements of partial union with the See of Rome began after the setback of the attempt at a global union at Florence and grew firm everywhere at the beginning of the eighteenth century. These movements of union separated from each original community more or less important groups, to which Rome gave or recognized a distinct Catholic hierarchy. Thus the communities listed above, with the exception of the Maronite community, which was entirely united, each broke into two branches, one becoming Catholic, the other remaining what it was (<169>Orthodox,<170> in the sense that each one understands it).

In the last century, Protestants made some recruits and were established as new autonomous Churches. On their side, the Latin missionaries, abandoning their old ways that consisted of helping the Easterners (<169>in auxilium Orientalium<170>), also made recruits and established them as a new Latin community-Church-nation.

The result of all these variations is shown in the following table of the Christian communities in the Arab Near-East:

Non-Catholic Catholic Melkite Greek Orthodox Church Melkite Greek Catholic Church Nestorian Church Chaldean Church Syrian Orthodox Church Syrian Catholic Church Coptic Orthodox Church Coptic Catholic Church Armenian Orthodox Church Armenian Catholic Church ................. Maronite Church Protestant Church .................... ................ Latin Church

PRESENT SITUATION

1. Mere consideration of the above table shows that, at least in theory, there are or can be in the Arab Near East six non-Catholic jurisdictions, as opposed to six Eastern Catholic jurisdictions and one Latin jurisdiction. All these jurisdictions are exercised, or can be exercised, simultaneously and over the same territory, but, it should be kept in mind, over distinct faithful: a multiple jurisdiction, of a character that is territorial and personal at the same time.

2. The multiplicity of Orthodox jurisdictions does not concern us. From here on we shall speak only of the multiplicity of Catholic jurisdictions. Thus everywhere in the Arab Near East there are or can be seven Catholic jurisdictions that are intermingled, for one reason or another.

3. But the intermingling is not equal everywhere, in the sense that the mixture of populations occurs in varying proportions. Although, for example, in the large cities, such as Beirut, Damascus, Aleppo, Cairo, or Alexandria, one encounters faithful of nearly all the communities, elsewhere the Catholic population is either exclusively of the same rite, or at least the faithful of the other rites are in such a minority that they can be considered as immigrants or strangers. Thus, for example, in Upper Egypt one finds only Copts; in some entire regions of Lebanon, there are practically only Maronites; in Palestine, there are practically only Melkites and Latins; in Iraq, the Chaldeans and Syrians share the population, with a minority of Armenians; in Syria, the population is more mixed, but with a Melkite predominance, etc. The mixture is such that it is difficult to draw a geographic map of the distribution of each of these communities .

4. Of the seven Catholic communities, each of the six Eastern communities has a patriarchal authority at its head: the see of Alexandria is occupied by the Melkite patriarch and by the Coptic Catholic patriarch; the See of Antioch is occupied by the Melkite patriarch, the Syrian patriarch, and the Maronite patriarch; the See of Jerusalem is occupied by the Melkite patriarch and by a Latin patriarch, who does not have the powers that are properly called patriarchal; the See of Babylon is occupied by the Chaldean patriarch; the See of Cis is occupied by the Armenian patriarch. Thus, apart from the Latin community, which does not have a unique local head, all the Eastern communities have a patriarch at their head.

5. In principle, if the number of the faithful everywhere so indicated, there could be, in each episcopal see, six Eastern bishops and one Latin bishop. In fact, this exists only in certain great cities, like Beirut, where there are six Catholic bishops, at Aleppo and at Cairo, where there are five, etc. But, even where there are not that many bishops, there are invariably seven Catholic jurisdictions, respectively represented either by bishops, or by patriarchal or episcopal vicars, or by simple pastors.

ADVANTAGES AND DRAWBACKS

In this situation, the only one in the world, there are advantages and drawbacks.

1. Advantages

a. The first advantage is that for each liturgical rite there is a corresponding Church, a distinct community, its own hierarchy. From the points of view of liturgy and discipline, this is certainly a perfect framework.

b. The second advantage, at least in the eyes of Catholics, is that for each Orthodox hierarchy there is everywhere, or almost everywhere, a corresponding Catholic hierarchy of the same rite.

c. The third advantage is that in principle this large number of bishops should permit a more meticulous care of the Lord's flock. Many bishops reach the point of knowing practically all the families in their diocese.

d. Finally, the great advantage is above all is that relationships have been established in such a delicate situation of Christianity. Each hierarchy has succeeded, after centuries of efforts, in organizing itself. This multiplicity is established firmly in the souls of the faithful, in their rites, in their history, in their feelings, in their hearts, in their every-day lives. This is a delicate system that it would be difficult to replace without great confusion.

2. Drawbacks

But, on the other hand, this system presents numerous and real drawbacks. Let it suffice to enumerate them briefly:

a. A considerable number of Catholic bishops on the same seat and in the same city; and several patriarchs occupy the same patriarchal see.

b. Patriarchs, whatever may be their see, exercise in practice their jurisdiction over territory of other patriarchal sees, and all are in practice patriarchs of all the Near East.

c. Nobody is the sole responsible individual for the general interests of Catholicism in a given region. This drawback is the most important, for none of the hierarchs is powerful enough to look after, efficaciously and by himself, the most vital interests of the Church: teaching, Catholic action, works of charity, the press, television, social action, and relations with the state. Each one works on these things, but his action is weak. These questions can only be handled by the whole group of the Catholic hierarchs of a given region, and that is naturally more difficult than if there were a single responsible individual.

UNREALISTIC SOLUTIONS

In the light of this delicate situation, some Catholic individuals or groups have conceived and proposed solutions. These efforts date quite far back. But all these solutions have the fault of being more attractive than real, more theoretical than practical. Moreover, they bring with them consequences that are still more unfavorable than the drawbacks that they are intended to avoid.

We do not pretend to enumerate them all, for new ones are invented ceaselessly. Let it suffice to mention the more fashionable ones.

1. A radical solution consists of suppressing all rites and all communities. It is said that one is Catholic, and that is enough. As for the liturgy, if one does not wish to adopt purely and simply the Latin rite, one can adopt one of the Eastern rites, or, better, one can compose a new unified rite (Arabic rite). Also, canon law is already unified for all the Eastern Catholic communities. It will only remain to unify the liturgical rites. Once these two things have been unified, there would be no need for more than a single Catholic bishop for each city, with a single patriarch for all, and only a single jurisdiction. In that fashion the problem is resolved.

Just the statement of these fantasies turns the head of anyone who possesses the least idea of the East and has even the slightest responsibility for souls in that region.

To suppress rites in the Church is impossible, for there would be the most serious problems everywhere. And if it were possible, it would be criminal, because that would impoverish the Church of the greatest part of its spiritual patrimony. Uniformity on this point, far from being a benefit, is a catastrophe.

It would be above all a catastrophe if the suppression of the Eastern rites must be done in favor of the Latin rite. At that moment, one would have to believe that one could only be Catholic by being Latin, that Catholicism and Latinism are synonymous. Every effort for reunion of all Christians in Catholicity would then have to be abandoned.

As for retaining only one of the Eastern rites (which one, by the way?) or devising one from pieces of all, that is pure fantasy.

Such solutions can be considered only by minds that live only an amorphous Catholicism, without roots in real life, without attachments to the past, and without a grip on the future.

Thus we do not know of any truly responsible persons who share these views.

2. Another solution intends to unify the jurisdictions, while maintaining the diversity of rites. In each diocese, there would be only one bishop, taken in turn from each rite. Thus, at Aleppo, for instance, there would be a Greek Catholic bishop; at his death, a Maronite bishop would succeed him; then, at the latter's death, an Armenian bishop, etc.

That is such a utopian solution that we do not even think that we have to refute it.

3. Others think that all bishops of the same city should remain, but there would be attributed to one of them, taken in turn, the actual administration of all Catholics of the diocese, whatever might be their rite.

This is an even more utopian solution.

4. Others have thought that in an episcopal city, one of the bishops would be truly the bishop, with territorial jurisdiction, and the others would be bishops with purely personal jurisdiction. Thus, at Beirut, for example, the Maronite bishop would be the only Bishop of Beirut, for all the Catholics of that diocese, whatever might be their rite, but there would be also a Melkite bishop for Melkites only (liturgical and communal interests), a Syrian bishop, etc. The relationships between the territorial bishop and the personal bishops would remain to be determined.

This is still imagination with no basis in reality.

5. Others maintain also that it is not necessary to have more than a single bishop, properly so called, in each diocese. This bishop would be responsible for all Catholics, of whatever rite they might be. He, in his role of bishop, would not belong to any rite, or would be, as one might say, of all rites, a bit like the pope, who is of the Latin rite, but who governs the faithful of all rites. This single bishop would have general vicars, invested, if necessary, with the episcopal character, for each of the rites sufficiently well represented in his diocese.

Still pure imagination.

6. Others are indeed content that there should be several bishops in the same city, but ask at least that certain parts of the diocese, where there are practically only faithful of a single rite, be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the bishop of that rite, and that the other bishops have nothing to do there despite the fact that they are theoretically the spiritual heads of the same diocese.

7. Others ask that in the deliberative councils of the bishops of the same city the votes should not be equal among all the bishops, but that they should be weighted in proportion to the number of faithful that each one has in fact under his jurisdiction.

8. Finally, others would be satisfied with the unification of the patriarchates. On each patriarchal seat there would be only one incumbent, with quite limited territorial jurisdiction. For this, one could proceed, if necessary, to a new partitioning of the territories belonging to each see, in such fashion that each patriarch would have an exclusive territory, even if he had suffragans of different rites.

This solution seems to receive more attention today. It has apparently the advantage of preserving the multiplicity of rites; it does not affect the multiplicity of episcopal jurisdictions; it makes the patriarch, henceforth the single incumbent of his seat, a superior head, belonging to no rite, or belonging to all rites, but one who assumes the interests of all rites, that is to say of the whole of Catholicism over all the extent of his patriarchate.

In this perspective, one gets down to some practical details, and there is proposed a division, which one wishes to be as equitable as possible, of the patriarchal sees among the different existing communities. The see of Alexandria would be assigned to the Coptic Catholic patriarch. The See of Antioch would be divided in two: the Lebanese part would be assigned to the Maronite patriarch, the Syrian part should still be contested between the Melkite patriarch (who has the more numerous faithful) and the Syrian Catholic patriarch. The See of Jerusalem would be taken away from the Latins and given to the Melkites. The See of Babylon (of Iraq) would remain occupied by the Chaldean patriarch. The Armenian patriarch would occupy the See of Sis, but he would not have a fixed territory.

GENERAL REVIEW OF ALL THESE PLANS

We stop our analysis here, for all these solutions assume, basically, the idea of unifying jurisdictions, whether episcopal or patriarchal, in the Near East.

Now, we are convinced that any unification of jurisdictions in this region is 1) detrimental to the highest interests of Catholicism, 2) excessively dangerous, and 3) not realizable in fact. Here are our reasons, which are all of a general nature:

1. These solutions are detrimental to the highest interests of Catholicism.

a. Apart from the Maronite community, which has already reached its goal by being completely united in Catholicism, all the other Eastern Catholic communities are still in the stage of partial union. Now, in this stage of their mission, as Christ and the Church expect it of them, these communities, hoping ceaselessly to restore their unity in the heart of Catholicism, must not pose anything that is prejudicial to the future of union, which renders it impossible or notably more difficult.

Now, a unification of jurisdiction, whether at the episcopal or patriarchal level, is so sensitive and essential a modification brought to the fundamental institutions of each Catholic community that the corresponding Orthodox community would no longer recognlze it .

Our present stage of union is not a definitive formula. We are in some sort of transitional organization. When global union will be realized between Orthodoxy and Catholicism, we must reinstate this catholic orthodoxy and dissolve our hierarchical frameworks in it. By what right will we have previously suppressed such jurisdiction or founded such another one in an organism not pertaining to any rite, in which our Orthodox brothers would not recognize themselves?

This is as equally true for liturgy and discipline as for jurisdiction: there must be no fundamental transformation of these institutions in such a way that union is not realized. When this union will be realized, the Church of that time will make the reforms that it will consider useful.

b. We must also reject any unification of jurisdiction which would result in the absorption of one Church by another. A distinct Church inside Catholicism requires, if not a distinct rite, at least a distinct hierarchy. Any fusion or absorption of a hierarchy by another marks the disappearance of a Church. Thus, the Melkites have a good 50,000 faithful in the United States. These faithful have a distinct rite, their own priests, and their own discipline. But as long as they do not have a distinct hierarchy, one cannot say that there is a Melkite Church in the United States. And if they are not part of a Church, the Melkites in the United States are continually threatened with disappearing.

Now, the Catholic Church wishes to preserve all the Churches that form it, in particular the Eastern Churches, which have the important mission of restoring Christian unity with the corresponding Orthodox branches of their rite. To deprive one or another of its own hierarchy is to prepare for the disappearance, sooner or later, of these Churches. It is to inflict considerable harm on Catholicism.

The final result, which is not acknowledged, of all these artificial efforts for unification of hierarchies will be the fatal absorption of all Churches into Latinism, equated with Catholicism.

2. These solutions are excessively dangerous

The East is extremely sensitive. In the last century, the adoption of the Gregorian calendar brought about a true schism in the Melkite Church, which required a number of years to be resolved, after having taken away from our Church a good number of its children. The direct appointment of a patriarch or a Bishop immediately by the Holy See of Rome causes serious troubles which have embittered relations for numerous years. What can one then say about changes that are as radical as those that are proposed to us?

No prelate who knows the East and is aware of his responsibilities will dare to proceed in fact to such revolutionary changes. The difficulties and the dangers are such that it is necessary, for the love of God, to stop discussing these questions. As long as these subjects are treated in a limited circle of those dealing in theory, the harm is limited to a loss of time and to some individual commotions. But the day that these fervent questions are thrown open to the public, none of us could say what might happen.

3. These solutions cannot be realized in practice

It would be necessary to take them up one by one. Let us be content with the two principal ones:

a. First, the solution that calls for a single bishop in each city, under whatever form it is presented. Either this single bishop will be taken from a specific community, the most numerous for example, and then the faithful of other communities will feel that they have been wronged, placed in a position of inferiority, subject to an authority of another rite, or he will be <169>neutral,<170> that is to say, not belonging to any rite, to any community, and that is unthinkable. What community will accept having its bishop be a bishop who is simply personal and not territorial, who is a simple vicar general in the service of a bishop of another rite, who would not have jurisdiction everywhere in the diocese, who would not have an equal vote in the deliberative councils? Only one who does not know the East could think that such solutions are possible.

b. It is the same for the solution that wishes to unify patriarchal jurisdictions:

1) An amorphous patriarch, not belonging to any rite, to any particular Church, is unthinkable: by definition, a patriarch is the head of a Church.

2) It is not normal that some faithful, clerics, and bishops be dependent on a patriarch of another rite, that is to say, of another particular Church.

3) The distribution of the patriarchal sees among the different rites arises from pure fantasy. It is a fact that doctrinal differences, then the movements of union with Rome, have multiplied the incumbents of each patriarchal see. We do not wish to enter here into interminable discussions to decide, for example, which of the three present incumbents of the see of Antioch is the successor of St. Ignatius of Antioch. Today the three are legitimate. On the seat of Alexandria, the Melkite incumbent is as authentic as the Coptic incumbent, and on the seat of Antioch each of the three patriarchs, Melkite, Syrian, and Maronite, is a legitimate incumbent. According to what criterion, therefore, is the See of Antioch to be reserved for only one of them?

All these solutions are not realizable and are dangerous

REALISTIC SOLUTION: COLLABORATION AND SYNODALISM

The only solution that to us appears realistic is the one that takes into account the known facts of what is real, possible, and useful. Since we are not able to suppress the multiplicity of jurisdictions, we organize them in such a way as to avoid as much as possible its drawbacks and to produce the maximum advantages.

Our program can be summed up in two words: collaboration and synodalism.

1. Collaboration

This includes the following manifestations:

a. First create a spirit of collaboration among the different communities. Learn to help one another, to work together, to love one another. It is necessary to cultivate this spirit starting with the seminary. Arrange as much as possible for contacts, encounters, congresses, etc.

b. Avoid dispersion of forces. In small centers, one church could serve two communities. In the same small village, a single Catholic school is sufficient.

c. Do not push the autonomy of jurisdiction to extremes. When the faithful of one rite are greatly outnumbered in a parish of another rite, the administration of them can very well be entrusted to the pastor of the parish, while having them visited from time to time by a priest of their rite.

d. Unify all the spheres in which the communal interest is not strictly at stake: general direction of teaching, of Catholic action, of relations with the press, radio, and television, of social action, of charity, of relations with the state, etc.

2. Synodalism: For all matters of common interest, there should be one seat of responsibility. Who will it be? It cannot be an individual person. Thus it will be the synod of all hierarchs having jurisdiction in the same territory: a patriarchal synod or an episcopal synod.

To reach this goal, patriarchal or episcopal conferences are insufficient, at least in their present form. It is necessary to have a true synod, in the Eastern manner, with power of decision.

This synod should be held more or less frequently: one or two times a year for the patriarchal or the national episcopal synod; each month, for example, for the bishops of the same city. Between the meetings of the synod, an executive committee always has the duty of seeing that the decisions are executed. In this fashion, to the question, <169>Is there in the East a seat of responsibility for all Catholic interest for the whole country or for the whole diocese?<170> One will be able to reply, <169>Yes, but this seat of responsibility is not an individual person: it is the synod of all those to whom the Lord has entrusted His Church in this corner of the Lord's field.<170>

We think that that is the only truly realistic solution.

CONCLUSION

1. Be that as it may, we think that it is not appropriate to burden the ecumenical Council with such a question. It is a situation that is too specific to the Near East. In addition, the Fathers, as a whole, cannot obtain a sufficiently complete and personal conception of this question to settle it while knowing its background.

2. It is necessary at all cost to avoid causing troubles among the people by discussing this question without discretion.

3. In order to realize the collaboration of which we have spoken, it is necessary to rely on patriarchal or episcopal conferences on the spot. Only they can indicate the realistic solutions that are required.

4. It is necessary to work from now on to settle the regulation and the competences of the patriarchal and episcopal synods that will bear collegially the responsibility for Catholicism on the spot.

We think that it is necessary, as a point of departure, to accept the special form under which the problem of the Church in this region is presented. Each country has its own difficulties to resolve. What suits one country does not necessarily suit another. For each situation it is necessary to find the solution that suits it and resolve the problems according to the given realities.

Given all the reasons that we have put forth, the firm and clear attitude of our Melkite Greek Catholic Church, as opposed to the more or less fanciful projects of unification of jurisdiction in the Arab Near East, is that there should be no innovations: nihil innovetur, but that there should be constant striving to improve the collaboration among all communities with the aim of the general good of the Church.

@BODY TEXT ITA = (Archbishop Joseph Tawil, Patriarchal Vicar at Damascus, took up this topic again in a brief intervention at the Council on November 13, 1963.)

All the Catholic communities of Eastern rite, taken together or separately, are a miniature of the Churches that they represent. With the exception of the Maronite Church, all have an Orthodox branch, which is more or less large. All, taken together, form scarcely three per cent (3%) of the Orthodox from which they were born. The Orthodox, throughout the world, comprise about two hundred million souls, of which there are three million Syrians, five million Armenians, fifteen million Copts and Ethiopians, and a hundred and eighty million Byzantines.

But among the Catholic communities of Eastern rite, not all present an Eastern appearance; there are, in truth, some that present a Latin appearance. Certainly, the Latin Church is very honorable, but a Church that is latinized quoad modum does not offer to the Western Church anything that it does not already have in abundance; even more, it produces a great disappointment for the Orthodox branch of the same Church, which consequently lacks an authentic witness of its own tradition in the midst of this Council.

In this conciliar assembly we have already heard one or another of the Eastern Fathers request the unification of those jurisdictions where the jurisdiction, not being territorial, is in fact personal, as there exist several incumbents of different rites, whose seats are in the same place. This state of things did not arise yesterday; it dates back several centuries. The theory of the remedy is certainly fine, but often the best is the enemy of the good. This proposal seems to us utopian, and at the same time dangerous and harmful.

1. It is utopian. As there are, in fact, faithful springing from so many different rites and leading their own lives in autonomy for fifteen centuries, can they be led to live together under one and the same authority? If such an experiment were tried, it would be without doubt tempting fate and reaping misfortune.

2. It is dangerous and harmful. In fact, each Eastern Catholic Church, taken separately, forms an incomplete entity which awaits, or rather invites, its Orthodox <169>pleroma.<170> Each of these Churches marks a station on the road to unity. All go forward together like the vanguard of an army that follows, and from which it cannot be separated. But what should one think of a vanguard that so separates itself from the body of the army that the latter can no longer recognize it? Pope Benedict XIV, who so often fought against latinization of the Eastern Churches, requested them to preserve the same aspect as Orthodoxy, because we must look at things not with our Catholic eyes but with Orthodox eyes.

I conclude that the proposed unification of jurisdictions, far from being the remedy for the troubles that it intends to heal, will appear worse than the troubles and will very much increase the confusion.

In fact, a rite, deprived of its own bishop, will disappear bit by bit, or at least be unsound, and its faithful will perish bit by bit.

That is why this proposal offers less a solution than a dissolution. As always, we do not have any objection if the hierarchies that consent make the experiment.

@MAJOR SEC HDG = Hierarchies for Eastern Immiarants

@BODY TEXT ITA = (Archbishop Philip Nabaa, Metropolitan of Beirut, presented to the Commission of Bishops the following note entitled <169>Erection of Eastern Dioceses in America.<170>)

In the first general session of the commission <169>On Bishops and Diocesan Administration,<170> held at Rome from the 14th to the 19th of November 1960, I presented a first note on the <169>Necessity to create Eastern Rite Dioceses in America.<170> Following that note, I wish, in the present report, to add certain necessary precisions and suggestions relative to the following points:

I. The numerical importance of Easterners in America

We do not speak here of the Ukrainian Easterners, who already have their own hierarchy in the United States and Canada. We limit our discussion to the Maronites and Melkites, who are the most important Eastern Catholic communities in North and South America. And it is for them that we entreat for the erection of respective personal dioceses. Their present number and their future reauire that institution.

In the absence of a rigorously exact census, we give the figures that we find in the official annual of the Catholic Church in the United States: The Official Catholic Directory, 1959, p. 256.

Number of Maronites in the United States 125,000

Number of Melkites in the United States 50,000

There are as many and more in South America, in particular in Brazil and Argentina.

These figures constitute important dioceses in the Church in the Near East, where it is necessary to defend the faith of Christian minorities and sustain them against dominating and encroaching Islam. Now these Christians in America are an integral part of the Eastern church, and must remain faithful to it, for the life and the growth of Catholicism in the East.

The Orthodox in America have understood very well this necessity for life and growth. They already have several bishops in the United States and Brazil. They have a hundred parish churches that are well organized. They have charitable societies that are rich and prosperous. They have an unlimited freedom of action and of growth. This is to such an extent that in the places where the Eastern Catholics are not well organized they go to the Orthodox Churches.

2. Serious and perhaps irreparable harm resultina from the lack of erection of Eastern dioceses in America

The Eastern Catholics of America, in particular the Maronites and Melkites, do not yet have any bishop, nor any hierarchical head of their own. The resulting injuries to them, and to all Eastern Catholicism, are very numerous and very serious.

Many Eastern Catholics, especially those who do not have an Eastern Catholic church near them, do not know who is their leader, nor who their pastors are, and thus lose their faith, or if there is an Orthodox church near them, they become Orthodox. And unfortunately this unhappy fact occurs frequently. As there is no leader to watch over them and to be responsible, the trouble continues and is aggravated, without any remedy being brought to it.

Where there are Eastern Catholic churches, these churches are considered sometimes as personal parish churches, sometimes as chapels under the guidance of Latin parish churches. And in these two cases the Eastern officiating ministers do not know exactly what are the limits of their powers or of their territory.

Free from the supervision of the Latin bishop, and not having an Eastern bishop to watch over them, these churches surrender, from the point of view of ritual, to all kinds of liturgical abuses. The sacred adornments take the Latin form. The religious offices are parodied. Signs of the cross are made backwards, or replaced by genuflections. Icons are replaced by statues. No trace of an iconostasis, of an Eastern altar, of beautiful liturgical processions. It is a diminution, almost a death of the Eastern rite, because of the encroachment of the Latin rite, or rather because of the absence of an Eastern hierarchical authority.

The Orthodox see these harms and abuses, and are scandalized by them, taking the occasion to distance themselves more and more from Eastern Catholicism, when they are not carrying away the discontented members of the Eastern Catholics.

3. Equality between Eastern and Western Catholics

All Eastern Catholics, and particularly those in America, know that the Latin immigrants in the East have a Western Catholic hierarchy. This is the case, for example, of Egypt, of Lebanon, and of Palestine, which even has a Latin patriarch in Jerusalem beside the Melkite Catholic patriarch. Knowing this, the Eastern Catholics in America entreat forcefully for their own hierarchy, capable of serving them and saving them in line with the religious and national points of view. The services that have been offered to them until now have been definitely ineffective. And if they are not provided with the institution of an Eastern hierarchy, which takes the Easterners and their interests to heart and which is capable of serving them well, the Catholics are going to lose their most sacred rights, and that will be a grave injustice.

Like their Latin brothers who have immigrated to the East and who have in this immigration their own hierarchy, likewise the Eastern Catholics who have immigrated to America have the right to have, in that country, their own hierarchy. Equality between Eastern and Western Catholics requires it. The Holy See has recognized this, and brought it about in several Western countries.

In the United States for the Ukrainians.

In Canada for the Ukrainians.

In Australia, in Germany, in France similarly for the Ukrainians.

And last of all in France for the Armenians also. And since the Holy See has done this for all these countries, it can also do it elsewhere, and for groups as important as the Maronites and Melkites of America.

4. Proclamation of Principle by the Ecumenical Council

So that it may not be said that there are two weights and two measures in the Catholic Church, and that the Westerners have more advantages and rights than the Easterners, we ask that the principle of equality between all Eastern and Western Catholics be proclaimed by the ecumenical council and that a special mention be made for the erection of Eastern dioceses in Western countries, equal to the Latin dioceses in Eastern countries.

It would not be fitting to leave to the Eastern Sacred Congregation alone the proclamation of this principle. But it will be necessary to leave to it the de facto judgement, that is to say the realization and the legal constitution of Eastern dioceses in Western countries. The proclamation of the principle by the ecumenical council will be an occasion of justice for Eastern Catholics and a great encouragement to the Orthodox, for the great catholic union, which is one of the greatest wishes of the ecumenical council.

5. The legal constitution of the Eastern personal dioceses

It is necessary to give the Eastern dioceses established in America and in other parts of the West a legal constitution that will safeguard two benefits, the benefit for the Eastern faithful of the immigration and the benefit of the unity of territorial jurisdiction in the same diocese. This constitution must permit the Eastern Church, in the West, to have a rank that is worthy of it and free and effective activity among its faithful, but without creating jurisdictional conflicts. In particular, this constitution must assure to the Eastern bishops established in the West all the rights that bishops have in their dioceses. However, the jurisdiction of Eastern bishops will be principally personal and secondarily territorial. It will be exercised directly over the faithful of that rite, and indirectly over the faithful of other rites, while retaining the common rules on the administration of the sacraments and more particularly of marriage. It will extend to all the places of an ecclesiastical province and of a country where there are faithful of that rite, even if the places belong to different dioceses.

And as there is only one pope who can have and give jurisdiction over a number of dioceses, the Holy See can delegate its powers and designate an Eastern bishop as <169>Apostolic Exarch.<170> He can also constitute for the Easterners a Metropolitan who, while being a Cardinal or Archbishop of a certain diocese would be also the Ordinary of all the Easterners of the country or of the province. In that case, the Eastern bishop would be the suffragan of the Eastern Metropolitan.

The concrete arrangements of this constitution will be specified by the Eastern Sacred Congregation, according to the models of the Constitutions which govern the Exarchates of the Ukrainians and the Armenians of America, Australia, Germany, and France.

6. Conclusions in brief and legal forms

The Catholic world, the Orthodox world, and the Protestant world expect from the Second Ecumenical Vatican Council authentic declarations and useful and effective actions for reviving the union of Christians in one single and unique Church of Christ.

The Second Vatican Ecumenical Council must respond to this universal Christian expectation and thus prove, in the sight of the whole world, that it is ready to do everything that is dependent on it and all that it can justifiably do for the realization of Christian unity.

As for what concerns immigrants and the erection of Eastern dioceses in Western countries, the following declarations and actions are proposed:

1) All Eastern and Western Christians, of whatever rite to which they belong, whether residing in their country of origin or in countries where they are immigrants, have the same rights in the Church of Christ, which is one and universal, that is, catholic.

2) Eastern rite dioceses will be erected in Western countries, as Latin rite dioceses will also be erected in Eastern countries, wherever it is necessary or useful for the salvation of souls and the good of the Church.

3) When several jurisdictions are established in the same place, in the East or in the West, a higher ecclesiastical authority will be constituted, in the form of an assembly of bishops or in the manner of existing metropolitans, to unify the diverse jurisdictions.

@BODY TEXT ITA = (In its <169>Observations on the schemas of the Council<170> [1963], the Holy Synod returned to the question, asking for at least the beginning of the founding of <169>personal dioceses<170> for the Easterners outside the patriarchal territory. They referred to the schema <169>On Bishops and the Administration of Dioceses.<170>) The schema, very fortunately, recommends establishing personal dioceses for the faithful of another rite, when their number requires it. In reality, this today concerns only personal dioceses of Eastern rite, for the Latin church has divided up the terrestrial globe, and all the Latin dioceses in the world are considered as territorial. Even when the number of Latins does not reach 2000, the Holy See gives them, even in the heart of the East, a hierarchy of their own rite. But when the Easterners number more than 50,000 or 100,000, (as for example the Melkites or the Maronites in the United States), they must give up having even a simple personal diocese. If the Council wishes to do something useful on this point, it must recommend that the bishops should not oppose indefinitely the establishment of personal diocese for the Easterners, as a prelude to the establishment of true territorial and personal dioceses, for, in justice, why should the Latins be able to have territorial dioceses everywhere, even if they are a very tiny minority, and not the Easterners, when the latter are a respectable number? This system of two weights and two measures in the Catholic Church must cease. It is necessary to add to this that the opposition of certain Western ordinaries to the establishment of personal dioceses for the Easterners results in having Eastern immigrants not receiving sufficient spiritual help, and the priests that serve them lack an episcopal authority to keep them in fidelity to their rite and to their discipline. Because of their union with Rome, the Eastern Catholics of the immigration thus have their arms tied. They cannot expand, and they see their faithful diminish, while their Orthodox brothers, free in this regard, are organized and expanding. Can this unjust situation last indefinitely?

@MAJOR SEC HDG = Public Discussion of the Conciliar Schema

(It was on October 15, 1964, that the assembly began the public discussion of the schema <169>On the Eastern Churches.<170> Patriarch Maximos attacked the part concerning patriarchs. Of all the parts of the decree, that was the least admissible.

On October 16, 1964, it was Bishop Elias Zoghby, Patriarchal Vicar for Egypt and the Sudan, who expressed serious reservations against the text of the schema.)

I would like to make three remarks about the schema on the Eastern Churches: the first is theological, the second historical, the third practical.

1. What was said yesterday by Cardinal Koenig and Patriarch Maximos concerning the first sentence of the prologue shows that the idea of the Catholic Church is still very inadequate. It is astonishing that after so many labors in the Council on the nature of the Church, the theologians have not yet clarified this idea.

The universal Church, in fact, is composed of all the particular Churches, united by the Holy Spirit, and formed from the earliest centuries around the great sees. The principal and the most effective of these seats was at Rome, and that with the consent of all, because of the apostolic succession on the Seat of Peter. But this universal Church must not be confused with that <169>universality<170> of the Western and Latin Church, which did not begin to exist as such until later, notably in the epoch of Charlemagne, and which, bit by bit, because of the canonical separation between the East and the West, one day found itself alone, having lost respect for the ancient patriarchal structure of the Church that the first Councils had authorized, and which it had the temptation to stifle.

It is true that at the time of the Crusades, undertaken by the Roman pontiffs, Latin patriarchs were placed on the Eastern seats, in the place of their legitimate pastors, but they were no more than shadows of the papacy.

Moreover, in the following centuries and until today, Latin missionaries, hardly better inspired, have established Latin churches in the East, from which have arisen rivalries unfavorable to the Eastern Churches. It is also true that certain parts of the Eastern Churches have been united with the Roman Church, but they have been incorporated into the Western structure. As for the separated Easterners, they have always kept the earlier concept, realizing that practical pluralism of which Pope Paul VI spoke in his encyclical <169>Ecclesiam suam.<170>

So, when one speaks of the ecclesiastical separation one does not speak the same language and one is not understood: the Easterners think of a separation from the Latin Church as from a particular Church; the others think of a separation from the universal Church, according to their own concept. Now, the schema on the Eastern Churches is entirely conceived in the latter manner, as if the Eastern Catholics were parts or appendices of the <169>universal<170> Latin Church, something which cannot be logically admitted. Whence the schema must be entirely remodelled so that this false perspective may be eliminated from it.

2. Concerning the primacy of the Roman pontiff, its doctrinal formulation, although declared several times in former Western councils, was not been dogmatically defined until Vatican I. Until then it could be considered, at least by the Orthodox, as only a canonical doctrine. The council that re-established Photius in his office in 879 was content to draw up a modus vivendi governing the relationships of the two Churches, without a theological import. The Roman pontiff was certainly then the first bishop of the Church, enjoying undeniable powers. He had to preside over ecumenical councils, or at least to watch over their sessions and to subscribe to their decrees. The Easterners appealed to him in serious questions, and this recourse was construed as being more canonical than dogmatic.

Thus if the two Churches were not opposed concerning the doctrine of the primacy, and if the Eastern theology on the procession of the Holy Spirit were not repudiated by the formula of filioque, as that was affirmed at Florence, one could say that the Churches of the East and of the West, even after the schism, have not been as much separated as it is believed, and that they have maintained their communion in the faith. The conflict was between two particular and local Churches, or between the Eastern patriarchs and the Roman pontiffs who wished to extend to the East their principal power over the West. The Easterners never had the perception of being separated from the Church, for they had the perception of being themselves the Church with the Latin Church, and with at least as much right. They constitute, in fact, the most important part of the Christianity which had defined the truths in its councils, and which had given to the Church its best theologians, and which at the first ecumenical councils comprised nearly all of the Fathers.

When, at the First Vatican Council, there was a question of defining the primacy of the Roman pontiff, and thus determining the theological structure of the Church, practically all the Fathers were Latin. Now, that definition is very important for the Easterners, perhaps more important for them than for the Latins, because it affects the ecclesiastical structure of the East much more than that of the West.

3. I shall say briefly something about communicatio in sacris. It is very good to come back to it, because it was the prevailing pastoral practice in many regions. It didn't stop until the beginning of the 18th century, through a clumsy application of the post-Tridentine decrees in the West relating to Protestants. This was the work of some badly-informed missionaries.

As for the subject of the reception of a non-Catholic Christian into the Catholic Church, I fall in line from the very first with the opinion of the schema <169>On Ecumenism,<170> according to which no type of proselytism should be encouraged. If, however, the situation occurs, the interested person must strictly retain his own rite. In exceptional cases, an appeal can be made to Holy See of Rome. In this matter, I declare that I am in full accord with the schema, with His Eminence Cardinal Cicognani, with His Beatitude Patriarch Maximos IV and all his bishops, with His Excellency Isaac Ghattas, Bishop of the Catholic Copts in Egypt, and with the great majority of the Eastern Churches.

Venerable Fathers, let us be wise, but still be good and tolerant. Let us not judge the quarrels and schisms of past times with the mentality of our ancestors, but with ours. We live, thank God, in an age of openness and of freedom, even religious. We can have at the heart of the same Church and the same Council Fathers who have the right to think and to express themselves differently from the others. Such freedom was not always tolerated in past times. The Church was divided in order to defend formulas, and there were neither mixed commissions or coordinating commissions. If it should be necessary to utilize bygone methods, if we had at the head of the Council a Cardinal Humbert, capable of signing a bull of excommunication in a moment of ill-humor, in the name of a pope dead for three months, how many of us, authentic Catholics, would have left the Council with a bull of excommunication or of anathema, only to discover, one or two thousand years later, that the formulas were not contradictory, that the primacy was not at all opposed to collegiality, that the so-called monophysitism and the Orthodox doctrine on the procession of the Holy Spirit could be orthodox?

@BODY TEXT ITA = (On October 19, 1964, it was Archbishop Joseph Tawil who explained to the assembly his criticisms of the schema.)

This holy Council has definitely placed the Church in the ecumenical sphere, made it a duty to think of its faith, from now on, no longer only at the frontiers of Catholicity, but also in the dimensions of Christianity, if not of the universe. And for fear of neutralizing all the work of the Council, we must definitely change our ways of seeing and acting, as Pope Paul VI reaffirmed at the time of his pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Now, the schema <169>On the Eastern Churches,<170> which is surely an improvement over that which was presented at the first session, must undergo a number of changes to be in accord with the conciliar decree <169>On Ecumenism,<170> which has truly opened for the Church a new era, thus deserving all sorts of praise. Here are some observations on the schema:

1. What stands out in this schema is that it speaks of the Eastern Churches as particular Churches, without ever having given this honor even once to the Latin Church, which is equally a particular Church. As a consequence, it has presented the patriarchates as being an exclusively Eastern institution, forgetting that the West, which for a thousand years lived together with the East in this institution, still continues to live in it in our days. What is it that in fact distinguishes the Churches among themselves and divides them into Eastern and Western, if not the patriarchate that is at the head, and that defines a Church-source, a Church mother of other Churches? The primacy of the Roman pontiff does not suppress in any manner his capacity as patriarch of the West.

2. What also stands out in the present schema is speaking of the Eastern patriarchs and ignoring the names of their sees, which are Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem, coming in that order of precedence after Rome, which is the first among them. As for the super-added Latin patriarchate of Jerusalem, which came later following wars of conquest and the unjust dispossession of legitimate incumbents, then was ended by these same wars and re-established only a century ago, it is a constant reminder of bitter memories for the East, both Catholic and Orthodox. Thanks to this patriarchate, the latinization of the East has proceeded to the state of an institution. May our brothers, the venerable Western Fathers, pardon us: we love the Latin Church, our sister, and we venerate her the more because we owe much to her. But for the good of the universal Church, this holy Council must put a final end to this sad episode of history, which has lasted too long. The latinization of the Christian East, in any manner whatsoever, must no longer be tolerated. 3. Paragraph 4, page 5, treating of non-Catholics returning to unity, asks deservedly for the maintenance of their rite. This problem very much preoccupies the above-mentioned latinizers, who would wish, under the cover of respect for personal freedom, to have them join the Latin rite. In my opinion this problem should not be posed, for it is a false problem: it is the same for individuals as for portions of Eastern Churches that have returned at other times to communion with the Roman See, and which did not have to renounce their rite nor their discipline, since they did not come from nothing, but they were born into a Church endowed with sacraments and were already of a distinct rite. To make them join the Latin Church is an offense to the Church to which they belong. For them it is a matter of reconciliation, and not of renunciation . Conclusion: At this hour of ecumenism and of the collegiality preserved by the East, rediscovered and taken up again by the West, because it is for the good of the universal Church, the Eastern Churches must be able henceforth to lead their own lives, autonomous, governed as they should be by their respective synods, in conformity with the just norms of their tradition. A postconciliar commission composed of Easterners and of specialists who are friends of the East would be entrusted with the work of the aggiornamento of these Churches in the double fidelity to the successor of Peter and to sound traditions, rid of the attachments that are foreign to them. Even the Orthodox, I am sure of it, will be grateful for this work. @BODY TEXT ITA = (The Melkite Greeks had been the principal architects of the schema <169>On the Eastern Catholic Churches.<170> Those who had spoken so far seemed to recommend the pure and simple rejection of the schema. The moment was grave. Certainly, the schema was far from being perfect. But those who wished to reject it had very diverse motives: <169>ecumenists<170> who found it too <169>uniate,<170> <169>latinizers<170> who found it too <169>Byzantine,<170> <169>Latins<170> who found it too <169>Eastern.<170> By allowing the schema to fail, one would certainly reject its imperfections, but one would lose its real advantages.

@BODY TEXT ITA = The patriarch, in these difficult circumstances, decided to save the schema. There will always be time, he thought, to improve it. But such as it is, it saves the Eastern Catholic Churches from the humiliating status of inferiority in which they found themselves until now. And also, the schema contained one or two general principles that opened the way for <169>internal canonical autonomy<170> of the Eastern Churches: the foremost condition for all ecumenical dialogue.

@BODY TEXT ITA = Thus on October 19, 1964, Bishop Neophytos Edelby, Patriarchal Counselor, openly declared: <169>The schema is not perfect, but it contains enough good elements so that it should not be rejected.<170> The Melkite hierarchy, aware of the maneuvers that were being plotted behind the scenes, adopted a realistic solution. Here is the intervention by Bishop Edelby:)

The discussion, in this conciliar assembly, of the schema <169>On the Eastern Churches<170> is for us of the East a cause of consolation, at the same time that it is for us the occasion of a certaln uneasiness.

We certainly rejoice in the Lord when we hear from our Western brothers so many fine words, so many praises with respect to our institutions and to all the spiritual patrimony, of which we have become, without any merit on our part, heirs and guardians. We also rejoice in the Lord when, over and above these words and praises, we feel fraternal affection in our regard. The conciliar Fathers on the whole not only do not wish to impose on their Eastern brothers the weight of the Latin majority, but they seek, on the contrary, by all means to confirm by their votes what is pleasing to the Easterners themselves. But, after having heard the interventions of the Eastern Fathers, a question is born in your hearts, venerable Fathers, and almost rises to your lips: <169>Exactly what do the Easterners want? In short, does this schema please them, or not?<170>

The Eastern Fathers who have spoken up to now have given evidence of noteworthy differences. This diversity of opinion is for us, as I have said, a cause of uneasiness. We are ashamed of not having arrived, on all points, at securing unanimity among ourselves. But, if it is permitted to give some explanation of this diversity of attitudes, I would take the liberty of remarking first, venerable Fathers, that such a diversity has nothing except what in the final account is very natural and should not be astonishing. Aren't there just as many differences among the Western Fathers? Besides, the differing attitudes of the Easterners most frequently depend on different perspectives of the apostolate, of local needs, and of various circumstances.

Since in human affairs, which always include advantages and drawbacks, it is difficult to secure unanimity, the good of ecclesiastical society requires conforming to the opinion of the majority. Our schema, with the amendments already approved by the commission, has already obtained the consent of the very great majority of the Eastern Churches. One can say that, apart from one or another point, the schema has received the nearly unanimous approval of the commission, as His Eminence Cardinal Cicogani, president of our commission, has so well said.

Certainly, the schema is not particularly good. It is far from being perfect. But, in the present circumstances, it was difficult to obtain a better schema.

This schema is good, simply good. It can be improved. Already many amendments have been examined by our commission and approved by it to be inserted in the text. Unfortunately time is lacking for reprinting the text as thus amended. But it is certain that through these new amendments, which are found on an attached leaflet, there has already been a response in advance to a certain number of criticisms that the Fathers have needlessly made in the assembly. Other amendments can still be proposed, and should, in my opinion, be approved so that the parts of the schema that are truly too weak, such as the preamble and the chapter devoted to patriarchs, may become acceptable. On the other hand, our schema takes into consideration the very fine doctrinal schema <169>On Ecumenism.<170> If the inspiration of the one or of the other schema sometimes seems different, as has been very well remarked by Their Eminences Cardinals Koenig and Lecaro, with whom I am in full agreement, unity of inspiration can be obtained either by re-examining certain expressions in our schema, or by admitting a fruitful collaboration with the Secretariat for Christian Union. But if the schema is purely and simply rejected, there is a great danger that the disciplinary reforms that we have obtained with great trouble, nearly in extremis, may be drowned and be sent back to the Greek clergy convocations.

In spite of certain flaws, which can be corrected, this schema constitutes a definite progress, not very great but undeniable, for Eastern Catholics. Do not permit, Venerable Fathers, our being denied this small progress!

And now, allow me to say something about the canonical bearing of this burning question, which is the rite to which non-Catholics being reconciled with the Catholic Church must belong.

It is of little importance, Venerable Fathers, that one Easterner or several become Latin. It is not a matter of the miserable desire to retain or increase the number of one's own faithful. This question cannot be settled without taking into account the ecumenical movement that impels us nowadays, not to increase the number of the faithful of our own Church, but to establish a dialogue between the Churches themselves so that with the grace of God we may arrive at the union of the Churches themselves in a single Church of Christ. Even more, we wish to take advantage of this occasion to solemnly reaffirm our sincere desire to condemn all proselytism that tends to nothing other than nibbling away, by all means, at the number of the faithful of other Churches.

But, while awaiting the joyful union of all Churches, we cannot avoid stating a certain and universal fact, that many persons or certain groups of our Orthodox brothers, moved by the demands of their consciences, already wish to restore their union with the Roman Catholic Church. In these cases, about which we cannot talk abstractly, it is necessary to anticipate having certain disciplinary rules to determine to which rite they must belong.

Thus the fixing of these rules must not alienate us from the heart of our very dear Orthodox brothers, as if we might wish to push them surreptitiously to desert their Church. We wish only that those who, moved by the Holy Spirit, already desire to restore union with the Catholic Church, find clear and precise rules, in the same way that the Orthodox Church itself acts in regard to Catholics who desire to become Orthodox.

Finally, the fixing of these rules, which prescribe in general that the Easterners remain Eastern, and not become Latin, nor transfer to another rite than their own without an indult of the Roman Holy See, must in the same way not alienate us from the heart of our very dear Latin brothers, whom we honor and esteem. What we are doing is only settling rules, as they themselves have done when it affected them. In the same manner that a Western non-Catholic, for example an Italian, who returns to the Catholic Church, must remain in the Western Church, that is to say, in the Latin Church, likewise an Eastern non-Catholic who desires to join the Catholic Church must remain Eastern, and even in his own rite. This is not contrary to religious freedom, nor contrary to the good of souls. This is rather for the good of souls, for incorporation in a certain rite normally places each one in the situation that is the providential one for his mission.

If nevertheless special conditions of a soul require that he transfer to another rite, this will be very willingly granted by the Holy See. But it is necessary to reject that stratagem of those who place the transfer to another rite as a <169>necessary condition<170> of their joining Catholicism. Everyone knows that it is the strategy of those who wish to leave the door open to latinization of the East. The latinization of the East has already lasted for more than one hundred years. It is time to finally close this door. Otherwise, it is better to stop speaking about the union of Churches and of respect for the Eastern Churches. Easterners must remain Eastern. That is not to satisfy the self-respect of the Easterners, but for the good of the universal Church.

@BODY TEXT ITA = (Doubts remained. Rumors were circulating, such as that Patriarch Maximos was against the schema. On the next day, Archbishop George Hakim of Galilee, although the discussion was closed, obtained the right to speak in the name of 70 Fathers, and took advantage of it to declare solemnly to the assembly that Patriarch Maximos and the Melkite Greek hierarchy were in favor of the schema taken as a whole. The assembly was hesitant and even began to lean to the contrary opinion. It was sufficient for it to be assured of the opinion of Patriarch Maximos to restore its confidence. It voted for the schema.)

I speak in the name of more than 70 Fathers, Latin and Eastern.

The schema of the <169>Decree on Eastern Churches<170> is pleasing, and for that we express our gratitude to His Eminence Cardinal Cicognani and the relevant commission. Joining with the official declarations of His Eminence Cardinal Cicognani and of His Beatitude our Patriarch Maximos IV, with those of his counselor, Bishop Edelby and to those of so many other venerable Fathers, I say <169>placet.<170> I humbly propose to vote in its favor, while introducing all the desirable amendments which will be taken into consideration. To accept the schema will be to perform a positive, wise, and constructive act, for that would permit obtaining all that is good in the schema. To reject it, on the contrary, destroys at the same time both the good and the bad elements. Certainly, we know that the text is not perfect. But what schema is perfect? Are we ourselves perfect? An Arabic proverb says: <169>Blessed is the perfect! God alone is perfect<170> (Soubhan el-Kamel! Al-Kamal lillah wahdahou).

Having said that, may I be permitted to add two simple remarks, which, I hope, will be taken into consideration by the commission:

1. In paragraph 3, lines 25 to 28, clarify the idea by adding a sentence through which it would be clearly recognized that, in declaring that all the Eastern and Western Churches are obliged to take care of <169>preaching the Gospel to the whole world,<170> the holy Council declares that all special directives laid down by any dicastery, even a supreme one, or any Apostolic Delegate, to restrain the apostolic activities of one or another Eastern Church for the benefit of the Latin Church, whether in the Near East, or in black Africa, or in the Indies, or elsewhere, are annulled. Let it be made clear, once and for all, that the holy Council decides to put an end to all discrimination in the Church, for the benefit of one rite over another. If, in certain cases, the head of a diocese is responsible for irregularities or imprudences, let him be corrected, admonished, or even reduced in rank, but the respect owed to his Church should not be touched, in the equality owed to all rites.

2. Drawing my inspiration from what is said in number 27 about the intercommunion between Catholics and Orthodox, which we applaud with our whole hearts, I propose that the Council give a fortiori the greatest freedom for concelebration among priests of different Catholic rites themselves. May the ad hoc commission find a formula authorizing the Ordinary of the place or his vicar, in centers of pilgrimages, in national or international meetings, to permit priests of another rite to concelebrate with his priests, if they are capable of doing so. Communicating with one another, the priests, belonging to different Catholic Churches, will feel themselves to a greater extent brothers in the same Christ.

In fact, in everything that we ask, as in all that is decided by the Decree <169>On Eastern Churches,<170> there is only one goal in view: That all may be one!

@CHAPTER # = Chapter 12

@CHAPTER TITLE = Ecumenism @MAJOR SEC HDG = The Requirements for Union @BODY TEXT ITA = (On May 10, 1961, while on a visit to Beirut, the patriarch went to see the Apostolic Nuncio, His Excellency Egano Righi Lambertini. Among other things, the Nuncio asked him what the Orthodox thought of the Council. The patriarch answered his question. The Nuncio then asked him to transmit his views in writing to the Central Commission. The patriarch did so in a long letter addressed to Archbishop Felici, dated May 19, 1961.)

1. It can be affirmed with certainty that the Orthodox people of our regions of the Near East, with few exceptions, have been filled with enthusiasm at the thought of the union that was to be realized by the ecumenical council. The people as a whole see no other reason for this Council than the realization of this union. It must be said that in view of their delicate position in the midst of a Muslim majority, the Christian people of the Arab Near East, perhaps more than those anywhere else, aspire to Christian unity. For them this unity is not only the fulfillment of Our Lord's desire, but also a question of life or death. During a meeting of rank and file people held last year in Alexandria, which included many Orthodox Christians, who were as enthusiastic as the Catholics in proclaiming the idea of union, we were able to speak these words, <169>If the union of Christians depended only on the people, it would have been accomplished long ago.<170>

When His Holiness the Pope announced the convocation of an ecumenical council, our people, whether Orthodox or Catholic, immediately thought spontaneously and irresistibly that the bells were about to ring for the hour of union. The general populace are even surprised that it is taking so long, as they do not understand what interest the ecclesiastical leaders can have in deferring the union that is so eagerly desired. The day that the people realized that the proposed council was not a <169>council of union,<170> their disappointment was great. Nonetheless, in spite of all the news that they receive setting aside the idea of an immediate union, the people continue to hope that Christian leaders, at this Council or later on, will be able to effect official union to which the people will be faithful. Few are the Orthodox Christians who do not fervently wish for union or who see insurmountable obstacles to its realization. The most urgent reform that they hope to see realized by the Council is the unification of the date of Easter. In the presence of Muslims, our Christians feel deeply humiliated every time that their paschal computations do not coincide. Our patriarchal synod of August 1959 addressed a more detailed memorandum to the Antepreparatory Commission on this subject. It is our earnest hope that this point will be studied and resolved as soon as possible. It would be a great step toward union.

2. As for the Orthodox clergy, generally speaking they show much less enthusiasm than do the people. In public they declare that they are not opposed to it in principle, but in their view it seems very difficult to accomplish. They raise the question of divorce. They usually accuse the Roman Church of being an obstacle to union, either because of its doctrinal innovations or because of what they call its human ambitions and its love of domination. The grievances that they have against the Roman Church are almost always the same. However, even in the ranks of the Orthodox clergy one can note a beginning of rapprochement, a little more understanding, as well as a more or less eager desire to be united, which is supported by the growth of the ecumenical movement and by the feelings of the people. In general, it can be said that compared with the clergy of other Orthodox Churches, the Orthodox clergy of our Arab Near East, who are less scholarly, offer a less systematic opposition, but they cannot dissociate themselves from the Russians, the Greeks, and the other Orthodox Christians. The reason for this must be sought above all in the fact that all Christians in our Arab lands are in the minority, and also perhaps in the role of neutrality or of mediation that Melkite patriarchs have traditionally played in the disputes between Byzantium and Rome.

3. What everyone is seeking from the forthcoming Council is that it reveal the true face of the Catholic Church, and not only the face of the Latin Church, with which some still want to identify it in practice. Even though the Church is catholic legally and in fact, there can be no doubt that we must all make serious efforts so that this catholicity may be ever more completely realized in our attitudes and in our actions.

Specifically, the support that the latinization of the East still has in certain ecclesiastical circles is a denial of the generous declarations and promises of the popes, who have always affirmed that the restoration of catholic unity did not in any sense signify either in theory or in practice that Eastern Christians should adopt Latinism. Now, to give only one example, the restoration and preservation of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem constitute a practical negation of the very idea of unity, which is not and must not be the absorption of the East by the West, but the union of the East and the West in mutual respect for their diversity.

The Catholic Church must be able to prove that there is room within it for every diversity that does not affect faith, charity, and ecclesiastical communion. It must be able to give concrete proof not only that it accepts Catholics who are not Latin, but also that it condemns those who cannot conceive of a Catholicism that is not Latin. Now, as long as the latinization of the East continues, in its hierarchy and in its discipline, the Orthodox will never believe in the sincerity of declarations of the popes calling for unity. They will always believe that this unity must culminate sooner or later in the absorption of their Churches by the Latin Church.

4. Until now the repeated and stirring calls to union that the popes addressed to our separated brothers simply hardened them more, for these calls always implied more or less the following idea: return to the sheepfold that you have abandoned, acknowledge your faults and your errors, submit, ask forgiveness, and we are ready to welcome you warmly, to hold our arms out to you, to embrace you, etc. Our Orthodox brothers are all the more astonished at this language inasmuch as they are sincerely convinced of having innovated nothing, of having remained faithful to the tradition of the days before the ruptures, and inasmuch as they believe that it is rather the Catholic Church that has strayed from apostolic tradition.

With His Holiness Pope John XXIII, we entered upon a new course. Was it not he who declared on January 29, 1959, four days after the announcement of the Council, speaking to the pastors of Rome: <169>We shall not institute a historical inguiry; we shall not seek to find out who was right and who was wrong. The responsibility is shared by all parties. We shall simply say: 'Let us come together, let us put an end to dissensions.'<170>

These words of His Holiness will be a landmark in the Church. They open up the true path that leads to union. We think that with an attitude such as this on the part of Catholics, reconciliation with the Orthodox Churches becomes possible.

5. All Catholic ecumenists agree in asking the Western Church to be more open. It is in no sense a question of dogmatic compromises. What is needed is a greater openness of mind, to understand and admit that there can be within the bosom of the catholica something more than is commonly seen, some other represenation and some other codification of the same dogma, some other organization of the hierarchy, some other discipline, some other spirituality, other forms of monasticism and of the apostolate, etc.

On all these points, the Latin Church should not insist so much on reducing to its own uniformity the variety of charisms, experiences, needs, and activities that exist in other Churches. In particular, the Eastern Catholics who have not been latinized do not understand why there is still so much insistence on latinizing their discipline, constantly constricting it more. It would have been much more <169>catholic<170> to respect their institutions and to let them develop harmoniously, not in the direction of increasingly excessive centralization, but in the direction of a sincere and respectful collaboration between the local hierarchy and the organizations of the Holy See of Rome.

The Orthodox see in Latin Catholicism of the present day what the free peoples see in the regimes behind the Iron Curtain: a great deal of order and organization, but also enslavement of consciences and a human desire for domination.

In answer to a Catholic priest who was speaking to him about union, the late Jacobite Patriarch of Antioch replied, <169>You wish me to unite with Rome, so that tomorrow, if I wish to remove a priest, he can go and complain to Rome, which will be too happy to demolish me before him!<170>

6. Christians have had different mentalities in the past, and they still do. In spite of these divergences <197> we would even say with these divergences <197> Christ calls them all to unity. One portion of the Church must not prevent the fulfillment of the divine Master's wish by seeking to impose its own mentality and discipline on others at all costs.

Thus it is our sincere belief that the present successor of Peter, who is so evangelical, so modest, and so simple, and the increasingly significant actions that he is taking, are a call to a greater openness of heart and mind, so that all Christians may feel equally loved and thereby rediscover more easily the path to reunion. As far as union is concerned, we believe that the present pope is the greatest gift God has given to His Church.

@MAJOR SEC HDG = The Importance of the Secretariat for Christian Union

@BODY TEXT ITA = (In 1962 the Secretariat for Christian Union had prepared a schema of very modest aspect on <169>the necessity of prayer for Christian unity, especially in our time.<170> In a memorandum addressed to the Central Commission, dated from Damascus on June 5, 1962, the patriarch expressed his great admiration for the spirit that prevailed in the secretariat. Going beyond the subject, he suggested:

a. that all schemas of the Council be submitted to the secretariat in order to be revised from the ecumenical point of view;

b. that the secretariat be maintained after the Council and be transformed into a permanent organ of the Roman Curia.)

We simply wish to bring to this schema of the Secretariat for Christian Unity the tribute of our admiration. Its spirit and its tone are worthy of the nascent Catholic ecumenism. It contains no term that could offend any of our separated brothers. The perspective of Christian divisions that it presents is as historically objective as it is pastorally psychological. The tone of this schema, far different from the tone to which official circles have accustomed us until now, should serve as a model whenever the Council wishes to speak about Christian unity.

We take this opportunity to make two suggestions: the first is that all schemas of the Council be submitted to the Secretariat for Christian Unity, so that it may review their wording and that the Council, whose goal is to bring Christians together, may avoid inadvertently widening the gap between them. There is an ecumenical and profoundly catholic way of speaking on all matters when we wish to enter into dialogue with our separated brothers. This manner of speaking, and also perceiving things in depth, has not been adequately mastered by all Catholic theologians, even the most learned. Since this Secretariat for Christian Unity has been instituted by His Holiness, it is good, we believe, for it to establish the tone for the preparatory labors of the Council. In particular, we think that the Theological Commission should, more than any other, avail itself of the services that this secretariat is ready to furnish very advantageously.

My second suggestion is an urgent request to His Holiness that the secretariat not disappear after the conclusion of the Council, but that it be transformed into a permanent dicastery of the Roman Curia. It would be, as it were, the permanent ecumenical conscience of the Roman See and of the entire Catholic Church.

@MAJOR SEC HDG = Union and the Christians of the East

@BODY TEXT ITA = (The Eastern Commission, considering the principal mission of the Eastern Catholics to be the fostering of reconciliation between Eastern Orthodoxy and the Holy See of Rome, had prepared a schema entitled: <169>On the unity of the Church: that all may be one.<170> In a memorandum to the Central Commission, dated from Damascus on June 5, 1962, the patriarch made a few remarks on this schema.)

First of all, we wish to praise this schema <169>De Ecclesiae unitate,<170> which unquestionably constitutes progress over the earlier documents of the Holy See, especially in its mode of expression. So that it may more closely approach perfection, we take the liberty of making the following remarks:

1. In this schema there is still too frequent reference to the <169>return<170> of the sheep to the fold of Peter, to <169>dissident<170> brothers, etc. The entire text should be carefully reviewed so as to eliminate any offensive allusions. In this way the text will avoid producing on the Orthodox an effect contrary to the one intended. The schema speaks of the psychological means of preparing the way to unity. This is the first means. If one speaks of stray sheep in a sermon or in a small committee, it might be overlooked. But to speak about that in an official conciliar document whose purpose is precisely to bring hearts together, is at the very least proof of a lack of psychology.

2. In speaking about the rights, privileges, dignities, honors, etc., to be safeguarded for the Eastern Church, the text uses general terms, and repeats certain declarations of Pope Leo XIII. However, experience has taught us that this kind of declaration accomplishes nothing. It serves rather to show that administrative practice is contrary to the theoretical affirmations of popes. Instead, the text of the conciliar decree should affirm the rights that patriarchs of the Eastern Churches have been demanding for several years: the rank of the patriarchs in the hierarchy of the Church, their freedom in internal government, a reduction in appeals to the Roman Curia, the preservation of the rite of those who wish to accede to union, etc. That does not seem very clear in the schema that is being proposed to us.

3. We prefer that this schema be prepared, or at least reviewed, by the Secretariat for Christian Unity. That secretariat has specific competence to study these questions, and has available personnel qualified to deal with these kinds of subjects.

4. The word <169>dissidents<170> should be avoided everywhere, and all the more the words <169>heretics<170> or <169>schismatics.<170> Instead the terms <169>separated brothers<170> or simply <169>the Orthodox<170> should be used. Charity requires of us to call everyone by the name that he wishes to be called. This does not mean that we therefore share his inward conviction and the personal meaning he attaches to his name.

5. In No. 7, it is said of the separated brothers that they are deprived <169>of many means of salvation that are found in the true Church, especially the institutions and directions of the magisterium, without which Christian faith and morals are not perfectly preserved.<170> The wording is exaggerated and even somewhat false. The magisterium of the Church is not only that of the pope of Rome, and it must not be thought that they are so completely deprived of the means of eternal salvation that their faith and morals are somewhat corrupted. This whole sentence needs to be revised so as to be more conciliatory.

6. No. 24 affirms once more that Eastern Christians who return to Catholic unity will never be forced to become Latin Christians. This is true in theory. In practice, however, everything has been done and continues to be done in certain regions, such as in Palestine and the entire Near East, so that Eastern Christians may in fact become Latin Christians. And this has been going on with the knowledge of the supreme authority, which does not seem to have reacted until now except by renewing theoretical declarations on the preservation of the Eastern rites. The entire process of <169>latinization<170> needs to be taken up here.

The Council should take concrete and energetic action to condemn forever the <169>latinization<170> of the East.

7. No. 45 expresses the wish that the beatification and canonization processes of the <169>martyrs of the union<170> be introduced. While we recognize the legitimacy of this desire, we think it is useful to make it known that our patriarchate, in its concern for peaceful relations, avoids pushing the causes of these <169>martyrs of union<170> if the Orthodox have played a less than flattering role in them. Let us not forget that Orthodoxy likewise has its martyrs of Catholicism.

8. In agreement with No. 46 of the schema, we urgently ask that the Secretariat for Christian Unity be transformed after the Council into a permanent dicastery of the Roman Curia. Ecumenists among Catholics of the Eastern rite should not be systematically excluded from this dicastery, for while their efforts are discredited at the present time, they will be increasingly efficacious in bringing hearts together.

9. We also desire, with No. 47, the internationalization of the Roman Curia, so as to give the central administration a genuinely catholic, i. e., universal, international point of view. Too often our separated brothers see in the Roman Curia a national occupation of a specific people, like a family patrimony, in which a given nation has all the interests and presses for centralization less out of concern for the Church than for its own interests. This perspective must be refuted.

10. Finally, Nos. 48 through 52 deal with the conditions for the worldwide union of Orthodox Christians of the East with the Holy Catholic Church. In envisioning this hypothesis the schema invites them to occupy the place that belongs to them in the Catholic Church. We do not know when and how a worldwide reunion of this kind will be possible. And yet we know for certain that there are already in the Catholic Church Eastern rite communities with hierarchies. These communities must be given the place that is reserved and promised to the entire East. Orthodoxy watches carefully the behavior of the Holy See of Rome toward these Eastern groups that are in union. Orthodoxy concludes from the way that these Eastern groups are treated in the Catholic Church as to the treatment it will receive if reunion is realized. That is why, when we entreat for the preservation of the rights, privileges, and dignity of the Catholic East, and the rank of its hierarchical leaders within the whole Catholic hierarchy, we are not demanding personal advantages for ourselves. We are pursuing the inherent interests of Christian unity. If this is understood some day, many difficulties will disappear. In No. 50, the schema affirms once more that the Catholic Church intends to respect the discipline peculiar to Eastern Christians, but repeats the unfortunate proviso <169>omitting only those things which, if they perchance are present, are contrary to correct faith and sound morals.<170> This proviso is offensive. There is absolutely nothing in authentic Eastern discipline contrary to faith and sound morals.

No. 51 promises the Orthodox clerics who return to Catholic unity their continuance in the sacred orders already received, <169>unless it should be otherwise provided by the Apostolic See in a particular case, for truly serious reasons.<170> This reservation is justified. On the other hand, the current practice of reserving to the Holy Office the admission of every Orthodox cleric indiscriminately seems to us subject to amendment. We think that it is better to leave that to the prudent judgment of the local ordinaries, without denying the right of the Holy See of Rome to intervene, as the schema says, <169>for truly serious reasons.<170>

@BODY TEXT ITA = (The schema <169>De Ecclesiae unitate<170> came before the Council on November 27, 1962, during the 28th General Session. That day five Melkite Greek Fathers spoke. It was the patriarch who set the tone. His intervention, read in French, was translated into Latin and read by His Excellency George Hakim. The patriarch reserved the right to make some general remarks on the schema, leaving it to the other prelates of his community to take turns developing detailed comments.)

This schema <169>De Ecclesiae unitate,<170> which directly concerns Eastern Orthodoxy, concerns us collaterally.

In order to remain within the time allotted to each one, I shall limit myself to some general remarks, leaving it to my brothers the Melkite Greek prelates the task of making more detailed critiques.

This schema, providing that there is a radical reworking of certain paragraphs of Part One and amendments to others, could constitute a basis for a worthwhile discussion.

First remark: This concerns the spirit of the wording, especially Nos. 5 to 12. The definite theological truths are often presented in such a way that they can only antagonize those who are not in our communion. The friendly tone beginning with No. 12 changes nothing of the unfavorable impression already caused. In fact, the contrast it presents with the peremptory and exclusive assertions of Roman authority, without mentioning the painful events of the past, leaves an impression of certain unpleasant biases in the sharing of historical responsibilities.

It must not be forgotten, in fact, that here we are addressing the Eastern Church, a Church that is fully apostolic in its intrinsic elements and clearly distinct from the Latin one. It is a first-born Church of Christ and of the Apostles. Its historical development and organization are the exclusive work of the Fathers, our Greek and Eastern Fathers. It owes what it is to the college of the Apostles, still living in the episcopate in collegiality, with Peter at its center, with its distinctive responsibilities and rights.

Historically, this Church owes to Rome neither its origin, its rites, its organization, nor anything of what constitutes it concretely. In short, no one has begotten it in the faith, except the Apostles; no one, except the Fathers, has established it in its entire patrimony of prayer, organization, and activity. Can it be said that Saints Basil, Gregory, Cyril, Chrysostom, and others are second-class Catholics because they were not Roman in all that they received and in all that they bequeathed?

If we wish to speak effectively to the Orthodox East, we must speak to it first of all about the Catholic doctrine relating to the colleaiality of the pastorate of the Church. After that, we shall speak to it about the papacy, which will then appear as the central foundation of this collegiality. This is an absolutely important point. It would be fatal to forget it.

Second remark: The lack of collaboration among the Preparatory Commissions for the Council has resulted in bringing us three distinct schemas on the same subject matter: the schema that we are now discussing, prepared by the Commission on the Eastern Churches, the schema <169>De Oecumenismo,<170> prepared by the Secretariat for Christian Unity, and a chapter with the same title, prepared by the Theological Commission. An Arabic proverb says, <169>When many hands take part in the cooking, the food is burned.<170> Obviously, these three texts sometimes deal with different aspects of the same question, but it is evident that they are dealing with the same subject matter. It is therefore desirable that a single text be presented to us under the title <169>On the Union of Christians<170> or some other title, and that it be worked out by a mixed sub-commission composed of members of the three above-mentioned groups. In that way, the subject matter will be more coherent and the Council will save time.

Third remark: The schema that is proposed to us today bears the general title <169>De Ecclesiae unitate.<170> Yet actually, after a few general considerations, the text speaks only of the means of fostering union with our Orthodox brothers of the East. From this perspective our schema could constitute a special chapter in the general schema <169>On Ecumenism<170> that we intend to prepare. It is our view that in this single schema on ecumenism we must set aside a special place for our Orthodox brothers of the East. In fact, while the general principles of ecumenism are identical for everyone, the practical means of opening the dialogue with our Orthodox brothers cannot be the same as those for our Protestant brothers. We are closer to our Orthodox brothers in the faith; we even accept the same methods of transmission of divine revelation. With the exception of papal primacy, we have the same hierarchical organization, the same sacraments, the same liturgy and so many other riches in common, to the point that what unites us is infinitely greater and deeper than what separates us. As for our Protestant brothers, we must seek union with them from other perspectives.

Venerable Fathers, the union of the Churches is for all of us a serious and vital problem. For us in particular, the Eastern Catholics of the Byzantine rite, the schism of the Churches is a constantly bleeding wound that we feel in the very depths of our souls. The union of Churches is our greatest concern, our first task, and the most ardent wish of our hearts. It is the goal toward which we are striving with all our strength and for which we desire to be the redemptive sacrifice when it is accomplished. Working for the union of Churches is as it were our reason for being and the fundamental mission that Providence has entrusted to us individually and collectively. The Orthodox and we, their Byzantine Catholic brothers, constitute, in peoples of diverse nationalities, one single family in its religious mentality, its liturgy, its spiritual history, and in many of its attitudes. We need to be united with them as much as they need to be united with us. The time has come when all Christians must forget the quarrels of the past, in which human interests, on both sides, have often played a more decisive role than dogmatic differences. The time has come to accomplish Christ's wish <169>That all may be one.<170>

@BODY TEXT ITA = (The same day, November 27, 1962, it was the turn of His Excellency Philip Nabaa, Metropolitan of Beirut and Undersecretary of the Council. He proposed the omission of the introduction to the schema, which was of a rather doctrinal nature. He extolled the importance of charity in ecumenical contacts, criticized the concept of a <169>return<170> applied exclusively to our Orthodox brothers, and stressed the need of safeguarding the distinctive discipline of the East.)

The schema on the decree on the Unity of the Church <169>Ut unum sit<170> in the form presented for the discussion of the Fathers, pleases me in a fashion. In fact, it contains a great deal of material and deals with many dogmatic, liturgical, and pastoral questions. However, its arguments are not always thoroughly developed, and there is still room for shortening and necessary amendments. Since this is a subject of major importance that concerns the entire Second Vatican Council and whose solution is awaited by all Christians, it is necessary that this decree, which declares the wishes of the Council on union, be presented to the Christian world in a more effective way. In order to help the Council in its labors, we have thought that it would be useful to present the following observations:

First observation: The dogmatic portion of the decree should be curtailed and inserted in the Dogmatic Constitution of the Church... Thus the decree <169>Ut unum sit<170> will be seen to be the solemn declaration of the Second Vatican Council on union and the firm foundation for general and fruitful collaboration for the realization of this great divine work.

However, this decree on unity does not speak of all the separated Churches, but only of the union of the Eastern Orthodox Churches with the Catholic Church. This method is useful because the Eastern Orthodox Church has much in common with the Catholic Church, in the profession of faith, in the doctrine of the sacraments, in the apostolic succession, etc. Its union with the Catholic Church therefore requires its own specific research and conditions.

Second observation: In order to foster union, the decree proposes various means and divides them into supernatural, theological, liturgical, canonical or disciplinary, psychological, and practical means. These suggestions are well-taken. They can even be considered as a prelude and as a firm stance from which to open dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church.

However, when the schema speaks of practical means, it cites a few ordinary and certainly good means, for example, the ecumenical movement, Eastern studies, the special day for awareness of the East (instituted by Pope Pius XI), etc. But it is silent on the most effective means, that is to say, the means that prepare a surer and more suitable way toward a genuine and perfect union. Concerning these more powerful means the schema merely says in paragraph 38, <169>This Holy and Ecumenical Synod strongly recommends that everyone use the most efficacious means so that the desire for union may produce the desired fruit.<170>

Thus may I, a humble Eastern Catholic bishop, who has been and still is continually in contact with many Orthodox brothers, be permitted to give a few explanations of the practical and effective method of assisting and restoring union. There can be no doubt that this method must be based on truth and charity, or rather on charity for the truth <197> <169>in caritate ad veritatem.<170> For there are some very serious difficulties along the paths that lead to union. Only charity will manifest the truth and sing out the victory hymn of union. In many regions of the East, an immediate union is even impossible. It is therefore fitting first to prepare hearts for union, to breathe a new spirit into our relations with our Orthodox brothers, and to expand the scope of charity.

According to this more suitable way, charity counsels and ordains many things for union in the social and religious life. Here are some examples: collaboration with non-Catholics when there is a question of carrying out charitable works, of defending the dignity of the human person, of promoting justice, and of sustaining morality.

Here is another example: the celebration on the same day of the great Christian feasts, and most especially Christmas and Easter. This common celebration is a great sign of charity and union .

In addition, there are certain laws on the communicatio in sacris that are contrary to union or make it very difficult. In my humble opinion, and providing the danger of perversion of the faith is avoided, we must mitigate and even abolish these laws.

With respect to mixed marriages, I dare to propose, for the Eastern Church, the abrogation of the law that forbids these 16 marriages under pain of invalidity, and to return to the law that was in force before the promulgation of the new Eastern Code. As a matter of fact, the law that imposes the Catholic form on mixed marriages, under pain of nullity, is very onerous, morally impossible, and prevents all hope of union. Third observation: In the schema, as in the entire literature pertaining to union, the path to union is called the <169>return<170> of the separated brothers to the house that they have forsaken. However, the idea of this return is very debatable. For in this <169>return<170> to us, we must consider the state of soul of our separated brothers, the human frailty that has led to the division, and especially historical truth. It will then appear opportune, in order to foster reconciliation, to assume the part we bear in the culpability and divisions of the eleventh and sixteenth centuries. The abuses within the Church at that time have certainly provided the Orthodox and the Protestants with an occasion for separation, without thereby justifying them. If we set aside, then, the question of faith and of morals, it is the Catholics themselves who need to <169>return<170> to their Orthodox brothers and to speak to them with a sounder judgment and a kinder feeling. This Catholic return will overcome many difficulties, and a broader fraternal reaction, more favorable to union, will be created. And the merits of our brothers will be recognized.

Fourth observation: In Nos. 25, 26, and 27 of the schema, the solemn declaration of Pope Paul V is evoked and taken up again by other pontiffs, affirming that all the sacred rites and ceremonies of the Eastern Church will be completely safeguarded. What is said of the sacred rites also applies to legitimate discipline, to the rights and privileges of the Eastern Christians, as Pope Leo XIII declared in his motu proprio <169>Auspicia rerum.<170>

These authentic papal declarations are serious and solemn decisions. They are even, one might say, a commitment on the part of the Roman Apostolic See to the Eastern Apostolic Church. These decisions must therefore be applied in order to give certain proof of the truth, of the promise, and of the commitment.

They must be applied in order to realize union with dignity. They must be applied in concrete acts: in the recognition of the rights and privileges of the patriarchs, in the restoration of the ancient and venerable discipline of the Eastern Church, in the declaration and strengthening of the true power of bishops and synods. Finally, they must be applied in this great ecumenical council so that all our Orthodox brothers, seeing truth in action, come back or return to their home and take their places, of which they are most worthy. And that is how all Christian brothers will be <169>one<170> in the one and only Church of Christ.

@BODY TEXT ITA = (That same day, November 27, 1962, His Excellency Elias Zoghby, Patriarchal Vicar in Egypt and the Sudan, set forth the Eastern and Orthodox point of view on Christian unity.)

I shall speak of Christian unity from the Eastern and Orthodox point of view.

The problem of Christian unity is different for the Orthodox and for the Protestants, because their relations with the Latin Church are essentially different. The Protestant Churches separated from the Latin Church, their mother, within which they had been born and of which they were an integral part. The Eastern Church, for its part, while it always recognized a primacy of the Bishop of Rome, even if somewhat vaguely, has never been part of the Latin Church. It does not emanate from it; it does not owe its existence to it, or its subsistence, or its dogmatic and disciplinary development.

The Eastern and consequently the Orthodox Church is a <169>source<170> Church, historically speaking, just like the Latin Church in the West. Founded by the Apostles and their immediate disciples, it was born without the consent of any other Church, since it was born before the others. It worked out its discipline and its liturgy without the approval of the West, since its discipline and its liturgies are clearly different from those of the West. Its inherent doctrine, substantially identical to that of the West, is developed and lived out in a different way. As proof of this, we have those Fathers of the Greek Church whose works are represented in our libraries by the side of those of the Latin Fathers, without ever being confused with them. There are two aptitudes, two different Christian inspirations, both going back to the living source of Christ, but whose waters, passing through lands differing in nature, through civilizations and talents that are obviously different, possess characteristics that are different and often incompatible.

It is important not to forget this fact, so as not to reduce the separation merely to an impulsive act, to use the expression of His Beatitude my Patriarch Maximos IV, and in order to measure the possibilities and procedures for a reunion.

To illustrate what I have just said, it will suffice for me to show you briefly how the same Christian mysteries and the same feasts are viewed, understood, and lived differently by the Latin Church on the one hand, and by the Orthodox Church and ourselves, the Eastern Catholics, on the other.

Let us consider the dogma of the most Holy Trinity, for example. Our Eastern theology has remained faithful to the doctrinal presentation of the Fathers, worked out at the time of the councils (the First Council of Nicea and the First Council of Constantinople), concerning the circumincession of the divine Persons. It has not allowed itself to be influenced by the Western theses of Augustinian theology that were propagated in the West during the Middle Ages and are still current in the Latin Church. Likewise, the East still holds fast not only to the doctrine of the Christological councils but also to the theological aspect given it by the Fathers who were the contemporaries of those councils. This is notably true on the subject of the incarnation of the Word, conceived above all as a divinization of human nature by Christ, a view that is more difficult to derive from the doctrine of vicarious satisfaction that is prevalent in the Latin Church.

These different ways of understanding and assimilating the same dogmas have had their influence on our liturgy and our feasts, which are the same as those of the Orthodox. For us, the feast of the Nativity of Christ, as well as the feast of the Epiphany, celebrates this divinization of human nature. This is not the case in the Latin Church. I also mention in passing the feast of the Annunciation, which, among us as well as among the Orthodox, commemorates the most solemn event in history, i.e., the incarnation of the Word of God in the womb of the Virgin Mary, whereas the same feast in the Latin Church tends more to celebrate the glories of the Virgin Mary, chosen by God to be the Mother of His Son.

And so, Venerable Fathers, you see by these examples cited at random that since its origins there have been in Christianity two principal currents that channel the riches of the Redemption in two parallel directions that can complement each other, mutually enrich one another, without being intermingled. As long as East is East, and West is West, there will always be, as there have always been, two Churches in One. With God's help, they can be united but never commingled; they can coexist in unity but never in uniformity. Each of the two Churches will necessarily retain its own individual character, its physiognomy, its personality. Our Lord told His followers," Be one as my Father and I are One." Now, while the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are united in the same nature, each of them retains His own distinct Personality. There is one God in three Persons. It is in this way that Christ wants to see Christian unity realized: Churches that remain distinct but consubstantially united as one in the Church that is truly and supernaturally one in its hierarchical society.

The Orthodox Churches, insisting on the collegial power of the Apostles, are evolving toward an ever greater autonomy. The Catholic Church, on the other hand, over the last few centuries has evolved in the opposite direction, toward centralization. Catholics and Orthodox Christians will be able to unite only by maintaining their equilibrium in mutual harmony.

I have set up the comparison between the Orthodox Church and the Latin Church when the question is really one of unity between the Orthodox and the Catholics. Why? Because the Catholic Church is, even today, overwhelmingly Latin, just as the Church of the East or the Churches of the East are, in their very great majority, Orthodox.

This fact is very evident in our Second Vatican Council, in which the Eastern bishops, numbering 130, are lost in an assembly of more than 2,000 Fathers, while the Eastern patriarchs, those of the great spostolic sees that, in the great ecumenical councils of the faith, played the principal role around the legates of the pope of Rome, are today, in the persons of the Catholic patriarchs of the East, submerged in this imposing assembly and disappear behind the sacred purple of the 100 cardinals who are the honor of the Catholic Church today, but who did not then exist.

There are those who will say that the Church has evolved. That's indeed true! But it has evolved one-sidedly without taking into account those who, through the very will of Christ, are called to be part of it. For our brothers the Orthodox hierarchs, to acquiesce at the outset to the present state of our evolution is to renounce once and for all what they are and to dissolve their being and their Churches into Latinism, whereas the purpose of union is to enrich and not to impoverish.

The Catholic Church of today, assembled at this Council blessed by God, appears so universal and so ecumenical with respect to territorial representation, geographically speaking. It looks to the day when Orthodoxy with its 200 million faithful will be represented within it in proportion to the patrimony that the Fathers of its Church, its great doctors and its holy monks, have bequeathed to Christianity, and with which they continue to enrich and nourish the Churches of the East and the West.

There are those who have sought to say that this Council is not a council of union. So be it! And yet as long as Christians are divided, no council animated by the Spirit of Jesus Christ can dissociate itself from union. The Second Vatican Council seems to wish to serve the cause of union in a significant way. Indeed, when the new Christian communities everywhere and the ancient Christian communities of the West that received the baptism of the Roman Church, their teacher and mother, will soon have recovered the use of their mother tongue in their worship, and perhaps their national rites, when they have recaptured in their regional and national synods the climate favorable to their development, then the Catholic Church, decentralized, generous to its own children and trusting in those who have received baptism from Roman hands, will have passed through the first stage toward union with those who received from Eastern and Greek apostolic hands the same baptism as their own.

@BODY TEXT ITA = (His Excellency Neophytos Edelby also spoke on that day, November 27, 1962, to criticize the doctrinal preamble of this schema.)

The schema that is proposed to us for discussion under the title <169>On the Unity of the Church,<170> when considered in its entirety, presents a practical and pastoral approach rather than a theoretical one. In fact, it deals with the means that seem most appropriate first of all for bringing the hearts of Christians closer together, and more specifically to encourage union with the Eastern Christians separated from the Catholic communion. Various means have been proposed in the schema: supernatural, theological, liturgical, canonical or disciplinary, psychological, or practical.

Before enumerating and explaining these means, the drafters of the schema thought that they should present a general introduction of a rather doctrinal nature on the nature of ecclesiastical unity. This introduction covers the first eleven paragraphs, about which I should like to say a few words.

To speak very simply and at the same time very charitably, I must admit that, while the body of the schema, with a few exceptions, generally deserves praise, the same cannot be said of this doctrinal introduction that is altogether incomplete and indeed not very accurate.

1. First of all (paragraphs 1-5), a few texts are proposed from Holy Scripture on the work of the redemption, on the earthly and heavenly Church, on the hierarchical Church. All this is excellent, but finds its normal place in a treatise <169>On the Church<170> rather than in a specific and practical decree on the means of bringing about union. Besides, the texts cited are not used to the best advantage to make possible the deduction of some principles of ecclesiology that provide the basis of the Catholic doctrine of Christian unity.

2. This doctrine seems to be presented in the following paragraphs (6-11), which deal with the visible unity of the Church <169>under Peter,<170> the indivisible unity of the Church, unity in diversity, etc. I regret to say that these paragraphs, in my humble opinion, are not very satisfactory and must be completely revised, so that the spirit that animates them may be rendered more friendly, the historical perspective more objective, and the theological doctrine more profound. Here are a few explanations:

a. The spirit that animates this part of the schema is far removed from the ecumenical spirit, which is a spirit of truth in charity. The text of these paragraphs reflects here and there a certain animosity against the Eastern Christians that is not consonant with what is said subsequently. Thus, for example, it is unnecessarily and unjustly asserted that all non-Catholic Eastern Christians recognize <169>the undue right of the temporal regime of a civil government to interfere in the government of the Church.<170> Other examples could be cited.

b. The historical perspective of this part of the schema is neither correct nor just. Thus, for example, the history of the Schism is again represented in a very simplistic way, as if certain parts of the Church, namely the Eastern Churches, decided purely and simply out of spitefulness, without any responsibility whatever on the part of others, <169>to withdraw from the authority of the Vicar of Christ<170> (p. 253, lines 20-22). The historical reality is far more complex, and the responsibilities are widely shared. In addition, the Catholic Church is presented as if it had never ceased doing everything it could everywhere and unremittingly to foster Christian unity (p. 254, lines 12-25, and p. 255, lines 3-4). Everyone knows that that is not altogether true, since Catholics no less than non-Catholics have often acted contrary to the best interests of union, and, like the nonCatholics, are in need of God's mercy. All of us Christians, Catholics and non-Catholics, must confess that we have sinned grievously against union.

c. As for the theological teaching that is expressed in this part of the schema, it is neither firm nor deep. Very serious questions are considered, but no solution is presented.

Thus, for example, in paragraph 6, the visible unity of the Church is based solely on the primacy of the Roman pontiff. Not a word is said about unity with the hierarchy, about the collegiality of the bishops, or their collective and universal responsibility. Again, in paragraph 7, lines 13-14, the unity of the visible Church is based solely on the submission of the faithful to the authority of the bishops and of the Roman pontiff. This teaching is not false, but it is very incomplete. The bonds of unity among the faithful go beyond the relations of authority between superiors and subjects.

In the same paragraph 7, lines 24-26, the ecclesial character of non-Catholic Christians is not recognized, even though the Roman pontiffs themselves have often proclaimed clearly and distinctly that these Christians constitute true Churches.

In paragraph 9 nothing is said of the relationship of other Christians to the Mystical Body of Christ. It is asserted without distinctions that they are deprived <169>of several means of salvation,<170> <169>especially of the institutions and directives of the magisterium, without which Christian faith and morals are not perfectly preserved.<170> The schema seems at times to doubt their eternal salvation. All this is obviously greatly exaggerated and in any case hardly consistent with the ecumenical spirit. It is not even consistent with the schema's mode of expression in its other parts.

From all this it appears that this introduction contained in the first 11 paragraphs is neither necessary, useful, nor well drafted. I therefore humbly propose that the schema begin only with paragraph 12 and form a special chapter in the more general schema <169>On Ecumenism,<170> which should be prepared in collaboration with the doctrinal Commission and the Secretariat for Christian Unity.

@BODY TEXT ITA = (Archimandrite Athanasius Hage, Superior General of the Chouerite Basilian Order, was the last of the Melkite Greek speakers for that day, November 27, 1962, making detailed comments on the schema as a whole.)

Chapter III of the schema wisely devotes a special section to Eastern Christians and clarifies their particular situation. It is good also that in speaking respectfully of the spirit, history, liturgy, tradition, and discipline that are peculiarly theirs, it recommends that Catholics recognize and jealously preserve this magnificent patrimony.

However, this chapter in particular and the schema in general pass over in silence a very important point for the pursuit of reconciliation and union with the separated brothers. In fact, among the most effective means to this end that the situation of the Eastern Christians requires, absolutely the first in importance and the most urgent is the mitigation of the discipline of the communicatio in sacris. It is surprising that this mitigation, which was insistently requested by several Eastern prelates and missionaries, and was voted for in the Preparatory Eastern Commission, has not found its place in the schema <169>On Ecumenism,<170> and particularly in Chapter III. It is useful, indeed even necessary, to add to the first section of Chapter III a paragraph in which the general principle is set forth that the ecclesiastical discipline in this matter must be alleviated. To illustrate, may I be permitted to offer a few considerations.

1. The Historical Consideration

Formerly, as the documents and acts of the Holy See at the beginning of the 18th century attest, wide latitude was left to the Catholic faithful and to the priests themselves to relate on sacred matters with Eastern non-Catholics. Thus missionaries and the Eastern clergy, with the consent of the Orthodox bishops themselves, celebrated, preached, and conferred the sacraments in Orthodox churches, with the result that the people were spontaneously renewed spiritually. Without any proselytizing on their part, the Catholics drew the Orthodox toward union, and thus the Eastern communities in union were formed and grew over the years.

However, beginning in 1729 and after some violent reactions, the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith forbade any relations in sacred matters with the Orthodox. But the Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office somewhat mitigated this rigid law, especially in 1864 and 1898, and even more in 1959, on behalf of the non-Catholic students who attended Catholic schools. This mitigation shows that certain disciplinary norms of the communicatio in sacris are of ecclesiastical law, that these norms can and must be changed according to the conditions of place and time.

2. The Ecclesial Consideration

a. Orthodox faithful, with very few exceptions, are separated from Catholic unity only in a material way, that is to say, not because they would have chosen this separation or that they firmly wish it now, but because they were born into it, and that is why they desire union, just as we do, with all their hearts.

b. Besides, Orthodox in general do not formally and without distinction reject primacy, infallibility, the Immaculate Conception, etc. They are like a number of Catholics who are absolutely, invincibly, and inculpably ignorant of the nature of infallibility, primacy, or the Immaculate Conception, and who in a certain sense admit these dogmas implicitly.

c. On the other hand, there is nothing contrary to the Catholic faith in the rites and prayers of the Orthodox. Therefore, there is nothing to fear for the Catholics who in certain circumstances are called to participate in Orthodox rites.

3. The Theological Consideration

Normally, participation in sacred worship with non-Catholics is not permitted. The reason for this prohibition is taken as much from natural law as from ecclesiastical law (Can. 1258).

By divine natural law, active or formal participation, insofar as it includes adherence to a false doctrine, is intrinsically illicit. Passive or material participation that has no heterodox intention is forbidden by ecclesiastical law in order to avoid the dangers of perversion or scandal or of indifferentism. If these dangers are unquestionably imminent, this participation is forbidden by natural law itself. However, since these effects do not appear to be so imminent at times, the Church can permit this participation for the pursuit of a great good, applying the theological principle of the double effect, namely: <169>It is permissible, if the end in view is honorable, to postulate a good or indifferent case that will produce a double effect, one good and the other bad, provided that the good effect does not result from the bad one, and provided that there is a proportionate serious reason.<170> In fact, participation in sacred matters would in certain cases be a lesser evil than its negation.

Besides, the above-mentioned evils can often be easily avoided, especially in material and passive participation. In fact:

a. No danger to the faith can be feared, since the Orthodox faithful do not profess any error, explicitly and formally.

b. There is no danger of scandal, since Catholics have been living for a long time mingling with non-Catholics, and non-Catholics habitually frequent Catholic churches and often request the sacraments from Catholic priests without causing any surprise at this way of acting. On the contrary, rigorism in this matter causes indignation among Catholics and is harmful both to the salvation of souls and to Christian unity.

c. There is no danger whatsoever of indifferentism; this danger would be imminent if the participation in sacred worship were total and unconditional. But if it is partial and limited, that is to say, in certain cases and done with the necessary precautions, the danger of indifferentism can easily be avoided.

Finally, the notion of the danger of scandal or indifferentism or of perversion, which is often imaginary in our cases <197> since the paramount positive reason is lacking <197> must yield to the salvation of the souls of Christians and to the best interests of the Church whenever this is required either for the very salvation of souls, for a great spiritual benefit, or for Christian unity.

4. The Pastoral Consideration

The Church was founded by Christ for the purpose of achieving salvation of all men. Thus, conscious of its supreme mission, the Church has the obligation to provide the means of salvation not only to Catholics but also to non-Catholics, especially those who, being closely linked to it by the sacrament of baptism and the other sacraments, remain its sons, even if they live actually and not formally outside its bosom, as Saint Basil remarks quite clearly in his Canonical Letter I to Amphilochius (P.G. 32, 668, A), when establishing a distinction between those who openly revolt and those who are simply separated and whom he declares to be <169>still living outside the Church.<170>

Venerable Fathers, in certain regions of the East we have a tragic sociologic-religious situation: in view of the fact that Orthodox clergy are sometimes lacking, the Orthodox faithful are in danger of being de-Christianized. They may flock either to Protestantism or to other sects, or embrace Islam, as is the case in Egypt where numbers of separated Christians accept the Muslim religion every year.

We ask whether it is fitting in these cases that our discipline regarding participation in sacred worship yield, so that Catholic priests, with the consent of the Orthodox hierarchs and with the approbation of their respective Catholic hierarchs, can help the Orthodox clergy or replace them in preaching and in administration of the sacraments, so that the spiritual life in these regions may be revived, strengthened, and preserved until the day when, with God's grace, the perfect union of all Christians in the Catholic Church becomes a reality.

And so it is fitting that the Church have a spirit of charity toward our Orthodox brothers who have as good faith as we (both faithful and hierarchs), offering them very lovingly all those means of salvation that they might need, such as the Sacrifice of the Mass, and especially the sacraments of Penance and the Eucharist, preaching, etc.

@MAJOR SEC HDG = Conclusion

It is our wish, therefore, that in Section I of this chapter that deals with the Eastern Christians, a paragraph be added in which the Council would establish a general principle prescribing that the ecclesiastical law of the communicatio in sacris with the Eastern Christians be alleviated, especially in certain cases approved by the hierarchs of the areas, such as, for example, the admission of the Orthodox to the sacraments, the authorization for Catholics in certain cases to attend Orthodox ceremonies, and the validity of mixed marriages entered into before Orthodox priests.

@BODY TEXT ITA = (The next day, November 28, 1962, the reaction erupted. Some blamed Byzantium and Byzantinism, which were accused of all the ills that the East has suffered. It was stressed that the East is not Byzantium. Even the Patriarchate of Constantinople was attacked, <169>that little diocese in Turkey,<170> for which the Melkites would like the Council to make compromises in the faith and forget the other Catholic Churches of the East. It was repeated that Chalcedonian Orthodoxy is not the entire East, and the Melkites are not the Eastern Church... The Melkite Greek prelates nevertheless peacefully continued their observations on the schema. His Excellency Michael Assaf, Archbishop of Transjordan, spoke of the <169>liturgical means suitable for fostering the desired union.<170>)

The schema <169>De Ecclesiae unitate<170> is one of the most important schemas presented for the study and approbation of this holy Council. Besides, it is the primary thinking of our Holy Father Pope John XXIII, who is already deservedly called the <169>Pope of Unity.<170> And in agreement with our revered Patriarch, His Beatitude Maximos IV, and the entire Melkite Greek Catholic episcopate, we approve it as a whole.

However, may I be permitted to suggest a few amendments to the text of the schema in question and more specifically to the four paragraphs 23-26, relating to the liturgical means suitable for fostering the desired union.

1. Twice, in paragraph 23 and in paragraph 26, the Holy Catholic Church's desire to respect the Eastern rites is emphasized. And yet each time I see an added reservation that seems to me offensive and unwarranted. There it is said, <169>Provided these rites contain nothing that is contrary to Catholic dogma and to communion with the Holy See.<170> Those who know the Eastern rites are well aware that they contain absolutely nothing that is not completely Catholic and very ecumenical. The disputes among the Churches did not affect the liturgical rites.

I therefore propose that this reservation be eliminated from the final text, even if it literally cites words from Pope Paul V, written under circumstances that are no longer applicable today.

2. In paragraph 24, it is solemnly asserted in lines 34-35 that the Eastern Christians will never be forced to abandon their own rite.

Without speaking of the very painful past, when countless Eastern Christians were forced to pass over to the Latin rite, I should like to point out that there are several ways of exerting pressure, and that moral pressure is often more effective than physical pressure. The Roman Church is sincerely anxious to safeguard the Eastern Churches with their entire spiritual patrimony, but it is not enough to reprove every procedure whose purpose is to latinize Easterners. It would be necessary to forbid latinization itself under whatever form it is practiced, reserving to the Apostolic Holy See alone the right to authorize, in exceptional cases, transfer to the Latin rite.

Once again, we are all certain that the Apostolic Holy See does not wish to latinize the East, and yet things are happening as if it could not prevent them. Energetic action is required, therefore, to put into practice the good intentions of the Holy See against biased and self-interested interpretations.

3. Paragraph 25 insinuates that reforms or innovations could be usefully introduced into the Eastern rites. To this end the schema cites the words of Pope Leo XIII in his masterly encyclical <169>Orientalium Dignitas.<170> Yet it is evident from the context that these words refer to modifications made necessary in the discipline of the Eastern Churches. As far as the liturgical rites themselves are concerned, I must say that our Melkite Greek Catholic Church does not intend to innovate anything in the rite unless in concurrence with our Orthodox brothers, so as to safeguard the unity of the Byzantine rite, and also so that the variations in the rite may not create new and unnecessary differences between our Orthodox brothers and ourselves.

4. Paragraph 25 seeks to pacify the Easterners by assuring them that they will find in the Catholic Church not the house of a stranger but their own home. This declaration is beautiful and also very clear. The reality is less obvious. Too often the Catholic Church still appears, especially in our Eastern lands, as if it consisted of the Latin Church alone. How many examples of this I could cite here. I deliberately refrain from doing so for reasons that your august assembly readily understands. My only wish is that these declarations of good intentions be followed by effective results. We confidently count on the collaboration of everyone, with God's grace.

@BODY TEXT ITA = (That same day, November 28, 1962, His Excellency Joseph Tawil, Titular Archbishop of Myra and Patriarchal Vicar of Damascus, offered new criticism of the text and proposed amendments that affected the very spirit of the schema.)

The first condition for attaining this desired unity is that the paths that lead to this unity be cleared of all unnecessary and harmful human obstacles. It seems that the schema <169>On the Unity of the Church<170> has been prepared with this in view. Nevertheless, in order that this work may become truly suitable for taking up ecumenical dialogue, I would set forth these remarks, to be added to the propositions already made by the Fathers.

1. On page 253, paragraph 7, line 20, we read: <169>Ita ut partes quaedam Ecclesiae se ab auctoritate Vicarii Christi substraxerint et in coetus independentes se constituerunt<170> (So that certain parts of the Church have withdrawn themselves from the authority of the Vicar of Christ and have set themselves up as independent groups). In this context the word <169>group<170> is incorrect, because the Eastern Churches, even those that are separated, are called Churches, and not groups, as is proved in the new schema <169>On Ecumenism,<170> pages 87 and 88.

It would be preferable that these Eastern separated brothers were simply called Orthodox, as is the common usage and as the word is accepted in the liturgical readings and dictionaries, and as they in fact call themselves. Besides, in the text cited the nature and conditions of this withdrawal are not clearly demonstrated. For, at no time in its history has the Eastern Church been considered to be part of the Western patriarchate. Almost from apostolic times, it has always enjoyed an administrative and disciplinary autonomy that was never disputed.

2. On the same page and in the same paragraph, line 23, we read: <169>Error multo perniciosior habetur, quando regimini temporali cuiusdam civilis gubernii agnoscitur indebitum jus sese ingerendi in gubernium Ecclesiae...<170> (An error that is considered much more pernicious when the right is acknowledged to the temporal rule of any civil government of intruding into the administration of the Church...). Inasmuch as the polemical tone of this text does not harmonize at all well with ecumenical dialogue, I think this paragraph should be eliminated.

3. On page 259, paragraph 27, line 35, we read: <169>Exceptis illis quae periculum generant..<170> (excepting those things which produce danger...), and in the same vein, page 266, line 35, we read: <169>Iis tantummodo quae, si forsan adsint, rectae fidei aut bonis moribus adversantur expunctis<170> (omitting only those things that, if they are perchance present, are contrary to correct faith and sound morals). I frankly acknowledge that I have looked in vain in all Eastern liturgies now in use among us for anything whatever that is contrary to sound morals. I know only that these liturgies have come down to us through the solicitude of the holy Fathers, who are the norms of faith as well as of morals in the universal Church.

4. On page 267, paragraph 52, we read: <169>Ut tandem omne dubium...<170> (so that finally all doubt...) This entire paragraph is absolutely deficient with respect to ecumenism, insinuating that the Eastern Churches united to the Holy See do not possess a duly definitive state, while awaiting the union of all the Eastern Churches. We believe, on the contrary, that our Eastern churches never attain their fullest development in the Catholic Church unless they are first truly considered not only for what they are but for what they represent, namely the Orthodox Churches not yet in union.

The provisional state in which the Eastern Churches find themselves, as an ecclesiastical third world that is neither Eastern nor Latin, has a false ring and tends in practice to construct a house on sand. These Churches are, in fact, for the Orthodox, a mirror in which they can sense and see how things will be for them once union has been attained. When His Beatitude Christophorus, the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Alexandria, learned the hierarchical order recognized for Catholic patriarchs in the new Eastern Code, namely, after cardinals, as well as after apostolic delegates, and far more significantly, after the Latin bishop in his own diocese, did he not exclaim in a pained voice, <169>Pity! Lord have mercy!<170>?

All of these things require that the schema <169>On Unity<170> be worked on once more and in greater depth in collaboration with the Secretariat for Christian Unity. But it is necessary that once amended it be submitted to the Council, since the question <169>On Unity<170> is definitely current and urgent because of the present circumstances. It would perhaps be useful for the joint commission to work on the unity of the Church rather than on <169>Sources of Revelation.<170>

@BODY TEXT ITA = (On November 30, 1962, it was the turn of the dean of the Melkite Greek Prelates, His Excellency Eftimios Youakim, Archbishop of Zahle in Lebanon, to speak. He stressed that not all of the East is <169>separated<170> and that the West must not equate itself with the Catholic Church.)

The schema <169>On the Unity of the Church<170> is quite broad in scope and very important. Union is indeed the greatest desire of all of us and also of the Orthodox, who, when they saw us leave for the Council, cried out unanimously, <169>When you return, announce that union has been achieved!<170> This must therefore arouse the attention of this illustrious assembly, whose members are imbued with the zeal of Christ. Truly, all of us are carrying forward the mission of Christ, the divine Founder of the Kingdom of God on earth. All of us are happy to repeat with great devotion and very frequently Christ's own prayer: that they may be one.

Certainly, the compilers of this schema deserve great praise because of their wide experience and their fervent zeal. That is why I do not hesitate to declare my complete acceptance. I greatly rejoice in particular that, among the useful means for the promotion of union, the supernatural means have not been neglected. Far more, these means must undoubtedly take precedence over all the human means, whatever their power and efficacy. To this end, it seems to me that it is fitting to recall here the doctrine of operating grace and of cooperating grace.

I should like to begin my contribution with these two observations relating to paragraphs 14 and 15:

l. Paragraph 14 begins <169>lamentably<170> by saying, <169>In order to eliminate this lamentable separation, which for centuries has become entrenched between the Eastern Churches, and that continues in our day...,<170> when it would have been better to begin in this way, <169>In order to nurture and multiply the partial unions already accomplished and that still endure...<170> Here are the reasons:

a. There are communities in the East whose leaders have turned away from unity, but whose faithful, who are also the Church, have retained the spirit of union.

b. In absolute terms, this expression, <169>the separation still continues in our day,<170> is one that I do not like. On the contrary, what endures is the dualism and the parallelism, thanks to which there are also on the part of the <169>separated Brothers,<170> <169>those who have preserved the union<170> and those who, in this union, have preserved the liturgical rites that constitute as it were a bridge destined to restore this deeply desired union.

c. It seems to me that this same expression traces its origin, at least in part, to a certain Latin-Western group that pretends to consider all Eastern Churches as being separated from it. It is only reasonable that this manner of speaking is illsuited to a text emanating from the ecumenical council that speaks in the name of the whole Church, both Latin and Eastern Catholic. That is why I think that the form that I have cited above is more felicitous, namely: <169>To nurture and multiply the unions already accomplished and that still endure...<170>

2) Paragraph 15, page 256, in which the novena of prayers and supplications decreed by Leo XIII is recommended, induces me to digress in order to express my joy in having known this great pontiff personally and, above all, in having experienced the very noble spirit of this illustrious common Father of all the faithful in his immortal encyclical <169>Orientalium dignitas,<170> which was proclaimed after Vatican Council I. Today God is giving us another Leo, his successor John XXIII, to whom we direct our best wishes from the depths of our hearts and for whom we ask a long life so that he may consummate Vatican II with another encyclical like <169>Orientalium dignitas.<170>

The prayers I cited earlier take the place in my opinion of operating grace. It is <169>cooperating grace<170> that is expected of us and which we find in the above-mentioned prayers, providing they are said well and with the true ecumenical spirit, as we wish them to be, that is to say, not only with our lips, without faith or charity of heart, or under the aspect of the return and conversion of the prodigal son, but in the manner of Christ's own prayer, which is unalloyed with human elements but sincerely and truly fraternal.

Our prayers will be heard only if we welcome the praying Christ within us and among us.

@BODY TEXT ITA = (That same day Archimandrite Athanasius Hage, Superior General of the Chouerite Basilians, made detailed remarks on the text of the schema, in order to improve it. For lack of time, His Excellency John Bassoul, Archbishop of Homs, transmitted this intervention in writing to the secretariat of the Council.)

We rejoice greatly over the fact that the schema <169>On the Unity of the Church<170> speaks in detail of the psychological means that promote unity between the Roman Church and the Eastern Church. The psychological means that always hold in high regard the sincerity of persons and the authentic faith of the Orthodox, foster this mutual understanding that is an indispensable condition for attaining ecclesiastical union.

For this reason, may I be permitted to make these three observations:

l. Expressions like <169>separated brothers<170> or <169>dissident brothers,<170> so often used in this schema to designate the brothers of the Eastern Church, seem ill-adapted to attracting these brothers.

Why not call them by the name they give themselves, namely, <169>Orthodox brothers<170>? Indeed, since they have preserved the true and authentic faith against the heterodox, they have reserved for themselves the glorious name of <169>Orthodox.<170>

2. Article 34 uses the term <169>Oves extra ovile vagantes<170> (Sheep wandering outside the fold) to designate Orthodox brothers. This expression has a sour ring. In fact, these brothers hear the voice of the Good Shepherd, even though not as carefully as we do, they are sympathetic to the voice of the pope, the Vicar of the Good Shepherd, and they follow the Good Shepherd by reason of the fact that they have received from the Shepherd of our souls and still faithfully keep the true faith, the true sacraments, and the true hierarchy, according to the words of the Patriarch Athenagoras in an article published in La Croix, <169>We have the same Gospel, the same faith, the same traditions, the same sacraments, the same saints...<170>

3. Article 43 reads: <169>reditus fratrum separatorum<170> (return of the separated brothers). I should like this expression to be changed, because it insinuates that the rupture is due to one party only, whereas historically it appears that both parties bear responsibility for this rupture, and that it was born of political and cultural differences rather than of differences of doctrine and worship.

Besides, why not speak of a union to be restored, of a reunion among brothers, all of whom are responsible for the rupture that came about over the centuries? Do we not also have the obligation to follow the road to union? Have we not also the duty to return to our brothers? Then this reunion will not be the return of one party only, but the re-assembling of two parties in the bosom of a single ecclesiastical unity. In this peaceful gathering, there will be neither victor nor vanquished, or rather the victor will be the one who is the first to recognize and embrace his brother.

It is certain that when the Orthodox themselves are convinced that this unity has been restored and established on a solid foundation, all Orthodox Christians can consider that the fundamental psychological condition has been realized in the efforts toward the reunion that is so fervently and eagerly desired by men of good will.

@MAJOR SEC HDG = The Ecumenical Movement @BODY TEXT ITA = (At the 1963 Session, the schema <169>De Unitate Ecclesiae,<170> prepared by the Eastern Commission, had been replaced by a schema <169>De Oecumenismo<170> prepared by the Secretariat for Christian Unity. In its <169>Observations on the schemas of the Council (1963),<170> the Holy Synod made some detailed criticisms of this text.)

We can only rejoice over the text of this schema and address our warmest praise to the Secretariat for Christian Unity that drafted it.

The reason we take the liberty of making a few observations is in order to contribute to making the text still better, especially from the point of view of the feelings of our Orthodox brothers.

l. The expression <169>fratres separati<170> should be corrected everywhere to read <169>fratres a nobis separati<170> (brothers separated from us). They are separated from us, as we are separated from them. That does not prejudge the dogmatic question: who was right in separating? We recognize the fact that we are separated from one another. That is if we do not wish to use more simply, as far as Eastern Christians are concerned, the expression <169>fratres Orthodoxi,<170> which would be simpler, more historical, and more pleasing to the interested parties. In fact, we would be calling them by the name by which they wish to be called, without seeing it as a dogmatic assertion. In the same way, when we say, <169>the Evangelical Churches,<170> we are not asserting that we are not in that category. We are content to use a designation accepted by the interested parties.

2. Replace <169>vestigia enim Christi<170> (indeed the signs of Christ) with <169>praesentia enim Christi<170> (indeed the presence of Christ). These brothers who are separated from us have more than signs of Christ, they have His presence.

3. Instead of saying <169>remota quavis communicatione in cultu officiali<170> (having avoided any participation in official worship), we prefer to say <169>remota quavis officiali communicatione in cultu<170> (having avoided any official participation in worship). In fact, prayer for the union of the Churches can sometimes take on, as it does with us, the aspect of an official liturgical prayer. What remains forbidden is official participation in worship, not participation in official worship.

Likewise, instead of <169>celebrare<170> we prefer <169>concelebrare.<170> What is forbidden is the concelebration of the sacred mysteries, not necessarily attendance at these mysteries.

4. Say <169>arbitra etiam Sede Romana...<170>(and also with the Roman See as arbitrator...). In fact, historically, recourse to the arbitration of the Roman See was only one of the means that enabled the Churches to settle their differences. The other means were the councils, imperial authority, etc.

If all the schemas of the Council were composed in the same spirit as this schema <169>De Oecumenismo,<170> it would be a great step v forward on the road to Christian unity.

@BODY TEXT ITA = (The new schema came under discussion at the Council on November 18, 1963, during the 69th General Session. On that day, His Beatitude the Patriarch, while making a few criticisms, strongly supported it in a memorable intervention.)

Considering the schema <169>De Oecumenismo<170> as a whole, we wish first of all to express our keen satisfaction with it. We believe that it is the first schema submitted to the examination of the Council Fathers that joins in a balanced way doctrinal depth with a pastoral meaning. Even allowing for adjusting certain details, we believe it can be accepted by everyone as an excellent basis for discussion.

Among the qualities that commend it to our approval, certain ones deserve to be pointed out briefly:

l. This schema is the sign that we Catholics have finally emerged from the period of sterile polemics with regard to both our Orthodox brothers of the East and the communities born of the 16th century crisis, polemics that have excessively influenced a unilateral development of theology, discipline, and even of spirituality.

2. Following the same line of thought, this schema is the sign that we have decided to leave behind the impasses of an incorrect proselytism that has as its goal the weakening of one's brother and to enter the path of evangelical emulation and sincere witness to the faith in charity, leaving untouched the freedom of a sincere consclence.

3. This schema also reflects what our late lamented Pope John XXIII and His Holiness Pope Paul VI recommended by their example and their words, namely, to acknowledge our faults, for this opens hearts to dialogue and ecumenism.

4. But above all we are eager to express publicly our joy and-we are sure-that of our Orthodox brothers at the sight at last in this schema of the beginning, still a bit timid but sincere and official, of a true theology of the Church, which has never ceased to be the theology of the entire Eastern tradition: the communion of the Father and of the Son in the Holy Spirit, which, springing from the resurrection of Christ, is unceasingly poured out by the life-giving Spirit through the Divine Liturgy in all the members of the new People of God.

However, these merits must not conceal certain deficiencies that are common to the schema as a whole. May I be permitted to point them out:

l. This schema seems to be a bit too descriptive. We should like the presentation to be also more critical, proceeding from the real causes to the appropriate remedies.

2. The schema is still too much concerned with the causes of the divisions, especially the theological causes that arose in former times. Besides, both in the East and with respect to our Anglican and Protestant brothers, the difficulties of former times have often disappeared, but other new difficulties have arisen since the separation. There is need to pay greater attention to the latter, with a sound, critical perspective.

3. With a view to union, we should perhaps also not be solely concerned with the divisions that affect the structure of the Church, but also point out that within all the Christian communities there are daily clashes that work against unity, that is to say, the sin that kills charity. In the eyes of God and of Christ who will judge us on love, these often invisible ruptures are certainly more serious than the sociological condition in which each of us finds himself when he is born into one or another Christian group.

4. We also point out a fault in form, which can be improved. In certain passages, one cannot know whether it is meant to be the description of the characters of our brothers, or a message addressed to them, or else an exhortation meant only for Catholics. Unity of form could easily be assured if we always placed ourselves in the perspective not of a Council of union, but of a Council for the renewal of the Catholic Church, which is the first step, that should be repeated constantly, toward a meeting with our brothers.

5. Finally, we must say very clearly <197> and this is very important <197> that Chapter IV of this schema that has recently been distributed to us is absolutely irrelevant. Ecumenism is an effort for the reunion of the whole Christian family, that is to say, the gathering of all who are baptized in Christ. It is, therefore, a strictly intimate family matter. Non-Christians have no place in it. And we do not see what role Jews have in Christian ecumenism, and why they have been brought into it.

In addition, it is a serious offense to our brothers who are separated from us when we seem to treat them on that an equal footing with the Jews.

It is therefore urgent that this Chapter IV be removed from the schema <169>De Oecumenismo.<170>

However, if, for some reason unknown to us, the decision is made to keep this chapter, then the following must be done: a) it must be inserted into another schema in which it would fit more appropriately, for example, in the schema <169>De Ecclesia<170> in connection with the history of salvation, or in the schema being prepared on <169>The Presence of the Church in the Modern World,<170> as the Church's witness against racisms of every sort; b) then, if there is a discussion of Jews, other non-Christian religions must also be discussed, especially the religion of the Muslims who number 400 million and in whose midst we live as a minority.

So let us be fair and logical. If we wish to disavow anti-semitism <197> and we all disavow it <197> a short note condemning both anti-semitism and racial segregation would have sufficed. It is useless to create an injurious agitation in the world.

In conclusion, and repeating our substantial agreement with this schema, we shall emphasize two points.

l. The absolutely unique nature of our relations with our Orthodox brothers, which justifies the special place devoted to them in Chapter III in its paragraph 1. We should rediscover the authentic meaning of the Church held by our Fathers, both Orthodox and Catholic. In former times no one would have dared to speak of a Catholic Church and an Orthodox Church. Only one undivided Church was recognized, even if some of its members were temporarily divided with <169>shared responsibilities,<170> to use the words of John XXIII. At Lyons and at Florence <197> regardless of what we think of these Councils of union <197> our brothers the Orthodox bishops participated in the Councils as members, and their empty places here should cause us painful anguish and be a still more pressing call to rediscover complete communion in charity.

2. That is why we embrace the wish, expressed unanimously at the last Pan-Orthodox Conference of Rhodes, for the establishment as rapidly as possible of a permanent dialogue on an equal-to-equal basis between Orthodox and Catholic brothers. It is our wish that the Secretariat for Christian Unity effectively initiate this new permanent and direct contact. Let all human passions be silent to hear only the voice of the Lord. Christian people are impatient, with the impatience of the Spirit. We must open ourselves wide to this divine breath, which, as the Prophet Ezekiel has said (37:11), will transform a valley of dry bones into a living, holy people, united in faith to glorify the Holy Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

@BODY TEXT ITA = (On November 25, 1963, His Excellency Joseph Tawil, Patriarchal Vicar in Damascus, criticized the title of the first chapter, which should speak of the <169>Catholic principles of ecumenism,<170> and not of the <169>principles of Catholic ecumenism,<170> since there is only one ecumenism. Then he gave an outline of a <169>theology of division,<170> and explained in passing why the Eastern Fathers at the Council did not always agree among themselves.)

I should like to make three comments on the subject of this Chapter I of <169>De Oecumenismo.<170>

1. In the title <169>On the principles of Catholic Ecumenism,<170> it seems that there is a typographical error. We were expecting to read <169>On the Catholic principles of Ecumenism.<170> If, indeed, ecumenism is a movement of all Christians toward greater unity, it cannot be said to be strictly Catholic, Orthodox, or Anglican, or something else. However, we can speak about Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican, or other principles of this same ecumenism.

2. Paragraph 2 deals with the divisions in a purely descriptive way, but is completely silent on the theology of the division as such. This is something about which we can find light in the Holy Scripture.

The people of God possess unity when, seeking salvation in faith, they receive the promise. On the contrary, they are divided when, trusting in the flesh, they lose the promise. That is the constant theology of the books of the Law and the Prophets. It is confirmed later in the New Testament in the separation of the larger part of Israel that placed its trust more in faith than in the Law. Then the Church, the new people of God, exposed itself to the temptation to <169>Judaize,<170> the temptation to <169>Hellenize<170> (5th century), to <169>Latinize<170> (11th century), and finally to <169>Romanize<170> (16th century and subsequently). In the end, the Church found that it was relying on the justification of the flesh and not on the justification of faith (cf. Philippians 3:7-9).

And yet God's gifts are irrevocable (cf. Romans 11:29). He never abandons His people, so that if unity is given through grace, the divisions themselves are directed to a greater grace, so that all of us may obtain mercy. God's wonderful deeds, beginning in the Old Testament and continuing until now, are of such a nature that the divisions that are born of the disavowal of the free gift of salvation are directed to a greater gift. The biblical vision of unity and division of the God's people places everything in the history of the Church in the light of mercy and grace. <169>For God has consigned all men to disobedience, that He may have mercy upon all<170> (Romans 11:32).

3. We are in total agreement with what is said in paragraph 3:

<169>In necessariis unitatem custodiendo, fideles in variis formis vitae spiritualis et disciplinae...<170> (by maintaining unity in those things that are necessary, while the faithful are in various forms of spiritual life and discipline), and <169>Hac de causa, synodus omnes catholicos hortatur ut abstineant a verbis, judiciis et operibus quae fratrum separatorum conditioni...<170> (For this reason, the synod strongly urges all Catholics to refrain from words, judgements, and works that... XXXXXXXXX to the condition of our separated brothers...). May I be permitted to develop this idea.

The conciliar Fathers, the great majority of whom are of the Latin rite, have no doubt been surprised that the Eastern Fathers do not always agree among themselves. Let us say first of all that this division is not any more extraordinary than those among the Latin Fathers. It stems from several reasons:

1. From the positive, distinct traditions inherited in common with the Orthodox, such as the Byzantine, Syrian, or Coptic traditions, substantially alike among themselves, but nevertheless noticeably different;

2. From collective psychological residues, due to the establishment of distinct communities long before the conversion of the peoples of Central and Western Europe, that is to say, of the Slavs, the Germans, and the English. Whence their distinct life for the past 1,500 years, or 1,300 years, for example, for the Maronites;

3. Eastern Catholics are also diverse with respect to varying degrees of latinization. We have all been latinized ecclesially. The proof of this is that I must speak to you in Latin in this assembly. What constitutes the Eastern Christian is neither race nor nationality, but the direct, living apostolic tradition, which does not contradict the Latin tradition but is distinct from it. Anyone who has ever taken a course in theology remembers that the arguments from Tradition are given by citing the Greek Fathers on the one hand and the Latin Fathers on the other, as corroborating one another through their distinct origins. Now that this has been said, it can be understood that communities that are strongly latinized by their history are less easily receptive to ecumenical necessities, and that consequently one or another Father, reflecting this mentality, has demanded within Catholicism a unified code for the two Churches of the East and the West, and a single jurisdiction, something that is unthinkable for anyone who has preserved the positive meaning of Tradition and of the Orthodox outlook.

Conclusion: All the Catholic Churches of the East taken together represent scarcely two per cent of the total of Orthodoxy, estimated at over 200 million, of whom 180 million belong to the Byzantine rite, 15 million to the Coptic and Ethiopian rite, and 5 million to the Syrian rite. Now, these Churches are of interest, ecumenically speaking, only in relation to Orthodoxy, whose tradition they are supposed to represent. In fact, each of them awaits its fullness, and does not have the right to consider itself as being in a final definitive form, but only as a stage on the road to unity. Now, to ask for the unification of the code for the two Churches of the East and the West, or unification of jurisdiction, is to close all paths which lead to ecumenism, and is to be imprisoned in a deadly isolation, becoming for the universal Church a definite obstacle.

(On November 27, 1963, His Beatitude the Patriarch intervened again on the schema <169>De Oecumenismo<170> to defend the variety of disciplines in the Church and the preservation of the hierarchy of each particular Church.)

Speaking of the discipline that is peculiar to Eastern Christians, No. 16 of our schema <169>solemnly affirms the principle of diversity in unity.<170> And it adds that <169>the perfect observance of this traditional principle, which has not always been carefully respected, is among the absolutely indispensable conditions for any restoration of unity.<170>

We agree fully with this solemn declaration through which the Catholic Church affirms its determination to respect, in the unity of faith, the legitimate diversity of discipline in the Eastern Churches.

On the basis of this principle the Holy Roman See has made considerable efforts to endow the Eastern Catholic Churches with a code of ecclesiastical law distinct from that of the Latin Church. The result is doubtless not perfect, yet the principle at least is safeguarded, namely, the distinction of the two codes, the Eastern Code and the Latin Code.

We regret that certain Fathers have thought they had to ask for the unification of the Eastern Code with the Latin Code. This unification, we believe, would inevitably result, whether we wish it or not, either in substituting Latin discipline for Eastern discipline, or in giving Latin discipline such preponderance that it would be impossible to see in this unified code the discipline peculiar to the East. In the ecumenical dialogue it will be most unfortunate if we show our Orthodox brothers that the discipline which awaits them, in case of union with the Roman Church, is not their own but the discipline of the Latin Church or something very similar to it. It is doubtless not realized what harm is done to the cause of ecumenism by the demand for the unification of the Eastern Code with the Latin Code.

This cause of ecumenism also demands, as a second indispensable condition, the preservation of the hierarchy of each particular Church. On several occasions there has been a question in this assembly of plans for the unification of jurisdictions in countries where there are different rites. This idea of unification of jurisdictions is tempting, but if it is pushed to its extreme limits without the appropriate distinctions, it can have serious consequences.

To clarify this question, we believe that three cases must be distinguished.

1. The first case is that of mission countries: China, India, Japan, etc. At the present time, the Latin Church has its hierarchy constituted throughout the world. However, it is only just that Eastern Christians be associated in the work of the missions. Certain territories should be entrusted to them, especially in countries where they have long been permanently established and in those that have such strong ethnic, linguistic, and cultural affinities with theirs that evangelization through them is, as it were, providentially provided. In these countries, unification of jurisdictions can be successfully realized through agreement with the bishops of the localities, with the intervention, if that is necessary, of the Holy Roman See. Is it necessary to ask that in the very interests of the Church, all things being equal, the indigenous Church, the local rite that harmonizes best with the genius and aspirations of the people, should be given preference?

2. The second case is that where Christian communities are already established and where the majority are of the Latin rite, such as, for example, in Europe and in America. There, whenever Eastern Catholics are sufficiently numerous, there must be no hesitation in giving them not only parishes of their own rite, independent of Latin parishes, but also their own hierarchy, as, indeed, is wisely provided for in the schema <169>De Episcopis et dioecesium regimine<170> (No.31).

3. The third case <197> which concerns us more particularly <197> is that of the classical East, where for centuries Christianity has existed in a form of community, and where at the head of each Church there is already a distinct, organized hierarchy.

In these countries, where there is already a time-honored organization that has proved its worth, where numerous ecclesiastical authorities live side by side in the same territory in a spirit of understanding and peace, in spite of a few inevitable clashes due to the weakness of human nature, the situation cannot be changed without causing serious disturbances. Even if it is decided to change this state of things, the new situation will not be able to endure, because it is contrary to nature, because the people will not be able to accept it, and because it will create very serious disturbances that will imperil the very life of the Eastern Catholic Churches.

Besides, it must not be forgotten that our present stage of union is not a definitive formula. We are some sort of transitional organizations. When worldwide union is accomplished between Orthodoxy and Catholicism, all hierarchical structures will merge of themselves to form a single hierarchy. By what right, then, would have such a jurisdiction have been previously eliminated or another similar one merged into a non-ritual organization where our Orthodox brothers would not recognize themselves?

Any unification of jurisdiction that would result in the absorption of one hierarchy by another must also be rejected. Any fusion or absorption of one hierarchy by another marks the disappearance of a Church. Besides, the Catholic Church desires to safeguard all the Churches that compose it, in particular the Eastern Churches that have the very important mission of restoring Christian unity with the Orthodox branches that correspond to their respective rites. To deprive one or the other of its own hierarchy is to prepare for their disappearance at a more or less early date.

We have transmitted to the secretariat a long study on this entire question. Lack of time does not allow us to do more here than give a very succinct summary of this study.

Rather than debate theoretical solutions, which we know very well to be impossible and dangerous for the tranquility of the Christian people, we should like to make a fraternal appeal that, on the one hand, the established order, with the distinction of communities and hierarchies, be respected, and that, on the other hand, the disadvantages of a multiplicity of jurisdictions be avoided through a still closer cooperation among ecclesiastical leaders in all areas of the apostolate, thanks to an augmentation of inter-ritual synods.

The preservation of a distinct code of canon law for the East and the preservation of a distinct hierarchy for each Church, with maximum collaboration: these are the two indispensable conditions for ecumenical efforts. That is also the guarantee of the presence of the spirit of Christ, who is the spirit of harmony, charity, and peace.

@BODY TEXT ITA = (On November 29, 1963, His Excellency Elias Zoghby, Patriarchal Vicar in Egypt and the Sudan, developed in his intervention the causes of the rupture between the East and the West.)

If, after ten centuries of schism and separated development, the Latin and the Eastern Churches continue to declare that they are substantially similar, is it possible to suppose that they had major reasons for separating a thousand years ago? Certainly not! The schism would not have taken place if the Churches of the West and of the East had not been morally involved in the conflict that set the two empires against one another.

Indeed, there are times unfavorable to dialogue and times that are favorable. The Schism of the East, which can be called more ecumenically the Great Christian Schism because the responsibility for it is shared, occurred at a time when the Christian East and the Christian West could not enter into a dialogue on a footing of equality and in an effective way.

The minor clashes between the Latin and the Eastern Churches, which had previously been considered mild incidents between brothers of the same family, were increasingly taking on the disturbing proportions of the great conflict between the two empires. The Latin Church was beginning to see in it a resistance to the primatial authority of Peter, and Orthodoxy saw in it an attempt at domination that was not justified by a primacy of service.

The primacy of the Bishop of Rome, which a thousand-year tradition had endorsed as being the bond of unity, was beginning to be understood in the East as the extension of a local Church to the universal Church. That was the beginning of the crisis that culminated in the separation.

Modern Catholic historians of great merit interpret the Great Schism as a failure of efforts to apply Roman centralization to the Churches of the East, accustomed as they were, during ten centuries of union with Rome, to combine a legitimate diversity with unity.

Actually, the Churches of the East were radically opposed to centralization from the start. Why? There are those who say: out of solidarity with the civil power. That is possible. Others say: out of pride. That has not been proven. Eastern Christians have a different view: Eastern Churches had practiced a synodal collegial system of ecclesiastical government during the ten centuries of union with the Holy See of Rome, without the latter having found anything abnormal about that. Besides, Eastern hierarchs did not find in authentic tradition a religious justification for the change that had occurred. Furthermore, the Eastern Churches, which were founded by the Apostles or their immediate successors, and which owed to the Church of the West neither their beginning nor their development, possessed a religious, theological, liturgical, monastic, and disciplinary patrimony that was different from that of the West, without, however, being opposed to it. Now, it is evident that a Church governed by organizations extraneous to its tradition quickly sees this tradition greatly impaired.

And so Roman centralization appeared to the Easterners, and rightly so, as a measure of uniformity that could call into question the legitimacy of their own religious patrimony, which they had received from their Fathers by virtue of an incontestable apostolic succession.

Dialogue was called for at that time in order to clarify, as we are doing today at the Council, the nature of the Mystery of the Church, the relationship between primacy and collegiality, between the local diocese of Rome and the primatial power of the Bishop of Rome. However, this dialogue could not take place either in the 11th century or in Florence because it could not be carried on in a favorable social and political context.

It might have been asked why God did not intervene to prevent this lamentable rupture the way He intervenes to prevent every error of doctrine in the Church. The answer is not hard to find. First of all, Christian unity ought not to be solely the work of God, but also the work of men. Besides, since the primacy of Peter is intended to protect the integrity of the Christian patrimony, God could not wish this primacy to be exercised to the detriment of this integrity. Indeed, the two authentic and apostolic traditions, complementary but different, i.e., Latin and Eastern, are the two halves of the Christian patrimony and together constitute the whole of Christianity, all of which benefits from the promise of divine protection until the end of the ages. Any unity which might be forged to the detriment of one or the other Apostolic tradition would impoverish the Church instead of enriching it.

Catholic unity to which ecumenism is striving will be vaster and more fruitful than that of the present day. Actually, current Catholic unity appears to be partial and rather Latin. It groups the Latin Churches of the West and the Latin Churches founded by them in mission countries, and the modest portions of the Eastern Churches that are in union and that are substantiallly latinized as a whole, although they have preserved their external liturgical rites. Today only Orthodoxy possesses the authentic Eastern tradition, even if sometimes in a diminished way; only a union with equality between <169>Latinity<170> and Orthodoxy can gather together the apostolic tradition and perfect Catholic unity.

I speak of a union with equality because the day union is realized, Orthodoxy will have at least as much to give as to receive. It will thus participate in the government of the reunited Church as an equal with the Latin Church, under the primacy of Peter, you may be sure of it. The dialogue between equals decided on by the Rhodes Conference must be entered into by the Catholic Church with the conviction that it will benefit from it as much as will Orthodoxy.

In fact, the Schism has equally disfigured both of them. The Church of the West lost, together with the communion of the apostolic sees of the East, the most collegial portion of the episcopal college. Centralization was pursued at an exceptional gait without anyone being able to hold it back. The Church of the West has been governed respectively by the consistory, the fragments of the consistory that are the Roman congregations, and finally in practice by the congresso or weekly meeting of Curia officials.

As for the Churches of the East, they lost, because of the Great Schism, communion with the center of unity of the whole Church, namely, the Bishop of Rome. Excessive decentralization has weakened them considerably, making difficult the regular exercise of episcopal collegiality, which however remained their dominant form of government.

And yet, God, who brings good out of evil, has willed that this tragic rupture shelter the Orthodox Churches from the centralization of latinization, to the great benefit of ecumenical dialogue and of the reunited Church.

This dialogue among equals between Latinity and Orthodoxy, which was in practice impossible at the time of the Great Schism, has now become possible, not to say obligatory, in the bosom of a humanity tending more and more to seek unity through the means of international organizations where all peoples are represented on a basis of equality. His Eminence Cardinal Cicognani said this well in his Relation on the subject of the schema <169>De Oecumenismo.<170>

This dialogue must be accompanied by an effort toward decentralization on the part of the Catholic Church, an effort already undertaken by this holy Council, and, on the part of the Orthodox Churches, by an effort toward relative centralization around the successor of Peter and within the framework of traditional collegiality.

In this dialogue that concerns first of all the Latin and Orthodox Churches, Eastern Churches that are in union will have a secondary but necessary role to play as witnesses. They must, by de-latinizing themselves, at last live more completely as traditional Eastern institutions within Catholicism, in order to familiarize the Latin Catholics with these institutions and make dialogue easier and more fruitful. At the present time, this is their only means of being of some use to the Church of Jesus Christ.

@MAJOR SEC HDG = <169>Communicatio in Sacris<170>

@BODY TEXT ITA = (On this important and delicate question, the patriarch, commenting on the draft of a schema prepared by the Oriental Commission, composed in Rome on January 19, 1962, the following note, which he read before the members of the Central Commission.)

On this important and serious question of the communicatio in sacris with our Orthodox brothers of the East, I am happy to bestow unreserved praise on the schema that is presented to us by the Commission on the Eastern Churches. Such a schema indicates what a good start ecumenism has made in our Catholic circles. If this schema, as I hope, is accepted by your venerable assembly, I believe that a great step will have been taken in the preparation of Christian unity.

The first advantage of this schema is that it gives our Orthodox brothers of the East a special canonical status on this point of the communicatio in sacris. Indeed, I hope that a similar approach is likewise made for the discipline of the communicatio in sacris with our brothers of the Reformed Churches. Yet it will always be right that for our Orthodox brothers of the East the discipline on this point be eased still more. For we are dealing with Christians who share our faith, who have our sacraments, a hierarchy of divine institution, and the same wellsprings of faith as we, namely, Holy Scripture and the Tradition of the Church. In our relations with them, there is question more of reconciliation than of conversion in the strict sense. Now, in order to reconcile a brother in a family where moral responsibilities are divided, does not a multiplying of contacts remain the best approach?

In the second place, the schema, while it justifiably makes the distinction between the formal dissident and the dissident in practice, does not presume, as was too often done until now, that every dissident is a heretic or a formal schismatic until proof is given to the contrary. An objective and psychological knowledge of the souls of our separated brothers makes us presume on the contrary to their absolute good faith and makes us presuppose bad faith only as a very rare exception. Indeed, the schema bases its main portion not on the presumption that they are formal nonCatholics in the absence of proof to the contrary, but that they are non-Catholics in practice, in good faith, in the absence of proof to the contrary. This change in perspective naturally involves a change in canonical attitudes.

In the third place, it must be noted that when heresy or schism arises in the Church, the responsible authorities take very severe measures to try to stifle the evil in its inception and to protect souls whose faith is weak. Then, little by little, a continuing situation is established. Christians are born into a shattered Christian community through no fault of their own. The Church does not adopt the same attitude in both situations. While it is very severe at the moment heresy or schism is born, it is more indulgent once the rupture is entrenched, lest too much severity drive the lost sheep farther away, as the Fathers of the Church tell us.

This explains why on this point of the communicatio in sacris with non-Catholics of good faith, the attitude of the Church has not always been absolutely invariable. Moreover, this variation in the discipline of the Church proves to us that the prohibition of ecclesial communion with non-Catholics of good faith is not a matter of divine law but of ecclesiastical law, and hence subject to evolution according to the wisdom of the Church's pastors and to changing circumstances of time and place.

Now, it seems that today's circumstances demand that we redouble our charity toward our Orthodox brothers of the East in particular. It is detrimental to the work of union to treat them in the same way as others who do not share our faith, i.e., unbelievers or heretics.

This is neither weakness nor compromise on the part of the Catholic Church. Nor is it a diminution of its prestige. On the contrary, it seems to us that, in this effort at reconciliation that draws Christian Churches toward one another, those who have received the more grace, more light, more charity from God, and who feel stronger in the faith must make the first step.

Let us not constantly and without distinction conjure up the specter of religious indifferentism, of corruption of faith, and of scandal. Doubtless this danger exists, but first of all we must not exaggerate it; then, the shepherds of the Church are there to measure out the concrete amount of modification that it is suitable to grant, and to distinguish between those persons who can or cannot without danger enter into religious contact with our separated brothers. Finally, one must not forget that the scandal that is feared is most often created in the reverse direction; by this I mean that Catholics, quite as much as Orthodox Christians, are rather scandalized not by intercommunion but by its prohibition. We say this on the basis of our long experience.

When the Council was announced, Christians, whether Catholics or not, began to hope that union could again be achieved there, or that, at least, measures would be taken for greater mutual understanding and greater charity among the different Christian confessions. Let us not disappoint the hopes of all those who are expecting from the Council a new direction in relations among Christians, as they are excellently codified in the schema that the Commission on the Eastern Churches proposes to us. It is a truly ecumenical schema for which I am happy to offer the commission my congratulations.

@BODY TEXT ITA = (The Very Reverend Hilarion Capucci, then Superior General of the Aleppine Basilian Order, in his intervention before the Council on November 28, 1963, also demonstrated the opportunity for easing the discipline of communicatio in sacris.)

In relation to what is said in Chapter 2, No. 7 of the schema <169>De Oecumenismo,<170> and considering the particular circumstances in v which Catholic communities in the East are living and their relations with their Orthodox brothers, may I be permitted to make the following general remarks on the subject of communicatio in sacris with the brothers who are separated from us. The discipline now in force and the text of this same paragraph 7 seem totally inadequate. The ecumenical, social, and apostolic situation in which we live in the East demands a broadening of this discipline and a corresponding text in the schema.

The ecumenical aspect. A broadening of communicatio in sacris truly facilitates the outcome of the ecumenical movement. We are daily witnesses of the reactions of our Orthodox brothers in the face of the current prohibitions: reactions of repugnance, revolt, and antipathy. On the contrary, nothing thaws hearts and brings them closer like united invocation of the same Lord.

The social aspect. Social and familial bonds unite us to our Orthodox brothers. Within the same family do we not often encounter both Orthodox elements and Catholic elements? Now, in the East, the social and the religious are intimately linked, and we often face extremely painful situations for the consciences of Catholics, both clergy and faithful, and for peace and union within the same family. These situations are offensive and repugnant for our separated brothers and scandalous for non-Christians. Our Christians cannot understand how, while we exhort them to be united in matters relating to trade union, social, political, and educational action, and to love and esteem one another, we forbid them in conscience to participate in those religious realities that are the meaning and strength of human life and activity. Thus, there is a scandal that is contrary to the one envisioned by the discipline that strictly forbids the communicatio in sacris, which is under discussion. It is not so much the communicatio in sacris that causes scandal, but rather its refusal imposed on them in conscience that scandalizes them.

For centuries we have been living side by side with our Orthodox brothers. Far more, even before the official constitution of our hierarchical structure, numerous Catholic elements united to Rome have never ceased existing within the very bosom of general Orthodoxy. Our pastoral experience shows us that it is rather our brothers who come to us, and the very rare cases of Catholics turning to Orthodoxy do not in any way stem from the <169>communicatio in sacris.<170> It is thanks to the preaching and the general apostolate of Latin missionaries in Orthodox churches, and to the jurisdiction received by them from Orthodox bishops that the Catholic movement developed.

The apostolic aspect. Our Christian divisions, solidified before the non-Christian public by these rigid barriers in the matter of communicatio in sacris, are a great scandal to non-Christians, our shame and our weakness in their eyes, and one of the major obstacles to their conversion. On the other hand, it is a requirement for the salvation of souls: for Orthodox Christians sometimes left without sacraments; for Catholics in this same situation; for Orthodox students in our schools, accustomed to us, trusting us and depending on us to teach them to live in grace... How can we remain pastorally insensitive in the face of situations such as these?

However:

1. We do not lose sight of the possibility of a danger of indifferentism or scandal, correctly stated, in individual cases.

2. We also understand that the Fathers of the Western Church can have a different attitude from ours, either because the regional circumstances are different or because the attitude toward the separated brothers cannot be uniform, or because in one country or another the problem does not arise or is less severe.

3. We understand that certain Eastern Catholic communities with no Orthodox branch, or that are less closely linked to that branch, are less sensitized in regard to this problem than we are.

Therefore, realizing that the demands of divine law must be strictly observed, and that, on the other hand, the presumption of a common peril of indifference or scandal, correctly stated, which is the basis of this ecclesiastical discipline, is not sufficiently established in practice in our regions and in our relations with our Orthodox brothers, but on the contrary is harmful;

We propose:

1. that communicatio in sacris prohibited by divine law be strictly forbidden, that is to say: a) when this communicatio in sacris means, for the Catholic conscience, formal adherence to schism or to heresy; b) in case there is danger of scandal or indifferentism; or c) when, in the Christian sense, it is the expression of a unity already realized, as would be the concelebration of the Sacred Mysteries;

2. that while purely ecclesiastical legislation in the matter of communicatio in sacris remains intact as a general rule, the power of the Ordinary be recognized in individual cases, and also the power of a patriarchal holy synod or of an episcopal conference for a specific region to dispense from it, motivated by pastoral wisdom and with regard to the multiple circumstances of fact that can legitimize such a dispensation;

3. that legislative measures be taken with the view of removing the clause of invalidity affecting mixed marriages celebrated before a non-Catholic minister.

@CHAPTER # = Chapter 13

@CHAPTER TITLE = The Missionary Church

@MAJOR SEC HDG = The Missions and the Roman Pontiff @BODY TEXT ITA = (A statement presented by the patriarch at the March-April 1962 meeting of the Central Commission.)

In approving as a whole the schemas that are proposed to us by the Commission on Missions, I believe that I must make the following comments:

1. There is found in these schemas, perhaps more than in the others, a certain tendency to flatter the supreme pontiffs, and this flattery at times inspires inappropriate or excessive expressions.

Thus, in the preamble of the schema <169>De regimine missionum<170> (On the administration of the missions), historical perspectives are distorted by placing the Roman pontiffs at the head of those who received the missionary torch from the hands of the Apostles. Indeed, one knows that during the first centuries of Christianity not only was the evangelization of unbelieving lands not reserved to the Roman pontiffs, but that the Roman Church did not always come at the head of the missionary Churches. What should not be forgotten is the missionary work displayed by the great apostolic sees of Antioch, Alexandria, and Constantinople, which brought the faith to Asia, to Africa, and to the Slavic peoples. It is unfair to the apostolic Churches to mention exclusively, in the history of evangelization, the missionary activity of the Roman pontiffs. At the present time there is prevalent in certain Catholic circles a trend toward conscious or unconscious adulation of the Roman pontiffs that distorts all ecclesiastical perspectives.

This tendency to adulation sometimes inspires expressions that may be pleasing to certain circles, but that have a definite result of inflexibility and exaggeration of the dogma of Roman primacy, thus contributing to the needless widening of the gulf that separates us from our Orthodox or Protestant brothers. For instance, in the above mentioned schema <169>De regimine missionum,<170> it is probably not very catholic to say that <169>all the faithful have the pope of Rome as their own bishop,<170> and to add that he can <169>rule the faithful either by himself or through other bishops who possess vicarial power.<170> If the pope of Rome is their own bishop for the faithful of Constantinople, then the Bishop of Constantinople is only his locum tenens, his proxy, a <169>prelate possessing a vicarial power,<170> and hence his vicar. And what happens to apostolic succession?

The dogma defined at the First Vatican Council declares that the pope has authority, even immediate authority, over all pastors and faithful. But it does not follow from this that the pope is the immediate bishop of all dioceses and that the bishops of the world are his vicars. Such exaggerations should indeed be condemned by the Council, as being contrary to Catholic dogma.

2. In a general way, the schemas of the Commission on Missions do not seem to have anything else in view than to assert to a surfeit the rights of the Roman pontiffs.

Now, when the patria potestas (fatherly power) of the father of a family or of a king is recognized, loved, and respected by his children, what need is there to recall it and affirm it all the time? It would seem that there is a constant fear of seeing it contested, as if his children owed him love, respect, and obedience solely because of his potestas! The constant reminder of this potestas has two disadvantages:

a. With respect to the faithful children of this father-king, they can grow tired of always hearing this reminder, as if their loving fidelity were in doubt.

b. With respect to those of his children who are still separated, this constant reminder of potestas embitters them, and above all frightens them and drives them away. The frequent repetition of the assertion of potestas seems to them to be a constant threat that they could some day easily become victims of possible abuses of this power.

3. It should also be noted that the suggested reforms and recommendations are good not because the supreme pontiffs made them. On the contrary, the supreme pontiffs made them because they were good in themselves. In prescribing them, the Council must not rely on the already published acts of the popes, but on the innate goodness of these reforms or recommendations.

These remarks do not affect the essence of the reforms, but only the form in which these reforms must be expressed. The fundamentals are excellent.

@MAJOR SEC HDG = For an East that Is Again Missionary @BODY TEXT ITA = (The Eastern Church today, confronted by all sorts of difficulties, has as it were withdrawn within itself as though renouncing as a whole the work of the distant missions. Only the Malabar Church of India, in the light of its large numbers, seems to be able to devote itself effectively to the missions. Yet it has been prevented from doing so until now by a series of discriminatory measures. In its <169>Observations on the schemas of the Council<170> [1963], the Holy Synod claimed for the East a place in the missionary work of the Church.)

Considering the injustice of which the Malabar Church of India is the victim, whose numerous clergy can spread the Gospel outside Malabar only by embracing the Latin rite, we wish to proclaim here the right of our Eastern Churches to cooperate in the work of evangelizing the world without ceasing to be themselves, and to create Christian communities of the Eastern rite. On this subject of evangelization, we wish to call to mind the role played by the patriarch of Constantinople in the Christianization of the Slavs, or that of the patriarch of Antioch in the conversion of Asia. We wish to be living, organizing, and dynamic Churches in the great Church of Christ, and not archeological relics, or variations to be maintained because they are interesting and picturesque. Nevertheless, the exercise of this right must be regulated by agreement with the central authority, in conformity with the rules of Christian prudence.

@MAJOR SEC HDG = Mission in Eastern Theology @BODY TEXT ITA = (When at the third session of the Council the assembly discussed the schema <169>De activitate missionali Ecclesiae,<170> Archbishop Elias Zoghby, Patriarchal Vicar in Egypt and the Sudan, made a valuable contribution to the debate on November 9, 1964, by stressing the Orthodox concept of mission.)

You are perhaps wondering what an Eastern bishop can say about the missions, when the Eastern Churches, because of certain historical vicissitudes, have been obliged to suspend their missionary activity. However, over the centuries the Eastern Churches have themselves also been eminently missionary, and they possess a rich and fruitful mystical life of mission, which our schema seems in great part to disregard.

While giving homage to the intense and admirable missionary activity of the Latin Church, I dare hope that the Eastern Churches will some day be able to resume their missionary drive.

The whole Church is essentially missionary. Our schema should therefore be inspired not only by the Latin tradition, but also by the Eastern traditions, in order to promote the missions in the entire Church. Now, this schema seems more concerned with organizing the already existing Western missionary activities than with deepening the sense of mission and opening up new ways better adapted to the needs of the present-day world. The missionary theology of the Eastern Fathers could perhaps help us to work out a more complete schema. Here is how the Eastern Fathers conceived the mission of Christ and of the Church:

1. Since the first centuries, the Eastern Fathers have considered the mission of Christ in the world to be an epiphany, i.e., a flood of divine light on the work of creation. The mission of the church consists in perpetuating this Epiphany of the Lord and thus preparing, over the centuries, for the coming of the Kingdom.

2. Another idea dear to the Eastern Fathers is the following: the redemptive mission of Christ and of the Church is carried out for a humanity that has already been made fruitful by the divine sowing, the <169>seeds of the Word,<170> according to the expression of Saint Justin, of Clement of Alexandria, and of Origen. The Gospel message, when it has reached a land that has not yet been evangelized, does not cast the seed of God's Word into souls that are totally ignorant of the Word of God, but rather into souls that have been prepared over a long period of time by the Holy Spirit, since they received at their creation the creative <169>seed of the Word,<170> the divine seed that awaits the dew of the new dawn in order to grow and bear fruit.

This progressive preparation of the world for the coming of the Savior was conceived by the Fathers as a <169>divine pedagogy<170> in which Saint Irenaeus and Saint Gregory of Nazianzus, among others, saw and admired God's plan from the beginning to save humankind. This traditional concept of Mission has two advantages: a. The first advantage is that it does not isolate the Redeemer-Word from the Creator-Word, or redeemed humanity from created humanity. Mission-epiphany is simply the flooding in the world of the divine light communicated to all men with their life on the day of their creation. As Saint John the Evangelist tells us: <169>In the beginning was the Word... In Him was life, and the life was the light of men...<170> (John 1:1,3). Just as the Word, by communicating life, had deposited in every human being the <169>seed of the Word,<170> so too the Word incarnate, in redeeming humankind, communicated to it the fullness of life. So there was light at the beginning, and the flooding of light at the Incarnation; the seed of the Word at creation, and the fullness of the Word through redemption: <169>From His fullness we have all received, grace upon grace<170> (John 1:16).

The mission of the Church, after the example of the mission of John the Baptizer, is to bear witness to <169>the light that enlightens everyone who comes into the world.<170> But the mission of the Church does not stop there. It transmits to all human beings the fullness of life; and <169>the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he (John the Baptizer)<170> (Matthew 11:11).

In thus linking the mission of the Word Incarnate with the mission of the Creator-Word, the Fathers affirmed by that very fact the universal character of the Church's mission.

b. The second advantage of this patristic concept of mission lies in the fact that it invites the missionary Church to respect this <169>seed of the Word<170> deposited in every human creature, and this direct action of God in humankind that the Eastern Fathers called the <169>divine pedagogy.<170>

The Church must begin by discovering in the peoples it evangelizes the divine seed and the natural riches that are the fruit of that Seed. The evangelized peoples must not only receive the Gospel message from the Church: they themselves must also enrich the Church by contributing their own human values, the fruit of this Seed of the Word received from God in the beginning and cultivated by them over the centuries, thanks to the action of the Holy Spirit, the divine Teacher of humankind.

Since the Redeemer-Word is also the Creator-Word of all humankind, He belongs to all men and to all peoples. He must be at home everywhere: everywhere among his own. The missionary Church must therefore not impose on the peoples it evangelizes a ready-made Christ, the Christ of one particular people or one particular civilization. The peoples who receive Jesus Christ must be able to express Him, to reincarnate Him in their image and likeness, so that he may be all things to all. The Church is catholic, that is to say, universal, to the extent that it is capable of recognizing the stripped Christ in the transformed Christ it receives from them.

In our own time, when the young nations are justifiably proud of bringing their own cultural and spiritual patrimony to humanity and to the Church, it is important that our schema develop this traditional theology of missionary activity.

3. Mission is not the only epiphany of the Lord and germination of the Word. There is another aspect of missionary activity that is very dear to the Eastern Fathers: mission is a pasch, a paschal outpouring. The sacramental sign of this outpouring that will be perpetuated until the coming of the Lord is the Eucharist.

Speaking to His Apostles, Jesus said, <169>This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood, which will be shed for you<170> (Luke 22:20). And so it is around the Eucharist that the Church must ratify the new covenant between God and men. It is through the Eucharist that the Church takes root in a land. Besides, the stages through which unbelievers are introduced into the Church are those of their participation in the Eucharistic office: the liturgy of the catechumens prepares them for baptism, and Baptism introduces them into the liturgy of the faithful.

In speaking about the Kingdom of God, did not our Lord more than once evoke the parable of the feast to which the Master of the house invites not only his friends and fellow-citizens <197> who do not come <197> but also all who wish to enter?

The Church's mission, wherever it exists, consists first of all in setting the table of the Eucharistic sacrifice, in preparing men to participate in it, in convoking them to assemble around the Lamb. The altar thus becomes the gathering place of the people of God and firmly plants the Church in the new soil.

Furthermore, the Eucharistic presence of the Word iIncarnate is the first gift that the Church gives to the people it comes to evangelize. The community of charity that unites all those who participate in the Eucharistic meal with one another and with the risen Christ is the beginning and the completion of the mssion of the Church until the coming of the Lord. The pschal outpouring is perpetuated in the Church by the Eucharist. And so in the East the celebration of the Eucharist is accompanied every Sunday by the office of the Resurrection. The life of the Church, therefore, is a perpetual Easter, and its presence in the world is a liturgy in which the new covenant between God and men is sealed by the Blood of the Savior.

As we express the wish for a new working out of this schema, we Eastern Christians hope to find in it the Eastern missionary mystical life that will help us to collaborate with our Western brothers in the great work of the Missions.

@CHAPTER # = Chapter 14

@CHAPTER TITLE = The Church and Other Religions @MAJOR SEC HDG = The Jewish Problem at the Council and the Arab Reactions

@BODY TEXT ITA = (The reaction of the Arab countries to the conciliar declaration on the Jews surpassed in violence the most pessimistic expectations. Like any popular reaction, it at times went too far, above all because of the public's ignorance of the exact tenor of the conciliar text, which, as we know, was still only a draft.) But, even independent of all passionate exaggeration, the reaction of the Arabic peoples, Christian and Muslim, Orthodox, Protestant or Catholic, should be an eye-opener. It was not without cause that the Eastern patriarchs warned the Fathers of the Council that such a declaration was inopportune. This was not because of pusillanimity or anti-Semitism. It was not enough for the Secretariat for Christian Unity, which prepared this text, to declare that it was in good faith, that it was not playing politics, to justify washing its hands. The secretariat and the world-wide episcopacy cannot ignore the fact that there is a state that calls itself Israel, that that state claims to embody Judaism, that what is said of Judaism as a religion is inevitably interpreted by Israel as being said of itself as a state and a world-wide Zionist movement, that any declaration in favor of Judaism as a religion is exploited by Israel as a support given indirectly to the imperialist and expansionist politics of worldwide Zionism against the Arab countries. Nobody doubts that the Council does not wish this interpretation, but Israel wishes it, and the Fathers of the Council, as responsible and realistic leaders, must not lend themselves to this maneuver, above all in the circumstances where the tension between the Arab states and Israel is at its maximum, without mentioning that the draft of the text leaves itself open even to criticisms of the theological order. What is said about Judaism is not false, but it does not represent all the revealed truth. Being incomplete, it can easily be also considered partisan, saying only, on the subject of Judaism, what is pleasing to Jews. In the face of what this painful position has done to the Church in Arab countries, where the Orthodox and the Protestants have broken the ties with Catholicism, causing a substantial lag in the ecumenical movement, which had begun under better auspices, we believe that it is useful, as much to fulfill our responsibilities as to clarify world opinion, to publish the notes, documents, and commentaries that His Beatitude the Patriarch, with the concurrence of the hierarchy of our Church, has made public until now on this subject. (Note of the Bulletin de Presse of the Patriarchate, dated December 31, 1964).

(I. Note to the Central Commission, dated at Damascus, June 5, 1962)

We understand very well the reasons that motivated proposing this <169>decree.<170> The Church owes it to itself to acknowledge the glories, the promises, and the mission of the Jewish people. It also owes it to itself to eliminate from its liturgy, from the thoughts and actions of its faithful every trace of spite, vengeance, or racial discrimination against the Jewish people.

We would suggest only that, in order to avoid any confusion tending to be of a political character, the text make a clear distinction between the Jewish people as a religious community the only aspect which interests the Council <197> and the State of Israel, which must be treated according to the same criteria that govern the relations between the Church and civil societies, without any privilege or special consideration on the part of the Church.

We would equally wish that a similar decree be prepared relative to Islam and other monotheist religions. The Christians who have frequent relationships with the followers of these religions would be pleased to know some positive teaching of the Church concerning them, beyond purely and simply rejecting them as <169>errors.<170>

(II. Already before the draft was presented to the Council, the Synod of our Church held at Ain-Traz, Lebanon, in the month of August, 1962, moved by the Zionist attempts to confuse the ideas of the Christians in connection with the responsibility for the crucifixion of our Lord and in connection with the realization of the prophecies, believed that it had to publish the following communiqu, dated August 31, 1962.)

In the meeting held by His Beatitude Maximos IV, Patriarch of Antioch and All-the-East, of Alexandria, and of Jerusalem, and the bishops of the Greek Catholic Community in the last week of August, 1962, at the patriarchal residence of Ain-Traz, Lebanon, to study questions concerning the general interest of the Church and that of their faithful, His Excellency Archbishop Elias Zoghby, Patriarchal Vicar General in Egypt and the Sudan, pointed out the attempts made by members of certain sects or by persons with political aims to stir up trouble among the Christians of Arab lands and induce them to doubt the right that their brothers the Palestinian refugees have to return to their country and to recover their land. In their attempts, the propagandists of error resort to texts of the Holy Scripture, which they modify or interpret in a sense that is different from that commonly used by Catholic commentators.

After deliberation, the Fathers of the Holy Synod, while carefully avoiding intervening in political affairs, judged it opportune to draw the attention of their faithful to the danger of these attempts and to publish the following communique:

<169>In recent years, some new and strange opinions have been propagated in the matter of the interpretation of the Holy Scripture in a sense contrary to that of the Fathers of the Church and of Christian tradition as it has been settled since the first centuries, in the East as well as in the West. We wish to point out this grave danger which threatens the belief and the conduct of our faithful, and which consists of the propaganda of those who call themselves <170>Jehovah's Witnesses," who have distorted the texts of the Old and the New Testaments, and have invented a new religion containing teachings openly contradicting those of Christianity, not only in the matter of belief and worship, but also in the matters of social and patriotic questions. This leads to the belief that they are rather a sect employed by a political organization that, by sabotage and by troubling minds, aims to dominate the world.

Likewise, we must put our faithful on guard against certain recent publications relative to the fulfillment of the prophecies of the Old Testament. The promises made by God to the Patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to give them the land of Palestine were realized when the land of Canaan was invaded by Joshua, son of Nun and his successors as leaders of Israel until the time of David and Solomon, that is, from the 12th to the 10th centuries before Jesus Christ. Similarly, the prophecies relative to the return of the Jews to Palestine after the Babylonian exile were realized when they were brought back home by Cyrus, King of Persia, in the 7th century B.C.

Consequently, these promises and these prophecies are today deprived of any reality, having been realized many centuries ago. It is not necessary to believe that they are valid forever and that they confer on the Jews an eternal right to possess the Promised Land.

Likewise, we put our faithful on guard against the doubts that have been stirred up by certain persons on the subject of the truth of what the Holy Gospels report concerning the responsibility for the crucifixion of Christ. These persons try by tricks to place the responsibility on the Romans and to acquit the Jews. However, the Holy Gospels are very clear when they affirm that it was the Jews who decreed and demanded Christ's crucifixion, and that the Roman officials authorized and executed it.

Whatever that may be, we believe through our Christian faith that Christ was crucified and died voluntarily for the redemption of the sins of the world. In fact, He said on the Cross, <169>Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.<170> Christianity does not bear any hatred or spite against the Jews or the Romans for a crime committed by their ancestors nearly two thousand years ago. But there is no right to make the word of God serve political ambitions and to deny the historical facts related in our revealed books.

In a few words, the Fathers of the Synod ask their faithful to be attentive and very much on guard against fine words and sectarian innovations in questions of the Holy Scripture. They should hold fast to the authentic and traditional interpretation of the Holy Scripture that the Church has followed since its orlgln .

If charity makes it a duty for our Christian faithful to avoid any hatred or spite whatsoever, justice, humanity and patriotism make it a duty for them to place themselves at the sides of their brothers the Arabs of Palestine to demand their right to return to what is their land and the land of their ancestors, rejecting any attempt made by interested parties to exploit revelation and religion on behalf of political ambitions which right and conscience condemn."

(III. Communique of the Greek Catholic Patriarch, dated at Rome, November 11, 1963. This communique concerns the first draft, presented to the Council on November 8, 1963.)

On the subject of the agitation that was displayed in certain Arab countries when the news spread that the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council might examine certain texts relating to the Jewish religion, His Beatitude Patriarch Maximos IV made the following statement:

1. It is correct that the Secretariat for Christian Unity has prepared a short text of less than two pages, distributed to the Fathers of the Council in the course of the meeting of November 8, 1963, treating the relationships of the Catholic Church with other religions that are not Christian, in particular with the Jewish religion. But this text has not yet been studied, and nobody can foresee what the outcome will be, for it can be amended, rejected, or even erased from the agenda, exactly as happened to a similar text.

2. The Jewish question can be considered from two viewpoints: the spiritual-religious viewpoint and the civil-political one.

The Church, when it considers Judaism, does so only on the spiritual-religious level. The ecumenical council has often declared that it does not intervene in civil and political questions.

The Jewish religion, as one knows, is the oldest of the revealed religions. In it were born the great prophets, such as Abraham, Moses, David, as well as others recognized by Christianity, as well as by Islam. Thus there is nothing wrong if the Council treats of Judaism as an inspired religion and as one after which Christianity came to substitute for it and to complete it according to the plans of divine providence.

3. The text in question does not make any allusion to the present political situation between the Arab States and the State of Israel, which the Vatican has not yet recognized, in spite of all the attempts and all the efforts made in this direction. It is a religious text, in which no objective criticism can find anything other than an attempt, theoretical and practical, to condemn the racial campaigns and the confessional hatreds in certain regions of the Christian East.

4. Our Arab countries, while struggling against Israel from the political viewpoint as an unjust occupant of Palestine, have not ceased to respect the liberty of all the inspired religions, including Judaism. They protect, in all their territories, the rights of Jewish citizens, and clearly distinguish between Zionism, which is a political movement, and Judaism, which is an inspired religion. If some interested persons try to exploit for unjust political ends the purely religious position that the ecumenical council takes, let them know that the Arab bishops wish to prevent any prejudice <197> God forbid <197> from affecting the interests of their countries.

5. But in return we ask the Arab states to help us accomplish our duty. Israel has been trying for a long time to obtain recognition from the Vatican. It employs, to arrive at that goal, all the effective means, and these means in that matter are considerable. Nevertheless, the Vatican has not recognized it, out of consideration for our Arab countries and to protect Christian interests, while our Arab States are standing with their arms crossed, without any propaganda other than the anger of the newspapers, the anger of speeches, and other ineffective means of that nature, if they do not take, here and there, positions constricting the Christian communities, as is the case in the question of the schools. It is easier today, in certain Arab countries for a Christian religious leader to <169>grasp the moon in one's hand<170> (an Arabic expression) than to open a primary school in a small village for the faithful of his community. On this subject, one could say much.

Let us thus be just, let us look at things objectively, and let us work to render reciprocal help, since the sacrifice, if it is indefinitely required from the same side, cannot be continued.

(IV. An extract from the intervention of His Beatitude to the Council on November 18, 1963, criticizing the first text on the Jews presented by the Secretariat for Christian Unity as a Chapter IV of the schema <169>On Ecumenism.<170>)

We must say very clearly <197> and this is very important <197> that Chapter IV of the schema, which has recently been distributed to us, is absolutely extraneous. Ecumenism is an effort for the gathering together of the whole Christian family, that is to say, the consolidation of all those who have been baptized in Christ. It is thus a strictly intimate family affair. Non-Christians are thus not involved. One cannot see what the Jews are going to do in Christian ecumenism, and why they have been introduced into it.

Besides, it is gravely offensive to our separated brethren, that they seem to be treated on the same footing as the Jews.

It is thus urgent that this Chapter IV be removed from the schema <169>On Ecumenism.<170>

If one nevertheless clings to retaining it for some reason, of which we are ignorant, it is necessary

a) first to insert it in another schema where it will be more at home, for example in the schema <169>On the Church,<170> in speaking of the history of salvation, v or in the schema in preparation <169>On the Church in the Modern World,<170> as testimony of the Church against racism of whatever kind;

b) then, if one speaks of the Jews, it is also necessary to speak of the other non-Christian religions, and above all of the Muslims, who number 400 million, and among whom we live as a minority.

Let us then be just and logical. If we wish to disavow anti-Semitism <197> and all of us disavow it <197> a short note condemning both anti-Semitism and racial segregation would be sufficient. It is useless to create harmfu; agitation in the world.

(V. A note on the undesirability of making special mention of the Jews in the general declaration on non-Christians. This note, drawn up by the Holy Synod, concerns the second draft of the <169>Declaration on the Jews and non-Christians.<170> Dated September 3, 1964, it was sent to all the authorities of the Council.)

1. In the various interventions at the beginning of the second session of the Council, the Eastern patriarchs have particularly insisted on the undesirability of a special mention of the Jews in the general declaration on non-Christians, influenced by the highly excited sensibilities of the Arab states and the Muslims, who could not understand and interpret such a mention except as a political support that the Roman Holy See and the whole Council wished to give to Zionist claims against the Arabs. The consequences of such an interpretation would be serious for the Christian minority in the said countries. It is not a matter of promulgating a declaration of a speculative type, but of seeing if it is proper for the Church, at the risk of arousing the fifty million Arab Muslims against the Christian minority of five to seven million living scattered in their midst, to make declarations that cannot be understood by the interested parties <197> Jews, Christians, and Muslims of the East except as expressing pro-Israel political tendencies.

2. Given the great skill of the Israelis in exploiting politically in their favor the slightest word pronounced by Christian authorities, numerous groups of Christians <197> Catholics and others <197> are not able to understand why Cardinal Bea and some other bishops now wish to make this declaration. They are scandalized and begin to have doubts about the teaching of the Church. Besides there are <169>bad ones<170> who unjustly accuse the Holy See of having been bought by the money of the Jews and of Americans who are tools of the Jews. Is it necessary, then, to discontent Christians and to promote dissensions among them, in order to satisfy the Jews?

3. As long as the other Christians <197> Orthodox and Protestant <197> do not publish a similar declaration at the same time as the Catholics and with them, this will confirm in the minds of the non-Catholics that the Catholic Church always acts alone, without taking into account the other Christians. Is this not one of the reproaches often addressed to it?

4. These same Christians, above all those in Islamic countries, address to us the following language: <169>If the pope and his Council believe that they have the right to make Eastern Catholics run the risk of vexations resulting from a pro-Israeli declaration, they do not have the right to expose us, the Orthodox of these countries, to the same risk, for the Arab States and the Muslims do not distinguish between the different Christian confessions and will not fail to make us undergo the same vexatious measures.<170>

5. Such a declaration will be exploited not only politically by Israel against the Arabs but also religiously by the judaizing sects (Adventists, Jehovah's Witnesses) who will cause the Church even more trouble.

6. The actual and collective responsibility of the Jews, who condemned and killed our Lord <197> even though the death was voluntary <197> is an undeniable historical fact. Jews of all times and all places recognize that fact. The Bible and the Liturgy also assert it in explicit and severe terms. Why is there today a desire to acquit them of this crime? The Church today is made to bear the responsibility for the errors committed at other times by some of its men (the abuses of the Inquisition, St. Bartholomew's Day, the Albigensians...); people are made to bear the responsibility for errors committed at other times by their ancestors or by certain ones of their leaders. Why does one not wish to have the Jews bear the moral responsibility for a crime committed by their ancestors and the leaders of their nation? Is it to prevent their being persecuted? But it isn't for this crime that certain peoples reject them nowadays; it is for reasons that are social, racial, economic, political, etc. Now that the pope himself feels the need and the appropriateness for not acquitting men of the Church of errors of other times, why is there an insistence on officially acquitting the Jews of the blood of Jesus Christ, whom they crucified? Why is there an insistence on this official declaration of their innocence, when they themselves, through the mouths of their ancestors, said in the Gospel, <169>His blood be on us and on our children<170> (our posterity)? All that seems truly astonishing on the part of a great ecumenical council.

It is not because of anti-Semitism that we ask the Roman Holy See and the Holy Council to omit mentioning the Jews and their innocence, since we ourselves are Semites, both by blood (we belong to the descendents of Shem) and by religion (the New Testament is the continuation of the Old). What makes us act is the desire to avoid having the Church of our times make a declaration susceptible to creating trouble for the Christians of Arab and Muslim countries, and of being exploited politically by Zionists.

Besides, it is evident that we have nothing against the Jewish religion as a revealed religion or against the Jews as human beings. Arab countries have Jewish citizens, who enjoy full religious liberty and the free exercise of their rights.

What we can admit is that there is an exploitation of these considerations of a strictly religious kind in order to serve the interests of Zionism, which is a political and imperialist movement, upon which weighs the responsibility for more than a million Palestinian refugees, driven from their country and deprived of their property: a human problem for which the state of Israel refuses to consider an equitable solution.

We clearly distinguish between Judaism and Zionism, and we do not wish that, under the pretext of speaking about the Jewish religion and the Jews, one in fact favors Zionism, the unjust invader with obvious expansionist aims.

(VI. Extracts from an intervention at the Council by Archbishop Joseph Tawil, Patriarchal Vicar General at Damascus, on September 29, 1964.)

We do not see the precise object of this schema, and where it is leading.

-Is it a matter of affirming that the Church arises from the synagogue and that Christ, His Mother, and the Apostles came forth from the Chosen People, the people of the Holy Scriptures and of the Prophets? There is no dispute.

-Is it a matter of cleansing the Jewish nation of this epoch of the murder of Christ? But Christ himself pardoned them, and every Christian worthy of the name must do likewise.

-Is there a desire to prevent having the crime of their ancestors placed on the Jews of our days? But they are as little responsible for this crime as the whole of humanity is for original sin and for so many national crimes, so many genocides.

-Finally, is there a desire to condemn, by a conciliar declaration, anti-Semitism in all its forms, and racial and religious discrimination? But in this case, why limit it to the Jews?

This Council has always considered with great diligence the repercussions of its acts and its declarations. Now, does not this declaration of sympathy with the Jews, in spite of all the precautions that have been taken, stir up a burning problem that has not yet been extinguished? Does it not risk the explosion of the powder keg that is unfortunate Palestine, where no less than a million Arabs have been unjustly and violently chased from their lands by those to whom the Council makes advances? Doesn't it risk by the same action the alienation of all movement of sympathy by these same peoples to the Catholic Church? And from then on what value would there be in a declaration made by the Council on the subject of the Muslims when it will have already lost their friendship? Now, is that what the Council is seeking? And hasn't His Eminence Cardinal Bea declared from the beginning that it is necessary to choose the practice of the open door? And isn't action of this sort closing it?

@BODY TEXT ITA = (VII. Statement of the Greek Catholic Patriarchate on the affair of the exoneration of the Jews, November 30, 1964.)

There is today in the Arab countries a great clamor on the subject of the reports that claim that the Second Vatican Council, held at Rome, has given to the Jews an act acquitting them of the blood of Christ.

It is painful for us to see the press and the radio become agitated, the pens and the tongues become inflamed, the crowds become enthusiastic to criticize, to menace, to accuse the Church and the greatest religious and moral authority on earth on the subject of a question that they do not understand, that they have not studied in its text and its context, but about which they have simply heard something said.

In this tumult, we have a word to say, a word of truth and of justice, to all those who desire to know the truth, and that not only from love of the truth, but also to protect the reputation of our countries, for fear that they may be accused of having an immature attitude.

A similar agitation took place last year, when His Holiness Pope Paul VI, impelled by sentiments of charity, piety, ecumenism, and reconciliation among peoples, decided to visit the holy places in Palestine. It was said at that time in our Arab countries that the pope, upon arriving at the entrance to occupied Jerusalem, would be solemnly received by the head of state, to whom he would deliver an act or a document acquitting the Jews of the death of Christ. This childish manner of thinking was not borne out by the actual events. Today all the talk is about the document <169>on the exoneration of the Jews of the blood of Christ.<170> On this subject we must assert the following: 1. The declaration of the ecumenical council has a purely religious character: it studies the relationship of the Catholic Church with non-Christian religions. The Church has likewise stated precisely its relationships with the other Churches and ecclesial communities that are non-Catholic. It is enough to read the title of this declaration to be convinced: <169>Relationships of the Church with non-Christian religions.<170>

The Catholic Church today is in a position of dialogue: dialogue with itself, dialogue with other Churches, dialogue with the world that has its multiple human and social problems, dialogue with whomever seeks God in his own manner. And this dialogue aims to strengthen human solidarity and the unity of God's family, on the road toward the object of its existence. Arab countries, since Zionism was established as a state in Palestine, have known how to distinguish Judaism as a religion and Zionist Judaism as a political movement. They have respected the first and fought the second.

2. Certainly there were some among the leaders of Israel and the Pharisees who, with their partisans, plotted Christ's doom, the death on the cross. The responsibility for this crime falls on those who committed it, not on those who did not commit it, who were the majority of the nation. Consequently, the Jews of that time who lived in Jerusalem or elsewhere in Palestine, among whom were also some Sanhedrin such as Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, as also the Jews dispersed then in the four corners of the Roman Empire, and the millions of Jews who have lived since these events or live now, all of these cannot be held as personally responsible for the death of Christ, and consequently cannot be subjected to acts of vengeance or to destruction through hatred or spite, although a sign of a stigma remains graven on their foreheads insofar as they remain far from Christ the Savior promised and announced by the prophets of the Old Testament. But this mark does not constitute a personal crime for which innocent persons would be responsible and should pay the price through their blood. These are the evident truths that no reasonable man would know how to deny. Thus if the ecumenical council has proclaimed these truths, moved by sentiments of humanity, justice, and evangelical pardon, following the greatest massacre that history has known, intended to wipe out an entire people, under the regime of the Nazis in Germany and in Europe, has it thus acquitted the Jews, murderers of Christ, of their abominable crime? Can one believe that the ecumenical council has repealed the Holy Gospel? Can it destroy the foundations of Christian dogma based on redemption through Christ's blood? Is that not childish language?

3. If the Roman Holy See had in mind recognizing the state of Israel, as is insinuated here and there through ignorance or bad faith, it would have done so after the establishment of that state sixteen years ago. But it has not done so, and it will not do so, out of regard for the Arab attitude and out of good will for the cause of the Arab refugees from Palestine, unjustly driven out of their country. We are absolutely sure of what we say.

Here one may object, saying, if the text of the declaration does not in any way contradict religious belief, why have we, Arab religious leaders, insisted on rejecting it entirely, so that there may be no mention at all made of Israel.

Here are the reasons for our attitude:

a. The Jewish question is a thorny one. It is a silk cover on a bunch of brambles. No matter how you grasp it, you cannot get loose from it without bloodying your fingers. Besides, it is not a question that the Council cannot avoid treating. Why then take chances by studying it?

b. The Jews try by all means to identify Judaism, a divine religion from which the prophets came forth, with Zionism, an unjust aggressor, and that in order to gain world sympathy.

c. The Jews are very skillful in their propaganda, so much the more because they hold in their hands the reins of opinion. They modify the facts as they wish, and know how to exploit every word in favor of their political interests.

d. The Arab ecclesiastical leaders are faithful to their respective fatherlands in both good and bad circumstances, in everything that does not contradict their religious belief. They feel with their fellow citizens. Now, the Arab world experiences a profound repugnance, not in regard to Judaism, which is a divine religion, but in regard to Zionism <197> an aggressor, with unlimited imperialistic ambitions, an implacable enemy of Arab nationalism.

That is the pure truth. The rest is demagoguery, which our countries would do well to avoid, for that contributes to harm them politically, socially, and economically.

Let us then have some maturity and common sense!

To finish, may we be permitted to state again that Israel cannot be vanquished by talk, anger, or demonstrations. Rights will not be re-established and Israel vanquished except by the loyalty, the solidarity, and the unity of the Arab front and the effort to induce the international groups that support it to understand the position of the Arabs and their inalienable rights. Likewise, Israel cannot be vanquished by Arab estrangement from the Holy See of Rome. The whole world knows how great is the weight of the Vatican in the balance of international moral forces. Such an attitude would weaken the Arab position.

We stop here, and we declare again that, in spite of the lack of attention, in spite of suspicion and the bad reception, we shall not cease to defend firmly, courageously, and without ostentation our country, on whose welfare we spend ourselves without any limit. God and the fatherland appreciate our intentions and our acts.

(VIII. Observations on the draft of the declaration <169>On the Jews and non-Christians.<170> A note presented by the Holy Synod in August 1964.)

We do not have any fundamental objection on the theological level in opposing this draft of the declaration. But from a practical viewpoint, we maintain that there should be added to No. 32 a last paragraph, with the following wording:

<169>This holy Council insists on emphasizing that the present declaration <197> which is a purely religious act inspired only by theological considerations <197> has no political motive or any political aim. The holy Council condemns in advance any tendentious interpretation that would try to give the present declaration any political meaning whatsoever in favor of anyone or against anyone.<170>

The reasons for which we hold that this paragraph should be added to the relevant declaration are the following:

1. Because of the exacerbation of the feelings of the Arab and Muslim States due to the Jewish invasion that has driven from occupied Palestine a million Arab refugees, and because of the skill of the Israelis in exploiting politically in their favor the least word pronounced by Christian authorities...

2. In this state of mind, the least word pronounced by the Fathers of the Council can stir up a storm of protestations and risk exciting the ftfty million Muslim Arabs against the Christian minority of five to seven million living among them. And among the non-Catholics, there are many who say, <169>The Church of Rome, through its declarations, can expose its followers to the troubles of insecurity, but it does not have the right to expose us also to such an eventuality.<170>

3. We also deem it is necessary to affirm and reaffirm publicly the absence of any political intention or import in this conciliar act that is the <169>Declaration on the Jews.<170>

4. It is true that the authors of the text submitted for our approval strove to expurgate from it any expression of a nature that would offend the sensitivities of the Arabs. In spite of everything, two short passages can still leave it open to criticism. These are

a) lines 20, 21, and 22 of No. 32, with respect to which the Arabs can say that it is also necessary to deplore the injustices committed by the Jews;

b) lines 31 and 32 of the same section, to which there will be no failure to give a pro-Israeli interpretation, for anti-Semitism does not have for its cause the responsibility of the Jews in Christ's passion, but rather it has causes that are political, social, racial, economic, etc. To avoid any possible criticism of the text of No. 32 as a whole, we propose to add the paragraph placed at the head of our present observations.

5. Let us not say that it is understood that in principle the Council does not occupy itself with politics, and that consequently the paragraph in question is useless. No, it is very useful, it is even necessary, for the Council cannot make decrees simply in a speculative manner, without considerations of time and place; on the contrary, it must take into account the historic circumstances in which we live. And let us not say that a declaration along this line made by an official of the Church in an interview or a press conference would be sufficient. No, it must be inserted into the text itself of the <169>Declaration on the Jews.<170> From this point of view no precaution is too much.

6. We are not acting out of anti-Semitism; we are not, and we cannot be anti-Semites, since we are Semites by blood (we belong to the descendants of Shem) and by religion (the New Testament is a continuation of the Old). But we do not wish that the Church, mother and mistress of all nations, mistress of justice, charity, and peace, make a declaration that can be considered, evenly incorrectly, as taking sides in an international political conflict, in which considerable vital interests are involved.

@CHAPTER # = Chapter 15

@CHAPTER TITLE = Marriage and the Family @MAJOR SEC HDG = Indissolubility of Marriage @BODY TEXT ITA = (In an intervention on September 29, 1965, concerning the schema <169>The Church in the Modern World,<170> Archbishop Elias Zoghby, Patriarchal Vicar for Egypt and the Sudan, spoke to the Council about the trauma of the innocent spouse and asked whether a solution could be provided in the Catholic Church, especially in view of tradition in the Orthodox church, which considers adultery a cause for the dissolution of marriage. Here is the complete text of Archbishop Zoghby's intervention.)

There is a problem even more agonizing than that of birth control: it is the problem of the innocent spouse who, in the prime of life and through no fault of his or her own, is left alone through the other spouse's fault.

Shortly after entering into a marriage that seems to be happy, one of the spouses, through weakness or with premeditation, abandons the family and contracts a new union. The innocent spouse comes to his or her pastor or bishop and receives only one answer, <169>I can do nothing for you. Pray and be resigned to live alone and to practice continence for the rest of your life!<170> This solution presupposes heroic virtue, a rare faith, and an exceptional temperament. It is not, therefore, a solution that everyone can accept.

The young man or woman who had married because he or she did not feel called to perpetual continence is thus very often driven, in order not to become a bundle of nerves, to contract a new and illegitimate union outside the Church. Although up to then a practicing Catholic, he or she is henceforth doomed to be tortured in conscience. Only one choice is offered: either become an exceptional soul overnight or... perish!

We know on this subject that this solution of perpetual continence is not one for the ordinary Christian. In other words, we know that we leave these young victims without an answer. We ask them to depend on faith that works miracles; but-faith that works miracles is not given to everyone. Many among us, bishops of the Church, still have to struggle hard and pray in order to obtain it.

Therefore, the question that these anguished souls are asking the Council today is this: has the Church the right to answer an innocent faithful, whatever the nature of the problem that is torturing him or her, <169>Make the best of it; I have no solution for your case!<170> Or can the Church in this case offer only an exceptional solution that it knows is meant only for exceptional persons?

The Church has certainly received from Christ sufficient authority to offer all its children the means of salvation proportionate to their strength, and, of course, with the help of divine grace. Heroism, the state of perfection, has never been demanded by Christ under pain of damnation. Christ says, <169>If you wish to be perfect<170> ... if you wish it!

The Church therefore cannot lack sufficient authority to protect the innocent spouse against the consequences of sins of the other spouse. It does not seem normal that perpetual continence, which belongs to the state of perfection, can be imposed, like a punishment, on the innocent spouse because the other spouse has been unfaithful.

The Eastern Churches have always been aware of having this authority, and they have always exercised it in favor of the innocent spouse.

The bond of matrimony has certainly been made indissoluble by the positive law of Christ, but, as the Gospel of Saint Matthew indicates (5:32, 19:9) <169>except on the grounds of adultery.<170> It is up to the Church to judge the meaning of this clause; even though the Church of Rome has always interpreted it in a restrictive sense, the same has not been true in the East, where the Church interpreted it, from the earliest times, in favor of the possible remarriage of an innocent spouse.

It is true that the Council of Trent in its 24th Session (Canon 7 of De Matrimonio), sanctioned the restrictive Roman interpretation. However, it is widely known that the formula adopted at that holy council in that canon has been revised intentionally so as not to exclude the Eastern tradition that followed a practice contrary to that of the Church of Rome. Credit for this is due to the Venetian orators who were well acquainted with the Greek tradition based on the interpretation of the Greek Fathers, and even of certain Western Fathers such as St. Ambrose of Milan.

We know how much the Fathers of the Eastern Church tried to dissuade widowers and widows from a second marriage, thus following the Apostle's advice, but they have never wished to deprive the innocent spouse who has been unjustly abandoned of the right to remarry. This tradition, preserved in the East, and which was never reproved during the ten centuries of union, could be accepted again and adopted by Catholics. Progress in patristic studies has indeed brought to the fore the doctrine of the Eastern Fathers who were no less qualified exegetes or moralists than the Western ones.

Pastoral concern for sorely tried spouses has been manifested among the Western canonists in another way. By means of a subtle casuistry that sometimes borders on acrobatics, they have applied themselves to detecting all possible impediments that could vitiate the marriage contract. They have certainly done this out of pastoral concern, but the result sometimes been detrimental to souls. For instance, if it happens that after ten or twenty years of marriage a previously unsuspected impediment of affinity is discovered, it is petimittrd to resolve everything as if by magic. The jurists find this quite normal and natural, but we pastors must admit that it sometimes amazes and scandalizes our faithful.

Is not the tradition of the Eastern Fathers, cited above, more appropriate than these impediments to marriage for granting divine mercy to Christian spouses? Abuses are always possible, but abuse of authority does not eliminate authority.

In this age of ecumenism and dialogue, may the Catholic Church recognize the immemorial tradition of the Eastern Church, and may theologians apply themselves to the study of this problem, in order to bring a remedy to the anguish of innocent spouses permanently abandoned by their spouses, and in order to deliver them from the danger that seriously threatens their souls.

@BODY TEXT ITA = (On October 2, 1965, Patriarch Maximos gave some <169>clarifications<170> to La Croix on the delicate subject of the indissolubility of marriage. When he was consulted in regard to the intervention of Archbishop Elias Zoghby, his Vicar General in Egypt and the Sudan, on the indissolubility of marriage in the event of infidelity of one of the spouses, he offered La Croix the following clarifications:)

Archbishop Zoghby, like all Fathers of the Council, enjoys full freedom to say what he thinks. And although he is our vicar in Egypt, he naturally speaks only for himself personally.

As for me, I knew about this intervention only at the time I heard it at the meeting of the Council.

With respect to the heart of the problem, the Church must hold fast to the indissolubility of marriage, for, even though in certain cases the innocent spouse is sorely tried because of this law, the whole of family life would be shaken and ruined without this law. Moreover, if divorce in the strict sense were to be allowed on the grounds of adultery, nothing would be easier for less conscientious spouses than to create this cause.

The contrary practice of the Eastern Orthodox Churches can be supported by a few texts by certain Fathers. But these texts are contradicted by others and do not in every case constitute a sufficiently constant and universal tradition to induce the Catholic Church to change its discipline on this point.

Nevertheless, this question, with the proper nuances, could have been brought before the Council as a serious difficulty to be resolved in the dialogue with Orthodoxy. Yet, presented as it is now, without the necessary precision, it can create confusion in many minds.

@BODY TEXT ITA = (On October 4, 1965, in a new intervention at the Council, Archbishop Zoghby made his ideas more precise.)

Since certain publications have attached too much importance to my last intervention at the Council concerning the frequent and unfortunate particular case of the innocent spouse abandoned by his or her spouse, and since they have broadcast the text of this intervention throughout the world, I have asked to speak again in the assembly, not to retract or change what I have said, but to call to mind briefly the following:

1. The purpose of my intervention was strictly pastoral, i.e., to discover a solution to the problem of so many young spouses condemned to live alone, in forced continence, through no fault of their part.

2. I clearly affirmed in my intervention the immutable principle of the indissolubility of marriage, and I intentionally avoided using the word <169>divorce,<170> because in Catholic usage this word signifies an infraction of the immutable principle of the indissolubility of marriage.

3. This indissolubility of marriage is so deeply rooted in the tradition of Eastern and Western Churches, both Catholic and Orthodox, that it could not be called into question in a Conciliar intervention. In fact, Orthodox tradition has always held marriage to be indissoluble, as indissoluble as the union of Christ and His Spouse, the Church, a union that remains the <169>exemplary model<170> of the monogamic and sacramental marriage of Christians.

In Orthodox theology, divorce is simply a dispensation granted to the innocent spouse in very clearly defined cases and with a purely pastoral concern, by virtue of what the Orthodox call the <169>principle of economy,<170> which signifies <169>dispensation,<170> or better, <169>condescension.<170> This dispensation does not exclude the principle of indissolubility of marriage. It is even placed at its service, like the dispensation from valid and consummated marriages granted by the Catholic Church by virtue of the Petrine privilege. We shall not speak about the abuses, which are always possible but do not change the theological reality.

4. It is therefore a <169>dispensation<170> in favor of the innocent spouse that I was suggesting in my intervention. Referring to the traditional interpretation in the East of Saint Matthew's texts (Chapters 5 and 19), I envisioned the possibility of adding to the grounds for a dispensation already accepted by the Catholic Church those of ..................................-fornication and of permanent abandonment of one spouse by the other, to avert the peril of damnation that threatens the innocent spouse. Such a dispensation would not have the effect of placing the validity of the indissolubility of marriage in doubt any more than the other dispensations.

5. This is not a frivolous proposal. It is based on the incontestable authority of the holy Fathers and of the holy Doctors of the Eastern Churches, who cannot without rashness be accused of having yielded to political or human considerations when they interpreted the Lord's words in the way they did.

6. It is in this perspective, in the East as in the West, of universal fidelity to the principle of the indissolubility of marriage, that the Roman Church, during the long centuries of union as well as after the separation, has not contested the legitimacy of the Eastern discipline favorable to the remarriage of the innocent spouse.

Conclusion

That is the meaning, the tenor of my last intervention at the Council. It involves an exegetical, canonical, and pastoral problem that must not be disregarded. As to the opportuneness of accepting new grounds for a dispensation, analogous to those already introduced by virtue of the Petrine privilege, it is up to the Church to decide.

@BODY TEXT ITA = (After studying the entire file of the question reopened by the intervention of Archbishop Zoghby, Patriarch Maximos IV wrote the following memorandum in Paris during the month of November 1966, which he requested be inserted in this anthology. <169>The important thing,<170> he declared, <169>is that the door on further research should not be closed.<170>)

The interventions made at the conciliar assembly on the subject of the dissolution of a marriage when one of the two spouses is abandoned by the other have had worldwide reverberations and stirred up reaction among people and in the press. Yet they had no practical effect on the Council or even held its attention, for we find no trace of them in the explanations of the amendments or in those of the .........modi. Moreover, it seems that they have hardened the contrary position, when it might have been possible, by revealing this difficulty with the required prudence and discretion, to open the door to a study or even to an ecumenical dialogue that could have thrown more light on it.

It seems that this difficulty could have been set forth to the Council in the following way, in the hope of holding its attention:

1. The indissolubility of marriage has been solemnly defined by the Council of Trent. It is an object of faith for every Catholic and closes the door to all discussion. Period.

2. In the Catholic Church, as well as in the world, there are cases, which civilization and the love of well-being make increasingly frequent, cases of truly revolting injustice that forces human beings, whose vocation is to live in a normal state of marriage according to the laws of nature created by God, and who are unjustly prevented from doing so through no fault of their own, to endure this abnormal state for the remainder of their lives, although they are not able to do so, humanly speaking. Generally speaking, the world has found a way out of this impasse either by divorce or by other means that the Church does not accept. As for Catholics who find themselves in this situation, they turn their anxious eyes toward the Church, their mother, because they wish to be able to live honorably in the world according to their consciences.

3. Concerning laws that govern the Church spiritually and temporally, there have been created over the centuries and according to specific and varied modes what we might call safety valves for protecting the normal life of the Church and the life of its children. In the East, which is mystical by nature and inclined in its spirituality to consider everything within the mystery of the Church, this safety valve is called oikonomia (economy). This alters, or rather elevates, the difficulties that seem inextricable to it, and centers them on Christ, who is the fullness of the Church. In the Western Church, whose basis is more juridical, this safety valve is called a <169>privilege.<170> Thus we have in the Church the <169>privilege<170> known as the <169>Pauline privilege,<170> with a scriptural basis. But we have other safety valves that have no basis either in Scripture or in Tradition, such as the privilege to dissolve a marriage that has not been consummated, even though it is completely religious. Likewise, the privilege to dissolve a marriage between a baptized person and a non-baptized one through what is called the <169>Petrine privilege,<170> which is also foreign to Holy Scripture and Tradition.

4. This being the case, we do not ask that the general teaching of the Church be disregarded or that we be given an immediate reply or even one in the near future. What we are asking is simply whether it would not be opportune on the occasion of the Second Vatican Council, which desires the union of the Churches and the peace of mind of souls, to seek to settle, or at least to clarify to a greater extent, this great question by creating a commission composed, if possible, of eminent members of the two Churches, Eastern and Western, in order to conduct a study in the light of faith, in a spirit of openness and charity, taking into account Holy Scripture, theology, Tradition, the Fathers, and the conduct of the Church through the centuries, by having recourse to either the oikonomia of the Eastern Church or to the <169>privilege<170> of the Western Church, in order to alleviate the unjust suffering of such a large number of souls.

We also believe that as long as the Church does not resolve, through its leaders, to do absolutely everything in its power to find a way out of this impasse, it is not entitled to enjoy a peaceful conscience; and its conscience cannot be liberated before God and man unless, after this conscientious work, it turns out to be true that the status quo is indispensable.

@MAJOR SEC HDG = Birth Control

@BODY TEXT ITA = (Text of the patriarch's intervention pronounced on October 29, 1964, concerning No. 21 of the schema on <169>The Church in the Modern World.<170>)

Today I should like to draw the attention of your venerable assembly to a special point of morals, birth control.

The fundamental virtue that is required of us, pastors assembled in a council that intends to be pastoral, is the courage to come face-to-face with the problems of the hour, in the love of Christ and of souls. Now, among the agonizing and painful problems that disturb the multitudes today, the problem of birth control stands out. It is an urgent problem if there ever was one, for it is at the root of a serious crisis of Catholic conscience. There is a situation of a variance between the official doctrine of the Church and the contrary practice of the immense majority of Christian families. The authority of the Church is called into question on a broad scale. The faithful find themselves driven to live in a state of rupture with the law of the Church, without the sacraments, in constant anxiety, for lack of finding a viable solution between two contradictory imperatives: conscience and normal conjugal life.

Besides, on the social level, demographic pressure in certain countries, especially those with teeming populations, militates under present circumstances against any rise in the standard of living and condemns hundreds of millions of human beings to a shameful and hopeless poverty.

The Council must bring a valid solution to this situation. That is its pastoral duty. It must declare whether God really desires this impasse that is depressing and against nature.

Venerable Fathers, since we are aware, in the Lord who died and rose again for the salvation of men, of the painful crisis of conscience which our faithful are now suffering, let us have the courage to grapple with it without any bias.

Frankly, should not the official positions of the Church on this matter be revised in the light of modern science, theological as well as medical, psychological, and sociological?

In marriage, the development of the human being and his or her integration into the creative plan of God form a single whole. The finality of marriage must not be dissected into a primary finality and a secondary finality. This consideration opens up the horizon to new perspectives concerning the morality of conjugal behavior considered as a whole.

Besides, are we not correct in asking ourselves if certain official positions are not tributary to outworn concepts, and perhaps also, to a psychosis of celibates who are strangers to this sector of life? Are we not, without wishing to be, under the influence of that Manichean concept of man and the world, for which sexual intercourse is corrupt in itself and therefore tolerated only for having a child?

Is the external biological rectitude of acts the only criterion here of morality, independently of family life, of its conjugal and familial moral climate, and of the serious imperatives of prudence, the fundamental rule of all our human activity?

Furthermore, does not present-day exegesis urge us to greater prudence in the interpretation of two passages in Genesis <197> <169>Be fruitful and multiply,<170> and that of Onan, which have been used so long as classical scriptural proofs of the basic condemnation of birth control?

How relieved was the Christian conscience when His Holiness Pope Paul VI announced to the world that the problem of birth control and of family morality <169>is under study, a study as broad and deep as possible, that is to say, as serious and honest as the great importance of this subject requires. The Church will have to proclaim this law of God in the light of scientific, social, and psychological truths that, during these recent times, have been the object of studies and documentations<170> (Doc. Cath. July 5, 1964).

In addition, given the extent and gravity of this problem that concerns the entire world, we ask that this projected study be carried out by theologians, physicians, psychologists, and sociologists, with the viewpoint of finding the normal solution that is needed. The collaboration of exemplary married Christians also seems necessary. Besides, is it not in harmony with the ecumenical path of the Council to enter into a dialogue on this subject with other Christian Churches, and even with thinkers of other religions? Why fall back on ourselves? Are we not facing a problem that affects all humanity? Must not the Church be open to the world, both Christian and non-Christian? Is not the Church the leaven that will make the dough rise? It must also achieve positive results that give peace of conscience in this area as well as in all other areas that concern humankind.

Far be it from me to minimize the delicacy and gravity of the subject, as well as possible future abuses. But here as elsewhere, is it not the duty of the Church to educate the moral sense of its children, to train them in personal and community moral responsibility that is profoundly matured in Christ, rather than to envelop them in a network of regulations and commandments, and to ask them purely and simply to conform to them with closed eyes? As for us, let us open our eyes and be practical. Let us see things as they are and not as we would wish them to be. Otherwise we would risk talking in a desert. This involves the future of the mission of the Church in the world.

And so let us loyally and effectively put into practice the declaration of His Holiness Paul VI at the opening of the second session of the Council, <169>Let the world know: the Church looks out on it with profound understanding, with sincere admiration, sincerely disposed not to subjugate it, but to serve it; not to depreciate it, but to give it greater value; not to condemn it, but to give it support and to save it.<170> (At the fourth session of the Council, a public discussion of the problem was avoided. In the appropriate commission, at the last minute, the accent was placed on fertility and its primacy in marriage, calling to mind exclusively the doctrine of the encyclical of Pius XI <169>Casti connubii<170> and the discourse of Pius XII to Italian midwives. There was therefore a danger of closing the path to any possibility of evolution in the discipline of the Church on this point. The patriarch decided to write directly to the pope [letter of November 29, 1965] to entreat him not to close the door to a possible evolution.)

@MAJOR SEC HDG = Mixed Marriages @BODY TEXT ITA = (In its <169>Observations on the schemas of the Council<170> [1963], the Holy Synod said what it thought about a plan for the regulation of mixed marriages, valid especially for the Latin Church, since the Eastern Commission likewise dealt with this question concerning mixed marriages between Eastern Catholics and Orthodox Christians.)

We begin by asking the question: Does this chapter <169>on mixed marriages<170> apply to Easterners as well? In fact, the subject is dealt with again, in what concerns them, in the schema <169>On the Eastern Churches.<170> In this case, one of the two chapters or paragraphs is a duplicate and should be eliminated. If, on the contrary, this chapter is limited to the Latin Church alone, it must be clearly stated.

However, even if this chapter were to apply only to the Latin Church, we think that it is drafted in a tone that for our non-Catholic brothers is needlessly severe and often offensive. Needlessly severe, since the percentage of mixed marriages is continuing to grow in every country, and harsh words can do nothing to prevent this. Often offensive, since it considers the non-Catholic party as necessarily being a danger, whatever his or her personal behavior may otherwise be.

At a time when Christian Churches are opening themselves to ecumenical dialogue, it is not fitting, it seems to us, for the Council to speak so superficially of a very serious problem that touches the life of the faithful and of the Church itself. It is a chapter that must be reworked completely from beginning to end, in a perspective that is at once more realistic and more ecumenical.

1. We must start from the principle that mixed marriages are inevitable. Let us think above all of countries where Catholics are in a minority, or even equal in number to other Christian confessions. It is normal for love to blossom among young persons belonging to different religious faiths.

2. Mixed marriages are not necessarily bad. Everything depends on the attitudes of the contracting parties. Neither Scripture nor the Fathers absolutely forbids them.

3. Marriages between Catholics and non-Catholic Christians must not be grouped in the same classification as marriages between Catholics and non-Christians. For a young Catholic girl, there is a great difference between marrying an Orthodox Christian and marrying a Muslim. Canon Law must take this into account not only theoretically but also in a practical way, by not requiring the same conditions for the one case as for the other.

4. The Church must never countenance hypocrisy. Mixed marriages are often, from the religious point of view, a conflict between two sincerities. The Catholic spouse rightly thinks that he or she must contract the marriage in the Catholic Church, baptize the children in the Catholic Church, and then educate them in the Catholic faith. The non-Catholic spouse makes the commitment to respect the religious convictions of his or her Catholic spouse. And yet, in conscience, he or she cannot renounce his or her own religious convictions. And so he or she will also wish to baptize the children and have them educated in his or her own faith. What is to be done? Current Catholic canon law requires that the non-Catholic spouse commit himself or herself in conscience to do things against his or her conscience. Is that moral? What actually happens? If the non-Catholic spouse is an unbeliever or indifferent, he or she promises everything that is asked. And so the marriage is authorized, and on the Catholic side this mixed marriage is considered a success, when it is really based on irreligion and hypocrisy. But if, on the other hand, the non-Catholic spouse, conscious of his or her obligations, claims his or her rights, which are sublectively not less than that of the other spouse, namely, to baptize and educate the children in his or her faith, the authorization is refused. At the very least, this is an abnormal attitude.

5. Besides, might we not succeed, with a little good will on both sides, in seeing in mixed marriages not necessarily a danger but an opportunity for bringing Christians together, an apostolate, the pursuit of ecumenism? Where our Eastern countries are concerned, we frankly declare that our Christians, both Orthodox and Catholic, are shocked by the rigidity that Catholic discipline demonstrates in the authorization of mixed marriages. What scandalizes the faithful is not the fact that Christians belonging to different confessions marry one another, but the fact that they have so many difficulties getting married.

6. Finally, the concept of the cautiones (banns) required by current canon law must be completely re-examined. It is normal to require that the Catholic party make a commitment to do what he or she can on behalf of his or her faith. But it is not normal to require a commitment to do what does not depend on him or her, or that he or she make the commitment to bring the non-Catholic spouse to do what his or her conscience forbids him or her to do.

This chapter on mixed marriages must be studied by the Council on entirely different bases from those of the present schema, which still holds to the hypothesis of a Catholicism lived in isolation and bitterly regretting any contact with the outsider, whether he be an infidel or a non-Catholic. Fortunately, we have gotten far beyond that. If the Council is to achieve a work of aggiornamento, it is certainly to be in this domain. It is necessary to see realities as they are, and to bring to them Christ's response. Harshness arising from an imaginary situation only serves to aggravate the trouble.

Now here are a few detailed remarks:

1. Why the adverb <169>rashly<170> in the expression <169>de matrimonio mixto temere non contrahendo<170> (on not contacting a mixed marriage rashly), and other similar terms? It would be better to say: <169>de matrimonio mixto imprudenter non contrahendo<170> (on not contracting a mixed marriage imprudently). The word <169>temere<170> is offensive.

2. The drafters of the schema set out to explain the reasons why the number of mixed marriages has increased, but they do it in such a simplistic way that the Council risks being held up to derision if their text is adopted.

The first reason, it is claimed, is the migration of peoples which has brought Catholic populations in contact with non-Catholic populations, and this is seen as regrettable. This may be true of certain regions of Germany. However, for the world's nations taken as a whole this reason is as old as the world. Almost everywhere Catholics live side by side with non-Catholics, and that is a good thing.

The second reason, it is said, is <169>that it is often not possible to prevent Catholics from entering into social contacts with non-Catholics, and that these friendly relations lead to marriages.<170> Could it be otherwise?

Finally, the third reason, it is said, is <169>the decline of piety.<170> Therefore, mixed marriages are an evil, and a Catholic who wishes to be devout must abstain for that very reason from contracting marriage with a non-Catholic, and that independently of any personal attitude of the non-Catholic party. On the contrary, we think that mixed marriages are the expression of more extensive relations than in the past among Christians belonging to different confessions. It is a sign of the times.

3. As a necessary condition for authorizing a mixed marriage, it is required <169>that the Catholic party sincerely guarantee that he or she will fulfill his or her duty to baptize the children and to educate them in the Catholic religion.<170> How can the Catholic party make a commitment to something whose fulfillment does not depend solely on him or her? The Catholic party must not be asked to commit himself or herself to more than he or she can do.

Rationally speaking, we must be content to ask the Catholic party to make the commitment to do everythina that he or she can, sincerely and honestly, so that the children belong to his or her Church and share his or her faith. He or she cannot promise more than that.

4. The non-Catholic is required <169>se non repugnaturum ut proles catholice baptizetur eiusque catholicae educationi provideatur<170> (that he or she will not resist having the children baptized as Catholics, and that there will be provision for their Catholic education). How can a non-Catholic Christian, if he or she is sincere and deeply committed to his or her faith, make such a promise? Only an unbeliever, an indifferent person, or a liar will do that. Thus, vices have been encouraged, in order to satisfy canon law. That is not normal.

5. Then there is the intent to show ill humor to the very end. Since mixed marriages cannot be prevented, an effort is made to show that they are authorized only reluctantly. As a result, provision is made for a diminished, private, humiliating rite. Why all that? If the mixed marriage has been authorized, it is because all the requisite conditions have been fulfilled. There is need only to bless this marriage like all others.

@CHAPTER # = Chapter 16

@CHAPTER TITLE = The Sacraments of the Church

@MAJOR SEC HDG = The Minister of the Sacrament of Confirmation in Eastern Theology

@BODY TEXT ITA = (Commenting on a draft of a schema <169>On the Sacraments<170> prepared by the Eastern Commission, the patriarch dwelt more particularly on the delicate question of the minister of the Sacrament of Confirmation, or Holy Chrism [Myron], in Eastern theology and discipline. This note was presented at the Central Commission in its session of January, 1962.)

A. The preamble placed at the head of this chapter seems to need revision which takes into account the following observations:

1. The author of the preamble presents the grace associated with this sacrament as being for Christians exclusively a grace of power and of combat, <169>by which, made fit for the fight against enemies of the soul, they may gain victory.<170> This concept, insofar as it is too exclusive, is inspired by Western theology, which in turn has erected it on the basis of the Latin usage, according to which Holy Chrism is a sacrament for those of adult age, conferred at the time of life when the Christian should begin to struggle. Eastern usage remains more faithful to the ancient tradition that considers Chrismation as being an integral part of the three sacraments of <169>Christian initiation.<170> Following that tradition, the Orthodox East continues to confer these three sacraments at the same time: Baptism, Chrismation, and the Eucharist, not only to adults but also to infants. In this perspective, the statement of the preamble is no longer adapted to the disciplinary canons that follow. It is much better to present chrismation as a sacrament whose aim is to confer on the one baptized the fullness of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, among which there is naturally the gift of fortitude.

2. The bishop is said to be the only ordinary minister of Chrismation. I am fully in agreement with the doctrine that this formula intends to express. But I propose that the words <169>ordinary minister<170> be replaced by the words <169>primary or authentic minister.<170> In Western usage, it is in fact the bishop who ordinarily administers this sacrament; the formula of Western theology thus conforms with usage. But in the East it is the priest who ordinarily and since the oldest times confers this sacrament at the same time as Baptism and the Eucharist. To say of the Eastern priest that he is the <169>extraordinary minister<170> is to use an expression that does not in any way correspond with reality. It is true that to say <169>ordinary minister<170> does not necessarily say minister who ordinarily confers this sacrament. But why not then find a less equivocal expression, and say, as I propose, the minister who is primary. original authentic of his own right, etc.? 3. The Latin text of the preamble states: <169>It is well known that in Eastern regions from ancient times the practice has prevailed with the consent of the Apostolic See, that even simple priests, with Chrism prepared by the bishop, have administered this sacrament to their faithful when conferring Baptism, and they still administer it.<170> This text requires several remarks.

a. <169>...from ancient times the practice has prevailed.<170> Eastern discipline on this point is presented as a <169>usage contrary to or outside the law,<170> tolerated because it is very ancient, from time immemorial. The historic reality is otherwise: in the East the priests have confirmed since the time when they baptized separately from the bishop.

b. <169>...with the consent of the Apostolic See.<170> This is a gratuitous assertion that does not rest on any historical fact. Never, before the deductions of Western theologians and canonists, have the popes thought that Eastern priests confirm in reliance on exceptional powers that they have granted. This clause has been invented by Latin canonists or even Uniates in order to retain a logical connection with the principles from which they wish to proceed, namely that only the pope can authorize a simple priest to confirm; well, the Eastern priests confirm, thus they do so through the authorization of the pope. The reasoning is correct, but it is deficient in its basis; its major premise is the matter of an important distinction. Only the pope can authorize a simple priest to confirm: in the West, yes. As far as the East is concerned, nothing in Holy Scripture or in the ancient and authentic tradition substantiates this. Historically this administration has been performed in reliance on customary usages. There is no need to impart to the popes things that they have not even suspected, and besides, one should not bend history to preconceived principles, but rather establish principles in conformity with the facts of history.

c. <169>...to his faithful.<170> The author of the preamble seems to wish to limit the valid application of the Eastern discipline on this point only to subjects of the priest who confirms. In reality, if the Eastern priest confirms according to the discipline of his Church, his confirmation, like his baptism, is logically valid, no matter who the subject of the confirmation may be. It is only in proceeding from principles dictated by the different discipline of the West that one denies the validity of confirmation administered by an Eastern priest to a faithful who is not of his rite.

4. It is asserted that the popes, for the good of souls, have sometimes limited this privilege that Eastern priests have to confer the sacrament of confirmation. It is known that these limitations and these revocations of the legitimate Eastern usage of Eastern priests have been, in reality, a concession made by the popes to the prejudices of Western canonists who do not wish to admit that there can be in the Holy Church anything other than that which they are accustomed to see where they live. It is useless to make this a question of the good of souls, as if the Eastern usage were a harmful exception.

This presentation of the Eastern discipline is also very little consistent with the wording of the disciplinary canons that follow. One might say that the writer of the preamble wishes, by using principles as a basis for certain restrictions, to weaken the freedom of the proposed disciplinary measures.

B. On the subiect of the canons, I would take the liberty of making the following observations:

1. Can. I. Change the term <169>ordinary minister<170> in accordance with what has been said above.

2. Can. II. <169>with Chrism blessed by the bishop.<170> The blessing of Holy Chrism is reserved to patriarchs. It would at least be necessary to say <169>by the patriarch or bishop...<170> 3. Can. II. <169>Unless a particular law should enjoin otherwise.<170> This clause should be explained. The particular law that still exists in certain regions of the West and according to which it is forbidden for an Eastern priest to confirm along with baptism cannot be tolerated. As for the particular law of certain Eastern Churches, as, for example, the Maronites, one must respect it, although it would have been better to call upon these Churches to return to the pure tradition of the East on this point.

@MAJOR SEC HDG = The Sacrament of Penance

@BODY TEXT ITA = (At the January, 1962, meeting of the Central Commission, the patriarch expressed what he thought of the <169>jurisdiction<170> for confessions, of the <169>secrecy of the Holy Office,<170> and of reserved sins.) 1. The West has no doubts that for the validity of absolution it is required that the confessor have a certain jurisdiction over the penitent. Doubtless this conviction springs from the fact that the West, having equated the absolution of sins to a judgement, has wished to find in absolution all the conditions of a human judgement in the strict sense. Well, it seems to us that the sacrament of penance is not a judgement, except by analogy. It thus does not require for its validity all the conditions of a true judicial procedure. In particular, the classical East believes that a priest approved by his bishop for confessions <197> thus constituted as a spiritual father <197> can absolve everywhere the faithful who make their confessions to him.

Ecclesiastical proprieties require of him that he should exercise this power only in the territory that has been entrusted to him, or with the permission of the priest of the place, but the validity of the sacrament always remains unharmed. I have taken the liberty of explaining this classical Eastern Christian discipline for two reasons:

a) to avoid pressing too closely the comparison between confession and judicial procedures;

b) to support doctrinally the widening of the present Catholic discipline.

2. Among the hierarchs who have the privilege of hearing confessions everywhere, it is also fitting to mention patriarchs.

3. As for the censures attached to revealing the <169>secrets of the Holy Office,<170> I am personally opposed not only to these censures but also to the <169>secrecy of the Holy Office<170> itself as it is practiced nowadays. May the Holy Office pardon me if I say troublesome things that many think but do not dare to say. We owe it to the Church to speak the whole truth in its solemn meetings. The affairs of the Church certainly require much discretion. But there is long distance between this indispensable discretion and the <169>secrecy of the Holy Office<170> as it is practiced today. The latter has given certain ecclesiastical administrations the character of a true Freemasonry, and this has been abused more than once to condemn certain persons <169>from an informed knowledge,<170> as it is called, that is to say without interrogating them or without giving them the elementary possibility of defending themselves. Besides, it seems to me that a radical reform of the Holy Office is today necessary, for the Holy Office is still too reminiscent of the <169>Holy Inquisition.<170> Its time has passed.

4. There is a question of reforming the penal system of the Church. We could not overemphasize the necessity of bringing about this reform. The present penal system of the Church almost reduces it to a secular society, more especially since the majority of the penalties are absolutely inappropriate.

@MAJOR SEC HDG = Penitential Discipline of the Church

@BODY TEXT ITA = (A proposal of the Melkite Greek Catholic Episcopate presented to the pope on October 14, 1965.)

Responding to the wishes of His Holiness Pope Paul VI, who invited the different episcopal conferences to demonstrate to him their opinions on a draft of unification of the Church's penitential discipline, His Beatitude Patriarch Maximos IV convoked a study meeting. This meeting took place in Rome on Tuesday, October 12, 1965. After having taken into consideration the documents furnished by the Holy Congregation of the Council, the Holy Synod expressed the following opinions:

1. We are all, in principle, favorable to an adaptation of the law of fasting and abstinence to present circumstances.

2. We wish that in fasting there may be a part that is strictly obligatory, and another part that is only recommended, which constitutes a minimum.

3. We wish that this law, in its strictly obligatory part, be unified for the whole Catholic Church, both Eastern and Western.

4. The days of fasting and abstinence that are simply recommended will remain different according to the diversity of rites.

5. Once the Latin Church has adapted and unified its discipline in the matter of fasting and abstinence, it will behoove the superior legislative authority of each Eastern Church to promulgate the rules of fasting and abstinence for its faithful, agreeing, insofar as possible, with those of the other Eastern Churches and of the Latin Church.

6. We maintain the distinction between fasting and abstinence, nevertheless adding that abstinence is equally obligatory on days of fasting. In other words, for us fasting is always accompanied by abstinence.

7. We are in agreement that there should be in the course of the year only three days of strictly obligatory fasting. These three days are: the first day of Lent, Holy Friday, and Holy Saturday. We prefer not to include the day before Christmas Eve.

8. As for the days on which abstinence is strictly obligatory, we prefer that they be fixed as all Fridays of the year without any exception and without any distinction between Fridays of Lent and ordinary Fridays, among laity and secular priests on the one hand, and religious, male and female, seminarians, etc., on the other.

9. As for the nature of the fasting, it consists for us of the absence of all nourishment or drink (except water) from midnight to noon. Abstinence consists of abstaining from meat or the gravy of meat.

10. We are in agreement with the discipline of the Code of Canon Law concerning the age limits of the obligation for fasting and abstinence.

11. We are equally in agreement in recommending to the faithful certain practices compensating for the mitigation of the Church's penitential discipline.

@MAJOR SEC HDG = Indulgences

@BODY TEXT ITA = (The Holy Penitentiary had prepared a draft of the recasting of indulgences. The episcopal conferences had been consulted, toward the end of the fourth session of the council. On November 10, 1965, the patriarch read before the conciliar assembly the opinion of his synod. It raised the doctrinal point underlying the discipline of indulgences. The discussion passed beyond the framework of the discipline to enter the field of dogma. The discussion was brought to an end.)

I speak in the name of the synod of the Melkite Greek Catholic episcopacy, and I wish to begin by declaring what follows: It is undeniable that the Church can add a supplementary propitiatory value to the pious acts of Christians, relying on the infinite merits of Christ and the communion of saints, for, united with Christ its leader, the Church has a power of universal intercession.

It is also undeniable that the Church's power of intercession can obtain from God a partial or total remission of the punishment due to pardoned sin. That is equivalent to asserting that the Church can obtain from God a remission, that one can call an <169>indulgence,<170> partial or total, of penalties on behalf of its repentants.

As for establishing an exact equation between the intercession of the Church and the remission by God of the penalty due to sin, that is not only without theological foundation, but also has been the cause of innumerable and serious abuses, which have caused irreparable damage to the Church. Thus it is necessary that that be positively abolished. In fact, nothing in the early and universal tradition of the Church proves that indulgences were known and practiced, as they have been since the Western Middle Ages. In particular, during the eleven centuries, at least, that the union of the Church of the East and the Church of the West lasted, there is no trace of indulgences in the usual modern sense of the word. Today the Orthodox Church, faithful to early tradition, is still ignorant of indulgences, as the West understands them.

The theological reasoning that seeks to justify the belated introduction of indulgences in the West constitutes, in our opinion, a group of deductions in which each conclusion goes a bit beyond its premises.

In reality, indulgences are tied historically to the ancient penitential discipline of the church. For each serious external fault the Church provided a public penance, more or less lengthy, more or less painful. Sometimes a mitigation of this sanction was granted, whether at the recommendation of a pious person, or on behalf of external acts, such as a pilgrimage or other act. Naturally, the fulfillment of these canonical sanctions is accompanied by a corresponding diminution of the punishment by which God wishes, in his goodness and his justice, to chastise the sin, whether down here or in the hereafter. But in imposing these sanctions, or mitigating them, the early Church did not intend in any way to interfere in God's judgements, to induce him to cancel all punishment, or to reduce it in a fixed manner.

When in the Church's discipline the usage of public canonical sanctions was suppressed, there normally should also have been a suppression of the concession of indulgences, which had for their precise goal to moderate or remove these canonical sanctions. By retaining them there was a passing, improper and too rigid, from the human and canonical basis to the divine basis.

In the Middle Ages, indulgences were subject to innumerable abuses, that were grave scandals for Christianity. But even in our days, it seems to us that the practice of indulgences too often, among the faithful, leans toward fetishism, superstition, the feeling of religious <169>capitalization,<170> a kind of pious bookkeeping, with forgetfulness of what is essential, namely the sacred and the personal exercise of repentance.

CONCLUSION

That is why we would wish that the Church, if it holds to the course of not purely and simply suppressing indulgences, by a positive act on its part, would readjust its practices for indulgences to make them more acceptable:

1. By eliminating all counting of days, years, or centuries; the amended schema has already reached this point.

2. By eliminating, in the concept of a partial indulgence, all conformity with a mathematical equation between the merit of the penitent and the satisfying capacity of the Church, for the Church does not multiply the merit of its faithful by a fixed coefficient.

3. By eliminating, even for plenary indulgences, any idea of automatic assurance of total acquittal.

4. By developing a theology in which the accent would be placed on the personal reparation of the faithful, strengthened and elevated by Christ's merits.

Thus the faithful are made to understand that the Church adds, in fact, to the intrinsic worth of their prayers and their good works the infinite worth of the merits of Christ and of his Body, which is the Church, and that is from the very fact that, belonging to the Church as its members, they participate in the divine life that animates the whole Body.

By doing this, the Catholic Church avoids the doctrinal difficulties with the Reformed Churches, difficulties that are at least disciplinary with the Orthodox, and pastoral difficulties with the Catholics themselves. Also thus, the prayer of the faithful is not isolated, but united with Christ and the Church.

<169>Indulgences<170> thus consist of this: the faithful will bear their punishments, whether imposed or voluntary, with Christ, who gives them an infinite value of redemption. As for the temporal punishment that their sins deserve, the Church does not affect it by canonical sanctions. The faithful will accept chastisement from her maternal hand, in all submission and confidence, and will spontaneously do penance from love for their Father. They will also pray for their departed ones, without seeking to know exactly either the punishment that the latter suffer or the exact measure, full or partial, of the help that they can supply for them. In this light, one will better understand the worth of a blessing given by a bishop or a priest, the worth of a pilgrimage, the wearing of a pious object, the participation in an office recommended by the Church, etc. These are the incontestable truths which by themselves can create in the soul a truly Christian sense of sin and satisfaction.

Thus, summing up everything in a few words, we shall say that the propitiatory power of the Church intervenes through the infinite merits of Christ, instead of entering into details of accounting, where errors and abuses have free play. Christ is, and must remain, the cornerstone, the alpha and omega, of the whole of our holy religion, in which all must be brought back to Him.

@MAJOR SEC HDG = Mass Stipends @BODY TEXT ITA = (This is a statement presented by the patriarch to the June, 1962, session of the Central Commission on a draft of the schema <169>On Mass stipends.<170>)

No. 1 of this schema appears to us as incomplete, in that there is not presented to the faithful a sufficient doctrinal basis for the practice of Mass stipends as such. Is speaks only of the necessity of providing for the needs of the priests. For our part, we would be satisfied with it. If we speak about it, it is to put the theologians on guard against the framework of the theories that they have devised, distinguishing among the different <169>fruits<170> of the Mass, in order to reserve certain ones of them to the person who offers the Mass stipend. This framework does not have any foundation in the Church's tradition, and it savors of the abuses of the Middle Ages. In reality, the holy sacrifice of the Eucharist is always offered to the Holy Trinity for all humanity, redeemed by the blood of the Redeemer. That does not prevent a faithful person from asking the priest to make a special commemoration at the Lord's altar. On this occasion, he may, if he wishes, offer alms to the priest, to the church, also to the deacon. But such alms may equally be offered on the occasion of funerals, of vespers, of any other office. The sacred rite is only the occasion of the alms. No causal link must be placed between the alms and any fruit of the Mass, without having the poor, who cannot offer as much alms as the rich, receive less grace from the holy Sacrifice of the Mass. It is necessary to return, on this point as on so many others, to the ancient tradition of the Church and avoid indulging in the rather partisan and trite ideas of the theologians of the Middle Ages.

No. 4 speaks of a <169>privileged<170> altar. It is better, it seems to us, to eliminate this privilege, to avoid arousing superstitious confusion in the minds of simple persons.

We would also ask that the practice of <169>Gregorian<170> Masses (No. 6) be eliminated, in order to remove from today's faithful an occasion of superstition. These two institutions, the privileged altar and Gregorian Masses, in addition to being completely unknown in the East, are rarely well understood, cause superstitions, and bring about accusations that the Church is mercenary. The council would do well, it seems, to eliminate them purely and simply. However, if it is thought that their practice has been imbedded so firmly in the minds of the Latin faithful that it is difficult to eliminate them purely and simply by a decision of the council, we would only propose that they be not mentioned in the decrees of the council, and to keep them in the lists of indulgences, like the other indulgences.

@MAJOR SEC HDG = Non-Catholic Ministers and their Admission to Holy Orders @BODY TEXT ITA = (This is a statement presented by the patriarch to the June, 1962, session of the Central Commission on a draft of the schema entitled <169>On admitting to Holy Orders those who were non-Catholic pastors or ministers.<170>)

The conditions set down for receiving into Holy Orders married Protestant ministers appear to us to be too harsh. In particular, we do not see why it is necessary to ban them from Holy Orders if their spouse does not wish to embrace Catholicism. In fact, if she respects the religion and does not hinder the Catholic upbringing of their children, why should her husband be deprived of the grace of ordination? The text can appear to wish to put pressure on the spouse's conscience to make her follow her husband in his conversion, with the penalty of refusing Holy Orders to her husband. Likewise, it is not humane to require that children who have not followed their father in his conversion live away from the family home. Such measures cause the Catholic Church to be accused of intransigence in the matter of social life, which is something that should be avoided at any cost. One would say that the fact that these ministers are married frightens the Catholic lawgiver to the point that he no longer knows how much severity to employ in order to make this exception to the rule of celibacy forgotten. It is good to honor ecclesiastical celibacy, but not to the point of belittling priests whom God never called to celibacy. In this schema, and in others, every time that it is a matter of priestly celibacy, excessive expressions are used, which are too much conditioned by the fear of someday seeing married priests in the Latin Church. The council should simply assert things, in particular the dignity of celibacy for Christ, without seeming to scorn married priests, for this scorn would reflect <197> do not forget this <197> on the first pope, Saint Peter himself, who was married.

In Paragraph XII the schema discusses not non-Catholic ministers who wish to receive Holy Orders, but priests ordained outside the Church who now wish to return to the Catholic Church. First, this paragraph cannot logically be entered under the heading of the schema in which the subject is the ordination of ministers who have not yet been ordained, when it is a matter of recognizing ordinations made outside the Catholic Church. Then, on behalf of these priests, it is necessary to provide particular legislation. It is not enough to say, <169>The same things are understood, by ascribing like things to other like things.<170> Something else must be provided. In particular, their case should not be reserved to the Holy Office, as today, but left to the prudent judgement of the Ordinary of the place or, all the better, of the patriarch, who is in a better position to judge each case in particular.

@CHAPTER # = Chapter 17

@CHAPTER TITLE = Catholic Teaching

@MAJOR SEC HDG = The Infallible Magisterium

@BODY TEXT ITA = (A statement presented by the patriarch at the June 1962 session of the Central Commission with respect to a draft of a schema <169>On respect for the magisterium of the Church.<170>)

No. 6 distinguishes in the Church between the infallible and immutable magisterium of the pope and the ecumenical council and the <169>non-infallible<170> magisterium, which requires not only a respectful silence but also an <169>internal religious compliance,<170> so much so that <169>when the Roman pontiffs in their actions concerning a matter that had hitherto been controversial, having given their attention to it, lay down a decision, that matter, according to the thinking and wishes of the same pontiffs, can no longer be considered a question for free disputation among the theologians.<170> May we be permitted to make the following remarks on this subject:

1. The <169>non-infallible<170> magisterium is, by the very strength of the term and by definition, <169>fallible,<170> and thus susceptible to error. If it is susceptible to error, like every other human teaching, even the most authoritative, the intervention of the pope cannot give to the doctrine that he proposes either the force of a dogma of faith or such a certitude that it removes every basis for possible discussion. Otherwise this <169>fallible<170> or <169>noninfallible<170> teaching would be practically equivalent to an <169>infallible<170> definition. The schema must explain clearly what the internal and essential difference is between the <169>infallible<170> teaching of the Roman pontiffs and their teaching that is theoretically called <169>fallible<170> but that still is to be considered as practically infallible, not allowing discussion. We do not wish to deny the assertion of the schema, but we ask that a clarification be presented, for, apparently, such an assertion seems to have no other goal than to extend surreptitiously the scope of pontifical infallibility and to transform into immutable certitudes, and thus practically dogmas, all the teaching of the popes, which, as is well known, includes, especially in recent years, almost all the field of human knowledge.

2. It is necessary to specify whether this exceptional authority of the pontifical teaching also extends, and if so to what extent, to all the dicasteries of the Roman Curia and to the persons who constitute it. Some of our separated brothers complain at times that in the Catholic Church everyone considers himself somewhat infallible.

3. It is also necessary to state precisely that this practical infallibility claimed for the teaching of the popes, even outside every dogmatic definition as such, does not extend to disciplinary measures taken by the Roman Curia, measures susceptible of being based on inexact information or on human motives.

4. While safeguarding the deposit of the faith, it is necessary, it seems to us, to avoid a continuously increasing constriction of the area of truths that are called in our Eastern tradition theologoumena: truths that have not yet been transformed into dogmas and whose reasoned discussion constitutes the proper work of theology. Their denial is not reasonable, but it does not automatically draw the thunderbolt of ecclesiastical censures. In other words, there should be no fear of leaving the widest possible field to the freedom of reasoned theological reflection, but with the way open for intervention if the domain of dogma is in danger. Certain Catholic authorities behave as if, for them, everything must be certain and evident. There is a violent reaction when what to them appears evident is not so in others' eyes. Many troubles in the Church would be avoided if persons knew how to be firm on dogmas and definite truths, while respecting freedom of theological thought for all other matters.

@MAJOR SEC HDG = Thomism

@BODY TEXT ITA = (A statement presented by the patriarch at the session of the Central Commission in June 1962.)

It is our opinion that, in spite of the very high regard that one must have for St. Thomas Aquinas, it is not fitting that the ecumenical council should declare that his doctrine is purely and simply the very doctrine of the Church or of the council. Therein is the risk that the Angelic Doctor be substituted for all the teaching and all the tradition of the Church. From the viewpoint of bringing Christians together, there is more than one disadvantage in the pure and simple adoption of the whole Thomistic system as the Church's own doctrine. Here are a few examples:

1. The Thomistic system, in fact, cannot be called universal in the Church. The East, in particular, possesses another theological system, which must not be cast aside from Catholic thought.

2. Thomistic terminology does not always conform with that in traditional usage in the Eastern Church, especially on the subject of the sacraments.

3. There is an involuntary risk of giving St. Thomas' doctrine more consideration than the collective thought of the Fathers who constitute the ecclesial tradition. In particular, the patristic thought of St. Thomas, although commendable for his epoch, is deficient on certain points compared with modern research.

4. St. Thomas is of his epoch and shares a good number of the prejudices of his time in regard to Easterners. In the dialogue with the Orthodox, he must not be utilized except with discretion.

5. Finally, Scholasticism, which is dependant on St. Thomas, has gradually made certain positions of the Master more inflexible, and renders dialogue with the Orthodox still more difficult.

However that may be, Thomism is perhaps the most perfect expression of the theological evolution of the West in the Middle Ages. But Eastern theology does not die easily. It is better to leave the framework of the Church's universal theology open to a number of currents. Thus while recommending St. Thomas for the study of theologians, the council must avoid making it something absolute. Divinity is infinitely rich and varied. Nothing is more impoverishing than to contemplate it from a single viewpoint

@BODY TEXT ITA = (Extracts from the <169>Observations of the Holy Synod on the schemas of the Council<170> [1963])

It is impossible to accept in a text emanating from an Ecumenical council, and thus of universal significance both as to time and as to place, a constantly repeated call for the adoption in Catholic teaching of the doctrine, the method, and the principles of St. Thomas. Although dogma, as a revealed given fact, cannot change, its human expression, on the contrary, is subject to variation. It is the fruit of each people's own cultural spirit, a result of its mental inclination, its traditions, and of the circumstances under which its history has unfolded. In right and in fact, a number of currents of theological thought have existed and will exist in the Church, without prejudice to the fundamental unity of dogma. To tie dogma to a human culture necessarily coexistent with the particular civilization of a people, is unlawful and actually impossible, because it is against nature. Besides, that is to impoverish it, reduce it, whereas it is the message of God to men, all men. It is agreed that Thomism, itself an heir of Aristotelian philosophic thought, has contributed much to the Church, and that present day theological expression owes much to it, and it is only just to recognize it; but one cannot impose it, bind it to dogma, above all in a conciliar document.

@MAJOR SEC HDG = Catholic Schools

@BODY TEXT ITA = (A statement presented by the patriarch at the June 1962 session of the Central Commission concerning a draft of the schema <169>On Catholic Schools.<170>)

I approve this schema as a whole. May I be permitted to make a single reservation, as always in the direction of decentralization, which seems to be necessarily one of the most urgent reforms to be brought about by the coming council.

No. 18 provides: <169>By apostolic authority there may be established some central or hierarchical organization of all Catholic schools on an international, national, and regional or diocesan level.<170> I would like to make the following remarks on this subject:

1. The intervention of the Holy See of Rome (apostolic authority) must not be necessary except for the founding of an international central organization of Catholic schools. It is neither necessary nor expedient for the founding of national or regional centers. The authority of the Ordinary of the place or of the national conference of bishops is sufficient. Once again, it is necessary to decentralize the Church, and not continue to burden the Holy See increasingly with all sorts of cares that the local authorities can very well assume.

2. While the establishing of national or diocesan organizations is not only useful but necessary, that of an international organization with rather extensive powers can arouse the resentment of a good number of modern states, whose new-born nationalism is disquieted by any foreign interference in the matter of the education of the youth. We prefer that there should be at Rome an organization to set general principles of the religious and moral order, and that everything else should flow forth from a national organization. Otherwise, the Church, in certain countries, could have not a few troubles as a result.

@CHAPTER # = Chapter 18

@CHAPTER TITLE = Codification of Canon Law @MAJOR SEC HDG = Against the Drawing up of a Single Code for the Eastern and Western Churches @BODY TEXT ITA = (A letter addressed to His Holiness Pope Paul VI by His Beatitude Patriarch Maximos on November 22, 1963.)

Very Holy Father:

Replying to the invitation that Your Holiness extended to us, in the course of the audience of November 11, 1963, to inform him of everything that could facilitate drawing closer to our Orthodox brothers, I, in the name of all the conciliar Fathers of our Melkite Greek Patriarchate, would like to explain the following to Your Holiness:

We have learned incidentally that a campaign is presently being conducted for the drawing up of single code of canon law, which would be valid as much for the Eastern Churches as for the Latin Church. In this single code it would be considered sufficient to point out, where it was relevant, the particularities of the law that are specific for the Easterners.

We are sure that our position, and that of all ecumenists and of all those who have at heart the harmonious progress of the Christian East along its proper path, coincides with that adopted, after a long examination, by the Roman Holy See itself, namely, the drawing up of a special code of canon law for the Eastern Churches.

The arguments in favor of this position are the following:

1. Canon law is one of the principal and formal expressions of that <169>diversity in unity<170> that is a characteristic mark of the Catholic Church. While safeguarding the unity of faith, of the sacramental life, and of the hierarchy, the Catholic Church has always proclaimed its desire to protect entirely not only the diversity of the liturgical rites of the Christian East but also the diversity of its discipline. Well, making a single Code of law for the Eastern Churches and for the Western Church necessarily ends in the following results:

Either the Latin discipline will be almost entirely imposed on Easterners, which in actual fact means the pure and simple latinization of the East, against which Easterners, as well as the Holy See, have struggled for a long time.

Or the Latin discipline will be so prevalent in this single code that one will not be able to see in it, in any manner, the expression of the specific discipline of the East; for, in every place that the two disciplines are different, it can be foreseen that the Latin discipline will not be made to yield to the Eastern discipline, but vice versa. This will be a new <197> and how serious! <197> manifestation of the latinization of the East, concerning which all those who know and love the East complain.

2. In the ecumenical dialogue, it will be truly catastrophic to show to our Orthodox brothers that the discipline which awaits them, in the unity with the Roman Church, is not theirs, but that of the Latin Church. The unification of the two codes is contrary to the ecumenical orientation of Vatican II and destroys the whole schema <169>On Ecumenism.<170>

3. The Holy See has made a considerable effort since 1929 to attempt to give the Eastern Churches a code of law that would be as consistent as possible with their own discipline. Cardinal Massimi, who, with Cardinal Coussa, has labored the hardest in this work, said to our late predecessor, Patriarch Cyril IX, <169>I wish that when the Orthodox shall see our Eastern code, they will be able to say, 'That is truly the discipline of our Fathers!<170>' It is necessary to acknowledge that, in spite of the definite good will and the immense labor that has been performed, the result has not always conformed with the expectations of the Easterners and has been accused of hybridism and latinization. This criticism will be based on much stronger grounds if a single code, with a Latin emphasis, is imposed on the Easterners.

4. Too many elements distinguish the Eastern law from the Latin one to make it possible to unite them in a single code, without sacrificing one or the other, and the law that will be sacrificed will certainly be the Eastern law. Let one think of the frequent differences in terminology, as also the institutions that pertain exclusively to the East, like those of the patriarchate, synods, rite, episcopal elections, etc. Let one think of the institutions that do not exist at all in the authentic Eastern law, like those of canons, benefices, censures latae sententiae, etc. Thus, while in Latin law one single canon suffices to regulate the patriarchal institution considered simply as an honor, in the Eastern law more than 200 canons are required to define the patriarchal institution. In contrast, in the authentic Eastern law, the treatment of <169>on sins and their satisfaction<170> can be covered in four pages. Thus, how is it possible to draw up a single code where there are such different elements?

5. Those who ask for a single code for the Eastern and the Latin Churches appear to us to be either latinizers, who wish to absorb the East, not in Catholicism but in Latinism, or Easterners with latinized mentalities, who do not realize how much harm their deviation from the authentic Eastern discipline does to the cause of growing closer to our Orthodox brothers.

CONCLUSION: For all these reasons, may Your Holiness permit us:

a. to remain steadfast to the very wise position adopted by the Holy See, in ordering the drawing up of a special code for the Eastern Churches;

b. to desire ardently that this special code for the Eastern Churches be reviewed to make it even more consistent with the authentic Eastern discipline; c. that this code be written according to authentically Eastern criteria, by competent jurists chosen among non-latinized Easterners, Latins friendly to the East, and ecumenists;

d. that this question be not treated in the hall of the council, since many Fathers of the council are not aware of the gravity of the problem.

@CHAPTER # = Chapter 19

@CHAPTER TITLE = The Church in the Modern World @MAJOR SEC HDG = For a New Presentation of Morals @BODY TEXT ITA = (An intervention of the Patriarch on October 27, 1964.)

The Church, whose role in the world is to lead all peoples to Christ, must at the very first be interested in the vital problems of its children, its witnesses in the world, to instruct them in the full knowledge of Christ. And if it wishes to engage in dialogue with the modern world through its faithful, they must be formed and treated according the fundamental principle of conduct enunciated by Christ: <169>No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you<170> (John 15:15). If the Church also wishes to contribute to the construction of the heavenly city, in a manner fit for propagating the faith, it must necessarily form its faithful according to Christ's law, which is a law of grace and of love, so that all arrive at a profound responsibility in the liberty of the children of God.

This education to maturity and responsibility is also a need of the times in which we live. These times are no longer those of the Middle Ages. The age of infancy has been passed. Today the world asks, with tenacity and force, the recognition of human dignity in all its fullness, social equality of all classes. This world enjoys an intense intellectual culture; it witnesses scientific discoveries that yesterday were inconceivable; it is in love with freedom, and has <197> at least among its elites <197> awareness of its responsibilities. Well! We can no longer impose laws on this world, without demonstrating to it their positive significance and wisdom. Doe not this state of mind of today's society call out for a revision of the presentation of the teaching of morality? In fact, this teaching, especially since the sixteenth century, has been adapted too much to the legalism and the immaturity of a closed and absolutist society. Present teaching is marked too much by the legalism of a former era and completely impregnated with the Roman law. Now, our Christian morality must have a Christocentric character with an expression of love and of freedom. It must bring forth in everyone a sense of personal and communitarian responsibility. Consequently, a profound revision of many of our disciplines <197> changing also their nature <197> is obliqatory. It goes without saying that this is not a matter of immutable dogmas, which, however, need to be explained well. This revision is necessary for the sake of the sanctification of our people by the encouragement, the respect, and the purification of this desire for a responsibility that is deeper and more courageous. Many things of the good old times, accepted by our simple and pious ancestors, are no longer accepted today. We need only to cite, for example, the presentation in our catechisms of the commandments of the Church. According to our catechisms, to miss Sunday Mass without good cause, or to eat meat on Friday, constitutes a mortal sin, deserving eternal damnation as a consequence. Is this reasonable? How many Catholics believe this? The Church is a mother; would a stepmother impose such an obligation, under the penalty of eternal damnation? And isn't the person, with a right conscience and a sincere mind, who does not believe, correct in taking pity on us? We could also say many things concerning the sacrament of penance. Revision is indispensable. There can be no doubt about that. Besides, the commandments should be the way to blessedness rather than to condemnation, <169>Keep the commandments and you will live,<170> says the Book of Proverbs (7:2). Would it mot be more evangelical, more efficacious, and even more practical to present the commandments not as orders under the pain of sin, but as counsels that attract, like a light that produces love? A mother wins over her children, not by blows of a rod, but by the warmth of her love. In addition, twentieth-century man is rebellious against any and all coercion. As for ourselves, how much has our conduct in regard to our children undergone change? Why would it be otherwise for the Church in regard to the faithful?

The legalistic spirit obstructs the energy of priests and faithful, who should be courageously employed for the salvation of the world and for the building of a better earthly city that is freer and more brotherly. Moreover, isn't this spirit of a wide opening that of our Lord, according to whom <169>the Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath<170>? Isn't it that of Saint Paul, who freed the Gentiles? Isn't it also that of the Fathers of the Church? And if many of us Eastern Catholics are not unharmed by this excessively legalistic spirit that we point out, it is a result of the influence of the books on canon law and morals that we studied in our youth.

The Church, in revising its position in regard to its positive laws, is not submitting to a bending of Catholic doctrine on behalf of modern and capricious ideas, but adapting its Christian pedagogy to the needs of the present epoch. Didn't Pope John XXIII, of blessed memory, talk of adapting the Church to the needs of the social and religious life of our times, and didn't he state before his death, <169>We have not yet discovered the requirements of charity<170>? This presentation of morals should be not at the level of man bent back on himself, but that of plainspoken man, responsible artisan of the universe, and today's world awaits this presentation by the Church.

Having said this, we propose the creation of a fairly large commission of informed theologians to study, in the light of the Gospel and of the Tradition of the Fathers, in openness of heart and sincerity of faith, the teaching of morals in general and of the commandments of the Church in particular, to put them in tune with our real life of the present time, so that the Church may no longer be accused, as it often is, of being a suppressor, but that it may rather be a beacon of truth and of light to enlighten every man coming into this world.

@MAJOR SEC HDG = The Profound Causes of Atheism

@BODY TEXT ITA = (An intervention of the patriarch on September 27, 1965.)

The schema on <169>The Church in the Modern World<170> is fundamentally good, both in the intention that instigated it and in the spirit that animates it.

Numerous voices in the council have asked for a text that is properly centered on Christ and displays a spirit of love to the world. That is essential, and in that the present schema has given them satisfaction, in our opinion. It seems to us, nevertheless, that this spirit is somewhat lacking on two points: on the subject of atheism and on the subject of war.

Today I shall speak only on the first point.

Number 19 on atheism is, in our opinion, too negative. It decries Marxism without naming it, but clearly enough and in a rather summary fashion. It condemns, it goes without saying, that atheistic doctrine, those who defend it, and the civil authorities that support it. But it is clear that one does not save humanity from atheism by condemning Marxism.

To save humanity from atheism, it is also necessary <197> and this is the new and constructive element <197> to denounce the causes that instigate atheism, by proposing above all a dynamic theology and a vigorous social morality, demonstrating Christ as the source of workers' efforts towards their true liberation.

This number could be advantageously replaced by the passage, so strong and so positive, of our dear and venerated Pope Paul VI in his encyclical <169>Ecclesiam Suam<170>:

<169>We see the atheists also moved sometimes by good sentiments, disgusted with mediocrity and with the selfishness of so many contemporary social groups, and borrowing from our Gospel forms and language of solidarity and of human compassion. Will we not some day be capable of leading these expressions of moral values back to their true sources, which are Christian?<170> And Paul VI in <169>Pacem in Terris<170> returns to the words of John XXIII, saying: <169>The doctrines of these atheistic movements, once they have been worked out and defined, remain always the same, but the movements themselves cannot avoid evolving and undergoing even profound changes. We should not lose hope of seeing them one day opening another dialogue with the Church, one that is positive and different from the present dialogue, which is necessarily limited to deploring and complaining.

These texts of Paul VI and John XXIII seem to us to be preferable to the present text of the schema, which is <169>limited to deploring and complaining.<170>

We all know from experience that many of those who call themselves atheists are not really opposed to the Church. There are among them those who are very close. In reality, as Paul VI says, they seek a truer presentation of God, a religion harmonizing with the historical evolution of humanity, and above all a Church supporting not only the poor but also the effort for solidarity with the poor. They are often scandalized by a mediocre and self-centered Christianity, entangled with money and false riches, defending, even with arms, not its faith, which can never be defended by force, but its interests and its short-term security.

Certain persons have claimed that the schema denounces the sins of the world. But here is the great, the enormous sin of the world, that which Jesus denounced ceaselessly in his Gospel, namely selfishness and the exploitation of man by man.

Certain persons would wish that this text speak to a greater extent of the necessity of carrying one's cross, of enduring one's lot with resignation. But, who do in fact carry the cross more than the laboring and miserable masses who try to emerge from their misery by work, solidarity, indeed even by socialism? It is only regrettable that they do so in atheistic systems. But, isn't it the selfishness of certain Christians that has provoked and still provokes, to a large extent, the atheism of the masses?

Jesus puts us on guard against the scandal of the little ones, that is to say the humble ones: <169>Woe to the man through whom scandal comes!<170> Jesus said that at the conclusion of the parable of the rich man and poor Lazarus. Many of these atheists are simply like Lazarus, scandalized by the rich who call themselves Christians.

Let us then have the courage to <169>lead back<170> to their true sources, which are Christian, these moral values of solidarity, fraternity, and social unity. Let us show that true socialism is Christianity integrally lived in the just sharing of goods and the fundamental equality of all. These modern forms of the economy and sociology need, not condemnation, but the leaven of the Gospel to extricate themselves from atheism and to fashion themselves in a harmonious manner. Instead of condemning them ceaselessly, let us restore them to their true meaning, which is Christian. Above all, let us apply ourselves to the Gospel of sharing and of fraternity, and help others to do so. If we had lived it, if we had preached it fully, the world would have been spared atheistic Communism.

Thus, rather than a commonplace condemnation, which is already well known, let us send to the working world a much larger number of priests and laity, ready to share the life of labor and the social endeavors of men of our times, making themselves all things for all people, to reveal to them this God whom they reject, but whom they seek gropingly, drawn by Jesus of Nazareth, the carpenter, Savior of the world and <169>Lover of Mankind.<170>

@MAJOR SEC HDG = The Servant Church @BODY TEXT ITA = (An intervention by Archbishop Elias Zoghby, Patriarchal Vicar in Egypt and in the Sudan, on October 27, 1964.)

I would like to make five observations on Chapter II, which lacks warmth and love:

1. Chapter II of this schema begins by presenting the Church's mission of service: it is, in fact, at the service of mankind to assure their salvation and to convey to them the evangelical message. I suggest that this second chapter begin by presenting the Church's mission of love. It is more touching and truer. In fact, Christ began his ministry with works of mercy, healing the sick, consoling the afflicted, and distributing bread to the hungry. He began by relieving the corporal miseries that presented some resemblance to death and led to death, announcing by this victory His victory over the death of sin and over the death of the body. Christ accordingly opened His ministry with works of mercy and thus prepared the crowds to accept His message of salvation. The Church was instituted to continue Jesus Christ's mission of love. I propose that that be mentioned at the beginning of Chapter II of this schema.

2. In presenting the Church in this fashion, let us remind the world right at the start that the Church, like a mother, has been solicitous, following Christ's example, of the temporal and material well-being of mankind, not to lead them cunningly to the faith, but because it loves them and wishes to comfort them. Therefore, before saying that the Church has for its mission assuring the eternal salvation of mankind, let us present it to the world as being demonstrated as the author of so many works of mercy spread out through the world: hospitals, asylums, schools, etc., which relieve so many miseries and do so much good. This is most efficacious for opening the hearts of men to what is good. How many religious men and women have, through their apostolate of charity, opened to God minds that the apostolate of the word has never been able to open.

3. In doing this, let us use a language that is less didactic, less solemn, more spontaneous: the language of the Mother-Church that presents itself to its children and to those who are called to become its children. Let us address ourselves to the heart as much as to the mind.

4. In Chapter II, paragraph 2, after having spoken of the mission of the Apostles and their successors, let us insist more on our authority of service, for the world accuses us of wishing rather to exercise an authority of domination. Let us say clearly that we are men, chosen among men, with our limitations and our weaknesses. Salvation is not an ecclesiastical undertaking that we impose on the world, nor is paradise a feudal estate that belongs to us and for which we want to conquer mankind. We ourselves must struggle to achieve our salvation. This schema must call to mind that we do not seek to impose our domination on the world, nor to offer our salvation to mankind, but rather to set forth humbly the salvation that comes from Christ and the means that He himself has placed at our disposal.

5. Our testimony can reach the modern world only if it is carried out in simplicity and poverty, and in a direct contact with the poor. The world, believing or unbelieving, today gathers together around the poor and the undernourished. It is there above all that we must be present. It is necessary that this presence of the Church among the poor be asserted in Chapter II of the schema and in the concrete life of the men of the Church.

Let us then be present among the poor, frequently visiting the houses of charity in our dioceses. But let us also arrange our episcopal residence so that it may, if possible, shelter a work of charity and appear to be truly the house of the poor. It is urgent to achieve in some manner the presence of the Church among the poor, if we wish it to be present in the modern world.

And since the world no longer recognizes any authority other than that of service, let us avoid the titles and the insignia that too frequently call to mind the honors and the spirit of domination. Let us also spare the pope, the first vicar of Jesus crucified, the pain of hearing us style him as <169>gloriously reigning.<170> The popes call themselves the servants of servants and seek to be such in fact. When one says <169>Holy Father,<170> is there a need to add anything?

To conclude, to speak only of the deceased, let us remember that the one whom the world calls <169>Good Pope John<170> demonstrated by his simplicity, his humility, and above all by his love, the presence of the Church in the world. He laid out the dominant path of this schema, when he said thise memorable words: <169>I have loved all men whom I have encountered in my life.<170>

@MAJOR SEC HDG = The Church of the Poor

@BODY TEXT ITA = (An intervention of Archbishop Elias Zoghby, patriarchal Vicar of Egypt and the Sudan, on October 21, 1964.)

If this council is a blessing for the Church and for the world, it is also a blesing for us bishops. It brings us back to the pure spirit of the Gospel and to the methods of the apostolate of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Certain conciliar Fathers have insisted on the obligation of the bishops to be poor. Others have insisted on his duty to advance the works that look after the poor. Permit me to add that that the Church must also love the company of the poor, and appear to the world as surrounded with the poor. Why? I shall not limit myself to the example of Our Lord, who perferred the compny ofthe poor, nor to the spiritual advantages that a bishop can draw from fellowship with the poor. I would rather insist on the fact that the company of the poor is today for the apostle, the bishop, the priest, or the layperson, the best means of bringing his witness to the world.

In fact, the Christian and non-Christian world is on the way to mobilize all its energies to come to the holp of the poor class, whose number and misery cause a scandal. Men of good will, baptized and not baptized, have set a rendezvous in the places where misery abounds. They have adopted service to the poor as a new form of religious practice, the only one for many of them. The only man of the Church whom they appoach and who interests them is the one they see involved in this apostolate and who can help them in it, becoming an intermediary between them and the poor. Well, nobody is better suited to be this intermediary than the man of the Church.

The time has passed in which the Christian world saw in the bishop the <169>prince<170> of the Chruch who in order to preserve his prestige, had to remain distant and withdrawn in what was called the episcopal palace. A bishop should renounce his isolation and his comfort, to be present where modern men have established the place of their meeting. Presiding in charity, the bishop should act, not only in the manner of an able administrator of the works of charity, but in the manner of Jesus Christ, who, in multiplying the bread, distributed the loaves with his own hands: <169>He gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the people.<170> It is there, in the distribution of bread, that the pastor will encounter both the poor who need to be served and the others who desire to serve.

That being so, permit me to suggest modestly what follows:

As we are sometimes obliged to participate in official receptions, to sit at the tables of the rich, and to meet the important persons of this world, we should be, as much as possible, present among the poor and those who suffer, mingling with those in our orphanages, in our asylums, and in the hospitals. Why should we not visit more frequently the houses of charity, sharing the bread with the poor and living a few hours of their lives? By doing so, we shall often draw men to us, we shall be able to converse with them and lead them to the light of the Gospel. This witness will sometimes have more effect than our pastoral letters and the most sparkling acts of our ministry.

Why should we not share our episcopal residences with a work of charity or a small group of the unfortunate ones, even if only symbolically, thus transforming the home of the bishop into a house of charity, where one will recognize the presence of Christ and of His vicars? Did not Pope St. Gregory the Great have a dozen of the poor at his table each day? Are there not already among the bishops those who share their table with these chosen ones of Jesus Christ and live their life?

It is common in the East to see the bishopric or the patriarchate, where the clergy dwell, become the home of a community of the faithful, always opening the doors to the Christian people. It is there that charitable works originate and are organized with the cooperation of the faithful, and it is from there that they distribute their benefits over the whole region. It is there, in the residence of the pastor, that these charitable works have their secretariat, it is there that they hold their meetings and receive the poor at all hours. The bishop or priest who thus opens his house and his heart to all truly appears as being the father of the poor.

I know that time may be lacking for many of us, but I believe that all our activities put together cannot have the effectiveness of this living testimony. Let us entrust to our co-workers, priests, deacons, and laypersons, the care of filling in our stead certain of our obligations, but when it is a matter of service to the poor, let us not renounce the honor that comes to us from being in the first row.

In a rather legalistic system, it is enough for the bishop to be a good administrator in order to be a good bishop. In a pastoral system, that is not enough. Never has good administrator been synonymous with good pastor.

As the modern world does not recognize more than one single authority, that of service, let us avoid the expressions <169>prince of the Church<170> and <169>episcopal palace,<170> which bring to mind honors and domination. Let us cease to style as <169>gloriously reigning<170> the foremost vicar of Jesus crucified. The popes call themselves the servants of the servants of God, and today behave as such. When one has said <169>Holy Father,<170> is there need to add anything else? I conclude, venerable Fathers! I have said that this council is a blessing for us bishops. It is also a gift of God to the world. Everything demonstrates to us that divine providence has positively wished it and has entrusted it to us. Have we the right to wish absolutely to finish our business at any price? Certainly, the progress that has been realized until now is admirable, but the world moves very quickly, and it becomes hard to please, and fortunately we all are hard to please. Nearly all our schemas need amendments. Neither the religious, nor the priests, nor the missionaries, nor the Eastern Churches, nor the laity, nor the world are yet satisfied with the schemas that concern them. Now, if all find that the schemas are backward in our time, how will they be considered in twenty years, and how will our council be judged?

Let us not object that our dioceses are waiting for us. Do we believe that our priests feel very much deprived because we are far away? Do you believe that something has changed in the life of our faithful because we are not near them? Do our faithful see us that often when we are at home? For my part, I believe that we have never been as present to our priests, to our faithful, and to the world as at this time of the council, where at Rome we work more efficaciously than ever for our priests, our faithful, and for the world.

@MAJOR SEC HDG = The Church and Human Rights @BODY TEXT ITA = (An intervention by Archbishop George Hakim of Saint John of Arce and of All-Galilee, on November 10, 1964.)

Since our message to the world, the message with which we inaugurated the work of this council, the world has not ceased to wait for the conciliar response of the Church to the grave problems whose profusion and severity overwhelm it. Woe to the Church and to the world if this expectation and this hope should be disappointed!

The schema that is presented to us, and which is of a pastoral urgency of the highest level, while containing many excellent things, does not seem to us to respond to this expectation.

Far from being the charter of a council of modern times, the schema appears to us to be hesitant, paternally full of exhortations, when we would have wished to find in it clear and frank assertions, which would be the directing principles for the future of the relations of Christians with the present world. We would desire a conciliar assertion, according to the model of the first councils, which would settle the following points mentioned in paragraphs 23 to 25:

1. Of the meaning of human labor in the divine plan:

-By their labor, men perfect creation and man himself.

-In Jesus Christ, labor is dignified and finds its place in the spiritual life and in the Redemption.

-Men have a primordial right to make, through their work, their lives and those of their families consistent with their true dignity as men and as sons of God.

-The worker is infinitely superior to all money.

-It is intrinsically wrong to control work in such fashion that men are by their work, or the conditions of this work, led to be less than men.

-The pay of workers should correspond to personal and social justice, and be in harmony with the superiority of the worker over money, in harmony with the diverse parts of product of the work, and in harmony with modern progress.

2. Of the meaning of ownership and of money:

-Ownership of the goods of production should not in any fashion contribute to the domination of men, but, on the contrary, should help everyone's progress.

-This ownership is not an untouchable axiom and an absolute to which the social doctrine would be tied, but a way destined to bring about the common object of the goods.

-The Church is not tied to any economic, social, or political system. It encourages the collaboration of all men to promote the common good.

3. Of materialism and atheism:

Materialism and atheism are theoretical and practical at the same time.

-Under these two forms, materialism and atheism are condemned, for, in many ways, they arouse the spirit of domination, luxury, and hedonism, and because their principles are spreading more and more in regions that are called Christian.

-But the various regimes called socialist, spread out in several regions, are not condemned with Marxist atheism without differentiation.

4. Of equality among men:

-All discrimination based on race, religion, or social condition is condemned, both in laws and in customs.

-Men who exploit other men, whether it be economically, socially, or politically, are condemned.

5. Of international solidarity and peace:

-All nuclear, bacteriological, or chemical war is condemned, all of which affect mankind without discrimination.

-The hunger of a multitude of mankind cries to the rich peoples, so that through action, through technology, and through fraternal charity without stinginess or avarice, they may aid the less developed peoples.

-All works of social and international peace, founded on justice, liberty, and fraternity, are praised.

-Institutions, whether social or international, in which men work together for true human progress are encouraged.

-Let the faithful be encouraged to have, with prudence and simplicity, an active part in all these institutions.

6. Various points:

-All mankind has the right to associate for the common good.

-Totalitarianism is contrary to the dignity of the human person.

-In the light of the separation between the Church and workers, existing in several nations, and already denounced by Pius XI in his encyclical <169>Quadrigesimo Anno,<170> let there be encouragement for all attempts, started by the laity or by priests, which lead to the true evangelization of the poor.

Mankind today is awaiting clear and frank words, without ambiguity. I have humbly tried to propose an example along this line, while knowing that it is indeed imperfect. Let the experts work for a better method of expression.

CONCLUSION: Venerable Fathers, on October 13, 1962, in our message to the world, indicated above, we said: <169>Having come together from all the nations that are under heaven, we carry in our hearts the corporal and spiritual distresses, the sufferings, the aspirations, the hopes of the people who are entrusted to us. We are very attentive to the vexatious problems that beset them. That is why our solicitude desires to extend first to the humblest, the poorest, the feeblest. Like Christ, we feel ourselves moved with compassion at the sight of crowds that suffer from hunger, misery, and ignorance; and we always remember all those who, not having the desired help, have not yet attained a life worthy of human nature.<170>

For three years we have been in laborious sessions, and what have we proposed?... Have we decided on the practical and redeeming examples by which we ourselves would begin the reforms that the modern world expects of us, in our stations, our way of life, our customs, our habits?

In the absence of concrete examples, let us at least give clear and frank responses to the problems of our times.

@MAJOR SEC HDG = Condemnation of War

@BODY TEXT ITA = (An intervention of the patriarch on November 10, 1964.)

A menace of destruction hovers over humanity; it is nuclear armament. And this menace grows from day to day through the increasing number of these infernal devices.

Without entering into physical and scientific considerations, which are beyond us and which cannot be expanded here, we believe that we must raise our voices, for we feel that we are oppressed. From our hearts there springs forth a cry of alarm, a cry of agony, I would even say a cry of despair... And we pray you to do all that is in our power, with whatever effect it may have, to ward off such an evil.

The intervention in favor of peace of two thousand bishops, spread out through the entire world, can be capable of changing the course of history and defending the fate of mankind.

There is talk of a just war. What adequate reason can justify, in sound morality, a destruction which constitutes a true worldwide cataclysm? Can a civilization and peoples be annihilated under the pretext of defending them? And if mankind must disappear in an instant, what is the good of this pastoral on which we have been working so laboriously since the announcement of Vatican II, and for whom is it intended?

Should not the concept of just war in modern times be lived and reconsidered in the light of the present situation? Should not national sovereignty have limits? Should the human community be completely ignored?

Venerable Fathers, all humanity is gasping as it looks to us with haggard eyes, to see what we are going to do. We cannot be silent because of considerations of whatever nature they may be. As faithful guardians of the souls of our peoples, we still have duties in regard to their earthly life. We must speak, speak boldly, speak courageously, like John the Baptist before Herod, like Ambrose before Theodosius, to condemn the use of these infernal devices.

Our Holy Father John XXIII, of blessed memory, has done so in his encyclical <169>Pacem in Terris<170>; the schema that we are studying <169>On the Church in the Modern World<170> also does it in a manner that is clear, but a little platonic. But that is not enough. We must make on behalf of the council a declaration <169>to the city and to the world<170> that is clear, frank, and precise.

This radical condemnation on the part of the Church can grow like a snowball, since all truth contains a force of penetration and of expansion in souls. Other authorities, civil or religious, will be able to follow our example. A worldwide swell of opinion could oblige rulers, shut up in their national concepts, to reflect further. Sanctions of various natures could be foreseen. But always we cannot be silent under the peril of disappointing the world, of disappointing what is noblest in ourselves, and of rendering our ministry fruitless among the peoples.

For the love of Christ, Lover of Mankind and King of Peace, we pray and beseech you to make a solemn and energetic condemnation of all nuclear, chemical, and bacteriological warfare. Let this council address a message to the world, according to the example of the one through whom our conciliar labors began. Let this council condemn, in principle, all nuclear warfare in all its forms, and to demand that the billions saved through disarmament be employed for the relief of a poor humanity, of whom two-thirds do not eat enough to relieve their hunger, and who needs everything.

Venerable Fathers, the history of the past two thousand years has not ceased to view the bishop as <169>the defender of the city.<170> More than ever, the world today needs these disinterested and courageous defenders. Let us not disappoint the world in this regard. The Church is expected to remain always a pillar of strength and of truth.