October 17, 2014

What was in the news on October 16, 1964?

An attempt to thwart the Council is stopped, and suggestions made for clergy attire and church décor

Criterion logo from the 1960sBy Brandon A. Evans

This week, we continue to examine what was going on in the Church and the world 50 years ago as seen through the pages of The Criterion.

Here are some of the items found in the October 16, 1964, issue of The Criterion:

  • Attempt to get around council rules thwarted
    • “ROME—An attempt to circumvent the authority of the ecumenical council and reverse its basic trends—carried out by forces whose identity can only be surmised—has been thwarted. It was thwarted by the resolute action of a group of progressive cardinals, headed by Cardinal Joseph Frings of Cologne, Germany, and including Cardinal Albert Meyer of Chicago and Cardinal Joseph Ritter of St. Louis—the only American cardinals then present in Rome. Council Fathers familiar with the events that stirred public opinion over the weekend of October 11 have assured this correspondent that Pope Paul VI was unaware of the contents of two letters recommending changes in procedure dealing with two key council issues—the proposed council declarations on the Jews and religious freedom.”
  • Dramatic lay role seen in aftermath of council
  • Closing date for council under study
  • U.S. priests are invited to council
  • Two U.S. dioceses given coadjutors
  • Canonization Sunday: Uganda martyrs died less than a century ago
  • Billy Graham lauded by Cardinal Cushing
  • Suit and tie urged for clergy
    • “NEW YORK—Priests should exchange their black suits, Roman collars and cassocks for ‘a conservative suit, white shirt and tie … complemented by a distinctive priestly lapel emblem,’ a priest editor [at America magazine] has suggested. … Father [Eugene C.] Bianchi [S.J.] warned that clerical dress can become a hindrance if it ‘emphasizes how different we are from others.’ ”
  • Theology schools for organization
  • Plans shape up for Youth Week
  • Pope directs letter to Olympic athletes
  • Better church relations reported in Holy Land
  • No celibacy law change, Vatican daily points out
  • Address by layman applauded by council
  • Discussion on the role of the laity highlights council’s fourth week
  • ‘Lavish’ church décor rapped by liturgists
    • “Montreal—A Catholic liturgical group has declared that the spirit of poverty should characterize the construction and decoration of churches so that ‘a poor person should not be embarrassed’ at worshipping in them. … Regarding decoration, the document notes that the modern Christian lives in ‘a world overrun by the visual’ and thus has ‘less need than he once did for pictures in his church.’ ”
  • First Spanish Mass said in Puerto Rico

(Read all of these stories from our October 16, 1964, issue by logging on to our special archives.) †

Local site Links: