July 10, 2015

What was in the news on July 9, 1965?

Experimentation in liturgy is forbidden, and a dialogue opens between Lutherans and Catholics

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 July 9, 1965, issue of The Criterion:
 

  • ‘Experimentation’ in liturgy censured
    • “VATICAN CITY—The Church body charged with coordinating the ecumenical council’s liturgical reforms has warned against ‘experimentation’ by persons claiming a general permission. The Consilium (commission) for the Implementation of the Liturgy Constitution, in the June numbers of its publication, Notitiae, which was published early in July, declared that aside from one case it has ‘never given any general indult to begin experimentation.’ … ‘Likewise when rites or ceremonies or innovations of any kind seem out of harmony with today’s laws in liturgical matters, all of them are to be considered ‘personal’ innovations, arising from ‘private agitation’ … and by that very fact disapproved by the constitution and the Consilium.’ ”
  • Dialogue opens with Lutherans
    • “BALTIMORE—Top U.S. Roman Catholic and Lutheran scholars assembled here for their first official theological discussions at a national level and immediately decided to probe each other’s concepts of the word ‘dogma.’ The experts—who were appointed by the U.S. Catholic Bishops’ Commission for Ecumenical Affairs and by the U.S. National Committee of the Lutheran World Federation—had in hand and had already studied specially prepared essays analyzing each Church’s view on ‘The Status of the Nicene Creed as Dogma of the Church.’ But at the start of the two-day meeting (July 6-7), it was learned, the participants agreed that they needed to pinpoint the Lutheran and Catholic interpretations of the word dogma itself before proceeding with the various clauses of the Nicene Creed.”
  • Confirm possibility of papal visit to UN
  • Replies to criticism of Church’s wealth
  • Vatican and Lutheran body name committee
  • Operation ‘Hamburg’: How Legion of Mary helped a rural pastor
  • Asks second thoughts on Latin Revolution
  • Catholic ‘Peace Corps’ is launched in Britain
  • Communists launch ‘Atheist Thursdays’
  • Family planning conference set
  • Dante encyclical expected soon
  • Priest brings home the bacon
  • A desire for renewal: Dutch ‘welcome’ progress of the council
  • Urges women to exert greater leadership
  • Nuns to aid in city project
  • Maryknollers care for temporal spiritual needs of slum dwellers
  • Pope ‘defends’ Catholic Action
  • Questions pessimism toward space flights
  • Business firms hail fair employment plan
  • Selma marcher is back to stay

(Read all of these stories from our July 9, 1965, issue by logging on to our special archives.) †

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