Magyar Egyház, 1965 (44. évfolyam, 2-12. szám)
1965-12-01 / 12. szám
MAGYAR EGYHÁZ 13 eyes asking for a raise in pay in order to make ends meet. Yet, this incident was an eye opener for me and then and there I made a promise to myself before God that whenever the question would come up I would speak out. The position of the minister must be upgraded. My minister is and should be first class. (Just read the article on this subject in the October issue of Magyar Egyház, page 13.) 4. How are we to reach all our objectives for a successful church life? I think we should put our heads together and so find the answers. I strongly believe that in this rapidly changing world we need each other. We should plan together and work together. I am sure this spirit of co-operation could re-vitalize the life of our church community. It is my firm belief that the work of the Elder and the Pastor is inseperable. JOINT WCC-RC GROUP HOLDS SECOND MEETING The second meeting of the Joint If orking Group of the World Council of Churches and the Roman Catholic Church was held at Ariccia, near Rome, from November 17 to November 20, 1965. All fourteen members of the Working Group were present. Bishop Willebrands, secretary of the Vatican Secretariat for the Promotion of Christian Unity and Dr. Visser ’t Hooft, general secretary of the World Council of Churches chaired the sessions. The Working Group concentrated its attention on the elaboration of a report of progress which will be presented in Rome to the Holy See and to the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches at its session in Geneva, in February, 1966. Among the subjects discussed were the nature of ecumenism, the character of the ecumenical dialogue, and the forms of practical cooperation in various fields of Christian work. A number of subjects still remain to be discussed in further meetings, for a number of new possibilities of cooperation have appeared arising out of the decisions of the Second Vatican Council, out of recent developments in the World Council of Churches, and out of consultations on specific subjects held in recent months. * The proposal for the Working Group was first advanced by the WCC’s policy-making Central Committee at a meeting in Enugu, Nigeria, in January 1965. Announcement of acceptance of the proposal was made by Augustin Cardinal Bea, head of the Vatican Secretariat for the Promotion of Christian Unity, during a visit to WCC headquarters, Geneva, in February 1965. The first meeting of the Joint Working Group was held earlier this year, May 22-24, at the WCC’s Ecumenical Institute in Bossey. Eight persons represent the WCC on the committee and six represent the Roman Catholic Church. The difference in number was agreed upon in order to permit adequate representation of the WCC’s constituency which is composed of 214 full-member and eight “associate member” churches of the Protestant, Anglican, Orthodox, and Old Catholic communions around the world. (EPS, Geneva) Magyar Egyház wishes all its readers a blessed Christmas Season and a happy, peaceful New Year. WORLD ORDER CONFERENCE STUDIES WAYS TOWARD PEACE (RNW)—A warning against indifference to the peacekeeping problems in the world, in the sense that “we have heard it all before,” was the effective message of Barbara Ward (Lady Jackson) to the 6th World Order Study Conference in St. Louis, Mo. Prominent British economist and author, she was one of the many distinguished speakers at the Conference, which registered the largest attendance of any of its predecessors. It was called Oct. 20-23 by the National Council of Churches, whose member constituents are now studying the reports of the five study groups. In his opening remarks, Bishop Reuben H. Mueller, NCC president, reiterated that such a conference “is its own authority.” “By no method, not even by majority voting,” he said, “can it make the results of its deliberations binding on the NCC or its constituent communions.” The Bishop also underscored the Council’s recognition that “equally dedicated Christians have differing viewpoints and convictions on some of the issues that confront us.” These issues ranged from the increasing gap between the have and have-not nations to the crises in Vietnam and between India and Pakistan; to nationalism and apartheid issues in Africa, particularly in relation to South Africa and Rhodesia; to tensions and economic problems in Latin America. And underlying much of the discussion was the spectre of Red China and how to deal with it. Some 600 laymen and clergy, specialists in international affairs, attended the Conference which also was host to several Roman Catholic and Jewish observers. One recommendation made by the Conference was to call another conference between the World Council, the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarchate to “explore the religious approach to world peace.” The admission of Communist China to the United Nations and a change in U.S. policy in its opposition to “regularizing diplomatic communication” with that country, were called for by the Sixth World Order Study Conference. Red China’s UN membership, said the recommendation, could be achieved “without prejudice to U.S. policy . . . under conditions that take into account the welfare, security and future political status of Taiwan (Nationalist China).” The Conference also asked the U.S. to support United Nations policy which would provide for representation in it of both parts of such divided nations as Germany, Vietnam and Korea, “without prejudice to the possible unification of these countries.” The U.S. Congress was asked to “remove its reservations” concerning the International Court of Justice, and to ratify the UN Conventions on genocide, slavery, forced labor and the rights of women. “It is not enough to speak peace,” said Bishop Mueller. “Along with all others of faith and good will, it means getting down to work at the hard realities of order, justice and freedom.”-----------------o----------------THE U.S. COMMITTEE FOR REFUGEES estimates that the number of refugees in the world has increased by nearly 2,000,000 during the past year. The committee said a total of 9,790,0000 people have been made homeless by wars and political upheavals.
