The chronicle., 1963-11-26
By LOUIS CASSELS


There probably will be two
more sessions of the Ecumeni-
cal Council-one In the fall of
1864, and another in the fall of
1865.
That forecast comes FIR o
one of the four moderators
named by Pope Paul vi to pre-
side over the council. 1t evil
IDENTIFY reflects the Pope'S own
thinking.
The council held its first nine
week session in the fall Of 1862
at the call Of the late Pope
John XIII. It reconvened at
the call of Pope Paul on Sept.
90 of this year, and is sched-
uled to recess Dec. 4, permit
ting the 1000 bishops to scatter
to their dioceseS in all parts of
the world in time for the Chris
mas season.
Pope Paul has announced
that there will be a third Ses-
sion in 1864, but has not Off
cially set the date. The unoffi-
cial word from Vatican inform
ants is that it will convene Sept
8 and run until mid-November,
when many Of the bishops will
go to India for a EuchariStic
Congress.
Agenda Is Long
The agenda of unfinished
business awaiting council &C
ton is so long that there is no
real prospect of cleaning it up
next fall. Thus a fourth session
in 1865 seems inevitable.
If the council tried to act on
all of the matters which have
been proposed for its consid-
Grafton, it would have to 60 on
meeting annually for many
years. But Pope Paul has let
1t be known that he doesn't
want another Trent" This
was a reference to the 18th
century Council of Trent which
met for II years.
A marathon council like Trent
Is out of the question, Vatican
officials said, because the
church cannot afford indefinite
ly the heavy financial drain of
bringing more than 1000 bish-
ops to Rome from every corner
of the world once a year.
The plan to wind up the coun-
Gil by 1865 also reflects a con-
viction that the fathers already
have come to grips with the
most vital issues confronting
them.
Debate At Length
During their current session,
they debated at length two doc
mentS which could lead to a
far-reaching decentralization Of
power in the Catholic Church.
The first affirms the theological
doctrine that bishops have a di-
vine right to share with the
Pope in the government of the
church. The second gives prac-
teal expression to that doc
trine, enhancing the powers of
bishops to run their own do
ceses without undue interior
ference from the Roman Curia.
Although the faters registered
at this session their overwhelm-
ing support of the basic princi-
Piles of these documents, voting
on their detailed provisions was
deferred until next years Ses-
sion.
There seems little doubt that
the liberal bloc, which favors
these documents, will prevail
when the showdown comes. But
the conservatives, who fear
that the changes may jeopar-
die papal supremacy (and the
vast power which the Roman
Curia now exercises in the
name of the Pope) will fight to
the last ditch to sidetrack. wa
ter down or qualify the drive to-
ward decentralization.
New Battle Looms
Another battle will be fought
at the third session over a doc
ument Of interfaith relations. 1t
has been hailed by liberal bish-
ops as ''the end of the counter
Reformation" - meaning that
it marks a complete reversal of
the 4OO-year-old Catholic cam
paign against Professionalism. It
speaks kindly of Protestants,
urges Catholics to get to know
them better, and commits the
church to work increasingly to
remove obstacles to reunion of
the whole Christian family. 1t
also contains an unequivocai
declaration in favor Of religious
liberty, roundly condemns anti
Semitism, and says Jews are
not alone to blame for the cruc-
ifixion of Christ which was a