‘Crusade’ To Bring Churches Together

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29368, 22 November 1960, Page 17

‘Crusade’ To Bring Churches Together

(Rec. 10 p.m.) LONDON, November 21. The Pope is trying to draw churches of all denominations as close together as possible, according to a Vatican-appointed archbishop in Britain.

The archbishop is Dr. John Heenan, aged 56. who had been personally chosen by the Pope to “spearhead the Pope’s new crusade to draw together the Roman Catholic Church and other churches," the “Daily Mail" said today. “There is nothing sinister or mysterious about it,” he is reported to have said. “The Pope told me after his election that the thought uppermost in his mind was: ‘Why have I been chosen? What is the purpose behind it?’ “And the answer came to him very strongly,” Dr. Heenan said, “that in face of the growing world-wide danger of irreligion —whether it be Communist ideology or plain lack of religious belief —the purpose was that he should open wide his arms to other churches and give a lead in drawing Roman Catholics and other Christians as close together as possible.” , Dr. Heenan agreed with the reporter that ordinary people, whatever. their faith, were a long way ahead of the church leaders in their desire for co-operation among the churches.

“But these things cannot be hurried,” he said. “Certainly in this country this is the first time in 400 years that the general climate of opinion has been ready or a movement of this sort.

“Look at the things that are happening—the Queen, the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Prime Minister, Mr Macmillan, all meeting the Pope within a short period. Even as recently as 30 years ago, events such 4s

these would have been unthinkable.” Dr. Heenan said the last war did a great deal to bring the people of different religions closer together. Dr. Heenan was asked now far the Roman church would go in order to achieve unity. Was it planning to permit its clergy to make pulpit exchanges with other clergy, or join with them in religious services on Armistice Day or other national occasions? Was it possible that the Roman church would draw closer to other churches in its attitude towards such matters as mixed marriages between Roman Catholics and non-Roman Catholics and in its attitude towards birth control and divorce?

Dr. Heenan replied: “There is no question of our altering or relaxing our attitude towards matters of faith and morals. “This, however, is not the point. The pofnt of this movement is that outside certain specific matters such as divorce, mixed marriages and an exchange of clergy there is between Roman Catholics and other church people a large area of common ground in which we can work together without friction.

“Hitherto we have not got together on this common ground, and that is what the Pope wishes us to do. with the Roman Catholic church making the overtures “It will be my job to encourage our clergy to go out and get to know their ‘opposite numbers’ in other churches—to get ‘ to know them as personal friends so that they visit each other and, on the common ground, combine their efforts,” Dr. Heenan said. j