Four-Year Council Closed By Pope

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30930, 10 December 1965, Page 17

Four-Year Council Closed By Pope

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ROME, Dec. 9.

Pope Paul VI closed the historic fouryear Ecumenical Council yesterday with messages to the world read at a colourful openair ceremony before St. Peter’s Basilica.

In brilliant intermittent sunshine and milk temperatures, the Pontiff said farewell to the 2400 prelates of the church who have met each year In Rome since 1962 to review and modernise the structure of the Roman Catholic Church and adapt its message to the modern world. The day failed to produce any of the substantive actions that the Pope had been reported by some sources as ready to announce, such as changes in rules for Friday abstinence or the summoning of a consistory to Install new .cardinals.

The prelates paraded Into the sun-filled square and up the long red. carpet covering the sloping steps .of the basilica, their white robes and towering white mitres were counter-pointed by the predominantly black clothing of the diplomats firm SS nations, and more than 100 observers of other Christian faiths. Principally Pastoral The Pope's homily, heard by at least 100,000 persons massed in the square and by millions more over television, was principally a pastoral message, with a special word of comfort to moarirtn of the drarch deprived of finsddHli th A^H° l ff C FnSSjatfdk Nmr sirKaad MmSrZnal minster. the Pope gave* 82.1 M to prelates firm Jordan,

Argentina, India, Pakistan, and Cambodia for charitable works in their dioceses. In the 168 sessions since October 11, 1962, when the prelates first assembled at the call of the late Pope John XXIII, they had produced 16 documents tracing new lines for almost every aspect of church activity.