L°p« JOHN





POPE JOHN XXIII

AND UNITY

by dtieodore C.!P.Vermilye

First Printing

25th Thousand

DIVINE WORD PUBLICATIONS
TECHNY, ILLINOIS



The interest and curiosity of the en-

tire civilized world has been aroused by

the recent announcement that Pope John

XXIII intends to convene, in 1960 or

1961, a gathering known as an “Ecu-
menical Council” and that the all-im-

portant work assigned to this solemn

assembly will be a supreme effort to re-

unite in one brotherhood every human

being who wants to be called a Christian.
The daily press has been filled with

varying comments on the Papal inten-

tion, some of them displaying a profound

ignorance of the nature of a General

(or Ecumenical) Council. Just what

does the term denote?

The Greek word “ecumenical” means

“universal” or “world-wide.” A Church
Council is a gathering of Bishops and

their advising experts, drawn from an

area of greater or less size, entrusted

with the framing of laws affecting the

area represented, and the solemn publi-

cation of statements of faith. A council
may be restricted to a single diocese or
a single group of dioceses called a prov-

ince. It may embrace a certain part of

a given country or may be national in
scope. Finally, it may be representative
of every nation and country of the entire

world, in which case it is called “ecu-

menical” or “general” and is attended

by every Bishop of the Universal Church

2

Dead&istt



who is in peace and communion with

the Bishop of Rome (the Pope) who, as
successor of Saint Peter in that jurisdic-

tion, is the Chief Bishop of the Christian

world, the Bishop of Bishops, the Ecu-

menical (or Universal) Bishop, the

earthly Vicar of Jesus Christ, the Fa-

ther of all Christians. (The word “Pope”

means “Father”).

The first General Council in the his-

tory of the Christian Church was a

gathering of the Apostles in the city

of Jerusalem, with the Bishop of that

city, Saint James, acting as chairman

but under the direction of Saint Peter,

who, as Christ’s earthly Vicar (i.e.

:

Representative) delivered his inspired

judgement when the deliberations of

the other Apostles were concluded. As

chairman of the meeting, Saint James

immediately announced the decision of

the Council in conformity with the state-

ment of Saint Peter, saying that this

statement “seems good to the Holy

Ghost and to us.” This declaration well

demonstrates the apostolic understand-

ing of Saint Peter’s position of final

authority in the Universal Church; it

has set the pattern for the many Ecu-
menical Councils which have been held

through the centuries, all of which have

legislated for the Universal Church,

their decrees always having been sub-

ject to approval by the Pope. This very

3



clear scriptural witness to the juridical

position of the Papacy should carry

great weight with Orthodox and Protes-

tant scholars in their consideration of

the problems of Christian reunion.

To the Christian who is more than a
nominal follower of the Lord Jesus

Christ, whether he be a Catholic, a Prot-

estant or a member of one of the Eastern
Orthodox groups, the vision of a genu-

ine, organic unity, embracing all pro-

fessed Christians throughout the world,

is most fascinating and compelling. De-

spite the many corrosive and divisive
differences and animosities which have

so racked Christendom through the

centuries, there remains deep in the col-

lective memory of Christianity this
haunting recollection of what the Lord

Christ willed for His people, what actu-

ally existed in the Apostolic Age and

for centuries thereafter and what might

now7 be true were it not for the perver-

sity of contentious men. To one who

accepts the supreme divine authority of

Jesus Christ, His concept of the Father-

hood of God and the Brotherhood of

Man must be the enduring guide of
action

;
His will the norm of faith.

The rich documentary evidence fur-

nished by the four Gospels, the Book

of Acts and the Apostolic Epistles leaves

no room for doubt as to the mind and

intention of Christ with respect to the

4



nature of that unique group chosen by

Him to form the nucleus of His One,
Sanctified, Universal and Divinely-com-

missioned Church. And these same
primitive documents inform us fully as

to the collective mind of the Apostles

and their faithful people during the first

Christian century, at about the end of

which Saint John, the last surviving

Apostle, died. His favorite plea, ad-

dressed to those who assisted at his

celebrations of the Eucharistic Liturgy,

was: “Little children, love one another.”

This admonition could have had little or

no effect if the “little children” had been

given over to sectarian separation, acri-

monious argument and ranting recrimi-

nation.

The towering figure of the great

Apostle Paul, the Teacher of the Gen-

tiles, dominates the New Testament
record of first century standards of faith

and morals, of doctrine, discipline and

worship. Together with his acknowl-

edged chief, Peter, the divinely-named

foundation Rock of the Church and

Prince of the Apostles, Paul guided the

infant Christian Church in its first state-

ments of doctrinal truth and firmly

established the premier jurisdiction of

Christian authority: the Holy Apostolic

See of Rome. Sometimes alone and some-

times with the help of other dedicated

missioners, he evangelized vast areas

5



of the then known world, bringing the

inhabitants into the organic unity of

the one and only Universal (i.e. : Cath-

olic) Church, which, in obedience to the

command of Christ, was led, guided,
protected and ruled by the College of

Apostles, gathered in complete unanim-

ity and agreement about the person of

their chief, Peter, whose supreme office

of Vicar of the risen and ascended

Christ was known to be a part of the
enduring Christian revelation.

In what terms did the divinely-begot-

ten Son of God and the divinely-inspired

Apostle of God express the divine will

for the lasting solidarity of the sancti-

fied people of God in all the earth? How
did they define that supernatural one-

ness of the Christian Brotherhood of

Man, in Christ and with Christ, which

would render Christians valid claimants,

through Christ, to the Fatherhood of

God ? Were their words so clear and con-

vincing that “he who runs may read”
or were they indefinite and open to con-

trary interpretations? The evidence is

so plain that the historicity of the Cath-

olic position with respect to Christian

unity cannot be questioned by reason-

able investigators. If one accepts (as

all who call themselves “Christians” pro-

fess to do) the inspired and unique

authority of New Testament teaching,
the conclusion is completely convincing.

6



Let the record speak for itself. Let the

voice of first century Christianity tell

us of its own nature.
No more authoritative human witness

to the nature and faith of the primitive

Christian Church can be found than the

Apostle Paul. Having devoted much

thought to the consideration of our

Lord’s teaching, he was enabled to pene-

trate the Christian mystery and rightly

interpret Christ’s meaning. In his epis-

tles to the newly-formed Christian com-

munities in widely scattered parts of

the ancient world he reverts, time and

again, to the character of that sublime

and supernatural oneness of Christians

which was the result of the expressed

will of Jesus Christ. The inspired reason-

ing of Saint Paul led him to state that

Christian unity is of such a fundamental

character that it elevates the Church

of Christ above the status of an organi-

zation and constitutes it a living and

functioning organism, vibrant with the

very life of Christ. This organism, he

tells us, is not human but rather divine
because it is, in his words, the “Body

of Christ.” To his converts he says:

“Ye are the Body of Christ” and he

tells them that in this mystical, but real

and actually living, body there can be

no schism (i.e. : separation or contention

or division) between members, because

each has his or her own proper function

7



and depends upon the performance of

others for the proper and fulfilling func-

tioning of the entire body, and upon the

life and welfare of the body for individ-

ual life and health. It follows, therefor,

that any individuals cutting themselves

off from the Mystical Body deprive

themselves of the Christ-life which vivi-

fies, empowers and activates that one and

only Universal Church which is His

Body.

The words of the Lord Christ likewise

are crystal clear, leaving no uncertainty

as to His will for all Christians and for

all time. At one of the most solemn and

meaningful moments of His earthly life,

when He began that process of self-
dedication, self-immolation and self-

sacrifice which culminated the following

day upon the altar of the Cross, our Lord

bestowed the fullness of His Priesthood

upon the Apostles, instituted the Eucha-

ristic Sacrifice and commanded His

priests to offer it until the end of time. In

His magnificent High-priestly prayer He

set forever the pattern of His Church. In

this prayer He begged the Father that

all Christians would remain forever so

firmly united that they would be ONE,

even as He and the Father are one. No

higher or more perfect form of indivisi-

ble unity can be envisioned; no lesser

or imperfect form of oneness, such as

a so-called “federation” can implement

8



the divine will. We must remember that
the prayer of Christ, unlike that of a

mere man, is not a halting attempt to

obtain a favor from divinity but is the

equivalant of a divine fiat, or command,

establishing and implementing that for

which it asks. Thus, by divine mandate,

Christ established and guaranteed the

unbreakable unity of His true followers

in all places throughout the ages.

If, as is evident, this organic, living

and functioning unity of Christians is

according to the expressed will of Jesus

Christ, it follows that separation by

individuals or groups from that super-

natural unity is in flat contradiction to

His will and for that reason is objec-

tively sinful. Through the centuries,

from apostolic days until the present,

there have been many who have com-
mitted this serious sin of schism from

the Mystical Body of Christ and have

led thousands of unreasoning men and
women into the same sin. We see all
about us today many good and well-
intentioned persons who have been born
into this state of schism and heresy. The

fault is not theirs but that of the per-

verse men who set up the many schis-
matic and heretical sects. Some of these
groups (the so-called “Orthodox” of the

East) date back a thousand years, some

(the Western Protestants) about four

hundred years, others are of recent origin

9



and are actually modern separations from
already extant schisms. All exist in

opposition to the will of Christ; all are

objectively sinful simply because they

oppose the divine will and obstruct the

divinely-planned advancement of the

Kingdom of God on earth. We must re-
member always to hate heresy and
schism while loving heretics and schis-

matics, even as we, in imitation of

Christ, must hate sin while loving sin-

ners. We must remember that the char-
ity of Christ is boundless and that He
“died for all men” without distinction.
As those who proudly bear His name,
we must be ready meekly to “follow
Him.”

The devoted passion for unity of

faith, organization and action among
all Christians is seen to be of divine

origin and in accord with the will of

Christ. It is in agreement with the same

passion displayed by the Apostles, the

early Martyrs, the Bishops and theolo-

gians of the sub-apostolic age and the

greatest figures of the Christian Church

during the two thousand years which

have elapsed since the Incarnation of the

Son of God and His founding of the

earthly Church. Purity of dogmatic be-

lief and the preservation of organic un-

ity throughout the world have been the

principle aims of the many world-wide
(or ecumenical) councils which have

10



been held since the time of the initial

Council of Jerusalem. And all Christians
well may rejoice in the knowledge that
it will be the principle concern of the

impending council.

Our Lord revealed His intention in

constituting Saint Peter the “rock” or

chief foundation stone of His one and

universal Church. He knew that in so
doing, and in gathering about Peter the

other foundation stones (the other mem-
bers of the Apostolic College) He was
firmly establishing the lasting unity of

all true and faithful Christians. He
knew also that by this means He was
establishing the certainty of a true faith

in His Church because He had promised
Peter that His own divine prayer (or
mandate) would preserve the purity of

Peter’s faith, through which, and

through the exercise of Peter’s supreme

authority, Peter would be able to

“strengthen the brethren.” Thus the

Holy Apostolic See of Rome, of which

Peter became the first Bishop and in

which his Christ-given supreme author-

ity has descended to his successors, has

ever been the “Center of Unity” and

the guarantee of a right faith. Through

the centuries the Holy See has defined

and enforced, throughout the Church,

the orthodox norm of the true faith.

The zeal and dedication of Peter, Paul

and the other Apostles has descended to

11



their successors, the totality of the Epis-

copate in all the world
;
the promises and

guarantees bestowed upon Peter have

become the inheritance of his successors,

the Popes. The present Supreme Pontiff,

John XXIII, is the divinely-appointed

means for recalling all nominal Chris-

tians to the organic and living unity of

the One, Sanctified, Universal and Di-

vinely-commissioned Church of Jesus

Christ.

Barriers to the reunion of all professed

Christians within the divine oneness of

Christ’s Mystical Body are many and
great. It is a deplorable fact that the

most serious of these barriers are those

erected by prejudice, ignorance, fear, sus-

picion and the animosity which is the

result of centuries of separation, leading

to acceptance of conditions of disunity

and mutual ill will, which, in the light of

Christ’s intention, the words of Scripture

and the evidence of history, appear not

only as illogical but seriously sinful. Only

the action of God the Holy Ghost upon

the hearts and minds of men can move
mankind to desert the ways of separation

and estrangement, realize again the com-

pelling authority of the commands of

Jesus Christ and return to that holy and

Christian unity which He willed for all

of His redeemed and sanctified people.

During the past fifty years the action

of the Holy Ghost in the affairs of men

12



has become increasingly visible to those

who have prayed and worked for the
restoration of organic unity among all
professed Christians. Men of all shades
of Christian belief have become more

firmly convinced of the sinfulness of sep-

aration and estrangement from those

who should be their brothers in the faith.

It has become increasingly evident that

the present condition of the Christian

world condradicts the will of Jesus Christ,

who expressed that will in a solemn

prayer-command. The material waste of

rival organizations long ago was seen and

deplored but the spiritual wrongness of

schism from the Universal Brotherhood,

and of perverted teaching as to the one

true faith, has impressed itself upon men
of good will only as the result of the

enlightening action of the Holy Spirit of

God.

It is indeed significant that during the

same period of about fifty years many
thousands of Christians; Catholics, Or-

thodox and Protestants, have observed

the annual Chair of Unity Octave,

founded in the United States by a Fran-

ciscan Friar. This week of supplication

for world-wide Christian unity was at

first observed by only a handful of dedi-

cated men and women. It since has spread
throughout the world, passed national

boundaries, bridged religious divisions

and obtained the support and endorse-

13



ment of a variety of religious leaders.
For a number of years it has been ob-
served by not a few of the clergy and

laity of the Orthodox and Anglican

groups and by other non-Catholics who
deplore the shameful spectacle of Chris-

tian disunity and look forward hopefully

to the day when, in obedience to the will

of Christ, “all may be one.” From the
inception of this week of prayer, Catho-

lics by the hundreds of thousands have

prayed the Octave, knowing that it has

the official endorsement of the Father

of Christendom. It is evident that this

widespread and united supplication for

the restoration of Christian unity has

so deeply influenced the thinking of pro-

fessed Christians that they heard and

long to obey the will of God rather than

their own desires.
American Catholics well may be proud

of the results accomplished through fifty

years of the Chair of Unity Octave,

one of the fruits of American Catholic

devotion. They also may be permitted
to take pride in the work done by the

American provinces of the Society of

Jesus in world-wide efforts toward the

reunion of all Christians. At Fordham

University in New York City, a group
of Jesuits long have devoted themselves

to the apostolate to the Eastern Ortho-

dox. They have been ordained to the

priesthood in the Eastern Rite, they cele-

14



brate the Divine Liturgy and the Divine

Office in Greek, in Old Slavonic and in

the other tongues (including English)

used by the Orthodox and they strive

in every way to conform to the customs
and way of life used by the Eastern
groups. These men have made wide con-
tacts with the Orthodox in the United

States and in South America and have

been enabled to influence many dissident
priests and laymen and to inspire them

with a desire for reunion with the Holy

See. They minister to several congrega-

tions of Byzantine Christians who are
in communion with the See of Rome;

they officiate at many celebrations of
the Eastern Liturgy in Catholic parishes

of the Roman Rite. Great things may
be expected of their efforts. The hope of

a return of the East to Catholic Unity

shines with ever increasing brilliance.

To the thoughtful Catholic the press-

ing need of Christian unity is self-

evident. His devotion to the See of Unity

entails a profound sorrow for all those

who are called “Christian” but fail to
grasp the importance of solidarity in

matters of doctrine, discipline and wor-

ship among all who accept the divine

authority of Jesus Christ: the God-Man

who commanded Christians to remain

forever One, Holy, Catholic and Apos-

tolic. The members of the Orthodox

groups have retained a keen awareness

15



for the need of sanctity and apostolicity

in the earthly structure of the Church

but have lost sight of the equal need

of unity and universality (i.e. : catholic-

ity) . In some sense the Anglican can

be placed in somewhat the same bracket

but the great majority of avowed Prot-

estants seem to have abandoned all claim

to a practical appreciation of these four

“Marks of the Church.” It is certain that

the leaders of most non-Catholic bodies,

as a result of prayer and study, rapidly

are recovering a knowledge of their tre-

mendous spiritual losses and a deep-

seated longing for the recovery of those

things which they have for so long

lacked. Again, the solution of the many

problems involved will lie with the in-

spiring and implementing action of the

Holy Spirit of God. And our avenue of
approach to God the Holy Ghost lies in

determined, trusting and earnest prayer.

Soon after his announcement of the

impending Ecumenical Council, and of

the task with which it is to cope, the

Holy Father issued a call to all Catho-

lics to pray earnestly and constantly

for the success of the gathering. All of

us who are responsive to the voice of

Peter’s successor, in other words all

loyal Catholics, will be eager to respond

to the plea of the Supreme Pontiff. Cath-

olic devotion to the mind of Holy Church

stresses the great importance of the

16



widespread intercession for which the

Pope asks
;
understanding of the imper-

ative need for Christian reunion makes

compelling the Papal summons to united

and earnest supplication before the Di-

vine Majesty. It is devoutly to be hoped

that the faithful of the world will storm

heaven from now until the conclusion

of the Council; will implore the Holy

Ghost to enlighten the minds of all con-

cerned
;
will beseech God that the inten-

tion of Jesus Christ as to the unity of

all Christians will be fulfilled.

“More things are wrought by prayer

than this world dreams of.” Men of
good will have, for many years, dreamed
of and longed for the world-wide reunion

of all Christians in one holy, universal

brotherhood, in which the gospel pre-

cepts of faith, hope and charity would

prevail in all nations, would banish sec-

tarian misunderstanding from men’s

minds, would bring about the reign of

concord, charity and peace under the

sway of Christ the King of Peace. Cath-

olics know that such a happy solution
of the present problem is possible only

in -the event of the return of our sepa-

rated brethren to the unity of the divine-

ly-ordained unity, sanctity, universality

and apostolicity of the Mystical Body

of Christ: the Catholic Church, under

the leadership of the Vicar of Christ,

designated by our Lord as the Center

17



of Unity and the enduring guarantee

of Orthodoxy. Catholics know that such
a return will be the work of God the
Holy Ghost, our part in the great

achievement being humble and persist-

ent prayer for the enlightenment of all

who are called “Christians,” that they
may be enabled to follow the declared
will of Him whose name they bear.

Ever since the first decades of the

Christian Church the firm unity of all

of the followers of Christ has been a

matter of prime importance to the

Popes. Time and again they have deeply

deplored the misunderstandings and di-

visions which have*set up factions, given

birth to sects and begotten heresies.

Our Lord stressed the overwhelming im-

portance of oneness of His people, pray-

ing the almighty Father that “they may
be one, even as We are one.” Saint Paul
devoted much time to a development of

the theme of unity among Christians,
explaining that the faithful “in Christ”

form with Him a vertitable “body”: His
Mystical Body, of which He is the gov-
erning Head and they the functioning

members, each with his or her proper

usefulness. The faith of the world-wide

Church, from before the days of schisms

to the present time, is stated in the

Nicene Creed, in which we declare our

belief in ONE Church, even before we
go on to a statement of the holiness,

18



universality and apostolic character of

the only true Church.

Many of the Supreme Pontiffs have
made valiant efforts to recall to Catholic
unity the many thousands of persons
throughout the world who have disre-
garded the mandate of Christ and the

teaching of the Apostles by separating

themselves from the Mystical Body. In

some cases the efforts of the Popes have

met with success, as when, in the Middle

Ages, General Councils convened by the

authority of Rome healed the schism
between East and West and restored

to unity the Eastern dissidents who call
themselves the “Orthodox.” This restor-

ation of unity, twice accomplished, was

not lasting and again the Hierarchy and

people of the East departed from the

divinely-ordained oneness with the Vic-

ar of Christ.

Manifestly, the East, having true

Orders and Sacraments, being faithful

in the offering of the Eucharistic Sacri-

fice and having remained in possession

of almost the entire cycle of the Catholic

faith, may be regarded as a first cousin
of Western Catholicism and as the

Christian group most likely to desire

reunion with Rome and to make prac-
tical moves in that direction. Our pray-

ers for the homecoming of these millions

should be constant and fervent. And
we must not forget that in recent years

19



European Protestants, especially the

Lutherans, have manifested an increas-

ing awareness of the true nature of

the Christian Church, of the bases of

faith and of the overwhelming need for

universal Christian unity. In the United

States, while the various Protestant

sects are drawing closer to each other,

it cannot as yet be said that their atti-

tude toward Catholicism has undergone

any drastic change. Again, we should
redouble our prayers for the enlighten-

ment of these well-intentioned people.

In both the United States and in Eng-

land there are thousands of Anglicans

(Episcopalians) who entertain a feel-

ing of warmest friendliness toward

Catholics and Catholicism. This espe-

cially is true of those Anglicans who are

called “High Church” and whose sacra-

mental faith is identical with our own.

These good people have but to be con-

vinced of the scriptural and historic

evidence for the truth of the Papal

claims in order to return to that world-

wide solidarity and oneness which their

ancestors of four hundred years ago

enjoyed and from which they (and their

descendants) were torn by the evil civil

and ecclesiastical politicians of that era.

Catholics should be constant in their

prayers that the Holy Ghost will flood

the minds of these men and women with

an understanding of the truth, that they

20



soon may “come home.”
In summoning the approaching Ecu-

menical Council, Pope John has indi-

cated that its prime purpose would be

the attempted restoration of that broth-

erly unity of all Christians which was

the object of the high-priestly prayer

of Jesus Christ, of the efforts of the

Apostles and of the policy of the long

line of Roman Pontiffs. Thus he makes
clear his devotion to the will of Him
whose representative on earth he is.

And he realizes, as did Saint Paul, that

while he and his apostolic associates in

the Hierarchy can sow the good seed of

Christ in the minds of men, only God

can insure the growth and development

of that seed and bring it to fruition. For

that reason the Papal announcement of

the Council was promptly followed by

the Papal call to the faithful of the

world : the Papal bidding to universal

and united prayer for the success of the

Council in its labors for the restoration

of universal unity.

In spite of the active opposition to

Catholicism which some non-Catholic

sects and individuals have maintained,

a single generation has seen a great

betterment in the religious atmosphere

in these United States. In Europe the

improvement began even earlier than

in this country. Everywhere there has

been a growing appreciation of Christ’s

21



intentions for His followers and a grow-

ing desire on the part of many non-Cath-
olic thinkers for the realization of our

Lord’s prayer for His followers: “that

they all may be one.” The action of the
Holy Ghost has become increasingly visi-

ble. Men of all shades of Christian belief
have become more firmly convinced of
the sinfulness of estrangement and sepa-

ration from those who should be their
brothers. The sin of schism from the

Universal Brotherhood has become ap-

parent to men of good will as the result
of the quickening influence of the Holy

Spirit of God.

Realization of the animosities and divi-

sions among professed Christians fills the
mind of the average Catholic with sorrow

and makes him long to engage in active

efforts for the return of all peoples to

that unity which they once enjoyed and

most unhappily forsook through the

false teaching of misguided men. The

very vastness of the problem brings home

the fact that its theoretical solution must

be left to experts in various fields. This

will be the difficult task of the Fathers

in God who will compose the membership

of the Ecumenical Council. But each one

of us, clerical and lay, has a most import-

ant role to play in the eventual success

of the official attempt to find a way to

the restoration of Christian unity. Our

role is the offering of many earnest and

22



trusting prayers, in obedience to the Pa-

pal summons.

During the years which have seen an

increasing discontent with the present

divided state of the Christian world, it

is most significant that many thousands
of people, Catholics and non-Catholics,

have participated annually in a week of

prayer for world-wide Christian .unity.

It also is significant that many non-
Catholic scholars have spoken and writ-

ten in no uncertain terms of the pressing

need for reunion. Their statements have

dealt not only with the practical aspects

of the case but, more importantly, with

the spiritual implications involved and

with the basic nature of the Christian

Church, its divine commission and the

requirements for its perpetuation in com-

pliance with the wishes of its divine-

human founder.

No Christian can doubt the power of
prayer. It is evident that trusting sup-

plication for the restoration of Christian

unity has been heard by God and has

deeply influenced the thinking and acting

of countless professed Christians. As

Catholic Christians, whether we be sim-

ple or wise, powerful or weak, our im-

mediate duty and privilege is to hear and

heed the plea of the Holy Father, who

bids us : “Pray brethren
;
pray for the re-

union of all men within the universal

brotherhood instituted by Jesus Christ.”

23



The Chief Bishop of Christendom, stand-

ing at the tomb of the Chief of the Apos-

tles, pleads with us to support his fatherly

efforts with our petitions and interces-

sions. We best can respond in the words
of one of the prayers of holy Mass: “0

Lord Jesus Christ, Who saidst unto Thine
Apostles ‘peace I leave with you, My
peacQ I give unto you’ regard not our

sins but the faith of Thy Church, and

deign to grant us peace and unity accord-

ing to Thy will. Amen.”

IMPRIMI POTEST

Nicholas Bisheimer, Provincial

NIHIL OBSTAT

.J. Musinsky, S.V.D., Censor Deputatus

IMPRIMATUR

J* Albert G. Meyer, Archbishop
of Chicago

DATE

December 7, 1959

24





Pope John

XXIII

—and Unity
BY THEODORE C. P. VERMILYE

The re-union of all Christendom—of compelling interest to all

—had very special meaning for the author of this booklet who

was born and raised by Anglican parents. 'That all may be one'

was a guiding light to him over the years, and he wrote quite

a number of articles on the subject. Greatly interested in the

possibility of re-union, he helped promote the Anglican observance

of the Chair of Unity Octave. Deeply moved by the study of the

Mystical Body of Christ, he was received into the Church in 1938.

He died suddenly in Dec., 1 959 shortly after finishing a booklet

on Anglicanism.

This treatise on 'unity' by Mr. Vermilye is general and covers

the topic quite completely. His approach is rather unique in that

he too once searched for the one true Church. He gives us insight

into public interest in the Ecumenical Council—and its prime

purpose; he defines the word 'ecumenical,' gives an explanation

of ecclesiastical councils, and a clearer understanding of the

supernatural unity of the Church of Rome. He points out how

separation from the Church deprives the separatist of the life

of grace in the Mystical Body.

The Pope has urged all Christians to pray for the success of

the forthcoming Ecumenical Council—particularly for re-union.

If the zeal of converts for the Faith were to be

matched by those born in the Faith—it would

put into action an abundance of grace imbued in

all by the Holy Spirit, and could literally change

the face of the earth.

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