Cardinal Bea Honored in New York; Appeals for Unity of All Men

A powerful and eloquent plea for the unity of all mankind, of all races and religions, was voiced here tonight by Augustin Cardinal Bea, president of the Vatican’s Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity. He is the prelate who heads the organizational work of the Ecumenical Council, convened at the Vatican last October by Pope John XXIII.

The eminent priest made his plea before a distinguished gathering of 400 Catholic, Protestant and Jewish lay and clerical personalities who tendered a dinner for him here tonight under the auspices of the American Council for the International Promotion of Unity Under God and the International University of Social Sciences Pro Deo of Rome.

The Cardinal’s address was endorsed in speeches by Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, professor at the Jewish Theological Seminary; the Rev. Henry Pitney Van Dusen, president of the Union Theological Seminary (Protestant); Sir Zafrulla Khan, president of the United Nations General Assembly, who is a Moslem; United Nations Secretary General U Thant, who is a Buddhist; and the Rt. Rev. Stephen Gill Spottswood, bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Francis Cardinal Spellman, Roman Catholic Archbishop of New York, delivered the invocation.

Quoting from the Bible that “it is not good for man to be alone, ” Cardinal Bea said he desired unity as “essentially and pre-eminently a human work–the conscious, free decision of responsible persons to unite with other responsible persons, in order to live together in peaceful harmony.” The unity he sought, said the prelate, “is the conscious encounter of free men, the mutual exchange in giving and receiving what each one has, not merely of material goods but also, and above all, of spiritual riches.” Both unity and liberty are essentials, he said.

HOPES TO FOSTER CONTACTS WITH NON-CHRISTIAN RELIGIOUS GROUPS

Earlier, at a pre-dinner press conference, Cardinal Bea expressed his “hope and desire” that the existing Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity will find “concrete formulas” to foster contacts with non-Christian religious organizations throughout the world. Replying to a question dealing with that subject, he stated:

“The Secretariat as such does not engage in this. It would tend to create dangerous and harmful confusion. But because the representatives of religions diverse from Christians have demonstrated great interest in the Ecumenical Council, and because relations with these other religions is bound up with the question of unity of all men of good will for the good of humanity, of which I have spoken previously, we must hope and desire that the Secretariat will find concrete formulas to foster such contacts. I myself formulated this desire in a press-conference a year ago. “

Professor Heschel, in his address, sounded an ominous warning of the need for world unity. He quoted the Prophet Isaiah’s words: “The envoys weep bitterly; covenants are broken, witnesses are despised, there is no regard for man. ” “Is it not true, ” he asked, “that God and nuclear stockpiles cannot dwell together in one world?” He called for “a revival of reverence” on the part of all men, quoting Moses’ dictum: “I have put before thee life and death, blessing and curse. Choose life.”

The Rev. Van Dusen, in his address, told the assemblage that man in this age must answer the question whether the forces of faith “both individual and corporate, contribute to cure, and if so, how and how much?” The question, he warned, must be asked in the context “of a realistic recognition that the historic religions have perhaps more often aggravated than alleviated conflict among and between peoples.” He told the meeting:

“In our day, the call comes to all men of religious faith, both individually, and, so far as their institutions permit, corporately to enter into sympathetic, open-minded, open-hearted, and above all, humble discourse and dialogue, seeking first of all deeper understanding, then mutual trust, then genuine fellowship, and finally community of conviction and possibly of common action. “