Stirrings at the Vatican

The big news from Rome last week was that 1) the Pope seems sufficiently recovered from his long illness to resume firm personal leadership of the Roman Catholic Church, and 2) he is strongly reasserting the church's role in secular affairs, notably in the fight against Communism. Pius XII told 40 cardinals and 205 bishops: "The church [must give] guidance . . . not in a hidden way only between the walls of temples or by the windows of sacristies, but out in the open ... if necessary on the battlefield, amid the fury of the battle between truth and error, virtue and vice."

Tightening Discipline. The Pope's decisions were signaled by two major events. Pro-Secretary of State for Ordinary Affairs

Msgr. Giovanni Battista Montini, Pius' most trusted collaborator, who throughout the Pope's illness has been doing more and more of the Pontiff's work, was appointed to the vital Archbishopric of Milan, succeeding the late Ildefonso Cardinal Schuster. At the same time, cardinals and bishops received new, sharp instructions designed to remedy what the Pope regards as creeping weaknesses in the church. Among the Pope's chief complaints:

P: Excessive independence among many zealous priests, who are carried away by their secular work and fail to give obedience to their superiors. One example is the French worker-priest movement, which the Vatican disbanded last year (TIME, Sept. 28, 1953).

P: Interference by the laity in theological teaching. Example: Italy's Catholic Youth Movement, in its anxiety to help the poor and unemployed, frequently places its own special interpretations on the spiritual directives of its Vatican-appointed adviser. Under successive lay-presidents, the Vatican complains, Catholic action has swung violently from left to right, yet its effectiveness has visibly diminished.

P: Slackness among some of the religious orders. Example: the number of Franciscan missionaries is declining. Example: the Society of Jesus, the order closest to the Pope, has suffered apostasies. The main trouble, says the Pope, is lack of discipline.

To remedy these and other ills, Pope Pius instructed the bishops: "Ecclesiastics and laymen must be made to know that the church and her bishops are authorized to ... exact ecclesiastical discipline." The Pope let it be known that he intends personally to oversee this tightening up of discipline. He will call more and more bishops to Rome so that "from this frequent contact . . . there will spring for the bishops light and sureness, [while] on the other hand . . . this Holy See will come to know, quicker and better, the conditions of the whole flock . . ."

The Church's Jurisdiction. As for Communism, the Pope urged Catholics everywhere to take the offensive against it. The church's jurisdiction, he said, "cannot be limited to ... 'things strictly religious' " but extends to "the moral aspect of all law . . . Social and political questions concern . . . men's consciences . . . National and international questions of a political nature . . . touch upon ethics and thwart Man from attainment of his supernatural end in paradise ... It absolutely may not be said that such questions do not come under the authority and care of the church ..."

As the new Archbishop of Milan, stronghold of Italian Communism, Montini will be a key figure in the church's new anti--Communist offensive. A brilliant organizer whose thin-lipped, meticulous manner and quiet voice hide burning zeal for his mission, Montini has plenty of experience in fighting totalitarianism. In 1928, Montini was appointed assistant general to the Italian Federation of Catholic University Students (FUCI), and for three years he clashed with Fascist authorities, who finally disbanded the organization

Montini is almost certain to be made a cardinal at the next Roman consistory, early next spring. (Three other church dignitaries, among them Boston's Archbishop Richard J. Gushing, are also likely to get red hats.) Moreover, Montini is already being spoken of as a hard-to-beat candidate for St. Peter's throne itself.

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