SEMINARY CHANGES

Cardinal announces two Heythrop appointments
By DONAL MUSGRAVE rARDINAL HEENAN this week announced two appointments in the theology faculties at Heythrop, the Jesuit seminary at Chipping Norton, Oxon, which has been raised to university status in the fields of philosophy and theology.
Fr. Bernard Leeming, SI, a noted ecumenist, will take the Newman Chair of Ecumenical Theology and Fr. Charles Davis, the internationally distinguished theologian, takes one of the chairs of Dogmatic Theology. The names of other professors and lecturers will be announced early in the summer.
Fr. Davis is one of three professors due to leave the Westminster archdiocesan seminary, St. Edmund's College, Ware. The other two, Fr. Hubert J. Richards, professor of Sacred Scripture, and Fr. Peter de Rosa, professor of Philosophy, will take up positions at the new London Catechetical College.
Er. Lionel Swain, who has studied at Paris and Jerusalem and is now at Rome, will become professor of Sacred Scripture at St. Edmund's; Fr. Peter Bourne, a frequent contributor to the CATHOLIC HERALD, will replace Fr. de Rosa and Fr. Michael Ashdowne becomes professor of Theology.
Fr. Davis, who was a peritus at the Vatican Council, will take up his new position at Heythrop in the autumn. He will continue as Editor of Clergy Review which is ravw broadening in scope to include regular features on pastoral-biblical theology, casechetics, the Council, ecumenism, liturgy, and the lay dialogue.
Commenting on the importance of the Heythrop expansion—it will now provide degrees in theology and philosophy not only for Jesuits but also for students from diocesan seminaries, othe r religious orders and for the laity— Er. Davis said this week that for the first time Britain would be able
to make a distinctive contribution to the life of the Church as a whole.
"The work of the Church has been hampered in this country because we have not been able to pursue theology at a university level." he said. "The lack of facilities has prevented theology from developing to its full capabilities.
"The fact that it will now he pursued by some at the highest level means that it will have repercussions right down through the Church. Up to now it has been cut off at a low level and has not had its place in the life of the country."
Fr. Bernard Leeming. S.J., told the CA I HOLIC HERALD that he "wholeheartedly agreed" with everything Fr. Day is had said. He added that Fr. Davis would be "most welcome" at Heythrop.
Finance problem Outlining the aim of the Ecumenical Theology faculty, he said that it was "roughly the same as that of the Secretariat of Christian Unity, We will do everything we can to educate the clergy in the necessity of Christian reunion, and of the most effective and charitable ways of helping this movement forward."
He said that the practical implementation of this aim depended to some extent on finance — "We shall have a slow beginning. There will bc no fanfare of trumpets.
"But I hope that next year {1965-66) members of all the other denominations in England will come to lecture here and tell us what they think we ought to know about their denominations.
"Reunion of the churches must be a slow process. although God may surprise us," he said. He added that "what we shall plan for the next scholastic year (1966-67) depends very much on a whole variety of circumstances. But the whole thing will depend on the prayers of all Christians, because it is necessarily the work of God and not of man."
A correspondent writes: Of the
three men w ho are leaving St. Edmund's, Fr. Davis is undoubtedly the best known. But between them the three priests have built up a reputation for progressivism and are acknowledged as being among the most advanced professors in these islands.
Fr. Davis has been at St. Edmund's for 16 years. His outstanding contribution to seminary education has been in introducing the students to developments long before their importance was recognised in this country and in the English speaking world as a whole.
lii particular he has stressed the importance of theology for the catechetical and liturgical movements and its essential role in the pastoral life of the priest. He has always insisted that it must he presented in a way that shows its value and relevance to the apostolic life of the clergy and laity alike, and not as a remote academic doctrine.
The present direction of his work is to demonstrate the living relationship between theology and secular culture. In his view a "living theology" must be in contact with the general cultural movement and not a separate movement.
Fr. Hubert Richards. who becomes Director of the London College of Catechetics, was also appointed to St. Edmund's 16 years ago. Since then his chief aim has been to simplify scriptural studies, to get away from the "dry" approach and make the subject interesting. In latter years this approach has been widely accepted in England. but for a long time Fr. Richards was among the few in this country who were attuned to ideas from abroad.
Fr. Peter de Rosa, a much younger man than either of his two colleagues, has also been responsible for new developments at the seminary. One of his chief contributions as professor of Philosophy was in integrating the social and other modern sciences into a wider end more up-to-date concept of philosophy than is traditionally taught in seminaries.
THE Countess of Albemarle general meeting of the Youth Clubs, held at the Irish said: "What has been achieved in one year has been remarkable."
The Department of Education and Science has approved a E32,700 residential training centre for the Council, and it was announced at the meeting that until it is ready next year the Dominican Sisters have offered to provide accommodation at Walsingham House, Chingford. The King George V Jubilee Trust is to pay £1,000 a year towards the salary of the training officer in charge of the centre.
Mgr. Edward Mahony, parish
priest at Peckham Rye, chairman of the Council, said 394 clubs with a membership of 36,059 were now affiliated. He said that with the raising of the school age in sight there was more interest in out-ofschool activity.
He saw no reason against rooms being added to all Catholic secondary schools and used for youth work in the evenings. Most of them were being used for only 40 hours a meek. "I feel we could do a lot with our buildings although, of course. the possibility of friction with the school in the daytime should be avoided."