Page 1, 9th July 1999

9th July 1999

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Page 1, 9th July 1999 — Cardinal in final plea for Catholic unity
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Cardinal in final plea for Catholic unity

By Luke Coppen CARDINAL BASIL Hume made an impassioned plea for Catholic unity in an address written a few months before his death.
In it he asked the faithful not to reduce "Church discussions to crude polemics" and reminded them that the Pope was the ultimate authority on controversial issues.
The Cardinal, who died on June 17, commented frankly on divisive questions such as the ordination of women, the liturgy and papal authority. He offered guidance on the relationship between "conscience" and Church teaching.
Building on his legacy as a leader who "guided our Church away from the extremes to right and left", Cardinal Hume said that contentious issues should not "divide the Catholic community" or distract believers from their relationship with Christ.
"Keeping our eyes on Him but prayerfully listening to His voice are vital to dialogue," he said.
The Cardinal's comments came in an address which he hoped to deliver at the Washington Theological Union on June 25, the day he was buried in Westminster Cathedral, after a struggle against cancer. His speech was read to the union by Archbishop Oscar Lipscomb of Mobile and focused on the Catholic Common Ground Initiative, founded by the late Cardinal Joseph Bernardin of Chicago to bring together the liberal and conservative wings of the American Church.
In the address, Cardinal Hume said that he knew and understood the arguments for the ordination of women to the priesthood. "But I would not be able to base my final judgement on such a matter on these arguments alone. Faith has to come into play. By this I mean I must try to discover the mind of Christ.
"I have no way of doing this safely, unless I can listen to the authority of the Successor of St Peter, in his role of guiding the Church."
Cardinal Hume said that the Pope was integral to search for "common ground" among Catholics. "That common ground must be faithful to the Church's teaching. That is part of the foundation and bedrock on which we must stand together," he said.
He added that the Pope, not individual conscience, was the surest teacher of doctrine: "A person's unaided conscience is susceptible to special pleading. We all have a duty to inform as well as to follow our consciences. And, of course, the objectivity of moral values, far from usurping the role of individual conscience, prevents it merely being the expression of private judgement."
The Cardinal expressed concern about casual attitudes to the Eucharist among Catholics. "Communion in the hand, moving the Blessed Sacrament from the High Altar, failure to genuflect, have in my experience weakened the respect and devotion due to so great a Sacrament," he said, stressing that the Mass should be celebrated with prayerfulness and dignity.
Full speech—page 4 Comment—page 7




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