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A special meeting to prepare for the Council

Tourneppe

On 28 October 1960, the JOC Internationale organised a special meeting to prepare for the Council. It was held at the JOC training centre (above) in Tourneppe, Belgium.

Invited to the meeting were members of the JOCI Executive Committee, the International Bureau, i.e. the elected staff of the International Secretariat. Also invited was Marguerite Fiévez, former international leader, member of the Permanent Committee for International Congresses on Lay Apostolate (COPECIAL), who was now working for Cardijn as his personal secretary.

Two issues: Young workers and lay apostolate

Although the proposal for the meeting is not signed by Cardijn, it certainly bears the imprint of his thought:

“The problem to be studied could be posed as follows: if we send a preparatory note to the Fathers of the Council and to the various preparatory commissions, it seems that the suggestions that we could make would revolve around two problems that characterise our competence and our originality:

a} the mass of young workers to be saved

b) the role of the laity in the Church as we understand it.”

In other words, it is necessary to approach the issue beginning with the life of young workers and to evaluate the role of lay people in response:

“Given these conditions, should we not first simply think about these two questions:

– what do we have to contribute, to emphasise and to suggest with respect to the problem of young workers?

– and with respect to the apostolate of the laity?”

Specific issues

The document goes on to specify these concerns in greater details. It says:

“These two questions can be approached via a series of problems:

– seminary formation

– liturgy, preaching, catechism

– our attitude, the attitude to be adopted towards non-Christians

– attitude to be adopted with respect to “technical civilisation”

– attitude with respect to communism

– how to shed light on some major problems of educating young people

– the sexuality problem

– the problem of juvenile delinquency

– the problem of preparation for family life

– what are the obstacles that we encounter in our apostolate?

– how should we conceive of the collaboration between priests – laity and laity – hierarchy?”

SOURCE

JOC Internationale, Préparation du Concile Oecuménique (Joseph Cardijn Digital Library)

English translation

International YCW, Preparation for the Ecumenical Council (Joseph Cardijn Digital Library)

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Belgian Christian Worker movements send questionnaire to members

LOFC-MOC

On 7 October 1960, Emilie Arnould, a former JOCF leader, wrote to members of the Ligues des Ouvrières Féminines Chrétiennes (Christian Women Workers League) and of the Mouvement des Ouvriers Chrétiens (Christian Workers Movement) to invite them to respond to a questionnaire in preparation for Vatican II.

“The JOC Internationale and the FIMOC (Fédération Internationale des Ouvriers Chrétiens) are interested in this preparation,” she wrote.

The questions were:

1. – Quels sont les principaux obstacles à la pratique de la Foi dans le monde ouvrier ?

2. – Que souhaiteriez-vous voir s’améliorer dans la collaboration “prêtres-laics” pour ce qui concerne l’apostolat des militants ouvriers dans le monde des adultes ?

3. – Quels sont, en général, les autres voeux que vous voudriez exprimer pour le monde des travailleurs, compte tenu des différentes Commissions du Concile :

– liturgie,

– sacrements,

– enseignement de la religion ( enfants

( adultes

– accueil des convertis dans les paroisses,

– formation dans les séminaires, etc…etc…

4. – Autres réflexions.

English translation

“1. What are the principal obstacles to the practice of the faith?

2. What would you like to se improved in the collaboration between “priests and lay people” with respect to the apostolate of worker militants in the adult world?

3. In general, what are the other wishes that you would like to express regarding the world of workers, taking into consideration the various Conciliar Commissions:

  • Liturgy
  • Sacraments
  • Teaching of religion (children, adults)
  • Welcoming converts in parishes
  • Seminary formation, etc.

4. Any other reflections.

SOURCE

Archives Himmer (Diocèse de Tournai)

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A sub-commission of lay leaders?

A day after meeting with the JOC, ACO and the FIMOC, Cardijn wrote on 27 September 1960 to Mgr Achille Glorieux, who had been appointed secretary to the new PCLA.

“We met in Paris yesterday with the leaders of the ACO, FIMOC and JOC Internationale to examine the possibility of international collaboration. We also considered how each movement itself and all together we could do useful work by sending to the Lay Apostolate Commission and even to other commissions one or more documents proposing a study of certain issues and experiences of solution in the field of the worker apostolate, both young and adult.

“During our discussions, we even asked if we could not propose the creation of a sub-commission comprising lay leaders and militants to submit to the Pontifical Commission their point of view, experiences as well as the wishes of the lay apostles themselves with respect to the apostolate to which they had devoted their whole lives.

“This sub-commission could work at international level or diversify into continental sub-commissions, which would examine the issue from an even more realistic perspective on a continent by continent basis.

“The issue of the worker apostolate seems to me to be so important within the ensemble of issues of the lay apostolate that I do not hesitate to ask you if it would be opportune to make such a proposal.

“If you could consult His Eminence Cardinal Cento on this subject, you could then suggest to use the right attitude to take. I am ready myself to come and speak with His Eminence if he judges it opportune.

“This collaboration of the laity themselves in the preparation of the coming Ecumenical Council seems highly opportune to me at the moment when the World Council of Churches in Geneva is preparing its own World Congress in New Delhi next year on the theme “Christ, Light of the World” and has issued an enthusiastic call to the faithful of all faiths, as well as at a time when Moral Rearmament has redoubled its activity in Africa with all African parties as well moreover will all people of colour,” Cardijn wrote.