May 25, 2012

What was in the news on May 25, 1962?

Good news about ongoing religious vocations in the U.S. and Canada

Criterion logo from the 1960sBy Brandon A. Evans

This week, we continue to examine what was going on in the Church and the world 50 years ago as seen through the pages of The Criterion.

Here are some of the items found in the May 25, 1962, issue of The Criterion:

  • Urges Catholics and Jews to work for understanding
  • Sees an expanding role for the Catholic layman
  • Greek Orthodox view: Infallibility termed Council unity bar
  • Public housing called instrument of social justice
  • Bills would remove teacher inequities
  • Believes infallibility no bar to Church unity
  • Rabbi’s article wins CPA award
  • Decision in Equador: A saga of political courage
  • Rash of serious problems beset Church in Equador
  • A progress report: Latin in the Church
  • Say Church shares blame for Algerian bloodshed
  • Only U.S. and Canada have adequate clergy
    • “VATICAN CITY—Only the United States and Canada have the desired ratio of one priest to each 1,000 faithful, statistics released by the Sacred Congregation of Seminaries and Universities reveal. The congregation, which is sponsoring the May 23-26 International Congress Ecclesiastical Vocations in Rome, reported that between 1957 and 1961 diocesan priestly vocations decreased in Europe, but showed increases in the United States and Canada. In 1957, there were 7,978 diocesan priests in Canada and 29,814 in the United States. By 1962, Canada’s diocesan priests rose to 8,583 and those of the U.S totaled 32,298. … While the figures are heartening, the congregation warned that even in North America the total number of vocations is not keeping completely abreast of the overall population increases. … Among the factors working toward the increase of vocations in North America are the Catholic school systems for every age, well organized religious instruction for those not in Catholic schools, the organization of a vocations office in every diocese promoted by the bishops and assisted greatly by the faithful and, lastly, strong lay associations such as the Serra International.”
  • President urges prayers for peace
  • ‘Crusade’ launched in Latin America
  • Future is hopeful: Vocation drive opened by Dominican Bishops
  • Foresees apostolate in space
  • Challenge for the laity: the making of converts
  • Philosophers challenged to tackle moral problems
  • Encyclical meant to solve disputes, pontiff explains
  • Mission donations near $22 million
  • See school crisis in Great Britain
  • Fr. O’Brien raps birth control program
  • Philadelphia plans O’Hara School
  • Saints’ biographies will be published
  • Step toward unity? Asks that laity be given role in naming bishops
  • Seek industrial reforms in strike-ridden Spain
  • Five-fold aid program to Latin America cited
  • ‘Insulated piety’ rapped by speaker
  • Asks greater clergy effort against bias

(Read all of these stories from our May 25, 1962, issue by logging on to our special archives.) †

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