1960-08-26

              Record

OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF ST. JOHN'S UNIVERSITY AND ORGAN OF THE ALUMNI

VOLUME 73

COLLEGEVILLE, MINNESOTA, FRIDAY, AUGUST 26, 1960

NUMBER 11

Father Barnabas Ahem, CP, of The Passionist Seminary, Louisville, Ky., addresses the first St. John's Scripture Institute. More than 100 priests from many sections of the United States, Canada and Italy participated in the five-day session. A grant from the Quinlan Foundation in Minneapolis helped sponsor the Institute.

Scripture Study Draws Priests From Wide Area

#"Genesis is neither scientific, theological nor historical—in the

modern sense of these words,'' said Father Bruce Vawter, CM, in an opening lecture of the Scriptural Institute held at St. John's in August. As the week of lectures, seminar discussions and evening roundtables progressed, it became clear just what he and Father Barnabas Ahem, OP, second series' lecturer, meant when they made such precisely honed statements.

For the Aug. 8-12 institute, besides the two lecturers who discussed recent critical developments in Scripture and illumined its relation to the spiritual life, two other Scripture scholars, Father Edward Siegman, OPPS, and Father Eugene Maly, were engaged twice daily in hour-long seminars that treated of the lecture topics.

The Scriptural Institute was designed specifically for priests who are teaching or have duties in the pastoral field. One of the first of its kind in the United States, the institute was sponsored by Most Rev. Peter W. Bartholome, Bishop of St. Cloud. It was financially assisted by a grant from the Elizabeth C. Quinlan Foundation of Minneapolis.

Father Alberic Oulhane, OSB, member of the college theology faculty and director of the institute, said that from the comments on the questionnaires filled out by the participants, the 104 registrants were exceptionally enthusiastic about receiving information on current concerns in mo dern scriptural studies and fuller ideas on the relationship of it to their spiritual lives and pastoral activity.

"The orientation and benefits which the participants received," he said, "will unquestionably be extended further to the faithful under their care."

A statistical breakdown of the participants by locale shows that there were priests from more than 20 states, Canada and Italy. Their present  occupations were listed

as follows: 50 parish priests, 19 seminary professors, 12 college instructors, seven chaplains (Newman Club and hospitals), five high school teachers, four rectors and academic deans, three missionaries, and a number of librarians and graduate students.

Other than the registered participants, many priests from the St. Paul Province and from the monastery here joined in the Alumni Lounge general sessions when they were able to do so.

An interesting statistic concerning the institute's faculty is that the scholars who lectured and led seminar discussion themselves represent one-fourth of the total number of doctorates in Sacred Scripture possessed by priests in the United States. All received their rare degrees in the last three years from the Biblical Institute in Rome, the "Harvard" of Scriptural studies in the Catholic world.

The institute had been a long time in the planning stage, Father Alberic emphasized.  "Father   Godfrey Diekmann   contacted the faculty and initially organized   the    institute.    He made certain that we'd have the best faculty obtainable. He was patient until the possibility became   a  reality,   and   he also added to the institute work the significant mutual connections between the Biblical and liturgical  movements   of   our  day. And, again, Father Arao Gustin (president of St. John's), worked   assiduously  to   obtain  the foundation grant that allowed us to work ahead with confidence," he commented. Tentative dates for next year's institute  are set for one of the first weeks in August. While there may   be   some   changes   in   the mechanics  of  the  sessions,   the largest problem now facing the institute  is  that  of  a  possible "advanced" session for those who attended the meetings this year. A full report of the conference will appear In the forthcoming October issue of  Catholic Biblical Quarterly.

CALENDAR

Aug. 28-30—State Catholic Aid

Convention

Sept. 1—Football team returns Sept. 7-9—Faculty Workshop Sept. 11—Freshmen arrive Sept. 12—Freshman    Orientation begins

Sept. 14—Freshman  Registration begins

Sept. 16—TJpperclass Registration begins

Sept. 16—Classes begin Sept. 16—Freshman Mixer Sept. 21—Administrative

Convocation Sept. 23—CSSC Mixer (gym)

Benet Hall, Refectory Newly Painted

#When students return to St. John's this fall they will find that

a few changes have been made in the Interior color of several of the buildings.

The  interior  color  of Benet Hall     has     been     completely changed.  After  200  gallons  of paint and three months of work, brilliant colors have  appeared in the halls and rooms. Everything  from  the  top  of  Benet Hall to the post office in the basement   has   been   given   a fresh coat of paint. The painting and cleaning were begun to make the rooms presentable  to  incoming  freshmen who will descend upon St. Ben-et's and St. Mary's halls on Sept. 11.   Because   of   the   number   of freshmen there will again be only double rooms in Benet Hall, and even St. Joseph's Hall will be put to use. As Father Daniel Durken, OSB, dean of men, states, "The housing on campus will be crowded, but not cramped."

Recently the square panels which formerly surrounded the pillars in the college refectory were taken down, and the entire refectory was given a fresh coat of turquoise and white. A few other improvements in the refectory include new interior doors and new flooring in the rear kitchen.

Frosh Arrival To Open New Year

By Norm Virnig

The St. John's campus will again spring to life on Sunday, Sept. 11, when approximately 460 freshmen and their

counselors arrive for the Orientation Program.

On that Sunday afternoon freshmen and their parents will meet in the Alumni Lounge with the faculty and counselors. This is a way of introducing the newcomers to St. John's and its traditions.

Actually, the Freshman Ori- them of their orientation duties, entation    Program    began    last         During the summer each coun-

spring when senior Bob Burke, head of the program, met with the   counselors   and   instructed

Johnny Cadets Finish Second At Fort Riley

#St. John's University's ROTC unit placed second in its class at

the annual ROTO summer camp at Fort Riley, Kans. First place went to Wentworth Military Academy of Lexington, Mo. The 42 St. John's cadets returned home on July 30, after completing six weeks of intensive training. More than 1,400 students from 34 colleges and universities took part in the exercises.

The purpose of the summer program is to give ROTO cadets practical experience in many of the facets of military training which they have studied in the classroom for three years. All cadets are kept on a rigorous schedule which tests their endurance, physical fitness and leadership ability.

Thirteen  of  the   St.   John's cadets  were   nominated   "Distinguished Military Students" by the camp commander. This award is based on competitive scores  in leadership,  job  performance,   rifle   firing,   leadership   rating  by  fellow  cadets, map reading, unit tactical problems,  a leader's reaction test, physical training and a 90-min-ute    comprehensive    examination. Seventeen of the 42 students representing   St.  John's graduated  in  the   upper  one-third of the class. In addition to competing with students from other institutions, the cadets also competed against the   students   from   their   own schools. The five top men from St. John's were Gene Kramer, Wat-kins, Dave Norrls and Henry Gallagher,   Minneapolis,   Dave   Edwards, Austin, and James Stewart, Fargo.

Upon completion of summer camp, five seniors were commissioned second lieutenants in the U. S. Army. The remaining 37 cadets, all juniors, will receive their commissions after successfully completing their final year of college.

Three St. John's men, Henry Gallagher, Richard Sabers and Richard Johnson were regulars on the cadet baseball team which won six of the eight games which were played against various army teams representing Fort Riley.

Remember in Prayer

The students and faculty of St. John's extend their sympathy to Mr. and Mrs. Gero Thelen, '35, of Albany, on the death of their son Mike, who was a sophomore at St. John's. Mike was killed in a road construction accident at Hinckley on Aug. 4.

selor wrote a letter of introduction to his freshmen explaining a few "musts" of St. John's, and generally preparing the freshmen for college life.

In the four days following the reception the freshmen will be subjected to a barrage of tests, meetings with counselors and advisors, orientations, and recreation. During this time they will also be assigned advisors according to their majors and will register for their classes. This interim period helps the new St. John's men to become acquainted with the campus' life and legend.

With the return of the upper-classmen will come the inevitable freshman initiation. However, senior Jerry Donohue, head of the initiation program, says that this year's program is designed to enable freshmen to become acquainted with upperclassmen in a spirit of friendship. By having such a "theme" for initiation, senior Donohue hopes to set a precedent which classes in future years will follow.

Catholic Aid Meets Here

# The Minnesota Catholic Aid Association will conduct its annual convention at St. John's from Aug. 28-30. Approximately 450 delegates from all sections of Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota will attend the meeting. Host for the gathering is St. Joseph's Society, Albany. His Excellency Most Rev. Peter W. Bartholome, Bishop of St. Oloud, will pontificate at the Mass which will formally open the convention on Sunday, Aug. 28, at 10:30 a.m. Rt. Rev. Abbot Baldwin Dworschak, OSB, of St. John's, will deliver the sermon at the Mass. Bishop Bartholome will also address the delegates immediately after the Mass.

Principal speaker at the Sunday   afternoon   mass   meeting will be Lawrence C. Merthan of St. Paul. Mr. Merthan is staff director of the U. S. senate special committee  on unemployment problems. He was recently awarded     the     Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit of the  Federal  Republic  of  Germany for his outstanding work from 1946 to 1956 in promoting better      understanding      and friendship   between   Germany and the United States. The Men's and Women's Councils, affiliates of the Catholic Aid Associal ion,   will   have   separate meetings on Sunday and Monday before the delegate convention is called to order on Monday evening at 7:00 p.m.  The  two  councils specialize  in functions  such  as scholarships and missionary work. The   dominant   project   for   the Men's Council at the present time is the creation of scholarships for students in Catholic colleges who Intend to enter the teaching profession.