Text transcribed from caption: C-30382 HIGHLIGHTS OF 1963 For Release: Thursday, Dec. 26, or later LEFT PANEL Top Left: Pope John XXIII, in April, signs the encyclical Pacem in Terris (Peace on Earth), hailed by religious leaders of all faiths as one of the most momentous papal social documents of modern times. Top Right: Dead at 81, Pope John is shown lying in state in St. Peter’s Basilica. The whole world mourned his passing. 2nd Row, Left: The new Pope, Paul VI, greets Protestant, Anglican and Orthodox observers attending the second session of Vatican II, which his predecessor had convoked for an inner renewal of the Church and to foster Christian unity. In front, at left is Dr. Oscar Cullman of Basel, prominent theologian of the Swiss Reformed Church. At right is Methodist Bishop Fred Pierce Corson of Philadelphia, president of the World Methodist Council. Standing beside the Pope is Augustin Cardinal Bea, head of the Vatican Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity. 2nd Row, Right: Pope Paul is borne on the sedia gestatoria to the formal closing ceremonies of the Vatican Council’s second session. After promulgating a constitution on the sacred liturgy and a decree on the communications media, the Pope surprised Council Fathers by announcing he would make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land in January, 1964. 3rd Row, Left: Shown here are two prelates whose release from Communist custody provided top stories during the year. At left is Archbishop Josef Beran of Prague, Czechoslovakia, who had been banished from his See and kept under government detention since 1951. At right is Ukrainian Archbishop Josyf Slipyi of Lwow, freed after 18 years of Soviet imprisonment. 3rd Row, Right: This picture was taken at a Pan-Orthodox Conference at Rhodes, Greece, during which representatives of ten Orthodox bodies agreed to enter into a unity “dialogue” with the Catholic Church when Vatican II ends. Bottom Left: Devotional prayer and Bible reading public schools was declared unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court. Most of the nation complied, though there was scattered objection in Eastern states and outright refusal to stop school devotions in some Southern areas. Bottom Center: Shown here is Blessed Mother Elizabeth Seton, foundress of the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul of Emmitsburg, Md., the first native-born U.S. citizen ever to be proclaimed a Blessed. The beatification rites in Rome on March 17 were witnessed by some 4,000 Americans. Bottom Right: Catholic observers join Protestant and Orthodox at the World Council of Churches’ Fourth World Conference on Faith and Order at Montreal, Canada, in July. Shown together at an ecumenical rally held in connection with the Conference are (from left): Metropolitan Athenagoras of the Greek Orthodox Church in Canada; Paul-Emile Cardinal Leger, Archbishop of Montreal, Dr. W.A. Visser ‘t Hooft, WCC general secretary; and Dr. George Johnson, principal of United Theological College, Montreal. RIGHT PANEL Top Left: Jubilant throng in St. Peter’s Square hail the election of Pope Paul VI, formerly Giovanni Battista Cardinal Montini, Archbishop of Milan. In his first address to the world, he pledged to continue his predecessor’s work for Christian unity, world peace, and social and economic justice. Top Right: Less than six months after the death of Pope John, the entire world was shocked and saddened by the assassination of John F. Kennedy, first Catholic President of the United States. In a special message, Pope Paul prayed for the peace of his “elect soul” and praised his devotion to “the great causes of humanity.” Richard Cardinal Cushing, Archbishop of Boston, is shown officiating at the Funeral Mass in Washington for the dead President, a lifelong personal friend. Middle Left: July witnessed a memorable meeting in Vatican City between Pope Paul and President Kennedy. In a 40-minute conversation, they spoke of world problems, notably peace and racial justice. In a statement, the pontiff lauded the President and the U.S. government for their stand against racial discrimination. Middle Center: One of the most “sensational” papal audiences ever took place in March when Alexei I. Adzhubei, atheist son-in-law of Soviet Premier Khrushchev was received by Pope John. The Pope asked his visitor to convey to Mr. Khrushchev his thanks for the latter’s message of congratulations when the pontiff was chosen to receive the 1963 Balzan Peace Award. Pope John was the first pontiff to receive such an award. Middle Right: Pope Paul is shown with Archbishop Pierre Martin Ngo Dinh Thuc of Hue, after the military coup which overthrew the South Vietnamese government headed by the archbishop’s brother, President Ngo Dinh Diem, who was slain by troops along with his other brother, Ngo Dinh Nhu, the President’s chief adviser. The coup climaxed with a long series of anti-government demonstrations sparked by charges that the largely Catholic-controlled Diem regime was discriminating against the Buddhist majority. In August, the Pope had cautioned against attempts to “ignore the rights” of the Buddhist people and stressed that unity was the secret of the Catholic faith. Bottom Left: Catholics were among prominent religious leaders who took part in the historic first National Conference on Religion and Race at Chicago in January. Shown (from left) are: Archbishop William E. Cousins of Milwaukee, Wis., chairman of the Social Action Department of the National Catholic Welfare Conference; J. Irwin Miller, then president of the National Council of Churches; Albert Cardinal Meyer, Archbishop of Chicago; and Dr. Julius Mark, then president of the Synagogue Council of America. Bottom Right: The Church in America lost its foremost exponent of interracial justice with the death on Nov. 24 of 83-year-old Father John LaFarge, S.J. He is shown here with a leading Negro churchman, African Methodist Episcopal Bishop George W. Baber of Philadelphia, during the “March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom” supported by Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox and Jewish leaders and groups. Credit Must Read: RELIGIOUS NEWS SERVICE PHOTO