Response of Bernardin GANTIN, the titular bishop of Tipasa in Mauretania, Algeria and the auxiliary bishop of Cotonou, Benin, to Vatican II’s Antepreparatory Commission

Eminentissime Domine,

Imprimis, devotissimum ac gratum me praebere faveas erga Summum Pontificem Dominum ac Patrem Nostrum Ioannem XXIII fel. regn. quem Deum vivificet et conservet.

Pariter, Pontificiae Commissionis Antepraeparatoriae pro Concilio Oecumenico illustrissimo ac Pariter, Pontificiae Commissionis Antepraeparatoriae pro Concilio Oecumenico illustrissimo ac reverendissimo Praesidi gratias ex intimo corde et humiliter agere velim quia, illo sic disponente, me etiam inter excellentissimos consultores qui litteras receperunt aggregari honorificum ac fas est.

Nuntium futuri Concilii Oecumenici hac in Archidiocesi, immo tota in Provincia ecclesiastica nostra, maximo cum gaudio receptum est. Singulariter vero nos iuvat character oecumenicus praedicti Concilii. Non mirum nec mirandum quidem est factum, in suo genere novum, secundum quod, prima vice in Historia Matris Ecclesiae, Episcopi Nigrae Africae huic augusto coetui qua Patres astabunt.

Hoc ergo gratum argumentum in nobis urget munus praeces vividissimas et frequentis simas effundendi pro felici exitu futuri Concilii. Ad quod, modesto cum animo, haec sequentia vota breviter adiungere velim, consiliis auditis et rite perpensis aliquorum virorum peritorum utriusque nostri cleri missionarii scilicet et africani.

1. Quoad doctrinam, ominamur ut dogma Mystici Corporis et consequenter Ecclesiae denuo et clarius et profundius enucleatur. Nobis quidem magni momenti apparet hoc punctum nostrae Religionis tam ad pascendos spiritualiter nostros neophytos quam ad demonstrandum infidelibus characterem “familiarem” seu communitarium Ecclesiae.

De Communione Sanctorum quidquid novi declaratum opportune reciperetur.

2. Pariter de nefanda Communismi doctrina sensim, pro dolor!, per nostras regiones grassante solemnis condemnatio Patrum valde opportuna erit. Hoc, ut omnes catholici unicam eamdemque methodum contra Communismum assequantur.

 
3. Doctrina Socialis Ecclesiae ad instar brevis codicis edatur.

4. Humiliter et ardenti animo exoptamus ut celebratio S. Missae, saltem in nostris regionibus, omnino a strictis horarii regulis seponatur, manentibus tamen sacris praescriptis circa ieiunium eucharisticum.

5. Visitatio pastoralis missionum et cappellarum dissitarum, ubi sacerdos solus habetur, saepe impedire potest communionem quotidianam Religiosarum quae intra huius fines degunt ac laborant. Quapropter, nonne beneficum esset si permissio Matri Superiorae, occasione data et certis condicionibus praemissis, concederetur ut S. Communionem suis consociis distribuat?

6. Quoad S. Breviarium, sit breve, clarum, documentis omnino certis confectum, hodiernis necessitatibus consonum.

7. Matrimonii Cerimoniae liturgicae iuxta Rituale Romanum valde concisae nobis apparent; ergo nova formula in solemniori ritu proponenda valde nos iuvabit. E contra, Baptismi formula actualis et etiam S. Paenitentiae, saltem in missionum regionibus, aliquando onerosissima videtur. Abbreviatio in hac parte cum gratitudine sincera accipietur.

8. Ut magis magisque crescat devotio marialis quae in magno honore est apud nos, suppliciter exoptamus ut doctrina Mediationis Universalis Mariae explanetur, et si fieri potest, definiatur a Patribus futuri Concilii.


Mihi tandem remanet ut Tibi denuo, ferventer ac devotissime, Eminentissime ac Reverendissime Domine, gratos animos offeram in Christo Domino Nostro Iesu.

+ BERNARDINUS GANTIN
Episcopus tit. Tipasitanus in Mauretania
Auxiliaris Cotonuensis

Most Eminent Lord,

First of all, may you favour to present me as very devout and grateful to the happily reigning Supreme Pontiff, our Lord and Father, John XXIII, whom may God vivify and preserve.

Likewise, I would like to humbly express my heartfelt gratitude to the most illustrious and reverend President of the Pontifical Antepreparatory Commission for the Ecumenical Council because, by his arrangement, it is honourable and proper for me to be included as well among the most distinguished consultants who have received the letter.

The news of the upcoming Ecumenical Council was received with great joy in this Archdiocese, indeed in our entire ecclesiastical Province. The ecumenical character of the aforementioned Council especially really delights us. It is not surprising, nor indeed astonishing that something new in its kind has happened, in that for the first time in the history of the Mother Church, bishops of Black Africa will be present in this august assembly as Fathers.

Therefore, this pleasant subject urges in us the task of pouring forth very spirited and constant prayers for the successful outcome of the future Council. To this, with a humble heart, I would like to briefly add the following wishes, having heard, and duly considered the advice of some expert men, namely, both our missionary and African clergy.

1. With regard to doctrine, we envisage that the dogma of the Mystical Body and consequently of the Church is further clarified and deepened. Indeed, this point of our Religion appears to us of great importance both for nourishing our neophytes spiritually and for demonstrating to unbelievers the “familial” or communal character of the Church.

Anything new opportunely declared on the Communion of Saints would be accepted.

2. Equally, concerning the impious doctrine of Communism gradually, unfortunately!, advancing throughout our regions, a solemn condemnation of the Fathers will be very opportune. This, so that all Catholics may follow a unique and the same method against Communism.

3. Let the Social Doctrine of the Church be published in the form of a concise code.

4. Humbly and with an ardent heart, we desire that the celebration of the Holy Mass, at least in our regions, be entirely excluded from strict time regulations, while the sacred precepts regarding the eucharistic fast remain.

5. The pastoral visitation of distant missions and chapels, where there is only one priest, can often hinder the daily communion of Religious women who live and work within these territories. Therefore, would it not be beneficial if permission were granted to the Mother Superior, given the occasion and under certain conditions, to distribute the Holy Communion to her associates?

6. As for the Holy Breviary, let it be short, clear, prepared with completely reliable documents, and in accordance with today’s needs.

7. The liturgical ceremonies of marriage according to the Roman Ritual appear very concise to us; therefore, proposing a new formula in a more solemn rite will greatly please us. On the other hand, the current formula for Baptism and also for the Sacrament of Penance, at least in mission regions, sometimes seems very onerous. A shortening in this regard will be received with sincere gratitude.

8. In order that Marian devotion, which is held in great honour among us, may grow more and more, we suppliantly desire that the doctrine of the Universal Mediation of Mary be explained, and if possible, defined by the Fathers of the future Council.

To me at last remains that I may once again, fervently and most devotedly, offer grateful sentiments to You, Most Eminent and Most Reverend Lord, in Jesus Christ our Lord.

+ BERNARDIN GANTIN
Tit. bishop of Tipasa in Mauretania
Auxiliary of Cotonou