NUMBER of ecumenical
"firsts" will mark the eighth annual assembly of the New Mexico Council of Churches to be held in Albuquerque from October 10 to 12.
On the opening day delegates from seven Protestant denominations and from the Catholic Church will attend a service there in the form of a "Bible vigil". Catholic clergy will carry the Scriptures in procession, using incense to show veneration.
Dr. Kermit Long, of Nashville, Tennessee, general secretary of the Board of Evangelism of the Methodist Church. will preach next day before Mass, which all will attend. At the end the ceremonial Catholic "Kiss of Peace" will be given by either a Catholic priest or a Protestant minister and carried to the whole congregation. The assembly will be the first at which the Santa Fe archdiocese will have voting delegates, a total of 20. The seven Protestant groups will have a total of about 75 voting delegates, based on a membership formula.
• `UNA VOCE' CONGRESS
The new society promoting the traditional Latin Mass, Una Voce, which established branches in several countries during the summer, drew 400 persons to its first international congress in Paris. Participants came from Belgium, France, Germany, Switzerland, Britain and America, voiced anxiety over the displacement of Latin in the liturgy.
• ROME POLISH CHURCH A new church in honour of Our Lady of Czestochowa, the patroness of Poland, is to be built in Rome to commemorate the first millennium of Christianity in that country. The plans were revealed by Poland's primate, Cardinal Wyszynski, after a private audience with the Pope last week.