In reading Archbishop Carlson’s commentary on Vatican ll in the October 8 issue of the Review, I couldn’t help recalling the work at Vatican ll by Cardinal Joseph Ritter, the then Archbishop of St. Louis. Although he was the youngest member of the cardinalate in terms of tenure, he took leadership roles in Vatican ll on the issues of ecumenism, freedom of conscience and religious liberty, race, and the use of the vernacular in the Mass. He was also a leader on the question of the Jews being responsible for the death of Christ and insisted that the Council absolve the Jews of all blame. He gave the world a new image of the American Cardinal, and in the eyes of the Bishops of the world became the most respected of American prelates of his generation. Honest, open, and devoted to the Gospels, Cardinal Ritter was loved and looked upon by his people in St. Louis as a pastor in the spirit of Pope John XXlll.

Harry E. Berndt