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i Vol. 44, No. 48 10c Per Copy — $5 A Year WEEKLY NEWSPAPER OF THE DIOCESE OF SAVANNAH SAVANNAH, GEORCxIA, THURSDAY, JUNE 11, 1964 BISHOP THOMAS J. McDONOUGH, (right in photo) escorts long-time friend, Msgr. J. P. O'Mahoney from Cathedral in Miami, Florida. On Monsignor O’Mahoney’s right is Auxiliary Bishop William J. McDonald of Washington, D. C. Monsignor O’Mahoney was one of 14 Miami priests who marked golden and silver jubilees of their ordination at a Solemn Mass on June 3rd. He is the Palm Beach pastor of the late President Ken nedy. Bishop McDonough was the principal speaker at a clergy luncheon which followed Mass — (Photo Courtesy the Voice, Miami) Religious Leaders Unite In Race Justice Appeal j PHILADELPHIA (NC)--This City’s religious leaders have appealed in their first joint statement for local churches to pray and work for racial just ice. * ‘Racial discrimination can in no way be justified. It is in fact immoral to refuse to as sociate with other persons sol ely because of race,” the lead ers said. Archbishop John J. Krol of Philadelphia read the joint statement at the conclusion of a special Mass (June 5) in the Ca thedral of SS. Peter and Paul. More than a score of other Christian clergymen and civil leaders attended the Mass cel ebrated by the Archbishop to launch a Catholic Crusade of Prayer for racial harmony and religious unity. The cathedral was crowded to the doors. Archbishop Krol said he read the statement at the special urg ing of Methodist Bishop Fred Pierce Corson of Philadelphia, president of the World Meth odist Council, and Episcopal Bi shop Robert L. DeWitt of Pen nsylvania, both of whom were present at the service. Signed by 10 Christian and Savannah Student Is Lay Apostle Miss Carole Sigman of Ca thedral parish, Savannah was one of fourteen students of Dun barton College, Washington, D. C. who participated in a mission departure ceremony held at the college prior to their leaving for a summer of apostolic service in mission areas of the U. S. and Mexico. The departure ceremony was conducted by Father Anthony Linares, a priest member of Opus Dei, who acted as spiri tual advisor during students’ formation program. Six students will work in Chilpancingo in the Diocese of Chilapa, Mexico under the spon sorship of the Conference on Inter-American Student Pro jects. Four including Miss Sigman will serve in the Archdiocese of Sante Fe, N. Mexico and three in the Diocese ofRaliegh, N. C. One student has been assign ed by the Extension Lay Volun teer Society for the academic year, 1964-65. Jewish leaders, the statement said that concern over * ‘the deepening of racial unrest and misunderstanding” in Philadel phia impels all religious faiths to speak out and reaffirm what they believe in common. The statement made no spe cific mention of racial inci dents, but unrest here had in cluded a dispute earlier in the year over “blackface” makeup worn in the traditional Mum mers’ parade and abuse of a young Negro couple who moved into an all-white suburb. The statement said that “all men have the same Father, Creator and Lord of life, in whose image all have been cre ated, whose purpose for all men is fulness of life.” “Every man may truly be called ‘neighbor’ and ‘bro ther’ of his fellow man, whom he must therefore indeed res pect,” it said. “We call first for prayer,” it said. “Let each religious community implore Almighty God to bestow His gifts of un ity and love upon us, without which there can be no real harmony among men.” Each religious community was asked to * ‘work for its own inter conversion and the renew al of all its members.” The leaders said that they are “mournfully aware” there is no spectacular answer to racial injustice. But they said that if ‘ ‘the or dinary and seemingly insignif icant kindly deeds and gentle courtesies of daily life” were multiplied “a million times each day,” this would “most certainly bring about the healing influence of the Divine Presence and teachings to bear upon the (Continued on Page 5) PRAY FOR OUR DECEASED PRIESTS REV. BENJAMIN B.K. DONOHOE June 12, 1912 RT. REV. BENJAMIN J. KEILEY, D.D. Seventh Bishop of Savannah June 17, 1925 Oh God, Who didst give to thy servants by their sacerdotal office, a share in the priest hood of the Apostles, grant, we implore, that they may also be one of their company for ever in heaven. Through Christ Our Lord, Amen. Say Regime Violates Rights Huge Demonstrations Mark Saigon Catholic Protests Trial Sparks Action SAIGON, Vietnam (NC) — Maj. Dang Sy, Vietnamese Ca tholic officer, has been convict ed by the ‘‘Revolutionary Court” here of murdering eight Buddhists during a demonstra tion in Hue on May 8, 1963, and sentenced to life imprison ment at hard labor. Foreign observers here find the sentence impossible to re concile with the trend of the evidence at the five-day trial. The sentence (June 6) aggra vated Catholic discontent and resulted in mass demonstra tions the next day. The presiding judge cut Dang Sy short in his final statement. The major’s curtailed address ended: “I am innocent. I am a victim of religious differ ences.” During his trial Maj. Dang Sy declared that police tried to make him accuse Archbishop Ngo dinh Thuc of Hue of order ing repression of Buddhists. Archbishop Thuc is the brother of the late President Ngo dinh Diem. Dang Sy made this statement twice in the courtroom (June 2) during his vehement 30-minute rebuttal item by item of the prosecutor’s lengthy indict ment. He said the trial had a religious basis. The prisoner was accused of “murder and at tempted murder with aggrava ting circumstances.” He declared he had been held for months in a dark cell where “you could not tell night from day.” During that time gov ernment agents tried to make him accuse the Archbishop, he asserted. Later that day he added that while he was held prisoner in Saigon as well as Hue, he was offered safecy if he would put the blame on the Archbishop “or on some other priest” for ordering action against the Buddhists. The government news ser vice, Vietnam Press, did not report the foregoing statement of the major in its account of the trial. Maj. Dang Sy, aged 35, was trim in a khaki uniform. He wore four campaign ribbons with a palm leaf for the highest army citation and stars for other citations. He attended the advanced officers’ training school at Fort Benning, Ga., in 1959. He is married and has seven children, and the birth of his eighth child is expected one of these days. Dang Sy’s mother, aged over 70, came to court to see him. During an interval in the trial he told me and another correspondent with an ironic smile that to was guilty of two mistakes: “I am a Catholic and I executed my superior’s orders.” Conflicting testimony was given by prosecution witnesses during the five-day trial. For instance, two men who claim to have been in a car with the major on the night of the incident contradicted each other when questioned sepa- (Continued on Page 6) DUNBARTON COLLEGE LAY APOSTLES — Front row, left to right: Carmen Suarez, Carole Sigman (daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Robert S. Merriman, 1 Kinzie Avenue, Savan nah, Georgia), Ann Gartlan, Marcia Cronan, Martina Leonard, Linda Lane, Bonnie Bodin. Back row, left to right: Mary Jo Powers, Mary Ann Hindle, Lois Birmingham, Charlotte Casey, Maureen Marr, Ursula Jussel, Kathleen Kobik. Father Patrick J. O’Connor, N.C.W.C. correspondent in Saigon, South Vietnam, reports below on Catholic protests against alleged rights violations under the Khan regime, and the conviction of a Catholic army major which touched off the mass demonstrations. SOME of 40,000 demonstrators who marched in Saigon, South Vietnam June 7, protesting alleged rights violations under Khan regime. Demonstrations were sparked by conviction June 6 of army major Dang Sy, accused of murder in death of Buddhists in Hue last year. Vietnam government claimed deaths resulted from explosion of concussion grenades thrown by Dang Sy’s troops to disperse rioters. Church Leaders Hit Cultural Charter Christians Of Middle-East Fear Arab League Action BEIRUT, Lebanon (NC) -- Christian communities in the predominantly Moslem nations belonging to the Arab League are gravely worried about a Charter of Arab Cultural Unity approved by the league’s coun cil, its top executive body. Church leaders in the Middle East have pointed out that the charter makes no provision for freedom of religion or thought, seems to aim more at Moslem than at Arab unity and is strong ly influenced by politics. They add that the charter en dangers Catholic schools and they accuse it of totalitarian aims since it seeks to bring all schools in Arab League coun tries into one single regiment ed educational system. The charter was first ap proved by a majority of the ministers of education of league countries at a meeting in Bagh dad, Iraq, on Feb. 29. Also ap proved at that time was the es tablishment of an Arab organi zation similar to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Both proposals were submitted to the league council for ratification. During a meeting in Carlo, the council approved (May 21) the charter and the proposed Arab UNESCO. But no steps have yet been taken to put them into effect because several lea gue members — Lebanon, Morocco and Saudi Arabia — asked for modifications of the charter, which are now being studied. Among league members, most concern about the charter is felt here in Lebanon, the only Arab country without a Moslem majority, although even here Moslems make up close to 50% of the population. At the Bagh dad meeting, the Lebanese dele gate, Edouard Honein, a Chris tian, voiced reservations about the charter, saying it seemed to him to be im compatible with the sovereignty of individual league members. Although the charter provides that Arab League nations will seek to educate youth to have “an attachment to religious principles,” Christian leaders point out that for most people in Arab countries “religion” means * ‘Islam.” They add that the charter says nothing about teaching young people to respect the religion of others. They also note that Article 15 speaks of cooperative efforts by league nations to propagate “Islamic Arab culture,” and have expressed fears that this phrase indicates that the char ter’s real aim is to seek, through a so-called Arab cul tural unity, a pan-Islamic poli tical unity. Middle East Christians say another indication that the char ter is strongly motivated by political considerations is its preamble’s call for support of all who oppose “the world forces of evil represented by (Continued on Page 6) Rep. Carey Proposes Parents 9 Resolution 40,000 March In Capital SAIGON, Vietnam—Vietnam ese Catholics numbering 40,- 000 or more staged a huge dem onstration in Saigon (June 7) ‘ ‘because our fundamental rights as citizens are unjustly injured,” according to their declaration. The crowd began an orderly march in columns of five. It halted about mile and half from center city and people alighted to form ranks. The demonstrators had their own capable marshals and the entire program was efficiently organized. It seemed to take authorities by surprise but no attempt was made to hinder it. Many had small crucifixes or holy pictures pinned on shirt or jacket, or let the crucifix of their rosary hang out a breast pocket. Many wide banners bearing slogans in Vietnamese and En glish were carried. These call ed for religious freedom, CMA opposition to communism and thanks to American soldiers and the U. S. Government and peo ple. Samples of the slogans in English: ‘ ‘Catholic brethren be ready to fight for our nation and our Church,” “We back up the struggle of our Catholic breth ren in central Vietnam,” “We are thankful to the warriors of the friendly nation who lost their lives for our nation,” “We’re grateful to the Ameri can Government and the Amer ican people.” Some slogans and a circular letter distributed denounced U. S. Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge. Speakers from the top of a sound truck announced in Viet namese, English and French that the anti-Lodge slogans had not been authorized. The organizers reiterated the (Continued on Page 3) WASHINGTON (NC) — Rep. Hugh L. Carey told the House committee studying public school prayer amendments it should also be concerned with the rights of parents of chil dren in nonpublic schools which teach religion. The New York legislator, speaking before the Judiciary Committee (June 3), proposed a Congressional resolution which he said defended parental rights over their children’s religious development in both public and private schools. The resolution (H. J. Res. 1036) consists of two sections: 1. No parent shall be den ied the right to have any of his children engage involuntary re ligious exercise in any public school . . . 2. No parents shall be denied the right to financial support from any governmental entity for the education of his chil dren by reason of the attend ance of his children at a non public school of the parent’s choice. Carey, a member of the House Education Committee, is an out spoken supporter of giving gov ernment education aid directly to parents who could use it at the school of their choice. Carey spoke on the final day of seven weeks of hearings by the committee on nearly 150 proposed constitutional amend ments to offset the U. S. Su preme Court’s 1962 and 1963 decisions against prayer and Bible reading in public schools. Carey saw the issue of pray er in school primarily as one in volving the rights of parents. * ‘The parental right is prior to any social or governmental right in the sense that one holds it precisely as a parents and not as a legal concession from so ciety,” he said. He advanced his propo sal concerning the right of par ents in nonpublic schools, he said, “to rebut any implica tion which might arise from sin gular consideration of public school religion.” The concluding day of the committee’s hearings included a loud complaint from a spec tator that atheists had not been represented in the parade of preachers, professors and pol iticians before the committee. Kenneth F. Klinkert of Meno- menee Falls, Wis., strode for ward from the audience, shout ing, “point of order, point of order,” to make his com plaint. Chairman Emanuel Celler of New York refused to let him testify, ordering him to submit a statement. Klinkert told news men that when children pray, it is like exposing them to false and untrue advertising. The committee is expected to get down to voting on the pray er issue in late June. Its course of action is not clear, but one unofficial survey of the 35- member unit reportedly shows 16 are opposed to any consti tutional amendment and 3 plan to absent themselves from a vote. In the meantime, Rep. Frank J. Becker of New York, spon sor of the leading proposed amendment before the commit tee, said he would be willing to drop that part of it which would prevent the Supreme Court from ruling against references to God on coins and in public ceremon ies. But Becker said he will not make any concessions on the principal provision which would permit prayer and Bible read ing in public schools if children of objecting parents are excus ed from participation. In the meantime, although public hearings were ended, the committee continued to receive opinions. Eighty - five Indiana Protestant, Catholic and Jew ish clerics opposed an amend ment in one statement and 223 constitutional lawyers and teachers took the same stand in another. The statement of the lawyers and teachers was circulated by four widely known figures in the field of constitutional law and Church-State relations: Father Robert F. Drinan, S.J., dean of the Boston (Mass.)Col lege Law School; Paul A. Freund of Harvard Law School; Wilbur G. Katz of the University of Wisconsin Law School; and Leo Pfeffer, general counsel of the American Jewish Congress, New York. Antismut Bill Approved By House Group WASHINGTON (NC) — The House Post Office Committee has approved unanimously (June 4) a revolutionary bill em powering recipients of mail to force a halt in delivery of material judged “morally of fensive.” Sponsored by Rep. Glenn Cun ningham of Nebraska, the mea sure is aimed at cutting off the repeated delivery of unwanted smutty literature or suggestive advertising, especially that sent youngsters. The bill would permit a person to return mailed mater ial the individual held to be “morally offensive.” Thecom- plaintant could request the Postmaster General to notify the sender that no more unso licited mail is to be sent him. If mailings continue, the Post master General would be em powered to seek a court order to stop them and request that further violations result in con tempt of Federal court proceed ings. Cunningham has pushed hard for such a measure. One of his children was subjected to un solicited mailing of smut sev eral years ago. The Congress man has said subsequent inves tigation convinced him that youngsters are being sent such material wholesale. The committee had consulta tions for more than three months with Post Office and Justice Department officials on the bill. The Justice Department has not endorsed the measure, no ting that it saw constitutional and practical problems, es pecially with the provision that the government is obliged to enforce each citizen’s idea of what is “morally offensive.” Cunningham has said there is some possibility mail patrons might try to stop delivery of political or religious matter on grounds that it is morally of fensive, but he did not rate this as a major problem.