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Vol. 46, No. 5
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3AVANNAH, GEORGIA, THURSDAY, JULY 15, 1965
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VIETNAM
Lodge’s Return
Termed Victory
For Buddhists
By Father Patrick O’Connor
(N.C .W.C. News Service)
The reappointment of Henry
Cabot Lodge as United States
ambassador to Vietnam will look
like the answer to a Buddhist’s
prayer.
Last winter some women fol
lowers of the politically active
Biu^iist Institute confided to an
A^Bican correspondent that
they were praying for the return
of Ambassador Lodge.
However friendly personally
to Catholics, Lodge was regarded
as politically favorable to the
militant Buddhists during his
eventful 10 months as ambas
sador in Saigon from August,
1963, to June, 1964.
Most Vietnamese Catholics,
who have borne more than their
fair share in the defense of their
country against the communists,
will receive the news of Lodge’s
reappointment with apprehension
if not dismay.
They felt he did not understand
the situation when he was in
Saigon before. In their opinion
’ his policies played into the hands
of neutralists and anti-Catholic
elements.
Ambassador Lodge first ar
rived here in August, 1963, the
day after the security forces of
Vietnam’s Catholic President
Ngo dinh Diem had raided Budd
hist pagodas that had been cen
ters of anti-government agita
tion. His first visit, on the morn
ing after his arrival, was a well
publicized one to two bonzes
from the raided Xa Loi pagoda
who had been given refuge in the
U.S. foreign-aid headquarters.
Three days after the Ngo dinh
Diem government had been over
thrown, the following November,
Ambassador and Mrs. Lodge
visRed Xa Loi pagoda, theG H.O
Buddhist campaign, and re -
ce^^a “a hero’s welcome,” ac
cording to the Vietnam Press
agency.
President Ngo dinh Diem and
his brother were murdered on
Nov. 2 in an armored car after
they had given themselves up
to the victorious military. Eight
months passed before any U.S.
embassy statement was made in
Saigon deploring their deaths. It
was made on June 26, 1964, by
Ambassador Lodge in a press
conference on the eve of his
departure. He also recalled that
he had tried to persuade Presi
dent Diem to accept safe conduct
out of the country before the
coup fighting reached its climax.
Ngo dinh Can, youngest broth
er of the late president, was not
tried and executed on any charge
connected with his Catholic re
ligion. But the American handling
of his case embittered many
Vietnamese Catholics—and non -
Catholics, too.
From Sept. 1 to Nov. 2,
1963, the U.S. embassy here
had given political asylum to
Thich (“Venerable”) Tri Quang,
Buddhist leader who is anti-
American and anti-Catholic, and
two of hi s companions. On Nov.
5, three days after the coup
d’etat, Ngo dinh Can was re
ceived by the U.S. consulate in
Hue on the under standing that
the American authorities would
do for him what they had done for
Thich Tri Quang. Can was in
duced to leave Hue for Saigon
in an American plane in Ameri
can custody, under the impres
sion that here he would still
enjoy American protection. On
the Saigon airfield his Ameri
can escort handed him over to
the waiting Vietnamese military.
U.S. embassy authorities said
that a consulate cannot legally
give asylum and that the refu
gee, anywhere outside an em
bassy, could not be saved from
arrest. The fact remains that
Can was accepted by the Hue
consulate for political asylum
and after the embassy in Sai
gon had been consulted.
When Can had been condemn
ed to death, Ambassador Lodge
appealed to former Prime
Minister Gen. Nguyen Khanh for
clemency. He was refused. He
traveled to Hue to ask Thich
Tri Quang, who had himself en
joyed refuge in the embassy,
to support his plea. The bonze
refused.
4 HEADLINE
HOPSCOTCH LU
NATION
Named By Benedictines
The Right Reverend Abbot Walter A Coggin, O S.B , of Belmont
Abbey, has been elected a First Visitor of the American Cassi-
nese Congregation of Benedictine Abbeys The announcement was
made following the closing session of the Congregation’s General
Chapter held at St. Procopius Abbey, Lisle, Illinois
EUROPE
Christmas in July
VALLADOLID, Spain (NC)—Although there is still half a year till
Christmas, this city has been experiencing a real Christmas at
mosphere in midsummer. The National Christmas Creche Con-
v<^||on has just been held here, attended by more than 200 Spanish
c^pb-builders and some 50 delegates from other European coun
tries.
E
. AMERICA
Paper Closed
QUITO, Ecuador (NC)—An independent Catholic newspaper, El
Tiempo, has been ordered to stop publication after it printed a
story on the antigovernment demonstrations that took place here and
in Guayaquil. The order was delivered (July 10) to editor Carlos
De La Torre by a government minister accompanied by a police
inspector and a patrolman armed with bayonets and tear gas The
daily newspaper has been critical of Ecuador’s military govern
ment headed by Rear Adm. Ramon Castro Jijon.
BISHOP McDONOUGH is pictured as he distributed Holy Communion to men at
tending Leadership Training Course held last weekend in Savannah. For conve
nience of men attending, Mass was offered at the .Hotel DeSoto.
(Staff photo by Bob Ward)
IN DIOCESE
Leadership Course Lays
Groundwork For N.C.C.M.
The initial step toward the
formation of a Diocesan Coun
cil of Catholic Men was taken
this past week end in Savannah.
Responding to the call of the
Most Reverend Thomas J. Mc
Donough, twenty-five prominent
Catholic laymen gathered to par
ticipate in a Leaders Course in
the LayApostolate. Every section
of the Diocese was represented
at the meetings.
Conducting the course was Mr.
Richard J. McCaffery, staff
member of the National Council
of Catholic Men, Washington, D.
C. Attending each of the ses
sions was the Right Reverend
Monsignor John D. Toomey, pas
tor of St. James Church, Savan
nah, who has been named Spiri
tual Moderator for the new or
ganization.
The men attending the course
will form the Board of Directors
of the Diocesan Council of Catho
lic Men. Mr. Thomas F. Mc
Laughlin, of Savannah, was ap
pointed as temporary chairman
A committee, headed by Mr.
Joseph Hutton, of Savannah, was
named to work out an agenda
for a meeting of the Board of
Directors which will be held
in Augusta on Sunday, August
22nd.
All sessions were held at the
Hotel Desoto, with each working
day being highlighted by the Holy
Sacrifice of the Mass. For the
convenience of the men, Mass
was offered at the Hotel.
Bishop McDonough was cele
brant of the Mass on Sunday.
He thanked the men for their
response to his call and urged
Official
The Most Reverend Thomas
J. McDonough, Bishop of Sa
vannah, /dias made the following
appointment effective Thursday,
July 15th.
REVEREND JAMES V. MELI
assistant pastor of St. John-
the Evangelist Church, Valdosta.
them to make good use of
what they had learned “to bring
Christ to the marketplace, the
office, the community, in a man
ner that will affect the very
institutions of society.”
Leaders Training Course
in the Lay Apostolate has been
taken by more than 30,000 per
sons since the National Council
began the program three years
ago.
The Lay Apostolate, Sanctity
and the Catholic Layman, Dis
crimination and the Christian
Conscience, Programming, The
Liturgical Movement and the
Layman, and The Ecumenical
Movement and the Catholic Lay
man were topics discussed over
the week end.
WASHINGTON (NC) — Arch
bishop Patrick A. O’Boyle of
Washington said here the con
ditional baptism of Luci Baines
Johnson did not imply in the
officiating priest’s judgment that
her Episcopal baptism was in
valid.
In a statement issued from the
Washington archdiocesan chan
cery office (July 8), the prelate
expressed confidence that the
priest, Father James F Mont
gomery, did not have any in
tention of reflecting on Episco-
*pal tenets.
The statement also said that
Father Montgomery decided to
baptize the President’s daugh
ter, advised her of his decision
and she agreed with it.
Miss Johnson's baptism (July
2) was criticized by Episcopal
Bishop James A Pike of Cali
fornia. He called (July 4) the
ceremony in St Matthew's cathe
dral a “direct slap” at Epis
copal baptismal rites adminis
tered to Luci as an infant. Others
joined the criticism, including
Dr. Frederick A. Schiotz, presi
dent of the American Lutheran
Church, Minneapolis.
The text of Archbishop
O’Boyle’s statement:
Men attending the Training
Course were:
Ray S. Dwornik, Albany; Geor
ge Champion, Richard Z Craig,
John Radeck, Dr. Michael J. O’ -
Brien, Gilbert J. O’Brien and
Sgt. Leroy Williams of Augusta;
John Stiles, Brunswick; Roger
Fluet, Cobbtown; . A1 Eversman
and Capt Benjamin Ranieri, Co
lumbus; Eugene B. McDonald,
Dublin; Regis Sohl and R.J Mar-
rin of Macon
William Gaudry, John K Kel-
leher, Joseph Hutton, Thomas F.
McLaughlin, Martin J. Koncul,
Julian Halligan, Wade Simmons,
Dr. Louis Castilian and Flem
diet of Savannah; and Joseph
Johnson of Sylvania.
“Father James F. Mont
gomery, after maturely con
sidering all the factors involved
in the desire of Miss Luci B.
Johnson to be received into the
Roman Catholic Church, decided
to baptize her conditionally. He
advised her of his decision and
she agreed, trusting his judg
ment and guidance.
“Father Montgomery’s deci
sion to administer baptism con
ditionally did not imply, in his
judgment, that her baptism in
the Episcopal Church was in
valid.
“I fully accept the validity
of baptism conferred by anyone
in a manner in agreement with
the traditional Christian teach
ing, performed in the Episcopal
Church or in any church and I
am confident that Father Mont
gomery was deeply conscientious
in coming to his decision and did
not have, nor has, any intention
of reflecting on the tenets and
practices of the Episcopal
Church, of which’Miss Luci John
son has been a good and faith
ful member since early child
hood.
“I uphold the right, of course,
of Father Montgomery to make
freely his decision in this matter
after conscientiously considering
all the circumstances.”
LUCI JOHNSON
Prelate Defends
Second Baptism
SESSIONS CALLED FRUITFUL
C atholic-Luther an
Talks Produce Both
Accord And Dissent
BALTIMORE (NC)--Official
representatives of the Roman
Catholic Church and the major
Lutheran churches in the United
States came together here for
their first formal theological dis
cussions and determined to sub
mit their areas of both agree
ment and disagreement to
searching examination.
The first meeting (July 6-7)
brought together top scholars in
the fields of theology and Scrip
ture to analyze the interpreta
tions given by both churches
to the Nicene Creed, which is
used in' both the Catholic and
Lutheran eucharistic liturgies.
The experts agreed that Catho
lics and Lutherans “confess in
common” the affirmation of faith
which developed from the first
ecumenical council, at Nicaea in
Asia Minor in 325 A.D., even
though it does not exhaust “the
richness of Scripture regarding
the person of Christ.”
There were major areas in
which the participants agreed,
but there were disagreements as
well. According to the Rev. Paul
C. Empie of New York, execu
tive director of the National
Lutheran Council--who with
Auxiliary Bishop T. Austin Mur
phy of Baltimore served as co-
chairman of the meeting—“there
are deep differences of opinion
between us.” Recalling that the
talks stemmed from discussions
he had had with Bishop John J.
Wright of Pittsburgh, Dr. Empie
said, however; “We have gone
further than either Bishop Wright
or I dreamed of two years ago.”
Dr. Empie, at a press
conference after the closedses-
son on the seventh floor of the
new Baltimore archdiocesan
chancery building, said that it
“certainly was a very fruitful
meeting for which we are all
very glad and thankful.” He said
the whole tone of the meeting
was set by the “devotional ex
perience’ ’ with which it opened.
He cited the fact that Bishop
Murphy, who presided at the
first day’s sessions, had read
a passage from St. Paul from
the Revised Standard Version
of the Bible. He added that the
Lutheran delegates were grati
fied by the further ecumenical
note in that the bishop also read
a prayer for Christian unity from
one of the Lutheran liturgical
books, and that all joined in
reciting the Lord’s Prayer.
Bishop Murphy, who is chair
man of the subcommission for the
dialogue with Lutherans of the
Ecumenical Affairs--which de
signated the Catholic represen-
tatives--announced at the news
conference that the group will
meet again late next February.
The second meeting, to be held
INSIDE STORY
More Converts
. • ■ P* 2
Priests Jailed
. . . IV. 2
Vatican Warning
. . • Pg- 3
College Cutback
. . . Pg. 5
25 Years Ago
. . . F*. 6
either in New York or Chicago,
is to take up a specific article
of the Nicene Creed—thatchrist-
ians “confess one baptism for the
remission of sins.” Bishop Mur
phy said that the Catholic and
Lutheran theologians will ex
amine this one article in its
relationship both to Scripture
and to the later professions of
faith of the two churches.
According to Father John
Courtney Murray,S.J., professor
of theology at Woodstock (Md.)
College, who prepared the Catho
lic “position paper” on the Ni
cene Creed prior to the meeting,
there was “no disagreement on
what the creed is actually
saying.” But he said that one of
the “points of serious disagree
ment” which came to light was
on the formal source from which
the authority of the creed derives.
He said that “we agree that there
is a relationship between the faith
proclaimed in the Nicene Creed
and the faith proclaimed in the
Gospel,” but that a problem of
pinpointing this relationship
exists “both between and within
our communions.”
Father Murray said the par
ticipants also became aware that
disagreement might exist in the
meaning of the very words
“faith” and “dogma.” He indi-
COPENHAGEN (NC)—Wide
spread abortion has made the
Danes “a nation of murderers,”
a prominent Danish Lutheran
clergyman declared in a Catholic
weekly.
In an article in Katolsk Uge-
blad, the Rev. Christian Bar-
tholdy, leader of one of the most
influential right-wing groups of
the Danish Lutheran Church, said
that 250,000 unborn children have
been killed in the past 10 years.
“Hundreds of thousands of wo
men walk in this country as mur
derers,” he charged.
Dr. Bartholdy suggested that
idealistic young people, who often
march in protest against the use
of atomic weapons, should hold
protest marches against induced
abortion, whether legal or ille
gal.
Publication of Dr. Bartholdy’s
article coincided with release of
a Gallup poll by Berlingske Ti-
dende, largest Danish newspaper,
showing that 70% of the Danes
favor more liberal abortion laws.
Induced abortion is legal in Den
mark under certain conditions.
According to the poll, only
16% opposed more liberal laws.
More women than men were in
favor of more liberal laws. Only
20% felt that those who prac
ticed illegal abortion should be
punished, with over 50% opposing
punishment.
First objection to Dr. Bar
tholdy’s article came from the
Danish Catholic workers’ organi
zation. In a public letter the labor
movement said any abortion
march by Christians would be
hypocritical, since it is the mem -
cated that these areas would be
submitted to intensive examina
tion.
A joint statement issued at the
conclusion of the meeting said
that the participants are aware
that “the Nicene Faith possess
es a unique status in the hier
archy of dogmas by reason of
its testimony to and celebration
of the mystery of the Trinity
as revealed in Christ Our Savior,
and by reason of its definitive
reply to an ever recurring ques
tion.” After recording agreement
that ‘ ‘authoritative teaching in the
Church serves the people of God
by protecting and nurturing the
Faith,” they said;
“The way in which doctrine
is certified as dogma is not
identical in the two communi
ties, for there is a difference
in the way in which mutually
acknowledged doctrine receives
ecclesiastical sanction.
“Different understandings of
the movement from kerygma
(proclamation of the Gospel) to
dogma obtain in the two com
munities. Full inquiry must
therefore be made into two topics:
first, the nature and structure
of the teaching authority of the
Church, and secondly, the role
of Scripture in relation to the
teaching office of the Church.”
bers of the Church who have
elevated the sixth commandment
to a position of greater impor
tance than the first.
Influential men of the Church,
the letter said, are always ready
to condemn anything concerning
sex, but are willing to accept
the balance of terror, “just war,”
and atomic bombs because they
fear communism.
“The kingdom of God is not
of this world, but the men of
the Church are often very much
of this world,” the letter said.
Another Lutheran clergyman,
the Rev. Mogens V. Zeuthen,
praised the Catholic workers’
letter. Writing in a Lutheran
daily, Kristeligt Dagblad, Dr.
Zeuthen said: “The problems
of induced abortion concern us
all...but they are not the only
ones we must concentrate on if
we are to speak seriously about
the fifth commandment.”
The newspaper of the Social
Democratic party, ruling party
of Denmark, said it was sur
prising that a prominent Pro
testant should write in a Catho
lic paper, but it was not sur
prising that Dr. Bartholdy should
oppose induced abortion under all
conditions.
His position, the paper said,
convinces everyone else that
more liberalized laws are de
sirable.
The paper cited the poll show
ing that 70% of the people favored
freer abortion, and said there
was no reason to doubt that these
people were as conscientious as
Dr. Bartholdy and his supporters.
clergIMM sa ys
Danes “A Nation
Of Murderers”