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The Southern (Toss, November 24, 11)66—PAGE 6
U.S. Church EchoesPope’s Plea
Following is the text
of the Statement of the
National Conference of
Catholic B i s h o ps on
Peace which was adopt
ed (Nov. 18) by the
bishops during their an
nual meeting (Nov. 14
to 18) in Washington,
D.C. The statement was
prepared by a commit
tee headed by Law
rence Cardinal Shehan
of Baltimore:
Our common humanity
demands that all people live
in peace and harmony with
one another. This peace will
exist only if the right order
established by God is ob
served, an order which is
based on the requirements of
human dignity. Everyone,
therefore, must be vitally and
personally concerned about
correcting the grave disorders
which today threaten peace. As
Catholics we are members of
the Church which Pope Paul
has called a “messenger of
peace.”
We, the Catholic Bishops of
the United States, consider it
our duty to help magnify the
moral voice of our nation. This
voice, fortunately, is becoming
louder and clearer because it
is the voice of all faiths. To
Council of Churches, the Syn
agogue Council of America,
and other religious bodies, we
add our own plea for peace.
Our approaches may at times
differ, but our starting point
(justice) and our goal (peace)
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do not.
While we cannot resolve all
the issues involved in the Viet
nam conflict, it is clearly our
duty to insist that they be kept
under constant moral scrutiny.
No one is free to evade his
personal responsibility by
leaving it entirely to others to
make moral judgments. In this
connection, the Vatican Coun
cil warns that “men should
take heed not to entrust them
selves only to the efforts of
others, while remaining care
less about their own attitudes.
For government officials, who
must simultaneously guaran
tee the good of their own
people and promote the uni
versal good, depend on public
opinion and feeling to the
greatest possible extent.”(1)
PEACE AND
MODERN WARFARE
While it is not possible in
this brief statement to give
a detailed analysis of the
Church’s total teaching on war
and peace, it seems necessary
to review certain basic
principles if the present crisis
is to be put in its proper moral
perspectives.
We reaffirmed at the Council
the legitimate role of patri
otism: “Citizens should de
velop a generous and loyalde
votion to their country, but
without any narrowing of mind.
In other words, they must al
ways look simultaneously to
the welfare of the whole human
family, which is tied together
by the manifold bonds linking
races, peoples and nations.”
(2)
But these limits on patri
otism do not rule out a
country’s right to legitimate
self-defense. While making it
clear that all means short of
force must first be used, the
Council restated the tradi
tional teaching regarding the
right of self-defense: “As long
as the danger of war remains
and there is no competent and
sufficiently powerful authority
at the international level,
government cannot be denied
the right to legitimate
defense.” (3) And what a nation
can do to defend itself, it may
do to help another in its
struggle against aggression.
In the conduct of any war,
there must be moral limits:
* ‘Any act of war aimed indis
criminately at the destruction
of entire cities or of ex
tensive areas along with their
population is a crime against
God and manhimself. It merits
univocal and unhesitating con
demnation.” (4) Moreover, as
the Council also reminded us,
the fact that a war of self-
defense has unhappily begun
does not mean that any and
all means may be employed
by the warring parties.
While the stockpiling of
scientific weapons serves, for
the present, as a deterrent to
aggression, the council has
warned us that “the arms race
in which so many countries are
engaged is not a safe way to
preserve a steady peace.” (5)
Indeed, it is a “treacherous
trap for humanity.” Far from
promoting a sure and authentic
peace, it actually fosters war
by diverting resources which
could be better used to alle
viate the human misery which
causes war. In their urgent
plea for disarmament, how
ever, the Council Fathers
understood that it will be ef
fective only if it is universal
and if there are adequate
means of enforcing it.
The Council commended
those citizens who defend their
nation against aggression.
They are “instruments of
security and freedom on behalf
of their people. As long as
they fulfill this role properly
they are making a genuine con
tribution to the establishment
of peace.”(6)At the same time,
however, it pointed out that
some provision should be made
for those who conscientiously
object to bearing arms: “It
seems right that laws make
humane provisions for the care
of those who for reasons of
conscience refuse to bear
arms; provided, however, that
they accept some other form
of service to the human com
munity.” (7)
PRINCIPLES
PUT TO WORK
In the light of these prin
ciples, how are we as
Americans to judge the in
volvement of the United States
in Vietnam? What can we do
to promote peace?
Americans can have con
fidence in the sincerity of their
leaders as long as they work
for a just peace in Vietnam.
Their efforts to find a solution
to the present impasse are well
known. We realize that
citizens of all faiths and of
deffering political loyalties
honestly differ among them
selves over the moral issues
involved in this tragic conflict.
While we do not claim to be
able to resolve these issues
authoritatively, in the light of
the facts as they are known to
us, it is reasonable to argue
that our presence in Vietnam
is justified. We share the an
guish of our government of
ficials in their awesome res
ponsibility of making life-and
-death decisions about our
national policy in Vietnam. We
commend the valor of our men
in the armed forces, and we ex
press to them our debt of
gratitude. In our time, thou
sands of men have given their
lives in war. To those who
loved them, we express our
sorrow at their loss and pro
mise our constant prayers.
But we cannot stop here.
While we can conscientiously
support the position of our
country in the present circum
stances, it is the duty of
everyone to search for other
alternatives. And everyone—
government leaders and cit
izens alike—must be prepared
to change our course when
ever a change in circum
stances warrants it.
This can be done ef
fectively only if we know the
facts and issues involved.
Within the limits imposed by
our national security, there
fore, we must always insist
that these facts and issues be
made known to the public so
, that they can be considered in
their moral context.
On the basis of our know-
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POPE PAUL VI, whose calls for world peace, and
racial amity were echoed by the Bishops of the
United States at their annual conference in Wash
ington, D.C. (Nov. 14-18), is iseen in a recent bless
ing from the balcony of St. Peter’s basilica in Rome.
(NC Photos)
ledge and understanding of the
current situation, we are also
bound always to make sure that
our government does, in fact,
pursue every possibility which
offers even the slightest hope
of a peacful settlement. And
we must clearly protest when
ever there is a danger that
the conflict will be escalated
beyond morally acceptable
limits.
On a broader level, we must
support our government in its
efforts to negotiate a workable
formula for disarmament.
What we seek is not unilateral
disarmament, but one pro
ceeding, in the words of the
Council, “at an equal pace
according to agreement, and
backed up by authentic and
workable safeguards.” (8) We
commend the officials of our
country and others for their
contribution to the proposed
Treaty against Nuclear pro
liferation which, hopefully,
will soon become a reality.
Moreover, we must use
every resource available, as
a nation, to help alleviate the
basic causes of war. If the
God-given human dignity of
the people of poorer nations
is not to become an illusion,
these nations must be able to
provide for the spiritual and
material needs of their cit
izens. We must help them
do this. The economically de
veloped nations of the world,
as Pope John insisted in his
great encyclical, Pacem in
Terris, must come to the
aid of those which are in the
process of developing so that
every man, woman and child
in the world may be able ‘ ‘to
live in conditions more in
keeping with their human
dignity.” (9)
“THE SECOND MILE”
There is a grave danger
that the circumstances of the
present war in Vietnam may,
in time, diminish our moral
sensitivity to its evils. Every
means at our disposal, there
fore, must be used to create
a climate of peace. In this
climate, prayer, personal
example, study, discussion and
lectures can strengthen the
will for peace. We must ad
vocate what we believe are
the best methods of promoting
peace: mutual agreements,
safeguards and inspection; the
creation of an international
public authority to negotiate
toward peace. Above all, in
its peace-making efforts we
must support the work of the
United Nations which, in the
MARYLAND COLLEGES
Says Grants Not Affected
By High Court Decision
Wahington (NC) — Various
new media 1 reporting the
action of the United States
Supreme Court in declining to
assume jurisdiction in cases
involving grants by the state of
Maryland to four-church-
related colleges have in
dicated that the court in effect
has held that it is unconstitu
tional to make public grants to
sectarian colleges.
This is a completely erro
neous interpretation.
The Maryland Court of
Appeals in a 4-3 decision
had held that the grants were
unconstitutional because of the
asserted sectarian character
of the schools. The fourth
grant to Hood College, which
is affiliated with the United
Church of Christ, was upheld
because the sectarian char
acter of the school was not
considered substantial.
Leo Pfeffer, representing
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the Horace Mann League,
appealed from the decision in
the Hood College case in order
to secure a ruling by the
Supreme Court of the United
States on the general issue of
grants to sectarian colleges.
The other three colleges,
through their attorneys, filed a
Petition with the Supreme
Court requesting it to assume
jurisdiction and reverse the
Maryland court. This is called
a Petition for a Writ of
Certiorari which is addressed
to the pure discretion of the
court.
The Supreme Court’s action
means there was no general
all- pervasive principle
emanating from the Maryland
court. What was decided by
the Maryland court applies
only to the state of Maryland.
Certainly there was no indi
cation of the Supreme Court’s
thinking on the basic question
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in its refusal to grant the
Petition. The court dismissed
the Appeal upholding the grant
to Hood College. It cannot be
validly argued, therefore, that
the decision of the court in
refusing to assume jurisdic
tion in either case has any
significant bearing on the right
of the state or the federal
government to make grants to
colleges affiliated with a
church.
In Washington, August
Steinhilber of the U.S. Office
of Education’s legislative di
vision commented: “The
federal government was not a
party to this (Maryland) liti
gation in any way. Our
programs will continue as they
have been. There will be no
change in programs, policies
and activities.”
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For Peace
words of Pope Paul, marks
“a stage in the development
of mankind, from which re
treat must never be admitted,
but from which it is neces
sary that advance be made.”
(10)
We ask every person of
good will to support with
prayer the Holy Father’s plea
for a Christmas cease-fire.
May it open the way to lasting
peace. In the spirit of Christ,
the Christian must be the
persistent seeker in the Gos
pel, the man willing to walk
the second mile. (cf. Matt 5:
42) He walks prudently, but
he walks generously and he
asks that all men do the same.
As Catholics we walk in
good company. Pope Paul, in
his recent encyclical on peace,
cried out, in God’s name, to
stop war. We pray God that
the sacrifices of us all, our
prayers as well as our falter
ing efforts toward peace, will
hasten the day when the whole
world will echo Pope Paul’s
historic words: “No more war,
war never again! ”(11)
FOOTNOTES:
the Church in the Modern
World, Part II, Chapter V,
Section 1 (The Documents of
Vatican II, Guild Press, New
York, p. 296)
2. Ibid, Part H, Chapter
IV, p. 286.
3. Ibid, Part H, Chapter V,
Section 1, p. 293
4. Ibid, Part II, Chapter V.
Section 1, p. 294
5. Ibid, Part II, Chapter V,
Section 1> p. 295
6. Ibid, Part TI, Chapter V,
Section 1, p. 293
7. Ibid, Part II, Chapter V,
Section 1, p. 293
8. Ibid, Part II, Chapter V,
Section 1, p. 296
9. Pacem in Terris (NCWC,
Washington, D. C. , pp. 28,
29)
10. Address to the United
Nations Assembly, October
4, 1965 (Pope Paul VI in New
York, NCWC, Washington, D.
C., p. 7)
1. pastoral Constitution on U. Ibid, p. 9
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