Newspaper Page Text
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PAGE 6 - August 7, 1969
BY JAIME FONSECA
ASUNCION (NC)
Paraguay — Paraguay’s
government is stepping up
pressure on the church’s
institutions and personnel
after the nation’s bishops
sided with students in
protesting against the
brutality of police and
pro-government mobs.
This is the aftermath of
events related to the fate of
DANGER CITED
Reporter Tells Of Unrest In Paraguay
political prisoners and to
earlier moves by the
government to transfer four
Jesuit priests.
In May, the bishops of
Paraguay warned the regime
of Gen. Alfredo Stroessner
that the expulsion from the
country of the four priests
would bring “unforeseen
consequences.”
Paraguay’s
delivered their
II
note
bishops
to Raul
Sees Elderly
‘Segregating’
BY ETHEL GINTOFT
RACINE, Wise. (NC) - A
new, serious form of
segregation is evolving in
Semi-Public
Plan Called
‘Excellent’
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (NC)
— The first official response
from the Providence diocesan
superintendent of schools to
a plan calling for semi-public
schools in Rhode Island was
issued (July 31), hailing the
proposal as “an excellent
piece of work.”
The plan, based on a
year-long study by Indiana
University, says parochial
schools could be divided into
public and private sectors.
Lay teachers would teach
secular subjects under public
supervision and the school
would receive state aid for
that segment of its program.
The private segment would
be taught, financed, and
supervised by the Church.
The plan would bolster
sagging finances in parochial
schools hopefully without
running afoul of Church-State
separation laws.
When first informed of the
report, Father Edward W. K.
Mullen, diocesan
superintendent of schools,
called the plan an “interesting
idea” and said a more
detailed statement would be
issued after closer scrutiny of
the report.
“It gives us the best
picture we have of the
condition of Catholic schools
in Rhode Island,” Father
Mullen said in his brief
statement. “The proposal for
the creation of a new type
institution to be known as a
semi-public school is, in my
opinion, an imaginative
proposal.
“If it were fully
implemented it would
improve the condition of
both public and non-public
education in Rhode Island,”
Father Mullen said.
to a
TRANQUILITY BASE, THE
MOON — Footprints of the
men on the moon, U.S.
astronauts Neil Armstrong
and Edwin Aldrin, surround
the U.S. flag in a photo the
astronauts made after they
reentered their lunar module,
Eagle, June 21, 1969.
Scientists say the footprints
may remain indefinitely on
the moon’s surface, due to
lack of atmosphere and
winds. (NC Photos)
society, according
priest-sociologist.
The segregation is not
racial, says Father John
O’Connell of Marquette
University. It is the tendency
of the aged, persons 65 and
over, to form a subsculture-
such as is found in retirement
communities--and to
segregate themselves, at least
physically, from the rest of
society.
Father O’Connell
encouraged new attitudes
toward the aged in a talk to a
conference held at Siena
Center here.
The tendency to form a
subculture is largely due to
society’s failure to overcome
the generation gap and also to
an “attitude, based on
ignorance, that defines the
aged as sick,” Father
O’Connell suggested.
“Efforts must be made to
make room in the social
structure for these persons
who are physically and
morally capable but at
leisure.”
As enforced retirement
ages keep coming down, more
and more individuals will be
living a life of leisure, he said.
“In 10 years, about 10% of
our population will be
experiencing leisure as a way
of life. We have no prototype
for this in history,” he added.
Father O’Connell said
society must “create a
structure in which this
increasing number of retired
people can function, provide
them with some activity that
is different from licking
stamps.” f
How to accomplish this
calls for creative study,
Father O’Connell said. But
what must be recognized is
that older people are social
beings because of their
historical experience, which
cannot be erased. In addition,
they are a sizable political
block and a group whose
economic power is on the
uprise as social security and
retirement benefits increase
and as those of “middle age”
retire.
Pena, minister of education,
culture and religious affairs,
after the government claimed
that the four Spanish Jesuits
were fostering unrest among
students and agitating against
the regime.
Pena had earlier suggested
to the Jesuit’s Paraguay
provincial that he transfer the
priests from their present
assignments.
Three of them work for
the Center of Social Research
and Action, devoted to
economic, social and cultural
studies of current problems in
the country; the other
teaches at the Catholic
University.
In a chain of violence
against students and other
groups-until now unreported
because of stringent
censorship-in late June police
and armed mobs:
-Beat large groups of
students, including Catholics,
while they staged non-violent
demonstrations at Cristo Rey
and San Jose parishes and at
the national civic shrine,
Panteon de los Heroes;
-Made arrests of student
leaders, six for several hours,
and violated human rights,
leaving the leaders without
legal defense;
--Cordoned off four
churches, including the
cathedral, and schools where
demonstrations took place,
cut off telephone, water and
electricity services in reprisal;
-Manhandled 500 women
who tried to stage a protest
parade and sought refuge
inside the cathedral;
-Turned down separate
attempts by the bishops,
Jesuit superiors and the
apostolic nuncio, Archbishop
Antonio Innocenti, to stop
the wave of repression.
The regime of Gen.
Alfredo Stroessner then
placed all communications
media under strict control
and forbade any mention of
the student protest. But the
Catholic weekly, Cornu nidad,
shielded by the Church’s
communications commission,
is carrying on in a tense
climate. Pro-government
publications and radio
broadcasts attack it as “the
main agent of agitation.”
A strong protest was made
by Archbishop Juan Jose
Anibal Mena Porta of
Asuncion to the police chief,
Gen. Francisco Britez, against
“biased and untrue reports by
the police of the facts and of
the conduct of persons
involved.” he has voiced
“strong indignation for the
lack of respect toward
Church authorities, Religious
superiors, seminarians and
students.”
As violence and threats
mounted-on three occasions,
armed bands beat with sticks,
chains and rubber hoses
defenseless high school
students and manhandled
girls-Church authorities took
these unprecedented steps:
--Papal anniversary
ceremonies, including a Te
Deum at the cathedral and a
diplomatic reception at the
apostolic nunciature, were
suspended;
-The inauguration of the
national seminary buildings
was postponed;
-An emergency meeting of
the permanent bishops’
committee was held here and
issued a fully detailed report
of the events, which was
published in Cornu nidad to
rebut the government
versions.
After demonstrations
staged during the visit of New
York’s Gov. Nelson
Rockefeller, several girls were
manhandled at San Jose and
Goethe high schools. At other
high schools the same rough
tactics were used, and many
were injured.”
Students from the
National and Catholic
universities along with a few
workers staged an open
forum at the philosophy
school adjacent to the Jesuit
church of Cristo Rey. The
theme was U.S. policies in
Latin America.
Someone burned a U.S.
flag and police and armed
civilians-mostly government
employes-moved in and beat
persons leaving the meeting.
More arrests were made but
those arrested were released
soon after.
About 90 took refuge in a
church, whereupon police
ordered telephone, water and
other services cut off.
University and high school
students rallied at several
places, demanding the release
of the students still in jail,
but they were set upon by
armed civilians and
surrounded by the police.
More than 1,000 youths,
including pro-government
Colorado party followers,
paraded in protest to the
down town Panteon de los
Heroes-holding aloft a statue
of Our Lady of Asuncion-to
press for the release of Juan
Carlos Herken, 16, and
Ignacio Iramain, 18, and a
well known student leader,
Guido Radriquez, taken
prisoner the day before.
Police and a fire engine’s
water jets broke up the
demonstration. Another
student leader, Juan Felix
Bodgado, was jailed.
Students at two
universities and 27 high
schools went out on strike.
The government then
announced the release of all
students but two, Rodriguez
and Bogado.
Students learned of two
others who had been jailed,
Isaac Friedman and Miguel
Angel Alma da, and began
pressing for their release or
for proper charges and a trial.
r
The students’ fears for
their friends are based on the
government’s past record.
The regime holds about 150
political prisoners who have
not been tried. They are held
under conditions described as
inhuman. One Catholic youth
organization leader, Alfredo
Carrillo Iramain, arrested
several months ago, is feared
dead by his parents.
Student fears increased as
i government spokesmen began
linking them with a
“communist conspiracy.” '
After the beatings on
campuses and in the streets,
students decided to press for
the release of the four youths
by means of sit-ins in
churches, which, in Latin
America, are traditionally
considered safe from police
action.
The first such sit-in was
held in the church of Cristo
Rey on June 28. Some 24
boys and girls who took part
in it also announced their
intention of going on a
• hunger strike after lowering
Paraguay’s flag to half staff.
Later some 50 university
and other students occupied
the church of San Jose. They
were joined by four
seminarians. The rest of the
seminarians occupied the
cathedral. This was done,
they said, “to show our
solidarity with those who
fight against injustice to our
students.”
Two of them, Maximo
Bernalt and Domingo
Santacruz, attempted to
deliver a statement to the
archdiocesan chancery.
Santacruz was arrested and
questioned at police
headquarters.
The questioning concerned
what were called “their
subversive activities within
the cathedral.”
At the end of June, some
MARBLE WORKERS John Smith and J. W. Rogers put finishing touches on a statue of Our Lady
Queen of the Rosary in the Dominican chapel of the National Shrine of the Immaculate
Conception, Washington, D.C. (NC Photos)
26 university students
occupied the church of San
Francisco.
In all cases police set up
cordons to isolate the
demonstrators and ordered all
services cut off.
When the papal nuncio
tried to intercede at the
church of Cristo Rey, the
police turned him away.
Later he interceded with the
authorities of the Interior
Ministry and obtained the
safe exit of the students.
The semina rians’
occupation came after some
500 women-mothers, sisters
and friends of the
youths-started a march to
the Panteon de los Heroes but
were turned back after a
chase of several blocks by
police and mobs. Upon
returning to the cathedral,
the police tried to wrest a
crucifix from a girl leader,
Nety Monti, 23.
In July, several sit-in
demonstrators began a hunger
strike. They stopped after a
day on learning that Almada
and Friedman had been
released and that Rodriquez
and Bogado had been placed
under court jurisdiction.
Bogado is charged as a
“communist agent,” while
Rodriquez is accused of
disrupting public order and
burning the flag.
All other churches had
been evacuated by those
conducting the sit-ins.
Student leaders said they had
achieved their main demands
of release or due process of
law. They also acknowledge
the strong moral and practical
support given them by
Church leaders.
Six priests, Fathers
Aquilino Villalba, Gilberto
Giminez, Isidro Salgado, Juan
Carrion and Jesuit Fathers
Francisco Oliva and Jose
Miguel Manarriz protested
against “the savage violation”
of the students’ civil rights by
“armed mobs before a passive
police.” The priests also
regretted “the disproportion
between the basically sound
spirit of the student
demonstrations and the
repressive action brought to
unjustified extremes.”
Cornu nidad, now the only
uncensored periodical here,
wrote: “This is the last in a
chain of mistakes made by
the repressive apparatus of
the government against
legitimate peaceful
demonstrations, by using
brute violence and bodily
harm against harmless
youths.”
To charges by the Interior
Ministry that the students
were involved in a Marxist
conspiracy under Cuban
direction, Comunidad asked:
“Where is the proof? The
only one is a notebook of one
student-confiscated during an
illegal search--with
observations taken down
during open study meetings
regarding Paraguay’s social
problems. Some of the things
BISHOP.CATHOLIC. NEWSPAPER
Debate Medical Ethics Problem
BOSTON (NC) - The
proposal for a new code of
medical ethics for Catholic
hospitals has initiated a
debate between The Pilot,
archdiocesan newspaper, and
Auxiliary Bishop Thomas J.
Riley of Boston.
The Pilot published an NC
News Service story on some
“tentative” suggestions for a
new medical ethics code as
proposed by Bishop Joseph
B. Brunini of Natchez-Jack-
son, Miss., a member of the
Departmental Committee on
Health Affairs of the U.S.
Catholic Conference. The
archdiocesan paper also
published a laudatory
editorial.
Bishop Brunini made the
proposal (July 13) at the
semi-annual meeting of the
National Federal of Catholic
Physicians’ Guilds in New
York.
He suggested the
formulation of the new code
should have a general
introductory section stating
positive values to which
hospitals subscribe, followed
by-because of the pluralistic
com position of the
communities-several distinct
and differing statements of
medical ethics.
“For example,” Bishop
Brunini suggested, “one in
terms of the traditional
Catholic moral theology, one
in terms of contextualism and
one or more expressing the
medical ethical principles of
non-Catholic groups in the
pluralistic community.”
Bishop Riley, who has
written the Pilot’s “Theology
for Everyman” column for
nearly two decades,
challenged the Pilot’s
presentation of the proposal
and was especially critical of
the editorial. His criticism
was mainly in the form of a
series of questions which
suggested that any change in
the code would require a
denial of “traditional”
Catholic moral teaching.
“It is more than likely that
those who heard Bishop
Brunini speak would have
gained a somewhat different
impression from his remarks
than that conveyed by the
press report,” Bishop Riley
stated.
He said a “fair evaluation”
of Bishop Brunini’s proposal
“should await more mature
consideration of the points he
has made than is now
possible” because the
complete text of the prelate’s
address was not immediately
available. -
Bishop Riley said the
Pilot’s editorial “appearing in
a Catholic newspaper
published by the archbishop
of Boston (Richard Cardinal
Cushing) and thus presumed
to be committed to the
teaching and defense of
principles of Catholic moral
theology,” raised a number of
questions.
He posed the questions
which “suggest some of the
confusion which might have
been created” by the
editorial.
‘‘1) Does the
responsibility of hospitals
conducted under Catholic
auspices to a ‘thoroughly
pluralistic clientele” require
that procedures inconsistent
with the basic principles of
the moral law as presented by
the Catholic Church be
permitted or tolerated to the
extent that they are generally
agreed upon? Is it more
important for the Church to
remain in association with
hospitals than it is for the
Church to teach and defend
the principles of a sound
morality? Must Catholic
hospitals, as their part of a
contract which brings them
large federal subsidies, be
prepared to adapt their codes
of ethics without regard for
their commitment to follow
the teachings of the Church
on moral matters?
“2) Does the term ‘highly
sectarian’ apply to the
teachings on artificial
contraception, abortion and
euthanasia as they have been
hitherto enforced in Catholic
hospitals?
“3) Does ‘contextualism,’
applied to moral theology,
mean the same thing as
‘situationalism?’ Is
‘traditional’ moral theology
to be discarded because it
fails to admit the possibility
of exceptions to moral
principles which are hard to
apply in particular situations?
“4) Do the ‘wide
variations’ in what is
‘acceptable moral behavior’
include specifically artificial
contraception, abortion and
euthanasia?
“5) Are codes of ethics
formulated in collaboration
with representatives of
non-Catholic religious bodies
acceptable to Catholics
merely because they are
‘workable?’ In entering into
dialogue with non-Catholics
in this matter, are Catholics
committed in advance to
accept only those moral
values held by all, ‘almost
without exception’ and to
assume an attitude of
permissive indifference
toward the ‘wide variations in
what is acceptable moral
behavior?”’
Bishop Riley said “one
point in particular seems to
demand clarification” from
Bishop Brunini.
“It is not true to say,”
Bishop Riley noted, “that
Catholic moral theologians
have traditionally presented
their teachings deductively
from abstract concepts, to
the exclusion of data from
experience and without
regards for changing
circumstances and particual
problems. It has not remained
for contemporary
‘contextualists’ to discover
the importance of persons
and their intentions in the
determination of the morality
of free human acts. It is a
grave injustice to the moral
theology which inspired the
moral and social writings of
Pope Pius XI and Pope Pius
XII to suggest that the same
moral theology led to a
medical ethics which was
‘necessarily static’.”
the minister denounces have
been widely published.”
Police releases said the
students engaged in immoral
acts during the sit-ins, which
prompted several denials by
parish priests concerned, and
the protest by Archbishop
Mena. Several police officers
who favored mediation
efforts also confirmed the
propriety of the students’
behaviour.
After his defense of the
sit-inners the archbishop said:
“The chancery reserves the
right to start libel action as
provided by the
Constitution.”
In announcing
postponement of the
seminary inauguration-which
high officials of the
government would
attend--the permanent
committee of the Paraguayan
Bishops Conference said:
“The Church wants to share
in our Fatherland a position
of solidarity with man’s just
aspirations. The seminary
cannot remain indifferent in
the face of the unjustified
violence by government
forces.”
Decline
Liturgical
Week Ads
MILWAUKEE, Wis. (NC)
— The Catholic Herald
Citizen, Milwaukee
archdiocesan newspaper, has
declined advertising for the
1969 Liturgical Week
scheduled here from Aug. 25
to 28.
Father Thomas R. Leahy,
executive editor of the paper,
said the policy was adopted
in line with a letter which
Archbishop William E.
Cousins of Milwaukee issued
last March concerning the
conference.
The archbishop’s letter,
Father Leahy said, stated he
did not advocate or support
the scheduled meeting.
Father Leahy said in view
of the archbishop’s
statements concerning the
meeting, the paper decided to
decline the advertising. He
added that accepting
advertising in the
circumstances might give the
impression that the paper
endorsed the meeting.
James F. Colaianni,
executive director of the
conference, said the theme of
the meeting will be
“Celebration of Man’s Hope.”
He said the conference has
not sought the endorsement
of Archbishop Cousins. He
also announced that the Rev.
Andrew Young of Atlanta,
Ga., a Southern Christian
Leadership Conference
official, had been elected to
the liturgical conference
board.
DI AN, South Vietnam
President Richard M. Nixon
surrounded by men of the 1
Red One, the U.S. ]
Infantry Division, at th<
camp here, 10 miles fre
Saigon, July 30. T
President .made a 5*/2 ho
stopover in Vietnai
conferring with leaders
Saigon and visiting troo{
during his round-the-wor
tour, concluded by his retui
to Washington, Sunday, Au
3. (NC Photos)