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PAGE 2 GEORGIA BULLETIN THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 1963
COUNTRY DIVIDED
Vietnam Buddhist Dispute
More Harmful Than Reds
Sh
RANGE BUT TRU
E
ARCHBISHOP HALLINAN
The author of the following
analysis of the current Budd
hist conflict with the Vietna
mese government of President
Ngo dinh Diem has spent al
most two decades covering the
news in the Far East. For the
past two years he has maintain
ed headquarters in Saigon, Viet
nam’s capital, and kept a close
eye on the complex political
currents active in that commu
nist-embattled country.
By Father Patrick O'Connor
Society of St. Columban
(N. C. W. C. NEWS SERVICE)
SAIGON, Vietnam, Aug. Si-
Fifteen Vietnamese soldiers
and five civilians were killed
and 38 were wounded by com
munists in south Vietnam on
August 21. Early the same day
government forces broke into a
dozen or more Buddhist pago
das arrested hundreds of bon
zes, bonzesses and lay per
sons. Among them were bon
zes and students enjoying ex
emption from military service.
Government raids on the
Buddhist pagodas received
worldwide attention—far more
than the communist attacks on
villages, outposts and patrols
that cost some 50 casualties,
killed and wounded, every day.
These casualties were suffer
ed on August 21 and every day
in defense of the free world's
interests, including the com
plaining Buddhists who have
been engaged in a 14-week dis
pute with the Vietnamese go
vernment.
WHAT STARTED as an avoid
able dispute about flying Budd
hist flags in Hue on May 8 is
now doing more harm to the
Vietnamese government and
people than several years of
communist warfare.
Some of the harm arises
from confusion, also avoid
able.
How many Buddhists are
there in south Vietnam?
Nobody can say, even within
one million, what the number is.
People who know the country
well put practicing Buddhists
somewhere between 20 and 30
per cent of the total popula
tion, which is 14 or 15 mil
lions. Because Catholics are
organized into parishes and dlo-
ci ses, one can be _r estimate
their number: about 1.5 million,
that is roughly 10 per cent.
IS BUDDHISM a native re
ligion of Vietnam?
No. Buddhism came to Viet
nam, by way of China princi
pally, about 1,800 years ago.
The original religion of the
Vietnamese was a form of ar>-
cestor worship.
Is there a Buddhist Church
now in Vietnam?
No. Buddha founded a moral
system but no churc h. Further
more, Buddhism is split into
numerous sects.
Buddhist associations are
modern developments. A per
son can be a Buddhist without
belonging to any of them. There
are various Buddhist associa
tions in Vietnam, not all in
agreement. The General Budd
hist Association, whose legal
existence dates from 1953, has
been the most militant in the
recent controversy.
IN JULY, 1962, it claimed
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only one million registered
members and about three mil
lion nonregistered adherents—
a figure impossible to check
and probably exaggerated.
Has Buddhism been active in
Vietnamese life?
Buddhism everywhere tends
to be passive, though many
Buddhists are distinguished for
charity. Vietnamese Buddhists
have lagged In the field of edu
cation. They have established
no hospitals or leprosaria.
HAS THERE been a religious
persecution of Buddhists in
Vietnam?
No. The last religious perse
cution in Vietnam was of Chris
tians. It ended one century ago.
Measures taken by the Viet
namese government against
anything that might turn into po
litical opposition have affected
Christians as well as Buddhists.
When Buddhists began holding
organized demonstrations in the
streets in recent months, the
police Intervened with unwar
rantable harshness. Thus Budd
hist groups who started out in
May with no solid grievances
deserving worldwide sympathy
were given grievances. Devout
Buddhist bonzes, bonzesses and
laity are now emotionally
aroused and feel that their most
sacred beliefs and practices
are at stake.
VIETNAMESE Buddhists
probably have made more pro
gress in the nine years since
President Ngo dinh Diem came
into office than in any century
of modern times. The govern
ment has given them money,
materials and land for con
structing and renovating pago
das. An-Quang pagoda In the
Cholon section of Saigon, one
of the centers of the recent
agitation, stands on land rent
ed from the government since
pre-Diem times. Asked how
much rent they have to pay the
government, a bonze there told
me: “Formerly we paid 10
piasters per square meter
yearly. Now we pay only two
piasters.’’ That Is about one
and a half cents American.
Who are the leaders in the,
General Buddhist Association?
The titular head was an aged
bonze, but the real leaders
are men in their thirties and
forties, some of whom came
from north Vietnam in 1954,
others belonging to central
Vietnam.
SOME of the younger bon
zes have studied abroad —
Thailand, Ceylon, Japan or the
U. S. They have returned eager
to assert themselves and their
group, resenting the relative
backwardness of Buddhism
here. Those from the north and
center observed and maybe
learned communist organiza
tion methods during the Indo
china war.
I have seen no proof that any
of these leading bonzes are
communists.
What part have the commu
nists played In the recent agi
tation?
They have naturally tried to
get into the act and to profit
by manifesting sympathy with
the protesting Buddhists. There
is no evidence that they got
control.
THE COMMUNISTS in north
Vietnam, where they persecute
all religions, have been piously
denouncing President Diem for
allegedly persecuting Budd
hists, Catholics and others in
the south.
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Is the Catholic religion some
thing recent in Vietnam?
THE Catholic religion had ta
ken root here one century and a
half before the American Dec
laration of Independence, long
before French colonial power
was established here. It was
persecuted at intervals for
more than 200 years.
Why have Catholics beenpro-
m lnent in Vietnamese public life
in recent years?
Catholics have always made
greater efforts in the field of
education. Secondly, the domi
nant element in Vietnam’s exis
tence in the past nine years has
been the near and present com
munist threat. Catholics are
admittedly more definitely and
militantly anticommunist than
any other section of the popu
lation. Inevitably the govern
ment has drawn heavily on this
source.
HAVE Catholics discriminat
ed against Buddhists in Viet
nam?
Buddhists are enormously in
debted to Catholics here. For
generations Catholic schools,
hospitals and clinics have ser
ved Buddhists and others with
out distinction. Catholic lepro
saria and emergency relief
services have given aid to non-
Christians of all kinds. Budd
hists have done nothing on a
comparable scale for their own,
much less for their Catholic
compatriots.
Is President Ngo dinh Diem's
government “unpopular and
corrupt?"
It cannot be called a corrupt
government though there is cor
ruption in it as there is inmost
other Asian governments and
in many outside Asia.
THE MAJORITY of the people
live in rural villages where
Saigon politics and Buddhist
demonstrations mean little in
everyday life. What matters to
them is security against the
communists first, then elemen
tary local facilities for educa
tion, water and so forth, and
from petty exactions.
The sophisticated city and
town dwellers have an impor
tance out of all proportion to
their relative numbers in the
population. Among them the go
vernment has lost heavily since
the Buddhist agitation started.
It is not that they are all
fervent Buddhists. But the
Buddhist campaign gave them
an outlet for bottled-up resent
ment against housing shortages,
lack of freedom of expression,
arbitrary arrests, long deten
tions without trial and so forth.
Most of them feel that the
storming of the pagodas by se
curity men on August 21 was
an excessive measure against
the bonzes who, despite their
recent “passive resistance"
activities, enjoy a traditional
reputation for religious self
restraint.
PRESIDENT Diem still has
great reserves of prestige not
possessed by all other members
of his family. Justly or unjust
ly, his brothers here and his
sister-in-law are unpopular.
His sister-in-law’s tactless ut
terances have been some of the
greatest obstacles to a timely
settlement of the Buddhist dis
pute.
No matter what their abili
ties may be or how much the
President has depended on his
relatives, he would be stronger
without them than with them.
They are more of a handicap
than he seems to realize. These
relatives of the President wield
great influence In spite of the
fact that the constitution of the
Republic of Vietnam gives them
no executive power.
Was Buddhist agitation pure
ly religious?
NO. CERTAINLY for more
than a month prior to the raids
on the pagodas, the movement
had the political aim of toppling
the government.
How did students get into the
recent agitation?
As far back as late May a
Buddhist student organization
in Hue was protesting. Police
action against demonstrating
students In Hue on June 3 in
flamed feelings there, but it
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LA-VANG WAS
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MINOR BASILICA.
Index Has No Relation
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TUlS ANCIENT
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THE AUGUSTIN IANS
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was only when Father Luanwas
summarily dismissed on Au
gust 16 from his post as rec
tor of the University of Hue
that agitation became general.
Hue and Saigon University pro
fessors and students joined
in a movement of general pro-
gest. Catholics protested with
Buddhists and other non-Chris
tians, and the government act
ed against all alike.
WHO WAS responsible for
staging armed raids on the pa
godas?
It is generally accepted that
the President’s brother, Ngo
dinh Nhu, who is also his chief
counsellor, planned and direct
ed the operation. The Presi
dent, however, took full re
sponsibility. Most of the top
army men were notified only
shortly before the action was
taken.
What is the general conclu
sion?
Fourteen or 15 million peo
ple in south Vietnam, including
the Catholics who fled from the
north, face their most critical
hour since 1954.
BY BIBLICAL SCHOLARS
More Scripture
Urged In Mass
SAN FRANCISCO (NC)—Four
Biblical scholars said here
more Scripture should be in
corporated into the Mass.
At a press conference, they
said the present one-year lit
urgical cycle should be increas
ed to at least three years to al
low for wider coverage of Scrip
ture.
THE PROPOSAL came from
Father Eugene Maly, president
of the Catholic Biblical Asso
ciation of America, during the
association's 26th general
meeting.
Father Maly's views were
seconded by Msgr. Patrick W.
Skehan of the Catholic Univer
sity of America, Washington,
D. C.: Father Raymond E.
Brown, S.S., of St. Mary’s Se
minary, Baltimore, Md., and
Father Louis F. Hartman, C.
SS.R., also of Catholic Univer
sity.
Father Brown is vice presi
dent of the association and Fa
ther Hartman its executive sec
retary.
“OUR LITURGICAL cycle
must have an increased Bibli
cal orientation," said Father
Maly, who teaches at Mount St.
Mary Seminary of the West,
Norwood, Ohio
“There is sacramental val
ue to reading the Bible as the
Word of God and Catholics
should be exposed to more of
the Scriptures not only in their
own private reading, but in their
common liturgical worship,"
he said.
Father Hartmann told the
press conference he was en
couraged by the growing inte
rest in study of the Scriptures.
"As a matter of fact," he said,
"the armed forces are encour
aging Catholic chaplains to at
tend Biblical Institutes at dif
ferent service bases. Many dio
ceses are also holding Biblical
institutes in the summer for
clergy and Religious."
More than 100 Scripture
scholars attended the meeting
Nun President
NEW YORK, (NC) — Sister
Mary David has been appoint
ed president of Mount St. Vin
cent college here, Mother
Loretto Bernard, board of trus
tees chairman, announced. Sis
ter Mary David, an alumna
of the college conducted by the
Sisters of Charity, served as
dean of students from Septem
ber, 1956 to June 1963.
of the association here last
week. The University of San
Francisco was hostfor the three
days.
The following is an extract
of the talk given by Archbishop
Paul J. Hallinan at the National
Newman Club Convention in La
fayette, La., last week..
"AmeWcan Catholics are
many, as are world Catholics,
and our oneness exists, abso
lutely only in one Lord, one
faith, one baptism. After an
evening, for example, with Ca
tholic segregationists and in-
tegrationists, it occurs to the
observer that what we all need
here Is an ecumenical move
ment among Catholics: Our
charge on the secular campus
is a vast body of young Ca
tholics: — some eager, some
cynical; some complacent,
some disgruntled: some bright,
some dull. When weighed in the
scales of human reason and
Christian faith, there is abun
dant evidence that some have
Catholic minds and hearts, and a
great many simply couldn't care
less.
"THE INDEX of Forbidden
Books was designed to preserve
faith. But in our day, it does
not touch the university library
on an intellectual plane. In fact,
it does not touch anything at
all on that level. It appears to
most Catholics and everyone
else, as a moral issue far re
moved from the content of any
volume; has any institution the
right to prohibit the reading of
a book? The list of named au
thors and named books is
largely unknown to today's stu
dents, only the French novel
ists, certain English philoso
phers, and a few other authors
ever appearing on any college
reading list. Even the proscrip
tion by categories does not con
cern the student as he looks
over the highly pornographic
content of the average paper
back bookrack. Whatever its re
levance to the past, the Index*
has little relation to the stu
dent mind today. It may be chan
ged, updated, modified or ab
olished altogether. Whatever its
outcome, it is to be earnestly
hoped that the prevailing reason
CATHOLIC VETS TOLD
Atheists Undermine
Religious Heritage
MIAMI BEACH, Fla. (NC)
— A state supreme court jus
tice charged here that there
has been too much “concern
for an atheistic minority that
seeks to expunge from all pub
lic pronouncement any refer
ence to a supreme being*’
Justice EdwardT. McCaffrey
of the New York State Supreme
Court told the convention (Aug
20-25) of the Catholic War Vet
erans that this nation’s relig
ious heritage Is being under
mined by "inroads of atheis
tic thought."
OBVIOUSLY referring to the
U. S. Supreme Court decision
June 17 outlawing Bible read
ing and recitation of the Lord's
Prayer in public schools, Jus
tice McCaffrey said; "Every
school child has been told that
our forefathers acknowledged
God as the source of authority.
Our coins bear the proud motto
’In God we trust.' " Our nat
ional anthem mentions the deity.
The laws of the land require
oaths with the hand on the Bi
ble."
"We have been insistent,"
he continued, “that priest, min
ister and rabbi chaplains min
ister to the needs of our sons
and daughters when in the ser
vice. No session of Congress
opens without recital of prayer.
Threading the course of our en
tire history has been the gui
dance, the consolation and the
constructive impact of religion
on our daily lives.
“HOW THEN the concern for
an atheistic minority that seeks
to expunge from all public pron
ouncement any reference! to a
supreme being? If the rights of
such minority are to be sedul
ously observed, what can claim
to be a dominant majority? Are
the rights of only certain min
orities to be protected?
"While we do not despair,"
Judge McCaffrey concluded, “It
is for us a cause of real con
cern that in a nation founded
under and dedicated to God,
there should be such success
ful inroads of atheistic thought
buttressed by the considered
deliberations of men of the cal
iber constituting; our Supreme
Court.”
In resolutions adopted at the
convention, the CWV urged
adoption of a constitutional
amendment permitting prayer
in public schools, support of
continued interest In commun
ist-controlled Cuba and support
of President Kennedy's civil
rights program.
"Our image as a leader in the
free world is being seriously
affected," the rights resolution
said, "when it can be shown
that certain segments of our
population are denied their full
and equal rights as citizens be
cause of their color."
THE RESOLUTION on Cuba
urged that “the administration
revive its interest in this grow
ing communist base and pro
ceed in accordance with the
statement made by President
Kennedy regarding the removal
of Soviet troops from Cuba."
Walter Hyle, Jr., of Towson,
Md., was elected new national
commander of the CWV. Irene
Hennigan ofBaltimore was ele
cted president of the organiza
tion’s ladies’ auxiliary, which
held its meeting In conjunction
with the CWV convention.
Mrs. Stanley Smarshof Ham-
tramck, Mich., was honored by
the CWV and the ladles’ auxi
liary as their Outstanding Wo
man of the Year.
A member of Immaculate
Conception parish in Hamt-
ramck, she has been engaged
in volunteer work since 1947.
She has served as vice presi
dent of the Wayne Northeast
Central Deanery of die Detroit
Archdiocesan Council of Cath
olic Women, and for the past
six years has been president of
the parish mothers' club.
will be the magnificent para
graph of Pope John's opening
address to the Council:
'The truth of the Lord will
remain forever. We see, in
fact, as one age succeeds ano
ther, that the opinions of men
follow one another and ex
clude one another. And often
errors vanish as quickly as they
arise, like fog before the sun.
'The Church has always op
posed these errors. Frequently,
she has condemned them with
the greatest severity. Nowa
days, however, the spouse of
Christ prefers to make use of
the medicine of mercy rather
than that of severity. She con
siders that she meets the needs
of the present day by de
monstrating the validity of her
teaching rather than by con
demnations ....’
“WHETHER THE Index is
changed or not, the errors will
continue to appear, in doctrine
and the guidance of moral con
duct, Whether it was effective
or no^ the Index was entirely
negative. It did not increase
the faith of any Christian, nor
attract others to the treasurers
of the faith, nor penetrate the
shadows of the world with the
light of truth. If it disappears
tomorrow, our proper positive
task will still remain: to teach,
in season and out of season;
to teach the truth that is within
our competence, — religious
truth; and to foster and encour
age the teaching of those truths
oeyond our competence, — the
bursting regions of the natural
sciences, mathematics, his
tory, literature, the arts, and
so on. We must honor the scho
lar who honestly seeks truth
in his field, whether he is on
our side or not, whether we
like him or not, whether he likes
us or not. Anything else is in
tellectual dishonesty-. Our stu
dents must inbibe this respect
for scholarship from us. The
Church did not suffer when St.
Paul walked among the intell
ectuals at Athens, when Augus
tine urged his pupils to love
intelligence, and love it very
much; when Aquinas investi
gated the philosophy of the Ara
bians, or when Father Montini
read the works of Thomas Mann
and Bergson with his students.
This is the vast burden that is
ours, the task of consecrating
the intellect to God. It is diffi
cult today because although
there are more educated minds
than a century ago, they are
not educated in the things that
pertain to God. The good man of
salvation has not had a good
press. It would be a mistake
to assume that all Catholic
students have Catholic minds,
In Frank Sheed's phrase, many
have secular minds with Ca
tholic patches. Yet it is our
job to awaken in all these minds,
the gaudium et veritate, the joy
of finding truth. This will be
a far more effective tool than
the Index, because the Index
did not touch sins against the
mind which is God's own crea
ted instrument for truth. There
is a simony of the intellect as
well as a simony of goods. We
are at a point in history where
this simony is the temptation of
the educated man. To sell one's
mind for sordid gain, or for
popularity, or for the coin of
mediocre achievement or the
perversion of other minds,—
this is perhaps near the ulti
mate simony for reparation is
almost impossible to make."
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