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I 1 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 Ltroys Auto Service Tune Up - Front End Alignment Automatic Transmission 4011 P'tree Rd. CE 7-1288 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. HYBEBT • HINTING • UTMOGtASHlNG COMPANY 530 FOIRCST ROAD. N. f. J*rvi*t 4!/••!« Simtt 1*1* ATLANTA, 0*0X01A ESTES SURGICAL SUPPLY CO. Frti Customer Parking 410 W. PEACHTREE, N.W. ja 1-1700 ATLANTA, GEORGIA 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 ittl.-Kn own Fact* for Catholic* ■y M. J. MURRAY o*rrx«fct. mt, H-C.W C. Rm Itnlu ifT 1798 Our lady MADE A MIRACULOUS APPEARANCE TO A GROUP OF CONVERTS PERSECUTION IN iNDO -CHINA. THOUGH STILL LITTLE KNOWN OUTSIDE THE EAST, HER SHRINE AT LA-VANG WAS RECENTLY ELEVATED TO THE RANK OS A MINOR BASILICA. Index Has No Relation To Contemporary Student TUlS ANCIENT REPRESENTATION OF Our lord is taken from A Portrait CAR/ED ON AN EMERALD DURING THE REIGN OF TIBERIUS CAESAR < r~.> ‘century N composer . JACQUES CUMEite became so famous in his day that he voa s Known as "clemens NON &1M* -to distinguish him from. the reigning Pontiff, clement yn , MASS’ was First CELEBRATED IN Ghana in 1489., THOUGH IT WAS NOT UNTIL 1572 THE AUGUSTIN IANS established a Regular, mission . 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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