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PAGE 2 GEORGIA BULLETED THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8, 1964 PRESS SUMtARY Commentary On Religious Liberty Text The revised text ON RELIGIOUS LIBERTY comprises five pages and an appendix to the schema DE ECUMENISMO with the indica tion DECLARATIO I, along with another DECLARATIO II, de aling with the Jews and non-Christians. The declaration on re ligious liberty is accompanied by five pages of Notes, a relatio, and a brief summary. The text was transmitted to the council Fathers on April 27, 1964. The genesis of the amended text on religious liberty. In the second session of the council, on Nov. 19, 1963, the Fathers were given the fascicule on religious liberty as chapter 5 of the schema “De Ecumenismo," and in the 70th general congregation held on that same day, Bishop DeSmedt, of Bruges, member of the Secretariat for Christian Unity, read to the council an explanatory and introductory relatio. Conflicting opinions were immediately evident among the council Fathers, ranging from enthusiasm to serve criticism. The text was not brought up for discussion on the council floor for want of suffi cient time. Up .to Feb. 27, 1964, the Secretariat for Christian Unity ac cepted observations from the council Fathers and incorporated them into a volume of some 280 pages. Some of the Fathers wanted the text on religious liberty incorporated into the schema of ecumenism, inasmuch as the recognition of relig ious liberty forms part of the foundation of ecumenism. Ac cording to certain other Fathers , however, the text in ques tion should constitute a distinct chapter of the schema, treat ing of the basic principles of ecumenism. Lastly, others pro posed the presentation of the subject as a decree distinct from that on ecumenism, considering the fact that, notwithstanding its ecumenical importance, the subject matter exceeds the limits of ecumenism strictly so called. The text was amended by the Secretariat for Christian Unity according to the recommendations made by many of the Fathers, but its great importance did not permit it to be compressed into such compact form as would have permitted its insertion into chapter I of the schema on ecumenism. Thus, according to the desire expressed by the Coordinating Commission in its meeting of April 18, 1964, the text on religious liberty, like that on the Jews and non-Christians, is now .Submitted to> the council as a "declaration** distinct from, but annexed to the schema on ecumenism. The criteria followed in the revision of the text. After a careful study of all the observations sent in by the council Fathers concerning the revision of the text, the Secre tariat for Christian Unity saw fit to retain five principal points. a) A clearer expression of the concept of religious liberty. The purpose of this clarification is to forestall any fallacious or equivocal interpretations of the text. Consequently, at the very beginning of the new text, an additional paragraph ex plains the exact significance of the concept of "religious li berty". A distinction must be made between freedom as far as relations with God are concerned, and freedom in relations with men. The text is concerned exclusively with religious li berty in relation with other men. considered either as indivi duals (or) as members of religious groups. The foundation of these rights comes from the very serious obligation of res pecting human dignity and following the law of God according to the dictates of a conscience sincerely formed. Freedom to follow one’s own religious conscience is the greatest advan tage of every person and for this reason it is a stritly personal right in social association, and there must be respect for free dom for following the call of God, in which we behold the peak of the dignity of the human person. b) Explicit indications of the rights of religious groups. To these groups is recognized authentic religious liberty in those things which develop spiritual life among men. c) A better explanation of the principle by which our rights can be restricted. The aim of society is the complexus of those conditions of social life which aid men to achieve themorefully and the more expeditiously the perfection at which they are aiming. It is thus the duty of public authority In matters of religion to reconcile and to harmonize among themselves the exercise of the rights to both, in such wise that the exercise of the rights of one group will not constitute an obstacle to the exercise of the rights of the other. A distinction must also be made between the right to propa gate sincerely and honestly one's own religion and the abuses of this right when dishonest means are employed in religious propaganda. d) Emphasis on the objective truth of the Divine Law with all its exigencies. This is done in such a way as to exclude all danger of sub jectivism and indifferentism. e) Present-day cricumstances confirm the necessity and the rights of religous liberty. The urgency of this problem becomes all the more evident because of the closer bonds created among men of diverse cul tures and religions, along with the increased consciousness of personal responsibility, with the evolution of the juridical stru ctures of civil institutions. SUMMARY OF THE DECLARATION OF RELIGOUS LIBERTY The numbering of the articles follows that of the schema on ecumenism, which comprises 24 numbers. Hence the articles of this declaration begin with No. 25. rity favors contacts among Christians. This emphasized its ecumenical aspect. No. 26 - The nature of religious liberty. a) Its foundation: In the religious field, it is both a duty and an honor for man to follow the will of God, according to the dictates of conscience. This is the very root of the right to religious libergy. b) The right to religious liberty in society puts men in a posi tion to be able to practice privately and publicly their own re ligion, and no restriction must be placed on this religious pra ctice. c) Religious liberty demands that there should be established in society the conditions required to guarantee it. d) The council, in its affirmation of man's dependence on God, proclaims that religious liberty in “society must be recognized and respected by all and everywhere. No. 27 - The task of the Church. A ccording to the mandate received from the Lord, the Church propagates the Word of God and prays for the salvation of all men, exhorting her own children to spread the life-giving light of the Gospel. No. 28 - No one can be forced to embrace the Faith. With love, prudence and patience, in accordance with the ways of God, contact Is established with those who do not have the true Faith. But all coercion, direct or indirect, is to be ex cluded from the preaching of the Truth, because according to the traditional norm of the Church, based on the very nature of the act of Faith, the acceptance of Faith must be fully free. No. 29 - The religious liberty of the Individual in human society. In human society, religious liberty is to be respected not only by Christians and for Christians, but by all and for all— per sons, individuals, and religious groups. Freedom to follow God’s call is the peak of human dignity, and consequently this liberty in social co-existence is a right in the truest sense of the term, and is the foundation and safe guard of other freedoms. The objective, absolute and universal Divine Law is the norm of our relationships with God, whence there derives man’s obli gation to acquire diligently the knowledge of this law. But man can follow the forms for him self under the guidance of prudence. In sincere obedience to conscience, a man implicitly obeys God. If, in his attempts to know the Will of God, a man falls into an erroneous interpretation of that Will, no man and no power has the right to induce him to act conrary to the dictate of his conscience. No. 25 - The consideration of the problem of religious libe- An essential element of religious liberty is the right to prac- PRIEST OBSERVER Troubled Vietnam Shows Red Influences At Work CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 forms of agitation to synchro nize with the Viet Cong mili tary effort, have one common aim—to bring about a neutra list government in South Viet nam. From nuetralism the pas sage will be e asy to unifica tion of industrial rice-hungry north Vietnam vith the fertile south, under communist rule. It takes no extraordinary eye sight to see the links between the different parts of this con certed movement. THE 25-year-old "press of ficer" of the students who cla mored against Prime Minister Gen. Nguyen Khanh’s govern ment of Aug. 25 showed up as press officer of a Buddhist or ganizing committee the fol lowing week. Demonstrating students look directions, by messenger, from a bonze. Dr. Le JChac Quyen, dean of the faculty of medicine in Hue University and a few fellow- professors set up a "People’s Committee for National Salva tion" in Hue and sent paid stu dents out to organize it in other provincial centers. The Hue committee denounced and defined the government. In Dan- ang, Qui Nhon and Hha Trang the committees, in soviet fas hion, arrogated to themselves the powers of local authorities. THESE committees, Buddhist demagogues and the Saigon pa pers that they reportedly sub sidize have lately been promot ing a witch hunt a gainst former members of the Can Lao Nhan Vi (Personalist Labor) party of the late Ngo dinah Nhu. Last winter and spring nobody seemed to think the "Can Lao remnants" dangerous. The pre sent campaign, artificially stimulated and unsupported by hard evidence, la simply a drive to eliminate anticommunists, especially Catholics, from pub lic life. r>ut in Turn M*a*’* #AX MITXBL. 0»Mf MAX'S MKII'S SHOPS iNumii an*. Ct+mnK»*« «*•»»*« OtfttM tluitl ff$ P**«iur*4 S t. t* * $m — at t«u *. In Qui Nhon, for instance, this illegal committee arrest ed or enforced the arrest of 23 persons on Sept. 20 and ensuing days. These per sons, almost all Catholics, had apparently nothing against them until the soviet-style committee arrived to dictate to complaint local officilas. "The Catholics working around here are terri fied," one Qui Nhon resident reported. THE leader of these "People’s Committees," Dr. Le Khac Quyen, has a reputa tion as a leftist. He and his colleagues publish the antigo- vemment weekly review, Lap Truong (Viewpoint), for which the anti-Catholic, anti-Ameri can, neutralist bonze, Thich Tri Quang, has written. Dr. Quyen’s group also pub lish a small daily political sheet, significantly named Thanh Dau (Struggle), Their student followers—many uni versity students in Hue are strongly opposed to them— publish a paper entitled Luc Lu’ong, meaning Force. DR. Quyen and a colleague, editor of Lap Truong, have been named t o the 17-member High National Council created to form a new government. The official Buddhist week ly, Hai Trieu Am (Sound of the Tide) on Sept. 3 published an appeal to "our compatriots of the Liberation Front," that is, the communist Viet Cong, and to the Vietnamese army and "our American friends," for a lessening of bloodshed. It seemed to put both sides pn a par while Implying that the Buddhists are a third party, during this tragic war fare in which their country is defending itself, and religious freedom, against communist aggression. "WE represent the Buddhist Unified Church and we are col lecting for it," said the young men calling at a Buddhist home in Saigon. "We are striving for neutralism. That’s the only way to end the war. But first, the Americans must leave. . ." The Buddhist householder was indignant. Many Buddhists, like her, disapprove strongly of the political bonzes and their maneuvers. THE communist Viet Cong, the "liberation Front," an nounce that they are fighting for a "neutralist" South Vietnam. The radio of the communist government in Hanoi, capital of North Vietnam, espouses the "Liberation Front" and its publicity. The "Front," that is, the Viet Cong, maintains re lations with Peking and Estern European communist states. Its soldiers are equipped with Russian, Czech and Chinese weapons. More than 20 years ago the Vietnamese communists adopt ed the technique of selling their policies under fraudulent la bels. In 1941 they formed the Viet Nam Doc Lap Dong Minh Hoi, Vietnam Independence Le ague (shortened to Viet Minh), an apparently nationalist move ment which they used for their own ends. In 1945 they "dis solved" the Communist party, which reappeared and still lives as the Lao Dong, "Labor," party. Knights Reelect National Staff NEW YORK (NC>—The board of directors of the Knights of Columbus at their quarterly meeting here reelected the na tional officers of the Catholic men’s fraternal society for one-year terms. Reelected were: Supreme Knight John W. McDevitt of Malden, Mass,; Deputy Supreme Knight Dr, John H. Griffen of Hughesville, Md.; Supreme Treasurer Francis J. Heazel of Asheville, N.C,; Supreme Advocate Harold J, Lamboley of Monroe, Wis,; Supreme Chap lain Bishop Charles P. Greco of Alexandria, La,; Supreme Physician Dr. Gerald J. Lunz of Hamilton, Ont.; Supreme Warden Edward J, Bell of Stay- ton, Ore,; and Assistant Su preme Secretary Charles J, Ducey of Hamden, Conn, SAN FRANCISCO’S St. Mary’s Cathedral plan has been modified to gain more unified, smooth-flowing lines. Model above shows entire Cathedral complex, with new St. Vin cent’s high school in center foreground, flanked on right by parish rectory and on left by convent of Daughters of Charity. The new Cathedral will stand in center of a 16-square- block redevelopment area. UPHOLDS PIUS XII Reaffirms Right Of Unborn VATICAN errY (RNS)—Pope Paul VI reaffirmed the teach ing of Pope Pius XII that the di rect killing of an unborn child to save the life of the mother is morally wrong. The pontiff discussed this "fundamental point" in a talk in English to members of the New England Obstetrical and Gynecological Society who were received in audience at the Apostolic Palace, "INNOCENT human life, no matter in what condition it may be, is, from the first instant of its existence," he said, "to be secure from every direct vol untary attack. This is the funda mental right of the human per son and this principle is valid for the life of the life of the child as it is valid for the life of the mother," The Pope added that "we are well aware of the greatness and complexity of problems con nected with these principles and we cherish the hope that your studies, your experience and your conscience will be able to contribute to their proper ap plication for the good of man kind and the greater honor of your profession," POPE Pius XII, in November, 1951, told the Italian National Congress of the Family Front that "never, and in no case, had the Church taught that the life of the child must be pre ferred to that of the mother." But he added that if it was impossible to save both, "noth ing remains" but to "bow re spectfully before the laws of nature and the dispositions of divine providence." IN welcoming the New Eng land group, Pope Paul said "this Families Assist Farm Migrants NYSSA, Ore. (NC)~ Five Cath- olic families spent their sum mer vacations giving religious instruction to the children of Spanish-speaking migrant farm workers in area migrant camps. The families, all associated with the Portland, Ore., Chris tian Family Movement, general ly spent two weeks each at the camps in a program that ex tended over two months. tic« one's religion publicly. Hence the Church proclaims not only the right to one’s opinion and freedom to practice the rites of one’s own religion, but also an individual’s genuine right to observe and to witness his private and public worship before God and men, whether individuals or groups, and to organize according to the precepts of his religion the whole of his own individual, family, educational, cultural, social and chari table life. The exercise of this right must be adapted to the exigencies of the social nature of man. Hence it can be subject to restric tions. But it can be restricted legitimately only when it is in grave conflict with the end of society. Consequently, it is un lawful for state authorities to discriminate in any way against religion. It is , on the contrary, their duty to protect and encourage religious liberty. No. 30 - The freedom of religious groups in social co-exis- tence. Men have the right of free assembly in groups, which groups in turn, within the limits determined by the end of society, have the right to govern themselves according to their own laws, to honor God with public worship, to assist their members In their religious life, and to create institutions of social character based on religious principles. The Catholic Church expects from state authorities a recogni tion of the right of religious liberty in social co-existence.. Any violent oppression of religion itself or of the religion of a determined religious group is in opposition with the Divine Will and with human rights. Religous grops are entitled to carry on sincere and honest propagation of their religion, but they must refrain from any "proselytism" which would employ dishonest means. Civil authorities have no direct power to regulate the relation ships of their citizens with God. Consequently, they may not subject religious groups to the temporal aims of the state. On the contrary, it contributes to the common welfare when con ditions are created which will favor religious life. No. 31 - Religious life in the world today. Today in particular, the problem of religious liberty Is of grea ter urgency because of the more extended contacts which exist between men of different cultures and different religions, be cause of an increased consciousness of personal responsibi lity, because of the juridical organization of today’s civil order- all of which set off in a clearer light the incompetence of the state to establish itself as a judge of religious truth. 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