Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 7—April 7,1977
Missioners Ask Human Rights Backing
MARYKNOLL, N. Y. (NC) - Three
hundred U.S. missionaries in Latin
America have asked U.S. religious
leaders to support President Jimmy
Carter’s stand on human rights.
Their goal, they said, is to put
pressure on oppressive Latin American
regimes to end widespread violation of
human rights.
In a letter, Catholic priests and nuns,
Protestant ministers and rabbis listed a
few names as representative of the
“thousands of people who have been
killed or have disappeared . . . because
they were peacefully working to change
the oppressive social structures in their
countries.”
The list includes:
— U.S. Franciscan Father Jerome
Cypher, killed in Honduras in 1975
along with a Colombian priest, Father
Ivan Betancourt, and 12 campesino
leaders.
— Vladimir Herzog, a Brazilian
journalist of Jewish origin, tortured to
death in a Sao Paulo military jail in
October, 1976.
— Jesuit Father Joao Burnier, shot to
death in Brazil while defending two
women who had been tortured by
police.
— Lutheran Bishop Helmut Frenz,
denied reentry in Chile in 1976 for his
work in defense of political prisoners.
— British Dr. Sheila Casidy, jailed
and tortured in Chile on charges of
aiding wounded guerrillas.
IN SCHOOLS
Lawsuits Decry Secular Humanism
ST. LOUIS (NC) - A four-year-old
legal challenge by parents of nonpublic
school students of the way tax dollars
are used by public schools in this area is
being renewed again this year.
Encouraged by Parents Rights, Inc.,
and Citizens for Educational Freedom
(CEF), some 150 taxpayers in the City
of St. Louis and another group of 500
taxpayers in St. Louis County have filed
WASHINGTON (NC) -- The
Apostolic Delegate in the United States
has reminded Jesuit advocates of
women’s ordination that although
theologians have a valuable role, the
Church’s official teachers “can and must
discern what is changeable and what is
not.”
Archbishop Jean Jadot made the
comment as he forwarded to the
Vatican an open letter from 23
members of the faculty and
administration at the Jesuit School of
Theology in Berkeley, Calif.
The group attacked the recent
Vatican declaration which reaffirmed
the Church’s traditional ban on women
priests, saying the ban “symbolizes
sexual discrimination within the
Church.”
Archbishop Jadot, however, called
for a preservation of the distinctions in
roles to avoid losing the contributions
which women can make to society. He
said that if men’s and women’s roles
were uniform, “the Church and the
whole human family would be poorer,
not richer.”
Following is the full text of the
lawsuits in Circuit Court in both places.
The lawsuits charge that the public
schools teach a doctrine of “secular
humanism” in the classroom. This
doctrine, they say, is a kind of
“religion” that is just as legal under the
U.S. Constitution as sectarian religion.
Use of tax money for such purposes in
the public schools is therefore
unconstitutional and should be halted,
the suits say.
statement by Archbishop Jadot:
As requested by the signers of the
open letter, I have transmitted the
document to the Holy See.
I wish to note the following: as the
declaration states, the Catholic Church
does not consider herself authorized to
admit women to priestly ordination.
Her teaching is normative for Catholics.
As new questions are raised, the
Church is enlightened by the studies of
theologians. But, it is the Church
through her official teachers, under the
guidance of the Holy Spirit, who can
and must discern what is changeable and
_ what is not.
In discussing the role of women in
the Church — a role that everyone
agrees should be expanded — it is
important not to lose sight of the
unique contributions which women can
make. There is, I believe, a danger that
this might happen if the gospel value of
the essential equality of men and
women were to be reduced to a
practical uniformity of roles and
functions. Were this to come about, the
Church and the whole human family
would be poorer, not richer.
Attorney Patrick M. Duggan told the
St. Louis Review, archdiocesan paper,
that the suits, filed in February and
March, continue a four-year-old legal
battle, but attack it on a different front.
“The same kinds of lawsuits that
we’ve filed in 1972, 1974 and 1975
were consolidated, but were then
dismissed in January of this year on a
technicality,” Duggan said.
St. Louis County Circuit Judge
James Enright, who inherited the
consolidated lawsuit from now-retired
Judge Noah Weinstein, dismissed the
suit on two grounds, Duggan said. Judge
Enright ruled that tax protest lawsuits
could apply only to tax assessments, not
to tax expenditures and, in addition,
that tax protests could not be filed as
class action, i.e. group, lawsuits.
George C. Leachman, St. Louis
County tax collector, said that some
$490,000 which had been tied up in
escrow accounts because of protests
from taxpayers concerning the “secular
humanism” issue, would soon be
released on an order signed by Judge
Enright.
Judge Enright’s decision is being
appealed to the Missouri Supreme
Court, Duggan said, “Meanwhile, we’re
filing another case over the 1976 taxes.
Our point is that people still have the
right to sue, until the Missouri Supreme
Court says they can’t.”
However, the new 1976 lawsuit will
be approached somewhat differently,
Duggan indicated. “Instead of asking
that the taxes be withheld from the
public school districts, we’re
complaining that the secular humanism
is unconstitutional, and is an illegal use
of taxpayers money.”
“What we basically want is a trial,”
Duggan said. “If we have to do it by the
appeal or by going the other way, the
important thing is to get a trial on this.”
The Supreme Court appeal could
take as long as a year, he said. The
newer case could come up sooner, in the
various circuit courts. It has been
assigned to Judge Enright in St. Louis
County. There is no judicial assignment
yet in the city circuit court.
ORPIN A TION OF WOMEN
Document ‘Normative’
Says Papal Delegate
MINERS’ MASS Bishop Joseph Hodges of
Wheeling-Charleston, W. Va., gives scripture readings
prior to blessing mining gear at St. James Church in
McMechen, W. Va. About 300 coal miners: their
families, and coal company officials attended the
second annual Coai Mine Safety Mass. (NC Photo by J.
T. Ryan Jr.)
— Jesuits expelled by the Paraguayan
government during a clamp-down on
organizations under Christian
leadership.
— Ten priests murdered in Argentina,
and Bishop Enique Angelelli, killed in a
highway accident in unexplained
circumstances.
The letter, distributed from the
headquarters of the justice and peace
office of the Maryknoll missionaries “in
solidarity” with the signers, also cited
the large number of persons missing or
killed under military governments in
Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and
Uruguay.
Prayers and action have more
meaning, the letter said, “during this
holy season when Christians and Jews
celebrate their most important religious
mysteries which center around passage
from death to life, from slavery to
freedom.”
“We commend all these people
whose human rights have been brutally
violated to your prayers . . . and to your
action,” the missionaries said in asking
Americans to write to the Carter
Administration and to Congress to press
“for effective action against repressive
regimes.”
The missionaries stressed the link
between U.S. foreign policy and the
regimes they accused of violating human
rights, saying:
“We mention these events to you,
fellow Americans, because all these
victims have suffered under military
governments which receive U.S. military
and financial aid paid for by your tax
dollars.”
Such taxes paid for social
development programs and for
armaments, police and military training.
“Do you know that 14 of the 15
military dictators received some of their
training at U.S. military bases?”
The missionaries signing the letter
reminded American audiences that
“President Jimmy Carter has expressed
his intention of making U.S. foreign
policy reflect basic American values,
which are essentially religious values —
especially respect for human rights.”
But he will need citizens’ support to
translate such intentions into action,
they observed.
The missionaries pointed out his
stand on human rights was resulting in
the release of prisoners, and in due
process of law in several nations. But
they warned:
“Any hesitancy on Mr. Carter’s part
because of opposition from vested
interest groups will cause the repression
to heat up again, worse than ever.”
The missionaries said they called for
prayer and action “in the name of those
who have died for peace and justice, in
the name of those in jail today, and to
bring this kind of brutality so repellent
to the Judeo-Christian conscience, to an
end.”
About half of the signers gave their
name, addresses and religious
denomination, with about 120
Catholics, 20 Protestants and one
Jewish rabbi, all working in Central and
South America. Among them were some
30 Maryknollers. Others gave only their
names and birthplace in the United
States. A third group signed John or
Jane Doe “because of fear of reprisals,”
according to the Maryknoll justice and
peace release.
“Even though repression has become
somewhat less apparent, the system in
Latin America has not changed:
congresses are still closed, universities
are tightly controlled, the press
censored, labor unions outlawed and
church groups closely watched,” the
missionaires’ letter said.
INSTALLED IN PHOENIX - Bishop James S. Rausch, former general
secretary for the U.S. Catholic Conference and the National Conference of
Catholic Bishops, sits between Archbishop Jean Jadot, apostolic delegate,
and Archbishop Robert F. Sanchez of Santa Fe, during installation
ceremonies in Phoenix. Bishop Rausch asked the Catholics of the Phoeni k
area to “share our dreams, our hopes and our vision for the future.” (NC
Photo by Paul DeGruccio)
U.S. Priest, Lay Couple
To Council For Laity
VATICAN CITY (NC) - An
American priest and a leading marriage
encounter couple are among 26 clergy
and laity appointed March 25 as
members of the reorganized Pontifical
Council for the Laity by Pope Paul VI.
Msgr. James McHugh, director of the
national conference of Catholic bishops’
pro-life activities secretariat, is among
three priests appointed to the council.
Vatican sources pointed out that
Msgr. McHugh, former director of the
U.S. Catholic Conference family life
bureau, would undoubtedly be among
council members chosen to serve on the
committee for the family, a department
of Council of the Laity.
For the first time in Vatican history,
couples have been chosen as members of
a Curia office. One couple chosen to be
laity council members is American, Mr.
and Mrs. Brad Rigdon.
They are general secretaries of the
International Marriage Encounter
Movement and live in Baldwin, N. Y.
The new laity council’s membership
is made up almost entirely of lay people
— 23 of the 26 appointees are laity.
Half the members are from the Third
World — a fact which was highly praised
among lay circles here.
But several leading lay people voiced
concern over what they consider to be
an inadequate representation of women
on the council.
Nine of the council’s 26 members are
female.
In reorganizing the Council for the
Laity last December, Pope Paul called
for a “suitable proportion between men
and women” on the council.
The Vatican has been lauded for
including many Third World people on
the council and for guaranteeing that a
wide range of lay activities are
represented by council members.
Catholic workers, intellectuals,
ecumenists, youth, and family groups
are all represented by new members.
Bishop Derek Worlock of Liverpool,
England, has also been named a council
member.
Bishop Worlock, a member of the
Synod of Bishops’ permanment council,
has been in the thick of activity since
Vatican council II to develop the role of
laity in the Church.
Canadian laity will be represented on
the council by Mrs. Mary Matthews of
Willowdale, Ont. Mrs. Matthews is
president of the Canadian Catholic
Women’s League.
The council has one Eastern
European member, Marek Skwarnichi of
Poland’s Pax Romana peace movement.
Thomas Lichi Sagara of Japan’s
Catholic University and Mum Sou Cho,
a lawyer from Malaysia, will represent
the Far East.
The council has six members from
Africa, including Mrs. Iris Francis of
Egypt, a member of the World
Movement of Christian Workers
(WMCW).
The vice president of the WMCW,
Miss Angeline de Oliviera, is also on the
new council.
Miss Oliviera, eldest of 16 children of
working class parents, was jailed for a
time in Brazil for her activities in the
Young Christian Workers Organization.
Besides the 26 council members, 14
consultors were also named for the laity
council.
The consultors include Dr.
Rosemany Goldie, former
undersecretary of the laity council and
once the highest-ranking woman in the
Vatican.
Also named consultor is Mrs.
Elizabeth Lovatt-Dolan, president of the
World Union of Catholic Women’s
Organizations. She is from Dublin.
As suggested in the lay council’s
constitution, a nun has been included
among the consultors. She is Mother
Mary Linscott, British-bom president of
the International Union of Women
Superiors General.
The council members, appointed for
five years, are not expected to meet
until the end of this year.
uscc
WASHINGTON (NC) - The speedy
passage of national strip mining
regulations “is necessary to insure that
the development of our coal resources is
in accord with the norms of social
justice,” according to a U.S. Catholic
Conference (USCC) official.
The official, Francis Butler, associate
director for domestic social
development, made his comments in a
letter to members of the House and
Senate subcommittees studying
proposed strip-mining legislation.
Congress passed a strip-mining bill
last session, but it was vetoed by
President Gerald Ford. President Jimmy
Carter has supported strip-mining
legislation.
In addition to his letter, Butler sent
the two committees a strip-mining
statement issued by the USCC
Committee for Social Development and
World Peace.
The USCC committee, he said,
believes strip-mining legislation should
protect “the surrounding community
and environment from undue or
irreversible damage” and insure that
resources “are distributed equitably to
provide for the basic needs of all our
people.”
)
Butler said the committee believes
national legislation should:
— Prohibit strip mining of lands
which cannot be returned to their
original contour or productivity.
Prohibit strip mining on prime
agricultural lands.
— Protect the owner-operators of
surface lands.
— Require and set strict guidelines
for reclamation wherever strip mining is
permitted.
— Provide for the reclamation of
lands previously stripped and
abandoned.
— Establish methods of determining
priority uses for water and other
resources needed for strip mining.
— Require public participation in
determing whether individual sites
should be strip mined.
— Require the coal industry to
observe the laws of individual states
regarding strip mining when these are
stricter than federal law.
— Promote research and development
of less damaging mining techniques.
— Preserve the option for individual
states to enforce stricter mining and
reclamation standards on nonfederal
lands than provided under federal law.
— Provide adequate funding of
enforcement agencies to enable them to
implement strict regulatory programs
fully.
In his letter Butler said coal accounts
for more than 90 percent of all U.S.
hydrocarbon fuel reserves and that in
1975 strip mining accounted for 52
percent of all U.S. coal production.
Butler noted that the bishops of
Appalachia had issued a statement on
“the devastating problems that many of
*
the people of their region have faced as
a result of unregulated coal
production.”
But he said the Federal Energy
Administration has projected that new
strip mining will be focused in Western
and Great Plains states where “new
problems must be anticipated and
prevented.”
“Since the climate is relatively arid in
this region,” he said, “the removal of
thick coal seams and the consequent
disruption of stream and river channels
and underground water supplies pose
the real possibility of permanent
despoiling thousands of produe
agricultural lands.”