VOL. 60. NO. 3 May-June 1965 25 CENTS
"0 JOHN TAYLOR, WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHES Confrontation in Geneva Ca/taliitai .4aAportex Bea &weal Paotor Maitc aateApter WILLIAM H. HACKETT Assignment: Washington
An interpretative report of church, state, and politics on Capitol Hill.
■ Congress may soon be getting legisla- across the State line into Indiana. Mean- tion for a version of calendar reform that while, the Michigan State Legislature has would not upset the cycle of the week. before it a bill granting recognized reli- Architect of the plan, known as the Equi- gious groups authority to operate schools table Calendar, is Father Evarist Kleszcz, up to the eighth grade without a certified who lives at Our Lady of Fatima Friary in teacher. Kenosha, Wisconsin. Rep. Clement J. Zablocki, of Wiscon- ■ Several Congressmen are closely sin, placed the plan before Congress late watching revision of the broadcast applica- in January, in two "extensions of remarks" tion form used by the Federal Communica- filling fourteen columns of the Congres- tions Commission. In the past the form has sional Record. required applicants for a new license, or Father Kleszcz ' s plan, briefly, would even a renewal, to state the extent to which assign thirty days to January, February, they serve, or intend to serve, the reli- March, and April at the first part of the gious needs of their broadcast area. One year, and thirty days to September, Oc- member of Congress told me he thought this tober, November, and December the latter none of the FCC's business. Some claim FCC part of the year. The months between—May, requirements border on the "establishment June, July, and August—would each have of religion," and hold that any reference thirty-one days, making a 364-day year. to religion should be removed from the ap- To offset the "blank day" feature of plication form. other calendars, the Equitable Calendar provides for a "leap week" whenever the ■ The controversial bill that would addition would be necessary to prevent the make October 12, Columbus Day, a legal holi- date of the March equinox from appearing on day is before Congress again. A bill of this the calendar sooner than March 18 or later nature slipped through the Senate last year than March 24. The week would be added at but never reached the House. This year its the end of the year whenever needed. Annual sponsors include Congressman Leonard Farb- holidays would always fall on the same day. stein of New York and Peter Rodino of New Jersey. ■ The Old Order Amish, whose scruples against paying Social Security have brought ■ Acting on the request of a member of them into conflict with the Government on Congress, the U.S. Department of State, several occasions, are finding a number of through its embassy in Athens, has appealed champions in the Eighty-ninth Congress. A to the Greek Council of State to reverse the number of bills, while not naming the Order, decision of the Ministry of National Reli- would give the sect exemption from provi- gious Affairs denying a license to the sions of the Social Security law. The Amish, Church of Christ to establish chapels and who provide for their own aged, want no part conduct services. The Council of State is of Social Security benefits, and for rea- the highest administrative tribunal in sons of conscience feel they cannot con- Greece. tribute to it. Members of the Church of Christ ap- New problems confront the Amish in pealed to their Congressmen when they Michigan, where State officials have learned that American servicemen of their threatened to close an Amish school because denomination stationed with our troops in they do not have a certified teacher. The Greece had no church of their own in which school is church-supported and receives no to attend worship. The Eastern Greek Ortho- State or Federal aid. The teacher is a young dox is the established religion in Greece, woman with an eighth-grade education. and all churches and ministers are subject Several Amish families have already moved to superintendence of the state.
VOL. 60, NO. 3 MAY-JUNE, 1965
EDITOR Roland R. Hegstad
ASSOCIATE EDITORS 25 cents Washington Marvin E. Loewen a copy L IBERTY D.C. W. Melvin Adams A MAGAZINE OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
ART EDITOR Terence K. Martin LIBERTY: A Magazine of Religious Freedom is published bimonthly for the CIRCULATION MANAGER Religious Liberty Association of America by the Review and Herald Publishing Roy G. Campbell Association, Washington, D.C. 20012. Second-class postage paid at Washington, D.C. Address editorial correspondence to 6840 Eastern Avenue NW., Washington, CONSULTING EDITORS D.C. 20012. LIBERTY is a member of the Associated Church Press. W. P. Bradley, Neal C. Wilson, M. V. Campbell, R. L. Odom, Cyril Miller, Theodore Carcich
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS ARTICLES Dr. Jean Nussbaum W. L. Emmerson Kenneth Holland For Export: Our National Genius Dell Murphy
LEGAL ADVISER Boardman Noland Our Most Precious Import: New Citizens Cyril J. Ritchie EDITORIAL SECRETARY Thelma Wellman Your Freedom and Pocketbook: LAYOUT ARTIST At Stake in Annapolis Franklin C. Salisbury Gert Busch 14 Let's Not Seek Aid for Catholic Schools Joseph M. Plevyak RELIGIOUS LIBERTY 18 Confrontation in Geneva Jean Nussbaum ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA 21 Summit Peace Conference Roland R. Hegstad Declaration of Principles
We believe in religious liberty, and hold that 27 Shall We Do Away With this God-given right is exercised at its best when there is separation between church and state. Private Schools? Maurice Hodgen We believe in civil government as divinely ordained to protect men in the enjoyment of their natural rights, and to rule in civil things; Church Properties Should Not Be Taxed, and that in this realm it is entitled to the re- spectful and willing obedience of all. Part II Boardman Noland We believe in the individual's natural and inalienable right to freedom of conscience: to worship or not to worship; to profess, toprac- tice, and to promulgate his religious beliefs, or FEATURES to change them according to his conscience or opinions, holding that these are the essence of religious liberty; but that in the exercise of this right he should respect the equivalent 2 Assignment: Washington William H. Hackett rights of others. We believe that all legislation and other gov- 4 From the Editor's Desk ernmental acts which unite church and state are subversive of human rights, potentially per- 5 "Dear Sir" secuting in character, and opposed to the best interests of church and state; and therefore, that it is not within the province of human 8 For a Peaceful World (poem) Esther Baldwin York government to enact such legislation or per- form such acts. 12 Aid to Schools . . Solving the Tax Problem We believe it is our duty to use every lawful and honorable means to prevent the enactment of legislation which tends to unite church and 17 Voices in the Ecumenical Wind state, and to oppose every movement toward such union, that all may enjoy the inestimable 31 Editorials: Pointless Monuments? . . MacArthur's Contribution blessings of religious liberty. We believe that these liberties are embraced . . . New U.S.-U.S.S.R. Exchange Proposed in the golden rule, which teaches that a man should do to others as he would have others do to him. 32 World News
THE RELIGIOUS LIBERTY ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA was organized in 1889 by the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. Dedicated to the preservation of religious freedom, the association advocates no political or economic theories. General secretary, Marvin E. Loewen; associate secretaries, W. Melvin Adams, Roland R. Hegstad. COPYRIGHT: The entire contents of this issue are copyrighted ® 1965 by the Review and Herald Publishing Association. All rights reserved. SUBSCRIPTION RATES: One year, $1.25; one copy, 25 cents. Slightly higher in Canada. Subscription rates subject to change without notice. All subscriptions must be paid for in advance. Except for sample copies, papers are sent only on paid subscriptions. CHANGE OF ADDRESS OR SUBSCRIPTION CORRESPONDENCE: Please enclose address label from magazine or wrapper. Allow one month for address change. Write: Review and Herald Publishing Association, Washington, D.C. 20012.
MAY-JUNE 3
from the editor's dada
The Commonweal, a Catholic lay journal of commend- "Cancel My Subscription" able independence and scholarship, for showing us how to turn nasty letters to a profit. Under the heading, "Peo- ple Are Raving About The Commonweal," the magazine VERY ONCE in a while we get a letter that sets printed a sampling of scorchers: new standards for vituperation, such as the one al- "I wouldn't have your miserable lying rag if you E luded to in a recent LIBERTY that called us "treach- gave it away . . ."—Anonymous. erous, traitorous, communistic, atheistic, quislings, "Your fine Catholic Communist magazine has but skunks, and traitors," signed by a man who called him- one prayer from me, and that is that you and your self a "patriotic American." Frankly, we admire a like are out of business at once."—Anonymous. writer who has the courage to sign a letter like that; "I am unable to tell your line from the Communist most humans (maybe that's the answer) so gifted with Party line. Cancel my subscription."—Patriot. (Maybe invective modestly disdain a signature. What troubles the same one who wrote us? Or could there be two us more is when the signature follows a "please cancel with such talent? ) my subscription." The Commonweal's pitch: "Take a cue from these A few de facto cancellations have paid off: one satis- readers. Give yourself some leverage. Enter a subscrip- fied new subscriber plucked a LIBERTY from a waste- tion now and have something to cancel. . . . (Cancella- basket in the post office. Another who pieced together tion assured at the drop of a tennis shoe.) " a mutilated LIBERTY, wrote that he "wondered what Splendid! And we, dear reader, will go them one kind of person would tear up such a fine magazine," better: Keep your tennis shoe; we will cancel at the and sent his check. A few misanthropes, whose mothers drop of a purple adjective. may have been frightened by a jigsaw puzzle, have sent the torn up pieces of a LIBERTY back to us, and sug- But it remained for another Catholic journal, Ave gested uses to which we might put their handiwork. Maria, to show the way to affluence through cancella- tions. An article favoring fluoridation so incensed a A Boston lawyer, to whom someone had sent a gift Texas reader that he canceled his subscription, and, still subscription, was himself inspired to charity. He wrote not satisfied, took out a second seven-dollar subscription, that he carefully saves his copies, collects additional for the pleasure of canceling that! With the admirable LIBERTIES from offices in his building (if your LIB- sensitivity for which editors are noted, Ave Maria for- ERTY has been missing, watch that door! ), bundles them warded the additional seven dollars to the American up, and sends them to a Catholic order in his town to Society for Fluoridation. be sold for wastepaper, proceeds to go for Catholic missions. He was inspired to this philanthropy, he wrote, What with the spirit of aggiornamento permeating without ever reading beyond our masthead page. (We even printers' ink, we would like to see our Catholic felt his case against us was characterized by an amazing editorial brethren accumulate a few indulgences by for- lack of research, as he admitted, and suggested that, in warding us the address of their ex-Texas subscriber. We fairness to his clients, he do more thorough research in have an article on hand that, we think, might make him their behalf before setting foot in court, where judges are want to tap an oil well or two. used to deciding cases on their merits.)
We can hardly feel animosity toward the objects of his charity, however, for we ourselves are indebted to
4 LIBERTY, 1965 BROAD-MINDED JACK STAUFFER Newton, Kansas
I read your magazine for the first time recently in our local 1 library. I enjoyed a few of your articles but can hardly call it broad-minded, as one of your readers did. ear Your editorial page pretty well shows up your bias. It seems that you are more alarmed about the possible spending of one billion dollars for poverty in the United States than you are about our fifty-billion-dollar defense budget. [Some people today are getting so broad-minded that there I am surprised that this conflict in decisions did not occur is preciously little of substance left between their ears. In our to your many contributors. Perhaps it offers another opportu- views we do try to stick to the strait and narrow, the scriptural nity to test the Sunday-closing laws before the United States way. Supreme Court. As to the anti-poverty program, it is, as such, not the concern of LIBERTY: This journal deals with religious liberty and not social or economic theories. We do understand Scripture to WAYNE E. MOORE indicate that God approves of the man (if not government) Butte, Montana who deals bread to the needy, clothes the naked, houses the homeless. And we like Mr. McNamara for whacking the stuff- You will be interested in the fact that a Sunday-closing Bill ing out of the defense budget without jeopardizing our de- was defeated in the Montana Legislature this week [February fenses. Our concern is with the unconstitutional handouts to 1-6]. A. J. Gordon, president of the Montana Conference parochial schools which, if lessons of the past in other lands of Seventh-day Adventists, and three pastors, of whom I was have meaning, could ultimately not only sidetrack billions of dollars into church coffers but also infect our shores with the one, were almost alone in opposing it against a large group of virus of clericalism, which sent our forefathers packing from proponents—mostly businessmen and union representatives— their homelands two centuries ago.—Eo.1 in the committee hearing. Mr. Gordon gave a copy of LIBERTY to each of the lawmak- H. J. F. ers, and it was good to look down from the gallery and see Raymond, Washington Senators here and there reading LIBERTY while business was going on. The editors of your magazine are broad-minded, period. I believe you had a part in the defeat of this bill, and I did not know that such a forthright, informative, and thank you. Keep up the good work. golden-rule-type religious publication existed! Now I feel like reading the Bible again. Enclosed find subscription money order to LIBERTY: A STANLEY B. ALLPER, Attorney at law Magazine of Religious Freedom. Seattle, Washington I enjoyed your January-February issue regarding Sunday- SUNDAY-CLOSING LAWS closing, particularly, I suppose, because I agree with your views. Perhaps, however, my reasons for concurring in your JOSEPH J. SPROED result do not coincide with yours. . . . Sweet Home, Oregon Closing stores on any given day, though it may force CONGRATULATIONS. LIBERTY HAS EXCELLED EV- some persons into church for want of other activity, is unlikely ERY PRECEDENT. THE JAN-FEB 1965 ISSUE IN TOTO to make them more religious. Religion's value is in its con- —A STUNNING DEFENSE AND CHAMPIONING OF tinuous practice, every day of the week, not in its forced formal observance. MAN'S RIGHTS UNDER GOD AND GOVERNMENT. While I have serious reservations as to whether the bulk of our blue laws are unconstitutional, I do believe they are LEO D. ADOLPH, Attorney at law in the respect that they discriminate against those persons New York who have no religion. As basic as is the American freedom The January-February 1965 issue of LIBERTY contains a to choose among religions, the freedom to choose none is cogent review of the Sunday-closing laws and their denial of equally fundamental. Sundaykeeping discriminates against the "freedom of religion" clause of the First Amendment. many good people who do not have a religion. The United States Supreme Court in 1961 in McGowan v. Maryland ( 366 U.S. 420) refused to relieve the petition- ers from the economic burden resulting from their observance RAY STEELE ORME, Pastor of the Sabbath plus the enforced closing on Sunday. The First Alliance Church Court for its purpose created the legal fiction that Sunday- St. Petersburg, Florida closing laws now serve a secular purpose. In 1963 in Sherbert v. Verner (374 U.S. 398) the same Court seems to have cast You align yourself in theory, if not in action, with Mrs. doubt on its prior ruling. In the Sherbert case the Court held Murray in getting the Bible out of the schools; you align that to refuse a Seventh-day Adventist member the benefits yourself with the liberals in keeping it out of the schools; of the Unemployment Compensation Law because of her and in your last issue you took up the cudgels of the irreli- refusal to work on the Sabbath would, in effect, impose an gious, and devoted practically the entire issue to hammering economic burden or penalty upon her free exercise of reli- away at the so-called blue laws. gion. As far as I am concerned, your magazine has about as
MAY-JUNE 5 much moral content as Playboy; with a few pictures your cused. Admittedly, the probability exists of some degree of circulation should skyrocket. social pressure, but this is an element everybody bumps up against generally, and I don't see how it could be avoided. Cer- Playboy, [The editors of LIBERTY are not acquainted with tainly no legal coercion would be in effect. Nevertheless, I and therefore are unqualified to evaluate its moral content. We would assume from your letter that it is a picture maga- agree with you to the extent of believing that school prayers zine. At any rate, we find that our letters column is quite an are quite undesirable. effective circulation upper. After most issues we receive letters 2. In considering your critique of the crusade that has saying, "If so-and-so's thinking is representative of a signifi- been conducted by that atheistic lady to tax church properties, cant segment in society, we do need LIBERTY. Renew my sub- I agree with her and you that businesses run by churches scription."—En.) should be taxed. However, I cannot concur in your belief that church buildings with no profit-making involvements JACK GIBSON, Pastor should be exempt from taxation. Churches accept services ren- Rocky Mountain Baptist Church dered by the state, notably fire protection and police protec- Ennis, Montana tion. It seems to me that for churches to accept these services without helping in their financial upkeep places the churches I do not feel that you are concerned for true religious in a mendicant position. The church should never ask the liberty in America for Christians of all faiths, but rather world for handouts; its function is to offer the world the that your magazine is simply a propaganda arm of the Sev- greatest gift of all, the good news of Jesus Christ! enth-day Adventist Church. It is designed to oppose Sunday- closing laws primarily to serve the ends of said church. In [1. The Bible-reading laws of Pennsylvania and Maryland, favoring Sunday-closing laws we are not imposing Sunday- which were upset by the Supreme Court, did not, at the time they were challenged in the lower courts, include an exemp- keeping on you. It [sic] only serves to take the Lord's day tion clause for youth who did not desire to attend religious out of the realm of commercialism and make it a day conse- exercises. An exemption clause was written into law in both crated to Him. If you had strength to pass a Saturday-closing States after the litigation had begun. law, despite all your flag waving, I think you would. 2. Two compelling arguments can be made on this point. Please cancel my subscription. The editors of LIBERTY could subscribe to the church's paying for fire protection and police protection—in a word, paying [Show us an Adventist who seeks the passage of civil laws consecrating Saturday, and if, after an appearance before the for all services. But taxation of the church sanctuary would, board of his church, he does not repent of his folly, we will we believe, open the way for the state—where controlled by show you an ex-church member. Remember: Adventists go to men of anticlerical leanings or by a majority church group church every Saturday past open discount stores, drugstores, contemptuous of the rights of minority groups and sects—to furniture marts, grocery stores. They do not need a coercive pat tax congregations right out of existence. A look at what has on the back from Caesar to get them to church. Nor do they been attempted in some areas under the urban renewal pro- subscribe to the legalism that says a holy day can be consecrated gram adds substance to this conclusion.—ED.} to God by civil law. Certainly we can approve of individual Baptists taking the KENNEDY'S GRAVE Lord's day out of the realm of commercialism by making it a day consecrated to God. But should the church seek to do so DOROTHY N. LLOYD by state law? And if, indeed, God is honored when the state Spring City, Pennsylvania "consecrates" the day on which Christ rose from the dead, would He not be thrice honored should the state enforce the The excellent picture of President Kennedy's grave thattap- mode of baptism—immersion—which bears witness of Christ's pears on the November-December issue of LIBERTY shows death, burial and resurrection? Think how many Baptists this clearly the military hats I saw last summer when I was there. law would make! (On the other hand, think what kind of I hadn't noticed them in pictures I had seen before, and had Baptists this law would make.) And then thank God, with us, never heard them mentioned. I suppose there is a symbolism for Baptists who bear witness that a Sunday law written in a involved. State capitol can never substitute for God's law written in the Can you tell me why they are there, and whether they heart. Such as those who wrote the following lines in the are likely to remain there permanently? I have never known Baptist Declaration on Religious Liberty: "We cannot escape whom to ask. I'm hoping you can supply this information. the opinion that Sunday laws represent an effort to use the police power of the State to enforce a religious holiday and [The highest tribute a military man can pay to a fallen com- provide by law one day in each week for the worship of rade is to place a distinctive article of his uniform on the grave. Almighty God. Christians should need no support from the Therefore, as a token of respect and honor, representatives of State in observing with reverence, thanksgiving, and public each branch of the service placed their hats on the grave of gatherings for worship and Bible study the first day of the their commander in chief. These offerings had a real signifi- week. It has been truly said: 'The right sort of Sunday can cance in the ritual of a military funeral. They meant as much only come from the development of an inner spirit.' "—ED.) as the sound of Taps and the gun salutes that were fired. They are not to be there permanently, but will be removed when TAKES ISSUE the Kennedy Memorial is erected.—ED.} DWIGHT E. ALLEN RIGHT SOURCE IMPORTANT Clearwater, Florida GILBERT D. PEARSON I picked up a copy of LIBERTY in my doctor's office and Woodlake, California became quite interested, approving heartily of its support of the Supreme Court decision invalidating State-prescribed I have just read your editorial entitled "Tongues in Cheek." prayers in public schools. But after reading (admittedly hast- I agree wholeheartedly with your views concerning Uncle ily) the July copy of LIBERTY, I am inclined to take issue Caesar, or Uncle Sam, and "rendering too much unto himself." with you on two points. But being a minister of the United Pentecostal Church, 1. You speak of coercion as having existed in school reli- which believes and practices speaking in tongues as the gious exercises. If I understand it correctly, no school dis- Spirit gives utterance, I would like to advise Uncle Caesar, or ciplinary element exists or would exist if school prayers were Uncle Sam, that it would not cost nearly so much to investigate to be allowed. Pupils not wishing to participate would be ex- To page 34
6 LIBERTY, 1965 Not our technology but our concept of freedom is our greatest bequest to the world
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. 4At "..1. di For Expart dP OUR NATIONAL GENIUS
By DELL MURPHY
AST month I listened to a learned Hindu talk about "national genius," as he saw it, lay in the field of tech- his dream of a world in which each nation con- nology—our contributions to the physical comfort and tributes "according to its national genius" to a well-being of people in far corners of the world. peaceful family of nations—"Like an orchestra, each Though we have made a genuine contribution here, playing its own instrument, but blending to create har- I believe our greatest bequest to the world is the con- mony." cept of freedom upon which our nation was founded. He spoke of the outward similarity of the world's Was it not, after all, because we were functioning with- great cities today, of the superficial sameness in airports out shackles that we were able to achieve the progress and tourist accommodations and government offices. that provided material comforts and made a better But under this common veneer, he pointed out, there standard of living possible to all mankind? are deep cultural and ethnic differences that have sur- Liberty came first; and before that, the dream of vived for centuries and are resistant to change. liberty, the deep belief in the rightness of liberty. Surely The Hindu saw these differences as a valuable herit- this is our "national genius." Our Constitution, our Bill age, and reasoned that all mankind could be enriched of Rights, our Declaration of Independence—these are if we select from each what is good and wise. America's our real gifts to the world!
MAY-JUNE 7
"All men ... are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights," says our Declaration of Independence. Note that it does not say "some men" or "semi-un- alienable"; the statement is unqualified. The five great Americans who drew up this document were explicit and definite in their contention that all men are entitled to "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." Believing this, Americans have a social conscience. In trying to ensure that all men enjoy "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness" we have shared our blessings with the underprivileged to an unprecedented degree. But when we share with others the convictions set forth in our Declaration of Independence, we share the very essence of our greatness. And this—our concept of freedom—is something that we can give again and PEACE CORPS PHOTOGRAPH BY MORTON R. ENGELBERG again and still keep. Lucy Wallace, 23, of Mound, Minnesota, teaches a French class at the University of Ife, in Ibadan, Nigeria. Lucy These wise and learned men—Thomas Jefferson, is one of 506 Peace Corps volunteers serving in Nigeria. Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston—went on to say that "to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Here is our most valuable export—this central idea, Men, deriving their just powers from the consent contained in our first national document and woven into of the governed." the fabric of our thinking! Surely this brief statement is the very key that un- locks the door to freedom! Great truths usually are THIS DOCUMENT, this Declaration of Independ- simple; and this one sentence places the individual and ence, is in itself an affirmation of the signers' concept of society squarely in perspective. Man does not exist for the proper relationship between the government and the state. The state exists for man. Society has no exist- the governed. It begins with these solemn words: ence apart from the individuals who comprise it. And "When in the course of human events, it be- government has no value except as it secures the rights comes necessary for one people to dissolve the po- of those individuals. litical bands which have connected them with another . . . a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation." FOR A PEACEFUL WORLD These men had a "decent respect" for the opinions of by ESTHER BALDWIN YORK mankind! "Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Govern- Today I walked where many cultures came ments long established should not be changed for To share their varied customs with each other light and transient causes." In gay festivity, in song and game And breaking bread, as brother will with brother. They then list the causes, setting them down clearly Dark almond eyes smiled into Viking blue; and logically for all men to see and evaluate, because Brown hands were clasped in friendship with the fair. they felt that people—just common ordinary people— Bright native costumes mingled every hue, had a right to know! And foods of all the nations spiced the air. Whether or not we recognize it, the pursuit of God is part of the "pursuit of Happiness." Our founding Here was no fear, no hint of dark intent, fathers did not conceive it to be a function of government Only a deep respect, a wish to learn, An understanding of what others meant to intercede between God and man, or to tell us when or Beneath the skin where common fires burn. how or by what path we should seek God. Neither did they have the effrontery to try to substitute government Could not all peoples of the world's far lands in place of God. In the final paragraph of the Declara- Be free to differ, and yet still join hands? tion of Independence they acknowledge their own reli- ance upon Him. "We, therefore, the Representatives of the
8 LIBERTY, 1965 United States of America, in General Congress the imagination. Men clung to the miserable comfort of Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of monarchs, finding a sense of security in their bondage. the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, When the king of France fled from Paris in 1791 the in the Name, and by authority of the good Peo- people were terrified, and they welcomed him back, pre- ple of these Colonies, solemnly publish and de- ferring known despotism to the unexplored terrain of clare, That these United Colonies are, and of freedom. In the ancient cities of the Old World, free- Right ought to be, Free and Independent States." dom was tried and discarded again. But in America So in all humility they offered their motives and everything was new, and this untried dream had a the fruit of their labors to the scrutiny of God. And in chance. The men and women in America had already the same paragraph they acknowledge the dignity of discarded security. They discarded it when they boarded man. the Mayflower. Not that the delicate plant of freedom sprang over- night full-bloomed from the soil. The chill wind of M INDS LONG ACCUSTOMED to tyranny found it intolerance retarded its growth, the blighting hail of difficult to grasp the concept of freedom. In 1776 most slavery tore at it. But the storm swept by and the plant of the world found the idea too big, too staggering to struggled toward maturity, for the soil was good. The
OUR MOST PRECIOUS IMPORT: NEW CITIZENS
by C. J. RITCHIE
On behalf of nearly 400 new citizens naturalized What a difference in this fair land! Others have recently in Portland, Oregon, C. J. Ritchie, a former rightly extolled the wonderful productivity of our British subject born in India, bespoke appreciation countless acres, which extend toward the sunset. for American citizenship. Among his remarks, de- They have praised our palatial schools, our ingen- livered at a reception in the Public Auditorium, were ious mass-production factories, our labor-saving, the following: mechanized homes and shops; our stores bulging We come here from thirty-eight countries, some with a million alluring and easily accessible articles free, some oppressed; some backward, some devel- of merchandise. While all these material benefits oped. Whether from before or behind the iron cur- are attractive, to most of us the standard of living tain, we come with one conviction—we emerge into of the laboring man; the inventiveness, dignity, and the welcome atmosphere of true liberty. magnanimity of capital; the freedom of press and Our material advantages here are in excess of radio; and the free expression of political views mean anything to be found anywhere else in the world. It much more. seems to us that many who are born and brought up But to some of us, it is something else yet that in the United States take so much for granted. Did makes America truly great. I refer to the liberty of you know that the only way, in some countries, to conscience we here have to worship God according obtain such a common article as a quart of unadul- to the dictates of conscience. terated milk is to have a milkman bring his cow to On the part of the founding fathers of this na- your door and have him milk the animal into your tion, it took vision, faith, courage, and industry to container in your presence? In many lands a bottle win these great principles, and it will take eternal of milk could not be left outside your door for even vigilance to preserve them. Under the most difficult five minutes. Did you know that millions in other circumstances they planted the tree of liberty and lands have never sat in an automobile, much less watered it with blood and tears. We must cultivate owned one? Stone slabs, paddles, and scrub boards it with sincere faith, honest labor, and consecrated are still the only washing machines countless over- loyalty; and fertilize it with sacrificial benevolence burdened housewives know. until its blessed fruit shall be the possession of all Did you realize that myriads suffer and die with- mankind. out medical aid, in our former homelands? Women It shall be our purpose so to live and labor that are slaves to their husbands, bought and sold for the vibrant tones of the old Liberty Bell shall yet a few coins; millions of children are weak, sickly, peal forth o'er all the earth, bringing to those in sore-covered, and ever hungry, cold, homeless. Did bondage the glad news of the glorious freedom we you know that in many lands you do not choose your enjoy. I am sure I voice the sentiment of my fellow work or your home; that your very movements are citizens when with sincerity I pray, "God, bless restricted and your purchases and sales controlled? America!"
the sun for growth and flowering. So in the past two centuries ideas born in many parts of the world were brought to full fruition in America, building the technology that raised man's standard of living. Our great industrial and technological advances did not come p about because we were racially superior to other people. Racially, we are all people. These things came about because in a free society man's natural energies function most effectively.
BUT THERE ARE STILL those who mistrust free- dom. They long for a dictatorship as a child longs for its father. They want to be told what to think, when and where to worship, how to direct their energies. They want to be assigned their place in society. This type of security was provided under the feudal systems and the old monarchies. In our generation one can find false PEACE CORPS PHOTOGRAPH BY PHIL HARDBERGER security by losing oneself in the faceless anonymity of Peace Corpsman Thomas Spear, 22, of Litchfield, Connecticut, helps math students at the Bwawa the mass man in a totalitarian society. Upper Primary School, in Mbozi, Tanzania. Dictatorship, in one guise or another, is one of the oldest social systems in the world. It yet has strong ap- peal for two common types, the bully and the weak- new nation was "conceived in liberty and dedicated ling, and when cloaked in the garb of paternalism, finds to the proposition that all men are created equal." The persuasive support even in our free society. Civil War was followed by a resolve: "That these dead We cannot save our freedoms by hugging them to us shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, and running for cover. Instead, we must hold them up, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that govern- polished and shining and intact, for the world to see. ment of the people, by the people, for the people, shall We must recognize that the founding of a free republic not perish from the earth." was our greatest achievement and the highest affirma- A climate of freedom is in itself conducive to great- tion of our "national genius." Let us blow our own horn ness. Greatness is nurtured by the right to think and in the orchestra of the world's ideas and ideologies. The argue and reason, and to act as reason dictates. The dictatorships are beating the drum for their beliefs loud free marketplace produces not only the best goods but and strong. We must make our song of freedom so also the best minds. clear and true and sweet that men everywhere will be Great minds reach for freedom just as plants seek happy to dance to our tune. ***
The ship Hope, sup- ported by gifts from the people of the United States, is sent on errands of mercy to countries that ask for medical help. Your Freedom and Pocketbook:
ES," I told Alice, "it is fitting that a great At Stab church-state issue, should be joined in the court- yhouse here in old Annapolis." We had just walked along some of the principal streets—King George's, Prince George's, Hanover, Ih Duke of Gloucester—reminders of the Colonial prom- inence of Annapolis. Near where we stopped to ad- mire the beautiful State house with its lofty white dome and pillared portico, built in 1772, George Washington resigned his commission as commander in chief of the Annapolis Continental Army. The Annapolis Convention of 1786, the first major meeting of delegates from the then new States, led to the eventual adoption of our Constitu- tion, with its gift of religious liberty. Now this historic capital of Maryland was resounding By with spirited debate over the meaning of the First Amendment. "And don't make the mistake of thinking FRANKLIN C. SALISBURY of the issue in purely theoretical terms," I told Alice. "What's decided here may have a decisive effect on the future of religious freedom in America. Not to men- tion its effect on your pocketbook." Alice clutched her outsize purse protectively. "Do Handouts of tax dollars to the non- tell me more," she murmured. "You see that church over there—St. Anne's religious segments of two Catholic and Episcopal church?" I said, pointing to a Colonial struc- two Protestant colleges in Maryland ture. "In later Colonial days that was a state church, have been challenged in an Annapolis taxpayer-supported, and an arm of the Government. court. With the aid of her trusty look- Actually, the issue before the court today is not much ing glass, Alice N. Wonderland comes different. It involves the legality of a series of financial up with a controversial decision. grants by the Maryland State Legislature to two college 'arms' of the Roman Catholic Church and two which claim, somewhat apologetically, to be appendages of Protestant denominations. The question is, 'Can the state aid churches in their educational activities?' " Alice looked up from her looking glass. "You know what Alexis de Tocqueville said, back in the early days of our Constitution: 'I have never been more struck by the good sense and the practical judgment of the Ameri- cans than in the manner in which they elude the num- berless difficulties resulting from their Federal Consti- tution.' "
MAY-JUNE 11 AID TO SCHOOLS major "check and balance" left to the judiciary now Judge 0. Bowie Duckett ruled on March comes from its authority to decide constitutional issues 11 that grants totaling $2.5 million for two raised by State taxpayers against State misuse of funds. Protestant-related and two Catholic-related These State questions usually parallel some Federal con- colleges were constitutional. stitutional principle, therefore a roundabout method re- Arguments based on national defense mains. and public welfare figured prominently in "Maybe the judges dozed off when Frothingham was the judge's decision. being argued," Alice said. "Or maybe they just wanted The case will now be taken to the Mary- to put Alexis to the test." land Court of Appeals by attorneys for the "Alexis?" suing taxpayers. "Yes, Alexis de Tocqueville. He said—" A spokesman for the Horace Mann "Never mind. I remember." League, which brought the suit, called the case a "major breakthrough" in issues of this kind because it "established the tax- I MET ALICE AT the Circuit Court for Anne Arun- payer's legal standing to bring suit." He del County, Maryland. We were squeezed together by a called chances that the decision would be reversed in the higher courts "excellent." row of newspaper reporters and church journal editors. We couldn't all quite fit. So we just had to introduce ourselves. Alice said her full name was Alice N. Won- derland. I didn't quite catch the name of her school. A I replied that a good joke is a good joke, but that the lawyer concerned with church-state principles, I was effort to evade the wall of separation between church there to observe the proceedings and report on them. and state is getting beyond just fudging a bit for prac- With the traditional lack of expertise of a date at a ticality. "Right while this case is being digested by Judge football game, Alice kept asking me to explain the 0. Bowie Duckett, Federal aid to church schools is be- plays and players. ing promoted by that greatest vote collector in American I gave her a capsuled explanation. "The case—with history—President Lyndon Johnson. In his first State of the Nation address to leaders of the three branches of Government on TV assembled, he promised the tax- payers' support for church schools in aid of the poor SOLVING THE TAX PROBLEM and the parochial. The Federal Vocational Education Act To all those who want the taxpayers of the and the Administration's Antipoverty Program raise community to underwrite the cost of a spe- constitutional issues that are no laughing matter." cial interest private school, I respectfully All told, forty-two (42) departments, agencies, and submit the following solution. bureaus of the Federal government are involved in edu- Let's return public school taxes to all par- cation to some degree. For "higher education loans" there ents who send their children to parochial are now one hundred and thirty-five agencies in the busi- schools. Also, let's return these same taxes ness of doling out tax money. Five million children are to those having no children in school. Then classified as coming from poverty-stricken families of we'll return tax money used for national de- which an estimated fifteen per cent are in parochial fense to all people whose religious convic- tions do not permit armed conflict. Next, schools. All in all, Federal programs mounting to hun- refund Social Security payments to those dreds of millions of dollars have already been passed by people of means who will never receive their Congress, and it will take a billion or more to completely benefits. satisfy the needs of church schools. In addition, let's reimburse all tax money Alice peered over her looking glass, which she had the used for public swimming pools to those own- habit of scrutinizing with womanly regularity, and said, ing private pools and return all tax money "I wonder why a suit of such importance and involving used for road construction to those not hav- essentially a Federal question is being argued in old ing an automobile. How about the thousands Annapolis. Why not in Washington?" of people who own large farms and never use the public parks? We'll return their tax pay- I explained that it is primarily because back in 1923 ments too. the United States Supreme Court, in Frothingham v. After all taxes have been returned, we'll Mellon, effectually deprived the taxpayer of his right to return the country to the Indians and all test the constitutionality of Federal statutes in the Fed- jump in the lake.—Non-Swimmer, Buffalo eral courts. This Frothingham decision was about the Evening News, Oct. 4, 1963. East Aurora, same as if the court had cut off its own right arm. The N.Y.
12 LIBERTY, 1965 MT •
TO WHOM IT MAY CON- CERN: Any resemblance to churches (living or dead) seeking aid at the state tax bucket is purely coinciden- tal. And just because the calves have come to look upon the buckets as father and mother does not mean that churches weaned on Federal funds will forget what they came from or to whom their loyalty belongs. All such conclusions are the product of minds that refuse to accept this picture for what it is—entertainment.
HAROLD M. LAMBERT
the ponderous title of Horace Mann League of the to its church schools is indistinguishable to me from ren- United States, Inc. et al. v. Tawes, et al.—is sponsored dering the same aid to the church itself." by educators on behalf of public education. Although Though the State says it is helping these colleges be- political, religious, and civil rights questions will be cause it wishes to relieve the financial burden on itself raised, they are incidental. The major sponsoring plain- occasioned by its operation of State colleges, the case tiff is a nonprofit group called the Horace Mann League, will stand or fall on issues rooted in church-state rela- made up of educators favorable to the public school tions. system. Their chairman is Dr. Edgar Fuller of Wash- ington, D.C. Dr. Fuller has been executive secretary of the Council of Chief State School Officers, which repre- A LICE WANTED to know what schools were in- sents heads of public school systems in the fifty States." volved. I told her first of Saint Joseph's College, "Sort of a truant officer," Alice said. founded way back in 1810 in Emmitsburg, Maryland, "Truant officer?" where the venerable Mother Elizabeth Anne Seton lived "Yes. Out hunting for straying dollars." and pioneered in Catholic education. The first free Alice was peering into her looking glass again Catholic parochial school, a model for the whole nation, when I looked at her. But mirror or no mirror, the girl's was set up in Emmitsburg by Mother Seton. stock had gone up. Dr. Fuller was interested in straying Testimony in the courtroom showed that there was dollars. no question as to the importance of religion in the cur- "The complaint in this suit," I continued, "arises from riculum offered by Saint Joseph's. Religious guidance the plans of the State of Maryland to give tax revenues is the most important part of the cultural environment to certain colleges in Maryland to help them build and provided to a young woman of fashion. There was no maintain science buildings, dormitories, dining halls, question concerning who owns and operates Saint Jo- and much-needed secular additions to a healthy educa- seph's. Its charter provided that "the Board of Trustees tional institution." is composed of not less than five, and not more than "What's wrong with that?" Alice queried. fifteen members, of which members, the Director and "Don't forget the plaintiff's claim that these colleges the Sister Counsellors of the Emmitsburg Province of are church colleges," I replied. "Church-related schools the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul shall and colleges are not entitled to taxpayer support under always be a part." the constitutional principle of separation of church and Courses in religion are required. In many years 100 state." per cent of the students were Roman Catholic. Of the I reminded her that Justice Jackson of the Supreme funds required for its operation, almost all are contrib- Court, in his dissenting opinion in the famous Everson uted by the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de case, pointed out: "Catholic education is the rock on Paul. Mass is compulsory on Sundays and three other which the whole structure rests, and to render tax aid To page 33
MAY-JUNE 13 Concerned over attempts of his church leaders to
secure public funds for support of their parochial schools, a Catholic
parent tells why he feels their course is unwise.
By JOSEPH M. PLEVYAK Reading, Pennsylvania
Rather than make these accusations of inequality we, as American Catholics, should first look at the origin and purpose of both public and parochial schools. Education in our nation and State had its origin with Let's NOT Seek the church. Each particular denomination established its own schools supported by its members. At that time the individual church groups were also pressuring our Aid for elected officials for aid to their parochial schools. Penn- sylvania passed the first free Public School Act in 1824. Several religious denominations almost in a body placed Catholic Schools themselves in opposition to the new law, and had it re- pealed in 1826 without its having been put into effect. These religious groups, predominantly Protestant, were not opposed to education. They had proved their inter- est in it by establishing their own schools. In these, in accordance with the rules of their churches and the customs of their fathers, their children had long been S AN American and a Catholic I do not feel it instructed by teachers of their own appointment in the wise to seek aid from the state for the benefit of several branches of secular knowledge and in the sacred Catholic parochial schools. In this attitude I dis- doctrines of religion. sent from the leaders of my church. I do not approve of These groups had built schoolhouses and provided their course, and I am disturbed by the manner in which school accommodations with their own money. Many they are pressing their claims. were careful to provide free instruction for children of Catholic newspapers, pamphlets (brought home by their own poor, and to some extent for all poor children school children), and church sermons imply that there residing within reach of their schools. With the insti- exists an inequality—"double taxation for Catholic tution of public schools, these groups were faced with a parents"—and that Catholic children are deprived of hard choice—to abolish schools which they had estab- the various services given other members of our society, lished and were willing to support or to continue them especially the public school child. It is also inferred that and yet be compelled to pay taxes for the support of this type of aid does not mean aid to the parochial common schools in which they had little interest. The school. This half-truth type of approach will divide most difficult task for them was to sever the church from our communities, spawn Christian disunity, and eventu- the school, to divorce what, in their view, God had ally destroy our great nation. joined together and to secularize the school and be com-
14 LIBERTY, 1965 DEAR OLD GOLDEN RULE DAYS—The Grand Junction, Colorado, Seventh-day Adventist school bus picks up Catholic students, whose parents help pay bus expenses. pelled to educate their children where they could receive Canon 1374: Catholic children must not attend non-Catholic, no positive religious instruction. neutral, or mixed schools. . . . It is for the Bishop of the place alone to decide, according to the instructions Our forefathers, although they had great opposition of the Apostolic See, in what circumstances and with from these church groups, saw the wisdom of establish- what precautions attendance at such schools may be ing a state-supported school for all children regard- tolerated without danger of perversion to the pupils. less of race, color, or religion. Men like Gov. George In a handbook entitled What About Catholic Schools, Wolf, Thaddeus Stevens, and others in our common- published by the Catholic Information Society, I read: wealth did not want our nation to become divided on "We Catholics have a very efficient school system, all religious issues as were nations in Europe; therefore our own, presided over by a teaching force which be- they established, in 1834, public schools for Pennsyl- gins with the gentle little sisters in the first grade and vania. It would have been easier, and they more popu- ends with research specialists hiding behind double- lar, had they taken the course many of our present-day barreled spectacles in University libraries. politicians are taking; but had they done this, where "We hold that children do not learn enough in the would our nation be today? Common schools. They are never taught about Jesus One need only read The History of Education in and their soul. Non-Catholics may regard all these sub- Pennsylvania, by James Pyle Wickersham, to note jects as matters of opinion, patient of arguments; but how divided the State, communities, and families were Catholics have always held their beliefs as matters of at this period in history because of segregated religious fact. So rather than send our children to schools where schools. the whole thing is ignored, we Catholics prefer to build and maintain our own schools, and train and support CATHOLIC PAROCHIAL SCHOOLS were established an independent body of teachers. by the church primarily for religious indoctrination and "A great part of non-Catholic America has given up operated by church officials for church members; the those beliefs, or hold them only in a loose way; espe- schools, therefore, should be supported by church mem- cially, one might say, the intellectual leaders of the bership. country, the writers of schoolbooks and the teachers in The following excerpts from the Code of Canon Law normal schools, so that, strangely, to mention God's state the official position of the Catholic Church on name in a public classroom is to poke at a hornet's nest education: and worse than that, to commit a breach of good taste. Canon 1373: The church has the right to establish schools God, if He is at all, is to be ignored. of every grade, not only elementary schools, but also high schools and colleges. In every school religious "We do not know the whole truth about Columbus instructions adapted to the age of the children must be if we do not know that he brought priests with him on given. his second and third voyage to convert the Indians, and
MAY-JUNE 15 how else was the Mississippi discovered if not by wan- The letters were to be sent to school with the children. dering priests in search of souls to baptize." Said the instructions: "No stamp is necessary, for these At one time we were very proud that we had the letters will be delivered personally to the Senator." privilege under the Constitution to send our children to free public schools with all other American children or to provide our own segregated parochial schools. If NOW LET'S LOOK at the facts related to transport- our choice was segregated parochial schools, as Catholic ing children to school. The public school bus system was parents, we were happy to assume the responsibility of not established by the state with health and safety as its supporting them. primary aim but rather to facilitate the transporting of Now we try to seek aid through various political children over long distances to consolidated schools, pressures and maneuvers to circumvent the Constitution which were organized by the state for economic and that so nobly has made this the finest nation in the educational reasons. world, where the state, the church, and all its people If Senate Bill #3 is a "Safety and Welfare" measure, have prospered beyond the fondest dream of man. as bulletins distributed in Catholic churches and schools I thought also that my church through the centuries would lead us to believe, then why is the bill referred to had learned an important lesson—namely that govern- the Senate Education Committee rather than to the Wel- ment support eventually leads to government control. fare Department? A current example of control is Cuba—even though Why must 60 per cent of the public school chil- Fidel Castro's education from the cradle through the dren in Pennsylvania walk to school over many busy university was in the parochial schools. streets and dangerous intersections? Why aren't "Safety and Welfare" the criteria used for public school transportation state aid? THERE ARE Two arguments being advanced in The fact is that local public school districts are reim- Pennsylvania and elsewhere to justify aid to parochial bursed by the state on the number of elementary pupils schools that seem to me to be faulty. they transport 11/2 miles and secondary pupils two miles from their home to school, regardless of the hazards in- 1. Double Taxation. This argument—"We Catho- lics pay twice for the education of our children; one volved. for the public schools we do not use and again for the I believe the real issue here is not the safety and wel- fare of Catholic parochial pupils, but rather the begin- parochial schools we use"—is not valid. ning of a long-term objective as stated by Cardinal We are taxed only once. Our tax money, as every American citizen's, maintains public services and facili- Spellman's emissary before the Senate Subcommittee ties which we can use, and this not only includes public on Education, May 29, 1963: "That equality would schools but the city police, jails, roads, and fire protec- logically justify salaries for Nuns and payment for the Religious Trapping of all parochial schools." tion. Could we as Catholics set up our own police depart- Before we request aid from the taxpayers, I believe ment for our safety and expect public aid? we had better get our house in order, for it might be There is no law requiring us to establish our own embarrassing for us if someone would decide to take schools or even compelling us to support parochial a look at our operation. For example, in the borough of schools. Yet, we feel this is unfair to Catholics and we Kenhorst, where I live, four Catholic school buses pick call it "double taxation." up sixty-seven elementary children and transport them Isn't it worse to seek legislative changes to force non- to four different Catholic schools within a radius of 21/2 Catholics, by law, to support parochial schools? Would miles. Some of these buses travel the same routes and not this be double taxation, or doesn't it matter since pass other Catholic schools as follows: it is someone else who would be affected? a. St. John's transports children 11/2 miles to Shil- 2. Welfare Safety. I am amused and shocked at the lington. approaches we use in seeking benefits for our group. b. St. Anthony's transports children 1 mile to Mill- Take, for example, Pennsylvania's present Senate Bill mont. #3, which if passed would provide transportation for c. Sacred Heart transports children 11/2 miles to parochial schools "on established public transportation West Reading. routes." Each child in the Allentown Diocese brought d. St. Cyril and Methodius transport children 21/2 home literature describing this bill as a "Safety and Wel- miles to Reading. fare" measure. Parents were instructed to write to Sena- All public school elementary children, by compari- tor Gus Yatron of Reading, seeking his aid in this meas- son, walk to their assigned school in the borough. ure and thanking him for supporting a similar bill in Public schools were established by the state and are 1963. controlled by elected officials from our community re-
16 LIBERTY, 1965 gardless of color, race, or religion. Some of these mem- divided Europe and Canada? Or will we continue the bers do not have children in the public schools. They, public-supported public school system and the optional as elected officials, decide where a building will be church-supported parochial systems, both of which have built, how it will be financed, who will staff it, and contributed to the good will and freedoms we enjoy in what will be taught in it. Since we are seeking tax aid, America today? would we be willing to let these men make the same de- It is inspiring to note that our nation does not con- cisions about our Catholic parochial schools? done the use of public tax dollars to support segre- Our citizens must make a decision. Will we go back gated racial schools. I do hope that in the long run we to 1834? Will we accept a public-supported dual system will show the same wisdom in our stand on segregated of education which would divide our nation as it has religious schools. ***
VOICES IN THE ECUMENICAL WIND
Little Rock, Ark.—An "ecumenical first" Dallas, Tex.—Nearly 300 Protestant and in Arkansas saw 100 Protestant and Catholic Roman Catholic students participated in an students meet to investigate areas of com- ecumenical service at the University of Dallas mon belief and to pray for religious unity. at which ten priests and ministers offered The meeting at Catholic High School in- prayers for Christian unity. volved participation by Jewish, Methodist, The service was sponsored by Southern Episcopal, and Catholic clergymen. Methodist University and the University of Folk music of a religious nature was sung Dallas (Catholic) and arranged by chaplains by a Catholic choir from St. John's Home from both schools. Missions Seminary. They were the Reverend J. Claude Evans, of SMU, and Father Rochus Kereszty, of the Albuquerque, N.M.—Restrictions on Ro- Dallas university. Offering prayers for unity, man Catholic participation in Young Men's besides Catholics, were Methodist, Presbyte- Christian Associations in the Santa Fe Arch- rian, Baptist, and Lutheran clergymen. diocese have been removed by Archbishop The ecumenical theme was stressed in James Peter Davis. brief sermons by Father William R. Hoover, Announcing the change in the archdiocesan director of the Confraternity of Christian Doc- policy was Msgr. 0. A. Coggiola-Mower, who trine and the Society for the Propagation of spoke to a membership meeting at the Heights the Faith, in Dallas-Fort Worth; and Dr. YMCA in Albuquerque. John W. Deschner, theology professor at "The programs of the YMCA can help to SMU's Perkins School of Theology. make a good Baptist a better one, and a good Catholic a better one," Msgr. Coggiola-Mower Oakland, Calif.—"In recent years things told the group. He also described the YMCA have happened in the interfaith dialogue be- programs as "Christian and commendable" yond the thinking of any man. and said Archbishop Davis was in favor of "When the heat of this political campaign Catholics participating in the organization. (November, 1964) is over, we must rethink the basis of our conviction on the right of Baltimore, Md.—"There are many things churches and synagogues to pronounce on that Christians agree on. Let us begin to agree these matters. on them and discuss our differences. If we "Religious leaders cannot escape the neces- talk enough, I hope we will ultimately arrive sity of political involvement. We must not build at true Christian unity." That is, at "unity of bridges around ourselves, we must make com- authority, structure, doctrine. I realize we are mon cause with political groups."—Dr. Robert a long way from that, but the dialogue has McAfee Brown, United Presbyterian theologian, begun."—Baltimore's recently appointed Car- to the East Bay Conference on Religion and dinal Lawrence J. Shehan. Race.
MAY-JUNE 17 0\)).‘ 'N nemonleilt mar de la Opard))0//
i.
Bridgebuilder Cardinal Augustin Bea and Protestant Spokesman Marc Boegner talked in a spirit of mutual charity. But their discussion pointed up the gap between a faith built on tradition and a faith built on Scripture. PHOTOS JOHN TAYLOR, WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHES
Bea and Boegner meet in Geneva's Reformation Hall. The sign reads, "Behold, I make all things new." "The walls which divide us do not reach to heaven." • Dr. W. A. Visser 't Hooft, general secretary of the World Council of Churches, introduces the discussion be- tween Bea (left) and Boegner. By DR. JEAN NUSSBAUM Secretaire General, Association. Internationale Pour La Defense de la Liberte Religieuse (Southern Europe)
O LONG as Protestants remain faithful to the certain strictures imposed upon him by his church. Scriptures, no union with Rome will be possible. These, he candidly stated, were in the fields of dogma S This was my dominant impression after I had wit- and religious liberty. nessed the dramatic encounter between Cardinal Bea, That the meeting was held at all was a source of president of the Vatican's Secretariat for the Unity of deep satisfaction to the two men. Said Cardinal Bea, Christians, and Pastor Marc Boegner, honorary presi- after expressing his gratitude to God for the historic dent of the French Protestant Federation, former presi- occasion, "For too long a time Catholics and Protestants dent of the World Council of Churches and a member were in contention. A brotherly discussion was incon- of the Acadernie Fran false. ceivable then. Now Catholics and Protestants have be- Wire service reports on the February 19 confronta- come conscious of all that unites them, and a loyal and tion have, in the spirit of this ecumenical age, stressed frank discussion, in mutual respect and charity, can the areas of agreement between the two men. take place." I would not discount the far-reaching significance Pastor Boegner expressed his profound gratitude to of the cardinal's visit to Geneva and the new area of John XXIII for the Secretariat for the Unity of Chris- cooperative endeavor with the World Council of tians, for the invitations to the observers, and to Paul Churches it opens up; but I believe insufficient atten- VI for his warm greetings. He emphasized the signif- tion has been given to the areas of fundamental dis- icance of holding such a colloquy in Geneva, home of agreement candidly acknowledged by the two men. the Reformation. These included the question of Scripture versus tradi- On issues of substance there was less agreement. tion, the supremacy of Peter, doctrines centering in the virgin Mary, and the existence of a living magis- terium in the church. CARDINAL BEA'S ASSESSMENT of the achievements of the first three sessions of the second Vatican Coun- cil brought the first discordant note. Discussion cen- THE CONFRONTATION took place, fittingly, in tered on the schema of Christian Unity, which was modi- the Geneva Salle de la Reformation (Reformation fied by the Pope after it had already been voted by the Hall ). Arranged by the church communities that con- Fathers. The text had read initially, Protestants "find stitute the Geneva ecumenical union, the meeting God" through the grace of the Holy Spirit in Scrip- brought together two men particularly well qualified ture; Paul made it "seek God." to discuss ecumenical issues. Cardinal Bea, with whom Speaking of the schema on Christian Unity, Cardinal I have had several interviews, is Rome's foremost ecu- Bea called it the "principal achievement" of the council menical apologist. Pastor Boegner, with whom I have to date. "This text recognizes fully the profound effects worked closely on a number of religious liberty issues, of baptism," he said. "That is, that every valid baptism is known for his firmness as well as evangelical charity. unites organically the baptized person to Christ, and I have found him to be one of Europe's foremost cham- makes all such, brothers in Christ. This is why," the pions of religious freedom. cardinal continued, "those who believe in Christ and Cardinal Bea is also a believer in religious liberty, who have been validly baptized find themselves in a but at Geneva he was speaking with an awareness of certain communion, however imperfect, with the Cath-
MAY-JUNE 19 olic Church. The schema recognizes the riches of truth It was at this point that Pastor Boegner set forth and grace possessed by the non-Catholic churches and clearly the historic Protestant position on the question communities as a means of salvation. It states that the of Scripture versus tradition. He used Catholic doctrine 'separated brethren' do not enjoy the unity that Jesus centered on the virgin Mary as an example of unscrip- Christ wishes to impart to all whom He has redeemed, tural doctrines. "Neither the gospels nor the epistles of to form a single body, but it does offer a rich panorama the New Testament indicate that the virgin Mary is of themes and dialogues." to be adored," said Boegner. "This is a Catholic dogma Though he recognized the exceptional importance that finds no foundation in Holy Scripture." of the schema on Christian Unity, Pastor Boegner indi- Cardinal Bea in turn emphasized that unity of doctri- cated that he was not pleased with the modifications nal belief can be attained only by unity with the Apos- made in it by the Pope. He expressed also his con- tolic College, of which Peter was the chief. "The suc- cern that the schema on Religious Liberty had not been cession of this College is, as shown by the tradition voted on at the third session. Both speakers agreed that of the church throughout the centuries, the college of the paramount achievement of the council had been Bishops with their chief, the successor of Peter, the the real interest manifested in it by Christians of all Roman Pontiff," Bea said. In other words, the cardinal confessions. appealed to tradition and the Pope as authority for non-Biblical dogmas. Pastor Boegner called the "non-Biblical foundation of the Catholic faith" the chief point of divergence between Catholics and Protestants. "Even in the event one should admit that Christ accorded a primacy to Peter," said Boegner, "there is no text in the Bible that permits one to believe that this favor was to be transmissible. If the Apostle Peter was infallible— which Protestants do not admit—this infallibility cer- tainly was not transmissible to anyone. "The Cardinal has cited as source of authority the 'Catholic tradition,' " Boegner continued. "As for me, I answer, 'The Holy Scriptures declare.' And I never lean on Protestant tradition. The words of the cardinal show that for him unity cannot be achieved except in and through the Roman Church." In a charitable spirit, yet with emphasis, Pastor Boegner said that he could not subscribe to this con- viction. "But," he added, "the fruit of a closer and closer communion with God can be nothing less than mutual fraternity."
CERTAINLY THE TALK in Geneva was an admirable exposition, not only of brotherly love but also of the issues dividing Christianity. Cardinal Bea, in spite of Cardinal Bea appealed to tradition and the his desire to build a bridge to his "separated brethren," Pope as authority for non-Biblical dogmas. set forth clearly that one pillar of that structure must rest on the primacy and infallibility of the Pope. Pastor Boegner, on the other hand, made clear that Protestants Cardinal Bea then outlined what he considered to be cannot set foot on a structure that is founded on other the principal themes necessary to consider in any dialog. than the Word of God. These centered in the definition of the church—its vis- Should the Protestant position be maintained—cer- ible and invisible structure, its hierarchical nature, the tainly there is no reason to hope that Rome's will not ministries, the office of the bishops and of the people, be—reunion would be an impossibility. However, other and especially the question of the existence of a living Protestant leaders have not spoken with the conviction magisterium that can propose with authority the doc- of Pastor Boegner. The question is, Will Protestants trine of Christ, and particularly the infallibility of this remain faithful to the Scriptures? The answer will not magisterium, that is, of the Pope. be long in coming. ***
20 LIBERTY, 1965 •„„iir
„ I rig r4:1# , THE JOHNSON FOUNDATION RACINE, WISCONSIN U Thant addresses the conference.
SUMMIT PEACE CONFERENCE
Historic session seeks peace within struc- ture of papal encyclical Pacem in Terris
By ROLAND R. HEGSTAD
OU would have to go back to pre-Reformation days to find anything like it—representatives Yfrom nations around the world, meeting to seek the way to world peace on the basis of a papal encycli- cal! I watched them enter the Assembly Hall of the United Nations that chill evening of February 17, con- cerned men from America, from Russia, from Yugosla- via, Great Britain, Germany, Japan; from Asia, Af- rica, Latin America. Men with the weight of the atom on their shoulders—and never has so little weighed so much—meeting to seek peace on earth, and using for the basis of their discussion Pope John's historic en- cyclical Pacem in Terris, "Peace on Earth." In a departure from centuries-old protocol, the en- cyclical had been addressed by the pope not simply to Roman Catholics, but to "all men of good will." Now, in an extraordinary response, more than two thousand states where income is 2,000 per cent higher than that delegates from twenty nations met in New York City of others, figures given by Israel's Deputy Prime Min- for that first session in the Assembly Hall of the United ister, Abba Eban. And always their speech was set Nations, and for three days of subsequent meetings in against the bitter reality of launching pads and atoms, the Hilton Hotel. ever atoms. Never, I thought as I listened to their What cause more noble, what pursuit more futile, speeches, never were materialists and religionists alike than that which brought them—peace! No hope more so aware of the reality of the unseen. And the catalyst ardently pursued, more passionately wooed, more ago- that drew them together was that which they feared nizingly evasive—peace. might blow them apart. (Luis Quintanilla, Mexico's one- There was the Vice-President of the United States, time minister to the U.S., perhaps not altogether face- Hubert H. Humphrey, who delivered the keynote ad- tiously, nominated the Bomb for the Nobel Peace prize! ) dress; Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, Hubert Humphrey set the tone in his keynote ad- Earl Warren; United Nations Secretary, U Thant; and dress: "The leaders of the world must understand . . . the first President of the United Nations General As- that since that day at Alamogordo when man acquired sembly from black Africa, Alex Quaison-Sackey. the power to obliterate himself from the face of the During the three days of general meetings I listened earth, war has worn a new face. And the vision of it to them and to other dramatis personae from diplomatic has sobered all men and demanded of them a keener centers of the world: Paul-Henri Spaak, Vice-Premier perception of mutual interests and a higher order of and Foreign Minister of Belgium; Madame Vijaya Lak- responsibility." shmi Pandit, Governor of Maharashtra, India, and for- Earl Warren continued the leitmotiv: "As civiliza- mer president of the United Nations General Assembly; tion has developed, war has become more brutal and Lord Caradon, England's Minister of State for Foreign more deadly. Today it has the potential of destroying Affairs; Abba Eban, Deputy Prime Minister of Israel; mankind itself." Pietro Nenni, Deputy Prime Minister of Italy; Adlai Wrote Pope Paul to the conference: Failure to foster Stevenson, representative of the United States to the friendship and shun armed conflict in "the present grave United Nations. international crisis . . . would have incalculable and The litterateurs of the world were there also: theo- frightful results for all mankind." logian Paul Tillich; historians Arnold Toynbee and As if to add further to the note of desperation, news- Yevgenyi Zhukov of Russia's Academy of Sciences; papers of February 18 headlined Secretary of Defense Nobel-prize-winning scientist, Linus Pauling; Deputy McNamara's estimate that up to 149 million Americans Chief Editor of Pravda, N. N. Inozemstev. would be killed if Russia struck at our urban centers and missile sites simultaneously. It was small comfort to THEY CAME IN RESPONSE to an invitation from read that an attack concentrated first on military sites educator Robert Maynard Hutchins, president of the Cen- might mean that fatalities could be held to 122 mil- ter for the Study of Democratic Institutions, a thinking lion. Or that our surviving weapons could kill 100 mil- man's organization, with headquarters in Santa Bar- lion Russians and destroy 80 per cent of Russia's in- bara, California. But it was not the invitation that dustrial base. brought them. It was the atom—the fearful specter of Mr. McNamara was outdone in the sanguinity of his a world bereft of its reason, whirling madly about estimates only by N. N. Inozemstev, Deputy Chief Edi- on a pivot of fear, driven farther, ever farther, from tor of Pravda, who, perhaps with an eye toward China, that utopia once dreamed, toward that Armageddon cited "expert" calculations that "about a billion people now dreaded. would perish in the very first 'exchange' of thermonu- They came during the second month of what the clear blows, while hundreds of millions more people United Nations had hopefully designated "International would become victims of nuclear radiation." Cooperation Year." But even as they met, that pother- Observed Saturday Review Editor Norman Cousins: rent assemblage recessed in frustrated futility and went "What is at stake today is not primarily Christian civili- home. They spoke of peace, but the echo said "Vietnam"; zation or Islamic civilization or Jewish civilization or they spoke of world law, but the headlines read "Riot in Hindu civilization or any other but the civilization and Brooklyn," "Bloodshed in Selma," "Bomb Blast in Vat- life of man." ican," "Mob Violence in Uganda." They spoke of tech- It was this stake that brought some two thousand nology, of lands flowing with milk and honey through "men of good will" together in New York to plan the cooperative efforts of scientists, but one and a half earth's tomorrows on the basis of the papal encyclical billion people are suffering from malnutrition; seven Pacem in Terris. hundred million adults are entirely illiterate—one third Though at the conference in the capacity of a journal- of the world's adult population; there are groups of ist rather than as a participant, I trust I may be counted
22 LIBERTY, 1965 among those men of "good will" who are concerned for wicked, no doubt, and they go astray and they fall, and the future of frail humanity. Certainly it is in the spirit they come by their deserts; but who can tell the mis- of charity that I report my concern over several aspects chief which the very virtuous do?" of the convention. Not that the Papacy alone has persecuted. But we I am concerned, first, that it used as its blueprint cannot fail to note that it is not Protestant Spain that Pope John's Pacem in Terris. continues the practice, nor Protestant Colombia. Even It was Princeton's Professor of Religion R. Paul Pacem in Terris, which defines the basis for freedom Ramsey who told Summit Conference delegates of a more generously than the present Pope and curia seem Britisher who met an Irishman and asked him the way willing to accept, is circumspectly ambiguous in its def- to Roscommon. inition of terms. Take, for example, its emphasis on "Oh, you want to go to Roscommon?" the Irishman each man's right "to worship God in accordance with replied. the right dictates of his own conscience, and to profess "Yes," said the Britisher, "that's why I asked you." his religion both in private and in public." This transla- "Well," replied the Irishman, "if I were going I tion differs from those circulated widely in the United wouldn't start from here." States: "According to the dictates of an upright con- science" (Vatican Press) and "ac- cording to the sincere dictates of his own conscience" (N.C.W.C. edi- tion). The questions—Under what circumstances and to what degree, if any, does a person with erroneous but sincere convictions have a strict "right" to pursue these convictions? and What duties, if any, does this im- pose on others? have not yet been answered. Catholic Theologian John F. Cronin, S.S., points out that "the Latin literally translated has an ele- ment of obscurity (perhaps calcu- lated) in regard to this question." What the pope says to the world in Pacem in Terris is, in the main,
RELIGIOUS NEWS SERVICE PHOTO good Bible doctrine: He asks us to "Since that day at Alamogordo . . . war has worn a new love our fellow men; to eschew racial face. And the vision of it has sobered all men. . . ." injustice, national pride, and other evidences of moral turpitude. Here, I, too, would have preferred that the council not for example, are two passages of merit: start from here—that is, with the papal encyclical "There is an immense task incumbent upon all men Pacem in Terris. of good will, namely, the task of restoring the relations If the record of intolerance written by the Papacy of the human family in truth, in justice, in love, and in through black centuries must, in charity, be forgotten, freedom; the relations among individual human beings; let us not forget that the doctrines that gave birth to among citizens and their own countries, among nations persecution have not yet been repudiated. It is histori- themselves; and finally among individuals, families, in- cally incontrovertible that the organization which termediate associations, and nations on the one hand, and through Pacem in Terris places laudable emphasis upon the world community on the other. This is a most exalted truth, love, freedom, and justice, ever has been in the task, for it is the task of bringing about true peace in vanguard of those tyrannies that have denied men the the order established by God." right in conscience to seek truth and establish justice. The pope calls for an increase in the number of those As Theologian Tillich observed laconically to the con- devoted to this task: ference: "History leaves no doubt that wars over con- "For it is an imperative of duty; it is a requirement trasting ideas of justice are the most cruel, most insistent of love. Every believer in this world of ours must be a and the most devastating ones. So it was in the reli- spark of light, a center of love, a vivifying leaven gious wars when the rights of man were identical with amidst his fellow men: and he will be this all the more the truth about man." perfectly the more closely he lives in communion with With Thackeray, we must agree: "The wicked are God in the intimacy of his own soul."
MAY-JUNE 23 The message of the pope is not, from the standpoint were: "Requirements for Peace: the Nature of the of political realism, either radical or revolutionary. Per- Problem"; "Military Confrontation"; "National Sover- haps what most ensured its reception was simply, as eignty"; "Peace Keeping"; "The Rule of Law"; Time observed, that it contained ideas "whose time had "Alignment and Nonalignment"; "Political Instabil- come round at last." ity"; "Ideology and Intervention." Basically, the encyclical discusses the rights and du- On a number of these points the encyclical itself is ties of individuals in their relationships with one an- ingenuously silent. One American Jesuit described its other, and the correct relationship of state with state. vague generalities on coexistence as "a lump of suet in The pope found the answer to these relationships in a a pudding." cherished concept of Catholic philosophy—natural law I, for one, would be chary of surrendering one —man's instinctive knowledge of right and wrong. Man principle of our Bill of Rights for the sake of the se- has the duty to cooperate with others in building an curity supposedly inherent in a world police force. Na- orderly world. Today, said the pope, the moral order tional sovereignty is not, in my estimation, what demanded by natural law requires a "supranational World Court Judge Phillip Jessup called it—"a quick- public authority"—that is, a world government. Here is sand." The United Nations Declaration of Human his plea: Rights is a commendable document, but commendable "Today the universal common good presents us with documents may have little meaning when confronted problems which are worldwide in their dimensions: with uncommendable realities, one of which is the problems, therefore, which cannot be solved except by prejudice inherent in the human heart. Many member a public authority with power, organization, and means states of the United Nations do not guarantee their coextensive with these problems, and with a worldwide own citizens the rights that the Declaration of Hu- sphere of activity. Consequently, the moral order itself man Rights enumerates as basic. demands the establishment of some such general form Under the shadow of the atom the old argument of public authority." might once again appear conclusive: "It is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation [read "world"] perish not" T IS HERE that my second concern comes, at this I ( John 11:50). insistence upon the necessity of a "supranational au- To human wisdom in this ecumenical age such a thority" to preserve peace. To be effective, such an au- development now seems impossible, but as the restrain- thority, as speaker after speaker at the conference ing hand of God is withdrawn from men who scorn pointed out, must have a police force—several speak- His precepts, there may be strange developments. That ers used the term "coercion"—to impose the peace. "bent" nature, of which C. S. Lewis wrote, can be "There is no effective authority without a structure very bent indeed, when God's love is not our motiva- of power behind it; and under the conditions of exist- tion. ence, no power can become effective without coercion applied against those who try to undercut it," said Tillich. THE CONFERENCE WAS REPLETE with anomalies. Luis Quintanilla, former delegate of Mexico to the One could look over the audience and see United United Nations, spoke of the "politically indispensable States Communist boss Gus Hall amiably discussing a element of coercion." (His emphasis.) He pointed out speech with a Catholic priest; nuns in severe coifs and that the third branch of the United Nations, the In- black robes were crowded next to society matrons in ternational Court of Justice, lacked a police body and cocktail silk; a Soviet unabashedly testified to his confi- was therefore incapable of enforcing its judgments. dence in the triumph of socialism at a meeting opened "One could legitimately wonder," he said, "what good with the reading of a friendly message from Pope can the decisions of the United Nations Security Coun- Paul VI. But foremost among the irreconcilable fea- cil be, if that important Executive body lacks, in turn, tures was this: Pope John, speaking in the name of a permanent force to impose its decisions. . . . The One who said, "My kingdom is not of this world," monopoly of force [his emphasis], in the hands of an set forth a blueprint for heaven on earth! A blueprint authority is an essential attribute of any organized so- that a number of speakers seemed to believe could be ciety." translated into reality without a fundamental change Lawyer Grenville Clark, coauthor of World Peace in the nature of man. Here is my third concern. Through World Law, insisted that the nations must Vice-President Hubert Humphrey expressed this ap- grant powers to a supranational body sufficient to praisal of the hope afforded by the encyclical: "John "curb" the "destructive impulse" of any one nation. XXIII presented to the world a public philosophy for a Many of the discussions centered upon the problems nuclear era. . . . It represents not a utopian blueprint inherent in "coercion." For example, upon the agenda for world peace, presupposing a sudden change in the
24 LIBERTY, 1965 nature of man. Rather, it represents a call to leaders ence and a better world," said Chief Justice Earl War- of nations, presupposing only a gradual change in hu- ren. "I happen to believe that the basis for an ordered man institutions." (Italic supplied). world is Law." On the same panel Dr. Kenzo Taka- What a practical (shall I say existential?) politician yanagi, chairman of the Constitution Revision Com- applauded, the Bible-oriented Christian must question. mission of Japan, pointed out that his nation had out- Can peace emerge from evolutionary-processed hu- lawed war through Article Nine of the Japanese Con- man institutions? Or does man still need that dramatic stitution. He went on to suggest that the elusive goal confrontation with His Lord which is productive of of peace could be achieved through a "multilateral new birth. Was it not the apostle James, "moved by treaty for constitutional amendment . . . recommended the Holy Spirit," who asked: "But what about the by the United Nations to its member states." Sir Mu- feuds and struggles that exist among you—where do hammad Zafrulla Khan, judge, International Court of you suppose they come from? Can't you see that they Law, observed: "It is only in the realm of law that the arise from conflicting passions within yourselves? You sovereign equality of states can be converted from a crave for something and don't get it, you are jealous political ideal into a manifest reality." But Mr. Khan and envious of what others have and you don't possess said what most Christian statesmen present did not: it yourselves. Consequently, in your exasperated frustra- "In the last resort, peace must be built in the hearts of tion you struggle and fight with one another." men." In a poignant aside from the printed text, he "Do you imagine that this spirit of passionate jeal- added, "We must lift our hearts to heaven, for there ousy," says James, "is the Spirit he has caused to live can be no peace in earth-bound hearts." in us?" It is God, he says, who "gives us grace potent (Another diplomat observed wryly that the prob- enough to meet this and every other evil" ( James 4: lem with Pacem in Terris is that it is addressed to 1, 2, 5, 6, Phillips).* "men of good will," leaving a substantial remainder The concept of an evolutionary kingdom of God on unaddressed.) earth, which permeates Pacem in Terris, might be described as the residual fallout from Augustine's ex- TO ASSESS CORRECTLY the chances for world peace plosive The City of God, which became the guiding through world law, while men yet have hearts in principle of the medieval church. The stone of Daniel which the principles of law are not scribed, I had only 2 was the earthly church; its fall had taken place at to look again at the sordid records of lawlessness chroni- the first advent of Christ, and through the centuries it cled on the front pages of current newspapers scattered was to grow ever bigger and bigger until it finally dis- about the conference hall, the content of which we placed all worldly powers and filled the whole earth. have already noted. During the years 1958-1962, U.S. Today, after all that has been accomplished and left population increased 7 per cent while crime increased unaccomplished by the Reformation, this concept still 27 per cent! According to the Federal Bureau of In- prevails or reprevails among the historical denomina- vestigation, crime soared 13 per cent higher in 1964 tions; it is basic to the philosophy of the social gospel than during 1963. And the trend is the same all round and the ecumenical discussions sweeping Christendom. this lawless world! As Eugene Burdick, associate profes- Under this humanistic umbrella—and humanism it sor of political science at the University of California is—most philosophies of the world can comfortably and coauthor of The Ugly American, put it, "There is find room. Thus Linus Pauling, a Nobel-prize-winning considerable evidence that man is not by nature pacific." scientist, could say to the convention: "I believe that That he is, in fact, a "bloodthirsty animal." we have now reached the time in the course of the How can one hope for peace among the nations evolution of civilization when war will be abolished through respect for world law when people who make from the world, and will be replaced by a system of up those nations cannot respect the laws that govern world law based upon the principles of justice and their nations? How can one achieve world peace when morality." And a Communist dedicated to dialectical nations are bereft of national peace? Ultimately we materialism could take his place at the conference come back to James: the key to peace in society is table. peace in the individual heart. And peace in the heart comes, says the Scriptures, only with individual com- A. NUMBER OF SPEAKERS laid healthy emphasis mitment to God's law. "Great peace have they which upon world law. "Perhaps the time has come when love thy law," wrote the psalmist (Ps. 119:165). fear of extermination combined with faith in the power The conference, committed to a humanistic, natural- of goodness will guide us toward a more secure exist- law approach to world peace problems, found no an- swer to these questions. • The Bible texts in this article credited to Phillips are from The New Even during the few months since the pope wrote Testament in Modern English, ® J. B. Phillips 1958. Used by permission of the Macmillan Company. Pacem in Terris, the world has drifted farther apart.
MAY-JUNE 25 As the New York Times of February 19 observed Other, 19th-century, students of Bible prophecy pre- editorially: dicted that enforced Sunday observance would be part of "Throughout history different elements operated at a worldwide program for peace. All their predictions different times to provide an anchor, an amalgam, a are a matter of record. It is also a matter of record source of unity for societies. There were family bonds, that Pope John's Mater et Magistra, an encyclical that great monarchs, great empires, the world's great re- preceded Pacem in Terris, said: "The Church has al- ligions and, in modern times, political ideologies. To- ways demanded an exact observance of the third pre- day none of these factors seems strong enough to hold cept of the Decalogue: 'Remember that thou keep societies in check or to unite nations and peoples in holy the Sabbath day.'" The encyclical also called on peace. "all, public authorities, employers and workers, to ob- "This is an era that has lost its bearings, that wan- serve the precepts of God and His Church." In a subse- ders in a wilderness crying with rage and striking out quent address the pope added: This "presupposes a in its pain. It was no accident that the distinctive philos- change of mind in society and the intervention of the ophy of our time became existentialism, which was, powers of the state." essentially, a rebellion against the failures of society, economics, politics and the church, and which is, in it- AS FOR Pacem in Terris, when I consider it against self, an unsystematic, undogmatic, undoctrinal philoso- the backdrop of ecumenical developments and the phy." climate of fear precipitated by the atom, I see no reason It is into this world that Pacem in Terris has come to disagree with Educator Robert Hutchins, who called with its blueprint for world peace through the institu- it, in his opening address to the convocation, "one of tions and instrumentalities of man. Though peace will the most profound and significant documents of our age." not come through these, but through the advent of When, with an awareness of Bible prophecy, we the Prince of Peace, upon whose shoulders world consider the effects on world opinion of Vatican Coun- government shall rest, we must not underestimate the cil II, the historic meeting of the Pontiff and Metro- impact on society—and likely the United Nations— politan Athenagoras, Greek Orthodox leader, on the that this encyclical will have. Mount of Olives just a little more than a year ago; the Pope's subsequent visit to India, where his recep- tion surpassed those given to "other gods and god- ENTURIES AGO MEN WHO searched the Word C desses," as a Bombay paper reported it, surely we must of God diligently dared to chart the course of closing acknowledge that strange, eventful history is being writ- events. I have just reviewed a number of their predictions ten. Behind the puppetlike manipulations of man we as chronicled in Dr. L. E. Froom's definitive four-volume discern cosmic powers in conflict, cosmic events in tran- The Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers. Roman Catho- set, sition. lics, Protestants, and others, traced the prophecies of That Protestants, Buddhists, agnostics, and atheists Daniel and Revelation, and drew a blueprint which were willing to meet and discuss earth's tomorrows fits over current developments in the religious and po- within the framework of world order envisaged by Pope litical worlds with amazing accuracy. John is nothing less than momentous. And that the They predicted that the church would link arms with United Nations should have lent its support to the proj- the state to establish God's kingdom on earth—with, it ect is, as Italy's Vice-Premier Pietro Nenni asserted, a should be added, unfortunate consequences for those "sign of the times." As never before we must watch de- holding contrary views. velopments in that modern Babel of steel and glass It is worth noting that even as thought leaders of towering over the East River. the world held their conference in New York, Vatican President of the General Assembly Alex Quaison- Bridgebuilder Augustin Bea was in Geneva, snipping Sackey spoke words worth remembering at the open- the ribbon opening a new short cut through the Refor- ing session of the convocation. After calling Pacem in mation mud flats. There he delivered word that the Terris "a guiding beacon in a world anxiously searching Papacy, in a historic reversal of post-Reformation posi- for concord and understanding," he added: "The voice tion, would not only recognize the good efforts toward of Pope John was never heard in this hall, but to- union of the World Council of Churches but also join night we hear the echo of his papal message, and the with the Council in seeking ways toward unity and un- voice of those leaders who have answered his call." ion! If the scores of prophetic expositors cited by Dr. L. E. Said Cardinal Bea: "The Holy See greets with joy Froom prove to have read "the sure word of prophecy" and fully accepts" an invitation from the Council "to correctly, the encyclical penned by an aged—and, I be- explore together the possibilities of dialog and collab- lieve, kindly—pope may be destined to bring to earth oration." not peace, but a sword. ***
26 LIBERTY, 1965 kS11- 1_11 We _Do Away 111471it1it Private ,S1-aEopc:ol,s
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ONTROVERSY over whether tax support should both public and private schools. Were schools the sole be given private—most often church-related— source of cohesion in a democracy; were the private C schools, and their continued growth, has revived schools demonstrably inimical to American democracy; the question, Could not American education and Ameri- were democracy to be construed as meaning uniformity; can ideals be served best by public schools alone? were our history replete with endorsements of a single "The growth of the free public high schools in this system—then perhaps more of us now would share Dr. country would indicate . . . that public opinion in the Conant's apprehensions. The fact is that American United States has been committed to a single not a dual democracy is not nurtured alone in the public schools, system of education," says Educator James Bryant Co- but also in the many institutions of which it is com- nant.' prised. Though granting the private schools' legal right to "It is a gross error to believe that the attainment of exist, Mr. Conant has stated his fear that an increased democracy is dependent upon uniformity of educa- role for the private schools will introduce and perpetu- tional facilities," says I. L. Kandel in School and Society. ate social divisions that a democracy can ill afford to sus- "It is a naive concept of social forces that places the tain. responsibility for creating prejudices and intolerance Since 1952, when Mr. Conant anticipated "with upon any kind of private schools." Nor, adds Mr. Kan- dread" any change in the balance of public and private del, does public school education make "for that unity schools, the ratio of students in private schools over that transcends other divisive influences."' public schools has increased. Whereas fifteen years ago The religious concern of the nation is widely seen as one child in fourteen attended a private school, today beneficial to, not subversive of, the ideals of democracy. roughly one child in nine does so. During the 1965-1966 school year almost 17 per cent of the school population Early Schools will be in private schools. Because of rising costs of maintaining a private school Among the nation's earliest schools were private system, the trend soon may be reversed; in at least one schools established as business ventures and to promote Roman Catholic diocese lower grades were dropped from specific religious and pedagogical ideals. Early public parochial schools for the 1964-1965 school year. How- schools were themselves as diverse—and thus, poten- ever, should church-related secondary schools be given tially divisive—as private schools. direct aid—as is provided for colleges in the Higher So long as religious orthodoxy prevailed, these served Education Facilities Act of 1963 (and it appears that well the needs of the emerging nation; when religious President Johnson was determined to do so in his bill to pluralism strengthened in the eighteenth century, vig- aid depressed areas before a flood of protesting letters orous lines of tension developed. Dissident groups were hit the White House), private schools again may rival reluctant to enhance the power of the state in educa- public schools in number. tion lest this power should fall into the hands of unbe- Should this happen, many Americans likely will en- lievers. dorse Mr. Conant's position. At this time, most will still During the early 1800's sharp criticisms began to be answer that American education can be served best by brought against the ideas underlying private education.
MAY-JUNE 27 A school system common to all and rooted in public The majority opinion of the Supreme Court raised administration, it was argued, might serve better the no question as to the power of the state "reasonably to goals of a democracy. A host of educators—of whom regulate all schools, to inspect, supervise and examine Henry Barnard in Connecticut and Horace Mann in them, their teachers and pupils." t The opinion said, Massachusetts were pre-eminent—continued to state however, that the Oregon legislation would perhaps with vigor and clarity what they saw to be the form destroy private education within the State. Operators of and substance of the American public schools. By 1850 private schools were "engaged in a kind of undertaking the public school was clearly defined in theory and not inherently harmful, but long regarded as useful practice. It is not surprising that in the process public and meritorious. Certainly," the opinion continued, support was withdrawn from private and religious "there is nothing in the present records to indicate schools and devoted only to public schools, and that that they have failed to discharge their obligations to public schools passed (at times, a painful passage) patrons, students or the State. And there are no peculiar wholly to public control.' circumstances or present emergencies which demand The private school saw its numbers matched and extraordinary measures relative to primary education." then surpassed by the burgeoning public elementary The decision further stated: schools during the first half of the nineteenth century. "The fundamental theory of liberty upon which all By 1870 public secondary schools also outnumbered the governments in this Union repose excludes any general private. Though no longer dominant in numbers, pri- power of the State to standardize its children by forcing vate schools were in no danger of extinction; though them to accept instruction from public teachers only. waning numerically, their ideology was as vigorous as The child is not the mere creature of the State; those ever. who nurture him and direct his destiny have the right, Two important developments clarified the position coupled with the high duty, to recognize and prepare of public schools in American education during the nine- him for additional obligations."' teenth century. First, private control of education was Thus the 1925 decision was in a sense a redeclaration sanctioned by the state. This guaranteed in effect the of the status of private education. The tradition so perpetuation of private schools. The 1819 Supreme deeply rooted was affirmed anew; the basic concept of Court decision in the case of Woodward v. Dartmouth liberty upon which the tradition had flourished was re- College confirmed the sanctity of these corporations emphasized. against violation at the hands of the state! Seconds private schools continued to be dominantly religious in Private Schools Endorsed character. The same controversy that so clearly identi- Private schools have served the nation with distinc- fied the public school as secular, publicly supported and tion. Independent colleges were the first in Colonial controlled, served equally well to confirm the private America, laying a foundation of excellence and lending school as religiously committed, supported from pri- an influence that has given many of its distinguishing vate revenues and controlled by private groups. characteristics to American higher education. Private elementary and secondary schools have not contributed Court Decisions so uniquely to the character of American education, The Supreme Court has by its ruling added signifi- but have, nonetheless, contributed to its development in cantly to the definition of the private school in Amer- research, experimentation, and high standards of per- ican freedom. In 1923 in the case of Meyer v. the State formance. of Nebraska' the Court affirmed the freedom of teachers Tradition and law combine to endorse both public and to teach in the common modes of life, even if (as in the private schools. Equally clear is the principle that public case in question) the mode of teaching was a foreign schools alone may claim control and support from the language in a private school. public purse. *** While the Meyer case was proceeding, another was preparing. In 1922 the State of Oregon adopted an act REFERENCES 1 James Bryant Conant, "Education: Engine of Democracy," Saturday compelling attendance at a public school or the permis- Review of Literature, May 3, 1952, p. 11. 2 I. L. Kande!, "The Nation's Schools: Public and Private," School and sion of, and examination by, the county superintendent Society, 75. April 26, 1952, p. 268. 3 An excellent discussion of this appears in R. Freeman Butts and of schools for any who chose to attend private schools. Lawrence A. Cremin, A History of Education in American Culture (New York: Henry Holt, 1944); and Lawrence A. Cremin, The American Com- A Roman Catholic teaching order, the Society of the mon School (New York: Bureau of Publications, Teachers College, Columbia University, 1951). Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary, sensed the 'Dartmouth College v. Woodward, 4 Wheaton U.S. 518. 6 Meyer v. State of Nebrarka, 262 U.S. 601 (1923). (Italics added.) threat of this enactment to private education. They with Pierce v. Society of Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary, 268 U.S. 510 (1925). others brought suit challenging the law. The act was 7 Ibid. Ibid. declared unconstitutional in 1925.° 9 Ibid.
28 LIBERTY, 1965 the First Amendment; (2) that exemptions do not By BOARDMAN NOLAND constitute an establishment of religion by an act of po- litical or legislative discretion; (3) that even in the Part II * absence of the Maryland exemption statute, the State would be without power to tax a house of worship un- HURCH property in Maryland is safe from taxa- der the separation of church and state doctrine as de- tion, at least for a few more months. Madalyn E. fined and expanded by the United States Supreihe C Murray's case against Louis L. Goldstein, in Court; (4) that the Maryland law is validated and sup- which she sought to have churches in Maryland taxed ported by the First Amendment of the Constitution of on the same basis as other property has been dismissed. the United States. A house of worship is still exempt by statute from taxa- tion, and that legal exemption is justified, says the SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE, says Mr. State, because of the benefits flowing to the State from Braiterman, is not just a rhetorical expression, but a con- the good influence of the churches. stitutional system guaranteeing religious liberty and a Not that Madalyn's "war" is over. The contentious position of independence for both church and state from plaintiff, who has taken what she terms "religious asy- lum" in Hawaii, has announced that her attorneys are going to appeal her case to the Court of Appeals of Maryland. Therefore it may be productive to examine another line of argument against church taxation sub- mitted by Marvin Braiterman, on behalf of Temple Church Properties Emanuel of Baltimore. Should NOT Be Taxed. MR. BRAITERMAN CHALLENGES the contention that churches enjoy tax exemption at the discretion of Their exemption rests on more than legis- legislators and only because the State benefits from the lative discretion, says a Constitutional lawyer good influence of the churches. His reasoning, in brief, is this: If churches enjoy tax exemption only because legislators are authorized to grant exemptions if and when they believe it to be best, then it follows that it is also within their power to deny exemption when they restraint, dominion, and subservience of one to the other, believe otherwise. The true basis for tax exemption and in the best interests of both, so that neither the for churches, says Mr. Braiterman, is found in the Con- church nor the state can have any power to destroy or stitution. And since the exemption is established on degrade the other. the basis of constitutional mandate, it is safe from re- He argues that in America we have two great and peal by legislative bodies, being in a secure position, powerful systems, each totally independent from the equal to and neither above nor below, but separate other: from rights belonging to the State. This concept, he "Separation means separation, not something less. says, clarifies and adds dignity to the doctrine of separa- Jefferson's metaphor in describing the relation be- tion of church and state. tween church and state speaks of a 'wall of separation' Mr. Braiterman's reasoning is unique among briefs not of a fine line easily overstepped. . . . 'The great supporting tax exemption. All other defendants—as I American principle of eternal separation'—Elihu Root's pointed out in the November-December LIBERTY— phrase bears repetition—is one of the vital reliances of support the validity of the exemption on the theory our constitutional system for assuring unities among that exemption represents a valid and constitutional our people stronger than our diversities. It is the decision of the legislative branch of government, which Court's duty to enforce this principle in its full integrity. may grant the exemption because churches serve . . . 'We have staked the very existence of our country worthy purposes. But not Mr. Braiterman. On behalf of on the faith that complete separation between state Temple Emanuel, he contends: (1) That freedom of and religion is best for the state and best for religion.' houses of worship from property taxes is based upon ."—McCollunt v. Board of Education, 333 US 203. the theory that these exemptions represent a necessary Says Mr. Braiterman: "If the only source of the tax recognition of the free exercise of religion required by exemption is the discretion of the legislature, it can deny the exemption or grant it, and this position of the • See "Should Church Properties Be Taxed?" in the November-December LIBERTY. Boardman Noland is a practicing attorney, general legal counsel other Defendants, in effect, reinforces the subsidy ar- for the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, and legal adviser to LIBERTY magazine. gument of the Plaintiffs."
MAY-JUNE 29 He presents a different rationale: that the doctrine ing the House of God, New York: Methodist Book prohibiting the levying of taxes and the reason for the Concern, 1928. prohibition was the separation of church and state, Mr. Braiterman makes an analogy between the which is bilateral, and therefore no tax can be constitu- prohibition of taxation of the States by the Federal tionally levied upon religious activities to support the Government, and the church by the State. The immuni- government. The taxing power of government cannot ties are not of the same origin. The intergovernmental constitutionally be extended to that element of society immunities exist in express language in the Constitution which is prohibited from receiving aid from tax funds. itself. The virtual immunity that Mr. Braiterman urges The Murdock Case (319 U.S. 105) is often cited is the inevitable and proper consequence of decisions for the proposition that government can tax the of the United States Supreme -Court which withdraw preacher and the church, but not the right to preach or religious activity from "the sphere of legislative con- the right to religious exercises. Mr. Braiterman con- cern and competence." tends that the house of worship, the religious sanctuary, The State may tax property owned by religious in- and all that is contained therein are so intimately con- stitutions which are not used for worship, such as nected with religious exercise that to levy a direct tax property which is used in nonrelated commercial busi- upon the value of such property would constitute a tax ness activities, or for construction of improvements, on the exercise of religion itself. He then considers the betterments, utilities, et cetera, that directly touch or religious significance of the church building and its benefit the property of a house of worship and en- investment of religious sanctity. As he sees it, the hance the value of the property upon which a church church structure and personal property contained in it stands, such as costs of paving, sewer, water, et cetera. are an actual part of religious exercise and not merely It may impose a tax on rental properties and commer- a place where worship occurs. Among his citations: cial businesses owned and operated by religious organi- "A church is a sacred building dedicated to divine zations, but there is a distinction between religious ac- worship primarily that it may be used by all the faithful tivities and an ordinary commercial enterprise, even for the public exercise of divine worship."—Canon though it is conducted by a religious organization. A re- Law, Sec. 1161. ligious institution may be subjected to general property "We worship with a church as well as in it."—JoHN taxes on any property which it owns, except that prop- B. O'CONNELL, Church Buildings and Furnishings, New erty intrinsically and directly related to the exercise of York, 1954. worship itself. "The church edifice, a rendezvous of God with man, To subject houses of worship to taxation would be a the visible representation of the dwelling of God with serious invasion of the right to exercise religious ac- humanity, is a structure distinct from all other build- tivity. If churches are exempt from taxation only be- ings, just as Christian worship is held to be in the high- cause the lawmaking bodies have decided not to tax est plane of human experience. The Church shelters them, the exemption can be denied whenever the law- and stimulates the exercise of holy worship wherein making body changes its decision. It should be recog- men realize the divine presence, and provides a center nized that the exemption from taxation of a house of for fellowship and service expressive of the divine life worship is not just a legislative option but is a basic in human tabernacles."—ELBERT M. CONOVER, Build- constitutional legal right. This is Mr. Braiterman's case.
Lloyd E. Biggs, director of the Northwest chap- Conference Chairman Dr. John T. Galloway, ter of the Religious Liberty Association of Amer- pastor of Wayne Presbyterian Church, Phila- ica, presents a check for $1,000 to Dr. Glenn delphia, exhibits the Religious Liberty Cita- Archer, executive director of POAU. Dr. Louie tion presented by Protestants and Other D. Newton, president of POAU, looks on. Mr. Americans United to Dr. John A. Mackay Biggs called the check a "token" of appreciation (right), president emeritus of Princeton from his organization for the work of POAU in Theological Seminary and one of the found- combating legislation that would tend to erode ers of POAU. The award, made annually by the wall of separation between church and state. POAU for outstanding service in the field of
PHOTOS BY D. B. SIMONS church-state relations, was given at the or- ganization's seventeenth National Conference on Church and State in Philadelphia, Febru- ary 2. In the Conference's keynote address, Dr.. Mackay appealed to "all churches" to "maintain complete freedom from state subsidies or control." "Let them strive to secure that the state shall establish the freedom and seek the welfare of all citizens," said Dr. Mackay. "To this end let churches cooperate with the state in what is a major responsibility of every government, namely, to create conditions in which people can be truly human." as the editors see it
1,51VPRIWitn.1W-, 714(01117REaVIL-,
POINTLESS MONUMENTS? tion of Governmental Sponsorship, Support, Perpetua- HE recently thwarted plot to destroy the Statue tion, Control, and Dissemination of State Shintoism," of Liberty, topple the Washington Monument, thus separating the Shinto religion from the Japanese Tand blow up the Liberty Bell was described on a Government. This order said in part: radio broadcast as being "as mindless as the Statue, "No visits to Shinto shrines and no rites, practices pointless as the Monument, and cracked as the Bell." or ceremonies associated with Shinto will be conducted I am willing to concede that the Statue of Liberty or sponsored by any educational institution supported is mindless and the Liberty Bell cracked, even that the wholly or in part by public funds." Monument top does not resemble a needle point, and It was this order that severed the umbilical cord that that the broadcaster got off a snappy line. But there is a had bound Shintoism to the state government. Japa- sense in which neither the Washington Monument nor nese were by this order freed "from direct or indirect either of the other monuments to freedom should be compulsion to believe or profess to believe in a religion called pointless. The fact is, all three point decidedly to or cult officially designated by the state." one blessed ideal that we enjoy and take too much for What with American legislators proposing a reli- granted—liberty. gious amendment to the Constitution, and others in- These monuments stand as daily reminders of the sisting on a Christian amendment, which would place values that have made us a nation—of free press and Christianity in a privileged position; and with the Ad- speech, the right to own property, to found homes and ministration seeking new ways to channel public funds churches, to worship as conscience dictates, to secure to sectarian institutions, our elected officials might be life, liberty, and happiness. These are the points they well-advised to turn their eyes to the East, that they make. might recapture the vision that made the American To protect the symbols of these liberties, these rights, dream of religious liberty a reality for all citi- our officials analyzed details of the plot, reviewed secu- zens. R. R. H. rity measures, devised new protections. They, and many of the rest of us, continue compla- NEW U.S.-U.S.S.R. EXCHANGE PROPOSED cently to take for granted the security of the freedoms for which these symbols stand. But these too are under HILE Americans are registering their con- attack: explosive amendments are being planted under cern about debasing publications and their our Bill of Rights; mass opinion is smothering the Wcorrupting influence on youth, the Commu- voice of dissent; minority is becoming a dirty word; free- nists continue to fulminate against distributors of the doms are being surrendered to security, so-called. Bible. Latest victims: two women Baptist missionaries in It would be ironic if we marshaled our forces to pro- the Uzbek Soviet Republic charged with "illegal religious tect the monuments to freedom while losing freedom activities" and sentenced to two years in prison. Accord- itself. ing to Pravda Vostoka, the republic's Communist news- Then, indeed, could these monuments rightly be said paper, one of the missionaries, in addition to distributing to be "pointless."—CURTIS QUACKENBUSH, Assistant Bibles, made her granddaughter "transcribe and dis- Pastor, Takoma Park Seventh-day Adventist church. tribute the texts of songs from books published in Czarist times as well as so-called Baptist hymns by means of MAC ARTHUR'S CONTRIBUTION which the character and world outlook of the girl were influenced." NE aspect of Gen. Douglas MacArthur's contri- What with cultural and other exchanges being bution to the postwar Japanese Government worked out between Russia and America, we wonder O has not been adequately publicized: the pro- whether it would be possible to work out an exchange of visions for separation of church and state which he in- problems to the mutual benefit of both societies? Say, cluded in the new constitution. two certified genuine U.S.-issue juvenile delinquents de- Briefly the record is this: On December 15, 1945, livered C.O.D. Russian port of entry for every one reli- soon after the surrender of Japan, MacArthur issued gious "criminal" shipped to Bedloe Island. to the Japanese Government the "Order for the Aboli- R. R. H.
MAY-JUNE 31 world news
UNITED STATES annual meeting of the Australian Council of Churches in Sydney that "shortly before or after 1970, I believe the United Church of Australia will come into being." Education Aid for All, Based on Need, "I believe the Congregationalists, Methodists, and Supported by NEA Presbyterians in this country are going to accept the Washington.—President Johnson's proposal to pro- draft basis for church union as it will be when revised," vide aid to education on the basis of need, irrespective he said. of whether a child attends a public or a parochial school, Mr. Garrett went on to state that a "truly national has received the unequivocal support of the nation's Christian strategy in Australia" would demand the largest education association. entry of a full panel of Anglican representatives into Testifying before the House Education Subcommit- our conversation about union. tee, Robert E. McKay, chairman of the National Edu- He added: "I wish the Anglicans would jolt and em- cation Association's legislative committee, said that the barrass all the rest of us by asking for a part in the proposed legislation in no way violates the principle of Joint Commission on Church Union—and the sooner separation of church and state. the better! Mr. McKay told the subcommittee that President "We can only thank God for the wonderful friend- Johnson had found a formula that is winning support ships being formed between us and our Roman from leaders on both sides of the "religious question." Catholic friends in these first years of the sixties," he In past hearings on education the 903,000-member added. organization, comprised of instructors and administra- ( The Church of England in Australia currently has tors from most of the 27,000 school districts in the official observers attending the meetings of the Joint United States, had objected to various other measures Commission.) because of the church-state issue. Under the President's proposal a number of school programs will be available to parochial school students, ENGLAND mostly on a "shared time" concept, with courses—such as in mathematics, science, languages, and industrial arts Greek Orthodox Prelate Sees —being taught in the public schools but open to paro- Ultimate Union With Rome chial students. Church-guided education would be fur- London.—Union between the Greek Orthodox thered at the parish school. Church and the Roman Catholic Church is quite possi- There was no objection from NEA to the President's ble in the near future, according to Metropolitan Athena- plan to provide textbooks and library books for paro- goras, Greek Orthodox leader in Britain. chial students in need, so long as they are the same He spoke at a symposium on Christian unity arranged texts used in the public schools. This phase appeared, by the Catholic Society of Queen Mary College at the observers said, to be the most overt item in the Presi- University of London. Five hundred students attended. dent's program of aid to parochial school students. One questioned the Metropolitan about the primacy of the Pope and received this reply: AUSTRALIA "A lot of our differences are based upon semantics, upon misunderstandings, upon snobbism. I think the time will come when both sides will meet in complete United Australian Church agreement as to the primacy of the Bishop of Rome. Is Foreseen in 1970 "We in the Orthodox Church consider the Pope to be Sydney.—The Reverend John Garrett, warden of the first Bishop in Christendom provided we add the com- Camden Congregational Theological College, told the plement primuslnter pares, 'first among equals.—
32 LIBERTY, 1965 Your Freedom and Pocketbook late session. Now the evidence concerned the Protes- tant defendant colleges. Hood College of Frederick, From page 13 Maryland, was founded by members of the Reformed Church of America, now merged with the General Coun- days of obligation. This compulsion comes not from the rules of the college so much as from the general disci- cil of the Congregational Christian Churches into the pline of the Catholic Church. The school catalog clearly United Church of Christ. Its corporate charter provided provides that its mission is "to nurture in the students, as for the "maintaining of a college for the promotion members of the mystical body of Christ, a Christian so- and advancement of education of women, and the cul- cial conscience and a spirit of leadership." Priority is tivation and diffusion of literature, science and art." given to the practice of Catholic worship as a corporate Testimony disclosed that Hood College, since 1946, has been conducted and controlled by an independent board act of the college community. Alice and I agreed that here was a splendid example of thirty trustees, and that only seven are selected by of a church college doing the work for which its found- the United Church of Christ. ers had dedicated their efforts and their lives. There The spokesmen for Hood College argued that seven were no apologies offered, no evasive secularism, no trustees out of thirty would hardly qualify Hood Col- creeping agnosticism. Here was a genuine example of a lege to be considered a part of any church. Further, church-related college. he pointed out, students are not required to have any Saint Joseph's made no real effort to avoid the alle- denominational affiliation, and no faculty or other gation of the plaintiff's complaint that it is "in whole workers in the college are hired by any church or reli- or in part a place of worship in the ministry of the gious order. No training of a religious sort is given at Roman Catholic Church, and . . . a religious institution Hood. No attempt is made to indoctrinate anyone with engaged in religious activities including the teaching any sectarian religion. Even the Bible is studied from a and practice of the Roman Catholic religion." critical point of view. The required chapel sessions on some Wednesday and Sunday nights are not conducted exclusively by Protestants or even Christians. Only a NEXT TO TAKE THE STAND was a voice on behalf little over 2 per cent of the school's financial support of Notre Dame of Maryland, a lovely college for young comes from the United Church of Christ. The spokes- women in the Baltimore area. This Notre Dame was man did concede, in a wee small voice, that Hood Col- organized about 1905 as a liberal arts college for lege considers itself "a Christian liberal arts college women by a Roman Catholic order, the Congregation committed to foster a spirit that is Christian." Its Chris- of the School Sisters of Notre Dame. Its charter, too, tian tradition seemed to be "holding for tolerance and was made part of the record in the case. It showed receptive to change." that the founders sought "to conduct a college for the Alice frowned and asked: "If Hood College is so non- education of women, for the promotion of learning, sectarian and so feebly Christian, why does it label itself and for general educational purposes." All five directors a church-related college of the Church of Christ?" of the original board of trustees had to be members of "Well," I replied, "it makes the church people feel the Congregation of the School Sisters of Notre Dame. good and the faculty feel liberal and doesn't do any Lately the Board of Trustees had been increased to harm until they get their hands caught in the Federal- seven. At least five are still required to be staff assistants State cooky jar." of the Roman Catholic Church. The other two are not "Why aren't they satisfied to be known as a church- required to be of any specific faith, or members of a re- sponsored school and get out of the area of church- ligious order, but both happen to be Roman Catholic. state relations?" Notre Dame college requires courses in religion. Before I could answer, the court turned its attention These must be taught consistent with dogmas of the to the case of Western Maryland College. The Western Roman Church. No particular religious affiliation is Maryland catalog, made part of the record, says that the required for admission of students. All but an insignifi- college is maintained for the benefit of the youth of every cant minority of the students are members of the Ro- religious denomination. No religious tests for admission man Catholic Church. Much effort is put forth to con- are required. "Nor shall any prejudice be made in the vert those who are not. Alice and I agreed that Notre choice of any officer or teacher in the said college on Dame of Maryland is a church school in the true sense account of his or her particular religious profession." of the word, and that its staff Sisters are doing a magnifi- More than one third of the original board of twenty- cent job in running a college where the students can three trustees was chosen from among the ministerial absorb a truly religious background. The further ef- members of the Baltimore Conference or the Peninsula forts of the plaintiff's attorneys to show that all the Conference of the Methodist Church, but today neither courses from algebra to zoology are permeated with the Baltimore Conference nor the Peninsula Conference religious symbolism and thought seemed superfluous. of the Methodist Church, nor any other organization, After dinner Alice and I returned for the late- "has any power or right to nominate, elect, confirm, or
MAY-JUNE 33 otherwise approve the selection or election of any mem- the church's teaching mission at the sacrifice of taxpayer ber of the Board of Trustees." generosity and interference. They have by far the better What a far cry from the days of Fayette R. Buell part of the bargain, for they enjoy real religious free- who founded the college in 1867 to be a loyal Method- dom in their service to their church. ist school! According to the testimony, the nearest "If this judge doesn't see the issues in this light, you Western Maryland comes today to teaching religion is to can bet that a higher court will!" provide a course in the critical study of the Bible. Out Alice," I said admiringly, "you show amazing per- of ten chapel services, seven lecture assemblies, and spicacity for one so young. Where do you get such wis- three concerts offered by the college, students must at- dom?" tend a total of thirteen. The less religiously-minded stu- "Why," she replied, "from my looking glass, of dents can avoid being seen in the chapel more than course!" *** three times a year. Even these chapel services are not always Protestant, or even Christian. As for financial "Dear Sir" support for Western Maryland from the Methodist Church, the spokesman said that for the school year From page 6 1962-1963 the church contributed only a little over 2 per cent of the school budget. The Methodist Church did if the investigators would look to the right source for the on one occasion give $750,000 toward the library build- answer. This is found in the first and second chapters of ing. But on a day-to-day basis, very little of the operating the Acts of the Apostles, fulfilling the prophecy of Joel 2: 28, 29. funds comes from the church that founded the college. {And don't forget 1 Corinthians 12-14. Rumor has it that When the spokesman concluded with a quotation Uncle Sam lost his interest in tongues research when he found from the Western Maryland College catalog—"It is that this gift could not be exercised out of both sides of the now one of the church-related colleges of the Methodist mouth. This limited its usefulness in terms of explaining away unconstitutional aid to parochial schools being offered under Church"—I knew what Alice was going to ask. So I the anti-poverty program, and how the Great Society is going turned to her and said, "He must mean 'church-spon- to be financed on a sub-100 billion dollar budget, which isn't sored.' The Methodist Church may have a feeling of really a sub-100 billion dollar budget, now that you men- pride in having participated in the founding of the col- tion it; but why mention it?—ED.} lege, but the church has long since ceased to have any SCHOOL BUS LEGISLATION control of, or close relation to, the college. It would be much better if they called their relationship 'sponsor- W. C. CALVERT ship' rather than 'affiliation.' Anyone who sends in a New Castle, Pa. contribution to a college can claim that he is a sponsor. In the present session of the legislature at Harrisburg there A church can do this without getting in 'Dutch' with the are pending bills aimed by the Catholics, their friends, and separationists when the college needs taxpayer support. plain politicians at boring a hole in the wall of separation between church and state... . I wonder whether anyone is going to argue this point Propaganda appealing to broad-mindedness and tolera- with the judge." tion has included the misleading claim that "Catholics are "I feel real sorry for the judge," Alice observed, a doubly taxed because they support both public and parochial worry-crease lining her forehead. schools." The hierarchy never admits that the parochial school expense is a priestly imposed tax; omitted is the fact that the "Why?" I asked. public schools are free to all. "That poor man is faced with an obvious but politi- Another line of propaganda is, "We need the public schools cally unpalatable decision. The facts clearly show that to haul our children for welfare and safety reasons only," when both the Catholic colleges, Notre Dame of Maryland 60 to 65 per cent of all school children in the nation walk to and Saint Joseph's, are church related—real and vital school, and are directed and guarded at all dangerous cross- ings by public officers. parts of the body of the Roman Catholic Church. The These leaders of the Catholic Church know the value of two secular colleges, Hood and Western Maryland, are repeated slogans. Through the news media—television, radio, actually sailing under false colors of Protestantism and newspaper, et cetera—the general public of Pennsylvania is religion. While they may be criticized for failure to be being prepared for passage of sectarian and selfish legislation. If the legislature can be persuaded to enact the parochial loyal to the faith and purposes of their church founders, school bus bills, the burden of supporting Catholic schools will they cannot be criticized for violating any legal principle have been shifted to the shoulders of others; Protestants will of church-state separation, for they are neither state be supporting a system of education that down-rates their nor church institutions. faith; they will be supporting a school system they do not own "The two Protestant-sponsored institutions have or control. I hope LIBERTY magazine will help us preserve the wall of separation in Pennsylvania. Public school buses are freed themselves from a church relationship that would supported by taxes from the public. Opponents of special deprive them of seeking financial assistance—and ulti- legislation for private, sectarian, and parochial schools should mate control—from the state, but only at the sacrifice reply, "No taxation for religious segregation." of their sacred mission. Not so the Roman Catholic {See "Let's Not Seek Aid for Catholic Schools," p. 14. schools, which have kept their faith as a true part of —ED.}
34 LIBERTY, 1965
the launching pad
With C. MERVYN MAXWELL Department of Religion, Union College, Lincoln, Nebraska
Q. The First Amendment guarantees the "free (2) To say that a nation is not honoring God exercise" of religion. In communities where man- unless it has a Christian amendment is to beg the agers threaten to fire employees who choose not to question. The founding fathers did not leave God's work on Sunday, don't we need laws to protect the name out of the Constitution because they wished employees' "free exercise" of religion? to dishonor Him, but because they believed His A. We do need protection for them, but are you religion would flourish better if the state were kept sure you want a law? Is it really Christian to force a separate from the church. The vast variety of reli- manager to lose money by closing his business on gious beliefs that flourish in the world today shows Sunday? Isn't this, perhaps, a kind of stealing? that, whether God approves such a variety or not, And do we want a law to keep a manager from He certainly permits it. In which way can our na- firing men who ask to attend church on Sunday? Do tion honor God the best—by naming Him in our we really want to have the police checking our Constitution, or by acting like Him in our practices? churches to see whether the employees have actually gone where they said they were going? Q. Your magazine makes a lot about the Isn't it better (1) to claim Matthew 6:33: "Seek relative importance of Saturday and Sunday, as ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; though God is very meticulous about a day. But and all these things [that are necessary to life] shall do we know what day the Sabbath is anyway? be added unto you"? And (2) to use such undeniably Wasn't the calendar changed sometime in the Christian methods as prayer, friendship, and kindly sixteenth century? Who knows which day is which? persuasion? Are you confronted with an irate man- ager? "Love and I hcd the wit to win; We drew a A. As the result of a slight defect in the Julian circle that took him in." Calendar, which had been set up in the first cen- Isn't it better to trust God than the government? tury before Christ, by the sixteenth century after Christ spring began on March 11 instead of March Q. Do you feel that God can honor a nation that 21. This early date for the arrival of spring caused does not officially recognize Him? a lot of confusion in Roman Catholic holy days. Consequently, Pope Gregory XIII decreed that A. I will assume this question is related to the Thursday, October 4, 1582, should be followed by current issue over the proposed Christian amend- Friday, October 15, 1582, in order to take up the ment, and may be restated as follows: "Can God ten days' slack. honor the United States so long as its Constitution But there was to be no change in the order of does not contain a Christian amendment?" the days in the weekly cycle. Friday specifically There are two answers. (1) History proves that followed Thursday that week, just as it always had. God has blessed this nation abundantly during the And Saturday, October 16, 1582, came just seven two centuries its Constitution has been devoid of days after the previous Saturday; Sunday, an exact a "Christian amendment." America has won all the seven days after the previous Sunday. wars she has ever fought, and has made more Jesus and the apostles went to church on Sab- money, provided more schooling, and rejoiced in a bath (Luke 4:16; Acts 18:4). There has been no higher percentage of active church members than change in the weekly cycle since then. There is no any large nation in the history of the world. The doubt at all that Jesus kept the Sabbath on the burden of proof lies with those who are proposing same weekly day we now call Saturday. the Christian amendment to show that God could continue to bless this nation if it adopted their amendment. In the hectic days after the Reformation, France Send your questions to and Spain went to great pains to prove, legally, THE LAUNCHING PAD that they were Christian nations. From the persecu- tions which resulted France took centuries to re- LIBERTY Magazine cover. Spain has never recovered. 6840 Eastern Ave., NW., Washington, D.C. 20012
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