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f 1'-' THREE BI 3HOPS PROHIBIT CATHOLICS VOTE liillMlfl p l>P Sunda To Read Pastoral Letter Througnout Island

highest dignitaries Th . of the noman in Puerto Ric ~ onseigneurs James P. Davis , Archbishop of E3an Juan, J a,{,ji( McManus , Bishop of Pone~ and Luis Aponte Martinez , Auxilary ishop of Ponce have ordered the reading in churches and chapels all over the island of a pastoral letter in which 6atholics are prohibited tb• the Popular Democratic Party. This letter, according to the accompanying note , should be read at all masses on Sunday October 23 , or at the nearest mass after receiving a:€1ie x!!lt&ll!I! ~ letter,

in .all churches and eza~s chapels in Se urban and rural areas throughout the island. It is also P'f"9p&gaeed·Ezr0«gk . recommended that the letter be reproduced and H4' fJHIJ:li:mh.-... '" (;,,,/ t z in z»Mrca:;e by Catholic organizations ~ leaflets, newspapers, .i.-­ Cf"'Y\ magazines, bulletin boards, and by radi o and /-. television. ~.- - In th~astoral letter the bishops allege that "the philosphy of the Popular Democratic Party is anti-Christian and anti-C~~lic and that it is based on the · the heresy thatAwill of the people and not divine law decides what is moral and immoral , " ~ They add that it is I \\ their obligation 0 prohibit cel\,1olics from voting for a Party which to

the ethics ~e-Ptl1=i~~ ~ denying Christian Mell"8._lltiill• d~~~ ~ -2-

The text of e ocument which is entitled) "Pastoral Letter ~"'/......

On the £ ~l>\."1 gram" and which is addressed to priests and the faithful in general, follows :

"In EL MUNDO, eptember 21, 1960, a paid advertisement was published on THE PtlOGRAM OF THE POPULAR DEMOCRATIC PA RTY". Bishops of , with the ---· watching over the purtty of doctrine and of alerting the Catholic community dangers to its moral and religious life, we in are interested~and concerned by the chap ~ er of the Official program of the PPD entitled "RELI GION AND POLITICS" . frl "This section begins~ sayin~' W e are deeply disturbed by the attempt to mix religio with politics • •• In Puerto Rico •• • there has never been anticlericalism • •• Clericalism is not the noble fulfillment of the function of religion •• • Clerical~ is the interven't.on of oli tcs."' "We see in this part of the an anti-democratic attempt to limit the clergy to religious activities and to deny them rights as citizens. The clergy is not even x conceded the right to protest against political acts which are p r~ iudicial to religious doctrine and ~ics. 11 The Democratic Party) of the great civilization to which it aspires ••• favors all legitim activities of the Church, strictly including religious teaching • •• in a manner that1maintains the .. ·, < -3-

the separation of Church a nd States so necessa ry to spiritual

peace and good democracy in 1 our 71'/:t;t· I ~ • I -;::/~ "We see in this part of th /\ program an enormous contradiction. Because if religion is ad=:::=~~~ the great civilization to which the Fµ\g) aspires, why is it that the P.D wants to limit religious teaching to 5% of our

childr~ of school age, that is to those who attend parrochial schools? And why is it that the ~ through \

~ublic institu ions promotes certain immoral practices and at the same time ignores all protest from ecclesiastical authorities to these pBBctices?

1;-rhe 1(U Program says: ~It worries us that one part of our public opinion should

want to impose rules of ~- personal conduct on another part of our public opinmon on the basis of laws that prohibit and sanctionl.' ~~ "WeJ ~ this part of the ~ program , because at no time have~ wanted to impose by political means rules of personal or moral conduct on anybody . But we do maintain that one cannot use public means to promote immoral ideas or practices. This is what the ~ • has done and our protest is against this •. r "The Program says :4" The democratic philosphy of our acts er P...- party implies that only those i-..eA that the consensuf of ~ITTS m~ robeery, perjury, Puerto Ricans considers immora~can be prohibited with J s~anctions ; but that it is not licit in(ree s~ciety to prohibit by law those acts a respectable part of Mui public opinion does not consider immoral .""" 'I. -4- - !j

ttFrom the above it is evident that the ~ philosphy i .s anti-Christian and anti-Catholic and that it is based on the

modern heresy that the popular will and not d~vine law ~ decides ~ n what is moral or immoral. This philosophy oU- ~~ - ~ . aa sx~KJs f'refu t e~the Ten Commandments of God and permits ~4- ~~~,~~~ Ekaxzx KJX0KzxaBzxzxz ' (!:.he substitution of the] popular and s+~~~ human ~lllll!Rcri terion :-,;> ~ " ill Moreover this philosophy of the PPD is ( likeri

a public announcement that the PPD w}~ conti~ue promoting

or permitting ~ public institution~ promote all

the immoral practices ~ which ::, have protested in the past)

result that~religion which,it is said, JljYl1~...... J, is part of the great civilization to which the aspires, will be no more than an erroneous and undesirable humanism , and that same great civilization will be al species of nee-paganism.

"Conscious of our · duty as Bis~ops of the Catholic ~. ~...... ut f Church an d &eB"7'9Q08 o the seriousness of our ac ion at this precise moment, we say that ·s ame official program of the PPrv) in that part which expresses Pfzyphilosophy on religion and morality, obl iges us to condemn that philosophy and to warn Catholics that they cannot give their vote to any party which includes this in their program.

tt!t is not our intention to impose Catholic morality on the government or on

accepts as its -5- •

1 ~ denying (d:i::~ !Ille Christian \fii ow• at1' 1 ~ . "In this difficult moment, to a11 cN olics the words and advice of Pope Leon XIII, in his l '\ I Encycmical Letter ~ Inmortale Dei~: It is neccesary that

Catholics worthy of the na e t want before all to bef and ~ ~ e.. ._./.,.( , to ~seem to be · · s of the Church; , they 't •-t ?° hesitation all that take honest

def end ~h and justice. Day of

San Juan, Puerto Rico, Oct. 18, 1960,/~ t. Lucas · the Evangilist. James P. Davis , Archbishop of San Juan; James E. McManus, C. SS. R., Bishop of Ponce; Luis Aponte Martinez , of Lares •

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