CT - Catholic Telegraph

'In Essentials, Unity; In Non-Essentials, Liberty; In All Things, Charity'

By David J. Merkowitz

(Last in a series)

Until the late 1970s, The Catholic Telegraph carried the motto: "In Essentials, Unity; In Non-Essentials, Liberty; In All Things, Charity." When one looks at the history of American Catholicism from the mid-1960s through early 1980s, it is not surprising that this sentiment would fall by the wayside. There were many sources of discord that made the sentiment in the Telegraph's motto seem increasingly anachronistic - a remnant of the 1830s.

CNS PHOTO

In 1964, Pope Paul VI received Dr. Martin Luther King and Rev. Ralph Abernathy at the Vatican.

With some distance from the battles of the 1960s and 1970s, we can more fully appreciate the sentiments expressed in the motto. It sums up the reason why a Catholic newspaper would exist. To defend the deposit of the faith, to encourage discussion on the issues facing our world, and to defend civility across all parts of life is as a good reason as any why The Catholic Telegraph has managed to last 175 years.

What might have contributed to the disappearance of the motto from the Telegraph? The simple answer is that America became embroiled in a culture war. Catholics and The Catholic Telegraph were caught up in it.

In the 1960s and the 1970s, sources of division in the American Catholic Church and American society seemed to multiply daily. The Second Vatican Council divided the seemingly unified American Catholic community. Between 1965 and 1973, most of the changes associated with Vatican II came about.

The Catholic Telegraph was filled with discussion of the changes. On the editorial page, positive and negative reactions to various changes in Catholic life were the order of the day. During this era, the paper contained an especially vibrant "letters to the editor" section, which was where the divisions in the Catholic community were revealed.

While the paper served as a key resource for the archdiocese in introducing the reforms of Vatican II, the changes taking place in the broader society were even more disruptive.

The racial conflicts of the 1960s created deep and painful divisions throughout all levels of American society. The issue of race garnered more attention than any other non-Catholic issue from the mid-1960s through the 1970s. Cincinnati and Dayton both experiences urban race riots. In both cities, the late 1960s were marked by major battles over integration in housing and schools.

The cities of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati did not escape the challenges that the 1960s and 1970s brought to all American cities. The paper gave close attention to the abysmal poverty that was widespread in the African-American communities. As was the case in the 1950s, the Telegraph continued to take a more progressive line on race relations than did most Catholics.

Despite its history of giving extraordinary attention to the African-American community, the rise of the black radicalism challenged the way the Telegraph dealt with racial issues. African Americans were making strong stands for greater inclusion on their own terms, and, by the mid-1970s, there was clearly a loss of patience with radical actions of some of the African-American community, even though much of it had been provoked by white Catholics resisting integration.

CT FILE PHOTO

Within a year of the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, pro-life protestors were a regular and steadfast presence at an abortion clinic in Walnut Hills.

Although Americans today are divided over our current conflict in Iraq and elsewhere, the disagreement pales in comparison to that seen during the Vietnam War. Vietnam was certainly one of the primary factors that contributed to the culture war in America. Like the Korean War, the Vietnam War went on almost without direct mention in the Telegraph. The paper did not discuss the experience of individual Catholic soldiers, which it had done in previous wars. Instead, the paper carefully couched its opposition to the war in broader pleas for peace in all war-torn areas. These calls for peace were quite common, but they rarely directly addressed the situation in Vietnam. The paper usually quoted Pope Paul VI or one of the documents from Vatican II to proclaim a general opposition to war as effective method of achieving a nation's objectives.

But there was one particular exception. The My Lai incident merited a number of editorials in the newspaper. It is considered one of the lowest points in American military history and did irreparable damage to the war effort and America's standing in the world.

The paper first mentioned My Lai when the event leaked out in December 1969 and then again after Lt. William Calley was convicted for his part in the affair in April 1971. While it was clear the paper opposed the war on general terms, it took seriously the desire for charity in all things. Its editorial was balanced and reasonably dispassionate, but made clear that United States needed to extricate itself from the situation in Vietnam.

Vietnam was not the only foreign policy issue that attracted the Telegraph's attention. In 1967 and 1973, there were major flare-ups in the Middle East as the Arab nations attacked Israel, including on Yom Kippur, the highest holy day in the Jewish calendar. The war in Biafra - a region of Nigeria - was also regularly discussed.

The longest lasting divisions arose from the changes in American culture and society. The rise of the women's and gay rights movements in the late 1960s exacerbated tensions between the church and society. And one of America's periodic sexual revolutions shredded many traditional values related to sexuality, dating and marriage.

Two events are of special importance in understanding the development of American Catholicism at the end of the 20th century. On Aug. 8, 1968, Pope Paul VI propagated the encyclical Humanae Vitae. Just as the Telegraph had printed the full text of all Vatican II documents, it printed the full text of this encyclical. The document was most famous for its statement that artificial contraception, even within the bounds of marriage, was condemned. The rhythm method or its more modern descendant, Natural Family Planning, was the only form of birth control acceptable under the rubrics of the encyclical. Further, the pope argued that it was well within the church's authority and competency to instruct on these matters. This encyclical was a source of a great deal of debate and discord.

In 1973, the Supreme Court decided the case Roe vs. Wade, which made nearly all abortions legal in the United States. By virtue of the Supreme Court ruling, the debate over abortion did not take place among of the elected representatives of the people but instead was dominated by political action groups and lawyers. But the abortion issue did not suddenly appear out of nowhere in 1973. Throughout the late 1960s, states began to legalize abortion, and there were rumblings of a push for the legalization of abortion at the national level. The pages of The Catholic Telegraph were filled with denunciations of abortion and calls to action to prevent the spread of this activity throughout the 1960s. Much of the anti-abortion energy came through most clearly in the letters from women to the editor.

It is clear by the mid-1970s that the pro-life movement had become the dominant focus of Catholic action and even identity in the culture war. And in the midst of the 1980 presidential election, the question of voting and life issues was raised. Should Catholics vote simply on the basis of abortion, or should they take into account the full platform of each candidate? The Telegraph provided space for both sides to make their case.

The culture wars that blossomed in the 1970s made it much harder for the paper to fulfill its long-held motto. In the much more antagonistic environment of the late 1970s, some may have questioned whether Catholics really should be unified on any issue, while others may have had a hard time accepting the need to respect those with whom they disagreed, particularly those engaged in the battle over abortion and related life issues.

The Telegraph was often called upon to defend the honor and rights of the Catholic Church and its members in America. The paper was resolute in its belief in the great potential of the American experiment and the truths embodied in the Catholic Church.

Within those bounds, the paper often engaged in a lively discourse with the world around it. When it seemed necessary, the paper would point out the deficiencies in American society or in the conduct of a war or the peace that followed. It was a responsible critic of American life across the range of topics that divided Americans. The Telegraph has tended to defend the diversity of Catholic life and oppose more centralizing tendencies.

As one looks back across the history of The Catholic Telegraph, one senses that each generation of editors and writers took to heart the admonition of the motto to deal in all matters with charity. While frustration sometimes comes through in the pages of the paper, a desire to support intelligent and reasoned debate was a stronger force. This is not to say that the paper was not above a good intellectual joust with anyone the Telegraph felt had failed to take the Catholic Church seriously or lobbed unsubstantiated claims against the church and its members.

Bishop Fenwick would be proud and probably a little surprised at what the last 175 years has brought.

A war divided a church and a nation

The Catholic Church in 1968 was just as divided about the war in Vietnam as the rest of the nation was. Going into the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, the pages of Catholic newspapers around the country echoed the turmoil over U.S. involvement in Vietnam.

The unrest that marked Chicago during the convention was an echo of what had been occurring throughout the country intermittently up until that point and with increasing frequency over the next few years.

CNS PHOTO

Gas-masked Ohio National Guardsmen advance through clouds of tear gas during an anti-war rally on the campus of Kent State University in 1970. Shortly after this photo was taken, the troops opened fire, and four students were killed.

Although rioting erupted on campuses and in cities across the country, most often the nation's upheaval took the form of peaceful demonstrations. Catholic campuses were not exempt.

Advertisements in newspapers, petitions to Congress and letters to the president were the most common outlet for students and faculty at Catholic institutions to express their feelings.

A 1966 advertisement in the newspaper of the Archdiocese of Washington, the Catholic Standard, was signed by dozens of faculty members and students at The Catholic University of America who criticized U.S. policy in Vietnam. Similar petitions and letters circulated at New York's John Fisher College, John Carroll University in University Heights, Ohio; at the University of San Francisco; and at Cincinnati's own Xavier University.

An April 1967 letter to Defense Secretary Robert McNamara, signed by 1,000 seminarians from 49 states enrolled in 65 seminaries, argued that the war was wrong and asked him to broaden the conscientious objection clause in the draft law. "We are more and more uncomfortable about accepting deferments not available to others," said the priesthood candidates.

The faculty and students of St. Meinrad's Seminary in Indiana wrote to the U.S. bishops in February 1968, saying the Vietnam War could not be morally justified under church teaching.

And there were plenty of physical protests sponsored by and involving Catholic school students and faculty. In 1965, Notre Dame University students began a fast at a dorm chapel to protest restrictions being imposed by bishops or religious orders on priests involved in civil rights or anti-war activities. In Oct. 1967, Fordham University campus police dragged students from a student center for blockading a Navy recruiting table for several days.

The Catholic Worker movement was a source of many anti-war protests. Catholic Worker members were involved in a peace parade in New York City in 1966 and conducted a fast at St. Joseph's Cathedral chapel in Manchester, N.H., to protest restrictions on priests who were involved in Vietnam protests.

Those were the days when Jesuit Father Daniel Berrigan and his brother, Philip Berrigan, then a Josephite priest, first made names for themselves as protesters, being arrested repeatedly and facing sanctions from their superiors. In January 1968, 174 Chicago priests published an ad in the Chicago Daily News asking for a halt in bombing in North Vietnam. It quoted Pope Paul VI's call for suspension of bombing and initiation of negotiations.

An August 1967 statement by four bishops endorsed the Negotiation NOW efforts to begin peace talks and offer economic development incentives to North Vietnam. It was signed by Archbishop Paul J. Hallinan of Atlanta, Bishop Victor J. Reed of Oklahoma City-Tulsa, Auxiliary Bishop James P. Shannon of St. Paul-Minneapolis and Bishop Dougherty.

As in the rest of the country, however, sentiment within the Catholic Church was far from universally opposed to the war. Bishops and priests regularly participated prominently in rallies of support for U.S. policy and "patriotism" events directed at counteracting the anti-war movement. - CNS