the catholic peace jieLLoLDship
Bulletin
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JUNE
1965
In Selma,
Alabama
By Bob Gilliam
and Tom Cornell
The memorial service for Rev. James
Reeb, the murdered Unitarian minister,
was held in the overflowing Browns
Memorial Chapel, center of the voter
registration activities in Selma, Alabama. Outside we could hear the
prayers and the eulogies, punctuated
by the thunderous singing of hymns
and freedom songs. Inside there were
more whie faces than black. The native
Selma Negroes had perhaps stayed outside to give their guests a chance to
participate in this service. When we
managed to squeeze inside the church
we were elated to see in the sanctuary
Archbishop Iakovos, Primate of the
Greek Orthodox Church in North and
South America, and next to him, Bishop
John Hines, Presiding Bishop of the
Protestant Episcopal Church in the
United States, and next to him, Bishop-
Elect Shannon of St. Thomas College
in St. Paul, Minnesota.
For two and one half hours it continued. Half way through the service
the congregation suddenly rose to its
feet and a swell of spontaneous applause
grew deafening. Martin Luther King,
the symbol and the leader, had arrived.
He took his place in the sanctuary, in
the seat of honor, and delivered a
eulogy. Emotional tensions were high.
The final prayers were to be said. A
representative of the American Friends
Service Committee for which Rev. Reeb
had worked spoke. Then a Unitarian,
and then, at last, Rev. Abernathy told
us we would hear from the rabbi and
end the service by singing "We Shall
Overcome."
There was a mix-up. Archbishop
Iakovos started singing, deeply, through
his beard, "We Shall Overcome. . . ."
The congregation joined in singing
three verses and then hummed the tune
softly. At this inspired moment the
rabbi arose and intoned, in Hebrew,
Kaddish, the Jewish prayer for the
dead.
As the singing and the prayer subsided, Rev. Abernathy, who had just
been passed a note, went to the microphone and said, "We have a court
order, just delivered. We are going to
march to the courthouse. We are going
to march." In a joyful noise unto the
Lord, all the pent-up frustration at the
horror of the past weeks' atrocities
poured out of hundreds of hearts and
voices at this first symbolic victory of
the Selma protest.
(Continued   on   Pg.  2)
PRECEDENT SET: Following a New York City conference March 3 on the technological
and moral implications of Pacem in Terris, a vigil calling for a cease-fire in Vietnam
was conducted by 125 representatives of all major faiths. Left to right above are
Elizabeth Bartelme, editor of Catholic books at the Macmillan Company; Mother Mary
Berchmans and Mother Mary Alice, both of the faculty of the College of New Rochelle,
an unidentified student; Ned O'Gorman, poet and essayist; and Martin Corbin, CPF Co-
chairman and managing editor of The Catholic Worker. Other participants included
Fr. Philip Berrigan, CPF Co-chairman, Fr. Thomas Cowley, O.P., visiting professor at
the College of New Rochelle, Fr. Peter Riga, theologian and author, and Mother
Amadeus, President of the College of New Rochelle.
Vietnam: The Basic Question
The most basic question raised by the war in Vietnam is not one of tactics
but of war itself. Our problem is not whether to use gas, napalm, phosphorous
or defoliants—nor even whether torture should be permitted: it is quite simply
whether we should be resorting to arms at all.
I am well aware this question is not new, especially within the religious
communities. With a few alterations here and there, the exchange in ancient
Rome between Celsus and Origen (debating whether Christians should serve in
the army )  would be considered timely in any contemporary journal.
Yet if the question is as old as civilization, the situation which confronts us
today is relatively new. Because of technological developments in the mechanics
of warfare, even George Orwell's social prophecies in 1984 now seem curiously
dated. The theological middle-ground of the just war tradition, cultivated by
the churches and responsible men for centuries, has been unceremoniously pulled
from under us. ,
The chief difficulty smings from a refocusing of violence in warfare. There
was a time when volunteer (at worst, conscript) armies met for battle on the
plains, when cross-bows were put aside on holy days, when men made such strange
oaths, now only amusing to our ears, as Robert the Pious': "I will not attack
noble ladies traveling without husband, not their maids, nor widows and nuns—
unless it is their fault." Seeds of Destruction by Thomas Merton, Farrar, Straus
and Giroux, 1964. p. 150.) Ali sorts of ecclesiastical restrictions were placed on
warfare, including, in the tenth century, a proscribed 40-day penitential fast for
anyone who killed an enemy in war, even if the war was considered just.
The shift from combatant-focused violence to the destruction of whole population sectors, whether they be whole villages or entire cities, is said by military
(Continued  on   Pg.   6)
wl»VJEl™ I A petition has been mailed to each person on the CPF mailing list. This petition to Pope Paul VI urging continued leadership on the part of
the Church for a nonviolent resolution of the conflict in Vietnam, a strengthening
of the Vatican Council's condemnation of modern war and recognition of the
rights of conscentious objectors, must be returned to this office with as many signatures as possible at the earliest feasible time. Target date for presentation  of