Big Guns

For six years Catholics ignored the Protestant pot shots against Presidential Representative Myron C. Taylor's appointment to the Vatican. But when the Protestants rolled up their heavy artillery, in the shape of Bishop Oxnam's influential interdenominational delegation to the White House (TIME, June 17), the Catholics finally answered with their biggest gun.

Exploded New York's Francis Cardinal Spellman last week: "I believe in and practice tolerance. . . . But when reunions of large groups of religious leaders, with the pretext of representing . . . 40,000,000 Americans, sow seeds of dissension and disunion, I feel it my duty as an American and a Catholic to help defend our nation against such misrepresentations. . . .

"Bigotry thrives on ignorance, and even intelligent people can be bigoted if they are not informed in fields of knowledge that have not come under their observation. I would like to believe that only ignorance is the reason for this illogical and harmful statement. . . .

"What reason have these men of religion to make such demands of the President? Is it the anti-Catholicism of unhooded Klansmen sowing seeds of disunion within our treasured nation? . . . Only the absence of good will can misrepresent Mr. Taylor's presence [at the Vatican]. . . ."

When he learned of the Cardinal's remarks, Methodist Bishop Oxnam fired right back: "The Roman Catholic Church insists on being a church and a state. How can an American citizen be at once loyal to his own country and his President and also loyal to another political state and its political ruler, if the two states differ in international policy?

"Is it not better for a church to be a church and not try to be a church and state? . . ." The Bishop insisted: "I do want the fundamental relations of church and state brought out."

This outburst drew Catholic fire from another quarter. Edward T. McCaffrey, national commander of the Catholic War Veterans, gave the press a letter to Bishop Oxnam: "You ignorantly or falsely assume that Catholics are called upon to offer political loyalty to any other country. . . . You should know that Catholics owe only spiritual fealty to His Holiness, the Pope, and that on matters of faith and morals only is the Holy Father regarded as infallible. . . ."

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