The Bishops' Five

The 59th triennial general convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church wound up two weeks in Miami with a 2,500-word pastoral letter from the House of Bishops that will be read in each of the 7,290 Episcopal churches in the U.S. The bishops set forth what they called five great truths. Perhaps the most significant point, backed by a separate resolution urging compliance with the Supreme Court decision on integration in public schools, concerned justice in racial matters.

"We must remember that the majority of mankind belong to the colored races . . . If America continues to lose friends as others become convinced that we do not mean what we say about justice and equality . . . these judgments are the plain cost we pay in God's universe for not practicing what we preach."

Other truths:

P: The importance of personal discussion ("real meeting") between people.

P: The godly necessity of law. "The people of this land do not need to be reminded at this moment of the evils of tyranny, but ... of the evils of anarchy."

P: The superiority of reason over emotion. "We ask everyone in this nation to keep his voice down."

P: Christians must remember "the membership we share together in the Church."

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