The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1908-11-16
LUTHERANS AFTER
MR.. ROOSEVELT
Members of Conference Take
Issue With Presidents
Views.
SEND HIM AN OPEN LETTER
DECLARE NO ROMAN CATHOLIC
SHOULD BE PRESIDENT.

New York. Nov. 15.-In an open letter
to President Roosevelt, the original Of
which, it is stated. was mailed to the
president Saturday night and a copy of
| which was made public mere today the
New York city members of the sVnOdical
/ church of America take issue with the
president over the letter made public
week ago. III which he denounced as -un-
warranted DiSOtrN refusal to vote for
candidate for high office because OF such
I candidates membership in the Roman
Catholic church.
The letter. it is announced was author
tZed at a recent meeting OF the local
Lutheran conference when committee
of two was directed 10 address the presi-
Gent The letter to the PRESIDENT declared
that it was '-subversive of the basic prin-
cipleS Of a real separation of church and
state to permit the religious belief or
non-belief of any candidate for public Of
flee to determine the casting of ones vote
for or against such candidate. except
when that very religious belief or nOn-be
lief antagoniZes this principle of complete
separation of church and state"
Thus they agreed with the president
that those citizens are TO >be severely
criticized who vote against man merely
because he is a Unitarian. a Jew. Meth
odist or any other relig1onist."
Differ From Catholics.
But fer centuries. the letter went on,
the Roman Catholics had denounced as
wrong. and a condition only TO be toll
Grated so long as it could no: be changed.
this separation of church and state and
full religious liberty. freedom OF speech.
conscience and the press The letter. to
substantiate these statements quoted
from Pope Boniface VII in his Bull IMAM
Sanctum. Plus Y. in his Syllabus OF 1867
Leo Kill in encyclicals. and Cardinal Glib
bons in his book. The Faith Of Our
Fathers"
How could subscribers 10 the doctrine
of separation of church and state, the
letter went on. consistently help TO elect
to the presidency a Roman Catholic so
long as that church does not officially
revoke its "diameTically opposed declar-
atiOns"2
Are the two million and more Luther
ans of this country. not to speak Of the
millions of other Protestants. who take
this position for the reasons stated. to
be accused of biSotry or fanaticism be-
cause of such stands?
The letter concludes:
I'VE protest that 1t is neither personal
feeling or religious antagonism which
determines our attitude in this matter.
but solely our disagreement with the Ro-
man Catholic church on this basic prin-
ciple, a disagreement growing out of the
rejection and denunciation by the Roman
Catholic church of that very principle
which you admOnsh all faithfully to up
hold. not only in the ordinary. but in
practice
accuse the bulk Of the Roman Catholics
of being disloyal citizens. We sincerely
believe a great many do not fully realize
the position the hierarchy of their church
maintains with reference to the principle
i'm question, and that if il came to an
the constitution or the papal hierarchy.
they would decide i'm favor of the former,
upholding the constitution of the United
States.