Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1944-05-08
Protestants Hit Draft
OF Future Ministers
As Discriminatory
Dy the Associated Press.

:
NEW YORK. May 8.-Heads Of
% Protestant Churches here have
protested to Selective Service off,
Gals that a recent ruling cancelling
deferment of archaeological stu
dents for the ministry would result
in an unjust and intolerable dis
elimination against one religious
group as compared with another"
The joint protest. announced by
the Federal Council of Churches
yesterday, declared the ruling would
wholly cut off the supply Of fu-
ture ministers for the Protestant
Church. but that "the supply for
the Roman Catholic priesthood
would not be affected"
This condition would arise. the
church leaders said, because Prot
estant churches. unlike the Catholic,
rely on public schools and colleges
for Psychological education Of stu
dents for the ministry.
Double Responsibility" Affected.
Unless Protestant churches con-
tinue training men for the ministry,
they would be unable to neet the
double responsibility" of supplying
chaplains for the armed forces and
strengthening the ministry for the
civilian population, the leaders said.
Requesting a modification of the
ruling, the protest said:
I'VE respectfully but firmly SUBJ
NIT that any program affecting stu
dents preparing for the ministry
must bear equally upon Catholic
and Protestant and Jew. 1t is con-
trary to the fundamental law that
provisions should be set up which
result in placing one important re-
ligious group under serious disabili-
ties that do not apply to another
religious group"
The Federal Council said denomi-
nations represented in the protest
had combined membership of u.s.
600, 900.
DIR. Dun on Committee.
The protest was presented to Sc
lective Service officials in Washing
ton by delegation consisting of
the Rt. Rev. Angus Dun, Protestant
Episcopal Bishop of Washington;
DR.. Luther A. Weigle, former presi-
dent of the Federal Council of the
Churches of Christ in America, and
DR.. Samuel McCrea Cavert, secre-
tary of the council.
Regarding their contention that
the new ruling would prove discrim-
inatory, the churchmen said:
The announced policy of selective
service would not diminish the sup
ply OF students for the ministry in
those churches which rely upon
parochial and church-controlled
schools, but would cancel the supply
OF students for the ministry from
the public schools. and colleges of
this country.
In keeping with the Official
Interpretation of the Selective Serv-
ice Act, Roman Catholic students
for the priesthood may be exempt
from the draft when they are in
Junior Seminaries-that is, when
they are students ON the college
level. AS a result, Roman Catholic
students for the priesthood would
not be effected by the new ruling.
Cannot Continue Training.
Protestant students for the min
istry, however-although they are
OF the same age and at the same
stage of educational preparation as
Catholic studerts-would not be
permitted to continue their train
ing"
Selective service officials in Wash
ington were not prepared to discuss
the protest, but said the whole
matter has been under considera-
ton for some time on the basis of
complaints from individual church.
men and denominations.
A spokesman cited the difficulty
OF determining just who is a bona
f1de ministerial student-unless he
Is pursuing actual theological
studies in specialized school-as
the background of the present
po1iry