Evening star., 1946-11-17
Text of Bishops Statement

/ ext OF 6ISnC
Tert OF the statement on Man
and the Peace" By the Catholic
bishops OF the United States
folIotDs
At the bottom Of all problems Of
the world today is the problem OF
man.
Unless those who bear the respon-
sibility of world leadership are in
basic agreement on what man is
there is no way out of the confusion
and conflict which block the road
to real peace.
Clashes on the question 'oI
boundaries, national security, minor.
ity safeguards, free movement oi
trade, easy access to raw materials
progressive disarmament and the
control of the atomic bomb, i'm
portant as these are, take second
place to the need of unity, in pro-
tecting man in the enjoyment oi
his God-given native rights. The
struggle Of the small nations for
their indisputable rights and the
stalemate among the strong nations
in a contest of power would admit
Of bearable, even though hard, COM
promise If the fate of man, as man,
did not hang in the balance.
First Obligation of Government,
To be more explicit, 1t is a ques-
ton whether national governments
are disposed to protect or to hinder
the individual in the exercise of
rights and in the discharge Of duties
which are proper to him prior to any
action by the state. The words of our
own Declaration of independence
express no new doctrine but voice
the basic tradition of Christian
civilization: "We hold these truths
to be self-evident, that all men are
created equal, that they are endowed
by their Creator with certain un-
alienable rights, that among these
are life, liberty, and the pursuit of
happiness"
Respect for the rights and duties
OF man as an individual and as a
member Of civic and domestic society
we hold to be the first obligation
OF any government to its citizens.
The state has just claim on the
cooperation of its citizens for the
common good, but not to the point
OF coercion in violation of their per-
sonal political, social and religious
rights. What a government cannot
DO in the exercise of its own
sovereignty it cannot approve or
abet on the part of another govern
ment in the settlement of COM
plicated issues such as confront the
nations in making peace and PLAN
ming for its preservation.
Conflict Between Russia and the West.
The menace to man as man looms
large in the outstanding questions
which engage the attention of the
victorious Allies. 1t hangs in the
background of the conflict between
Russia and the west which has so
long delayed the making Of. the
peace.
eighteen months have passed since
the surrender and occupation of
Germany and Is months since the
capitulation of Japan. There have
been continuous negotiations among
the three great victors, the United
States, Britain and Russia, for the
conclusion of agreements on stable
peace and reconstruction. These
negotiations have brought out in
the clear the tragic lack of unity
among the peacemakers on fun
damental issues.
In some instances agreements
which were pointed to the safe
guarding of basic human rights,
reached in conferences, have been
repudiated unilateralIy by the ac-,
tion of one of the victors, and these
have been tolerated by
the other nations which were par
ties to the agreements. In an effort
to preserve unity, fatal compromises
have been made, either explicitly
or by tolerance of shocking aggres-
sions.
In so difficult task 1t Is under
standableA that there should be diff
ferences and a clash of interests.
Some sort of sacrifice of particular
national advantages for the common
good of the international community,
and therefore for the ultimate good
Of all nations, must be made.
But the tragic fact is that the
cleavage touches issues on which
there can be no compromise. While
it is stated that the western democ-
racies and Russia with her satellite
governments in the countries of
Eastern Europe are at a stalemate
over questions of security against
aggressions, the fact is that under
lying these questions there is the
question of man, as man.
Freedoms Unacknowledged.
Throughout the war our battle cry
was the defense of native freedoms
against Nazi and Fascist totalitarian-
ism. The aftermath of war has
revealed victorious Soviet totalitari-
anism no less aggressive against
these freedoms in the countries it
has occupied.
Totalitarianism does not acknowl-
edge and respect these freedoms. 1t
persecutes the citizen who dares
assert his native rights. 1t imposes
on peoples its philosophy of life, in
which there is no authority above
the state, and in which all values
in life are derived from human con-
ventions. The corollary of such
philosophy is the police state, which
terrorizes its citizens and dominates
them in all fields of human behavior
Before we can hope for a good
peace, there must come an agreement
among the peacemakers on the basic
question of man, as man. If this
agreement is reached, then Sec
ondary, though important, defects
in the peace may be tolerable in
the hope of their eventual correc-
ton. Misrepresentation, deceitful
promises, the use of equivocal Ian
guage and violation of agreements
only widen the cleavage between
nations.
In the Charter of the United
Nations the signatories have con-
tracted to cooperate sin promoting
and encouraging respect for human
rights and for fundamental free
dor1oS for oil without 6ictinofi0y, &C