Evening star., 1948-01-12
Protestants Organize
To Keep Separation
Of Church and State
BY cospor konnes

By Cospor Names
, Five Protestant clergymen today
announced formation of an organi.
cation to be known as Protestants
and Other Americans United 70,
Separation of Church and State anc
released a manifesto declaring 1t.
aims and policies.
: They said they are concerned
about the continued presence Of 9
United States Ambassador at the
Vatican and various aspects Of pub.
lie financial aid for parochia
schools. They added they have nc
purpose of criticizing or opposing
'the teaching or internal practices
of the Roman Catholic Church o.
any other" .
The clergymen, signers of the
manifesto, are DR.. Charles Clayton
Morrison, former editor of the
Christian Century; Methodist Bish-
op G. Bromley Oman of New York
DR.. John A. Mackay, president o1
Princeton Theological Seminary
Dr.. Louie D. Newton, president o1
the Southern Baptist Convention
and DR.. Edwin McNeill Poteat, pres
ident of Colgate Rochester Divinity
School.
Headquarters to Be Here.
National headquarters will be es-
tablished In Washington to fight
any encroachment on the Amer
ican principle Of separation OF
church and state" the statement
said. It added that a drive for
100000 to finance the organization
will be launched Immediately. E. H
De Groot, jr., Washington attorney
was named treasurer.
DR.. Poteat has been chosen pres
ident, Drs. Morrison, Mackay and
Oman vice presidents, and DR.
James M. Dawson, executive secre-
tary of the United States Office
of Baptist Public Relations, record
ing secretary. A full-time executive
secretary will be appointed, the an
nouncement stated.
Asserting "its single and only pur-
pose is to assure the maintenance
of the American principles OF sep
aration of church and state" the
manifesto declared the organization
will carry to the public eight Inn
mediate objectives. They are:
81. To enlighten and mobilize
public opinion in support of religious
liberty as this monumental prin-
ciple of democracy has been en-
bodied and implemented in the
Constitution by the separation of
church and state.
viii Resist Legislative Action.
20. To resist every attempt by
law or the administration Of law
further to widen the breach in the
wall Of separation of church and
state.
"3. To demand the immediate
discontinuance of the ambassador
ship to the papal head of the
Roman Catholic Church.
q. To work for the repeal Of
any law now on the statute books
of any State which sanctions the
granting Of aid to church schools
from the public school treasury.
IS. To invoke the aid of courts in
maintaining the integrity of the
Constitution with respect to the
separation of Church and State,
wherever and in whatever form the
issue rises, and specifically, to strive
by appropriate constitutional means
to secure a reconsideration Of the
two decisions of the Supreme Court
upholding the use of tax funds (a)
for providing the pupils Of paro-
chial schools with freeetext books,
and (b) for the transportation OF
pupils to parochial schools.
! ~. To Unite Citizens.
1 "6. To call out and unite all patri-
otic citizens in a concerted effort to
prevent the passage Of any law by
Congress which allots to church
schools any portion of a Federal
appropriation for education, or
which explicitly or implicitly permits
the State to much such ailotments
Of Federal funds. This purpose in
no wise prejudices pro or con the
propriety of Federal grant in aid
of public education.
~. To give all possible aid to the
citizens of any community or State
who are seeking to protect their
public schools from sectarian don1i-
nation, or resisting any other as
sault upon the principle of separa-
tion of church and State.
q. "8. In seeking these objectives we
are determined to pursue a course
that cannot be justly characterized
as anti Catholic, or as motivated by
Catholic animus. AS Protes-
tants, we can be called anti-Cath-
olic only IN the sense in which every
Roman Catholic is Protestant.
Profound differences separate us in
the area of religious faith, but these
differences have no relevancy in the
pursuit of our objectives as clearly
defined in this manifesto. The issue
Of separation of church and State
has arisen in the political arena and
we propose to meet 1t there"
3 Points Are Outlined.
The manifesto listed three points
where it claimed the American con-
cept of separation of church and
state was being subverted.
"One of the long-range purposes
of this church is to secure total
support for its extensive system of
parochial schools from the public
treasury" 1t said. TT has begun by
demanding that certain marginal
services such as bus transportation,
free text books, etc, for its parochial
school pupils be financed by public
funds raised by taxation for the
public schools"
The statement called particular
attention to the 1880 Supreme Court
decision upholding State legislation
sanctioning the use of public school
funds for free text books for
parochial schools and to the 1947
decision allowing the use of public
funds to transport students to|
parochial schools.
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