041274 Clerics Uphold Amnesty, Split On Abortion Issue

By DAVID E. ANDERSON

WASHINGTON (UPI) Large numbers of religious spokesmen, including an unprecedented panel of four ',Roman Catholic cardinals, trooped to Capitol Hill recently to give the religious community's view on two of the touchiest issues before Congress, amnesty and abortion,

On amnesty, the religious representatives spoke with nearly one voice -in favor of an amnesty to begin the process of national reconciliation of the d e e p polarization stemming from the 10-year war in Vietnam.

On abortion, the spokesman showed their own intense polarization and demonstrated that the religious community -V divided right down the middle on the issue.

Indeed, the hearings before Indiana Sen. Birch Bayh's Senate subcommittee on constitutional amendments, suggested the abortion issue is as much a religious and theological issue as it is a political and constitutional conflict, 'and increases tensions between churches.

At issue in the abortion controversy are two proposed -constitutional amendments which would have the effect of overturning last year's Supreme Court decision striking down most states' anti-abortion laws.

The Supreme Court decision ,was met with dismay among large segments of the religious community -primarily, but not exclusively, among Roman Catholics.

Since the decision, a huge 'right to life" movement has been mounted, seeking to nullify the impact of the Court decision and restore "the right to life."

Supporters of legalized abortion told the Bayh subcommittee that the constitutional amendment effort was an attempt "to write the views of a particular religious community into the laws of the land."

Bishop James Armstrong, United Methodist leader, speaking for the Religious Coalition for Abortion Rights, specifically spelled out the pro-abortion supporters belief that the right to life movement was a Roman Catholic one:

"A church that proclaims celibacy to reflect the highest level of excellence and that takes the dimmest possible view of scientific methods of birth control is not a logical position to impose its views on abortion on the remainder of the citizens."

Cardinal John Krol, archbishop of Philadelphia and president of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, attempted to dispel the notion that being anti-abortion was primarily a Roman Catholic position.

"We reject any suggestion that we are attempting to impose 'our' morality on others " Krol testified. "The right to life is not an invention of the Catholic Church or any other church. It is a basic human right which must undergird any civilized society."

Krol's view was backed by s u c h diverse Protestant groups as the Lutheran Church's Missouri Synod and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormon). as

 well as a representative of the Orthodox Jewish community.

The sharply divided testimony on the abortion issue was in dramatic contrast to the near consensus that witnesses for the religious community presented on the question of amnesty.

Representatives of the Catholic, Protestant and Jewish communities all testified before a House Judiciary subcommittee in favor of an amnesty for tens of thousands of young men in legal jeopardy because of resistance to the Vietnam war.

Jacqueline Levine. testifying on behalf of the American Jewish Congress, said amnesty should be granted "to draft resisters and evaders. deserters, exiles and those veterans who h a v e been penalized for life through less than honorable discharges."

All three representatives stressed that amnesty would be forgetting," a "blessed act of oblivion" aimed at bringing about. in the words of Rev. J. Bryan Hehir of the U. S. Catholic Conference. "healing and reconciliation to some divided members of society and reconciliation of these members with society as a whole."