Draft rejects US .nuclearpolicy
By Jerry FUteau NC News Service Important elements of current U.S. nuclear deterrence policy are condemned as immoral in a draft national pastoral letter written by a committee of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops. The document, specifically' re jects, on the basis of traditional Catholic moral pr:inciples, any policy that holds out the' option of nuclear response to a non
nuclear ai:t..ck, or any strategic ination. way, the authors say. They em deterrence policy that involves Saying that "we face . . . a phasize that the principle of tol the targeting or even the threat deterrent that is in place and eration invoked is not "a com of targeting of nuclear warheads which we cannot, according to forting moral judgment, but an OQ civilian popul,ations. . Catholic moral principles, ap urgent call to efforts to change." The former policy is part of prove," the authors conclude. that The draft pastoral letter, writ the U.S.-NATO defense policy in the only justification for poss ten by a committee of five bish Western Europe. The latter is a ession of nuclear weapons is the ops headed by Archbishop Jo policy operative in current global principle of temporary "tolera seph L. Bernardin of Cincinnati, . tion of moral evil.". The principle was distributed last month to U.S. nuclear strategy. The document sharply ques , of toleration, however, demands about 250 U.S. bishops attend that all efforts be made to get ing a 10-day assembly at St.. tions even the possession of nu out of this "objectively evil situa- . John's University in Collegeville, clear weapons ,without substan tive progress toward their elim tion" in an orderly, controlled Minn.
Liberty's lover
By Pat McGowan Two years ago The Anchor ran a Fourth of July feature story on Charles DeLeo, self-styled Keep er of the Flame of the Statue of Liberty. It was not an Anchor exclus ive. The Reader's Digest, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, The New York Daily News, many other newspapers and tele vision programs: all have had their fancy caught by a 34-year old 'vietnam veteran who's con ducted a lifelong love affair with Lady Liberty. For the Fourth of July, 1982, in a world torn by wars, terrified of nuclear annihilation, not very sure of anything anymore, it seems a good idea to run another story about DeLeo, who has his priorities extremely straight: cross, flag, Lady Liberty. Born on New York City's Low er East Side, he quit high school to join the Marines, served in Vietnam, then drifted from one job to another before, 10 years ago, destiny caught up with him. Out of work and visiting the statue that dominates New York harbor, he impulsively applied for a National Park Service job on Liberty Island. Hired as a maintenance mechanic's helper, he cleans the island grounds and performs other routine chores. But before long he was drawn to the statue itself, where he now also checks the four 10,000 candlepower bulbs in Lady Lib erty's torch, cleans her 200 win dowpanes and keeps her interior paint shipshape. Members of the public climb to Liberty's crown, 26 stories above the harbor. But DeLeo climbs four more stories, up a cramped ladder within the statue's right arm, to' re'ach the torch, where he begins each day with prayer, perched on a breathtakingly in substantial catwalk surrounding the "lamp beside the golden door." He feels ~is work is a religious vocation. When Pope John Paul I( spoke at nearby Battery Park in 1979 he lit Liberty's torch and prayed for the suc cess of the papal pilgrimage. Un married, he uses most of his $18,000 yearly salary on such projects as sponsoring overseas orphans ~nd helping the missions of Mother Teresa.
To date he has given away over $22,000, responding to quer ies such as "Are you crazy, Charlie, giving all your money away when times are so unsure and money is so tight?" with a simple, "I don't give my money away, but put it into God's bank." DeLeo is generous with time as well as money, answering let· ters, of which he receives hun dreds, mainly' from schoolchild. ren, promptly and at length. Among his correspondents is Luella Wagner of St. Dominic's parish, Swansea. Some time ago she heard of the Keeper of the Flame and sent him a Statue of Liberty commemorative medal her husband had obtained in .France during World War·II. .The gift sparked a regular cor respondence and recently Mrs. Wagner received a gift in re turn: two small pieces of one of the original gl!lSS panes protect ing Liberty's torch. DeLeo explained that the torch .was earlier this spring hit by lightning, shattering glass which had been in place since 1892. He collected the shards and has sent them as precious relics to special friends. He also sends correspondents copies of his poems, many of which have' been brought to gether in pamphlet (oim. He is especially proud of a prose poem about Lady Liberty, which he recently recited on "Real to Reel," ·a nationa11y syndicated Catholic television program. It follows:
The document was not made public. Nevertheless, stories on it appeared in the general press and elsewhere. They were ap parently based on what reporters were being told about the docu ment, however, rather than on a reading of the document itself. The document itself reveals tightly reasoned applications of moral principles which, if agreed to by the rest of the U.S. hier archy, would make the final Turn to Page Seven
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DIOCESAN. NEWSPAPER FOR SOUTHEAST MASSl,CAPE & ISLANDS Vol. 26, No. 26'
Fall River, 'Mass., Friday, July 2, 1982
20c, $6 Per Year
A Prayer of Liberty Dear God, there's some-, thing I've been meaning to tell you, which is thanks. Next only to the Cross that your divine Son did bear for the sins of all mankind and my country's flag, no symbol means more to me than the Statue of Liberty. Turn to Page Three
NOTICE
For theconvemence of sum· mer visitors, our annual listing of Cape Cod Mass schedules ap pears on page 8. It will appear every other week during the sum· mer months.
DON'T LOOK DOWN: 30 dizzying stories above New York harbor, Charles DeLeo tends the torch of the Statue of Liberty. (Washington Post Photo by Donald F. Holway)