Bishop Joseph L. Bernardin has issued a statement saying two priests who gave their support to a Hiroshima Day Walk last Saturday did it as individuals and not as official spokesmen for the Archdiocese of Atlanta.

His statement came in reply to questions about the actions of Father Leonard F.X. Mayhew, associate editor of the Bulletin, and Father Matthew Kemp. Both priests signed a statement urging support for the rally commemorating the victims of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and protesting U.S. involvement in Vietnam.

In his statement the bishop said, “The two priests who have given their support to the Hiroshima Day Walk have done so as individuals, not as official spokesmen for the Archdiocese of Atlanta. Accordingly, their stand does not necessarily reflect the official position of the archdiocese. It should be pointed out that the matter of United States involvement in Vietnam is being widely debated today, and the two priests involved surely have the right to express their personal opinions as much as anyone else.”

Asked for his own views, Bishop Bernardin replied, “I personally have faith in the integrity of our government regarding our aims in Vietnam. I support the American position because I feel that at this time and under the present circumstances, there is no other really honorable alternative.”

“I hasten to add, however, that it is legitimate--even necessary--to discuss the fact and the degree of involvement of the United States in this war so that we will never lose our moral perspective. Moreover, we must not forget that a true and lasting peace will not be achieved solely by military victory; it will be achieved only when the causes of war are removed.” The bishop said, “It is important to remember, however, that the causes of war cannot be removed unilaterally. As Pope John stated in the opening paragraph of his great encyclical, “Pacem In Terris:” “Peace on earth, which the men of every era have most eagerly yearned for, can be firmly established only if the order laid down by God can be dutifully observed.” Bishop Bernardin said, “Only if this order is observed by all nations of the world will they be able to give their citizens what they need -- socially, educationally, economically and culturally -- to live in a way befitting their God-given human dignity.”

“What Pope John said in the same encyclican in reference to the overall problem of war. True peace, in other words which would make the building up of armaments and actual conflict unnecessary will never come about unless everyone sincerely cooperates to ban the fear and anxious expectation of war with which men are oppressed.’”

“If this is to come about, the fundamental principle on which our present peace depends must be replaced by another, which declares that the true and solid peace of nations consists not in equality of arms but in mutual trust alone.”

Archbishop Paul J. Hallinan, who was in Auriesville, N.Y., for his annual retreat, expressed full approval of Bishop Bernardin’s statement when asked for his comment.