The Parish Council of St. Luke’s parish, Dahlonega, has approved a letter which disagrees with Archbishop Paul J. Hallinan’s stance on the war in Vietnam and a “War and Peace” pastoral issued last year.

The letter signed by William G. Roughead, Ph.D., a mathematics professor at North Georgia College, told the archbishop that, “your letter of October, 1966 entitled War and Peace, comments in the diocesan newspaper, other Catholic publications and your recent appearance on national television were a basis of our discussion.”

“Your recent remarks calling for our unilateral cessation of bombing is a call for undue sacrifice by American troops and their families,” the letter said. “Such pauses have repeatedly produced no results except increased infiltration of men and supplies from the North. Furthermore, since our president and secretaries of state and defense have repeatedly offered to negotiate anywhere including in Hanoi and to stop bombing if and when some notice of Communist good faith is shown by a reduction of infiltration, your call for action is uninformed.

“We feel you do not understand the situation well enough to infer to the nation that your suggested procedures area help toward peace. We have elected officials and others who have been appointed by those we elect to whom we entrust such decisions.”

Roughhead said in the letter that the council “endorses your right to opinion, but not a right to speak non-religious viewpoints publicly as though you were speaking for us.”

Roughhead said the Church has had poor treatment in Communist countries, citing Cardinal Mindszenty of Hungary, Cardinal Stepinac of Yugoslavia, Cardinal Wyszynski of Poland and Bishop Walsh of the United States, who served in China.

The letter said, “A large part of our community consists of ROTC cadets and active Army men. We are appalled that these men are being sent to war without all of our support. We feel that the remarks of Cardinal Spellman should be given as much emphasis before these men as comments which defame our country’s efforts.

“We suggest that you and the Church act and speak out on moral issues. As examples of problems to act upon, the Church remained silent while the Arabs denied the Jews, and others too, access to the Holy Places and yet now we hear the Vatican speak out against Israel when these places are made open to all—even Arabs.” The letter complimented Archbishop Hallinan for calling for the preservation of the sovereignty of Israel.

Other moral issues that should be considered, the letter said, “are the denial of union membership and therefore denial of jobs to Negroes by unions led by Roman Catholics…; or the refusal of Roman Catholic France to adequately support the peace work of the U. N. which Pope John so heavily supported; or the participation by Roman Catholics in the organized crime syndicates…”

In a letter to the Georgia Bulletin, Roughead said, “We are sending you a copy in the hope that its publication may aid other Catholics in their search for proper attitudes toward both the war and their cleric’s opinions.”

Father Gerald Peterson, pastor of St. Luke’s, said, “The people drew up the statement on their own initiative. I substantially agree with the document, but I feel that the archbishop does have a right to speak individually and as a Church leader.”

Father Peterson said about two-thirds of the students at North Georgia College are military students. The Army also has a ranger camp at Dahlonega. He said eight of the 12 members of the Parish Council were present when the letter was approved.

Roughhead said he was the author of the letter. Asked if he thought the archbishop should speak on public matters, he replied, “I don’t think bishops should hide in caves, but in this issue I think the archbishop should distinguish between his opinions and Church teaching.”

Copies of the letter were sent to the archbishop, the Bulletin, Cardinal Spellman, military vicar, the National Catholic Reporter and The Catholic Virginian.