Catholic Bishops in U.S. Issue Call to Combat Anti-semitism

A spokesman for the Catholic hierarchy in the United States called today for a “vigorous and public repudiation” by all right noncitizens of the “infection” of anti-Semitism,

Archbishop Karl J. Alter of Cincinnati, chairman of the administrative board of bishops of the National Catholic Welfare Conference, issued the call in a statement deploring recent defilements of various synagogues and churches. The prelate, speaking for his fellow bishops on the board, said the simultaneous expression of “a malevolent spirit of hatred” in many countries “would seem to indicate an organized plan of action or some common origin.

“Whatever may be the source of the evil or the sinister purpose to be served, ” the archbishop said, “the danger should be immediately recognized and effective measures taken to eradicate the infection before it can spread. ” The archbishop noted that Catholic and other Christian churches have been desecrated as well as Jewish temples, “indicating that religious and racial hatred are widespread and constitute a common motivation of the outrages.”

The prelate expressed sympathy with the victims and called on “all citizens, whether Christians or Jews, and all those who love truth and justice, to protest privately and publicly against further manifestation of bigotry.

“We urge that all right-minded people refrain from any word or deed which might seem to condone the circulation of rumors, false reports, or misrepresentation which embitters our mutual relations and retards the advancement of our common welfare. ” The National Catholic Welfare Conference is the secretariat of the 217 United States bishops, archbishops and cardinals. Sixteen of the prelates are on the administrative board, including the six American cardinals.