The Catholic times. [volume], August 06, 1954, Image 1

About The Catholic times. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1951-current

Image provided by: Ohio History Connection, Columbus, OH

                
The Road To
True Peace Leads
Through Mary
Vol. Ill, No. 44
The 1953 Refugee Relief Act
permits 214.000 refugees to enter
this country by December 31, 1956.
The WRS—N.C.W.C. officials ac
knowledge that it is more difficult
working under the present law
than under the old DP law. For
one thing, the present law requires
individual sponsorship of a refu
gee, w hereas the DP law permitted
blanket sponsorship of groups of
refugees by an approved agency.
More stringent security and home
and job checks are required under
the present law than under the old
DP law.
Between 2,500 and 3,000 home
and job assurances from indi
viduals who have agreed to spon-
Special Riles Are Planned
Aug. 15 At Carey Shrine
CAREY, O (NO One of
the Marian Shrines that thousands
will flock to on the Feast of the
Assumption, Aug. 15. is the 79
year-old Shrine of Our Lady of
Consolation here. The image of
Our Lady of Consolation venerated
here is a replica of a famous statue
in Luxembourg.
Bishop George J. Rehring of To
ledo will celebrate Mass at the
Shrine. Aug. 15. He will alsd take
part in the candlelight procession
traditionally held here on the eve
ning of August 14.
Bosses Carry Machine Guns
WRS-NCWC Initiates Drive
NEW YORK (NC) The American Bishops’ relief
agency has set its sights on bringing 50,000 refugees, expellees
and escapees into this country under the current Refuge Re
lief program.
War Relief Services National Catholic Welfare Confer
ence neadquarters here disclosed it already has started the
campaign. Posters calling attention to the drive to aid the
unfortunates and pamphlets ex
plaining how American Catholics
can do their part tn helping have
been sent out bjl WRS-N.C.W.C. to
virtually every parish in the na
tion.
Msgr. Edward E. Swanstrom,
WRS—N.C.W.C. executive director,
said that the agency is determined
that Catholic participation in the
present program to aid the home
less in overcrowded nations will
be as successful as it was under
the old Displaced Persons program
when some 140.000 refugees were
brought into the country under
WRS—N.C.W.C. auspices.
sor refugees already have been
received at WRS—N.C.W.C. head
quarters.
The pamphlet issued by WRS—
N.C.W.C. in the current campaign
points out: “Thousands of eligible
and
and.
War
fices
ground in the form of case his
tories are available to you through
worthy Catholic individuals
families are registered with
Relief Services—N.C.W.C. of
overseas. Their family baek-
Union’s Film
Labelled ’New
Red Weapon’
HOUSTON. Tex. —(NC)— “Salt
of the Earth,” a movie filmed by
the Mine. Mill, and Smelter Work
ers Union was called a new com
munist weapon “to further the
party line’ by the Regional Office
oi the Bishops’ Committee for the
Spanish Speaking here.
The office advised that U. S.
showings of the film should not
be patronized “because of its com
munist sponsorship and the treat
ment of the subject of labor and
race problems which is calculated
to arouse bitterness and resent
ment.”
Two versions of the film are
being used, the office said. “One
is a modified version intended for
this country, the other is a violent
ly anti-Yankee copy for exhibition
in Mexico, Latin America, and
presumably, countries behind the
iron Curtain.”
The production, which portrays
the distress of a Mexican-American
minority at
labor bosses
had trouble
tempted a
many theaters refusing to show
the film.
Slave Labor Employed
Throughout Red China
HONG KONG (NC) A story of large crews of Chin
ese doing forced labor under machine-gun guards was told
here by Father John Baptist Maye, American missionary ex
pelled from Red China.
Father Maye was the first of the four American Catholic
missionaries to be released by the Chinese Reds in accordance
with their promise during the Ge
neva negotiations.
The other three, expected to ar
rive here soon, if the Reds keep
their word, are Fathers Linus lom
bard of Ipswich, Mass Lawrence
Mullin of Jersey City and Ernest
Hotz of Glendale, N.Y. all Pas
sion ists.
Father Maye, a native of Scran
ton, Pa., saw' the forced
crews along the railroad
took him from Changsha,
province, to the Hong Kong border.
He also reported an atmosphere of
misery and resentment among the
masses of Chinese who are held un
der the iron-fisted rule of the Reds.
labor
which
Hunan
Father Maye stated that Chi
nese sometimes whispered to
him, "You Americans are our on
ly hope."
On July 21. Red Chinese offi
cials at Geneva agreed to free Fa
ther Maye, three fellow-Passionists
and two American civilians. (Ear
lier they had denied that Father
Maye was restricted in any way.)
The priest knew’ nothing of the
Geneva negotiations, but here is
Fr. Dunn Offers
Requiem Mass For
His Mother, 85
NEW LEXINGTON—Father Eu
gene Dunn, pastor of St. Vincent
de Paul parish. Mt. Vernon, offer
ed a Requiem Mass in St. Rose
Church on Aug. 2 for his mother,
Mrs. Clara Kintz. Dunn. 85, who
died in her New- Lexington home
Thursday, July 29.
Mrs Dunn was a member of
the Third Order of St. Dominic
and St. Rose Rosary Altar Society.
In addition to Father Dunn, the
survivors include four daughters,
Sister M. Irma, of St. Aloysius
Academy Miss Elizabeth Dunn,
New Lexington: Mrs. Claire Len
non. Elwood. Pa Mis. Margaret
Kessinger, Akron five sons. Dr.
James Dunn, Zanesville Charles,
New l^exington: Joseph, Akron
Wilfred. Louisville, Ky. and Ar
thur, also of New’ Lexington: 16
grandchildren and 10 great grand
children.
Following the Requiem Mass,
burial services were held Ma
piewood cemetery in New Lexing
tpn.
how the Reds kept their word.
On July 27. Red authorities sum
moned him from his hotel room
where he has been kept under a
semi-arrest. Nine judges glared at
him from a horseshoe-shaped
bench. As lhe bewildered mission
ary faced the group an accusation
was read stating that he had been
guilty of a sordid attack on a hotel
guest July 9.
Father Maye denied the charge,
but his protest was quickly over
ruled. The chief judge then read
out the sentence: “Two months in
jail commuted to banishment
forever -from the soil of China.”
Father Maye had reached the
Hong Kong border last Aug. 27,
but was forced back by the Red
frontier guards and was returned
to Changsha. There he was plac
ed in a room at a ramshackle ho*
tel.
He was permitted to say Mass
privately, but had not been per
mitted to hold public services since
1951. He w'as also allowed to walk
about the city, but was always fol
lowed. In June of this year he vis
ited a Chinese priest to make his
Easter confession. Immediately the
Reds warned him that he should
not attempt such a visit again.
Father Maye reported that the
worst flood in 27 years in the
Changsha area brought a threat of
famine. Only one per cent of the
rice harvest has been gathered.
The army and the communist offi
cials are well fed. he said, but the
rest of the population goes hungry.
He said he sent extra money to
the hotel keeper where he stayed
to enable the man to feed his fam
ily. The priest himself was per
mitted to receive food and money
at Changsha and appeared in good
health when he arrived here.
The other three Passionist mis
sionaries expected here shortly
are held under house arrest at
Yuanling, about 200 miles north
west of Changshe.
Meanwhile, a number of other
foreign Catholic missionaries have
arrived here after being forced
out. They include a group of nuns
and Bishop Leopold Brellinger of
Kinghsien. 6Lyear-old Jesuit from
Linz. Austria. The Bishop who had
spent 25 years in China was kept
from his diocese the last few years,
being Confined to Tientsin.
MINK
the hands of cruel
and civil officials, has
each time it has at
U. S. showing with
°»*oXfi£Ttsroi»
a,nTE HUSEUU
OHIO
your Diocesan Resettlement of
fice.”
The pamphlet advises a prospec
tive sponsor to discuss the matter
with the local director of the Na
tional Catholic Resettlement Com
mittee *in the case of aiding a
known refugee or requesting a
refugee of a particular skill or oc
cupation, or simply by helping a
worthy Catholic family vouched
for by the Catholic Church in the
country where the refugee resides.
There are some 62 different oc
cupations, skills and trades repre
sented among the refugees over
seas. the pamphlet explains, in
cluding farmers, tailors, shoemak
ers, carpenters, butchers, mechan
ics. electricians, machinists, textile
workers, and a host of other trades
and professions.
“If you are able,” the pamphlet
explains, “you may. as the sponsor
of an assurance, through your pas
tor. provide the cost of transporta
tion to the United States for a
Catholic refugee or refugee family.
After the refugee is here, you may
ask him to repay the money you
advanced. The rates are minimum.
Some refugees have enough money
to pay for their town transporta
tion.
“Where sponsors do not provide
prepayment of costs and refugees
do not have funds, the Catholic
Church has arranged for loans to
such refugees in Europe and other
parts of the world. Such loans are
given to the refugee with the un
derstanding that they will be re
paid by lhe refugee after he or she
is established in America.”
-----------------o----------------
Entire Senate
Against UN
Seat For China
WASHINGTON (NC)
The U.S. Senate has reiterat
ed the opposition of Congress
“to the. seating in the United
Nations of the communist
China regime as representative
of China.”
By a vote of 91 to 0. the
Senate added this statement of
sentiment as an amendment
to the $3,100,000,000 foreign
aid bill. In the same action,
the Senate called upon President
Eisenhower, in the event Red
China should be seated in the UN.
t. inform Congress “of the implica
tions of this action upon the
foreign policy of the United
States,” together with “any recom
mendations which he may have
with respect to the matter.”
Five Senators did not vote, being
absent on official business,
announced on
ever, that had
they would all
amendment.
It was
their behalf, how
they been present
have voted for the
The amendment reads as follows:
“The Congress hereby reiterates
its opposition to the seating in the
United Nations of the communist
China regime as the representative
of China. In the event of the
seating ol the representatives of
the Chinese communist regime in
the Security Council or General
Assembly of the United Nations,
the President is requested to in
form the Congress insofar as is
compatible with the requirements
of national security, of the implica
tions of this action upon the for
eign policy of the United States
and our foreign relationships, in
cluding that created by member
ship in the United Nations, to
gether with any recommendations
which he may have with respect
to the matter.”
The text of Monsignor Montinis letter follows
Columbus 16, Ohio, Friday, August 6, 1954
Seek New Start In Life
To Bring 50,000 Into U.S To Climax Marian
Year Celebrations
-But What 1
About Me?l
topies of this appealing poster will appear in parish halls and
vestibules of Catholic Churches throughout the country. It publicizes
the campaign of the U.S. Bishops for aid in securing home and work
opportunities for some 5(1,000 Catholic refugees. They are eligible
to enter the United States under the Refugee Relief Act of 1953.
This appeal is sponsored by War Relief Services—National Catholic
Welfare Conference in cooperation with the National Catholic
Resettlement Council.
President Of Colombia
Proposes Ban On Reds
BOGOTA. Colombia (NC) A recommendation that
Colombia’s constitution be amended to outlaw the Communist
Party and other subversive groups “which seek the destruction
of this country” was made here by President Gustavo Rojas
Pinilla.
He spoke at the formal installation of the Constituent
Assembly which has before it proposals lor reform of the con-
stitution submitted by a special
Committee for Constitutional Stud
ies set up by General Rojas Pinilla
following the military coup of June
13, 1953.
The President declared that ac
tion against subversive organiza
tions was a matter of extreme
importance "at this time of de
cisive struggle between Chris
tianity and communism."
The proposal was one of four
“urgent reforms” recommended by
the government head. The others
called for giving women the right
to vote, reforming the administra
tion of justice, and replacing the
suspended local government coun
cils with administrative bodies by
agreement among the various polit
ical parties.
In submitting his special recom
mendations. President Rojas Pinilla
urged the Assembly to postpone a
general reform of the Constitution
to “a better occasion.” because of
factors which still disturb the pub
lic order and make it necessary to
maintain a state of siege during
which reform would not be able to
operate.
He said that constitutional re
form requires a peaceful atmos
phere among the political parties,
and this has not yet been attain
ed, despite the great advances for
national pacification which the
government has made.
Urging the right of women to
vote and to be elected to Congress,
the President declared: “Colombia,
being an essentially Catholic coun
try, cannot continue to deny this
sacred right to those who form the
soul of its domestic hearths.”
In his recommendation for judi-
Holy Father Sends Apostolic
Blessing To Women of Diocese
Pope Pius XII has sent his paternal Apostolic Blessing
to the women of the Diocese of Columbus in gratitude for the
spiritual bouquet gathered for him by the Diocesan Council
of Catholic Women. Sent to all the women of the Diocese of
Columbus and their loved ones, the Holy Father's paternal
benediction was conveyed in a letter written by Msgr. Giovan
ni B. Montini, Vatican Pro-Secretary of State, to Msgr. Roland
T. Winel, Chancellor of the Diocese and Spiritual Moderator
of the DCCW.
Right Reverend and dear Monsignor:
His Holiness has graciously instructed me to convey the ex
pression of His cordial gratitude for the devote^ message and rich
Spiritual Bouquet which you addressed to Him, in the name of the
Catholic women of the Diocese of Columbus.
The Holy Father is particularly sensible at the present time
of the filial solicitude which animates His beloved children with
the desire to share His sorrows and sufferings, and He would have
me fell you how much He appreciates the thoughtful and tender
sentiments of reverence and regard which prompted them to make
such prayerful intercession for His welfare and intentions.
In token of His gratitude and as a pledge of abiding divine grace,
the Sovereign Pontiff cordially imparts to you, their Moderator, to
the Catholic women of the Diocese of Columbus who have joined in
this valuable treasury of prayers and good works, and to all their
loved ones, His paternal Apostolic Blessing.
The spiritual bouquet was solicited by1 the members of the DCCW
from the women of the Diocese and was presented to Monsignor
Montini to give to the Holy Father by Monsignor Winel who accom
panied Bishop Ready on the occasion of the Bishop's official “ad
limina” visjt to Rome in May of this year.
atholic Times
cial reform, the President said he
sought a purification of the ad
ministration of justice to free it
from political interference.
President Rojas Pinilla proposed
that the Constituent Assembly in
crease the members of the Nation
al Assembly to afford a more
equitable representation tq the po
litical parties, and also to give
representation to the armed forces,
as well as to the Catholic Church,
if the Hierarchy so desired.
o——-
High Court
Likely To Get
School Case
WOODSTOCK, Ill. (NC)
A suit charging the Johns
burg till.) school board with
using public funds to support
a parochial school was dismiss
ed in circuit court here but
will be carried to the State
Supreme Court by the liti
gants.
Circuit Judge Bernard M.
Decker dismissed the suit of a
Protestant mother on the
grounds that the case was no
longer a living issue.
Mrs. Dorothy I .arson, a Lutheran
who filed suit 15 months ago, as
serted that her children were be
ing indoctrinated by Catholic nuns
who served as teachers in the
Johnsburg public school. Mrs. 14ir
son. the only person in the town
to complain about the school, was
supported in her claims by the
American Civil Liberties Union.
After her complaint the nuns
withdrew from the school and
I
moved to a newly constructed
St. John's Parochial School now
attended by most of the town's
children.
The original petition had involv
ed the nuns themselves but they
were later removed from the suit
which finally included only three
public school directors charged
with spending money “illegally” on
the Johnsburg school.
In dismissing the injunction pe
tition against the three directors
as moot. Judge Decker also threw
out Mrs. Larson complaint that
30 other public schools
are “being operated as
schools.”
^ourt Upholds
Censorship Of
Films In Ohio
Movie censorship in Ohio
and the fees collected to sup
port it were ruled valid this
week in Franklin County Com
mon Pleas Court.
Judge Ralph J. Bartlett
made this ruling, in dismissing
a suit filed against the state
by RKO Pictures, Inc. and the
Independent Theatre Owners
of Ohio. The petition claimed
the state had no power to author
ize censorship and could not col
lect fees to finance it.
In a 43-page decision. Judge
Bartlett declared:
"Although liberty of expres
sion by means of motion pictures
is included within the freedom
or speech and the press guar
anty ... of the U.S. constitution
as well as the state constitution,
there still remains a limited field
in which decency and morals
may be protected from ... an
offending motion picture by
prior restraint under proper cri
teria and standards."
Quoting from an opinion given
by Supreme Court Justice Tom
Clark in a recent movie censorship
case, Bartlett continued:
“To hold that liberty of expres
sion by means of motion pictures
is guaranteed by the First and
14th Amendments, however, is not
the end of our problem. It does not
follow that the Constitution re
quires absolute freedom to exhibit
every motion picture of every kind
at all times and all places.”
Judge Bartlett also said that
the fees collected for the inspec
tion and censorship of films "to
some extent exceed the necess
ary cost for making inspections,"
but they can not be classified as
taxes, and are consequently legal.
The Department of Education
charges $3 to inspect each 1000
linear feet of film.
In conclusion. Judge Bartlett said
that Ohio's censorship code, as in
terpreted by the Ohio Supreme
Court is “sufficiently clear, defin
ite and comprehensive to prevent
the showing, of obscene films.”
Robert. Wile, executive secre
tary of the Independent Theatre
Owners of Ohio said he would car
ry’ the case to the Court of Appeals.
.... ,1.1 I
in Illinois
parochial
American
In a news release, the
Civil Liberties Union said that its
“fight against sectarianism in the
public schools of Illinois will go
on” and that Mrs. Larson's attor
neys plan an appeal to the Illinois
Supreme ourt on the grounds that
the “claimed reforms in the Johns,
burg School are incomplete and
have not been made in good faith.”
The cast has attracted nation
wide attention to the predomin
ately Catholic town of Johnsburg
54 miles northwest of Chicago. Fol
lowing the suit, enrollment in the
public school dropped from 300
pupils to 34.
Pontiff rants
Audience To
U.S. Pilgrims
VATICAN CITY (Radio,
NO His Holiness Pope Pius
XII last week received 500 Am
ericans at an audience in the
Consistorial Hall of the Vati
can Palace.
The visitors included members
of Marian Year pilgrimages spon
sored by Archbishop Thomas E.
Molloy, Bishop of Brooklyn. N.Y
and Archbishop John F. Noll, Bish
op of Fort Wayne. Ind., as well as
other pilgrims from Marylhurst
College, Portland, Oregon.
On entering the hall, the Holy
Father conversed briefly with
Msgr. John J. Carberry, of Brook
lyn. and Msgr. John S. Sabo, of
South Bend. Ind leader of the pil
grimages. He then ascended the
papal throne to give his blessing
to ail in the hall.
The Pontiff appeared to be in
satisfactory health anC quite re
laxed He obviously enjoyed meet
ing the I S visitors and stayed
longer than his attendants seemed
to expect or think wise in view of
his recent long illness.
Following the audience, the Holy
Father left tor his summer resi
dence at Catelgandolfo.
Details of the Congress were ob
tained in an interview with Father
Carolus Balic. O.F.M.. who has
been appointed to organize it.
Father Carolus said that the
Bishop To Bless
Cornerstone Of
Holv Name School
The cornerstone of the new Holy
Name School at 154 E. Patterson
Ave. will be blessed and set into
place Sunday by Bishop
Ready.
be held
a Pon
ceiebrat-
at 10:30
The ceremonies will
immediately following
tifical Low Mass, to be
ed by Bishop Ready,
a.m.
The new $184,869 salmon-colored
brick school, which will have eight
class rooms, is being constructed
by the Sever Williams Co. of
Washington C.H. The one-story
building was designed by Floyd F.
Glass, Columbus architect.
The school is scheduled for com
pletion late this fall.
Pontiff Begins Summer
Sehednle Of Audiences
CASTE LGANDOLFO. Italy
(Radio. NC) —j His Holiness Pope
Pius XII has begun his summer
schedule of informal audiences at
his summer home here.
As in former years he will re
ceive pilgrims on Sundays and
Wednesdays in the courtyard and
will probably address them as in
the past in one of the many lan
guages he speaks.
o----------------25.000
100.000 Attend Mass
DORTMUND. Germany (Radio.
(NC) Some 100.000 German
Catholic youths attended Pontifical
Mass in Hansa Square here high
lighting the three-day festival of
the German Catholic Youth Assn.
Communist Persecution Bared
Americans "must realize that the communists are determined
to destroy all religion" warned committee chairman Rep. Charles
Kersten of Wisconsin during the hearings of the Congressional
committee on Communist Aggression. During the course of these
hearings testimony was received from many exiled, east-European
clergymen. Pictured above at the hearings held in Munich, Ger*
many, some of the witnesses were, left to right: Rev. Adem Wrobel,
a Polish Catholic priest Lutheran Bishop W. Fierla and Orthodox
Bishop Mateusz Siemaszko.
There Is No
acation From
Your Religion
Price Tan Cents $3.00 A Year
Congress In Rome
WASHINGTON (NC) The Mariologico-Marian Con
gress to be celebrated in Rome. Oct. 24 to Nov. 1, will be the
grand climax of the Marian Year in which the Holy Father will
lead representatives from all over the world in one of the most
colossal Marian demonstrations ever seen in the Eternal City.
Highlighting the Congress will I--------------
ho a nrncovinn rvn Tint 'll Hiirincr
be a procession on Oct. 31. during
which the image of “Our Lady, Pro
tectress of Rome,” will be carried
from the Basilica of Saint Mary Ma
jor to Saint Peter s Basilica and
enthroned there.
On the following day. His Holi
ness.. Pope Pius XII, will announce
the nev. feast of the Queenship of
Mary. He is likewise expected to
designate the image of “Our I^ady,
Protectress of Rome” (Salus Popu
li Romani) as “Our Lady, Pro
tectress of the World.”
Congress will be divided into
three general sections. The first,
the Mariological Congress, will
be dedicated to Marian Science.
In its sessions. Oct. 24-28, schol
ars will come together to study ev
ery aspect of mariology.
The second, the Marian Congress,
will be devoted to manifestations
of Marian piety. It will be made up
of processions and public demon
strations of love for the Blessed
Mother.
The third, the International Mar
ian Exhibition, will consist of a dis
play of the finest of Marian books
and Marian art, sculptured and
painted images of the Immaculate
Conception, taken from all over
the world.
When the Holy Father an
nounces the feast of the Queen
ship of Mary, he will at the
same time crown the image of
"Our Lady, Protectress of Rome"
with a diadem of twelve stars.
This diadem, Father Balic said,
will be the product of many
thousands of small contributions
from the faithful all over the
world, which he is commission
ed to receive.
A further sign of world-wide
participation in the Marian Con
gress will be the standards and
banners brought from every im
portant Marian shrine in the world,
which will decorate St. Peter’s
Square. After the Holy Father
crowns the image of Mary, he will
fix commemorative medallions to
these standards.
Father Balic expressed the hope
that all the faithful who plan a
pilgrimage to Rome during the
Marian Year will arrange, if pos
sible to make their visit coincide
with the dates of the Congress. He
is in the United States at the in
vitation of Notre Dame University,
where he addressed a Marian as
sembly.
Franco Grants Amnesty
To 25.000 Prisoners
MADRID (NC) As part of
the nation's Marian Year observ
ance an amnesty affecting some
prisoners in Spanish jails
has been granted by Chief of State
Francisco Franco.
Only prisoners in jail for minor
offenses will be freed, according
to the terms of the amnesty de
cree. Those serving longer terms
will have them reduced.
Vietnam Chief Seen As
Bulwark Against Reds
SAIGON, Southern Vietnam—(NC)—With half of their
nation already ceded to the Reds by the Geneva Agreement,
the Vietnamese—less than 10 per cent Catholic—are looking
to a man who is not only a devout Catholic but a Benedictine
oblate to save the country from complete communist domina
tion.
The man facing this formidable
task is the new’ Vietnamese Prime
Minister Ngo Dinh Diem, who has
devoted his whole life to working
for his country's independence.
Two years ago, while staying in
New York City, Prime Minister
Diem was received as an oblate of
the Benedictine Order by Father
Raymond de Jaegher. A Benedic
tine oblate remains a layman and
does not become a member of the
Order, but he may reside a
monastery with lhe permission of
its superior. The Prime Minister
was living at St. Andre Abbey near
Bruges, Belgium, before being
named to his present post.
Prime Minister Ngo Dinh Diem
is a member of one of Vietnam's
outstanding Catholic families. He
is a brother of Bishop Peter Ngo
Dinh Thue, Vicar Apostolic of
Vinh-Long, and Ngo Dinh Nhu,
leader of the Catholic trade un
ion movement and head of the
National Unity and Peace Move
ment. Another brother was kill
ed by the communist Vietminh.
Born in Quangbinh in Central
Vietnam in 1901. the Prime Min
ister was the son of the advisor to
Emperor Thanhthai. Trained for
the government service, he was
serving as governor of Phan-Thiet
Province in 1933 when Emperor
Bao Dai appointed him Minister
of the Interior and secretary of
the Commission for Reforms. An
ardent nationalist, he soon resign
ed his posts when he saw that
there would be no chance of his
country's gaining its independence
under the new emperor.
He was offered the post of
Prime Minister for the first timo
by Emperor Bao Dai in 1945,
but refused it then and on three
later occasions because of his
stand on the independence issue.
Four years ago he left Vietnam
because of disagreements with Bao
Dai, going to live in France and
Belgium after xisiting the United
States and other countries.
In January of this year he de
cided to retire irom politics and
entered St. Andre Abbey as an
oblate. Shortly before the fall of
the fortess of Dien Bien Phu he
returned to Vietnam to become
Prime Minister after Chief of State
Bao Dai issued a decree granting
him full powers to direct the coun
try’s affairs. 5