Evening star. [volume], June 21, 1954, Page A-4 **, Image 4

About Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972

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A-4 **
■ THE EVENING STAR, Washington, P. C,
mmi, irn n, ua
Divorce Granted!
Religious Leaders Give Views
On Moral Issue in Marital Split
By Howard Whitman
- No couple on the brink of |
a marriage breakup can help i
wondering, “Is it right to do
this?” Though divorce is legally
provided for in the eivfl laws of
Eighth at • Series.
all 48 States, how does it stand
in divine law? A couple will
wonder, in short, "What does
God think about it?"
One cannot consider divorce!
very deeply without eventuallyj
striking, hard against the bed J
rock of the matter: the question i
of right and wrong. Aside from i
practicality, social consldera> i
tions and legal formulas, what!
about the moral issue?
Each of the great religious
faiths has a viewpoint, in some
cases several viewpoints. Since
all shed light on the problem.
I asked a number of, religious
leaders for their views on mar
riage and divorce. Here is a
summary of their answers:
“In the Episcopal Church, we
believe marriage to be the phy
sical and spiritual union in which
a man and woman are joined
for life in a new and holy rela
tionship under God." declared
the Rev. George W. R. Mac Cray,
of the Presiding Bishop’s Com
mittee on Layman’s Work in the
Episcopal Church. “Episcopal
ians believe marriage to be more
than a civil ceremony. It is con
sidered as a sacrament."
Would Bar Easy Divorce.
On the subject of divorce. Dr.
Ralph W. Sockman of Christ
Church, Methodist, in New YOrk.
stated: , ■
“I profoundly believe that
family life must be strength
ened, by restraining easy divorce.
Nevertheless, there are some
situations in which the individ
ual’s personality must be pre
served, even at the cost of
changing a marriage bond.
“The Gospel recognizes the
right of a second chance, and
this would seem to apply even
in the situation of marriage.*
The difficulty, of course, is to
know the point at which there
is no possibility of restoring
right relationships. The Church’s
guidance should extend to a
consideration of the physical
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and material aspects of marriage,
as well as the spiritual."
The Rev. Murray A. Cayley, of
the First Presbyterian Church of
Rochester. N. Y.. pointed out
that the closing phrase in the
preamble to the Protestant
marriage ceremony is—Tiring
together as the heirs of the grace
of life.”
He explained, “The grace of
life is inherited by the partners
in a marriage after they have
succeeded in remaining loyal
throughout & sufficient period to
learn the spiritual grace of
unselfishness and devotion in
spite of tribulation. \
“The argument for divorce is
based upon the supposition that
some of those who many dis
cover that they were mismated
and that their conflicts are
irreconcilable. Personally I am
ready to admit that there are
some situations in which divorce
is the only intelligent and
humane'way out of an impossible
situation. I am not willing to
admit, however, that divorce
which makes escape easy from
seemingly impossible situations
produces finer and more mature
individuals.”
Catholic Viewpoint Differs.
The Roman Catholic view
point on divorce differs from the
views of most Protestants and
Jews and is explicit in itself.
Materials to explain it were
supplied by the Confraternity of
Christian Doctrine, Archdiocese
of New York.
From a publication of the
Knights of Columbus: “The
Catholic Church has never ad
mitted that a valid consummated
sacramental -marriage bond can
be severedin any way other than
by death: Not even adultery
breaks the bond and gives either
the innocent or the offending
party the right to contract a new
marriage. Such always has been
the unbending position of the
Catholic Church.’
From a pamphlet by the Rev.
Martin J. Scott, S. J.: “If, how
ever, in spite of everything, the
marriage situation becomes in
tolerable, as it does sometimes,
the Church advises separation
rather than to live in sin, for sin
it is to live in animosity and at
cross-purposes. But separation
is advisable only as the very last
resort, and with every precaution
for the well-being of the chil
dren. But although the Church
permits separation in extreme
cases she never sanctions divorce
with right to remarry."
From a tract by the Raw. J.
Elliot Ross, C. 8. P.: “Fog valid
Christian consummated mar
riage. the Catholic Church knows
ho release except death. How
ever, if the marriage has not bfeen
consummated, it may be dissolved
by the Pope or by the solemn re
ligious profession of both parties.
. .In addition to this, the
Church may grant a decree of
nullity, that is, she may decide
that a marriage never existed
because of some impediment.”
Father Ross states, “But in re
gard to the sanctity of marriage,
as with many other moral ques
tions it Vi wiser to be strict than
to be lax . . for even thq possi
bility of divorce naturally breeds
divorce. . Persons marry more
recklessly, they are less consider
ate after marriage, and they
seek refuge in divorce for situa
tions that time itself would heal
did they but wait.”
Jewish Attitude Given.
Rabbi Barnett R. Brickner of
. the Euclid Avenue Temple, in
I Cleveland, set forth the Jewish
! view of marriage and divorce as
follows:
“In Judaism, marriage is not
regarded as a sacrament, but as
a spiritual contract, kiddushin.
which means ‘holiness, conse
cration, dedication to the high
est and the best.’
“The traditional attitude of
Judaism toward divorce has
been liberal. In pre-Chrisstian
times, the rabbis took the posi
tion that divorce should be per
mitted not only on grounds of
adultery, but for any reason that
adversely affected the proper
rearing of children, daily com
panionship. and the general
happiness of the home.”
To curb today’s national abuse
of divorce, Rabbi Brickner sug
gested, “If young people were
properly trained in the mean
ing and responsibilities of mat
rimonyy, the inevitable result
would be more happy homes and
fewer divorces. I believe, too.
that we have much to learn
from the ancient principle that
obliged the Jewish Court, the
Beth Din, to take time before
writing the Get, the bill of di
vorcement, the reason being to
give the couple time to cool off.
to think it over and to be rec
onciled.”
Rabbi Martin B. Ryback, newly
elected spiritual leader of the
Washington Avenue Temple,
j Evansville, Ind., pointed out that
since most Western countries
I have given divorce jurisdiction
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Problems of Poris
' J ". ■ v,- v 1 .4 . ~ v .
France's Loss of Grandeur
In Two Wars Let Empire Slip
By William L Ryan j
Asaocikted Press Foreign News Analyst
1 UNIS. —Nguyen Nguoc toils in
an Indo-Chlna rice field. 1
Mohammed Aly herds goats
iu Morocco
Political turmoil swirls about;
these peasants at outposts of the ;
French empire, but it means
nothing to' them. They are illit
erate and care little who rules
:
to civil courts, “Reform Jews no
longeg require the Get, or reli- j
gious divorce. However, Ortho
dox and Qooservative Rabbis do
insist u&bll tibP Get in addition!
to a divorce granted by the civil 1
courts.” *Tfie Rabbinical As
sembly Conserva
tive, on May ,18 amended the
traditional, marriage contract to
require that couples seek Tfcb
binical counseling before taking
any steps toward, (fivbrce.)
Remarriage '"Stipulated.”
“Remarriage of the divorced j
person, man or wdman, is con
sidered proper and. in fact, is
stipulated In tfik Talmudic bill
of divorcement,” Rabbi Ryback
continued. “I do not wish to im
ply that the Jewish faith has an
attitude of light-heartedness or j
casualness toward divorce. We
regard the high frequency of di- ,
vorce in our time as a serious j
crisis. Strong family life —in
Judaism, sholom bayis, peace in
the home—is central in the Jew
ish religion.”
Rabbi Joseph R. Narot of Tem
ple Israel, in Miami, declared:
“The real moral issue in di- ;
vorce for most Americans is: to
what lengths are a man and
woman prepared to go in the
effort to learn the real, under
lying causes of their conflict?
Are they ready to look upon their
difficulties as they would upon
some physical sickness, for the
cure of which they would leave
no possibility of hope unex
plored? Are they determined to
seek the best, most highly
trained guidance available to
them? This is, in the end, the
moral measurement—how deep
is their resolve to make their
marriage work?”
Tomorrow: Should Divorce i
Be Made More Difficult? Could j
the law hold a couple together
if both parties want to break
up?
(Released by The Register and Tribune r
Syndicate. 1954.)
i them. They want to be left- In
| peace to eke out a living the way
! thru forefathers did for a&es
before them
1 They are in the vast majority,
i In contrast is an educated crust
This i* the first of • series of
articles oh the tottering French empire
—and how it weakened. '
| -men like Habib Bpurguiba of
: Tunisia, Mohammed Kiouane of
1 Algeria and AHal el Pass! of
Morocco. These are nationalist
| leaders dedicated to driving
Frencb political domination out
I of North Africa. It is ironic tbat
France educated them.
| Even Ho Chi Minh, Communist
leader who seized the nationalist
movement in Indo-Chlna, owes
much of his oducaticffi taFrance.
Cracks In Empire IWen.
Once native leaders looked
upon the French as miracle
! workers. France was strong and
promised them a better way of
i Hfe. The destruction of French
; grandeur in the wake of two
world wars produced cracks in
the French empire that are still
widening. Indo-China is slipping
away ip the east. A new Intjo-
China-like problem, this one
I in North Africa, is brewing.
In today’s world of swift com-
I tnunications, propaganda,, sub
! version and rising nationalism,
1 the methods of a half century
-igo, when France was at the
height of her power, do not
suffice
“Force no longer frightens us,”
a North African nationalist told
me “The French mass their
troops and play the Marseillaise
to impress us with their glory
ana their power, but we are no
longer impressed.”
‘ltio misfortune of France is
this: It display less and. less
ability to cope with the complex
problem of defending its import
ant position in today’s world.
Used By Outside Forces.
The misfortune of the people
of the French Union who aspire
to national independence is this:
they are subject to being used by
outside iorces. No matter how
just their aspirations sound to
sympathetic ears in the West,
their future is bound up with the
struggle of Western civilization
I for survival. Political instability
1 in areas important to defense is
i an expensive luxury from the
; West’s point of view.
France’s splintered politics.
the tug and pull of ancient fears
and prejudiqes, the faithful serv
ice to Moscow by Communists in
Parle—«H these have served to
delay Western defense'plans so
much that the European Defense
Community may never come to
pass with the unity hi which it
was conceived. **
Moscow plays with French
politics skillfully. In Geneva,
Soviet Foreign Minister Molotov
made a tough, unbending speech,
and the French government fell,
to be succeeded by another likely
more willing to appease its way
out of difficulties.
Many French politicians, ears
attuned to grass roots weariness
from eight years of warfare in
Southeast Asia, announced them
selves willing to write off Indo-
Chlna. “Let’s make the best of
it” became the slogan.
Showed Herself World Power.
How did it all come to pass?
France consolidated her em
pire at the height of her power
and glory. After her defeat by
Prussia in 1870, France was de
termined to show the world she
would be a world power. She
pinned down her authority in
the Far East. She turned to
North Africa and made Tunisia
a protectorate. She moved into
Morocco and by 1912 established
her authority.
The show was impressive.
France put an end to tribal war
fare, built roads, harbors, in
dustries, great white cities. She
brought health and hygiene so
that local populations now are
more than doubled. She even
brought education, though be
latedly and to a relative few.
Native leaders looked up to the
French as wonder workers, mir
acle men who could make a
wilderness flourish and even
make native leaders richer.
French prestige remained little
damaged in the eyes of such peo
ple until France lay prostrate at
Hitler’s feet. The allies’ slogan
of “self-determination,” an ex
pression of conscience amid a
war for survival, found attentive
ears in colonial areas. There was
little discussion then whether
such areas were ready for self
rule.
The postwar period brought
further splintering of French po-
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litical factions, rising Communist
powOf in metropolitan France,
indecision in Paris, coincident
with the growing tide of na
tionalism.
In the East, the sweep of Red
power permitted Communism to
capture the nationalist move
ment. In North Africa, the rise
oNthe Arab League gave the once
tiny nationalist force the idea
that hundreds of millions' of
Arabs hacked its aspirations.
Concessions might have satis
fied nationalist demands—partic
ularly the demands of moderates
who admitted they would need
French help for a long time to
come. But few political conces
sions were forthcoming, and the
number of moderates grew less.
Today France moves from
crisis to crisis. The French found
that weapons, no matter how
modem, and soldiers, no matter
how numerous, were not enough.
It was Impossible to bomb an
ideology.
Reds Had' Only Organization.
In Indo-China, the French
retreated into their Maginot
Line idea, defending what they
thought they could and fighting
against a steady attrition of
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harassment. When the enemy
decided to come into the open
and fight, it was on his terms.
France lost a great battle at Dien
Bien Phu. The tide was running
against her. Politically she had
nothing to fill the vacuum. The
only native organization was
Communist - controlled. France
had permitted no effective po
litical organization to counter it.
Today a large section of
French opinion hopes to salvage
the rest of the union. Business
men quietly withdrew from Indo-
China, first hopefully setting
themselves up in North Africa,
and then, seeing, there, too. the
seeds of trouble, shifting to the
more solidly held section of the
empire in West Africa.
Once again a pattern takes
shape. In Tunisia a “liberation
army” already is in being. One
cannot say for sure how nation
alist it is. just how much foreign
influence is in it. But it requires
only a small group of disciplined
opportunists to change a nation
alist movement into a Commu
nist one. The world learned that
in Indo-China.
Tomorrow Terror Rule*
Tunisia.