Images (2)
Document
| id |
id
400153586
|
|---|---|
| contentType |
contentType
document
|
| source |
source
import
|
Source image fields (6)
Extracted text
OCR Page 1 of 27 6/21/49
1083-A
June 14, 1949
MEMORANDUM FOR MR. CLIFFORD:
#
Subject: Proposal for Presidential Commission to Study Marriage and
Divorce Laws - Cardinal Spellman's Reaction to the Proposal.
This supplements the material in my memorandum to you of
June 6, 1949, about the Catholic reaction to this proposal.
During my conference with Msgr. Tanner, Acting General Secretary
of the NCWC, on this subject, he told me that he had talked to a number
of bishops about it and that their reaction had been generally favorable.
I asked him if he had talked to any New York bishops (I did so because
of developments in connection with the exposure about six months ago
of divorce law abuses in New York which resulted in the indictments
of some lawyers and much newspaper and public discussion of the matter
up there). Father Tanner said that he had not, but that he would check
with Cardinal Spellman.
Father Tanner called me on June 9 to say that he had just
received a letter reporting the Cardinal's reaction which, in Father
Tanner's words, wasn't "too hot."
The Cardinal's feelings on the subject were similar to his
reaction to Governor Dewey's recent proposal that a New York State Com-
mission be established to investigate abuses of New York's divorce and
annulment laws. Cardinal Spellman said that the bishops of New York
state are on record as opposed to the Dewey proposal. The bishops have
stated that no Catholic priest or layman would be authorized to act as
& member of such 8. commission, particularly in view of the fact that
its trend may be toward liberalizing the grounds for divorce. Cardinal
Spellman appears to feel that they would have to take the same position
with respect to the present proposal for a Federal commission on this
subject.
Father Tenner told me that he had inquired if the llow York
Catholic hierarchy would publicly condemn such a Presidential commission,
and had been told that it might not but that "our editors and priests
would be likely to be quite critical."
Relations
belongs_to
belongs_to