FATHER COUGHLIN'S BROADCASTS

Evening Star, Issue 23175, 26 January 1939, Page 10

FATHER COUGHLIN'S BROADCASTS

REBUKE BY ARCHBISHOP The recent broadcasting activities of the Roman Catholic priest, Father Coughlin, have brought him into direct conflict with Mardinal Mundelein, Archbishop of Chicago, and again made him the centre of a national controversy (writes the New York correspondent of ‘The Times’). Father Coughlin has been criticising Communism, Fascism, Nazism, and Atheism, but some quarters find in his speeches evidence of anti-Semitism. Yesterday Mgr. Bernard Sheil, the senior Auxiliary Bishop of Chicago, broadcast the following statement by Cardinal Mundelein:— “As an American citizen Father Coughlin has the right to express his personal views on current events, but he is not authorised to speak for the Catholic Church, nor does he represent the doctrine or sentiments of the church.” This rebuke brought the following rejoinder from Father Coughlin • “ Father Coughlin is in agreement with the Cardinal when he says the father docs not speak for the Catholic Church. No priest speaks for the whole church; no bishop speaks for the whole church; and no cardinal speaks for the whole church. Only the Pope speaks for the church.” The station in the Now York area, which at first broadcast Father Coughlin’s speeches, has ceased doing so since he refused their request to submit his copy beforehand. The request was made after a broadcast in which he discussed the origins of the Russian Revolution. On that occasion the station in question did what has never been done -before in the United States —followed his talk with an announce incut that he had made errors of fact Now the organisations supporting Father Coughlin, and claiming a membership of 200,000, threaten to boycott the station's advertisers unless Father Coughlin’s talks again appear on the programmes.