“Bishops’ Nuclear Arms Letter Divides Catholic Lay Panel at Forum” read the headline in the New York Times. The story in the Catholic Standard said, “If the panel discussion at St. Peter’s is any indication, consensus will be difficult to attain.”
On May 10, 1983, the parish hosted a forum titled “The Bishops Pastoral Letter: What Will It Mean?” It was just a week after the U.S. Catholic bishops voted in Chicago to accept their controversial pastoral letter “The Challenge of Peace: God’s Promise and Our Response.” The final document called for a halt to the testing, production, and deployment of new nuclear weapons.
The forum was sponsored by the parish’s Social Concerns Committee and was televised live nationally by C-SPAN. The committee invited all members of Congress to attend, and distributed 8,000 posters and fliers to promote the event. Because the forum coincided with Congressional debates on a nuclear freeze and the defense budget, attendees of various ideologies filled the church and the hall, where TV monitors were set up for the overflow crowd.
Five nationally-known Catholics debated the letter’s likely impact: Father J. Bryan Hehir, the bishops’ top adviser on the pastoral; nuclear-freeze proponents Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-VT) and William E. Colby, former head of the CIA; and, representing the other side, Rep. Dan Lundgren (R-CA) and Lt. Gen. Daniel O. Graham, former head of the Defense Intelligence Agency. Washington TV anchor Gordon Peterson moderated the debate, and Father Michael O’Sullivan, St. Peter’s pastor 1970-2005, welcomed participants and guests.
Many parishioners contributed to the forum’s success. Former parishioner John Pfeiffer led a task force on speaker selection; the late Ivan Kauffman, who chaired the Social Concerns Committee, headed up publicity; current parishioner Patrick Martin, a member of the Social Justice Initiative, organized the logistics for lighting, sound, seating, and cameras. Many parishioners doubled that night as ushers, while others provided babysitting service in the rectory and baked cookies for the reception in the hall after the debate.
Nancy Hartnagel, a parishioner then and now, served on the publicity task force and was an usher. She recalled “how exciting it was for the parish to contribute to such an important national dialogue from the perspective of Catholic social teaching.” And, she remembered getting a fun call the next night from her parents in Albany, NY. “They went to their friends’ house for C-SPAN,” she said, “and saw me seating people in the aisle on the right.”
8,000 fliers and posters were distributed to
publicize the 1983 debate on the U.S. Catholic
bishops’ peace pastoral held at St. Peter’s.
PASTORAL DISCUSSED: Hundreds attend the panel discussion
on the U.S. bishops’ pastoral letter on war and peace held at St.
Peter’s Church on Capitol Hill. See report on page 6. (From the
May 19, 1983, issue of the Catholic Standard; reprinted with permission.)