Religion: The Regrets of the W.C.C.

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The threat of war over Cuba inspired most religious leaders to make evenhanded appeals for peace to both top powers; Pope John XXIII supplicated "all rulers not to remain deaf to the cry of mankind." But the statement issued by the World Council of Churches from Geneva was more specifically critical of the U.S., expressing "grave concern and regret" over the decision to quarantine Cuba. One of the signers was Dr. Franklin Clark Fry, chairman of the council's central committee and president of the Lutheran Church in America.

For the American Lutheran Church—a group somewhat smaller and considerably more conservative than the Lutheran Church in America—the statement carried a particular irony. The church, holding its first convention in Milwaukee, had just devoted half a day to a heated debate on whether to withdraw from the council, which according to some delegates has become red-tinged by the inclusion of Russian Orthodox churchmen. The Lutherans decided to remain, 647 to 307, but they were in no mood for any backsliding on Cuba. One delegate called the council's stand "basically Communist doctrine," and the convention disassociated the American Lutheran Church from the statement by a noisy voice vote.