Church Acts In Santo Domingo

Press, Volume CV, Issue 30956, 12 January 1966, Page 5

Church Acts In Santo Domingo

C.V.ZP.A. Reuter—Copyright? SANTO DOMINGO, January 11. The Provisional Government of President Hector Garcia-Godoy, threatened by his own Armed Forces, has found an ally in the Roman Catholic Church.

Bishop Hugo Eduardo Brito, of Santiago, in the name of the Boman Catholic Church in the Dominican Republic, issued a statement calling for support of the Provisional Government which is scheduled to carry the country to free elections in June. “The Armed Forces must be considered guardians of the national integrity, but it is also their duty to win the respect and love of the citizenry, always respecting the rights of others,” he said. Though the Republic is basically a Roman Catholic

country, the church, which did not oppose the tyrant Generalissimo Rafael Trujillo during much of his reign, is generally considered conservative. Bishop Brito’s statement, however, is believed to have come as a blow to the rebellious Armed Forces’ chiefs, who have rejected a presidential order to leave the country.

Although the Armed Forces’ clash with the Provisional Government appears no nearer solution today, Presiden Garcia-Godoy, with no military power to back his Government, seems to be winning a psychological war against the military chiefs. The Church’s statement coupled with the return of Radio Santo Domingo to Government hands, represent tactical advantages for the President.