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J. EDGAR HOOVER'S INTERFERENCE WITH CHURCH LEADERS
REVEALED IN REPORTS
By John Howard Griffin
(John Howard Griffin is the author of BLACK LIKE M E which has sold more
than 50, 000, 000 copies around the world. He is also author of six other
books, and is currently working on the biography of Thomas Merton. )
A recent Senate Intelligence Committee report reveals that the FBI, \mder
direct orders from J. Edgar Hoover, attempted to coerce Pope Paul VI into canceling
his 196^- meeting with Martin Luther King, Jr.
The Pope apparently decided he did not need Mr. Hoover's advice or interference,
since he not only met with Martin Luther King as planned, but also publicly
endorsed the black civil rights leader.
According to the report, Hoover worked through members of the American hierarchy
of the Catholic Church, attempting to persuade them to put pressure on the
Pope to cancel his meeting on the grounds that "when all the facts about King
came out" it would prove an embarrassment to the church.
Two members of the hierarchy, Cardinal Spellman and Cardinal Cody apparently
agreed to intervene. Cardinal Cody of Chicago denies any knowledge or recollection
of the incident. Cardinal Spellman has died, but the FBI memos tell the
story.
A memo from Internal Security Section Chief Frederick Baiungardner summarized
an August 31, 196^^ conference between Spellman and "Assistant Director Malone"
of the New York FBI office, "Malone called today and said he had discussed the
situation with Cardinal Spellman over the weekend and he said the Cardinal took
instant steps to advise the Vatican against granting any audience to King...Cardinal
Spellman is going to Rome next week...and thus will be on the scene personally
and further insure that the Pope is not placed in an embarrassing position
through any contact with King."
Despite such interference, the meeting between Pope Paul VI and Martin Luther
King took place on September 13, 1964- as scheduled. Hoover wrote the word "Astounding"
on the memo informing him of the meeting. He also wrote, "I am amazed
that the Pope gave an audience to such a (term deleted by the FBI)."
Why did Hoover have such a fanatical hatred of Martin Luther King? The above
incident is only one small part of the FBI's massive campaign to discredit and
destroy Dr. King. Thw FBI did not hesitate to lie and invent evidence in this
campaign. The report showed that In^addition to persuading Cardinal Spellman to
block the meeting with the Pope, they falsely informed contributors to Dr. King's
Southern Christian Leadership Conference that King was putting conference fionds
in a private bank account in Switzerland; they attempted to persuade then Vice
President Humphrey and New York Governor Rockefeller not to participate in ceremonies
honoring King for the Nobel Peace Prize; they tried to block his receiving
two honorary degrees and countless other "dirty tricks." Why? The report suggested
the FBI attacks against King were motivated by Hoover's conviction that
King was "no good", and his belief that King was being used by "communists".
Object Description
| Title | J Edgar Hoover's Interference With Church Leaders by John Howard Griffin |
| Volume No. | 1 |
| Issue No. | 6 |
| Date | 1977-01-22 |
| Series | V. Personal – E. Publications – 1. The Continuing Inquiry |
| Uniform Title | The Continuing Inquiry |
| Collection Title | Poage Library - JFK - Penn Jones Collection |
| Custodian | Poage Legislative Library |
| ID | 15p-jfkjones-ci-v1_1977-01-22 |
| Resource Type | Newsletter |
| Format | Text |
| Rights | http://www.baylor.edu/lib/digitization/digitalrights |
Description
| Title | Page 1 |
| Series | V. Personal – E. Publications – 1. The Continuing Inquiry |
| Uniform Title | The Continuing Inquiry |
| Collection Title | Poage Library - JFK - Penn Jones Collection |
| Custodian | Poage Legislative Library |
| Resource Type | Newsletter |
| Format | Text |
| Full Text | J. EDGAR HOOVER'S INTERFERENCE WITH CHURCH LEADERS REVEALED IN REPORTS By John Howard Griffin (John Howard Griffin is the author of BLACK LIKE M E which has sold more than 50, 000, 000 copies around the world. He is also author of six other books, and is currently working on the biography of Thomas Merton. ) A recent Senate Intelligence Committee report reveals that the FBI, \mder direct orders from J. Edgar Hoover, attempted to coerce Pope Paul VI into canceling his 196^- meeting with Martin Luther King, Jr. The Pope apparently decided he did not need Mr. Hoover's advice or interference, since he not only met with Martin Luther King as planned, but also publicly endorsed the black civil rights leader. According to the report, Hoover worked through members of the American hierarchy of the Catholic Church, attempting to persuade them to put pressure on the Pope to cancel his meeting on the grounds that "when all the facts about King came out" it would prove an embarrassment to the church. Two members of the hierarchy, Cardinal Spellman and Cardinal Cody apparently agreed to intervene. Cardinal Cody of Chicago denies any knowledge or recollection of the incident. Cardinal Spellman has died, but the FBI memos tell the story. A memo from Internal Security Section Chief Frederick Baiungardner summarized an August 31, 196^^ conference between Spellman and "Assistant Director Malone" of the New York FBI office, "Malone called today and said he had discussed the situation with Cardinal Spellman over the weekend and he said the Cardinal took instant steps to advise the Vatican against granting any audience to King...Cardinal Spellman is going to Rome next week...and thus will be on the scene personally and further insure that the Pope is not placed in an embarrassing position through any contact with King." Despite such interference, the meeting between Pope Paul VI and Martin Luther King took place on September 13, 1964- as scheduled. Hoover wrote the word "Astounding" on the memo informing him of the meeting. He also wrote, "I am amazed that the Pope gave an audience to such a (term deleted by the FBI)." Why did Hoover have such a fanatical hatred of Martin Luther King? The above incident is only one small part of the FBI's massive campaign to discredit and destroy Dr. King. Thw FBI did not hesitate to lie and invent evidence in this campaign. The report showed that In^addition to persuading Cardinal Spellman to block the meeting with the Pope, they falsely informed contributors to Dr. King's Southern Christian Leadership Conference that King was putting conference fionds in a private bank account in Switzerland; they attempted to persuade then Vice President Humphrey and New York Governor Rockefeller not to participate in ceremonies honoring King for the Nobel Peace Prize; they tried to block his receiving two honorary degrees and countless other "dirty tricks." Why? The report suggested the FBI attacks against King were motivated by Hoover's conviction that King was "no good", and his belief that King was being used by "communists". |
| Rights | http://www.baylor.edu/lib/digitization/digitalrights |