Reagan seems at peace with bishops’ letter
An Associated Press Analysis
WASHINGTON (AP) - Debating
theology with clergymen is a sure way
to lose, and the administration is ex
tending that guideline in response to
the denunciation of nuclear weapons
— and major elements of U S. nuclear
strategy — by Roman Catholic
bishops.
Pres. Ronald Reagan and Secretary
of Defense Caspar Weinberger avoided
discussing details of the long-debated
pastoral letter adopted on Tuesday by
leaders of the 51 million American
Catholics.
Instead, they kept their comments
broad enough to suggest that the view
of the bishops and the policies of the
administration really are not that much
at odds.
That is pretty broad.
Reagan said he hadn't read the
45,000-word statement the bishops
adopted in Chicago, but from what
he’d seen, there were many points with
which the administration would have
no quarrel.
But it doesn’t take a line-by-line
reading to see some major differences.
The bishops condemned first use of
nuclear weapons on any scale. The use
of tactical nuclear weapons is one of
the options reserved by NATO as a
possible response to an overwhelming
conventional attack on Western
Europe.
The letter challenged the use of
nuclear weapons even in retaliation to
an attack on American cities.
’’Retaliatory action which would in
discriminately take many wholly inno
cent lives, lives of people who are in no
way responsible for the reckless ac
tions of their government, must be
condemned,” the letter says. Credible
retaliatory power is at the heart of the
policy of nuclear deterrence.
The bishops called for immediate,
verifiable agreements to halt the
testing, production and deployment of
nuclear weapons — a version of the
nuclear freeze to which Reagan is firm
ly opposed.
The president didn't go into those
points. He accentuated the positive:
‘‘They’re not saying anything we
don't say, that God forbid those
weapons should ever be used.
“What I’m saying is that I think their
purpose is the same as ours,” Reagan
told interviewers. “They’re looking for
a way toward peace and promoting
world peace, and that’s what we're also
looking for.”
Weinberger said he didn’t think the
bishops intended to undercut US.
deterrent policy. “If we were to end
deterrence and erode it by statements
that we would in effect never use or
dismantle all of our strategic systems,
that I think would encourage the
Soviets, and I don't think that’s really
the thrust of their letter.”
The administration had sought to
temper the bishop’s statement on
nuclear policy, so as to tone down
direct or implied criticism of American
policy. “When someone tries to
pressure you, you stiffen your back,”
said Cardinal John Krol of Phil
adelphia. "It’s a normal human reac
tion.”
Now the administration focus is on
areas of agreement, not differences.
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EPA director nominee
will clean waste dumps
WASHINGTON (AP) -
William Ruckelshaus pledged
today that he would move ag
gressively to clean up aban
doned toxic waste dumps
without waiting to determine
who would ultimately pay for
the clean-up.
Ruckelshaus' pledge, made
at the third day of hearings on
his nomination to head the En
vironmental Protection Agen
cy, signalled a change from
past Reagan administration
policy.
Under former Administrator
Anne Burford, the EPA em
phasized negotiated set
tlements with responsible par
ties rather than committing
money from the $1.6 billion
superfund.
It was allegations of
political manipulation and
mismanagement of the fund
that drove Burford and a dozen
of her top aides from office in
recent months.
Ruckelshaus, asked if he
would improve on a record
that has seen money spent on
only 78 of 419 dump sites,
said: “From the evidence I
have seen, there was too much
emphasis placed on who pays,
rather than going ahead and
getting the dumps cleaned
up.”
He added that it was very
likely he will seek to spend
more money on clean-ups this
year than the administration
had originally requested.
Ruckelshaus’ comments
before the Senate Environ
ment and Public Works Com
mittee marked one of the few
times in his two days of confir
mation hearings where he
signalled a specific change in
past administration policy.
Sen. Robert Stafford, chair
man of the environment com
mittee, announced toward the
end of the panel’s questioning
of Ruckelshaus that he had
scheduled a vote on the
nomination for Friday
morning.
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