WEDNESDAY. NOVEMBER 17.	1982
The Catholic bishops are being praised ÛÓand also getting it in the neckÛÓas they meet to discuss their latest draft of a pastoral letter in which they declare the moral imperative of ÛÏthe rejection of nuclear war.Û</br></br>For two years now, they have heard and read every argument for and against the use of nuclear weapons and have gone through two drafts of a proposed pastoral letter, the latest titled, ÛÏThe Challenge of Peace: GodÛªs Promise and Our Response.Û</br></br>Assorted cold warriors, peaceniks and techsniffs, who donÛªt know much about Catholicism, and the run of editorialists have been considerably agitated by the notion that a gang of bishops is going to sway some 51 million American Roman Catholics to an ordained point of view of war and peace.</br></br>The bishops have already been charged with getting ready to challenge the Reagan administrationÛªs strategy of nuclear deterrence and retaliation and putting Catholic servicemen on the spot with conscience-raising questions about the morality of nuclear war.</br></br>Well, bishops everywhere have a duty to teach their flocks, and thatÛªs what the 300 American bishops are doing. But they cannot dictate to the consciences of Catholics. They can only hope that a pastoral letter on any subject will cause Catholics to think.