Tidings

P: What do U.S. religious groups believe about abortion? Some surprising figures come from the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research, noted for highly accurate surveys. Expectably, 67% of the Roman Catholics surveyed opposed abortion (either absolutely or in all cases except when the mother's life is in danger). But so did a hefty 59% of the Protestants.

Protestants who attend church regularly are more opposed to abortion than those who do not. On the other hand, an overwhelming 82% of Jews approved of a woman's right to have an abortion.

P: For some time, the National Council of Churches has been trying to romance the U.S. Catholic Church into joining it. Thus it was startling when the council filed an acerbic statement with the House Ways and Means Committee, arguing against a major Catholic cause--tax credits for parents of nonpublic-school students. The council insisted that Catholics are simply "unwilling" to give funds to keep their schools open, rather than "unable" to do so. "If Roman Catholics are not exerting themselves any more sacrificially than $30 or $40 per year per capita to keep their schools going," asked the council statement, "why should the rest of society make up the difference?" The statement aroused such anger among Catholics that the council's two top leaders said they had not authorized it and ordered a revision.

P:He sports a mustache and aviator glasses now, and lives in a comfortable adobe house in suburban Albuquerque. On the dining room wall hangs the coat of arms that indicates that James P. Shannon (TIME cover, Feb. 23, 1970) used to be a bishop of the Roman Catholic Church. Shannon, 52, was named outstanding graduate of his class and gave the commencement speech when he graduated from the University of New Mexico law school this week. He will join a prominent Albuquerque law firm, where he may handle suits to protect the water rights of the poor in the Southwest. Shannon does not take Communion now because he was automatically excommunicated from the Catholic Church for marrying without Rome's permission, but he and his wife Ruth, a Protestant, attend Mass regularly. Says Shannon: "The Catholic Church is the only home I've ever had or ever will."

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