A CATHOLIC IRON CURTAIN THRUST

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP75-00149R000100060011-6
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: November 17, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 17, 2000
• Sequence Number: 11
• Publication Date: June 27, 1964
• Content Type: NSPR

Approved For Release 2000/08/03 : CIA
NLW YORK
HERALD TRIBUNE
JUN 2 7 1964
A Catholic iron., .Curtain Thrwt
.By John G. Rogers
0/ The Herald Tribune Staff
A campaign to pierce the
.Soviet Iron Curtain with
anti - Communist religious
writings was announced yes-
terday by Icon, Inc., Inter-
national Communication of
Orthodox Nations.
The opening weapon is a
123-page, pocket-size maga-
zine containing seven articles,
printed in Russian on the
left-hand pages, in English
on the right hand.
Some 3,000 copies are being
mailed to persons in the
Soviet Union whose names
were obtained from Russian
emigre groups. Since they are
being mailed on various days
from many points around the
world, Icon hopes they'll get
through a relaxing Soviet
postal censorship.
If they do, the Russian
censorship can read such
nuggets as these:
"The' .Russian soul never
has been and never will' be
atheistic"- from an article
by Roman Catholic B>shop
Fulton J. Sheen.
"Even communism's sue-
cesses are but steps toward
its failure" - Methodist
Bishop Gerald Kennedy.
"The Communist party .. .
is powerless against the deep,
and the widespread religious
beliefs of the great Russian,
masses"-unsigncd editorial.
Editor of the magazine,
also named Icon, is 71-year-
old Alexander S. Alexander,
Russian - born, naturalized
American, an engineering
consultant who worked for
many years in the State De-
though religion is suppressed
in the Soviet Union, it per-
sists strongly in the hearts
of many millions, and that
Icon aims to "bolster their
religious leanings and clarify
for them the irrr world's
religious and philosophic
principles."
Head of Icon is Mai. Ccn.
Patrick J. Ryan, retired chief
of Army chaplains and exec-
utive vice-prdsident of The
Catholic Digest. In addition
to the mailing campaign,','
Icon will be available to
traveling Russiahs at distri-
bution points in many coun-
tries. The group, which plans
four issues a year, has head-
quarters in Washington and
Is non-denominational.
The initial ' Issue cover')
shows a. Byzantine portrait ,
of the Virgin. Mary, overlaid
with a metallic gold cutout
wrapper.
partment's foreign service.
He skid ;,yesterday that
Approved For Release 2000/08/03 C.IA-RDP75-00149R:000100060011-6