In Jan 1967, Dorothy Day, disturbed by Cardinal Spellman's support for the Vietnam War, published an article: "In Peace Is my Bitterness Most Bitter." "It is not just Vietnam, it is South Africa, it is Nigeria, the Congo, Indonesia, all of Latin America. It is not just... 
the pictures of all the women and children who have been burnt alive in Vietnam...It is not just the words of Cardinal Spellman...It is the fact that whether we like it or not, we are Americans. It is indeed our country, right or wrong, as the Cardinal said in another context..."
She went on to recall the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus, who sits hungry at the gate. "Woe to the rich! We are the rich! The Works of Mercy are the opposite of the works of war...We cannot repeat this enough."
"I can sit in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament and wrestle in the bitterness of my soul, a bitterness which many Catholics throughout the world feel, and I can find many things in Scripture to console me, to change my heart from hatred to love of enemy. ...
"I have often thought it is a brave thing to do, these Christmas visits of Cardinal Spellman to the American troops all over the world... But oh, God, what are all these Americans, so-called Christians, doing all over the world...? But what words are those he spoke---
...going against even the Pope, calling for victory, total victory. Words are as strong and powerful as bombs, as napalm. How much the government counts on those words, pays for those words, to exalt our own way of life, to build up fear of the enemy. ...
"As to the Church, where else shall we go except to the Bride of Christ, one flesh with Christ? Though she is a harlot at times she is our Mother...Since there is no time with God, we are all one body, Chinese, Russians, Vietnamese and He has commanded us to love one another.
"A new commandment I give, that you love others as I have loved you, not to the defending of your life, but to the laying down of your life. A hard saying. Love is indeed a "harsh and dreadful thing" to ask of us, of each one of us, but it is the only answer."
