Religion: Of Bombs and Bishops

At Manhattan’s federal courthouse last week, Raisa Nemikin, 27, secretary at the Episcopal Church’s national offices, read a statement: “The FBI and U.S. government are attempting to destroy the Hispanic community and the Puerto Rican independence movement. By cooperating, the church has destroyed whatever credibility and trust it had with the oppressed.” With that, Nemikin began serving up to 14 months in prison for refusing to testify before a federal grand jury.

The grand jury is investigating the F.A.L.N., a radical Puerto Rican independence group that claims responsibility for 49 U.S. bombings. At the Chicago apartment of the only known F.A.L.N. member, Carlos Alberto Torres, 24, FBI agents last November found 211 sticks of dynamite and 100 lbs. of explosive chemicals. They also discovered correspondence showing that Torres was a member of the Episcopal Church’s Commission on Hispanic Affairs.

When agents turned up at Episcopal headquarters, Bishop Milton Wood, chief aide to Presiding Bishop John Allin, let them examine commission files and test church typewriters. Later the two bishops provided other material, figuring it was public information. Meanwhile the grand jury summoned Nemikin and her boss, Hispanic Commission Director Maria Cueto. Both refused to testify, on grounds of religious liberty, but a federal district court denied the claim. Though the national church is paying the two women’s legal fees, it is not backing their refusal to testify. This week Maria Cueto is likely to join Raisa Nemikin in prison as a penalty for that silence.