Reagan in Dark About Suffering, Bishop Says

The top officer of the Episcopal Church bluntly accused President Reagan on Saturday of not understanding the causes of human suffering and called the concept of national security “an earth-shadowing idol . . . of illusion and irony.”

If Reagan understood the world forces of injustice and poverty, he would not pursue his present policies, Bishop John M. Allin said in an hour-long speech on the opening day of the 2.8-million-member denomination’s legislative convention in Anaheim.

“I must tell him (Reagan) that in spite of his access to the best communication media, in his present surroundings of maximum security and staff protection, he does not have an adequate . . . comprehension of the human predicament, the causes and effects of human suffering in the world,” Allin said, adding:

“I believe him to be too humane, sensitive and courageous a man to push his Administration’s present policies if he clearly perceived that there is another threat to world peace as destructive as an atomic attack--namely the chain reaction of desperately oppressed, suffering human beings, losing hope--and life.”

The bishop did not name any countries where hardship is especially severe, nor did he single out any Reagan actions. But his message contained the harshest criticisms of U.S. policy he has made during his 12 years in office. Allin will retire as the Episcopal presiding bishop at the end of the year.

His successor will be elected here on Tuesday, as delegates set the national church’s policy for the next three years at their eight-day meeting in the Anaheim Convention Center.

In his farewell address, Allin said that while national security is necessary, security policies in many nations have increasingly caused oppressive national debts and “an illusive defense depending upon destructive weapons.”

Weapons suppliers, Allin continued, often “draw off the first benefits illegally, by overcharging and non- or inadequate production.”

In an apparent reference to recently reported irregularities in U.S. government contracts, he added, “I’m talking about screw drivers and toilet seats.”

The bishop, who drew applause nine times from the 1,100 delegates attending the convention, said that during his world travels as head of the Episcopal Church he had frequently encountered cynicism and despair. Many people doubt American commitment to “the ideals of democracy, human rights, liberty and justice for all,” he said.

Other Critical Points

Allin said he also found strong criticism of the policies of U.S. government, business and labor.

“The sad truth is that the American image of a great democratic republic and generous good neighbor has become overshadowed in the sight of many of the world’s population by the image of a bully, preoccupied with profits and self-protection,” he said. Citizens in many small countries equate the United States and the Soviet Union “as exporters of arms, manipulators of world markets and resources, and inhibitors of fair trade exchange with Third World nations,” Allin added.

Allin, 64, who has dedicated the efforts of his administration largely to reconciliation of opposing segments within the church, said he had become convinced that “virulent seeds of violent revolution . . . and anarchy” exist because no economic or political system at present is responsive to the voices of “the suffering, the oppressed and the poor.”

Need to Pay Attention

Allin drew sustained applause when he said: “So let us respectfully say to the President . . . and to all our fellow citizens, that it is now of crucial importance that we lower the volume of our ideological rhetoric and that we listen carefully to the representative voices from around the world . . . without becoming unduly defensive.”

Allin told the convention delegates that “the only defense against the chain-reactive forces of injustice and poverty already activating violence and terror around the world” was “a new humanitarian offensive.”

The Episcopal Church is observing its 200th anniversary as an independent denomination in America and a self-governing branch of Anglicanism.

Robert A. K. Runcie, the Archbishop of Canterbury and world head of the Anglican Communion, held a press conference here preceding Allin’s speech. Runcie said he agreed with South African Anglican Bishop Desmond Tutu that total disinvestment and sanctions by other nations against South Africa would be harmful at this time.

“But it may come to that,” Runcie said. “If the pressure, the violence, the frustration and the rioting increase, then there would be the tragedy of the breakdown of the infrastructure of South Africa and other black states.”