Services for Casey at Church Cleansed of ‘Political’ Tone

Seeking to dampen the political overtones of a memorial service held Sunday at a Beverly Hills church for CIA Director William J. Casey, church officials canceled two scheduled eulogies, blocked an appearance by a U.S. Marine color guard and handed out disclaimers denying any endorsement of the ceremony’s sponsors.

Msgr. Peter C. Healy, pastor of the Church of the Good Shepherd, said that he had been “shocked” by the seemingly political nature of the event and hoped that his efforts to make it a “purely spiritual ceremony” had defused some of the tension between the 450 people who attended and the estimated 100 demonstrators outside.

“I just felt it was not proper to have political talks within a church,” Healy said after the service. “And from the temperament of things, if we had gone on as originally planned, I feel there could have been some very serious problems here.”

Plea for Donations

Invitations for the ceremony, sponsored by more than two dozen conservative groups, had requested that, in lieu of flowers, donations be sent to the “William J. Casey Fund for Nicaraguan Freedom Fighters.” Casey, a confidant of President Reagan and one of the key figures in the Iran- contra affair, was 74 when he died in May of pneumonia after the removal of a brain tumor.

“They were absolutely wrong in making Mrs. Casey go through this kind of humiliation,” said Esperanza Cooney, one of the event’s organizers. “When her husband passed away, he said, ‘Don’t give me flowers, give money to the contras.’ It was a message for the whole United States to listen. His is the voice of wisdom.”

Both before and after the Roman Catholic service, protesters carrying white crosses shouted at Casey supporters in front of the church at Bedford Drive and Santa Monica Boulevard. Several times, Beverly Hills police officers had to clear the sidewalk after demonstrators clashed with the sponsoring groups. No arrests were reported.

“This service is really a moral outrage,” said Mary Brent Wehrli, executive director of the Southern California Ecumenical Council Interfaith Taskforce on Central America, which organized the protest outside. She termed the ceremony little more than “a contra fund-raiser.”

Supporters hurled back insults, waving signs that said “A Contra a Day Keeps the Commies Away,” and telling the protesters to “Go Back to Russia.”

Rites at Private Home

After the half-hour service, reporters and about 100 guests were invited to a private reception at a Hancock Park home, where Los Angeles County Supervisor Mike Antonovich and KABC-TV commentator Bruce Herschensohn delivered their previously scheduled eulogies in an impromptu backyard ceremony.

Framed by two American flags stuck into a nearby hedge, Herschensohn promised Casey’s widow, Sophia, and her daughter, Bernadette, that another memorial service for the former CIA chief would be held in the future.

“Before this century is done, there will be another memorial service for him to be held in Managua,” he said. “And on that day, the church bells will ring for him in San Salvador and Tegucigalpa and Guatemala City and Panama City and Belmopan and San Jose, for it will be recognized throughout Central America that he helped bring about their security, free from the threat of totalitarianism.”

In his homily, Antonovich said that “because of William Casey, freedom today has a fighting chance throughout the Third World.”

Both Antonovich and Herschensohn had been invited to speak at the church service by the event’s sponsors, which included the California Republican Assembly, Voice of Americanism, Young Americans for Freedom and Reagan’s former political action committee, Citizens for the Republic.

Monsignor’s Concern

Healy said he balked at the two eulogies and the color guard after he saw the invitations Thursday.

“It was the combined effect of everything,” he said, noting the long list of conservative sponsors and the request for donations to the Nicaraguan rebels. He added that he acted after consulting with other leaders in the archdiocese, including Archbishop Roger M. Mahony.

A two-sentence disclaimer printed on the church’s stationery and distributed to the audience described the service as “a purely spiritual ceremony for Mr. William Casey and a source of consolation for his wife and family. No inference should be drawn that the church endorses the political organizations mentioned in the invitation.”

Organizers, however, said that the service was not intended to be political and accused church officials of buckling under pressure from “left-wing” and “communist” groups.

“Mrs. Casey, as a Catholic lady, has the right to choose the person to give the eulogy to Mr. Casey,” Cooney said. “The Catholic church is for the people. It is not a private organization owned by one bishop.”

Major Role in Effort

A voracious reader known for his keen intellect and quick grasp of complex subjects, Casey has emerged in recent weeks as perhaps the key figure in the deal that sent profits from Iranian arms sales to Nicaragua’s rebels.

In televised testimony last week, former White House aide Oliver L. North mentioned Casey’s name dozens of times and indicated that the former CIA head had guided him in much of the Iran-contra covert operations.

Those at the ceremony said North’s testimony only reaffirms their support for Casey’s ideals.

“This is the only nation of which I know where lawmakers attempt to publicly persecute its patriots,” Herschensohn said. “This last week, with a disciple of Director Casey, they were unsuccessful. Col. Oliver North, guided by Director Casey in that room, created a beacon of light so brilliant that its glow went throughout the land.”