ANOTHER CROSS TO CIA INVOLVEMENT

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00806R000201050011-1
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 28, 2010
• Sequence Number: 11
• Publication Date: May 4, 1981
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/07/28: CIA-RDP90-00806R000201050011-1
PHILADELPHIA BULLETIN
4 May 1981
For more than 150 'years U St mis But oirlan 19 Bitterman was'tak-
sionaries-Bible in : hand-have.tra en hostage by a group of.left-wing
veled the world to spread God's word.*,.- guerillas, and. six weeks later was
But today s missionary. ventures forth. 'murdered. The group charged -that,
with- a different- mandate',n?.'mind, and- the institute was a CIA front. The in-3
any
often in- the face, of extreme: danger: stitute denied involvement with
This is the second in asenes: '. ' , - government intelligence agency- in.
"-" factit forbids it, it said. Bitterman's;
BY PAULA HERBUT'.;,' father said that his son, a fundamen-
Of The Bulletin Staff --- ~--~ talist Christian, felt-he was "led- by
God" into missionary work:
"The Summer Institute of Linguis- ; -The institute has been a target, for,
tics might seem- to. be:,an: unlikelX., more than a decade of rumors that it
"target of suspicions of Central' Intel-' has spied, set up missile'bases.and?.,
ligence Agency (CIA) involvement. even mined precious minerals or run
rffe Bible=
A; branch olP tflfEr"w9t't" . dnt .operations in Latin" American
-Translators,- the iftstitute`?works?in countries., The rumors have never
remote areas of, the, world, its. mksn confirmed.
sionary-linguists living:,for-15~ to 20 Bitterman's murder. comes in the:
years with remote. villages of people. midst of widespread controversy in
wvho have no written language: missionary circles over the. role of
'^-The 'linguists"'.transcribe the, U.S. missionaries in Third World
unwritten languages into. ,written countries and U.S. government fund-.
form- and then translate.. the New ing of some missionary development
Testament:.into the; language,.. con--. projects and relief work. ` - ?.1 -Y
Vetting the people:; to. Christianity: It also has led to more specific'ac
along the way. `lions by protestant denominations.-
But the fact that linguists spend Among them is the United Methodist
years in remote areas arouses suspi Church. whose Board of Global
cion in. some. Swdoes?their'dedicaMinistries' World Division approved.
cion_ to, seemingljJnsignificant peo a policy this month that "no ransom
pies - some of the villages the insti will be authorized. on the basis that
tute works with- have as few as- 100 such response places in. jeopardy all
people. personnel and programs of the
The institute also-has- contracts church"
with the governments othee 36 coun- Espionage --allegations against
tries it'works' in?.it.:accepts. 'some `missionaries 'in Third World.coun-
government grants':frroom.'the- U:S. 'tries are not uncommon and- do not
and-other countries-forspecial-Or* -center on U.S. missionaries alone. In
ects,-bind 1n countries:where:'suspi=