In an effort to clarify our position and with the aid of the U.S. State Department, it was arranged for a foreign delegation of three Witnesses to speak with Dr. Franco Nogueira, then Minister of Foreign Affairs. The foreign delegation, composed of Brothers Philip Rees, Richard Abrahamson and Domenick Piccone, traveled to Lisbon and on February 25, 1965, explained our position of strict neutrality. Dr. Nogueira promised to look into the situation, as he stated there was no apparent reason for denying Jehovah’s Witnesses religious freedom. The only answer received, however, was a steady increase of police interference.

[Picture on page 191]

D. Piccone, Portugal’s first full-time circuit overseer, and his wife, Elsa, (couple at the left) and Joaquim Martins, a zealous preacher of the good news, and his family