NATION IN BRIEF : MISSOURI : Religious Groups Split on Thomas

Voting delegates at the national convention of the Knights of Columbus endorsed Judge Clarence Thomas’ nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court, calling him “exceptionally well qualified.” The Progressive National Baptist Convention, a branch of the Baptist church in which Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a preacher, voted to oppose the nomination at its meeting in Pittsburgh, Pa. The Knights of Columbus delegates, representing the 1.5-million-member Roman Catholic fraternal service group, met in St. Louis. Their resolution was adopted without opposition on a voice vote. Groups supporting Thomas include the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the American Conservative Union and Republican partisan groups. Opposing him are such groups as the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People, the AFL-CIO, the League of United Latin American Citizens and the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights.