ATTACK ON CATHOLIC CHURCH.

Auckland Star, Volume LVI, Issue 258, 31 October 1925, Page 20

ATTACK ON CATHOLIC CHURCH.

>ir. —A few (ia\-j ago Mr. Vivian! Potter. M.P.. publicly stated that he would not introduce the i--n° | into hi.- campaign, and the r>tatPTnpi)t waa | loudly applauded. All honest and decent j men rejoiced to it-am riiar the wort | and mo-it deirra<iin;r feature of public political life in New Zealand had at last l>een eradicated. FSui now it appear* •that the rejoi'-iriir aa- not founded on fact: for all the worst features of the lowest, viiest. >c.- T have ,suddenly ri-appeared in olir midst, and [ the fountain h?ari. or rather the breeding ground, nf tni-> noisome i = 'Mr. Potter's elertorate. Roskill. A [pampfiier. t-ntitle! "Keman CathoMc j i Art:t-lp> v: Wn: .hi -'-j- Bririnh Flmpire i an/1 Protectant People," i.« !>eing s<-at-j tered Liroadfa->t nver the city ar.l !sul)ur!j-. (hi it- :i'.le page i* tiifi word-: "Wirh ir.nij'ljnM'nt- of Ufroup. P.P.A." May 1 -ay ,t: oni-e that |:n all my ex[>eri-n<-e in man\ <■ mntries. I iiave n-\>>r came .i.v<-- a pul'lif-atinn it., a- tr, -ui-ii \»w Iw.tii-. By ir-^uin.tr ■■'. the 1".1*.A. memiicrs of the i .":>; ,• -:it- j .ill-. Bu:. f*nnit mtlet tiie piriilic f>">r iuelf. i:i a j foreword, the pamphlet, speaking of tht iCatholir (iiun.i for. ar usual, this i--Itlip only Church attacked), stare-: "ft [claims rhe liiyaltv i.f every Ki>mani->t ■ (pic: to the Pupe and the < "aurc-h ! against, the and tiie Kmpire." But

worse \* to come: " I"mp hierarchy of Rome views tiie British Krapire with j inveterate hatred, determined, if possible, I to destroy it." Thp people of Auckland j, know that there I- at. least one member'; of tiie "hierarchy of Home" who risked |, his life in the trenches in defence of that ;, Empire which lie is supposed to hate, i and who. a* a recognition of hi- heroic j service (for he was 60 years of age and' in broken health), was awarded the] Order of the British Umpire. With him j were thousands of our Catholic New i Zpaland boy.--. Over 2000 of them made j the supreme sacrifice. thousands of ; others cane- back bearing glorious j wounds gained in defence of the : Kmpire. and this is what the Roskill ; P.P.A. have to -ay of them: "The proper j view is to regard him I the Catholic) as a member of a hostile army encamped on | British soil." One cannot help asking: j "Are the people who issue, and those j who print, such a pamphlet lost to all sense of decency and shame, when they i can brand thus the men who fought! and died for them?" , But I write not! only as a Catholic citizen burning with ' indignation at the calumnies levelled against mr co-religionists. 1 am a Catholic priest, and my honour ai a j priest is as dear to mc as my honour , as a man. On page 5 of this scurrilous . publication I find an oath that I and all • other priests are charged with having I taken before onr ordination. It states: j "I do declare from my heart that I will j do my utmost to extirpate the Protestant j doctrine and to destroy all their pre- j j tended power, legal and" otherwise. . . . j T do declare that the Pope has power to I dispose of heretical kings. . . . and that j thrv may be safely destroyed." The j authority quoted for this abominable | lie is tiie "New Zealand Sentinel," | August. 1021. And at the end of this j vile forgery there appear the significant \ words: "Memorise this and act." T can '■ imagine the poor blinded bigots who j believe these forgeries sitting in the Dominion Road trams and silently repeating to themselves these atrocious ! calumnies against their fellow Christians sitting in the same seat with them. On page 6, tlie New Zealand Catholics who fought and bled for the Empire are called foreigners, and the incredible statement is made in black type:-"These foreigners claim the British as their slaves." On page 10 appears another forgery, entitled. "Papal Hymn of Hate." This is supposed to have been sung by the Catholics of the British Empire during the war. I quote the last six lines: — ••Give all British soldiers I'lirest Essen shell. Smite those British bulldoss. Miifcc the cowards yell : Send them. God of vencennce, To their place in hell." This is the hymn supposed to have been sung by Bishop Cleary. by Fathers Dore and SlcMenanihi (who died for their country) and by our thousands of brave Catholic men, when German shells shrieked overhead searching for their lives. Whence did the Ro_kill P.P.A. people obtain this forgery? Will they! be men and publish the name of the | forger? But the gem of the collection! appears on page 13. Under tiie heading,! "Murder authorised by Pope." we read: "In the Papal states no will was valid that did not contain a legacy for the Church. Tlie priests used to take measures effectively to prevent his changing his mind by simply leaning heavily with their arms* on his chest, or compressing with their fingers his throat, when administering the Viaticum." Could blind bigotry and crass stupidity go further than that? One wonders how the publishers of such foul lies rate the intelligence of the citizens of Roskill and of Auckland. But the ordinaryreader may ask: "What is the purpose of such a vile publication?" The cat comes out of the bag on the last page, where we are asked to "return only those candidates to Parliament who are known Protestants—and trustworthy." But the last line is the best: "Are you a meiriber and will you support financially the P.P.A. ?" Thus end 20 pages of lies, calumnies and forgeries. Must we Catholics be thus publicly calumniated and besmirched in order that poor innocent, deluded victims may be induced to support financially a moribund association that has been the most deplorable feature of our public life since our history began? I have trespassed on your space, sir. beyond all ordinary lengths: but. before concluding, I have a question to ask of Mr. Potter. This pamphlet is. apparently, issued in his interest: I call on him publicly to state whether it was published and distributed with his approval—or even with his knowledge. If not. will Mr. Potter publicly repudiate it? His answer will be awaited with keen interest, not only in his own electorate, but all over Auckland, and not least by the members of his own party, who. like their straightforward and fearless leader, loathe and detest such appeals to sectarian hatred and prejudice.—l am, etc.. B. J. GONDRINGKR, S.M. Mount Albert.