RELIGIOUS WORLD.

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 23, 28 January 1928, Page 2 (Supplement)

RELIGIOUS WORLD.

PRESENT-DAY OUTLOOK. s (Contributed.) t " CHURCH AND STATE. In view of the critical situation which has been created in England by the rejection of the new prayer book by the House of Commons, the following statement in the "Guardian" regarding the connection between Church and . State in England will be read with interest:— The exact relation of the Church of England to the State -is a problem that often puzzles even intelligent observers. The report of the Ecclesiastical Committee of Parliament on the prayer-book measure does much to clear up a situation that the creation of the Church Assembly had, in some -ways, made more obscure, and thus possesses a significance that goes far beyond tlie particular proposal under discussion. Parliament—as has always been recognised by careful students—retains the right to say whether changes in practice undermine the assumptions on which the Anglican Church is recognised by the State as the national church.. This right Parliament exercises in its capacity as adviser to the Crown, and it is the. position of the Crown that, from a constitutional point of view, governs the whole situation. The Act of Settlement of 1700 determined that the occupant of the Throne should be a Protestant, and that he should join in communion with the Church of England. If Parliament became convinced that changes in doctrine were desired by the official representatives of the Church of England, of such a character as to make it impossible any longer to describe that Church as Protestant, Parliament would be obliged to advise the King that he could no longer remain in communion with it. The recognition of the Anglican Church as the national Church would presumably then have to be withdrawn. Thus there is a broad theological problem that, while the present situation lasts, Parliament must decide. An Important Principle. The Ecclesiastical Committee faced this question, and came to the conclusion that no such changes had taken place. The new prayer book —in their judgment—does nothing to upset the understanding that , has made the alliance of Church and State possible for so long. But, in arriving at this decision, the members of the committee are anxious to avoid posing as theological experts. They have considered a broad question, as the members of a jury might, in a broad and' reasonable way. They do not wish to enter into doctrinal discussions. They are only concerned, with a constitutional question. They repel any idea' of wishing to interfere with the internal working of the Church. They regard of doctrine and ceremonial as "lying within the province of" the Church Assembly. In respect to objections raised on this, score by "members of the Church as such," the report lays down an important principle. The committee is to '"be guided by the decisive conclusions of the Church Assembly," on, the ground that it is the legally constituted 1 body for informing Parliament what are the wishes of the Church of ' England in regard to technical religious questions. Thus ttife spiritual authority of the Church is maintained,' and' the' lines' of demarcation between the . functions of Church and State are clearly drawn. Even in the area in which the functions of the State impinge on the peculiar province of the, Church, the committee feels the necessity of guidance from the constitutional leaders of the Church. They have relied—as they were obviously bound to rely—on "the expressed opinion, of the Archbishops and Bishops" in forming their opinion about the exact doctrinal position of the Church of England. They regard this opinion as of more importance than the views of self-constituted societies or even of eminent politicians. Along lines such as' these an alliance between Church and State may continue for many years,* and be fraught with benefits to both. ■'

RELIGIOUS TRAINING.

"Material prosperity is not everything. No country will become great by material prosperity. To thoughtful people, and to people who, like ttiyself, are growing old, there is a great deal that is disquieting Jin the present conditions' in Australia. If Australia is to become a great country/which, in my opinion, It is capable Of bedoining, and if it is to retain its pride Of place in the British Empire, I am! convinced—and the older I get the more .firmly I am convinced— of the immense importance of religious training going hand-in-hand with the mental and physical development of the children of this generation. We learn that true happiness is only to be found in work, in duty and in self-discipline. For their own welfare and that of the community it is necessary that th& lessons of duty, discipline, religious faithy and religious observance should be learned by the children while they are still young and impressionable Justice, N.S.W. , ; '■T-v.u'

FRANCE'S POPULATION.

M. Georges Rossignol, a state inspector of education, who has just retired, pub- . lishes in "Victory" a declaration that has caused a good deal of comment. The author, who has been very actively interested in - the campaign . for., the increase of the : birth-rate, is not a Catholic, and in the -past he claimed that Catholicism could do little for repopulation. In his article in "Victory" he relates liow, confronted with several successive experiences, his judgment was modilied: — "Proudhon says somewhere that one must, admire those who pronounce these heroic, these sublime words: 1 have made a mistake.' Well, we are going to be heroic. I declare, therefore, that, in holding that the Catholic religion could not help ua to give France the taste for and the practice of having large families, I made a seriofls, a very serious mistake, and that to-day I detest my error, n - "Before the thirteenth year, we had not come into contact with these beautiful and numerous families of the* Nord, of Brittany, and of Alsace, who conform tjieir actions tfl their external religion . practices, and who very often 'have eight ■ .or ten or more children. We .iad not- yet meditated on the Canadian and Acadian miracles, and established, as we have now, that the populations of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and the banks M of. the St. Lawrence, owed . to their priests the resurrection of their. race, their piety, and r belief in large dea by declaring

UNITED CHURCHES TENT CAMPAIGN.

A contributor writes: "Under the aegis of the Auckland United Evangelistic Association, the United Churcheß Tent Campaign was conducted, as in former years, on the Civic Square. Extending from December 25, 1927, to January 22, 1928, the mission was both interesting and suggestive from that viewpoint which questions the readiness of the people to attend an avowedly evangelistic effort under conditions where comfort, because of its corollary, expense, is necessarily foregone. The large marquee was at all times comfortably filled, the afterchurch meeting at 8.15 p.m. on Sunday attracting upwards of 300 people. The speakers were representative of all the co-operating denominations, both ministers and laymen being selected. Designed to meet the needs of that large class of people unattached to any place of worship, the meetings have in a measure achieved this confessedly difficult aim. A review of the past four years reveals some most remarkable cases of conversion, some of which have taken; their respected place in the church life of the city. Several, this year, testified to the abiding work done in their lives three or-four years ago. With the sale of leases impending, it is improbable that the Civic Square will be available for future occasions, so that this is probably the last mission on the site."

ADORATION OF THE SACRAMENT.

"Anglo-Catholic" writes: "Much space is devoted in the secular Press to reports of sermons and statements critical of the adoration of Jesus Christ in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar, and it is, perhaps, only fair that the AngloCatholic view should be expressed. In a recent editorial, the 'Green Quarterly,' I an Anglo-Catholic magazine published in London, stated: 'A certain number of bishops, and other Anglican leaders, have begun to realise that it will be fatal to the spiritual welfare and missionary enterprise of the Church of England, if Anglo-Catholics, or any section of them, are forced by the unfortunate prohibitions of the new Prayer Book into a state of revolt. This is a, time when nil kinds of religious enterprise should be.' encouraged,, rather than forbidden. In an age when the vast majority of the nation have lost all touch with, and knowledge of, the Christian Faith, it seems almost incredible that it should be proposed to ostracise parish priests, who are carrying on successful evangelical work, because they are not prepared to limit the giving of Holy Communion from the Reserved Sacrament to the sick. Similarly, in days of empty churches, an observer from some distant planet would rub his eyes with' amazement if he learnt that it was proposed to outlaw a .number of parishes for hold? ing ! services ,of- • adoration, to which crowded congregations are drawn every Sunday evening. The age upon which •we are now entering is one in which the narrow sectarian standpoint will _be more and more doomed to : extinction. It should be explained that AngloCatholic priests feel that they could not conscientiously dare .to refuse' Holy Communion (from the Reserved Sacrament) to anyone whom they believed fit to receive it. They believe that the faithful have the, right to demand to be fed by their parish priest with the Bread of Life, even though circumstances may prevent them' from attendance. at the church at time* of service."

CURRENT NOTES.

' ' - The Rev. Fatter Michand, principal of the college maintained by the White Fathers, at Kisnbi, Uganda, has been 1 iriadavSt member of the Order of the British Empire for his services in the cause:of education. Henri Barburse has written a life of Jesus-in which he declares that Jesus was an atheist. "One can hardly believe one's eyes," says the "Times Literary Supplement," but the words are there." Bromley College in Kent which provides homes for forty widows of clergy in the Anglican Communion has received 'in anonymous gift of £30,000 in response to an appeal for extra endowments. ; "My country is having to clean up the system of • corruption and graft which it. has inherited from the old regime. It has also to meet the greed of foreign which threatens international friendship and makes Chinese nationhood impossible," said Dr. Timothy Tingfafig Lew, Dean of the Faculty of Theology at Yenching University,, when speaking at the City Temple, London. Dr; Lew said the message of Chinese Christians to Great Britain was; "Will you not help us 'to make the. Christian faith better knewn?" /The speaker said: *Ibelieve as in the West, Christianity ie the most potent force." , The Cross of - the Legion of Honoui ■has been awarded l»y the French Government to Sister Marguerite, Mothei Superior of the Sisters of Charity of St Vincent de Paul at the Gaujot military hospital, Strasburg. At the end of the war ' she was awarded the Croix dc Guerre.. Sister Marguerite comes of an Irish, but was born in England. During the war she did good work I nursing at the front, and on several occasions went in military air-planes tc attend emergency cases..; Since the armistice Sister Marguerite has been caring for wounded soldiers in Strasburg Hospital. in his last lecture at St. Botolph's, Bishopsgate, On "Christ and Society," Dr. Charles Gore said: "We need a strong and combined effort to make men understand that Christianity is a life before! it is a doctrine, and #at" life a life of fellowship. What we want is to reorganise .all the Christian opinion of the country—including the Free Churches, Anglicans, friends, and, il they will join with us, Roman Catholics —to reassert the social meaning of Christianity. Such an association must not claim to be official; what we want is an association of Christians to give effect to a certain point of view they entertain in common." A sermon by the Rev. A. H. Collins in the' Taranaki "Daily News" touched upon the scarcity of water. The preacher : said: "The Father of the rain had-only to withhold' the clouds, and Taranaki 1 would be bankrupt." Mr. Collins added* ' "The; water' is His gift,- but digging ' trenches is yonr job; and to every ; Micawber 'waiting something' to ! turn up;' the word of tfe Lord is' "Make ' the valley full of trenches/ "Thepreacher \ recalled the fact that some years the Anglican Bishop of MeDioi^ni,' Drf Moorhouse, declined to' at , prayer for rain on the grotod ttißtt the • people took, no steps to i&hsevve the , water God sent them. Mr.XSblliris added, ; '"Do inot expect the Almighty .to save L you by a miracle from the consequences of your own shiftlesspesS."