BIBLE IN SCHOOLS.

Press, Volume LXVII, Issue 20272, 25 June 1931, Page 8

BIBLE IN SCHOOLS.

AGREEMENT WITH LEAGUE. STATEMENT BY ARCHBISHOP O'SHEA. (PRESS ASSOCIATION TELEGRAM.) NEW PLYMOUTH, June 24. The denial made on Tuesday by Bishop Brodie, of Christchurch, that any agreement had been entered into by the Catholic Hierarchy and the Bible-in-Schools League, was the subject of a statement made in an interview to-night by Archbishop O'Shea. "The denial from the south of any agreement between the Catholic Hierarchy and the Bible-in-Schools League is somewhat belated, ' said Archbishop O'Shea. "It is nearly a year ago since a public statement was made by Archbishop Hedwood to the effect that if the Bible-in-Schools League complied with the conditions which were first laid down by l ' le Catholic Bishops many years ago, the Catholic opposition would be withdrawn. The Bible-in-Schools Executive on the same date announced it wa prepared to draft a Bill, which meet these conditions, consequenX_«h only honourable course for the Arcbishop was to announce that an agre - ment was in sight. "Until now, no pu lie protest has been made against n "The conditions laid down by the Catholic Hierarchv seventeen years ago have been published time and agai , not only by the Bishops who drew t.iem up, of whom I was one, k nt ,? s J, as 1929, when in Parliament, Mr Harrington, with the full approval Bishop Cleary and myself, again - peated them. No protest whatever wa« then made by anyone from our siae against his statement that we would withdraw our opposition U> a BiblMnSchools measure, which would mee» these conditions."