Church Condemns New Syllabus

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30528, 25 August 1964, Page 15

Church Condemns New Syllabus

(N.Z. Press Association—Copyright) CANBERRA, August 24. The Anglican Bishop of Canberra and Goulburn ■■ (Bishop Clements) has joined Roman Catholic church leaders in condemning the new syllabus for general religious teaching in State primary schools in New South Wales and Canberra.

In a letter to Anglicans, to be published in his- diocesan magazine, Bishop Clements wrote:—

, “We shall hardly blame teachers if they take advantage of the conscience clause and refuse to teach the subject.”

On Saturday the director of education for the Roman Catholic Arch-Diocese of Canberra and Goulburn (the Rev. Father N. M. Cook) spoke out strongly against the syllabus. Exemption Advised If the syllabus came in. Roman Catholic parents of children at State schools would be advised to have their children exempted from the new classes, he said. Bishop Clements’s letter said: “May we all be watchful and note what happens in our local schools. My expectation is that general religious instruction will, if the new curriculum is retained, become almost non-existent.” The Bishop said today Anglican authorities would not advise parents to take any stand in the matter until after talks in Sydney this week. At the talks the Anglican Archbishop of Sydney (Dr. Gough) would discuss the new syllabus with the Premier (Mr Renshaw), he said.

N.G. To Fluoridate.—A bill will be presented at the next meeting of Papua-New Guinea’s House of Assembly to How for the fluoridation of water supplies throughout the territory, the Administrator (Sir Donald Cleland) said today.—Port Moresby, August 24.