Bishop Would Have Liked More Notice

Press, Volume CVII, Issue 31378, 25 May 1967, Page 1

Bishop Would Have Liked More Notice

The Roman Catholic Bishop of Christchurch (The Most Rev. B. P. Ashby) said yesterday, “We would have liked more notice”, when asked to comment on a report that the first knowledge that the world’s Roman Catholic bishops had of a document proposing important changes to the Mass was from radio and press reports.

An editorial in .the Dunedinbased “New Zealand Tablet,” a Roman Catholic weekly newspaper, on Tuesday criticised the lack of detail in the document, and the way it was released. Describing the release of the document to the press before the bishops as “a fantastic situation,” the “New Zealand Tablet” asked: “What business concern would introduce policy changes by public announcement to the press without first briefing branch managers? . . . When will Rome learn? When will Curia officials realise that they cannot continue in this post-con-ciliar age to treat the bishops like schoolboys?” Some Anxiety

Bishop Ashby said that there tended to be a time lag in distribution of documents from Rome, and that this caused some anxiety, especially when the documents were of intense public interest.

He said the lag was frustrating to those who had the responsibility of putting the changes into effect. “These particular changes we expected. We would have liked more notice.” He said that in fairness he had to point out that the high cost of airmail to all bishops would make its use almost prohibitive, and as the bishops and Rome did not have an internal communications system of teleprinters or other means, perhaps the most effective and quickest way of distribution was by the press. Important documents were usually sent to the bishops in New Zealand from the Rome body concerned, or from the Apostolic Delegation in Sydney, the Bishop said. “I think the Vatican is well aware of this time lag and since the Vatican Council a lot has been done to aid this,” Bishop Ashby said. He did not comment on the alleged lade of detail in the document.