Changes seen in C.W.L.

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 32977, 25 July 1972, Page 6

Changes seen in C.W.L.

The conservative outlook of the Catholic Women’s League is breaking down as its members become better educated, says the president, Mrs Frances Gregory, of Gisborne.

Visiting branches, she finds the women better informed. “They are talking more, challenging more, and taking a more vital part in Church and community affairs,” said Mrs Gregory, who is in Christchurch this week for the national conference.

Pressure groups are emerging as women are finding their feet, she says. Members are encouraged to serve terms on branch executives, using them as a training ground for activities outside the league. Mrs Gregory is a firm advocate of women taking a more active part in local-body affairs. A recent survey showed that they are responding. Three members serve on city councils, others are on hospital boards, and many hold office in various organisations.

Mrs Gregory herself sets a fine example. She is serving her fourth terms on the Gisborne City Council and topped the poll at the last election. She serves on four committees—town planning, libraries, reserves, and pensioner housing. Town planning and pensioner housing are her special interests. “I believe in

town planning in depth. New' developments should be small so that communities can develop, and we must have in them areas of green where children can play.” Mrs Gregory believes she has demonstrated the value of a woman’s influence in the provision of better housing for the elderly. “We now have new plans. Before we provided bed-sitters, and the older people didn’t like them. Now they have a kitchenliving room, with a separate sleeping area, and they are much happier.” SECOND TERM

A radical (her description), Mrs Gregory is the first national president of the C.W.L. to be elected, and she is standing, unopposed, for a second, two-year term. Some of her most stronglyexpressed views, she says, are personal. Her only doubt about Dr Germaine Greer is whether she has a sense of humour. She describes her as

“a wonderful woman, and what she says about women being kept down applies to many in New Zealand.”

Outcries for increased film and book censorship she finds abhorrent, and often illinformed, she says. The league, she says, suffers, as do most voluntary organisations, from a loss of women workers to paid jobs. But the new constitution which allows for adjustments to suit individual branches, was working well. “The league is filling a vital role today,” she said. “People can go off the rails without some form of guidance. But, of course, it must change to keep up with the times.” One of the changes Mrs Gregory says she would like introduced is a reduction in the time taken with remits at conferences. She believes most remits could be most effectively dealt with through the National Council of Women.

“I heartily agree with the suggestion of Bishop Delargey, of Auckland, that some of the time of conferences and other large league gatherings should be spent informing league members of changes and problems in the Church and the community,” she said.

Not a woman to waste time, Mrs Gregory does not like to see remits that have not been fully investigated come to conference. Her advice is to establish first the need for the remit—“write to the appropriate Minister” and carry out research through every available channel, and then if it is “still standing on its feet,” put it on the agenda. Among the business of this week’s conference will be the presentation of a survey, initiated by the league, of the

needs of Maoris and Islanders moving into Auckland and Wellington. The league has long been active in raising funds for South Pacific and Maori missions, but the proposed extension of its work to settlers in New Zealand would be a new venture.

“The league also plays its part in the ecumenical movement, and we now have very happy relations with all the other churches,” she said. “This outward-thinking and outward-looking attitude in the Church means there is much more acceptance of the role of women. We are not second-class citizens anymore,” said Mrs Gregory.