The Church and social action

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 33037, 3 October 1972, Page 20

The Church and social action

The involvement of New Zealand Churches in social action programmes had not had a detrimental effect on Church membership, the Primate of New Zealand (the Most Rev. A. H. Johnston) said in Christchurch.

The Archbishop was asked in an interview to comment on the situation in the United States, where churches which ! had involved themselves in I social action and ecumenical : movements were losing adherents while those churches i which had insisted on discipline, conformity, and missionary zeal were gaining members. “I fail to see that this situation would happen in New Zealand,” he said. “In fact, there are many ways in which perhaps the churches are not doing enough in the fields of social action. We are still too removed from the realities of life.” The Church should not, however, involve itself in pro-

grammes of social action without the proper motivation from the Gospel, he said. It was the duty of churchmen — and this included “the man in the parish and not just the Bishops” — to speak out on political and social affairs. “The Church has to deal

with people wherever they are, and some of these problems arise out of social and political issues. “If a churchman does speak out in these areas he must be sure of his facts and ready to accept criticism, and he cannot expect to be a protected person. “The man in the parish has a prophetic role to play in this regard.” Asked to comment on the growth of the “Jesus movement” in New Zealand over the last year, the Archbishop said it was a real expression of love and a person’s service to others through this. “Churches do have a particular role to play in teaching people to understand one another and to work at human relationships. People are not merely content to be one of a congregation. They are becoming involved and need to relate to one another in groups.” Commenting on the de facto relationships among young men and women, the Archbishop said that he was sorry to see that this was becoming a growing trend.

“It should be a question of the proper respect and regard for the personality of other people,” he said. “Sexual relationships are a very important part of life, but they are not to be abused. Very often people are using other people for a purpose not in true regard for their personality.”

There was a growing body of opinion not in favour of laxity over pre-marital sex, Archbishop Johnston said. “We ought to be able to give the impression that to take a stand against laxity is a wholesome thing.” Archbishop Johnston agreed that young people were generally able to accept greater freedom because they were finding rules of their own, many of which showed greater tolerance and understanding than the arbitrary nature of the past. “I think we should look to the future and not merely the past. The past, of course, has much to teach us, but sometimes we need to have a critical look at traditions of the past and wonder if they are worth passing on to future generations.”