Canterbury Catholics considered advanced

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 33046, 13 October 1972, Page 16

Canterbury Catholics considered advanced

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Christchurch was probably the most advanced in Australia and New Zealand in the emergence of an articulate and representative laity, according to Dr J. J. Small, chairman of the Church’s former Diocesan laity commission.

It was because of this articulate laity that the first lay assembly in the Roman Catholic Church in New Zealand was formed recently and will meet in November for the first time.

The body will enable opinion on any matter to be aired at grass roots level and passed to higher authorities to take action upon. Any issue at all can be discussed. Since calls for remits went to church people six weeks ago, more than 60 have been received. They will be returned to churches for discussion and for preparation by representatives who will submit them to the Diocesan Pastoral Council, which is being formed at present.

Dr Small said that the move toward the assembly came largely from the lay people.

“I think the emergence of the lay assembly is a reflection of the whole new involvement of the laity in the affairs of the Catholic Church in general,” he said. “It’s the best expression of it around at the moment. I’d say we’re the most advanced diocese in the whole of Australia in the emergence of this type of communication,” he said.

“The laity have had a very passive role in the past. Now they want to be more actively involved,” he said. Asked whether the high level of response was because people tended to see the new

assembly as a novel chance to say something and get somewhere faster than other structures permitted. Dr Small said he would not be too surprised if interest in the assembly waned. “People always think they can change things more easily than turns out to be the case,” he said. “But we are very pleased with the response so far.” The 50 parishes in the diocese will each send three representatives to the assembly when it meets next month. Fifteen members of the assembly will sit on the Diocesan Pastoral Council together with priests and representatives of other religious orders.