Chch man to go to Bangkok conference

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 33092, 6 December 1972, Page 18

Chch man to go to Bangkok conference

Mr R. Woodsford, full-time worker for the Young Christian Workers movement in Christchurch, has been selected by the Vatican Secretariat for Christian Unity to attend in Bangkok a top international meeting of Christian leaders.

He is one of 10 Roman Catholics chosen from throughout the world, and one of only two persons to go from New Zealand. According to Mr Woodsford, the meeting in Bangkok promises to result in something concrete. To be held from December 29 to January 12, it will concentrate on social change, social justice, and exploitation, examining the Christian’s role in the midst of these. “From what I can see, it is one of the most radical conferences held within the World Council of Churches,” Mr Woodsford said. “They are inviting members from the Liberation Movement in South Africa, a Roman Catholic and a Protestant from Belfast, someone from the Sicilian Workers’ Movement, and a leader of the squatters in Milan.

Mr Woodsford is mystified at how the Vatican learned of him, and as to why it chose him to represent the Church at the conference as an observer and consultant, as he says he does not approve of the Church as an institution. “It is oppressive sometimes, and fails to be really relevant. Real Christianity is a viable life-style, and means sharing and community,” Mr Woodsford said. After leaving Bangkok he

will visit Young Christian Workers movements in Athens, Britain, Western Europe and possibly South America. Some of the movements in Europe were militant, and strong pressure groups, Mr Woodsford said. In 1949, when the organisation sought to enter New Zealand it was refused access because it was considered too radical. Instead, the Catholic Youth Movement was established, which later affiliated with the organisation and has increasingly adopted its aims.