New Zealand’s ‘poor’ selfish, says theologian

Press, 20 July 1979, Page 2

New Zealand’s ‘poor’ selfish, says theologian

By world standards no-one in New Zealand is poor and those who believe they are, are selfish, says Father Denis O’Callaghan, a visiting Irish theologian. Father O’Callaghan is visiting Christchurch for the Roman Catholic bishops’ conference and was answering a series of questions about the attitudes and morals of New Zealanders. New Zealanders had never “had it rough” and tended to get impatient if things did not go right or if they tired of them, Father O’Callaghan said. They were short on staying power. New Zealand was on the right path, however, to find- • ing the secret of peace. The country had a credible democracy and was generous to minorities, and allowed these to feel part of the power-sharing. In these circumstances the country would not become desperate enough to become violent, Ireland had a history of lost opportunity, he said. Because people could not come to terms with themselves and their differences in desperation they turned to violence. The democracy was a majority working for a majority and the minority had very little electoral say. Father O’Callaghan was in New Zealand six years ago and said he now noticed more dissatisfaction and social problems. Dissatisfaction was now a world-wide problem.

“People do not know what they want. If a person is content with what he has, people think he is a moron," he said. As professor of moral theology at Maynooth University, near Dublin, Father O’Callaghan said that he had encountered problems with

medical ethics such as abortion and test-tube babies. He writes a column for the widely circulated Christian magazine, ■ “Furrow.”

“A kind of Christian agony column — but not quite that agonised,” he said.

The conscience of the world had been struck by the plight of the Vietnamese refugees, said Father O’Callaghan. “It would be a very cruel nation that was not moved by the tragedy of the boat people,” he said. The world would have to get used to thinking internationally so that countries could contrast themselves with those less fortunate.

Father O’Callaghan thought that the conscience of New Zealand would demand that the country accept as many refugees as possible. It would be almost impossible for the Government to refuse more refugees because it would show that people were willing to sacrifice some of what they had for others.

There was no point to life if people were not prepared to consider other races and religions and treat them all the same.

■ I think that the one area • I might question New Zealand is the way you treat i your old people.- If you i could get people to build upi I enough resources within | themselves, they could cope . with haying old people in i their midst, and not push them away,” he said. ; Father O’Callaghan des- ; cribed New Zealanders as , hospitable, down-to-earth, ’ practical, but not visionary. Members of Parliament were • not philosophers, but were trying to compete with the 1 rest of the world in conserving what the country had. New Zealand made no apology for its actions and when New Zealanders travelled overseas to trade they were “pretty blunt.” He described the bishops of Christchurch as alert and receptive. He had learnt a lot of common-sense from them on how to deal with people in his pastoral work. “New Zealanders are a very practical people and if what you say does not make practical sense it will not wash with them,”- Father O’Callaghan said.