SLAVERY A GREATER EVIL THAN WAR

Dominion, Volume 34, Issue 181, 29 April 1941, Page 9

SLAVERY A GREATER EVIL THAN WAR

Challenge Of Aggressor

ANZAC DAY SERMON BY CATHOLIC CHAPLAIN

All the seated principles of Christianity and religion had been swept aside, and the aggressor had proclaimed the slogan that might was right—that the building of a great _ war machine entitled him to sovereignty, even over the Deity, declared the Rev. Father T. M. O’Connor, O.SS.R., of St. Gerard’s Monastery, a former chaplain with the British forces, preaching at Solemn Requiem Mass in the Church of St. Mary of the Angels, Wellington, on Anzac Day. The Mass was attended by 200 Roman Catholic returned soldiers and a large congregation. ♦ Father O’Connor stressed the significance of Anzac Day, first as a reminder of the comrades who had been left on the hills of Gallipoli and in the mud of Vpres, the Somme, and Arras; secondly as a day or. which to express sympathy with those who had lost their loved' ones in that great struggle of 1914-18, and again as a day of thrill, of glory, and of triumph for the deeds of courage and chivalry which had been written in history and handed down by the Anzacs. Finally, Anzac Day was a day or inspiration to all who love liberty and freedom, and it was a great and consoling thought to know that the young comrades of today were worthily carrying on the traditions which their elders had so gallantly established. No Choice for Commonwealth.

“War is a great evil,” the speaker said, “but it is not the greatest evil, if it were the worst evil it would be wrong for us to 'be art war today. A greater evil than war is slavery, with its human degradation: hence the British Commonwealth has no choice between the alternatives of slavery and war. She bad to accept the challenge of a ruthless fanatic who had persuaded his people that the Nordic, race was to be the supreme and dominant power in the world.” The challenge of the tyrant had first been accepted by gallant Catholic Poland, now numbered among the martyred nations. Holland and Belgium had quickly followed, and even the men of Jfr&nce had. been misled by the false propaganda of those who pretended to be of the people. The Scriptural quotation “By their fruits you shall know them,” applied forcibly to this conflict. By means of the concern tration camp, the Gestapo, and by torture, the tyrant had driven his people into a loyalty to a false prophet instead of loyalty to Christ.. The youth of Germany had been taught two loyalties only—adherence to the Fuehrer and the development ot their physical bodies. The war of the aggressor had not been confined to the soldiers, but had been carried to the homes of the- people, to the old people, the women and the children, where it was hoped that the morale of the nation would break. . , In such circumstances Britain had no choice but war; and today she stood alone as the militant opponent of Hitler and his doctrine, striving toward victory With the assistance of the great democracy of the west whose help had earned the gratitude of all. Tremendous Sacrifices.

In hoping to shatter the morale of the British people Hitler had been disappointed, for the morale of the people of England had,been a maxvel to the world. In the face of tremendous sacrifice they had preferred death to dishonour and slavery, and they, like the people of this Dominion, looked torward to the day when the aggressor would be completely vanquished on land and sea and in the air- The people of this country, too, had no choice but to stand by Britain in unity and to profess their loyalty and their willingness to accept any sacrifice demanded of them in order to hasten the day of victory. , . , In this task the Catholic people had a special responsibility. They were not only soldiers in a temporal sense, but ’they were subservient to the leadership of Christ, a leadership which it was timely to recognize at the present time. . . „ Father O’Connor recalled that when preaching on Anzac Day at Perth Cathedral some years ago he had issued a warning that though the Great War was over, another war was upon the world—the conflict of the forces of evil against all that was best in humanity. Today’s events were striking and dreadful proof of this statement Catholics, he said, should be shock troops to stand up against this advance, for the world must be shown that there was something greater and better than mere material comfort. Ao one could doubt the existence of this fight between the powers of good and those of evil. The people must train in the true spirit of sacrifice, so that the world should know the existence of God’s laws —the only laws on which true peace and happiness could come to the world. To bring home this truth would be to teach a much-needed lesson to mankind. Catholic R.S.A. Formed.

The returned soldiers fell in at St. Patrick’s College, Cambridge Terrace, headed by the Port Nicholson Silver Band, and the drum band of the cadets of St- Patrick’s College, and marched to the church, where special places were allotted to them. The solemn requiem Mass was sung by the Rt. Rev. Monsignor T. F Connolly, who was a chaplain with the New’ Zealand Forces in the last war and who is now’ senior chaplain tor the Catholic members of the forces. The deacon of the Mass was Father r. Phillips, who served with the English Army in the last war, and the subdeacon was Father Neville. Father I*. L. Dignan, was M.C. His Grace Archbishop O’Shea was present in the sane-' tuary, and was assisted at the throne by Father B. Blake, S.M., Father J. Stewart, S.M., and a number of the clergy. The music of the requiem was sung by the boys of St. Patrick’s College, under the baton of the Rev. G. J. Head, S.M. Mrs. G. P. Aldridge was at the organAt the conclusion of tiie Mass Ihe Last Post” was played by Mr. S. H. Rossiter, and “The Reveille.” by Mr. R. H. Bracefield. After Mass on Sunday morning members of the recently-founded Catholic Returned Soldiers’ Association met and adopted the constitution. Mr. T. Blewinirn. president, was in the chair, and the meeting was briefly addressed by Mr. Perry, M.L.C., president of the New Zealand Returned Soldiers’ Association.