NEW MAORI DIOCESE

Evening Star, Issue 19199, 16 March 1926, Page 3

NEW MAORI DIOCESE

PAKEHA TO GOVERN THE RATAHA SCHISM [Per United Press Association,] AUCKLAND, March 15. 4 Who shall be bishop of the new Maori diocese of Ao-tea-roa Maori nr pakehn ? That, is the question that has been agitating the Anglican Church recently, because on the one hand the General Synod does not consider there is any Maori clergyman possessing all the qualifications, and, on the other hand, the ’Maoris naturally wish to have one of their own race at the head of their diocese. To get. a lead on the question Archbishop Averill brought the matter forward at the triennial meeting of the Native Church Board of the Auckland diocese, at which there were present sixteen Maori clergymen and laymen representative of the districts in which about half the Maori population of Now Zealand. The archbishop referred to the position of the proposed diocese. At the present time, he said, the whole thing grew out of the conference hold last year at Rotorua, and the report presented by the Maori members of that conference asking whether it were possible to have a separate bishop for the Maoris in the whole of New,. Zealand. The archbishop referred especially to the last clause in the report, which stated that the Maoris, while hoping that the first bishop would bo a Maori, yet wanted to make it plain that they would not object to a pakeha, and did not even .stipulate that he should ho a Maori-speaking pakeha. Upon that report all the subsequent proceedings clei ponded, mu! it was only lair to state that if that last clause had not been insnrted he did not think the General Synod would have passed the bill authorising the establishment of a separate Maori diocese. When the bill | was passed and the Maori Synod met I the bishops the first thing the Maoris 'stated was that they insisted on having a Maori bishop. To this bishops, knowing all the difficulties that would have to be faced in establishing such a diocese, would not agree. The matter was therefore I postponed until the members of the | Maori Synod could consult their people I again. I The archbishop made it quite, plain that the bishops had no objection to having a Maori as bishop, except the | fact that, at the present, time, there j was no Maori priest who had all the I necessary qualifications, although there | were plenty who had some. The arcli- | bishop asked the hoard for an expres- • sion of opinion in the mailer, as they j had now had time to find out the feelling of the people on (his important 'subject. For (his purpose (hey would !ho given an oppori unity. ol meeting ■among themselves in camera, so that I they could discuss it fpiit o freely, and j bring up later a motion in the board I expressing their opinion. This was done, and the following motion was brought up and passed unanimously:—

That in the opinion of this Church Board the first bishop for the bishopric of Ao-tea-roa should he a Maurispeakiug pakeha.

The members were convinced that the difficulties of organising the new diocese would he so great that no one of' the Maori clergy possessed enough experience to make him capable of undertaking the work, and that therefore the interests of the Maori Church would best bo served by appointing a Maori-speaking pakeha ns the first, bishoi).

Speaking at a later stage on the Ratana movement, the archbishop explained that, as far as the official statement of the beliefs of the so-ealled Ratana Church were concerned, there did not seem much to which objection could he taken. The point to notice was, however, that the sin of these people was that they had rent the body of Christ by separating themselves from’ the church.