CATHOLICS AND PROHIBITION.

Evening Star, Issue 20020, 10 November 1928, Page 3

CATHOLICS AND PROHIBITION.

TO THE EDITOR. Sir,—Having heard the pastoral of Archbishop Redwood at St. Joseph’s Cathedral on Sunday last, permit mo to slate that the Roman Catholic Church and its heads here have neither the right nor the power to interfere, with the free exorcise of the Catholic voter’s perfect liberty to think and act as he pleases in political and civil matters. The Pope has never condemned Prohibition; as a matter of fact. His Holiness said that if Catholics considered Prohibition was a cure for the drink evil they were not only justified in voting for” its suppression, but as 1 Christians it was their duty to do so. f challenge any clergyman or lav man to prove this is untrue. The Pope is reoresented hy a delegate at the World’s Conference Against Alcoholism. Much has been made of the word of one or two Roman Catholic bishops in America to poison Catholics against Prohibition in New Zealand. I would like to know if the Catholics in this country are so stupid as to take tlio word cif an individual against 120,00(1,000 people who elected Mr Hoover President of America by a majority of about four million of votes. This is the biggest crushing the liquor traffic has ever had. Even Tom Heeney came back from America and said Prohibition was a farce, but he did not tell the people in New Zealand that tho man who beat him trained on milk. There is only one simple solution for blocking the “trade’s” interfering with the duties of our clergy, and that is hy voting straight out for Prohibition. No one has a greater respect for the Catholic Church and its clergy than I have, but 1 do resent the attitude of the liquor traffickers engineering their propaganda through the church. lam not shaking in my faith, nor do I doubt the fidelity of our clergy, nor am I a renegade Catholic. —I am, etc., Roman Catholic Prohibitionist. November 10.