CHURCH MILITANT

Greymouth Evening Star, 22 June 1937, Page 12

CHURCH MILITANT

LONDON VICAR’S OPINION. [BY CARLE —PRESS ASSN. —COPYRIGHT.] LONDON, June 21. Sabre-rattling churchmen were denounced by the Rev. R. M. Le Messurier. vicar of Holy Trinity, St. Paneras, in an address to his congregation. He declared: “It is most certainly not the Church’s business to bless guns, battleships, and bombing aeroplanes.” Referring to the Archbishop of York, he continued: “It is horrible to see one of our own archbishops bemoaning the fact that recruiting is not proceeding fast enough. Modern tattoos .with their sentimental singing of ‘Abide With Me’ show the prostitution of those finer feelings which could be used in the service of peace.”

He also attacked Nazi Germany, remarking: “If the State said ‘Thou shalt commit adultery’ in order to have plenty of men for the Army, the issue for Christians would surely be plain. Yet this is being done in Germany to-day, where a woman with an illegitimate baby is allowed to take the honourable title of ‘Mrs.’ ” Mr. le Messurier in an interview said:.. “I spent three years in the ranks in wartime, not as a padre, and -I know the beastliness inside and out. I am convinced there is no greater sin a man can commit than to make war.”