The Gisborne Herald. IN WHICH IS INCORPORATED "THE TIMES." GISBORNE, THURSDAY, MARCH 10, 1949 STATE V. CHURCH: MORE LEADERS FALL

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXVI, Issue 22891, 10 March 1949, Page 4

The Gisborne Herald. IN WHICH IS INCORPORATED "THE TIMES." GISBORNE, THURSDAY, MARCH 10, 1949 STATE V. CHURCH: MORE LEADERS FALL

yyiTH the conviction of 15 Bulgarian Protestant pastors on espionage or currency charges, another phase in the struggle between the Church and the State in Eastern Europe has ended. Again, there have been extraordinary confessions of guilt which, like the Mindszenty case, cannot fail to raise suspicion to say the very least. The British Minister of State, Mr. McNeil, is convinced that strong grounds exist for believing that the trials recently hold not only in Bulgaria but also in other Communist-controlled countries are part of a propaganda campaign rather than a judicial process based on truth. The struggle between Church and State in Bulgaria has been apparent for some time, with the result that even before the latest trials the power of the Orthodox Church had been considerably reduced. About 5,500,000 people in Bulgaria are members of the Orthodox Church, about 50,000 are Roman Catholics, and the Protestants, Armenian-Gregorians and Moslems make up minority groups. Under the Communists Orthodox Christianity has ceased to he the State religion, and there is no religious instruction in State schools. The Army has occupied the two principal Orthodox seminaries, and as a consequence (he Church is hindered in the training of new priests. Sermons are censored, newspapers cannot print the word “God” with a capital “G,” and no reference can be made to the significance of religious festivals such as Christmas. The Protestants have been sought out for the latest trials, partly no doubt because of their links with the Methodist, Baptist and Congregntionalist 'Churches in the West. One of the objectives of the Eastern European States is to break these links because of their alleged challenge to authority, and another is to crush Church opposition to the collective ownership of land. How far the rift will be prosecuted, cannot be perceived, but there are competent observers who believe that the policy of the Kremlin will be followed in general terms by Russia’s present-day satellites, namely, strictly-controlled religion for the old and communism for the young. For this reason State control of all education is of paramount importance, and by these means in the long run the same results may be achieved as by the abolition of religion but without the upheaval and weakening of the nation that would accompany the uprooting of centuries-old customs. For these States the United Nations’ labours to safeguard freedom of thought, conscience and religion from another tyrant of the Hitler mould seem to have been in vain. The long debated, painstakingly worded Declaration of Human Rights, it would appear, is just another scrap of paper accepted only while it was convenient, rejected when expedient.