WAR & THE HOME

Grey River Argus, 2 June 1942, Page 1

WAR & THE HOME

ARCHBISHOP O'SHEA Urges Retoration of Family Life WELLINGTON, June 1. Archbishop O'Shea, Archbishop of Wellington and Metropolitan of New Zealand, in a broadcast address on ithe world war last evening issued a challenge to the men and women to whom the work of post-war reconstruction would fall, co reinstate the family in, fits rightful place as the most" important unit of the nation and to throw overboard the Godless policy which divided the world into “haves” and “have-nots” among the nations.

“The family is the front line of any nation. But where are' our families?” he said, and quoted authorities to show that, M the present rate the population of England and other countries would show a very serious decline within the next century. A frightening fact about rolls of honour published in England, one authority had said was the rapid loss of the influence of the family as a social unit, and thence the falling away of successive (generations from the guiding paths of Christianity, said Archbishop O’Shea. For the last 70 years, he said, the vast majority of people had to grow into dis-religious individuals been brought up in secular schools, making up dis-religious nations. And the disastrous existence of these disreligious nations of “haves” and “Rave-'ncits,” a few with the fruits of the earth at theii' command and the many condemned to live on a bare pittance, had led to the final disaster of war, a world war. “Those have-not nations must not be condemned to continue their existence on a pittance in the new world. .th§L. must Abe ..built---by ■: the 'post-war' .generations,” his Grace said. “We must reject the ideas of the past, we must build the family into a strong unit, we must make social justice rule the civilised world and, instead of blaming preceding generations, we must learn irom their mistakes. An individual may be converted to righteousness and so may a nation.” . It was important to remember that this war was a world war waged right round the- globe, and involving all people, said his Grace. A victory for the United Nations m one cf the two main arenas of fighting would release enormous power that would assuredly be quickly victorious in the other arena. It could be seen, also, that the further. the Japanese extended their operations the more vulnerable their lines of communication would become. And as time went on the defences of the .(Pacific nations and their armament isupplies would improve and increase. “But here in New Zealand we may 'vet have to face greater sacrifices, and, perhaps, suffering. And why :should we net? How can our sacrifices compare with the sufferings that have been inflicted on the peoples of occupied countries and even Great Britain? We must willingly make our sacrifices, realising that, this war is everyone’s war. We may say, too, that our enemy began it, that we are not guilty. But are we entirely guiltless? By no means. The Pacific nations—the United States, Aiustralia and New Zealand —are supposed to be Christian countries. But are we? Have we behaved as such?”. In the past we had not behaved with Christian grace towards our neighbours, and now we would have to make sacrifices, his Grace said. “In this time of national emergency may hope and sacrifice not be spared,” concluded Archbishop Cl'She'a. “May ouiij people return to the ways of righteousness, with faith to bring about a just and lasting peace.”