ROTARY

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 1 March 1929, Page 9

ROTARY

LATE EDITION

REPLY TO ATTACK

NO CONNECTION WITH MASONRY.

CLARIFYING THE POSITION.

(United Press Association—By Electric Telegraph Copyright.) (Australian Press Association.) Received 11 a.m. to-day. OTTAWA, Feb. 28. On the steamship Berengaria at Montreal, Mr R. B. Sutton, president of the Rotary International, gave the Australian Press Association the following exclusive statement:

“The recent attack in an article in the ‘ ‘ Osservatore Romano’ ’ is merely a reprint of the last article in the “Civilita Caittolica, ’ ’ published on February 16. Since it was written, I have had numerous conferences at Rome with the director of the ‘ ‘ Civilita Cattolica,” Father Enrico Rosa, S.J., and many of tlie highest church authorities. As I am a Roman Catholic myself I am explaining and clarifying the doubts and misunderstandings and presenting a formal statement that Rotary has no connection with Masonry or any other organisation; that religious and political discussion is positively forbidden, and that Rotary has no record whatever of the religious faith of its membership. That Rotary’s meetings, activities and records are public, and there are no vows or secrets of any kind; that there is absolute respect for the religious faith of all members; that Rotarians do not attribute to themselves any private moral code, nor intend to create any sect or natural religion, much less do anything contrary to the dogma of the Catholic faith; that in particular, with reference to some few actions or statements attributed to individual members throughout our vastinternational organisation, which are seemingly contradictory to the foregoing, the directive authority of Rotary must declare the same to be unauthorised, and furthermore deplore any act contrary to these fundamental principles of our organisation. \ “The ‘Civilita Cattolica’’ will publish my formal statement in its issue of March 15, with its observations, which I believe should end all further controversy and terminate the previous misunderstanding. ’ ’