"MUST ENTER POLITICS”

Hawera Star, Volume L, 24 February 1931, Page 5

"MUST ENTER POLITICS”

CHURCH TO SAVE DEMOCRACY REPUDIATION DENOUNCED

“POLICY HAS SLAIN PRINCIPLE”

CTTn jfcetl Press Association— By Electric Telegraph Copyright.) | SYDNEY, Fob. 23. I In a Lenten pastoral delivered in the j Bathurst Cathedral, Bishop CYotty de-, nounced the repudiation proposal and . hinted that ■ the Church must soon enter definitely into politics to save democracy from the destruction threatening it. ‘ Preaching on the text, I\her(> thei is no vision the people perish, Rishop Crottv said an English preacher recently placed first in a list of modern deadly sins “the cult of polities divorced' from principles,” thereby putting bis' fin o'er on the primary cause of the gathering chaos and the increasing poison in Australian public life. \\ hen a private individual repudiated his debts or lawful obligations it was policy without principle, and people were shocked —or used to be; and when a nation or its chosen representatives made the same infamous proposal, the same moral poison was at work Policy had slain principle and the moral mtirder was callous and complete. There was no need to seek tar for the reason. Moral principles lnid been pulled up from their roots m God. The acids of modernity had dissolved the ancient faiths. Principle was frankly disavowed in public life today and thereby the doom of democracy was sealed. The community looked to the Church for a bold Christian, non-party lead, which could be given in the Church’s clear vision and united voice. The Church might assert the principle of fellowship as vital to industry. There was no such thing as unordered liberty. The Church .stood for the, equality of human nature and the unity and sacreduess of human life, and attempted to secure just Governments. The moment Governments became obsessed by economic issues and were exploited by men both ignorant and unscrupulous, they ceased striving for such an order. Then the man who rose up to challenge them in the name of freedom was not a rebel, but a S£l Meanwhile it was useless for vested interests or noisy demagogues to attempt to silence the Christian leaders. In their public witness they were m a position where it was demanded of them that they should speak the truth.