BIBLE-IN-SCHOOLS

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXII, Issue 258, 14 October 1932, Page 5

BIBLE-IN-SCHOOLS

POSITION OF CATHOLIC CHURCH DISAPPROVAL OF BILL. fUATEMENT BY ARCHBISHOP BEDWOOD. By - Telegraph—Press Association. Wellington, Oct. 14. A comprehensive statement of the position of the Catholic Church with regard to the Religious Instruction in State Schools Enabling Bill, now before the Legislative "Council, has been handed to the “Post” by Archbishop Bedwood, Metropolitan of New Zealand, for publication. Archbishop Redwood says that the New Zealand hierachy of the Catholic Church consists of the Metropolitan and the bishops of Christchurch, Dunedin and Auckland, Bishops Brodie, Whyte and Liston. When the Bible-in-Schools representatives met the Catholic bishops in conference their proposals received sympathetic consideration and they were asked to reduce their legislative programme to writing and submit it at a later date for the hierachy's perusal and comments. When this programme was submitted to Archbishop O’Shea, Archbishop Redwood was absent from New Zealand and Archbishop O’Shea, without consulting the three bishops, wrote approving the suggestions made. The Bishops of Christchurch, Dunedin and Auckland were unaware that the Bible-in-schools representatives had submitted a programme to Archbishop O’Shea, who assumed the concurrence of the bishops in his approval. When the statement of the Bible-in-schools committee referring to Archbishop O’Shea's approval as that of the Catholic body appeared in the press the named bishops for the first time knew of Archbishop 0 ’Shea’s approval. In turn each of the bishops dissociated himself publicly froip eoneurrence. ' Later, on his return to New Zealand \ Archbishop Redwood summoned a meeting of the hierarchy and in a considered state.ient signed by the four members of the hierarchy, addressed to the Parliamentary committee then taking evidence on last year’s Bill, their joint disapproval of the contents. This statement, which is quoted in full, is a repetition of the statement of the hierarchy in 1925.