CHURCH IN GERMANY

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXVI, 9 April 1934, Page 9

CHURCH IN GERMANY

THE POSITION TO=DAY The Bishop of Fulham, the Right Rev. Staunton Batty, who, as Anglican Bishop in charge of North an.'! Central Europe, recently visited Germany, delivered an address on “The position m the German Church to-day.” lie said that in Germany the people were allowed to know very little about what was happening, owing to the very strict censorship. They in England probably knew more about the position than the German people themselves, and every one must be indebted to “The Times” for having given a great deal of inform, ation about what was going on. The German people wore only too glad to get hold ol an English newspaper, and especially “The Times,” in order to find out what was happening in their own country. After orders were given that the pulpit; was to be used for the purpose of Nazi propaganda the Church became divided into two parties—the German Christians and I lie Emergency League, lie had talked with leaders of both parties in Germany, lie could not help thinking that Herr Hitler was learning what Signor Mussolini learned long ago—that a dictator who had sufficinnl force behind him could act in matters of ordinary pelit'cs. but that 't was not easy to deal with religion. He would not, he surprised if in the end Herr Hitler decided to leave the religious f|ueslion alone. The Emergency League was gaining ground every (lay, ili spite of official regulations being made against it. and he (the Bishop) would he hold enough to prophesy that the Emergency League would win the day. for there was definite spirituality in its aims. The members of (he league wanted freedom to worship God, and were against the idea of the churches being used for political propaganda. University professors and leaders _of thought were almost entirely with them. Gn the one hand there were spirituality and intellectual force, and on the other such force as the State could exert.