BIBLE IN SCHOOLS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20922, 11 July 1931, Page 12

BIBLE IN SCHOOLS.

ROMAN CATHOLIC VIEW.

NO OPPOSITION TO BILL.

STATEMENT BY ARCHBISHOP.

[BY TELEGRAPH. —I'RESS ASSOCIATION.] WELLINGTON. Friday.

Archbishop O'Shea made a statement to-day in regard to the Religious Instruction in Schools 'CHI-

With tile exception of Archbishop Redwood, who is absent from New Zealand, he said lie himself was the only survivor of the bishops who formulated the Roman Catholic conditions on the question, consequently he should know better than anyone living what those conditions were, and the interpretation to be placed on them. They were, briefly, that Roman Catholic teachers and Roman Catholic children should be exempt from tho Bible in schools scheme and that Catholics should not be called on to pay anything toward the cost of carrying it out.

When tho league's proposals wc-ro submitted, said Archbishop O'Shea, both Archbishop Redwood and himself agreed that they complied with the conditions which had been published over and over again by tho Catholic bishops. "When the bill now being brought before Parliament was draftod it was submitted for perusal by our legal adviser, Mr. P. J. o'Regan, who has reported that as it stands the bill does not violate any of the conditions that have been laid down by Catholic leaders, and accepted last year by tho Bible in Schools League's executive. Consequently, as repeatedly promised, Catholics will withdraw .thenopposition to the present bill." Archbishop O'Shea said he was speaking not only for himself, hut for Archbishop Redwood, who had already made a pronouncement to tho same effect, and he was sure the Roman Catholics of the Dominion, following the lead of their venerable archbishop, would not approve of unreasonable opposition to the enactment of the proposals in the present measure to provide for non-Catholic children in public schools some knowledge of God and religion. It would be in their own best interests to fight the spread of irreligion by every legitimate means, for irrcligion did not make for charity, or for the welfare of any country. Archbishop O'Shea added that Roman Catholics did not mean to surrender one iota of their just claim on the State for a subsidy to their own religious schools for the secular results achieved in them. That, however, was a matter between the Government and-themselves. It was understood by them that the Bible in Schools League, as a league, was neutral, leaving to individual members entire freedom to act in whatever way their convictions directed. He concluded: "It would be a strange thing if we, who have so consistently denounced secular education as an evil thing and a danger to tho country} did not welcome what I believe to be an honest attempt to counteract some of tho harm it is doing."

FINAL APPROVAL BY LEAGUE SLIGHT .MODIFICATIONS. MADE. [BY TELEGRAPH.; —PRESS ASSOCIATION.] . WELLINGTON, Friday. With slight modifications the Bible in Schools Bill, to be introduced in the House of Representatives by Mr. H. Holland, member for Christchurch North, was finally approved by the executive of the Bible in Schools 'League, "We were unanimous in our findings," said the Rev. Dr. J. Gibb. "The modifications were only made in to make the bill more workable. The principle is the same, of course. "We have the support of Archbishop O'Shea," Dr. Gibb added.