EVENTFUL TOUR

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23831, 10 June 1939, Page 14

EVENTFUL TOUR

ARCHBISHOP O'SHEA RETURNS AUDIENCES WITH TWO POPES EUCHARIST CONGRESS PLANS PEOPLES' DESIRE FOR PEACE (Special to Daily Times) AUCKLAND, June 9. " I found in all countries a general desire for peace," said the most Rev. Dr Thomas O'Shea, Roman Catholic Metropolitan of New Zealand and Archbishop of Wellington, when he returned to Auckland by the Monterey to-day after being abroad for several months. In the course of his travels, Archbishop O'Shea spoke with the late Pope Pius XI and his successor, visited many European countries, and spoke with the British Prime Minister (Mr Chamberlain). Archbishop O'Shea said that one of the objects of his visit to Rome was to obtain the approval of 'the Pope for the National Eucharistic Congress to be held in honour of the New Zealand centennial next year. In that he was very successful with the late Pope Pius XI, who agreed to send a Cardinal Legate, an honour never before paid to the Dominion. His Holiness also said he would write before the celebrations to the people in New Zealand, exhorting them to prepare well and make the congress a success. The Holy Father had expressed his belief that in these times such congresses, which had the primary object of honouring our Lord, would do much to bring ahsut an improvement in world conditions. Coronation of Pope " Unfortunately the Pope died, and I remained longer in Europe to see the new Pope," added the Archbishop. "He already knew about the congress, and graciously con-

firmed all his predecessor had promised. He also said he, would make known "the name of the Cardinal Legate this month. - It is unusual to do so so soon, but he intended to depart from the usual procedure in view of the greater distance to New Zealand. " I was present at his coronation, which was magnificent. When he was crowned in the loggia above the Piazza, he looked down on a crowd of more than 500,000 people, and it was an- unforgettable spectacle. Soldiers in their various colours and women in their summer frocks provided a splash of colour, which formed a mosaic striking in its effect as the people swayed." While visiting England, Ireland, and Scotland, his Grace obtained consent for representatives of the episcopate of those countries to attend the Eucharist Congress at Wellington in February. One already selected was Archbishop McDonald, of Edinburgh, a distinguished Benedictine, who was formerly Abbot of Fort Augusta Abbey. He is a comparatively young'man, and will be the first Scottish prelate to visit New Zealand. There will also probably be a French bishop here for the occasion, as the first priests in New Zealand were Frenchmen. Visitors to Congress ♦ Among th«? prominent lay visitors to the congress will be Mr Frank Sheed, an eminent Catholic publicist and speaker, and his wife, one of the outstanding women speakers of England. A famous Irish priest who will also come to New Zealand is the Rev. Dr James O'Mahoney, the distinguished Capuchin professor of philosophy at Cork University. Dr O'Mahonev is a fine speaker and a brilliant philosopher, and ranks with Dr Arthur Ryan, who visited Auckland for the Catholic centenary selebrations last year, as one of the most distinguished men in Ireland. Germany, Italy, and Switzerland were also visited by Archbishop O'Shea. He met the famous Jesuit. Father Le Roy, who may possibly visit Australia and New Zealand in the interests of the International Labour Bureau. "When I first arrived in London at the time of the crisis, 1 was fitted with a gas mask," Archbishop O'Shea added. " I heard Mr Chamberlain speak in the House of Commons. I must pay a tribute to the High Commissioner (Mr-W. J. Jordan), who did everything in his power to make my visit a success. Before I visited Rome the second time I saw Mr Chamberlain and had a discussion with him for 20 minutes. He discussed the state of affairs in the world, and said the moral support of the dominions given at the time of the crisis was a tremendous help to him and was something for which he was extremely grateful. He also has a great opinion of the Pope, whom he met in Rome' during his visit to the late Pope Pius XI British Statesmen Praised "When I met the new Pope he asked me if I knew Lord Halifax, the British Foreign Minister," Archbishop O'Shea said. " and he added that he thought it was a great thing for the peace of the world that the great British Empire had at its head two men of the calibre of Mr Chamberlain and Lord Halifax. If it were possible to achieve peace they would succeed. Pope Pius has a thorough knowledge of Europe, and has visited North and South America. I believe he will make a great contribution towards the preservation of peace in the world., He is an exceedingly capable man, and I find that the prestige of the papacy is very high in the world to-day." ' Referring to the persecution of the church in Germany, Archbishop O'Shea said that a few days before he met Cardinal Falhauber, of Munich, the Cardinal's chapel had been smashed by Nazis because, the Nazis alleged, the Cardinal favoured the Jews. Cardinal Falhauber had condemned the Nazi, racial h^esy.

In Bavaria 4000 nuns wee dismissed from the schools, hospitals, and other institutions, and no religion was taught in the schools. The Nazis wanted no religion, Christian or Jewish. The persecution was diabolical, but there was a pretence that religion was not persecuted as they had not closed the churches. "The people in the various countries I visited do not want war," said the Archbishop. "They have suffered so much from the last war. The Germans said that if they were ordered to fight they would have to. The mothers were terrified at the prospects of another war, and that is why the German mothers look on Mr Chamberlain as a saviour after his negotiations in Germany." The tour was concluded with an 8000-mile trip through the United States and Canada. Before leaving England Archbishop O'Shea visited Lord Bledisloe, who retains his interest in New Zealand. The port of his departure for New Zealand was San Francisco, the city where he was born.