AIMS OF ROTARY EXPOUNDED.

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXV, Issue 18203, 2 March 1929, Page 17

AIMS OF ROTARY EXPOUNDED.

Recent Attacks Deplored. INTERNATIONAL PRESIDENT'S REPLY. (Unit«d Press Association—By XlMirte Telegraph—Copyright.) OTTAWA, February 28. On the steamship Berengaria, at Montreal, Mr R. B. Sutton, president of the Rotary International, gave the Australian Press Association the following exclusive statement: “The recent attack in an article in the ‘Observatore Romano’ is merely a reprint of the last article in the ‘Civilita Catholica’ published on February 16. Since it was written, I have had numerous conferences at Rome with the director of the ‘Civilita Catholica,’ Father Enrico Rosa, S.J., and many of the highest Church authorities. As lam a Roman Catholic myself I am explaining and clarifying the doubts. Misunderstandings and presenting a formal statement that the Rotary has no connection with Masonry or any other organisation—that religious and political discussion is positively forbidden, and that the Rotary has no record whatever of the religious faith of membership; that the Rotary’s meetings, activities and records aro public, and there are no vows or secrets of any kind, that there is absolute respect for the religious faith of all members; that Rotarians do not attribute to themselves any private moral code, nor intend to create any sect or natural religion, much less do anything contrary to the dogma of the Catholic faith; that in particular, with reference “to some few actions or statements attributed to individual members throughout our vast international organisation, which are seemingly contradictory to the foregoing, the directive authority of the Rotary must declare the same unauthorised, and furthermore deplore any act contrary to these fundamental principles of °ur organisation. The ‘Civilita Catholica’ will publish my formal statement in its issue of March 15, with its observations, which I believe should end all further controversy and terminate the previous misunderstandings,’i