A Tribute to the Christian Brothers

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXII, Issue 22, 2 June 1904, Page 29

A Tribute to the Christian Brothers

At the meeting of the Protestant Synod in Dublin on Apnl 11, the Kight Hey. Dr. Archdale, Protestant Bishop of Killaloe, moved a report by the committee for secondary education, which stated that ll was de.sliable that there should be a central Board for the promotion of secondary and technical education. Dr. Validate, referring to Mr. Dale's report, said the whole question ot the 'buildings oi schools simply came to this, that the Government and their Department, the Board oi Works, were responsible for the want of pxo-pe-t structures in these schools-. In the same report Mr. Dale said the Itish schools were superior to the English, that they had a largei proportion of trained teachers, which surprised him (Dr. Archdale) He spoke of the model schools certainly not as model schools, but the model schools had been by the Government reduced to i he condition of ordinary schools as regarded the pa\ ment ot their teachers lie believed it was true that there was not a single secondary school in Belfast dnectly in connection with the Church of Ireland. He was tonwnced that the monastic Orders of the Roman Catholic Church of Ireland were establishing .such school-. e\ cry where The Intermediate Board would not gi\e Lh'istian Brothers' Schools fees for children taught in the primary schools. They required that they should ha\e a department for secondary education in their schools There was one of the Christian Brothers' Schools in Cork that earned last year over £1000 in lesult fees, and they were earning them very largely — and he would tell them why — because they had teachers thoroughly trained to deal with the minds of these \oiin 1 ; people and impart to them in the most efficient way the knowledge that was required for earning, and the iesu!t was that a large number ot Protestant ciuldi en went to the Christian Brothers' schools. In these schools there was no conscience clause, and religious woislnp was constantly going on, and the same was the case with regard to monastic schools If that thing proceeded the Church of Ireland would gradually be extinguished. Mi Mofi'at, referring to the CathoAic teaching Orders, said ho did not see how anyone who understood the meaning of self-sacnnee in human hfe could not but adniue the action of those who devoted the whole of their lues to the good ot their fellow creatures. Etven though, in his opinion, they might be wrong in some Ma rigs— and personally he had no feeling but the most piofound respect for all these Orders — but no matter how they might respect those teachers they would gieatly picfer to ha\e their own children taught under their own influences and not under the influence oi those people They found their children going to Roman ( atliohc schools Some people wewed that with perfect honor, and others with indifference He coiuld not lcgaid it m either of the extremes. lie thought it was a mo->t sa,d state oL^Tihings, and a rather dangerous tlnng But how was that to be remedied Their chi\dien went to school to those Roman Catholic Orders, and got an excellent education Who paid for that education '' The fact was that those Orders were maintained by alms of Roman Catholics. Rev Dr Tristram said what they wanted was something like teaching Orders in the Protestant Ohurch. Let them look at the Christian Brothers, who were the nijO'-t faithful, devoted men perhaps the world had ever seen He knew some of them, and he had the greatest respect for them. Let them compare the Protestant teachers to the Christian Brothers. The Protestant teachers gave a couple of years to teaching while they were going on for some other profession. They did not devote their whole t/ime to the work, because they had sometmng else in view.