'Pulling his Leg '

New Zealand Tablet, Volume 11, Issue 10, 11 March 1909, Page 369

'Pulling his Leg '

The interest aroused by recent discussions regarding the Papal decree on Catholic marriages has ex bended even to the pages of the Sydney Bulletin. A correspondent signing himself ' Star ' — who had had ' ' his leg pulled ' to abnormal length by some of his non-Catholic friends, with the usual Jbudget of assorted misconceptions regarding the meaning of the decree — had written to the well-known Sydney weekly to relieve his soul of its new and heavy burden. In the latest issue of our very secular contemporary - a contributor sets the befogged one right in the following pithy fashion. '"Star,"' writes this contributor, 'has been deluded concerning the new R.C. marriage laws. Rome does wot forbid " mixed marriages." Its attitude is that it doesn't approve of them. An R.C. priest is allowed to celebrate a " mixed marriage." - But an agreement must be signed that all children of such a marriage shall be brought up in the R.C. faith. So long as the officiating cleric in a mixed marriage is an R.C. priest, the union is recognised and blessed by the Church. The children of "mixed marriages" celebrated in accordance with prescribed conditions are most certainly considered legitimate. Let "Star" read Cardinal Moran's penny tract, The New Marriage Laws, or, more fully, Father Cleary's Catholic Marriages, and he will be enabled to bring confusion on those who have been treating him injuriously as to his legs.'