CATHOLIC FEDERATION, TIMaRU

New Zealand Tablet, 6 March 1913, Page 36

CATHOLIC FEDERATION, TIMaRU

(From our own correspondent.)

Despite the inclemency of the weather, there was a large attendance of Catholics in the Brown street Hall on last Thursday night. The object of the gathering was to form a local branch of the ; Catholic Federation. Very Rev. Dean Tubman presided, and Rev. Fathers Smyth and Murphy wore also present. The audience was a thoroughly representative one, and the proceedings were of an enthusiastic character. Very Rev. Dean Tubman, who was received with applause, said the Catholic Federation had now spread over Australia and was started in New Zealand by the Right Rev. Dr. Cleary. Its object was to make some common meeting-ground or plan for social action amongst the different Catholic societies. The aims of the Federation as set forth in the constitution could really be summed up in the foregoing. The society would also be most useful in pointing out to non-Cath-olics the absurdity, even on the face of them, of many of the cables sent out to the colonies about the Church. For instance, a cable had just been published stating

that an Italian Bishop had stated that the Pope was not infallible in politics, the inference being that the Church taught that he was. The fact was of course that the Church claimed no infallibility for the Pope except in matters of faith. Catholics were hardly represented at all in the Parliament of the Dominion, among the Stipendiary Magistrates, the Justices of the Peace, or the various local bodies. They paid the rates and taxes, bore the burden and the heat of the day, but the rewards were seldom theirs. He did not mean to insinuate that religious prejudice was the cause of this lamentable state of things. % Doubtless there were inherited misconceptions to remove, and this association would give its attention to them, but also it would help to direct the attention of the Catholic body to the position, and inspire a greater interest in public matters. The raison d'etre, of the Federation was to bring before Catholics and the general public the injustice of the proposals of the Bible-in-State-Schools League. The Catholics, recognising the paramount necessity of religious education, were paying over £IOO,OOO per annum for educating their own children. They had also to pay for the education of other children in the State schools, and if a form of religious teaching was inaugurated, not only would Catholics be taxed for a new State religion, but Catholic teachers would be unable to hold positions as State school teachers, and Catholic children in country districts where no schools of their own were available would have to listen to a religious teaching not approved of by their parents, or become virtual pariahs by not submitting to the school routine. The speaker then touched briefly on the secondary scholarship question. The Catholic clergy of Timaru did not ask the State to teach religion to the Catholic children attending the country public schools. On the contrary, they visited and taught the children regularly outside of school hours at St. Andrews, Esk Valley, Lyalldale, Springbrook, Adair, Wai-iti, and other schools. The other clergy had the same opportunity, and if they were in earnest why did they not take advantage of the opportunities afforded instead of wishing to push the burden on to teachers, who showed at their recent conference that they were adverse to imparting religious teaching? Fortunately, the Catholic position had the support of such a strong body as the Congregational Church, and it was also supported broadly by the fair-minded people of the Dominion and the press generally. Politics would be strictly debarred in the Federation, and it was pleasing to note that so far no one had found fault with it. The public recognised that all the churches had a perfect right of association, and that the Catholics, however belatedly, were but doing what had been the custom of the various Churches, many of whom have the framework of a similar bond of union among their members incorporated in their charter. The Rev. Father Smyth then read the rules of the Federation, providing for the election of two representatives from each Catholic society in the parish, with six members nominated by the parish priest to form the parochial committee. Mr. G. Cartwright proposed that a branch of the New Zealand Catholic Federation be formed in Timaru. This was seconded in a concise manner by Mr. T. Harney, and carried amidst applause. On the motion of Mr. O'Halloran, seconded by Mr. Angland, Mr. T. Knight was elected secretary pro tern, it being also a recommendation to the committee that he be appointed permanent secretary. Messrs. Doyle, Angland, Dunne, J. G. Venning, Crowley, S. Venning, and O'Brien also addressed the meeting, approving of the objects of the association and generally endorsing the remarks of the Dean. The following were selected" by the various societies in the parish to represent them on the committee: Altar Society—Mesdames Doyle and O'Connor; St. Ann's Guild—Mesdames Mason and Crowley; Sacred Heart Society (women)Mrs. Power and Miss O'Sul livan; Children of Mary—-Misses Knight and Venning ; H.A.CB. Society— P. Mahoney and T. Niall; Sacred Heart Society (men)—Messrs. J. B. Crowley and P. Kane; Catholic Messrs. D. O'Halloran and T. Knight; St. John's Tennis Club—Messrs. J. G. Venning and M. Schaab; Celtic Football ClubMessrs. J. Leigh and M. Gillespie.