HIS LORDSHIP BISHOP CLEARY

New Zealand Tablet, 1 November 1917, Page 35

HIS LORDSHIP BISHOP CLEARY

RETURNS TO NEW ZEALAND. The Catholic Bishop of Auckland (Dr. Cleary), who has returned to New Zealand after a lengthy visit to Europe, rendered necessary by a physical break-down, certainly looks much stronger and fitter than when he left. New Zealand (states the Dominion). He looks better and is better, but he is not yet quite well. Interviews are among the luxuries which the Bishop has been expressly forbidden to indulge in, but he was good enough to spare a few minutes for a short informal talk with a Dominion representative, and the war naturally formed the chief topic of conversation. Few people have had better opportunities of getting first-hand information regarding our boys at the front than Bishop Cleary, He lived for weeks with them in the front trenches, sharing their joys and sorrows, and their dangers too. He became one of themselves. He thinks the New Zealanders are splendid,, and the finest lot of fellows imaginable. He regarded it as a privilege to live with them and to have their company and confidence, and it was a severe wrench to part from them. Officers and men wanted him to stay till the end of the war, and when they realised that he really had to leave they gave him a send-off so hearty and so affectionate that he will never forget it. No one is in a position to speak more authoritatively than Bishop Cleary regarding the conditions that prevail at the front. He is a keen observer, and enjoyed the confidence of officers and men. It is therefore satisfactory to have his definite assurance that our men were well clothed, well fed, and well looked after. He says the people of New Zealand need have no misgivings on this point. Everything that science, medical skilly and efficient organisation can do to keep the men physically fit and in good spirits is being done. No army in the history of the world has been so well cared for. The standard of health among the New Zealanders is wonderfully high. V ,: The Bishop spoke very highly of the work which is being done by the chaplains of various faiths. Men of the right sort are being sent, and they have gained the confidence of the men. The chaplains are, he says, a band of brothers. ; He made many valued friendships among them. They trust one another fully and help each other in every possible way. Speaking for his own Church, he is quite certain that the services of the chaplains are greatly appreciated by the men' in the trenches, and he has every reason to believe that the same may be said of the other denominations. c Referring to the exemption of the clergy from conscription, the Bishop said that before the war there was a serious shortage of priests, and that shortage has since become much more serious. His Church has great difficulty in providing for the religious needs of its people in New Zealand, and has also to provide its share of the military chaplains. There is need at present for the establishment of several more parishes in his own diocese, but the required number of clergy cannot be found. He is strongly of opinion that the Marist Brothers should be exempt from conscription.