N.Z. CATHOLIC FEDERATION, WELLINGTON

New Zealand Tablet, 21 July 1921, Page 21

N.Z. CATHOLIC FEDERATION, WELLINGTON

(From our own correspondent.)

The annual meeting of St. Joseph’s branch of the Catholic Federation was held after devotions on Sunday evening, the 10th inst. His Grace Archbishop O’Shea presided, others of the clergy present including Rev. Fathers Cullen, Adm., O’Donnell, and McDermott. The report and balance sheet, read by the secretary (Mr. B. Nolan), disclosed a satisfactory position, both in membership and social activities. His Grace in moving the adoption of the report and balance sheet stressed the importance of the Federation and the necessity for every Catholic being a member of it. He emphasised the importance of social study, which should 'be undertaken by every parish committee. Mr. P. D. Hoskins, in seconding the motion, also urged the need of organisation amongst Catholics to defend attacks made against their Faith and to safeguard their rights as citizens.

DIOCESAN COUNCIL.

The Wellington Diocesan Council held its annual meeting at Dustin’s Rooms, Cuba Street, on Wednesday, the 13th inst. Mr. W. M. Luxford presided, and among the delegates present were his Grace Archbishop O’Shea, Very Rev. Father O’Connell, S.M. (Wanganui), Rev. Fathers S. Mahony, S.M., G. Mahony, S.M. (Hastings), Very Rev. Dean McKenna, Rev. Fathers Cullen, Adm., Smyth, Adm., Fitzgibbon (Levin), Daly (Dannevirke), Quealy (Petone), M. Devoy, S.M., and Hoare, S.M. The meeting was most successful, and judging by the enthusiasm shown, the coming year should be a most prosperous one. The resignation of Major T. P. Halpin from the position of diocesan treasurer of the Federation was received with great regret at the half-yearly meeting of the Federation. Major Halpin has been a most energetic and enthusiastic official, and his retirement will be keenly felt by his fellowworkers in the cause of the Federation. Mr. J. A. Scott, M.A., LL.M., supported the motion, and exhorted all to join and make St. Joseph’s the leading branch in the Dominion. Father Cullen also spoke and made an earnest exhortation to his parishioners. A strong and energetic comriiittee was elected, and the meeting concluded with a vote of thanks to his Grace for presiding.

PRESENT UNREST: CAUSE AND REMEDY

Speaking at the annual meeting of the Wellington Diocesan Council of the New Zealand Catholic Federation, held last week, his Grace Archbishop O’Shea said that there was plenty of scope for the activities of the Federation, even in matters that were not purely connected withAthe Church. There was work for every group of sincere* and thoughtful men, for every organisation of earnest men who loved their fellow creatures and longed for their welfare and happiness.

“Two and a half years have passed since the war ceased, but unfortunately it cannot be said that the outlook for the world has improved very much all this time. We u e re told repeatedly when the Armistice was signed that the great work before the world—especially before the Allied Nations —would be the reconstruction of society and the healing of the world s wounds. But the selfishness and the greed that were behind the men who sat down in Paris to reconstruct things, resulted in an unjust Peace Treaty—in a treaty that was not only a violation of the terms of the Armistice, and of the principles for which millions had died—but which is proving now the greatest obstacle to a real peace, and to the moral and financial reconstruction of the world. Self-interest, not justice, dominated that conference, and definite causes always produce definite effects. As Carlyle once wrote : l lf we abandon, even in mere politics, the eternal tablets of right and verity* we shall reap not in ease but in difficulty, leading not to prosperity but to ruin.’ Was ever prophecy more true? “With the lapse of time, the iniquity of the so-called Peace Treaty becomes more apparent. General Sir lan Hamilton wrote the other day: ‘ Everything for which the outh of Europe went out with shining eyes to win six years ago has been lost by the incompetency of the politicians.’ I am afraid that there were others besides the politicians incompetent, and that they, as well as the politicians, were in many instances not only incompetent but dishonest. Frightful mistakes were made by our generals

and statesmen in the conduct of the war, as we know now from; those who were behind the scenes mistakes that involved the loss of' hundreds of thousands of lives. And it is not'very encouraging for us to know that in these difficult times it is, for the most part, the same men who

bungled the war and made a mess of peace, that are still in power.

Continuing Past Follies.

V ! ■ “Gan you wonder, then, if, as remedies for our troubles, they suggest only a continuance of past follies? So we have them still advocating militarism under the guise of defence; military treaties with aggressive nations; a spurious patriotism which glorifies might and power; the same godless system of education, and greater divorce facilities for•• the destruction of the very foundations of society, the home and family.

“We found out too late, as did our former enemies, that the war was prepared by the rich people of Europe, who made the people mad with lies.’ But this spirit of hatred or fear is still being encouraged. And so the building of armaments goes on. Military treaties between nations or groups of nations continue to be made, in all of

' which, of course, there will he commitments not made known to the public. And when commercial rivalries again become acute, the flames of hate will once more be fanned

r .to, white heat by the usual lies, and more wars, and per- / haps. the destruction of civilisation itself will be the result. So, unless men seek better remedies than they seem to have in their minds, the future prospect does not look an inviting one. If we persist in following the ways thatled. to the Great War, the paths of secret diplomacy, of greedy commercialism, of dishonesty and chicanery, what hope can we have of better results? It was dishonesty that brought on thb war; it was dishonesty that prevented a true and real, peace a few months after the Armistice; it is dishonesty that now perpetuates social and industrial unrest.

“It is no use trying to disguise facts and attribute the ! ( blame to this or that particular nation or ruler. We were j all to blame, because we were not honest

with one another, we were not honest ourselves, of trying to remedy things by continuing the same dishonesty as men are seeking to do to-day? Are we to remain for ever blind to the lessons that history plainly

teaches us? Can we not see that, if we persist in abandoning the eternal tablets of right and verity the end will be. ‘ not prosperity but ruin 5 ?

X i What Can New Zealand Do? ,■ X" '"-Perhaps you may ask: ‘ What can we in New Zealand do to remedy things?’ We are only a small Dominion, ' with not one-half the population of many of the big American or European cities. And even in this small country there are considerable numbers who are imbued with the wrong; ideas, and are supporters of the foolish policies that have done us so much harm in the past. Be this as it may, f nevertheless it is well to remember that there is a feeling stirring the masses of the plain people all over the world that we have not been following the right policy. And in spite of the fact that all the power of wealth and all the power of the press, save in rare instances, are in favor of continuing in the bad old way, this movement has asserted itself very strongly and is finding expression in some of the [ most unlooked-for places. And though the forces of evil i may be behind politicians and governments, the forces of truth and justice are more powerful, and you can all do ; something, small though it may seem, to make them prevail. As Catholics, you have at least ideals, and if you are loyal to them and to your religion, your help cannot y be looked upon as insignificant. And then, if all others in 4 : 1^ nd, i P rofess to be Christians and to believe in Christian principles, would only do the same, much might y be accomplished. ....... Old Remedies. The remedies are not really new ones, though they may have to be adjusted to modern times and new tradi- ,, tions. They may he summed „p in St. Paul’s injunction j to Timothy : ’Preach the Word- Be instant in season and out of season. Proclaim the eternal truths of right and £ justice that Christianity stands for and has stood for during the centuries. Help to spread the light of religion, which

will show men their duties to God, for if these duties to God are properly fulfilled; men will act rightly ,to their fellow-men and strive to do justice to all, no matter their nationality, their politics, or their creed.

“True Christianity is intensely practical in action. It looks on men and women, not as mere social abstractions as some philosophies do, but as living actual human beings, with all the shortcomings and failings of human beings., It will always be welcomed by men when it is properly put before them. Remember that it is not real religion, but the counterfeit article masquerading as the genuine, that is responsible for the cynical atheism and general unbelief among the supposed higher standards of thinking and living; and which are really at the bottom of our present-day troubles. Indeed, Christianity is a fact that looms so big in the world that it cannot be got rid of. It must he faced like any other fact, no matter how much some people would like to ignore it. It tells men inconvenient truths at inconvenient times, but, dislike them as we may, the world would have fared better and would have enjoyed more happiness and prosperity, had it, at. certain periods of its history, only listened to them.

World Weary of Materialism.

“This, then, is the word that we must preach, this is the light that we must strive to spread. Every Catholic, every educated Catholic more especially, has it in his power to bo an apostle in helping others to see this light. The time is opportune. The world is weary of materialism, which turns men into mere machines for a few rich and powerful individuals to use as they please. The world is tired of militarism, which some, even here, are seeking to perpetuate under every conceivable guise. ft has had enough of bureaucracy, which is synonymous with autocracy and tyranny, and which shows itself in the continuance of regulations that may have been useful in time of actual warfare, hut are an insult to free peoples now; which has shown itself in the recent insidious attempt to nationalise the very children : an attempt happily frustrated, for the time being, by the united front presented by the Christian denominations. Of these things, which have done so much harm within our own memory, surely the world has had enough. We are in a period of transition. There are different roads before us. Surely we are not going to take again the very ones that have led ns into such a frightful mess. We are facing a time of strife and unrest, but we hope that out of evil good will come. But we wisTi it to come quickly, and not in too violent a manner. We do not want things to reach again such a pass as they came to centuries ago. We do not want our civilisation to go down to destruction, nor the Church to he obliged to stand aside, until it can pick up some at least of the fragments and place them together, and so give human beings a fresh start in life. No. We want each one to do his share now, small though it may be, in averting these evils by being loyal to God and religion, as well as to your country; by putting your principles into practice in your lives, as well as in your dealings with your fellow-man; by denouncing injustice and wrong-doing, no matter whether it be committed by your own country or by another, and no matter on whom it may be committed.

“We want more unity. We want more harmony between individuals as well as nations, but we cannot have these things, which are the fruit of charity, without going back to Christianity, or without remembering, as a. distinguished Chinese said in New York it couple of years ago: ‘That the ten commandments came long before the fourteen points, and that their observance is far more likely to bring universal peace than all the Peace Conferences that men can ever assemble.’ ”