DIOCESE OF AUCKLAND

New Zealand Tablet, Volume LI, Issue 45, 12 November 1924, Page 28

DIOCESE OF AUCKLAND

(From our own correspondent.)

'.-.'"" October 30. In the presence of a crowded congregation at St. Patrick's Cathedral last Sunday, the Right Rev. Dr. Cleary stated tho attitude of the Church with regard to Catholic children attending religious exercises in secondary schools. Tho Bishop quoted three chief objections to the presence of Catholic children at these exercises. (1) The religious exercises described were to them "essentially sectarian" ; (2) Attending such exercises was at variance with well known doctrines and disciplinary laws of their Faith, and (3) because of the evil history and oppressive effects of the conscience clause in use. Examples were quoted of the use of '" the terms "urisectarian" and "undenominational" to describe various reformed denominations, and-to cover oven the most violent forms" of aggressive "No Popery." There were vital differences between these secondary school religious exercises and the forms of religion authorised for ■the; Catholic children. The school exercises were drawn inly from ritual and other books intended for reformed religious purposes, and not approved for, nor permissible, to Catholic children or adults. All instructed Catholic children (said Dr. Cleary) know perfectly well that their attendance at such religious worship, etc., is forbidden to them by the. principles and discipline of their faith. They have not alone a moral right to refuse attendance, but they are bound in conscience to refuse attendance, even on their own account;, and in the absence of any specific directions from " : their parents. And no teacher has a right, unless by express authorisation of the parents, to restrict or interfere in any way with these pupils' full freedom of conscientious refusal to attend.... - ; . ••-■.'.; -■'..'.■■•. • '"■'-.: ■I most heartily approve (said Dr. Cleary) of both religious instruction and religious worship. in State schools for the children of the religious denominations, or individuals requesting them; provided that the rights of conscience of other children and of teachers be properly safeguarded. The rights of dissident children were not, however, safeguarded by the oppressive Irish conscience clause; It had, no doubt, been used in good faith in our secondary schools without any proselytising intent, and owing to misconceptions regarding the facte of Catholic doctrine and discipline. The : Bishop called for the "frank and full abandonment of the mischievous Irish conscience clause" long ago'

abandoned in Ireland, and suggested one or other of the ; following clauses be substituted: Permit attendance at worship, etc., only to children whose. parents request it in writing, or perhaps better still exclude all children except those promoting or adopting a particular scheme of Bible-in-schools. ■ '• : >r •.'-V"’-;, What proved to be one of the most successful sales of work yet held in the Cathedral parish took, place at St. Patrick s Convent School rooms, Hobson Street, recently. In two nights the zealous workers of the parish raised £750, a magnificent tribute to the organisation responsible for this splendid result. Many ask the question : how do the Catholics achieve such outstanding results? It is simply by the combined efforts of our people, who throw their whole energy into good works for the Church, which is the great part of their life. With regard to the function under notice, a .“popular girl” competition was held, and. candidates were nominated by the children’s committee. : The following were candidates; Miss Alma Petricevich (Children of Mary); Miss E. Ryan (Guard of Honor); Miss M. Tristram, The competition created widespread- interest, and was finally won by Miss Petricevich, resulting in the sum above named being raised. : The Sisters of Mercy, who are promoting and taking charge of the plain and fancy dress stall at the forthcoming bazaar, held a concert in the Epsom Library Hall. The •programme was contributed by. the children, and the entertainment drew a very gratifying house. Considering the merit of the programme, the price of admission was more than reasonable. The whole of the items were keenly enjoyed by those present, and the arrangements reflected great credit on Mrs. Cooke,, who supervised the entertainment. Each item received its due measure of appreciation. The programme was opened with a pianoforte solo delightfully rendered by Miss Winnie Cooke. The senior pupils of the convent school sang a “Welcome Song” and “Golden Days,” and Mrs. A. Dickenson gave a vocal number very effectively. “Merry Woodcutters” by the junior pupils was excellently rendered. Miss O’Leary contributed a charming dance. Capital recitations were given by little Miss Joy Reardon (“Cheerfulness”), C. Malloy (“Little Raindrops”) and E. Berndge (“Who Am I?”). Miss Eva Finch captivated the audience with her rendition of “Please Give Me a Penny,” which brought a contribution of coins to help to swell the, funds. Ethna Cork recited cleverly “Butterfly; ’and “Willow Patten Plate.” An action song entitled Tiresome Little Dollies,” by junior pupils was a pleasing i em. Misses M. Florence and H. Brown opened the second part by contributing a pianoforte duet, which was well received. Miss O’Leary favored the audience with a vocal Hem The senior pupils appeared in an excellent melody entitled Smiling Geisha.” Miss E. Furness’ elocutionary item was well rendered, and the ballad sung by Mrs. Coolie was , an excellent item. A dance performed by little Miss Graham lent additional charm and variety to a splendid programme, which was concluded with a violin solo rendered with great expression and taste by Mr. P. Dimery The result of the entertainment will substantially augment' the Sisters’ funds for their stall. ~ - The names of ex-pupils of the Sacred Heart College are particularly prominent in the recent list of results of examinations held by the Auckland University College. three of the students secured premiums out of a total of 16 granted. Considering the number of pupils at this college in comparison with those from other educational institutions who attend the University, Brother Borgia, B A director of the Sacred Heart College, has every reason to feel proud of the outstanding results of his brilliant scholastic work, and I have great pleasure in ' congratulating him on attaining such a high standard of efficiency The '■ college has never enjoyed such a run of continued'success as it has done in recent years. k. Thelex-stndeats who achieved distinction in the examinations are Mr. E. E . T f y (Jast year’s pupil): who was awarded the premium in English and Jurisprudence. The brilliancy of this boy’s' scholasticcareer indicates that he should became a distinguished New Zealdnd scholar.' Mr. F." Sweeney won a ' School .of Commerce Scholarship. This student also attended the Sacred Heart College last year. ' Brother Clement was the third, successful candidate.: He secured the -■ premium for French (second year-advanced). "... •; ’• : , -