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No. 3131.
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A Perth Thursday, March 5, 196-1•
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Controversy Over Church's Civil Powers In Malta
Price 9d.
LENTEN VISIT
By JOHN A. GREAVES, N.C.W.C. Reporter
LONDON: Archbishop Michael Gonzi of Malta is believed to have asked a high British official that nothing be included in the future c onstitution of Malta that would hamper the Church's spiritual work. The Archbishop flew here from Malta to discuss with government officials the position of the Church in the new constitution being drafted for Britain's Mediterranean colony, scheduled to become independent on May 31. The prelate was invited to the _high level discussioni on Malta by Mr. Duncan Sandys, British Minister for Commonwealth Relations and Colonies. He is a strong critic of Malta's Labour Party, headed by former Prime Miniaer Dom Mintoff, which wants to reduce the civil power of the Church on the island, whose population is 98 per cent Catholic. Civil marriages and divorce are now prohibited on Malta, and the Church's code of canon law has the status of civil law. Mintoff, whose party has been placed under interdict because of an attack on the Catholic bishops three years ago, has warned that Malta "might develop into another Spain or Portugal" unless constitutional safeguards a r e provided. He has said his version of the constitution would prevent a "clerical" State. Archbishop Gonzi has voiced opposition to a number of amendments Mintoff has offered for the proposed constitution, contending that they would affect the Church's liberty. The Church leader was accompanied here by his secretary, Father Joseph Bernard, S.J. Besides conferring with Duncan Sandys, he spoke with Lord Lansdowne, Minister of State for Colonial Affairs, and other British Colonial Office experts. SPIRITUAL MISSION Although no official statement was issued, a member of the Archbishop's entourage said he thought it likely the prelate had asked Mr. Sandys that nothing be included in Malta's constitution that would limit the Church from fulfilling its spiritual mission. Archbishop Gonzi talked in London with Toni Pellegrini, leader of Malta's small Central Christian Workers' Party. Pellegrini said later: "I think the British government is now on the right track. I think they will succeed in,avoiding trouble in Malta." Mintoff a n d Premier Giorgio Borg Olivier of Malta both were here recently to try to impress their views on the British government. which has found it difficult to effect a compromise between the conflicting proposals. Olivier wants speedy independence f o r Malta within the British Corn monwealth. while Mintoff desires full independence
for the island. Pellegrini, on the other hand, says that Malta is not yet ready for independence. POSSIBLE DELAY Some observers believe that because of the controversy and the threat of further trouble, Britain may now delay granting independence to Malta until government leader s think further about the delicate problem. Others say that the split between the Church and the Labour party is tending to obscure the real issue of constitutional settlement, which is economic. The London "Catholic Herald" said: "Mintoff's flirtation with the Iron Curtain and the recent encroachment of unbelief and secularist attitudes upon this most fervent of all Catholic communities hardly inspire confidence. At the same time, one's heart bleeds for Labour party voters, barred as such from the sacraments they hunger for, who cannot see how the island can survive without Mintoff's administrative dynamism." The newspaper said that the only sane course for Britain to adopt is to guarantee adequate economic aid to Malta, thereby easing the tense situation and allowing time for the religious and political issues to be more easily untangled. The alternative, the paper said, would be "another Cyprus."
OTHER PAGES Eucharistic Congress . 2 Film Censorship . . 3 Role of Laity in the 5 .. Liturgy International News . .. 6 New Novena at the Monastery . 8 English in the Liturgy 10 Friendship Pictorial .. 11 Sport . . . . . . . 12
Apartheid Statement Not Official
ment makes to implement it. On this question he declared:
CAPE TOWN, South Africa: The chairman of the South African Bishops' Conference declared here that a statement by Archbishop P. Whelan, 0.M.I., of Bloemfontein upholding this nation's policy of apartheid — strict race segregation — was a personal one and not the official stand of the Church. The chairman, Archbishop Owen McCann of Cape Town, countered assertions that Archbishop Whelan's statement was made on behalf -of the South African Hierarchy. He said that if Archbishop Whelan had intended making an official statement, it would have first had to approved the by be Bishops' Conference. That body did not discuss it, and therefore it was not an official statement, Archbishop McCann said. Archbishop Denis Hurley, 0.M.I., of Durban, declared that it would be "completely erroneous" to regard Archbishop Whelan's views as the official Church position. He said: "Any report that this is the official attitude of the Church is completely erroneous. Just as when I make my speeches I do not expect my views to be binding on the Church, so Archbishop's Whelan's views are in no way the Church's official attitude." CHURCH'S ATTITUDE Archbishops McCann and Hurley spoke out after South African government agencies, including the republic's information service in New York, had released Archbishop Whelan's statement with the assertion that "the Roman Catholic Church of South Africa today issued a statement clarifying the attitude of the Church towards South Africa's racial policy, apartheid." Archbishop Whelan himself emphasised after releasing his statement that it was not made on behalf of the Bishops' Conference. But he said that the statement was not a purely private expression of his views as Archbishop of
Bloemfontein. He said it was released taking intd account his responsibility to the Church as Director of the Press, Cinema and Radio Department of the Bishops' Conference. He said it was based on the encyclicals of Pope John XXIII and on statements made over the years by the Bishops' Conference. He singled out a 1952 Bishops' statement which said that "the great majority of non-Europeans and particularly Africans, have not yet reached a state of development justifying integration." COMMON KNOWLEDGE Archbishop Whelan said in his statement, issued as an interview, that South African apartheid as a whole has never been officially condemned by the Catholic Church. Then, asked whether there are "items in the present government's policy which could be considered immoral," he replied: "It is common knowledge that. the application of several provisions of our racial legislation involve hardship and injustice— conditions of Bantu urban employment; unreasonable job reservation; restriction of the freedom of the Bantu worker to improve his economic and social position; restriction on the freedom of the Bantu worker to choose his employer, to alternate employment, or to offer his services to the highest bidder; restriction 'on the place of abode which separates members of the same family." But Archbishop Whelan said that the crucial point at issue is whether apartheid is inherently wrong in itself, not the actual laws which the govern-
OBLIGATION -There is no teaching of the Church in opposition t o the idea of a State cornposed of a number of national or racial groups, maintained in their separate and distinct identity by the State of which they form a part. This is clear from the Church's attitude concerning the rights of national minorities, so hotly debated during the first 50 years of this century.
"This has been reiterated recently in Pope John's encyclical Peace on Earth. The Church has often declared that public authorities have an obligation to assist the cultural and racial groups in a pluralistic State in their distinctive development."
PROCESSION Following the completion of a week's retreat in R ome,
Pope Paul VI is shown as he walked in a Sunday (Feb. 23) Lenten
procession at the Church o f Our Lady of Lourdes, in southwest Rome. He is f lanked by Msgr. Enrico Dante, ( left) and Mgr. Salvatore
Capoferri,
(right ) and Master, res. pectively, of Vatican ceremonies. Prefect
Pope Paul went by automobile to the parish church on the outskirts of the Eternal City, where he
told the people that the destiny of Rome is such that Christianity must be lived fully or else it is betrayed.
Large Number Of Enrolments TWO HUNDRED AND TEN LAY PEOPLE HAVE ENROLLED FOR THE 1964 TERM OF THE LAY CATECHISTS' SCHOOL WHICH BEGINS ON MONDAY, MARCH 9. Although 55 of those enrolled are trained teachers, they will have their first introduction to the teaching of religion. On completion of the ten-week course they will be awarded the Grade I Diploma. One hundred and fifty-five are taking the second term of the course and will receive the Grade II Diploma.
fice is distributing fortnightly lessons to the children in grades one to five. A set of weekly lessons from Sydney's "Catholic Weekly" will be available to children in the upper primary grades. The Lay Catechist School will be conducted by Father J. Nestor, of the Catholic Education Office. Father J. Murphy, parish priest of Mosman Park. Father J. Barden. S.J., of St. Thomas More College, and the Sisters of Mercy, Victoria Square.
This year the school is conducting a second programme to make the teaching of Catholic children who cannot attend Catholic schools more in- Enrolments teresting and effective. An for the effort is being made to pro- .school will be accepted up vide a revision lesson, to 7.30 p.m. on Monday which is to be studied in evening, when it opens at the home by the child, and Our Lady's College, Victhe Catholic Education Of- toria Square.