THE ACCESSION OATH.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 821, 19 May 1910, Page 2

THE ACCESSION OATH.

A ROMAN CATHOLIC PROTEST. (By Telegraph—Special Correspondent.) .. Auckland, Hay 18. In the course of an address to the members of the Holy Family Society at St. Patrick's Cathedral last night the Rev. Father Hollirook referred to tho Accession Oath. He traced it from its origin and said it was wholly unnecessary. They fully recognised the right of the majority of the English people to have a Protestant Sovereign. The Bill of Rights and the Coronation Oath ensured the Protestant succession. 1 Therefore Titus Oates's oath was wholly unnecessary. The Sovereign was forced to condemn many of his predecessors 011 the Throne of England by calling them idolatrous and superstitious, while 110 also applied the same epithets to 12 millions of his subjects. In the late lioer war Catholics from every part of the Empire, including the Commonwealth and our own Dominion, shouldered their rifles to fight- for their king, and over 5000 Catholics were found. in the Navy. Lord Llandaff, a Catholic, was Home Secretary when the late King ascended the Throne. All of these were ouiraged hv their Sovereign who dubbed them idolators. Yet Ca f ,holies were expected to be loyal. He asked why should tho Catholic religion amongst all those in the Empire be singled out for gratuitous insult in order to gratify the bigots and intelerants? They hoped wiser counsels would prevail and alter the obnoxious oath.