CHURCH AHD SCHOOL

Evening Post, Volume LXXXI, Issue 93, 21 April 1911, Page 2

CHURCH AHD SCHOOL

Replying to "Catholic" in The Post of 18th inst., Mr. David Neild,, in the course of a long letter for which we cannot afford apace for publication in full, writes : — Religious liberty is one of those rights which all men are entitled to 'enjoy and possess. The Jews should not invade the religious rights of the Christian, and the Protestant should not encroach upoo the rights of tht> Catholic, nor the reverse, for they will disobey the golden Tule. Then, as some one religious sectarian teaching would conflict with that of others, and take., from us something of what we enjoy and possess, the State does not permit religious teaching to form one of the studies in the school hours. It is left for the church, ths Sabbath school, and the home to teach, all the religion they desire to impart. Thus contention, strife, and proselytising is, to some extent, prevented. We must, however, acknowledge that the Government allows and permits religious teaching in its schools by ministers beforo or after the usual school hours, therefore the State schools cannot truthfully be called "godless, etc." My friend the "Catholic" has based his argument on a wrong foundation, supposing that taxes form the personal estate of a citizen. No one has a right in 1 the Dominion to possess and onjoy his taxes. They _ belong to the Slate, and not to tho citizen. The Roman Catholics have no_ right or claim upon the taxes they "pay for secular education. My censor says : "The State forces Catholics to pay for the support of the State schools?' Wo understand that everyone who comes to settle in this Dominion agrees, without being "forced," to pay their share in the costs of the government of the country. If they do not wish to pay their share of the costs, they can go elsewhere, for they are neither forced nor compelled to stay here in order to pay taxes. I have no children attending the State schools, and there are numbers of bachelors and spinsters, as well as married people, who have no children, and they pay the jame tax as the Roman Catholic for the education of other people's children ; for the benefit of society and the prosperity of the country. If the taxes" which all these people pay who have no children were totalled up, tho sum would probably moro than equal all the taxes paid by Roman Catholics. If they should be relieved from paying taxes 'because they do not send their children to the schools, why should not I, and many others, who have no children? T am challenged in my statement that Roman Catholics teach that it is a sin , for a Roman Catholic child to attend the State schools. Here is my authority, that of Archbishop Redwood, when opening the Roman Catholic structure at Kilbirnie. 1 copy the Evening Post for 24th January. 1910, page 7. He Baid : "I congratulate you "still more on having a scßool. If you have no good schools your churches will be .empty. No work is so important, so influential, or so necessary, as the carrying on of good Catholic schools for Catholic people. You will have excellent veachers, devoted to the work, and your children ! will be able to have a perfect and complete Catholic education. I hope all the Catholic children will come here. They are out of place anywhere else but in a Catholic school. They are in danger anywhere else. It 13 a sin to send them anywhere else, unless under very exceptional circumstances. Let them be trained here to become a joy to their parents, an honour to tfco Church, a blessing to society, a guarantee of order and virtue te the Dominion of New Zealand, and wellpleasing to Almighty Gsd."