AUSTRALIAN CATHOLICS AND SOCIALISM

Grey River Argus, 2 September 1948, Page 5

AUSTRALIAN CATHOLICS AND SOCIALISM

SYDNEY, August 31. The Catholic Church in Australia will issue in all its churches on Sunday parriphlqts condemning ■ Socialism, and,- in certain circumstances, socialisation. Published with the authority of the archbishops and bishops, the pamphlets declare the socialisation of the means of production, distribution and exchange to be irreconcilable with Christian teaching. The circumstances in which, in the church’s view, socialisation is allowable, are in partciular industries “which are too vital to the common good to be left safely in private hands.”

Three ways recommended to Church members for determining whether a nationalisation project is legitimate or not are:— (1) They should question their Parliamentary representatives as to the real aim of their policies. (2) They should study the published programmes of political parties. (3) They should satisfy themselves whether the overall result of Government policy is to extend or restrict the ownership of private productive property. N.Z. Archbishop’s Comment

P.A. WELLINGTON, Sept.’ 1. Supplies of the pamphlet, which condemns Socialism, and certain aspects of socialisation and which is to be circulated in the Catholic churches in Australia, are expected to reach New Zealand shortly for similar distribution' in the Catholic churches. The Coadjutor Archbishop of Wellington, the Most Rev. Peter McKeefry, said the prominence given to the banking question in Australia had probably caused the newspapers there to concentrate on the issue of socialisation. He added that about seven years ago the Archbishops and Bisbops of Australia and New Zealand agreed to the observance of “Social Justice Sunday” each year and on each occasion some feature of social justice was selected for consideration, and a pamphlet on the subject distributed. After the .pamphlets arrived from there would Joe due observance in New Zealand.