MUST BE MODEST

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 1, Issue 134, 29 January 1932, Page 6

MUST BE MODEST

ROMAN CATHLOIC CHURCH EDICTS ON MODERN CLOTHES UNCOMPROMISING STAND SYDNEY, Wednesday. Archbishop Kelly has issued a circular to Catholic schools deploring the wearing of sleeveless. dresses by girls. Since the vogue of the "restricted" skirt, Archbishop Kelly has frequently been. outspoken in the condemnation of what he once described as unseemly fashions. Bare arms, bare backs in evening wear, and dresses above the knees, were once the subject of a vigorous address by the Archbishop. Soon after the Archbishop's denunciation of the then prevailing fashion, a number of priests declared that they would refuse the sacrament of Communion to women who approached the altar rails with sleeveless dresses. It was unseemly and immodest, they said.

"Wanton Fashions" Bishop Dwyer, at Wagga, severely criticised the "wanton fashions of a demoralised world," and the Archbishop of Brisbane (Dr. Duhig) condemned the growing custom of girls and young women competing in public sport. This, he said, affected the physique and stamina of women, and the costumes worn were shockingly immodest. In all countries the Catholic Church has persistently turned its face against immodest dress, no matter what fashion dictated. The Pope has often appealed for more beeomin^ dress for women, and strict rules have been introduced providing that all women visiting the Vatican to seek an audience with the Pope shall be covered with veils and black dresses that reach below the knees and cover the arms. III iMlf HIHI ■■■III I