A Dangerous Pastime

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXI, Issue 18, 30 April 1903, Page 18

A Dangerous Pastime

Playing "with fire and toying with sin are risky games. The moth may go whirling gaily round the candle, but he commonly ends by flopping into the simmering grease and getting his little life scorched out of him. For some years past p marked tendency . has been displayed at Catholic bazaars in New Zealand to entice sundry small coins out of the pockets of the curious by amateur fortune-telling. It is carried on in perfect innocence, and as a harmless pastime, by those who are no believers in it as a relic of pagan superstition. But it is none the less, toying with a crime against .the first commandment. Some time ago we drew attention to the objectionable nature of this bazaar pastime. We find, by a recent issue of the Milwaukee ' Catholic Citizen,' that our position in the matter has been taken up by Bishop Canevin, of Pittsburg. In the course of a condemnation of the practice, he said that ' some people who get their fortunes told at these bazaars and fairs believe that their fortunes are truly told, and, therefore, commit sin in- having their fortunes told ; he, therefore, counselled those engaged in the good work of carrying on these bazaars and fairs to eliminate fortune-telling! from the devices they adopted to raise money for charitable and other meritorious purposes.'