'Undenominationalism'

New Zealand Tablet, 25 October 1906, Page 22

'Undenominationalism'

22

T member of the London School Board, ' nothing Cattolte wrSSr a' S^ l^A^ oih^^-. unreal telcMnl' of reuSn 'n? iJ™* m, echantCal ' U been made tl hlr^t* L ? a*tamp?.*h^! hav «'. "Zu^l^^Z^^^ >

school systems of England, Australia, and New Zealand impart a special interest to the • fate that has befallen it in Holland., f The; law. under which it was introduced into Holland was passed in , 1857. Its fundamental idea (says the -' Catholic Times') « was that all the children of the State should, be. educated in the same schools. The^ Christian ' and social virtues were to be imparted by the teachers without trench- " ing on dogmas, and the schools were called- " neutral" schools.' The Catholic Bishops of .Holland issued a Pas--toial in which they proclaimed their .refusal to- ac. r ccpt the law. A '" struggle ensued which was continued for years. In the end many who had been favorable to the "neutral " schools, recognised that* they -were injurious to the State, and in 1889 a law waspassed,on the initiative of Premier Kuyper, giving to the denominationalists ' the rights for which they had been contending. They now arrange their own school - hours, select their own school books, and arc responsible for their own teachers. All the Government asks for in -making grants is secular- efficiency .', x