THE CHURCH IN NEW ZEALAND MEMOIRS OF THE EARLY DAYS

New Zealand Tablet, 3 September 1908, Page 12

THE CHURCH IN NEW ZEALAND MEMOIRS OF THE EARLY DAYS

(Contributed.)

OTAGO (continued). -A new era'' for the Church in Otago was begun iri^xß6o, and a. forward movement was entered upon, which has ever since been maintained in a remarkable degree. By. Papal Brief of November' 26 of that year, the united provinces of Otago and Southland, together with Stewart Island and the adjacent islands, were canonically separated from the See *of Wellington, and erected into the Bishopric of- Dunedin, with the city of -Dunedin as the "episcopal centre, and by another Brief of December 3, 1869, the Right Rev. . Dr. Moran was' translated" to the newlyerected diocese as its first Bishop. Born in County Wicklow, Ireland, Dr. Moran pursued' his studies with distinction in St. Patrick's College, Maynooth, and was for some years an energetic missionary in his native diocese of Dublin. Being of little more than the canonical age, he was consecrated by Archbishop (afterwards Cardinal) Cullen in the Cathedral of Carlow on March 30, 1856. He received at that time the titular See of Dardania,"with the administration of the Eastern Vicariate of the Gape of Good Hope, where for thirteen years his episcopate proved a strikingly prolific one. Having been apprised of his translation to Dunedin, he visited Rome; took part in the Vatican Council, and at- its close " hastened to Ireland to make preparations for his long voyage to New Zealand. By the ship .' Glendower ' the Bishop of Dunedin, accompanied by. a number of priests and nuns, arrived in Sydney after a most favorable and pleasant voyage of ninety-twa days from . Plymouth. After a short stay, accompanied by the Rev. William Coleman, and ten nuns of the, Dominican Order from the Sion Hill Convent, Blackrock, County Dublin, who .came as a foundation for Dunedin,. the journey was resumed by the Bishop via Melbourne, and on Sunday, February 19, entered upon his episcopal duties in St. Joseph's Church, -Dunedin. Coming to a far .distant diocese, with a comparatively sparse Catholic population, and practically destitute of the necessaries" of divine worship, it may be. easily , understood that the good Bishop was filled with discouragement. With" a zeal' and energy that characterised the whole length of his episcopate — " a period covering a quarter of a century — the . religious aspect soon assumed a very different character, and the prospects of the future brightened year by year., ; The faithful people "of Dunedin (states a record) soon showed, by their earnestness that they were resolved not to allow their worthy Bishop to be discouraged. They expressed their willingness to provide the necessary^ funds for the requirements, of the diocese, and the - vast territory, which hitherto may be said to have been, in its spiritual aspect, like a desert waste, -began to be clothed with all the beauty of a' cultivated garden- The Bishop himself was no less astonished than consoled, by their munificence. An official statement of. the various sums expended in the erection of churches and other missionary works during the first -fifteen years of Bishop Moran's episcopate; showed the enormous amount of over .£80,268. It is an interesting record (states the authority above quoted) of the clergy's zeal .and of the generosity of the devoted people, when quickened by " confidence in their chief pastor. For some years, during the earlier part of Dr; Moran's I episcopate, " he found himself the only Bishop in the Colony, which he travelled from end to end, making visitations at every settlement where a congregation existed. He thus endeared himself in a remarkable degree to the pioneer colonists, and is remembered with deepest veneration by those of the first and second generations who profited by. his ministrations. « He was ./the firmest advocate o£ Catholic education, and a most uncompromising opponent of State instruction without religious' iteach'- " ing. As a worthy means of combating this evil he established the New Zealand Tablet, a journal which ever since has main*

tamed the best traditions of its illustrious founder. For many years the following legend over the brilliant editorials left no manner of doubt as to its policy :'• Progress and Justice in the Nineteenth Century.-The Catholics of New- Zealand provider at- their own sole expense, an excellent education for their own children. "Yet such is the sense of justice- and- policy in the New Zealand Eegislature that it compels these Catholics, after : having manfully provided for their own children, to contribute largely towards the free and godless education of other people's children! ! ! This is tyranny, oppression, and plunder.'" • Writing in the Sim, a newspaper formerly published in Christchurch, a well-known journalist contributed the following ' at the time of Bishop Moran's death :-' I was" genuinely sorry to hear of the death of Bishop Moran. He was an enthusiast, : a hard worker— a host in himself. Dunedin will feel his loss as a citizen. His Church will not repair the loss it has sus- . tamed ; no, not in fifty years. The Bishop had his fads, and he had his prejudices, but he was a kindly man- withal, and thoroughly consistent. He did battle over the present system ' of education and fought squarely^ and unceasingly against what he termed our godless system." That system was his Utc noir, and it must have been -a severe trial- to the good old man* to know at the last that he was no further ahead at the end of his long life than when he first started his crusade. What a genuine pleasure he took in the opening of a- new 'school,' to be sure] I can well remember— for I- stood reporting him just at hISh 1S elbow— the speech^he made when he declared the convent school at Queenstown,^ Otago,' open for pupils. Towards the - close of his. speech, he became painfully impressive, and as he turned away from the people, nearly all of whom were visibly affected, he brushed the tears from his own face and said 'to myself and others : " Dear, dear, I am a child again surely ! " This was- his simple way of apologising for the emotion he had displayed. ' . Poor Tom Bracken, New Zealand's Poet Laureate, also paid tribute to his life-long friend in the following lines which were among the last he composed : —