ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS

New Zealand Tablet, 30 October 1913, Page 35

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS

L.M., Christchurch.—Money received, and application filed.

Inquirer.—(l) There is no rule directly preventing nuns from dressing the altars or entering the sanctuary. In the case of ' unenclosed ' Orders the Sisters are, so far as rules are concerned, perfectly free to attend to the altars. In the case of ' enclosed' Orders, the position is governed by the ordinary that enclosed nuns are forbidden to go outside their enclosure except by special permission. If the church happens to be within the enclosed grounds of the convent— in many cases it isthe Sisters are quite free to dress the altars; if not, the enclosed Sisters cannot go outside their enclosure for the purpose of attending to the altar except by special permission. (2) It is neither the ' teaching' nor the experience of the Catholic Church that when a convert is received into the Church a Catholic goes out. The Catholic Church has her losses, but they are certainly less than those of other religious bodies, while the stream of.converts who make their way into her fold is incomparably greater. In the United States alone during the last four years the number of converts received per year has averaged well over 30,000.