Church Education

New Zealand Tablet, Volume L, Issue 22, 7 June 1923, Page 9

Church Education

“That the activity of the Church in the world may be fruitful, it is vital for her to have a succession of pious and capable priests. Moreover, a succession of pious and capable priests is one of God’s best gifts to His own children. To obtain so rich a gift, no prayer can be too ardent, no sacrifice too great,” says the Archbishop of Birmingham in a Mid-Lent Pastoral. His Grace dwells upon the long and costly studies which aspirants for the priesthood have to complete, and, proceeding, says;

“The requisite training which we are thus urged by law and official direction to give to aspirants to the priesthood can scarcely be given in a shorter time than twelve years. This means a very heavy expense to meet the ordinary needs of the diocese. The growing cost of living, the rise, in rates and taxes, etc., have made tho ordinary returns of the Ecclesiastical Education Fund insufficient to meet that expense. For the last two years we have had to face a serious deficit. Although we used up every penny of the church collections, of the private donations, and of tho, interest on capital, the income fell short of the expenditure by £842 15s lid in the year 1921, and fell short by £1765 14s 4d in the year 1922. *

“This deficit, even if it stood alone, would have been a grave financial problem. But it does not stand alone. There is a. still graver problem. For a long time wo, have had to live, so to say, from hand to mouth. There has been no surplus that could be applied to necessary repairs, improvements, and fitting up. of the buildings. These matters have been delayed so long that they can be delayed no longer. We have had expert examinations made, and the estimated cost of what needs doing, and ought to be begun at once, nearly reaches the sum of £20,000. “To the terrible anxiety created by these figures there was added the perplexity of finding some method of raising the required funds. No small element in that perplexity was the consideration that most of you are suffering in the general financial crisis. The usual annual appeal was evidently insufficient to ward off the danger. Some additional means, besides the ahnual appeal, must be found for raising the necessary funds without putting too great a strain upon you. We have, therefore, decided to attempt a more regular system of contribution, so distributed as not •to fall too heavily upon anv.