Given from the Catholic Broadcasting Station 2SM Sydney Australia
Choose a topic from Vol 4:
No. The book you mention is by the Rev. C. C. Clump, S.J., and was published by the Catholic Social Guild, Oxford, England. It puts the question: "What general principle must be followed when voting?" Here is the answer it gives, in the words of Pope Pius X: "The chief concern of Catholics in this matter will be to send to the municipal councils of legislative bodies men who, given the particular conditions of each election and the circumstances of time and place, appear more vigilant about the interests of religion and of the country in the administration of public affairs." There is not a word about "serving the Roman Catholic Church. When the Pope refers to "the particular conditions of each election and the circumstances of time and place," he means that Catholics should consider well the particular office to which candidates aspire, which of the candidates would be most competent to fulfill its duties; or, relatively which candidate would seem more competent than the others. But the Pope insists that, besides considering the ability of the candidates, their integrity and attitude towards religion should be weighed. Electors should ask which of the candidates, in the administration of public affairs, will be more vigilant in the interests of religion and of the country. That advice should be supported by every Christian. If Christians elect to public office men who care nothing for religion, or who have not the true interests of their country at heart, they obviously violate their duty.
I am sure the Rev. Dr. Micklem honestly thought that he was quoting an official report. But the source of his information was a disreputable pamphlet entitled "Old Clothes," published some years ago by the Rev. Wyndham Heathcote, a Unitarian minister in Sydney. He in turn obtained his information from a paper called "The Protestant World," which published the so-called report under the title "Catholic Action." The whole thing was sheer fabrication.
In the "Sydney Morning Herald," of Feb. 2, 1938, Archbishop Gilroy, as the Cardinal then was, stated publicly that no such meeting took place on Sept. 8, 1937, or at any other time, either at St. Mary's Cathedral Chapter Hall or anywhere else. Also that he made no such speech, and that the so-called "Report" was wholly untrue. But Protestants did not cease to make use of the lying document; and when, towards the close of 1940, the Protestant Federation in Melbourne, Victoria, began to circulate it in pamphlet form under the title "Catholic Action," the Chief Secretary's Department asked the "Victorian Commissioner of Police to enquire into the matter. Here is the report furnished by the Commissioner to the Under-Secretary of State: "Police Department, Melbourne, November 28, 1940. Under-Secretary. I forward herewith a copy of a report giving the result of enquiries relative to the circulation of a pamphlet called "Catholic Action." I caused these enquiries to be continued in New South Wales, and as a result attach also a copy of a letter I received from the Commissioner of Police for tijthat State. "On March 7, 1938, a William Cecil Goulden, a roster clerk in the employ of the Railways Commissioner of New South Wales, made and signed what purported to be a sworn affidavit to the effect that he was present at a meeting, and that the report printed under the title of "Catholic Action" in the October issue of "The Protestant World" was written by him from notes taken at that meeting; and also that the published article and pamphlet were substantially true. "Investigations made by the New South Wales Police made it appear that no meeting in fact occurred, and that the article is entirely false. Goulden made a voluntary statement to the Police repudiating the statement he had previously made that he had attended a meeting, and repudiating any statements he had made regarding what had transpired at such meeting. The whole of the papers were referred to the Crown Solicitor, New South Wales, for advice as to what action should be taken against a person in regard to the publications known as 'Catholic Action' and 'Old Clothes.' (Signed) A. M. Duncan, Chief Commissioner." When Dr. Nathanael Micklem's article appeared in the "British Week- H p of Jan. 21, 1952, a letter to the Police Department of N.S.W. brought i the following reply: "Police Department. Commissioner's Office. Sydney, N.S.W. April 17, 1952. Police inquiries undertaken in connection with these publica- ''"l tions revealed that they emanated from a person who stated that he attended such a meeting and supported his statement by an affidavit. However, this person subsequently repudiated his statement and admitted that his affidavit was untrue. "After police investigations the person mentioned was confronted with numerous inconsistencies in his statement in which he claimed to have attended this meeting; and, in fact, when taken to St. Mary's Cathedral he did not know where the Chapter Hall was. (Signed) H. J. Cope, Secretary." All this shows that bigotry is as willing to invent false and malicious statements about Catholics as bigotry is willing to believe them.
That is true. But his word for what he published in the "British Weekly" is worth only the evidence he can produce for it. As a matter of fact, as soon as that paper arrived in Sydney I wrote to Dr. Micklem giving him the information I have given you. He wrote back, admitting that the only evidence he had was the disreputable pamphlet "Old Clothes," and said: "I more than suspect that I have been taken in by an exceedingly discreditable piece of ultra-Protestant propaganda." And he said that he would be more than glad to explain publicly that he had been misled. Dr. Micklem is a Congregationalist who could scarcely be expected to be sympathetically inclined towards the Catholic Church. But he is above all conscious of dishonesty and would be filled only with indignation when confronted with proof of conscious dishonesty on the part of his fellow Protestants even in a campaign against the Catholic Church.
"THAT CATHOLIC CHURCH
A Radio Analysis"
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