Page 5, 13th October 1961

13th October 1961

Page 5

Page 5, 13th October 1961 — Worldly minds have Catholic patches
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Organisations: Catholic Church
Locations: Aberdeen

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Worldly minds have Catholic patches

THE worldly mind with a Catholic patch is the subject of a warning from Bishop Walsh of Aberdeen, who also suggests that Bingo would not be necessary if the faithful were to give sixpence in the pound of their earnings to the needs of the Church.
In a pastoral letter read throughout the Aberdeen diocese on Sunday, Bishop Walsh draws attention to the fact that Catholics are too often indistinguishable in thought and behaviour from those around them.
"For the most part," he writes, "the same influences that form other people's minds form ours also the same habits of 'thought, or lack of thought; the same sensual excitements; the same indolence.
We have not got Catholic minds, but worldly minds with Catholic patches. We wear our Catholicism like a badge on the same suit that everyone else is wearing."
The rationalistic and materialistic inspiration of modem life has dis
rupted the internal unity of man, and education has largely ceased to shape our individual lives, the Bishop continues.
" Science is an end in itself, as if science could of itself redeem humanity. And now it has got the better of us.
" It is exploited by warmongers and by commercial racketeers, reducing our age to a cauldron of fears, of frenzied desires, passions and emotions, whipped up by the stimuli of neon-lighted advertisements, glossy magazines, films, television and the unceasing blare of loudspeakers and radio.
" No one can give true homage to God unless he is convinced that all his mental powers are from God. Nothing is exclusively human except sin, which is the rejection of trod."
Way of life
Of religious education, the Bishop declares that "the Christian faith is not just a list of clever questions and answers in a catechism. The Christian faith is a way of life unknown to the World and apart from the ways of the World. There is no room for compromise. 'He that is not with Me is against Me I ' " Dealing with the laity's contribution to the financial needs of the Church, the Bishop says: "I am now convinced that, if everyone gave sixpence in the pound of his earnings, we need have no fear for the future."
Although the supernatural life of the Church is the one thing necessary, " our own survival and the work of the Church have an economic aspect which cannot be ignored.
" When the Church is too rich, she falls apart. When she is too poor, her hands arc tied. The Catholic Church is not an insurance company, nor a club of the elect with a fixed subscription.
" The Church is our mother. To a loved mother one does not bring home just apittance of what one has earned, keeping the rest for luxuries. To a loved mother one brings as much as one can of the week's pay."
Distressing
Urging that the income of the smallest parish should be f800 per annum, with help from the rest of the diocese, Bishop Walsh states that, even with that help, some parishes still receive less than L600 to provide for all needs. He continues: " It is distressing to see the parishes turning to Pools and Bingo to help make ends meet. I do not condemn betting, provided it be within one's means. But there is no need to turn to gambling to provide for our parishes. Even sales of work are a poor second best, involving a lot of hard work by a minority, for money which should be contributed by straight giving."
Imploring his people to " ponder these things in the presence of God ", Bishop Walsh concludes: "Our responsibility is tremendous, on us who have dared to raise our lips to the kiss of divine love. We cannot carry our load alone. He must share our life with us.
" I write in October, the month of Our Lady's Rosary. I have no fear that a parent will fail in his duty to God and to his children if he leads his family in the rosary every day of this month."




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