Rerum Novarum in the Niteries

PAT BARTLEY ROUSES HANLEY RALLY AUDIENCE
By a Staff Reporter
A 300 mile car trip on Sunday last in order to spend three hours in Hanley proved it to be well worth the trouble and time. For these reasons. First, in order to witness a K.S.C. triumph in their successful organisation of a Rerum Novarum Rally; second, in order to see for myself how Councillor Pat Bartley, of the Durham Miners' Association, well merited the compliment paid him at the meeting by Mr. Loughrey, the K.S.C. Supreme Knight, who said that he was " a credit to the Catholic Workers' College "; thirdly, to enjoy once
view of the special character of their duties."
more the harmless sallies of Richard • O'Sullivan's Irish humour, and in passing to learn a thing or two on the Church'sjealous guardianship of social justice; last, but by no manner of means least, to hear Bishop Griffin put forward a powerful plea for family allowances.
This last may well prove historic in England's struggle for a better social order, for it was made—a coincidence only, l suppose—in that very part of the country where that protagonist of family allowances, Fr Michael Watthe, of Kidsgrove, who was himself present at the meeting, has his parish: it was made at this particular time when the subject has come up for discussion in the Commons.
United Catholic Action in support of a scheme of family allowances may well prove to be the practical result of the many Reruns Novarum celebrations in the country being held at this time, and there could hardly bc anything more topical, urgent, and at the same time more in accord with the spirit of the Encyclical.
IN DEFENCE OF THE WORKERS
After Bishop Griffin's speech, which is reported on page 1, Pat Bartley, a councillor of the County of Durham and a member of the Durham Miners' Association, who spent two years in the Workers' College at Oxford, is a spirited champion of Reruns Novarum, standing firmly and rock-like In his defence workere in an obviously thorough acquaintanceship with every detail of mat encyclical. He is more (or will be once he has attained greater familiarity with the public platform). He is, I believe, the type of speaker who will be needed more and more when Christian Co-operation conferences, out to discuss the new post-war order, begin to delve more deeply into certain obvious implications of social reform.
Regretting that Rerum Novarum had failed to dismiss the misgivings and suspicions of working-people as to the Church's attitude to them, he revealed that in a long experience in working-class movements, political as well as industrial, he had found " a measure of misrepresentation with regard to the Church's teaching on social matters, I am alarmed at this attitude," said Mr. Bartley, " as it is often that of Catholics themselves."
The two main ideas uppermost in the worker's mind are as evident to-day as they have been in the past. The first Is the existence, evidence of which the worker sees in his daily life, of class conflict The second, which particularly arouses the indignation of the socially conscious worker, is the perpetration al terrible injustices in the industrial system. " No wonder," said Mr. Bartley. " that people delft into schools of materialist phflo sophy! No wonder i'heir Catholicism disappears! But when such people have the acquaintance of some of us others who know the Church's teachings, and when they allow us to encourage them to study the social encyclicals, then it is that they begin to see how sympathetic is the Church to the views they hold, For the encyclicals never Ignore. hut rather do they definitely recognise, the existence of rlass conflict."
This Mr. Bartley demonstrated with suitable quotations from Quadragesiono Anno, arousing tremendous applause when he repeated some of Pius XT's phrases such as " despotic economic power," " the grasping soul of production," " limitless free competition," and others.
He could quote endlessly from the encyclicals as evidence of the real sympathy and understanding of the Church for workers, and as a miner he was particularly interested in the Pope's plea that " workers in mines anti quarries should have favourable consideration in matters of hours of work in
Turning then to Pope Pius Xi's encyclical on Atheistic Communism, he referred to the Pontiff's complaint of those Catholics who while assiduous in the fulfilment of their own religious duties are apathetic in regard to the question of seeing that justice is done to workers. " If only people had understood," he continued, " the rights of citizens towards the State, and the rights of the State towards citizens, they would not have permitted the spread of that philosophy. which has led to this war."
Mr. Bartley felt confident, however, that a right order of society will eventually come " as the results of our efforts as a people, but provided that such efforts be directed by some knowledge or Christian social teaching. We are the Church," he concluded, " so we are concerned with the Church's success, and we must acquaint ourselves with her social teachings, so that workers and the masses of the people may help to make the New Order."
YOUTH CRIME WAVE Mr. O'Sullivan, who also spoke, made references to the spiritual enslavement of people in Russia and German. 0 where men are punished for the thoughts they think, and where the State, which has invaded the sanctity of the mind, punishes men for their unspoken opinions." As Recorder for Derby, his references to youth delinquency and the implications of faulty parental control it implies, were particularly interesting. Only recently he had had before him the case of a boy accused of stealing, in which the receiver of the stolen goods was the boy's own father.
" Youth delinquency," he said, " should not be attributed to the failure of the schoolmaster, but to misfortune at home. Such misfortune may he widowhood for instance, or the need of both parents going out to work, entailing reduction of parental control. This cannot be remedied by Borstal, which is only a second best. The remedy lies in the renewal of the dignity and sanctity of homes.
" Anyone reading the Encyclicals of the Pontiffs will see how a process to deChristianise Europe has been going on," remarked Mr, O'Sullivan. " That is not a statement of the Pope. It is a statement of the King. " In this country. and at this hour. we are striving for a Christian tradition of freedom and justice. We are striving for an equal law. We have been faithless to the demands which have been made upon us: faithless to the demands of the community: faithless to the Divine Law. At this moment the whole of the moral integrity and the moral capital of the nation is its most asset. It is the greatest asset in the asset. It is the greatest asset in the
d In proposing a vote of thanks to the chairman and speakers. Mr. W. J, Lomehrey, the Supreme Knight, assured the Bishop that the one desire of the Kniehtt waa to stand solidly behind the Hierarchy and the clergy in all their actions, and to render ever'y assistance they could in building up a society on the basis of the Papal Encycholla. The vote was seconded by Mr. A J. Boardman. the Provincial Deputy for North Staffordshire.
There was a large number of clergy present. and many prominent local councillors. magistrates and business men accepted invitations to attend the Ram-,