Fr. Giarchi has 200 priests and nuns 'rocking'

BY A SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
FR. G1ARCH I !took the ex
pertise and sincerity of his now-fatuous missions to teenagers to Wigan on Saturday. and soon had his audience rocking and chanting enthusiastically. But this time they were not youngsters, but school teachers200 of them. priests, nuns. brothers and laymen from the Liverpool Catholic Teachers' Federation.
He was attending the federation's conference on primary education and. wearing a with it" black corduroy jacket, he quickly had them adding a new dimension to catechetics with an "off-the-cuff" rhyming description of a snowman. This example made use of a chiJd's natural activity to introduce him to the concept "God Loves Me." "Jesus took the people from where they were to where they wanted to be:* said Fr. Ciarchi. and proceeded to show how this simple principle could be used at any stage of education. Even television advertisements could be used, as he illustrated with a well-known one for chocolates "to show your love for her," leading to Christ showing His love for us on the Cross. He appealed to Church and classroom alike to project the message of Christ. not in abstract terms, hut in everyday language. just as Christ used the experience and environment of the people. "Everything in life is sacred. Try to get that message across by using familiar things just as Our Lord did," he said.
INAUGURAL ADDRESS
The inaugural address by the Earl of Longford reiterated and reinforced the arguments for Christian schools. "Christian education means Christian living and it is all important therefore that there should be a common Christian life in echools." he said.
"Once we assume that religious education is at the core of education, we realise that it is more important than the mere imparting of knowledge —it means values as well. influencing the personalities of children. The argument for Catholic schools is here. "If we believe that we have values not accepted throughout the whole nation, we must make sure that these values are imparted in schools of our own
selection." Opinion polls showed that 80 per cent of parents wanted some form of
religious education for their children. "Don't be too gloomy and believe in the myth that the country is no longer Christian when so many people want religious education. You can draw solid encouragement from that. "As for the Humanists, don't be frightened of them as such. Some, like Lady Wootton, are wonderful persons. but there is no sign that they will be elected as Humanists. What is much more dangerous is apathy— those who are neither Humanist nor Christian. nor anything. I am much more worried about the half-lapsed Catholic." Bishop Harris disclosed that lust week a group of giris from a local grammar school had asked to see hint to discuss Authority which he described to them as the linkman between the Author of all we believe in and the serving of the whole community. Immediately they made the point that the person in whom the Authority rested. the Bishop, was a very remote figure who only made a fringe impact.
Bishop Harris said he replied: "I ask you to be the link between me and your fellow
teenagers."