Monday, May. 18, 1942
Primate on Profit
The new Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. William Temple, does not let grass grow under his feet. His very first speech after his enthronement was a call to a unified Christendom ("The world has been much more conscious of the Church's divisions than of its unity in the fundamental principles of the Gospel. This is our fault and we ought to be bitterly ashamed of it."); a ringing redefinition of democracy ("The test of democracy is not whether the majority prevails but whether the minority is tolerated."); and a plea for social reform, culminating in a proposal that all corporations should voluntarily write a dividend limitation into their charters. "I think it would be fair . . ." he said, "that as soon as the amount paid in interest is equal to the amount originally invested, the principal should be reduced. . . . [This] would allow people who put their money into a company to double it and no more."
The new Archbishop of York, Dr. Cyril Garbett, is known as "The Hiking Bishop," from his rooted custom of footsloggirig from parish to parish with staff and cap in hand. He too took a strong stand for social reform last week. Said he: "When peace comes and war weariness sets in we may slip back into the old ways. If that happens there would follow such widespread and angry discontent that revolution might follow. . . . Service for all...is rapidly being substituted for private interests and personal gain."
Pope Pius XII's 25th anniversary as a bishop was celebrated this week by the world's 338,386,000 Roman Catholics. He was consecrated at 41 in the Sistine Chapel by Pope Benedict XV on May 13, 1917.
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