CHURCH STATE SEPARATION A MYTH IN AUSTRALIA

WHAT HAPPENED TO OUR SECULAR STATE?

GOVERNMENT ENDOWMENT OF CHURCH ACTIVITIES

FINALLY, A  ROMAN CATHOLIC EDUCATIONIST ADMITS THAT ROMAN CATHOLIC SCHOOLS ARE SUBSIDISING THE CATHOLIC PARISH:

Associate Professor, Denis McLaughlin, who lectures in Catholic educational leadership at ACU's McAuley campus in Brisbane, on October 2nd, 2002 made the following statement:

" Thriving Catholic Education systems, have, in general taken the place of the parish. Parishes are closing and amalgamating, ... the school numbers, in contrast, are healthy and paradoxically, Catholic Schools are now financially subsidising parishes. Parishes need Catholic schools for their survival. "

The Catholic Leader , 13 October 2002, page 3.

The above admission may come as a surprise to many but not to the DOGS. SInce their inception, the DOGS have stated that religious institutions like the Roman Catholic Church are living organisms. It is foolish and dishonest to claim that one can subsidise one part of a church's apparatus without feeding the whole. It is like giving food to a person and saying - "This is to feed your legs, but dont let it go to your head".

DOGS point to an Advertisement they placed in the Melbourne Age 3 May 1984 in which DOGS inserted a full page advertisement where they indicated that at that stage the taxpayers were subsidising over 70% of the running expenses of the Church's activities in Australia, especially when one takes account of all the taxpayer's money paid out for Roman Catholic religious, cultural, charitable,hospital and educational activities. At that stage the education Bill was approaching one billion dollars per year in direct grants alone.

Today,in 2002, the Australian taxpayer is subsidising between 85% and 90% of  all the Church's expenses, including the running of the parishes.

Yet the more the taxpayers foot the bills, the greater the decline in the Church's spiritual ( but not tribal) influence in our society. In fact, some might complain that its spiritual - and moral- effect is falling into the negative arena.

DOGS quote from their 1984 Advertisement:

" Government funds has directly and indirectly assisted CHurch expenditure in the following area:

•     building  and maintain local Church

•     aiding church political activities

•     relocating church real estate and pay the parish secretary

•     assisting religious development of adults

•     helping train religious brothers

•     building up a Church holiday camp

What else is going on is anybody's guess. It is largely the private business of the upper echelons of the the Church bureaucracies.!

What we do know, in 2002, is that the private education sector is the Trojan horse which will unleash the problems of the GATS upon the educational opportunities of Australian children.

Of course, the Roman Catholic Church is no longer the only religious institution in this position! But all their growing dependence on involuntary taxpayers funds has led to empty pews and  a lessening in spiritual activity.

DOGS refer to Benjamin Franklin who understood the principles of Separation of religion and the State . He noted that :When a religion is sick, it will call for government help!