TRANSPLANTED IRISH INSTITUTIONS - University of Canterbury
TRANSPLANTED IRISH INSTITUTIONS - University of Canterbury
TRANSPLANTED IRISH INSTITUTIONS - University of Canterbury
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112<br />
was given full attention by the Orange Lodges and to their minds it confirmed their belief<br />
that the Catholic Church was a corrupt institution. The general anti-Catholic message was<br />
also emphasized which the L.O.I. saw as important since their aim was to uphold<br />
Protestantism and guard against any advancement <strong>of</strong> Catholicism in New Zealand.<br />
Antagonism between the two groups was increased by the censorship that lecturers<br />
such as the Slattery's endured. The L.O.1. felt it had a right to speak out against the<br />
Catholic Church and when the opportunity was taken away through press censorship, this<br />
reinforced their belief that the Catholic Church had control over the press. Catholics on the<br />
other hand, felt that no person or group had the right to criticize their church in such a<br />
manner as the lecturers did. They believed that the tours <strong>of</strong> ex-nuns and ex-priests only<br />
stirred up prejUdice against them, through what they saw as misinformation and slander.<br />
The visits by Hennebery and the anti-Catholic lecturers gave prominence to the<br />
changing attitudes between Catholics and Protestants in New Zealand. The Hennebery visit<br />
helped to unify the Irish Catholic community as they sought to maintain their Catholicism<br />
in a country where Protestantism was the dominant strand <strong>of</strong> Christianity. The anti-Catholic<br />
lecturers sought to exploit the anti-Catholic tradition that had been entrenched in the<br />
heritage <strong>of</strong> the British settlers. The later visits however, reflected a s<strong>of</strong>tening anti-Catholic<br />
stance by the Protestant community as the lecturers found it increasingly harder to gather<br />
public support for their tours. Overall the Protestants which had anti-Catholic leanings were<br />
catergorized as 'bigots' while the 'victims', the Catholics, were able through the efforts <strong>of</strong><br />
priests such as Cleary to capitalize on the visits by gaining public sympathy.