The Annual combined meeting of the Catholic Students' Guild and the Student Christian Movement was well attended by members of both societies on July 19. The guest speaker for the evening was Rev. Father Agathangelus, O.F.M..cap., who spoke on "The Catholic Church and the Bible."

"To say that the Catholic Church hates the Bible, that she refuses to allow her members to read it, and that her teachings will be shown false when compared with it, is as fatuous as the story that Catholics pay to go to Confession or that there was once a woman Pope," said Father Agathangelus. "The latter ideas are now no longer accepted, and yet the false views concerning the Bible still persist. In fact the Church has always regarded the Bible as one of her greatest treasures, and it was she who preserved it right through the general ignorance of the Middle Ages. Her members are exhorted to read and meditate on it, and no Catholic doctrine can ever contradict it. However the Catholic Church has never regarded the Bible as the sole depository of faith, for it was not Intended to be written as such. The books in it were written for a particular purpose—many of them as letters—and they were not collected together in this present form, as far as is known, until the end of the second century. The mission of the Church is primarily to teach by word of mouth, as Christ himself taught, and until printing became common this was the only method of instruction practicable. In this work the Bible is both an aid and a guide. It is the work of God himself and is to be reverenced as such."

A topic more likely to produce lively, though always friendly, discussion could scarcely have been chosen. Spirited discussion in four groups continued right through supper, and many were still discussing various aspects of religion well after the meeting had been officially closed.

The outcome?—a far deeper understanding of the others' point or view, and a furthering of the good relations between the two societies. All members are looking forward to the next combined meeting.

—C.J.S.

A Capitalistic Charlie

We hear from a usually reliable source that stage III of a certain department have suddenly stopped coming to lectures. Evidently one capitalistic charlie is taking the lectures down on tape; getting his wife to type and stencil it out at home; and selling the result to the rest of the class at 3d each. The stage has almost been reached where the lecturer delivers his lecture into a microphone in his study! Presumably in those lectures demanding visual attention, the same charlie will rig up a closed-circuit television system, so that the class can enjoy the whole thing In the snug comfort of Mrs Hargreaves's coffee salon. Incidentally, it puts the lie to the whole lecturing system (as compared to the tutorial system) doesn't it?