Religion: Damnable Rotary

Rotary International was internationally roasted last week by a Catholic bishop in Spain and a Methodist pastor in Manhattan. Because Rotary clubs seem to him to omit the religious idea, because it is “damnable for individuals or societies to try to moralize with a naturalist or atheistic doctrine,” the Bishop of Valencia issued a bulletin discouraging Catholics from-joining the clubs.

“If Jesus came to New York today, He would not be identified with any . . . Rotary club,” said the Rev. John A. Vollenweider, associate pastor of the Madison Avenue Methodist Episcopal church. “He [Christ] . . . was mindful of the need of those who were rich in this world’s goods, but had a sense of spiritual poverty.”