CATHOLIC CONGRESS

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 632, 8 October 1909, Page 8

CATHOLIC CONGRESS

.THE OPENING CEREMONY. ... ■< THE WORLD AOT..'tHE ; CHTJECH. . The Australasian .Catholic Congress' was officially, opened by. Cardinal Moran in St. Mary's Hall on September 27.' Members of the congress were present in force, and there was a large attendance of laymen. A-commemoration odel prepared and recited « th £ llcr; 'M-' O'Reilly, CM., preceded the official opening. • . . th<y opening passages of his inangural admess, Cardinal Moran sketched the attitude of the world towards the Catholic Church at the present day. Cardinal Jioran said that the warfare of tho world against the Church had never ceased. As, centuries rolled on new weapons might be "forged, now methods of assault dovised, bnt it was the same relentless wa.v that was ever waged against the Holy Church. At tho present, day it would seem as if the enemy would combine all his forces 10- a final assault. Secret societies and Free-' masonry avowed their aim to destroy all supernatural religion, and to put an end once for ail to God's kingdom upon earth. By secularism in education the child was withdrawn from the blessing of the Eedeemer that his mind and heart might be moulded in conformity- toi the world' 6 aims, and- his affections alienated from the Creator. Divorce and a hundred other, foul agoncies were employed to banish from the Christian home the peace and piety that religion-commended. Pleasure and wealth, selfishness and enjoyment of life were made theidols of the passing hour. Tho latest eremy.of all, modernism, entered the field, aad whilst insidiously, offering a friendly embrace to Christian teaching, it secretly gathered together all remnants of long exploded errors, an.V fashioned .them into, a new engine, for tho .corruption-of.divine truth. It might be asked, how was tho Church equipped to bear the brunt of:those assaults, and to repel the fierce attacks thus: made against the divine truth? What was her assurance for, victory? Ho re-plied-that her equipment was precisely tho same as in the early centuries of the faith. This is the victory-that conquereth the world, your faith."

Cardinal Moran set out under seven heads [ some: 6f the, human mearis'which the Church summoned .to her aid at- the present day to accomplish the great results desired by the divine Master. They • were abounding charity,: peace religious education, Christian home, Minion of the,clergy and faithful, and chivalrous enthusiasm in promoting every good cause of piety and'religion. Their statesmen of-one accord foreshadowed a'grand and glorious future for the' Australian continent. It was the aim of the Cathplic Church, by pursuing the .paths of charity, piety, -ind; religion,,to keep pace with Australia's progress, thus to enhance, and" sanctify and, ennoble it. (Cheers.) -• Cardinal Moran,, concluded:; his address by. reading the following message prepared for transmission .by cable to the Pope;— ,; .'The Australian ' Catholic Congress nowin meeting assembled, under the presidency of the Most Eminent Cardinal-Archbishop" of Sydney, humbly craves the blessing of your Holiness . upon • the labours- of the ..congress." •. ■ .The following are short summaries of some of the papers, read ,'at . the congress — Portion of a long paper on "Ireland's Hundred Years Battle for Faith and Fatherland," contributed by Mr. J: G. Redmond, M.P., was read. Mr. Eedmond said that twenty-three years ago Ireland was willing to accept Home Rule, and to make her' peaco with England. England refused the. offer,'and. to-day Ireland isprobably more a rebel at heart than at any time sinco the Norman invasion. '< Yet the same policy which won the , loyalty of : the Boers was. capable, of winning that of the Irish. It was a-policy of: trusting'the people. In_ his closing sentences, Mr. Redniond write:— TJunng thtf present Parliament a Home -Rule motion'affirming the. Irish"demand in full has ' • ?t accepted oy the Government, and-passed in.the:House:of Commons' by a purely' British majority for the •first'time since-the union. The Liberals' are , th,us pledged to Home' Rule, and the Premier has.stated that'at the'next general 'election they will ask for a'free hand .to deal with the. Irish ..'question, and thus Home Rule: stands to-day. Its prospects "never were brighter. ■' In Ireland itself the opposition to Home Rule,in Ulster is kept alive with the greatest difficulty. The .more'.reasonable and responsible of the Unionists there : regard it as .inevitable,,and. desire-only that when it comes_ it Should be geherous : and''complete." Cardinal Gibbon, of, Baltimore, in a.paper said:—"At the present- time, one century since Baltimore was raised to a metropolitan see, the church in the United StateaKOwnprises.i a hierarchy of nearlyilOO-, bishops, 16,000 priests and a Catholic population! numbering 14,000,000. If we include our Porto'Eico tnd - Philippine possessions; the: number of the',faithful under the-aegisofvthe-American flag <y,ill. amount to fully, 22,000,000.". He, went on to say : "Addition'_to. the Catholic-fold' by natural accretion ls > of, course, very considerable, for with rare exceptions our Christian mothers, thank, God are thus far not initiated in;-the, dark mysteries orrace. suicide. We can-also point with hope and consolation to ■ numerous conversions that are every, year, swelling the ranks of our clergy and laity But the preponderating cause 'attriW^Tll 4 ? a , tho ' ic . P»P«lation must [be E.™*' a -i to a e . tld l of '".niigration that has ol America ?,WlDg :E»H>pe;to the shores „At the afternoon session the-Very Rev. Dr Cleary, editor of the New Zealand 7 "Tablet," read a paper on '-'Some ground work Principles of Religious Education." , He said that in its wiliest sense education was a life-work, but it was .to a very-large extent ever shaped,- col-' rtS&d'tf by. -the unK V?° ei ? r y'Plastic years of. youth. The child .had .a religious as .'well as a soda nature and destiny and as education w™ aSfki-' ° f ca P"«ties; toward: the ■ complete- being, 'so. in. any complete education the iwflT V s ' W« ■■«■;«», .social nature7f the child,must receive its.due develophient and «nn'fe H ° c°«'™.ded. that the 'secularisa »r n „ 9 f- the , publlc had fail ed to promote educational peace,, It was hot s solution, but an_evasion, -of. the religious difficulty. .i^ T 'v J l M :'. Ta #r read .-a paper on 'TJniverTT&„ Ex £ nS,On: Its . Possibilitiefin .Australia " Under his. proposal, twelve lectures - would L SS 'o x work ■in . twelve cXs for not .^eo^s:S^;^'w:-:*wt!*»™ , r A ..pappr prepared by Dr. Dwycr. Bishnnnf Maitfand origin and development of abl4menf?f C "UHWrteTthTei in?«JLJiZ- n a ; b , ran ch in' Australia in the Whv l hleß l ? f the P riests of-the Church 1 wifdom^'nfTl^^ 3 r°M q«cstio7ed tt wisaom of the multiplication of leamies nrTrf th1 e £tfo e v P P r ted ° Ut that in ™«i ' 0 / e , nT8 ' mo rcnew- orders and conrnS & S a - n A lc A? ues had been proceed tfa,i S 1 * 8 r , e , st but It was not in France, that,, they found the best results of th« K'HrSulfwtetft^ 11^ 1011 . ° f Dew taw&V-tt! ■»w.^ 7, P - Dowlin S. contributed a ; paper on rfc B^ms - °nd Difficulties of AusQiaS Cattohcs".-: He reasoned that there were ttree .main dangers-indifference in religioTinfi'del! ,V™«« !••"2"'?, dan B e rs were to be found „^ r S°?i ,stlc i ,' literatu M. in the deluge -of anh-Chnsban thought, and in the rStion T ias * :t he Church. the f ° i ? an Scrous tendencies lay in the direction of the devebpment of Catholic Vo! W? 3 ' r h ![ p men, hot necessarily it t^\^ eh ' would find pSro and ■profit in the pursuit of various forms of recreaml social intercourse,. -, ea T .nKtl s »i l6V^ M -"P- J Malone ' ur S e i in a paper ??£?« °F% a ß ei -Catholic Energy;" ?he tht sWf 0 !^ 0^"!0^,^ 5 f '» In .ww. snort debate that followed Mr n.™ pressed for the adoption, of "some' practical inW th ?,°< ltcomß of the Miss Teresa Magncr read a naoer on '"tk. should: A £ ? mam a,m ? ! the tocher S « u-l, rw-'il reasoll . a nd conscience in such a.way that the girl cou d get her' «ent£ ments .mcfer-control. This '.sugservience of ' s ntoent was essential because woZ wa - ': hZT S'- ded - mo^ \ \" hcarl ""'an »V her ' Mwv-n aven -«lthat onb■'-lb c ' n'oman ; women 0 h ' W p,od " co iAm] ™ n «»« '

fJwl !lm ! announced .the rcceint of the follomng cable message from the Win reply to the •message 0 f greeting forwarded from the congress r-"ljh 0 Hoiv F&her most" cordialk imparts >iho Catholics of Australasia "I .sembledm the .third Australasian Congress hfs apostolic .blessing, as an'.carnref of Divino as: sistanco.and heartily wishos the congress every