PRESENTATION of ADDRESSES.

Wellington Independent, Volume XXVI, Issue 3153, 21 March 1871, Page 2

PRESENTATION of ADDRESSES.

♦ V Yestehday afternoon, at 4 o'clock, at the schoolroom of St. Mary's Cathedral, a number j of persons met for the purpose of presenting the addresses of welcome to his Lordship Bishop Viard and the Very Rev. Father O'Reilly, which, by an oversight, were not presented on the wharf on Sunday, when the rev. gentlemen landed from the England. The address to his Lordship was read by Mr Charles J. Johnston, as follows : — "To the Right Rev. Philip Joseph Viard, Bishop of Wellington. " May it pleas© your Lordship, — We, the Catholics of Wellington, beg to offer your Lordship a cordial welcome on your return to your diocese, and to congratulate you on the happy termination of a long and perilous voyage. Although absent from us for a time, engaged in tho arduous labor attendant on your high position in connection with the Ecumenical Council in the Eternal City, whither you had gono, in obedience to the call of our Holy Father Piua IX , we cunnot say that wo are ignorant of tho greut services rendered by your Lordship to religion in generul, and in particular to the great wants of the mission which has been confided to your Lordship's paternul care. Whilst we express our congratulation on again having you in our midst as our spiritual guide, we cannot help expressing through you our heartfelt sympathy with our Holy Father the Pope in this the hour of his trial. When tho patrimony of Peter is being despoiled by the eacriligious hands of those who, under tho false pretext of liberty, would enchain the rights of a church which preached freedom aud civilisation and true religion to the whole woi'ld ; but we feel, as your lordship docs, that much as the barque- of Peter may bo affected by tho waves of iniquity, she will ride in safety to the an-

chorage of the blessed. We hope your lordship will also allow ue, through you, to offer a sincere welcoms to the good Priests who accompany you, and to the good Sisters of Mercy who have preceded you. We cannot too highly appreciate your lordship's earnest desire for the welfare of your diocese in bringing amongst us some of those noble women who belong to communities which are spread throughout the whole world, and whose benign influence is experienced wherever they go, and whose self-denying example has caused many a sinner to turn from vice to virtue, from misery to happiness. In conclusion, we hope that your lordship may long continue to preside over this remote portion of the church oi our fathers, over which you have already so zealously presided, and where you have set so generous an example of selfabnegation, and which cannot fail to be productive of its good results." His Lordship then read the following reply:— "My Dear Friends, — It is with sincere pleasure that I receive your very affectionate address. You may easily conceive the intensity of my joy at seeing you again, after having been so long separated from you. You, pavt cululy, who are so dear to my heart, and whose religion and fervour have so often consoled mo in the midst of the cares of my pastoral charge. And what makes roe more happy is that I bring you one of the holiest and richest ! 'blessingß we may ever receive on earth, that is, the Apostolic Benediction of our Holy Father, which, at my humble request, he has so kindly imparted to you and your families. His Holiness has been well pleased to learn from me your filial affection and profound veneration for his august person. " By a Heavenly favor, never to bo forgotten, it has been my privilege to assist with the other Bishops of Catholicity at the great Council of Pius IX., whose solemn decisions have happily consecrated, as an article of faith, the doctrine already certain of Papal infallibility, thus fulfilling the expectations and desires of the Catholic world, and affording a timely rempdy lor growing evils. " Dear friends, you are aware, and you have yourselves expressed here how those joys were Baddenly changed into mourning. Alas, what. child could refrain from tears on seeing Pius IX., the best of fathers, plunged in such sorrow, on seeing the Pontiff King, the head of Christendom, sacriligiouely despoiled of his last possessions, the holy city wrenched from him and his august person a prisoner in his own. palace. Let us hope that God will soon vindicate his own cause, and at the same time scatter and convorfc his enemies. "Parallel to those lamentable evils, broke out a most sanguinary war, the characteristics of which we may veil, as too disastrous and sad for the present occasion. May Almighty God soon heal so many wounds, and bring back the serenity of peace upon the troubled horizon, " I thank you for your earnest prayers for the success of my mission, and my safe return amongst you, and also for your zeal and generosity in enlargingtliereligiousestublisbments and decorating the sanctuary of St. Mary. May Our Bleseed Lady, whose name the Church bears, repay you a hundred- fold by her powers ful intercession with her Divine Son. As for me, as a token of my gratitude, I impart from the bottom of my heart to you, and to your families my paternal benediction. Those preßent then knelt, while his Lordship pronounced the benediction. The following address to the Very Rev. Father O'Reilly was thon read by P. A. Buckley, Esq. : — To the very Reverend J. J. P. O'Reilly, VicarGeneral of the Diocese of Wellington. Very Reverend Sir — In the address which has been presented to our beloved Bishop the Catholics of Wellington desire to welcome the good Priosfcs who have accompanied his Lordship to his diocese, and while we wish to give them a cordial welcome amongst us we cannot allow the occasion to pass by without in a special manner testifying the deep sense of pleasure which it affords us in seeing our esteemed Vicar-General again in our midst. We cannot be forgetful of your arduous labours in this diocese under extraordinary difficulties in times gone by, nor can we. be ignorant of the signal services which you have rendered to the cause of religion during your stay in Europe and your native land, services winch are appreciated by those for whose benefit they were undertaken, and who are again pleased to know that their old, esteemed and beloved friend has returned to the scene of his early labors. Very Reverend Sir — It is impossible to convey within the limited space of an address the feelings of joy which actuate the Catholics of Wellington at the knowledge of your safe return to the scene of your laoors, a feeling which it is believed is participated in by a large nmjority of those who differ from us in religion. Fortu«ately, the bitter sectarian feelings which create bo much disturbance and animosity in other places are unknown in our city, and we cannot help feeling that this is in a great measure due to the unpretending zealous priests who have labored 60 assiduously for many years in the work of our Divine Master. Although it has" not been your good fortune to take itn active piirt in the solemn deliberations of the great Council at Rome, we know thub you were nor. less actively engaged in co>perating with our esteemed Bishop in endeavoring to supply some of the many wants of this diocese. The arrival of the good priests wbb accompany you is a proof that your labors have been crowned with some success. To us, indeed, removed from the land of our birth, it is a consolation to know that the Isle of Saints is true to her old . traditions, and that her generous sons are not forgetful of the spiritual wants of their broth* ren in New Zealand. Allow us then to thank you, and to wish you a sincere and hearty welcome back to Wellington, where we hope you may be spared for a long time to continue the good work of which you have always set so generous an example, and which mnkes the name of Father O'Reilly, the friend of the poor, a household word in every home in Wellington. P. A. Buckley, Walter W. Johnston, C. J. Johnston, Nicholas Reid, James Qxtinn. The Rev. gent'.oman then rose to reply, but as his voice was rather feeble his remarks were heard but imperfectly. The following is the address from the Catholic clergy : — '•To his Lordship the Right Reverend Dr Viard, Bishop of Wellington. " My Lord, — Three years ngo your Lordship animated with a holy zeal for the spiritual welfare of your diocese, undertook a long journey to the metropolis of the Christian world, to sec Pius IX, the successor of St. Peter, and to treat with him concerning the iuterests of your beloved children. This task accomplished, you were anxious to reoross the seas and be again amongst us ; but through an unexpected summons a longer separation was imposed upon your Lordship and your flock by Divine Providence. Suddenly the voice of the glorious Pontiff was heard, calling around him his brethren in the Episcopacy, summoning a General Council. The watchful Shepherd, the faithful Vicar of Christ, hud seen tho wolf threatening the life of many innocent lambß— he had seen poisonous food prepared and distributed in all directions, to the imminent danger of faith and morals, and the more eilicaciously to remedy so many evils, he had decided on holding that glorious Assembly, which for its importance and success will remain the great event of the nineteenth century. My Lord, it has been your privilege to sit in that holy Council, to affix your name to its decisions, and, in particular, to the long-wished-for definition of Papal infallibility, which was already a doctrine of the Church, but which is henceforth stamped for ever as an article in tho Cathoiic faith. We rejoice, my Lord, at such a result, and we congratulate you upon the shave you had in it.|

"But, alas, how suddenly tte scene has changed in the Eternal City ! The/Fathera of the Cdunoil scattered for' want. '^of iseoarify., and freedom, perfidious and sworn enemiee of the Church, her cruel peweoatorß undep, the mask of liberty, perjured violators of all right?, sacred and profane, profiting by the humiliations of the nation known as the Eldest Daughter of the Church, to invade Borne, to . plunder the remnant of the patrimony of. St. ; Peter, and to become as it were the jailors of the Pope in his own palace. What auaaoity ! what sacrilegious ! impiety and what a cause of grief to our Holy Father and to his millions of children ! ( " Perverse people ; by reasons of the destruction of the temporal dominion of the. Church, they aim at the annihilation of her spiritual authority, giving the lie, if possible, to the promises of Christ. "My Lord, we, in common with all lovers of justice, shudder at such injustice and malignity ; as Catholics, in union with our brethren all over the world, we enter our solemn protest against these crimes. Firmly relying on the words of Christ, which affirm the eternal impotence of the enemies of the Church, we humbly supplicate too Lord, apparently asleep in ths barque of Peter, to arise, and by his word of command to lull into calm the winds and waves of the troubled sea. If the desired peace be soon restored to the Church, we will return speedy thanks to God, through the Immaculate Virgin, the protectress of Christians, and on account of your presence among us our joy will be the sweeter. If, for the trial of our faitb, God delays his meroie?, we will wait with confidence, because time belongs to the Church, and victory must be hers. " My Lord, permit us to thank you for your solicitude in proouring us the new fellowlaborers who accompany you. We welcome the.no most cordially, as well as the Very Rev. Father O'Reilly, so long absent and at last restored to our affection. " Signed on behalf of ourselveß and our beloved absent brother*. clergy. "E. Pbetitjs, " J. A. Scon, " J. Baptist Petit-Jean, V.GK