CATHOLIC UNION.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume I, Issue 16, 16 August 1873, Page 12

CATHOLIC UNION.

IN&LAND. Dr Herbert Vaughan Bishop pfSalford in a Lite address regarding what should be the objects of the Academia of tho Catholic Religion, v rew English Catholio Union, said : If there be nny truth in the observations which I have feably luitl before you in my view of the situation the subjects proper to be treated by the Academia of the Catholio Religion become at once apparent. It has no business to occupy itself with matters of purely party politics, however desirable in themselves or. which Catholics may legitimately be nllowed to differ. Such for instance qs on the subject of home rule and many other reforms which ara open questions. Its business must be to solve the popular objeotions raided by fake methods in science, and by mistaken assumption in literature &nd politics against the Catholic religion. It ought to publish its papers from time to time for wide dissemination. It ouoht to scatter among the people small tracts, in a popular form, explaining how revelation as well as reason is the necessary and soliJ basis of political life. These tracts ought to attempt to reconcile the popular mind with the existence of t,his basis and to exhibit how all the legitimate aspirations «f society can be firmly founded upon it T ey will comprise of course the question of educution, or will show that education not based upon religion, and not therefore religious, is akin to the fatal education which was offered to our first parents when they were promised the knowledge of the whole range of good and evil, if they would but depart fr«m the fuith and obedience in which they had been created. Lastly, the breaking up of the Protestant system, the unsettled state of men s minds in religion, their aspiiations' alter truth, and the sensible breathing of the Holy Spirit over the wiiters, will induce you to publish papers nnd tracts explanatory of the Catholio faith and practice. Those who waieli the times perceive the upheavings of mode) n society, and the division of men into two great parties. There are but two legitimate issues— Faith in a Divine Teacher, and faith in reason alone. We are the witnesses to the revelation of God, and when the land-marks put up by men ha>e decayed and their bulwarks against rationalism have disappeared, the Catholic Church will again stand alone before men's minds as in the days of S. Paul, the column and the ground of truth, the mountain hewn not by hands but set up in the world " for the fall and for the resurrection of many." AMERICA. (' Philadelphia Standard.') We have in Philadelphia, Catholic Beneficial Societies, Catholic ]

Temperance Societies, which are severally prosecuting their work successfully in the parishes with which they are respectively connected, and which — carrying out the principle, " In union there is strength" have organized Diocesan Unions, which enable them to act in concert, and with a degree of efficiency that would be impracticable, if they were isolated from each other. We have also various Catholic Societies for the promotion of iterary objects, of social intercourse, and the advancement of other desirable and praiseworthy objects. But these Societies are entirely independent of each other. The sphere of their influence is com* paratrvely limited, and their action cannot necessarily be aa powerful as it would be in a united form. The objects, too, of these associations are limited to some specific purpose, and in the nature of the case they cannot take action for the promotion of general Catholic interests which he outside the particular objects of their organization. And yet those interests are of the utmost importance. Why cannot we have an organized Catholic Union which shall embrace the Catholics of the different parishes, and have for its object the promotion of general Catholic interests? The whole Catholic world seems to be moving in this direction; In Ireland, England, France, Germany and Italy, and we think in Spaiu also, organizations of this kind have been formed and are now working most efficiently in the way of concentrating the energies, tne influence, the labors and the prayers of the Catholics of those countries in behalf of objects dear to every Catholic heart, and connected with the defenoe and diffusion of the true faith, and the interests of the Holy Catholic Church. Organizations similar in purpose, though differing pc-haps in some of their details, have also been formed in New York, New Jersey, Louisiana, Mississipi, Tennessee, and we think also in Maryland. We vrould strongly urge upon our readers the consideration of the propriety »»nd indeed necessity of forming a similar association here. Should our Bight Rev Bishop approve it, and the wny be open to initiating the movement, wo think that it cannot fail to be productive of great good. For further remarks, we substitute the subjoined extracts from the Metropolitan (New York) Record and the Irith American, which exhibit the nature and general design of the Unions organized in New York and New Jersey :

[From the Metropolitan Record.] The Catholic Ukion and its Wobx. We have already alluded to the rapid progress of this admirable organization and the great work in which it is engaged, and of which it is as yet only at the threshold. A little more than a year in exist* ence, it has already taken a firm hold upon the Catholic mind of the country, and its branches promise ere long to extend into every State in the Union. The movement was inaugurated in this city by a few Catholic gentlemen, who, fully appreciating the noble task which lay before them, aiid having obtained the consent of the Ordinary of the Diocese set themselves zealously to the fulfilment of the important design which they had projected. The zeal .and energy which the originutors of the enterprise brought to the work were crowned with success. The advantages which it offered to members in the spiritual benefits it conferred and the intellectual entertainments it furnished led in a few months to numerous accessions to its ranks. From hundreds it increased to thousands. The cordial approval of the Most .Rev, Archbishop and the earnest and active co-operation of the Rev. Clergy stamped i*; with the seal of success, and when this approval and sanction were made known to the various congregations throughout the city, section after section was organized in the different parishes,; and if the Union should progress at the same rate through the balance of the j ear, it will have on its rolls nearly thirty thousand member*. And yet, we may say, this is after all but the beginning, for the progress of the movement may surpaßs even the expectations of its mogfe sanguine advocates. In the promotion of Cutholi: interests the Union has already rendered c . cient service, and the Holy Father has received substantial and pleasing assurances of the spirit by which it is inspired. In the three Musses, to the benefits of which all the members are entitled, and the three lectures, to which all holders of tickets are admitted, a more than adequute— a generous return is mads for the trifling sum of one dollar per annum. But the efforts of the Union extend still further and embrace a wider field, a field in which the Catholic laity are afforded a magnificent opportunity for the advancement of great Catholic interests. It brings them into intimate and must pleasant companionship through the meetings of the parochial sections, in some of which we are already presented with indications of the substantial good to be yet accomplished, in the establishment of local libraries, &c. In fact, a beginning lias already been made in this direction, as appeared from some of the reports made at the recent quarterly meeting. Too much importance cannot be attached to this excellent feature which will doubtless be eventually introduced into all the parishes of the metropolis. The Parish Library may be the nucleus of a future Ljceum, an intellectual centre which would draw to it the Catholic vouthof th« neighborhood and furnishing attractions of its own, would in this way render incalculable benefits to the recipients.

[From the Irish-American.] A " Circle " Obgaxizbd in New Jebsby.

The " Catholic Unio.i " Circle of New Jersey has just been organized in Hudson county. It is composed entirely of lay t members of the Catholic Church, ami consists of n central organization called a " Council " and " Parochial Sections," the latter of which are being formed in each parish, with the consent of the pastors. Each Parochial Section has its own president, secretary and committee, who are to enroll members and provide such lectures and entertainments as the Parish Sections may desire. The " Council " is divided into committees, which have under consideration the different objects of Catholic interest : such as parochial education ; the best means of protecting children ; the encouragement of Catholic literature, etc. The objects of the Union are more fully set forth in the following circular which has been iesued by the Council :