The New Zealand Tablet. Fiat Justitia. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 1880. SECULARIZED.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume VII, Issue 387, 10 September 1880, Page 13

The New Zealand Tablet. Fiat Justitia. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 1880. SECULARIZED.

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HE wires have flashed throughout the world the intelligence that the French Jesuits have secularised their schools and come to an agreement with the French Republican Government on the basis of secularism, by means of which their schools and colleges will be kept open. This intelligence has been variously interpreted. To give a resume of these interpretations would serve no useful purpose, and would satisfy no legitimate curiosity. And, at all

events, the one thing of paramount importance to be known is, whether the Jesuits have consented to preside over merely secular schools or whether their colleges are to be henceforward godless or not. It is hinted, though as yet with some hesitation, that in order to obtain permission to remain in their native country, the Jesuits have abandoned in the education question the principles they had previously held to be essential and which the Church had approved.

This is a mistake, however, as will appear from an extract of a letter we have received from a gentleman well informed on this subject. " I have been told that the telegrams from Paris 30th August and Ist September, re the Jesuits secularizing their colleges has been misunderstood by many Protestants and Catholics. They think the Jesuits and other religious Orders consent to give in their colleges a merely secular education. I beg you to give an explanation in the Tablet. You know well that to secularise in the present case means :—: — The Jesuits and priests of other religious Orders will rank, in relation to the government and the public, among the secular clergy, will be styled Monsieur VAbbe, instead of Rev. Father, and will receive from their respective bishops appointments of chaplains, curates, parish priests, as the case may be ; but of course nothing at all will be changed in their manner of living, or directing their colleges."

"These telegrams show clearly that the French Government was in a fix ; it pressed on the execution of the decrees to please the red mob, and was very glad to escape the indignation of the other classes, and perhaps more than their indignation, by the above mentioned compromise. I remember in 1848 we were all secularized in the same manner."

This statement of our esteemed correspondent is most accurate, and consequently we have given it in his own words. The situation at present in France, in reference to the religious orders, in reality changes nothing. There is, to be sure, a nominal change, but it is merely nominal. If this satisfies the French Government, we have nothing further to say than that it is easily satisfied, and that we are confirmed in our convictions that not a few of our philosophical politicians arc nothing better than " ingenious lunatics." Here, then, has been a great pother , old obsolete laws exhumed and paraded amidst the glare of the nineteenth century ; the Jesuit Fathers expelled by force from their homes and colleges ; the rights of citizenship and domicile denied them ; public opinion outraged ; public indignation aroused ; France in dismay ; the world surprised, wondering what it is all about ; men in suspense as to the future ; when, lo !it turns out that all this has arisen from the fact that certain French priests have been called Fathers, instead of Messieurs les Abbe's. It is very consoling, however, to find the storm calmed by a mere change of name, and that the Jesuits although no longer called Fathers, but Messieurs les Abbes, have been permitted to re-occupy their desolate homes and receive their pupils in their colleges, which shall continue to be conducted as in the past.

The row which has been so happily ended, however, shows how the advocates of liberty, equality, and fraternity would trample on the rights, and confiscate the property of their fellow-citizens, if they had the power to carry their will into execution.

It is with deep regret we record the death of Master Joseph Reany, the eldest son of Mr. and Mrs. Reany, of the Wharf Hotel f Dunedin, for many years respectable residents of this city. The deceased lad, who was in the sixteenth year of his age, was of much promise, and from his infancy had been noted for his sweet and docile disposition. His death, which occurred on Monday last, resulted from dropsy of the heart, brought on by cold, and his severe illness was borne without a murmur, and with a beautiful submission to the will of God. Much sympathy is felt for his bereaved parents. — R.I.P.

The Rev. Father Garin will receive with gratitude any subscriptions in aid of the Building Fund of the proposed new church at Nelson.

It will be good news to those of the residents in Christchurch or its suburbs who desire to secure for their boys a classical education, to learn that their indefatigable parish priest, the Rev. Father Ginaty } has established a Select High School in ti.eir city. The school, we observe, no doubt out of respect for the illustrious Pontiff, who now so grandly fills the Chair of St. Peter, has been placed under the patronage of Bt. Leo, and Father Ginaty has been fortunate in securing as principal a gentleman of scholarly attainments, Mr. Arthur W. Bathurst. Under such happy auspices, then, there is every reason to believe that the establishment in question will " proceed and prosper " with the highest distinction.

The Dominican Sisters acknowledge the receipt of a remittance from Mrs. Woods, Dunedin. We regret to say the art union tickets are going off very slowly ; as yet, nothing like the value of the prizes offered has been received. It is, therefore, hoped that, in order to prevent the necessity of further postponement, which it is earnestly desired to avoid, friends of the convent will exert themselves in the good cause.

A lkctube, entitled " Christianity a Realised Ideal," will be delivered in aid of the Christ •jhurch Convent Building FunJ|fc»i St« Patrick's School Hall, Barbadoes-street, Christchurch, by Mr. Arthur W. Bathurst, Principal of St. Leo's School, on the 20th inst. The chair will be occupied by the Most Rev. the Bishop of Dunedin. From the reputation which has preceded Mr. Bathurst to the city in question, there is every reason to expect that the lecture will be an extremely fine one, and the excellence of the object for which it is to be given should also aid in securing a crowded audience.

The Church of the Reparation, at Lincoln, will be opened on Sunday, the 19th inst., by the Most Rev. the Bishop of Dunedin.

Ox Sunday last, sth inst., the neat little church of St. Peter's, Ophir, was solemnly blessed and opened by His Lordship the Bishop of the diocese, assisted by the Rev. John Sheehan, pastor of the district. When the ceremony of dedication had been performed, th« Bishop celebrated Mass, and administered the sacrament of confirmation to 18 recipients. He then addressed the congregation, and took occasion to congratulate them on the completion of their beautiful church. The dimensions of this building are 35 x 23 feet, and it is built of stone, presenting a very neat and pleasing appearance. There is a commodious vestry -room attached to it also of stone. The amount of the collection was £03, and it will be satisfactory to the people of the district to know that there only remains a debt upon their church of £50. They are, then, highly to be commended for their liberal and spirited action, and the sacred building is a monu. ment that does credit to their Christian piety. On Monday, the Bishop, accompanied by the Rev. Father Sheehan, went to St Bathans, where, at 9 a.m. on the following morning, he celebrated Mass, and confirmed 18 persons, delivering a suitable sermon. It is in contemplation here also to build a stone church immediately. On the arrival of his lordship on Monday, he proceeded to examine the Catholic school, and spent three hours in doing so thoroughly, being highly pleased at the answering of the children. His lordship congratulated the schoolmistress, Miss Noonan, on the admirable results of her labours, and expressed himself surprised by the proficiency of her pupils, especially in the important branches — arithmetic and geography. The average attendance at thia school is thirty-five, a number considerably higher than that shown by the pupils of the Government school in the same place, which, notwithstanding, possesses all the countenance, aid, and patronage bestowed upon education in its neighbourhood by the " powers that be," This in a fact that needs no comment.