CATHOLIC NEWS.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXI, Issue 15, 10 August 1894, Page 15

CATHOLIC NEWS.

(From the Catholic Times )

The French Senate agreed, by 146 votes to 100, to bold an annual national festival io honour of Joan of Arc daring the second week in May.

The Anzeijer of Einsiedeln announces that Madame Bees, of Ratisbonne, has been cured of paralysis, after having gone on a pilgrimage to that ancient and famous Swiss shrine.

The first Caravan of White Sisters set out on Tuesday, June 12, from Paris for the great lakes in Equatorial Africa, where Mgr. Livinhac's Congregation of Brothers have founded missions for the liberation of slaves.

The health of the Holy Father continues remarkably good. A special correspondent who was very close to him at the reception of the pilgrims who have been visiting Rome to commemorate the Pius IX. Centenary, says his Holiness appeared to be full of life and annimation.

The celebration of the Centenary of Pius IX has so far proved extraordinarily successful, The members of the deputations received by the Holy Father, Leo XIII., numbered rive thousand. Half of them were from Italy ; the rest from various countries. About two hundred dioceses were represented.

By a decree of Propaganda, the missions of Basutoland have been detached from the Vicariate of the Orange Free State and made a Ptrfecture Apostolic. The first Prefect Apostolic of Basutoland is the Very Rev Father Monginoux, 0.M.1.

Mgr. Korum, Bishop of TreveP, has published a book recording " the miracles and extraordinary graces" made manifest during the exhibition of the Holy Coat in 1891. The Bishop gives documents and data, and allows facts to speak for themselves.

The solemnities at Argenteuil, in honour of the Holy Tunic of our Lord, which since Whitsun week has been drawing pilgrims from all parts, were brought to a close on Sunday, June 10 Mgr. Bourret, Archbishop of Rodez, had returned from Rome Justin time to preside at the closing ceremonies. For the last time, perhaps, for years to come the sacred memorial of our Lord's Passion was exposed to the reverent gaze of many thousands, The crowds assembled to venerate this relic have been compared in effect to the crowds that assemble at Lourdes. An association called a guard of honour and consisting of Pontifical Guards has lately been founded in honour of tbe Holy Tunic of Argenteuil. Mgr. Bourret, in going to Rome to receive the Cardinal's hat, took with him some gifts to Leo XIII. Oce was the trifling present of two franc?, given him by a little mountain-bred lad expressely for the Holy Father, and which the child had collected sou by sou. Another was the sum of 250 franca given by a poor servantwoman of Rouergne.

Tbe address of the English Hierarchy to the Holy Father in acknowledgment of the ncyclical on the Holy Scriptures, the official text of which reached us too late for publication last week, ▼try appropriately lays stress go tbe zeal for the Btudy of the Bible displayed from the earliest times by the Catholic Church in this land. This zeal was manifested in many ways and at various epochs. The Council of Clevehoe, which wa9 held in 747, following out the commands and admonitions ot the Blessed Pope Zachary, ordained that in all the schools of tbe country the youth 6hould be "urged and exercised" in the love of Holy Scripture. The 'growth and progress of Oriental and Biblical studies at Oxford were in tbe firtt instance due to the encouragement of Popes Clement V and John XXII, and Archbishop Reynolds of Canterbury and bis suffragans. In fact, the two specially prominent characteristics of Catholicism in England in pre-" Reformation " days, were devotion to tbe See of Peter, and soundness of Biblical knowledge. The Encyclical of Leo XIII was therefore, thoroughly in harmony not only with tbe policy of his predecessors on the Papal throne, but also with English Catholic tradition.

Tbe cry is being raised by tbe Abbe Gamier and his party for the return of tbe Sisters of Charity to tbe hospitals. It ii a pity the

ears of the French people cannot be defeated by the cry until the religions garb again has its place by the bedsidei of the sick and dying. Vital interests are at stake, and numbers of baptized Catholics die daily, decied religious httlp in their last moments. But apart from the purely religious Bide of the question, Bince the Sister of Charity as a ministering angel has been replaced by the irreligious hireling, cases of cruelty and of culpab'e neglect sometimes occur in Ihe French uospi.als which are an ouliage on tLe instincts of humanity. One such has just occurred. It is worthy of notice that lay nurseß and infirmarians of both rexes are now chosen oftener than otherwise from the scum of society. The case in point is a proof of this. One, Redureau, guardian of the BicG re Hospital, has just been condemned to six month's imprisonment for having literally boiled to death a patient in a hot bath. This man's antecedents were that he had been five times condemned for theft and other offences before being raised to a post of trust and responsibility in one of tbe principal Paris hospitals. The unhappy victim of his culpable negligence, which negligence in this case amounted to revolting cruelty, was a madman who had to be kept in tbe bath by an appliance called the tablier de force. This appliance was laid on, leaving the man's head alone free. Tbe guardian then turned on the hot-water tap by mistake, and instead of remaining by the patient as bis duty was, left the room. Some time after, the sufferer's shrieks drew to the spot another gnardian, whose evidence was that on taking the man oat of the bath, the ekia peeled from bis body, and the water w&s red with blood. Well may the Abbe Gamier and others with him plead with accents that come from the heart for the return of the Sisters of Charity to the hoipitali.