The Catholic World.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXV, Issue 17, 3 September 1897, Page 25

The Catholic World.

BELGIUM.— An Anti-Gambling Bill.— Just now a Bill is under the consideration of the Upper Chamber which, if pasted, will remove some plague-spots that are little short of a disgrace to Belgium. At Spa, Ostcnd, Dinant and Namur, favourite resorts of and visitors, gaming-houses have been established, bringing in their train the usual accompaniments of such nefarious institutions. The Press of every shade of opinion has strongly condemned these gambling hells, and the public voice has loudly called for their suppression. A fact mentioned in the papers affords a very striking illustration of the gains realised by the exploiters of the gambling passion. The other week the failure was announced of one of the largest glassworks in the Charleroi district, and now it is stated that the individual who is the managing director of the gambling clubs at Namur and Dinant has come forward with an unconditional offer of 230,000 francs to help the proprietor over his difficulties. The donor, who is reputed to be a millionaire several times over, was not so many years ago a mere garron de cafe, or restaurant waiter, at Namur. lie realised his large fortune by the roulette table. ENGLAND.— The Queen and the Papal Envoy.— The Tablet of July \\ has the following : — The Papal Envoy, Monsignor Sambucetti, went to Arundel Castle as the guest of the Duke of Norfolk at the end of last week. On Monday, with his suite, he attended the Queen's garden party at Buckingham Palace. On Wednesday, by Royal command, he went to Windsor and dined with her Majesty and slept at the Castle. JVlousignor Sambucetti (writes the Westminster Gazette) spent Saturday and Sunday at Arundel Castle as the guest of the Duke of Norfolk, who invited a small family party to meet the Archbishop. The marked cordiality with which the Queen received the Archbishop at Buckingham Palace when he presented her Majesty with the Pope's autograph letter has been much commented upon in Court circles. Monsignor Sambucetti was the only foreign envoy whom the Queen rose from her chair to receive, and the length of audience accorded to the Archbishop was much longer than that given to the other representatives. The Queen made particular inquiries about the health of the Pope. FRANCE. — The Corpus Christi Procession at Versailles. — Resistance to oppression cannot be organised in a day ; but there are, nevertheless, many signs that Catholics are shaking off their former apathy, and are bent on making good their assertion of the rights refused them by the legislation of recent years. A proof of this is in th*e|disturbances whichjoccurred at Versailles on Sunday afternoon in connection with the Corpus Christi processions. These processions took place in many towns and in most ot the villages without let or hindrance from the authorities, but in the place mentioned such tolerance was not extended. During the previous week a circular Avas distributed in thousands, inviting Catholics to meet in front of the Church of St. Louis on Sunday afternoon, and to demand Benediction ol the Blessed Sacrament. By the time appointed a large crowd ot about 4,000 people had gathered together, in which there were a considerable number of seminarists-, who bang the hymn ''Jo suis Chretien." A demand was made by the crowd that benediction should be given. The church doors were then opened, and the firstcommunicants ranged themselves on either side, the boys to the right and the girls to the left, whilst a temporary altar was set up. Then the Abbe Groux, cure ot Saint Louis, appeared bearing the monstrance containing the Blessed Sacrament. At this moment a policeman interfered, begging him to desist as he was breaking the law by conducting a religious ceremony out ot doors. The cure refused, and renewed hi* refusal to the head of the force, who just then came up. A disturbance and a sculHe ensued, in which several persons were arrested by the agents of the police. The children from the schools got mixed up in the fiay, and there weie loud cries of "Vive la liberte ! Yi\e le Christ ! " and " Vive la Ripublique I" on every side. Two of the police re ehed rou^li trialiuoiit from the ha'ids of the mob, who also m.ulc an attempt to rescue twenty prisoners whom the gendarmes had arrested, five of whom were priests. After being interrogated by Mr. Tournadre, the prorureur of the Republic, they were set at liberty on the understanding that they will have to stand their trial for disorderly conduct and for assaulting the police in the performance of their duty. It is said that the seminarists endeavoured to force people to kneel in presence of the Blessed Sacrament whilst the Abbe' Groux stood at the church doors. 'Ihis has been denied by the Abbe Max Caroa, Superior of the petit item ma ire, who that the crowd tell upon their knees willingly and with devotion. One of his boys was wounded by an agent of the police, who carried a knife. When, after the disturbance, he wanted to show the boy to the Chief Constable, he was refused admittance. The Abbe de Javel, one of the professors of the same establishment, has sent a protest to the Mayor of Versailles concerning the matter, as the guardian of the boy in question. Among the clergy arrested by the police was the Abbe Damen, a professor of English at the petit .\eminrnre, and a British subject, and he has appealed to Sir Edmund Monson against the treatment to which he was subjected by the police. At Brest, in spite of a prohibition issued again>t the Fete Dicu procession, the demonstration took place, and was joined by a large number ol army and navy officers, but there was no disturbance. At Nancy the procession of men which formed at the Church of St. Sebastien to visit the other churches of the city, was hissed, and some arrestsmade by the police. Such scenes as these are in every way to be regretted, but it is only to be expected that they will be repeated as lojjg^as the Government allows the laws to run counter to the IVclin^^nd convictions of the majority of Frenchmen, and place Hie execution of such laws under the local option of local mayors. The prohibition of processions only gives the free- thinkers in each

district opportunity and protection to tyrannise over their fellowcitizens. Two Days in Prison.— Abbe Eailly, cure-doyen of Donzy, has returned to his parish after spending two days in prison for having dared organise a Corpus Chriati procession in the streets of Donzy. His return was a triumph. He was met at the station by the principal members of his flock and accompanied to the church to the shouts of " Vive la liberte," " Vive Monsieur le Cure " " Vive les processions." On reaching the church there was Benediction in thanksgiving, and the bells pealed forth to tell the population that their parish priest had returned. At the close of the service the church, which was as full as on great festival days, resounded with the refrain of the popular hymn, " Nous voulons Dieu." The congregation were there to tell their pastor how deeply they were attached to him. and he in a few heartfelt words expressed to them his gratitude. A Conversion at Lourdes.— On Thursday, 2-lth June, the Feast of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist, and the octave of Corpus Christi, under a special faculty granted by the Bishop of Tarbes, the Rev. T. A. Metcalf, of 7, Rue dv Lycee, Pan, received in the Basilica. Lourdes, at the altar of the Sacred Heart, the abjuration of an Anglican lady, Miss Mary Louisa Hawtrey, cousin to Mr Charles Hawtrey and third cousin to the late Dr. Hawtrey provost and head master of Eton, Mrs. Molyneux acting as godmother at the conditional baptism. The impressive ceremony was attended by a crowd of sympathetic visitors or residents, French, German English and American. Holy Mass followed at the high altar' beinc celebrated by Father Metcalf, and served by the Baron de Malet president ot the Howpitalite of Notre Dame de Lourdes Miss Hawtrey made her first Communion and a considerable number of ladies and gentlemen communicated for her intention. Father Metcalf, who has been instructing her for about three months, has been privileged to receive into the Church not less than 125 converts from Protestantism. The rev. gentleman is a priest of the archdiocese of Boston, U.S., though resident at Pau for the last halfdozen years. The manifest power of divine grace not resisted is in this particular instance especially striking, because the new convert was surrounded by strangers, with whose very language she is not acquainted. Miss Hawtrey had first visited Lourdes on February 11th this year, the anniversary of Our Lady's second apparition to Bernadette, when she felt so strongly impressed by the supernatural atmosphere and objects amid which she found herself that she at once sought proper instruction in Christian truths. Confirmation will be administered to her in England shortly, probably by his Eminence Cardinal Vaughan. ROME.— Sacred Art.— The centre of Eucharistic Art for Rome and Italy may be said to be the Convent of the Ladies of the I erpetual Adoration, adjoining the church of Corpus Domini on the Via JSomentana. Under| the direction of the nuns a number of devout ladies, including many members of the English-speaking colony, keep up a working circle called the Association of Work for 1 oor 'Churches. The work accomplished is displayed in bi-annual exhibitions, one of which takes place in December, under the presidency of Cardinal Vincenzo Vannutelli, and the other in June under the presidency of the Cardinal Vicar of Rome. His Eminence (the last named Cardinal) opened the Exhibition for the first half of 18SI7 on Wednesday, June 215. The English-speaking colony was very well represented, gentlemen as well as ladies beino- present Ine Cardinal fir-t blessed the exhibits, and then took his plat c on the throne prepared, with Mgr. Radini-Tedeschi, the director of the work, on the one side, a»d the Princess Massimo, the president on the other. Mgr. Radiui-Tedeschi read an address containing an account of the work done, to which the Cardinal made answer in giaceful words ot praise and encouragement. After he had given his blessing to the workers and their friends, solemn Benediction of the l.kfcs(.d Sacrament was given. The exhibits coo- prised every article m use at the altar : vestments, linen, chalices, ciboria etc lhey remained visible on June L> l. 27,, and 2(i. The artistic industry ot the nuns and their fellow-workers is but a part of the duties of the Association ; Ihere are other duties of a spiritual nature such |«i* attendance at the devotional exercWs of the Association and pcrlorm.uiccof the prescribed duties of Holy Communion etc The truits ot the work done by the members ot the Arch-Association are destined fur the poor churches of Italy and for the foreign missions Meantime it is interesting to note that preparation is being made tor an Exhibition of Sacred Art to be held at Turin in IHW A Roman committee has been formed in connection with the plan under the protection of the Cardinal Vicar of Rome. Two deputies of the Executive Piedinontese Committee were present to explain the scope of the work : Baron Antonio Manno, the president -and Protes&or E. B. Ghirardi, the Secretary-General. The decision arrived at was that an international gathering of Christian archjeologists should be held in Turin during the year 18'.)8, and that the Exhibition of Ancient Art should be illustrated in lectures. A Unique Garden Party.— ln the beginning of the summer of lXix; his Holiness gave a children's garden party near the Torrone ot his summer-house. This year a repetition has been made of that curious and unique festivity. His Holiness has two nieces in Roman convents. The one is a daughter of Count Ludovico Pecci • the other of Count Canale. The former is a pupil in the Convent of the Holy Cross in Via Graziosa ; the second in the Convent of the nuns ot the Sacred Heart in the Piazza dell' Independenza. The little girls wc-e received in the Circular Hall of the Torrone or Great Tower, together with their fellow-pupils and the Sisters of the Holy Cross. Cardinal Agliardi presented the children and the Sisters to his Holiness. The children iroin the Convent in Via Graziosa sang a hymn with excellent effect, after which the little CoiiWa Canale recited some versos. The Holy Father listened with evident iilr»sure, and then made an appropnate address and distributed medals to all present. At the conclusion of the audience the children and the Sisters were taken to the Ca&ino of Pope Pius'lV w here tht y partook of refreshments. M

UNITED STATES.— An Interesting Association— Mrs Thomas Francis Meagher, widow of the famous General Meagher, Mrs. George V. Hecker. sister-in-law of Father Hecker, founder of the Paulists ; Mrs. Gaston Barleflv, Mrs. Annie Blount, and several other wealthy widows have formed in New York an interesting association called the Women of Calvary. The personal service of is required in the nursing of the sick and destitute in their homes. The society is particularly interested in, sufferers from cancer, which is almost as common as consumption among women in crowded tenements. The disease is peculiarly loathsome and lingering, and being usually incurable the sufferers are not received m the general hospitals. Where there is a family of childr. n and the mother is suffering from this terrible disease the situation is particularly trying. It is to render help in such cases that the association has been formed. As soon as possible a hospital or home for cancer patients will be established. Gradually the agitation for the proper care of consumptives is beginning to bear fruit, but as yet very little attention has been called to this other peculiarly terrible and too common disease, and the lack of provision for the helpless Bufferers.