THE PROGRESS OF THE CHURCH. + CARDINAL IHORAN SPEAKS.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXVI, Issue 19, 15 September 1898, Page 5

THE PROGRESS OF THE CHURCH. + CARDINAL IHORAN SPEAKS.

In the course of an eloquent address at the annual breakfast of the A.H.C. Guild in Sydney, his Eminence Cardinal Moran said :—: —

' It was sometimes asked that if the Catholic Church had such a Divine Mission why had it not long ere this enrolled all those around about it in the world under its banner, and received them into its bosom ? The answer was very plain. Such was not the decree of its Divine Founder. It was intended that the work should proceed precisely in a human manner. It was not by Divine power that the human will was to be crushed or subdued ; but it was to be led by* the gentle rays of truth, and thus, thanks be to God, they had seerf year by year and century after century the growth of the Church had been as our Saviour had foretold. Holy Church had been gradually extending its beneficent influence around it age after age, just as a stately and fruitful tree gradually spreads its branches. At the close of the first century there could not have been more than about a million of Christians. When the persecution ceased at the time of Constantine statistics showed there must have been ten millions of Christians. In the tenth century the number of Catholics could not have been more than 50 millions. At the time of the ' Reformation ' the whole number of Catholics could not have been more than 125 millions, whereas at the present time — after four centuries of conflict — the Catholic Church embraced more than 250 millions (cheers). These statistics proved to them the gradual expansion of the Christian faith, and he felt safe in saying that never had Holy Church been richer in aburdant blessings than at the present day. He would like to give them another instance of the progress that had been made ; it was in some respect like the ebb and flow of a tide. At the close of the last century the number of Catholics in England and Scotland was about 70 thousand, the population being at that time about 20 millions. To-day the population of England and Scotland was somewhere about 40 millions, and the number of Catholics two and a-half millions (applause). There was one church in London, the Oratory, preparing for its j üb'ilee. It was founded in 1848, and was then a very, small oratory ; but was now one of the most beautiful churches in that great metropolis. In that one church alone during 50 years more than seven thousand convert? had been received into Holy Church (applause). They had alho to remember that this growth was not confined to one country ; but everywhere they found the same advance. During the past few days he had been reading the report of the Societe des Missions Etrangeres, which was one of those institutions having for its object the spread of the faith among pagan nations. Fifty years ago there were 28 students in that French seminary. To-day there were 350 young aspirants for martyrdom. It was a proud day for them 50 years ago when, after a year's work, they could count 1000 won to the faith. Last year alone they gathered 47,000 pagan adults into the Christian fold, besides 60,000 others who were under instruction, and were known as catechumens. That again showed what marvellous progress was being made (applause). This was a glorious work, and, thanks be to God, similar results were crowning the efforts of Catholic missionaries elsewhere. He had said that the Church was sometimes set before them as a stately tree. There was another metaphor used in the Gospels. The Church might be truly described as having leavened all around it. This was one of the great purposes of its establishment. And looking back on the past nineteen centuries they could see that the whole world had been leavened by Christian principles (applause). If they found equity prevailing in their courts of justice and inspiring their laws ; if they found that civilisation had prospered ; that arts had flourished amongst them ; that their literature had gained beauty and strength — they owed it all to the influences of Christian principles. As Cardinal Newman had once said in reply to the scientists when they assailed the Church — if they had any language to talk in at all they owed it to the Church which they insulted (applause). So from age to age the Church had spread her influence around ; what good had come was the direct result of Christian teaching and morality (applause). Even in our own times paganism had been | quickened into Christianity, and throughout the world all good government rested upon Christian oi'der and Christian morality applause).

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