The Catholic World.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXVII, Issue 21, 25 May 1899, Page 4

The Catholic World.

BELGIUM-— Honouring a Jesuit— Bey. rather Lafont. a Belgian member of the Society of Jesus, who for many years past has been attached to the Bengal mission, has been nominated by his Majesty Leopold 11. Knight of his Order. The ex. ellent scientific work which Father Lafont has done at St. Francis X>u w s C 'liege. Calcutta, where he is a professor, has gained for him a high reputation in India, and it is in consideration ot the renown the leirned religious has won for the Belgian nime abro id that Ins M,ij<^ty has conferred upon him this honourable distinction. 'I he valuable services Father Lafont has rendered to education in Bengal met with suitable recognition several years ago from the British Government when, during the Viceroyalty of Lord Lytton, he was promoted to the Companionship of the Indian Empire. CHINA.— Four Catholics Murdered in Shantung— A cable message, under date May 16, reports that mtiou-, distuibuices have occurred at the German Concetsion in tho Chinese province of Shantung. Four Catholics were murdered, and IS Catholic churches destroyed. Tne Chinese troops participated in the disturbance. ENGLAND- — Catholic Chaplains in the Army.— The Financial Secretary of the War Olhee stated in the House ot Commons recently that the Catholic army chaplains numbered :_'SS The other denominations represented were: — Church of England, 311 ; Presbyterian, 155 ; Wesleyan, 153 ; Baptist, 5. Total, 915. St. AugUStine's Chair. — A very valuable antiquity has just been presented to the Canterbury Museum in the shape of a chair. Baid to be the authentic chair used by St. Augustine in the sixth century. A Well-Deserved Honour. — Mr. Thomas Clancy, the first Catholic President of the National Union of Elementary Teachers of England, is to preside over the meeting of the Union at Cambridge

and on that occasion the University will confer on him the e'e-srte of Maxtor o f Arrs. Imnorh rauxu. The decree will be given pibhcly in the Senate House. Mr. Clancy is to be eou^riiu'aiid n the high marks of e-te m he is receiving from those wlm-e tokens of distinction e\e: \ where carry weight Me j-, \ ill w Tiliy of any^_ t llmte (s.iys the Catholic Tuuih) to;.t m.iv bf paid r> him. MrH| Cl.ui'y li.x-* io.u M^ed the teacher-/ c, ih 1 mid has do .c it withr si'^ii il skill and ability. Cardinal Vaughan on Sunday Papers —A cable message received on Friday last stated that the hmlij U,//l had stopped the publicat io inf itM Sunday edition as a chkc-siou to reliirious feeing, l'nor to starting their Sunday eait:.«n the pro] netnrs recei\ed the following letter from Cardinal Ysinghnn ni nn^wer to a reque-t for an expression of opinion on (lie s U hjeit — 'I should Be- 1 no ol'jeclioj whatever to the publication ot Mini ay papers', if they were, as you suggest, the product ->i Saturdays, labour. But this they would not be. The compe ition. let aloi i> the exigencies ot jo 'in.i'i-m. would necessitate then being wi, Urn and print' d down to the last minute on Sunday mo'iu-m Ik tore issue. Nothing would stop that. The whole start of compositors and oflice-uien would be worked in such a manner a- to M.,,d them to bed on Sunday morning at the hour they ouirht to b<- g >mg to church. There is a further drawback to your proposal die distribution ot thtf Sunday paper would require an at my ol un^t active workers — .nd their work would he along all the h.iurs ot the Sunday morning. Now, surely, we can do one day in th' week without bting fid by electricity on electricity. Is there to l« ab'-oiu'ely no repose for ]ournali-m ' It none for the journalist, why should tnere be any ior the journeymen .' ' Bishop Brindle's Ring— A correspondent of the Jiinnhujliam Poft writes. — 'I have heard an inti resting story in connection with the valuable episcopal ring of Bishop Bnndle. who has just been consecrated at Home, and who will act as Cardinal Vaughau s assistant. The Bishop, it may be remembered, secured his great fame as ' Father' Brindle, and hf> has seen more fighting than any other chaplain in the British army. A man of much daring, he ha-, been se\eral times mentioned in despatches, and possesses the Distinguised Service Order When the news of his meditated el< wition reached tt-'ypt the British Officers resolved that they would show their appreciation of his fine character. No question of religion intruded itself, but nearly every otlicer subscribed. When the men heard of the movement they even desired to be associated with it. Their appreciation, however, will probably be exhibited in another directiou. The result of the officers' action is the ring which now adorns the Bishop's hand. Its chief distinguishing feature is a very fine large opal set with diamonds.' FRANCE-— Religious Congregations.— An official inquiry recently carried out in France gives the information that there are at present in that country I, IUS religious congregations. Of these 774 are authorised and G'.U not authorised. The authorised congregations comprise 71s congregations of women and twenty-six congregations of men. The non-authorised congregations consist of V>i> eongre "u'ioni of women and l.'.s male communities. Altogether, without m .kuitr ,-ivy distinction between the authorised and non-authorised bodies, there are Kil congregations of men and l.:?(Jl congregations ot women , that is to say there are about eight times as many women as men >n the Religious Onlers-. A Cardinal Waits on the Poor.— The Feast of st. Joseph, postponed trom Passion Sunday to the following Monday, was a day of great celebiation in the refuges of the Little Si-ters ot the Poor in Paris. It is cv&t "unary on that day for the Bishop to .-erve himself the festive dinner to the inmate*. C'.ir unal Richard, in spite of his great age, refused to l)e replaced ; braving the fatigue, he put on the w bite apron and waited not only on the men but also on the women. The Ruin Of the Republic —It is no wonder France is going to ru n. In the Chamber of Deputies recently M. Breton (Socialist) moved that tue device ' God pioteit France' be removed from the coins of the Republic and iw'u oiaspheinous language of a horrible kind, and M. Feytr-d (Minister of Kina ice) m riply said lie was a Freethinker and ntteieu woidi almost iquaily blasphemous. But he s.iic similar nn.tti es appe.uea on the chils ot the I'mted States and Switzerland, and the motion wan l ejected by 315 \otes to ltlCi. ROMS- --Celebration of the Feast of St. Patrick-— The least of !m. Pat. iek: \\a j celebrated in Kome m the Churc iof St. IsidDrcof the ln^h francisra is. and in the (Jliun h of St. Agatha, attached to the Irish College. Ihe pane_:>no ol the saint was preached l>y th^ i'ector ot St, Joachim's, well known in Kngland and Ireland. wh< re he li\ed mmy yeai-* At, the Church of St. Agatha High Ma^s wa> celebrated by lAx^w Kelly, Hector of the Irish College. The usual dinner \v is, on account of St. Patrick h Day falling on Friday, p js.tpo.ied till March IS. The hospitable { Rector brought around linn a large number of the moU distinguished j ecclesiastics and laymen then present in Rome. SCOTLAND.— Death of a Scottish Priest in Spain-— Catholic Scutlanu mourns the I<>s>, ot one of its most promising and c brilliant sons ia the person ot the la'e Rev. Donald Fasson, \ ice- i t rector of the Scots College. V.ilUdolid. Sp.au, who-e death at the^ ; latt(;r place oecuiriU on luuil ia , March 7.