Catholic World

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXX, Issue 7, 13 February 1902, Page 27

Catholic World

ENGLAND.— Bishop Bellord. For the present Bishop liellord, who lately resigned the VicanateApostolic of Gibraltar, will periorm the duties which Bishop Brmdlo ha.b been performing for sonic years past in the diocese of Westminster. Ab he will not be oilicially appointed to be Dr. Bnndle'b succesbor, he will give his services to the Bishop of Kouthwark when occasion requires. Opening of a church. The new Catholic church of St. Alban, Blackburn, erected at a cost of about £20,000, was opened in the early part of December. Many Changes. The London ' Universe ' was 41 years old on December 7 last. In treating of its past history the 'Universe' says : — 'Since 1860, however, many changes have occurred in England. The Church, over which the great and saintly prelate, Cardinal Wiseman, watched with such a tender solicitude in the early days of the 'Universe,' has gone on steadily gaining adherents. Missions have multiplied in every county in England, religious houses of men and women have been established on all sides, until at the present hour there are very few small towns in England which cannot point to their Jittlc centre of Catholic life and actiwty. In fact, some future historian will marvel when he comes to describe the extent of the Catholic rewval here m Kngland during the course of the closing quarter of the 120 th century. Tins expansion, of course, has brought with it new demands and responsibilities. The Catholics of to-day are situated differently from their forefathers, who had to bear the burden and the brunt of Protestant bitterness, ignorance, and prejudice 41 years ago. FRANCE.— Vandalism. Rioting took place on December 23 at Aries, France, m consequence of some ancient cruciiixes having been pulled down by the order of the Municipality. The Muj or and several town councillors were roughly handled. The figure of Christ, which had been removed from one of the crucifixes and left in the mud. was carried in triumph to the church and handed over to the clergy. GERMANY.— PoIish Catholics. Germany has met with a rebuff in her policy of Prussianising the Poles. For many jears (sajs the ' Catholic Times ') the civil authorities have carried on a stern campaign in Poland with the purpose of imposing on the conquered people the use of German. To effect this, the authorities went so far as to make religious instruction m the schools in German imperatne. At a little town named Wreschen, the children declined to ha\e their catechism taught in any language but Polish, and when they were punished their

parents protested so forcibly that a number of them were sent to gaol by the Prussian magistrates. This drastic procedure merely fanned the flame of discontent. Public protests were issued against the Government's action notably by the famous novelist, Henryk Sienkiewicz, the author of ' Quo Vadis ' ; interpellations took place at the Reichstag ; Austria and even Russia began to be interested in the question of the treatment of the Catholic Poles by Germany, and, to avoid further trouble, Germany gave way. in future, religious instruction, in Wreschen at least, will be delivered in Polish, and, no doubt, the victory gained at Wreschen will influence Polish Catholics elsewhere to stand out firmly for their rights. While congratulating the sturdy Poles on their successful defence, we think the entire episode is instructive, as showing what power a determined body of Catholics anywhere possesses against a tyrannical or persecuting Government. Religious denominations. The following are the official figures of the census of December 1, 1900, for the kingdom of Prussia, according to religious denominations : — Protestant State Church, 21,817,577 (1895 . 20,351,448) ; Catholics, 12,113,670 (1895 : 10,999,505) ; other Christians, 139,125 (1895 : 119,245) ; Jews, 392,322 (1895 : 379,716) ; religion unknown, 9,813 (1895 : 5,219). The Protestant (State Church) increase during the five years is 7.7 per cent., the Catholic 10 per cent., that of the Jews only 3.6 per cent. In what may be termed the home par excellence of Protestantism the Catholic Church is making rapid strides. Catholic Guilds. The Union of Guilds of Catholic Merchants is one of the many prosperous associations among Catholics in Germany. One hundred and twenty-seven guilds belong to the union, which has about 13,500 members. Sectarian attacks not allowed. Tolstoy's latest attack on the Catholic Church will not be allowed to circulate in Germany. The Emperor declares he will not allow any attack on any religion recognised by the law in his empire. MEXICO.— Some statistics. The recent census of Mexico disproves the oft-repeated . charge of illiteracy in that country. There are 33 museums, 130 libraries, 40 scientific and literary societies, and 702 newspapers. A gift for the Pope. The women of Mexico, or at least those of them distinguished in art, literature, music, science, charity, or otherwise notable, are arranging an album which will soon be presented to Pope Leo XIII. When completed it will be a work of art, containing autographs of the ladies expressing highest affection for the Holy Father, sentiments of unwavering adhesion, original bits of music,

painting, poetry, etc. It will be forwarded by Most Hey. Dr. G-uillow, Archbishop of Oaxaca. ROME.— A Requiem Mass. A .Requiem Mass for the British killed in South Africa was celebrated at the Church of San Silvestro, Rome, on Thursday, December 12. Lord and Lady Currie and the principal British residents attended the ci-remony, at which Mgr. Stanley officiated. The students of the English, Scotch, and Irish Colleges were present. The absolutions were given by Mgr. Stonor. The Holy Father. His Holiness Leo XIII. on the Monday before Christmas received 26 Cardinals residing in Rome, who assembled to offer homage and their greetings at Christmastide. Cardinal Oreglia, doyen of the Sacred College, read an address of congratulation, to which the Pope replied in a short allocution. His Holiness complained of the proscription of the religious Orders and the introduction into the Italian Legislature of bills such as that on divorce. He also spoke of the growth of Socialism. It was, he said, a threatening movement, which went straight to the foundations of the social organism. The Pope on divorce. The Holy Father has delivered an allocution with regard to the divorce Bill which was recently introduced into the Italian Parliament. He began by saying that although he should have liked to speak of more joyous things he was obliged to speak of the sorrows which had marked the last few years. The causes which troubled Catholicism were of \arious kinds, and they were not 1 small ones. He did not propose to touch upon all of them, but could confine himself to speaking of a matter which tended to the detriment of morals and faith, and which ought not to be passed over in silence. He said that if old age gave, authority, if faith in the common Fatherland was worth anything he addressed not only a warning but an appeal to those who proposed to vote in favor of the Bill now drawn up to desist from their intention in the name of all that they held sacred and dear. Ho exhorted them not to refuse to consider the conjugal bonds of Christians as bonds holy, indissoluble, and eternal. In the virtue of divine right no* human law could ever abrogate such a right. His Holiness went on to expound his ideas of the sanctity and indissolubility of religious marriage, and after detailed consideration of its relations with civil law, urged upon his hearers the evil results, so far as the family and society were concerned, which divorce involved. The power of a state being closely allied with its morals and its laws, corruption meant its ruin, and the laxity it encouraged was not only ti private calamity but a public calamity, for it contributed to the perversion of the people. His Holiness expressed the hope that those en-

gaged in politics would not forget the lessons of their ancestors, that they would keep an upright judgment, and would not relinquish that prudence that Nature had given to Italians. Concluding, the Pope exhorted the Cardinals to pray to God to protect Italy in the present difficult times. SWITZERLAND. The Swiss Federal Council has ordered the baggage of the exiled French Carthusians to be admitted into Switzerland exempt from all custom inspections. A good lesson is thus administered to Catholic France by Switzerland Although some of the cantons of the Swiss Federation are exclusively Catholic, and the Catholics number about 40^ per cent, of the total population, the balance in power in the Federal Council is held by the Protestant cantons. UNITED STATES. The Rev. Dr. Frisby, of the Episcopalian Church, Boston, has paid a warm tribute to the work of Catholic nuns. At a meeting of the Prison Reform League of Boston he said, in speaking of the League's special, purpose, which is to make the prisons lead to prevention of crime and a decrease of it : — ' Our prisons are a failure , they punish, but they do not reform. Indeed, they breed crime, for while some few are won to better things the greater number return to their old, evil life. Then our prisons need some new influence, some new power that will reform character and give a new motive for life, and religion alone can do this. This is no dream. The thing is being done at the House of the Good Shepherd, where all classes, from wayward girls to hardened women who have been the despair of the courts, live under the care of Sisters, and are humanised and Christianised. College statistics. Statistics that have been completed at All Hallows College, Salt Lake City, disclose the interesting fact that over a third of the students of this Catholic, Institution are non-Catholic. The total on the roll for the past year was 100, of which 55 were non-Catholics. Five of these were Jews, 13 Episcopalians, three Unitarians, three Christian Scientists, three Presbyterians, two Methodists, and the rest aililiated with no church in particul.u . The See of Manila. News reaches Washington from Rome that an American prelate will

soon be appointed to succeed Archbishop Nozaleda, of Manila, who has resigned, and it is surmised that the Right Rev. George Montgomery Bishop of Los Angelos, California, will be chosen. Catholic increase. The Catholic Church increabcd in the United States by 80,432 during the year 1900. The New York 'Christian Advocate' says that 'the largest gains in communicants between 1890 and 1900 were made by the Catholics— 2,soß,2l2. The Methodists (17 bodies) stand second with 1,327,065.'