The Catholic World

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXX, Issue 50, 11 December 1902, Page 27

The Catholic World

ENGLAND.— A Big Bazaar The bazaar which was organised in aid of the building of Notre Dame Training College, Liverpool netted £6000. Westminster Cathedral The ' Manchester Guardian's ' London correspondent writes : — Although the event is still far ahead, preparations are being made for the opening of the new Westminster Cathedral. Cardinal Moran, the Archbishop of Sydney, has just been invited to preach the dedication sermon. He arrived in London a few days ago from Ireland, and is now on his way back to Australia. The Irish visit, which lasted three months, was a result of a desire to study the social condition of the peasantry, with which as it was many years ago, he was quite familiar. A comparison of the state of things now and then makes him say that he is as strongly confirmed as ever in his views on Home Rulo and the land question. The date of the opening of the new Cathedral has not yet been fixed, but the general belief is that it will bo next August. There is a little work still to be done to the outside of tho building. The removal of the scaffolding round the cupola of the campanile, near!- 300 ft. above the street, will take a week or two. The completion of the decoration of the interior will be the work of generations. Leaving. The Benedictine Nuns, who took up residence at Waiv stead", Isle of Wight, when expelled from France a short time ago, have been obliged 'to leave England, as tho climate proves too rigorous for the health of the community. A Premature Announcement The London ' Times ' and other papers have published the following : — ' The appointment of a Bishop-Auxiliary to Cardinal Vaughan may be expected very shortly. Dr. Bourne, the Catholic Bishop of Southwark, is mentioned as the prelate chosen to fill the post. Should that be the case. Bishop Bourne would probably enter upon his new sphere of duties as Bishop-Coadjutor, a nomination that m.ight carry with it the right of succession.' We ('Catholic Times') need but say that news of Catholic ecclesiastical appointments is not given before they are definitely made, and, therefore, that press announcements in advance are conjecture. FRANCE.— Alleged Violation of Authority. The question of the collective petition recently agreed to by the French archbishops and bishops formed

the chief topic of discussion at a recent Cabinet Council, over which M. Combes presided. The Council decided to refer the petition to the Council of State, as it considered the bishops' action a violation of authority and contrary to the provisions of the Concordat. The vicar-general of a prelate who was the promoter of this petition is to be punished by deprivation of salary. The Council also decided that ' disciplinary measures ' should be taken against Cardinal Perraud, Academician and Bishop of Autun, who, speaking from .the pulpit at the recent religious fete at Orleans, characterised the Government as a depraved Ministry. _ A Centenary. The centenary of the birth of Mgr. Dupanloup, the illustrious Bishop of Orleans, who in his day was the champion of religious liberty and of the liberty of education (says the London 'Monitor'), was celebrated with great pomp at Orleans. The episcopate, the cler- the Academy and Parliament were numerously represented, and the celebration had something of a protest against the attempts of the Government against the liberty of education. So much so that the Minister of Worship is f.aid to have refused leave to many bishops to proceed to Orleans. A large number went, however, without asking for leave, or in spite of the Government's refusal. The panegyric of Mgr. Dupanloup was delivered by Cardinal Perraud, Bishop of Autun, who eulogised the great educationalist and the great orator and the talented journalist, who at all times took up the defence of threatened liberties and endeavored to check the spread of socialistic and revolutionary doctrines. Cardinal Perraud eloquently stigmatised the present-day violators of religious and educational liberty. ' The recent exploits of those whom 1 have in my mind,' he exclaimed ' have brought upon them the indignation of all true friends of liberty. The time has come when they should be made to understand that we are among those who will no longer bend their necks in servitude.' > Cardinal Perraud s words have produced a deep impression, and many people interpret them as advocating the denunciation of the Concordat, since it is becoming daily more and more evident that the Concordat means the enslaving of the episcopate. There is no denying that there is a strong movement of revolt among French Bishops against the order of things which practically made them puppets in the hands of the Government and which prevents them from obeying the dictates of their conscience in cases like that which has arisen in connection with the expulsion of religious Orders and the practical abolition of the liberty of teaching,. On the other hand, the Government is becoming positively rudo to the episcopate, and misses no opportunity of humiliating them. It is said, and it has not been denied, that the Cardinal-Archbishop of Bordeaux, Mgr. Lecot, passing through Paris on his way from the Orleans celebration, called at the Ministry of the Interior in order to have an interview with M. Combes. He was kept waiting in the general ante-room for over half an hour, when one of the ushers came up and addressed him as follows :—' Sir his Excellency the President of the Council sends me to inform you that he cannot receive a prelate who is returning from the celebration of the centenary of the Bishop of Orleans.' No comment ia necessary. GERMANY.-A Contrast nnn^Ji nte ™ sting Ji nci instr uctive item of information Sn^ i««, in thO 4. news P a P ers recently which ffr w »? *i? different is the attitude adopted ?w e rf Em ?, ei ; or ™ illiam towards Catholicism from that adopted by the head of the French Republic. His Ma esty, whilst staying at Cadinen, his estate in West Prussia paid a visit to the Bishop of Ermeland at Prauenburg The Emperor wore the Pilgrim's Cross of wo , Ho }y Sepulchre, and the medal of St. Benedict! H o»,WM e S "VA h the Bish °P. talk *d admirably of the wonderful health and strength of the Pope, and promised to send the Bishop a new portrait of himself, in place of the one he possessed. He also inspected a plaster relief of Our Lady and the Divine Child which he has lately presented to the Bishop. It is thus by acts of courtesy and kindliness to all creeds in his dominions, that the Emperor has endeared himself to his subjects of all persuasions. One might imagine that his Majesty was himself a Catholic, or that the majority of Ins subjects were. Turn now to France. In that country the overwhelming numbers of the population are, nominally at least, Catholic, yet the State is infidel, the President dare not mention the name of God in a miblic speech, the army and navy are deprived of religious consolations, the monks and nuns persecuted and driven abroad, and children deprived of a Christian education. What must German Catholics think of France ? ROME.— An Audience The Holy Father granted a cordial half-hour audience to Archbishop Riordan, of San Francisco, on October 25, and surprised the latter by his clear memory and intimate knowledge of Californian affairs, especially the Pious Fund case. From both the historical and legal standpoints the Archbishop found he could give the Pontiff little information which he did not already possess. The Pope remarked that the principle which The Hague tribunal had adopted in the Pious case would simplify the solution of similar questions of ' Pious FUnds ' existing in the Philippines. The audience ended with cordial inquiries on the part of the Pontiff regarding the condition of the Church in California. SOUTH AFRlCA.— Nazareth House. A Capetown correspondent, writing under date September 29, says .-—Yesterday I was present at the lay-

ing of the foundation stone of the new Nazareth House now in course of erection. No doubt you already know the building promises to be a magnificent one. It is beautifully situated on the mountain slopes, commanding a fine view of "" the sea, and is in a most healthy position. It is of stone, the gift of a Protestant gentleman, Mr. Mellish, and besides this 1 understand it will cost over £30,000. Notwithstanding the unsettled state of the weather,, there seemed to be thousands present, not only Catholics, but people of all denominations. The slopes of the mountain and the scaffoldingof the building were very tastefully decorated with the nags of all nations. Under a large marquee the visitors were entertained to tea. The stone was blessed and laid by the Right Rev. Bishop Roouey, the Right Rev. Bishop Leonard being' unavoidably absent through indisposition. The Rev. J . J. O'Reilly, of Wynberp. late Chaplain to the Forces, gave a most eloquent and appropriate discourse. He said that '20 years ago that day five Sisters of Nazareth, accampanied by Bishop Leonard, ' had landed in Cape Town. They began the noble work which had brought forth immense fruit throughout the length and breadth of South Africa. Since then institutes had. been established in Kimberley, Port Elizabeth, Johannesburg, and Durban. The Sisters had come there to do and had done noble work. They had wandered through towns and villages in every portion of the country, gathering together the lost lambs of the flock, teaching them the principles of religion, and training them to a life of usefulness. The lessons which the Sisters of Nazareth had instilled into the children for the past 20 years had taken deep root. They had broken down prejudice against the Catholic Church where there was bigotry.' They might praise God and thank the Sisters of Nazareth that prejudice had been broken down, and that that day they were surrounded not only by members of their own congregation, but by numbers of others who had been attracted by the good work the Sisters had done. Wherever the footsteps of the Sisters of Nazareth had been imprinted there was honor and respect for the Catholic Church. They had learned a lesson from the work of the Sisters of Nazareth, and they had lost nothing by the charity which they had given to Nazareth House.' UNITED STATES.— The End of the Strike. Archbishop Elder, of Cincinnati, 0., in view of the ending of the anthracite coal strike, issued on October 22 a pastoral to the clergy and laity as follows :—: — ' The ending of the strike in the anthracite coal regions should be an occasion of rejoicing, and also of supplication to Him who has so signally shown that He holds the hearts of men in His hand. We rejoice that He has seen fit to turn from His own chosen ones — the poor and the lowlv — the impending disaster of a long winter's misery. We rejoice that at the very time passion and self-interest threatened to prevail, calmer councils and, we may add, reciprocal charity, have asserted their sway. We rejoice that our chief ruler has found in his manly sense of right the means of relieving a situation fraught with so many dangers. We rejoice that the acquiescence in the President's wishes by the parties mainly concerned may be, perhaps, the dawn of an era when arbitration will render impossible troubles such as we have faced for the last six months. For this end we

desire that for one month a decade of the Rosary be said at each Mass, including the High Mass on Sunday.' Cardinal Gibbons On October 3 Cardinal Gibbons celebrated the silver jubilee of his elevation to the Archbishopric of Baltimore. The celebration was quiet because the Cardinal desired that any public observance of the anniversary should be postponed until 1906, when the centennial of the Baltimore Cathedral occurs. The press has, however, been devoting some space to notices of the Cardinal's work, and the record of one incident mentioned by the ' Rosary Magazine ' deserves to be perpetuated in ietters that will never fade. When he was a young priest in charge of Elk Ridge, near Baltimore, smallpox broke out in the village, causing a general panic. An old negro at the point of death lay alone, abandoned by his friends, without food or assistance. The case being .reported to Father Gibbons , he at once hastened to the poor cabin. He supplied the dying man with all that he needed and stayed with him to the end. The noblehearted priest then procured a coffin, placed the corpse in it, dragged it to the graveyard, and buried it himself. What wonder that the Cardinal has endeared himself to millions of people. The man who performed such a deed has in him the stufl of which Christian heroes are made. The Philippines When the American Government was proposing to the Vatican the expulsion of the Spanish friars from the Philippines, the Catholic organisations of the United States protested against its policy, and by opportune agitation got it to see that such interference with the liberty of the subject would be resented at the polls. The Catholics are now going further. They are proving to the authorities that the attacks upon the Philippine friars have been made by people who have had an interest in calumniating them. Certain officers recently denounced the Filipino Catholics as ' ignorant and superstitious idol-worshiippers.' The Catholic Truth Society of San Francisco has made enquiries as to the conduct of those officers, and it has presented a petition to President Roosevelt charging them withi having brought a number of sacred vessels and statues ag loot from the Philippines and disposed of them in the States. The Truth Society asks for an immediate and thorough investigation as to the original ownership of the property and urges that if it is loot the officers in whose possession it was found should be dealt with summarily according to the army regulations. There would be some extraordinary revelations if the character of the assailants of the Catholic clerpv were always examined.