The Catholic World

New Zealand Tablet, Volume 40, Issue 40, 1 October 1903, Page 24

The Catholic World

AUSTRIA.— Death of a Veteran Convert At a venerable age Onno Klopp passed away recently tL !5 nna ' He • was a covert to the Catholic Church, and his conversion was largely due to the study of his«?f y + A D m ! m J er of a Lutheran family, he applied himself to Protestant theology at Bonn, but later on he turned to (history and by his historical writings he won high distinction. He raised a storm in 1861 by his i^ire of Tilly,' for he presented a picture of the famous general which was greatly at variance with the current historical viewa of the ' Reformation ' period. To his critics (says the « Catholic Times ') Klopp ably replied in the magazines devoted to historical science, and he soon followed up ths work with a study of the career of Charles V.. Amongst his other more notable productions is a history in fourteen volumes of ' The Fall of the House of Stuart and the buccession of the House of Hanover.' Since he was received into the Church in 1873 his life has been a model of devotion to the Faith. On his eightieth birthday the Holy Father named him a Knight of St. Gregory. CANADA.— Population of Montreal The population of Montreal, estimated up to the middle of um)2, as contained in the annual report of the City Health Department, shows that there are in the city 277,829 souls. The religious denominations are • French Catholics, 169,165 ; other Catholics, 40,549 • Protestants, 68,115 ; making a total of 277,829. ENGLAND.— The Brompton Oratory Father Sebastian Bowden has been elected Superior of the Brompton Oratory in succession to the late Father Antrobus. Memorial to the Late Pope The new Catholic church now in course of erection at Tooting is to be dedicated as a memorial to the late Pope Leo XIII. Together with the adjoining schools it will cost over £5000. An Outrage on Justice Judge Day, in his letter to the Young Men's Society Conference at Hull referred briefly to their resolution of sympathy with the expelled Orders of France. He was certain, he said, that his words would find an echo in every Catholic heart when he declared that he regarded the action of the French G-overnment in seizing the private property of men and women voluntarily living to gether, and of expelling them for no crime whatsoever, as an outrage on justice and a scandal to any civilised community. France might call herself a free country, but she now showed the world she could submit to a despotism which would not be tolerated for one day by a people that knew the meaning of the word freedom. A Great Miracle Special services were held in all the Catholic churches of London on Sunday, August 9, in celebration of the coronation of his Holiness the Pope, and after High Mass and a sermon appropriate to the occasion the ' Te Deum ' was sung. The Papal colors were flying from many of the churches, and even in%ome of the non-JCath-olic churches very graceful references were made to the new Pontiff. The ' Observer,' in a leading article under the title ' Ecce Sacerdos Magnus,' writes : ' That such a man as Cardinal Sarto should have been elected to wear the triple crown is, we cannot but think, a fortunate event for Italy and for lEurope. Nor, thinking thus, can we suppose that any but the most bigoted of Protestants will refuse respect to the Catholic opinion that the Papacy is, after all, one of the great miracles of Christendom.' FRANCE.— Another Decree The atheistic Government of France are going from bad to worse. They have acquainted the Commander of the Naval Division at Brest with their decision to suppress the time-honored ceremony of baptism, or, as it is called in England, ' christening,' of new ships. A few weeks ago, a new ship being launched at Brest, the Nationalist officers turned out in force, and some of the speeches delivered were not to the taste of the Combes clique. M. Pelletan, in his letter to Admiral Gourdto, alludes to this ' peculiar manifestation.' M. Pelletan's latest decision is in pursuance of his whole policy. Until he came to office Good Friday was observed in the whole French navy ,(not the army) as a day of deep mourning. This beautiful observance he suppressed.

GERMANY.— Catholic Congress A correspondent of the ' Catholic Times ' contributes an account of the growth of the Centre Party in Uer- - many. At the last election, he says, the Centre was *► to have been smashed by the Socialists, but it stood sojid against the opposition and triumphed as usual. What was the secret of the success *> There is quite a multitude of Catholic societies, of which the Catholic Congress is. so to speak, the head— pious societies, charitable societies, trade and labor societies, societies for students and for literature, science and art, social societies and political societies, including the people's Union, which was founded by Windthorst. All these societies form a grand, united army under the direction of the Congress, which allows them to exert themselves in their own way with full freedom. The organisation is supported by the large net-work of societies and by newspapers of all kinds, ' without whose aid,' says the correspondent, 'it could never have attained its present impol lance and usefulness ' In other words the German Catholics know how to organise their strength and to use it efieetively. ROME.— \ Democratic Pope Not a few Popes (says ' Truth ') have sprung from the ranks of the people— it is one of the great merits of the Roman,, inurch that it oilers a ladder Horn the lowest rank to the Inchest But unlike many who ha\e risen as high before him, Pius X carncs to the Vatican many of the sympathies and instincts of the proletarian. At Venice he has certainly been a democratic Patriarch, and if he does not prow at Rome a democratic Pope it will probably not be his fault An Australian Visitor One of the last Australian usitors to Rome prioi to the death of Leo XIII was Mr O'l)ono\an, until recently Paihamentaiy librarian m Queensland \n unusually long interuew was gi anted, and .Air ()"Dono\an, who was able to con\cisc with the Pnntifl m his own language, came away charmed and \i\idly impressed by his remarkable personality He states that the Pope questioned him keenly and at great length upon \anous religious and social matters m Australia, and showed a very accurate remembrance of information which he had previously gathered from Cardinal Moran and others Americans and ths Holy Father The Rome correspondent of the ' Daily Chronicle ' telegraphed as follows on August 7 —A large paity of American Catholics were saunteiing thiough the gaidens of the Vatican, when suddenly Pius X and his escort were seen approaching The guaids immediately pi e\ ented the party Mom pencil at ing into that portion of the gardens wheie the Pope is wont to walk The \meiicans, nothing dismayed, sent a deputation to hunt up Caidmal Gibbons, who soon joined the band, and despatched his visiting card, with a message to the Pope Pius \ at once ordered the Guards to allow them to ad\a'nce, ga\e them a warm welcome, am! blessed the pious ob,ects they had biought At the end of the i inception Caidmal Gibbons was about to kneel and Kiss the Pontifl s hand, when Pius X foiestalled him, and with open aims ga\c his Imminence of Baltimore an affectionate paternal embrace, kissing him on both (hocks This act fired all the enthusiasm of Ihe fortunate Vmencans, who raised a heart v ' I lip, hip, huriah ' ' while the ladies of the paity wa\ ed their handkerchiefs and sunshades The Pope's Choice of Name An article which,' La Voee della Vent a ' would not have published without a fair piesumplion ot conectness says that his Holiness explained to some poisons iecei\ed m audience on the day af Ins election the leason which induced him to take the name ol Pius the Tenth At first, he said, he had thought of taking the name of Benedict XV m honor of his lellow-countiyman of Tieviso, Blessed Benedict XJ , Nicola Boccasini. who died in 1301, a member of the Dominican Oulei, the feast of whose foundei it was He would haw wished also to honor this Pope who, as (\ndinal, was the faithful supporter of Boniface \IIf in the simple with Philip the Fair, and conspicuously such on Ihe nioiul day at Anagui, bail he piefeiied to lake a name whuh would moic immediately lecall an unwa\eimg defence' ol the Holy See and of the ( 'lunch Reflecting thercloie, that from the beginnings of the Resolution the Roman Pontiffs who boie the names of Pius — Pius \ I , Pius "\ II , P\us> VIII. , anfd/ Pius I \— resisted the .triumphant l evolution, and mauguiating Ins own rcijui with a hostile Power ruling in the Ktemal City, he dctorminted to choose that of Pius 'La \ oco ' wiy aptly expressed the wish that the name may be an augury of \ictoiv to rew successor ol Pius IX , as it was to Pius VII , the successoi of Pius A I UNITED STATES —An Indian Priest Father Albert, a full-blod Pottaw at lonne Indian, celebrated his first Mass at Oklahoma City recently.

Catholic Tota! Abstainers The thirty-third annual Convention of- the Catholic Abstinence Union of America was .held recently at Pittsburg, and was attended by representatives of over 1100 societies, whose membership now numbers more than SjU.iHit). Jt was reported that the Union was making excellent pi ogress, Uj new societies and 42U0 members being, admit ted during the past year. A Palatial Institution The new Catholic Orphan Asylum, which was recently opened at University Heights, Kmgsbridgc, New York is considered to be the handsomest and most complete institution of its kind in the world. The splendid new buildings have been erected at a cost of 1,200,000d01s