The Catholic World

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXII, Issue 17, 28 April 1904, Page 27

The Catholic World

ENGLAND. — Death of a Convert The death is announced of the Hon. Lady Simeon, Aoidley street, London. Lady Simeon, who was a convert to the Catholic Church of many years' standing, was doubly connected wifch Scotland, being maternally a scion of the old Ayrshire house of Mure of Caldwell, aiwt alsio( sisiter to Lord ColvilKe of Oulross, tenth Baroto in the Scottish Peerage. The! deceased lady married more than forty years ago Sir John Simeon of Swainstom (a life-long friend of Tennyson) . The present baronet, Sir Barrington Simeon, M.P., is a Protestant, but his brother, who is heir-presjumjptive to the title and estates, is a Catholic. Leeds' Catholic Cathedral The mew Catholic Cathedral of St. Ainne in Leeds is to be opened this week. In carrying o>ut street improvements the Corporation bought the old Cathedral, and provided a new site in the same thoroughfare. The new building is of Gothic architecture. The work of erection was begun in 1901, and now only the tower and high altar remain to be completed. The £46,000 received from the Corporation have already been expended, and at least £5000 more will be required. With the object of raising part of this money a bazaar was opemed recently in the nave of the Cathedral, the ceremony being performed by Lady Beaumont, of Carlton Towers. Lady Beaumont, who is a member of the old English Catholic family of Tempest, is the widow of the tenth Baron Beaumont, of Carlton Towers, who was tolled by a gun accident nine years ago. He left two little daughters, in favor of the elder of whom the barony was called out of abeyance by Queen Victoria, anid this little girl (who> is not yet ten) is now Baroness Beaumont in her own right,, FRANCE.— A Citation Cardinal Richard of Paris, Cardinal Langenieux of Rheims, Cardinal Caullie of Lyons, and Mo<nsignor Germain, Archbishop of Toulon, have all been cited before the Council of State for having addressed letters to the President of the Republic criticising the acts of the Government. The Colonies Exempted Diuxing a recent sitting of the French Chamber the Comjmittee, in agreement with tihe Government, decided that the Congregations Law should only apply to France, that the schools established abroad and in the French colonies should not be suppressed, aad that the novitiates for the recruiting of the teaching staff of the schools should be maintained m France. Soldiers and Catholic Clubs Monsignor Turinaz, Bishop of Nancy, has sent to the Minister for War a strong protest against the Army order forbidding soldiers to frequent or become members of the Catholic clubs which exist in most garrison towns, and the obiects of which are to provide soldiers with something of the comforts of a club, afford tJhem opportunities of playing honest games of meeting decent company, of finding help arid ad,viee, and of away from the public houses. As Bishop of a frontier town which has, so to speak, to be ever on the alert, where the soldiers of France stand face to face with the soldiers of Germany, and where it is of the utmost importance that moralising influences should be as powerful as possible among the military, Monsignor Turinaz denounces the Minister's decision as unpatnoiic. He also points out that the Minister has twice visited the town, and that each time he nerer had a word of patriotic advice for the soldiers, but came merely to denounce the clergy and insult religion; and tyhat on this soil, which drank the blood of French soldiers and which has been cut in two by the foe's sword, he has ddne his best to encourage divisions and hatreds among the sons of France. ITALY. — Socialists Reproved The Continental Socialists profess (says the ' Catholic Times ') to be the 'pioneers of a new era, in which men will enjoy true freedom. So much they promise in wortis, but their practice is a very different affair from their language. In Italy and France at least they are protagonists of intolerance. Witness the course taken by one of them, Signor Vigna, in the Italian Chamber. After the destruction of the Turin Library Father Ehrle, Prefect of the Vatican Library, visited the institution, and received the thanks of the State authorities for his suggestions witih regard to precious books and manuscripts that had been damaged. But Father Ehrle is a Jesuit, awd the Socialists could not submit to the idea of a member of the famous Order thus receiving recognition from the State. Signor Vigna asked indignantly in the Chamber whe-

ther by, the law of August 25, 1&48, it was not forbidden for a Jesuit to enter the Italian State without al'a 1 ' licence, and why this law had been overlooked in dealing with Father Ehrle. In answer Signor di Sant' Onofrio, Minister of the Interior, declared that in virtue of the Law of Guarantees a Jesuit can reside in Rome or visit Turin without any licence, that the Italian Government welcomed the step taken by Father Ehrle, and. that they did not believe in persecution; to which the Socialists themselves owed whatever strength they possessed. A neat and effective reply. ROME. — Biblical Studies The present Pontiff is steadily upholding the reputatiojn he has gained as a reforming and progressive Pope. His latest forward move is an arrangement for the promotion of Biblical study. The Biblical Commission a/ppointeti. by Leo XIII. is henceforth to have the exclusive faculty of conferring acajdemic degrees in Scriptural exegesis, and the only eligible candidates are to be priests who have already obtained a Doctorate in Theology at universities or institutes which are expressly approved of by the Holy See. This- means the establishment of an absolutely special mofde of honoring proficiency in Biblical study, and as the bishops throughout the world are urged to give heed to this degree and to encourage promising secularists of their respective dioceses to specialise in Scriptural subjects, the restalt, it may confidently be predicted, will be most satisfactory. UNITED STATES.— Auxiliary Bishop The Rev. Thomas F. Cusack, Superior of the Apostolic Mission Fathers, has been appointed Auxiliary Bisihop of the archdiocese of New York. A Generous Benefactor Mr. John A. Creighton, of Omaha, has donated without reserve to Creighton University business blocks valued at $250,000. In all, Mr. Creighton has given to the institution, in cash and valuable property, about $750 000. For his liberality Pope Leo bestowed upon him the title of Count. Creighton University is in charge of Jesuits and consists of a free classical day college and a medical college. In the former there are about 250 stmdents and in the latter 150. The Friars and the Philippines m So accustomed are the public to hear the Philippine friars abused that it is quite refreshing to hear their work well spoken of, their latest champion being no 4ess a person than the present Secretary of War in President Roosevelt's Cabinet, Mr. W. H Taft, who had been for four years Governor of the islands. He gave his judgment in an address delivered on February 29 at the fifteenth annual dinner of the Presbyterian Social Union of Philadelphia. He said ; . « The siAjectf of the Church in the Philippines covers the entire history of these islands. Ctoing back to the beginning of Spanish occupation, we find the heroes of Christianity, the Spanish priests and friars, leading the way. Before and with and after the soldiers came these Valiant men of God, carrying only the Cross. When Spain found that no gold was to be had in the islands an*d tih at the rich spices that had come from other possessions were not there, it wanted to leave the islands and their peoples. To this course the friars objected. They said : ' Here is our field of souls ; here our harvest for God 1 .. It is not right that we should go and take from these poor souls the light they have just faintly seen." So Spain yielded. The friars made parishes, taught the catechism, taught useful things. Thus it is that we found ready to our hand more than 6,000,000 of Malays who are Christians and who are receptive to our civilisation. No one who knows of conditions as they have been will charge me with partiality to the friars. Still I will testify to the work and the usefulness of these mem of God. The Dominicans established the University of St. Thomas in 1610, long before the establishment of Harvard, Yale, or any other American university. The trouble with these friars arises from the fac , that in the last fifty years they have been drawn intb politics as the agents and detectives of the crown of Spam. They opposed the revolution and thus earned the hatred of the mass of the people. Through their work many of the revolutionists came to death. In retaliation 40 friars were shot, 200 imprisoned, and many more hundreds banished by the successful revolutionists. It was charged that the friars Obtained their lands unjustly. I did not find that there was truth in this allegation. That they were oppressive landlords was also charged. I could not find evidence to sustain ttiis allegation. But they were landlords and representatives of the cro\/n, and as such were hated.'