THE CATHOLIC CONGRESS

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXII, Issue 38, 22 September 1904, Page 4

THE CATHOLIC CONGRESS

During his recent visit to Sydney the Archbishop of Melbourne,, who is doing his utmost to make the forthcoming Catholic Congress a pronounced succes.-,, addressed a meeting in "the Cardinal's Hall, w|hcn he gave a lucid and liiteiestuig sketch of the woik befoie the Cangros|s, and the arrangements made for visitors. To a representative ot the ' Catholic Pi ess ' hit Gune ga,ve the following particulars :—: — 'On what lines exactly will it run ? ' as,ked the reporter. lOf one tiling you nec^d not be afraid, 1 said his Grace, 'similing, '"it will not Ibe confined to purely ecclesiastical subjects. It will he of interest to every class and profession. Besides the ecclesiastical side we shall have- jpapiers dealing with medical, architectural, social, historical, and antiquarian matters, alwo Catholic literature a)nd charitable organisations. I mean organisations sucfh as the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, the Young Men's Societies, the League of the Cross, the Hibernian, and other societies and institutions. Already wo have received a large number of papers on some of the above subjects.' ' All fiom Aubtiaha 7 ' 1 They arc not. Some are from America, and others from Rotne, Ireland, England, and France.' ■ ' And the writers '.' ' ' Airupnffst others from America we have received a paper' froni Archbishoip Keane. The subject is singular elnou'gjh, U«r, title being 1 ''The 'Immaculate, Conception an connection with Democracy." Archbishop Keane, as • y'o,u ikfnow, 'was formerly Rector of the Catliohc Imiversity at Washington, lie is a very eloquent speaker and writer. Pel haps he and Archbishop Ireland are two of the mosit famotus men in America.' ' And Cardinal Gibbons,* addod his Grace. ' I ha\o wxiltieji to Cardinal Gibbons, but whether he will sen 1 a jpaper Hdo not know. I have also communicated with .siome of the oi'her American Bishops and other "wellknown Writers.' ' Wihat has been received from Rome ? ' ' From Rome we have papers from Professor Marucchi, w\lio is the successor of De Rossi, and whose works on archaeology are of the highest value. Pio- ' lessor Mariucetii sends- two pajpens ; like De Rossi, he has made Uhe uiiscriptions and paintings m tilie catacombs a subject of special study. One of his i apers is , on evidences of the faith of the Early Church in the ' BlesseKll Eucharist as revealed m tihe parhtings lecently foujnd] in slome ot the Roman catacombs. '1 he other pa{per is on Egyptian obelisk's in Rome. Another paper we have reccrved from a Roman professor of Church m,usic in ioo7ii)cction with the recent " Motu Propna " of the reigning Pontift.' ' Now, from Ireland.' sOh }©s, from Ireland, we have several papeis of great interest, one of them being from Monsignor Molloy, Rector of the Catholic University m Dublin His paper lh on radium, and is bi ought doA\n to tine most recent knowledge of the subject Indeed, so anxious was he to have it up-to-date that he has re-written the iirst edition of his article which came to hand about two mo n tins ago, so that the second edition might contain the very latest discoveries' in connection witih this marvellous source ot energy. We expect a paper from Dr. Jlealy, Archbishop of Tuarn, whose published historical works have commanded universal appreciation From Maynooth College we have four treat. l.ses wnt ten ■ by prolesfcOTS of different faculties, and All Hallows' College has contributed two papers. The titles 1 will be published later, as Dr. Kenny, 1 know, intends sending out a circular. Dr. Sheehan,^author of "My New Curate," has also sent a paper, which, 1 think, deals wiWi the agnosticism ot the day.' 1 Mow, regarding England,' continued his Grace, Iwe ha,ve received a paper from l>r. Barry,, ihe wellknown hist/oria'n and novel writer. Father Hays, a very prominent temperance lecturer in England, is coming out to lecture for the temperance Alliance people of Now Zealand—w ith us, 1 think, they are called the Australian Alliance— and 'he has some hopes of being present at the Congress. If not he will dp out in February or Match. Fattier Hays intends giving some lectures, and doing temperance work in Australia as well as in New Zealand.' 1 Wihat about Australia ?' ' From all parts of Australia we have received a great number of papers-, and expect many more, dealing with subjects of local and present interest. His Eminence the Cardinal is contributing two papers, one of them,, being the opening paper to be read at the Con-e-reiss treating on the Immaculate Conception, and the other' is on the influence of Ireland on the early civilisation of Europe. Of course we have num/erous other

papers. For instance, Mr. Benjamin Hoare is writing on criminal statistics or something of that sort, but 1 am nbt quite sute of the title. There will he many papers from Sydney.' ' And what is your Grace writing ?' 1 I will deliver the inaugural 'address.' 1 ma\\e you any lady writers, or papers on matters of inter est to women.' ■ 1 Uunk not, but we hone to ha\e one, oi tethaps two, from Sydney.' We tiaLked about the conterenee of Catholic journalists tio be held during the Coivgiess, and hisi G-iace cxpecta great things l\>om it. lie is fully alive to tlhe *inlluenco ol the press, ami how; Id stimulate Catholic journalism is one ot the concerns dearest to his heart. Talking ol the >lan of the Congress, he said : 'It will he substantially the same as that of tlhe Sydney Cojngirosk. The most important variation will be Ih,at the Congress will be sectional, that is to s|ay, besides the general meeting which will be held m tihe main hall, mc/eitingis, dealing with sectional subjects' will take place in t|he adjacent club rooms, so that even tilnee sessions can bo held simultaneously. In this way a larger njumbeir of paipers can be considered than if {hero was only one section held or discussed at tvhe same time.' 1 There will 'be only two sessions cath-d,ay, one at 10. 3U d. m , aiid the ot'hei at 3.30 p.m. In Sydney theie weie usually three sessions, and 1 think it was rather sq\eie on many ot those who attended the Congress. In consequence ot Uns we decided tx> hold only two sessiioais a day i.n Melbourne, but we maAe up a similar numiber; ot sessions by the larger number of subjects dealt) with duimg the course of the day at the two s c sis i opus.' ' Kegariding the social side of the Congress, your Urace '! >' ' The Congress opens on Sunday, October 23. That morning t\he Catholic Young Men's Societies will hold tneir a/inuaL Communion and breakfas,t. They will assemblo at St. Patrick's Cathedral, and aiteT the eight o'clock Masis t'lieir anrtual Communion breakfast will take place in tjhe Cathedral Hall, where the Congress will be [held. They intend inviting the Bish'oos, the clergy, and tjhe lantjy, who will be m Melbourne for the Congrle^U to attend. Ot course it will be an interesting event. At eleven o'clock there will be Pontifical High Mass im St. Patrick's Cathedral, with ' Chortum Cardin&le, '■ tor which special preparations are being miaide by a lull' orchestra engaged tor the occasion. There will be no sermon on account of the nature of the ceremonies. In t|he evening we will have Pontifical Vespers, anid one ot the visiting prelates will be invited to preach. I ha\e written to Ur. Ihggwis, but do not know whetjhe- he Will preach— but I expect he will. If ncut, we s/hall get some ot the other Bi'sjhaps to dp so. lOn tho following! day the session begins at 10.30 and at 3 o'clock, in the evening we will have a c-cn-ver^iacijone tor all the members ot the Congress m tjhe Cathedral Hall— at least, v the hall is regarded ai; sufficiently large. 1 The Gv-emnes will be free through t/he week, because it is tather hca\ y to hold a session of the Congress in the evening, as it docs away very much with the social side ot Wie Congress. Arrangements are not complete yet, but we hope to fill up the evenings m a manner thiat will be agreeable tvo all with one kind of entertainment or aimotlher, 'not of an educational, but of a social or enter t'ailning character. ' Oiutside tlhet I he Congress Hall we will have two Eessions djuri'ng the week, one at St. Francis Xiavier'e College, Kew, and the other at tihe Convent of the G-ood Shepherd at] \bbotsiord. Of course in MelKourne we are badly circumstanced in regard to Congress matters compared" with Sydney. Here you had St. John's College, which gave a great deal of diversity to the first Congress. We have nothing to correspond with it. However the two places 1 have mrtitioncd will help to break the u-niiormity of the Congress. I may s-ay that Abbot'sford will be a revelation to anyone who has .not previously visited it. There are so many wonderful tjhingS to be seen, and ladies who take a special interest in lace-making, for which the conveht is famous, will find rt)metihinß to occupy their attention. All the bcote worn by those in the home are made at the institution, and in the same way 'all the soaip used is manulactured on the premises. A whole afternoon can be spent pleasantly at Abbotsford. ' On the final Sunday, October 30, .there will tie ceremonies in the Cathedral, and in the morning there will be a (special sermon dealing with the resiuitts of the LtmE V in the evening Perosi's oratorio, ' The Transfi-ffl-j'ration,' will he produced for the first time in Australia. The miuwic recently came out to our cvhoir conductor, Herr Lintloh. 1 fhink it will be excellently rendered. The oratorio will have full orchestral accompaniment.'