The Results of the Congress

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXII, Issue 46, 17 November 1904, Page 1

The Results of the Congress

lhe session of the Second Australasian Catholic Congress is over, and the full reports now to hand go to show that the rich promise of its earlier sittings has been amply fulfilled. The interest, enthusiasm, and high intellectual standard which marked the opening meetings were maintained to the close, and it is recognised on every hand that the gathering has been a complete and magnificent success. Of the papers read at the later sittings the most notable were those delivered in connection with the medical section, the subjects being ' Catholic Physicians' Position in Regard to Cranictomy,' by Dr. V. O'Sulhvan, L.R.C P. , 'rI he Decline in the Birthrate 'by Dr. Nash, M LI I, a member of the New South Wales Birthrate Commission , and ' Catholic Teaching and Medical Practice ' by Lieu-tenant-Colonel Dr. Aherne (Queensland). In the coarse of the discussion on thes,e subjects Fattier Cofley (South Dunedin) took the opportunity to give the Congress an interesting account of the memorable controversy on craniotomy which raged so fiercely in Dunedin some time ago. Before the session terminated the whole of the resolutions submitted at various stages of the Congress wo.c iormally adopted in globo and the terms of these important decisions arc gi\en in full in another part of this issue.

'lhe results of the Congress and the practical benefits which may be expected to iollow from its deliberations could not be better expressed than in the .dmirable summing up given by bis (s race the Archjjshop of Melbourne at St. Patrick's Cathedral on the Sunday after the session had closed. After pointing out that the Congress had been attended by Catholics from every State in the Commonwealth, and that the interest in its proceedings would embrace the whole of "he English-speaking world, his Grace remarked that it was difficult, where so much was beneficial, practical, and trustworthy, and calculated to do an immensity of good, not merely for the present but for future generations, to single out particular portions of the work. lie desired, however, to refer to— (1) The splendid vindication of the Irish priests and the Irish people during the nineteenth century ; (2) the establishment of the Australasian Catholic Truth Society ; and (3) to refer to the great good which he thought would follow from the dis-

cussion in the medical section. The Catholic Truth Society would afford the best and most effective means of pioinulgating Catholic doctrines. These, they knew, were distorted among non-Catholics to a shameful extent. There was often misrepresentation, not through mah'ce, but because of ignorance, and one effect of the society would be to give to Catholics and non-Cathjbliesi alike an opportunity of learning what Catholic doctnrines were on every point of importance. He hoped that the informal ion given in the medical section would do a greet deal to preserve the people from practices which were undei mining the very foundations of human society. Wherever the laws of nature were violated ; wherever men stood up in opposition to the decrees of heaven and took en themselves to introduce a new code of moral practices, although the Almighty might not inflict instant punishment, the day would come, as it came to the sinful cities of the plains, when God's anger could no linger be restrained. and lie would send down punishment, it not in the form of fire, in the shape of war, pestilence, or famine, which would mark lhs dislavor in some terrible manner. The life of the Church in any country resembled very much the life of an individual. During infancy it had to be protected fiom danger. The first thing required was material aid in the build. ng of churches, convents, and schools. Then the spiritual progress of the Church must be attended to. Priests must be provided, and the Sacraments administered. But when the Church was fully established it was not content to supply merely the spiritual or moral wants of men, but it stough* to provide those sources of knowledge whrch would make the Catholic people equal in learning, dignity, power, and influence to the professors of any other form of Christian behci. '1 his had been the work of their Congress, and it marked the highest point of Christian faith and Christian progress ; and not a word was uttered from the beginning to the end of the Conference that could offend the most fastidious non-Catholic. This example of fair play, of consideration, charity, and good feeling toward those who difterod from them should be taken as a model by themselves and others ; and it was further an answer to the charge sometimes made against Catholics that they were wanting in feelings of tolerance or charity towards other people. He hoped that the results of the Congress might b» lasting ; might be for the advancement of charity amongst men ; for the vindication of truth in the Catholic Church ; for the enlightenment of those who diftcred from them, and finally lead them to live as good citizens and good Christians in tms fair land which God had given to them.

An Australasian Catholic Truth Society All thoughtful Catholics will agree with Archbishop Carr in singling out the establishment of an Australasian Catholic Truth Society as- without doubt one of the most memorable achievements of the Congress. This matter has been mooted for some time past, but, .while everyone was agreed as to the abstract desirableness of such a society no practical move was made. The proposal was brought dehmtely and tangibly before the Congress by the Very Rev Dean Hegarty, of Kyneton, who reaa an excellent paper on ' A Plea for a Catholic Truth Society in Australia.' A committee was formed to arrange the necessary preliminaries, ajid at a Jater stage of the Congress Father Cleary, who appears to have bean entrusted with the task of working up the details, reported that the committee recommended that a Catholic Truth Society be established on tl.e following! lines : The iirst executive officers to be appointed by the president (the Archbishop of Melbourne), and aX the end of a year a general meeting to be held in Melbourne, and the executive to be appointed at Lhat meeting ; his 1 Eminence ; the Cardinal to be the patron of the society ; the fee for life membership to be £3 3s, and for annual members 5s ; the annual meeting to be held in October ; each Bishop to appoint a diocesan secretary and the Bishops to be ex-officio vice-presidents. The recommendations of the committee were unanimously adopted and the Australasian Catholic Truth Society was dwly formed.

The advantages of the Catholic Truth organisations are too well known to require enumeration and in view of the colossal ignorance regarding Catholic doctrine which obtains amongst our non-Catholic friends Dr. Delany in no way exaggerated when he declared that there was an almost illimitable field for such a siociety. It must be remembered also that these organisations have a mission to Catholics as well as to nonCatholics ; indeed, their primary mission is to members of the Church. The first object of such a society ia the dissemination among Catholics of small and cheap devotional works ; the second object is the removal of prejudice by spreading clear and accurate information about Catholic truth As showing the enormous field covered by the devotional work of these organisations the secretary of the English Catholic Truth Society records that the circulation of the Simple Prayer Book, issued by the Society, has now reached its ninehundredth thousand ; the little meditation books by the late) Father Richard Clarke, S.J., amount in the aggregaite to 704,000 (individual numbers being ' The Sacred Passion,' 91,000; 'The Sacred Heart,' 90,000; 'Mam Magniiicata, 60,000 ; ' Requiescat in Pace,' 55,000 , 'How to Converse with God,' 63,000 ; ' The Passion in Ihe Words of the Gospels,' 42.000 ; ' The Holy Rosary,' 33,000) ; • A Simple Confession. Book,' by Mother Mary Loyola, published in 1901, has already reached 20,000 ; and the ' Life of Our Lord,' by Lady Amabel Kerr, 16,000. , Under the same head he places the penny Gospels, edited by Canon M'ln'tyre, of which 83,000 have been sold. And as. evidence of the value of ihe C.T.S. controversial publications he mentions the striking fa»ct that no fewer than 55,000 copies of ' The True History of Maria Monk ' have now been sold. The Australasian Catholic Truth Society has started under particularly promising and auspicious circumstances and we are safe in predicting for it a useful, prosperous, and successful career.