The Catholic World

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXIII, Issue 10, 9 March 1905, Page 27

The Catholic World

AFRlCA— Mission to the Copts v TT T he mission 'entrusted to the Jesuit Fathers by Leo aIIJ. in 1879, to biing about in Upper Egypt a reconci lation with the Coptic Churches, is being successfully carried out under the direction of the Rev. Pere Neurrit Two large colleges have been opened at Cairo and at .Alexandria, and the number of Copts now reconcile*! is estimated at over 20,000. BELGIUM— Peter's Pence The Peter's Pence which the Catholic pressmen of Belgium are about to present to the Holy Father will be used by his Holiness for the erection of parochial ch,urches> in the new quarters of Rome. CEYLON -Catholic Progress On Jantuary 24 was celebrated the twenty-fifth anniversary of the episcopal consecration of the Most Rev. Dr. Meli/an, Archbishop of Colombo, Ceylon. In the couxso of an address the Coadjutor-Bishop said : 'Since tho day of your Grace's consecration in 1880 and the day of your ■arrival in Ceylon in 1868, what progress has ofur religion made here ! Then there were no such nourisliin^ Catholic institutions as we see tor-day ; no

seminaries, no Catholic organ, only a few pupils in our schools, few missions and missionaries ; the ecclesiastical hierarchy had not yet been established , instead of five dioceses, there weie two vicanates ; instead of 300,000 Catholics, hardly 100,000. Now \, c see 16,000 pupils in our schools where the Catholic religion is taught with perfect freedom ; we see seminaiies at Kandy, Jatlna, and Colombo, for the formation of the nathe clergy , we see Catholic colleges in the pimeipal <r!ni rrs; (Vylonesp and European brotherhoods, numerous communities of nuns who ha\c de- \ otcd their lite to i'*a hirg or in the relief of human infirmities and work with such aident zeal for the glory of God and the salvation of souls ; many orphanages and industrial schools, a leformatoiry, C( nfriatermties and associations established for the extension of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, numerous missions divided and sub-di\idcd so much that wheie there was formerly ore missionary, we now sec d\e or six; or more, each having <is much or e\ en more work than he hjad !then, owing to the stronger piety of the fuitnful. ENGLAND— Departure of Missionaries A party of missionaries have started from Mill Hill for the Belgian Congo. They are the first EngliS'lvspeaUng missionaries who will labor in that region. The party consists of seven priests and is in charge of the Rev. Father O'Grady. The depa'Huie ceremony at ttie college Was private. Father Henry, the Super-ior-General, accompanied the Fathers to Brus.sels, whetc a sjolenVn departure ceremony took place in the Church of St. Gudulde. FRANCE— The Parochial Clergy In estimating the weight of public opinion in France in the matter of scpa"ation between Ch irch and State (says the ' Catholic Times '), it is well not to omit the parochial clergy in the ruial dis-tricts Should the Concordat be abiogatcd, and the churches taken from their possessors, a great leacuum might not improbably ta'.e place in ihe \iews of the country electors Thousands oi Frenchmen, who cartnot be called practical Catholics, regard Baptism and mariiagc and buiial as ecclesiastical rites necessary for their chiklren, and woMld nhnnk from being deprived of the Church's ser- \ ices in those important matters. They would ne\er l)e content to exchange the priest fo" the mayor or prefect. Whatever else they may think, they think they should ha 1 c Christian JUptism, mar'iage, and buriul And should the .State carry its persecuting policy <-o far a,s to make it impossible for the clergy to administer these s"irit;ial helps, they would feel that it had defined them of a gieat consolation and a necessary srecor. Their sympathy aaid support woaild veer round to the clergy, who miaht tircl that peisecut ion of d'Cinnh^s had pro\ed a wboU'son.c lesson to their Co -Ks So at least thin\ .^'ite obsen.eis of French a flans, ai d many believe tiiat M Combes' BUI, if passed, will lead with startling sucidemiesN to a campaign in the coiuitrj parts in fa^r of the Church. ROME— The Sacred Cole; c OwVig to the suspension of diplomatic iel at ions between lilie French (Jo.- eminent and the llolv Sec (wiites a Rome correspondent) the Caidinals de Curia abstained this yeiar for the first time from sending pcrscml letters of congratulation on the o'-casion cf the new year to President Lou bet. The canons of St. John at the Lateran, of winch chapter the Frcn h President i* honorary member, also omitted their usual c onjiati'Utions. "As| an mutation, it is stated on good nutlo'ilv that Pius X this yrar forwarded an autograi h letter <^i greeting to Piesidci.L Roosexelt, through the Ancstolir delegation at Washington, ana that similar letters ba^e been sent to the -vmerican President by Cardinals Gibbons, Satolli, ard Martinelh at the express desire of the Pore. Pius X has also sent personal letters of greeting tn all the European so\ercigns who-e c oiinti ie, are in diplomatic intercom k> with the Holy See, and has received a large n imber of congratulatory niossacies from the courts of the \ anous .countries of Uhe woild Letters of Greeting Here are some interesting statistics as to the membership of the Sacred College. Number of Cardinals on January 1, 1905, fil , number of \acamies, 9. Dunng the present pontificate four Cardinals died, one of whom, Cardinal Langcinieux, died on New Year's Day. Of the 61 Cardinal, only one, Cardinal Oreplia, was created by Pius IX., 58 were cieateid >by Leo XIII. , and two, CorHinals Merry del Val an/1 CaHegari, were created by the reigning Pontifi. Tnc oldest Cardinal is (Cardinal Richard, Archbishop of Paris, who is 86 yeans old ; yoningest is Cardinal Merry del Val, who is in lis frrtieth year Of the Gl Cardinals 37 are Italians. The

Roman Curia is made up of .30 Cardinals, of whom four aio non-rtahans. They arc Cardinals Merry del Val, \i\es, Sleinflnibcr, and Mathieu. During the pontificate of Leo XIII. 116 Cardinals died. Of Uiese four had been created by Gregoiy XVI., 57 by Pius IX., and 85 by Leo XIII. The Pontiff's Humility Much of the pervading, all-vanquishing charm of Pn.s X. lies (writes a Rome correspondent) in his nrofoi nd uaid of Louise ui>obUusi\e, >el cvei sensible, Lumility. 'lhat, as at the lleatilication, whcfi he is home in pomp through St. Peter's, is the intangible yet dominant note of e\ery Papal pageant. St. Charles was the Cardinal, Pius is the Pope, of Illumilitas. A story might be culled from every day a t the Vatican. Here is one. The Rev. Eric Green, paii^h priest of Westminster Cathedral, and the Rev. Henry D. Yeo, of St. Peter's, Leamington, had a private audience of t v "e Pontiff on January 10. The conversation passed in Latin ; the two priest* were immensely pleased. Father "ico told the Pone how devoted English Catholics were to him. Phis X. smilingly assented, but said : ' Not to me personally, but to the authority of St. Peter, which resides in me '—and, as usual, the Pontiff's words were few but full of meaning. Tie had received his guests standing : that belongs to his simplicity of ways, which is part of his humility. He told them to take a cliau, beoaiuf>e theie was one near liis own. Both Ivir led to taTte a chair. ' No, not two ; one,' he said. The two piiests sat beside him. Then the three talked in familiar manner. r l he visitors said that they were English priests come to Rome. ' Ah, yes,' the, Pope reloined, ' tlhe English priests have a great work before them.' And he proceeded to insist upon the" work and its scope for devotion. His Holiness accorded the priests permission to ghe the Apostplic Blessing in public on thei" return, arid he attached a Plenary Indulgence to the fa\or, but he explained carefully, as now at least it is always hi 5 ? wont to do, the conditions attached They weie, he said, Confession, Communion, and prayer for the intention of the Holy See. UNITED STATES -Church Centenary Preparations arc being made for the celebration on July 7, 1906, of the one hundredth anniversary of the la} mg of the cornet-stone of the Baltimore Cathedral. It is expected that many distinguished ecclesiastics will be piesent, 'and that the e\cnt will prove second in Importance only to the laying of the corner-stone itself. An Appreciation On the death of Bishop Phelan, of Pittsburg, his successor, Bishop Cancun, received a note of condolence fiom the Protestant .Episcopal BKluip of Western Penns\!\ania, in which that pielarfo said • ' It was my pleam,ic a % id i rivulepe to 1 now him and admire him for the arn.'aLiht \ and st cngth of his character and the wisdom a. id success of his adminiM ration. I shall do nvv■■ell the honor to attend his funeral, and join my jiaycMs to jours for his rest and pear c, and fora blessing upon his successor art! the diocese.'