The Catholic World

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXIV, Issue 6, 8 February 1906, Page 24

The Catholic World

ENGLAND— SeIf-denial The example of the fifty Children of Mary of Melior street, Bermondsey, who, in 1904, promised total abstinence for life from intoxicating drink as an act of homage and reparation to the Blessed Virgin Mary on the fiitieth anniversary of the promulgation of the Dogma of her Immaculate Conception, has borne fruit The young people of St. Patrick's, Plumstead, did one better this year. On Sunday within the octave of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception 51 young women and 51 young men performed a similar ' Heroic Act of Sel-Denial.' In presence of the Blessed Sacrament, with lighted candles in their hands, they edified a large congregation by solemnly promising to adhere for life to the principles of the League of the Cross. FRANCE— The Vacant Sees Our Radicals and Republicans who, for the last two years (writes a Paris correspondent), have lost no opportunity of abusing the Church and who have now put the finishing touch to their work by their vote on the Separation of Church and State question, are beginning to fear that they have not been quite as clever as they might have been. One of their favorite occupations was to gloat over the fact that there were 19 French Bishoprics without Bishops, and to congratulate themselves over the difficulties which the Church was thereby experiencing. They did not see that, by allowing episcopal vacancies to accumulate in that way, they were accumulating the odds against themselves for the time when the separation would come. The separation being now an accomplished fact, the Pope will be free to appoint to all these vacant Sees such candidates as will seem to him and to the French clergy best fitted for the post, without being required to consult the French Government, and without being swayed by political considerations. Anti-clerical hatred and the tricks and quibbles of M. Combes have thus turned to the advantage of the Church and to the discomfiture of her foes who now cannot forgive themselves for not having seen this before. Cardinal Richard The state of health of Cardinal Richard, Archbishop of Paris, not permitting him to make his ad limina visit, his Vicar, the Abbe Foges, has gone to Rome as his delegate. It is said that the Abbe is the bearer of important documents relative to the question of separation between Church and State.

Loss and Gain While the Government officials (says the ' Catholic Times ') are busy making their inventory of the spoil, the ecclesiastics, may well ponder over the situation opened up by "the Separation Law. It brings them some good. Their Bishops will now be appointed by the Pope alone ; an enormous gain. And the Bishops will be free to leave France without the Government's permission. They will be able to publish their pastorals and decrees at will ; to hold synods ; and to travel beyond the limits of their diocese at pleasure. They will become.free men, in a word. And that is no small gain ; for they will thus be in a position to supervise and advance the interests of the Church. But, on the other side, they will be poor. And poor, too will be their clergy. Nor. is it likely that the Government will allow) the Separation Law &o to work its effects as that the Church and the priests may derive much benefit from it. The local associations will not be permitted to become too active, and there are ominous threats that the priests are to be deprived of their rights of citizenship. Already it is being suggested in anti-clerical circles that the priests shall not be allowed either to vote or to teach. On the ground that they are subjected to obedience to what the Freemasons are pleased to call a foreign power, it is proposed that the clergy throughout France should be hejd incapable of exercising the fran-> chise. And from many quarters comes the warning that, if the Separation Law proves too weak to muzzle the Church, its rigors should be increased and extended. JAPAN— A New Cathedral A Catholic O.athedral is to be erected at Tokio on a site given by the Mikado. POLAND— A Papal Encyclical The Pope has issued an Encyclical to the Bishops of Russian Poland, calling upon them to exhort the people to work steadily for the restoration of peace. The Holy Father cherishes sentiments ot paternal affection for the entire Polish nation, and recalls the fact that the Poles were ever loyal to the Holy See. 'The massacre of the Jews is strongly condemned, and the Emperor is praised for his ukase conferring freedom on all the people of his dominions. The Pope promises to use his influence with the Czar and his Government for the religious and moral good of the Polish population. ROME— Cardinals Created A secret Consistory was held at the Vatican on JVlonday, November 11. In Ins Allocution the Holy Father referred in the language of regret to the state of affairs in France, and said he would deliver his grave and solemn judgment in another form. Four new Cardinals have been created— Joseph Samassa, Archbishop of Erlau, aged 77' , Monsignor Cagiano de Azevedo, Majordomo at the Vatican, aged fju ; Marcello Spinola y Maestre, Archbishop of Seville, aged 7-0 ; and Joachim Arcoverde de Albuquerque Cavalcanti, Archbishop of Rio de Janeuro, \aged 5i7(. Episcopal appointments already announced were proclaimed, including those of the Coadjutor Bishop of Leeds and the Auxiliary Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle. The Apostolic Blessing When receiving in audience the new Rector of the Irish College, Rome, Very Rev. Dr. O'Riordan, the Holy Father directed him to convey the Apostolic Blessing to tho Bishop of Limerick and his clergy and people. Norway and the Holy Father King Haakon has sent an official notification of his accession to the throne of Norway to the Pope. Particular interest attaches to this act, and it is the first occasion on which the Vatican has been authoritatively recognised by Scandinavia since the era of the Reformation. A Life of the Late Pope Mr. Marion Crawford, the well lwiown novelist, together with Count Edoardo Sodonni and Professor Giuseppe Clementi, is compiling the life of Pope Leo XIII., from unpublished documents, which the late Pontiff entrusted to the Count before his death. The work will consist of four volumes, two of which will summarise the history of the) Pontificate of Pius IX., and the whole four will, in the opinion of those who have read the documents, revolutionise the general feeling with regard to the attitude of the last two Popes towards the unity of Italy. Codification of Canon Law A Rome correspondent states that the codification of the Canon Law of the Catholic Church, which is nowi proceeding, is an enormous task, upon the prosecution of which his Holiness Pope Pius X. has set his heart. The work is one in which the whole Catholiq Church is

deeply interested, as it aSects the government of the Church in every country. It is not unlikely that the Vatican Council, which was prorogued thirty-five years ago, may be reopened at the conclusion ol the labors of the Pontifical Commission, so that the new ecclesiastical legislation may be read before the assembled Bishops of the Catholic world. The Widow's Mite The ' Tablet's ' correspondent in Rome, writing on December 3, says :— Last Monday Father Brandi, editor of the ' Civilta Oattolica, 1 made his fifth Calabrian visit to the Holy Father with over 80,000 francs in his inside pocket— a sum which brought the ' Civilta ' subscription to over 550,00(1 francs. The Pope was agreeably surprised, and as he took the printed list from the Jesuit to look over it he remarked : ' There must be some large offerings here to make such a fine total/ ' Yes, Holy Father,' replied the editor, ' but you will find that the largest offering is from a poor woman,' and he pointed at the foot of the page to the only letter which has been printed in connection with this very successful subscription— just a few lines from a parish priest to explain that the five pence enclosed reached him too late to be sent with the offering from his parish. It was from a poor woman who had been present in the church when the appeal was made but who had not even a penny to give. A couple of days later however, she managed to earn half a franc, and at once hastened with it to the Parroco begging him to send it to the poor sufferers in Calabria. Thus her five pence came to figure in the ' Civilta ' list wedged in between sums of thousands and hundreds of francs. The Pope read the letter. ' Yes, Father,' he said, deeply touched, ' you are right ; that is the greatest offering you have received, for it is the Widow's Mite over again.' Then he pulled open a drawer of his desk and took out a big silver medal struck in commemoration of the second year of his Pontificate, one of those usually presented every year to the Cardinals and the high officers of The Papal Court, and handed it to Father Brandi 1 Send this to her from me,' he said, ' and tell her that the Pope thanks her for her great generosity and seeds her a warm blessing.' SCOTLAND — Interesting Ceremony In the large vestry of St. Andrew's Cathedral, Glasgow, on Sunday, December 3, a most interesting ceremony took place. Professor Philamore, the Greek professor at the Glasgow University, who recently joined the Catholic Church, and also a distinguished lady convert, received the Sacrament of Confirmation from the Most Rev. Dr. Maguire. Papa! Distinction A distinguished mark of Papal favor has just been conferred upon a Scottish gentleman. Mr. Stuart A Coats has been appointed Private Chamberlain to his Holiness Pope Pius X. The Archdiocese of Glasgow The archdiocese of Glasgow has 207 priests, 11 of whom are members of religious Orders. The latest annual return of baptisms (190-1) is U. 771, and of Confirmations (1905) 867,4. The children presented in religious examination (which is practically the average attendance at the Catholic elementary schools) were 54,400. The total estimated Catholic population of the archdiocese is about 380,000. Its schools number K)t>, with 152 departments. There are #7 missions or parishes, with 117 churches, chapels, and stations. The charitable institutions are 16. SOUTH AFRlCA— Church Progress A hundred years ago— in 1805— Revs. Jaannes Lansmk, Jacobus Nelissen, and Lambertus Prinsen landed at Cape Town by permission of Commissioner General de Mist. They were the first priests who were permitted to celebrate Mass in South Africa. 'In the followinc year, when the Cape fell under British rule, they were expelled by the Governor, Sir David Baird. To-day the Catholics can point 1o frvc Vicariates and two Prefectures-Apostolic, one hundred and sixty-five churches and chapels, and two hundred and fifty-three priests. UNITED STATES— Archbishop Ryan and the Jews Archbishop Ryan, of Philadelphia, has contributed 500 dollars to a fund being collected for the Jews in Russia. In addition to sending his cheque, Archbishop Ry'an issued an appeal for contributions to the fund.