Catholic Outlook in London

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXIV, Issue 25, 21 June 1906, Page 15

Catholic Outlook in London

In the course of an article under the above heading the London ' Daily Telegraph ' of a recent date pays :— ' It is estimated that the Catholics in London number 200,000, and their body includes practically the entire Irish element .of the population, just as the Presbyterian Church counts among its adherents most of t/hose of Scottish .birth. jMany of these immigrants from the sister isle are to be lound among the very poorest of the slums, and, according to Mr. Charles Booth, constitute in that stratum of .the population " a class apart, ileing, as a rule, devout, and willing to contribute something from their earnings towards the " support of their schools and the maintenance of their religion.' It is one of the strangest characteristics of the Church of Rome that she alone among the denominations /has discovered the secret of grappling to herself with hooks of steel nun and women from every rank of society and every grade of culture. Whatever their worldly pasition, whatever their degree of intellectual development, her power over them is a real and- binding one. It is only those with some personal -knowledge of her adherents who have any idea of the diversity of individual conviction whic/h attains repose under the" apparently rigid and unbending system by which her authority is exercised. Yet, though sihe is perhaps the'mostvaried, as well as the most united' and compact force in the religious world, and though tihere is a general tendency to follow her example of pressing the arts into her service, her converts are not numerous. On the other hand, oddly enough, when they do come it is usually from the affluent and highly-educated classes, and not a few of the most cultured sceptics turn to her at last in their despair and "become her zealous supporters. Though their proportion is not a large one, the doctrinal unity, coherence, and discipline of the Catholics give them a unique position among the denominations. r l he ' Telegraph ' proceeds to give a statement received by it from an ' eminent dhine, v>ho is fully-qualif-ied to speak the view of the Catholic clergy on the present moral condition of London and its relation to religious ob,seivan< <*.' According to this statement there is much in the life cf the metropolis which influei.ces ad\erscly btoth the faith and morality of Catholics. Amongst the clergy, and especially those who are in daily and intimate touch with their flocks, there seems to be a practical consensus that in numbers, organisation, and in spiritual life, the Catholic Church in I ohdun is stronger in every way than the was twenty years ago. Human nature and the temptations of a great city are always with us, and thc*great pro'bliems of stemming the e\ils of drink and immorality have always to be faced, jbut tha efforts made and the agencies employed are steadily increasing, and the iresoijts become more hopeful. A priest who has labored in London for some forty years, and who has exceptional opportunities for forming a just estimate, not long since expressed his conviction that at no time -in the past was the Catholic Church, in her numbers, her agencies for good-doing, and the moral tone of her members, stronger than she is to-day. The attendances at church have increased, as well as the number of churches. At Westminster Cathedral, which may be taken as a prominent example and register, the numbers attending the services on an ordinary Sunday have been found to average between four and five thousand, and, what is more notable, no less than 47 per cent, are men. A.nd the other churches have not suffered any noteworthy diminution of their numbers by the affluence to the Cathedral. The services in the churches have also increased. In Lenten lime, in nearly all, there are missions and retreats for men and women and for children, and for various confraternities, and in these the great truths of the Gospel are brought home to the people ,by special preachers. In Holy Week, besides the- presentments of the Liturgy, to which, as the great setting forth of the doctrine and lesson of the Atonement, the Church attaches paramount value as a teaching and spiritual influence, there are in nearly all our chuTches many devotional exercises, ard the numbers who devoutly take part in these acts of religion are certainly as great as, if not considerably greater, than, at any period in the past. The number who go "to Confession and receive Holy Communion in London during Lent exceeds 130,000, comparing; favorably with the numbers which could have been obtained twenty years ago.