DIOCESE OF CHRISTCHURCH

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXIV, Issue 26, 28 June 1906, Page 6

DIOCESE OF CHRISTCHURCH

(From our own correspondent.) -gamma Ther tnduum in honor of the feast nf <s+ t v A ,

The annual collection for the diocesan seminary fund was made on .Sunday. . t>- £ X } T }? S * h ™ hour fixed for the funeral of the late Ki&ht Hon. R J. Seddon, the great bell of the Cathedral was tolled. Jn connection with the same lamented event, on behalf of tha Chatham Islanders, Mr. W. -Hoban addressed the following letter to the Hon. W .Hall-Jones :— ' The inhabitants of the Chatham Islands have no means of hearing of -.the sad loss sustained \>Y the recent death of our illustrious and honored Premier, the Right Hon. R. J. Seddon: I had the pleasure of meeting the right hon. gentleman on his late visit to - the islands, and the enthusiasm displayed by all was a token of the esteem in- which he was held by them He was the first Minister of the 'Colony to visit their shores, and it was marked, and will be long remembered by the Islanders, as a red-letter day in the history of the islands. Having resided there in the past for many years, and knowing their feelings, I feel quite justified in asking you to convey to Mrs. Seddon and. family an expression of the g-eat grief that will be felt when they hear of the national loss, and of the great sympathy which will be felt by the entire population, Pakehaf, Maori, and Mariori, and further to assure Mrs. Seddon and family that although the population of Ihe islands is small and far away, in no part of the Colony will the sorrow be> more sincere. 1 The following is -a copy of a resolution passed at a meeting of St. Patrick's branch of the H.A.C.B. Society—' That the members of St. Patrick's branch, No. 82, of the Hibernian Australian C athohc Benefit Society, Christchurch, desire to add their tribute of regret at the great loss sustained by the Colony through the death of the late Premier, Richard John Seddon, and sincerely sympathise and condole with the widow and children in this their hour of sorrow. .May God watch o.er th/*m, and give them strength to bear up under their sad bereavemwit.' At the Cathedral en Sunday evening at Vespers the Rev. Father Price (Hawarden) delivered an instructive discourse on the celibacy of the clergy, giving the Catholic view of the subject. He spoke of the efforts of the late Sovereign Pontiff in his Encyclical to the nations for the reunion of ( hristc-ndom in one fold under one shepherd, one of the principal obstacles raised being that of the sutfject under notice. He quoted numerous authorities showing that a celibate priesthood was besides an absolute moral necessity, reasonable and right and in perfect harmony and in keeping with" the Gospel and in accordance with the teaching of our Blessed Lord' and the Apostles. The law of celibacy was purely an^ ecclesiastical one of discipline which the Church had a right to make. Although a divine institution, it was a human society composed of human beings. Celibacy was a notaMe ground of Catholic respect f o r the'priesthood, a respect not necessarily for the man but for his sacred office. With no other cares save those of religion and charity, the priests of the Catholic Church were the pioneers in every age of science, learning, and literature. They are found kneeling at the bedside of patients in the hospitals in the midst of raging fever, among the lepers, and among the outcast, in the midst of the vilest surroundings. What could be the feelings of a married man who dare not risk his 1 life on account of those dependent upon him, hampered with family cares, in such emei:g>en_des. These were duties clearly not for such. Charity begins at home, and no man has a right to risk Ms life when it would entail suffering and destitution on those dependent uipon him. He gave a harrowing description of the famine in Ireland in 1847, which in three months drove 90,000 persons across the Channel to Liverpool, 25,0.00 finding no other shelter than cellars, 14,000 of which were being used for such a purpose. The horrors were simply indescribable, and the sacrifice of priests— martyrs to Christian charity who died at their post— totalled ten, from March to .December of that year. Here alone was an obfiect-les-son, showing the wisdom of the Church in having a celibate priesthood. To the objections raised by non-Cathr olics be gave practical answer, together with some useful advice to those of the faith in the way of silencing slander, so frequently spread by the ignorant, thoughtless, and often designing people.