The Catholic World

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXVI, Issue 2, 9 January 1908, Page 31

The Catholic World

BELGIUM — An Interesting Comparison Belgium and France furnish the « Standaart,' the foremost, Protestant paper of Holland, an interesting comparison. Both countries, it says, are what you may call Catholic, for Protestants are very few in either. The French language is spoken in both ; in Belgium at least among the higher classes ; French literature has found a market in the neighbouring land, and Brussds, the capital, is a little Paris. An essential difference can only be found in the fact that in France, since fifty-five years, the anti-clericals are ruling, and in Belgium the so-call-ed clericals. And what do we observe in the two countries ? The little Belgium is progressing along every luxe, and its wealth is steadily growing,, whilst France: is declining. In the lattter the population is almost de- i creasing, while the little kingdom has' transgressed the' seven million mark. Yet more noticeable a fact is thxt in socialistic and radical France liberty is trampled upon, so that, a clerical is scarcely allowed to breathe* but in Belgium everybody is free, the Liberal included,' and church and school are unhampered: CANADA— Catholic Gaels Rev. Father Campbell, S.J., of Glasgow, Avho went some time ago to conduct a mission among the Gfaels resident in Nova Scolia, wriies as follows 1o a frunl in Scotland :— ' This is a mighty country, things ' are done on a mighty scale. . . . Catholicity in the Highlands could not hold a candle to the enthusiasm of the, people here. I am lucky in knowing something of the old country, and they are delighted^ to hear of the parts their forebears came from I. am at present in the parish of Judique, in the island of .Cape Breton, where there is not a single one Protestant family, and there are over 300 families in the parish. The parish priest is Key. a. Chisholm. It is a wenderful dio-ese, CO Ga lie speaking priests, 4500 Gaelic speaking chillrpn, 50 GaeJic speaking nuns teaching in the schools under a Gae'ic speaking Bishop who has seen in his day four different vOpSSLv Op SSL. Gregor Y XVI -> Pius I x -> Leo XIII., and Pr» s A. lnis morning the church could not hold the- peo h who came to Mass. The sacristy was packed and they were drawn up outside tin front door and standirg outside the open windows, etc' 7 ENGLAND— Catholics at Cambridge There are seventy-six Catholics in residence at Cambridge this term. They include six members of the Senate, two Bachelors and sixty-eight undergraduates. Death of Lady Brampton Lady Brampton died on Sunday nieht, Novemfcerl7, n London after eight days' illness-six weeks after the ueath of hex- husband, Lord Brampton, the well-known judge who died on October 6. Lady Brampton, who n ?l*t he second wHe of Lord Brampton, was the daughter IMI,l Ml , ,H, H - F - Reynolds, of Hulme, Lancashire, and belonged to an old Catholic county family. FRANCE— Stripping the Church v^hv*? o^™™ 11 * < w , r ! tes a Paris correspondent) has th-Vif :i V vhlCh t0 -carrr out its work. By confi«pS!s a V^ Church " Property in France will bo confiscated. The Deputies are elected for four yearsrow^hXT 9l , tha ! is cx P ir *d; they hold undisputed dnTn Vh ° re> for three years more - ww ' ha * cannot they fou n i7T ? Pi 1 ? ' Bloc 'is divided int ° thr ee or oui parties all- mortally, hatin* one another ; but where hcv.Vnn °%°i, C > rch rob ' ber y or .Church plunder fltJbithfw^rW. How ?ar e3Ch individual rrb£w n .tf ° Of hIS fnends down the country is unis a Vir divi^ eCa f n +^ ett 7 WeU gUeSS - No dou ™ the^ c men wt W T ~°J the 'P ] V nder - In the main they «re TW Til standing, position, means-or self respert short iftti.^ been el^ cted last time when, at one which It g '- they paSSed +he ' Loi d' Augmentation'! y 5 000 hST their own salaries from fiOOO tj ia.ooo francs. Men who would do that in the face of way^onev^r *°? to be scrupulous as 'towhat way money comes into their rockets It is only tow on.e^ees-how, things are worked at the Ouai D T oSav o v Party tf P ft tt , the c of U Go?eSSSt od when tW »^f Freedom is pretty well assur«'i wnen there are twoc opposing forces. The Holy Father's Instructions ,-n.r tain . dif^ cult ies (says the ' Catholic Weekly") hiv

Father 'has issued' instructions to the French Archbishops in. which he states that it is »his desire that all fiscal and obligatory taxation, personal as well as parochial, should be avoided. The Bishops, are to content themselves with appealing' to the faith and the clurity. tf their diocesans, and to inculcate the grave obligation of tne faithful of contributing, each • according to his mean?, to the support of their pastors", but employing persuafip,l* alone to awaken them to a- sense of this duty, n ith regard to the- sanctions which are an almost inevitable consequence of the system of taxes, it would be necessary to exclude all pecuniary sanctions, which "are from their nature odious ; and still more the sanction which would consist in the suppression of religious services in defaulting parishes, or- in refusing spiritual ministrations to rhdividuals. His Holiness trusts that by thus employing charity and persuasion, the bishops will find in the generosity of the French Catholics- a worthy response to their appeal, and that they will not be obliged to provide for the necessities of the Lhuich by having recourse to measure* which might. seem to detract li om c S? s i> ont *neity and the devotion of tha MihfU'in r-he fulfilment of this -.grave duty. . Church Defence ' Whilst the fidelity of M. Delahaye to the Monarchical principle can bA readily understood (says the "' Catholic limes ), and his, denunciation" ' of " the Bill ' for. the Devolution of Church , property ' in France sympathised with it is, to be regretted that in championing ' the rights of his fellow-Catholics he should invite them "to renounce the French Republic, and transfer their," allegiance to .the movement for the restoration of the monarchy. Every Government is entitled to treat as disloyal those who would alter the Constitution of the''St*!ba and when a public speaker advocates such an aleration . he at once, gives to the Government's' supporters an argument which justifies a certain amount of Coercion -M. Delahaye was on 1 safer ground when in his speech ■ in-the French Chamber, he declared that the French* Uatbolics would offer to their persecutors that constitutional' resistance by which the Catholics of Ireland had succeeded in abolishing Ufie penal laws. The Irish Catholics ne observed, combined in presence of the outrages .'and violence of their adversaries, and England was forced. to give way. The French Catholics are in a better position for resistance than the Iri^h 'Catholics ■ occupied when they were persecuted. Theirs is a self-governing country, and it is their own countrymen, not the peoPlo of another nation who have to pronounce upon their appeal for justice. ROME— The Revision of the Vulgate The Holy Father on - November 10 received" Abbot Gasq:uet President-General of the Enelbh Benedictines ills Holiness manifested great interest in the work of the revision of the Vulgate, which he has entrusted to tne Benedictines, with Abbot Gasq,uet as president of tne Kevismg C ommittee. His Holiness showed that he realised the gigantic nature of the task, and that he Placed the utmost confidence in Abbot .Gasquet, leaving nim free to enlist whomever he may think best in v the researches which will have to be carried out throughout lie w o rlid...;He repeatedly insisted on the necessity, of Ihe work.-.beine: done in the most scientific manner- so that both- Catholics and nonrCatfcolcs, might ce-safsfied ihat it + was a most genuine and sincere, attempt to- get •at the true basis of the text of St.. Jerome. -As reeards Sffff'?! th % V. or ' V ' ta l uote Dom Gasquet Vown m«S ' . Bened:ctJn es .must eat,' and one of- , the most serious sides of the .problem- is deitainly the cost £?nn ? *tn°nn the Ccttn : mi I csi ?^ are estimated. at from &300 1 to £1000, a year, including expenditure . for journ,lk,- vanous , countries;- where documents are preserved hut cannot, be removed, at -for example EnsHni where a special • Act of Parliament would be necessary for the removal of such documents out .of the co.nntrJ hen- numbers of documents; manuscripts, and- -Bibles will have tp be photographed, and.-coties made' which will be sent- to Rome, wh^re the r-nii a t ion -ojMW re suits of all the various researches will be carried .out SCOTLAND— Catholic Students' Union h, r^ C™hol!c,,stC ™ hol ! c ,, stl \ den ts Union has b'eeh formed''iri^Edinbursth. The following .appointments have been made, with a view to ma.vnne;. the manning committee 'as cosmopolitan as possible r.-President. Very Rev.\ Joseph Bader t ;; Mr. -f. Bonrke ; secretary ■' Mr T J. McGovern; treasurer, , Mr. J. A.',De"R6mario • and members of executive as follows : Mri ' V DelanS- ' Tr^ S'Caner.ta, Engird,-; Mr. V \ TvSk^T, N^otland ; Mr. J. Sweeney, New Zealand •Mr H A Khin, Burmah ; Mr. A. L. Nt-stor/We^t Tndi»s'-' Mr r T,. Laurent, Trinidad ; Mr. J. Adami, Malta -Mr J ' a' men?s Omari ' 0 ' '* M Mr> J ' R- Aerii ' S * rait^ S e ttle

UNITED STATES— Charitable Bequests \ Miss Florence Lyman, who died the other day in her native Boston, and who was a convert to Ij»he true faith, left £50,000 to Catholic works of piety and charity. A Catholic Tovm Renedicta, a Catholic town in Maine, realises, if not the poet's, at least the practical man's, conception of- Utopia. It was founded by Right Rev. Benedict Fenwick, tfhen Biehop of Boston, mi 1825, and was settled by Irish Catholics. Their descendants, sturdy American Cathplics, run the town; no one but Catholics live there now. The town is forty miles from any other town, and a .hundred milles from a railroad. It has electric lighting, macadamised roads, fine buildings ; it is crimeless, gaolless, .poorhouseless, free from debt A and ideally administered. '