The Catholic World.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXVI, Issue 7, 20 February 1908, Page 31

The Catholic World.

CANADA— A Bishop's Gift :: Monsignor Lorrain, Bishop of Pembroke, Canada, "was' ~ recently presented with, a fund of £3000 on his silver - jubilee. He will devote this to adding "" a wing to the general hospital of that city. ENGLAND— Heroic Sisters During a fire which broke out in the Sacred- Heart Convent, at Newcastle, lasit week, the' Sisters knotted sheets and lowered fifty children in safety. Having seen to the safety of tneir charges, they made good ineir own escape. FRANCE— Christmas Day in Paris In -1906 Midnight- Masseis were not celebrated inParis on Christmas Eve, as the late Cardinal Richard ieared they mignt become the occasion ' of unseemly demonstrations on the part of the anti-clerical section but in 1907 the Masses and other hallowed ceremonies >■■ were resumed, with the result that the people made a - touching display of their fidelity to the old Faith., .All ! the great and famous churches were filled to their "utmost. The beautiful music was a characteristic of all the ceremonies, 'especially those in JNotre Dtame, where thousands of worshippers gathered. "*•- A Gloomy Outlook • < : , As far as one can judge (,says the Paris-correspon-dent of the 'Pall Mall Gazette ') r the position of the Catholic body in France during 1908 will mot be a happy' one. Extraordinary efforts have been made to keep the faith alive in poor districts by ensuring the continuance of the services, but the organisers . of these parochial endeavors look blankly at the future. Protestants and the Associations' Law „ The religious indifference (remarks the c Catholic Times ') which has for so many years been growing in France appears to affect the French Protestants no less than the Catholics. The Protestant cultual associations cannot procure the sums necessary to pay the pastors and the expense of worship. The executive committee of the Union of the Keformed Churches has raised a cry of alarm. M. Armand Lods states tnat at the end of October four hundred thousand francs were required to meet an unavoidable expenditure of a million and a half francs. If the worshippers do not contribute more liberally quite a number of the Protestant churches wiii have to be given up. Already the Synod of Aiontbeliard has. decided to abandon several stations through lack of resources. There were two Jt'rotestant churches at Angers. One of them is about to be demolished, and the congregations will unite at worship in the other. But grave as ■ the difficulties are at this moment they win become far more serious in three years, xor t/he pastors will then be deprived of the free use of the presbyteries. The financial straits, too, will be more keenly felt in proportion as the ministers who - are receiving pensions from the - State disappear. Additional salaries will have to be provided, and fresh embarrassments will have to- "be faced. The outlook is by no means cheerful. ROME— The Holy Father's Jubilee In connection with the celebration of the Holy Father's Golden Jubilee this year, one of the popular manifestations of the occasion will be a great athletic carnival. This will partake of an international char-^ acter. Teams representing the cream of Catholic manhood and athleticism throughout- the world will give displays of their skill in the presence of his Holiness in> all departments of outdoor sport.- .The arrangements are being- carried out' to this emf in- conjunction with,*,, the Amusements Committee in Rome, under the presidency, of Count Mario tie Carpegna. '' \- , '"' - ~ An Audience Mr. "W. Redmond, M.P., and Mrs. W. Redmond, and Mr. Walton (Australia) and family, were received in . private audience by his Holiness; "the Pope on Sunday, December 29. They were introduced by Monsignor ' O'Riordan, Rector of the Irish College. On learning J from. Monsignor O'Riordan that Mr. Redmond represented the constituency which returned O'Connell in 1829, his Holiness said : ' You have a noble predecessor ; follow him. in everything.' Codification of Canon Law A Reuter's telegram from- Rome says :In his coilversa fcion with the Cardinals, when they went to the Vatican to offer his Holiness compliments of the sea-

son, the Potpe made it understood that fie considered ' the codification of Canon Law entrusted to a Commission at the head of which is the newly-elected Cardinal ,Grasparri one- of the greatest reforms undertaken by, the - Papacy. Cardinal Gasparri has been working at it for oyer two years, and it is supposed it will take _, two ■.-more.- to complete it, as the task includes not merely the codifying of laws already existing, but also the establishment, in the code, of rules required in modern times' and conditions, and the sanctioning of regulations which are not universally Accepted. This work is also destined _ to introduce important changes in . the organisation and working of the Roman Congrega- - tions, which correspond in the Church to what ministries are in a civil government. One of the chief innovations will be the establishment of special courts attached to the Congregations composed of real judges . for all cases coming within the jurisdiction, of the Congregation to which the court is attached. /It will also re-estalbEish as a supreme court of appeal the ancient Tribunal of the Rota, instituted by John XXII. in 1326,and regulated- by Sixtus IV. and Benedict XIV. The origin of the name Rota- is unknown, some thinking it- ' is derived from St. Catharine of the Rota, others-fram,.-the marble floor of the room -in which the -Tribunal used, ,to sit, and which was designed in the shape of a. - rwheel' (ruota,). That part of the work of Cardinal Gasparri which deals with the' dioceses will be transmitted to ,all Catholic Bishops throughout the world, so that they - can ' make any observations "or sugges-r tions which they may think opportune".' SCOTLAND— CathoIic Progress During 1907 the progress of Catholicism in Scotland, particularly ' in the great industrial centres, was .most, mairked (writes a Glasgow correspondent). In the " Glasgow archdiocese the year has been a remarkably successful one, and the official statistics just published make interesting reading. There are 271 priests at work in" the archdiocese, and of these - over 230 are secular clergymen. The estimated Catholic population of the district is about 380,000,, and there ape 124 churches and .96 schools iii the archdiocese.' During the year many new missions have been opened throughout Scotland, and in the North several churches have 'been enlarged. UNITED STATES— Catholic Scholarships During the last twenty-two years the Ancient Order of Hibernians has ' established more than 500 scholarships in the United States and endowed a 50,000. dollar chair in the Catholic University. " - - An Orphan Asylum Destroyed The House of Providence at Syracuse, New York-, an orphan asylum for boys in charge, of the Sisters of Charity, has been burned to the ground. The 152 inmates, ranging from four to -fourteen years old,- escaped without" injury, although all their personal effects were destroyed. , Catholic Progress We are indebted to Mr. E. P. Loftus, formerly of Wanganui,- for -copies of '-The- Catholic Progress' " and 1 The Post-Intelligence ' of Seattle, Washington, which- " give -an account -of Z the dedication of the new Catholic Cathedral, just' erected in that city at a cost of £100,000. During the same week occurred the silver - jubilee of "his ordination to -"the priesthood of the Right Rev. Dr. ODea, Bishop of the diocese. Less than r " thirty years- • ago the first Catholic church, and that of limited dimensions, , was erected in Seattle. At that time 'the Catholic : population was small. In Pittle more than five years the Catholic churches of Seattle have increased from three to thirteen, and the Cath- , .ol'ic population from, six thousand to forty thousand.^ Upon Bishop O'lDea's arrival in 1902 he .immediately -.proposed 'building an edifice that would express the devotion of the .people, and the magnificent Cathedral • of 'St.-Jamesis-the, culmination of his hopes. The building' •'alone cost £100,000; .rand there remains on- it a debt of £30,000. Only the doors, seats, and flooring are of wood. The cererfony of blessing and opening was performed by Bishop ,oDea,- assisted by Bishop .Carroll, of Helena, Bishop Lenihan, of Great .Falls, and Bishop O'Reilly, of Baker 'City. The solemn event was looked upon with, great joy fey all classes and denominations in Seattle. A Generous Benefactor , . Mr. James Butler, of New York City, desiring _ to perpetuate the memory and "carry out a ,long cherished, wish' of his 1 departed wife,' has purchased and presented ' the magnificent country seat property known as , the Reynard estate, located in the most picturesque section of Tarrytown-on-the-Hudson, to the Sisters of the

Sacred Heart of Mary. The property extends " over twelve acres, with a large modern situated on a high elevation, from which a view of the Hudson is obtained. It almost adjoins the 'beautiful and extensive park laid out by Mr. John D. Rockefeller. The site was considered by Archbishop Farley as one -of the most desirable for tne purpose in that section, combining the advantage of excliisiveness, accessibility to New York City, and healthfulness of surroundings. The price paid by Mr. Butler for the property is said to be close on £20,000. Sermons in Various Languages An excellent illustration of the universality of the Catholic Church was furnished at the recent dedication of a beautiful church erected by the Belgian Catholics of Chicago, when there were sermons in three languages English, Fleirdsh, and French— by Bishops Macs, Gabriels, and Meerschaert, respectively. ■