The Catholic World

New Zealand Tablet, 26 November 1908, Page 31

The Catholic World

CANADA— A Remarkable Journey A most remarkable journey, comprising some 2000 to 3000 • miles in extent, through the Far North, much- of which will be ; through wild regions, and a portion of which will have to be traversed by dog-drawn sledges and by canoes, is about to be undertaken by the Mother-General of the ' Grey Nuns,' a community which possesses many houses throughout Cariada- and North America! "The venerable religious who is about to enter on this extensive and fatiguing tour, . in order to ascertain ihe progress made by her community, who are largely engaged in missionary work, has passed rfer~seventh decade of- life ; but she is, nevertheless, wholly undeterred by the prospect of the great hardships which will inevitably have to be undergone during the course of her long journey from Winnipeg. ENGLAND— United Action The Archbishop of Westminster was on Sunday, October 4, presented with an address by the Somersetown Catholic Federation. In ieply his Grace urged upon the Catholics of England the importance of joining the Catholic Federation in order to protect their interests. An instance of this, he said, was seen at the recent Eucharistic Procession. The disabilities which were then easily invoked proved conclusively the need of such an organisation, and he looked forward to the lime when t there would be a Catholic Confederation of the whole of England. k was his earnest desire that the Catholic Federation should be a union of Catholics, irrespective of social position or political convictions, and whilst leaving the fullest possible liberty for the legitimate exercise over political predilections, there were certain questions, and one of them was the disabilities of the Catholic bod,v, which needed their united action, and whivi would have to be dealt with in the near future. Cardinal Gibbons on Religious Liberty His Eminence Cardinal Gibbons is of opinion that the prohibition of the Eucharistic Procession by the British Government was an interference with religious liberty, which proves that in this matter England is behind the age. Interviewed before his departure from Oueenstown ' by a representative of ihe Cork Examiner, he said the existence on the Statute Book of the pen-il clauses under which the procession was forbidden is an outrage. Such a thing would not be tolerated in Ameiica. ' But,' added his Eminence, ' some people's notion of religious liberty is that you should enjoy it by agreeing with them and only so long as you do so. I have read a resolution by a Baptist Conference in which they thank Mr. Asquith for interfering with religious liberty and at the same time maintain that religious liberty should be granted to everybody — a contradiction in terms.' Death of a Catholic Nobleman Lord Herries died on* -jOctober 5 at his Yorkshire seat, Everingham Park, Market "Weighton, in his 72nd year. His Lordship had been in failing health for some time. As his Lordship had no son the peerage* of the United Kingdom created" 1 in his favor becomes extinct, but the Scotch barony descends to the Duchess of Norfolk. . " • ROME— The Holy Father's Jubilee A cable message received last week- stated that 70,000 persons were present at the Holy Father's Jubilee- Mass in St. - Peter's. Our Home exchanges state, that the Emperor of Germany was to send the Governor of the Rhine Province, a prominent German Catholic, to Rome with an Imperial autograph letter to the Pope congratulating his. Holiness on the celebration of his Golden Jubilee in the priesthood. . ' Young Catholic Athletes . . Though ihe splendid body of young - athletes ' have left the <■ ' Eternal City ..(writes a Rome correspondent), and its various- ' components have * r.eached their headquarters, their memorab-e reunion in the Eternal City is not likely to be readily forgotten. The papers of all shades showed the importance they attached to the meeting and its affairs by the large space devoted daily _ to its proceedings. The foreign nations' competing — Canada, . Ireland, France and Belgium— have acknowledged the . courtesy they received from the committee conducting the sports, from the press, .and from the people. The ? Irish athletes - created a_ k sensation by their prowess on the football field and their success in the athletic events, the .Canadians by their affable manners and graceful deportment made many friends, and the French

and Belgians, though not so successful in the competitions, as their displays partook too much of. the acrobatic style,*- in^Jhe opinion' of the "judges, entered" with good-will into, .the fine spirit of comradeship prevailing. It is" hoped that a general federation of Catholic Young Men's Societies may arise out of tjie meeting, as a proposal to that effect was cordially received. ;A Brazilian Pilgrimage The Brazilian pilgrimage, composed of the members of the best families of the republic and representative of many Catholic bodies, has been here for some time (writes a Rome correspondent linger date October 3),- and several oi the members have ' been taking a partial rest after the fatigues of their long journey of over 5000 miles. His Eminence Cardinal Arcoverde, Archbishop of Rio Janeiro, accompanied the pilgrims, and has been very attentive to them since thei- arrival. The Cardinal, several Bishops and priests, and all those taking part in the pilgrimage, were received in special audience by the Hoh/ Father in the Consistorial Hall. Cardinal Arcoverde, the Bishops and prelates had been previously received in private audience, and they accompanied his Holiness to the audience hall. In reply.,to an address, his Holiness asked those present to convey -to all the faithful in Brazil his sincere affection, as a pledge- of which he sent to them the Apostolic Blessing. SCOTLAND— A Telling Speech Speaking at the opening of a bazaar in aid of the Sisters uf Mercy Schools at Dundee recently, Lord Ninian Crichton-Stua't made a vigorous and telling speech. During the past few months the Church had, he said, passed through two crises. The first had reference to education -bills, which had come and gone, and, the one now in being. v lt was not for them to enter into politics, but it was necessary for them as Catholics to si-.e that their children got that education which was the basis and foundation of the whole of their future lives. It was not only Catholics who wished for education of a denominational kind for their children, but they had done far more among themselves than an}' other religious-creed in the country. The second crisis was at the time of the great Congress which they had had in London, and which ended with the Eucharistic Procession. He called it the Eucharistic Procession because it was the Eucharislic .Congress. Unfortunately the Blessed Sacrament was not with them. They had had a renewal, if he migtit say so, of the persecution of the early Christian times, and what that persecution might lead to he did not know. He did know this, however : that, as it led in the olden times — in the- beginning of the Christian Faith, so the persecution of 1908 nad led to the consolidation of the Catholic Church. He had no desire to be controversial, but he doubted very much if any man, except a religious fanatic, was not sorry for the people of the United Kingdom at the present moment. Catholics had two things to defend — their children and their religion — and by their very appearance that day he thought the Catholics of Dundee showed that they wished to do so. Lord Crichton-Stuart's audience included his Lordship Bishop Macfarlane of Dunkeld, the Lord Provost of Dundee, the leading priests of Dunkeld, and many of the most prominent citizens In tha ' * jute town.' . SPAIN— A Marian Congress The" Marian Congress which has just been held at Saragos;a in Spain proved a great success. Cardinal Aguierre attended is -Legate of the Holy Father, and there was a- large attendance of Spanish 1 prelates, priests, and lay Catholics. Prior to the Marian Cohgi ess a Catholic. Press- Congress, which was also most successful, was held in the same city. .UNITED STATES— Abstinence Societies. ; : ' N The German Catholic Central' Verein, assembled in National " ConverftibrTat " Cleyeland,~ Ohio, ~ condenxne'd -prohibTtion . as v " method of solving the drink problem. The resolutions' say :' Wa ..urge that all members of this society, and Catholicsf*l"generallv refrain from treating and ~ac< eptance of treats in 'drinking, and consider the founding of abstinence" societies as the -best solution of the drink problem.' Progress of the Church The Milan correspondent of. the Daily Chronicle says : — ' Tlvs ■ Pope has addressed an autograph letter to Cardinal Gibbons expressing joy at the remarkable progress of Catholicism in the United States. His Holiness attributes' this' mainly to the American ideal of liberty, the~ cordial relations between the Apostolic delegation established at Washington, and the central Government authorities, to the .splendid educational work among the cultured- classes effected through the Catholic University there

under Bishop O'Connell's rectorship, and to the tactful missionary propaganda among the masses car/ied on by the PauHst fathers.' Cardinal. Gibbons, speaking to a pressman in Cork when about to leave for America, said : ' I am perfectly satisfied with the progress of _the Catholic religion in the United States. We are advancing, thanks be to God, and I expect greater progress in the future, as we are' better organised than ever we were. A century ago we had, .perhaps, 100,000 Catholics in the United States, now we have 14,000,000 or 15,000,000, and the numbers of clergymen and institutions have increased in proportion.' The See of San Francisco His Grace the Most Rev. Dr. Riordan celebrated on September 16 the silver jubilee of his consecration as Archbishop of San Francisco. Born at Chatham, N. 8., August 27, 1841, he studied at Notre Dame University," Paris, Louvain, and Rome. In 1883 he«was appointed Bishop of Cabesa and Coadjutor with the right of succession to the See of San Francisco. In the following year Archbishop Alemany resigned and Monssgnore Riordan became Archbishop of San Francisco. He is one of t'-e most energetic Archbishops and ablest administrators in the Church, Bishop Spalding The irremovable rectors of the diocese of Peo-ria, Illinois, are petitioning the Holy See to decide that Bishop Spalding, who has sent in his resignation owing 1o ill-health, shall remain al the head of the diocese with an administrator to relieve him of heavy work. The Archdiocese of Boston The centenary of the foundation of the diocese of Boston was tp be celebrated during the last week in October, and on Sunday, November 1, there was to be a street parade of the Holy Name Society, when it was expfcted that 50,000 men would be ptescnt. GENERAL Impressions of the Holy Father Prior to his departure fjom Ireland for the United States, Cardinal Gibbons granted an interview to a newspaper representative, in the course of which he said : ' Pope Pius X. is a very delightful man — a beautiful character. Apart from his episcopal and Papal character, he is a delightful personality, delighting to deal with missionary men more than with statesmen. '