The Catholic World

New Zealand Tablet, 12 August 1909, Page 1271

The Catholic World

ENGLAND— A Matter for Inquiry Many questions (says the Catholic Times) are being asked in Liverpool as to what action the authorities intend to take with regard to an advertisement in a local paper in which the intention of the Orangemen to attack the peaceful and perfectly legal Catholic procession on Sunday was publicly proclaimed. Fifty elementary schools in Liverpool were temporarily closed in consequence of the riots caused by the Orange interference with Catholic processionists on Sunday, June 20. Reading: Abbey and its Associations At the ceremony of unveiling a memorial at - Reading of King Henry 1., the founder of Reading Abbey, Mr. Birrell, in the course of his address, said : That .abbey and its once glorious church, one of the greatest and most beautiful that ever was built in England, stood unchallenged and unchallengeable for centuries. It was hallowed ty a particular sanctity. Within its walls great services were held, great bishops were consecrated, and Parliaments were held, and from Henry I. to Henry VIII. no single monarch or queen ever failed to visit Reading and to worship there. Yet suddenly, one black day in 1539, the inhabitants of Beading, men and women just like his hearers, stood apparently guiltily by and allowed the mitred abbot of Reading, a man of blameless life and of sound character, to be brutally executed in front of the gateway of his own home. The monks, his companions, were scattered penniless upon thp world, and, to their shame, apparently nobody said a word or lifted a hand on their behalf. How that might be ho could not stop to consider; indeed, to do so would be dangerous ; but it was no easy task for a great church to fall into such a complete ruin as their abbey presented. The civil wars and the siege of Reading no doubt contributed to the melancholy result. Late though the day was, that memorial would stand to testify that the townsmen of Reading gloried in their history, and delighted to honor the memories of the great men who founded their abbey and town. The donor ''of the memorial, Dr. Boyd Hurry, has published (says the Catholic WeeJcly) an account of the abbey, from which the following few extracts should be of interest to our readers : ' Like other 1 religious foundations of the period, Reading Abbey did much for history, education, literature, and art. . . Great were the benefits conferred by the abbey on the little burgh of Radingia, over which it kept watch and ward. The influence on the commerce of Reading was not unimportant. Roads and bridges were constructed and repaired, arts and crafts were taught, fresh land was brought under cultivation, improved methods of agriculture and horticulture introduced, and business habits taught. The monks were good landlords and owned extensive estates that gave employment to many. The constant stream of pilgrims to St. James's Shrine and yf, traders to the Abbot's fair must have benefited trade "'aTorl helped to crowd the market-place and booths. . Tne influence of the abbey on the fortunes of this ancient borough must abide for ever, and Reading is most deeply indebted to that ancient home of religion and learning whose history is inextricably interwoven with her own.' GERMANY— IIIness of Cardinal JCopp Thanksgiving services were held in the churches of the. Archdiocese of Breslau on Sunday, June 20, in gratitude^ to God for the recovery of the Archbishop, Cardinal Kopp, from his dangerous illness. ITALY— In Memory of St. Anseltn The' statue which is to be erected at Aosta in honor of the St. Anselm Centenary will bear' in French the inscription': 'To St. Anselm, glory of his Fatherland and the Church, by his compatriots and admirers. Born in Aosta in 1033; .died at Canterbury, Primate of England, on the 2lat April, 1109.' Vindication of the Salesians Justice moves slowly, particularly in Italy (writes "a Borne correspondent), but it sometimes manages to reach those who have long evaded it. It will be remembered that in the organised campaign of defamation directed against Catholic institutions two years ago the Salesian Fathers were specially singled out for attack. Their successful zeal was undoing much of the evil teaching of the subversive societies, and charges were made against different establishments directed by the sons of Don Bosco. , Some of their institutions were summarily closed after the Italian fashion, pending inquiry. These inquiries invariably led to the same conclusion, vindication for the managers and re-opening of the establishment, but the defamation had then served much of its purpose. The Fathers

determined to bring their accusers to task, and, one after another, notwithstanding every legal device adopted by their unscrupulous opponents, they succeeded in. gaining victories, which, indeed, they almost marred by the clemency, with which they treated their detainers. The Lotte Nere of Mondovi has been the latest brought to bay. Seeing no other way out of the difficulty, it agrees to insert a most ample declaration of its guilt in publishing scandalous libels about the college at Varazze, and to pay all the expenses incurred by the complainants. The Fathers now withdraw their case, as their sole motive has been the vindication uf the honor of their excellent institutions. The papers now publish the condemnation of another of these defamation agents to four months' imprisonment, three hundred francs fine, and the payment of all the legal expenses incurred by the Rev. Claudio Marcucci of Chiusi, about whom he had published a gross libel in the local press. - ? ROME— A Motor Car for the Holy Father The magnificent automobile which was presented to the Holy Father recently by a rich American Catholic was taken to the Vatican on June 22 (says the Catholic Times). Great crowds lined the streets and expressed their appreciation of the gift by admiring cries. The Pope, officers of .his. household, and the Cardinals came out into the gardens of the Vatican to view the car, and afterwards his Holiness mad© a journey in the motor round the gardens.. The Papal Medal , The medal issued annually before the Feast of SS. Peter and Paul has just -been finished (writes a 'Rome correspondent). It commemorates' what is considered the most important event of the Papal reign during the current year. Two years ago it bore a beautiful impression showing the simultaneous consecration of fourteen French Bishops m St. Peter's. Last year the event chosen was 'the condemnatioh of the Modernists. This time the Vatican engraver, Chevalier Bianchi, whose work is always of the highest standard, has produced a very handsome medal representing the Pope in the act of consigning the decree ' Sapienti consilio ' for the reform of the Roman Curia to one of the Auditors of the Sacred Rota. The Holy Father is seated on a throne, while the Auditor, kneeling, receives a book with the inscription ' Sapienti consilio.' A Cardinal stands at each side of his Holiness, and a little lower and in stronger relief a religious in his habit and a prelate in mantelletta, who also assist at the solemn initiation of the reform. Below appear the words' ' Romae Curiae Ordinatio Decernitur.' The front of the medal bears, as usual, a likeness of his Holiness, with the bordering inscription ' Pius X. Pont. Maxv An. Vl.' The Pontiff expressed his admiration of this excellent production of Chevalier Bianchi's skill when, according to custom, the Cardinal Secretary of State presented gold, silver, and bronze specimens of the medal. The medals in silver and bronze have been consigned to the Cardinal Secretary of State and to Monsignor Marzolini, Secretary of the Commission for the administration of the goods of the Holy See. The members of the Pontifical Court and other dignitaries receive their medals before the Feast of SS. Peter and Paul. SCOTLAND— The Metropolitan Chapter The vacant stall in the metropolitan chapter, formerly filled by Canon McGinnes, of Inverleithen, has for its new occupant Father Joseph Donlevy, parish priest of Portobello. The new Canon was born in Edinburgh in 1864, and educated at Blairs College and the Scots, College, V.alladolid. In 1887 he was ordained priest, and after being attached to Lennoxtown, Stirling, arid Kirkcaldy, as assistant priest, was appointed by*-A,rchbishop Smith to the charge of Portobello in 1890.- v F.oY nineteen years he has administered that parish , with unflagging zeal and Conspicuous ability. He is the second of his family to occupy a seat in the chapter of the archdiocese, his brother, Canon James Donlevy, who -died six years ago, having beea^e of the most prominent clergy in Edinburgh for , many yeaw. UNITED STATES— The Archbishop of Boston The Holy Father sent to Most Rev. W. H. O..Cpnnell, Archbishop of Boston, a beautiful ( episcopal 6ross 'of sapphires and diamonds on the occasion of the anniversary of his Grace's ordination. '/ " An Extensive Archdiocese. The establishment of ten new parishes in the Chicago Archdiocese is in contemplation by Archbishop Quigley. Phenomenal growth of the Church in Chicago and its environs is responsible for the move. The task of redistrictihg certain of the parish lines to make room for the projected pastorates is in the hands of a committee headed by Rev. E. A. Kelly, pastor of St. Ann's Church. So great has been the influx of Catholic population that some of the parishes now are overburdened. It is to relieve these churches and to accommodate residents of newly-developed sections that the ' new parish plan ' is being considered.