The Catholic World

New Zealand Tablet, 6 October 1910, Page 1635

The Catholic World

ENGLAND— A Rare Record Sister Theresa, who was recently placed by the Workington Education Committee on the superannuation list after 34 years' service at Banklands School (during which time she never missed even a -day), was presented by the pupils, past and present, and the managers with a silver watch and a case of books. The Late Judge Walton Mr. Justice Walton was one of the distinguished Catholic judges who have passed away within a comparatively short period. He was a man whose knowledge of the law was both acute and extensive, and his name fittingly follows those of Lord Russell of Killoweu, whose pupil he was, Lord Brampton, Lord Justice Mathew, and Mr. Justice Day. Like these eminent lawyers (says the Catholic. Times), his character stood exceedingly high. Catholic principle was the warp and woof of'his thought and action, and by his sudden death the Church in this country has suffered a severe loss. From his early years he was always zealous to be of service to Catholic interests, and nothing gave him greater pleasure than to be able to point out to other Catholics in one of those happy speeches winch he delivered with such facile eloquence how the old feeling of ill-will against the Church in this country was steadily dying out, and how the faithful could now push their fortunes in places where their forefathers practised their religion by stealth. Be honored the clergy profoundly as the ministers of God, and it was with intense joy he gave three of his sons to that sacred office. Ever most conscientious in the discharge of duty, he has left to his coreligionists a record upon which they can look with nride. FRANCE —Two Ancient Sees Two ancient Sees have been re-established by a Papal decree—the Bishoprics of Couserans and of Mirepoix, in —which were suppressed at the Revolution. The See of Saint Dicier, the capital of Couserans, claims its origin in the first or second century. The See of Mirepoix was created by Rope John XXII., and amongst its prelates was Jacques Founder, who afterwards became Pope Benedict XII. The Remedy for Crime Atrocious crimes (remarks the Catholic Times) have become so numerous in. France that . some of the French papers have of late been requesting their readers to offer suggestions as to the best method of diminishing the number of murders. As to the true remedy opinions differ. Some urge that for the punishment of men found guilty of crimes of violence the ' cat' should be used, and they point out that this mode of dealing with offenders had excellent results some years ago. Others are in favor of making the sale of firearms to the public practically prohibitive. Yet others put forward other proposals. But mere attempts at repression will not suffice. There is no man in France who has a more extensive knowledge of crime than M. Lepine, the Paris prefect of police, but even lie does not appear to know how the number of assassinations may be reduced. He made a speech at the interment of the last police officer killed in the street, and dwelt touchingly on the terrible risks the French police have had to face, especially during the past twenty years, in the discharge of their duties, but beyond asking for the sympathy of the citizens he gave no hint as to how, in his opinion, life in France could be better protected. The fact is that though multitudes see clearly there is no hope for improvement until Catholic morality is taught in the French schools, supporters of the Government are unwilling to admit the failure of the existing regime. GERMANY—A Convert A young Jew named Leo Mergentheim, the son of a former Chicago banker, whom Mgr. Windthorst, now of Cologne and formerly of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, instructed and baptised seven years ago, after having studied jurisprudence at the University of Bonn and taken the degree ' Doctor Juris,' studied for the Church and has just been ordained at Cologne. The sermon on the occasion of his first Mass was delivered by a former Protestant preacher, who is now a Catholic priest in the diocese of St. Gall. TALY The Leaning Tower of Pisa » Several Italian scientists have _ been disturbing themselves about the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and predict that it will soon come to an untimely end. A commission of engineers and architects has therefore been appointed to examine the beautiful Campanile, and the result of their investigation is that though the famous, tower leans considerably more than it did in 1829, when the last investigation was made, there is no reason to be excessively alarmed on its account. The chief danger arises from the movement of the great bells, which weigh from 2300 to 3400 kilograms, and therefore orders have been given to use them as little as possible, in order to avoid the oscillation and vibration caused by their movement. Though the Tower at Pisa is the best known, it is by no means the only leaning tower in Italy. Several other cities possess

these freaks of mediaeval architecture, and in Bologna the celebrated Towers of the Asinelli and Garisenda are both leaning, the latter at a very abrupt angle. The Salesian Order The eleventh General Chapter of the Salesian Congregation held its session in Turin early in August, when Don Paul Albera, until then the spiritual director of the Congregation, was elected to the high office of SuperiorGeneral, in place of the late revered Don Michael Rua, who died in April last. Called, as he is, in the 68th year of his age_ to the direction of the Congregation, Father Albera is in every way fitted for the task imposed upon him. When but a youth of twelve Father Albera came under the notice of the Yen. Don Bosco, who, when he was old enough, called him to be one of his first disciples. Thus he has been for more than fifty years a member of the Congregation ; he is now to rule as Superior-General. For several years he was closely associated with the Ven. Don Bosco in the work of the Congregation in Turin, and in 1877 was chosen as the first Superior of the Salesian House, which was opened in that year at St. Pierredarena, near Genoa. ROME—An Incorrect Report The report having been circulated by the daily papers that the Holy See had instructed the Catholic leaders in Spain to prevent the projected demonstration at San Sebastian on August 7, the ecclesiastical authorities in Rome wish it to be distinctly understood that this report is incorrect, and that the Holy See kept absolutely aloof from the. movement, doing nothing either to promote or to prevent it. Cnlabrians and the Hj?y Father The Archbishop of Reggio-Calsbria, Mgr. Rirwddo Rousset, arrived recently in Rome in company with leading Catholic laymen to make final arrangements for the reception of a large body of Calabrian pilgrims to the Vatican. The object of the pilgrimage is to express to the Holy Father the gratitude of the people of Reggio-Calabria for his efforts on their behalf after the earthquake which laid desolate so many homes. It is believed that the pilgrimage will be one of the largest that has left Southern Italy for many years. The Ho!y See and Spain Perhaps (says a Rome correspondent) no struggle hitween Church and State has taken place lor many years in which the press lias been so strenuously employed against the Holy See as in the dispute between the Spanish Premier and the Vatican. Most of the anti-clerical organs insist on referring to the suspension of negotiations between the parties concerned as ' the rupture between Spain and the Vatican.' We are tired of hearing it repeated that the Papal Nuncio is permanently leaving Spain, although Mgr. Vico is quietly passing his holidays at Zarauz, near San Sebastiano. On August 12 we were informed the Sacred Congregation of Ecclesiastical Affairs, which has charge of the negotiations, had been called together hurriedly, notwithstanding, the fact that the Papal Secretary of State has commenced his vacation in the Villa Blumensthil on Monte Mario, and has merely visited the Vatican for a session of the Consistorial Council, and that the. body in question has not come together since its latest ordinary meeting. Anything or everything to indicate trepidation on the part of the Holy See or to precipitate a crisis! There is little to be said as to the relations between the Spanish Government and the Holy _ See, for the reason that they are in statu quo. There is no evidence of hurry or absence of tranquility on the part of the diplomatic body of the Vatican. Nobody can point to anything indicative of the day when a meeting of the Sacred Congregation of Extraordinary Ecclesiastical Affairs may be held for the purpose of replying to the last diplomatic note from Spain. Investigation shows that the Vatican has no intention whatever of making new proposals to the Spanish Government: its action is too well considered for that. Meanwhile the Roman journals take a good deal of interest in a telegram telling of the. article from the pen of a Liberal Deputy of the Spanish Parliament recently published in the London Times. The assumption that the ultimate intention of Seiior Canalejas, as the author of the article states, is to de-Catholicise Spain, may not be incorrect; for, once in the meshes of Masonry, there is no saying where that statesman may call a halt. Anniversary of the Pope's Coronation Once more (writes a Rome correspondent) Christendom has celebrated the anniversary of the coronation of the Holy Father and gathered round the Pope whose term of years as head of the Church has been so full of reforms for Catholics, so singularly replete with bitterness and suffering for himself. Anyone who studied the counteance of the Sovereign Pontiff on the morning of August 9 could not but feel how heavily the sense of responsibility presses on the mind of Pius the Tenth; for that bright, cheery expression of face that I had seen only the previous morning as the Holy Father moved through the long lines of American pilgrims, was gone, and there only remained a semblance of what the faithful should like the Holy Father to be. This change is inexplicable to those who have the opportunity, of frequently seeing Pius X. To-day so cheerful and brirriming over with good humor; to-morrow carried on the sedia gestatoria, with all that is great and good in

Christendom at his feet, looking so sad and careworn. As the Papal cortege moved slowly through the Sala Regia and the Sala Ducale to the Sistine Chapel for the anniversary High Mass of the Pope's coronation, one could not help admiring the impression of strength and courage conveyed by Pius the Tenth. While scanning the faces of that stately double line of savants attached to the Rota, the Consistorial Congregation, and other bodies, of Generals of religious Orders and Congregations, of Bishops, Archbishops, Patriarchs, and Cardinals, I found indications of more sternness, and perhaps more keenness; but I failed to find an expression that combined so many qualities of mind and heart, so capable of inspiring the faithful with hope and courage, as that of him whose coronation we were celebrating. As the privilege of saying the anniversary Mass for a Papal coronation belongs to the first Cardinal created by the Pope, Cardinal Merry del Val was Celebrant on the occasion. His Eminence, fully vested in the sacristy of the Sistine, awaited the arrival of the procession and the Sovereign Pontiff. Pius X. wore a beautiful white cope and stole, and bore the Papal Tiara, all studded with precious stones, on his head. Notwithstanding the intense heat of the Sistine Chapel, heat which seemed to make itself pretty well felt among the Diplomatic Corps and the Roman nobility, the Holy Father seemed to experience no inconvenience. Towards the end of the function, when the Celebrant proclaimed the granting of a Plenary Indulgence by his Holiness to all present, the Holy Father pronounced the Benediction in a strong, resonant voice that seems to gain in sweetness as the years go by. UNITED STATES—PoIish Newspapers Polish papers (says America) are published in every large city of the United States; and there are among them five daily papers and thirty-one weeklies; the rest being monthly ~ and semi-monthly. Many of them are given to literature and the latest developments of science and art, and keep fully abreast of the times. Church for Deaf Mutes For the first time in history the deaf and dumb are to have a church of their own. It is to be provided in New York. The news was announced at a Mass for mutes celebrated in the Church of St. Francis Xavier, New York, by Father M. J. McCarthy, S.J. Two hundred and fifty mutes were present from New Jersey, Brooklyn, Staten Island, New Rochelle, Manhattan, and The Bronx. Cardinal Vannutelli It is understood that Cardinal Vincent Vannutelli, the Legate at the Eucharistic Congress, has promised to be present at the consecration of St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York, this month. The Cardinal Legate may remain in America about two months. _ After the close of the Congress he will visit the Catholic Summer School at Lake Champlain, and then go to Washington, where he will be received by President Taft.