THE CATHOLIC PRESS IN OTHER LANDS

New Zealand Tablet, 9 October 1913, Page 11

THE CATHOLIC PRESS IN OTHER LANDS

The following paper was road at the recent Catholic Congress at Plymouth by Miss Irene Hernaman : '■ v ; The - propaganda of the good Press in France is carried on by two important societies, the Bonne Presse, of Paris, and - the Action Populaire, of Rheims. The Maison de la Bonne Presse was founded by an Assumptionist Father in the year 1873; he launched the first Catholic ;newspaper in France, La Croix, which has now the fourth largest;’circulation in the country. We have all heard of how the infidel Government in 1908 laid hands on the property of the Bonn© Presse, and of how the Catholics of France, from the poorest to the wealthiest, subscribed three and a-half million francs to buy it back. The Bonne Presse published upwards of twenty -five papers and magazines; there are also stories price sixpence each (their circulation during 1912 has doubled), and larger books for parish libraries, while a special department is devoted to cinematograph films, of which 10,000 metres can now be hired. The methods of distributing this mass of literature are admirable; forty-one departments have their cantonal committees; in many places the organisation rests in the hands of the Ligue Patriotique des Femmes Fran-caises—-the Catholic Women’s League of France, whose boast it is that they are . the workwomen of the good press. In so short a, paper it is impossible to give Any Idea of Their Activities - many of them personally meet the newspaper trains every morning ; others, business women, take round their bundle of papers before going to work. At Versailles, on the eve of the municipal elections of 1912, the press committee addressed and distributed 6000 newspapers in twenty-four hours— in an hour! The League has 250 circulating libraries, in which excellent work it is assisted by the (Euvres des Bibliotheques Catholiques at Paris, which makes a donation of thirty books to struggling parish libraries. . The Bonne Presse receives valuable spiritual help from the 100,000 members of the League.of the Ave Maria, who say one ‘ Hail Mary ’ every day for the good Press, and many priests offer Mass monthly for the same intention. The Action Populaire is so well known to English Catholics that it only needs brief mention. Its numerous publications rang© from the weighty Annee Sociale Internationale—a, mine of information for the social student—to a host of tracts on every conceivable subject written by experts. The latest comer, a monthly magazine, in its one year of existence, has gained 8000 readers. The Children of Mary and other confraternities are taught that they cannot consider themselves abreast with the times unless they assist the apostolate of the good press. In three towns they have succeeded ii almost eradicating the anti-clerical paper. The German Volksverein is the model of all press organisations. Founded in 1890, numbers over 700,000. By an elaborate system of pro-

vincial delegates, managers, and committees, the Volksverein keeps in touch with its members while encouraging them to support their local Catholic press. At the central office a literary staff, all possessing degrees of political economy or theology, edit and prepare the seven magazines; one of the largest, Soziale Studentenblatter for university students,: has a circulation of 10,000. The output of pamphlets in 1912 showed an increase of eight millions over the preceding year. Another important work is the supplying of articles on apologetic and on social questions to 400 Catholic weeklies. There are, roughly speaking, about 250 Catholic dailies in Germany; good press propaganda is carried on by the Augustverein, a society of over 1000 Catholic journalists, and by the Frauenbund and the Catholic Women Teachers’ League ; the two last publish literature, and distribute leaflets, exposing the dangers of the bad press, while the flourishing Borromeanverein is responsible for many hundreds’ of libraries. Another useful institution is the Central. Information Bureau, which in 1911 denounced 715 scandals against priests and nuns. - The Piusverein of Austria closely resembles the Volksverein; its object is to assist Catholic papers out of its funds. It was founded in 1906, at a moment when Catholic journalism was at its lowest ebb. In two months it gained 45,000 members; in 1910 the number had risen to 125,000. There are now two important dailies And some 90 weeklies. The Piusverein issues thousands of. leaflets urging the importance of press propaganda; the Press Bureau sends articles to Catholic papers, and even supplies sermons on the apostolate of the press. The Volksbund started in 1910 and has lately been federated to the Piusverein ; it seeks to educate its members, who are chiefly working-people, in Catholic principles respecting social problems; in 1911 it numbered 14,547 associates. The Christian syndicates have sixteen papers. The Catholic Alliance of Hungary, , founded eighteen years ago, has its press section, which actively combats the bad press and assists popular libraries. The People’s Catholic Alliance is educational in its aim; every month it distributes pamphlets to its 300,000 members, who are ardent supporters of the good press. There are also several excellent libraries under the management of the Catholic Women’s League and Mary-Elizabeth Society ; one of the latter has 3000 volumes in five languages for the educated classes. Catholic press propaganda in Hungary has to overcome enormous obstacles; the majority of the newspapers and libraries are under Jewish and Masonic control, and the Catholics, weakened by Calvinist environment, lack that enlightened grip of their religion which is so vitally important in the present day. Catholics in Poland, in spite of religious persecution, are very earnest over their press ; the Catholic Association of Posniac, which

includes' about half the working-men in the country, has its own review, with 29,000 subscribers; the Union of Professionals spent in one year 18,849 marks on press propaganda. There is a lack of Catholic writers owing to the restrictions laid upon higher education by the Russian .Government. , v. Belgian Catholics are keenly alive to the importance of supporting their press. Catholic journals far outnumber Socialist and anti-clerical ones, and have a circulation varying from 70.000 for the Flemish Gazet van Antwerpen , to 190.000 for the Rationale and Patriote combined. Societies for press propaganda are to be found everywhere ; one of the most flourishing is the Society of St. Paul at Brussels, and some idea of the work it has accomplished may be, gathered from the fact that at the time of the elections of 1884 no Catholic paper was to be seen in the hotels and cafes. Unfortunately details of last year’s electioneering campaign are not yet forthcoming, but we know that 50,000 leaflets were distributed. In 1910 not only were tracts left at every house, but they were also given away at the gates of the: factories; and 1088 newspapers were sent for two months to parliamentary candidates whose Catholicity was considered doubtful. All this costs money: ‘We must boldly face the fact that press propaganda is costly,’ writes the secretary. And it is largely to provide a central fund that a National Press Federation - was organised in 1911 under the presidency of Cardinal Mercier; at the first Press Day last March more than eighty press committees had sent in their adhesion. One of the fruits of the Press Day has been that the Leagues of the Blessed Sacrament and of the Retraites Fermees have taken up press propaganda. Belgian Catholics have also started a most useful Committee of Defence, the different branches undertaking to read and refute all attacks published against all religion. Since its foundation in 1910 it has issued 99 summonses, which bare all resulted in condemnations. The wonderful ’■ Expansion of the Catholic Press in Holland makes it difficult to realise that it is a Protestant country. In 1880, when the Abbe Schaepereau was elected as the first clerical deputy to Parliament, there was only one daily paper; at his death there were thirteen dailies and 150 periodicals. One of the newspapers has a morning and evening edition, and numbers over 5000 readers, while a bi-weekly has a circulation of 29,500. A special feature of Catholic life in Holland is the many professional and working men’s syndicates — unions are not popular; each have their own periodical; thus there is the Catholic Tobacconist, the Catholic Diamond-makers’ Review, the Catholic Furniture-makers’ Review, etc. Distribution of literature is carried on chiefly by members of the numerous propaganda clubs, the majority of which are united into a national federation. Unfortunately, no statistics are available, but they are indefatigable in prayer, house-to-house visiting, and distribution at the church doors; the Apostolate of the Catholic Press has repeatedly been insisted upon by the Dutch Episcopate in thtir pastorals. There are several publishing and propaganda societies, one at Amsterdam worked by the Jesuit Fathers somewhat resembles the Catholic Truth Society. When We Turn to Italy we seek in vain for the same enthusiasm. The Unione \ Popolare, founded in 1906, has 100,000 members, which number could easily be doubled but for- the - apathy of lay Catholics, and the lack or organisation in rural districts. Its brightly written monthly pamphlets sent to all members deserve a wider circulation. Unfortunately, many are lost every month; in one village during the whole year the literature addressed to several members was regularly sequestered. by the Socialist driver of the post-waggon, with the ; result that the following January the men refused their subscription, saying they got nothing for their money. Nor is this an isolated case. At Naples a large society publishes tracts and pamphlets. At Rome the Society of St. Paul distributes literature, mostly of a religious

nature, to hospitals, barracks, and public libraries. A special branch of the work supplies books and . manuals to Italians resident in other parts of Europe and America. Every town in Italy has its little press committee, one of the strongest of which is at Bergamo. The different societies and dioceses have all their magazines. One of the best of the latter circulates in ten parishes of the Ventimiglia diocese, and is a model parish magazine. But until all these scattered forces are united into a powerful press committee, the strength of the Masonic press cannot be broken. The Catholic Press in Spain would easily control public opinion were it not for the unfortunate political' divisions. As it is we find Carlist, Integrist, Jamist, each struggling for the mastery. Nevertheless Catholic periodicals have trebled their circulation during the last ten years, and there are now some 65 daily papers. There is also an Information Bureau, which in the first year received 173,810 subscriptions ; and it is delightful to find even the poor contributing a halfpenny a week towards the support of the Catholic press. Three large societies carry on press propaganda. There is the Accion Social Popular, of Barcelona, founded in 1907, which has 16,000 members. During the first year it published 4,310,728 books and pamphlets. Much the same work is done by the Accion Social Catolica, of Saragossa. Both societies give numerous conferences. But the most striking feature in the Spanish good press propaganda is the active part taken by more than 10,000 seminarists all over the country under the direction of the seminary at Seville. These enthusiastic young men and boys devote a portion of their recreation every day to work in the seminary printing-rooms, and in order that during the long vacation the numerous publications shall appear as usual, three seminarists at a time sacrifice a month to office and journalist work within the seminary, aided by others living in the vicinity. House-to-house distribution is also carried on. At Barcelona the seminarists delivered in one year 13,000 periodicals to hotels, cafes, hairdressers’ shops, and workmen’s clubs.' At Madrid the diocesan committee has placed boxes at the church doors, where read papers may be deposited. A diocesan association for priests has been lately started at Seville, and for allpriests, religious and secular, nuns, laymen and laywomen—there is a special manual to direct their activities. Mention must also be made of numerous libraries, especially those in the prisons at Valentia. It was in 1871 that the First Catholic Daily Paper was Launched ip. Switzerland, amidst enormous obstacles both from the indifference of Catholics and the bitter antagonism of the Socialist printers. ' Help came from an unexpected quarter. Seven young girls who desired to consecrate themselves to God came forward and offered to dedicate themselves to this new apostolate of the good press. It was on Whitsun Eve that this little band of pioneers arrived at Lyons, and climbed the hill to the sanctuary of Notre Dame de Fourvieres to ask the protection of our Lady in this strange work which' they were to learn on the morrow in the busy printing establishment. They returned to Fribourg at the very moment when the printers had struck work, .leaving the journal for the morrow half completed. In a few moments the girls had slipped into the empty places, and, to the disgust of the Socialists, the paper appeared next morning as usual. - There are now sixty of them, belonging to all nationalities, who form a kind of third order, and divide their time between labor in the workshop, done as far as’ possible in silence, and prayer in their own chapel. The printing house, a fine building, publishes papers and tracts, and has a library of 3000 volumes. The Swiss Volksverein, founded in 1857, has sections for the press all over Switzerland, and in 1910 it numbered 50,000 members. Its centre is at Lucerne. In the same city is a most useful Institute of Apologetics, which, besides furnishing articles on controversial subjects to Catholic papers, refutes false statements against the Church. The most important daily newspaper is the Vaterland, with a circulation of 15,000., German papers number forty-eight; French, thirteen. It is

impossible within the scope of this paper to give more than- a brief. survey • of the Catholic press ■; -In Canada and the United States. In Canada there are no daily papers for Englishspeaking Catholics. < The most important weeklies, the Casket and the Record, were established nearly forty years ago. The latter has upwards of 50,000 readers. The monthly Messenger of the Sacred Heart has a circulation of 150,000. French Catholics have several newspapers and numerous parochial bulletins, of which 50,000 are’ distributed gratis in Montreal. The Ecole Sociale of Montreal brings out 1000 pamphlets on social questions every month; the Action Populaire of Quebec is responsible for a daily paper, L’Action Sociale, with a circulation of 18,000, and some excellent tracts. With two exceptions, the non-Catholic press is tolerant and fair-minded, but several Protestant sects in Western Canada publish leaflets which delight in vilifying Catholic faith and practice. Their bad influence is being actively combated by clergy and laity alike. There are also some scurrilous publications issued by the French Freemasons. The Action Social Populaire is also the centre of the French League of the Catholic press in Canada and the States, which numbers some twenty periodicals. The Catholic Press in the United States does not receive that widespread support which it deserves. Three of the largest weeklies—two German, the other English—have a combined circulation of 37,650. The editor-in-chief has been instrumental in helping to organise a Catholic Press Association, founded two years ago. In the first year it received 1100 dollar subscriptions. It has arranged to obtain a weekly cable letter direct from the Vatican, and to transmit it to those papers which subscribe for it. The Social Service Commission of the American Federation of Catholic Charities during the past year has supplied thirty journals with a much appreciated article on social problems. The International Catholic Truth Society, incorporated in 1900, is active both in Canada and the States. The report for 1910-11 shows a membership of over a thousand, and 118 affiliated societies, while 199,188 pamphlets were distributed. It is in communication with the small, though active, branch of the Catholic Truth Society in Australia, which has some 628 members. During its eight years of existence it has circulated more than one million of its crisply written publications, many of which have found a ready sale'in the States, the Argentine, Brazil, Chile, and Mexico. Each of them has its press committee. This, brief survey of press propaganda abroad seems to emphasise two important facts; the one a national, and the other an international need. First there is the vital necessity of a central information bureau in every country, such as those already existing in Belgium and Switzerland, which shall supply news to the : Catholic papers, and shall challenge, if possible, all false statements on Catholic matters which are published in the non-Catholic press. Secondly, there is the want of an international Catholic press agency. We need an International News Agency,’ is the cry which comes from the Old World and the New. Thus alone can the wall of calumny, misrepresentation, and silence which the non-Catholic press have built around Catholic thought and action be broken down ; thus alone can the whole truth bo proclaimed to the world.