The Catholic World

New Zealand Tablet, 7 May 1914, Page 55

The Catholic World

ENGLAND

NUNS FOR LEPER SETTLEMENT. On Tuesday, March 10, three Franciscan Missionaries of Mary—Mother Fabiola, from Quebec; Mother St. Hugh, from Co. Galway; and Sister Fidelmia, from Co. Kerry—left their convent in St. George's square, London, for Rome, where they were joined by nine more nunS. The party, sailed from Naples on March 17 for Ceylon. These devoted missionaries are leaving - ' Europe to undertake, at the request of the Government, a Leper Settlement at. .Hendala, an .island off the coast' of Ceylon. A recent letter from Colombo gives the information that the building foT the nuns has just been completed, and the poor lepers are impatiently awaiting the arrival of the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary. AN IMPORTANT JUDGMENT. Judgment was given by Mr. Justice Joyce in the , Chancery Division, London, on March 18 in a case raising the question of the validity of a bequest by the late Mr. Erasmus Bright Smith, of Wye Villa,' Clevedon ' to the society or institution known as Franciscan Friars of Clevedon in the County of Somerset.' The bequest was one which was stated to amount to about £ 14,000, and its validity was disputed by Mr. Vandeleur Bright Smith, of Little Salford, Cambs., on behalf of the next-of-kin. The case for the next-of-kin was that the Franciscan Friars, being bound by the vow of poverty, chastity, and obedience was one of a class of societies which it was the policy of the Catholic Emancipation Act to suppress, and every member of such society was committing a misdemeanour by remaining in England, and that the gift was consequently invalid. His lordship, however, held that the gift was one to the members of the community at the date of the testator's death, and that the policy of the Catholic Emancipation Act had no operation as against such a gift to individuals. He, therefore, made,a declaration that the gift was a good and valid gift to the members of the community at Clevedon. FRANCE 1 DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS WITH THE VATICAN. M. Deloncle, a Radical-Socialist Deputy, who certainly cannot be taxed with Clericalism, has again this year, during the debate on the Budget of the Foreign Ministry, made an eloquent appeal to the French Chamber in favor of the resumption of diplomatic relations between France and the Vatican (says the Paris correspondent of the Irish Catholic). Speaking more particularly of the French protectorate over the Christians in the East and Far East, he affirmed that to continue, pig-headedly, to refuse to recognise the Pope was ruinous for French influence. No one can doubt it, and the orator was doubly right when he added : ' In 1903 we behaved like children. In an hour we renounced prerogatives acquired by five centuries of efforts made by the French Monarchy;' It is needless to report what he said relative to the efforts of the Italian and other Governments to supplant the French in the East, but it is interesting and important to note that the unclerical Deputy did justice to the attitude of Pius X. After showing it was ridiculous to pretend that to re-establish relations with the Vatican would be to violate the law for the separation of Church and State, since Protestant Greek ■ Church countries are represented by Ambassadors and •a Ministers at (he Vatican, and relating recent incidents! f at Jerusalem, Jaffa, etc., M. Deloncle exclaimed: f And - in spite of all that the Pope remains faithful • to us! But, as Cardinal Gofcti inquired, is it possible for the Pope to save the influence of.,a country which proves false to itself?' There is, said the courageous orator, no need to ' go to Canossa. It will be much more con-

venient and better to go- straight to Rome—when he considered it useful for his country, Bismarck did not hesitate to go to Canossa.' Insisting that it was in the interests of France to resume diplomatic relations ™th; the Vatican, M. Deloncle declared that the Radical-Socialist Government would honor itself in taking that measure, especially as in doing so no one could accuse it of clericalism. ~...■ , , fV. • OERMANY FUNERAL OF CARDINAL KOPP. The remains of Cardinal Kopp were interred in the cathedral church of St. John the Baptist at Breslau. From all over -the enormous diocese of Breslau, which extends into Austrian Silesia, and from Cardinal Kopp's former diocese of Fulda, mourners poured into the town, and the scene in the streete and in the cathedral formed a striking testimony to the respect in which the memory of the great Churchman was held. Thousands stood in the rain to see the funeral procession pass to the tolling of the bells from the huge Bishop's palace to the adjoining cathedral. The cathedral was draped in black and decorated with evergreens. Near the high altar sat the Bishops of Fulda, Paderborn, Hildesheim, Ermland, and Koniggratz, the Duke of Ratibor, who was representing the Emperor William, and representatives of the King of Saxony and the King of Bavaria. After a Requiem Mass said by the Archbishop of Cologne, the coffin was lowered by twelve priests into a vault in front of the high altar. * THE CENTRE PARTY AND DUELLING. English-speaking people may legitimately take pride in the fact that amongst them the custom of duelling has become a thing of the past. According to British law (says the Catholic Times)' the sending of a challenge, either by word or letter, to fight a duel is a misdemeanor punishable by fine or imprisonment, or both, and the killing t>f a person in a duel is murder under any circumstances. The second of the party killed may be indicted and convicted on the capital charge. In France duels are still numerous, but mostly innocuous. Amongst the Germans the custom is kept up in its more dangerous forms. The Centre Party, guided by their own good sense and by the attitude of the Church, which excommunicates all who engage in duels, have fought earnestly for the suppression of the practice. The question was raised by the party in the Reichstag, Herr Grober criticising the inaction' of the authorities and intimating that the House would soon be asked to adopt a resolution to the effect that the officer who provoked a duel by dishonorable or unscrupulous conduct should be punished, not with confinement in a fortress, which does not involve disgrace, but with imprisonment. The Minister for War stated that the men at the head of the army and of, the navy are striving to bring about an improvement by educative meihs. The way to stop the duel in the army and navy is to make the sending or acceptance of a challenge,a serious offence, and until that is done the Germans will continue to risk their lives in this species of folly.