The Catholic World

New Zealand Tablet, 29 April 1915, Page 49

The Catholic World

' , ENGLAND v- ..;v : v-■ THE LATE MGR. BENSON. " Monsignor Robert Hugh Benson, Private Chamberlain to Pope Pius X., who died at the Bishop’s House, Salford, on October 19 last, aged 42, left estate valued at £16,905 3s 9d gross, the greater part of which he inherited. He died intestate, leaving as next of kin his mother, Mrs. Mary Benson, who has renounced administration of-his property. Letters of administration thereof have accordingly been granted to his brother, Mr. Arthur Christian Benson. In a will, which the court declared invalid, he left everything to the Church, and his family have decided to carry out his intentions. FRANCE THE CLERGY AND WARFARE. That the clergy axe justified in taking up arms and joining the ranks of the combatants in obedience to the law of the land, but not otherwise, is brought out very forcibly in a Pastoral Letter by Mgr. Dubois. Archbishop of Bourgcs. The Archbishop admits that the French priests were, under the circumstances, bound to obey the call of their country to join the ranks of her soldiers. They have done their duty courageously. But. the Gospel of the Divine Master :s a peace code, and that is the ideal the Church has always maintained. During war the priest's place is not the front: it is not for him to fill there the role of a combatant, but to act as a chaplain, a comforter of the wounded. St. Thomas says, in his Sm/iina : * lie who each day participates at the Altar in the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ should take no part in the work of death. It is not fitting that he should shed blood. Rather should he be ready to shed his own blood for Christ and in union with Him, and thus to give evidence in his life of what he accomplishes in his ministry.’ POL\ND THE ARCHBISHOP OF POSEN. By the death of the Most Rev. Edward Likowski, Archbishop of Posen and Gnesen,. attention is once more called to the long quarrel between the German Government and the Catholics of the great united dioceses of Posen and Gnesexx (says a Rome correspondent). For five years after the death in 1906 of Dr. Stablewski, Archbishop Likowski’s predecessor, the list of candi- • dates chosen by the clergy to be despatched to the Holy See, with a view to the selection of a successor, lay pigeon-holed in the office of the Minister of the Interior. The Government would have a German as Archbishop of the diocese, and the 1,400,000 Polish Catholics would have a Pole. Hence the deadlock. However, as soon as the war broke out, the Government consented to the . appointment of Mgr. Likowski, who had already reached the age of seventy-eight years. The Holy Father has now appointed as Administrator ■ Mgr. Jedzink, Director of the Archiepiscopal Seminary at Posen. Mgr. Jedzink is sixty-four years of age. ROME / FINANCES OF THE VATICAN, As might Joe expected in the case of a great centre which depends for its revenues upon every part of the civilised world, the Holy See has been a heavy sufferer financially from the war of the-nations (writes the Rome correspondent of the Catholic Times). The receipts of Peter’s Pence are considerably lower, especially in the countries most seriously affected by the European conflict. Of the Holy See’s four sources of revenue—viz., Peter’s Pence, dividends from invested funds, private offerings to the Pope from wealthy Catholics visiting

' Rome, - and receipts from entrance fees to } the Vatican museums ' and : galleries, it would be difficult :to say which has . been ' the greater sufferer. It : is ' scarcely to point out the depreciation in stocks ;l private offerings£ are reduced to almost nil, as foreigners no longer visit Rome on account of the . international crisis; and the amount of the entrance fees to the Vatican museums the most of which went to pay the small army of attendants, custodians, etc., employed in the buildingsis likewise less. The Sovereign Pontiff has to support the members of the Sacred College, dignitaries of the Vatican, lawyers, military men, and gendarmes, artists and artisans, domestics, laborers, and servants of various descriptions. In addition, he has to.'support. the Papal Nuncios and Delegates with their houses and staffs in} different countries of the two worlds according to the state due to the representatives of the Holy See. Along with this the Pope must bear the cost of the wear and tear of the largest palace in existence’, and find'funds for his generous public and private charities. With a view to meeting the requirements of the crisis his Holiness has had to retrench expenses considerably. Chaplaincies have had to be suspended, where feasible, and other sources of outlay have had to be closed up. How long this condition of things may last’will, of course, depend upon the length of the war. THE NEW BREVIARY. . • . Naturally those under obligation to recite the Divine Office ax-e anxious to procure copies of the Breviary embodying all the latest modifications. As far as one can see at present, clergymen have only to possess their souls in patience (says the Rome corre- . spondent of the Catholic Times). Owing to the course events have taken during the past six months, the publication of the books has had" to be deferred. Some practical information as to the chances of , obtaining copies will doubtless bo welcome. For the most part the breviaries arc composed of paper for the. manufacture of which a period of about six weeks is required, and, as the material came heretofore from one of the warring nations on the Continent, the publishing houses find themselves at a considerable disadvantage. So much, indeed, is this the case that two of the most important firms in Italy, which obtained their stock from Northern Europe, must await happier days to procure a supply of breviaries for the Roman clergy. The mills are left without paper, and there are no men to work them even if circumstances were otherwise. Therefore the chief sources from which clergymen hitherto obtained their companion book axe quite cut off for all practical purposes until Europe returns to a more or less normal condition. But happily there are other sources whence supplies may be drawn—sources heretofore not so well known to many — the Vatican Printing Press, a firm in Turin, and one in Ireland. As mentioned here nine months ago, the Vatican edition consists of a ‘ totum,’ the four parts in one volume, five thousand copies of which were printed and were eagerly snapped up the day they appeared. This institution is now preparing some ten thousand copies, which, it h promised, will be ready by the end of February. The cost per copy, bound in leather, and in strong paper, would be about thirteen francs, a price which is sc moderate owing to the representation of Bishops of missionary dioceses regarding the desirableness of relieving poor priests of the expense entailed in purchasing th< editions ‘de luxe.’ In Northern Italy a house pub lishes the four parts separately, .small size and blacl print. This edition can be had' for twenty francs oi thereabouts. The edition prepared by the Irish firn will not, it is said, be ready for several months. V