THE SOCIETY OF ST.VINCENT DE PAUL.

New Zealand Tablet, 18 March 1920, Page 17

THE SOCIETY OF ST.VINCENT DE PAUL.

An urgent appeal to young men in England to join the St. Vincent de Paul Society was made at the quarterly meeting of the Superior Council of the society recently at the Cathedral Hall, Westminster. It was pointed out that the famous organisation needs new recruits, and that the work is one of tho best antidotes to the pagan spirit now rampant in society. The meeting was the most notable gathering of its kind in recent years, with his Eminence * Cardinal Bourne and three bishops present, and with pleas for increased activity in tho work of the society. Sir John Knill pointed out the great tendency at the present time to shirk work and to do as little as possible for the country and for God. He pleaded that young men should be urgently appealed to with a view to joining the society. Lack of men to do tho great work of the organisation leaves the conference in the position of a skeleton army, it was stated, many conferences being in abeyance, and others being “one-man” bodies. It .was suggested that “aspirant” conferences might well be organised at schools and colleges, as in France. The international character of the organisation was dwelt upon at the meeting, there being not a continent, and hardly a country in the world, in which there was not a conference. To-day, with a ‘hostile international organisation at work to destroy the Church, it was pointed out that the St. Vincent do Paid Society is a. great antidote. In view of tho great battle which is to take place between paganism and Catholicism, the youth of England must choose sides, it was declared, and the hope was expressed that they would come under the banner of St. Vincent and help to “restore all things in Christ.” It is part of the mission of the St. Vincent de Paul Society to propagate Christian principles, first by its members being thoroughly imbued with them themselves, and then by showing them forth to others. The organisation is one of the most potent forces that could be put into action to prevent the pagan permeation of society. Young men were urged to overcome the impression that they were “intruding” when they visited the homes of tho poor. Learning how to do the work tactfully, they should conquer the shyness which might seem +o prevent them from embarking on such a great work. The meeting showed that the St. Vincent do Paid Society in England is facing the problem of greatly augmenting its forces to meet the conditions of the present time.