Catholic World

New Zealand Tablet, 22 December 1921, Page 39

Catholic World

PORTUGESE HONOR FOR IRISH PRIEST. The Portugese Government has conferred the military - order of Aviz, with the title of Grand Officer, on Father Edward Dowling, of Castleconner, Co. Kilkenny, in re-. -; cognition of.his services to Portugese troops during the war. Father Dow ling was with the troops in France as military •?.chaplain for five years. In December, 1916, he was men- • Itioned in dispatches, and he held rank, as assistant-prin-cipal chaplain and later that of senior chaplain to the : forces in France. \~. " . - . "•?■-' '-'"- :'■'■ ■ ■..■■■ - <^-o ,^-s>*s-6-, v > "'6~ v ''■'■ ■'-.'' ITALIAN CATHOLIC PARTY AND THE LEAGUE OF V'; •.,.'. -.r] : . NATIONS. ' -\ : >■'.-'•.:... During the recent congress of the Italian Catholic or ' Popular Party held in Venice, a motion was proposed by ,Signor Tovini, a Catholic Deputy, that the Party should support the League of Nations and pledge itself to carry ":. on.an'"active propaganda in its behalf. '-.~ The motion was thrown out on the proposal of Don -' Sturzo, the Sicilian priest who is political organiser of the '.'.'•' Party, who denounced the League as being inspired by the hegemony of the big States over the small ones. \ : r'% ■.';•'-""" <XK*XxX*><> . T MONTE GRAPPA STATUE REINSTATED. When the late Pope Pius X. was Patriarch of .Venice, being then known as Cardinal Sarto, in 1901, he inaugurated a huge statue of the Blessed Virgin, cast in iron, which "was erected on Monte Grappa. During the Avar this statue was overthrown, but it has now been replaced in position, .and the occasion of its rededication was marked with great v ceremony. The King of Italy, was represented at the func 7 tion by his nephew, the Duke of Bergamo, when five bishops presided at the service of dedication. The Italian army .1 was represented by five Generals on the active list. The ; former Premier, Signor Orlando, was present, and the -political parties were represented by a member of the . Italian Senate and a number of parliamentary deputies. : Some 8000 people took part in the ceremony. ;- GUATEMALAN ARCHBISHOP CONSECRATED. The new Archbishop of "Guatemala, Mgr. Luis Xavier Munoz-Capuron, has been consecrated to the. episcopate in the Metropolitan Cathedral at San Jose, with the Arch- .: bishop of Costa Rica, as principal conseesator v The function was an exceptionally brilliant one. The sanctuary , ; . : ':* of the Cathedral was filled with a company of bishops and the higher clergy of the archbishopric, while in the seats ;; of honor in the nave of the Cathedral were the President of the Republic, the President of the Legislative Congress, and members of the Costa Rican Government. An inter- ; national flavor was imparted to the occasion by the presence ■. at the Mass of Consecration, of the Ambassadors and diplomatic representatives of Foreign Powers, as well as the % entire consular body resident in San Jose. So vast i , crowd had gathered for the ceremony that the side aisles of the Cathedral were filled with vast numbers of, people || who could hardly find standing room,, whilst the overflow thronged the Cathedral square and waited in the adjacent ; streets for the processional exit of the new Archbishop, who u. was welcomed with wild applause .and cheering. The new Archbishop is a native Guatemalan, and after his ordination, which took place in Spain, he took up professorial g work in the Republic of Colombia, where he founded a college. :: > ~\, '■':-.--" -.' y-'i : :;.■;'-'■:■■■■'■■:.'.i-.-.■■■-*■■ .-V ; WELSH MELODIES OF PRE-REFORMATION ORIGIN. iJ:~: : Many of the national traditional melodies of the Welsh (I. people are of Catholic pre-Reforination origin, says Dr. ■f : Terry, music director of Westminister Cathedral. Curiously ft; enough, the "attention of the Cathedral musical authorities j, was first drawn , to the Welsh melodies by Premier Lloyd George, who is said to have a remarkable knowledge ; of £ Welsh musical history. s Some of these ancient Welsh melodies are used as musical settings for Benediction in

jthe : Cathedral, and : one, "Tantum Ergo;"which* is : very ; popular, is said to be" a; favorite of the Prime; Minister's. :These old .melodies,- says Dr. Terry,jvere not written down:ior centuries. ; They were handed down from- one genera-/ tion to another purely in their vocal form. But although unwritten they have been saved, entirely owing to the genius of the Welsh for unaccompanied singing. :'■■'-, --^ According to Dr. Terry, these ancient traditional melodies have been in use in Westminster Cathedral!or the •past five years or so. More than any other like body in the country, Westminster Cathedral has done a great deal to restore to practical use the great treasury of native early musical composition; and some of the Masses now rendered at Westminster have lain unknown in the libraries and museums of the country. One particular set of Masses remained unsung since they were rendered in the Chapel Royal when Henry VIII. and Queen Catherine of Aragon attended Mass in state. WELSH METROPOLITAN MAKES OFFICIAL VISIT. Dr. Mostyn, the Archbishop of Cardiff, has paid his. first official visit to the ancient city of Newport, since his elevation to the Metropolitan See of Wales. ( There being no ecclesiastical building big enough to accommodate the crowds gathered together to welcome the Archbishop, the Empire Theatre was secured for the purpose, where Dr. Mostyn was welcomed by the Mayor of the city and representatives of all the clergy. - The Archbishop's reply to an address of welcome, presented on behalf of the Catholic Clergy and laity, contained an allusion to the ancient religion of Wales which appealed to the national patriotism of the audience. "Through the centuries of change," the Archbishop said, "that have passed over town and countryside on the banks of the'Usk, the spirit of the old Welsh Saints still lives, even in these times so remote from theirs. We keep in loving remembrance our forefathers in the faith, St. David, St. Dyfrig, St. Iltyd, and our own martyrs of Caerleon, SS. Julius and Aaron, and we pray that, through their intercession, God may abundantly bless our land.'!The Archbishop referred to the education question in Wales, and urged the Catholics to make every sacrifice to keep their hold on their schools. POLAND AND THE HOLY SEE. The Pope has appointed Monsignor Lauri, titular Archbishop of Ephesus, to be Papal Nuncio in Poland, in succession to Cardinal Ratti, who has just been appointed Archbishop of Milan. On his arrival in the Polish capital the new Nuncio was welcomed at the railway station by the Cardinal Archbishop of Warsaw, many of the Polish bishops, and high -dignitaries of the State, as well as a numerous gathering of clergy and citizens.' The Nuncio was escorted to the Cathedral, where .a solemn "Te De'um" was intoned by Cardinal Kakowski. A few days later the Nunco was received by the President in formal audience, when he presented his credentials from the Holy See. In addressing the President the Nuncio laid stress on the Pope's goodwill towards Poland, who-, said the Pope, is proud to have stood always for the ideals and the triumph of Christianity; and for the establishment of a just and durable peace. On the same day when this ceremony took place in Warsaw, there was a like ~brilliant ceremony taking place in the Sala del Trono of the Vatican, when Pope Benedict XV., ; surrounded by the members of the Papal Court, received in solemn audience the new Polish Ambassador, Mr. Wladislaus . who presented - his : credentials. After • leaving the presence of the Pope, the new Ambassador paid the customary visit of ceremony to the Cardinal Secretary of State, and on leaving Cardinal Gasparri the Ambassador descended to the Vatican Basilica, where he prayed at the tomb of . St. Peter. 'j '}:':'■'.'-':: ~"'. " .:>. ■■,-;'.<:■■.