Current Topics

New Zealand Tablet, Volume LII, Issue 9, 11 March 1925, Page 22

Current Topics

To the Point In the opinion of City Judge Charles W. Boote, of Yonkers, U.S.A., the following are the ten principal reasons, why there is an increase in delinquency among girls in America ; First, improper home atmosphere; second, no religious training; third, automobile riding; fourth, love of luxury; fifth, liquor; sixth, movies of the wrong type; seventh, sex immodesty; eighth, boys with too much money; ninth, immodest dancing; tenth, trashy novels. More Nonsense About Skulls Oxford has just passed through a trying lime. Sir Arthur Keith delivered a lecture there on the Rhodesian Skull, but we find it hard to believe that even a scientific romancer could make the subject a thrilling one. And yet Sir Arthur strained his powers of romancing to the utmost. He believes — or says he believes — the Rhodesian Skull to be the oldest in existence. Its owner must have lived between 100,000 and 200,000 years ago. I Tis but a little year ago, however, since this same scientific gentleman lectured on the skull of the Mousterian man, and he said that skull was the oldest in existence, its owner having been hale and hearty 350.000 years ago ! Some scientists are deplorably loose in arithmetic! Quite recently we told of a skull (the Galley Hill Skull) that was submitted to a committee of experts in order to obtain their opinion as to its age. The committee reported that the thing was not a, skull at all, but was only an oddlyshaped bit of stone. Well, according to the Catholic Herald of India,, when that skull was found Sir Arthur Keith without a moment’s hesitation declared its age to be 200.000 years, 50,000 older than the- skull he nas talking about the other day. Dean Inge is reported as saying that religion must fall into step with science. We wonder is this tne kind of “science” his reverence was thinking of? Mussolini Mussolini is not a popular figure in Europe. Most of the newspapers are filled with forecasts of what is about to happen to him. Needless to say, the wish is father to the thought. The Rome correspondent of tin.' Irish Weekly says that while no man in Europe probably has more enemies than Mussolini, he has nevertheless done more solid good for Italy than all achieved by Salandra, Orlamto, and Giolitti. three ex-Premiers. 1 hey were ruled by Freemasonry; he has moled upon this “State within the State.” They were forced to appoint three Freemasons to places in their Cabinets; he prohibits army officers from joining the sect, ml he has now a Bill making secret societies illegal. As soon as the Grand Orient heard of this Bill it held a secret meeting. The n-ooeedinsrs have not leaked out. But it is bought that the Grand Orient will dissolve before Dm Bill has massed many stages. Like a lion Mussolini faces all opponents. He puts strength and courage into his Party,

and bears all the abuse the Communists pour on him as if he had not noticed it. We can all understand why he has so many enemies. France and the Vatican When the news arrived by cable that the . French Government had decided to withdraw its Ambassador from the Vatican we expressed the opinion that France herself would be the first to suffer from the event. According to M. Chauffier, writing in Le Figaro, the great Parisian daily, the prophecy was not long in being fulfilled. He says:— “France has separated her interests from those of Catholicism. The result has not been long in coming. Our influence in the Orient is diminishing from day to day and is descending to zero. Our national Catholic power of missionary expansion, which constitutes almost our entire action in the Orient, is in danger of becoming exhausted. The Holy See, no longer finding in France the necessary means, is turning to other countries more wide-awake, more active, and more able, to solicit their valued co-opera-tion. We must also realise that if the interests of the Holy See and those of France are in conflict, it is France that will always be the loser. The Holy See can get on without us. We have need of her. And it is we who create the conflict.” France is sorely in need of a Mussolini just now. However, the French Catholics are showing a bold front, and judging by the sample of courage displayed by the political lackeys during the war, a few' savage grimaces from General do Castelnau will be sufficient to put them to rout. As Mr. Chesterton said of another political gang, “they are not very warlike vassals even of their unwarlik© lords; they are not very bold bravoes even for hire; and a hearty protest will sometimes shake them.” The protest has been made with considerable determination, and the song birds tell us that M. Herriot likes it not. Progress Those who believe that the Church will succumb to persecution will find but cold comfort in the statistics just published of the progress of Catholicity in the missionary countries of Europe and other parts of the world during the past hundred years. In Sweden and Norway the number has increased from 10 to 5547; in Denmark, from 100 to 8700; in Holland and Luxemburg, from 350,000 to 1,900,000. In Indo China, in spite of the persecution and massacres, there arc 1,200,000 Catholics. In Japan and Corea, where Catholicism has had liberty only for about thirty years, there are now 170,000 Catholics. In 1820 there were only 10,000. In Canada from six bishops, 30 priests, 500.000 faithful , in 1822, the number has increased to 38 bishops, six Apostolic Vicariates, and 3,000,000 of faithful. In the United States there were in 1822 nine dioceses with 12 priests in each, and 400.000 faithful. At the present moment

■there arc 16 archbishops, 23 bishops, 24,653 .vxxvsxw UiV/ -l-W CVX UAOllUpfijj A^^KJOtJ priests, and 17,855,000 Catholics. In Australia, where there was in 1830 only on© priest to minister to the Irish exiles > and not a single church, there is to-day ifii union with New Zealand a large Cathie population, comprising 1,200,000 faithful, nine archbishops, six bishops, 2200 churches, and 1306 priests. In the Oceanic Isles there are 22 vicariates and six Apostolic Prefects, with 600 missionaries, and 270,000 Catholics. These figures are eloquent. The Jesuits Again The Jesuits have been at it again. According to a somewhat shrewish publication known as The Protestant Woman, the irrepressible sons of St. Ignatius have been “carrying on dreadful” at the English town of Lower Edmonton, and the good ladies of The Protestant Woman record their disapproval as follows: “At Lower Edmonton the French Jesuits have recently built g a large church (called St. Edmund’s) and a big school, both built ol stone. Now, on Sundays, they are marching about with processions of the most aggressive and idolatrous character. On occasions they have marched about here with a girl dressed up as if for a wedding; a priest lifting and carrying an image of Christ on a chair, holding it with both hands high above his head, another carrying a tall crucifix and nuns beside it, with hands over their eyes. "Where are we now?” Indeed, it ought not be hard to enlighten that lady as to her whereabouts. We know where she is but we are too polite to tell her. The Catholic Times is reminded of n king who was received by the mayor of s small country town, but without the customary ringing of bells. Questioned by the monarch as to his default, the magistrate proceeded to give nineteen reasons why the joyous bells did not ring out. His nineteenth reason was that there were no bells. To reverse the process of circumlocution adopted by the mayor it should be said that there are no French Jesuits—or Jesuits of any other nationalityfin the area known as Lower Edmonton. It follows logically that the story of the French Jesuits’ recent erection of a “large church (called St. Edmund’s) and a big school, both of stone,” as well as the freakish description of the “processions of the most aggressive and idolatrous character,” are without any foundation in fact. The reference to “a priest lifting and carrying an image of Christ on a chair, holding it with both hands high above his head, another carrying a tall crucifix and nuns beside it” suggests that the Protestant Woman lady must have been looking at a circus featuring professional strong men rather than at a religious procession. The Catholic Times investigated the matter still further. It interviewed the Redemptorist Superior of Lower Edmonton, who knew nothing of French Jesuits in t'j*at area; and the new church and school, both of stone, came as a revelation to him. os| contemporary concludes with this request: “Will the Protestant Woman be ladylike enough to withdraw the ridiculous paragraph? Someone has —dare we say it? pulling her leg.” % ')

G.K.’s Weekly, Ltd. A company has been formed in England Us y for the purpose of starting a weekly paper the editorship of Mr. G. K. Chesterton. Mr. Chesterton thinks that the time is ripe for the new venture. “The political situation,” he says, “is so far determined by the General Election that certain immediate prospects, which some regard as immediate perils, are removed. For the moment our national politics will not be Socialist. But they cannot remain content with being Anti-Socialist. The very fact that positive collectivism has in that sense failed prevents us from continuing a merely negative warning against the success of something that has failed. The next few years will be emphatically a field for an alternative to Socialism, My friends and 1 have always believed in such an alternative to Socialism; and we now believe that our time has come.” Mr. Chesterton goes on to say that he will endeavor in this paper to talk as men talk in the real world of to-day; that is, he will assume that politics are corrupt, that politicians are unpopular, that parliaments are everywhere menaced by a serious reaction, right or wrong. He conceives it his duty to defend the right of private property, which is menaced as much by the Capitalist as by the Socialist. Defects in the Paper Mr. Chesterton believes the paper to he defective in many ways. He thus points out a few of its shortcomings; “An exceptionally attractive offer to oar readers, enabling them to obtain an insur- , ance against police persecution and a paper pattern of a fashionable pair of trousers, in return for solving seven hundred acrostics, will not be found on any page of this issue. “The usual thoughtful and stimulating article entitled, £ Why the Churches Are Empty,’ and urging the claims of a broader Christianity for business men, will attract general attention by its absence. “Interesting personal interviews with our leading Lady Members of Parliament, giving with charming frankness and vivacity their views of the charges brought against flappers and the Smart Set, will not be discovered by the most careful search in these pages. “A short and sane leader, consisting of a few wise words to the trade unionists, warning them against outraging public opinion by waging war and relying entirely upon force and violence, will be omitted regularly every week. “All serious students of social conditions interested in the experiment of strongminded American heiresses refusing to live with their husbands, will search the paper in vain for anything about it. “An Imperial Ode on the Wembley’ ExJ, hibition, describing the complete security ft . which the loyalty of Tasmania gives ns -g; • against superior aviation in the English T. Channel, will appear in the waste-paper ' basket at the earliest opportunity. ! “Arrangements for photographing Mr. Lloyd George’s smile, Mr. Baldwin’s pipe, Lord Birkenhead’s cigar, Mr. Churchill’s hat, . and Lord Beaverbrook’s coronet, are not yet completed and never will be.

“A firm and eloquent warning to France, pointing out to that nation the peril of being ready to fight when we have decided never to fight anybody, will be found in every paper except this one. “An entirely New Religion, consisting of the older and more obvious portions of all the old ones, will be resolutely withheld from any seeker after truth who may be looking for it. “Similarly, readers anxious to enter the competition to decide who has the most beautiful grandmother in the British Empire should not send in photographs after the end of last week.” Lotteries The Dunedin Presbytery fears that lotteries will cause a “moral paralysis” in New Zealand. The panic was due to a statement that an art union embracing the whole of New Zealand was to be organised by a committee of Invercargill citizens for the purpose of raising money to improve the winter playing areas in the southern city. The Presbytery, after having raged and wept over the appalling iniquity of “this kind of gambling,” carried a motion to raise a cry of distress throughout the land and to seek an amendment of the law. We have heard all this from the same body over and over again whenever an art union is projected ; but we have never been able to discover the precise grounds upon which the Presbytery condemns art unions. We must remember that the Presbytery is bound by a doctrine known as private judgment, a doctrine under which Jack is as good a theologian as his master. Surely the Presbytery does not believe that those who buy or sell a ticket in a lottery think they are committing a sinful act in doing so If those who take part in lotteries see no sin in what they do, why should the Presbytery complain so long as that body is not forced to contribute? The only moral authority recognised by the Presbytery is the Sacred Scripture, which each person interprets to his own satisfaction according to the Protestant doctrine of private judgment or personal opinion. According to this doctrine the opinion of the citizen is as good as that of the Presbytery. Then why does the Presbytery presume to ride rough-shod over the fundamental doctrine of Protestantism , and attempt to set itself up as an infallible authority on morals? Private judgment cannot be taken to mean private judgment for the Presbytery and Presbytery judgment for the citizen. Let us be, consistent at least. But if the reverend gentlemen search the Bible from cover to cover they will not find a single text that gives the faintest color to the theory that the drawing of lots is an immoral practice. They will find, on the contrary, that Almighty God commanded and sanctioned and permitted the use of the lot (“goral”), and that the Jewish people decided numerous questions by lottery. The Land of Promise was parcelled out among the various tribes, at God’s express command, by the greatest land lottery ever witnessed on earth ; and when the Apostles appointed a successor to Judas, the appointment was made by lottery. We freely admit that gambling is often attended by evils

with which we are not concerned here but we fail to see how evils which might attend the poker school or the racecourse can be present in such a harmless, humdrum affair as an art union. But if the Presbytery wishes to be consistent in the matter, why does it not include the stock exchange in its motion ? If we go a little nearer the bone we shall find that between the years 1894 and 1898 the Presbyterian Church conducted sixteen Church lotteries. This ought to wring the withers of the present protesting Presbytery. What was wrong with the Church during that period and prior to that period? Was the moral law changed after 1898 ? and if so, who changed it ? • Before the people of New Zealand are justified in paying attention to the dictum of the Presbytery in this matter, the latter body ought to be asked either for its authority to speak in the name of morality or to abandon the doctrine of private judgment as a pernicious error. In short, the Presbytery ought to be told that it cannot have its cake and eat its cake. Straight Talk Senator Borah, Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee of the United States, recently told the nations what he thought of them. Part of his speech is worth quoting:— “There is no hope for peace so long as the great and powerful nations will that there be no peace. If every time an incident, great or small, arises the powerful nations resort to violence and force there can be no peace. Nicaragua, Vera Cruz, Haiti, Santo Domingo, Amritsar, the Ruhr, Corfu, Egypt—-all save two of these incidents have occurred since the fearful lesson of the World War, and all were resorts to violence and force upon the part of the great and powerful nations against the unarmed and helpless. In all of these instances the aggressor nation was strong enough and powerful enough to have invoked conciliation, adjustment, and arbitration, and thus to have set examples and established precedents of more value to the cause of peace than any peace plan. We confine our love of peace to paper ; our war spirit finds its expression in deeds. We profess tolerance practise intolerance. We profess friendship and practise , vengeance. Under such policies and practices leagues and courts not only prove ineffective but hope sickens, and the whole morale of the human family is broken and demoralised. I would rather have just now one ounce of practice than tons of profession in this cause of peace. Why talk of peace when there are excluded from all plans and all courts two hundred million white people and two of the most potentially powerfid peoples in Europe? Let us establish the natural and orderly relationship which should obtain among a family of nations, restore trade relations, recognise existing governments, practise the tolerance we preach and use the friendship we profess, and this will constitute the first great movement for peace.” Av

t\ There are men who to-day appear to us to be members of the devil, who one day shall be. members of Christ. — St. Francis of Assisi.