Current Topics

New Zealand Tablet, Volume LII, Issue 44, 18 November 1925, Page 22

Current Topics

Motors and Morals Some time ago, a writer in the Melbourne Argus said: “A Peter the Hermit is needed to preach a crusade against the unseemly uses to which motor cars are put at balls and dances in the city and in the country also. At a recent hall in a fashionable suburb nearly every motor car was a miniature bar; all know with what result. These practices should be stopped in order to save our fin© young women.” Take, in conjunction with that, the admission by the Council of Federal Churches of America that the evil results from the multiplication of motor cars were worse than drink: The people whose views that report represents are all Prohibitionists who face facts. Everything said of Melbourne and America in this connection ap- ; plies to New Zealand. Religion in France It is good to learn from a rqcent writer, M. Victor Bucaille, that many new churches have, been built in France; that in the diocese of Paris alone 33 new parishes have been erected and about 58 chapels of ease finished since the Separation in 1905. Catholic organisations are increasing in strength also. La Jeunesse Catholique numbers now 120,000 members; La Federation des Patronages counts 200,000 on its roll; and an association of Christian workers has 140,000 adherents. More remarkable and important for the future is the fact that there is a united Catholic group of 90 members in the State Training College, where the future university professors are educated. La Polytechnique has a. roll of 500 students, of whom no less than 400 approached the* altar in a body at Easter. The fight put up early in the year by the Catholics of Alsace and Lorraine has bad & good results all over France. The courage and determination with which these brave people defended _ their rights against the atheists pul backbone into all their brethren throughout the country. In Mexico The persecution of the Church goes on steadily in Mexico, although the secular press is silent about it for some reason or other. The plight of Catholics there is sad indeed. Confiscation of property is the order of the - day, and it enables politicians to become brigands and highwaymen. Priests and religions live in a reign of terror; Catholic schools are raided and closed; churches seized, and even the administration of the Sacraments restricted. Three times, by the express orders of the Governor, the seminary at Guadalajara has been closed, and on the last occasion the'rector'and several students were sent to prison. Soldiers attended the raids, not to protect private property hut to enable the raiders to carry on. Two* convents were broken into and the mins driven on the streets. Women of all. classes in Guadalajara assembled to protest against this outrage, and one of . them was shot down. The Knights of Columbus have been dispersed and their ball confiscated. The reign of terror is as bad as that of Russia, and

the sufferings of the Catholics are unimaginable. But the silence of the press continues to cloak and approve of such crimes. The Schismatic Church in Mexico With the aid of its troops the Government is trying to establish in Mexico a schismatic Church, a political scheme for the destruction of the Catholic Church. The Bishop of Tabasco writes sadly of the deplorable results which this policy may have in the future. “In spite of the fidelity of our poor people, if this thing is kept up long enough, the Faith must inevitably suffer. The masses of our people are simple and childlike and docile. You can see how, without' instruction, without priests or Mass or Sacraments, living without marriage or without baptism, a generation of indifferents, even of unbelievers, will soon grow up, to become easy victims of the government power.” The Constitution has prohibited all religious vows, and this applies to the vow of celibacy of the clergy. Italy Last week we had cabled reports of the attempts against the life of Mussolini, with hints that an organised plot for the overthrow of the Government was behind them. Fortunately the secret was discovered and the plots failed. Italy could not afford to lose at present the man who saved her from the fate of Russia and inspired her people with a new and vigorous national spirit. Fie had the courage to do what had to be done in a time of peril, when in other countries statesmen were content to talk of the danger they were not big enough to crush. With a. firm hand, for the sake of Italy, he put down every organisation that lie found hostile to the country’s best interests. And to do this effectively, he had to begin by driving out of office flic futile and corrupt politicians who had allowed enemies of all kinds to have . their way. Communists and Bolshevists felt his iron hand; Jews, who cared little for Italy, were called to order sharply; the antireligious Masons, who wore steadily undermining the foundations of law and morality got no quarter from the fearless leader who announced,’ time and again, that the surest way towards salvation was to establish, as the foundations of individual and, family and public life, the principles of the Christian religion. The Irish in America The Ku Klux Klan movement was organised against others, hut its animosity was particularly directed toward Irish Catholics in the United States. It was anti-Catholic, and it was “Protestant” in the same sense that our own beautiful P.P.A. is Protestant: that is to say the bigoted sections of the non-Catholic Churches came into it, while decent Protestants repudiated it with scorn. Besides, it was to a large extent a moneymaking concern, and not a few of its members found this out and left it before they had much more than a nodding acquaintance with it. President Coolidge does not stand for its peculiar doctrines about “one hun-

dred per cent. Americans,” and he does not share in its hatred of the Irish. While ho , has publicly spoken against the aims of theH| Klan, he has also recognised what the Irish \ Catholics have done for the United States. In a letter to the national convention of the A.O.H. (the Ancient Order of Hibernians) he says: ' Your Order has, for many years, made a continuing and important contribution , to the best ideals of the country, particu- ; larly towards enabling it to assimilate the great and valuable Irish element which has ! come to us. I cannot express a better ‘ wish than that the splendid service that has been rendered in the past may bo continued in the future. Back to Rome The President has his eyes open to the trend of American society towards such corruption as undermined in the far past the great powers of Greece and Rome. He also secs clearly, and is not afraid to say publicly, that the remedy is a return to Chrstian principles. Half the people in the United States are frankly godless. And among the other half there is a large proportion to whom the Ten Commandments mean nothing lint a name. Late in the day, nonolio organisations are talking about the need for restoring to its proper place Christian education. The failure of secular schools, which would never have been able to ruin ■* the country for five generations were it not for the silence and connivance of Protestants, it is now loudly proclaimed. Side by side with this tardy acknowledgment of the soundness of Catholic teaching, comes another admission which is equally a tribute to our Church. A “Sanctity of Marriage Association” lias been formed, with several Protestant Bishops on its committee, with the object of restoring Christian marriage to its proper place by recognising that according to the law of Christ a legitimate marriage, can be dissolved by death alone, A nonCatholio daily frankly puts it- thus: ‘-‘Episcopalians Return to Catholic Doctrine on Marriage.” Licensing Reform in Ireland Without having recourse to the fallacy of Prohibition, the Irish Free State is steadily dealing with the liquor problem on lines that are being crowned by success. Much has already been accomplished in, this direction, and the good work goes on apace. It is stated unofficially that the report of the Commission on the- Liquor Trade proposes to limit the number of public houses (which is at present one for every 230 inhabitants) to the English' proportion of one to 400. In tki£ way 5000 public houses would be abolished. Compensation is to be paid to the owners, and the survivors, who profit by the fate of their less fortunate colleagues, will have to bear the brunt of the taxation. Re- 1 striction of the hours of sal© is* also proposed, and clubs will have no privileges. The heavy duties imposed on spirits have already limi-' ted the whisky drinking in'the South. AqdJ altogether, the reform effected by the Fre$ f ' State Government deserves study by tbosjar who advocate crude methods such as have brought disastrous effects in their train else-

where. The difference between the Irish way and the American is this; the Free State Government says, “You can have good whisky but you must pay dearly for it.” In the United States, the rum-runner says; “You can have all the whisky you want at a price, but if it poisons you blame yourself.” ' ' - • <**’ Mr. Baldwin on Journalism What a different world it would be if newspapers everywhere were true to their mission. If the fetters that bind them to commercial interests were broken for ever, and if it were regarded as a disgraceful thing for any editor to prostitute his profession at the bidding of capitalists or politicians, how much cleaner and better public and private life might be made. Recently, addressing a number of newspaper men, Air. Baldwin said; “1 cannot do wrong to road to you the words of one of the greatest of living journalists on tire ideals of your profession. Speaking of journalism ami the conduct of a newspaper, he said; ; Fundamentally it implies honesty, cleanness, courage, fairness, the sense of duty to the reader and the community. The newspaper is of necessity something of a monopoly, and its first duty is to slum the temptations of monopoly. Its primary office is the gathering of news. At the peril of its soul it must see that the supply is not tainted. Neither in what it gives nor in what it does not give, nor in the mode, of presentation, must the unclouded face of truth suffer wrong. Comment is free but facts are sacred. Propaganda, so called, by this means is hateful. The voice of opponents no less than that of friends has a right to be heard. Comment also is justly subject to a self-imposed restraint. It is well to be frank. It is even better to be fair.' “Those are noble words, and it is counsel possibly of perfection, but in that is the ideal of the highest type of English journalism, which is the- highest type in the world, and they are the words of Scott, of the Manchester Guard-inn. “As one who lias road newspapers all his life, I could imagine no higher ideal that a great profession could live up to, and I think I understand sufficiently the spirit of the true journalist to realise this, that whatever his political and social views may be, he feels and he knows in his heart that the presentation of facts in such a way as to mislead the public is not journalism but it is prostitution.” Saints and Flappers .Rev. Dr. Coaklcy has made a discovery of considerable interest to. women. He says that the official records at Rome show that no flapper was ever canonised a saint, and he prophesies that none ever will be. He goes on to say that Rome has never publicly proclaimed the holiness of any woman who smoked cigarettes, drank highballs, or who used paint, powder, rouge, lipstick, or pencilled her eyebrow's. The illustrious catalogue of Rome’s heroines contains the name of no woman who wore inartistic, flimsy, diaphanous costumes, abbreviated top and bottom, and whose vanishing point is reached by angles determined only by geometry, Rome has never canonised any woman, married or unmarried, who did not know how

to cook, to sew, to keep house, .and to look after her domestic duties, nor will any woman ever be canonised who habitually frequents hotels and restaurants, keeps late hours, and spends precious Lime at the dressmaker, hairdresser, or in the beauty parlor. Rome has never declared a saint any woman who turned over her children to a governess, or to a nurse, or to a. hired help, while she idled her time shopping, gossiping in clubs, playing everlasting bridge, attending indelicate theatrical performances, or riding about aimlessely in automobiles, acquiring flesh which later on she has to wear off by frequent trips to watering places. Rome has never canonised any woman who fifteen minutes before her husband comes home for dinner rushes hurriedly into the nearest store to purchase canned goods, or something that will cook quickly. Catholic Explorers . Those who say that Catholicism is the religion of stagnation are well answered by Dr. John Gilmary Shea, who records in the Irish Weekly some of the achievements of Catholic explorers: “Who discovered and colonised Greenland and had cathedral church and convent there? Catholics. Who discovered and visited it? Lief Ericson, a Catholic, with his Catholic Northmen, followed by Catholic bishops and priests. As to Christopher Columbus and his Catholicity there is no question. No doubt he was an earnest, sincere, and enthusiastic Catholic. Who explored the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States? Catholic navigators: •John and Sebastian Cabot, John Ponce de Leon, Pineda, first to see the Mississippi and name it the River of the Holy Ghost: Miruelo, Veroazzani, Gomez, Gordillo, Ayllon, all Catholics. Who explored the Mississippi from its northern waters' to the Gulf of Mexico? The Catholic Franciscan Hennepin, and Du Lhut, Catholics; Joliet, a Catholic; Father Marquette, a. Jesuit; La Salle and his Franciscan chaplains, Catholics; De Soto. Tristan D’Acuna, and other Spanish explorers, all Catholics. Who discovered and named the St. Lawrence? Cartier, a Catholic. Who made it known to Upper Lake? Champlain, a. Catholic, the first to map its course. The Jesuit Relations first gave the maps of Lake Ontario and Lake Superior. The Sulpician Dollier de Caston. drew the first map of Lake Erie. Father Jognes and Raymbant planted the cross at Sault Ste. Marie. A Jesuit discovered the salt springs of Onondaga; a Franciscan the oil springs near Lake Eric; Catholic missionaries first described Niagara. The Catholic De la. Verendyye first reached the Rocky Mountains; Menendez, a. Catholic, founded the two oldest cities, Saint Augustine and Santa Fe, which in their very names tell of their Catholic origin. Who first studied the languages of the Indian tribes and reduced them to grammatical forms so as to use thorn in bringing the heathen na- , tives to a. knowledge, of God and Christ the •Redeemer* Catholic missionaries. Rale, in Maine; Bruyas, Gamier, and other Jesuits, in Now York: White, in Maryland: Pareja, in Florida ; Le Eonllenger, in Illinois; Arroya, do la Ouesta. and other Franciscans, in California; Serra, Garcia, and their companions, in Texas; and at a late day, Baraga,

Marcoux, Belcourt, Mengarini, Gailland, Vetroraile, Giorda, Balladiuo. Who can wipe these glorious names from the obelisk of fame?” Ulster in Trouble There arc signs that that corner of Ulster, called Ulster so often, is sick and sore, and that many of its business people are feeling lonely in their isolation. Mr. Oalwell, a member of a leading Protestant family, and a prominent man in industrial and commercial life in the North, in a letter dealing with an editorial in the Irish- News says: “ Will you permit me to point out the chief cause of the present deplorable slump? “What I have to say is most unpalatable, but good medicine is often nauseous, and a, stiff dose of the bitter but wholesome truth may do us good. “The principal customer for Belfast linen has been the U.S., due to the fact that over 20 millions of the Irish race (mostly Catholics) in that great and wealthy country wanted Irish linen. Catholics Driven Out. “When we. in our tolly and utter stupidity (to call it nothing worse) undertook to drive the Catholic workmen out of our shipyards we drove away our linen orders, we drove away our best customers, and we drove the nails into our own coffin. “From Maine to California the whole vastcountry rang with the denunciation of our intolerance, and at every meeting resolutions were passed pledging the audience to buy no more Belfast linen. Such are the melancholy facts. “I do not want to enlarge upon them. Were it not that I wish to point out the remedy, I would not even mention them- — are too revolting, too humiliating, and the sooner forgotten the better. A Sure and Certain Remedy. “There is a remedy. There is a sure ami certain remedy. Sir James Craig, if he has statesmanship enough, can cure all our ills. Let him bring Belfast and the Six Counties into lino with the rest of Ireland. “By this one hold stroke he will not only restore to prosperity, and to still greater prosperity, our linen trade; he will make himself the greatest benofactoi* his country has ever known. “Ho will heal the wounds of Partition and division, whereby onr country is bleeding to death, and he will make all Ireland —North and Souththe most prosperous country in; Europe. If Belfast were Irish. “To elucidate and prove this would take too much of your valuable space. I. will simply ask —Is there a single sane, sensible business man in Belfast who doubts the remedy; or is there one who. in his heart of hearts, does not long for it ? “Believe me, if Belfast wore Irish in sentiment, as it is in geography, not all the looms of all her mills could supply the demand in the U.S.A. alone for Irish linen. “Away with pride and prejudice, foolish at all times, criminal now. Look at the Orange- 1 men in the Free State. They prove that wo have nothing hut our fears to fear, so, in God’s name, let ns get together. Only this way is there any salvation.”