RETURN OF BISHOP MORAN FROM ROME.

Dunstan Times, Issue 1043, 14 April 1882, Page 3

RETURN OF BISHOP MORAN FROM ROME.

* On Tuesday, April 4, His Lordship the R.C. Bishop of Dunedin arrived at Port Chalmers and proceeded to Dunedin, where ho received and replied to addresses presented hy the various Orders of tho religious and laity. In reply to the latter, His Lordship said that ho was not able to answer the addresses as he should desire to, inasmuch as he had only been able to take a cursory glance at ti cm just before entering the church. He would have preferred to prepare a written answer to such beautiful addresses, full of the spirit of faith and Catholicity and of the affection and love of a. faithful people, but that being impossible, bo asked the indulgence of the audience for

tho short-coming in his reply, which they would attribute not to his will but to tho unfortunate circumstances in which he found himself placed. Ho assured his hearers he had no words by which to express his feelings at that moment, and even if ho had he doubted whether it would have been physically possible for him to utter those words. Ho felt so strongly, os it was only natural that ho should, that if he did not speak so warmly and affectionately as they might expect, tho only reason was that if he did ho should become unmanned, break down, and make rather an exhibition of himself. It was nearly twelve months since he had heard their shouts and cheers of farewell and their expression of good wishes for a safe journey and a happy return. He was grateful fur that expression of their feelings and he should never forget it, and they and their interests had been in his mind by day and by night from that moment to the present time. Ho could say truthfully that he had been occupied alone with that which interested them, and with that which in his judgment was calculated to promote their best interests. He claimed no credit for this, if he were not so engaged on their account he would be indeed an ungrateful man, for from the first moment he had set his foot on these shores he had received nothing from their hands but the strongest testimonies of attachment, love and obedience, and innumerable proofs of their boundless generosity,, and he would be less than human, therefore, if their interests were not upermost in his mind beyond all other earthly considerations. He knew they had prayed for him, and to the power of those nrayers before the Throne of Grace he attributed the happiness of his journeys to and and fro, and the wonderful success that had attended his poor efforts for thHr interests. They would be happy to know that from the moment he left here till his return that morning, there had been nothing disagreeable in his journey—he did not even encounter a single storm, and he met with nothing but kindness, consideration, and aid fiom all quarters. So happy a journey and such signal success he cou'd not attribute to any merit on his o'"n part or bis poor exertions—these were things coming from an over-ruling Providence in answer to their faith, piety and unceasing prayers He diil not know whether to speak first of the old 1 and he had seen on arriving from America or the city which was the seat and centre of Catholicity, but perhaps they would be better pleased if he'went at once to Koine and spoke a little of their Holy Father Leo XIII. As they knew, the primary object of his visit was to obey a law of the Church directing that all bishops in this part of the world should visit in person the tombs of the Apostles once every ton years, in order to venerate the relies of those great Apostles, to pay homage to our Divine lledeemer in the person of his Vicar on earth, and render to the head of the Catholic world an account of theii stewardship, giving minute accounts of their diocesesand their circumstances. This was his primary object, but as to attain it would take him to those countries where persons and means to work in the cause of Catholic education might he easily provided, it was only natural that he should avail himself of such opportunities that he might he able to provide himself with a sufficient number of priests, nuns, and Christian Brothers. He had availed himself of those opportunities with complete success. The priests he had 1 obtained were before them, and they could j judge them themselves. It would be wrong of him then and in their presence to speak iof their merits and qualifications. He had also been aide to provide a number of stu- , dents in vaiious classes from the lowest to j the highest, so that a succession of priests ’ was now provided for, and they might anticipate no dearth in this respect hereafter The visit had enabled tln-m to estali ish another convent in the dice, so and also to make pro. vision for athird, which wmiUlbe established almost immediately. He had met with the greatest zeal and willingness on the part of priests and nuns to come and aid them in the great work in which they were all engaged in New Zealand. Ho had had the happiness not only of being presented to the Holy Father, but had also assisted at the ceremony of canonisation of saints, celebrated High Mass in tho Basilica of St. Cecilia tho glorious martyr, and pontificated in the College of St. Andrew, the Scotch College. He would here allude to this glorious proof of the catholicity of the Church. Hero they had various nationalities, people literally from the ends of the earth, speaking different languages and belonging to different races, all coming together and being as one in the bosom of the Catholic Church—a fulfilment of the prayer of our Divine Redeemer, that as He and the Father are one so should we all be one and one in Him. The Holy Father Leo XIII. was a great man, a great Pontiff, high in intellect, abounding in learning, eloquent and polished, and yet determined and fearless in the cause of Catholicity, fearless and brave in maintaining the rights of the Holy .See, knowing not what may be his fate 10-mor row, a prisoner—literally a. prisoner—if in splendid captivity, nevertheless a prisoner ; and though the Vatican is a glorious palace without an equal in the world, abounding in the beauties of art and architecture, possessing the most valuable library in existence side by side with tho great Basilica of St Peter, the grainiest monument ever erected in honour of any one upon this earth—the Sovereign Pontiff is literally a captive, not daring to set ids foot beyond his palace for fear of the insults of the lowest and most grovelling of men. That was a humiliating position for tho most exalted person upon earth to bo placed in, but to which tho Pontiff submitted for the sake of Catholics throughout the world. He would maintain the dignity of his position and not allow the dignity of the Sovereign Pontiff to bo lowered in his person, not for his own sake but because lie represented our Divine Redeemer, that Redeemer who subjected Himself to insults for the good of the world. In his representative the Redeemer was now being humiliated at the present moment. The Pope could maintain tho liberty of tho Church only in one of two ways—it could he upheld only by temporal sovereignty or by martyrdom. They had not not yet shed his blood, but the Holy Father was prepared to shed his blood if necessary and it might be necessary yet to shed his blood in defence of the liberties of tho Church. Notwithstanding the difficulties around him, ho administered the affairs of the Chu-ch fearlessly, devoting himself day and night to the consideration of those important questions belonging to his office, and though in a temporal point of view the Holy See was never in a more humble position, still it was a fact that the Pope, as spiritual head of the Church, was never more powerful since the days of St. Peter. True, irrcligion was rampant, but nevertheless there were not such vast numbers of irreligious people as there might be imagined to he. Ho had examined this question very carefully, especially in his journeys. He had been in one city where ho had been told there was very little religion, no one being seen in tho churches hut women and children, and a sprinkling of men not very devout. But he had found this not to bo the case. He had found in one grand cathedral in which ho.clebratcd Mass iiftOO men at 5 o’clock in the morning ; it rvas full again at S, and again at 10. Ho had purposely gone round to a number of other 1 churches, and found them all full to the doors with men, most pious and in