GERMAN ITEMS.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume III, Issue 126, 1 October 1875, Page 13

GERMAN ITEMS.

Bishop of Paderborn.— On the 14th July Dr. Conrad Martin finished his second period of detention in the fortress of Wesel He was desirous of proceeding co Holland, in order to take some baths *hich werenecessary for hi. health, and signified his wish to the proper authorities. But h. ha. been prohibit^ to leave the town of Wesel unless he will produce a certificate from the State physician of the districtthat such » journey is an absolute necessity. For the present therefore, his Lordship has taken up his residence L»in under the hospitable roof of Herr Dorsemagen. reßl£ l«ace again The Bishop of Miinster.-Dr. Brinkmann, for whose "deposiWn P,Wd^gß^P ,W d^ gB^ ?r en comme^ed, was'summoneci to appear before the Judge of First Instance, on Saturday, 10th July. At the ™. I^™ 8 B ? mm ™ fth 9 •P iiC °P al liia Lordship was absent on a confirmation tour, returning to Munster only late on %::T\°i th f lOth - There »P°* *&b »um moUß wa^ LsueS citing the Bishop to appear on the 16th, and threatening him with Old Catholicism.— The Berlin newspaper, the ' Provincial Corres pondent,' gives an analysis of the « Old Catholic " law which w, enacted in the l 8l 8B t session of the Prussian Landtag, and h« bleu lately promulgated. By this law these sectaries are recoen'sed Z members of the Catholic Church, and entitled to ." full share of all ecclesiastical buildings and other property. The ' Correspondent ' cIZv S T 78i% "^/be, statement that " Wei O rwar dd P th f Sf d Catholics have secured to them the most complete protection in everr thing when, the State law will reach. Their further P r O gli ßß a2d

their permanent establishment among the Catholic population will depend on the verification of the truth and interior force of their doctrines." The * Frankfurter Zeitung ' observes with reference to these remarks that '' hitherto at least there has not been much proof of this ' interior force.' In Baden, -where a similar law has been in operation i for a year, the hopes which were entertained of its effects have been sa-Jly disappointed. In spite of the ostentatious assistance of the bureaucracy the number of congregations is insignificant. Those conI gregations are made up, not of the faithful Cai holies, who were at I tir»t shy of the Vatican derreei, but chiefly of persons the majority of whom wore really outside the Church even before 1870, either as her opponents or ai being utterly indifferent- Roman Catholicism has lost just as little in respect of such elements as Old Catkoliciam hat gained by them. On the contrary those persons do great mischief to the reputation of the new ' Old Church ' among the masßSs, who are accuitomed to look to personal credit as a guarantee." It may be observed tnat the invitation issued by Dollinger some months since to the Greek schismatics haß been accepted by the Servian Church, | which has deputed the Archimandrite Sava to take part ia the Ola Catholic cougress which is to be held at Bonn. The Bishop of Mayence. — The good people of this city and diocese are quite occupied in preparing for the celebration of the jubilee of their Bishop on the 25th instant. Beveral Bishopg are expected to be present, besides many of the leaders of the Catholio party. The newspapers hare reproduced within the past fortnight several accounts of the festivities connected with the reception and consecration of the Bishop 25 years ago. j Election in Baden. — Under the provisions of the Constitution of the Grand-duchy of Baden new elections must shortly take place for half the main burs of the Landtag, or local Parliament. A Catholic central electoral committee ha« been formed, and has issued an address to the Catholic electors, referring in very guarded and moderate language to the difficult position of Catholics in the Grand-duohy, and to the pra-tical impossibility of improving matters, unless ©very man takes it to hears as a matter of simple duty to vote according to hit conscience at the forthcoming elections. Alsace. — People are beginning to complain in Alsace that tlwy are being subjected to a " suspension law" of exceptional severity. The Germaa Government, since the occupation of Alsace, ha* acted on the basis of the Concordats formerly concluded between the Holy See and France, and the Organic Articles. Hence the nomination of all parish priestß and higher ecclesiastical functionaries must be submitted to the provincial governor. The Bishop has invariably complied with this regulation. But how does the Government act ? It heaps difficulty on difficulty, it "does not appro re of the nominations" submitted to it j it " declines to accept " the candidates proposed for the , vacancies. In this way the most important ecclesiastical positions remain vacant. Thua, for example, th* post of Vicar-General has been vacant for two years, hence the banishment of Dr. Rapp, although the Bishop has submitted several names to the governor. It is nine months siuco the death of the parish priest of St. Peter-the- Young in the city of Straikurg. It is said that five or six successive nominations have been rejected by the Government. The Government is using to the utmost its power of rejecting any one who is not a persona grata. But this conduct is arousing intense dissatisfaction everywhere. Bishopric of Passau.— The Bavarian Government has not yefc been able to decide upon whom to propose to the Holy See as suocesser to th« late Bishop of Passau, who died last Whitsuntide It is j said that they first thought of the Abbot of the Benedictine Monastery Zeuetti ; but the Abbot would not consent to his nomination. It was ! then reported that another Benedictine, Father Pius Bayer who is director of a college, had been named, bat the matter has not been definitely .ettled. Another report mentions Herr Achats, parish ' priest of Vilshofen. **•«•» Religious Orders.— The law abolishing the Religious Orders is being put in force. At Treves the Royal Commissioners for carrying out the Uw have called upon the Religious to furnish them with I tabular statements, setting out all items of information connected with ; the _ persons and property of their establishments. At Diisseldorf notice ha» been served on the Franciscans, Dominicans, and Poor Glares, ordering them to quit their establishments before the 15th of A ugust. This will be a great loss to the Catholic people of that city for the secular clergy wera greatly helped in the discharge of their spiritual duties by the assistance of their religious brethren? Contrasts.-— Under the heading " The Minister Baron ron Stein and the new Prussian Church Policy." the Q-ermania has been pub- } lulling a series of articles, in which " the great contrast is shown between the policy of the Ministers. Stein aud Hardenberg, who organised the relations between Prussia and the Catholic Church more than half ft century ago, and the policy of Prinoe Bismarck and Dr *alck, who have devoted themselves to shattering that organization. Posen.— The newspapers of Poaen and the neighbouring districts contain accounts of several new prosecutions instituted against parish priests and other clergymen for "illegul exercise of ecclesiastical functions/ in contravention of tha May laws and for similar offences. Dresden.— On 9th July the 'coffin of the late King John of Saxony was deposited in the splendid sarcophagus of bronze which I MMT?% by ord ** ot c ?*?"*!! Xi 2? Alberfc ' in the workshop of MM. Schafer and Roch m this city. The sarcophagus is in the old French style, three metres long and two broa 1, and is a beautiful piece of -workmanship, .vhich reflects great credit on the artists j It rests in the crypt of the court chapel on a slab of granite, having tne heads of cherubim at the corners, at its foot there ia the nor trait of the king, surrounded with laurel and oak leaves. At the head there is a Latin inscription set in a wreath of flowers On j the cover resting on a cushion a crucifix i 8i 8 wrought surmounted br a crown. The transfer of the coffin took place in the presence of the parish priest of the Court chapel, who recited the aDproDriafc* prayer*; but there was no rtato eeremonii,]* *