Catholic World

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXX, Issue 10, 6 March 1902, Page 24

Catholic World

CHINA.- A Priest Killed. A Brussels newspaper has received news that Father Bougaerts, of the Schent missions, and a native of Tougerloo, Holland, has been murdered at Siaingtsin, in China. ENGLAND A Contrast. The ' Architect,' the leading London paper of the English building trades, in an article on the proposed new Protestant Cathedral at Liverpool, in its issue of January 4, writes as follows :— ' Whilst the members of the National Church are squabbling before they begin cathedral building, the adherents of the Church of Rome are working, and the Cathedral at Westminster has as regards its external fabric taken concrete form, and is rapidly approaching completion, so that we can begin to realise the ability of Mr. Bentley and the effect of his original and clever design. Here we have no straining after half-mile vistas, and although we may not all be agreed as to the precise value of some of Mr. Bentley's details, .-we must recognise that his is work. that will live, that it is virile, conscientious, and thoughtful, and wo doubt not that the interior when completed will once more teach us, what our compatriots who differ from us in form of worship have often before shown us, that a church is a palace in which to worship rather than at which to gaze from outside— a lesson by the way of which English Churchmen at the present day, judging from the empty benches everywhere to be seen, need very forcible impressment. The Catholic Association. The fifth annual dinner of the Catholic Association of England was held at the Holborn Restaurant, London. In the absence of the Earl of Denbigh, who had been announced to preside, the chair was taken by Bishop Bellord. Cardinal Vaughan sent a message blessing the Association and its efforts to draw English peoplo to the centre of Christendom. The chairman, in proposing the first toast, ' The Pope and King,' said their first duty was to express a double loyalty to the great ideas, Church and State. As Catholics, of courso they had not the union of tho Church with the State, but he ventured to say that there was no country where the Church and the State, speaking of their Church and the State, were so closely united as in this country. Mr. A. Hungerford Pollen, in proposing ' The Hierarchy,' claimed that the bishops did a great deal of the British Empire. A Rumor. Mgr. Merry del Val, who is pointed out as likely to be named Coadjutor of Cardinal Vaughan at Westminster, is of Spanish nationality. But he was born in London, where his father was Spanish Ambassador ; his mother was of English extraction, and he speaks English fluently;

— all points that are held to qualify him for the office suggested. Mgr. del Val came to England in 1887 as the bearer of the Pope's congratulations to the Queen on her jubilee, and ten years later he was sent as Apostolic Commissioner to Cany, la, with a view of settling the Manitoba school question. The IVlonsignor is an accomplished diplomat and a great favorite with the Pope. A Distinction. Dr. Tozer, L.R AM" organist and choirmaster of the Catholic church at Eastbourne, has received from the Pope a knighthood of the Pontifical Order of St. Sylvester, in recognition of his distinguished work in the field of Catholic music. Exiled Nuns. The exiled French Benedictine Nuns, temporarily staying at Stanbrook Abbey, express great pleasure at their reception in England. Since the community settled in the Isle of Wight they have been visited by Princess Henry of Battenberg. Religious Profession. Miss Amy Vaughan (in religion Sister Mary Assumpta) was professed a Benedictine Nun oa January 15 at St. Mary's Abbey, East Bergholt, by her uncle, Cardinal Vaughan. Monsignor Vaughan preached on the occasion. FRANCE. Some fears arc expressed for the future of the great Benedictine Establishment at Douai, France The brethren there applied for authorisation to the Municipal authorities. The request was granted, but the sanction of both the Chamber and the Senate as well are wanted, and no one can be Mire that this will bo given. Joan of Arc. The announcement is made with regard to the cause of .loan of Arc that the Bull of Canonisation will be published shortly. Authorisation. There were in France 3 0,108 establishments of religious subject to the terms of the Law of Associations. Of this number only 5141 have applied for registration under the law. This leaves a balance of 11,327 establishments whose members have passed to other countries. A Place of Pilgrimage. The Memorial Chapel m the Rue Jean Gougeon, Paris, erected on the spot of the Bazaar de la Cliarito lire, has become so much a place of pilgrimage that it has been necessaiy to take measures to regulate the admission of the public No less than 500 or 600 people are said to visit the church ever doy, and on Sunday the number i caches over 3000 and sometimes up to 1000. An Unprecedented Position. 1 believe that the action of Mgr. Lacroix, Bishop of Tarentoise in accepting the editorship of a daily newspaper published at Montiets (writes a Paris correspondent) is

unprecedented, at all events in the history of the French episcopate. It is a sign of the times that a journal which calls itself a Republican newspaper should call upon a Bishop to take the editorial chair, and that a Bishop should actually accept and add editorial duties to his already heavy episcopal duties. The following extract from the leading article published by Mgr. Lacroix m taking up the editorship may be quoted : — ' Under our guidance the ' Independent ' shall fearlessly defend the doctrines and institutions upon which society is based—Religion, the Army, Justice, and Property. But it shall not on that account be a retrograde or reactionary paper. We do not of course, think that at the present moment all ia for the best in the best* of worlds. We believe that there is yet a great deal of progress to be realised in the political, economical, and social systems, and we shall give our sympathy and support to all attempts in harmony with justice and liberty which have for object the amelioration of the condition of the working classes. Faithful to Papal direction, we shall always place ourselves upon constitutional grounds ; that is to say, we shall clearly and sincerely proclaim ourselves republican, loyally serving the Government which France has given herself. We shall not be of those who say "I obey the Pope," and who, nevertheless, continue to coquette with the old parties. We shall not either be of those who proclaim themselves Republican in order to be able to attack and assault with safety and impunity the men and institutions who in France represent the Republic. Our loyalty as Catholics must be abo\e all suspicion Let us imitate on this point the Catholics of England and Germany. If they are heard in the councils of political parties, and if they have influence upon the direction of public affairs, that is due to the fact that there is nothing in their speech or in their conduct to raise suspicion as to their devotion to the constitution of their country. This does not mean, however, that we must abdicate our independence and be the courtesans of established powers. According to the councils of the Tacitus, we must be equally distant from the servility which appro\es everything, and from the systematic opposition which condemns everything. In our appreciations of men and things our only inspiration shall be our coiibcicnce, and our only object truth and justice. ROME.— A Decision. An American contemporary states that, according to a reported decision of the Vatican authorities, applications for papal dispensations must be made hereafter by letter. The cable cannot be used for that purpose. The slower process is decreed in order to minimise the risk of mistakes arising from the necessary condensation of statements and explanations when the more expeditious mode of communication is resorted to.

Exciting Dangerous Passions. The Holy Father has addressed a letter to the episcopate of Bohemia on the language question. The protection of the mother tongue within certain limits could not, he says, be open to objection, but he deprecates movements which might lead to the excitement of dangerous passions. SCOTLAND — Diamond Jubilee. The diamond jubilee of Archbishop gyre's priesthood will be celebrated during the present month. A Brave Action. The Rev. James J. Dawson, St. Columba's, Oban, hat, proved himself a true hero by his gallant feat in saving a boy from drowning. The pupils attending the cathedral school at Oban were skating on the Black .Loch, a deep pond. Father Pawson who accompanied the boys, noticed that at one part the ice wasi weaker than the rest, and warned the boys of this fact. However, one lad ventured where he was told not to go, the consequence being that he fell through the ice. A shout from his companions alarmed the priest, who, with great presence of mind, ordered the boys off the ice, and at once began to crawl towards the drowning youth. The ice gave way under him, but, nothing daunted, he got hold of the boy just as he was sinking. The situation was trying and dangerous, but the noble priest proved equal to the emergency. Keeping the boy afloat with one hand, he managed to break the ice in front with the other, and after a hard struggle both landed safely. What made Father, Dawson's act the more praiseworthy is the fact that he was only recovering from a dangerous illness, from which it was thought he would not recover. The rev. gentleman is a native of Huntly, Aberdeenshire, and was ordained priest in 1881. UNITED STATES. In his address to the first graduating class of the Baltimore City 1 raining School for Nurses, which is under the auspices of the Sisters of Mercy, Cardinal Gibbons said :~-'My dear young ladies of the training school, you have adopted a career the most honorable and useful any young woman could select. You put to shame those fashionable women who are daily worshiping at the shrine of idleness and pleasure. It! is true you cannot, like our blessed Itedecmer, work miracles by giving sight to the blind or strength to the paralyzed limb, but you can work miracles of grace and mercy toy relieving the sufferings of your fellowbeings, and never do you perform an act more pleasing to God than when you alleviate the corporal affliction of a fellow-creature.' Converts' League. This organisation, composed of both original Catholics and converts of America associated on equal terms for the common purpose of aiding those who are in search of the Church or in need of encouragement after entering therein, held a public meeting recently in the Catholic

Club, New York, there being an excellent attendance, both as regards numbers and quality. The chair was taken by the president, Dr. B. F. De Costa, the Archbishop occupying a seat on the platform. The first speaker was Rev. William O'Brien Pardow, S.J., who made a most admirable address, in course of which he attested to the fact that he was, in part, a Huguenot, and carried Protestant blood in his veins. Archbishop Corrigan, who by his presence attested once more his deep appreciation of the value and importance of the aims of the League, gave some very interesting reminiscences ■ of '- Archbishop Bailey and Bishop Wadham, both at one time, like Bishop Curtis, Episcopalian ministers. In the course of- his address Father Pardow alluded to the significance of Catholic teachings by some of the advanced Episcopalians, and Dr. De Costa gave a brief account of a certain organisation of Episcopalians who accept Catholic doctrinp in its entirety, having no trouble even in receiving Papal Infallibility and Supremacy, yet holding that their orders • are valid, and consequently that they are a part of the Catholic Church and should be so recognised. This, however, instead of being Catholicity, was simply an extreme form of Protestantism, putting private judgment against infallibility by refusing obedience. GENERAL. Death Roll. From the yearly report of ' Les Missions Catholiques ' for 1900 just published, we learn that no fewer than nine bishops and 102 priests have died during the 12 months on the field of honor. Four of the bishops were French, Monseigneurs Bulli, Guillon, Chausse, and Bulcon ; and three were Italian, Mgr. Fantisati, Grassi, and Fogolla ; Mgr. Meyer, a Canadian ; and Mgr. Hamer,' a Dutchman. The three Italian bishops were massacred by the Chinese. Mgr. Guillon, of the Paris Society, was put to death in Manchuria ; Mgr. Hamer was burned alive in Mongolia, and Mgr. Buleon, of the Congregation of the Holy Ghost, died a victim of yellow fever. Of the priests over 80 were French, of whom 15 died violent deaths. Forty of these French priests Ijclonged to the Missions Estrangerrs of Paris, 18 were Fathers of the Holy Ghost, 14 belonged to the Society of Jesus, eiffht were Lazarists, and five were White Fathers. Sons of St. Patrick. At the Vatican Council of 1870 there were present 767 bishops. They represented 30 different nations, yet the bishops of Irish blood outnumbered by 24. the representatives of any other given nation. It is said the sight touched the heart of Cardinal Manning. When he beheld the long array of Patrick's sons sweeping through the heart of Christendom, he exclaimed : ' Surely if there is a saint in heaven that has reason to be proud to-night that saint's name is Patrick.' The Pope's Health. Bishop Turner, of Galloway, speaking a few weeks ago at Dumfries at a meeting of the Sacred Heart Association, said he had just retuqned from a visit to the Pope, and whatever might be said from time to time in English and Scottish newspapers, he could safely assert that his Holiness looked as well as he did four years ago. For a man completing his ninety-second year his health was excellent, as ever. His Holiness's memory seemed perfect, for when his (Bishop Turner's) name was mentioned on entering the Pope immediately reminded him of a conversation they, had had four years ago, '