Catholic World

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXX, Issue 16, 17 April 1902, Page 24

Catholic World

AUSTRIA.— A Warning.

The Prince Archbishop of Prague and his suffragan bishops have published Pastorals denouncing the Los von Rom movement as both antiCatholic and anti-dynastic. CANADA.— A Strong Protest.

At a meeting in Halifax called to protest against the Accession Oath, and presided over by Archbishop O'Brien, the following resolutions were passed : — ' Resolved — That the Catholics of Halifax, N.S., in meeting assembled protest emphatically against the insult offered to their dearest religious convictions in the declaration to the oath of accession and as loyal Canadian subjects of the Empire keenly resent both the offensive assertions and insinuations contained therein. Resolved — That as tho religious belief of Catholicsdoes not diminish their loyalty nor restrain thorn from shedding their blood m the cause of the Empire, they protest against and resent the singling out of any article of their faith for special rejection or condemnation by the Sovereign and respectfully ask that this unnecessary and of Tensive reference be entirely blotted out from the afoiesaid declaration. And further, that tho resolution and proceedings of bhis meeting be transmitted by the chairman to tho Right Honorable the Secretary of state for the Colonies.' What will Hon. the Secretary of State for the Colonies do about it ? asks tho ' Ottawa Union.' Probably throw the resolution into the waste-paper basket Like thG majority of his countrymen ho thinks tho question is dead, and ho lias reason to think so, when ho sees tho English Catholic peers bothering about their regalia and their precious seats in Westminster Abbey for the coming coronation. The Catholics of the British Colonies, ii'respectno of nationality, \have entered their protests against the enormity in the most emphatic manner, even to petitioning for redress through their own colonial Parliament. Nothing of a practical character has resulted. The Catholics of England do not take hold of tho subjects with sutlicient earnestness nor with that boldness and confidence which their numbers and state ranks are equal to support. Hence tho fiasco of the report of tho commission sonic tame ago to amend tho accession oath. If tho Catholics of tho colonies keep at it they may possibly shame the Catholics of England into something like action and determination. ENGLAND.— A Contradiction.

An anonymous scribe asserted recently in the columns of a London paper that the late Hey. Dr. Lee was received into tho Catholic Church against his wish and without his consent. The assertion was promptly denied by tho priest who received him, and also by one of Dr. Lee's family. A Valuable Gift.

The ' Dupplin carvings ' consisting of fifty-four splendid cathedral stalls have been purchased from the E*irl of Kinnoull and presented to Cardinal Vaughan for Westminster Cathedral. The donor has intimated his intention of

bearing the whole expense of fitting the carvings into their resting-place in the Cathedral. The carvings originally formed the complete interior of the Monastery of St. Urban, near Lucerne. The Catholic Association.

The Catholic Association, Paternoster Row, of which tho Earl of Denbigh is president, telegraphed to the Pope on his reaching the 25th year of his pontificate :— 'The Catholic Association, under whose auspices the English pilgrims have journeyed to Rome each year since 1898, express homage and veneration to your Holiness upon reaching the 25th year of your glorious pontificate.' The following reply was received from Cardinal Rampolla, Secretary of State : ' The homage of your Association, that guided with zeal so many pilgrimages to Rome, was especially acceptable to his Holiness, who with fatherly love sends the Apostblic blessing. ' Death of Father Clifford.

The death is reported of the Hon. and Rev. Walter Charles Ignatius Clifford, of the Holy Name, Manchester. The ' Catholic Times ' gives the following particulars of the deceased priest : — Father Clifford, who was a son of Lord Hugh Charles Clifford of Chudleigh, the seventh baron and a count of the old German Empire, was born in Rome on December 5, 3 830, and was therefore in the 72nd year of his age. His mother, Mary Weld, was a daughter of Cardinal Weld, who was married before becoming a priest. The deceased priest, who was an uncle to tho present Lord Clifford of Chudleigh, was a brother of the late Lord Cliflorcl of Chudleigh, ,the late Bishop of Clifton (Right Rev. Wm. Jos. H. Clifford), and Sir W. Clifford. He entered the Society of Jesus in 3 848, when he was just 18 years of age, and received his education at Stony hurst and other great educational centres of the Jesuit Order. Ho was subsequently ordained priest at St. Bruno's College, North Wales, and served in tho Jesuit missions at Liverpool (St. Francis Xavier's), Bristol (St. Mary's-on-the-Q.uay), and Manchester (the Holy Name), where he died. The late Father Clifford was stationed at Bristol for over a quarter of a century, and wont to Manchester about six years ago Shortly after his transfer to Manchester a deputation from St. Mary's, Bristol, waited upon him in Manchester and presented hijm with an address in recognition of his great services for tho faith in Bristol. During his sojourn in Manchester he endeared himself to the congregation of the Holy Name and tho secular clergy to a. remarkable degree. At the eleven o'clock Mass on Sunday morning Father Ward, S.J., in asking tho prayers of tho congregation for the soul of Father Clifford, dwelt principally upon tho two great characteristics of his life : his great love and reverence for the liturgy of the Chutch and his deep love and attachment for the services of tho Church. He also spoke of his great simplicity, and recalled the fact how intensely happy he was when instructing- little children and taking his share in the work of the schools, nnd how grieved he was when, a few months ago, he had to abandon this on account of his health. Necessary Alterations.

Alterations in the Coronation Oath (says tho ' Catholic Times ') are rendered necessary by the King's new titles of Emperor of India and Sovereign Lord of tho British Dominions beyond the seas, and it is thought probable that the form employed at the coronation of AVilli'ain and Mary will be used. According, to this the King promises to maintain ' t'ho laws of God, the real profession of the Oospel and the Protestant reformed religion, established by law.'

FRANCE.

The present which President T^ubct ia making to the Holy Farther on tho anniversary of his coronation condi-sts of two pieces of tapestry specially manufactured at at the famous Gobelin State manufactory. They were designed by M. Jean Paul Laurens, one of the leading painters of the present time, and represent J oan of Arc's visions and her visit to the court of Charles VII. of France^

GERMANY.

The Emperor William will send a special mission to congratulate the Pope on his Jubilee, and Prince

Luitpold, of

Bavaria,

will do

same. This (writes a Berlin correspondent) is not merely an act of courtesy, but is of political significance. German policy has for many years been anxious to emphasise that

it no longer recognises the hegemony

of the so-called Catholic Powers, especially of France, in Catholic matters. This was why Germany de-

clared that she claimed for herself l the protectorate over the German

Catholics in the East.

The ' Nord-

deutsche Allgemeine ' published a semi - official paragraph congratulating the Pope on the fact that he enters upon the 25th year of his pontificate. It points out that for years the relations between the Vatican and the Emperor have been most cordial. Pope Leo XIII. owes the great successes of his pontificate to the cultivation of good relations with Germany, and the international authority of the Papacy has been greatly promoted by the attitude of that Power. Added to this, says the

paper, the Emperor William feels for the Pope sympathies which exceed

the limits ol that courtesy which is customary between sovereigns. This semi-official paragraph, as well as the sending- of a mission to Rome, will, of course, also produce an excellent impression upon German Catholics, who are thus to bo shown that their Protestant sovereign is fully alive to their Catholic interests. HOLLAND.

The Right Roy. John Aden, the newly-consecrated Bishop of Texnisotonia, and Auxiliary to the Most Rev. Dr. Col'gan, the venerable Archbishop of Madras, is, like his predecessor, Bishop Mayer, a, member of St. Joseph's Foreign Missionary Society. He was educated at St. Joseph's- College, Mill Hill, London. Bishop Aden spent many years as a missionary priest at Vepery, in the archdiocese of Madras, whence he returned to Holland, his nati\e country, just 12 years ago. He was the founder and first rector of &t Joseph's Mission House at Rozendaal in North Brabant. At his consecration Rozendaal was en fete. The burgomaster had provided for the decoration of the streets, and there was a brilliant display of many-colored bunting, countless flags and streamers flying from windows and across the thoroughfares. In

the neighborhood of the mission house the concourse was densest, and as the new Bishop and the prelates who had officiated drove up after the ceremony they were received with enthusiasm, which reached its climax when Dr. Aelen gave his iirst blessing to the multitude. ITALY.— The Divorce Bill.

Though the Divorce Bill had been mentioned in the King's speech to the Italian Parliament, political parties- recognised that it must be abandoned. ROME.— The Pope's Jubilee.

His Holiness the Pope on February 20 received in the Throne Room the Committee charged to organise the celebrations on the occasions of the 25th anniversary of his pontificate. The Committee presented to his Holiness a specimen of the commemorative medal which will be distributed among the pilgrims. The Pope also received the Lombardy Pilgrimage Committee, which offered him a medal specially struck for him. The Pontiff thanked the committee for the presentation. A sol/emn ' Te Deum ' was sung at St. Peter's in the afternoon in celebration of the 25th anniversary of the election of the Pope. The service was conducted by Cardinal Rampolla, and among those present were 21 Cardinals, about 40 bishops, tho Pontifical Guard in full-dress uniform, for the first time since 1870, 300 representatives of Catholta associations in Rome bearing lighted tapers, Italian and foreign religious institutions, and a congregation of about 20,000 persons. The Basilica was opened to the public at the conclusion of the service. The Pope, who was at the window in his apartments, watched the gathering disperse. The people respectfully saluted him, waving their hats and handkerchiefs. SCOTLAND.

The ' Catholic Herald ' gives the following particulars regarding the late Very Rev. Mgr. Campbell, whose death was briefly referred to in our last issue : Father Campbell was a native of Aberdeen, where his father was a bookseller and stationer. When he was only a few years old his parents removed to Glasgow. After studying at Blairs College, he went to the Scots College, at Rome in 1858. He was ordined priest in 1865, and after a short period of missionary work in Glasgow, he was appointed vice-rector of tho Scots College in Rome. His scholastic career was exceptionally distinguished. In the Gregorian University he won several medals, took the Uoctorship of Philosophy by public examination, and obtained the degree of D.D. as the result of an open examination. On the death of the Rev. Dr. Alexander Grant, he was appointed in j.878 Rector of the Scots College, an office which he filled until a few years ago. As a proof of the high esteem in which he was hold at the Vatican, the Pope made Dr. Campbell one of his Domestic Prelates. Under his direction

the College considerably increased its number of students, and several improvements were effected about the buildings. Owing to the increasing, infirmities he retired from the Rectorship, and has since resided in a home for invalid priests kept by an English community of nuns at Fiesole, the charming suburb of Florence. He was in his 63rd year. Not Convinced.

There are still a few deluded people in Scotland who believe in Widdows, the anti-Catholic lecturer, who is now serving two years for an. offence against public decency, among these being the Rev. Jacob Primmer. The ' Dunfermline Express,' in a recent issue wrote as follows : — ' The crowds of people who rushed to St. Margaret's Hall, Dunfermline, two, three, and lour years ago to hear " Ex-Monk " Widdows preach what was represented to be the Gospel of Christ, will surely be convinced now of the error they made. Again and again the people of Dunfermline were warned against Widdows, but, blinded evidently by a desire for Sunday demonstration, the " ex-monk " had large and enthusiastic audiences. The demonstrators would do well to read what appears to-day in another column of the "Express." At the Central Criminal Court, London, on Saturday, Widdows was convicted of an offence too terrible to name — loathsome, vile, wicked — and was sent to prison for two years. In, Townhill Church on Sunday Mr. Primmer gives an explanation of the conviction. In view of the fact) that Widdows has been convicted of bad offences three times, we are not prepared to accept Mr. Trimmer's explanation. A man of Mr. Primmer's high moral character would do well to drop Widdows.'