The Catholic World

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXI, Issue 34, 20 August 1903, Page 27

The Catholic World

AUSTRIA.— The New Cardinals The Emperor Francis Joseph on Sunday, June 28, placed the biretta on the heads of the new CardinalsArchbishop Taliani, the Papal Nuncio at Vienna, and Dr. Katschtalcr, Prince Archbishop of Salzburg. The ceremony took place in the chapel of the Ilofburg. The two Cardinals were afterwards received in private audiences by the Emperor, and in the afternoon a Court dinner was given in their honor. ENGLAND. — Another Way to Look at It Commenting on the debate respecting the Royal Declaration and Lord Rosebery 's anti-Catholic attitude on it, the ♦ Daily News ' says : 'We cannot see that the Declaration is needed at all. If the King were to denounce Mahommedanism from the Throne at his Coronation, we believe that Lord Rosebery would be the first to see the danger to the Indian Empire.' The Late Bishop of Salford Canon Richardson contributes an article on the life and character of the late Bishop of Salford to tho 1 Ushaw Magazine ' for July. The Canon writes :— 1 Trouble and anxiety wore him down— speaking humanly, he had no right ever to have been consecrated. A bishop upon whom the mitre sits heavily, whose shoulders are easily rounded by care, starts digging his grave the day after his consecration. So it was with Dr Bilsborrow. His heart was too tender, his mind too sensitive to stand the worry of one of the largest dioceses in England, no matter how obedient the clergy or how loyal the laity.' A Posthumous Work Very deep interest (says the ' Catholic Times ') will be felt in the forthcoming book which Cardinal Vaughan had nearly completed before his death. It was mentioned both in Bishop Hedley's panegyric and in Father Bernard Vaughan's discourse at Mill Hill. The Bishop stated that his Eminence's object in undertaking the work was to be of service to the clergy, and Father Vaughan declared that it was intended to be a special gift to the members of St. Joseph's Foreign Missionary Society. Before his death the Cardinal told Father Henry, the Superior at Mill Hill, that the book had for a long time past received his most anxious thought and that he hoped it would be helpful to the Community to whom it was to be dedicated. He has not been spared 1o see it published, but ho recently made provision for its being edited. We may confidently predict that it will be a volume of the highest value for the promotion o! spiritual life. The late Cardinal had extensive experience of ecclesiastical work, and as he was a man who constantly took note of what he thought might be* turned to the advantage of the Church, the volume he composed must prove a treasury of p.rudent advice and suggestion. The Property of the Benedictines The refusal of the British Government to see that justice is done to the English Benedictines, who have been driven out of France, does not commend itself to the ' Church Times ' (Anglican 1 ). The French Government's recourse to the plea that they are not responsible for the property of the British Benedictines because in 1825 the British Privy Council held that the British Catholic Colleges in France were not entitled to compensation, inasmuch as they were devoted to ' superstitious purposes,' is characterised by the ' Church Times ' as ' a mean ingenuity, ' and the editor points out that the Emancipation Act long ago swept away and made void the contention of Lord GifTord in 1825. Strange as is the quibbling plea of the French Government in bringing to the fore a Privy Council decision three quarters of a century old to resist a claim for compensation by the ejected English Benedictines, the inaction of the British Government is, to the mind of the editor of the • Church Times,' still stranger. Convinced that the British Government is bound to protect British subjects and their property wherever they are to be found,, he asks what can be the reason for this ' flabby supineness,' this weak yielding to the headstrong course of the French Government. It is to be hoped that whilst there is yet time British Ministers will awaken to a sense of their duty in this matter. The Accession Oath * In the early part of June Loid Grey moved in the House of Lords the second reading of his Bill providing for the abolition of the Royal Declaration, commonly known as the Accession Oath. The Earl of Aberdeen I jconded the motion. The Archbishop of Canterbury, , while* prepared to support a modification of the Oath so as to remove needless and avoidable offence, was not , prepared to assent to its entire abolition. Viscount Llandaff said the ofiensiveness of the Declaration did not ■

lie so much with its terms as in the fact that it was employed to condemn a particular faith. Lord Robertson, one the Scotch Law Lords, hoped the House would maintain the existing Declaration until it could be modified to meet the conscientious views of those aggrieved. The Duke of Norfolk expressed his pleasure at the speech of the Archbishop of Canterbury, but he preferred the entire abolition of the Declaration. The Duke of Devonshire, replying for the Government, opposed the passing of the Bill,. The policy of the Ministry was to retain the Declaration, eliminating all words and expressions of an offensive character, but when the Ministry introduced a Bill embodying that policy the attitude of the Catholic Peers made it useless to proceed. The Government policy still remained the same. Lord Rosebery said that no declaration could be effective in a Protestant sense which did not contain some language of repudiation On a division, by 109 votes to 62, the Bill was rejected. FRANCE.— The Perils of the Church

The Government of the Republic (says the ' Catholic Times ') proceeds steadily with its work of extirpating religion from the country. It has decided that secularised members of the forbidden Congregations may not engage in teaching for three years after their secularisation, and then only under irksome conditions. More, by a majority of one, the Concordat Commission has reported in favor af a separation of Church and State. Evidently, keen observers believe that some such separation is at hand, or Mgr. Turinaz would scarcely brave the Government's displeasure by mounting the pulpit and himself introducing a regular preacher in spite of the ministerial prohibition. However, the Bishop's action has the support of the decisions of the Law Courts, and this fact enables him for the time to disregard M. Combes's wrath and deride his threats. Besides, the Bishop is a man of courage, and the Prime Minister will hesitate to attack so determined and powerful a foe. Throughout France, indeed, the Government is meeting resistance greater than was anticipated. Riots have taken place in many parts, and the military have had to be called in to suppress them. But, still, taking the country as a whole, the Government plans are carried out, as in Paris the other day, where at one fell swoop the police closed a number of small chapels, with ease and without serious protest. Catholicism in France is in a perilous state. GERMANY.— RoyaI Congratulations

The Emperor of Germany sent a telegram of congratulation to Cardinal Fischer on the occasion of his investiture as a Cardinal. The Results of the Elections

The results of the second ballots have left the .German Centre Party in the same position that they occupied prior to the electoral battle. They remain the most numerous and the dominant party, though their strength has suflered a slight decrease. At the dissolution of the Reichstag the number of their deputies stood at 105 ; now it is 99. The Social Democrats come next with 83 representatives, having gained 25 seats. The Conservatives of every political shade had 72 seats, and they now hold 67. The Poles have gained two additional seats, their deputies now numbering 16. Though they have fought the campaign as a distinct party, and in some places have directly opposed the Centre, their Parliamentary spokesmen will probably, as hitherto, be found supporting that party upon all the more critical questions. As a party with a clear and definite programme, the Centre will to all intents and purposes be the guiding factor in legislative projects. But the remarkable success of the Socialists will unquestionably create important differences in the situation and prospects of the nation. Coming to the Reichstag with the Knowledge that $00,000 fresh votes have been given to them, the Socialists deputies are sure to be bold in criticism and in economic proposals. How far their criticism and their schemes will commend themselves to the electors only the future itself can decide, and prophecy on the subject would be vain. ROME.— A Tablet from Japan

The late Pope, shortly before his death, was the recipient of a unique offering. Baron von Mathies, of Hamburg, at a private audience, on his return from the far East, presented to his Holiness one of the wooden tablets on which proclamations against Christians were formerly displayed during the times of the Japanese persecutions. Baron von Mathies acquired this interesting relic in a village near Kyoto, and had it suitably framed. The Pope was most interested in hearing both the Japanese text and the Latin translation read to him. The tablet belongs to the sixties of the last century. Distinguished Students

A Rome correspondent states that the Rev. Francis O'Hanlon, student of the English College for the diocese of Birmingham, and the Rev. Edward M. Bray, student of the same for the diocese of Salford, have taken the

degrees of Doctor of Divinity at the Gregorian University. Both these priests have completed their courses. SCOTLAfND.— Death of a Priest

The death is reported of Rev. Father Dawson, of Rothesay, who passed away at St. Margaret's, Ascog, Bute, in his 48th year. The reverend gentleman, who was a native of Huntly, Aberdeen, was- formerly stationed at Oban, and went to Kothesay a comparatively short time ago in succession to Father McElmail, of Dunoon. Ever since his advent to Rothesay Father Dawson had be^n be&et by ill health, and deeply deplored as his early death is it cannot be said that it was unexpected. Clerical Changes

Rev. Father Angus McDonald, Arisaig, has been appointed to Rothesay in succession to the late Father Dawson. Father McNeill, of Oban, goes to Arisaig.