THE CATHOLIC CONGRESS

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXII, Issue 43, 27 October 1904, Page 3

THE CATHOLIC CONGRESS

(From our own correspondent.) Melbourne, October 11. Practical proof that the predicti/on of brilhan' success, uttered in eonnectun with the Congress will not meet with contradiction may be discerned ni the fact that the members' fees, received by the cental secretaries up to the end oi last week, amounted in number lo 801). This, let il be noted, dues n.jL include returns' from secretaries m outlying places. Membeis too, will receive the full worth oi t,ieir imoney. Not only will they be admitted to all the meetings and entertainments of the great week, but each of 'them -will bo presented, free by post, with a copy of the handsome volume containing a report of the proceedings the ad-dres-ses delivered, and the papers read. For those who have any knowledge of tlhe volume issued as a result of the Congress at Sydney, it is of pregnant meaning that that now in process of preparation, GOO of its pages being already in type, is reliaUly promised to excel the other. This other voltume, novertmelesi,, is of admirable merit. The Catholic household in which it finds a place possesses in it a source of information on most subjects that are of interest and importance to Catholics, and on many that non-Cath-olics also consider of concern to themselves. It is a publication' that does infinite credit to the Catholic people, manifesting, as it does, the deep learning, high intellectual standing, and practical good sense hy which not only their hierarchy and clergy are distinguished, but with which also many members of tiheir laity aie endowed. In several instances profound and difficult questions are explained in a manner so clear and simple as to ma\e them almost incredibly comprehensible to the ordinary, or even to the dullest, understanding. Of particular interest appear to be tj*e papers on matters relating to education or moral training, read at the Congress on the part of several communities of nuns. Who, for example, can be better qualified to oJTer advice an|d suggestion as to the training of girls on their leaving school than the community ot the Good Shepherd at Abbotsford, who have had .vo much personal experience of the miserable results of a want of such tram n;, and to whose devotion, enduran 'c, and skill; reclamation from these lesults has, m countles-s instances, been due, and that almost beyond belief "> The Dominican Nuns at A.shlield, near Sydney, had al.^o contributed an admirable paper, well supporting the worldwide ror.own gained of old by their "Order in the work of education. The Loretto Nuns, the Sisters of Chanty, the Good Samaritan Nuns, the Faithful Companions of Jesus, and the Sisters of Me"cy are each and all of them likewise most creditably to the fore. The. cloister,, in thus taking advantage of the opening afforded it and making its voice heard, nobly vindicates itself, and testifies to the world ]n a manner that cannot be gainsaid its sterling worth and the power it wields lor good. Rut t o enumerate in anything like detail the contend of the volume referred to and their significance would need far more space than I have at command. On every important subject something; hps bean said, and well said—not in a mere ephemeral dealing, to be glanced at and thrown aside, but So as to deserve lasting and repeated attention. Those who do not possess this volume slhould try to obtain it. It is no dotobt destined to form the first of a series that hereafter in itself will make no contemptible library and which will besides periodically furnish an instructive and convincing note of Catholic progress. Catholics who cannot attend the approaching Conpress should, nevertheless, avail themselves of the opportunity of securing the volume now in preparation, to be sent free of postage to everyone who enters himself as a member and pays his fee to ihe local secretary. The book, an improvement, as I have said, on the preceding volume, will be alone well worth the money. As a token that The Importance of the Congress Is d/uly recognised by the outside wor]d, I may ouote the fact that the Postmaster-General has arranged for opening, for the week, a t the Cathed-al Hall a pof>t and telegraph office, where a.ll the business of the departments may be transacted Arrangements have hern a!s n rr>ade for a news-agent's stall, where the various paners of the Slates a,nd their capita's shall he oMainable. These, it. is needless to Fay. will be details of much convenience to members attending from a distance. Rut is it not of infinite honor to the Catholic body that, when 1 their members come in their hundreds to a fixed plare of meeting their object is no light or frivolous undertaking or passing amusement, but the religio"s 4 intellectual, and social advancement and elevation of tho

community at large ? Non-Catholics as well as C tah- aohes are welcome. No liner manifestation of Cathcdic woith, is imaginable. Encouraging accounts of success continue to be received irom local secretaries. In this respect your ovvn Colony ranks particularly high, and expressions of acknowledgment on the part of the Central Committee to Key Father Cleary are fervent and sincere. Hardly a ino'.o telling proof of sincerity can be recorded than that given m the fact 1 hat the Hon. Secretary Dr. Kenny, a busy prolessional man and a specialist, does not hesitate, as a mark of Ins gratitude, to receive your correspondent during the hours at which his patients are attending on him at his rooms in Collins street, so that you may have the latewt details to hand. 'I he Doctor is, indeed, an enthusiast, and enthusiasm,, when supported and directed by practical ability such as Dr. Kenny's, is a certain earnest of success. Expectation runs particularly high with respect to the celebration of Pontifical High Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral on Sunday, 23rd mst., when the Cardinal Archbishop of Sydney and a large number of prelates and dignitaries, including also Monsi-gnor Boismicniu Coadjutor Bishop of New Guinea, will be present. The rmusio will be exceptionally grand, a s|um of £!•() having been expended alone on the orchestra, and the function generany will be one of great solemnity and magniiiccnce. Of special interest, again, will "be the performance m the Cathedral, on Sunday evening, 30th. inst. of Perosi's oratorio, '1 he Transfiguration.' This will be the first performance of the work in Australia. Indeed, although two others of his compositions have already been perioimed m Melbourne, the composer still remains a stranger to many. They will now have a flavorablo opportunity of becoming acquainted with him. Tho^e good New Zealanders, in short, who cross the Tastnan Sea with the intention of being present at the Congress will run no risk of disappointment. THE CONGRESS OPENED. A Piess Association cable message received on Tuesday morning says : The second Austral asian Catholic Congress, representative of the Commonwealth, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands, has been opened Cardinal J\lor,in presiding. The Pope cabled his blessing, wishing Mie Congress success. Archbishop Carr, in the inaugural addres'si, said they must be careful to give offence to none. While they defended their own belief and gave reasons for the faith that) was in them, they would' not use the occasion to insult the beliefs of tho.se different from them.