The Catholic World

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXV, Issue 2, 28 February 1907, Page 31

The Catholic World

ENGLAND— Sympathy with French Catholics The- Right Rev. Dr. -(Jasartelli, Bishop .of Salford, in a letter which, was read at the annual . conversazione of the Manchester branch of the Catholic Truth .. Society, wrote : ' I should very \ much " like to see - some public expression of our sympathy with the persecuted clergy and laity of the French.- Church, and Iwould- suggest this as a- matter which might very • well be discussed both by the Catholic Truth Society and the Catholic Federation.' The Rev. R. , Hugh . Benson in an address on ' Koads to Rome ' expressed the opinion that in the future the conflict of Catho- • lies -would be with opponents who sough tr to unite the human race on an anti-Christian , basis. Sunday Observance The message signed by the heads of the Anglican, the Catholic, and the Free Churches in England, on the Observance of Sunday (says a gazer ,.' From the Office Window' of the 'Daily Chronicle'), comes plump upon the anti-clerical activities of France. The - world wa,nts a rest — to worship God, to make, its soul, to stop and think. We have been imitating the Continental Sunday, and Paris- has been casjtimg envious eyes upon us. This writer remembers .acutely the enthusiastic admiration of the late Mr. Millage, the ' Chronicle's ' Paris correspondent, for the London Sunday. Millage knew Paris upside down. / What they want,' he said, 'is the day in which the man in a difficulty may have time to turn rounds Death of a Convert , , By the death of Mr. A. S. Labouchere-Sparling, " 8.A.,' Oxon., the Catholic Church in England has lost " one more of Newman's foMowens. He distinguished himself in the ' Garibaldi Campaign ' when under 20 years of agp. After several years' regular service in the Italian army, Major Sparling returned to England. He was ordained as an Anglican ■ clergyman by the then Bishop of Manchester, "and held his first curacy in that city. After eighteen years' service, -lie resigned the Rectory of Trevalga to join the Catholic Church, his wife (a daughter of Admiral Glasse, C.8.) and family following him. For the last twoyears his health had been failing.. He died at| his residence, Manor House, Tresillian, near Truro, on December 27, fortified by the rites of the Church, and was 'buried at "Merther, the . officiating, priest beijng Father Wilfrid Regan, C.R.I. FRANCE— Ecclesiastics and Military Training The French Church Law recently passed gave the Government authorities power to compel- ecclesiastics of a certain age to undergo the full period of military training. Hitherto they served but a year with ' the colors,. To some extent the new law is retrospective. ' Early in January, in ofrtidience to a summons from the military authorities, nine priests and . thirty-four students reported themselves at Brest, in order to rejoin the colors and • complete their two years of service. All the priests called up were ordained in 1905. The ABbe Thevenin, of Chalons, and* the Abbe Royer, of Ste. Men ehold,— were among the' clerical conscripts who . exchanged their cassocks for the uniforms of a 'line regiment. . ■ Cardinal Richard's Pastoral In all the churches of Paris on a recent , Sunday a Pastoral Letter of the Cardinal- Archbishop was read, which may be said, to some extent, to , m.ark an epoch in the history of the Church of France. • For the first time the Cardinal-ArcWbishop made a general appeal to the laity, rich and poor, to contribute tqwards the maintefn&nce- of the clergy,, chur r ches, and ecclesiastical establishments of tihe diocese. Heretofore appeals for funds have been limited to. some pious work of a temporary character only, such as the building; of a church, or the fovAnxlinig of a charitable institution," The Pastoral .Letter, on the other hand, has inaugurated a new Church policy : the Bishops, priests, and churches are to be supported hy the voluntary offerings of the faithful, as is the caseJ in notonCatholic countries. After explaining. What the Church, which had been, founded and had -grown up in poverty, did not attach . more importance " than was necessary to temporal goods, the Pastoral Letter goes on to say that the Church, nevertheless, cannot escape the conditions of life in this world, and.

lihat those who [benefit toy their spiritual miniistry are bound to provide, for the - temporal necessities of the clergy. The Archbishop continues : ' Let all of you who have at heart the honor of" God and the salvation of souls, or e.ven' the preservation of the " do- . meslic and- social virtues, of which the' Church is the indispensable guardian, listen to the appeal of your aged Archbishop • with the generous docility to - which \ you have accustomed us. Let -Ihose families . who have received a large share of the goods of~this world set aside a large portion of their revenues for- .the service 'of God: Let those "who" are .at the/ .head ■of great enterprises employing armies of laborers remember that in addition to the wages due to" their workmen they are also bound to place within ' their reach the consolations of religion, 1 ! so necessary , to those who toil and suffer. And you,- very dear . who are in a humble station of life, who earn- your bread by ( your daily work, you will, also contribute your mite, as a witness oE^ your ' Faith, an,d , God will know' how to measure the extern of your sacrifice.' , Outside Opinion The denunciations of the French Government's tyranny and confiscation (says the ' Catholic; Times '/ which are now reaching French Ministers from -. all parts of the Catholic 'world are evidently rather disconcertinig to M. - Briand. He tiells us that these expressions of sympathy only make the Government more resolute. We shall see. To find powerful cor- . porate bodies in America presenting petitions to the President, Congress, and the British Parliament denouncing the French Government as ' guilty- of false- ! hooids, duplicity, and hypocrisy, and of having perpetrated a robbery unparalleled in the- history of the civilised world, to read resolutions' in which * American citizens condemn as subversive of every principle of morality, justice,' and liberty the action of the French ' Government in prohibiting the Catholics of France from exercising .their natural right to worship God according to the dictates-", of their consciences, to- learn that the opinion of the millions of Catholics in America 'is "also the opinion of the millions of Catholics in Great Britain and Ireland, Italy, • Spain, Germany, and other. lands, may not bring regret to MM. Clemenceau and Briand ; but the masses of the Frjench people who love their country will soon, feel ill at ease on discovering that rulers who talk glibly of ' Liberty, Fiquality, and Fraternity ' are drawing upon them the scorn and detestation of world. ROME — Declines Responsibility Having received information of the French Government's intention to publish portions of the- confidential :correspondence recently sequestrated at the offices of the Nunciature in Paris, the Holy Sec gives all aggrieved persons and institutions notice beforehand that it declines all responsibility in connection- therewith, especially as it possesses no inventory of the papers seized. _ * . • - The Late Pope A colossal statue of Leo X 111.,, weighing twelve tons, executed by the sculptor Tadolini and "destined • for the late Pope's 'tomb, has\bceri transferred to St. John. Lateran, -and was placed 'in position early in January. The monument is now practically co>mple>to, > as the two side statues-, 1 representing respectively the Church and Labor, had already Keen erected. ' The remains of- the late Pope will -be placed in an • urnshaped receptacle in the centre. - rsaß *" ~ ' ~ Xord and , Lady Aberdeen at the Vatican > The Viceroy of Ireland and Lady * Aberdeen, with their son and - niece, had a private audience of a very cordial nature with the Pope on January 3 (writes a Rome correspondent). The visitors were presented by Monsignor Fraser. His Holiness snoke of the good > which the Countess is doing in Ireland oh behalf of \ the work of women, and in particular in convents and schools.-, His Holiness also used wojxls of warm commendation for her"" Excellency's patronage and successful activity in favor of the International Women's Councils, an organisation of wide and varied scope for • the amelioration of the conditions of women, of which .Lady Aberdeen is -president. To all these undertak--imgs Pius~ X. gave 'blessings, as also 1o _the Irish peo1 pic, with whose devotion to religion the. Pope expressed his . sovereign satisfaction.- 'There are,' said * he, . _ 'no better Catholics , than the Irish Catholics.' The Viceroy and L.adv Aberdeen, were subsequently "received by the „ Cardinal-Secretary of State. They warmly ' thanked him for the cordial audience whicti' had been granted ' to them by the Holy Father, which they attri-

buted to the friendship existing between the Cardinal and themselves since he went to Canada as Apostolic Delegate to deal with ■ the schools question during the Governor-Generalship of Lord Aberdeen. UNITED STATES— A Distinction Dr. Thomas Addis Emmet, who has had many honors conferred upon him because of eminent j work in medicine, was made a Knight Commander of the Order of St. Gregory the Great just before Christmas" at St. Patrick's archiepiseopal residence, New York. The decoration, which carries with it the title of Count, was conferred upon Dr. Emmet by Pope Pius X. in apprecia-' tion of the doctor's work in his profession and for his labors .for charity. „, . „ . Death of an Archbishop It with with deep sorrow (says the- San' Francisco 4 Monitor ') that we chronicle the death of our'bqlovod Coadiutor, Archbishop Montgomery, which _ occurred on January 10, after an operation from acute appendicitis. Archbishop Montgomery was in -many- ways remarkable. The elements of his character were all strongly marked. As a man he was upright, sincere, true ; as a Christian, gentle, patient, kind ; as a priest, self-sacrificiog and devoted. His death is a severe loss, not only to this community, but to the whole State, through- the most of which his fruitful and varied labors have been extended. He was beloved by all who knew him, and. many who are out of the fold have learned to think better of the faith he lived by for having come in contact with him. But it is by his own that his death will be most "deeply felt. To the Church in California, and especially to the archdiocese of - Sain; Frianoisco, in this seateon 1 of disaster his death seems an irreparable loss.- Familiar as he was .with affairs in the diocese, ;- and trained up under the eyes of his superior, he was the man best qualified for the position to which he had been called.

A Hebrew defendant, who took the oath with his hat on, was credited to the Catholic religion on the charge sheet of the Sydney Central ■ Police Court the other day. Inspector Roche noted the inconsistency, and asked the accusdd during cross-examination what his religion was. The cool reply was that he was a Roman Catholic, when locked up, as he didn't want his pconle to know of his disgrace. It appears that defendant according to his own admissions in the- witness box, had been previously convicted no less "than eleven times, and each time posed as a Catholic, ' This gives us an idea of what reliance can be placed on criminal statistics dealing with the religion of prisoners. MYERS & CO., Dentists, Octagon, corner of George Street. They guarantee the highest class of work at moderate fees. Their artificial teeth give general satisfaction, and the fact of them supplying a temporary" denture while the gums are healing does away with the inconvenience of being months without teeth. They manufacture a single artificial tooth for Ten 'Shillings, and sets equally moderate. The administration of nitrous oxide gas is also a great boon to those needing the extraction of a tooth --■

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