The Catholic World

New Zealand Tablet, 13 August 1908, Page 31

The Catholic World

CANADA— The Convent was Saved . Almost the entire commercial^ portion of. -the. City of the Three Rivers, , Canada, was "destroyed by fire on June 22".. The correspondent' of the London 'Daily News' telegraphed: — '_ At the Ursuline Convent, ; as the x fire approached, the nuns wo.-c ordered out for the sake of "safety. They came out in orderly array, and calmly knelt down^and, prayed. There were nearly seventy of them'i and the .scene was most affecting. _ The flames, driven by tfie wind, turned "aside, and did not touch the convent, which • was , saved. The nuns claim that a "miracle was wrought. * .- . The Tercentenary Celebrations Christian civilisation (remarks the ' Catholic Times ') was first established 'in Quebec by Catholics, and in particular by Catholic missionaries. The Catholic population is therefore taking a deep interest s n-'the-centennial' the -centennial celebrations which began on the feast of St John the Baptist — a saint who has just been proclaimed by. Papal Brief, patron of the French-Canadians— with the unveiling of a monumenr to Bishop Laval, first Bishop of Canada and of Quebec. As a tribute to him and to the other early Catholic missionaries a memorable resolution was passed on June 6 by the General' Methodist Conference of Canada. It has been presented to Lieutenant Governor. Sir Louis Jette as a memorial of the tercentenary. The Methodist Ministers, referring to the Catholic clerical pioneers, declare: ' In them we have, a rich inheritance of Christian devotedness, as Champlain himself described on introducing- them to the Huron tribe of Indians... "These are our , fathers. ; We love them as- we love ourselves; the whole French nation loves them. They do' not go among j'Ou for your furs ; they have left their friends and their country I to show-you the way to Heaven." "We recall the glorious motto of these men; to which they were unflinchingly true Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam, aryl unitedly honor thejr .passionate charity andtheir enthusiastic, Jove for the of nipn. We rejoice that -" in this patriotic monumental celebration all races and creeds ~cfj;.«our' great Dominion can unite and give expiession to their' conviction that the genius -of agnation is not in her buildings, courts and fields, not in her harvests, herds, and stores, "not in the sinews of her peasants and artisans and the lives of her children, but in the character she stamps on history, in the typo of her art and literature," in. the spirit of her laws, and', not least, in the pride and glory of her memories and traditions.'* Memories and traditions which, . it may be said, the Catholic Church in Canada, as elsewhere, fondly treasures. ENQ LAND— The Eucharist ic Congress The Holy Father has appointed Cardinal Vincenzo Vannutelli as Papal Legate \o the Nineteenth International Eucharistic Con- . gress, = to be held in London next September. Confiscated Property An interesting instance of the misappropriation of property, confiscated 'at the time of the so-called Reformation (says the ' Catholic Times '), has been under review in the House of Commons. It appears,* according to Mr. Clough, a Liberal M.P., that the Dean and Chapter of -the Cathedral Church of Durham were endowed by Henry VIII. with revenues of the Benedictine Priory of Durham, and of Durham College, Oxford, and at the ' Reformation'" these revenues, estimated at' ;£>io per annum, were earmarked for ' higher education in the North.' The total endowments of the University of Durham amount to but the University accounts have never been published; and, seeing that the Royal Commission of 1862 reported the existence of irregularities in these accounts, Mr. Clough asks for an inquiry as to the amount "of the present revenues-- of the" University of Durham, and the extent to which they are being diverted to the preparation of candidates for Ordersln the Church" of England and other sectarian purposes. A Composer's Bequests • M. Jacques Blumenthal, the composer, who left estate valued at over provided in his 'will for a number of bequests to musical societies. The . testator left various bequests to Catholic institutions, including SSoo to the Archbishop of Westminster for the benefit of Catholic educational institutions in England and for other purposes. FRANCE— lnconsistency of the Government When M. Fallieres, on his visit Jo London, sent donations to the French Hospital and the French schools connected with

the^ChUrch of Notre' "Dame.^in Leicester square, regardless* .of the -.fact that these institutions were managed . by .religious in- , stitutions, we ,(' Catholic Weekly ') commented upon the inconsistency -pf French -Government .in. dealing with congregations. But we based our explanation on- the ground that it- was th« usual policy of>*lhe French Jacobins to .honor religious devotedness outside. Trance, -while- jfnaltreating, ::: despoiling^ aVd ejecting religious from their homes in France" itself- But now we must ' express serious distrust of bur wisdom in this matter. For, recently, a., Sister of Chanty, was decorated for her. devoted ser- . vices in a military. hospital on French soil. Of course, it is possible that this graceful "act "was done " Ly "military authorities, regardless of the sentiments -which-Yule the Masonic ' bloc' This will appear the , more ,_ probable when we remember,, that th: - ceremony -took place at Vannes, in Catholic. Brittany..- Anyhow, the treatment allotted to- nuns under- French,, poverriments may be describpd popularly as one of ' Kicks and half-pence ' — the proportion of kicks being about 99 per' cent, of the whole. Speaking "Of the Masonic ".war" carried Jon by the Continental lodges against nuns, who .devote. their lives-to the relief of- human suffering, we regret to see., that^lhe anti-clerical majority- in the Corporation of Verona has just expelled the Sisters of Charity from the public hospital, ~-> in" spite" -of the protests of "those who know them best, and arc mostclosely concernedr^Viz. , the patient?? themselves^ ' . A "demonstration has been held' by the -Veronese in protest against an act' inspired by anti-Christian fanaticism on the part' of those .who falsely pose as ..the friends of the. people.. _ Q E RM AN Y— The Catholic Press " .•-■•-./ The "great success of the -Catholic Party in haying- increased its membership in the Prussian ;Eandfih(g~frqirf '96 to 165 is. at T I tributed by ' Rome ' to the development of the. Catholic Press .in Germany. ; It says": — ' The number *of "Cat'holie~ papers in has. increased from 272 to 4.80 in the last eighteen years, and at present they have a circulation of "more than thren millions and a half. Everyone admits that .the. Egress is now_one ofc the chief, means of influencing- public opinion and spreading ideas.— a fact which is well recogniscd^n^the'afntPreligious parties, ' who" have- by this.'means got such a hold on the general populace. - Therefore, it is- most essential that, in the" fight against th» - spread of -irrelig'ion, the Church should be well armed in this'-. \tesp2ct. The difficulty, Jiowever, js; that from "the very natures of the case Catholic journalists'are not' able "to jput-b'efore^their ''readers those thrilling stones of doubtful morality which "the general public devour so readily, and which ;help ,so much to increase the circulation of the anti-religious papers. And this want of a general circulation prevents in many cases the Catholic editors from producing v s paper in- othe^ 1 -respects-, as attractive as "their opponents, with the result that it, often happens that a number of Catholics who ought "to support "them "refuse to~ do so on the ground that in spite of" the TuVftl-tales^ -which they admit, -.defile the anti-Catholic papers}' they tSre-^et .-better- printed,- and " 'con tarn later news. -" It seems a pity, indeed, that such peopl-i 'should not' realise more their duty as Catholics to support all attempts made to biing out. genuine Catholic papers, and so make them by such support capable of rivalling successfully those which are against the Church and .productive of so much evil.' ROME— Presentation to the Pope's^ Sisters. „ A few evenings ago (writes a -Rome correspondent" unSer da.'«» June 21) the Very Rev. Isidore" <s*Mcehan; Guardian of, the Convent of S.- Isidore of the -Irish' Francis.cans^rdfbve over 'jEa.' the "Borgo, in the vicinity of^tlie-y-atic'aui where the three, sisters and niece of -the Holy Father [ live-so-, Humbly. ,--He went to":ptesent in the name of the donor' t *some lash poplin- which" had :been sent them by Major-General -TsicNamara,- of- the English, Artny_;. from Ireland.- During the conversation, \vhich followed the,presentation the past and present lifeDbf-- : tfie. -Pojpe\sidrmc<J; a'n^interesting subject^ The most trying duty/in tlfe;liic' of the -Hdly-'-fathfer, the eldest of the three sistens. observed,' "is the-^giving of private audiences. With regard to public' audiences, when great bodies,., • are presented- to him together, -the str-ain is slightj-in fact,- such, audiences are sources of. pleasure. But few can imagine the ...amount of energy and patience required to give day" after day, from week to week, private -audiences to^eople from all over the world. 1 The Attack on Scottish Students - Tlic British Embassy-in Rome.-having applied to Commander Bollati, Secretary-General at the Ministry for Foreign Aifalrs,with regard to the hooligans- who attacked the Scottish seminarists near Albano on April 23^ received, i. jrnost friendly andisympathetic r answer. The British", Embassy - s has deputed the solicitor to the British Consulate there " to follow^ the trial on behalf of the "Home Government. ;■- .-. ;

The English College The recent audience given by the Holy Father to the Superiors and students -of the English College, jusl v ,before a number of the latter, newly ordained, started on their return to England (writes a Rome correspondent), has aroused a good ' deal of intenes*; amongst the members of the English .colony. Dr: Giles, who, by the way, has swayed the destinies of this seat of learning for "upwards of 43 'years, was first privatelyreceived by the Pope. * When the Holy Father later met tbe young priests of the College a most genial welcome was extended to them by his Holiness All the spiritual favors - which tho Pope could give to the young ecclesiastics being, conferred upon them. After, giving them some salutary advice and exhorting them to work earnestly for the Church in England, Pius X. solemnly blessed them and wished them a' hearty God-speed. ' SCOTLAND— Death of a Provost The death is reported of the .Very Rev. Hugh Chisholm. Provost of the Glasgow Chapter, who passed away at ,St. Mirin's, Paisley, on June 24, ,at the age of seventy-eight years. The late Provost Chisholm was born at Lei try, Strathglass, in 1830. "He was educated at Blairs College, Aberdeen, and Scots College, Valladolid. .He was ordained" on May 30, 1854. "On his return to Scotland he was attached to the Glasgow Western District, which- included, as the Scottish Hierarchy was not restored till 1878, a large portion of the Western Highlands ; bu* owing to there being a scarcity, of priests in the 'Highland district, and as Father Chisholm was a good Gaelic scholar, he was sent from Glasgow to carry on missionary work in the Moidart district from 1855- to 1859. Five years later he was appointed parish priest of Johnstonc. He was stationed there for twentvtwo years, from 1859 to 1881,. and. in 18S1 Archbishop Eyre transferred him from Johnstonc to St. Minn's, Paisley. He was raised to the rank of Dean in 1881. In 1884, when the Glasgo.v Cathedral Chapter of Canons was re-estaMished, he was appointed one of the first ' Canons, and in 1902 he was appointed Provost of the Cathedral Chapter.UNITED STATES— Presentation to Cardinal Logue Before lis departure from New York Cardinal Logue was presented wilh a copy of. the Vatican edition of the ' Catholic Encyclopaedia.' The presentation, which took place at the house of the donor, the -Countess Annie Lcary, was made by Professor Charles G. Hebcnmmn, one of the editors of the Encyclopaedia. The Professor explained that this had appeared the most suitable" offering to the representative of a land whose children had spread Christianity and learning throughout Continental Europe ; it would also serve to show the Cardinal how much his affability, humor, and magnetic personality had endeared him to the American people. The Vatican edition of the ' Catholic Encyclopaedia ' is limited to 26 sets, each set bearing on the title page of the first volume the autograph of his Holiness Pius X. The text is printed throughout on Imperial Japan paper, specially made for this work. The binding is full vellum, with a unique design in gold, inlaid in Morocco in various colors; a beautiful photogravure in colors is inlaid in th<: double of the front cover, and a different picture is to appear on each of the fifteen volumes. " His Eminence received the gift with obvious delight, and used the occasion to express his appreciation of the hospitality he had received during his visit. The Preliminary Steps Steps are -being taken for the canonisation of Father Francis Xavier Scelos, a Rcdcmptorist Father who labored in Baltimore and New Orleans, and fell a victim to his priestly zeal during the yellow fever epidemic in the latter city in 1867.