The Catholic World

New Zealand Tablet, 5 November 1908, Page 31

The Catholic World

CANADA— The Catholic Population . According to the latest and most reliable statistics, 'the -. Catholic population of Canada is 41. 5, per cent. /of the whole. Hence the Catholics in Canada number about 2,700,060. The Ministry . The retirement of Mr. Scott, Secretary of State, from , the Government has been announced (writes' the Ottawa correspondent of the London Standard). - His successor in the Cabinet will be Mr. Charles Murphy, a barrister, of Ottawa, and a leading Irish, Catholic. Mr. Scott'has been in • public life. over' fifty- Veart, and a member of Sir" Wilfrid Laurier's Administration since 1896 as representative of the Irish Catholics and the Government Leader in the Senate. He will be 85 next birthday, but is still mentally and physically alert. ENGLAND— Catholic Grievances Though the prohibition of the Eucharistic procession (says the Catholic Times) has wounded Catholic feeling to an extent unprecedented in this generation, it may be confidently affirmed that it will have beneficial results. In every quarter Catholics are demanding that an agitation should forthwith be commenced for the removal of the grievances under which they at present labor. The King's offensive Declaration and the penal clauses of the Emancipation Act must alike go by the board. We must win for ourselves that equality with non-Catholic citizensbefore the law which prevails in the United States and in other free countries. Every vestige and remnant of the old disabilities must be swept away. Measures must be taken at once to give practical expression to sentiments that all Catholics share. ' The Prime Minister's action,' says the Bishop of Salford, ' has strengthened our determination to work for the abolition of penal enactments which are objectionable to us, including the Royal Declaration.' Upon questions of this kind there will be no divisions or differences in the Catholic ranks. . All will join hand in hand, whatever be their, nationality or politics. It is not improbable that out of the new movement will arise a powerful Catholic organisation which will be an unwelcome surprise to the fanatics and will establish fair play for adherents of all creeds upon a firm and enduring basis. Far Reaching Results The Premier by his latest move has certainly played into the hands of his political opponents. The London correspondent of the Birmingham Daily Post, who, by the way, suggests that the Government's decision with regard to the procession,- jnay be due .to ' a friendly hint ' from a foreign Power, says it is thought amongst students of current events in London that ' the political effect of Mr. Asquith's intervention in the final proceedings of the Eucharistic Congress will be far-reaching ; that every Catholic in the country, and not here alone, but also in the colonies, will henceforth be his determined enem^j ;' and that the divorce between Catholicism and Liberalism through • out the Empire will be absolute and complete. That Liberals will suffer at the polls in consequence of the interdict may be taken as certain, and at Newcastle it would appear as-uf the entire weight of the Catholic vote were to be cast againsf the Liberal candidate. The matter will come before Parliament. Lord Edmund Talbot has already announced that he intends to bring it forward after th* recess. The other Catholic members will be equally anxious to learn . what Ministers have to say upon the subject, and if Mr. Asquith and • Mr. Gladstone have an explanation to offer, they wiil do Well to tender it at the earliest opportunity. Then and Now - . His Eminence Cardinal - Gibobns, "preaching at High Mass* at Westminster Cathedral on Sunday", September 13, said in the course ~of his. sermon : 'At the close of the eighteenth century, the Church in England had not yet recovered from the shock of the great upheaval. Her children steered their - course in the barque of Peter under reefed sails, not knowing when the abating storm might *be renewed with, increased violence. The spiritual administration of the whole island was confided to four Vicars Apostolic. They were' aided .by about one hundred and twenty priests, scattered up and down the country. A few modest chapels, which could not be dignified with the name of Christian temples, were established' here and there, and chiefly in the great commercial v centres ;' and the entire Catholic population was estimated by Dr. Milner at 70,000. Let us now calmly survey the scene after the din

and smoke of battle have passed away ;' when penal laws are, happily^ abolished, and when the scales of prejudice, -have fallen from the eyes of the English people, and when they stand forth in the full light of their sturdy manhood, and their - generous, warm-hearted character. We see to-day a hierarchy composed of an Archbishop with fifteen suffragans ; three thousand priests, ministering to a Catholic population of one million and a half. This consoling result is due, under God, to the zeal of the bishops and clergy, and to the generous' co-operation of the laity. I may also add that, if the 'Catholic Church is viewed with so much respect and benevolence by the people of England, this circumstance may be ascribed, in no small measure, to the fact that the Catholic hierarchy, and especially the three Cardinals who have ruled the diocese of Westminster,, have not only deported themselves as devoted churchmen, but they have taken a personal, loyal, vital interest in every measure , that contributed to the moral, social, and economic welfare - of their beloved country. Oh, what a change has come over the face of this city since the death of Bishop Challoner, one hundred and twenty-seven years ago ! So stringent -and oppressive were the religious restrictions- in his day that he was' obliged to observe the utmost circumspection, in the ; Bread of Life and dispensing the word of God to'His' scattered. flock." His latter days were embitteerd by -beholding, his chapels ruthlessly destroyed by a mob in the " Lord d£orge Gordon" riots. " He could almost literally say with thc^tßrophet- Ettas", ''With -zeal - ,have I been zealous for the Lord -of Jsgsjs, because the children of Israel have forsaken Thy- covenant^th'ey have destroyed Thy altars ;' they nave slain 'Ihy PropHefl, - with .the sword, and I alone am left, and they seek my life, \tq take^it -away.',!' FRANCE— The Public Schools The Paris Univers publishes a declaration which the French Episcopate has addressed to all fathers of families in defence of free schools. The,, document concludes : ' You will watch the public school in order to compel it by all legal means to observe an honest neutrality. If the school stubbornly persists x in being a danger to your children's faith you must forbid your children to enter it, at whatever price.. 1 SCOTLAND— The Catholic Truth Society The proceedings in connection with the annual conference of the Catholic Truth Society of Scotland in Glasgow commenced on September 15, when a receptiou_ was held in the Grand Hotel, Charing Cross. A large and fashionable gathering of ladies and gentlemen from all parts of Scotland were received' by the Bishop of Dunkeld, in the unavoidable absence of the Archbishop of Glasgow. SOUTH AFRICA— The Catholic Magazine The following editorial notice appeared in the Catholic Magazine for September : — ' In our last number the editor announced that he would relinquish the editorial chair at the end of this month. Unfortunate circumstances > have since supervened, that have made it imperative for him to do so at once. Dr. Kolbe's eyes, have been a source of trouble to him for some considerable time, and now he finds it temporarily inadvisable to use them for reading or writing. As this new development of a lor.g standing complaint came upon him rather suddenly, it has been the occasion of somej very " alaiming reports, wh'.t'h are h-ippily" w'ih tut any ""fojjndatio 1 "! in -fact. T'^e doctor insists that -he shall have a long~rest from all -work, and hopes that he .may again recover the full use of his eyesight In this hope and prayer the readers of ' rhe Magazine will.-'heartil»" join. In the meantime, the Magazine will be carried on, and we shall make some 'important announcements on this subject at the beginning of next .year.' UNITED STATES— Resignation of a Bishop The resignation of the Right Rey. .John Lancaster" Spalding, Bishop of Peoria, has been officially .. announced in the following note: — 'Bishop Spaiding has been ' ill " for '"three years and a half, and foreseeing that some years must elapse before he can hope to resume active duty in the diocese of Peoria, has, after due consideration, resolved to tender his resignation as Bishop of Peoria to Pope Pius X. The Bishop is _now in his sixty-ninth year, and still suffers from the jparalysis 1 which brought him near to death.' The Bishop has published a number of volumes on labor and xeligious topics. He was one of the arbitrators named by President Roosevelt to settle the great anthracite coal strike a few years ago. He was consecrated Bishop on , May 1, 1876, and was the first Bishop- of Peoria. ' 2 Gonstant- applica- • tion to the work of the diocese and his literary pursuits weakened the constitution of Bishop Spaiding. He 'was stricken with

para 1) sis about four years ago. A second stroke followed, and for some wjeks it was feared it would be fatal The Bishop will remain at the head of the" diocese until thf; selection of his successor, when he will live in retirement.