The Catholic World

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXVII, Issue 15, 15 April 1909, Page 591

The Catholic World

ENGLAND— Presentation of Colors

A large congregation iilled Westminster Cathedral on Sunday afternoon, February 21, for the festival celebration of tbo constitution of the Catholic Boys' _ Brigade and'the recognition of the Brigade by the Holy Fattier." .Colors which had been blessed by the Pope were presented by the Archbishop of Westminster. Father Barnard Vaughan preached.

Death of a Monsignbr

By the death of "the Right Rev. Mgr. Provost Harnett, rector of the mission of- Our Lady aud St.' Patrick, Nottingham,- the- Catholic Chapter loses, its revered— head and the' diocese at largo has to mourn an earnest, zealous,,, aad devoted priest.'

A Guild of Housecraft

It is proposed to' establish in Great Britain and Ireland a Guild of "Housecraft for educated Catholic girls, and to open a school in connection with, it in London.

Catholic Victims

The greatest sympathy (says the Cathulic Tim.es) is felt amongst Catliolics for the families of the men who lost their lives in the colliery disaster at Stanley, Durham. Nearly one-third of the victims were Irish Catholics.' Mr. I'red Crilly, the secretary of the United' Irish League of Great Britain, received the following" telegram : — ' Stanley disaster — Forty-seven Irishmen, the major portion of them identified with the United Irish League and Hibernians, ■ are victims.' Mr. Redmond, on receipt of the intelligence, replied by wire: 'Irish Party deeply sympathise ■with bereaved families in this terrible calamity. Many are Irish, but our sympathy goes to all.'.

ROME— The Earthquake Fund

All the funds for .the victims of the eartliquake (writes the Rome correspondent of the Tablet) have almost come to a standstill — all of them except tlie Pope's- " During the last twenty-four hours over 70,000. .francs have been added to it (including -50,000 from the diocese of Strasburg), andthe sum total - to-night reaches 3,346,, 832 francs. It is a noble sum, even when you reduce it into a"bout £134,000, but on the other hand, it will look very small in the face of the immense amount of -work which is to be. done with' it — the feeding of the hungry, clothing of the naked, providing for the- orphans, supplying in^some manner the hundreds of churches that have been destroyed. This, week, after loiig delays, the Pope's ship, Catalogna sent to the Pope here in Home hundreds of orphans and wounded and not a few students of Messina and Reggio, who are to complete their studies in the eternal city at the expense of the HolyPather. His Holiness granted an audience to the officers of the vessel. They were presentedto him by Cardinal Merry del Val, and they were warmly thanked for their services by the Pontiff, who entrusted the_ captain with a warm message, of gratitude to the Marquis" de Camillas, wlio so generously put the Catalogna at his disposal. . .

Religious Instruction in the Schools

When six months or so ago the Bloc Municipality of Rome abolished religious instruction in the- schools (writes the Rome correspondent of -the Catholic Times), it found itself confronted by an order from Signor Rava, Minister of "Public Instruction. ' -By this're'gulation of the. Hon. Rava, a bitter- enemy of Christianity, the schoolrooms were to be placed at the disposal of the-children, if their parents wished at their own ex:pense..to-have them instructed in" their faith. Without delay -thousands of fathers through-; out the city applied to the Municipality for the use of the schools, according to the', conditions laid down by Signor Rava. Weeks and months passed by, yet no- reply was vouchsafed to the application !of the citizens. As a registered letter might have some chance' of provingveffectual,^ the fathers despatched one, .without,- however, being able to obtain an answer. At length a final application was made in" whiah ten days were given for a response, or rather for the lianding over of the schools according to law. The answer has, "now arrived, but only to arouse more than ' ever the ire of the people. In a few lines, couched' in the usual red-tape jargon, the fathers are informed that each of them must come'; in person and formally apply at the various -schools for permission for his children to enter after school hours!

A Municipal Decree

It is with no little indignation (writes a Rome correspondent) the Catholics of Rome have heard of the most

recent decree of the Roman Municipality regarding Catholic rights. Among the enormous sums given by charitable Catholics in past ages for the . beugfit. of the j>oor, ia a certain amount of money sufficient" toT'produce-' annually a marriage dowry for Catholic- girls, xin^hle ■ of -themselves to procure the usual ' dot.' This fund has been of service not only in enabling- poor girls to enter the matrimonial state, but also in keeping intending candidates' for the dowry in the straight path; for the first thing demanded from an applicant by the Congregation of Charity that 1 has the. distribution of the- money was her baptismal certificate with an attestation- ,of general honesty from her parish priest. JBjit the 'Municipality— in' the interests »f progress, of course, lias jusb come'to" the conclusion that the necessity for a baptismal certificate, is a condition -suitable only to the Middle Ages,' and has accordingly issued' a 'notice that henceforth no such document is -to be looked for from candidates for the marriage dowries I

SCOTLAND— GIasgow Catholic Charities .

Catholic charities in Glasgow benefited to the- extent of £2500 out of the Dick Bequests." The trustees allotted, among other, the following sums: — Little Sisters of tha Poor, Garngadhill, Glasgow, £500 ; Glasgow St. Vincent de Paul Society, £500; Parkhead Reformatory, -£500 V St. Mary of Egypt's Home, India., street, Glasgow, ,: .£250 j Working . Boys' Home • and .Newsboys', - Shelter, ."'Glasgow, £250; Convent of- the Good Shepherd, fJDalbeth/"- £250'; and Convent of Mercy, Garucthill, £250. ""' ' . "' ■

A Novel^Scheme '

_O.ne of the- recently.-. formed parishes of -Glasgow is that of St. Cpluinba (writes! a" correspondent), where l a_ -church and scliool-were erected some- three yoars -ago.- A great effort ie now- being made to purchase the "site, for, ;fche permanent buildings, and the novel, plan "has beeii- adopted of suggesting that subscribers shoulrb-vbuy one or nioro square yards of the groYmd. The idea has 'caught on,' and a large number of purchasers have already come forward. The pastor of St. Columba's is Father Edward Fitzgerald, to whose energy the present flourishing stateof parochial matters is chiefly owing. - The Catholic 'school is attended by an average of 566 children, and various societies are at work in the parish, which is one out -of many manifestations of the extraordinary growth of the faith in Glasgow during recent years.

SOUTH AFRICA— A Successful Student

The Diamond Fields Advertiser, Kimberley, in its issue "of January 26, says: — The name of "Mr. Jerome Charles McCarthy appears on the list of passes in connection with the law certificate examination. This successful student, who obtained third place -for the whole of South Africa out of some 200 candidates who presented themselves for examination, is a son of Councillor Charles McCarthy, of Beaconsfield. He was educated at the Christian- Brothers'. College, Kiniberley.

SPAlN— Catholic Social Action

We~ (Catholic Times) have already called attention to the social work inaugurated by the Bishop of Madrid in that city and stated that it was his intention to have established in every parish a' society which will devote itself to promoting the interests of the" working classes. The project has been cordially welcomed by priests and people, and the > popular prelate is receiving enthusiastic assistance in putting it into ' execution.- Addressing a meeting -of parish priests held the^ other day in the diocesan Berninary, he told how tb%is own .knowledge a few . leotures by -Father Vincent,^ the indefatigable ~ apostle of social action in Spain, sufficed to establish in the diocese of Tarazona . a Catholic society which changed; the whole character of the district. " The parish-priest, of Fuentiduena related a similar experience. - When . lie was appointed to the charge of hip- parish the conditions/ were most disheartening. - [Religious duties were__negleeted by the people, and manyl-suffered from -poverty. -*. Sermons which he delivered, with the object of -rousing . the, energies of the- parishioners had no perceptible effects. But when ho established a benefit society and proved to the people . that they rould improve their lot ' by exerting rthemselves more actively he found the key to "their sympathies, and now it is recognised on every- side that he is at the head of .a model parish. Lessons of this kind cannot -but encourage the Bishop in promoting the free social . action of parochial organisations.

UNITED STATES— A New Cathedral »

, A new Cathedral at Cheyenne, Wyoming, was dedicated on Sunday, January 31, in the presence of a representative gathering of prelates, priests, and laity. Bishop Matz, of Denver, performed the dedication ceremony. The total cost of the Cathedral was 80,000 dollars.