DIOCESE OF PERTH

New Zealand Tablet, 6 April 1911, Page 609

DIOCESE OF PERTH

CONSECRATION OF THE RT. REV. DR. CLUNE It is nearly a quarter of a century (says the West Australian of March 18) since this colony first wel- . comed Cardinal Moran as a Prince of the Catholic Church, and the occasion was then, as it, was yesterday, the consecration of a Bishop of Perth. His Eminence is a man of commanding intellect as well as ecclesiastical influence; and though his devotion to the land of his nativity has been, and is, unquestionably deep and abiding, he has unmistakably demonstrated his profound attachment to Australia as the land of his adoption. Perth is as far distant from Sydney as Dublin is from New York, but though the distance be far, the voyage one which makes physical demands that advanced age might well regard as an effectual deterrent, his Eminenco once more has crossed the Bight to do honor to the most isolated State of the Commonwealth. The warmth of the Cardinal's reception yesterday; the appreciation of his visit, his Church, and his mission, must demonstrate to him that his physical self-sacrifice has not been in vain, and that in addition to the whole-hearted devotion of his own flock he has received the warm welcome of vice-regal, governmental, and civic representatives, who recognise not only his ecclesiastical rank, but his influence over the great Church which exercises so great and beneficial a power in the English-speaking world for the advancement of morality and education, purity, and progress. After referring to the material progress made by Western Australia during the past quarter of a century, our contemporary goes on to say The consecration service was unmistakably a recognised Australasian event. Archbishop Redwood came from far New Zealand, Archbishop Delany from the little island State of Tasmania. The Mother State, apart from the Cardinal himself, sent a strong contingent of clerical dignitaries, including Bishop Gallagher, of Goulburn, whose eloquent exposition of the responsibilities and duties of a Bishop will not soon fade from the memories of either his Catholic or his Protestant hearers. South Australia was represented by Bishop Norton of Port Augusta, and from Victoria there came several prominent clerics. . . It was a happy idea to fix the date of the consecration on St. Patrick's Day. It is a day above all other holidays which Irishmen, who are the bulk of the Catholic Church in the English-speaking world, delight to honor. It is moreover the feast of the patron saint of Cardinal Moran and Bishop Chine. No one could have been in Perth yesterday morning without realising that an event of great importance to the community generally was to take place. From eight o'clock crowds of people, representing all denominations, could be seen hurrying towards Victoria square to see the procession on its way from the Bishop's Palace to i<k Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. The procession, which was in the following order, was led, at the special request of Cardinal Moran, by the Irish Pipers' Band:—■ Cross-bearer and acolytes, the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly (Mr. T. F. Quinlan, K£.G.), the Mayor* of Perth and Coolgardie, his Eminence Cardinal Moran, his Grace Archbishop Redwood and his Grace Archbishop Delany, the Bishop-Elect and his chaplain, Rev. F. Clune, C.P., their Lordships Bishops Gallagher, Gibney, Kelly, and Norton, and the diocesan and visiting clergy. His Excellency the Governor, who arrived at the Cathedral almost simultaneously with the starting of the procession, and who was accompanied by Lady Edeline Strickland, was received by the Colonial Secretary (Mr. J. D. Connolly) as chairman of the reception committee. His Eminence Cardinal Moran was consecrating prelate, and was assisted by his Grace Archbishop Redwood and his Grace Archbishop Delany. Our contemporary then goes on to describe the impressive ceremonies, at the conclusion of which the occasional sermon was preached by the Bishop of Goulburn. The discourse was a most eloquent one, and dealt with the duties of a Bishop. A banquet was tendered to his Eminence Cardinal Moran and the visiting prelates in the Town Hall in the afternoon. The Right Rev. Dr. Clune presided over a large and representative gathering, while the Colonial Secretary (Mr. J. D. Connolly, M.L.C.) and the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly (Mr. T. Quinlan) acted as vice-chairmen. Bishop Clune was supported on his right by Cardinal Moran and the Premier (Mr. Frank Wilson), and on his left by the Lieut.-Governor (Sir Edward Stone). Seated at the head table also were his Grace Archbishop Redwood, S.M., his Grace Archbishop Delanv. Right Rev. Dr. Gallagher, Right Rev. Dr. Kelly, Right Rev. Dr. Norton, the President of the Legislative Council, the Minister for Works, the Honorary Minister, and the Mayor of Perth.

, Bishop Chine, in proposing the toast of ' His Eminence Cardinal Moran,' said they in Australia looked up to his Eminence not only as their intellectual protagonist, but as their great living model whose words were an inspiration to them. As Bishop of Perth, he desired to tender to Cardinal Moran the thanks of the clergy and the laity for coming that long distance to grace their function by his presence. He would ask his Eminence to write the name of the new Bishop of Perth on the roll of honor at St. Mary'9. He asked his Eminence to do that

because of his (Bishop Chine's) work in St. Mary's as a missionary and because of his reverent respect and appreciation for his Eminence. The Colonial Secretary then on behalf of the Catholic laity of the diocese of Perth presented an address to Cardinal Moran. His Eminence after a formal written reply to the address, proceeded to say:—St. Patrick's Day had been celebrated in Perth for the first time in a special manner. So far as he knew it was the first time a Bishop had been consecrated in Australia on St. Patrick's Day. It had been his privilege to lay his hands on fifteen new Bishops, and each time he had had that privilege it had been a matter for joy, but he had never experienced greater joy than to be the minister to consecrate tho new Bishop of Perth on that St. Patrick's Day. St. Patrick himself was one of the humblest men of his day, and yet he ventured to say that not one of the other saints had achieved such great results. St. Patrick had gathered the whole Celtic race into the fold of Christ. He trusted that the blessing of St. Patrick would be inaugurated specially among them by the consecration of that blessed son of St. Patrick who had received the honor of being created Bishop of Perth that day. And now he wished to propose the toast of that venerable prelate whom it had been his great privilege to consecrate that day. He claimed the privilege of proposing that toast as an old friend of their devoted Bishop and one who had rejoiced in his career and the great works he had carried on. Bishop Chine in replying said that among all of what he might call the triumphs of his missionary career the one he looked back upon with the greatest joy and delight was the mission which he had given in St. Mary's, Sydney. He had given missions in both hemispheres, and he had never seen in any land a grander scene of sterling faith and enthusiasm than he had seen in his Eminences own St. Mary s in Sydney. In all the relations which had taken place between his Eminence and himself in the past the Cardinal had been the essence of kindness and consideration towards him. Continuing, Bishop Chine said that he wished to propose another toast, that of ' The Visiting Prelates.' It seemed congruous that he should propose the toast, seeing that he had been intimately associated with all but one of the visiting prelates. Most of them had accompanied his Eminence oversea, and one had taken a long and fatiguing journey in Western Australia in order to be present. _ Of Archbishop Redwood he had witnessed time and again that wonderful magnetism which bound the hearts of the people of Wellington to him. His acquaintance with Archbishop Delany, of Hobart, dated back to 1881 at All Hallows 1 College, Dublin. The honor that had been conferred on his Grace in later vears had only been a fulfilment of the prognostications that he and the other raw young students then formed regarding him wheu they were sitting in the class halls and were amazed at the beauty of his diction and profundity of his learning. As to Bishop Gallagher, of Goulburn, his joy was intensified beyond expression by the presence of *such an old and revered friend, to whom he owed so much, and who took his recreation in reading Latin odes or Greek plavs, while some took their recreation in. reading modern novels. They had in the person of the Bishop of Goulburn perhaps the greatest living Greek scholar in Australia. Bishop Kelly, of Geraldton, was on old college mate, and he thanked him for taking that long journey from Geraldton, of which many of them had had experience. He was deeply indebted to Bishop Norton, who had come over to represent South Australia. i t T he c to . ast was supported by Mr. Quinlan, who. on behalf of the laity, presented an address to the visiting prelates. ° His Grace Archbishop Redwood, in responding, said it was with the greatest pleasure he was there that day to assist at the magnificent gathering. Considering that gathering he had sought to find its peculiar characteristics. Ihe first characteristic he found was that the visitingclergy represented the whole of Australasia, and he deemed it a very great honor and privilege, as well as a great pleasure to be there as a representative of the Dominion of Isew Zealand. He did not think in all his experience he had ever received a present which had been more gratifying to him than the splendid address he had received from the laity. It was a great pleasure to him to tell them on behalf of the Catholics of New Zealand, how deeply they appreciated the honor whfich had been conferred on the new Bishop of Perth. The very fact that the whole of Australasia was represented there that day was a proof that the whole of Australasia rejoiced at Bishop Chine's preferment. The visiting prelates associated themselves in wishing him every happiness. Thev hoped he would have long and fruitful years. That day was the thirty-sixth anniversary of his own consecration, and he could offer no better wish to his Lordship than that he would have a still longer period of usefulness and no doubt a far more illustrious one. He had known Bishop Chine for years, and appreciated the great work he had done in New Zealand. They wished to him and to all of them a most happy result from the proceedings that day. Archbishop Delany, and Bishops Gallagher, Kelly, and Norton also replied. ' The day's proceedings fittingly terminated with a national concert at His Majesty's Theatre. His Excellency the Governor, Lady Edeline Strickland, and the Misses

Strickland were present, and the Government House party included his Eminence Cardinal Moran, Archbishop Redwood, Archbishop Delany, and Bishop Clunc. Scattered all over the circle were the other visiting prelates and priests. During an interval at the national concert presentations were made to the new Bishop by the clergy of the diocese and the laity. In handing Bishop Clune an illuminated address, Monsignor Bourke, the oMest priest in the diocese, said it was a token of sincerity and affection from his helpers. A cheque for £SOO accompanied the address. Mr. T. F. Quinlan (chairman of the presentation committee), in handing the Bishop an address on behalf of the laity, referred to the magnificent pioneering work done by Bishop Gibney. They knew full well the difficulties of the diocese, and the cheque for £2603 6s 9d which accomSanied the address was part proof of their endeavour and etermination to provide him with some means to administer diocesan affairs. It was a desire that portion of the money and other amounts to come in would be used to purchase a motor car for the use of his Lordship. His Lordship, in a brief reply, said the money would not go for his personal use. but for diocesan purposes; and he tendered them his sincerest thanks for their splendid generosity.