ENGLAND

New Zealand Tablet, 18 January 1912, Page 47

ENGLAND

; ; STUDENTS FOR THE PRIESTHOOD. % There are at present 133 students for the priesthood for Westminster at* various stages in the course of their studies, of whom 103 are at St. Edmund’s College, .Ware. ? < LOYALTY AND GOOD WILL. . ' In his first address as a member of the Sacred College of Cardinals, his Eminence Cardinal Bourne remarked on the loyalty of the Catholics of England towards the Holy See and on the good will entertained towards his Holiness by many amongst the non-Catholic public. That a most remarkable change has taken place in the attitude of English-speaking Protestants towards the Pope is beyond question. Half a century ago news of any important action in Rome affecting Great Britain was received by them with indignation, and they devised plans for defeating the Papal intentions. Now a considerable number of them give evidence of gratification when the Holy Father bestows any marks of honor on Catholics with whom they 'are acquainted. This friendly spirit towards the Catholic population (remarks the Catholic Times) is displayed throughout the British dominions, and in a most marked degree by the Protestants of the United States?. It is a pleasant testimony to the growth of the influence of the Catholic Church in English-speaking lands testimony which must afford much consolation to his Holiness Pius X. at a time when, owing to the machinations of secret . and open foes, the Church’s sacred ministers are subjected to bitter persecution in more than one Continental country, and when such determined efforts are made to weaken the faith amongst neonle to whom it has been handed down by their fathers. PRESENTATION TO A MARI ST FATHER. At St. Ann’s Hall, Whitechapel, on November 26, the Very Rev. Father Murphy, Provincial oftheMarist Fathers, was the recipient of a presentation from the Irish Nationalists of London. Mr. James M. Glover, who presided, said it Was his pleasant duty to present Father Murphy with a chalice, on behalf of the Nationalists of London, on the occasion of his silver jubilee in the priesthood. He had been present at a great many ceremonies, not precisely of; this description, but he could remember none that gave him greater pleasure than to be the medium of making the presentation of this small testimonial to a man who for twenty-five years had rendered such service to God and His Church. The chalice, which is of solid silver, gilt, and of Gothic design, was then handed to Father Murphy, amid applause. Father Murphy said he was deeply touched by the manifestation of affection -which they had evinced towards him. He felt certain that he did not merit it. The present they had made him was one he would cherish during his life, and it would be laid on his coffin after his death. It was a present very dear to him..... In his solemn moments he would think of those who, out of their scanty wages, provided such a beautiful token of their affection, and would never forget to pray for them. . .