The Catholic World

New Zealand Tablet, 30 October 1913, Page 55

The Catholic World

ENGLAND ; ■ M A CATHOLIC LORD MAYOR. * There will be a Catholic Lord Mayor in Manchester next year, as Alderman JMcCabe of that city has been invited to take office in 1914. ' The news is doubly gratifying, as although he is an Irishman and a Catholic,, his election is a most popular one with all classes of the community in Manchester, and even those who differ from him politically; During the twenty years he has served on the Council in Manchester lie has devoted himself with untiring zeal to his duties, and especially as regards the Markets Committee, of which he is chairman. Since 1910 he is director of the Manchester Ship Canal, on the Board of which he represents the Corporation. Many a poor Irishman in Manchester has reason to be grateful to Aid. McCabe for his timely help in the hour of need, and that help is always given in such a tactful way that the most sensitive person could not be hurt by the action. It is his humanity which has marked him out as something beyond his fellows, and it is humanity above all things which is required to-day in dealing with social problems. ...'.. FRANCE ='/, SELLING OF CHURCHES. '*' ; , Twelfth century churches are cheap in France. One sacred edifice at Clairfontaine near Paris has just been sold at auction for four dollars and nineteen cents. Before the sanctuary was sold numerous mementoes were removed by the local authorities, including a tablet recalling that the church, was built in ■honor of God and of our Lady in 1100 A.D. Comte Simon de Montfort, son of Aniaulry the First, who was the son of King Robert.' j "... ■" — ■ ' ; ■■■ \ HOLLAND A STATUE OF THE REDEEMER. Through the zeal and piety of a South American lady the true figure of Justice and Peace, the statue of the Redeemer, has been placed in a commanding position on the first landing of the principal staircase of the Palace of Peace at The Hague. The lady referred to is Madame Oliveira Cesare de'Costa, foundress and president of the South American Association for Universal Peace. The statue is a reproduction of that placed through the efforts of the same good lady on the summit of the Andes in commemoration of the treaty of peace between the Republics of Argentine and Chili. The statue is of bronze, and is about ten feet in height. The right hand of the majestic figure is raised in benediction and the left presses a Cross to the breast. Madame Oliveira de Costa came expressly from Buenos Aires to have her pious project carried out, and by her zeal and tact succeeded in her design. PORTUGAL , THE CONDITION OF THE REPUBLIC. The condition of the Republic in Portugal after having existed for three years is not, on the admission even of some of the men who founded it, either satisfactory or promising (says the Catholic Times). Machado Santos confesses that the situation is discouraging. The relations with- foreign Powers have become worse, and there is less respect for Portugal amongst the people of the different nations. At home the state of affairs is almost as bad as it could be. The elections to the legislature were little better than a farce. There is no genuine representation of the electors. Persecution is general. Except for the journals that continually praise the Government, there is no freedom. There has been talk of an amnesty, but the prisons are still full.. Tyranny presses hard oh all the classes upon

whom ;; the State mainly depends; for its finances. Revolutionists are plotting and making dynamite bombs for the overthrow of the. Republic. Religious intolerance is : practised in extreme forms. All sorts of hindrances are placed in the way. of the Catholics who wish to observe the law of the Church. The bishops are not allowed to work amongst their flocks, and the clergy are subjected to hardships and ill-usage, whilst irreverence and the most shocking profanity are openly encouraged by the authorities. How can such a State hope to prosper ; ~.. i ' ■ ■■ » .. ROME ; v . ■ A NUMBER OF PILGRIMAGES. Rome., is simply alive with pilgrimages at the present time; to see the crowds of travellers ■ from all parts of Italy which are flocking its streets, and above all its churches, is a reminder of with what intense loyalty, and love the Holy Father's privileges for the Constantinian jubilee have been responded to by Italian Catholics (writes a correspondent, under date September 8). It was a touching sight to see the various contingents reunited last Friday in the Cortile di San Damaso, and the Pontiff giving the Apostolic Benediction to hundreds of pilgrims from all parts, including a convoy of 1200 from Milan, under the leadership of Cardinal Ferrari. The presence of his Eminence in Rome ,is highly welcome. A brilliant banquet was given in his honor last week at the Hotel di Minerva., - DEATH OF A CARDINAL. All Rome is sorrowing over the death of Cardinal Vives $ Tuto, who died on September 7 at the Villa Gammai-elli, after an operation for appendicitis. His death (says a Rome correspondent) removes one of the most revered members of the Sacred College from our midst. It is well known how greatly the late Cardinal's high personal qualities and administrative gifts endeared him to the Holy Father, who fully appraised his splendid work as Prefect of the Congregation of Bishops and Regulars. Never was a complex task fulfilled more faithfully, and Spanish Capuchins have special reason to mourn him, for they had in him a Definitor-General-in-Chief not easily surpassed. Cardinal Vives y Tuto's early life had been a series of reverses, his career as a. religious • having been begun in Guatemala in 1869* whence he was expelled with his brethren by revolutionary tyranny. His last years were peacefully though laboriously passed here. UNITED STATES ■'./'. A GREAT CATHOLIC CENTRE. A hundred years ago, Boston had but one priest, one church, and a little handful of Catholics who came from distances that are now covered by one archdiocesea Cardinalate seat, and seven Suffragan sees. In the diocese of Boston alone, there are 692 priests. It is the most Catholic city in the United States. Sixty-five per cent of the inhabitants of this great centre, with its 500,000 population, are members of-the Catholic Church. Catholics hold positions of prominence in the State, in educational circles, and in business activities. ' It is hardly necessary to mention the name of its loyal Catholic Mayor, the Hon. John F. Fitzgerald. A GENEROUS BENEFACTOR. The Most Rev. Archbishop Glennon, of St. Louis, has announced that a wealthy family of that city, whose name has not yet been disclosed, has pledged the entire cost, up to the 'sum of £20,000,.. for the main altar of the new cathedral which is uearing completion. Plans are. being prepared for the new altar which may not cost the whole of this amount., They will be submitted to the Archbishop for approval, and as soon as possible thereafter, work will commence on this magnificent altar which is to occupy the place of honor in the cathedral. -