Current Topics

New Zealand Tablet, 10 November 1921, Page 14

Current Topics

"Father" Next to the time-honored and well-merited title of Siif/arl a run, no other title ought to be as dear to the priest as the word "Father." We read that in poor old dying England certain bright spirits have objected to calling a priest "father" on the ground that it is of Irish origin. While noting that English Catholics might object to their faith with good reason on the same ground it is pleasing to find that a sane-minded Briton staunchly defends and thoroughly appreciates tie familiar title. Bishop Vaughan writes concerning J:ie discussion :

“The pastor, he says, is ex officio, the true father of his flock. He lives in their midst. He baptises them, and so they become his spiritual children ; he teaches and instructs them; he feeds them with the supersubstantial Bread, which comes down from heaven. And, when their souls are sick and suffering from sin and spiritual ailments, he it is who attends to them, and heals them, in the sacrament of Penance. Further, he unites them in holy Matrimony; and he stands at their bedside, when they are dying, and prepares them for their last long journey. In short, like a loving parent he is at their beck and call both night and day. In a word, the secular priest is—to a greater extent than any religious—their spiritual Father, and they are more truly his children than anyone else. So let them glory in the title of ‘ Father.’ The old Cardinal [Manning] used also to say that it is a great help to the priest himself to hear himself addressed as c Father.’ It reminds him of his duty to his flock. It helps him to realise the obligations he is under of watching over them, and of counselling and advising them, and attending to all their wants.”

Catholic Doctrine in High Schools A couple' of years ago a thoughtful and learned superior of a convent remarked to us what a great pity it is that in every Catholic secondary school there is not a regular, efficient, up-to-date course of lectures on Christian .belief for the pupils. It is more than a pity: it is almost a sin. When one thinks of the boys and girls who go out into the world without a scientific knowledge of religion one ceases to wonder that so many of them either lose their faith or else lose their morals. One ceases to be astonished that of so many of them it may well be said by the public: Optinii pessima corruptio—The best when corrupted becomes the worst. And it is precisely from such boys and girls that the greatest harm for our secondary schools, nay, for the Church itself, comes. People point the finger at them and ask sneeringly: Are these the product of Catholic secondary schools? And» apart from the number of those who go down in the fight, what of the rest, of those who cannot give a reasoned and intelligent explanation of the faith for which their fathers died ; who cannot answer the easiest objection levelled at the Church; who can only blush and be dumb when some scoffer repeats the lies he has learned from the works of Joseph McCabe and his peers ? Are they a credit to us? They certainly are not, but it is not their fault. If secondary schools profess to give a secular education higher than that of the primary, we think it a scandal if they neglect to give a religious education higher than that which suffices for children in primary schools. We so far as to say that a secondary Catholic school that does not try to give children a right solid grounding in religion is unworthy to exist. It may be a hard saying; it may cause some of our friends to denounce us, as so many other remarks we made did in the past. But it is God's truth. • Go through a secondary school to-morrow and find out how many pupils who know v French and who have passed high examinations in singing and music can tell you how to answer the commonest objections concerning the Bible, the Popes, the

Church, the existence of God. And yet, we have the word of Jesus Christ to assure us that this is precisely the knowledge that must be sought first by His followers if they would save their souls. This is eternal life, that they know Thee the only true God and Thy Son Whom Thou hast sent, Jesus Christ. We may pride ourselves on our secular learning, but in the end the only learn- . ing that matters is that of Christ. We are Christians in name but in deed we are only poor ones if we. neglect to learn the knowledge of our religion. And who can deny that the best test of the efficiency of a Catholic school is the standard of religious knowledge among its pupils What do they know about Christ, about the Church, about the Mysteries of Faith, about the theology of the Sacraments? The answer that must be given to these questions will reveal Whether a Catholic High School is worth its place or not. In theory all will agree with this. It is a matter of common sense to admit it nobody who has the slightest conception of what the Faith means could deny it. But how do theory and practice work together? If you want to find out go through a class some day and ask the children a few questions like the following How was there day and night before the sun was created ? How do you reconcile the statement that all mankind except those in the Ark were drowned by the Flood with certain indications that this was not the case? Why does a good God allow so much pain and misery in the world ? How can you reconcile the Pope's infallibility with the case of Honorius, of Galileo? Does not the doctrine of Evolution dispose of the immortality and spirituality of the human soul ? If there were bad Popes how could the Church be Holy ? What is to be said abou£ the conflict between science and Faith Many such questions will arise when pupils go out into the world, and . if they cannot answer them now what hope have they later .on ? Nevertheless, it is the solemn duty of every Catholic High School to see that they go forth prepared to answer thema solemn duty, is, we think, the right word for it %

The Gaelic Tongue Some time ago a certain fidget who serves the Empire by forging passages from Lecky and by making attacks on Irish Catholics that must surely be penned or dictated in "the saner intervals of chronic madness told the public that there were only a few thousand people in the world who knew Gaelic at the present time. As another example of the sort of falsehood served up for public consumption by the fidget and similar assistants in the propaganda work of our New Zealand day-lies we here publish the statistics given by a recent Irish census:

THE IRISH LANGUAGE. IMMENSE STRIDES BEING MADE IN THE SCHOOLS.

The striking fact that out of 139,990 children in

Ireland, 92,819 are learning the national speech emerges from a census made by the general secretary of the Gaelic League. To each of the 1,117 parishes in Ireland a form was sent outto every parish priest or manager, who was asked to answer questions. Although Mr. O Murthuille is not quite satisfied with the result of the inquiry, he was surprised that the census was so complete, having regard to the state of the country during the year. He then gives a table according to the diocese, as follows :

■■' The number of teachers teaching Irish in their schools is reported as 2,418 out of 3,928. The return for the Intermediate schools is not yet ready for publication, nor is the return from the primary schools complete, and the secretary, expresses a hope that the managers will send in the returns as soon as possible. He hopes to have a complete census of all the schools before Christmas. \ Add to that number the numbers of children who left school every year for the past fifteen years or more in Ireland, and basing a calculation on the. proportion given in the foregoing extract you .will find that there are probably half a million yoking Gaelic speakers in the country to-day, not to "speak of the older native speakers and of the Gaelic speakers in the Greater Ireland. Lies told by day-lie hirelings cannot kill the language of the Irish people any more than the lies told by British Ministers can kill their love of freedom. It strikes one that the British press at the present moment is nearly as rotten as British finance, and that just as the approach to London along the Thames is lined with dead ships to-day, the temples of Propaganda, at home and abroad, are lined" with men in whom all sense of truth and honor is also dead. Psycho-Analysis [ ■ ■ Recently a correspondent wrote to us concerning a book dealing with the subject of Psycho-Analysis. We searched for the book everywhere 'and it had gone the way. of so many other books that fold up their tents and steal away in the night to return no more. However, here is an extract from the Fortnightly Review which throws some light on the subject: "In a recent lecture at the Catholic Institute, Glasgow, Dr. Charles -G. A. Chislett described the methods of the psycho-analyst. He said that psychoanalysis was a legitimate means of medical treatment, and it was admitted by leading psycho-analysts that it is a method of treatment less needed by Catholics than non-Catholics, for the Church has made provision not so much for the unearthing of mental complexes as for their repression. Every time the Catholic goes to confession he indulges in introspection by the examination of his conscience. He does not repress his bogies and his sins into his unconscious mind) for he confesses them, and the suggestion that they are for the future nonexistent is so powerful that the unconscious never receives them.

"A debate ensued, which was participated in by physicians and clergymen and the general result of which is summed up thus by the London Universe (No. 3154): , ' ' " ' It was the general opinion of the speakers that while psycho-analysis might. do good in cases of shellshock and other sudden shocks to the mind, and also in hysteria, it was of no value where the neurosis resulted from an early stage of some organic disease, such as an aneurism or a cancer. For .the sexual pervert the best remedy was a double dose of moral teaching by a minister of religion, and especially a Catholic priest. It was also the feeling of the meeting that psychoanalysis lent itself to quackery, and the professional and moral credentials of the psycho-analyst should be very closely scrutinised.' " ' 9 /' " Planchette » When there is a large number of silly, weak-minded people in any community you will always find superstitious practices flourishing among them/ Hence it is not surprising to find various and more or less harmful forms of superstitious practices in vogue in New Zealand. We are told that fortune-tellers reap a rich harvest from their gullible dupes ; Ratana had his army of followers, and even some divines to approve him with a text; and among the sensible people who as a rule make up the crowd of racing people you will find now and then a few who prefer to lose their money by investing it on a horse which has a tail like one that their grandmother dreamed about three nights running. A correspondent invites us to say a word concerning the Planchette, which is certainly not one of the harmless forms of superstition. We shall confine ourselves

to giving a summary of the conclusions arrived at by persons who are qualified to pronounce judgment on 1 the subject as a result of their investigations. There are people who look on the little board simply as a toy, and as a means of entertainment. They admit that ■ they receive strange messages, that they are often fake and unusually silly, or, what is almost .the same tiling as silly, reflexes qf their own thoughts. But there aie also experimenters who study the matter deeply and • who come to the conclusion that in many cases an external and independent intelligence must be directing the board. Psychological research has shewn that there . is a great subconscious activity of the mind—subliminal) or lying below the threshold of the ordinary conscious mind. In the subliminal mind are stored up all the complex experiences of life, from childhood onwards. Records are preserved that the conscious mind cannot recall, but which at times come to the surface in dreams or trances. In the second place, experiments have proved that in proportion as the active and conscious mind is passive ard lethargic the subconscious activities are more likely to come to the surface. And when the material brought back in this manner comes into play it is, owing to the distraction and inattention of the conscious mind, often casual and haphazard. Thirdly, experience has demonstrated that the habit of suspending the activities of the conscious mind and developing those of the subliminal self gradually opens a door through which external intelligences may and do invade the mind and gain access to its subconscious storehouse. Applying those principles to the board we find that results depend on the mental condition of the experimenter. At first, before the mind has become very passive, the slightly awakened subconscious mind prob* ably directs the pencil without the interference of ar external intelligence. As greater experience is gained and as the mind becomes more passive the phenomena pass from the natural to the preternatural and startling messages are now and then interjected. Disclosures , are made and messages given that indicate information beyond the powers of the experimenter. Later, in answer to questions, the experimenter may be told that .the answers come from the spirit of some deceased person, and gradually instructions are given that lead to closer communications. ' In fine, ,while much of the Blanchette writing is automatic and natural, it seems certain that real intercourse with spirits can be established by means of the board. In answer to the further question concerning the identity of the spirits, facts go to prove that the claim that the spirits are really-.those of the dead is unjustifiable and untenable. The practical conclusion is that the planchette) or ouija board is not a mere toy, and that recourse to it exposes experimenters to grave mental and moral dangers. Dr. Carrington says: “I doubt not that hundreds of persons become insane every year by means of these experiments with the planchette board.” Such being the case, the New Zealand Government ought to be sent to a lunatic asylum for permitting the sale of these boards in our shops.

ARABS INTERVIEW CARDINAL The Palestine Arab delegation to England has issued the following (says the London Catholic Times for September 24): —The Arab delegation had the honor on Friday last of an interview with his Eminence the Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster. After a review of their interview in Rome with his Holiness the Pope, the delegation explained the reasons why they had approached his Majesty's Government on the subject of Zionist activities in Palestine. His Eminence reminded the delegation of the speech he had made in Liverpool on his return from a visit to the v Holy Land in 1919, and expressed his sympathy with the Arabs in the difficulties in Palestine at the present time. He expressed regret that the commission appointed to inquire into questions concerning the sacred sites had not yet been able to carry out its work. ■ s —;—<^— • Gratitude for favors and gifts received is a. thing loved and esteemed in heaven and on earth. — Str'lgnatins Loyola.

Children Children attending learning school. Irish. Kerry ... ... 15,710 15,153 Dublin ... 12,673 9,657 Limerick ... ... ... 8,863 8,175 Elphin 7,887 6,781 Waterford and Lismore ... 8,220 5,815 Killaloe ... ... v ... 4,677 Killaloe ... 6,295 6,295 4,677 Tuam 5,634 / 4,191 Galway 5,668 4,677 Cloyne ... ... ... 4,937 • v 4,059 Ossory 4,880 : 3,660-s Other diocesan percentages are lower than these than these.