Catholic World

New Zealand Tablet, Volume LII, Issue 46, 2 December 1925, Page 55

Catholic World

a£ ? HOLY DOOR TO CLOSE ON CHRISTMAS J ■•' : ' : - :r EVE. A programme of events which will mark *~the ending of the. Holy Year of Jubilee has f been approved by the Pope and announced C here (says a Rome message). The octave from the eighth to the 15th of November has been set aside for the commemoration of the 16th centenary of the Council of Nicea. On November 8 a famous picture of the Saviour will be transported from the Sancta Sanctorum where it has reposed during the Holy Year to the Basilica of St. John Lateran. The week will be replete with solemn ceremonies and processions in which various Oriental rites in communion with the Holy See will take part. On November 15 a Solemn Pontifical Mass according to the Greek rite will be celebrated in St. Peter's in the presence of the Pope arid with ecclesiastics of Oriental rites participating. Solemn exposition of a picture of "Maria Salus Populi Romani" in the Basilica St. Mary's Major will be held on December 8. Formal closing of the Holy Dooropen only during Holy Years of Jubilee, will take place on Christmas Eve. On December 31 the Pope will pontificate at a Mass in St. Peter's at which the Te Devm will be chanted and his Holiness will proclaim the institution of a new Feast of Jesus Christ, Universal King of Society, In connection with this proclamation the _ ; Pope will publish an encyclical in the near future. WHY THE CHURCH SUPPORTS HER OWN SCHOOLS. The Most Rev. John T. McNicholas, 0.P., Archbishop of Cincinnati, at a dinner tendered him by newspaper executive there, took advantage of the occasion to explain the Catholic attitude toward education. Declaring that many non-Catholics have now come to realise that education without a religious foundation is incomplete, . his Grace went on to say: "You may disagree with us Catholics on the question of the . parochial school, but long experience has taught the Church the value of a religious atmosphere. If it simply were a question of teaching the three R's, I would use all the authority of my office to close every parochial school in the archdiocese. But we main- < tain that it is necessary to teach the child a knowledge of God and the purpose of its creation from the very beginning. "From a simple problem in arithmetic we teach the eternity of truth and that God is the eternal truth. So, too, by means of geography and kindred studies, the child is led to a knowledge and love of God. It is in the school also that from the very beginning , the child is taught respect for auth*H ority as coming from God." >Y |i Bespeaking the co-operation of the newsv papers in church work, his Grace said: "I am prepared to.welcome suggestions at - all times, even when a principle is" involved. I Not that I believe we can always agree upon

principle. But there are many differences of opinion that can be ironed out by frank discussion. At any rate we may lay aside those things on which we cannot agree so that Ave may develop those which otherwise would be lost entirely. ❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖ NOTES FROM PARIS WORKING' FOR REUNION. Announcement of the founding of a new Benedictine Abbey devoted especially to the purpose of reunion of the Eastern Christians with the Roman communion was made at the week's conference on Church Reunion which ended a short time ago at Brussels. The conference was held with the approbation of the Belgian Hierarchy. Rom Lambert Beaudouin, of the University of Louvain, made the announcement of the new foundation. Archbishop Szeptycky, of Leopol, Metropolitan of Eastern Galicia, attended the gathering, and Cardinal Mercier presided. The final meeting expressed the hope that the sacrifices for unfortunate Russia- will count in the great cause and perhaps hasten the day of reconciliation among the churches. It affirmed the love of Rome for the separated Christians and added that Rome, while desiring reunion, intends no injury to either the rites or the traditions of the' Eastern Churches. EXPOSITIONS OF DECORATIVE ART. Two international expositions are now being held in France: the Exposition of Decorative Arts, in Paris, and the Exposition of White Coal and Tourism at Grenoble. The Paris exhibit has a Catholic church, built, decorated, and furnished by societies of Catholic artists. At Grenoble, the organisers of the exhibit also built a Catholic church. It is built in the Alpine style, with steep roof, on account of the heavy snows, thick, low walls, and a large vestibule where umbrellas may be closed, coats shaken free of snow, and heavy, caked boots scraped before going into the church proper. Catholics are very pleased that the directors in charge of these two exhibits should have thus recognised the place which belongs to the Church in the life of cities. JEW VINDICATES COURAGE OF TWO CATHOLIC PRIESTS. The vindication by a Jew of two Catholic priests who had been made subjects of derision in an anti-clerical paper of the Department of Haute-Saone, has attracted no little attention and has had a result directly opposed to that sought by the author of the article. I The paper published an account of the rescue of two wealthy Jewish residents of Mantoche, Monsieur and Madame Levy, whose boat capsized in the River Saone while they were on a pleasure trip. Led astray by its sectarian policies, the paper stated that two men who were about 100 metres from the scene of the accident hastened to save the victims i 'while two. priests, witnesses of the drama, went down.

on the shore and knelt down, doubtless'praying to St. Barnabas to pull Monsieur and Madame Levy out "of the water." As a matter of fact the two priests bravely assisted in the rescue. They were Abbe Roux, pastor of Grave, in the Jura, and Abbe Monnot, pastor of Mantoche, two war veterans with brilliant records. M. Levy paid a visit to the two priests and told them that he would demand- a full rectification by the paper of its maliciously false statements. Such, a rectification was later published.