20 Pages.
No. 4.
SATURDAY, JANUARY 26th 1935.
10 Cents.
The Westminster Requiem for Cardinal BourneSupplementing t h e detail photograph in our January 19 issue showing the grouping of t h e clergy a t t h e requiem Mass for Cardinal Bourne in Westminster Cathedral, the accompanying picture gives a general view of the great function, as seen from the western end of t h e building. The picture shows how crowded was the attendance. After all t h e seats had been occupied, crowds of persons, it will be noticed, thronged in t h e spaces between the arches at t h e side, while the galleries also are filled. In t h e front rows of t h e lay attendance, on t h e left-hand side, are the diplomatic representatives. Beyond the laity on the righthand side, a little to t h e left of the pulpit, two figures will be noticed kneeling a t a covered prie dieu and holding candles; they are t h e Lord Mayor of London and the Mayor of Westminster. ^ The Cardinal's body reposes on t h e catafalque in the centre of the picture, flanked on either side by an attendance of clergy which in t h e aggregate exceeded seven hundred. Beyond t h e lofty panelled wall dividing this part of the Cathedral from the sanctuary will be noticed t h e prelatical attendance. In the centre foreground, attended by t h e i r chaplains, kneel two Princes of the Church: His Eminence Cardinal Hlond, Primate of Poland, and His Eminence Cardinal Verdier, Archbishop of Paris. Archbishops, Bishops and Canons are grouped on either side. At the altar, farther back, is seen the celebrant, His Grace t h e Archbishop of Cardiff, with his assistant ministers; while to the rear of the baldachino, beyond t h e marble screen, are t h e members of the Cathedral choir. The pulpit seen on the right of the photograph is the re-designed and reconstructed pulpit given to the Cathedral, last year, by the late Cardinal, as a memorial of his golden jubilee in the priesthood and in thanksgiving for t h e restoration of the pilgrimage in honour of Our Lady of Walsingham. Prominent on t h e left is one of t h e much-discussed Stations of the Cross by Mr. Eric Gill. Others of the Stations are obscured by the lights, always a difficulty in photography.
MALAYA CATHOLIC LEADER, SATURDAY, J A N U A R Y
ON WINGS FROM ALBION (From Our Special Correspondent).
26th 1935.
STRONG PROTESTS I N BIRMINGHAM. The great Midland centre of Birmingham has followed some lesser places in a bad way. By a majority the City Council has decided in favour of giving advice and instruction in methods of birth control. Opposition to the proposal w a s led strongly by the Catholics of th? city, with the Archbishop of Birmingham, Dr. Williams, a s the chief force in the protest; and some prominent Anglicans, also, arrayed themselves on the right side. A l t h o u g h . t h e Council's vote has gone for birth control the w e i g h t of the opposition can be judged from the fact that the majority w a s only threefifty-eight votes against fifty-five. If Catholic votes in the city take note of who were the supporters of the birth-controllers, that knowledge may stand them in good stead at the next elections for the City Council.
A n i o n s Catholics in England and Father Philip Fletcher Kf.C.H.S., coWzZzz, t h e chief top* , for discussion con- founder of the Guild of Our Lady of tinues to be the loss suffered by the Ransom. Father Fletcher died in Jan., Church through the death of Cardinal 1928, and a pathetic little pilgrimage of Bourne, and a natural interest in the homage is" that the Ransom marshals t o question a s to who will succeed His Emi- his grave in the Catholic cemetery a t nence as Archbishop of Westminster. Leytonstone. On this latter point the secular press is LADY LA VERY DEAD. indulging, as m i g h t be expected, in a good deal of profitless speculation. Sir John Lavery, R.A., has had widesEvery " probable* in the* ranks of the pread sympathy, from all classes, in his hierarchy has been entered, sometime 5 bereavement by the death of his beauti^with photographs and biographical data; ful and accomplished wife. Art and other enterprising papers look further Society were alike strongly represented afield, to Scotland, to Rome, and else- a t the requiem Mass celebrated in the where. F o r Catholics themselves it is great church of the Oratorian Fathers at sufficient that in due course the late South Kensington. Lady Lavery was the Cardinal's successor will be announced painter's second w i f e ; she w a s Hazel, Protest of another kind also has occu6y the Holy See; and their prayer is daughter of Mr. and Mrs. E . J. Martyn, pied Catholics in Birmingham lately; for t h a t the prelate chosen m a y in all things of Chicago. A woman of charming, be a worthy follower of t h e great pastor radiant personality, and renowned as one that city has seen t h e annual Conference of the Catholic Teachers' Federation, now laid t o rest. of the beauties of her time, she shared attended by prominent members from with her distinguished husband not only In all the churches of the Archdiocese all parts of the country. And the buran admiration for A r t but also no small of Westminster, and in a great many den of some of the speeches, as in years skill as a painter herself. Sir John centres in t h e provinces, requiem Masses gone by, has been t o draw attention once Lavery, a s is well known, is one of t h e f o r the dead Cardinal have drawn tomore to the injustice which Catholics foremost portrait painters of our time. gether representatives of all sections of still have to suffer, in the matter of His Catholic s i t t e r s have included Iret h e public life. The esteem in which His their schools, compared with the populaland's former Primate, His Eminence Eminence w a s held, and the memory of tion as a whole. A t Birmingham the Cardinal Logue; Archbishop Mannix, of visits paid by him t o m a n y of these proteachers had both a welcoming host and Melbourne; and the late John Redmond, vincial cities, h a s been shown by the an outspoken leader in His Grace the leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party. presence a t the requiems of Lord Mayors, Archbishop. A veteran worker in the In Belfast, his native city, Sir John is Mayors, Sheriffs and other civic officials. education battle, Mr. William O'Bea, honoured as a generous benefactor, for I n the daily and weekly newspapers too, M.B.E., also made a powerful speach at he gave t o the municipal art gallery of —tributes t o Cardinal Bourne have been the Conference, in which he showed how the Northern capital upwards of thirty cordial, in contrast to a mean and u n circumstances have changed, financially of his works. worthy note in the Anglican Church and in other w a y s , since Catholics acTimes. _ cepted the compromise upon which the F A M O U S MANCHESTER CIIURCH present treatment is based. F o r one The requiem a t Westminster CatheTO B E REBUILT. thing, the Great War has enormously dral, referred to in this correspondence enhanced building costs, so that in some Manchester i s about to lose one of t h e last week, has naturally absorbed the cases the burden of having to. provide principal interest on the ecclesiastical side, most famous of its Catholic churches; sites and build schools i s not only unjust B u t before Cardinal Bourne became indeed the work of demolition will perin equity but is almost more than can Archbishop of Westminster he w a s haps have already begun when these be borne. Bishop of Southwark, t h e diocese on the words are in print, for the last service in the building took place some days south side of the Thames; and by the SCOTTISH F A I R N E S S TO CATHOLIC time t h e s e lines reach Singapore there since. St. Patrick's, Livesey Street, w a s SCHOOLS. opened upwards of a hundred years a g o . will h a v e been a solemn pontifical reIn Scotland, where the position is difquiem in that s e e also, in St. George's It w a s built in joy and thanksgiving ferent, the provision of Catholic schools Cathedral, where the late Cardinal had after the passing of the Catholic E m a n rests with the local authority and is so often ministered and preached. cipation Act in 1829, and at that time not a burden on the Catholic congregaw a s hailed as a commodious and handEverything points to a great representations. The Catholic elementary schools tive gathering, the details of which will some house of God. But since then the Catholic peculation has far outgrown the* were acquired by the authorities some be indicated in due course. facilities afforded, even though Manches- years ago, under a scheme which safeter has multiplied the number of its guards the Catholic character of the TOTAL A B S T I N E N C E CRUSADER churches over and over again during the school and the appointment of Catholic DEAD. past hundred years. Old St. Patrick's teachers. Although there have been one The Franciscan Capuchin family h a s has done its duty nobly and has finished or two cases where anti-Catholic bigotry just lost by death a famous figure. its course; and in its stead, on the same has striven to assert itself, the arrangeFather Rudolph, .O.S.F.C. This veteran site, there is t o rise a magnificent church, ment on the whole has worked smoothly priest w a s one of the leading workers in spacious and up-to-date, to which the and well and continues to do so, and London in Cardinal Manning's time in people are looking forward. How long some admirable schools for Catholic connection w i t h the total abstinence it will be one wonders, before the new children are being built in various parts crusade carried on by the League of t h e building, too, proves all too small for of the country. A t Aberdeen, for example—the butt of so many jokes as the Cross. H e w a s associated also w i t h the need! city par excellence of Scottish "closestirring events at Peckham, in the days ness"—the Town Council has submitted when outdoor Catholic processions were WILL HIGH ANGLICANS HONOUR to the Education Department plans for less frequent t h a n t h e y have since beE N G L I S H MARTYRS. a new Catholic school which will cost, come. Protestant opposition threatened Although no official intimation has y e t nearly public disturbance when it was announced been made known from the Vatican, for building and furnishing, £39,000. that a procession would leave t h e press tidings have been in wide circulaFranciscan church and traverse t h e tion that the long prayed-for canonizas t r e e t s ; but Father Rudolph drew t o tion of Blessed John Fisher and Blessed film problem. Special mention is made his side a big battalion of stalwart Thomas More will soon be a fait of the pledge of the Legion of Decency helpers, and save for a scuffle or t w o accompli. Should this joyful news be taken in Catholic churches throughout the e n e m y found that discretion was the confirmed—the feast of SS. Peter and the United States on December 9. better part of valour. The deceased Paul is mentioned a s the probable date Osservatore's announcement of motion friar w a s himself a man of fine and of the ceremony—statues of the t w o strong presence; but fortunately f o r pictures includes one entitled "The Holy martyrs, it is said, are to be set up in Franciscan meekness, a s well as for ProLand," produced by a charitable instituthe fabric of St. George's Cathedral, t e s t a n t bones, nobody in the foemen's tion of Jerusalem and reproducing the Southwark. Whether High Anglicans, ranks sought him out in person! A n d life in Palestine as it is to-day and as also, will proceed to pay honour, in effigy, nowadays the Peckham procession i s it was at the time of Our Lord. to men who died for their loyalty to the watched, every year, b y respectful and Osservatore congratulates Italian authoHoly See, is a moot point. We live in admiring thousands. rities for refusing to permit the showing strange times, and after the canonization in Italy of three films entitled "Suss These outdoor processions, b y the w a y , of St. Joan of Arc a figure of the Maid the Jew," "Cleopatra" and "The Inviowe their origin, in the main, to a n w a s given place by the Church of sible Man."—(Pucci). apostolic priest, a convert, the late England in Winchester Cathedral, 0
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ANNOUNCEMENT
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RECEIVED
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(ro o o r fca jfie Vatican City, Dec. 17. o Commenting on the' intervention i s Maxim Litvinoff, Soviet Russian delef :d g a t e to the League of- Nations, in [k discussion of terrorism at Genevj. i Osservatore Romano says that if theM per ever was a man who should not Pa^Cs pate in a discussion of terrorism it i|.nd Litvinoff, nd Osser vatore says that, objectively, tfa terrorism of Lenin is worse than Czarc f terrorism; that Communism is a progra^ of international revolution; that Sovi< morals do not distinguish between cd g lective and individual criminality, bs that a distinction between useful an p useless terrorism serves for them \ s justify political criminality, and th3 b while Litvinoff w a s speaking 66 persoi a were being shot in Moscow and Leniaj w grad, not because t h e y were accomplice! o of the assasin of Sergei Kirov, Sovief W leader, but because they were dangerou n for the dictatorship of Stalin. ya In reality, Osservatore adds, th et present record of Soviet Russia is on " of trials on simple accusations, and con f demnations without interrogation an a defence, the accused being shot o & deported to Siberia. Communism, th o paper says, daily violates the obligation f assumed when it was admitted to th * League of Nations, because the activit m Of the intemationale legalized by th ^ Bolshevist Government continually dev< f lops deleterious activity in variot f* nations' as illustrated by the Soviet pre paganda connected with the revolt i the Province of Asturias, Spain, and it ! penetration of various nations. Vatican City, Dec. 17. Osservatore Romano has just inaugt ! c rated a page devoted to the theoretic! and practical consideration of motfi pictures from the Catholic point of viei S This motion rm_x-_ picture *_j „ page examines ,; tthj » international cinematographic p r o d u c e * . * ^ • and sets forth Catholic initiative J different countries with relation to tl^ Continued in column 3 t
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MALAYA CATHOLIC L E A D E R
jClean Film Pledge Taken By Millions. Permanent organization of Legion of Decency being effected in Dioceses—Bishops' warn against any signs of laxity. (By N.C.W.C. N e w s Washington, Dec. 17. The decision of the Episcopal Comjnittee on Motion Pictures to call for enewal of the pledge of the Legion of Decency to refrain from attending mmoral motion picture production is (ringing millions of Catholics into the fusade against evil films. In churches B every diocese congregations have and repeated. the new form of
Irisen ledge.
Bishops have written pastoral letters arning against any let-down in the •impaign and the Most Rev. John Greory Murray, Archbishop of St. Paul, his letter referred to the weekly Honour instituted there as a part of the usade against immoral amusements. HOLY HOUR INSTITUTED. "As this crusade in behalf of decency inaugurated in the Archdiocese of -. Paul with a view to fortifying our btire Catholic population in the development of a truly Christian character ( r o u g h an enlightened conscience which ould be responsive to the grace of od and the instincts of decency," rchbishop Murray said, "we suggested fcat in every church and chapel where jfie Blessed Sacrament is kept the devo. on of the Holy Hour on Friday be i stituted. As ft has come to our knowlef :dge in the meantime that in the rural [ktricts it is not feasible to gather the vj. itire congregation on a week-day, eM permission is hereby given to every Cstorof the archdiocese in the urban i|.nd rural districts to select the day nd the hour which he judges to be most exercise. Sunday tfa c f evening m a y be considered ^ t a b l e time. < "In fact the sanctification of the d g j i the measure of the faith bs j ^ devotion of the Christian an people in every age. Where the \ sanctification of the Lord's Day has h3 been ignored, indifferentism has first i arisen, then indecency and finally iaj wanton repudiation of all the principles ce! of Christian living." ief Warning against any feeling that the u nisade might be permitted to relax, yas sounded by the Most Rev. Jules B. th etnmard, Bishop of Lafayette, who said: on "Gratifying as have been the results on f the nationwide campaign against an aiacious moving pictures, it would be a o &tal mistake to think that the day is th on and we can lay down our arms, n f is only too evident that in some th *alit£es, perhaps in your own town, it managers of picture shows persistently th ^^gard the general protest against v< f wholesale corruption of our youth, ot f*? choose to look upon this campaign re as a sort of moral flare-up that i Quickly die out. We cannot afford it ! to receive the impression of Decency will not . ; y on its work as vigogt ! W as the conditions of each locality c*v w a r r a n t c! fi P E R M A N E N T PROTEST, ei Similarly, the Most Rev. Urban J. Vehr, thj » hPe °fproducers Denver, said in his letter: of motion pictures e* realize that the Legion of Decency J a permanent protest against everytl^ hr the motion picture that is tversive to morality.
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"Approximately 10 per cent, of the producers of motion pictures are not bound by the existing code. Any unwholesome picture, no matter by whom it is made, should be shunned. Places of amusement which show unwholesome pictures as a matter of policy should be avoided. Patronize only those pictures which conform to the principles of Christian morality." "In the battle for clean films," the Most Rev. Michael J. Gallagher, Bishop Detroit, wrote to his clergy, "we must follow the strategy of a good general and make secure the gains thus far achieved. The best w a y to do this is to ktep the subject before our people constantly. Moreover, from time to time, it is necessary to arouse them in a special manner, in order that they may not lose their original enthusiasm, shown so spontaneously at the beginning of the campaign." Telling of the excellent results obtained tims far by the Legion of Decency campaign, the Most Rev. Joseph F. Rummel, Bishop of Omaha, said: "We do not mean to imply that all pictures and performances are now absolutely clean. There is still much room for improvement on the part of the industry and great need of prudent discrimination on the part of the patrons. "The Legion of Decency can only accomplish its purpose if w e continue our interest and from time to time renew our pledge of loyalty to its principles." ADVISORY BOARD
FORMED.
Former Governor Alfred E. Smith has been named chairman of the advisory board of the Legion of Decency organized in the Archdiocese of N e w York a t the direction of His Eminence Patrick Cardinal Hayes. Other members of the board are James A . Farrell, George MacDonald, former Mayor O'Brien, Martin Quigley, John J. Rascob and Alfred J. Talley. It is estimated that 750,000 have taken the non-attendance pledge in N e w York alone. "Millions of Americans, pledging themselves individually, can rid the country its greatest menace—the salacious motion picture," the Most Rev. Hugh C. Boyle, Bishop of Pittsburgh, said in his letter. The Most Rev. Henry Althoff, Bishop of Belleville, told the members of his clergy it would be unwise "to allow the impression to grow that the Legion of Decency would not continue to carry^on its work as vigorously as the circumstances of each locality may warrant:" He directed that the organization be made permanent throughout the diocese. Plans are being formulated in the Diocese of Providence for the permanent setting up of the Legion. Announcement of the program will be made in the neai future, it was announced. The Most Rev. Thomas C. O'Reilly, Bishop of Scranton, called upon all Catholics within his jurisdiction to support the movement. Lists of approved productions, he said, will not be issued in the diocese. He called upon all persons to be guided in their attendance at theatres by their Catholic knowledge of what is not offensive to Christian morality.
SATURDAY,
JANUARY
26th 1935.
CLEAR L I N E DRAWN The Most Rev. Maurice F. McAuliffe, Bishop of Hartford, said: "The Bishops in the General Session of the recent annual meeting, expressed the hope that the gains made against salacious moving pictures would be consolidated. They felt that the American public agreed that the campaign had been undertaken with no other purpose than to show that a clear line must be drawn between what is elevating and instructive, and what is debasing and degrading." He then called for renewal of pledges and ordered the permanent organization of the crusade. In response to the call of the Most Rev. Michael J. Curley, Archbishop of Baltimore, thousands of Catholics have renewed their pledge to participate in the movement. Lists of suitable pictures, it was announced, will be posted in all churches. ARCHBISHOP M'NICHOLAS URGES ALL TO GIVE AID I N FIGHT ON EVIL FILMS (By N.C.W.C. N e w s Service) Cincinnati, D e c , 9. In the name of the Episcopal Committee on Motion Pictures, the Most Rev. John T. McNicholas, Archbishop of Cincinnati, yesterday issued a call to all Catholics to enroll in the Legion of Decency and to take the pledge to abstain from attending theatres where improper pictures are shown. The Episcopal Committee, he said, asked that the call be sounded in every parish throughout the country, feeling that "millions of Americans, pledging themselves individually, can rid the country of its greatest menace—the salacious motion pictures." N E W YORK JEWS ENDORSE CLEAN FILM CAMPAIGN A campaign to win the support of New York Jewry to the film crusade has been launched by the Metropolitan League of Jewish Community organizations. The program calls for neighborhood meetings of adults to crystallize public sentiment for wholesome movies, a training course for prospective leaders of motion picture groups, public lectures, and instruction in motion picture appreciation. A charge that the motion pictures are responsible for inciting immorality w a s made at the South Carolina Baptist Convention in Columbia, S.C. A resolution urged an appeal to Congress to clean up the films. DRIVE AGAINST THEATRE IMMORALITY IN IRELAND AND U.S.A. Dublin, Dec. 3. The campaign against grossness and irreverence on the stage in Dublin has received overwhelming support from Catholic and non-Catholics alike, who have made formal complaints to the Lord Mayor, Alderman Byrne-. Without loss of time, the Lord Mayor got to work and officials of Dublin theatres offered to do everything possible to clean up both stage and screen. It was their desire, they assured him, to give the public clean programs. The Lord Mayor has issued an invitation to the proprietors of all places of amusement to meet him in the Mansion House and discuss the complaints. New York, Dec. 11. A Catholic crusade against indecency on the stage will soon be launched here, according to the Rev. Thomas L. Graham, of the staff of St. Patrick's
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Cathedral, who is a leader in the local campaign for wholesome motion pictures. Father Graham said His Eminence .Patrick Cardinal Hayes, Archbishop of New York, under whose leadership Catholics of the Archdiocese are waging warfare against movie obscenity, would issue a pastoral letter on the subject of the stage and that new pledges would be obtained against indecency in the legitimate theatre. For the- present, Father Graham explained, " all persons who took the moving picture pledge already have bound themselves not to attend indecent legitimate theatre productions." " The pledges," he added, mentioned only the moving pictures,, but the idea is tacit. The same is true of indecent literature." Father Graham emphasized that the movement against immorality on the stage here would have virtual national results, since most of the nation's stage productions appear in N e w -York and those going on the road would be accompanied by the Church's ruling for or against them in this city. He said a list of approved plays would be published in the Catholic Press. " The effect of a campaign against the legitimate stage," Father Graham said, "would be felt immediately, I am sure. For one thing, there are fewer patrons of the legitimate stage, and if the Catholic segment is removed it will be quickly apparent." Fushun, Manchukuo, Dec. 7. Monsignor Raymond A. Lane, M.M., of Lawrence, Mass., Prefect Apostolic of the Maryknoll Fushun mission field in Manchuko, states that the Legion of Decency organized in the United States has spread its influence to this sector of the world. The Legion, he said, meets the strong desire of Orientals for cleaner moving pictures than have been received until now from America. Local newspapers are giving much publicity to the movement, and, incidentally, have remarked the strong influence of the Catholic Church in the United States as manifested by the organization of the Legion of Decency.
MALAYA CATHOLIC L E A D E R , SATURDAY,
YOUNG "SNAKE
SPEED."
Boys and Girls,—Anak Singapura, who writes a bright and entertainingly vigorous column in t h e Straits Times, is moved to inquire, on January 16, "How f a s t can a hamadryad travel?" Now the truest answer to that question, I have always considered to be that given by a great Irishman, Sir Percy Fitzpatrick in his immortal biography of a dog, "Jack of the Bushveld," published first in 1907 by Longmans Green, London. But from enquiries made during many years in Malaya and among all classes of the educated it would seem that f e w have even heard of the book, let alone read it, so I purpose here to quote from it in view of Anak Singapura's enquiry. And first of all for the circumstances that led up t o -the note on the reputed speed of snakes. THE WOUNDED
BUFFALO.
"At last, in t h e corner of m y eye, I saw Francis's rifle rise, as slowly—almost—as the mercury in a warmed thermometer. There w a s a long pause, and then came the shot and wild snorts of alarm and r a g e . A dozen huge black forms started into life for a second and ^as quickly vanished-—scattering and crashing through the jungle. "A f e w yards from where the buffalo had stood w e picked up the blood spoor. There was not v e r y much of it, but w e saw from the marks on the bushes here and there, and more distinctly on s o m e grass further on, that the wound w a s pretty high u p and on the right side. Crossing a stretch of more open bush w e reached the dense growth along the banks of the stream, and as this continued up into t h e kloof it was clear w e had a tough job before us. H U N T I N G LORE. "Animals when badly wounded nearly always leave the herd, and very often g o down wind so as to be able to scent and avoid their- pursuers. This fellow had followed the herd up wind, and t h a t rather puzzled us. "A wounded buffalo in thick bush is considered t o be about as nasty a customer as any one m a y desire to tackle; for, its vindictive indomitable courage and extraordinary cunning are a very formidable combination, as a long list of fatalities bear witness. Its favourite device—so old hunters will tell y o u — is to m a k e off down wind when hit, and after going for some distance, come back again in a semi-circle to intersect its own spoor, and there under good cover lie in wait for those who m a y follow up. "This makes the sport quite a s interesting as need be, for the chances are more nearly even than they generally are in hunting. The buffalo chooses the ground that suits its purpose of ambushing i t s enemy, and naturally selects a spot where concealment is possible; but, making every allowance for this, it seems little short of a miracle that the huge black beast is able to hide itself so effectively that it can charge from a distance of a dozen yards on to those who are searching for it. T H E SECRET. "The secret of it seems to lie in two things: first, absolute stillness; and second, breaking up the colour. N o wild animal, except those protected by distance and open country, will stand against a background of light or uniform colour, nor will it as a rule allow its own shape to form an unbroken patch against its chosen background.
PEOPLE'S "They work on Nature's lines. Look at the ostrich—the cock, black and handsome, so strikingly different from t h 2 commonplace hen. Considering that for periods of six weeks at a stretch they are anchored to one spot hatching eggs, turn and turn about, it seems that one or other must be an easy victim for the beast of prey, since the same background cannot possibly suit both. But they know that too; so the grey hen sits by day, and the black cock by night. And the ostrich is not the fool it is thought to be burying its head in the sand. Knowing how t h e long stem of a neck will catch the eye, it lays it flat on the ground, as other birds do, when danger threatens the n e s t or brood, and concealment is better than flight. That tame chicks do this in a bare paddock is only a laughable assertion of instinct.
J A N U A R Y 26th 1935.
PAGE. and nearer, to us, seemed so "fiendishly clever that it made one feel cold ard creepy. One hesitates to say that it w a s deliberately planned; yet—plan, instinct, or accident—there was the fact. "The marks showed us that he w a s badly hit; but no limb w a s broken, and no doubt he was good for some hours yet. We followed along the spoor, more cautiously than ever; and when w e reached the sharp turn beyond the thick bush we found the path was only a f e w yards from the stream, so that on our w a y up the bed of the creek w e had passed within twenty yards at the back of where the buffalow had been waiting for us. No doubt he had heard us pass, and had winded us later on when w e gA ahead of him into the poort. THE BUSH
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FIRE.
"Look at the Zebra! There is nothing more striking, nothing that arrests the eye more sharply—in the Zoo—than this vivid contrast of colour; y e t in the bush the wavy stripes, of black and white, are a protection, enabling him to hide at will. "I have seen a wildebeeste effectually hidden by a single blighted branch; a Koodoo bull, by a few twisty sticks; a crouching lion, by a wisp of feathery grass no higher than one's knee, no bigg e r than a v a s e of flowers. Y e t the marvel of i t is always fresh."
"Just before entering the kloof again w e heard the curious far-travelling sound of kaffirs calling to each other from a distance, but, except for a passing comment w e paid no heed to it and passed on; later we heard it again and again, and at last, when w e happened to pause in a more open portion of the bush the calling became so frequent and came from so many quarters that w e stopped to take notice. Francis, who spoke Zulu like one of themselves, at last made out a word or t w o which gave the clue. "They're after the wounded buffalo!" he said, "Come on, man, before they g e t WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED. their dogs, or we'll never see him again. The author then goes on to relate how"Knowing then that the buffalo w a s he and his companion, after tracking the wounded buffalo for a hundred yards, a long w a y ahead, w e scrambled on as changed their plan and took to the creek, f a s t as we could whilst holding to his making crosscuts again and again t o track; but it w a s very hot and very make sure t h a t the animal w a s still rough work, and to add to our troubles, ahead of them. Then, a s t h e y found he smoke from a g r a s s fire came driving i*\ had not stopped once, t h e y concluded h e our faces. " ' N i g g e r s burning on the slopes: conwas following the herd straight to the poort. So t h e y made straight to the found them!' growled Francis. "They habitually fire the grass in mouth of t h e narrow gorge b y w a y of the creek, expecting to pick up the trail patches during the summer and autumn, again there. But when they arrived they as soon as it is dry enough to burn, in found that the herd had gone through, order to g e t young grass for the winter but not the wounded buffalo, for t h e r e ' or the early spring, and although the were no marks of blood. Evidently the smoke worried us there did not seem to two men had overshot t h e mark and * be anything unusual about the fire. But must turn r i g h t back and pick up the ten minutes later w e stopped again; the trail again from the last blood spoor they smcke w a s perceptibly thicker; birds had seen. And this took them a whole were flying past down the wind, with hour. A t l a s t they came to the "stand" numbers of locusts and other insects; the animal had chosen, "where the game two or three times w e heard buck and path took a sharp turn round some other animals break back; and all were heavy bushes." But on hearing his going the same way. Then the same enemies p a s s twenty yards behind him thought struck us both—it w a s stamped the buffalow had evidently taken to the on our faces: this was no ordinary mountrack a g a i n and w a s now probably tain grass fire; it was the bush. through the gorge and well in the kloof by this time. And when the two men T H E STAMPEDE. reached the gorge for the second time " 'The black brutes have fired the they found this to be the case, the blood valley to burn him out,' said Francis, spoor showed t h a t the beast had arrived "Come on quick. We must g e t out of and gone right on without stopping. this on to the slopes!' "We did not know then that there THE BUFFALO'S *STAND.' were no slopes—only a precipitous face Here is the author's description of the of rock with dense jungle to the foot of 'stand* where the wounded animal had it; and after w e had spent a quarter of at first lain in wait to ambush them. an hour in that effort, w e found our w a y "We came on the 'stand' in a well blocked by the krans and a tangle of chosen spot, where the g a m e path took undergrowth. The noise made by the a sharp turn round some heavy bushes. wind in the trees and our struggling The buffalo had stood, not where one through the g r a s s and bush had preventwould naturally expect it—in the dense ed our hearing the fire at first, but now cover which seemed just suited for its its ever growing roar drowned all sounds. purpose—but among lighter bush on the Ordinarily there would have been no opposite side and about twenty yards real difficulty in avoiding a bush fir-; but, pinned in between the river and the nearer to the w a y of our approach. precipice and with miles of dense bush There w a s no room for doubt about his behind us, it w a s not at all pleasant. hostile intentions; and when w e recalled "The wind increased greatly, as it alafterwards how we had instinctively w a y s does once a bush fire g e t s a start; picked out the thick bush on the left— t h e air w a s thick with smoke, and full to the exclusion of all else—as the spot of flying things; in the bush and g r a s s to b e watched, the beast's section of t h e about us there was a constant scarrying; more open ground on the opposite side,
LEE B I / a i l T / L?
the terror of stampede was in the very atmosphere. A few words of consults-j tion decided us, and we started to burnj a patch for standing room and protec-| tion. "The hot sun and strong wind hac long since evaporated all dew and mois-l ture from the grass, but the sap wasj still up, and the fire—our fire—seemedl cruelly long in catching on. With bun-j ches of dry grass for brands we started burns in twenty places over a length on a hundred yards and each little flam< flickered up, spread a little, and thei hesitated or died out: it seemed as ours would never take, while the other came on with roars and leaps, sweeping clouds of sparks and ash over us in th« dense rolling mass of smoke.
(Continued on page 15)
-j
MALAYA CATHOLIC LEADER, SATURDAY, JANUARY 26th 1935.
EDUCATION NOTES. IRISH FOLK-LORE LECTURES. NOTRE
DAME S T U D E N T S IRISH AUTHOR.
HEAR
Notre Dame, Ind., Dec. 10.
(By N.C.W.C. News Service).
Seuman MacManus, of Glaslough, Ireland, famous storyteller and author, spoke in the auditorium of the engineering building here. Mr. MacManus, who visited Notre Dame once before some 30 years ago, spoke on "Irish Folk Lore." "Ireland is the greatest story-telling country in the world," he said. " N o other country is as rich in ancient, traditional lore as is the Emerald Isle. The old stories have been handed down from mouth to mouth for thousands of years, mainly through the efforts of the old Irish story-tellers who apparently lived for no other purpose." Mr. MacManus pointed out that County Donegal because of its remote mountainous location, is still the most Gaelic station in Ireland, the inhabitants still speaking in the old Gaelic language. Here it is, he said, that age-old stories are still handed down as they were centuries ago. MSGR. S H E E N TO BEGIN 'CATHOLIC HOUR' SERIES OF A D D R E S S E S DECEMBER 23. Washington, D e c 14.
" Known throughout the Englishspeaking world as a writer and preacher," the N.C.C.M. announcement states, " Monsignor Sheen has been the recipient of many enviable distinctions. In 1926, among others, he won the Cardinal Mercier prize for international philosophy, bestowed by the University of Louvainâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;the first American to be awarded this honor. Last spring he was granted a Doctorate of Literature, honoris causa, by Marquette University. And in July our Holy Father made him a Papal Chamberlain with the title of Very Reverend Monsignor." The titles of Monsignor Sheen's addresses are:
December 23, " Life Begins at Birth " ; nj -| December 30, " T h e Whole Christ"; January 6, "The Mystical Body of Christ"; January 13, " T h e Vicar of Christ"; January 20, "The Souls of l the Church"; January 27, "Scandals"; sj February 3, "The Infallibility of the dl Church"; February 10, "The Govern-j ment of the Church"; February 17, d Priesthood of the Church"; n "The February 24, "The Christian Life"; March 3, "The Spirit of Christ"; March 10, "Zeal for Souls"; March 17, "The Communion of Saints"; March 24, "The Spiritual Bethlehem"; March 31, "The Sacrifice of the Mass"; April 7, "Reparation"; April 14, "The Three Hours"; April 21, "The Heavenly Easter."
CONVERT.
Government Scientist Follows Predecessor, Dr. Holm, into Church.
(By N.C.W.C. News Service).
A series of addresses to be delivered in the nation-wide " Catholic Hour " by the Very Rev. Msgr. Fulton J. Sheen, of the Catholic University of America, was announced here today by the National Council of Catholic Men, producer of the broadcast. The addresses, which will begin on December 23, will be Monsignor Sheen's fifth and longest "Catholic Hour" series. His first talk will be a Christmas address entitled " Life Begins at Birth," but on the following Sunday, according to the announcement, he will pick up the thread which will run through his whole course, that of the mystical body of Christ. The general title of the series is " T h e Fullness of Christ."
NOTED BOTANIST, CATHOLIC
;
Washington, D e c , 8. Ivar Tidestrom, noted botaist and for more than 30 years a member of the staff of the United State Department of Agriculture, an alumnus and member of the faculty of the Catholic University of America, was received into the Catholic Church yesterday in the chapel of St. Anselm's Priory here, by Dom Francis Augustine Walsh, O.S.B., Regent of the Seminary at the University. Born in Sweden more than 60 years ago, he came to the United States as a boy and after various jobs, including work on coastwise steamers, he found himself in California where in 1894 he made the acquaintance of and became student assistant to one of the greatest botanists ever known in America, Dr. Edward L. Greene, then a member of the faculty of the University of California. That same year, the first Rector of the Catholic University, Bishop John L. Keane, addressed the student body of the western institution and while there invited Dr. Greene to come to Washington and establish a department of botany at the University, then only seven years old. Mr. Tidestrom came to Washington with Prof. Greene as his assistant, studied at the University and received the degree of Bachelor of philosophy in 1897. He enlisted in the army for the Spanish-American War and at one time he also served in the U.S. Cavalry in the Southwest. During his student days he was a fellow-student of the late Dr. Theodore Helm, one of the first laymen to receive the Doctor of Philosophy degree from the Catholic University and also a student in the field of botany. The two men were noted botanists, both were born abroad, one in Sweden and one in Denmark, both were students under the famous Greene who made the University known the world over in his field, both worked in the U.S. Department of Agriculture, both on their retirement from Government service came to the University to fill the same staff position, that of Research Professor of Botany, and both became Catholic while in the service of the University. The studies, researches and long service with the Government have made the new convert to the Church widely known in his chosen field. A large number of short papers on a wide variety of botanical subjects appearing in numerous botanic and scientific journals have come from his pen but he is known principally among his fellow botanists for his work on the flora of Utah and Nevada. At present he is at work on an exhaustive monograph on " astragolus," some of the species of which, known as loco-weed, have caused heavy losses to western cattlemen. Attending the ceremony were the members of the Community of the Benedictine Foundation, St. Anselm's Prioiy, members of Prof. Tidestrom's immediate family and Dr. Hans Christian HoJm, professor of physiological chemistry at Georgetown. Dr. Holm, also a convert, is a nephew of the late Dr. Theodore Holm. The Rev. Dom Hugh (TNeil, O.S.B., most noted Catholic botanist in United States, is head of the Department of Botany at Catholic University.
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(By N.C.W.C. N e w s Service). Chicago, Dec. 14.—Steps toward the incorporation of the Associated Church Charities, representing 13 Protestant denominations and 87 individual Protestant church welfare agencies were announced today, following the election of a board of trustees of the new organisation. Efforts to organize such a group have been made for several years, but have been delayed because of the belief of some of the leading Protestant churchmen that the various denominations should look after their own needy. The designation of the Catholic Charities a s an official disbursing agency of the state emergency relief commission was mentioned today a s a factor that helped to speed the formation of the Associated Church Charities which hopes to put Protestant welfare agencies on on the same plane a s the Catholic and Jewish groups. Fr. Coughlin Propose^ $10,000,000,000 Public Works Programme in U.S. ( B y N.C.W. N e w s Service) Detroit, Dec. 10.—A ten-billion-dollar permanent government programme of read building, reforestation, power development, land reclamation and slum elimination to *be financed with* n e w Congress-made currency "independent of any banker," w a s proposed a s a method of ending depressions by the Rev. Charles E. Coughlin, pastor of the Shrine of the Little Flower a t Royal Oak and noted radio speaker, in his regular Sunday afternoon broadcast yesterday. "I would enter upon this public works programme," Father Coughlin said, "with our own United S t a t e s money, which Congress and Congress alone has the power to issue and regulate according to our Constitution and independent of any banker." Such a programme, he added, would mean the permanent end o f depressions and the permanent end of "production for bankers' profits." He charged that the founders of t h e American Liberty League f o r g o t every other provision of the Constitution "to concentrate on the rights of ownership and use of property." The programme outlined by Father Coughlin would embrace an 18,000-mile network of roads, to cost $324,000,000; s o m e 50,000,000 square miles of reforestation, to cost $6,400,000,000; the harn e s s i n g of the St. Lawrence and other rivers, to yield 7,000,000 horsepower at a cost of $812,000,000; reclamation of 60,000,000 acres of land, to cost $600,000,000; and the replacement of slum dwellings with proper homes costing $1,800,000,000. S a y i n g that w e have $9,000,000,000 of metallic money—gold and silver—in the Treasury, Father Coughlin said there is nothing which prevents the issuance of $23,000,000,000 worth of currency, wherea s the plan he proposes calls for the issuance of only $10,000,000,000 in currency. Explaining the effect of this programme in eliminating depressions, F a t h e r Coughlin said: "The moment that industry fails to employ a man a t a n annual wage that very moment there would be a place for t h a t man either in road building, reforestation, construction of power plants, reclamation of agricultural lands o r in t h e clearing o f slums a t a salary of not l e s s than $1,500 a year. Soon t h e purchasing power of the country would be restored."
CABINET OFFICIAL IN SOCIAL FR. GILLIS A F F I R M S CHURCH'S JUSTICE PLEA, QUOTES POPE. O F F I C E IN F I E L D OF ECONOMICS. Addressing Business Men, Secretary In 'Catholic Hour' Address, he says Pope Wallace Compares New Deal Acts and has Diagnosed World's Ills as Malady Encyclical Principles. Due to Greed. N e w York, Dec. 10.—One hundred N e w York, Dec. 10.—The office of the business and professional men at a dinner given here Friday evening by the World Catholic Church in the field of economics Alliance for International Friendship w a s affirmed last night by the Rev. James heard Secretary of Agriculture Henry A. M. Gillis, C.S.P., in the course of his address over the "Catholic Hour." Wallace cite Cathoclic, Protestant and The "Catholic Hour" is broadcast over Jewish pleas for social justice and quote a t length Pope Pius X F s Encyclical, a network of the National Broadcasting Company, through Station W E A F , here, Quadragesimo Anno. and is produced by the National Council Secretary Wallace, in his address, declared that the "Protestant individualism of Catholic Men. Father Gillis said that "the cause of of the nineteenth century was not sufficient to provide effective insight into the all the woe that afflicts the human race social problems of a world which had is divorce, not merely divorce of husband suddenly become filled up and drawn from wife, but the divorce of morals from politics, from diplomacy, from together." Asserting that "the more earnest of government, the divorce of thought and the twentieth century Protestants have action from conscience, the divorce of more and more sensed the need of a man from his soul, the divorce of man comprehensive pronouncement of Prote- from his God." Continuing, Father Gillis said that stant social philosophy," the Secretary cited the Protestant Social Creed enun- ethics and economics are "like the right ciated by the Federal Council of Churches and left lobes of t h e brain, or the right and left ventricles of the heart." "If you of Christ in America. "The Protestant social creed," he said, stab and paralyze one," he went on, "if "has much in common with the papal y o u remove one with the surgeon's encyclical of Leo XIII issued in 1891 on knife, the other will not survive. All the Rerum Novarum and of Pius X I issued financial and commercial catestrophe that has befallen us h a s been caused by forin 1931 on Quadragesimo Anno." getfulness of that fact." "Many of President Roosevelt's speeches," the Secretary continued, O N L Y CHAMPION OF CONSCIENCE. And the Church, he said, is the "only "sound as though they had found their inspiration in the social creed of the indefatigable champion of the moral law Federal Council of Churches. The con- and of conscience." "But the Church—be it immediately cept of a fair and practical continual, Father Gillis declared, harmonious balance between agricultural confessed," and industrial prices is almost identical "though she enter the field of economics, in the N e w Deal with the statement of h a s no magic formula for putting an end Pope Pius XI in Quadragesimo Anno." t o the depression. She sponsors no particular economic system. She is, as QUOTES J E W I S H S T A N D . w e have said previously in this series, After quoting from the Declaration of committed neither to capitalism nor to Social Principles of the Central Confercommunism ence of American Rabbis, Secretary "Perhaps it is disappointing to some Wallace said: militant crusaders for social justice that "The situation which has gradually t h e Church does not definitely align hercome to pass in the twentieth century self with one party or another, or barring has probably never been more strikingly that, come forth with an entirely new described by a conservative, thoughtful and independent economic program. and religious man than by Pope Pius X I Most men seem lost if they cannot join a in 1931 in the following words: party, and it must be confessed that " 'In our days not alone is wealth human nature is instinctively p a r t i s a n . . . accumulated, but immense power and S E E S A L L NATIONS. despotic economic domination is concen"But the Pope, on his part, though trated in the hands of the few, and those obviously lacking in the art of political few are frequently not the owners but strategy, is too wise and too conscienonly the trustees and directors of invested tious to promise economic salvation with funds, who administer them at their a word or a phrase or with a program good pleasure. or a party. A sympathetic but dispasBECOMES PARTICULARLY IRRESISTIBLE. " 'This power becomes particularly irresistible w h e n exercised by those who, because they hold and control money, are able also to govern credit and determine its allotment, for that reason supplying, so to speak, the life-blood to the entire economic body, and grasping, as it were, in their hands the very soul of production so that no one dare breathe against their will " 'This concentration of power has led to a threefold struggle for domination. First, there is the struggle for dictatorship in the economic sphere itself; then, the fierce battle to acquire control of the State, so t h a t its resources and authority may be abused in the economic struggles. Finally, the clash between States themselves. " 'Free competition is dead. Economic dictatorship has taken its place. Unbridled ambition for domination has succeeded t h e desire for g a i n ; the whole economic life has become hard, cruel and relentless in a ghastly measure. Furthermore, the intermingling and scandalous confusing of the duties and offices of civil authority and of economics have
sionate observer, the Pope looks from his watch tower and sees all the nations of t h e world, a n d the_ glory of them—sees furthermore w h a t Satan thought to hide from Jesus, the misery of them In the long, memory of the Church, and therefore vicariously in the memory of the Pope, ancient empires and kingdoms, mediaeval republics, oligarchies and city-states, are as near and as clear a s the heterogeneous jumble of modern governmental e x p e r i m e n t s . . . He knows furthermore that man is not saved by magic, that economic, like moral reconstruction, cannot come in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye. Being no quack doctor, he promised no return to health with the slapping on of a poultice or a plaster. He knows and he tells the patient that there is no health save in slow Continued from Col. 3 pioduced crying evils and have gone so far as to degrade the majesty of the State. The State, which should be the supreme arbiter, ruling in kingly fashion far above all party contention, intent only upon justice and the common good, has become instead a slave, bound ov«r to the service of human passion and greed."'
constitutional rehabilitation. So, he pins his faith to no party, places hope in no particular system, writes no testimonials for any economic panacea. "He knows, what any of us could know if w e were not blinded by partisan prejudice, that no system, political, social, financial, is proof against human depravity. Any system—almost any system— will work if men play fair: no system, even though it were divinely revealed, let down from heaven with charts, graphs, explicit directions, and full explanations will work if men do not play fair. "I have sard that the Pope has no magic formula, but perhaps after all he has—if you can call an obvious fact a magic formula The Pope, without any 'fuss or feathers' with no mystery in his manner and no professional buncombe, has looked at the sick world and said 'Greed/ Neither the learned economists nor the unlearned man in the street take any stock in that swift diagnosis, but it is none the less a? sure a s it w a s swift M A N BROKEN DOWN. "But some one having authority (we Catholics naturally suggest the Pope), should be given three minutes of absolute control of every radio network in the world, all jazz and jokes should be ruled off, all crooning, yodelling, and coloraturing, all ballyhoo and propaganda, while some one to whom the world would listen says with a voice that will be stepped up and carried to the corners of the earth: 'It is not the machine but man in control of the machine that has broken down. It | s futile to fix the machine unless you fix man. It is likewise foolish to change the machine unless you change man. Man can ruin any machine, new or old. Select any machine you may, Capitalism, Communism, Fascism, Nazism. They m a y all have their points, but look about you, see Russia, see Italy, see Germany, see Mexico, see France, see Britain and the United States, four five, or a half dozen different economic s y s t e m s and not any one of them is a going concern. Can you not see—it is not the system, it is man!' "That will do. The channels of the air were clear for a moment, let them now be congested with their usual bewildering traffic. 'The message went forth: 'Never mind the machinery! Mind Man!' "Our President—God direct and assist him—is making a valiant effort to repali* our own machine by introducing important if not essential changes in the capitalistic system, while communists and their allies (witting and unwitting aliies) sit on t h e fence by t h e s i d e ^ o ! the road a?.d jeer at him for tinkering with the old brokendown bus. And while he works, political jobbers and chisellers are also a t work. Worse than jobbers, worse than chisellers—waster if w e can believe the evidence submitted to a United States senator, are doing their damnable worst to neutralize and nullify the President's efforts. He is a powerful man in himself and the people have committed to him in addition more power than any man ever had in our country before. Even more than Woodrow Wilson in war times. But with all his woker, he cannot defeat human nature. If men will not be good, he cannot make them good. You cannot make a silk purse out of a sow's car. And the President cannot make patriots out of spoils politicians. "So once again, what we need is moral regeneration, more than economic reconstruction. Economic reconstruction will never come—never come to stay—without moral regeneration. That truistic but infinitely valuable fact, it seems to me, is the warp and woof of the papal encyclicals ."
M A L A Y A
CATHOLIC
LEADER,
SATURDAY,
JANUARY
26th
1935.
IN THE PUBLIC EYE (Notabilities) LADY PEEL. Hongkong.—Lady Peel, wife of the Governor of Hongkong, was present at a ceremony at the French Hospital, Causeway Bay, November 13, when Rear Admiral Richard, Commander of the French squadron in the far east, conferred the Cross of Knight of the Legion of Honour on Sister Marguerite, Superioress of the Hospital and Mother Provincial of the Hospital and Mother Provincial of the Sisters of St. Paul of Chartress in China and Indochina. Sister Marguerite (Melanie S u s s ) , a native of Alsace, has been engaged in hospital work in the far east for the past 30 years, first at Saigon, then at Manila and since 1917 at Hongkong.— (Fides). FRENCH N U N DECORATED (By N.C.W.C. N e w s Service). Paris, Dec. 10. Ths cross of the Legion of Honor has been conferred upon Sister Stephanie of the Daughters of Wisdom* Superior of the Nantes Hospital, in recognition of her admirable conduct in directing relief work at the time of the railway w e e k at Grand Blottereau, on June 4, 1933, when 14 were killed and ISO injured. CONGRATULATE A G E D NUN (By N.C.W.C. N e w s Service). Milwaukee, Dec. 11. Letters of congratulation from the Most Rev. Samuel A. Stritch, Archbishop of Milwaukee, ^and Mayor and Mrs. D. W. Hoan, on the occasion of the eightieth birthday of Sister Mary Gertrude, founder and first residentMother of St. Catherine's H o m e for Working Girls, were received at the home. BISHOP GETS FRENCH DECORATION IN KOREA (By N.C.W.C. N e w s Service). Paris, Dec. 10. Admiral Richard, commander of the French squadron in the Far East, at the request of the French Ambassador at Tokyo, was to have bestowed the cross of the Legion of Honour upon} the Most Rev. Florian Demange, Vicar Apostolic of Taikyu, and was about to proceed from Hong £ o n g to Korea aboard the Primauguet, when he w a s ordered to Saigon. Admiral Richard ordered the Tahure to Korea and authorized its commanding officer to represent him at the ceremony. Commandant Grazziani, praised the venerable Bishop in the highest terms and pinned the decoration on his breast while marines presented arms and the burgles sounded aux champs. The ceremony was followed by a reception aboard the Tahure. Among the dignitaries present at this unusual ceremony were the Japanese naval attache, representing the Governor General; the Most Rev. Adrian Larribeau, Vicar Apostolic of Seoul; the French Consul and the Japanese Prefect of Jinsen. Bishop Demange is an Alsatian but he has spent 36 years in Korea. He has been Vicar Apostolic of Taikyu since 1911. CATHOLIC
HOME
STUDENTS AT
FOR
ORIENTAL
MARSEILLES.
Marseilles.—A Catholic club for young easterners studying in Europe w a s opened December 9 by Bishop Dubourg 'of Marseilles, at 14 Place Alexandre Labadie. A young Annamese and a student from the island of Mauritius were among the first to enjoy the homes hospitality. (Fides).
12 E M B A S S I E S , 24 LEGATIONS AT VATICAN (By N.C.W.C. News Service). Vatican City, D e c , 10. The Vatican has published a new list of the members of the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See. There are 12 embassies and 24 legations. Italy, France, Germany, Poland, Spain, Belgium, Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Peru, Bolivia and Brazil have embassies at the Vatican. NOTED
SCULPTOR DOING BUST OF HOLY FATHER (By N.C.W.C. News Service). Paris, Dec. 10. Yvonne Parvillee, sculptor who executed the celebrated statue of St. Teresa of the Child Jesus which was presented to His E o l i n e s s Pope Pius XI in 1931 by French pilgrims to the Rerum Novarum celebration is now engaged with a bust of the Holy Father. The pilgrimage which will journey to Rome next spring to commemorate the golden jubilee of the French Labor Pilgrimages organized by Leon Harmel, will offer this bust as a gift to the "Pope of the Quadragesimo Anno Encyclical." S T A T U E OF CARDINAL DUBOIS B L E S S E D BY SUCCESSOR. (By N.C.W.C. News Service). Paris, Dec. 10. A recumbent statue of the late Cardinal Dubois in Notre Dame Cathedral has been blessed by his successor, His Eminence Jean Cardinal Verdier. Archbishop of Paris, assisted by Auxiliary Bishops Chaptal and Crepin, and the Most Rev. Henri Baudrillart, Rector of the Catholic Institute of Paris. The monument was designed and executed by Emile Brunet, Cathedral architect, and Henri Bouchard of the Irstitute. It is placed in the ambulatory on the epistle side of the main altar but in such a w a y as not to interfere with circulation. S A L E S I A N S ' CONCERTS AID ~ ORIENT MISSIONS (By N.C.W.C. News Service). Paris, Dec. 10. Word has been received here of a new method adopted by the Salesians in Manchukuo to extend Catholic influence. A series of concerts are being broadcast by the missionaries from Niyazaki, Japan, during which the Father Taguchi, of the Catholic Press Bureau of Tokyo, delivers short addresses on the fundamentals of the Catholic Faith. SISTER, SOLE SURVIVOR OF PIONEER MISSIONARY GROUP, MARKS JUBILEE Marianhill, South Africa, D e c , 7. (N.C.W.C. Fides). Mother Philothea Krugger, a native of St. Gallen, Switzerland, the sole survivor of a little band of Holy Cross Sisters of Manzingen which arrived in the South Africa missions in 1883, has celebrated her diamond jubilee as a nun. She is 82 years o l d . The little company of four Sisters reached, their first mission in 1883 after a two-months' sea voyage from Southampton and a 60-mile trek in an o x - w a g o n caravan, through forest and prairie, to the three-year-old township of Umtata. Unable to pay rent, they constructed a makeshift hut which served as convent and school. Today the South African community has grown to a large province staffing 61 schools, two hospitals, two orphan asylums and 21 dispensaries. Among their school children there are 4,000 Negroes and 3,000 mulattoes.
PIOUS CONFRATERNITY OF ST. CHRISTOPHER IS RECOGNIZED AT VATICAN (By N.C.W.C. N e w s Service). Brooklyn, D e c , 14. A : script from the Holy See recognizing the Pious Confraternity of St. Christopher and enriching- it with indulgences has been received by the Rev. John J. Mahon, pastor of St. Christopher's Church, Baldwin, L.I., and spiritual director of the Confraternity. By direction of the Sacred Penitentiary a plenary indulgence may be gained by all associates on the day of affiliation; by each member on Christmas Day, the Feast of the Transfiguration, the Feast of the Assumption, the Feast of St. Christopher, and All Saints' Day; a plenary indulgence! at the moment of death, and a partial indulgence if the St. Christopher medal is carried in their automobiles. CATHOLIC ACTION GROUP I N CANADA IS, P R A I S E D (By N.C.W.C. N e w s Service). Quebec, D e c , 10. His Eminence Rodrigue Cardinal Villeneuve, Archbishop of Quebec, has received a letter from His Eminence Eugenio Cardinal Pacelli, Papal Secretary of State, in which he states that His Holiness Pope Pius XI read with the greatest interest resolutions at the annual congress of Canadian members of Catholic Action protesting against the blasphemies of atheistic Communism and the proposed deportation of the Mexican Bishops. "In congratulating the Congressists, in the name of the Holy Father," Cardinal Pacelli wrote, "I take this opportunity to transmit to all the Apostolic Benediction and to renew, your Eminence, the assurance of m y profound veneration." VICAR OF CAMEROON'S CONSECRATED IN METZ (By N.C.W.C. N e w s Service). Paris, Dec. 10. An impressive and unusual ceremony has been held in the Cathedral of Metz, which vies with those of Reauvais and Amiens as to the height of their respective naves. With medieval pomp, the Most Rev. Paul Bouque, S.C.J., Vicar Apostolic of Foumban in the Cameroons, was consecrated Titular Bishop of Vagada by the Most Rev. Jean-Baptiste Pelt, Bishop of Metz. The new Bishop is originally from the Moselle section. He entered the novitiate of his society a t Brugslette in 1914 but had to leave immediately thereafter to serve in the French army. After the war he returned to the novitiate and w a s ordained in 1925. His first mission assignment was in German colony that had been placed under a French mandate. In 1930, he succeeded Mon' signor Plissonneau as Prefect Apostolic of Foumban, which has now been elevated to a Vicariate. Among those who attended the consecration ceremonies w a s the Most Rev. John Buchx, S.C.J., former Vicar Apostolic of Finland. JERSEY K. OF C. COUNCIL INITIATES NEW MEMBER WHO IS 105 YEARS OLD (By N.C.W.C. N e w s Service). Lakewood, N.J., Dec. 14. The intiation of Thomas J. Early, 105 years old, in Lakewood Council, No. 136, of the Knights of Columbus, is announced here by Grand Knight Harry H. Ober. The age limits in the Council now are 18 to 105 years. Mr. Early was bom in New York City, September 3, 1829.
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PIOUS
WOMAN S E N D S ROSARIES TO I N F A N T DIONNE QUINTUPLETS
( B y N.C.W.C. N e w s Service). Winnipeg, D e c , 14. A box containing six pearl rosaries has been sent to Mrs. E. Dionne and her quintuplet daughters by a Winnipeg woman, who withheld her name. A letter sent to the Rev. C. Lanphier, announcing the sending of the gift, said: "The rosaries are, I agree, like a great many suggestions, premature, but if they thrive, it won't be long before their baby lips will be able to lisp the name of Mary. Maybe the rosaries will remain only a remembrance! Who knows? "I am wishing for Madame Dionne, God's choicest blessings and trust s h e will love the rosary I have chosen for her." Announcing in a radio talk that the gift had been received, Father Lanphier made known that the children had been taken to church and put under the protection of the Blessed Virgin and that each bears the name of Mary. SOCIAL A N D
PERSONAL.
The spirit of pilgrimage, so common in the Catholic world, seems to be a t least affecting even cur separated brethren North of the Tweed, for the latest story has it that a Scotsman who learned of an addition to his family while he was in Palestine immediately provided himself with water from the Jordan and hurried home in time for the christening. On the Sunday appointed for the ceremony he duly presented himself at the Kirk and seeking out the beadle in order to hand over the precious water to his care, till the minister should arrive for the christening, he pulled the cork from the bottle and held it towards the beadle. But the beadle held up a warning hand and, coming nearer to the returned pilgrim's hearing, he whispered: "No the noo, Sir; no the noo. Maybe after the Kirk's oot."
MALAYA CATHOLIC L E A D E R , SATURDAY, J A N U A R Y 26th 1935.
German Prelates Combat Growing Tide of Atheism Cardinals ^Special
and Bishops Rally Servation of Christian Faith—Letters Suppressed by Nazis
Correspondence, News
N.C.W.C.
Service.)
Amsterdam, D e c . 10.—Faced by a growing tide of blatant atheism which w n a p o u s l y continues t o invade all fields mi public life and especially the educational institutions in that country, the Hierarchy of Germany is now rallying all its strength t o take u p the life and ffeath battle fc$r the Christian Faith. Most impressive of all recent pronouncements of the German Hierarchy is jrobably a pastoral^ b y His Eminence Adolf Cardinal Bertram, Archbishop of Breslau, the senior of German Cardinals, and one of the most revered and most l e l o v e d b y his flock. In the letter, the t e x t of which was suppressed b y N a z i censors in the secular press, b u t published in the Breslau iiocesan organ, Cardinal Bertram denounces in plain words the pagan propaganda carried o n in all N a z i organizations w i t h the undisputed toleramon o f the officials i n charge. "The organisations o f t h e Storm Troopers, of the Hitler Youth, etc.," xays Cardinal Bertram, "can b y no means jejoice in the quiet possession of the Christian faith under the protecting foof o f a so-called positive Christianity. Break-off from Church and dogma, •pen hostility against Christianity, domination of Rosenberg's myth (of blood and race as the foundations of all human culture —those are the prospects of our age T h e clergy must enlighten the whole nation o n the danger which jast cannot be denied. . . . W e must j«>t wait until a large number of unexperienced y o u t h have been led t o hate Christ . . . . Catholic associations must fce promoted w i t h every possible means m view of the strange pressure exercised fcoth o n the younger generation and frown-ups which exposes their faith t o jerious dangers." NAZI GROUPS MENTIONED. Cardinal Bertram is thus t h e first Frince of the Church in Germany w h o definitely mentions N a z i organizations a^ openly hostile to the Church although •ther Bishops had, of course, denounced m no less definite terms the Pagan movement as such. A s a matter of fact, it is only too w e l l - k n o w n that Christian influences are diligently banned from N a z i labour camps, youth groups and Ibbour associations while the ,fanatically anti-Christian theories of Alfred RosenIcrg, the N a z i education dictator whose venomenous work "The M y t h of the T w e n t i e t h Century" was recently p u t • n the Index of books forbidden for Catholics b y the H o l y See, are widely circulated among their inmates and memberships. In like terms the Most R e v . Franz Jtudolf Bornewasser, Bishop of Treves, condemned the pagan activities in a jermon delivered o n All Saints D a y . •Brethern be strong in the Faith" ( 1 Cor. 16, 1 3 ) is the basic thought of his stirring sermon w h i c h was published in full in the Treves diocesan paper, but * o t mentioned anywhere in the secular jress. Bishop Bornewasser quoted various passages of the Joint Pastoral of fh'e German Hierarchy which was adopted at the Fuda meeting last June, l u t then suppressed by the N a z i police tfroughout the country, althrough parts «f this most important pronouncement
have since been included by individual Bishops in their sermons. Bishop Bornewasser calls attention to the fact that the Hierarchy was then putting trust in the N a z i government's presumed intention to fight Godlessness, and he plainly intimated that the promises are not kept. A s a matter of fact, it never was satisfactorily explained h o w Chancellor Hitler could proclaim Christianity as the foundation of his regime and at the same time appoint Alfred Rosenberg, w h o is rabidly antiChristian, as the educational director of nis party. "Should w e Bishops not raise our voices against books which undermine the true faith in God in the most radical manner?" continued Bishop Bornewasser. "Especially when such books are made the basis of instruction in schools, among educators, in training and labor camps? White neo-paganism carries on its campaign, the faithful Catholic Press has n o longer the freedom to discuss the great problems of our times in the light of Catholic dogma and moral doctrine and t o repulse the attacks against Christianity, the Church, the Bishops and the priests False prophets are at work to deny Christ's divinity.. They refuse to accept the Ten Commandments. . . . But w e shall not be found faithless in spite of all vituperations," . P A G A N M O V E M E N T SCORED. R e v . Wilhelm Likewise the Most Burger, Auxiliary Bishop of Freiburg, denounced the pagan movement " as strongly reminding o f the old materialism and Bolshevism." H e said, in the course of a speech in Mannheim, that the organizations have rallied under the disguise of the "German Faith Movem e n t " to introduce a new religion "in accordance with the Germanic race concept, which would be based o n blood and race and be openly antagonistic to Chris-* tianity." T h e Bishop concluded his adress with a pharase which may become a slogan: " W e shall n o t allow our faith to be polluted, w e shall not permit even the smallest stone t o be broken out of the wall of divine revelation—we want to be Catholics of pure race!" The Episcopal Ordinariat of Treves has issued formal rules w i t h reference to those Catholics w h o out of professional or other motives apply for permission to read Rosenberg's book and once more points o u t the reasons which lead the H o l y See to put this work on the Index of forbidden books. The Ordinariat exhorts Catholics also to decline to attend meetings, if they possibly can, where this book is made the basis of discussions or instructions. It must be clearly understood, however, that thousands of Catholics throughout Germany, especially of the younger generation, have no means of escaping such meetings, which in most cases are obligatory, while many times the Church has no means at her disposal of counteracting this vicious anti-Christian propaganda. Rather typical for the sort of instructions that is meted out in N a z i quarters with reference of Christianity was a recent speech by Governor Kube, of Berlin, who said that "the faith o f German youth is the faith in Germany alone," that morality rests in the blood "and not in a training imported from Asia Minor." The speaker concluded: "God wants you, German boys, to have
Mothers should remember that growing
children need
milk-every
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MILKMAID MILK faith on earth in Germany and its eternal life, and w e shall w i n the right t o such a faith with all our stubbornness. Adolf Hitler yesterday, today and in all eternity." The last phrase, of course, was a blasphemous parody of the wellknown profession of faith "Jesus Christ yesterday, today and in all eternity." N o German Catholic paper even dared t o comment on this provocation. About the same time a Protestant N a z i Bishop, D r . Schulz, of Mecklenburg, said in a public speech that "dogma is superfluous as N a z i s m is incarnated Christianity." Many more similar instances could be quoted to show what pernicious influences are nowadays freely spreading throughout Germany while both the Catholics and the orthodox Protestants can hardly defend the tenets of their faith, the N a z i philosophy of absolute state supremacy and race superiority being fundamentally in conflict w i t h all that Christianity stands for, but any public discussion of this fact being violently suppressed and otherwise made impossible. If further proof of this fact had been required, it would have been furnished by the announcement of the Berlin official news agency that t w o professors of the Catholic Academy in Braunsberg, East Prussia, the R e v . Carl Eschweiler and the Rev. Johannes Baron, were "still holding their jobs" although they had been dismissed by their ecclesiastical superiors on the ground that they had rendered an official opinion stating that sterilization was not incompatible with Catholic teachings. NEWSPAPER CONFISCATED. Similarly, a warning was issued by the police in Fulda against the Catholic weekly Bonifatiusbote because the paper had expressed criticism of N a z i sterilization laws. T h e police announced that the paper would be suppressed, if it were to cause their displeasure again. The last issue of the Katholische Kirchenzeitung, diocesan weekly of Cologne, was confiscated b y the police, seemingly for a similar reason. The German Catholic press is naturally undergoing a most serious crisis in view of all these wanton restrictions. Rather indicative was the announcement of the Bayerische Kurier, of Munich, one of the oldest and most highly-esteemed Catholic dailies of Bavaria, stopping publication o n November 1. The paper has since been amalgamated with the Postzettung of Augsburg, oldest Catholic newspaper in Germany. Although the fury of anti-Christian activities is sometimes most badly felt in Bavaria H i s Eminence Michael Cardinal Faulhaber, Archbishop of Munich,
continues to be the object of the most touching veneration and devotion of his flock. On All Souls D a y the Cardinal was greeted by thousands of his congregation who had gathered in the large square before Our Lady's C h u r c h after the Cardinal had preached inside of the Dome. The Cardinal's car could hardly proceed in view of the mass of people w h o acclaimed him. T h e Rev. J. Stuesser, of Bonn, Rhineland, one of the former leaders of the Catholic Y o u t h associations of Germany, was arrested on the charge that he had "insulted" Chancellor Hitler. N o detailed account was given by the police for the reasons of this arrest. DIOCESAN WOMEN STIGMATISE MEXICAN PERSECUTION (By N.C.W.C. N e w s Service). Milwaukee, Dec. 11. The "extension of State absolutism and denial of free exercise of religion" in Mexico were protested in resolutions adopted at the convention of the Milwaukee Arehdiocesan Council of Catholic Women. The resolution deplored "the action of our respected Ambassador to Mexico in which, exceeding his province, he publicly approved a system of education that is positively anti-religious and supported the words of former President Calles that the child is first and foremost the property of the State." The Council voted to "join the crusade of prayer that the people of Mexico may have restored to them freedom of speech and of conscience." Support of the Catholic Association for International Peace and indorsement of the plan to have pernicious literature included in the Legion of Decency campaign against film evils also were voted. CARDINAL H A Y E S A S K S PRAYERS FOR MEXICO. (By N.C.W.C. N e w s Service). N e w York, D e c , 9. In unveiling and blessing a statue of • Out Lady of the Miraculous Medal in I the Church of the Holy Name of Jesus, j yesterday, His Eminence Patrick Cardinal Hayes, Archbishop of N e w York, asked the large congregation present to pray for the people of Mexico. The Most Rev. Stephen J. Donahue, Auxiliary Bishop of N e w York, is pastor of the Church. Cardinal Hayes said he was led to speak of the struggle the Church is having in Mexico because it w a s the Feast i of the Immaculate Conception. "I ask you," he said, "to pray on this, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, to the Blessed Mother, begging her to take a special interest in Mexico that the persecution might come to an end."
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PENANG. Text No. 2. "The Bible is a living book. It is the only living book that w e have. It is the expression in language of the same divinity of which Jesus Christ is the expression in the flesh." Refutation. If the Bible were a "living book" it could be its own interpreter, but, in fact, being but a written document it remains silent. Thus one must take it in one's hands, open it, read it, compare passages, and attach a certain meaning to the words that fall under one's eyes, and, even if one be as great a scholar as the great St. Augustine, and a Doctor of the Church to boot, one will have to confess that there are more things in the Bible that one does not understand than those one does. And in so confessing one will but be following experiences recorded in the Bible itself, which testify that the Bible is not a book intelligible to all. Thus St. Peter himself informs us that in the Epistles of St. Paul there are "some things hard to be understood, which they that arc unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction." And elsewhere he warns us "that no prophesy of the scripture is of any private interpretation." (II. Pet. iii, 16 and i, 2 0 ) . Then there is the pathetic admission of the man t>f Ethiopia, as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles; he was a man of great authority and had come up to Jerusalem for worship and he w a s returning home in his chariot and reading the Book of Isiah, the Prophet; and St. Philip, moved thereto by the Holy Ghost, ran up and asked him; "Uuderstandest thou what thou readest?" and he replied: "How can I, except some man should guide me?" and he desired that Philip should come up and sit with him in the chariot and explain the Scripture to him. NOT A LIVING BOOK. But surely the most conclusive, and at the same time the most terrible proof that the Bible is not a "living book," snd not its own interpreter, is to be found in the living fact before our eyes this very day of the babel of Protesting Christian sects, each claiming to prove itself right, and all other creeds wrong by simple reference to the Bible. If the Bible were indeed a living book, it would as surely be a lying book: For in no other w a y could it be responsible for producing such a babel of conflicting doctrines. Moreover, if these sects were the only fruit of the Gospel, then indeed would Our Lord be discredited in His word; f o r He speaks not of Churches, but of H i s Church; not of kingdoms, but of H i s Kingdom; not of folds and shepherds, b u t of one Fold and one Shepherd; not of vines and vinyards, but of a Vine and His Vinyard; not of bodies and spirits, but of One Body and One Spirit. The Church, in fine, is called in Scripture b y the beautiful title of bride or spouse of Christ, and the Law of the N e w Covenant admits of only one wife. Again, if these Protesting sects, each claiming to interpret the Bible in its own way, were indeed the fruit of a "living book," then vain was the prayer of Our Lord, which He addressed, immediately before entering upon His Passion, to God the Father Almighty, as follows; "And not for these only do I pray but for those also who through their word shall believe in m e ; that they may be one; as thou Father in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in u s ; that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou hast given me I have given to them; that they may be one, as w e also are one: I in them and thou in me,
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that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me and hast loved them, as thou hast also loved me."—John, xvii, 20-23. And St. Paul, in his Epistle to the Ephesians, insists on this unity of faith in the following emphatic words: "Be careful t o keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace; one body and one Spirit, as you are called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in us all."—Ephes. iv, 3-6. And in his Epistle to the Galations, St. Paul ranks the authors of sects with murderers and all other capital criminals, and he declares that they shall not possess the kingdom of heaven. In fact, our common sense alone, apart from revelation, is sufficient to convince us that God cannot be the author of various conflicting, opposing, and contradictory systems of religion. God is essentially one. He is Truth itself. And the word of God does not consist in mere letters, whether written or printed, but in the sense, the true sense of what is written or printed. A wrong interpretation, a wrong explanation turns the word of God into the word of man, and, what is worse, into the word of the devil; the devil himself could quote the text of Scripture; and he did so when he tempted our Saviour in the desert.—Matth. iv, 6. We read in Genesis xi, 1-9, that the sons of N o e attempted, in their pride, to ascend to heaven by building a tower; ind their scheme ended in their tongues being confused and multiplied into many anguages, so that the tower was named Babel. In the same w a y the so-called Reformers of the sixteenth century proved their folly by telling everyman to g e t to heaven by interpreting the Bible for himself. Their efforts quickly led to such confusion and multiplication of religions that, t o take only one instance, t h e four words "This is My Body," in the sixth Chapter of St. John, which were understood in one sense only before the Reformation, became interpreted into no less than eighty definitions by the Reformers themselves, and to-day the number of meanings given to those four simple words numbers over a hundred! It is a phenomenon that beats Evolution; but, unlike the subject in Evolution, the words do not evolve but remain the same and have the same definition to-day in the Catholic Church as they ever had from the beginning; it is only the point of view and opinion of the unguided mind that invents ingenious and artful definitions t o e x plain away a truth that will not to accept. " Glory to God in the highest," cried the Angels at the birth of the Divine Infant Jesus, "and on earth peace to men of good will." But the Reformers, quick to perceive that these words carried the implication that there existed men with " w i l l " the opposite of " good," transposed the last half of the sentence to read, "and on earth peace, good will toward men." As though God should excuse Himself and assure men that He really is well disposed toward mankind, and not half so bad as he might be thought to be! Yet such is the mercy of God that He suffers these tares to grow among the wheat, lest, rooting up the cockle, the wheat also be rooted up together with it. But both shall grow until the harvest, and in the time of the harvest He shall say "Gather up first the cockle, and bind it into bundles to burn, but the wheat gather ye into m y barn." (To be continued) The next Text refuted is: " T h e written word of God and the Incarnate Word of God are one, inseperable and indivisible."
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The 108th Islington Clerical Conference—a body of Evangelicals—opened at the Church House, Westminster, yesterday, under the presidency of the Rev. J. M. Hewitt, Vicar and Rural Dean of Islington. The general subject of the conference was "authority and the Christian faith," The 108th Islington Clerical Conference^—a body of Evangelicals—opened a t the Church House, Westminster, yesterday, under the presidency of the Rev. J. M. Hewitt, Vicar and Rural Dean of Islington. The general subject o f the conference was "authority and the Christian faith." The Bishop of Norwich (Dr. Pollock) spoke on "The Authority of Reason" and said it w a s necessary to make clear that Christianity w a s a life based upon faith — a personal faith in Christ—because a t the present time there w a s a widely prevalent and exclusively intellectual a p proach to Christianity. He deprecated this on the part of those who said, "When all is clear I will believe." Reason had its proper sphere in the spiritual outlook, so had faith. These spheres were not opposed to one another. The change in the attitude of the big men of science had cleared away many difficulties from the path of many seekers after God. "When we still meet elderly people," said the Bishop, "who adopt a discarded view of the antagonistic relations between science or religion or we find it filtering down in shallow sceptical writings to uneducated minds w e know that those who are infected with such bygone opinions, however clever and bold they think themselves to be, are really behind the times. It is a Victorian phase." Church and State. The Rev. A. J. M. MacDonald, rector of St. Dunstan's in the West, Fleet Street, said that relations between Church and State in England had always been rendered uncertain by the fear on the part of the State that England might again fall under the political influences of the authorities at Rome. "The one stable Christian factor in the whole situation is the Crown. Whatever the country or Parliament may be we still have a Christian King, and the 'Supreme Governor* of the Church is still not only constitutionally but actually by faith and instinct a Christian Prince," he said. (Cheers). Observing that "the real danger to the Christian faith to-day lay in Parliament," he asked: "What will be your attitude if when Parliament m a y possess a majority of members actively hostile to the Christian faith, or who are zealous adherents of the Roman Church, or of members desirous of restoring medieval ecclesiastical conditions in the Anglican
Church? Would you in that case continue your present attitude and maintain Parliament rightly has the last word? It is no use looking to Parliament with any certitude indefinitely as the final authority in matters of faith and e c clesiastical organisation until at any rate England has again become a Christian country and Parliament a Christian a s sembly." The Christian faith so f a r as the Anglican Church was concerned would depend on the action taken by the Church Assembly, and still more upon securing the freedom of the Church Assembly from Parliamentary control, at any rate in matters which concerned Christian doctrine. 1
President and Suggested "Truce of God." The suggestion of a "Truce of God" between Anglo-Catholics and Evangelicals in the Church of England w a s referred to by the Rev. J. M. Hewitt in his presidential address. Aggressive propaganda on the part of those associated with the Oxford Movement, Mr. Hewitt said, had gone f a r to alter the face of the English Church. In all parts of the country parishes had undergone changes which every Protestant must deplore. A persistent compaign had given to the Anglo-Catholic Party a place in the sun. Doctrines and practices which were formerly argued were now assumed. Definite Evangelism had come to be regarded by many as a strange anachronism destined to die. Prominence had been given recently, said Mr. Hewitt, in the religious Press to what was euphemistically termed "A Truce of God." This phrase borrowed from medieval times was most inapt when applied to the conflict within the Church of England. The appeal w a s , apparently, that Evangelicals and AngloCatholics should join forces in the great work of Evangelism. How could they speak of joint evangelism with two conceptions of the Gospel, fundamentally different? The Anglo-Catholic slogan, "It is the Mass that matters," had been recently reiterated. Protesting against the description of the proposed truce as "a Truce of God," he asked, w a s he to pledge himself never to refer to any matter on which he differed from any of his fellow churchmen? If they engaged in controversy it was because they were convinced that vital issues were involved.
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Qmbtz 26,
1935.
THE SAAR PLEBISCITE THE MALAY MAIL AND—THE VATICAN. In our issue of J a n u a r y 12, commenting on t h e likely result of the Saar Plebicite, we said: "Nobody expects t h e Saar to vote for France, any more t h a n t h e y would expect men of Kent to vote for inclusion in another nation's dominion in similar circumstances. France however need not t a k e t h e adverse vote a s a slight. If blood r u n s thicker t h a n water nationalism r u n s thicker t h a n blood. T h e S a a r is German and will not vote t o be French. Will it vote for a delayed r e t u r n to G e r m a n y ? Few seem to t h i n k so." Five days later t h e result of t h e voting became known, and it fully confirmed common opinion. But because sensible Germans, when p u t t o t h e test of t h e ballot, voted sensibly, t h e Malay Mail blames t h e Pope and t h e Vatican for n o t calling upon t h e Saarlanders t o m a k e fools of themselves*. For according to t h e Malay Mail t h e Saarlanders are predominantly Catholic, even to 73 per cent, of the pouplation. "Had the Vatican," says t h e Malay Mail of J a n u a r y 17, "come out boldly against the Nazis, t h e result would have been far different." W h a t interest t h e Malay Mail can have in t h e S a a r voting is not made clear, b u t the result h a s evidently annoyed it. The vote in favour of Germany represents 90.8 per cent of t h e people, and from this it m a y well be argued t h a t all but 9.2 of the Socialists and Communists, who formed t h e remaining minority of 27 per cent of t h e population " r a t t e d " (to use t h e Malay Mail t e r m ) from t h e i r parties a t t h e last moment. By an astonishing feat of reasoning t h e Malay Mail is able to inform its readers t h a t t h e Pope, by leaving it to the Saarlanders to vote "as t h e i r consciences d i c t a t e d " did in effect advise t h e m " t o leave conscience out of t h e m a t t e r altogether." And having arrived a t this piece of p u r e assumption, t h e Malay Mail forthwith seeks for a motive, a n d i t finds i t in a further
BEGGARS?! Der wahre Bettler ist Doch einzig jind allein der wahre Konig! Lessing: Nathan der V/eise.
I t is thus t h a t L. Cope Cornf ord heralds forth "The Master Beggars of Belgium," which he finished writing at Brighton, England, in J u n e 1896. And his opening paragraph is as follows: " I t is now more t h a n t h r e e hundred years since the Netherlands gave to Europe so shining an example of resistance to oppression. There was then, a s t h e r e is now, one Power drunk with insane ambition; and it was t h e n t h e heroic little nation of t h e Netherlands t h a t withstood the oppressor, a s . it withstands him to-day. In the sixteenth century, t h e name of t h e t y r a n t nation was Spain; in t h e eighteenth, F r a n c e ; (Continued (Continued
in Col. from
Col.
3) 1)
assumption, namely, " t h a t the Vatican, in r e t u r n for its passive role in t h e Saar, has been given an undertaking by Berlin t h a t t h e threatened Nazification of the Catholic Church in Germany will be abandoned." But is t h e Malay Mail satisfied? N o ! A thousand times, N o ! It m u s t now point t h e nemesis t h a t should follow all such balancing of "expediency" against "conscience." So it holds forth as follows: ' H o w much any such promise will prove to be w o r t h remains to be seen; if it is kept t h e Vatican, no doubt, will, in accordance w i t h ^ t h e Jesuit doctrine" (this fiction is never omitted from t h e best antiCatholic polemic), "consider t h a t t h e end justified the means, b u t t h e r e will be some who feel t h a t by tacit connivance a t a regime which, by its persecutions, h a s earned t h e condemnation of practically t h e whole Christian world, His Holiness h a s concluded a bargain a t least savouring of t h e unholy." Now everyone will admit t h a t to be a very well rounded off conclusion, and one well fitting t h e fixed idea under which a certain class of mind labours, namely, t h a t t h e Pope is Anti-Christ and all the rest of it as related in t h e Book of Daniel. And not t h e least interesting item in the latter p a r t of the sentence is t h e obvious implication t h a t , excluded from "practically t h e whole Christian world" are t h e Pope and all Catholics. F o r this altogether striking exposition of mind the Malay Mail readers should be really thankful, for it shows forth indubitably t h e soundness of Mr. Belloc's contention, on last Guy Fawkes Day a t t h e Jubilee celebrations of t h e 50th year of the Catholic T r u t h Society, t h a t "England is antiCatholic to t h e core." And t h a t though the old false doctrines against Catholicism have gone, "the hatred still remains." It is well t h a t this should be known; for the bare knowledge of it serves to explain much that would otherwise be inexplicable, and it well illustrates the present need for united Catholic action.
in t h e twentieth, Germany. The Netherlands, like England, ever fought for freedom; and* it is ordained t h a t t h e champions of freedom, how sore soever t h e battle goes against them in t h e beginning, to whatever straits they may be diminished, shall win in t h e end. It seems t h a t t h e y must be fighting on what we call the right side." How history repeats itself m a y be seen by anyone who recalls heroic Belgium's fight for freedom again in 1914 and after, and t h e n compares t h e memory of it with the foregoing paragraph about former struggles against oppression, written eighteen year earlier.
Mexico. Contrariwise, a strong Catholic Press is a veritable lifesaver to the people. F o r it is beholden to no political party or local m a g n a t e ; its editors are untrammelled. I t s view point is that of t h e culture and t h e eternal verities of t h e universal Faith in t h e Fatherhood of God, the Creator of mankind, and of all that God h a s revealed.
In its presentation of news, editorial expression, special articles, its books and book reviews, its periodicals and pamphlets, the Catholic Press is concerned with t h e really worthwhile and the lasting things of life. It is concerned with t h e integrity of the And these considerations bring home, and of family life, and of us to t h e question in our day of all t h a t this implies in regard to t h e position of the Catholic Press. the physical integrity of men and W h a t a vigorous Catholic Press women, the institution of marcan accomplish is well illustrated riage, the inalienable right of by the success in t h e recent parents to secure for their offSpanish elections of t h e Action spring a complete education. And Popular, under t h e direction of it is concerned likewise with the t h e thirty-five-year-old Jose Maria application of t h e great social Gil Robles, energetic editor of El principles of the Gospel to the Debate. His p a r t y leased a radio t a s k of industrial and economic station and sent out its own rehabilitation. Having quoted Russia and broadcasts; it Aised seven airplanes to distribute 20,000,000 Mexico as t h e outstanding examleaflets and pamphlets. Every- ples of consequences t h a t follow non-existent thing was done by t h e bitter anti- from a weak or Catholic Press, let us now consider Catholic Premier Azana to stop t h a t propaganda. No less than t h e converse of a country with 300 meetings were prohibited a strong Catholic Press. Perhaps after large sums had been spent in no country shows this more clearadvertising and in renting halls ly t h a n Holland, where 30 Catholic for t h e m e e t i n g s ; but a tenacious dailies serve a total of 2,300,000 determination succeeded in hold- Catholics, who constitute j u s t oneing two meetings for every one third of the country's population. cancelled. Signor Gil Robles him- Largely due to the influence of its self travelled no less t h a n 55,000 Press, the Catholic body has grown from an insignificant miles by auto and airplane. minority without public influence But t h e most potent factor in to a n aggresive constituency mouldSpain's swing to the Right was ing public opinion and determining t h e newspaper El Debate. Two local and national legislation to years and a half before t h e Re- an extent far in excess of its public had been proclaimed in numerical strength. Spain, t h e paper had a circulation The proposition t h a t an informof only 80,000. To-day its ed Press is almost essential subscribers number between two nowadays t o the proper develophundred and t h r e e hundred thou- ment of t h e individual Catholic sand subscribers, and it h a s be- scarcely needs arguing. The sides four chains of newspapers write-up of Catholic event and in the provinces. I t h a s its own doctrine in t h e daily newspaper commodious building with com- is very frequently inaccurate or plete equipment of t h e most inadequate, and often it is posimodern machinery. I t s news is tively grotesque. The only "teletyped" to t h e five papers of the antidote to this erroneous reportgroup, so t h a t all information of ing is to be found in the national importance appears responsible columns of Catholic simultaneously, word for word, in weeklies, monthlies, and other each journal. Nor is its message publications. But it requires that limited to ponderous argument. t h e Catholic public should get It issues weekly an immensely behind these, and read them popular comic edition, and also an themselves, and distribute them to interesting paper for children. others. If this were done faithWhen one realizes t h e tremend- fully, as a duty, w° should all reap ously great victory against the t h e reward, in an incredibly short Leftists one can begin to under- time, of seeing t h e world in a stand somewhat of the measure of b e t t e r frame of mind towards the influence exerted in Republican fundamental questions of social Spain by its Catholic Press. justice and aggresive armaments. As t h e co-ordinator of Catholic With this sure conviction in mind Action, the Catholic Press should we are not ashamed make our own be the recognised voice, not alone t h e quotation from Lessing at the to Catholics but also to those head hereof, and to stand before outside the Church, of what true t h e Catholic public as beggars, Catholic effort means in all soliciting from them their support departments of life. It should for the Catholic Press. serve as the amplifier, t h e loudspeaker, of eternal as well as passing t r u t h s . Where t h e Catholic OVERHEARD AT Press is weak or worse still non"Look here! I've sprained m y ankle existent, there must inevitably be a weak or worse still unheard on your confounded slippery floor." AsCatholic voice. And t h e two out- sistant: "Yes, sir. Quite so, sir. Emstanding examples of this m t h e brocation, next counter, sir; Bandages world to-day are Russia and second aisle to the left."
11
Notes & Comments RECOGNIZED GOVERNMENT. Dearly and devoutly a s the Malay Mai! may wish that the Pope and the Vatican might have "come -out boldly against the Nazis" in the purely political struggle for the possession of the Saar, the last thing that any true Catholic could wish would be t h a t the Church should be identified with any political party, and particularly with any reactionary agitation which happens to suit certain interests at the moment. F o r the Catholic Church is above all parties and regards all governments as means to an end, and that end the general well-being of the people. Salus populi is the acid test of good government. All depends on whether rulership is used for the general good or not. Neither democracy nor autocracy are essentially good or essentially bad forms of government. Both can be good and both can be bad. And it will be found on taking thought that only two kinds of governments are possible— democracy and autocracy. B y the common consent of mankind every government, of whatever kind, that strives to attain the good of the governed is recognised as a government and is considered to be good, more or less, be it democratic or autocratic in form. The Pope and the Vatican would therefore be taking up a •quite exceptional attitude did they meet the passing wish of the Malay Mail of January 17 and "come out boldly against the Nazis," seeing that this government is recognised by the whole civilized world an common with the Soviet of Russia and •the Republic of Mexico, against neither of which can w e remember hearing the Voice of the Malay Mail raised in any such form of protest and black prophecy -as it now puts forth against the Pope -and the Vatican for directing the Catholic Saarlanders to Vote in this purely political squable "as their consciences dictated." F R A N C E A N D T H E POPE. For the first time since the fateful year 1870 a French Minister holding office has paid a visit to the Pope. The occasion was the visit of M. Laval, French Foreign Minister to Rome to sign the Rome Pact. The Pope received M. Leval in audience on the Monday before the negotiations with Mussolini ha<f' been concluded. EDUCATION W I T H RELIGION. On another page in this issue w e reproduce the speech of the Archbishop of Birmingham on the right of Catholics t o have their own schools. " Religion" h e says, "is the basis of all our education. A senior school without religion is useless educationally. We want reorganised senior schools with religion." This reminder has a particular application here in Malaya, which is a foreign missionary country. For here floats a vague dictum, common to missionary countries, which is seized upon with readiness by many who are satisfied with religious junior schools for their children. Some missionary is reputed to have said Give me the child to educate and you may teach him a s you like afterwards."
M
But that is, most emphatically, not true Catholic teaching. We parents who know our business will not hand over our children at eleven years of age to the secularist schoolmaster. When w e speak of education w e mean education for the infant, for the child, for the youth, and for the man and woman. And we mean a complete education, of which religion forms the greater, nobler part.
T H E ROME PACT. France and Italy having been at loggerheads far too long, every sane person will welcome the Pact, for the peace of Europe has been in danger every time these two nations indulged in a display of unpleasantness. Without a doubt, some of the provisions of the Pact were made with a critical eye on Germany, especially those concerning the independence of Austria. Germany would do well to subscribe to the independence of Austria without more ado. For invasion of Austria now by Germany would be followed by a twofold invasion of Germany, and that is almost certainly more than Germany could deal; with successfully. On the other hand, by agreeing to Austrian independence forthwith, Germany would* placate France and so open the door to Germany's re-emergence as a world Power—armed to the teeth like the rest of them, which would seem to be just what Germany wants. " T H E CHURCH TIMES." True to from, the English Church Times observes the letter while violating the spirit of the l a w ; this time the law D E MORTUIS N I L NISI BONUM. In its obituary of Cardinal Bourne, while saying little about the dead Cardinal himself, it attacks in a most unpleasant manner t h e Church of which he was a truly great figure. The unpleasantness w e will not repeat here; but besides being vulgar the Church Times has also been silly, and because there is a certain amount of comicality in its silliness w e may a s well enjoy the fun of repeating it: The Church Times labels the whole of the Catholic hierarchy " the schismatic hierarchy." And the cream of the joke lies in this, that the Church Times, for as many years as one can remember, always backed up the Church of England in its claim, repeatedly put forward by the High Church party, to be a Branch of the Catholic Church. But who ever heard of the whole breaking off from the part? When a tile drops off the roof of a house we do not say that the house has broken off from the tile. Moreover, if the Catholic Church is in schism, then the whole world is in schism with it, and only Johnnie Bull is in step:, which is surely in the nature of a reductio ad absurdum. UNEMPLOYMENT. To the conscientious and progressive workman temporary unemployment is not a blessing but a hardship. People talk glibly of our " t w o million unemployed" at Home and they assume accents of despair to know how many of these two millions are really and truly "unemployed," in the sense, that is, in which the term was used before the war. Now, however, the " H A R D CORE," as the officials call it, of the unemployed, or those wholly and permanently out cf work, is 5?2 per cent, of the total of one and three quarter millions. This percentage includes all who have been on the register for twelve months. Fifty-six per cent of the total do not belong to the "core," their last spell of unemployment was less than three months; while sixty-eight per cent have been unemployed for less than six months. So the figures run: hard core 22 per cent; six months unemployment 12 per cent; three months unemployment 56 per cent; and casual employment and unemployment 20 per cent. Obviously, then, there are many hard cases which are not included in the hard core; on the other hand, our " two million unemployed" are not an army of permanently idle people. It would be interesting to have similar figures for all classes in Malaya.
MARRIAGE OUTSIDE THE CHURCH. At the English Church Assembly next month a proposal is to be put forward that the State be encouraged to formulate a new secular matrimonial law, legalising a new form of marriage contract. Presumably this will be a rescindable contract. If it is so, it will be another proof that outside the Catholic Church there is no longer any respect for the law of God, the Creator of mankind and the Ordainer of the law of one husband and one wife in marriage, except among the unbaptised fore-Christian believers in the supernatural. The law of indisoluble monogamy is not an extra burden laid on Christian shoulders, but it is, as our Lord explicitly stated, a return to the primitive institution of marriage as it was in the beginning. THE S T A T E AND MARRIAGE. If the State chooses to usurp authority in the sphere of the divine ordinance of marriage, it is not for Christians to encourage it. Their duty is to deplore it, and to endeavour to check it by all the dissuasion they can command. The State has no authority to fabricate " secular" matrimony, for all marriage is under the ordinance of God, and by that ordinance divorce and rescindable marriage are directly opposed to the law of God. COLLAPSE OF THE FAMILY. When the law courts opened in England on January, 18 for the Hilary session the judges were faced with a record list of divorce cases, amounting to close on 3,000 in all. This is the biggest total for ten years and a record for the Hilary sittings. Although it can be said that the record is partly due to the fact that one of t h e judges w a s too ill to sit for a great part of last term, there is no baulking the fact that the absence of any social stigma on divorces, and the increasing laxity of morals and the prevalent disregard for the sanctity of marriage are predisposing causes for swelling the numbers of those who seek relief in the divorce court. But the end of the chapter is not yet. Cheaper and quicker divorce is now being strongly advocated, and at the current rate of divorce increase there looks to be every likelihood of London emulating Reno. The effect of divorce on juvenile crime may be gauged by the fact that the reformatories and Borstal institutions in England are full, and that last year's totals are expected to show increase over former years, which were as follows: 1931 juvenile criminals 11,788; 1932 the total increased to 12,867. THE LAITY A N D THE LITURGY. How many of the English-speaking laity in Malaya say the Sucipiat in response to the Orate fratres of the priest at Mass? Father Herbert Thurston, S. J., in an article in the December number of the Ecclesiastical Review makes a wider appeal than to the clergy alone. He takes as his text the words of the priest before the secret prayers at Mass, "Pray, brethren, that my sacrifice and yours may be acceptable in the sight of God the Father Almighty." He then points out how much more clearly manifest was the joint action of priest and people in Holy Mass in the earliest days than now. Originally the scheme of the Mass w a s one joint celebration in which priest (or Bishop) united, and all received Holy Communion, and Fr. Thurston brings evidence to show that even after the universal Communion ceased the people were expected to be fasting equally w i t h the priest—a survival, of course, but one
with a meaning. Again, he recalls the better known fact of the actual offering by the laity, at the Offertory, of the bread and wine, the materials for the Sacrifice, also the distribution from those offerings of blessed, unconsecrated bread, as is still the custom in some parts of France. T H E CELEBRATION OF MASS. Although we to-day may well feel that we have gained greatly in mere convenience by the gradual supersession of certain unessential observances that formerly accompanied the liturgy of the Mass, a s in the time of the Catacombs, still we have in the| Missal eloquent remains of an active participation between priest and people. Orate fratres. Dominus vobiscum, Sursum corda. "In the later ages," says Fr. Thurston, "the laity have come to look upon the liturgy as something enacted as it were upon a stage and at which they are little more than interested spectators. This being so, I fancy that it is difficult for people to realise the sense of participation in a common labour of love which marked those more primitive days. Moreover, we must not forget that the language which the faithful heard from the altar was a language which they themselves habitually used, however corruptly and ungrammatically. When, however, these facts are borne in mind, no surprise will be felt that the laity, both men and women, were commonly spoken of a s 'celebrating the Sacrament of the Altar,* or 'celebrating Mass* "—for such phrases are used actually by St. Augustine, St. Jerome and other Fathers. It is one of the objects of the Liturgical Movement to revive the idea of a certain real and joint "celebration" by priest and people. T H E WISE MEN. Step softly, under snow or rain, To find the place where men can pray; The w a y is all so very plain, That we m a y lose the way. Oh, we have learnt to peer and pore On tortured puzzles of our youth. We know all labarinthine lore, We are the three Wise Men of yore, And w e know all things but the truth. Go h u m b l y . . i t has hailed and s n o w e d . . With voices low and lanterns lit, So very simple is the road, That w e m a y stray from it. \ J The world grows terrible and white, And blinding white the breaking day, We walk bewildered in the light, For something is too large for sight, And something much too plain to s a y . The child that was ere worlds began (. . W e need but walk a little w a y . . We need but see a latch u n d o n e . . ) , The child that played with moon and sun Is playing with a little hay. The house from which the heavens are fed, The old strange house that is our own, Where tricks of words are never said, And mercy is as plain as bread, And honour is as hard as stone, To humbly; humble are the skies, And low and large and fierce the Star, So very near the Manger lies, That w e m a y travel far. Hark! Laughter like a lion wakes To roar to the resounding plain, And the whole heaven shouts and shakes, For God Himself is b o m again; And w e are little children walking Through the snow and rain. G. K. CHESTERTON.
12
MALAYA CATHOLIC L E A D E R , SATURDAY,
JANUARY
A TRUE FATHER OF HIS PEOPLE—By
"Rev. Ambrose Coleman
THE STORY OF THE GLENGARRY FENSIBLES
I
N t h e middle of the eighteenth century, bad as w a s the position of Catholics in Ireland, it w a s f a r worse i n Scotland. In Ireland t h e Catholics formed the great majority of t h e popultion: they had t h e " s y m p a t h y of numbers/' I n Scotland a most terrible and searching persecution had reduced them t o about 25,000, out of whom not more than t w e n t y possessed land to t h e value of £120 a year. They were principally confined t o the northern a n d western Highlands, and in the Lowlands their numbers were negligible. W h a t made them v e r y helpless w a s their ignorance of English, for t h e y were nearly all Gaelic-speaking. A F T E R COLLUDEN. After the disastrous rising in favour of Charles Edward Stuart, the violent perseceution t h e y w e r e subjected to, still further diminished their numbers. Over a thousand were transported t o America after Culloden. The big landlords, all Protestants, unrestrained by feelings of humanity, began t o m a k e huge clearances o n their e s t a t e s , driving the people from their ancestral cottages, a s w a s t h e case also in Ireland. Large numbers had to emigrate. A n enterprising priest brought a number of Catholic families over t o Prince Edward Island, and some y e a r s later another energetic priest followed with many more.) Thiijs w a s b e g u n the Catholic Scottish colony of Prince Edward Island, which forms a large, flourishing diocese a t the present day. F A T H E R MACDONALD. A m o n g the forty priests labouring in Scotland during t h e latter half of the eighteenth century w a s a Father Alexander Macdonell. H e w a s born a t Inchlaggan, Glengarry, in 1760, and had done his ecclesiastical studies, first, in the Scottish College a t Paris, and then in the Scots CoDege a t Valladolid, in Spain, where he w a s ordained in 1787. H i s mission l a y in the Braes of Lochaber, on the Grampian Hills, t h e highest inhabited parts of Scotland. There were only twelve Catholic chapels in all Scotland at the t i m e , so the work of t h e mission must h a v e been very laborious, a s it meant t h e constant traversing of t h e mountains from cottage t o cott a g e . Father Alexander, a tall m a n of herculean frame, w a s well fitted by n a t u r e for t h e work. B u t the evictions which continued y e a r after year, soon brought the people t o such a s t a t e of m i s e r y that t h e y had either t o leave t h e country or t o die of starvation. T H E EVICTED. T h e y were peasants untrained in the w a y s of modem life. They were Catholics, living under t h e Penal L a w s , and moreover, t h e y had no knowledge of the English language. There w e r e no manufactures in that part of Scotland, at which they might find a livelihood. There seemed to be no w a y out of the difficulties that surrounded them. A BOLD PROJECT. However, a bold project presented i t s e l f to the mind of the young priest. H e a r i n g t h a t a n emigrant vessel had been wrecked, and had put into Greenock, wht^e she landed her passengers i n t h e most helpless and destitute condition, h e repaired t o Glasgow in the S p r i n g of 1792. Having interviewed s e v e r a l of t h e professors of the Univers i t y and t h e principal manufacturers of t h a t city, h e proposed t o t h e latter that lie should induce t h e Highlanders who h a d been turned o u t of their f a r m s , and t h o s e l a t e l y escaped from t h e shipwreck,
to come to Glasgow and work in their factories. T h e matter w a s amicably settled in spite of the difficulty arising from their ignorance of English and the fact that t h e great majority of them were Catholics. LORD GEORGE GORDON. The bigotry excited by Lord George Gordon, twelve years before, when the Catholic chapels in Edinburgh and Glasgow and the priests' houses' were burned to t h e ground, had not y e t subsided; so much so that no priest could with safety reside there from the time of the burnings till the period w e are speaking of. To these difficulties, put before him by the manufacturers, h e replied t h a t if they would assure the Highlanders of their protection, he would accompany them in the double capacity of interpreter and chaplain. This w a s agreed to, and so, w i t h the approbation of his bishop, he took up his residence in Glasgow in June, 1792, and in t h e course of a f e w months procured employment for over six hundred Highlanders. On the f e w occasions that, previous to this, a priest had said Mass in Glasgow, h e w a s obliged t o do so in a room up t w o or three pairs of stairs, stationing a t the door a sturdy Irishman or Highlander, armed w i t h a bludgeon, to overawe a n y intruders who might attempt t o disturb the service. But Father Macdonell, by t h e advice of one of the m o s t influential Presbyterians of the city, opened his chapel t o the street, and did not close t h e door during the service. Mass w a s said very early in the morning, before the low-class Protestants, that would be disposed to give annoyance, were up, for these used to spend their Saturday evenings in public houses, and their Sunday mornings in bed. For t w o years the manufacturers continued t o prosper, and the Highlanders got steady employment in the factories, and seemed destined to settle down permanently in the city. GLASGOW S L U M S . We cannot conjecture how c i t y slum life, which w a s far worse in those days than at present,, would have affected them in the course of years, and changed their character, and perhaps caused them t o sink to the general level of the town workers. Probably their ignorance of E n g l i s h kept them apart from their neighbours during the t w o years they spent in the city. A t the end of that time w a r w a s declared between France and England; the export of goods t o the Continent was stopped; nearly all the factories in Glasgow had to close down, and a general dismissal of the workers took place. In the general distress the* poor Highlanders were more helpess and destitute, being an alien colony in the city, than any other class of the community. At this crisis Father Macdonell conceived the^ idea of getting those unfortunate Highlanders embodied as a Catholic regiment, with his young chieftain, Macdonell of Glengarry, for their Colonel. So the first Glengarry Fenciblej Regiment w a s formed as a Catholic corps, being the first that was raised a s such since the Protestant Reformation. Father Macdonell was gazetted a s chaplain of the; regiment, though the appointment w a s contrary to the then existing law.
A CATHOLIC REGIMENT. After garrisoning the Island of Guernsey for three years, the regiment w a s ordered to Ireland in 1798. Now, it doubtless will prejudice many of my readers against the Highlanders t o learn that they, a distinctly Catholic Gaelicspeaking people, fought against the Wexford rebels. Well, however distasteful the service m a y have been t o them, they had as soldiers to obey orders. It may surprise many to know that a very large number, probably t h e majority of those ranged in arms against the rebels, were Catholics. The militia soldiery of Ireland in 1798 amounted to 26,000. They were Catholics almost to a man. In Cork, there were t w o corps of yeomanry. One of them, the Loyal Cork Legion, the oldest institution, w a s composed of opulent citizens, and contained a considerable number of the Catholic gentry. The other, the Cork Volunteers, was exclusively Portestant. A minority of the yeomanry in other countries was composed of Catholics. So the Highlanders did not form an e x ception. THE CRUELTIES. The cruelties committed on the people, whether guilty of rebellion or not, were incredible. To quote Lecky:— " Great numbers of suspected persons were floggefd or otherwise tortured. Some were strung up in their homes t o be hanged and then let down half strangled, to ejlicit confession, and this process is said to have been repeated on the same victim as much a s three time's. Numbers of cabins w e r e burnt to the ground, because pikes or other weapons had been found in them, or because the inhabitants, contrary to the) proclamation, were absent from them during the night or even because they belonged to suspected persons. The torture of the pitched cap, which never before appears t o have been knowhi in Ireland, w a s now introduced by the North Cork Militia and excited fierce terror and resentment." A PRIEST'S I N F L U E N C E . The North Cork Militia, indeed, left a bad name behind them in Wexford, and so did the German Hompesch regiment a n d the Welsh Fencibles. B u t the Scotch regiments, especially the Glengarry Fencibles, did not incur a reputation for cruelty. This w a s owing to the constant presence of Father Macdonell, who accompanied them wherever they w e n t by night or by day. They, too, might have exceeded t h e bounds of justice and mercy at that t i m e of unbridled passion, without his restraining influence. So it w a s really a blessing to the people that this regiment had come over, for it must have made its influence felt in many w a y s . " To give an instance,, when t h e command of N e w Ross devolved on Colonel Macdonell, Father Alexander found the jail and courthouse crowded with wounded rebels, whose lives had been spared, but who were lying there totally neglected. Their wounds had never been dressed, nor had a n y food been given to them since the day of the battle. Colonel Macdonell, o n being informed of their wretched condition, ordered the surgeon of his regiment to attend them, and every possible; relief was offered to the wretched sufferers. The chaplain also on several occasions was the means of saving the lives of many prisoners, whom the Orange yeomanry would, but for his interference, have put to death on the spot.
0 . P.
The Catholic chapels had been turned into stables for the yeomanry cavalry, but Father Macdonell caused them t o be cleared out and restored to divine worship. He also invited the terrified clergy and people to use them again a s usual. The restoration of divine service in the chapels, the strict discipline enforced by Colonel Macdonell, and t h e repression of the licentiousness of the yeomanry, served in great measure to restore the confidence of the people towards the close of the Rebellion. T H E PEACE OF AMIENS. In 1802, on the conclusion of the short Peace of Amiens, the whole of the Scotch Fencibles were disbanded, and the men left to shift for themselves. The Highlanders now found themselves once again in the same hopeless condition as they had beein rescued from twice before. Where were they to go, what were they to do? Father Macdonell s a w clearly that the only chance of a livelihood for them w a s emigration t o Canada, whither many of their countrymen had already gone. For nearly two years he besieged the members of the Government on their behalf. He got an offer to settle them in Trinidad with eighty acres for each man, but refused it as unsuitable. Another offer was their settlement on the waste lands f the' County Cornwall. Every obstacle was thrown in his way, for the lairds of the Highlands feared that the success of his emigration project would induce many of their own oppressed tenants to follow him. At last he succeeded not only in bringing them over to Canada, but in obtaining patent deeds from the Canadian Government of 126,000 acres of land for them in the counties of Glengarry (called after them) and Stormont. Each family got a substantial allotment of ground, two hundred acres or so. There was hard work t o be done by the settlers, and a hard winter to face* every year. But they had a fertile soil to till* and abundance of wood around them, suitable for building their houses and making their fences, and giving them abundance of fuel. What a change it was from their wretched condition in the Highlands of Scotland! They had good prospects before them and could practise their religion openly, without fear or restraint. Then they had a l w a y s their beloved priest to look after their interests and obtain special grants for them for building chapels and schools. TO ONTARIO IN 1804. It w a s in 1804 that Father Alexander arrived in Upper Canada (Ontario), the part where he settled his colonists, and when he came he found only three Catholic chapels in the whole province, two of wood and one of stone, and only two priests, one a Frenchman, utterly ignorant of the English language, and the other an Irishman, who left the country soon afterwards. There was only one Bishop for the whole of Canada, Upper and Lower, the French Bishop of Quebec. The British Government was very much opposed to the erection of dioceses and the appointment of Bishops for Canada. 0
For more than thirty years Father Macdonell's life was devoted t o the missions in Upper Canada. Owing to his public services he was given a seat in the Legislative Council, but he hardly ever found time to take part in its discussions. Nevertheless, his character was assailed by jealous bigots, who (Continued on page 14 Col. 4)
MALAYA CATHOLIC LEADER, SATURDAY, JANUARY 26th 1935.
Short
Story j
T H E CHARIOT RACES. By MARY CATHERINE CROWLEY. H E circus season had just begun. The tents of the " Greatest Show on Earth," with their splashes of color, when seen from a distance, might have been likened to an encampment of a caravan of the desert, but the nearer view that disclosed the mammoth central pavilion suggested a Roman amphitheatre, a comparison borne out by the interior in the bold sweep of its vast ellipse. What though the performers who took part in the races and games were only pariahs, who scarce knew what Rome was in the days of her imperial glory, bohemian athletes and riders masquerading as classic youths, their brows bound with laurels! Nomads as they were, in the breast of •one at least among them beat a heart as proud as the spirit of any patrician who over wrote himself a friend of Caesar.
T
A few weeks earlier, when Manuel Cevedra joined the troop, no one asked his history, for, in this motley company, it mattered not who or what a man had been, if only he could do well whatever he essayed to jdo. When word went around that another w a s engaged t o succeed Jack Morton, popularly called " t h e Whirlwind," who had been killed by a fall from his chariot, there were shrugs of the shoulders and laments that certain feats would never again be equalled. But before long even the most loyal of poor Jack's friends grudgingly acknowledged that his work had been tame compared t o the marvelous skill and courage of the new charioteer. Cevedra was a Mexican, like the blackeyed sefiorita who also daily risked the maiming of her supple limbs and even her life in the chariot races. Everyone in the troop, including Mademoiselle Clelie, the trapezz lady, and Judson the clown, supposed that Manuel and the senorita had never met before the present engagement. No one had remarked the charioteers when, for the first time, they ^encountered each other at the green curtain from beyond which the perfomers entered the arena. Straight as an arrow, lithe, and with splendidly developed muscles, Manuel stood waiting for his horses to be delivered to him. At the moment, the senorita came out of the tent that served a s the women's dressing room. Her robe was white and reached to her sandalled feet; her beautiful dark hair hung loose upon her shoulders, but was caught back from her face by a string of pearls, and above each of her small shell-like ears glowed a red rose. Mercedes." he exclaimed in Spanish, "'what are you doing here? How is it that you the Alcade's daughter, are posing as a circus queen, and leading the life of a wandering Arab without the liberty of choosing your associates? "Why—" u
" H'sh, someone will hear you," she interrupted, raising a warning finger. * A motherless girl is lonely on an isolated plantation. My father was stern; was it strange then that I ran away? I must live, I know only the mastery of horses. Many a time have I remembered that to your teaching, Manuel, I owe my skill in riding and driving. Now, teacher and pupil are pitted against each other. Senor, do your best." The gay challenge w a s all the attendant heard as he came up with the horses. The senorita stepped into her gilded chariot, gathered the reins into her firm hands, and spoke to the four
sleeklimbed, white-coated animals that had given her fame, and between whom and herself there seemed a subtle understanding and sympathy. The next moment the race began. It soon became an accepted fact among the troop that Cevedra w a s madly in love with his handsome compatriot and rival in the great daily contest. Sometimes he actually permitted her to forge ahead and win. Judson, the clown, opined this to be according to orders; but Mademoiselle Clelie persisted that it was simply because of his infatuation. One evening, as the charioteers entered the ring, Manuel, turning to look at the senorita, as he always did, noticed that, for once, she appeared nervous. " Mercedes, what is wrong? " he anxiously asked. " Oh, i am tired of this wild life," she cried with sudden petulance, "tired of this mad drive around the course; and the worst is, the horses know it. My beauties and I are noUone i n heart and spirit as we used to be. Once in a while they chafe under my hand. I fear, Manuel, that sometime there may come a moment when I shall not be able to control them." Cevedra laughed incredulously " Carissima mia," he said, leaning toward her, " you have worked too hard. I have money saved. Be my wife, and I will take you away where you can rest." Just then the clown dropped the handkerchief that was the signal for the start, and the chariots were off like the wind. Mercedes had forgotten her nervousness, and the excitement was as glorious to both the charioteers as was the breath of life to t h e highly-bred animals they drove. Manuel's black Arabians dashed forward with the ardor that knows no flagging, and the beautiful white steeds of the woman kept with them neck to neck. Around the great ellipse they coursed; the spectators rose to their feet; the men applauded vigorously, the women waved their fans and programmes. Mercedes no longer had a sense of fatigue; her heart was set upon victory. Cevedra, for his part, felt that to suffer himself to be vanquished to-night would be to lose Mercedes. Suddenly, however, a chill of terror passed over him who had never before known fear. What Mercedes had dreaded w a s happening. The white horses were dashing on blindly now. The girl stood in her chariot, rigid as a statue, clinging to the reins with a grasp like death, but powerless to manage the maddened beasts. Would they dash into the serried ranks of humanity that crowded the tent, almost in a solid mass, from the ground to the line just under the canvas eaves? The people quickly perceived their own danger. In this emergency orchestra chairs were less desirable than the plank benches where the small boys sat, on the top row, dangling their legs amid the darkness under the staging. Now the men shouted at the frightened animals, crazing thean the more; the women, divided between fears for their own safety and horror at the plight of the woman in the chariot, distractedly wept. In all the throng there was, apparently, only one individual w h did not lose his head and this was Manuel Cevedra. The white horses had communicated their fright to his Arabians, but the magnetism of his hand upon the reins stayed the impetuous rush of his own steeds. Another moment, and he had leaped from his chariot, and snatched for the bridle of one of the runaways. Providentially he caught it, but was dragged along in imminent peril of his life. Hanging on with determind courage, nevertheless, he presently caused #
0
the brute to lose something of its speed, a slackening that was communicated to its running mates. By this time several grooms had run out and, at last, through the combined efforts of Manuel and these attendants, the white horses were brought to a halt. But Ceveda did not hear the cheers of the throng as he dragged from the chariot the woman he loved, and carried her, fainting in his arms, beyond the green curtain. A few days later, Manuel took Mercedes, his bride, to a little village among the hills, where the villagers grew to know them only as foreign folk," and no one dreamed that the quiet couple who appeared so happy by themselves were a circus king and queen. The holiday was sweet, but Manuel could not afford to continue to live in idleness. With renewed strength, a restlessness for the old life came, also, to Mercedes. Thus, the next season found them again with the troop, but as riders only; the chariot races were discontinued for the nonce. Cevedra and Mercedes had not been back long, however, when the trapeze lady made a discovery. " Juan the acrobat seeks the company of ManuePs wife, and there is going to be trouble," she cackled to the clown w i t h a shrill laugh, in which Judson promptly joined. The next act in the life drama of the charioteers promised to be even more exciting than the runaway in the arena, for the watchers soon found food for their gossip. One evening Mademoiselle Clelie waylaid Manuel in the early part of the performance. " Look," she said, lightly touching his arm and nodding her peroxide head toward a corner near the entrance to the tent that served as the women's green room. Cevedra shook off her jewelled fingers, but his eyes wandered in the direction she indicated and his brow suddenly darkened. For there apart stood Mercedes in her graceful white robe, bound by its golden girdle, and w i t h roses in her hair. What though the gold was alloy, the roses were paper, and even the glow on her cheeks was deepened by grease paint? She made a beautiful picture, yet he muttered an oath as he gazed. For with her was Juan, the acrobat, a third Mexican who had recently joined the troop—Juan who, in his gleaming suit of silver, now seemed to Manuel like a glittering serpent, the tempter who had entered his paradise. " I knew you would never believe unless you saw for yourself," whispered the meddler at his side. Manuel turned and would have struck the trapeze performer, but she fled, frightened at what she had done. Drawing back into the shadow, he watched his wife and the man, whom he would fain have killed then and there. Juan was, evidently, urging Mercedes to fly with him. She recoiled and hesitated. Falling upon one knee he plteadfed still. She smiled; seizing her hand he kissed it, and looking up into her face, swore eternal fealty to her. Oh, it was as pre/tty a pantomime as was ever enacted, Manuel thought with cold rage, and then he recalled his own first meeting with the girl, ha, the overseer, who had dared to love the Alcade's daughter, and had been discharged for his presumption. He was spared the agony of witnessing any further demonstration on the part of those upon whom he spied, for the call bell sounded, a boy came in search of the acrobat, whose turn on the programme was almost reached, and Mercedes vanished behind the canvas of the women's tent. Never- had Cevedra ridden as h e did that night. Mercedes seemed to share
his recklessness. Never had they made such a race. Yet, when won his w i f e appeared glad. His first resolve had been to upbraid her for her faithlessness. On second thought, he decided to s a y nothing until he should "make assurance doubly sure." Then—. He pulled his poniard from his belt, and plucking a hair from his head, drew it across the blade. The edge was keen. Satisfied, he slipped the weapon again into its sheath. Several days passed. Manuel kept a strict guard over Mercedes, and t h e y raced together at every performance. Nothing untoward happened. He began almost to feel that what he had seen had been an illusion, an evil dream. Then, although he was not conscious of having relaxed his vigilance in any degree, one morning the queen of riders was gone.. Juan the acrobat had also disappeared from the troop. Mercedes had outwitted Cevedra after all, and left not a word or sign by which he could trace her. Like a madman he railed at his own stupidity in permitting himself to be so easily duped. By evening he was really ill with a high temperature and strange fancies, which he put into words involuntarily and with increasing incoherence. " A n attack of malarial fever, probably induced by the habit that governs the circus world of riding through the country from town to town at night," said the hastily summoned physician. " This, together with the excitement of the l i f e , is apt, sooner or later, to play havoc with the strongest constitution." The sick man was taken to a hospital and the troop traveled on. The next three/ weeks were almost a blank, to Manuel, but he had a notion that, sometimes, his ravings were soothed by a patient little Sister of Charity, who bent over his cot, whispering softly: " Forgive, as you hope for God's forgiveness." Someone else came too, a priest who, in the scenes conjured up by the patient's delirium, seemed to step out of the sanctuary of the church in the city of Mexico where Manuel had worshipped as a boy. When Cevedra was convalescent the priest came again, and to him Manuel confessed with the faith and penitence of his boyhood. When the charioteer was fully recoviered and about to leave the hospital, he said to his gentle, cheerful little nurse: " Ah, Sister, how I wish I could give you something to show my gratitude to you for your devoted care." "Do not thank me; what I have done is nothing, " she replied sweetly. " Y e t there is one thing belonging to you which I have waited until now to return to you. If you wish to leave it with me as a gift, I admit I will gladly accept it." Thereupon, she flashed before his astonished gaze the poniard he had worn for years. "The design upon the handle is exquisite and the pattern of the embroidered sheath so exceedingly quaint," she continued critically examining the golden and silver threads. Manuel understood the ruse. " Keep the dagger, Sister," he said, " a n d may God bless you for your kindness to a wanderer." Oevedra's illness had cost him his position with the great circus. The following season he w a s forced by circumstances to engage with a smaller " show," whose route lay through the Southern States, and from Texas across the border into Mexico, the land of the cacti and of many revolutions. The day after the troop reached one of the chief Mexican towns, the manager, coming to the charioteer, said: " I have engaged (Concluded
on page 14)
14 T H E CHARIOT RACES. (Continued from page 13) a horsewoman of extraordinary skili to join you in the chariot race." A t the words a picture arose before Manual's mind, a vision of a beautiful girl who, evening after evsning, had been wont to drive abreast with him, almost to the end of the race, and whose dauntless spirit sometimes even urged her horses to a flec.tness that honestly outstripped the splendid animals he drove. H e sighed under his breath, and then, a s other thoughts crowded upon him, his brow grew sullen. " A woman? I will not race against a woman," he broke out hotly. "If you do not, I shall think it is because you fear to match your skill w i t h hers," the manager replied, and walked a w a y smiling. He knew that his taunt had settled t h e matter. Manuel did not meet t h e woman who w a s to race against him until both drove into the ring from different entrances, a n arrangement calculated to render the effect of their appearance upon the course particularly imposing. Hitherto, whenever he b e i come upon the scene, standing erect ir. his gilded chariot and driving his four fine horses, the round of applause by which h e w a s always greeted, had never failed to elate him. To-night, however, as. the "evivas" swept down from the uppermost benches of the amphitheatre t o t h e edge of the arena, like a n incoming tide upon the seashore, h e hardly responded by so much as an inclination of his head to the ovation that w a s usually so gratifying to his selfesteem. For his eyes were fixed, like t h o s e of a somnambulist, upon the slight figure in the chariot that approached him. W a s h e going mad, as he so often feared would happen? Who w a s this woman in the white robe of a Roman maiden, this girl with red roses in her hair? God in heaven, this could be none other than Mercedes herself! Involuntarily his hand w e n t to his belt for his dagger. With a n ejaculation of impatience, he remembered that he had refrained from replaci n g the weapon asked a s a gift by his nurse a t the hospital. A s t h e woman in the other chariot confronted him, she too stared wildly a s if, in turn, she saw in him a spectre arisen from the past. The smile died upon her lips, and Manuel felt that, but f o r the painted flush upon her cheeks, she would have been a s pale as death. Y e s i t w a s Mercedes. As they drew up the chariots side by side and reined in their horses, he looked her full in the face. But now she had recovered her poise, and her e y e s did not quail before his gaze. "Diavolo! he muttered under his breath. A tumult of rage surged in his heart, but above the storm he seemed t o hear the soft voice that had whispered beside his hospital cot, "Forgive, as you hope for God's forgiveness!" ,>
The race began. Cevedra, with the f o l l y of desperation, lashes his horses until, overwrought with excitement, they rushed onward a s blindly a s if they had never known curb nor driver. Two thousand impetuous Mexicans yelled thems e l v e s hoarse a s they watched the contest. The w o m a n at first showed a splendid daring, and surpassed even her old skill as she managed the four beautiful bays t h a t s h e drove. But, after the first lap, t h e utter recklessness of her antagonist appalled her, and she tried t o end the race. The highly-bred anim a l s that .she sought to check had c a u g h t the mad contagion from their l a w l e s s rivals, however, and, presently, a s o n the occasion w h e n a threatened catastrophe had linked her life with Manuel's, a g a i n her horses were running a w a y . Cevedra need only g i v e them a
wide course, and his wounded honor would be avenged. A fierce realization of this fact possessed his mind. "The woman! The woman!" The cry re-echoed from all sides. "Forgive, as you hope for God's forgiveness!" The words rang through his thoughts with insistent force. Suddenly his heart gave a bound; unaccountably to himself his jealousy, hatred and anger died down like a fire that is momentarily subdued. It was not merely his intuitive chivalry that was challenged, the natural impulse of a normal man to snatch a fellow-being from danger, to save a weak and helpless woman from being dashed or trampled to death. Even in that swift ordeal he was conscious of another motive. W a s he going to let his wife be killed before his eyes? Notwithstanding her abandanment of him, was not Mercedes the one woman whom he had sworn to protect above all others, whom he had taken for better or worse, to love and cherish during all his life? Because she w a s guilty, would he be guiltless if he now left her to the fate which, in the first instant, he had savagely told himself was a judgment from God for her faithlessness ? A s the runaways passed he lurched in his chariot, and reached out to grasp the bridle of the nearest horse, but without avail. Like a rushing wind the terrified animals tore around the track. Once more they approached him. Cevedra leaped to the ground, and sprang for th'; chariot wherein the woman hung powerless. Providentially he gained it, caught the reins t o which her hands still clung, and pulled so hard at the mouths of the bays that gradually their mad speed slackened, and they finally yielded to his skill. Just as he had mastered them, however, one of the animals stumbled and fell, hurling their conqueror over his head. After his great fight, Manuel lay motionless upon the course, and the plaudits of the spectators quickly changed to noisy demonstrations of grief. "The prince of charioteers is dead," lamented the crowd of Mexicans and gringos. Men leaped over the ropes that divided the track from the throng, and raising the inanimate form, carried it to the performers' tent. But Cevedra was not dead. His head bore a frightful gash, yet, after a f e w days, the surgeons gave hope that he might live to ride and drive again in the ring. And the woman During this second illness, Manuel sometimes fancied that it w a s Mercedes who leaned over his cot and ministered to him. When he w a s well on the way to recovery, this apparent delusion proved a reality. One day, his wife came and knelt before him. She w a s more beautiful than ever, but white and weary, like one who has lost sleep for many nights. "Go away! Go away!" he cried with harshness. "Manuel, forgive me," she besought brokenly. He turned away his head. "Where is Juan, the acrobat?" he demanded. The woman sprang to her feet. "Juan the acrobat," she repeated in amazement, and with an indignation equal to his own. "How should I know?" „ "Has he so soon deserted y o u ? " Cevedra persisted with a sneer. "Manuel, is this one of your sick f a n c i e s ? " Mercedes replied with dignity, "or do you know what you are saying? The acrobat brought me a message from m y father, who felt that he was dying, and begged to s e e me before the end. 'If she hesitates, kneel to her and plead with her to come!' such was his order to the messenger. And the man obeyed,
entreating me to go when I, distraught between the opposing forces of my love for you and my duty to my father, was in an agony of indecision. There was no friendship between you and the Alcade, and when I realized that I must go, I feared to tell you, lest you might attempt to deter me. So I went without informing you. I traveled to Mexico with the wife and children of a government official. They knew me only as the daughter of a planter, whose hacienda was far from their own. They never dreamed that I had any connection with a circus. I wrote you several letters, Manuel, and when no answer came, I thought you were so angry with me for stealing away that you would not forgive me. There are many who can tell you that I cared for my father until his death, and afterwards continued to live in m y old home until it was sold to pay his debts. Then I joined this company, for I had no money. Until now I did not know that Juan the acrobat left the troop at the same time that I disappeared. I am astounded that anyone supposed I ran away with him." For a f e w moments Manuel lay quiet. Mercedes' voice, her eyes, and the ingenious expression of her face all bore witness that she spoke the truth. Through a mist of tears he saw that the unfaithfulness with which he had, in his heart, daily charged her, had been only a fabrication of his jealousy. Raising his arms he clasped them about the neck of his wife and, drawing her down to him, kissed her with the ardor of his old love, saying, "I never received the letters; but, Mercedes, if w e had only been frank with each other, how much suffering w e both might have been spared. Let us g o back to the little village among the hills, and begin our life together over again, carissima mia."
AVE MARIA. B y J O H N JEROME
ROONEY.
Lady, thy soldier I would be. This day I choose thy shield, And g o , thrice-armored for the fight, Forth to the world's wide field. There I shall meet the dark allies, The Flesh, the Fiend, the World, And fiercely shall their darts of fire Upon m y heart be hurled. But I will raise thy buckler strong Betwixt me and the foe, And, with the ^Spirit's flaming sword, Shall give them blow for blow. Lady, thy sailor I would be. This day I sign m y name To sail the high seas of t%e earth For glory of thy fame. The tempest may besiege my bark, The* pirate lie in w a i t : The perils of the monstrous deep May tempt o'erwhelming f a t e : Yet, wheresoe'r my ship may steer Upon the waters wide, Thy name shall be my compass sure, Thy star my midnight guide. Thy poet, Lady, I would be To sing thy peerless praise; Thy loyal bard, I'd bring to thee Heart-music from all lays. Soft melody, outpoured in June B y God's dear feathered throng, Would mingle with the organ's roll To glorify my s o n g ;
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(Continued from page 12) described him as looking for public honours and neglecting his ministerial work. In a letter to a friend he thus defends himself:— " Upon entering upon my pastoral duties I had the whole of the province in charge, and without any assistance, for the space of ten years. Durine; that period, I had to travel over the country from Lake Superior to the province line of Lower Canada, carrying the sacred vestments, sometimes on horseback sometimes on my back, and sometimes in Indian birch canoes, living with savages—without a n y other shelter or comfort but what their fircs and the branches of the trees afforded; crossing the great lakes and rivers, and even descending the rapids of the St. Lawrence in their dangerous and wretched craft. Nor w e r e the hardships and privations which I endured, among the new settlers and emigrants, less than t h o s e I had to encounter among the savages themselves, in their miserable shanties, exposed on all sides to the weather and destitute of every comfort. In this way I have been spending my time and my health, year after year, since I have been in Upper Canada, and not clinging to a seat in the! Legislative Council, devoting my time to political strife, as m y accusers are pleased t o assert. The erection of five-andthirty churches and chapels, great and small, although many of them are in an unfinished state, built by my exertion, and the zealous services of two-andtwenty clergymen, the major part of w hom have been educated at my own expense, afford a substantial proof that I have not neglected my spiritual functions nor the care of the souls under m y charge; and if that be not sufficient, I can produce satisfactory documents to prove that I have expended, since I have been in this province, no less than thirteen thousand pounds of my own private means, besides what I received from other quarters, in building churches, chapels, presbyteries and schoolhouses, in rearing young men for the Church, and in promoting general education." % r
(Continued from Col. 3)
And Dante's voice and Petrarch's strain, And Milton's matchless line, Would lend to my poor minstrel note A harmony divine.
Alone and motherless am I: Tho' strong, I long for rest— The thunder of the world's applause Is not a mother's brest,
Lady, For O for Do
Ava Maria! Shield us all. Thy sons w e choose to be. Mother of Grace, we raise our hearts Cur hearts, our love to thee!
I choose to be t h y son; Mother thee I choose: they sweet and holy Child, not my claim r e f u s e !
15
SNAKE SPEED. (Continued from page 4 ) . OUR FIRE. "At last a fierce rush of wind struck down on us, and in a few seconds each little flame became a living demon of destruction; another minute, and the stretch before us was a field of swaying flame. There was a sudden roar and cackle, as of musketry, and the whole mass seemed lifted into the air in one blazing sheet: it simply leaped into life and'swept everything before it. "When we opened our scorching eyes the ground in front of us w a s all black with only here and there odd light and torches dotted about—like tapers on a pall; and on ahead, beyond the trellis work of bare scorched trees, the wall of flame swept on. THE OTHER F I R E .
one hiss a s the slithering tongue shot out: that w a s all and j& sailed past with strange effortless movement. How much of the body was on the ground propelling it, I cannot g u e s s ; but we had to look upwards to see the head as the snake passed between us. T H E ESCAPE. "The scorching breath of the fire drove us before it on to the baked ground, inches deep in ashes and glowing cinders where we kept marking time to ease our blistering feet; our hats were pulled down to screen our necks as we stood with our backs to the coming flames; our flannel shirts were so hot that w e kept shifting our shoulders for relief. Jack, who had no screen and whose feet had no protection, was in m y arms; and we strove to shield ourselves from the furnace—blast with branches we had used to beat out the fire round the big tree which was our main shelter. "The heat was awful! Live brands were flying past all the time, and some struck us; myriads of sparks fell round us and on us, burning numberless small holes in our clothing, and dotting blisters on our backs; great sheets of flame leaped out from the driving glare, and, detached by many yards from their source, were visible for quite a space in front of us. Then, just at its maddest and fiercest there came a g a s p and sob the fire devil died behind us as it reached the black ground. Our burn divided it as an island splits the flood, and it swept along our flanks in two great walls of living leaping roaring flame.
"Then down on the w i n g s of the wind came the other fire; and before it fled every living thing. Heaven only knows what passed us in those few minutes when a broken stream of terrified creatures dashed by, hardly swerving to avoid us. There is no coherent picture left of that scene—just a medly of impressions linked up by flames* of unforgetable vividness. A herd *of koodoo came crashing by; I know there was a herd, but only the first and last come to mind —the space between seems blurred. The clear impressions are of the Koodoo bull in front, with nose out-thrust, eyes shut against the bush, the g r e a t horns laid THE ANT-HEAP. back upon the withers, as he swept along "Two hundred yards a w a y there w a s opening the way for his herd; and then, as they vanished the big ears, ewe neck, a bare yellow place in a world of inky and tilting hindquarters of the last cow black, and to that haven w e ran. It wa<* —between them nothing but a m a s s of strange to look about and see the naked country all around us, where but a f e w moving grey. minutes earlier the tall grass had shut "The wildebeeste went by in Indian us in; but the big bare ant-heap w a s file, uniform in shape colour and horns; untouched, and there w e flung ourselves and strangely uniform in mechanical acdown, utterly done. tion, lowered heads, and fiercely deter"Faint from heat and exhaustion— mined rush. scorched and blistered, face and arms "A rietbuck ram stopped close to us, back and f e e t ; weary and footsore, and looked back wide-eyed and anxious, and with boots burnt through—we reached whistled shrilly, and then cantered on camp long after dark, glad to be alive. with head erect and white tail flapping; "We had forgotten the wounded bufbut its mate neither answered nor came falow; he seemed part of another life!" by. A terrified hare w i t h ears laid flat And now for Sir Percy Fitzpatrick's scuttled past within a f e w yards of Francis and did not seem to see him. N o t e ; "Snake stories are proverbially an 'unAbove us scared birds swept or fluttered down wind; while others again came up commercial risk* for those who value a swirling about, darting boldly through reputation for truthfulness. Hence this n o t e ! the smoke to catch the insects driven before the fire. "Mamba"—This is believed to be the "But what comes back with the sug- largest and swiftest of deadly snakes, gestion of infinitely pathetic helpless- and one of the most wantonly vicious. ness is the picture of a beetle. W e The late Dr. Colenso (Bishop of Zulustood on the edge of the burn waiting land) in his Zulu dictionary describes for the ground to cool, and at our f e e t them as attaining a length of twelve feet, a pair of tock-tockie beetles, hump and capable of chasing a man on horsebacked and bandy legged, came toiling back. The present writer has seen slowly and earnestly along; they reached several of this length, and has heard of the edge of our burn, touched the warm measurements up to fourteen feet (which, ash and turned patiently aside—to walk however, were not sufficiently verified); round it! he has also often heard stories of men "A school of chattering monkeys raced on horseback being chased by black mamout on to the blackened flat, and scream- bas, but has never met the man himself ed shrilly with terror as the hot earth nor succeeded in eliciting the important and cinders burned their feet. facts as to pace and distance. However that may be, the movements of a mamba, THE BALCK MAMBA. even on open ground are, as the writer "Porcupine, antbear, meerkat. They has several times observed, so incredibly are vague, so vague that nothing is left swift as to leave no other impression on but the shadow of their passing; but the mind than that of having witnessed a there is one other thing—seen in a flash magical disappearance. How often and as brief as the others for a second how fast they "travel- on their tails" or two only, but never forgotten! Out whether it is a continuous movement or of the yellow grass, high up in the wav- merely a momentary uprising to coming tops, came sailing down on us the mand a view, and what length or what swaying head and glittering eyes of a proportion of the body is on the ground black mamba—swiftest, most vicious, for support or propulsion, the writer has most deadly of snakes. Francis and I no means of knowing: during the Zulu were not five yards apart and i t passed war an Imperial officer was bitten by a between us, giving a quick chilly beady mamba while on horseback and died imlook at each—pitiless, and hateful—and mediately." ;
VOCABULARY.
BRAVERY.
Jack's career was in South Africa, and the common field terms there are a mixture of Zulu Kaffir, and Dutch.
F e w of us have courage to point o u t our own mistakes. That shows how brave our neighbours are.
ANT-HEAP, mound made by whiteants, ranging from 4 to 18 feet in base diameter and height. BUFFALO, height, 5 ft. 6 in.; weight, 1000 lbs.; horns, 48 in. from tip to tip and 36 in. each in length on curve. BUSHBUCK, medium-sized antelope, very courageous; height, 3 ft.; weight 130 lbs.; horns, 18 in. (male only). BUSHVELD, properly BOSCHVELD, low bush covered undulating and flat country, pronounced B U S H F E L T . KLOOF, a gorge. KOODOO, properly KUDU, most lordly, handsome, yet timidest of all antelopes; height 5 ft.; weight, 600 lbs.; horns, up to 48 in. straight and 66 in. on curve and forming a fuller spiral than in any other bushbuck. KRANS, precipitous face or coronet of rock on a hill or mountain. POORT, gap or gorge in a range of hills.
CONTENMENT. A certain man's home had a g a s plant to the north, a tannery to the east, and a soap factory to the west. A friend commiserated with this man on his home's unpleasant situation, but he answered with a contented chuckle: "Why, its fine to live here. I don't need to go to the expense of a weather-cock to tell which way the wind is blowing —what was this man's nationality?. BELIEF—DISBELIEF. Seeing is believing; but there are lots of people we see whom w e don't believe. Reporter (to limping lad run down by a street car) "Do you expect to get damages from the Municipality?" "Expect 'em? I've g o t 'em." Lady (at Piano) "I am told you love good music." Youth: "Oh, that doesn't matter. Pray go on,"
RIETBUCK, reed buck; height 3 ft. 6 in.; weight 140 lbs.; toorns, male only, up to 16 in.
TO N A M E PARIS STREET FOR CATHOLIC SPORTS SOCIETIES* FOUNDER
SPOOR, footprints, also trail of man, animal or vehicle.
(Paris
Correspondent, N . C W . C Service).
WILDEBEESTE, wild cattle, the brindled gnu; height 4 ft. 6 in.; weight 400 lbs.; horns, 30 in.
ANECDOTES. MIRACLES? The dumb man saw a wheel and spoke. The deaf man saw a flock and heard. The blind man bought a plane and saw.
The three R's in the education of a debutante, are raiment, ragtime, and repartee. A certain workman was always late coming to work, so one day, the foreman took him to task. "Its a funny thing, Jim," he said, "thee alius missing a quarter and living next door to t'works, while Teddy O* Bobs is alius on time, an lives three miles away!" "There's nowt funny about it," retorted Jim, "If he's a bit late he can hurry a bit; but if I'm late, I'm here."
A certain hawker had been laid low with an attack of 'flu, and one of his pals thought he ought to go and cheer him up a bit. "Bill," he burst out, with a beaming smile, as he stood at the sufferer's bedside, I've brought you a f e w flowers—I thought if I was too late they'd come in handy for a wreath. Nice little place this, I sez to myself as I come up, but wot an orkward staircase to g e t a coffin down." A plumber and a painter were working in the same house. The painter came late to work and the plumber said to him, "You're late this morning." "Yes," said the painter, "I had to stop and have my hair cut." "You did'nt do it in the Towkay's time, did y o u ? " asked the plumber. "Sure and I did," was the rejoinder, "My hair grew in his time." He had been called up before the C. O. "Private Murphy" read the Sergeant "is charged with calling the Corporal of the guard names." "Plaze, surr, I never called him ony names at all, at all," said Murphy. "All I said was, 'Corporal,' says I, 'some of us ought to be in a menagerie."
News
By Messiani. Paris, Dec. 10. The Municipal Council of Paris has decided to name a street in honor of Dr, Michaux who, 30 years ago, organized the Catholic gymnastic and athletic societies. A statue of. Dr. Michaux will be erected on a public square. The sports movement under Catholic auspices has shown a wonderful development during the 30 years of his existence. There are 2,969 Catholic athletic associations throughout France, 97 having been organized since the beginning of the year. Nearly 180,000 gymnasts and athletes took part in t h e contests last year. At 'a general meeting held at Paris recently it was decided that all the Catholic athletic societies hereafter shall adopt the same uniform.
I
i
A SYMBOL Ir is difficult to express the reverent love w e feel for those
w h o are gone.
A
funeral here and a Symbol of
remembrance
aid and
comfort the bereaved.
SINGAPORE CASKET CO. P E N H A S ROAD.
SINGAPORE • MASTICS ••
MALAYA CATHOLIC L E A D E R , SATURDAY, J A N U A R Y 26th 1935.
la
Facts on Mexican Persecution Given in New Handbook Position of Church on Education, Social Justice stated in N.C.W.C. Pamphlet by Wm. F. Montavon —Chronological Account of Acts of Oppression given. ( B y N.C.W.C. N e w s S e r v i c e ) . Washington, Dec., 14. The facts which explain the protest of t h e Catholic Church and its Bishops and faithful in Mexico against the persecution of religion b y the present Mexican Government are set forth in a pamphlet "The Church in Mexico Prot e s t s , " by William F . Montavon, Director of the Legal Department of the National Catholic Welfare Conference, j u s t published by t h e N.C.W.C. A n i m pressive array of facts are packed into a small number of p a g e s , in chronological order, and are allowed to speak for themselves. The work i s copyrighted b y the N.C.W.C. "The Catholic Church in Mexico," a foreword states, "is not opposed to universal education nor to the agrarian, industrial and general economic betterment of all t h e citizens of Mexico. The Catholic Church asks liberty of religious jworehip, liberty to teach those Christian t r u t h s upon w h i c n ^ h e ^ e ^ e T n a r salvationr of t h e individual depends and upon w h i c h civilization and national stability rests. COMPELLED TO PROTEST
held by the police, t h e y had no legal protection, no protection whatever from the courts of Mexico. " Often a Catholic w a s arrested and fined; and if he could not pay his fine he w a s sent to Islas Tres Marias, the Pacific Coast penal colony. It w a s a glorious moment f o r arbitrary robbing of Catholics in Mexico. They were jailed and mulcted of their properties without due process of law. If you can take a w a y the personal liberty of a Catholic, you can take away the personal liberty of everybody else." While the pamphlet contains only 21 p a g e s , so compressed is the material and so completely doe^s it give the developments of the situation in Mexico that it amounts to a handbook of the whole struggle between Church and State in that country. I t s statements of facts are calculated to demonstrate notably that the leaders of t h e Church in Mexico ^ a v e steadfastly opposed a n y resort to arms and have~^dvocated^the use of legal means in resisting measures of oppression. I t shows also that despite this stand on the p a r t o f Church leaders, e v e r y time they resorted to the legal means prescribed b y the Constitution and the l a w s of t h e country their appeals were ignored.
i f The Catholic Church in Mexico h a s been compelled to protest and to publish h e r protest to all the world because of t h e following facts. It will be seen from 75th B I R T H D A Y MARKED BY their enumeration that the Catholic C A R D I N A L O'CONNELL; Church has done all in her power, and in DEPLORED MEXICO ACTS a - l e g a l way, with t h e Mexican Govern( B y N.C.W.C. N e w s S e r v i c e ) . m e n t ; has endured for years a loss o f Boston, Dec. 8. one right after another; one liberty His Eminence William Cardinal a f t e r another; has been content to acO'Connell, Archbishop of Boston, c e p t the mere necessities of life. N o w observed quietly today his seventy-fifth e v e n the necessities are denied her and birthday. H e celebrated a Mass of * t h e Catholics are told t h e y m a y no l o n thanksgiving in t h e Cathedral of the H o l y g e r practice their religion in Mexico; Cross, later officiated at the laying of t h a t the Government, itself hostile to the cornerstone of the new Catholic Christianity, is determined to mould on Centre, and then worked in his office. anti-religious and purely secular lines I n an interview granted the press in tlie minds and consciences of all i t s anticipation V of his birthday, Cardinal citizens." OConnell spoke of the persecution of the The pamphlet, in enumerating f a c t s , Church in - Mexico, and said it w a s g o e s back before 1917—when the Consti- surprising that such conditions could tution of Queretaro, which now governs prevail so near the United States, where Mexico, w a s adopted. It begins in 1906, life, liberty and t h e pursuit of happiness w h e n a group of Spanish-speaking are so cherished and even embodied in Syndicalists met in St. Louis, Mo., and the Constitution. adopted a manifesto condemning the Referring to the expulsion of priests r e g i m e of Porfirio Diaz in Mexico and and nuns from Mexico, His Eminence a l s o denouncing religion. Many of the compared the situation in that country articles of this manifesto, it is brought to that which came about in Russia ... <iur, were incorporated into the 1917 under the rule of the Soviet Government. Constitution of Mexico. The only offense the priests have comThe pamphlet then proceeds, in order mitted, the Cardinal said, is that of o f time, setting down briefly the deve- being churchmen and, of course, a r e lopments of t h e Mexican situation up opposed to atheistic and anarchistic t o the present. The pamphlet also pre- theories. s e n t s a list of six other N.C.W.C. publiCardinal O'Connell, in response to an cations dealing w i t h Church in Mexico. inquiry, told his interviewers that the fight against indecent moving pictures HANDBOOK O F S I T U A T I O N is going strong. He added that the On the cover of the pamphlet is the people are demanding decent pictures following excerpt from an address deli- and apparently will get them. v e r e d by Carleton Beals before the Fifth His Eminence w a s the picture of Seminar, held in Mexico City in 1929: rcbust health. \ " I have stood unflinchingly on the Yungnien (Hopei, China).—Three huns i d e of the Mexican Government in their theoretical position regarding the Catho- dred members of the Yungnien Catholic l i c Church, but I w a s almost deported Action Society met at Chai Kia Kwang, from Mexico because I dared to speak October 11-13, to study organization o f the personal abuse of Catholics m methods for the Propagation of the t h a t struggle. E v e r y personal right of Faith. Rev. Luke Wang, moderator of (Continued Col. 3) e v e r y Catholic w a s violated. T h e y were
RELIGIOUS E D U C A T I O N IS CHIEF S U B J E C T OJ L I T H U N I A N HIERARCHY. ( B y N.C.W.C N e w s Service).
Kaunas, D e c , 10. A t the recent annuai assembly of the LHhuanian Catholic Action groups, the Most Rev. Theophilus Matulianis w a s named president of the Episcopal Board of Directors. Bishop Matulianis, who last year was released from a Soviet prison, is a t present in the United States where he is addressing the various Lithuanian groups in that country. Canon Paul Dogelis of Kaunas w a s named general spiritual assistant. F I R S T S A L E S I A N HOUSE I N OPENED. Kaunas, D e c , 10.
The Salesians have opened their first house in Lithuania at Skirsnemune in the Archdiocese of Kaunas. The followers of Don Bosco are very popular in Lithuania and there have been about 150 Lithuanian youths studying a t the various houses of the Society, especially in Italy. Ten or more have been ordained. About 20,000 copies of the Salesian Bulletin, published in Lithuanian, are circulated in this country. The Capuchins have opened a novitiate at Plunge where, in 1928, they opened a school which is attended by more than a hundred pupils. Two priests and two lay brothers are in charge of the novitiate. Hungtung (Shansi, China). — Rev. Vincent Lebbe, well known missionary of North China, founder of the native congregation Disciples of the Lord, fell from his bicycle and hurt his head and right arm October 19 while on his w a y from Peking to Hungtung, approximately 400 miles distant, where he was to have the Catholic mission. He was taken to preached a retreat for the personnel at a hospital for treatment but w a s up again to preach on Mission, Sunday, October 2 1 . — ( F i d e s ) . BELGIAN
CONGO TO
CARMELITE Luluabourg
HAVE
MONASTERY.
(Upper
Kasai,
Belgian
Congo).—Six Carmelites nun, the nucleus of
a
contemplative
established reached
at
community
Kabwe,
Luluabourg,
Upper
October
to
be
Kasai,
5.
They
come from the Carmelite monasteries of Matagne,
Mehange
and
Ath,
PORTUGAL'S
PANTHEON (By N.C.W.C. N e w s Service.)
Kaunas, Dec., 10. The proceedings of the Conference of the Lithuanian Hierarchy have just been released. The most important topic discussed at the meeting was the question of religious education in secondary and superior schools. The Bishops approved a plan whereby catechists will be trained in each diocese. The repression of moral abuses will be given special consideration at the next meeting of the Bishops in April. The Bishops issued a statement urging all Catholic a s individuals to exercise all their strength and energy to promote the triumph of Catholic ideals in Lithuania and recommending their adherence to Lithuanian Catholic Action and the Catholic press. They also expressed hope for a national Catholic university and announced that they have this matter under consideration.
LITHUANIA
E D I F I C E B E G U N IN 1682 A S CHURCH TO BECOME
Belgium.
(Fides). the society, g a v e them a course of instructions on the general statutes of Catholic Action. Members of this society have been responsible for 12 conversions this year. (Fides).
Lisbon, D e c , 10. The edifice which was started in 1682 as the Church of Santa Engracia but which has never been used for religious worship, is to be completed and used as a national pantheon. A t various times work was resumed on the building but it had remained untouched since 1816. A committee composed of Francisco Franco, the sculptor, Ribeiro Cristino, the architect, and Matos Sequeira, archeologist and journalist, has been charged with drawing up a plan for its adaptation.
NEW
BUDAPEST
NEARING
CHURCH
COMPLETION Budapest, D e c , 10.
The new Church of the Holy Ghost at Budapest is nearing completion, thanks to the financia\ assistance of the Catholic Association for the Erection of Subsidiary Chapels. Although the funds of this association are usually directed towards the aid of mission posts, when it w a s learned that the Capital, because of the financial crisis, would find it impossible to complete this city church, the Association felt that the need for an additional church justified this exceptional expenditure.
STUDENTS ST.
AID
PAUL'S
WORK
OF
GUILD
( B y N.C.W.C. N e w s Service). N e w York, D e c , 14. The 18,000 girls of the Cathedral High School here conducted a benefit for the Convert—Aid Fund of The Saint Paul Guild, an organization primarily interested in helping former Protestant clergymen and their families who are in need because of their conversion to Catholicism. The sum of $200 was raised by the girls at a "Catholic Action" party. A vaudeville show included a demonstration by Girls Scouts and a radio program by the Glee Club. A doll, dressed as a "needy convert" was sold for $25. The Rev. Henry P. Fisher, C.S.P., Spiritual Director of the Guild, delivered an address in which he said the guild is spending 500 monthly aiding former Protestant clergymen throughout the country from its headquarters at 108 East 56th Street. Cawaci (Fiji Islands).—Josefo Dau, native lay assistant of the Marist Missionaries in the Fiji Islands who for 20 years has been master of the mission launch "Santo Mikaele," escorting missionaries from island to island in their visits about this ocean diocese, has been honoured by the Holy Father with the medal "Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice" for faithful services and for several acts of heroism. Quick witted and courageous, he has saved several missionaries from drowning. Josefo's father and grandfather also were mission helpers, the latter having planted the faith on an island where to day there is a Catholic community of one thousand persons.— (Fides).
i
i
17
MALAYA CATHOLIC LEADER, SATURDAY, JANUARY 26th 1935.
Wedding MARRIAGES. Alberquerque.—Yap on January 19, at St. Michael's Church, Ipoh, Rudolf Alberquerque son of Mr. and Mrs. A. Alberquerque, well known resident of Taiping to Anne Isabel Yap Swee Kiong the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Yap Pet Sin. Lazaroo—Hendricks on January 15, at the Church of Our Lady Klian P a u , Taiping, Marcel Paul Lazaroo son of Mr. and Mrs. John Lazaroo, Coronation Road, Taiping, to Dorothy daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Hendricks. Pinto—de Souza on January 12th, 1935, at the Church of St. John, Kuala Lumpur Frank Pinto to Mildred daughter of Mr. Paul de> Souza and the late Mrs. de Souza. The marriage of Mr. A. J. M. De Souza of the Asiatic Petroleum Co., Seremban, second son of Mrs. J. F . De Souza and Miss Nora De Costa daughter of Mrs. J. M. De Costa of Malacca took place at the Church of The Visitation, Seremban, on Saturday morning the 12th January; the Reverend Father G. Auguin officiating. The bride was given a w a y by Mr. D. Ortega. Miss M. De Souza niece of the bridegroom and daughter of Mr. & Mrs. E . A. De Souza of Dusun Durian Hospital, Morib acted as bridesmaid and Mr. G. De Souza, younger brother of the bridegroom as bestman. The sponsors were Mr. & Mrs. D. Ortega. After the ceremony, the reception w a s held at the residence of the bridegroom, Temiang Road.
Bells
IPOH WEDDING. Well Known Local Chinese Families United. The marriage was solemnised this morning at the Church of St. Michael, Ipoh, of Mr. P. K. Peng Kung, nephew oi Mr. Khor Mee Heng, and Miss MaryWong Toong Lan, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Wong Jee Pin. The Reverend Father Fourgs officiated and t h ? choir was conducted by Reverend Father Ladislaus of the same Parish. The Bride, who looked very charming in a white frock, w a s given away by her father. She was attended by Miss Rose Enid Wong, the bridesmaid, whilst the flowergirls were Miss Teh Khoon Sin, daughter of Dr. Teh Lian Swee, Ipoh, and Miss Lee Foong Kheng. Mr. Teh Lian Guan was best-man. After ceremony at the Church, which started shortly after 8 o'clock, the party proceeded to the bride's parents house at No. 243 Lahat Road, where a reception was held. FASHIONABLE TAMIL WEDDING. The Church of St. Francis Xavier, Penang, was the scene of a pretty wedding on Wednesday 16th January 1935, the contracting parties being Mr. A. W. E . Nalpon only son of Mr. and Mrs. M. Nalpon of Penang and godson of Mr. and Mrs. A. Santhon of Singapore, and Miss R. Amalorpavamari, daughter of the late Mr. A. Rathnasamy Mudaliar of Penang and Mrs. Rathnasamy. The bridegroom, is also the Hon. Treasurer of the Catholic Action Society of St. Francis -Xavier's Church.
Photo of the newly wedded couple Mr. and Mrs. Wong Sen Chong of Nibong Tebal, whose marriage was solemnised on January 8th, 1935, at the Church of Our Lady of Sorrows, Penang.
The Church w a s very nicely decorated and High Mass w a s sung with the accompaniment of a violin and organ played by Mr. G. V. Santhon of Singapore and and Mr. A. M. Pragasam respectively. The Rev. Father P. Baloche officiated at the ceremony. The bride looked charming in a very richly embroidered saree carrying a bouquet of lilies, and followed by Misses Gloria Andres and Mercedes Castillo as « flower girls. The ceremony over, t h e newly wedded couple signed the register a t the parochial house, after which they went for a drive, and on their return shortly after, to the groom's residence, where they were greeted by a large gathering. Refreshments were served on a lavish scale to all present. The customary Indian Ceremony commenced on Monday with "Kaloo" and on Tuesday " N a l a n g o o * The latter ceremony was largely attended, and the songs at the function were written by Mr. J. S. R. Row and the groom's brother-in-law Mr. M. Papauraya Mudaliar, Pro-consul, British Consulate, Pondichery, and sung by the groom's sister Miss J. T. Nalpon and Mrs. G. V. Santhon and Mrs. A. D. Nalpon with the ireompaniment of harmonium and violin played by Messrs. M. Prakasam and G. V. Santhon respectively. On the evening of the vredAirs: «'ay, the usual ^Seshai" was carried out in grrrd style and a very large crowd attended. Photo taken on the occasion of the Marriage of Mr. John Khoo Hock Khoon of Telok A y e r Tawar t o Wm Mary Rose Ooi Siew Eng of Bukit Mertajan,. The Bridegroom is the son of Mr Michael Khoo Run Tow, popular President of the Catholic Action Society (Chinese Section) of Bntterworth.
The bridal couple were the recipients of numerous valuable presents.
MALAYA CATHOLIC LEADER, SATURDAY,
18
JANUARY
26th 1935.
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OUR LADY OF LOURDES, SINGAPORE. The following members of the C.Y. M.A. have been ele'cted members of the Press Committee. G. V. Santhou (Parish correspondent) A. S. David, P. L. Anthony, V. G. Prakasam, A. R. Kanagaraj and P. Gomez.
BIRTHS.
SEREMBAN.
Manuel-Pillai.—At Tehik Anson, on Monday, December 31, 1934, to Mary nee Laurence, wife of Joseph Manuel-Pillai, a daughter Mary Theresa Victoria.
A n Annual General Meeting of the Choir of the Church of The Visitation, Seremban w a s held on the 9th January, 1935,. at the Parochial House at 6 p.m. Reverend Father G. Auguin presided. The following were re-elected Officebearer f o r the ensuing year:i -
DEATHS. S e e n T e n g Quee, beloved father of j t a t h i a s , Mary and Clara Seen at The K w o n g Wai Siu Hospital, Singapore, on 17th January, 1935, aged 68 years. (Church of the Sacred Heart.) PROPAGANDA DECREE Rome-^The Very Rev. Father Tarcisius o f A s t e n ( H e n r y Joseph Van ValenB^rg), Dutch Capuchin, had been named Vjcar Aprostolic of Netherland Borneo, (Decree of .the -Sacred Congregation of Propaganda Fide, December 10, 1934). H e w a s born a t A s t e n in the Diocese of Bois-le-Duc (s'Hertogenbosch), Holland, entered t h e Capuchin order in 1907 * and w a s ordained in 1914. H e t a u g h t for several years at the Seraphic Seminary of L a n g e w e g , later becoming Director of that institution. H e has been,.in Borneo.since 1925. . ( F i d e s )
President, Rev. Father G. Auguin; Choir Master, Mr. A. O. Van Huizen; A s s t . Choir Master, Mr. C. A. Pinto; Organist, Mr. Chong A h Kai; Committee Member, Mr. E . Sta Maria. The^ following were present at The Dinner kindly given by Reverend Father Auguin immediately after the General Meeting: , Reverend Father Dominic Vindargoh, A. O. >Van JHuizen, C. A . Pinto, Chong A h Kai, C. W..R. Skelchy, E . P. de Mello, H. F. S t a Maria, Gerald Pinto and Lew Khoon Feri. , :~ The Mission to the TamiL Catholic congregation by Rev. F . M. Bulliard of Salem closed on the 20th instant. It w a s l a r g e l y attended by all the Tamils in the District, morning and evening, and proved a huge success.
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TAIPING. 1. Rev. Father O. Dupoiriex spent a \ T e e k on the Cameron Highlands. He r e t r i e d to his parish in Taming on the 12th instant. 2. Rev. Brother Symphorien A u g u s l e has been transferred to St. Joseph's Institution, Singapore and replaced by Rev. Brother Edmund of Salisbury from St. John's Institution, Kuala Lumpur. 5. The Rev. Lady Superior and the nuns of the Taiping Convent spent a part of the X'mas Vacation a t "Stella Maris," Butterworth. 4. The Rev. Mother of the Taiping convent took the orphan girls for a picnic at Drummond Hill Bungalow, situated along the old Kamunting Road. Mr. G. H. Dibble, President of the C.A.S., Taiping, and Mrs. G. H. Dibble returned from their well-earned leave o n the 16th instant. 6. Among the three adult Chinese who were received into the church on C h r i s t m a s eve 1934, was Mr. Quah Kean Choon of Kee and Co. H e is an expupil of St. George's Institution,* Taiping, and a keen badminton, hockey, and f o o t b a l l enthusiast. Rev. Bro. Henry, Director, and Rev. Bro. Cassimir were present "at his baptism. 7. Of the six n e w admissions to the St. Xaviers' Seminary at Singapore is
Master Francis Stephen, Loo Y e w Fah, grandson of Mr. Stephen Loo Ah Yet of Pagar Trat, Machang Buboh. 8. Mr. Loo Ah Yet, we regret to add, has been bedridden since the 27th ultimo as a result of high blood pressure, and paralysis of the left arm and foot. But his condition is steadily improving. 9. We extend our deepest sympathies to Miss N. HENDRICKS on the loss of her brother Mr. Francis HENDRICKS, who died of heart failure in Malacca. P L A N FOR OBSERVANCE OF NINTH C E N T E N A R Y OF DEATH OF ST.
STEPHEN.
Budapest, D e c , 10. The Most Rev. Louis Shvoy, Bishop of ^Iba Heale (Szekesfeherver), has commenced preparations for the commemoration in 1938- of the ninth centenary of the death of St. Stephen, founder and first King of Hungary. In a pastoral letter he proposes the restoration of the Cathedral, the chapter of which was founded by King Stephen and which from 1380 to 1527 served as &g coronation church and burial place of the Kings of, Hungary. The Bishop also advocates the building of a chapel in honor of St. Emeric, St. Stephen's s o t - , and the founding of a diocesan museum for the preservation of the historic and art treasures of the many parishes which have been suppressed in the course of centuries.
MALAYA CATHOLIC LEADER, SATURDAY,
JANUARY 26th 1935.
REQUIESCANT IN PACE FAMOUS
BENEDICTINE
DIES
IN
ABBOT
FRANCE
(By N.C.W.C N e w s Service). Paris, Dec. 10. The Very Rev. Abbot Dom Joseph Gabarra has died at the Benedictine Abbey here. The 80-year-old Monk had been confined to his bed for a long period. Dom Joseph was ordained in 1877 and made his profession in 1888. Shortly thereafter he founded the Benedictine priory of Paris, where he spent a great part of his life. Exiled in 1901, he returned to France during the war and, in 1918, reopened the priory on the rue de Ja Source. He received the abbatial blessing from the hands of the late Cardinal Dubois on November 19, 1925, the thirty-seventh anniversary of his monastic profession. SUPERIOR
OF
SINIA
MISSION IS
IN
VAUXHALL
ABYS-
DEAD
(By N.C.W.C. N e w s Service). Paris, D e c , 10. Word has been received here of the death of the Rev. Edouard Gruson, CM., superior of the Mission of Abyssinia and chevalier of the Legion of Honor, at the age of 72. He died at Alitiena in northern Ethiopia. Father Gruson was "from the Diocese of Nice. He was sent to Ethiopia, in 1898, with a group of Vincentians who were to found the new Mission of Abyssinia. He was named superior in 1902. He devoted most of his energy to the development of a well-educated and properly disciplined native clergy and to fcimd schools in certain sections where he met with great opposition from Swedish Protestant missionaries. MASS FOR D E A D BROTHER OF IL DUCE On December 22nd, in the votive chapel of the Palazzo Littorio, a Mass was celebrated for the repose of the soul of Arnoldo Mussolini. Among those present were the Secretary of the P.N.F. (National Fascist P a r t y ) , the vice-Secretaries, the members of the Governing Body of the P.N.F. and other distinguished personages.
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THROUGHOUT SCHEUT
MALAYA BY W E A R N E
SUPERIOR
DIES
ON
RE-
TURN FROM ASIA MISSION TOUR.
Rome.—A despatch from Nigoreloye, on the Russo-Polish frontier, announces the death there, December 11, of the Very Rev. Constantine Daems, Superior General of the Missionaries of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, of Scheut, Belgium. He had been absent from Belgium for 13 months visiting the missions entrusted to his society in the far east'. He was born at Vestmalle, diocese of Antwerp, in 1872. He went to China in 1895 and worked as missionary for several years in the far western interior, later becoming Prefect Apostolic of Southern Kansu. He established the Regional Seminary of Tatungfu in 1922, and in 1930 was elected Superior General of the Scheut Missionaries. In 1932 he visited the missions of his institute in Africa. In November 1933 he undertook a similar visit to the missions of the Philippines, China, Mongolia and Manchuria and had completed a journey of more than 50,000 miles when death overtook him. (Fides)
ROME.—Rev. George Frowis, of the
BROS. LTD.
SHIU-HING.
! j
(CHINA).
The wine trade of an old Catholic Mission in China.—The old city of Shiu^ hing, formerly the capital of a great Province which since has been divided into the two Provinces of Kwangtung and Kwangsi, numbers actually some thirty thousand inhabitants, of whom one thousand and eight hundred are engaged in the wine trade. Of the yearly produce tion nearly one half is for the consumption of Southern China and the remainder is exported over the seas. The city of Shiu-hing is, to the Chinese Catholics, of the greatest historical interest as i t was. within its walls that the famous Father Ricci, at the beginning of the seventeenth century, established his first permanent residence and commenced his missionary work. Portuguese and Chinese Jesuit Fathers are there even to-day at t h e head of a large College which is reckoned as the most flourishing of all the educational establishments of i t s kind in South China. The buildings stand on the very same spot where Father Ricci received an audience from the Viceroy who allowed him to stay in the Province. The Rector of the College has placed at the main door of the College two stone lions which once adorned the entrance to t h e Viceregal Palace. ( A g . Fides).—Shiuhing, as an ecclesiastical district, belongs to the diocese of Macau, of which His Excellency Don Jose da Costa Nunes i s the most revered Bishop.
Divine Word Missionaries, pro-vicar of
BONAMIS
B R O T H E R S ,
The Catholic House for Catholic Needs. 63, Selegie Road, Singapore.
the Vicariate Apostolic of Sinyangchow, Honan, died at Sinyangchow November 11, in his 70th year.
He was born in
Voralberg, Austria, and had China for 40 years.
(Fides)
been
in
E R N A K U L A M (S. India).—Dr. Nishimura, renowned Japanese dentist, a convert to Catholicism, is on the staff of visiting surgeons at the new Charity Mount General Hospital, opened recently at Kothamangalam, South India. (Fides)
OFFICIAL
ORGAN
OF
CATHOLIC
ACTION
SATURDAY, JANUARY 26th 1935.
THE RIGHT OF CATHOLICS TO HAVE SCHOOLS l i t e reply of the Catholic teachers to the statement of the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education that Catholics and other voluntary bodies have no right to have schools, was given at the annual conference of the Catholic Teachers' Federation, which was held in Birmingham on Thursday January 3. It was pointed out that though \he right was not conferred by Statute, it was confirmed by Statute, the Education Acts laying down the conditions of its exercise. Most Rev. Dr. Williams, Archbishop of Birmingham, opening the conference, recalled the solution of the education problem suggested by Cardinal Bourne in 1926, and pointed out that that suggestion deserved fur the* consideration. CARDINAL BOURNE'S SOLUTION OF THE EDUCATION DIFFICULTY. From the Education Correspondent the Catholic Times.*
of
9
Catholic teachers would keep firmly to the principle that the basis of all education a n d culture w a s to be the Christian religion. This would give them a standard of judgment. Truth did not change, but teaching methods did. We should not fear new teaching methods. 'The catechism is, a t present, the basis of our religious teaching but it was not always s o ; nor am I sure that it is a l w a y s the best method of approaching the mind of a child." But more important than the open mind w a s the open heart. W e could never teach people anything unless we were in the right relationship with them, and the only right relationship for teachers w as friendliness. Elementary school children were compelled to attend school, their parents had little or no choice of school. It w a s e a s y to see how religious teaching might fail if this right relationship were lacking. v
Birmingham. i Following the Conference Mass in St. Chad's Cathedral on Thursday morning, the Conference opened in St. Paul's H i g h School. The De Profundis w a s recited for the repose of the soul of Cardinal Bourne by the Archbishop of Birmingham, who had held a reception of delegates in the Midland Hotel on the previous evening. T h e 'Archbishop, who was supported by many clergy and by the Lord Mayor, the chairman, members and officials of t h e Birmingham Education Committee, recalled the suggestion for the solution of the education difficulty which had been made by Cardinal Bourne. In 1926, he said, the Cardinal pleaded for a reconsideration of t h e whole position advocating, a return to national tradition, which offered ehoiee of sehool, a privilege now enjoyed only by those who could pay for it, since - modern legislation on elementary education had practically deprived the f poorer class of liberty of choice of school. Hence, poor parents had ceased to take a personal interest in their children's education. The Cardinal had pleaded for a settlement which would give to every parent some choice in the children's educationBeginning with the child, and not with the State, he would give to the children of parents who could not afford to pay a scholarship tenable at any recognised elementary school; the value of such scholarship would he based upon the local cost of education per head and the parent would be free to claim the use of this scholarship at any recognised school of his own choice in a defined area. Such a scheme showed clear thinking and a grasp of principles. The parent ought to be consulted, ought to be able t o insist on definite religious teaching for his children. Thus, a new interest and a new sense of responsibility would be built upon the parent. This solution deserved further consideration. * T H E F O U N D A T I O N OF C U L T U R E . His Grace, continuing, said Catholics were the defenders of Christianity, which w a s the foundation of our culture, our education, our civilisation and there was nothing dull or unromantic about ortho dox Christianity.
r
TEACHERS A N D RE-ORGANISATION. His Grace next urged teachers not to let prejudices stand in the w a y of the proper appr^ag^ln of the advantages of reorganised schools. "Remember," he said, "Religion is to be the basis of all our education. A senior school without religion ess educationally. We want reorganised senior schools with religion." Referring to the teaching of biology, the Archbishop said Catholics did not want it unnaturally divorced from religion nor associated with any falsehood about religion. Mere knowledge alone never saved anyone from yielding t o evil temptation. In fact, it often increased the strength of t e m p t a t i o n . . . With knowledge must g o example, the formation of character, the modelling of one's self and the children on the example of Christ Himself. Children could not understand any but the simplest doctrinal teaching; their problems were problems of conduct, what they were to do, how they were to behave. Ideals had to be put before them and to be supported by the example of those who taught. "Keep to the principle that the basis of all our education and culture is to be the Christian religion, and w e shall educate children who will be deter-
mined to do the will of God, w h o will grow up to be men and women loving God and loving their fellow creatures for God's sake." After the outgoing President, Mr. P. J. Doran, had thanked the Lord Mayor and the Archbishop, Mr. J. Craig (Salford), the new President, delivered his Presidential address. GOD'S OWN GARDENERS. Mr. Craig, having surveyed the present education position and pointed out the danger to Catholic schools if the leaving age w a s raised, said no Government dare openly dispute the right of parents to decide the kind of religious instruction they desire for their children. The Catholic schools were the nurseries of the Catholic Faith and the teachers were God's own gardeners. The teachers must spend their lives sowing the ideals which would govern the future conduct of their lives. Catholic teachers would never agree t o allow their pupils to come under nonCatholic influences at their most plastic period.
FURTHER
FINANCIAL
AID.
The first resolution "That this Conference urges further financial aid to non-provided schools" was moved by Mr. W. O'Dea, M.B.E. (Salford) who said that, if Catholics received an additional grant of 60 per cent, of the present costs, the difference between the costs of 1902 and the present would not be covered. He urged that extra grants should come from the State for the purpose of equalising the position of schools and that the question of the appointment of teachers need not be raised. Mr. W. J. Timms (Manchester), seconding, said that further financial aid must come from the Central Authority, but the Local Education Authorities could help by being sympathetically disposed towards Catholics. The resolution was carried unanimously.
THE RAMSBOTHAM MEMORANDUM. The next resolution was, "This Conference is of opinion that, as by Statute, Catholics have the right to provide schools for all Catholic children of school a g e in the area to be covered by a pro posed new school, it is a gross injustice that the Board of Education should limit such new schools to juniors only; and that any school which is to be reconditioned should retain its type and status unless the Managers desire a change." Proposing, Mr. T. Meehan (Birmingham) claimed that Catholics had always exercised the right to build new schools and, where they had the means, they had recently built new central and reorganised schools. However the problem of providing new and separate schools for juniors and seniors, particularly in the new housing areas is costly and wasteful to a poor community which received no aid towards building from the State or the Local Education Authorities. The problem was not one of finance only.
He questioned the need for Local Authorities to build schools which would accommodate all the school children of a district irrespective of the wishes of the parents who might desire to s^fend their children to Voluntary schools. Was this policy designed merely- to render proposed new Catholic schools unnecessary? Seconding, Mr. T. Quirk (Liverpool) referred to Mr. Ramsbotham's recently published Memorandum, and maintained that of the three considerations which determined the necessity or otherwise of new schools, namely, the interests o f secular instruction, the economy of the r a t e s and the wishes of the parents, the last was not only of greater weight than each of the others, but of both the others combined. In support of this generally accepted view he quoted Lord Eustace Percy, a former President of the Board of Education. OUR RIGHT TO H A V E SCHOOLS. Catholics and other bodies representing parents, had an anterior, moral right to have their own schools; this right they had a l w a y s exercised and, although the right w a s not conferred by Statute, still it w a s confirmed by Statute by t h e very fact that the Education Acts laid down conditions for its exercise. Thus, Section 18 of Education Act 1921 (repeating Section 8 (1) of 1902) stated that: "Where the Local Education Authority or any other persons propose to provide a new public elementary school, they shall g i v e public notice of their intention to do so, and the managers of any existing school, or the Local Education Authority or any ten ratepayers, m a y , . . . .within three months after the notice, appeal to the Board of Education, on the ground that the proposed new school is not required, or that a school provided by the Local Education Authority or not so provided, a s the case mar be, is better suited to meet the wants of the district and any school provided in contravention of the decision of the Board of Education on such appeal shall be treated as unnecessary." Schools worn out through long years of service in the nation's cause, and hence black-listed, should be reconditioned ar the cost of the State. Reconditioning was a costly business and when Catholics once again took up the nation's burden and attempted to recondition schools, that was not the time for the Board, nor had the Board the power, to insist on reorganisation. Yet, the speaker believed that the Board of Education was sympathetic towards Catholic schools, but the Board wanted Hadow schools. The first step towards Catholic acceptance of Hadow principles (since they had at present to pay for the buildings) was the provision of all-age school? where asked for. Messrs. F. McCabe (Middlesbrough) and F. McDonnell (Liverpool) moved the insertion of the words "a gross injustice" and, the resolution as amended w a s carried unanimously.
r/aa. Wallich Street, Singapore, S.S.