The Irish Gaelic League.—The English Churchman’s Irish correspondent thus refers to a recent gathering of this League, whose ostensible purpose is the cultivation of the Irish language :—“Whatever else the Gaelic League movement is doing for Ireland one thing is certain, and that is that it is making more and more difficult the proper observance of the Lord’s Day. On Sunday last the beautiful neighbourhood of Shankill, near Bray, was made the scene of a perfect pandemonium by the holding of a Gaelic Feis, in which drunkenness, rioting, and foul language were the accompaniments. A well-known magistrate, who happened to be in the vicinity, described the scenes he witnessed as ‘frightful.’ The Gaelic League, we are told, is to be one of the factors in the future regeneration of Ireland. Poor Ireland ! Victim of many fads and follies.”
New History of the Papacy.—Among the early books to come from Mr. Murray, says the Times, will be two volumes of “The History of the Papacy in the Nineteenth Century,” by Dr. Fredrik Nielsen, Bishop of Aalborg, and formerly Professor of Ecclesiastical History in the University of Copenhagen, translated under the direction of Dr. A. J. Mason, Master of Pembroke College, Cambridge. The two volumes deal with the external fortunes of the Roman Church down to the death of Pius IX. The first volume of Dr. Nielsen’s supplementary work on the internal history of the Church—“Det Indre Liv”—appeared in 1881, and brings the record down to the year 1830. It is the author’s intention, as soon as the third volume of the present work is finished, to proceed at once with the next portion of the “Indre Liv.” The whole will form a complete history of the Roman Church during the last century. Dr. Mason began the present translation about ten years ago, but other duties prevented him from making satisfactory progress with it, and the work has accordingly been completed, under his supervision, by various hands.
“Silver and Gold have I None.”—One is reminded of these words of Peter, whose successors the Popes claim to be, in reading a letter of Mr. Le Lievre on the wealth of the Popes. The following extract from the letter will show how great is the gulf even in this matter that separates Pius X. from the Apostle Peter :—The Roman Catholic Bishop Mehler, of Ratisbon, has lately published a book on “Peter’s Pence.” The Pope’s income from this source is now about £310,000. In the days of fervent faith it averaged 12,000,000 lire. The expenses of the Vatican Palace are as follows :—For the Pontiff’s private use, 500,000 lire ; for the Cardinals, 700,000 lire ; for poor Bishops, 460,000 lire ; for the Prefects of the Apostolic Palaces, 1,800,000 lire ; for the office of Secretary of State, 1,000,000 lire ; salaries of officials, 1,500,000 lire ; for schools and Papal charities, 1,200,000 lire ; total, 7,160,000 lire. The half-starved peasants of Ireland, Spain, Italy, etc., who contribute to Pius’s Pence, are not aware of the magnificent style of living prevailing at the Vatican. Ireland is said to be poor, yet Rome takes even the savings of its Roman Catholic children. The annual collection for Pius X. recently made in the Dublin churches, realised £1,500. The Tablet of August 14 said that a large American pilgrimage presented to the Pope “a handsome offering of Peter’s Pence.” The “prisoner” is reported to have spoken very touchingly of “his great affection for the Catholics of the United States.” Of course ! Anyone else could do so on the same terms.
Church of England Monks.—The Island of Caldey, in the Bristol Channel, has just been purchased by the Church of England Benedictine Monks, now residing at Painsthorpe Abbey, on the estate of Lord Halifax, near York. The monastery will be removed to the island in the middle of October next. Caldey Island is nearly two miles long, and lies about two and a half miles off Tenby, and was in the hands of monks from the middle of the fifth century.—Protestant Woman.
Disorders in the Church of England.—No less than three Church Discipline Bills, dealing with Ritualistic practices and ornaments have been drafted. The first is brought in by Sir Brynmor Jones, the second by Mr. Austin Taylor, and the Ecclesiastical Disorders Bill by Sir Geo. Kekewich. Concerning this last, Mr. Walter Walsh says :—“It seems to me the wisest and most drastic Bill dealing with Ritualistic practices and ornaments I have yet met with. It does not deal with doctrine. I have not the slightest doubt that if it were to become law, Ritualistic ornaments and practices would be swept out of all our parish churches within two years.” May we suggest that our members should urge their husbands, brothers, and other vote-holders to write to their Parliamentary representatives, begging them to support this measure?—Protestant Women.
A Roman Catholic Bishop on the Scottish Reformation.—Dr. Chisholm, the Roman Catholic Bishop, preaching recently at the celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the opening of St. Patrick’s Church, Edinburgh, said “that they had reason to be thankful and grateful to the providence of God for deigning to make good some of the ravages brought about in this country by the blight of the so-called Reformation period.” To this it may be answered that even from a worldly standpoint Scotland has cause for the deepest gratitude for the Reformation, and that from a spiritual point of view it was the instrument used for the overthrow of one of the most cruel spiritual despotisms that ever held the mind of man in slavery.
Progress of the Church of Rome in Scotland.—In the same sermon the Bishop said:—”Fifty years ago Catholic Ireland had got a firm footing in this country. In these short years that footing had become a possession. Fifty years ago there were four convents of religious women. There was no house of what are called religious men. There were 145 secular priests ministering in 114 churches and chapels. To-day there were 34 convents of religious women and 12 establishments of religious men, numbering close upon 100 individuals, and 431 secular priests ministering in 366 churches and chapels. When he (the preacher) was little more than a boy, some fifty years ago, there was one national college, as now, at Blair’s, the number of boys attending then being a little over 40. Last year the session opened with over 100 students, and there was besides the diocesan college of St. Peter’s in Glasgow, with over 30 students—all too few for the ever-increasing and ever-growing population.” Too many we would say, for the real spiritual good of the country! It is time for Protestants to awake.
“The Parochial School a Curse to the Church.”—This is a book written by the Rev. Jeremiah J. Crowley, a Roman Catholic priest in the archdiocese of Chicago, and is issued by the Imperial Protestant Federation for the sum of five shillings and sixpence. It is a timely exposure of priestly education carried on in Roman Catholic schools. He sees only one cure, and that is the transference of power from the priests to the laity.