The morning star and Catholic messenger., 1875-01-03

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Late Nsws from Italy.
SCARCITY OF PRIESTS.
As in every diocese in Italy, so in Rome
itself the want of priests lie becoming per-
ceptible. The priests who die in each
year are three times more numerous than
those who are ordained. The causes of
this falling OFF in the number of candidates
for holy orders are various, but the chief
of those causes are the dispersion of reii-
gious families which used to prepare great
numbers of young men for the priesthood
the want of titles to orders caused by the
absorption by tn" State of church revenues;
the dangers and insults to which the voca-
tion is now 4 posed, tho clerical dress being
q mark for ecorn instead of respect; and
the CONSUMPTION laws, which spare no one
and prevent youths from embracing the
clerical career. The whole tendency of
italian legislation is towards the extinction
of Catholicism. The suppression of the
Religious Orders, the abolition of chaplains
to the forces, and cessation of services for
soldiers, and the introduction of secular
schools, all seem parts of deliberate plan
to bring religion into disuse. But the
Governments itself may have reason to rue
ism must naturally rest upon religious
principles" said General Lamarmora when
combating in Parliament against the law
which made priests liable to the conscrip
ton. The populations trained up to des'
pise religion and neglect God will one day
prove TO their rulers how weak are merely
secular motives in withstandipg tempta-
tion, and now foolish it was to remove the
bulwark of faith which alone can oppose
the Communistic and Socialistic excesses
of the spirit of the age.
NEW CHARITY IN ROME.
As oil the schools aud institutes of bene-
violence IN Rome are now more OF less
administered by Government in mode
little calculated to promote the interests of
religion and morality, the Catholics are
endeavoring as we'll as they can to create
new schools and asylums under control of
good Catholics. It has been proposed by
Father Claudio Maria Gandet, the Procur-
ator.General of the Brethren of st. John
of God, with consent of his General, Clio
vanni Maria Alfieri, to found q vast asylum
to receive those objects of charity who can
not enter the existing institutions. The
new asylum will have four principal divi-
sions. The first will be for boys under the
age Of 10 years who may be afiicted with
chronic ailments, such as scrofula or its
kindred disorders. The second division
will be assigned to the use of persons over
10 years of age, who may be paralyzed,
deaf, blind, or incurably infrm. A portion
OF this second division will be set apart
have no means of gaining living by work.
The third division will receive aged OF in
Arm priests of oil nationalities who may
require home. There will also be place
for men of broken fortune, who knew bet
ter days, but who, by calamities may be re-
duced to indulgence. This new asylum will
be located in the country near Rome, in q
healthy situation, where the boys may have
the benefit of pure air and exercise in the
cultivation of the land attached to the
asylum, and where their religious and
moral education may be carefully attended
30 HN1x, Eoth huco al ~ ryiu tf
this scheme his special patronage and bles
sing. Cardinal Antonelli has given tC
it warm encouragement. The new asylum
will be somewhat like that at Marseilles
and will afford a refuge to many poor per
SONS in Rome who used formerly to receive
parochial aims, but since 1870 have foun(
this source of charity diverted in various
ways to serve the purposes of the 1taliar
Government.
SALES OF CHURCH PROPERTY.
The Giunta Liquidatrice set up to public
auction ON the 2pd of December variou
properties belonging to the Monastery o
IS. Dominic and Sistus the Convent o
st. Maria in Via; the Monastery of thu
Little Sisters of ST. Paul; and the Convent
of SS. Cosmns and Damian. At the SALE
held by the Giunta on the 2lst of Novem
ber last a son of Garibaldi become the pur
chaser of q property belonging to the Chap
ter of St. Peter. The price he paid TO
buiS Hn'''HV was 81, ,1SU ire. no Ihuu j
called Campo Morto, and lies outside thu
gate of ST. Sebastian, the Latin gate, ant
that of ST. John.
PUBLIC SALE or BISHOPS CARRIAGE.
The Goth of November laet was the da,
fixed for selling, by public auction, th
carriage of the Bishop of Mantua, seized b,
the Government authorities to satisfy fin,
and expenses attending trial amounting t,
236 lire aud rs centesimi, about 60 Eng
lisb. Twenty-four citizens of Mantua pait
the fine and costs, and saved the Bishop
carriage. They would not allow thei
names to be made public. 30 that th,
Bishop is as yet ignorant of his benefactors
Hia lordshin. on being informed by til,
Government agent that the fine was paid
at once protested, and lodged formal de
claration that he had not consented, ant
still refused assent to the act whereby
without his concurrence, the fine was paid