The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1884-12-24
THE MISSION FIELD

"A cable dispatch to the New York
Herald says:
All Italy is alarmed at the numerous priest
" scandals which have recently come to light.
Nearly every day the details of some shocking
occurrence are published in which priest Is
concerned, and the popular mind has become
fairly saturated with the idea that an epidemic
of clerical crime prevails throughout the king
dom. At Marcellina, a small village In the
North of Italy, near Rivoli and Turin, sacris-
tan, named Progett, fatally stabbed a priest
with dagger for clipping with his wife, and on
appeal refusing to surrender her. AT PozZone,
near Caserta, seventeen miles from Naples, the
Mayor of the village stabbed cure for seduc-
ing his sister At Marinella, near Clvita Nec-
CHA captain in the Navy, named Cell, dis
covered that criminal relations existed between
his wife and daughter and the village priest
Cell killed his wife with a stlletto, but did not
modest her betrayer. He was tried Tor murder
and was sentenced TO five ears imprisonment
In the Via Lungara at Rome, priest named
Angelo LardI seventy years OF age, has been
arrested for sabbing maiden who resisted his
advances. The above are the most prominent
of the many crimes which have occurred, and
the feeling of adherence and disgust has latterly
become so pronounced, and threats of popular
vengeance so loud that even the walls of the
Vatican were not proof against them. 1t Is now
authori' atively stated that cardinal holding
high Office, has finally, but with great difficulty
succeeded IN bringing the whole matter OF these
scandals to the notice of His Holiness the Pope,
who showed intense concern and modification at
the details that were laid before him. He at
once ordered a searching inquiry into the whole
question of priestly purity, and asked that moth
ing be left undone that would tend to relieve
the Church of the odIum which has been cast
upon her by her unworthy sons. Italian free
thinkers are gloating over these clerical mis-
nd 10 as hat
the Church is rotten to the core"
While we should be glad to believe that the
foregoing is merely sensational" the recollec-
ton of the proved unchastity of so prominent
an ecclesastic Cardinal Antonelh, the prime
minister of Plus TX, compels the belief that the
dispatch is not an ggeratlon.-I Independent
Nearly all the Esquimaux of Green
land are adherents of the Lutheran faith, hav-
ing been converted through the missionary en-
terprlse of the Danish Church. They have neat
little churches where they hold religious ser.
vices every Sunday. To all appearances they
are happy and contented people, and in their
ways and life greatly resemble the Firms and
Lapps, these have been so graphically des-
cribed in Du Chaillu's Land of the Midnight
Sun" The Moravians also, have been mission
izing in this little sea-bound world for about
$50 years, and have recently lost their leading
missionary there, Pastor Brodbeck, who has la
bored very successfully on the eastern cost of
the Island From Greenland the Moravans
are now also trying to extend their labors to
Alaska, and Systematic work will be commenced
there with the new year.
The advance of the Gospel in Japan
is one of the most remarkable facts in the mis-
sionary records of modern times Striking tes-
timony to this is borne by DIR. Hepburn of the
Presbyterian Mission, who is translating the
Old Testament into Japanese and who, during
the ten years of his residence in the country, has
built up self-supporting native church which
has just elected a pastor OF its own, relieving
him Of the work of preaching He says =
Fifteen or twenty years hence l doubt
whether a foreign missionary will be needed in
this country. We have already a synod, three
presbyteries, twenty nine ardent native minis
tiers, one hundred and seventeen young men in
our colleges, and thousand church members
and Sabbath-scholars. And l have lived to see
all this Japan Is merging rapidly from heath
enism it can never go back. If all the foreign
missionaries were expelled tomorrow, the work
would be carried on by natives"