The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1901-06-01

Mr.. Watkins Sang.
The members of the Catholic His
torical society and Newman Maga-
zne club rendered Rt. Rev. Bishop Nj.
j. Hoban "A reception last night In the
pretty club house of the knights or
Columbus on North Washington ave-
nue.. There were scores of beautt-
fully gowned women. exquisite music.
dainty decorations and most import
ant OF all, three delightfully."- interest
ing informal talks by Bishop Hoban,
Vice President John j. Murphy and
en- Mayor James j.. O'Neill. of Carbon
dale.
The auditorium of the club house
was decorated with the national col
ors, while from each chandelier was
hung bouquet of white roses tied
with purple ribbon. purple being the
episcopal color. There were over 2oO
ladies and gentlemen seated when
Bauer's orchestra began the opening
overture at $50 o'clock.
Vice President Murphy presided.
and in a brief opening address told
of the work accomplished by the So
ciety during the year and of how the
bishops suggestion that the relation
of the church to the various branches
of science he studied had been acted
upon. Mr.. Murphy was followed by
Prof. John r.. Watkins whose splen-
didly robust and vigorous baritone
voice was heard in the blacksmith's
song from Gounods "Philmon ct
Baucis.
Hon. James j. ONeill was next in
troduced. In an informal way, he
told of the influence of the spirit of
the Catholic church through all the
ages from the beginnings of Chris
tianity until the present time. The
catholic church. he said. did not con-
Germ herself with government but
seized upon the family as the social
unit. and has therefore sought to
improve the Individual through all the
ages.
The church has founded schools
and universities in every land, he
said. in which she has taught the
wisdom of antiquity She has en-
couraged all the arts and all the
sciences because she herself is found
ed on truth and therefore has naught
to fear from the discovery of eN-
ploitat ton of truth.
After Mrs. Joseph O'Brien had de-
lishtfully rendered an Ave Maria
by Gounod. and had responded to an
encore. Bishop Hoban was introduced.
He assured the members that they
had his warmest approval in their
efforts to secure a better knowledge
of the real facts about history. liter
aturc and science.
He expressed the hope that during
the next season the social side would
be neglected a little bit more perhaps
than it has been in the past and that
the members would seek more ear
neStly TO attain the eTdS for which the
society was founded. He disclaimed
the honor of being the founder OF
the society and said that it belonged
properly to the late Rev. y. j. Mac
Goldrick.
The bishop referred to the fact that
the Theological battle had been fought
and won for truth by the Catholic
church. hut that in history and in
literature, there are still questions of
great importance which must be an
swered.
He told of the one e-sidedness of so
many people when they speak of the
Catholic church. They study up the
anti-Catholic side of soma great MIS-
torlcal question and never think for
Il moment to look up the Catholic
side. He was glad to see. he said,
that the old worn-out idea that Cath
olicism was a synonym for ignorance
and superstition is dying out, though
traces of it remain, even among edu-
Gated and liberal minded Protestants.
A TERRIBLE MISTAKE.
The Catholic church had been
spoken of so often as a prosecuting
church that he thought it was about
time that educated people learned bet
ter. 1t is IA terrible mistake, he said,
to charge the church with being in
terested in the bloody wars in which
Catholics have been arrayed against
Protestants. These We're purely poll
tical struggles, in which the church
was spectator.
The century of strife between the
French Catholics and the Hugenots
was merely political struggle. he
said. He did not believe in glorfying
the Hugenots as martyrs to religion,
nor did he believe. on the other hand,
Ill StlllnS up lHt II IcllNi w
the admiration of the world, He told
of the Hugenot nobleman who re-
uuired that his children should battle
their hands in the blood of slaugh-
tered Catholic. saved in basin, and
of the Catholic soldier arrayed
against him, who ordered that the
heads of all the Hugenots killed by
his men he stuck upon pixies.
Both of these gentlemen" said the
bishop, 'were internal rascals. One
VAS as bad as the other 1t is not
proper to charge that religion ac-
tuated the motives of either"
If the members of the society, he
said, could only see the real, truth
of history. of literature and of science
and could learn to know the effects
from known causes, they would he
improving not only themselves but