The San Francisco call., 1909-01-17

NEW YORK, Jan. 16.-Father Kelly,
president of the Catholic church exten-
sion society, says that In three years
the society has built 200 chapels, cir
culated 100000 pieces of Catholic lit
erature, established a Catholic maya
zine reaching about 100000 readers
every month, placed 20 students for the
missionary priesthood IN college under
the pledge that they will labor in poor
dioceses, and inspired the establish
ment of a college and seminary for the
education of Italian Americans for the
italian priesthood of America
1t has over 100000 now on hand In
securities, most of which represents
loans free Of interest to poor parishes,
which would without these be forced
to pay exorbitant rates. It has placed
the chapel car on the road to inspire
more building, and 1T now expects very
soon to have a second chapel car en-
gagged in the same efficient service.
Surely this is enough to demonstrate
the usefulness OF this society in ex-
tending the Catholic faith in our
country
Archbishop Quigley adds that ut is
estimated that within a short time the
annual income OF the church extension
society will reach approximately $780,
600 instead of the present $780,
600. We shall aim at 100000 as a.
maximum. and with that amount 1T will
be possible to care adequately for the
poorer dioceses Of the United States.
The fact that these dioceSes will be
adequately taken care of In financial
way will be of the utmost Importance
to the cause of the Catholic church on
this continent
Through an unaccountable oversight
our note on the Epiphany was allowed
a. 1,o 5r t,, frOt q ifrr11 h q
to make 1t quite misleading. What we
desired to do was to point out the close
connection between the Feast of the
Epiphany, celebrated on January g.,
when the Wise Men presented gifts to
the child Jesus at Bethlehem, which
signifled the calling of the GeDtiles to
the faith of Christ, and the Feast or
Pentecost, when that faith was first
publicly preached IN Jerusalem to both
Jew and Gentle by the apostles. The
celebration of the divine service at
Rome in all the various rites of the
Catholic church, during the octave or
the Epiphany, is a beautiful realization
of the truth that all nations and rites
are at home under the guidance of the
sovereign pontiff, the bishop OF Rome.
The schismatic HISTORIANS in the
orient have for some time past been
asking for Catholic priests to minis
ter to them. The method pursued is
to establish a chapel in each village,
which also serves as a school for train
ing the children in the true faith. The
inability to supply these chapels as re-
quested was a great source of anxiety
to the Catholic missionaries. Recently
a generous benefactor has provided for
so Of these chapel In as many
villages This leaves only about a
dozen of the principal HISTORIAN vii
lagos still without these centers of
Catholic faith. Thus is assured the re-
turn of these HISTORIANS to union with
Rome after many centuries of separa
ton.
The state of Louisiana maintains a
home for 1epers under the supervision
of a state board of control. In their
biennial report the board states that
the largest share of credit for the sue
cessful management of the leper home
should be given to Sister Benedfcta and
the five other Catholic sisters who have
entire charge of the domestic affairs
and of the nursing and providing for
the comfort of the patients.
A Catholic priest recently baptized,
in the Jail at Great Falls, Mont, Albert
Howard, the 16 year old leader of
gang of train robbers who held up
passenger train on the Great Northern
railroad last May. 1t was discovered
that until this priest began to in
struct the young brigand, he had never
even heard that there was God, al
though he had been to school.
The following comment OF the Con-
temporary Review on present conditions
in France will be of especial interest
to many readers In our country who
are seeking to solve the problem of
morals without religion:
France is engaged in vast educa-
tfonal experiment, upon the issue OF
which her entire national life depends.
The experiment. Is the total exclusion
of Christianity and all other forms of
deism from the state schools and the
substitution of formal system of
moral teaching. For an instant we
will consider actual results. In so
years criminality In France increased
threefold, although there was scarcely
nous increase in crime was particu-
larly noticeable among the young.
France has passed, too, from being
one of the soberest of nations to being
tion of alcohol (of bad quality has
increased threefold. The sale of alb
sinthe has increased enormously. The
pornographic press pours it's OBJ
scenitfes into every hamlet In the land.
The population is now. not relatively
but absolutely, retrograde in number.
while atnelSm OF the BrOSSeSt KIND
abounds. Now it may that this has
nothing to do with the experiment, but,
at any rate. it can not be denied that
the experiment has not checked the
rate of national decadence. Yet this Is
the fundamental business of q state
system of education"
The order of Christian Brothers has
received from c. c. Copeland, a promi-
nent Catholic layman of Chicago. the
gift of splendid estate of some 25
acres, called Forest Spring farm, and
valued at 100000. The property con-
sists of finely wooded land, on both
side of the Des PLANES river, about
80 miles north of Chicago, and will
be used by the Christian Brothers as
home during the summer months
Each of the brothers will be enabled
to enjoy vacation period of about 10
weeks in the hot weather at Forest
Spring farm, which had been Cope
lands own summer home.
Copeland is descended from Puritan
stock and became a Catholic at the
age of 25. He is ardently devoted to
his religion, and takes a great interest
i,a fbe walfara Of the co1nred naoy,sa