The San Francisco call., 1910-05-15


of the eleventh annual meeting of the
International Catholic truth society,
held recently at its main Office 407 Ber-
gen street, Brooklyn, N. Y.
In the inquiry department more than
$500 personal letters were received and
answered. They ranged in Importance
all the way from a query about book
or an author to abstruse questions in
theology.
The many letters received by the So
ciety from councils of the knights of
Columbus and from other organizations
throughout the United States and
Canada indicate that it has become
clearing house for Catholic ideas, issues
and information.
The remailing department, which sup
plies Catholic papers, magazines, etc,
TO families living in isolated places, fur
nished 5000 families with good reading
matter during the year. Many grateful
letters, commencing this phase of the
society's work, were received from such
far off places as Newfoundland; Alberta,
Northwest Territory; Oklahoma; canal
zone, Panama, etc.
The pamphlet department distributed
gratis. or sold at a nominal price, 140,-
600 pamphlets. They are clear, con-
else and instructive documents; and
many clergymen and laymen who have
lectured on biographical, controversial,
historical, doctrinal or devotional sub
jects and social questions have sup
plemented their lectures by distributing
these little pamphlets bearing on the
subjects of their discourses. There is
absolutely no financial profit in the dis
tribution and sale of these terse little
documents by the truth society.
Demand for the society's Notes and
.s..1, -
in the first and third Sundays of each
month. has Increased to such an extent
that they are now regularly carried, as
a special department, or feature article,
by 80 leading daily papers, from New
York to San Francisco, and from Du-
luth to Houston, Tex. with an aggre-
gate circulation of 3,319,46S. If it be
customary, as has been asserted, for ad
vertisers to estimate five readers for
each subscriber to a newspaper, it can
be readily seen that these notes and
comments reach quite fair sized body
of our citizens, Catholic and non-Cath-
olic.
The society has recently appointed
several new representatives and cor
respondents in South American and
European countries, who are in a posi-
tion to give authoritative information
regarding the contemporary relations
of church and state in foreign lands,
and an important announcement in this
connection is promised by the society
in the near future.
The following officers were elected
for the ensuing year: Honorary presi-
dent Rt Rev. Charles Z. Mcdonnell,
D. D.. Brooklyn; president. Rev. Will
lam T. McGinnis, d. D.; honorary vice
presidents, Rt. Rev. George Munde-
lein, Brooklyn: Hon. Charles J. Bona
| M RI Ra1tiu0nra Hon IuSfica 7 T
Curran, Montreal, Canada; vice presi-
dent, Louis II. Amy; secretary, Francis
A. McCIoskey; treasurer, Francis c.
Heenan, New York
AS Christmas is the birthday of
Christ, so Pentecost, which falls this
year on May Is, is the birthday of his
church.
On this day the apostles were filled
with the Holy Ghost, descending on
them in the form of tongues of fire."
and no longer able to restrain their ar
dor. they rushed out into the streets
of Jerusalem and began that mission"
which their successors were to con-
tinue down through the ages, of
preaching the gospel to all nations"
On the very day of her birth Christ's
church was catholic or universal, for
strangers from all parts of the known
world were present in Jerusalem, and,
marveling at the miracle which they
witnessed of the gospel being preached
/ to each ''in his own tongue" were con-
verted to Christianity.
Either the church established by
| Christ is in existence in the world to-
day or Christ himself was false
prophet and the greatest fmpostor the
world has ever knownl
Mr.. Roosevelt's inability to comply
with the requirements of papal court
etiquette does not seem to have had
any perceptible effect in deterring other
distinguished visitors in Rome from
obtaining audiences with the gentle
pontif, Plus X.
Among hundreds of callers at the
Vatican Immediately after the Roose-
Welt incident we notice the following
prominent Protestant and Catholic dig
nitaries: His imperial highness Grand
Duke Paul Alexandrovitch of Russia
and his eXcellency the minister of Rus
sia to the Holy See, the German chan
cellor, Won Bethman Holweg; Prince
Luigi Boncompagni and his son Paul;
the duchess of Ferrari, Professor Bog
! giani and Count Caisotti of Chiussano
! the Countess Groppello de Bray, Mar
quis Lagergren, marquis de Caillebot
| de la Sale, Count Moore and Commen-
| datore Leonori, etc
On the other hand, Prince Louis
son of the regent of Bavaria, who had
| INTENDED VlSlIlnS the pope at the mead
of a pilgrimage on its way to the Holy
Land, was prevented from doing so by
! Italian court etiquette. The Italian
embassy at Berlin informed his father
that if the prince passed through Rome
he would have to visit the Quirinal as
well as the Vatican. The youg prince
| at first declared that he did not intend
to take any orders from Berlin and
would go to Rome anyhow.
But when a special envoy from the
kaiser arrived in Munich to urge that
the princes action might lead to grave
complications he and his friends en-
barked from Genoa without going near
Rome. like the Magi of old, who, to
avoid meeting King Herod after visit
ing the new born babe of Bethlehem,
returned home "by another route"
A writer in the Messenger of the
Sacred Heart thus tersely and beauti-
| fully comments on Christian Mar
riage," the general intention recon-
mended to the apostleship of prayer
for the month of May by Pope Plus x
to be especially prayed for:
Marriage furnishes the fest of a
! true religion The creed which does
not protect the home is false and is
| doomed to the destruction it deserves
| 1T is the glory, as it is the proof of