The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1911-08-19
- ~ ,yA y
CATs - TOTAL
ABSTINENCE UNION
INTEMPERANcE, THE BAsEsT
AND MOST DEGRADING OF
VICES, SAYS THE APoS-
ToLIC DELEGATE.
The Forty-first Convention Was Held
At Scranton, Pa.-Officers Reports
Public RaIIy-Apostolic Dele
gate Speaks-ResoIution
Election of Officers
Priests i. A.
League.

|
| The forty first annual convention of
the Catholic Total Abstinence Union
of America was held at Scranton,
Pa, August s to IL. Delegates to the
number of seven hundred, represent
ing societies of Catholic abstainers
from all parts of the country as far
west as the valley of the Mississippi,
assembled on August to greet His
Excellency, the Most Reverend Dio-
mede Falconio, the Apostolic Dele
gate, on his arrival in Scranton. A
procession was formed which con-
Quoted him to the residence of Bishop
Hoban where public reception was
held at which His Excellency was
assisted by Bishop Hoban, and Very
Reverend P. J. OCallaghan, C. S. P,
of Chicago, President of the National
Union.
On the following morning His Ex-
cellency celebrated Solemn Pontifical
Mass in the Cathedral, at which Bishop
Hoban of Scranton, Bishop Canevin
of Pittsburg, and Bishop Garvey of
Altoona, together with large
number of priests were present The
delegates and their friends filled the
Cathedral and listened with great at
tention to the sermon preached by
Bishop Hoban in which, after well
coming the delegates, he declared
that the Catholic Total Abstinence
movement has done incalculable
good to the people of America. Total
abstinence provides remedy for the
drink evil that goes deeper into the
intricacies of the problem than pro-
hibition or license, for it seeks to
remove the source of the evil by the
redemption of human nature through
Gods grace by means of which we
strive for mastery over self through
the medium of self-denial and morti-
! fication.
The morning session was devoted
to addresses of welcome and re-
sponses. In the afternoon the routine
matter of the convention was taken
up. The reports Of the officers were
optimistic in tone and showed that
there are now about seven hundred
societies on the roll of the National
Union, with total membership of
upwards of one hundred thousand
Father O'Callaghan, President of the
Union, in his report, made an earnest
plea for more generous contributions
from the different societies for the
carrying on of the work, and urged
closer relationship between the
| National Union and subordinate
unions. He advised sweeping edu-
cational campaign in the interests of
total abstinence
In the evening temperance rally
was held in the town hall. Bishop
Hoban presided, and addresses were
| made by the Apostolic Delegate; Rev.
J. j. Curran of Wilkes Barre; Rev. P.
j. O'Callaghan, C. S. p, of Chicago,
National President; Judge Stapleton
of New York; Father McKenna of
Springfield, Mass; J. Washington
Logue of Philadelphia; and E. M Rine
of Scranton.
Extract from the Apostolic Dele
gates Address.
In the course of his address the
Apostolic Delegate characterised in
temperance as "the basest and most
degrading of vices" and continued:
Since then the vice of intemperance
is such as to deserve the condemna-
ton of God and man, and since it's
fatal consequences are of such a
nature that they entail temporal and
eternal misery, it is our duty to make
buse of every possible means at our
disposal in order to protect our people
from it's allurements. But just here
there arises the question: What are
the means best adapted for the
eradication of this fatal vice?
There are some who place their
whole confidence in prohibitory laws,
and there is no doubt that these laws,
wisely administered, prevent, to some
degree, the. spreading Of the evil of
which we are speaking. A wise OBJ
server, however, justly remarks that
No laws however stringent can make
the idle Industrious, the thriftless
provident or the drunkard sober The
man who is not restrained by SEN
timent of self-respect and a sense OF
moral obligation will, at the first op-
portunity that is offered, easily evade
the law and plunge himself again into
the mire Of this abominable passion.
Continued on pages.)