Kentucky Irish American. (Louisville, Ky.) 1898-1968, 1918-11-02
| WELCOME
Good Sense Now Being Shown In
Part of the Roman
Press.
Publications Seem in Fair Way to
Do Justice to Holy
Father.
Never a Moment When Burden
of Work Ceases For
Him.
HAD BUT LITTLE RELAXATION.

In a letter from Rome somewhat
late in arriving the writer sends
some rather interesting news. He
says:
One welcomes here any sign of
what can at least be called good
sense on the part of the Roman
press. That rapidly increasing
body, for in spite of the dearth of
paper more than one journal has
made its appearance lately-may be
| divided into three categories, the
| Catholic press, which consists of the
Corriere d'Italia (for the Osserya-
tore Romano, though 1t contains
some news, can not be classed with
other Roman papers,; the great
bulk of the morning and evening
papers, which may be called Glib
eral" or Ordinary" or by any
other comprehensive name, and one
or two which are so VIGOROUSLY
hostile to Catholics that they have
to be placed, by Catholics. in
class by themselves. One welcomes
then any sign of what may be
called good sense in the ordinary
papers, and an observant reader will
have noticed more than one lately.
One instance occurred a week or
| two ago, so striking that 1 regret
can not mention names or sub
ject, but / can vouch for the fact
of its occurrence. A Roman paper
against which Catholics are on their
guard, though 1t is not one of those
| which come in the regular "anti-
| clerical category, had printed an
| article on the subject of Catholic
interest and had criticized freely a
foh nafh oI4 A l..
| two afterward it sent of its own ac-
cord representative to that dig
nitary to apologize, saying that it had.
discovered that the information ON
which it had founded its statement
was unreliable, asking to hear the
rights of the case and promising to
print them as given.
This IL did. And this evening in
the Tribuna one welcomes an ar
| ticle entitled "a Pope and a Car
dinal." The Pope-needless to say
when one remembers the occasion
of which today Is the fourth an
niversary--is Plus X, and the Car
dinal is Cardinal Mercier. The
article is quotation of what the
latter once said about the former,
and the Tribuna says word on it's
own account:
'At the masses celebrated in his
memory this morning by Cardinal
Merry del Val, Msgr. Percini and
other prelates in the crypt of the
Vatican a huge crowd of the faith
full were present in addition to the
sisters of the dead Pope. His
tomb was covered with flowers,
which were carried away as relics
almost as soon as laid there. AL
ready the picture of the saint Is
in many a poor persons house,
prayers are said before 1t as in the
souls of all Catholics, and even
many non-Catholics, the light of
faith and generation burns before
IT,"
1t is a fact that thousands here
go beyond the strict letter of canon
Naw in anticipating in their hearts
and in ordinary conversation a YER
dict which all hope one day the
competent authorities will give
and in Italian the "santo" has not
quite the close application that
saint" has with us. The Tribuna,
after quoting what Cardinal MERCER
said one day, concludes:
'-These are the words with which
the Primate of Belgium sums up
the supernatural figure of a Pope
who lived at the closing stage of
world and died at the beginning of
another and will remain immortal
in the generation and affection OF
all civil humanity"
Almost daily the departure of
some Cardinal or highly placed pre-
late in the Roman Curia is an
nounced, the vacations of the con-
gregations having begun. Cardinal
Merry del Val went away for his
summer rest as is his custom, Inn
medfately after the anniversary of
the death of Plus x, staying to
say the first mass at the tomb.
Cardinal Scapinelli has gone and
Cardinal Gasparri has taken the on
portunity while things are compara-
lively quiet and both Msgr. Cerretti
and Msgr. Tedeschini are at their
posts to go away for a short rest,
Msgr. Tacci, the Maggiordomo. is
also away; when he comes back the
opportunity occurs for the maestro
di camera, Msgr. SAM de Sampler,
to take vacation, the functions
OF these two being sufficiently SIM
liar for one to take over the duties
of the other without any trouble,
And last but first, His Holiness has
q little relaxation in that there Is
a slackening off of affairs during
the vacations and the summer heat
which allows him to let a day pass
now and then without public and
private audiences. What that means
can be easily imagined. 1t is
private morning for him in which
though he may work--for there is
never moment, except those passed
In chapel, when the burden of work
and anxious thought ceases for a
Pope-he can work in private, even
In the quiet retreat in the Vatican
Gardens, where Pope Benedict XIV.
loves to find such fresh air and
recreation as can be gained by the
holder of the grandest crown of
tho whoIa wnrf6