Religion: Pope’s Week

“HIS HOLINESS THE POPE

“Bishop of Rome and Vicar of Jesus Christ,

“Successor of St. Peter, Prince of the Apostles,

“Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church,

“Patriarch of the West, Primate of Italy,

“Archbishop and Metropolitan of the Roman Province,

“Sovereign of the Temporal Dominions of the Holy Roman Church,

“PIUS XI

“Achille Ratti,

“Now Gloriously Reigning,”

last week authorized Cardinal Pietro Gasparri, his Secretary of State, to send the following cablegram to Washington, D. C.:

“Holy Father appreciated greetings of Archbishops and Bishops of the United States assembled in conference. Most willingly bestows apostolic blessing on them and their deliberations.”

Soon back to Rome flashed news that the assembled cardinals, archbishops and bishops, representatives of the U. S. Hierarchy of Roman Catholicism, 57 strong, had voted to send the Pope a gift of $50,000. Suggester of the gift: George William Cardinal Mundelein of Chicago. Its significance: a tribute on the 50th anniversary of Achille Ratti’s priesthood.

Three other events in his vast organization were well pleasing to Pius XI last week:

Catholic Hour. At the meeting of the U. S. Hierarchy it was announced that the National Broadcasting Co. had offered to give Roman Catholicism one hour on the U. S. ether each & every Sunday. The Hierarchy voted to accept this gift, calling upon the National Council of Catholic Men (Admiral William S. Benson, president) for $75,000 to pay for the programs.

Philippines. A cable from Manila told of the purchase of the Mindoro Sugar Co. by Most Reverend Michael O’Doherty. Roman Catholic Archbishop of Manila, for $1,500,000. This news betokened the continued potency of the Church in the only Christian country in the Orient. By far the biggest business interests in the Philippines are Roman Catholicism’s. When the U. S. took the Islands over from Spain, William Howard Taft had to negotiate a separate arrangement with the Church for its extensive “friar lands.” settled by early Spanish brotherhoods. The U. S. paid the church $7,250,000 for 400,000 acres. By last week’s deal, Archbishop of Manila regained 32,000 of these acres, plus improvements.

Besides Big Business, the Archbishop of Manila is charged with looking to the education of his island flock. Principal institution is the Atemeo de Manila, where such political leaders as Manuel Quezon have been educated, where the big, florid, blue-eyed figure of Archbishop O’Doherty is a familiar sight either walking in church-stateliness or riding in one of the Islands’ comparatively few luxurious motors.

College of Propaganda. Last week the Pope attended graduation exercises in the 300-year-old College of Propaganda in Rome. The college, alma mater of polyglot gospellers, produced for the Pope’s edification graduation speeches in 25 tongues and dialects. Among them: Sanskrit, Hebrew, Chaldean, Japanese, Siamese, Kaffir, Gaelic, Rumanian, Magyar. Said the Pope: he was pleased that God had glorified all these tongues.

New Index. Cardinal Merry del Val, Secretary of the Holy Office (the Inquisition), presented to the Pope the first copy of the new Index of Prohibited Books (Index Librorum Prohibitorum), 563 pages, containing between 4,000 and 5,000 titles, listed alphabetically by authors; now for the first time printed in Italian instead of Latin. (But the Pope’s copy was in Latin.) Books eternally condemned were marked with a cross. An asterisk indicated books in purgatory, redeemable if their sinner-authors would expurgate.

Biography. Pleased also was the Pope that Cardinal Cerretti had written The Life of Pope Pius XI, to appear serially in the Hearst press.