THE TABLET s i W eek ly N e w s p a p e r a n d R e v i e w
DUM VOBIS GRATULAMUR ANIMOS ETIAM ADDIMUS UT IN INCCEPTIS VESTR IS CONSTANTER MANEATIS
From the Brief o f His Holiness Pius IX to The Tablet, June 4,1870.
Vol. 161. No. 4850.
London, A pril 22, 19 33 .
S ix pence.
R egistered at the General Post Office as a Newspaper.
Page
News and No t e s ................. 489 St. George for England . . . 493 “ Saint George, Make
Haste ”
494
The Trial of Moscow . . . 494 Coming E vents ................. 496 Catholicism and English
L i te r a t u r e ............................ 496 Reviews :
Thomism and Its Author 498 A Saviour of Society . . . 498 Outstanding Novels : LY I 500
CONTENTS
Page
New Books and Music . . . 500 Books Received ................. 502 “ The White Sister” . . . 502 From The Tablet of Ninety
Years Ago
502
Catholic University Societies 503 Correspondence :
Rome (Our Own Corre
spondent’s Weekly Letter from) ............................ 505
Page
Catholic Education Notes . . . 506 Ordination at Ushaw . . . 507 The League of Militant
Atheists ............................ 507 Ampleforth Scholarships . . . 507 Et C/ETERA............................ 508 The Church and the Conquistadores 509 Obituary ............................ 510 Orbis Terrarum:
England ............................ 511 Scotland ............................ 512 Ireland ............................512
Orbis Terrarusi (O ontd.) :
Page
Austria .............. . . . 512 Belgian Congo . . . 512 Canada .............. . . . 513 China .............. . . . 513 Czechoslovakia . . . 513 France .............. . . . 514 Japan .............. . . . 514 Mongolia .............. . . . 514 New Zealand . . . 515 Poland .............. . . . 515 Spain .............. . . . 515 Syria .............. . . . 516 Social and P ersonal . . . 516 Chess .............. . . . 516
NOTANDA The transferred Feast o f St. George. An article, a Dürer woodcut, and a poem fo r the Day (pp. 493, 494).
H o ly W eek in the Eternal City. A summary, by The Tablet’s Rome Correspondent, o f the principal scenes and services (pp. 505-6).
Much about Moscow. A reasoned indictment, supported by the printed testimony o f Russian witnesses (p. 494).
H o ly W eek “ on the air.” Christian England’s low place among Passiontide broadcasts (p. 492).
Re-union. An Orthodox theologian’s earnest appeal fo r “ a rally to Rome ” (p. 489).
Pacifism in infimis. Some striking figures from Methodist seminaries. Mr. Fenner Brockway’s treasonable announcement (p. 491).
T o ledo’s new Archbishop. Sundry notes from Spain. The fervours o f H oly Week (p. 515).
Catholicism and English literature. Mr. Edward Hutton passes in review some great figures before and since the break in the “ continuity o f spirit ” exhibited by Spenser and finally by Milton (p. 496).
The centenary o f the S .V .P . A coming celebration at Westminster (p. 508).
NEWS AND NOTES A GAIN and again, it has been admitted in “ News . and Notes ” that practising Christians are now a minority in England. But this cloud has a silver lining. The salient lesson o f modern history is that eager minorities rule the world. In Mexico, in Spain, in France and especially in Russia, small cliques o f anti-Christians have easily succeeded in lording it over the religiously-minded majorities. I f bad minorities can thus make themselves felt, surely a good minority ought to be still more powerful. All depends upon dogged determination. Of course, a very small and very weak minority could not
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expect to do m u c h ; but happily the Christian minority in England is still large and strong. Proof o f its considerable strength was forthcom ing last Sunday, when millions o f men and women and young people devoutly went fasting to church for their Easter communion. Although we are outnumbered by the drilled legions of Irreligion and by the hordes o f Indifference, there are enough o f us to send an Expeditionary Force into the pagan field and to keep strong reserves in readiness for the moment when they may be wanted.
Irreligion, however, is like the Catholic Church in one respect. It is not shut up within the frontiers o f particular nations but is prevalent everywhere. Therefore it must be broken against the granite o f Christian Solidarity. On Easter Sunday, after a break o f three-and-sixtv years, the Sovereign Pontiff advanced from the loggia of St. Peter’s and gave to hundreds of thousands o f people his Easter Blessing, urbi et orbi. Let us beware o f interpreting et orbi as an empty phrase, surviving from other days. The Vicar o f Christ still speaks paternally to the whole human family, despite the fact that there are millions o f prodigal sons and rebellious daughters.
Happily, the nipping wind of world-woe whirls along many a straw o f hope. Good men and true are praying and working to repair the shattered unity o f Christendom. [Of course, we are not now speaking o f the Unity o f the Church, a quality which the Mystical Body o f Christ can never lose.] A consoling and promising instance o f the desire for true Unity in communion with the H oly See of Peter has come to our knowledge this very week. In Bessarabia, there lives and works a renowned theologian o f the Orthodox Church, Jeremia Cecan, archpriest o f Chisinau. This earnest man and acute thinker has addressed an Open Letter to Mgr. Romain Ciorogariu, Orthodox Bishop of Oradea, in Transylvania. Readers of “ News and Notes ” may remember that, only a fortnight ago, The Tablet devoted liberal space to a Pastoral Letter
