“ Surrounded by a literature which, non-Catholic at its best, is fast losing all colour of Christianity, we have need to profit by all that modern research has anywhere contributed to the Catholic solution of the great questions of which the age has been so fertile. Nor is Catholic Ireland without her own proper treasures to give in exchange for what she receives from abroad. Not to speak of the actual labours of Irish Divines in Theology and History, it may be said that few Churches are so rich as ours in remains of ecclesiastical antiquity of the highest importance. ”

“ The schools of Ireland, her art, her literature, her laws, her social customs, all felt the influence of the intense religious feeling that existed throughout the land. The Irish monastic superiors, says a lively French writer, aimed at making their monks saints, and were surprised to find them become poets likewise. Now this rich superabundance of spiritual blessing, as it was the fruit of union with Rome, so also ought it be traced back to Rome as its source under God. ”

“ There are two positions that command the whole field of Irish Church history. The first is the original connection of the Irish Church with the See of Rome; the second is that her hierarchy has remained ever faithful to Rome, especially in the time of the Reformation. Deny either of these, and the whole aspect of our ecclesiastical history is immediately changed. The supernatural virtues that spring from Catholicism nowhere had a fresher bloom than in Ireland. ”

“ At this moment there is a Protestant bishop in Ireland who was a Catholic till he entered Trinity College; the same can be said of the archdeacon of another diocese, and his two brothers; the female members of the families of these dignitaries still remain good Catholics; and on the list of the fellows, professors, and scholars of the University itself, are the names of several who were baptized in the Catholic faith, and declared themselves Protestants when wishing to become members of the University of Dublin! ”

“ Besides, as the world goes on, history is ever repeating itself, but with a difference. In Father Segneri's time the Catholics of Italy asked after the news from Ireland; now it is our turn to ask: "What news from Rome?" Then the Head was tenderly solicitous about the suffering members; now the members are troubled for the perils of the Head. This being the case, it is intolerable that modern journalism, with its lies, clumsy or clever, should be teachers of Pontifical history to the Irish Clergy. ”

“ I beseech the intercession with thee of all the holy martyrs of the whole world, both of the Old Testament and of the New Testament, from the beginning of the world to Eli and Enoch, who shall suffer the last martyrdom on the brink of the judg [Pg 7] ment; with Stephen, with Cornelius, with Cyprian, with Lawrence, with Georgius, with Germanus.
15. I beseech the intercession with thee of all the holy monks who made battle for thy sake throughout the whole world, with Eliam, and with Elisium, in the Old Testament; with John, with Paul, with Anthony, in the New Testament. ”

“ The [Pg 3] science of Theology being supernational in its nature, although at a given date it may flourish more in one country than another, can never become the special property of any. In Rome, above all, and in Italy generally, in Belgium, in France, in Spain, in America, as well as in Germany, much is being done for Theology. The literary and scientific labours of Catholics in all these countries ought to be better known amongst us. ”

“ May God put away from us their fury, their power, their valour, their bravery, their cunning; may God light up meekness, and charity, gratitude, and mercy, and forgiveness in their hearts, and in their thoughts, and in their souls, and in their minds, and in their bowels. ”

“ O'Malone, presents a petition to the Holy Father, in which he states that the Vice-Chancellor of the Roman Church, to whom the task should belong, being impeded by sickness, it had become his duty to propose the candidate for the vacant see: a diligent investigation being made, Roderick O'Malone, canon of Clonmacnoise, recommended by the English king, was found to be a person well suited for that important post, and as he was actually present in the city of Rome, his Eminence prays the Holy Father to sanction without delay his appointment to the See of Ardagh. ”

“ The "much which remains to be done" is, we submit, to take off the restrictions on University education which still remain, and to allow Catholics who conscientiously object to the Protestant University and to the Queen's Colleges, to gain University honours and distinctions without violating their religious principles. At present they are excluded, practically, from University education on account of their religious opinions. ”

“ If, however, we deduct from the number of Roman Catholics pursuing classical studies those who pass to the College of Maynooth, All Hallows, and several Continental seminaries, to follow up their studies preparatory for the priesthood, the disproportion will appear less, when we take into account that nearly all the candidates for the ministry of the Established Church graduate in the University of Dublin, to which they contribute a very large proportion of its students". ”

“ UNIVERSITY EDUCATION IN IRELAND.
There are two Universities recognized by law in this country. One of these, the University of Dublin, or Trinity College, although it has shown of late years a more liberal spirit towards Catholics than formerly, must always remain essentially Protestant in character, until the way is open for Catholics to be appointed on its governing body—a change, of which there does not appear to be the slightest probability. ”

“ The unfairness of the present system will appear more clearly, if we consider the question of professional education. In the profession of the Law, out of 758 barristers in Ireland in 1861, 216 were returned as Catholics; 674 out of 1,882 attorneys; of 2,358 physicians and surgeons, 761 were Catholics; and 210 out of 419 apothecaries, many of whom hold a medical license. Of 1,065 members of other liberal professions, not ecclesiastics, the Census Commissioners state that 358 belonged to the Catholic religion; and of 267 professors in colleges, and tutors, 141 held the same faith. ”

“ Nearly one thousand Catholics (930) must submit to these inconveniencies, or must, on the one hand, choose between a University founded to maintain the ascendancy of the Established Church in Ireland, and, on the other hand, institutions condemned by their Church.
With respect to the Medical Profession, every one knows the high value set by practitioners, and by the public, on the title and degree of "Doctor of Medicine". Now, no one can obtain that high distinction in Ireland unless by becoming a member of one of the two Universities recognized by law ”

“ A distinguished German scholar has lately said that the candlestick of theological science has been moved in our days from its primitive seats, and that upon the German mind has devolved the charge of becoming the principal support and guardian of theological knowledge. ”

“ Masters of Arts, even such of them as are not Protestants, have votes in the election of members to represent the University in Parliament; but these scholarships are not on the foundation, the holders of them do not belong to the corporation, and no Catholic has any share in the government of the University, nor (with one trifling exception) in its teaching. Trinity College was founded for the purpose (as stated in its original charter) of destroying Catholicity and promoting the ascendancy of the Established Church in Ireland. It has religiously endeavoured to discharge that trust ”

“ The general rule is, that ecclesiastics in church or choir are never covered except when seated, unless those who, paramentis induti, move from place to place without passing before the clergy. A priest who goes from the sacristy to the choir, or to any other part of the church, if he do not wear at least the stole, should not wear his beretta. Much less should he wear the beretta if he be not in choir habit. ”

“ Some have asserted that members of a secret society contract no censure unless the object or tendency of the society be both to undermine the authority of civil government, and to destroy religion, and that at the same time the members of the society be bound by oath to secrecy. ”

“ The very small proportion of Roman Catholic students receiving University instruction requires, perhaps, more explanation, because they are taken from the class of those undergoing intermediate instruction, which has an absolute majority over the Protestants of the same class. ”

“ A. Percival, in An Apology for the Doctrine of Apostolical Succession, states that "at the accession of Queen Elizabeth, of all the Irish bishops, only two were deprived, and two others resigned on account of their adherence to the supremacy of the See of Rome. The rest continued in their sees; and from them the bishops and clergy of the Irish Church derive their orders.... This has never been disputed". Dr. Mant, the Protestant bishop of Down and Connor, attempts to prove statistically that the Irish hierarchy adopted the Reformation. ”

“ Nothing is more opposed to the spirit of liturgical rules than objects for which there is no use. Altar-charts are not a decoration, but are made to serve a purpose; therefore they should be displayed when they are wanted. ”

“ In the ninth century Anglebert II., Bishop of Milan, placed in [Pg 22] one and the same urn the remains of the three saints, and built over them a new altar, which was so richly ornamented with gold and precious stones that it has ever since been styled the Pallio d'Oro. This altar has remained intact down to our days. On the evening of the 15th January, 1864, the authorities of the Basilica, in course of excavations directed by the provost and a special commission, made search for the primitive sepulchre in which Saint Ambrose had laid the two martyrs. ”

“ In indicating the holy bishops who founded the ecclesiastical city in Rome, St. Colga follows the order of the Canon of the ancient Roman Liturgy: Linus, Cletus, Clement, showing by this the close connection of our ancient Church with the other churches of Europe, and especially with the Church of Rome. Whether this be really the chronological order, is (as all are aware) a vexata questio among ecclesiastical historians. Nearly all the monuments and authorities bearing on this point set down Saint [Pg 12] Linus as the immediate successor of the Prince of the Apostles ”

“ Graduates are obliged to attend only two courses of lectures, either at the King's Inns or at Trinity College, or (in the case of students of the Queen's University) at any one of the Provincial Colleges; while non-graduates are required to attend four courses, viz.:—two courses at the King's Inns, and two additional courses at Trinity College. Moreover, graduates are required to attend twelve terms' commons, viz.: six in the King's Inns and six in any Inn in London ”

“ In such a state of society, lasting more or less for a century and a half, is it hard to find a place for the martyrdom of many and many a Christian?
2. The second difficulty is as follows: Many of the graves marked by the phial of blood are also marked by the presence of that special form of the monogram of Christ which belongs to the period of Constantine; they cannot, therefore, be the graves of martyrs. ”

“ He then calls upon the chosen of the written Law, including Moses, Josue, etc., and the chosen of the law of the Prophets—Elias, Eliseus, David, and Solomon. He then passes to the New Testament, begging the intercession of thine own holy Apostles, and all the saints to the end of the world. Saint James, "Frater Domini", is then mentioned as first bishop of Jerusalem, which was the earliest of the Churches; then follow all the holy bishops who founded the ecclesiastical city in Rome. ”

“ Is it fair or reasonable to place such trammels on men in the pursuit of the highest education? In fine, is it just to oblige parents to choose for their sons either half-educated tutors, or else men whose views may have become unsettled on matters most important, most sacred to their eyes in their chil [Pg 27] dren's education—men who have been trained in an institution which Catholics, as a body, reject and repudiate? ”

“ Dr. Mac Mahon died in 1576, and had for his successor another member of the Franciscan Order, Richard Mac Brady, who was proclaimed bishop of Ardagh in the Consistory of 16th January, 1576-7. He, however, held the see for little more than three years, and was then transferred to the diocese of Kilmore. His successor as bishop of Ardagh was the renowned Edmund Mac Gauran, who, being translated to the Primatial See on the 1st July, 1587, closed his career by adding his name to the long list of the martyrs of Ireland. ”

“ Qui rursus ad Colossenses scribens, ait: Sive Throni, sive Potestates, sive Principatus, sive Dominationes. Dum ergo illis quatuor, quae ad Ephesios dixit, conjunguntur Throni, quinque sunt ordines; quibus dum Angeli et Archangeli, Cherubim atque Seraphim, conjuncta sunt, proculdubio novem esse Angelorum ordines inveniuntur". We ought, perhaps, to add that the coincidence with Saint Gregory's enumeration is not, perhaps, altogether casual, for there is reason to believe that in the eighth century there was in Ireland a very extensive acquaintance with that great pontiff's writings. ”

“ Since the publication of the Decree we have given above, an important discovery has been made in the Basilica Ambrosiana of Milan, which goes far to justify the accuracy of the decision of the Sacred Congregation. In the year 386 Saint Ambrose discovered at Milan the relics of the two illustrious Milanese martyrs, Saints Gervasius and Protasius. He caused them to be translated to the Basilica, and buried them beneath the altar, on the right or Gospel side. ”