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Show CATHOLIC OPINION There' is talk of a reconciliation between be-tween the Crown Prince of Saxony and the truant princess. We should not be one bit surprised. But such a reconciliation recon-ciliation would only show the still greater depths of infamy to w hich European, Eu-ropean, especially Saxon, royalty, can descend. The whole House of Haps-burg Haps-burg is rotten to the core. Royalty in Europe is dead or dying. But where it is dead, they should bury it and not allow its carcass to contaminate con-taminate the air decent people breathe. Western Watchman. Are we sorry tolose Bishop Quigley? What a question! Of course we are. But at the same time, in unison with every priest and layman in this diocese, dio-cese, we rejoice with pride ahd exultation exulta-tion in the great honors that have been conferred upon him. A thrice happy New Year to him! Republic. 3 Glancing over the leading events in Marconi's life which appeared in last Sunday's New York World, we find this: "Joseph Marconi's second marriage was with a gray-eyed, keen-witted Irish girl, Anna Jameson. Two children chil-dren were the result of this union Alphonse in 1865 and William in 1874." So the wondrous wizard of wireless telegraphy had an Irish mother "gray-eyed and keen-witted" another confirmation of the saying that great men have all had remarkable mothers. Republic. Yesterday the Cook county Democracy Democ-racy conferred an honorary membership member-ship on John Mitchell, the famous leader of American labor. Contemporaneously Contempo-raneously there was talk of running him for governor of Illinois. There is no question .but that an honest man and a strong one would be in office were he elected; but, seriously, would it be well for him or well for labor in general? The country needs such men as Mitchell ' as struggles for social so-cial justice far more vitally than the state of Illinois needs governors bound hands and feet. As matters now stand, the upright, independent struggler is more of a patriot than is the hidebound hide-bound partisan. Catholic Mirror; With tens of thousands of people shivering for want of coal the miners of Pennsylvania refused to work on New Year's day. We hope they enjoyed en-joyed their holiday. Western W'atch-man. f Our Methodist friends are jubilant over accomplishing their labor of collecting, col-lecting, a $20,000,000 fund for church purposes. Money is a great help, of course, but will it assist our friends in filling their churches on' Sunday? Much of it was contributed by wealthy oppressors op-pressors of the poor. Will it help them to lead more Christian lives? Will contributing con-tributing it prevent them from directing direct-ing trusts, corners and combinations and flaying the weak and unfortunate alive? We should be glad so to believe. be-lieve. Catholic Mirror. The Protestant Independent does not think much of the movement to start in the Philippines a "Catholic" church, not subject to the bishops or the pope. It says: "The character of those prominent prom-inent in the movement is such as to discredit it." The character of apostates apos-tates and renegades is always the same from China to Peru. "When the pope weeds his garden, he throws the weeds over the wall," said the witty old Dean Swift. And there are always poor, blind bigots on the other side to gather the weeds to their bosom. The Leader. The pope is not an irresponsible ruler who can make and unmake laws at his pleasure, it is a principle in legislar tion that while a legislator is master of his own laws, an inferior legislator cannot make laws for a superior. Above the pope is God and our Lord Jesus Christ. He Is the supreme legislator j for the church. He it is that fashioned ' her constitution, gave her mission and set her to be the mistress and teacher of the nations. Whatsoever laws, therefore, there-fore, he enacted, no human power can change or set aside. The pope himself, him-self, though the Vicar of Christ, is herein powerless. He is merely the executor of these laws, and he is bound by their provisions as strictly as the humblest of his children. The Leader. For a person of Cardinal Gibbons' years to shake hands with nearly 1.000 people in a short space of time must have entailed a hard time for his eminence. em-inence. It is, however, in another light that it is best to look at the incident. and we ought to be thankful that so able a prelate is able to be among his people and can stand so great a strain upon his physical powers. They used to say, "Those whom the gods love die young." There are many striking instances in-stances in the Catholic church to prove this proverb false-Observer. Whatever it be that keeps the finer faculties of the mind awake, wonder alive, and the interest above mere eating eat-ing and drinking, money making and money saving, whatever it be that gives gladness or sorrow, or hope this, be it violin, pencil, great thoughts, or, highest of all, the love of woman, or simply a divine gift of holy influence, for the salvation of that being to whom it comes, for the lifting him out of the mire and up on the rock. For it keeps a way open for the entrance of deeper, holier, grander influences, emanating from the same riches of the godhead. j V.J It takes a great soul to be a true friend a large, catholic, steadfast and loving spirit. One must forgive much, forget much, forbear much. It costs to be a friend or to have a friend. There is nothing else In life except motherhood that costs so much. It not only costs time, affection, strength, patience, love sometimes a man must even lay down his life for his friends. There is no true friendship without self-abnegation, self-abnegation, self-sacrifice. . - We have endless opportunities for exercising love. Our brothers lie stricken all along life's highway brave men who have fought and failed, feeble folk who were never strong enough for earth's conflict,' some without health, others without money; some without friends, others without hope. What is to become of them? If we would h I helpers in this world of perplexity and sorrow, if we desire any real peace and happiness, if we would ever rest our aching heads where St. John rested his, on the very bosom of Jesus, we must practice the lessons of love. |