INCREASE OF ROMAN CATHOLICISM.
The Catholic Mirror of the 24th ultimo reports a recent German Catholic Congress held in Crefeld, the forty-fifth, “one of the most successful gatherings ever held.” There were present 120 representatives of the press, and several members of the German Parliament, or Reichstag. About 7,000 workmen paraded in honor of the event. The special points of interest are in the way of straws, which show the direction of the wind better than heavier bodies. After boasting of their patriotism, a rousing cheer was given, not for kaiser and fatherland, but for “the pope and the kaiser.” The pope is first, not alone as the head of the church, but as the guardian of the kings of earth. In all things where the pope comes in at all he comes first. Another point: It is thought by many that Rome is content with public schools, but wherever she has sufficient leverage she is still demanding her denominational schools. The report says:— “Hence it is that we demand for our children denominational schools, and we shall not be satisfied till our demand is fully complied with. Hence it is that we insist on severe laws to safeguard public morality, and on freedom to the holy father, who is our leader and guide.” And this doubtless is a fair expression of the attitude of the church in all countries. As to the strength of the Roman Catholic Church in “Protestant Germany,” we find the following from a recent Catholic work, quoted in another column of the same Mirror:— “A safe criterion of the progress of the church in Germany is the number of her adherents. It is little less than half the entire population, but with the maintenance of the ratio of increase, it should at no distant future considerably exceed the half. The union of the whole, or the great majority of the nation, in the true faith, may therefore be reasonably predicted.” The same paper notes that among the “recent distinguished converts to the faith” in this country “is Mr. Edward L. Pugh, of Washington, D. C., eldest son of ex-United States Senator Pugh, of Alabama. Mr. Pugh is one of the chiefs of the Interstate Commerce Commission, and was recently received into the church in Washington by Rev. William O’B. Pardow, S.J.” All of which things justify the Mirror in remarking that “the many conversions to the Catholic faith which have taken place in recent years, warrant the assertion that the tide of the return to the church has already set in. As this increased influx proceeds from different countries, it can not be characterized as merely local; it is general. That it is general is further confirmed from the fact that it includes members of all classes of society.”