ITEMS FROM A CATHOLIC PAPER.
JAMES R. RANDALL, a special Washington correspondent of the Catholic Mirror, writes under date of May 27:— “Cardinal Satolli will carry away with him precious memories of the Jesuit Fathers of Washington, who have, in their cordial, comprehensive, and characteristic way, proved, at Georgetown University and Gonzaga College, such boundless love and devotion for the holy see and its delegated special representative. What the Jesuit Fathers do at all, they do with all their might and all their hearts and all their minds, and never did the church need them more than at this time. How any Catholic, in any station, can help admiring and cherishing the company of Jesus, is beyond my understanding.” In an article in the Mirror of May 30, entitled “Burial of a Pope,” there occurs this item of detail:— “The day after the pope dies, as many cardinals as happen to be in Rome meet to confer. The oldest of their number, the dean of the college, presides; they swear to preserve the utmost secrecy concerning all their proceedings; they renew their oaths of allegiance to the holy see, binding themselves to defend and guard the rights, prerogatives, and temporal possessions of the church (up to the effusion of blood); then they discuss questions of immediate urgency, listen to reading of the laws governing the election, and hear the camerlengo’s report of his business. The congregation reassembles each day, its numbers constantly increasing by the arrival of cardinals from a distance.” The Rome correspondent of the Mirror, under date of May 3, says:— “It is stated that Mgr. Agliardi, the papal ambassador to Russia for the czar’s coronation, is the bearer of an autograph letter from his holiness representing to his majesty the necessity of ameliorating the condition of Catholics in Russia, and mentioning the points upon which reforms are particularly desirable.”