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 CONGRESSES

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CONGRESSES

ittontion of the league is more and more fixed on
 * ilt;iining practical social ends. This, however, is

made more difficult by the mistaken conception that nil ("athoHc Frenchwomen, because they are Catholics, should belong to the league; consequently, the pro- uramme lacks definiteness, and many problems are taken up in a hesitating and incomplete manner. .Mnreover, this policy prevents a correct perception of tiro sociological character of the organizations in ques- tion and their accommodation to the needs of the \Mirkingman. They are turned too much into the ilirpction of charitable and benevolent activities. The w >rk of the league in .social economics is as yet only III its infancy. The "Jeanne d'Arc" Federation aims I" unite all Catholic women of France who take up ■ lurstions of .social betterment, in an annual assembly for exchange of views and combined effort. Since I'lOl a well-attended annual meeting has been held at r iris, but so far has resulted only in an interchange of c'l>inion and resolutions. This is due to the fact that t lii> federation has no regular and recognized authority ii\ir the manifold associations affiliated in it.

Ivlucational Congresses. — Up to 1908 three con- jri'^-ics of French priests had been held: Saint- 1,'nntin, 1895; Reims, 1897; Bourges, 1898. The lirst, which differed in aims from those following, met ■:{ the suggestion of Loon Harmel and confined itself !< nmsidering the share the clergy shoukl take in the I iTiirts to better present social conditions. The at- I' iiilance was about two hundred. The two following I'ingresses called by the .\bbe Lemire, supported by \\:r .\bbes Dabry, Naudet, Gibier, Lacroix, had an attendance of from six hundred to eight hundred per- se nis. Questions touching the sacerdotal life were iliseusscd: training of the clergj- ; continuation of I lirical .studies; activity in the cure of .souls ; organi- zation to secure a continuous succession of clergj-; )iri(sts' unions; mutual aid societies, etc. The con- \ liitions were presided over by bishops, Leo XIII sent his blessing, and the influence on the younger clergy was excellent. There was much opposition to them, hnwever, on the part of some of the bishops and soine (if the older clergj', and especiallj* on the part of the ( nnservatives in polities. The ''Congres de l'.\lliance iirsgrands-s^minaires"metat Paris, 21-22, July, 1908, the questions taken up were mainly the preparatory 1 raining of the clergy in letters and in ascetic life. iventions of delegates of the teachers of higher and aientary schools not under State control, the "Sjti- tts et a.ssociations de I'enseignement libre", met: .1 Bordeaux, 1906; Poitiers, 1907; Paris, 1908. At r iris, the delegates represented 2300 teachers belong- ing to teachers' unions and 3000 not connected with such organizations, from a teaching force of 20,000. Among the subjects discussed were pedagogical ques- tions, school-organization, instruction in industrial and high schools, inatters of professional interest. The association of Catholic Lawj-ers has met j'early since 1876, the first session being held at Lj'ons, that of 1907 at .\ngers. Tho.se legal questions are taken up which, at the moment, are of practical importance for the continuance of the Church as an organized society, for its endowments and institutions. The "Alliance des mai.sons d'education chr^tienne" aims to secure for independent schools those advantages which a centralize<l organization confers on those under State control. Up to 1908 the annual sessions were organized by Abbe Ragon, Professor at the Catholic Institute of Paris. The subjects discussed are methods of in.struction and school organization. The .\lliance origiiialU' represented 7.') schools; the number rose to 60O, but on account of the law of 1901, which redupcd the nimiber of schools independent of the State, those in the Alliance fell to 500 in 190S.

Germany. — t'p to 1908, fifty-five congresses have been held, the last, 1908, at Diis.seldorf, those previous met at: Mannheim, 1902; Cologne, 1903; Ratisbon,

1904; Strasburg, 1905; Essen, 1906; Wiirzburg, 1907. The Central Committee, formed in 1868, super- intends the preparations for the sessions and directs the conventions. When the Kullurkampj began the committee was dissolved, and its work was done by Prince Karl Lowenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg, the "Standing commissioner of the Catholic Congress". In 1898 a new committee was formed. Count Clemens Droste-Vischering being chairman. The president of the congress changes every year, and the most distin- guished representatives of Catholicism in Germany and the leading members of the nobility arc regularly selected for the presidency, which office is always held by a layman. On the other hand the chairman of the committee of arrangements is always the bishop of the diocese in which the coming session is to be held. Each congress lasts five days, the meeting being held in August. A number of Catholic societies, especially the Volksverein, founded 1901, the St. Augustine Association for the Development of the Catholic Press, founded 1877, at the second Catholic congress at Wiirzburg, and the Catholic Students' societies, founded 1867, take advantage of the occasion to hold their own conventions at the same time and place. In addition to the sessions of the General Catholic Con- gress, in 1850 arrangements were made for diocesan conventions; these, however, seldom meet. Conven- tions are more common for the various Prussian prov- inces and the different states of the confederation, e. g. for Silesia, Bavaria, and tlie last held for Wiir- temberg at Ulm, 1901. Early in 1904, bj- order of the Archbishop of Cologne, all the charitable societies and those for social betterment of the diocese were feder- ated, the first convention of this general organization meeting in May, 1904. The first congress of the " Bonifacius Association" was held 8-9 July, 1908, at Paderborn ; the object of the society is to collect funds for Catholic churches and schools among Germans scattered abroad, for the Scandinavian mission, and to aid the religious needs of the Catholics.

Social C'ongresses. — General conventions are held of the " Arbciterwohl" (Society for Bettering the Condi- tion of the Working-Clas.ses) ; "Society of Catholic Manufacturers and Friends of Workingmen", founded in 1905; and "Societj' for Social Culture and Com- munal Betterment", founded 1880 with the aid of Franz Brandts, Hitze, etc. At the last-named gen- eral assembly held annually all members can take part in the discussions of the questions brought up. A congress of the "Volksverein" has been held annually since 1890 in connexion with the General Catholic Con- gress. At these sessions, open to all, annual reports and explanation of the object of the union are given. The president of these annual congre.sses was gener- ally Franz Brandts of Miinchen-Gladbach, and the chief speakers Gniber, Trimbome, and Lieber. LTnder the direction and leadership of Mgr. Werthmann of Freiburg, Baden, the Association for Charitable Work has met annually as a national assemblj' since 1896, when it convened at Schwabisch-Gmiind. The ses- sion of 1907 was at Hildesheim, the next, the thir- teenth, at Ravensburg. Reports of committees and addresses are alternately made at the sessions. The Congress for Charitable Work came into existence through the sociological activitj'of the "Volksverein"; its aim being to show that Catholic charities should be more extensively guided bj' sociological considera- tions, and tliat they st.and in need of closer union and greater ze.al. In 1897 a "Union of Charitable Soci- eties" grew out of this congress ; the t^nion is divided into local an<l provincial societies imdcr the direction of a well-organized central management which, with- out interfering with the siibunlinate organizations, exerts on them a beneficial influence. Especially important are its training courses; the local and pro- vincial societies also frequently hold district and dio- cesan conventions. A reorganization of the St. Vin-