K.S.C. ORDER LAUNCHES 'CONTACT'

New conversion crusade opens in New Year
C ARDINAL GRIFFIN has expressed whole-hearted approval of the Catholic Contact Crusade—a new movement to attract converts and help them into the Church—which will be a major activity of the Knights of St. Columba in 1953.
When the plans were outlined to him last week by Supreme Knight Thomas MeMenemy. the Cardinal said. "I think the scheme is excellent," Before it was launched the Crusade was approved by the Bishop Petit of Menevia, ecclesiastical adviser to the K.S.C. order.
Tens of thousands of leaflets have been printed for use by K.S.C. councils throughout the country. They remark that some 10,000 people are received into the Church in England and Wales every year and that the overwhelming number of Christians in the world are Catholics.
"There must be a reason," says the leaflet, and it invites non-Catholics to write for a free pamphlet and to enrol without cost or other obligation in the Catholic Postal Course, Those who ask for either pamphlet or postal course—which occupies 20 weeks—will receive a personal letter offering to arrange for a Catholic of his or her sex to call and show the enquirer round a Catholic church, and to take him or her to Mass or Benediction, or, if requested, to arrange an introduction to a priest.
The leaflets are handed by the knights to non-Catholic friends or left at houses during a door-to-door canvass.
Spiritual campaign
At the same time a spiritual campaign has been launched by the knights for the conversion of Great Britain.
Each council—there are more than 400—is arranging a general Holy Communion for the campaign's
Enquirers asking for a booklet receive free of charge copies of the C.T.S. pamphlet, "Reasons for being a Catholic," by the late Abbot Horne, O.S.B.
The postal course, which received ecclesiastical approval last year when it was initiated by Fr. Herbert Eincham, DD., from his presbytery at West Grinstead, Sussex, consists of 20 leaflets based on the Catechism.
Those enrolling for the course are invited to set down questions or difficulties. These are answered individually at the end of the course, The Catholic Contact Crusade is receiving enthusiastic support from the clergy.
A similar campaign by the Knights of Columbus in America has been an outstanding success. There space is taken in newspapers for series of advertisements explaining Catholic doctrine.
The Crusade over here uses leaflets in preference to advertisements largely because personal contact is much more valuable than publicity on a national basis.
Two 'New Year' parishes
Two new parishes for the Nottingham diocese have been formed by Bishop Ellis, The parish of Belper has been divided into two—Belper and Ripley. Fr. John Dowd, as parish priest of Belper, goes to Ripley. where there is already a church, and he is succeeded by Fr. Terence Nunn.
The second parish is Frecheville, Sheffield, where the Jesuits of Mount St. Mary's College, Spinkhill. have had a Mass centre for some time but with Sunday Mass only once a month.
Catholics in the area have been attending Sheffield churches but now Fr. Peter McDonagh, of St. Peter's, Leicester, has been given the task of building a church and establishing a self-supporting parish.