"NO one in recent years better
stated the case for a distinct Welsh Catholicism than Benedict XV in his apostolic letter Cumbria Celtiea," said Henry Edwards, a Welsh convert to the Church, speaking to the Gloucester branch of the Newman Association yesterday (Thursday). "That letter asserted that Wales was a nation distinct from England in language. customs, and traditions, and that it merited to have its own hierarchy and 'separation from the other churches'."
It was regrettable that the majority of the 100,000 Catholics in Wales did not share the common Welsh aspirations. "Whether they like it or not, they live in a series of enclaves. In some odd way they feel that Welshness is not quite consistent with the Faith. I have been asked by a priest and by several layfolk why I defend the use of such a `Protestant' language as Welsh."
The progress of the Faith in Wales depended largely upon the assimilation of these 100.000 in Welsh social life, said Mr. Edwards.