Show fRANCE AND ALSACE AND LORRAINE When Germany took took in Alsace and Lorra Lorraine Bismarck Bis- Bis 1 I marck arck bes besought Pope Pius IX to G ze the v ch ch churches in the two provinces The feeling between 4 the V Vatican tica and the German erman court at the time was very not not very cordial and Pius Pins IX I. steadily refused So 0 r AidI did Pope Leo Leo XIII but relations s with Germany and th the ti Vatican have improved and the close relations r i between France and the Vatican have become greatly greatly great great- l ly strained trained And nd now Pope Pius X has issued an edict V edict merging ng the dioceses of Metz and Strasburg i into iato that t of Mainz which has been a asi simple bishopric bishopricS S since but has now become becom a metropolitan see soe i This is a 2 great bl blow nv to France Ev Ever since 1871 J it has been been- a dream on the part of f Fr France nc nce that it itT jr T would some sometime ime r redeem deem the two hyo provinces a and d p- p their beautiful l cathedrals als so mag magnificent in the art artof of f a thousand years ears ago if v Of c course course no one ne can see far i into irto to the tle future Just Just now German power and German population a are c j faster than than either the power 01 asing vastly power or U J population of f France France but no noorie nOone one cart can tell much muli of or 4 the future Less than on one hundred years ealS ago Nap Na Na- p leon had all G Germany in m the dust at his feet but v France I has paid for that Now Germany is the foremost foremost foremost fore fore- most nation on the continent her Emperor has dreams dreans of adding much power still to his empire S kind and like the First Napoleon he may overplay the matter r and alid the day of the triumph of France may come come again but hilt at present plesent she slIe mourns the despoiling 91 of Alsace and Lorraine an and the subordinating rf cl r 1 r hil her clerical l ric l power there is a great humiliation Possibly Pos Pos- sibly before another nother hundred years kings may may cease j to 0 tobe be on this old world and each state will be independent inde- inde p pendent and may make alliances where it seems best |