OCR Text |
Show THE SWISS CATHOLICS. Total of 1,379,644, With 2,215 Priests Parishes Re-established. The commission recently appointed by the authorities of Berne to examine the question of the re-establishment of Cauholie parishes has ador.ted the main features of the report that had been submitted to it. This report re-establishes all parishes of the districts of Dolemont and of Franches-AIontagnes, which were suppressed in 1SJ4 in consequence con-sequence of the Kulturkampf and of the schism of the old Catholics. This move is an evidence of the grad ual reawakening of the spirit of tolerance toler-ance which', during the past few years, iias been manifesting itself in the government gov-ernment party. Three years ago a mo-linn mo-linn to obtain government funds of SS.000 annually for the Catholic parishes par-ishes oi Basle was summarily rejected; the same motion made last January was laid unon the table by a very small majority. Statistics just published give the following fol-lowing figures of the Cathoiie population popula-tion of Switzerland: Basle. 494.163 souls, with 7J0 orlests ; Coire. 228.181 laymen with 417 priests; Saint Gall 168,495 and 219 priests; Lausanne-Geneve, Lausanne-Geneve, 225,940. with ::3."i priests; Sion. 115,937, with 229 priests; Tessin, 135.-62S. 135.-62S. with 295 priests, making a grand total Catholic population of ' 1. 379.654 ministered to by 2.215 priests. |