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Show PIUS X'S FIRST YEAR'S RECORD ON PAPAL THRONE (Special Cable to Cleveland Plaindealer.) Rome. Aug. 2. The first year of the pontificate of Pius X will have closed on Thursday next when Cardinal Del Val, as the first cardinal promoted by him. will celebrate a solemn mass of thanksgiving in St. Peter's and thus commemorate the first anniversary an-niversary of Pius X's accession to the throne. Already Al-ready many telegrams and letters of congratulation have reached the Vatican, some of them from European Euro-pean sovereigns, and the private secretaries of the Pope are kept busy sending answers to all these messages without delay. The general opinion among the prelate; here regarding the work accomplished' during the first year of Pius X's pontificate seems to be that the new Pope has made good his promise' to promote religion and its interests above all and regardless of political and human considerations. Many much needed reforms have already been introduced in the church, principal among which is lhat .of ecclesiastical ecclesi-astical music which Pius X strenuously pushed along in the face of the strongest opposition from persons interested in the old order of things. As the head of the church. Piu.s X has also given abundant abun-dant proofs of the zeal that animates his whole being be-ing in providing worthy pastors -and bishops for the church. One of the first acts of his pontificate was to reserve to himself personally the nomination of all the bishops, to be. appointed all over the world, thus taking away the right of investigation from I uue oi me noman congregations, winch nad exer- cised such a right for centuries. Pius X considers that the selection of proper persons for the episcopal epis-copal dignity forms one of the chief responsibilities responsibili-ties of his position and in the case of the vacant French dioceses, having reasons to reject the names submitted by the French government, he preferred to leave the dioceses in question without incumbents incum-bents rather than anoint men whom he thought unfit un-fit for the important positions. The lower clergy has become also one of the chief 'concerns of the new pontiff and many and wise rules and regulations have been issued within the past twelve months, which will go far toward preventing the promotion of unworthy persons or the hasty ordination - of half-educated clergymen: In all ecclesiastical questions Pius X has been able to make use of his own judgment, experience and faith and in their solution he has always obtained the unanimous support of the curia. In the Vatican itself all business is now transacted in perfect accord, ac-cord, and the Roman congregations which during the last few years of the late Pope's reign seemed much disorganized and slow in their method of procedure, are now displaying much activity with corresponding results. As to political Issues, Pius X himself is convinced con-vinced that he has not as yet been very successful in their solution. Speaking on the subject to a friend, the other day, the Pope said: "I am sure that I can be a good pastor of souls. I may even make a good minister of the interior, but I know I can only be a poor minister of foreign affairs, because be-cause of my own lack of experience." During the last twelve months the religious in- I terests most connected with political matters were those affecting the French church, and it is nor unfair to say that matters have been going from bad to worse. Aside from the-expulsion of the religious re-ligious orders and the suppre.-sion of the congregational congre-gational school?. nK-ii-sures which had already ben in the main adopted before Pius X's election, Vatican Vati-can diplomacy has so far been unable to cope with the situation, and from the time of the closing of the conclave has mot with a series of apparent defeats. de-feats. Some ;it ; ribuie t In - b f. ii ! - lo lhe youth and inexperience of the papal s-oret;ir.y of stale, but knowing prelates assert thar each apparent, mistake mis-take implies a victory for religion and the church, whose business is now conducted regardless of political po-litical considerations, and whose best interests are in the future to be safely watched, independently j of the secular powers. There are those who see in I every action of the new Pone a. premeditated attempt at-tempt to shake off political considerations, in order to give religion and church interests pre-eminence over all other advantages. |
