| OCR Text |
Show T ; POOR. FRANCE. ' " In our last issue appeared a reprint of a letter published in the Catholic World by Maunel De Moreira regarding the last battle of French infidels infi-dels against the Church. The new legislative enactments enact-ments by M. Aristide Briand are to -annul the Concordat mutu'ly agreed' upon by Xapoleon the Great and Pius VII. The former, though battling with the Church, realized that every state owes its -existence to some definite religion. re-ligion. Aristide Briand 1 thinks differeutly. lie has drawn up a new,' and independent code which is to direct the relationship of Church and State. Its chief-aim is to cripple the Church in its -influ- . ence and, as far as possible, subject itlo the State. -. j Judging from the -provisions of the new regulations, regula-tions, M. Aristide Briand must be a lineal descendant descen-dant of, Voltaire. -Doctor O'Hagan. of the University Uni-versity of Louvrain, after an extended trip through France, gives his impressions of the French people peo-ple in a letter to the Milwaukee Sentinel. His description of, the. present state of society in France is appalling lie shows that the masses of the people have lapsed into heathenism. What a singular and a peculiar race those French people, peo-ple, who are always extremists. During their long existence we find them either very good or extremely ex-tremely bad. The cause of their present hostility to religion we look for in vain among writers who essay to know. Doctor O'Hagan tells us how low in the scale of morality nnd Christian ethics the French raee has descended, but he does not give the cause of their descent. The cause has been attributed to the very small percentage who control con-trol political matters, and who are leagued with the avowed enemies of the Church. But, a pertinent perti-nent question would be : Who made these rulers I enemies of the Church . They have been instructed in Christian schools, and are graduates of Catholic Cath-olic colleges. They are elected to their offices by the French people who, we are told, stilly retain the faith. In France the Church has enjoyed less freedom than in England or Germany. Because of her dependence on the State, there was always a restraint in enforcing her spiritual discipline, and many of her courtly prelates, the offspring of the State, were more loyal to Caesar than to the Papal authority in Rome. Catholic faith was not' taught in all its vigor, but its development in the erection of: fdiip.es, .-which appeal -only to tho senses and arc seldom sanctioned by the head of tho Church, was weak and sentimental. This dependence on the State, which made it necessary for bishops and priests to obtain its permission for the exercise of their sacred functions, has always produced a , .strange anomaly in France, of too much Catholicity or too little. The excess lacked that bold, strong faith, and loyalty to the Holy See which is the center of unity and without which Catholicity is impossible. The direction of the Church in executing the divine mandate, to teach, direct aud guide souls in the way of salvation, salva-tion, instead of being controlled by strong, vigorous vigor-ous minds, was left to the guidance of pious women wo-men whose visions and dreams were substituted for Catholic faith. This made the faith in many instances in-stances weak and languid. Another great obstacle, too. to the growth and strength of Catholic faith in the past has been that, Whilst in France Catholicity Catholi-city was the faith of the people, yet the Catholic faith alone was the' only faith restricted by the State. M. Montalambert alludes to this. From him we learn that there is no law in France that ! requires one to believe, even in God. or that prevents pre-vents him from denouncing and execrating the founder of Christianity. All religions, except the. Catholic religion, have been free in French soil. The country is teeming with bad literature and immoral im-moral works. .'-The irreligious press freely attacks the Church on all sides, in her, dogmas and morals, mor-als, whilst the Papacy is denounced. But no sooner cioes the Catholic press defend the rights of Peter, and the independent, of the Church, than the Min- istcr of Worship sends his' emissaries with a censure cen-sure or threat of suppression to the journal that ventures to defend the Church. In studying the present warfare there are certain cer-tain questions to which we cannot close our eyes. France, claiming to be the oldest child o the Church, and her children trained under the very cyes of the church, yet alienated from the Church, is inexplicable to all thoroughly instructed in-structed in Catholic truths. There must be some grave defect in the Christian education given in our seminaries and colleges. The Associated Press, during the week, gives Premier Combes reasons for the suppression of leaching by religious orders. or-ders. "The introductory clause dwells on the insufficiency in-sufficiency of the teaching in religious schools and also on the dangerous tendencies inculcated." The "insufficiency"' docs not apply to mere book learning, learn-ing, but to inculcating the beauties, grandeur, stability sta-bility and perpetuity of the present form of government. gov-ernment. The astute politician may still dread a tendency on the part of the teaching orders for the old traditions'of the French monarchy. Is so, herein here-in consists the gravamen of what the premier designates des-ignates as "dangerous tendencies." Such suspicions suspic-ions of loyalty -have more than once brought France to tho'brink of the precipice, and'at times drenched her soil with the blood of her most devoted de-voted citizens. Xor do we sec any reasfcm why the Church should hanker for the old French mon- j archy, which, through its chief leaders, enslaved her more than the republican regime of 1S4. The letter of the late lamented Pontiff. Leo XIII, to the religious congregations in France, did not doubt their loyalty to the government, which he always encouraged. "Respecting the laws and sub-missible, sub-missible, to the civil authorities, they bring with them, wherever they come, civilization and peace. Xor is it an uncommon thing to make important ; contributions to science by the help they give to researches which are being made in such different domains as the study of the differences dif-ferences of race and tongue, of history, the nature na-ture and products of, the soil, and other questions." ques-tions." In the same letter he says that it was on the love and loyalty of her missionaries, together with "their laborious, patient and tireless action, ac-tion, tho Protectorate of France was founded, which government after government has always been jealous to preserve. '"' - The inviolable attachment of the French missionaries to their country, tho eminent services which they render her, the great influence which they secure tor her, especially in the East all these facts are recognized recog-nized by men of the most varied opinions, and only lately solemnly proclaimed by the voice of the highest authority." The storm the Holy Father saw gathering has broken out, and, unfortunately, what Voiltaire sought but could not accomplish, is now realized. Hatred of religion, blasphemy, de cay of the family, and persecution of its own children, chil-dren, who won for her fame in the past, are the only legacies which the present government is bequeathing be-queathing to its children. The reasons for' all this were given by Pope Leo XIII in his letter to tho Superiors Orders in France. "It is clear," he says, "that they consider the dissolution and ex- ' tinction of religious orders as a successful maneu- ' vrc in the furthering, of their deep-laid designs of , driving the Catholic nations into the ways of apostasy apos-tasy and alienation from Jesus Christ, and because of that we may say in all truth: 'Blessed are you because you are hated aud persecuted. " The advice ad-vice given was not heeded; the government is madly mad-ly rushing on, and it will descend still lower in the scale of morality before a reaction sets in, or a revival re-vival of the old missionary spirit be rekindled. The French are a fickle race, of whom it has been truly said that there is no need for them of a purgatory, as they are truly good or really bad. A |
