Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1886-01-08
CHURCH VS.. STATE.
An Interesting Struggle In the Argentine
Republic-Control OF the Public Schools
the hone OF Contention.

An Interesting Struggle In the Argentine
Republic-Control of the Public Schools
the Bone OF Contention.
WASHINGTON, Dec. PA series of dis
matches received by the Secretary of State
from Thomas O. Osborn, United States
Minister at Buenos Ayrcs, the last of which
is dated October l6, 1884, describes an
interesting episode in the nature of a strug-
gle between church and State in the Ar.
gentine Republic for the control OF the nor
NAL schools, a struggle which is the domi-
nant issue in National politics and has
absorbed much Of the attention of the
Government and the people.
I'm the normal schools of that republic,
established and supported by the National
Government, many Protestant teachers,
mostly women from the United States, are,
employed. On the 25th of April, 1881, DR..
Clara, a Catholic ecclcsiastic and the acting
Bishop of Cordova, issued a pastoral let
ter prohibiting, anong other things, the
sending of Catholic children to school
where Protestant teachers were employed.
The National Government, considering it
an act of disrcspect and INSTRUMENTATION,
took the matter up and, after the exchange
of several notes between the Minister Of
Education, the Governor of the Province of
Cordova and DR.. Clara, referred it to the
Attorney General for his opinion.
The Acknowledgement, in a long report
containing a full review of the relations of
the State and church, gave the opinion that
the Government which confirmed church
nominations could discipline and dismiss.
President Roca accepted this opinion as
sound doctrine and issued a decree dismiss
ing DR.. Clara. This was followed by 4
sharp discussion in the press and also in
Congress, where a resolution was introduced
calling for all the correspondence. Protests
were made by the authorities of the
church. Charges of priestly subversion
were made on one side and of encrOacllment
and of persecution by the civil authorities
on the other. Notwithstanding the decree,
DR.. Clara refused TO accept his dismissal
| and continued to exercise the functions OF
his priestly Office. He even issued a sec
ond pastoral, in which he asserted that it
was. his duty to obey instructions from
| Rome rather than the laws of the National
Government.
The people Of the Republic are now dt-
vided into two parties, clerical and anti
clerical. Congress passed n bill which
had been introduced at the previous
session, providing that in schools of
the National capital there should be
no sectarian test or teaching. In the
discussion of the budget of the Minister
of Education and Worship a hot debate took
place on a section relating to the suppress
sion of the seminaries for the education Of
priests, and Minister Dewitt, who took part
in the discussion. made it known that the
President, by Withholding supplies, was
determined to press the question to the
point of separation of cllurcn and State.
ut is quite probable" writes Mr.. Osborn
in his last dispatch, chat the President
will send in q message asking Congress to
approve q call for a convention to amend
the Constitution, in order to relieve the
State from the church."
One of the early incidents of the struggle
was a procession of more than one thou
sand women of the first families of Buenos
Ayres, which marched to the Senate and
presented a petition, signed exclusively by
women, praying for the rejection of a pend
ing bill already passed by the lower house,
which prohibited the teaching of religious
dogmas in common schools. A vote was
Immediately taken and the bill was reject
ed by one vote.