BoletiÌn mercantil de Puerto Rico. (San Juan, P.R.) 18??-1918, 1902-09-05
For Ilg WORKERS |l SDQIl.

Standpoint Recommendations of
Eeclesiastics and Laymen Gath |
cred In Catholic Congress.
Spain has biennial Catholic congress
ses. They have been numerously at
tended by both laymen and ecclesiastics,
and each time they have pretty well
represented the momentary inclinations
of Spanish Catholics, and the everper-
|sistent aspirations of the majority of
Spaniards. 1t must be borne in mind
that the last census IN 1000 shows that
out OFF, total population of somewhat
over 100000 about that number were
declared to be Roman Catholics, and
lonly 1900 were registered as Protes.
tantS of different sects, while few
thousand Spaniaids did not hesitate to
style themselves free thinkers. If we
are to believe the official records Of no
less than four cepsuses -1S77, 1887, 1897,
and 1900 neither Protestants nor free
| thinkers have made much progress in
numbers. 1t seems that the official
statistics collected by the Geographical
Institute, in charge of the census, for
more than quarter of a century tally
with the facts as regards Protestants,
but cannot be taken as correct state
ment in regard to the more numerous
Spaniards who, born and bred in Cat
holicisln, have late in life become ratio
nalists, skeptics, and free-thinkers, but
who for social family considerations do
not dare to so place themselves on re-
cord in official statistics. AS in all Cat
holic countries, the Spanish Catholics
very seldom desert their church excerpt
to abandon all positive religious creed.
| The Catholic Congress that has just
been held at Santiago de Conpostella,
in the province of Galicia, is interesting
because Spain u.s. like all the other Cat
holic nations, much agitated by the
conflict between clericalisrn and anti
clericalism. Indeed, what took place
| in this assembly, and outside, offers a
very characteristic picture of the dispo-
sitions of all the elements of Spanish
Catholicism on the delicate questions
lately mooted in the Cortes, in the press
and in public meetings in connection
| with the church or the state. Inside
the congress the lay element was, as
usual, represented by thorough Catholics
who affect to place the interests of their
religion and Church above all conside
rations, whether monarchical, dynastic
or even national 1t was also represent
ed by men belonging to every shade ol
the Conservative party, by Ultramon-
tanes, whose chief is Sef1or Nocedal, a
depu'y and editor of the "Siglo Future
a Catholic paper of widest circulation
in Spain, and lastly by the Carlists, who
had sent 10 Santiago some Of their
ablest members of the Cortcs.
Religious Campaigns With Political
Designs.
: Carlists and Ultramontanes took very
little active part in the debates of the
congress, and, when it was over, they
held separate meetings in which they
revealed that there we're in the back
ground Of their respective religious
campaigns political designs, quite as
much as The desire to cooperate in the
formation of a great Catholic coalition
This last was at heart the idea that the
prelates and ecclesiastics have advocat
ed, with view to array all the Catholic
forces against liberalism and democracy
The Catholics who claim to be neither
CarlistS nor Ultramontanes, and the
conservatives accuse the partisans of the
preteuder and of SefIor Nocedal of hav
ing brought about the failure Of the
coalition which the Vatican and the
Church would have liked to get as an
a11xiliar ~, II, +Iic 11iy,rrl7y,,,
The archbishops and bishops did not
muster at this congress as readily as
they did at those of Burgess, Saragona
and Madrid. The absence of the Car
dinal Sancho, prinate and Archbishop
of Toledo, was much commented upon
He had not even taken the trouble tc
make any propaganda in favor of the
congress in his diocese; six other arch.
bishops abstained from going to San
Itiago. In fact, only Cardinal Martin
Herrera, Archbishop of Santiago, who
presided over the congress, and the
Archbishops of Burgess and Saragona
We're present, with twenty bishops out
of fifty-six. Many professors of Catholic
universities, many learned divines, and
1 a great number Of Jesuits and monks
were among the members Of the con-
1gress.
i The number Of sittings was too limit
led to allow many orators to make speech
les, which were generally short, and
the congress could only take cognizance
lof comparatively few Of the many doc
luments and papers submitted to its
lapprovs1. The 1aborsof the congress
were divided into four sections. At the
head of the programme, in a section
apart from the other three. the Santiago
congress examined numerous papers
presented ITO suggest the necessity of
asserting that the temporal independ :
ence Of papacy was considered indis-
pensable for its spiritual mission by
Spanish Catholics The same motion