The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-05-24
sTATE AND cHuRcH IN FRANCE.
Intilgnsnt Protest Against the ASSOCIATIONS
Bill nv a FOreiEner At Nice.

protesta tons In all free count les, nota"y
In England and the United states. io'day
crimes against lloerty, justice and humanity
Of Tar greater magnit ide are being com.
mtted In France an the indignation aroused
la OF the most couI teous kind. In the first case
no money was spared to trumpet ABROAD tae
rigors exercised against the Jews. ana III the
second II money il used at all, 1t is TO or game
a con spracy Of silence and misrepresentatioh.
Two years ago the Associations bill was
represented as n very In offensive measure OF
domestic econ omy. To-day the tyrannical'
II tolerant character of the Trouliiot M, can
no longer be disslmulat ed. 1t should nave
been Ia belled AN act for the suppression OF
religious con gregations en- gagged In teaching
or preaching. preparatory to the suppressi' IN
Of the Catholic reliE IN Ia France. To-Day
IL is self-evtdent that the Associations ON
was merely trap set by the Government
to obtain the detailed and minute information
regarding the pecuniary resources. members
dc, Of each con gre CATION In order to con-
hscats their property ('liunidation" is only
euphemismJ and to see to 1t that the members
are forever debarred from teaching or preach
ing. To use the language of NJ. Decrais. an
ex-Minister OF the Rousseau Cabinet the
manner in which the law OF 1901 has been
applied Is q violation OF the spirit and OF the
letter Of that law"
When the bill was before the Chambers NJ.
Waldeck Rousseau obtained many votes by
solemnly declaring on the part OF the Govern
ment that the free primary schools supported
by Catholi Is and taught by Con gre ation lists
were In no wise affected by this law OF 1901.
Yet two months later h.s successor, NJ. Combes.
closed some three thousand OF these schools
by admlnistr ative process, as in Russia. As
in Russia the sisters were all peremptoriiy
ordered out Of the villages and towns where
they had been teaching from thin ty to forty
years an comman dcd to concentrate at their
mother houses. There were. Of course. many
aged. sick and In firmamOng these poor women,
and the mother houses were wholly ade-
uuate to afford space and food to such num-
bers. The suffering was. OF course. very
great In many cases.
I was Mt Juan les Plus near Cannes. when
some sisters who had an orphanage OF small
boys were ordered at in the morning IN go i'm
medrtey to their mother house IN 81 ittany, at
the ether extremity OF France. n journey OF
three or four days. Now o free Govern ment
may legally enforce a resid ,nce on any except
an accused or condemned criminal. The
Journal Of Gen eva an able Protestant pa DER.
was the first to ra Use an indignant cry at this
violation Of publ, right
Thus in this episode alone we have guile.
brutality and illegality on the part OF this
Government of Jacot ms. My blood boils to
think that such crimes can leave liberty
loving people unmoved merely because the
victims happen to be Roman Catholics.
con piracy OF silen &c conceal Is from the people
Of the Urited States the shameful violations
Of liberty. humanity and justi re which are
being perpetrated In France In the name OF a
barbarous law Of reli yi,rs perscc tion.
The latest act In this dsgruccful episode OF
French history has Just beon prrpetrnted nt
the Chambers in violation Of the spirit and the
letter of the law OF 1871. to use the words OF
NJ. Decrns. This law required that the de-
mnnd for authorization of enoh religious
Combes Just punched them all into, three
cato cories-teuchine. preaching and con-
templatlon--i'nd NJ the REQUEST 81 the Gov
isos The last session at which The ,Grande
hs ne s1noT 4 he
s,s%pS% ,hs &c, and SoTlsS sSyS,
we 't care re- for tesaiityi We have Ire majority.
were some Of the utter9nccs which passed
nrsS axe sea With 1 much erect se do
ment purportinR to be signed by the superior
Of the Chartreusc urging al to sell out their
ment be established before taking the vote.
Mo" be !" hs
II the Chinese and Turkish Governments
were to close all Christian schools and declare
t be sns WHd'e naval Standardization Would
soon be made by the Powers. ns was done By
France not lonr since TO compel the Porte
schools in the Turkish Empire.
S er"Gs Of the h ~ the
Was vas abolished by the Loi Fniloux, ard free
competition legaliaed II was. the despot
Napoleon !. who had established this monop-
abolished IT, Henceforth the liberty to teuch
when qualified and the right Of parents to give
seemed seer to be the inalirnnbie nppnnace, Of
which is being violated to-day. US fur as Cath
established by the Third Republic cnused
Catholics to establish their own iTse primary Urinary
leses, &c. were multiplied by religious con-
ever.incrensinc demand. The Government
schools could not stand the competition or
ply her way the sanS hys be s
labelled AN act for the suppression Of CON-
rregnton schools, the successful rivals of the
Of the right to give their ch'.d en- teachers of
their own choice, and tens of thousands of
WHEN
t, Isl, in spite Of the fact TINT out Of tGe lsn
CONGREGATIONS about -, against and the rest
lbstaining: this m spite OF y petition SIGNED
by eeSGnty-tNO bishops. una lnnutneruDe
petitions and other manifestations Of public
opinion. Moreover the toncordat,, a, solemn
treaty made by Frnnce with the Holy See.
Ollie religion. mo church is free" says
Guizot, (which is not allowed to develop
according to its spirit and history, And
every one knows that tencl.ing and preaching
con CreCutiOns have always formed an inte-
grail pnrt of the Crthoic hurCh
Net satisfied with sweerinr away the teach
ers and the schools of Catholics and COM
polling the latter to send their cli lren to
Government Institutions. NJ; Combes has
sent a circular to all the Bishops requiring
that every lace of Worship not a parish
even these latter II any priest bel,n in,
to preach In them. Practically every Bishop
has declined to- execute this ukase: The
ien,incation OF the Concordat and the re-
pudiaton Of the national debt in so FAR as the
maintenance of the cler"v Is concerned will
be the next step. probably.
In 1901 France was In state OF anarchy
and dissolution. Trade, commerce and
agriculture were at a stand still. The pilla,e
OF nei hborinY states alone prcvt led mCnev
10 carry on the Government and its civil and
forc II wars. Above all tnere was a pro-
'oq In ,7sS the invention had seized and
thrown on the market all the property OF the
Church pious donations which had acc9nu-
lat. d during many centuries. FROM W udence
and common honesty. II not from feir OF eS;
commune alton. few ~ chase re- could b" found
for this kind Of property. Two clnsses Of
proprie1ors were formed: those who. could
Five d clear title and those who could not,
Civil and religious discord was perpntuated