The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-10-03
FRENCH PREMIER IS
HAYED BY PRELHE
10. -, 1t.4.-s- =
Head of Benedieaines Says
Gonsbes Is Not Even a
Gentleman

Inc widespread assertions that the
church has ignored the provisions of the
famous 'concordat.s Or agreement be-
tween Rome and Paris were emphatically
denied last night at the Cathedral by
Rt. Rev. Francis Aidan Gasquet abbot
president of the English Benedictines. in
a lecture upon France and the. Vatican. -
In this last and perhaps most interest
ing of his five lectures the abbot main
tanned that no justification existed for the
French governments action in eXpelling
the religious orders or in objecting to the
popes control of French bishops The
Whole crusade against the church was in
spired. and conducted by Premier Cembes
and his cabinet. They were not only liz
religious men, but they were not even
gentlemen They had secured the support
of the chamber of deputies by trickery
Moreover. the French people in electing
these deputies did not understand that
the religious orders were to be suppress
ed.
1 France and the Vatican
For some time past. said Abbot Gasduet.
the relations between the French govern
ment and the pope have been stretched
to the breaking point. Fur the most part
the press has thre<R the blame for the.
situation Upon the Vatican authorities,
| and has suggested that, with new pope,
/ lnaccuStomed to the ways of diplomacy,
and with youthful and uncomprernising
adviser nothing less could be expected
! than that the church in France would be
| precipitated into serious conflict with
government none too friendly towards 1t
at any time.
The publication recently of what is call
ed the Vatican White Book, containing adj
| the official documents which have pass
ed between Paris and Rome OH the qtfeS-
| tians at issue. has helped to modify mems
| opinions as to the quarter which must be
| held responsible for the acute tension.
which exists at present. Men can now
! see that the assertions. made by NJ.
| CombeS and his followers, that the pope
| had deliberately chosen to break The
agreement made between Plus VII. and
| the Emperor Napoleon in 1891. by which
the relations between church and state
| were to be regulated in France, were
untrue in fact
In making his ceneofdat, or agreement,
1 with the holy see in 1901, Napoleon de-
| sired to wipe out that great debt which
the nation owed to the church en- ae
| count OF the eonfiscationS OF church prop
| efty in the Revolution. This settlement
required the pope,S sanction and the writ
| ing of of the great part OF this amount
was the price paid for that measure OF
protection to religion secured by the con-
| eordat; the guaranteed, though slender,
| stipends promised TO be paid TO the clergy
| by the state forming but small frac-
| ton of the old ecclesiastical revenues
| Would Fetter Priests
| Napoleon, too. thought he saw in the,
| concordat a means OF rivettfng on the
| hands of the priests the chains which
| already bound them TO the government
hand fettered their freedom of action. Had
he been dealing with any human institu-
| church in servitude would in all prob
| ability have succeeded. Looking back,
| however. over the century that has pass
/ ed, 1t must strike any rejecting miisd
| how wonderful has been the action and
progress of the church III France In spite
ef its legalized bondss
We may now turn to the situation OF
the religious orders in France and to the
legal status which they possessed since
the conceFdat and until recent. times. 1t
has been frequently asserted that IN the
nope the religious orders were purposely
excluded. It is indeed true that by the
iflegislatien OF 1883 and subsequent years
| the French congregations were suppressed
Land also that they were not Spectdcaiy
mentioned in the restoration Of religion
| under the eeneordat But it has been
shown conciusiTely by the Cemte de Nun
f! first articles OF that treaty between. the
| pope and the emperor. which guarantees
the full and free exercise of the RoftaaIl
there be @'fuii and free exercise of the
Catholic religion. when the regular or
religious life is prohibited and excluded?
Moreover. the work of the Connie Beulay
| de la Meurthe GA La Negecia ton du Con-
cortlat', makes 1t certain that the pope
especially desired and strongly urged that
/ expressly mentioned in the document, and
|. that the first consul was unwilling to
include them, not because they We're
thought to be prohibited, but precisely
because he desired that they should be
recognized as purely religious societies.
not needing state recognition, and de-
pending for their creation and regulation
| Ipon "a BRIEF of the sovereign pontiff.
Orders Were Before ccncorda*
If other proof were wanting that the
concordat in no way contemplated the
suppression of the regular orders or their
prohibition, we should still have the fact
that the religious congregations had al
ready appeared in France three or four
years before the date of the concordat.
1t has been suggested as incontroverti-
bic, or what is the same. assumed as
| seff-evident that the existence of the
nonauthorized religious bodies (Which
were ia 1900 even more numerous than
doubtediy illegal and prohibited by the
law eff the land. This is a completely
wrong view of their position The laws
Of 1917 and 1925 required authorization
ONLY in the case of bodies which desired
to obtain state recognition. IN order te
secure advantages which come from the
r cHet by legal existence Until the recent
law OF 1901 the RohauthoFized congrega-
items, Though not recognized by the STATE.
were not m any way ilielt or megaL gal,
it has been the policy OF Al Gonbes &c
suggest the opposite. and to endeaxor TO
rob the congregations OF Inc sympathy OF
law-abfding people by representing them
as rebels and iawbreakers who did not
dare TO place themselves in relation with
the state.
| Authorization, then gave to the re-
Iigious houses that possessed It merely
a legal status and it was N. Waldeck-
3sDusseau's protested wish by his blu ST
1901 TO extend to all religious. the zePRef-s
tunity TO streguiarfze" their position. He
was arxieus--if we may accept his reiter-
ated expresSionS-whiist milking nnafI-
ths,rized eengregations henceforth Illegal
in France TO extend the approval OF the
state to all religious bodies applying Tor
IL and complying with certain formal
conditions ::
The whole process OF the suppression of
the religious orders IN France has been
arbitrary and unjust NJ Combes ar
ranges things as he pieases by a sic vofo
stroke Of the pen to close 4.UuU free
schools, SO it pleased hiTa In assigning
TO the senate and the chamber the &c
mands for authorization (Which were TO
be divided between then1) to hand SIX TO
the former which would have regarded
the appiica tions from a more just stand
| point, and fifty-four tie the latter Inc
accompanying suggestion sent TO the
chamber OF deputies for the rejection OF
without difficulty OF delay, and tire
fright of control of the senate. which
exisfs Theoretically according to the
constitutions Of the republic. was in THIS
case and by this parliamentary coup
d'etat, ignored
Wafdeck -Reusseau erofestcd
NJ Watdeek- Rousseau. the originator of
law has lately Died but not before he
I tad s4+feFel3 his protest i.s che senate and