The Irish standard., 1904-10-08

The widespread assertions that the
church has ignored the provisions of
the famous "concordat" or agreement,
between Rome and Paris were en-
phatically denied Sunday night at the
cathedral by Right Rev. Francis Aidan
Gasquet, abbot president of the Eng
lish Benedictines, in lecture upon
"France and the Vatican" says the
st. Paul Globe.
In this last and perhaps most inter-
esting Of his five lectures the abbot
maintained that no justification exist
ed for the French governments action
In expelling the religious orders or in
objecting to the Pope's control of
French bishops. The whole crusade
against the church was inspired and
conducted by Premier Combes and his
cabinet. They were not only ire
ligious men, but they were not even
gentlemen. They had secured the sup
port of the chamber of deputies by
trickery. Moreover, the French peo-
pie in electing these deputies did not
understand that the religious orders
were to be suppressed.
For some time past, said Abbot
Gasquet, the relations between the
French government and the Pope have
been stretched to the breaking point.
For the most part the press has thrown
the blame for the situation upon the
Vatican authorities. and has suggested
that, with a new Pope, unaccustomed
to the ways of diplomacy, and with Il
youthful and uncompromising cardinal
secretary Of state as his chief adviser,
nothing less could be expected than
that the church in France would be
prcciptated into serious conflict with
government none too friendly to-
wards it at any time.
The publication recently of what is
called the Vatican White Book, con-
tanning all the official documents witch
have passed between f'aris and Rome
on the questions 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 M. Combes and his
followers, that the Pope had deliber-
ately chosen to break the agreement
made between Plus VII. and the EN-
peror Napoleon in 1901, by which the
relations between church and state
were to be regulated in France, were
untrue in fact.
In making his concordat, or agree
mcnt, with the holy see in 1901, Ma
polcon desired to wipe out that great
debt which the nation owed to the
church on account of the confiscations
of church property in the Revolution.
This settlement required the Pope's
sanction and the writing off of the
great part Of this amount was the price
paid for that measure of protection to
religion secured by the concordat; the
guaranteed, though slender, stipends
promised to be paid to the clergy by
the state forming but small fraction
of the old ecclesiastical revenues.
Napoleon, too, thought he saw in the
cOncOrdat q means of riyetinp m tho
hands of the priests the chains which
already bound them to the government
and fettered their freedom of action.
Had he been dealing with any human
institution this crafty plan for keeping
the church in servitude would in all
probability have succeeded. Looking
back, however over the century that
has passed, it must strike any reflect
ing mind how wonderful has been the
action and progress of the church in
France in spite of it's legalized bonds.
We may now turn to the situation of
| the religious orders in France and to
the legal status which they possessed
| since the concordat and until recent
times. 1t has been frequently asserted
that in the agreement made by Napo-
leon with the Pope the religious orders
were purposely excluded. 1t is indeed
true that by the legislation of 1889 and
subsequent years the French congre.