The Irish standard., 1904-12-03

French bishops had before them the
latest edition of the Catholic Direc-
tory, everyone of them would look for
ward with considerable confidence to
the situation with which they will be
presently confronted. 1t is we'll
known that at the outbreak of the
Revolutionary war there We're very
few Catholics in any of the thirteen
colonies, except Maryland, and even
there they had long been subject to
erievous disabilities. Those disabili-
ties We're soon removed, however, and
liberation became the rule in all of
| the states which made themselves in
dependent of Great Britain. Never
theless, the expansion Of Catholicism
| in this country did not begin to take
| place on Il great scale until near the
| close of the first half of the nineteenth
century, after the tremendous immi-
grafton from Ireland and from the
! Catholic sections of Germany had set
in. At present the Catholic hierarchy
| in the United States comprises fifteen
archbishops and eighty-two bishops,
| with corresponding number of dio-
ceses. There are over eleven thou
sand churches and more than thirteen
thousand priests, secular and regular;
| most if not all Of the religious orders
| are represented. The total number of
children in schools, orphanages and
other institutions belonging to the
Roman Catholic church is about L.
1871 900. The Catholic population at
the beginning of the current year is
computed by the Catholic Directory
! at 11,SS7,OOO. The estimate, however,
| is larger by more than two millions
than the computation made by DR.. H.
X. Carroll, and published in the Chris
tian Advocate about a year ago.
This certainly is an amazing exhibit
| to be made at the end of half CEN
tury, during the whole of which the
Catholic church has received no as
sistance from the federal or state gov
ernments, and during the first part
| of which it was eyed with a sectarian
! prejudice that did not always stop
| short of persecution. If, indeed, the
know Nothing party could have had
it's way, it would have imposed upon
| Catholics such grievous disabilities as
| they had been compelled to bear in
| Maryland during a section of the pre-
! Revolutionary epoch. The collapse Of
| the "Native American" which was
really an anti-Catholic party, should
encourage French Catholics to face
with confidence any trials through
which they may have to pass.
| The injustice done the church in
France by tile present French govern
mcnt is not appreciated by people in
this country. Here there is no one
| who would contend for any connection
! between church and state. One Of tile
reasons of the founding of this coun-
try was that people might be allowed
| to worship God according to their own
| dictates of conscience and should not
be compelled to pay tribute by way of
taxes toward the support of any parti-
cular church. We all acquisce in
| that principle. The injustice in the
| French situation arises from the fact
that solemn compact between
France and the church has been vio-
lated. During the French Revolution
| the church was despoiled of Il vast
amount of property. Lands We're
taken from it without any compensa-
ton; churches We're plundered and de-
stroycd. When the great Napoleon
came into power shortly afterwards
he realized the need of the church and
with view to repaying in small
part for the property which had been
taken from the chur ch, he in behalf Of
the French government, entered into
what is known as the Concordat.
which provides for the payment of
certain small stipends in the way of
salaries to the French clergy. The
yearly budget for this account does
not pay as large an interest on the
property taken from the church as
is paid upon United States bonds.
The ordinary American thinks that
the money paid by the French gov
ernment to the Catholic church is a
mere gratuity. Not so at all. 1t is
merely the recognition on the part of
the French government of the i'm
mense debt that that government
owes to the church. No attempt has
ever been made to pay this debt ex-
ceDt In the way Of small salaries to
the French clergy. Instead of the
French government being a creditor
of the church, it is very large debt
| or. The debt never will be paid and
Combes, by seizing upon preteXt to
abrogate the Concordat, has now COM
| pleted the confiscation of the church
property which commenced with the
blood and fire of the French Reyolu-
| tion more than hundred years ago.
DEMOCRACY NOT DEAD BUT SLEEPING.
The Republican papers and politi-
| clans are again engaged in burying