The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1905-04-08
!: Two State Eli Church Girls es.:

I If Premier Laurier had looked to:
ward France and England he would per-
haps never have introduced his tsepar-
ate school bill which he is now So a1lx-
ious TO withdraw. Those two countries,
one Catholic, the other Protestant, are
suffering all the. evils Of the partner
ship between church and state in ednca-
ton: ' =
France s relations to the Catholic
church. were fixed. about a hundred
years ago by the concordat Of Napoleon.
The church was put under number Of
restrictions that tended to make it more
a national church than an appendage of
Rome, but: this worked only while Napo-
leon was on top, and while France was
under the infueneesof the atheistic doc
trines Of the revolution. So soon as
the deeply. religious attitude of the
peasantry of France, began to reassert
itself the church grew rapidly in power,
and the fiction whereby the bishops
were subject to the minister of public
worship rather than, to the pope began
to make trouble. = qn>
In the case Of two, bishops Of the
French church recently it has brought
on crisis between Paris and Rome
which has resulted in the withdrawal. of
the French minister from the Vatican
and Of the papal nuncio from Paris.
| The two bishops are probably the most
unhappy men in France, for when they
are ordered to do anything by Rome
they receive counter orders from the
government. When they offer to sub
nit themselves to- the discipline Of the
pope, they find that they are threatened
with dire vengeance from the govern.
meEt; when they recognize their subor.
| dination to the government, they are
unfrocked by the.-Vatican. -.
: The cabinet Of M: Combes-now, hap
4 PLY for FRANCE, rretired-carried On a
i most monstrous campaign against per
/ sons and property in .enforcing the law
/ of associations. Nuns were driven
! from their homes, their property confs
\ Gated and their right to teach even pri
vatel schools Denied Such a.campaig;
i in; America Or England would havt
\ caused a revolution, but in France the
. people seem to be, either so Indifferent
/ to individual right, or SO anxious to sec
settlement Of the"school question that
they are willing to see any kind of 9
! law ruthlessfy enforced, which will tend
!! to bring about that end 81, .5t# .
!. The complete separation of church
and state is, now live issue#i in France
\ In England there is also a partner
i ship. between the church and the state
on educational matters that is working
| badly. The educational act passec
! three years, ago by the Balfour govern
! ment puts all the teaching in the hands
! of the state church and nonconformist!
are placed in the attitHde. of tcontribut
ing taxes toward teachings about Goo
which they resent as an. attack upo1
their own faith. They teach theil
children one thing IN their chapels ane
! at home; and then they pay state teach
| ers to tell their children that; these doc
! trines are heresy. "a great many non
conformists have assumed the attitud,
of passive resistance toward the schoo
! rates, that is they do not pay them, bur
allow the government to tdistrain thei1
property to get the hapney. Al In Wales
the distrainingi PROBES has been rem
dered nugatory by the fact that ther,