The Irish standard., 1906-12-29

THE IRISH STANDA
such a man as minister of public wor-
ship. thus putting him in q position Of
power and authority to dictate to
Christians and manners and the laws
Of worshiping God is suaicient proof
Of the intent Of tia government to-de-
stroy the last vsstise of Christianity
in France. .
Position Of Church on the Law.
The law of separation gave the
church in France the choice between
apostacy and confscation. Churches
which acknowledge the civil ruler as
their head, even in spiritual matters.
may change their constitution at the
dictatton of the civil power, but the
Catholic Church, with her own Christ
given constitution, cannot cast it aside
and substitute instead the regulations
Of intidels and haters Of the church.
In the Catholic Church the supreme au-
thority is vested in the person Of the
Pope, as the lawful. success Of st.
Peter and under Him and in commune
ion with Him are the bishops, whom
the holy scripture says 1.-THE Holy Ghost
has placed to rule the Church Of God"
But by the articles Of the law Of sep
aration the authority o6 ordering and
regulating divine worship is vested In
a body Of laymen, who need not even
be Catholics, and in case Of Disagree
ment between rival Representations. or
even among the members Of the same
association, the council Of state shall
decide which il the true Catholic assoc
citation and where rests the right, such
decision to be final.
This practically makes the council
of state the head of the church and
destroys. as Pope Plus X, declares. the
divine constitution and the hierarchal
character Of the church. These same
articles Of the law Of separation fur
thermore conhscate the entire property
Of the Church of France, declaring the
ownership thereof vested in the state
and granting to the church merely the
use of such buildings under the most
odious restrictions which, if they are
not lived up to, entail the absolute dis
solution Of even such lay associations.
Would 30 Spiritual Suicide.
To organize religious. associations
for the continuance Of divine worship
under tho law Of 1881, as the minister
of worship at the last moment sug-
gested, would afford no legal protection
as the law of separation a'brogates all
previous laws of religious associations
not in conformity with it. The sug-
gestion Of the minister. Of worship does
not constitute the law nor would the
courts Of the state uphold it when op-
posed to the clear letter of the moro
recent law.
To accept such a law then would be
to commit spiritual suicide. It was in
tended to kill the French Church by
degrees with legislative chloroform
and slow blood poisoning. and the
Pope in refusing to accept it has torn
asunder this monument of hypocrisy.
The real enemies Of France are its
infidel rulers, who hav maintained
themselves in power by their Ubiquitous
spy system in the army and navy,
productive Of a terrorism equal to any,
thing found in the bloody annals IF
Russia, and by the Wholesale intimida-
ton and corruption Of voters at tho
elections. Under the most perfect sys-
Office holders must vote and work for
the government under penalty of losing
their position and depriving their de-
partment Of any government favors.
The infidsls Of France
1t Is true that there are many inadels
in France. The writings Of voltaire,
Rousseau, the encyclopedias and oth-
era prepared the way for the bloody
revolution of a century ago and the
dreadful ravages have been continued
to this day. Under the hlighting curse
and the baneful influence of these in
fldel ideas France has become de-
generate nation.
immortality Of every kind is rampant,
disregard for child life prevails, the
birth rate is decreasing in alarming
proportions. while tho manhood OF the
nation, physically and numerically. is
fast dwindling away and only the re-
vival of Christian ideas and Christian
morality can save it from absorption
by some other Christian nation or from
gradual extinction.
Bound hand and foot by UBIQUITOUS
laws and robbed Of all auxiliary forces
by the persecution and expulsion Of the