The Irish standard., 1906-03-24
FRENCH DECLINE
The Failure to Use the Press a
. Weapon Of
Religious Defence One Of the
Principal Causes.

6O11Xl0Q8 U01e0CO O00 OF tho
Principal Causes.
If we inquire into the causes-and
they are not few-which have
brought French Catholicism to it's
present low estate. we shall find that
one Of the principal has been the
neglect Of the clergy and laity to ade-
quately utilize the press as a weapon
Of religious defense, says Pere Coube
in London Catholic Times.
To say that the press is a power is
but to repeat the commonest Of COM
monplaces. 1t is the press which more
than any other agency inspires and
guides public opinion, and public opin-
ion nowadays rules the world. By the
press is usually meant the newspaper,
and the power which the newspaper
cxerts for good or for evil is simply
unreasonable. Its influence as a
moral or religious factor is more app
parent in continental countries than
amongst the population Of these
than is the case at home-the secular
journals abroad carry on an active
propaganda in favor Of or hostile to
Christian ideals.
In France especially freethinkers and
atheists have long used the newspaper
as an effective instrument for their at
tacks on the Catholic Church, and as a
ready vehicle for the propagation of
doctrines pernicious to faith and sub
versive of morality. Catholics un-
familiar with the religious situation
cannot realize to what an extent the
poison Of corruption has been spread,
nor how terrible is the havoc wrought
among souls by the infidel press so
widely diffused throughout France. The
war against religion is daily pursued
in leading articles, critical notices, news
items and feuilletons, these latter be-
ing made the medium for the moral
corruption of the young and mex
perienced of both sexes. No careful
observer of contemporary France can
have failed to note the change for the
worse that has come over the country
within the last quarter of a century.
Amongst every class of society there
has been a remarkable decline in re-
ligion as well as in morals; and while
the Paris and provincial press is an
indication, it is also to a large extent
the cause of the decadence. 1t is, per-
haps, supertluous to say that it is
through the press the Freemasons have
astutely conducted their long campaign
against Catholicism-a campaign
which has issued in the dispersion of
the religious congregations, the de-
| Characterization of public instruction
and, lastly. the separation of Church
and State.
i The number Of mauvais journaux is
legion; their circulation is enormous.
Has similar zeal been displayed in be-
half of the good cause? Alas, no! If
! there was one work more than another
which the Catholic clergy and laity Of
France should have encouraged and
supported, it was the work of la Bonnie
Presse; and yet, through their supine-
ness-nay, their culpable Indifference
it is just the work which they most
neglected. Catholic newspapers are
relatively few; their existence is often
precarious. and they have but the
slenderest influence upon public Opin-
ion. In Paris there are, it is true, some
journals that have ably and actively
championed the interests of the
Church. but they are papers with a
very limited circulation, and still
more limited influence. They preach
to the converted; they never reach the
masses that need conversion. The
Univers, the Verite, the Gaulois and
most of the other Catholic organs are
dear: they appeal to the cultivated
few rather than to the less educated
many. The NCroix is popular, and en-
joys a fairly large circulation amongst
certain sections of the working classes.
The number Of Its readers is, however,
far below that Of many of the more
aggressive organs of Masonry. or the
ia daily papers published ten years
ago at Paris, no fewer than 1876 were
distinctly hostile to Christianity. Mat
ters have mot mended in the interval.
In considering the role of the press,
we should do well to remember that
the pulpit has long ceased to be n
power in France; 1t would hardly be
an exaggeration to say that 1t is not
even an influence. The Sunday SER
mons are ordinarily addressed either
to empty benches or to small con-
gregations of women and children. Male
adults. Of every rank, brillent par leur
absence. The ignorance of everything
pertaining to religion is. consequently,
as widespread as it is deplorable. And
the clergy being, as rule, out Of
touch with their people, these latter
live In a sort Of religious abandonment
which is fatal to their moral and
spiritual well-being. Years ago Leo