The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1906-12-15

~ sdy "HNh speak Inc louder, Tor the
facts have been sanguinary and sac
religious. while the words have been
utterly lasphemous--facts and words
proclaim that the Church is not over
suspicious of the lawmakers or ovor
jealous Of her rights, or that the In
tention Of the lawmakers Is a peace
full one.
When lawmakers openly boast that
they arc determined to dc-Catholic-
lie France" Observation-Disclosures France"
surely Catholics are not ovcr-suspic-
ious il they take these politicians at
their word. We pass over all the
scurrlous epithets flung at the visible
head Of the Church. but what is to be
thought OF these terms directed against
the invisible Head? THE triumph of
the Galilean has lasted for twenty CEN
turies," says Lawmakcr Depech; lit
is now his turn To die. Tho deception
has lasted long enough; the lying God
in his turn disappears" The only
B'"'ip'C lSSulL vi dll IdtICHdl CuuCd-
ton" says Lawlnaker Buisson, must
DO the evolution Of the religion OF
the past into the irreligion of the flu
ture." The war. therefore, is on re-
ligion in France, although The Catho~
lie Church for the nonce has to bear
the brunt and tile lawmakers make
very clear their intention by words.
Facts speak just as clearly.
In Franco kingdoms, empires, re-
publics-all have more or less striven
to chain the hands that blessed them,
to gag the Gospel that illumined them.
The pages of French history from re-
mote times arc records of government
cncroachments and tryrannical OPP
preston. THE French are a species
of man." says Brunetiere, "who will
not permit others to differ from them"
Clothe this species of man with lit
tie state authority and they logically
become despots, and demoralizing
despots at that. The ruins Of Cluny
in the material order of Gallicanism
In the intellectual. show the blighting
Influence of the older governments.
Recall the massacres of 1889, 1880 and
1870 and see how we'll tho French
populace could initiate the French
kings. And for the last six years what
has the present French Republic been
doing: Step by step it has been
crushing out the life Of the Church.
IT. has banished religious orders, con-
fiscated their property, closed their
schools in the most arbitrary and I'M
scrupulous fashion. The work of q.
century of jealous and indefatigable
upbnilding has been undone. 1t has
meddled in the administration of the
Catholic Church, broken it's contract
with the Church, Cancelled it's debts
to Catholics and then proceeded to
make laws for the Church without
consultation or arrangement of any
kind with the Church. What other
intent can a law proceeding from such
a source have but a destructive one3
The wolf will walk no longer with
the lamb because the wolf has deter
mined to devour it. And now since
the law of separation has not been
accepted, the guardian of the Vatican
archives in Paris has been conducted
to the frontier and the archives seized
IA procedure as brutal as it is UNI
iustiflable. Does not all this mean
that the intent of the law could be
nothing else but hostile?
With these things before US we can
better examine the law of separation.
It takes away at once the French
Budget Of Worship and thereby saves
some ss,000,00O to the state. AS VIC
gave last year $142,099, 2s6,e5 in pen-
sions, it is scarcely possible for us to
be wonderfully impressed by the saw
ing Of some paltry eight millions. All
this money, furthermore, did not go
to Catholics, but to Protestants and
Jews as we'll. The portion accorded
to Catholics was never a. measure Of
grace, but of Justice; it was not a
pension but an indemnity, and a
meager indemnity at that. The rove
lues of tho Catholic Church at the
time Of the revolution amounted to
over $90.000.OO0. The French nation
then needed resources to cope with
foreign foes as we'll as internal dis
orders, and confiscated all Catholic
Church property. 1t, however. always
acknowledged the debt incurred. Plus
VII, in the Concordat, agreed to
abandon the principal, provided Il
suitable annuity was paid. Although
the annuity paid by the French gov
eminent was a dozen times less than
that previously perceived by the
Church. Plus VII, for the sake of
peace. accepted it. Now, that at a
stroke this annuity is annulleC is the