The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1907-03-23

SlC PARISH yE4CSUs kAOFi0C0 OaAO &SseuSA
would give the notice OF an intention
to hold public meeting which is pre-
scribed by a statute of 1881. The par
ish priests, however, were forbidden
by their ecclesiastical superiors to
avail themselves of this suggestion.
Then M. BRAND undertook to have the
Law of 1881 amended SO that no notice
of meeting for religious purposes
need be given, provided the parish
priest, or cure, would lease the church
building for period of eighteen years
from the mayor of the commune, agree
ing in the lease that all necessary re-
pairs should be made by hims which,
practically, would mean by his par
ishioners. A bill to that effect has
been passed by the chamber of depu-
ties, and although temporarily held
up in the senate, will, no doubt, be ac-
cepted ultimately by the latter body.
Two provisions OF the proposed lease,
however, have already been declared
inadmissible by the Vatican, the pro-
visions, namely, which impose the cost
of repairs on the parish priest, and
which forbid the mayors of communes
from leasing churches to priests who
are either foreigners or were formerly
members of religious orders not toll
Grated in France. It is conceivable
thck n oor,rYorr,;ea ,r,iphf h Owe haon
reached with reference to the former
provision, but the latter appears to
present an insurmountable objection.
Meanwhile, religious services continue
to be held in the churches, but, of
course, M. BRAND has the power to
prohibit them, 10 the event of his at
tempts at coneiliation being all def
nitely rejected.
We see, then, that with reference to
the relations of church and state in
France. there are three parties: first,
the Catholics, who hold that the con-
cordat was bilateral contract, which
the civil power had no right to declare
void without the assent of the papacy;
secondly, the avowed enemies of Chris
tianity, who desire the extirpation of
the Catholic religion in France, and
who are made up of the Socialists led
by M. Jaures, and of the extreme
Radicals, headed by ex-Premier
Combes; thirdly, the great mass of
common-sense Republicans, who. while
not protesting faith. in Christianity,
recognize that large proportion OF
their fellow citizens are believers in
the Catholic religion, and who desire
to facilitate for them the perform ance
of religious services by any eonces-
sions not incompatible with the divorce
of church from state. That this third
party is ineomparably the strongest
in the chamber of deputies seems at
first sight to have been proved by the
overwhelming majority with which a
vote of confidence was given to the
Clemenceau cabinet. We should bear
in mind, however, that, on that oc-
easion, the cabinet appeared as a unit,
though it is no secret that Premier
Clemenceau is much less disposed to
compromise than is M. BRAND. The
current impression is, nevertheless,
among well-informed onlookers, that
If the cabinet should be broken up
owing to the unatt ainability of an
agreement between Premier Clemeneeau
and M. BRAND, the latter would
triumph and become the head OF the
next ministry. OF course, no conces-
sions that NJ. BRAND could make will
be deemed satisfactory by jealous
Catholics who regard the abolition of
the eoncordat as an iniquity, and who
look upon the governments assertion
of ownership of church property as
nothing short of robbery. These un-
compromising Catholics, however,
who occupy the right of the chamber
OF deputies, are as weak numerically
as are the Socialists who sit on the
left. The fact is undoubtedly known to
Plus x. and his advisers, who, con-
sequently, are expected in the end to
accept some modification of the pro-
gramme of NJ. BRAND, as being, on
the whole, the least of two evils.
When one reflects, indeed, that the re-
lations of the papacy to the Italian
monarchy are extremely delicate and
difficult, and recalls, also, that re-
vival of the Falk laws is by no means
inconceiv able in Prussia, one cannot
but deem it probable that the Vatican
will decide to make the best of the
present situation, and wait for better
times. To bend, rather than risk
fracture, is the traditional policy of
the Vatican, which has been followed
with astonishing success for some six
teen hundred years.
Nothing would be more misleading
than to compare the present relations
OF church and state in France with
those of the Catholic religion to the
civil power in the United States. Our
federal constitution does not recognize
the existence of the Roman Catholic
church, or of any other religious
body. The several states, however,
in their separate capacities, take cog
nizance OF the Roman Catholic orr
ganization, as they do of the Protest
ant Episcopal, the Baptist, or the
Methodist organization. All seets are