Ceredo advance. [volume] (Ceredo, W. Va.) 1885-1939, 1907-01-02
Church Trouble in France.

give a history of the origin and
nature of the trouble between the
public of France and her Catholic
subjects, now agitating that country
and state i other religious denoml-
nations are involved, and, it so,
h,w. Please state if church and
state have been united by law and
if this trouble grows out of an at.
tempt to divorce them. Nj. X
Rlnard, Ill.
This subject has been recently
treated of in the news columns and
otherwise in The Blade. However,
i'm answer TO the above we shall
quote from a recently published
article from the pen of a writer
who is presumably well infor med.
For a thousand years the
church of Rome and the govern
ment of france have been closely
allied. During the French revolu-
tion of 1889 there was temporary
dissolution of those relations and
the government contiscated all prop
er,y, real and personal, which was
vested In the religious establish.
ments. Alter the restoration
Napoleon made peace With the vati-
can in order to secure the support
of the Catholic population and
entered into what is known as a
concord at-a term commonly used
to designate treaties with the holy
see. Under this agreement the
church property of all kinds auto
matte ally went back into the posses.
sion of the ecclesiastical authori.
ties, although there Is dispute
whether 1t was legally restored.
"The government of France
agreed to pay the salaries of all the
parish priests, bishops, archbis hops
and French cardinals, provided 1t
was allowed to nominate the
bishops. From that time until re-
Gently when bishopric in France
has become vacant the government
has submitted list of candidates
from whom the popes have made
their choice, and about $4,000, 600
year has been appropriated from
the public treasury To pay the sala-
rles of the clergy III active service. A
few years ago, shortly after the
election Of Pope Plus y, the latter
refused to appoint any of the nomi
nees of the French government to
several vacant bishopric- because of
their alleged liberal views aud
friendly relations with the Republic
can party. This rejection Of the
government candidates for the first
time In history was attributed to
Merry del Val, the papal secretary
OF state, a Spaniard, who is opposed
to the United States for the same
reason that he is to France because
they are republics If he could
have his way ne would return TO the
customs and conditions of the
fifteenth century.
"Pope Leo NH was one of the
ablest statesmen and diplomatlsts
of his time. Cardinal RampulIa
mis- secretary Of state, has the reputa
ton being the ablest statesman and
dIplomatist IN the Catholic church
today. Plus y, the present pope, is
neither a statesman nor diploma
list and has no taste for politics.
Real zlng his lack of knowledge
and experience and the unpopular.
ty of his own democratic ideas, he
has left the foreign relations and
political affairs of the holy see en-
tirely to his secretary of state and
other advisers, who have entirely
reversed the policy of the previous
pon:ificate. Leo XIII and Cardl-
nal Rampolis cultivated intimate
relations with the French republic,
much to the sorrow of the old mon
archical party in France. They
had the foresight to realize that the
republic is permanent and that the
monarchy can never be restored.
Hence they made friends with the
Republican leaders and won them
over to the support of the church,
because France is the most import
ant country in the world from an
ecclesiastical point of view and has
always been the chief source of the
revenue Of the holy see. But as
soon as the present secretary of state
assumed control of affairs at the
Vatican, the old policy was revers-
ed and the trouble commenced, first
because the pope, under the advice
of bis secretary OF state, would not
appoint the candidates for bishops