The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1907-01-05

OF state sent a remarkable and un
, precedented formal remonstrance t.
all OF the other governments O
Europe. Protestant and orthodo,
Greek as well as Catholic, rs if the,
had anything to do with the matter
This was deliberate affrOnt to the
president of France and WAS SO ac,
cepted. A very bitter controversy
ensued, which terminated with the
withdrawal of the French ambassa-
dor to the Vatican and the papal
ambassador to Paris.
| In the meantime the relations be-
tween the church and the government
in France became less. and less cor
dial. The chamber OF deputies be-
came more and more anti-Catholic.
The socialists, the Free Masons, the
free thinkers and the materialists OBJ
tanned control of the government nd
the parliament. and began to enact a
series of laws that were intended to
destroy the influence of the church
and deprive it of it's property. The
chamber refused to make an appro-
priation to continue the embassy to
the holy see. A law was passed plac-
ing the religious orders upon the.
same basis as othercorporations and
taxing all church property that is
not actually used for worship. In
order to do business, the monks and
nuns were required to take out licen-
SEES, submit inventories of their prop.
erty and make annual returns of their
earnings, and expenditures, just the
same as railroads, insurance compan-
les and other business corpora tions.
All religious schools were abolished.
All educational institutions conduct.
ed by priests. monks or nuns were
closed on the ground that they were
teaching the. children of France uu-
republican doctrine and converting
the coming generation into m onarch- |
lists. All monks and nuns, 80, 900 in
number, were then expelled from the
country and their property, amount
ing to hundreds of millions of dollars.
was confiscated. Then the govern
ment undertook to make an invento-
ry of all church property. This was
done as precaution for the benefit
ofand the protection of the parishes,
and to avoid future complaints and
tions as to the ownership of
the pictures, furniture, altar orna-
ments, vestments. relics and other
movable property.
Finally, in December, 1905, what is
known as the law Of separation"
was passed. Under that act all finan-
cIal support from the government ,
was withdrawn from the church, and
bishops and priests are now required 1
to look out for their own salaries.
The people OF the several parishes 1
throughout the entire republic are
required to organize into corpora
tons similar to those prevailing
among Protestant churches in the {
United States, called associations i
and to apply to the gov {
'rnment for charters just as if they |
we're public library associations, be- {
,evolent societies. corporate colleges, I
mutual insurance companies or other t
organizations that are not intended Z
10 make profits for their members.
Zach association must elect trustees
Or vestrymen, as We would call them, i
% manage their business affairs and /
when such officers are elected. the '
government will transfer to them all d
he church buildings, the parsonages (.
ind other real estate required for d. {
zine worship and also all the movable lu
furniture, ornaments, rel
Is, etc., within the churches. All {
his, real and personal, is to be for
yer the property OF the congrega- h
ion OF the.parish represented by the il
association tultueIle as long as it t
xists. II
The government will not recognize 8
md will not transfer church property +
O any association cultuelle that is I.
lot formed of worshipers who have o
eeu accustomed to attend that par n
ocular church. and when organized il
must submit to the spiritual au- 81