The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1908-09-05
Some of the Reforms That Have Been
Brought About During His Pontif-
icate Here Enumerated.
By His Wise and Patriotic Course the
Church in France Has Been Saved
From All Danger of Schism.

Siacchi's 3oice rang out SO astonisn-
ingly clear over the heads of the tens
of thousands who had now gathered
again: II announce to you a great
Joy: We have a Portiff, the Most
Reverend Lord. Cardinal Sarto, who
has taken the name of Plus X.''
Cardinal Sarto!" We turned to one
another for information, but what we
obtained vas not very abundant or
very important. A child of the peo-
rle, a hard working unassuming
priest, bishop who had restored
Greer quietly but very effectively in
all unimportant diocese, patriarch of
Venice who had endeared himself to
his diocesans by his kindliness and
great charity, whose conduct in deal
ing with the civil authorities had been
marked by moderation and the desire
to make the best of every situation,
on friendly terms with the members
Ct the House of Savoy, patriotic
Italian. Written anything? No, some
PRACTICAL rastorals. Ever done any
thing very striking? Well, hardly. at
least as fur as any of us knew. Why,
then. had the Fathers Of the Conclave
chosen him? Ah very likely, they had
decided that after such a long and
very remarkable reign as that of Leo
N11I it was well to have TRANSITION"
Pope, a Pontiff who would occupy the
throne of st. Peter for a number of
meventful years, continuing the
policy Of his predecessor. without
striking out a line for himself on at
tempting anything remarkable, Evil
IDENTIFY he was to be a religious" Pom
tiff. as distinguished from political"
T'ontiff, by which it was meant that
he would have nothing to do with
crave questions of state. and would
occupy himself chiefly with parish af-
fairs on large scale. That was what
We heard under the pillars of the
COlOudOe 1--WE years dEO.
Five years ago! Last Tuesday as
we stood again on the same ground it
looked like yesterday. Five years
ago! When we began to think of all
that happened since then it appeared
to be a: century ago, and the famous
pontificate of Leo XIII, whose body
is still awaiting permanent burial,
faded away into the distant past
When Plus x in his first encyclical
declared !hat the motto of his reign
was to be: ITO restore all things in
Christ" the whole world was aston
ished-not unnaturally, for how could
a transition Pope attempt such an
extraordinary program But after five
years of the Pontif1cate of Plus X the
world hardly remembers what a tran
s'tion" Pope is supposed to be-.
During that period he has affected:
i. The abolition of the veto by which
Austria, Spain and France have for
centuries endeavored to interfere with
the absolute freedom Of papal elec-
ticns-an intrusion Of the civil power
which resisted for centuries the re-
reated efforts of the Roman Pontiffs
to suppress it.
g The reform of sacred music all
over the world. He has banished the
atrical music from the churches. and
restored the plain chant in it's prim.
tive beauty and purity.
8. The Codification OF Canon Law. A
task hitherto uninterrupted and which
might we'll have seemed the work of a
whole generation, has almost been
brought to perfection during these
first few years of the present ponti-
fcate. When this new code of Plus
X is promulgated 1t will be found
that all the obsolete laws of the
Church are set aside. that new ones
rave been framed that the whole has
teen set forth with admirable order
and simplicity. so that it will be pos
sible for everybody with very little