The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1909-05-15

The following account of the reli-
gious and political state of Italy is
taken from the London Saturday Re-
view and is pronounced substantially
correct by Rome" the official organ
Of tho Vatican:
1.-THE press in Italy is divided into
many sections, and not one of them
can stand alone. They are all subven-
toned, either by the Government, the
Freemasons, the Jews, or the Clericals.
AS rule, the tone of the Italian press
is decent. but such papers as the "Tri-
buna," the Government organ, have
done incalculable mischief by the pub
lication Of feuilletons and articles Of
demoralizing type. Thus, quite re-
Gently the Tribuna gave Remains Vita
di Gesu' as a feuilleton, and it never
misses an opportunity of saying some
thing spiteful or nasty against the
clergy:.: Il any scandal amongst them
occuts. this journal gives it the full,
est publicity; and this Notwithstanding
the fact that it is monarchical. But Its
proprietors are both Freemasons and
Jews. Throughout Italy the Masonic
press, which is generally the official,
is antagonistic to the Catholic Church,
but not SO violently as the socialistic
and anarchistic press, represented by
the Avanti and other organs of a SIM
liar kind, in which the King and Royal
Family are not infrequently as bitter
Quite recently the Avanti published an
article against the well-established
moral reputation of Queen Margherita.
In almost every issue of this paper and
it's imitators, the Royal Family is in
siduously attacked, now by an exag-
gerated account of the royal stinginess
or by hints that some scandal is brew
ing at the Quirnal. BY this means the
popularity of the present king and
Royal Family hes been gradually di-
nlinished.
"The result of all these various
measures has been to shake the faith
of a large part of the people, and to
drive them into atheism and socialism.
The object of the party headed by the
Freemasons and subventioned by the
Jews, under the strict understanding
that they are to have the loaves and
fishes should they get into power, is
to drive the Pope out Of Rome and es-
tablish republic; and it is all open
secret that the Grand Orient of Italy
has been at the bottom Of nearly ev-
erything that has taken place recently
in France and Spain. Unfortunately,
however, for the Freemasons, they
have been in past years greatly dis
credited; first by the tobacco monop-
oily scandals, i'll which the Grand Mas
ter, Adriano Lemmi, was incrimnated.
and then by the horrible Murri affair.
The Corriere della Sera, by far the
most influential modern Italian paper.
has been the means of unveiling the
nefarious doings of the Freemasons.
1t never neglects an opportunity of eX-
posing their works, since, as it very
Justly observes, they aim at the dom
ination of the country on a system
which, If it were ever carried into eff
feet. would lead to the destruction of
Italian unity. Ten years ago not even
the Catholic papers ever ventured to
mention the F'reemasons; today q
large number of Italian papers, sub
ventioned no doubt by the papacy and
clergy co and by the King, never
cease to allude to them 'unfavorably.
There can be no question that a great
many of the accusations brought
against them are absolutely we'll
founded. Although greatly discredited,
the Freemasons remain very powerful
in Italy, but at the present moment
they are divided into two parties. the
one, at the head. of which is Grand
Master Ferrari. demanding the extin:-
tion Of the Catholic religion and the