The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1910-11-26
THE CHURCH IN FRANCE.

THE CHURCH IN FRANCE
Occasions arise as at present when
the gravity of the situation rivets the
attention of the whole world on the
conflicts between the Church and the
anti-religious government of a state;
and on account of the light thrown on
the subject by the press public opinion
is reused the authorities are fright
ened, and the persecution, or at least
the public expression of it. ceases for
the moment. But it goes on in secret.
While the attention of the world is
drawn to the conflict between Church
and State in spain it is not out of
place to draw attention to the trOu-
bles through which the Catholics in
France have passed and are passing
now. almost unnoticed. At the begin
ming of 1907 the French government.
recognizing that too much attention
was being drawn to their public per-
secution of the Church. particularly by
the now famous inventories. decided
TO carry on their work OF driving re-
ligion out of France in secret. As the
government had made over to them
selves-by a law which they passed
for the purpose-all the property
which the Church possessed. andy
the same law-declaTed that they
would no longer pay to the clergy as
some sort of compensation the annual
dole. the priests of France went from
door to door begging their bread. Few
knew the hardships that they and their
parishioners IN the smaller towns and
villages of France have gone through
to keep the Faith alive The efforts of
the government to kill that Faith with
irreligious text books in the schools
are well known also the despicable
4 %, frI,,
and the noble way in which all the
hierarchy allied to his support But
there is another side which is known
i'm France and in Rome. and which by
its very materiality must force itself on
public notice soon. BY the separation
law the French goveFnm ent vested the
Church property in the Communes
and it created an authority to look
after that property-an authority after
its own heart arranged in such a way
that i'm the course of time the man
agement of the Church affairs should
pass into lay hands. and an atheist
might have control of cathedral. 10
its great surprise the holy see declined
to accede to this arrangement. The
state was annoyed. but it is now haV-
ing its revenge. From every corner OF
France news is coming of churches
that are in urgent need of repair. of
belfries in danger. roofs about to fall.
In many cases the parishioners are too
poor to undertake the repairs. and
they know that at any moment the
church may be closed as place of
worship and reopened by the anu-re-
ligious Commune as concert hall
And even If Catholics wish to spend
money on their church they are not
allowed.
Repeated applications to the
Commune. the project. the govern
ment. get no reply, till after some
wears an inspector arrives and certifies
that the case has been allowed to go
too far. repairs are impossible. and the
belfry or perhaps the whole church Is
dangerous and must be pulled down.
since 1898 the parish of Grisy-Suisnes
has implored the authorities to allow
ii to repair its church at its own eX-
pense.
The town council and the pre-
feet refused permission. After twelve
wears the government issued decree
that the church and its contents
were to be sold at auction. The belfry
of the church at Cinquex was IN dam
ger: here again the parishioners asked
to be allowed to repair it at their own
EXPENSE. The government not only re-
fused permission. but sent a company
of engineers. who. by means Of 80
kilogrammes of melenite. put an end
TO the danger and to the belfry and
church. These are but two instances
out of many. for the same thing is
Happening in a hundred parishes; and
the French government sees with de-
light the coming when all the bishops
will be in prison. or. at any rate, pow
erless. and all churches in ruins is
not the public opinion of the world
strong enough to est?-Irish
World