The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1911-06-10
International Eucharistic Congress

and historic surroundings as these the
Congress will make its nocturnal act
of alteration to our Sacramented God,
as they speak of the Blessed Sacra-
ment in the Peninsula.
The Portuguese Religious Situation.
The trouble in Portugal on the ques-
ton Of religion is growing worse, and
here there is no great act Of religion
to look forward to which may change
mems minds. The Separation Law,
with it's Ubiquitous provisions, seems
to have been the last straw to the peo-
pie who are heartily sick of the Repub-
lie forced upon them by what is recog-
nized as regular coup detat, not un-
like that of Napoleon III. It is openly
said that the Separation Law will new
er come before the General Assembly
for ratification, because there will be
no General Assembly, for the Republic
itself may shortly be nonresident.
The North is seething, and the Repub-
licans are taking their revenge in
places where they are strong, by at
lacking the Catholic papers and the
few as yet unmoTested Religious. In
this way the mob has made some very
ugly scenes at Braga recently, attack
ing several pious Associations, and
wrecking the Office of the local Catho-
lie paper. AS for Royalists plots, as
they are called, their name is legion,
and the spirit of panic having entered
into many of those who went through
the last Lisbon revolution, crowds of
well-to-do residents are departing for
the coast or the frontier until some
settled regime is established The
Portuguese Bishops have issued cir
cular to their Clergy CONCERNING the
Separation Law, and exhorting them
to remain true to their principles and
to the Holy See. The Government
has ordered this Teafiet to be seized
and confiscated, and has decided to
proceed against the Bishops for pub
fishing instructions to their own
priests which do not meet with their
approval. The Clergy are perfectly
loyal and calmly wait their leaders
commands.
The full report of affairs laid be-
fore the Holy Father filed him with
the deepest distress, and after ex-
pressing joy at the fine discipline and
truth of the Portuguese Clergy, His
Holiness decided, after deep reflection,
to address an encyc1ica1 letter to the
| Universal Church, which will be sent
to the Bishops of the world, protest
ing against the persecution of the
Church in Portugal and the unjust
and oppressive laws of the Act of Sep
aratfon.
The ExiEed King in England.
The young king Manuel, who is still
at Twfckenham, England, is taking
things very quietly, but his interest
in all economic questions connected
with the welfare of the poorer classes,
lead many to believe that beneath the
dignified calm of the poor young King,
turks all the excitement and ardour
which a high-souled young soldier
feels in the recovery of his rights, and
no one doubts that Manuel will again
tread the steps of a throne, though
whether he will hold that precarious
position as the years 60 by and bring
him wisdom remains to be seen. For
the sake of the Church we must hope
he will.
Social Unrest.
The censorship of the press still
continues to be severe and while the
outside world is led to believe that the
Separation Law is accepted calmly
and even gratefully by the whole coun-
try the truth is that whenever one
of the Ministers visits any important
town there is almost riot among
the inhabitants, though bands of revo-
lutionaries accompany him for the ex-
press purpose of mingling amongst
the crowd and cheering, to lull the
people into the idea that there never
was such popular regime as this
tyranny in the name of the Sovereign
People. But the latter are heartily
sick of a Government which has sim
ply torn down and has so far not
erected anything of worth to the ma
tion, either in constitution or laws.
The Royalists are quietly biding their
time and are meanwhile adding daily
to their adherents and completing a
net work of connections all over the
country