The Irish standard., 1914-11-28
Representatives. of French Govern
ment Have Not Relaxed Eff
forts Against the Church
Despite Horrors of
War.
Orders Issued against Nursing Nuns
Offering Religious Coincidence
to Wounded Soldiers. Gov
ernment Fears Popularity
of Priests,
10000 Priests in Army Have Won
Love and Respect of Soldiers.
Nuns and Priest Misrepre-
sented and Maligned.

Notwithstanding the terrible trials
France is going through and though
priests and soldiers have rallied like
one man to the defense of their coun
try the French official element is as
violent as ever in it's hatred of the
Catholic Church. In the midst of the
war a ministerial decree has been
published enabling the authorities to
seize on all the remnants of the
Church property. and appropriate it to
the "bureaux de Renaissance" The
Echo de Paris" which has just lost
it's leader, the valiant Comte de Nun,
gives the following instance:
Il wish to place before my readers
three documents, published towards
the end of September, the first in all
the French papers; the second in the
Journal Oficiel,' the third in the Sc
maine Religieuse' of Cher.
81. A Sergt. Lemoine is mentioned
in the French war dispatches. This
Sergt. Lemoine was recovering from
wound in French field ambulance
when the ambulance was shelled. The
attendants offered to give him a lift
in a motor bus. But Lemoine re-
fused: he must first find his wounded
sub-lieutenant and save him. After
some trouble he found his officer,
placed him in a hand cart and drag
ged him to safety, pulling the hand
cart distance of ten kilometers, not
withstanding his own wounds.
"2. The Journal Officiel' publishes
an official order for the departments
of 1ndre and Cher, dividing amongst
both at the rate Of as per cent for
Cher and 81 per cent for Indre the
funds Of the Intirm Clergy Fund of the
diocese of Bourges.
''3. The 'Semaine Religieuse of
Bourges gives letter from the Arch
bishop intimating to his clergy that
owing to the depletion of the episcopal
fund his Grace will be unable to pay
his clergy the last quarter of their
salary"
But little information. This Lee
omine, cited in dispatches, is priest
of this very diocese. And one would
have thought, writes Franc Nohain,
the time ill-chosen to thus mulct the
infirm and sick of the Bourges dio.
cese, when one of their confreres had
SO distinguished himself.
But French intolerance towards the
Catholic Church is as keen as ever.
The ABch-Freemason Lafferre in his
paper, LA France de Bordeaux" thus
attacks the Catholic ladies of the
croix rouge: Every wounded soldier
is being bothered to receive a scapu-
lar or a medal of the Sacred Heart
Thus is the official stamp of a Cath.
Ollie printed upon them when they
arrive in any hospital and they are
too weak to resist. The Church is
satisfied. She has taken possession
of the unfortunate wounded soldier
Now what is the result of this vile at
tack upon Catholic practices?
The French ministry has issued an
order strictly forbidding all ladies be-
longing to the Red Cross Society tc
give to any soldier any medal, scapu
lar, or rosary, lest they might inter
fere with the liberty of conscience
Hence the Telegram de rOuest'
writes: "Why this fresh attack upon
us Catholics? Who has met the en-
envy and begged of him to save the
civil population? A bishop, plain coun
try priests, moor nuns. Meaux, Chalon
Senlis, only to mention a few, were
abandoned by all the government of
ficials who put themselves in security
by flight. Instead of the Freemasons
apron and triangle, the followers Of
the Gross, the wearers of scapulars
and medals, interceded for their flock
ministered to the widows and orphans
and saved thousands of lives. The
Red Cross members are accused Of
having imposed by violence the sa
cred emblems of our faith! But, or
the contrary, soldiers going to the
front were the first to beg for these
tokens and to fix them in their caps
Mr.. Lafferre evidently forgets that the
Ia -
their duties did so of their own &C
count. And the Red Cross ladies, fal
from interfering with the religious be
liefs of their wounded, were the first
to send for Protestant minister
when he was needed. We Catholics
ambulance where rabid Freemasor