The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1914-08-20
tilities had already begun under Leo

hiitles had already begun under Leo
MIL.
France found imitators in Spain,
which passed in Parliament bills
against the religious congregations and
the clergy, leading to the recall of the
Spanish ambassador accredited to the
Holy See; and in Portugal, where the
republic proclaimed on October 5, 1910,
brought about a complete separation
between the church and state, the ex-
pulsion of the religious congregations
and the confscation of their properties
While such serious crises were tax
ing place between the Vatican and
some of the Latin countries, which had
been known in history as the most
faithful to the Holy See, the relations
with Italy, while maintaining in the
outside form the usual character of
hostility, were in substance much more
cordial.
Reforms That He Initiated.
1t would take long to enumerate all
the reforms Of a religious character
initiated by Plus X, such as that of
restoring the Gregorian' chants, of
preaching every Sunday from a text
from the Bible, himself giving the
good example by having as long as his
strength allowed him, the faithful of
the different parishes of Rome in the
courtyard of San Damaso to hear him
explain the gospel story, and carrying
out ono after the other as Pope the
same ideas and principles which he
! had professed and advocated as Bishop
and patriarch. One of his undertakings
Will leave an important mark in the
| history of the papacy-the codiicat-
/ ton of ecclesiastical law. He entrusted
the work to an illustrious scholar in
Canon Law, Mgr. Pietro Gasparri, on
whom he conferred the red hat in
| December, 1907. Another epoch making
task was that of the revision of the
Vulgate, which he confded to Father
Francis Aidan Gasquet, Abbott Presi
dent of the English Benedictine con
gregation, so well known as a learned
historian.
Plus X was determined to restore
the most iron discipline among the
clergy, and this led to an unrelenting
campaign against that section of &c
clesiastics who professed unorthodoz
opinions and were called modernists
The encyclical promulgated on Septem
Der 8, 1907, condemned the Modernists
and their doctrines.
Modernist movement were excommuni
Gated in Italy, England and Germany
The Pope displayed even greater en-
ergv on November IS, 1907, when hi
reaffirmed the necessity of combating
by every possible means the spirit o.
rebellion, and ordered the Bishops t,
watch and if necessary to dismiss thu
Professor infected with the CONDEMNED
doctrines and to prevent from taking
Orders those students who were sus
nected of sympathizing with the move
ment.
New rebellions broke out, and Piu
x went further in the struggle, with
new encyclical, in May, 1909, and NOR
so by imposing the anti-modernis
oath on all ecclesiastics.
The Pontiff reused a storm of op
) position, to himself entirely unexpect
ed by his encyclical against the Pro
, testants in general and those of tn
$ German reformation in particular. o.
J the occasion of the centennial of ST
Charles Borromeo.
Another very important reform du
, to Plus X is that of the Roman Curia
which was still ruled by the Bull o
| Sixtus V, of January, 1888. With thi
. he reformed the Offices, the ecclesias
r teal courts and the Roman Congregat
: tions, withdrawing America, Canada
!, Newfoundland, Great Britain, Hollan
g and Luxembourg from the iurisdictio
: of propaganda fde, removing ther