The Irish standard., 1914-08-22
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gardens, when suddenly, the work of
the officials having already begun.
they were ordered away as the pope
was seen approaching. With true
American determination they object
ed that they did not want to leave.
Plus x, who understood something
of what was going on, inquired, and
| Cardinal Gibbons, who was among
those who accompanied them. ex-
planned that it was pilgrimage of
his countrymen who desired to pay
homage to the Holy Father. They
had asked fog an audience and were
waiting for the appointed day. The
pontiff imediately said there was no
necessity to wait, and he would re-
ceive the Americans at once in the
adjoining Museum Lapidarium. Thus
Plus x received the first pilgrimage
of his pontificate. held in his hands
and blessed the two American flags
which are still preserved. one in
Rome and one in New York.
Plus x did not intend to change
the substance of the policy which his
two predecessors had followed
towards Italy. His protests against
the loss Of the temporal power, how
ever, lost the vehemence and bitter
ness which formerly characterized
them.
The strongest of his protests on
this subject was when President Lou
bet. disregarding the prohibition to
all Catholic rulers and heads of states
to visit the king of united Italy in
his capital, was the first. with the
exception Of Prince Ferdinand of
Bulgaria. since 1870. to go as guest
to the Quirinal
This was not only caused by the
feeling towards Italy. but much more
by the state of religious war with
France, which was the most remark
able event in the last pontificate. and
of which many have attributed the
responsibility to Plus X. while the
hostilities had already begun under
Leo XIII.
Spain passed in parliament bills
against the religious congregations
and the clergy. leading to the recall
of the Spanish ambassador accelerat-
ed to the Holy See, and.in Portugal.
where the republic proclaimed on
Oct. 5, 1910, brought about a COM
plete separation between church and
state, the expulsion of the religious
CONGREGATIONS and the confiscation Of
their properties.
The reforms of religious char
acter initiated by Plus X. such as
that of restoring the Gregorian
chants, of preaching every Sunday
from a text from the Bible. One of
his undertakings will leave an i'm
portant mark in the history of the
papacy-the codification of ecclesias-
tic 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 Vul-
gate, which he conf1ded to Father
Francis Aidan Gasquet, abbot-presi-
dent of the English benedictine con-
gregation so we'll known as learned
historian, and made Cardinal at the
last consistory.
The encyclical promulgated Sept.
8, 1907, condemned the modernists
and their doctrines. r.
Another very important reform
due to Plus X is that of the Roman
Curia, which was still ruled by the
Bull of sixtus v of January, 1888.
With this he reformed the offices.
the ecclesiastical courts and the Ro-
man congregations. Withdrawing
America, Canada, Newfoundland,
Great Britain, Holland and Luxem-
berg from the jurisdiction of propa-'
ganda fide, removing them therefore
from among the missionary countries
and putting them. together with the
rest of the Catholic world. under the
consistorial congregation.