The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1920-11-13
AND SCHOOLS
REDS" TREATMENT OF. RELIC
1 iouS, AS SEEN BY PRIEsT-RE-
TURNED FRENCH FATHER DE-
ScRlBEs HIS EXPERIENCES
WITH BoLsHEvlsTs. i.

After long journey, $50 French
men, who we're permitted to leave.
Russia following insistent demands by
the French government, arrived in
Paris last week In the party was a
Catholic priest, Rev. Father p Vidal,
rector of the Church of st. Louis des
Francais, at Moscow To the CORE
spondent of the N G. w. G. News
Service, Father Vidal gave the follow
ing account of religious and social
conditions and the status of the Cath
Ollie clergy in Russia.
Before the revolution of May, 1917 !,
that u.s. under czarism, neither Monks
nor Jesuits were allowed in Russia.
After the revolution and under the
government of Prince Lvof, it was less
difficult for members of the clergy to
enter Russia; but the duration of this
regime was so short and the line OF
the Russian armies was SO extended
discover how to cross the frontier.
When the Bolshevists took hold of the
government it was next to impossible.
Threw Archbishop Into Prison.
"The Bolshevists threw into prison
the Catholic Archbishop of Mohi1ev,
Mgr. de Ropp, Metropolitan of all Rus
STA. No other members of the clergy
were imprisoned. A number of CathO-
lies, however, both secular and regular
priests, and laymen, were confined in
concentration camps, where they were
a prey to hunger and all kinds of dis
eases. Two prominent members of
the French Catholic colony died Of
typhus in these concentration camps.
"The Catholic churches of Moscow
and Petrograd are served by secular
priests. There are but few Monks in
Russia, but there were at Moscow and
Petrograd about sixty Nuns, all be-
longing to the Order of st. Joseph of
Chambery. These Nuns conducted
schools, hospitals and homes for the
aged, but little by little they were
compelled to give up their schools be-
cause of the special syllabus and reg
ulations which the Bolshevists at
tempted to enforce.
Soviet System Applied to Schools.
"The Soviet system was applied to
these schools; that is, they were
placed under the management of the
pupils. Accordingly, there was soon
no discipline; the school soviet alone
decided whether the pupils should
work or whether instead they should
enjoy themselves. Class hours were
spent in chatting, playing tricks on
the teachers and smoking cigarettes.
AS the Bolshevists established and en-
joined the co-educational system, the
boys also devoted much of their time
to writing billet-doux to the girls.
unable to tolerate such system
any longer, the Nuns little by little
retired There are still a few Assump-
tionists at Kew and odessa and on
the Donetz. -.
1.-The Bolshevists have proved them
selves far more harsh and tyrannous
toward the Russian Orthodox clergy
than toward u.s. In certain regions
not everywhere-the Russian Ortho-
dox clergy, who still possessed great
influence over the people, were fight
ing fiercely against the Bolshevist
rule Out of revenge and to discredit
the Orthodox clergy, the heads of the
Bolshevist government resorted to
various means. =
There was above all what might
be called AN epidemic of sacrilege.'
The Bolshevists tdesecrated relics and
profaned reliquaries and shrines con-
tanning the remains of Orthodox
saints (for the Holy Synod assumed
to 'canonize' certain religious per
sons). To convict the Orthodox clergy
of fraud and deceit in persuading the
saints were preserved intact, the
Bolshevists had these reliquaries and
shrines opened by force in the pres
ence of the Bishops and priests, who
were compelled to witness these
scenes And as, generally speaking
only a few bones were found in the
| reliquaries, the Bolshevists forthwith
awaited themselves of the opportunity
to brand the Orthodox clergy as forg
ers' and .perjurers.'
| Orthodox CIergy's influence Waning.
"The Bolshevists also attempted to
act in the same way with the relics OF
Catholic saints, but in the absence OF
Archbishop de Ropp, still in prison
the Auxiliary Bishop Of Mohilev: pro
tested in such a strong and dignified
letter that they did not dare persist
"Since it has lost the support of the
big stick of Czarism, the influence
and the authority of the Russian Or
lthodox clergy have greatly decreased
Catholicism has profited by this de
cline" Il: